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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE ANGEL IN THE HOUSE: BOOK 1. CANTO 3. PRELUDE: LOVE A VIRTUE by COVENTRY KERSEY DIGHTON PATMORE

Poet Analysis

First Line: STRONG PASSIONS MEAN WEAK WILL, AND HE
Last Line: THOUGH WHITENESS, IN THE DARK, IS BLACK!
Subject(s): LOVE;

Strong passions mean weak will, and he
Who truly knows the strength and bliss
Which are in love, will own with me
No passion but a virtue 'tis.
Few hear my word; it soars above
The subtlest senses of the swarm
Of wretched things which know not love,
Their Psyche still a wingless worm.
Ice-cold seems heaven's noble glow
To spirits whose vital heat is hell;
And to corrupt hearts even so
The songs I sing, the tale I tell.
These cannot see the robes of white
In which I sing of love. Alack,
But darkness shows in heavenly light,
Though whiteness, in the dark, is black!



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