"A sweet disorder in the dress Kindles in clothes a wantonness; A lawn about the shoulders thrown Into a fine distraction" - Robert Herrick
This poem is full of paradoxes. The title of the poem is the first one, Delight in Disorder. Disorder is not usually something that people are overjoyed about. I guess if you look at entropy in the universe it's a good thing (excuse my nerdy chemistry reference), but other than that disorder is somewhat frowned upon. It's also called "sweet" in the first line. The clothing that is being discussed is what is so disheveled and crazy, but I think this is an extended metaphor for life. Check that out - 2 lit. terms in 1 blog! The "fine distraction" caused by the disarray of clothes shows a "wild civility". These paradoxes are all representative of not only of the costume in the poem, but our crazy journey through life. Life may get confusing and topsyturvy (I swear it's a word, I looked it up) sometimes, but that's what makes it so amazing. We never know what will happen next, so that element of surprise keeps us on our feet. That's the delightfulness in all of the disorder.
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