The Full Text of “The Scrutiny”
I
1Why should you sweare I am forsworn,
2Since thine I vow’d to be?
3Lady it is already Morn,
4And ’twas last night I swore to thee
5That fond impossibility.
II
6Have I not lov’d thee much and long,
7A tedious twelve houres space?
8I must all other Beauties wrong,
9And rob thee of a new imbrace;
10Could I still dote upon thy Face.
III
11Not, but all joy in thy browne haire,
12By others may be found;
13But I must search the blank and faire
14Like skilfull Minerallist’s that sound
15For Treasure in un-plow’d-up ground.
IV
16Then, if when I have lov’d my round,
17Thou prov’st the pleasant she;
18With spoyles of meaner Beauties crown’d,
19I laden will returne to thee,
20Ev’n sated with Varietie.
The Full Text of “The Scrutiny”
I
1Why should you sweare I am forsworn,
2Since thine I vow’d to be?
3Lady it is already Morn,
4And ’twas last night I swore to thee
5That fond impossibility.
II
6Have I not lov’d thee much and long,
7A tedious twelve houres space?
8I must all other Beauties wrong,
9And rob thee of a new imbrace;
10Could I still dote upon thy Face.
III
11Not, but all joy in thy browne haire,
12By others may be found;
13But I must search the blank and faire
14Like skilfull Minerallist’s that sound
15For Treasure in un-plow’d-up ground.
IV
16Then, if when I have lov’d my round,
17Thou prov’st the pleasant she;
18With spoyles of meaner Beauties crown’d,
19I laden will returne to thee,
20Ev’n sated with Varietie.
-
“The Scrutiny” Introduction
-
“The Scrutiny” was written by the poet Richard Lovelace. Most likely composed in 1642, during the first months of the English Civil War, the poem turns away from the intense political conflict that surrounded its writing. It is, instead, a witty argument in favor of promiscuity. In a dramatic monologue, the speaker of the poem—a flirtatious and untrustworthy young man—flits from woman to woman, hoping to taste all the beauty and pleasure that life can offer him. He justifies his bad behavior with a playful—and deliberately unconvincing—argument: only by sampling such variety can he ever hope to be true to one woman.
-
-
“The Scrutiny” Summary
-
Why would you say that I have been unfaithful in the time since I swore that I was yours? Lady, it’s already morning and I made that crazy impossible vow last night.
Haven’t I already loved you a lot and for a long time in the last twelve hours? I would do wrong to all the other beauties—and I would keep you from experiencing a new lover of your own—if I was still devoted to you.
No, all the pleasure in your brunette hair should be enjoyed by other people; I need to investigate pale skin and blond hair like a geologist that hunts for treasure in uncultivated ground.
If, when I have loved all kinds of different women, you prove to be the most beautiful, I will return to you with the riches and treasures of lesser beauties as tribute. At that point, I will be satisfied with variety.
-
-
“The Scrutiny” Themes
-
Faithfulness and Infidelity
The speaker “The Scrutiny” is a flirtatious and untrustworthy young man. Though he has sworn his love to a lady, that was last night. Today, he’s off to explore new love, to try “other Beauties.” In a dramatic monologue, the speaker defends his behavior with an ingenious, mean, and playful argument: before he can be faithful, he must try out all his options. Indeed, he argues, he will be more faithful, devoted, and trustworthy if he is given the opportunity to explore “all other Beauties” before committing himself.
As the poem opens, the speaker is responding to the complaints and accusations of his lover. She claims that he is “foresworne,” that he has broken the love-vows he made to her. The speaker, however, doesn’t feel bound by those vows—he made them “last night”—and now it is “already Morn.” He advances a couple of arguments to defend himself: the vow he made was unreasonable, a “fond impossibility”; and he’s already loved her for twelve whole hours—more than long enough.
