Heliotropians (Emblem 3)

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Heliotropians (Emblem 3)

Poem 69

Original Source

Hester Pulter, Poems breathed forth by the nobel Hadassas, University of Leeds Library, Brotherton Collection, MS Lt q 32

Versions

  • Facsimile of manuscript: Photographs provided by University of Leeds, Brotherton Collection

  • Transcription of manuscript: By Leah Knight and Wendy Wall.
  • Elemental edition: By Leah Knight and Wendy Wall.
  • Amplified edition: By Vin Nardizzi.

How to cite these versions

Conventions for these editions

The Pulter Project: Poet in the Making

  • Created by Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
  • Encoded by Katherine Poland, Matthew Taylor, Elizabeth Chou, and Emily Andrey, Northwestern University
  • Website designed by Sergei Kalugin, Northwestern University
  • IT project consultation by Josh Honn, Northwestern University
  • Project sponsored by Northwestern University, Brock University, and University of Leeds
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X (Close panel)Notes: Transcription

 Editorial note

In these transcriptions we preserve as many details of the original material, textual, and graphic properties of Hester Pulter’s manuscript verse as we have found practical. Whenever possible, for instance, original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, lineation, insertions, deletions, alterations, spacing between words and lines, and indentation are all maintained; abbreviations and brevigraphs are not expanded; and superscript and subscript representations are retained. See full conventions for the transcriptions here.
Line number 1

 Physical note

poem begins on same page as previous one ends
Line number 12

 Physical note

ht” written over other letters, possibly “th”
Line number 14

 Physical note

“ſ” appears written over other letter
Line number 18

 Physical note

“S” altered from “th”
Line number 23

 Physical note

corrected, possibly from “for”
Line number 28

 Physical note

“y” appears correction of earlier erased letter
Line number 31

 Physical note

final “i” written over other letter, probably “e”
Line number 38

 Physical note

final “te” added later in different hand from main scribe; imperfectly erased descender below “t”
Line number 39

 Physical note

“thus” altered to “this,” or reverse
Sorry, but there are no notes associated with any currently displayed witness.
X (Close panel)Transcription
Transcription
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
[Emblem 3]
Heliotropians
(Emblem 3)
Heliotropians (Emblem 3)
In these transcriptions we preserve as many details of the original material, textual, and graphic properties of Hester Pulter’s manuscript verse as we have found practical. Whenever possible, for instance, original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, lineation, insertions, deletions, alterations, spacing between words and lines, and indentation are all maintained; abbreviations and brevigraphs are not expanded; and superscript and subscript representations are retained. See full conventions for the transcriptions here.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
The aim of the elemental edition is to make the poems accessible to the largest variety of readers, which involves modernizing spelling and punctuation as well as adding basic glosses. Spelling and punctuation reflect current standard American usage; punctuation highlights syntax which might otherwise be obscure. Outmoded but still familiar word forms (“thou,” “‘tis,” “hold’st”) are not modernized, and we do not modernize grammar when the sense remains legible. After a brief headnote aimed at offering a “way in” to the poem’s unique qualities and connections with other verse by Pulter or her contemporaries, the edition features a minimum of notes and interpretative framing to allow more immediate engagement with the poem. Glosses clarify synonyms or showcase various possible meanings in Pulter’s time. Other notes identify named people and places or clarify obscure material. We rely (without citation) primarily on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Oxford Reference database, and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. When we rely on Alice Eardley’s edition of Pulter’s work, we cite her text generally (“Eardley”); other sources are cited in full. The result is an edition we consider a springboard for further work on Pulter’s poetry. See full conventions for this edition here.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
I am not, by nature or custom, a textual editor. As a teacher, I know that poems ask to be read out loud. This I did several times, trying to wrap my tongue around Pulter’s words, some more felicitous than others, and this poem’s especially gnarled syntax. Where I became fascinated, or stuck, or breathless, there I edited and glossed. In doing so, I tried to keep in mind the needs and attention spans of my students who typically encounter Pulter’s poems as they’re projected onto a screen in a somewhat darkened classroom. An Amplified Edition is an interpretation. For mine, I consulted the Elemental Edition and Alice Eardley’s handling of this poem. If poems ask to be read out loud, then peer reviewers are to be heeded, too. They heard the poem, or moments in it, differently than I did. I’m grateful for their recommendations.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
A blue flower rises “many cubits” high out of the centre of the earth in order to track the sun across the sky from east to west. The image is already arresting, but Pulter takes it further: for, even after sunset, the flower still follows—not merely wilting back to earth, however, but “break[ing] through all to meet her radiant lover,” even on the very opposite side of the world. The ferocity of this literally ground-breaking flower, so radically active in its solar loyalty, then becomes an allegory of an equally violent devotion in “those souls which are to God united.” Theirs is no passive piety, as makes sense in the embattled world in which Pulter and her ilk practiced their faith during England’s civil wars.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
Governed by a pair of analogies—a flower is like the sun and, in turn, that sun-flower is like the soul—“Heliotropians” brings into relation Pulter’s abiding interest in botanical natural history, which is perhaps best expressed in The Garden, or The Contention of Flowers [Poem 12], and intense religious devotion. If only, at more granular levels, this poem’s meaning were as unambiguous as this poetic logic would suggest it to be.
Consider, for example, the first analogy. It likens “this simple,” or a medicinal preparation consisting of a single botanical ingredient, to the journey of the sun. Its logic is straightforward, commonplace even: where the sun goes, so too does the flower’s bloom and leaves. Pulter’s heliotrope, however, behaves like no other heliotrope—nay, flower—that I know. She defies the laws of physics. Rooted deep inside the Earth (its “center”), this flower tracks the sun in the sky over the course of the day and then, fantastically, continues its pursuit beyond the horizon. When the sun arrives to the antipodes, or the exact spot on the Earth’s surface that is opposite to where the speaker is, the heliotrope follows, presumably having bored through an “earthly bed” and finding on the other side “earth or sea” to push through—it doesn’t matter which—to hitch herself once more to the sun’s luminous wagon. It seems as if the heliotrope will never stop chasing the sun, and, because of this valued capacity for “constant love,” the flower is, in the second analogy, likened to “those souls which are to God united.” As subsequent glosses indicate, this second analogy is no more uncomplicated than the first: it is infused with biblical reference and its build-up to a new, brighter “horoscope” taxes the poem’s syntax. As “Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, [and] flame” break the bodies of martyrs, so too do they interrupt the flow of poetic utterance.
As extraordinary as Pulter’s analogy featuring the heliotrope is, it is not unique to this poem. A remarkably similar version appears in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44], which is recorded earlier in the manuscript. Many of Pulter’s poems can be said to be variations on a theme, but nowhere else in the collection is such overlap, especially in diction and conceit, as substantial. It would be an instructive exercise to contrast Pulter’s use of the heliotrope, called in “A Solitary Discourse” “solsequium,” across these manuscript pages. In light of the poems’ shared interest in cyclicality and repetition, it is fitting that Pulter revisit, perhaps revise, and even resurrect in “The Heliotropians” the image of a flower that fabulously tails the sun to “th’other hemisphere.”


— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
1
3
Physical Note
poem begins on same page as previous one ends
That many Heliotropians there bee
That many
Gloss Note
flowers which turn to follow the sun
heliotropians there be,
That many
Gloss Note
heliotropes, or flowers that turn with the sun
heliotropians there be,
2
Philoſophers unanimously agree
Philosophers unanimously agree;
Critical Note
Pulter’s keen interest in botanical matters is on display in this line and those that follow. In Pulter’s time, “naturalists” typically described phenomena that they observed in the natural world, while “Philosophers” weren’t constrained by the strictures of such physical evidence. They can all “agree” that there are “many” kinds of heliotropes, but it’s the naturalists who go in search of them. Pulter’s speaker counts themself among the select group (“Few”) who would venture so far to look for the poem’s fabulous flower.
Philosophers unanimously agree;
3
But that A plant Should in the Center grow
But that a plant should in the
Gloss Note
i.e., of the earth
center grow,
But that a plant should in the
Gloss Note
i.e., of the earth
center grow,
4
ffew Naturalist to find the Truth will goe
Few naturalists to find the truth will go
Few naturalists to find the truth will go
5
Soe ffar below the Cavarus of the Dead
So far below the caverns of the dead
So far below the caverns of the dead
6
To ffind this Simple Simpring in her Bed
To find this
Gloss Note
a plant used as medicine
simple,
Gloss Note
perhaps in obsolete sense of “simmering”
simp’ring in her bed,
To find this simple,
Critical Note
smiling, usually done with affectation, but which Pulter’s flower seems to do more genuinely; it may also cast this medicinal flower, growing “So far below the caverns of the dead,” as glimmering, shimmering, or twinkling (OED), perhaps making it all the easier to locate.
simp’ring in her bed,
7
Which Sends forth Branches through the Sea or Earth
Which sends forth branches through the sea or earth,
Which sends forth branches through the sea or earth,
8
And as the Sun doth Riſe begins her Birth
And, as the sun doth rise, begins her birth;
And, as the sun doth rise, begins her birth;
9
Then as hee higher doth in Splender goe
Then, as
Gloss Note
the sun
he higher doth in splendor go,
Then, as
Gloss Note
the sun
he higher doth in splendor go,
10
Even Soe this Azure fflower doth Taller grow
Even so this
Gloss Note
blue
azure flower doth taller grow,
Even so this
Critical Note
Blue is perhaps Pulter’s signature color, but she associates it more typically with the sky (The Eclipse [Poem 1]) and blood (Made When I Was Not Well [Poem 51]).
azure flower doth taller grow;
11
And when hee Mounts to his Miridian Height
And when he mounts to his
Gloss Note
midday
meridian height,
And when he mounts to his meridian height,
12
Then many Cubits Shee doth Stand
Physical Note
ht” written over other letters, possibly “th”
upright
Then many
Gloss Note
ancient unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a forearm
cubits she doth stand upright
Then many cubits she doth stand upright
13
Above the Earth, when to the Western Tracts
Above the earth, when to the western
Gloss Note
regions
tracts
Above the earth; when to the western tracts
14
Physical Note
“ſ” appears written over other letter
Heſperion goes her stature Shee contracts
Physical Note
In the manuscript, a long “s” appears written over another indecipherable letter; written thus, the word appears to merge “Hyperion,” and epithet for the sun, and “Hesperus,” a name for the evening star, which appears in the western part of the sky.
Hesperion goes, her stature she contracts;
Critical Note
On the rationale for this editorial decision, see this poem’s Elemental Edition; we may say that, in “Hesperion,” Pulter wittily “contracts,” in its more obsolete senses of “to combine into one” and “to condense” (OED), the names of these figures.
Hesperion goes, her stature she contracts;
15
Then when hee Hurries down the Olympick Hill
Then, when he hurries down th’Olympic hill
Then, when he hurries down th’Olympic hill,
16
Lower and Lower this brave fflower growes still
Lower and lower, this brave flower grows still;
Lower and lower, this brave flower grows still;
but
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
17
But when in Thetis Lap hee layes his Head
But when in
Gloss Note
sea nymph, often poetically portrayed as receiving the setting sun in her lap
Thetis’s lap he lays his head,
But when in Thetis’s lap he lays his head,
18
Shee Sadly
Physical Note
“S” altered from “th”
Sinks into her earthly Bed
She sadly sinks into her earthly bed.
Critical Note
The first line is a conventional image for sunset at the western shore: the sun “sinks” into the “lap” of the sea-nymph Thetis. The end-stop of the period in the next line registers this diurnal movement. In light of the sun’s continued movement in the next lines, it is tempting to repunctuate with a semicolon: the setting sun, from this different vantage, is just another dawn.
She sadly sinks into her earthly bed.
19
When to the Antipodes hee doth apear
When to
Gloss Note
the opposite side of the world, and those who dwell there
th’antipodes he doth appear,
When to th’antipodes he doth appear,
20
Shee follows him to tother Hemispheir
She follows him to th’other hemisphere;
She follows him to th’other hemisphere;
21
The Earth or Sea be’ng every where above her
The earth or sea being everywhere above her,
The earth or sea being everywhere above her,
22
Shee breaks through all to meet her Raidient Lover
She breaks through all to meet her radiant lover;
She breaks through all to meet her radiant lover;
23
Even
Physical Note
corrected, possibly from “for”
ſoe thoſe Soules w:ch are to God united
Even so those souls which are to God united,
Even so those souls which are to God united,
24
Though in this vale of Tears they be benighted
Though in this vale of tears they be benighted,
Though in this vale of tears they be benighted,
25
Yet still a Bleſſed Influence from above
Yet still a blessed influence from above
Yet still a blessed influence from above
26
Sweetly inclin’s them to a constant Love
Sweetly inclines them to a constant love:
Sweetly inclines them to a constant love:
27
Though Tyrants in their innocent bloods doe Wallow
Though tyrants in their innocent bloods do wallow;
Critical Note
In this and the following lines, Pulter’s image set is especially political. Elsewhere in the manuscript, a beheaded Charles I is designated a martyr (On that Unparalleled Prince, Charles the First, His Horrid Murder [Poem 8] and Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [Poem 15]), while tyrants are associated with Parliamentarians (Phalaris and the Brazen Bull (Emblem 50) [Poem 115]).
Though tyrants in their innocent bloods do wallow,
28
Though they ye
Physical Note
“y” appears correction of earlier erased letter
Martyrs in their Deaths doe ffollow
Though they the martyrs in their deaths do follow.
Though they the martyrs in their deaths do follow—
29
Wheels, Jibbits Precipices Croſſes, fflame
Gloss Note
instruments of torture and execution
Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame:
Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame—
30
The’le break through all to magnifie his name
They’ll break through all to magnify His name.
They’ll break through all to magnify His name.
31
T’is neither Power nor
Physical Note
final “i” written over other letter, probably “e”
Principallitie
Gloss Note
For this line and the next, see Romans, 8:38–9: “nor principalities, nor powers, … nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Principalities are offices or officials, or the territories they claim.
’Tis neither power nor principality,
’Tis neither power nor principality,
32
Dear God can Seperate my Soul from thee
Dear God, can separate my soul from Thee;
Critical Note
The reference here is to Romans 8:38–9; the previous lines, which feature tyrants, martyrs, and engines of torture and modes of most unpleasant death, serve as gloss for it. Although not all are unique to this poem (but some are), the terms that Pulter employs to imagine martyrdom (“Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame”) nowhere else in the manuscript convey these specific disciplinary meanings.
Dear God, can separate my soul from Thee;
33
Nor all the Powers of Heaven Hell or Earth
Nor all the powers of Heaven, Hell, or Earth
Nor all the powers of Heaven, Hell, or Earth
34
Can keep my Soul from whence she had her Birth
Can keep my soul from whence she had her birth;
Can keep my soul from whence she had her birth;
35
Though Death Calcine my fflesh & bones to dust
Though death
Gloss Note
purify
calcine my flesh and bones to
Critical Note
here, the disintegrated matter of her dead body; also identified with “first principles” (of the next line), the originating elements of humanity as described in Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
dust,
Though death calcine my flesh and bones to dust,
36
In my first Principles I’le in thee trust
In my first principles, I’ll in Thee trust.
In my first principles, I’ll in Thee trust;
37
Ney even my Dust disperst shall Rest in hope
Nay, even my dust dispersed shall rest in hope
Nay, even my dust dispersed shall rest in hope
38
To
Physical Note
final “te” added later in different hand from main scribe; imperfectly erased descender below “t”
meete my Saviour in A Horiſcope
To meet my Savior in a
Critical Note
an alignment of the heavenly bodies; the sense in this and surrounding lines is that the speaker’s disintegrated body after death (“dust”) will anticipate meeting Christ when the heavenly bodies align in a “horoscope” brighter than the current one.
horoscope
To meet my Savior in a
Gloss Note
According to the OED, this word is more likely to be found in astrological texts from the period than in poetry, although Pulter employs it elsewhere in hers (Aurora [1] [Poem 3] and The Center [Poem 30]). Editors typically cast Pulter’s uses of “horoscope” as vague and unspecialized. If so, then it is ironic in this poem and in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44] that “horoscope” names a very specific future time—the Second Coming—whose precise moment, however, is unknowable to Pulter. The prepositional phrase “in a horoscope” perhaps also suggests that Pulter has in mind a more specialist object—a “horoscope,” which is a “dial” or “table” upon which time (“hours,” “days and nights” or “seasons”) was marked (OED).
horoscope
39
Infinitely then
Physical Note
“thus” altered to “this,” or reverse
this our Orb more bright
Infinitely than this, our
Gloss Note
Earth
orb, more bright—
Critical Note
This and surrounding lines about the “horoscope” are difficult to parse because of elision—we need to supply “that is” after it—and an unusual arrangement of words, likely for the sake of rhyme. We could paraphrase them thus: there is a future time when the speaker’s dead body (“dust,” which is itself an allusion to Genesis 2:7) and Jesus will “meet,” or unite, in a horoscope that is infinitely brighter than is the current one (“this”), which seems to have been cast on Earth (“our orb”) or is marked as “earthly.” The strained syntax, which renders punctuation in these lines a dicey enterprise, may reflect the certain, but unknown, date of this horoscope’s realization.
Infinitely than this, our orb, more bright,
40
Not interwoven as now with death & Night
Not interwoven, as now, with death and night;
Not interwoven, as now, with death and night;
41
Then though I Sadly here Sigh out my Story
Then, though I sadly here sigh out my story,
Then, though I sadly here sigh out my story,
42
Yet am I Sure to Riſe again to Glory.
Yet am I sure to rise again to glory.
Yet am I sure to rise again to glory.
ascending straight line
X (Close panel)Notes: Elemental Edition

 Editorial note

The aim of the elemental edition is to make the poems accessible to the largest variety of readers, which involves modernizing spelling and punctuation as well as adding basic glosses. Spelling and punctuation reflect current standard American usage; punctuation highlights syntax which might otherwise be obscure. Outmoded but still familiar word forms (“thou,” “‘tis,” “hold’st”) are not modernized, and we do not modernize grammar when the sense remains legible. After a brief headnote aimed at offering a “way in” to the poem’s unique qualities and connections with other verse by Pulter or her contemporaries, the edition features a minimum of notes and interpretative framing to allow more immediate engagement with the poem. Glosses clarify synonyms or showcase various possible meanings in Pulter’s time. Other notes identify named people and places or clarify obscure material. We rely (without citation) primarily on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Oxford Reference database, and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. When we rely on Alice Eardley’s edition of Pulter’s work, we cite her text generally (“Eardley”); other sources are cited in full. The result is an edition we consider a springboard for further work on Pulter’s poetry. See full conventions for this edition here.

