--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A bride, before a ‘Good-night’ could be…" description: "\"“A bride, before a ‘Good-night’ could be said, Should vanish from her clothes into her bed, As souls from bodies steal, and are not spied. But n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/dorothy-l-sayers-738_good-night_a-bride-before-a-good-night-could-be-sai_2454611.jpg" --- # A bride, before a ‘Good-night’ could be said, Should… ![“A bride, before a ‘Good-night’ could be said, Should vanish from her clothes into her bed, As souls from bodies steal, and are not spied. But now she’s laid; what though she be? Yet there are more delays, for where is he? He comes and passeth through sphere after sphere; First her sheets, then her…” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/dorothy-l-sayers-738_good-night_a-bride-before-a-good-night-could-be-sai_2454611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/dorothy-l-sayers-738_good-night_a-bride-before-a-good-night-could-be-sai_2454611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/dorothy-l-sayers-738_good-night_a-bride-before-a-good-night-could-be-sai_2454611.jpg) > ““A bride, before a ‘Good-night’ could be said, Should vanish from her clothes into her bed, As souls from bodies steal, and are not spied.        But now she’s laid; what though she be? Yet there are more delays, for where is he? He comes and passeth through sphere after sphere; First her sheets, then her arms, then anywhere. Let not this day, then, but this night be thine; Thy day was but the eve to this, O Valentine. JOHN DONNE: An Epithalamion on the Lady Elizabeth and Count Palatine.”” [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker longs for the bride’s presence, urging the night to belong to the beloved, while noting the passage of time and desire for union. **In simple terms:** Desire for intimacy and urgency of love. Key Takeaway Seize the moment of love. Themes love longing time desire Mood passionate yearning intimate Type poetic romantic philosophical When to use this quote - wedding night - romantic anticipation - celebration of love - poetic longing Key Concepts courtship temporal urgency union Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor both partners’ desires? - What does “night” symbolize in love? A Different Perspective The poem assumes mutual consent and may overlook the bride’s agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-night/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) ## Related quotes > [A bride, before a "Good-night" could be said, Should vanish from her clothes into her bed, As souls from bodies steal, and are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/a-bride-before-a-good-night-could-be-said-should-vanish-from-her/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [I cried for madder music and for stronger wine, But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire, Then falls thy shadow, Cynara!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-dowson/i-cried-for-madder-music-and-for-stronger-wine-but-when-the-feast-is/) [Ernest Dowson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-dowson/) > [“Let it be you who lean above me On my last day, Let it be you who shut my eyelids Forever and aye. Say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/let-it-be-you-who-lean-above-me-on-my-last-day-let-it-be-you-who-shut/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [“Well, good night," he said cheerfully. "Thanks for dinner." "Oh. Right." I took a half step back toward the house. "You're welcome." "Ella." "Yeah?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/well-good-night-he-said-cheerfully-thanks-for-dinner-oh-right-i-took/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [“Alright, good night,” he said, his words a little slurred. “But before I pass out, I want you to know that you’re the hottest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-mccarthy/alright-good-night-he-said-his-words-a-little-slurred-but-before-i/) [Erin McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-mccarthy/) > [“Good night, Dani,” he said quietly. Then he took me in his arms and gave me a good-night kiss to remember. When he stepped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/good-night-dani-he-said-quietly-then-he-took-me-in-his-arms-and-gave/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) > [“I understand that you are under a lot of pressure and that it's hard being a bride. That is all well and good. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-understand-that-you-are-under-a-lot-of-pressure-and-that-it-s-hard/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [That is ever the way. Tis all jealousy to the bride and good wishes to the corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-barrie/that-is-ever-the-way-tis-all-jealousy-to-the-bride-and-good-wishes-to/) [James M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-barrie/) > [“Now, as in Tullia’s tomb one lamp burnt clear        Unchanged for fifteen hundred year,        May these love-lamps we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/now-as-in-tullia-s-tomb-one-lamp-burnt-clear-unchanged-for-fifteen/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Then as the earth’s inner, narrow crooked lanes Do purge salt waters’ fretful tears away —John Donne”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-beaton/then-as-the-earth-s-inner-narrow-crooked-lanes-do-purge-salt-waters/) [M.C. Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-beaton/) > [“A toy boat, a toy boat, a toy boat,’ she repeated, thus enforcing upon herself the fact that it is not articles by Nick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-toy-boat-a-toy-boat-a-toy-boat-she-repeated-thus-enforcing-upon/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“John Donne's 'A Valediction: forbidding mourning' concerns a sea voyage, and uses the image of a circle as an antidote to the abyss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/john-donne-s-a-valediction-forbidding-mourning-concerns-a-sea-voyage/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [“Eliot's understanding of poetic epistemology is a version of Bradley's theory, outlined in our second chapter, that knowing involves immediate, relational, and transcendent stages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel-spears-brooker/eliot-s-understanding-of-poetic-epistemology-is-a-version-of-bradley/) [Jewel Spears Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel-spears-brooker/) > [“THE METAPHYSICAL POETS Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime (Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress) While theatre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/the-metaphysical-poets-had-we-but-world-enough-and-time-this-coyness/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [“Please write and tell me about London, I live for the day when I step off the boat-train and feel its dirty sidewalks under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/please-write-and-tell-me-about-london-i-live-for-the-day-when-i-step/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) ## More by Dorothy L. Sayers > [“The really essential factors of success in any undertaking are money and opportunity, and as a rule, the man who can make the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-really-essential-factors-of-success-in-any-undertaking-are-money/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“ Peter! Were you looking for a horse-shoe?" "No; I was expecting the horse, but the shoe is a piece of pure, gorgeous luck."