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Lover's Complaint: An Annotated Ragemax Exploration

Billy Peterson

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William Shakespeare's "Lover's Complaint" is an enigmatic and haunting poem that has captivated readers for centuries. Its lyrical beauty, intricate structure, and exploration of unrequited love have made it a timeless masterpiece. This annotated Ragemax exploration unravels the poem's complexities, revealing its hidden meanings, linguistic intricacies, and enduring relevance.

A Lover's Complaint Annotated

by Ragemax

5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	269 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	14 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

Stanza 1

From off a hill whose concave womb reworded
A plaintful story from a sistering vale,
My spirits to attend this double voice accorded,
And down I laid to list a sad-tuned tale;
Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale,
Tearing of papers, breaking rings a-twain,
Storming her world with sorrow's wind and rain.

Annotation: The poem opens with a vivid image of a speaker listening to a mournful tale from a distant valley. The "concave womb" of the hill suggests a place of hidden secrets and the "sistering vale" evokes a sense of kinship between the speaker and the unnamed narrator. The "fickle maid" is revealed, her emotional turmoil evident in her actions of tearing papers and breaking rings.

Stanza 2

Upon her head a platted hive of straw,
Which fortified her visage from the sun,
Whereon the thought might think sometime it saw
The carcass of a beauty spent and done.
Time had not scythed all that youth begun,
Nor youth all quit, but spite of heaven's fell rage,
Some beauty peep'd through lattice of sear'd age.

Annotation: The description of the maid's appearance adds to her enigmatic nature. Her "platted hive of straw" suggests a rustic and unkempt appearance, while the "fortified" image implies a sense of self-protection. The "carcass of a beauty spent and done" hints at a past that has left its mark. Yet, despite the ravages of time, remnants of her former beauty still linger, defying the "fell rage" of heaven.

Stanza 3

Oft did she heave her napkin to her eyne,
Which on it had conceited characters,
Laund'ring the silken figures in the brine
That season'd woe had pelleted in tears,
And often reading what contents it bears;
As often shrieking undistinguish'd woe,
In clamours of all size, both high and low.

Annotation: The maid's emotional distress is conveyed through her repeated acts of using her napkin to wipe away tears. The "conceited characters" on the napkin suggest a written record of her sorrow, which she reads and rereads. Her incoherent cries of grief echo the intensity of her pain, reflecting the inability of language to fully capture her anguish.

Stanza 4

Sometimes her levell'd eyes her lowly hand
Would kill to have their heaven so in eye;
And from her bending hand at length would send
Triumphant glory shot by wrathful eye;
Where both did end the fray, and both did die.
The cloudy windows of her soul did fly,
Dropping hot tears, that seem'd like melting snow.

Annotation: This stanza introduces the element of self-destructive behavior. The maid's "levell'd eyes" suggest a desire for self-harm, as if she would kill her own hand to possess its beauty. The subsequent imagery of "triumphant glory" and "death" evokes a sense of both victory and defeat, hinting at the internal conflict within her.

Stanza 5

I saw a thousand favours on the ground,
Enjewell'd gawds, adornments of the head;
Collars of cowslips, garlands made of ground,
Dumb jewels which in charm her name did read;
The buckles of his belt, withal were found,
With cor'nal rings, half pendants, and so forth,
Proofs of a needless love, the fruit of youth.

Annotation: The description of the scattered favors and "dumb jewels" reveals the extent of the maid's unrequited love. These objects, once cherished, now lie discarded, serving as mute witnesses to her heartbreak. The "proofs of a needless love" emphasize the futility of her affection, which has gone unnoticed and unreturned.

Stanza 6

Here hangs her passion, here her grief is framed,
Here the soft mapling of her youth doth grow,
Where wounds like agate stains as falsely blamed,
Where all her fingers' little strings did flow,
And whitest shanks, like ivory engrained,
How often cause of woe hath made her moan;
How oft her beauty's made great nature's moan.

Annotation: The maid's grief is personified as "her passion," hanging before the speaker's gaze. The "soft mapling of her youth" suggests both her physical and emotional vulnerability. Her "wounds like agate stains" evoke a sense of injustice, as if her beauty has been falsely blamed for her suffering. The imagery of her "ivory engrained" shanks highlights her delicate and fragile nature.

Stanza 7

She masters not of any common lore,
That makes some semblance to her worthless name,
And her, self-sanctified, above all lore,
Love made once likeness of fair modesty,
Excess of love's too early hath made some,
Where beauty, not wise, of fault was made a blot.
For true perfection only love to blame.

Annotation: The poem explores the dangers of excessive love and female agency. The maid's lack of "common lore" highlights her innocence and vulnerability. Her "self-sanctified" nature suggests a misguided belief in her own superiority. Love has deceived her, making her believe that her beauty is a virtue rather than a potential source of pain.

Stanza 8

And can you pity yet? Go on and see,
The woe of woe, the wound of every wound,
Since youth's sweet nest, her unmatch'd misery,
Hath earth's base thrift with deep worms scorn'd round,
From lowest place when virtuous things proceed,
Some low ambition doth the action breed.

Annotation: The speaker implores the reader to continue listening to the maid's tale, emphasizing the intensity of her suffering. The "woe of woe" and "wound of every wound" convey the profound nature of her pain. The imagery of "earth's base thrift" and "deep worms" suggests the inevitability of death and the futility of material possessions. The final line hints at the potential for evil or self-serving motives lurking beneath virtuous actions.

Stanza 9

Here be her tears, here be her sighs, she said,
Here be her heart-strings knotted with her cries,
Constrain'd as true-love sighs for true-love dead,
That love begetter of so foul a deed,
Such heavy sadness, such a bleeding reed,
I know a gentle maid Who all his wealth would pay;
If for his sake you'd go As far as yonder way.

Annotation: The maid's lament reaches its peak in this stanza. She offers her "tears," "sighs," and "heart-strings" as evidence of her unrequited love. The "love begetter of so foul a deed" suggests the destructive power of unfulfilled desire. The subsequent poem within a poem introduces a

A Lover's Complaint Annotated

by Ragemax

5 out of 5