Abstract
In William Byrd’s 1589 Songs of Sundrie Natures, six songs explore the tyranny of Cupid, revealing previously unnoticed emblematic and political significance. This collection exemplifies the interconnected, cross-media conversations among composers, poets, emblemists, and patrons in the era. Emblems, combining images and allegoric readings, pervaded many aspects of society and represent a powerful hermeneutic tool hiding in plain sight. Byrd’s fall from grace in the 1580s, linked to his association with a Catholic plot against Queen Elizabeth, spurred his strategic use of a powerful Cupid as a political statement. Emblematic Cupid imagery, prevalent in Elizabethan iconography, served to reinforce the queen’s chastity, depicting her triumph over the winged god as a formidable achievement. The songbook, published during Byrd’s tumultuous period, becomes a valuable window into the composer’s personal politics, revealing the complex interplay of music, emblems, politics, and art in Elizabethan England.
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