to queen elizabeth
TRANSCRIPT
TO QUEEN
ELIZABETH
Sujod Adel .Dr. Iman Hammad.
TO QUEEN ELIZABETH
One of lyric poems written by Sir Walter
Raleigh wrote to queen Elizabeth (his
beloved) a lot of poems and this is one of his famous
poems which is called “silent lover“
TO QUEEN ELIZABETHWalter Raleigh represents the courtly love
themes in this poem ,which is one of the common themes in the “Renaissance-age”
Walter Raleigh the lover of queen “Elizabeth” gives the reasons of his silence
and expresses his great love to her ,but because “Elizabeth” is so high above him
and because of his duty to her ,he must suffer knowing that she will never return
his affections or love, so that the relationship will remain platonic .
OUR PASSIONS ARE MOST LIKE TO FLOODS AND STREAMS,THE SHALLOW MURMUR, BUT THE DEEP ARE DUMB.
Raleigh starts giving logical reason of silence. He begins with a simile comparingpassions(love) to stream and floodsSimile:
Like……… التشبيه أداة مشبهHis passion or love……… Vehicle
به Streams and floods ……….. tenorمشبه
Our passion consists of two parts exactly as the flood ,which consist
of the shallow and the bottom.
The shallow always murmurs (babble or speak )
The bottom(deep water) is always silent
THE SHALLOW LIKE SUITORS OR LOVERS OF ELIZABETH WITH A SHALLOW FEELING ALWAYS BABBLE BY COMPLAINING THEIR LOVE
THE BOTTOM LIKE SUITORS OR LOVERS OF Elizabeth with a deep feeling who are always silent ( Raleigh considers himself as one of them ,so that he dose not complain
his love to her )
(deep water)
shallow
Raleigh justifies his silence that he was been quiet about his love because his love is deep and because of his great amount of his love (no words can explain
his love ) .
The deep are dumb………….. Personification
dumb: one who can’t speak . (deep water as a person who can’t speak )
/ dumb word concerns with human being . the shallow symbol of a lover with shallow
feelings . The deep water symbol of a lover with
deep feelings . Shallow/ deep……… are opposites .Murmur/ dumb………… are opposites .He uses two opposites in a one sentence
to exaggerate the meaning .It’s one of the rhetorical devices which
uses opposites to convey meanings .
So, when affections yield discourse, it
seemsThe bottom is but
shallow whence they come.
They that are rich in words must needs
discoverThat they are poor
in which makes a lover .
Raleigh explains that when he
joins a discourse, his words seem the bottom, but in fact, they are the shallow. He
can’t find any words which are
fitting with his feeling.
His words are poor and rich . Rich because it is full of meanings that
need to discover . Poor because it can’t give the correct feeling ,so the clever talker is actually shallow and silence will be a better
option than talk .His words rich and poor……….
Oxymoron .
Wrong not, dear empress of my heart ,
The merit of true passionWith thinking that he feels no smart That sues for no compassion;Since, if my plaints serve not to prove The conquest of your beauty ,
They come not from defect of love But from excess of duty.
Walter urge Elizabeth to not misunderstand his silence by reducing his love for her because he does not ask for her compassion and he does not complain his love. He is feels the pain (smart) of her un-returned affections, but he doesn't beg her to change because of his duty .
He remmbers that he was an adviser and a guard to the Queen. His duty is to serve her not to court her. He is not silent about his love for her because he doesn't love her, he is silent because he could not win her with his words(she is so high above him), and his duty prevents him from trying.Dear empress of my heart, he uses the calling manner in order to court her.
For knowing that I sue to serve
A saint of such perfection
As all desire, yet none deserve ,
A place in her affection,I rather choose to want
relief Than venture the
revealing;When glory
recommends the greif, Despair distrusts the
healing .
He serves the perfectly woman. No man can have
her and no man could deserve her. She is
perfect and all would want to accept her love,
yet none of them will ever have it. Instead of
complaining, or getting relief by expressing his emotions to her (which
would be the selfish thing to do), he takes glory in
the amount of grief he suffers by keeping his
feelings to himself. His point is that he is being heroic, brave, and self-
less by not declaring his love for her .
Despair (personification) despair is a sick person who doesn’t expect his healing.
Elizabeth (metaphor) like a saint .
A place in her affection (metaphor) her affection is a place which no one deserves
a seat in there .
Those desires that aim too high
For any mortal Lover ,When reason cannot
make them die Discretion doth them
cover.Yet, when discretion
doth bereave The plaints that they
should utter ,Then your discretion
may perceive That silence is the best
suitor .
If Elizabeth loves someone, it will be a miracle, because that is too high for any mortal
lover .He explains that when a man wants a woman he can’t have, discretion or silence will cover his emotions so that no one would know but you are clever that you can know the silence is the best suitor.
Silence in love bewrays more woe
Than words, though ne'er so witty;
A beggar that is dumb, you know ,
Deserveth double pitty .The misconceive not,
dearest heart ,My true though secret
passion;He smarteth most that
hides his smart And sues for no
compassion
bewrays (betray/ reveal).Deserveth (deserves).
smarteth( (hurts).Silence, speaks louder than words. Actually,
Raleigh argues, he should be pitied doubly just like a beggar who cannot speak. She should have mercy on him because the depth of his love for her prevents him for declaring it. He
asks for her understanding. His secret
passion is stronger than all of her other suitors, he
suffers with his feelings, and he doesn't beg for her
understanding or compassion .
*Silence betrays more woe (personification) silence is a one who betrays secrets.
(*dearest heart ) he uses a calling manner to
court her .
*The poem consists of 5
stanzas.*Rhyme scheme:
ab ab cd cd.
:-Question :
Is writing five stanzas of poetry on how his passion is secret, actually keeping his emotion to himself and suffering with unreturned love without relief or help?In another way, do you trust the writer? Why? Give your evidence.
No, I don’t trust the writer because :• *Writing five stanzas of poetry about his
secret
love is too much (he wants to reveal his secret).
*He courts her by using the calling manners twice (dearest heart, dear empress of my heart) he courts her and forgets his duty .
*He starts with a comparison between two kinds of lovers to show her that he is her best rival .
*A bigger is dumb deserves double pity (he means himself, so he begs for her pity and compassion, this is opposed to what he said).
*He said “a silence is a suitor” he means that he is a suitor, so he doesn’t care for his duty as he declared before .