Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "The Fairest Thing in Mortal Eyes," Charles D'Orléans uses his poetic prowess to memorialize an idealized love, crafting a sentimental elegy that reverberates with the themes of mortality, devotion, and divine beauty. D'Orléans, a French nobleman and poet, is no stranger to themes of loss and yearning, and in this particular poem, his ability to bridge the mortal and the divine reaches its zenith.

The poem begins by envisioning a "minster" or church built by love itself to commemorate the departed lady. This sacred edifice is not made of stone but of emotions-its tapers are "burning sighs" and the service is "sung by doleful thought." In setting the stage with such metaphorical richness, D'Orléans establishes the depth of his loss as being beyond worldly expression. The motif of light recurs, whether it is the light of the tapers or the enlightenment of sorrow "painted o'er with tears." The physical tomb, in this imagined minster, is more than a sepulcher-it is an epitaph in itself, declaring the lady as "The fairest thing in mortal eyes."

The tomb above her is described as being made of "gold and sapphires blue," each material symbolizing a virtue. Gold stands for her "blessedness," while the blue sapphires signify her fidelity or "truth." These virtues are not just superficial adornments; they are the essence of her being, "livelily portrayed" when God crafted her "with both his hands." The religious undertones here are deliberate, elevating the lady's virtues to the level of divine attributes.

As the poem reaches its emotional zenith, the poet reveals the universality of his sentiment. The lady was so faultlessly virtuous that her absence on Earth suggests her presence in Paradise. The poet even ventures that she was "ta'en / By God to deck his paradise." This is a moving conception: a beauty and virtue so stunning that they not only stop mortal hearts but also catch the eye of God Himself.

Finally, D'Orléans confronts the inexorable fact of mortality. No matter how beautiful, virtuous, or loved, "all soon or late in death shall sleep." There's a resignation to this fact, a universal helplessness that makes the lady's divine attributes all the more poignant. While the notion of mortality often appears dark and cruel, D'Orléans treats it as the great equalizer-a fate that even "The fairest thing in mortal eyes" cannot escape.

At the crossroads of bereavement and veneration, D'Orléans crafts a memorial not merely of stone and words, but of a love transcendent, embodying virtues that resonate in both the terrestrial and the celestial. In grappling with themes of love, loss, and divine beauty, he leaves the reader with an intimate look at the passions that can elevate human experience to the realm of the sacred.

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