Day and night Quote by Christopher Marlowe
““My father is deceast, come Gaveston,' And share the kingdom with thy deerest friend.' Ah words that make me surfet with delight: What greater blisse can hap to Gaveston, Then live and be the favorit of a king? Sweete prince I come, these these thy amorous lines, Might have enforst me to have swum from France, And like Leander gaspt upon the sande, So thou wouldst smile and take me in thy armes. The sight of London to my exiled eyes, Is as Elizium to a new come soule. Not that I love the citie or the men, But that it harbors him I hold so deare, The king, upon whose bosome let me die, And with the world be still at enmitie: What neede the artick people love star-light, To whom the sunne shines both by day and night. Farewell base stooping to the lordly peeres, My knee shall bowe to none but to the king. As for the multitude that are but sparkes, Rakt up in embers of their povertie, Tanti: Ile fawne first on the winde, That glaunceth at my lips and flieth away: …””
About This Quote
Source Play: The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (attributed) or Early Modern Poetry, 1590s
The speaker expresses ecstatic devotion to a favored courtier, equating love for the king’s friend with a yearning for exile and a desire for personal glory.
In simple terms: Devotion to a favored friend and longing for honor.
Key Takeaway
Seek honor through loyalty.
Themes
loyalty
courtly love
exile
ambition
glory
Mood
passionate
yearning
dramatic
Type
poetic
dramatic
historical
When to use this quote
- courtly service
- political maneuvering
- personal ambition
- exile longing
Key Concepts
Renaissance court culture
heroic ideal
personal identity
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives such extreme devotion?
- Is loyalty worth personal sacrifice?
A Different Perspective
The speaker’s idealized view may ignore moral costs of blind loyalty.
