Chris Emerson - "Ballad of the Scottish King" (John Skelton)

  

John Skelton: Many Meanings

            The difficulty I have with looking at Skelton was the lack of supplementary material that covers a time period of his work.  Criticisms of individual pieces did exist, but only proved historically worthwhile and not contextually or syntactically. 

The fame orbiting John Skelton it centered on his command of the English language at such an infantile stage for the future worldly language.  His work as a translator, tutor to Henry VIII and man of the church put him in an excellent position to return to the court after a long retirement from 1503 to 1513.  There are instances where Skelton will insult a character or group in his works for misinterpretation of words or phrases.  The position orator regius (king’s orator) comes into question on multiple occasions when looking at Skelton’s work before and after his retirement.  Political motivation was a very big part of the piece I read, and knowing that helped to determine a few context-based meanings in “Ballad of the Scottish King”.

What I found most appealing was that Skelton knew just how many meanings were in his words.  I found that there was a phrase here on line 10 that confused me, but in context seems to mean a poor outcome.  The phrase is recognized as obscure in origin, so it seems that Skelton had as good an understanding in what English was as he did an understanding that it would evolve with use.

Works Cited

Jokinen, Anniina.  “The Life of John Skelton”.  Luminarium.  Web.  1 December 2011.

Kinney, Arthur F.  "John Skelton And Poetic Authority: Defining The Liberty To Speak."  

            Modern Philology 107.2 (2009): 180-183.  Web.  1 December 2011.           

Ballad of the Scottish King.

King Jamy, Jomy[i] your Joye˚ is all go

Satisfaction

You sommnoed˚ our king why did you so

Submerged (has to do with naval encounters)

To you no thing it did accorde˚

Reconcile

To sommon our king your soverayne lorde.

A king a somner[ii] it is wonder

Know you not salt and sugar asonder˚

Aside or apart

In your somnynge˚ you were to malaperte[iii]

Summoning

And your harolde no thing expert

You thought you did it full valyauntolye

But not worth three skppes of a pye;

Sir squyer galyarde[iv] ye were too swift.

Your wyll˚ renne˚ before your wytte˚.

Cunning/expedite/weight

To be so scornful to your alye˚,

Ally

Your counseyle˚ was not worth a fly.

Counsel

Before the French kings, danes, and other

You ought to honour your lord and brother

Trowe̊ you sir Iames his noble grace,

Trust

For you and your scottes would tourne his face

Now you proud scottes of gelawaye.

For your king may synge welawaye[v]

Now must you know our king for your regent,

Your soverayne lorde and presedent[vi],

In hym is figured melchisedeche,

And you be desolate as armeleche

He is our noble champion.

A king anoynted and you be none

Through your counseyle your father was slain

Wherfore I fear you wyll suffer pain,

And ye proude scottes of dunbar

Parde,[vii] you be his homager̊.

One who holds land by homage.

And suters to his parlyment,

You did not your duty therein.

Wyerfore you may it now repent…

---

[i] King James IV of Scotland, for whom other works of Skelton’s are dedicated to.

[ii] Summoner: a fictitious post, but respected in the work as a counselor to the King.

[iii] A presumptuous or saucy person.

[iv] An exact trade of sorts – ‘squyer’ is a tool of exact measurement, while ‘galyarde’ is a trade designation.

[v] A song of lament.

[vi] Appears as law in multiple English works.

[vii] Punctuation is mentioned here.

Tags: James IV, King, Scots, Skelton, Summoner

      



Adrienne Athanas - intro & poem 1 of “Posies of Gascoigne” (George Gascoigne)

George Gascoigne (1539-1578) was a member of the Elizabethan court and struggled for status among his contemporaries like the poet John Donne. Because his attempts at becoming a courtier more often failed the succeed Gascoigne often found himself in debt and with a notorious reputation among the religious. Through various legal and financial struggles he produced works that are considered very essential reflections of the time. Gascoigne is both praised and studied for his commanding tone and controversial standings on religion, court life, and the frustrations resulting from the two.

The translation attached is the introduction and first poem from a greater collection of his works called “Posies of Gascoigne” which was printed in 1575. The original text is actually very clear in terms of being able to see each letter and comparatively to other scans on EEBO is extremely readable. By the same token it’s full of dated spellings, which is the most complicated factor in translating.  Though arguably if one were familiar enough with older English reading it straight from the scan on a computer would be possible.

