What Guile Is This?
Edmund Spenser (1552–1599)
What guile is this, that those her golden tresses
She doth attire under a net of gold;
And with sly skill so cunningly them dresses,
That which is gold or hair may scarce be told?
Is it that men’s frail eyes, which gaze too bold,
She may entangle in that golden snare;
And, being caught, may craftily enfold
Their weaker hearts, which are not well aware?
Take heed, therefore, mine eyes, how ye do stare
Henceforth too rashly on that guileful net,
In which, if ever ye entrappèd are,
Out of her bands ye by no means shall get.
Fondness it were for any, being free,
To covet fetters, though they golden be.
First, Spenser writes about a psychological fact: images that present a puzzle draw us in. A golden net on golden hair makes us ask where the net leaves off and the hair begins. The psychological fact is the basis of an intuition: this lady is dangerous. He recommends that hearts be well aware; we'd call that now "critical thinking." Here's a new unit for critical thinking studies: infatuation and analysis.
(A new experiment; I'll try posting this poem as an mp3 file,Download file.)