"To Modesty she made severe Pretence; / Under that Mask her Wantonness would hide; / Too thin Disguise! for oft the grosser Sense / Would reassume the Reins, drive over the weaker Fence."
— Arnold, Cornelius (b. 1714, d. in or after 1758)
Place of Publication
London
Date
1755
Metaphor
"To Modesty she made severe Pretence; / Under that Mask her Wantonness would hide; / Too thin Disguise! for oft the grosser Sense / Would reassume the Reins, drive over the weaker Fence."
Metaphor in Context
XXXI.
Prudella! luckless Maid, was there that Day,
Who piqu'd herself upon her Virgin Pride,
And spurn'd the Men--she seem'd so sprightly, gay,
You'd swear Ill-Nature could not there reside;
Vain Affection all! and mere Outside!
To Modesty she made severe Pretence;
Under that Mask her Wantonness would hide;
Too thin Disguise! for oft the grosser Sense
Would reassume the Reins, drive over the weaker Fence.
Prudella! luckless Maid, was there that Day,
Who piqu'd herself upon her Virgin Pride,
And spurn'd the Men--she seem'd so sprightly, gay,
You'd swear Ill-Nature could not there reside;
Vain Affection all! and mere Outside!
To Modesty she made severe Pretence;
Under that Mask her Wantonness would hide;
Too thin Disguise! for oft the grosser Sense
Would reassume the Reins, drive over the weaker Fence.
Categories
Provenance
Reading at the Folger
Citation
Arnold, Cornelius, The Mirror. A Poetical Essay. In the Manner of Spenser. (London: 1755).
Date of Entry
05/16/2013
