textos poeticos britanicos e irlandeses, Apuntes de Poética

¡Descarga textos poeticos britanicos e irlandeses y más Apuntes en PDF de Poética solo en Docsity! ELIZABETHAN POETRY (1558-1603) -New learning and platonism. (return to classic methods of study/inspirations) -Mythological references to the gods and myths of antiquity, but more drawing on the native tradition. -Countryside and images of nature (Pastoral mode) -Emphasis on musicality, decorum, influence of Pretarch, who established the language of love. Lady as symbol of purity and virtue, concept of love as transcending the mere physical attraction (platonism) -splendour of the virgin queen -Humanism (started in the 15th century) intellectual movement flourishing of letters and arts, influenced by the recovery and study of classical texts and arts. Literary patronage: Courtiers became fervent supporters of poets and the arts. The model of a soldier poet was set. Lyrical mode hymns: Eclogues, odes, sonnets, sonnet sequences. The lyric explains the concept of the ego (the I) Pastoral mode: Idealized worlds inhabited by shepherds and shepherdesses. They tend their flocks fall in love and engage in poetry contest (love, moods, passions) Satirical mode: Ridiculed and scorned certain attitudes in society (from lawyers and merchants to fools and lovers) chiefly in rhymed iambic pentameter. Epigrams (short satirical poems) are typically Elizabethan. Some important concepts (Holy trinity of Elizabethan Poetry • Decorum: The appropriateness of an element of an artistic or literary work, such as style or tone, to its particular circumstance or to the composition as a whole. (Appropriateness is what matter). Adapt style, tone etc to the theme and circumstance of the poem. suitability of style. • Wit: Unexpected combining or contrasting of previously unconnected ideas or expressions (artistic talent) mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence. Conceit: A far-fetched and smart comparison. Extended comparison or metaphor. (we have a comparison but it is not mentioned only once, and it is present in all the poem or on a big part and extend all over) elaborate metaphor. In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” for instance, John Donne envisions two entwined lovers as the points of a compass. (For more on Donne’s conceits, see Stephen Burt’s Poem Guide on John Donne's “The Sun Rising.”) Some authors • Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) Astropheil and Stella. Sonnet 1 (loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show) and sonnet 15 (you that do search for every purling spring) Sir Philip Sidney was born on November 30, 1554, in Kent, England. Sidney attended Oxford University’s Christ Church College from 1568 to 1571, but he left to travel Europe before completing his studies. When he returned to England soon after, he became a patron of the arts, notably encouraging the poet Edmund Spenser. He also continued his involvement in politics, opposing the queen’s planned marriage to the French heir and serving as a Member of Parliament in the early 1580s. Sidney penned several major works of the Elizabethan era, including Astrophel and Stella, the first Elizabethan sonnet cycle, and Arcadia, a heroic prose romance. He was also known for his literary criticism, known as The Defense of Poesy. Although he shared his writing with his close friends, he did not allow his work to be published during his lifetime. Astrophel and Stella 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show BY SIR PHILIP SIDNEY Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show, That she, dear she, might take some pleasure of my pain,— Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know, Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,— I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe; Studying inventions fine her wits to entertain, Oft turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburn'd brain. But words came halting forth, wanting invention's stay; Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows; And others' feet still seem'd but strangers in my way. Thus great with child to speak and helpless in my throes, Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite, "Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write." It’s also difficult to imagine Faerie Land as an actual geographical and physical place because we never hear about where the different landmarks or castles are in relation to one another. The geography of Faerie seems to drastically alter between every book, such that no knight ever seems to come across the same castle, ocean or island as another knight in a different book. Faerie Land seems to be both massive, since there are endless number of castles, kings, etc; and almost claustrophobically small, since within each book characters run into one another constantly. The only place that is constant in Faerie Land is the court of the Faerie Queene, though it´s a place we only hear about and never actually visit, so it still remains shrouded in