The Poetry of Gascoigne by George Gascoigne
"The Poetry of Gascoigne" refers to the body of work by George Gascoigne, an important English poet and playwright from the Elizabethan era. His notable compilation, "A Hundred Sundrie Flowres Bound up in One Small Posie," published in 1573, includes poetry, drama, and fiction, revealing a multifaceted literary talent. Gascoigne's works often explore themes of love and loss, as illustrated in poems like "The Anatomye of a Lover" and "The Lamentation of a Lover," which delve into the complexities of romance and heartache.
He also experimented with narrative forms, as seen in "Dan Bartholmew of Bathe," a poem that links various verses into a cohesive story about love and regret. His later work, "The Steele Glas," serves as a satirical reflection on societal vices and personal repentance, showing his desire to reform both himself and his audience. Additionally, Gascoigne's poems often incorporate humor and parody, alongside the serious moral themes of his narratives.
His contributions are significant in the context of English literature, particularly for their blend of personal experience, social commentary, and poetic innovation. Through his various writings, Gascoigne sought to engage with the moral issues of his time while also addressing the universal human experiences of love, loss, and the passage of time.
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The Poetry of Gascoigne by George Gascoigne
First published:A Hundred Sundrie Flowres Bound Up in One Small Posie, 1573; Posies of George Gascoigne, 1575; The Steele Glas, A Satire, 1576; Complaynt of Phylomene, 1576; “The Grief of Joye,” 1577
Critical Evaluation:
From the time A Hundred Sundrie Flowres Bound up in One Small Posie was published in 1573, until the twentieth century, most readers have taken the prefatory letters to the volume at face value and believed that George Gascoigne was responsible for only a few of the works included; but now G. T. Prouty has proved beyond doubt that Gascoigne was responsible for all of them. This unquestioning acceptance in Gascoigne’s time was fortunate for him: when the volume first came out, he was in Holland fighting for his country, and he was not the only one blamed in the severe attack on the work. Yet, in 1575, when Gascoigne had had time to go over the volume and revise it somewhat, he brought out a new edition in which he acknowledged authorship of the previous volume, openly repented what he had done, and vowed that he would write in the future only works which would have a definite positive influence on the nation. Then he showed how he had revised the volume and how even it could be used for a good purpose. He was equally unsuccessful in this attempt at revision, but he continued to pursue a career in writing. Since the A Hundred Sundrie Flowres and Posies contain essentially the same material, they may be considered together.
The volumes can be broken down into three main groups: the drama, the fiction, and the poetry. In the drama section are two plays translated into English—the Greek tragedy Jocasta, by Euripides, and the Italian comedy, I Suppositi, by Ariosto. The fictional section contains “The Adventures of Master F. J.”; in the later edition this work is considerably revised and is called a translation of a work by an unknown Italian writer, Bartello. In still a later work, Gascoigne reveals that he himself is Bartello.
Gascoigne used another method of division in Posies. He divided his material into sections which he called “Flowres, Hearbes, and Weedes.” He justifies this classification by saying, “I terme some Floures, bycause being indeed invented upon a verie light occasion, they had yet in them some rare invention and Methode before not commonly used.” The herbs are “more profitable than pleasant,” and in this section he includes I Suppositi and Jocasta. The value of the “Weedes” may be questionable, but none is “so vile or stinking but that it hath in it some vertue if it be rightly handled.” As one might expect, it is in this section that Gascoigne places “The Adventures of Master F. J.”
Various poems are scattered throughout Gascoigne’s three sections. The first poem is typical of the age in the way it is “The Anatomye of a Lover.” This poem is typical of the age in the way in catalogues the physical features of the lover, not the loved one. Starting at the top of the head with “unkempt lockes” and progressing down through the body all the way to the feet, Gascoigne shows what happens to one snared by love. The poem is so typical that a certain humorous tone creeps in and hints that Gascoigne is actually parodying the conceit instead of copying it. This tone of humor continues in the next poem, “The Arraignment of a Lover.” Love was a stable topic during this Elizabethan period, and Gascoigne used it over and over in his poems. These titles are typical: “The Passion of a Lover,” “The Divorce of a Lover,” “The Lamentation of a Lover,” and “The Lullabie of a Lover.”
A paraphrase of “The Lullabie of a Lover” might go like this: As women sing to quiet the child, so do I sing, for I have many children to quiet. First, silence my youth for I am now an aging man. Next, rest my eyes; I have wandered too much for pleasures of the flesh. Third, let my passion rest and be ruled by reason for a change. Fourth, let my little “Robin” rest and let “lust relent.” Thus may my whole body rest. Now that pleasures are past, welcome pain.
“The Lamentation of a Lover” follows the same general theme. Gascoigne is saying that once he enjoyed many pleasures, but since he is no longer able to enjoy them, his sadness is double because he knows what once was and can no longer be.
One of the longer poems in “Flowers” is “Dan Bartholmew of Bathe,” a verse narrative. This poem is actually a linking together of verses written at various times by putting them in a narrative framework, rather than a group of verses written in chronological order. The poem did not appear in its completed form in A Hundred Sundrie Flowres. Because of its concern with a single love affair, some consider the poem to be a forerunner of the sonnet sequence. The story is of Dan Bartholmew and his love for Ferenda Natura. Not until he is middle-aged does the hero fall in love, but when he does, his passion is so great that even when his love proves faithless he cannot forget her. The only way he can soothe his torment is by telling his sad story. In the end, Ferenda writes a letter in her own blood, begging forgiveness, which Bartholmew quickly grants, even though he suspects his beloved Ferenda will soon be searching for a new lover.
Another long poem appearing in the “Flowers” section of Posies is “The Frutes of Warre,” which has the subtitle “Dulce Bellum Inexpertis.” In it is found in verse form the story of Gascoigne’s war experiences in Holland. His discussion of the nature of war can be summed up in his definition of war: “I say that warre is even the scourge of God,/Tormenting such as dwell in princelie plight.”
After the “Flowers” comes a section of “Herbs.” First in this section are the translated plays, and after these are some eighteen short poems on such various subjects as reconciliation, friendship, virtue, and, of course, love. In “Gascoigne’s Woodmanship,” the poet is reviewing the various events in his life for his patron, Lord Grey of Wilton. In the form of dialogue, Gascoigne answers the question of why he always misses the mark with his bow, by showing that he has always missed the mark; he has missed as student, lawyer, courtier, and soldier:
For proofe he beares the note of follie
Thus he has failed in each attempt, yet he still has hopes of being a successful professional writer.
Still more short poems appear in the section called “Weeds,” including “The Frute of Fetters,” “The Greene Knights Farewell to Fansie,” and “The Praise of Phillip Sparrowe.” This last poem shows the Gascoigne must have known John Skelton. One stanza should be sufficient to show the similarities:
And yet beside all this good sport
After witnessing the acceptance, or rather, the refusal of acceptance of the revised Posies, Gascoigne realized that the people could not believe that his repentance was sincere; he resolved “to bestow [his] time and talent in matters both serious and moral” in order to convince them of his sincerity and thus make amends for the lost time of his misspent youth.
With this purpose in mind he published, in April, 1576, The Steele Glas, A Satire, and dedicated it to Lord Grey of Wilton. Schelling calls it the “first original composition in blank verse.” The design is typical of its age, and it is similar to A Mirror For Magistrates. Gascoigne proposes to show the society as a whole what it really is, hoping that when the people see themselves in all their ugliness they will change.
The poem begins with the allegorical story of the birth of Satira and Poesy, as the children of Plain Dealing and Simplicity. This story closely parallels that of Philomene, which Gascoigne was finishing about this time. Nevertheless, Poesy is married to Vain Delight; and later, when Satira goes to visit her wedded sister, she is ravished and consequently has her tongue cut out by Vain Delight with the Razor of Restraint. But, like Philomene, Satira’s song is not over for “with the stumps of my reproved tong,/I may sometimes, Reprovers deeds reprove,/And sing a verse, to make them see themselves.”
The satire that Gascoigne has to sing is not a personal vendetta; it is of a more general nature and is directed against, the whole social order, not individuals. Typical of the poetry of his day, Gascoigne explains with much detail every aspect of his scheme. He is following the legacy of the Latin satirist Lucylius “who at his death, bequeathed the christal glasses,/To such a love, to seeme but not to be,/And unto those, that love to see themselves,/How foule or fayre, soever that they are,/He gan bequeath, a glass of trustie Steele.” Thus it is from the father of Roman satire that Gascoigne gets the name for this satirical poem.
Like a true reformer, Gascoigne first holds up this glass of steel to himself to show the people that he is not now what he once was. He is trying to demonstrate to his countrymen that he has repented for his reckless youth and is now trying to make amends for his earlier days. “I desire to see myself in deed,/Not what I would, but what I am or should.”
The next reflection to appear in the steel glass is that of the ideal commonwealth, that type of commonwealth set forth by Solon and Lycurgus. While the crystal glass might reflect rich towns and a rule by just law, the steel glass shows not a commonwealth but a “common woe.” This woe can be prevented by the four estates of king, knight, peasant, and priest. Gascoigne then attacks each of these four estates at length, showing what they are doing and should not be, and what they are not doing but should be.
While discussing the second estate, that of the knights, Gascoigne goes into the subdivision of the soldiers and shows that they, the stoic defenders of the kingdom, are but drunken, cruel, and boasting lechers. If the reflection of the soldiers seems to be more vivid than some of the other reflections, the reason is that Gascoigne can recall his own experiences in this profession.
Nor does Gascoigne stop with only the four estates; he expands his reflection mirror to include some of the middle class, the merchants, the lawyers, and others. Yet he continues to use the same method of showing the vices of the present day by comparing them to those of ancient days when the same occasion brought forth virtue.
In his attack on the clergy, Gascoigne follows the tradition by implying their vices, not stating them explicitly. He praises the priests of another day, saying they were not proud, gluttonous, envious, lustful, wrathful, slothful, or avaricious. It is in the lowly plowman that there exists a spirit of truth and there will be a place in heaven for this man, says Gascoigne, for he is truly humble; because he has no interest in seeming, but only in being he will enter heaven “before the shaven crownes” even though “he stink for sweat.”
In the Complaynt of Phylomene, companion piece published with The Steele Glas, Gascoigne turns an exercise of poetic paraphrase into a didactic poem on the evil of lust. He first started working on the piece, as he states in his introductory letter, while in a carriage returning from Chelmsford and on his way to London; but a sudden cloudburst interrupted his work, and he did not return to it until April of 1575, when he was working on The Steele Glas. The legend of Philomene was a commonplace to the schoolboys of Elizabethan England. Gascoigne probably used the Latin version of the myth as told by Ovid, and probably in an edition which had some useful notes, such as he may have used as a student.
The Ovidian version tells how Pandion gives his elder daughter, Progne, in marriage to Tereus, King of Thrace. After the wedding rites, Progne returns with Tereus; some time passes and Progne desires to see her sister. Finally she persuades Tereus to go to Athens and ask for permission to take Philomene to Thrace for a visit with Progne. While Tereus is persuading Pandion to allow the visit, he is overcome by the charm and beauty of Philomene, and his lust for her makes his plea so eloquent that Pandion relents and gives his permission.
Returning to Thrace, Tereus takes Philomene to a deserted stable, rapes her, and cuts out her tongue. Tereus then tells Progne that Philomene is dead. Twelve years pass while Philomene remains a prisoner in the sheepcote. Finally she decides how to let her sister know what has happened. She sews a garment, stitching into it the story of her rape, and gives it to a servant to deliver to the queen. When Progne finds out what has truly happened to her sister, she silently plots revenge. During the rites of Bacchus, she rescues Philomene, disguising her in the dress of the festival. While Progne is trying to decide the best way to revenge the wrong of her husband, her son, Itys, comes in. His close resemblance to his father helps Progne make up her mind. Love and devotion for her sister overcame her love for her own son. She kills him, cuts him into small pieces, cooks him, and serves up the dish to Tereus. After the meal, when Tereus calls for his son, Progne can keep quiet no longer. “The thing thou seekst (o wretch quoth she)/Within thee doth abide.” Tereus does not believe her and in searching for his son, comes upon Philomene who flings the head of Itys at Tereus.
Tereus enraged seeks revenge, but before he can catch the Greek sisters the gods intervene and change all the family into birds. The elder sister
A Swallowe was assignde,
Itys is changed into a pheasant. Philomene becomes a nightingale, and as such she can sing her song and please the ears of man, but from fear of force, she sings only at night.
To tell this story, paraphrased from Ovid, Gascoigne uses the framing device of a dream in which the goddess of just revenge, Nemesis, appears to him and tells the tale. Then she interprets the meaning of the nightingale’s song: “And for hir foremost note,/Tereu, Tereu, doth sing,/Complaining stil uppon the name/Of that false Thracian king.” The second note of the nightingale’s song is “phy.” This is interpreted as disdain for everything. “Phy filthy lecher . . . Phy coward phy . . . Phy monster.” The nightingale’s third note is “Jug, Jug, Jug.” Not even Nemesis is sure of the meaning of this part of the song. She conjectures that it may be the Latin for cutthroat or murderer, or possibly a Latin word for the symbol of humiliation. Eric Partridge, gives another possible interpretation of the word. The fourth and final note of the nightingale’s song is “Nemesis”:
She calles on Nemesis
With this interpretation of the song, the dream ends and Gascoigne then interprets the meaning of the dream. Through this final interpretation the didactic nature of the whole work is revealed. First, Gascoigne sums up the lesson to be learned in two lines: “I seeme to see [my Lord] that lechers lust,/Procures the plague, and vengaunce of the highest. . . .” He then treats these themes separately and much more extensively. He shows how yielding to an unhealthy desire leads to the suffering of the innocent, sometimes to the third and fourth generations. And he shows that no sin goes unpunished, that God sees all sins, and that all eventually receive their just reward, as did Progne and Tereus.
In closing, Gascoigne reminds his Patron that the poet’s days of youthful lust are over; if he is ever tempted again, he needs only to be reminded of the story of Philomene.
Gascoigne’s last song was intended to be a gift to the queen, and he thought an imitation of Petrarch would be both pleasing and suitable for the occasion. The poem, “The Grief of Joye,” published in January, 1577, deals with the transience of bodily pleasures and the inevitability of death. It is divided into four songs. The first is called “The Greeves or Discomodities of Lustie Youth.” The second is a discourse on “The Vanities of Bewtie.” The third reveals “the faults of force and strength,” and the fourth is concerned with “the vanities of activityes.” All four are written in rhyme royal.
As in most of his work, Gascoigne interjects his own experiences into the poem. While he is pointing out the vanity of delight in material things, he is at the same time mourning the passage of such delights. In the song on youth he says, “Trew joye cannot, in trifleng toyes consist/Nor happiness in joyes which soon decaie/Then looke on yowthe, and marke it he that list/Somtymes both borne and buried in a daye./Yea thoughe it should, contynew [green] alwaie,/I cannot finde, what joy therein doth grow,/Which is not staynd, with undertwiggs of wo.”
In the second song, “The Vanities of Bewtie,” Gascoigne pays tribute to the queen:
This is the Queene whose onely looke
He then catalogues a procession of other ladies of the court he had known; and since the allusions to them are sometimes vague, he is careful to put their initials in the margin. Then he speaks of those who do not have true beauty yet think they do and thus deceive themselves. “They strive to seeme, but never care to be.” This line is certainly an echo from The Steele Glas.
In his third song of the poem, that on strength, Gascoigne shows that if women are vain because of their beauty, then man is vain because of his strength. In the final song he lists many activities that are considered pleasures and shows the folly of these activities. Among the activities are music, dancing, wrestling, and riding.
The poem gets its name, according to the poet, from the fact that, in essence, all joys are transient. Death is not only always very close; it is always drawing closer. And it was in the year that Gascoigne presented this poem to the queen that he met his death.