The Full Text of “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”
1Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
2That from the nunnery
3Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
4To war and arms I fly.
5True, a new mistress now I chase,
6The first foe in the field;
7And with a stronger faith embrace
8A sword, a horse, a shield.
9Yet this inconstancy is such
10As you too shall adore;
11I could not love thee (Dear) so much,
12Lov’d I not Honour more.
The Full Text of “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”
1Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
2That from the nunnery
3Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
4To war and arms I fly.
5True, a new mistress now I chase,
6The first foe in the field;
7And with a stronger faith embrace
8A sword, a horse, a shield.
9Yet this inconstancy is such
10As you too shall adore;
11I could not love thee (Dear) so much,
12Lov’d I not Honour more.
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“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Introduction
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The English Cavalier poet Richard Lovelace first published "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars" in his 1649 collection, Lucasta. The poem is told from the perspective of a soldier explaining to his lover that she shouldn't think him cruel for leaving her to go to war. He argues that his honor is at stake and that his love would be less meaningful if he were the kind of man who didn't fight for what he believes in. The poem suggests that acting on one's principles sometimes requires personal sacrifice.
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“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Summary
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Don't tell me, my dear, that I'm cruel for leaving the convent of your pure heart and calm thoughts and rushing off toward war and weapons.
It's fair enough to say that I'm pursuing a new lover: the first enemy I confront on the battlefield. And I'll be even more faithful to my sword, horse, and shield than I have been to you.
But this infidelity to you is something that you will come to admire, because I couldn't love you as much as I do, my darling, if I weren't so committed to my principles.
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“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Themes
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Love, Honor, and Sacrifice
The poem’s speaker is trying to convince his lover, Lucasta, that his leaving her to go to war isn’t an act of betrayal. While Lucasta is upset by this seeming abandonment, the speaker believes that his duty to his country takes precedence over romantic love, and thus that going to war is the right thing to do. To the speaker, to stay with Lucasta would be to dishonor himself and thus to cheapen the love he and Lucasta share. Honor means acting on his beliefs, even if that means being separated from the person he loves.
It’s clear from the poem’s first line that Lucasta is hurt by the speaker’s decision to go to war, as he implores her not to think of him as “unkind.” The speaker acknowledges that what he's doing may feel like a betrayal, especially to someone as “chaste” (or pure) as Lucasta. He even compares the idea of chasing after an enemy soldier on the battlefield to chasing after “a new mistress.” In other words, he knows Lucasta probably feels like he's leaving her for something newer and more exciting. However, it isn’t desire that drives him to the battlefield, but rather the “faith” that what he is fighting for is worth this personal sacrifice.
The speaker goes so far as to try to convince Lucasta that his choice to serve his country actually makes their love more meaningful—that his love for her would be hollow if he weren’t first and foremost someone who stands up for what he believes in. The speaker says that Lucasta should “adore” the “inconstancy” (or metaphorical unfaithfulness to her) that makes him “embrace / A sword, a horse, [and] a shield” even more steadfastly than he embraces her.
That is, she should be happy that he’s so eager to join the war because this is proof of the kind of man he is: an “honor[able]” one who will uphold his duty to his countrymen regardless of personal consequences.
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”
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Lines 1-4
Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To war and arms I fly.The poem begins with an apostrophe: the speaker addresses his lover, Lucasta, asking her not to call him "unkind" for choosing to leave her "chaste," "quiet" presence in order to go off to war and fight. The speaker compares being with Lucasta to being in a "nunnery"—a metaphor that suggests that he sees Lucasta as a pure and tranquil reprieve from the turmoils of the world. In her presence, the speaker finds an almost holy solace.
Yet the speaker is choosing to leave behind Lucasta's wholesome influence for "war and arms" (arms, in this case, meaning weaponry). The speaker's opening entreaty suggests that he has already revealed his plans to Lucasta, and they have had—or are in the midst of—an argument over his decision to leave her. However, the reader is only privy to the speaker's side of things; Lucasta isn't around to speak for herself.
Consonance adds some musical intensity to this first stanza. The combination of quiet /n/ sounds ("not," "unkind," "nunnery," "mind"), crisp /t/ sounds ("Tell," "not," "Sweet," "chaste," "breast," "quiet"), and soft sibilance ("Sweet," "chaste," "breast") evokes the tranquility of Lucasta's world. In contrast, more vigorous /r/ sounds in "war" and "arms" evoke the tougher world of the war for which the speaker is leaving.
