"He koude songes make and wel endite,
Juste and eek daunce, and weel purtreye and write."
This shows just some of the range of skills the Squire put into use when trying to attract a female and from jousting through to dancing Chaucer never fails to impress as a humorist. Chaucer explains the Squire's behaviour by night: "he sleep namoore than doth a nightertale" . This is a symbol of sleepless lovers in an idealised youth when he delves into the etiquette that comes with marriage. This contrasts with the next two lines which show his obedience and lowliness at the hands of his father.
The language of the poem is full of emblematic images that represent the symbolism of medieval times. For readers, the Squire would have been a icon that people dreamed of but would never achieve. He had a special place at his father's side but was always "lowly, and servisable" in his presence which demonstrates the hierarchy at the time it was written and what place it had in peoples lives.
Chaucer's verse demonstrates the life of a man high in the social hierarchy, the association with aristocracy indicates that this man is full of the colour and love of someone who is living life to the full. He is skilled in the arts, chivalrous, courteous and polite in front of his seniors. The Squire is the link between the three main aspects of medieval life: the social, military and religious backgrounds all meet in this young man who fights for his faith and belief in God.
This links to the next piece of verse Donne's Holy Sonnet X through the importance of personal faith, the power of God and the way this influences the way we live. The opening assaults the fear of death by the assertion of immortality. This is almost a paradox considering the image of death being fearless, and not "proud". It depicts Death having an almost air of arrogance around it, which is all-powerful in our eyes . This argument is explained as Donne belittles Death's fearlessness throughout the sonnet. He brings forward a whole new meaning to the idea of Death - that it is only an inferior image of itself. It gives the reader an almost sense of bewilderment as he delves into the world of seeming contradictions that present themselves within the first few lines.
There are several lines which are full of ingenious parallels: "Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me". This is stating that death is not an enemy but the source of eternal life itself. During mortal life the soul is confined but when one dies the body is delivered into the land of the eternal, whilst bodily life is taken by Death which means that Death is a positive thing as it has given birth to immortality.
The poem is divided into two parts. The octet (eight lines) personifies Death as a restorative influence and is an image of re-birth as well as an image to be conquered. This is supported by lines like "mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so".
This again shows how the tortuously worked-out argumentative style comes to an infinite conclusion. These phrases, rhetorical in style are full of syllogistic arguments and are full of paradoxes contrived by conceits; an example of this is being “From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be”, showing that Death is being flattered by its reviving influence and the passage to re-birth. There is an ingenious parallel between the analogy and the two dissimilar things which are totally unrelated in ordinary reasoning.
The sestet (six lines) are a direct challenge to Death. After explaining the idea of Death having no threat at the point of leaving the mortal world, the poet decides to satirise Death and simply treat it like any other superstitious fear. He decides to dismiss this fear with the line, “and poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well”: this is a nullifying of death. These are lines are full of a Christian confidence which was popular in the Renaissance. The final lines infers no literal faith in resurrection and decides that the face of Death is a prelude to eternal life. It finishes with the paradox, "Death thou shalt die"; this being a conceit again filled with religious confidence and belief, as Death ends up as an illusion.
The diction is direct and unadorned, colloquial and almost blunt which brings to life the complex images and ideas within the piece. It avoids a conventional melody but yet the words seem to flow. There are certain points where the writer uses rapid regular rhythm to put across a point rather than use unnecessary language. An example of this is “One short sleep past”. The poem is a satire of Death as an evil and death having an autonomous life of its own. It is full of rhetorical questions which pose the theory that Death is a means to immortality. The poem gives the impression that Death is a dependant force whilst life is full of unpredictable events.
This links to the next ballad along the grounds of a religious context in a protest poem. William Blake's London is full of suspicions of institutionalised religion with the satire of the Established Church and the social conditions of individuals in the 19th Century outlined. It is at the time of the industrial revolution, an age of change in the world. This poem satirises the social oppression against the people by the Established Church, state and monarchy, highlighting the imperialism of the government at that time. It is an image of those who bear the brunt of the pressure. Each stanza has a different theme which it discusses and the grimy life of early 19th century London is revealed.
The first stanza comments on the general face of London and its effect on it inhabitants: “And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weariness, marks of woe”
The poet describes London as if it depressed its population, full of smoke, dirt and disease which were rife at the time. The comment “chartered Thames” shows the general view being that nothing was free and public. The concept of freedom was legislated with no personal of spiritual liberty. The poet writes as though he is a lone voice who speaks the mind of thousands too terrified to speak out for fear of being punished. It is full of the idealism of having individual freedom rather than being enclosed by the horror that was London then.
The second stanza represents of how everyone is affected by the oppression, from children through to later life. The image of “every infants cry of fear” refers to child labour which was common at that time, whilst the phrase, “Mind-forged manacles” cleverly compares the handcuffs of society to the new technologies which were just becoming available at the time during the age of industrial expansion.
The third stanza is a much more precise approach to those more generally recognised to be the most oppressed at that time. It also contains a reference to the Established Church, one of the most influential forces in society. Blake attacks the lack of Christian charity in society; the phrase, “Every blackening church appals” is a challenge from the hearts of the people, who commonly viewed the church as a hypocritical institution . The word “appals” could refer to St. Paul's in London, an irony in the language, or it could be the poet's outrage at the seeming immorality of religion. It is probable that Blake intended to imply these as a direct attack on the contemporary church. The chimney sweeper represents again the vicious use of child labour and the vast injustice they suffered. The image “the hapless Soldier’s sigh, Runs in blood down the palace walls” is symbolic of the monarchy's abuse of power and the needless death of innocent soldiers in war blind to responsibility.
The fourth stanza comments on the plight of innocence women as victims of unhappy marriages and infant mortality. The “youthful Harlot’s curse” is representative of those who suffer as a result of mass capitalism and society being deaf to their cries. The symbolic "marriage hearse" implies being born with a life that is short and painful and it is a paradox of a living death and misery.
These three poems all demonstrate divergent cultural contexts. They all show the power of religion and how at all times, there is someone in power and someone who is oppressed. Chaucer displays the image of a popular, iconic young man whilst Blake focuses on the imperialistic capitalism of the 19th century and Donne focuses on personal faith in God, confidence in the immortality of life as in there is life beyond the time when we leave this world.