These arguments make the speaker seem almost laughably untrustworthy and skittish: he can’t even commit to a relationship for more than twelve hours. But the speaker has an answer to that charge too. The speaker suggests that his untrustworthiness and infidelity are actually part of a larger plan, a strategy. He compares himself to a “skilfull Minerallist” who carefully and thoroughly searches for buried treasure. Like that “Minerallist,” he will conduct a thorough, scientific survey of all women, determining which is “the pleasant she.” In other words, he plans to sample the love of every woman he can in order to determine who is the most beautiful and satisfying as a lover.
Should his lover prove to be “the pleasant she,” then he will return to her as a doting and devoted lover, bringing her “spoyles” from “meaner Beauties.” In other words, he will bring her treasures taken from other women and offer them as tribute. The speaker thus suggests that he can only be a faithful and devoted lover once he is “sated with Varietie”—that is, when he has had his fill of other women.
This is, of course, a deeply self-serving argument. On the one hand, it allows the speaker to defend his behavior: he’s only unfaithful so that he can be, one day, faithful. On the other hand, it allows him to continue flitting from woman to woman without suffering any consequences for his infidelities. The tone of the poem is thus careless and mean—but it is also playful. The speaker has no intention of convincing his lover or anyone else; rather, he hopes to entertain with his outlandish wit.
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Scrutiny”
-
Lines 1-5
Why should you sweare I am forsworn,
Since thine I vow’d to be?
Lady it is already Morn,
And ’twas last night I swore to thee
That fond impossibility.The first five lines of “The Scrutiny” establish the poem’s theme, its playful tone, and its form. The poem begins in the middle of a conversation between the speaker and the “Lady” that he loves—at least, he swore that he loved her last night. But that was last night—now that it is “Morn,” he has moved onto new loves. He regards the vow he made as crazy, “fond,” an “impossibility.”
The Lady is, understandably, upset with his infidelity and unfaithfulness. The poem’s title, “The Scrutiny,” references the pressure that he faces from her: the speaker’s own actions are under scrutiny. But he refuses to apologize for his behavior—or even acknowledge that he has done anything wrong. Instead, in the poem’s opening rhetorical question, he asks why she’s angry in the first place, demanding “Why should you sweare I am forsworn … ?”
Throughout the poem, the speaker directly addresses his mistress, trying to appease her anger and justify his behavior. He does so by calling into question her right to be angry with him—sometimes explicitly, sometimes more subtly. For instance, the assonant /ee/ sound that runs through this first stanza—in words like “Lady” and “already”—suggests impatience with the Lady's demands, her scrutiny. Although he doesn’t get there in this stanza, the speaker eventually argues that his unfaithful behavior is justified and natural—he even argues that it will make him more faithful in the end.
The speaker is thus self-confident, even self-righteous. That confidence is reflected in the poem’s form. Note, for instance, the heavy amount of end-stopped lines here and throughout the poem: these end-stops reinforce the speaker’s air of self-possession. In the rare moments where the poem slips into enjambment, as in line 4, the reader might feel the speaker’s confidence cracking—perhaps as he meditates on the vow he made, his self-righteousness comes apart a little bit.
The poem is written with a regular metrical pattern and rhyme scheme. Each stanza is rhymed ABABB. Most of its lines are written in iambic tetrameter (meaning there are four stressed beats per line)—but the second line of each stanza is in iambic trimeter (three stresses a line). Short lines help the poem feel casual and playful—and they keep the poem moving quickly, despite its heavy and regular end-stops. The poem seems to self-consciously avoid a prestigious, elevated meter like iambic pentameter. Instead, the poem’s form subtly suggests that the poem itself is intended to be light-hearted, almost like a humorous song. Its speaker is not making a serious argument about love and fidelity; rather, he is simply showing off his wit.
-
Lines 6-10
Have I not lov’d thee much and long,
A tedious twelve houres space?
I must all other Beauties wrong,
And rob thee of a new imbrace;
Could I still dote upon thy Face. -
Lines 11-15
Not, but all joy in thy browne haire,
By others may be found;
But I must search the blank and faire
Like skilfull Minerallist’s that sound
For Treasure in un-plow’d-up ground. -
Lines 16-20
Then, if when I have lov’d my round,
Thou prov’st the pleasant she;
With spoyles of meaner Beauties crown’d,
I laden will returne to thee,
Ev’n sated with Varietie.
-
-
“The Scrutiny” Symbols
-
Morn
The “Morn”—or “morning”—is often a symbol of rebirth and renewal. Poets often compare the cycle of night and day to death and birth: as the sun fades in the west, it seems like it’s dying. But, then, when it reappears in the east the next day, it seems to have been reborn, to be renewed. For a more religious poet than Lovelace, this might serve as a symbol for the Christian resurrection. But Lovelace’s speaker takes this moment of rebirth and renewal in a very different sense. Instead of reminding him of Christian promises for life after death, he takes it as a sign that the vows he made in the past are null, that he is free to pursue new loves. In other words, the “Morn” functions as a symbol for the rebirth of the speaker himself, free of his past commitments and entanglements.
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“The Scrutiny” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
End-Stopped Line
Most of the lines in “The Scrutiny” are end-stopped. Indeed, there are only three enjambments in the poem; two of the poem’s stanzas have no enjambments whatsoever. For example, the poem’s first three lines are all end-stopped:
Why should you sweare I am forsworn,
Since thine I vow’d to be?
Lady it is already Morn,As the poem opens and the speaker introduces its central conflicts, the end-stops make it feel strong and confident. Although the speaker is wrapped up in a conflict with his mistress—and although his own behavior is anything but stable or trustworthy—the end-stops give the reader a sense that the speaker doesn’t feel much doubt. He doesn’t question his own behavior.
A poem with a lot of end-stops often feels slow and heavy: end-stops can act as a brake, decelerating the reader’s experience of the poem. But that’s not the case in “The Scrutiny.” Even in the second stanza—which is entirely end-stopped—the poem remains lively and quick:
Have I not lov’d thee much and long,
A tedious twelve houres space?
I must all other Beauties wrong,
And rob thee of a new imbrace;
Could I still dote upon thy Face.Although each line is end-stopped, the reader’s eye still flows smoothly and quickly down the page. The poem’s short lines compensate for its end-stops. Because its lines are short and smooth, the reader is able to jump from line to line, without being hindered by the end-stops.
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Enjambment
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Alliteration
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Assonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Consonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Simile
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Rhetorical Question
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Apostrophe
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
"The Scrutiny" Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Sweare
- Forsworn
- Thine
- Vow'd
- Morn
- 'Twas
- Thee
- Fond
- Lov'd
- Tedious
- Imbrace
- Could
- Browne Haire
- Blank and Faire
- Minerallist
- Sound
- Un-Plow’d-Up Ground
- My Round
- Thou
- Prov'st
- Spoyles
- Meaner Beauties
- Crown'd
- Laden
- Ev'n
- Sated
- Varietie
-
Insist, argue.
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Scrutiny”
-
Form
“The Scrutiny” is a 20-line dramatic monologue. It is broken up into four separate rhyming cinquains, or five-line stanzas. The poem's lines are generally short: most of its lines are written in iambic tetrameter (meaning there are four stressed beats per line); the second line of each stanza, however, is written in iambic trimeter (three stressed beats per line). Although the poem thus employs the elements of formal verse in a regular and controlled way, the poem does not follow any set or inherited form—like the sonnet or the sestina. Instead, Lovelace created this form specifically for the poem.
In doing so, Lovelace self-consciously stayed away from the more prestigious and important formal traditions in English poetry. Rather, he opted for a song-like form that is meant to entertain. Each stanza acts as a verse in this humorous song. So, far from being a concerted, philosophical argument about love and infidelity, the poem presents a playful—and unconvincing—series of witty remarks. The poem’s form thus reminds the reader not to put too much weight on the arguments its speaker makes.
-
Meter
“The Scrutiny” uses two different meters: iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Most of the poem’s lines are written in iambic tetrameter, a meter that follows a duh DUH rhythm for four feet. The reader can hear this rhythm in the poem’s opening line:
Why should | you swear | I am | forsworn
This meter establishes a clear, song-like cadence for the poem.
