The opening lines imagine a winter night of violence and neglect: the wind acts like a ruffian, dying men groan at doorways, abandoned infants cry, and even those who have beds sigh for those without. Then the focus shifts to a young woman. On that same bitter night, barefoot and wearing only one gown, she stands before her mirror, blushing at her own reflection. Full of sweet thoughts of love, she feels from her own charms the joy of summer’s heat. The speaker places her private warmth directly against the world’s cold misery, creating an unsettling irony. The mood is bleak, yet the portrait of the girl is not simply cruel—she seems almost pitiable in her self-absorption, warming herself with her own image while suffering goes on outside.
Young Beauty — Summary
When at each door the ruffian winds Have laid a dying man to groan, And filled the air on winter nights With cries of infants left alone; And every thing that has a bed Will sigh for others that have none: On such a night, when bitter cold, Young Beauty, full of love thoughts sweet, Can redden in her looking-glass; With but one gown on, in bare feet, She from her own reflected charms Can feel the joy of summer's heat.