Accuse not Nature, she hath don her part;
Do thou but thine, and be not diffident
Of Wisdom, she deserts thee not, if thou
Dismiss not her, when most thou needst her nigh
Paradise Lost VIII 561-564
I wish I could be sealed in holiness
Impervious to woman's quick'ning touch.
Nature, upon her form, bestowed too much,
Concupiscent eyes burn straight through her dress.
Tonight, before my Lord, I must confess
Surrendering within desire's hot clutch,
And beg He douse the flame that burns with such
Intemperance, the cause of deep distress.
The flame is bless'd that burns with holy oil
And fashions one from two in wedded life;
The nuptial gift enshrined in solemn vows
Doth image Him Who first did us espouse.
'Tis good desiring union with a wife,
That love may find you worthy, wait and toil.
Tom Jay
April 2006
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2 comments:
How wonderfully out of touch with modern mores! And defiant of the "do what feels good" ethic. I wish I didn't know how you feel.
Question - does this language fit your overall style for this project? Don't know how to access the rest without losing this page I'm writing on, but it seems like you're relying heavily on Milton's English. It is lovely, so that isn't a criticism, but without the rest here I'm not sure how it fits stylistically into the overall project.
Question 2 - as this is obviously a momentary reflection based on a desire to be holy even in the throes of lust and not a grand reflection on a proper response to lust, I wonder if the latter wouldn't be fitting somewhere near. I know you don't want to actually be sealed off from the feminine, from sexuality, etc., as holiness would rather have you able to respond to beauty and sexual attraction in a healthy way. Just a thought. I know it wouldn't fit the project form to squeeze it in this part, but maybe another quattrain could address this.
Finally, love the "Nature, upon her form,..." line. The next is a step down somehow--maybe because it's more coarse, but maybe it's supposed to be that way. Maybe it's the word Concupiscent. I know you know that concupiscence is a sin of the heart, which utilizes the eyes, so it's not a problem of saying, "eyes can't be concupiscent." I think it's more that the word seems like an outside judgment in an otherwise very interior struggle. I'm not sure that's right, or even that it doesn't fit.
Great stuff. Thanks, Tom. Sorry for all the blather here.
Thanks for your comments, Rufus. To take your questions ad seriatem, or one at a time.
1) I don't envision an overall linguistic style for this project. In this case, the response comes from Milton so I adopted, somewhat, his linguistic manner which I happen to like very much. That's half the reason why I love reading Paradise Lost. The laguage is beautiful. But another respondant, say, Augustine, would speak a different way. I guess this project might differ from other collections of poetry in that sense.
2)The response to lust is offered here. It's wisdom. This is hinted at in the quote from Milton. The narrator is wrongly accusing nature, or more specifically, sexuality, for his problem. He thinks sexuality, per se, is shameful and problemmatic and so he wrongly wishes he could be without it. You're right, to be sealed off from femininity and to repress the normal orientation of masculinity to desire the feminine is not healthy. And this is what Milton reminds him of. "The flame is blessed that burns with holy oil." God didn't make a mistake. It is fallen man that is the problem. Milton steers the narrator away from blaming creation (Accuse not Nature...), which is tantamount to blaming God, by reminding him that creation, including sexual desire, is good ('Tis good desiring union with a wife.) That line about desire also reminds him that it is union with another person, a wife, that he truly desires, not merely the gratification of the senses. In other words, sexuality must be contextualized. Milton then reminds him he must call upon the wisdom that reminds him in Whose image he is created and what sexuality is created for (The nuptial gift enshrined in solemn vows/Doth image Him Who first did us espouse.) Sexuality is gift, and it is sacramental. Then, he must simply persevere, be patient, and wait. Feelings come and go. (...wait and toil.)
3) It's always amazing to me how the line I'm most unsure about in a poem is the one that gets questioned. It makes me appreciate the mystery of language and communication. The line about concupiscence of the eyes is taken from John who identifies the three lusts: of the eyes, of the flesh, and pride of life. These are also called the three concupisceces. That's what I was referring to. I agree with you there is something harsh about that line but not because of the word Concupiscence but rather because of "...burn straight through her dress." I like the sort of staccato effect of five stressed monosyllabic words, which sort of lends emphasis and force to the conceit of lust which forms the octet. But it seems somehow crude and, like you suggested, a little out of character with the rest of the poem linguistically. If you keep in mind this is a lenten sonnet, that might give a better context for the word concupiscence for you. I do think that line needs improvement though. If I had my copy of Love and Responsibility handy I could share with you John Paul's take on concupiscence. I questioned that word, too, but after reading a passage from that book it seemed like the right word.
Thanks for your comments. See you Monday.
Digby Figworth
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