 Headnote

A blue flower rises “many cubits” high out of the centre of the earth in order to track the sun across the sky from east to west. The image is already arresting, but Pulter takes it further: for, even after sunset, the flower still follows—not merely wilting back to earth, however, but “break[ing] through all to meet her radiant lover,” even on the very opposite side of the world. The ferocity of this literally ground-breaking flower, so radically active in its solar loyalty, then becomes an allegory of an equally violent devotion in “those souls which are to God united.” Theirs is no passive piety, as makes sense in the embattled world in which Pulter and her ilk practiced their faith during England’s civil wars.
Line number 1

 Gloss note

flowers which turn to follow the sun
Line number 3

 Gloss note

i.e., of the earth
Line number 6

 Gloss note

a plant used as medicine
Line number 6

 Gloss note

perhaps in obsolete sense of “simmering”
Line number 9

 Gloss note

the sun
Line number 10

 Gloss note

blue
Line number 11

 Gloss note

midday
Line number 12

 Gloss note

ancient unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a forearm
Line number 13

 Gloss note

regions
Line number 14

 Physical note

In the manuscript, a long “s” appears written over another indecipherable letter; written thus, the word appears to merge “Hyperion,” and epithet for the sun, and “Hesperus,” a name for the evening star, which appears in the western part of the sky.
Line number 17

 Gloss note

sea nymph, often poetically portrayed as receiving the setting sun in her lap
Line number 19

 Gloss note

the opposite side of the world, and those who dwell there
Line number 29

 Gloss note

instruments of torture and execution
Line number 31

 Gloss note

For this line and the next, see Romans, 8:38–9: “nor principalities, nor powers, … nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Principalities are offices or officials, or the territories they claim.
Line number 35

 Gloss note

purify
Line number 35

 Critical note

here, the disintegrated matter of her dead body; also identified with “first principles” (of the next line), the originating elements of humanity as described in Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Line number 38

 Critical note

an alignment of the heavenly bodies; the sense in this and surrounding lines is that the speaker’s disintegrated body after death (“dust”) will anticipate meeting Christ when the heavenly bodies align in a “horoscope” brighter than the current one.
Line number 39

 Gloss note

Earth
Sorry, but there are no notes associated with any currently displayed witness.
X (Close panel)Elemental Edition
Elemental Edition
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
[Emblem 3]
Heliotropians
(Emblem 3)
Heliotropians (Emblem 3)
In these transcriptions we preserve as many details of the original material, textual, and graphic properties of Hester Pulter’s manuscript verse as we have found practical. Whenever possible, for instance, original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, lineation, insertions, deletions, alterations, spacing between words and lines, and indentation are all maintained; abbreviations and brevigraphs are not expanded; and superscript and subscript representations are retained. See full conventions for the transcriptions here.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
The aim of the elemental edition is to make the poems accessible to the largest variety of readers, which involves modernizing spelling and punctuation as well as adding basic glosses. Spelling and punctuation reflect current standard American usage; punctuation highlights syntax which might otherwise be obscure. Outmoded but still familiar word forms (“thou,” “‘tis,” “hold’st”) are not modernized, and we do not modernize grammar when the sense remains legible. After a brief headnote aimed at offering a “way in” to the poem’s unique qualities and connections with other verse by Pulter or her contemporaries, the edition features a minimum of notes and interpretative framing to allow more immediate engagement with the poem. Glosses clarify synonyms or showcase various possible meanings in Pulter’s time. Other notes identify named people and places or clarify obscure material. We rely (without citation) primarily on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Oxford Reference database, and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. When we rely on Alice Eardley’s edition of Pulter’s work, we cite her text generally (“Eardley”); other sources are cited in full. The result is an edition we consider a springboard for further work on Pulter’s poetry. See full conventions for this edition here.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
I am not, by nature or custom, a textual editor. As a teacher, I know that poems ask to be read out loud. This I did several times, trying to wrap my tongue around Pulter’s words, some more felicitous than others, and this poem’s especially gnarled syntax. Where I became fascinated, or stuck, or breathless, there I edited and glossed. In doing so, I tried to keep in mind the needs and attention spans of my students who typically encounter Pulter’s poems as they’re projected onto a screen in a somewhat darkened classroom. An Amplified Edition is an interpretation. For mine, I consulted the Elemental Edition and Alice Eardley’s handling of this poem. If poems ask to be read out loud, then peer reviewers are to be heeded, too. They heard the poem, or moments in it, differently than I did. I’m grateful for their recommendations.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
A blue flower rises “many cubits” high out of the centre of the earth in order to track the sun across the sky from east to west. The image is already arresting, but Pulter takes it further: for, even after sunset, the flower still follows—not merely wilting back to earth, however, but “break[ing] through all to meet her radiant lover,” even on the very opposite side of the world. The ferocity of this literally ground-breaking flower, so radically active in its solar loyalty, then becomes an allegory of an equally violent devotion in “those souls which are to God united.” Theirs is no passive piety, as makes sense in the embattled world in which Pulter and her ilk practiced their faith during England’s civil wars.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
Governed by a pair of analogies—a flower is like the sun and, in turn, that sun-flower is like the soul—“Heliotropians” brings into relation Pulter’s abiding interest in botanical natural history, which is perhaps best expressed in The Garden, or The Contention of Flowers [Poem 12], and intense religious devotion. If only, at more granular levels, this poem’s meaning were as unambiguous as this poetic logic would suggest it to be.
Consider, for example, the first analogy. It likens “this simple,” or a medicinal preparation consisting of a single botanical ingredient, to the journey of the sun. Its logic is straightforward, commonplace even: where the sun goes, so too does the flower’s bloom and leaves. Pulter’s heliotrope, however, behaves like no other heliotrope—nay, flower—that I know. She defies the laws of physics. Rooted deep inside the Earth (its “center”), this flower tracks the sun in the sky over the course of the day and then, fantastically, continues its pursuit beyond the horizon. When the sun arrives to the antipodes, or the exact spot on the Earth’s surface that is opposite to where the speaker is, the heliotrope follows, presumably having bored through an “earthly bed” and finding on the other side “earth or sea” to push through—it doesn’t matter which—to hitch herself once more to the sun’s luminous wagon. It seems as if the heliotrope will never stop chasing the sun, and, because of this valued capacity for “constant love,” the flower is, in the second analogy, likened to “those souls which are to God united.” As subsequent glosses indicate, this second analogy is no more uncomplicated than the first: it is infused with biblical reference and its build-up to a new, brighter “horoscope” taxes the poem’s syntax. As “Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, [and] flame” break the bodies of martyrs, so too do they interrupt the flow of poetic utterance.
As extraordinary as Pulter’s analogy featuring the heliotrope is, it is not unique to this poem. A remarkably similar version appears in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44], which is recorded earlier in the manuscript. Many of Pulter’s poems can be said to be variations on a theme, but nowhere else in the collection is such overlap, especially in diction and conceit, as substantial. It would be an instructive exercise to contrast Pulter’s use of the heliotrope, called in “A Solitary Discourse” “solsequium,” across these manuscript pages. In light of the poems’ shared interest in cyclicality and repetition, it is fitting that Pulter revisit, perhaps revise, and even resurrect in “The Heliotropians” the image of a flower that fabulously tails the sun to “th’other hemisphere.”


— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
1
3
Physical Note
poem begins on same page as previous one ends
That many Heliotropians there bee
That many
Gloss Note
flowers which turn to follow the sun
heliotropians there be,
That many
Gloss Note
heliotropes, or flowers that turn with the sun
heliotropians there be,
2
Philoſophers unanimously agree
Philosophers unanimously agree;
Critical Note
Pulter’s keen interest in botanical matters is on display in this line and those that follow. In Pulter’s time, “naturalists” typically described phenomena that they observed in the natural world, while “Philosophers” weren’t constrained by the strictures of such physical evidence. They can all “agree” that there are “many” kinds of heliotropes, but it’s the naturalists who go in search of them. Pulter’s speaker counts themself among the select group (“Few”) who would venture so far to look for the poem’s fabulous flower.
Philosophers unanimously agree;
3
But that A plant Should in the Center grow
But that a plant should in the
Gloss Note
i.e., of the earth
center grow,
But that a plant should in the
Gloss Note
i.e., of the earth
center grow,
4
ffew Naturalist to find the Truth will goe
Few naturalists to find the truth will go
Few naturalists to find the truth will go
5
Soe ffar below the Cavarus of the Dead
So far below the caverns of the dead
So far below the caverns of the dead
6
To ffind this Simple Simpring in her Bed
To find this
Gloss Note
a plant used as medicine
simple,
Gloss Note
perhaps in obsolete sense of “simmering”
simp’ring in her bed,
To find this simple,
Critical Note
smiling, usually done with affectation, but which Pulter’s flower seems to do more genuinely; it may also cast this medicinal flower, growing “So far below the caverns of the dead,” as glimmering, shimmering, or twinkling (OED), perhaps making it all the easier to locate.
simp’ring in her bed,
7
Which Sends forth Branches through the Sea or Earth
Which sends forth branches through the sea or earth,
Which sends forth branches through the sea or earth,
8
And as the Sun doth Riſe begins her Birth
And, as the sun doth rise, begins her birth;
And, as the sun doth rise, begins her birth;
9
Then as hee higher doth in Splender goe
Then, as
Gloss Note
the sun
he higher doth in splendor go,
Then, as
Gloss Note
the sun
he higher doth in splendor go,
10
Even Soe this Azure fflower doth Taller grow
Even so this
Gloss Note
blue
azure flower doth taller grow,
Even so this
Critical Note
Blue is perhaps Pulter’s signature color, but she associates it more typically with the sky (The Eclipse [Poem 1]) and blood (Made When I Was Not Well [Poem 51]).
azure flower doth taller grow;
11
And when hee Mounts to his Miridian Height
And when he mounts to his
Gloss Note
midday
meridian height,
And when he mounts to his meridian height,
12
Then many Cubits Shee doth Stand
Physical Note
ht” written over other letters, possibly “th”
upright
Then many
Gloss Note
ancient unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a forearm
cubits she doth stand upright
Then many cubits she doth stand upright
13
Above the Earth, when to the Western Tracts
Above the earth, when to the western
Gloss Note
regions
tracts
Above the earth; when to the western tracts
14
Physical Note
“ſ” appears written over other letter
Heſperion goes her stature Shee contracts
Physical Note
In the manuscript, a long “s” appears written over another indecipherable letter; written thus, the word appears to merge “Hyperion,” and epithet for the sun, and “Hesperus,” a name for the evening star, which appears in the western part of the sky.
Hesperion goes, her stature she contracts;
Critical Note
On the rationale for this editorial decision, see this poem’s Elemental Edition; we may say that, in “Hesperion,” Pulter wittily “contracts,” in its more obsolete senses of “to combine into one” and “to condense” (OED), the names of these figures.
Hesperion goes, her stature she contracts;
15
Then when hee Hurries down the Olympick Hill
Then, when he hurries down th’Olympic hill
Then, when he hurries down th’Olympic hill,
16
Lower and Lower this brave fflower growes still
Lower and lower, this brave flower grows still;
Lower and lower, this brave flower grows still;
but
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
17
But when in Thetis Lap hee layes his Head
But when in
Gloss Note
sea nymph, often poetically portrayed as receiving the setting sun in her lap
Thetis’s lap he lays his head,
But when in Thetis’s lap he lays his head,
18
Shee Sadly
Physical Note
“S” altered from “th”
Sinks into her earthly Bed
She sadly sinks into her earthly bed.
Critical Note
The first line is a conventional image for sunset at the western shore: the sun “sinks” into the “lap” of the sea-nymph Thetis. The end-stop of the period in the next line registers this diurnal movement. In light of the sun’s continued movement in the next lines, it is tempting to repunctuate with a semicolon: the setting sun, from this different vantage, is just another dawn.
She sadly sinks into her earthly bed.
19
When to the Antipodes hee doth apear
When to
Gloss Note
the opposite side of the world, and those who dwell there
th’antipodes he doth appear,
When to th’antipodes he doth appear,
20
Shee follows him to tother Hemispheir
She follows him to th’other hemisphere;
She follows him to th’other hemisphere;
21
The Earth or Sea be’ng every where above her
The earth or sea being everywhere above her,
The earth or sea being everywhere above her,
22
Shee breaks through all to meet her Raidient Lover
She breaks through all to meet her radiant lover;
She breaks through all to meet her radiant lover;
23
Even
Physical Note
corrected, possibly from “for”
ſoe thoſe Soules w:ch are to God united
Even so those souls which are to God united,
Even so those souls which are to God united,
24
Though in this vale of Tears they be benighted
Though in this vale of tears they be benighted,
Though in this vale of tears they be benighted,
25
Yet still a Bleſſed Influence from above
Yet still a blessed influence from above
Yet still a blessed influence from above
26
Sweetly inclin’s them to a constant Love
Sweetly inclines them to a constant love:
Sweetly inclines them to a constant love:
27
Though Tyrants in their innocent bloods doe Wallow
Though tyrants in their innocent bloods do wallow;
Critical Note
In this and the following lines, Pulter’s image set is especially political. Elsewhere in the manuscript, a beheaded Charles I is designated a martyr (On that Unparalleled Prince, Charles the First, His Horrid Murder [Poem 8] and Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [Poem 15]), while tyrants are associated with Parliamentarians (Phalaris and the Brazen Bull (Emblem 50) [Poem 115]).
Though tyrants in their innocent bloods do wallow,
28
Though they ye
Physical Note
“y” appears correction of earlier erased letter
Martyrs in their Deaths doe ffollow
Though they the martyrs in their deaths do follow.
Though they the martyrs in their deaths do follow—
29
Wheels, Jibbits Precipices Croſſes, fflame
Gloss Note
instruments of torture and execution
Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame:
Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame—
30
The’le break through all to magnifie his name
They’ll break through all to magnify His name.
They’ll break through all to magnify His name.
31
T’is neither Power nor
Physical Note
final “i” written over other letter, probably “e”
Principallitie
Gloss Note
For this line and the next, see Romans, 8:38–9: “nor principalities, nor powers, … nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Principalities are offices or officials, or the territories they claim.
’Tis neither power nor principality,
’Tis neither power nor principality,
32
Dear God can Seperate my Soul from thee
Dear God, can separate my soul from Thee;
Critical Note
The reference here is to Romans 8:38–9; the previous lines, which feature tyrants, martyrs, and engines of torture and modes of most unpleasant death, serve as gloss for it. Although not all are unique to this poem (but some are), the terms that Pulter employs to imagine martyrdom (“Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame”) nowhere else in the manuscript convey these specific disciplinary meanings.
Dear God, can separate my soul from Thee;
33
Nor all the Powers of Heaven Hell or Earth
Nor all the powers of Heaven, Hell, or Earth
Nor all the powers of Heaven, Hell, or Earth
34
Can keep my Soul from whence she had her Birth
Can keep my soul from whence she had her birth;
Can keep my soul from whence she had her birth;
35
Though Death Calcine my fflesh & bones to dust
Though death
Gloss Note
purify
calcine my flesh and bones to
Critical Note
here, the disintegrated matter of her dead body; also identified with “first principles” (of the next line), the originating elements of humanity as described in Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
dust,
Though death calcine my flesh and bones to dust,
36
In my first Principles I’le in thee trust
In my first principles, I’ll in Thee trust.
In my first principles, I’ll in Thee trust;
37
Ney even my Dust disperst shall Rest in hope
Nay, even my dust dispersed shall rest in hope
Nay, even my dust dispersed shall rest in hope
38
To
Physical Note
final “te” added later in different hand from main scribe; imperfectly erased descender below “t”
meete my Saviour in A Horiſcope
To meet my Savior in a
Critical Note
an alignment of the heavenly bodies; the sense in this and surrounding lines is that the speaker’s disintegrated body after death (“dust”) will anticipate meeting Christ when the heavenly bodies align in a “horoscope” brighter than the current one.
horoscope
To meet my Savior in a
Gloss Note
According to the OED, this word is more likely to be found in astrological texts from the period than in poetry, although Pulter employs it elsewhere in hers (Aurora [1] [Poem 3] and The Center [Poem 30]). Editors typically cast Pulter’s uses of “horoscope” as vague and unspecialized. If so, then it is ironic in this poem and in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44] that “horoscope” names a very specific future time—the Second Coming—whose precise moment, however, is unknowable to Pulter. The prepositional phrase “in a horoscope” perhaps also suggests that Pulter has in mind a more specialist object—a “horoscope,” which is a “dial” or “table” upon which time (“hours,” “days and nights” or “seasons”) was marked (OED).
horoscope
39
Infinitely then
Physical Note
“thus” altered to “this,” or reverse
this our Orb more bright
Infinitely than this, our
Gloss Note
Earth
orb, more bright—
Critical Note
This and surrounding lines about the “horoscope” are difficult to parse because of elision—we need to supply “that is” after it—and an unusual arrangement of words, likely for the sake of rhyme. We could paraphrase them thus: there is a future time when the speaker’s dead body (“dust,” which is itself an allusion to Genesis 2:7) and Jesus will “meet,” or unite, in a horoscope that is infinitely brighter than is the current one (“this”), which seems to have been cast on Earth (“our orb”) or is marked as “earthly.” The strained syntax, which renders punctuation in these lines a dicey enterprise, may reflect the certain, but unknown, date of this horoscope’s realization.
Infinitely than this, our orb, more bright,
40
Not interwoven as now with death & Night
Not interwoven, as now, with death and night;
Not interwoven, as now, with death and night;
41
Then though I Sadly here Sigh out my Story
Then, though I sadly here sigh out my story,
Then, though I sadly here sigh out my story,
42
Yet am I Sure to Riſe again to Glory.
Yet am I sure to rise again to glory.
Yet am I sure to rise again to glory.
ascending straight line
X (Close panel)Notes: Amplified Edition