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Lines 5-6
True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field; -
Lines 7-8
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield. -
Lines 9-12
Yet this inconstancy is such
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee (Dear) so much,
Lov’d I not Honour more.
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“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Apostrophe
The speaker uses apostrophe to address his beloved, Lucasta, whom he is leaving behind as he rides off to war.
In the first few lines of the poem, the speaker seems to suggest that he's in the middle of an actual argument with Lucasta about whether or not he should go:
Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To war and arms I fly.However, the first two lines of the second stanza reveal that the speaker is "now" pursuing "the first foe in the [battle]field." The poem, then, might be read as a letter the speaker has written to Lucasta, or perhaps an argument he is only making in his own head.
Either way, Lucasta isn't around to respond: the reader doesn't get to know what's going through her mind, whether she accepts the speaker's explanation for his actions, or if choosing to fight in the war will cost the speaker her love and devotion. But the speaker's confidence that she will "adore" his principled commitment to "Honour" just as much as he does suggests that the two of them know each other pretty well and that Lucasta will find the speaker's argument persuasive.
Apostrophe thus invites readers to consider the nature of the lovers' relationship—and to get a sense of Lucasta's character, as well as the speaker's.
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Assonance
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Metaphor
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Asyndeton
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Enjambment
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Paradox
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"To Lucasta, Going to the Wars" 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.
- Nunnery
- Thy
- Chaste
- Arms
- Mistress
- Foe
- Inconstancy
- Thee
- Lov'd
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The building that houses a religious community of nuns.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”
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Form
The poem is made up of three four-line stanzas, or quatrains. Each of these stanzas uses a steady meter and rhyme scheme, and each is self-contained (that is, lines do not carry across stanza breaks).
The orderly movement of these stanzas mirrors the speaker's neat argument as he tries to convince Lucasta that:
- He is not unkind;
- He has committed a kind of betrayal by leaving for the war, but—
- —this betrayal is only proof of his "Honour"—the same virtue that allows him to love Lucasta so well and faithfully.
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Meter
The poem is written in ballad meter, a kind of meter traditionally associated with folk songs and stories—fitting for this poem, as the speaker "fl[ies]" off to war to defend his "Honour."
Ballad meter alternates between tetrameter (lines with four metrical feet) and trimeter (lines with three feet), with odd lines being in tetrameter. Here's how that sounds:
And with | a strong- | er faith | embrace
A sword, | a horse, | a shield.But the meter here doesn't stick to those regular iambs—feet with a da-DUM rhythm—throughout. Take line 1, for instance:
Tell me | not, Sweet, | I am | unkind,
This line has four feet—but all different kinds! There's a trochee (a foot with a DUM-da rhythm) followed by a spondee (a foot with a DUM-DUM rhythm) followed by two iambs (feet with a da-DUM rhythm). This mix of different kinds of metrical feet makes the line feel dynamic and informal, reflecting the speaker's intimacy with the person he's speaking to.
The poem's meter thus feels at once traditional and playful—fitting, considering the speaker's mixture of pride, affection, and wit as he addresses his beloved Lucasta on his way to the wars.
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Rhyme Scheme
Each stanza follows this singsong rhyme scheme:
ABAB
For the most part, these rhymes are perfect: "unkind" and "mind," "chase" and "embrace," etc. However, the poem does use one eye rhyme in lines 2 and 4: "nunnery" and "fly" look like they should rhyme, but don't, quite! The dissonance of this not-rhyme reflects the contrast between the purity and "quiet" of Lucasta, whose company is peaceful as a "nunnery," and the violence of the war for which the speaker is (at least temporarily) leaving her.
Overall, the rhyme scheme gives the poem a jaunty tone. Though the speaker is dealing with big ideas (honor and sacrifice, duty to country, love), he does so in a succinct, lively, upbeat way.
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“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Speaker
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The speaker of this poem is someone who has decided to go fight in a war despite the fact that doing so means leaving his devoted lover, "Lucasta," behind. The speaker values honor above all else, insisting that he couldn't love Lucasta "so much" if he didn't love honor "more."
