“To Althea, from Prison” Summary

“To Althea, from Prison” Themes

• 

  The Freedom of the Mind, Heart, and Soul

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “To Althea, from Prison”

• Lines 1-4

  When Love with unconfinèd wings
  Hovers within my gates,
  And my divine Althea brings
  To whisper at the grates;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  When I lie tangled in her hair
  And fettered to her eye,
  The birds that wanton in the air
  Know no such liberty.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  When flowing cups run swiftly round,
  With no allaying Thames,
  Our careless heads with roses bound,
  Our hearts with loyal flames;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  When thirsty grief in wine we steep,
  When healths and draughts go free,
  Fishes, that tipple in the deep,
  Know no such liberty.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  When, like committed linnets, I 
  With shriller throat shall sing
  The sweetness, mercy, majesty,
  And glories of my King;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 21-24

  When I shall voice aloud how good
  He is, how great should be,
  Enlargèd winds, that curl the flood,
  Know no such liberty.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 25-28

  Stone walls do not a prison make,
  Nor iron bars a cage;
  Minds innocent and quiet take
  That for an hermitage.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 29-32

  If I have freedom in my love,
  And in my soul am free,
  Angels alone, that soar above,
  Enjoy such liberty.

  

  

  

  

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“To Althea, from Prison” Symbols

• 

  Birds, Flight, and the Sky

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• 

  Fish, Water, and the Ocean

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“To Althea, from Prison” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Refrain

  

  

  

  

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• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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“To Althea, from Prison” 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.

• Unconfinèd
• Althea
• Grates
• Fettered
• Wanton
• No allaying Thames
• Steep
• Healths and draughts
• Tipple
• Committed linnets
• Shriller throat
• Enlargèd
• Curl the flood
• Hermitage

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “To Althea, from Prison”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“To Althea, from Prison” Speaker

“To Althea, from Prison” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “To Althea, from Prison”

More “To Althea, from Prison” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem read aloud.

  • The Poem Set to Music — Listen to a musical version of this poem by the legendary fiddler Dave Swarbrick.

  • Roundheads and Cavaliers — Learn more about the political and artistic context in which Lovelace wrote this poem.

  • A Short Biography — Learn more about Lovelace's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.

  • Lovelace's Legacy — See the elegant, engraved title page of a posthumous edition of Lucasta, the book in which this poem first appeared.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Richard Lovelace

  • The Scrutiny

  • To Lucasta, Going to the Wars