Elliott and Valenza (1991) placed Poem XII in the second block of 4 poems that they stated was likely written by Shakespeare.

Elliott and Valenza (1991) identified Poem VII as part of the first 'block' of 4 unattributed poems from The Passionate Pilgrim, which they said had a very high likelihood of being written by Shakespeare.

This line gets to the heart of the poem's meaning, and attaches it to the themes of the collection itself (amorous poetry).

Here the author rebukes the young "shepherd" that represents the lover, attempting to remove their own temptation.

This poem is a lamentation by its author (Shakespeare or other) that age has prevented them from pursuing a younger lover. The author lists each point proving why such a love is incompatible, before shooing away the young lover to cut off temptation.

In this final stanza, the author again turns to the juxtaposition between positive and negative language. Their lover "burn[s]" with love, implying a positive passion, but they also utilize the negative side of burning to indicate that the love is short-lived. The rhetorical question in the 5th line sums up the poem's question - is the author's lover virtuous, fair, and worthy, or is she a "lecher," lustful and passionate but not to last?

The first 2 lines of this stanza act as the first half of each line of the previous stanza did, to emphasize the positive aspects of the relationship between the author and their lover. Then lines 3 and 4 return to the idea of a "false" lover who invents "tales," before wistfully concluding in lines 5 and 6 that the lover's "faith...oaths...tears" were false.

This first 6-line stanza introduces a complex tone. The author, in 5 consecutive lines, praises their lover ("fair", "mild", etc.) before characterizing her in a negative way ("fickle", "brittle", etc.).

In the Project Gutenberg file, this word is written as 'bath'. Upon inspection of a facsimile of the original, it should be 'hath'.

From the Oxford English Dictionary: "To hasten, speed, go quickly."

Mainly used in poetry, 'pleasance' means "The condition or feeling of being pleased; enjoyment, delight, pleasure, joy"

Oxford English Dictionary

Poem XII's authorship is unknown. It was later published in a collection of Thomas Deloney's work, but Deloney's collections often contained the work of other poets. Hallett Smith has suggested that this poem out of the whole collection appears to readers as the most Shakespearean.

Double meaning: The author's lover swears an 'oath' to them of love, a promise, but since that promise is false, according to the final line of the stanza, it also resembles a curse.

Poem VII has unknown authorship. Scholars have noted that its 6-line stanzas bear resemblance to Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis. Its rhyme scheme (A-B-A-B-C-C) also resembles that poem.

The author implies falseness in their lover, since she appears as a lily, but masks herself in another flower's coloring.

In calling their (female) lover a 'lecher', the author not only implies a gross unchasteness, they imply a masculinity, since lecher was most frequently applied to men.

Based on the time period (1599) and the subject (flowers), damask here refers to damask roses, "a species or variety of rose, supposed to have been originally brought from Damascus."

Oxford English Dictionary

This phrase may remind the reader of Shakespeare's Sonnet 19, in which the final line reads, "My love shall in my verse ever live young."

In the original manuscript, 'shepherd' is capitalized, indicating a reference to a specific person (i.e., the author's lover). This strikes the reader as possibly Shakespearean, as many of the Bard's later sonnets are addressed to a young man.

Of course, the mission of this project is to ascertain whether or not the unknown poems of this collection were written by Shakespeare. Originally attributed to the Bard at printing, neither poem VII nor poem XII have been confirmed to be Shakespeare, so authorship is as of yet unknown.

Breaking the pattern of the previous 7 lines, this line begins with 'Age' instead of 'Youth, flipping the comparison. The sentiment remains the same, however, with the negative half of the line still associated with age.

'Care' in this context means 'worry'.

The structure of the vast majority of this poem begins with this 'Youth'. The next 6 lines also begin with 'Youth', contain a description of youth, a comma, then 'age' and a contrast of the latter.

'Abhor thee' and 'adore thee' create an internal rhyme. Unlike the previous internal rhymes however, they use an identical rhyme with 'thee' and offset it with the rhyme between 'abhor' and 'adore'.

'Bold' and 'cold' create an internal rhyme.

'Sport' and 'short' create an internal rhyme.

