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Joseph Swetnam “The Arraignment of Lewd, Idle, blah blah blah”

With the creation of the printing press and the rise in literacy, people from all walks of life wrote and distributed their writings for all to read. Hotly debated subjects at the time were religion and women’s “worth” or rights (these topics remain hotly debated!). The Arraignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women was originally published under the name Thomas Tel-troth (Thomas who tells the truth). It was unfortunately reprinted many times in the 17th and 18th centuries. His tract was subject to a number of critical responses written by women (Rachel Spegth’s response)

In this tract, he warns the young men of the world of the dangers. His use of classical creatures and figures when he compares women to animals “Cerberus, venomous Adders, Serpents, and Snakes”. He makes reference to the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, Hercules, and Ulysses. He also uses biblical figures to add to his authority using the seduction story of King David, the betrayal of Samson and once again the reader is reminded of the Garden of Eden story.

His tone seems unprofessional and childish when he writes “for this book toucheth no sort of women but such as when they hear it will go about to reprove it” Swetnam suggests if you read this and it bothers you, you are part of the problem he speaks of.

He uses biblical references about how terrible women are but in many of those stories, the men were of equal blame, yet he doesn’t mention that.

Swetnam was apparently a former soldier and claimed to be the fencing instructor to the Prince of Wales, maybe he should have stuck with that instead of sticking his misogynistic face on the topic of women.

Mary Sidney Herbert “Psalms”

Mary Sidney Herbert, the first English woman to achieve the status and title of writer/translator, was a well-educated (classical/contemporary literature), aristocratic wife and mother. Although she couldn’t go to school or travel like her brother Phillip. She was well learned well positioned and well-connected the family with ties to Queen Elizabeth I. She was able to discuss political and social events without transgressing her female status. Translation allowed women into the public sphere but also limited her voice (she couldn’t go out and write a biography) so she added her voice to some of the translations. For example in Psalm 38 she transforms the passage and adds “Lord crack their teeth” this added passage symbolizes an embryo and miscarriage, here she in intertwining her personal life into the biblical text. She took over her brother’s task of translating the book of Psalms after he was killed in battle. Psalms were traced back to the ancient Middle East, with many authors, most famous is King David. They were songs sung to a pluck string instrument they were considered important devotional songs containing all the lessons from the bible to help readers remember. The book varies in topics from praise, blame, and exhalation. Herbert’s translations very popular but was only circulated through a manuscript. Only went into print early 1823. Poets like Herbert (2-3 cousin of Mary), Donne, Marvell praised these poems.

All written in the first person why? Because it allows anyone to read them and take them up on their own, ensuring a personal relationship with God. There was a song for every occasion. It was the only book in the bible where it is written in the first person

John Donne “Death, be not Proud (Holy Sonnet 10)”

Donne’s Sonnet X tries to take the fear out of death

Donne catches Death off guard by bossing him around at the beginning of the play. The speaker claims Death is not the scary powerful thing we think it is. By calling death “poor” he shows sympathy towards death, something average people would not do. Unafraid of death he longs for it stating it will bring eternal rest. “nor yet canst thou kill me./From rest and sleep” He continues his attack on Death as he makes fun of Death for hanging out with losers “Thou’art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,/And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell” Finally he tells death, when the rapture comes, death will die but he will live on forever in Heaven “One short sleep past, we wake eternally,/ And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”

Suck it Death!

For Donne, the real person people should be fearing and paying respects to, is the one and only G-O-D! Donne is a true believer in the afterlife and the peace it will bring to those who live a Christ-like life.

King Charles I “A Proclamation and Declaration to Inform Our Loving Subject...”

Charles I tried to introduce and new prayer book for the people of Scotland. The problem was, Charles was more tolerant towards Catholicism and it was seen as a threat. The Scots galvanized against the king and so he wrote this proclamation in response. This pamphlet ignited a pamphlet warfare between the monarch and those in opposition. In the pamphlet, Charles talks about the “monarch [conducting] itself fairly and justly”. He characterizes the Scots as unnatural and positions himself natural and therefore rightful governing force. He doesn’t really explain why is he is the best choice, it just gives a “Because I said so” attitude, and assumes the reader will take it as is. Unfortunately, Charles I uses the whole divine right argument to justify his position. He obviously didn’t learn much from his father’s gong show of a reign; by proclaiming the God gave the king all his rights, it places the Scots on the bad side. The problem with this stance was more and more people didn’t see the king receiving his rights from God, and so it created a void amongst a certain population. Another problem with this argument is that the King, even if he wanted to, could acknowledge any points made by the Scots. To do so would undermine his authority and unravel his argument completely!

