"We cannot fight for love, as men may do; We should be wood and were not made to woo."
Courtship is the period when some couples become familiar with each other prior to a possible marriage or committed, de facto relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private matter between two people or may be a public affair, or a formal arrangement with family approval. Traditionally,
"It was a happy age when a man might have wooed his wench with a pair of kid leather gloves, a silver thimble, or with a tawdry lace; but now a velvet gown, a chain of pearl, or a coach with four horses will scarcely serve the turn."
"Full little knowest thou that hast not tried, What hell it is in suing long to bide: To loose good dayes, that might be better spent; To waste long nights in pensive discontent; To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow; To feed on hope, to pine with feare and sorrow."
"Duncan Gray cam here to woo, Ha, ha, the wooing ot! On blithe Yulenight when we were fou, Ha, ha, the wooing ot! Maggie coost her head fu high, Looked asklent and unco skeigh, Gart poor Duncan stand abeigh: Ha, ha! the wooing ot!"
"Never give her oer; For scorn at first makes after-love the more. If she do frown, tis not in hate of you, But rather to beget more love in you; If she do chide, tis not to have you gone, For why, the fools are mad if left alone."
"Tis an old lesson; time approves it true, And those who know it best, deplore it most; When all is won that all desire to woo, The paltry prize is hardly worth the cost."
"But in vain did she conjure him To depart her presence so, Having a thousand tongues tallure him, And but one to bid him go."