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PUBLIC LIBRARY
.Kansas City, Ite.
SOUTHAMPTON
SHAKES*PE4KE 9 S
VENUS AND ADONIS, IAICRECE
AND OTHER POEMS
EDITED, WITH NOTES
BY
WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Lnr.D.
FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OK THE HIGH SCHOOl
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
ILLUSTRATED
*-' V.
NEW YORK-:-CINCINNATI.:-CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1883 AND 1898, BY
HARPER & BROTHERS.
COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY
WILLIAM J, ROLFE.
COPYRIGHT, xgxx, BY
JOHN C ROLFE.
VENUS AND ADONIS.
W. P. 3
PREFACE
SHAKESPEARE'S Poems (aside from the Sonnets) have
received comparatively slight attention from his biog-
raphers and editors. They have been often omitted
from editions of his works, and when included have
seldom been adequately discussed and annotated. Of
separate editions Wyndham's (see p, 27 below) seems
to me the only one of any critical value.
I have attempted to treat them with the same
thoroughness as the plays. The early readings are
given with sufficient fulness for the purposes of all
classes of students ; and the same is true of the intro-
duction and the notes, in which I have aimed to supply
the deficiencies of other editors.
The text is given without expurgation. The Lucrece
needs none, and the Venus and 'Adonis does not admit
of it without serious mutilation. Of course these poems
will never be read in secondary schools or Shakespeare
clubs.
In The Passionate Pilgrim the pieces which are
certainly not Shakespeare's are transferred from the
text to the notes. Most of the others are of doubtful
authenticity, but I give Shakespeare the benefit if
benefit it be of the doubt. A Lovers Complaint and
The Ph&nix and the Turtle are now generally conceded
to be his.
CONTENTS
PAGR
INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 9
The History of the Poems 9
The Sources of the Poems . , . . . .16
General Comments on the Poems . .... 19
VENUS AND ADONIS -43
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE 93
A LOVER'S COMPLAINT 169
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 184
THE PHCENIX AND THE TURTLE .,... 192
NOTES . . 199
APPENDIX
The 1640 Edition of the Poems . 283
Early Allusions to the Poems ...... 286
INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED . . . 293
ARMS OF SOUTHAMPTON
DEATH OF LUCRECE
INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE'S
POEMS
THE HISTORY OF THE POEMS
Venus and Adonis was first published in quarto form,
in 1593? with the following title-page :
VENVS | AND ADONIS | Villa miretur vulgiis : mihi
fiauus Apollo | Pocula Castalia plena minis tret aqua. \
LONDON | Imprinted by Richard Field, and are to be
sold at I the signe of the white Greyhound in | Paules
Church-yard. ( 1593.
The book is printed with remarkable accuracy, and
doubtless from the author's manuscript.
A second quarto edition was published in 1594, the
title-page of which differs from that of the first only
in the date.
io Shakespeare's Poems
A third edition in octavo form (like all the subse-
quent editions) was issued in 1596 from the same
printing-office "for lohn Hanson."
A fourth edition was published in 1599, with the
following title-page (as given in Edmonds's reprint):
VENVS | AND ADONIS. | Villa mirctur intlgus :
mihi flaitits Apollo \ Pocula Castalia ptena ministret
aqua. \ Imprinted at London for William Leake,
dwel- I ling in Panics Churchyard at the signe of | the
Greyhound. 1599.
This edition was not known until 1867, when a copy
of it was discovered at Lamport Hall in Northampton-
shire by Mr. Charles Edmonds, who issued a fac-simile
reprint in 1870. It was evidently printed from the
third edition. Mr. Edmonds says : "A few correc-
tions are introduced, but they bear no proportion to
the misprints."
Of the fifth edition a single copy is in existence (in
the Bodleian Library), lacking the title-page, which has
been restored in manuscript with the following imprint :
" LONDON | Printed by I. H. | for lohn Harrison |
1600." The date may be right, but, according to
Halliwell-Phillipps and Edmonds, the publisher's name
must be wrong, as Harrison had assigned the copyright
to Leake four years previous. The Cambridge editors
assumed in 1866 that this edition (the 4th of their num-
bering in 1866, but 5th in the ed. of 1893) was printed
from that of 1596 ; but it is certain, since the discovery
of the 1599 eel, that it must have been based on that
Introduction li
Of the text they say ; " It contains many erroneous
readings, due, it would seem, partly to carelessness and
partly to wilful alteration, which were repeated in later
eds. 1 '
Two new editions were issued in 1602, and others in
1617 and 1620. In 1627, an edition (of which the only
known copy is in the British Museum) was published
in Edinburgh. In the Bodleian Library there is a
unique copy of an edition wanting the title-page but
catalogued with the date 1630; also a copy of another
edition, published in 1630 (discovered since the Cam-
bridge ed, of 1866 appeared). 1 A thirteenth edition was
printed in 1636, "to be sold by Francis Conies in the
Old Baily without Newgate."
The first edition of Liicrece was published in quarto
in 1594, with the following title-page :
LVCRECE. | LONDON. | Printed by Richard Field,
for lohn Harrison, and are | to be sold at the signe of
the white Greyhound | in Paules Churh-yard. *594-
The running title is " The Rape of Lvcrece." The
Bodleian Library has two copies of this edition which
differ in some important readings, indicating that it was
corrected while passing through the press.
A second edition appeared in 1598, a third in 1600,
1 Bibliographical Contributions, edited by J. Winsor, Librarian of
Harvard University: No. 2, Shakespeare's Poems (1879). This Bibli-
ography of the earlier editions of the Poems contains much valuable
and curious information concerning their history, the extant copies,
reprints, etc.
i 1 Shakespeare's Poems
and a fourth in 1607, all in octavo and all "for lohn
Harrison " (or u 11 arisen ").
In 1616, the year of Shakespeare's death, the poem
was reprinted with his name as "newly revised ; " but
" as the readings are generally inferior to those of the
earlier editions, there is no reason for attaching any
importance to an assertion which was merely intended
to allure purchasers " (Cambridge ed,). The title-page
of this edition reads thus :
THE | RAPE | OF | LVCRRCE, \ By | M r . Wil-
liam Shakes feare. \ Newly Reuised. | LONDON:)
Printed by T. S, for Roger laf&son, and are | to be
solde at his shop neere the Conduit | in Fleet-street,
1616.
A sixth edition, also printed for Jackson, was issued
in 1624,
The fifth and sixth editions differ considerably in
their readings from the first four, in which there are
no important variations.
A seventh edition appeared in 1632, and an eighth
in 1655.
A Lovers Complaint was first printed, so far as we
know, in the first edition of the Sonnets , which ap-
peared in 1609. It was probably not reprinted
until it was included in the Poems of 1640, mentioned
below.
The Passionate Pilgrim was first published in 1599?
with the following title-page ;
THE | PASSIONATE^ PILGRIME. | By W. Stoke-
s\ Introduction 13
(y ^
JJT//VW. ] AT LONDON \ Printed for \V. laggard, and
^Hare | to be sold by \V. Leake, at the Grey- j hound in
-J Paules Church-yard. | 1599.
.i In the middle of sheet C is a second title :
/ / SONNETS | To sundry notes of Musicke. | AT
f)L ONDON | Printed for W. laggard, and are | to be sold
/A by W. Leake, at the Grey- | hound in Paules Church-
P/yard. | 1599.
The book was reprinted in 1612, together with some
y^oems by Thomas Heywood, the whole being attributed
|A:o Shakespeare, The title at first stood thus :
"j THE | PASSIONATE | PILGRIME. | or | Certain*
N-/ Amorous Sonnets, \ betweene Venus and Adonis, | newly
^corrected and aug- | mented. | By W. Shakespere. | The
} third Edition, | Whereunto is newly ad- | ded two Loue-
IJEpistles, the first | from Paris to Hdlen, and | He dens
^ answere backe | againe to Paris. | Printed by W. lag-
^^gard. | 1612.
/ The Bodleian copy of this edition contains the follow-
ing note by Malone : "All the poems from Sig. D. 5
were written by Thomas Heywood, who was so offended
y\t Jaggard for printing them under the name of Shake-
/ speare that he has added a postscript to his Apology for
, 4to, 1612, on this subject; and Jaggard in con-
sequence of it appears to have printed a new title-page
^to please Heywood, without the name of Shakespeare
L in it. The former title-page was no doubt intended to be
V cancelled, but by some inadvertence they were both
to this copy and I have retained them as a
14 Shakespeare's Poems
curiosity." The corrected title-page is substantially
as above, omitting " j5ty W. Shakes fere"
It will be observed that this is called the third edi-
tion ; but no other between 1599 and 1612 is known
to exist.
In 1640 most of the Sonnets, all the poems of 77/f
Passionate Pilgrim, A Lover's Complaint, The Plwnix
and the Turtle, the lines " Why should this a desert be, M
etc. (A. K L. iii. 2. 133 fol.)< and 4k Take, O take those
lips away, " etc. (M. for Jlf. iv. i. i fol.), with some
translations from Ovid and sundry other poems falsely
ascribed to Shakespeare, were published in a volume
with the following title:
POEMS: ] WIUTTKNT | BY I Wn,. SHAKK-SPKARK. |
Gent. | Printed at London, by Tlw> Cotes, and are [ to
be sold by lohn Benson, dwelling in | S*. Duns tan* s
Church-yard. 1640.
The first complete edition of Shakespeare's Poems,
including the Sonnets, was issued (according to Lowndes,
Bibliographer's Manual) in 1709, with the following title ;
A Collection of Poems, in Two Volumes ; Being all
the Miscellanies of Mr. William Shakespeare, which
were Published by himself in the Year 1609, and now
correctly Printed from those Editions. The First Vol-
ume contains, I. VENUS AND ADONIS. II. The Rape
ofLucRECE. III. The Passionate Pilgrim. IV. Some
Sonnets set to sundry Notes of Musick. The Second
Volume contains One Hundred and Fifty Four Sonnets,
all of them in Praise of his Mistress. II. A Lover's
Introduction 15
Complaint of his Angry Mistress. LONDON : Printed
for Bernard Lintott, at the Cross-Keys^ between the Two
Temple-Gates in Fleet-street.
The Ph&nix and the. Turtle first appeared, with Shake-
speare's name appended to it, in Robert Chester's Loves
Martyr: or Rosalins Complaint, published in 1601 (re-
printed by the New Shakspere Society in 1878).
One of the earliest references to the Venus and Adorns
that has been found is in the famous list of Shake-
speare's works in Meres's PaHadis Tamia, 1598. For
others, see pp. 286-292 below. As to the date of its
composition, Dowden says (Primer, p. 81): "When
Venus and Adonis appeared, Shakspere was twenty-nine
years of age ; the Earl of Southampton, to whom it was
dedicated, was not yet twenty. In the dedication the
poet speaks of these ' un polish t lines ' as ' the first heire
of my invention.' Did Shakspere mean by this that
Venus and Adonis was written before any of his plays,
or before any plays that were strictly original his own
' invention ? ' or does he, setting plays altogether apart,
which were not looked upon as literature, in a high
sense of the word, call it his first poem because he had
written no earlier narrative or lyrical verse ? We can-
not be sure. It is possible, but not likely, that he may
have written this poem before he left Stratford, and
have brought it up with him to London. More prob-
ably it was written in London, and perhaps not long
before its publication. The year 1593, in which the
poem appeared, was a year of plague ; the London
16 Shakespeare's Poems
theatres were closed: it may be that Shakspere, iillc
in London, or having returned for a while to Stratfnul.
then wrote the poem/* Kvon If begun some years earlier ,
it was probably revised not long before its publication,
TheZ^rmr was not improbably the "graver lahnnt "
promised in the dedication of the Hvw am/ Atfanfa ;
and, as Dowden remarks, it "exhibits far less imma-
turity than does the ' first heire ' of Shakspere's inven-
tion." Jt is less likely than thai, I think, lo have been
a youthful production taken up and elaborated at a later
date.
A Lover's Complaint was evidently written after the
Litcrcce, but we have no means of fixing the time with
precision.
The Shakespearian poems in The Ptmhwate Pilgrim
were of course written before 1599, when the collection
was published. The three taken from />;vV L&lunn* V
Z^/must be as early as the date of that play, If the
Venus and Adonis sonnets are Shakespeare's, they may
have been experiments on the subject before writing
the long poem ; but Furnivall says that they are ** so
much easier in flow and lighter in handling M that he
cannot suppose them to be earlier than the poem*
The Pho&nix and the Turtle is almost certainly Shake-
speare's, and must have been written before 1601.
THE SOURCES OF THK POEMS
The story of the poem was taken from Ovid's
Metamorphoses^ which had been translated by Gelding
Introduction 17
in 1567; but Shakespeare was doubtless familiar with
it in the original Latin, which he had read in the Strat-
ford grammar school, and to which he probably recurred
in Field's edition after he came to London. In the poem
he does not follow Ovid very closely.
That poet " relates, shortly, that Venus, accidentally
wounded by an arrow of Cupid's, falls in love with the
beauteous Adonis, leaves her favourite haunts and the
skies for him, and follows him in his huntings over
mountains and bushy rocks, and through woods. She
warns him against \vild boars and lions. She and he lie
down in the shade on the grass he without pressure
on her part ; and there, with her bosom on his, she tells
him, with kisses, the story of how she helped Hippo-
menes to win the swift-footed Atalanta, and then,
because he was ungrateful to her (Venus), she excited
him and his wife to defile a sanctuary by a forbidden
act, for which they were both turned into lions. With
a final warning against wild beasts, Venus leaves
Adonis. He then hunts a boar, and gets his death-
wound from it. Venus comes down to see him die,
and turns his blood into a flower the anemone, or
wind-flower, short-lived, because the winds (anemot),
which give it its name, beat it down, 1 so slender is it.
Other authors give Venus the enjoyment which Ovid
and Shakespeare deny her, and bring Adonis back from
Hades to be with her " (Furnivall).
1 Pliny (bk. i. c, 23) says it never opens but when the wind is
blowing.
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 2
1 8 Shakespeare's Poems
The main incidents of the Lucrece were doubtless
familiar to Shakespeare from his school-days ; and they
had been used again and again in poetry and prose.
" Chaucer had, in his Legend* of Good Women, told the
story of Lucrece, after those of Cleopatra, Dido, Thisbe,
Ypsiphile, and Meclea, ' As saythe Ovyde and Titus
Lyvyus' (Ovid's Fasti, ii. 74*; Livy, i. 57, 58); the
story is also told by Dionysius Halicarnassensis, iv. 72,
and by Diodorus Siculus, Pio Cassius, and Valerius
Maximus. In English it is besides in Lydgate's Falles
of Princes, iii. 5, and in Wm. Painter's Palate of Pleas-
ure, 1567, vol. i. fol. 5-7, where the story is very shortly
told : the heading is ' Sextus Tarquinius ravishelh Lu-
crece, who bewailyng the losse of her chastitie, killeth
her self.' The story is not in the Rouen edition, 1603,
of Boaistuau and Belleforest's Histoires Tragiguss, 7
vols. i2mo; or the Lucca edition, 1554, of the Novelte
of Bandello, 3 parts; or the Lyons edition, 1573, of the
Fourth Part. Painter's short Lucrece must have been
taken by himself from one of the Latin authors he cites
as his originals at the end of his preface. In 1568, was
entered on the Stat. Reg. A, If. 174, a receipt for 4/7.
from Jn. Aide ( for his lycense for prynting of a ballett,
the grevious complaynt of Lucrece ' (Arbor's Transcript,
i. 379); and in 1570 the like from 'James Robertes,
for his lycense for the pryntinge of a ballett intituled
The Death of Lucryssia ' (Arber's Transcript, i. 416).
Another ballad of the legend of Lucrece was also
printed in 1576, says Warton (J r ariorum ed, of 1821,
Introduction 19
xx, 100). Chaucer's simple, short telling of the story
in 206 lines of which 95 are taken up with the visit
of Collatyne and Tarquynyus to Rome, before Shak-
spere's start with Tarquin's journey thither alone
cannot of course compare with Shakspere's rich and
elaborate poem of 1855 lines, though, had the latter
had more of the earlier maker's brevity, it would have
attained greater fame " (Furnivall).
The story of A Lover's Complaint, so far as we know,
was original with Shakespeare.
GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE POEMS
The breadth of Shakespeare's literary tastes and
aspirations in the 'prentice period of his career is
shown by the fact that, just when his reputation as
an actor and a dramatist was becoming established,
he published two long narrative poems, Venus and
Adonis and Lucrece.
The Venus and Adonis was dedicated to the young
Earl of Southampton, apparently without his permis-
sion, as the poet begins by saying, " I know not how I
shall offend in dedicating my unpolished lines to your
lordship." He acids a " vow to take advantage of all
idle hours " till he can honour his patron " with some
graver labour." This promise doubtless refers to the
Lncrece which he also dedicates to Southampton, and
in terms implying that he does it with the earl's per-
mission : " The warrant I have of your honourable dis-
position, not the worth of my untutored lines, makes it
20 Shakespeare's Poems
assured of acceptance. What I have done is yours ;
what I have to do is yours ; being part in all I have,
devoted yours."
Southampton was not quite twenty when the / V///AV
and Adonis was dedicated to him, having been born
October 6th, 1573, He was entered at St. John's Col-
lege, Cambridge, on December n, 1585, just after he
was twelve ; he took his degree of Master of Arts before
he was sixteen, on June 6, 1589 ; and soon after entered
at Gray's Inn, London. He was a ward of Lord Burgh-
ley. He became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth's, but
lost her favour, in 1595, for making love to Elizabeth
Vernon (Essex's cousin), whom he married later, in
1598. All his life he was a liberal patron of men of
letters. He was particularly interested in the drama.
In 1599 we find a reference to him as u going to plays
every day." It may be added that later in life he was
engaged in schemes for colonization in America. '* He
helped to equip expeditions to Virginia, and was treas-
urer of the Virginia Company, The map of the coun-
try commemorates his labours as a colonial pioneer. In
his honour were named Southampton Hundred, Hamp-
ton River, and Hampton Roads in Virginia " (Sidney
Lee).
In the dedication of Venus and Adonis Shakespeare
calls the poem " the first heir of my invention " that
is, the first product of his imagination. It is a ques-
tion whether this means that it was written before any
of the plays, or that it was his first distinctively literary
Introduction 21
work, plays being then regarded as not belonging to
" invention/ 1 or literature properly so called. Knight
and some others take the expression in its literal sense.
Knight, for instance, says : " We regard the Venus and
Adonis as the production of a very young man, im-
proved, perhaps, considerably in the interval between
its first composition and its publication, but distin-
guished by peculiarities which belong to the wild luxu-
riance of youthful power, such power, however, as
few besides Shakspere had ever possessed."
Bay nes remarks : "All the facts and probabilities of
the case seem to me to indicate that the Venus and
Adonis, as Shakespeare's earliest considerable effort,
must have been produced at Stratford some years
before his departure for London. With regard to the
internal evidence in support of this view, Mr. Collier
says : ' A young man so gifted would not, and could
not, wait until he was five or six and twenty before
he made considerable and most successful attempts at
poetical composition ; and we feel morally certain that
Venus and Adonis was in being anterior to Shake-
speare's quitting Stratford. It bears all the marks of
youthful vigour, of strong passion, of luxuriant imagina-
tion, together with a force and originality of expression
which betoken the first efforts of a great mind, not
always well regulated in its taste. It seems to have
been written in the open air of a fine country like War-
wickshire, possessing all the freshness of the recent im-
pression of natural objects ; and we will go so far as to
act Shakespeare's Poems
say that we do not think even Shakespeare himself
could have produced it, in the form it bears, after he
had reached the age of forty.' In relation to the last
point I should be disposed to go further still, and say
that it is very unlikely that Shakespeare either could or
would have produced such a poem after he had found
in the drama the free use of both his hands the
means of dealing effectively with action as well as
passion."
But Shakespeare in London did not forget with
his love of nature he could not forget his " woody
Warwickshire ; " and in London there were many large
gardens, and the suburbs were distinctly rural. The
Theatre and the Curtain, just outside the walls, were
" in the fields," and wild flowers could be gathered
almost at the door of the playhouse, Shakespeare,
moreover, was a poet when he began to be a dramatist,
and the semi-lyrical character of large portions of his
earliest plays, as well as the delight in nature which
they show, has been often pointed out by the critics.
The poems, like these plays, abound in reminiscences of
country life, but it is not necessary to suppose that
they, any more than the plays, were actually written
amid the scenes of country life.
In 1592 the theatres were closed from July to
December on account of the plague, and as the Venus
and Adonu was entered for publication in April, 1593,
it is quite certain that it must have been mainly or
wholly written during that half-year when the poet's
Introduction 23
interest was more or less diverted from dramatic com-
position into other literary channels. There is a
striking allusion to the pestilence in the poem (505-
5*) :
" Long may they kiss each other for this cure!
O, never let their crimson liveries wear !
And as they last, their verdure still endure,
To drive infection from the dangerous year!
That the star-ga/ers, having writ on death,
May say the plague is banish'd by thy breath."
The allusion may have been immediately suggested
by the practice of strewing rooms with rue and other
strong-smelling herbs as a means of preventing infec-
tion. The reference to the astrologers, predicting
death by their horoscopes, is also in keeping with the
fatal season,
The critics of the eighteenth century were inclined
to disparage Shakespeare's poems. Malone, in his
concluding remarks upon the Venus and Adonis and
LucrecC) says : " We should do Shal^speare injustice
were we to try them by comparison with more modern
and polished productions, or with our present idea of
poetical excellence." Knight, after quoting this, ob-
serves : " This was written in the year 1780 the
period which rejoiced in the c polished productions ' of
Hayley and Miss Seward, and founded its f idea of
poetical excellence ' on some standard which, secure in
its conventional forms, might depart as far as possible
from simplicity and nature, to give us words without
24 Shakespeare's Poems
thought, arranged in verses without music. It would
be injustice indeed to Shakspere to try the fa mis and
Adonis and Lucrece by such a standard of * poetical
excellence.' But we have outlived that period. 1 '
Coleridge was the first to do justice to the merits of
the Venus and Adonis. He remarks : u It is throughout
as if a superior spirit, more intuitive, more intimately
conscious, even than the characters themselves, not
only of every outward look and act, but of the flux and
reflux of the mind in all its subtlest thoughts and feel-
ings, were placing the whole before our view ; himself
meanwhile unparticlpating in the passions, and actuated
only by that pleasurable excitement which had resulted
from the energetic fervour of his own spirit in so vividly
exhibiting what it had so accurately and profoundly
contemplated. ... His Venus and Adonis seem at
once the characters themselves, and the whole repre-
sentation of those characters by the most consummate
actors. You seem to be told nothing, but to see and
hear everything. Hence it is, that, from the perpetual
activity of attention required on the part of the reader,
from the rapid flow, the quick change, and the play-
ful nature of the thoughts and images, and, above all,
from the alienation, and, if I may hazard such an ex-
pression, the utter aloofness of the poet's own feelings
from those of which he is at once the painter and the
analyst, that though the very subject cannot hut
detract from the pleasure of a ddicale mind, yet
never was poem less dangerous on a moral account."
Introduction 25
Elsewhere the same critic has observed that, " in the
Venus and Adonis > the first and most obvious excellence
is the perfect sweetness of the versification ; its adapta-
tion to the subject ; and the power displayed in varying
the march of the words without passing into a loftier
and more majestic rhythm than was demanded by the
thoughts, or permitted by the propriety of preserving a
sense of melody predominant." This self-controlling
power of " varying the march of the words without pass-
ing into a loftier and more majestic rhythm " is perhaps
one of the most signal instances of Shakespeare's con-
summate mastery of his art, even as a very young man.
Dowden says of the Venus and Adonis and the
Lticrecc ; "Each is an artistic study; and they form
companion studies one of female lust and boy-
ish coldness, the other of male lust and womanly
chastity. Coleridge noticed ' the utter aloofness of
the poet's own feelings from those of which he is
at once the painter and the analyst ; ' but it can
hardly be admitted that this aloofness of the poet's
own feelings proceeds from a dramatic abandonment
of self. The subjects of these two poems did not call
and choose their poet ; they did not possess him and
compel him to render them into art. Rather the poet
expressly made choice of the subjects, and deliberately
set himself down before each to accomplish an exhaus-
tive study of it. ... And for a young writer of the
Renascence, the subject of Shakspere's earliest poem
was a splendid one as voluptuous and unspiritual as
26 Shakespeare's Poems
that of a classical picture of Titian, It included two
figures containing inexhaustible pasture for the fleshly
eye, and delicacies and dainties for the sensuous imagi-
nation of the Renascence the enamoured Queen of
Beauty, and the beautiful, disdainful boy. It afforded
occasion for endless exercises and variations on the
themes, Beauty, Lust, and Death, In holding the sub-
ject before his imagination, Shakspere is perfectly cool
and collected. He has made choice of the subject, and
he is interested in doing his duty by it in the most
thorough way a young poet can ; but he remains unim-
passioned intent wholly upon getting down the right
colours and lines upon his canvas."
Furnivall says : " From whatever source came the
impulse to take from Ovid the heated story of the
heathen goddess's lust, we cannot forbear noticing
how through this stifling atmosphere Shakspere has
blown the fresh breezes of English meads and downs.
A Midsiimmer->Nigh?$ Dream itself is not fuller of evi-
dence of Shakspere's intimate knowledge of, and intense
delight in, country scenes and sights, whether shown in
his description of horse and hounds, or in closer touches,
like that of the hush of wind before the rain ; while such
lines as those about the eagle flapping, ' shaking its
wings ' over its food, send us still to the Zoological
Gardens to verify. Two lines (V. and A. 707, 708)
there are, reflecting Shakspere's own experience of
life his own early life in London possibly which we
must not fail to note; they are echoed in ffamlet; -
Introduction 27
* For misery is trodden on by many,
And being low, never reliev'd by any/
'Twas a lesson plainly taught by the Elizabethan
days, and the Victorian preach it too. It has been
the fashion lately to run down the Venus as com-
pared with Marlowe's Hero and Lea titter. Its faults
are manifest. It shows less restraint and training
than the work of the earlier-ripened Marlowe ; but
to me it has a fulness of power and promise of
genius enough to make three Marlowes. ... Of
possession and promise in Shakspere's first poem,
we have an intense love of nature, and a conviction
(which never left him) of her sympathy with the
moods of men ; a penetrating eye ; a passionate
soul ; a striving power of throwing himself into
all he sees, and reproducing it living and real to
his reader ; a lively fancy, command of words, and
music of verse ; these wielded by a shaping spirit
that strives to keep each faculty under one control,
and guide it while doing its share of the desired
whole."
Mr. George Wyndham (1898),* in his Poems of Shake-
speare, is right in declaring that Shakespeare handles
his theme with due regard for beauty and " disregard
for all that disfigures beauty," and, like Coleridge,
defends the poem from the charge of immorality. He
* Some of my readers may not know that the author of this admi-
rable edition of the Poems is the Rt, Hon. George Wyndham, chief sec-
retary for Ireland in 1900 and a cabinet minister in 1902.
28 Shakespeare's Poems
says: "Shakespeare portrays an amorous encounter
through its every gesture; yet, unless in some dozen
lines where he glances aside, like any Medieval, at a
gaiety not yet divorced from love, his appeal to Beauty
persists from first to last ; and nowhere is there an
appeal to Lust. The laughter and sorrow of the
poem, belong wholly to the faery world of vision and
romance, where there is no sickness, whether of senti-
ment or of sense. And both are rendered by images,
clean-cut as in antique gems, brilliantly enamelled
as in mediaeval chalices, numerous and interwoven
as in Moorish arabesques; so that their incision,
colour, and rapidity of development, apart even
from the intricate melodies of the verbal medium in
which they live, tax the faculty of artistic apprecia-
tion to a point where it begins to participate in the
asceticism of artistic creation. ' As little can a mind
thus roused and awakened be brooded on by mean and
indistinct emotion as the low, lazy mist can creep upon
the surface of a lake while a strong gale is driving it
onward in waves and billows: ' Thus does Coleridge
resist the application to shift the venue of criticism on
this poem from the court of Beauty to the court of
Morals, and upon that subject little more can be said.
How wilful it is to discuss the moral bearing of an in-
vitation couched by an imaginary goddess in such
imaginative terms as these:
Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear,
Or, like a fairv. trip upon the green.
Introduction 29
Or, like a nymph, with long dishevelPd hair,
Dance on the sands, and yet no footing seen ! ' . . ,
" When Venus says, ' Bid me discourse, I will en-
chant thine ear,' she instances yet another peculiar
excellence of Shakespeare's lyrical art, which shows in
this poem, is redoubled in Lucrece^ and in the Sonnets
yields the most perfect examples of human speech :
* Touch but my lips with those fair lips of thine,
Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red. . . .
Art thou ashamed to kiss ? Then wink again,
And I will wink; so shall the day seem night.'
These are the fair words of her soliciting, and Adonis's
reply is of the same silvery quality :
* If love have lent you twenty thousand tongues,
And every tongue more moving than your own,
Bewitching like the wanton mermaid's songs,
Yet from mine ear the tempting tune is blown/
And, as he goes on :
* Lest the deceiving harmony should run
Into the quiet closure of my breast ; *
you catch a note prelusive to the pleading altercation
of the Sonnets, It is the discourse in Venus and Adonis
and Lucrece which renders them discursive. Indeed
they are long poems, on whose first reading Poe's
advice, never to begin at the same place, may wisely
be followed. You do well, for instance, to begin at
stanza 136
[' With this, he breaketh from the sweet embrace
Of those fair arms which bound him to her breast,
30 Shakespeare's Poems
And homeward through the dark laund runs apace,
Leaves Love upon her hack deeply distressed.
Look, how a bright star shooteth from the sky,
So glides he in the night from Venus' eye/]
in order to enjoy the narrative of Venus's vain pursuit,
with your senses unwearied by the length and sweet-
ness of her argument. The passage hence to the end
is in the true romantic tradition: stanzas 140 and
['She marking them begins a wailing note
And sings extemporally a woeful ditty :
How love makes young men thrall ami old men dote ;
How love is wise in folly, foolish-witty.
Her heavy anthem still concludes in woe,
And still the choir of echoes answer so,
Her song was tedious and outwore the night,
For lovers' hours are long, though seeming short;
If pleased themselves, others, they think, delight
In such-like circumstance, with sueh-lilu: sport;
Their copious atones oftentimes begun
End without audience and are never clone.']
are as clearly forerunners of Keats as 144
[* Venus salutes him with this fair good-morrow:
" C) thou clear god, and patron of all light,
From whom each lamp and shining star doth borrow
The beauteous influence that makes him bright,
There lives a son that suck'd an earthly mother,
May lend thee light, as thou dost lend to others." *]
is the child of Chaucer. The truth of such art con-
sists in magnifying selected details until their gigantic
Introduction 31
shapes, edged with a shadowy iridescence, fill the whole
field of observation. Certain gestures of the body,
certain moods of the mind, are made to tell with the
weight of trifles during awe-stricken pauses of delay.''
The three sonnets on the story of Venus and Adonis
in The Passionate Pilgrim are generally regarded by
the critics as preliminary studies for the poem ; but it
is doubtful whether Shakespeare wrote them. If they
are his it is singular that they were not included in the
1609 edition of the Sonnets with the two sonnets (153,
154) on the same subject. Their authenticity may also
be questioned from the fact that in one of them the
author ridicules Adonis (" He rose and ran away ah,
fool too frowarcl ! ") for not yielding to the wiles of
Venus. In Shakespeare's poem it is to be noted that
nothing like this occurs. In the line (578), " The poor
fool prays her that he may depart," the context proves
that "fool" is used in a sympathetic pitying way; as
" poor fool " is in at least eight passages in the plays
so also " good fool " and " pretty fool" The behaviour
of Adonis is indirectly approved by the poet, while that
of Venus is, again and again, directly condemned ; as,
for instance, in lines 555-558 :
" Her face doth reek and smoke, her blood doth boil,
And careless lust stirs up a desperate courage ;
Planting oblivion, beating reason back,
Forgetting shame's pure blush and honour's wrack. 7 *
Adonis himself is eloquent in his denunciations of her
sensuality and her sophistry (787 fol), and Shake-
32 Shakespeare's Poems
speare speaks through him as truly as in the 129111
sonnet :
" * What have you urged that I cannot reprove ?
The path is smooth that leadeth on to danger :
I hate not love, but your device in love,
That lends embraeernents unto every stranger.
You do it for increase ; O strange excuse,
When reason is the bawd tu lust's abuse !
'Call it not love, for Love to heaven is lied.
Since sweating Lust on earth usurpM his name ;
Under whose simple semblance he hath fed
Upon fresh beauty, blotting it with blame,
Which the hot tyrant stains and soon bereaves,
As caterpillars do the tender leaves.
* Love comforteth like sunshine after rain,
But Lust's effect is tempest after sun ;
Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain,
Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done ;
Love surfeits not, Lust like a glutton dies ;
Love is all truth, Lust full of forged lies.' "
It is significant, moreover, that the goddess is not suc-
cessful in her lustful wooing, as other authors (except
Ovid) represent, bringing Adonis back from Hades to
be with her,
That the poem was considered somewhat objection-
able even in Shakespeare's day is evident from certain
contemporaneous references to it, Halliwell-Phillipps
quotes A Mad World my Masters^ 1608 : " I have con-
vay'd away all her wanton pamphlets, as Hero and
Leander, Venus and Adonis;" and Sir John Davies,
Introduction 33
who in his Papers Complaint (found in his Scourge of
/W/V, 1610) makes kf Paper " admit the superlative ex-
cellence of Shakespeare's poem, but at the same time
censure its being" " attired in such bawdy geare." It
is also stated that " the coyest dames in private read it
for their closset-games." In The Dumbe Knight, 1608,
the lawyer's clerk refers to it as " maides philosophic ; "
and the stanza beginning with line 229 (" ' Fondling, 7
she saith, 'since I have hemm'd thee here,' " etc.)
is quoted both in that play and in Heywood's jFayre
May d of the Exchange, 1607.
The greater maturity shown in the Lucrece, though
published only a year after Venus and Adonis , certainly
tends to support the theory that the latter was largely
written some years before its publication, though prob-
ably not completed until 1592. Knight, indeed, goes
so far as to say : " There is to our mind the difference
of eight or even ten years in the aspect of these poems
a difference as manifest as that which exists between
Lovers Labour 's Lost and Romeo and Juliet" Cole-
ridge remarks : " The Venus and Adonis did not per-
haps allow the display of the deeper passions. But the
story of Lucretia seems to favour, and even demand,
their intensest workings. And yet we find in Shake-
speare's management of the tale neither pathos nor any
other dramatic quality. There is the same minute and
faithful imagery as in the former poem, in the same
vivid colours, inspirited by the same impetuous vigour
of thought, and diverging and contracting with the same
SKAJ&ESPEARE'S POEMS 3
34 Shakespeare's Poems
activity of the assimilative and of the modifying facul-
ties ; and with a yet larger display, a yet wider range
of knowledge and reflection ; and, lastly, with the same
perfect dominion, often domination, over the whole
world of language.'*
Baynes, in his comments on " the profounder ethical
and reflective aspects " of the two poems, observes : " It
may justly be said that if Shakespeare follows Ovid in
the narrative and descriptive part of his work, in the
vivid picturing of sensuous passion, he is as decisively
separated from him in the reflective part, the higher
purpose and ethical significance of the poems, The
underlying subject in both is the same, the debasing
nature and destructive results of the violent sensuous
impulses, which in antiquity so often usurped the name
of love, although in truth they have little in common
with the nobler passion. The influence of fierce inor-
dinate desire is dealt with by Shakespeare in these
poems in all its breadth as affecting both sexes, and in
all its intensity as blasting the most sacred interests
and relationships of life. In working out the subject,
Shakespeare shows his thorough knowledge of its se-
ductive outward charm, of the arts and artifices, the
persuasions and assaults, the raptures and languors of
stimulated sensual passion. In this he is quite a match
for the erotic and elegiac poets of classic times, and
especially of Roman literature. He is not likely there-
fore in any way to undervalue the attraction or the
power of what they celebrate in strains so fervid and
Introduction 35
rapturous. But, while contemplating the lower passion
steadily in all its force and charm, he has at the same
time the higher vision which enables him to see through
and beyond it, the reflective insight to measure its
results, and to estimate with remorseless accuracy its
true worth. It is in this higher power of reflective in-
sight, in depth and vigour of thought as well as feeling,
that Shakespeare's earliest efforts are marked off even
from the better works of those whom he took, if not as
his masters, at least as his models and guides. He
was himself full of rich and vigorous life, deepened
by sensibilities of the rarest strength and delicacy ;
and in early youth had realized, in his own experience,
the impetuous force of passionate impulses. But his
intellectual power no less than the essential depth and
purity of his nobler emotional nature would effectually
prevent his ever becoming ' soft fancy's slave.'
" In the very earliest poem we have from Shake-
speare's pen this higher note of the modern world is
clearly sounded the note that 'Love is Lord of all,'
and that love is something infinitely higher and more
divine than the lawless vagrant passion which in pagan
times passed under that name. To the modern mind,
while the latter is blind, selfish, and often brutal in pro-
portion to its strength, the former is full of sympathy
and self-abnegation, of an almost sacred ardour and
gentleness, humility and devotion, the very heart and
crown of life."
Further on, after quoting the stanzas (787 fol.) given
36 Shakespeare's Poems
above, in which Adonis reproaches Venus for her
sensuality, Baynes remarks: "In this reproof of the
pagan goddess of love, the higher note of the modern
world is struck fully and clearly. It is repeated with
tragic emphasis in the Lumct, deepened in the Sonnets,
and developed through all the gracious range of higher
female characters in the dramas. Nowhere indeed is
the vital difference in the social axes of the ancient and
modern world more vividly seen, than in the contrast
between the Lesbias, Delias, and Corinnas of Roman
poetry, and the Mirandas, Portias, and Imogens of
Shakespeare's dramas. In the one we have the monot-
onous ardours and disdains, the gusts and glooms, the
tricks and artifices belonging to the stunted life of lower
impulse ; in the other, the fadeless beauty and grace,
the vivacity and intelligence, the gentleness and truth
of perfect womanhood/'
Mr. Verity (" Henry Irving " edition), on the other
hand, says; " Whereas Lucrecc is intensely didactic,
Venus and Adonis is no less intensely non-moral not
immoral, but unmoral. If Lucrece gives us the * criti-
cism of life ' theory of literature at its keenest, Venus
and Adonis shows us the ' art for art's sake ' doctrine
in the furthest possible development of that idea. . ,
It is the purest paganism, a deification of erotic im-
pulse which Catullus himself could not have surpassed.
, . . There can be no place for the preacher here ; we
cannot take very seriously the morality that flows from
the pretty protesting lips o the blushing boy, , . The
Introduction 37
poem is, as far as I can understand it, a study in sensu-
ous eiTects ; a series of stanzas in which morality and
the ethical element that we usually look for in litera-
ture, especially English literature, are wholly absent."
But why should we not take the morality of Adonis
as seriously as that of the i29th Sonnet? The tone
of the stanzas quoted on p. 32 above ie identical with
that of the Sonnet. If the latter is more intense, it is
only because it expresses the remorse of one who has
yielded to the temptations of lust, while Adonis has
resisted them, though the allurements of the goddess
are so seductive and so persistent that they " might
well have warm'd old Saturn."
"Lucrece," as the critic adds, " is perfectly different.
Here the poet is at once an artist and a preacher ; his
achievement, if not his aim, is purely didactic. For no
more terrible picture was ever drawn of the utter deso-
lation and ruin wrought by unbridled, unreasoning im-
pulse. Each phase of the passion is anatomized with
the pitiless detail of minute realism. Simple enough
in its beginning, the story works up with a gradual
crescendo of horror to its tragic climax, and when the
end comes no one, not the dullest of prosaicists, can
be blind to the poet's purpose."
All this is true, but it is also substantially true of the
other poem except for the lack there of the tragic ele-
ment. The "minute realism" is the same in both
though in some details more minute in the earlier poem
and in both the " didactic " purpose, if we call it so,
38 Shakespeare's Poems
is equally clear. Shakespeare is seldom personally a
" preacher," being generally content (as always in the
plays) to let his characters speak for him; but Adonis
preaches no less truly than Lucrece, and with equally
c < sound doctrine/' though the presentation of it is natu-
rally and necessarily modified by the situation and cir-
cumstances. If Venus and Adonis is " the deification of
erotic impulse," it is in no sense its defence or pallia-
tion, but, like Lucrece, its absolute and emphatic dam-
nation.
Aside from Venus and Adonis, Lucrecf, and the Son-
nets (which will be discussed in another volume), the
only poems ascribed to Shakespeare which are quite
certainly his are A Lover's Complaint and The /%';//. v
and the Turtle.
A Lover's Complaint was first published with the Son-
nets in 1609. There is no external evidence for deter-
mining when it was written, but the internal evidence
of style and treatment indicates that it was later than
Lucrece, It is in the same seven-lined stanza as that
poem, and shows a " marked decrease in the use of
antithesis and verbal paradox, and so far points to a
refinement in taste ; " but there is nothing in the treat-
ment of the subject the lament of a girl who has been
betrayed by a deceitful youth which shows any note-
worthy advance in other respects. The Spenserian
flavour of the poem has been often noted by the critics.
Malone remarks that it reads like a challenge to Spenser
on his own ground. As Mr, Verity says, " it has much
Introduction 39
of Spenser's stately pathos and sense of physical beauty,
and exquisite verbal melody." It appears to be an early
exercise in the style of that poet, whose Complaints :
containing Sundry Small Poems of the Worlds Vanity
was published in 1591. These opening lines of The
Ruins of Time in that volume have been compared with
those of A Lover's Complaint:
" A woman sitting sorrowfully wailing,
Rending her yellow locks like wiry gold.
About her shoulders carelessly down trailing,
And streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing j
In her right hand a broken rod she held,
Which towards heaven she seemed on high to weld."
The Ph&nix and the Turtle must have been written
before 1601, when it was printed with Chester's Love's
Martyr and ascribed to Shakespeare.
Malone had no doubt of the genuineness of the poem,
but a few of the recent critics have been less confident
of its authorship. Grant White says: "There is no
other external evidence that these verses are Shake-
speare's than their appearance with his signature in a
collection of poems published in London while he was
living there in the height of his reputation. The style,
however, is at least a happy imitation of his, especially
in the bold and original use of epithet.' 7 Dowden, in
his Primer (1878), says : " That it is his seems in a high
degree doubtful; " but, some years later, in a letter to
the present writer, he said that he had no longer any
doubt that the poem is Shakespeare's.
40 Shakespeare's Poems
There is one point in favour of this view which
apparently has been overlooked by the critics ; namely,
that Chester's book was not a publisher's piratical
venture, like The Passionate Pi/grim, but the reputable
work of a gentleman who would hardly have ventured
to insult his patron to whom he dedicates it, by palming
off anonymous verses as the contribution of a well-
known poet of the time, who was residing in London
in 1 60 1 when it appeared.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the preface to his Par-
nassus (1875), remarks: "I should like to have the
Academy of Letters propose a prize for an essay on
Shakespeare's poem, Let the bird of loudest lay, and the
Tlirenos with which it closes, the aim of the essay being
to explain, by a historical research into the poetic myths
and tendencies of the age in which it was written, the
frame and allusions of the poem. I have not seen
Chester's Love's Martyr and ' the Additional Poems '
(1601) in which it appeared. Perhaps that book will
suggest all the explanation this poem requires, To
unassisted readers, it would appear to be a lament on
the death of a poet, and of his poetic mistress. But
the poem is so quaint, and charming in diction, tone,
and allusions, and in its perfect metre and harmony,
that I would gladly have the fullest illustration yet
attainable. I consider this piece a good example of
the rule that there is a poetry for barcls proper, as well
as a poetry for the world of readers. This poem, if
published for the first time, and without a known
Introduction 41
author's name, would find no general reception. Only
the poets would save it."
Halliwell-Phillipps says : " It was towards the close
of the present year, 1600, or at some time in the follow-
ing one, that Shakespeare, for the first and only time,
came forward in the avowed character of a philosophi-
cal writer." After giving an account of Chester's book,
he adds : " The contribution of the great dramatist is
a remarkable poem in which he makes a notice of the
obsequies of the phoenix and turtle-dove subservient to
the delineation of spiritual union. It is generally thought
that Chester himself intended a personal allegory, but,
if that be the case, there is nothing to indicate that
Shakespeare participated in the design, nor even that
he had endured the punishment of reading Lovers
Martyr."
VENUS AND ADONIS
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY WRIOTHESLEY,
EARL OK .SOUTHAMPTON AND BARON OF TICHKIKt.n
RIGHT HONOURABLE,
I know not how I shall offend in dedicating my unpolished lines
to your Lordship, nor how the world will censure me for choosing
so strong a prop to support so weak a burthen ; only if your 1 lonour
seem but pleased, I account myself highly praised, and vow to take
advantage of all idle hours till I have honoured you with some graver
labour. But if the first heir of my invention prove deformed, I shall
be sorry it had so noble a godfather, and never after ear so barren
a land, for fear it yield me still so bad a harvest. 1 leave it to your
honourable survey, and your Honour to your heart's content, which
I wish may always answer your own wish and the world's hopeful
expectation.
Your Honour's in all duty,
WILLIAM
VENUS AND ADONIS
EVEN as the sun with purple-colour'd face
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheek J d Adonis hied him to the chase ;
Hunting he lov'd, but love he laugh *d to scorn.
Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And like a bold-fac'd suitor gins to woo him.
< Thrice fairer than myself,' thus she began,
* The field's chief flower, sweet above compare,
Stain to all nymphs, more lovely than a man,
More white and red than doves or roses are,
Nature that made thee, with herself at strife,
Saith that the world hath ending with thy life.
* Vouchsafe, thou wonder, to alight thy steed,
And rein his proud head to the saddle-bow;
45
$6 Shakespeare *s Poems
If thou wilt deign this favour, for thy meed
A thousand honey secrets shall thou know.
Here come and sit, where never serpent hisses,
And being set I T ll smother thee with kisses,
' And yet not cloy thy lips with loath 'd satiety,
But rather famish them amid their plenty, 20
Making them red and pale with fresh variety,
Ten kisses short as one, one long as twenty ;
A summer's day will seem an hour but short,
Being wasted in such time-beguiling sport.'
With this she seizeth on his sweating palm,
The precedent of pith and livelihood,
And, trembling in her passion, calls it balm,
Earth's sovereign salve to do a goddess good ;
Being so enrag'd, desire doth lend her force
Courageously to pluck him from his horse. 30
Over one arm the lusty courser's rein,
Under her other was the tender boy,
Who blush/d and pouted in a dull disdain,
With leaden appetite, unapt to toy ;
She red and hot as coals of glowing fire,
He red for shame, but frosty in desire.
The studded bridle on a ragged bough
Nimbly she fastens O, how quick is love ! *
The steed is stalled up, and even now
To tie the rider she begins to prove ; 40
Venus and Adonis 47
Backward she pushed him, as she would be thrust,
And govern 'd him in strength, though not in lust.
So soon was she along as he was down,
Each leaning on their elbows and their hips ;
Now doth she stroke his cheek, now doth he frown,
And gins to chide, but soon she stops his lips,
And kissing speaks, with lustful language broken,
1 If thou wilt chide, thy lips shall never open.'
He burns with bashful shame, she with her tears
Doth quench the maiden burning of his cheeks ; 50
Then with her windy sighs and golden hairs
To fan and blow them dry again she seeks.
He saith she is immodest, blames her miss ;
What follows more she murthers with a kiss.
Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast,
Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh, and bone,
Shaking her wings, devouring all in haste,
Till either gorge be stufl'd or prey be gone,
Even so she kiss'd his brow, his cheek, his chin,
And where she ends she doth anew begin. 60
Forc'd to content, but never to obey,
Panting he lies and breatheth in her face ;
She feedeth on the steam as on a prey,
And calls it heavenly moisture, air of grace,
Wishing her cheeks were gardens full of flowers,
So they were dew'd with such distilling showers.
