To Constantia by Percy Bysshe Shelley
A rose nourished by dew at noon grows pale under the cold moon's borrowed light. The speaker compares this change to a withered heart and reproaches the addressee for false care and a faithless bosom.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry · 142 words
First lines
1.
The rose that drinks the fountain dew / In the pleasant air of noon, / Grows pale and blue with altered hue- / In the gaze of the nightly moon; / For the planet of frost, so cold and bright, / Makes it wan with her borrowed light.
2.
Such is my heart-roses are fair, / And that at best a withered blossom; / But thy false care did idly wear / Its withered leaves in a faithless bosom; / And fed with love, like air and dew, / Its growth-
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Two numbered stanzas move from a rose's changing colour to the speaker's direct expression of hurt.
- Love Poetry — The speaker addresses someone whose false care and faithlessness are linked to a heart described as a withered blossom.
Tags
moonlight · roses · false affection · heartbreak
What this Textopian page supports
To Constantia is listed on Textopian as a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry
- Length: 142 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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