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 Shakespeare's poems; Venus and Adonis, Lu 
 
 3 1924 014 168 946 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014168946 
 
THE POEMS 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 LUCRECE 
 
 THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 
 
 SONNETS TO SUNDRY NOTES 
 OF MUSIC 
 
 THE PHCENIX AND TURTLE 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 C. KNOX POOLER 
 
 I 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 
 THE BOBBS-MERRILL CO. 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 

 ^, 0') 
 
 \ ) I 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction vii 
 
 Venus and Adonis i 
 
 LUCRECE • ■ 59 
 
 The Passionate Pilgrim 135 
 
 Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music . . . 149 
 
 The Phcenix and Turtle 159 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The text of the poems in this edition differs little from that 
 of the Cambridge Editors. In a few words the spelling of 
 the originals is restored for the sake of the rhythm. In the 
 case of ed (of past tenses and participles), not preceded by a 
 vowel and not forming a separate syllable, the e is elided in 
 the body of the line. At the end, it is elided or not according 
 to the text of the oldest copies. Otherwise, double rimes 
 might have been obscured. I have not given a place in the 
 text to any conjecture of my own, with the exception of an 
 added comma in The Passionate Pilgrim, xiv. 30 ; but I have 
 suggested new readings or pointings in the notes to Lucrece, 
 135 and 1545, and The Passionate Pilgrim, iii. 12, vii. 3, 5, 
 xiv., XV. II, 14, and xxi. 46. Some of these have already 
 appeared in Notes and Queries. 
 
 For the critical notes, I collated the text of the Oxford 
 Facsimiles edited by Mr. Sidney Lee. The readings of the 
 later Quartos, and of the editions of Lintott, Gildon, and 
 Sewell, are taken from the Cambridge Shakespeare. In the 
 explanatory notes, I have not knowingly borrowed informa- 
 tion or illustrations without acknowledgment, or wilfully 
 misrepresented the opinions of my predecessors, but I have, 
 when necessary, added references and corrected misquotations. 
 Where there was a conflict of opinion between previous 
 editors, I have given the various explanations, as far as 
 possible, in the actual words of their propounders, and have 
 often added my own view, but, I hope, without undue 
 emphasis. Except in Latin words and borrowed quotations, 
 including title pages and extracts from the Stationers' 
 Registers, I have not used i and u as consonants. In informal 
 citations of titles of books I have sometimes substituted 
 modern and correct forms; e.g.. Metamorphoses for Meta- 
 morphosis (Golding), and Scylla for Sdlla (Lodge). 
 
Vlll 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 , VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 Venus and Adonis was entered in the Stationers' Register 
 in the year 1 593 ; see Arber's Transcript, ii. 630 : 
 
 Richard 
 Feild 
 Assigned 
 ouer to 
 master Har- 
 rison senior 
 25 Junii 
 1594 
 
 XVI I r Aprilis. 
 
 Entred for his copie under thandes 
 of the Archbisshop of Canterbury 
 and master Warden Stirrop, 
 a booke intituled 
 Venus and Adonis . . . vi* 
 
 In 1594 it was assigned by Field to Harrison (Arber, 
 ii. 655): 
 
 25 Junij 
 
 Master Assigned ouer vnto him from 
 
 Harrison Richard Field in open Court 
 Senior holden this Day a book called 
 
 Venus and Adonis .... vi'' 
 the which was before entred to 
 Richard Field. 18 Aprilis. 1593. 
 
 From Harrison it passed in 1596 to William Leake 
 (Arber, iii. 65) : 
 
 25 Junij 
 
 William Assigned ouer vnto him from master 
 
 leeke harrison thelder, in full Court holden 
 
 this day . by the said master harrisons 
 
 consent . A booke called Venus 
 
 and Adonis . . . . vi"" 
 
 This William Leake held the copyright till the year after 
 Shakespeare's death. The original owner, Richard Field, 
 was a Stratford man. His father, Henry, a tanner, had died 
 in 1 592, and Shakespeare's father had attested the inventory 
 of his goods. 
 
 It was published in 1593 with the title-page : 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 Venus I and Adonis | 
 
 Vilia miretur vulgus: mihi flauus Apollo 
 Pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua. 
 
 [Device — an anchor suspended by a hand hold- 
 ing its ring, with the motto " Anchora Spei."] 
 
 London | Imprinted by Richard Field, and are to be 
 sold at I the signe of the white Greyhound in | Paules 
 Church-yard 1593. 
 
 Six editions at least were printed in Shakespeare's 
 lifetime and seven in the two generations following, viz. 
 in 1593, 1594, 1596, 1599, 1600 (?), 1602, 1617, 1620, 1627 
 (Edinburgh), 1630 (twice), 1636, and 1675. Of these editions 
 only twenty-one copies are known to exist. A full account 
 of all editions and extant copies, of Venus and Adonis, 
 Lucrece, and The Passionate Pilgrim, will be found in Mr. 
 Sidney Lee's Introductions to the Oxford Facsimiles of 1905. 
 
 The Latin couplet on the title-page is from Ovid's 
 Amoves, I. xv. 35, 36. It was translated by Marlowe (Ovid's 
 Elegies, pub. 1 597) as follows : 
 
 "Let base-conceited wits admire vile things: 
 Fair Phoebus lead me to the Muses' springs ; " 
 
 and thus by Ben Jonson : 
 
 "Kneel hinds to trash: me let bright Phoebus swell 
 With cups full-flowing from the Muses' well." 
 
 That few copies survive of the many editions published 
 is a sign that the poem was not only bought but read. It is 
 true that in contemporary allusions to Shakespeare his name 
 is more often associated with Lucrece, a more serious and 
 edifying work ; but Lucrece is rarely imitated or quoted, while 
 echoes of word and phrase, image and illustration, dilated or 
 condensed, from Venus and Adonis are abundant. In The 
 Shakespeare Allusion Book (1909), p. 540, the number of 
 allusions to Venus and Adonis between 1591 and 1700 is 
 given as 61 and to Lucrece as 41. Of the following examples 
 from Barnfield, whose Affectionate Shepheard was published in 
 November 1594, some it must be admitted are very faint, 
 but others are unmistakable. 
 
 1° The exchange of arrows between Love and Death seems 
 to be implied in Venus and Adonis, 945-948 : 
 
 "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." 
 
X INTRODUCTION 
 
 In The Affectionate Shepheard the exchange is described 
 at length (Arber's Barnfield, p. 6) : 
 
 "And thus it hapned, Death and Cupid met 
 Upon a time at swilling Bacchus house, 
 Where daintie cates upon the Board were set, 
 And Goblets full of wine to drink carouse : 
 
 Where Love and Death did love the licor so. 
 That out they fall, and to the fray they goe. 
 
 And having both their Quivers at their backe 
 Fild full of Arrows ; Th' one of fatall Steele, 
 The other all of gold; Deaths shaft was black, 
 But Loves was yellow : Fortune turnd her wheele ; 
 And from Deaths Quiver fell a fatal shaft, 
 That under Cupid by the winde was waft. 
 
 And at the same time by ill hap there fell 
 
 Another Arrow out of Cupids Quiver; 
 
 The which was carried by the winde at will, 
 
 And under Death the amorous shaft did shiver: 
 
 They being parted, Love tooke up Deaths dart. 
 And Death tooke up Loves Arrow (for his part)." 
 
 Death proceeds to inflame with love an old man, the 
 " weed " of Venus and Adonis; Cupid to discharge Death's 
 shaft at a young man, " the flower," and 
 
 "Thinking to ease his Burden, rid his paines: 
 For men have griefe as long as life remaines." 
 
 The likelihood, such as it is, that Barnfield was here indebted 
 to Shakespeare, arises not from any similarity of treatment, 
 but from the fact that the incident is somewhat of an ex- 
 crescence on his poem, as if the writer had got a hint and 
 was determined to make the most of it. 
 
 2° " The honey fee of parting tender'd is " 
 
 ( Venus and Adonis, 538) 
 is expanded to 
 
 " O would to God (so I might have my fee) 
 My lips were honey, and thy mouth a Bee." 
 
 (Arber, p. 8) 
 
 3° Shakespeare uses '' cabinet " of a lark's nest ( Venus 
 and Adonis, 854), and Barnfield, of an arbour, in a passage 
 which recalls Venus and Adonis, 239 : " Then be my deer, 
 since I am such a park." 
 
INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 " I would make Cabinets for thee (my Love :) 
 Sweet-smelling Arbours made of Eglantine 
 Should be thy shrine, and I would be thy Dove." 
 
 (Arber, p. 8) 
 
 4° In The second Dayes Lamentation of the Affectionate 
 Shepheard, Barnfield seems to use the word " gripe " of some 
 English bird of prey : 
 
 " Wilt thou set springes in a frostie Night, 
 To catch the long-billd Woodcocke and the Snype? 
 (By the bright glimmering of the Starrie light) 
 The Partridge, Phaesant, or the greed ie Grype? " 
 
 This is possibly an echo of Lucrece, 543. 
 
 5° " Musit," for " muse," in 
 
 " The many musits through the which he goes," 
 
 ( Venus and Adonis, 683) 
 may have suggested 
 
 "Or with Hare-pypes (set in a muset hole) 
 Wilt thou deceive the deep-earth-delving Coney ? " 
 
 (Arber, p. 13) 
 
 6° Venus and Adonis, i $7-162: 
 
 " Is thine own heart to thine own face affected ? . . . 
 Narcissus so himself himself forsook, 
 And died to kiss his shadow in the brook;" 
 
 and ibid. 1. 1 1 : 
 
 " Nature that made thee with herself at strife" 
 
 Cf. Affectionate Shepherd (Arber, p. 19) : 
 
 " Be not too much of thine own Image doting : 
 So faire Narcissus lost his love and life. 
 (Beauty is often with itself at strife^" 
 
 7° Venus and Adonis, Si $-8 16: 
 
 "Look, how a bright star shooteth from the sky, 
 So glides he in the night from Venus' eye . . . 
 Whereat amaz'd" . . . 
 
 Cf. Barnfield, Cassandra, Jan. 1595 (Arber, p. 71) : 
 
 "Looke how a brightsome Planet in the skie, 
 (Spangling the Welkin with a golden spot) 
 Shoots suddenly from the beholders eie. 
 And leaves him looking there where she is not : 
 Even so amazed Phoebus " , . , 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 8° Lucrece, 124-126: 
 
 "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." 
 
 Cf. Cassandra (Arber, p. 78) : 
 
 "Now silent night drew on; when all things sleep, 
 Save theeves and cares ; and now stil mid-night came." 
 
 9° Venus and Adonis, 359, 360: 
 
 "And all this dumb play had his acts made plain 
 With tears, which chorus-like her eyes did rain." 
 
 Cf. Cassandra (Arber, p. 79) : 
 
 " Thus ended shee ; and then her teares began 
 That {chorus-like) at every word down rained. 
 Which like a paire of christall fountaines ran, 
 Along her lovely cheekes." 
 
 These correspondences may seem slight in themselves, but 
 it should be remembered that they are found only in poems 
 published soon after Venus and Adonis, viz. in 1594 and 
 1595; and also written in the same metre or in that of 
 Lucrece; not in Cynthia (1905), which is in the Spenserian 
 stanza, or in the Sonnets, or in the Ode, " Nights were short," 
 all published in 1905, or in the Encomion of Lady Pecunia 
 and other poems of 1598. 
 
 Secondly, like those unmeaning thefts imputed by 
 Macaulay to Robert Montgomery, they are not conveyed 
 cleanly, and seem out of place in their new home. No. 2° is 
 an exception, but No. 6°, " Beauty is often with itself at strife," 
 is hardly intelligible. 
 
 In No. 7°, Barnfield seems to have combined information 
 on different subjects ; if his brightsome planet had been one 
 of the usual kind, it could not have shot suddenly, nor, if it 
 had been a meteor, could it have spangled the welkin with a 
 golden spot. 
 
 In 8°, " thieves " as used by Shakespeare at once suggests 
 Tarquin, of whom Chaucer also writes : " And in the nyght 
 ful thefely gan he stalke," but there is nothing appropriate 
 in its use by Barnfield, for Cassandra is in prison. 
 
 In 9°, Shakespeare leads up to "chorus-like" by the 
 " dumb play " of the previous line. The tears of Venus may 
 be compared to a chorus because they flowed, as a chorus 
 speaks, at intervals : she looks and weeps and looks again ; 
 
INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 but whether this be so or not, her tears are, like a chorus, 
 the interpreters of the dumb shew of her looks. Barnfield's 
 " tears " are not needed. : words are their own interpreters ; 
 and tears that rained down at every word would be mere 
 interruptions, catcalls rather than choruses. 
 
 Barnfield was, however, an admirer, if not a producer, of 
 good work. As he was the first to imitate Venus and Adonis, 
 so in his Cynthia (published in 1595) he was the first to imitate 
 the metre of the Faerie Queene; and Shakespeare was the 
 last and Spenser the first of those celebrated in his Re- 
 membrance of some English Poets {i$gS). But it is not only 
 by admirers of Venus and Adonis, or in the years immediately 
 succeeding its publication, that we are furnished with evidence 
 of its popularity. Allusions, paraphrases, quotations and 
 misquotations occur in various plays, and occasionally such 
 references are no more respectful than those to old Jeronimo. 
 In The Returne from Pemassus, Ft. i. (1600), ten lines are 
 quoted by a certain GuUio who declares he will have Shake- 
 speare's picture in his study, and his Venus and Adonis under 
 his pillow, "as wee reade of one (I do not well remember 
 his name, but I am sure he was a kinge) slept with Homer 
 under his bed's heade." 
 
 It is this same Gullio who says a little later : " Let this 
 duncified worlde esteeme of Spence^ and Chaucer, I'le 
 worshipp sweet Mr. Shakspere," and the words have some- 
 times been accepted as serious criticism. Later still, in 
 Hey wood's Fayre Mayde of the Exchange (1607), Bowdler, 
 whose wisdom is as the wisdom of Gullio, and who never 
 reads anything but Venus and Adonis, attempts to win the 
 affections of his beloved by repeating, with appropriate 
 gestures, the lines: 
 
 "Fondling I say, since I have hemd thee heere, 
 Within the circle of this ivory pale," etc. 
 
 His comment on his failure is as follows : 
 
 " Why what could I doe more ? I look'd upon her with 
 judgement, the strings of my tongue were well in tune, my 
 embraces were in good measure, my palme of a good con- 
 stitution, onely the phrase was not moving ; as for example, 
 Venus her selfe with all her skill could not winne Adonis, 
 with the same words; O heavens? was I so fond then to 
 think I could conquer Mall Berry ? O the naturall influence 
 of my own wit had been far better." 
 
 Such things are tributes, like caricatures in Punch, and to 
 these may be added- the increasing use of the metre. This 
 metre, decasyllabic lines with the beat on the even syllables 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 and riming ababcc, is that of the last six lines of the Shake- 
 sperean sonnet, previously written by Surrey and others. Its 
 use in independent stanzas was comparatively rare, rarer 
 indeed than might be gathered from the language of books 
 of the time on prosody, for provided the rimes were in the 
 same order, stanzas with lines of six, eight, or ten syllables 
 were all classed together. Thus James VI. of Scotland, in 
 his Reulis and Cautelis of Scottis Poesie (1585), introduces 
 an example of a stanza of octosyllabic lines (the metre of 
 xix. in The Passionate Pilgrim), with the words : " In matteris 
 of love, use this kynde of verse, quhilk we call Common Verse," 
 and adds, " Lyke verse of ten fete \i.e. ten syllables], as this 
 is of aucht, ye may use lykewayis in love materis." Gascoigne, 
 in Certayne Notes of Instruction (i57S), had already spoken 
 of the ten-syllabled form as little used. " There is also," he 
 says, "another kinde [of verse] called Ballade, and thereof 
 are sundrie sortes : for a man may write ballade in a stafife 
 of sixe lines, every line conteyning eighte or sixe syllables, 
 whereof the first and third, second and fourth do rime acrosse, 
 and the fifth and sixth do rime togither in conclusion. You 
 may write also your ballad of tenne syllables rimyng as 
 before is declared, but these two [viz. those of six or eight 
 syllables] were wont to be most commonly used in ballade, 
 which propre name was (I thinke) derived of this word in 
 Italian Ballare, which signifieth to daunce. And in deed 
 those kinds of rimes serve best for daunces or light matters." 
 Curiously enough, it was this metre, "best for daunces or 
 light matters," that Whetstone chose for his " Remembrance 
 of the wel imployed life and godly end, of George Gascoigne 
 Esquire" (London, 1577). 
 
 Gascoigne himself had used it for some of the shorter 
 poems in each of the three divisions. Flowers, Hearbes, and 
 Weedes of his Posies (i57S); and ten years later Peele for 
 The Device of the Pageant. There is a single clumsy stanza 
 in Webbe's Discourse of English Poetrie (1586), and in the 
 next year it is the metre of two poems of some length by 
 Nicholas Breton, The Pilgrimage to Paradise and The Coun- 
 tesse of Penbrookes Love (i 592). We can hardly include Fulke 
 Greville's Treatie of Humane Learning, or Treatie of Warres, 
 his Treatise of Monarchie, or his Treatise of Religion, though 
 these are chiefly in this metre, for they were not published 
 till 1633. 
 
 There are other examples, but not many. If we omit 
 Chaucer's Lenvoy to Womanly Noblesse, six lines, of which 
 the last two rime to the first and third, and which was not 
 published till 1894, Spenser was the first great poet to use 
 
INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 it : it is the metre of the seventeen stanzas of the ist Eclogue 
 of The Shepheards Calender,' oi part of its 8th Eclogue, of 
 The Teares of the Muses and of Astrophel. Two stanzas 
 occur in Shakespeare's Lovis Labour's Lost, I. i. 149-161 ; 
 and there are a few in the play of Selimus. But there is 
 nothing which can strictly be called a narrative poem or 
 supposed to have had much influence in popularising the 
 metre. There was, however, a poem of Lodge's which might 
 have done so, but it was by no means popular itself, though 
 it deserves separate treatment because it has sometimes been 
 regarded as the source or model of Venus and Adonis. This 
 is Scillaes Metamorphosis, usually called by its running title 
 Glaucus and Scilla, published in 1 589. The metre of the two 
 poems is the same. Both have their origin in classical 
 mythology and contain incidents and discourses not to be 
 found in the original fables. In both a female labours for 
 the love of a reluctant male, and there are one or two minor 
 resemblances of thought or imagery. Here the likeness ends. 
 If it were not for his charming lyrics, Lodge might be 
 thought to have had no ear for sound or rhythm, or at least 
 for anything higher than monotony and the smoothness 
 that comes by imitation. There is neither the movement 
 nor the pause of passion in the lines in which his characters 
 assure us that their hearts are torn and shaken. His images 
 and illustrations are such as might to-day be gathered in the 
 British Museum, results of research rather than experience ; 
 and he is quite capable of representing ridiculous situations 
 as pathetic. There is neither plot nor purpose in his poem, 
 but it has, at least, a framework. The author represents 
 himself as strolling, a pilgrim of love, on the banks of the 
 Isis, where he is joined by the sea-god, Glaucus, wounded by 
 Cupid and rejected by Scylla. Here, as if in response to 
 invitations, there arrive in succession four parties of goddesses 
 with their attendants. The description of each company 
 is followed by a monologue in which for the most part 
 Glaucus laments or is comforted. There are five incidents, 
 (i) Glaucus swoons and is restored to physical health by 
 moly, amaranthus, and Ajax' flower. (2) At the instance of 
 Thetis, his infatuation for Scylla is cured by Cupid, whose 
 second arrow, like that of Douglas of old, enters precisely the 
 hole made by the first, " a furious dart he sent Into that 
 wound which he had made before." (3) Cupid wounds Scylla. 
 
 (4) Scylla makes love to Glaucus without reserve or suc- 
 cess ; and the assembly retires in inverse order, the last first. 
 
 (5) Glaucus and the author, " horsed " on dolphins, are in time 
 to hear Scylla's lamentations answered by Echo, and to 
 
 b 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 watch her metamorphosis. She is bound and led into the 
 rocks of Sicily by the ■ personifications " Furie and Rage, 
 Wan-hope, Dispaire and Woe." 
 
 "hir lockes 
 Are chang'd with wonder into hideous sands 
 And hard as flint become her snow-white hands." 
 
 And yet she moves : 
 
 " The waters howle with fatall tunes about her. 
 The aire doth scowle when as she turnes within them." 
 
 Like the metamorphosis, the description is incomplete ; 
 hair of sand, and hands of flint, and motion. The mind's eye 
 rising from sand to rock pauses, but we are left with the un- 
 easy feeling that Fradubio transformed but not inverted was 
 in better case. 
 
 The passages which are supposed to have aided Shake- 
 speare are as follows (I quote from the Hunterian Club's 
 Reprint of the first edition) : 
 
 I. "He that hath scene the sweete Arcadian boy 
 Wiping the purple from his forced wound. 
 His pretie teares betokening his annoy, 
 His sighes, his cries, his falling on the ground, 
 The Ecchoes ringing from the rockes his fall. 
 The trees with teares reporting of his thrall : 
 
 And Venus starting at her love-mates crie, 
 Forcing hir birds to hast her chariot on ; 
 And full of griefe at last with piteous eie 
 Scene where all pale with death he lay alone. 
 
 Whose beautie quaild, as wont the Lillies droop 
 When wastfull winter windes doo make them stoop : 
 
 Her daintie hand addrest to dawe her deere, 
 Her roseall lip alied to his pale cheeke. 
 Her sighes, and then her lookes and heavie cheere, 
 Her bitter threates, and then her passions meeke; 
 How on his senseles corpes she lay a crying, 
 As if the boy were then but new a dying." 
 
 Cf. Venus and Adonis, 1027-1128. 
 
 2. " Themis that knewe, that waters long restrained 
 
 Breake foorth with greater billowes than the brookes 
 That swetely float through meades with floures distained, 
 With cheerefuU laies did raise his heavie lookes; 
 
 And bad him speake and tell what him agreev'd : 
 For griefes disclos'd (said she) are soone releev'd." 
 
INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 Cf. Venus and Adonis, 329-334: 
 
 "For lovers say, the heart hath treble wrong 
 When it is barr'd the aidance of the tongue. 
 
 An oven that is stopp'd, or river stay'd, 
 Burneth more hotly, swelleth with more rage: 
 So of concealed sorrow may be said ; 
 Free vent of words love's fire doth assuage." 
 
 3. " An yvorie shadowed front, wherein was wrapped 
 
 Those pretie bowres where Graces couched be : 
 
 Next which her cheekes appeerd like crimson silk, 
 Or ruddie rose bespred on whitest milk." 
 
 Cf. Venus and Adonis, 589, 590: 
 
 " a sudden pale. 
 Like lawn being spread upon the blushing rose." 
 
 4. " Eccho her selfe when Scilla cried out O love ! 
 
 With piteous voice from out her hollow den 
 Returnd these words, these words of sorrow, (no love) 
 No love (quoth she) then fie on traiterous men^ 
 
 Then fie on hope : then fie on hope (quoth Eccho) 
 To everie word the Nimph did answere so. . . . 
 
 Glaucus (quoth she) is faire: whilst Eccho sings 
 Glaucus is faire: but yet he hateth Scilla 
 The wretch reportes : and then her armes she wrings 
 Whilst Eccho tells her this, he hateth Scilla, 
 
 No hope (quoth she) : no hope (quoth Eccho) then. 
 
 Then fie on men : when she said, fie on men." 
 
 Cf. Venus and Adonis, 833-852 : 
 
 " ' Ay me ! ' she cries, and twenty times, ' Woe, woe ! ' 
 And twenty echoes twenty times cry so. . . . 
 
 She says ' 'Tis so : ' they answer all ' 'Tis so ; ' 
 And would say after her, if she said ' No.' " 
 
 Whatever Shakespeare may have borrowed, it was not the 
 art of story-telling. Glaucus and Scilla is in the strictest 
 sense incoherent ; no incident or situation draws on or grows 
 out of another. The faults are not those of immaturity but 
 of incompetence, of an imagination that can only work piece- 
 meal. Lodge makes his stanzas as a coalheaver makes cart- 
 loads, successive shovelfuls with the same swing. There is a 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 certain uniformity of material and workmanship, but of inter- 
 dependence and correlation of parts there is nothing. A 
 house so built might be judged by a brick. In reading 
 Shakespeare, we have an impression of unity and design and 
 a sense of expectation continually satisfied and continually 
 renewed. Scene and situation are treated with the simplicity 
 and completeness of art made perfect by experience. Nothing, 
 in his own phrase, lives to itself. Attitude, gesture, movement, 
 trifling as they may seem, are all significant, giving life and 
 meaning, till the reader sees the image and feels the passion ; 
 and, in addition to this, they have the subsidiary but most 
 important function of aiding in the construction of the 
 narrative, of continuing its sequence and maintaining its 
 interest. They serve as links and finger-posts. To give a 
 humble illustration, if a hand is extended, we expect some- 
 thing to follow, a blessing, it may be, or a greeting; if we 
 read of a clenched fist, we expect that a blow will be inflicted 
 or warded. A hint suffices for a promise or a threat, and if 
 nothing happens we feel defrauded ; still more so, if something 
 happens which could not possibly have been foreseen. This 
 is Lodge's way, but it is not Shakespeare's. In Lodge, action 
 and attitude are treated conventionally, and serve as padding. 
 Compare, for example, Venus and Adonis 319-354 with the 
 opening stanzas of Glaucus and Scilla. In the former we can 
 follow the movements of Adonis as he tries to catch his horse 
 and fails. He is left behind, and sits down flushed and angry. 
 He sees Venus returning, pulls down his hat, and ostenta- 
 tiously stares at the ground while " all askance he holds her 
 in his eye." Venus comes stealing back, and kneels beside 
 him, with one hand raising his hat, with the other making 
 dimples in his cheek. Image rises after image in the reader's 
 mind. There is nothing wanting or incongruous. But in 
 Glaucus and Scilla action and expression are for the most 
 part conventional poses : Scylla in distress wrings her arms, 
 Glaucus folds and unfolds his. But the actions described 
 have no bearing on the story, and the changes are as sudden 
 and inexplicable as conjuring tricks. 
 
 The poem is written as an excerpt from an autobiography : 
 " Walking alone . . . Within a thicket near to Isis floud . . . 
 The Sea-god Glaucus . . . before my face appears." There is 
 no surprise, no greeting, not a word to show how Lodge got 
 out of his thicket or how Glaucus got in. There is merely 
 a couplet on the queer clothes of the god, 
 
 "For whom the Nimphes a mossie coate did frame, 
 Embroadered with his Scillas heavenly name," 
 
INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 and the poem continues : 
 
 " And as I sat under a Willow tree, 
 The lovelie honour of faire Thetis bower, 
 Reposd his head upon my faintfull knee." 
 
 No clue of reason or imagination has guided us to the 
 new situation ; and something may be said against it ; for there 
 is a touch of reproach in the word " faintful," as if Glaucus 
 had taken advantage of his helplessness to creep under the 
 lee of his gaberdine. Still, the attitudes are definitely those 
 of mother and child, consoler and consoled. It will be easy 
 for Lodge to glance an eye of pity, to smooth the curls, to 
 bend and whisper. In an instant we are undeceived. Action 
 and utterance are confined to the reposer : 
 
 "And when my teares had ceasd their stormie shower, 
 He dried my cheekes, and then bespake him so. 
 As when he waild I straight forgot my woe." 
 
 Here the gulf between quiescence and effort is unbridged. It 
 is as if, instead of reclining, the god had been crouching for 
 a spring. The action is incompatible with the position. But 
 the succeeding line asserts that he wailed. This, if he had 
 not moved in the meantime, would be recognised as both 
 appropriate and easy. Must we then understand the drying 
 of cheeks as a passing incongruity of accident or impulse and 
 the wail as a return to nature ? Let us speak not out of lame 
 surmises but from proof There is no wail. Lodge in the 
 next four stanzas confutes his own assertion ; for Glaucus 
 merely moralises and prescribes : a waller is more condoling. 
 He takes as his subject inconstancy. Change is the common 
 lot. From nature and books, sunrise and pomp with their 
 attendant cloud and disaster, as also from the Schoolmen's 
 cunning notes 
 
 "Of hearbs, of metall, and of Thetis floates 
 Of lawes and nurture kept among the bees," 
 
 his hearer is desired to 
 "Conclude and knowe times change by course of fate." 
 
 The discourse ends with the words : 
 
 "Then mourne no more, but moane my haples state." 
 
 As doctor and patient were suffering from the same 
 disease, this is surely a most lame and impotent conclusion. 
 Throughout, some inconsistency or inconsequence dissipates 
 
XX INTRODtfCTlON 
 
 the illusion and defeats the purpose. One of the best lines 
 is spoilt by a word : 
 
 " And shippes shall safely saile whereas beforne 
 The ploughman watcht the reaping of his corne." 
 
 Why should he plough and not reap ? 
 
 Again, though we are evidently intended to sympathise 
 with Glaucus, he is yet represented as asking the surrounding 
 sea-nymphs whether they had not loved him and loved in 
 vain : 
 
 "Was any Nimph, you Nimphes was ever any 
 That tangled not her fingers in my tress? 
 Some well I wot and of that some full many 
 Wisht or my faire, or their desire were lesse. 
 Even Ariadne gazing from the skie 
 Became enamorde of poore Glaucus eye." 
 
 Even the passages from which Shakespeare may have 
 caught a hint are deformed. To Scylla's "O Love," Echo 
 replies " No love," though in addition to Ovid, Lodge had a 
 sufficient model in the echo song of Gascoigne's Princely 
 Pleasures of Kenilworth Castle, where Echo, so to say, repeats 
 no more than she hears. 
 
 Once more, while Venus's endearments are indefensible, 
 she is, as compared with Scylla, circumspect and discreet. 
 Her sport, as she reminds Adonis, " is not in sight." But 
 Scylla's sighs, vows, tears, blushes, whisperings are sighed, 
 vowed, wept, blushed, whispered before gods and men. 
 
 " Lord how her lippes doo dwell upon his cheekes ; 
 And how she lookes for babies in his eies." 
 
 Yet there are present, in addition to her victim Glaucus 
 and his friend the author, Themis and the sea-nymphs, 
 Thetis and her train of attendants, Venus and Cupid, and 
 Palemon with the Tritons. Such is the work of a man 
 writing without either the assistance or the control of the 
 mind's eye or the mind's ear. There is not a ripple on the 
 verse. The reader passes from line to line and from stanza 
 to stanza with an indifference as unbroken as its own fluidity. 
 Whether Shakespeare was or was not indebted to Lodge 
 for hints as to metre, subject, treatment, or an occasional 
 thought or fancy, is a question of little moment. If he was, 
 his Venus and Adonis was written later than 1589, or when he 
 was twenty-five years of age and upwards ; for Shakespeare 
 was probably born early in 1564. But such external evidence 
 can at best confirm what is proved by the quality of the 
 
INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 poem. To regard it as the work of a boy lisping in numbers, 
 even if we suppose it changed and completed for a patron in 
 later days, is to be deaf as well as blind. Some writers 
 indeed have gone so far as to imply that the descriptions of 
 the country, of hare and horse and hound, could only have 
 been written in the early days of Stratford, as if a poet could 
 not reach beyond the experience of the moment, or describe 
 more than his immediate surroundings. A mind such as 
 Shakespeare's fed and furnished with an inexhaustible supply 
 of life-like impressions by a memory capable of instantaneous 
 service would account for every description, every hint and 
 allusion, even if he had been in no real sense a sportsman at 
 all. In fact, good and accurate work in this kind was accom- 
 plished by Topsel in prose and by Gascoigne in verse, though 
 Topsel admits that he was indifferent to sport, and Gascoigne's 
 shooting was, on his own showing, a standing joke, and their 
 sympathies, like Shakespeare's, were less with the pursuer 
 than the pursued. It is not impossible that Shakespeare's 
 skill in woodcraft has been exaggerated. Tradition states 
 that he was a poacher, not that he was a master-poacher or 
 expert. More fortunate-unlucky than Gascoigne, he could 
 strike a doe, but to bear her cleanly by the keeper's nose was 
 not always within his power. 
 
 i^enus and Adonis may not be a great poem, but a poem 
 it certainly is, and if almost uniform excellence of treatment 
 and occasional splendour be admitted in evidence, it is greater 
 than any poem of any other poet of the century except 
 Spenser. There is in it much that even Spenser could not 
 have written ; his best work falls short of this in vigour and 
 coherer ce. of narratjve and in the indescribable felicity of a 
 rhythm which, amid all Jts changes, unfailingly res^ponds to 
 the sens and feeling of the words. J 
 
 The perfection of Spenser's verse gives to his poems the 
 beauty of fairyland and of dreams, and the perfection of 
 Shakespare's adds to the sense of reality , because without 
 imitative tricks and artifices" ft is "so admirably appropriate. 
 His leas; effective lines, e.g. " ' I am,' quoth he, ' expected of 
 my friends,' " are at least true to nature. 
 
 Swinburne, indeed, has said of Shakespeare that "if we 
 put aside the Sonnets, we must admit that he never did any- 
 thing in iiyme worth Hero and Leander" but in Swinburne's 
 own narntive poems the narrative itself is the least con- 
 spicuous )f their merits, and in his imagination Marlowe's 
 poem maj^ have " stood up re-created," transfigured to all 
 that it mijht have been had its author lived to refashion and 
 complete t. 
 
xxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 As it stands, though there are in it passages that for free 
 movement and beauty can hardly be overpraised, these are 
 but scattered lights. Judged as a whole, it is a magnificent 
 patdiwprk, made up of descriptions of persons, or of the 
 cloBies of persons, who do little or nothing, and of places 
 where little or nothing happens. In the intervals between 
 these, the verse flags or labours. Unessentials or impossi- 
 bilities are described at inordinate length and great oppor- 
 tunities neglected. The actual crossing of the Hellespont is 
 related without suggesting any sound or freshness of sea or 
 air, or any effort or eagerness of the swimmer; there is not a 
 glimpse of the hope that sustains or the light that guides him. 
 The whole of it is not worth the brief image of the Hebrew, 
 "as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim." 
 Our eyes are distracted from Leander to the unwieldy 
 gambols of Neptune, wallowing about him with unsought 
 endearments or unprovoked violence. It is by no means a 
 delightful duty to dwell mainly on defects in the work of a 
 poet who, in the words of Swinburne, 
 
 " First gave our song a sound that matched our se^." 
 
 In the presence of its beauties its faults are easily forgotten. 
 If it were not that it has been regarded as among tht very 
 chief of Shakespeare's models, its weakness or its gre|.tness, 
 absolute or relative, would hardly concern us here; but its 
 defects must be adequately realised if we are to /orm a 
 reasonable estimate of its influence, supposing its inflijence to 
 have been felt. That Shakespeare had even read it so early 
 as in Marlowe's lifetime, it would be difficult to proveJ In an 
 age when MSS. circulated freely, it is not unlikely Jthat he 
 had, and if so, his independence of mind is all tie more 
 remarkable. He was not moved by its evil exampleto relax 
 his powers of conceiving a large scheme, and of so ^electing 
 and ordering a multitude of thoughts and incidents that his 
 narrative moves in a natural and harmonious cdirse un- 
 checked and unblemished by any trace of negleence or 
 fatigue. r 
 
 Passages from Hero and Leander are given baow with 
 references to Dyce's one- volume edition of Marlove. The 
 corresponding passages in Venus and Adonis are r/ferred to 
 by line : { 
 
 I. "To please the careless and disdainful ey|s 
 Of proud Adonis." 
 
 (p. 279 b ; Venus and Adonis\passim) 
 
INTRODUCTION xxiii 
 
 2. "Those orient cheeks and lips excelling his 
 
 That leapt into the water for a kiss 
 Of his own shadow." 
 
 (p. 280 a; Venus and Adonis, II. 161, 162) 
 
 This may have caused Shakespeare to think that Narcissus 
 was drowned. 
 
 3. " Why art thou not in love and lov'd of all ? 
 
 Though thou art fair yet be not thine own thrall." 
 (280 b; Venus and Adonis, 11. 156-160 and 837) 
 
 4. " Fair Cynthia wish'd his arms might be her sphere ; 
 
 Grief makes her pale because he moves not there." 
 (280 a ; Venus and Adonis, 11. 725, 726) 
 
 5. " Rose-cheek'd Adonis." (280 3; Venus and Adonis, X."^ 
 
 6. " Thence flew Love's arrow with the golden head." 
 
 (281 ^ ; Venus and Adonis, 1. 947) 
 
 7. "dark night is Cupid's day." 
 
 (281 b; Venus and Adonis, 1. 720) 
 
 8. "then treasure is abus'd 
 When misers keep it: being put to loan 
 In time it will return us two for one." 
 
 (282 a ; Venus and Adonis, 1. 768) 
 
 9. "a fruitless cold virginity." 
 
 (283 a ; Venus and Adonis, 1. 75 1) 
 
 10. "And like light Salmacis, her body throws 
 
 Upon his bosom, where with yielding eyes 
 
 She offers up herself a sacrifice 
 
 To shake his anger, if he were displeas'd." 
 
 (285 b. The courtship of Adonis by Venus re- 
 sembles that of Hermaphroditus by Salmacis) 
 
 11. "For as a hot proud horse highly disdains 
 
 To have his head controll'd, but breaks the reins, 
 Spits forth the ringled bit, and with his hoves 
 Checks the submissive ground ; so he that loves 
 The more he is restrain'd, the worse he fares." 
 
 (286 b, 287 a ; Venus and Adonis, 1. 263, etc.) 
 
 The reputation of Venus and Adonis as a poem has 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 suffered from the presence of certain lines which offend 
 equally against good manners and good taste. These can 
 only be regretted. They cannot be wholly explained either 
 by the character of the subject or by the coarseness of the 
 age. Spenser occasionally offends against good taste in 
 passages which are as the " musty chaff" to which Coriolanus 
 likened his fellow-citizens, but his offences are of a different 
 kind, and he writes as a moralist and in defence of virtue. 
 Barnfield excused his own tacenda on the ground that he 
 was imitating Virgil, but Ovid's descriptions of Venus and 
 even of Salmacis are comparatively inoffensive. 
 
 Marston defended his Pygmalion as a kind of illustrative 
 satire on the malpractices of others, but this defence will not 
 serve for Shakespeare and did not save Pygmalion from the 
 flames. I can only suggest that what is objectionable in 
 Venus and Adonis is due to the intrusion into poetry of the 
 spirit of epigram. The tone is that of Epigrams by J. D. 
 which was burnt by authority, of Guilpin's Skialetheia, and of 
 much of the same sort in Ben Jonson and Herrick. ( This at 
 least may fairly be said of the worst parts__of Venus and 
 Adonis, that they do not represent unbridled passion TfT a 
 favourable light. As provocatives and incentives they are 
 easily distanced by at least one description in Hero and 
 Leander, not to mention the imitation of this in Pygmalion. 
 
 But however trifling the subject and regrettable certain 
 incidents and the emphasis with which they are treated, 
 JVenus and Adonis has great merits. Had it been written by 
 any other than the author of Othello and Lear, it would not 
 have been so unduly neglected, but if the nature of the poem 
 does not excuse its coarseness, it at least accounts for the 
 absence of sublimities. 'There was neither need nor oppor- 
 tunity for such a passage as the words of Coriolanus to his 
 child : 
 
 "that thou mayest stand 
 To shame invulnerable and stick i' the wars 
 Like a great seamark standing every flaw 
 And saving those that eye thee"; 
 
 or for the wonderful line in the Sonnets : 
 
 "Bare ruin'd choirs where late the sweet birds sang." 
 
 IVon nunc, as Horace has wisely said, erat his locus. What 
 is fit and proper has been given in full measure. Great lines, 
 no doubt, do not make a great poem, but only a great poet 
 can write them ; and few poems contain so many lines so 
 
INTRODUCTION xxv 
 
 beautiful that it is impossible to forget them. It may be 
 convenient, though perhaps hardly necessary, to cite here a 
 few that would do honour to any poet. 
 
 "Thus he that overrul'd I oversway'd 
 Leading him prisoner in a red rose chain ; " 
 
 a line so delicately beautiful in rhythm that the slightest 
 change, the mere hyphening of the words red rose, and the 
 consequent lightening of the stress on the latter, is a serious 
 blemish. 
 
 Even lines which like the following are no more than the 
 expression of a graceful fancy have a perfection of their 
 own : 
 
 " Full gently now she takes him by the hand, 
 A lily prison' d in a gaol of snow" 
 
 0, si sic omnia ! And again : 
 
 " Look how a bright star shooteth from the sky, 
 So glides he in the night from Venus' eye." 
 
 And this : 
 
 " Who doth the world so gloriously behold 
 That cedar tops and hills seem molten gold." 
 
 And what a world there is of others ! One more may be 
 added, if only on account of the light it sheds either on the 
 authorship of the parallel passage in Titus Andronicus or on 
 the marvellous development of Shakespeare's powers, as if a 
 crow should become a skylark and sing at heaven's gate. 
 It is the description of hounds in full cry. 
 
 " Then do they spend their mouths : Echo replies 
 As if another chase were in the skies." 
 
 The fancy is the same as in the speech of Tamora to Aaron 
 (ri. iii. 17-20) : 
 
 "And while the babbling echo mocks the hounds 
 Replying shrilly to the well-tuned horns, 
 As if a double hunt were heard at once. 
 Let us sit down and mark their yelping noise." 
 
 Sound it, doth it become the mouth as well? With our 
 modern pronunciation the line in italics would approximate 
 in tone to the meanings of a sick cow ; with the pronunciation 
 of the Elizabethans, the resemblance is complete. In the 
 
xxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 former, the very cry is suggested without any trace of artifice 
 or mimicry ; there is no repetition of the sounds except what 
 is necessary for the rime. In the latter, the sounds themselves 
 are low and inappropriate ; they are repeated and are bedded 
 in consonants; and the rhythm sticks and stumbles. Not 
 only is the ear defrauded but also the eye. The words " were 
 heard " reinforced by " Let us sit down," pin the whole scene 
 to a spot of earth, and leave us with the impression of a seat 
 upon the ground rather than of infinite movement through 
 infinite space. The other sounds like what it is: it moves 
 with the freedom and sweep of a bird ; it opens the heavens 
 above us as in a vision of the flying huntsman or of Gabriel's 
 hounds, 
 
 "Doomed with their impious lord, the flying hart, 
 To hunt forever in aerial grounds." 
 
 On the whole, the lines in the play seem less like an early 
 effort of genius to fly than the assured step of mediocrity, 
 resolute and mature. Without wishing to dogmatise where 
 there can be no proof, I should be inclined to set them down 
 as the work of a man confident in assigning to inspiration 
 his mastery over metrical prose. The marvel is, not that a 
 few dull lines should have been written by Shakespeare in 
 his haste, but that having a great opportunity he should 
 have missed it, and that failing here he should yet have been 
 so entirely successful in that later speech of Tamora's : 
 
 " King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy name," etc. 
 
 In the interesting Introduction to Griggs's Facsimile of 
 Venus and Adonis, it is suggested that of the two great 
 influences affecting English poetry in the sixteenth century, 
 viz. Latin and Italian, Shakespeare, with Marlowe to guide 
 him, deliberately and exclusively submitted to the former, 
 thus choosing, as was natural, the human and vital in prefer- 
 ence to the allegorical and fantastic. It is needless to repeat 
 what has there been excellently said. I would merely add, 
 by way of supplement or caution, that there were other 
 influences at work, e.g. French, that Latin and Italian were 
 sometimes translated into English not from the originals but 
 from French translations, a circumstance that would naturally 
 tend to obscure their native qualities, and that probably 
 Shakespeare was influenced by the prose as well as by the 
 poetry of his contemporaries. Classical literature, in particular, 
 seems to have affected Shakespeare much as it affected 
 Keats, not as it affected, for example, Ben Jonson. It was 
 
INTRODUCTION xxvii 
 
 an influence on the subject rather than on the style and 
 treatment. Venus and Adonis, like Lucrece, is a Latin story, 
 i.e. Latin in title and origin, but Shakespeare replanted 
 the exotics in English soil. Details and illustrations are 
 English, the scenery, the hunt, the rush-strewn floor, the 
 references to the plague, to law, to chivalry, and so forth. 
 When foreign influence extends little further than to the 
 plot, it is possible to divide too strictly different ages and 
 different nationalities. In Painter's Palace of Pleasure, as 
 previously in the Gesta Romanorum, Latin and Italian tales 
 appeared in the same volume. Translation too was a great 
 leveller, and even Painter sometimes used a French version. 
 We cannot say that Greene wrote under Hebrew or Hellenic 
 influence because he expanded the apocryphal History of 
 Susannah. In fact, this story of Greene's which he entitled 
 A Princelie Mirrour of Peereles Modestie, is especially in- 
 teresting in this connection ; for, not being derived from any 
 of the usual sources, it bears no traces of its peculiar origin, 
 and might stand as a typical novel of the time. Its resem- 
 blances to Lucrece will be noticed hereafter. What concerns us 
 here is the plan and framework. It seems not to have been 
 noticed that in these respects Elizabethan novels and Eliza- 
 bethan narrative poems are precisely similar. In both, the 
 plot is of the slightest. The few incidents are held apart by 
 soliloquies, or by debates or conversations usually confined 
 to two persons, and consisting of set speeches. Soliloquies 
 and speeches alike are for the most part loci communes, their 
 subjects being love, time, death, friendship, etc. The simplest 
 assertion is copiously illustrated by parallels from history and 
 tradition, or by similes invented or borrowed from the animal, 
 vegetable, and mineral worlds. The style is animated by 
 figures of speech, and the alliterations are elaborate and 
 frequent. Such is Greene's Mirrour of Modestie, and such in 
 great measure is Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, But in 
 other writers the elements are more obtrusive than in Shake- 
 speare. What in others is visible padding, or affectation, is in 
 him natural growth, for he makes us feel and see ; and to the 
 motive power of imagination and sympathy he has added 
 the rarer virtues of discretion and restraint. Thus, in illus- 
 trating concealed sorrow, he contents himself with two 
 examples, the oven stopped and the river stayed, whereas 
 Lily in a similar passage has four. It must, however, be 
 admitted that he sometimes yields to the prevailing taste, as 
 in 11. 415-420 and 458-462. Ovid offends in the same way, 
 but in comparison with the Euphuists both he and Shake- 
 speare are miracles of temperance. 
 
xxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 In general, Shakespeare is distinguished from his con- 
 temporaries, not byflaeintroductrojiof any novelty of" frame- 
 work or ornament, but by his skill and moderation in the 
 use of what was customary. He delivers a plain, unvarnished, 
 or at least not over-varnished, tale, and does not divert 
 attention from his subject by exposing to admiration his own 
 ingenuities and erudition. When he affects the letter, it is 
 nof laecause it argues facility. His success does not seem to 
 arise from the mere pruning of redundancies so much as 
 from the thorough realisation of the matter in hand and the 
 consequent sense of what is fitting. Other writers try to 
 exhaust a topic. Shakespeare's speeches are never mono- 
 graphs, and are rarely inappropriate. His Adonis may 
 exhibit a precocious wisdom, as in asking " Who plucks the 
 bud before one leaf put forth ? " but this is far removed from 
 the blunt complacency of the corresponding words in Con- 
 stable's poem : " Tender are my years, I am yet a bud." I have 
 appended this poem of Constable's, as an interesting example 
 of contemporary treatment of one of Shakespeare's subjects, 
 to the extracts from Spenser and Golding which seem to be 
 the sources of Venus and Adonis. It is now regarded as an 
 imitation, but Malone thought otherwise, though, like the 
 good scholar he was, he did not mistake his prepossessions 
 for evidence. His words are : " I am persuaded that the 
 Sheepheard's Song of Venus and Adonis, by Henry 
 Constable, preceded the poem before us. Of this, it may be 
 said, no proof has been produced ; and certainly I am at 
 present unfurnished with the means of establishing this fact, 
 though I have myself no doubts upon the subject." 
 
