I am two fools, I know / For loving and for saying so
-- Speaker (Lines 1-2)

Importance: The speaker begins the poem by introducing the theme of accounting for his folly. He counts two ways in which he is foolish. These lines place the reader immediately into the poem's philosophy. The speaker already "knows," has already finished reasoning through, this conclusion (1).

I thought, if I could draw my pains, / through rhyme's vexation
-- Speaker (Lines 8-9)

Importance: Here, the speaker describes his motivation for attempting to use poetry as a way of making sense of his suffering. hH uses the metaphor of a physician drawing out an infection. This is understood to be a painful process, but it is a necessary one in order to alleviate the pain and danger of the infection. The speaker thus hoped - unsuccessfully- to remove his own pain by drawing it out and exposing it to the world.

Grief brought to numbers cannot be...
-- Speaker (Lines 10-11)