Still to be neat, still to be dressed

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1609

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Appearance Versus Reality

One of the poem’s central concerns is the difference between appearances and reality. Jonson’s speaker conceives of the woman’s modification of her appearance as a way that “hid[es]” (Line 5) reality and her faults. The first stanza lists actions that are still to be done and are not reality, as reflected in the extensive use of infinitives in the first stanza. The woman is “to be” (Lines 1, 3, and 4) made ready; this repetition highlights the futurity of the actions.

The speaker further connects the shallow quality of appearance by describing how appearances only “strike [his] eyes” (Line 12). The multiple possible meanings of the word “look” (Line 7) in the beginning of the second stanza ties together these two stanzas. “Look” could refer to the act of seeing or to a specific outfit. Here, the phrase “[g]ive me a look” (Line 7) could also indicate that the woman should physically look toward the speaker for assistance.

In contrast to the first stanza, the second stanza is filled with active, present tense verbs like “give” (Line 7), “makes” (Line 8), and “flow[]” (Line 9). This use of verbs highlights the speaker’s feeling about these actions. To further illustrate the positive qualities of being natural and real, in his last line, the speaker connects realness and natural beauty to love, as only these features will win his heart.

The Importance of Simplicity

The speaker of this poem advocates for simplicity. Rather than the ornamentation favored by society, he prefers women simply and naturally dress to reflect their chastity. He contrasts simplicity’s moral goodness with the “adulteries” (Line 11) of artifice. The final couplet highlights the speaker’s lesson by closing with a directly stated moral for the lady—and for the audience.

The poem’s message about striving for simplicity informs Jonson’s stylistic choices. The diction is straightforward and direct. Upon first reading, the poem, when compared to other poetry of its time, includes relatively sparse figurative language. Jonson’s choice to eschew ornamentation in this writing inherently supports his argument for natural and unadorned women. Yet the appearances are untruthful, as the poem includes figurative language while also following an artistic and unnatural genre of writing: the lyric poem. This discrepancy between appearances and reality both supports the speaker’s claims while also suggesting that Jonson may have a more complicated understanding of the issue. In some ways undermining the speaker’s message, Jonson suggests that the speaker’s claim to prefer natural and chaste women may not itself be reality.

Performance

The poem’s focus on performance is reflected in various aspects. First, the poem itself was written to be performed as a song during a theatrical performance. The stylized structure of a lyric draws attention to this dialogue as constructed. As a written text, the speaker of the poem performs his role as a protective and concerned man when addressing the subject, the “Lady” (Line 4). In this address, he accuses the woman of engaging in a performance. In his opinion, she performs an inappropriate role as a sexually immoral woman instead of performing the more appropriate role as simple and honest woman. Yet the speaker does not consider that the role he desires would also be a performance. The woman performs the period’s understanding of femininity and beauty by crafting her appearances to meet certain standards of the time. For the (presumably male) speaker, the performance of femininity is directly at odds with the performance of sexual fidelity.