The Boasts of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd

The title of this poem refers to Hywel who was a Welsh warrior-prince and poet. He was the first to develop the courtly love lyric in Welsh; amongst his eight compositions is a gorhoffedd, otherwise known as a 'boasting poem', which expresses his love for his country. He was the son of Owain Gwynedd and played a major part in the occupation of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) by the house of Gwynedd. This connects with the poem because the speaker is boasting about all the different women who he has 'been with' in the space of only a week.
     The first stanza tells the reader of Sunday's to Wednesday's women. A boastful tone is created straight away in the first line as the speaker refers to his use of 'skilled ... zealous verse'. He describes the first as 'my busty next', showing what he can see and not what he can feel. There is a clear emphasis on the woman's physical attributes, instantly portraying the persona as superficial, objectifying and slightly crude. He makes a reference to her 'whiteness', depicting her to be better than 'pear blossom'. The colour white holds connotations of purity and innocence; this contrasts with the brash tone of the speaker.
     Abse states that 'Not to love' Tuesday's woman would be a 'sin' - although love is mentioned here, it perhaps refers to her physical appearance and actions and is not based on emotion. Her name is 'Gwladus' - this is a Welsh girls name which means 'Lame'. This is degrading and disrespectful, further suggesting that the persona is using the woman instead of obtaining feelings of love towards her. The speaker appears flirtatious and a tease as he tells of the second lady's 'pigeon-coos', and how he 'woo[s]' her until her cheeks 'flush like rosy apple skin'. Abse uses the word 'thrust'; this creates a sexual tone and sounds slightly rough, making the intercourse appear very separate from love.
     Wednesday's lady is called 'Generys' - again, this is a Welsh girls name and means 'mistress', possibly even more degrading than 'lame'! The speaker tells of how he uses 'Dry old hymns... to please / her.' This suggests that he finds the hymns extremely boring, but he would go to any extent to make a woman fall for him. This presents the persona as having low morals and shallow values. It only takes 'One small cherry-englyn' (a traditional Welsh short poem form) for 'Hunydd' to become the speaker's 'devotee.' This sounds demeaning and undignified, as if the woman is very naive and easily tricked by the persona's manner of deceit. This tone is continued into the next line, which describes 'Hawis' as his 'epic regular'. This phrase could suggest that it is normal, everyday women who fall for the speaker's 'poetry of endearment'.
      Abse uses language referring to flowers and nature to describe his Saturday within which the persona 'score[s] and score[s].' The words 'orchard' and 'efflorescence' suggest prosperity, joy and flowering; he obviously feels a great thrill from having so many different women, and enjoy sexual intercourse with each one. The speaker goes on to hope that 'her name stay secret for her husband's sake'; this presents the fact that he goes for married women as well as those who have no romantic attachments. He appears to feel a smug sense of accomplishment, even though what he is doing is deceitful and immoral.
     The final stanza refers to 'lick[ing] up juices' - this sexual innuendo expresses the persona's passion and suggests he can have whoever he wants, and do with them as he wishes, as long as his 'busy tongue keeps / quiet.' This also strengthens the importance of both him, and the women he is sleeping with, keeping 'quiet' - not only so that their husbands don't find out, but so the individual females don't become aware of the fact that he is 'sleeping around'.
     The structure of this poem is simple yet out of the ordinary; each stanza has a different number of lines which creates an 'awkward' layout. The words 'her' and 'quiet' each stand alone in separate lines, focusing the reader's attention on them; these words are significant as the poem explores his different women and how it is vital that they, and he, keep quiet about the situation. There are a lot of end stop lines present in 'The Boasts of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd', along with enjambment and caesura. This allows the speaker control of how the poem is supposed to be read.
     'Love', 'betrayal, 'unfaithfulness' and sex/passion are all themes which this poem explores. He shows love for each women differently, uses the women, does not stay with one woman and has sexual intercourse with each. It is also clear that the persona relies on elements of literacy to obtain the women; Abse makes reference to 'couplets', 'hymns', 'englyn', 'poetry of endearment' and 'eulogy'. It could be argued that Abse is portraying how powerful literacy can be, and how a vast majority of poetry and music revolves around themes of love.