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by Matthew Prior (1667 - 1721)

Is it, O love, thy want of eyes
Language: English 
Is it, O love, thy want of eyes,
Or by the Fates decreed,
That hearts so seldom sympathise,
Or for each other bleed?

If thou wouldst make two youthful hearts
One amorous shaft obey,
'Twould save thee the expense of darts,
And more extend thy sway.

Forbear, alas! thus to destroy
Thyself, thy growing power,
For that which would be stretch'd by joy
Despair will soon devour.

Ah! wound then my relentless fair,
For thy own sake and mine,
That boundless may be my share,
And double glory thine.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Matthew Prior (1667 - 1721), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Willem de Fesch (1687 - 1761), "Is it, O love, thy want of eyes" [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Is it, O love, thy want of eyes", op. 122 (Ten Songs in Two Sets of Five Each, Set I) no. 3 (1938) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2022-01-21
Line count: 16
Word count: 89

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