Why So Pale

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Why So Pale and Wan? A Poem by Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) Why So Pale and Wan? A Poem by Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) Type of Work and Year of Publication ......."Why So Pale and Wan?" is a lyric poem with three five-line stanzas. It appeared as a song in a play that Suckling debuted in London in 1637 and published in 1638. Background .......“Why So Pale and Wan?” is a song presented in the second scene of the fourth act of Suckling's play Aglaura, staged in London in 1637. Set in Persia, the play centers on love, intrigue, and treachery. After the performance of the song, one of the characters, Orsames, reveals that he is its author, telling another character, a woman, that the words of the song were “A little foolish counsel, madam, I gave / A friend of mine four or five years ago, / When he was falling into a consumption.” The play was popular in its time but today is rarely read, performed, or studied. However, the song remains highly popular as a stand-alone poem and regularly appears in anthologies. Its opening line—Why so pale and wan, fond lover—is among the most famous lines in seventeenth-century English literature. Summary .......A young man who is failing in his schemes to win the heart of a young lady receives advice from a friend. In the first stanza, the friend asks the young man why he looks so pale and sickly. If the young lady did not like him when he was well, the friend says, why would she like him when he appears ill? In the second stanza, the friend asks the young man why he is so sullen and withdrawn. If his conversations with the young lady failed to impress her, not speaking to her at all certainly will not arouse her interest. In the third stanza, the friend advises the young man to cease wooing the young lady. If she refuses to return his love, nothing he can do or say will change her mind. Text of the Poem Why so pale
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