To a Lady
To a Lady - meaning Summary
Sincerity as Bluntness
Byron addresses a woman praised for her sincerity but criticized as rude. He opens by acknowledging sincerity as a rare virtue, then pivots to a biting paradox: if her sole merit is blunt honesty, he would prefer she had none. The poem compresses social irony and moral judgment into a brief, epigrammatic rebuke, suggesting that unchecked frankness can be a vice rather than a redeeming quality.
Read Complete AnalysesWell you Sincerity display, A virtue wond’rous rare ! Nor value, tho’ the world should say, You’re rude, so you’re sincere. To be sincere, then, give me leave ; And I will frankly own, Since you but this one virtue have, ‘Twere better you had none.
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