A Madrigal
A Madrigal - context Summary
In the Passionate Pilgrim
This short madrigal was first published in 1599 in the miscellany The Passionate Pilgrim. Presented in tight stanzas, it dramatizes a speaker’s preference for youth over age through brisk antitheses and a sing-song closing plea. Its placement in a popular Elizabethan collection frames it as a lyrical, performative piece rather than a long philosophical argument, aligning with contemporary tastes for concise, musically inflected poetry.
Read Complete AnalysesCrabbed Age and Youth Cannot live together: Youth is full of pleasance, Age is full of care; Youth like summer morn, Age like winter weather; Youth like summer brave, Age like winter bare: Youth is full of sports, Age's breath is short, Youth is nimble, Age is lame: Youth is hot and bold, Age is weak and cold, Youth is wild, and Age is tame:- Age, I do abhor thee; Youth, I do adore thee; O! my Love, my Love is young! Age, I do defy thee- O sweet shepherd, hie thee, For methinks thou stay'st too long.
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