Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FOUR SONGS BY WAY OF CHORUS TO A PLAY: 1. OF JEALOUSY. A DIALOGUE, by THOMAS CAREW



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FOUR SONGS BY WAY OF CHORUS TO A PLAY: 1. OF JEALOUSY. A DIALOGUE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: From whence was first this fury hurl'd
Last Line: And raging as the northern wind.
Subject(s): Jealousy


Question. FROM whence was first this fury hurl'd,
This Jealousy, into the world?
Came she from hell? Answer. No, there doth reign
Eternal Hatred, with Disdain;
But she the daughter is of Love,
Sister of Beauty. Question. Then above
She must derive from the third sphere
Her heavenly offspring. Answer. Neither there,
From those immortal flames, could she
Draw her cold frozen pedigree.
Question. If nor from heaven nor hell, where then
Had she her birth? Answer. I' th' hearts of men.
Beauty and Fear did her create,
Younger than Love, elder than Hate,
Sister to both; by Beauty's side
To Love, by Fear to Hate, alli'd.
Despair her issue is, whose race
Of fruitful mischiefs drowns the space
Of the wide earth in a swoln flood
Of wrath, revenge, spite, rage, and blood.
Question. Oh, how can such a spurious line
Proceed from parents so divine?
Answer. As streams which from their crystal spring
Do sweet and clear their waters bring,
Yet, mingling with the brackish main,
Nor taste nor colour they retain.
Question. Yet rivers 'twixt their own banks flow
Still fresh; can Jealousy do so?
Answer. Yes, whilst she keeps the steadfast ground
Of Hope and Fear her equal bound.
Hope, sprung from favour, worth, or chance,
Towards the fair object doth advance;
Whilst Fear, as watchful sentinel,
Doth the invading foe repel:
And Jealousy, thus mix'd, doth prove
The season and the salt of Love.
But when Fear takes a larger scope,
Stifling the child of Reason, Hope,
Then, sitting on th' usurped throne,
She like a tyrant rules alone:
As the wild ocean unconfin'd,
And raging as the northern wind.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net