John Suckling

thumb|’Tis expectation makes a blessing dear;Heaven were not heaven, if we knew what it were. Sir John Suckling (10 February 1609 – after May 1641) was an English poet, prominent among those renowned for careless gaiety and wit – the accomplishments of a cavalier poet. He also invented the card game cribbage. Quotes Aglaura (1638; 1646) Why so pale and wan, fond lover  Prithee, why so pale?Will, when looking well can't move her,  Looking ill prevail?  Prithee, why so pale? ... Quit, quit, for shame, this will not move:  This cannot take her.If of herself she cannot love,  Nothing can make her:  The devil take her! Act IV, sc. ii, l. 15; Song ("Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?"), sts. 1 and 3 Our sins, like to our shadows,When our day is in its glory, scarce appear:Towards our evening how great and monstrousThey are! Act V, sc. iv, l. 94 But, as when an authentic watch is shown,Each man winds up and rectifies his own;So in our very judgments. Epilogue, l. 6 The Goblins (1638; 1646) The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman:Mahu, Mahu is his name. Act III, sc. ii, l. 36 Compare: Shakespeare, King Lear, act III, sc. iv, l. 147 A health to the nut-brown lass,With the hazel eyes: let it pass. ...As much to the lively grey;'Tis as good i' th' night as day. Act III, sc. ii, l. 83; Song ("A health to the nut-brown lass"), sts. 1 and 2 Compare: Anonymous, The Nut Brown Maid Just so, i' th' nick! i' th' very nick of time! Act V, sc. i, l. 23 High characters (cries one); and he would seeThings that ne'er were, nor are, nor ne'er will be. Epilogue, l. 7 Compare: "Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, / Thinks what ne’er was, nor is, nor e’er shall be."—Pope, Essay on Criticism, pt. ii, l. 53. "There’s no such thing in Nature, and you’ll draw / A faultless monster which the world ne’er saw."—Sheffield, Essay on Poetry Brennoralt (1646) She's pretty to walk with,And witty to talk with,And pleasant, too, to think on. Act II, sc. ii, l. 13 Her face is like the Milky Way i' the sky,A meeting of gentle lights without a name. Act III, sc. 4, l. 23 Fragmenta Aurea (1646, 1648, 1658)             Love is the fart            Of every heart;It pains a man when 'tis kept close,And others doth offend when 'tis let loose. Untitled (If when Don Cupid's dart"), st. 3 'Tis now, since I sat down before  That foolish fort, a heart,(Time strangely spent), a year and more,  And still I did my part. Untitled ("'Tis Now, Since I Sat Down Before"), st. 1 I thought to undermine the heart  By whispering in the ear. Untitled ("'Tis Now, Since I Sat Down Before"), st. 3 Sure Beauty's empires, like to greater states,Have certain periods set, and hidden fates. Sonnets, I ("Dost see how unregarded now"), st. 3 O! for some honest lover's ghost,        Some kind unbodied post        Sent from the shades below!        I strangely long to know,Whether the nobler chaplets wear,Those that their mistress' scorn did bear,        Or those that were us'd kindly. Sonnets, III ("O! for some honest lover's ghost"), st. 1 If I a fancy take        To black and blue,That fancy doth it beauty make. Sonnets, IV ("Of thee, kind boy, I ask no red and white"), st. 1 Women enjoy'd (whate'er before th' have been)Are like romances read, or sights once seen:Fruition's dull, and spoils the play much moreThan if one read or knew the plot before.'Tis expectation makes a blessing dear;Heaven were not heaven, if we knew what it were. "Against Fruition", st. 4 They who know all the wealth they have, are poor;He's only rich that cannot tell his store. "Against Fruition", st. 5 thumb|No grape, that’s kindly ripe, could beSo round, so plump, so soft as she,Nor half so full of juice. The maid—and thereby hangs a tale;For such a maid no Whitson-ale    Could ever yet produce:No grape, that’s kindly ripe, could beSo round, so plump, so soft as she,    Nor half so full of juice. "A Ballad upon a Wedding", st. 6 Her feet beneath her petticoat,Like little mice, stole in and out,    As if they fear'd the light:But O, she dances such a way!No sun upon an Easter-day    Is half so fine a sight. "A Ballad upon a Wedding", st. 8 Compare: "Her pretty feet, like snails, did creep / A little out, and then, / As if they played at bo-peep, / Did soon draw in again"—Herrick, To Mistress Susanna Southwell Her cheeks so rare a white was on,No daisy makes comparison    (Who sees them is undone);For streaks of red were mingled there,Such as are on a Catherine pear    (The side that's next the sun). "A Ballad upon a Wedding", st. 10 Her lips were red; and one was thin,Compar'd to that was next her chin    (Some bee had stung it newly). "A Ballad upon a Wedding", st. 11 Last Remains (1659) Out upon it! I have lov'd  Three whole days together;And am like to love three more,  If it prove fair weather.Time shall moult away his wings,  Ere he shall discoverIn the whole wide world again  Such a constant lover. "A Poem with the Answer", sts. 1 and 2 Had it any been but she,  And that very face,There had been at least ere this  A dozen dozen in her place. "A Poem with the Answer", st. 4 I prithee send me back my heart,   Since I cannot have thine;For if from yours you will not part,   Why then shouldst thou have mine? Song ("I Prithee Send Me Back My Heart"), st. 1 But love is such a mystery,  I cannot find it out;For when I think I'm best resolv'd,  I then am most in doubt. Song ("I Prithee Send Me Back My Heart"), st. 4 Misattributed She's a savour to the glass,An excuse to make it pass. Ascribed to Suckling, The Goblins, act III, in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 803. The same lines are to be found in an early dramatic sketch by Sheridan: printed in Thomas Moore (ed.) Memoirs of the Life of the Rt Hon. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 3rd ed. (1825), vol. 1, p. 315 External links John Suckling (poet) W. Guerney Benham, A Book of Quotations, Proverbs and Household Words (1914), p. 351 Selected works at the Library of Toronto Category:Poets from England Category:Playwrights from England Category:Suicides Category:1609 births Category:1642 deaths Category:People from London