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/peter-were-you-looking-for-a-horse-shoe-no-i-was-expecting-the-horse/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [One must not only die daily, but every day we must be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/one-must-not-only-die-daily-but-every-day-we-must-be-born-again/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/by-teaching-them-all-to-read-we-have-left-them-at-the-mercy-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [... at no point have I yet found artistic truth and theological truth at variance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/at-no-point-have-i-yet-found-artistic-truth-and-theological-truth-at/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I have never yet heard any middle-aged man or woman who worked with his or her brains express any regret for the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-never-yet-heard-any-middle-aged-man-or-woman-who-worked-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“That was the second time within five minutes that he had warned her off his private ground. His mood had changed since the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/that-was-the-second-time-within-five-minutes-that-he-had-warned-her/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To obey orders in this family has been my privilege for the last twenty years--a privilege which has been an unqualified pleasure, except perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/to-obey-orders-in-this-family-has-been-my-privilege-for-the-last/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Those who make some other person their job... are dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/those-who-make-some-other-person-their-job-are-dangerous/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know—‘Waiter, take away Lord Whatsisname, he’s been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/yes-and-look-at-the-corpses-place-always-reminds-me-of-that-old-thing/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) [Explore all 386 Dorothy L. Sayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More Good night quotes > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [For me being depressed means you can spend all day in bed, and still not get a good night's rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/for-me-being-depressed-means-you-can-spend-all-day-in-bed-and-still/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [“It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/it-was-easy-to-be-great-every-entertainer-has-a-night-when-everything/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Treat each day as your last... one day you will be right. Good Night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/treat-each-day-as-your-last-one-day-you-will-be-right-good-night/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [You know, when you really connect with the instrument and everything just comes out on an emotional level very naturally through your playing. That's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slash/you-know-when-you-really-connect-with-the-instrument-and-everything/) [Slash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slash/) > [Its time to say good night to facebook world and Hello dream world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-time-to-say-good-night-to-facebook-world-and-hello-dream-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sleep can completely change your entire outlook on life. One good night's sleep can help you realize that you shouldn't break up with someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/sleep-can-completely-change-your-entire-outlook-on-life-one-good/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Do not go gentle into that goodnight, rage, rage against the dying of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-goodnight-rage-rage-against-the-dying-of/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I am in love with my pillow, bolster, blanket and my bed. Let me making in love with all of them. Good night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afh/i-am-in-love-with-my-pillow-bolster-blanket-and-my-bed-let-me-making/) [Afh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/afh/) > [“Goodnight dear. If you were in my bed it might be the back of your head I was touching, where the hair is short,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/goodnight-dear-if-you-were-in-my-bed-it-might-be-the-back-of-your/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [A good night's sleep makes a massive difference to my day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-odudu/a-good-night-s-sleep-makes-a-massive-difference-to-my-day/) [A. J. Odudu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-odudu/) > [Good night.' Diana summoned all the dignity that she could manage in her bedraggled state and began to move back up the beach. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/good-night-diana-summoned-all-the-dignity-that-she-could-manage-in/) [Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/) > [“She leaned down, a fraction closer, and for some reason unknown to man, he lifted his head the tiniest bit. Enough so she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mallory/she-leaned-down-a-fraction-closer-and-for-some-reason-unknown-to-man/) [Anne Mallory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mallory/) > [If I can send one person home after a performance feeling better than when they arrived, then I've done my job, and I sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyrus-chestnut/if-i-can-send-one-person-home-after-a-performance-feeling-better-than/) Cyrus Chestnut [Browse all 449 Good night quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-night/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A bride, before a ‘Good-night’ could be said, Should vanish from her clothes into her bed, As souls from bodies steal, and are not spied.        But now she’s laid; what though she be? Yet there are more delays, for where is he? He comes and passeth through sphere after sphere; First her sheets, then her arms, then anywhere. 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