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An Interesting Poem

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YORK AND LANCASTER

If this fair rose offend thy sight,

Placed in thy bosom bare

‘Twill blush to find itself less white

And turn Lancastrian there

But if thy ruby lip it spy,

As kiss it thou mayst deign

With envy pale ’twill lose its dye

And Yorkish turn again.

It was attributed to a royal genius of the House of York and accompanied a white rose which he presented to his mistress, who was a Lancastrian.

The book where I found it was published in 1822! The editor said that it was modernised so there is an original somewhere. It would be interesting to see when the poem was composed…

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One response to “An Interesting Poem”

  1. Marie Duncalf Avatar
    Marie Duncalf

    Not sure if this is its origin, found after a Google search 🙂 but beautiful words all the same.It is fascinating to read the beautiful poetry and verse that was exchanged back in that era.

    I love poetry.

    Transcribed from Somervile, William. “Lines supposed to have been written in the 15th century, by the Duke of Clarence … of the House of York, and sent, with a Rose, to Lady Eliza Beauchamp, daughter to the Duke of Somerset…” Select epigrams. In two volumes… vol. 2, 1797, pp. 94–95. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, GALE|CW0114976089.

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