For That He Looked Not upon Her: Poetry Analysis
This beautiful use of lyrical self-description often goes underappreciated as does George Gascoigne. George convincingly wrote the lyrics to read as though it was his feelings and situation he was describing. The complex attitude of the speaker in For That He Looked Not upon Her using his form, diction and imagery to evoke the audience to question his enchantress. For That He Looked Not upon Her: was written to entertain Queen Elizabeth and her company during the sixteenth century. The poem appears to be still in its original Elizabethan Era language and not revised in modern language. The title of the work For That He Looked Not upon Her gives a lot of suggestion about the meaning of the lyrics. Both the first and last verse also further illustrates the pain and humiliation felt by the writer.
1. George Gascoigne
This mysterious poetry was the work of sixteenth-century English poet George Gascoigne. Born in Cardington, England to an affluent family George Gascoigne was sent to Trinity College as was the fashion of the time. However, the rebellious George never completed his degree, yet he served as a representative for his county in parliament from 1957 – 1559. His life was one of rebellion and then responsibility. In 1572, there was a petition for his arrest by his creditors. Labeled a notorious Ruffian and accused of manslaughter George left for the Netherlands (Ploeg, “George Gascoigne”).
2. Summary
George starts the poem by asking the audience not to judge him for what he is about to illustrate. His head hangs low, in the second verse illustrating his sadness and shame. She lured him with the glam in her eyes. George was hurt by playing with passion, and then hangs his head in shame and sorrow as she gives him a dirty look. The writer used a strict chronological approach to illustrate the situation painted in the lyrics.
3. Form
George wrote For That He Looked Not upon Her during the traditional Elizabethan era of English poetry. His form does not quite fit the dominate lyric form of poetry but instead uses a more free verse form. His use of paradoxes, crossings and double-crossings are more masculine than the majority of the poets during the Elizabethan era. His obvious self-deprecation gives his writing a relatable and non-conceited style that his audience can share in his illustrations. That non-conceited style of language made his form rare during the era. George uses dramatization to illustrate a moment giving his audience the feeling of the situation. The form used is more masculine than most writers using a dominate lyric form however George Gascoigne became one of the great poets of the Elizabeth era with his excellent use of imagery (Crewe 118-128).
3. Diction
The particular diction reflects the Elizabethan era of English poetry with carefully selected words to influence his audience to feel the rhythm in the lyrics and the pain of her allurement and betrayal. Every other verse rhymes with its alternative. In particular the words at the end of lines 9 – 12: flame, game and fire desire. Those four words alone describe the situation of the speaker.
The words chosen so carefully illustrate his pain from “deep deceit”, “blazing”, “low”. The careful dialect on line 3 refers to a mouse trap. The reference to the mouse trap is metaphorical to the pain of death, and being trapped then left to die.
4. Imagery
The poem For That He Looked Not Upon Her illustrates the suffering that George felt separated from his love. Line by line the speaker uses his words to paint a picture.
Opening the poem on line 1 “You must not wonder, though you think it strange,” George uses imagery to ask the audience not to judge him for his current state of loneliness. On line 2, George uses a metaphor of his head down in sadness “To see me hold my louring head so low” to demonstrate how he felt at the moment. An interesting illustration the author chooses was on lines 9 and 10:
10 Will hardly come to play again with fire
The speaker uses the metaphorical illustration of playing with fire to illustrate his walk through temptation. It is obvious that his use of self-description was used to inflict his situation onto the reader. Line by line the metaphors give light to author's voice.
George Gascoigne crafted a underappreciated, yet vivid image of heartbreak, and allurement in For That He Looked Not upon Her. His multidimensional attitude is split between lust, fear, shame and pain. By analyzing the lyrics, form, diction and imagery provides understanding to the situation illustrated yet leaves many dimensions to consider. How was he betrayed? Was she his love, mistress or his wife? What made her upset? What was the trap he referred to?
Works Cited
Crewe, Jonathan. Trials of Authorship: Anterior Forms and Poetic Reconstruction from Wyatt to Shakespeare Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft92900936/
Ellis, J. (2008). Gillian Austen. George Gascoigne. Renaissance Quarterly, (4), 1423.
Ploeg, S. (2013). George Gascoigne. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia,
