Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [On the Same (2)]

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Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [On the Same (2)]

Poem #15

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.

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
Title note

 Physical note

previous poem concludes immediately above on same page

 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 13

 Physical note

imperfectly erased ascender (as for “l”) visible above “n”
Line number 13

 Physical note

“e” appears crowded between surrounding letters
Line number 21

 Physical note

letter with ascender (possibly “l”) blotted to cancel
Line number 22

 Physical note

“e” appears written over (possibly after) earlier second “l”
Line number 37

 Physical note

corrected from “in Mortality”
Line number 40

 Physical note

Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (those ending “fled,” “head,” and “Dead”).
Line number 45

 Physical note

Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (“more,” “Deplore,” and “ Restore”).The next page, marked “66”, is blank.
Sorry, but there are no notes associated with any currently displayed witness.
X (Close panel)Transcription
Transcription
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
On the
Physical Note
previous poem concludes immediately above on same page
Same [2]
Critical Note
In the manuscript, the title is “On the Same”: a reference to the previous poem in the manuscript, On the Horrid Murder of that Incomparable Prince, King Charles the First [Poem 14]; we have provided an alternate title for clarity. The number 2 in our title reflects the fact that Poem 11 is also titled On the Same [Poem 11] in the manuscript.
Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [On the Same (2)]
AE TITLE
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


— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
Grief management in the face of public atrocities is a relatively new industry, but Pulter tried her hand at it in this poem, as well as the one before it in the manuscript; both were written as responses to the king’s execution by political opponents. Like the last poem, this one also begins with a ban on grieving wrongly—in this case, by continuing to mourn the executions of three royalist commanders: George Lisle; Charles Lucas (both lamented in an earlier poem, On Those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas, Who Were Shot to Death at Colchester [Poem 7]); and Arthur Capel, Pulter’s cousin-in-law. The enormity of the king’s death monopolizes all possible sighs and tears, sparing none for even such remarkable, but still lesser, lights. Pulter allows herself, early on, an outburst of baffled rage at those she could only regard as assassins: “How could they do it?” But soon the poem grows boldly to encompass more than her isolated, frustrated voice, through her ventriloquy of a mourning national church answered by divine assurance of a “second Charles”: possibly a prophetic claim, depending when the poem was written.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall


— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
1
Let none Sigh more for Lucas or for Liſle
Let none sigh more
Gloss Note
George Lisle and Charles Lucas were Royalist commanders in the siege of Colchester during the English civil war, executed by firing squad without trial after their defeat and capture at Colchester in 1648. Pulter makes these two the subject of On those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas [Poem 7].
for Lucas or for Lisle,
2
Seing now the very Soule of this Sad Iſle
Seeing now the very soul of this
Gloss Note
Britain
sad isle
3
(At which trembling invades my Soule) is Dead
Critical Note
This parenthetical phrase seems to be placed, unusually, in the middle of the clause it modifies: “the very soul of this sad isle / … is dead.” That is, the primary sense appears to be that the speaker’s soul trembles at the death of the king, who is cast as Britain’s soul. However, the placement of the parenthetical phrase immediately after the reference to the king might also suggest that the speaker (or her soul) trembles–perhaps from fearful respect or awe–at the mere thought of her king, alive or dead.
(At which trembling invades my soul) is dead,
4
And with our Sacred Soveraign Spirit’s fled
And with our sacred sovereign spirit’s fled
to
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
5
To Heaven, where Smileing he looks down
To Heaven, where, smiling, he looks down
6
And Sees these Monsters Strugling for his Crown
And sees
Gloss Note
the king’s opponents in the civil war
these monsters struggling for his crown,
7
Whils’t his illustrious brows adorn’d with Glory
Whils’t his illustrious brows, adorned with glory,
8
Expects the finis of their Tragick Story
Expects the
Gloss Note
conclusion (a word often placed at the end of a book)
finis of their tragic story.
9
How could they doe it; Sure they were afraid
How could they do it? Sure they were afraid,
10
And therefore call’d in Jews into their Aid
And therefore called in
Critical Note
Citing Wilcher, Eardley indicates that it was common for Royalists to castigate their opponents as Jews, especially in the wake of the execution of Charles I, who was by analogy figured as Christ. See Robert Wilcher, Writing of Royalism, 1628–1660 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 267–69. In On those Two Unparalleled Friends [Poem 7], Pulter draws on the period’s common bigoted rhetoric by labeling anti-Royalists as Jews, Turks and atheists; yet she interestingly chooses as her authorial moniker Haddassah or Esther, a Jewish heroine.
Jews into their aid,
11
Who their Redeemer and their King betray’d
Who
Gloss Note
These terms conflate references to King Charles and Jesus Christ or God.
their redeemer and their king betrayed.
12
Oh Horrid villains could they doe this deed
O, horrid villains! Could they do this deed?
13
To
Physical Note
imperfectly erased ascender (as for “l”) visible above “n”
wound that
Physical Note
“e” appears crowded between surrounding letters
Heart for whom all Should bleed
To wound that heart for whom all should bleed?
14
And noble Capell let it bee thy Glory
And noble
Gloss Note
Arthur Capel (1604–49), first cousin to Pulter’s husband and royalist commander, fought a losing battle at Colchester with Lisle and Lucas; he was imprisoned but escaped, only to be betrayed and then beheaded at the behest of parliament, two months after the king’s execution (ODNB).
Capel, let it be thy glory,
15
Though dead to live in his unparrild Story
Though dead, to live in
Gloss Note
the king’s
his
Critical Note
The manuscript has “unparrild,” for “unparalleled”; we maintain the abbreviation for the meter.
unparall’d story.
16
Take it not ill that wee could Scarce deplore
Take it not ill that we could scarce
Gloss Note
lament
deplore
17
This Kingdoms loſs in thee when full before
This kingdom’s loss in thee,
Gloss Note
The speaker asks Capel not to be offended that they could not mourn his death, when they were already full of grief owing to the king’s recent execution.
when full before.
18
Thy loſs Heroick Kinsman wounded deep
Thy loss, heroic kinsman, wounded deep,
19
Had wee had power left to Sigh or weep
Had we had power left to sigh or weep;
20
Senceles wee were of private deſolation
Senseless we were of private desolation,
21
Just like a
Physical Note
letter with ascender (possibly “l”) blotted to cancel
fflou[?]d after an Inundation
Just like a flood after an
Gloss Note
overflow of water
inundation.
22
Thus
Physical Note
“e” appears written over (possibly after) earlier second “l”
Nile doth proudly Swell to looſe her name
Thus
Gloss Note
The Egyptian river “loses [its] name” when it joins the Mediterranean sea and ceases to be a river.
Nile doth proudly swell to lose her name
23
And bee involved in the Oceans fame
And be
Gloss Note
enveloped
involved in the ocean’s fame;
24
Thus Stately Volgas in the Caſpian tost
Thus stately
Gloss Note
The Russian river Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Volga’s in the Caspian tossed,
25
And Natures great deſign in thee is lost
And
Gloss Note
The speaker suggests that Nature’s plan, in relation to Capel’s fate, cannot be perceived but is nonetheless present (like the rivers dissolved within the ocean or sea).
Nature’s great design in thee is lost.
Soe
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
26
Soe Mercury Surrounds the purest Gold
Gloss Note
The speaker suggests that mercury has a crucial relation to gold, as Capel does to Charles; the analogy is drawn from alchemy, in which mercury is a base element used to form the more valuable gold.
So Mercury surrounds the purest gold,
27
And Phœbus beams doth Hermes light infould
Gloss Note
The speaker carries on the analogy between more and less valuable forms of light (related to Charles and Capel): the sun’s beams (those of Phoebus, the sun god) enclose those of Hermes, a messenger god (also identified with Mercury).
And Phoebus’s beams doth Hermes’s light enfold,
28
Hideing his Raidient ffulgour from our Sight
Hiding his radiant
Gloss Note
dazzling brightness
fulgor from our sight;
29
Soe is thy Splenden^cie out Shin’d by light
So is thy
Gloss Note
Capel’s splendor
splendency outshined by light.
30
Thy pardon greatest Soul grant I preſume
Thy pardon,
Gloss Note
Charles I
greatest soul, grant; I presume
31
Not to ad odours to thy choice perfume
Gloss Note
The speaker assures Charles I that she is not trying to to improve his reputation through her praise of Capel.
Not to add odors to thy choice perfume.
32
I onely doe it to illustrate forth
I only do it to illustrate forth,
33
By his great vertue thy tranſcendent worth
By
Gloss Note
Capel’s
his great virtue,
Gloss Note
the king’s
thy transcendent worth.
34
Heroick Prince now Raiſ’d aboue their hate
Heroic prince, now raised above their hate,
35
Thou tramplest over Death and advers fate
Thou tramplest over death and adverse fate,
36
And as one fate your bodyes did diſſolve
And, as one fate
Gloss Note
the king’s two bodies, a legal principle which saw the king to unite, in his person, a mortal, natural body, and an immortal body politic (here treated as “dissolve[d]” through the dissolution of the monarchy through the execution of Charles I)
your bodies did dissolve,
37
Soe
Physical Note
corrected from “in Mortality”
imMortality Shall both involve
So immortality shall both
Gloss Note
envelop
involve.
38
Just as our Martyrd King his Spirit fled
Just
Gloss Note
when
as our martyred king his spirit fled,
39
The Spouſe of Christ hung down her virgin head
The
Gloss Note
a conventional term for the Christian church; see Ephesians, 5:22: “the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.”
spouse of Christ hung down her virgin head,
40
And Sighing Said my ffaiths defender’s
Physical Note
Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (those ending “fled,” “head,” and “Dead”).
Dead
And, sighing, said: “
Gloss Note
“Defender of the Faith” was among the official titles assumed by the monarchs of England at this time.
My faith’s defender’s dead.”
41
Then trickling tears down on her trembling breast
Then trickling tears down on her trembling breast,
42
Shee Said (Ay mee) when Shall I Safely Rest
She said, “Ay me! When shall I safely rest?”
43
At w:ch a voice from Heaven Said weep noe more
At which
Gloss Note
the voice of God
a voice from Heaven said: “Weep no more;
44
Nor my Heroick Champions Death Deplore
Nor my heroic
Gloss Note
i.e., Charles I
champion’s death
Gloss Note
lament
deplore.
45
A Second Charles Shall all thy Joyes
Physical Note
Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (“more,” “Deplore,” and “ Restore”).The next page, marked “66”, is blank.
Restore
A second Charles shall all thy joys restore.”
X (Close panel)Notes: Elemental Edition
Title note

