Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE RUSTIC AT THE PLAY, by GEORGE SANTAYANA


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE RUSTIC AT THE PLAY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Our youth is like a rustic at the play
Last Line: That prompts the passions of this strutting world.
Subject(s): Theater & Theaters; Poetry & Poets


Our youth is like a rustic at the play
That cries aloud in simple-hearted fear,
Curses the villain, shudders at the fray,
And weeps before the maiden's wreathed bier.
Yet once familiar with the changeful show,
He starts no longer at a brandished knife,
But, his heart chastened at the sight of woe,
Ponders the mirrored sorrows of his life.
So tutored too, I watch the moving art
Of all this magic and impassioned pain
That tells the story of the human heart
In a false instance, such as poets feign;
I smile, and keep within the parchment furled
That prompts the passions of this strutting world.






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