Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Whan Fresshe Phebus Day of Seynt Valentyn" by Charles D'Orléans presents a vivid interplay between nature's renewal and human emotional stagnation. Set on Saint Valentine's Day, the poem captures the contrasting experiences of the speaker and the birds, emblematic of lovers, who gather to celebrate their unions. The narrator remains locked in "heavynes" and "troubled thought," a stark emotional landscape juxtaposed against the brightness of Phoebus' (the Sun god) "golden chariot" and the birds' joyous songs.

The poem starts with the image of the dawn, where Phoebus' chariot brings light into the speaker's room. The light serves as a metaphorical and literal wake-up call, disrupting his sleep and forcing upon him the reality of a new day. However, this is no ordinary day; it's Saint Valentine's Day, traditionally associated with love and partnership. The brightness that invades his "chambre" becomes a glaring reminder of his own emotional darkness. While the sun heralds renewal and the birds are actively engaged in the rituals of courtship, the narrator remains steeped in "hevynes," underscoring the sharp emotional dissonance between the human and natural worlds.

The birds that gather to celebrate are not just any birds; they are a "host," suggesting both a multitude and an almost religious solemnity to their gathering. They sing "requests in Latin," further elevating their calls to the level of liturgical chant. In their actions, nature itself seems to be participating in the rituals of Saint Valentine's Day. For these creatures, it is a day of unambiguous joy and fulfillment, a day to find "mates to wrap them in their winges soft." Their happiness is magnified by the contrast it forms with the speaker's state, making the birds' songs intolerable to him. He says, "I could not slepe in my distress / Upon my bed so hard of troubled thought." The discordance he feels is made palpable by his inability to sleep, to find even a temporary respite from his suffering.

As the speaker observes the birds, he erupts into a moment of anguish. He curses his "destyny" and points out the unfairness of nature, which has granted the birds "mates for your great happiness" while he mourns "the death of my mistress." His outburst is tinged with irony. It's a day devoted to love, and yet his own love has ended in loss. He accuses the birds of being ungrateful to Nature, even as he himself can find no comfort in the natural world that surrounds him.

The poem ends on a somber note, reinforcing the gap between public joy and private sorrow. The speaker remarks, "All's well for him this day that hath caught / A valentyne that lovyth him as I gesse," admitting that the happiness of finding a love partner is forever closed to him. He has no "valentyne," and thus he finds his only comfort "Upon my bed so hard of troubled thought."

"Whan Fresshe Phebus Day of Seynt Valentyn" serves as a poignant meditation on the complexities of love and loss, set against the backdrop of a world in which such complexities seem irrelevant. D'Orléans uses Saint Valentine's Day as a lens through which to scrutinize the human condition, illustrating how certain emotional realities are immutable, transcending even the most powerful natural symbols of renewal and hope.

POEM TEXT:

That I could not slepe in my distress
Upon my bed so hard of troubled thought.

Then I began to rain tears from mine eyne
Upon my pilowe, to wayle and cursen oft
My destyny and 'gan my look enclyne
Upon my these birds, and seid, "ye birds, you ought
To thanke Nature (whereas it suiteth me nought)
That you have mates for your great happiness
While I grieve for the death of my mistress
Upon my bed so hard of troubled thought.

All's well for him this day that hath caught
A valentyne that lovyth him as I gesse
Alone, to me that comfort I address
Upon my bed so hard of troubled thought.

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