48 Shakespeare's Poems
Look how a bird lies tangled in a net,
So fasten'cl in her arms Adonis lies;
Pure shame and awed resistance made him fret,
Which bred more beauty in his angry eyes. 70
Rain added to a river that is rank
Perforce will force it overilow the bank.
Still she entreats, and prettily entreats,
For to a pretty ear she tunes her tale ;
Still is he sullen, still he lowers and frets,
'Twixt crimson shame and anger ashy-pale.
Being red, she loves him best; and being white,
Her best is better'd with a more delight.
Look how he can, she cannot choose but love ;
And by her fair immortal hand she swears So
From his soft bosom never to remove
Till he take truce with her contending tears,
Which long have rain'cl, making her cheeks all wet ;
And one sweet kiss shall pay this countless debt.
Upon this promise did he raise his chin,
Like a divedapper peering through a wave,
Who, being look'd on, ducks as quickly in ;
So offers he to give what she did crave,
But when her lips were ready for his pay,
He winks and turns his lips another way. 90
Never did passenger in summer's heat
More thirst for drink than she for this good turn.
Venus and Adonis 49
Her help she sees, but help she cannot get ;
She bathes in water, yet her lire must burn.
* O, pity,' gan she cry, f flint-hearted boy !
; T is but a kiss I beg ; why art thou coy ?
1 1 have been woo'd, as I entreat thee now,
Even by the stern and direful god of war,
Whose sinewy neck in battle ne'er did bow,
Who conquers where he comes in every jar ; 100
Yet hath he been my captive and my slave,
And begg'd for that which thou unask'd shalt have.
' Over my altars hath he hung his lance,
His batter'd shield, his uncontrolled crest,
And for my sake hath learned to sport and dance,
To toy, to wanton, dally, smile, and jest,
Scorning his churlish drum and ensign red,
Making my arms his field, his tent my bed.
* Thus he that overrul'd I oversway'd,
Leading him prisoner in a red-rose chain ; no
Strong-temper'd steel his stronger strength obey'd,
Yet was he servile to my coy disdain.
O, be not proud, nor brag not of thy might,
For mastering her that foiPd the god of fight I
* Touch but my lips with those fair lips of thine,
Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red,
The kiss shall be thine own as well as mine.
What seest thou in the ground ? hold up thy head.
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Look in mine eye-balls, there thy beauty lies ;
Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in eyes ? 120
' Art thou ashatrf d to kiss ? then wink again,
And I will wink; so shall the clay seem night.
Love keeps his revels where there are but twain ;
Be bold to play, our sport is not in sight
These blue-vein'd violets whereon we lean
Never can blab, nor know not what we mean.
{ The tender spring upon thy tempting lip
Shows thee unripe, yet mayst thou well be tasted.
Make use of time, let not advantage slip ;
Beauty within itself should not be wasted. 130
Fair flowers that are not gather 'cl in their prime
Rot and consume themselves in little time.
1 Were I hard-favour'd, foul, or wrinkled-old,
Ill-nurtur'd, crooked, churlish, harsh in voice,
O'erworn, despised, rheumatic and cold,
Thick-sighted, barren, lean and lacking juice,
Then mightst thou pause, for then I were not for thee ;
But having no defects, why clost abhor me ?
( Thou canst not see one wrinkle in my brow ;
Mine eyes are gray and bright and quick in turning;
My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow ; 141
My flesh is soft and plump, my marrow burning ;
My smooth moist hand, were it with thy hand felt,
Would in thy palm dissolve, or seem to melt,
Venus and Adonis 51
* Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear,
Or, like a fairy, trip upon the green,
Or, like a nymph, with long dishevell'd hair,
Dance on the sands, and yet no footing seen ;
Love is a spirit all compact of fire,
Not gross to sink, but light, and will aspire. 150
' Witness this primrose bank whereon I He ;
These forceless flowers like sturdy trees support me ;
Two strengthless cloves will draw me through the sky,
From morn till night, even where I list to sport me.
Is love so light, sweet boy, and may it be
That thou shouldst think it heavy unto thee ?
' Is thine own heart to thine own face affected ?
Can thy right hand seize love upon thy left ?
Then woo thyself, be of thyself rejected,
Steal thine own freedom and complain on theft. 160
Narcissus so himself himself forsook,
And died to kiss his shadow in the brook,
' Torches are made to light, jewels to wear,
Dainties to taste, fresh beauty for the use,
Herbs for their smell, and sappy plants to bear ;
Things growing to themselves are growth's abuse.
Seeds spring from seeds and beauty breedeth beauty ;
Thou wast begot, to get it is thy duty.
Upon the earth's increase why shouldst thou feed
Unless the earth with thy increase be fed ? 170
52 Shakespeare's Poems
By law of nature thou are bound to breed,
That thine may live when thou thyself art dead
And so, in spite of death, thou dost survive,
In that thy likeness still is left alive.'
By this the love-sick queen began to sweat,
For where they lay the shadow hacl forsook them,
And Titan, tired in the mid-day heat,
With burning eye did hotly overlook them.
Wishing Adonis had his team to guide,
So he were like him and by Venus' side. iSo
And now Adonis, with a la#y spright,
And with a heavy, dark, disliking eye,
His lowering brows overwhelming his fair sight,
Like misty vapours when they blot the sky,
Souring his cheeks, cries ' Fie, no more of love 1
The sun doth burn my face ; I must remove.'
' Ay me,' quoth Venus, ' young and so unkind ?
What bare excuses mak'st thou to be gone !
I '11 sigh celestial breath, whose gentle wind
Shall cool the heat of this descending sun. 190
I '11 make a shadow for thee of my hairs ;
If they burn too, 1 11 quench them with my tears,
' The sun that shines from heaven shines but warm,
And, lo, I lie between that sun and thee.
The heat I have from thence doth little harm,
Thine eye darts forth the fire that burneth me ;
Venus and Adonis 53
And were I not immortal, life were done
Between this heavenly and earthly sun.
1 Art thou obdurate, flinty, hard as steel,
Nay, more than flint, for stone at rain relenteth ? 200
Art thou a woman's son, and canst not feel
What ? t is to love ? how want of love tormenteth ?
O, had thy mother borne so hard a mind,
She had not brought forth thee, but died unkind 1
1 What am I, that thou shouldst contemn me this?
Or what great danger dwells upon my suit ?
What were thy lips the worse for one poor kiss ?
Speak, fair ; but speak fair words, or else be mute.
Give me one kiss, I '11 give it thee again,
And one for interest, if thou wilt have twain. 210
' Fie, lifeless picture, cold and senseless stone,
Well-painted idol, image dull and dead,
Statue contenting but the eye alone,
Thing like a man, but of no woman bred !
Thou art no man, though of a man's complexion ;
For men will kiss even by their own direction/
This said, impatience chokes her pleading tongue,
And swelling passion doth provoke a pause ;
Red cheeks and fiery eyes blaze forth her wrong ;
Being judge in love, she cannot right her cause ; 220
And now she weeps, and now she fain would speak,
And now her sobs do her intendments break.
54 Shakespeare's Poems
Sometimes she shakes her head and then his hand,
Now gazeth she on him, now on the ground ;
Sometimes her arms infold him like a band ;
She would, he will not in her arms be bound ;
And when from thence he struggles to be gone,
She locks her lily fingers one in one.
1 Fondling,' she sailh, 'since I have hemm'd thee here
Within the circuit of this ivory pale, 230
I '11 be a park, and thou shalt be my deer ;
Feed where thou wilt, on mountain or in dale.
Graze on my lips ; and if those hills be dry,
Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie.
'Within this limit is relief enough,
Sweet bottom-grass and high delightful plain,
Round rising hillocks, brakes obscure and rough,
To shelter thee from tempest and from rain.
Then be my deer, since I am such a park ;
No dog shall rouse thee, though a thousand bark.*
At this Adonis smiles as in disdain, 241
That in each cheek appears a pretty dimple.
Love made those hollows, if himself were slain,
He might be buried in a tomb so simple ;
Foreknowing well, if there he came to lie,
Why, there Love liv'd and there he could not die.
These lovely caves, these round enchanting pits,
Open'd their mouths to swallow Venus' liking.
Venus and Adonis 55
Being mad before, how doth she now for wits ?
Struck dead at first, what needs a second striking ? 250
Poor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn,
To love a cheek that smiles at thee in scorn !
Now which way shall she turn ? what shall she say ?
Her words are done, her woes the more increasing ; .
The time is spent, her object will away,
And from her twining arms doth urge releasing.
' Pity/ she cries, i some favour, some remorse 1 '
Away he springs and hasteth to his horse.
But, lo, from forth a copse that neighbours by,
A breeding jennet, lusty, young, and proud, 260
Adonis' trampling courser doth espy,
And forth she rushes, snorts, and neighs aloud ;
The strong-neck'd steed, being tied unto a tree,
Breaketh his rein, and to her straight goes he.
Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds,
And now his woven girths he breaks asunder ;
The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds,
Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven's thunder ;
The iron bit he crushes 'tween his teeth,
Controlling what he was controlled with. 270
His ears up-prick'd ; his braided hanging mane
Upon his com pass 'd crest now stand on end ;
His nostrils drink the air, and forth again,
As from a furnace, vapours doth he send j
56 Shakespeare's Poems
His eye, which scornfully glisters like fire,
Shows his hot courage and his high desire.
Sometime he trots, as if he told the steps,
With gentle majesty and modest pride ;
Anon he rears upright, curvets, and leaps,
As who should say l Lo, thus my strength is tried, ago
And this I do to captivate the eye
Of the fair breeder that is standing by 1 '
What recketh he his rider's angry stir,
His flattering < Holla,' or his ' Stand, I say ? '
What cares he now for curb or pricking spur ?
For rich caparisons or trapping gay ?
He sees his love, and nothing else he sees,
For nothing else with his proud sight agrees,
Look, when a painter would surpass the life,
In limning out a well-proportion 'd steed, 290
His art with nature's workmanship at strife,
As if the dead the living should exceed,
So did this horse excel a common one
In shape, in courage, colour, pace, and bone.
Round-hoof'd, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long,
Broad breast, full eye, small head, and nostril wide,
High crest, short ears, straight legs and passing strong,
Thin mane, thick tail, broad buttock, tender hide,
Look, what a horse should have he did not lack,
Save a proud rider on so proud a back, 300
Venus and Adonis 57
Sometime he scuds far off, and there he stares ;
Anon he starts at stirring of a feather ;
To bid the wind a base he now prepares,
And whether he run or fly they know not whether ;
For through his mane and tail the high wind sings,
' Fanning the hairs, who wave like feather 'd wings.
He looks upon his love and neighs unto her,
She answers him as if she knew his mind ;
Being proud, as females are, to see him woo her,
She puts on outward strangeness, seems unkind, 310
Spurns at his love and scorns the heat he feels,
Beating his kind embracements with her heels.
Then, like a melancholy malcontent,
He vails his tail that, like a falling plume,
Cool shadow to his melting buttock lent ;
He stamps and bites the poor flies in his fume.
His love, perceiving how he is enrag'd,
Grew kinder, and his fury was assuag'd.
His testy master goeth about to take him,
When, lo, the unback'd breeder, full of fear, 320
Jealous of catching, swiftly doth forsake him,
With her the horse, and left Adonis there ;
As they were mad, unto the wood they hie them,
Out-stripping crows that strive to over-fly them.
All swoln with chafing, down Adonis sits,
Banning his boisterous and unruly beast ;
58 Shakespeare's Poems
And now the happy season once more fits
That love-sick Love by pleading may be blest,
For lovers say the heart hath treble wrong
When it is barr'd the aidance of the tongue. 330
An oven that is stopp'd, or river stay'd,
Burneth more hotly, swelleth with more rage.
vSo of concealed sorrow may be said ;
Free vent of words love's lire doth assuage,
But when the heart's attorney once is mute
The client breaks, as desperate in his suit.
He sees her coming, and begins to glow,
Even as a dying coal revives with wind,
And with his bonnet hides his angry brow,
Looks on the dull earth with disturbed mind, 340
Taking no notice that she is so nigh,
For all askance he holds her in his eye,
O, what a sight it was, wistly to view
How she came stealing to the wayward boy !
To note the fighting conflict of her hue,
How white and red each other did destroy 1
But now her cheek was pale, and by and by
It flash'd forth fire, as lightning from the sky.
Now was she just before him as he sat,
And like a lowly lover clown she kneels ; 350
With one fair hand she hcaveth up his hat,
Her other tender hand his fair cheek feels ;
Venus and Adonis 59
His tenderer cheek receives her soft hand's print,
As apt as new-fallen snow takes any dint.
O, what a war of looks was then between them !
Her eyes petitioners to his eyes suing ;
His eyes saw her eyes as they had not seen them ;
Her eyes woo'd still, his eyes disdain'd the wooing ;
And all this dumb play had his acts made plain
With tears, which, chorus-like, her eyes did rain. 360
Full gently noxv she takes him by the hand,
A lily prison'd in a gaol of snow,
Or ivory in an alabaster band ;
So white a friend engirts so white a foe.
This beauteous combat, wilful and unwilling,
Show'd like two silver doves that sit a-billing.
Once more the engine of her thoughts began :
' O fairest mover on this mortal round,
Would thou wert as I am, and I a man,
My heart all whole as thine, thy heart my wound ; 370
For one sweet look thy help I would assure thee,
Though nothing but my body's bane would cure
thee.'
f Give me my hand,' saith he, * why dost thou feel it ? '
< Give me my heart,' saith she, ' and thou shalt have it ;
O, give it me, lest thy hard heart do steel it,
And being steel 'd, soft sighs can never grave it.
Then love's deep groans I never shall regard,
Because Adonis' heart hath made mine hard.'
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* For shame,' he cries, * let go, and let me go ;
My day's delight is past, my horse is gone, 380
And 't is your fault I am bereft him so.
I pray you hence, and leave me here alone ;
For all my mind, my thought, my busy care,
Is how to get my palfrey from the mare.'
Thus she replies : * Thy palfrey, as he should.
Welcomes the warm approach of sweet desire.
Affection is a coal that must be cool'd ;
Else, suffer'd, it will set the heart on fire.
The sea hath bounds, but deep desire hath none ; *
Therefore no marvel though thy horse be gone. 390
4 How like a jade he stood, tied to the tree,
Servilely mastered with a leathern rein 1
But when he saw his love, his youth's fair fee,
He held such petty bondage in disdain ;
Throwing the base thong from his bending crest,
Enfranchising his mouth, his back, his breast.
* Who sees his true-love in her naked bed,
Teaching the sheets a whiter hue than white,
But, when his glutton eye so full hath fed,
His other agents aim at like delight ? 400
Who is so faint that dares not be so bold
To touch the fire, the weather being cold ?
* Let me excuse thy courser, gentle boy ;
And learn of him, I heartily beseech thee,
Venus and Adonis 61
To take advantage on presented joy ;
Though I were dumb, yet his proceedings teach thee.
O, learn to love 1 the lesson is but plain,
And once made perfect, never lost again.'
; I know not love/ quoth he, ' nor will not know it,
Unless it be a boar, and then I chase it ; 410
'T is much to borrow, and I will not owe it ;
My love to love is love but to disgrace it ;
For I have heard it is a life in death,
That laughs and weeps, and all but with a breath.
< Who wears a garment shapeless and unfinished ?
Who plucks the bud before one leaf put forth ?
If springing things be any jot diminish 'd,
They wither in their prime, prove nothing worth ;
The colt that 's back'd and burden'd being young
Loseth his pride and never waxeth strong. 420
* You hurt my hand with wringing ; let us part,
And leave this idle theme, this bootless chat.
Remove your siege from my unyielding heart ;
To love's alarms it will not 6pe the gate.
Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your flattery ;
For where a heart is hard they make no battery.'
' What ! canst thou talk ? ' quoth she, ' hast thou a
tongue ?
O, would thou hadst not, or I had no hearing !
Thy mermaid's voice hath done me double wrong ;
1 had my load before, now press 'd with bearing; 430
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Melodious discord, heavenly tune harsh-sounding,
Ear's deep-sweet music, and heart's deep-sore
wounding.
c Had I no eyes but ears, my cars would love
That inward beauty and invisible ;
Or were I deaf, thy outward parts would move
Each part in me that were but sensible ;
Though neither eyes nor ears, to hear nor see,
Yet should I be in love by touching thee.
' Say, that the sense of feeling were bereft me,
And that I could not see, nor hear, nor touch, 440
And nothing but the very smell were left me,
Yet would my love to thee be still as much ;
For from the stillitory of thy face excelling
Comes breath perfum'd that breedeth love by
smelling.
' But, 0, what banquet wert them to the taste,
Being nurse and feeder of the other four !
Would they not wish the feast might ever last,
And bid Suspicion double-lock the door,
Lest Jealousy, that sour unwelcome guest,
Should, by his stealing in, disturb the feast? ' 450
Once more the ruby-colotir'd portal open'd,
Which to his speech did honey passage yield ;
Like a red morn, that ever yet betoken'd
Wrack to the seaman, tempest to the field,
Venus and Adonis 63
Sorrow to shepherds, woe unto the birds,
Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.
This ill presage advisedly she marketh ;
Even as the wind is hush'd before it raineth,
Or as the wolf cloth grin before he barketh,
Or as the berry breaks before it staineth, 460
Or like the deadly bullet of a gun,
His meaning struck her ere his words begun.
And at his look she flatly falleth down,
For looks kill love and love by looks reviveth ;
A smile recures the wounding of a frown,
But blessed bankrupt, that by love so thriveth !
The silly boy, believing she is dead,
Claps her pale cheek, till clapping makes it red ;
And all amaz'd brake off his late intent,
For sharply he did think to reprehend her, 470
Which cunning love did wittingly prevent
Fair fall the wit that can so well defend her 1
For on the grass she lies as she were slain,
Till his breath breatheth life in her again.
He wrings her nose, he strikes her on the cheeks,
He bends her fingers, holds her pulses hard,
He chafes her lips ; a thousand ways he seeks
To mend the hurt that his unkindness marr'd.
He kisses her ; and she, by her good will,
Will never rise, so he will kiss her still. 480
64 Shakespeare's Poems
The night of sorrow now is turn VI to day ;
Her two blue windows faintly she upheavcth,
Like the fair sun, when in his fresh array
He cheers the morn and all the earth relieveth;
And as the bright sun glorifies the sky,
So is her face illumined with her eye,
Whose beams upon his hairless face are fix'd,
As if from thence they borrow'd all their shine.
Were never four such lamps together mix'd,
Had not his clouded with his brow's repine ; 490
But hers, which through the crystal tears gave light,
Shone like the moon in water seen by night.
O, where am I ? ' quoth she, ( in earth or heaven,
Or in the ocean drench 'd, or in the lire ?
What hour is this ? or morn or weary even ?
Do I delight to die, or life desire ?
But now I liv'd, and life was death's annoy ;
But now I died, and death was lively joy.
' O, thou didst kill me ; kill me once again !
Thy eyes' shrewd tutor, that hard heart of thine, 500
Hath taught them scornful tricks and such disdain
That they have murther'd this poor heart of mine ;
And these mine eyes, true leaders to their queen,
But for thy piteous lips no more had seen.
' Long may they kiss each other for this cure 1
O, never let their crimson liveries wear 1
Venus and Adonis 65
And as they last, their verdure still endure,
To drive infection from the dangerous year !
That the star-gazers, having writ on death,
May say the plague is banish 'd by thy breath. 510
* Pure lips, sweet seals in my soft lips imprinted,
What bargains may I make, still to be sealing ?
To sell myself I can be well contented,
So thou wilt buy and pay and use good dealing ;
Which purchase if thou make, for fear of slips
Set thy seal-manual on my wax-red lips.
* A thousand kisses buys my heart from me ;
And pay them at thy leisure, one by one.
What is ten hundred touches unto thee ?
Are they not quickly told and quickly gone ? 520
Say, for non-payment that the debt should double,
Is twenty hundred kisses such a trouble ? '
* Fair queen,' quoth he, ' if any love you owe me,
Measure my strangeness with my unripe years.
Before I know myself, seek not to know me ;
No fisher but the ungrown fry forbears.
The mellow plum doth fall, the green sticks fast,
Or being early pluck'd is sour to taste.
* Look, the world's comforter, with weary gait,
His day's hot task hath ended in the west ; 530
The owl, night's herald, shrieks, " 'T is very late ; "
The sheep are gone to fold, birds to their nest,
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 5
66 Shakespeare's Poems
And coal-black clouds that shadow heaven's light
Do summon us to part and bid good night.
' Now let me say " Good night," and so say you ;
If you will say so, you shall have a kiss.'
' Good night,' quoth she, and, ere he says ' Adieu,'
The honey fee of parting tender 'd is.
Her arms do lend his neck a sweet embrace ;
Incorporate then they seem, face grows to face : 540
Till, breathless, he disjoined, and backward drew
The heavenly moisture, that sweet coral mouth,
Whose precious taste her thirsty lips well knew,
Whereon they surfeit, yet complain on drouth.
He with her plenty press 'd, she faint with dearth,
Their lips together glued, fall to the earth.
Now quick desire hath caught the yielding prey,
And glutton-like she feeds, yet never filleth ;
Her lips are conquerors, his lips obey,
Paying what ransom the insulter willeth, 550
Whose vulture thought doth pitch the price so high
That she will draw his lips' rich treasure dry ;
And having felt the sweetness of the spoil,
With blindfold fury she begins to forage ;
Her face doth reek and smoke, her blood doth boil,
And careless lust stirs up a desperate courage ;
Planting oblivion, beating reason back,
Forgetting shame's pure blush and honour's wrack.
Venus and Adonis 67
Hot, faint, and weary, with her hard embracing,
Like a wild bird being tam'd with too much handling,
Or as the fleet-foot roe that 's tir'd with chasing, 561
Or like the froward infant still'd with dandling,
He now obeys, and now no more resisteth,
While she takes all she can, not all she listeth.
What wax so frozen but dissolves with tempering,
And yields at last to every light impression ?
Things out of hope are com pass 'd oft with venturing,
Chiefly in love, whose leave exceeds commission ;
Affection faints not like a pale-fac'd coward,
But then wooes best when most his choice is froward.
When he did frown, O, had she then gave over, 571
Such nectar from his lips she had not suck'd.
Foul words and frowns must not repel a lover ;
What though the rose have prickles, yet J t is pluck'd.
Were beauty under twenty locks kept fast,
Yet love breaks through and picks them all at last.
For pity now she can no more detain him ;
The poor fool prays her that he may depart.
She is resolv'd no longer to restrain him ;
Bids him farewell, and look well to her heart, 580
The which, by Cupid's bow she doth protest,
He carries thence incaged in his breast.
* Sweet boy,' she says, c this night I '11 waste in sorrow,
For my sick heart commands mine eyes to watch.
68 Shakespeare's Poems
Tell me, Love's master, shall we meet to-morrow ?
Say, shall we ? shall we ? wilt thou make the match ? '
He tells her, no ; to-morrow he intends
To hunt the boar with certain of his friends.
' The boar ! ' quoth she ; whereat a sudden pale/
Like lawn being spread upon the blushing rose, 590
Usurps her cheek ; she trembles at his tale,
And on his neck her yoking arms she throws.
She sinketh down, still hanging by his neck,
He on her belly falls, she on her back.
Now is she in the very lists of love,
Her champion mounted for the hot encounter.
All is imaginary she doth prove,
He will not manage her, although he mount her ;
That worse than Tantalus' is her annoy,
To clip Elysium and to lack her joy. 600
Even so poor birds, deceiv'd with painted grapes,
Do surfeit by the eye and pine the maw ;
Even so she languished! in her mishaps
As those poor birds that helpless berries saw.
The warm effects which she in him finds missing
She seeks to kindle with continual kissing,
But all in vain ; good queen, it will not be.
She hath assay 'cl as much as may be prov'cl ;
Her pleading hath deserv'd a greater fee ;
She 's Love, she loves, and yet she is not lov'cL 610
Venus and Adonis 69
* Fie, fie,' he says, c you crush me, let me go ;
You have no reason to withhold me so/
' Thou hadst been gone,' quoth she, c sweet boy, ere this,
But that thou told'st me thou wouldst hunt the boar.
O 7 be advis'd ! thou know'st not what it is
With javelin's point a churlish swine to gore,
Whose tushes never sheath 'd he whetteth still,
Like to a mortal butcher bent to kill.
' On his bow-back he hath a battle set
Of 'bristly pikes, that ever threat his foes ; 620
His eyes, like glow-worms, shine when he doth fret ;
His snout digs sepulchres where'er he goes ;
Being mov'd, he strikes whate'er is in 'his way,
And whom he strikes his crooked tushes slay.
* His brawny sides, with hairy bristles arm'd,
Are better proof than thy spear's point can enter ;
His short thick neck cannot be easily harm'd ;
Being ireful, on the lion he will venture ;
The thorny brambles and embracing bushes,
As fearful of him, part, through whom he rushes. 630
* Alas, he nought esteems that face of thine,
To which Love's eyes pay tributary gazes,
Nor thy soft hands, sweet lips, and crystal eyne,
Whose full perfection all the world amazes,
But having thee at vantage, wondrous dread 1
Would root these beauties as he roots the mead.
yo Shakespeare's Poems
: 0, let him "keep his loathsome cabin still ;
Beauty hath nought to do with such foul fiends.
Come not within his danger by thy will ;
They that thrive well take counsel of their friends. 640
When thou didst name the boar, not to dissemble,
I fear'd thy fortune, and my joints did tremble.
{ Didst thou not mark my face ? was it not white ?
Saw'st thou not signs of fear lurk in mine eye ?
Grew I not faint ? and fell I not downright ?
Within my bosom, whereon thou dost lie,
My boding heart pants, beats, and takes no rest,
But, like an earthquake, shakes thee on my breast.
' For where Love reigns, disturbing Jealousy
Doth call himself Affection's sentinel, 650
Gives false alarms, suggesteth mutiny,
And in a peaceful hour doth cry " Kill, kill 1 "
Distempering gentle Love in his desire,
As air and water do abate the fire.
' This sour informer, this bate-breeding spy,
This canker that eats up Love's tender spring,
This carry-tale, dissenlious Jealousy,
That sometime true news, sometime false doth bring,
Knocks at my heart and whispers in mine ear
That if I love thee, I thy death should fear ; 660
1 And more than so, presenteth to mine eye
The picture of an angry-chafing boar,
Venus and Adonis 71
Under whose sharp fangs on his back doth lie
An image like thyself, all stain J d with gore,
Whose blood upon the fresh flowers being shed
Doth make them droop with grief and hang the head.
' What should I do, seeing thee so indeed,
That tremble at the imagination ?
The thought of it doth make my faint heart bleed,
And fear doth teach it divination ; 670
I prophesy thy death, my living sorrow,
If thou encounter with the boar to-morrow.
i But if thou needs wilt hunt, be rul'd by me ;
Uncouple at the timorous flying hare,
Or at the fox, which lives by subtlety,
Or at the roe, which no encounter dare.
Pursue these fearful creatures o'er the downs,
And on thy well-breath'd horse keep with thy hounds.
* And when thou hast on foot the purblind hare,
Mark the poor wretch, to overshoot his troubles 680
How he outruns the wind, and with what care
He cranks and crosses with a thousand doubles ;
The many musits through the which he goes
Are like a labyrinth to amaze his foes.
' Sometime he runs among a flock of sheep,
To make the cunning hounds mistake their smell,
And sometime where earth-delving conies keep,
To stop the loud pursuers in their yell, ,
72 Shakespeare's Poems
And sometime sorteth with a herd of deer ;
Danger devise th shifts, wit waits on fear ; 690
' For there his smell with others being mingled,
The hot scent-snuffing hounds are driven to doubt,
Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled
With much ado the cold fault cleanly out.
Then do they spend their mouths ; Echo replies,
As if another chase were in the skies.
1 By this, poor Wat, far off upon a hill,
Stands on his hinder legs with listening ear,
To hearken if his foes pursue him still ;
Anon their loud alarums he doth hear, 700
And now his grief may be compared well
To one sore sick that hears the passing-bell.
< Then shalt thou see the dew-bedabbled wretch
Turn and return, indenting with the way;
Each envious brier his weary legs doth scratch,
Each shadow makes him stop, each murmur stay ;
For misery is trodden on by many,
And being low never reliev'd by any.
4 Lie quietly, and hear a little more ;
Nay, do not struggle, for thou shalt not rise. 710
To make thee hate the hunting of the boar,
Unlike myself thou hear'st me moralize,
Applying this to that, and so to so ;
For love car; comment upon every woe.
Venus and Adonis 73
* Where did I leave ? 7 * No matter where,' quoth he,
' Leave me and then the story aptly ends ;
The night is spent.' ' Why, what of that? ' quoth she.
' I am,' quoth he, ' expected of my friends ;
And now 't is dark, a,nd going I shall fall.'
( In night,' quoth she, ' desire sees best of all. 720
' But if thou fall, O, then imagine this,
The earth, in love with thee, thy footing trips,
And all is but to rob thee of a kiss.
Rich preys make true men thieves ; so do thy lips
Make modest Dian cloudy and forlorn,
Lest she should steal a kiss and die forsworn.
' Now of this dark night I perceive the reason :
Cynthia for shame obscures her silver shine,
Till forging Nature be condemn 'd of treason,
For stealing moulds from heaven that were divine, 730
Wherein she fram'd thee in high heaven's despite,
To shame the sun by day and her by night.
And therefore hath she brib'd the Destinies
To cross the curious workmanship of nature,
To mingle beauty with infirmities,
And pure perfection with impure defeature,
Making it subject to the tyranny
Of mad mischances and much misery ;
' As burning fevers, agues pale and faint,
Life-poisoning pestilence and frenzies wood, 740
74 Shakespeare's Poems
The marrow-eating sickness, whose attaint
Disorder breeds by heating of the blood.
Surfeits, imposthumes, grief, and damn'd despair,
Swear Nature's death for framing thee so fair.
' And not the least of all these maladies
But in one minute's fight brings beauty under ;
Both favour, savour, hue, and qualities,
Whereat the impartial gazer late did wonder,
Are on the sudden wasted, thaw'd, and done,
As mountain snow melts with the mid-day sun. 750
' Therefore, despite of fruitless chastity,
Love-lacking vestals and self -loving nuns,
That on the earth would breed a scarcity
And barren dearth of daughters and of sons,
Be prodigal ; the lamp that burns by night
Dries up his oil to lend the world his light.
' What is thy body but a swallowing grave,
Seeming to bury that posterity
Which by the rights of time thou needs must have,
If thou destroy them not in dark obscurity ? 760
If so, the world will hold thee in disdain,
Sith in thy pride so fair a hope is slain.
1 So in thyself thyself art made away ;
A mischief worse than civil home-bred strife,
Or theirs whose desperate hands themselves do slay,
Or butcher-sire that reaves his son of life.
Venus and Adonis 75
Foul-cankering rust the hidden treasure frets,
But gold that 's put to use more gold begets/
( Nay, then,' quoth Adon, 'you will fall again
Into your idle over-handled theme. 770
The kiss I gave you is bestow'd in vain,
And all in vain you strive against the stream ;
For, by this black-fac'd night, desire's foul nurse,
Your treatise makes me like you worse and worse.
* If love have lent you twenty thousand tongues,
And every tongue more moving than your own,
Bewitching like the wanton mermaid's songs,
Yet from mine ear the tempting tune is blown ;
For know, my heart stands armed in mine ear,
And will not let a false sound enter there, 780
< Lest the deceiving harmony should run
Into the quiet closure of my breast ;
And then my little heart were quite undone,
In his bedchamber to be barr'd of rest.
No, lady, no ; my heart longs not to groan,
But soundly sleeps while now it sleeps alone.
* What have you urg'd that I cannot reprove ?
The path is smooth that leadeth on to danger.
I hate not love, but your device in love,
That lends embracements unto every stranger. 790
You do it for increase ; O strange excuse,
When reason is the bawd to lust's abuse !
7 6 Shakespeare's Poems
* Call it not love, for Love to heaven is fled,
Since sweating Lust on earth usurp VI his name,
Under whose simple semblance he hath fed
Upon fresh beauty, blotting it with blame,
Which the hot tyrant stains and soon bereaves,
As caterpillars do the tender leaves.
4 Love comforteth like sunshine after rain,
But Lust's effect is tempest after sun ; 800
Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain,
Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done ;
Love surfeits not, Lust like a glutton dies ;
Love is all trutji, Lust full of forged lies.
1 More I could tell, but more I dare not say ;
The text is old, the orator too green.
Therefore, in sadness, now I will away.
My face is full of shame, my heart of teen ;
Mine ears, that to your wanton talk attended,
Do burn themselves for having so offended.' 810
With this, he breaketh from the sweet embrace
Of those fair arms which bound him to her breast,
And homeward through the dark laund runs apace,
Leaves Love upon her back deeply distress'd.
Look, how a bright star shooteth from the sky,
So glides he in the night from Venus' eye,
Which after him she darts, as one on shore
Gazing upon a late-embarked friend
Venus and Adonis 77
Till the wild waves will have him seen no more,
Whose ridges with the meeting clouds contend ; 820
So did the merciless and pitchy night
Fold in the object that did feed her sight.
Whereat amaz'd, as one that unaware
Hath dropp'd a precious jewel in the flood,
Or 'stonish'd as night- wanderers often are,
Their light blown out in some mistrustful wood,
Even so confounded in the dark she lay,
Having lost the fair discovery of her way.
And now she beats her heart, whereat it groans,
That all the neighbour caves, as seeming troubled, 830
Make verbal repetition of her moans.
Passion on passion deeply is redoubled ;
1 Ay me ! ' she cries, and twenty times ' Woe, woe 1 '
And twenty echoes twenty times cry so.
She marking them begins a wailing note
And sings extemporally a woeful ditty :
How love makes young men thrall and old men dote ;
How love is wise in folly, foolish-witty.
Her heavy anthem still concludes in woe,
And still the choir of echoes answer so- 840
Her song was tedious and outwore the night,
For lovers 7 hours are long, though seeming short ;
If pleas'd themselves, others, they think, delight
In such-like circumstance, with such-like sport ;
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Their copious stories oftentimes begun
End without audience and are never done.
For who hath she to spend the night withal
But idle sounds resembling parasites,
Like shrill-tongu'd tapsters answering every call,
Soothing the humour of fantastic wits ? 850
She says < T is so ; ' they answer all ' 'T is so/
And would say after her, if she said ' No,'
Lo, here the gentle lark, weary of rest,
From his moist cabinet mounts up on high,
And wakes the morning, from whose silver breast
The sun ariseth in his majesty,
Who doth the world so gloriously behold
That cedar-tops and hills seem burnish 'd gold.
Venus salutes him with this fair good-morrow :
' O thou clear god, and patron of all light, 860
From whom each lamp and shining star doth borrow
The beauteous influence that makes him bright,
There lives a son that suck'd an earthly mother
May lend thee light, as thou dost lend to other. 7
This said, she hasteth to a myrtle grove,
Musing the morning is so much o'erworn,
And yet she hears no tidings of her love.
She hearkens for his hounds and for his horn ;
Anon she hears them chant it lustily,
And all in haste she coasteth to the cry. 870
Venus and Adonis 79
And as she runs, the bushes in the way
Some catch her by the neck, some kiss her face,
Some twine about her thigh to make her stay ;
She wildly breaketh from their strict embrace,
Like a milch doe, whose swelling dugs do ache,
Hasting to feed her fawn hid in some brake.
By this, she hears the hounds are at a bay,
Whereat she starts, like one that spies an adder
Wreath'd up in fatal folds just in his way, 879
The fear whereof doth make him shake and shudder;
Even so the timorous yelping of the hounds
Appals her senses and her spirit confounds.
For now she knows it is no gentle chase,
But the blunt boar, rough bear, or lion proud,
Because the cry retnaineth in one place,
Where fearfully the dogs exclaim aloud ;
Finding their enemy to be so curst,
They all strain courtesy who shall cope him first
This dismal cry rings sadly in her ear,
Through which it enters to surprise her heart, 890
Who, overcome by doubt and bloodless fear,
With cold-pale weakness numbs each feeling part ;
Like soldiers, when their captain once doth yield,
They basely fly and dare not stay the field.
Thus stands she in a trembling ecstasy,
Till, cheering up her senses all dismay'd,
8o Shakespeare's Poems
She tells them 't is a causeless fantasy
And childish error, that they are afraid,
Bids them leave quaking, bids them fear no more ;
And with that word she spied the hunted boar, 900
Whose frothy mouth, bepainted all with red,
Like milk and blood being mingled both together,
A second fear through all her sinews spread,
Which madly hurries her she knows not whither.
This way she runs, and now she will no further,
But back retires to rate the boar for murther.
A thousand spleens bear her a thousand ways ;
She treads the path that she untreads again ;
Her more than haste is mated with delays,
Like the proceedings of a drunken brain, 910
Full of respects, yet nought at all respecting,
In hand with all things, nought at all effecting.
Here kennelPd in a brake she finds a hound,
And asks the weary caitiff for his master,
And there another licking of his wound,
'Gainst venom'd sores the only sovereign plaster ;
And here she meets another sadly scowling,
To whom she speaks, and he replies with howling.
When he hath ceas'd his ill-resounding noise,
Another flap-mouth J d mourner, black and grim, 920
Against the welkin volleys out his voice j
Another and another answer him,
Venus and Adonis 81
Clapping their proud tails to the ground below,
Shaking their scratch'd ears, bleeding as they go.
Look, how the world's poor people are amaz'd
At apparitions, signs, and prodigies,
Whereon with fearful eyes they long have gaz'd,
Infusing them with dreadful prophecies ;
So she at these sad signs draws up her breath,
And, sighing it again, exclaims on Death. 930
4 Hard-favour 'd tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean,
Hateful divorce of love,' thus chides she Death,
' Grim-grinning ghost, earth's worm, what dost thou
mean
To stifle beauty and to steal his breath
Who, when he liv'd, his breath and beauty set
Gloss on the rose, smell to the violet ?
' If he be dead, O no, it cannot be,
Seeing his beauty, thou shouldst strike at it !
O yes, it may 1 thou hast no eyes to see,
But hatefully at random dost thou hit. 940
Thy mark is feeble age, but thy false dart
Mistakes that aim and cleaves an infant's heart.
' Hadst thou but bid beware, then he had spoke,
And, hearing him, thy power had lost his power.
The Destinies will curse thee for this stroke ;
They bid thee crop a weed, thou pluck'st a flower.
Love's golden arrow at him should have fled,
And not Death's ebon dart to strike him dead.
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82 Shakespeare's Poems
' Dost thou drink tears, that thou provok'st such weeping?
What may a heavy groan advantage thee ? 950
Why hast thou cast into eternal sleeping
Those eyes that taught all other eyes to see ?
Now Nature cares not for thy mortal vigour,
Since her best work is ruin'd with thy rigour.'
Here overcome, as one full of despair,
She vail'd her eyelids, who, like sluices, stopt
The crystal tide that from her two cheeks fair
In the sweet channel of her bosom dropt ;
But through the flood-gates breaks the silver rain,
And with his strong course opens them again. 960
O, how her eyes and tears did lend and borrow 1
Her eyes seen in the tears, tears in her eye ;
Both crystals, where they view'd each other's sorrow,
Sorrow that friendly sighs sought still to dry ;
But like a stormy day, now wind, now rain,
Sighs dry her cheeks, tears make them wet again.
Variable passions throng her constant woe,
As striving who should best become her grief;
All entertain'd, each passion labours so
That every present sorrow seemeth chief, 970
But none is best ; then join they all together,
Like many clouds consulting for foul weather.
By this, far off she hears some huntsman hollo ;
A nurse's song ne'er pleas'd her babe so well.
Venus and Adonis 83
The dire imagination she did follow
This sound of hope doth labour to expel,
For now reviving joy bids her rejoice,
And flatters her it is Adonis' voice.
Whereat her tears began to turn their tide,
Being prison'd in her eye like pearls in glass ; 980
Yet sometimes falls an orient drop beside,
Which her cheek melts, as scorning it should pass
To wash the foul face of the sluttish ground,
Who is but drunken when she seemeth drown'd.
hard-believing love, how strange it seems
Not to believe, and yet too credulous !
Thy weal and woe are both of them extremes ;
Despair and hope makes thee ridiculous :
The one doth flatter thee in thoughts unlikely,
In likely thoughts the other kills thee quickly. 990
Now she unweaves the web that she hath wrought ;
Adonis lives, and Death is not to blame ;
It was not she that call'd him all to naught.
Now she adds honours to his hateful name ;
She clepes him king of graves and grave for kings,
Imperious supreme of all mortal things.
1 No, no,' quoth she, l sweet Death, I did but jest;
Yet pardon me I felt a kind of fear
Whenas I met the boar, that bloody beast,
Which knows no pity, but is still severe; 1000
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Then, gentle shadow, truth I must confess,
I raiPd on thee, fearing my love's decease.
* ' T is not my fault ; the boar provok'd my tongue.
Be wreak'd on him, invisible commander ;
'T is he, foul creature, that hath done thee wrong ;
I did but act, he 's author of thy slander.
Grief hath two tongues, and never woman yet
Could rule them both without ten women's wit.'
Thus hoping that Adonis is alive,
Her rash suspect she doth extenuate ;
And that his beauty may the better thrive,
With Death she humbly doth insinuate,
Tells him of trophies, statues, tombs, and stones
His victories, his triumphs, and his glories.
( O Jove/ quoth she, ' how much a fool was I
To be of such a weak and silly mind
To wail his death who lives and must not die
Till mutual overthrow of mortal kind 1
For he being dead, with him is beauty slain,
And, beauty dead, black chaos comes again.
' Fie, fie, fond love, thou art so full of fear
As one with treasure laden hemm'd with thieves ;
Trifles, unwitnessed with eye or ear,
Thy coward heart with false bethinking grieves,'
Even at this word she hears a merry horn,
Whereat she leaps that was but late forlorn.
Venus and Adonis 85
As falcon to the lure, away she flies
The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light
And in her haste unfortunately spies
The foul boar's conquest on her fair delight, 1030
Which seen, her eyes, as murther'd with the view,
Like stars asham'd of day, themselves withdrew ;
Or, as the snail, whose tender horns being hit,
Shrinks backward in his shelly cave with pain,
And there, all smother 'd up, in shade doth sit,
Long after fearing to creep forth again ;
So, at his bloody view, her eyes are fled
Into the deep-dark cabins of her head,
Where they resign their office and their light
To the disposing of her troubled brain, 1040
Who bids them still consort with ugly night,
And never wound the heart with looks again,
Who, like a king perplexed in his throne,
By their suggestion gives a deadly groan,
Whereat each tributary subject quakes ;
As when the wind, imprison'd in the ground,
Struggling for passage, earth's foundation shakes,
Which with cold terror doth men's minds confound.
This mutiny each part doth so surprise
That from their dark beds once more leap her eyes,
And, being open'd, threw unwilling light 1051
Upon the wide wound that the boar had trench'd
86 Shakespeare's Poems
In his soft flank, whose wonted lily white
With purple tears that his wound wept was drench 'd ;
No flower was nigh, no grass, herb, leaf, or weed,
But stole his blood and seem'd with him to bleed.
This solemn sympathy poor Venus noteth ;
Over one shoulder doth she hang her head ;
Dumbly she passions, franticly she doteth ;
She thinks he could not die, he is not dead ; 1060
Her voice is stopt, her joints forget to bow ;
Her eyes are mad that they have wept till now.
Upon his hurt she looks so steadfastly
That her sight dazzling makes the wound seem three ;
And then she reprehends her mangling eye
That makes more gashes where no breach should be.
His face seems twain, each several limb is doubled ;
For oft the eye mistakes, the brain being troubled.
' My tongue cannot express my grief for one,
And yet,' quoth she, * behold two Adons dead ! 1070
My sighs are blown away, my salt tears gone,
Mine eyes are turn'd to fire, my heart to lead.
Heavy heart's lead, melt at mine eyes' red fire !
So shall I die by drops of hot desire.
f Alas, poor world, what treasure hast thou lost!
What face remains alive that 's worth the viewing ?
Whose tongue is music now ? what canst thou boast
Of things long since, or any thing ensuing?
Venus and Adonis 87
The flowers are sweet, their colours fresh and trim ;
But true-sweet beauty liv'd and died with him. 1080
f Bonnet nor veil henceforth no creature wear !
Nor sun nor wind will ever strive to kiss you.
Having no fair to lose, you need not fear ;
The sun doth scorn you and the wind doth hiss you ;
But when Adonis liv'd, sun and sharp air
Lurk'd like two thieves, to rob him of his fair.
'And therefore would he put his bonnet on,
Under whose brim the gaudy sun would peep ;
The wind would blow it off and, being gone,
Play with his locks ; then would Adonis weep, 1090
And straight, in pity of his tender years,
They both would strive who first should dry his tears.
* To see his face the lion walk'd along
Behind some hedge, because he would not fear him ;
To recreate himself when he hath sung,
The tiger would be tame and gently hear him ;
If he had spoke, the wolf would leave his prey,
And never fright the silly lamb that day.
1 When he beheld his shadow in the brook,
The fishes spread on it their golden gills ; uoo
When he was by, the birds such pleasure took
That some would sing, some other in their bills
Would bring him mulberries and ripe-red cherries ;
He fed them with his sight, they him with berries.
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1 But this foul, grim, and urchin-snouted boar,
Whose downward eye still looketh for a grave,
Ne'er saw the beauteous livery that he wore ;
Witness the entertainment that he gave.
If he did see his face, why then I know
He thought to kiss him, and hath kill'd him so. mo
' 'T is true, 't is true ; thus was Adonis slain !
He ran upon the boar with his sharp spear,
Who did not whet his teeth at him again,
But by a kiss thought to persuade him there ;
And nuzzling in his flank, the loving swine
Sheath'd unaware the tusk in his soft groin.
' Had I been tooth 'd like him, I must confess,
With kissing him I should have kill'd him first;
But he is dead, and never did he bless
My youth with his <the more am I accurst.' 1120
With this, she falleth in the place she stood,
And stains her face with his congealed blood.
She looks upon his lips, and they are pale ;
She takes him by the hand, and that is cold ;
She whispers in his ears a heavy tale,
As if they heard the woeful words she told ;
She lifts the coffer-lids that close his eyes,
Where, lo, two lamps burnt out in darkness lies !
Two glasses, where herself herself beheld
A thousand times, and now no more reflect; 1130
Venus and Adonis 89
Their virtue lost, wherein they late excell'd,
And every beauty robb'd of his effect.
' Wonder of time,' quoth she, ' this is my spite,
That, thou being dead, the day should yet be light.
' Since thou art dead, lo, here I prophesy :
Sorrow on love hereafter shall attend ;
It shall be waited on with jealousy,
Find sweet beginning, but unsavoury end ;
Ne'er settled equally, but high or low,
That all love's pleasure shall not match his woe.
' It shall be fickle, false, and full of fraud, 1141
Bud and be blasted in a breathing-while ;
The bottom poison, and the top o'erstraw'd
With sweets that shall the truest sight beguile ;
The strongest body shall it make most weak,
Strike the wise dumb, and teach the fool to speak.
' It shall be sparing and too full of riot,
Teaching decrepit age to tread the measures ;
The staring ruffian shall it keep in quiet,
Pluck down the rich, enrich the poor with treasures ;
It shall be raging-mad and silly-mild, 1151
Make the young old, the old become a child.
' It shall suspect where is no cause of fear ;
It shall not fear where it should most mistrust ;
It shall be merciful and too severe,
And most deceiving when it seems most just;
90 Shakespeare's Poems
Perverse it shall be where it shows most toward,
Put fear to valour, courage to the coward.
1 It shall be cause of war and dire events,
And set dissension 'twixt the son and sire ; 1160
Subject and servile to all discontents,
As dry combustions matter is to lire ;
Sith in his prime Death doth my love destroy,
They that love best their loves shall not enjoy.'
