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.