Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SONG, FR. THE FAIR PENITENT by WILLIAM CONGREVE

Poet Analysis

First Line: AH, STAY! AH, TURN! AH, WHITHER WOULD YOU FLY
Last Line: NOR CASTS ONE PITYING LOOK BEHIND.

AH, stay! ah, turn! ah, whither would you fly,
Too charming, too relentless maid?
I follow not to conquer, but to die;
You of the fearful are afraid.

In vain I call; for she, like fleeting air,
When pressed by some tempestuous wind,
Flies swifter from the voice of my despair,
Nor casts one pitying look behind.



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