Title: When Lovely Woman Stoops to Folly
Author: Oliver Goldsmith
About: Poetry, Old Writing
Old poetry is scary. Sometimes it says very uncomfortable things that speak of a world you really don't want to live in. I thought I'd share one of these with you. It's long been out of copyright, so in its entirety it goes like this:
When Lovely Woman Stoops to Folly
by Oliver Goldsmith (ca. 1730-1774)
When lovely woman stoops to folly,
And finds too late that men betray,
What charm can soothe her melancholy,
What art can wash her guilt away?
The only art her guilt to cover,
To hide her shame from every eye,
To give repentance to her love,
And wring his bosom—is to die.
I highly doubt anybody killed women who ran off with their lovers, or that they killed themselves automatically, but it's a nice reminder of how nice it is to be able to call friends, rant about things going sour, grab a drink, and then move on, with none thinking the worse of you.
Also, when people claim that old times were better, more chivalrious and how nice it would have been to live in the past?... Remind me to bring up this poem.