While the speaker is never given a name nor gender in the poem itself, it's fair enough to assume from context that Lovelace envisioned his speaker as being a man (a woman wouldn't be going off to war in the 17th century). While modern readers can interpret the poem differently, reading the speaker as male suggests that his conception of honor is tied to his conception of manhood. That is, his going to war allows him to prove to the world and himself that he is a good man—the kind of traditionally gallant, chivalrous chap who values courage and honor above all else.
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“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Setting
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The poem seems to take place in the middle of a conversation between the speaker and his beloved Lucasta, as he tries to convince her his choice to leave her behind and "fly" off to war is an honorable one. The poem's first line suggests that Lucasta has just told the speaker he is "unkind," or that he anticipates such a response. The speaker, then, has not yet left for the war he longs to join.
While the poem doesn't mention any specifics in terms of when it's taking place more broadly, it's worth remembering that Lovelace wrote "To Lucasta" in 1649—right in the middle of the English Civil War. This historical context may enrich readers' understanding of the poem, while the text itself is vague enough to keep the focus on its universal themes of love, duty, sacrifice.
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Literary and Historical Context of “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”
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Literary Context
Richard Lovelace (1617-1657) was one of a number of aristocratic 17th-century English poets who supported King Charles I in his fight against the Parliamentarians, a long-running conflict now known as the English Civil War. The primary aim of these “Cavalier poets” was inherently political: their poetry was meant to lionize the King and his reign. Ironically, however, most of this poetry only glancingly refers to politics or philosophy, instead focusing on themes of beauty, sex, carousing, and personal valor—virtues and pleasures the Cavaliers associated with a free life under a rightful monarchy. Other Cavalier poets include Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, and Sir John Suckling.
“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” was originally published in 1649. Lovelace wrote it in 1648, while imprisoned for the second time. He had already served a shorter sentence in 1642, during which he wrote his best-known poem, "To Althea, from Prison." His second imprisonment lasted for a year; during this time, he completed his first collection of poetry, Lucasta.
Unfortunately for Lovelace, by the time he was released from prison, King Charles I had been executed and England had changed dramatically. As a disgraced Royalist, Lovelace spent the last ten years of his life in abject poverty—a far cry from the indulgent life he'd lived before.
Unlike many Cavalier poems, “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” actually refers (however indirectly) to the real-world events that were going on around Lovelace, and tackles more serious themes: not just the importance of honor, but the price one might need to pay in order to act on one’s beliefs. It is perhaps for this reason that this poem is one of his best-remembered works—and exemplary of Cavalier poetry at its best.
Historical Context
Lovelace was a soldier for the Royalist cause, which sought to maintain the authority of King Charles I. He and other supporters of the king didn’t just support Charles I himself, but the whole idea of the monarchy. At the root of this support was a belief in divine authority: the idea a king’s right to rule came directly from God.
While there were many factors at play in the conflict between the crown and the Parliamentarians, the biggest issue was differing religious beliefs. The Royalists supported the Church of England. Parliamentarians (also known as “Roundheads”) were largely Puritans—that is, Protestants who aimed to make the Church of England more “pure” by ridding it of any lingering Catholic traditions. In other words, the Roundheads believed that, when the Church of England broke away from the Catholic church during the English Reformation, it didn’t do so radically enough.
This all came to a head in the 1640s, when the Parliamentarians, led by Oliver Cromwell, decided that they didn’t just want to reform what they saw as a corrupt and decadent monarchy: they wanted to eliminate it altogether. The English Civil War began.
The Royalists ended up losing this war the same year that this poem was published; the victorious Parliamentarians beheaded Charles I, an unprecedented regicide that sent shockwaves across Europe. But the Parliamentarians’ victory would prove short-lived. The English monarchy would be restored only a few years later in 1660, when a nation fed up with Cromwell's increasingly dictatorial "protectorate" welcomed Charles I's son, the flamboyant and pleasure-loving Charles II, home from exile.
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More “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” Resources
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External Resources
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A Brief Biography — Read a biography of Lovelace from the Poetry Foundation and find links to more of his poems.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
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The English Civil War — An introduction to the English Civil War, in which Lovelace fought.
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The Cavalier Poets — Learn more about the Royalist writers, like Lovelace, known as the "Cavalier poets."
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A Portrait of Lovelace — Take a look at a portrait of Lovelace that was published in a posthumous 1795 edition of Lucasta.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Richard Lovelace
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