Weep you no more, sad fountains;
What need you flow so fast?
Look how the snowy mountains
Heaven's sun doth gently waste.
But my sun's heavenly eyes
View not your weeping,
That now lies sleeping
Softly, now softly lies
Sleeping.
Sleep is a reconciling,
A rest that peace begets:
Doth not the sun rise smiling
When fair at even he sets?
Rest you then, rest, sad eyes,
Melt not in weeping,
While she lies sleeping
Softly, now softly lies
Sleeping.
Notes
The author of these words is not in fact known with any certainty but their first recorded use was by John Dowland as lyrics for on of his lute pieces in the 16th century.
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
-
poems
From guest kayla urbanovsky (contact)
i really like this poem but i think it could be reworded alittle. thats just my oppion!!!!!!!
-
-
For Guest Kayla Urbanovsky
After four centuries it would be surprising if we couldn't find a more understandable wording for our pleasure. However in his own time "the boy did good"
-
-
pitiful but wonderful
From guest margaret (contact)
this is the most wonderful and interesting poem ive ever read im also apoet in the 8th grade. i write about whats going on, how i feel and what people do each day -
A maternal interpretation...
From guest Nancy G (contact)
Being a mother, I had a completely different interpretation of this (I am singing it as composed by Roger Quilter - the words are identical). I see it as a lullaby to a young girl who is very sad and upset and can't calm down enough to get to sleep. The line "sleep is a reconciling, a rest that peace begets" says to me that she is probably over-reacting, perhaps because she is tired (over-tired?), and that if she can just sleep, she will awaken to a fresh, more logical perspective on the situation. I have seen this happen so often with my two daughters that perhaps I read in it what is most familiar to me! But it makes the song work for me and I do find it to be quite like a lullaby, musically - and the loudest dynamic marking is an mp! -
Wrong author
From guest Lark (contact)
The author of this poem is anonymous. John Dowland was a composer. He set this poem to music, he didn't write it.
MOD REPLY
Thank you for that. The poem notes have been ammended to reflect this -
Crying lover
I offer a somewhat different approach:
A man is awake and cries while his beloved spouse is sleeping.
He talks to his own eyes (sad fountains), telling them to stop crying, asking why they cry so hard (flow so fast). Just like the sun gently wastes (melts) snowy mountains his spouse/wife/ (i.e. his own sun) makes him – who maybe used to be cold as ice? - melt as well (cry). But her blue eyes (my sun’s heavenly eyes) don’t see his eyes weeping, because she is sleeping softly.
If one can find peace, then one can sleep and rest (she seems to have found that peace) and a good night’s sleep will be reconciling (has there been a quarrel before?). Just like the sun sets fair in the evening but will smile when it rises up in the morning, the same probably holds true for her, the sleeping spouse, who will smile again when she wakes up. So again he talks to his own eyes, suggesting they should rest, and not melt in weeping, while she lies there, sleeping softly, not even noticing his weeping.
The only indication of something gone wrong (besides the weeping) is the word “reconciling”, which implies that there must have been a quarrel of some sort. Maybe she didn’t even notice there was a quarrel at all and so she is at peace. Maybe she said something that hurt him, and didn’t notice. By asking his eyes why they cry, he sounds almost surprised, that he is weeping, he doesn’t necessarily feel a big pain. With his intellect he wants to stop crying, rest and get up in the morning as if nothing happened; he wants to stop “melting”. But somehow she managed to touch him so deeply that his feelings are exposed.
I’m unsure about the word “fair” in the context of the sun setting fair in the evening as opposed to rising smiling in the morning. Maybe she was fair in the sense of “speaking openly”, e.g. about her plans, thoughts or desires? And while to her speaking openly is a valuable, loving thing to do, he was deeply hurt by what she said? -
Painted picture
From guest Ellen (contact)
Imagine that someone you love very dearly has just passed away. This person was in great pain before they died, and it hurt you to watch them in such pain. One they passed away, you hurt beause that person was gone, yet you felt comforted knowing that he/she doesn't have to feel any more pain, and is in a better place. When I read this poem the beginning said to me... Weep you no more sad fountains (Don't cry anymore) What need you flow so fast? (What requires you to leave me so quickly?) Look how the snowy mountains, heaven's sun doth gently waste? ( think about...look how the sun wastes all that snow on that mountain...when it could have cultivated it) But my sun's heavenly eyes, viw not your weeping. (He doesn't know that you have so much to live for) That now lies sleeping (Now you have passed on) Sofly now, softly lies sleeping. (Quietly she/he has passed on) Sleep is a reconciling (reconciling is another word for reunion) a rest that peace begets. (peace causes you to relax) Doth not the sun rise smiling, when fair at even he sets? (Does not the sun rise joyful when pale he sets...sets is another word for unchanging.)Rest you, then rest sad eyes (Be at peace, you don't have to ry in pain anymore) Melt not in weeping. (Melt/dissolve in my opinion means that the person didn't have to pass away in anguish because of pain could also be about you not having to break out into tears). That is what I believe the poem is about! -
-
From guest jagen (contact)
he is saying that while something has happened that is terrible tomorrow will be better -
-
not a happy poem
would suggest rereading the poem. There is a lot of sorrow in this--note the number of times weeping/sleeping is used. Also, "but my sun's heavenly eyes" lead to a conclusion of sorrow. Something is very wrong; a change has occurred. -
-
Not sad but hopeful
The poet goes on to say
Doth not the sun rise smiling
It is an exhortation to leave the gloom (sadness) behind and look forward to the dawn light (hope).
Or as someone else put it much later on
Always look on the bright side . . .
-
-
Interpretation woes
From guest Jennifer (contact)
OK, so this poem basically says "Cheer up, tomorrow will be better". Would someone like to have a go at giving a more detailed description of how the poet paints this picture? Thanks -
different versions?
From guest Megan (contact)
Are there different versions of this poem because I know it as: Why doth you flow so fast? Instead of: What need you flow so fast? which I think makes more sense. -
-
When poems are reprinted in books and anthologies differences do creep in. Sometimes a poet will change the words they originally wrote and sometimes editors make errors. Sometimes when poems are set to music the words are altered to make them fit more readily with the tune.
All of this makes it difficult to be certain of the absolutely correct words but we do endeavour to ensure that the words we used are the final version prefered by the writer.
-
Adding your comment:
1 - 5 of 5
