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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
COQUETRY, by ALFRED DE MUSSET Poem Explanation Poet's Biography First Line: O women, fated to beguile, / your spells we all confess Last Line: The victim that endures! Subject(s): Charm; Man-woman Relationships; Women; Male-female Relations | |||
O women, fated to beguile, Your spells we all confess: Ye can elate us with a smile, Or with a frown depress. Two words, a scornful glance, or e'en The silence that ignores, Can stab, as with a dagger keen, The fool who still adores; And, thanks to man, that craven hound, Your plaything and your prey, Nought but your frailty can be found To match your boundless sway, But when the lust of power has grown Too rank, that power must die, And thus your slaves at length disown Their thraldom with a sigh. Their fate, though pitiful to see, Is still more blest than yours— You torture—I would sooner be The victim that endures! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MISERY AND SPLENDOR by ROBERT HASS THE APPLE TREES AT OLEMA by ROBERT HASS DOUBLE SONNET by ANTHONY HECHT CONDITIONS XXI by ESSEX HEMPHILL CALIFORNIA SORROW: MOUNTAIN VIEW by MARY KINZIE SUPERBIA: A TRIUMPH WITH NO TRAIN by MARY KINZIE COUNSEL TO UNREASON by LEONIE ADAMS TWENTY QUESTIONS by DAVID LEHMAN A DEAD WOMAN by ALFRED DE MUSSET |
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