 Editorial note

I am not, by nature or custom, a textual editor. As a teacher, I know that poems ask to be read out loud. This I did several times, trying to wrap my tongue around Pulter’s words, some more felicitous than others, and this poem’s especially gnarled syntax. Where I became fascinated, or stuck, or breathless, there I edited and glossed. In doing so, I tried to keep in mind the needs and attention spans of my students who typically encounter Pulter’s poems as they’re projected onto a screen in a somewhat darkened classroom. An Amplified Edition is an interpretation. For mine, I consulted the Elemental Edition and Alice Eardley’s handling of this poem. If poems ask to be read out loud, then peer reviewers are to be heeded, too. They heard the poem, or moments in it, differently than I did. I’m grateful for their recommendations.

 Headnote

Governed by a pair of analogies—a flower is like the sun and, in turn, that sun-flower is like the soul—“Heliotropians” brings into relation Pulter’s abiding interest in botanical natural history, which is perhaps best expressed in The Garden, or The Contention of Flowers [Poem 12], and intense religious devotion. If only, at more granular levels, this poem’s meaning were as unambiguous as this poetic logic would suggest it to be.
Consider, for example, the first analogy. It likens “this simple,” or a medicinal preparation consisting of a single botanical ingredient, to the journey of the sun. Its logic is straightforward, commonplace even: where the sun goes, so too does the flower’s bloom and leaves. Pulter’s heliotrope, however, behaves like no other heliotrope—nay, flower—that I know. She defies the laws of physics. Rooted deep inside the Earth (its “center”), this flower tracks the sun in the sky over the course of the day and then, fantastically, continues its pursuit beyond the horizon. When the sun arrives to the antipodes, or the exact spot on the Earth’s surface that is opposite to where the speaker is, the heliotrope follows, presumably having bored through an “earthly bed” and finding on the other side “earth or sea” to push through—it doesn’t matter which—to hitch herself once more to the sun’s luminous wagon. It seems as if the heliotrope will never stop chasing the sun, and, because of this valued capacity for “constant love,” the flower is, in the second analogy, likened to “those souls which are to God united.” As subsequent glosses indicate, this second analogy is no more uncomplicated than the first: it is infused with biblical reference and its build-up to a new, brighter “horoscope” taxes the poem’s syntax. As “Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, [and] flame” break the bodies of martyrs, so too do they interrupt the flow of poetic utterance.
As extraordinary as Pulter’s analogy featuring the heliotrope is, it is not unique to this poem. A remarkably similar version appears in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44], which is recorded earlier in the manuscript. Many of Pulter’s poems can be said to be variations on a theme, but nowhere else in the collection is such overlap, especially in diction and conceit, as substantial. It would be an instructive exercise to contrast Pulter’s use of the heliotrope, called in “A Solitary Discourse” “solsequium,” across these manuscript pages. In light of the poems’ shared interest in cyclicality and repetition, it is fitting that Pulter revisit, perhaps revise, and even resurrect in “The Heliotropians” the image of a flower that fabulously tails the sun to “th’other hemisphere.”
Line number 1

 Gloss note

heliotropes, or flowers that turn with the sun
Line number 2

 Critical note

Pulter’s keen interest in botanical matters is on display in this line and those that follow. In Pulter’s time, “naturalists” typically described phenomena that they observed in the natural world, while “Philosophers” weren’t constrained by the strictures of such physical evidence. They can all “agree” that there are “many” kinds of heliotropes, but it’s the naturalists who go in search of them. Pulter’s speaker counts themself among the select group (“Few”) who would venture so far to look for the poem’s fabulous flower.
Line number 3

 Gloss note

i.e., of the earth
Line number 6

 Critical note

smiling, usually done with affectation, but which Pulter’s flower seems to do more genuinely; it may also cast this medicinal flower, growing “So far below the caverns of the dead,” as glimmering, shimmering, or twinkling (OED), perhaps making it all the easier to locate.
Line number 9

 Gloss note

the sun
Line number 10

 Critical note

Blue is perhaps Pulter’s signature color, but she associates it more typically with the sky (The Eclipse [Poem 1]) and blood (Made When I Was Not Well [Poem 51]).
Line number 14

 Critical note

On the rationale for this editorial decision, see this poem’s Elemental Edition; we may say that, in “Hesperion,” Pulter wittily “contracts,” in its more obsolete senses of “to combine into one” and “to condense” (OED), the names of these figures.
Line number 18

 Critical note

The first line is a conventional image for sunset at the western shore: the sun “sinks” into the “lap” of the sea-nymph Thetis. The end-stop of the period in the next line registers this diurnal movement. In light of the sun’s continued movement in the next lines, it is tempting to repunctuate with a semicolon: the setting sun, from this different vantage, is just another dawn.
Line number 27

 Critical note

In this and the following lines, Pulter’s image set is especially political. Elsewhere in the manuscript, a beheaded Charles I is designated a martyr (On that Unparalleled Prince, Charles the First, His Horrid Murder [Poem 8] and Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [Poem 15]), while tyrants are associated with Parliamentarians (Phalaris and the Brazen Bull (Emblem 50) [Poem 115]).
Line number 32

 Critical note

The reference here is to Romans 8:38–9; the previous lines, which feature tyrants, martyrs, and engines of torture and modes of most unpleasant death, serve as gloss for it. Although not all are unique to this poem (but some are), the terms that Pulter employs to imagine martyrdom (“Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame”) nowhere else in the manuscript convey these specific disciplinary meanings.
Line number 38

 Gloss note

According to the OED, this word is more likely to be found in astrological texts from the period than in poetry, although Pulter employs it elsewhere in hers (Aurora [1] [Poem 3] and The Center [Poem 30]). Editors typically cast Pulter’s uses of “horoscope” as vague and unspecialized. If so, then it is ironic in this poem and in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44] that “horoscope” names a very specific future time—the Second Coming—whose precise moment, however, is unknowable to Pulter. The prepositional phrase “in a horoscope” perhaps also suggests that Pulter has in mind a more specialist object—a “horoscope,” which is a “dial” or “table” upon which time (“hours,” “days and nights” or “seasons”) was marked (OED).
Line number 39

 Critical note

This and surrounding lines about the “horoscope” are difficult to parse because of elision—we need to supply “that is” after it—and an unusual arrangement of words, likely for the sake of rhyme. We could paraphrase them thus: there is a future time when the speaker’s dead body (“dust,” which is itself an allusion to Genesis 2:7) and Jesus will “meet,” or unite, in a horoscope that is infinitely brighter than is the current one (“this”), which seems to have been cast on Earth (“our orb”) or is marked as “earthly.” The strained syntax, which renders punctuation in these lines a dicey enterprise, may reflect the certain, but unknown, date of this horoscope’s realization.
Sorry, but there are no notes associated with any currently displayed witness.
X (Close panel)Amplified Edition
Amplified Edition
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
[Emblem 3]
Heliotropians
(Emblem 3)
Heliotropians (Emblem 3)
In these transcriptions we preserve as many details of the original material, textual, and graphic properties of Hester Pulter’s manuscript verse as we have found practical. Whenever possible, for instance, original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, lineation, insertions, deletions, alterations, spacing between words and lines, and indentation are all maintained; abbreviations and brevigraphs are not expanded; and superscript and subscript representations are retained. See full conventions for the transcriptions here.

