The poet greatly dislikes the mistress in the poem. The sheer vehemence of his language shows his anger. He refers to her as "O murdresse" suggesting she is to blame for his death. Now the woman is with a new partner and the poet is slightly jealous,.
"in worse armes shall see.".
The poet says that the man she is with now is nothing compared to him. He also suggests the new lover is quite seedy,.
"And he, whose thou art then, being tyr"d before,.
Will, if thou stirre, or pinch to wake hime, thinke.
Thou call'st for more,".
This extract suggests that if the woman were to wake the man because she is scared then instead of helping her he would expect to have sex. This also shows that the woman is slightly sordid as there is no suggestion that the two lovers are married yet they are sleeping with each other.
The poet wants revenge on the woman and so he comes to her in her sleep and terrifies her,.
"And then poore Aspen wretch, neglected thou.
Bath"d in cold quicksilver sweat wilt lye.
A veryer ghost then I;".
The ghost creates so much fear for the woman that she breaks out into a fast flowing, cold sweat. The terror the poet exposes is a reflection of his anger towards the woman. The line "A veryer host then I" is especially haunting as it imples that the ghost will replace the man and lie next to the woman at night.
The poet is determined to get revenge on his ex-lover and tonight will be that night that he does,.
"Lest that preserve thee": and since my love is spent," .
I"had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,.
Then by my threatenings rest still innocent.".
The poet no longer has any feelings for the woman and so he will not feel any remorse over his actions. The poet wants to cause suffering to the woman and so he uses the word "painfully", his forgiveness will come at a price. It appears that the ghost has been waiting a long time to get his vengeance as suggested by the word "still".