 Critical note

In the manuscript, the title is “On the Same”: a reference to the previous poem in the manuscript, On the Horrid Murder of that Incomparable Prince, King Charles the First [Poem 14]; we have provided an alternate title for clarity. The number 2 in our title reflects the fact that Poem 11 is also titled On the Same [Poem 11] in the manuscript.

 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

Grief management in the face of public atrocities is a relatively new industry, but Pulter tried her hand at it in this poem, as well as the one before it in the manuscript; both were written as responses to the king’s execution by political opponents. Like the last poem, this one also begins with a ban on grieving wrongly—in this case, by continuing to mourn the executions of three royalist commanders: George Lisle; Charles Lucas (both lamented in an earlier poem, On Those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas, Who Were Shot to Death at Colchester [Poem 7]); and Arthur Capel, Pulter’s cousin-in-law. The enormity of the king’s death monopolizes all possible sighs and tears, sparing none for even such remarkable, but still lesser, lights. Pulter allows herself, early on, an outburst of baffled rage at those she could only regard as assassins: “How could they do it?” But soon the poem grows boldly to encompass more than her isolated, frustrated voice, through her ventriloquy of a mourning national church answered by divine assurance of a “second Charles”: possibly a prophetic claim, depending when the poem was written.
Line number 1

 Gloss note

George Lisle and Charles Lucas were Royalist commanders in the siege of Colchester during the English civil war, executed by firing squad without trial after their defeat and capture at Colchester in 1648. Pulter makes these two the subject of On those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas [Poem 7].
Line number 2

