"O set me as a signal on thy heart! / And let the deep impression ne'er depart."
— Rowe [née Singer], Elizabeth (1674-1737)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Hett ... and R. Dodsley [etc.]
Date
1739
Metaphor
"O set me as a signal on thy heart! / And let the deep impression ne'er depart."
Metaphor in Context
O set me as a signal on thy heart!
And let the deep impression ne'er depart.
O let me ne'er by thee abandon'd prove!
I were undone, if thou shouldst change thy love;
I could no greater mis'ry undergo,
'Twere hell itself, the blackest hell of woe!
My hopes, my joys are plac'd in thee alone,
Robb'd of thy smiles and favour, all were gone.
My life, my happiness depends on thee,
Without thee, what were all the world to me?
I should detest the light and vital air,
And waste my days in sorrow and despair.
Forgive my fears, the sure effect of love,
Its mighty force and violence they prove.
The thoughts of losing thee I cannot bear,
Less cruel death, than that tormenting fear;
It blasts my blooming joys, disturbs my rest,
And fills, with deep anxiety, my breast:
That thou mayst once my wretched soul desert,
This cruel doubt wounds my desponding heart.
And let the deep impression ne'er depart.
O let me ne'er by thee abandon'd prove!
I were undone, if thou shouldst change thy love;
I could no greater mis'ry undergo,
'Twere hell itself, the blackest hell of woe!
My hopes, my joys are plac'd in thee alone,
Robb'd of thy smiles and favour, all were gone.
My life, my happiness depends on thee,
Without thee, what were all the world to me?
I should detest the light and vital air,
And waste my days in sorrow and despair.
Forgive my fears, the sure effect of love,
Its mighty force and violence they prove.
The thoughts of losing thee I cannot bear,
Less cruel death, than that tormenting fear;
It blasts my blooming joys, disturbs my rest,
And fills, with deep anxiety, my breast:
That thou mayst once my wretched soul desert,
This cruel doubt wounds my desponding heart.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "impression" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Elizabeth Singer Rowe, The miscellaneous works in prose and verse of Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe. The Greater Part now first published, by her Order, from her Original Manuscripts, By Mr. Theophilus Rowe. To which are added, Poems on several occasions, by Mr. Thomas Rowe. And to the whole is prefix'd, An Account of the Lives and Writings of the Authors, 2 vols. (London: printed for R. Hett and R. Dodsley, 1739). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
05/16/2005
Date of Review
06/05/2011
