Love, a child, is ever crying
By Lady Mary Wroth
LOVE, a child, is ever crying;
Please him, and he straight is flying;
Give him, he the more is craving,
Never satisfied with having.His desires have no measure;
Endless folly is his treasure;
What he promiseth he breaketh;
Trust not one word that he speaketh.He vows nothing but false matter;
And to cozen you will flatter;
Let him gain the hand, he’ll leave you
And still glory to deceive you.He will triumph in your wailing;
And yet cause be of your failing:
These his virtues are, and slighter
Are his gifts, his favours lighter.Feathers are as firm in staying;
Wolves no fiercer in their preying;
As a child then, leave him crying;
Nor seek him so given to flying.
Summary of Love, a child, is ever crying
- Popularity of “Love, a child, is ever crying”: The poem ‘Love, a child, is ever crying’ was written by Lady Mary Wroth, a popular female English poet of Renaissance period. This beautiful piece of poetry about love first appeared in the sequence of sonnets in Pamphilia to Amphilanthus. Lady Mary successfully published it in 1621. The beauty of the poem lies in personifying love as a child who does not stop crying.
- “Love, a child, is ever crying” As a Representative of Childlike Nature of Love: Lady Mary Worth opens the poem with an apostrophe the idea of Love, as a child. She believes that it is similar to a child who continues to cry and is never satisfied with what they have. The poet continues in the same vein, saying that love is foolish, desires more, breaks promise and does not speak the truth like a child. She says that like the child, love flatters, yet he leaves and does not take care of the person he vows to stand by. This childlike habit stays with love wins because of his wailing and fails others. Although these are the virtues of love, she says, yet this child has no gifts and nothing to give. When it comes to crying and flying, love reigns supreme, surpassing even the lightness of feathers and the fierceness of wolves. In both instances, love surpasses them.
- Major Themes in “Love, a child, is ever crying”: Fickleness and uncertainty of love, personification of love and love as a spoilt child are three major themes of this poem. The entire poem demonstrates that Love is like a child who does not stop crying, who is fed up with his current routine, who is never satisfied and never the same. This shows that the poet has personified Love as a child having fickleness and uncertainty in behavior. Spoilt children often show such character traits in their behavior and prove highly unpredictable. This shows poet’s in-depth understanding of love, its impacts and its implications.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Love, a child, is ever crying
literary devices enable writers to carefully select their words in order to obtain intended responses. Lady Mary Wroth used some literary devices in the poem whose analysis is as follows.
- Apostrophe: This literary device means to call somebody or idea such as the poet has called Love saying “Love, a child, is every crying”.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “What he promiseth he breaketh”, the sound of /i/ in “Are his gifts, his favours lighter” and the sound of /oo/ in “And still glory to deceive you”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ and /r/ in “Trust not one word that he speaketh” and the sound of /r/ and /l/ in “He will triumph in your wailing”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
“And to cozen you will flatter;
Let him gain the hand, he’ll leave you
And still glory to deceive you.
- Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate any statement for the sake of emphasis. Wordsworth exaggerates the character traits of Love such as desires having no measure and folly as his treasure. Both are hyperboles.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “Never satisfied with having”, “Endless folly is his treasure” and “Let him gain the hand, he’ll leave you.”
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The poet personified Love such as “He will triumph in your wailing.”
- Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. Lady May Worth used an extended simile at the end, such as,
Feathers are as firm in staying;
Wolves no fiercer in their preying;
As a child then, leave him crying;
Nor seek him so given to flying.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The expressions such as triumph, fiercer, feather and desires show a poet’s intense association with love.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Love, a child, is ever crying
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- End Rhyme: End Rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Lady Mary Wroth used end rhyme in this poem such as crying/flying and craving/having.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the AABB rhyme scheme throughout the poem in all of its five stanzas.
- Quatrain: The poem shows the use of a quatrain, a Persian borrowed stanza of four verses.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This poem has five stanzas with each having four verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Love, a child, is ever crying” are useful to quote when talking about the fickleness of a person.
He will triumph in your wailing;
And yet cause be of your failing:
These his virtues are, and slighter
Are his gifts, his favours lighter.