mystery. The main characters of this poem are: • REDCROSSE: The knight of Holiness, who is in fact a “tall clownish young man” who alone would take the quest to free Una’s parents from the dragon. His adventures represent the individual Christian’s struggles to maintain personal holiness while avoiding pride in all its forms. • UNA: Una is the Truth -both the absolute spiritual truth and what Spenser considered to be the true faith of the Protestant Christian Church. Her encouragement and help keeps Redcrosse knight from doom and helps to build him into a mighty warrior capable of defeating the dragon that has imprisoned her parents. ARCHIMAGO: A sorcerer and deceiver, Archimago seeks to overcome Una through false appearances and lies. He causes Redcrosse to doubt Una’s fidelity, disguises himself as Redcrosse in an attempt to take Una, and even attempts to stop Redcrosse’s engagement to Una by insisting that Duessa has a prior claim on him. Each time his deception is uncovered, rendering him powerless. • DUESSA: Duessa is “duplicity”, the opposite of Una (“Truth”). She is first seen as paramour (lover) to the evil knight Sansfoy (“Faithlessness”) and lies about her identity to Redcrosse in an attempt to seduce him. She eventually succeeds in winning Redcrosse’s favour and dragging him into Orgoglio’s dungeon, but her efforts are undone by the intervention of Una and Prince Arthur. • ORGOGLIO: A bestial giant whose name means “pride” in Italian, Orgoglio defeats Redcrosse knight when Duessa weakens the champion. Orgoglio is in turn defeated by the virtuous Prince Arthur, who dismembers him. • PRINCE ARTHUR: The ultimate hero of the epic, Prince Arthur is the younger version of King Arthur. He already had a place in the mythic consciousness of Britons, and legends had accumulated around his name, including one that he would one day return from his long, healing sleep to lead Britain into a new Golden Age. He is the ideal consort for Gloriana, the Faerie Queene. • GUYON: Guyon is the knight of Temperance, although his role carries with it a touch of irony. Guyon above all other knights struggles the most with his symbolic virtue; more than once he comes near to killing an opponent in rage, and once he even threatened Britomart’s old nurse with violence. Nonetheless, Guyon is successful in his quest to destroy Acrasia’s Bower of Bliss. • BRITOMART: Britomart is the knight of Chastity. Her secret identity as a female knight makes her stand out from among her male peers, as does her amazing expertise in battle. Her femininity makes her immune to the temptations the male knights face from sultry witches and immoderate damsels, making her the ideal of Chastity. She is in love with Artegall, whom she first saw in Merlin’s magic mirror, and her quest is to find and wed him. • ARTEGALL: Artegall is the knight of Justice. His name means “like Arthur”, thus identifying him with the ultimate knight in the epic, Prince Arthur. Like Arthur, he falls in love with a chaste and powerful woman (Britomart) and is an agent of Justice. On his quest to free the lady Eirene, Artegall is given an unusual squire: Talus, the man made of iron. Talus represents cold, unrelenting justice, while Artegall must learn how to properly temper justice with mercy. • CALIDORE: Calidore is the knight of Courtesy. His quest is to find and stop the Blatant Beast (or Slander). He represents proper behaviour in public, particularly in “civilized” society: thus, his quest to stop Slander carries with it the message that a properly behaved people will refrain from giving slander freedom to work its evil among them. • FLORIMELL: Florimell is the most beautiful woman in the epic (or at least outwardly). She is more flighty (volatile) and less independent than either Britomart or Belphoebe, and spends much of the epic running away from someone or something. She represents the fleeting (passing quickly) nature of beauty, and the reactions of other knights, both virtuous and base, shows how easily men’s heads can be turned by a pretty face. The Faerie Queene explores many diverse themes: • LOVE: Whether good or bad, female or male, knight or monster, chances are that love, romance or sexual desire plays an important role in every character’s action and identity. Of course, distinguishing between those three categories is an important part of why love is so central to The Faerie Queene Spenser really wants us to think about how we distinguish between true, life-long love and infatuation and inconsequential little crushes. Almost every happily ended storyline in the poem ends with an engagement. • RELIGION: The Faerie Queene was written at a time when religious affiliation was seriously important. England had recently broken from the Catholic Church and formed its own Protestant Church, so religion in The Faerie Queene is often not just an exploration of good living and ethical decision-making, but specifically defends Protestant principles over Catholic ones. Therefore, there is so much talk of true religious faith (Protestantism