Sonnet 79
Robert Stonehouse
79
Whilst I alone did call vpon thy ayde,
My verse alone had all thy gentle grace,
But now my gracious numbers are decayde,
And my sick Muse doth giue an other place.
I grant ( sweet loue) thy louely argument
Deserues the trauaile of a worthier pen,
Yet what of thee thy Poet doth inuent,
He robs thee of,and payes it thee againe,
He lends thee vertue,and he stole that word,
From thy behauiour,beautie doth he giue
And found it in thy cheeke: he can affoord
No praise to thee,but what in thee doth liue.
Then thanke him not for that which he doth say,
Since what he owes thee,thou thy selfe doost pay,
Whilst I alone did call upon thy aid
My verse alone had all thy gentle grace,
But now my gracious numbers are decayed
And my sick muse doth give another place.
I grant, sweet love, thy lovely argument
Deserves the travail of a worthier pen,
Yet, what of thee thy poet doth invent,
He robs thee of and pays it thee again.
He lends thee virtue, and he stole that word
From thy behaviour; beauty doth he give
And found it in thy cheek; he can afford
No praise to thee but what in thee doth live.
Then thank him not for that which he doth say
Since what he owes thee thou thyself dost pay.
--
Robert Stonehouse
To mail me, replace invalid with uk. Inconvenience regretted
Robert Stonehouse
<ew...@bcs.org.invalid> wrote:
> 79
>Whilst I alone did call upon thy aid
When I was the only person whom you helped to a subject
>My verse alone had all thy gentle grace,
all your noble generosity went into my poetry and no other;
>But now my gracious numbers are decayed
but now the elegance of my verse is dying out
>And my sick muse doth give another place.
and my art is weak and takes second place to another's.
>I grant, sweet love, thy lovely argument
I admit, dear friend, that a subject as attractive as you
>Deserves the travail of a worthier pen,
should be worked on by a better poet than I am,
>Yet, what of thee thy poet doth invent,
but still, everything your new poet creates about you
>He robs thee of and pays it thee again.
is something he has taken from you and is simply giving
back.
>He lends thee virtue, and he stole that word
He attributes virtue to you, but that word is one he stole
>From thy behaviour; beauty doth he give
from your own actions; he attributes beauty
>And found it in thy cheek; he can afford
but he found beauty in your face; he cannot provide
>No praise to thee but what in thee doth live.
any good thing for you except what already exists in you.
> Then thank him not for that which he doth say
So do not thank him for his writings
> Since what he owes thee thou thyself dost pay.
because he is paying the debt he owes to you out of your own
money.
The poet's defence of his art has turned into an attack on a
rival. Looking back, we can see the beginning of this in the
previous sonnet but, as often happens with sonnets that come
in groups, it was not clear at the time.
In sonnet 38, the speaker used much the same argument in the
opposite direction: his own poems owe all their worth to
their subject.
"How can my muse want subject to invent
While thou dost breathe, that pour'st into my verse
Thine own sweet argument, too excellent
For every vulgar paper to rehearse?"
After that, the argument seems not to work very well as a
weapon against the rival. But this is poetry, not logic.
Helen Vendler thinks the idea is that all poets are on a
level, since they all depend on their subject; so the
speaker is not in a lower position than the rival. That
might solve the logic problem, but there doesn't seem to be
any hint of it in the words of the poem.
She points out that the situation is set out in lines 1-6
and the rebuttal begins at line 7, so making a 6-6-2
structure, against the usual practice of not to breaking up
quatrains.
In line 7, 'thy poet' is no longer the speaker's own title.
In lines 7-8, Katherine Duncan-Jones draws attention to the
reversal 'of thee' - 'thee of' which lends emphasis to the
theft.
In lines 9-11 Kerrigan discusses the pronunciation of 'word'
- 'afford' inconclusively. It seems reasonable to assume
there was some pronunciation that made the rhyme good.
bookburn
"Paul Crowley" <slkwuoiut...@slkjlskjoioue.com> wrote in
message news:Mb2cf.18363$R5....@news.indigo.ie...
