Golden Slumbers
Golden Slumbers Thomas Dekker (1598-1632) Overview This is getting easier. Believe it or not, this is a lullaby designed to send a little baby off to the land of nod. It is about one person (mother or father) dealing with all the worries of another so they can be truly relaxed and serene. Context Unfortunately, […]
I Grieve, And Dare Not Show My Discontent
I Grieve, And Dare Not Show My Discontent Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) Overview This poem is about someone having to hide their true emotions, as Queen Elizabeth hides her unhappiness at being unable to marry a potential suitor. However, can also be perceived to be more generally about someone in a role of great responsibility […]
Sonnet 18 (Shakespeare)
Sonnet 18 William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Overview First of all, this is one of the most celebrated and oft quoted poems in the world. Personally, I think the sentiment is a bit much, but sweet as well I suppose. This is a celebration of a girl’s beauty through comparison with the Summer, a reflection on mortality […]
Sonnet 75 (Spenser)
Sonnet 75 Edmund Spenser (1609-1642) Overview An utterly beautiful, romantic little thing. Spenser is still the lovesick little puppy we saw in Sonnet 54, but now he has the affections of Elizabeth Boyle and it seems they are out for a nice trip to the beach. He writes her name in the sand only for […]
Sonnet 54 (Spenser)
Sonnet 54 Edmund Spenser (1609-1642) Overview This is a poem that bemoans a woman being completely unmoved by a man’s actions. The theatre and the different type of plays the wannabe lover claims to be adept in, are really different aspects or spheres of life. He is left feeling confused and frustrated by her lack […]
No Crookèd Leg, No Blearèd Eye
No Crookèd Leg, No Blearèd Eye Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) Overview This is a little, bitchy rant about how suspicion can corrupt and ruin a good person. To understand it you really need to understand when and why it was written. Queen Lizzy No crookèd leg, no blearèd eye, No part deformèd out of kind, […]
Sonnet 11 (Wroth)
Sonnet 11 Lady Mary Wroth (1587-1652) Overview ‘This girl is sad about a guy’ – a response from one of my Year 12s on initial reading of the poem. I responded with some form of abusive shouting, I really should have gone further and resorted to some form of medieval torture. Understatement of all understatements. […]
What Thing is Love?
What Thing Is Love? George Peele (1556-1594) Overview Well, the good news (if you’re not a poetry lover as of yet) is this is a particularly compact poem. Although it has been edited down by the editors of Songs of Ourselves (see at the bottom of this post if you’re interested). It’s also quite an easy one […]
Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?
Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover? Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) Overview The poetic voice (guy talking) is questioning the point of his friend’s love sickness. This lover is making himself sick and going into his shell, which is causing all of his friends embarrassment and the poetic voice is pointing out the pointlessness of […]