However, the second line of each stanza is written in a different meter: iambic trimeter. Iambic trimeter follows the same duh DUH rhythm. But a line of iambic trimeter is one foot shorter than a line of iambic tetrameter: a trimeter line has six syllables, as compared to the eight syllables of tetrameter line. The reader can hear the rhythm of this alternate meter in line 2:
Since thine | I vow’d | to be?
As the poem alternates between trimeter and tetrameter, its lines remain short and fluid. The poem moves quickly; it feels light and bouncy.
And the poem notably falls short of iambic pentameter: even its longest lines are a full foot short of a pentameter line. By refusing to write in iambic pentameter—the most prestigious meter in English poetry—Lovelace quietly reminds his reader not to take the poem (or its speaker) too seriously. Instead of giving the reader an elegant and elevated form, the poem gives us a playful meter to match its playful, untrustworthy argument.
-
Rhyme Scheme
Each stanza of “The Scrutiny” follows a set rhyme scheme of:
ABABB
The poem’s rhymes are generally strong and straightforward: the speaker usually uses single syllable rhyme words and always uses perfect rhymes. And the rhymes usually mark the borders of each stanza: instead of being linked together by shared rhymes, each stanza has its own set of rhymes—except, that is, for the poem’s final stanza.
In the poem’s final stanza, the rhyme words “round” and “crown’d” in lines 16 and 18 also rhyme with the B rhymes from the previous stanza: “found,” “sound,” and “ground” in lines 12, 14, and 15. The linked rhymes speed the poem up. Instead of taking a full pause at the end of line 15, the rhyme pulls the speaker forward into the next stanza. It thus feels like the speaker has warmed to his subject. He seems to feel more passionately about the arguments he makes in these two stanzas than earlier in the poem, when he mounted a more tentative defense for his bad behavior.
The poem's rhyme scheme thus supplies a degree of regularity and control to a poem whose speaker seems always on the verge of spiraling out of control, seduced by his own fantasies and the power of his wit.
-
-
“The Scrutiny” Speaker
-
The speaker of “The Scrutiny” is flirtatious and untrustworthy: he makes vows to the women he loves, then breaks those vows just as quickly and easily. He doesn’t want to commit to one woman; instead, he wants to sample the love of as many women as possible, before settling down with the “pleasant she”—the most beautiful and pleasurable partner.
He defends his bad behavior with a playful—and unconvincing—argument: he claims that he will be more faithful because, after all his messing around, he will be “sated with Varietie.” In other words, he argues that he can only be faithful to one woman after he’s had his fill of many. The reader shouldn’t take this argument too seriously: though it's mean and self-serving, it is also self-consciously playful and lighthearted. The poem is not trying to make a serious argument about love and fidelity; instead, the speaker is simply showing off his refined and playful wit.
Although the poem itself doesn't explicitly state the speaker is a man, readers of the time would certainly have interpreted it in this way. The speaker plays on conventional gender dynamics between men and women from this time period. We have followed suit in our guide—although, plucked out of the context, the speaker of this poem could easily be interpreted in another way.
-
-
“The Scrutiny” Setting
-
“The Scrutiny” doesn’t tell its reader much—explicitly—about its setting. The poem consists of a long monologue, in which the speaker justifies his infidelities, his resistance to settling down and committing to one woman. The poem thus confines itself to love and relationships; the poem is set in the context of these relationships.
However, the reader may make some educated guesses about the poem’s broader setting. For one, the poem takes place in the "Morn," or morning. A reader might imagine the speaker is in bed with his mistress, preparing to leave her and break his vow of love. In this case, the poem playfully inserts itself in a long tradition of poems called aubades, or songs of lovers parting at dawn.
