I.1 · printed 1509
The Pastime of Pleasure
Stephen Hawes
room 1
Hawes was a court poet and servant of Henry VII, remembered for his wit and his memory. His long allegorical poem follows a young knight through the seven liberal arts.
what it teaches
Rhetoric has five parts. The fifth, memory, is what makes a speech come out in order.
The method is simple: fix one image in your mind for each story or point. When you speak, take the images in turn and each one brings its tale and its moral.
He admits it is dark and hard at first. Practice, he says, makes it work.
This is the earliest English poetry to carry the art, folded into a courtly poem.
try it: Pick three points you want to say aloud. Give each one a picture and say them in order without notes.
the oldest voice here. short, gentle, and honest that it is difficult.