What the edited version of the text does, mainly, is clean up the spelling to make the text clearest on the page and while reading. The interchangeability of f and s, u and v, also extra e’s required the most editing or respelling. Also the interpretation of what was pluralized and going back the root word was important to finding accurate definitions for words that didn’t have a contemporary counterpart. Overall the edited version takes away a certain degree of the time stamp on the poem in such a way that makes it accessible to contemporary readers.

Jokinen, Anniina. “Life of George Gascoigne." Luminarium. 1 Aug 2010.  Thu. 1. Dec. 2011.  

 introduction and first poem from “Posies of Gascoigne”

If fine I found the flower that Bellum height,

Sweet even to those, of silly simple sense

Yet sharp and lower, to those that do delight

In martial marts[1], for gain of peuispense

Such buddes[2] full braue[3], good Gasoignes Garden

To all estates which lift the fame to have.

Wherefore (good friend) fly envies irksome yre[4],

And treed the trace, which Reasons rule hath sought,

Yield not distain to Gascoignes for his here,

Whole bruised brain to thee these flowers that fought,

Left it thou do, the blame on thee do light,

Such friendly pains to recompense with light.

I.D. In prayer of Gascoigne and

            His Posies.[5]

If Virgill how to till the Earth, to every man doth tell,

And Galen he in Physics art doth many man excel,

If Poets old deferuen prayer, by panting out aright,

The fruits of vice, as Ouid doth, and many more that write,

By learned skill of many things: If such exalt their name,

And for their here, deferred pray by trump of Lady Fame:

Why should the Author of this book then leave his due depart,

Sith[6] he lo friendly here to us, hath shewed his skillful arte.

The health-some herbs and flowers sweet, from weeds he hath [7]divi-

The fruits of Giues in prison ftrog he hath right well decided deed,

Of wares also, and warriors too, even like a Martiall knight,

He hath discourse and shewed[8] the lots, that thereupon do light:

Virgill is dead, and Galen is gone, with Poets many more:

Yet works of their still alive, and with us kept in store.

This Author lies, and Gascoigne heights, yet once to die most sure,

Alas the while that worthy writes may not always endure,

But works of his among the best, for ever more shall rest,

When he is heaven shall take a place prepared for the blest.

[1] Ox or cows fattened for slaughter

[2]  A type of beetle.

[3]  The steep bank bounding a river valley. 

[4] yre - itinerant judges who rode the circuit to hold courts in the different counties

[5] plural of posey, meaning, a poetic composition

[6] Afterwards, subsequently

[7]  Originally dividend, meaning, a number or quantity which is to be divided by another.

[8] Originally from “eschew” meaning to avoid or shun

---

Coe Heyward - An Excellent Epitaffe (Henry Howard)

            This text was difficult at first because I did not know where to start with what words to change to modern English.  I decided to go with words that had different endings then our modern words, like the “yng” instead of “ing.  Then I chose words that I had to take a second glance at to figure out what they were, since other people would probably be doing the same thing.  For the footnotes I looked at words that I had not heard of or had similar spellings or pronunciations to our modern words but I figured meant something different.  The hardest part was looking up these words in the Oxford English Dictionary and knowing which definition to choose.  In the end I went with my best judgment.  This website: <http://www.luminarium.org/r enlit/henrybib.htm>, has a list of his other works to compare to this one and this website:< http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hi d=1 3&sid=3552fdce-b51c-4806-92a4-338c2aadd7a1%40sessionmgr13>, there is an analysis of Surrey’s poetry/proverbs and also of Sir Thomas Wyatt’s poetry which may be useful to better understand Surrey’s works.  

"An Excellent Epitaffe," by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

 Nor I do not fynde, that men be denyde*                                                                  *denied

Of sufficient thynges themselves to prouyde*,                                                          *proud

Accordynge* as god hath put them in place,                                                             *According

To have and to holde a tyme and space:

So it be well wonne[1] and after well spent:

For it is not theirs, but for that intent,

And if they so do, than it is good skyll,

They have that is mete to ble[2] at their will

As priestes shuld not take promocions* in hande                                                       *promotion

Go lyve* at their ease lyke* lords of the lande                                                          *live *like

But onely to leave gods flocke with the truth

To preache and to teache without any youth

Nor talkes shulde not neade great tyches* to wynne[3]                                                            *teaches

But godly to lyve and for to see synne*                                                                     *sin

Nys wyll for to worke that is they soules belth

And ths may they thynke, they lyve in much welth

For in this bayne worlde that we be nowe in

Is nothynge* but misery, myschefe*, and synne                                                 *nothing *mischief

Temptation, untrouthe, contencion[4], and strife

Then lette us nat* lette by so vyle a lyfe                                                                    *not