With its elevated, playful wit—and with its general climate of luxury and entitlement—the poem also seems to take place in the context of aristocratic courtship rituals. Indeed, the reader might alternatively imagine that the poem takes place at Court: the place where the King conducts the business of the state, and his many courtiers and advisors jockey for influence and power. Though the poem never explicitly situates itself in this exalted setting, its tone, its language, and its mood suggest that one should imagine it taking place in such an aristocratic setting, perhaps even Court itself.
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “The Scrutiny”
-
Literary Context
Richard Lovelace was one of the leaders of the so-called “Cavalier” poets. The Cavaliers were a loose group of poets, who lived and worked in the 1620s, '30s, and '40s. Although the Cavalier poets had strong political commitments, their poetry is often strikingly apolitical. Their poems are often playful, highly intelligent, and refined, showing off the poets’ wit and sophistication. The Cavaliers were inspired by poets like Ben Jonson—poets who often showed off learning and erudition. As a result, the poetry of the Cavaliers can feel curiously distant from the complex and often dramatic lives the poets themselves led.
"The Scrutiny" also inserts itself into a tradition of love poems called aubades, or songs sung by lovers at dawn. Traditionally, in one of these poems, lovers in bed mourn the arrival of the sun at dawn, which will force them to part. A famous example is "The Sun Rising" by John Donne. Lovelace's poem, of course, has a decidedly different tone—the speaker can't wait to get away from his lover! This is part of the poem's somewhat mean-spirited sense of humor, the way it shuns traditional expressions of love for a witty argument in favor of promiscuity.
"The Scrutiny" is striking for how it turns away from the turmoil of Lovelace's era. However, Lovelace did write other poems that engaged more directly with his own role in the military and political events of his time. In "To Althea, from Prison," and "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars," the speaker again addresses a romantic partner, but these times in the larger contexts of war and political imprisonment.
Historical Context
Although the poem never acknowledges it, “The Scrutiny” was written during a dramatic and decisive period in British history. Most likely drafted in 1642, Lovelace wrote the poem just before or during the opening months of the English Civil War, a brutal conflict that lasted until 1651. The causes of the Civil War are complex—involving political and economic disturbances that unsettled the country. But, at its root, it was a conflict over religion.
Puritans advocated for the country to adopt a more radical Protestant faith. The king himself opposed them, insisting on the more conservative doctrines of the Church of England. The King’s supporters came to be known as the Royalists, while the Puritans were called Parliamentarians—because they wanted to do away with the monarchy altogether, and have the English Parliament rule the country in the king’s place.
After a bloody struggle, the Parliamentarians won the war; they even went so far as to execute King Charles I in 1649. However, their victory did not last long. After the death of the Parliamentarian leader, Oliver Cromwell, the country quickly returned to the monarchy and many of the leaders of the Parliamentarians were executed. Lovelace was a participant in these events, fighting for the Royalist cause. However, he died in 1657—before his party was restored to power.
The Cavalier poets were united by their political allegiances: without exception, the Cavaliers were strong supporters of the English king—and more broadly, of the monarchy itself. They thought that God himself authorized the king’s power and authority. Most of them were aristocrats: well-born men, who served at high levels in the British government as ambassadors, courtiers, and royal advisors. Richard Lovelace exemplified these trends. The scion of a noble family from Kent, he was, during his life, a decorated soldier and courtier, who fought on behalf of the king during the English Civil War. He was imprisoned for more than a year during the Civil War.
-
-
More “The Scrutiny” Resources
-
External Resources
-
Richard Lovelace — A biography of Richard Lovelace from the Encyclopedia Britannica.
-
The Cavalier Poets — A history of the Cavalier Poets—a group that Lovelace helped to lead—from the Encyclopedia Britannica.
-
"The Scrutiny" Read Aloud — Jordan Harling recites Richard Lovelace's poem "The Scrutiny."
-
Choosing Sides in the English Civil War — An article from the BBC laying out how Englishmen chose sides during the English Civil War.
-
The English Civil War — An introduction to the English Civil War, with a discussion of the factors that lead to the war, and the factions on either side of it.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Richard Lovelace
-
