Poetry Analysis

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Love in fantastic Triumph sat,

Original Poetry

Translation

Love in fantastic Triumph sat,

Love sat in a wonderful and victorious way,

Whilst bleeding hearts around him flowed,

While bleeding hearts were all around him,

For whom fresh pains he did create,

For whom he made new pains,

And strange tyrannic power he showed;

And showed strange oppressive power;

From thy bright eyes he took his fire,

He took his passion from your bright eyes,

Which roundabout, in sport he hurled;

Which he playfully threw around;

But 'twas from mine he took desire

But from my eyes, he took longing

Enough to undo the amorous world.

Enough to destroy the world of love.

From me he took his sighs and tears,

He took my sighs and tears,

From thee his pride and cruelty;

From you, he took pride and harshness;

From me his languishments and fears,

From me, he took weakness and fears,

And every killing dart from thee;

And every deadly arrow from you;

Thus thou and I, the god have armed,

Thus, you and I have armed the god,

And set him up a deity;

And made him a divine being;

But my poor heart alone is harmed,

But only my heart is hurt,

Whilst thine the victor is, and free.

While yours is the winner and free.

Explanation

Aphra Behn's poem 'Love Armed' personifies love as a triumphant conqueror who sits surrounded by bleeding hearts. Love is depicted as a tyrannical force that creates pain and suffering rather than joy. The speaker describes how love takes various attributes from both herself and another person (possibly a lover): fire from the other's eyes, desire from her own, sighs and tears from herself, and pride and cruelty from the other. This shared contribution to Love's power makes him a deity, yet the speaker laments that only her heart is harmed while the other's remains victorious and free. The poem explores themes of love's dual nature, power dynamics in relationships, and the personal cost of love. Behn uses vivid imagery and personification to convey the emotional turmoil and complexity of love, highlighting its ability to both uplift and destroy.

Word Dictionary15

Word	In English	Plain (English)	Pron.
fantastic	unreal, imaginative	unbelievably great	fan-tas-tic
triumph	victory, success	a great success	try-umph
whilst	while, during	at the same time as	wilst
tyrannic	oppressive, dictatorial	using power in a cruel way	ty-ran-nic
hurl	throw forcefully	to throw something with great force	hur-l
amorous	loving, romantic	about love	am-or-ous
languishments	weaknesses, sufferings	being weak	lan-guish-ments
deity	god, divine being	a god	dee-i-ty
victor	winner, conqueror	winner	vic-tor
cruelty	harshness, brutality	enjoying causing pain	cru-el-ty
undo	ruin, destroy	to ruin	un-do
sighs	breaths of sadness	long, deep breaths expressing sadness or relief	sai-z
dart	arrow, missile	a small arrow	dart
pride	self-esteem, arrogance	feeling good about oneself	pride
harm	injure, damage	hurt	harm

Poet & Context

PoetAphra Behn

EraRestoration era

Aphra Behn (bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, and translator from the Restoration era. She was one of the first English women to earn her living by writing, breaking cultural barriers for women authors. Behn was also employed as a spy by Charles II and wrote under the pseudonym Astrea.

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WhenLate 17th century

WhyThe poem reflects the complexities of love, portraying it as a powerful and tyrannical force. It was written during a time when Behn was exploring themes of love, power, and gender dynamics in her work.

FormLyric poem

Themes & More

Themes

Love and PowerSuffering and PainEmotional Conflict

Literary devices

Personification: Love is depicted as a triumphant conqueror, a deity with tyrannical power.Imagery: Vivid descriptions of bleeding hearts and darts create a strong visual impact.Metaphor: Love's attributes are taken from the speaker and another, symbolizing the shared contributions to its power.Contrast: The speaker's harmed heart versus the other's victorious and free heart highlights emotional imbalance.