FREE ESSAY ON SIR JOHN SUCKLING

SIR JOHN SUCKLING

Sir John Suckling was an English, Cavalier poet who was born in Twickenham, Middlesex, on
February 10, 1609. His mother died in 1613, when he was four years of age. His father,
descendant of a prominent Norfolk family, was appointed Comptroller of James I's
household in 1622. Suckling matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1623, but left
without taking a degree in 1626.
Suckling inherited extensive estates after his father's death in 1627. At the age of
eighteen, he pursued a military and ambassadorial career in the Low Countries, and was
knighted as a result in 1630. He returned to the English court in 1632 where through his
wealth and charm he was known as an elegant and popular gallant and gamester, credited
with having invented the game of cribbage. (MacLean 252)
In 1637 Suckling wrote the prose work Account of Religion by Reason. His play, Aglaura,
was published in 1638 and performed twice for Charles I. The play had two different
endings, one tragic and one happy. Critics did not favor it, but it introduced some
wonderful lyrics, such as Why so pale and wan, fond lover? (Crofts 51) That same year,
Suckling's comedy The Goblins was published. It was much influenced by Shakespeare's The
Tempest and it is generally thought to be Suckling's best. (Andromeda Interactive Ltd.)
In 1639, Suckling recruited and equipped cavalry to help the King in Scotland. He was
ridiculed by London wits for the troops' elaborate uniforms (scarlet coats and plumed
hats) but was well-esteemed by the King. (Andromeda Interactive Ltd.) 
In 1640, Suckling sat in Parliament for Bramber and took part in an unsuccessful action
against the Scots. Suckling was involved in a royalist plan in 1641 to make use of the
army on behalf of Charles I. When Parliament ordered him to account for the movements he
made, Suckling fled through Dieppe to Paris. A few months later, he is said to have
committed suicide by taking poison. 
Most of Suckling's work first appeared in Fragmenta Aurea of 1646. As Thomas Crofts
writes:
Suckling's verse, of course, smacks of the court: it is witty, decorous, sometimes
naughty; all requisites for the courtier poet. But these qualities alone would not have
sufficed to perpetuate his memory. It should be remembered that the court swarmed with
now-forgotten versifiers. Suckling has his own voice, a deft conversational ease mixed at
times with a certain hauteur or swagger, which qualities were not incompatible with his
high birth and military occupation.... Though his oeuvre is comparatively small, Suckling
is an exemplary lyric poet, as well as one of the most vivid personalities of his age.
(Crofts 51) 
As was mentioned in many of the biographies that were written about him, Suckling was an
exemplary writer and poet. The two pieces of his work that I want to focus on in this
paper are Sonnet I and Sonnet II. My purpose is to analyze the piece and explain how it
relates to events in his life, or just how it relates to his personality and the type of
person that he is. 
Sonnet I is a piece that focuses on Suckling himself, like most of his work does. It is
about Suckling and the fact that he is no longer drawn to a certain woman the way he used
to be drawn to her. There was a time, though, where he was infatuated with her. In this
piece, he ponders the stages of life, mainly the sexual stages of human life.
Sonnet I
1  Dost see how unregarded now
2 That piece of beauty passes?
3 There was a time when I did vow
4 To that alone;
5 But mark the fate of faces;
6 The red and white works now no more on me,
7 Than if it could not charm, or I not see.
8 And yet the face continues good,
9 And I still have desires,
10 Am still the selfsame flesh and blood,
11 As apt to melt,
12 And suffer from those fires;
13 Oh, some kind of power unriddle where it lies,
14 Whether my heart be faulty, or her eyes.
15 She every day her man does kill,
16 And I as often die;
17 Neither her power, then, nor my will
18 Can question'd be,
19 What is the mystery?
20 Sure beauty's empires, like to greater states,
21 Have certain periods set, and hidden fates. (Crofts 52-53) 
Lines 1 and 2 of the piece pose a question to someone. It could be to any reader, 
or to a certain person, I'm not exactly sure. The question being asked is if the reader
notices that Suckling is disregarding the piece of beauty (or woman)? When
he puts the word now in line 1, he is helping us understand that he hasn't always
disregarded the woman, this is a new thing.
Lines 3 through 7 explain that there was a time when Suckling vowed himself to the woman
and was in love with her, but as he says in the fate of faces, beauty in a sense fades
and is not the most important thing anymore. A relationship is not a strong relationship
if it relies solely on beauty to keep it alive. The red and white that he talks about
refers to what once was thought to be a perfect complexion. We could think of this as a
form of makeup that is put on the face in order to enhance beauty. The makeup does not
work for him anymore, and her and her beauty aren't of such importance to him anymore.
Lines 8 through 12 talk about the fact that Suckling still has desires and is still the
same person, that is apt to melt from the desires he has for her. The desires he has,
though, are not as often and not as strong as they used to be. All humans have desires,
it is a natural thing.
