Skip to content
Linespedia

Nonpareil

By Matthew Prior

Topics: classic

Let others from the Town retire, And in the fields seek new delight; My Phillis does such joys inspire, No other objects please my sight. In her alone I find whate'er Beauties a country landscape grace; No shade so lovely as her hair, Nor plain so sweet as is her face. Lilies and roses there combine, More beauteous than in flowery field; Transparent is her skin so fine, To this each crystal stream must yield. Her voice more sweet than warbling sound, Though sung by nightingale or lark; Her eyes such lustre dart around, Compared to them the sun is dark. Both light and vital heat they give, Cherish'd by them my love takes root; From her kind looks does life receive, Grows a fair plant, bears flowers and fruit. Such fruit I ween did once deceive The common parent of mankind, And made transgress our mother Eve, Poison its core, though fair its rind. Yet so delicious is its taste, I cannot from the bait abstain, But to th' enchanting pleasure haste, Though I were sure 'twould end in pain.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Let others from the Town retire,..."

Matthew Prior's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "Nonpareil"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:Matthew Prior

"Let others from the Town retire,..." by Matthew Prior

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Out from the injured canvas, Kneller, strike These lines too faint; the picture is not like. Exalt thy thought, and try thy toil again: Dreadful in"

"In awful pomp and melancholy state, See settled Reason on the judgement-seat; Around her crowd Distrust, and Doubt, and Fear, And thoughtful Foresi"

"To John I owed great obligation, But John unhappily thought fit To publish it to all the nation: Sure John and I are more than quit."

"Come, weep no more, for 'tis in vain; Torment not thus your pretty heart; Think, Flavia, we may meet again, As well as that we now must part. You"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Matthew Prior

About Matthew Prior

Matthew Prior (1664–1721) was an English poet and diplomat. His poem "Alma: or, The Progress of the Mind" and his epitaph "Nobles and heralds, by your leave" are witty Augustan verse.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Out from the injured canvas, Kneller, strike These..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.