Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick Summary, Analysis and Questions

Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick

Introduction

โ€˜Delight in Disorderโ€™ is an exquisite poem of English literature by the Cavalier poet Robert Herrick (1591-1674). The poem attracts the heart of every reader by its lyrical quality and harmonious end rhyme. In the poem, the poet expresses his feelings of extreme happiness derived from the disordered dress of a woman.

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Let us now discuss the โ€˜Cavalier Poetโ€™. Actually, the world โ€œCavalierโ€™ derived from โ€˜Carolusโ€™, the Latin version of Charles. The reign of Charles I (1625-1649) was the time of โ€˜English Civil Warโ€™, fought between the supporters of the king known a โ€˜Cavaliersโ€™ and the supporters of the parliament known as โ€œRound headโ€. However, a group of lyric poets associated with the โ€˜Cavaliersโ€™ are called the Cavalier poets, for example, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Sir Johan Suckling and Thomas Carew. These poets are also called the โ€˜Sons of Benโ€™ as they were admirers and followers of Ben Jonson. They usually wrote short lyric poems, generally in a lighter vein, gay, trivial, witty and often licentious. The main object of their poems was the โ€˜woman and beautyโ€™.

Robert Herrick is, indeed, a Cavalier poet. Because his poetry especially โ€˜Delight In Disorderโ€™ bears all the characteristics of a Cavalier poetโ€™s writings. If we look into the poem, we must get the evidence in favour of it. The poem โ€˜Delight in Disorderโ€™ is notably short in length and very much witty as well as licentious in theme. It deals with the description of a disorderly dressed lady. Most probably, the name of the lady is โ€˜Juliaโ€™. We, very beginning of the poem, see that the poet traces out a disorder in the lawn that is thrown carelessly about the shoulders. Says the poet; โ€œA Lawn about the shoulders thrown Into a fine distraction:โ€

The lawn should be attached with shoulders but the ladyโ€™s one is free from her neck. This is the source of joy for the poet. Next, the poet finds another disorder in her stomacher. As the poet describes:

โ€œAn erring lace which here and there

Enthrals the crimson stomacher.โ€

Thirdly, the poet gets one more disorder in her cuff which is used carelessly in ladyโ€™s hand. As the poet narrates:

โ€œA cuff neglectful and thereby;

Ribbons to flow confusedly.โ€

Fourthly, the poet notices a disorder in ladyโ€™s petticoat. In the poetโ€™s speech:

โ€œA winning wave, deserving note,

In the tempestuous petticoat;โ€

The petticoat should be well attached to the body, but the petticoat of the lady is waiving in the air. The poet thinks it is a delightful meter.

โ€œI see a wild civility;โ€“

Do more bewitch me, than when art

Is too precise in every part.โ€

The poet comments on the clothing of a woman and highlights the particular garments, noting their imperfections. Yet, he still admires the pieces and the woman herself. At the end of the poem, the poet reveals that he prefers these imperfections over a โ€œprecise artโ€.

The poetโ€™s message could be deciphered as beauty can be found amidst the flaws of both humanity and art. Imperfections are more alluring and powerful than the illusion of perfection.

The poem has an irregular rhyme scheme, highlights the disorder and suggests imperfection within art.

The poet also uses diction to enhance the feeling of disorder. He also implies that clothing, like art, is more appealing when it is not perfect. This highlights the importance of a unique self โ€“ expression.

โ€œAn erring lace, which here and there enthrals the crimson stomacherโ€ The poet used personification to describe the lace, which is described to wrap around the ladyโ€™s stomach.

The clothing imagery conveys the quality of disorder and enhances the idea that flawed art can also be beautiful. The poetic techniques reflect the message that there is beauty in imperfection. The whole poem basically implies that we should embrace imperfections like theyโ€™re beauty itself.

Analysis

This is a great poem for practising close reading. Written over 350 years ago, it may seem difficult at first; after a few readings, though, its meaning becomes clear, and it offers some obvious examples of how style and structure create deeper meaning and nuance.

First, be sure you understand what Herrick is talking about. The speaker describes in detail a womanโ€™s clothing โ€” style, colour, and fabric. Some of the vocabularies are unfamiliar to readers today, such as lawn and stomacher. Other words, such as petticoat, may be archaic, but you have probably come across them before. As always, if you donโ€™t know what something means, you should look it up.

As you read the poem, you might have noticed the personification. The speaker notes the โ€œfine distractionโ€ of the scarf thrown over the womanโ€™s shoulders, a โ€œcuffโ€ that is โ€œneglectful,โ€ ribbons that โ€œflow confusedly,โ€ and a โ€œtempestuous petticoat.โ€ The personification suggests that the clothes reflect qualities of the person wearing them.

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Similarly, the โ€œerring laceโ€ โ€œ[e]nthralls the crimson stomacher,โ€ as if a mere decoration could take such deliberate action. Two oxymorons (paradoxes made up of two seemingly contradictory words) support the possibility that something is going on other than the literal description of clothing. The opening line refers to a โ€œsweet disorder,โ€ but most would consider disorder unsettling, hardly โ€œsweetโ€; later, the speaker sees a โ€œwild civility,โ€ another seeming contradiction, because how can โ€œcivilityโ€ โ€” or courteous behaviour โ€” be โ€œwildโ€? Now that youโ€™re aware of the personification and the oxymorons in this poem, reread it to see if you can pick up on what they suggest.

Note the words suggesting passion: Kindles, wantonness, crimson, tempestuous, and bewitch. Is this poem actually about seduction? If so, its indirect manner is not overtly sexual or vulgar but flirtatious, sly, even mischievous. Alliteration adds a teasing singsong quality: โ€œDelight . . . Disorder,โ€ โ€œwinning wave,โ€ and โ€œprecise . . . part.โ€

Further, the symmetry of the alliteration brings a bit of order into the description of disorder โ€” but only a bit.

We might look to the structure of the poem for further evidence of the playful tone. The structure seems regular and predictable. The fourteen lines are presented in seven rhymed pairs, or couplets, most having eight syllables. The opening and closing couplets have exactly rhyming final syllables (โ€œdressโ€ / โ€œwantonnessโ€ and โ€œartโ€ / โ€œpartโ€).

Notice the neatly repeating parallel structure of lines 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. However, there are inconsistencies within the poem. Some of the rhymes are only near rhymes (e.g., ll. 11 and 12: โ€œtieโ€ does not rhyme with โ€œcivilityโ€). The poemโ€™s lines are in iambic tetrameter, but the rhythm is not always even. The evenness of the opening line, for instance (โ€œA sweet disorder in the dressโ€) is violated by line 10 (โ€œIn the tempestuous petticoatโ€). It seems Herrickโ€™s contention that โ€œdisorderโ€ can be โ€œsweetโ€ is reflected in the structure of the poem.

Or, put in more thematic terms, Herrick might be reminding us that appearances can be deceiving, that perfection may not be as appealing as charming imperfections. Or, given the cultural mores of his time dictating strict outward propriety, he might be telling his readers that passion lurks just beneath the veneer of polite society.

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