Friday, January 3, 2003

The Face That Launch'd A Thousand Ships Comments

Rating: 3.6

Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies!
...
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Christopher Marlowe
COMMENTS
Dr Dillip K Swain 23 November 2022

Moreover, this poem provides some clues of his taking black magic.

0 0 Reply
* Sunprincess * 30 August 2015

............beautiful lines ★ O, thou art fairer than the evening air Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;

4 3 Reply
Rajesh Thankappan 01 January 2015

Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Unparalleled lines of sheer grandeur and splendor and a poem of unparalleled beauty. Great! Great! Great!

5 3 Reply
Frank Avon 03 September 2014

Compare this to Edgar Allan Poe's To Helen. Here is the voice of a genuine poet. Poe's Helen is one of his best creations, but is light years away from this in the quality of language and the height of achievement.

4 6 Reply

In a way i think he is smitten by the Helen of Troy legend but then i think he is comparing his own paramour who he feels is much more beautiful than Helen.. I have no idea if there are any Greek vases with Helen's picture on it but to love someone as much as this poet does well alright it's his torment..

3 4 Reply
Kay Staley 26 August 2014

I don't really get this one because of the old English. The line Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again is nice and memorable. I like how it shows Helen's power because she is in ownership of his soul.

5 6 Reply
Melissa Ayton 26 August 2013

check out my poem summer fun!

5 3 Reply
Shahzia Batool 26 August 2013

nice to read and re-read...the passage is a luxury in reading...a feast, indeed!

3 3 Reply
Ross Mackay 26 August 2012

Two people have got this wrong so I'll say it. It isn't Paris talking, it's Faustus. This is an extract from the play 'Doctor Faustus', one of the most famous plays of the Elizabethan era which wasn't written by Shakespeare.

10 4 Reply
Shahzia Batool 26 August 2012

Much celebrated apostrophe to the gorgeous Helen! Ramesh T A has rightly remarked about the great Marlowe. At a critical moment he makes mephistophilis conjure the spirit of Helen for Faustus' pleasure(in order to dissuade him from repentance) ...the spell is so much powerful that even in the approaching snares of death, his sensuality reaches its heights.The paragon of beauty is the only remedy available for his anguished soul.thank u PH for sharing this piece... :)

4 6 Reply
Ramesh T A 26 August 2011

Beautifully written wonderful poem in support of love by great Christopher Marlowe! It is a classic immortal for all to read and enjoy till the end of time! Long live Paris and Helen in literature to enlighten the readers about the value of love, beauty and truth in the world all have to cherish for the upliftment of humanity forever!

3 5 Reply
Jessel Jane Tevar 26 August 2006

Very wonderful... Well-penned piece.Nice imagery and I like the choice of words.

3 4 Reply
Amber Smith 26 August 2006

The story of helen of troy....wow i like it alot.. this is also my favorite story about the iiresitable helen and her lover paris! ! This poem really captures the essance of how helen was so irresitable!

4 4 Reply
Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe

Canterbury, England
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