 Gloss note

Britain
Line number 3

 Critical note

This parenthetical phrase seems to be placed, unusually, in the middle of the clause it modifies: “the very soul of this sad isle / … is dead.” That is, the primary sense appears to be that the speaker’s soul trembles at the death of the king, who is cast as Britain’s soul. However, the placement of the parenthetical phrase immediately after the reference to the king might also suggest that the speaker (or her soul) trembles–perhaps from fearful respect or awe–at the mere thought of her king, alive or dead.
Line number 6

 Gloss note

the king’s opponents in the civil war
Line number 8

 Gloss note

conclusion (a word often placed at the end of a book)
Line number 10

 Critical note

Citing Wilcher, Eardley indicates that it was common for Royalists to castigate their opponents as Jews, especially in the wake of the execution of Charles I, who was by analogy figured as Christ. See Robert Wilcher, Writing of Royalism, 1628–1660 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 267–69. In On those Two Unparalleled Friends [Poem 7], Pulter draws on the period’s common bigoted rhetoric by labeling anti-Royalists as Jews, Turks and atheists; yet she interestingly chooses as her authorial moniker Haddassah or Esther, a Jewish heroine.
Line number 11

 Gloss note

These terms conflate references to King Charles and Jesus Christ or God.
Line number 14

 Gloss note

Arthur Capel (1604–49), first cousin to Pulter’s husband and royalist commander, fought a losing battle at Colchester with Lisle and Lucas; he was imprisoned but escaped, only to be betrayed and then beheaded at the behest of parliament, two months after the king’s execution (ODNB).
Line number 15

 Gloss note

the king’s
Line number 15

 Critical note

The manuscript has “unparrild,” for “unparalleled”; we maintain the abbreviation for the meter.
Line number 16

 Gloss note

lament
Line number 17

 Gloss note

The speaker asks Capel not to be offended that they could not mourn his death, when they were already full of grief owing to the king’s recent execution.
Line number 21

 Gloss note

overflow of water
Line number 22

 Gloss note

The Egyptian river “loses [its] name” when it joins the Mediterranean sea and ceases to be a river.
Line number 23

 Gloss note

enveloped
Line number 24

 Gloss note

The Russian river Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Line number 25

 Gloss note

The speaker suggests that Nature’s plan, in relation to Capel’s fate, cannot be perceived but is nonetheless present (like the rivers dissolved within the ocean or sea).
Line number 26

 Gloss note

The speaker suggests that mercury has a crucial relation to gold, as Capel does to Charles; the analogy is drawn from alchemy, in which mercury is a base element used to form the more valuable gold.
Line number 27

 Gloss note

The speaker carries on the analogy between more and less valuable forms of light (related to Charles and Capel): the sun’s beams (those of Phoebus, the sun god) enclose those of Hermes, a messenger god (also identified with Mercury).
Line number 28

 Gloss note

dazzling brightness
Line number 29

 Gloss note

Capel’s splendor
Line number 30

 Gloss note

Charles I
Line number 31

 Gloss note

The speaker assures Charles I that she is not trying to to improve his reputation through her praise of Capel.
Line number 33

 Gloss note

Capel’s
Line number 33

 Gloss note

the king’s
Line number 36

 Gloss note

the king’s two bodies, a legal principle which saw the king to unite, in his person, a mortal, natural body, and an immortal body politic (here treated as “dissolve[d]” through the dissolution of the monarchy through the execution of Charles I)
Line number 37

 Gloss note

envelop
Line number 38

 Gloss note

when
Line number 39

 Gloss note

a conventional term for the Christian church; see Ephesians, 5:22: “the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.”
Line number 40

 Gloss note

“Defender of the Faith” was among the official titles assumed by the monarchs of England at this time.
Line number 43

 Gloss note

the voice of God
Line number 44

 Gloss note

i.e., Charles I
Line number 44

 Gloss note

lament
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
Facsimile Image Placeholder
On the
Physical Note
previous poem concludes immediately above on same page
Same [2]
Critical Note
In the manuscript, the title is “On the Same”: a reference to the previous poem in the manuscript, On the Horrid Murder of that Incomparable Prince, King Charles the First [Poem 14]; we have provided an alternate title for clarity. The number 2 in our title reflects the fact that Poem 11 is also titled On the Same [Poem 11] in the manuscript.
Let None Sigh More for Lucas or for Lisle [On the Same (2)]
AE TITLE
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


— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
Grief management in the face of public atrocities is a relatively new industry, but Pulter tried her hand at it in this poem, as well as the one before it in the manuscript; both were written as responses to the king’s execution by political opponents. Like the last poem, this one also begins with a ban on grieving wrongly—in this case, by continuing to mourn the executions of three royalist commanders: George Lisle; Charles Lucas (both lamented in an earlier poem, On Those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas, Who Were Shot to Death at Colchester [Poem 7]); and Arthur Capel, Pulter’s cousin-in-law. The enormity of the king’s death monopolizes all possible sighs and tears, sparing none for even such remarkable, but still lesser, lights. Pulter allows herself, early on, an outburst of baffled rage at those she could only regard as assassins: “How could they do it?” But soon the poem grows boldly to encompass more than her isolated, frustrated voice, through her ventriloquy of a mourning national church answered by divine assurance of a “second Charles”: possibly a prophetic claim, depending when the poem was written.

— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall


— Leah Knight and Wendy Wall
1
Let none Sigh more for Lucas or for Liſle
Let none sigh more
Gloss Note
George Lisle and Charles Lucas were Royalist commanders in the siege of Colchester during the English civil war, executed by firing squad without trial after their defeat and capture at Colchester in 1648. Pulter makes these two the subject of On those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas [Poem 7].
for Lucas or for Lisle,
2
Seing now the very Soule of this Sad Iſle
Seeing now the very soul of this
Gloss Note
Britain
sad isle
3
(At which trembling invades my Soule) is Dead
Critical Note
This parenthetical phrase seems to be placed, unusually, in the middle of the clause it modifies: “the very soul of this sad isle / … is dead.” That is, the primary sense appears to be that the speaker’s soul trembles at the death of the king, who is cast as Britain’s soul. However, the placement of the parenthetical phrase immediately after the reference to the king might also suggest that the speaker (or her soul) trembles–perhaps from fearful respect or awe–at the mere thought of her king, alive or dead.
(At which trembling invades my soul) is dead,
4
And with our Sacred Soveraign Spirit’s fled
And with our sacred sovereign spirit’s fled
to
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
5
To Heaven, where Smileing he looks down
To Heaven, where, smiling, he looks down
6
And Sees these Monsters Strugling for his Crown
And sees
Gloss Note
the king’s opponents in the civil war
these monsters struggling for his crown,
7
Whils’t his illustrious brows adorn’d with Glory
Whils’t his illustrious brows, adorned with glory,
8
Expects the finis of their Tragick Story
Expects the
Gloss Note
conclusion (a word often placed at the end of a book)
finis of their tragic story.
9
How could they doe it; Sure they were afraid
How could they do it? Sure they were afraid,
10
And therefore call’d in Jews into their Aid
And therefore called in
Critical Note
Citing Wilcher, Eardley indicates that it was common for Royalists to castigate their opponents as Jews, especially in the wake of the execution of Charles I, who was by analogy figured as Christ. See Robert Wilcher, Writing of Royalism, 1628–1660 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 267–69. In On those Two Unparalleled Friends [Poem 7], Pulter draws on the period’s common bigoted rhetoric by labeling anti-Royalists as Jews, Turks and atheists; yet she interestingly chooses as her authorial moniker Haddassah or Esther, a Jewish heroine.
Jews into their aid,
11
Who their Redeemer and their King betray’d
Who
Gloss Note
These terms conflate references to King Charles and Jesus Christ or God.
their redeemer and their king betrayed.
12
Oh Horrid villains could they doe this deed
O, horrid villains! Could they do this deed?
13
To
Physical Note
imperfectly erased ascender (as for “l”) visible above “n”
wound that
Physical Note
“e” appears crowded between surrounding letters
Heart for whom all Should bleed
To wound that heart for whom all should bleed?
14
And noble Capell let it bee thy Glory
And noble
Gloss Note
Arthur Capel (1604–49), first cousin to Pulter’s husband and royalist commander, fought a losing battle at Colchester with Lisle and Lucas; he was imprisoned but escaped, only to be betrayed and then beheaded at the behest of parliament, two months after the king’s execution (ODNB).
Capel, let it be thy glory,
15
Though dead to live in his unparrild Story
Though dead, to live in
Gloss Note
the king’s
his
Critical Note
The manuscript has “unparrild,” for “unparalleled”; we maintain the abbreviation for the meter.
unparall’d story.
16
Take it not ill that wee could Scarce deplore
Take it not ill that we could scarce
Gloss Note
lament
deplore
17
