Eugene Field’s speaker pretends to declare love for a string of women, but his real passion is for the antique dishes they own. Prudence has an old blue plate, Amandy a Franklin platter, Dorothy a cut-glass pitcher, and Marthy a Washington teapot. Hepsy and Dorcas, with their “heaps of trumpery,” are equally appealing — not for themselves, but for the crockery he longs to possess. The repeated line, “These do I love, and these alone,” drips with mock sincerity. Calling himself a “bootless bard of Crockery Quest,” he admits he’s a hopeless collector whose romantic interest goes no further than a woman’s china cabinet. The poem creates a light, teasing mood, like an inside joke shared with the reader. There’s no real longing or heartbreak here — just a playful bachelor’s obsession that turns courtship into comic treasure-hunting.
Ballad of women i love — Summary
Prudence Mears hath an old blue plate Hid away in an oaken chest, And a Franklin platter of ancient date Beareth Amandy Baker's crest; What times soever I've been their guest, Says I to myself in an undertone: "Of womenfolk, it must be confessed, These do I love, and these alone."
Well, again, in the Nutmeg State, Dorothy Pratt is richly blest With a relic of art and a land effete-- A pitcher of glass that's cut, not pressed. And a Washington teapot is possessed Down in Pelham by Marthy Stone-- Think ye now that I say in jest "These do I love, and these alone?"
Were Hepsy Higgins inclined to mate, Or Dorcas Eastman prone to invest In Cupid's bonds, they could find their fate In the bootless bard of Crockery Quest. For they've heaps of trumpery--so have the rest Of those spinsters whose ware I'd like to own; You can see why I say with such certain zest, "These do I love, and these alone."