By this, the boy that by her side lay kilPd
Was melted like a vapour from her sight,
And in his blood that on the ground lay spill 'd
A purple flower sprung up, chequer'd with white,
Resembling well his pale cheeks and the blood 1169
Which in round drops upon their whiteness stood, *
She bows her head the new-sprung flower to smell,
Comparing it to her Adonis' breath,
And says within her bosom it shall dwell,
Since he himself is reft from her by death ;
She crops the stalk, and in the breach appears
Green-dropping sap, which she compares to tears. :
Poor flower,' quoth she, ' this was thy father's guise
Sweet issue of a more sweet-smelling sire
For every little grief to wet his eyes.
To grow unto himself was his desire, u8o
And so 't is thine ; but know, it is as good
To wither in my breast as in his blood.
Venus and Adonis 91
' Here was thy father's bed, here in my breast ;
Thou art the next of blood, and 't is thy right.
Lo, in this hollow cradle take thy rest,
My throbbing heart shall rock thee day and night ;
There shall not be one minute in an hour
Wherein I will not kiss my sweet love's flower. 5
Thus weary of the world, away she hies
And yokes her silver doves, by whose swift aid 1190
Their mistress mounted through the empty skies
In her light chariot quickly is convey'd ;
Holding their course to Paphos, where their queen
Means to immure herself and not be seen.
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY WRIOTHESLEY,
KARL OF SOUTHAMPTON AND 15AUON OF TICHKIELD
The love I dedicate to your Lordship is without end, whereof this
pamphlet, without beginning, is but a superfluous moiety. The
warrant I have of your honourable disposition, not the worth of my
untutored lines, makes it assured of acceptance. What I have done
is yours ; what I have to do is yours ; being part in all I have, de-
voted yours. Were my worth greater, my duty would show greater;
meantime, as it is, it is bound to your Lordship, to whom I wish
long life, still lengthened with all happiness.
Your Lordship's in all duty,
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.
ARDEA
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE
THE ARGUMENT
LUCIUS TARQUINIUS, for his excessive pride surnamed Superbus,
after he had caused his own father-in-law Servius Tullius to be
cruelly raujrhered, and, contrary to the Roman laws and customs,
not requiring *or staying for the people's suffrages, had possessed
himself of the kingdom, went, accompanied with his sons and other
noblemen of Rome, to besiege Ardea. During which siege the
principal men of the army meeting one evening at the tent of Sex-
tus Tarquinius, the king's son, in their discourses after supper every
one commended the virtues of his own wife ; among whom Colla-
tinus extolled the incomparable chastity of his wife Lucretia. In
that pleasant humour they all posted to Rome ; and intending, by
their secret and sudden arrival, to make trial of that which every
one had before avouched, only Collatinus finds his wife, though it
95
96 Shakespeare's Poems
were late in the night, spinning amongst her maids ; the other ladies
were all found dancing and revelling, or in several disports. Where-
upon the noblemen yielded Collatinus the victory and his wife the
fame. At that time Sextus Tarquinius, being inflamed with Lucrece'
beauty, yet smothering his passions for the present, departed with
the rest back to the camp ; from whence he shortly after privily
withdrew himself, and was, according to his estate, royally enter-
tained and lodged by Lucrece at Collatimn. The same night he
treacherously stealeth into her chamber, violently ravished her, and
early in the morning speedeth away. Lucrece, in this lamentable
plight, hastily dispatcheth messengers, one to Rome for her father,
another to the camp for Collatine. They came, the one accompa-
nied with Junius Brutus, the other with Publius Valerius, and finding
Lucrece attired in mourning habit, demanded the cause of her sor-
row. She, first taking an oath of them for her revenge, revealed
the actor and whole manner of his dealing, and withal suddenly
stabbed herself. Which done, with one consent they all vowed
to root out the whole hated family of the Tarquins ; and, bearing
the dead body to Rome, Brutus acquainted the people with the
doer and manner of the vile deed, with a bitter invective against
the tyranny of the king ; wherewith the people were so moved that
with one consent and a general acclamation the Tarquins were all
exiled, and the state government changed from kings to consuls.
FROM the besieged Ardea all in post,
Borne by the trustless wings of false desire,
Lust-breathed Tarquin leaves the Roman host
And to Collatium bears the lightless fire
Which, in pale embers hid, lurks to aspire
And girdle with embracing flames the waist
Of Collatine's fair love, Lucrece the chaste.
The Rape of Lucrece 97
Haply that name of chaste ' unhappily set
This bateless edge on his keen appetite,
When Collatine unwisely did not let
To praise the clear unmatched red and white
Which triumph 'd in that sky of his delight,
Where mortal stars, as bright as heaven's beauuet.,
With pure aspects did him peculiar duties.
For he the night before, in Tarquin's tent,
Unlock'd the treasure of his happy state,
What priceless wealth the heavens had him lent
In the possession of his beauteous mate ;
Reckoning his fortune at such high-proud rate
That kings might be espoused to more fame, 20
But king nor peer to such a peerless dame.
O happiness enjoy'd but of a few !
And, if possess'd, as soon decay'd and done
As is the morning's silver-melting dew
Against the golden splendour of the sun,
An expir'd date, cancell'd ere well begun !
Honour and beauty, in the owner's arms,
Are weakly fortress'd from a world of harms.
Beauty itself doth of itself persuade
The eyes of men without an orator ; 30
What needeth then apologies be made,
To set forth that which is so singular ?
Or why is Collatine the publisher
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 7
98 Shakespeare's Poems
Of that rich jewel he should keep unknown
From thievish ears, because it is his own ?
Perchance his boast of Lucrece' sovereignty
Suggested this proud issue of a king,
For by our ears our hearts oft tainted be ;
Perchance that envy of so rich a thing,
Braving compare, disdainfully did sting 40
His high-pitch'd thoughts that meaner men should
vaunt
That golden hap which their superiors want.
But some untimely thought did instigate
His all-too-timeless speed, if none of those ;
His honour, his affairs, his friends, his state,
Neglected all, with swift intent he goes
To quench the coal which in his liver glows.
O rash false heat, wrapp'd in repentant cold,
Thy hasty spring still blasts and ne'er grows old !
When at Collatium this false lord arriv'd, 50
Well was he welcomed by the Roman dame,
Within whose face beauty and virtue striv'd
Which of them both should underprop her fame.
When virtue bragg'd, beauty would blush for shame ;
When beauty boasted blushes, in despite
Virtue would stain that o'er with silver white.
But beauty, in that white intituled,
From Venus' doves doth challenge that fair field >
The Rape of Lucrece 99
Then virtue claims from beauty beauty's red,
Which virtue gave the golden age to gild 60
Their silver cheeks, and call'd it then their shietd,
Teaching them thus to use it in the fight,
When shame assail'd, the red should fence the white.
This heraldry in Lucrece' face was seen,
Argued by beauty's red and virtue's white.
Of either's colour was the other queen,
Proving from world's minority their right ;
Yet their ambition makes them still to fight,
The sovereignty of either being so great
That oft they interchange each other's seat. 70
This silent war of lilies and of roses,
Which Tarquin view'd in her fair face's field,
In their pure ranks his traitor eye encloses ;
Where, lest between them both it should be kill'd,
The coward captive vanquished doth yield
To those two armies that would let him go
Rather than triumph in so false a foe.
Now thinks he that her husband's shallow tongue
The niggard prodigal that prais'd her so
In that high task hath done her beauty wrong, 80
Which far exceeds his barren skill to show ;
Therefore that praise which Collatine doth
Enchanted Tarquin answers with surmise,
In silent wonder of still-gazing eyes.
zoo Shakespeare's Poems
This earthly saint, adored by this devil,
Little suspecteth the false worshipper,
For unstain'd thoughts do seldom dream on evil,
Birds never lim'd no secret bushes fear ;
So guiltless she securely gives good cheer
And reverend welcome to her princely guest, 90
Whose inward ill no outward harm expressed.
For that he colour'd with his high estate,
Hiding base sin in plaits of majesty,
That nothing in him seem'd inordinate,
Save sometime too much wonder of his eye,
Which, having all, all could not satisfy,
But, poorly rich, so wanteth in his store
That, cloy'd with much, he pineth still for more.
But she, that never cop'd with stranger eyes,
Could pick no meaning from their parling looks, 100
Nor read the subtle-shining secrecies
Writ in the glassy margents of such books.
She touch'd no unknown baits, nor fear'd no hooks ;
Nor could she moralize his wanton sight,
More than his eyes were open'd to the light.
He stories to her ears her husband's fame,'
Won in the fields of fruitful Italy,
And decks with praises Collatine's high name*
Made glorious by his manly chivalry
With bruised arms and wreaths of victory ; no
The Rape of Lucrece 101
Her joy with heav'd-up hand she doth express,
And, wordless, so greets heaven for his success.
Far from the purpose of his coming hither,
He makes excuses for his being there ;
No cloudy show of stormy blustering weather
Doth yet in his fair welkin once appear
Till sable Night, mother of dread and fear,
Upon the world dim darkness doth display
And in her vaulty prison stows the day.
For then is Tarquin brought unto his bed, 120
Intending weariness with heavy spright ;
For, after supper, long he questioned
With modest Lucrece and wore out the night.
Now leaden slumber with life's strength doth fight,
And every one to rest themselves betake,
Save thieves, and cares, and troubled minds, that
wake ;
As one of which doth Tarquin lie revolving
The sundry clangers of his will's obtaining,
Yet ever to obtain his will resolving,
Though weak-built hopes persuade him to abstain-
ing. 130
Despair to gain doth traffic oft for gaining,
And when great treasure is the meed propos'd,
Though death be adjunct, there's no death sup-
pos'd.
102 Shakespeare's Poems
Those that much covet are with gain so fond,
For what they have not, that which they possess
They scatter and unloose it from their bond,
And so, by hoping more, they have but less ;
Or, gaining more, the profit of excess
Is but to surfeit, and such griefs sustain
That they prove bankrupt in this poor-rich gain. 140
The aim of all is but to nurse the life
With honour, wealth, and ease, in waning age ;
And in this aim there is such thwarting strife
That one for all or all for one we gage,
As life for honour in fell battle's rage,
Honour for wealth ; and oft that wealth doth cost
The death of all, and all together lost.
So that in venturing ill we leave to be
The things we are for that which we expect,
And this ambitious foul infirmity, 150
In having much, torments us with defect
Of that we have ; so then we do neglect
The thing we have and, all for want of wit,
Make something nothing by augmenting it.
Such hazard now must doting Tarquin make,
Pawning his honour to obtain his lust,
And for himself himself he must forsake ;
Then where is truth, if there be no self-trust ?
When shall he think to find a stranger just,
The Rape of Lucrece 103
When he himself himself confounds, betrays 160
To slanderous tongues and wretched hateful days ?
Now stole upon the time the dead of night
When heavy sleep had clos'd up mortal eyes.
No comfortable star did lend his light,
No noise but owls' and wolves' death-boding cries ;
Now serves the season that they may surprise
The silly lambs ; pure thoughts are dead and still,
While lust and murther wakes to stain and kill.
And now this lustful lord leap'd from his bed,
Throwing his mantle rudely o'er his arm, 170
Is madly toss'd between desire and dread.
The one sweetly flatters, the other feareth harm ;
But honest fear, bewitch 'd with lust's foul charm,
Doth too too oft betake him to retire,
Beaten away by brain-sick rude desire.
His falchion on a flint he softly smiteth,
That from the cold stone sparks of fire do fly,
Whereat a waxen torch forthwith he Hghteth
Which must be lode-star to his lustful eye,
And to the flame thus speaks advisedly : 180
' As from this cold flint I enforced this fire,
So Lucrece must I force to my desire. 5
Here pale with fear he doth premeditate
The dangers of his loathsome enterprise,
IO4 Shakespeare's Poems
And in his inward mind he doth debate
What following sorrow may on this arise ;
Then looking scornfully, he doth despise
His naked armour of still-slaughter J d lust,
And justly thus controls his thoughts unjust:
< Fair torch, burn out thy light, and lend it not 190
To darken her whose light excelleth thine ;
And die, unhallow'd thoughts, before you blot
With your uncleanness that which is divine.
Offer pure incense to so pure a shrine ;
Let fair humanity abhor the deed
That spots and stains love's modest snow-white
weed,
1 O shame to knighthood and to shining arms !
O foul dishonour to my household's grave !
O impious act, including all foul harms !
A martial man to be soft fancy's slave ! 200
True valour still a true respect should have ;
Then my digression is so vile, so base,
That it will live engraven in my face.
' Yea, though I die, the scandal will survive,
And be an eye-sore in my golden coat ;
Some loathsome dash the herald will contrive,
To cipher me how fondly I did dote ;
That my posterity, sham'd with the note,
Shall curse my bones, and hold it for no sin
To wish that I their father had not been, 210
The Rape of Lucrece 105
' What win I, if I gain the thing I seek ?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute's mirth to wail a week,
Or sells eternity to get a toy ?
For one sweet grape who will the vine destroy ?
Or what fond beggar, but to touch the crown,
Would with the sceptre straight be strucken down ?
' If Collatinus dream of my intent,
Will he not wake, and in a desperate rage
Post hither, this vile purpose to prevent ? 220
This siege that hath engirt his marriage,
This blur to youth, this sorrow to the sage,
This dying virtue, this surviving shame,
Whose crime will bear an ever-during blame ?
' O, what excuse can my invention make
When thou shalt charge me with so black a deed ?
Will not my tongue be mute, my frail joints shake,
Mine eyes forego their light, my false heart bleed ?
The guilt being great, the fear doth still exceed ;
And extreme fear can neither fight nor fly, 230
But coward-like with trembling terror die.
* Had Collatinus kill'd my son or sire,
Or lain in ambush to betray my life,
Or were he not my dear friend, this desire
Might have excuse to work upon his wife,
As in revenge or quittal of such strife ;
io6 Shakespeare's Poems
But as he is my kinsman, my dear friend,
The shame and fault finds no excuse nor end.
' Shameful it is ; ay, if the fact be known.
Hateful it is ; there is no hate in loving. 240
I '11 beg her love ; but she is not her own.
The worst is but denial and reproving ;
My will is strong, past reason's weak removing.
Who fears a sentence or an old man's saw
Shall by a painted cloth be kept in awe.'
Thus, graceless, holds he disputation
Tween frozen conscience and hot-burning will,
And with good thoughts makes dispensation,
Urging the worser sense for vantage still,
Which in a moment doth confound and kill 250
All pure effects, and doth so far proceed
That what is vile shows like a virtuous deed.
Quoth he, * She took me kindly by the hand,
And gaz'd for tidings in my eager eyes,
Fearing some hard news from the warlike band
Where her beloved Collatinus lies.
O, how her fear did make her colour rise !
First red as roses that on lawn we lay,
Then white as lawn, the roses took away.
' And how her hand, in my hand being lock'd, 260
Forc'd it to tremble with her loyal fear I
The Rape of Lucrec.e 107
Which struck her sad, and then it faster rock'd
Until her husband's welfare she did hear;
Whereat she smiled with so sweet a cheer
That had Narcissus seen her as she stood
Self-love had never drown'd him in the flood.
' Why hunt I then for colour or excuses ?
All orators are dumb when beauty pleadeth ;
Poor wretches have remorse in poor abuses ; 269
Love thrives not in the heart that shadows dreadeth ;
Affection is my captain, and he leadeth ;
And when his gaudy banner is displayed
The coward fights and will not be dismay'd.
Then, childish fear avaunt ! debating die !
Respect and reason wait on wrinkled age !
My heart shall never countermand mine eye.
Sad pause and deep regard beseems the sage ;
My part is youth, and beats these from the stage.
Desire my pilot is, beauty my prize ; 279
Then who fears sinking where such treasure lies ? '
As corn o'ergrown by weeds, so heedful fear
Is almost chok'd by unresisted lust.
Away he steals with open listening ear,
Full of foul hope and full of fond mistrust,
Both which, as servitors to the unjust,
So cross him with their opposite persuasion
That now he vows a league, and now invasion.
io8 Shakespeare's Poems
Within his thought her heavenly image sits,
And in the self-same seat sits Collatine.
That eye which looks on her confounds his wits ; 290
That eye which him beholds, as more divine,
Unto a view so false will not incline,
But with a pure appeal seeks to the heart,
Which once corrupted takes the worser part,
And therein heartens up his servile powers,
Who, flatter'd by their leader's jocund show,
Stuff up his lust, as minutes fill up hours ;
And as their captain, so their pride doth grow,
Paying more slavish tribute than they owe.
By reprobate desire thus madly led, 300
The Roman lord marcheth to Lucrece' bed.
The locks between her chamber and his will,
Each one by him enforc'd, retires his ward ;
But, as they open, they all rate his ill,
Which drives the creeping thief to some regard.
The threshold grates the door to have him heard ;
Night-wandering weasels shriek to see him there ;
They fright him, yet he still pursues his fear.
As each unwilling portal yields him way,
Through little vents and crannies of the place 310
The wind wars with his torch to make him stay,
And blows the smoke of it into his face,
Extinguishing his conduct in this case ;
The Rape of Lucrece 109
But his hot heart, which fond desire doth scorch.
Puffs forth another wind that fires the torch ;
And being lighted, by the light he spies
Lucretia's glove, wherein her needle sticks.
He takes it from the rushes where it lies,
And griping it, the needle his finger pricks,
As who should say ' This glove to wanton tricks 320
Is not inur'd ; return again in haste ;
Thou see'st our mistress 7 ornaments are chaste.'
But all these poor forbiddings could not stay him ;
He in the worst sense construes their denial.
The doors, the wind, the glove, that did delay him,
He takes for accidental things of trial ;
Or as those bars which stop the hourly dial,
Who with a lingering stay his course doth let
Till every minute pays the hour his debt.
f So, so,' quoth he, ' these lets attend the time, 330
Like little frosts that sometime threat the spring,
To add a more rejoicing to the prime
And give the sneaped birds more cause to sing.
Pain pays the income of each precious thing ;
Huge rocks, high winds, strong pirates, shelves and
sands,
The merchant fears, ere rich at home he lands.'
Now is he come unto the chamber-door
That shuts him from the heaven of his thought,
no Shakespeare's Poems
Which with a yielding latch, and with no more,
Hath barr'd him from the blessed thing he sought. 340
So from himself impiety hath wrought
That for his prey to pray he doth begin,
As if the heavens should countenance his sin.
But in the midst of his unfruitful prayer,
Having solicited the eternal power
That his foul thoughts might compass his fair fair,
And they would stand auspicious to the hour,
Even there he starts. Quoth he, ' I must deflower ;
The powers to whom I pray abhor this fact,
How can they then assist me in the act ? 350
6 Then Love and Fortune be my gods, my guide !
My will is back'd with resolution.
Thoughts are but dreams till their effects be tried ;
The blackest sin is clear'd with absolution ;
Against love's fire fear's frost hath dissolution.
The eye of heaven is out, and misty night
Covers the shame that follows sweet delight.'
This said, his guilty hand pluck J d up the latch,
And with his knee the door he opens wide.
The dove sleeps fast that this night-owl will catch ; 360
Thus treason works ere traitors be espied.
Who sees the lurking serpent steps aside ;
But she, sound sleeping, fearing no such thing,
Lies at the mercy of his mortal sting.
The Rape of Lucrece 1 1 1
Into the chamber wickedly he stalks,
And gazeth on her yet unstained bed.
The curtains being close, about he walks,
Rolling his greedy eyeballs in his head ;
By their high treason is his heart misled,
Which gives the watchword to his hand full soon
To draw the cloud that hides the silver moon. 371
Look, as the fair and fiery-pointed sun,
Rushing from forth a cloud, bereaves our sight,
Even so, the curtain drawn, his eyes begun
To wink, being blinded with a greater light ;
Whether it is that she reflects so bright
That dazzleth them, or else some shame supposed,
But blind they are and keep themselves enclos'd.
O, had they in that darksome prison died !
Then had they seen the period of their ill ; 380
Then Collatine again, by Lucrece' side,
In his clear bed might have reposed still ;
But they must ope, this blessed league to kill,
And holy-thoughted Lucrece to their sight
Must sell her joy, her life, her world's delight.
Her lily hand her rosy cheek lies under,
Cozening the pillow of a lawful kiss,
Who, therefore angry, seems to part in sunder,
Swelling on either side to want his bliss ;
Between whose hills her head entombed is, 390
112 Shakespeare's Poems
Where, like a virtuous monument, she lies,
To be admir'd of lewd unhallow'd eyes.
Without the bed her other fair hand was,
On the green coverlet, whose perfect white
Show'd like an April daisy on thejjprass,
With pearly sweat, resembling dew of night.
Her eyes, like marigolds, had sheath 'd their light,
And canopied in darkness sweetly lay
Till they might open to adorn the day.
Her hair, like golden threads, play'd with her breath ;
O modest wantons ! wanton modesty ! 401
Showing life's triumph in the map of death,
And death's dim look in life's mortality ;
Each in her sleep themselves so beautify
As if between them twain there were no strife,
But that life liv'd in death, and death in life.
Her breasts, like ivory globes circled with blue,
A pair of maiden worlds unconquered,
Save of their lord no bearing yoke they knew,
And him by oath they truly honoured. 410
These worlds in Tarquin new ambition bred,
Who, like a foul usurper, went about
From this fair throne to heave the owner out.
What could he see but mightily he noted ?
What did he note but strongly he desir'd ?
The Rape of Lucrece 1 13
What he beheld, on that he firmly doted,
And in his will his wilful eye he tir'd.
With more than admiration he admir'd
'Her azure veins, her alabaster skin,
Her coral lips, her snow-white dimpled chin. 420
As the grim lion fawfteth o'er his prey,
Sharp hunger by the conquest satisfied,
So o'er this sleeping soul doth Tarquin stay ?
His rage of lust by gazing qualified ;
Slack'd, not suppressed, for standing by her side,
His eye, which late this mutiny restrains,
Unto a greater uproar tempts his veins.
And they, like straggling slaves for pillage fighting,
Obdurate vassals fell exploits effecting,
In bloody death and ravishment delighting, 430
Nor children's tears nor mothers' groans respecting,
Swell in their pride, the onset still expecting;
Anon his beating heart, alarum striking,
Gives the hot charge and bids them do their liking.
His drumming heart cheers up his burning eye,
His eye commends the leading to his hand ;
His hand, as proud of such a dignity,
Smoking with pride, march 'd on to make his stand
On her bare breast, the heart of all her land,
Whose ranks of blue veins, as his hand did scale,
Left their round turrets destitute and pale. 441
SHAKESPEARE'S POKMS 8
1 14 Shakespeare's Poems
They, mustering to the quiet cabinet
Where their dear governess and lady lies,
Do tell her she is dreadfully beset
And fright her with confusion of their cries ;
She, much amaz'd, breaks ope her lock'd-up eyes,
Who, peeping forth this tumult to behold,
Are by his flaming torch dimm'd and controlPd.
Imagine her as one in dead of night
From forth dull sleep by dreadful fancy waking, 450
That thinks she hath beheld some ghastly sprite
Whose grim aspect sets every joint a-shaking ;
What terror 't is ! but she, in worser taking,
From sleep disturbed, needfully doth view
The sight which makes supposed terror true.
Wrapp'd and confounded in a thousand fears,
Like to a new-kill'd bird she trembling lies.
She dares not look ; yet, winking, there appears
Quick-shifting antics, ugly in her eyes.
Such shadows are the weak brain's forgeries, 460
Who, angry that the eyes fly from their lights,
In darkness daunts them with more dreadful sights.
His hand, that yet remains upon her breast,
Rude ram, to batter such an ivory wall !
May feel her heart poor citizen 1 distress'd,
Wounding itself to death, rise up and fall,
Beating her bulk, that his hand shakes withal.
The Rape of Lucrece 1 1 5
This moves in him more rage and lesser pity,
To make the breach and enter this sweet city.
First, like a trumpet, doth his tongue begin 470
To sound a parley to his heartless foe,
Who o'er the white sheet peers her whiter chin,
The reason of this rash alarm to know,
Which he by dumb demeanour seeks to show ;
But she with vehement prayers urgeth still
Under what colour he commits this ill.
Thus he replies : ' The colour in thy face,
That even for anger makes the lily pale
And the red rose blush at her own disgrace,
Shall plead for me and tell my loving tale. 480
Under that colour am I come to scale
Thy never-conquer'd fort ; the fault is thine,
For those thine eyes betray thee unto mine.
' Thus I forestall thee, if thou mean to chide :
Thy beauty hath ensnar'd thee to this night,
Where thou with patience must my will abide ;
My will that marks thee for my earth's delight,
Which I to conquer sought with all my might,
But as reproof and reason beat it dead,
By thy bright beauty was it newly bred. 490
* I see what crosses my attempt will bring ;
I know what thorns the growing rose defends ;
Shakespeare's Poems
I think the honey guarded with a stin
All this beforehand counsel comprehends,
But will is deaf and hears no heedful friends ;
Only he hath an eye to gaze on beauty,
And dotes on what he looks, 'gainst law or duty.
* I have debated, even in my soul,
What wrong, what shame, what sorrow I shall breed ;
But nothing can affection's course control, 500
Or stop the headlong fury of his speed.
I know repentant tears ensue the deed,
Reproach, disdain, and deadly enmity ;
Yet strive I to embrace mine infamy.'
This said, he shakes aloft his Roman blade,
Which, like a falcon towering in the skies,
Coucheth the fowl below with his wings' shade,
Whose crooked beak threats if he mount he dies ;
So under his insulting falchion lies
Harmless Lucretia, marking what he tells 510
With trembling fear, as fowl hear falcon's bells.
'Lucrece,' quoth he, 'this night I must enjoy thee;
If thou deny, then force must work my way,
For in thy bed I purpose to destroy thee.
That done, some worthless slave of thine I '11 slay,
To kill thine honour with thy life's decay ;
And in thy dead arms do I mean to place him.,
Swearing I slew him, seeing thee embrace him.
The Rape of Lucrece 117
* So thy surviving husband shall remain
The scornful mark of every open eye ; 520
Thy kinsmen hang their heads at this disdain,
Thy issue blurr'd with nameless bastardy ;
And thou, the author of their obloquy,
Shalt have thy trespass cited up in rhymes
And sung by children in succeeding times.
i But if thou yield, I rest thy secret friend.
The fault unknown is as a thought unacted ;
A little harm done to a great good end
For lawful policy remains enacted.
The poisonous simple sometimes is compacted 530
In a pure compound ; being so applied,
His venom in effect is purified.
c Then, for thy husband and thy children's sake,
Tender my suit ; bequeath not to their lot
The shame that from them no device can take,
The blemish that will never be forgot,
Worse than a slavish wipe or birth-hour's blot,
For marks descried in men's nativity
Are nature's faults, not their own infamy.'
Here with a cockatrice' dead-killing eye 540
He rouseth up himself and makes a pause ;
While she, the picture of pure piety,
Like a white hind under the gripe's sharp claws,
Pleads, in a wilderness where are no laws,
n8- Shakespeare's Poems
To the rough beast that knows no gentle right,
Nor aught obeys but his foul appetite.
But when a black-fac'd cloud the world doth threat,
In his dim mist the aspiring mountains hiding,
From earth's dark womb some gentle gust doth get,
Which blows these pitchy vapours from their biding,
Hindering their present fall by this dividing ; 551
So his unhallow'd haste her words delays,
And moody Pluto winks while Orpheus plays.
Yet, foul night-working cat, he doth but dally,
While in his hold-fast foot the weak mouse panteth ;
Her sad behaviour feeds his vulture folly,
A swallowing gulf that even in plenty wanteth.
His ear her prayers admits, but his heart granteth
No penetrable entrance to her plaining ;
Tears harden lust, though marble wear with raining.
Her pity-pleading eyes are sadly fix'd 561
In the remorseless wrinkles of his face ;
Her modest eloquence with sighs is mix'd,
Which to her oratory adds more grace,
She puts the period often from his place,
And midst the sentence so her accent breaks
That twice she doth begin ere once she speaks.
She conjures him by high almighty Jove,
By knighthood, gentry, and sweet friendship's oath,
The Rape of Lucrece 1 1 9
By her untimely tears, her husband's love, 570
By holy human law, and common troth,
By heaven and earth, and all the power of both,
That to his borrow 'd bed he make retire,
And stoop to honour, not to foul desire.
Quoth she, ' Reward not hospitality
With such black payment as thou hast pretended ;
Mud not the fountain that gave drink to thee ;
Mar not the thing that cannot be amended ;
End thy ill aim before thy shoot be ended ;
He is no woodman that doth bend his bow 580
To strike a poor unseasonable doe.
* My husband is thy friend ; for his sake spare me.
Thyself art mighty ; for thine own sake leave me.
Myself a weakling ; do not then ensnare me.
Thou look'st not like deceit ; do not deceive me.
My sighs, like whirlwinds, labour hence to heave thee.
If ever man were mov'd with woman's moans,
Be moved with my tears, my sighs, my groans,
* All which together, like a troubled ocean,
Beat at thy rocky and wrack-threatening heart, 590
To soften it with their continual motion,
For stones dissolv'd to water do convert.
O, if no harder than a stone thou art,
Melt at my tears, and be compassionate 1
Soft pity enters at an iron
120 Shakespeare's Poems
'In Tarquin's likeness I did entertain thee ;
Hast thou put on his shape to do him shame ?
To all the host of heaven I complain me,
Thou wrong'st his honour, wound'st his princely name.,
Thou art not what thou seem'st ; and if the same, 6oc
Thou seem'st not what thou art, a god, a king,
For kings like gods should govern every thing.
' How will thy shame be seeded in thine age,
When thus thy vices bud before thy spring i
If in thy hope thou dar'st do such outrage,
What dar'st thou not when once thou art a king ?
O, be remember'cl, no outrageous thing
From vassal actors can be wip'd away ;
Then kings' misdeeds cannot be hid in clay.
f This deed will make thee only lov'd for fear, 610
But happy monarchs still are fear'd for love ;
With foul offenders thou perforce must bear,
When they in thee the like offences prove.
If but for fear of this, thy will remove ;
For princes are the glass, the school, the book,
Where subjects' eyes do learn, do read, do look.
And wilt thou be the school where Lust shall learn ?
Must he in thee read lectures of such shame ?
Wilt thou be glass wherein it shall discern
Authority for sin, warrant for blame, 620
To privilege dishonour in thy name?
The Rape of fo**#@e 121
Thou back'st reproach against long-living laud,
And mak'st fair reputation but a bawd.
' Hast thou command ? by him that gave it thee,
From a pure heart command thy rebel will ;
Draw not thy sword to guard iniquity,
For it was lent thee all that brood to kill.
Thy princely office how canst thou fulfil,
When, pattern 'd by thy fault, foul sin may say,
He learn'd to sin, and thou didst teach the way?
1 Think but how vile a spectacle it were 631
To view thy present trespass in another.
Men's faults do seldom to themselves appear;
Their own transgressions partially they smother ;
This guilt would seem death-worthy in thy brother.
O, how are they wrapp'd in with infamies
That from their own misdeeds askance their eyes !
< To thee, to thee, my heav'd-up hands appeal,
Not to seducing lust, thy rash relier.
I sue for exil'd majesty's repeal ; 640
Let him return, and flattering thoughts retire.
His true respect will prison false desire,
And wipe the dim mist from thy doting eyne,
That thou shalt see thy state and pity mine.'
* Have done,' quoth he; : my uncontrolled tide
Turns not, but swells the higher by this let.
122 Shakespeare's Poems
Small lights are soon blown out, huge fires abide,
And with the wind in greater fury fret ;
The petty streams that pay a daily debt
To their salt sovereign, with their fresh falls' haste
Add to his flow, but alter not his taste.' 651
'Thou art,' quoth she, <asea, a sovereign king;
And lo, there falls into thy boundless Hood
Black lust, dishonour, shame, misgoverning,
Who seek to stain the ocean of thy blood.
If all these petty ills shall change thy^ood,
Thy sea within a puddle's womb is hears 'd,
And not the puddle in thy sea dispers'd.
< So shall these slaves be king, and thou their slave ;
Thou nobly base, they basely dignified ; 660
Thou their fair life, and they thy fouler grave ;
Thou loathed in their shame, they in thy pride.
The lesser thing should not the greater hide ;
The cedar stoops not to the base shrub's foot,
But low shrubs wither at the cedar's root.
' So let thy thoughts, low vassals to thy state
' No more,' quoth he ; 'by heaven, I will not hear thee.
Yield to my love ; if not, enforced hate,
Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.
That done, despitefully I mean to bear thee 670
Unto the base bed of some rascal groom,
To be thy partner in this shameful doom,'
The Rape of Lucrece 123
This said, he sets his foot upon the light,
For light and lust are deadly enemies ;
Shame folded up in blind concealing night,
When most unseen, then most doth tyrannize.
The wolf hath seiz'd his prey, the poor lamb cries;
Till with her own white fleece her voice controlPd
Entombs her outcry in her lips' sweet fold.
For with the nightly linen that she wears 68c
He pens her piteous clamours in her head,
Cooling his hot face in the chastest tears
That ever modest eyes with sorrow shed.
O, that prone lust should stain so pure a bed !
The spots whereof could weeping purify,
Her tears should drop on them perpetually.
But she hath lost a dearer thing than life,
And he hath won what he would lose again.
This forced league doth force a further strife ;
This momentary joy breeds months of pain ; 690
This hot desire converts to cold disdain ;
Pure Chastity is rifled of her store,
And Lust, the thief, far poorer than before.
Look, as the full-fed hound or gorged hawk,
Unapt for tender smell or speedy flight,
Make slow pursuit, or altogether balk
The prey wherein by nature they delight,
So surfeit-taking Tarquin fares this night ;
124 Shakespeare's Poems
His taste delicious, in digestion souring,
Devours his will that liv'd by foul devouring. 700
O, deeper sin than bottomless conceit
Can comprehend in still imagination I
Drunken Desire must vomit his receipt
Ere he can see his own abomination.
While Lust is in his pride, no exclamation
Can curb his heat or rein his rash desire
Till like a jade Self-will himself doth tire.
And then with lank and lean discolour'd cheek,
With heavy eye, knit brow, and strengthless pace,
Feeble Desire, all recreant, poor, and meek, 710
Like to a bankrupt beggar wails his case.
The flesh being proud, Desire doth fight with Grace,
For there it revels ; and when that decays,
The guilty rebel for remission prays.
So fares it with this faultful lord of Rome
Who this accomplishment so hotly chas'd ;
For now against himself he sounds this doom,
That through the length of times he stands disgrac'd.
Besides, his soul's fair temple is defac'd,
To whose weak ruins muster troops of cares 720
To ask the spotted princess how she fares.
She says her subjects with foul insurrection
Have batter 'd down her consecrated wall,
The Rape of Lucrece 125
And by their mortal fault brought in subjection
Her immortality, and made her thrall
To living death and pain perpetual,
Which in her prescience she controlled still,
But her foresight could not forestall their will.
Even in this thought through the dark night he stealeth,
A captive victor that hath lost in gain ; 730
Bearing away the wound that nothing healeth,
The scar that will, despite of cure, remain ;
Leaving his spoil perplex'd in greater pain.
She bears the load of lust he left behind,
And he the burthen of a guilty mind.
He like a thievish dog creeps sadly thence ;
She like a wearied lamb lies panting there ;
He scowls and hates himself for his offence ;
She, desperate, with her nails her flesh doth tear ;
He faintly flies, sweating with guilty fear ; 740
She stays, exclaiming on the direful night ;
He runs, and chides his vanish'd, loath'd delight.
He thence departs a heavy convertite ;
She there remains a hopeless castaway ;
He in his speed looks for the morning light ;
She prays she never may behold the day,
* For day,' quoth she, ' night's scapes doth open lay,
And my true eyes have never practis'd how
To cloak offences with a cunning brow.
126 Shakespeare's Poems
1 They think not but that every eye can see 75
The same disgrace which they themselves behold,
And therefore would they still in darkness be,
To have their unseen sin remain untold ;
For they their guilt with weeping will unfold,
And grave, like water that doth eat in steel,
Upon my cheeks what helpless shame I feel.'
Here she exclaims against repose and rest,
And bids her eyes hereafter still be blind ;
She wakes her heart by beating on her breast,
And bids it leap from thence, where it may find 760
Some purer chest to close so pure a mind.
Frantic with grief thus breathes she forth her spite
Against the unseen secrecy of night :
' O comfort-killing Night, image of hell 1
Dim register and notary of shame 1
Black stage for tragedies and murthers fell 1
Vast sin-concealing chaos ! nurse of blame !
Blind muffled bawd 1 dark harbour for defame !
Grim cave of death ! whispering conspirator
With close-tongu'd treason and the ravisher ! - 770
' O hateful, vaporous, and foggy Night I
Since thou art guilty of my cureless crime,
Muster thy mists to meet the eastern light,
Make war against proportion 'd course of time ;
Or if thou wilt permit the sun to climb
The Rape of Lucrece 127
His wonted height, yet ere he go to bed
Knit poisonous clouds about his golden head.
' With rotten damps ravish the morning air ;
Let their exhaPd unwholesome breaths make sick
The life of purity, the supreme fair, 780
Ere he arrive his weary noon-tide prick ;
And let thy misty vapours march so thick
That in their smoky ranks his smother'd light
May set at noon and make perpetual night.
' Were Tarquin Night, as he is but Night's child,
The silver-shining queen he would distain ;
Her twinkling handmaids too, by him defil'd,
Through Night's black bosom should not peep again.
So should I have co-partners in my pain,
And fellowship in woe doth woe assuage, 790
As palmers' chat makes short their pilgrimage ;
' Where now I have no one to blush with me,
To cross their arms and hang their heads with mine,
To mask their brows and hide their infamy,
But I alone alone must sit and pine,
Seasoning the earth with showers of silver brine,
Mingling my talk with tears, my grief with groans,
Poor wasting monuments of lasting moans.
' O Night, thou furnace of foul-reeking smoke,
Let not the jealous Day behold that face Soo
128 Shakespeare's Poems
Which underneath thy black all-hiding cloak
Immodestly lies martyr 'd with disgrace !
Keep still possession of thy gloomy place,
That all the faults which in thy reign are made
May likewise be sepulchred in thy shade 1
' Make me not object to the tell-tale Day !
The light will show, charactered in my brow,
The story of sweet chastity's decay,
The impious breach of holy wedlock vow ;
Yea, the illiterate, that know not how Sio
To cipher what is writ in learned books,
Will quote my loathsome trespass in my looks.
e The nurse, to still her child, will tell my story,
And fright her crying babe with Tarquin's name ;
The orator, to deck his oratory,
Will couple my reproach to Tarquin's shame ;
Feast-finding minstrels, tuning my defame,
Will tie the hearers to attend each line,
How Tarquin wronged me, I Collatine.
4 Let my good name, that senseless reputation, 820
For Collatine's dear love be kept unspotted ;
If that be made a theme for disputation,
The branches of another root are rotted,
And undeserv'd reproach to him allotted
That is as clear from this attaint of mine
As I, ere this, was pure to Collatine.
The Rape of Lucrece 129
1 O unseen shame ! invisible disgrace !
unfelt sore 1 crest-wounding, private scar!
Reproach is stamp'd in Collatinus' face,
And Tarquin's eye may read the mot afar, 830
How he in peace is wounded, not in war.
Alas, how many bear such shameful blows,
Which not themselves, but he that gives them knows !
1 If, Collatine, thine honour lay in me,
From me by strong assault it is bereft.
My honey lost, and I, a drone-like bee,
Have no perfection of my summer left,
But robb'd and ransack'd by injurious theft ;
In thy weak hive a wandering wasp hath crept,
And suck'd the honey which thy chaste bee kept.
* Yet am I guilty of thy honour's wrack ; 841
Yet for thy honour did I entertain him ;
Coming from thee, I could not put him back,
For it had been dishonour to disdain him.
Besides, of weariness he did complain him,
And talk'd of virtue ; O unlook'd-for evil,
When virtue is profan'd in such a devil 1
1 Why shoxild the worm intrude the maiden bud ?
Or hateful cuckoos hatch in sparrows' nests ?
Or toads infect fair founts with venom mud ? 850
Or tyrant folly lurk in gentle breasts ?
Or kings be breakers of their own behests ?
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 9
130 Shakespeare's Poems
But no perfection is so absolute
That some impurity doth not pollute.
* The aged man that coffers up his gold
Is plagued with cramps and gouts and painful fits,
And scarce hath eyes his treasure to behold ;
But like still-pining Tantalus he sits,
And useless barns the harvest of his wits,
Having no other pleasure of his gain 860
But torment that it cannot cure his pain.
4 So then he hath it when he cannot use it,
And leaves it to be master'd by his young,
Who in their pride do presently abuse it ;
Their father was too weak, and they too strong,
To hold their cursed-blessed fortune long.
The sweets we wish for turn to loathed sours
Even in the moment that we call them ours.
4 Unruly blasts wait on the tender spring ;
Unwholesome weeds take root with precious flowers ;
The adder hisses where the sweet birds sing ; 871
What virtue breeds iniquity devours.
We have no good that we can say is ours
But ill-annexed Opportunity
Or kills his life or else his quality.
( O Opportunity, thy guilt is great !
J T is thou that execut'st the traitor's treason ;
The Rape of Lucrece 131
Thou set'st the wolf where he the lamb may get ;
Whoever plots the sin, thou point'st the season ;
'T is thou that spurn 'st at right, at law, at reason ; 880
And in thy shady cell, where none may spy him,
Sits Sin, to seize the souls that wander by him.
' Thou mak'st the vestal violate her oath ;
Thou blow'st the fire when temperance is thaw'd ;
Thou smother 'st honesty, thou murther'st troth ;
Thou foul abettor ! thou notorious bawd !
Thou plantest scandal and displacest laud ;
Thou ravisher, thou traitor, thou false thief,
Thy honey turns to gall, thy joy to grief 1
Thy secret pleasure turns to open shame, 890
Thy private feasting to a public fast,
Thy smoothing titles to a ragged name,
Thy sugar'd tongue to bitter wormwood taste ;
Thy violent vanities can never last.
How comes it then, vile Opportunity,
Being so bad, such numbers seek for thee ?
* When wilt thou be the humble suppliant's friend,
And bring him where his suit may be obtain'd ?
When wilt thou sort an hour great strifes to end ?
Or free that soul which wretchedness hath chain 'd ?
Give physic to the sick, ease to the pain'd ? 901
The poor, lame, blind, halt, creep, cry out for thee,
But they ne'er meet with Opportunity.
132. Shakespeare's Poems
( The patient dies while the physician sleeps ;
The orphan pines while the oppressor feeds ;
Justice is feasting while the widow weeps ;
Advice is sporting while infection breeds.
Thou grant'st no time for charitable deeds ;
Wrath, envy, treason, rape, and murther's rages,
Thy heinous hours wait on them as their pages. 910
* When Truth and Virtue have to do with thee,
A thousand crosses keep them from thy aid.
They buy thy help ; but Sin ne'er gives a fee,
He gratis comes ; and thou art well appaid
As well to hear as grant what he hath said.
My Collatine would else have come to me
When Tarquin did, but he was stay'd by thee.
c Guilty thou art of murther and of theft,
Guilty of perjury and subornation,
Guilty of treason, forgery, and shift, 920
Guilty of incest, that abomination ;
An accessary by thine inclination
To all sins past and all that are to come,
From the creation to t'he general doom.
c Misshapen Time, copes mate of ugly Night,
Swift subtle post, carrier of grisly care,
Eater of youth, false slave to false delight,
Ease watch of woes, sin's pack-horse, virtue's snare,
Thou nursest all and murther 'st all that are ;
The Rape of Lucrece 133
O, hear me then, injurious, shifting Time 1 930
Be guilty of my death, since of my crime.
1 Why hath thy servant, Opportunity,
Betray 'd the hours thou gav'st me to repose,
Cancell'd my fortunes, and enchained me
To endless date of never-ending woes ?
Time's office is to fine the hate of foes,
To eat up errors by opinion bred,
Not spend the dowry of a lawful bed.
* Time's glory is to calm contending kings,
To unmask falsehood and bring truth to light, 940
To stamp the seal of time in aged things,
To wake the morn and sentinel the night,
To wrong the wronger till he render right,
To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours,
And smear with dust their glittering golden towers ;
* To fill with worm-holes stately monuments,
To feed oblivion with decay of things,
To blot old books and alter their contents,
To pluck the quills from ancient ravens' wings,
To dry the old oak's sap and cherish springs, 950
To spoil antiquities of hammer'd steel,
And turn the giddy round of Fortune's wheel ;
' To show the beldam daughters of her daughter,
To make the child a man, the man a child,
1 34 Shakespeare's Poems
To slay the tiger that doth live by slaughter,
To tame the unicorn and lion wild,
To mock the subtle in themselves beguiPd,
To cheer the ploughman with increaseful crops,
And waste huge stones with little water-drops.
' Why work'st thou mischief in thy pilgrimage, 960
Unless thou couldst return to make amends ?
One poor retiring minute in an age
Would purchase thee a thousand thousand friends,
Lending him wit that to bad debtors lends ;
O, this dread night, wouldst thou one hour come
back,
I could prevent this storm and shun thy wrack !
' Thou ceaseless lackey to eternity,
With some mischance cross Tarquin in his flight ;
Devise extremes beyond extremity,
To make him curse this cursed crimeful night ; 970
Let ghastly shadows his lewd eyes affright,
And the dire thought of his committed evil
Shape every bush a hideous shapeless devil,
' Disturb his hours of rest with restless trances,
Afflict him in his bed with bedrid groans ;
Let there bechance him pitiful mischances,
To make him moan, but pity not his moans ;
Stone him with harden J d hearts, harder than stones ;
And let mild women to him lose their mildness,
Wilder to him than tigers in their wildness. 980
The Rape of Lucrece 135
1 Let him have time to tear his curled hair,
Let him have time against himself to rave,
Let him have time of Time's help to despair,
Let him have time to live a loathed slave,
Let him have time a beggar's orts to crave,
And time to see one that by alms doth live
Disdain to him disdained scraps to give.
1 Let him have time to see his friends his foes,
And merry fools to mock at him resort ;
Let him have time to mark how slow time goes 990
In time of sorrow, and how swift and short
His time of folly and his .time of sport ;
And ever let his unrecalling crime
Have time to wail the abusing of his time.
' O Time, thou tutor both to good and bad,
Teach me to curse him that thou taught'st this ill !
At his own shadow let the thief run mad,
Himself himself seek every hour to kill !
Such wretched hands such wretched blood should spill ;
For who so base would such an office have 1000
As slanderous deathsman to so base a slave ?
* The baser is he, coming from a king,
To shame his hope with deeds degenerate ;
The mightier man, the mightier is the thing
That makes him honour'd or begets him hate,
For greatest scandal waits on greatest state.
136 Shakespeare's Poems
The moon being clouded presently is miss'd,
But little stars may hide them when they list.
* The crow may bathe his coal-black wings in mire
And unperceiv'd fly with the filth away, 1010
But if the like the snow-white swan desire,
The stain upon his silver down will stay.
Poor grooms are sightless night, kings glorious day ;
Gnats are unnoted wheresoe'er they fly,
But eagles gaz'd upon with every eye.
1 Out, idle words, servants to shallow fools !
Unprofitable sounds, weak arbitrators 1
Busy yourselves in skill-contending schools,
Debate where leisure serves with dull debaters ;
To trembling clients be you mediators. 1020
For me, I force not argument a straw,
Since that my case is past the help of law.
1 In vain I rail at Opportunity,
At Time, at Tarquin, and un cheerful Night ;
In vain I cavil with mine infamy,
In vain I spurn at my confirm 'd despite ;
This helpless smoke of words doth me no right.
The remedy indeed to do me good
Is to let forth my foul-defiled blood.
' Poor hand, why quiver's! thou at this decree ? 1030
Honour thyself to rid me of this shame ;
The Rape of Lucrece 137
For if I die, my honour lives in thee,
But if I live, thou liv'st in my defame.
