# XVI explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by William Shakespeare.

## What happens

A lord's daughter, the fairest of three, is torn between her master and an Englishman. Love and duty conflict until the learned man wins her with his gift of learning, ending the song.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Desire

The damsel's internal conflict between two loves drives the chapter.

### Art and Immortality

The learned man's gift of learning (art) triumphs over arms, securing the lady.

## Character check-ins

### Love

Personified as a force in the combat between love for the master and love for the knight.

## Key lines

> It was a lording's daughter, the fairest one of three, That liked of her master as well as well might be, Till looking on an Englishman, the fair'st that eye could see, Her fancy fell a-turning.

A nobleman's daughter, the most beautiful of three sisters, was fond of her master until she saw an Englishman so handsome that her affections shifted.

_Introduces the love triangle and the damsel's changing heart._

> Thus art with arms contending was victor of the day, Which by a gift of learnlng did bear the maid away: Then, lullaby, the learned man hath got the lady gay; For now my song is ended.

So learning triumphed over military prowess, and the educated man won the maiden with his intellectual gift. Now the song concludes with a lullaby.

_Concludes the ballad with the victory of art and learning over martial valor._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters/xvi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters