See the Introduction to this presentation of early poems by Edward de Vere. Click here to go to the next poem or the previous poem in the series. All the poems, and a printable pdf version of the entire presentation, may also be accessed from the Introduction. See also Note on Sources, Titles, and Presentation of Parallels, Key to Abbreviations, and Bibliography of Works Cited.
Poem No. 3: “Forsaken Man”
1 A Crown of Bays shall that man wear
2 That triumphs over me,
3 For Black and Tawny will I wear,
4 Which mourning colours be.
5 The more I followed on, the more she fled away,
6 As Daphne did full long agone, Apollo’s wishful prey;
7 The more my plaints resound, the less she pities me;
8 The more I sought, the less I found that mine she meant to be.
9 Melpomene, alas, with doleful tunes help then,
10 And sing, [and sing,] woe worth on me, forsaken man.
11 Then Daphne’s Bays shall that man wear that triumphs over me,
12 For Black and Tawny will I wear, which mourning colours be.
13 Drown me you trickling tears, you wailful wights of woe;
14 Come help these hands to rent my hairs, my rueful haps to show
15 On whom the scorching flames of love doth feed you see;
16 Ah lá–lantí–da, my dear dame hath thus tormented me.
17 Wherefore you Muses nine, with doleful tunes help then,
18 And sing, [and sing,] woe worth on me, forsaken man.
19 Then Daphne’s Bays shall that man wear that triumphs over me,
20 For Black and Tawny will I wear, which mourning colours be.
21 An Anchor’s life to lead, with nails to scratch my grave,
22 Where earthly Worms on me shall feed, is all the joys I crave,
23 And hide myself from shame, sith that mine eyes do see,
24 Ah lá–lantí–da, my dear dame hath thus tormented me.
25 And all that present be, with doleful tunes help then,
26 And sing, [and sing,] woe worth on me, forsaken man.
Textual sources: Poems 2 through 9 were first published in The Paradise of Dainty Devices (Richard Edwards ed. 1576). See Hannah (241, text not provided); Grosart (403-04); Looney (1921, 27-28, Miller ed. 1975, 1: 585-86); May (#3) (1980, 26-27, 68-70, 118; 1991, 271-72).
Many of the poems in Paradise (perhaps most of the eight by de Vere and definitely this one, No. 3) were apparently written as song lyrics to be put to music (see May 1980, 70). Since Edwards, the editor who apparently collected them, died in 1566, they may all date to the 1560s, when de Vere was still a teenager.
Structure: A four-line stanza of half-line couplets rhyming ABAB, followed by five four-line stanzas in couplets rhyming AABB, and concluding with a rhyming couplet. Many lines in the main stanzas (e.g., 7-8, resound/found, and 23-24, shame/dame) have mid-line rhymes.
Looney’s title: “The Forsaken Man”
Past commentaries on parallels: Looney (1920, 147-48); Sobran (236-39); Brazil & Flues; Goldstein (2016, 63).
Clarifications of the text:
(1) Bays refers to laurel leaves (see also lines 11 & 19).
(6) Daphne is a naiad (water-nymph) in Greek mythology (see also lines 11 & 19). The reference to long agone is an archaic or poetic equivalent to long ago (OED 1: 261). Apollo is the Greco-Roman god of the sun, also known as Phoebus (as in Nos. 14.31, 17.24, 19.8, and 20.4).
(9) Melpomene, in Greek mythology, is the Muse of tragedy (see below on line 17).
(10, 18, 26) These lines, as printed, begin “And sing (bis),” the term bis indicating that the preceding passage (as in music) should be repeated (OED 2: 220). For ease of reading, the repetitions are spelled out above in brackets. As noted above, No. 3 was written to be put to music (as apparently were several of these early de Vere poems). This also explains the lamentation Ah lalantida (see below on lines 16 & 24).
(13) Wight means a person (who can be male or female), with some connotation of commiseration or contempt (OED 20: 328).
(14) To rent as used here is an archaic verb-form of rend, meaning to tear or rip apart (OED 13: 621).