Since thou couldst not defend thy loyal dame
And wast afeard to scratch her wicked foe,
Kill both thyself and her for yielding so.'
This said, from her betumbled couch she starteth,
To find some desperate instrument of death ;
But this no slaughter-house no tool imparteth
To make more vent for passage of her breath, 1040
Which, thronging through her lips, so vanisheth
As smoke from ./Etna, that in air consumes,
Or that which from discharged cannon fumes.
1 In vain, 3 quoth she, ' I live, and seek in vain
Some happy mean to end a hapless life.
I fear'd by Tarquin's falchion to be slain,
Yet for the selfsame purpose seek a knife.
But when I fear'd I was a loyal wife ;
So am I now O no, that cannot be !
Of that true type hath Tarquin rifled me. 1050
* O, that is gone for which I sought to live,
And therefore now I need not fear to die !
To clear this spot by death, at least I give
A badge of fame to slander's livery,
A dying life to living infamy ;
Poor helpless help, the treasure stolen away,
To burn the guiltless casket where it lay !
138 Shakespeare's Poems
fi Well, well, dear Collatine, thou shalt not know
The stained taste of violated troth ;
I will not wrong thy true affection so, 1060
To flatter thee with an infringed oath ;
This bastard graft shall never come to growth.
He shall not boast who did thy stock pollute
That thou art doting father of his fruit.
< Nor shall he smile at thee in secret thought,
Nor laugh with his companions at thy state ;
But thou shalt know thy interest was not bought
Basely with gold, but stolen from forth thy gate.
For me, I am the mistress of my fate,
And with my trespass never will dispense 1070
Till life to death acquit my forc'd offence.
' I will not poison thee with my attaint,
Nor fold my fault in cleanly-coin'd excuses;
My sable ground of sin I will not paint,
To hide the truth of this false night's abuses.
My tongue shall utter all ; mine eyes, like sluices,
As from a mountain-spring that feeds a dale,
Shall gush pure streams to purge my impure tale.'
By this, lamenting Philomel had ended
The well-tun s d warble of her nightly sorrow, 1080
And solemn night with slow sad gait descended
To ugly hell; when, lo, the blushing morrow
Lends light to all fair eyes that light will borrow,
The Rape of Lucrece 139
But cloudy Lucrece shames herself to see
And therefore still in night would cloister'd be.
Revealing day through every cranny spies
And seems to point her out where she sits weeping,
To whom she sobbing speaks : ' O eye of eyes,
Why pry'st thou through my window ? leave thy peep-
ing ; 1089
Mock with thy tickling beams eyes that are sleeping ;
Brand not my forehead with thy piercing light,
For day hath nought to do what 's done by night.'
Thus cavils she with every thing she sees.
True grief is fond and testy as a child,
Who wayward once, his mood with nought agrees ;
Old woes, not infant sorrows, bear them mild.
Continuance tames the one ; the other wild,
Like an unpractised swimmer plunging still,
With too much labour drowns for want of skill.
So she, deep-drenched in a sea of care, noo
Holds disputation with each thing she views,
And to herself all sorrow doth compare ;
No object but her passion's strength renews,
And as one shifts another straight ensues ;
Sometime her grief is dumb and hath no words,
Sometime 't is mad and too much talk affords.
The little birds that tune their morning's joy
Make her moans mad with their sweet melody.
140 Shakespeare's Poems
For mirth doth search the bottom of annoy ;
Sad souls are slain in merry company; mo
Grief best is pleas'cl with grief's society ;
True sorrow then is feelingly suffic'd
When with like semblance it is sympathiz'd.
'T is double death to drown in ken of shore ;
He ten times pines that pines beholding food ;
To see the salve doth make the wound ache more ;
Great grief grieves most at that would do it good ;
Deep woes roll forward like a gentle flood,
Who, being stopp'd, the bounding banks overflows ;
Grief dallied with nor law nor limit knows. 1120
' You mocking birds,' quoth she, 'your tunes entomb
Within your hollow-swelling feather'd breasts,
And in my hearing be you mute and dumb ;
My restless discord loves no stops nor rests ;
A woeful hostess brooks not merry guests.
Relish your nimble notes to pleasing ears ;
Distress likes dumps when time is kept with tears.
1 Come, Philomel, that sing'st of ravishment,
Make thy sad grove in my dishevell'd hair.
As the dank earth weeps at thy languishment, 1130
So I at each sad strain will strain a tear,
And with deep groans the diapason bear ;
For burden-wise I '11 hum on Tarquin still,
While thou ,on Tereus descant'st better skill.
The Rape of Lucrece 141
'And whiles against a thorn thou bear'st thy part,
To keep thy sharp woes waking, wretched I,
To imitate thee well, against my heart
Will fix a sharp knife to affright mine eye,
Who, if it wink, shall thereon fall and die.
These means, as frets upon an instrument, 1140
Shall tune our heart-strings to true languishment.
1 And for, poor bird, thou sing'st not in the day,
As shaming any eye should thee behold,
Some dark deep desert, seated from the way,
That knows not parching heat nor freezing cold,
Will we find out, and there we will unfold
To creatures stern sad tunes, to change their kinds ;
Since men prove beasts, let beasts bear gentle minds.'
As the poor frighted deer, that stands at gaze,
Wildly determining which way to fly, 1150
Or one encompassed with a winding maze,
That cannot tread the way out readily,
So with herself is she in mutiny,
To live or die which of the twain were better,
When life is sham'd, and death reproach's debtor.
* To kill myself,' quoth she, c alack, what were it
But with my body my poor soul's pollution ?
They that lose half with greater patience bear it
Than they whose whole is swallow 'd in confusion.
That mother tries a merciless conclusion 1160
142. Shakespeare's Poems
Who, having two sweet babes, when death takes one,
Will slay the other and be nurse to none.
' My body or my soul, which was the dearer,
When the one pure the other made divine ?
Whose love of either to myself was nearer
When both were kept for heaven and Collatine ?
Ay me 1 the bark peel'd from the lofty pine,
His leaves will wither and his sap decay ;
So must my soul, her bark being peel'd away.
* Her house is sack'd, her quiet interrupted, 1170
Her mansion batter'd by the enemy ;
Her sacred temple spotted, spoil'd, corrupted,
Grossly engirt with daring infamy.
Then let it not be call'd impiety,
If in this blemish 'd fort I make some hole
Through which I may convey this troubled soul.
' Yet die I will not till my Collatine
Have heard the cause of my untimely death,
That he may vow, in that sad hour of mine,
Revenge on him that made me stop my breath. nSo
My stained blood to Tarquin I '11 bequeath,
Which by him tainted shall for him be spent
And as his due writ in my testament.
' My honour I '11 bequeath unto the knife
That wounds my body so dishonoured.
The Rape of Lucrece 143
T is honour to deprive dishonoured life ;
The one will live, the other being dead.
So of shame's ashes shall my fame be bred,
For in my death I murther shameful scorn ;
My shame so dead, mine honour is new-born. 1190
' Dear lord of that dear jewel I have lost,
What legacy shall I bequeath to thee ?
My resolution, love, shall be thy boast,
By whose example thou reveng'd mayst be.
How Tarquin must be us'd, read it in me ;
Myself, thy friend, will kill myself, thy foe,
And for my sake serve thou false Tarquin so.
c This brief abridgement of my will I make :
My soul and body to the skies and ground ;
My resolution, husband, do thou take ; 1200
Mine honour be the knife's that makes my wound ;
My shame be his that did my fame confound ;
And all my fame that lives disbursed be
To those that live and think no shame of rne.
c Thou, Collatine, shalt oversee this will ;
How was I overseen that thou shalt see it 1
My blood shall wash the slander of mine ill ;
My life's foul deed, my life's fair end shall free it.
Faint not, faint heart, but stoutly say " So be it." 1209
Yield to my hand ; my hand shall conquer thee.
Thou dead, both die, and both shall victors be.'
144 Shakespeare's Poems
This plot of death when sadly she had laid,
And wip'd the brinish pearl from her bright eyes,
With untun'd tongue she hoarsely calls her maid,
Whose swift obedience to her mistress hies ;
For fleet-wing'd duty with thought's feathers flies.
Poor Lucrece' cheeks unto her maid seem so
As winter meads when sun doth melt their snow.
Her mistress she doth give demure good-morrow,
With soft-slow tongue, true mark of modesty, 1220
And sorts a sad look to her lady's sorrow ;
For why, her face wore sorrow's livery,
But durst not ask of her audaciously
Why her two suns were cloud-eclipsed so,
Nor why her fair cheeks over-wash ? d with woe.
But as the earth doth weep, the sun being set,
Each flower moisten'd like a melting eye,
Even so the maid with swelling drops gan wet
Her circled eyne, enforc'd by sympathy
Of those fair suns set in her mistress' sky, 1230
Who in a salt-wav'd ocean quench their light,
Which makes the maid weep like the dewy night.
A pretty while these pretty creatures stand,
Like ivory conduits coral cisterns filling.
One justly weeps ; the other takes in hand
No cause, but company, of her drops spilling.
Their gentle sex to weep are often willing,
The Rape of Lucrece 145
Grieving themselves to guess at others' smarts,
And then they drown their eyes or break their hearts.
For men have marble, women waxen minds, 1240
And therefore are they form'd as marble will ;
The weak oppress'd, the impression of strange kinds
Is form'd in them by force, by fraud, or skill.
Then call them not the authors of their ill,
No more than wax shall be accounted evil
Wherein is starnp'd the semblance of a devil.
Their smoothness, like a goodly champaign plain,
Lays open all the little worms that creep ;
In men, as in a rough-grown grove, remain
Cave-keeping evils that obscurely sleep. 1250
Through crystal walls each little mote will peep ;
Though men can cover crimes with bold stern looks,
Poor women's faces are their own faults' books.
No man inveigh against the wither 'd flower,
But chide rough winter that the flower hath kill'd ;
Not that devour'd, but that which doth devour,
Is worthy blame. O, let it not be hild
Poor women's faults that they are so fulfill' d
With men's abuses ! those proud lords, to blame,
Make weak-made women tenants to their shame.
The precedent whereof in Lucrece view, 1261
AssaiPd by night with circumstances strong
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 10
146 Shakespeare's Poems
Of present death, and shame that might ensue
By that her death to do her husband wrong.
Such danger to resistance did belong-
That dying fear through all her body spread ;
And who cannot abuse a body dead ?
By this, mild patience bid fair Lucrece speak
To the poor counterfeit of her complaining.
' My girl,' quoth she, ' on what occasion break 1270
Those tears from thee that down thy cheeks are rain-
ing ?
If thou dost weep for grief of my sustaining,
Know, gentle wench, it small avails my mood ;
If tears could help, mine own would do me good.
' But tell me, girl, when went ' and there she stay'd
Till after a deep groan { Tarquin from hence ? '
1 Madam, ere I was up,' replied the maid,
' The more to blame my sluggard negligence ;
Yet with the fault I thus far can dispense,
Myself was stirring ere the break of day, 1280
And ere I rose was Tarquin gone away.
' But, lady, if your maid may be so bold,
She would request to know your heaviness.'
' O, peace I ' quoth Lucrece : ' if it should be told,
The repetition cannot make it less,
For more it is than I can well express ;
And that deep torture may be call'd a hell
When more is felt than one hath power to tell.
The Rape of Lucrece 147
' Go, get me hither paper, ink, and pen
Yet save that labour, for I have them here. 1290
What should I say ? One of my husband's men
Bid thou be ready, by and by, to bear
A letter to my lord, my love, my dear.
Bid him with speed prepare to carry it ;
The cause craves haste, and it will soon be writ,'
Her maid is gone, and she prepares to write,
First hovering o'er the paper with her quill.
Conceit and grief an eager combat fight ;
What wit sets down is blotted straight with will ;
This is too curious-good, this blunt and ill ; 1300
Much like a press of people at a door,
Throng her inventions, which shall go before.
At last she thus begins : ' Thou worthy lord
Of that unworthy wife that greeteth thee,
Health to thy person ! next vouchsafe t ? afford
If ever, love, thy Lucrece thou wilt see
Some present speed to come and visit me.
So, I commend me from our house in grief ;
My woes are tedious, though my words are brief.'
Here folds she up the tenor of her woe, 1310
Her certain sorrow writ uncertainly.
By this short schedule Collatine may know
Her grief, but not her grief's true quality ;
She dares not thereof make discovery,
148 Shakespeare's Poems
Lest he should hold it her own gross abuse,
Ere she with blood had stain'd her stain 'd excuse.
Besides, the life and feeling of her passion
She hoards, to spend when he is by to hear her ;
When sighs and groans and tears may grace the fashion
Of her disgrace, the better so to clear her 1320
From that suspicion which the world might bear her.
To shun this blot, she would not blot the letter
With words till action might become them better.
To see .sad sights moves more than hear them told ;
For then the eye interprets to the ear
The heavy motion that it doth behold,
When every part a part of woe doth bear.
J T is but a part of sorrow that we hear ;
Deep sounds make lesser noise than shallow fords,
And sorrow ebbs, being blown with wind of words.
Her letter now is seal'd, and on it writ 133!
* At Ardea to my lord with more than haste.'
The post attends, and she delivers it,
Charging the sour-fac'd groom to hie as fast
As lagging fowls before the northern blast.
Speed more than speed but dull and slow she deems ;
Extremity still urgeth such extremes.
The homely villain curtsies to her low,
And, blushing on her, with a steadfast eye
The Rape of Lucrece 149
Receives the scroll without or yea or no 1340
And forth with bashful innocence doth hie.
But they whose guilt within their bosoms lie
Imagine every eye beholds their blame ;
For Lucrece thought he blush'd to see her shame,
When, silly groom 1 God wot, it was defect
Of spirit, life, and bold audacity.
Such harmless creatures have a true respect
To talk in deeds, while others saucily
Promise more speed, but do it leisurely ;
Even so this pattern of the worn-out age 1350
Pawn'd honest looks, but laid no words to gage.
His kindled duty kindled her mistrust,
That two red fires in both their faces blaz'd ;
She thought he blush'd, as knowing Tarquin's lust,
And, blushing with him, wistly on him gaz'd.
Her earnest eye did make him more amaz'd;
The more she saw the blood his cheeks replenish,
The more she thought he spied in her some blemish.
But long she thinks till he return again,
And yet the duteous vassal scarce is gone. 1360
The weary time she cannot entertain,
For now 't is stale to sigh, to weep, and groan ;
So woe hath wearied woe, moan tired moan,
That she her plaints a little while doth stay,
Pausing for means to mourn some newer way.
i jo Shakespeare's Poems
At last she calls to mind where hangs a piece
Of skilful painting, made for Priam's Troy,
Before the which is drawn the power of Greece,
For Helen's rape the city to destroy,
Threatening cloud-kissing Ilion with annoy, 1370
Which the conceited painter drew so proud
As heaven, it seem'd, to kiss the turrets bow'd.
A thousand lamentable objects there,
In scorn of nature, art gave lifeless life.
Many a dry drop seem'd a weeping tear,
Shed for the slaughter'd husband by the wife ;
The red blood reek'd, to show the painter's strife,
And dying eyes gleam 'd forth their ashy lights,
Like dying coals burnt out in tedious nights.
There might you see the labouring pioneer 1380
Begrim'd with sweat and smeared all with dust ;
And from the towers of Troy there would appear
The very eyes of men through loop-holes thrust,
Gazing upon the Greeks with little lust.
Such sweet observance in this work was had
That one might see those far-off eyes look sad.
In great commanders grace and majesty
You might behold, triumphing in their faces ;
In youth, quick bearing and dexterity ;
And here and there the painter interlaces 1390
Pale cowards, marching on with trembling paces,
The Rape of Lucrece 151
Which heartless peasants did so well resemble
That one would swear he saw them quake and tremble.
In Ajax and Ulysses, O, what art
Of physiognomy might one behold !
The face of either ciphered either's heart,
Their face their manners most expressly told ;
In Ajax' eyes blunt rage and rigour roll'd,
But the mild glance that sly Ulysses lent
Show'd deep regard and smiling government. 1400
There pleading might you see grave Nestor stand,
As 't were encouraging the Greeks to fight,
Making such sober action with his hand
That it beguil'd attention, charm'd the sight;
In speech, it seem'd, his beard, all silver white,
Wagg'd up and down, and from his lips did fly
Thin winding breath which purl'd up to the sky.
About him were a press of gaping faces,
Which seem'd to swallow up his sound advice ;
All jointly listening, but with several graces, 1410
As if some mermaid did their ears entice,
Some high, some low, the painter was so nice ;
The scalps of many, almost hid behind,
To jump up higher seem'd, to mock the mind.
Here one man's hand leaned on another's head,
His nose being shadow'd by his neighbour's ear ;
152. Shakespeare's Poems
Here one being throng'd bears back, all bollen and red ;
Another smother'd seems to pelt and swear ;
And in their rage such signs of rage they bear
As, but for loss of Nestor's golden words, 1420
It seem'd they would debate with angry swords.
For much imaginary work was there,
Conceit deceitful, so compact, so kind,
That for Achilles' image stood his spear,
Gripp'd in an armed hand ; himself, behind,
Was left unseen, save to the eye of mind.;
A hand, a foot, a face, a leg, a head,
Stood for the whole to be imagined.
And from the walls of strong-besieged Troy
When their brave hope, bold Hector, march 'd to field,
Stood many Trojan mothers, sharing joy 1431
To see their youthful sons bright weapons wield ;
And to their hope they such odd action yield
That through their light joy seemed to appear,
Like bright things stain'd, a kind of heavy fear.
And from the strand of Dardan where they fought
To Simois' reedy banks the red blood ran,
Whose waves to imitate the battle sought
With swelling ridges ; and their ranks began
To break upon the galled shore, and than 1440
Retire again, till, meeting greater ranks,
They join and shoot their foam at Simois' banks.
The Rape of Lucrece i 53
To this well-painted piece is Lucrece come,
To find a face where all distress is stell'd.
Many she sees where cares have carved some,
But none where all distress and dolour dwell'd
Till she despairing Hecuba beheld,
Staring on Priam's wounds with her old eyes,
Which bleeding under Pyrrhus' proud foot lies.
In her the painter had anatomiz'd 1450
Time's ruin, beauty's wrack, and grim care's reign.
Her cheeks with chaps and wrinkles were disguis'd ;
Of what she was no semblance did remain.
Her blue blood, chang'd to black in every vein,
Wanting the spring that those shrunk pipes had fed,
Show'd life imprison 'd in a body dead.
On this sad shadow Lucrece spends her eyes
And shapes her sorrow to the beldam's woes,
Who nothing wants to answer her but cries,
And bitter words to ban her cruel foes. 1460
The painter was no god to lend her those ;
And therefore Lucrece swears he did her wrong,
To give her so much grief and not a tongue.
' Poor instrument,' quoth she, ' without a sound,
I '11 tune thy woes with my lamenting tongue,
And drop sweet balm in Priam's painted wound,
And rail on Pyrrhus that hath done him wrong,
And with my tears quench Troy that burns so long,
1 54 Shakespeare's Poems
And with my knife scratch out the angry eyes
Of all the Greeks that are thine enemies, 1470
' Show me the strumpet that began this stir,
That with my nails her beauty I may tear.
Thy heat of lust, fond Paris, did incur
This load of wrath that burning Troy doth bear ;
Thy eye kindled the lire that burneth here ;
And here in Troy, for trespass of thine eye,
The sire, the son, the dame, and daughter die.
' Why should the private pleasure of some one
Become the public plague of many moe ?
Let sin, alone committed, light alone 1480
Upon his head that hath transgressed so ;
Let guiltless souls be freed from guilty woe.
For one's offence why should so in any fall,
To plague a private sin in general ?
1 Lo, here weeps Hecuba, here Priam dies,
Here manly Hector faints, here Troilus swounds,
Here friend by friend in bloody channel lies.
And friend to friend gives unadvised wounds,
And one man's lust these many lives confounds ;
Had doting Priam check'd his son's desire, 1490
Troy had been bright with tame and not with fire.'
Here feelingly she weeps Troy's painted woes,
For sorrow, like a heavy-hanging bell,
The Rape of Lucrece 155
Once set on ringing, with his own weight goes ;
Then little strength rings out the doleful knell.
So Lucrece, set a-work, sad tales doth tell
To penciled pensiveness and coloured sorrow ;
She lends them words, and she their looks doth
borrow.
She throws her eyes about the painting round,
And who she finds forlorn she doth lament. 1500
At last she sees a wretched image bound
That piteous looks to Phrygian shepherds lent.
His face, though full of cares, yet show'd content ;
Onward to Troy with the blunt swains he goes,
So mild that Patience seem'd to scorn his woes.
In him the painter labour'd with his skill
To hide deceit, and give the harmless show
An humble gait, calm looks, eyes wailing still,
A brow unbent that seem'd to welcome woe ;
Cheeks neither red nor pale, but mingled so 1510
That blushing red no guilty instance gave,
Nor ashy pale the fear that false hearts have.
But, like a constant and confirmed devil,
He entertain'd a show so seeming just,
And therein so ensconc'd his secret evil,
That jealousy itself could not mistrust
False-creeping craft and perjury should thrust
Into so bright a day such black-fac'd storms,
Or blot with hell-born sin such saint-like forms.
156 Shakespeare's Poems
The well-skilPd workman this mild image drew
For perjur'd Sinon, whose enchanting story
The credulous old Priam after slew ;
Whose words like wildfire burnt the shining glory
Of rich-built Ilion, that the skies were sorry,
And little stars shot from their fixed places
When their glass fell wherein they view'd their faces.
This picture she advisedly perus'd,
And chid the painter for his wondrous skill,
Saying some shape in Sinon's was abus'd ;
So fair a form lodg'd not a mind so ill. 1530
And still on him she gaz'd ; and gazing still
Such signs of truth in his plain face she spied
That she concludes the picture was belied.
' It cannot be,' quoth she, ' that so much guile '
She would have said ' can lurk in such a look ; '
But Tarquin's shape came in her mind the while,
And from her tongue ' can lurk ' from ' cannot ' took.
' It cannot be, 7 she in that sense forsook,
And turn'd it thus : ' It cannot be, I find,
But such a face should bear a wicked mind ; 1540
* For even as subtle Sinon here is painted,
So sober-sad, so weary, and so mild,
As if with grief or travail he had fainted
To me came Tarquin armed, so beguil'd
With outward honesty, but yet defiPd
The Rape of Lucrece 157
With inward vice. As Priam him did cherish,
So did I Tarquin ; so my Troy did perish.
f ' Look, look, how listening Priam wets his eyes
To see those borrow'd tears that Sinon sheds 1
Priam, why art thou old and yet not wise ? 1550
For every tear he falls a Trojan bleeds.
His eye drops fire, no water thence proceeds ;
Those round clear pearls of his that move thy pity
Are balls of quenchless fire to burn thy city.
* Such devils steal effects from lightless hell ;
For Sinon in his fire doth quake with cold,
And in that cold hot-burning fire doth dwell.
These contraries such unity do hold
Only to flatter fools and make them bold ;
So Priam's trust false Sinon's tears doth flatter 1560
That he finds means to burn his Troy with water.'
Here, all enrag'd, such passion her assails
That patience is quite beaten from her breast.
She tears the senseless Sinon with her nails,
Comparing him to that unhappy guest
Whose deed hath made herself herself detest.
At last she smilingly with this gives o'er :
' Fool, fool 1 ' quoth she, ' his wounds will not be sore.'
Thus ebbs and flows the current of her sorrow,
And time doth weary time with her complaining. 1570
158 Shakespeare's Poems
She looks for night, and then she longs for morrow,
And both she thinks too long with her remaining.
Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining ;
Though woe be heavy, yet it seldom sleeps,
And they that watch see time how slow it creeps.
Which all this time hath overslipp'd her thought
That she with painted images hath spent ;
Being from the feeling of her own grief brought
By deep surmise of others' detriment,
Losing her woes in shows of discontent. 1580
It easeth some, though none it ever cur'd,
To think their dolour others have endur'd.
But now the mindful messenger, come back,
Brings home his lord and other company,
Who finds his Lucrece clad in mourning black;
And round about her tear-distained eye
Blue circles stream'd, like rainbows in the sky.
These water-galls in her dim element
Foretell new storms to those already spent,
Which when her sad-beholding husband saw, 1590
Amazedly in her sad face he stares ;
Her eyes, though sod in tears, look'cl red and raw,
Her lively colour kill'd with deadly cares.
He hath no power to ask her how she fares ;
Both stood, like old acquaintance in a tra-nce,
Met far from home, wondering each other's chance.
The Rape of Lucrece 159
At last he takes her by the bloodless hand,
And thus begins : * What uncouth ill event
Hath thee befallen, that thou dost trembling stand?
Sweet love, what spite hath thy fair colour spent? 1600
Why art thou thus attir'd in discontent?
Unmask, dear dear, this moody heaviness
And tell thy grief, that we may give redress.'
Three times with sighs she gives her sorrow fire
Ere once she can discharge one word of woe ;
At length address'd to answer his desire,
She modestly prepares to let them know
Her honour is ta'en prisoner by the foe,
While Collatine and his consorted lords
With sad attention long to hear her words. 1610
And now this pale swan in her watery nest
Begins the sad dirge of her certain ending.
1 Few words,' quoth she, ' shall fit the trespass best
Where no excuse can give the fault amending ;
In me moe woes than words are now depending,
And my laments would be drawn out too long
To tell them all with one poor tired tongue.
' Then be this all the task it hath to say :
Dear husband, in the interest of thy bed
A stranger came, and on that pillow lay 1620
Where thou wast wont to rest thy weary head ;
And what wrong else may be imagined
160 Shakespeare's Poems
By foul enforcement might be done to me,
From that, alas, thy Lucrece is not free.
c For in the dreadful dead of dark midnight, .
With shining falchion in my chamber came
A creeping creature, with a flaming light,
And softly cried " Awake, thou Roman dame,
And entertain my love ; else lasting shame
On thee and thine this night I will inflict 1630
If thou my love's desire do contradict.
1 " For some hard-favour'd groom of thine," quoth he,
" Unless thou yoke thy liking to my will,
I '11 murther straight, and then I '11 slaughter thee
And swear I found you where you did fulfil
The loathsome act of lust, and so did kill
The lechers in their deed ; this act will be
My fame and thy perpetual infamy."
t With this, I did begin to start and cry ;
And then against my heart he sets his sword, 1640
Swearing, unless I took all patiently,
I should not live to speak another word ;
So should my shame still rest upon record,
And never be forgot in mighty Rome
The adulterate death of Lucrece and her groom.
' Mine enemy was strong, my poor self weak,
And far the weaker with so strong a fear.
The Rape of Lucr^gcg,,^ 161
My bloody judge forbade my tongue to speak ;
No rightful plea might plead for justice there.
His scarlet lust came evidence to swear 1650
That my poor beauty had purloin'd his eyes ;
And when the judge is robb'd the prisoner dies.
< O, teach me how to make mine own excuse !
Or at the least this refuge let me find :
Though my gross blood be stain 'd with this abuse,
Immaculate and spotless is my mind ;
That was not forc'd, that never was inclin'd
To accessary yield ings, but still pure
Doth in her poison 'd closet yet endure.'
Lo, here, the hopeless merchant of this loss, 1660
With head declin'd, and voice damm'd up with woe,
With sad-set eyes, and wretched arms across,
From lips new-waxen pale begins to blow
The grief away that stops his answer so,
But, wretched as he is, he strives in vain ;
What he breaths out his breath drinks up again.
As through an arch the violent roaring tide
Outruns the eye that doth behold his haste,
Yet in the eddy boundeth in his pride
Back to the strait that forc'd him on so fast, 1670
In rage sent out, recall'd in rage, being past ;
Even so his sighs, his sorrows, make a saw,
To push grief on, and back the same grief draw.
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS n
1 62 Shakespeare's Poems
.Which speechless woe of his poor she attendeth
And his untimely frenzy thus awaketh :
* Dear lord, thy sorrow to my sorrow lendeth
Another power ; no flood by raining slaketh.
My woe too sensible thy passion maketh
More feeling-painful ; let it then suffice
To drown one woe, one pair of weeping eyes. 1680
1 And for my sake, when I might charm thee so,
For she that was thy Lucrece, now attend me :
Be suddenly revenged on my foe,
Thine, mine, his own ; suppose thou dost defend me
From what is past. The help that thou shalt lend me
Comes all too late, yet let the traitor die,
For sparing justice feeds iniquity,
' But ere I name him, you fair lords,' quoth she,
Speaking to those that came with Collatine,
* Shall plight your honourable faiths to me, 1090
With swift pursuit to venge this wrong of mine ;
For 't is a meritorious fair design
To chase injustice with revengeful arms.
Knights, by their oaths, should right poor ladies'
harms.'
At this request, with noble disposition
Each present lord began to promise aid,
As bound in knighthood to her imposition,
Longing to hear the hateful foe bewray'd.
But she, that yet her sad task hath not said,
The Rape of Lucrece 163
The protestation stops. ' O, speak,' quoth she, 1700
' How may this forced stain be wip'd from me ?
'What is the quality of mine offence,
Being constrain'd with dreadful circumstance ?
May my pure mind with the foul act dispense,
My low-declined honour to advance ?
May any terms acquit me from this chance ?
The poison'd fountain clears itself again ;
And why not I from this compelled stain ? '
With this, they all at once began to say
Her body's stain her mind untainted clears ; 1710
While with a joyless smile she turns away
The face, that map which deep impression bears
Of hard misfortune, carv'd in it with tears.
' No, no/ quoth she, ' no dame, hereafter living,
By my excuse shall claim excuse's giving.'
Here with a sigh, as if her heart would break,
She throws forth Tarquin's name: ' He, he/ she says,
But more than < he ' her poor tongue could not speak ;
Till after many accents and delays,
Untimely breathings, sick and short assays, 1720
She utters this : ' He, he, fair lords, 't is he
That guides this hand to give this wound to me.'
Even here she sheathed in her harmless breast
A harmful knife that thence her soul unsheath'd.
164 Shakespeare's Poems
That blow did bail it from the deep unrest
Of that polluted prison where it breath 'd ;
Her contrite sighs unto the clouds bequeath 'd
Her winged sprite, and through her wounds doth fly
Life's lasting date from cancelled destiny.
Stone-still, astonish'd with this deadly deed, 1730
Stood Collatine and all his lordly crew,
Till Lucrece' father, that beholds her bleed,
Himself on her self-slaughter'd body threw,
And from the purple fountain Brutus drew
The murtherous knife, and, as it left the place,
Her blood, in poor revenge, held it in chase ;
And bubbling from her breast it doth divide
In two slow rivers, that the crimson blood
Circles her body in on every side,
Who, like a late-sack'd island, vastly stood 1740
Bare and unpeopled in this fearful flood
Some of her blood still pure and red remain 'd,
And some look'd black and that false Tarquin stain'd.
About the mourning and congealed face
Of that black blood a watery rigol goes,
Which seems to weep upon the tainted place ;
And ever since, as pitying Lucrece' woes,
Corrupted blood some watery token shows,
And blood untainted still doth red abide,
Blushing at that which is so putrefied. 1750
The Rape of Lucrece 165
! Daughter, dear daughter,' old Lucretius cries,
* That life was mine which thou hast here depriv'd.
If in the child the father's image lies,
Where shall I live now Lucrece is unliv'd ?
Thou wast not to this end from me deriv'd.
If children pre-decease progenitors,
We are their offspring, and they none of ours.
* Poor broken glass, I often did behold
In thy sweet semblance my old age new born ;
But now that fair fresh mirror, dim and old, 1760
Shows me a bare-bon'd death by time outworn.
O, from thy cheeks my image thou hast torn
And shiver'd all the beauty of my glass,
That I no more can see what once I was I
( O time, cease thou thy course and last no longer,
If they surcease to be that should survive.
Shall rotten death make conquest of the stronger
And leave the faltering feeble souls alive ?
The old bees die, the young possess their hive ;
Then live, sweet Lucrece, live again and see 1770
Thy father die, and not thy father thee ! '
By this, starts Collatine as from a dream
And bids Lucretius give his sorrow place ;
And then in key-cold Lucrece' bleeding stream
, He falls, and bathes the pale fear in his face,
And counterfeits to die with her a space,
1 66 Shakespeare's Poems
Till manly shame bids him possess his breath
And live to be revenged on her death.
The deep vexation of his inward soul
Hath serv'd a dumb arrest upon his tongue, i;8a
Who, mad that sorrow should his use control
Or keep him from heart-easing words so long,
Begins to talk ; but through his lips do throng
Weak words, so thick come in his poor heart's aid
That no man could distinguish what he said.
Yet sometime * Tarquin ' was pronounced plain,
But through his teeth, as if the name he tore.
This windy tempest, till it blow up rain,
Held back his sorrow's tide to make it more ;
At last it rains, and busy winds give o'er. 1790
Then son and father weep with equal strife
Who should weep most, for daughter or for wife.
The one doth call her his, the other his,
Yet neither may possess the claim they lay.
The father says * She ; s mine.' ' O 5 mine she is,'
Replies her husband ; ' do not take away
My sorrow's interest, let no mourner say
He weeps for her, for she was only mine
And only must be wail'd by Collatine.'
* O,' quoth Lucretius, ' I did give that life 1800
Which she too early and too late hath spill J d.'
The Rape of Lucrece 167
* Woe, woe,' quoth Collatine, ' she was my wife,
I owed her, and 't is mine that she hath IdlPd.'
1 My daughter ' and ' my wife ' with clamours fill'd
The dispers'd air, who, holding Lucrece' life,
Answer 'd their cries, c my daughter ' and l my wife.'
Brutus, who pluck'd the knife from Lucrece' side,
Seeing such emulation in their woe,
Began to clothe his wit in state and pride,
Burying in Lucrece' wound his folly's show, 1810
He with the Romans was esteemed so
As silly-jeering idiots are with kings,
For sportive words and uttering foolish things ;
But now he throws that shallow habit by
Wherein deep policy did him disguise;
And arm'd his long-hid wits advisedly,
To check the tears in Collatinus' eyes.
1 Thou wronged lord of Rome,' quoth he, ' arise ;
Let my unsounded self, suppos'd a fool,
Now set thy long-experienc'd wit to school. 1820
' Why, Collatine, is woe the cure for woe ?
Do wounds help wounds, or grief help grievous deeds ?
Is it revenge to give thyself a blow
For his foul act by whom thy fair wife bleeds ?
Such childish humour from weak minds proceeds ;
Thy wretched wife mistook the matter so,
To slay herself that should have slain her foe.
1 68 Shakespeare's Poems
' Courageous Roman, do not steep thy heart
In such relenting dew of lamentations ;
But kneel with me and help to bear thy part 1830
To rouse our Roman gods with invocations
That they will suffer these abominations,
Since Rome herself in them doth stand disgrac'd,
By our strong arms from forth her fair streets chas'd.
' Now, by the Capitol that we adore,
And by this chaste blood so unjustly stain 'd,
By heaven's fair sun that breeds the fat earth's store,
By all our country rights in Rome maintain 'd,
And by chaste Lucrece' soul that late complain 'd
Her wrongs to us, and by this bloody knife, 1840
We will revenge the death of this true wife.'
This said, he struck his hand upon his breast,
And kiss'd the fatal knife, to end his vow ;
And to his protestation urg'd the rest,
Who, wondering at him, did his words allow.
Then jointly to the ground their knees they bow ;
And that deep vow which Brutus made before
He doth again repeat, and that they swore,
When they had sworn to this advised doom,
They did conclude to bear dead Lucrece thence, 1850
To show her bleeding body thorough Rome,
And so to publish Tarquin's foul offence ;
Which being done with speedy diligence,
The Romans plausibly did give consent
To Tarquin's everlasting banishment.
A LOVER'S COMPLAINT,
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM, ETC.
A LOVER'S COMPLAINT
FROM off a hill whose concave womb re- worded
A plaintful story from a sistering vale,
My spirits to attend this double voice accorded,
And down I laid to list the sad-tun 'cl tale ;
Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale,
Tearing of papers, breaking rings a-twain,
Storming her world with sorrow's wind and rain.
Upon her head a platted hive of straw,
Which fortified her visage from the sun,
Whereon the thought might think sometime it saw
The carcass of a beauty spent and done ;
Time had not scythed all that youth begun,
170
A Lover's Complaint 171
Nor youth all quit, but, spite of heaven's fell rage,
Some beauty peep'd through lattice of sear'd age.
Oft did she heave her napkin to her eyne,
Which on it had conceited characters,
Laundering the silken figures in the brine
That season 'd woe had pelleted in tears,
And often reading what contents it bears ;
As often shrieking undistinguished woe, 20
In clamours of all size, both high and low.
Sometimes her levelPd eyes their carriage ride,
As they did battery to the spheres intend ;
Sometime diverted their poor balls are tied
To the orbed earth ; sometimes they do extend
Their view right on ; anon their gazes lend
To every place at once, and, nowhere fix'd,
The mind and sight distractedly commix'd.
Her hair, nor loose nor tied in formal plat,
Proclaim 'd in her a careless hand of pride, 30
For some, untuck'd, descended her sheav'd hat,
Hanging her pale and pined cheek beside;
Some in her threaden fillet still did bide,
And true to bondage would not break from thence,
Though slackly braided in loose negligence.
A thousand favours from a maund she drew
Of amber, crystal, and of beaded jet,
172 Shakespeare's Poems
Which one by one she in a river threw
Upon whose weeping margent she was set ;
Like usury, applying wet to wet, 4 o
Or monarch's hands that let not bounty fall
Where want cries some, but where excess begs all.
Of folded schedules had she many a one,
Which she perus'd, sigh'd, tore, and gave the flood ;
Crack'd many a ring of posied gold and bone,
Bidding them find their sepulchres in mud ;
Found yet moe letters sadly penn'd in blood,
With sleided silk feat and affectedly
Enswath'd, and seal'd to curious secrecy.
These often bath'd she in her fluxive eyes, 50
And often kiss'd, and often gan to tear :
Cried ' false blood, thou register of lies,
What unapproved witness dost thou bear !
Ink would have seem'd more black and damned here ! '
This said, in top of rage the lines she rents,
Big discontent so breaking their contents.
A reverend man that graz'd his cattle nigh
Sometime a blusterer, that the ruffle knew
Of court, of city, and had let go by
The swiftest hours, observed as they flew 60
Towards this afflicted fancy fastly drew,
And, privileg'd by age, desires to know
In brief the grounds and motives of her woe.
A Lover's Complaint 173
So slides he down upon his grained bat,
And comely-distant sits he by her side,
When he again desires her, being sat,
Her grievance with his hearing to divide ;
If that from him there may be aught applied
Which may her suffering ecstasy assuage,
'T is promis'd in the charity of age. 70
* Father,' she says, ' though in me you behold
The injury of many a blasting hour,
Let it not tell your judgment I am old ;
Not age, but sorrow, over me hath power.
1 might as yet have been a spreading flower,
Fresh to myself, if I had self-applied
Love to myself and to no love beside.
* But, woe is me ! too early I attended
A youthful suit it was to gain my grace
Of one by nature's outwards so commended So
That maidens' eyes stuck over all his face ;
Love lack'd a dwelling and made him her place,
And when in his fair parts she did abide
She was new lodg'd and newly deified.
' His browny locks did hang in crooked curls,
And every light occasion of the wind
Upon his lips their silken parcels hurls.
What 5 s sweet to do, to do will aptly find ;
Each eye that saw him did enchant the mind,
174 Shakespeare's Poems
For on his visage was in little drawn 90
What largeness thinks in Paradise was sawn.
1 Small show of man was yet upon his chin ;
His phcenix down began but to appear
Like unshorn velvet on that termless skin
Whose bare out-bragg'cl the web it seem'd to wear.
Yet show'd his visage by that cost more dear,
And nice affections wavering stood in doubt
If best were as it was, or best without.
' His qualities were beauteous as his form,
For maiden-tongued he was, and thereof free ; 100
Yet, if men mov'd him, was he such a storm
As oft 'twixt May and April is to see,
When winds breathe sweet, unruly though they be.
His rudeness so with his authoriz'd youth
Did livery falseness in a pride of truth.
1 Well could he ride, and often men would say
" That horse his mettle from his rider takes ;
Proud of subjection, noble by the sway,
What rounds, what bounds, what course, what stop he
makes ! "
And controversy hence a question takes, no
Whether the horse by him became his deed,
Or he his manage by the well-doing steed.
' But quickly on this side the verdict went :
His real habitude gave life and grace
A Lover's Complaint 175
To appertain ings and to ornament,
Accomplished in himself, not in his case.
All aids, themselves made fairer by their place,
Came for additions ; yet their purpos'd trim
Piec'd not his grace, but were all grac'd by him.
' So on the tip of his subduing tongue 120
All kind of arguments and question deep,
All replication prompt and reason strong,
For his advantage still did wake and sleep.
To make the weeper laugh, the laugher weep,
He had the dialect and different skill,
Catching all passions in his craft of will ;
' That he did in the general bosom reign
Of young, of old, and sexes both enchanted,
To dwell with him in thoughts, or to remain
In personal duty, following where he haunted. 130
Consents bewitch'd, ere he desire, have granted,
And dialogued for him what he would say,
Ask'd their own wills, and made their wills obey.
' Many there were that did his picture get,
To serve their eyes, and in it put their mind ;
Like fools that in the imagination set
The goodly objects which abroad they find
Of lands and mansions, theirs in thought assign'd,
And labouring in moe pleasures to bestow them 139
Than the true gouty landlord which doth owe them.
176 Shakespeare's Poems
' So many have that never touch'd his hand
Sweetly suppos'd them mistress of his heart.
My woeful self, that did in freedom stand
And was my own fee-simple, not in part,
What with his art in youth and youth in art,
Threw my affections in his charmed power,
Reserv'd the stalk and gave him all my flower.
' Yet did I not, as some my equals did,
Demand of him, nor being desired yielded ;
Finding myself in honour so forbid, 150
With safest distance I mine honour shielded.
Experience for me many bulwarks builded
Of proofs new-bleeding, which remain'd the foil
Of this false jewel, and his amorous spoil.
' But, ah, who ever shunn'd by precedent
The destin'd ill she must herself assay ?
Or forc'd examples, 'gainst her own content,
To put the by-past perils in her way ?
Counsel may stop awhile what will not stay ;
For when we rage, advice is often seen n5o
By blunting us to make our wits more keen.
' Nor gives it satisfaction to our blood
That we must curb it upon others' proof;
To be forbod the sweets that seem so good,
For fear of harms that preach in our behoof.
O appetite, from judgment stand aloof 1
A Lover's Complaint 177
The one a palate hath that needs will taste,
Though Reason weep, and cry " It is thy last."
* For further I could say " This man 's untrue,"
And knew the patterns of his foul beguiling, 170
Heard where his plants in others' orchards grew,
Saw how deceits were gilded in his smiling,
Knew vows were ever brokers to defiling,
Thought characters and words merely but art
And bastards of his foul adulterate heart.
* And long upon these terms I held my city,
Till thus he gan besiege me : " Gentle maid,
Have of my suffering youth some feeling pity,
And be not of my holy vows afraid.
That 7 s to ye sworn to none was ever said ; 180
For feasts of love I have been call'd unto,
Till now did ne'er invite, nor never woo.
* u All my offences that abroad you see
Are errors of the blood, none of the mind.
Love made them not ; with acture they may be,
Where neither party is nor true nor kind.
They sought their shame that so their shame did find ;
And so much less of shame in me remains,
By how much of me their reproach contains.
' " Among the many that mine eyes have seen, 190
Not one whose flame my heart so much as warm'd,
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 12
178 Shakespeare's Poems
Or my affection put to the smallest teen,
Or any of my leisures ever charm 'd ;
Harm have I done to them, but ne'er was harm'd,
Kept hearts in liveries, but mine own was free,
And reign 'd, commanding in his monarchy.
' " Look here, what tributes wounded fancies sent me,
Of paled pearls and rubies red as blood ;
Figuring that they their passions likewise lent me
Of grief and blushes, aptly understood 20 ,
In bloodless white and the en crimson 'd mood ;
Effects of terror and dear modesty,
Encamp 'd in hearts, but fighting outwardly.
' "And, lo, behold these talents of their hair,
With twisted metal amorously impleach'd,
I have receiv'd from many a several fair,
Their kind acceptance weepingly beseech'd,
With the annexions of fair gems enrich 'd,
And deep-brain 'd sonnets that did amplify
Each stone's dear nature, worth, and quality. zu
' " The diamond, why, 't was beautiful and hard,
Whereto his invis'd properties did tend ;
The deep-green emerald, in whose fresh regard
Weak sights their sickly radiance do amend ;
The heaven-hued sapphire and the opal blend
With objects manifold ; each several stone,
With wit well blazon'd, smiPd or made some moan.
A .Lover's Complaint 179
' " Lo, all these trophies of affections hot,
Of pensiv'd and subdued desires the tender,
Nature hath charg'd me that I hoard them not, 220
But yield them up where I myself must render,
That is, to you, my origin and ender ;
For these, of force, must your oblations be,
Since, I their altar, you enpatron me.
* " O, then, advance of yours that phraseless hand,
Whose white weighs down the airy scale of praise;
Take all these similes to your own command,
Hallow'd with sighs that burning lungs did raise.
What me your minister, for you obeys,
Works under you ; and to your audit comes 230
Their distract parcels in combined sums.
4 " Lo, this device was sent me from a nun,
A sister sanctified, of holiest note,
Which late her noble suit in court did shun,
Whose rarest havings made the blossoms dote ;
For she was sought by spirits of richest coat,
But kept cold distance, and did thence remove,
To spend her living in eternal love.
< " But, O my sweet, what labour is 't to leave
The thing we have not, mastering what not strives,
Paling the place which did no form receive, 241
Playing patient sports in unconstrained gyves ?
She that her fame so to herself contrives
180 Shakespeare's Poems
The scars of battle scapeth by the flight,
And makes her absence valiant, not her might.
* " O, pardon me, in that my boast is true ;
The accident which brought me to her eye
Upon the moment did her force subdue,
And now she would the caged cloister fly.
Religious love put out Religion's eye ; 350
Not to be tempted, would she be immur'd,
And now, to tempt, all liberty procur'd.
' " How mighty then you are, O, hear me tell I
The broken bosoms that to me belong
Have emptied all their fountains in my well,
And mine I pour your ocean all among;
I strong o'er them, and you o'er me being strong,
Must for your victory us all congest,
As compound love to physic your cold breast.
1 " My parts had power to charm a sacred nun, 260
Who, disciplin'd, ay, dieted in grace,
Believ'd her eyes when they to assail begun,
All vows and consecrations giving place ;
O most potential love I vow, bond, nor space,
In thee hath neither sting, knot, nor confine,
For thou art all, and all things else are thine.
c " When thou impressest, what are precepts worth
Of stale example ? When thou wilt inflame,
A Lover's Complaint 181
How coldly those impediments stand forth
Of wealth, of filial fear, law, kindred, fame ! 270
Love's arms are proof 'gainst rule, 'gainst sense, 'gainst
shame,
And sweetens, in the suffering pangs it bears,
The aloes of all forces, shocks, and fears.
< " Now all these hearts that do on mine depend,
Feeling it break, with bleeding groans they pine;
And supplicant their sighs to you extend,
To leave the battery that you make 'gainst mine,
Lending soft audience to my sweet design,
And credent soul to that strong-bonded oath
That shall prefer and undertake my troth." 280
* This said, his watery eyes he did dismount,
Whose sights till then were levelPd on my face ;
Each cheek a river running from a fount
With brinish current downward flow'd apace.
O, how the channel to the stream gave grace !
Who glaz'd with crystal gate the glowing roses
That flame through water which their hue encloses.
* O father, what a hell of witchcraft lies
In the small orb of one particular tear I
But with the inundation of the eyes 29
What rocky heart to water will not wear?
What breast so cold that is not warmed here ?
