Jon Corelis wrote:
>The Elizabethan poets were like rock bands in the '60s: all they had to do
>was do it, and it was good.
>
>
It wasn't ALL good, Jon: you must've missed Vanilla Fudge:-). It took
me a second reading to find the rhythm, but once I did...what I cannot
begin to fathom is how sentiments of what I at least read as absolute
bitterness are made not merely tolerable but beautiful by that same
attention to metrics, rhythm, etc. Somehow(?), Sidney keeps the poem
away from outright self-pity. I suspect this is not only the solidity
of the meter but also the repeated use of the Anglican litany adapted
through the last four lines of each stanza as an anchor that raises the
sentiments above the outcry of a broken heart and toward a form of
prayer suited to an ugly occasion.
Now I'll go finish my coffee and read it again.
ken
--
Kenneth Wolman http://kenwolman.com http://kenwolman.blogspot.com
--------------------------------------
"Poetry is tribal not material....this is where you can remember the good
times along with the worst; where you are not allowed to forget the worst,
else you cannot be healed."--C. D. Wright
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