death of sir Roger summery
Answers
Answer:
On the Death of Sir Roger Manwood" is a short poem commemorating the death of a great man, a Baron of the Exchequer. This man was also a judge at one point in his career, and Marlowe had been brought before him for offenses against the law. It seems odd that Marlowe would write about a man who had held the power of law over him, but Manwood had been lenient (Marlowe believed justly so) and Marlowe revered him as a great man. Manwood was Kentish in origin, and Marlowe may have respected him as fellow countryman.
He calls him the "terror of him who prowls by night" -- that is, a crusader against the evildoer. He is a "Hercules", by which we may believe that he is either very strong in body, or strong in moral character. These classical allusions are common in Marlowe's poetry.
The predatory imagery continues, when Manwood is called a "bird of prey" (vultur, in Latin) "upon the rough brigand". This is an unusual way to think of a magistrate and an official of the government. Instead of portraying him as a staid upholder of the status quo, Manwood is shown as active and violent in the prosecution of justice.
"The light of officialdom, the glory of the worshipful law, lies dead" he says of Manwood. For a man who ran so afoul of the law so often in his life, it seems odd that Marlowe would use these terms to describe authority. It may be the Marlowe was ironic, but more probably he was imitating the style of Roman epitaphs of this same type. Marlowe often imitated classical culture in all its forms, and he wrote this epitaph in both Latin and English.
Answer:On the Death of Sir Roger Manwood" is a short poem commemorating the death of a great man, a Baron of the Exchequer. This man was also a judge at one point in his career, and Marlowe had been brought before him for offenses against the law. It seems odd that Marlowe would write about a man who had held the power of law over him, but Manwood had been lenient (Marlowe believed justly so) and Marlowe revered him as a great man. Manwood was Kentish in origin, and Marlowe may have respected him as fellow countryman.
He calls him the "terror of him who prowls by night" -- that is, a crusader against the evildoer. He is a "Hercules", by which we may believe that he is either very strong in body, or strong in moral character. These classical allusions are common in Marlowe's poetry.
The predatory imagery continues, when Manwood is called a "bird of prey" (vultur, in Latin) "upon the rough brigand". This is an unusual way to think of a magistrate and an official of the government. Instead of portraying him as a staid upholder of the status quo, Manwood is shown as active and violent in the prosecution of justice.
"The light of officialdom, the glory of the worshipful law, lies dead" he says of Manwood. For a man who ran so afoul of the law so often in his life, it seems odd that Marlowe would use these terms to describe authority. It may be the Marlowe was ironic, but more probably he was imitating the style of Roman epitaphs of this same type. Marlowe often imitated classical culture in all its forms, and he wrote this epitaph in both Latin and English.
Explanation: