Original artwork, not a still
I can enjoy her while she 's kind; But when she dances in the wind, And shakes the wings and will not stay, I puff the prostitute away.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Her is personified Fortune. The speaker welcomes favourable luck but resolves to give up its gifts when it turns fickle, relying on virtue even in poverty. The sexual insult is directed at that personification; the lines do not describe dismissing an actual woman.
Sources (1)
- Dryden, collected works (Scott edition, 1808)Imitation of Horace, Book III, Ode 29: stanza IXReference checked
Context reviewed
