1. The Scrutiny
By Richard Lovelace

2. The Scrutiny What do we understand from the title of the poem?
What might be under scrutiny in this poem?

3. Why should you swear I am forsworn, Since thine I vowed to be
Why should you swear I am forsworn,  Since thine I vowed to be?  Lady, it is already morn,  And 'twas last night I swore to thee  That fond impossibility.  Have I not loved thee much and long,  A tedious twelve hours' space?  I must all other beauties wrong,  And rob thee of a new embrace,  Could I still dote upon thy face.  Not but all joy in thy brown hair  By others may be found;—  But I must search the black and fair,  Like skilful mineralists that sound  For treasure in unploughed-up ground.  Then if, when I have loved my round,  Thou prov'st the pleasant she,  With spoils of meaner beauties crowned  I laden will return to thee,  Ev'n sated with variety.
What might be under scrutiny in this poem?

4. AO3: Context

5. Richard Lovelace 1618-1657 Cavalier poet
Lovelace was born into a wealthy, military family, the eldest of eight children. His father was honoured by King James I with a knighthood and Lovelace would continue this tradition of loyalty to the crown.
At 16, he was appointed ‘Gentleman Wayter Extraordinary’ to the King, an honourary position. He studied at Oxford and achieved his degree at the age of 18.
During the conflict between parliament and the King, Lovelace was chosen by the royalists to go to the House of Commons and demand the restoration of the King’s absolute authority. He was imprisoned.
When released, he returned to the King’s service. He spent time abroad then was imprisoned again; when he was released, the King had been executed.
The last years of his life were spent in relative obscurity, his fortune exhausted on behalf of the King. He died in 1658 from causes unknown.

6. Cavalier Poets
Supported the King, who in return supported their arts – most were courtiers and their poetry was to be read at court
A cavalier was originally a mounted soldier or knight
The term was originally applied to this group of poets as an insult, suggesting they were ‘roistering gallants’ (boisterous would-be heroes) but it was claimed by those who supported Charles I
This distinguished them from the Roundheads who supported parliament, who were often Puritans

7. Lovelace the Cavalier
Lovelace was known as the very epitome of a Cavalier poet. He was handsome, attractive and charming and this made him a very popular addition to the court of King James I and Queen Henrietta.
“The most amiable and beautiful person that ever eye beheld; a person also of innate modesty, virtue and courtly deportment, which made him then, but especially after, when he retired to the great city, much admired and adored by the female sex” – Anthony Wood, contemporary.
Lovelace wrote poetry at college, to raise his reputation as a Cavalier, and as a pastime during imprisonment and his time abroad. He wrote over 200 poems.
While at college, he tried to portray himself more as a social connoisseur than as a scholar, continuing his image of being a Cavalier. He wrote to praise a friend or fellow poet, to give advice in grief or love, to define a relationship, to articulate the precise amount of attention a man owes a woman, to celebrate beauty, and to persuade to love.

8. Metaphysical poets Cavalier Poets
John Donne
Andrew Marvell
Richard Lovelace
Metaphysical Poetry:
A conceit is used, bringing together two vastly different ideas into a single idea
The theme is emphasised by fantastic metaphors and hyperbole
Sensuality is blended with philosophy; passion with intellect
The form is often an argument of some sort
There is often some reference to religion
Cavalier Poetry:
Was not intended to reflect the times of the age but to celebrate joy and gratification, e.g. love, beauty, drinking, honour and time
The poems were written as light and polished verse, usually as songs
Most had classical or allegorical references
They were intended to promote the crown or amuse the court
They were often romantic, bordering on erotic
Both types of poetry featured carpe diem but in different ways.

9. AO2: Language and Imagery

10. What is the poet saying here?
Notice the movement of time, here. The speaker refers to the past and the present. What has changed?
Why should you swear I am forsworn,  Since thine I vowed to be?  Lady, it is already morn,  And 'twas last night I swore to thee  That fond impossibility. 
What is the poet saying here?
Why is it significant that we see the personal pronoun ‘I’ three times here?
What tone is created by this and the rhetorical question?
What is the implication of the word ‘fond’?
I = this poem is all about the male speaker; there is no female voice here
Tone = incredulity; the vow that he made last night is clearly impossible in the present – to him, this is obvious – movement of time
Fond = vaguely patronising? Adds to the incredulity? Or does it suggest that he does have genuine affection for her?

