Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature Rose of King Charles II Aphra Behn

18th-Century Literature | Aphra Behn | Quotes | Biography | Works | Essays | Resources | Bookstore | Discussion Forum

Medieval

Renaissance

Seventeenth Century

Eighteenth Century

Encyclopedia



 

Piero di Cosimo. Venus, Mars, and Cupid, 1490.
Piero di Cosimo. Venus, Mars, and Cupid, 1490.


The Dream.  A Song.


The grove was gloomy all around,
    Murm'ring the streams did pass,
Where fond Astrea laid her down
    Upon a bed of grass.

I slept and saw a piteous sight,
    Cupid aweeping lay,
Till both his little stars of light
    Had wept themselves away.

Methought I asked him why he cried,
    My pity led me on;
All sighing the sad boy replied,
    " Alas I am undone.

" As I beneath yon myrtles lay,
    Down by Diana's springs,
Amyntas stole my bow away,
    And pinioned both my wings."

" Alas! cried I, 'twas then thy darts
    Wherewith he wounded me :
Thou mighty Deity of Hearts,
    He stole his power from thee.

" Revenge thee, if a god thou be,
    Upon the amorous swain;
I'll set thy wings at liberty,
    And thou shalt fly again.

" And for this service on my part,
    All I implore of thee,
Is that thou'lt wound Amyntas' heart,
    And make him die for me."

His silken fetters I untied,
    And the gay wings displayed;
Which gently fanned, he mounts and cried,
    " Farewell, fond easy maid."

At this I blushed, and angry grew
    I should a god believe;
And waking found my dream too true,
    Alas!  I was a slave.





Restoration Verse, 1660-1715. William Kerr, ed.
London: Macmillan, 1930. 158-159.




Back to Works of Aphra Behn



Site copyright ©1996-2011 Anniina Jokinen. All Rights Reserved.
Page created by Anniina Jokinen on June 23, 2006. Last updated on February 23, 2011.

 



Restoration & 18th-century:

Introduction
Samuel Butler
John Dryden
Samuel Pepys
John Bunyan
Aphra Behn
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea
Mary Astell
William Congreve
Matthew Prior
Daniel Defoe
John Gay
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Jonathan Swift
Joseph Addison
Sir Richard Steele
James Thomson
Alexander Pope
Dr. Samuel Johnson
Thomas Gray
William Collins
Christopher Smart
Oliver Goldsmith
George Crabbe
William Cowper
James Boswell
Essays and Articles
Additional Sources



Search | Luminarium | Encyclopedia | What's New | Letter from the Editor | Bookstore | Poster Store | Discussion Forums