This is a paraphrase made by David Hill in 2009 (of all the books of
Dowland) and posted on [1]johndowland.co.uk, but no more available.
Let me know if you want to a have a copy.
Fine knacks for ladies, cheape choise brave and new,
Good penniworths but mony cannot move,
I keepe a faier but for the faier to view,
A begger may bee liberall of loue,
Though all my wares be trash, the hart is true.
Great gifts are guiles and looke for gifts againe,
My trifles come, as treasures from my minde,
It is a precious Iewell to bee plaine,
Sometimes in shell th' orienst36 pearles we finde,
Of others take a sheafe, of mee a graine.
Within this packe pinnes points laces & gloves,
And divers toies fitting a country faier,
But my37 hart, where duety serves and loves,
Turtles and twins, courts brood, a heavenly paier,
Happy the hart that thinks of no removes.
I (a `pedlar'), have fine small goods for ladies: cheap, rare, exciting
and new. They are good
value for money, though money alone does not motivate me. I hold back
my finest goods for
only the fairest to see, for a `beggar' such as I can easily afford to
be generous in dispensing
his love. Even though all my goods-in-trade are really worthless trash,
my heart is true and
constant.
Those great gifts (such as wealth) are deceptive, and you should look
for other qualities, for,
in my case, even my most trivial cheap `goods' are, in fact,
`treasures' that come from my
mind (i.e. wit). It is a rare and valuable thing to appear plain and
simple, as I do, for
sometimes we find the bright, shining pearl inside the coarse shell (of
the oyster). My quality
of `stock' (wit and charm) is such that, whereas you may take a whole
`sheaf' of others, you38
need only to take a `grain' in weight of me!
Though here, in my pedlar's bundle, I carry a stock of pins, aiglets39,
laces and gloves, and
various trivial small goods suitable for a humble country fair, my
heart (because I serve both
40duty and love equally) carries constancy, as is embodied by the
turtle doves and the
famous twins41 , the offspring of Zeus (who also represent duty and
love) - truly a heavenly
pair. Happy is the heart that thinks of no higher state42 (than one who
serves with such
constancy).
36
Orient meant bright and shining in the 17th century: "We have spoken of
the cause of orient colours in
birds..." (Bacon - Natural History 1607); "...He offers to each weary
traveller/ Orient liquor in a crystal
glass." (Milton - Paradise Lost 1667). `Orienst', as here, may simply
be a misprint for `orient'. Diana
Poulton asserted that "Orienst is a good Elizabethan word, the
superlative of orient.." (John Dowland, p.
267, 1982), though I have not been able to confirm this.The word is not
used anywhere in Shakespeare.
37
The original printed copies give: `But my hart...', not `in my hart',
as is given in all modern printed
editions (following E.H. Fellowes). `My' can easily be sung to the two
notes as Dowland probably
intended without inserting an extra word. The poet is saying that his
heart is constant, like the turtles and
twins, not that they are ` in his heart'.
38
A grain was traditionally the smallest unit of measured weight, based
upon a grain of wheat.
39
Pointed metal end-tags for laces.
40
Noted for mating for life, and displaying constant affection.
41
Castor and Pollux, the sons of Zeus and Leda (`courts brood' - Zeus
seduced Leda in the form of a
swan). The key element of the twins' myth, as far as this song is
concerned, relates to the filial love and
constancy demonstrated by Pollux when Castor was mortally wounded -
Pollux was given the choice of
elevation to Olympus, or of giving half his immortality to his twin,
the latter of which he chose. Zeus
placed Castor and Pollux in the heavens as the constellation Gemini -
`a heavenly pair'
42
`Removes' means an elevation of status at this date - see also no. 15
`White as lillies'
On 25 July 2013 21:12, Sam Chapman <[2]manchap...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
I've been asked by a singer to explain the meaning of a couple of
lines
from Fine Knacks for Ladies. Frankly I've never understood them
either,
have any of you? She writes:
"I've been struggling with a verse from Fine Knacks for Ladies,
but I'm
stuck. Maybe you could help me. It is the following:
But my heart wherein duty serves and loves,
Turtles and twins, court's brood, a heavenly pair.
I understand the first row, but not the second one. The words are
all
right, but how does it fit in the poem? And what is the link to
the
previous one? Is there an allusion to something I don't (but
should)
know about?"
Can anyone help us out?
All the best,
Sam
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References
1. http://johndowland.co.uk/
2. mailto:manchap...@gmail.com
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