The Argument

Many people seem to view these pieces as pretty tunes with no relationship to each other. To me, there are three characters, and a plot at least as well defined as the ones in Schubert's song cycles.

The way I see it, the point-of-view character in all but one of the songs (Leave now mine eyes lamenting) is male, and at the beginning of the cycle he is in love with Flora. (When lo by break of morning, Sweet nymphe come to thy lover)

Then, he meets Phyllis at a party, and goes off into the woods with her. (I goe before my darling, Miraculous loves wounding, Loe heere another love)

Flora finds them together and is upset. (Leave now mine eyes lamenting)

She dumps him (we never hear of Phyllis again, so presumably she loses interest when Flora shows up), and he spends the rest of the book complaining about how cruel she is. (Fyre and lightning, Flora wilt thou torment mee, In nets of golden wyres, Thou that art so cruell, I should for greife and anguish)

When I was first playing these pieces, it occurred to me to wonder what Shakespeare was doing in 1595, the year they were published, and the answer turns out to be that that was the year A Midsummer Night's Dream was first performed.

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On 29 Sep 1999, 12:20.
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Last modified: Wed Sep 29 17:18:02 EDT 1999
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