> X-No-archive: yes
> 1. Whilst I alone did call vpon thy ayde,
> 2. My verse alone had all thy gentle grace,
> 3. But now my gracious numbers are decayde,
> 4. And my sick Muse doth giue an other place.
> 5. I grant (sweet loue) thy louely argument
> 6. Deserues the trauaile of a worthier pen,
> 7. Yet what of thee thy Poet doth inuent,
> 8. He robs thee of, and payes it thee againe,
> 9. He lends thee vertue, and he stole that word,
> 10. From thy behauiour, beautie doth he giue
> 11. And found it in thy cheeke: he can affoord
> 12. No praise to thee, but what in thee doth liue.
> 13. Then thanke him not for that which he doth say,
> 14. Since what he owes thee, thou thy selfe doost pay,
>
>
> 1. Whilst I alone did call vpon thy ayde,
>
> The strangeness of 'alone' and its repetition
> in the first two lines cry out for explanation.
> Booth actually finds the answer: namely
> puns on 'a loan', but then he dismisses it as
> mere " . . potential for idle and syntactically
> unexploitable wordplay . . ".
>
> Such must always be the fate of Stratfordians.
> Booth cannot see why the Stratman would
> have needed a loan in the 1590s, so he does
> not bother to see how 'a loan' can fit into the
> rest of each line.
The conceit of loan as borrowing imagined beauty, repaid as artifice,
is not too bad, much more than wordplay, even if the poet's motive is
pecuniary, which of course it isn't. The motif of love's inspiration
as unreliable and fickle is common enough; but when the description
opposes "grace," repeated in l. 2 & 3, and "virtue" to "decay", "sick
Muse", and "beauty . . . found . . . in thy cheek," the rhetoric
seems to argue aesthetics regarding realism vs. artifice. Beginning
as an "I" sonnet, the first person point of view changes to third
person by l. 7, where "thy poet" is personification, IMO.
> In fact, the poet was in dire financial straits
> at this time (probably 1580), and constantly
> needed help from his royal mistress.
I surmise that if there is allusion to a particular "you" addressee,
it might be Mary Herbert, who was not only much admired as a poetess,
sister and collaborator with Sidney, and center of a literary circle,
but used heavy cosmetics covering scars from the plague "in thy
cheek," contracted from tending Elizabeth during her illness. They
say Mary Herbert was in seclusion from the public because of her
scarring, only coming to court occasionally. She must have been a
romantic figure to all the Shakespeare candidates. I think
Shakespeare's statement may be that he is inspired by her inner
qualities, but shows handling of the theme of artifice according to a
realistic aesthetics somewhat cynical of conventional poetics.
bookburn
Gary Kosinsky
know?
The speaker is concerned about losing his place with the
addressee to some other male poet.
One word description of the poem: Borrowings.
Sonnet sub-group: "Words fail me" (along with 23, 26, 32, 38, 78 -
79).
***************************************************
The story so far:
So after seventy-nine sonnets, what do we know?
The addressee or referent of the first seventy-nine
sonnets is probably the same person (although it has been
speculated that perhaps the speaker of the first seventeen
poems is different). At any rate, we are assuming that the
same person is the addressee of these sonnets.
We still don't know what the relationship is between
the speaker and the addressee. It is clearly an intense,
emotional relationship. Whether it is sexual is uncertain.
The speaker says the addressee is physically
attractive. The description of that beauty is in terms that
would seem more suitable to a woman than a man. (1 - 7, 9,
13, 17-19, especially 20, 41, 54)
The speaker says that the addressee is narcissistic.
(1 - 4, 6)
The speaker may be chiding the addressee's sexual
habits. (1 - 4, 6, 9, 40 - 42, 58, 61, 69)
The speaker suggests that, while they may acknowledge the
addressee's physical good looks, some unnamed others have a critical
opinion of some aspect of the addressee's character, morals and/or
behaviour. (69) However, the speaker defends the addressee against
this criticism/slander (70).
