‘So to the wood went I’: Politicizing the Greenwood in Two Songs by John Dowland

Abstract

Figurations of woods as sites of solitude, political exile and authenticity are drawn upon in a number of John Dowland's songs. ‘Can she excuse’ quotes from the ballad tune Woods so wild, while ‘O sweet woods’ makes reference to Wanstead woods, associated with both Philip Sidney and Robert Devereux during their lifetimes. This article examines how courtly experiences of political withdrawal and exile are articulated through musical and literary references to woods in these songs.

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Notes on contributors

Kirsten Gibson

Kirsten Gibson ([email protected]) is Lecturer in Music at Newcastle University. She completed her Ph.D. in 2006 with a dissertation entitled ‘John Dowland's Printed Ayres: Texts, Contexts, Intertexts’ and is currently editing, with Ian Biddle, a collection of essays on masculinity and Western musical practices, to be published by Ashgate in 2008.