The Earl was simultaneously
intriguing with Lettice, Countess of Essex, who ultimately became his wife;
and it is she who, according to the Rev. Halpin, is intended by the "little
western flower"; to him the passage means:--
"Cupid, on behalf of the Earl of Leicester, loosed an arrow at Queen
Elizabeth; but the Virgin Queen's maidenhood was so unassailable that
the bolt missed her, hitting the Countess of Essex, who succumbed."
In other words, Shakespeare mentions the Queen only in order to point out
her rival's success!
It is as unnecessary to discuss the degrees of probability in Halpin's
identifications as it was for him to elaborate them. Certainly it is likely
that Shakespeare intended a compliment to his queen; it is possible that
the "mermaid on a dolphin's back" was a reminiscence of a pageant which he
might have visited Kenilworth at the age of eleven to see; and it may be
true that he meant to hint at Leicester.
On the other hand, I think that another explanation is more obvious and
more rational. Shakespeare had to introduce into his play the magic herb
which was to alter the loves of those into whose eyes it was squeezed. We
may reasonably guess that he had read somewhere one of the many popular
legends that explain why the violet is purple, why the rose is red, _etc.
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