Too difficult for me...

[Alina P.]

Hello everybody!

This is my first message and I wonder if anyone can help me. I'm reading a novel in English and I feel I'm making good progress and understanding the text. However, the author quotes a poem and I can't understand the lines, perhaps because they sound rather 'archaic'. I've tried to find explanations or reading guides for this poem but it is probably not too popular and I haven't had any luck. Could someone provide an explanation or a translation into modern English, so that I can understand what it is about?

It is a fragment of 'The Shepheardes Calender' by Edmund Spenser:

Cvddie, for shame hold vp thy heauye head,
And let vs cast with what delight to chace:
And weary thys long lingring Phoebus race.
Whilome thou wont the shepheards laddes to leade,
In rymes, in ridles, and in bydding base:
Now they in thee, and thou in sleepe art dead?

Thank you in advance.

Alina

[MorpheusSandman]

Here's a rough translation:

For shame, Cuddie, hold up your heavy (saddened) head,
and let us cast (it) with some delight to chase (chasing after something, I guess)
And weary this long lingering Phoebus race (Phoebus is the sun, so it's basically saying "let's pass the long day in a fun chase". "Phoebus race" is a frequent term describing the sun's "race" across the sky).
In the past you used to lead the shepherd lads
In rhymes, riddles, and in budding base (not sure what budding base is),
Are they (those "rhymes, riddles," etc.) now dead in you, and now you're dead in sleep?

[OrphanPip]

Morpheus paraphrase is pretty good.

The shepherd Calendar is a cycle of 12 pastoral poems, organized by month, that are essentially an allegory for the development of a poet.

This one comes from October, and the basic plot of this poem is that Cuddy won't sing anymore (allegorically standing in for composing poetry) because he thinks poetry sucks because his audience gets all the pleasure and he gets nothing for his work. A philosophical conversation between Piers (who is the speaker in your quote asking Cuddy why he won't make poetry anymore), who defends the value of poetry as divine and capable of instilling immortality on the poet, and Cuddy, who thinks poetry is only a fleeting past-time, ensues.

Shepherds in pastoral poems just love discussing aesthetics in between herding sheep.

[Alina P.]

Wow, thank you so much, OrphanPip and MorpheusSandman. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to understand the meaning on my own. Your 'translation' and your explanation are so helpful!

Now I'm curious to know what Cuddy's reasons are --I can't promise I won't ask for your help again. ;)

Thanks again,

Alina