This Kingdoms loſs in thee when full before
This kingdom’s loss in thee,
Gloss Note
The speaker asks Capel not to be offended that they could not mourn his death, when they were already full of grief owing to the king’s recent execution.
when full before.
18
Thy loſs Heroick Kinsman wounded deep
Thy loss, heroic kinsman, wounded deep,
19
Had wee had power left to Sigh or weep
Had we had power left to sigh or weep;
20
Senceles wee were of private deſolation
Senseless we were of private desolation,
21
Just like a
Physical Note
letter with ascender (possibly “l”) blotted to cancel
fflou[?]d after an Inundation
Just like a flood after an
Gloss Note
overflow of water
inundation.
22
Thus
Physical Note
“e” appears written over (possibly after) earlier second “l”
Nile doth proudly Swell to looſe her name
Thus
Gloss Note
The Egyptian river “loses [its] name” when it joins the Mediterranean sea and ceases to be a river.
Nile doth proudly swell to lose her name
23
And bee involved in the Oceans fame
And be
Gloss Note
enveloped
involved in the ocean’s fame;
24
Thus Stately Volgas in the Caſpian tost
Thus stately
Gloss Note
The Russian river Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Volga’s in the Caspian tossed,
25
And Natures great deſign in thee is lost
And
Gloss Note
The speaker suggests that Nature’s plan, in relation to Capel’s fate, cannot be perceived but is nonetheless present (like the rivers dissolved within the ocean or sea).
Nature’s great design in thee is lost.
Soe
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
Facsimile Image Placeholder
26
Soe Mercury Surrounds the purest Gold
Gloss Note
The speaker suggests that mercury has a crucial relation to gold, as Capel does to Charles; the analogy is drawn from alchemy, in which mercury is a base element used to form the more valuable gold.
So Mercury surrounds the purest gold,
27
And Phœbus beams doth Hermes light infould
Gloss Note
The speaker carries on the analogy between more and less valuable forms of light (related to Charles and Capel): the sun’s beams (those of Phoebus, the sun god) enclose those of Hermes, a messenger god (also identified with Mercury).
And Phoebus’s beams doth Hermes’s light enfold,
28
Hideing his Raidient ffulgour from our Sight
Hiding his radiant
Gloss Note
dazzling brightness
fulgor from our sight;
29
Soe is thy Splenden^cie out Shin’d by light
So is thy
Gloss Note
Capel’s splendor
splendency outshined by light.
30
Thy pardon greatest Soul grant I preſume
Thy pardon,
Gloss Note
Charles I
greatest soul, grant; I presume
31
Not to ad odours to thy choice perfume
Gloss Note
The speaker assures Charles I that she is not trying to to improve his reputation through her praise of Capel.
Not to add odors to thy choice perfume.
32
I onely doe it to illustrate forth
I only do it to illustrate forth,
33
By his great vertue thy tranſcendent worth
By
Gloss Note
Capel’s
his great virtue,
Gloss Note
the king’s
thy transcendent worth.
34
Heroick Prince now Raiſ’d aboue their hate
Heroic prince, now raised above their hate,
35
Thou tramplest over Death and advers fate
Thou tramplest over death and adverse fate,
36
And as one fate your bodyes did diſſolve
And, as one fate
Gloss Note
the king’s two bodies, a legal principle which saw the king to unite, in his person, a mortal, natural body, and an immortal body politic (here treated as “dissolve[d]” through the dissolution of the monarchy through the execution of Charles I)
your bodies did dissolve,
37
Soe
Physical Note
corrected from “in Mortality”
imMortality Shall both involve
So immortality shall both
Gloss Note
envelop
involve.
38
Just as our Martyrd King his Spirit fled
Just
Gloss Note
when
as our martyred king his spirit fled,
39
The Spouſe of Christ hung down her virgin head
The
Gloss Note
a conventional term for the Christian church; see Ephesians, 5:22: “the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.”
spouse of Christ hung down her virgin head,
40
And Sighing Said my ffaiths defender’s
Physical Note
Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (those ending “fled,” “head,” and “Dead”).
Dead
And, sighing, said: “
Gloss Note
“Defender of the Faith” was among the official titles assumed by the monarchs of England at this time.
My faith’s defender’s dead.”
41
Then trickling tears down on her trembling breast
Then trickling tears down on her trembling breast,
42
Shee Said (Ay mee) when Shall I Safely Rest
She said, “Ay me! When shall I safely rest?”
43
At w:ch a voice from Heaven Said weep noe more
At which
Gloss Note
the voice of God
a voice from Heaven said: “Weep no more;
44
Nor my Heroick Champions Death Deplore
Nor my heroic
Gloss Note
i.e., Charles I
champion’s death
Gloss Note
lament
deplore.
45
A Second Charles Shall all thy Joyes
Physical Note
Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (“more,” “Deplore,” and “ Restore”).The next page, marked “66”, is blank.
Restore
A second Charles shall all thy joys restore.”
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Transcription
Title note

