Poetry (1) by Robert Herrick

PRIMARY SOURCE: (circa 1648)

1. "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"
2. "To Marigolds"
3. “His Prayer to Ben Jonson”
4. "Delight in Disorder”

Context

• Publication: Born to a well-to-do London goldsmith and educated at St. John's and Trinity. Consorts with Ben Jonson at the Devil Tavern. Employed as a deacon and chaplain on Buckingham's expedition against Ile de Re, 1627.Vicar of Dean Prior in Devonshire, 1629-47. Enters poems in the Stationers' Register, 1640. Expelled from vicarage for Royalist sympathies, returns to London. Publishes Hesperides in 1648. Returns to Devonshire in 1660, dies in 1674. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars have read Herrick for the Son of Ben poems, as well as his connections to the Royalist faction. Herrick's poetry resembles a neo-classical interest in sexuality and beauty.
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon, illustrated title page.

Content

• Form:

1. "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"
   Ballad meter, abab; four stanzas.
2. "To Marigolds"
   Iambic pentameter, couplets.
3. “His Prayer to Ben Jonson”
   Iambic trimeter in ballad style, abab; three stanzas.
4. "Delight in Disorder”
   Iambic tetrameter; couplets.

• Genre:

1. "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"
   Commendation
2. "To Marigolds"
   Erotic nature poem
3. “His Prayer to Ben Jonson”
   Elegy, prayer
4. "Delight in Disorder”
   Love lyric?

• Conceit:

1. "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"
   Life as a day; people should marry young, since they will have old age to tarry.
2. "To Marigolds"
   Marigolds should open to the sun and be maids when he goes away. Marigold flowers = lady parts
3. “His Prayer to Ben Jonson”
   Herrick's poems are prayers to Saint Ben, whose writing is in Herrick's psalter.
4. "Delight in Disorder”
   A little disorder in a woman's dress is more attractive than a perfect outfit.

• Other notes:

The Maid's Tragedy by Beaumont & Fletcher

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Maid's Tragedy (1619)
Context

• Publication: First performed 1610-11, by the King's Men, probably at the Blackfriar's, then at court. Fletcher is believed to have written 2:2, 4:1, 5:1-2, several notable for their sudden reversals. Registered to Richard Higgenbotham (2) and Francis Constable in 1619. There are two issues of the first edition, varying by the imprint: Higgenbotham (2) or Constable. DEEP has six editions. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars are interested in the representations of courtly politics and tyranny in the play, as well as the development of the tragi-comedy under Beaumont & Fletcher.
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon, ekphrasis, the court, tragicomedy, women.

Content

• Form: Play in five acts.
• Genre: Courtly/romantic tragedy.
• Conceit: Melantius returns from war to Rhodes, only to find that the King has given the hand of his sister Evadne to his friend Amintor, a courtier. The problem is that Amintor had already promised to marry Aspatia, daughter of old lord Calianax. Aspatia grieves, Calianax insults Melantius, and all watch a masque--the king bids Amintor to father a great warrior, and wishes all a good night. Evadne prepares for bed accompanied by Aspatia, who kisses Amintor while leaving. As Amintor regrets his reversal, Evadne reveals that she will never share her bed with him. Under threat from Amintor, she admits to being the queen's kept woman. Amintor will make the king's bastards appear to be legitimate children. Amintor sleeps on the floor to maintain the illusion.
  Aspatia commends her servants to never give away their hearts. For her broken heart, Calianax vows revenge. Vengeful Amintor casts aspersions on Evadne to Melantius, and makes the king doubt Evadne's loyalty as a kept woman. Amintor admits that Evadne has been faithful to the king, and vows non-violent vengeance. Amintor shares the truth with Melantius, who had just brushed off a threat from Calianax. Melantiaus threatens Amintor with death for this slander, which Amintor welcomes. Melantius is disabused, though Amintor threatens in order to die. They reconcile and plot against the king. Covertly, they plot with Calianax to secure the fortress as a faithful citadel. Melantius threatens Evadne into confessing her tryst, and she swears to kill the king. She reconciles with Amintor. Calianax leaks the plan to the king, who summons the conspirators. On the strength of his reputation, Melantius convinces the king that Calianax is a fool. They win control of the fortress, and Melantius persuades Amintor not to harm the sacred body of the king. Instead, Evadne puts the king in bondage, kills him with a knife, and forgives him.
  The king's brother Lysippus regroups to the citadel, under Melantius' control. Melantius and Lysippus agree to amnesty. Aspatia duels Amintor in disguise, on the pretense of avenging Aspatia's (her own) honor. Amintor stabs her, and Evadne enters with a bloody knife. She asks to be his wife, but he leaves in disgust. Evadne stabs herself and dies. Aspatia reveals her true identity before dying, and Amintor--bereft of all hope--kills himself. The bloody scene is uncovered by Melantius, Calianax, and Lysippus. Melantius tries to kill himself; Calianax stops him, and they are reconciled; Lysippus vows to be a chaste king.
• Sudden reversals by Fletcher:
• 4:1 Melantius pulls a double-reverse on Calianax before the king.
• 5:1-2 The bloody end.