 Constable differs from Shakespeare in introducing refer- 
 ences to Myrrha. Her story is given by Ovid, who, however, 
 represents Adonis as the willing lover of Venus. His 
 passionless nature or age, as depicted by Shakespeare, would 
 seem to preclude any allusion to his parentage, and Shake- 
 speare has none (11. 203, 204 are too general to count) ; but if 
 Constable was the later writer and the imitator of Shakespeare, 
 it may seem strange that he should in this respect have 
 deserted his guide. But it would, on the other hand, be still 
 stranger if Shakespeare had chosen for his first poem so un- 
 gainly a model. 
 
 Though from Chaucer onwards there were many allusions 
 to the story, Shakespeare was probably the first English 
 poet to make it the subject of a separate poem. There were, 
 however, several such poems or plays in Latin, Italian, 
 French, and Spanish, as well as translations of Bion's Elegy 
 on Adonis. Malone had long ago quoted from the Latin 
 
INTRODUCTION xxix 
 
 poem, De Adoni ab Apro Interempto, by Antonius Sebastianus 
 Minturnus, the boar's apology (borrowed from Theocritus) 
 for the wound as a rough kiss : 
 
 "... iterum atque juro iterum, 
 Formosum hunc juvenem tuum haud volui 
 Meis diripere his cupidinibus 
 Verum dum specimen nitens video, 
 (^stus impatiens tenella dabat 
 Nuda femina moUibus zephyris) 
 Ingens me miserum libido capit 
 Mille suavia dulcia hinc capere, 
 Atque me impulit ingens indomitus." 
 
 And to the name of Minturno, Mr. Sidney Lee has added 
 those of Alciati and Sannazaro as among the Italian authors 
 of Latin poems on Adonis; see note i, p. 21, of his Introduc- 
 tion to the Oxford Facsimile, from which I cite the following 
 list of titles and names of authors, and to which I can only 
 refer my readers for further particulars. 
 
 Italian : — Bion's Elegy translated by Amomo (unknown), 
 in a collection of Rime Toscane, 153S ; La Favola d'Adone, 
 1545, by Lodovico Dolce, translator of Ovid's Metamorphoses ; 
 LA done, 1550, by Metello Giovanni Tarchagnota ; La Favola 
 dAdone by Girolamo Parabosco, who died in 1557; L'Adone, 
 1623, by Giovanni Battista Marino. 
 
 French : — Bion's Elegy translated by Melin de St. Gelais, 
 1547 ; Adonis, ou la Ckasse du Sanglier, before 1574, by Jean 
 Passerat; Adonis, 1579, a tragedy by Gabriel le Breton, an 
 allegorical elegy on the death of King Charles ix. of France, 
 who died in 1574. 
 
 Spanish: — Fabula de Adonis, 1553, by Don Diego 
 Hurtado de Mendoza; Llanto de Venus en la muerte de 
 Adonis, 1582, by Juan de la Cueva; Venus en la muerte de 
 Adonis, a sonnet by Juan de la Arguijo, who died in 1629; 
 and Adonis y Venus, before 1600, a tragedy by Lope de Vega. 
 
 And there were others. "There are," says Mr. Sidney 
 Lee, "too many details peculiar to Shakespeare's poem 
 and to its Italian predecessors, to preclude the suggestion 
 that Shakespeare was acquainted with the latter and absorbed 
 some of their ornaments and episodes. The deliberate setting 
 of the scene of Venus and Adonis amid flowers blooming 
 under the languorous heat of summer skies is outside the 
 scheme of the Latin or Greek poets. Yet this is a feature 
 common to the work of Shakespeare and the Italians." 
 Other resemblances are the execration of death (Shakespeare, 
 
XXX INTRODUCTION 
 
 11- 931-954) 991-1002 ; and Tarchagnota, stanzas liv-lix) and 
 its retractation, and the excuse for the boar that its attack was 
 an embrace (Shakespeare, II. 1110-1116; and Tarchagnota, 
 stanza Ixv). 
 
 But it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between imita- 
 tions and coincidences. Ovid gives a hint that the time 
 was summer: "Opportuna sua blanditur populus umbra 
 Datque torum caespes." Death is reproached, in The 
 Dolefull Lay of Clorinda, a lament for the death of Sir 
 Philip Sidney, which Spenser wrote in the person of Sidney's 
 sister, Mary Countess of Pembroke. Both this and the pre- 
 ceding poem, Astrophel, are in the metre of Venus and 
 Adonis, and in Astrophel Spenser represents Sidney as having 
 been killed, like Adonis, while hunting, by a wound in his 
 thigh. Of course, Spenser may have taken a hint from 
 Tarchagnota for his " Death the devourer of all worlds delight," 
 etc., as he may have taken one from Gabriel le Breton, when 
 he introduced into his Elegy the circumstances of the death 
 of Adonis. As already mentioned, the boar's excuse had 
 appeared in Theocritus and in Minturno. It is perhaps worth 
 notice that Malone had suspected the existence of Italian 
 influence on the story of Adonis, though neither he nor 
 Warton, whom he consulted, was able to produce any evidence 
 in support of his guess. 
 
 The ultimate sources of Shakespeare's poem are to be 
 found in Ovid's stories of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus and 
 of Venus and Adonis, and if we except the references to 
 Adonis's hunting, only the last third of the poem is from the 
 latter. The story of Narcissus and Echo {Met. iii.) may have 
 given a hint for the allusion to Narcissus in 11. 161, 162, and 
 for the description of Venus's lamentation in 11. 829-852. 
 But Ovid's Narcissus was changed to a flower, not drowned, 
 and such hints could have been given equally well by dozens 
 of English books. 
 
 I do not know any classical allusion in Venus and Adonis 
 that appears there for the first time, or is peculiar to Shake- 
 speare. He does not seem to have been the first to combine 
 the stories of Salmacis and Venus. Possibly the combination 
 was in the first instance accidental. Some such picture as 
 is described in The Taming of the Shrew (Induction, 
 ii. 52-55) may really have represented a scene from the 
 story of Salmacis, and being misinterpreted may have caused 
 the youth of the victim, the bathing, and the espionage to pass 
 into the Venus legend. This is mere conjecture, but it is a 
 fact that all these circumstances occur in Spenser's description 
 of the arras of " Castle Joyeous " {Faerie Queenc, III. i. xxxiv- 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxi 
 
 xxxviii), and it is equally indisputable that they belong to 
 the story of Salmacis and not to that of Venus. 
 
 Shakespeare was anticipated not only by Spenser, but 
 in two points also by Marlowe and Greene, in passages quoted 
 in the Introduction to the Passionate Pilgrim. 
 
 In the following summary, I include the lines in The 
 Taming of the Shrew, and the anonymous and undated 
 poems, iv., vi., ix., in The Passionate Pilgrim, as well as xi. 
 by Griffin. 
 
 The wooing by Venus appears in Spenser, Marlowe, 
 Greene, and Passionate Pilgrim, iv., ix., xi. ; the indifference 
 or reluctance of Adonis, in Marlowe and Greene (it is implied 
 by Spenser, though his Venus in the end wins as well as 
 woos), and in Passionate Pilgrim, iv., vi., ix., xi. ; " the goodly 
 Poole " mentioned by Golding is " a well " in Spenser, and 
 " a brook " in Passionate Pilgrim, iv., vi., and in The Taming 
 of the Shrew. The bathing is in Spenser and in Passionate 
 Pilgrim, vi. ; the espionage, in Spenser, Passionate Pilgrim, 
 vi., and Taming of the Shrew ; and as regards the youth of 
 Adonis, in Spenser he is called " the Boy," and in the 
 Passionate Pilgrim we find such expressions as "young 
 Adonis," " the lad," " unripe years " (the same phrase occurs 
 in Venus and Adonis, 1. 524), "the tender nibbler," all in 
 iv., "a youngster," "the boy" in ix., and "young Adonis" 
 in xi. 
 
 Now Ovid was at some pains to state that Adonis was 
 not a boy but a man. In the Metamorphoses (x. 523-524), 
 we read : 
 
 "Nuper erat genitus, modo formosissimus infans, 
 lam iuvenis, iam vir, iam se formosior ipso est: 
 lam placet et Veneri," 
 
 which Golding translates : 
 
 "[who] lately borne, became immediatly 
 The beautyfullyst babe on whom man ever set his eye. 
 Anon a stripling hee became, and by and by a man. 
 That in the end Dame Venus fell in love with him."' 
 
 Hermaphroditus, on the contrary, when he was barely 
 fifteen, " tria cum primum fecit quinquennia," left his native 
 hills and crossing through Lycia reached Caria and the pool 
 of Salmacis. He is called neither vir nor iuvenis (Golding's 
 "yongman" is, in the on^mdX, puerum), and though Golding's 
 Salmacis implies that he is old enough to be married Ovid 
 makes her ask merely if he is engaged, and the suggestion 
 
xxxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 that he is perhaps Cupid is an evidence of youth as well 
 as of beauty. 
 
 In addition to the general likeness between Ovid's 
 Salmacis and Shakespeare's Venus, Ovid's Hermaphroditus 
 and Shakespeare's Adonis, there are a few resemblances in 
 details, which, though less convincing, seem to point in the 
 same direction. 
 
 Adonis " blush'd and pouted in a dull disdain,'' Herma- 
 phroditus " waxt red : he wist not what love was." It is 
 said of Venus that " she kiss'd his brow, his cheek, his chin," 
 of Salmacis that " She held him still, and kissed him a 
 hundred times and mo." Venus says that " one sweet kiss 
 will pay this boundless debt," and " 'Tis but a kiss I ask," 
 etc., and Salmacis " desirde most instantly but this As 
 to his sister brotherly to give hir there a kiss " ; Adonis's 
 hand, clasped by Venus, is compared to " A lily prison'd in 
 a gaol of snow," and Hermaphroditus under water "doth 
 glistringly appeare As if a man an Ivorie Image or a Lillie 
 white Should overlay or close with glasse " ; Adonis answers 
 the question, " Where did I leave ? " with " No matter 
 where . . . Leave me," and Hermaphroditus repeats the 
 same word, " Leave of [i.e. off] ... or I am gone and leeve 
 thee at a becke " ; Venus says, " Nay do not struggle, for thou 
 shalt not rise," and Salmacis, "Strive, struggle, wrest and 
 writhe . . . thou froward boy thy fill : Doe what thou 
 canst thou shalt not scape." The word " froward " here 
 may, or may not, be echoed in the last word of TAe Passion- 
 ate Pilgrim, iv. 14. 
 
 For the following extracts, added for convenience' sake, 
 I have used the Globe Spenser, the 1909 reprint of Golding's 
 Ovid, and Mr. Bullen's reprint (2nd ed., 1899) of England's 
 Helicon. 
 
 Faerie Queene, III. i. 34-38 
 XXXIV 
 
 The wals were round about apparelled 
 
 With costly cloths of Arras and of Toure, 
 
 In which with cunning hand was pourtrahed 
 
 The love of Venus and her Paramoure, 
 
 The fayre Adonis turned to a flowre; 
 
 A worfce of rare device and wondrous wit. 
 
 First did it shew the bitter balefull stowre. 
 
 Which her essayd with many a fervent fit, 
 
 When first her tender hart was with his beautie smit. 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxiii 
 
 XXXV 
 
 Then with what sleights and sweet allurements she 
 
 Entyst the Boy, as well that art she knew, 
 
 And wooed him her Paramoure to bee, 
 
 Now making girlonds of each flowre that grew, 
 
 Now leading him into a secret shade 
 
 From his Beauperes, and from bright heavens vew. 
 
 Where him to sleepe she gently would perswade. 
 
 Or bathe him in a fountaine by some covert glade: 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 And whilst he slept she over him would spred 
 Her mantle, colour'd like the starry skyes, 
 And her soft arm lay underneath his hed, 
 And with ambrosiall kisses bathe his eyes ; 
 And whilst he bath'd with her two crafty spyes 
 She secretly would search each daintie lim, 
 And throw into the well sweet Rosemaryes, 
 And fragrant violets, and Paunces trim ; 
 And ever with sweet Nectar she did sprinkle him. 
 
 XXXVII 
 
 So did she steale his heedelesse hart away, 
 
 And joyd his love in secret unespyde: 
 
 But for she saw him bent to cruell play. 
 
 To hunt the salvage beast in forrest wyde, 
 
 Dreadfull of daunger that mote him betyde, 
 
 She oft and oft adviz'd him to refraine 
 
 From chase of greater beastes, whose brutish pryde 
 
 Mote breede him scath unwares; but all in vaine; 
 
 For who can shun the chance that dest'ny doth ordaine? 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 Lo! where beyond he lyeth languishing, 
 
 Deadly engored of a great wilde Bore ; 
 
 And by his side the Goddesse groveling 
 
 Makes for him endlesse mone, and evermore 
 
 With her soft garment wipes away the gore 
 
 Which staynes his snowy skin with hatefull hew: 
 
 But, when she saw no helpe might him restore. 
 
 Him to a daintie flowre she did transmew. 
 
 Which in that cloth was wrought as if it lively grew. 
 
xxxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Story of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus 
 
 (Golding's Ovid's Metamorphosis, iv. 382-462) 
 
 And (as it chaunst) the selfe same time she [Salmacis] 
 
 was a sorting gayes 
 To make a Poisie, when she first the yongman did espie, 
 And in beholding him desirde to have his companie. 
 But though she thought she stood on thornes untill she 
 
 went to him : 
 Yet went she not before she had bedect hir neat and 
 
 trim, 
 And pride and peerd upon hir clothes that nothing sat 
 
 awrie, 
 And framde hir countnance as might seeme most amrous 
 to the eie. 
 
 Which done she thus begon : O childe most 
 
 worthie for to bee 
 Estemde and taken for a God, if (as thou seemste 
 
 to mee) 
 Thou be a God, to Cupids name thy beautie doth 
 agree. 
 Or if thou be a mortall wight, right happie folke are they, 
 By whome thou camste into this worlde, right happy is (I 
 
 say) 
 Thy mother and thy sister too (if any bee:) good hap 
 That woman had that was thy Nurce and gave thy 
 
 mouth hir pap. 
 But far above all other, far more blist than these is shee 
 Whome thou vouchsafest for thy wife and bedfellow too 
 
 bee. 
 Now if thou have alredy one, let me by stelth obtaine 
 That which shall pleasure both of us. Or if thou doe 
 
 remaine 
 A Maiden free from wedlocke bonde, let me then be thy 
 
 spouse. 
 And let us in the bridelie bed our selves togither rouse. 
 This sed, the Nymph did hold hir peace, and therewithall 
 
 the boy 
 Waxt red : he wist not what love was : and sure it was a 
 
 joy 
 To see it how exceeding well his blushing him became. 
 For in his face the colour fresh appeared like the same 
 That is in Apples which doe hang upon the Sunnie side: 
 Or Ivorie shadowed with a red : or such as is espide 
 Of white and scarlet colours mixt appearing in the Moone 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxv 
 
 When folke in vaine with sounding brasse would ease unto 
 
 hir done. 
 When at the last the Nymph desirde most instantly but 
 
 this, 
 As to his sister brotherly to give hir there a kisse, 
 And therewithall was clasping him about the Ivorie 
 
 necke : 
 Leave of (quoth he) or I am gone, and leeve thee at a 
 
 becke 
 With all thy trickes. Then Salmacis began to be afraide, 
 And to your pleasure leave I free this place my friend 
 
 shee sayde. 
 With that she turnes hir backe as though she would have 
 
 gone hir way : 
 But evermore she looketh backe, and (closely as she may) 
 She hides her in a bushie queach, where kneeling on hir 
 
 knee 
 She alwayes hath hir eye on him. He as a child and free, 
 And thinking not that any wight had watched what he 
 
 did, 
 Romes up and downe the pleasant Mede: and by and by 
 
 amid 
 The flattring waves he dippes his feete, no more but first 
 
 the sole 
 And to the ancles afterward both feete he plungeth whole. 
 And for to make the matter short, he tooke so great 
 
 delight 
 In cooleness of the pleasant spring, that streight he 
 
 stripped quight 
 His garments from his tender skin. When Salmacis 
 
 behilde 
 His naked beautie, such strong pangs so ardently hir 
 
 hilde, 
 That utterly she was astraught. And even as Phebus 
 
 beames 
 Against a myrrour pure and clere rebound with broken 
 
 gleames : 
 Even so hir eyes did sparcle fire. Scarce could she 
 
 tarience make : 
 Scarce could she any time delay hir pleasure for to take. 
 She woulde have run, and in hir armes embraced him 
 
 streight way: 
 She was so far beside hir selfe, that scarsly could she stay. 
 He clapping with his hollow hands against his naked sides. 
 Into the water lithe and baine with armes displayed 
 glydes. 
 
xxxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 And rowing with his hands and legges swimmes in the 
 
 water cleare : 
 Through which his bodie faire and white doth glistringly 
 
 appeare, 
 As if a man an Ivorie Image or a Lillie white 
 Should overlay or close with glasse that were most pure 
 and bright. 
 
 The price is won (cride Salmacis aloud) he is 
 
 mine owne. 
 And therewithal! in all post hast she having 
 lightly throwne 
 Hir garments off, flew to the Poole and cast hir thereinto, 
 And caught him fast betweene hir armes for ought that 
 
 he could doe. 
 Yea maugre all his wrestling and his struggling to and 
 
 fro. 
 She held him still, and kissed him a hundred times and 
 
 mo. 
 And willde he nillde he with hir handes she toucht his 
 
 naked brest: 
 And now on this side now on that (for all he did resist 
 And strive to wrest him from hir gripes) she clung unto 
 
 him fast. 
 And wound about him like a Snake, which snatched up 
 
 in hast 
 And being by the Prince of Birdes borne lightly up aloft, 
 Doth writhe hir selfe about his necke and griping talants 
 
 oft, 
 And cast hir taile about his wings displayed in the 
 
 winde : 
 Or like as Ivie runnes on trees about the utter rinde: 
 Or as the Crabfish having caught his enmy in the Seas, 
 Doth claspe him in on every side with all his crooked cleas. 
 But Atlas nephew still persistes and utterly denies 
 The Nymph to have hir hoped sport: she urges 
 him likewise, 
 And pressing him with all hir weight, fast cleaving to 
 
 him still, 
 Strive, struggle, wrest and writhe (she said) thou froward 
 
 boy thy fill : 
 Doe what thou canst thou shalt not scape. Ye Goddes of 
 
 Heaven agree 
 That this same wilfull boy and I may never parted bee. 
 The Goddes were pliant to hir boone. The bodies of 
 
 them twaine 
 Were mixt and joyned both in one. 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxvli 
 
 Golding's Ovid's Metamorphosis, x. 614-863 
 
 Shee [Venus] lovd Adonis more 
 Than heaven. To him shee dinged ay, and bare him 
 
 companye. 
 And in the shaddowe woont shee was to rest continually, 
 And for too set her beautye out most seemlye too the eye 
 By trimly decking of her self Through bushy grounds 
 
 and groves, 
 And over Hills and Dales and Lawnds and stony rocks 
 
 shee roves. 
 Bare kneed with garment tucked up according too the 
 
 woont 
 Of Phebe, and shee cheerd the hounds with hallowing like 
 
 a hunt, 
 Pursewing game of hurtlesse sort, as Hares made lowe 
 
 before, 
 Or stagges with lofty heades, or bucks. But with the 
 
 sturdy Boare, 
 And ravening woolf, and Bearewhelpes armd with ugly 
 
 pawes, and eeke 
 The cruell Lyons which delyght in blood, and slaughter 
 
 seeke, 
 Shee meddled not. And of theis same she warned also 
 
 thee 
 Adonis for too shoone them, if thou wooldst have warned 
 
 bee. 
 Bee bold on cowards {Venus sayd) for whoso dooth 
 
 advaunce 
 Himselfe against the bold, may hap too meete with sum 
 
 mischaunce. 
 Wherefore I pray thee my sweete boy forbeare too bold too 
 
 bee, 
 For feare thy rashnesse hurt thy self and woork the wo of 
 
 mee. 
 Encounter not the kynd of beastes whom nature armed 
 
 hath, 
 For dowt thou buy thy prayse too deere procuring thee 
 
 sum scath. 
 Thy tender youth, thy beawty bright, thy countnance fayre 
 
 and brave 
 Although they had the force to win the hart of Venus, have 
 No powre ageinst the Lyons, nor ageinst the bristled 
 
 swyne. 
 The eyes and harts of savage beasts doo nought too theis 
 
 inclyne. 
 
xxxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 The cruell Boares beare thunder in theyr hooked tushes, 
 
 and 
 Exceeding force and feercenesse is in Lyons too withstand, 
 And sure I hate them at my hart. Too him demaunding 
 
 why? 
 A monstrous chaunce (quoth Venus) I will tell thee by 
 
 and by. 
 That hapned for a fault. But now unwoonted toyle hath 
 
 made 
 Mee weerye: and beholde, in tyme this Poplar with his 
 
 shade 
 Allureth, and the ground for cowch dooth serve too rest 
 
 uppon. 
 I prey thee let us rest us heere. They sate them downe 
 
 anon, 
 And lying upward with her head uppon his lappe along, 
 Shee thus began : and in her tale shee bussed him among. 
 
 [Here follows the story of Atalanta ; cf The Passionate 
 Pilgrim, iv. 5 : " She told him stories to delight his ear."] 
 
 shonne 
 Theis beastes [lions], deere hart: and not from theis 
 
 alonely see thou ronne. 
 But also from eche other beast that turnes not backe too 
 
 flyght, 
 But offreth with his boystows brest too try the chaunce 
 
 of fyght: 
 Anemis least thy valeantnesse [(ed. ii.) Least that thyne 
 
 overhardinesse] bee hurtfull to us both. 
 
 This warning given, with yoked swannes away 
 
 through aire she goth. 
 But manhod by admonishment restreyned could 
 not bee. 
 By chaunce his hounds in following of the tracke, a Boare 
 
 did see, 
 And rowsed him. And as the swyne was comming from 
 
 the wood 
 Adonis hit him with a dart a skew, and drew the blood. 
 The Boare streyght with his hooked groyne the hunting- 
 
 stoffe out drew 
 Bestayned with his blood and on Adonis did pursew, 
 Who trembling and retyring back too place of refuge drew, 
 And hyding in his codds his tuskes as far as he could 
 
 thrust 
 He layd him all along for dead uppon the yellow dust. 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxix 
 
 Dame Venus in her chariot drawen with swannes was 
 
 scarce arrived 
 At Cyprus, when shee knew a farre the sygh of him 
 
 depryved 
 Of lyfe. Shee turnd her Cygnets backe, and when shee 
 
 from the skye 
 Beehilld him dead, and in his blood beweltred for to lye, 
 Shee leaped downe, and tare at once hir garments from 
 
 her brist, 
 And rent her heare, and beate uppon her stomack with 
 
 her fist, 
 And blaming sore the destnyes, sayd : Yit shall they not 
 
 obteine 
 Their will in all things. Of my griefe remembrance shall 
 
 remayne 
 (Adonis) whyle the world doth last. From yeere too 
 
 yeere shall growe 
 A thing that of my heavinesse and of thy death shall 
 
 showe 
 The lively likenesse. In a flowre thy blood I will bestowe. 
 Hadst thou the powre Persephonee rank scented Mints too 
 
 make 
 Of womens limbes ? and may not I lyke powre upon mee 
 
 take 
 Without disdeine and spyght, too turne Adonis too a 
 
 flowre ? 
 This sed, shee sprinckled Nectar on the blood, which 
 
 through the powre 
 Therof did swell like bubbles sheere that rise in weather 
 
 cleere 
 On water. And before that full an howre expyred weere. 
 Of all one colour with the blood a flowre shee there did 
 
 fynd. 
 Even like the flowre of that same tree whose frute in 
 
 tender rynde 
 Have pleasant graynes inclosde. Howbeet the use of 
 
 them is short. 
 For why the leaves doo hang so looce through lightnesse 
 
 in such sort, 
 As that the windes that all things perce, with every little 
 
 blast 
 Doo shake them of and shed them so, as that they 
 
 cannot last. 
 
xl INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Shepherd's Song of Venus and Adonis 
 
 Venus fair did ride, 
 
 Silver doves they drew her, 
 By the pleasant lawnds 
 
 Ere the sun did rise: 
 Vesta's beauty rich 
 
 Open'd wide to view her, 
 Philomel records 
 
 Pleasing harmonies. 
 Every bird of spring 
 Cheerfully did sing, 
 
 Paphos' goddess they salute ; 
 Now Love's queen so fair. 
 Had of mirth no care. 
 
 For her son had made her mute. 
 In her breast so tender 
 He a shaft did enter. 
 
 When her eyes beheld a boy; 
 Adonis was he named, 
 By his mother shamed, 
 
 Yet he now is Venus' joy. 
 
 Him alone she met. 
 
 Ready bound for hunting. 
 Him she kindly greets. 
 
 And his journey stays ; 
 Him she seeks to kiss, 
 
 No devices wanting, 
 Him her eyes still woo. 
 
 Him her tongue still prays. 
 He with blushing red 
 Hangeth down the head. 
 
 Not a kiss can he afford ; 
 His face is turn'd away. 
 Silence said her nay. 
 
 Still she woo'd him for a word. 
 " Speak," she said, " thou fairest, 
 Beauty thou impairest; 
 
 See me, I am pale and wan. 
 Lovers all adore me, 
 I for love implore thee ; " 
 
 Crystal tears with that down ran. 
 
 Him herewith she forced 
 To come sit down by her. 
 
INTRODUCTION xli 
 
 She his neck embraced, 
 
 Gazing in his face; 
 He like one transform'd, 
 
 Stirr'd no look to eye her, 
 Every herb did woo him 
 
 Growing in that place. 
 Each bird with a ditty, 
 Prayed him for pity 
 
 In behalf of Beauty's queen ; 
 Waters' gentle murmur 
 Craved him to love her. 
 
 Yet no liking could be seen. 
 "Boy," she said, "look on me; 
 Still I gaze upon thee ; 
 
 Speak, I pray thee, my delight!" 
 Coldly he replied. 
 And in brief denied 
 To bestow on her a sight. 
 
 " I am now too young 
 
 To be won by beauty, 
 Tender are my years, 
 
 I am yet a bud." 
 " Fair thou art," she said, 
 
 "Then it is thy duty, 
 Wert thou but a blossom. 
 
 To effect my good. 
 Every beauteous flower 
 Boasteth in my power, 
 
 Birds and beasts my laws effect; 
 Myrrh a, thy fair mother. 
 Most of any other 
 
 Did my lovely bests respect. 
 Be with me delighted. 
 Thou shalt be requited. 
 
 Every nymph on thee shall tend ; 
 All the gods shall love thee, 
 Man shall not reprove thee, 
 
 Love himself shall be thy friend." 
 
 " Wend thee from me, Venus ; 
 
 I am not disposed ; 
 Thou wring'st me too hard ; 
 
 Prithee, let me go. 
 Fie, what a pain it is 
 
 Thus to be enclosed ! 
 
xlii INTRODUCTION 
 
 If love begin with labour, 
 
 It will end in woe." 
 " Kiss me, I will leave." 
 " Here a kiss receive." 
 
 "A short kiss I doe it find. 
 Wilt thou leave me so? 
 Yet thou shalt not go. 
 
 Breathe once more thy balmy wind ; 
 It smelleth of the myrrh-tree, 
 That to the world did bring thee; 
 
 Never was perfume so sweet." 
 When she thus had spoken. 
 She gave him a token. 
 
 And their naked bosoms meet. 
 
 "Now," he said, "let's go. 
 
 Hark, the hounds are crying ! 
 Grisly boar is up; 
 
 Huntsmen follow fast." 
 At the name of boar, 
 
 Venus seeftied dying. 
 Deadly-coloured pale 
 
 Roses overcast. 
 " Speak," said she, " no more 
 Of following the boar. 
 
 Thou, unfit for such a chase. 
 Course the fearful hare. 
 Venison do not spare. 
 
 If thou wilt yield Venus grace. 
 Shun the boar, I pray thee, 
 Else I still will stay thee." 
 
 Herein he vow'd to please her mind. 
 Then her arms enlarged, 
 Loth she him discharged ; 
 
 Forth he went as swift as wind. 
 
 Thetis Phoebus' steeds 
 
 In the west retained. 
 Hunting-sport was past, 
 
 Love her Love did seek. 
 Sight of him too soon. 
 
 Gentle queen, she gained; 
 On the ground he lay, 
 
 Blood had left his cheek. 
 
INTRODUCTION xliii 
 
 For an orped swine 
 Smit him in the groin; 
 
 Deadly wound his death did bring. 
 Which when Venus found, 
 She fell in a swound, 
 And, awaked, her hands did wring. 
 Nymphs and satyrs skipping, 
 Came together tripping. 
 
 Echo every cry express'd ; 
 Venus by her power 
 Turn'd him to a flower, 
 
 Which she weareth in her crest. 
 
xliv INTRODUCTION 
 
 II 
 
 LUCRECE 
 
 LUCRECE was entered in the Stationers' Register, 1594 
 (Arber, ii. 648), as follows : 
 
 9 maij 
 
 Master Entred for his copie vnder thand 
 harrison of master Cawood Warden, a 
 Senior booke intituled the Ravyshement 
 of Lucrece vi'' C 
 
 In the same year it was published with the title page : 
 
 Lucrece, | [Device — anchor suspended by hand and motto 
 — differing only in details from that in Q i of Venus 
 and Adonis] \ London. | Printed by Richard Field, for 
 John Harison, and are | to be sold at the signe of the 
 white Greyhound | in Paules Church-yard . 1594.^ 
 
 Eight editions are known to have been printed in the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, viz., in 1594, 1598, 1600, 
 1607, 1616, 1621, 1632, and 1655. Of these, thirty copies are 
 extant. Malone was probably mistaken in supposing that 
 the poem was reprinted in 1596 and 1602. In the edition of 
 1 616 the title was changed from "Lucrece" to " The Rape 
 of Lucrece," and Shakespeare's name appeared for the first 
 time. 
 
 In construction and decoration Lucrece resembles Venus 
 and Adonis, as it resembles the Elizabethan novel. Incidents 
 are interspersed with speeches, one circumstance is illustrated 
 by more than one simile, and there are conceits and figures of 
 speech that might be spared. But the tone is changed ; it may, 
 in fact, be the " graver labour " promised to Southampton. 
 It is to Venus and Adonis as The Cotter's Saturday Night 
 to The Jolly Beggars, at once less interesting and more 
 respectable ; and the difference arises from the nature of the 
 case rather than from its presentation. Darkness and closed 
 doors, though they may " have it in them to please the wiser 
 sort," are less universal in their appeal than sunshine and 
 open country. The poems have been too lightly regarded as 
 companion pictures, almost comparable to U Allegro and // 
 Penseroso, where a grave cheerfulness stands in harmonious 
 ' The running title was "The Rape of Lucrece." 
 
INTRODUCTION xlv 
 
 contrast to a gentle melancholy. Each has, no doubt, its 
 own setting and accompaniments, day or night, skylark or 
 screech-owl, but between them there is the gulf that separates 
 comedy and tragedy. They are not merely or mainly twin 
 studies of unlicensed passion in opposite sexes. Venus is no 
 unfaithful wife answerable to an outraged society and a 
 betrayed husband, but a heathen goddess exercising, as 
 Shakespeare is careful to remind us, the rights of her office 
 within her own jurisdiction, and neither recognising nor 
 responsible to human laws. Adonis runs no danger that we 
 cannot contemplate with equanimity. He is secure in his 
 indifference, and his sufferings are those of a child's kitten 
 teased and petted when it would be happier in the amuse- 
 ments of its kind. Even if the wiles of Venus had succeeded, 
 there would be something almost ludicrous in lamenting his 
 fate in words which when used of Lucrece are natural and 
 affecting : 
 
 " No man inveigh against the wither'd flower. 
 But chide rough winter that the flower hath kill'd." 
 
 We can read the story without amazement at the depravity 
 of a Messalina, or respect for the self-reverence of another 
 Hercules, hero of a virtuous choice. But in Shakespeare's 
 Lucrece there is a sense of irreparable agonies and of unforgiv- 
 able cruelty. Ovid has a lighter touch and appeals to softer 
 feelings. He has given us a beautiful poem by refusing to 
 look stedfastly on what is, in its essence, revolting. There 
 is pity for the victim, but it merges in admiration of 
 the sad courage of the suicide. His Lucrece is not only a 
 wronged woman, but a type of national virtue and the cause 
 of a national deliverance. That this was his view, how- 
 ever, is to be gathered from the general tone of his poem, 
 and from the fact that it forms part of the Fasti, rather 
 than from any direct statement. He does not, like Livy, 
 enlarge on the king's misgovern ment, or include in his 
 narrative the speech in which Brutus denounced tyranny, but 
 the expulsion of the Tarquins is his real subject. His poem 
 opens with the words, " Nunc mihi dicenda est regis fuga," 
 and closes with " dies regnis ilia suprema fuit." He was not, 
 like Shakespeare, intent on the guilt and the shame. The 
 truth had to be told, but it might be so told as not to detract 
 from the charm and beauty of his verses. It was impossible 
 to exonerate Tarquin, and, indeed, undesirable. Ovid, in 
 fact, relates his betrayal of Gabii, and represents him as 
 encouraging himself in his new infamy by the recollection of 
 the success of the old. But unpleasantness, if inevitable, may 
 
xlvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 yet be qualified. By a dexterous hand, facts may be so com- 
 bined or distributed as to produce less than their natural 
 effect. Thus, the relationship of Tarquin to Collatinus was 
 an aggravation of Tarquin's guilt, and it could not be sup- 
 pressed. Ovid does not attempt to suppress it, but he 
 mentions it incidentally as explaining Lucrece's welcome: 
 " Comiter excipitur ; sanguine iunctus erat." Not so Shake- 
 speare : 
 
 " But as he is my kinsman, my dear friend. 
 The shame and fault finds no excuse or end." 
 
 The disposition of the facts is of more importance than the 
 facts themselves. It is not the details but the atmosphere 
 and the values that differentiate the work of Ovid, Chaucer, 
 and Shakespeare. The colour of Lucrece's hair, the incentive 
 of her purity, the simile of the wolf and the lamb, are common 
 to them all. Chaucer, indeed, follows Ovid so closely as to 
 translate his first line, giving as his subject " the exilynge of 
 kynges," but he corrects himself in a moment : " Yet for that 
 cause tell I nat this story." His object is to describe the 
 fidelity of a wife. Women, he thinks, are like Lucrece ; men 
 are different. Shakespeare, aware of the political aspect of 
 the story, relegates it to his Argument, and disposes of the 
 exiling of kings in the two last lines of his poem. Our 
 attention is concentrated on the wrong and the suffering. 
 What Ovid recognises with a half-averted glance, Shakespeare 
 brings into the light of day, and omits, like Chaucer, even the 
 trifling circumstance that might impair, if only for an instant, 
 our sympathy with Collatinus. For Collatinus, in Ovid, 
 first meets us as one of a company of idlers who discuss 
 their wives over their wine, and finally set out to test them, 
 angry and half drunk. In Shakespeare, we see Collatinus 
 through his wife's eyes. There is nothing to suggest either 
 a quarrel or intemperance. " In that pleasant humour," says 
 the Argument, " they all posted to Rome." The incident, as 
 related by Ovid, does not palliate Tarquin's guilt; Shake-j 
 speare could omit it without tampering with the truth, and 
 he did so, most probably, because its presence might strike 
 a false note, and its omission enables us to give our full 
 sympathy to Collatinus, and our whole attention to the crime 
 and its immediate consequences. 
 
 On the other hand, even at the risk of being tedious, 
 Shakespeare passes slowly before our eyes every circum- 
 stance that can help to exhibit the utter repulsiveness of 
 Tarquin, whose debates and vacillations have neither the 
 purpose nor the effect of showing him as a weak man 
 
INTRODUCTION xlvii 
 
 struggling against passion, or hesitating between good and 
 evil. They only bring into prominence, one by one, all the 
 bonds that he must sunder before rushing on dishonour, and 
 the least of these should have been enough to restrain him. 
 If he reflects on Collatinus as his kinsman and friend, on 
 Lucrece as his hostess, on his own knighthood and reputation, 
 it is to exhibit him more surely as a traitor to kinship and 
 friendship, to the laws of hospitality and of honour. No 
 claim is forgotten in a storm of passion ; each is steadily 
 regarded and deliberately set aside. 
 
 A determination to leave nothing of the truth untold 
 would seem to be accountable also for the length of certain 
 scenes and soliloquies in the latter part of the poem. The 
 change in Lucrece herself is a measure of her distress. From a 
 gracious hostess she is transformed into a bitter and suspicious 
 mistress, distrusting her servants even in their sympathy and 
 devotion. She thirsts for vengeance. An agony of suspense 
 drives her distracted through her own house, and causes her 
 to see in its very hangings representations of her own misery 
 and of the guile and cruelty that have destroyed her peace. 
 She must have spent moments 
 
 "divided by keen pangs 
 Till they seemed years ; " 
 
 and the fact is brought home to us by a multiplicity of details. 
 Suspense and distraction cannot be adequately rendered by 
 the brevity of z precis. 
 
 The whole episode of the painting with its incidents from 
 the siege of Troy has been objected to as an excrescence on 
 the story, and defended on the ground that the destruction 
 of the house of Priam through a man's lust is a fitting counter- 
 part of the overthrow of the Tarquins. But this is the stand- 
 point of a moralist with a knowledge of subsequent events. 
 Lucrece could know nothing of the Regifugium or of the battle 
 of Lake Regillus. It is enough that she could find in Hecuba 
 an abandonment to misery similar to her own, and in Sinon 
 a type of Tarquin. The parallel is not between the mis- 
 fortunes of Priam due to Paris and the misfortunes of 
 Tarquinius Superbus due to Sextus; but between Lucrece 
 and Troy. " So," says Lucrece, " my Troy did perish." The 
 introduction of the hangings is of course an anachronism, 
 but not without a precedent : Virgil's ^neas had been deeply 
 moved by the discovery of scenes from the fall of Troy 
 depicted in the Temple of Juno at Carthage {^n. i. 453-493). 
 In general, Shakespeare's treatment here corresponds with 
 d 
 
xlviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 his treatment of the scenes in which the maid and the groom 
 are present. In a story of adventure, such incidents would 
 be unnoticed or briefly dismissed ; not so in a poem, narrative 
 only in form, where they are of importance in revealing the 
 depths of Lucrece's despair. 
 
 Another parallel to the account of the tapestry has been 
 cited from Daniel's Complaint of Rosamond. Rosamond's 
 ghost describes a casket sent her by Henry II. and adorned 
 with representations of the stories of Amymone and Neptune, 
 and of lo and Jupiter, which might have served as pre- 
 monitions of her own fate. The examination of this casket 
 occupied Rosamond, while she was waiting for the king, and 
 Shakespeare may have wished by his similar device to bridge 
 over the interval between the sending of the messenger and 
 the coming of Collatinus and his friends. That so slight a 
 hint was so well taken need not greatly detract from our 
 admiration of his originality. "The sun's a thief," and we 
 have, in consequence, the pageants of dawn and sunset. 
 Shakespeare had on the one hand a gap in his story, on the 
 other six commonplace stanzas of Daniel, and with these he 
 not only effected his immediate purpose as a constructor, but 
 displayed what is ostensibly a magnificent panorama of the 
 siege of Troy, and in reality a miracle of self-revelation on 
 the part of his heroine. 
 
 Malone was the first to point out resemblances between 
 Rosamond and Lucrece, citing the first edition. A useful 
 summary of these will be found in Mr. Sidney Lee's Introduc- 
 tion. I have added a few, using the edition of Chalmers 
 (1850), and referring to Rosamond by stanza, and to Lucrece 
 by line. 
 
 "Ah Beauty . . . 
 Sweet silent rhetorick of persuading eyes, 
 Dumb eloquence "... {Rosamond, 19) 
 
 " Beauty itself doth of itself persuade 
 The eyes of men without an orator." {Lucrece, 29, 30) 
 
 " Vulture ambition." {Rosamond, 27) 
 
 "vulture folly." {Lucrece, 556) 
 
 " Th' ungather'd rose defended with the thorns." 
 
 {Rosamond, 31) 
 " I know what thorns the growing rose defends." 
 
 {Lucrece, 492) 
 
INTRQE>UCTION xlix 
 
 "Cancell'd with time, well have his date expir'd." 
 
 {Rosamond, 36) 
 " An expir'd date, cancell'd ere well begun." 
 
 [Lucrece, 26) 
 
 " So rare that Art did seem to strive with Nature." 
 
 {Rosamond, 54) 
 
 " In scorn of nature, art gave lifeless life." 
 
 {Lucrece, 1374) 
 
 "These precedents presenting to my view." 
 
 {Rosamond, 59) 
 
 "The precedent whereof in Lucrece view." 
 
 {Lucrece, 1261) 
 
 "Com'd was the Night (mother of Sleep and Fear)." 
 
 {Rosamond, 62) 
 " Till sable Night, mother of dread and fear." 
 
 {Lucrece, 117) 
 
 "wanting what we have." {Rosamond, loi) 
 
 "what they have not, that which they possess." 
 
 {Lucrece, 135) 
 
 "The husband scorn'd, dishonoured the kin, 
 Parents disgrac'd, children infamous been, 
 Confus'd our race, and falsified our blood." 
 
 {Rosamond, 108) 
 " So thy surviving husband shall remain 
 The scornful mark of every open eye ; 
 Thy kinsmen hang their heads at this disdain. 
 Thy issue blurr'd with nameless bastardy." 
 
 {Lucrece, 519-522) 
 
 "Amaz'd he stands, nor voice nor body stirs; 
 
 Words had no passage, tears no issue found, 
 
 For sorrow shut up words, wrath kept in tears; 
 
 Confus'd effects each other do confound ; 
 
 Oppress'd with grief, his passions had no bound. 
 
 Striving to tell his woes, .words would not come; 
 
 For light cares speak, when mighty griefs are dumb." 
 
 {Rosamond, 113) 
 This description of Henry Ii.'s grief on finding Rosamond dead 
 may be compared with that of Collatinus {Lucrece, 1779-1785). 
 
 It is likely that Shakespeare had read Daniel's Rosamond, 
 but such resemblances are often accidental, especially in the 
 
1 INTRODUCTION 
 
 case of authors speaking the same language and writing on 
 similar subjects. Thus, in Greene's Princelie Mirrour [i.e. 
 pattern] of Peereles Modestie,'^\i\c!a. is The History of Susanna 
 euphuised and padded with speeches, and in which Tarquin's 
 crime is attempted by the Elders, and his threat used to no 
 purpose, there are several passages which might have given 
 hints to Shakespeare. As Greene's novel is in prose, the 
 verbal resemblances are slighter than those in Rosamond, but 
 there is perhaps a greater similarity of meaning and context. 
 The quotations that follow are from Grosart's Greene, vol. iii. 
 
 Greene, p. 14 : " Yield to the alarums of inordinate lust." 
 Cf. Zatr^c^, 433 : "his beating heart, alarum striking, 
 Gives the hot charge." 
 
 Greene, p. 15: "he might find fit opportunity to give the 
 
 onset." 
 Lucrece, 432 : (His veins) " Swell in their pride, the onset 
 
 still expecting." 
 
 Greene, p. 17: "These two . . . concluded ... to suck 
 
 the bloude of this innocent lambe." 
 Lucrece, 677: "The wolf hath seiz'd his prey, the poor 
 
 lamb cries." 
 
 Greene, p. 19: " If we ofifende in being to [i.e. too] bould, 
 
 your beautie shall beare the blame." 
 Lucrece, 485: "Thy beauty hath ^nsnar'd thee to this 
 
 night." 
 
 Greene, p. 19: "That sin which is secretlie committed is 
 alwaies half pardoned : she liveth chastelie enough that 
 liveth warely." 
 
 Lucrece, 527: "The fault unknown is as a thought un- 
 acted." 
 
 Greene, p. 19: "Our office shall be able to defende you 
 from mistrust . . . you shall . . . purchase to your 
 selfe two such friends as you may in all duetifull service 
 commaunde." 
 
 Lucrece, 526: "But if thou yield, I rest thy secret friend." 
 
 Greene, 20: "Hath God placed you as Judges over his 
 people to punish sinne, and will you maintaine wicked- 
 nes ? Is it your office to upholde the lawe, and will you 
 destroy it ? " 
 
 Lucrece, 624-630 : " Hast thou command . . . 
 Draw not thy sword to guard iniquity, 
 For it was lent thee all that brood to kill. 
 Thy princely office how canst thou fulfil," etc. 
 
INTRODUCTION li 
 
 Greene, p. 27 : '' my poore babes shall be counted as the 
 
 seede of an harlot." 
 Lucrece, 522: "Thy issue blurr'd with nameless bastardy." 
 
 Greene, p. 34 : " knowe you not how that partie is seene 
 condemned whose death the Judges do conspire ? " 
 
 Lucrece, 1652: "And when the judge is robb'd, the 
 prisoner dies." 
 