Ben Jonson “Inviting a Friend to Supper”

Written to William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, Jonson invites him to a luxurious home dinner. Why? Well because he is the only one that will bring honour to this shin dig (Not that we think us worthy such a guest/ But that your worth will dignify our feast. The poem balances the luxury and liberty of a happy home dining experience with that of classical ideal of restraint. The speaker metaphorically sets the table, serving the Earl “an olive, capers, or some better salad/ Ushering the mutton; with a short-legged hen...” the menu continues with all sorts of birds, wine and cheese. This food seems all grand, but what Jonson stresses as important is the upmost value of privacy. At the dinner “we will have no Pooly, or Parrot by” in Jonson’s times these were government informers that would attend social gatherings and report what they heard. Jonson would first-hand about these Parrots and he was implicated in the gun powder conspiracy led by the Guy Fawkes, he almost faced time in the tower because of it. At the end of the poem Jonson writes “No simple word/That shall be uttered at our mirthful board/Shall make us sad next morning, or affright/The liberty that we’ll enjoy tonight”. These last few lines sum up the important message here. He promises the Earl that all these said at this dinner will not make us sad the next nor will it hinder our liberty (send us to jail). Someone’s a bit paranoid….

Robert Herrick “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time (Gather Ye Rosebuds)”

Another YOLO, carpe diem poem coming at ya!! The speaker begins the poem telling the virgins to gather ye rosebuds while they can, why? Because time is passing them by! While a flower could be smiling today, it could dead tomorrow. In the second stanza, the speaker again makes reference to time, using the sun, he talks about as it gets higher (continues travelling west) the sun will set and its “race” is done. In the third stanza the speaker talks about the best age to live, he states the stage of young adulthood is the best because the blood is warm suggesting youth and vitality. He finishes the stanza saying, when that time ends only worst times will follow. In the final stanza the speaker concludes use your time wisely! Don’t be coy, go out and get married! Because if you don’t use it (take advantage of your health and looks) you’re gonna lose it! With a simple rhyming scheme of ABAB the message short and sweet, live life to the fullest, don’t ruin your optimal years being a shut in from the world. I only the youthful age is the late 20’s – early 30’s or I’m already screwed

Andrew Marvell “A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body”

I had to give Marvell one more chance after his sleazy Carpe Diem poem “To His Coy Mistress.” I randomly selected “A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body” I figured it would be a good read. This poem gives a little history lesson for modern readers as the foundation of the poem is based on the idea that the mind-soul and body are separate entities.

The soul is in charge of emotions, morality, it hates the body because of all the physical pain that comes with being in the body (deaf ear, blind eye etc.). The soul feels trapped and confined between veins, nerves, and arteries. The soul believes when the body dies, the soul can return back to heaven and live in peace.

The body is no happy camper in this relationship as well. He knows that once he dies, he cannot live in heaven like the soul. He shows discontent for the soul for having even creating the body on for it to die (And, wanting where its spite to try,/Has made me live to let me die.) What the body hates about the soul the most is the emotions it has to feel because of it:

Whom first the cramp of hope does tear, And then the palsy shakes of fear; The pestilence of love does heat, Or hatred's hidden ulcer eat; Joy's cheerful madness does perplex, Or sorrow's other madness vex;

The body hates having to deal with all these emotions. The body compares the soul-shaping the body, to that of an architect shaping trees. The soul shapes and forms the body, giving it a conscious to make decisions whether good or bad and then gives them emotions to feel guilty if their decision goes against God. No real solution is found, but it raises some interesting questions.

I’m glad I chose another Marvell poem, I was not impressed with his carpe diem poem, but this one I enjoyed reading.

John Milton “The Passion”

(I chose this poem because it related to Donne’s “Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward)

Written on Easter, 1630, “The Passion” is unfinished ode by Milton that describes the greatness of Christ by demonstrating how meaningless the old pagan gods are, but because of his education, the only way to show this, is by using pagan characters. An example of this is found in the deeds of Christ compared to the labours of Hercules.

This poem demonstrates Milton’s attempt to find himself as a poet. stanzas five, six, seven and eight, talks about Milton in need of assistance; in Stanza five he asks for the night to help him because everything he writes his tears wipe them away. In stanza seven, Milton jumps over the crucifixion scene to the burial, he is so grief-stricken; he wished his tears would help him write. Finally in stanza eight, he imitates John Donne, using metaphysical conceit, trying to get his tears to write; and then asking the clouds to write for him, but his imagination fails him, and he ends the poem incomplete. For me, this personified the uncertainty and insecurity Milton felt as an up and coming poet.

