Tom, how nice to see you back on BT. Thanks for the great link!

Saffron

Saffron wrote:Tom, how nice to see you back on BT. Thanks for the great link!

Saffron

The rumors of my absence were greatly exaggerated

Tom

Thomas Hood wrote:
The rumors of my absence were greatly exaggerated

Tom

With a little investigation I see that I obviously have not been on the forums that you have been frequenting -- you've been fairly active. Well, nice to see you back on the poetry forum.

For anyone who likes Dickinson, I highly recommend the following audio recording. My guess is that it will be hard to find, but well worth the effort. The letters, many written when Emily was but 16 years old, are as beautiful and revealing as her poetry.

Emily Dickinson: Poems and Letters
Written By: Emily Dickinson
Unabridged Cassette
( 2 Cassettes / 2.25 Hours )
By: Recorded Books, LLC
978-1-5569-0163-8
Narrated By: Alexandra O'Karma

Poems and Letters

Here is something new for me -- Chaucer. Anyone want to help me work through this poem and make sense of it?

Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400)
To Rosemounde

1Ma dame, ye ben of al beaute shryne
2As fer as cercled is the mapamonde;
3For as the cristall glorious ye shyne,
4And lyke ruby ben your chekys rounde.
5Therwyth ye ben so mery and so iocunde
6That at a reuell whan that I se you dance,
7It is an oynement vnto my wounde,
8Thoght ye to me ne do no daliance.

9For thogh I wepe of teres ful a tyne,
10Yet may that wo myn herte nat confounde;
11Your semy voys that ye so small out twyne
12Makyth my thoght in ioy and blys habounde.
13So curtaysly I go, wyth loue bounde,
14That to my self I sey, in my penaunce,
15Suffyseth me to loue you, Rosemounde,
16Thogh ye to me ne do no daliaunce.

17Nas neuer pyk walwed in galauntyne
18As I in loue am walwed and iwounde;
19For whych ful ofte I of my self deuyne
20That I am trew Tristam the secunde.
21My loue may not refreyde nor affounde;
22I brenne ay in an amorouse plesaunce.
23Do what you lyst, I wyl your thral be founde,
24Thogh ye to me ne do no daliance.

*Tregentil --//-- Chaucer

Notes

1] shryne: holy shrine.

2] mapamounde: map o' the world (cf. French "monde").

8] do no daliance: do not flirt, chat with.

9] tyne: tub, as holding fish.

10] "Yet that misery will not overwhelm my heart."

11] semy voys: perhaps "semi-voice," quiet voice. small: "synall" in ms, and emended by all editors following W. W. Skeat's suggestion. out twyne: spin out.

12] habounde: abundant, rich in.

15] Rosemounde: "rose of the world" and hence compared to the map of the world (2).

17] "Never was there a pike so drenched in galantine" (a chilled, jello-like sauce).

18] iwounde: tied up.

19] deuyne: imagine.

20] tristam: Tristram, lover and beloved of Iseult, about whom is written the earlier English romance "Sir Tristrem" and whose story appears in works from Malory's Morte Darthur to T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. They are fated to love one another after mutually drinking a love potion. Despite her marriage to King Mark of Cornwall, their love continues and eventually leads to Tristram's death.

21] refreyde: chilled. affounde: made cold; (perhaps) immersed or foundered (cf. the pike in the galantine sauce).

] Tregentil: "very noble" (or a proper name). This line is written in a different script.

Saffron wrote:Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400)
To Rosemounde

Maybe:

My dame, you are of all beauty the shrine
As far as circled is the worldmap -- within the circle of human life
For as the crystal glorious you shine,
And like ruby are you cheeks round.
Therewith you are so merry and so jocund
That at a revel when that I see you dance,
It is an ointment unto my wound
Though not to me you do no dalliance.

For though I weep of tears a full tin [tub]
Yet may that woe mine heart not confound;
Your seemly voice that you so small out twine
maketh my thought in joy and bliss abound.
So courteously I go with love bound,
That to myself I say, in my penance
Sufficeth me to love you, Rosemound,
Though not to me you do no dalliance.

Was never a pike wallowed [wielded] in gallantry(?)
As I in love am wallowed and a-wound;
For which full oft I of myself divine(?)
That I am [your] True Tristram the Second.
My love may not be cold or unmelted; -- if affound = not melted
I burn always in an amorous pleasance.
Do what you list, I will your thrall be found
Though not to me you do no dalliance.


As well as his liege lady in the joust, Rosemounde is also his compass rose, I think.

,

Thanks, Tom for you modernization of Geoffrey Chaucer's To Rosemounde .

Saffron wrote:Thanks, Tom for you modernization of Geoffrey Chaucer's To Rosemounde .

I took liberties with the notes, and wouldn't feel sure without researching etymology.

17] "Never was there a pike so drenched in galantine" (a chilled, jello-like sauce).

Jello doesn't fit.

19] deuyne: imagine.

Divine seems better.

21] refreyde: chilled. affounde: made cold; (perhaps) immersed or foundered (cf. the pike in the galantine sauce).

"Affound" I suppose to be from the same source as "foundry."

If I am right about the compass rose, then this poem is an early example of metaphysical poetry.

I was interested in the mentions of Emily Dickinson earlier. I find her ideas about grace and nature really interesting. I have a copy of her Herbarium.
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/DICEMI.html It is a delightful book. On the site there are links to other works about and by her. One I really enjoyed was Farr's book on Emily's gardens http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/FARGAR.html. It made me think about Emily's relationships to flowers and nature in general a little differently and of course that meant I read her poetry with a new slant. I love that when it happens.

http://earlywomenmasters.net/dickinson/herbarium/
-- a list with Internet links; Harvard's online version of the Herbarium

The arrangements on the Herbarium pages are artistic.