was perceived to be under threat. Religion informs almost every aspect of The Faerie Queene, from the motivations of the main characters to the representation of villains, many villains embody some stereotype of other religions. • POLITICS: Politics is always lurking in The Faerie Queene. Many of the knights we meet like Britomart and Arthur are destined to be involved in the political world later in their lives. Others are responsible for defending the political power of various monarchs, like the Faerie Queen or Mercilla, and are part of a political structure even if they may not always seem to realize that. This is a poem where the political, good or bad but always unavoidable, plays a major role. • MORALITY AND ETHICS: Spenser’s intention with the poem was “to fashion a gentleman”. An important part of a gentleman’s educational process (according to Spenser) is developing a strong, Christian moral compass. And morality and ethics totally shapes almost every single moment in this poem. Whether through encounters with characters who very explicitly embody moral virtues (such as Prudence) or more complicated characters who find themselves in challenging moral quandaries (Redcrosse with Duessa), Spenser wanted to illustrate moral dilemmas to serve as a learning experience for both his characters and his readers. • COMING OF AGE: Every main knight we meet is developing, learning, and growing in very important ways. In fact, we could say the main characters in The Faerie Queene are learning how to be the virtues they embody as opposed to embodying those virtues from the beginning. • APPEARANCES: Appearances are tricky in The Faerie Queene. There are a bunch of artificial objects and even people floating around. This shows us that becoming overly attached to what you see, instead of what you know or believe, can often lead down a path that is no kind of good. There are instances where appearances aren’t deceiving, the magic mirror of Merlin, for example, shows Britomart the face of her destined love, Arthegall. • JUSTICE AND JUDGEMENT: Justice is the explicit theme of book V of The Faerie Queene, but it’s a topic that is significant throughout the poem. Judgement is constantly used and abused when characters face challenging, confusing, and potentially dangerous situations. In fact, there is no virtue embodied by the other characters - Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, or Courtesy- that doesn’t require a sense of justice and good judgement to be carried out well. Since we also know that appearances can be deceiving in the poem, judgement is also an essential tool to differentiate between the good and the bad, the true and the false. LOYALTY: We can think of loyalty as the glue that keeps this unwieldy and sometimes disjointed poem together. Loyalty is what brings all of our protagonist knights together (eventually) and what allows them to work together and help each other out. Loyalty is a particularly important concept in the universe of The Faerie Queene because it doesn’t only govern relationships between lovers, or between knights who already know each other. It also governs the bond formed between knights who have just met and don’t know each other at all. We can usually immediately figure out if a knight is a “good guy” because he immediately assumes a knightly loyalty toward all well-intentioned knights • William Shakespeare( 1564-1616) http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/19 William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon- Avon, he learned Latin and a little Greek and read the Roman dramatists. In his poems and plays, Shakespeare invented thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin, French, and native roots. Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays. These are usually divided into four categories: histories, comedies, tragedies, and romances. Shakespeare’s sonnets were composed between 1593 and 1601, though not published until 1609. That edition, The Sonnets of Shakespeare, consists of 154 sonnets, all written in the form of three quatrains and a couplet that is now recognized as Shakespearean. The sonnets fall into two groups: sonnets 1-126, addressed to a beloved friend, a handsome and noble young man, and sonnets 127-152, to a malignant but fascinating “Dark Lady," who the poet loves in spite of himself. Nearly all of Shakespeare’s sonnets examine the inevitable decay of time, and the immortalization of beauty and love in poetry. A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created, Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure, Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure. Sonnet 20 has caused much debate. Some scholars believe that this is a clear admission of Shakespeare's homosexuality. Despite the fact that male friendships in the Renaissance were openly affectionate, the powerful emotions the poet displays here are indicative of a deep and sensual love. The poet's lover is 'the master-mistress of [his] passion.' He has the grace and features of a woman but