Lines 13 and 14 make known the fact that Suckling is confused by his weakening desires
for the woman. He is not sure if his heart is working right. He has no explanation for
how he is feeling.
Lines 15 through 19 talk about the power that the woman has over men. Her beauty gives
her the power to control men in a sense, and have them desire her. He finds the power a
mystery and doesn't understand why men's wills weaken because of a woman's beauty. He
understands, though, that his will has and will be weakened because of a woman.
Lines 20 and 21 talk about the fact that beauty, like other things in life, has certain
periods of effectiveness and growth that are set. Beauty has a fate and most of the time,
the fate for beauty is to age and fade. Internal beauty is the beauty that stays longer
and is the more important one, for it is true and cannot be enhanced with makeup.
Sonnet I can honestly relate to many peoples' lives. Suckling is just writing about his
own experience of falling slowly out of infatuation with a woman. Her beauty no longer
appeals to him as strongly as it used to and he wants to know why. It is a mystery to
him. In the biographies written about him, words like charming, elegant, popular, and
handsome, have been used, so I'm sure that Suckling had many lovers and many
relationships. He was well known and definitely well respected. Knowing of him, I can
understand why he may write a piece like this. Many humans don't understand the feelings
they feel and why they feel them. There is a pattern of nature, in which all things grow
and die, and attraction is included in that pattern. 
Sonnet II is a continuation of the subject matter from Sonnet I. It still deals with
Suckling's confusion about his feelings for a woman whose beauty he used to adore, and
the fact that those feelings are fading. 
Sonnet II
1  Of thee (kind boy) I ask no red and white,
2 To make up my delight;
3 No odd becoming graces,
4 Black eyes, or little know-not-whats, in faces;
5 Make me but mad enough, give me good store
6 Of love for her I court:
7 I ask no more,
8 'Tis love in love that makes the sport.
9 There's no such thing as that we beauty call,
10 It is mere cozenage all;
11 For though some long ago
12 Lik'd certain colours mingled so and so,
13 That doth not tie me now from choosing new:
14 If I a fancy take
15 To black and blue,
16 That fancy doth it beauty make.
17 'Tis not the meat, but 'tis the appetite
18 Makes eating a delight,
19 And if I like one dish
20 More than another, that a pheasant is;
21 What in our watches, that in us is found;
22 So to the height and nick
23 We up be wound,
24 No matter by what hand or trick. (Crofts 53)
In lines 1 through 5 of this piece, Suckling is stating that he is not asking for red and
white, being the perfect completion and temperament of a woman. Red and white do not
delight him. He does not need any graces or little games in a relationship. He basically
wants a wholesome relationship that is not based on anything shallow or made up. Beauty
is no longer the most important thing to him. 
In lines 6 through 8, Suckling is explaining that he will date a woman because he loves
her, not because of what she looks like. When you are in love, and feel pure love, that
is what is important. It is not important how beautiful the woman is, your feelings for
her are what is important. 
In lines 9 and 10, Suckling is talking about how he feels about beauty. He feels that
there is no such thing as real beauty, for beauty is deceitful. Beauty can trick our
minds. 
In lines 11 through 16, Suckling is talking about how in the past he has chosen women who
were beautiful as partners, but now he has learned from his experiences. Now he may take
a fancy to black and blue, which are quite different from red and white. If red and white
are supposed to be the perfect combination, then black and blue are definitely not
perfect. He doesn't care, though, if the woman is not beautiful, because as the saying
goes, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The only thing that matters is that he thinks
she's beautiful. He could care less if everyone else thinks she is ugly. He is looking
more for the inner beauty of the woman.
In lines 17 through 21, Suckling is using an analogy to explain what makes beauty
important to most, by comparing it to food. He is basically saying that lust makes the
beauty of the person, just as hunger makes the beauty of the food we are about to eat.
After you have a relationship with the person, or after you've eaten the food, they don't
seem as special as before you acquired them. You notice flaws about them that you didn't
notice before. You are so caught up in feelings, that you don't look for what is truly
important. Love is truly important. 
In lines 22 through 24, Suckling sums up his idea that we are all tricked at one time or
another in our lives by beauty. Beauty is the tricker in this sonnet, it deceives all of
us.
Sonnet II can again relate to most people's lives. We all have our own experiences with
being deceived by beauty. Sometimes our wish to be deceived is as strong as our desire
for beauty. Suckling shared with us a very important lesson that he learned in his life.
After many relationships in his past, he has learned that inner beauty and love are way
more important than outer beauty. Outer beauty can fade, but inner beauty and love are
real. He is expressing how he feels regardless of what other people think of his
thoughts. He is also expressing this during a time when beauty mattered a whole lot to
many. It has not been recognized until recently by many that beauty isn't always so
important, so he was going out on a limb and taking a chance on how others would react to
this piece. John Suckling definitely had his own voice, as Thomas Crofts stated, and he
made sure that it was heard.