Summary Of For That He Looked Not Upon Her By Gascoigne

Relationships begin based on a mutual attraction and often end due to betrayal and loss of love. Because of the end of relationship, it’s common for people to feel deceived and lament the loss of their lover. In “For That He Looked Not Upon Her,” Gascoigne utilizes a sonnet form, metaphors of the mouse and fly, and grievous diction to address the sadness and frustration of betrayal experienced in the speaker’s broken relationship.

Gascoigne’s structure remains typical for the time period, but adds an opinion different from many sonnet writers of the time, addressing the negatives following an ended relationship. Through the use of a traditional sonnet, Gascoigne keeps the structure of the poem predictable and constant. The ABAB rhyme scheme

Through effective animal metaphors of both a mouse and, later, a fly, Gascoigne establishes the concept of being fooled by original attraction and learning a subsequent lesson. According to the speaker, the “mouse which hath broken out of trap is seldom ticed with the trustless bait but lies aloof for fear of more mishap.” The speaker is much like the mouse in that he was naive and trapped by a “bait.” However, while at one time he was naive of any future betrayal, he has learned to like the mouse not be “‘ticed with the trustless bait.” Instead, he avoids any future love and relationships because of the deceit he faced from the woman who he avoids to look at out of fear of future emotional pain. Because of the dishonesty and betrayal in his past, unsuccessful relationship, he has begun to trust women much less. Gascoigne builds on the metaphor of the mouse with the next use of the fly and the fire. Similar to the mouse and the bait in the trap, “the scorched fly which once hath ‘scaped the flame will hardly come to play again with fire.” Once again, the speaker emphasizes the mistakes of two animals in explaining his own opinions. Both the mouse and the fly’s avoidance of the items which brought them pain directly relate to the speaker’s avoidance of what led to his misery, love. Through the