But lyfte up our eyes, and loke* throughe our faythe                                                            *look

Beholdynge* his mercies, that many tymes saughte[5]                                                 *Beholding

The truthe men shall lyve by their good belefe*                                                         *belief

And shall have a place where can be no griefs

But gladncsse* and myrth that none can amende                                                      *gladness

Unspeakable toyes[6], which never shall ende

With pleasures that palle[7] all that we have sought

Felicific[8] such as cannot be thought

Whiche place they shall have, that his wyll intendes

With lyfe everlavynge*, and thus my tale endes.                                                       *ever living

---

[1] Wonne: meaning to win something

[2] Ble: like to, able to, to do (old French), possible (English)

[3] Wynne: use to mean strife and conflict in the 13^th and 12^th Century but in this context means profit or gain

[4] Contencion (contention): earnest effort to be in opposition of one another

[5] Saughte: to be in agreement

[6] Toyes: notion or feeling

[7] Palle: giving jurisdiction, determined bounds

[8] Felicific: to make happy, happiness

Melissa Jennings - Three Sonnets by Sir Thomas Wyatt

 Three Wyatts: Early Modern Text Translations of Sir Thomas Wyatt

            Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) was a poet immersed in the Tudor dynasty. His relationship with Henry VIII and his involvement with politics gave Wyatt the opportunity to observe the chaotic disorder of the court. Consequently, his sonnets reflect the court life, as well as the political indiscretions he faced himself, namely the suspected affair with Anne Boleyn. In the following three translated sonnets, one can identify these historical paradigms of Wyatt’s life.  

The original copy of the three sonnets provided comes from the printer Richard Tottel's Songs and Sonnets written by the Right Honorable Lord Henry Howard late Earl of Surrey and others. The book, commonly shortened to Songs and Sonnets, came out in 1557, fifteen years after Wyatt’s death.

Moving to the edited copy, there are a few notable changes. Most of the words, unless marked with a footnote, have been changed to their contemporary spelling. For example, if a word in the original copy reads as “wreke,” the edited version presents the contemporary spelling with “wreck.” As opposed to the contemporary spellings, there are some which remain in their original state. One reason a word is kept as its original spelling is to preserve the rhyme and rhythm in a line. Also preserved is the punctuation. Again, unless otherwise noted, the punctuation is exactly as is in the original text.

 Overall, the edited text is a close match to its original counterpart. There are contemporary definitions from the OED when needed, however they are provided on the side, not used as replacement words. Generally, as one reads the following edited sonnets of Sir Thomas Wyatt, he or she is reading a piece as close to the 1557 document as possible.

1 Against his tongue that failed to utter his suits[1]   

Because I still keep from lies and blame,

And to my power always the honored,

Unkind tongue, ill hast thou me rendred[2],

For such desert to do me wreck and shame:      

In need of succorº most when that I am,                    help, aid

To ask reward, thou standest like one afraid,

Always most cold, and if one word be said

As in a dream unperfectº is the same,                         imperfect

And ye salt tears, against my will echeº night,           increase

That are with me when I would be alone,

Then are ye gone, when I should make my moan

And ye so ready sighs, to make me shrightº,              shriek

Then are ye slack, when that ye should out start

And only doth my look declare my heart.

2 Description of the contrarious[3] passions in a lover

I find no peace, and all my war is done,

I fear and hope, I burn, and freeze like ice,

I fly aloft, yet can I not arise,

And nought I have, all the world I season[4],              

That locks nor loseth, holdeth me in prison,

And holdes me not, yet can I scape no wise,

Nor lets me live, nor die, at my devise,

And yet of death it giveth me occasion.

Without eye I see, without tongue I plainº,[5]               complain

I wish to perish, yet I ask for health,

I love another, and I hate myself,

I feed me in sorrow, I laugh in all my pain,

Lo, thus displeaseth me both death and life,

And my delight is causer of this strife.

3 The lover compareth his state to a ship in a[6] perilous storm tossed on the sea

My galley charged with forgetfulness,

Through sharp seas, in winter nights doth pass

Tweneº rock, and rock and ekeº my foe (alas)                        between / also, moreover

That is my lord[7], stereth with cruelness,

And every hour, a thought in readiness,

As though that death were light in such a case,

And endless wind doth tear the sail apace

Of forced sighs and trusty fearfulness,

A rain of tears[8], a cloud of dark disdain

Have done the wearied cords great hindrance[9],

Wretched with error and with ignorance

The stars be hid that lead me to this pain.[10]

Drowned is reason that should be my comfort

And I remain, despairing of the port.

