If a Daughter You Have



If a daughter you have, she's the plague of your life,
No peace shall you know, tho' you've buried your wife,
At twenty she mocks at the duty you taught her,
O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.
Sighing and whining,
Dying and pining,
O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

When scarce in their teens, they have wit to perplex us,
With letters and lovers for ever they vex us,
While each still rejects the fair suitor you've brought her,
O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.
Wrangling and jangling,
Flouting and pouting,
O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

33 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabBccB ddbBccB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 573
Words 107
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 7, 7

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

 · 1751 · Dublin
 · 1816 · London

Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish satirist, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. more…

All Richard Brinsley Sheridan poems | Richard Brinsley Sheridan Books

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    "If a Daughter You Have" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30025/if-a-daughter-you-have>.

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