(16, 24) Ah lalantida is a meaningless lamentation (see also comment above on lines 10, 18 & 26). As Looney suggested (1921, Miller ed. 1975, 1: 586), the first and third syllables of lalantida should be stressed (Ah lá–lantí–da) to maintain the apparent intended rhythm of the line. For ease of reading, the accents are added along with dashes.
(17) The nine Muses, in Greek mythology, are the inspirational goddesses of poets and other writers, artists, and scholars (see above on line 9).
(23) The archaic word sith means “since” (OED 15: 563-64).
Strongest parallels to No. 3:
(5, 7-8) The more I followed on, the more she fled away
…
The more my plaints resound, the less she pities me;
The more I sought, the less I found that mine she meant to be
‘[Hermia:] The more I hate, the more he follows me. [Helena:] The more I love, the more he hateth me’ (Dream, 1.1.198-99); ‘[Demetrius:] Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more! [Helena:] You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant! … And even for that do I love you the more’ (Dream, 2.1.194-95, 202); ‘I followed fast, but faster he did fly’ (Dream, 3.2.416).
See additional parallels below to lines 7-8. Contrasting (e)motions produce paradoxical results, a favorite motif of Shakespeare.
(21-22) to scratch my grave, Where earthly Worms on me shall feed, is all the joy I crave
Compare the dying Mercutio: ‘a scratch, a scratch … Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man … They have made worms’ meat of me’ (R&J, 3.1.91, 95-96, 105).
Shakespeare further elaborates the thought in Hamlet: ‘Not where he eats, but where ’a is eaten. A certain convocation of politic worms are e’en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. … A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm’ (Ham., 4.3.19-23, 27-28).
See also: ‘thus chides she Death—Grim-grinning ghost, earth’s worm’ (Venus, 932-33); ‘The mortal worm might make the sleep eternal’ (2 Hen. VI, 3.2.263); ‘Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs’ (Rich. II, 3.2.145); ‘The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!’ (Rich. III, 1.3.221); ‘[Percy:] And food for— [Dies.] For worms, brave Percy’ (1 Hen. IV, 5.4.85-86); ‘Thou worms’ meat’ (As You, 3.2.62); ‘For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork Of a poor worm’ (Meas., 3.1.16-17); ‘I wish you all joy of the worm’ (A&C, 5.2.260).
Additional parallels to No. 3:
(1) Crown of Bays
‘an olive branch and laurel crown’ (3 Hen. VI, 4.6.34); ‘crowns, sceptres, laurels’ (Troil., 1.3.107). As noted above, bays are laurel leaves.
(6) As Daphne did full long agone, Apollo’s wishful prey
‘Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase’ (Dream, 2.1.231); ‘Tell me, Apollo, for thy Daphne’s love’ (Troil., 1.1.98); cf. ‘Or Daphne roaming through a thorny wood, Scratching her legs that one shall swear she bleeds, And at that sight shall sad Apollo weep’ (Shrew, ind.2.55-57).
Apollo is the Greco-Roman god of the sun, also known as Phoebus (as in Nos. 14.31, 17.24, 19.8, and 20.4). Apollo is referenced once (here) in these de Vere poems and 29 times in canonical Shakespeare (Spevack 54). There are 23 references to Phoebus (including one spelled “Phibbus”) in canonical Shakespeare (Spevack 976-77).
Daphne is a naiad (water-nymph) in Greek mythology, referenced three times in these de Vere poems (see also lines 11 and 19). She is also referenced three times (as quoted above) in canonical Shakespeare (Spevack 263).
On the amours of the gods (a common interest of these de Vere poems and Shakespeare), see also No. 6 (lines 7-10, 17-18, and 23-24) and Nos. 8.6 and 14.31-32.
(7-8) The more my plaints resound, the less she pities me; The more I sought, the less I found that mine she meant to be
In a variation on the more/more paradox (see parallels above to lines 5 & 7-8), the more/less antithesis is another figure common to both samples, e.g.:
‘by hoping more they have but less’ (Lucrece, 137); ‘That moves in him more rage and lesser pity’ (Lucrece, 468); ‘The lesser thing should not the greater hide’ (Lucrece, 663); ‘The repetition cannot make it less, For more it is than I can well express’ (Lucrece, 1285); ‘More than I seem, and less than I was born to’ (3 Hen. VI, 3.1.56); ‘Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more’ (Caes., 3.2.22); ‘The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace’ (Dream, 2.2.89); ‘A little more than kin, and less than kind’ (Ham., 1.2.65); ‘An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling’ (Sonnets, 20.5).