 Whether Shakespeare was influenced by The Complaint 
 of Rosamond in his choice of a metre for Lucrece, as he has 
 been supposed to have taken frorh Glaucus and Scilla the 
 metre of Venus and Adonis, it is of course impossible to say. 
 The former was recognised as suitable for tragical matters 
 and the latter for lighter, including love, and he may merely 
 have followed the prescriptions of contemporary writers on 
 Prosody. The metre of Lucrece, sometimes called the Chau- 
 cerian stanza and Rime Royal (a name wrongly attributed to 
 its use in The Kingis Quair), had already been written by 
 Chaucer himself, by many of the Scottish poets in the 
 fifteenth century, by Sackville {Induction, and The Complaint 
 of Buckingham) and by Spenser {Ruines of Time). It was 
 perhaps the commonest of all metres then. James VI. of 
 Scotland, in his Reulis and Cautelis of Scottis Poesie, had 
 quoted a stanza with the advice: "For tragicall materis, 
 complaintis, or testamentis, use this kynde of verse, callit 
 Troilus verse"; and Gascoigne had described it at length: 
 ' Rythme royall is a verse of tenne sillables, and seven such 
 verses make a stafife, whereof the first and third lines do 
 aunswer (acrosse) in like terminations and rime, the second, 
 fourth, and fifth, do likewise answere eche other in 
 terminations, and the two last do combine and shut up the 
 Sentence: this hath bene called Rithme royall, & surely it 
 is a royall kinde of verse, serving best for grave discourses." 
 It is a metre which lends itself to freer handling than that 
 of Venus and Adonis, and Shakespeare handles it more 
 freely, though by no means with the mastery of Chaucer. 
 His improvement on the practice of the time lies rather in 
 the greater freedom of movement within the line than in his 
 management of the stanza as a whole. He may have learnt 
 from Spenser to pass without jolt or effort from line to 
 line, but even Spenser's stanzas are somewhat monotonous. 
 Gascoigne gives Chaucer unstinted praise, but cannot be said 
 to have caught his secret, or realised his supremacy as a 
 metrist. His own stanzas seem made by rule, and his pre- 
 cepts do not favour flexibility. " There are also," he says, 
 
lii II^TRODUCTION 
 
 "certayne pauses or rests in a verse whiche may be called 
 Ceasures, whereof I woulde be lothe to stande long, since it is 
 at the discretion of the wryter, but they have bene iirst 
 devised (as should seeme) by the Musicians : but yet thus 
 much I will adventure to wryte, that in mine opinion . . , in 
 a verse of tenne [syllables, the pause] . , . will best be placed 
 at the ende of the first foure sillables. ... In Rithme royall, 
 it is at the wryters discretion, and forceth not where the pause 
 be untill the end of the Hne." In other words, he prefers a 
 pause at the end of the fourth syllable of decasyllabic lines, 
 except when they combine to form the stanza of Rime 
 Royal ; and then the exact place of the pause becomes a 
 matter of indifference, provided the line is end-stopped. He 
 does not seem to be aware that the words between any two 
 pauses form a sort of metrical unit, varying in number of 
 syllables, number and place of accents, etc., and that the 
 felicity of a rhythm largely depends on the relation borne by 
 each of these units to those which precede and follow it. 
 
 As to the number of syllables in each line, it is not 
 easy to know whether Shakespeare may not sometimes have 
 desired to vary from the usual ten, i.e. nine followed by the 
 rime. In Venus and Adonis, 11. 668,670: " That tremble at 
 th' imagination . . . And fear doth teach it divination," it is 
 possible to take the riming words as of six and five syllables 
 respectively (though in Shakespeare they are usually of five 
 and four) and to regard the rimes as single. If the rimes are 
 not single, the lines are a foot short. Again, the lines 758, 
 760, "Seeming to bury that posterity ... If thou destroy 
 them not in dark obscurity," do not match: if the rime is 
 single, the latter line is an alexandrine, and if triple, the 
 former is only of four feet. The difficulty would be removed 
 by omitting the first two words of 1. 760, but for this we 
 have no warrant. There is a similar case in Lucrece, 11. 352, 
 354: "My will is back'd with resolution . . . The blackest 
 sin is clear'd with absolution." If this stood alone, the defect 
 of 1. 352 might be supplied by reading " dauntless resolution " 
 (Capell MS.), and though some might prefer an epithet for 
 " will," this is not a bad emendation. We find " the dauntless 
 spirit of resolution" in King John, V. i. 53, and if the meta- 
 phor, as seems likely, is from a horse and not from the edge 
 of a knife, it is paralleled by " Let thy dauntless mind Still 
 ride in triumph over all mischance," in S Henry VI., III. 
 iii. 17. 
 
 The subject of Shakespeare's rimes is too large to be 
 treated here ; it could only be dealt with adequately in con- 
 nection with Elizabethan pronunciation, a subject already 
 
INTRODUCTION liii 
 
 treated by Ellis, Early English Pronunciation, E.E.T.S., and 
 by Professor Victor of Marburg, A Shakespeare Phonology 
 (1906), and, less directly, by many other distinguished writers 
 on changes in English sounds. 
 
 The sources of Lucrece are probably to be found in the 
 books most readily accessible to Shakespeare, and these are 
 more likely to have been Ovid, Livy, Chaucer, Gower, than, 
 for example, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Vincent of Beauvais, 
 or Zonaras. The following passage from the late Dr. 
 Furnivall's Introduction contains all that is really necessary, 
 but I have added a little by way of supplement or ex- 
 planation. 
 
 "Prof T. Spencer Baynes has put in an eloquent 
 plea for Ovid being its real source (see Eraser's Mag., 
 May, 1880, p. 629-637): 'The germ . . . was derived from 
 Ovid . . . from the vivid dramatic sketch of the Tragedy 
 which closes the second book of the Fasti.' The Professor 
 has shown, I think, that Shakspere no doubt got his ' golden 
 threads' (1. 400) of Lucrece's hair, from Ovid's flavique 
 capilli ; that he may have taken his 
 
 ' Haply that name of " chaste " unhaply set 
 This batelesse edge on his keene appetite' 
 
 (1. 8-9) 
 
 from Ovid's words that Sextus was pleazd with Lucrece, 
 because she was not corruptible ' quod corrumpere non est ' ; 
 that he may have taken (1. 677) Ovid's simile of the wolf 
 and the lamb — a natural one to any poet — from Ovid, as, 
 by the way, Chaucer (and Gower) did before him : — 
 
 ' Ryght as a wolfe that fynt a lambe alone. 
 To whom shall she compleyne, or make mone ? ' 
 
 {Legende, 1. 1798-9) 
 
 and that Shakspere may also have got from Ovid's — 
 
 'Quid, victor, gaudes? haec te victoria perdet. 
 Heu ! quanto regnis nox stetit una tuis ! ' 
 
 'his repetition in various forms (see lines 717-721 and 
 693-714) . . • that the victory was a defeat, and would 
 inevitably issue in Tarquin's destruction.' 
 
 "Though Prof Baynes's strenuous arguing leaves one 
 under the impression that he wants to make Ovid the 
 only source of Shakspere's Lucrece, yet his words, and his 
 slight of Painter's Palace of Pleasure (p. 637), nowhere assert 
 that claim. He maintains that Shakspere did use Ovid. 
 
liv INTRODUCTION 
 
 I grant he did ; and I firmly believe that he used Livy, or 
 some other Latin historian too. For when we take with 
 the poem, as we are bound to do, the admirably-stated 
 prose 'Argument' set before it — Shakspere's only long 
 piece of non-dramatic prose — we see at once that Shakespere 
 has in that, details which Ovid did not give him. Neglecting 
 the first lines about Tarquinius Superbus, and the general 
 feeling that we are dealing with an Abstract of a (so-calld) 
 History, we find the statement that, on Lucrece's call, her 
 father came ' accompanyed with Junius Brutus,' and Collatine 
 'with Publius Valerius.' The latter is not mentioned by 
 Ovid, who only says that the father and the husband both 
 came to Lucrece — impliedly alone — and that when she had 
 stabd herself, ' Brutus adest', Brutus is by. Livy and Painter 
 both give the companions' names. Again, the first part of 
 Shakspere's statement that 'bearing the dead body to 
 Rome ' Brutus told the people ' of the vile deede,' is neither 
 in Ovid, Livy, nor Painter. Chaucer may have been the 
 source of this statement, as he — though professing to follow 
 Ovid and Livy only — puts Lucrece's self-murder at Rome, 
 (so does Gower,) and makes her carried through all the 
 town on a bier, whereas Livy and Ovid both make her 
 body shown in Ardea only. (Shakspere can have got 
 nothing from Lydgate's long list in his Falles of Princes 
 (bk. II., ch. v., and III., v.), or from Valerius Maximus {Fact, 
 et Diet. Mem. Lib. VI. i. i), Diodorus Siculus or Dio Cassius 
 (who each tell the story very shortly) or Dionysius Hali- 
 carnassensis, iv. 72, who tells it at great length. Both 
 Diodorus and Dionysius make Sextus offer to marry 
 Lucrece and turn her into a Queen.) Further, I think that 
 Shakspere's account of Sextus pressing Lucrece's breast 
 with his hand. 
 
 His hand, as proud of such a dignitie 
 Smoaking with pride, marcht on to take his stand 
 On her bare breast, the heart of all her land ; 
 Whose ranks of blew vains, as his hand did scale. 
 Left their round turrets destitute and pale, 
 
 is rather from Livy's sinistraque manu mulieris pectore 
 oppresso, than Ovid's positis urgentur pectora palmis, which 
 (with its context) implies that Sextus put his right hand 
 (which held his sword), as well as his left on Lucrece's 
 breasts." 
 
 Malone, who refers to the forms of the story mentioned 
 by Furnivall, adds: " In 1558 was entered on the Stationers' 
 
INTRODUCTION Iv 
 
 books, ' A ballet called The grevious complaint of Lucrece,' 
 licensed to John Aide; and in 1569 was licensed to James 
 Roberts, 'A ballad of the death of Lucryssia.' There was 
 also a ballad of the legend of Lucrece, printed in 1576. 
 Some of these, Mr. Warton thinks, probably suggested this 
 story to our author." Those who are desirous of pursuing 
 the subject will be helped by the long list of references in 
 CEsterley's Gesta Romanorum, p. 734, where, however, no 
 English work is named but Shakespeare's, and to three 
 papers on Shakespeare's poem — Shakespearis Lucrece. Eine 
 litterarhistorische Untersuchung — which appeared in Anglia, 
 Band xxii. pp. 1-32, 343-363, 393-4SS (Halle, 1899), by Dr. 
 Wilhelm Ewig, to which Mr. Sidney Lee refers in his 
 Introduction. Mr. Lee notes that Shakespeare's reference 
 to Brutus as a court fool may have its source in a novel of 
 Bandello's — Furnivall had searched Bandello, and Belle- 
 forest's Histoires Tragiques, in vain — and that a sympathising 
 handmaiden appears in the French tragedy of Lucrece, as 
 in Shakespeare's poem. 
 
 In all forms of the story hitherto discovered, from 
 Cicero's mere reference {De Finibus, v. 22) to the long 
 narratives of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and I3andello, there 
 are differences of colouring and detail due to the writer's 
 knowledge or ignorance or to the character of his immediate 
 purpose. Thus Valerius Maximus, whose Memorabilia 
 might almost be translated "Tit-Bits," flippantly laments 
 that Lucrece was less masculine in body than in mind, 
 cuius virilis animus maligna errore fortunae m,uliebre corpus 
 sortitus est. St. Augustine {De Civitate Dei, i. 19) discusses 
 her conduct as a case of conscience in connection with the 
 reproaches levelled at Christian slaves because when obliged 
 by their condition to submit to outrage they continued to 
 live. The slaves, he thinks, are right, and Lucrece's death 
 is rather a surrender to shame than a triumph of virtue — 
 non est pudicitiae caritas, sed pudoris infirmitas. He appeals 
 to Roman law, which does not permit the guilty to be slain 
 uncondemned;L3'nd to Roman poetry (Virgil, yEn. vi. 434- 
 436, and 438, 439), which represents suicides in the under-world 
 as vainly desirous of returning to life ; and he places those 
 who praise Lucrece on the horns of this dilemma — she was 
 an adulteress if her mind consented, and if not, a murderess : 
 " Si adultera, cur laudata, si pudica, cur occisa f " The author 
 of the story in the Gesta Romanorum (Latin text ed. 
 CEsterley, 135 ; not in English) cites St. Augustine as his 
 authority but shows no knowledge of his version. Tarquin 
 
Ivi INTRODUCTION 
 
 comes, as in Livy, with a sword in his right hand and places 
 his left on Lucrece's breast, and Ovid's words, "hospesut 
 hostis," appear in the form "non ut hospes sed ut hostis," 
 and again, in Lucrece's denunciation of Tarquin, as "hostis 
 pro hospite," while "vestimenta viri alieni in lecto tuo" is 
 from Livy, "vestimenta" being a blunder for "vestigia." 
 The addition to the number of those present at Lucrece's death 
 involves one anachronism at least — " patrem et maritum, fratres 
 et imperatorem, nepotes et proconsules vocavit per litteras." 
 This may possibly be an expansion of Eutropius, who says 
 that Lucrece complained to her husband, father, and friends. 
 Even Chaucer and Gower differ in what they omit or insert 
 or add. Chaucer has the fine simile in which Tarquin's 
 tumultuous memories of Lucrece are compared to the ground- 
 swell after a storm. Gower {Confessio A mantis, vii. 4752- 
 5123) omits it, but anticipates Shakespeare in making 
 Collatinus the subject of Tarquin's conversation with Lucrece 
 on his arrival : 
 
 "And him, so as sche dar, opposeth 
 Hou it stod of hire housebonde. 
 And he tho dede hire understonde 
 With tales feigned in his wise, 
 Riht as he wolde himself devise, 
 Wherof he myhte hire herte glade, 
 That sche the betre chiere made. 
 When sche the glade wordes herde, 
 Hou that hire housebonde ferde." 
 
 On the other hand, Shakespeare does not follow Gower 
 in attributing Sextus Tarquinius's crime to his brother 
 " Arrons," and he writes " CoUatium '' for " Collatia '' where 
 Gower more correctly has " Collacea." 
 
 Gower, again, differs from Chaucer in making no mention 
 of St. Augustine, though in his second and shorter narrative 
 {Confessio Amantis, viii. 2632—2639) there is possibly an echo 
 oi pudoris infirmitas in the line, 
 
 " Bot deide only for drede of schame." 
 
 I have not thought it necessary to enter on the consider- 
 ation of Shakespeare's scholarship. There was no English 
 translation of the Fasti, or of Livy, unless we regard as 
 English Bellenden's vigorous Scottish version of the first 
 five books (1533). The knowledge required to read Ovid 
 for the story, or even Livy, is very slight. Shakespeare 
 probably had more than enough, and, if otherwise, might, 
 
Introduction ivii 
 
 like Bacon, have availed himself of the greater learning of 
 others. Painter's narrative is so like Livy's that I have given 
 it instead, and indeed Shakespeare may have used it. As I 
 do not know any translation of Ovid which sounds in the 
 least like the original, I have preferred to print the Latin. 
 
 Ovid, Fasti, ii. 685-852 
 (Teubner ed., 1884) 
 
 Nunc mihi dicenda est regis fuga. traxit ab ilia 
 
 Sextus ab extremo nomina mense dies. 
 Ultima Tarquinius Romanae gentis habebat 
 
 Regna, vir iniustus fortis ad arma tamen. 
 
 [Here follows the story of Gabii.] 
 
 Cingitur interea Romanis Ardea signis, 
 
 Et patitur lentas obsidione moras. 
 Dum vacat, et metuunt hostes committere pugnam, 
 
 Luditur in castris, otia miles agit. 
 Tarquinius iuvenis socios dapibusque meroque 
 
 Accipit. ex illis rege creatus ait: 
 "Dum nos difficilis pigro tenet Ardea bello, 
 
 Nee sinit ad patrios arma referre deos, 
 Ecquid in officio torus est socialis? et ecquid 
 
 Coniugibus nostris mutua cura sumus?" 
 Quisque suam laudat. studiis certamina crescunt, 
 
 Et fervent multo linguaque corque mero. 
 Surgit, cui dederat clarum Collatia nomen: 
 
 " Non opus est verbis, credite rebus ! " ait. 
 " Nox superest. tollamur equis, Urbemque petamus ! " 
 
 Dicta placent, frenis impediuntur equi. 
 Pertulerant dominos. regalia protinus illi 
 
 Tecta petunt : custos in fore nuUus erat : 
 Ecce nurus regis fusis per colla coronis 
 
 Inveniunt posito pervigilare mero. 
 Inde cito passu petitur Lucretia : nebat, 
 
 Ante torum calathi lanaque mollis erat. 
 Lumen ad exiguum famulae data pensa trahebant: 
 
 Inter quas tenui sic ait ipsa sono : 
 " Mittenda est domino — nunc, nunc properate, puellae ! — 
 
 Quamprimum nostra facta lacerna manu. 
 Quid tamen auditis ? nam plura audire potestis : 
 
 Quantum de bello dicitur esse super? 
 Postmodo victa cades ! melioribus, Ardea, restas ! 
 
 Improba, quae nostros cogis abesse viros. 
 
Iviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Sint tantum reduces! sed enim temerarius ille 
 
 Est meus, et stricto quolibet ense ruit. 
 Mens abit et morior, quotiens pugnantis imago 
 
 Me subit, et gelidum pectora frigus habet." 
 Desinit in lacrimas, intentaque fila remittit, 
 
 In gremio voltum deposuitque suum. 
 Hoc ipsum decuit : lacrimae decuere pudicae, 
 
 Et facies animo dignaque parque fuit. 
 " Pone metum, venio ! " coniunx ait. ilia revixit, 
 
 Deque viri coUo dulce pependit onus. 
 Interea iuvenis furiatos regius ignis 
 
 Conc'ipit, et caeco raptus amore furit. 
 Forma placet, niveusque color, flavique capilli, 
 
 Quique aderat nulla factus ab arte decor: 
 Verba placent et vox et quod corrumpere non est; 
 
 Quoque minor spes est, hoc magis ille cupit. 
 lam dederat cantus lucis praenuntius ales, 
 
 Cum referunt iuvenes in sua castra pedem. 
 Carpitur attonitos absentis imagine sensus 
 
 Ille. recordanti plura magisque placent. 
 Sic sedit, sic culta fuit, sic stamina nevit, 
 
 Neglectae collo sic iacuere comae, 
 Hos habuit voltus, haec illi verba fuerunt. 
 
 Hie color, haec facies, hie decor oris erat. 
 Ut solet a magno fluctus languescere flatu, 
 
 Sed tamen a vento, qui fuit, unda tumet, 
 Sic quamvis aberat placitae praesentia formae, 
 
 Quem dederat praesens forma, manebat amor. 
 Ardet, et iniusti stimulis agitatur amoris. 
 
 Comparat indigno vimque dolumque toro. 
 " Exitus in dubio est : audebimus ultima ! " dixit, 
 
 "Viderit, audentes forsne deusne iuvet. 
 Cepimus audendo Gabios quoque." talia fatus 
 
 Ense latus cinxit, tergaque pressit equi. 
 Accipit aerata iuvenem Collatia porta, 
 
 Condere iam voltus sole parante sues. 
 Hostis, ut hospes, init penetralia CoUatina: 
 
 Comiter excipitur; sanguine iunctus erat. 
 Quantum animis erroris inest ! parat inscia rerum 
 
 Infelix epulas hostibus ilia suis. 
 Functus erat dapibus : poscunt sua tempora somnum ; 
 
 Nox erat et tota lumina nulla domo. 
 Surgit et auratum vagina liberat ensem, 
 
 Et venit in thalamos, nupta pudica, tuos. 
 Utque torum pressit, " ferrum, Lucretia mecum est ! 
 
 Natus" ait "regis Tarquiniusque loquor." 
 
INTRODUCTION lix 
 
 Ilia nihil : neque enim vocem viresque loquendi, 
 
 Aut aliquid toto pectore mentis habet. 
 Sed tremit, ut quondam stabulis deprensa relictis 
 
 Parva sub infesto cum iacet agna lupo. 
 Quid faciat? pugnet? vincetur femina pugnans. 
 
 Clamet? at in dextra, qui vetet, ensis erat. 
 Effugiat? positis urguentur pectora palmis, 
 
 Tunc primum externa pectora tacta manu. 
 Instat amans hostis precibus pretioque minisque: 
 
 Nee prece, nee pretio, nee movet ilia minis. 
 " Nil agis 1 eripiam " dixit " per crimina vitam : 
 
 Falsus adulterii testis adulter ero: 
 Interimam famulum, cum quo deprensa fereris." 
 
 Succubuit famae victa puella metu. 
 Quid, victor, gaudes? haec te victoria perdet. 
 
 Heu quanto regnis nox stetit una tuis ! 
 lamque erat orta dies, passis stetit ilia capillis, 
 
 Ut solet ad nati mater itura rogum: 
 Grandaevumque patrem fido cum coniuge castris 
 
 Evocat. et posita venit uterque mora. 
 Utque vident habitum, quae luctus causa, requirunt, 
 
 Cui paret exequias, quove sit icta malo? 
 Ilia diu reticet, pudibundaque celat amictu 
 
 Ora: fluunt lacrimae more perennis aquae. 
 Hinc pater, hinc coniunx lacrimas solantur, et orant, 
 
 Indicet, et caeco flentque paventque metu. 
 Ter conata loqui ter destitit: ausaque quarto, 
 
 Non oculos ideo sustulit ilia suos. 
 " Hoc quoque Tarquinio debebimus ? eloquar," inquit, 
 
 "Eloquar infelix dedecus ipsa meum?" 
 Quaeque potest, narrat. restabant ultima : flevit, 
 
 Et matronales erubuere genae. 
 Dant veniam facto genitor coniunxque coactae: 
 
 "Quam" dixit "veniam vos datis, ipsa nego." 
 Nee mora, celato fixit sua pectora ferro, 
 
 Et cadit in patrios sanguinolenta pedes. 
 Tunc quoque, iam moriens, ne non procumbat honeste, 
 
 Respicit. haec etiam cura cadentis erat. 
 Ecce super corpus, communia damna gementes, 
 
 Obliti decoris, virque paterque iacent. 
 Brutus adest, tandemque animo sua nomina fallit, 
 
 Fixaque semianimi corpore tela rapit, 
 Stillantemque tenens generoso sanguine cultrum 
 
 Edidit impavidos ore minante sonos : 
 " Per tibi ego hunc iuro fortem castumque cruorem, 
 
 Perque tuos manes, qui mihi numen erunt, 
 
Ix INTRODUCTION 
 
 Tarquinium profuga poenas cum stirpe daturum. 
 
 lam satis est virtus dissimulata diu." 
 Ilia iacens ad verba oculos sine lumine movit, 
 
 Visaque concussa dicta probare coma. 
 Fertur in exequias animi ttiatrona virilis 
 
 Et secum lacrimas invidiamque trahit. 
 Volnus inane patet. Brutus clamore Quirites 
 
 Concitat, et regis facta nefanda refert. 
 Tarquinius cum prole fugit. capit annua consul 
 
 lura: dies regnis ilia suprema fuit. 
 
 Chaucer, The Legende of Good Women, 11. 1680-1885 
 Incipit Legenda Lucrecie, Rome, Martiris 
 
 Now mote I sayne the exilynge of kynges 
 Of Rom^, for here horrible doynges ; 
 Of the last^ kynge Tarquinius 
 As sayth Ovyde, and Titus Lyvius. 
 But for that causd tell I nat this story, 
 But for to preyse, and drawen to memory 
 The verray wife, the verray trewe Lucresse, 
 That for hir wifehode and hir stedfastnesse, 
 Nat only that these payens hir commende, 
 But he that y-clepdd is in oure legende 
 The grete Austyne hath grete compassyoun 
 Of this Lucresse that starf at Rom^ toun. 
 And in what wise I wol but shortly trete. 
 And of this thynge I touch6 but the grete. 
 
 Whan Ardea beseg^d was aboute 
 With Romaynes, that full sternd were and stoute, 
 Ful longe lay the sege, and lytel wroghte, 
 So that they were halfe ydel, as hem thoghte. 
 And in his pley Tarquinius the yonge 
 Gan for to jape, for he was lyghte of tonge. 
 And sayd^ that hyt was an ydel lyfe, 
 No man dide there no mord than his wife. 
 " And lat us speke of wivds that is best ; 
 Preise every man his own6, as him lest, 
 And with oure spech6 let us ease oure herte." 
 
 A knyght, that highte Colatyne, up sterte. 
 And saydd thus : " Nay, for hit is no nede 
 To trowen on the worde, but on the dede. 
 I have a wife," quod he, " that as I trowe 
 Is holden good of al that ever hir knowe. 
 Go we to Rome, to nyght, and we shul se." 
 Tarquinius answerde, "That lyketh me." 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixi 
 
 To Rom6 be they come, and faste hem dighte 
 To Colatyn^s house, and doun they lyghte, 
 Tarquinius, and eke this Colatyne. 
 The housbonde knewe the estres wel and fyne, 
 And ful preyely into the house they goon, 
 For at the gat^ porter was ther noon: 
 And at the chambre dor6 they abyde. 
 This noble wyfe sat by hir beddys syde 
 Disshevele, for no malice she ne thoghte, 
 And softd wolle saith our boke that she wroghte, 
 To kepen hir fro slouthe and ydilnesse; 
 And bad hir servauntes doon hir besynesse; 
 And axeth hem, "What tydynges heren ye? 
 How sayne men of the sege ? how shal it be ? 
 God wolde the wallas weren falle adoun ! 
 Myn housbonde is to longe out of this toun, 
 For which the dredd doth me so to smerte; 
 Ryght as a swerde hyt styngeth to myn herte. 
 Whan I thenke on the sege, or of that place. 
 God save my lorde, I pray him for his grace ! " 
 
 And therwith'al ful tendirly she wepe, 
 And of hir werke she toke no mord kepe, 
 But mek^ly she let hir eyen falle. 
 And thilkd semblarit sat hir wel withalle. 
 And eke the teer^s ful of honeste 
 Embelyssh^d hire wifely chastitee. 
 Hire countenance is to her hert6 digne, 
 For they accordeden in dede and signe. 
 And with that worde hir husbonde Colatyne, 
 Or she of him was ware, come stertyng ynne. 
 And say^de, " Drede the noght, for I am here ! " 
 And she anon up roos, with blysful chere. 
 And kyssed hym, as of wyvds is the wone. 
 
 Tarquinius, this prowdd kyngds sone, 
 Conceyv^d hath hir beaute and hir chere, 
 Hir yelow heer, hir shap, and hire manere, 
 Hir hewe, hir wordds that she hath compleyned, 
 And by no craft hire beaute was not feyned ; 
 And kaughtd to this lady suche desire. 
 That in his hert^ brent as any fire 
 So wodely that his wittd was forgeten. 
 For wel thoghte he she shuld^ nat be geten. 
 And ay the more that he was in dispaire. 
 The more he covetyth, and thoght hir faire; 
 His blynd^ lust was al his covetynge. 
 
 On morwe, whan the bryd began to synge, 
 
Ixii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Unto the sege he cometh ful pryvely, 
 
 And by himselfe he walketh sobrely, 
 
 The ymage of hir recordyng alwey newe: 
 
 "Thus lay hir heer, and thus fressh was hir hewe; 
 
 Thus sate, thus spake, thus spanne, this was hir chere: 
 
 Thus faire she was, and thys was hir manere." 
 
 Al this conceyte his herte hath new y-take, 
 
 And as the see, with tempeste al to-shake, 
 
 That after, whan the storm is al ago, 
 
 Yet wol the watir quappe a day or two, 
 
 Ryght so, thogh that hir formd were absent, 
 
 The plesaunce of hir form^ was present. 
 
 But nath^les, nat plesaunce, but delyte. 
 Or an unryghtful talent with dispite, — 
 " For maugree hir, she shal my lemman be : 
 Happe helpeth hardy man alway," quod he, 
 "What end^ that I make, hit shal be so!" 
 And gyrt him with his swerde, and gan to go. 
 And forth he rid til he to Rome is come, 
 And al alone his way there hath he nome 
 Unto the hous of Colatyne ful ryght. 
 
 Doun was the sonne, and day hath lost his lyght 
 And inne he come, unto a prevy halke, 
 And in the nyght ful thefely gan he stalke. 
 Whan every wyght was to his reste broght, 
 Ne no wyghte had of tresoun suche a thoght. 
 Whether by wyndow, or by other gynne, 
 With swerde y-drawe, shortly he cometh ynne 
 There as she lay, thys noble wyfe Lucresse, 
 And as she woke hir bed she feltd presse. 
 " What best is that," quod she, " that weyeth thus ? " 
 " I am the kyng^s sone, Tarquinius," 
 Quod he, "but and thow crye, or noyse make, 
 Or if thou any creature awake. 
 Be thilk^ God that formede man on lyve. 
 This swerd thurghout thyn hert6 shal I ryve." 
 And therwithal unto hir throte he sterte. 
 And sette the swerde al sharpe unto hir herte. 
 
 No word she spake, she hath no myght therto; 
 What shal she sayne ? hir witte is al ago ! 
 Ryght as a wolfe that fynt a lomb alone, 
 To whom shal she compleyne or makd mone? 
 What ! shal she fyghte with an hardy knyghte ? 
 Wei wot^ men a woman hath no myghte. 
 What ! shal she crye, or how shal she asterte 
 That hath hir by the throte, with swerde at herte? 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixiii 
 
 She axeth grace, and seyde al that she kan. 
 "Ne wolt thou nat?" quod tho this cruelle man, 
 "As wisly Jupiter my soul^ save, 
 As I shal in the stable slay thy knave, 
 And lay him in thy bed, and lowd^ crye. 
 That I the fynde in suche avowtrye; 
 And thus thou shalt be ded, and also lese 
 Thy nam^, for thou shalt non othir chese." 
 
 Thise Romaynes wyf^s loveden so hir nam^ 
 At thilkd tyme, and dredde so the shame, 
 That, what for fere of sklaundre, and drede of dethe, 
 She lost attones bothd wytte and brethe; 
 And in a swowgh she lay, and woxe so ded, 
 
 Men myghten smyten of hir arme or hed. 
 
 She feleth nothinge, neither foule ne feyre. 
 Tarquinius, thou art a kyng^s eyre, 
 
 And sholdest, as by lynage and by ryght, 
 
 Doon as a lorde and as a verray knyght; 
 
 Why hastow doon dispite to chevalrye? 
 
 Why hastow doon thys lady vylanye? 
 
 Alias, of the thys was a vilenous dede ! 
 
 But now to the purpose ; in the story I rede 
 
 Whan he was goon and this myschaunce is falle, 
 
 Thys lady sent aftir hir frend^s alle. 
 
 Fader, moder, housbonde, all, y-fere. 
 
 And al dysshevelee with hir heerd clere, 
 
 In habyte suche as wymmen usede tho 
 
 Unto the buryinge of hir frendds go 
 
 She sytte in hall^ with a sorowful syghte. 
 
 Hir frendes axen what hir aylen myghte, 
 
 And who was dede, and she sytte aye wepynge. 
 
 A worde for shame ne may she forthe out brynge, 
 
 Ne upon hem she durste nat beholde. 
 
 But att^ laste of Tarquyny she hem tolde 
 
 This rewful case, and al thys thing horr;^ble 
 The wo to telle hyt were an impossible 
 
 That she and al hir frendes made attones. 
 
 Al hadd^ folk^s hertys ben of stones, 
 
 Hyt myght have makdd hem upon hir rewe, 
 
 Hire hertd was so wyfely and so trewe, 
 
 She sayde that for hir gylt, ne for hir blame, 
 
 Hir housbonde shulde nat have the foul^ name. 
 
 That nold^ she naf suifren by no wey. 
 
 And they answerd^ alle upon hir fey. 
 
 That they foryaf hyt hyr, for hyt was ryght ; 
 
 Hyt was no gilt ; hit lay not in hir myght, 
 
Ixiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 And seyden hire ensamples many oon. 
 But al for noght, for thus she seyde anoon : 
 " Be as be may," quod she, " of foryifynge ; 
 I wol not have no foryift for nothinge." 
 But pryvely she kaught6 forth a knyfe. 
 And therwithal she rafte hir-selfe hir lyfe; 
 And as she felle adoun she kaste hire loke, 
 And of hir clothes yet she hede toke; 
 For in hir fallynge yet she hadd^ care, 
 Lest that hir fete or such^ thynge lay bare. 
 So wel she lov^de clennesse, and eke trouthe ! 
 
 Of hir had al the toun of Rom^ routhe. 
 And Brutus by hir chaste bloode hath swore, 
 That Tarquyn shulde y-banysshed be therfore, 
 And al his kynne; and let the peple calle, 
 And openly the tale he told hem alle; 
 And openly let cary her on a bere 
 Through al the toun, that men may see and here 
 The horrybl^ dede of hir oppressioun. 
 Ne never was ther kynge in Romd toun 
 Syn thilke day; and she was holden there 
 A seynt, and ever hir day y-halwdd dere, 
 As in hire lawe. And thus endeth Lucresse 
 The noble wyfe, as Titus beryth wittnesse. 
 
 I telle hyt, for she was of love so trewe, 
 Ne in hir wille she chaungede for no newe; 
 And for the stable hert^, sadde and kynde, 
 That in these wymmen men may al day fynde; 
 Ther as they kaste hire hert^, there it dwelleth. 
 For wel I wot that Criste himself^ telleth. 
 That in Israel, as wyde as is the londe, 
 Nat so grete feythe in al that londe he fonde, 
 As in a woman; and this is no lye. 
 And as for men, loketh which tirannye 
 They doon al day, — assay them whoso lyste. 
 The trewest is ful brotil for to triste. 
 
 Painter's Palace of Pleasure (ed. Jacobs, 1890), vol. i. pp. 22-25 
 
 The Second Novell 
 
 Sextus Tarquinius ravished Lucrece. And she bewayling 
 the losse of her chastitte, killed her selfe 
 
 Great preparation was made by the Romaines, against a 
 people called Rutuli, who had a citie named Ardea, excelling 
 in wealth and riches which was the cause that the Romaine 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixv 
 
 king, being exhausted and quite voyde of money, by reason 
 of his sumptuous buildinges, made warres uppon that countrie. 
 In the time of the siege of that citie the yonge Romaine 
 gentlemen banqueted one another, amonges whom there was 
 one called Collatinus Tarquinius, the sonne of Egerius. And 
 by chaunce they entred in communication of their wives, 
 every one praysing his several spouse. At length the talke 
 began to grow hot, wherupon Collatinus said that words 
 were vaine. For within few houres it might be tried, how 
 much his wife Lucretia did excel the rest, wherefore (quoth 
 he) if there be any livelihod in you, let us take our horse, to 
 prove which of our wives doth surmount. 
 
 Wheruppon they roode to Rome in post. At their 
 comming they found the kinges doughters, sportinge them- 
 selves with sondrye pastimes : From thence they went to the 
 house of Collatinus, where they founde Lucrece, not as the 
 other before named, spending time in idlenes, but late in 
 the night occupied and busie amonges her maydes in the 
 middes of her house spinning of woll. The victory and prayse 
 wherof was given to Lucretia, who when she saw her hus- 
 band, gentlie and lovinglie intertained him, and curteouslye 
 badde the Tarquinians welcome. Immediately Sextus 
 Tarquinius the sonne of Tarquinius Superbus, (that time 
 the Romaine king) was incensed wyth a libidinous desire, 
 to construpate and defloure Lucrece. When the yonge 
 gentlemen had bestowed that night pleasantly with their 
 wives, they retourned to the Campe. Not long after 
 Sextus Tarquinius with one man retourned to Collatia un- 
 knowen to Collatinus, and ignorant to Lucrece and the rest 
 of her houshold, for what purpose he came. Who being well 
 intertayned, after supper was conveighed to his chamber. 
 Tarquinius burninge with the love of Lucrece, after he per- 
 ceived the houshold to be at reste, and all thinges in quiet, 
 with his naked sworde in his hande, wente to Lucrece being 
 a sleepe, and keeping her downe with his lefte hande, saide : 
 "Hold thy peace Lucrece, I am Sextus Tarquinius, my 
 sworde is in my hand, if thou crie, I will kill thee." The 
 gentlewoman sore afrayed, being newely awaked oute of her 
 sleepe, and seeing iminent death, could not tell what to do. 
 Then Tarquinius confessed his love, and began to intreate 
 her, and therewithall used sundry minacing wordes, by all 
 meanes attempting to make her quiet: when he saw her 
 obstinate, and that she would not yelde to his request, not- 
 withstanding his cruell threates, he added shameful and 
 villanous speach, saying : That he would kill her, and when 
 she was slaine, he woulde also kill his slave, and place him 
 
Ixvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 by her, that it might be reported howe she was slaine being 
 taken in adulterie. She vanquished with his terrible and 
 infamous threate, his fleshlye and licentious enterprice over- 
 came the puritie of her chaste and honest hart, which done 
 he departed. Then Lucrece sent a post to Rome to her 
 father, and an other to Ardea to her husbande, requiringe 
 them that they would make speede to come unto her, with 
 certaine of their trustie frendes, for that a cruell facte was 
 chaunced. Then Sp. Lucretius with P. Valerius the sonne 
 of Volesius, made hast to Lucrece: where they founde her 
 sitting, very pensive and sadde in her chamber. So sone as 
 she saw them she began pitiously to weepe. Then her 
 husband asked her whether all thinges were well, unto whom 
 she sayde these wordes. 
 
 " No dere husbande, for what can be well or safe unto a 
 woman, when she hath lost her chastitie? Alas Collatine, 
 the steppes of an other man, be now fixed in thy bed. But 
 it is my bodye onely that is violated, my minde God knoweth 
 is giltles, whereof my death shalbe witnesse. But if you be 
 men give me your handes and trouth, that the adulterer may 
 not escape unrevenged. It is Sextus Tarquinius whoe being 
 an enemie, in steede of a frende, the other night came unto 
 mee, armed with his sword in his hand, and by violence 
 caried away from me (the Goddes know) a woful joy." 
 
 Then every one of them gave her their faith, and comforted 
 the pensive and languishing lady, imputing the offence to the 
 authour and doer of the same, affirming that her bodye was 
 polluted, and not her minde, and where consent was not, 
 there the crime was absente. Whereunto shee added : " I 
 praye you consider with your selves, what punishment is due 
 for the malefactour. As for my part, though I cleare my 
 selfe of the offence, my body shall feele the punishment : for 
 no unchast or ill woman, shall hereafter impute no dishonest 
 act to Lucrece." Then she drewe out a knife, which she had 
 hidden secretely, under her kirtle, and stabbed her selfe to 
 the harte. Which done, she fell downe grovelinge uppoq her 
 wound and died. Whereupon her father and husband made 
 great lamentation, and as they were bewayling the death of 
 Lucrece, Brutus plucked the knife oute of the wound, which 
 gushed out with aboundance of bloude, and holding it up 
 said : " I sweare by the chast bloud of this body here dead, 
 and I take you the immortall Gods to witnes, that I will 
 drive and extirpate oute of this Citie, both L. Tarquinius 
 Superbus, and his wicked wife, with all the race of his 
 children and progenie, so that none of' them, ne yet any 
 others shall raigne anye longer in Rome." Then he delivered 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixvii 
 
 the knife to Collatinus, Lucretius and Valerius, who marveyled 
 at the strangenesse of his words : and from whence he should 
 conceive that determination. They all swore that othe. And 
 followed Brutus, as their captaine, in his conceived purpose. 
 The body of Lucrece was brought into the market place, 
 where the people wondred at the vilenesse of that facte, 
 every man complayning uppon the mischiefe of that faci- 
 norous rape, committed by Tarquinius. Whereupon Brutus 
 perswaded the Romaynes, that they should cease from teares 
 and other childishe lamentacions, and to take weapons in 
 their handes, to shew themselves like men. 
 
 Then the lustiest and most desperate persons within the 
 citie, made themselves prest and readie, to attempte any 
 enterprise : and after a garrison was placed and bestowed at 
 Collatia, diligent watche and ward was kept at the gates of 
 the Citie, to the intent that the kinge should have no 
 advertisement of that sturre. The rest of the souldiours 
 followed Brutus to Rome. 
 
 When he was come thither, the armed multitude did beate 
 a marvellous feare throughout the whole Citie: but yet 
 because they sawe the chiefeste personages goe before, they 
 thought that the same enterprise was [not] taken in vaine. 
 Wherefore the people out of all places of the citie ranne into 
 the market place. Where Brutus complained of the abhomin- 
 able Rape of Lucrece, committed by Sextus Tarquinius. 
 And thereunto he added the pride and insolent behaviour of 
 the king, the miserie and drudgerie of the people, and howe 
 they, which in time paste were victours and Conquerours, 
 were made of men of warre. Artificers, and Labourers. He 
 remembred also the infamous murder of Servius Tullius 
 their late kinge. These and such like he called to the 
 peoples remembraunce, whereby they abrogated and deposed 
 Tarquinius, banishing him, his wife, and children. Then he 
 levied an army of chosen and piked men, and marched to 
 the Campe at Ardea, committing the governemente of the 
 Citie to Lucretius, who before was by the king appointed 
 Lieutenant. Tullia in the time of this hurlie burlie, fledde 
 from her house, all the people cursing and crying vengeaunce 
 upon her. Newes brought into the campe of these eventes, 
 the king with great feare retourned to Rome, to represse 
 those tumultes, and Brutus hearinge of his approche, marched 
 another waye, because hee woulde not meete him. When 
 Tarquinius was come to Rome, the gates were shutte against 
 him, and he himselfe commaunded to avoide into exile. The 
 campe received Brutus with great joye and triumphe, for 
 that he had delivered the citie of such a tyraunte. Then 
 
Ixviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Tarquinius with his children fledde to Caere, a Citie of the 
 Hetrurians. And as Sextus Tarquinius was going, he was 
 slaine by those that premeditated revengemente, of old 
 murder and injuries by him done to their predecessours. 
 This L. Tarquinius Superbus raigned xxv yeares. The 
 raigne of the kinges from the first foundation of the citie 
 continued CCxliiii. yeares. After which governmente two 
 Consuls were appointed, for the order and administration 
 of the Citie. And for that yeare L. Junius Brutus, and 
 L. Tarquinius Collatinus. 
 
IIN J.XX»^JLy»j«^jLxvJN Ixix 
 
 III 
 
 THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 
 
 The Passionate Pilgrim was not entered in the Sationers' 
 Register. It was published in 1599 with this title-page: 
 
 The I Passionate | Pilgrime. | By W. Shakespeare. 
 [Device] At London | Printed for W. Jaggard, and are 
 to be sold by W. Leake, at the Grey- | hound in Paules 
 Churchyard. | 1599. 
 
 A second title-page precedes the verses, " It was a Lording's 
 daughter," viz., 
 
 Sonnets To sundry notes of Musicke. [ [Device] At 
 London Printed for W. Jaggard, and are | to be sold by 
 W. Leake, at the Grey- | hound in Paules Churchyard | 
 1599. 
 
 The text is printed only on the right side of the page, to 
 the end of XX. 1 2, but on both sides from " A belt of straw 
 and ivy buds " onward. There are said to have been three 
 editions, but of the second no copy exists, and the date is 
 unknown. There are two copies extant of the first and two 
 of the third, that of 161 2. The volume is a small 8vo, though 
 sometimes for convenience cited as Q i. 
 
 The issue of a second edition of unknown date is inferred 
 from the title-page of that of 161 2 : 
 
 The I Passionate \ Pilgrime \ or | Certaine Amorous 
 Sonnets \ betweene Venus and Adonis | newly corrected 
 andaug- \ mented \ By W. Shakespere \ The third Edition. 
 I Whereunto is newly ad | ded two Love-Epistles, the 
 first I from Paris to Hellen, and Hellens answere backe 
 I againe to Paris \ Printed for W. Jaggard, | 161 2. | 
 
 In 1640 appeared: 
 
 Poems \ written | by | Wil. Shake-speare | Gent. [Device] 
 Printed at London by Tho. Cotes, and are | to be sold 
 by John Benson, dwelling in | St. Dunstans Church-yard. 
 
 This volume was reproduced in 1885 by Alfred Russel 
 Smith. It contains Shakespeare's Sonnets in a new order, 
 singly or in twos or threes, and scattered among them the 
 poems of the 161 2 edition of The Passionate Pilgrim with 
 certain others. 
 
Ixx INTRODUCTION 
 
 Two of these, viz. " Take O take those lips away," from 
 Measure for Measure, with the additional stanza found in 
 Fletcher's Bloody Brother, V. ii., and the Phoenix and the 
 Turtle, from the appendix to Chester's Love's Martyr, were 
 inserted by Malone in his edition of 1780, when he left out 
 the first two sonnets, giving, however, the first in a note on 
 Sonnet cxxxviii. With the alliterative title, Professor 
 Dowden, in his Introduction to Griggs's Facsimile, compares 
 the titles of previous collections, "Paradyse of Daynty 
 Devises," " Arbour of Amorous Devises," " Gorgeous Gallery 
 of Gallant Inventions," and cites in explanation of its mean- 
 ing, "Pilgrim-lover or Palmer-lover," the description of a 
 passionate pilgrim in Greene's Never Too Late, 1590 (Grosart, 
 viii. 14, IS): 
 
 "Downe the valley gan he tracke, 
 Bagge and bottle at his backe, 
 In a surcoate all of gray, 
 Such weare Palmers on the way, . . . 
 Such a Palmer nere was scene, 
 Lesse love himselfe had Palmer been. 
 Yet for all he was so quaint 
 Sorrow did his visage taint. . . . 
 And yet his feare by his sight, 
 Ended in a strange delight. 
 That his passions did approve, 
 Weedes and sorrow were for love." 
 
 The edition of 1599 contains twenty poems, now usually 
 printed as twenty-one by giving an independent existence to 
 the last three stanzas of XIV. As regards the contents of the 
 volume, the differences of quality, uncertainties of text, and 
 doubts as to authorship may be explained by the circum- 
 stances of the time. There were no public recitations, as in 
 ancient Rome ; no journals or newspapers, as now, with casual 
 wards for the accommodation of vagrant rimes. The only 
 outlet for an Elizabethan writer, short of actual publication, 
 was by way of leakage and percolation through his immediate 
 circle. The gift or loan of a MS., permission or encourage- 
 ment to copy, were a poet's arms against oblivion. This led 
 to the making of collections — scrap-book fashion — which 
 sometimes found their way into the hands of piratical 
 publishers. Even literary gleaners were employed to collect 
 materials, and printed books rifled. Authors had no copy- 
 right ; they might, if so disposed, make a Star-chamber matter 
 of their wrongs, but mere protests seem to have had little effect. 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxi 
 
 Two examples of such protests must suffice. I take the first 
 from Grosart's Memorial-Introduction to Nicholas Breton's 
 works (vol. i. xxv a) in the Chertsey Worthies' Library : 
 
 " In an epistle ' To the Gentlemen studients and Scholers 
 of Oxforde,' dated 12th April 1592, in the 'Pilgrimage' [to 
 Paradise], is this notice : — ' Gentlemen there hath beene of 
 late printed in London by one Richarde loanes, a printer, a 
 booke of english verses, entituled Bretons bower of delights : 
 I protest it was donne altogether without my consent or 
 knowledge, and many things of other mens mingled with a 
 few of mine, for except Amoris Lachrimae : an epitaph upon 
 Sir Phillip Sydney, and one or two other toies, which I know 
 not how he unhappily came by, I have no part of any of 
 the[m] : and so I beseech yee assuredly beleeve." 
 
 The second is quoted by Professor Dowden in his Intro- 
 duction to The Passionate Pilgrim, and given here with his 
 explanations in parentheses, Heywood is complaining (in 
 a postscript to his Apologie for Actors, 1612) of the insertion 
 of two of his poems without his authority in the edition 
 of 1612: 
 
 " Here likewise I must necessarily insert a manifest injury 
 done to me in that worke \i.e. " my booke of Britaines Troy "] 
 by taking the two Epistles of Paris to Helen, and Helen to 
 Paris, and printing them in a lesse volume, under the name 
 of another \i.e. the name of Shakspere], which may put the 
 world in an opinion I might steale them from him, and hee 
 to doe himselfe right, hath since published them in his owne 
 name : [Heywood means, that the world might think that in 
 The Passionate Pilgrim of 161 2, Shakspere was reclaiming 
 property stolen from him by Heywood in his Britaines Troy] 
 but as I must acknowledge my lines not worthy his patronage 
 \i.e. Shakspere's patronage] under whom he [i.e. Jaggard] 
 hath published them, so the Author \i.e. Shakspere] I know 
 much offended with M. Jaggard that (altogether unknowne to 
 him) presumed to make so bold with his name." 
 
