Friday, September 23, 2011

Anne Lady Southwell and Exorbitant Shakespeare's Disgracing of Poesy


Some wanton Venus or Adonis hath bene cast before your chast eares, whose evill attyre; disgracing this beautiful Nimph [Poesye], hath unworthyed her in your opinion -- Anne Southwell

from Anne Lady Southwell:

To my worthy Muse, that doth these lines infuse. the Ladye Ridgway.

How falles it out (noble Ladye) that you are become a sworne enemye to Poetrie; It being soe abstruse an art, as it is, that I may say, The other artes are but Bases &; Pedestalles, unto the which this is the Capitall. The meere Herald of all Ideas; The worldes true vocall Harmonye, of wich all other artes are but partes, or rather, may I justly say; It is the silke thredd that  stringes your chayne of pearle; which being broken, your jewells fall into the rushes; &; the more you seeke for it, the more it falles into the dust of oblivion. You say; you affect proze, as your auncestors did; Error is not to bee affected for antiquitye. Therefore, (Noble &; wittye Ladye) give mee your hand, I will leade you upp the streame of all mankind. Your great great grandfather had a father, &; soe the last, or rather the first father, was God; whose never enough to bee admired creation, was poetically confined to 4. generall genusses, Earth, Ayre, water &; fire. The effectes which give life unto his verse, wer, Hott, Cold, Moist & Drye, which produce Choller, melancholye, Bloud &; flegme. By these just proportions, all things are propagated. Now being thus poetically composed; How can you bee at unitye with your self, &; at oddes with your own composition: It may bee, you will say, That Poesye is a fiction, &; fiction is a lye. O but, Rahabs concealing the spyes, was more to bee approved, then Doegs truth. But heerein, Poesye seemes to doe more for nature, then shee is able to doe for her selfe, wherein, it doth but lay downe a patterne what man should bee; &; shewes, that Imagination goes before Realitye. But hee is not worthy the name of a phisitian, but of an Emperick only, that gives one potion to all manner of diseases. for it is as great an error to give purges to one in a consumption, as it is to give cordialls to one in a Repletion. Therefore it is necessarye to knowe how the humor aboundes, that soe wee may the boldlyer applye. then, since all are eyther fooles, or phisitians, to escape the former I will take uppon mee to knowe, what hath so distasted your palate against this banquett of soules, devine Poesye. Some wanton Venus or Adonis hath bene cast before your chast eares, whose evill attyre; disgracing this beautiful Nimph, hath unworthyed her in your opinion &; will you, because you see a man madd, wish yourself without Melancholye, which humour is the hand of all the soules facultyes. All exorbitant thinges are monstrous; but bring them agayne to theyr orbicular forme &; motion, &; they will retayne theyr former beautyes. Our reason ought to bee the stickler in this case. who would not skornefully laugh with Micholl, to see the old Prophett daunce; but when wee knowe hee daunced before the Arke, must wee not thinke the Host of heaven was in exultation with him, as well as that of Jerusalem. To heare a Hero &; Leander or some such other busye nothing, might bee a meanes to skandalize this art. But can a cloud disgrace the sunne? will you behold Poesye in perfect beautye. Then, see the kingly Prophett, that sweete singer of Israell, explicating the glorye of our god, his power in creating, his mercye in redeeming, his wisdome in preserving; making these three, as it were the Comma, Colon, &; Period to every stanzae. Who would not say, the musicall spheares did yeeld a dadencye in his songe, &; in admiration crye out; O never enough to bee admired, devine Poesye. It is the subject, that commends or condemnes the art. But noble Ladye, I will trouble you noe further now; yett when I have your honorable word of reconciliation, I will then delineate out every limme of her, &; how shee is envelloped upp with the rest of the artes. IN the meane time I rest more then thankful for your noble loving letter, as the lover of your virtues.
Anne Southwell
vera Copia per Io.
prvto turi
Do:An:o:/

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All exorbitant thinges are monstrous - A.S.

Exorbitant \Ex*or"bi*tant\, a. [L. exorbitans, -antis, p. pr. of



exorbitare to go out of the track; ex out + orbita track: cf.


F. exorbitant. See Orbit.]


1. Departing from an orbit or usual track; hence, deviating
from the usual or due course; going beyond the appointed
rules or established limits of right or propriety;
excessive; extravagant; enormous; inordinate; as,
exorbitant appetites and passions; exorbitant charges,
demands, or claims.


Foul exorbitant desires. --Milton.


2. Not comprehended in a settled rule or method; anomalous.




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Sidney, Defense of Poesie


Their third is, how much it abuseth mens wit, training it to wanton sinfulnesse, and lustfull love. For indeed that is the principall if not onely abuse, I can heare alleadged. They say the Comedies rather teach then reprehend amorous conceits. They say the Lirick is larded with passionat Sonets, the Elegiack weeps the want of his mistresse and that even to the Heroical, Cupid hath ambitiously climed. Alas Love, I would thou couldest as wel defend thy selfe, as thou canst offend others: I would those on whom thou doest attend, could either put thee away, or yeeld good reason why they keepe thee. But grant love of bewtie to be a beastly fault, although it be verie hard, since onely man and no beast hath that gift to discerne bewtie, graunt that lovely name of love to deserve all hatefull reproches, although even some of my maisters the Philosophers spent a good deale of their Lampoyle in setting foorth the excellencie of it, graunt I say, what they will have graunted, that not onelie love, but lust, but vanitie, but if they will list scurrilitie, possesse manie leaves of the Poets bookes, yet thinke I, when this is graunted, they will finde their sentence may with good manners put the last words foremost; and not say, that Poetrie abuseth mans wit, but that mans wit abuseth Poetrie.