---

[1]  suits  “Petition” or “plea”. Throughout his life, Wyatt was imprisoned several times on what were more than likely false and forced charges. In 1541, he was again taken to the Tower on old charges and wrote a defense (i.e. a plea) which secured his release a year later.

[2]  rendred  Melted. It is the shortened form of “rendered,” most likely shortened in order to match with the two-syllable word “honored” on line two, keeping with the a b b a rhyme scheme of the first four lines.

[3]  contrarious  Contradictory. Though it has never been proven, there is evidence and popular belief that Wyatt had an affair with Anne Boleyn. The most popular sonnet thought to be a reference to Anne Boleyn is “Whoso list to hunt” where the speaker describes the gain of his lover as synonymous with that of a hunter and a deer.   

[4]  And nought … I season. I have nothing, yet I have the means to enrich the world. Some translations have the word “season” as “seize on.” However, early modern translations of the word “season” have the possibility  to mean “to manure” or “to make plentiful,” hence adding to the poem’s idea of contradictions with “nought” and “season” juxtaposed together.

[5]  plain,  The comma has been added and is not in the original printing.

[6]  a  The “a” is added and not in the original text.

[7]  my lord  “Lord” may be a reference to Henry VIII. Throughout his relationship with the Tudor court, Wyatt continuously fell out of favor with Henry as well as back in favor with him, namely due to his suspected affair with Anne Boleyn.

[8]  tears  In the original text, the word appears as “teare.” The “s” has been added in the edited copy.

[9]  hindrance  The original text has the word spelled as “hinderance,” adding an extra syllable to the line. The edited copy has the “e” removed in order to keep the line as ten-syllables.

[10]  pain.  The period is an addition and not in the original text.

Works Cited

Bates, Catherine. “Wyatt, Surrey, and the Henrician Court.” Early Modern English Poetry: A Critical Companion. Ed(s). Patrick Cheney, Andrew Hadfield, and Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr. New York: Oxford U P, 2007. 38-47. Print.

Evans, Maurice. “Wyatt and Surrey.” English Poetry in the Sixteenth Century. London: Hutchinson U Library, 1955. 61-82. Print.

Foley, Stephen Merriam. “Reading Thomas Wyatt’s Hand.” Sir Thomas Wyatt. Boston: Twayne, 1990. 1-33.

Jokinen, Anniina. “The Life of Sir Thomas Wyatt.” Luminarium. Web. 20 Oct. 2011.

Meg MacNair - excerpt from Hero and Leander (Christopher Marlowe)

  Some of the biggest debates of Marlowe’s Hero and Leander come from the violence of love and nature throughout the poem. This is not to say that these are the only points of interest, such as Leander’s battle against virginity, but the violence of the translation holds most scholars’ attention. This is why I picked my particular passage from the poem because it is right at the brink of Leander’s battle with both love and nature. Sitting on a rock after his first meeting with Hero, Leander ponders his newfound love and the ocean that lies between them. This is the point at which he dives in the ocean to swim to Hero but first must fight with Poseidon. Pamela Macfie exemplifies this violence by pointing out that Marlow used Lucan’s First Book as a major inspiration for Hero and Leander. She claims, “He yokes his exploration of erotic passion in Hero and Leander to the universal violence that is at once Lucan’s subject matter and his method.” (Macfie, 48). Lucan’s text is so violent that Marlowe incorporates this violence into that nature of love and what nature can do to try and destroy that love.

 The craftsmanship of my translation had to do with some of the passion and violence of the poem as well. The entire thing is so mystical yet raw that making drastic changes seemed wrong and even the tiniest changes seemed drastic. The ability to see the text in its original version, the way Marlowe would have seen it, made keeping it as original as possible a top priority. It was hard to choose which part of the poem would be best to translate but upon reading through it entirely a couple of times I began to see the beauty of this part more clearly. It is probably the part with the least amount of action but the way Marlowe creates Leander’s love out of nature and then sends him into its depths to fight for it was so beautiful. Leander’s thoughts on the rock seem so raw yet the world under water seemed so mystical the combination of these elements describes love to me and I found that a powerful place to do my translation.

