Song: To Lucasta, Going to the Wars by Richard Lovelace (Edexcel A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes

Song: To Lucasta, Going to the Wars by Richard Lovelace

Context

• To Lucasta, Going to the Wars by Richard Lovelace was written in 1649 during the English Civil War, a period of intense political and social upheaval in England.

• Lovelace, a Cavalier poet, supported King Charles I against the Parliamentarians. The Cavaliers' poetry often celebrated themes of honour, loyalty, and love, reflecting their royalist ideals.

  

• Lovelace wrote the poem while imprisoned for his royalist activities, addressing the tension between personal love and public duty.

Structure and Form

Form, Metre, and Rhyme

• The poem consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas).
• It employs a consistent ABAB rhyme scheme, giving it a rhythmic and song-like quality.
• The metre is primarily an iambic tetrameter, with each line consisting of four iambic feet (da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM).

Speaker and Setting

• The speaker is a soldier addressing his lover, Lucasta, as he prepares to leave for war.
• The setting is intimate and emotional, with the speaker trying to reconcile his sense of honour and duty with his love for Lucasta.

Poetic Devices

• Apostrophe**:** The speaker directly addresses Lucasta, adding an emotional and personal tone to the poem.

• Metaphor**:** The poem uses metaphors such as comparing Lucasta to a "nunnery" and war to a "mistress" to illustrate the speaker's conflicting loyalties.

• Alliteration**:** Examples include "new mistress now I chase" and "first foe in the field", which create a musical quality and emphasise key ideas.

• Consonance**:** The repetition of consonant sounds in words like "unkind," "nunnery," and "mind" adds to the poem's rhythm and cohesion.

• Assonance**:** Vowel sounds in words like "quiet mind" and "stronger faith" contribute to the poem's euphony.

• Paradox**:** The final lines present a paradox: the speaker claims he couldn't love Lucasta as much as he does if he didn't love honour more, highlighting the tension between personal affection and duty.

• Enjambment**:** Lines flow into each other without punctuation, such as "embrace / A sword", creating a sense of urgency and continuity.

Key Themes

Love, Honour, and Sacrifice

"I could not love thee (Dear) so much, / Lov'd I not Honour more."

• The poem explores the conflict between personal love and the duty to uphold one's honour.
• The speaker argues that his departure is not a betrayal but a testament to his principles, suggesting that true love requires sacrifice and integrity.

Similar Poems

• Love (III) by George Herbert: Both poems highlight the complex interplay between love, duty, and self-worth.

Line by Line Analysis

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.

"Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,"

• The speaker anticipates that his lover, Lucasta, might think him unkind for leaving her, setting a defensive tone from the outset.
• The use of "Sweet" as a term of endearment adds a personal and intimate touch.

"That from the nunnery / Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind"

• The metaphor of a "nunnery" implies that Lucasta's heart and mind are pure and serene, a place of refuge and tranquillity.
• This image contrasts sharply with the turmoil and violence of war.

"To war and arms I fly."

• The speaker explains that he is leaving this peaceful refuge for the chaos of war, using the word "fly" to suggest urgency and a sense of duty.
• "Arms" here refers to weapons, indicating the speaker's commitment to battle.

Lines 5-8

True, a new mistress now I chase,

The first foe in the field;

And with a stronger faith embrace

A sword, a horse, a shield.

"True, a new mistress now I chase,"

• The speaker admits to pursuing a "new mistress", metaphorically referring to war as a new object of his devotion.
• This metaphor highlights the conflict between his love for Lucasta and his duty to fight.

"The first foe in the field;"

• The "first foe" represents the enemy in battle, continuing the metaphor of war as a mistress.
• This line emphasises the speaker's commitment to face his enemy head-on.

"And with a stronger faith embrace / A sword, a horse, a shield."

• The speaker claims that his faith in his cause is stronger than his romantic love, as he embraces the tools of war.
• The enjambment between lines 7 and 8 emphasises the word "embrace", linking it to both his lover and his duty.

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.

"Yet this inconstancy is such / As you too shall adore;"

• The speaker believes that Lucasta will come to admire his commitment to honour, even if it seems like infidelity.
• The enjambment here creates a sense of continuity and inevitability.

"I could not love thee (Dear) so much, / Lov'd I not Honour more."

• The final paradoxical lines suggest that the speaker's love for Lucasta is intertwined with his sense of honour.
• He argues that his actions, driven by honour, ultimately prove the depth of his love for her.