is devoid of the guile and pretense that comes with female lovers; those wily women with eyes 'false in rolling', who change their moods and affections like chameleons. Lines 9-14 are of particular interest to critics on both sides of the homosexual debate. Some argue these lines show that, despite his love for the young man, the poet does not want to 'have' him physically. The poet proclaims that he is content to let women enjoy the 'manly gifts' that God has given his friend. He is satisfied to love the young man in a spiritual way. But others contend that Shakespeare had to include this disclaimer, due to the homophobia of the time. "The meaning is conveyed not just by what is said but by the tone. The argument may serve to clear Shakespeare of the charge of a serious offense..." (Spender, 99). Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE When my love swears that she is made of truth, I do believe her, though I know she lies, That she might think me some untutored youth, Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties. Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, Although she knows my days are past the best, Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. But wherefore says she not she is unjust? And wherefore say not I that I am old? Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, And age in love loves not to have years told. Therefore I lie with her and she with me, And in our faults by lies we flattered be. In Sonnet 138 the poet candidly reveals both the nature of his relationship with the dark lady and the insecurities he has about growing older. Unlike his intense yet healthy love affair with the young man, the poet's fling with his mistress is (for now) uncomplicated and practical, fulfilling his most basic needs of both sexual pleasure and continual reassurance that he is still worthy of love despite his age. So emotionally detached is the poet from his mistress that he prefers simply to ignore her lying and adultery. The poet's glib indifference toward his mistress is startling, particularly when juxtaposed with his profound concern for the young man, who cannot even be the subject of a rival poet's work without rendering him "tongue-tied" and "faint" (Sonnet 80). The poet's feelings about his relationship with the dark lady intensify in the later sonnets (see Sonnet 147) and he finally must end the affair (see Sonnet 152). The Sonnets as a whole show us that time is the poet's great nemesis and, although the dominant theme in Sonnet 138 is the comfort that lies bring to an insecure mind, a discourse on the ravages of time is once again present. Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver’d o’er with white; When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake And die as fast as they see others grow; And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defence Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. Sonnet 12 again speaks of the sterility of bachelorhood and recommends marriage and children as a means of immortality. Additionally, the sonnet gathers the themes of Sonnets 5, 6, and 7 in a restatement of the idea of using procreation to defeat time. Sonnet 12 establishes a parallel way of measuring the passage of time, the passage of nature, and the passage of youth through life — decay. Lines 1 and 2 focus on day becoming night (the passage of time); lines 3 and 4 link nature to humankind, for the poet first evokes a flower's wilting stage (the passage of nature). Then, in line 4, the poet juxtaposes this image with black hair naturally aging and turning gray (the passage of youth) — an allusion perhaps meant to frighten the young man about turning old without having created a child. The poet then discusses the progression of the seasons, from "summer's green" to "the bier with white and bristly beard," which is an image of snow and winter. By stressing these different ways to measure time's decay, the poet hopes that the young man will finally realize that time stops for no one; the only way the young man will ensure the survival of his beauty is through offspring. This final point, that having children is the single means of gaining immortality, is most strongly stated in the sonnet's concluding couplet: "And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defense / Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence." In these lines, "Time's scythe," a traditional image of death, is unstoppable "save breed," meaning except by having children. The fast pace of time, or the loss of it, remains a major theme in the sonnets. Sonnet 144: Two loves I have of comfort and despair BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Two loves I have of comfort and despair, Which like two spirits do suggest me still The better angel is a man right fair, The worser spirit a woman coloured ill. To win me soon to hell, my female evil Tempteth my better angel from my side, And would corrupt my saint to be a devil, Wooing his purity with her foul pride. And, whether that my angel be turn’d fiend, Suspect I may, yet not directly tell, But being both from me both to each friend, I guess one angel in another’s hell. Yet this shall I ne’er know, but live in doubt, • Lady’s great beauty • Her power over the poet • Her cruelty to him and his suffering • The fire of his love and the ice of her chastity • The pain of an absence • The renunciation of love • And the eternity and originality of his poems. -The Italian form: 1- Octave (2 quatrains) and sextet. 