 Physical note

previous poem concludes immediately above on same page
Elemental Edition
Title note

 Critical note

In the manuscript, the title is “On the Same”: a reference to the previous poem in the manuscript, On the Horrid Murder of that Incomparable Prince, King Charles the First [Poem 14]; we have provided an alternate title for clarity. The number 2 in our title reflects the fact that Poem 11 is also titled On the Same [Poem 11] in the manuscript.
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

Elemental Edition

 Headnote

Grief management in the face of public atrocities is a relatively new industry, but Pulter tried her hand at it in this poem, as well as the one before it in the manuscript; both were written as responses to the king’s execution by political opponents. Like the last poem, this one also begins with a ban on grieving wrongly—in this case, by continuing to mourn the executions of three royalist commanders: George Lisle; Charles Lucas (both lamented in an earlier poem, On Those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas, Who Were Shot to Death at Colchester [Poem 7]); and Arthur Capel, Pulter’s cousin-in-law. The enormity of the king’s death monopolizes all possible sighs and tears, sparing none for even such remarkable, but still lesser, lights. Pulter allows herself, early on, an outburst of baffled rage at those she could only regard as assassins: “How could they do it?” But soon the poem grows boldly to encompass more than her isolated, frustrated voice, through her ventriloquy of a mourning national church answered by divine assurance of a “second Charles”: possibly a prophetic claim, depending when the poem was written.
Amplified Edition

 Headnote

Elemental Edition
Line number 1

 Gloss note

George Lisle and Charles Lucas were Royalist commanders in the siege of Colchester during the English civil war, executed by firing squad without trial after their defeat and capture at Colchester in 1648. Pulter makes these two the subject of On those Two Unparalleled Friends, Sir George Lisle and Sir Charles Lucas [Poem 7].
Elemental Edition
Line number 2

 Gloss note

Britain
Elemental Edition
Line number 3

 Critical note

This parenthetical phrase seems to be placed, unusually, in the middle of the clause it modifies: “the very soul of this sad isle / … is dead.” That is, the primary sense appears to be that the speaker’s soul trembles at the death of the king, who is cast as Britain’s soul. However, the placement of the parenthetical phrase immediately after the reference to the king might also suggest that the speaker (or her soul) trembles–perhaps from fearful respect or awe–at the mere thought of her king, alive or dead.
Elemental Edition
Line number 6

 Gloss note

the king’s opponents in the civil war
Elemental Edition
Line number 8

 Gloss note

conclusion (a word often placed at the end of a book)
Elemental Edition
Line number 10

 Critical note

Citing Wilcher, Eardley indicates that it was common for Royalists to castigate their opponents as Jews, especially in the wake of the execution of Charles I, who was by analogy figured as Christ. See Robert Wilcher, Writing of Royalism, 1628–1660 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 267–69. In On those Two Unparalleled Friends [Poem 7], Pulter draws on the period’s common bigoted rhetoric by labeling anti-Royalists as Jews, Turks and atheists; yet she interestingly chooses as her authorial moniker Haddassah or Esther, a Jewish heroine.
Elemental Edition
Line number 11

