A short haitus

As you may have noticed, I'll be taking a short break from blogging until probably next Wednesday or Thursday as I complete a couple academic projects for the semester. I'll try to make up for it by doing a few extra posts once I have a bit more time.

Cheers,
~

National Poetry Month

As Mighty Toy Cannon over at Culture Shock has informed me, April is National Poetry Month. To celebrate, I'll be posting poems about poetry all through the month. Today's poem opens the sonnet cycle by one of the masters of that form in renaissance England, Philip Sidney. Unlike most sonnets, it is written in hexameter, not pentameter, giving the pace a steady build, as opposed to the stately closed lines you get with a lot of pentameter.

From Astrophil and Stella

Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,
That the dear She might take some pleasure of my pain,
Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,
Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,
I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe,
Studying inventions fine, her wits to entertain,
Oft turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow
Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburned brain.
But words came halting forth, wanting Invention's stay;
Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows,
And others' feet still seemed but strangers in my way.
Thus great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes,
Biting my trewand pen, beating myself for spite,
"Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart and write."

1582?