O cleft efTect I cold modesty, hot wrath,
Both fire from hence and chill extincture hath.
1 82 Shakespeare's Poems
' For, lo, his passion, but an art of craft,
Even there resolv'cl my reason into tears ;
There my white stole of chastity I clafFd,
Shook off my sober guards and civil fears.
Appear to him, as he to me appears,
All melting ; though our drops this difference bore, 300
His poison 'd me, and mine did him restore.
' In him a plenitude of subtle matter,
Applied to cautels, all strange forms receives,
Of burning blushes, or of weeping water,
Or swooning paleness ; and he takes and leaves,
In either J s aptness, as it best deceives,
To blush at speeches rank, to weep at woes,
Or to turn white and swoon at tragic shows ;
' That not a heart which in his level came
Could scape the hail of his all-hurting aim, 310
Showing fair nature is both kind and tame,
And, veil'd in them, did win whom he would maim,
Against the, thing he sought he would exclaim ;
When he most burn *d in heart-wish 'd luxury
He preach'd pure maid' and prais'd cold chastity.
* Thus merely with the garment of a^Grace
The naked anci^eoncealed fiend he cover'd,
That the unexpe&eht gave the tempter place,
Which like a chferubin above them hover'd.
Who, young anci "simple, would not be so lover 'd ? 320
A Lover's Complaint
Ay me ! I fel! 5 and yet do question make
What I should do again for such a sake.
1 O, that infected moisture of his eye,
O, that false fire which in his cheek so glow'd>
O, that forc'd thunder from his heart did fly,
O, that sad breath his spongy lungs bestow'd,
O, all that borrowed motion seeming owed.
Would yet again betray the fore-betray'd
And new pervert a reconciled maid ! '
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM
SWEET Cytherea, sitting by a brook
With young Adonis, lovely, fresh, and green.
Did court the lad with many a lovely look,
Such looks as none could look but beauty's queen.
She told him stories to delight his ear ;
She show'd him favours to allure his eye ;
To win his heart, she touch *d him here and there,
Touches so soft still conquer chastity.
But whether unripe years did want conceit,
Or he refus'd to take her figur'd proffer,
The tender nibbler would not touch the bait,
But smile and jest at every gentle offer.
Then fell she on her back, fair queen, and toward
He rose and ran away ah, fool too froward 1
The Passionate Pilgrim 185
ii
Scarce had the sun dried up the dewy morn,
And scarce the herd gone to the hedge for shade,
When Cytherea, all in love forlorn,
A longing tarriance for Adonis made
Under an osier growing by a brook,
A brook where Adon us'd to cool his spleen.
Hot was the day ; she hotter that did look
For his approach that often there had been.
Anon he comes, and throws his mantle by,
And stood stark linked ot< t-vi brook's green brim ;
The sun look'd on the world with glorious eye,
Yet not so wistly as this queen on him.
He, spying her, bounc'd in, whereas he stood;
* O Jove/ quoth she, l why was not I a flood 1 '
in
Fair was the morn when the fair queen of love,
******
Paler for sorrow than her milk-white dove,
For Adon's sake, a youngster proud and wild.
Her stand she takes upon a steep-up hill.
Anon Adonis comes with horn and hounds ;
She, silly queen, with more than love's good will,
Forbade the boy he should not pass those grounds.
1 Once,' quoth she, 'did I see a fair sweet youth
Here in these brakes deep-wounded with a boar,
1 86 Shakespeare's Poems
Deep in the thigh, a spectacle of ruth !
See, in my thigh,' quoth she, ' here was the sore.'
She showed hers ; he saw more wounds than one,
And blushing fled and left her all alone.
IV
Fair is my love, but not so fair as fickle ;
Mild as a dove, but neither true nor trusty ;
Brighter than glass, and yet, as glass is, brittle ;
Softer than wax, and yet, as iron, rusty :
A lily pale, with damask dye to grace her,
None fairer, nor none falser to deface her.
Her lips to mine how often hath she joined,
Between each kiss her oaths of true love swearing !
How many tales to please me hath she coined,
Dreading my love, the loss thereof still fearing !
Yet in the midst of all her pure pretestings,
Her faith, her oaths, her tears, and all were jestings.
She burn'd with love, as straw with fire flameth ;
She burn'd out love, as soon as straw out-burneth ;
She fram'd the love, and yet she foil'd the framing ;
She bade love last, and yet she fell a-turning.
Was this a lover, or a lecher whether ?
Bad in the best, though excellent in neither.
Sweet rose, fair flower, untimely pluck'd, soon vaded,
Pluck'd in the bud, and vaded in the spring 1
The Passionate Pilgrim 187
Bright orient pearl, alack, too timely shaded !
Fair creature, kill'd too soon by death's sharp sting !
Like a green plum that hangs upon a tree.
And falls, through wind, before the fall should be.
I weep for thee, and yet no cause I have ;
For why, thou left'st me nothing in thy will.
And yet thou left'st me more than I did crave ;
For why, I craved nothing of thee still.
O yes, dear friend, I pardon crave of thee,
Thy discontent thou didst bequeath to me.
VI
Crabbed age and youth cannot live together.
Youth is full of pleasance, age is full of care ;
Youth like summer morn, age like winter weather ;
Youth like summer brave, age like winter bare.
Youth is full of sport, age's breath is short ;
Youth is nimble, age is lame ;
Youth is hot and bold, age is weak and cold ;
Youth is wild, and age is tame.
Age, I do abhor thee ; youth, I do adore thee ;
O, my love, my love is young 1
Age, I do defy thee ; O, sweet shepherd, hie thee,
For methinks thou stay'st too long.
VII
Beauty Is but a vain and doubtful good ;
A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly ;
1 88 Shakespeare's Poems
A flower that dies when first it gins to bud ;
A brittle glass that 's broken presently :
A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower,
Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour.
And as goods lost are seld or never found,
As vaded gloss no rubbing will refresh,
As flowers dead lie wither 'd on the ground,
As broken glass no cement can redress,
So beauty blemish'd once 's for ever lost,
In spite of physic, painting, pain, and -cost.
VIII
Good night, good rest. Ah, neither be my share !
She bade good night that kept my rest away,
And daff'd me to a cabin hang'd with care,
To descant on the doubts of my decay.
'Farewell,' quoth she, * and come again to-morrow; ;
Pare well I could not, for I supp'd with sorrow.
Yet at my parting sweetly did she smile,
In scorn or friendship, nill I construe whether ;
'T may be, she joy'd to jest at my exile,
'T may be, again to make me wander thither, ia
' Wander,' a word for shadows like myself,
As take the pain, but cannot pluck the pelf.
Lord, how mine eyes throw gazes to the east !
My heart doth charge the watch ; the morning rise
The Passionate Pilgrim 189
Doth cite each moving sense from idle rest.
Not daring trust the office of mine eyes,
While Philomela sits and sings, I sit and mark,
And wish her lays were tuned like the lark ;
For she doth welcome daylight with her ditty,
And drives away dark dismal-dreaming night. 20
The night so pack'd, I post unto my pretty ;
Heart hath his hope, and eyes their wished sight ;
Sorrow chang'd to solace, solace mix'd with sorrow ;
For why, she sigh'd and bade me come to-morrow.
Were I with her, the night would post too soon ;
But now are minutes added to the hours ;
To spite me now, each minute seems a moon ;
Yet not for me shine sun to succour flowers ! 28
Pack night, peep day ; good day, of night now borrow ;
Short, night, to-night, and length thyself to-morrow. v
IX
Whenas thine eye hath chose the dame,
And stalPd the deer that thou shouldst strike,
Let reason rule things worthy blame.
As well as partial fancy like ;
Take counsel of some wiser head,
Neither too young nor yet unwed.
And when thou com'st thy tale to tell,
Smooth not thy tongue with filed talk,
190 Shakespeare's Poems
Lest she some subtle practice smell,
A cripple soon can find a halt ; 10
But plainly say thou lov'st her well,
And set her person forth to sell.
What though her frowning brows be bent,
Her cloudy looks will clear ere night ;
And then too late she will repent
That thus dissembled her delight,
And twice desire, ere it be day,
That which with scorn she put away.
What though she strive to try her strength,
And ban and brawl, and say thee nay, *o
Her feeble force will yield at length,
When craft hath taught her thus to say,
' Had women been so strong as men,
In faith, you had not had it then.'
And to her will frame all thy ways ;
Spare not to spend, and chiefly there
Where thy desert may merit praise,
By ringing in thy lady's ear.
The strongest castle, tower, and town,
The golden bullet beats it down. 30
Serve always with assured trust,
And in thy suit be humble-true ;
Unless thy lady prove unjust,
Press never thou to choose anew.
The Passionate Pilgrim 191
When time shall serve, be thou not slack
To proffer, though she put thee back.
The wiles and guiles that women work,
Dissembled with an outward show,
The tricks and toys that in them lurk,
The cock that treads them shall not know. 40
Have you not heard it said full oft,
A woman's nay doth stand for nought ?
Think women still to strive with men,
To sin and never for to saint.
Here is no heaven ; be holy then,
When time with age shall thee attaint.
Were kisses all the joys in bed,
One woman would another wed.
But, soft ! enough too much, I fear
Lest that my mistress hear my song ; ' 50
She will not stick to round me i' the ear,
To teach my tongue to be so long ;
Yet will she blush, here be it said,
To hear her secrets so bewray'd.
THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE
LET the bird of loudest lay,
On the sole Arabian tree,
Herald sad and trumpet be,
To whose sound chaste wings obey.
But thou shrieking harbinger,
Foul precurrer of the fiend,
Augur of the fever's end,
To this troop come thou not near 1
From this session interdict
Every fowl of tyrant wing,
Save the eagle, feather 'd king ;
Keep the obsequy so strict.
192
The Phoenix and the Turtle 193
Let the priest in surplice white,
That defunctive music can,
Be the death-divining swan,
Lest the requiem lack his right,
And thou treble-dated crow,
That thy sable gender mak'st
With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,
'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go. 20
Here the anthem doth commence :
Love and constancy is dead ;
Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flame from hence.
So they lov'd as love in twain
Had the essence but in one,
Two distincts, division none ;
Number there in love was slain.
Hearts remote, yet not asunder ;
Distance, and no space was seen 30
'Twixt the turtle and his queen ;
But in them it were a wonder.
So between them love did shine
That the turtle saw his right
Flaming in the phoenix' sight ;
Either was the other's mine.
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 1-3
Shakespeare's Poems
Property was thus appalPd,
That the self was not the same ;
Single nature's double name
Neither two nor one was call'd. 40
Reason, in itself confounded,
Saw division grow together,
To themselves yet either neither,
Simple were so well compounded
That it cried, How true a twain
Seemeth this concordant one !
Love hath reason, reason none,
If what parts can so remain.
Whereupon it made this threne
To the phoenix and the dove, 50
Co-supremes and stars of love,
As chorus to their tragic scene.
THRENOS
Beauty, truth, and rarity,
Grace in all simplicity,
Here enclosed in cinders lie,
Death is now the phoenix' nest,
And the turtle's loyal breast
To eternity doth rest,
The Phoenix and the Turtle 195
Leaving no posterity ;
'T was not their infirmity, 60
It was married chastity,
Truth may seem, but cannot be ;
Beauty brag, but 't is not she ;
Truth and beauty buried be.
To this urn let those repair
That are either true or fair ;
For these dead birds sigh a prayer.
NOTES
FLIGHT OF TARQUIN
NOTES
VENUS AND ADONIS
THE EARLY EDITIONS. Richard Field, the printer of the first
ed. (see p. 9 above), was a native of Stratford, and the son of the
Henry Field whose goods John Shakespeare was employed to value
in 1592. He adopted the device of an anchor, with the motto
" Anchora spei," because they had been used by his father-in-law,
Thomas Vautrollier, a celebrated and learned printer, who resided
in Blackfriars, and to whose business, at his death in 1589, Field
succeeded.
The poem was licensed by the Archbishop of Canterbury (John
Whitgift), and entered in the Stationers' Register, April 1 8, 1593.
The second edition, likewise printed and published by Field,
must have been brought out early in 1594, as the transfer of the
copyright from Field to Harrison is recorded as having taken place
on the 25th of June in that year.
2oo Notes
The third edition was printed by Field, though published by Har-
rison, and must have appeared before June, 1596, when Harrison
transferred the copyright to Leake.
It is probable that there were editions between this of 1596 and
that of 1599. The poem had evidently been very popular, and
it would be strange if Leake did not issue an edition until three
years after he had secured the copyright. When we consider that
of several early eds. only single copies have come down to our day,
and of others only two or three copies, it is not unreasonable to sup-
pose that of some editions not a single copy has survived. It is also
probable that there were editions between 1602 and 1627, when the
poem was reprinted in Edinburgh. The edition published in 1599
(seep, i o above) was not known until 1867; anc ^ * ne edition of
1630 (see p. n) was discovered more recently.
It has been suggested that the book may have fallen under the
ban of the Privy Council. A decree of the Star Chamber, dated
June 23, 1585, gave unlimited power to the ecclesiastical authorities
to seize and destroy whatever books they thought proper. A not-
able instance of this interference with books already printed oc-
curred in 1599, at Stationers' Hall, when a number of objectionable
works were burned, and special admonitions given then and there
to the printers, some of the most eminent of the time, and among
them our friend Richard Field (Edmonds).
THE METRE OF THE POEM. The verse is the iambic measure,
already familiar to the student of Shakespeare in the plays : the ten-
syllable line, subject to the usual variations. The stanza is the
" staff e of sixe verses " (al> a& cc) described by Puttenham in The
Arts of English Poesie> 1589, as " not only most usual, but also very
pleasant to th' eare." There is no reason to suppose, as some have
done, that S. borrowed it from Lodge, though the latter used it in
his Scyllcfs Metamorphosis, 1589, in which there is a slight allusion
to the death of Adonis.
Verity notes " the extraordinary verbal beauty of the verse," which
Venus and Adonis 201
links it with the early plays, like J?. and J. and M, N. D. "We
have the same elaborate harmonies, the * linked sweetness long
drawn out,' the cadences, the ' dying falls,' the lyric charm and rap-
ture of Shakespeare's earliest, most purely poetic style."
Coleridge has observed that, "in the Venus and Adonis > the first
and most obvious excellence is the perfect sweetness of the versifi-
cation ; its adaptation to the subject ; and the power displayed in
varying the march of the words without passing into a loftier and
more majestic rhythm than was demanded by the thoughts, or per-
mitted by the propriety of preserving a sense of melody predomi-
nant." Knight, quoting this, adds : "This self-controlling power
of ' varying the march of the words without passing into a loftier
and more majestic rhythm' is perhaps one of the most signal in-
stances of Shakspere's consummate mastery of his art, even as a
very young man. lie who, at the proper season, knew how to
strike the grandest music within the compass of our own powerful
and sonorous language, in his early productions breathes out his
th U S hts 'to the Dorian mood
Of flutes and soft recorders.'
The sustained sweetness of the versification is never cloying ; and
yet there are no violent contrasts, no sudden elevations : all is
equable in its infinite variety. The early comedies are full of the
same rare beauty. In Love's Labour's Lost, The Comedy of Errors,
and A Midsummer- Nigh? $ Dream, we have verses of alternate
rhymes formed upon the same model as those of the Venus and
Adonis, and producing the same feeling of placid delight by their
exquisite harmony. The same principles on which he built the
versification of the Venus and Adonis exhibited to him the grace
which these elegiac harmonies would impart to the scenes of repose
in the progress of a dramatic action."
THE DEDICATION, For the Rarl of Southampton* see p. 20
above. For a much fuller account, with the many poetical tributes
paid him, see the Variorum of 1821, vol. xx. pp. 427-468.
2O2 Notes
6. Invention. Imagination ; as often. Cf. Bonn. 38. 8, 76. 6,
103. 7, 105. n, etc.
7. Ear. Plough, till. Cf. Rich. //. in. 2. 212, A. and C \. z
115, i. 4. 49, etc.
9. Your Honour, Your lordship ; as often.
VENUS AND ADONIS. The motto of the poem is from Ovid's
Amores (i. 15), which at that time had not been translated into
English. Marlowe's version appeared in or about 1598. This par-
ticular elegy in it was evidently by Ben Jonson. See The Poetaster ^
i. i, where the couplet reads :
" Kneel hinds to trash : me let bright Phoebus swell
With cups full flowing from the Muses' well."
In Marlowe the reading is :
" Let base-conceited wits admire 1 vild things ;
Fair Phoebus lead me to the Muses' springs/'
3. Rose-cheeked Adonis. Marlowe applies the same epithet to
the youth in his Hero and Leander :
" The men of wealthy Sestos every year,
For his sake whom their goddess held so dear,
Rose-cheek'd Adonis, kept a solemn feast."
Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 86.
6. Gins. Some eds print " 'gins ; " but see any of the large
dictionaries. Richardson says : " Gin, and the pret. gan^ are in
common use with our old writers without the prefix be; " and one
of his examples (Hakluyt's Voyages^ vol. i. p. 187 : "Therefore I
ginne to wryte now of the see") proves that the word had not
ceased to be used, even in prose, in the time of S. The editors
often confound obsolete simple words (like fore, gree, scape, etc.)
with contractions of their compounds now in use. See on 53
below.
9. Stain to all nymphs. That is, by eclipsing them. Cf. Cor. i
10. 1 8, Sonn. 109. 8, etc.
Venus and Adonis 203
10. Doves or roses. Farmer conjectures "and" for or; but the
latter is doubtless uhat S. wrote.
11. With herself at strife. Cf. 291 below.
16. Honey. For the adjective use, cf. 452 and 538 below.
19. Satiety. The first four eds. and the loth have " sacietie."
20. Famish them, etc. Cf. A. and C. ii. 2. 241 :
" Other women cloy
The appetites they feed ; but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies."
25. His sweating palm. Cf. A. and C. i. 2. 53 : "Nay, if an
oily palm be not a fruitful prognostication," etc. See also 143
below, and Oth* iii. 4. 36 fol.
26. Pith. Vigour. Cf. lien. V. iii. chor. 21 : "pith and puis-
sance," etc. Precedent = indication.
29. Enraged* Mad with love and desire ; as in 317 below. Cf.
Much Ado, ii. 3. 105 : " that she loves him with an enraged affec-
tion," etc.
32. Her other. The 5th and later eds. have " the other."
40. Prove. Try ; as in 608 below.
50. Maiden. For the masculine use, cf. A". John, iv. 2. 52,
I Hen. IV. v. 4. 134, etc.
51. Hairs. For the rhyme, see on 192 below.
53. Miss. Misbehaviour. Malone and others print " 'miss,"
but it is not a contraction of amiss.
54. Murthers. The 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th eds. have "murthers,"
the others " smothers,"
55. Empty eagle. We have the same expression in 2 Hen. VI.
iii. i. 248 and 3 Hen. VI. i. i. 268.
56. Tires. Tears and feeds ravenously upon. Cf. Cymb. iii.
4. 97, ^c.
61. Fort? d to content. " Forced to content himself in a situation
from which he had no means of escaping" (Steevens).
62. Breatheth. The reading of the tirst three eds.; "breath-
ing " in the 4th and the rest.
2O4 Notes
66. Such distilling. Walker would read " such-distilling."
71. Rank. Exuberant, high. Cf. the use of the noun in K*
John, v. 4. 54 :
" And, like a bated and retired flood,
Leaving our rankness and irregular course,
Stoop low within those bounds we have o'erlook'd."
76. Ashy-pale. Malone at first made this refer to Adonis, but
subsequently saw that it goes with anger.
78. More. Cf. R of L. 332 : " A more rejoicing," etc.
82. Take truce. Makepeace. Cf. K. John, iii. i. 17 : "With
my vex'd spirits I cannot take a truce," etc.
86. Dwedapper. The didapper or dabchick (JPodiceps minor)*,
mentioned by S. only here.
90, Winks. Shuts his eyes; as in 121 below.
91. Passenger. Wayfarer ; the only sense in S. Cf. T. G. of F.
iv. i. i, 72, v. 4. 15, etc.
94. Yet her. The reading of the first four eds.; the rest have
"Yet in."
96. Coy? Contemptuous. Cf. 1 12 below. See also T. G. of V,
i. i. 30, etc.
97. I have been woo'd, etc. For other allusions to the loves of
Mars and Venus, see Temp. iv. I, 98, A. and C. i. 5. 18, etc,
loo. Jar. Conflict.
104, Crest. Helmet ; as often.
106. To toy. All the early eds., except the 1st and 2cl, have
" To coy."
107. Churlish drum. Repeated in K.John 9 ii. I. 79. and iii. i.
303.
109. He that overruled, S. often confounds the inflections of
personal pronouns.
11 8. In thegroitnd? That is, on it. Cf. M. N. D. ii. i. 85, etc.
1 19. There. Changed to " where " in the 4th and later eds.
123. There are. The reading of the 1st ed. ; "there be in the
rest, except the loth, which has " they be."
Venus and Adonis 205
126. Nor know not. The 5th and later eds. read "nor know
they."
133. Hard-favoured. Hard-featured, ill-looking ; as in 931 be-
low. The hyphen in wrinkled-old is due to Malone.
134. Ill-nurtur* d. Ill-bred ; used again in 2 Hen. VI. i. 2. 42 :
" Presumptuous dame, ill-nurtur'd Eleanor," etc.
135. Overworn. Cf. Rich, III. i. i. Si : "The jealous, o'er-
worn widow," etc. In 866 below, the word is used of time =
spent.
140. Gray. Explained by Malone, Hudson, and others as
blue (and so in sundry other passages), but I think it has its
usual meaning.
142. Plump. The 4th ed. has " plumbe ; " all the later ones
(according to the Cambridge ed.) have " plum."
143. Moist hand. See on 25 above.
148. No footing seen. Malone quotes Temp. v. I. 34 :
" And ye that on the sands with printless feet
Do chase the ebbing Neptune/' etc.
149. Compact of fir f. Cf. M. N. D. v. i. 8 : "of imagination all
compact ; " A. Y. L. ii. 7. 5 : " compact of jars," etc.
150. Not gross to sink, etc. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 52 : " Let Love,
being light, be drowned if she sink."
153. Doves. Cf. Temp. iv. I. 94, where Venus is referred to as
"clove-drawn." See also 1190 below, and R. andj. ii. 5. 7.
156. Heavy. Burdensome ; in antithesis to light.
1 60. Complain on. The 3d and subsequent eds. have "com-
plain of." Cf. 544 below.
161. Narcissus. Cf. R. of L. 265 and A. and C. ii. 5. 96.
163. Torches are made to light. Cf. M.for M. i. i. 33 :
" Heaven doth with us as we with torches do,
Not light them for themselves."
166. To themselves. For themselves alone, " without producing
206 Notes
fruit or benefiting mankind" (Malone). Cf, 1180 belcw. See
also Sonn. 13. 14.
177. Titan. The sun; as in T. and C. v. 10. 25, -. and J. ii.
3, 4, Cj/*w#. iii. 4. 1 66, etc.
Tired is explained by Boswell as = attired ; and Schmidt and
Wyndham favour that explanation. Cf. L. L. L. iv. 2. 131 : "the
tired horse." The word is here a dissyllable,
I Si. Spright. Spirit ; as in JR. of L. 121.
192. Tears. The rhyme was not so bad in the time of S. as
now, ea in many words being pronounced like long a. Hairs is
spelled Jieares in the early eds. Cf. 51 above.
193. Shines but warm. " Affords only a natural and genial
heat; it warms but it does not burn" (Malone).
199. Obdurate. Accented on the second syllable, as elsewhere
in S. Cf. R. of L. 429, M. of V. iv. i. 8, etc.
203. Hard. The reading of the 1st ed. ; "bad" in all the rest.
204. Unkind! Leaving none of her kind, or race ; childless.
Malone explains it as " unnatural," but the antithesis favours the
other explanation.
205. Contemn me this. " Contemptuously refuse this favour "
(Malone). The roth ed. has "thus" for this> and Steevens was
inclined to that reading. " Thus and kiss? he says, ' correspond
in sound as well as unlikely and quickly, adder and shudder, which
we meet with afterwards."
211. Lifeless. The early eds. have "liuelesse," except the 4th,
which has " liueles."
222. Intendments, Intentions. Cf. A. K L. i. I. 140, etc. S.
uses the word four times, intention only twice.
229. Fondling. Darling (Schmidt and the Cambridge ed.); used
by S. only here. Wyndham takes it to be descriptive of the action
of Venus, and he may be right.
230. Pale. Enclosure ; as in C. of E. ii. I, 100, etc.
236. Bottom-grass. Rich valley grass. Cf. A. Y. L. iv. 3. 79
and I Hen. IV. iii. I. 105.
Venus and Adonis 1207
240. Rouse. A hunter's term. Guillim, in his Display of //<?;--
ttldrU) which has an " Addition " of Tennes of Hawking and hunt-
ing* *632 (quoted by Wyndham), says :
Dislodge
Start
[ Bucke
Hare
You shall say
un-Kennell
Rowse
the Foxe
Hart
Bowlt
Conie.'
242. That. So that. Cf. 599, 830, and 1140 below.
257. Remorse! Pity, tenderness; as very often. We still use
remorseless = pitiless.
260. Jennet. A small Spanish horse. Cf. Oth. i. I. 113.
272. Compassed. Curved, arched. In T. and C. i. 2. 120, "com-
passed window " = bow-window, and in T. of S. iv. 3. 140, "com-
passed cape " = round cape.
Stand is the reading of the first four eds. ; changed in the later
ones to " stands.' 7 Mane, " as composed of many hairs " (Malone),
is here used as a plural.
275. Scornfully glisters. Some editors follow Sewell in trans-
posing these words. S. has glister nine times, glisten not at all.
277. Told. Counted ; as in 520 below.
279. Leaps. Malone infers from the rhyme that the word was
pronounced leps y as it still is in Ireland ; but it is hardly safe to
draw an inference from a single rhyme. In Sonn. 128. 5, we have
leap rhymed with reap. Curvet (= prance) was a technical term
in horsemanship.
281. This I do. The 4th and later eds. have " thus I do."
296. Eye. Changed to " eyes" in the 5th and following eds.
301. Sometime. The later eds. have " Sometimes." The words
were used by S. interchangeably.
303. To bid the wind a base. To challenge the wind to a race.
See Cymb. v. 3. 19 and T. G. of V. i. 2. 97. It alludes to the game
of prisoner's base, or prison-base. f
208 Notes
304. And whether. The early eds. have " And where." M alone
prints " And whe'r." Whether is often monosyllabic, even when
spelled in full. In Sonn, 59. 1 1 the quarto has whether and where
in the same line, both monosyllabic.
306. Who. The loth ed. " corrects " this to " which "; but who
for which (like which for who] was common in Elizabethan English.
312. Embracements. Cf. 790 below. S. uses the word oftener
than embrace (noun), though in this poem the latter is found three
times (539, Si I, 874), or as many times as in all his other works.
313. Malcontent. The 4th ed. has "male content"
314. Vails. Lowers ; as in 956 below. Cf. M. of V. i. r. 28,
Ham. i. 2. 70, etc,, This obsolete vail is often confounded, even by
editors, with veil? a word of wholly different origin.
315. Buttock. Changed to the plural in the 4th and follow-
ing eds.
319. Goeth about. Attempts. Cf. Much Ado, i. 3. n : "I won-
der that thou goest about ... to apply a moral medicine to a mor-
tifying mischief." See also R. of L. 412, M. for M. iii. 2. 215,
Hen. V. iv. I. 212, etc.
325. Chafing. Often used of sweating or the effects of heat.
Cf. T. of S, i. 2. 203 : " chafed with sweat," etc. See also 662
below. The later eds. have " chasing."
326. Banning. Cursing. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 319 : "to curse
and ban," etc.
334. Fire. A dissyllable ; as not unfrequently. The first three
eds. print it " fier ; " as they do in 402 below, where it is a mono-
syllable.
335. The hearts attorney. That is, the tongue. Steevens aptly
quotes Rich. III. iv. 4. 127 :
" Duchess. Why should calamity be full of words ?
Queen Elizabeth. Windy attorneys to their client woes," etc.
343. Wistly, Wistfully ; modifying came stealing^ not mew.
Cf. R. of L. 1355 : "wistly on him gaz'd," etc. Schmidt make"-, it
= " attentively, observingly, with scrutiny," in both passages.
Venus and Adonis 209
346. How ivfnte and red, etc. Steevcns compares 7*. of S. iv. 5,
30 : " Such war of white and red within her cheeks ! "
350. Lowly, The 4th ed. has " slowly."
352. Cheek. Made plural in the 5th and later eds. In the next
line the 4th and the rest read "cheeks (or " cheekes " ) reuiues"
or "cheekes receiue ; " and all eds. except the ist have "tender"
for tenderer.
359. His. Its ; as often before its came into general use. The
{illusion is to the chorus, or interpreter, in a dumb-show, or panto-
mime. Cf. T. G. of K ii. i. 101, T. of A. i. r. 34, etc.
363. Alabaster, Spelled " allablaster " or " alablaster " in the
early eds., as elsewhere in S. and his contemporaries.
365. And unwilling. The 4th ed. has "and willing."
367. The engine of her thoughts. That is, her tongue. Cf. 7. A,
iii. i. 82, where the expression is similarly used.
370. Thy heart my wound. "Thy heart wounded as mine is"
(Malone).
376. Grave, Engrave, impress. Schmidt makes it = " cut a
little, wound slightly, graze. "
388. Suffered. That is, allowed to burn. Cf. 3 Hen. VL iv.
8.8:
" A little fire is quickly trodden out,
Which, being suffer'd, rivers cannot quench."
397. Sees. The 2d, 3d, and 4th eds. have "seekes." In her
naked bed, as some take the trouble to inform us, means " naked in
her bed." This rhetorical transference of an epithet is familiar to
every schoolboy ; but the expression (as it occurred in Jeronimo*)
was ridiculed by Jonson and others. Cf. "idle bed" (/. C. ii. i.
117), "lazy bed" (T. and C. i. 3. 147), "tired bed" (Lear, i. 2.
13), etc. So sick bed, etc.
398. A whiter hue than -white. Cf, Cymb. ii. 2. 14 :
" How bravely thou becom'st thy bed, fresh lily,
And whiter than the sheets ! "
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 14
210 Notes
and ./?. of L. 472 : " Who o'er the white sheet peers her whitei
chin."
411. Owe. Own, possess ; as very often. Cf. R. of L. 1803, etc.
424. Alarms. Alarums, attacks. The 5th and later eds. have
" alarme." The 4th has " alarum."
429. Mermaid. Siren ; the usual meaning in S. Cf. 777 below.
432. Ear's. Misprinted " Earths" in the 4th and later eds.
434. Invisible. Steevens conjectures " invincible ; " but, as
Malone remarks, "an opposition is clearly intended between
external beauty, of which the eye is the judge, and a melody of
voice (which the poet calls inward beauty) striking not the sight,
but the ear."
436. Sensible. Endowed with sensibility, sensitive. Cf. Z. Z. Z.
iv. 2. 28, iv. 3. 337, etc.
443. Stillitory. Alembic, still ; used by S. only here.
448. And bid Suspicion, etc. Malone thinks that " a bolder or
happier personification than this" is hardly to be found in Shake-
speare's works !
453. Like a red morn, etc. A common bit of folk-lore. Cf. the
familiar proverb (often varied in form) :
A red sky at night is a shepherd's delight ;
A red sky at morning is a shepherd's warning."
See also Matthew, xvi. 2.
454. Wrack. The regular form of the word in S. Cf, the
rhymes in 558 below, R. of L. 841, 965, etc.
456. Flaws. Sudden gusts, or "squalls." Cf. Cor. v. 3. 74,
Ham. v. I. 239, etc.
462. Struck. Spelt "strucke," "stroake," "stroke," and
"strooke" in the early eds. Elsewhere we find "strucken,"
"stricken," "stroken," etc.
466. Bankrupt. " Bankrout," " banckrout," or " banquerout "
in the old eds., as often in other passages. Hudson adopts
Walker's plausible conjecture of "loss" for Jove.
Venus and Adonis 21 1
469. All a?nadd. The 4th and later eds. have " in a maze.'
472. Fair fall, etc. May good luck befall, etc.
481. Night of sorrow. Cf. Sonn. 120. 9 : "night of woe."
482. Blue windows. That is, eyelids, on account of their "blue
veins" (-#. of L. 440). Cf. Cymb. ii. 2. 21 :
" would under-peep her lids,
To see the enclosed lights, now canopied
Under these windows, white and azure lac'd
With blue of heaven's own tinct."
Malone cites both this last passage and V. and A. 482 as referring
to blue eyes; but the "azure lafd" ought to settle the question in
regard to the former, and " windows " evidently has the same mean-
ing in both. If the " blue windows " were blue eyes, Malone would
make out his case, for in V. and A. 140 the goddess says " Mine
eyes are grey and bright," But why should the poet call them
blue in the one place and grey in the other, when the former word
would suit the verse equally well in both ? In my opinion, when
he says blue he means blue, and when he says grey he means grey.
See note on 140.
484. Earth. All the early eds. except the 1st have "world."
488. Shine. For the noun, cf. 728 below.
490. Repine. The only instance of the noun in S. The verb
occurs only three times.
492. Shone like the moon, etc. Malone compares L. L. L. iv. 3.
30 fol.
497. Annoy. For the noun, cf. 599 below, JR. ofJL. 1109, etc.
500. Shrewd. Evil ; the original sense, occurring often in S.
506. Their crimson liveries. Referring, of course, to the lips.
The transition to verdure in the next line is curious, and the whole
passage is a good example of the quaint " conceits " of the time.
The allusion, as Malone remarks, is to the practice of strewing
rooms with rue and other strong-smelling herbs as a means of
preventing infection. The astrological allusion is also to be noted.
Notes
Writ on death = predicted death by their horoscopes. The 4th
ed. has " neither " for never.
508-510. To drive infection, etc. Clearly an allusion to the
plague in London in 1592, when the play was either written or
revised for publication. See p. 22 above.
509. The star-gazers, etc. Cf. Sonn. 107. 5 fol
511. Sweet seals. Cf. M.for M. iv. I. 6, etc.
515. Slips. A play on the word as applied to counterfeit coin.
For a similar quibble, see R. andj, \\. 4. 51.
519. Touches. " Kisses " in the 5th and following eds.
520. Told. Counted; as in 277 above.
521. Say, for non-payment, etc. "The poet was thinking of a
conditional bond's becoming forfeited for non-payment ; in which
case the entire penalty (usually the double of the principal sum
lent by the obligee) was formerly recoverable at law" (Malone).
524. Strangeness. Bashfulness, reserve. Cf. 310 above.
526. Fry. Or "small fry," as we still say. Cf. A. W. iv. 3.
250, Macb. iv. 2. 84, etc.
529. The worlds comforter. Cf. 799 below.
538. Honey fee. For the adjective, cf. 1 6 above and Sonn.
65. 5 : "honey breath," etc. Honey occurs much oftener than
sugar in S., both literally and figuratively, but it was then the
more familiar sweet.
540. Incorporate. Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 208 :
"As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grew together," etc.
544. Complain on. Cf. 1 60 above.
550. The insulter. The exulting victor ; the only instance of
the noun in S. For insult exult, cf. Sonn. 107. 12, 3 Hen. VL
i. 3. 14, etc.
565.' With tempering. Cf. 2 Hen. TV. iv. 3. 140 : " I have him
already tempering between my finger and my thumb, and shortly
will I seal with him."
Venus and Adonis 213
565, 567. Tempering . . . venturing. An imperfect rhyme, but
see on 192 above, and 628 below. That in 566, 568 is also
noticeable.
568. Leave. License. Cf. the play on the word in 3 Hen. VI.
Hi. 2. 34 :
" Ay, good leave have you ; for you will have leave
Till youth take leave, and leave you to the crutch."
Commission = warrant ; as often.
570. Wooes. The 4th ed. has "woes."
571. Had she then gave. Elsewhere S. has the participle given
(usually monosyllabic). It is a wonder that all the editors have
\z\.gave alone here.
574. Prickles. The 5th and later eds. have "pricks," and "is
it " for V is.
589. Pale. For the noun, cf. R. of L. 1512 and W. T. iv. 3. 4.
590. Like lawn, etc. Cf. R. of L. 258.
591. Cheek. Made plural in the 4th ed. et al. See on 352
above.
593. Hanging by. The 4th and later eds. have " hanging on."
595. Lists of love. Steevens quotes Dryden, Don Sebastian:
" The sprightly bridegroom on his wedding night
More gladly enters not the lists of love."
597. Prove. Experience. Cf, 608 below, and A. and C. i. 2.
33 : " You have seen and prov'd a fairer former fortune," etc.
598. Manage. For the noun as applied to the training of a
horse, cf. A. Y. L.\. I. 13, Rich. If. iii. 3. 179, etc. This is the
only instance in S. of the verb similarly used.
599. That. So that. See on 242 above. For the allusion to
Tantalus, cf. R. of L. 858.
600. Clip. Embrace^ Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 464, Cymb. ii. 3. 139, etc.
601. Even so poor birds, etc. The original reading, generally
changed to " Even as ? " etc. ; but ? as Wyndham notes, this change
214 Notes
and the comma for the colon (or semicolon) in 602 make the
construction awkward in 604.
602. Pine. Starve. For the transitive use, cf. Rick. IL v. I.
77 ; the only other instance in S.
604. Helpless. Affording no help, or sustenance, Cf. R. of L,
1027 and 1056.
The allusion is to the celebrated picture of Zeuxis, mentioned by
Pliny, in which some grapes were so well represented that birds
came to peck them. Cf. Sir John Davies, Noses Tdpsum, 1599 :
"And birds of grapes the cunning shadow peck."
612. Withhold. Detain, restrain ; as in Rich. III. iii. I. 30, etc.
615. Be advts'd! Take heed ; as often.
616. Churlish boar. Cf. T. and C. i. 2. 21 : "Churlish as the
bear," etc.
617. Tushes. Tusks. Cf. 1116 below. S. uses the word only
in this poem.
618. Mortal. Death-dealing; as in 953 below. See also R.
ofL. 364, 724, etc. Schmidt takes it to be here = human.
619. Battle. Battalion, host. Cf. Hen. V. iv. chor. 9, iv. 2. 54,
etc.
624. Crooked. The Variorum of 1821 has " cruel ; " apparently
accidental, as it is given without comment.
626. Proof. Defensive armour. Cf. Macb. i. 2. 54 : " lapp'd in
proof," etc.
628. Venture. Commonly pronounced venter in the time of S.
See on 565, 567 above.
632. Eyes pay. The early eds. have "eyes (or "eies") paies"
(or " payes ") or " eie (or " eye ") paies " (or " payes ") ; corrected
by M alone.
633. yne. The old plural, used for the sake of the rhyme, as
in R. of L. 643, M. N. D. i. I. 244, ii. 2. 99, iii. 2. 138, v. I. 178,
etc. In R. of L. 1229 it is not a rhyming word.
639. Within his danger. Cf. M. of V. iv. I. 180: "You stand
within his danger, do you not ? " T. N. v. I, 87 : -~
Venus and Adonis 215
" for his sake
Did I expose myself, pure for his love,
Into the danger of this adverse town," etc.
652. Kill, kill! The old English battle-cry in charging the
enemy. Cf. Lear, iv. 6. 191, etc.
655. Bate-breeding. Causing quarrel or contention. Cf. 2
Hen, IV. ii. 4. 271: "breeds no bate with telling of discreet
stories." The 4th ed. has " bare-breeding."
656. Canker. Canker-worm. Cf. M. N. D. ii. 2. 3, Temp. i. 2.
415, etc. Love's tender spring "the tender bud of growing
love" (Malone). Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 3: "Even in the spring of
love thy love-springs rot."
657. Carry-tale. Used again in L. L. L. v. 2. 463: "Some
carry-tale," etc.
662. Angry-chafing. Fretting with rage. The hyphen was
inserted by Maione. See on 325 above.
668. Imagination. Metrically six syllables. For tremble, the
3d and later eds. have " trembling."
674. Uncouple, Set loose the hounds; as in M. IV* D. iv. r.
112, etc.
677. Fearful. Full of fear, timorous. Cf. 927 below.
679-702. And ivhen thou hast . . . relieved by any. Knight re-
marks : " In Coleridge's Literary Remains the Venus and Adonis
is cited as furnishing a signal example of * that affectionate love
of nature and natural objects, without which no man could have
observed so steadily, or painted so truly and passionately, the very
minutest beauties of the external world.* The description of the
hare-hunt is there given at length as a specimen of this power. A
remarkable proof of the completeness as well as accuracy of Shaks-
pere's description lately presented itself to our mind, in running
through a little volume, full of talent, published in 1825 Essays
and Sketches of Character > by the late Richard Ayton, Esq. There
is a paper on hunting, and especially on hare-hunting. He says :
* 1 am not one of the perfect fox-hunters of these realms ; but
216 Notes
having been in the way of late of seeing a goo i deal of various
modes of hunting, I would, for the benefit of the uninitiated, set
down the results of my observations.' In this matter he writes
with a perfect unconsciousness that he is describing what any one
has described before; but as accurate an observer had been before
him:
" * She (the hare) generally returns to the seat from which she
was put up, running, as all the world knows, in a circle, or some-
thing sometimes like it, we had better say, that we may keep on
good terms with the mathematical. At starting, she tears away at
her utmost speed for a mile or more, and distances the dogs half-
way : she then returns, diverging a little to the right or left, that
she may not run into the mouths of her enemies a necessity
which accounts for what we call the circularity of her course. Her
flight from home is direct and precipitate ; but on her way back
when she has gained a little time for consideration and stratagem,
she describes a curious labyrinth of short turnings and windings, as
if to perplex the dogs by the intricacy of her track.'
"Compare this with Shakspere [lines 679-684 : * And when thou
hast on foot the purblind hare,' etc.].
" Mr. Ayton thus goes on : * The hounds, whom we left in full
cry, continue their music without remission as long as they are
faithful to the scent ; as a summons, it should seem, like the sea-
man's cry, to pull together, or keep together, and it is a certain
proof to themselves and their followers that they are in the right
way. On the instant that they are " at fault," or lose the scent,
they are silent. . . . The weather, in its impression on the scent,
is the great father of " faults ; " but they may arise from other acci-
dents, even when the day is in every respect favourable. The
intervention of ploughed land, on which the scent soon cools or
evaporates, is at least perilous ; but sheep-stains, recently left by
a flock, are fatal : they cut off the scent irrecoverably making a
gap, as it were, in the clue, in which the dogs have not even a bint
for their guidance.'
Venus and Adonis 217
" Compare Shakspere again [lines 685-696 : Sometime he runs
among a flock of sheep,' etc.].
" One more extract from Mr. Ay ton : * Suppose then, after the
usual rounds, that you see the hare at last (a sorry mark for so
many foes) sorely beleaguered looking dark and draggled and
limping heavily along ; then stopping to listen again tottering on
a little and again stopping; and at every step, and every pause,
hearing the death-cry grow nearer and louder.'
" One more comparison, and we have exhausted Shakspere's
description [lines 697-702 : * By this, poor Wat, far off upon
a hill/ etc.].
" Here, then, be it observed, are not only the same objects, the
same accidents, the same movement, in each description, but the
very words employed to convey the scene to the mind are often
the same in each. It would be easy to say that Mr. Ayton copied
Shakspere. We believe he did not. There is a sturdy ingenuous-
ness about his writings which would have led him to notice the
Venus and Adonis if he had had it in his mind. Shakspere and
he had each looked minutely and practically upon the same scene;
and the wonder is, not that Shakspere was an accurate describer,
but that in him the accurate is so thoroughly fused with the poeti-
cal that it is one and the same life."
680. Overshoot. The early eds. have " ouer-shut " or " ouershut ; "
corrected by Dyce (the conjecture of Steevens). Wyndham retains
the old reading as = shut up, conclude.
682. Cranks. Turns, winds. Cf. i ffen. IV. iii. I. 98: "See
how this river comes me cranking in."
683. Musits. Holes for creeping through; used by S. only here.
Cf. Two Noble Kinsmen, iii. I. 97, where it is = hiding-place.
684. Amaze. Bewilder. Cf. K. fohn^ iv. 3. 140.
694. Cold fault. Cold scent, loss of scent. Cf. T. of S* ind.
I. 20:
" Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good
At the hedge-corner, in the coldest fault ?
I would not lose the dog for .twenty pound."
21 8 Notes
695. Spend their mouths. That is, bark; a sportsman's expres
sion. Cf. Hen. V. ii. 4. 70 :
" for coward dogs
Most spend their mouths when what they seem to threaten
Runs far before them."
697. Wat. " A familiar term among sportsmen for a hare ; why,
does not appear. Perhaps for no better reason than Philip for a
sparrow [cf. K*John> i, I. 231], Tom for a cat, and the like"
(Nares).
700. Their. The 4th ed. has " with."
703. Wretch, On the use of the word as a term of pity or ten-
derness, cf. Oth. iii. 3. 90 : " Excellent wretch ! " "It expresses the
utmost degree of amiableness, joined with an idea which perhaps
all tenderness includes, of feebleness, softness, and want of protec-
tion " (Johnson). See also R. andj. i. 3.44: "The pretty wretch
left crying," etc.
704. Indenting* The 4th ed. has " intending."
705. Envious* Malicious ; as often. So envy is often = malice.
712. Myself. The 4th and following eds. have " thy selfe."
724. True men thieves. The 1st and 2d eds. have "true-men
theeves," the 3d "rich-men theeve," the rest "rich men theeves."
The use of true men in opposition to thieves is common in S. and
other writers of the time.
726. Forsworn. "That is, having broken her vow of virginity "
(Steevens).
734. Curious. Careful, elaborate. Cf. A. W* i. 2. 20 :
" Frank Nature, rather curious than in haste,
Hath well compos 'd thee."
736. Defeature. Deformity; as in C. ofE. ii. i. 98 and v. I. 299.
738. Mad. "Sad " in the 5th and later eds.
740. Wood. Mad, frantic. Cf. the play on the word in M. JV, D+
ii. i. 192: "And here am I, and wood [or "wode"] within this
wood."
Venus and Adonis 219
743. Imposthumes. Abscesses. Cf. Ham, iv. 4. 27 and T. and C.
v. i. 24.
746. Fight. The 5th and following eds. have "sight; " and in
748 the 4th and the rest have * imperiall " for impartial.
751. Fruitless. Barren. Cf. M.N. D, i. i. 73: "the cold fruit-
less moon," etc.
754. Dearth. The 4th ed. has " death."
755* The lamp, etc. " Ye nuns and vestals, says Venus, imitate
the example of the lamp, that profiteth mankind at the expense of
its own oil" (Malone).
760. Dark. The 4th and later eds. have " their."
762. Sifh. Since. Cf. 1 1 63 below.
766. Reaves. Bereaves. For the participle, still used in poetry,
see 1174 below.
767. Frets. Corrodes, wears away. Cf. A. and C. iv. 12. 8, etc.
768. Use. Interest. Cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 288, etc.
774. Treatise. Discourse, talk, tale. Cf. Much Ado, i. I. 317
and Macb. v. 5. 12, the only other instances of the word in S.
777. Mermaid^s. Siren's. Cf. 429 above.
782. Closure. Enclosure ; as in Sonn. 48. 1 1 and Rich. III. iii.
3. ii. In T. A. v. 3. 134 it is = close, conclusion.
787. Reprove? Disprove, confute; as in Much Ado, ii. 3. 241:
" 't is so; I cannot reprove it," etc.
795. Simple. Artless, guileless.
797. Bereaves. Impairs, spoils ; as in R* of L. 373, etc.
807. In sadness. In earnest, Cf. R.andJ. i. i. 191. In A. W.
iv. 3. 230, we have " in good sadness."
808. Teen. Sorrow. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 64: "the teen I have
turn'd you to ; " L. L, L. iv. 3. 164: " of sorrow and of teen," etc.
813. Laund. Lawn (in the old sense of glade). The 4th and
later eds. have "lawnes." Cf. 3 Hen. VI. iii. i. 2.