— Vin Nardizzi
The aim of the elemental edition is to make the poems accessible to the largest variety of readers, which involves modernizing spelling and punctuation as well as adding basic glosses. Spelling and punctuation reflect current standard American usage; punctuation highlights syntax which might otherwise be obscure. Outmoded but still familiar word forms (“thou,” “‘tis,” “hold’st”) are not modernized, and we do not modernize grammar when the sense remains legible. After a brief headnote aimed at offering a “way in” to the poem’s unique qualities and connections with other verse by Pulter or her contemporaries, the edition features a minimum of notes and interpretative framing to allow more immediate engagement with the poem. Glosses clarify synonyms or showcase various possible meanings in Pulter’s time. Other notes identify named people and places or clarify obscure material. We rely (without citation) primarily on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Oxford Reference database, and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. When we rely on Alice Eardley’s edition of Pulter’s work, we cite her text generally (“Eardley”); other sources are cited in full. The result is an edition we consider a springboard for further work on Pulter’s poetry. See full conventions for this edition here.

— Vin Nardizzi
I am not, by nature or custom, a textual editor. As a teacher, I know that poems ask to be read out loud. This I did several times, trying to wrap my tongue around Pulter’s words, some more felicitous than others, and this poem’s especially gnarled syntax. Where I became fascinated, or stuck, or breathless, there I edited and glossed. In doing so, I tried to keep in mind the needs and attention spans of my students who typically encounter Pulter’s poems as they’re projected onto a screen in a somewhat darkened classroom. An Amplified Edition is an interpretation. For mine, I consulted the Elemental Edition and Alice Eardley’s handling of this poem. If poems ask to be read out loud, then peer reviewers are to be heeded, too. They heard the poem, or moments in it, differently than I did. I’m grateful for their recommendations.

— Vin Nardizzi
A blue flower rises “many cubits” high out of the centre of the earth in order to track the sun across the sky from east to west. The image is already arresting, but Pulter takes it further: for, even after sunset, the flower still follows—not merely wilting back to earth, however, but “break[ing] through all to meet her radiant lover,” even on the very opposite side of the world. The ferocity of this literally ground-breaking flower, so radically active in its solar loyalty, then becomes an allegory of an equally violent devotion in “those souls which are to God united.” Theirs is no passive piety, as makes sense in the embattled world in which Pulter and her ilk practiced their faith during England’s civil wars.

— Vin Nardizzi
Governed by a pair of analogies—a flower is like the sun and, in turn, that sun-flower is like the soul—“Heliotropians” brings into relation Pulter’s abiding interest in botanical natural history, which is perhaps best expressed in The Garden, or The Contention of Flowers [Poem 12], and intense religious devotion. If only, at more granular levels, this poem’s meaning were as unambiguous as this poetic logic would suggest it to be.
Consider, for example, the first analogy. It likens “this simple,” or a medicinal preparation consisting of a single botanical ingredient, to the journey of the sun. Its logic is straightforward, commonplace even: where the sun goes, so too does the flower’s bloom and leaves. Pulter’s heliotrope, however, behaves like no other heliotrope—nay, flower—that I know. She defies the laws of physics. Rooted deep inside the Earth (its “center”), this flower tracks the sun in the sky over the course of the day and then, fantastically, continues its pursuit beyond the horizon. When the sun arrives to the antipodes, or the exact spot on the Earth’s surface that is opposite to where the speaker is, the heliotrope follows, presumably having bored through an “earthly bed” and finding on the other side “earth or sea” to push through—it doesn’t matter which—to hitch herself once more to the sun’s luminous wagon. It seems as if the heliotrope will never stop chasing the sun, and, because of this valued capacity for “constant love,” the flower is, in the second analogy, likened to “those souls which are to God united.” As subsequent glosses indicate, this second analogy is no more uncomplicated than the first: it is infused with biblical reference and its build-up to a new, brighter “horoscope” taxes the poem’s syntax. As “Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, [and] flame” break the bodies of martyrs, so too do they interrupt the flow of poetic utterance.
As extraordinary as Pulter’s analogy featuring the heliotrope is, it is not unique to this poem. A remarkably similar version appears in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44], which is recorded earlier in the manuscript. Many of Pulter’s poems can be said to be variations on a theme, but nowhere else in the collection is such overlap, especially in diction and conceit, as substantial. It would be an instructive exercise to contrast Pulter’s use of the heliotrope, called in “A Solitary Discourse” “solsequium,” across these manuscript pages. In light of the poems’ shared interest in cyclicality and repetition, it is fitting that Pulter revisit, perhaps revise, and even resurrect in “The Heliotropians” the image of a flower that fabulously tails the sun to “th’other hemisphere.”


