by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Think'st thou then by thy feigning
Language: English
Think'st thou then by thy feigning Sleep, with a proud disdaining, Or with thy crafty closing Thy cruel eyes reposing, To drive me from thy sight, When sleep yields more delight, Such harmless beauty gracing. And while sleep feigned is, May not I steal a kiss, Thy quiet arms embracing. O that my sleep dissembled, Were to a trance resembled, Thy cruel eyes deceiving, Of lively sense bereaving: Then should my love requite Thy love's unkind despite, While fury triumph'd boldly In beauty's sweet disgrace: And liv'd in sweet embrace Of her that lov'd so coldly. Should then my love aspiring, Forbidden joys desiring, So far exceed the duty That virtue owes to beauty? No Love seek not thy bliss, Beyond a simple kiss: For such deceits are harmless, Yet kiss a thousand-fold. For kisses may be bold When lovely sleep is armless.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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 John Dowland (1562 - 1626), "Think'st thou then by thy feigning" [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Christine Moore
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-25
Line count: 30
Word count: 143