Who Ever Loved That Loved Not At First Sight? Poem by Christopher Marlowe

Who Ever Loved That Loved Not At First Sight?

Rating: 3.6


It lies not in our power to love or hate,
For will in us is overruled by fate.
When two are stripped, long ere the course begin,
We wish that one should love, the other win;

And one especially do we affect
Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:
The reason no man knows; let it suffice
What we behold is censured by our eyes.
Where both deliberate, the love is slight:
Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Babatunde Aremu 13 April 2012

This poem exposes individual limitation in falling in love. There is a force beyond ordinary sight that makes people to fall in love. Very wonderful poem, like it

19 4 Reply
Carlos Echeverria 13 April 2012

Love by reason can't hold a candle to love by heart.

16 4 Reply
Rashmi Prakash 13 April 2014

It lies not in our power to love or hate, For will in us is overruled by fate. Disagree: The power of fate is turned with the will to do the right thing - Always When two are stripped, long ere the course begin, We wish that one should love, the other win; Disagree: Love does not lead to the path so that the Win-Win situation is born. It will lead lest Love is lost. And one especially do we affect Of two gold ingots, like in each respect: Agree: The effect on the entities can be described as mutual and expected. The reason no man knows; let it suffice What we behold is censured by our eyes. Agree: Here the words are actually describing the fact that is known and acknowledged likewise. Where both deliberate, the love is slight: Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight? Agree: It will be Love at 1st sight, the poets's words tend to roll down a nice pattern at the end.

8 9 Reply
Terence George Craddock 13 April 2010

The first two lines are particularly fitting, in an age of arranged marriages for position, power or family and parental decree, which Christopher Marlowe is referencing here. This was an age of individuals in service to their social allegiances, individual free will was not often an important part of a patriarchal society. Although clearly many have loved but not at first sight. However as Shakespeare aptly reminds us in Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ In Indonesia and throughout Asia arranged marriages and contract marriages are still common. For example contract marriages are arranged here for a day, a few days, a week or two, even occasionally a month and then the couple divorce at the prearranged time, and perhaps a little research regarding especially the number of Arab men coming here and participating in these contract marriages would astound you. These are religious not state marriages in Indonesia, a siri marriage in Islam, and the debate regarding if it is a form of prostitution is interesting. The dowry of a siri marriage in jewelry and money can be viewed as wealth for a poor kampung family. However any children of these contract marriage have no right to the father’s name, property, inheritance rights or even a birth certificate. Should the government here create a law to protect these women and children who are abandoned? Sadly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lacks teeth in areas and countries of poverty. Indonesia is not however a poor country, it is a complex and intriguing archipelago of cultural diversity, with about 17000 islands spanning over 5000 km.

7 9 Reply
Egal Bohen 13 July 2006

What an absolutely superb observation in verse

11 2 Reply
Kumarmani Mahakul 23 July 2024

It lies not in our power to love or hate, For will in us is overruled by fate. When two are stripped, long ere the course begin, ...nice. Concept.Beautifu poem

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 21 July 2024

C) Beautiful poem, containing loveliest word, most deserving poem chosen by Poem Hunter and Team as The Classic Poem Of The Day. TOP Marks!

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 21 July 2024

B) It highlights the irrational and irresistible nature of love, contrasting it with deliberate and calculated affections.

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 21 July 2024

A) The poem suggests that we are drawn to certain individuals for unexplained reasons, akin to choosing between two indistinguishable gold ingots.

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 03 February 2024

Most deserving Classic Poem Of The Day chosen by Poem Hunter and Team. Congratulations

2 0 Reply
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Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe

Canterbury, England
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