(snip)

But I have lavished out too many words of this playmatter. I do it, because as they are excelling parts of poesy, so is there none so much used in England, and none can be more pitifully ABUSED; which, like an unmannerly daughter, showing a bad education, causeth her mother Poesy`s HONESTY to be called in question.



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Gallant \Gal"lant\, a. [F. gallant, prop. p. pr. of OF. galer to

rejoice, akin to OF. gale amusement, It. gala ornament; of
German origin; cf. OHG. geil merry, luxuriant, wanton, G.
geil lascivious, akin to AS. g?l wanton, wicked, OS. g?l
merry, Goth. gailjan to make to rejoice, or perh. akin to E.
weal. See Gala, Galloon.]

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Harvey, Speculum Tuscanismi


...Delicate in speech, quaint in array: conceited in all points,
In Courtly guiles a passing singular odd man,
For GALLANTS a BRAVE MIRROR, a Primrose of Honour,
A Diamond for nonce, a fellow peerless in England.
Not the like discourser for Tongue, and head to be found out,
Not the like resolute man for great and serious affairs,
Not the like Lynx to spy out secrets and privities of States,
Eyed like to Argus, eared like to Midas, nos'd like to Naso,
Wing'd like to Mercury, fittst of a thousand for to be employ'd,
This, nay more than this, doth practice of Italy in one year.
None do I name, but some do I know, that a piece of a twelve month
Hath so perfited outly and inly both body, both soul,
That none for SENSE and SENSES half matchable with them.
A vulture's smelling, Ape's tasting, sight of an eagle,
A spider's touching, Hart's hearing, might of a Lion.
Compounds of wisdom, wit, prowess, bounty, behavior,
All GALLANT VIRTUES, all qualities of body and soul.

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In Courtly GUILES a passing singular odd man,


Guile \Guile\, v. t. [OF. guiler. See Guile, n.]
To disguise or conceal; to deceive or delude. [Obs.]
--Spenser.


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"Since, if the MATTER be in NATURE VILE, /How can it be made PRECIOUS

by a stile" -- Greville

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Exorbitant \Ex*or"bi*tant\, a. [L. exorbitans, -antis, p. pr. of

exorbitare to go out of the track; ex out + orbita track: cf.
F. exorbitant. See Orbit.]

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Chapman's _Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois_ Act III, Scene iv (just before appearance of Oxford:


When Homer made Achilles passionate,
Wrathfull, revengefull, and insatiate15
In his affections, what man will denie
He did compose it all of industrie
To let men see that men of most renowne,
Strong'st, noblest, fairest, if they set not downe
Decrees within them, for disposing these,20
Of judgement, resolution, uprightnesse,
And certaine knowledge of their use and ends,
Mishap and miserie no lesse extends
To their destruction, with all that they pris'd,
Then to the poorest and the most despis'd?25

(snip Chapman's description of Oxford)

Clermont. AND yet he [Earl of Oxford]cast it onely in the way,105
To stay and serve the world. Nor did it fit
His owne true estimate how much it waigh'd;
FOR HEE DESPIS'D IT, and esteem'd it freer
To keepe his owne way straight, and swore that hee
Had rather make away his whole estate110
In things that crost the vulgar then he would
Be frozen up stiffe (like a Sir John Smith,
His countrey-man) in common Nobles fashions;
Affecting, as't the end of noblesse were,
Those servile observations.

Ren. It was strange. 115

Clermont. O tis a vexing sight to see a man,
OUT OF HIS WAY, stalke PROUD as hee were in;
OUT OF HIS WAY, to be officious,
Observant, wary, serious, and grave,
Fearefull, and passionate, insulting, raging,120
Labour with iron flailes to thresh downe feathers
Flitting in ayre.
Ren. What one considers this,
Of all that are thus out? or once endevours,
Erring, to enter on mans RIGHT-HAND PATH?
Cler. These are too grave for brave wits; give them toyes;125
Labour bestow'd on these is harsh and thriftlesse. (snip)

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Edwin Greenlaw Modern Language Notes © 1926

II. Spenser and Hesiod

...Chapman’s note indicates precisely the exposition of the virtue of

Temperance which is the subject of Spenser’s Legend of Guyon; the
allegory of the soul and the body, and of the place of knowledge and
of the intellectual love of God, of which Chapman speaks, are implicit
throughout the book. As to the “Pythagorean letter Y,” as ascribed to
Virgil in Spenser’s and Chapman’s time, we have Chapman’s translation,
as follows:

This letter of Pythagoras, that bears
This fork’d distinction, to conceit prefers
The form man’s life bears. Virtue’s hard way takes
Upon the right hand path, which entry makes
(To sensual eyes) with difficult affair;
But when ye once have climb’d the highest stair,
The beauty and the sweetness it contains,
Give rest and comfort, for past all your pains.
The broadway in a BRAVERY paints ye forth,
(In th’entry) softness, and much SHADE of worth);
But when ye reach the top, the taken ones
It HEADLONG HURLS DOWN, torn at sharpest stones.
He then, whom virtues love, shall victor crown
Of hardes fortunes, praise wins and renown;
But he that sloth and fruitless luxury
Pursues, and doth with foolish wariness fly
Opposed pains (that all best acts befall),
Lives POOR AND VILE, and dies despised of all.

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