The addressee is male. (3, 9, 16, 19-20, 26, 33,
39, 41, 63, 67 - 68)
The speaker is male. (20, 32)
The addressee is of marriageable age, meaning (I
think) that he would be in the 17 - 26 age range. (1 - 4, 6,
8 - 13, 16, 17)
The speaker is older than the addressee. (62 - 63)
The speaker is old. (73)
The speaker claims he has no interest in sexual
relations with the addressee. (20)
The addressee is sexually interested in women. (41)
The speaker is sexually interested in women. (41)
Women are sexually attracted to the addressee. (3, 16, 20,
41,)
The speaker has a wife or mistress. (40 - 42).
A snag appears in the relationship between the
speaker and addressee. (33, 34)
The snag that appeared in the relationship between
the speaker and addressee seems to concern something that
the addressee did to the speaker which caused the speaker
shame. The addressee, however, is contrite, and the speaker
has forgiven him. (34)
While it's not certain, the snag that appeared in
the relationship between the speaker and the addressee
probably concerns a love stolen from the speaker by the
addressee. (35)
It seems that the addressee *has* stolen a lover
from the speaker (40 - 42), but the speaker forgives him.
(40, 42)
The speaker expresses concern that he might lose the
affections/attention of the addressee. (48)
The speaker has a very humble opinion of himself, and is
prepared to excuse almost any behaviour of the addressee (35, 49,
57-58).
It's still uncertain what class the speaker and addressee
belong to. Some have argued that Sonnet 25 indicates that the speaker
is not a member of the nobility, while others argue that it indicates
that he is a member of the nobility. Some readers have also suggested
that certain words and phrases used in the sonnets indicate that the
addressee is of noble birth. (37, 40)
The speaker's life involved travel that took him
away from the addressee. Possibly, the travel involved
service for the addressee. (27 - 28, 39, 43 - 45, 47, 50 - 51, 61)
By the time of Sonnet 52, whenever it is, the speaker
doesn't seem to be seeing the addressee very often. (52).
Note that we still don't know where the speaker or
the addressee live.
There seems to have been a lull in the speaker/addressee's
emotional relationship. (56)
The speaker has a picture of the addressee which he enjoys
looking at. (47)
The speaker is preoccupied at night by images of the
addressee. (27 - 28, 43, 61)
The poet says he is in disgrace for some reason, and
that he is a self-described outcast of some sort, and that
he feels sorry for himself and envious of others, a feeling
that is dispelled when he thinks of his relationship with
the addressee. (29)
For some reason, the speaker thinks that the
addressee will be dishonoured by publicly associating with
the speaker. (36, 71 - 72)
The speaker tells us that his sad memories are
dispelled when he thinks of the addressee. (30)
The speaker's feelings for the addressee are so strong that
they leave the speaker tongue-tied about those feelings in the
presence of the addressee. (23)
The speaker expresses humility about his ability to
express, in writing, his feelings for the addressee. (26,
32)
The speaker says that he is poor, despised and,
possibly, physically disabled. (37)
The speaker distinguishes himself from "the rich". (52)
However, while the speaker says he is poor in Sonnet 37, he
then says, in Sonnet 48, that he owns jewels. (48)
The speaker so identifies with the addressee, that
any and all of the speaker's faults and shortcomings are
resolved in the positive attributes of the addressee. (37, 62)
The speaker says he sees, in the addressee, the
embodiment of former deceased loves. (31)
The speaker says all good things are but shadows of the
addressee. (53)
The speaker says the addressee has a pleasant
speaking voice and enjoys listening to sad music. (8)
The speaker says the addressee has a gracious and
kind presence. (10)
The speaker seems to think that the addressee has
some sort of love for the speaker. (10, 25, 34, 36, 39, 41, 61, 73)
The speaker seems to have some sort of affectionate
feelings for the addressee, calling him such things as
"love", "dear my love", "master-mistress of my passion", "Lord of my
love" & "sweet love". (13, 19, 20-33, 40, 54, 57-58, 66, 76)
The speaker seems to have believed in a religious theory of
the resurrection of the dead. (55)
The speaker is an aesthetic snob. (11)
The speaker may believe in astrology. (15)
The speaker rides a horse. (50 - 51)
The speaker, at least at times, was disillusioned with his
world. (66 - 68)
The addressee has been given a blank book in which to record
his thoughts. The book is possibly from the speaker. (77)
Other poets are using the addressee for their subject matter.
