Love in fantastic Triumph sat, by Aphra Behn — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

Love in fantastic Triumph sat, Whilst bleeding hearts around him flowed, For whom fresh pains he did create, And strange tyrannic power he showed; From thy bright eyes he took his fire, Which roundabout, in sport he hurled; But 'twas from mine he took desire Enough to undo the amorous world. From me he took his sighs and tears, From thee his pride and cruelty; From me his languishments and fears, And every killing dart from thee; Thus thou and I, the god have armed, And set him up a deity; But my poor heart alone is harmed, Whilst thine the victor is, and free.

Translation (English)

Love sat in a wonderful and victorious way, While bleeding hearts were all around him, For whom he made new pains, And showed strange oppressive power; He took his passion from your bright eyes, Which he playfully threw around; But from my eyes, he took longing Enough to destroy the world of love. He took my sighs and tears, From you, he took pride and harshness; From me, he took weakness and fears, And every deadly arrow from you; Thus, you and I have armed the god, And made him a divine being; But only my heart is hurt, While yours is the winner and free.

About the Poet

Aphra Behn (Restoration era)

Aphra Behn (bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, and translator from the Restoration era. She was one of the first English women to earn her living by writing, breaking cultural barriers for women authors. Behn was also employed as a spy by Charles II and wrote under the pseudonym Astrea.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Lyric poem
When Written: Late 17th century
Background: The poem reflects the complexities of love, portraying it as a powerful and tyrannical force. It was written during a time when Behn was exploring themes of love, power, and gender dynamics in her work.

Sources: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43641/love-armed, https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/aphra-behn/love-armed, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behn

Detailed Explanation

Aphra Behn's poem 'Love Armed' personifies love as a triumphant conqueror who sits surrounded by bleeding hearts. Love is depicted as a tyrannical force that creates pain and suffering rather than joy. The speaker describes how love takes various attributes from both herself and another person (possibly a lover): fire from the other's eyes, desire from her own, sighs and tears from herself, and pride and cruelty from the other. This shared contribution to Love's power makes him a deity, yet the speaker laments that only her heart is harmed while the other's remains victorious and free. The poem explores themes of love's dual nature, power dynamics in relationships, and the personal cost of love. Behn uses vivid imagery and personification to convey the emotional turmoil and complexity of love, highlighting its ability to both uplift and destroy.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
fantastic	unreal, imaginative	unbelievably great	fan-tas-tic
triumph	victory, success	a great success	try-umph
whilst	while, during	at the same time as	wilst
tyrannic	oppressive, dictatorial	using power in a cruel way	ty-ran-nic
hurl	throw forcefully	to throw something with great force	hur-l
amorous	loving, romantic	about love	am-or-ous
languishments	weaknesses, sufferings	being weak	lan-guish-ments
deity	god, divine being	a god	dee-i-ty
victor	winner, conqueror	winner	vic-tor
cruelty	harshness, brutality	enjoying causing pain	cru-el-ty
undo	ruin, destroy	to ruin	un-do
sighs	breaths of sadness	long, deep breaths expressing sadness or relief	sai-z
dart	arrow, missile	a small arrow	dart
pride	self-esteem, arrogance	feeling good about oneself	pride
harm	injure, damage	hurt	harm

Want to analyze your own poem?

Paste any poem in 180+ languages and get an instant AI-powered analysis with translation, explanation, poet biography, and literary devices.

Try Poetry Explainer — Free