George Herbert “Altar”

Another concrete poem by George Herbert although the message in this one was not as easily shown like in “Easter Wing.” The speaker has a broken altar to God in his heart, it’s the spot where the love and faith for God begins. The speaker talks about how tough rebuilding this altar will be; it will require tears and sacrifice but he knows praising God is worth all these things. No man made tools have altered this altar, it is just the way God made it. The speaker is willing to give it all in order to praise God, so that even when he dies, his altar will remain (soul) and continue praising the Lord. Having the poem look like an Altar, helpes the readers focus on the message. It’s very easy to get lost in the words of poems, but with this one, you always know the speaker is talking about the important one-on-one relationship with God. An altar is church is very sacred and so too is the altar one has in their heart for God. Growing up in a religious household I would often hear about building a tabernacle inside your heart for God to live, so it was nice to read a poem like this.

George Herbert “Easter Wing”

George Herbert, the master of concrete poems. In the first stanza is written in past tense and the lines become shorter to symbolize the past (Adam in particular) and the downward spiral of men. The second stanza inflates and the sweet singing bird of the lark symbolizes this. It is written in present tense so further should a change within the actions. The third stanza again deflates as it talks about sickness and shame; with the last stanza, the poem rises it with the resurrection of Christ. As Christ celebrates his victory over death, the speaker rejoices and joins his wing upon him so he too can be saved. I liked this poem, it was short and sweet. Herbert didn’t dance around the point he was trying to make. What I take from this poem is that in life there will be ups and downs, but if you believe that Christ died for your sins and resurrected, and you put your faith in him, you’ll be able to rise up from any afflictions.

Aphra Behn “Epitaph on the Tombstone of a Child, The Last of Seven that Died Before”

(Again, not part of the course reading but I wanted to use her poem as an example to the epitaphs of Jonson)

Behn’s epitaph has the same rhyming scheme of Jonson’s (aabbccddeeffgg). In the poem, Behn mourns the early death of her son. She pictures the angles listening and smiling to his voice which made music out of words. “Wanton as unfledg’d Cupids, ere their Charms/ Has learn’d the little arts of doing harms” In these lines Behn uses an enjambment to give these lines a smoother transition. In these lines she writes her son was taken to away before he learned the charms of doing harms, he was taken pure and innocent. In Heaven, he rests with the other six siblings taken from the earth. Behn pictures them all as angles happily serving God. I cannot imagine how sad it would be to lose a child. For Behn, she realizes on her faith to comfort her and give her hope that she will one day she will see her children again.

Francis Bacon “Of Marriage and Single Life”

You sad about single? If yes, you should read Bacon’s “Of Marriage and Single Life.” In his essay Bacon promotes the single life as it allows the person the freedom and means to be a productive Patty in society.

“He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.” We all know someone who is married with a pack of rug rats who decline any and all invitations for a social gather. To Bacon having a wife and kids literally sucks the fortune out of you! During his time, women weren’t really encouraged to work, so all the pressures of “bringing home the bacon” rest on the man.

“Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men; which both in affection and means have married and endowed the public.” I’m not sure how true this argument is but it kinda makes sense that men would achieve more with the ol’ ball and chain. The next time a family member asks when I’ll get married, I can simply say “Francis Bacon said I’ll achieve greater things unwed” haha

When I first read this, I thought this was a satire. As I was writing my final paper I learned that Bacon was spurned by a woman he loved and then at the age of 45 married a 14-year-old and lived unhappily ever after, he even disinherited her in his will! So I guess you can say this guy was a bitter Betty towards marriage.

Margaret Fell “Women’s Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed”

Fell joins the ranks of other smarty pants women of the 17th century (Lanyer, Speght). She was well educated and came from a family that had money. Her husband was a judge and supported her Quakerism and promotion of all things just and good in society. In 1666 Fell wrote a piece for women to be preachers in the Quaker faith, her tract isn’t a retort to Sweetnam’s piece like Speght was, but it does possess proto-feminist rhetoric. Once again the use of the Bible is paramount to a women’s argument.

In an early tract, it was suggested that female preachers transgress modesty, god, and society. Fell wrote this tract to defend her thoughts and rights of a female preacher. Fell refers to Corinthians 14, in this chapter, Paul the Apostle discusses the role of women in the church:

34 Women[f] should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.[g] (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+14)

(Pretty harsh words Paul), this passage was used to keep women silent, however, Fell believes men misinterpreted Paul’s intentions and that they do not realize/understand God’s intentions of how women should be treated

If women are so inferior why is the church given a female connotation?. She uses a similar argument to that of Speght saying those who speak against women, speak against Christ, therefore, men cannot critique one without critiquing the other, and by doing he commits blasphemy.

