Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover? is a short lyric poem by the English poet John Suckling. Suckling was the most famous member of the Cavalier poets, a group associated with the court of King Charles I. The Cavalier poets made use of the traditions of courtly love and gallantry. But they did so with a light touch, applying wit, flippancy, and cynicism to conventional romantic subjects.
“Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?” was first published in 1638 in Suckling’s play Aglaura. The play was first performed in 1637, when the lyric was set to music and sung by the character Orsames. The song was extremely popular and has been set to music several times.
Why so pale and wan, fond lover? Prithee, why so pale? Will, when looking well can’t move her, Looking ill prevail? Prithee, why so pale? Why so dull and mute, young sinner? Prithee, why so mute? Will, when speaking well can’t win her, Saying nothing do ‘t? Prithee, why so mute? Quit, quit for shame! This will not move; This cannot take her. If of herself she will not love, Nothing can make her: The devil take her!
The sentiments of this poem contrast with the noble and self-sacrificing spirit of courtly love. Suckling mocks the image of the long-suffering suitor, wondering if “looking ill” is a strategy for winning the lady. He counsels against “mute” acceptance of disappointment in love, pointing out that “speaking well” hasn’t worked. This verse does not idealize the lady, as much conventional verse of the 1500’s and 1600’s had done. Rather, it ends with the most unromantic, flippant message of all—”The devil take her!”
Suckling’s rejection of the rules of idealized courtly love is also a rejection of the verse that elevated them. His language is simple and direct, as opposed to the elaborate diction and lofty sentiments of conventional love poetry. The English love sonnet, with its roots in the Italian sonnets of the poet Petrarch, had reached its height of popularity by the early 1600’s. The elegant description of love’s trials became the standard subject of poetry during this period. Suckling, however, dismissed both the subject and the form.
For more information about Suckling, see Suckling, Sir John. See also English literature (Metaphysical and Cavalier poets).
