Loss of Good Name by Edward de Vere
- Alisha Webster
- Sep 13, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 23, 2020
Presented by Alisha Zahra Shahzeli.
Fram’d in the front of forlorn hope past all recovery,
I stayless stand, to abide the shock of shame and infamy.
My life, through ling’ring long, is lodg’d in lair of loathsome ways;
My death delay’d to keep from life the harm of hapless days.
My sprites, my heart, my wit and force, in deep distress are drown’d;
The only loss of my good name is of these griefs the ground.
And since my mind, my wit, my head, my voice and tongue are weak,
To utter, move, devise, conceive, sound forth, declare and speak,
Such piercing plaints as answer might, or would my woeful case,
Help crave I must, and crave I will, with tears upon my face,
Of all that may in heaven or hell, in earth or air be found,
To wail with me this loss of mine, as of these griefs the ground.
Help Gods, help saints, help sprites and powers that in the heaven do dwell,
Help ye that are aye wont to wail, ye howling hounds of hell;
Help man, help beasts, help birds and worms, that on the earth do toil;
Help fish, help fowl, that flock and feed upon the salt sea soil,
Help echo that in air doth flee, shrill voices to resound,
To wail this loss of my good name, as of these griefs the ground.
Synopsis
Loss of Good Name, written by Edward de Vere is a poem where the persona uses hyperbole and extravagates an (unstated) indignity that has befallen them. They then express their weaknesses and crumble, crying out for 'Help' from the world around them to mourn their loss and grievance.
Lessons
I chose this poem as I believe it encapsulates the 'Fallen' in 'Fallen Heroes'. First, it's safe to say that everyone on this planet has faced failure or loss at some point in their lives. In the first stanza, the persona is explaining their initial reaction to 'Loss of Good Name', acknowledging the shame and infamy which has befallen them, and later on it appears that the shock has really overcome them. In this poem, the persona might be going through the last few Stages of grief.
When we're down in the dumps, most people will definitely reach out to a trusted, or loved one for help and/or comfort. Naturally, these supporters will try to provide other initiatives and try to raise our spirits again, which may not always go so well. Many disasters running rampant nowadays such as the pandemic, has prised the dark side of this positivity, which is termed "Toxic Positivity", where one who initially might have good intentions go so far as to even disregard the negatives in favour of being "Happy" and "Always looking on the bright side."
This is not an appropriate way to address someone who is grieving, which I will explain in a simple analogy; imagine a close friend of yours has lost someone they loved dearly, you would not tell them to stop crying and move on- that life will get better immediately. Instead, in times of weakness, taking some time off to cry and express one's burdens is often what relieves one from that burden the quickest.
To see the light, you need to address the darkness first, not pretend it isn't there.
Thus, we need to remember that it is alright to step back and wallow in the negatives. Crying, sobbing is a sign of mercy, it shows compassion. Simply wiping your eyes and moving on like nothing happened immediately? No human acts that way, only robots do.
However, what is a Hero's fall like?
For a strong person to fall, it would take a strong force to take them down. Which is why the Fallen Heroes theme is important, as it reminds one that every person's struggles are different; but some are hurt but stand stronger than others. In particular, heroes, people who are looked up to, bear the brunt of pressure to stay perfect. But, we forget that we are all prone to making slip ups. In the poem, the persona cowers in their despair and uses hyperbole to express his intense grief.
Even so, the most important thing to do in the end is to get up, and Rise Up again; which brings me to the next poem in line; Carry On by Robert Service, presented by Nor Alia Farhanah.
Poet Background
Edward de Vere; also known as the Earl of Oxford is one of the poets eligible for the 'Shakespeare Authorship Theory'.
Due to public doubts that the famous Shakespeare was capable of writing inspiring, innovative works of art due to his humble background, poetry enthusiasts claim that the man, Shakespeare himself is a cover up for other authors to express their thoughts and perspectives within a politic-driven world, undercover.
Edward de Vere is one of the strongest candidates for the 'Shakespeare Authorship' theory, theorists claim, as many of his writing holds similar usage of writing techniques and style.
The only looming fact that cripples this theory is due to Shakespeare's fame arising around the time of Edward de Vere's death. We know that dead people do not speak, much less write poetry from beyond the grave, yet the similarities in their writing styles still stand.
So it comes down to; Either Shakespeare draws much inspiration from Edward de Vere's work, or we have two or more men collaborating behind the scenes.
References
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