2- Rhyming abba abba cdecde (introduced by Wyatt and in some of Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnets concerning Astrophil and Stella,1591). 3- The Volta or turning point occurs in line 9. -English form: 1- 3 quatrains and a couplet. 2- The rhyme is abab cdcd, efef, gg (introduced by surrey. Sidney's Astrophil and Stella. Shakespeare's sonnets, 1609). 3- The Volta or turn often occurs in the third quatrain or in the ending strophe (Tercet or couplet). The rhetorical devices: IMPORTANTE!! Repetition of sounds and words. • Alliteration: use of a several nearby words or stressed syllables beginning with the same consonant. • Assonance: repetition of a vowel sound. • Anaphora: repetition of words at the beginning of lines, or clauses, so that an effect of emphasis is produced. Repetition of words • Epistrophe: ending a series of lines( phrases or clauses) with the same word/s • Epanalepsis: the word/s that occurred at the beginning of a line, phrase, or clause is/are repeated at the end of the same line. • Anadiplosis: the repetition of the last words of one line or clause at the beginning of the next • Gradatio (or climax): a sentence construction which the last word of one clause becomes the first f the next, through three or more clauses(like extended anadiplosis). • Polyptoton: repetition of words of the same root with different endings. • Antanaclasis: the repetition of a word whose meaning changes in the second instance. • Diacope: repetition of words with one or some words between " she, dear she"(Sydney), " to be or not to be" (Shakespeare). • Epizeuxis: repetition of words with no other between. Syntax • Asyndeton: It joins words or phrases by commas only. • Polysyndeton: words connected by conjunctions. • Parallelism: the parallel construction of phrases.( nos dan un modelo, una frase y en la siguiente frase conectada a la primera se cambia el orden, y como está unida a esa otra frase no es un hyperbaton.) • Chiasmus: repetition in inverted order. • Enjambment (run-on line)/ encabalgamiento/: the statement flows over the end of the line into the next one. • Emphasis: It highlights a word by placing it in an unusual position in the line. • Hyperbaton: It is a deviation from the common word order in a sentence. Meaning • Metaphor: A word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison as in "the sea of troubles"(analogy). • Metonymy: It involves the substitution of a word or phrase with another closely associated with it. Thus, "what" can earn "hard labor" and "Capitol Hill" represents the U.S congress (association). • Synecdoque: is a kind of metonymy: a part of X refers to the whole of X, or vice versa. • Symbol: a word that has literal meaning as well as an alternative identity or meaning that represents something else. (the poems that we will see now are not so close to symbols but to metaphors. It was discovered by romantics). • Hyperbole: a deliberate exaggeration( erase una vez un hombre a una nariz pegado) • Pun: play of words( sometimes it has humorous effect) • Irony: when the meaning intended is the opposite of what is said. • Oxymoron: combination of contradictory words about the same thing(an open secret) it is a kind of antithesis(black and white. Example of antithesis). • Paradox: the use of concepts or ideas contradictory to one another "I can resist anything by temptation" (O.Wilde). • Allegory:a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. • Personification: transforms things or abstract concepts into human agents. UNIT 2: METAPHYSICAL POETRY Samuel Johnson (second half of the 18th century) “famously” coined the nickname term to describe the poetry of the early 17th century that he saw as almost insubstantial and out of touch with human nature. The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked T.S. Eliot (first half of the 20th century) spoke of the metaphysicals as masters of the kind of poetry he wanted: difficult, complex, learned and simultaneously intellectual, sensual and feeling. 