Milton's Sonnet 13

Sonnet 13 by John Milton

XIII

To Mr. H. Lawes, on his Aires.

Harry whose tuneful and well measur'd Song
First taught our English Musick how to span
Words with just note and accent, not to scan
With Midas Ears, committing short and long;
Thy worth and skill exempts thee from the throng,
With praise enough for Envy to look wan;
To after age thou shalt be writ the man,
That with smooth aire couldst humor best our tongue
Thou honour'st Verse, and Verse must send her wing
To honour thee, the Priest of Phoebus Quire
That tun'st their happiest lines in Hymn or Story
Dante shall give Fame leave to set thee higher
Then his Casella, whom he woo'd to sing
Met in the milder shades of Purgatory.








Harry whose tuneful and well measur'd Song
First taught our English Musick how to span
Words with just note and accent, not to scan
With Midas Ears, committing short and long;

This poem was written as an introduction to Henry Lawes' 1648 arrangement of the Psalms, which was dedicated to King Charles. Lawes was a music instructor and close friend of John Milton. The first section of the poem is about Lawes being the first to write a truly musical English song. His music was said to preserve the poets' rhythm and stress patterns when he composed it. The scanning is picking up those patterns and rhythm that he wrote them with. According to myth, Midas lacked the ability to recognize these, so Apollo gave him the ears of a donkey. The short and long in this stanza is short syllables being combined with long notes.



Thy worth and skill exempts thee from the throng, With praise enough for Envy to look wan; To after age thou shalt be writ the man, That with smooth aire couldst humor best our tongue

This stanza is saying that Lawes' skill as a writer and composer distinguishes him from the rest of the writers of his time. The praise he received was enough to "bruise" other writers with envy. After his time is over, he will be remembered as one of the best, who could write in a manner most appealing to singers and listeners.



Thou honour'st Verse, and Verse must send her wing To honour thee, the Priest of Phoebus Quire That tun'st their happiest lines in Hymn or Story

In this stanza, it is said that his ability to write not only pleases listeners, but brings honor upon the verse in which the psalm is written. It is work worthy of the choir of Apollo, the god of music and poetry.



Dante shall give Fame leave to set thee higher Then his Casella, whom he woo'd to sing Met in the milder shades of Purgatory.

The last stanza is a reference to Dante and his entrance to purgatory, where he ran into his friend, Casella, a friend who was a musician. Dante requests a song played, and Casella plays Purgatorio, which was Dante's work put to music by the musician.