SOURCE: Clayton, Thomas. “‘At Bottom a Criticism of Life’: Suckling and the Poetry of Low Seriousness.” In Classic and Cavalier: Essays on Jonson and the Sons of Ben, edited by Claude R. Summers and Ted-Larry Penworth, pp. 217-41. Pittsburgh: The University of Pittsburgh Press, 1982.

In the essay that follows, Clayton examines four of Suckling's lesser known poems in order to illustrate his argument that the standard critical image of Suckling as a minor poet is shortsighted and limited.

“Natural, easy Suckling”—with two lines of “Our upon it, I have loved / Three whole days together” and two of “Why so pale and wan, fond lover? / Prithee why so pale?”—is so apt and usual an opening for a discussion of Suckling that I have now used it myself, naturally. But the phrase is not my focus, though it is tempting. In fact, it is remarkable and somewhat disquieting...