17th century poetry map: “races” and “tribes”. Donne's Elegy 19, "To His Mistress Going to Bed," was most likely written in the late-sixteenth century but, like most of his poetry, not published until after his death in 1631. It was considered indecent enough not to be included in the first published edition of his work in 1633. In the poem, Donne revels in the experience of undressing his mistress in stages, his excitement and desire for her increasing until he exclaims, in an ecstasy of admiration, "full nakedness!" He urges her on with a series of imperatives ("off with that happy busk"; "off with those shoes"), but by the final section, as she sits on the bed wrapped in only a sheet, he seeks to "teach" her what she must do: "bodies uncloth'd must be, / To taste whole joys." So far, the poem is very straightforward: it is about undressing, and it is undeniably suffused with desire. A closer reading, however, reveals tantalising complexities. Even in a state of heightened desire, Donne's speaker reveals his capacity for wit: he refers to his excited state using puns on "labour" and "standing." As he anticipates going to bed with his mistress, he is like a soldier waiting for battle: "standing" refers both to the soldier and to his own erection. Further complexities involve the mistress herself. We are given no sense of her character or inner life; she is the body from which a series of clothes are alluringly cast away. Yet her high social status is clear. Her clothes are rich ("spangled breast-plate," "coronet"), and Donne's mood, though taut with desire, is not merely lust-fuelled. With palpable wonder, he compares her "gown going off" with the beauty of "when from flow'ry meads th'hills shadow steals," and the girl herself to "heaven's Angels." The joy he experiences is in discovering her body, and Donne conveys this through a characteristically witty, and utterly contemporary, metaphor. Like sixteenth-century explorers, he finds her body to be "my America! my new-found-land," and in his discovery he establishes a "kingdom, safeliest when with one man mann'd." Donne was an ambitious man in the world's terms, and for him to see his lovemaking in terms of conquest is at once apt and ingenious A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Launch Audio in a New Window BY JOHN DONNE As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say The breath goes now, and some say, No: So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; 'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears, Men reckon what it did, and meant; But trepidation of the spheres, Though greater far, is innocent. Dull sublunary lovers' love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elemented it. But we by a love so much refined, That our selves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to airy thinness beat. If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if the other do. And though it in the center sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must, Like th' other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun. John Donne’s nine quatrains of iambic pentameter make up one of the most beautiful love poems in the English language. In the 1675 (fourth) edition of his Life of Donne, Izaak Walton claimed that the author gave these lines to his wife in 1611 just before leaving for France. Whether the details of Walton’s account are true, the title reflects the content of the piece: a farewell. The poem is thus in the tradition of the congé d’amour, a consolation when lovers part. The poem begins with the image of virtuous men mildly accepting death. The separation of body and soul is so gentle that those friends surrounding the dying cannot tell whether the men are alive or not. So, Donne says, should he and his beloved part, because they do not want to reveal the quality of their love to the uninitiated. Here, then, is the first reason to forbid mourning. Through a series of elaborate metaphors, Donne offers a second reason. When an earthquake occurs, causing only small cracks in the ground, everyone is disturbed and regards the event as ominous, but when planets move apart, though the distances are great, no harm results. Earthly lovers, Donne continues, cannot accept separation; they fear it as people do earthquakes, because sensory and sensual stimuli make up the entirety of their affection. Donne and his beloved, however, who love spiritually as well as physically, are less troubled by being apart. Their two souls, being one, remain united even when their bodies are apart, just as gold stretches thinly without breaking. Even if the lovers retain their individual souls, they are divided only like the two parts of a compass used to describe a circle, linked at the top and working in unison. When the compass draws a circle, one point remains stationary in the center but leans toward the other, and by remaining firmly in one place, the fixed point guarantees that its partner will complete its circuit. So the beloved will, by remaining at home, ensure Donne’s return; since he will certainly come back, mourning is inappropriate. Sir John Suckling and Richard Lovelace. • Loyalty to the king, love, beauty. • Sophisticated charm. • “Out upon It” (by John Suckling, 1609-1642). Not metaphysical poem. Easter Wings BY GEORGE HERBERT Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more, Till he became Most poore: With thee O let me rise As larks, harmoniously, And sing this day thy victories: Then shall the fall further the flight in me. My tender age in sorrow did beginne And still with sicknesses and shame. Thou didst so punish sinne,