“But in a moment all her joys were quashed,
In twinkling of an eye her hopes were dashed,
For this bold scoundrel without fear or wit,
Her pretty globe-like nest in sunder split.
Some are in middle cut, some off their head;
Thus all her young are either maimed or dead.”
ll. 49-54
In twinkling of an eye her hopes were dashed,
For this bold scoundrel without fear or wit,
Her pretty globe-like nest in sunder split.
Some are in middle cut, some off their head;
Thus all her young are either maimed or dead.”
ll. 49-54
By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library
Here, Pulter reworks the fable ‘Of the Lark and her Young’ found in many emblem collections and John Ogilby’s lyrical translation of Aesop’s fables (London, 1651). Pulter’s version introduces a tragic tone to the emblem, focussing on themes of motherhood and loss.
Rebekah King