Henry Constable (1562–1613)

A collection of Sonnets, some of which were published in 1592 but many added later. Constable's poetry was much admired by his contemporary critics. They take the Petrarchan model as a base and follow in the footsteps of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophell and Stella. Sonnet collections from this period have since been grouped together under the genre of Elizabethan Love sonnets, however they were highly stylised and not at all as a modern reader would imagine a love sonnet to be. Feelings expressed by the poet seem curiously detached, they have a language all of their own: it is basically the language of courtly love and it does seem today more of a pretence of love rather than an actual passionate feeling. They were written to be admired for their technical accomplishments, their grace and beauty and their turn of phrase.

Henry Constable was a courtier who held various positions amongst the followers of the leading courtiers to Queen Elizabeth I. He was a man who wrote for pleasure and would not be looking to make his living from poetry. He was following a fashionable pursuit of the courtiers at the time. In the tradition of Petrarch who addressed his poems to the mysterious Laura Constable's poems were addressed to Diana, who may have been a figment of his imagination, because there is nothing in the 60 odd sonnets to connect him to any known person at the time. The reader does not get any impression of a real person in any of the poems, she appears to be a stock figure who gives no encouragement to the poets protestations of love and treats him with disdain.

This is a typical example of one of the original 23 poems; more concerned with word play and style than on any expression of feelings:

Lady, in beauty and in favour rare,
Of favour, not of due, I favour crave.
Nature to thee beauty and favour gave;
Fair then thou art, and favour thou may'st spare.
Nor when on me bestowed your favours are,
Less favour in your face you shall not have;
If favour then a wounded soul may save,
Of murder's guilt, dear Lady, then beware.
My loss of life a million fold were less
Than the least loss should unto you befall;
Yet grant this gift; which gift when I possess,
Both I have life and you no loss at all.
For by your favour only I do live,
And favour you may well both keep and give

There are other poems that concern themselves with conceits and Constable was proud of his conceits, which is a word that was used to describe the use of imagery in metaphors that combined unlikely comparisons or gave a twist to formulaic or previously used standard comparisons. In poem 19 he compares the five wounds in his heart to the stigmata of St Francis

Saint Francis had the like, yet felt no smart,
Where I in living torments never die.

However for every original image or metaphor used there are many more that are conventional for the type of poetry that was being written at the time. There is much hyperbole for example the eyes of Diana are often depicted as two suns that light the gloom and in a famous line he says 'My lady's presence makes the roses red'. These are poems of unrequited love and the poets attempts to outdo the pain they suffer as a result, are another example of the hyperbole that is customarily used.

The poems that are more likely to appeal to the modern reader are those that can show a modicum of feeling that one is able to relate to, or poems that use images that appear fresh and add to the reading experience. Fortunately there are a few instances of this in Constable's sonnets. There is a theme running through them of the constant battle between the poets eyes and the poets heart. The heart blames the eyes for the constant pain it suffers.

"My heart mine eye accuseth of his death,
Saying his wanton sight bred his unrest;
Mine eye affirms my heart's unconstant faith
Hath been his bane, and all his joys repressed."

The pleasure of reading Constable's sonnets are in their very form which can be delightful. Some of the earlier sonnets can seem a little obscure but as they were added to, the later additions express more clarity of thought and are well worked through. They sound good when being read aloud.

An example of one of the later poems is one that features a pun on the word care and has some fine lines that are not without interest:

But being care, thou flyest me as ill fortune;—
Care the consuming canker of the mind!
The discord that disorders sweet hearts' tune!
Th' abortive bastard of a coward mind!
The lightfoot lackey that runs post by death,
Bearing the letters which contain our end!
The busy advocate that sells his breath,
Denouncing worst to him, is most his friend!
O dear, this care no interest holds in me;
But holy care, the guardian of thy fair,
Thine honour's champion, and thy virtue's fee,
The zeal which thee from barbarous times shall bear,
This care am I; this care my life hath taken.
Dear to my soul, then leave me not forsaken!

Perhaps the whole point of these courtly love sonnets can be summed up in a line from one of Constables:

I say, "I love!" My mistress says "'Tis lust!"

I think it is easy to be disappointed by the Elizabethan love sonneteers, one could argue that they wrote too many that sounded too similar and the lack of true feeling and the distance placed between the lover and his mistress makes them seem too artificial. However when the poems read as well as most of Constable's do and when one can come across an occasional gem, then it is worth the effort. 3.5 stars… (altro)