Tell Me Not, Sweet, I Am Unkind?

Question

Tell Me Not, Sweet, I Am Unkind

"Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind

For, from the nunnery

Of thy chaste breast, and quiet mind,

To war and arms I fly.

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.

Yet this unconstancy is such

As you too shall adore;

For, I could not love thee, Dear, so much,

Loved I not honour more."

Richard Lovelace

What does this poem mean? What does it signify?

Answer 1

Lovelace fought in the English Civil War (on the King's side).

In this poem he explains to his girlfriend (he usually calls her Lucasta in his poems - but this was a made-up name) that he means no disrespect to her by going away to fight.

"Don't call me unloving just because I have left you to go away and fight for the king.

It is true that where I once gave all my time to you, I now give all my time to fighting the enemy

But by fighting the enemy I am protecting what is most important to both me and you."

The king was defeated in the war, Lovelace was bankrupted, and his girlfriend married somebody else.

Answer 2

morporc is correct, yet, there is another layer here which is often overlooked. He is telling the world that he loves fighting more than getting laid. "And with a STRONGER faith—embrace..."