Lady it is already Morn,
And ’twas last night I swore to thee
What is going on in this poem? A randy young rakish Cavalier is explaining to a lover why cannot be relied upon to be faithful to the women he has wooed. Apparently, it seems, he has come across a certain female unwilling to simply ignore his flirtations and who has instead decide to press him on the issue. It is not an angry and emotional confrontation, but rather more of a battle of wits filled with humor and irony. The comic irony kicks off right from the start with revelation of the length of the relationship at hand. The speaker wonders how the woman could possibly accuse him of being unfaithful since it was only the night before that he first swore his devotion and he has had no time for infidelity. The irony dives deep here because quite clearly he has been caught in some manner of an unfaithful act and his justification is that that she should not be unhappy since he did, after all, give her a whole twelve hours of fidelity.
I must all other Beauties wrong,
And rob thee of a new imbrace;
Could I still dote upon thy Face.
The real humor and irony comes when he turns the confrontation into a kind of legal defense, carefully laying out his case for being a man of infinite potential for unfaithful infidelity. He has, as mentioned, been supremely giving enough to provide her with twelve consecutive hours of loyalty and devotion. And why should she not expect more than half a day? Because to devote any more time to pleasing her desire for the trusted virtue of a monogamous lover would be a crime, a genuine crime. It would theft. The speaker argues that were he to commit to being a one-woman man, he would be robbing countless other women of the precious opportunity to be in the position she’s held since last night. Committing to monogamy is literally framed by the speaker as robbing women of the chance to express devotion to him.
But I must search the blank and faire
Like skilfull Minerallist’s that sound
For Treasure in un-plow’d-up ground.
The speaker’s argument makes him a real jewel, a true treasure for women to behold, right? Well, just a little later, he forms a new argument to justify his insatiable quest to sample every women possible. Comparing himself to a geologist, his quest for romantic conquest becomes a treasure hunt. While he may think of himself a priceless jewel too rare to be enjoyed and admired by just one woman, he views those women as a treasure to be hunted, extricated from the ground, admired and enjoyed but also inspected for flaws and blemishes and then cast away when proven not be perfect. Women are possessions to judged by their appearance.