 Gloss note

These terms conflate references to King Charles and Jesus Christ or God.
Transcription
Line number 13

 Physical note

imperfectly erased ascender (as for “l”) visible above “n”
Transcription
Line number 13

 Physical note

“e” appears crowded between surrounding letters
Elemental Edition
Line number 14

 Gloss note

Arthur Capel (1604–49), first cousin to Pulter’s husband and royalist commander, fought a losing battle at Colchester with Lisle and Lucas; he was imprisoned but escaped, only to be betrayed and then beheaded at the behest of parliament, two months after the king’s execution (ODNB).
Elemental Edition
Line number 15

 Gloss note

the king’s
Elemental Edition
Line number 15

 Critical note

The manuscript has “unparrild,” for “unparalleled”; we maintain the abbreviation for the meter.
Elemental Edition
Line number 16

 Gloss note

lament
Elemental Edition
Line number 17

 Gloss note

The speaker asks Capel not to be offended that they could not mourn his death, when they were already full of grief owing to the king’s recent execution.
Transcription
Line number 21

 Physical note

letter with ascender (possibly “l”) blotted to cancel
Elemental Edition
Line number 21

 Gloss note

overflow of water
Transcription
Line number 22

 Physical note

“e” appears written over (possibly after) earlier second “l”
Elemental Edition
Line number 22

 Gloss note

The Egyptian river “loses [its] name” when it joins the Mediterranean sea and ceases to be a river.
Elemental Edition
Line number 23

 Gloss note

enveloped
Elemental Edition
Line number 24

 Gloss note

The Russian river Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Elemental Edition
Line number 25

 Gloss note

The speaker suggests that Nature’s plan, in relation to Capel’s fate, cannot be perceived but is nonetheless present (like the rivers dissolved within the ocean or sea).
Elemental Edition
Line number 26

 Gloss note

The speaker suggests that mercury has a crucial relation to gold, as Capel does to Charles; the analogy is drawn from alchemy, in which mercury is a base element used to form the more valuable gold.
Elemental Edition
Line number 27

 Gloss note

The speaker carries on the analogy between more and less valuable forms of light (related to Charles and Capel): the sun’s beams (those of Phoebus, the sun god) enclose those of Hermes, a messenger god (also identified with Mercury).
Elemental Edition
Line number 28

 Gloss note

dazzling brightness
Elemental Edition
Line number 29

 Gloss note

Capel’s splendor
Elemental Edition
Line number 30

 Gloss note

Charles I
Elemental Edition
Line number 31

 Gloss note

The speaker assures Charles I that she is not trying to to improve his reputation through her praise of Capel.
Elemental Edition
Line number 33

 Gloss note

Capel’s
Elemental Edition
Line number 33

 Gloss note

the king’s
Elemental Edition
Line number 36

 Gloss note

the king’s two bodies, a legal principle which saw the king to unite, in his person, a mortal, natural body, and an immortal body politic (here treated as “dissolve[d]” through the dissolution of the monarchy through the execution of Charles I)
Transcription
Line number 37

 Physical note

corrected from “in Mortality”
Elemental Edition
Line number 37

 Gloss note

envelop
Elemental Edition
Line number 38

 Gloss note

when
Elemental Edition
Line number 39

 Gloss note

a conventional term for the Christian church; see Ephesians, 5:22: “the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.”
Transcription
Line number 40

 Physical note

Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (those ending “fled,” “head,” and “Dead”).
Elemental Edition
Line number 40

 Gloss note

“Defender of the Faith” was among the official titles assumed by the monarchs of England at this time.
Elemental Edition
Line number 43

 Gloss note

the voice of God
Elemental Edition
Line number 44

 Gloss note

i.e., Charles I
Elemental Edition
Line number 44

 Gloss note

lament
Transcription
Line number 45

 Physical note

Curved bracket appears to right of this line and two above it (“more,” “Deplore,” and “ Restore”).The next page, marked “66”, is blank.
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