Famous Swore Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Swore poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous swore poems. These examples illustrate what a famous swore poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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75. Halloween

...To be compar’d to Willie:
Mall’s nit lap out, wi’ pridefu’ fling,
 An’ her ain fit, it brunt it;
While Willie lap, and swore by jing,
 ’Twas just the way he wanted
 To be that night.


Nell had the fause-house in her min’,
 She pits hersel an’ Rob in;
In loving bleeze they sweetly join,
 Till white in ase they’re sobbin:
Nell’s heart was dancin at the view;
 She whisper’d Rob to leuk for’t:
Rob, stownlins, prie’d her bonie mou’,
 Fu’ cozie in the neuk for’t,
 Unseen that nig...Read more of this...
by Burns, Robert


Beowulf (Modern English)

...I!
After that I managed the feud with payment,
sending olden treasures to the Wylfings
over the spine of the sea. He swore oaths to me. (ll. 456-72)

“It is sorrowful to me to speak my own heart
to any man what Grendel has done to me,
a shame in Heorot through his hateful ideas
and a fearful malice. My hall-troop has waned,
the warrior’s company. Misfortune has swept them away
into the terror of Grendel. Only God can easily
put an end to this maddened scather of de...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,

Beowulf (Old English)

...traightway the feud with fee {7b} I settled,
to the Wylfings sent, o’er watery ridges,
treasures olden: oaths he {7c} swore me.
Sore is my soul to say to any
of the race of man what ruth for me
in Heorot Grendel with hate hath wrought,
what sudden harryings. Hall-folk fail me,
my warriors wane; for Wyrd hath swept them
into Grendel’s grasp. But God is able
this deadly foe from his deeds to turn!
Boasted full oft, as my beer they drank,
earls o’er the ale-cup, armed...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,

Christabel

...y's back,
A weary woman, scarce alive.
Some muttered words his comrades spoke:
He placed me underneath this oak;
He swore they would return with haste;
Whither they went I cannot tell-
I thought I heard, some minutes past,
Sounds as of a castle bell.
Stretch forth thy hand,' thus ended she,
'And help a wretched maid to flee.'

Then Christabel stretched forth her hand,
And comforted fair Geraldine:
'O well, bright dame, may you command
The service of Sir Leoline;...Read more of this...
by Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

Enoch Arden

...t, man, that we shall bring you round.'
`Swear' add Enoch sternly `on the book.'
And on the book, half-frighted, Miriam swore.
Then Enoch rolling his gray eyes upon her,
`Did you know Enoch Arden of this town?'
`Know him?' she said `I knew him far away.
Ay, ay, I mind him coming down the street;
Held his head high, and cared for no man, he.'
Slowly and sadly Enoch answer'd her;
`His head is low, and no man cares for him.
I think I have not three days more to live;
I am the ma...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord


Last Instructions to a Painter

...
And surly Williams, the accountants' bane; 
And Lovelace young, of chimney-men the cane. 
Old Waller, trumpet-general, swore he'd write 
This combat truer than the naval fight. 
How'rd on's birth, wit, strength, courage much presumes 
And in his breast wears many Montezumes. 
These and some more with single valour stay 
The adverse troops, and hold them all at bay. 
Each thinks his person represents the whole, 
And with that thought does multiply his soul, 
Believes himself ...Read more of this...
by Marvell, Andrew

Love's Growth

...thought it was,
   Because it doth endure
Vicissitude, and season, as the grass;
Methinks I lied all winter, when I swore
My love was infinite, if spring make’ it more.

But if medicine, love, which cures all sorrow
With more, not only be no quintessence,
But mixed of all stuffs paining soul or sense,
And of the sun his working vigor borrow,
Love’s not so pure, and abstract, as they use
To say, which have no mistress but their muse,
But as all else, being element...Read more of this...
by Donne, John

Paradise Lost: Book 04

...
By act of grace, my former state; how soon 
Would highth recall high thoughts, how soon unsay 
What feigned submission swore? Ease would recant 
Vows made in pain, as violent and void. 
For never can true reconcilement grow, 
Where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep: 
Which would but lead me to a worse relapse 
And heavier fall: so should I purchase dear 
Short intermission bought with double smart. 
This knows my Punisher; therefore as far 
From granting he, as I fr...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

The Cremona Violin

...ll must keep the locket to allay
Suspicion in her husband. She would pay
Him from her savings bit by bit -- the oath
He swore at that was startling to them both.
Her resolution taken, Frau Altgelt
Adhered to it, and suffered no regret.
She found her husband all that she had felt
His music to contain. Her days were set
In his as though she were an amulet
Cased in bright gold. She joyed in her confining;
Her eyes put out her looking-glass with shining.
Charlotta was so gay that...Read more of this...
by Lowell, Amy

The Flight Of The Duchess

...ve ground;
And, sure as the autumn season came round,
She paid us a visit for profit or pastime,
And every time, as she swore, for the last time.
And presently she was seen to sidle
Up to the Duke till she touched his bridle,
So that the horse of a sudden reared up
As under its nose the old witch peered up
With her worn-out eyes, or rather eye-holes
Of no use now but to gather brine,
And began a kind of level whine
Such as they used to sing to their viols
When their ditties t...Read more of this...
by Browning, Robert