826. Mistrustful. Causing mistrust ; here used actively. In 3
Hen. VI. iv. 2. 8 (the only instance of the word in the plays) it
has its ordinary meaning (wanting confidence, or suspicious).
220 Notes
830. That. So that. See on 242 above.
833* Ay me ! Changed by Hudson to " Ah me ! " which oecurs
in the early eds, of S. only in . andj. v. I. lo, where it is prob-
ably a misprint. Ay me ! is used often by S., as by Milton.
837. Thrall. Enslaved. Cf. A>. 0/. 725.
840. Answer, The plural may be explained either by the implied
plural in the collective choir or by *' confusion of proximity."
848. Idle sounds resembling parasites. That is, servilely echoing
what she says, as the context shows. Staunton reads " idle, sounds-
resembling parasites."
849. Shrill-tongzted tapsters, etc. Cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4, where
Prince Henry amuses himself with the tapster Francis.
850. Wits? Theobald conjectured " wights," for the sake of the
rhyme; but parasites is spelled " parasits " in the first three eds.,
and may have been intended to be so pronounced. See on 1001,
1002 below. But the rhyme i parasites and wits is no worse than
many in the poem. Cf., for instance, 449, 450, and 635, 636 above.
See also on 51, 192, etc.
854. Cabinet. Poetically for nest, as cabin in 637 above for
lair or den.
858. Stein bur nisi? d gold* Malone compares the opening lines
of Sonn, 33.
865, Myrtle grove. It will be recollected that the myrtle was
sacred to Venus.
866. Musing; Wondering. Cf. K. John> iii. I. 317, ,&f<w, iii.
4. 85, etc.
868. For his hounds. The 4th ed. omits his.
870. Coasteth. Schmidt well explains the word : " to steer, to
sail not by the direct way but in sight of the coast, and as it were
gropingly." Cf. Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 38 : -
"The king in this perceives him, how he coasts
And hedges his own way."
871. And as she runs, etc. Wyndham omits the comma after
Venus and Adonis 221
runs, which he takes to be transitive, as in "the fox ran the
meadows," etc.
873. Twine. The ist and 2cl eds. have "twin'd," the 3d
"twind," and the 4th " twinde ; " corrected in the 5th. Wyndham
has "twined."
877. At a bay. The state of a chase when the game is driven to
extremity and turns against its pursuers. Cf. T. of S. v. 2. 56,
etc.
882. Spirit. A monosyllable, as often. Cf. L. C. 3, etc.
884. Blunt. Rough, savage.
887. Curst. Snappish, fierce. Cf. W. T. iii. 3. 135: "they
[bears] are never curst but when they are hungry ; " Much Ado,
ii. i. 22: "a curst cow," etc. The word is often used in the sense
of shrewish in T. of S. ; as in i. I. 185, i. 2. 70, 128, ii. I. 187, 294,
307, etc. We have the comparative curster in T. of S. iii, 2. 156
and the superlative in ii. i. 315.
888. Cope him. Cope with him, encounter him. Cf. T. and C.
i. 2. 34, ii. 3. 275, etc.
891. Who. Often used "to personify irrational antecedents."
Cf. 956 and 1041 below.
892. Cold-pale. The hyphen is in the early eds.
895. Ecstasy. Excitement. In S. it means " any state of being
beside one's self" (Schmidt). It is often equivalent to insanity ;
as in Ham. ii. i. 102, iii. I. 168, iii. 4. 74, etc.
896. All dismayed. The reading of the ist and 2d eds. ; " Sore
dismay'd " in the rest.
899. For the second bids the 6th and some later eds. have
"will's."
901, Bepainted. Cf. R. andj. ii. 2. 86 ; the only other instance
in S.
907. Spleens. Passionate impulses. Cf. I Hen. IV. v. 2. 19,
/. C, iv. 3. 47, etc.
908. Untreads. Retraces j as in K. John, v. 4. 52 and M. of V.
ii. 6. 10.
222 Notes
909. Mated. Bewildered, paralyzed. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 54, v.
i. 281, etc.
911. Respects. Considerations, thoughts; as in Z, L. Z. v. 2.
792, etc.
912. In hand with. Taking in hand, undertaking.
930. Exclaims on. Cries out against. Cf. R. of L. 741, M. of
V. iii. 2. 176, etc.
933' Worm. Serpent ; as often.
947. Love's golden arrow, etc. Malone remarks that S. had
probably in mind the old fable of Love and Death exchanging
their arrows by mistake ; and he quotes Massinger, Virgin
Martyr :
" Strange affection 1
Cupid once more hath chang'd his darts with Death,
And kills instead of giving life."
949. Drink tears. Cf. T. A, ii. 2. 37 : " no other drink but
tears."
956. VaiFd. Let fall. See on 314 above.
963. Both crystals, etc. " Magic crystals, as Dr. Dee's, in which
one in sympathy with another could see the scene of his distress "
(Wyndham).
981. Orient. Pearly, or lustrous like pearl. Cf. M. N. D. iv.
i. 59, etc.
988. Makes. The 5th and later eds. have "make." Herford
says the singular is right, the true subject being " the rapid inter-
change of despair and hope."
990. In likely. The reading of the 1st and 2d eds. The 3d and
4th have "The likely," and the rest "With likely."
993. All to naught. Good for nothing. Some print " ail-to
naught," and others "all to-naught."
995. Clepes. Calls. Cf. Ham. i. 4. 19 : " They clepe us drunk-
ards," etc.
996. Imperious, " Imperial " (the reading of the 5th and later
eds.). Cf. T. and C. iv. 5. 272 : "most imperious Agamemnon," etc.
Venus and Adonis 223
998. Pardon me I felt. That is, that I felt. Some make pardon
me parenthetical.
999. Whenas. When ; as not unfrequently.
1002. Decease. The early eds. have "decesse," "deceass," or
** deceasse." See on 850 above.
1004. Wreak'd. Revenged. Cf. R. and J. iii. 5. 102 and
T. A. iv. 3. 51. See also the noun in Cor. iv. 5. 91, T. A. iv. 3,
33, etc. The 4th ed. prints " Bewreakt."
loio. Suspect. For the noun, cf. Sonn. 70. 3, Rich. III. i. 3*
89, etc.
1012. Insinuate With. Try to ingratiate herself with. Cf.
A. Y. L. epil. 9; the only other instance of the phrase in S.
1013. Stories. For the verb, cf. /c*. of L. 106 and Cymb. i. 4. 34.
1020. Chaos comes again. Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 92 : " Chaos is come
again."
1021. Fond. Foolish ; the usual meaning in S. Cf. R. of L.
216, 1094, etc.
1027. Falcon. The reading of the 5th ed., and to be preferred
on the whole to the plural of the earlier eds.
1028. The grass stoops not> etc. A hyperbole found in Virgil
(Mneid, viii. 808), Milton (Camus'), Pope (Essay on Criticism),
Tennyson (The Talking Oak), and elsewhere.
1038. Deep-dark. Hyphened in the first three eds.
1041. Who. See on 891 above.
1046. As when the wind, etc. The vulgar explanation of the
earthquake. Cf. I Hen. IV. iii. I. 32. See also Marlowe, Tambur-
iaine. Part I. i. 2. 51 :
" Even as when windy exhalations,
Fighting for passage, tilt within the earth."
1048. Which with cold terror, etc. There was an earthquake
in England in 1580, when S. was sixteen years old (Malone).
1051. Light. The reading of the 1st and 2d eds. The 3d and
4th have "night," and the rest "sight,"
224 Notes
1052. Trcnctid. Gashed. Cf. Macb. iii. 4. 27: "trenched
gashes, 1 ' etc. The 3d and 4th eds. have " drencht."
1059. Passions. Grieves. Cf. 7'. G. of V. iv. 4. 172: "Ari-
adne passioning," etc.
1062, That they have wept till now. That is, that they have
wasted their tears on inferior "hints of woe."
1073. Eyef red fire ! The 1st and 2d eds. have " eyes red fire,"
the 3d has " eyes red as fire," the 4th " eies as red as fire," and the
rest have "eyes, as fire."
1083. Fair. Beauty; as in C. of E. ii. I. 98,^. Y, L. iii. 2.
99, etc. There is a play on fair and fear, which were pronounced
nearly alike. See on 51 and 192 above.
1094. Fear. Frighten. See M. of V. ii. I. 9, 7 1 . of S. i. 2.
211, etc.
1098. Silly. Innocent, helpless. Cf. 7^. of L, 167: " the silly
lambs ; " 3 Hen. VI. ii. 5. 43 : " silly sheep," etc.
1105. Urchin- snouted. With snout like that of a hedgehog.
For urchin^ cf. Temp. i. 2. 326, ii. 2. 5, etc.
no8. Entertainment. Treatment. The word is used by S. in
both a good and a bad sense.
1 1 10. He thought to kiss him, etc. This conceit, as Malone notes,
is found in the 3Oth Idyl pf Theocritus, and in a Latin poem by
Antonius Sebastianus Minturnus entitled De Adoni ab Apro Inter
empto :
" iterum atque juro iterum,
Formosum hunc juvenem tuum hand volui
Meis diripere his cupidinibus ;
Verum dum specimen nitens video
(Aestus impatiens tenella dabat
Nuda femina mollibus zephyris),
Ingens me miserum libido capit
Mills suavia dulcia hinc capere,
Atque me impulit ingens indomitus."
Cf. Milton, Death of a Fair Infant:
Venus and Adonis
" O fairest flower, no sooner blown but blasted !
Soft silken primrose fading tunelessly,
Summer's chief honour, if thou hadst outlasted
Bleak Winter's force that made thy blossom dry;
For he, being amorous on that lovely dye
That did thy cheek envermeil, thought to kiss,
But kill'd, alas 1 and then bewail'd his fatal bliss."
1113. Did not. All the eds. except the 1st have "would not,"
1115. Nuzzling. Thrusting his nose in; the only instance of
the word in S. It is spelled " nousling " in all the early eds.
1128. Lies/ For the singular, cf. Ham. iii. 2. 214: "The
great man down, you mark his favourites flies. 3 ' See also L. L. L.
v. 2. 750 and many similar instances. Abbott {Grammar , 333)
calls it the " third person plural in -j," and among his examples
includes sundry instances of j, like " What manners is in this ? "
(R. and J. v. 3. 214.) On the present passage, cf. J?, of L. 1378.
1143. OP erstraix? d. Overstre\vn; used of course for the rhyme.
S. has neither form elsewhere.
1144, Truest. The reading of the first three eds. ; "sharpest"
in the rest.
1148. Measures. Grave and formal dances. Cf. Much Ado,
ii. r. So: "as a measure, fall of state and ancientry," etc.
1 149. Staring. Schmidt gives the word the ordinary meaning,
as in 301 above. Wyndharn says : " perhaps = bristly and un-
kempt, as in the * staring coat' of an ungroomed horse." In/. C.
iv. 3. 280: " makest . . . my hair to stare," it means to stand on
end.
1151. Raging-mad and silly-mild. The hyphens were first in-
serted by Malone.
1157. Toward. Forward, eager. Cf. P. P. 13, T. of S. v. 2.
182, etc.
1162. Combustions. Combustible; used by S. nowhere else.
1163. Sith. See on 762 above.
n68. A purple flower. The anemone. The 4th ed, has "pur-
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 1 5
2.26 Notes
pul'd." According to Bion, the anemone sprang from his tears,
the rose from his blood.
1174. Reft. See on 766 above.
1183. Herein. The reading of the 1st and 2d eds.; "here
is " in the rest.
1190. Doves. See on 153 above.
1193. Paphos. A town in Cyprus, the chief seat of the worship
of Venus. Cf. Temp. iv. 1 . 93 and Per. iv. prol. 32.
1194. Immure. Seclude. Cf. L. C 251,, L. L. L. hi. I, 126,
etc.
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE
THE METRE OF THE POEM. The measure is the ten-syllable
iambic, as in V. and A,, but the seven-lined stanza (ab abb cc) was
borrowed by Chaucer from Guillaume de Machault, a French poet,
Chaucer used it in his Complaint unto Pite and his Troilus and
Criseyde, Puttenham (1589) had noted it as " heroicall, very
grave and stately," and " most usuall with our auncient makers "
(poets). Daniel had used it for his Rosamond, four years before
Lucrece, and Spenser for his ffymnes, published the year after.
THE DEDICATION. 2. Moiety. Often used by S. of a portion
other than an exact half.
6. Would. The reading of the first three eds. ; " should " in the
rest.
THE ARGUMENT. " This appears to have been written by Shake-
speare, being prefixed to the original edition of 1594 ; and is a
curiosity, this and the two dedications to the Earl of Southampton
being the only prose compositions of our great poet (no* in a
dramatic form) now remaining" (Malone),
3, Requiring. Asking. Cf, Hen, VIII. ii. 4. 144: "In hum-
blest manner I require your highness," etc.
Rape of Lucrece
1 6. Disports. For the noun, cf. Oth. i. 3. 272, the only other
instance in S.
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE. For the title, see p. 1 1 above. The
Cambridge editors give " The Rape of Lucrece " throughout
i. Ardea. As Dyce notes, S. accents the word on the first sylla-
ble, as it should be. The Variorum of 1821 and some other eds.
have "besieg'd," which requires " Ardea."
In post. Cf. C. of E, i. 2. 63 : "I from my mistress come to you
in post," etc. We find " in all post " in Rich. III. iii. 5. 73.
3. Lust-breathed. Animated by lust.
8, Unhappily. The early eds. have " vnhap'ly " or " vnhaply,"
except the 7th, which misprints " unhappy."
9, Bateless. Not to be blunted. Cf. wibatedm Ham. iv. 7, 139
and v. 2, 328. See also the verb bate in L. L. Z. i. i. 6.
10, Let. Forbear. Cf, 328 below, where it is = hinder.
13. Heavens beauties. The stars.
14. Aspects. Accented on the last syllable, as regularly in S.
Cf. 452 below.
19. Such high- proud. Hyphened by Malone. The later eds.
have "so high a."
21. Peer. The reading of the 1st eel. ; "prince " in all the rest.
23. Done, Brought to an end, ruined. Cf. V. and A, 197, 749,
A. W. iv. 2. 65, etc.
2,6. Expired. Accented on the first syllable because preceding
a noun so accented. Cf. unstained in 87, extreme in 230, s^cpreme
in 780, unfelt in 828, dispersed in 1805, etc. The later eds. have
" A date expir'd : and canceld ere begun."
37* Suggested, Incited, tempted; as often. Cf. Rich. II. iii. 4.
75, etc.
40. Braving compare. Challenging comparison. For the noun,
cf. V. and A. 8, Sonn. 21. 5, etc.
44, All-too-timeless. Too unseasonable; first hyphened by
Malone.
228 Notes
47. Liver* For the liver as the seat of sensual passion, cf,
Temp.yf. I, 56, M. W. ii. i. 121, etc.
49. Blasts. For the intransitive use, cf. T. G. of V.\. 1.48:
" blasting in the bud."
56. O'er. "Ore" or " or' e "in the early eds. Malone was in-
clined to take it as the noun ore " in the sense of or or gold ; " and
Wyndham considers that this view is favoured by the terms of
heraldry that follow.
57. In that white intituled. Consisting in that whiteness, or
taking its title from it (Steevens). Wyndham takes intituled in the
heraldic sense of " formally blazoned (in white, which is virtue's
colour) by derivation from Venus' doves"
58. Venus' doves. Cf. V. and A. 153 and 1190.
63. Fence. Defend, guard ; as in 3 Hen. VI. ii. 6. 75, iii. 3,
98, etc.
71. War of lilies and of roses, Steevens compares Cor. ii. I. 232
and V. and A. 345 ; and Malone adds T. of S. iv. 5. 30.
72. Field. . There is a kind of play upon the word in its heraldic
sense and that of a field of battle.
82. That praise which Collatine doth owe. Malone and Hudson
make praise = object of praise, and owe possess. This interpre-
tation seems forced and inconsistent with the next line, which they
do not explain. I prefer to take both praise and owe in the ordi-
nary sense. For owe = possess, cf. 1803 below.
87. Unstained thoughts. The words are transposed in the $th
and later eds.
88. Lim?d. Ensnared by bird-lime. Cf. Ham. iii. 3. 68, Much
Ado, iii. I. 104, etc.
89. Securely. Unsuspiciously. Cf. M. W. ii. 2. 252, X. John,
ii. i. 374, etc.
92. For that he coloured. For that inward ill he covered or
disguised.
93. Plaits. That is, plaited robes. The old eds. spell it
" pleats/' which is a common New England pronunciation of the
Rape of Lucrece 229
word. Boswell quotes Lear, i. i. 183 : "Time shall unfold what
plaited cunning hides." These are the only instances of the word
in S.
94. That. So that. See on V. and A. 242. For inordinate,
cf. I Hen. IV. iii. 2. 12 and Oth. ii. 3. 311.
loo. Parting. Speaking, significant. The verb occurs again in
Z. L. L. v. 2. 122.
102. Margents. Margins. For other allusions to the practice
of writing explanations and comments in the margin of books, cf.
Ham. v. 2. 162, 7?. andj. i. 3. 86, etc.
104. Moralize. Interpret. Cf. T. of S. iv. 4. 81 :
" Biondello. Faith, nothing ; but has left me here behind, to expound
the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.
Lucentio. I pray thee, moralize them."
106. Stories. For the verb, cf. V. and A. 1013.
117. Mother. The 5th and later eds. change this to "sad
source ; " and stows in 119 to "shuts." For stows, zisOth. i. 2. 62:
" where hast thou stow'd my daughter ? "
1,21. Intending. Pretending. Cf. Rich. III. iii. 5. 8, Hi. 7. 45,
etc. For spright, see on V. and A. 181.
122. Questioned. Talked, conversed. Cf. M. of V. iv. I. 70,
etc.
125. Themselves betake. The Bodleian copy of 1st ed. (see p. II
above) has " himselfe betakes," and " wakes " in the next line ;
and these are the readings in the Variorum of 1821.
133. Though death be adjunct. Cf. fC. John, iii. 3. 57 : "Though
that my death were adjunct to my act." These are the only in-
stances of adjunct in S. except Sonn. 91. 5.
135. For what, etc. The first four eds. have "That what," etc.,
and the rest " That oft," etc. The earliest reading may be explained
after a fashion, as by Malone (and Wyndham) : " Poetically speak-
ing, they may be said to scatter what they have not, that is, what
they cannot be truly said to have ; what they do not enjoy, though
230 Notes
possessed 'of it." Malone compares Daniel, Rosamond: " As wedded
widows, wanting what we have ; " and the same author's Cleo-
patra : " For what thou hast, thou still dost lacke." " Tarn avaro
deest quod habet, quam quod non habet " is one of the sayings of
Publius Syrus. But I have little hesitation in adopting Staunton's
conjecture of For what, etc., as do the Cambridge editors (in the
" Globe " ed.) and Hudson. It is supported by the context : they
scatter or spend what they have in trying to get what they have not,
and so by hoping more they have but less* Bond must here be =
ownership, or that which a bond claims or secures. The reading
of the $th ed. seems to be a clumsy attempt to mend the corruption
of the ist.
140. Bankrupt. Spelled " backrout," " banckrout," or " bank-
rout " in the early eds. See on V. and A. 466.
144. Gage. Stake, risk; as in Ham. i. I. 91.
150. Ambitious foul. Walker would read " ambitious- foul."
160. Confounds. Ruins, destroys; as in 250, 1202, and 1489
below. Cf. confusion = ruin, in 1159 below.
164. Comfortable. Comforting; the " active " use of the adjec-
tive, and the most frequent in S. Cf. R. and J. v. 3. 148 : '* O
comfortable friar ! " etc.
167. Silly. See on V. and A. 1098.
168. Wakes. Malone and some others have "wake."
169. Leaped. Herford puts a comma before this, and makes
it = " having leaped ; " but he puts a semicolon after arm> which
seems inconsistent pointing.
174. Too too. Dyce and Hudson print "too-too." For retire
as a noun, cf. 573 below.
177. That So that. See on 94 above. The 5th and following
eds. have " doth " for do.
1 79. Lode-star. The preferable spelling, being the etymological
one. S. uses the word again in M. N. D.i. I. 183.
180. Advisedly. Deliberately ; as in 1527 and 1816 below.
1 88, Naked. As Schmidt notes, there is a kind of play upon the
Rape of Lucrece 231
word. Still-slaughtered (first hyphened by Malone) = ever killed
but never dying.
196. Weed. Robe, garment ; as often in both numbers.
200, Fancy 's. Love's ; as often.
202. Digression. Transgression, as in Z. Z. Z. i. 2. 121. In the
only other instance in S. (2 Men. IV. iv. i. 140) it is = deviation.
205. Golden coat. That is, coat-of-arms ; an anachronism heie.
206. Some loathsome dash, etc. " In the books of heraldry a
particular mark of disgrace is mentioned by which the escutcheons
of those persons were anciently distinguished who * discourteously
used a widow, maid, or wife, against her will.' " (Malone).
207. Fondly. Foolishly. Cf. the adjective in 216, 284, and 1094
below; and see on V. and A. 1021.
208. That. So that; as in 94 and 177 above. Note brand,
stigma. Cf. Rich* //. i. I. 43, Z. Z. Z. iv. 3. 125 and v. 2. 75.
217. Strucken. The early eds. have "stroke," "stroken," or
" strucken." See on V. and A. 462.
221. Marriage. A trisyllable ; as in I Hen. VI. v. 5. 55, etc,
230. Extreme. For the accent, see on 26 above.
236. Quittal. Requital ; used by S. only here. Cf. quittance
in 2 Hen. IV. i. i. 108, Hen. V. ii. 2. 34, etc.
239. Ay, if. The first four eds. have " I, if " (ay is regularly
printed / in the early eds.) ; the rest have " if once."
244. Saw. Moral saying, maxim. Cf. A. Y. Z. ii. 7. 156, etc.
For the practice of putting these saws on the painted cloth or
hangings of the poet's time, cf. A. Y. Z. iii. 2. 291 : "I answer
you right painted cloth."
246. Disputation. Metrically five syllables. Cf. 352 below.
258. Roses that on lawn, etc. Cf. V. and A. 590.
264. Cheer. Face, look. Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 96: "pale of
cheer," etc.
265. Narcissus. Cf. V.andA.if>\.
268. Pleadeth. The 5th and following eds. have " pleads," with
" dreads " and " leades " in the rhyming lines.
2.3 2 Notes
274. Tfan, childish fear avaunt! etc. In this line and the next
I follow the pointing of the early eds. Most of the editors, with
Malone, makey9#r, debating^ etc., vocatives.
275. Respect, "Cautious prudence" (Malone), consideration of
consequences. Cf. T. and C. ii. 2. 49, etc.
277. Beseems. Becomes. For the number, cf. 1 68 above. Sad
= serious, sober. Cf. the noun in V. and A. 807.
278. My part. A metaphor taken from the stage. Malone sees
a special reference to the conflicts between the Devil and the Vice
in the old moralities. Cf. T. N. iv. 2. 134 fol.
284. Fond. Foolish, weak. See on 207 above.
293. Seeks to. Applies to. Cf. Burton, Anat. of M elan. : "why
should we then seek to any other but to him ? " See also Deuter-
onomy > xii. 5, I Kings, x. 24, Isaiah^ viii. 19, xix. 3, etc.
301. Marcheth. The 5th and later eds. have " doth march ; "
and in 303 " recites " for retires.
303. Retires his ward. Draws back its bolt. For the transitive
verb, cf. Rich. II. ii. 2. 46 : " might have retir'd his power ; " and
for ward, see T. of A, iii. 3. 38 : " Doors that were ne'er acquainted
with their wards."
304. Rate his ill. That is, chide it by the noise they make.
308. His fear. That is, the object of his fear. Cf. M. N. JD. v
I. 21 :
" Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How often is a bush supposed a bear 1 "
313. His conduct. That which condtuts or guides him. Cf. R.
andj. iii. I. 129 : "And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now ! " and
Id. v. 3. 116 : "Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide," etc.
319. Needle. Monosyllabic ; as in M. N. D. iii. 2, 204, K.John^
v. 2. 157, etc. Some print it " neeld."
328. Let. Hinder. Cf. the noun just below ; and see Ham. i.
4. 85, T. N. v. I. 256, etc.
332. Prime. Spring ; as in Sonn. 97. 7, etc.
333. Sneaped. Nipped, frost-bitten. Cf. Z. L. L. i. I. 100 :
Rape of Lucrece 233
" an envious sneaping frost
That bites the first-born infants of the spring."
347. And they. Steevens conjectured "And he ;" but power is
treated as a plural perhaps on account of the preceding heavens.
Cf. the plural use of heaven, for which see Rich. //. i. I. 23, iii. 3.
17, etc.
349. Fact. Deed. Some explain it as " crime ; " the only
meaning of the word recognized by Schmidt.
352. Resolution. Metrically five syllables. See on 246 above.
In 354 the 5th and following eds. have *' Blacke " for The blackest.
The former, it will be seen, will satisfy the measure if absolution is
made five syllables like resolution.
372. Fiery-pointed. "Throwing darts with points of fire"
(Schmidt). Steevens wanted to read " fire-ypointed ; " and the
meaning of fiery-pointed may possibly be pointed (= appointed,
equipped) with fire.
377. Or else some shame supposed. Or else some shame is im-
agined by them. Hudson has the following curious note : "An
odd use of supposed, but strictly classical. So in Chapman's JBy-
rorts Conspiracy, 1608 : 4 Foolish statuaries, that under little saints
suppose great bases, make less, to sense, the saints.' " How the
etymological sense of supposed (placed under) can suit the present
passage it is not easy to see.
386. Cheek. The reading of 1st, 2d, and 4th eds. ; plural in the
rest.
388. Who. See on V. and A. 891. Cf. 447 and 461 below.
389. To want. At wanting or missing j the "indefinite use"
of the infinitive.
402. Map. Picture, image. Cf. 1712 below.
408. Maiden worlds. White calls the epithet " unhappy " and
a " heedless misuse of language ; " but the context explains and
justifies it. Furnivall remarks that S. uses maiden here as we do
of a castle, which admits its own lord but not a foe.
234 Notes
419. Alabaster. The early eds. have " alablaster." See on
F. and A. 363.
424. Qualified. Abated, diminished ; that is, for the moment.
Cf. M. of V. iv. I. 7, W. T. iv. 4. 543, etc.
428443. And they, like straggling stares, etc. " A sustained
conceit taken from the assault of a fortress. It is resumed in 464-
483" (Wyndham).
429. Obdurate. For the accent, see on V. and A. 199.
436. Commends. Commits ; as often. Cf. C. of E. i. 2. 32,
L. L. L.\, i. 234, iii. I. 169, etc.
439. Breast. Made plural in the 5th and following eds.
448. Controlled. Restrained. Cf. 500, 678, and 1781 below.
453- Taking. Now used only colloquially in this sense. Cf.
Jlf. W. iii. 3. 491 : "What a taking was he in when your husband
asked who was in the basket ! "
456. Wrapped. Involved, overwhelmed. Hudson reads " rapt."
Cf. 636 below,
458. Winking. Shutting her eyes. See on V. and A. 90.
459. Antics. Fantastic appearances. The early eds. have *' an-
tiques." The words are used interchangeably in the early eds., the
accent being always on the first syllable. Leading = direction ; as
in Cor. iv. 5. 143.
467. Bulk. Chest. Cf. Rich. III. i. 4. 40 and Ham. ii. i. 95.
That =.$& that ; as in 94, 177, and 208 above.
471. Heartless. Without heart, or courage ; as in 1392 below.
See also R. andj. i. i. 73 : " heartless hinds." These are the only
instances of the word in S.
472, Peers. Lets appear, shows. Elsewhere in S. peer is in-
transitive.
476. Colour. Pretext. For the play on the word in the reply,
cf. 2 Hen. IV. v. 5. 91 :
" Falstaff. Sir, I will be as good as my word ; this that you heard
was but a colour.
Shallow. A colour [ = collar] that I fear you wiU $je in, Sir John."
Rape of Lucrece 235
491. Crosses. Mischances, vexations. Cf. 912 below.
493. / think, etc. " I am aware that the honey is guarded with
a sting" (Malone).
496. Only. The transposition of the adverb is common in S.
497. On what he looks. That is, on what he looks on ; as prepo-
sitions are often omitted in relative sentences when expressed in
what precedes.
500. Affections. Passion's, lust's. Cf. W. T. i. 2. 138, etc.
502. Ensue. Follow; as in Rich. II. ii. I. 197 : "Let not to-
morrow, then, ensue to-day." See also I Peter ^ iii. n.
506. Towering. A technical term in falconry. Cf. Macb. ii. 4.
12, etc. Like may possibly be = as, or there may be a "confusion
of construction." Hudson adopts the former explanation, and
gives the impression that like is "repeatedly" so used by S. The
fact is that there is not a single clear instance of it in all his works.
The two examples in Pericles are not in his part of the play ; and
in M. N. D. iv. I. 178 (the only other possible case of the kind)
the reading is doubtful, and with either reading the passage may be
pointed so as to avoid this awkward use of like. If S. had been
willing to employ it, he would probably have done so " repeatedly ; "
but it seems to have been no part of his English.
507. Coucheth. Causes to couch or cower. Cf. the intransitive
use in A. W. iv. I. 24, etc.
511. Falcon* s bells. For the bells attached to the necks of tame
falcons, cf. A. Y. L. iii. 3. 81 and 3 Hen. VI. i. I. 47.
522. Nameless. " Because an illegitimate child has no name by
inheritance, being considered by the law as nullius filius " (Malone).
Cf. T. G. of V. iii. I. 321 : "bastard virtues, that indeed know not
their fathers, and therefore have no names."
530. Simple. Cf. A. Y. L. iv. I. 1 6 : " compounded of many
simples," etc. From this meaning of "an ingredient in a com-
pound" the word came to be applied to medicinal herbs (mainly
used in compounds) j as in M. W. i. 4. 65, iii. 3. 79, R. and J. v.
i. 40, etc.
236
Notes
531. A pure compound. The 5th and later eds. have "purest
compounds." In the next line, his its. Purified = rendered
harmless,
534. Tender. Favour. It is often similarly used ( = regard or
treat kindly) ; as in T. G. of V. iv. 4. 145, C. of E. v. I. 132, etc.
537- Wipe. Brand ; the only instance of the noun in S. For
birth-hour* s blot, cf. M. N. D. v. i. 416 :
" And the blots of Nature's hand
Shall not in their issue stand ;
Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,
Nor mark prodigious, such as are
Despised in nativity,
Shall upon their children be,"
540. Cockatrice^ dead-killing eye. For the fabled cockatrice, or
basilisk, which was supposed to kill with a glance of its eye, cf.
W. T. i. 2. 388, Hen. V. v. 2. 17, Rich. III. i. 2. 151, etc.
543. Gripes. Griffin's (Steevens). The word is often = vul-
ture ; as in Sidney's Astrophel :
" Upon whose breast a fiercer gripe doth tire,
Than did on him who first stole down the fire ; "
Ferrex and Porrex : " Or cruel gripe to gnaw my growing harte,"
etc. For allusions to the griffin, see M. N. D. ii. I. 232 and I Hen*
IV. iii. i. 152.
547. But. The reading of all the early eds. Changed by Sewell
to "As," and by Malone to "Look." Boswell explains the text
thus : " He knows no gentle right, but still her words delay him,
as a gentle gust blows away a black-faced cloud."
550. Blows. The early eels, have "blow;" corrected by
Malone.
553. Winks. Shuts his eyes, sleeps. See on 458 above. For
Orphezts, cf, T. G. ofV. iii, 2. 78, M. of K v. i. 80,
iii. i. 3, etc.
Rape of Lucrece 237
554. Night-waking* Awake at night.
556. Vulture folly, Cf. V. and A. 551: * vulture thought."
559. Plaining. Complaining. Cf. Lear, iii. I. 39; "cause to
plain," etc.
560. Wear with raining. Cf. 959 below.
565. His. Its ; as in 532 above. Steevens quotes M. M D. v.
I. 96 : " Make periods in the midst of sentences," etc.
568. Conjures. The accent in S. is on either syllable without
regard to the sense.
569. Gentry. His gentle birth. Cf. W. T. i. 2. 393, Cor. iii.
I. 144, etc.
574. Stoop. Yield. Cf. M. of V. ii. 7. 20, Lear, i. r. 51, etc.
576. Pretended. Intended; as in T. G. of V. ii. 6. 37 : "their
pretended flight," etc.
579. Shoot. For the noun, cf. L. L. L. iv. i. 10, 12, 26,
2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 49, etc. Malone conjectures "suit," with a play
on the word, which was then pronounced shoot. See L. Z. L. iv.
i. no, where is a play on suitor and shooter.
580. Woodman. Huntsman. Cf. M. W. v. 5. 30, etc.
581. Unseasonable. Cf. M. W. iii. 3. 169: "buck and of the
season."
592. Convert. For the intransitive use, cf. 691 below. For the
rhyme, cf. Sonn. 14. 12, 17. 2, 49. 10, 72. 6, etc.
595. At an iron gate. Even at the gates of a prison (Steevens).
603. Seeded. Matured, full-grown ; used again in T. and C. i.
3. 316 : "seeded pride."
607. Be remembered. Remember, bear in mind. Cf. A. Y. L.
iii, 5. 135 : "now I am remember'd," etc.
609. In clay. That is, even in their graves. Their misdeeds
will live after them. Cf. Sonn. 71. 10 : "when I perhaps com-
pounded am with clay," etc,
615, 6 1 6. For princes are the glass, the school, the book, etc. For
the " chiastic " construction, not carried out in the second line, cf.
A. and C. iv. 15. 25 :
238 Notes
" if knife, drugs, serpents have
Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe."
See also on L, C. 265. For the 6gures, cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 3. 31.
6 1 8. Lectures* Lessons. Elsewhere in S. read lectures = give
lessons, not receive them. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 365, T. of S. i, 2. 148,
Cor. ii. 3. 243, etc.
621. Privilege. For the verb, cf. Bonn. 58. 10, etc.
622. Laud. Cf. 887 below, 2 Hen. IV. iv. 5. 236, etc.
637. Askance. Turn aside ; the only instance of the verb in S.
Schmidt paraphrases the line thus : " who, in consequence of their
own misdeeds, look with indifference on the offences of others."
639. Lusf, thy rash relier. "That is, lust which confides too
rashly in thy present disposition and does not foresee its necessary
change " (Schmidt). The 5th and following eds. have " reply " for
relier.
640. Repeal. Recall. Cf. /. C. iii. i. 51, Rich. II. ii. 2. 49, etc.
643. Eyne. See on V. and A. 632. The 5th and later eds,
have " eies ; " and in 649 " pretty " for petty.
646. Let. Hindrance j as in 330 above.
651. To his. The reading of the 1st and 2d eds. The 3d has
"to the," and the others "to this."
655. Who. See on 388 above.
657. Puddle's. The reading of 1st, 2d, and 4th eds. ; the others
have " puddle." For hears* d the 5th and 6th have " bersed," and
the yth " persed." Hearsed is found also in M. of V. iii. 1 . 93 and
Ham. i. 4. 47.
661. Thy fouler grave. Hudson points " thy fouler, grave ; "
and adds this strange note : " Grave is here a verb, meaning to
bury or be the death of." He seems to take the line to mean, Thou
buriest their fair life, and they bury thy fouler life ; but how he
would explain the former clause I cannot guess. Of course the
meaning is, Thou art their fair life a repetition of the idea in
they basely dignified.
678. Controlled* See on 448 above.
Rape of Lucrece 239
680. Nightly. The 5th and 6th eels, misprint " mighty." Linen
is not = nightgown (unknown in the time of S.), but a linen cloth
about the head. Nightgown (in Macb. ii. 2. 70, Much Ado, iii. 4.
1 8, Oth. iv. 3. 34, etc.) is = robe de chambre, or dressing-gown.
684. Prone. Headlong. Cf. M. for M. i. 2. 1 88, etc. The 3d,
5th, 6th, and 7th eds. have " proud."
691. Converts. Changes. See on 592 above.
696. Balk. Disregard, neglect. Cf. Davies, Scourge of Folly,
1611 :
" Learn'd and judicious lord, if I should balke
Thyne honor'd name, it being in my way,
My muse unworthy were of such a walke,
Where honor's branches make it ever May."
698. Fares. The 5th and 6th eds. have " feares," and in 706
" of eine " for or rein.
701. Conceit. Conception, thought. Cf. 1298 below.
703. His receipt. What he has received; as in Cor. i. I. 116:
" The discontented members, the mutinous parts
That envied his [the stomach's] receipt."
707. Till, like a jade, etc. Steevens aptly quotes Hen. VIII. i.
i. 132:
41 Anger is like
A full-hot horse, who being allow'd his way.
Self-mettle tires him,"
For jade (= a worthless or vicious horse), cf. V. a?id A. 391.
721. The spotted princess. The polluted soul. For spotted, cf.
M. N. D.\. i. no, Rich. //. iii. 2. 134, etc.
728. Forestall. Prevent ; as in 2 Hen. IV. iv. 5. 141, etc. The
7th ed. has "forest, all ; " as "presence" for prescience in 727, and
" swearing" for sweating in 740.
733. Perplexed. Bewildered, confounded. Cf. Oth. v. 2. 346 :
" Perplex 7 d in the extreme," etc.
Notes
741. Exclaiming on. Crying out against. Cf. V. and A. 930,
743. Cowvertite. Convert, penitent. The word is found also in
A. Y. L. v. 4. 190 and A". John, v. I. 19.
747. Scapes. Transgressions ; as in ffl* T. iii. 3. 73 : "some
scape," etc.
766. Black stage. In the time of S. the stage was hung with
black when tragedies were performed (Malone). Cf. I Hen. VL
i. I. I : "Hung be the heavens with black," etc. The upper part
of the stage was technically known as the heavens. Cf. Sidney,
Arcadia : " There arose, even with the sunne, a vaile of clarke
cloudes before his face, which shortly had blacked over all the face
of heaven, preparing (as it were) a mournfull stage for a tragedie
to be played on."
768. Defame! Cf. 817 and 1033 below. These are the only
instances of the noun in S.
774. Proportioned. " Regular, orderly" (Schmidt).
780. Supreme. For the accent, see on 26 above.
781. Arrive. For the transitive use, cf. /. C. i. 2, 1 10, Cor. ii.
3, 189, etc. T?ot prick = dial-point, cf. R. andj. ii. 4. 119 : "The
prick of noon," etc.
782. Misty. The 1st and 2d eds. have " mustie ; " corrected in
the 3d ed., which, however, misprints "vapour " for vapours.
783. In their smoky ranks his smothered light. That is, his
light smothered in their smoky ranks. The queen Is of course
the moon, the handmaids the stars.
786. Distain. Stain, defile. The $th and later eds. have
" disdaine."
790. Fellowship in woe, etc. "Misery loves company," as the
old saw puts it. Cf. 1580 below and R. and J. iii. 2. 116 : "sour
woe delights in fellowship."
791. Palmers'. Pilgrims'. Cf. A. W. iii. 5. 38, R. and J. i. 5.
102, etc.
792. Where. Whereas. See L. Z. L. ii. I. 103, etc.
805. Sepulchred. S. accents the verb regularly on the penult ;
Rape of Lucrece 1241
as be does the noun in Rich. II, i. 3. 196, but elsewhere on the first
syllable, as in If. and A, 622, etc.
807. Character''*.-?. S. accents the verb on either the first or
second syllable, the noun on the first except in Rich. III. iii. I. 81.
Sir. Cipher. Decipher ; used by S. only here and in 207 and
1396 of this poem.
812. Quote. Note, observe. Cf. R. and J. i. 4, 31, etc. The
word is spelled cote in the 1st and 2d eds., as it was pronounced.
817, Feast-finding* " Our ancient minstrels were the constant
attendants on feasts " (Steevens) . Their music of course made
them welcome,
820. Senseless. Not sensible of the wrong done it.
828. Crest-wounding. Staining or disgracing the family crest
or coat of arms a " blot i' the scutcheon."
830. Mot, Motto, or word, as it was called in heraldry; used
by S. only here.
841 . Guilty. Malone reads " guiltless. " Sewell makes the line
a question ; but, as Boswell says, Lucrece at first reproaches her-
self for having received Tarquin's visit, but instantly defends her-
self by saying that she did it out of respect to her husband.
848. Intrude. Invade; not elsewhere transitive in,S.
849. Cuckoos. For the allusion to the cuckoo's laying its eggs
in other birds' nests, cf. I Hen. /K iii. 2. 75, v. i. 60, A. and C. ii.
6, 28, etc.
851. Folly. "Used, as in Scripture, for -wickedness" (Malone).
Schmidt explains it as " inordinate desire, wantonness/ 7 both here
and in 556 above. Cf. Oth. v. 2. 132 : "She turn'd to folly, and
she was a whore."
858. Still-pining. Ever-longing. Cf. " still- vex'd" (Temp. i.
2. 229), "still-closing" (/</. iii. 3- 6 4)> etc. For Tantalus, see
V. anctA.599-
859. Barns. Stores up ; the only instance of the verb in S.
The 5th and later eds. have " bannes " or " bans."
864. Abuse. Misuse ; as in 994 below.
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 16
242. Notes
867. The sweets we wish for, etc. Cf.Scwn. 129, "that greatest
of sonnets," as Mr. Verity calls it.
879. Poinfst. Appointest ; but not to be printed "'point'st,"
as by some editors. Cf. T. of S. iii. I. 19, iii. 2. I, 15, etc.
884. Temperance. Chastity. Cf. A. and C. iii. 13. 1 21 the
only other instance of this sense in S.
892. Smoothing. Flattering. Cf. Kick. III. i. 2. 169, i. 3. 48, etc.
The 5th and following eds. have "smothering."
894. Thy -violent vanities, etc. Cf. R. and J. ii. 6. 9 : " These
violent delights have violent ends."
899. Sort. Sort out, select. Cf. R. and J. iii. 5. 1 08, iv. 2.
34, etc.
907. Advice. That is, medical advice.
9*2. Crosses. Hindrances, mischances. Cf. 491 above.
914. Appaid. Satisfied ; used by S. only here.
920. Shift. Trickery. Nares (s. v. Shifter) quotes Rich Cabi-
net furnished with Varietit of Excellent Descriptions, 1616 :
" Shifting doth many times incurre the indignitie of reproach, and
to be counted a shifter is as if a man would say in plaine tearmes
a coosener." Cf. 930 below.
925. Copesmate. Companion ; used by S, nowhere else.
926. Grisly. Grim, terrible. Cf. I Hen. VI. i. 4. 47, J\T. N. D.
v. i. 140, etc.
928. Watch of woes. "Divided and marked only by woes"
(Schmidt). Cf. Macb. ii. i. 54 : "the wolf, whose howl 's his
watch."
930. Injurious^ shifting. Some editors adopt Walker's conjecture
of " injurious-shifting ; " but shifting may be = cozening, deceitful.
See on 920 just above.
936. Fine. Explained by Malone as = soften, refine, and by
Steevens and Wyndham as = bring to an end. The latter is on
the whole to be preferred.
943. Wrong the wronger. That is, treat him as he treats others,
make him suffer. Farmer would read " wring "
Rape of Lucrece 243
944. Ruinate* Cf. Sonn. 10. 7 : " Seeking that beauteous roof
to ruinate," etc.
With thy hours. Steevens conjectures " with their bowers," and
Malone was at first inclined to read " with his hours."
948. To blot old books and alter their contents. As Malone re-
marks, S. little thought how the fate of his own compositions
would come to illustrate this line.
950. Cherish springs. That is, young shoots. Cf. V. and A.
656. Warburton wanted to read " tarish " (= dry up, from Fr.
tarir) ; Heath conjectured " sere its ; " and Johnson " perish."
953' Beldam. Grandmother ; as in 1458 below.
962. Retiring. Returning ; as in T. and C. \. 3. 281, etc.
981. Curled hair. " A distinguishing characteristic of a person
of rank" (Malone). Cf. Oth. i. 2. 68 : "wealthy curl'd darlings; "
A. and C. v. 2. 304: " the curled Antony," etc.
985. Orts. Scraps, remnants. Cf. T. and C. v. 2. 158 and T.
of A. iv. 3. 400.
993. Unrecalling. Not to be recalled. For crime, the 4th and
following eds. have " time."
looi. Slanderous. Disgraceful; asiny. C. iv. I. 20: "To ease
ourselves of divers slanderous loads." The office of executioner, or
deathsman (cf. Lear, iv. 6. 263), was regarded as ignominious.
1021. Force not. Regard not, care not for. Cf. L. L. L. v. 2.
440 : " force not to forswear."
1024. Uncheerful. The 4th and later eds. have " unsearch-
full."
1027. Helpless. Unavailing ; as in 1056 below. See on V. ami
A. 604.
1035. Afeard. Used by S. interchangeably with afraid.
1045. Mean. The singular is often used by S., but the plural
oftener.
1062. Graff. Graft. All the early eds. except the ist and
2d have "grasse."
1067. Thy interest. Thy possession, thy married right to my
244 Notes
bed. Cf. 1619 below. See also Cyntb. i. 3. 90: "my interest and
his honour."
1070. With my trespass never will dispense. That is, will never
excuse it. Cf. 1279 and 1704 below.
1079. Philomel. The nightingale. Cf. 1 1 28 below.
1084. Cloudy. Cf. V. and A. 725. See also I Hen. IV. iii. 2,
83 : " cloudy men," etc. For shames = is ashamed, cf. 1 143
below.
1092. Nought to do. That is, nothing to do with, no concern in.
1094. Fond. Foolish ; as in 216 above.
1 105. Sometime. The 4th and following eds. have " sometimes."
The two forms are used indiscriminately.
1109. Annoy. See on V. and A. 497.
1114. Ken. Sight. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 113: "losing ken of
Albion's wished coast," etc.
1119. Who. See on 388 above.
1124. Stops. Referring to the stops of musical instruments. Cf.
Ham. iii. 2. 76, 376, 381, etc.
1 126. Relish your nimble notes to pleasing ears. Tune your lively
notes for those who like to hear them. With phasing cf. unreeall-
ing in 993 above.
1127. Dumps. Mournful elegies. Cf. T. G. of V. iii. 2. 85:
"Tune a deploring dump."
1128. Of ravishment. Referring to her being ravished by Te-
reus. See T. A. ii. 4. 26 fol. and iv. r. 48 fol.
1132. Diapason. "Deep notes harmoniously accompanying
high ones" (Schmidt). Used by S. only here.
1133. Burden-wise. As in the burden of a song.
1134. Descanfst. Singest. For the noun, cf. T. G. of V. \. 2.
94. Here the early eds. all have "descants;" a euphonic con-
traction of second persons singular of verbs in -/, found not infre-
quently in the early eds. Skill must be regarded as the direct
object of descanfst) not governed by with understood, as Malone
makes it, pointing " descant'st, better skill." Wyndham says : " S.
Rape of Lucrece 245
here, as ever, exhibits a complete grasp of technical terms. lie
makes Lucrece contrast her sad, monotonous accompaniment of
groans humming onTarquin still with the treble descant oi the
nightingale, complaining in a higher register and with more frequent
modulations of the wrong wrought her by Tereus. The one he
compares to a single droning bass, chiefly in the diapason or lower
octave ; the other to the better skill or more ingenious artifice of a
contrapuntal melody scored above it." See Elson (J?. in Music}
on descant.
1135. Against a /horn. The nightingale was supposed to press
her breast against a thorn while singing. Cf. Two Noble Kins-
men, iii. 4. 25 : " O for a prick now, like a nightingale, To put my
breast against ! " See also P. P. 379.
1140. Frets. The stops that regulated the vibration of the
strings in lutes, etc. Cf. 7\ of S. ii. i. 150, 153.
1142. And for. And because.
1 143. Shaming. Being ashamed ; as in 1084 above.
1 144. Seated from the way. Situated out of the way.
1149. At gaze. Staring about.
1 1 60. Conclusion. Experiment. Cf. A. and C. v. 2. 358, Cymb.
i. 5. 18, etc.
