Poetry · Chapter
XVIII: O Sweetheart, Hear You explained
The speaker implores his beloved to listen to his tale of sorrow and betrayal by false friends, but promises that one true love will come to comfort him and bring him rest.
What happens
The speaker implores his beloved to listen to his tale of sorrow and betrayal by false friends, but promises that one true love will come to comfort him and bring him rest.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional peak occurs when the speaker’s internal turmoil erupts into a direct, desperate address to their…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Love and Longing
The poem centers on the lover's plea for his beloved to hear his tale, and the promise of soft, comforting love.
- Transience and Loss
The speaker reflects on the sorrow of friends who fail and the fleeting nature of their words, which turn to ashes.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“O sweetheart, hear you / Your lover's tale; / A man shall have sorrow / When friends him fail.”
Listen, my love, to what I have to say: a person will experience grief when their friends let them down.
The opening lines establish the theme of betrayal and sorrow.
“But one unto him / Will softly move / And softly woo him / In ways of love.”
Yet there is one who will approach him gently and court him tenderly with love.
Contrasts the false friends with a faithful lover who brings comfort.
“His hand is under / Her smooth round breast; / So he who has sorrow / Shall have rest.”
His hand rests beneath her smooth breast, and thus the sorrowful man will find peace.
The intimate image symbolizes the solace and rest found in true love.
