Contents
1. Introduction
Mary Sidney Herbert’s “Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus” is a poetic paraphrase of Psalm 52, part of her celebrated translation project known as The Sidney Psalter. This poem confronts the arrogance of the wicked and affirms the enduring strength of the righteous under God’s protection. Through elegant meter and sharp imagery, Herbert transforms a biblical denunciation into a Renaissance meditation on divine justice and moral integrity. Psalm is a sacred song or hymn, in particular any of those contained in the biblical book of Psalms and used in Christian and Jewish worship.
2. Background to the Poem
- Biblical Source: Psalm 52 rebukes Doeg the Edomite, who betrayed David to King Saul. It condemns deceit, pride, and violence, affirming that God will destroy the wicked and uphold the righteous.
- Mary Sidney Herbert (1561–1621): A leading literary figure of the English Renaissance, she was the sister of Sir Philip Sidney and a key contributor to the Protestant literary tradition. Her translations of the Psalms were both devotional and poetic, blending theological insight with literary artistry.
- The Sidney Psalter: A collaborative project between Mary and Philip Sidney, it aimed to render the Psalms into English verse with poetic elegance and spiritual depth.
3. Stanza-wise Explanation
Stanza 1
“Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus, / Of mischief vaunting? / Since help from God to us / Is never wanting.”
This stanza opens with a direct rebuke to the tyrant, questioning his pride and boasting in evil. It asserts that God’s help is always available to the righteous, undermining the tyrant’s false sense of power.
Stanza 2
“Lewd lies thy tongue contrives, / Loud lies it soundeth; / Sharper than sharpest knives / With lies it woundeth.”
The tyrant’s speech is depicted as malicious and violent. Lies are personified as weapons, emphasizing their destructive power.
Stanza 3
“Falsehood thy wit approves, / All truth rejected: / Thy will all vices loves, / Virtue neglected.”
This stanza condemns the tyrant’s moral corruption—his intellect favors falsehood, his will embraces vice, and he scorns virtue.
Stanza 4
“Not words from cursed thee, / But gulfs are poured; / Gulfs wherein daily be / Good men devoured.”
The tyrant’s words are likened to vast, destructive gulfs that consume the innocent. This metaphor intensifies the sense of danger posed by his speech.
Stanza 5
“Think’st thou to bear it so? / God shall displace thee; / God shall thee overthrow, / Crush thee, deface thee.”
A prophetic warning: the tyrant’s reign will not last. God will intervene, destroy him, and erase his legacy.
Stanza 6
“The just shall fearing see / These fearful chances, / And laughing shoot at thee / With scornful glances.”
The righteous will witness the tyrant’s downfall with awe and mockery. The reversal of power is both divine justice and poetic irony.
Stanza 7
“Lo, lo, the wretched wight, / Who God disdaining, / His mischief made his might, / His guard his gaining.”
The tyrant is now a pitiable figure, exposed for having trusted in evil rather than God. His downfall is a moral lesson.
Stanza 8
“I as an olive tree / Still green shall flourish: / God’s house the soil shall be / My roots to nourish.”
In contrast, the speaker (representing the righteous) will thrive like a flourishing olive tree, rooted in God’s sanctuary.
Stanza 9
“My trust in his true love / Truly attending, / Shall never thence remove, / Never see ending.”
The speaker’s faith in God’s steadfast love is unwavering and eternal, a source of spiritual security.
Stanza 10
“Thee will I honour still, / Lord, for this justice; / There fix my hopes I will / Where thy saints’ trust is.”
The speaker vows to honor God for his justice and to place hope where the faithful find refuge.
Stanza 11
“Thy saints trust in thy name, / Therein they joy them: / Protected by the same, / Naught can annoy them.”
The final stanza affirms the joy and protection of the faithful. Trust in God brings peace and invulnerability.
4. Figures of Speech
| Device | Example | Effect |
| Apostrophe | “Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus” | Direct address intensifies the accusatory tone. |
| Metaphor | “Sharper than sharpest knives” | Lies are compared to weapons, emphasizing harm. |
| Personification | “Falsehood thy wit approves” | Falsehood is given agency, showing moral decay. |
| Alliteration | “Lewd lies,” “Sharper than sharpest ” | Repetition of consonants to enhance rhythm and emphasis. |
| Irony | “And laughing shoot at thee” | The righteous mock the tyrant’s fall. |
| Symbolism | “Olive tree” | Represents peace, longevity, and divine favor. |
5. Conclusion
Mary Sidney Herbert’s “Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus” is a powerful poetic meditation on the fate of the wicked and the endurance of the righteous. Through rich metaphors, sharp contrasts, and lyrical grace, Herbert reimagines Psalm 52 as a timeless warning against pride and deceit. The poem affirms that while evil may flourish briefly, divine justice will ultimately prevail, and those rooted in faith will flourish eternally.
6. Works Cited (MLA 9)
Herbert, Mary Sidney. The Sidney Psalter: The Psalms of Sir Philip and Mary Sidney. Edited by Hannibal Hamlin and Michael G. Brennan, Oxford University Press, 2009.
The Holy Bible, King James Version. Psalm 52.
Lewalski, Barbara K. Writing Women in Jacobean England. Harvard University Press, 1993.
Hamlin, Hannibal. “Mary Sidney’s Psalms and the Literary Reformation.” Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900, vol. 44, no. 1, 2004, pp. 1–20.
“Poem of the Week: Psalm 52 by Mary Sidney Herbert.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Nov. 2016, www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/07/poem-of-the-week-psalm-52-by-mary-sidney-herbert.
Aman Pal
Literatureman