— Vin Nardizzi
1
3
Physical Note
poem begins on same page as previous one ends
That many Heliotropians there bee
That many
Gloss Note
flowers which turn to follow the sun
heliotropians there be,
That many
Gloss Note
heliotropes, or flowers that turn with the sun
heliotropians there be,
2
Philoſophers unanimously agree
Philosophers unanimously agree;
Critical Note
Pulter’s keen interest in botanical matters is on display in this line and those that follow. In Pulter’s time, “naturalists” typically described phenomena that they observed in the natural world, while “Philosophers” weren’t constrained by the strictures of such physical evidence. They can all “agree” that there are “many” kinds of heliotropes, but it’s the naturalists who go in search of them. Pulter’s speaker counts themself among the select group (“Few”) who would venture so far to look for the poem’s fabulous flower.
Philosophers unanimously agree;
3
But that A plant Should in the Center grow
But that a plant should in the
Gloss Note
i.e., of the earth
center grow,
But that a plant should in the
Gloss Note
i.e., of the earth
center grow,
4
ffew Naturalist to find the Truth will goe
Few naturalists to find the truth will go
Few naturalists to find the truth will go
5
Soe ffar below the Cavarus of the Dead
So far below the caverns of the dead
So far below the caverns of the dead
6
To ffind this Simple Simpring in her Bed
To find this
Gloss Note
a plant used as medicine
simple,
Gloss Note
perhaps in obsolete sense of “simmering”
simp’ring in her bed,
To find this simple,
Critical Note
smiling, usually done with affectation, but which Pulter’s flower seems to do more genuinely; it may also cast this medicinal flower, growing “So far below the caverns of the dead,” as glimmering, shimmering, or twinkling (OED), perhaps making it all the easier to locate.
simp’ring in her bed,
7
Which Sends forth Branches through the Sea or Earth
Which sends forth branches through the sea or earth,
Which sends forth branches through the sea or earth,
8
And as the Sun doth Riſe begins her Birth
And, as the sun doth rise, begins her birth;
And, as the sun doth rise, begins her birth;
9
Then as hee higher doth in Splender goe
Then, as
Gloss Note
the sun
he higher doth in splendor go,
Then, as
Gloss Note
the sun
he higher doth in splendor go,
10
Even Soe this Azure fflower doth Taller grow
Even so this
Gloss Note
blue
azure flower doth taller grow,
Even so this
Critical Note
Blue is perhaps Pulter’s signature color, but she associates it more typically with the sky (The Eclipse [Poem 1]) and blood (Made When I Was Not Well [Poem 51]).
azure flower doth taller grow;
11
And when hee Mounts to his Miridian Height
And when he mounts to his
Gloss Note
midday
meridian height,
And when he mounts to his meridian height,
12
Then many Cubits Shee doth Stand
Physical Note
ht” written over other letters, possibly “th”
upright
Then many
Gloss Note
ancient unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a forearm
cubits she doth stand upright
Then many cubits she doth stand upright
13
Above the Earth, when to the Western Tracts
Above the earth, when to the western
Gloss Note
regions
tracts
Above the earth; when to the western tracts
14
Physical Note
“ſ” appears written over other letter
Heſperion goes her stature Shee contracts
Physical Note
In the manuscript, a long “s” appears written over another indecipherable letter; written thus, the word appears to merge “Hyperion,” and epithet for the sun, and “Hesperus,” a name for the evening star, which appears in the western part of the sky.
Hesperion goes, her stature she contracts;
Critical Note
On the rationale for this editorial decision, see this poem’s Elemental Edition; we may say that, in “Hesperion,” Pulter wittily “contracts,” in its more obsolete senses of “to combine into one” and “to condense” (OED), the names of these figures.
Hesperion goes, her stature she contracts;
15
Then when hee Hurries down the Olympick Hill
Then, when he hurries down th’Olympic hill
Then, when he hurries down th’Olympic hill,
16
Lower and Lower this brave fflower growes still
Lower and lower, this brave flower grows still;
Lower and lower, this brave flower grows still;
but
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
17
But when in Thetis Lap hee layes his Head
But when in
Gloss Note
sea nymph, often poetically portrayed as receiving the setting sun in her lap
Thetis’s lap he lays his head,
But when in Thetis’s lap he lays his head,
18
Shee Sadly
Physical Note
“S” altered from “th”
Sinks into her earthly Bed
She sadly sinks into her earthly bed.
Critical Note
The first line is a conventional image for sunset at the western shore: the sun “sinks” into the “lap” of the sea-nymph Thetis. The end-stop of the period in the next line registers this diurnal movement. In light of the sun’s continued movement in the next lines, it is tempting to repunctuate with a semicolon: the setting sun, from this different vantage, is just another dawn.
She sadly sinks into her earthly bed.
19
When to the Antipodes hee doth apear
When to
Gloss Note
the opposite side of the world, and those who dwell there
th’antipodes he doth appear,
When to th’antipodes he doth appear,
20
Shee follows him to tother Hemispheir
She follows him to th’other hemisphere;
She follows him to th’other hemisphere;
21
The Earth or Sea be’ng every where above her
The earth or sea being everywhere above her,
The earth or sea being everywhere above her,
22
Shee breaks through all to meet her Raidient Lover
She breaks through all to meet her radiant lover;
She breaks through all to meet her radiant lover;
23
Even
Physical Note
corrected, possibly from “for”
ſoe thoſe Soules w:ch are to God united
Even so those souls which are to God united,
Even so those souls which are to God united,
24
Though in this vale of Tears they be benighted
Though in this vale of tears they be benighted,
Though in this vale of tears they be benighted,
25
Yet still a Bleſſed Influence from above
Yet still a blessed influence from above
Yet still a blessed influence from above
26
Sweetly inclin’s them to a constant Love
Sweetly inclines them to a constant love:
Sweetly inclines them to a constant love:
27
Though Tyrants in their innocent bloods doe Wallow
Though tyrants in their innocent bloods do wallow;
Critical Note
In this and the following lines, Pulter’s image set is especially political. Elsewhere in the manuscript, a beheaded Charles I is designated a martyr (On that Unparalleled Prince, Charles the First, His Horrid Murder [Poem 8] and Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [Poem 15]), while tyrants are associated with Parliamentarians (Phalaris and the Brazen Bull (Emblem 50) [Poem 115]).
Though tyrants in their innocent bloods do wallow,
28
Though they ye
Physical Note
“y” appears correction of earlier erased letter
Martyrs in their Deaths doe ffollow
Though they the martyrs in their deaths do follow.
Though they the martyrs in their deaths do follow—
29
Wheels, Jibbits Precipices Croſſes, fflame
Gloss Note
instruments of torture and execution
Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame:
Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame—
30
The’le break through all to magnifie his name
They’ll break through all to magnify His name.
They’ll break through all to magnify His name.
31
T’is neither Power nor
Physical Note
final “i” written over other letter, probably “e”
Principallitie
Gloss Note
For this line and the next, see Romans, 8:38–9: “nor principalities, nor powers, … nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Principalities are offices or officials, or the territories they claim.
’Tis neither power nor principality,
’Tis neither power nor principality,
32
Dear God can Seperate my Soul from thee
Dear God, can separate my soul from Thee;
Critical Note
The reference here is to Romans 8:38–9; the previous lines, which feature tyrants, martyrs, and engines of torture and modes of most unpleasant death, serve as gloss for it. Although not all are unique to this poem (but some are), the terms that Pulter employs to imagine martyrdom (“Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame”) nowhere else in the manuscript convey these specific disciplinary meanings.
Dear God, can separate my soul from Thee;
33
Nor all the Powers of Heaven Hell or Earth
Nor all the powers of Heaven, Hell, or Earth
Nor all the powers of Heaven, Hell, or Earth
34
Can keep my Soul from whence she had her Birth
Can keep my soul from whence she had her birth;
Can keep my soul from whence she had her birth;
35
Though Death Calcine my fflesh & bones to dust
Though death
Gloss Note
purify
calcine my flesh and bones to
Critical Note
here, the disintegrated matter of her dead body; also identified with “first principles” (of the next line), the originating elements of humanity as described in Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
dust,
Though death calcine my flesh and bones to dust,
36
In my first Principles I’le in thee trust
In my first principles, I’ll in Thee trust.
In my first principles, I’ll in Thee trust;
37
Ney even my Dust disperst shall Rest in hope
Nay, even my dust dispersed shall rest in hope
Nay, even my dust dispersed shall rest in hope
38
To
Physical Note
final “te” added later in different hand from main scribe; imperfectly erased descender below “t”
meete my Saviour in A Horiſcope
To meet my Savior in a
Critical Note
an alignment of the heavenly bodies; the sense in this and surrounding lines is that the speaker’s disintegrated body after death (“dust”) will anticipate meeting Christ when the heavenly bodies align in a “horoscope” brighter than the current one.
horoscope
To meet my Savior in a
Gloss Note
According to the OED, this word is more likely to be found in astrological texts from the period than in poetry, although Pulter employs it elsewhere in hers (Aurora [1] [Poem 3] and The Center [Poem 30]). Editors typically cast Pulter’s uses of “horoscope” as vague and unspecialized. If so, then it is ironic in this poem and in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44] that “horoscope” names a very specific future time—the Second Coming—whose precise moment, however, is unknowable to Pulter. The prepositional phrase “in a horoscope” perhaps also suggests that Pulter has in mind a more specialist object—a “horoscope,” which is a “dial” or “table” upon which time (“hours,” “days and nights” or “seasons”) was marked (OED).
horoscope
39
Infinitely then
Physical Note
“thus” altered to “this,” or reverse
this our Orb more bright
Infinitely than this, our
Gloss Note
Earth
orb, more bright—
Critical Note
This and surrounding lines about the “horoscope” are difficult to parse because of elision—we need to supply “that is” after it—and an unusual arrangement of words, likely for the sake of rhyme. We could paraphrase them thus: there is a future time when the speaker’s dead body (“dust,” which is itself an allusion to Genesis 2:7) and Jesus will “meet,” or unite, in a horoscope that is infinitely brighter than is the current one (“this”), which seems to have been cast on Earth (“our orb”) or is marked as “earthly.” The strained syntax, which renders punctuation in these lines a dicey enterprise, may reflect the certain, but unknown, date of this horoscope’s realization.
Infinitely than this, our orb, more bright,
40
Not interwoven as now with death & Night
Not interwoven, as now, with death and night;
Not interwoven, as now, with death and night;
41
Then though I Sadly here Sigh out my Story
Then, though I sadly here sigh out my story,
Then, though I sadly here sigh out my story,
42
Yet am I Sure to Riſe again to Glory.
Yet am I sure to rise again to glory.
Yet am I sure to rise again to glory.
ascending straight line
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Transcription

 Editorial note

In these transcriptions we preserve as many details of the original material, textual, and graphic properties of Hester Pulter’s manuscript verse as we have found practical. Whenever possible, for instance, original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, lineation, insertions, deletions, alterations, spacing between words and lines, and indentation are all maintained; abbreviations and brevigraphs are not expanded; and superscript and subscript representations are retained. See full conventions for the transcriptions here.
Elemental Edition

 Editorial note

The aim of the elemental edition is to make the poems accessible to the largest variety of readers, which involves modernizing spelling and punctuation as well as adding basic glosses. Spelling and punctuation reflect current standard American usage; punctuation highlights syntax which might otherwise be obscure. Outmoded but still familiar word forms (“thou,” “‘tis,” “hold’st”) are not modernized, and we do not modernize grammar when the sense remains legible. After a brief headnote aimed at offering a “way in” to the poem’s unique qualities and connections with other verse by Pulter or her contemporaries, the edition features a minimum of notes and interpretative framing to allow more immediate engagement with the poem. Glosses clarify synonyms or showcase various possible meanings in Pulter’s time. Other notes identify named people and places or clarify obscure material. We rely (without citation) primarily on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Oxford Reference database, and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. When we rely on Alice Eardley’s edition of Pulter’s work, we cite her text generally (“Eardley”); other sources are cited in full. The result is an edition we consider a springboard for further work on Pulter’s poetry. See full conventions for this edition here.
Amplified Edition

 Editorial note

I am not, by nature or custom, a textual editor. As a teacher, I know that poems ask to be read out loud. This I did several times, trying to wrap my tongue around Pulter’s words, some more felicitous than others, and this poem’s especially gnarled syntax. Where I became fascinated, or stuck, or breathless, there I edited and glossed. In doing so, I tried to keep in mind the needs and attention spans of my students who typically encounter Pulter’s poems as they’re projected onto a screen in a somewhat darkened classroom. An Amplified Edition is an interpretation. For mine, I consulted the Elemental Edition and Alice Eardley’s handling of this poem. If poems ask to be read out loud, then peer reviewers are to be heeded, too. They heard the poem, or moments in it, differently than I did. I’m grateful for their recommendations.
Elemental Edition

 Headnote

A blue flower rises “many cubits” high out of the centre of the earth in order to track the sun across the sky from east to west. The image is already arresting, but Pulter takes it further: for, even after sunset, the flower still follows—not merely wilting back to earth, however, but “break[ing] through all to meet her radiant lover,” even on the very opposite side of the world. The ferocity of this literally ground-breaking flower, so radically active in its solar loyalty, then becomes an allegory of an equally violent devotion in “those souls which are to God united.” Theirs is no passive piety, as makes sense in the embattled world in which Pulter and her ilk practiced their faith during England’s civil wars.
Amplified Edition