11. Lady, it is already morn
‘Lady’ is a trochee. This subtly alters the stress of the line from the iambs used elsewhere and – along with the caesura immediately after it – thus draws attention to the word ‘lady’. Why might Lovelace have done this?
Hint: how might the term ‘lady’ be ironic here?
How does this add to our understanding of why the ‘vow’ might be seen as ‘impossible’ to the speaker?
If they have had sex, she has lost her honour – is she a lady any longer? The speaker wants the woman to be promiscuous but he also requires her to be chaste.

12. Have I not loved thee much and long, A tedious twelve hours' space?
Compare this time frame to the use of time to flatter in ‘Coy Mistress’.
What is the poet saying here?
What length of time does he consider ‘much and long’? How does the alliteration of the next line add to this idea?

13. The word ‘beauties’ to refer to women reinforces their objectification by the speaker.
‘All other’ suggests the scale of his plans.
How does the verb ‘wrong’ add to our understanding of the speaker’s intentions?
What is he suggesting she should do whilst he is gone?
How does this link to the focus on ‘lady’ in the previous verse?
What do you make of the verb ‘rob’, here?
I must all other beauties wrong,  And rob thee of a new embrace,  Could I still dote upon thy face. 
What does the word ‘dote’ suggest about the speaker’s feelings towards the woman?
He is honest about his promiscuity and the impact it will have on the women he sleeps with.
Dote = real affection for her?

14. This reference to ‘others’ continues the idea in the previous stanza that she will be with other men.
How does this add to ‘dote’ from the last stanza?
Not but all joy in thy brown hair  By others may be found;—  But I must search the black and fair,  Like skilful mineralists that sound  For treasure in unploughed-up ground. 
We now move to the speaker’s immediate future.
What does the word ‘must’ suggest about the speaker’s feelings?
AO2 focus: the woman is reduced to her hair colour and other women are referred to by theirs – the speaker is searching through different hair colours, different women, until he finds their ‘treasure’. He will scrutinise these women.
Let’s examine this simile a little more…

15. What impact does this simile have on the status of the speaker and of the women?
Like skilful mineralists that sound  For treasure in unploughed-up ground.
This image can also link to pastoral poetry in which the female body is a landscape to be enjoyed.
What does this metaphor suggest?
Hint: what might the ‘treasure’ be? Why are the women considered ‘unploughed-up ground’?
He is raised to an active, skilled status and they to passive objects to be searched. Does skilful suggest he will treat them carefully or is this male ego?
The treasure seems to be their chastity or virginity (unploughed). This suggests that women and their virginity are something to be tilled, something to be claimed, and therefore are passive objects to the speaker’s active masculinity.
AO4: what does the modern expression ‘playing the field’ mean? Can this be linked to the ideas in this stanza?

16. What is the poet saying here?
We now move to the speaker’s more distant future…
A roundabout course; a bit like a ‘grand tour’ such as the one young men took around Europe as a rite of passage.
Then if, when I have loved my round,  Thou prov'st the pleasant she,  With spoils of meaner beauties crowned  I laden will return to thee,  Ev'n sated with variety.
The language of battle is used here, positioning the speaker as a victor and women as conquests. Promiscuity is here presented as an acceptable form of male leisure.
If = no guarantee to the woman. He expects her to wait for him. If she is the most ‘pleasant’ he will return. Stresses the double standards of the day and the powerlessness of women – he has plans and she must wait to see if she fits into them, despite his ‘vow’. He will not place her on a pedestal until he has proven to himself that she deserves to be there.
What is the poet saying here?
What is the significance of the conditional ‘if’?
What about ‘prov’st’?

