Five Hours on a Sonnet About a View (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 8, 1999

Explaining the Crumbling Walls

Arriving now out of the woods and to the depiction of my newest Sonnet, let us begin with “like crumbling walls, varlets tether my rise.” Figurative speech is used in the title and it already gives an idea of trouble and one’s quest to be greater being halted. The man that speaks this Sonnet as if a soliloquy is a King of a land he has newly inherited from his deceased father.

There could be some doubt as to whether he is the next of kin to the throne or if the people just loathed his becoming the new King. The varlets (Who are the majority of the populace) are so called because they do not agree with his taking the throne, they do not think he is worthy of such a duty. Think of this new King as some sort of villain son and where the other son has more godly tribute in him than the former King.

The people of the Kingdom would have preferred the younger more rapturous son as King and they act as varlets to the obvious decision of the darker son in deed. Figuratively speaking, the new King is tethered to the imaginary walls of the varlets loathing and they bring down his upsurge of popularity. After all, who likes a bad King.

Puns on Heir and Air

Beginning our Sonnet with a pun (1.1) the atmosphere that the King sees in the people is shown by his saying “Not many people like my natural inheritance to the throne”. The pun on ‘Heir’ and the rest of the sentence makes one think of the word ‘Air’ as the King speaks of himself in a third person state. The use of the archaic word ‘Fain’ in line (1.2) meaning ‘Willingly’ combined with the pun of ‘Whet’ (To make keen or eager in figurative sense) moves the King to more damnation.

He notes that although most of the population hates him few men in that population willingly speak out against the new King as they know such will cause them certain death. The pun on ‘whet’ implies when using ‘wet’ that many men have dry mouths when it comes to publicly speaking out and they wish not wet their lips in such a way. The King sees the disloyal men being the nation’s belly meaning the majority of the population (1.3).

A dastard is a mean coward, mean for detesting his sovereignty and cowards for not speaking out about it if they are so intent. Full-stout means to imply that the nation’s belly is bulging with dastards. Within the belly of the nation that detests the King there is an inclination of spirit that could overthrow the King but it is suppressed (1.4).

‘Harboring mettle’ gives an impressionable pun that by using ‘Metal’ would indicate that the population has the means to pierce a King’s lungs but they choose to keep it within their minds. The ‘King’s lungs’ is used as few men breathe easy with his new governing air so piercing his lungs figuratively would free them from his ruling.

The Second Quatrain

The first quatrain speaks of how his leadership is so loathed in secrecy but the second shows examples of loyalty that is just not there for the King. Using a play of words on the words ‘leave’ and ‘trunk’ (1.5) the King speaks “Tell a man he is free to go and watch how fast he will oblige and run to the forests”.

With more emphasis on desertion in a different kind (1.6) the King speaks “Tell a man he must work for the King and watch him become an enemy of his job because of his loathing the King”. If a vassal was to work for a King he sees as an enemy he will defeat himself in his job. There is an antithesis on the words ‘Leave’ with ‘Duty’ and ‘Oblige’ with ‘Defeat’.

In respect, they mean to say, let a man go, make a man work, he will oblige, he will not oblige. The King then adds “If they do not bend their knee and swear an oath of loyalty to me then give me luck and toss me my royal seat” in lines (1.7-1.8).

There is a quasi-proverbial saying in line (1.8) that as the original proverb would say ‘Give a man luck and toss him to the sea’. In other words, the King needs luck because the varlets in the population are like sharks who just might stray and nibble because they do not honor their prey.

Gallows and Chopped Fingers

Within the third quatrain, the detesting of the population is shown once again. However, it depicts only the brave-hearted who stood up to the King with words but had only their courageous deaths to show for it. To speak out against the King would mean certain death and the King speaks “How they still mock me with passion in their hearts even when they should show fear in being sent to the gallows”.

The gallows (1.9) were places to hang people back in the medieval days and it shows how even to their deaths the men are such patriots who were loyal to the now dead King. The King in this quatrain begins to question himself in his bid to have the population swear loyalty to him.

Using the black pun in line (1.10) he speaks “For what reason does my hanging those who oppose me make no improvement in color to my authority”. The first use of ‘Sways’ means the swinging from side to side of the hanging bodies and the second use of ‘Sway’ shows the King’s authority to rule as a sovereign. The use of ‘Amends’ means to improve in health or recovery in his leadership.

The King speaks that even a lesser punishment than death will have varlets pointing at him as a villain King (1.11). He speaks as in black humor “Even though I chop off their determined fingers they shall still lift up their hands and point at me as a Villain”. The black humor is on the fact that once their fingers are chopped off they would not be able to point.

As the King is still the King of the people despite their antagonism he shows that if he kills them because of their dislike he will be seen as a villain to the people (1.12). There is a sense of alliteration in this line with emphasis only on the ‘S’ and plurals of most words. It draws out the speech of the line and gives more emphasis on the graveness of the situation.

