"Love will resume his Empire in our Breasts, and every Heart, or soon or late, receive and readmit him as its lawful Tyrant"

— Congreve, William (1670-1729)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Jacob Tonson
Date
1700
Metaphor
"Love will resume his Empire in our Breasts, and every Heart, or soon or late, receive and readmit him as its lawful Tyrant"
Metaphor in Context
MRS. MARWOOD
Certainly. To be free; I have no Taste of those insipid dry Discourses, with which our Sex of force must entertain themselves, apart from Men. We may affect Endearments to each other, profess eternal Friendships, and seem to doat like Lovers; but 'tis not in our Natures long to persevere. Love will resume his Empire in our Breasts, and every Heart, or soon or late, receive and readmit him as its lawful Tyrant.
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "empire" in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
First performed in March of 1700. 33 entries in the ESTC (1700, 1706, 1710, 1711, 1724, 1725, 1730, 1733, 1735, 1738, 1751, 1752, 1755, 1756, 1757, 1759 1767, 1773, 1774, 1776, 1777, 1787, 1796, 1800).

See The Way of the World, a Comedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, by His Majesty's Servants. Written by Mr. Congreve (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1700). <Link to ESTC><Link to EEBO-TCP>

Reading D. F. Mckenzie's The Works of Wililam Congreve 3 vols. (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011).
Date of Entry
08/16/2004

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.