Original artwork, not a still
Let this great maxim be my virtue's guide,-- In part she is to blame that has been tried: He comes too near that comes to be denied.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The verse proposes a restrictive rule of virtue that assigns some blame to a woman who has been approached and treats refusal as evidence that an approach came too near. This is the poem’s judgment, not a fair account of responsibility or consent.
Context reviewed