The King has a lose-lose situation at his hand. Either punish those who are against him making more hate him or let them be varlets to eventually overthrow him.

The Couplet

The finishing couplet speaks of a double antithesis on the emphasis of ‘Words’ and ‘strokes’ as well as ‘Enemies’ and ‘Allies’. Plainly, conflicting words lead to conflicting blows of war and that in turn will make concord into discord. However, in the last line of the Sonnet, the King sees reason in that if he reversed the conflict to words of peace then it would willingly create a civilized environment. The King who is more content with punishment and animosity for the people has a change of thought and a change of heart. With the possibility of overthrow he considers talks of peace with the people or talks along the lines of increasing moral.

Five Hours on One Sonnet

Endearing poetry, how of my night you do asunder the minutes and make them seem like hours. As wished, I did complete my newest Sonnet but it did come with travail of the lengthiest kind.

The words that I type here in this Diary are always a first draft except for the chance that I might read upon it at a later date and modify but my Sonnets are first class. Since 2:30 a.m. in which I started work on my Sonnet and didn’t relent except for a snack break I have been constant with my thoughts.

The time that I actually finished my Sonnet with grievance from tired eyes it was 7:30 a.m. Five long and straight hours I did spend on my latest Sonnet and if you were to separate that to the ten lines not already written you would consider at least half an hour to each line.

Despite having three pages of precise notes and allotted points it took me such a long time to decipher what I wanted to say and exactly how I was going to say it. After all, there was so much information there to pick out of that I made the knowledge almost sodden to my sanity. The Sonnet did come out especially good but it does not send the message I would have liked more clearly to send.

A View Called Jewell

The Sonnet in reality was supposed to depict my lustful ways for Jewell in our hay-day as a picturesque view. It already sounds hard enough but what the hardest part was had been the couplet.

The Sonnet actually starts ‘If thou wert a view I would surely love’ and from that line I was supposed to and did a good job of showing Jewell was like a view but not loved. That line in itself is cynical to the word love as it never existed through our relationship and through the lost years Sonnets I have shown it no meaning.

The last rhyming couplet turned out to be the best part of the Sonnet, the most resonant and vibrant sounding. In reality, a picturesque view like that of a forest or canyon is rather calming and beautiful. As a view resembles Jewell these certainly meet her criteria.

Now, if you started to get more tempted to visit that picturesque view with each passing moment you looked at its beauty you will understand the lusting also associated with a view and Jewell. Another point finely mentioned is how you can look at a view but you cannot touch it like one in a picture. The view is a distance away and only the lustful yearning can take you there.

Let’s face it, if Jewell was a view and I couldn’t touch her but be a couple of meters away, temptation and lust would finally get to me and I’d walk over and enter the comfort zone. In the same way, when I walk closer to the beautiful view it becomes less beautiful the deeper in I get.

What from afar did look peaceful and pure now has insects in the sand and other tainting attributes that I couldn’t see from my view point. Also, like Jewell was reluctant to speak her feelings, when I asked the view “Do you mind if I come to you and not stay here” I of course received no answer, views don’t speak.

Being in the thick of the view now I cannot see all of the beauty but I will be able to be one with thoughts, shades, light and animation of the now tainted view. Just as if I was to get closer to Jewell with my lustful ways and kiss her or acknowledge her in a loving way I would be close to her thoughts and all else that was mentioned, I would be at one with her.

However, Jewell was reluctant to speak her feelings or sustain me in her picturesque haven with comforting words, the only thing that kept me there was hope and her misguided beauty. With this reluctance and deceit that now shows within the view it poisons and cuts me up as Jewell did. Let me now get to the Sonnet before I run out of space…

The Sonnet in Full

Views do deceive with their bodies and hearts

(‘The Lost Years’ Sonnets)

If thou wert a view I would surely love,

Or have or have had in my past demise,

Whose trees are tallest and sprouts thickest grove,

With brooks that sweeten the better comprise,

Such betrothed view grants not what fingers reach,

That eyes afar reach with passing moments,

Yet to stay or stray asked she shows no speech,

That doth tempt restless feet to their absence,

Fondest feet durst taint with each stride thither,

Thou dost with beauty bait what not with words,

And what thine not pure doth bane and sunder,

With reluctant shades and lust-pecking birds,

In views have no flaws but what the eye see,

How I played the fool to love err in me,

Eros Theatre Tonight

As time continually ticks now and I have practically explained most of the Sonnet I must get myself to sleep in preparation for the big night tonight, well, Eros theatre. No doubt I will probably be expecting a call from Lyssa tonight now that she’s back and calling me but I will be having fun under a different kind of shining sun. These eyes do vain and bleed their deprival, let them wink and peace be to their survival, anon, let anon to sleep these tired eyes hie.