The Frailty and Hurtfulness of Beauty
Henry Howard 1517 – 1547
Brittle beauty, that nature made so frail,
Whereof the gift is small, and short the season;
Flow'ring today, tomorrow apt to fail,
Tickle treasure, abhorrèd of reason;
Dangerous to deal with, vain, of none avail,
Costly in keeping, past not worth two peason;
Slipper in sliding, as is an eelës tail,
Hard to obtain, once gotten, not geason;
Jewel of jeopardy that peril doth assail,
False and untrue, enticèd oft to treason,
Enemy to youth; that most may I bewail.
Ah, bitter sweet, infecting as the poison,
Thou farest as fruit that with the frost is taken,
Today ready ripe, tomorrow all to-shaken.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 95 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABABABABABBB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 598 |
Words | 105 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"The Frailty and Hurtfulness of Beauty" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/17412/the-frailty-and-hurtfulness-of-beauty>.
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