• Other notes: In an extended ekphrastic section, Aspatia amends a number of classical allusions to make them match her sorrow.
• Mneumonic: Mel(antius) Ev(adne) Am(intor) Asp(atia) Cal(ianax) Lys(ippus)
  Melting evidence amounts (to) aspermous calamitous licensciousness.

The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Roaring Girl (1611)
Context

• Publication: Written by Decker and Middleton for Prince Henry's Men; performed in 1611. Printed by Nicholas Okes for Thomas Archer. The title-page features an illustration of Moll. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars are interested in the gender-epistemology invoked by a character like Moll. Is she a proto-feminist, or an exceptional character that rather reaffirms the norm (as per Greenblatt)? Her Amazonian nature resembles established stereotypes, as well as Spenser's Brittomart.
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon, social satire.

Content

• Form: Iambic pentameter couplets. Five acts.
• Genre: Comedy.
• Conceit: 
• The titular character, Moll Cutpurse, is modeled on Mary Frith. She famously wore men's clothing, roared, associated with criminals, and came before the court many times for theft.
• In the main plot, Sir Alexander Wengrave prevents his son, Sebastian, from marrying Mary Fitzallard, because of her small dowry. Sebastian pretends to love Moll Cutpurse, to make Mary look acceptable in comparison. Moll gently rebuffs Sebastian and confirms her chastity. Sir Alexander falls for Sebsatian's trick, but hates Moll as a thief and so hires a spy, "honest Ralph" Trapdoor, to defame Moll. Moll takes on Trapdoor as a servant, but then learns of Sebastian's plot and agrees to help. Moll diverts Trapdoor's plots with cunning, but defends him from a gang nevertheless. In the end, Trapdoor confesses his plot and apologizes. Moll and Sebastian create one final ruse for Sir Alexander and Sir Fitzallard, showing them the value of the Mary-Sebastian match. Sir Alexander sees the true virtue in Moll, and Sebastian may marry Mary.
• In one subplot, Laxton seduces Mrs. Gallipot for thirty pounds from Mr. Gallipot. Mrs. Gallipot becomes disillusioned with Laxton and confesses to her husband, denouncing Laxton.
• In another subplot, Goshawk tries to Mrs. Openwork, but Mr. and Mrs. Openwork outmaneuver Goshawk and expose him.
• Other notes:
• In the closing soliloquy, Moll anatomizes her own face and then relates it to the plot.
• Mneumonic: Wen(grave) Seb(astian) Mar(y) Moll Tra(pdoor) La(xton) Gal(lipot) Go(shawk) Op(enwork).
• When sybarite marriages mollify a transvestite lad, gallantry guards obedience.

Master F.J. by George Gascoigne

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Adventures of Master F.J. (pub. 1573)
Context

• Publication: In the Hundreth Sundrie Flowres (1573), the narrator "G.T." of "The Storie of Ferdinando Ieronimi" is an older man who relates the misadventures of "F.J." This edition is framed by there introductory letters: one from the Printer, one from "H.W." (who relayed the manuscript), and one from G.T. G.T. confirms that the poems have been inserted into the narrative in the correct arrangement. Gascoigne himself claims only to have been the translator for the poem by Bartello. Printed by Henry Bynneman and Henry Middleton for Richard Smith. EEBO link.
  In the 1575 edition, the three letters are replaced by letters from Gascoigne. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars are interested in Master F.J. both as a proto-novel and as a narrative.
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon.

