"Teach me to Love? go teach thy self more wit;
I am chief Professor of it.
Teach craft to Scots, and thrift to Jews,
Teach boldness to the Stews;
In tyrants courts teach supple flattery,
Teach Jesuits, that have traveled far, to Lye.
Teach fire to burn and Winds to blow.
Teach restless Fountains how to flow,
Teach the dull earth, fixt, to abide,
Teach Woman-kind inconstancy and Pride.
See if your diligence here will useful prove;
But, pr’ithee, teach not me to love.
The God of Love, if such a thing there be,
May learn to love from me,
He who does boast that he has bin,
In every Heart since Adams sin,
I’ll lay my Life, nay Mistress on’t, that’s more;
I’ll teach him things he never knew before;
I’ll teach him a receipt to make
Words that weep, and Tears that speak,
I’ll teach him Sighs, like those in death,
At which the Souls go out too with the breath;
Still the Soul stays, yet still does from me run;
As Light and Heat does with the Sun.
‘Tis I who Love’s Columbus am; ’tis I, Who must new Worlds in it descry;
Rich Worlds, that yield of Treasure more,
than that has been known before,
And yet like his (I fear) my fate must be,
To find them out for others; not for Me.
Me Times to come, I know it, shall
Loves last and greatest prophet call.
But, ah, what’s that, if she refuse,
To hear the whole doctrines of my Muse?
If to my share the Prophets fate must come;
Hereafter fame, here Martyrdome."
- Abraham Cowley
I think that this poem is a bit funny in the way that the poet is so stubborn on the thought that he is the expert at love. He says "Teach me to love? go teach thyself more wit" which basically means "Teach me to love? teach yourself to be smarter first". He then proceeds to tell the other person in the poem to go teach other people other things, but you can't teach me to love. He is the master of love, if there was a god of love, he would be teaching that god. He'd teach him everything about love. It's him who is great and amazing, but he's also the one that must find love for others. I think that this poem is very complex towards its ending. It bends and twists the poem into a new direction almost, but it's like a plot twist that I can appreciate. I think that this poem suits The Dead Poet's Society in that it's kind of like Charlie's whole character. He's a bit cocky and rash and is the one with all the girls, but it seems like he would rather help Knox with Chris than the really fall in love with another girl himself.
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