To Lucasta, Going to the Wars Sacrifice

"To Lucasta, Going to the Wars" is all about sacrifice. After all, the speaker leaves behind the woman he loves in order to go to war and be honorable. He makes a point of describing the extent of his sacrifice: the woman he is leaving behind is nothing short of awesome. We mean, her name is Lucasta, which means "chaste light." But no matter how good she may be, the speaker suggests, going to war is even more important.

Questions About Sacrifice

1. Do you think sacrificing his relationship with Lucasta for honor's sake is worth it? What do you think the speaker thinks?
2. Is Lucasta making any kind of sacrifice here? What might that be?
3. Why isn't the speaker willing to sacrifice honor for love? Is it really better to sacrifice love for honor? Why?

Chew on This

Sacrificing love for honor is better than the alternative.

No way. Any person worth his salt would sacrifice honor for love, any day.