“Thou Blind Man’s Mark” by Sir Philip Sidney

1. “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”bySir Philip Sidney

2. Sir Philip Sidney: 1554-1586 • Renaissance Man: Knight, soldier, diplomat, patron, ideal Elizabethan courier, Petrarchan sonneteer, politician; literary critic • Desires denied: Love, political appointments, inherited wealth • Sonnets show political, court and foreign policy tensions • Calvinist background; Humanistic education: Latin classics • 1598 Certain Sonnets (No. 31 “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”) • Major Works: Astrophel and Stella; Defense of Poesy • Dies of gangrene 26 days after thigh injury: “The Broken Thigh” • "Among the gilded youth of Elizabethan England—he was one of the most promising young men of his time." Biographer Allen Stewart • “Sidney’s face was ‘spoiled with pimples’ • says Ben Johnson “wryly distancing himself from the virtual Sidney cult that had arisen in the years after his death.” (1619)

3. Sonnet Traits • Sonnets = lyrics---they convey intense emotion • 14 lines; iambic pentameter; two rhetorical parts • Italian/Petrarchan Octave + (volta) Sestet • abba abba cdcdcd or cdecde • English/Shakespearean 3 Quatrains + (volta) Couplet • abab cdcd efef gg • Spenserian 3 Quatrains + (volta) Couplet • abab bcbc cdcd ee • Sidney 2 Quatrains + (volta) 2 Tercets* • (Quatorzain) abab baba bcc bcc • *(always ending in a couplet) • Volta (turn) = main shift in all sonnets • Two Rhetorical Parts of an Argument • Question—Answer • Problem—Solution

4. “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”: Quatorzain Rhyme Scheme • Thou . . . snare, a • Fond . . . thought; b • Band . . . care; a • Thou . . . wrought; b • Desire. . . bought, b • With . . . ware; a • Too . . . brought, b • Who . . . prepare. a • But . . . sought; b • In . . . aspire; c • In . . . fire; c • For . . . taught— b • Within . . . hire, c • Desiring . . . desire. c

5. The Prompt • In the following poem by Sir Philip Sidney • (1554-1586), the speaker addresses the subject of • desire. Read the poem carefully. Then write a well- • developed essay in which you analyze howpoetic • devices help to convey the speaker’s complex • attitude toward desire. • Prompt Clues: • Sidney--Renaissance • 1554-1586 Renaissance; • English Counter Reformation; Mary • Elizabeth I • Which poetic devices? • Complex=more than one

6. Beginning Analysis: Diction, Imagery, Language • Circle HOT tone words (nouns, adjectives, adverbs) • Bracket imagery • Box figurative language • Underline other observations • (e.g., repetition, alliteration, point of view) • Categorize—What are the effects?

7. Evidence for the Best Argument • Which poetic devices reveal meaning the best? • Where are they in the poem? Embed quotations. • What does each device do? Effects? • How does the device accomplish its effect? • Use 2-3 sentences to explicate/analyze. • Use 2-3 pieces of evidence per paragraph.

8. What Do You Want Students to See? • Who is the speaker? Who is addressed? What is the situation? • Poetic devices? What are the attitudes? How do you know? • Poetic Terminology • Complexity: (more than one) of Attitude toward desire • Irony: Title--What is a blind man’s mark (target)? Final couplet • Classical Allusion: Cupid (blind man) • Structure: sonnet; shift; recognize problem/solution argument; irony of final couplet • Figurative Language: alliteration, apostrophe, personification, metaphors • Imagery: Not just visual • Rhetorical Devices: repetition, parallelism, anaphora (repetition of initial words, phrases), • puns, paradoxes/opposites, juxtaposition, • Syntactical: anastrophe (inversion); length of line • Point of View: 1st; 2nd person familiar (thou, thee, thy, thine) • Analysis: Use poetry terminology and textural support; show HOW you know

9. Poetry Analysis Cheat Sheet

10. “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” • Thou blind man’s mark,1 thou fool’s self-chosen snare, • Fond fancy’s scum, and dregs of scattered thought; • Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care; • Thou web of will, whose end is never wrought; • Desire, desire! I have too dearly bought, • With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware; • Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought, • Who should my mind to higher things prepare. • But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought; • In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire; • In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire; • For virtue hath this better lesson taught— • Within myself to seek my only hire,2 • Desiring naught but how to kill desire. • 1target 2reward

11. Poetry Analysis: Diction • Thou blind man’s mark, thou fool’s self-chosen snare, A • Fond fancy’s scum, and dregs of scattered thought; B • Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care; A • Thou web of will, whose end is never wrought; B • Desire, desire! I have too dearly bought, B • With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware; A • Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought, B • Who should my mind to higher things prepare. A • ------- • But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought; B • In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire; C • In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire; C • For virtue hath this better lesson taught— B • Within myself to seek my only hire, C • Desiring naught but how to kill desire. C

12. Imagery and Alliteration • Thou blind man’s mark,1 thou fool’s self-chosen snare, • Fond fancy’s scum, and dregs of scattered thought; • Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care; • Thou web of will, whose end is never wrought; • Desire, desire! I have too dearly bought, • With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware; • Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought, • Who should my mind to higher things prepare. • But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought; • In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire; • In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire; • For virtue hath this better lesson taught— • Within myself to seek my only hire,2 • Desiring naught but how to kill desire. • 1target 2reward

13. “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”: Metaphors and AnastropheThou = Desire • Thou blind man’s mark,1 thou fool’s self-chosen snare, • Fond fancy’s scum, and dregs of scattered thought; • Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care; • Thou web of will, whose end is never wrought; • Desire, desire! I have too dearly bought, • With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware; • Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought, • Who should my mind to higher things prepare. • But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought; • In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire; • In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire; • For virtue hath this better lesson taught— • Within myself to seek my only hire,2 • Desiring naught but how to kill desire. • 1target 2reward

14. “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”: Repetition and Parallelism • Thou blind man’s mark,1 thou fool’s self-chosen snare, • Fond fancy’s scum, and dregs of scattered thought; • Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care; • Thou web of will, whose end is never wrought; • Desire, desire! I have too dearly bought, • With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware; • Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought, • Who should my mind to higher things prepare. • But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought; • In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire; • In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire; • For virtue hath this better lesson taught— • Within myself to seek my only hire,2 • Desiring naught but how to kill desire. • 1target 2reward

15. Show How You Know • Author uses x to reveal y, implying z. • x = language element (quote it) • y = effect, meaning, tone • z = theme, thoughtful inference