The Sonnets and Other Poems (44 page)

¹³⁶⁷Priam’s Troy
Priam was the King of Troy, and the
painting
depicts a scene from the Trojan war in which the Greek army is besieging the city; the cause of the war was Paris’ abduction of
Helen
, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta

¹³⁶⁸drawn
assembled/depicted

power
army

¹³⁶⁹rape
abduction/sexual violation

¹³⁷⁰Ilion
Troy, renowned for its tall towers

annoy
trouble, damage

proud
arrogant/splendid/high

¹³⁷⁴scorn
contempt, defiance

lifeless life
apparent life to inanimate things

¹³⁷⁷reeked
smoked

strife
effort/contest with nature/engagement in the battle scene

¹³⁸⁰pioneer
footsoldier who dug trenches and cleared the terrain

¹³⁸³loopholes
narrow vertical openings in walls from which arrows were fired

¹³⁸⁴lust
friendly inclination

¹³⁸⁵sweet observance
delightful attention to detail, pleasing care

¹³⁸⁹quick
lively/vivid, lifelike

¹³⁹⁰interlaces
mingles, inserts

¹³⁹⁴Ajax and Ulysses
two of the Greek generals;
Ajax
was known for his strength and
Ulysses
for his ingenuity and cunning

¹³⁹⁵physiognomy
the facial features as indicators of character

¹³⁹⁶ciphered
expressed, delineated

either’s
his own

¹³⁹⁸blunt
dull, insensitive

rigour
harshness

¹³⁹⁹sly
skillful/crafty

¹⁴⁰⁰regard
observant attention

government
leadership/self-control

¹⁴⁰¹pleading
i.e. being a persuasive orator

grave
dignified

Nestor
Greek elder statesman renowned for wisdom

¹⁴⁰³action
oratorical gesture

¹⁴⁰⁴beguiled
diverted, charmed

¹⁴⁰⁷purled
curled (puns on “pearled,” suggesting a luminous appearance)

¹⁴¹⁰several graces
distinct postures/different features

¹⁴¹²nice
subtle/skillful/precise

¹⁴¹⁴mock the mind
deceive the mind of the viewer

¹⁴¹⁷thronged
crowded

bears
presses, turns

boll’n
swollen, puffed up

¹⁴¹⁸pelt
express anger/hurl abuse

¹⁴²⁰but … of
were it not for fear of missing

¹⁴²³Conceit deceitful
skillful artifice

compact
well-composed

kind
natural, lifelike

¹⁴²⁴for … spear
Achilles, the foremost Greek warrior, is represented by his famous spear

¹⁴³⁰Hector
eldest son of
Priam
and
Hecuba
, foremost of the Trojan warriors

¹⁴³³such … yield
display such unusual gestures

odd
unusual/at odds (with joy)

¹⁴³⁶strand of Dardan
Trojan shore

¹⁴³⁷Simois
river just outside Troy

¹⁴³⁹ridges
crests

¹⁴⁴⁰gallèd
war torn/eroded

then
the rhyme is stronger with the original spelling, “than”

¹⁴⁴⁴stelled
delineated, portrayed

¹⁴⁴⁵some
to a certain extent

¹⁴⁴⁶dolour
sorrow

¹⁴⁴⁷Hecuba
wife of Priam, who was killed by Achilles’ son
Pyrrhus

¹⁴⁵⁰anatomized
minutely analyzed, dissected

¹⁴⁵²chaps
deep lines, cracks

¹⁴⁵³was
had been

¹⁴⁵⁴blue
i.e. noble

black
perhaps also suggestive of melancholy, supposedly caused by an excess of black bile

¹⁴⁵⁵spring
source of water/youth

pipes
veins

¹⁴⁵⁷shadow
image (but also suggesting Hecuba is a shadow of her former self)

spends
employs (perhaps also suggestive of weeping)

¹⁴⁵⁸beldame
old woman

¹⁴⁵⁹wants … her
lacks in order to match Lucrece in sorrow

¹⁴⁶⁰ban
curse

¹⁴⁶¹The … those
i.e. the painter didn’t have immortal powers with which to give his painted figures the ability to speak

¹⁴⁷¹strumpet
whore, i.e. Helen (of Troy) whose abduction by
Paris
caused the war

¹⁴⁷³fond
foolish/infatuated/lustful

¹⁴⁷⁷dame
wife/mother

¹⁴⁷⁹moe
more

¹⁴⁸⁰light
alight, descend

¹⁴⁸⁴plague … general
punish everyone for one person’s offense

¹⁴⁸⁶Troilus
another Trojan warrior, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother to Hector

swoons
faints (the rhyme is stronger with the original spelling, “sounds”)

¹⁴⁸⁷bloody channel
stream of blood/gutter running with blood

¹⁴⁸⁸unadvisèd
rash, unintended

¹⁴⁹⁰doting
foolish, indulgent

checked
curbed, restrained

¹⁴⁹⁴goes
continues

¹⁴⁹⁵knell
tolling of a bell to mark a person’s death

¹⁴⁹⁶set a-work
once she starts

¹⁴⁹⁷pencilled … sorrow
i.e. to the images in the picture

¹⁵⁰¹a … bound
the image of a miserable prisoner (
Sinon
, who deceived the Trojans into believing he had deserted the Greeks and convinced them to allow the wooden horse into Troy; it contained Greek soldiers and heralded Troy’s downfall)

¹⁵⁰²piteous … lent
made the Trojan shepherds look on him with pity

¹⁵⁰⁴blunt swains
rough, unpolished rustics

¹⁵⁰⁷harmless show
i.e. the painting

¹⁵⁰⁸wailing still
continually expressing grief/ constantly weeping

¹⁵⁰⁹unbent
not furrowed or cast down

¹⁵¹¹guilty instance
suggestion of guilt

¹⁵¹⁴entertained a show
maintained an appearance

¹⁵¹⁵ensconced
concealed

¹⁵²⁰workman
expert craftsman

¹⁵²¹enchanting
spell-like, bewitching

¹⁵²³wildfire
a combination of highly flammable substances used in warfare

¹⁵²⁶glass
mirror (i.e. Troy)