1167. PeeVd. Here and in 1169 the early eds. have "pil'd,"
"pild," or " pill'd ; " and this last form might well enough be
retained. Cf. Genesis, xxx. 37, 38. In M. of F, i. 3. 85 the quartos
have "pyld" or "pyl'd," and the folios "pil'd."
1 1 86. Deprive. Take away ; as in 1752 below.
1 202. Confound. Ruin; as in 1 60 above.
1205. Oversee. The overseer of a will was one who had a super-
vision of the executors. The poet, in his will, appoints John Hall
and his wife as executors, and Thomas Russel and Francis Collins
as overseers. In some old wills the term overseer is used instead
of executor (Malone).
1 206. Overseen. Bewitched, as by the " evil eye." Cf. overlooked
in M. W. v. 5. 87 and M. of V. iii. 2. 15.
246 Notes
1 221. Sorts. Adapts, as if choosing or selecting. Cf. 899 above.
1222. For why. Because; as in Rich. If, v. I. 140, etc.
1227. Each flower moisten' d, etc. Cf. M. N. D. iii. I. 204 and
T, and C. i. 2. 9. The early eds, have " moistned," and Wyndham
prints " moist'ned," which he regards as more melodious.
1229. Eyne, See on 643 above.
1233. Pretty. In this and similar expressions pretty may be
explained as = "moderately great" (Schmidt), or "suitable, suffi-
cient," as some make it. Cf. R. and J. i. 3. 10: ','a pretty age."
This is still a colloquialism ; as in " pretty good," etc.
1241. And therefore art they, etc. " Hence do they (women)
receive whatever impression their marble-hearted associates (men)
choose" (Malone). Will = may will (subjunctive).
1242. Strange kinds. Alien or foreign natures.
1244. Thin call them not, etc. Cf. T. A 7 ", ii. 2. 30:
" How easy is it for the proper-false
In women's waxen hearts to set their forms !
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we,
For such as we are made of, such we be ! "
atL&M.for M. ii. 4- *3 O:
" Women ! Help Heaven ! men their creation mar
In profiting by them. Nay, call us ten times frail,
For we are soft as our complexions aie,
And credulous to false prints."
1247. Like a goodly. The 5th and 6th eds. have simply " like a,"
and the 7th reads "like unto a."
1254, No man inveigh. Let no man inveigh. All the eds. but
the 1st have "inveighs."
1257. Hild. For held, for the sake of the rhyme. The 5th and
later eds. have " held." Cf. Spenser, F. Q. iv. n. 17 :
" How can they all in this so narrow verse
Contayned be, and in small compasse hild ?
Let them record them that are better skild," etc.
Rape of Lucrece 247
1258. Fulfil? d, Filled full. Cf. T. and C. prol. 18: "fulfilling
bolts." See also Sonn. 136. 5.
1261. Precedent. Example, illustration.
1263. Present. Instant ; as in 1307 below.
1269. Cotmterfcit. Likeness, image ; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 115,
Macb. ii. 3. 81, etc.
1272. Of my sustaining. That I suffer.
1279. With tfie fault I thus far can dispense. See on 1070
above.
1285. The repetition. The telling it. Cf. Macb. ii. 3, 90, etc.
1298. Conceit. Conception, thought ; as in 701 above.
1302. Inventions. Elsewhere used of thoughts expressed in
writing ; as in A. Y. L. iv. 3. 29, 34, T. N. v. i. 341, etc.
1325. Interprets. The figure here is taken from the old motion,
or dumb-show, which was explained by an interpreter. Cf. T. G.
of V. ii. I. 101 and T. of A. i. I. 34. Steevens quotes Greene,
Groatsworth of Wit: " It was I that . . . for seven years' space
was absolute interpreter of the puppets."
1329. Sounds. That is, waters (which may be deep, though not
fathomless). Malone conjectured "floods."
1335. fowls. The 6th and 7th eds. have "soules; " an easy
misprint when the long s was in fashion.
1338. Villain. Servant, bondman. Cf. Lear, iii. 7. 78: "my
villain," etc.
1345. God wot. God knows. Cf. Rich. III. ii. 3. 18 : "no, no,
good friends, God wot."
1350. This pattern. That is, the groom. On worn-out age t
cf. Sonn. 68. i : " map of days outworn."
1353. That. So that ; as in 94 above.
1355. Wistly. Wistfully. See on V. and A. 343.
1357, 1358. Note the imperfect rhyme.
1368. The which. Referring to Troy. Drawn = drawn up.
1370. Cloud-kissing Ilion. Cf. T. and C. iv. 5. 220: "Yond
towers whose wanton tops do buss the clouds," etc.
248 Notes
1371. Conceited. Fanciful, imaginative. Cf. IV. T. iv. 4. 204 :
"an admirable conceited fellow ; " Z. C. 16 : "conceited charac-
ters," etc.
1372, As. That; as in 1420 below. See also 77ie Phoenix and
the Turtle, 25.
1377. Strife, That is, "his art with nature's workmanship at
strife" (V. and A. 291). Cf. T. of A. i. I. 37.
1378. And dying eyes, etc. Cf. V. and A. 1127.
1380. Pioneer, Sapper. The early eds. have "pyoner" or
"pioner." Here the rhyme requires pioneer. The early eels, have
pioner in the four instances in which S. uses the word, except in
Oth. iii. 3. 146, where the later folios have pioneer. Cf. enginer
and mutiner.
1384. Lust. Pleasure. Cf. T. and C. iv. 4. 134.
1388. Triumphing. Accented on the second syllable, as often.
Cf. L. L. L. iv. 3. 35, i Hen. IV. v. 4. 14, v. 3. 15, etc.
1400. Deep regard and smiling government. " Profound wisdom
and the complacency arising from the passions being under the
command of reason " (Malone) ; or deep thought and complacent
self-control. For deep regard, cf. 277 above.
1407. PurVd. "Curl'd" (Steevens's conjecture) ; used by S.
only here.
1411. Mermaid. Siren. See on V. and A. 429.
1417. Bollen. Swollen; used by S. nowhere else. Cf. Chaucer,
Black Knigh^ 101 : " Bollen hertes," etc. The later form boiled
occurs in Exodus, ix. 31.
1418. Pelt. Probably = throw out angry words, be passionately
clamorous ; as Malone, Nares, and Schmidt explain it. Cf. Wits,
frits, and Fancies : "all in a pelting chafe," etc. The noun is also
sometimes = a great rage ; as in The Unnatural Brother : " which
put her ladyship into a horrid pelt," etc.
1422. Imaginary. Imaginative; as in Sonn. 27, 9: "my
soul's imaginary sight," etc. For conceit, see on 701 and 1371
above.
Rape of Lucrece 249
1423. Kind. Natural ; as often. See Much Ado, i. I. 26, etc.
1436. Strand. All the early eds. have " strond ; " an old spell-
ing found elsewhere.
1440. Than* The old form of then, sometimes found in the
early eds. (as in M. of V. ii. 2. 200, 3 Hen. VI, ii. 5. 9, etc.), here
used for the sake of the rhyme.
1444. StelPd. Spelled "steld" in all the early eds., and prob-
ably = placed, fixed. Cf. Sonn. 24, i :
11 Mine eye hath play'd the painter, and hath stell'd
Thy beauty's form in table of my heart."
\i\Lear> iii. 7. 61, we find "the stelled fires," where sidled \$ com-
monly explained as derived from stella, though probably = fixed,
as here. Knight and Hudson suspect that stelfd is "simply a
poetical form of styled^ that is, written or depicted as with a
stilus or stylus"
1449. Bleeding under Pyrrhus* proud foot. Cf. Ham. ii. 2.
474 fol.
1450. Anatomized. " Laid open, shown distinctly " (Schmidt).
Cf. A. Y. L. i. I. 162, ii. 7. 56, A. W. iv. 3. 37, etc.
1452. Chaps. Spelled " chops " in all the early eds. except the
yth. Cf. chop* or chopped in A. Y. L. ii. 4. 50, 2 Hen. XV. iii. 2.
294, etc., and choppy in Macb. i, 3. 44.
1460. Ban. Curse ; as in V. and A. 326.
1479. Moe? More ; used often, but only with plural or collec-
tive nouns.
1486. Swounds. Swoons. All the early eds. have "sounds,"
as the word was often spelled.
1487. Channel. Stream ; or, as some define it, gutter. Cf.
I Hen. IV. ii. I. 52.
1488. Unadvised. Unintentional, inadvertent. Cf. T. G. of V.
iv. 4. 127, etc.
1489. Confounds. Destroys. See on 160 above.
1494. On ringing. A-ringing. This on and a- (see a-work in
250 Notes
1496) are often used interchangeably. Cf. aboard and on board,
etc. //^ = its. Cf. V.andA. 159, etc.
1499. Painting. All the early eds. except the 1st and 2d have
"painted."
1500. Who. The reading of all the early eds., changed in some
modern ones to " whom." We find who even after prepositions.
1504, Blunt. Rude, rough. The 5th and later eds. have
"these blunt."
1505. His woes. "That is, the woes suffered by Patience"
(Malone). Cf. T. M ii. 4. 117 and Per. v. I. 139.
1507. The harmless show. The harmless painted figure.
1511. Guilty instance. Token or evidence of guilt. For in-
stance, see Much Ado, ii. 2. 42, A. Y. L. iii. 2. 53, 59, 62, 71, etc.
1521. Sinon. Cf. 3 Hen, VI. iii. 2. 190 and Cymb. iii. 4. 61.
1524. That. So that. See on 94 above.
1525. Stars shot from their fixed places. Cf. M. N. D. ii. I. 153:
" And certain stars shot madly from their spheres."
1526. Their glass, etc. "Why Priam's palace, however beauti-
ful or magnificent, should be called the mirror in which the fixed
stars beheld themselves, I do not see. The image is very quaint and
far-fetched " (Malone). The reference is probably to the burnished
roof. Boswell cites what Lydgate says of Priam's palace :
* 4 That verely when so the sonne shone
Upon the golde meynt among the stone,
They gave a lyght with ou ten any were,
As doth Apollo in his mid-day sphere."
1527. Advisedly. Deliberately, attentively. Cf. advised in V.
and A. 615, and unadvised, 1488 above.
1544. BcguiPd, Rendered deceptive or guileful. Cf. guiledvs\
M. of V. iii. 2. 97. The early eds. have " armed to beguild " (or
" beguil'd ") ; corrected by Malone. Wyndham retains " beguild "
as begild, reading :
" To me came Tarquin armed to beguild
With outward honesty, but yet defiled," etc.
Rape of Lucrece 251
It is true that^'/c/is sometimes u guild " in the old eds.; as in 60
above, Sonn. 55. I, etc.; but S. does not use begild^ and I doubt
whether it was his word here.
1549. Sheds f The old eds. have "sheeds" for the rhyme.
1551. Falls. Lets fall; as often. Cf. Temp, v. 1 . 64, M. JV. D,
v. I. I43 etc.
1555. Effects. Outward manifestations or attributes. Some
make it = efficacies, powers, or faculties.
1565. Unhappy. Mischievous, fatal, pernicious ; as in C. of E.
iv. 4. 127, Lear, iv. 6. 232, etc.
1576. Which all this time. This (namely, time] has passed un-
heeded by her during this interval that she has spent with painted
images ; or which may perhaps refer to the slow passage of time
just mentioned, and the meaning may be, This she has forgotten
all the while that she has been looking at the pictures. Hudson
says : ** Which refers to time in the preceding stanza, and is the
object of spent: Which that she hath spent with painted images,
it hath all this time overslipped her thought." This seems need-
lessly awkward and involved.
1588. Water-galls. The word is evidently used here simply as =
rainbows, to avoid the repetition of that word. Nares defines it as
'* a watery appearance in the sky, accompanying the rainbow;"
according to others, it means the " secondary bow " of the rainbow
(which Hudson speaks of as being "within" the primary bow).
Halliwell {Archaic Diet.) says: "I am told a second rainbow
above the first is called in the Isle of Wight a watergeal. Carr has
weather-gall^ a secondary or broken rainbow." For element = sky,
cf.y. C. i. 3. 128: "the complexion of the element," etc.
1589. To. In addition to ; as not unfrequently.
1592. Sod. The participle of seethe^ used interchangeably with
sodden. Cf. L. L. L. iv. 2. 23, Hen. V. iii. 5, 18, etc.
1598. Uncouth. Strange (literally, unknown). Cf A. K L. ii.
6. 6 : " this uncouth forest," etc.
1600, Spent? Consumed, destroyed. Cf. 938 above.
Notes
1 60 1. Attir'd in discontent? Cf. Much Ado,, iv, I. 146: "sc
attir'd in wonder,' 1 etc.
1604. Gives her sorrow Jire. The metaphor is taken from the
discharge of the old-fashioned firelock musket. Cf. T. G. of V.
ii. 4. 38 : " for you gave the fire."
1606. Address* d. Prepared, ready ; as often.
1615. Moe. The reading of the first three eds.; "more" in
the rest. See on 1479 above.
Depending. Impending. Cf. T. and C. ii. 3. 21, etc.
1619. Interest. See on 1067 above.
1632. Hard-favoured. See on V. and A. 133.
1645. Adulterate. Cf. C. of E. ii. 2. 142, Ham. i. 5. 42, etc,
1650. Scarlet. Dressed in red robes, like a judge.
1661. Declined. All the eds. except the 1st have "inclin'd."
1662. Wretched. Walker plausibly conjectures "wreathed." Cf.
T. G. of V. ii. I. 19 : " to wreathe your arms.* 7
1667. As through an arch, etc. Doubtless suggested by the tide
rushing through the arches of Old London Bridge, which greatly
obstructed its current. Cf. Cor. v. 4, 50.
1671. Recalled in rage, etc. Farmer wished to read ** recall'd,
the rage being past."
1672. Make a saw. The metaphor is quaint, but readily under-
stood from the context. The noun saw is used by S. nowhere else,
though handsaw occurs in I Hen /K ii. 4. 187 and Ham. ii. 2. 397.
1680. One woe. The 1st and 2cl eds. have " on " for one, a
common spelling. In L. L. L, iv. 3, 142, for instance, the ist folio
reads: "On [one] her haires were gold, christall the others eyes."
1691. Venge. Not 'venge, as often printed. Cf. vengeful^ ven-
geance^ etc.
1694. Knights, by their oaths? etc, Malorie remarks: " Here one
of the laws of chivalry is somewhat prematurely introduced."
1698. Bewrayed. Exposed, made known. Cf. Lear, ii. I. 109,
iii. 6. 1 1 8, etc.
1704, With the foul act dispense. See on 1070 above.
Rape of Lucrece 253
1705. Advance? Raise; opposed to low-declined. For advance.
= lift up, cf. ii. 2. 60, etc.
1713. Carved in it. All the early eds. have "it in" for in zV,
except the 7th, which omits it. The correction is Malone's.
1715. By my excuse^ etc. Livy makes Lucretia say: "Ego me,
etsi peccato absolve, supplicio non libero ; nee ulla deinde impudica
exemplo Lucretiae vivet;" which Painter, in his novel (see p. 18
above) translates thus: "As for my part, though I cleare my selfe
of the offence, my body shall feel the punishment, for no unchaste
or ill woman shall hereafter impute no dishonest act to Lucrece."
1720. Assays. Attempts ; as in T. of A. iv. 3. 406, Ham. iii. 3.
69, etc.
1728. Sprite, See on 121 above, where we have sprigkt.
1730. Astonished, Astounded, thunderstruck. Cf. 2 Hen. VI.
v. i. 146, etc.
1738. That. So that; as in 1764 below. See on 94 above.
1740. Vastly. "Like a waste" (Sleevens); the only instance
of the word in S. Cf. vasty in M. of V. ii. 7. 41 : " the vasty
wilds of wide Arabia," etc.
1745. Pigol. Circle. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iv. 5.36: "the golden
rigol" (the royal crown); the only other instance in S.
1752. Deprived. Taken away; as in n 86 above.
1754. Unlitfd. Probably the poet's own coinage, and used by
him only here.
1760. Fair fresh. Dyce reads "fresh fair," and Staunton and
Hudson " fresh-fair."
1765. Last. All the early eds. but the ist and 2d have "hast,"
and in the next line " thou " for they.
1766. Surcease. Cease ; as in Cor. iii. 2. 121 and JR. andj. iv.
1.97-
1774. Key-cold. Cf. Rich. III. i. 2. 5 : "Poor key-cold figure
of a holy king ; " the only other instance in S.
1784. Thick. Fast. Cf. thick-coming in Macb. v. 3. 38. See
also Cymb* i. 6. 67 : " thick sighs," etc.
254 Notes
1788. This windy tempest, etc. Cf. T. and C. iv. 4. 55 : " rain
fo lay this wind/ 3 etc.
1797. Sorrow's interest. Tears. Cf. "interest of the dead" in
Sonn. 31. 7.
1801. Too late. Too lately. Cf. 426 above and F. and A. 1026.
1803. / owed her. She was mine. For oive own, cf. 82
above, PL and A. 411, L. C. 140, 327, etc.
1805. Dispersed. For the accent, see on 26 above.
1816. Advisedly. Deliberately. Cf. 180 and 1527 above. So
advised = deliberate, in 1849 below.
1819. Umotmded. Not sounded or understood hitherto. Cf,
2 ffen. VI, iii. 1.57.
1822. Wounds kelp. Walker would read "heal" and Staunton
" salve " for kelp ; but help is often = cure. Cf. Temp. ii. 2. 97,
A. W. i. 3. 244, ii. i. 192, ii. 3, 18, etc.
1829. Relenting. The 5th and later eds. have "lamenting."
1832. Suffer these abominations, etc. That is, permit these
abominable Tarquins to be chased, etc.
1839. Complain* d* Bewailed. For the transitive use, cf. Rick.
77. iii. 4. 1 8. The verb is used reflexively in 845 above and
Rich. 77. i. 2. 42.
1845. AUow. Approve. Cf. 2 Hen. TV. iv. 2. 54.
1851. Thorough. Used interchangeably with through; so also
in thoroughly and thoroughfare. The 5th ed. has " through out,"
and the 7th " throughout."
1854. Plausibly. With applause or acclamations (Malone and
Steevens); or "readily, willingly" (Schmidt). It is the only in-
stance of the adverb in S, Plausible occurs only in M. for M,
iii. i. 253, where it is = pleased, willing.
Lover's Complaint 255
A LOVER'S COMPLAINT
For the feminine use of lover in the title, cf. A. Y. L. iii. 4. 46,
M. for M. i. 4. 40, Cymb. v. 5, 172, etc. We still say "a pair of
lovers," The stanza is the same a 1 - in A 1 , and L.
1. Re-worded* Echoed. Cf. Ham. iii. 4. 143 : " I the matter will
re-word."
2. Sisfering* Neighbouring. We find the verb in Per. v. prol.
7 : " her art sisters the natural roses."
3. Spirits. Monosyllabic ; as very often. Cf. 236 below and
see on V. and A, 181. The to is an extra unaccented syllable.
Accorded = agreed.
4. Laid. Malone reads "lay," which is the form elsewhere
in S. Laid may be a misprint.
5. Fickle. Apparently referring to her behaviour at the time.
6. A-twain* So in the folio text of Lear, ii. 2. So, where the
quartos have " in twain." In Oth. v. 2. 206, the ist quarto has
a-twain, the other early eds. *' in twain."
7. Her world. Malone quotes Lear, iii. I. 10 :
" Strives in his little world of man to outscorn
The to-arid-fro-conflicting wind and rain."
8. Hive. Hat, shaped like a beehive.
II. Done. Past, lost. Cf. V. and A. 197, 749, and R. of L. 23.
14. Seared. Withered. Hudson has " sere " (also spelt " sear ") ,
which S. uses in C. of E. iv. 2. 19 and Macb. v. 3. 23, where
Schmidt takes sear to be a noun.
15. Heave her napkin. Lift her handkerchief ; the only mean-
ing of napkin in S. For hcave^ cf. Cymb. v. 5. 157 :
" O, would
Our viands had been poison'd, or at least
Those which I heav'd to- head ! "
and for napkin see Oth. iii. 3. 287, 290, 321, etc.
256
Notes
1 6. Conceited characters. Fan ci ful figures. See on R. of L. 1371.
17. Laundering* Welling; used by S. only hero. Malone calls
the verb " obsolete ; " but it has come into use again in our day.
Laundress occurs in ?\L IV. iii. 3. 157, 163, and Evans has laundry
blunderingly in the same sense in /</. i. 2. 5.
18. Seasoned. A favourite figure with S. Cf. A. W* i. I. 55 :
"'T is the best brine a maiden can season her praise in;"
T. N. i. i. 30 ;~
" all this to season
A brother's dead love, which she would keep fresh
And lasting in her sad remembrance ; "
and R. and J. ii. 3. 72:
" How much salt water thrown away in waste,
To season love, that of it doth not taste 1 "
See also Muck Ado, iv. I. 144. ' For pelleted (= rounded), cf. A.
and C. iii. 13. 165.
21. Size. This use of the word seems peculiar now ; but cf.
Hen. VIIL v. i. 136, A. and C. iv. 15. 4, v. 2. 97, etc.
22. Carnage. The figure is taken from a gun-carriage. Level? d
was a technical term for aiming a gun. Cf. Rich. If I. iv. 4. 202,
2 Hen. IV, iii. 2. 286, etc. See also 281 and 309 below.
30. Careless hand of pride. That is, hand of careless pride.
31. Shea n Jd. Straw. Cf. 8 above.
33. Threaden. The word is used again in Hen. V. iii. chor. 10 :
" threaden sails."
36. Maund. Hand-basket ; used by S. only here. Cf. Drayton,
Polyolbion, xiii. :
" And in a little maund, being made of oziers small,
Which serveth him to do full many a thing withall,
He very choicely sorts his simples got abroad ; "
Herrick, Poems : " With maunds of roses for to strew the way,"
etc. Hence Maundy Thursday, from the baskets in which the
royal alms were distributed at Whitehall.
Lover's Complaint 257
37. Beaded. The quarto (the 1609 ed. of Sonnets, in which the
poem first appears') has "bedded; " corrected by Scwell. Knight
and Wyiulham retain u bedded" as = imbedded, set.
40. Applying wet to wet. A favourite conceit with S. See
A. . L. ii. i. 48, A\ and J. i. r. 138, 3 Hen. VL v. 4. 8, Ham. iv.
7. i $6, etc.
42. Cries some. Cries for some. Malone puts some in italics
( = " cries * Some ' ") .
45. Posied. Inscribed with posies, or mottoes. Cf. M. of V. v.
i. 148, 151, and /faff t. iii. 2. i&2. Rings were often made of bone
and ivory.
47. Moe. More. Cf. R. of L. 1479, 1615, etc.
48. Sleided. Untwisted or unwrought. Cf. Per. iv. prol. 21 :
"sleided silk." Peat = featly, dexterously. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 380
and IV. T. iv. 4. 186.
49. Enswattid. Enwrapped ; used by S, only here. Steevens
says : " Anciently the ends of a piece of narrow ribbon were placed
under the seals of letters to connect them more closely ; " that is, I
suppose, the letters were tied with ribbon, and the knot was sealed
for security as we might wrap and seal a small package nowadays.
Curious. Careful ; as in A. W. i. 2. 20, Cymb. i. 6. 191, etc.
50. Fluxive. Flowing, weeping ; used by S. only here.
51. Can. The quarto has " gaue," which Knight and Wynd-
ham retain (as "gave") ; corrected by Malone.
53. Unapproved. Not approved, or proved true ; used by S.
only here. Approve is often = prove.
55. In top of rage. Cf. 3 Hen. VI. v. 7. 4 : " in tops of all their
pride ; " A. and C. v. i. 43 : " in top of all design," etc.
Rents = rends ; an old form of rend, found in M. N. D. iii. 2.
215, Rich. ///. i. 2. 126 (rend'm quartos), Macb. iv. 3. 168, etc.
58. Sometime. Formerly ; used interchangeably with sometimes
in this sense. Ruffle = bustle, stir ; the only instance of the noun
in S.
'60. The swiftest hours. " The prime of life, when Time appears
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 17
Notes
to move with his quickest pace" (Malone). They, according to
Malone, refers to the fragments of the torn-up letters ; though he
admits that the clause may be connected with hours, meaning that
"this reverend man, though engaged in the bustle of court and
city, had not suffered the busy and gay period of youth to pass by
without gaining some knowledge of the world." This latter expla-
nation is doubtless the correct one,
61. Fancy. Often = love (see on R, of L, 200), and here used
concretely for the lover. Cf. 197 below. Fastly is used by S. only
here.
64. Slides he down, etc. That is, lets himself down by the aid
of his staff, as he seats himself beside her. Grained = of rough
wood, or showing the grain of the wood. Cf. Cor. iv. 5, 114 :
"My grained ash" ( = spear).
69. Ecstasy. Passion, excitement. Cf. V, and A. 895.
50. Outwards. External features ; not elsewhere plural in S.
For Of the quarto has " O ; " corrected by M alone.
51. Stuck. Cf. M.for M. iv. I. 61 :
" O place and greatness ! millions of false eyes
Are stuck upon thee."
88. What 's sweet to do, etc. " Things pleasant to be done will
easily find people enough to do them" (Steevens).
91. Sawn. Explained by some as a form of the participle of
see, used for the sake of the rhyme ; by others as = sown, which
Boswell says is still pronounced sawn in Scotland. The latter is
the more probable.
93. Phcsnix. Explained by Malone and Schmidt as = " match-
less, rare." So termless = indescribable. Wyndham makes it =
youthful.
95. Bare. Bareness ; not elsewhere used substantively by S.
104. Authorized. Accented on the second syllable ; as in the
other two instances in which S. uses the word (Sonn. 35. 6 and
Macb. iii. 4. 66).
Lover's Complaint 259
107. 7^hat horse, etc. Hudson does not include this line in the
supposed comment.
112. Manage. See on the verb in V. and A. 598.
1 1 6. Case. Dress; as in M. for M. ii. 4. 13, etc. It maybe
= " accessories " (Wyndham).
1 1 8. Came. The quarto has "Can;" corrected by Sewell.
Knight and Wyndham retain " Can " as = " to be effective."
126. Catching all passions, etc. Steevens says: "These lines,
in which our poet has accidentally delineated his own character,
would have been better adapted to his monumental inscription
than such as are placed on the scroll in Westminster Abbey."
Craft of will =" faculty of influencing them" (Wyndham).
127. That. So that. See on V. and A. 242.
139. Moe. Cf. 47 above.
140. Owf. Own. See on JZ. of L. 1803.
144. Was my own foe-simple. " Had an absolute power over
myself" (Malone). Cf. A. W. iv. 3. 312 : "the fee-simple of his
salvation," etc.
153. Foil. The background used to set off a jewel. Cf. Rich.
IIL i. 3. 266, Ham. v. 2. 266, etc.
156. Assay. Essay, try. Cf. V. and A. 6oS.
162. Blood. Passion. Cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 187, ii. 3. 170, iv.
i. 60, etc.
163. Proof. Experience. Cf. M. of V. i. I. 144 : "I urge this
childhood proof," etc.
164. Forbod. Forbidden; an old form of the participle used
by S. only here.
170. The patterns of his foul beguiling. "The examples of his
seduction" (Malone).
171. Orchards. Gardens; the usual meaning in S. For the
figure, cf. Sonn. 1 6. 6.
173. Brokers. Panders, go-betweens. Cf. Ham. i. 3. 127:
" his vows . . . are brokers," etc.
174. Thought. Malone took this to be a noun.
260 Notes
176. My city. For the figure, cf. jR. of L. 469 (see also 1547),
A. IV* i. J. 137, etc.
182. Woo. The quarto has " vow ;" corrected by Dyce.
185. Acture. Action; not found elsewhere. Cf. enactures in
Ham, iii. 2. 207,
Malone paraphrases the passage thus : " My illicit amours were
merely the effect of constitution [or animal passion], and not ap-
proved by my reason : pure and genuine love had no share in
them, or in their consequences ; for the mere congress of the sexes
may produce such fruits, without the affections of the parties
being at all engaged."
192. Teen. Trouble, pain. See on V. and A. 808.
193. Leisures. Moments of leisure. Schmidt makes it =
" affections, inclinations," which it implies.
197. Fancies. See on 61 above.
198. Paled. The quarto has "palyd," and Sewell reads "pallid,"
which may be right. Paled is due to Malone.
204. These talents, etc. " These lockets, consisting of hair platted
and set in gold" (Malone), Wyndham thinks it may mean "pre-
cious possessions," or gifts.
205. ImpltacKd. Interwoven. Cf. pleached in Aluch Ado, iii,
I. 7, and thick-pleached in Id. \, 2. 8.
207. Beseectid. Cf. the past tense in Ham. iii. I. 22.
208. Annexions. Additions j used by S. only here, as annex-
ment only in Ham. iii. 3. 21.
210. Quality. " In the age of S. peculiar virtues were imputed
to every species of precious stone" (Steevens).
212. Invis'd. " Invisible " (Malone) ; or, " perhaps = inspected,
investigated, tried" (Schmidt). No other example of the word is
known.
214. Weak sights, etc. Eye-glasses of emerald were much
esteemed by the ancients ; and the near-sighted Nero is said to
have used them in watching the shows of gladiators.
215. Blend, Walker makes this a participle = blended. He
Lover's Complaint 261
adds : "The expression is perhaps somewhat confused, but it refers
to the ever-varying hue of the opal."
217. Blazoned. Interpreted, explained. Cf. the noun in Mitch
Ado, ii. i. 307.
219. Pensvtfd. Found only here. Pensive occurs in 3 Hen.
VL iv. r. 10 and R. ami J. iv. i. 39. Hudson adopts Lettsom's
conjecture of "pensive" here; but the "pensiu'd" of the quarto
could hardly be a misprint.
223. Of force. Perforce, of necessity, Cf. L. L. L. i. I. 148,
M. N. D. iii. 2. 40, etc.
224. Enpatron me. Are my patron saint. The verb is used by
S. only here.
225. Pkrasehss, Probably = indescribable, like termless in 94
above. Schmidt thinks it may possibly be = silent, like speechless
(hand) in Cor. v. I. 67 S. uses it only here.
229. What me, etc. Whatever obeys me, your minister, for (or
instead of) you, etc.
231. Distract. Disjoined, separate. For the accent, see on
R. ofJL 26.
233. A sister. The quarto has " Or sister ; " corrected by Ma-
lone.
Note. Notoriety, distinction. Cf. Cymb. i. 4. 2 : " of cres-
cent note," etc.
234. Which late> etc. Who lately withdrew from her noble
suitors.
235. Whose rarest havings , etc. " Whose accomplishments
were so extraordinary that the flower of the young nobility were
passionately enamoured of her" (Malone).
236. Spirits. Monosyllabic, as in 3 above. Coat may be =
coat-of-arms (Malone), or dress as indicative of rank, as some
explain it.
240. Have not. Hudson adopts Barron Field's conjecture of
" love not " a needless if not an injurious change.
241. Paling the place ; etc. The quarto has " Playing the place,"
262 Notes
etc. ; for which no really satisfactory emendation has been pro-
posed. Paling, which is as tolerable as any, is due to Malone, who
explains the line thus : "Securing within the pale of a cloister that
heart which had never received the impression of love," Lettsorn
conjectures " Salving the place which did no harm receive." Staun-
ton proposes " Filling the place," etc. Paling is adopted by most
of the editors. For pale = enclose, cf. A. and C\ ii. 7. 74, 3 Hen.
VL i. 4, 103, etc.
243. Contrives. Some make this = wear away, spend ; as in
T. ofS, i. 2. 278.
250. Rye. The rhyme of eye and eye is apparently an oversight,
no misprint being probable.
251. Immured. The quarto has "enur'd" and "procure;"
both corrected by Gildon. S. may have written " emur'd" (= im~
mu^d}) as Wyndham suggests.
252. To tempt) all. Most eds. join all to tempt, which, to my
thinking, mars both the antithesis and the rhythm.
258. Congest* Gather in one ; used by S. only here.
260. Nun. The quarto has "Sunne." The correction was
suggested by Malone, and first adopted by Dyce. Wyndham re-
tains " sun ? " as " a metaphor not far-fetched."
261. Ay, dieted. The quarto has " I dieted," not " I died," as
Malone (who reads "and dieted ") states.
262. Believed her eyes, etc. " Believed or yielded to her eyes
when they, captivated by the external appearance of her wooer, be-
gan to assail her chastity" (Malone). "When I the assail" was
an anonymous conjecture which Malone was at first inclined to
adopt.
265. Sting. Stimulus, incitement. Cf. Oth. i. 3. 335 : " our
carnal stings." Note the " chiastic " construction. See on R. of L*
616, 617,
271. Love's arms are proof, etc. Another perplexing line. The
quarto has "peace" for proof, which was suggested by Malone.
Steevens conjectures " Love aims at peace," Dyce " Love arms our
Lover's Complaint 263
peace," and Lettsom " Love charms our peace." Wyndham re-
tains the old text without question or comment. The meaning
might possibly be : Love's warfare is peaceful (though arbitrary
and persistent) rather than hostile ; which may be favoured by
the sweetens that follows. The passage, however, is probably cor-
rupt.
272. And sweetens. And it {Love} sweetens.
273. Aloes. The only mention of the bitter drug in S.
276. Supplicant. Not found elsewhere in S.
279. Credent. Credulous. Cf. Ham. i. 3. 30 : "too credent
ear," etc.
280. Prefer and tindertake. Recommend (cf. M. of V. ii. 2. 155)
and guarantee, or answer for (see I Ben. VI. v. 3. 158, Hen. VIII.
prol. 12, etc.).
281. Dismount. "The allusion is to the old English fire-arms,
which were supported on what was called a rest " (Malone). For
leveled = aimed, see on 22 above. Cf. the noun in 309 below.
286. Who glatfd with crystal gate, etc. Malone points thus :
" Who, glaz'd with crystal, gate ; " making gate " the ancient per-
fect tense of the verb to get." flame he took to be the object of
gate.
290. Btit with. With but, or only.
293. O cleft effect! The quarto has "Or" for ; corrected by
Gildon.
294. Extincture. Extinction ; used by S. only here.
297. Daff>d. Doffed, put off. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 3. 176, v. r.
78, etc. Stole ( = robe) is not found elsewhere in S.
298. Civil. Decorous; as in Oth. ii. I. 243: "civil and hu-
mane seeming," etc.
303. Cautels. Deceits. Cf. Ham. i. 3. 15 ; the only other in-
stance in S. Cautelous ( = false, deceitful) occurs in /, C. ii. r.
129 and Cor. iv. I. 33.
305. Swooning. The quarto has " sounding," and " sound " in
308 below. See on /?. of L. 1486.
264 Notes
309, Level, See on 281 above.
314. Luxury. Lust, lasciviousness ; the only meaning of the
word in S. Cf. Hen. F. iii. 5. 6, Ham, i. 7. 83, etc.
315. Preached pure maid, Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 227 : "speak sad
brow and true maid."
318. Unexperient. Used by S. only here, as unexperienced
only in T. of S. iv. I. 86.
319. Cherubin. Used by S. ten times. Cherub he has only in
Ham. iv. 3. 50, cherubim not at all.
327. Owed. That is, owned, or his own. See on 140 above.
Borrowed motion = counterfeit expression of feeling.
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM
Swinburne remarks : " What Coleridge said of Ben Jonson's
epithet for ' turtle-footed peace, 3 we may say of the label affixed to
this rag-picker's bag of stolen goods : The Passionate Pilgrim is a
pretty title, a very pretty title ; pray what may it mean ? In all
the larcenous little bundle of verse there is neither a poem which
bears that name nor a poem by which that name would be bear-
able. The publisher of the booklet was like * one Ragozine, a
most notorious pirate ; ' and the method no less than the motive
of his rascality in the present instance is palpable and simple
enough. Fired by the immediate and instantly proverbial popu-
larity of Shakespeare's Venits and Adonis, he hired, we may sup-
pose, some ready hack of unclean hand to supply him with three
doggerel sonnets on the same subject, noticeable only for the porcine
quality of prurience ; he procured by some means a rough copy or
an incorrect transcript of two genuine and unpublished sonnets by
Shakespeare, which with the acute instinct of a felonious trades-
man he laid atop of his worthless wares by way of gilding to their
base metal ; he stole from the two years published text of Love's
Labour 's Lost, and reproduced, with more or less mutilation or cor-
ruption, the sonnet of Longaville, the ' canzonet ' of Biron, and the
Passionate Pilgrim 265
far lovelier love-song of Dumain. The rest of the ragman's gath-
erings, with three most notable exceptions, is little better for the
most part than dry rubbish or disgusting refuse ; unless a plea may
haply be put in for the pretty commonplaces of the lines on a
' sweet rose, fair flower,' and so forth ; for the couple of thin and
pallid if tender and tolerable copies of verse on 'Beauty' and
'Good Night,' or the passably light and lively stray of song on
* crabbed age and youth.' I need not say that those three excep-
tions are the stolen and garbled work of Marlowe and of Barnfield,
our elder Shelley and our first-born Keats : the singer of Cynthia
in verse well worthy of Endymion, who would seem to have died
as a poet in the same fatal year of his age that Keats died as a
man ; the first adequate English laureate of the nightingale, to be
supplanted or equalled by none until the advent of his mightier
brother."
The contents of Jaggard's piratical collection, stated more in de-
tail, were as follows (the order being that of the " Globe " ed.) :
I., II. Shakespeare's Satinets 138 and 144, with some early or
corrupt readings (noted in my ed. of the Sonnets),
III. Longaville's sonnet to Maria in L, L. L. iv. 3. 60 fol. : " Did
not the heavenly rhetoric of thine eye," etc. The verbal variations
in the two versions (as in V. and XVI.) are few and slight.
IV. (I. of the present ed.).
V. The sonnet in Z, L. L. iv. 2. 109 fol. : "If love make me
forsworn," etc.
VI., VII. (II. and IV. of this ed.)
VIII. The following sonnet, probably by Richard Barnfield, in
\vhose Poems : In diners humors^ 1598 (appended, with a separate
title-page, to a small volume containing The Encomion of Lady Pe-
cunia and The Complaint of Poetrie,for the Death of Liberalise) ,
it had first appeared, with this heading : "To his friend Maister
R. L. In praise of Musique and Poetrie : "
" If music and sweet poetry agree,
As they must needs, the sister and the brother,
266 Notes
Then must the love be great 'twixt thee and me,
Because thou lov'st the one, and I the other.
Dowland * to thee is dear, whose heavenly touch
Upon the lute doth ravish human sense ;
Spenser to me, whose deep conceit is such
As, passing all conceit, needs no defence.
Thou lov'st to hear the sweet melodious sound
That Phcebus' lute, the queen of music, makes;
And I in deep delight am chiefly drown'd
Whenas himself to singing he betakes.
One god is god of both, as poets feign :
One knight loves both, and both in thee remain:"
Barnfield terms these poems " fruits of unriper years," and ex-
pressly claims their authorship. The above sonnet is the first in
the collection. Both this and XX. are omitted in the second edi-
tion of Lady Pecwiia^ 1605 ; but so also are nearly all of the
" Poems in Divers Humors," so that no substantial argument can
rest upon the absence of the two P. P. sonnets from that edition
(Halliwell-Phillipps).
IX., X. (III. and V. of this ed.).
XL The following sonnet, probably by Bartholomew Griffin, in
whose Fidessa more Chaste than I\indc^ 1596, it had appeared vuth
some variations : 2
1 John Dowland (1563-1625) was the most famous musician of his
day. He published several collections of Songs or Airs, and is often
referred to by contemporary dramatists. He is here the representative
of music, as Spenser of poetry. In line 14 there may be an allusion to
Sir George Carey, to whom Dowland dedicated his first book. Carey's
wife was an intimate friend of Spenser.
2 Instead of lines 9-14, the following are given in the Fidessa :
" But he a wayward boy refusde her offer,
And ran away, the beautious Queene neglecting :
Shewing both folly to abuse her proffer,
And all his sex of cowardise detecting.
Oh that I had my mistris at that bay
To kisse and clippe me till I ramie away 1 "
Passionate Pilgrim 267
M Venus, with young Adonis sitting by her
Under a myrtle shade, began to woo him ;
She told the youngling how god Mars did try her,
And as he fell to her, so fell she to him.
' Even thus/ quoth she, ' the warlike god embrac'd me,'
And then she clipp'd Adonis in her arms ;
* Even thus/ quoth she, ' the warlike god unlac'd me/
As if the boy should use like loving charms ;
1 Even thus/ quoth she, ' he seized on my lips/
And with her lips on his did act the seizure ;
And as she fetched breath, away he skips,
And would not take her meaning nor her pleasure.
Ah, that I had my lady at this bay,
To kiss and clip me till I run away ! "
XII., XIII., XIV. (VL, VII., and VIII. of this ed.).
XV. Here begin the *' Sonnets To sundry notes of Musicke"
(see p. 13 above) with the following, which is certainly not Shake-
speare's, though it is not found elsewhere :
41 It was a lording's daughter, the fairest one of three,
That liked of her master as well as well might be,
Till looking on an Englishman, the fair'st that eye could see,
Her fancy fell a-turning.
Long was the combat doubtful that love with love did fight,
To leave the master loveless, or kill the gallant knight ;
To put in practice either, alas, it was a spile
Unto the silly damsel !
But one must be refused ; more mickle was the pain
That nothing could be used to turn them both to gain,
For of the two the trusty knight was wounded with disdain ;
Alas, she could not help it !
Thus art with arms contending was victor of the day,
Which by a gift of learning did bear the maid away.
Then, lullaby, the learned man hath got the lady gay ;
For now my song is ended."
XVI. Dumain's poem to Kate, in L. L. L. iv. 3. 101 fol: "On
a day alack, the day I " etc.
68 Notes
XVII. The following, from Thomas Weelkes's Madrigals, 1597,
certainly not Shakespeare's : 1
" My flocks feed not,
My ewes breed not,
My rams speed not,
All is amiss ;
Love's denying,
Faith's defying,
Heart's renying,
Causer of this.
All my merry jigs are quite forgot,
All my lady's love is lost, God wot ;
Where her faith was firmly fix'd in love,
There a nay is plac'd without remove.
One silly cross
Wrought all my loss.
O frowning Fortune, cursed, fickle darnel
For now I see
Inconstancy
More in women than in men remain.
In black mourn I,
All fears scorn I,
Love hath forlorn me,
Living in thrall ;
Heart is bleeding,
All help needing,
O cruel speeding,
Fraughted with gall.
My shepherd's pipe can sound no deal ;
My wether's bell rings doleful knell ;
My curtal dog, that wont to have play'd,
Plays not at all, but seems afraid ;
l Weelkes was the composer of the music, but not necessarily the
author of the words. The poem is found also in England's Helicon
1600, with the title " The Unknown Sheepheard's Complaint,'" and
subscribed " Ignoto."
Passionate Pilgrim 269
My sighs so deep
Procure to weep,
In howling wise, to see my doleful plight.
How sighs resound
Through heartless ground,
Like a thousand vanquished men in bloody fight!
Clear wells spring not,
Sweet birds sing not,
Green plants bring not
Forth their dye ;
Herds stand weeping,
Flocks all sleeping,
Nymphs back peeping
Fearfully.
All our pleasure known to us poor swains,
All our merry meetings on the plains,
All our evening sport from us is fled,
All our love is lost, for Love is dead.
Farewell, sweet lass,
Thy like ne'er was
For a sweet content, the cause of all my moan.
Poor Corydon
Must live alone ;
Other help for him I see that there is none."
XVIIL (IX. of this ed.).
XIX. The following imperfect version of Marlowe's " Come, live
with me," etc., with Love's Answer (a mere fragment), attributed
to Sir Walter Raleigh :
*' Live with me, and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
And all the craggy mountains yields.
There will we sit upon the rocks,
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, by whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
270 Notes
There will I make thee a bed of roses,,
With a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle,
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Then live with me and be my love.
LOVE'S ANSWER
If that the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love."
XX. The following (except lines 27, 28) from Richard Barn-
field's Poems : In diuers humors, 1598 (the first 28 lines also found
in England's Helicon, 1600, where it is subscribed " Ignoto ") :
" As it fell upon a day
In the merry month of May,
Sitting in a pleasant shade
Which a grove of myrtles made,
Beasts did leap, and birds did sing,
Trees did grow, and plants did spring.
Every thing did banish moan,
Save the nightingale alone ;
She, poor bird, as all forlorn,
Lean'd her breast up-till a thorn,
And there sung the dolefull'st ditty,
That to hear it was great pity :
'Fie, fie, fie,' now would she cry;
' Tereu, tereu ! ' by and by ;
That to hear her so complain,
Scarce I could from tears refrain,
For her griefs, so lively shown,
Made me think upon mine own,
Passionate Pilgrim
Ah, thought I, thou mourn 'st in vain!
None takes pity on thy pain.
Senseless trees they cannot hear thee;
Ruthless beasts they will not cheer thee;
King Pandion lie is dead ;
All thy friends are lapp'd in lead;
All thy fellow birds do sing,
Careless of thy sorrowing.
Even so, poor bird, like thee,
None alive will pity me.
Whilst as fickle Fortune srail'd,
Thou and I were both beguil'd.
Every one that flatters thee
Is no friend in misery.
Words are easy, like the wind ;
Faithful friends are hard to find.
Every man will be thy friend
Whilst thou hast wherewith to spend'
But if store of crowns be scant,
No man will supply thy want.
If that one be prodigal,
Bountiful they will him call,
And with such-like flattering,
1 Pity but he were a king ! '
If he be addict to vice,
Quickly him they will entice;
If to women he be bent,
They have at cornmandement;
But if Fortune once do frown,
Then farewell his great renown ;
They that fawn'd on him before
Use his company no more.
He that is thy friend indeed,
He will help thee in thy need.
If thou sorrow, he will weep ;
If thou wake, he cannot sleep ;
Thus of every grief in heart
He with thee doth bear a part.
272 Notes
These are certain signs to know
Faithful friend from flattering foe."
Some editors have divided the above poem, making the first 28
lines (or the portion printed in JSngland's Helicon) a separate
piece ; but the whole (except lines 27, 28) forms a continuous
" Ode" in Barnfield's book, and there is no real division in the 1599
ed. of the P. P. The editors have been misled by the printer's
arrangement of his matter in that little book, where each page has
an ornamental head-piece and tail-piece, with unequal portions of
text between. The first 14 lines of this poem are on one page, the
next 12 on the next page (27 and 28 wanting), the next 14 on the
next, and the last 16 on the next. As there is something like a
break in the piece between the 2d and 3d pages as thus arranged,
it might appear at first sight that it was a division between poems
rather than in a poem ; but, as Mr, Edmonds has pointed out, " the
poet's object being to show the similarity of his griefs to those of
the nightingale, he devotes the lines ending with sorrowing to the
bird," and then " takes up all his own woes with the line Whilst as
fickle fortune smiVd, and enlarges upon them to the end of the
ode." For typographical proof that it should not be divided (as I
was the first to point out), see on viii. below.
The editor of England's Helicon seems to have taken the first
two pages from the P. />., supposing them to be a complete poem ;
but feeling that it ended too abruptly, he added the couplet,
" Even so, poore bird like thee,
None a-live will pitty mee s "
to round it off.
It may be added that his signing the poem " Ignoto " shows that
he was not aware it was Barnfield's, and did not consider that its
appearance in the P. P. proved it to be Shakespeare's ; and the
same may be said of XVIL, the Helicon copy of which is evidently
from the P. />., not from Weelkes. On the other hand, XVI. of
the P. P. (" On * d*.y, alack the day," etc.), taken from Z. L, Z.,
Passionate Pilgrim 273
is given in the Helicon with Shakespeare's name attached to it,
Furnivall says : " Mr. Grosart has shown in his prefaces to his
editions of Barnlield's Poems and Griffin's Fidessa that there is no
reason to take from the first his Ode (XX.) and his Sonnet (VIII.),
or from the second his Venus and Adonis Sonnet (XI. ), many of
whose readings the Passiona/e Pi /grim print spoils." See also Mr.