Content

• Form: Mixed: mostly prose fiction, some romantic poetry.
• Genre: Tale of seduction, epistolary novel, or alternately, "Italian riding tale."
• Conceit: G.T. relates the narrative at first as an avowedly reliable narrator, interjecting with frequency to tag information. G.T. later evaluates the composition of the enclosed poetry. F.J. courts Elynor, a Dame in an Italian court, through poetry. Their romance is facilitated by the Lady Fraunces. One night, F.J. encounters Elynor naked in a gallery near her chamber. At the climax, F.J. becomes jealous of Elynor's paramour the secretary, F.J. violently rapes Elynor. G.T. betrays his reliability with his obsessive interest with the physical description of this and other sexual scenes. Elynor's husband returns, and F.J. mocks him with verses about his cuckoldry.
• Other notes: How does a rhetorical approach to narrative theory handle the mixed formal elements of this text? The answer returns to the purpose of Hundreth Sundrie Flowres, whatever that might be.

(NB: written with articles.)
Scambly Schott, Penelope. "The Narrative Stance in "The Adventures of Master F.J.": George Gascoigne as Critic of His Own Poems." Renaissance Quarterly 29.3 (1976): 369-77. Web. 9 Feb. 2013.

Waters, Gregory. "'Worthles Enterprise': A Study of the Narrator in Gascoigne's 'The Adventures of Master F.J.'" Journal of Narrative Technique 7.2 (1977): 116-127. Web. 9 Feb. 2013.

Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum by Aemelia Lanyer

PRIMARY SOURCE: Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611)
Context

• Publication: SDRJ was the first overt bid for patronage from an Englishwoman. After the death of Alfonso Lanyer (1613), Aemelia seems to have spent some time in the house of Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland. "The Description of Cookham" predates "To Penshurst" in publication (Greenblatt and Abrams 1314). EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars read Lanyer's poetry both for the origins of country house poetry and for a women's history of literature. Lanyer participates in the so-called querelle des femmes, especially on the matter of Eve's sin and the virtue of women (Greenblatt and Abrams 1314).
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon, women's writing, rhetorical figures, country house poem, the court.

Content

1.[Prefatory poems]

1. "To the Queenes Most Excellent Majestie"
2. "To the Lady Elizabeths Grace"
3. "To All Vertuous Ladies in Generall"
4. "To the Ladie Arabella"
5. "To the Ladie Susan"
6. "The Authors Dreame to the Ladie Marie"
7. "To the Ladie Lucie"
8. "To the Ladie Margaret"
9. "To the Ladie Katherine"
10. "To the Ladie Anne"
11. "To the Vertuous Reader"

• Form: Varied. Mostly iambic pentameter verse with alternating rhyme. "To Queenes" alternates single lines with five-line stanzas. Stanzas often have a rhymed volta.
• Genre: Dedication.
• Conceit: An appeal to a different interpretive audience with each dedication.
• Lanyer invites Anne to read Eve's apology.
• Lanyer compares the "first fruits" of her writing to Elizabeth's youth and potential.
• Lanyer alludes to her own scandald with Hundson while commending the courtiers to live purely.
• Lanyer praises Arabella for her powers of re-birth: Arabella is an enfant terrible for the Stuarts.
• Lanyer claims her poetry is a reflection of Susan's virtue.
• Lanyer addresses Marie in an ellaborate dream vision, without interpretation, as recognition for Mary Sidney's poetic powers.
• Lanyer implies that Lucie can accept these poems as she accepts Christ.
• Lanyer juxtaposes Margaret's inheritance with her own status as an aspiring poetess.
• Lanyer seems to have mercenary motives towards Katherine, but also pursues Katherine's daughters as an audience.
• Lanyer claims the book is a mirror to Anne's virtue, as with Susan.
• Lanyer addresses to virtuous women some remarks on women's virtue, both in these poems and in Biblical history.

2. Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum

• Form: Iambic pentameter. ABABABCC.
• Genre:  Religious argument, political essay, polemic.
• Conceit: A woman's history of the passion
• invocation of Margaret ("from the Court to the Countre . . . retir’d")
• defense of Women ("faire Virtues" over Helen's beauty)
• the Passion (betrayal by an inner circle)
• tears of daughters of Jerusalem ("Poore women seeing how much they did transgresse, ... labour still these tyrants hearts to move")
• sorrow of the Virgin
• Pontius Pilate (Pilate's wife defends Christ)

3. "The Description of Cooke-ham"

• Form: Iambic pentameter, couplets.
• Genre: Country-house poem
• Conceit: Frequent references to proto-feminist themes: Philomela, equality in grace, the dowry. The poem is about the estate where Lady Anne of Pembroke stayed while fighting for her daughter's inheritance.
• Other notes: Extensive use of the pathetic fallacy.

4. "To the Doubtfull Reader"

• Form: Brief essay.
• Genre: Address to the reader.
• Conceit: Dream-vision (origin of title)

(NB: written with anthology notes.)
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2012. Print.