Henry Howard(1517—1547)

‘When Raging Love with Extreme Pain’

When raging love with extreme pain

Most cruelly distrains my heart,

When that my tears, as floods of rain,

Bear witness of my woeful smart,

When sighs have wasted so my breath

That I lie at the point of death:

I call to mind the navy great

That the Greeks brought to Troye town,^[1]

And how the boisterous winds did beat

Their ships, and rent their sails adown,

Till Agamemnon's daughter's blood^[2]

Appeased the gods that them withstood:

And how that in those ten years' war

Full many a bloody deed was done,

And many a lord that came full far

There caught his bane, alas, too soon,

And many a good knight overrun,

Before the Greeks had Helen won.

Then think I thus: ‘sith such repair,

So long time war of valiant men,

Was all to win a lady fair,

Shall I not learn to suffer then?

And to think my life well spent to be

Serving a worthier wight than she?’

Therefore I never shall repent,

But pains, contented, still endure;

For like as when, rough winter spent,

The pleasant spring straight draweth in ure;^[3]

So, after raging storms of care,

Joyful at length may be my fare.

[1] Troye 即Troy, 是一种比较老的拼法。

[2] Agamemnon是希腊传说中的迈锡尼王或阿尔戈斯王，因兄弟的妻子海伦被特洛伊王子帕里斯拐走，他号召希腊的诸侯组成联军向特洛伊报复。他提供100艘战船，担任联军主帅。但全部船队集结后，曾受他冒犯的神灵同他捣乱，使船队无法出航，最后他以女儿为牺牲，才得以平息神怒。

[3] in ure=into use。