To My Inconstant Mistress Analysis

When thou, poor excommunicate
From all the joys of love, shalt see
The full reward and glorious fate
Which my strong faith shall purchase me,
Then curse thine own inconstancy.

A fairer hand than thine shall cure
That heart which thy false oaths did wound;
And to my soul a soul more pure
Than thine shall by Love's hand be bound,
And both with equal glory crowned.

Then shalt thou weep, entreat, complain
To Love, as I did once to thee;
When all thy tears shall be as vain
As mine were then, for thou shalt be
Damned for thy false apostasy.

.: :.

When thou, poor excommunicate
From all the joys of love, shalt see
The full reward and glorious fate
Which my strong faith shall purchase me,
Then curse thine own inconstancy.
with excommunicate there's an indication towards someone who's being excluded from a group. in this context it probably means in a closed group like a church. someone who isn't allowed to show up in this group anymore.
the inconstancy says something about the changing time of love/feeling
A fairer hand than thine shall cure
That heart which thy false oaths did wound;
And to my soul a soul more pure
Than thine shall by Love's hand be bound,
And both with equal glory crowned.
Then shalt thou weep, entreat, complain
To Love, as I did once to thee;
When all thy tears shall be as vain
As mine were then, for thou shalt be
Damned for thy false apostasy.
with apostasy is being referred to her departure/leave.
She no longer wants him. Either way, he isn't unhappy by him denying him because of the fact he found strength in his faith, God.
False oaths, she promised him she would love him, but now she left him it means she broke her oath.
In this poem there are many back references towards religion. In the first sentence and stanza the speaker uses the word Excommunicate. Hereby he’s referring to the church who’s excluding people. The words strong faith and the word dammed as in doomed/damned.
Amitiés, Nini

| Posted on 2009-01-09 | by a guest