(78)
The speaker is concerned about losing his place with the
addressee to some other male poet. (79)
The speaker initially thinks that having children is
a better method than a painting or a poem for the addressee
to preserve himself. (16, 17) However, the speaker comes to
say that he can preserve the beauty of the addressee in his
poetry (18 - 19, 54 -55, 60, 63 - 65).
The speaker believes he can preserve the best part of himself
in his writings. (74)
The speaker, having posed a problem for the
addressee, is offering a solution to that problem - namely
that the addressee should have children - specifically, a
son. (1-14, 16, 17). (But let's remember that it's only the
speaker's assertion that beautiful people have some sort of
obligation to the world to propagate or preserve their
beauty.)
While seeming to chastise the addressee for his
narcissistic failure to preserve or propagate his beauty,
the speaker is, at the same time, acknowledging that beauty,
and so is flattering the addressee.
Sonnet groupings (a tentative listing of the sonnets
read so far and how they might be grouped):
Get married, young man: 1 - 14, 16 - 17.
Forever young: 15, 18 - 19, 54 - 55, 60, 63 - 65.
You are so beautiful: 20 - 21, 53, 59.
We two are one: 22, 25, 37, 39, 62, 73 - 74.
Words fail me: 23, 26, 32, 38, 78 - 79.
You're in my heart: 24, 46 - 48.
Dreamin' of you: 27 - 28, 43, 61.
Can't stop thinkin' 'bout you: 29 - 30, 44 - 45, 50 - 52, 75 - 76.
You done me wrong: 33 - 34, 40 - 42.
Anything you do is alright with me: 35, 42, 49, 57 - 58.
I am unworthy: 36, 71 - 72.
What's a nice person like you doin' in a place like this?: 66 - 70.
? - 31, 56, 77.
One word descriptions of the sonnets:
01) Introduction; 02) Siege; 03) Mirror; 04) Usury; 05) Perfume;
06) Money-lending; 07) Sun; 08) Music; 09) Widow; 10) Self-hate;
11) Snob; 12) Breed; 13) Endless; 14) Astrology;
15) Transience; 16) Lines; 17) Memorial; 18) Summer;
19) Permanence; 20) Pricked; 21) True; 22) Hearts;
23) Tongue-tied; 24) Eyes; 25) Constancy; 26) Humility;
27) Travel; 28) Exhausted; 29) Fulfillment; 30) Remembrance;
31) Reincarnation; 32) Modesty; 33) Stained; 34) Disgrace;
35) Thief; 36) Blots; 37) Transference; 38) Muse;
39) Separation; 40) Theft; 41) False; 42) Loss; 43) Bright;
44) Thought;45) Elements; 46) Dispute; 47) Amity; 48) Guard;
49) Justify; 50) Weary; 51) Return; 52) Rare; 53) Shadows;
54) Distill; 55) Forever; 56) Lull; 57) Slave; 58) Slavery;
59) Unique; 60) Time; 61) Nightmare; 62) Identification;
63) Preservation; 64) Inevitability; 65) Possibility;
66) Disillusioned; 67) Memento; 68) Souvenir; 69) Weeds;
70) Target; 71) Forget; 72) Nameless; 73) Soon; 74) Essence;
75) Dilemma; 76) Repetition; 77) Book; 78) Inspiration;
79) Borrowings;
- Gary Kosinsky