17. Carpe Diem? Ev'n sated with variety.
This final image is one of greed, gluttony and selfishness. He will return to the woman when he has had enough of the ‘variety’ of other women, when he is ‘sated’, and if she is proven to be the most ‘pleasant’ of them all.
Carpe Diem?
The male only seizes the day here; in the other poems the argument included the women too – they worked as a couple; here the women can only wait.
AO4: Who is ‘seizing the day’ here? How does this compare with the poems of Donne and Marvell?

18. AO3: Remember that the intended audience of this poem was other male members of the court. In Lovelace’s time this poem would be set to music, performed and received as a song. It was not intended to be read.
Does this affect the way we read it?
Can we argue that it is meant to be for entertainment only?
How does it tie in with the idea of the heroic male Cavalier?
Would women of the time have found it as shocking as a modern audience?

19. AO2: Form / Structure

20. Can you identify the rhyme scheme?
Why should you swear I am forsworn,  Since thine I vowed to be?  Lady, it is already morn,  And 'twas last night I swore to thee  That fond impossibility.  Have I not loved thee much and long,  A tedious twelve hours' space?  I must all other beauties wrong,  And rob thee of a new embrace,  Could I still dote upon thy face.  Not but all joy in thy brown hair  By others may be found;—  But I must search the black and fair,  Like skilful mineralists that sound  For treasure in unploughed-up ground.  Then if, when I have loved my round,  Thou prov'st the pleasant she,  With spoils of meaner beauties crowned  I laden will return to thee,  Ev'n sated with variety.
Can you identify the rhyme scheme?

21. A. Why should you swear I am forsworn, B. Since thine I vowed to be. A
A Why should you swear I am forsworn,  B Since thine I vowed to be?  A Lady, it is already morn,  B And 'twas last night I swore to thee  A That fond impossibility.  A Have I not loved thee much and long,  B A tedious twelve hours' space?  A I must all other beauties wrong,  B And rob thee of a new embrace,  A Could I still dote upon thy face.  A Not but all joy in thy brown hair  B By others may be found;—  A But I must search the black and fair,  B Like skilful mineralists that sound  A For treasure in unploughed-up ground.  A Then if, when I have loved my round,  B Thou prov'st the pleasant she,  A With spoils of meaner beauties crowned  B I laden will return to thee,  A Ev'n sated with variety.

22. A. Why should you swear I am forsworn, B. Since thine I vowed to be. A
A Why should you swear I am forsworn,  B Since thine I vowed to be?  A Lady, it is already morn,  B And 'twas last night I swore to thee  A That fond impossibility. 
The rhyme scheme is regular, adding to the impression of a lighthearted song. Most, but not all, lines are written in iambic tetrameter. The poem is a monologue – we do not hear the woman’s voice, only the (male) speaker’s.
This should remind us of Donne: like him, Lovelace is presenting an argument so, like him, he uses a regular rhyme scheme and meter. Each stanza develops the speaker’s argument. This gives it a sense of being calculated.
One interpretation of the changing meter is that it represents the speaker’s search for the most ‘pleasant she’. Not all women are created equal.
What do you think?

23. AO4/5: Links and Interpretations

24. “Some readers might consider the poem to be spoken with the arch, knowing tone of a seducer, who displays arrogance as he uses his powers of rhetoric to argue his way out of commitment, cynically offering the possibility of a reunion to clinch his case. Others might find ambiguity and suggest that the speaker does love the addressee, but is being honest about his sexual needs”
“It is a rather nasty poem: cruel, clever and somehow lacking in real emotion.”
“This poem articulates the pose of the careless Cavalier for whom love is nothing more than a game.”
“The Scrutiny is little more than a misogynistic fantasy that privileges male desire and objectified women.”
Do you agree?

25. Examine the view that Richard Lovelace presents the speaker in this poem as having a selfish attitude to love.
Think about:
The characteristics of love
The representation of the people involved
The feelings of the speaker
Any imagery or language used
The way the structure and form reflects this
Use the AQA specimen commentary on this question to help you plan and write an answer.

26. Fill in your CLIFS sheet for this poem
Fill in your CLIFS sheet for this poem. Remember, this will be a revision aid!