Macfie, Pamela Royston. "Lucan, Marlowe, and the Poetics of Violence." Renaissance Papers (2008): 47-63. Humanities International Complete. EBSCO. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

For this translation I focused on keeping the text as similar to the original as possible. I kept the text as it was but took out the accents Marlowe had over some of his words and instead of changing the F's to S's I kept those the same and used * to mark the words readers couldn't sound out and had their modern renditions to the side of the line. I did this because the piece felt somewhat less magical to me reading it without Marlowe's own intentions. Then I went back and re-read the entire thing while writing down any word or phrase that I did not understand. I took each phrase and found it's meaning then made it a footnote. OED was really excellent for that. My advice to whoever has to do this next is to print out the work you've decided to translate and give every line it's own number. Work with lines on their own first, set up a system that will help you decide what's going to be changed * or footnoted, then go through and re read for content and meaning.

Hero and Leander by Christopher Marlowe

And thence* vnto [1]Abydus *fooner blowne,                           unto/sooner

Than he could *fayle, for [2]incorporeall Fame,                       sail

Whole weight *confifts in nothing but her name,                 consists

Is *fwifter than the wind,* whofe tardy plumes                    swifter/whose

Are reeking water, and dull earthly fumes.

Home when he came he seemed not to be there,

But like exiled ayre *thruft from his *fphere,                       thrust/sphere

Set in a *forren place, and *ftraight from thence,                foreign/straight

Alcides-like[3] by mighty violence,

He would *haue chac’d away the *fwelling Maine               have/swelling

That him from her *vniuftly did detaine:                               unjustly

Like as the Sunne in a Diameter,                               

Fires and inflames obiects *remooued farre,                                    removed

And heateth kindly *fhining lat’rally,                                     shining

So beauty *fweetly quickins when it’s *nie;                           sweetly/nigh

But being *feperated and remoued,                                      separated

Burnes where it *cherifht, murders where it *loued[4]:          cherished/loved

Therefore, *euen as an Index to a booke,                              even

So to his mind was young Leander looke;                 

O none *haue power but gods their loue to hide,                 have

Affection by the count’nance is *defcribe[5].                           described

The light of hidden fire it *felfe difcouers,                            self-discovers

And loue that is conceal’d, betrayes poore louers.

His *fecret flame apparantly was seene,                               secret

Leanders father knew where he had been,

And for the fame mildly rebuk’d his *fonne,                         son

Thinking to quench the *fparkles new begunne.                   sparkles

But loue *refifted once, grows *pafsionate,                          resisted/passionate

And nothing more then *counfell louers hate:                      council

For, as a hot proud *horfe highly *difdaines                         horse/disdains

To haue his head control’d, but breakes the raines,

Spits forth the ringled bit, and with his *houes                      hooves

Checkes the *fubmifsiue ground[6]: *fo he that loues,            submissive/for

The more he is *reftrain’d, the *worfe he fares;                  restrained/worse

What is it now, but madd Leander dares?

O Hero, Hero, thus he cry’d full oft,

And then he got him to a rocke aloft,

Where hauing *fpide her tower, long *ftar’d he on’t,           spied/stared

And pray’d the narrow toiling Hellefpont [7]

To part in twaine[8], that he might come and go.

But *ftill the rifing billowes[9] anfwered no;                            still

With that he *ftript him to the [10]yu’ry skin,                           stripped

And crying, Loue, I come, leapt *liuely in:                             lively

Whereat the [11]Saphyr-vifag’d god grew proud,

And made his capring Triton found aloud,

Imagining that [12]Ganimed *difpleaf’d,                                   displeased

Had left the *heauens, therefore on him he *feaz’d:            heavens/siezed

Leander *ftriu’d, the *vvaues about him vvound,                  strived/waves

And puld him to the bottome, wwhere the ground

Was *ftrewd vvith pearle, and in lovv corrall *groues,         strewed/groves

 *Svvet *finging mermayds *fported vvith their loues,         sweet/singing/sported

On heapes of *heauy gold, and tooke great *pleafure,        heavy/pleasure

To *fpurne in *careleffe fort the *fhipwrackt treafure:        spurn/careless/shipwrecked

For here the *ftately azure [13]palace *ftood,                          stately/stood

---

[1] Ancient city on Asian bank. Also Hero’s home.

[2] Having no body or structure. Severed from all earthly substance.

[3] Like hercules

[4] Being in love and apart can kill

[5] His love is visible from his face

[6] Paws the ground

[7] Strait in Turkey between the Aegean Sea and the Marmara Sea. One bank is in Europe (or Sestos where Hero lives) and the other bank lies in Asia (the home of Leander).

[8] Two

[9] Tumultuous waves

[10] Ivory

[11] King Neptune

[12] Young Trojan boy abducted by Jove (the Roman name for Zeus) to be the God’s cupbearer

[13] King Neptune’s palace