 It may have been in consequence of this protest that 
 Jaggard cancelled the offending title-page and replaced it 
 by a new one omitting Shakespeare's name. Both title-pages 
 were by mistake inserted in Malone's copy. 
 
 It should be added that in Shakespeare Folios and Quartos, 
 by Alfred W. Pollard (1909), it is shown that authors were 
 not quite so helpless as has been generally supposed. 
 
 The following remarks on the authorship of the poems 
 contained in The Passionate Pilgrim are to a great extent 
 taken from Professor Dowden's Introduction to Griggs's 
 Facsimile already mentioned. 
 
Ixxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 I. Probably an earlier form of Sonnet cxxxviii. It is less 
 coherent, and, as Professor Dowden has shown, line 4, " Un- 
 skilful in the world's false forgeries," is ambiguous : it might 
 mean " unable to deceive," whereas the sense needed is " easy 
 to deceive," and this is given by " Unlearned in the world's 
 false subtleties." We do not know when the poem was 
 written. If it was one of Shakespeare's "sugred Sonnets 
 among his private friends," it cannot have been later than 
 1 598 ; but the word " sonnet " was of somewhat indeter- 
 minate meaning, as may be seen from its use on the second 
 title-page of The Passionate Pilgrim, and from a remark 
 of Gascoigne's in his Certain Notes of Instruction : " Some 
 think that all Poemes (being short) may be called Sonets." 
 On the other hand, line 6, "Although I know my years 
 be past the best," does not necessarily exclude a com- 
 paratively early date ; for Shakespeare may have thought 
 with Herrick that " That age is best which is the first. When 
 youth and blood are warmer." 
 
 II. This is Sonnet cxliv., with a few different readings. 
 Its publication here shows, says Professor Dowden, that by 
 the year 1599 the crisis in the history of Shakespeare's friend- 
 ship with the unknown " Will " had already occurred. If" fair," 
 line 8, and "to me," line 11, are not merely errors of tran- 
 scription, the form in the Sonnets is probably later ; for " foul 
 pride" is a better contrast to "his purity," and is both in 
 keeping with " colour'd ill," line 4, and more applicable to " the 
 Dark Lady," see Sonnet cxxvii., "In the old age black was 
 not counted fair"; and "both from me," i.e. far from me, 
 contrasts with " both to each friend," and explains " I guess " 
 in the next line. 
 
 III. Longaville's sonnet to Maria in Love's Labour's 
 Lost, IV. iii. 58-71. It loses by being withdrawn from its 
 context, for the words " Vows for thee broke " refer to the 
 oath sworn by Navarre's courtiers to spend three years in 
 monastical study. 
 
 IV. The treatment of the question of Shakespeare's author- 
 ship of IV., VI., IX. has ranged from confident acceptance 
 to stern rejection. Malone found in the title-page of ed. 161 2 
 confirmation of his theory that " several of the sonnets 
 in this collection seem to have been essays of the authour 
 when he first conceived the notion of writing a poem on the 
 subject of Venus and Adonis, and before the scheme of his 
 work was completely adjusted. Many of these little pieces 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxiii 
 
 bear the strongest mark of the hand of Shakespeare." Pro- 
 fessor Dowden writes : " I think there can be little doubt that 
 IV., VI., and (I add more doubtfully) IX. come from the 
 same hand. Nothing in any one of the three sonnets forbids 
 the idea of Shakspere's authorship ; rather, it seems to me 
 they have a Shaksperian air about them. At the same time 
 there is nothing which conclusively proves them to be by 
 Shakspere " ; and Mr. Sidney Lee : " The poetic temper and 
 phraseology of Jaggard's four poems about Venus and Adonis 
 [IV., VI., IX., XI.] sufficiently refute the pretensions to Shake- 
 sperian authorship which Jaggard, with Leake's connivance, 
 made in their behalf All of them embody reminiscences of 
 Shakespeare's narrative poem, but none show any trace of 
 his workmanship." If Bartholemew Griffin, who wrote XI., 
 wrote also IV., VI., and IX., and he was certainly capable of 
 writing the last, he may have been unwilling to own them on 
 other than literary grounds. But, as Professor Dowden points 
 out, " we have some slight ground for the assumption " that 
 Shakespeare wrote IV. and VI. in the resemblance between 
 these sonnets and a passage in The Taming of the Shrew 
 (Induction, ii. 51-53) as he revised it: 
 
 " Dost thou love pictures ? we will fetch thee straight 
 Adonis painted hy a running brook. 
 And Cytherea all in sedges hid." 
 
 The brook and the name " Cytherea " are common to 
 IV., VI., and the passage above, but do not occur in IX., or 
 XI., or the unrevised play, The Taming of a Shrew. On the 
 other hand, " the brakes " and the " queen of love " are found 
 both in IX. and in Venus and Adonis. The fact noticed by 
 Mr. Sidney Lee that " the episode of Adonis bathing, with 
 which the second of these sonnets [viz. VI.] deals, is un- 
 noticed in Shakespeare's poem," is sufficiently accounted 
 for by the ostentatious presence of Venus: in the picture, 
 she was hid in sedges, and in the sonnet, revealed too late. 
 There is perhaps also a little exaggeration in saying that 
 "the boyish modesty of Adonis is largely Shakespeare's 
 original interpretation of the classical fable." 
 
 Shakespeare, as Malone has shown, was anticipated by 
 Greene, in "this conceited ditty" (Grosart, viii. 75) : 
 
 " Sweet Adon darst not glaunce thine eye 
 N'oseres vous, mon bel amy. 
 Upon thy Venus that must die, 
 
 le vous en prie, pitie me 
 N'oseres vous, mon bel, mon bel, 
 N'oseres vous, mon bel amy. 
 
Ixxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 See how sad thy Venus lies, . . . 
 Love in heart and tears in eyes, . . . 
 All thy beauties sting my heart, . . . 
 I must die through Cupids dart, 
 Wilt thou let thy Venus die, . . . 
 Aden were unkinde say I " . . . 
 
 and practically by Marlowe, who imputes indifference if not 
 modesty {Hero and Leander, 11. 1 1-14) : 
 
 " Her wide sleeves green, and border'd with a grove, 
 Where Venus in her naked glory strove 
 To please the careless and disdainful eyes 
 Of proud Adonis, that before her lies." 
 
 V. Biron's sonnet, in alexandrines, to Rosaline, in 
 Love's Labour's Lost, iv.ii. 108-122. Theplay was published, 
 "newly corrected and augmented by W. Shakespeare," in 
 1598. In the same year the name occurs in Meres's list, 
 and in Tofte's poem, Alba, or the Month's Mind of a MelancJwly 
 Lover : " Love's L^abour Lost I once did see a play Y-cleped 
 so," etc. Tofte's reference may be to an earlier version, and 
 our sonnet may have been jotted down by some one in the 
 audience. This would account for the minor differences in 
 the text, and even for the corruption in line 13, an evident 
 blunder. 
 
 VI. See IV.a«?^. Malone gives Vincent Bourne's transla- 
 tion into Latin Elegiacs, which omits lines 11, 1 2, in favour 
 of a neat reference in the last couplet to Venus as sea-born. 
 Professor Dowden says : " If IV., VI., and IX. belong to one 
 and the same group of sonnets, the order, it seems, must 
 be — VI. Noon of the first day ; Cytherea waiting beside the 
 brook for the arrival of Adonis ; and the escape of Adonis 
 by plunging into the water. IV. Cytherea caressing Adonis 
 beside the brook. IX. The following morning, Cytherea 
 meeting Adonis as he goes to the boar-hunt. Thus the 
 treatment of time corresponds precisely with that of Venus 
 and Adonis, which includes two days, from noon of the 
 first day until the death of Adonis on the following 
 morning." 
 
 On the supposition that we have a first sketch of the 
 poem in a sonnet-sequence, I would suggest that the 
 incident of the bathing, afterwards rejected, took place 
 before the opening of the poem and, a fortiori, before noon; 
 for Venus and Adonis began their conversation in the 
 shade, and the mid-day heat came later; see lines 176-178. 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxv 
 
 For a suggestion that the sonnets, the passage in The 
 Taming of the Shrew, and even the poem, may have a 
 common origin in Faerie Queene, III. i. 34-38, where are 
 the allurements and warnings of Venus, the bathing, the 
 boar-hunt, and the death and metamorphosis of Adonis, see 
 the close of the Introduction to Venus and Adonis, ante. 
 
 VII. Not found elsewhere; author unknown. In the 
 Introduction to the Leopold Shakspere, p. xxxvi, Furnivall 
 says: "No. 7 goes so well with No. i, that though I see 
 nothing distinctively Shakspere's in it, I suppose it may be 
 his." Professor Dowden's opinion is much the same, " I 
 dare not venture to say this is not Shakspere's, but I see 
 nothing characteristically Shaksperian in it " ; and he points 
 out that the description of the " lily pale with damask die " 
 can hardly be understood of Shakespeare's dark mistress. 
 
 VIII. By Richard Barniield. This and No. XXL, "As 
 it fell upon a day," had appeared in Poems, in divers 
 Humors, the last section of a volume published, in 1598, by 
 William Jaggard's brother John, and containing three other 
 sections in verse. The Encomion of Lady Pecunia, The 
 Complaint of Poetrie for the death of Liberalitie, and Con- 
 science and Covetousness. The volume seems to have been 
 originally two; the Cambridge Editors state on the authority 
 of Mr. Henry Bradshaw that the collection of poems which 
 begins with "The Complaint," though bound with "The 
 Encomion," has a distinct title and separate signatures. The 
 sonnet was addressed by Barnfield "To his friend Maister 
 R. L. in praise of Musique and Poetrie." R. L. has been 
 identified as Richard Linche, author of Diella, published in 
 1596, and reprinted by Arber in An English Garner. 
 Barnfield's praise of Spenser, lines 7, 8, is repeated in his 
 Remembrance of some English Poets : 
 
 "Live Spenser ever, in thy P'airy Queene 
 Whose like (for deepe Conceit) was never seene"; 
 
 and he was evidently proud of having written in his Cynthia 
 (1595) "the first imitation of the verse of that excellent 
 Poet Maister Spenser in his Fayrie Queene." In the last 
 line, " One knight loves both," the reference is believed to be 
 to Sir George Carey, second Baron Hunsdon, who has been 
 commended for dissuading an attorney from settling in the 
 Isle of Wight, by causing bells to be fitted to his legs and 
 a pound of candles to be attached and lighted behind him. 
 A surer token of his interest in good music is the fact that 
 
Ixxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 Dowland dedicated to him his "first book of Songes and 
 Ayres" in 1597. Spenser had already (1590) dedicated 
 Muiopotmos to his wife, Elizabeth, second daughter of 
 Sir John Spencer of Althorpe. Proof that Barnfield was 
 the author of VIII. and XXI. is given in the Introductions to 
 Grosart's edition of his poems (Roxburgh Club, 1876), and 
 Arber's reprint (English Scholar's Library, 1882). 
 
 IX. Author unknown ; found only here. See IV. and VI. 
 ante. 
 
 X. Author unknown ; found only here. Malone sup- 
 posed it " to have been intended for a dirge to be sung by 
 Venus on the death of Adonis." Boswell replies : " This note 
 shows how the clearest head may be led away by a favourite 
 hypothesis. Unless the poet had completely altered the 
 whole subject of his poem on Venus and Adonis, which is 
 principally occupied by the entreaties of the goddess to the 
 insensible swain, how could she be represented as saying, ' I 
 craved nothing of thee still.' The greater part of it is em- 
 ployed in describing her craving." Professor Dowden agrees 
 with Boswell : " The image of the falling plum occurs in 
 another connexion in Venus and Adonis, 1. 527. I am not 
 disposed to accept Malone's suggestion. The hunter-boy, 
 Adonis, had no ' discontent ' to leave. Testamentary language 
 appears several times in Shakspere, according to our 
 notions, curiously out of place, but few expressions could be 
 odder than the words of this poem if addressed by Venus to 
 Adonis : 
 
 ' I weep for thee, and yet no cause I have ; 
 For why? Thou left'st me nothing in thy will.' 
 
 The intrusion of the cynical touch that none but legatees 
 should weep, though introduced only to be effaced, comes ill 
 from Venus. I think the lines read with most point if we 
 regard them as an elegy for a melancholy youth or maiden 
 lately dead. And it seems quite possible that they may have 
 been written by Shakspere." 
 
 XI. By Bartholemew Griffin, the third poem in Fidessa, 
 more chaste than kind, a collection of sixty-two sonnets (1596). 
 To Grosart's arguments in favour of Griffin's authorship, 
 viz. his own claim in the second dedication, " it is the first- 
 fruit of any my writing," its priority to The Passionate Pilgrim, 
 and the fact that the latter contains poems not by Shake- 
 
INTRODUCTION ixxYii 
 
 speare, Professor Dowden adds the character of the double 
 rimes, in which the last syllable is a pronoun, a manner of 
 riming rare in Shakespeare, but common in Fidessa, and the 
 fact that the closing couplet shows that the sonnet does not 
 really belong to a Venus and Adonis series, but to one of 
 those sonnet-sequences, common at the time, which deplore 
 the coldness of a mistress. Again, Fidessa has a better text 
 in line i, where a beat is missing in The Passionate Pilgrim. 
 In lines i,, J, Fidessa has "wanton . . . warlike " where The 
 Passionate Pilgrim has " warlike " twice. Here I find it hard 
 to decide. The variety may argue facility, but if " warlike " 
 is a conventional epithet, and " the warlike god " a kenning for 
 Mars, it would naturally be repeated. If otherwise, a more 
 appropriate epithet might easily have been found for line 7. 
 On the new lines, 9-12, Furnivall notes "whence got, is un- 
 known." Grosart suggested that they were a closer copy of 
 Venus and Adonis, " to be explained by Jaggard's wish to pass 
 off his Miscellany as by Shakespeare"; and Professor Dowden 
 writes : " I can believe that both versions are due to Griiifin 
 (Jaggard's text being derived, perhaps, from a manuscript 
 source, and not from the printed Fidessa), and that this is a 
 case of hesitation between two treatments of a sonnet-close, 
 the writer being doubtful whether the turn in the thought 
 should take place at the ninth or at the eleventh line." 
 
 Halliwell-Phillipps (quoted by Professor Dowden) mentions 
 that this sonnet "occurs with No. IV. in a manuscript, written 
 about the year 1625, preserved in Warwick Castle; the latter 
 poem being there given as the Second Part of the one in 
 Fidessa." This seems an anticipation of Malone's hypo- 
 thesis. 
 
 XII. Possibly by Thomas Deloney. Malone noted its 
 occurrence in his Garland of Good Will, Part III., but some 
 of the poems in Part III. are by other writers. Deloney's 
 Garland must have been decidedly earlier than The Pas- 
 sionate Pilgrim, for Nashe has a reference to it in Have With 
 You to Saffron-Walden (published 1596): "even as Thomas 
 Deloney, the Balletting Silke-weaver, hath rime inough for 
 all myracles, & wit to make a Garland of good will more 
 than the premisses," etc. (Wks., ed. M'Kerrow, iii. 84). 
 This might seem conclusive, but as there is no copy of the 
 Garland in existence of earlier date than 1604, probably 
 four years after Deloney's death, it is quite possible that our 
 No. XII. appeared in it then for the first time. On the other 
 hand, the poem in the 1604 edition was much longer, and 
 there is nothing to prevent our supposing that the shorter 
 
Ixxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 version, that of The Passionate Pilgrim, was printed by 
 Deloney in his first edition. 
 
 The present version was given by Percy in his Reliques. 
 He attributed the additional four stanzas in the Garland of 
 Good Will to " a meaner pen." " Youth and Age," he writes, 
 "is found in the little collection of Shakespeare's Sonnets, 
 intitled The Passionate Pilgrim, the greatest part of which 
 seems to relate to the amours of Venus and Adonis, being 
 little effusions of fancy, probably written while he was com- 
 posing his larger Poem on that subject. [This is Malone's 
 theory.] The following \i.e. " Crabbed age and youth," etc.] 
 seems intended for the mouth of Venus, weighing the com- 
 parative merits of youthful Adonis and aged Vulcan." 
 Steevens took some pains to refute Percy's hypothesis, insist- 
 ing on Vulcan's vigour as proved by his daily toil, " he who 
 could forge the thunderbolts of Jove, was surely in full 
 strength." 
 
 The poem was very popular. Malone cites a reference to 
 it in Fletcher's Woman's Prize, IV. i. : 
 
 "Thou fond man. 
 Hast thou forgot the ballad, ' Crabbed Age ' ? 
 Can May and January match together, 
 And never a storm between 'em ? " 
 
 As to its authorship, Furnivall writes : " No. XH. I like to 
 think Shakspere's " ; H alii well - Phillipps : " Few persons 
 would dream of assigning it to the pen of Shakespeare " ; and 
 commenting on the latter. Professor Dowden : " I confess my 
 feeling is less decided than this : there is nothing either to 
 prove or disprove Shakspere's authorship, but if any one 
 choose to side strongly with Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps, I have 
 nothing to reply." 
 
 Xni. Author unknown; found only here. On line 8, 
 Malone writes : " A copy of this poem said to be printed from 
 an ancient MS. and published in the Gentleman' s Magazine, 
 vol. xxix. p. 39, reads : 
 
 ' As faded gloss no rubbing will excite,' 
 
 and in the corresponding line : 
 
 ' As broken glass no cement can unite.' " 
 
 " This," says Mr. Sidney Lee, " was reprinted with what 
 professed to be greater accuracy in the same periodical ten 
 years later (vol. xxx. p. 39). The variations are not im- 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxix 
 
 portant, and have a too pronouncedly eighteenth-century 
 flavour to establish their pretension to greater antiquity. In 
 line 7, where Jaggard reads : — 
 
 ' And as goods lost, are seld or never found ' 
 
 the Gentleman's Magazine reads : — 
 
 'As goods when lost are wond'rous seldom found.' 
 
 . . . There can be little question that search must be made 
 elsewhere for any contemporary illustration of Jaggard's 
 miscellany." 
 
 Of the poems in six-lined stanzas, VII., X., XIII., XIV., 
 XV., XIX., Mr. Sidney Lee writes, " It is very possible that 
 they are from Barnfield's pen." 
 
 XIV., XV. Author unknown ; found only here. The 
 whole five stanzas, as Professor Dowden has shown, form a 
 single piece. They are printed as one in the 1599 edition 
 and also in the edition of the Poems of 1640. The subject 
 throughout is a lover's night of waiting for the morning when 
 he is to meet his beloved. In stanza i, 
 
 "'Farewell,' quoth she, 'and come again to-morrow,'" 
 
 is recalled in stanza 4, 
 
 "For why, she sigh'd, and bade me come to-morrow." 
 
 An alexandrine, indeed, occurs before the last line of stanzas 
 3 and 4, but this distinguishes them from stanza 5 as much 
 as from i and 2. Professor Dowden suggests that the catch- 
 word " Lord " after the second stanza in the edition of 1 599 
 may be explained by a new sheet beginning on the next 
 page, and it may be noticed that there is no catchword 
 where a new sheet begins, as elsewhere in the volume, with 
 a new poem. In support of my conjecture on 1. 14, "My 
 heart doth charge them \i.e. mine eyes] watch the morning 
 rise," I may cite here Venus and Adonis, 583, 584: 
 
 " this night I '11 waste in sorrow. 
 For my sick heart commands mine eyes to watch." 
 
 XVI. Author unknown ; not found elsewhere. It might 
 
 have been written by Greene. Collier inferred from the new 
 
 title-page " that all the productions inserted after this division 
 
 had been set by popular composers." So too Malone under- 
 
 / 
 
Ixxx INTRODUCTION 
 
 stood the expression " Sonnets to sundry notes of Musicke." 
 He writes : " This and the five following Sonnets are said in 
 the old copy to have been set to music. Mr. Oldys in one 
 of his MSS says they were set by John and Thomas 
 Morley." Steevens, Halliwell-Phillipps, and Professor Dowden 
 have expressed the opinion that No. XVI. is not by Shake- 
 speare. For the word " master," line 2, which Sidney Walker 
 doubtfully interpreted as Master of Arts, Professor Dowden, 
 explaining it as " teacher or tutor," compares The Taming of 
 the Shrew, IV. ii. 7 : 
 
 " Luc. Now, mistress, profit you in what you read ? 
 Bian. What, master, read you? first resolve me that. 
 Luc. I read that I profess, the Art to Love." 
 
 XVII. By Shakespeare. It is the ode written by Dumain 
 to his most divine Kate, Love's Labours Lost, IV. iii. 101-120 
 (published in quarto 1 598). The two additional lines in the 
 play, 
 
 " Do not call it sin in me. 
 That I am forsworn for thee," 
 
 are needed that the final " thee " may lead without abrupt- 
 ness to the " Thou " of the following line : 
 
 " Thou for whom Jove would swear," etc. 
 
 These two lines are also omitted in England's Helicon (ed. 
 Bullen, p. 74), where The Passionate Pilgrim version appears 
 with the title " The Passionate Shepherd's Song," and a cor- 
 responding change of " lover " to " shepherd " in line 7, and 
 with " thorn," line 1 2, for " throne," which is read, strangely 
 enough, both in The Passionate Pilgrim and in the quartos 
 and folios of Love's Labouf^s Lost. In line 11, "is sworn" 
 {Love's Labour's Lost), if it may bear the sense " is bound by 
 my oath," seems a better reading than "hath sworn" {The 
 Passionate Pilgrim and England's Helicon). In other cases, 
 the text of the play is decidedly inferior. 
 
 XVIII. Author unknown; previously published, as 
 Malone notes, "with some variations, in a Collection of 
 Madrigals, by Thomas Weelkes, quarto, 1 597," " this person 
 being," as Professor Dowden writes, "the composer of the 
 music, but not necessarily the author of the words." In 
 England's Helicon (1600) it appeared under the heading, The 
 unknown Shepherd!s Complaint, and is there signed " Ignoto," 
 i.e. Anon. The poem immediately succeeding is Barnfield's 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxxi 
 
 " As it fell upon a day," but is also signed " Ignoto/' and headed 
 " Another of the same Shepherd's," as if Bodenham knew that 
 the author was guilty of" My flocks feed not " without knowing 
 the culprit's name. Professor Dowden assents to Furnivall's 
 judgment, that it is "clearly not Shakspere's." Malone was 
 the first to disturb the arrangement of lines in the stanzas. 
 In the editions of 1599 and 161 2, and in the " Poems" of 1640 
 (where it is entitled " Loves Labour Lost "), it appears as 
 three twelve-lined stanzas. Malone, by bisecting lines i, 2, 
 3, 4, 9, and II, increased the number in each stanza to 
 eighteen. 
 
 XIX. Author unknown. In Halliwell-Phillipps's folio 
 edition of Shakespeare there is a facsimile of a MS. copy of 
 the poem supposed to be the same as that formerly in the 
 possession of Samuel Lysons, from which Malone took some 
 readings, and in accordance with which he changed the order 
 of the stanzas by inserting the 5th and 6th between the 2nd 
 and 3rd, a manifest improvement. It is possible that stanza 8 
 should follow 6 if " Think," as seems likely, means " believe." 
 As to the authorship, Furnivall writes : " About No. 19 I 
 doubt : that ' To sin and never for to saint,' and the whole of 
 the poem are by some strong man of the Shakspere breed." 
 Professor Dowden is less inclined now than when he wrote 
 the Introduction to Griggs's Facsimile to connect it with 
 Willobie his Avisa. "Willobie his Avisa. or The true 
 picture of a modest Maid, and of a chast and constant wife. 
 In Hexamiter verse " \i.e. in the ballad stanza of six lines and 
 six beats, the metre of No. XIX.], was published anonymously 
 in 1594, and contains, in the prefatory verses in praise of the 
 poem, the first printed reference to Shakespeare : 
 
 "Though Collatine have deerely bought; 
 To high renowne, a lasting life. 
 And found that some in vain have sought. 
 To have a Faire, and Constant wife. 
 
 Yet Tarquyne pluckt his glistering grape. 
 And Shake-speare, paints poore Lucrece rape." 
 
 In the following passage from the introduction to Canto 
 xliv., the initials W. S. were at one time supposed to stand for 
 William Shakespeare: 
 
 " H. W. [Henry Willobie] being sodenly infected with 
 the contagion of a fantastical! fit, at the sight of A[ Avisa], 
 pyneth a while in secret griefe, at length not able any longer 
 to indure the burning heate of so fervent a humour. 
 
Ixxxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 bewrayeth the secresy of his disease unto his familiar frend 
 W. S. who not long before had tryed the curtesy of the like 
 passion, and was now newly recovered of the like infection ; 
 yet finding his frend let bloud in the same vaine, he took 
 pleasure for a tyme to see him bleed, & in steed of 
 stopping the issue, he inlargeth the wound, with the sharpe 
 rasor of a willing conceit, perswading him that he thought it 
 a matter very easy to be compassed, & no doubt with 
 payne, diligence & some cost in time to be obtayned. 
 Thus did this miserable comforter comforting his frend with 
 an impossibilitie, eyther for that he now would secretly laugh 
 at his frends folly, that had given occasion not long before 
 unto others to laugh at his owne, or because he would see 
 whether an other could play his part better then himselfe, & 
 in vewing a far off the course of this loving Comedy he 
 determined to see whether it would sort to a happier end for 
 this new actor, then it did for the old player," etc. Grosart, 
 who edited Willobie his Avisa in 1880, suggested that there 
 are in it recollections of Shakespeare's conversations with his 
 friend, and that Shakespeare had sent his friend the poem 
 XIX. in The Passionate Pilgrim. 
 
 A stanza in Canto xlv., in which W. S. urges his friend to 
 give sorrow words, recalls Venus and Adonis, 11. 331-336 : 
 
 " A heavy burden wearieth one, 
 Which being parted then in twaine, 
 Seemes very light, or rather none. 
 And boren well with little paine: 
 
 The smothered flame, too closely pent, 
 Burns more extreame for want of vent." 
 
 In Canto xlvii., W. S. gives advice similar to that of our 
 No. XIX., and containing, like it, reminiscences of Ovid : — 
 
 " Well, say no more : I know thy griefe. 
 And face from whence these flames aryse. 
 It is not hard to fynd reliefe, 
 If thou wilt follow good advyse. 
 
 She is no Saynt, She is no Nonne, 
 I think in tyme she may be wonne. 
 
 Ars veterato- At first repulse you must not faint, 
 ria Nor flye the field though she deny 
 
 You twise or thrise, yet manly bent, 
 Againe you must, and still reply: 
 
 When tyme permits you not to talke. 
 Then let your pen and fingers walke. 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxxiii 
 
 Munera (ere- Apply her still with dyvers thinges, 
 
 da mihi) pla- (For giftes the wysest will deceave) 
 
 cant homi- Sometymes with gold, sometymes with 
 
 nesque Deos- ringes, 
 
 que. No tyme nor fit occasion leave, 
 
 Though coy at first she seeme and 
 
 wielde, 
 These toyes in tyme will make her 
 yielde. 
 
 Looke what she likes; that you must love, 
 And what she hates, you must detest. 
 Where good or bad, you must approve. 
 The wordes and workes that please her 
 best: 
 If she be godly, you must sweare. 
 That to offend you stand in feare. 
 
 Wicked wiles You must commend her loving face, 
 to deceave For women joy in beauties praise, 
 witles wo- You must admire her sober grace, 
 men. Her wisdom and her vertuous wayes. 
 
 Say, 't was her wit & modest shoe. 
 That made you like and love her so. 
 
 You must be secret, constant, free, 
 Your silent sighes and trickling teares, 
 Let her in secret often see. 
 Then wring her hand, as one that feares 
 
 To speake, then wish she were your 
 wife. 
 
 And last desire her save your life. 
 
 When she doth laugh, you must be glad. 
 And watch occasions, tyme and place. 
 When she doth frowne, you must be sad, 
 Let sighes & sobbes request her grace: 
 Sweare that your love is truly ment. 
 So she in tyme must needes relent." 
 
 (From Ingleby's Allusion-Books, Ft. I.) 
 
 The author of XIX. wrote in the same metre as the 
 author of Willobie his Avisa, and wrote it better. 
 
 Nothing more is known. Hadrian Dorrell, who wrote the 
 " Epistle Dedicatory " and " Epistle to the Reader " prefixed to 
 the first edition (1594), professed in an "apologie" (ed. 1605), 
 to show the true meaning [of Willobie his Avisa]. It may 
 
Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 be a consolation to remember that his contemporaries were 
 no clearer-sighted than ourselves. Interesting attempts to 
 interpret the poem have been made by Mr. Charles Hughes 
 in his Introduction to his reprint of Willobie his Avisa, and 
 by Dr. Creighton in his Shakespeare's Story of his Life. Mr. 
 Hughes can hardly be right in identifying Avisa with a girl 
 of eighteen, Avys Forward, born at Mere in 1575 ; for Avisa 
 is represented in the poem as married at the age of twenty, 
 ten years before the poem opens : 
 
 . " Ten yeares have tryde this constant dame," 
 " Full twentie yeares she lived a maide." (p. 22) 
 
 XX, By Marlowe. It appeared in England's Helicon 
 (1600) with the title " The Passionate Shepherd to his Love," 
 the subscription " Chr. Marlow," and two additional verses : 
 
 " A gown made of the finest wool. 
 Which from our pretty lambs we pull ; 
 Fair lined slippers for the cold, 
 With buckles of the purest gold " 
 
 (inserted after the third stanza), and — 
 
 " The shepherd swains shall dance and sing 
 For thy delight each May morning ; 
 If these delights thy mind may move, 
 Then live with me and be my love." 
 
 This stanza ends the poem. In Walton's Compleat Angler 
 (ed. 2, 1655) it is preceded by another: 
 
 " Thy silver dishes for thy meat. 
 As precious as the gods do eat. 
 Shall on an ivory table be 
 Prepared each day for thee and me." 
 
 Love's Answer is subscribed "Ignoto" in England's 
 Helicon, where it has a different title, " The Nymph's Reply 
 to the Shepherd," and these five additional stanzas : 
 
 " Time drives the flocks from field to fold, 
 When rivers rage, and rocks grow cold; 
 And Philomel becometh dumb; 
 The rest complains of cares to come. 
 
 The flowers do fade, and wanton fields 
 To wayward Winter reckoning yields; 
 A honey tongue, a breast of gall. 
 Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxxv 
 
 Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, 
 Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies. 
 Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten, 
 In folly ripe, in reason rotten. 
 
 Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, 
 Thy coral clasps and amber studs, 
 All these in me no means can move, 
 To come to thee and be thy love. 
 
 But could youth last, and love still breed, 
 Had joy no date, nor age no need. 
 Then these delights my mind might move, 
 To live with thee and be thy love." 
 
 Here, again, Walton has a penultimate stanza : 
 
 "What should we talk of daintees, then, 
 Of better meat than's fit for men? 
 These are but vain: that's only good 
 Which God hath blessed, and sent for food." 
 
 In Englands Helicon there follows " Another of the same 
 nature made since," beginning " Come live with me and be 
 my dear." It contains eleven stanzas not very much better 
 than Walton's additions to the original poems ; but Walton's 
 criticism is better than his poetry, if indeed the additions 
 are his own work. " It was that smooth song," he writes, 
 "which was made by Kit Marlow, now at least fifty years 
 ago ; and the milk-maid's mother sung an answer to it, which 
 was made by Sir Walter Raleigh, in his younger days. . . . 
 They were old-fashioned poetry, but choicely good ; I think 
 much better than the strong lines that are now in fashion in 
 this critical age." 
 
 XXI. By Richard Barnfield. It appeared in his Poems: 
 In divers Humors (i 598), where it followed A Remembrance of 
 some English Poets. In England s Helicon it followed The 
 unknown Shepherds Complaint, " My flocks feed not," and 
 was entitled Another of the same Shepherd's. The version 
 there contains only the first twenty-six lines followed by the 
 couplet — 
 
 "Even so poor bird, like thee, 
 None alive will pity me." 
 
 This couplet does not appear in The Passionate Pilgrim, 
 edd. 1599, 1 61 2, in Barnfield's Poems in Divers Humors, or 
 
Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 in the edition of 1640. It serves, however, to introduce 
 without abruptness the lines which follow, though it may- 
 have been added by the editor of England's Helicon. Pro- 
 fessor Dowden writes : " Many editors, perhaps influenced by 
 the fact that 1. 26 comes at the bottom of a page, perhaps 
 by the fact that in England's Helicon 11. 27-56 do not appear, 
 and failing, I suppose, to discover any connexion between 
 the nightingale's lament and the later lines of the piece, 
 divide the poem into two — the first consisting of 11. 1-26; 
 the second of 11. 27-56 \i.e. 11. 29-58 in this edition]. But 
 the reader of Barnfield's poem. The Complaint of Poetrie for 
 the death of Liberalitie, will remember how Poetrie sorrowing 
 for Liberality calls on Philomela to cease her complaints : 
 
 'Thy woes are light compared unto mine.' 
 
 Here the transition from the nightingale to the poor poet 
 deserted by the faithless flatterers is easy enough for Barn- 
 field, if not for Barnfield's reader. Lines 1-26 indeed require 
 27-56 \i.e. 29-58] as a pendant for the nightingale's griefs — 
 
 'so lively showne 
 Made me thinke upon mine owne.' 
 
 But if the poem stops at 1. 26 we hear nothing of the 
 singer's griefs. And we know from the rest of the volume 
 \Poems in Divers Humors'\ what one of his principal griefs 
 was — the want of the lovely Lady Pecunia's grace, and the 
 death of that former friend of poets. Liberality. The editor 
 of England's Helicon, to compensate for the lines which he 
 omitted [11. 29-58], added, as I suppose, his brief equivalent 
 in the couplet [11. 27, 28] which closes the poem as printed 
 in his Miscellany." 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxxvii 
 
 IV 
 
 THE PHCENIX AND TURTLE 
 
 This poem first appeared in 1601 without a title and 
 subscribed William Shake-speare, at the end of a book of 
 which the title-page is : 
 
 Loves Martyr | or | Rosalins Complaint. | Allegorically 
 shadowing the truth of Loue, \ in the constant Fate of 
 the Phoenix | and Turtle. \ A Poeme interlaced with 
 much varietie and raritie; | now first translated out 
 of the venerable Italian Torquato | Caeliano, by Robert 
 Chester. | With the true legend of famous King Arthur, 
 the last of the nine | Worthies, being the first Essay of a 
 new Brytish Poet : collected | out of diuerse Authenticall 
 Records. | To these are added some neiv compositions, of 
 seuerall moderne Writers \ whose names are subscribed to 
 their seuerall workes, vpon the \ first subject: viz. the 
 Phoenix and \ Turtle. | Mar: — Mutare dominum non 
 potest liber notus. \ London | Imprinted forE. B. | i6oi.| 
 
 The new compositions have a separate title-page, viz. : 
 
 Hereafter | Follow Diverse | Poeticall Essaies on the 
 former Sub- | iect ; viz : the Turtle and Phoenix. | Done 
 by the best and chief est of our \ moderne writers, with 
 their names sub- | scribed to their particular workes : | 
 neuer before extant. \ And (now first) consecrated by them 
 all generally, | to the loue and m.erite of the true-noble 
 Knight}, I Sir John Salisburie. | Dignum laude virum 
 Musa vetat mori. \ [Device] Anchora Spei. | MDCI. 
 
 In spite of the promise of the title-page, some of the 
 poems are anonymous, the others are by William Shake- 
 speare, John Marston, George Chapman, and Ben Jonson. 
 The volume was edited by the late Dr. Grosart, with an 
 Introduction and notes, for the New Shakspere Society in 
 1878. It contains interspersed in the allegory of the Phoenix 
 and Turtle other matters, viz. a description of the Nine 
 Female Worthies, a chronicle history of King Arthur, a 
 bestiary, and treatises on birds, on plants and their uses, on 
 precious stones, etc. The argument is as follows: Dame 
 Nature at a council of the Roman gods described the beauty 
 of the Arabian Phoenix, and expressed a fear that she 
 
Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 would die without offspring. Jove answered that Nature 
 would find in Paphos Isle "true Honors lovely Squire" who 
 would meet the Phoenix on a high hill, 
 
 "And of their Ashes by my doome shal rise 
 Another Phcenix her to equalise." 
 
 The meeting, postponed while Nature and the Phcenix discuss 
 English history and mediaeval science (pp. 16-129), took 
 place by the arrival of a turtle-dove, sorrowing for his turtle 
 that is dead, and was the signal for Nature's departure. The 
 Phcenix and the Turtle decided to die together, "in a manner 
 sacrificingly " and for posterity's sake, and gathered sweet 
 wood for their pyre. After some striving of courtesies the 
 Turtle entered the fire first, and was consumed. The Phoenix 
 followed. A pelican which happened to be present was 
 permitted to watch and report " their love that she did see." 
 
 Dr. Grosart by a process of reasoning known to logicians 
 as the fallacy of the undistributed middle, concluded that the 
 allegory shadowed the love of Queen Elizabeth for the Earl 
 of Essex. Contemporary poets had addressed her as the 
 Phoenix, and had celebrated her virginity and her beauty. 
 Essex had been praised as liberal and honourable. Similar 
 compliments are paid by Chester to his two birds. Again, 
 Chester's Phoenix is a female, and his turtle-dove a male ; 
 and Elizabeth was a female, and Essex a male. 
 
 Moreover, Paphos Isle is described as holy and serpentless : 
 
 " The crocodile and hissing Adders sting 
 May not come near this holy spot of ground." 
 
 It is therefore Ireland, where Essex is known to have 
 spent some months in 1599; for Ireland was "the Isle of 
 Saints," and is free from crocodiles, St. Patrick having 
 banished even small snakes. Elizabeth is so amply allegorised 
 that she appears not only as the Phcenix, but also as Rosalin 
 (see p. xxiii), who is Dame Nature ; for, as Grosart says, " the 
 complaint of Rosalin is put into the mouth of Dame Nature ; 
 for Dame Nature's Complaint is a complaint in behalf of 
 Rosalin or the Phoenix, or in other words Rosalin's own 
 Complaint." She is also a silver-coloured dove, prayed for 
 on p. 21. It should be added that Grosart recognised in the 
 allegory certain deviations from the course of history, and 
 that while amazed at the audacity of Chester's revelations, he 
 attributed the deviations to his discretion. 
 
 It would be impossible to prove that Chester, in composing 
 his poem, had not Queen Elizabeth in his mind. He certainly 
 
INTRODUCTION Ixxxix 
 
 both thought and wrote of King Lud, King Arthur, King 
 Alfred, the Nine Female Worthies, " stocke-fish," " the Griffon," 
 " Nesewort," and other persons and things. 
 
 It may be admitted that the aberrations of a mind yielding 
 in turn to timidity and recklessness must be difficult to follow. 
 Yet it is at least equally difficult to believe that Chester 
 desired to combine adulation of Elizabeth with indignation 
 at the fate of Essex, and that he was aided and abetted by 
 the poets of the time. His poem neither shadowed events as 
 they were nor as they might have been if the Queen had been 
 more complacent. A few points may be noticed which render 
 Grosart's theory difficult to accept. The Phoenix is described 
 as a beautiful and naked woman with an attention to details 
 which indicates an inquisitive and painstaking eye-witness ; 
 and side-notes, such as " Necke," " Breastes," " Armes," etc., 
 direct attention to the part immediately under the microscope. 
 This can hardly be called " a titillation of her [Elizabeth's] 
 vanity in compliments that ' sweet fifteen ' only might have 
 looked for." The Phoenix and Turtle meet immediately before 
 their cremation as utter strangers. Elizabeth and Essex had 
 been acquainted for years. The Phoenix, Elizabeth, was so 
 far from desiring to die before the Turtle, Essex, that she 
 signed his death-warrant. Chester's Phoenix and Turtle died 
 on the same pyre with the object of producing another 
 Phoenix, a female, as we learn from the Pelican. Grosart's 
 comment is interesting : " Fact and fiction however are inter- 
 blended, e.g., the ending of the poem-proper by the Author's 
 evident wish, furtively to pay homage to James, introduces a 
 disturbing element into our interpretation ; but this and other 
 accidents cannot be permitted to affect the substance of the 
 motif of these poems. The word ' allegorical ' covers all such 
 accidents." James might well have distrusted the furtive 
 homage which represented him as a woman and the joint 
 product of Elizabeth and Essex. 
 
 Again, a sympathiser with Essex would hardly have 
 associated him with Ireland, the scene of his failure. Essex 
 decimated his soldiers after the battle of Arklow, and made 
 a series of truces with O'Neill, but in the description of the 
 Turtle we read that 
 
 "in his brows doth sit 
 
 Bloud and sweet Mercie hand in hand united, 
 
 Bloud to his foes," etc. 
 
 The campaign in Ireland was too recent to explain 
 Chester's allusion in his preface to his poem as a long 
 expected labour; and too late in the career of Essex to 
 
xc INTRODUCTION 
 
 permit Ireland to figure, even in an allegorical romance, as 
 the scene of his first meeting with Elizabeth. Moreover, 
 Paphos Isle is described as a land flowing with milk and 
 honey. It contains cedars of Lebanon and pine-apples, 
 liquorice and sweet Arabian spice, as well as Satyres, Driades, 
 Hamadriades, and pretie Elves. Ireland is and was in these 
 respects quite different. Neither was it known to the 
 English of the sixteenth century as the Isle of Saints ; and 
 as regards its fauna, Iceland was equally free from crocodiles 
 and adders; more free, indeed, than "Paphos," for, if we 
 accept Grosart's own interpretation (note on p. 121), there 
 were actually " wormes " and "serpents " in the Turtle's happy 
 isle, though mingled with other creatures. It is true that they 
 were confined 
 
 " Within a little corner towards the East, 
 A moorish plot of earth and dampish place," 
 
 but they were of various kinds, and some, as Chester insists, 
 very deadly : 
 
 " Here lives the Worme, the Gnat, and Grashopper, 
 Rinatrix, Lizard, and the fruitful Bee, 
 The Mothe, Chelidras, and the Bloodsucker, 
 That from the flesh suckes bloud most speedily: 
 Cerastis, Aspis and the Crocadile, 
 That doth the way-faring passenger beguile. 
 
 The labouring Ant, and the bespeckled Adder, 
 The Frogge, the Tode, and Sommer-haunting Flie, 
 The prettie Silkeworme, and the poisnous Viper 
 That with his teeth doth wound most cruelly: 
 The Hornet and the poisonous Cockatrice, 
 That kills all birds by a most slie device.'' 
 
 We do not need the assurance of the next line, 
 
 "The Aspis is a kind of deadly Snake," 
 
 to recognise that the resemblance between Paphos Isle and 
 Elizabethan Ireland is very faint. Grosart indeed found 
 confirmation of his theory in the phrase " moorish plot," the 
 place of the serpents, which he explained as " one of the bogs 
 for which Ireland was and is celebrated, and in which still, in 
 spite of St. Patrick, frogs if not serpents are found. Be it 
 noted this held only of ' a little corner.' " Grosart does less 
 than justice to St. Patrick. In the Ireland of Elizabeth's 
 
INTRODUCTION xci 
 
 days there were no frogs. Like so many other good things, 
 they were introduced from England. This was about the 
 year 1630, and the first printed reference is Colgan's in 1647; 
 see authorities cited in Thompson's Natural History of Ireland, 
 vol. iv. pp. 64-66. 
 
 It is to be feared that Chester's Utopia will not be found 
 on the map of Europe or on any other. The elements of his 
 description are easier to trace. The equivalents of these, 
 however refracted by Chester's intelligence, may be found in 
 Pliny's Natural History, which Chester could have plundered 
 with Ben Jonson's help. Holland's translation was not 
 published till 1601, but is convenient for reference. The 
 Phoenix was a native of Arabia Felix, an Earthly Paradise 
 famous for its spices (see Holland's Pliny, vol. i. p. 366 seqq), 
 especially in the land of the Sabaeans. This is " enclosed on 
 every side with rocks inaccessible " ; it is " full of high hills " ; 
 " all the race of them [i.e. the Sabaeans] is called Sacred and 
 Holy"; "the same storax (p. 371) they used to burne for the 
 chasing away of serpents, which in those forests of sweet 
 trees [as in the east corner of " Paphos Isle," but not in Irish 
 bogs] are most rife and common." If not an island, Arabia 
 is a "demy-Iland" (p. 371). 
 
 Later, the Happy Land was described in the poem 
 Carmen de Phcenice, attributed to Lactantius, and this again 
 was paraphrased in Anglo-Saxon, perhaps by Cynewulf. The 
 Latin and the paraphrase may be found in Thorpe's edition 
 of the Codex Exoniensis, and the latter, with a better text, in 
 Grein's Bibliothek der Angelsdchsischen Poesie, III. Band, 
 I Halfte. In the Anglo-Saxon poem, the Phoenix dwells in 
 the odour of sanctity : " ymb sete?S utan ... lie ond fetJre . . . 
 halgum stencum." In Lactantius, its country is said to be 
 holy, loca sancta, and it chooses for its pyre a place free from 
 serpents, a lofty palm, 
 
 " In quam nulla nocens animans perrumpere possit, 
 Lubricus aut serpens, aut avis ulla rapax." 
 
 I may add that James I. published in 1585 a poem on the 
 Phoenix in which he represented her as assailed by malice and 
 envy in lines which may perhaps have suggested the similar 
 passage in Chester which Grosart interpreted of Elizabeth's 
 youth. 
 
 Others may succeed in using what Grosart has called his 
 "golden key." I can only confess and regret my failure. 
 After all, it is possible that Chester meant what he said on 
 his title-page, and in his book. The Phoenix may represent 
 
xcii INTRODUCTION 
 
 love, and the Turtle constancy, i.e. faithfulness to the memory 
 of his dead turtle. The love between the Phoenix and the 
 Turtle shows no sign of passion. They were united in will 
 and in deed; and the object of their self-immolation was 
 attained when a new and more beautiful Phoenix arose from 
 their ashes. This too seems to be the subject of Shake- 
 speare's poem, though it might, as far as could be seen 
 without Chester's guidance, have been written as an elegy on 
 two lovers who died unmarried or at least childless. Chester 
 adds to his poem two others, the second of which is uncon- 
 nected with the allegory, and the first, " Cantoes Alphabet-wise 
 to faire Phcenix made by the Paphian Dove," connected only 
 in name. We know that the Paphian Dove died a martyr, 
 and this is another bird, a maker of dissolute proposals, in- 
 disposed to share in the sacrifice, though content to bring the 
 materials at a price : 
 
 " He helpe to bring thee wood to make thy fire, 
 If thou wilt give me kisses for my hire." 
 
 In conclusion, I would submit the following questions to 
 all admirers of Chester, and seekers of mares' nests : — 
 
 When Chester in his dedication said he had finished his 
 long expected labour according to the directions of some of 
 his best-minded friends, did he mean that they had helped 
 him to write it ? 
 
 Was Shakespeare concerned in the composition of 
 
 " Her morning-coloured cheekes, in which is plac'd 
 A LilHe lying in a bed of roses"? 
 