John Milton “Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth”

(Not on the course reading I know, but I thought this was a good piece to add on the subject of the restoration of the monarchy)

Guess who’s back, back again, the King is back, tell a friend....

Poor Milton, he doesn’t seem happy about the restoration among other things in his life. When reading the “Ready and Easy Way” you can feel the disparity Milton feels. In the 1650s his health is on the decline, his wife and son dies; Thomas Cromwell dies in 1655, and the return of monarchical power in March 1660. Milton promotes a republican stance and reiterates that is impossible for a government to be led by an individual, even if he was a righteous person, he is prone to corruption. His argument for a group of senates that will retain their status until they are no longer fit to serve makes no sense to his then plan to implement the intelligence of the senate with the popularity of the common people. Like a biblical prophet, Milton warns the reader the lack of freedom and virtue in a monarchical society. To bring back the monarchy would be a sin against God. Milton’s pleas fall upon deaf ears and the English people once again fall under the yoke of the monarch.

I can’t help but imagine what England and the world, for that matter, would look like if Milton was listened to, and a republican parliament was upheld. We would not have to care about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children, for one thing, …ugh

Rachel Speght “A Muzzle for Melastomus”

In response to Joseph’s Sweetnam’s garbage of a tract.

She writes Sweetnam was so busy trying to trash women, he forgot to bring a logical argument to the table. Speght states to call him a dunce would be an insult to dunces (burn!), she attacks his writing style insinuating that an 8-year-old child could write better ideas (double burn!). She shows some restraint and propriety when she states she I too young to continue hurling more insults.

Speght, like the female writers at this time refer to biblical passages to bring authority to her arguments. She accuses Sweetnam of transgressions against the biblical code: (1) “dishonouring God by palpable blasphemy, wresting and perverting every place of Scripture.” Speght condemns Sweetnam’s actions of cherry-picking from the bible the things he believe depict women negatively. (2) “it appears by your disparaging of and opprobrious speeches against, that excellent work of God’s hands, which in his great love he perfected for the comfort of man”. Speght argues Sweetnam’s attack on women is an attack on God, and his works, not the smartest thing to do in their time. Speght concludes that if all of God’s works are good, then surely women belong in that category. She maintains men at the top of the hierarchy and suggest men and women should share each other’s burdens.

Ben Jonson “On Something, That Walks Somewhere”

Fake it till you make it? Benson doesn’t think so!

In this poem, the speaker is walking somewhere (we can assume it’s somewhere in court), where he nears a man. Jonson uses the neutral “it” throughout the poem to suggest this person could be anyone within the court. “It” is all decked in brave (impressive) clothes which Jonson assumes the man is someone of high honour “looks grave enough to seem a statesman...” So as the two get close to each other, the speaker asks for the man’s name, he cries ‘A lord.’ Ummm Lord is not a name (dummy!) it’s a title or role! Cleary Jonson is just as unimpressed with the man’s answer as I am. ‘[B]uried in flesh and blood...’ the speaker suggest the man in hopelessly clinging to a status he doesn’t belong to. Jonson concludes the poem with a suggestion for “it” “Good lord, walk dead still.” In my opinion, I think Jonson is telling the man to just walk and don’t open his mouth, as he gives himself away with the stupid things he says.

Today you can find “it” anywhere in society, people dressing above their means. Men and women buying overpriced clothes, rocking hideous tattoos (I’m pro-tattoos FYI I just hate ones that look so commercial). Spending tons of money of jewelry and shoes, for what? To imitate the movie/music star idols? To look like a Kardashian. As Oscar Wilde once said: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”

Ben Jonson “To Penshurst”

Praises shower upon the estate of Robert Sidney! In the poem, the speaker presents the world that functions free of struggle or even labour. The animals willingly and happily sacrifice themselves for the feast that everyone is invited to. Jonson demonstrates an influence of Roman poet Horace as he praises the joys of the pastoral life. There’s also a glimpse of Virgil “Georgics” which praise the rural life and farming. This place seems cooler and cooler as the poem progresses, “fat aged carps that run into thy net” and fruit orchards providing delicious fruits left right and center. Not only is this place amazing, but those who inhabit it are loved by one and all “But all come in, the farmer and the clown,/ And no one empty-handed , to salute/ Thy lord and lady…)

Jonson’s poem has a similar vibe to Aemilia Lanyer’s “The Description of Cooke-ham.” In her poem, she praises her patrons: Lady Susan, Countess Dowager of Kent, Mary (Sidney) Pembroke, Anne Clifford and her mother Lady Margaret Countess of Montgomery. Both poets use the idyllic pastoral theme to show their gratitude towards those who support financially their works. Nice way to say thanks, I guess, as these poems have survived centuries.

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Latoya B.