The first line of the stanza can be said with either 10 or 11 syllables, due to varying pronunciations of the word 'fire'. The rest are 11 syllables each. This stanza follows the rhyming pattern of its predecessors

The syllables in this stanza alternate between 10 and 11 for the lines that alternate rhymes (10-11-10-11), and the final rhyming couplet has 11 syllables in each line.

Each line in this stanza has 11 syllables. The final word in the first 4 lines (which alternate rhymes) has two syllables, while the rhyming couplet at the end of the stanza rhymes the final two words together.

Le(a)cher

A le(a)cherous or lustful person

Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum, John Kersey (1708)

Again complicates the previous figurative language.

Compares the author's lover to light itself reflecting off of glass. This may indicate a shallowness of beauty and charm, since the glass itself does not create the light.

Characteristics the author ascribes to the dove - serves to complicate the simile.

Compares the author's lover to the dove, a gentle, mild-mannered bird associated with peace and grace.

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Donne also uses the symbol of the Phoenix, for both sexual and spiritual meanings, in "An Epithalamion, or Marriage Song on the Lady Elizabeth and Count Palatine Being Married on St. Valentine's Day."

A sonnet is a one-stanza poem, and in Italian, the word "stanza" means room. Donne uses this double meaning to craft a clever line, since the sonnets he builds are indeed composed of one stanza (or room).

Certain 16th-century editions of the Italian poet Petrarch's works were affixed with a woodcut of an urn containing the ashes of lovers, along with a Phoenix. Donne is credited with moving away from a Petrarchan tradition in poetry, and would have been well-acquainted with this work.

Source: The Poems of John Donne: Volume One, edited by Robin Robbins (Routledge)

The eagle and the dove have been called upon by many different authors to represent a range of relationships. These include "predatory appetite and power versus submissive gentleness," "strength and tender purity," "pleasure and sorrow," and "the active and contemplative lives."

Source: The Poems of John Donne: Volume One, edited by Robin Robbins (Routledge)

Note on History of Poetry:

Donne wrote The Canonization around the turn of the 17th century, a time when European poetry was ruled by Petrarchan sonnets. Some attempts, including by C.S. Lewis have been made to categorize poets of this era (Lewis used "drab and "Golden", others; "plain" and "eloquent") but the spectrum of poets defies easy categorization. One important aspect of the time period was the innovation of language itself. Poetry and literature were moving away from Latin and French, and vernacular English continued to develop.

Source: English Poetry in the Sixteenth Century, Nasrullah Mambrol (Research Scholar, Department of Studies in English, Kannur University)

Mirrors (not spectacles)

List of those who have died from illness - high fevers indicated coming death, as this refers to the "heats" in the previous line.

The final trick of this Donne poem comes from a historical impact he is unlikely to have predicted. After all, he never published his own poems. And yet, 400+ years later, his lyrics are still studied by scholars and students. He has been canonized in the literary sense. Furthermore, as love poems like this are some of his best-known, his love has in fact been canonized.

General Historical Note:

Donne likely writes this poem at the very beginning of the 17th century, though it could have been anywhere from the 1590s until the 1620s. This range came at the end of the Elizabethan period and contains the reign of James I, the first Stuart monarch. This was a period of great growth for England, with increasing naval power leading to the formation of the East India company, as well as the colony of Jamestown, expanding the power of the British empire in both hemispheres.

Sources: The Late Tudors, England 1547-1603; British Museum

In many literary works, the phoenix is used as a reference to Christ dying and rising again.

These two literary symbols refer to poles of human action. The eagle is war-like and stern, while the dove represents peace and gentleness. Additionally, the eagle may act as a predator of doves.

In this line, Donne tells the reader to pursue either courtly ("king's real...face") or economic ("king's...stampèd face) endeavors. The king's real face is what a courtier would see in the palace, while his stampèd face is displayed on coins.

"When did my colds prevent the coming Spring from occurring?"

1. Declared a deceased individual a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
2. Placed in the literary or artistic canon; regarded as essential in those areas.

Refuge; safe place.

Candles

Lawyers

Disease that causes arthritis, especially in the feet

Paralysis, Unconscious tremors