 Since this lily must be either the nose, or a spot of white in 
 the middle of each cheek, was such assistance, if asked for, 
 honestly given ? 
 
 Lastly, were Shakespeare and his fellows expected to 
 write the usual complimentary verses as an introduction 
 to Chester's poem, and did they, after consultation, decide 
 to save their credit by substituting independent studies of 
 Love and Constancy? 
 
 By inadvertence, I omitted to credit Malone with the 
 quotation from Peele on Venus and Adonis, 1. 397, and to state 
 in the Introduction that Mr. Charles Crawford was the first 
 to call attention to Barnfield's thefts from the same poem, 
 and from Lucrece. Mr. Crawford noted all or nearly all the 
 points I have mentioned as well as others which escaped me. 
 His work appeared originally in Notes and Queries, and after- 
 
INTRODUCTION xciii 
 
 wards in the first volume of his own Collectanea. It has been 
 summarised in the last edition of The Shakspere Allusion Book. 
 My thanks are due to Professor Dowden, who read 
 some of my earlier notes in MS., and helped me with in- 
 formation and advice, and from whose Introduction to The 
 Passionate Pilgrim I borrowed more freely perhaps than was 
 becoming. Readers of the notes will see how much they owe 
 to the unfailing kindness of Professor Case, General Editor of 
 this series, who gave me all I asked, besides what he added 
 of his learned bounty. 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 Vilia miretur vulgus ; mihi flavus Apollo 
 Pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua. 
 
To the 
 
 Right Honorable HENRIE WRIOTHESLEY, 
 Earle of Southampton, and Baron of Titchfleld. 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 T KNO W not how I shall ojfend in dedicating my vnpolisht 
 lines to your Lordship, nor how the worlde will censure 
 mee for choosing so strong a proppe to support so weake a 
 burthen, onelye if your Honour seeme but pleased, I account m.y 
 selfe highly praised, and vowe to take aduantage of all idle 
 houres, till I haue honoured you with some grauer labour. 
 But if the first heire of my inuention proue deformed, I shall 
 be sorry it had so noble a godfather : and neuer after eare so 
 barren a land, for feare it yeeld me still so bad a haruest, I 
 leaue it to your Honourable suruey, and your Honor to your 
 hearts content which I wish may alwaies answere your owne 
 wish, and the worlds hopefull expectation. 
 
 Your Honors in all dutie, 
 
 William Shakespeare. 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 Even as the sun with purple-colour'd face 
 Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn, 
 Rose-cheek'd Adonis hied him to the chase; 
 Hunting, he lo v'd. but jove he laugh'd tp,scorn : 
 ' SickJhaugHted'Venus makes "amain unto him, 
 And-iike__a_hQld-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 jpan, 
 
 8. chiefs sweet Sewell. 
 
 I. purple] In the poetic diction of the 
 time, often crimson or bright red ; the 
 analogy of the Latin purpureus may 
 have had some influence. In Shake- 
 speare, though used of grapes {Mid- 
 summer- Nighfs Dream, in. i. 170) and 
 of violets (Pericles, iv. i. 16), it is usu- 
 ally applied to blood. See Richard II. 
 ni. iii. 94 ; Richard III. IV. iv. 277 ; 
 and Romeo and Juliet, I. i. 92. Spenser 
 has " purple blood " in Faerie Queene, I. 
 ii. 17, and " Faire Aurora in her purple 
 pall," I. iv. 16; cf. ibid. I. ii. 7 : 
 
 "Now when the rosy fingred 
 Morning faire 
 Weary of aged Tithonus saffron 
 
 bed, 
 Had spred her purple robe 
 through deavjry aire." 
 
 2. weeping] dewy ; cf. Winter's Tale, 
 IV. iv. 106: "The marigold that goes 
 to bed wi' the sun. And with him rises 
 weeping" (Craig). 
 
 3. Rose-cheek'd Adonis] The epithet 
 occurs, as Steevens noted, in Timon of 
 Athens, iv. iii. 86. "Our author," 
 says Malone, "perhaps remembered 
 Marlowe's Hero and Leander [ed. Dyce 
 p. 280 b] : 
 
 ' The men of wealthy Sestos every 
 yeare, 
 
 For his sake whom their goddess 
 
 held so deare, 
 Rose-cheek'd Adonis, held a 
 solemn feast.'" 
 5. maies amain]hiisteas ; cf. Comedy 
 of Errors, i. i. 93 : " Two ships from 
 far making amain to us." So "fly 
 amain," The Tempest, w. i. 74; " march 
 amain," Titus Andronicus, iv. iv. 65, 
 where likewise the original notion of 
 vigour has passed into that of speed. 
 
 9. Stain] Mr. Wyndham explains 
 this as " injury," and cites Sonnet cix. : 
 " So that myself bring water for thy 
 stain." The meaning is rather "superior 
 in beauty " ; cf. Lodge, Verses from 
 William Longbeard (Glaucus and Silla, 
 ed. 1819, p. 119) ; 
 
 "Think that the staine of bewtie 
 then is stained. 
 When lewd desires doo alienate 
 the hart ; " 
 where "staine of bewtie" means pre- 
 eminent beauty. The verb in the sense 
 of surpass or excel is common. See 
 Romeus and Juliet (Shaks. Soc. p. 77) : 
 "Whose beauty and whose shape 
 
 so farre the rest did stayne, 
 ,That from the cheefe of Veron youth 
 he greatest fame dyd gaine " ; 
 Lyly, ed. Bond, ii. p. 22 : " two 
 
6 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 More white and red than doves or roses are; lO 
 
 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 ; 
 
 If thou wilt deign this favour, for thy meed 15 
 
 A thousand honey secrets shalt thou know : 
 
 Here come and sit, where never serpent hisses, 
 And being set, I '11 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, 25 
 
 The precedent of pith and livelihood, 
 
 10. or roses] and roses Farmer conj. Ii. thee\ thee, Malone, Cambridge. 
 17. never serpent hisses'] serpents never hisses Q 13, serpent never hisses Gildon. 
 24. tiiiie-beguiling] thne-beguilding Q 4, time, be^iling Q 10. 26. precedent] 
 Malone (Capell MS.), president Qq. 
 
 Rubies be they never so lyke, yet if her husband's sight, placed himself by 
 
 they be brought together one staineth her." 
 
 the other " ; iii. p. 70 (ironically) ; 20. famish them] Malone compares 
 
 " whose teeth shal be so pure a watchet, Antony and Cleopatra, \\. ii. 241 : "other 
 
 that they shall staine the truest Turkis " women cloy The appetites they feed : 
 
 (turquoise) ; ibid. p. 142 : but she makes hungry Where most she 
 
 " My Daphne's brow inthrones the satisfies." 
 
 Graces, 24. wasted] spent ; used in a good 
 My Daphne's beauty staines all sense also in Tempest, v. 1. 302 : 
 faces " ; " part of it [the night] I '11 waste With 
 and Sidney has "sun-staining excell- such discourse as I not doubt shall make 
 encie" (^?ra</;'a, 10th ed. p. 2); and \t<^0 0im<^^\iz.y" ; Merchant of Venice, 
 even: "O voice that doth the thrush ill. iv. 12; " companions That do con- 
 in shrillness stain " (BuUen, Lyrics from verse and waste the time together " ; and 
 Elizabethan Romances, p. 3). Milton, Sonnet xx. : " Where shall we 
 
 11, 12. Nature . . , life] There is no sometimes meet and by the fire Help 
 comma after rt« in Q I . Nature strove waste a sullen day ?" 
 
 to surpass herself in making her master- 25. palm] For the indications of a 
 
 piece, Adonis, and if he dies will (in moist palm, Steevens compares Antony 
 
 disgust or despair) cease to work ; cf 11. and Cleopatra, I. ii. 53 ; and Malone, 
 
 953, 9S4 : "Now Nature cares not for Othello, iii. iv. 36-39. 
 
 thy [Death's] mortal vigour, Since her 26. The . . . livelihood] The evidence 
 
 best work is ruin'd with thy rigour." or token of vigorous life. Precedent 
 
 18. j«^] seated ; cf Two Gentlemen of has a similar meaning in Z'zVaj ^«rfroK«- 
 
 Verona, II. i. 91 : " In' conclusion, I cus, v. iii. 44 : "A reason mighty, 
 
 stand affected to her. — I would you were strong, and effectual ; A pattern, prece- 
 
 set, so your affection would cease " ; and dent, and lively warrant " ; and Lear, II. 
 
 Pettiis Palace, ed. GoUancz, i. 18 : iii. 13 : " The country gives me proof 
 
 "Sinorix , ■ . seeing her set out of and precedent Of Bedlam beggars." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 1 
 
 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, 
 Wh_Q^blush'd and pouted in a dull disdain, 
 With readeff'appetite, unapt to toy ; 
 
 She red and hot as coals of glowing fire, 35 
 
 tje-TfidJbJLjfaame, but frosty jn 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 :'tDw 40 
 
 Backward she push'd 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, 45 
 
 And 'gins to chide, but soon she stops his lips; 
 
 And kissing speaks, with lustful language broken, 
 " 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 ^niss ; 
 
 What follows more she murders with a kiss. 
 
 32. her] Qq 1-4, the The rest. 53. saith] sayes Qq 12, 13 ; miss] 'miss 
 
 Malone. 54. murders] murthers Qq 1-4, smothers The rest. 
 
 For "pith," marrow, and hence 37. ragged]xow^\ ci. Two Gentlemen 
 
 strength, cf. Measttre for Measure, I. iv. of Verona, i. ii. 121 : " Unto a ragged, 
 
 70 : " pith of business " ; Hamlet, iv. i. fearful-hanging rock '' ; Merry Wives, 
 
 23: "pith of life"; sxA Henry V. ni. iv. iv. 31: "great ragg'd horns"; 
 
 Prol. 21 : "Guarded with grandsires, Richard II. v. v. 21 : "ragged prison 
 
 babies, and old women Either past or walls " ; and figuratively, " ragged 
 
 not arrived to pith and puissance." repulses" for rough refusals, in Pettie's 
 
 30. pluck] pull or drag. More effort Palace, vol. ii. p. 40 (ed. Gollancz). 
 
 is implied than in the modern use ; cf. 40. prove] try, attempt. See Much 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona, ill. i. 266 : Ado, I. iii. 75 : " Shall we go prove 
 
 ' ' A team of horses shall not pluck that what 's to be done ? " ; i Henry VI. II. 
 
 from me"; Taming of the Shrew, iv. ii. 58: "I mean to prove this lady's 
 
 i. 80; "how she waded through the courtesy"; and Ci3r2(;/a»«J,v.i. 60: "I'll 
 
 dirt to pluck him off me "; and ^ .&««?;)/ prove him, Speed how it will. I shall' 
 
 IV. I. iii. 49: ""to pluck a kingdom erelonghaveknowledgeOfmysuccess." 
 
 down And set another up." 53. miss] misdeed or misbehaviour ; 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 stuff d or prey be gone; 
 
 Even so she kiss'd his brow, his cheek, his chin. 
 And where she ends she doth anew begin. 
 
 55 
 
 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. 
 
 Look, how a bird lies tangled in a net. 
 
 So fasten'd in her arms Adonis lies; 
 
 Pure shame and aw'd resistance madejjm Jret, 
 
 65 
 
 56. feathers'] feather Qq 2-4, 6. 
 eth] Qq 1-3, breathing The rest, 
 ed. 2 (S. Walker conj.). 
 
 cf. Davidson's Poetical Rhapsody, ed. 
 Nicholas, vol. ii. p. 236 : 
 
 ' ' Nay, nay ; thou striv'st in vain, 
 my heart. 
 To mend thy miss ; 
 Thou hast deserv'd to bear this 
 smart, 
 And worse than this.'' 
 See also Digby Plays, ed. Furnivall, 
 p. 151 : " synne noon is but if the soule 
 consent unto mys " ; and Dunbar, ed. 
 Small, vol. ii. p. ']0: "I sail, as scho 
 [the Magdalene] weip teris for my miss. " 
 The form "amiss" is more usual. See 
 Lyly, Woman in the Moone, IV. i. 151 : 
 ' ' Pale be my lookes to witnesse my 
 amisse " ; and Guilpin's Skialetheia 
 (Reprint, p. 44) : " For false suspicion 
 of another is A sure condemning of 
 our own amisse." 
 
 56. 7z>«j] feeds ravenously. Malone's 
 
 " peck " is too mild. Cotgrave has 
 
 ' ' Tirer. To draw, drag, trayle, tow, 
 
 hale, puU, pluck, lug, tug, twitch." 
 
 Nares explains : " A term in falconry ; 
 
 from tirer, French, to drag or pull. 
 
 The hawk was said to tire on her prey 
 
 [or on the lure] when it was thrown to 
 
 her, and she began to pull at it and 
 
 tear it." See his examples, also Selimus 
 
 (Grosart's Greene, xiv. p. 243) : 
 
 " As Tityus in the countrie of the dead, 
 
 With restlesse cries doth call upon 
 
 high Jove, 
 
 61. content'] consent Gildon. 62. breath- 
 66. such distilling] hyphened by Dyce, 
 
 The while the vulture tireth on his 
 heart " ; 
 but ibid. p. 217 : "Tiring his stomache 
 on a flocke of lambes. " 
 
 61. Forc^ d to content] "Content is a 
 substantive, and means acquiescence," 
 says Malone, who once thought that 
 the meaning was " to content or satisfy 
 Venus ; to endure her kisses." Steevens 
 had in the meantime explained "that 
 Adonis was forced to content himself in 
 a situation from which he had no means 
 of escaping, " citing Othello, III. iv. 1 20 : 
 "So shall I clothe me in a forced con- 
 tent." See also 1 Henry IV. 11. iii. 120 : 
 " Will this content you, Kate ? — It must 
 of force " ; and 3 Henry VI. iv. vi. 48 : 
 " Why then, though loath, yet must I 
 be content." Prof. Case writes: "It 
 does not, however, appear why ' con- 
 tent ' cannot be used actively. If he 
 acquiesced he would obey, but Shake- 
 speare says he does not obey." 
 
 63. She . . . prey] Cf. Sidney's Ar- 
 cadia (lOth ed. p. 365): "hee was 
 compelled to put his face as low to 
 hers as he could, sucking the breath 
 with such joy, that he did determine in 
 himself, there had been no life to a 
 Chameleons \i.e. none so pleasant] if 
 he might be suffered to enjoy that 
 food." 
 
 69. aw'd resistance] the fact that he 
 feared to resist. 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 9 
 
 Which bred more beauty in his angry eyes: 70 
 
 Rain added to a river that is rank 
 Perforce will force it overflow the bank. 
 
 Still she entreats, and prettily entreats, 
 
 For to a pretty ear she tunes her tale ; 
 
 Still is he sullen, still he lours andjrets, 75 
 
 'TwiSct crliBsorrsFame, and anget 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, 80 
 
 From his soft bosom never to remove, 
 
 Till he take truce with her contending tears, 
 
 Which long have rain'd, making her cheeks all wet ; 
 
 And one sweet kiss shall pay this countless debt. 
 
 Upon this promise did he raise his chin, 85 
 
 Like a dive-dapper 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 
 
 74. ear] care Q 13, air Malone conj. 7S' ^^ ^*] ^^. " Ql 9, n-ij ; 
 he] she Qq 3, 4. 76. ashy-pale] hyphened by Malone. 78. best] brest 
 
 Qq 11-13, breast Lintott and Gildon ; better'd] fetter' d Theobald conj. MS., 
 reading breast. 82. take] takes Q 4. 86. dive-dapper] die-dapper Qq 7, 10. 
 8g. her] his Qq 9, 11-13. 90. winksy and turns] winkt^ and tiirnde Q 10. 
 
 71. rank] "full, abounding in the &\.xwcz" ; axA Troilus and Cressida,\\. 
 
 quantity of its waters " — Malone, who ii. 75 : " The seas and winds, old 
 
 compares King John, v. iv. 54 : wranglers, took a truce And did him 
 
 "We will untread the steps of service." 
 
 damned flight, 86. dive-dapper] " This is the little 
 
 And like a bated and retiring grebe or dabchick (Podiceps minor). 
 
 flood, In some parts of the country I have 
 
 Leaving our rankness and heard it called 'di'dapper'" (Harting, 
 
 irregular course, Birds of Shakespeare, p. 258). It is 
 
 Stoop low within those bounds "dyvendop" in Skelton's Phillyp 
 
 we have o'erlooked." Sparrowe (Dyce, i. 65). " Didapper " 
 
 See also Drayton, Polyolbion, ix. 139 : is, as Prof. Case notes, the form in 
 
 " And with stern /Eolus' blasts, Pope, Art of Sinking (Elwin, x. 362) : 
 
 like Thetis waxing rank, ' ' The Didappers are authors that keep 
 
 She only over-swells the surface themselves long out of sight, under 
 
 of her bank. " water, and come up now and then where 
 
 78. more] greater, as often; but you least expected them." 
 
 Warburton, forgetting the old meaning, go. winks] Explained by Mr. Wynd- 
 
 conjectured " an o'er delight." ham as "here akin to wince, formerly 
 
 82. take truce] make a truce, come to also winch, from O. Fr. guinchir, 
 
 terms with, as in King John, m. i. 17 : guenchir, to start aside." Wince really 
 
 " With my vex'd spirits I cannot take represents an older form *wencir (see 
 
10 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Never did passenger in summer's heat 
 
 More thirst for drink than she for this good turn. 
 
 Her help she sees, but help she cannot get; 
 
 She bathes in water, yet her fire must burn : 
 
 " O, pity," 'gan she cry, " flint-hearted boy ! 95 
 
 'Tis but a kiss I beg: why art thou coy? 
 
 " I 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 learn'd to sport and dance, 105 
 
 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 overswayed. 
 
 Leading him prisoner in a red rose chain: no 
 
 Strong-temper'd steel his stronger strength obeyed. 
 
 Yet was he servile to my coy disdain. 
 
 O, be not proud, nor brag not of thy might. 
 For mastering her that foil'd the god of fight ! 
 
 94. her] Qq 1-4, in The rest. 102. shalf] shall Q 10. 106. toy] Qq I, 2 ; 
 coy The rest. 114. thai] who Q 10. 
 
 Skeat), but it is not the word. See "open war," jar is used byLylyofthe 
 
 1. 121 : "then wink again," etc., where Wars of the Roses (vol. ii. p. 205): 
 
 the meaning is close the eyes or keep "These jarres continued, long, not 
 
 them shut, as in Lyly, Mother Bombie, without great losse both to the Nobilitie 
 
 I. ii. 40 : " he is able to make a Ladies and Commonaltie." Cf. Comedy of 
 
 mouth water if she wink not " ; and Errors, I. i. 1 1 : " mortal and intestine 
 
 Euphues (Wks. ed. Bond, ii. 9): jars"; and Gascoigne (Cambridge ed.), 
 
 "better it were to holde Euphues in i. p. 141 : "Howe unexpert I 
 
 y our hands, though you let him fal, when am in feates of war ... I may not 
 
 you be willing to winke, then \i.e. than] boast of any cruell jarre." The passage 
 
 to sowe in a clout, and pricke your in the text recalls Greene, Euphues his 
 
 fingers, when you begin to nod. " Censure (ed. Grosart, vi. 160): 
 
 91. /Mj««^er] wayfarer, traveller ; cf. "Mars had rather oppose him selfe 
 
 Lyly, ed. Bond, vol. ii. p. 4 : "I against all the Gods, then enter a jarre 
 
 resemble the Lappwing, who fearing with Venus." 
 
 hir young ones to be destroyed by no. Leading . . . chain] Malone 
 
 passengers, flyeth with a false cry gives W.'s reference to Ronsard, Livre 
 
 farre from their nestes, making those xiv. Ode xxiii. : 
 
 that looke for them seeke where they "Les Muses lierent un jour 
 
 are not." Des chaisnes de roses Amour," etc., 
 
 100. jar] Though contrasted by itself an imitation of Anacreon, Ode 
 
 Drayton (Polyolbion, iii. 99) with xxx., which tells how the Muses bound 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 11 
 
 " Touch but my lips with those fair -lips of thine — i 1 5 
 Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red — 
 The kiss shall be thine own as well as mine : 
 What see'st thou in the ground ? hold up thy head : 
 
 Look in mine eyeballs, there thy beauty lies ; 
 
 Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in eyes? 120 
 
 " Art thou asham'd to kiss ? then wink again, 
 
 And I will wink ; so shall the day seem night ; 
 
 Love keeps his revels where there are but twain; 
 
 Be bold_tP play, pur sport is not in sight : 
 
 These blue-vein'd violets whereon we lean 125 
 
 Never can blab, nor know not what we mean. 
 
 " The tender spring upQn_ the tempting lip 
 
 Shews, thee unripe ; yet mayst thou well be tasted: 
 
 Make use of time, let not advantage slip ; 
 
 Beauty within itself should not be wasted : 1 30 
 
 Fair flowers that are not gather'd in their prime 
 Rot and consume themselves in little time. 
 
 " Were I hard-favour'd, foul, or wrinkled-old, 
 Ill-nurtur'd, crooked, churlish, harsh in voice, 
 O'erworn, despised, rheumatic and cold, 135 
 
 116. are they'] they are Gildon. 118. in] on Sewell. 119. there] Qq 1-3, 
 where The rest. 120. in] Qq 1-4, on The rest. 123. revels] rivals Q 10 ; 
 there are] Q I, they bee Q 10, there be The rest. 126. not] Qq 1-4, they The 
 rest. 130. j^(i«/i^] 7«o«&? Lintott and Gildon. 133. 7frm,4/«^-fl/uG hyphened 
 by Malone. 134. Ill-nurttir'd] III naiur' d Qi:\ 6, 8; Ill-natur'd Q<i 9, 11-13. 
 
 Eros with garlands — roses are not "Well I must seem to wink at his 
 
 mentioned — and handed him over to desire, 
 
 Beauty, and how he refused to be re- Although I see it plainer than 
 
 leased. Farmer had found a source for the day." 
 
 Timon, iv. iii. 439-445, "The sun's 126. blab] Perhaps as the reeds re- 
 
 a thief," etc., in Ronsard's "La terre peated the story of Midas's asses' ears 
 
 les eaux va boivant," etc., the 19th when his barber " did hyde His blabbed 
 
 Ode of Anacreon, and quoted Putten- woordes within the ground " (Golding's 
 
 ham, The Arte of English Poesie (ed. Metamorphoses, xi. 210). For "blab" 
 
 Arber, p. 259), to show that some of meaning tell tales, see Twelfth Night, 
 
 Ronsard's adaptations of Anacreon and I. ii. 63 ; and ;? Henry VI. III. i. 154. 
 
 others had been in turn translated into 130. Beauty . . . wasted] Cf. 
 
 English. The context in Puttenham Somuts, i.-vi., a common-place in 
 
 shows that he was not referring to these Elizabethan literature, 
 
 two odes, and Shakespeare may have 135. Overworn] worn out; cf. 1. 
 
 read them in French. According to 866: " Musing the morning is so much 
 
 Malone, they appear on opposite pages o'erworn " ; and Sonnets, Ixiii. : 
 
 of Ronsard's works. In any case, the "With Time's injurious hand crush'd 
 
 rhythm of the line is Shakespeare's and o'erworn." 
 
 own. 135. rheumatic] For the accent cf. 
 
 121. wink] See note on 1. 90, and Midsummer ■ Nighf s Dream, 11. i. 
 
 cf. Selifnus, 1. 489 : loj. 
 
12 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Thick-sighted, barren, lean, and lacking juice, 
 
 Then mightst thou pause, for then I were not for 
 
 thee ; 
 But having no defects, why dost abhor me ? 
 
 "Thou canst not see one wrinkle in my brow; 
 
 Mine eyes are grey and bright and quick in turning; 140 
 
 My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow, 
 
 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. 
 
 "Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear, 145 
 
 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 doves 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 155 
 
 That thou shouldst think it heavy unto thee? 
 
 142. z'j] as Lintott and Gildon ; plump] Qq 9, \\, plumpe Qq 1-3, 12, 13, 
 plumbe Q 4, plum The rest. 152. These] Qq 1-4, The The rest. 154. till] 
 to Boswell. 156. shouldst] should Q i. 
 
 136. Thick-sighted] dim -eyed ; cf. The footing or printe of an Hartes foote 
 Julius Ccesar, v. iii. 21 : " My sight was is called the Slot" etc. 
 
 ever thick"; and 1 Henry IV. II. iii. 149. coOT/ffrf] composed ; cf. As You 
 
 49 : "To thick-eyed musing and cursed Like It, II. vii. 5 ; " If he compact of 
 
 melancholy." For "sight" meaning jars grow musical, We shall have shortly 
 
 "eyes "seel. 183. discord in the spheres"; Titus And- 
 
 137, 138. for thee . . . abhor me] ronicus, v. iii. 88 : " My heart is not 
 Mr. Wyndham notes the defective rime, compact of flint or iron." of fire] i.e. 
 
 140. grey] According to Malone, not of the grosser elements ; cf.^e«?3/ F. 
 
 what we now call blue eyes were in III. vii. 15-24; "When I bestride him 
 
 Shakespeare's time called grey, and I soar, ... he is pure air and fire : 
 
 considered eminently beautiful. He and the dull elements of earth and water 
 
 quotes 1. 482; "Her two blue 'win- never appear in him. " 'Ss&^slso Sonnets, 
 
 dows faintly she up.heaveth." See xliv. and xlv. 
 
 note on Romeo arid Juliet, 11. iv. 47, 150. aspire] rise, ascend; cf. the 
 
 in this series, where Prof. Dowden cites figurative use in Greene, Royal Ex- , 
 
 Cotgrave : " Bluard : m. arde : f. Gray, change {G10s3.1t, vii. p. 282): "They 
 
 skie coloured, blewish." which envie at other mens good fortunes 
 
 I48.y»«^z«^] mark of feet ; cf. Turber- being aspyred, and growne to prefer- 
 
 vi\e's£ookeoflIunting{Keiprmt,p.23g]: ment, and after abased: shame so at 
 
 "The termes of the treading or footing their fall and at their own defect, that 
 
 of all beastes of cliace and Venerie. they cease to envie." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 13 
 
 " 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. i6o 
 
 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; 165 
 
 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? 1 rii' 17° 
 By law of nature thou art 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, 175 
 
 For, where they lay, the shadow had forsook them, 
 
 160. on} Qq I, 2, o/The rest. 168. was/] Qq 1-3, weri The rest. 
 
 157. to . . . affected] in love with; any im^e or reflection, ^c^ King John, 
 cf. Cyinbeline, v. v. 38 : 11. i. 498 : " The shadow of myself 
 
 " First, she confess'd she never loved formed in her eye" ; and Richard III. 
 
 you, only I. ii. 264: "Shine out, fair sun, till I 
 
 Affected greatness got by you, not have brought a glass, That I may see 
 
 you : my shadow as I pass." 
 Married your royalty, was wife to 166. to themselves] for themselves 
 
 your place : only. Malone compares 1. 1 1 80, and 
 
 Abhorr d your person." Sonnets, xciv. 10 : 
 
 158. seize . . . left] This seems to " The summer's flower is to the 
 mean, " seize on love in seizing on your summer sweet, 
 
 left hand," i.e. clasp your left as a Though to itself it only live and 
 
 lover. See Romeo and Juliet, iii.ai. 'if,: die." 
 
 " more courtship lives In carrion-flies 168. Thott . . . duty] The thought 
 
 than Romeo : they may seize On the here, and in Sonnets, xiii. 14, is found 
 
 white wonder of dear Juliet's hand." in Sidney (ed. Grosart, vol. iii. p. 45) : 
 
 Seizure is embrace or hand -clasp, " The father justly may of thee com- 
 
 used figuratively, in King John, III. i. plaine, 
 
 241. If thou doe not repay his deeds 
 
 162. And . . . irooh] " For," as for thee, 
 
 Golding relates (Metamorphosis, iii. In granting unto him a grandsire's 
 
 520-523): "like' a foolish noddie He gaine. 
 
 [Narcissus] thinkes the shadow that he Thy common-wealth may rightly 
 
 sees, to be a lively bodie. Astraughted grieved be, 
 
 like an ymage made of Marble stone Which must by this immortall be 
 
 he lyes, There gazing on his shadow still preserved, 
 
 with fixed staring eyes." "Shadow" If thou thus murther thy pos- 
 
 is often used of a portrait and also of teritie." 
 
14 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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. 1 80 
 
 And now Adonis, with a lazy spright, 
 And with a heavy, dark, disliking eye, 
 His louring brows o'erwhelming his fair sight, 
 Like misty vapours when they blot the sky. 
 
 Souring his cheeks, cries, "Fie, no more of love! 185 
 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'll sigh celestial breath, whose gentle wind 
 
 Shall cool the heat of this descending sun: 190 
 
 I'll make a shadow for thee of my hairs ; 
 
 If they burn too, I'll 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, 195 
 
 Thine eye darts forth the fire that burneth me; 
 
 And were I not immortal, life were done 
 
 Between this heavenly and earthly sun. 
 
 177. iireii] 'tired (for attired) Collier. 1&6. face ;'] face Q \,face. The rest. 
 188. gone!'] so Q 5, The rest have a note of interrogation. 194. that] the 
 
 Qq 12, 13. 198. and] and this Qq 7, 10. 
 
 177. Titan] the sun, as in Troilus the eye] Awakes my heart to heart's 
 
 and Cressida, v. x. 25 ; and Romeo and eyes' delight " ; Greene, Tullies 
 
 and Juliet, II. iii. 4. Zcw^ (Grosart, vii. 112): "the gorgeous 
 
 177. tired] Though Milton speaks of windowes of the Citie were stuffed with 
 the sun as " Robed in flame and amber troupes of beautiful Ladies tickled with 
 light," "tired" can hardly mean here, an earnest desire to satisfie their sightes 
 as Boswell thought, "attired," for not with his Personage"; and Lodge, 
 even the colour of clothing is suggested. Glaucus and Silla (ed. 1819, p. 18): 
 Shakespeare may have remembered the "The piteous nimphes . . . Did loose 
 difficulties of the sun's course as enu- the springs of their remorseful sight, 
 raexaXsAinOviA, Metamorf hoses, hV.\i,, And wept so sore to see his scant 
 but more probably he fancifully repre- redresse." 
 
 sented it as feeling what it inflicts. 185. Souring] Cf. Richard II. 11. i. 
 
 178. overlook] gaze on; cf. Greene's l6g : " sour my patient cheek Or bend 
 Menaphon (Grosart, vi. 115) : " Samela one wrinkle on my sovereign's face." 
 espying the faire Sheepheard so far 188. bare] shamelessly inadequate ; 
 overgone in his gazing, stept to him, see 1 Henry IV. III. ii. 13 : " Such 
 and askt him if he knew her that hee poor, such bare, such lewd, such mean 
 so overlookt her." attempts"; Henry VIII. v. iii. 125: 
 
 183. louring] frowning; cf. 1. 75. "sudden commendations . . . They 
 
 w^f.^i'] perhaps "eyes," as possibly in are too thin and bare to hide offences " ; 
 
 1. 822; cf. Sonnets, xlvii. 13: "Or Coriolanus, v. i. 20: "he replied, It 
 
 if they [i.e. my thoughts] sleep, thy was a bare petition of a state To one 
 
 picture in my sight [i.e. the image in whom they had punish'd." 
 
VJKWUS AJ\U ADONIS 15 
 
 " Art thou obdurate, flinty, hard as steel ? 
 
 Nay, more than flint, for stone at rain relenteth : 2CX3 
 
 Art thou a woman's son, and canst not feel 
 
 "What.'tjsjojpve? how want of love tormenteth? , 
 O, had thy mother borne so hard a mind. 
 She had not brought forth thee, but died unkind. 
 
 "What am I, that thou shouldst contemn me this? 205 
 
 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 giye 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, 215 
 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; 
 
 203. hard] Q I, bad The rest. 205. this] thus Q 10 and Capell MS. 
 213. Statue] Statue Qq 1-3. 214. no] a Q 10. 
 
 199. obdurate] Accented as in Tittts quoting other defective rimes — unlikely 
 Andronicus, II. iii. 160 ; 2 Henry VI. . . . quickly ; adder . . . shudder. 
 IV. vii. 122, etc. Malone paraphrased, "that thou shouldst 
 
 200. relenteth] becomes soft. There contemptuously refuse this favour that 
 is a. sumlai use in Measure for Measure, I ask." But "this" in the sense of 
 III. i. 239 : " He, a marble to her tears, " thus " is not uncommon in our older 
 is washed with them but relents not." writers. See Skelton (ed. Dyce, vol. i. 
 Prof. Case compares Chaucer, Chanouns p. 3) : " This dealid this world with me 
 Yemannes Tale, 725: "He stired as it lyst"; ibid. p. 63: "Of fortune 
 the coles, til relente gan The wex agayn this thechaunceStandethonvariaunce" ; 
 the fyr." ibid.-^. 161 : " Where Christis precious 
 
 204. unkind] unnatural (Malone), blode Dayly offred is To be pointed 
 childless (Schmidt). On which Prof, this" ; 'RaAitt's Early Popular Toetry, 
 Case says: "Malone's meaning seems vol. iv. p. 106: "For I can not lyve 
 to me due to an inability to accept this in wrechednes " ; and The Proude 
 the obvious sense when there is an idio- Wyves Paternoster, ibid. p. 156: "I 
 matic one in existence, a common was never thys a frayde, I make god 
 fault with annotators, — Schmidt's, mere a vow." 
 
 guess-work. Unkind is to me the 211. ficture]See Merchant of Venice, 
 
 natural sequel to "hard" in the pre- I. ii. 76; and Lyly (ed. Bond, ii. 48), 
 
 ceding line, and the sense of the whole where Euphues, speaking of his com- 
 
 this : Had your mother been as hard- panion, Philautus, whom Fidus had 
 
 hearted as you, she would not have called " tongue-tied," says : "I seemed 
 
 relented, and you would not have been to everyone to beare with me the picture 
 
 born." of a proper man but no living person." 
 
 205. this] Steevens proposed thus, 219. Waxe] proclaim, with perhaps a 
 
16 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Being judge in love, she cannot right her cause: 220 
 
 j^nd now she weeps, and now she fain would speak, 
 And now her sobs do her intendments break. 
 
 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 : 225 
 
 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. 
 
 " Fondling," she saith, " 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, 235 
 
 Sweet bottom-grass and high delightful plain. 
 Round rising hillocks, brakes obscure and rough, 
 
 225. like a Band] as a band Q lo. 226. will] would Q 10. 228. her] their 
 Farmer conj. 229. she saith] saith she Lintott and Gildon, said she Ewing. 
 231. a] Qq I, 2, MisThe rest, thy Malone (1790). 236. bottom-grass] hyphened 
 by Malone. 
 
 suggestion in the words red and fiery of appears so early ; while as a substantive, 
 
 its meaning in heraldry. See Lyly fed. used tenderly or contemptuously, it is 
 
 Bond, ii. 205 ) : " drawen with a blacke common. See Lyly, Woman in the 
 
 coale, for others to blaze with a bright Moone, 11. i. 230: "But fondling as I 
 
 colour"; and iii. 78: "shouldst thou am why grieve I thus?" ; Greene (ed. 
 
 live wanting a tongue to blaze the beautie Grosart, ii. 134): "such foolish fondlings, 
 
 of Semele ? " as will be lovers, but for lust " ; ix. 94 : 
 
 220. Being] i.e. though she is. " Venus had pittied the fondling " ; ibid. 
 
 222. intendments] intended words, iii. : "suchis the nature of these fondlings 
 
 It occurs meaning "intention" in As that they cannot cover their owne scapes." 
 
 You Like It, I. i. 140 ; Henry V. I. In the Digby Mysteries (ed. Furnivall, 
 
 ii. 144; and Othello, IV. ii. 206. p. 6), Herod uses it of the children in 
 
 229. Fondling] Mr. Wyndham says directing the soldiers to kill them : 
 
 that "the word is descriptive of Venus' "Therfor quyte you wele in feld and 
 
 action, not a term of endearment applied town And of all the fondlynges make a 
 
 to Adonis." Hey wood does not seem dely veraunce. " Besides, Venus could 
 
 to have so understood it ; see Fair Maid hardly be said to fondle Adonis when 
 
 of the Exchange {Ve&rson, ii. 55): her fingers were locked, forming "an 
 
 Bow. " Why then have at her. ivory pale" {i.e. palisade). 
 
 Fondling I say, since I have 230, 231. Within . . . deer] Bor- 
 
 hem'd thee heere, rowed by Waller, On a Girdle, 1. 6 : 
 
 Within the circle of this "The pale which held that lovely deer." 
 
 ivory pale, 235. relief] food. See Master of 
 
 He be a parke.'' Cazwd (Reprint 1909, p. 14, note); "Re- 
 
 Mall. " Hands off, fond sir." lief, which denoted the act of arising 
 
 Here "fond sir" seems to be "fond- and going to feed, became afterwards 
 
 ling" retorted. It is doubtful if the term for the feeding itself." 
 
 "fondling" in the sense of caressing 236. fo«o;»] valley, dale. See As You 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 17 
 
 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." 240 
 
 At this Adonis smiles as in disdain, 
 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, 245 
 
 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. 
 
 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 255 
 
 And from her twining arms doth urge releasing. 
 
 " Pity," she cries, " some favour, some remorse ! " 
 Away he springs, and hasteth to his horse. 
 
 252. in] with Q 13. 253. she say\ we say Q 4. 258. springs] spriiig'th 
 Qio. 
 
 Like It, IV. iii. 79> where " the goeth to rowze a deare, or to unharbor a 
 
 neighbour bottom" is the next valley. Hart or so," etc. But hunting terms 
 
 239. park, ] I have restored the comma were used more freely than some modern 
 of Q I , as the meaning may be, such a scholars would admit. Turbervile him- 
 park that in it no dog shall rouse thee, self is inconsistent ; on p. 100 he says : 
 rather than such - park as I have de- " a Fox or such like vermyne are raysed. 
 scribed. Malone and Camb. Edd. point An Hart and a Bucke likewise, reared, 
 with a semicolon. rouzed, and unharbored " ; and his 
 
 240. rouse] Mr. Wyndham explains : apology for his inconsistency is worth 
 a " term of art in venery," quoting the noting (p. 236) : ' ' And if the Reader do 
 2nded. oiQmSS&cci s Display of Heraldrie find that in any parte of the discourses 
 (in 3rd ed. p. 176 ; not in ist ed. 1611) : in this booke, I have termed any of them 
 "You shall say Dislodge the Bucke . . . otherwise, then let him also consider 
 Rowse [the] Hart." Yet I think a that in handling of an Arte, or in setting 
 buck, a beast of the chase, was in down rules and precepts of anything, 
 Shakespeare's mind : it was certainly a man must use such woordes as may be 
 more likely to be found in parks ; and most easie, perspicuous and intelligible. " 
 Turbervile's testimony is directly con- So in Shakespeare, "rouse" is used of 
 trary to Guillim's. %tt Booke of Hunting the lion, 1 Henry IV. I. iii. 198; of 
 (1576, Reprint, p. 241): "We herbor the panther, Titits Andronicus, 11. ii. 
 and Unherbor a Harte, and he lieth in 21 ; and, by Sir Toby, of the night-owl, 
 his layre ; we lodge and rowse a Bucke, " in a catch that will draw three souls 
 and he lieth also in his layre : we seeke out of one weaver," Twelfth Night, 11. 
 and finde the Rowe and he beddeth " ; iii. 60. 
 
 and ibid. p. 98: "When a huntsman 
 
18 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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, 265 
 
 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 crusheth 'tween his teeth, 
 Controlling what he was controlled with. 270 
 
 His ears up-prick'd; his braided hanging mane 
 
 Upon his compass'd crest now stand on end ; 
 
 His nostrils drink the air, and forth again. 
 
 As from a furnace, vapours doth he send : 
 
 His eye, which scornfully glisters like fire, 275 
 
 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 " Lo, thus my strength is tried ; 280 
 
 259. forth] thence Q 10. 261. doth] did Q 10. 266. girths] Qq 2, 3, 
 
 girthes Q i, girts The rest. 269. crusheth] Qq 1-4, crushes The rest. 
 
 272. stand] Qq 1-4, stands The rest ; on] an Qq 12, 13. 274. send] lend 
 
 Lintott and Gildon. 275. scornfully glisters] glisters scornfully Sewell ; like] 
 like the Q 10. 276. hot . . . high] high . . . hot Anon. conj. 277. Sovie- 
 time] Qq 1-3, Sometimes The rest. 
 
 267. bearing] Cf. 1 Henry IV. v. circular, orbicular, compassing about, 
 
 iv. 92 : in a ring." The mane may have been 
 
 " this earth that bears thee arched by clipping. See Topsel, Four- 
 
 dead footed Beasts, p. 222 : " Some again cut 
 
 Bears not alive so stout a it to stand compass like a bow." stand] 
 
 gentleman. " stands (Qq S-lo) is a needless alteration : 
 
 For "wound" see Richard I J. III. ii. the idea of " mane" is plural. 
 
 7: "Though rebels wound thee with 2^^. glisters] "Glitters" does not 
 
 their horses' hoofs." occur in Shakespeare, though "glitter- 
 
 \ 272. compass'd] "arch'd. A com- ing" is more common than "glistering." 
 
 pass'd ceiling is a phrase still in use" 277. told] counted. See Love's 
 
 (Malone). Steevens compares Troilus Labour's Lost, I. ii. /\.i : "How many is 
 
 and Cressida, I. ii. 120 : "She came to one thrice told ? — I am ill at reckoning " ; 
 
 him th' other day into the compass'd All's Well, II. i. 169 : 
 
 window," i.e. the baai window. Min- "the pilot's glass 
 
 sheu has "a Corapasse circle or circuit," Hath told the thievish minutes 
 
 and "a Compasse, an instrument so how they pass"; 
 
 called, because it serves to make a Timon, in. \. 107: " While they have 
 
 round circle or compasse about"; and told their money." 
 Cotgrave, "Circulaire: com. Round, 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 19 
 
 And this 1 do to captivate the eye 
 
 Of the fair breeder that is standing by." 
 
 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? 285 
 
 For rich caparisons or trappings 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-hoofd, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long, 295 
 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 
 
 281. this] Qq 1-3, thus The rest. 290. limmng] Lintott and Gildon, 
 
 limming Clq. 293. thisl his Qt^g, 11, 13; a] each 'Kinneax con]. 296. eye\ 
 Qq 1-3, eie Q 4, eyes The rest. 
 
 281. this] Perhaps the meaning is had most curiously limbed forth a Horses 
 "thus," which was read by the later perfection, and failed in no part of nature 
 Quartos. See note on 1. 205. or art, but only in placing hairs under 
 
 282. breeder] iemeXt; cf. "breeding his eye, for that only fault he received a 
 jennet," 1. 260; and 3 Henry VI. n. disgraceful blame." 
 
 i. 42, where it is contrasted with 295-298. Round-hoofd . . . hide] Of 
 
 " male." these fourteen points, Topsel in his 
 
 283. j;«V] excitement ; cf. Two Gentle- several descriptions of the colt, horse, 
 men of Verona, v. iv. 13: "What and stallion explicitly names ten. He 
 halloing and what stir is this to-day ? " ; differs in regard to the mane. See 
 and 1 Henry VI. i. iv. 98: "What especially his summary (Four-footed 
 stir is this? what tumult's in the Beasts, p. 233): "his buttocks round, 
 heavens ? " Prof. Case compares his breast broad ... a little and dry 
 Cymbeline, I. iii. 12: "the fits and head . . . short and pricked ears, great 
 stirs of's mind." eyes, broad nostrils, a long and large 
 
 284. Holla] Malone supposes this mane and tail, with a solid and fixed 
 formerly a term of the manege, com- rotundity of his hoofs"; while "the 
 paring As You Like It, m. ii. 257 : faults and signes of reprobation in 
 " Cry ' holla ' to thy tongue, I prithee : horses" are (p. 232): "a great and 
 it curvets unseasonably." fleshy head, great ears, narrow nostrils, 
 
 285. curb . . . jr/a?'] Virgil's "frena hollow eyes, ... a mane not hairy, a 
 virum neque verbera sseva " ( Georgics, narrow breast, . . . not strong, crooked 
 iii. 1. 252). legs, thin, full fleshy, plain and low 
 
 290. limning] painting; cf. Topsel, hoofs." 
 Four-footed Beasts, p. 222: " Nicon, 2^$. fetlocks shag and long]SoTo^se:\ 
 that famous painter of Greece, when he (p. 222): "Therefore it is never good 
 
20 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 where he run or fly they know not whether; 
 
 For through his mane and tail the high wind sings, 305 
 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, li)ie a falling plume, 
 
 301. Sometime] Sometimes Qq 8, 9, 11, 13. 302. starts] stares Qq 9-13. 
 
 303. a base] abase Q 10. 304. And where] Qq, And wMr Malone (1780), 
 
 And whir Malone (1790: Capell MS.), And whether Cambridge; whether] 
 ■whither Sewell. 306. who wave] which wave Q 9, who have Lintott, which 
 heave Gildon. 314. vails] vales Qq 5, 7-9, veils Sewell. 
 
 to cut the mane or the fetter-locks, 
 except necessity require, for the mane 
 and fore-top is an ornament to the neck 
 and head, and the fetter-locks to the 
 legs and feet." 
 
 For "shag," which means rough and 
 hairy, cf. S Henry VI. III. i. 367 : 
 " Like a shag-hair'd crafty kern," a 
 reference to the Irish glib ; and Lyly, 
 Sapho and Phao, iv. iv. ^3 : " My 
 shag-haire Cyclops," the quality of 
 whose hair is shown in Ovid, Metamor- 
 phoses, xiii. 765, 766: "Jam rigidos 
 pectis rastris, Polypheme, capillos. Jam 
 libet hirsutam tibi falce recidere bar- 
 bam " : it was raked and reaped. See 
 also Eng. Dialect Diet, sub voc. 
 
 303. ?ai«] "Also Prisoner's base 
 ... A popular game among boys ; it 
 is played by two sides, who occupy 
 contiguous ' bases ' or ' homes ' ; any 
 player running out from his 'base' is 
 chased by one of the opposite side, and, 
 if caught, made a prisoner . . . to bid 
 base : to challenge to a chase in this 
 game ; gen. to challenge " {New Eng. 
 Diet. ) . See also Prof. Dowden's note on 
 Cymbeline, v. iii. 20, in this edition. 
 
 304. where] whether, which some 
 edd., including Cambridge, read here. 
 Compare the readings of F i in Tempest y 
 V. i. 1 1 1 : " Where thou bee'st he or 
 no " ; and Comedy oj Errors, IV. i. 60 : 
 " Good sir, say, whe'r you '1 answer me 
 
 or no." Prof Case compares Jonson, 
 Epigrammes, To lohn Donne (No. 
 xcvi., 1616 fol. p. 797): "Who shall 
 doubt, Donne, where I a Poet be, When 
 I dare send my Epigrammes to thee ? " 
 whether] which of the two. Prof. 
 Case compares Spenser, Faerie Queene, 
 I. 11. xxxvii. 4 : 
 
 "One day in doubt I cast for to 
 compare, 
 Whether in beauties glorie did 
 exceede." 
 
 306. who] which, as in Winter's 
 Tale, IV. iv. 581 : " Nothing so certain 
 as your anchors, who Do their best 
 office, if they can but stay you." 
 
 310. outward strangeness] a show of 
 aversion or coldness ; cf. Greene's 
 Carde of Fancie (Grosart, iv. 122) : 
 " my straightnes in words was no 
 strangnes in minde, my bitter speeches 
 were written with my hand, not wrought 
 with my heart " ; and Lyly, Euphues 
 (Bond, i. 200): "The Gentlewoman 
 . . . gave him such a cold welcome 
 that he repented that he was come . . . 
 he uttred this speach ' Faire Ladye, if 
 it be the guise of Italy to welcome 
 straungers with strangnes, I must needs 
 say the custome is strange and the 
 countrey barbarous.' " 
 
 314. offli'/r] lowers. Minsheu has " to 
 Vaile, i. to put, cast, let fall, or fell 
 downe." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 21 
 
 Cool shadow to his melting buttock lent: 3^5 
 
 He stamps, and bites the poor flies in his fume. 
 His love, perceiving how he was enraged, 
 Grew kinder, and his fury was assuaged. 
 
 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, 325 
 
 Banning his boisterous and unruly beast: 
 
 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: 
 
 So of concealed sorrow may be said; 
 
 Free vent of words love's fire doth assuage ; 
 
 But when the heart's attorney once is mute, 335 
 
 The client breaks, as desperate in his suit. 
 
 315. buttock'] buttocke Qq 1-3, buttocks The rest. 317. was\ Qq I, 2, is 
 The rest. 319. goetK\ Qq 1-4, goes The rest. 325. chafing] chasing Qq 4, 
 5> 7) lo- 334- dotK] doth oft ^e.fi€iS.. 
 
 316. fume] rage ; cf. ;? Henry VI. 331. An oven . . .] Perhaps sug- 
 I. iii. 153 : gested by Lyiy, Euphues (Bond, i. 
 
 "her fume needs no spurs, 210): "Well, well, seeing the wound 
 
 She '11 gallop far enough to her that bleedeth inwarde is most daunger- 
 
 destruction." ous, that the fire kepte close burneth 
 
 319. goeth about] attempts; cf. Lyly most furious, that the Ooven dammed 
 
 (ed. Bond, ii. 26) : " But why go I about up baketh soonest, that sores having no 
 
 to disswade thee from that, which I my vent fester inwardly, it is high time to 
 
 self followed . . . Thou goest about a unfolde my secret love to my secrete 
 
 great matter, neither fit for thy yeares, friende." See also Spenser, Faerie 
 
 being very young, nor thy profit, being Queene, I. ii. 34: "He oft finds 
 
 left so poore " ; ibid. p. 224 : "the med'cine who his griefe imparts, But 
 
 oftener they goe about by force to rule double griefs afHict concealing harts, 
 
 them [young wives], the more froward As raging flames who striveth to 
 
 they finde them." suppresse." 
 
 326. Banning] cursing ; cf. Lyly, 333. concealed sorrow] See Macbeth, 
 
 Sapho and Fhao, IV. ii. 30: "wowe IV. iii. 209 : " Give sorrow words ; the 
 
 with kisses, ban with curses " ; Mother grief that does not speak Whispers the 
 
 Bombie, II. ii. 21 : " Well, be as bee o'er-fraught heart and bids it break." 
 may is no banning " ; Maydes Meta- 335. heart's attorney] 'Lyly (ed. 
 
 morphosis, II. i. 109: "set them so at Bond, ii. 167) calls the tongue "the 
 
 ods Till to their teeth they curse, and ambassador of the heart." Prof. Case 
 
 ban the Gods." notes the legal references here. 
 
22 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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, 34S 
 
 How white and red each other did destroy ! 
 
 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 down she kneels ; 350 
 
 With one fair hand she heaveth up his hat, 
 
 Her other tender hand his fair cheek feels : 
 
 His tenderer cheek receives her soft hand's print, 
 As apt as new-fall'n snow takes any dint. 
 
 O, what a war of looks was then between them! 355 
 
 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 
 
 345. hue] Gildon, hew Qq 1-7, 10, kieiv The rest, 348. as] and Qq 6, 8, 
 9, 11-13. 350. lowly] slowly Q 4. 352. cheek] cheeke Qq 1-4, cheekes 
 
 The rest. 353. tenderer] tendrer Q i, tender The rest ; cheek receives] cheeke, 
 receiues Qq 1-3, cheeks (or cheekes) reuiues Qq 4, 5, 7, 10, cheeks (or cheekes) 
 receiue Qq 6, 8, 9, 11-13. 358. woo'd] wood Qq 5, 7. 
 
 339. bonnet] cap or hat, as often. 359, 360. dumb flay . . . acts . . . 
 
 Schmidt notes that ' ' hat " is the word chorus-like] From this passage Malone 
 
 used in 1. 351. inferred that the poem was not written 
 
 342. For . . . eye] Watches her till Shakespeare " had left Stratford and 
 sidewise, sees without looking at her. became acquainted with the theatre." 
 Perhaps there is, as often, a suggestion This is probable, but as Malone knew 
 of mistrust. See New Eng. Diet. {Variorum, 1 821, vol. ii. p. 149), the 
 
 343. wistly to view] to see clearly : players had visited Stratford |so early 
 wistly often means no more than steadily, as 1 569. For dumb shows, see Lo- 
 ll is usually explained to mean ' ' wist- crine and Gorbuduc ; the latter has 
 fully," but see note on Passionate also a chorus. See also Introduction 
 Pilgrim, vi. 11. on Barnfield's imitation of this pas- 
 
 351. heaveth] The word does not sage, 
 imply any effort ; of. Middleton, A 359. his] i.e. its, which does not 
 
 Chaste Maid in Cheapside (Wks. ed. occur in the English Bible (1611), and 
 
 BuUen, v. p. 94), v. i. 16 : " Look up, is rarer in Shakespeare than is generally 
 
 an 't like your worship ; heave those supposed, e.g. in Romeo and Juliet, I. 
 
 eyes" ; and Lyly, Sapho and Phao, iv. iii. 52, F 1 reads "it." 
 iii. 87 : " with the heaving up of myne 360. WitK] = by. 
 arm I waked." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 23 
 
 Full gently now 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, 365 
 
 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." 
 
 " 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, 375 
 
 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." 
 
 " For shame," he cries, " let go, and let me go ; 
 
 My day's delight is past, my horse is gone, 380 
 
 And 'tis 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." 
 
 363. alabaster] Qq 8-13, allablasier (or alablaster) The rest. 366. two\ Qq 
 1-3, 5, 6, to The rest. 371. thy\ my Qq 8, 9, 11, 13. 373, 374. saith 
 . . . saithl said , , . said Q 10. 374. myl thy Gildon. 384. froni] for 
 Q 10. 
 
 364. engirtsi clasps : gyrt and girt 372. bane\ destruction, death ; cf. 
 are the readings of F I in i Henry VI. Mamillia (Grosart's Greene, ii. 176) ; 
 III. i. 171, 2xAS Henry VI. i. i. 65. "O infortunate Pharicles hath the 
 
 367. engine] Cf. Titus Andronicus, dolorous destinies decreed thy destruc- 
 
 III. i. 82 : " O, that delightful engine tion, or the perverse planets in thy 
 
 of her thoughts, That blabbed them nativity conspired thy bitter bane ? " 
 
 \suth such pleasing eloquence, Is torn In Macbeth, v. iii. 60, ' ' death and bane " 
 
 from forth that pretty hollow cage." seem to be synonyms. See also Turber- 
 
 370. thy heart my wound] Stronger vile, Booke of Hunting, p. 137 : "they 
 than "thy heart wounded as mine." may be taught to bring The harmelesse 
 For the hyperbole, cf. Tempest, v. i. Hart unto his bane," said of hun- 
 286 : " I am not Stephano, but a ters. 
 
 cramp." 376. grave] " To impress deeply, to 
 
 371. help] cure, as in Comedy of fix indelibly" — New Eng. Diet., Wdvih 
 Errors, v. i. 160. As a verb it is quotes Gower, Confessio Amantis, 1. 
 similarly used in The Tempest, II. ii. 60: "Min hert is growen into stone 
 97, and in Two Gentlemen of Verona, So that my lady there upon Hath such 
 IV. ii. 47. a print of love grave That ..." 
 
24 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Thus she replies: "Thy palfrey, as he should, 385 
 
 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 
 
 " How like a jade he stood, tied to the tree, 
 
 Servilely master'd with a leathern rein ! 
 
 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, 395 
 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? 
 
 385. he] she Qq 6, 8, 9, 11-13. 391. tke\ Qq 1-4, a The rest. 392. rein] 
 reine Qq 1 1- 1 3, raine The rest, reign Gildon. 397. sees\ seekes Qq 2-4. 
 
 401. is so] so is Q 10 ; dares] dare Qq 12, 13. 
 
 388. suffer'd] allowed to burn, as in And hath not been enchanted 
 
 S Henry VI. IV. viii. 8 : " A little fire with the sight . . . 
 
 is quickly trodden out ; Which, being Crown him with laurel for his 
 
 suffer'd, rivers cannot quench." Simi- victory.'' 
 
 larly in 2 Henry VI. in. ii. 262, it In the phrase " naked bed," Mr. Wynd- 
 
 means "allowed to sleep": "It were ham finds an echo of TS-yA's Jeroni)no, 
 
 but necessary you were waked, Lest, 11. v. i : " what out-cries pluck me 
 
 being suffered in that harmful slumber, from my naked bed " ; but it was com- 
 
 The mortal worm might make the sleep mon enough not to suggest a situation 
 
 eternal." which the 'Elizabethan pubhc found 
 
 393. /»«] reward ; cf. Richard III. 1. humorous. See Edwardes's song begin- 
 
 ii. 170: "But now thy beauty is pro- ning : " When going to my naked bed 
 
 posed my fee, My proud heart sues." as one that would have slept." The 
 
 In 1. 6og, the word bears its legal sense, expression may have arisen from a 
 
 Prof. Case questions whether it may not practice already obolescent. See Armin, 
 
 here be used in the sense of " any Nesi of Nimiies (Shaks. Soc. p. 24) : 
 
 allotted portion" [i.e. here, the fair " To bed he goes ; and Jemy ever used 
 
 possession that was his by right of to lie naked, as is the use of a number, 
 
 youth), for which New Eng. Diet, amongst which number she knew that 
 
 quotes Tusser and others, including Jemy was one ; who no sooner was in 
 
 George Herbert, The Discharge, 1. 21 : bed, but shee herself knocked at the 
 
 " only the present is thy part and fee. " doore . . . under [the bed] heecreepes, 
 
 397. Who sees . . . bed]. Cf. Praise stark naked, where he was stung with 
 
 of Chastity, from The Fhanix' Nest nettles." See also Hazlitt's Early 
 
 (1593 : Peele, ed. Bullen, ii. p. 363) : Popular Poetry, vol. ii. p. 48, Sqyr of 
 
 "Who hath beheld fair Venus in Lowe Degre, 1.673; and vol. iii. p. 51, 
 
 her pride Taleof the Basyn,-x.vx.., sixi. "Naked," 
 
 Of nakedness, all alabaster white, however, often meant only ' ' unarmed " 
 
 In ivory bed, straight laid by or " lightly clad. " 
 
 Mars his side, 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 25 
 
 "Let me excuse thy courser, gentle boy; 
 
 And learn of him, I heartily beseech thee, 
 
 To take advantage on presented joy; 405 
 
 Though I were dumb, yet his proceedings teach thee: 
 O, learn to love; the lesson is but plain. 
 And once made perfect, never lost again." 
 
 " I know notj ove," quoth he, " Qor jmllnoMihow it, 
 TTnless^fH^e^ h9a.r,-and then_T cEaieTTr ^^liy\ 4IO, 
 'Tis 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 unfinish'd? 415 
 
 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 burthen'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 ope the gate : 
 
 Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your flattery; 425 
 For where a heart is hard they make no battery." 
 
 409. will not} will I Lintott and Gildon. 413. in\ of Q 10. 414. with} 
 in Sewell. 424. alarms] allarmes (or alarmes) Qq 1-3, alarum Q 4, alarms 
 The rest. 
 
 405. on\ Usually "of" is found, as together"; and "Estreinct ... strayned, 
 
 now, but " having some advantage on " wrung, squeezed, gripped fast"; cf. 
 
 occurs ia Julius Casar, v. iii. 6; and GvSifiv^^Skialetheia, Ep. 38 (Reprint, 
 
 "gain Advantage on" in Sonnet Ixiv. p. 14): " He's a fine fellow . , . Who 
 
 6. piertly jets, can caper, daunce and sing, 
 
 412. My . . . it] My only desire Play with his mistris fingers, her hand 
 
 with respect to love is a desire to bring wring." Malone quotes ShephearcCs 
 
 discredit on it. Song of Venus and Adonis [see on 1. 
 
 416. bud\Q,l. The Shepheard' s Song of 416 above]: "Thou wringest me too 
 
 Venus and Adonis [H. C(onstable) in hard." 
 
 England's Helicon, 1600} : "Tender are 424. o/aj-OTj] onsets, attacks, 
 
 my years, I am yet a bud " (Malone). 426. battery} almost "forcible en- 
 
 421. with wringing} by pressing it; trance." See 3 Henry VI. in. i. 37: 
 
 cf. 1. 475. The word now suggests a "Her sighs will make a battery in his 
 
 wrench or twist, but in Shakespeare's breast"; and Tullies Love (Grosart's 
 
 time a tight boot could be said to wring Greene, vii. p. 175): "hoping the 
 
 the foot. See Cotgrave, ' ' Estreindre. consideration of his martirdome will at 
 
 To wring, strain, squeeze ; to straiten, length make battery into the bulwarke 
 
 restraine, presse hard, thrust up close of your breast." 
 
26 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 " 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; 
 
 I had my load before, now press'd with bearing: 430 
 
 Melodious discord, heavenly tune harsh-sounding. 
 Ear's deep-sweet music, and heart's deep-sore wounding. 
 
 " Had I no eyes but ears, my ears would love 
 
 That inward beauty and invisible; 
 
 Or were I deaf, thy outward parts would move 435 
 
 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 smell- 
 ing. 
 
 " But, O, what banquet wert thou to the taste, 445 
 
 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 
 
 432. Ear's'] Eares Qq 1-3, Earths The rest ; deep-sweet . . . deep-sore'] 
 hyphened by Malone. 434. invisible'] invincible Steevens conj. 436. in 
 
 me] of me Gildon. 439. feeling] Qq 1-4, reason The rest. 447. might] 
 
 Qq I, 2, should The rest. 448. double-lock] hyphened by Sewell. 
 
 429. viermaid's voice] For this see feeling " (I. 439) ; of. A Woman is u 
 Midsummer-Nighf s Dream, II. i. 150- W?a?^«rforf (Hazlitt's Dodsley, xi. 15): 
 154. Prof. Case compares I. IT] post. " For I did look on her, indeed no eye 
 
 430. press'd] oppressed, crushed ; cf. That ow'd a sensible member, but must 
 1. 545, and ira?-, IV. iii. 28 : " Once or dwell A while on such an object." 
 twice she heaved the name of 'father' Contrast "senseless," 1. 211. 
 Pantingly forth as if it press'd her 443. stillitory] apparatus used for 
 heart"; and Othello, III. iv. 177: "I distilling. Minsheu has " Stillatorie. 
 have this while with leaden thoughts T. Distillatorium ... a stillando, 
 been press'd." The load was his in- stillatim & guttatim essentias purificat. 
 difference, the last straw his refusal (11. Vi. Limbecke"; and Cotgrave : "Al- 
 409-426). embic ; m. a Limbeck or Stillitorie." 
 
 431. Melodious discord] The oxy- 443. e;irir^//m^] exquisite ; so "which 
 moron sums up 1. 429, and is explained fairly doth excel " in Sonnet v. 1. 4 
 by 1. 432. means, which is of exquisite beauty. 
 
 436. sensible] capable of receiving 446. four] sc. senses, 
 impressions, having "the sense of 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 27 
 
 Once more the ruby-colour'd portal open'd, 
 
 Which to his speech did honey passage yield; 
 
 Like a red morn, that ever yet betoken'd 
 
 Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, 
 
 Sorrow to shepherds, woe unto the birds, 455 
 
 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 doth grin before he barketh, , 
 Or as the berry breaks before it stain eth, —j 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 : ^ «t- ! 
 A smile recures the wounding of a frown ; ', 465 
 
 But blessed bankrupt, that by love so thriveth ! \ f/pV-'-' 
 
 The silly boy, believing she is dead, J 
 
 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 wittily prevent : 
 Fair fall the wit that can so well defend her! 
 Tor on the grass she lies as she were slain. 
 Till his breath breatheth life in her again. 
 
 454. Wreck'] Wrack Qq 9, 10, Wracks The rest ; seaman} sea-men Q 10. 
 455. shepherds'] the shepheards Q 4. 456. Gusts] Qq 1-4, Grist The rest. 
 
 460. staineth] straineth Q 4, staine Q 10. 464. kilt] kits Q 4. 466. bank- 
 rupt] bankrout Qq 1-4, banckroui Qq 12, 13, banquerout The rest ; love] loss 
 Hudson (188 1 : S. Walker conj.), /oo/Jj- Kinnear conj. 469. a// a?«az'rf] Qq 1-3, 
 all amazed Cambridge, all in a maze Q 4, in amaze Q 10, in a maze The rest, 
 all-amazed Boswell. 474. breatheth] breathed Q 10. 
 
 456. flaws] blasts ; cf . The Trita- 459. doth grin] shows its teeth, used 
 meron of Love (GrQsa.Yt's Greene, Hi. p. of curs, B Henry VI. III. i. 18; and 
 84) : " 'Tis an ill flaw that bringeth up 3 Henry VI. i. iv. 56 ; cf. Cytnbeline, 
 nowracke, i.e. sea-weed,'andabadwinde v. iii. 38 : "to grin like lions Upon the 
 that breedeth no man's profit" ; Fare- pikes o' the hunters." 
 
 well to Follie, ibid. ix. p. 274; "Is 465. recures]hea\s; cf.'LyXy, Woman 
 
 youth the wealth of nature to be wracked in the Moone, 11. i. 21 : "And this my 
 
 [wrecked] with every flaw ? " ; Armin, hand that hurt thy tender side Shall first 
 
 A Nest of Ninnies (Shaks. Soc. p. 18) : with herbes recure the wound it made." 
 
 " a sodaine flaw or gust rose ; the winds 466. love] S. Walker's conjecture 
 
 held strong east and by west, and the " loss," read by Hudson, gives a good 
 
 ship was in great danger. " sense : Venus is as fortunate in being 
 
 457. advisedly] deliberately, thought- recalled to life by looks when looks had 
 fully; cf. Lucrece, 1. 1527: "This slain her, as a bankrupt restored to 
 picture she advisedly perused, And chid prosperity by his losses. 
 
 the painter for his wondrous skill." 472. Fair fall] good luck to. 
 
 
28 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 He wrings her nose, he strikes her on the cheeks, 475 
 
 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 
 
 The night of sorrow now is turn'd to day: 
 Her two blue windows faintly she up-heaveth, 
 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, 485 
 
 So is her face illumin'd 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 fire? 
 
 What hour is this? or morn or weary even? 495 
 
 480. fVi/l] Would GMon. 484. eartli] Q i, world Th.e kA. 
 
 475. wrings] See note on I. 421. other hand, window is eye in Love's 
 
 478. To . . . marr'd] A mixture of Labour's Lost, v. ii, 848 : " Behold the 
 two phrases: ( I ) to mend the hurt that his window of my heart, mine eye." For 
 unkindness caused, and (2) to mend "blue" meaning " blue - veined " see 
 what was marred by his unidndness, z'.e. Lucrece, 1. 407, yet one is inclined 
 to restore her consciousness or colour. to misquote — " I have seen a lady's 
 
 479. by her good will] willingly ; cf. nose that has been blue but not her 
 "with our good will," Midsummer- eye-lids." 
 
 Nighfs Dream, v. i. 108. 482. up-heaveth] See note on 1. 
 
 482. blue windows] Possibly blue- 351. 
 
 veined eyelids. Malone, though he 490. repine] discontent. New Eng. 
 
 quotes the line elsewhere in support of Diet, cites Holland, Livy, 96 : " Not 
 
 his opinion that grey and blue were . . . iterating still his praises for feare 
 
 synonyms, compares here Antony and of heaping more matter of envie and 
 
 Cleopatra, N. '■a.. ■},\<); " Downy windows repine." 
 
 close And golden Phoebus never be 494. drench'd] drowned ; cf. Two 
 
 beheld Of eyes again so royal " ; where Gentlemen oj Verona, I. iii. 79 : " Thus 
 
 see note in this edition. Steevens cites have I shunned the fire for fear of 
 
 Cymbeline, il. ii. 22 : " the flame o' burning And drench'd me in the sea 
 
 the taper Bows toward her and would where I am drown'd " ; and liomeus and 
 
 underpeep her lids. To see the enclosed Juliet (Hazlitt's Shaks. Lib. p. 135) : 
 
 lights, now canopied Under these "The ship rents on the rocke, or 
 
 windows white and azure laced With sinketh in the deepe. And eke the 
 
 blue of heaven's own tinct." On the coward drenched is." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 29 
 
 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, 
 Hath taught them scornful tricks, and such disdain, 
 That they have murder'd this poor heart of mine; 
 And these mine eyes, true leaders to their queen, 
 But for thy piteous lips no more had seen. 
 
 SOO 
 
 " 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-gazers, having writ on death, 
 May say, the plague is banish'd by thy breath. 
 
 SOS 
 
 Sio 
 
 500. Thy] The Q 4. 501. Hath] Have Gildon, Has Sewell. 503. mine] 
 my Q 10, 506. never] neither Q 4 ; liiieries] liberie Q lo. 507. verdure] 
 
 verdour Qq 1-3, virtue Staunton conj. 
 
 497, 498. But . . , joy] Life was as 
 bitter as death when Adonis was un- 
 kind ; her death-like swoon was as 
 joyful as life when he was seeking " to 
 mend the hurt." "Annoy" had a 
 stronger meaning than now. See Richard 
 III. V. iii. 156: "Good angels guard 
 thee from the boar's annoy." ' ' Lively " 
 is life-like or living. See Titus An- 
 dronicus, III. i. 105-. "Had I but 
 seen thy picture in this plight, It 
 would have madded me : what shall 
 I do Now I behold thy lively body 
 so?" 
 
 505. kiss each other] The same fancy 
 is found in J. Sylvester, The Woodmans 
 Bear{IVhs., 1621 ed., p. 1205): "Those 
 smooth smiling louely lips Which each 
 other alwaies kist " ; and in Sidney, 
 Astrophel and Stella, xliii. : "With 
 either lip he doth the other kiss.'' 
 
 506. liveries] Livery is used of the 
 complexion in Merchant of Venice, II. 
 i. 2 ; and of white hair in 2 Henry VI. 
 V. ii. 47. 
 
 507. verdure] freshness, vigour ; 
 always used metaphorically by Shake- 
 speare. See Tempest, l. ii. 87 : "he 
 was The ivy that had hid my princely 
 trunk And suck'd my verdure out on 't " ; 
 and Two Gentlemen of Verona, I. i. 49 : 
 "the young and tender wit Is turn'd 
 to folly - . . Losing his verdure even 
 
 in the prime." So "green" means 
 vigorous in Sonnets, civ. 8 : " Since 
 first I saw you fresh, which yet are 
 green." There is no doubt also an 
 allusion to the practice in plague-time, 
 noted by Malone, of strewing " the 
 rooms of every house with rue and 
 other strong smelling herbs, to prevent 
 infection." 
 
 509. having . . , death] Perhaps in 
 an almanac or broad-sheet ; a similar 
 expression is used of different circum- 
 stances in Sonnets, cvii. 6 : " the sad 
 augurs mock their own presage." 
 
 510. the plague] Mr. Wyndham 
 writes: "In 1592 . . . the theatres were 
 closed on account of the Plague from 
 July to December, and the Michaelmas 
 term was kept at Hertford (Stow, p. 
 765 [766 in Howes' edition, 1631], cited 
 by Fleay, History of the Stage, p. 94). 
 It is probable, therefore, that Shake- 
 speare wrote the poem during the en- 
 forced idleness of the second half of the 
 year 1592." See Dr. Brindsley Sheri- 
 dan's quotation from Stow, New Shaks. 
 Soc. i. 3. The closing of the theatres 
 was due to riots rather than to the 
 Plague, which began somewhat later, 
 and was most severe in 1593, when, 
 according to Stow, there were 10,675 
 deaths. See Greg, Henslowe's Diary, 
 pt. ii. p. 50 seqq. 
 
30 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 " 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, 515 
 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; 525 
 
 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, 'tis very late ; 
 
 The sheep are gone to fold, birds to their nest ; 
 
 And coal-black clouds that shadow heaven's light 
 Do summon us to part, and bid good night. 
 
 511. sweet seals . . . soft lips'] soft scales . . . sweet lips Q^ 10. i,l(>. seal- 
 manual] hyphened by Malone. 519. touches] Qq 1-4, kisses The rest. 522. 
 hundred] thousand Q^a^'i^ 6,. ^2i,. my unripe] mine unripe Clio. 533. And] 
 Qq 1-3, The The rest. 
 
 511. jea&] Malone cites Measure for common people call slips"; and ibid. 
 
 Measure, IV. i. 6: "But my kisses p. 262 : " a slip, a counterfeit coin. " 
 bring again, bring again, Seals of love 520. told] counted j cf. 1. 277. 
 but seal'd in vain, seal'd in vain." See 521. double] " The poet was thinking 
 
 also Two Gentlemen of Verona, II. ii. of a conditional bond's becoming for- 
 
 7; Midsummer-Nighfs Dream, III. felted for non-payment; in which case, 
 
 ii. 144; Taming of the Shrew, in. ii. the entire penalty (usually the double 
 
 125. of the principal sum lent by the obligee) 
 
 515. slips] There may perhaps be a was formerly recoverable at law" 
 
 reference, as Steevens thought, to the (Malone). 
 
 sense "counterfeit money." He cites 524. f^nzw^dwisjj] shyness or coldness ; 
 
 Romeo and Juliet, 11. iv. 51 : "What cf. 1. 310. 
 
 counterfeit did I give you? — The 529- comforter] Malone compares 
 
 slip, sir, the slip." See also Lyly, Timon of Athens, v. i. 134: "Thou 
 
 Mother Bombie, 11. i. -. "I shall go sun, that comfort'st, burn." Cf. 
 
 for silver though, when you shall be "comfortable beams," Lear, II. ii. 
 
 nailed up for slips " ; Grosart's Greene, 171. 
 
 A. 260: "he went and got him a 531. shrieks] Cf. Macbeth, 11. ii. 3; 
 
 certaine slips, which are counterfeit " It was the owl that shriek'd, the 
 
 peeces of mony being brasse & fatal bellman. Which gives the stern'st 
 
 covered over with silver, which the good-night." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 31 
 
 "Now let me say 'Good night,' and so say you; 535 
 
 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. 54° 
 
 Till breathless he disjoin'd, 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, 545 
 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; 5 50 
 
 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, 555 
 
 And careless lust stirs up a desperate courage, 
 Planting oblivion, beating reason back. 
 Forgetting shame's pure blush and honour's wrack. 
 
 Hot, faint and weary, with her hard embracing. 
 Like a wild bird being tam'd with too much handling, 560 
 Or as the fleet-foot roe that's tir'd with chasing, 
 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. 
 
 537. quoth she\ quoth hee Q 10 ; ere ke\ ere she Q 10. S38. tender'd] rendred 
 Q 10. 544. drouth] drought Malone. 546. fait] fell Q 10. 547. the] 
 
 Qq 1-3, his Q 4, her The rest. 552. That she] That he Q 10. 553. felf] 
 found Q 10. 560. with] by Qq 7, 10. 
 
 540. grows to] Steevens compares mild humility " ; and Henry V. v. ii. 
 
 Henry VIll. I. i. 10: "how they 381: "Plant neighbourhood and 
 
 clung In their embracements, as they Christian - like accord In their sweet 
 
 grew together"; and Malone, All 's Well bosoms " ; and for "oblivion," Hamlet, 
 
 that Ends IVell, u. i. 36 : "I grow to IV. iv. 40, where Hamlet questions 
 
 you and our parting is a tortured body." whether it is " Bestial oblivion or some 
 
 i4$. press'd] See 1. 430. craven scruple" that prevents his doing 
 
 557- J^lantingodlivion]cs,nsing forget- what he conceives to be his duty, 
 fulness of all that he ought to remember. 558. wrach] destruction, still found 
 
 For "plant" cf. Love's Labour's Lost, in the phrase "wrack and ruin," and 
 
 IV. iii. 349: "And plant in tyrants the usual Elizabethan form of "wreck." 
 
32 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 What wax so frozen but dissolves with temp'ring, 565 
 
 And yields at last to every light impression? 
 Things out of hope are compass'd oft with vent'ring, 
 Chiefly in love, whose leave exceeds commission: 
 Affection faints not like a pale-fac'd coward, 
 But then woos best when most his choice is froward. 570 
 
 When he did frown, O, had she then gave over, 
 
 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 'tis pluck'd: 
 
 Were beauty under twenty locks kept fast, 575 
 
 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, " this night I '11 waste in sorrow. 
 For my sick heart commands mine eyes to watch. 
 Tell me, love's master, shall we meet to-morrow? 585 
 
 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. 
 
 565. temp' ring] SevisW, tempring (^q, tempering C&rabxiAgt. 567- centring] 
 Sewell, ventring Qq, venturing Cambridge. 574. prickles] Qq 1-4, pricks 
 
 The rest ; 'tis] tis\ Qq 1-4, is it The rest, it is Lintott and Gildon. 582. in- 
 caged] engaged Lintott, ingaged Gildon. 
 
 565. temp'ring] It was formerly, says S^^- whose , . . commission] which 
 Malone, the custom to seal with soft intemperately exceeds its instructions, 
 wax which was tempered between the is given an inch and takes an ell. 
 fingers before the impression was made. 570' choice] Cf. Winter's Tale, v. i. 
 Steevens compares S Henry IV. iv. 214: "I am sorry Your choice is not 
 iii. 140 : " I have him already temper- so rich in worth as in beauty. That you 
 ing between my finger and thumb, and might well enjoy her." 
 shortly will I seal with him." See also t,^?>. poor foot] This, as Malone notes, 
 Lyly{ed. Bond, i. p. 187): "the tender was formerly an expression of tender- 
 youth of a childe is lyke the temperinge ness, and used of Cordelia in Lear, 
 of new waxe apt to receive any form " ; v. iii. 306, on which see Craig's note 
 and ibid. p. 207 : " And as the softe in this edition. 
 
 waxe receiveth what soever print be in 584. watch] remain awake ; cf. 
 
 the scale, and sheweth no other impres- Taming of the Shrew, IV. i. 208 : "She 
 
 sion, so the tender babe being sealed shall watch all night. And if she chance 
 
 with his fathers giftes representeth his to nod I'll rail and brawl." 
 
 Image most lyvely." 5^6. match] agreement or bargain; 
 
 565, 567. temp'ring — venfring] Here cf. Merchant of Venice, III. i. 46 : 
 
 modern spelling makes a bad rime "another bad match." 
 worse. 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 33 
 
 "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 : ( JAj'^ 
 
 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, 59S 
 
 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 languisheth in her mishaps 
 As those poor birds that helpless berries saw. 
 
 591. c/ieekj cheeke Qq 1-3; cheekes Qq 4, 8, 9, 11 ; cheeks 'Y\^t rest. 593. 
 
 by\ Qq 1-3, on The rest. 598. manage her] manage he Q 4. 599. Tan- 
 talus'] Malone, Tantalus Qq. 601. s6\ Qq 1-7, 10; as Qq 8, 9, 11-13. 
 603, 604. mishaps As . , . saw. ] mishaps ; As . . . saw, S. Walker conj. 
 
 589. pale\ pallor. New Eng. Diet, myser \i.e. wretched man] still doth 
 cites Surrey, JEneid, iv. 666 : " The pine " \i.e. hunger]. 
 
 pale her face gan staine." Malone • 599. annoy] Contrasted with "joy" 
 
 compared The Shepheard's Song of also in 3 Henry VI. v. vii. 45. 
 
 Venus and Adonis (H. C[onstable] in 600. clip] clasp, still used in the 
 
 England's Helicon) : fitting shop. 
 
 " At the name of boare 601. painted grapes] See Holland's 
 
 Venus seemed dying : Pliny, vol. ii. p. 535: "Zeuxis for 
 
 Deadly-colour'd pale proofe of his cunning, brought upon 
 
 Roses over cast " ; the scaffold a table \i.e. picture], wherein 
 
 Cf. Lucrece, 1. 1512. were clustres of grapes so lively painted, 
 
 590. Like lawn] Cf. Lucrece, 258, 259 that the very birds of the air flew 
 (Steevens). See also Herrick (ed. flocking thither for to bee pecking at 
 Grosart, i. p. 57): "Like to a Twi- the grapes"; cf. Epistle to The Tri- 
 light or that simpring Dawn, That tameron of Love (Grosart's Greene, 
 Roses shew, when misted o'er with iii. 48) : "it is like Zeusis counterfaits. 
 Lawn." which seemed at a blush to be grapes " ; 
 
 598. manage] Mr. Wyndham reads and Dorastus and Fawnia (ibid. iv. 
 manege, but the word was early 289): " Zeusis grapes were like Grapes 
 naturalised: Minsheu has "Manadge, yet shadowes." 
 
 Manage," and calls it a grooms' word : 602. pine] starve, in the active sense, 
 
 "proprie est equisonum qui solent as in Richard II. v. i. 77: "towards 
 
 equos refractarios, orisque immorigeri, the north Where shivering cold and 
 
 hoc modo domare, frsenoque obse- sickness pines the clime" ; and William 
 
 quentes reddere " ; and Cotgrave : Morris, Poems by the Way, p. 126 : 
 
 "Manege: m. The manage or man- "And what wealth then shall be left 
 
 aging of ahorse." us when none shall gather gold To 
 
 599. Tantalus] Cf. Romeus and Juliet buy his friend in the market, and pinch 
 (Hazlitt's Shaks. Lib. p. 90) : " The lot and pine the sold ? " 
 
 of Tantalus is Romeus lyke thine ; For 604. helpless] which could not feed 
 want of foode amid his foode, the them. Malone cites "helpless patience" 
 
 3 
 
34 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 The warm effects which she in him finds missing 605 
 She seeks to kindle with continual kissing. 
 
 But all in vain ; good queen, it will not be : 
 
 She hath assay'd as much as may be prov'd ; 
 
 Her pleading hath deserv'd a greater fee; 
 
 She's Love, she loves, and yet she is not lov'd. 610 
 
 " Fie, fie," he says, " you crush me ; let me go ; 
 
 You have no reason to withhold me so." 
 
 "Thou hadst been gone," quoth she, "sweet boy, ere this, 
 But that thou told'st me thou wouldst hunt the boar. 
 O, be advis'd: thou know'st not what it is 615 
 
 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. 
 
 605. effects^ affects Steevens conj. [615. noti nor Q I, not Clar. Press 
 
 facsimile. 616. javelin' s\ jauelings Qq 1-3. 624. crooked] Qq, cruel Bos- 
 well ; lushes slay] tusks doth slay Q 10. 
 
 from Comedy of Errors, II. i. 39. See with both the tushes brave, And eke 
 
 also Richard III. I. ii. 13: "I pour the skin with bristles star right griesly, 
 
 the helpless balm of my poor eyes." he hir gave " ; but he also uses the 
 
 605. warm effects] Steevens conj. form " tuskes," 1. 494. 
 "affects," comparing "young affects," 618. mortal] slaughtering, deadly; 
 
 Othello, I. iii. 264; Malone (ed. 1821) cf. Richard II. ill. ii. 21 : "a lurking 
 
 comments: "Effects means conse- adder Whose double tongue may with 
 
 quences produced by action. There is a mortal touch Throw death upon thy 
 
 clearly no need of change." Yet the sovereign's enemies." See also 1. 953. 
 
 words were sometimes confused ; see Minsheu has : ' ' Mortall . . . mortalis, 
 
 Menaphon (Grosart's Greene, vi. p. 58) : a morte. Lethalis, a letho . . . Vi. 
 
 "This was spoken with such deepe Deadly." 
 
 effects [emotion], that Samela could 619. battle] army, or division of army, 
 
 scarce keepe her \i.e. herself] from battalion ; cf. 1 Henry IV. IV. i. 129 ; 
 
 smiling, yet she covered her conceipt 2.r\i Julius Ccesar, v. iii. ro8. Malone 
 
 with a sorrowful countenance." compares Golding's description of the 
 
 6o8./;-ow'if] experienced; cf. "prove," boar of Thessaly (mentioned in Antony 
 
 1. 597. and Cleopatra, IV. xiii, 2), Ov. Met. 
 
 615. be advis'd] take care; cf. viii. 379, 380: "And like a front of 
 
 S Henry VI. 11. iv. 36: "And when armed Pikes set close in battle ray, The 
 
 I start the envious people laugh And sturdy bristles on his back stoode staring 
 
 bid me be advised how I tread." up alway " ; and 1. 376: "His eyes 
 
 617. tushes] tusks ; cf. Golding's did glister blood and fire." 
 Ovid, viii. 384 : " Among the greatest 623. mov'd] used absolutely, as often, 
 
 Oliphants in all the land of Inde A in the sense of irritated or enraged ; 
 
 greater tush than had this Boare, ye see Taming of the Shrew, v. ii. 142 : 
 
 shall not lightly finde"; and ibid. "A woman moved is as a fountain 
 
 1, 563: "Immediately the ugly head troubled. Muddy, ill seeming, thick"; 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 35 
 
 " His brawny sides, with hairy bristles armed, 625 
 
 Are better proof than thy spear's point can enter ; 
 
 His short thick neck cannot be easily harmed ; 
 
 Being ireful, on the lion he will venter : 
 
 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! — 635 
 Would root these beauties as he roots the mead. 
 
 " O, 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? 645 
 
 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 
 
 625-627. armed . . . karmed] Qq, arnid . . . harm'd Malone (1790). 
 628. venter\Qja^, venture GWAon.. 632. Love' s eyes'] Loves-eye Q 10 ; eyes pay] 
 Malone (1790) ; eyes pates Qq I, 2; eyes pay es Q 3 ; eies paies Q 4 ; eye paies Qq 
 5, 7, 8 ; eye payes Qq 6, 9, 10-13. 633. hands'] hand Lintott and Gildon. 
 643. my] his Q 7, this Anon. conj. MS. 
 
 and Romeo and Juliet, I. i. 7 : "I love come he will enter And soon find 
 
 strike quickly being moved." out his vfay. " 
 
 626. proof] like armour of proof, 636. root] uproot ; cf. Lyly (ed. Bond, 
 
 tested and found strong; see Prof. ii. 128) : " Fire is to be quenched in the 
 
 Dowden's note on Hamlet, III. iv. 38, spark, vifeeds are to be rooted in the 
 
 in this series: "If it [your heart] be bud, foUyes in the blossome." 
 made of penetrable stuff. If damned 639. within his danger] into his 
 
 custom have not brass'd it so That power. New Eng. Diet, cites Ridley's 
 
 it be proof and bulwark against Works (1843), loi : " They put them- 
 
 sense." selves in the danger of King Ahab, 
 
 628. venter] I have restored the saying, 'behold we have heard that 
 
 reading of the Quartos : modern spell- the kings of the house of Israel are 
 
 ing and pronunciation obscure the rime, pitiful and merciful.' " 
 as in Palgrave's Golden Treasury, p. 642. fear'd] feared for ; cf. Titus 
 
 84; "Where the midge dares not Andronicus, 11. iii. 305: "Fear not 
 
 venture Lest herself fast she lay ; If thy sons ; they shall do well enough," 
 
36 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Gives false alarms, suggesteth mutiny, 
 
 And in a peaceful hour doth cry ' Kill, kill ! ' 
 
 Distemp'ring gentle Love in his desire, 
 
 As air and water do abate the fire. 
 
 "This sour informer, this bate-breeding spy, 655 
 
 This canker that eats up Love's tender spring. 
 
 This carry-tale, dissentious 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 
 
 " And more than so, presenteth to mine eye 
 The picture of an angry-chafing boar, 
 Under whose sharp fangs on his back doth lie 
 An image like thyself, all stain'd with gore ; 
 
 Whose blood upon the fresh flowers being shed 665 
 Doth make them droop with grief and hang the head. 
 
 " What should I do, seeing thee so indeed. 
 
 That tremble at th' imagination? 
 
 The thought of it doth make my faint heart bleed, 
 
 651. Gives] due Q 6. 653. in\ Qq 1-3, with The rest. 654. do\ Qq 
 1-3, doth The rest. 655. bate-] bare- Q 4. 658. That sometime] That 
 somtimes Qq 3, 4, 6 ; That sotims Qq 5, 7 ; That sometimes Q 10. sometime 
 
 false] sometimes false Q 10. 660. should] shall Q 10. 662. angry-chafing] 
 hyphened by Malone. 666. ihetn] 'em Gildon ; droop] Qq, drop Lintott and 
 Gildon. 
 
 652. Kill, kill] Malone on Lear, IV. breeds no bate with telling of discreet 
 vi. 191, says that this was formerly the stories." 
 
 word given in the English army when 656. canker] canker-worm, cater- 
 
 an onset was made on the enemy, and pillar. Promptorium Parvulorum has : 
 
 cites The Mirrour for Magistrates "Cankyr, Wyrme of A tre : Teredo, 
 
 (1610, p. 315) : " For while the French- is ; fem." etc. Cf. Lyly, Euphues {^NVs. 
 
 men fresh assaulted still, Our English- ed. Bond, ii. 14): "Daunger and 
 
 men came boldly forth at night, Crying delight grow both uppon one staike, the 
 
 St. George, Salisbury, kill, kill, And Rose and the Canker in one bud " ; 
 
 offered freshly with their foes to fight. " and ibid. p. 18: "as the Canker 
 
 See also Drayton, Battle of Agincourt soonest entreth into the white Rose, so 
 
 (ed. Chalmers, p. 17 a): "Whilst corruption doth earliest creepe into the 
 
 scalps about like broken pot sherds fly, white head." ' See also Two Gentlemen 
 
 And kill, kill, kill, the conqu'ring Eng- of Verona, I. i. 43 ; and Midsummer- 
 
 lish cry." Night's Dream, 11. ii. 3. 
 
 653. Z)wto«^Vz«^]diluting, and hence 656. spring] "Spring is used here, 
 abating, or quenching. The mention as in other places, for a young shoot 
 of air, water and fire in the next line or plant, or rather the tender bud of 
 might induce us to associate the word growing love," — Malone, who compares 
 with "temper "in the sense of "pre- Comedy of Errors, iii. ii. 3: "Even 
 serve the due mixture and proportion in the spring of love, thy love-springs 
 of elements or of humours"; but see rot." Cf. Turbervile's Booke "of 
 New Eng. Diet, sub voc. Distemper, Hunting (ed. 1908, p. 84): "there is 
 V. °. difference betweene springs or coppises 
 
 655. bate-breeding] causing strife ; cf. and other feeding places." 
 ^ Henry IV. 11. iv. 271: "And 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 And fear doth teach it divination : 
 
 I prop Vifiy l-hy dpatji, piy livrnpr ^nrrnw, 
 
 :' (•- 
 
 ■,'-* 
 
 11 thou encounter with the boar to-morrow. 
 
 37 
 
 67b 
 
 " 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, 675 
 
 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. 
 
 673. wiW] will Gildon. 680. Mark'\ Make Q 4 ; overshoof] Dyce (Steevens 
 conj,), over-shut Qq 1-3, overshut The rest. 684. amaze'\ maze Capell MS. 
 
 673. be . , , me'] follow my advice ; 
 so in The Merry Wives of Windsor, I. 
 i. 72, and often. 
 
 674. Uncouple] the technical term 
 
 see Topsel, Four-footed Beasts (ed. 
 1658, p. 212) : "when the dog is sent 
 forth, and after much winding and 
 casting about, falleth into the footstep 
 of the Hare, then let him loose another, 
 and seeing them run in one course un- 
 couple all the hounds." 
 
 676. dare] the older form of " dares." 
 
 677. fearful] timid; cf. Topsel, p. 
 210: "It falleth out by divine Provi- 
 dence, that Hares and other fearfull 
 Beasts which are goodformeat,shalI mul- 
 tiply to greater numbers in short space." 
 
 678. well-breath'd] sound in wind, 
 able to undergo great exertion without 
 panting or losing breath. In Morte 
 Darthur (ed. Sommer, p. 313) it is 
 said of Tristram that "he was called 
 byggar than sir launcelot but sir 
 Launcelot was better brethed," and 
 ibid. p. 194, Turquyne says to Tristram : 
 " thou arte the byggest man that ever 
 I mette with al and the best brethed." 
 
 679. purblind] See Topsel, p. 208 : 
 " The [hare's] eyelids coming from the 
 brows, are too short to cover their 
 eyes, and therefore this sense is weak 
 in them ; and besides their over-much 
 sleep, their fear of Dogs and swiftness, 
 causeth them to see the less. " 
 
 680. overshoot] pass beyond, and so 
 escape ; cf. Turbervile, Booke of Hunt- 
 
 ing (ed. 1908, p. II): "they [the 
 hounds] are bote, and doe quickly 
 overshoote the track or path of the 
 chace which they undertake." Malone 
 explains the Quarto reading to mean "to 
 conclude," on the analogy of' 'to shut up." 
 
 682. cranks] makes sudden turns ; cf. 
 "cranking" in 1 Henry IV. in. i. 
 98 ; and the frequentative form ' ' crank- 
 ling" in Drayton's Polyolbion, xii. 572 : 
 "crankling Many-fold ... of whose 
 meandered ways. And labyrynth-like 
 turns (as in the moors she strays) She 
 first received her name." 
 
 683. musits] Steevens referred to 
 Cotgrave: "Trouee: f. A gap, or 
 muset in a hedge." Nares has " Muse, 
 Muset, Musit, s. The opening in a 
 fence or thicket through which a hare, 
 or other beast of sport, is accustomed 
 to pass." He quotes Markham, Gentl. 
 Academie{\y)<^, p. 32): "We term the 
 place where she [the hare] sitteth, her 
 forme, the places through which she 
 goes to releefe, her muset." See 
 additional examples in New Eng. Diet. 
 The words were, however, occasionally 
 used of the hare's form and, figuratively, 
 of any lurking place, as well as of the 
 hole or'short tunnel through which she 
 passes. So too Topsel uses "muse," 
 p. 208 : ' ' they [hares] are so cunning 
 in the ways, and muses of the field " ; 
 and p. 212 : " a quick smelling Hound, 
 which raiseth the Hare out of her muse. " 
 
 684. labyrinth] See quotation from 
 
38 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 " Sometime he runs among a flock of sheep, 685 
 
 To make the cunning hounds mistake their smell, 
 And sometime where earth-delving conies keep. 
 To stop the loud pursuers in their yell ; 
 
 And sometime sorteth with a herd of deer : 
 
 Danger deviseth 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 ; 
 
 685. a] Qq 1-3, ike The rest ; jffock] flocks Q 10. 687. sometime] sometimes 
 
 Q 10. 692. hot scent-snuffing] hot-sent snuffing Q 10. 
 
