A carved wooden hand gripping a thorny rose stem, with a ripe peach lying next to it on a sage green surface.

Original artwork, not a still

Alexander's Feast

John Dryden

Rich the treasure, Sweet the pleasure,– Sweet is pleasure after pain.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The verse pairs wealth and pleasure, then sharpens the idea: enjoyment tastes sweeter after suffering. Hardship gives comfort its contrast and meaning. The lines link reward with earlier struggle, suggesting pleasure is deepened by what came before it.

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