to him. Herbert writes, “There lives no wit that may thy
praise become” (l. 49), claiming that she is not fi t to
extol Sidney’s talents. At the same time, Herbert claims
that the psalms are “immortal monuments” to Sidney’s
fame (l. 71). She assures Sidney, and herself, that
through the poems Sidney will be remembered: “Yet
there will live thy ever-praised name” (l. 77).
Herbert also defends the larger project itself. As a
translation of the Psalms, the poems are translations of
holy poems written by King David and sung by the
angels. Herbert makes it clear that neither she nor Sid-
ney were attempting to improve upon God’s work, but
rather, sought “to praise, not to aspire / To those high
tones” (ll. 10–11).
Recent critical discussions of Herbert’s work con-
sider the ways that her self-deprecation and her exalta-
tion of Sidney provide cover for Herbert’s own goals
and ambitions. For instance, reading this poem along-
side another dedicatory poem of Herbert’s, “TO THE
THRICE-SACRED QUEEN ELIZABETH,” might exalt Sidney
as a type of Protestant saint who is encouraging Queen
Elizabeth to support the Protestant cause in England
and throughout Europe. Others have noted the com-
plicated position Herbert was in as a woman writer cir-
culating her own work in early modern England, where
women were discouraged from speaking or writing
publicly. In this light, this poem provides Herbert’s
means of defending—and praising—her own work
while also eulogizing her brother.
FURTHER READING
Fisken, Beth Wynne. “ ‘To the Angell Spirit.. .’ Mary Sid-
ney’s entry into the ‘World of Words.’ ” In The Renaissance
Englishwoman in Print: Counterbalancing the Canon, edited
by Anne M. Haselkorn and Betty S. Travitsky, 263–275.
Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1990.
Hannay, Margaret P. “ ‘Doo What Men May Sing’: Mary Sid-
ney and the Tradition of Admonitory Dedication.” In Silent
But for the Word: Tudor Women as Patrons, Translators, and
Writers of Religious Works, edited by Margaret P. Hannay,
151–165. Kent: Ohio State University Press, 1985.
Kathleen Kalpin
“TO THE THRICE-SACRED QUEEN
ELIZABETH” MARY SIDNEY HERBERT, COUNTESS
OF PEMBROKE (1599) This dedicatory poem by
MARY SIDNEY HERBERT prefaced her translations of the
Psalms in 1599, along with “TO THEE PURE SPRITE.” “To
the Thrice-Sacred Queen Elizabeth” refl ects the politi-
cal tensions between the Sidney family and Queen
ELIZABETH. Herbert begins her poem in a traditional
fashion by fl attering Elizabeth with appeals to the
queen’s “happy greatness” and her able mind. The poet
describes Elizabeth’s position, strength, and goodness
as divinely granted, and intimates that her will affects
the entirety of Europe. The tone of the poem changes,
however, as Herbert moves from praise of Queen Eliz-
abeth to a lament for her late brother, SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
She mourns her loss and says that she cannot “name
whom sighing signs extend” (l. 25). She tells Elizabeth
that her brother started the translation of the Psalms
(now known as the SIDNEAN PSALMS), and that she now
fi nishes what he started. Herbert’s and Sidney’s work is
a “livery robe” that she now presents to the queen, and
she asks, “For in our work what bring we but thine
own?” (l. 41).
Herbert next compares the biblical David’s “great
conquests” with Elizabeth’s “greater blessed.” She
emphasizes Elizabeth’s great power in STANZA 11: Men
obey a woman, and “Kings on a Queene enforst their
states to lay” (l. 81). This comparison to David is quite
typical, and many poets dedicated translations of the
Psalms to Elizabeth. This dedicatory poem therefore
has a seemingly typical tone: Herbert praises Queen
Elizabeth through a comparison to David and hopes
that her writing may be worthy of the queen. However,
as critics have pointed out, Herbert’s dedication
addresses Elizabeth politically and does not engage in
the typical praise of her beauty and chastity.
Other critics suggest that despite her praise of the
queen, Herbert reveals her frustration with what she
views as Elizabeth’s lack of support for the English
army in its fi ght against Catholic Spain. Herbert writes
that what is English is “Where wit, where art, where all
that is divine / Conceived best, and best defended lies”
(ll. 47–48). She praises her brother’s defense of the
Protestant cause and England and believes that because
he fought bravely and gave his life for his country, Eliz-
abeth should “do what men may sing” (l. 96) by pro-
viding more fi nancial support to the Protestant cause.
See also EVEN NOW THAT CARE.438 “TO THE THRICE-SACRED QUEEN ELIZABETH”