 Drayton on 1. 682, and Topsel, p. 211 : 
 " in her course she taketh not one way, 
 but maketh heads Uke labyrinths, to 
 circumvent and trouble the Dogs." 
 
 685-688. Sometime . . . yell] See 
 Turbervile, Books of Hunting (Clar. 
 Press, p. 165) : " And I have seen hares 
 oftentimes runne into a flock of sheepe 
 in the field when they were hunted, and 
 woulde never leave the flocke, untill I 
 was forced to couple up my houndes, 
 and folde up the sheepe or sometimes 
 drive them to the Cote : and then the 
 hare would forsake them ... I have 
 scene that would take the grounde like a 
 Coney . . . when they have beenhunted." 
 
 687. keep] have their burrows. The 
 sense "dwell" was common once and 
 is not extinct. See Drayton, Polyolbion, 
 ix. 82 : " the Iamb ... to save itself 
 may creep Into that darksome cave 
 where once his foe did keep." 
 
 689. sorteth] Elsewhere Shakespeare 
 uses ' ' consort " in this sense, except in 
 Love's Labour's Lost, i. i. 261, where 
 both are found : ' ' sorted and con- 
 sorted . . . with a child of our grand- 
 mother Eve, a female." 
 
 690. shifts] devices, expedients ; cf. 
 King John, IV. iii. 7 : " If I get down 
 and do not break my limbs, I '11 find a 
 thousand shifts to get away." 
 
 693. Ceasing . . . cry] a sign of 
 good hounds ; see Master of Game (Re- 
 print, 1909, p. no): "Other kind of 
 hounds there be which open and jangle 
 when they are uncoupled, as well when 
 they be not in her fues (on their line), 
 and when they be in her fues they 
 questey too much in seeking their chase 
 whatever it be, and if they learn the 
 habit when they are young and are not 
 chastised thereof, they will evermore 
 
 be noisy and wild, and namely 
 [especially] when they seek their chase, 
 for when the chase is found, the hounds 
 cannot questey too much so that they be 
 in the fues." Again, p. 107 : " Hounds 
 there are which be bold and brave . . . 
 for when the hart comes in danger they 
 will chase him, but they will not open 
 nor quest while he is among the change 
 \i.e. like Shakespeare's hare, "his 
 smell with others being mingled "], for 
 dread to envoyse and do amiss, but 
 when they have dissevered him, then 
 will they open and hunt him." 
 
 693. singled] To single is to dis- 
 tinguish the scent .of the chase, i.e. 
 the hunted animal, from that of another 
 which has crossed its path, etc. The 
 term used in The Master of Game is 
 " dissever." The opposite is to "hunt 
 change." See Turbervile's Booke of 
 Hunting {Reprint, 1908, p. 35) : " there 
 is difference betwene the sent of a. 
 Harte and a Hynde, as you may see by 
 experience that houndes do oftentimes 
 single that one from that other." 
 
 694. cold fault] a condensed expres- 
 sion of which no other instance is cited 
 in New Eng. Diet. " Fault " is defect 
 sc. of scent, and strictly speaking, it is 
 the scent not the fault which is cold, 
 whether from being mixed with that 
 of other beasts than "the chase," or 
 from the nature of the ground, or from 
 lapse of time. Hounds were said to 
 ' ' fail " or to be " at default " when they 
 lost the scent. So Greene, Euphues 
 his Censure (Grosart, vi. 277) : " Shall 
 wee bee such cowardes as to measure 
 our thoughtes by the favours of fortune, 
 or resemble those bad hounds that at 
 the first fault \i.e, failure of scent] give 
 over the chase ? " 
 
ve:nus ajnjj adonis 
 
 39 
 
 Then do they spend their mouths : Echo replies, 695 
 As if another chase were in the skies. 
 
 " By this, poor Wat, far off upon a hill. 
 
 Stands on his hinder legs with list'ning 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, 705 
 
 Each shadow makes him stop, each murmur stay: 
 
 For misery is trodden on by many, 
 
 And being low never reliev'd by any. 
 
 " 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, 
 
 ' 695. mouths'] mouth's Qq 1-3. 700. theirl with Qq 3, 4. 704. indenting] 
 intending Q 4. 705. doth] do Qq 1-3. 
 
 695. spend their mouths] Cf. Henry 
 V. II, iv. 70 ; Troilus and Cressida, 
 
 V. i. 98 ; quoted in Mr. Justice 
 Madden's Diary of Master William 
 Silence, p. 35. 
 
 696. As . . . skies'] Contrast Titus 
 Andronicus, II. iii. 16-20 : 
 
 " Under their sweet shade, Aaron, 
 let us sit 
 And whilst the babbling echo 
 
 mocks the hounds 
 Replying shrilly to the well- 
 tuned horns, 
 As if a dozible hunt was heard 
 
 at once, 
 Let us sit down and mark their 
 yelping noise." 
 It is hard to believe that this yelping 
 noise is Shakespeare's. See Introduc- 
 tion. 
 
 698. Stands . , .] So Topsel, Four- 
 footed Beasts, p. 211 : "when she 
 [the hare] hath left both Hunters and 
 Dogs a great way behinde her, she 
 getteth to some hill or rising of the 
 earth, there she raiseth herself upon 
 her hinder legs, like a Watch-man in 
 his Tower, observing how far or near 
 the enemy approacheth." 
 
 702. passing-bell] Cf. Topsel (ed. 1 658, 
 p. 210), speaking of a hare pursued by 
 a fox : " when she can go no more, 
 needs must her weakness betray her 
 
 to her foe, and so was her flight and 
 want of rest like a sickness begun 
 before her death, and the Foxes 
 presence like the voyce of a passing 
 bell." 
 
 704. indenting] To indent is "to 
 sever the two halves of a document, 
 drawn up in duplicate, by a toothed, 
 zigzag or wavy line, so that the two 
 parts exactly tally with each other" 
 (New. Eng. Diet.). Hence it means to 
 make a jagged outline or follow a zig- 
 zag course ; see Drayton, Polyolbion, i. 
 1. 158 : " those arms of sea, that 
 thrust into the tinny strand. By their 
 meand'red creeks indenting of that 
 land." A closer parallel is Topsel, 
 p. 212; "The Dogs . . . run along 
 with a gallant cry, turning over the 
 doubtful footsteps ; now one way, now 
 another, like the cuts of Indentures, 
 through rough and plain, crooked and 
 straight, direct and compass, . . . 
 until they iinde the Hares form." 
 According to Ray {Proverbs, 3rd ed. 
 1737) P- 69), "He makes indentures 
 with his legs," is a " Proverbial Peri- 
 phrasis of one drunk.'' 
 
 705. envious] malicious, as often. 
 
 705. scratch] So Topsel (p. 210) says 
 that the hare "rather trusteth the 
 scratching brambles . . . then a dis- 
 sembling peace with her adversaries." 
 
40 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Unlike myself thou hear'st me moralize, 
 Applying this to that, and so to so; 
 For love can comment upon every woe. 
 
 "Where did I leave?" "No matter where," quoth he ; 715 
 
 " 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 'tis dark, and 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, 725 
 
 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 735 
 
 And pure perfection with impure defeature; 
 
 Making it subject to the tyranny 
 
 Of mad mischances and much misery; 
 
 712. myself^ thy selfe Qq 3-5, 7, 10. 724. true tnen thieves] true-men 
 
 theeues Qq l, 2; rich-inen theeue Q 3 ; rich men iheeues The rest. 725. Dian] 
 Diana Gildon. 728. shine] shrine Sewell. 738. mad] Qq 1-4, sad The rest. 
 
 715. leave] break off, cease; it is Lovers Labour's Lost, IV. iii. 187; and 
 
 opposed to begin in 3 Henry VI. II. 1 Henry IV. II. ii. 98. 
 
 ii. 168 ; see also Arden of Feversham, 725. cloudy] sullen ; cf. Tempest, II. 
 
 III. vi. 72 : " Do you remember where i. 142 : " It is foul weather in us all, 
 
 my tale did leave? — Ay, where the good sir, When you are cloudy"; 1 
 
 gentleman did check his wife." Henry IV. III. ii. 83: "such aspect 
 
 "l^l. footing] almost "feet"; cf. As cloudy men use to their adversaries " ; 
 
 "set footing," in 2 Henry VI. III. ii. and Macbeth, III. vi. 41 : "with an 
 
 87 ; but the word is also used of foot- absolute ' Sir, not I,' The cloudy 
 
 print here, 1. 148 ; of footfall, Merchant messenger turns me his back." 
 
 of Venice, v. i. 24; and even of the 736. S«/ca/«rc] disfigurement. "Fair" 
 
 thing walked on 1 Henry IV. I. iii. meaning beauty is opposed to defeatures 
 
 193. in Comedy of Errors, II. i. 98 : "then 
 
 724. true] honest ; opposed to thief is he the ground Of my defeatures, 
 
 in Measure for Measure, IV. ii. 46 ; My decayed fair A sunny look of his 
 
 would soon repair." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 41 
 
 "As burning fevers, agues pale and faint, 
 
 Life-poisoning pestilence and frenzies wood, 74° 
 
 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 745 
 
 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 midday sun. 750 
 
 Lov& Jacking. y ps<"^1° '■"'^ srif-lr.-'^i'ng nuns, 
 That on thg, eart h would b reed a scarcity 
 And barren dearfH]"or'daughters and of sons, 
 
 Be pr.Qdi gaTTthe lamp that burns by n ight 755 
 
 Dries~uplhk.£ui-*Q 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. 
 
 " So in thyself thyself art made away ; 
 
 A mischief worse than civil home-bred strife. 
 
 Or theirs whose desperate hands themselves do slay, 765 
 
 Or butcher-sire that reaves his son of life. 
 
 739. fevers] fever Sewell ; agues pale'] agues, pale Qq 4-8. 742- heating'] 
 beating Lintott and Gildon. 744. Swear] Sweares Q 10. 746- fight] Qq 1-4, 
 sight The rest. 748. impartial] impartiall Qq 1-3, imperiall The rest. 
 753. That] Thus ?ie«t\\{tA.\.). 754. dearth] death (^^. 760. dark]darke 
 Qq 1-3, their The rest. 765. do] to Q ^. 
 
 740. mood] mad ; cf. Orlando Furioso 747. favour] beauty, or rather win- 
 (Grosart's Greene, xiii. p. l6l)': "Fran- someness, as in the proverb, "Kissing 
 ticke companion, lunaticke and wood." goes by favour." See also New Eng. 
 
 741. attaint] Schmidt explains "in- Diet. sub. voc. 
 
 fection, impairment," quoting Zr«?2?7 F. T^?!. posterity] Malone compares 
 
 IV. Chortes 39: "But freshly looks Sonnet iii. 7, 8: "Or vsfho is he so 
 
 and overbears attaint With cheerful fond will be the tomb Of his self-love, 
 
 countenance." to stop posterity?" 
 
 743. imposthumes] swellings or ab- 766. reaves] bereaves, deprives, as in 
 
 scesses, used figuratively in ^a?«/i!/, iv. All's Well, v. iii. 86; and Z Henry 
 
 ii. 27. With this stanza may be com- VI. v. i. 187. 
 pared Paradise Lost, xi. 480-490. 
 
42 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Foul cank'ring 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 mak '^g mp m^p ynil ^ vorse and wors e. 
 
 " If love have lent you twenty thousand tongues, 775 
 
 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 lov e_bu.t your jje^dce-m-Joye H^ 
 
 785 
 
 775. kave] hath Qq lo, 12, 13. 
 788. on to\ Qq 1-3, vnto The rest. 
 
 768. But . . . begets'] Steevens com- 
 pares Merchant of Venice, I. iii. 97 ; 
 and Malone, Hero and Leander (Mar- 
 lowe, ed. Dyce, 282 a) : 
 
 "What difference betwixt the 
 richest mine 
 And basest mould but use? for 
 
 both, not us'd. 
 Are of like worth. Then treasure 
 
 is abus'd, 
 When misers keep it : being put 
 
 to loan, 
 In time it will return us two for 
 one." 
 774- treatise] discourse, narrative, as 
 in Much Ado, I. i. 317 : "But lest my 
 liking might too sudden seem, I would 
 have salved it with a longer treatise " ; 
 and Macbeth, V. v. 12: "my fell of 
 hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse 
 and stir As life were in it." 
 
 779. mine] Qq 1-4, 10; my The rest. 
 
 782. closure] enclosure ; cf. Richard 
 III. HI. iii. II : "the guilty closure of 
 thy walls " ; Greene, Friar Bacon (ed. 
 Grosart, xiii. 74): "scrowls . . . 
 Wrapt in rich closures of fine burnisht 
 gold"; A Looking-Glasse for London 
 (xiv. 78) : " closures of thy lamps," i.e. 
 eyelids. 
 
 784. to be barr'd] i.e. by being 
 deprived. 
 
 787. reprove] refute ; cf. Much Ado, 
 II. iii. 241 : " They say the lady is fair ; 
 'tis a truth, I can bear them witness ; 
 and virtuous ; 'tis so, I cannot reprove 
 it"; and S Henry VI. III. i. 40: 
 "Reprove my allegation, if you can: 
 Or else conclude ray words effectual." 
 
 789. device] Schmidt explains, 
 "manner of thinking, cast of mind," 
 and includes under the same definition 
 As You Like It, i. i. 174; "full of 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 43 
 
 That_leada_embracements unto^very stranger. 790 
 
 "Call it not love, for Love to heaven is fled 
 
 Since sweating Lust on earth usurp'd his name; 
 
 Under whose simple semblance he hath fed 795 
 
 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 ; 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 truth. Lust full of forged lies. /> ' -^ - Cj'^-' 
 
 " ^or e I could te ll^JiuLJmar&JL^ar-e-Jiot„.Sg.y ;m^ ^oS 
 
 T!heTextji|,_oldC]SilMator^^Jliaj^^ / 
 
 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 lawnd runs apace; 
 
 794. usurp'd] usurps Q 4, usurps Lintott and Gildon. 801. always] alway 
 Q 10. 809. talk] calls Lintott and Gildon. 813. lawnd] Qq 1-3, lawnes 
 The rest, lanes Lintott and Gildon. 
 
 noble device," which New. Eng. Diet. 808. teen] sorrow ; cf. Tempest, I. ii. 
 
 treats as an instance of the meaning — 64 ; and Richard III. IV. i. 97, where 
 
 action or faculty of devising, invention, it is opposed to joy : " Eighty odd year 
 
 ingenuity. It might be better to explain of sorrow have I seen, And each hour's 
 
 "behaviour when in love, plan or mode joy wreck'd with a week of teen." 
 
 of conductingyour love affairs." The next 813. lawnd] an earUer form of 
 
 lineisprobablyexplanatory of "device," "lawn," an open space in woods; cf. 
 
 but the construction might possibly be Drayton, Polyolbion, xiii. 89: "And 
 
 " the device of you who lend," etc. near to these our thicks \i.e. thickets] 
 
 806. green] The same contrast be- the wild and frightful herds . . . Feed 
 tween green, meaning "inexperienced," finely on the launds." Lyly omits 
 and old occurs in King John, III. iv. the "d"; see Maydes Metamorphosis, 
 145 : " How green you are and fresh in I. i. : " within a Lawne hard by Obscure 
 this old world." with bushes." It seems to have a 
 
 807. in sadness] seriously, truly ; see somewhat wider sense in The Woman 
 Romeo and Juliet, I. i. 205-210, where in the Moone, IV. i. 243 : "Out of my 
 Romeo pretends to misunderstand it : ground, Learchus, from my land. And 
 "Tell me in sadness, who is that you from henceforward come not neare my 
 love. — What, shall I groan and tell lawnes." 
 
 you?" etc. 
 
44 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Leaves Love upon her^back deeply distress'd. 
 
 Look, how a bright star shooteth from the sky, 815 
 So glides he in the night from Venus' eye: 
 
 Which after him she darts, as one on shore 
 Gazing upon a late-embarked friend. 
 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, 825 
 
 Their light blown out in some mistrustful wood ; 
 Even so confounded in the dark she lay. 
 Having lost the fair discovery of ^er 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 : 
 
 " Ay me ! " she cries, and twenty times, " Woe, woe ! " 
 And twenty echoes twenty times cry so. 
 
 She, marking them, begins a wailing note, 835 
 
 And sings extemporally a woeful ditty; 
 
 818. Gasinff] Gazeth Capell MS. ; late-embarked] hyphened by Malone (Capell 
 MS.). 828. discovery] discoverer Steevens conj. 832. deeply] doubly 
 
 S. Walker conj. 833. Ay] Ah Malone. 
 
 816. So glides he] Steevens compares "conduct" in the sense of body-guard, 
 
 Troilus and Cressida, n. ii. 46 : "And Twelfth Night, in. iv. 265. 
 fly like chidden Mercury from Jove Or 832. PassiorC] lamentation ; cf. Mer- 
 
 like a star disorb'd," but there the chant of Venice, n. viii. 12 ; and King 
 
 point of the comparison lies only in the John, III. iv. 39, 
 
 speed, "not as here in the beauty and 833. Ay me!] This phrase, common 
 
 the'succeeding gloom. in writers of the time, appears in 
 
 825. 'stonish'd] equivalent to "con- Hamlet, III. iv. 51, and in Antony and 
 founded," 1. 827. The meaning is Cleopatra, ill. vi. 76. Change is need- 
 much the same as "thunder-struck" in less. 
 
 later prose. See Henry V. v. i. 40, 836. a laoeful ditty] J. Sylvester in 
 
 where Pistol is said to have been The Wood-Man' s {i.e. Hunter's) Bear 
 
 astonished by Fluellen. (Wks., 1621 ed.,!p. 1202), sings deliber- 
 
 826. mistrustful] causing mistrust or ately a similar one : 
 
 suspicion ; no other example of this " Thus he [Love] tortures, voide of 
 
 meaning in New Eng. Diet. pitie, 
 
 828. discovery] Steevens proposed Rich and poore, and fond and 
 
 "discoverer," j.«. Adonis, but Malone wise, 
 
 compares "information" for informer Through the streets of all the 
 
 in Coriolanus, iv. vi. 53. See also Citie ; 
 
 "divorce" for divorcer, I. 932, and Causing by his cruelties, 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 45 
 
 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 
 
 I Her song was tedious, and outwore the night, 
 V.For lovers' hours are long, though seeming short: 
 rJf pleas'd themselves, others, they think, delight 
 In such-like circumstance, with such-like sport: 
 
 Their copious stories, oftentimes begun, 845 
 
 \4 End without audience, and are never done. 
 
 For who hath she to spend the night withal, 
 
 But idle sounds resembling parasites; 
 
 Like shrill-tongued tapsters answering every call, 
 
 Soothing the humour of fantastic wits? 850 
 
 She says " 'Tis so " : they answer all " 'Tis 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 855 
 
 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." 
 
 838. foolish-witty\ hyphened by Malone. 840. answer\ answers Q 13. 
 
 843. If^ It Lintott ; others'] other Q 10. 848. idle sounds resembling] idle, 
 
 sounds-resembling, Staunton. 850. wits] wights Theobald conj. 851. says] 
 
 sayes Qq i, 2 ; sales Q 3 ; said The rest. 858. That] The Lintott and 
 
 . Gildon ; cedar-tops] hyphened by Sewell. 859. this] his Q ro. 862. 
 
 beauteous'] beauties Lintott. 
 
 Sighing - singing, freezing- the scene of "Anon, anon. Sir" in 
 
 frying, 1 Henry IV. II. iv. 40-80. 
 
 Laughing - weeping, living- 854. cabinet] dwelling ; cf. Lucrece, 
 
 dying." 442. It is used of a cottage by Lyiy, 
 
 847. withal] with, as often, when a Woman in the Moone, iv. i. 162 ; "For 
 noun or pronoun does not follow. he hath thrust me from his cabinet. " 
 
 848. sounds resembling] Staunton's 857. Who . . .] Malone compares 
 hyphen spoils the sense: the sounds Sonnet xxxiii. : "Full many a glorious 
 are echoes to her own voice. morning have I seen," etc, - 
 
 849. tapsters] Steevens compares 
 
46 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 This said, she hasteth to a myrtle grove, 865 
 
 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 
 
 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, 875 
 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. 
 
 The fear whereof doth make him shake and shudder ; 880 
 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 remaineth in one place, 885 
 
 Where fearfully the dogs exclaim aloud : 
 Finding their enemy to be so curst, 
 They all strain courtesy who shall cope him first. 
 
 866. morning . . . o^erworn\ morne . . . overworne Q lo. 870. coastetk'] 
 posteth Q 10. 872. her . . . kiss\ her neck, and some doe kisse Q 10. 
 
 873. twine"] twin'd Qq I, 2 ; twind Q 3 ; twinde Q 4. 879. folds] fold Q 10. 
 882. Appals] Appales Q 4 ; spirit] spirits Q lo. 888. courtesy] courfsie Q 10, 
 curfsie The rest. 
 
 870. coasteth] Coast originally meant p. 158): "a great Bore . . . will take 
 
 to go by the side of or skirt (ultimately courage, and keep them styll at Bayes, 
 
 from Lat. costa). It is a favourite running upon anything that he seeth 
 
 word of Turbervile's, often in the sense before him . . . [but a boar accustomed 
 
 of running parallel with an animal in 'to flee endwayes'] wil sildome keepe 
 
 order to get ahead of it. Here it seems houndes at a Baye, unlesse he be forced ; 
 
 to mean merely "advances, hastens" ; and if he do stand at Baye, the huntes- 
 
 cf. Greene's Never Too Late (Grosart, men must ryde in unto him." See also 
 
 viii. 27) : "After I left Lions, I passed note on Passionate Pilgrim, xi. 13. 
 by the Alpes and coasted into Germany"; 887. curst] vicious ; cf. Much Ado, 
 
 and Skelton, Bowge of Courte (Dyce, i. II. i. 25 : " God sends a curst cow short 
 
 46) : " And to me warde as he gan for horns " ; and Midsummer - Nights 
 
 to coost . . . I sawe a knyfe hyd in his Dream, in. ii. 300: "I was never 
 
 one sieve." curst; I have no gift at all in 
 
 877. at a bay] This phrase is used shrewishness." 
 both of " the chase " and of the hounds, 888. strain courtesy] I have sometimes 
 
 when the former turns and overthrows been in doubt where this expression 
 
 his pursuers or dies fighting. See occurs as to whether the image (if any) 
 
 Turbervile, Booke of Hunting (Reprint, in the writer's mind was a sieve, or a 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 47 
 
 This dismal cty rings sadly in her ear, 
 Through which it enters to surprise her heart; 
 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. 
 
 890 
 
 89s 
 
 Thus stands she in a trembling ecstasy; 
 
 Till, cheering up her senses all dismay'd. 
 
 She tells them 'tis 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. 
 
 896. all] Qq I, 2 ; sore The rest. 
 8,9, II-I3- 
 
 cord, and the meaning "strain out, 
 exhibit grudgingly" (as some editors 
 explain Merchant of Venice, IV. i. 184 : 
 " The quality of mercy is not strain'd "), 
 or "stretch to breaking -point." For 
 instance, when Romeo strains cour- 
 tesy by failing to keep an appoint- 
 ment {Romeo and Juliet, II. iv. 55), the 
 meaning can hardly be that he was 
 courteous over-much ; cf. Gascoigne 
 (Cambridge ed. i. 406) : " I find my 
 selfe somewhat sickleye disposed, and 
 therefore doe strayne courtesye (as you 
 see) to goe the sooner to my bedde this 
 night." But in Chapman, Alphonsus, 
 V. ii., "Here's straining courtesy at a 
 bitter feast, ' ' the meaning seems different, 
 viz. overstraining it, being courteous 
 beyond reason, for the Empress and her 
 nephew insist each on dying that the 
 other may live ; cf. Lyly, Euphues (ed. 
 Bond, ii. 220) : " at the last though 
 long time strayning curtesie who should 
 goe over the stile, when we had both 
 hast, I . . . began first to unfolde the 
 extremities of my passions." If "over- 
 strain " is the meaning here, the hounds 
 are needlessly polite in offering each 
 other a chance of distinction. I am 
 indebted to Prof. Case for the following 
 examples and comment ; " Both mean- 
 ings undoubtedly exist; see Mother 
 Bomhie, III. iii. (Fairholt's Lilly, ii. 
 109) : "but Stellio, I must straine cur'sie 
 with you. I have businesse, I cannot 
 
 899. Uds\ Qq I-S, 7, 10 ; mlts Qq 6, 
 
 stay ''; and Two Lamentable Tragedies, 
 by Rob. Yarington, 1601 [l. i] ; BuUen's 
 Old Plays (vol. iv. p. 11): 
 
 "See where Jhe is, go in, lie follow 
 you; 
 
 \_Strive curtesies. 
 Nay straine no curtesie, you shall 
 goe before." 
 We still say indifferently, I'll strain, 
 or stretch a point. In the two uses the 
 strain is thought of differently ; in the 
 Romeo and Juliet case, courtesy, as be- 
 tween two persons, is considered as 
 having to abide a stress ; in the other, 
 as being extended or stretched to an 
 exaggerated or unnecessary degree." 
 
 888. cope] used in the original sense 
 "come to blows with" (Lat. colaphus). 
 New Eng. Diet, gives among other 
 examples Caxton, Paris &= V. (1868) : 
 "And coped togyder so fyersly they 
 breke theyr speres." 
 
 891. Who] which ; her heart over- 
 whelmed with fear withdraws the blood 
 from the limbs, and they in turn refuse 
 their office. 
 
 893. captain] Cf. Coriolanus, i. i. 
 120: "The counsellor heart." 
 
 895. ecstasy] ungovernable excitement, 
 usually of madness ; see Hamlet, iii. 
 i. 168: "That unmatch'd form and 
 feature of blown youth Blasted with 
 ecstasy"; and ibid, iii. iv. 139: 
 " Ecstasy ! My pulse as yours doth 
 temperately keep time." 
 
48 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Which madly hurries her she knows not whither : 
 
 This way she runs, and now she will no further, 905 
 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 kennell'd in a brake she finds a hound. 
 
 And asks the weary caitiff for his master; 
 
 And there another licking of his wound, 91 5 
 
 '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'd mourner, black and grim, 920 
 
 Against the welkin volleys out his voice; 
 
 Another and another answer him. 
 
 Clapping their proud tails to the ground below, 
 Shaking their scratch'd ears, bleeding as they go. 
 
 <y:i%. path^ paths Qq 12, 13. 909. mated\ marred Qc[ 9, 11-13. 911. 
 respects] Qq i, 2 ; respect The rest. 911, 912. noughi] naught Qq 1-3, not 
 Gildon. 912. hana\ hands Q 10. 913. ahound\ an hound (^t\ 10, 12, 13. 
 917. scowling'] scolding \JirAo\.\. a.-a& GiSAorv. 919. AfflM] Qq 1-4, ^arf The rest ; 
 ill-resounding] hyphened in Q 10. 924. scratch'd ears] hyphened in Qq 1-4. 
 
 907. spleens] fears ; cf. Phineas aire '' ; and E. B. Blount, Horn subs. 
 
 Fletcher, Purple Island, iii. 17: "The 112: "wise men will not view such 
 
 splenion o're against the Hepar laid, persons but with scorn ; nor respect 
 
 Built long, and square : some say that them but with disesteem." 
 laughter here Keeps residence; but 912. /«,4«»rfifzV/5] busied or occupied 
 
 laughter fits not there, Where darkness with. New Eng. Diet, cites James I., 
 
 tvex dvieWi B.nA melancholy fear." Counterblaste (ed. Arber, iii); "And 
 
 909. matea] made helpless, as when is it not a great vanitie that a man 
 
 the king is mated at chess ; cf. Macbeth, cannot heartily welcome his friend now, 
 
 V. i. 86 : " My mind she has mated, but straight they must be in hand with 
 
 and amazed my sight." Tobacco?" 
 
 911. Full . . . respecting] full of <)zo. Jlap-mouth'd] In The Master of 
 consideration, and yet really considering Game(e&. 1909), "great lips and well 
 
 nothing. New Eng. Diet, cites Latimer, banging down " are mentioned among 
 
 Ploughers (Arber, 37): "He was not the points of "a running hound." See 
 
 moved by these worldlie respectes, with note in little Quarto ed. of Venus and 
 
 these prudente considerations ; and for Adonis, where Craig cites The Return 
 
 the verb, W. Wilkinson, Confut. Fam. from Parnassus, iv. 2 ; "begin thou, 
 
 Love, 16 b : "The cunnyng Archer Furor, and open like >■ phlap-mouthed 
 
 respecteth more to hitte the marke, hound." 
 than the curious watchyng of the cloven 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 49 
 
 Look, how the world's poor people are amazed 925 
 
 At apparitions, signs and prodigies. 
 
 Whereon with fearful eyes they long have gazed. 
 
 Infusing them with dreadful prophecies; 
 
 So she at these sad signs draws up her breath, 
 
 And, sighing it again, exclaims on Death. 930 
 
 " 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 935 
 
 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; 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 ; 945 
 
 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. 
 
 929. these] the Q lO. 931. Hard-favour' d\ hyphened in Qq 8, 9, 11-13. 
 940. random] randon Qq 1-4. 943. he had] had he Q 10. 946. pluck'st] 
 pluckst Qq 1-4, 10 ; pluckist The rest. 947. fied] sped Anon. conj. 
 
 928. Infusing] instilling ; used sped- 2 Henry IV. v. v. 39 ; cf. Kyd, Soliman 
 
 ally, says the New Eng. Did., of the and Perseda, I. i. Induction, 28, where 
 
 work of God in the imparting of grace, Death says: "Till I have raoralliz'd 
 
 and of nature in the implanting of innate this Tragedie Whose cheefest actor was 
 
 knowledge. "Infusing" is to be con- ray sable dart." But the meaning may 
 
 strued with "apparitions," etc.; the be "made of ebony"; cf. Spenser, 
 
 meaning may be that these fill men's Faerie Queene, i. Prol. : " Lay now 
 
 minds with forebodings rather than that thy deadly Heben bowe apart " ; and 
 
 they cause men to foretell disasters. ' ' Heben sad " is among the trees 
 
 Line 927 ("Whereon . , . gazed") "direful deadly black, both leaf and 
 
 seems to be parenthetical, though it is bloom " in the garden of Proserpina 
 
 implied that the continuance of the (Faerie Queene, 11. vii. 52). Malone 
 
 portents increases the fear. recalls "the well-known fiction of Love 
 
 930. exclaims on] upbraids, re- and Death sojourning together in an 
 proaches ; cf. 1 Henry VI. III. iii. 60 ; Inn, and on going away in the morning, 
 and Merchant of Venice, III. ii. 176. changing their arrows by mistake. See 
 
 933. worm]iexi^sa\., 3S,\n Antony and Whitney's Emblems, -p. I'^z," Boswell 
 
 Cleopatra, v. ii. passim ; Cymbeline, quotes Massinger, Virgin Martyr, iv. 
 
 III. iv. 37 : " slander ... whose tongue iii. 13: "Strange affection! Cupid 
 
 Outvenoms all the worms of Nile." once more hath changed his darts with 
 
 948. eboti] perhaps "black," as in Death, And kills instead of giving life. " 
 
50 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, 955 
 
 She vail'd her eyelids, who, like sluices, stopp'd 
 The crystal tide that from her two cheeks fair 
 In the sweet channel of her bosom dropp'd ; 
 
 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 ! 
 
 Her eye 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, 965 
 
 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 holloa ; 
 
 A nurse's song ne'er pleas'd her babe so well : 
 
 The dire imagination she did follow 975 
 
 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 
 
 956. vaiFd] veiVd Lintott and Gildon ; wh6\ which Gildon. 962. Her eye] 
 Qq 1-3 ; Her eie Q 4 ; Her eies Q 8 ; Her eyes The rest, the (ears'] her teares 
 Qq 5-13. 967. throng] through Q 10. 968. who] Qq 1-4, which The 
 rest. g6g. passion labours]passions labour Cl/^. 971. all together] aliogither 
 Q 4, altogether Q 10. 973. holloa] hallow Qq 1-3, hollow The rest. 975. 
 dire] Qq 3, 6, 8, 9, 11-13 ; dyre Qq i, 2 ; rfry Qq 5, 7 ; drie Qq 4, 10. 
 
 952. Those . . . see] Cf. Romeo and hir favours are mortal, and the more 
 Juliet, I. V. 46: "O, she doth teach glistring, the more prejudicial!." 
 
 the torches to burn bright " (Malone). 956. vaiVd] lowered ; cf. Lusfs 
 
 953. mortal] destructive; cf. 1. 618; Dominion, I. iii. 4: " vailing my knees 
 and Greene, Perymedes the Blacksmith to the cold earth." 
 
 (Grosart, vii. 25) : " Thus everie way 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 51 
 
 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. 
 
 O hard-believing love, how strange it seems 98 S- 
 
 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 nought: 
 Now she adds honours to his hateful name; 
 
 She clepes him king of graves, and grave for kings, 995 
 
 Imperious supreme of all mortal things. 
 
 " No, no," quoth she, " sweet Death, I did but jest ; 
 Yet pardon me, I felt a kind of fear 
 When as I met the boar, that bloody beast. 
 Which knows no pity, but is still severe ; 1000 
 
 Then, gentle shadow, — truth I must confess, — 
 I rail'd on thee, fearing my love's decease. 
 
 " 'Tis not my fault : the boar provok'd my tongue ; 
 
 Be wreak'd on him, invisible commander; 
 
 'Tis he, foul creature, that hath done thee wrong; 1005 
 
 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." 
 
 981 . sometimes'] Qq 1-4, sometime The rest. 988. makes'] Qq 1-4, make The 
 rest. 989. thoughts'] thought Q 10. 990. In likely] Qq i, 2 ; The likely 
 Qq 3, 4 ; With likely The rest. 991. hath] Qq 1-4, had The rest. 994. 
 honours] Q l , honors Qq 2-4, honour The rest. 996. Imperious] Qq 1-4 ; 
 Imperial Qq 5, 7 ; Imferiall The rest. 1002. my] thy Qq 3, 4. 
 
 981. orienf] bright. Eastern pearls 995. clepes\ calls ; cf. Harvey, Pierces 
 
 were the best; but see Harrison, Supererogation {GiossAy'n. ■2.';^ : "his 
 
 Description of England, III. xii. : eloquence passeth my intelligence, that 
 
 "They [pearls] are called orient, cleapeth himselfe a Callimanco for 
 
 because of the cleerenesse, which re- pleading his Companions cause." 
 
 sembleth the colour of the cleere aire 996. Imperious] imperial, as in 
 
 before the rising of the sun." Troilus and Cressida, iv. v. 172: "I 
 
 993. all to nought] utterly worthless, thank thee most imperious Agamem- 
 
 The phrase became vulgar; see Swift, non." 
 
 Mrs. Harris' Petition : "So she roar'd 996. supreme] So accented by Shake- 
 like a Bedlam, as tho' I had called her speare, except perhaps in Coriolanus, 
 all to nought." ni, i. no. 
 
52 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Thus hoping that Adonis is alive, 
 
 Her rash suspect she doth extenuate; loio 
 
 And that his beauty may the better thrive, 
 
 With Death she humbly doth insinuate; 
 
 Tells him of trophies, statues, tombs, and stories 
 His victories, his triumphs and his glories. 
 
 "O Jove," quoth she, "how much a fool was 1 1015 
 
 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 ! 
 
 For he being dead, with him is beauty slain. 
 
 And, beauty dead, black chaos comes again. 1020 
 
 " Fie, fie, fond love, thou art as 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, 1025 
 
 Whereat she leaps that was but late forlorn. 
 
 As falcons to the lure, away she flies; 
 
 The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light ; 
 
 And in her haste unfortunately spies 
 
 1013. staiues] statues Qq 3, 4 ; tombs'] domes Theobald conj. loij, 1014. 
 stories His] Malone (Theobald conj.); stories, His Qq. 1027. falcons'] 
 
 Paulcons Qq 1-4 ; Falcon Qq 10, 12, 13 ; Faulcon The rest. 
 
 loio. suspect] suspicion ; cf. Amends used in manning {i.e. taming) falcons. 
 
 for Ladies (Hazlitt's Dodsley, xi. 108) : See Greene, Mamillia (Grosart, ii. 38) : 
 
 "And makes me kill my fond suspect "what entiseth the fish but the baite? 
 
 of her By assurance that she is loyal"; what calleth the byrde but the scrappe? 
 
 and Orlando Furioso (Grosart's Greene, what reclaimeth the hawke but the 
 
 xiii. 196): "Intending by suspect to lure?" ; zWrf. p. 21 : "hopingthat . . . 
 
 breed debate." he would so reclaime her with his 
 
 1012. insinuate] flatter (Malone) ; fained eloquence, as she should seaze 
 
 see Richard II. iv. i. 165 ; and As You upon his lure, and so cunningly cloake 
 
 Like It, Epilogue 9. her with his counterfaite cal as she 
 
 1019. For . . . slain] Malone com- should come to his fist " ; and Gascoigne 
 
 pares Romeo and Juliet, I. i. 222 : " O, (i. 87, Cambridge edition) : " Too late 
 
 she is rich in beauty ; only poor, That I found that gorged haukes do not 
 
 when she dies, with beauty dies her store." esteme the lure." 
 
 1026. leaps] sc. for joy ; cf. " laugh 1028. The . . . light] Here Steevens 
 and leap " in Lov^s Labour 's Lost, IV. quotes from memory Virgil, .iSn. vii. 
 iii. 148; and Merchant of Venice, I. i. 808, 809: "lUavel intactse segetis per 
 49; and "dance and leap," Richard summa volaret Gramina, nee teneras 
 II. II. iv. 12. cursu Itesisset aristas." This is itself 
 
 1027. lure] Here, no doubt, of the from Homer, //. xx. 222 seqq. ; cf. 
 falconer's call or whistle ; cf. Lyly (ed. Scott, Lady of the Lake, I. xviii, : " E'en 
 Bond, ii. 187): "Francis was not the slight harebell raised its head 
 sorrie, who began a little to listen to Elastic from her airy tread " ; and 
 the lure of love"; but usually of the Tennyson, Talking Oak: "The flower 
 bundle offeathers to which pieces of flesh she touch'd on dipt and rose And 
 were attached, representing a bird, and tum'd to look at her." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 53 
 
 The foul boar's conquest on her fair delight; 1030 
 
 Which seen, her eyes, as murder'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, 1035 
 
 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; 1045 
 
 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 ; 1050 
 
 And being open'd threw unwilling light 
 
 Upon the wide wound that the boar had trench'd 
 
 In his soft flank; whose wonted lily white 
 
 With purple tears, that his wound wept, was drench'd: 
 
 1031. as] Qq 3-9, 11-13; are Qq i, 2, lo. 1033. He] aQ 10. 1037. 
 
 Ais] this Hudson 1881 (S. Walker conj.). 1039. resign] resign' dlArAottanA 
 
 Gildon. 1040. her] their (^10. 1044. suggestion] suggestions Qi:\<), ii-i'^. 
 
 1048. terror] terrors Lintott; minds] mind Lintott. 1051. light] Qq I, z; 
 
 night Qq 3, 4 ; sight The rest. 1054. was] had Qq 1-4, 10. 
 
 1033. as the snair\Ci. Love's Labour's 10^6, lo^y. As, , .shakes]Sttl Henry 
 Lost, IV. iii. 338 : " Love's feeling is IV. III. i. 28-33, ^°<i Paradise Lost, 
 more soft and delicate Than are the tender i. 240, for wind as a source of earth- 
 horns of cockled snails." Malone cites quakes. On the next line Malone notes 
 Coriolanus, IV. vi. 45 : "Thrusts forth that Shakespeare may have spoken from 
 his horns again into the world Which experience, as there was an earthquake 
 were inshell'd when Marcius stood for in England in 1580, when he was 
 Rome. " sixteen. 
 
 1041. consort . . . night] See J?omeo 1052. trench'd] cut (Malone); see 
 
 and Juliet, 11. i. 32: "Come, he hath Two Gentlemen of Verona, ill. ii. 
 
 hid himself among these trees To be 7 : "as a figure Trenched in ice, 
 
 consorted with the humourous night " which with an hour's heat Dis- 
 
 (Malone). See also Midsummer- Night's solves '' ; and Macbeth, in, iv. 27 : 
 
 Dream, III. ii. 387: "They wilfully "With twenty trenched gashes on 
 
 exile themselves from light, And must his head." 
 for aye consort with black-brow'd night." 
 

 54 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 No flower was nigh, no grass, herb, leaf or weed, 1055 
 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 stopp'd, 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, 1065 
 
 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! 
 
 j^r>- shall I die by dr ^p" r'f ^^^ H/'girp 
 
 " Alas, poor world, what treasure hast thou lost ! 1075 
 
 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? 
 
 The flowers are sweet, their colours fresh and trim ; 
 
 But true-sweet beauty liv'd and died with him. 1080 
 
 " 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: 
 
 1066. more'] no Q 10. 1073. eyes' red fire !\ eyes red fire, Qq I, 2; eyes 
 
 red as fire Q 3 ; eies as red as fire, Q 4; eyes, as fire, Q 10; eyes, as fire: The 
 rest. 1078. tHng\ things Q 10. 1079. The] Thy Malone conj. 1080. 
 true-sweet] hyphened by Malone. with him] Qq I, 2 ; in him The rest. 
 1081. nor] Qq 1-4, or The rest. 1083. yoii] yee Q 10. 
 
 1078. ««i«2«;^] following, and so, per- Menaphon (vi. 123): "No frost their 
 
 haps, future ; cf. Richard III. 11. iii. faire, no wind doth wast their power, 
 
 43 : " By a divine instinct men's minds But by her breath her beauties doo 
 
 mistrust Ensuing dangers." renew"; Never Too Late {v'm. 200): 
 
 1083. fair] beauty ; cf. Greene, Jtfeta- " Flora in taunie hid up all her flowers, 
 
 morphosis (Grosart, ix. 25) : " Paris And would not diaper her meads with 
 
 for faire gave her the golden ball"; faire." 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 55 
 
 But when Adonis liv'd, sun and sharp air 1085 
 
 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, 1095 
 
 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. 
 
 "When he beheld his shadow in the brook. 
 
 The fishes spread on it their golden gills; 1100 
 
 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. 
 
 "But this foul, grim, and urchin-snouted boar, 1105 
 
 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 
 
 " 'Tis true, 'tis 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; 
 
 1093. walk'd] walks Lintott and Gildon. 1099. his] the Q 4. t!ie\ a Qq 6, 8, 
 9, 11-13. 1100. The] There Qq 9, 11; Their (^IJ,. iiii. 'Tis true,'iis 
 true] Tis true, true, true Qq 9, 11-13. II 13. did] Q, would The rest. 
 
 1094. /ear] frighten. Malone cites entertainment till Mine enemy has more 
 3 Henry VI. V. ii. 2: "For Warwick power." 
 
 was a bug that fear'd us all." wio. He . . . so] Steevens compares 
 
 1105. «?r/5««] hedgehog; see Topsel, Theocritus, Id. xxx. 26-31, which 
 
 Four-footed Beasts, p. 217: "in Calverly translated: "I [the boar] 
 
 English a Hedge -hog or an Ur- meant no mischief to the man Who 
 
 chine. " seemed to thee so fair. As on a carven 
 
 1 108. entertainment] reception; cf. statue Men gaze, I gazed on him; I 
 
 Tempest, I. ii. 465 ; "I will resist such seemed on fire with mad desire to kiss 
 
 that preferred limb." 
 
56 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 And nuzzling in his flank, the loving swine 1115 
 
 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." 1 1 20 
 
 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, 1125 
 
 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 ; 1 1 30 
 
 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 dea d. lOj here I prophesy. 1 1 3 5 
 
 Sorrow on l ove hereafter .shall atten d : 
 It35S9[„be waited on with jealfiusy, 
 Findsweef beginning lbut_ras^^ ; 
 
 JNe'efsettled equally, buFTiigh or low. 
 
 That all love's pleasure shall not match his woe. 1140 
 
 " It shall be fickle, false and full of fraud ; 
 Bud, and be blasted, in a breathing-while; 
 
 1115. nuzzling] Malone nousling, Qq. 1116. the\ Qi; his The rest. 
 
 1 120. youth] mouth Q 13 ; am /] Qq I, 2; I am The rest. 1122. congealed] 
 congealen Gildon. 1125. ears] eares Qq 1-3, eare The rest. 1 126. they] 
 Qq 1-4, he The rest. 1 1 30. times, and now] times and more, Theobald 
 
 conj. 1 134. thou^ Qq 1-3, you The rest. 1 136. on] in Q 4. 1 139. 
 
 but high] Qq 1-3, but hie Q 4, too high The rest, to high Gildon. 1 1 40. pleas- 
 ure] pleasures Lintott and Gildon. 1 142. Bud, and be] Qq 1-3, And shall 
 be The rest ; breathing-while] hyphened by Malone. 
 
 1 128. lies] For this form Steevens rhymes render it incurable." It is 
 
 cites Richard II. ni. iii. 168 ; and usually explained as a northern plural ; 
 
 Cymbeline, II. iii. 24. Prof. Case but see my note in Merchant of Venice, 
 
 reminds me that it was a very common i. iii, 161, in this series. 
 Elizabethan idiom, though some modern 1136-1140. Sorrow . . . woe] Cf. 
 
 editors have converted rime to blank Midsummer-Night's Dream, i. i. 134- 
 
 verse or prose by correcting it. Malone 140: "The course of true love never 
 
 goes so far as to lament that "in a did run smooth . . . O cross ! too high 
 
 very few places either the metre or the to be enthralled to low " (Steevens). 
 
VENUS AND ADONIS 57 
 
 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, 114S 
 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; 11 50 
 Tt shall be ragins;-ma '^ , ^"'^ flilly-"'"'^^. 
 Make the young old, the old become a c hild. 
 
 " 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, iiSS 
 
 And most deceiving when it seems most just; 
 
 Perverse it shall be where it shows most toward. 
 Put fear to valour, courage to the coward. 
 
 " It shall J)e_^use_ofjrar_and_dire events, 
 
 And, seJLdissension 'twixt the soiTa^Tsire; 11 60 
 
 Subject and servile to all discontents. 
 
 As dry combustious matter is to fire : 
 
 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 kill'd 1165 
 
 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 
 Which in round drops upon their whiteness stood. 1170 
 
 1144. truest] Qq 1-3, sharpest The rest. IISI. raging-mcuf\ hyphened by 
 Malone; silly-mild] hyphened by Malone. II57. ■where] when Lintott and 
 
 Gildon ; shows] showes Qq I, 2 ; shewes Q 3 ; shews Q 4 ; seems Qq 5, 7, 9, II ; 
 seemes Qq 6, 8, 10, 12, 13. 1164. loves] Qq 1-3, love The rest. 1168. 
 
 purple] purpld Q 3, purpuFd Q 4 ; chequer'd] checkred Qq. 
 
