War or Lucasta: Which Is Worthier?

Richard Lovelace

Richard Lovelace

“You are off to blog rather than snuggle with your wife?” asked my wife incredulously as I slipped out of bed trying not to wake her. Which of course brought to mind a poem that I could blog about:

To Lucasta, Going to the War

By Richard Lovelace

Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breasts, and quiet mind,
To war and arms I fly.

True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.

Yet this inconstancy is such,
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
Loved I not honor more.

Lovelace was a 17th century “cavalier poet” who would fight against and be imprisoned by the Puritans during the British Civil War. (He’s the one who also wrote, “Stone walls do not a prison make/Nor iron bars a cage.”) I’ve always wondered whether there was a subtle insult in this poem.

On the surface, the poet seems to be saying that Lucasta should prize his love for her because it comes from a honorable man—but that he can only be honorable if he takes up arms and fights for his king. She should support his heroic willingness to sacrifice himself to a higher cause.

A cynic might argue that his contrast implies that, if war is honorable, Lucasta is . . . not.  After all, the fact that he has been “snuggling” in her chaste breasts means that she is not technically chaste.

Then again, maybe the poem is about sublimation.  Maybe it’s because the lover overrides his sexual urges that his going off to the battlefield seems so noble.

In any event, I’m not about to sacrifice my Lucasta for blogging, honorable a calling though it may be. So for all of you in danger of being seduced by the internet (I include myself in that), be mindful. We must remember what’s important.

In this instance, I snuggled.  Then I went off to war to write this post.

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