1 Let those who are in favour with their stars,
Let those blessed by fate and fortune, Let people who got lucky with fate, let the lucky ones 'Favour with their stars' = blessed by fate, fortune; astrological image.
2 Of public honour and proud titles boast,
Brag about their public honors and grand titles, brag about their official status and fancy titles, boast about their power
3 Whilst I whom fortune of such triumph bars
Whereas I, whom fortune excludes from such triumph, But me—fortune keeps me out of that kind of victory— i have none of that 'Bars' = excludes, prevents; fortune withholds public triumph.
4 Unlooked for joy in that I honour most;
Find unexpected joy in the one I honor most, I got something better—unexpected happiness with the person I love most, better than any title 'Unlooked for' = unexpected, surprising; 'that I honour most' = the beloved.
5 Great princes’ favourites their fair leaves spread,
Great princes' favorites spread out their beautiful leaves, The king's favorites show off like flowers, courtiers bloom in the sun 'Fair leaves spread' = botanical image; like flowers or plants displaying themselves; 'favourites' = courtiers.
6 But as the marigold at the sun’s eye,
Like the marigold that turns toward the sun's gaze, like marigolds that follow the sun, flowers following the light 'At the sun's eye' = toward the sun's gaze; marigold as symbol of dependent beauty.
7 And in themselves their pride lies buried,
And their pride is buried inside them, not their own, and their pride doesn't really belong to them—it's buried deep, their pride is fake 'Buried' = hidden, dormant; pride is not their own but dependent on external favor.
8 For at a frown they in their glory die. The fragility of external status: one frown destroys all glory, illustrating fortune's instability.
Because at a single frown, they lose all glory and vitality, because one angry look from the king and they're done, one frown destroys everything 'Die' = lose vitality, cease to exist; instantaneous loss of identity.
Wordplay
- die = lose, cease, become nothing
- 'glory die' = the death of glory itself, not just the person
- the pun suggests that dependent glory is not truly alive—it is only death postponed
9 The painful warrior famoused for fight,
The warrior made famous through painful combat, The soldier who became famous for hard-fought battles, the warrior winning at great cost 'Painful' = full of pain, hard-won; 'famoused' = made famous.
10 After a thousand victories once foiled,
After winning a thousand battles, defeated once, After a thousand victories, loses one battle, one loss erases all wins 'Foiled' = defeated, frustrated; one failure erases all previous success.
11 Is from the book of honour razed quite,
Is completely erased from the record of honor, gets completely scratched out of the history books, forgotten forever 'Razed' = erased, scratched out; complete obliteration of legacy.
12 And all the rest forgot for which he toiled:
And all his other victories are forgotten, all his labor erased, and all the rest of what he fought for is forgotten, all his effort means nothing
Volta The shift from describing others' precarious fortunes to celebrating the speaker's secure position: 'Then happy I that love and am beloved / Where I may not remove nor be removed.'
13 Then happy I that love and am beloved The volta: happiness comes not from fortune or fame but from reciprocal love.
Then I am happy because I love and am loved in return, So I'm happy—I love you and you love me, we love each other. that's enough Shift to the speaker's position; happiness depends on reciprocal love, not fortune or status.
14 Where I may not remove nor be removed. The security of love: permanent, immovable, beyond the reach of time and circumstance.
Where I cannot leave and you cannot be taken from me—immovable, secure. Where I can never leave you and you can never leave me. we can't be separated Permanence through love's immobility; neither party can abandon the other.