Ben Jonson. 1573-1637
187. The Shadow
1 min to read
83 words

FOLLOW a shadow, it still flies you;   Seem to fly it, it will pursue: So court a mistress, she denies you;   Let her alone, she will court you.     Say, are not women truly, then,     Styled but the shadows of us men?

At morn and even, shades are longest;   At noon they are or short or none: So men at weakest, they are strongest,   But grant us perfect, they're not known.     Say, are not women truly, then,     Styled but the shadows of us men?

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Ben Jonson. 1573-1637
188. The Triumph
1 min to read
210 words
Return to The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900






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