"…if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away."
It was worth a try. Darcy picked up his pen and after several attempts finally produced the following verses.
.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet
.
When first I looked at her it was to see
no fashionable elegance or grace
nor in her figure perfect symmetry
and hardly a good feature in her face.
.
Now I think I would have judged much better
to turn away without a second look.
When she speaks how can I write my letter
or when she walks attend much to my book?
.
I find myself bewitched by ready wit
a lady I would not dare to despise,
and only her connections, so unfit,
can save me form the danger of her eyes.
.
Her figure light and pleasing has a charm,
her manners are all easiness and play,
and her attractions cause me some alarm
it's high time that Miss Bennet went away!
.
I must be clear before she does depart,
she has no hope of capturing my heart.
.
With a sign Darcy crumpled up the paper and threw it in the fire. It had been a silly idea, the efficacy of poetry in driving away love, "Well to be fair," he thought, "She did say a good sonnet."
Author's note: I know do Shakespearean sonnets are 14 lines but there are other forms. I liked the idea of Darcy using a variation as other poets have done. Given the length of his letters I thought it was in character for him to need an extra verse.