Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, COQUETRY, by ALFRED DE MUSSET


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

COQUETRY, by             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!





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