Looney noted (1920, 161) “the recurrence of what seems … a curious appeal for pity” in these de Vere poems and the works of Shakespeare. The word pity (and its variants) appears more than 300 times in the Shakespeare canon (Spevack 980-81). In addition to line 7, see No. 9.36 (pity me) and No. 17.8 (some pity in the rocks), and compare, e.g.:
‘Melt at my tears, and be compassionate; Soft pity enters at an iron gate’ (Lucrece, 593); ‘This you should pity rather than despise’ (Dream, 3.2.235); ‘May move your hearts to pity’ (Rich. III, 1.3.348); ‘Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes’ (Rich. III, 4.1.98); ‘Pity me then’ (Sonnets, 111.8, 13); ‘Thine eyes I love, and they as pitying me … And suit thy pity like in every part’ (Sonnets, 132.1, 12); ‘my pity-wanting pain’ (Sonnets, 140.4).
(9, 17, 25) Melpomene, alas, with doleful tunes help then,
…
Wherefore you Muses nine, with doleful tunes help then,
…
And all that present be, with doleful tunes help then
‘a very doleful tune’ (Win., 4.4.262); cf. ‘Be thou the tenth muse’ (Sonnets, 38.9).
Melpomene, in Greek mythology, is the Muse of tragedy. There is no specific reference to her in canonical Shakespeare. The ancient Greek poet Sappho was historically sometimes described as “the tenth Muse,” but Shakespeare in Sonnet 38 seems instead to refer to the mysterious beloved youth of the Sonnets as such.
(13) Drown me you trickling tears
Both these de Vere poems and Shakespeare place great emphasis on tears and weeping as a manifestation of feelings. This may signify their fascination with states of human emotion, including weeping as an outward expression of various emotional states. On trickling tears, see also No. 9.1. On the broader theme of tears and weeping, see also Nos. 4.10, 5.12, 6.26, and 17.8-9.
‘floods of tears will drown my oratory’ (Titus, 5.3.90); ‘drowned their enmity in my true tears’ (Titus, 5.3.107); ‘Lest with my sighs or tears I blast or drown King Edward’s fruit’ (3 Hen. VI, 4.4.23-24); ‘Weep not, sweet queen; for trickling tears are vain’ (1 Hen. IV, 2.4.391); ‘drown me in thy sister’s flood of tears’ (Errors, 3.2.46); ‘drown our gains in tears’ (All’s Well, 4.3.68); ‘tears shall drown the wind’ (Mac., 1.7.25); ‘drown the stage with tears’ (Ham., 2.2.562); ‘burns Worse than tears drown’ (Win., 2.1.112); cf. ‘My heart is drowned with grief, Whose flood begins to flow within mine eyes’ (2 Hen. VI, 3.1.198); ‘Then can I drown an eye unused to flow’ (Sonnets, 30.5).
(14) help these hands to rent [i.e., rend or tear] my hairs
‘Let him have time to tear his curled hair’ (Lucrece, 981); ‘These hands shall tear her’ (Much, 4.1.191); ‘Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand For lifting food to ’t?’ (Lear, 3.4.15); cf. ‘Whose breath indeed these hands have newly stopped’ (Oth., 5.2.202).
(15) On whom the scorching flames of love doth feed
‘whom flaming war doth scorch’ (Kins., 1.1.91); ‘feed’st thy light’s flame’ (Sonnets, 1.6); ‘to feed for aye her lamp and flames of love’ (Troil., 3.2.160).
(21) An Anchor’s life to lead, with nails to scratch my grave
‘An anchor’s cheer in prison be my scope!’ (Ham., 3.2.219).
Continue to Poem No. 4, return to Poem No. 2, or return to the Introduction.
[published June 22, 2018, updated 2021]
