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Sonet 21

By Michael Drayton

Topics: classic

You cannot loue my pretty hart, and why?     There was a time, you told me that you would,     But now againe you will the same deny,     If it might please you, would to God you could;     What will you hate? nay, that you will not neither,     Nor loue, nor hate, how then? what will you do,     What will you keepe a meane then betwixt eyther?     Or will you loue me, and yet hate me to?     Yet serues not this, what next, what other shift?     You will, and will not, what a coyle is heere,     I see your craft, now I perceaue your drift,     And all this while, I was mistaken there.         Your loue and hate is this, I now doe proue you,         You loue in hate, by hate to make me loue you.

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"You cannot loue my pretty hart, and why?..."

This evocative piece by Michael Drayton, titled "Sonet 21", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:Michael Drayton

"You cannot loue my pretty hart, and why?..." by Michael Drayton

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"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"

Michael Drayton

About Michael Drayton

Michael Drayton (1563–1631) was an English poet whose "Poly-Olbion" (1612–1622) is a vast topographical poem describing the landscape and legends of England and Wales. His sonnet "Since there's no help" is among the finest of the Elizabethan era.

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"DORILVS in sorrowes deepe,         Autumne waxing ..."

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