 Headnote

Governed by a pair of analogies—a flower is like the sun and, in turn, that sun-flower is like the soul—“Heliotropians” brings into relation Pulter’s abiding interest in botanical natural history, which is perhaps best expressed in The Garden, or The Contention of Flowers [Poem 12], and intense religious devotion. If only, at more granular levels, this poem’s meaning were as unambiguous as this poetic logic would suggest it to be.
Consider, for example, the first analogy. It likens “this simple,” or a medicinal preparation consisting of a single botanical ingredient, to the journey of the sun. Its logic is straightforward, commonplace even: where the sun goes, so too does the flower’s bloom and leaves. Pulter’s heliotrope, however, behaves like no other heliotrope—nay, flower—that I know. She defies the laws of physics. Rooted deep inside the Earth (its “center”), this flower tracks the sun in the sky over the course of the day and then, fantastically, continues its pursuit beyond the horizon. When the sun arrives to the antipodes, or the exact spot on the Earth’s surface that is opposite to where the speaker is, the heliotrope follows, presumably having bored through an “earthly bed” and finding on the other side “earth or sea” to push through—it doesn’t matter which—to hitch herself once more to the sun’s luminous wagon. It seems as if the heliotrope will never stop chasing the sun, and, because of this valued capacity for “constant love,” the flower is, in the second analogy, likened to “those souls which are to God united.” As subsequent glosses indicate, this second analogy is no more uncomplicated than the first: it is infused with biblical reference and its build-up to a new, brighter “horoscope” taxes the poem’s syntax. As “Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, [and] flame” break the bodies of martyrs, so too do they interrupt the flow of poetic utterance.
As extraordinary as Pulter’s analogy featuring the heliotrope is, it is not unique to this poem. A remarkably similar version appears in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44], which is recorded earlier in the manuscript. Many of Pulter’s poems can be said to be variations on a theme, but nowhere else in the collection is such overlap, especially in diction and conceit, as substantial. It would be an instructive exercise to contrast Pulter’s use of the heliotrope, called in “A Solitary Discourse” “solsequium,” across these manuscript pages. In light of the poems’ shared interest in cyclicality and repetition, it is fitting that Pulter revisit, perhaps revise, and even resurrect in “The Heliotropians” the image of a flower that fabulously tails the sun to “th’other hemisphere.”
Transcription
Line number 1

 Physical note

poem begins on same page as previous one ends
Elemental Edition
Line number 1

 Gloss note

flowers which turn to follow the sun
Amplified Edition
Line number 1

 Gloss note

heliotropes, or flowers that turn with the sun
Amplified Edition
Line number 2

 Critical note

Pulter’s keen interest in botanical matters is on display in this line and those that follow. In Pulter’s time, “naturalists” typically described phenomena that they observed in the natural world, while “Philosophers” weren’t constrained by the strictures of such physical evidence. They can all “agree” that there are “many” kinds of heliotropes, but it’s the naturalists who go in search of them. Pulter’s speaker counts themself among the select group (“Few”) who would venture so far to look for the poem’s fabulous flower.
Elemental Edition
Line number 3

 Gloss note

i.e., of the earth
Amplified Edition
Line number 3

 Gloss note

i.e., of the earth
Elemental Edition
Line number 6

 Gloss note

a plant used as medicine
Elemental Edition
Line number 6

 Gloss note

perhaps in obsolete sense of “simmering”
Amplified Edition
Line number 6

 Critical note

smiling, usually done with affectation, but which Pulter’s flower seems to do more genuinely; it may also cast this medicinal flower, growing “So far below the caverns of the dead,” as glimmering, shimmering, or twinkling (OED), perhaps making it all the easier to locate.
Elemental Edition
Line number 9

 Gloss note

the sun
Amplified Edition
Line number 9

 Gloss note

the sun
Elemental Edition
Line number 10

 Gloss note

blue
Amplified Edition
Line number 10

 Critical note

Blue is perhaps Pulter’s signature color, but she associates it more typically with the sky (The Eclipse [Poem 1]) and blood (Made When I Was Not Well [Poem 51]).
Elemental Edition
Line number 11

 Gloss note

midday
Transcription
Line number 12

 Physical note

ht” written over other letters, possibly “th”
Elemental Edition
Line number 12

 Gloss note

ancient unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a forearm
Elemental Edition
Line number 13

 Gloss note

regions
Transcription
Line number 14

 Physical note

“ſ” appears written over other letter
Elemental Edition
Line number 14

 Physical note

In the manuscript, a long “s” appears written over another indecipherable letter; written thus, the word appears to merge “Hyperion,” and epithet for the sun, and “Hesperus,” a name for the evening star, which appears in the western part of the sky.
Amplified Edition
Line number 14

 Critical note

On the rationale for this editorial decision, see this poem’s Elemental Edition; we may say that, in “Hesperion,” Pulter wittily “contracts,” in its more obsolete senses of “to combine into one” and “to condense” (OED), the names of these figures.
Elemental Edition
Line number 17

 Gloss note

sea nymph, often poetically portrayed as receiving the setting sun in her lap
Transcription
Line number 18

 Physical note

“S” altered from “th”
Amplified Edition
Line number 18

 Critical note

The first line is a conventional image for sunset at the western shore: the sun “sinks” into the “lap” of the sea-nymph Thetis. The end-stop of the period in the next line registers this diurnal movement. In light of the sun’s continued movement in the next lines, it is tempting to repunctuate with a semicolon: the setting sun, from this different vantage, is just another dawn.
Elemental Edition
Line number 19

 Gloss note

the opposite side of the world, and those who dwell there
Transcription
Line number 23

 Physical note

corrected, possibly from “for”
Amplified Edition
Line number 27

 Critical note

In this and the following lines, Pulter’s image set is especially political. Elsewhere in the manuscript, a beheaded Charles I is designated a martyr (On that Unparalleled Prince, Charles the First, His Horrid Murder [Poem 8] and Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [Poem 15]), while tyrants are associated with Parliamentarians (Phalaris and the Brazen Bull (Emblem 50) [Poem 115]).
Transcription
Line number 28

 Physical note

“y” appears correction of earlier erased letter
Elemental Edition
Line number 29

 Gloss note

instruments of torture and execution
Transcription
Line number 31

 Physical note

final “i” written over other letter, probably “e”
Elemental Edition
Line number 31

 Gloss note

For this line and the next, see Romans, 8:38–9: “nor principalities, nor powers, … nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Principalities are offices or officials, or the territories they claim.
Amplified Edition
Line number 32

 Critical note

The reference here is to Romans 8:38–9; the previous lines, which feature tyrants, martyrs, and engines of torture and modes of most unpleasant death, serve as gloss for it. Although not all are unique to this poem (but some are), the terms that Pulter employs to imagine martyrdom (“Wheels, gibbets, precipices, crosses, flame”) nowhere else in the manuscript convey these specific disciplinary meanings.
Elemental Edition
Line number 35

 Gloss note

purify
Elemental Edition
Line number 35

 Critical note

here, the disintegrated matter of her dead body; also identified with “first principles” (of the next line), the originating elements of humanity as described in Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Transcription
Line number 38

 Physical note

final “te” added later in different hand from main scribe; imperfectly erased descender below “t”
Elemental Edition
Line number 38

 Critical note

an alignment of the heavenly bodies; the sense in this and surrounding lines is that the speaker’s disintegrated body after death (“dust”) will anticipate meeting Christ when the heavenly bodies align in a “horoscope” brighter than the current one.
Amplified Edition
Line number 38

 Gloss note

According to the OED, this word is more likely to be found in astrological texts from the period than in poetry, although Pulter employs it elsewhere in hers (Aurora [1] [Poem 3] and The Center [Poem 30]). Editors typically cast Pulter’s uses of “horoscope” as vague and unspecialized. If so, then it is ironic in this poem and in A Solitary Discourse [Poem 44] that “horoscope” names a very specific future time—the Second Coming—whose precise moment, however, is unknowable to Pulter. The prepositional phrase “in a horoscope” perhaps also suggests that Pulter has in mind a more specialist object—a “horoscope,” which is a “dial” or “table” upon which time (“hours,” “days and nights” or “seasons”) was marked (OED).
Transcription
Line number 39

 Physical note

“thus” altered to “this,” or reverse
Elemental Edition
Line number 39

 Gloss note

Earth
Amplified Edition
Line number 39

 Critical note

This and surrounding lines about the “horoscope” are difficult to parse because of elision—we need to supply “that is” after it—and an unusual arrangement of words, likely for the sake of rhyme. We could paraphrase them thus: there is a future time when the speaker’s dead body (“dust,” which is itself an allusion to Genesis 2:7) and Jesus will “meet,” or unite, in a horoscope that is infinitely brighter than is the current one (“this”), which seems to have been cast on Earth (“our orb”) or is marked as “earthly.” The strained syntax, which renders punctuation in these lines a dicey enterprise, may reflect the certain, but unknown, date of this horoscope’s realization.
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