Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MOTTO by WALTER SCOTT

Poet Analysis

First Line: YOU TALK OF GAYETY AND INNOCENCE
Last Line: HIS WEALTHY NEIGHBOR HAS BECOME A BANKRUPT.
Subject(s): INNOCENCE; MALICE;
You talk of Gayety and Innocence!
The moment when the fatal fruit was eaten,
They parted ne'er to meet again; and Malice
Has ever since been playmate to light Gayety,
From the first moment when the smiling infant
Destroys the flower or butterfly he toys with,
To the last chuckle of the dying miser,
Who on his deathbed laughs his last to hear
His wealthy neighbor has become a bankrupt.



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