New Prince New Pomp Robert Southwell OverviewContext n

New Prince, New Pomp Robert Southwell

Overview/Context n n Robert Southwell was a very religious man. He was a Jesuit priest who was martyred for his faith in 1595 and was later made a saint. Southwell wrote New Prince, New Pomp and many other poems whilst in prison, waiting to be hanged for his beliefs. New Prince, New Pomp is a Christian nativity poem written in adoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Southwell’s poetry is often euphuistic and filled with antithesis and paradox. He uses imaginative imagery to explore religious emotion.

Form Statement Evidence Analysis Quatrains of abcb rhyme and alternating tetrameter and trimeter Verse one Simple, repetitive structure which reflects the humility of Christ’s birth. This form suggests the direct, honest truth of Southwell’s beliefs Enjambment ‘An orient pearl is often found / In depth of dirty mire. ’ The run-on line here encourages to search on to the next line of the poem to complete the metaphor, just as Southwell is encouraging us to unearth Christ’s majesty from his humble origins Caesura ‘Behold, a seely…’ ‘With joy approach, O…’ The effect of the mid-line pause is to foreground the imperatives and allow the significance of the instruction to be fully absorbed

Syntax Statement Evidence Analysis Simple sentence Verse one types Direct style, used to convey simple, honest truths. Imperative mood ‘Behold’ ‘Do homage’ Southwell demands we take notice and respect Christ’s birth Declarative mood ‘The prince himself is come from heaven’ Southwell conveys his personal convictions of religious truth. Exclamatory tone ‘Alas, a piteous sight!’ Reveals his strength of feeling, both admiration and despair at the arrival of Christ Parallelism ‘Weigh not his crib…Weigh not his mother’s…’ Same syntactical pattern is repeated to reinforce Southwell’s message

Lexis Statement Evidence Analysis Adjectives ‘seely’, ‘tender’, ‘homely’, ‘piteous’ Creates semantic field of humility and innocence Present tense verbs ‘trembling lies’ ‘the inns are full’ Present tense verbs place the reader in the stable with the newborn child Archaisms ‘seely’ ‘wight’ ‘weed’ Same adjective ‘seely’ meaning ‘pitiable’ is used to describe both Christ and the animals in the stable Paradox Stable…prince’s court’ Crib…chair of state’ Poor attire…royal liveries’ ‘humble pomp’ Southwell is famous for his use of antithesis and paradox, which he uses here to highlight the antithetical nature of the servant king Demonstrative ‘This stable’ determiner ‘This crib’ Places the reader in the context of the nativity scene

Imagery Statement Evidence Analysis Pathetic Fallacy ‘in freezing winter night’ Southwell uses the weather to emphasise the metaphorical coldness of Christ’s reception Metaphors ‘An orient pearl is often found in depth of dirty mire’ ‘The stable is a prince’s court’ These metaphors paint a picture of Christ’s worth despite his humble beginnings. Connotations ‘in crib to shroud his head’ Foreshadows Christ’s eventual sacrifice on the cross.

Sound Statement Evidence Analysis Plosive alliteration ‘New prince, new Emotive tone reflects Southwell’s pomp’ passion for this miracle ‘parcel of his pomp’ ‘pomp is prized’ Aspirant alliteration ‘highly prize his humble pomp’ A breathless final command which encourages the reader to embrace the paradoxical nature of Christ’s advent Sibilant alliteration ‘Alas, a piteous sight!’ The gentle tones of hushed reverence for the new born babe, yet tinged with sadness for his lowly and uncomfortable birth