The departure is
the occasion for the meditation that comprises the poem, which is a personal
consideration of the speaker’s relationship with the departing man. Ordinarily, the poem
implies, a departure (usually for a long period of time) gives those left behind the
publicly sanctioned opportunity for sorrow and grief. That privilege, which is given to
ordinary persons as a matter of right, is not given to the speaker, whose position
denies her the customary sadness of a departure. Thus she begins the poem, “I grieve and
dare not show my discontent,” and continues to discuss these antithetic circumstances
throughout the poem. It is clear that the royal speaker is obligated to hide her
feelings because of her elevated political status, which she considers a condition of
life which only the “end of things” (line 12) and death (line 18) can ever stop.
Ironically, because of obvious political dangers involved in revealing her feelings
publicly, the speaker’s supreme royal power weakens her in matters of the heart.
Monday, September 3, 2012
What is the occasion of Queen Elizabeth's poem "On Monsieur’s Departure"?
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