Renaissance Poem Analysis
Another - Thomas Carew
This little vault, this narrow room,
Of love and beauty is the tomb ;
The dawning beam, that 'gan to clear
Our clouded sky, lies darken'd here,
For ever set to us, by death
Sent to inflame the world beneath.
'Twas but a bud, yet did contain
More sweetness than shall spring again ;
A budding star, that might have grown
Into a sun when it had blown.
This hopeful beauty did create
New life in love's declining state ;
But now his empire ends, and we
From fire and wounding darts are free ;
His brand, his bow, let no man fear :
The flames, the arrows, all lie here.
This little vault, this narrow room,
Of love and beauty is the tomb ;
The dawning beam, that 'gan to clear
Our clouded sky, lies darken'd here,
For ever set to us, by death
Sent to inflame the world beneath.
'Twas but a bud, yet did contain
More sweetness than shall spring again ;
A budding star, that might have grown
Into a sun when it had blown.
This hopeful beauty did create
New life in love's declining state ;
But now his empire ends, and we
From fire and wounding darts are free ;
His brand, his bow, let no man fear :
The flames, the arrows, all lie here.
When I first read Another by Thomas Carew, I had almost no idea of what it could be about, but after re-reading it many times, I had so many ideas, I had no idea where to start my research.
My Ideas Were:
changes in religion
death of a leader
war
love
In an attempt to uncover the meaning of the poem, I researched the history of Thomas Carew, and also the events that where happening around the time that this poem was written. It was quite hard to find out when this poem was written, as it was not one of Carew’s famous poems, so I decided to investigate the events that happened throughout Carew’s life, that may have sparked the idea for this poem. I could not find any significant wars that would have affected Carew in the time, so the description of war is most likely to be a metaphor.
Many of Carew’s poems contain messages promoting and discussing the Protestant religion, so if I had to make a guess, I would guess this poem talks about changes in religion, which is quite likely, seeing there was a huge shift in religion during the renaissance. The only other likely idea is that it describes love, which was one of Thomas’ favorite topics to write about.
I choose ‘Since They Have Died’ as the poem that relates most to Another, because even though it has a completely different writing style, it has the same themes of love and war in it.
My Ideas Were:
changes in religion
death of a leader
war
love
In an attempt to uncover the meaning of the poem, I researched the history of Thomas Carew, and also the events that where happening around the time that this poem was written. It was quite hard to find out when this poem was written, as it was not one of Carew’s famous poems, so I decided to investigate the events that happened throughout Carew’s life, that may have sparked the idea for this poem. I could not find any significant wars that would have affected Carew in the time, so the description of war is most likely to be a metaphor.
Many of Carew’s poems contain messages promoting and discussing the Protestant religion, so if I had to make a guess, I would guess this poem talks about changes in religion, which is quite likely, seeing there was a huge shift in religion during the renaissance. The only other likely idea is that it describes love, which was one of Thomas’ favorite topics to write about.
I choose ‘Since They Have Died’ as the poem that relates most to Another, because even though it has a completely different writing style, it has the same themes of love and war in it.
Since they have Died - May Wedderburn
Since they have died to give us gentleness,
And hearts kind with contentment and quiet mirth,
Let us who live also give happiness
And love, that’s born of pity, to the earth.
For, I have thought, some day they may lie sleeping
Forgetting all the weariness and pain,
And smile to think their world is in our keeping,
And laughter comes back to the earth again.
Since they have died to give us gentleness,
And hearts kind with contentment and quiet mirth,
Let us who live also give happiness
And love, that’s born of pity, to the earth.
For, I have thought, some day they may lie sleeping
Forgetting all the weariness and pain,
And smile to think their world is in our keeping,
And laughter comes back to the earth again.
Another (Thomas Carew poem) from: http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/carew/epitaph3.htm Created by Anniina Jokinen on March 25, 2001. Visited on 22.8.16
Since They Have Died (May Wedderburn poem) from: Since they have Died by May Wedderburn Cannan. (2016). Retrieved from https://allpoetry.com/Since-they-have-Died Visited on 28.8.16
Bibliography
Historical Events in 1594 - OnThisDay.com. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1594 Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew (1595?-1639?). Critical Introduction by Edmund W. Gosse. T. H. Ward, ed. 1880-1918. The English Poets. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/337/349.html Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew Essay - Carew, Thomas - eNotes.com. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/topics/thomas-carew/critical-essays/carew-thomas Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew | English poet. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Carew Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew - British Renaissance Poetry. (2016). Retrieved from http://britrenpoetry.wikidot.com/thomas-carew Visited on 29.8.16
Since They Have Died (May Wedderburn poem) from: Since they have Died by May Wedderburn Cannan. (2016). Retrieved from https://allpoetry.com/Since-they-have-Died Visited on 28.8.16
Bibliography
Historical Events in 1594 - OnThisDay.com. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1594 Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew (1595?-1639?). Critical Introduction by Edmund W. Gosse. T. H. Ward, ed. 1880-1918. The English Poets. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/337/349.html Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew Essay - Carew, Thomas - eNotes.com. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/topics/thomas-carew/critical-essays/carew-thomas Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew | English poet. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Carew Visited on 29.8.16
Thomas Carew - British Renaissance Poetry. (2016). Retrieved from http://britrenpoetry.wikidot.com/thomas-carew Visited on 29.8.16