The Knights Tale

...en of so great estate.
And in his armes he them all up hent*, *raised, took
And them comforted in full good intent,
And swore his oath, as he was true knight,
He woulde do *so farforthly his might* *as far as his power went*
Upon the tyrant Creon them to wreak*, *avenge
That all the people of Greece shoulde speak,
How Creon was of Theseus y-served,
As he that had his death full well deserved.
And right anon withoute more abode* *delay
His banner he display'd, and forth he rod...Read more of this...
by Chaucer, Geoffrey

The Last Tournament

...aught me this--ay, being snapt-- 
We run more counter to the soul thereof 
Than had we never sworn. I swear no more. 
I swore to the great King, and am forsworn. 
For once--even to the height--I honoured him. 
"Man, is he man at all?" methought, when first 
I rode from our rough Lyonnesse, and beheld 
That victor of the Pagan throned in hall-- 
His hair, a sun that rayed from off a brow 
Like hillsnow high in heaven, the steel-blue eyes, 
The golden beard that clothed his lip...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

The Man of Laws Tale

..., will ye maken assurance,
As I shall say, assenting to my lore*? *advice
And I shall make us safe for evermore."

They sworen and assented every man
To live with her and die, and by her stand:
And every one, in the best wise he can,
To strengthen her shall all his friendes fand.* *endeavour
And she hath this emprise taken in hand,
Which ye shall heare that I shall devise*; *relate
And to them all she spake right in this wise.

"We shall first feign us *Christendom to take...Read more of this...
by Chaucer, Geoffrey

The Millers Tale

...drawen to memory*; *recorded*
And *namely the gentles* every one. *especially the gentlefolk*
Our Host then laugh'd and swore, "So may I gon,* *prosper
This goes aright; *unbuckled is the mail;* *the budget is opened*
Let see now who shall tell another tale:
For truely this game is well begun.
Now telleth ye, Sir Monk, if that ye conne*, *know
Somewhat, to quiten* with the Knighte's tale." *match
The Miller that fordrunken was all pale,
So that unnethes* upon his horse he sat...Read more of this...
by Chaucer, Geoffrey

The Princess (prologue)

...air could make her, she: 
But Walter hailed a score of names upon her, 
And 'petty Ogress', and 'ungrateful Puss', 
And swore he longed at college, only longed, 
All else was well, for she-society. 
They boated and they cricketed; they talked 
At wine, in clubs, of art, of politics; 
They lost their weeks; they vext the souls of deans; 
They rode; they betted; made a hundred friends, 
And caught the blossom of the flying terms, 
But missed the mignonette of Vivian-place, 
The...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

...rown'd my Honour in a shallow Cup,
And sold my Reputation for a Song. 

LXXXIV.
Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before
I swore -- but was I sober when I swore?
And then, and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand
My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore. 

LXXXV.
And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel,
And robb'd me of my Robe of Honor -- well,
I often wonder what the Vintners buy
One half so precious as the Goods they sell. 

LXXXVI.
Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose!
T...Read more of this...
by Khayyam, Omar

The Shadow

...is eagerness, lifted his eyes.
The Shadow was there, and its precise
Outline etched the cold, white wall.
The young man swore, "By God! You, Paul,
There's something the matter with your brain.
Go home now and sleep off the strain."

The next day was a storm, the rain
Whispered and scratched at the window-pane.
A grey and shadowless morning filled
The little shop. The watches, chilled,
Were dead and sparkless as burnt-out coals.
The gems lay on the table like shoals
Of strande...Read more of this...
by Lowell, Amy

The Vision of Judgment

...as heretofore: 
There Paddy brogued, 'By Jasus!' — 'What's your wull?' 
The temperate Scot exclaim'd: the French ghost swore 
In certain terms I shan't translate in full, 
As the first coachman will; and 'midst the roar, 
The voice of Jonathan was heard to express, 
'Our president is going to war, I guess.' 

LX 

Besides there were the Spaniard, Dutch, and Dane; 
In short, an universal shoal of shades, 
From Otaheite's isle to Salisbury Plain, 
Of all climes and professions...Read more of this...
by Byron, George (Lord)

The Wanderer

...d her mate a half-day from the bar. 

She passed to dock along the top of flood. 
An old man near me shook his head and swore: 
"Like a bad woman, she has tasted blood-- 
There'll be no trusting in her any more." 

We thought it truth, and when we saw her there 
Lying in dock, beyond, across the stream, 
We would forget that we had called her fair, 
We thought her murderess and the past a dream. 

And when she sailed again, we watched in awe, 
Wondering what bloody act her be...Read more of this...
by Masefield, John

The Wife of Baths Tale

...t they stand,
Yet tickled I his hearte for that he
Ween'd* that I had of him so great cherte:** *though **affection16
I swore that all my walking out by night
Was for to espy wenches that he dight:* *adorned
Under that colour had I many a mirth.
For all such wit is given us at birth;
Deceit, weeping, and spinning, God doth give
To women kindly, while that they may live. *naturally
And thus of one thing I may vaunte me,
At th' end I had the better in each degree,
By sleight, o...Read more of this...
by Chaucer, Geoffrey

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