A Thousand Martyrs by Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn lived and wrote in the 1600s and was the first woman in England to make a living as a professional writer. A political spy, playwright, novelist, and poet, Aphra broke social barriers while her literary works tackled controversial topics, including slavery, racism, desire, and gender. Her writings were considered scandalous for the time.

A thousand martyrs I have made,

All sacrificed to my desire;

A thousand beauties have betrayed,

That languish in resistless fire.

The untamed heart to hand I brought,

And fixed the wild and wandering thought.

I never vowed nor sighed in vain

But both, though false, were well received.

The fair are pleased to give us pain,

And what they wish is soon believed.

And though I talked of wounds and smart,

Love’s pleasures only touched my heart.

Alone the glory and the spoil

I always laughing bore away;

The triumphs, without pain or toil,

Without the hell, the heav’n of joy.

And while I thus at random rove

Despise the fools that whine for love.

How do the stanzas of the poem affect its meaning?

They build on one another to explain why the speaker has not yet found love.

They work together to explain that the speaker does not take romance seriously.

They describe the qualities that the speaker seeks in romantic partners.

They express different perspectives the speaker has on the importance of relationships.