Edmonds's able plea in behalf of Barnfield's title to VIII. and XX.
in the preface to his reprint (London, 1870) of the 1599 ed. of the
P. P. p. xiv. fol.
I
i. Cytherea. Cf. T. of S. ind. 2. 53, W. T. iv. 4. 122, and
Cymb, ii. 2. 14.
9. Conceit. Understanding. Cf, 2 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 263, etc,
10. Figured. Expressed by signs.
14. Ah, fool, etc. See p. 31 above.
II
4, Tarriance. The word occurs again in T. G. of V. ii. 7. 90.
6. Spleen. Heat ; as often in a figurative sense. Cf. V. and A.
907.
12. Wistly. Wistfully. See on V. and A. 343.
13. Whereas. Where. Cf. 2 lien, VI. \. 2. 58 and Per, i. 4. 70.
Ill
The 2d line is wanting in all the editions, the omission being
first marked by Malone,
3. Dove. See on V. and A. 153.
5. Steep-up. Cf, Sonn. 7. 5 : "the steep-up heavenly hill."
We find steep-down in Oth. v. 2. 280.
11. Ruth. Pity. Cf. Rich. II. iii. 4. 106, Sonn. 132. 4, etc.
IV
This may possibly be Shakespeare's, but I think it extremely
improbable. Cf. Sonn. 138.
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS iS
274 Notes
3. Brighter than glass, , etc, Steevens quotes the following lines
" written under a lady's name on an inn window : "
" Quam digna inscribi vitro, cum lubrica, laevis,
Pellucens, fragilis, vitrea tota nites ! "
For brittle the old brickie (which means the same) might well
be substituted for the rhyme.
8. Between each kiss. I think that S. is never guilty of between
each.
14. Out-burneth. Sewell has " out burning."
This is probably not Shakespeare's.
1. Vaded. Faded. Cf. vii. 2. below. See also Rich. II. i. 2.
20, where the folios have vaded^ the quartos faded.
3. Timely. Early. Cf. A. and C. ii. 6. 52, etc.
8. For why. Because. See on A*, of L. 1 222. The old eds,
have "lefts" for leffst in both 8 and 9 ; a common contraction of
such harsh second persons. See on R. of L, 1134.
VI
Possibly Shakespeare's. In the eds. of 1599 and 1612 it is
printed, as here, in twelve lines. Malone and others make twenty
of it.
2. Pleasance. Pleasure. Cf. Oth. ii. 3. 293 ; the only other
instance in S.
4, Brave. Fair, beautiful ; as very often.
n. Defy. Despise, spurn. Cf. K. John, iii. 4. 23 : "I defy all
counsel, all redress j " I Hen. IV. i. 3. 228 : "All studies here I
solemnly defy," etc.
VII
Probably not Shakespeare's ; perhaps by the same author as V.
I. Doubtful* A copy of this poem, said to be from an ancient
Passionate Pilgrim 1275
MS. and published in the Gentleman* s Magazine, vol. xxii. p. 521,
has " fleeting " for doubtful both here and in 5 below. In 3 it has
" almost in the bud " for first it gins to bud ; in 4, " that breaketh "
for that 's broken ; in 7, " As goods, when lost, are wond'rous
seldom found;" in S "can excite" for will refresh, and in 10
"unite" for redress; in II "once, is ever' 5 for once' } s forever ; and
in 12 "pains" te? pain.
A second copy, " from a corrected MS.," appeared in the same
magazine, vol. xxx. p. 39. The readings are the same as in the
other copy, except that it has "a fleeting" for "and fleeting" in i,
and " fading " for vaded in 8.
7. Seld. Seldom. Cf. T. and C. iv. 5. 150 : "As seld I have
the chance." We find "seld-shown" in Cor. ii. I. 229.
ii. Oncers. This is the reading generally adopted ; but it is
very harsh. The eds. of 1599 and 1612 have "once, forever,"
which might well enough be retained. Verity suggests " once for
ever 's lost."
VIII
Probably not Shakespeare's. All recent eds. make the last three
stanzas a separate poem ; but this is unquestionably a mistake.
Dowden (in his introduction to the "Griggs" fac-simile of the
1599 ed. of P. P.} gives good reasons for not dividing this poem,
but neither he nor any other critic has seen that the 1599 ed.
proves its unity beyond a doubt. The first two stanzas are on one
page, the next two on another, and the last stanza on a third ; but
the third stanza does not begin with the large initial letter, which
elsewhere in the book is used to mark the beginning of a poem.
I may add that there is similar typographical evidence in the 1599
ed. that XX. (cf. p. 272 above) should not be divided.
Dowden notes that in the 1640 ed. of the Poems, the five stanzas
of VIII. appear as one poem (see p. 284 below). Malone (in his
Supplement, 1 780) seems to have been the first editor to divide it.
3, Jpafd ?/?<?, Put me off, sent me away. See on Z. C. 297.
276 Notes
%
4. Descant. Comment ; as in Rich. II L i. I. 27. Cf. R. of L.
1134.
6. Fare well. There is a play on fare = feed ; as in 7". <?/ 5.
ind. 2. 103.
8. -Aft//. Will not. Cf. T. of S. ii. I. 273 : " will you, will you ; "
Ham. v. I. 19 : " will he, will he," etc.
9. ^T may be. Steevens says: "I will never believe any poet
could begin two lines together with such offensive elisions. They
may both be omitted without injury to sense or metre." I cannot
imagine S. guilty of them, or of sundry other metrical faults in the
poem.
12. As take. That take. Cf. R. of L, 1372, 1420.
14. Charge the ivatch. Probably = accuse or blame the watch
(for marking the time so slowly).
17. Philomela. The nightingale. See on JR. of L. 1079. The
Cambridge editors conjecture that sits and should be omitted ;
and they are probably right.
20. Dismal-dreaming. The old eds. have " darke dreaming
night ; " corrected by Malone.
21. Pac&tf. Sent packing, gone. Cf. Rich. III. i. I, 146 :
"Till George be pack'd with post-horse up to heaven." See also
29 below.
23, Solace, solace. The old eds. have " solace and solace ; "
corrected by Malone.
24. For why. See on R. of L. 1222, and cf. v. S above.
27. Moon. The old eds. have "houre; " corrected by Malone.
30. Short, night, to-night. Shorten to-night, O night. For the
antithesis, cf. Cymb. i. 6. 200 :
" I shall short my word
By lengthening my return."
IX
This may possibly be Shakespeare's, but I seriously doubt it.
Furnivall says : "That *to sin and never for to saint/ and the whole
Passionate Pilgrim 277
of the poem, are by some strong man of the Shakspere breed."
But the whole tone and spirit of it are unlike S. himself.
1. Whenas. When. See on V. and A. 999.
2. StaWd. Got as in a stall, secured. Cf. Cymb. iii. 4. ill :
" when thou hast ta'en thy stand,
The elected deer before thee."
4, Partial fancy like. For fancy love, see on R, of L, 2OO.
The early eds. have ' fancy (party all might)." Malone gave in
1780 "fancy, partial tike," but later from an ancient MS. "fancy,
partial like." Staunton conjectures " fancy ' martial might ; " the
Cambridge editors read " fancy, martial wight " (a conjecture of
Malone's) ; and White " fancy's partial might." The text is from
a manuscript in the possession of Collier. As Schmidt notes, like
is " almost = love ; " as in A. Y. L, iii. 2. 431, K. John, ii. I. 511,
R. andj. i. 3. 97, etc.
8. Filed talk. " Studied or polished language " (Malone). Cf.
Z. L, L. v. i. 12: "his tongue filed." See also Sonn. 85. 4.
12. Sell. The early eds. have "sale;" corrected by Malone,
from his old manuscript, which also has " thy " for her. The
editors have generally adopted " thy," but the other reading may
be = " praise her person highly, as a salesman praises his wares "
(White). Cf. T. and C. iv. I. 78 : "We '11 but commend what we
intend to sell;" L. L. L. iv. 3. 240: "To things of sale a seller's
praise belongs; " Sonn. 21. 14: "I will not praise that purpose not
to sell," etc.
14. Clear ere. The reading of Malone's manuscript, for the
" calme yer " of the old eds.
20. Ban. Curse. See on V. and A. 326.
28. In thy lady^s ear. Malone reads " always in her ear."
32. fatmble-truc. First hyphened by Staunton.
42. Nought? The rhyme with oft is peculiar. In Rich. III. iii.
6, 13 and Mack, iv. I. 70, nought rhymes with thought. On the
27 3 Notes
passage, cf. T, G. of V. i. 2. 55. There was an old proverb,
" Maids say nay, and take it."
43-46. Think women stilt, etc. Expect women always, etc.
Malone reads from the old manuscript thus :
" Think, women love to match with men,
And not to live so like a saint :
Here is no heaven : they holy then
Begin, when age doth them attaint,"
The early eds. have in 45, 46 :
" There is no heaven (by holy then)
When time with age shall them attaint."
The reading in the text is due to White, and gives a clear meaning
with very slight changes in the old text. In a passage so corrupt,
emendation is but guesswork at best ; but this seems to me a
happier guess than that of the writer of Malone's manuscript. I do
not, however, think it necessary to put " seek " for still in 43, as
White does.
50, Lest that. The early eds. have ** Least that." Malone reads
"For if" from his manuscript, connecting the line with what
follows.
51. To round tue ?' the ear. To whisper in my ear. Cf. K.John^
ii. i. 566 and W. T. i. 2. 217, the only instances in S. The early
eds. have " on th' are " and " on th' ere." Malone changed " on "
to in 1780; but in 1790 he read "ring mine ear." Collier has
" warm my ear " (from his old manuscript). White reads ** She '11
not stick to round me i' th' ear."
54. Bewray'd, Disclosed, exposed. See on tf. of L* 1698.
THE PHCENIX AND THE TURTLE
The title-page of Chester's Loves Martyr, after referring at some
length to that poem and " the true legend of famous King Arthur"
which follows it, continues thus : " 7"o these are added some new
Phoenix and Turtle 279
compositions, of setter alt mot/erne Writers whose names are sub-
scribed to their seuerall ivorkes, upon the first subiect ; viz. the
Phoenix and Turtle."
The part of the book containing these " compositions " has
a separate title-page, as follows :
HEREAFTER | FOLLOW DIVERSE | Poeticall Essaies on
the former Sub- | iectj viz: the Turtle and Phoenix* \ Done by the
best and chiefest of o^tr \ moderne writers, with their names sub- |
scribed to their particular workes: | neuer before extant. \ And
(now first) consecrared by them all generally, | to the loue and
merits of the trite-noble Knight, \ Sir John Salisburie. | Dignum
laude mrum Afusa -vetat mori. \ [wood-cut of anchor] Anchora
Spei | MDCI.
Among these poems are some by Marston, Chapman, and Ben
Jonson.
Malone has no doubt of the genuineness of The Phcenix and the
Turtle. White says : " There is no other external evidence that
these verses are Shakespeare's than their appearance with his sig-
nature in a collection of poems published in London while he was
living there in the height of his reputation. The style, however, is
at least a happy imitation of his, especially in the bold and original
use of epithet." Dowden writes me that he has now no doubt that
the poem is Shakespeare's (cf. his Primer, ed. 1878, p. 112); and
Furnivall also believes it to be genuine. All the recent editors
and commentators, so far as I am aware, take the same view of it,
though most of them agree that the allegory has not been satis-
factorily explained. Sidney Lee remarks : " Happily Shakespeare
wrote nothing else of like character,"
Dr. Grosart (see his introduction to the New Shaks. Soc. ed.
of Chester's Loves Martyr) sees a hidden meaning in this poem
and those associated with it in Chester's book. "The Phoenix is a
person and a woman, and the Turtle-dove a person and a male ;
and while, as the title-page puts it, the poet is * Allegorically shad-
owing the truth of Love,' it is a genuine story of human love and
Notes
martyrdom (Love's Martyr}. ... No one at all acquainted with
what was the mode of speaking of Queen Elizabeth to the very last,
will hesitate in recognizing her as the JRosalin and Pk&nix of
Robert Chester, and the * moderne writers ' of this book. ... So
with the Turtle-dove, epithet and circumstance and the whole
bearing of the Poems make us think of but one pre-eminent man in
the Court of Elizabeth . . . and it will be felt that only of the brill-
iant but impetuous, the greatly-dowered but rash, the illustrious
but unhappy Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, could such
splendid things have been thought." See, however, on line 67
below. Dr. Grosart believes The Phoenix and the Turtle to be
Shakespeare's, and calls it "priceless and unique"
For a recent and very thorough study of the poem by Mr. Arthur
H. R. Fairchild, see Englische Studien (Leipzig), xxxiii. 3.
337-384.
1. The bird of loudest lay. As Dr. Grosart remarks, this is not
the Phoenix j as has generally been assumed, as " it were absurd to
imagine it could be called on to 'sing' its own death," and besides
it is nowhere represented as gifted with song.
2. The sole Arabian tree. Malone cites Temp. iii. 3. 22 :
" Now I will believe
That there are unicorns ; that in Arabia
There is one tree, the phcenix' throne ; one phoenix
At this hour reigning there."
He adds : " This singular coincidence likewise serves to authenti-
cate the present poem." The tree is probably the palm^ the Greek
name of which is the same as that of the phoniix (0oh/i|).
3. Trumpet. Trumpeter. Cf. Ham. i. I. 150, Hen. V. iv. 2.
61, etc.
4. 70. For its use with obey, cf. T. and C. iii. I. 165, We now
say " obedience to."
Dr. Grosart, who takes the bird to be the nightingale, says : " I
have myself often watched the lifting and tremulous motion of the
Phoenix and Turtle 281
singing nightingale's wings, and chaste was the exquisitely chosen
word to describe the nightingale, in reminiscence of the classical
story."
5. Shrieking harbinger. The screech-owl (Steevens). Cf. M.
N.D.v. 1.383 :
" Whilst the screech-owl, screeching loud,
Puts the wretch that lies in woe
In remembrance of a shroud."
The fevers end is of course death.
1 3. Surplice. The old reading is " Surples. " S. uses the word
only here and in A* W. i. 3. 99.
14. That defunctive music can. That understands funereal
music, or can perform it. For this absolute use of can, cf.
Chaucer, C. T. 5638 (ed. Tyrwhitt) :
" I wot wel Abraham was an holy man,
And Jacob eke, as fer as ever I can/' etc.
See also Ham, iv. 7. 85 : " they can well on horseback ; " where
can = are skilful.
1 6. His, Its. See on V. and A. 359.
17. Treble-dated. Living thrice as long as man. Steevens
quotes Lucretius, v. 1053 :
*' Ter tres aetates humanas garrula vincit
Cornix."
18. That thy sable gender mattst, etc. " Thou crow that makest
[change in] thy sable gender with the mere exhalation and inhala-
tion of thy breath " (E. W. Gosse). It was a popular belief that
the crow could change its sex at will.
25. As. That. Cf. R. of L. 1372 and 1420.
32. But in them it were a wonder. " So extraordinary a phe-
nomenon as hearts remote, yet not asunder, etc., would have excited
admiration, had it been found anywhere else except in these two
birds. In them it was not wonderful " (Malone).
282 Notes
34. Saw his right, etc. " It is merely a variant mode of express-
ing seeing love-babies (or one's self imaged) in the other's eyes.
This gives the true sense to mine in 36 " (Grosart).
37. Property. Property in self, individuality.
43. To themselves. Grosart suggests that these words should be
joined to what precedes.
44. Simple were so well compounded. That is, were so well
blended into one.
45. That. So that. Cf. V. and A. 242.
49. Threne. Threnody, funeral song. It is the Anglicized
threnos (Qpfjvos), with which the following stanzas are headed.
Malone quotes Kendal's Poems, 1577 :
" Of verses, threnes, and epitaphs,
Full fraught with tears of teene."
A book entitled David' ^s Threanes was published in 1620, and
reprinted two years later as Damans Tears.
67. These dead birds. That these birds are not Elizabeth and
Essex has been shown clearly in Dr. F. J. Furnivall's paper " On
Chester's Love's Martyr" in Trans, of New Shak. Soc. 1877-79,
p. 451 fol.
APPENDIX
THE 1640 EDITION OF THE POEMS
THE contents of this book (see p. 14 above) are not described
accurately by any editor or bibliographer that I have been able
to consult. They are as follows :
1. Poems by Leon. Digges 1 and John Warren 2 in eulogy of
Shakespeare.
2. All the Sonnets (except Nos. 18, 19, 43, 56, 75, 76, 96, and
126) arranged under various titles. The first group, for instance,
includes 67, 68, and 69, with the heading " The glory of beautie,"
and the second puts together 60, 63, 64, 65, and 66 under the title
" Injurious Time." From one to five sonnets appear under a title.
When two or more are grouped they are printed as a continuous
piece, with no space between the sonnets. 3
3. All the poems of The Passionate Pilgrim of 1599 (not "some,"
as the "Cambridge" ed. says (not corrected in the revised ed.), or
"the greater part," as Knight and others give it), mostly inter-
spersed among the Sonnets and furnished with titles. For instance,
No. 4 (" Sweet Cytherea," etc.) is headed " A sweet provocation ; "
No. 8 ("If music," etc.), "Friendly concord;" No. 10 ("Sweet
rose," etc,), "Loves Losse ; " No. 12 ("Crabbed age," etc.),
1 Not the verses prefixed to the folio of 1623, but a much longer piece,
beginning " Poets are borne not made, when I would prove/ 1 etc. See
Ingleby's Centurie of Praise, 2d ed., p. 231 fol.
2 A sonnet, beginning " What, lofty Shakespeare, art again reviv'd? "
See Centurie of Praise, p. 235.
3 For a full list of the groups with their titles, see Knight's Pictorial
Shakspere, vol. ii. of Tragedies, etc., p. 487 fol., or Dowden's larger ed.
of the Sonnets, p. 47 fol.
283
284 Appendix
"Ancient Antipothy ; " No. 15 ("It was a lording's daughter,"
etc.), "A Duell ; " and so on. The five stands of "Good night,
good rest," are printed as one poem with the title " Loath to
depart." " As it fell upon a day" also appears without division,
and is entitled "Sympathizing love."
4. The following translations from Ovid, and other poems :
"The Tale of Cephalus and Procris " (inserted before Sonnets
153 and 154).
"That Menelaus was cause of his owne wrongs."
" Vulcan was lupiters Smith, an excellent workeman, on whom
the Poets father many rare Workes, among which, I find this one.
Mars and Venus."
"The History how the Mynotaure was begot."
" This Mynotaure, when he came to growth, was incloased in the
Laborinth, which was made by the curious Arts-master Dedalus,
whose Tale likewise we thus pursue."
" Achilles his concealment of his Sex in the Court of Lycomedes."
A Lovers Complaint (Shakespeare's).
"The amorous Epistle of Paris to Hellen."
" Hellen to Paris."
" The Passionate Shepheard to his Love " (the complete text of
Marlowe's poem, given imperfectly in P. /*.).
" The Nimphs reply to the Shepheard " (the six stanzas, of which
only one is given in P. /*.).
" Another of the same Nature " (a poem of 44 lines, beginning :
" Come live with me and be my deare,
And we will revill all the yeare,
In plaines and groves, on hills and dales,
Where fragrant ayre breeds sweetest gales.
There shall you have the beautious Pine,
The Ceder and the spreading Vine,
And all the woods to be a skrene,
Least Ph&bus kisse my Summers Queene."
And ending thus :
Appendix 285
" If these may serve for to intice,
Your presence to Loves Paradise,
Then come with me and be my deare,
And we will straight begin the yeare.").
"Take, O take those lips away" (the stanza in M. for M. iv. I.
I fol., with the additional stanza, ascribed to Fletcher ; the song
appearing here without a title).
" Let the bird of lowest [sic"] lay" (The Phcenix and the Turtle,
without a title, except for the Tkrmos, which is headed " Threms ").
" Why should this Desart be " (the lines from A. Y, L. iii. 2.
133 fol., without a title).
"An Epitaph on the admirable Dramaticke Poet, William
Sheakespeare " (signed "I. M.," that is, John Milton).
"On the death of William Shakespeare, who died in Aprill,
Anno Dom. 1616" (the lines, " Renowned Spenser, lie a thought
more nigh," etc., signed here " W. B.," that is, William Basse, who
probably wrote them, though they have been ascribed to Dr. Donne
and others).
"An Elegie on the death of that famous Writer and Actor, M.
William Shakspeare " (" I dare not do thy memory that wrong,"
etc., unsigned and not traced to any author) .
5. After the " FINIS" that follows the above poems there is an
appendix, with the heading : " An Addition of some Excellent |
Poems, to those precedent, of | Renowned Shakespeare^ \ By other
Gentlemen."
The poems are as follows :
" His Mistresse Drawne " (signed " B. L." evidently intended
for " B. L," or Ben Jonson, in whose works the lines are printed).
" Her minde " (signed " B. L," and also printed as his).
" His Mistris Shade."
" Lavinia walking in a frosty Morning."
" A Sigh sent to, his Mistresse."
"An Allegorical allusion of melancholy thoughts to Bees"
(signed " I. G."),
286 Appendix
" The Primrose."
" A Sigh."
" A Blush."
"Am I dispis'd because you say," etc. (no title)
" Vpon a Gentlewoman walking on the Grasse."
" On his Love going to Sea."
** Aske rne no more where love bestovves," etc. (no title).
A second," FINIS" ends the volume.
EARLY ALLUSIONS TO THE POEMS
THE earliest allusion to any of the Poems, according to Ingleby's
Shakespeare's Centurie of Pmyse (1879) is to Lucrecc in 1594,
in. an Epicedium (or Funerall Song} ascribed to Sir William
Harbert :
" You that have writ of chaste Lucretia,
Whose death was witnesse of her spotlesse life."
Drayton, in his Matilda (1594), has a reference to Lucretia, but
it seems to imply a dramatic representation rather than a poem :
" Lucrece of whom proude Rome hath boasted long,
Lately reviv'd to live another age,
And here ariv'd to tell of Tarquins wrong,
Her chast denial, and the Tyrants rage,
Acting her passions on our stately stage."
Robert Southwell, in the poetical preface to his Saint jPeter*s
Complaint, etc. (1595), says:
" Still finest wits are 'stilling Venus rose,
In Paynim toyes the sweetest vaines are spent ;
To Christian workes few have their talents lent,"
As Southwell was executed Feb. 20, 1594 5, this may have been
written as early as the references quoted above.
Appendix 287
In John Weever's apostrophe to Shakespeare, which is supposed
to have been first published in 1595, though the earliest extant edi-
tion is of 1599, we have allusions to both Venus and Adonis and
Lucrece :
" Honie-tong'd Shakespeare, when I saw thine issue,
I swore Apollo got them and none other,
Their rosie-tainted [tinted] features cloth'd in tissue,
Some heaven born goddesse said to be their mother:
Rose-checkt [cheek'd] Adonis with his amber tresses
Faire fire-hot Venus charming him to love her,
Chaste Lucretia virgine-like her dresses,
Prowd lust-stung Tarquine seeking still to prove her," etc.
Thomas Edward es, in 1595, in the Envoy to his Cephalus and
Procris, referring to certain poets under the names of their best-
known works, alludes to Shakespeare thus:
" Adon deafly masking thro,
Stately troupes rich conceited
Shew'd he well deserved to
Loves delight on him to gaze
And had not love herselfe intreated,
Other nymphs had sent him baies."
The next reference to the Poems that has been noted is the
familiar one in Meres's Palladis Tamia (see p. 15 above), where
both the Venus and Adonis and Lucrece^ as well as the " sugred
Sonnets," are mentioned.
In the same year both poems are referred to in "A Remembrance
of some English Poets," the fourth tract in a volume called Poems :
in diuers humor s> of which the first tract bears Richard Barn-
field's name (see p. 265 above) :
" And Shakespeare thou, whose hony-flowing Vaine,
(Pleasing the World) thy Praises doth obtaine ;
Whose Venus, and whose Lucrece (sweete and chaste).
Thy Name in fame's immortall Booke have plac't.
Liue ever you ! at least, in Fame Hue ever !
Well may the Bodye dye ; but Fame dies neuer."
288 Appendix
In 1598 also, as Funnvall remarks, "the Satirist, John Marston,
published *the first heir of his invention,' which he called * the Hrsi
bloomes of my poesie,' The Metamorphosis of Pigmaliorfs Image,
And Certaine Sdtyres ; and in it, says Mr. Minlo {Characteristits
of English Poets, 1874), reviving an old theory, * Shakspere's Venus
and Adonis was singled out as the type of dangerously voluptuous
poetry, and unmercifully parodied ; the acts of the goddess to win
over the eold youth being coarsely paralleled in mad mockery by
the acts of Pygmalion to bring his beloved statue to life.' Now the
fact is, that there is no trace of ' mad mockery ' or parody in Mars-
ton's poem, though there are echoes in it of Venus, as there are of
Richard ///., Hamlet, etc., in Marston's Scourge of Villanic, his
Fawn, etc. ; and the far more probable view of the ease is that put
forward by Dr. Brinsley Nicholson : that Marston, being young, and
of a warm temperament and licentious disposition, followed the lead
of a poem then in everybody's mouth 1 (Shakspere's Venus}, and
produced his Pigmctliorfs Image ; but being able only to heighten
the Venus' s sensuality, and leave out its poetry and bright outdoor
life, he disgusted his readers, had his poem suppressed by Whit gift
and Bancroft's order, and then tried to get out of the scrape by
saying that he had written his nastiness only to condemn other
poets for writing theirs ! A likely story indeed ! But let him tell
it himself. In his 'Satyre VI.' of his Scourge of Villanit, 1598
(completed in 1599), he says:
1 Curio ! know'st my sprite ;
Vet deem'st that in sad seriousness I write
1 See The Fair Maid of the Exchange :
" Crip[ple], But heare you sir? reading so much as you haue done,
Doe you not remember one pretty phrase,
To scale the walles of a faire wenches loue ?
Bow\dler\ , I never read any thing but Venus and Adonis*
Crip. Why that 's the very quintessence of loue ;
If you remember but a verse or two,
lie pawne my head, goods, lands, and all, 'twill doe,"
Appendix 289
Such nasty stuffe as is jPtgrnalion '?
Such maggot-tainted, lewd corruption! . . .
Think'st thou that I, which was create to whip
Incarnate fiends . . .
Think'st thou that I in melting poesie
Will pamper itching sensualitie,
That in the bodies scumme, all fatally
Intombes the scales most sacred faculty ?
Hence, thou misjudging censor! know, I wrot
Those idle rimes to note the odious spot
And blemish that deformes the lineaments
Of modcrne poesies habiliments.
Oh that the beauties of invention
For want of judgements disposition,
Should all be spoil'd! 1 . . .
Then, after describing seven types of poets of whom the fifth may
be Shakspere, 1 and the sixth Ben Jonson Marston goes on to
satirize the readers of his and other writers' loose poems, for whom
he ' slubber'd up that chaos indigest ' of his Pigmalion. This epi-
thet is certainly not consistent with the dedication of his poem to
Good Opinion and his Mistress ; and his excuse for his failure in it
is plainly an after-thought. But whatever we determine as to Mars-
ton's motives and honesty, we shall all join in regretting the 'want
of judgements disposition 7 that let Shakspere choose Venus for an
early place in his glorious gallery of women forms whose radiant
purity and innocence have won all hearts ; though we will remem-
ber this fault only as the low level from which he rose on stepping-
stones of his dead self to higher things. He who put Venus near
i Yon 's one whose straines haue flowne so high a pitch,
That straight he flags, and tumbles in a ditch.
His sprightly hot high-soring poesie
Is like that dream'd-of imagery,
Whose head was gold, brest silver, brassie thigh,
Lead leggs, clay feete : O faire franx'd poesie ! "
That Shakspere's subject was clay, and his verse gold, is certainly true.
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 19
2,90 Appendix
the beginning of his career, ended with Miranda, Perdita, Imogen,
and Queen Katharine. Let them make atonement for ker !
John Lane, in Tom Td~ Troths Message, 1600, says ;
" When chast Adonis came to mans estate,
Venus straight courted him with many a wile ;
Lucrece once scene, straight T&rquine Uiid a baite,
With foule incest her bailie to defile :
Thus men by women, women wrongde by men,
Give mutter stilt unto my plaintife pen."
It was probably between 1600 and 1603 that Gabriel Harvey
wrote the following manuscript note in a copy of Speght's Chaucer
(1598), now lost : "The younger sort take much delight in Shake-
speare's Venus and Adonis ; but his Lucrece, and his tragedy of
Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, have it in them to please the wiser
sort,"
In 1601, Robert Chester, in the introduction of his Loves Martyr
(see p. 278 above), has the following lines ;
11 To the Kind Reader.
Of bloody warres, nor of the sacke of Troy,
Of Pryams murdred sonnes, nor Didoes fall,
Of Hellens rape, by Paris Tr&ian boy,
Of Cassars victories, nor Pompeys thrall,
Of Lucrece rape, being ravisht by a King,
Of none of these, ofsweete Conceit I sing."
In The Returns from Parnassus (1601-2) Judicio says :
" Who loves Adonis love or Lucre's rape,
His sweeter verse containes hart robbing life,
Could but a graver subject him content,
Without loves foolish lazy languishment."
In Saint Marie Magdalens Conversion, by "I. C," (1603) we
find the following :
" Of Helens rape and Troyes beseiged Towne,
Of Troy his faith, and Cress ids fulsitie,
Appendix 291
Of Rychards stratagems for the english crowne,
Of Tar i] urns lust, and luerece [sic] chastitie,
Of these, of none of these my muse nowe treates,
Of greater conquests, warres, and loves she speakes."
William Drummond of Hawthornden, in his list of " Bookes red
by me, anno 1606," mentions The Passionate Pilgrims and The
Rape of * Luerece ; and among those under " anno 1611," Venus and
A don. by Schafap* and The Rap of Luerece*
George Peele, in his tiferrie Conceited Jests (earliest known ed.
1607), refers to a certain tapster as "much given to poetry," and
mentions Venus ami Adonis among the books which he " had
collected together."
In 1609 the Venus and Adonis was alluded to in the publisher's
Address prefixed to some copies of the first edition of Troilus and
Cressida and reprinted in the standard modern editions of that
play.
Thomas Freeman, in a poetical address " To Master W. Shake-
speare," 1614, says :
'* Vertues or vices theame to thee all one is :
Who loves chaste life there 's Luerece for a teacher :
Who list read lust there 's Venus and Adonis,
True model of a most lascivious leatcher " [lecher].
Richard Brathvvaite, in The Cimll Devill (1615) has the follow-
ing passage :
" lie be thy Venus, pretty Ducke I will,
And though lesse faire, yet I have farre more skill,
In Loves affaires : for if I Adon had,
As Venus had : I could have taught the lad
To have been farre more forward than he was,
And not have dallied with so apt a lasse."
These are specimens (in addition to those given in the introduc-
tion pp. 15 and 32 fol.) of the more important allusions to the
two poems between their first appearance and the death of Shake-
Appendix
speare in 1616. For others, between that date and 1693, the
reader may be referred to Shakespeare^ s Centurie of Prayse, to
which I have been mainly indebted in making these selections.
The only allusions to The Passionate Pilgrim cited in that
book are the mention of it by Drummond above, arid Thomas Hey-
wood's protest in his Apology for Actors (1612) against the inser-
tion of two of his poems under Shakespeare's name in the second
edition of the Pilgrim, printed the same year. He says : " I must
necessarily insert a manifest injury done me ... by taking the
two Epistles of Paris to Helen, and printing them in a lesse volume
under the name of another. ... As T must acknowledge my lines
not worthy his patronage, under whom he hath publisht them, so
the Author [Shakespeare] I know much offended with M. Jaggard
that (altogether unknowne to him) presumed to make so bold with
his name." This led Jaggard to insert a new title-page, omitting
Shakespeare's name (see p. 13 above).
INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES
EXPLAINED
abuse (= misuse), 241
accorded (= agreed), 255
acture, a6o
addressed (= ready), 252
adjunct, 229
adulterate, 252
advance ( raise) , 253
advice, 242
advised, be, 2x4
advisedly, 230, 250, 254
afeard, 243
affection (=lust), 235
against a thorn, 243
alablaster, 209, 234
alarms, 210
all to naught, 222
allow (= approve) , 254
all-too-timeless, 227
aloes, 263
amaze (= bewilder) , 217
anatomized, 249
and for, 245
angry-chafing, 215
annexions, 260
annoy (noun), 211, 244
antics, 234
appaid, 242
applying wet to wet, 257
Arabian tree, 280
Ardea (accent}, 227
arrive (transitive) , 240
as (= that) , 248, 276, 280
askance (verb), 238
aspect (accent), 227
assays (= attempts), 253,
259
astonished (= astounded) ,
253
at a bay, 221
at gaze, 245
attired m discontent,
1 252^
a- twain. a=;<;
authorized (accent), 258
a-work, 249
can (= know), 281
ay me ! 220
canker (=worm), 215
balk (neglect), 239
bankrupt (spelling), 210
careless hand of pride, 256
carriage (figurative), 256
carry-tale, 215
banning (= cursing) , 208,
case (= dress) , 259
230, 249, 277
cautels, 263
bare (noun), 258
chafe, 208
barns (verb) , 241
channel, 249
bateless, 227
bate-breeding, 215
chaos come again, 223
chaps (spelling), 249
battle (= battalion), 214
charactered (accent), 241
be remembered, 237
charge the watch, 276
beaded, 257
cheek (plural), 213
beguiled (active), 250
cheer (= face) , 231
beldam, 243
bells (of falcon) , 235
cherish springs, 243
cherubin, 264
bepainted, 221
churlish (boar), 214
bereaves, 219
churlish (drum), 204
beseeched, 260
cipher (= decipher) , 241
beseems, 232
city (figurative), 260
between each, 274
civil (= decorous) , 263
bewrayed, 252, 278
clepes, 222
bid a base, 207
clip (= embrace), 213
bird of loudest lay, 280
closure, 219
birth-hour's blot, 236
cloud-kissing Ilion, 247
black stage, 240
cloudy, 244
blasts (intransitive) ., 228
coasteth, 220
blazoned, 261
coat(= coat-of-arms) ,231,
blood (= passion) , 259
blue windows, 211
261
cockatrice 1 dead-killing
blunt (~ rude), 250
blunt (= savage), 221
bollen, 248
eye, 236
cold fault, 217
colour (play upon), 234
bond (= ownership), 230
borrowed motion, 264
bottom-grass, 206
combustious, 225
comfortable, 230
commends ( commits) ,
brave (= beautiful) , 274
2 34 .
braving compare, 227
commission, 213
brickie, 274
compact of, 205
brokers (= panders), 259
bulk (= chest) , 234
compare (noun), 227
compassed (= curved),
burden-wise, 244
207
cabinet (=nest), 220
complain on, 205, 212
293
294 Index of Words and Phrases
complained (transitive),
254
descant (- comment) , 276
descant (~ sing) , 244
fear (= frighten) , 224
fear (~ object of fear),
conceit (= conception),
239, 247
diapason, 244
digression (~ transgres-
fearful (= full of fear),
conceit (~ understand-
ing), 273
sion), 231
dismount (figurative),
215
feast-finding, 241
conceited (== fanciful),
248, 256
conclusion (= experi-
ment), 245
conduct (= conductor),
232
confounds (= ruins) , 230,
245, 249
263
dispense with, 244, 247,
252
dispersed (accent), 254
disports (noun), 227
disputation (metre), 231
distain, 240
distract (accent), 261
feat (adverb), 257
fee-simple, my own, 259
fellowship in woe, 340
fence (= guard), 228
fever's end, 281
fickle, 255
field (play upon), 228
fiery-pointed, 233
congest, 262
conjures (accent), 237
contemn me this, 206
divedapper, 204
done (- ruined), 227, 255
doves (of Venus) , 205,
figured, 273
filed talk, 276
fine (= bring to an end),
226, 228, 273
242
controlled (= restrained) ,
drawn (= drawn up), 247
fire (dissyllable), 208
234, 238
drink tears, 222
flaws (-gusts), 210
convert (intransitive),
dumps, 244
fluxive, 257
foil (noun), 259
convert (rhyme), 237
convertite, 240
cope him, 221
copesmate, 242
coucheth (transitive), 235
counterfeit (= likeness),
ear (~ plough) , 202
ecstasy (= excitement),
221, 258
effects, 251
element (~ sky), 251
embracements, 208
folly (= wickedness), 241
fond (= foolish), 223, 232
fondling (= darling), 206
fondly (== foolishly), 231
for (= because), 192
for why, 246, 274, 276
forbod, 259
247
coy, 204
craft of will, 259
empty eagle, 203
engine of her thoughts,
force not (= regard not),
243,
cranks 0= turns) , 217
credent, 263
crest (= helmet) , 204
crest-wounding, 241
cries some, 257
209
enpatron, 261
enraged (with^love), 203
ensue f transitive), 235
enswatned, 257
entertainment, 124
forced to content, 203
forestall (= prevent), 239
forsworn, 218
frets (noun), 219, 245
fruitless (= barren), 219
fry ( small fry), 213
fulfilled (= filled full) , 247
crosses, 235, 242
218
crystals (magic), 222
cuckoos, 241
curious (= careful), 218,
exclaims on, 222, 240
expired (accent), 227
extincture, 263
gage (= risk), 230
gentry (- gentle birth),
256
curled hair, 243
curst, 221
curvet, 207
extreme (accent), 231
eye (rhyme), 262
eyne, 214, 238, 246
237
gins (begins),, 202
gives her sorrow fire,
252
Cytherca, 273
fact (= deed) , 233
glisters, 207
go about ( ss attempt),
daffed, 263, 275
deep regard, 248
defame (noun), 240
defeature, 218
defunctive, 281
defy (= despise) , 274
depending, 252
fair (= beauty) , 324
fair fall, 211
falcon's bells, 235
fall (= let fall), 25*
fancy (= love), 231
fancy ( lover), 258, 260
fare (play upon), 276
208
God wot, 247
government, 248
graff, 343
grained (bat), 358
grave ( bury ?;, 238
grave ( engrave) , ao
deprive (= take away),
245
fastly, 258
fault (in hunting), 217
gray, 205
gripe (gnffin), 236
Index of Words and Phrases
grisly, 242
had gave, 213
hairs (rhyme), 203
hard-favoured, 205-252
harmless show, 250
havingSj 261
he (= him). 204
hearsed, 238
heartless, 234
heart's attorney, 208
heave her napkin, 255
heaven's beauties, 227
heavy, 205
help ( cure) , 254
helpless, 2^4, 243
honey (adjective), 203,
212
honour (== lordship), 202
hild (= held), 246
his (= its), 209, 236, 237,
250
hive (= hat), 255
ill-nurtured, 205
imaginary, 248
imagination (metre), 215
immure, 226
imperious (= imperial),
222
implcached, 260
imposthumes, 219
in (= on) , 204
in clay (= in the grave) ,
2 37
in hand with, 222
in post, 227
in sadness (= in earnest) ,
219
incorporate, 212
insinuate with, 223
instance (= evidence) ,
250
insult (= exult), 212
insulter. 212
intend (= pretend) , 229
intendments, 206
interest (= possession),
243, 253
interprets, 247
intituled, 228
intrude (= invade) , 241
invention (= imagina-
tion), 202
inventions, 247
invised, 260
invisible, 210
miss (= misbehaviour) ,
203
jade, 239
mistrustful, 219
jar, 204
moe, 249, 252, 257
jennet, 207
moiety, 226
moist hand, 205
ken (= sight), 244
moralize, 229
key-cold, 253
kill, kill! 215
more (= greater), 204
mortal (= deadly), 2:4
kind (= natural) , 249
mot (= motto), 241
musing (= wondering) ,
laid ( lay), 255
220
land (noun), 238
musits, 217
late (= lately) , 254
myrtle, 220
laundering, 056
naked (play upon), 230
leaps (rhyme), 207
leave (= license), 213
lectures (= lessons), 238
naked bed, 209
nameless, 235
napkin (== handkerchief),
leisures, 260
XT 255 '
let (= forbear), 227
let (= hinder) , 232
Narcissus, 205, 231
needle (monosyllable),
let (= hindrance) , 238
levelled (= aimed), 256,
264
232
nightly linen, 239
night-waking, 237
like (=as?), 235
nill, 276
nimble notes, 244
lists of love, 213
liver (seat of passion),
228
no footing seen, 205
nor know not, 205
note (= notoriety) , 261
lode-star, 230
lover (feminine), 255
love's golden arrow, 222
love's tender spring, 215
note (= stigma), 231
nought (rhyme), 277
nought to do, 244
nuzzling, 225
lust (= pleasure) , 248
lust-breathed, 227
obdurate (accent), 206,
234
luxury (= lust) , 264
obey to, 280
maiden (masculine), 203
o'erstiaw'd, 225
o'er-worn, 205
maiden worlds, 233
make a saw, 252
offeree, 261
on (omitted), 235
manage (noun), 259
manage (of horses), 213
mane (plural), 207,
map (= picture) , 233
on ringing, 249
only (transposed), 235
orchard (= garden), 259
orient (= pearly), 222
margents, 229
marriage (trisyllable) ,
Orpheus, 236
orts, 243
231
Mars and Venus, 204
mated ( bewildered) ,
outwards (noun), 258
overseen (= bewitched) ,
245
222
overseer (of will), 245
maund, 256
owe (=own), 210, 228,
mean (= means) , 243
259, 264
measure (= dance) , 225
mermaid (= siren), 210,
packed (= sent packing) ,
219, 248
276
Index of Words and Phrases
painted cloth, 231
pale (enclose), 262
pale (= enclosure), 206
pale (= paleness), 217
palmer, 240
Paphos, 226
parting, 229
pnrt (stage), 232
passenger, 204
passions (~ grieves) , 224
peeled (.spelling), 245
peers (verb), 234
pelleted, 256
pelt (verb), 248
pensived, 261
perplexed (= confounded) ,
239
Philomel, 244, 276
phoenix (adjective), 258
phraseless, 261
pine (= starve), 214
pioneer (spelling) , 248
pith (=s vigour), 203
plaining, 237
plaits (noun), 228
plausibly, 254
pleasance, 274
pleasing (passive), 244
point (= appoint) , 242
posied, 257
power (plural), 233
preached pure maid, 264
precedent, 203, 247
prefer and undertake, 263
present (= instant) , 247
pretended ( intended) ,
*37
pretty, 246
prick (= dial-point), 240
prime ( spring), 232
privilege (verb), 238
prone (= headlong) , 239
proof (= armour), 214,
262
proof (= experience) , 259
property, 282
proportioned, 240
prove (= experience), 213
prove (= try), 203
purified, 236
purled, 248
qualified, 234
quality (of gems) , 260
questioned (= talked), 229
cjiuittal, 231
quote (-note), 241
rank (adjective), 204
rate his ill, 232
read lectures, 238
reaves, 219, 226
receipt, 239
red morn, 210
reft, 226
relish your notes, 244
remorse ( pity) , 207
rents (= rends) , 257
repeal (= recall), 238
repine (noun), 211
reprove (= disprove), sic)
requiring (= asking), 226
resolution (metre), 233
respect (~ prudence) , 232
respects ( considera-
tions), 222
retire (noun), 230
retire (transitive), 232
retiring (= returning) , 243
re-worded, 355
rigol, 253
rose-cheeked, 202
round (= whisper), 278
rouse (in hunting), 207
ruffle (-bustle), 257
ruinate, 243
ruth (---= pity) , 273
sad ( serious) , 232
saw ( maxim) , 231
saw (metaphor) , 252
sawn (= so\vn?), 258
scape (noun) , 240
scarlet, 252
seared, 255
seasoned (figurative), 256
seated from the way, 245
securely, 228
seeded (= mature) , 237
seeks to, 232
seld, 275
senseless, 241
sensible (= sensitive), 210
sepulchred (accent) , 240
set a-work, 249
sharne (intransitive), 244,
245
sheaved, 256
shift (= trickery) , 242
shifting (= deceitful), 242
shine (noun), 211
shines but warm, 206
shoot (noun), 237
short (verb), 276
shrewd ( evil), an
shrieking harbinger, 283
silly (= innocent) , 224
230
simple (artless), 219
simple (noun), 235
Sinon, 250
sistering", 255
sith, siq, 225
size, 256
slanderous, 243
sleided, 257
slips (play upon) , 212
smiling government, 248
smoothing (= flattering),
242
sneaped, 232
sod (= sodden), 251
sometime, 207, 244, 257
sorrow's interest, 254
sort (- adapt) , 246"
sort ( select), 242
sounds (waters), 247
spend their mouths. 218
spent (= consumed), 251
spirit (monosyllable) , 221,
255, 261
spleen '(= heat), 273
spleens, 221
spotted ( polluted) , 239
spiight, 206, 229, 253
spring (~bud), 215, 243
stain to all nymphs, 202
stalled, 377
staring, 225
steep-up, 273
stelled, 249
stillitory, 210
still-pining, 241
still-slaughtered, 230
1 sting (= .stimulus) , 262
stole (= robe), 263
stoop (== yield), 237
stops (of musical instru-
ment), 244
stories (verb), 223
stow (= bestow) , 229
strand (spelling), 249
strange kinds, 246
strangeness, 212
struck (spelling), 210
strucken. 231
stuck (of eyes), 258
suffered, 209
Index of Words and Phrases 297
suggested (= tempted),
227
supplicant, 263
supposed, 233
supreme (accent), 240
surcease, 253
suspect (noun), 223
sweating palm, 203
sweet seals, 212
swooning (spelling), 263
swounds, 249
take truce, 204
taking (noun), 234
talents, 260
tapsters, 220
tarriance, 273
tears (rhyme), 206
teen (= sorrow), 219, 260
temperance (= chastity) ,
242
tempering, 212
tender (= favour) , 236
termless, 258
than (= then) , 249
that (omitted) , 223
that (== so that), 207, 213,
220, 229, 230, 231, 247,
250, 258, 282
thick (=fast), 253
thorough (= through) , 254
thrall, 220
threaden, 256
threne, 282
timely (= early) , 274
tired (dissyllable), 206
tires (== feeds ravenous-
ly), 203
Titan (sun), 206
to (==for), 205
to (= in addition to) , 251
too late (= too lately) , 254
too too, 230
told (= counted), 207, 212
top of rage, 257
toward (= forward) , 225
towering (in falconry),
235
reatise (= talk), 219
reble-dated, 281
renched, 224
riumphing (accent), 248
rue men, 218
rumpet (= trumpeter),
280
unadvised, 249
unapproved, 257
uncouple, 215
uncouth (= strange), 251
undertake (= guarantee) ,
263 ,
unexpenent, 204
unhappy (=mischievous),
251
unkind (= childless), 206
unlived, 253
unrecalling (passive), 243
unseasonable, 237
unsounded, 254
untread, 221
urchin-snouted, 224
use (= interest), 219
vaded, 274
vails (= lowers), 208, 222
vastly, 253
venge, 252
venturing (rhyme), 213,
214
villain (= servant) , 247
vulture folly, 237
ward (= bolt) , 232
Wat (=hare), 218
watch of woes, 242
water-galls, 251
weed (garment), 231
whenas, 223, 277
where (= whereas), 240
whereas (= where), 273
whether (monosyllable),
208
whiter than white, 209
who (= which), 208, 221,
223 233 238
who (=whom), 250
windows (= eyelids), 211
wink (= shut the eyes),
204, 234, 236
wipe (noun), 236 .
wistly, 208, 247, 273
withhold (= detain) , 214
within his danger, 214
wits (rhyme), 220
wood (= mad), 218-
woodman (= huntsman),
273 .
worm (= serpent), 222
woin-out age, 247
wot, 247
wrack, 210
wrapped (= involved) ,
wreaked (= revenged),
223
wretch (term of pity) 5
218
writ on death, 212
wrong the wronger, s^.s
126200