 1 146. teach . . . speak] Steevens jig, and full as fantastical, the wedding 
 
 suggested that there was here an mannerly modest as a measure full of 
 
 allusion to the story of Cymon and state and ancientry," etc. 
 Iphigenia in Boccaccio, Decameron, 1 149- staring] tn\c\i\ent. Among the 
 
 V. i. enormities with which Evans charged 
 
 1 148. tread the measures^ dance, Falstaff were " drinkings and swearings 
 
 Malone, who on Much Ado, 11. i. 74j andstarings" {Merry Wives, v. v. 168). 
 cites Richard II. in. iv. 1. See also 1 157' toward] willing, tractable. It 
 
 for the special character of the measure is opposed to ' ' froward " in Taming of 
 
 Much Ado, II. i. 77: "Wooing, wed- the Shrew, v. ii. 182: "'Tis a good 
 
 ding, and repenting, is as a Scotch jig, hearing when children are toward. — 
 
 a measure, and a cinque-pace : the But a harsh hearing when women are 
 
 first suit is hot and hasty, like a Scotch froward." 
 
58 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 1175 
 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, 1180 
 
 And so 'tis thine; but know, it is as good 
 To wither in my breast as in his blood. 
 
 " Here was thy father's bed, here in my breast ; 
 Thou art the next of blood, and 'tis thy right: 
 Lo, in this hollow cradle take thy rest; 1185 
 
 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." 
 
 Thus weary of the world, away she hies. 
 
 And yokes her silver doves; by whose swift aid 11 90 
 
 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. 
 
 1 183. here in'\ Qq 1, 2 ; here is The rest. 1 185. Lo, in] Lmv in Q 4. 
 
 1 187. in'\ Qq 1-4, ^The rest. 
 
LUCRECE 
 
To the 
 
 Right Honourable, HENRY WRIOTHESLEY, 
 Earle of Southhampton, and Baron of Titchfield. 
 
 "T^HE loue I dedicate to your Lordship is without end: tvherof 
 this Pamphlet without beginning is but a superfluous 
 Moity. The warrant I haue of your Honourable disposition, 
 not the worth of my vntutord Lines makes it assured of accept- 
 ance. What I haue done is yours, what I haue to doe is yours, 
 being part in all I haue, deuoted yours. Were my worth 
 greater, my duety would shew greater, meane time, as it is, it 
 is bound to your Lordship; To whom I wish long life still 
 lengthned with all happinesse. 
 
 Your Lordships in all duety, 
 
 William Shakespeare. 
 
THE ARGUMENT 
 
 Lucius Tarquinius, for his excessive pride surnamed 
 Superbus, after he had caused his own father-in-law Servius 
 Tullius to be cruelly murdered, 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 Sextus 
 Tarquinius, the king's son, in their discourses after supper 
 every one commended the virtues of his own wife; among 
 whom Collatinus 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 were late in the 
 night, spinning amongst her maids: the other ladies were 
 all found dancing and revelling, or in several disports. 
 Whereupon 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 him- 
 self, and was, according to his estate, royally entertained 
 and lodged by Lucrece at Collatium. 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 
 
 63 
 
64 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 to Rome for her father, another to the camp for Collatine. 
 They came, the one accompanied with Junius Brutus, the 
 other with Publius Valerius ; and finding Lucrece attired 
 in mourning habit, demanded the cause of her sorrow. 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. 
 
LUCRECE 
 
 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, S 
 
 And girdle with embracing flames the waist 
 Of Collatine's fair love, Lucrece the chaste. 
 
 Haply that name of " chaste " unhappily set 
 
 This bateless edge on his keen appetite; 
 
 When Collatine unwisely did not let lO 
 
 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 beauties, 
 With pure aspects did him peculiar duties. 
 
 For he the night before, in Tarquin's tent, 15 
 
 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. 
 
 8. unhappily] unhafly Q I. 19. smh high proud] hyphened by Malone, 
 so high a Qq 5-8. 21. peer] prince Qq 2-8. 
 
 5. aspire] arise, ascend ; cf. Merry Unbated is used of a foil without a 
 Wives, V. V. loi : "whose flames \s\iXXcia.\i\ Hatnlet, iv. vii. 139. 
 aspire As thoughts do blow them 10. let] forbear. The meaning and 
 higher and higher " ; used literally in construction is the same as in Wyclif, 
 Pericles, I. iv. 5: "For who digs Works { \'&%a), 313: "Here we may 
 hills because they do aspire Throws see openliche hou crist lettede not for 
 down one mountain to cast up a loue of petre to reproue hym sharp- 
 higher." See also Venus and Adonis, liche," cited in jVew ^k^. Diet. 
 150. 13. mortal stars] Malone compared 
 
 9. bateless] not to be blunted ; New Midsummer- Nighf s Dream, HI. ii. 
 Eng. Did. quotes Markham, Sir R. 188, and Romeo and Juliet, I. ii. 25. A 
 Grinuile, cv. : closer parallel is Taming of the Shrew, 
 
 "Sets a bateless edge, grownd by IV. v. 31 : "What stars do spangle 
 his word heaven with such beauty As those two 
 
 Vpon their blunt harts." eyes become that heavenly face?" 
 
 5 
 
66 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 ! 25 
 
 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 
 
 Of that rich jewel he should keep unknown 
 
 From thievish ears, because it is his own? 35 
 
 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. 
 
 24. is] in Q 3, if Qq 5-8 ; morning's] morning Q i ; silver melting] hyphened 
 by Malone. 26. An . . . well] A date expir'd: and canceld ere Qq 5-8. 
 31. apologies] apfologie Q I. 42. That] The Qq 6-8. 
 
 23. done] consumed, as in Venus and Dumb eloquence, whose power 
 
 Adonis, 749: "wasted, thaw'd, and doth move the blood, 
 
 done, As mountain snow melts with More than the words or wisdom 
 
 the mid-day sun" (Malone). of the wise" (Malone). 
 
 26. date] Malone compares Daniel, 31. apologies] According to Schmidt, 
 
 Complaint of Rosamond (1592), 245- apology is here "evidently used in 
 
 249 : the sense of encomium, high praise," 
 
 "Thou must not thinke thy flowre but the old meaning "defence" seems 
 
 can always fiorish, adequate ; such beauty as Lucretia's 
 
 Or that thy beauty will be still needed no vindication. 
 
 admir'd, 33. publisher] proclaimer, as in Two 
 
 But that those rayes which all Gentlemen of Verona, III. i. 47 : 
 
 these flames do nourish, " For love of you, not hate unto my 
 
 Cancell'd with time, will have friend, Hath made me publisher of this 
 
 their date expir'd." pretence." 
 
 29, 30. Beauty . . ■ orator] See 37. Suggested] tempted ; cf. Two 
 
 Ti&TatX, Complaint of Rosamond (!<,<)/[), Gentlemen of Verona, III. i. 34: 
 
 127-131 : " Knowing that tender youth is 
 
 ' ' Ah, Beauty ! syren, fair enchanting soon suggested, I nightly lodge her 
 
 good, in an upper tower." So, sugges- 
 
 Sweet silent rhetorick of persuad- tion is temptation in Macbeth, i. iii. 
 
 ing eyes; 134- 
 
LUCRECE 
 
 67 
 
 But some untimely thought did instigate 
 
 His all-too-timeless speed, if none of those : 
 
 His honour, his affairs, his friends, his state, 45 
 
 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 arrived, 50 
 
 Well was he welcom'd by the Roman dame. 
 Within whose face beauty and virtue strived 
 Which of them both should underprop her fame : 
 When virtue bragg'd, beauty would blush for shame; 
 
 When beauty boasted blushes, in despite S5 
 
 Virtue would stain that o'er with silver white. 
 
 44. all-too-timeless] hyphened by Malone. 47. his] the Q 3 ; glows] growes 
 Qq 7, 8. 48. rash-false] hyphened by Malone. 56. o'er] Gildon, ore 
 
 Qq 1-3, or'e Q 4, ore Qq $-8. 
 
 Lucrece's complexion, or is it suggested 
 that she changed colour, welcoming 
 Tarquin with a blush of pleasure or 
 surprise ? 
 
 56. stain that o'er] spread her own 
 colour over beauty's red, that referring 
 ungrammatically to blushes. If we read 
 ore or or, i.e. the golden blush of beauty, 
 stain will probably mean surpass. See 
 note on Venus and Adonis, 1. 9. 
 
 56. o'er] Ore (Q i) occurs elsewhere, 
 e.g. 1. 170, for o'er. Ore in the 
 sense of gold may be the true reading, 
 and may jointly with " silver white " 
 be responsible for the references to 
 
 47. liver] the seat of desire. See 
 Tempest, IV. i. 56 ; Merry Wives, II. 
 i. 121 ; Much Ado, iv. i. 233. 
 
 49. spring] Malone compares Richard 
 III. III. i. 94 : " Short summers lightly 
 have a forward spring." Staunton 
 explains: "Thy premature shoots are 
 ever blighted." See 1. 950, and Venus 
 and Adonis, 1. 656. 
 
 49. blasts] suffers blight. New Eng. 
 Diet, cites Euphues (Arber, 236): 
 " The easterly winde maketh the 
 blossomes to blast." 
 
 52-70. The general sense is obvious. 
 Seeing Lucrece, one would hesitate to 
 
 say whether her face expressed more heraldry that follow. ^ATiere ore occurs 
 completely the perfection of beauty or 
 the perfection of virtue. But the course 
 of the thought is half hidden by a 
 bewildering play of fancy. There is no 
 open vision, nothing but a tumbling 
 kaleidoscope of hints and suggestions. 
 Nature's own red and white are identi- 
 fied or confounded with a, blush and its 
 fading. The transition to gold and 
 silver may be natural and was certainly 
 common, and these in turn suggest the 
 or and argent of heraldry, so that for a 
 moment we have a glimpse of Lucrece's 
 face as a blazoned shield for which 
 beauty and virtue are rival claimants. 
 The imagery suffers from the intrusion 
 of the idea of a shield used for defence, 
 and finally changes (in I. 71) to the lilies 
 and roses, lilia mixta rosis, of conven- 
 tion, 
 
 in modern edd.. All's Well, iii. 
 vi. 40 (ours Ff), and Hamlet iv. i. 
 25 \oare F i), it certainly means 
 gold or some other precious metal; it 
 could only mean gold here where it is 
 in contrast with silver. Malone quot- 
 ing the passage in Hamlet conjectures 
 "or i.e. gold, to which the poet com- 
 pares the deep colour of a blush. . . . 
 The terms of heraldry in the next 
 stanza," he adds, "seem to favour this 
 supposition : and the opposition between 
 or and the silver white of virtue is 
 entirely in Shakespeare's manner. So 
 afterwards : ' Which virtue gave the 
 golden age to gild Their silver cheeks.' " 
 Steevens gives another parallel, Macbeth, 
 II. iii. 118: " His «7zi«r skin laced with 
 his golden blood." Malone's conjecture 
 is read by Knight and Staunton, and 
 53-56. Is this a mere description of with a novel interpretation (stain it into 
 
68 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 But beauty, in that white intituled, 
 From Venus' doves doth challenge that fair field: 
 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 shield; 
 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: 
 
 65. beauty s . . . virtue's] Sewell, beauties . . . vertues Qq. 
 
 6S 
 
 or, or rather, make or by blending with 
 it) by Mr. Wyndham, who quotes 
 passages from Guillim's Display of 
 Heraldrie (1610), p. 9: "This colour 
 [white] is most commonly taken in 
 Blazon for the metal silver, and is 
 named Argent," and adds from the 2nd 
 ed. (1636): " it betokenth innocency, 
 cleanness of life and chastity," and ed. 
 1610, p. 10, on yellow : " This colour 
 is bright yellow, which is compounded 
 of much white and a little red, as if you 
 should take two parts of white and but 
 one of red. This colour in Armes is 
 blazed by the name of Or, which is as 
 much as to say aurum, which is gold." 
 Mr. Wyndham concludes: "When he 
 says : ' Virtue would stain that or with 
 silver white,' he means that Virtue, by 
 an admixture of ' silver white ' :— the 
 blazon of chastity (supra) with ' that ' 
 = Beauty's blushes = Beauty's red of 
 1. jg ;_obtained, in accordance with 
 Heraldry, the 'mixed colour,' ffotd, 
 which is 'blazed by the name of Or.' 
 Virtue's white, mixed with Beauty's red, 
 has now produced heraldic or." It 
 may seem captious to suggest that the 
 resulting heraldic complexion, accord- 
 ing to Guillim, a bright yellow, is not 
 elsewhere in Shakespeare an evidence 
 of either beauty or virtue. In one 
 passage, ^ Henry IV. I. ii. 204, a yellow 
 cheek is associated with - moist eye, 
 and in another, Midsummer-Night' s 
 Dream, v. i. 339, with a cherry nose ; 
 but it certainly does not follow that 
 because Shakespeare uses "gild" and 
 " golden " figuratively of such things as 
 blood which is not yellow, that he 
 would have used it literally of cheeks 
 which may become so through the 
 ravages of disease or dissipation. A 
 more serious objection is that after the 
 staining takes place, the result is not 
 yellow but white, as we may gather from 
 
 the expressions " in that white inti- 
 tuled" (1. 57) and "that fair field " (1. 58), 
 while so far are the red and white from 
 blending " that oft they interchange each 
 other's seat " (I. 70). This is quite in 
 accordance with a parallel cited by 
 Steevens, Much Ado, iv. i. 160-164: 
 ' ' I have mark'd A thousand blushing 
 apparitions To start into her face, a 
 thousand innocent shames In angel 
 whiteness bear away those blushes." 
 
 In support of the reading o'er, it may 
 be mentioned that gules rather than or 
 seems the proper blazon. See Sidney, 
 Astrophel and Stella, xiii. ; 
 
 " Cupid then smiles, for on his crest 
 there lies 
 Stella's fair haire, her face he 
 
 makes his shield. 
 Where roses gueuls are borne in 
 silver field." 
 
 57. intituled] Mr. Wyndham, deleting 
 the comma after intituled and placing it 
 after doves, explains : "But Beauty, also 
 intituled = formally blazoned in white 
 (which is virtue's colour) by derivation 
 from Venus' doves, doth challenge that 
 fair field = disputes Virtue's exclusive 
 right to a field, again the proper 
 heraldic term, of white." It is doubtful 
 if intituled can mean blazoned, and the 
 sense " entitled to " or " possessed of" 
 seems sufficient ; cf. Planetomachia 
 (Grosart's Greene, v. 5): "noble 
 mindes intituled with dignities should 
 retch as hie as the Skies." A similar 
 meaning may be extracted from the 
 original pointing — Beauty rightfully 
 possessed of a field of white claims it as 
 the livery of Venus doves. 
 
 58. challenge] claim, as in Othello, 
 
 II. i. 213. 
 
 65. Argued] proved ; cf. S Henry VI. 
 
 III. ii. 84 : " Her looks do argue her 
 replete with modesty." 
 
LUCRECE 69 
 
 Of cither'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 kiU'd, 
 
 The coward captive vanquished doth yield 75 
 
 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 owe 
 
 Enchanted Tarquin answers with surmise, 
 
 In silent wonder of still-gazing eyes. 
 
 This earthly saint, adored by this devil, 85 
 
 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 express'd: 
 
 84. still-gazing\ hyphened by Malone. 87. unstain'd thoughts] thoughts 
 unstain'd Qq 5-8. 90. reverend] reverent Dyce, ed. 2. 
 
 67. from world's minority] from the pays haste and leisure answers leisure " ; 
 
 days when the world was young, "the Comedy of Errors, iv. i. 82: "you 
 
 golden age " of 1. 60. Their right is as shall buy this sport as dear As all the 
 
 old as the doves of Venus and the first metal in your shop will answer " ; and 
 
 blush. 1 Henry IV. i. iii. 185 : "who studies 
 
 71. silent war] Cf. Taming of the day and night To answer all the debt he 
 
 Shrew, I v. v. 30: "Such war of red owes to you." 
 
 and white within her cheeks " 88. lim'd] caught by bird-lime ; cf. 
 
 (Steevens) ; and Venus and Adonis, Macbeth, IV. ii. 34 : " Poor bird ! thou 
 
 11- 34S> 346: "To note the fighting 'Idst never fear the net nor lime. The 
 
 conflict of her hue. How white and pitfall nor the gin." Steevens compares 
 
 red each other did destroy" (Malone). 3 Henry VI. v. vi. 13 : " The bird that 
 
 82. Therefore . . . owe] Malone hath been limed in a bush With trem- 
 
 notes : "Praise here signifies /& object bling wings misdoubteth every bush." 
 
 of praise, i.e. Lucretia. To owe in old 89. securely] without anxiety; cf. 
 
 \3.ng\x3jgt raea.ns to possess." But CoUa- Richard II. II. i. 266: "And yet we 
 
 tine may be said to owe praise in the strike not but securely perish " ; and 
 
 modern sense because he did not praise Ben Jonson, in Chester's Love's Martyr, 
 
 Lucrece to the full, and in the next line New Shaks. Soc. p. 186: "Man may 
 
 answers may mean pays, as in Measure securely sinne, but safely never." 
 
 for Measure, v. i. 415: "Haste still 90. reT)erend] Dyce ed. 2 reads 
 
70 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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, 95 
 
 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. 105 
 
 He I 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 : 1 10 
 
 Her joy with heav'd-up hand she doth express. 
 
 And wordless so greets heaven for his success. 
 
 93. plaits\ Ewing, pleats Qq. loi. subtle-shining] hyphened by Malone. 
 105. open'd] open Q 3. 
 
 "reverent," which is of course the upon you? — Biondello, what of that ? — 
 
 meaning. Faith, nothing ; but has left me here 
 
 93. plaits] folds, as of a state robe, behind, to expound the meaning or 
 
 Steevens compares Lear, IV. vi. 169 : moral of his signs and tokens. — I pray 
 
 "Robes and furr'd gowns hide all," and thee, moralise them." Lucrece could 
 
 Boswell cites from the same play, I. i. see that Tarquin was looking, but not 
 
 283 : " Time shall unfold what plaited what his looks meant, 
 
 [plighted F l] cunning hides." no. bruised arms] dinted armour. 
 
 99. copi'd] encountered, had dealings Malone cites Richard III. I. i. 5, 6 : 
 with, usually in a hostile sense, as in " Now are our brows bound with 
 Venus and Adonis, 1. 888, but as here in victorious wreaths ; Our bruised arms 
 Hamlet, iii. ii. 60: "Horatio, thou hung up for monuments." See also 
 art e'en as just a man As e'er my con- Henry V. v. Prol. 18 : "His bruised 
 versation coped withal. " helmet and his bended sword " ; and 
 
 100. parling] speaking ; cf. TibuUus, Antony and Cleopatra, IV. xiii. 42 : 
 
 I. ii. 21; "nutus conferre loquaces." "bruised pieces," said of Antony's 
 It implies a desire to come to terms ; see armour. 
 
 Love's Labour's Lost, v. ii. 122; Tam- in. heav'd-up] uplifted; cf. Romeus 
 
 ing of the Shrew, I. i. 117 ; King John, and Juliet, Hazlitt's Shaks. Lib. p. 99: 
 
 II. i. 205. "And then with joyned hands heavd up 
 102. margents] margin, a metaphor into the skies He thanks the Gods"; 
 
 from the summaries or explanatory ibid. p. 126 : " At length doth Juliet 
 
 comments in shoulder and side notes, heave fayntly up her eyes " ; and 
 
 Malone compares Romeo and Juliet, l. Herrick, Noble Numbers (Wks. ed. 
 
 iii. 86, axii Hamlet, v. ii. 162. Grosart, iii. p. 158): "Here a little 
 
 104. moralize] interpret, explain ; cf. child I stand Heaving up my either 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, IV. iv. 75-81 : hand ; Cold as Paddocks though they 
 
 " You saw my master wink and laugh be, Here I lift them up to Thee." 
 
LUCRECE 71 
 
 Far from the purpose of his coming thither, 
 
 He makes excuses for his being there: 
 
 No cloudy show of stormy blustering weather 115 
 
 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, 125 
 
 Save thieves and cares and troubled minds that wake. 
 
 As one of which doth Tarquin lie revolving 
 
 The sundry dangers of his will's obtaining; 
 
 Yet ever to obtain his will resolving. 
 
 Though weak-built hopes persuade him to abstaining: 130 
 
 Despair to gain doth traffic oft for gaining. 
 
 And when great treasure is the meed proposed. 
 Though death be 'adjunct, there's no death supposed. 
 
 Those that much covet are with gain so fond 
 
 That what they have not, that which they possess, 135 
 
 II7. mother] sad source Qq 5-8. 119. stews'] shuts Qq 5-8. 125. them- 
 selves betake] himself e betakes Q i. 126. wake] wakes Q i. 134. with] of 
 Gildon. 135. That what] Qq 1-4, That oft Qq 5-8, Of what Anon., For 
 
 what Capell MS. and Staunton conj. 
 
 116. welkin] sky ; cf. Grosart's 121. Intending] pretending, as in 
 Greene, viii. 68 ; " The Welkin had no Taming of the Shrew, iv. i. 206 : "amid 
 racke that seemd to glide, No duskie this hurly I intend That all is done in 
 vapour did bright Phoebus shroude"; reverent care of her." 
 
 and ix. 202 : " Her face was like to 122. questioned] conversed : see Mer- 
 
 Welkins shine"; and Forbonius and chant of Venice, iv. i. 70; and As You 
 
 Priscere (Shaks. Soc), p. 100: "Now Like It, III. iv. 39 (Malone). 
 
 like the sunne in welkin shines her 130. weak-built hopes] the fact that 
 
 face " ; where there is no trace of the his hopes have no sure foundation. 
 
 old meaning "cloud." 133. adjunct] Steevens compares 
 
 117. Till . . . fear] Cf. Daniel, King John, ui. iii. 57: "Though that 
 Complaint of Rosamond, ed. Chalmers, my death were adjunct of my act, By 
 p. 563,3 : "Com'd was the Night (mother heaven, I would do it." 
 
 of Sleep and Fear) Who with her 134. fond] infatuated, or perhaps 
 
 sable mantle friendly covers The sweet "eager for," as the New Eng. Did. 
 
 stoirn sport of joyful meeting lovers" explains it, citing Hulvet "Fonde or 
 
 (Malone). desierous." 
 
 119. stows] sets or places. No 135. That . . . possess] Ohscuie and 
 
 change is needed. It is used of the probably corrupt. Q 5's emendation is 
 
 mariners in Tempest, I. ii. 230, and of as good as any, and is explained by 
 
 Desdemona in Othello, l. ii. 62. 1. 136, viz, they have not [the enjoyment 
 
72 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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; 145 
 
 Honour for wealth; and oft that wealth doth cost 
 
 The death of all, and all together lost. 
 
 So that in vent'ring ill we leave to be 
 
 The things we are for that which we expect; 
 
 136. their\ the Qq 7, 8. 140. bankrupt^ Gildon, backrout Q i. 147. all 
 together\ Qq 7, 8; altogether Qq 1-6. 148. venfring] ventring^ I. 
 
 of] their money, for they are always For what thou hast tlwu still 
 
 risking it. Hudson's reading "For dost lacke: 
 
 what," etc., sounds abrupt: that must O mindes tormentor, bodies 
 
 be supplied before For ; viz. so fond wracke : 
 
 that they unloose what they possess Vaine promiser of that sweet 
 
 for the sake of what they have not, a reste, 
 
 bird in the hand for two in the bush. Which never any yet possest.' 
 
 Nicholson's conjecture "That while they ' Tam avaro deest quod habet, quam 
 
 have not that which they possess " fails quod non habet,' is one of the sentences 
 
 to dispose of the paradox, and besides of Publius Syrus." 
 
 "while" in the sense of whereas is 138. the projit of excess] the only ad- 
 
 probably post-Shakspearian. vantage ofhaving more than enough ; cf. 
 
 By placing a comma after have instead Two Gentlemen of Verona, III. i. 220 : 
 
 of after not, the rhythm is perhaps "I have fed upon this woe already, 
 
 improved and a. more natural order And now excess of it will make me 
 
 of thought secured — "That what they surfeit"; but the meaning of excess 
 
 have (not that which they possess) maybe "gain "or " interest "as in ^«r- 
 
 They scatter," etc. The money is chant of Venice, I. iii. 63: "I neither 
 
 theirs, but they cannot strictly be lend nor borrow By taking nor by giving 
 
 called its possessors, for it is not in of excess. " 
 
 their possession, being scattered and 144. gage] almost "risk,'' an exten- 
 
 unloosed. VS^ith the reading in the sion of the meaning "pledge." 
 
 text "have" must be regarded as a 147. all . . . lost] i.e. the loss of 
 
 stronger expression than "possess," and all. 
 
 this is Malone's view. He says, 148. in venfring ill] by making a 
 ' ' Poetically speaking, they may be said bad bargain, such as an unluckly in- 
 to scatter what they have not, i.e. what vestment or unsuccessful voyage ; cf. 
 they cannot be /?%/)/ said to have ; what Z Henry IV. Epilogue, 12: "If like 
 they do not enjoy though possessed of it. an ill venture it come unluckily home, 
 . . . A similar phraseology is found in I break." Malone explained; "from 
 Daniel's i?0M?7;fl«(? (1592): 'As wedded an evil spirit of adventure, which 
 widows, wanting what we have.' prompts us to covet what we are not 
 Again, in Cleopatra, a tragedy by the possessed of." 
 
 same author, 1594 : 148. leave] leave off, cease ; cf. 1. 
 
 'their state thou ill definest, 1089, and Venus and Adonis, 422, 
 
 And liv'st to come, in present pinest ; 715. 
 
LUCRECE 73 
 
 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, 155 
 
 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. 
 
 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 ; 165 
 
 Now serves the season that they may surprise 
 
 The silly lambs : pure thoughts are dead and still, 
 While lust and murder 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 ; 
 
 Th' one sweetly flatters, th' 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. 175 
 
 IJI. defect] Probably the meaning is "Now o'er the one half-world 
 
 " the absence of what is really present " Nature seems dead, and wicked 
 
 rather than "something lacking to our dreams abuse 
 
 possessions.'' Rich men suffering from The curtain'd sleep : witchcraft 
 
 the disease of ambition are tortured by celebrates 
 
 the thought that they are destitute of Pale Hecate's offerings ; and 
 
 what they have, viz. abundance. wither'd murder, 
 
 154. Make . . . it] Cf. Macbeth, il. Alarum'd by his sentinel, the 
 
 i. 27: "So I lose none In seeking to wolf, 
 
 augment it " (Steevens). Whose howl's his watch, thus 
 
 157. ^K^ . . . forsake] Cf. Venus with his stealthy pace, 
 
 and Adonis, 1. i6i. With Tarquin's ravishing strides, 
 
 164. comforiable]coaiioxt\r\g,itte.r\gih- towards his design 
 
 ening, or supporting; cf. Richard II. Moves like a ghost." 
 
 II. ii. 76 : "for God's sake speak com- 174. retire] retreat, a substantive, as 
 
 fortable words " ; and Z«a?-, 11. ii. 172 : in Love's Labour's Lost, 11. i. 234: 
 
 " Approach, thou beacon to this under "All his behaviours did make their 
 
 globe. That by thy comfortable beams retire To the court of his eye " ; King 
 
 I may Peruse this letter." John, 11. i. 326: "Behold, From first 
 
 162-168.] Malone appositely cites to last the onset and retire Of both 
 
 Macbeth, u. \. i,<)-<;fi : your armies"; 1 Henry IV. II, iii. 
 
74 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 His falchion on a flint he softly smiteth, 
 That from the cold stone sparks of fire do fly; 
 Whereat a waxen torch forthwith he lighteth, 
 Which must be lode-star to his lustful eye; 
 And to the flame thus speaks advisedly: i8o 
 
 "As from this cold flint I enforc'd this fire, 
 So Lucrece must I force to my desire." 
 
 Here pale with fear he doth premeditate 
 
 The dangers of his loathsome enterprise, 
 
 And in his inward mind he doth debate 185 
 
 What following sorrow may on this arise: 
 
 Then looking scornfully he doth despise 
 
 His naked armour of still-slaughter'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 195 
 
 That spots and stains love's modest snow-white weed. 
 
 " 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; 
 
 181. eitforc'd] enforce Q 8. 195. Lei\ Lest Schmidt conj. 
 
 54: "Thou hast talked Of sallies and plains " still - slaughtered " as "still- 
 retires, of trenches, tents " ; Coriolanus, slaughtering ; unless the poet means to 
 I. vi. 3 : "neither foolish in their describe it as a, passion that is always 
 stands nor cowardly in retire"; and a killing but never dies." But though 
 even in Keats, Endimion, i. 536 : we have in Pericles, I. i. 138 : 
 "frown A lion into growling, loth "Murder's as near to lust as flame to 
 retire. " smoke " (cf. Sonnets, cxxix. 3) , Steevens' 
 
 179. lodestar'] guiding star, usually explanation does not account for 
 
 but not always used of the pole star. New "naked." The meaning may be that 
 
 Eng. Diet, quotes Maundevile, xvii. lust is Tarquin's only defence against 
 
 180: "The sterre of the See, that is "the dangers of his loathsome enter- 
 
 unmevable and that is towarde the prise '' ■- he is as an unarmed man in 
 
 Northe that we clepen [call] the Lode battle sure of destruction. 
 
 Sterre." Steevenscomparesjl/«a!r«»!w«/-- 196. lugisrf] garment (Malone). 
 
 Night's Dream, I. i. 183: "Your eyes 200. tnartial man'] aoMier. See note 
 
 are lode-stars." on 1 Henry VI. I. iv. 74, in this series. 
 
 \Zo. advisedly] deliberately; cf. 200. /a«irjc] love, especially light love. 
 
 Merchant of 'Venice, v. i. 253. See examples in note on Merchant of 
 
 188. naked . . . lust] Steevens ex- Venice, ni. ii. 63, in this series. 
 
LUCRECE 75 
 
 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; 205 
 
 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 bin. 210 
 
 "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? 215 
 
 Or what fond beggar, but to touch the crown, 
 Would with the sceptre straight be stricken 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. 
 
 204. Yea] Yes Qq 6-8. 210. iin] Q's, ieene Q I. 217. stricken] stroke 
 
 Q I, stroken Qq 2-5, strucken Qq 6-8. 
 
 202. digression]ti&x\sgtession,oS&nce; be tinged or coloured, either tenne or 
 
 cf. digressing, i.e. ofFending, in Richard sanguine.' See also Guillim, A Display 
 
 II. V. iii. 66: "And thy abundant of Heraldry (6th ed., 1724, ch. x. 
 
 goodness shall excuse This deadly blot p. 457), where the language describing 
 
 in thy digressing son." the offence resembles Malone's." 
 
 206. loathsome dash] Malone vaguely 207. cipher] describe, express ; cf. 1. 
 
 says that "In the books of heraldry a 1396, and Greene, Friar Bacon (Wks. 
 
 particular mark ofdisgrace is mentioned, ed. Grosart, xiii. 51) '■ "My face held 
 
 by which the escutcheons of those pittie and content at once, And more I 
 
 persons were anciently distinguished could not sipher out by signes But that 
 
 who 'discourteously used a widow, I lovd Lord Lacie with my heart." 
 
 maid or wife against her will.'" Prof. 208. note] mark of disgrace, as in 
 
 Case writes: "The heralds devised Lov^s Labour's Lost, iv. iii. 125, v. 
 
 nine 'Abatements of Honour,' which, ii. 75 > Richard II. i. i. 43. 
 
 however, do not appear to have come 210. bin] In Daniel's Complaint of 
 
 into use. For the offence in question, Rosamond, 1. 761, we find this word 
 
 the abatement was 'an escutcheon re- riming to sin and kin, while in 1. 783 
 
 versed, sanguine, occupying the middle the form "beene " rimes to unseene. 
 
 point of the Escutcheon of arms.' See 212. dream] Cf. Sonnets, cy-siTi. 12: 
 
 A Complete Body of Heraldry (1760, "Before, a joy proposed; behind, a 
 
 vol. i. 169), by J. Edmondson, who adds dream." 
 
 that ' the several figures, when used as 224. ever-during] everlasting. Milton 
 
 Abatements of Honour, are not in any uses it of the gates of Heaven, Par. 
 
 wise to be of metal, but must invariably Lost, vii. 206. 
 
76 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 "O what excuse can my invention make, 225 
 
 When thou shalt charge me with so black a deed? 
 Will not my tongue be mute, my frail joints shake, 
 Mine eyes forgo 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 CoUatinus 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, 235 
 
 As in revenge or quittal of such strife: 
 
 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'll 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." 245 
 
 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 ; 
 247. hot-burmng] hyphened by Gildon. 
 
 229. «x««i^] is excessive ; usedabsol- p. 52: "Last she breathed out this 
 
 utely also in Much Ado, in. iv. 17. saw, Oh that love hath no law"; and 
 
 236. quitta[\ Requital is the form ibid. p. 128: "he sight [sighed] out 
 
 used elsewhere in Shakespeare. this old sayd sawe, Miserrimum est 
 
 239-241.] The clauses "Shameful it fuisse beatum." 
 is," "Hatefulit is,"and "butsheisnot 24^. painted cloth^ "In the old 
 
 her own " are italicised by Malone and tapestries or painted cloths many 
 
 "supposed to be spoken by some airy moral sentences were wrought. So, 
 
 monitor." The monitor is "frozen in If This Be not a Good Play the 
 
 conscience," 1. 247. See the travesty of iPra?'/ «V z»V, by Decker, i6i2 : 'What 
 
 such disputations in Merchant of Venice, says the prodigal child in the painted 
 
 II. ii. cloth?'" (Malone). See also As You 
 242. denial] refusal ; cf. 3 Henry VI. Like It, III. ii. 290 ; and Troilus and 
 
 III. iii. 130 : " Your grant or your Cressida, v. x. 46. 
 
 denial shall be mine." 248. makes dispensation] sets aside 
 
 244. j««/e««] maxim, ^t^ Much Ado, or dispenses with good thoughts, gives 
 
 II. iii. 249 ; Merchant of Venice, I. ii. himself a licence to neglect them. 
 
 II. 249. for vantage] in his own interests, 
 
 244. saw] saying, proverb. See As as if by gaining a commanding position. 
 
 You Like It, II. vii. 156; Twelfth See 1 Henry VI. iv. v. 28: "You 
 
 Night, in. iv. 413 ; Lear, II. ii. 167 ; fled for vantage, every one will swear ; 
 
 Never Too Late, Grosart's Greene, viii. But if I bow, they'll say it was for fear." 
 
LUCRECE 17 
 
 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, 255 
 
 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! 
 
 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 265 
 
 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 ; 
 
 Love thrives not in the heart that shadows dreadeth: 270 
 
 Affection is my captain, and he leadeth; 
 
 And when his gaudy banner is display'd, 
 The coward fights, and will not be dismay'd. 
 
 " Then, childish fear avaunt ! debating die ! 
 
 Respect and reason wait on wrinkled age ! 275 
 
 251. effects] affects Steevens conj. 255. hard] had Q 6, bad Qq 7, 8. 
 
 260. how] now Qq 5-8. 262. struck] Ewing, strooke Qq. 268. pleadeth] 
 
 pleads Qq $-S. 2Jo. dreadeth] dreads Qq ^-S. 271. leadeth] leades Qq ^-S. 
 272. his] Qq 1-3, this Qq 4-8. 
 
 251. effects] Affects is conjectmed by Thou tremblest: and the whiteness 
 
 Steevens, who compares Othello, i. iii. in thy cheek Is apter than thy tongue 
 
 264: "the young affects In me de- to tell thy errand. " 
 
 funct." Malone, in defence of the text, 265. Narcissus] See Venus and Ad- 
 
 quotes Hamlet, ill. iv. 129: "Do not onis, 11. 161, 162. He was not drowned, 
 
 look upon me, Lest with this piteous 267. colotir] pretext, as in Winter's 
 
 action you convert My stern effects," Tale, IV. iv. 566: "What colour for 
 
 where he notes "effects, for actions, my visitation shall I Hold up before 
 
 deeds effected." But see Venus and him?"; Two Gentlemen of Verona, iv. 
 
 Adonis, 1. 605, and note there. ii. 3 : " Under the colour of commend- 
 
 258, 259.] Cf. Venus and Adonis, 1. ing him, I have access my own love to 
 
 590 (Malone). prefer"; and Grosart's Greene, xi. 283 : 
 
 262. Which] viz. the fact that " it is reported ... that you carry your 
 
 Tarquin trembled like a bearer of ill pack but for a colour to shadow \i,e, 
 
 news. See Z Henry IV. I. i. 67-69 : paint over] your other villanies." 
 
 "How doth my son and brother? 274-275. Then, .. affelSo in Xichard 
 
78 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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; 
 
 Then who fears sinking where such treasure lies ? " 280 
 
 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, 285 
 
 So cross him with their opposite persuasion, 
 That now he vows a league, and now invasion. 
 
 Within his thought her heavenly image sits. 
 And in the self-same seat sits Collatine: 
 That eye which looks on her confounds his wits; 
 That eye which him beholds, as more divine, 
 Unto a view so false will not incline; 
 
 276. mine] my Q 3. 
 
 ///. IV. iii. 51 : "I have heard that 
 fearful commenting Is leaden servitor 
 to dull delay : . . . Then fiery expedi- 
 tion be my wing." " Respect " means 
 cautious prudence that coolly weighs 
 all consequences. So in Troilus and 
 Cressida, II. ii. 49: "reason and 
 respect Make livers pale and lustihood 
 deject" (Malone). 
 
 278. My part is youth] A particular 
 play may be referred to, but Lusty 
 Juventus, suggested by Steevens, con- 
 tains no such scene. In the Interlude 
 of Youth, Youth drives Charity from 
 the stage, but with threats, not blows. 
 Malone supposes Shakespeare was 
 thinking of the conflicts between the 
 Devil and the Vice in the old Mor- 
 alities, where the Vice was always 
 victorious and drove the Devil roaring 
 off the stage. But sad \i.e. solemn] 
 pause and deep regard would not roar. 
 Neither is Youth the same character as 
 the Vice. In conftitation of Malone's 
 statements regarding the Vice and the 
 Devil, Prof. Case quotes the following 
 passage from Gayley's Introduction to 
 Representative English Comedies {itjol), 
 p. li. : " About his [the Vice's] function 
 and habits, also, various misconceptions 
 have gathered. I have, for instance, 
 referred to Malone's statement that he 
 was a constant attendant upon the 
 
 290 
 
 Devil. Nothing could be more mis- 
 leading. The Devil appears in at least 
 two morals unattended by a Vice of any 
 kind, and the Vice appears in twenty- 
 five or thirty without a Devil. They 
 appear together in about eight that I 
 know of, and in only four can the Vice 
 be said to ' attend. ' That he eggs the 
 demons on to twit or torment the Devil, 
 I cannot discover in more than two 
 plays — Like will to Like and All for 
 Money. Since the days of Harsnet and 
 Ben Jonson it has been reported that 
 the Vice of the fifteenth and sixteenth 
 centuries made a practice of riding to 
 hell on the Devil's back. But I have 
 already pointed out that he does this in 
 only one play before 1580. The same 
 Like will to Like is the only play in 
 which he specifically ' belabours the 
 fiend.' I know of no other in which 
 that merriment was even likely to occur. 
 In fact, most of these attributions belong, 
 not to the Vice of the morals and inter- 
 ludes, but to one of the later substitutes 
 for him, the Vice-clown, such as Miles 
 in Friar Bacon, or Iniquity in The 
 Devil is an Ass." 
 
 290, 291. That . . . divine] Cf. 
 Troilus and Cressida, v. ii. 107 : 
 " Troilus, farewell ! one eye yet looks 
 on thee ; But with my heart the other 
 eye doth see." 
 
LUCRECE 79 
 
 But with a pure appeal seeks to the heart, 
 Which once corrupted takes the worser part ; 
 
 And therein heartens up his servile powers, 295 
 
 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 : 305 
 
 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; 
 
 But his hot heart, which fond desire doth scorch. 
 Puffs forth another wind that fires the torch: 315 
 
 296. flaiter'd\ Gildon, /iailredQq i, 2, 4 ; flattsred The rest. 301. marcheth'] 
 Qq 1-4, doth march Qq 5-8. 307. Night-wandering] hyphened in Qq 3-8. 
 
 295. servile powers] The mortal in- with their hard naily soles The stones 
 
 struments of Julius Casar, n. i. 66, in Fleet Street." 
 where see note in this series. 307. night -wandering] The weasel's 
 
 303. ye^zVfii] draws back ; ci, Richard wanderings in houses are noted by the 
 
 //. II. ii. 46: "That he, our hope, elder Pliny, xxix. 4: "in domibusnostris 
 
 might have retir'd his power" (Ma- oberrat, et catulos suos . . . quotidie 
 
 lone). transfert, mutatque sedem." Thepara- 
 
 306. The . . . heard] To cause site in the Stichus of Plautus never 
 
 Tarquin to be heard, to give warning saw anything less stationary (in. ii.) : 
 
 of his coming, the threshold rasps, " Nam incertiorem nullam novi bestiam, 
 
 makes a jarring sound, against the door. Quaene et ipsa decies in die mutat 
 
 Somewhat similar uses of "grate " are locum.'' 
 
 found in Pilgrimage to Paradise, 1592 313. conduct] guide, conductor. So 
 
 (N. Breton's Works, ed. Grosart), in Someo and Juliet, wA. 116: "Come, 
 
 12, a ; "They grate on crusts when bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide " 
 
 other men have dinde"; and Milton, (Malone). Cf. Daniel, Complaint of 
 
 /'an Zoj/, ii. 8S1 : "op'n file With im- Rosamond, 1. 583: "The Labyrinth 
 
 petuous recoile ayd jarring sound The she entred by that threed That serv'd 
 
 infernal dores, and on thir hinges grate a conduct to my absent Lord " ; and 
 
 Harsh Thunder." New Eng. Diet. Grosart's Greene, vi. 120 : " Love that 
 
 quotes The Black Booke, Middleton, ed. for my labors thought to guide me to 
 
 Bullen, viii. 8 : "And how they grate fancies pavillion, was my conduct to a 
 
 castle." 
 
80 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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' ornaments are chaste." 
 
 But all these poor forbiddings could not stay him ; 
 
 He in the worst sense consters their denial: 
 
 The doors, the wind, the glove, that did delay him, 325 
 
 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. 
 
 "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, 335 
 
 The merchant fears, ere rich at home he lands." 
 
 319. needle] neeld Malone. 324. consters'] Qq I, 2, construes The rest. 
 
 331. sometime] sometimes Q 3. 
 
 318. rashes] These or sweet-smelling 85 : " I'll make a ghost of him that 
 herbs were used as carpets in old lets me " ; Grosart's Greene, iii. 147 : 
 English houses; cf. Cymbeline, II. ii. "What shall I hide from my friend 
 13; "Our Tarquin thus Did softly saith Homer? Or what letteth that 
 press the rushes." See also Taming of I may not thinke my selfe alone when 
 the Shrew, iv. i. 48 ; and Romeo and I am with him ? " ; and ibid. xiii. 222 : 
 Juliet, I. iv. 36. " But if the Lambe should let the 
 
 319. needle] Malone here reads neeld, Lyon's way, By my advise the Lambe 
 and neelds in Midsummer - Nigh fs should lose her life." Below, 1. 330, 
 Dream, III. ii. 204, comparing Pericles, lets are impediments ; cf. Henry V. v. ii. 
 V. Gower, 1. 5: "and with her neeld 65 : "my speech entreats That I may 
 composes Nature's own shape, of bud, know the let, why gentle Peace Should 
 bird, branch, or berry." not expel these inconveniences." 
 
 Neeld is found in Fairfax's Tasso, 333. sneaped] probably "pinched 
 
 Jerusalem Delivered, xx. xcv. 8 : "see with cold." See Love's Ldbout's Lost, 
 
 (he cry'd) ... for thee fit weapons I. i. 100 : " an envious sneaping frost 
 
 were Thy neeld and spindle, not a That bites the first-born infants of the 
 
 sword and spear." In Gammer Curton' s spring." Also in Winter's Tale, J. ii. 
 
 Needle, the viord is geaeraily neele. 13: "sneaping winds." Malone says 
 
 327. dial] clock or watch. New sneaped is checked. He cites S Henry 
 Eng. Diet, cites T. Washington tr. IV. 11. i. 133 : " My lord, I will not 
 Nicholafs Voy. I. xvii. 19, h (1585): undergo this sneap without reply." 
 "The Ambassadour sent his presents 335. shelves] sandbanks or ledges of 
 . . . one small clock or dyall " ; and rock. See Daniel, Rosamond, 98, 99 : 
 As You Like It, 11. vii. 20. "Ah me (poore wench) on this un- 
 
 328. f^yJff] which, referring to "bars." happy shelf I grounded me, And cast 
 328 let] hinder ; cf. Hamlet, I. iv. away my selfe," 
 
LUCRECE 81 
 
 Now is he come unto the chamber door, 
 
 That shuts him from the heaven of his thought, 
 
 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 345 
 
 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 
 
 " 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. 355 
 
 The eye of heaven is out, and misty night 
 Covers the shame that follows sweet delight." 
 
 This said, his guilty hand pluck'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. 
 
 Into the chamber wickedly he stalks _ 365 
 
 And gazeth on her yet unstained bed. 
 
 347. rfsy] ,^f Steevens conj. 351. my guide] and guide Q^ "; . 352. with] 
 with dauntless Capell MS. 
 
 341. So . . . wrought] His sin has heaven have any grievous plague in 
 made him so unlike himself. store ... O let them keep it till thy 
 
 342. prey . . . pray] Steevens re- sins be ripe " ; and iv. iv. 72 : 
 marks that "A jingle not less disgusting "Richard yet lives, hell's black in- 
 occurs in Ovid's narration of the same telligencer, Only reserved /'/ie/r factor." 
 event, Fasti^ II. 787 : ' Hostis, ut 349. fact] .deed, especially used of- a 
 hospes, iuit penetralia CoUatina.'" crime. 
 
 347. they] Steevens conjectures he, 356. out] Cf. Macbeth, . 11, i. 5 : 
 
 which, he says, we must read or "There's husbandry in heaven: Their 
 
 "acknowledge the want of grammar." candles are all out." The sun is called 
 
 The alternative is pre^ferable, and "the eye of heaven'' in Richard II. 
 
 Malone parallels the inaccuracy from I. iii. 275, in. ii. 37 ; and . Titus 
 
 Richard III. I. iii. 217, 219 : " If Andronicus, IV. ii. 59. 
 6 
 
82 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 watch-word to his hand full soon 370 
 To draw the cloud that hides the silver moon. 
 
 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 : 375 
 
 Whether it is that she reflects so bright, 
 
 That dazzleth them, or else some shame supposed; 
 
 But blind they are, and keep themselves enclosed. 
 
 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. 385 
 
 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 
 
 Where, like a virtuous monument, she lies, 
 To be admired 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 the grass, 395 
 
 With pearly sweat, resembling dew of night. 
 
 Her eyes, like marigolds, had sheath'd their light, 
 
 371. the silver] this silver S. Walker conj. 372. fiery -pointed] hyphened 
 by MsXane., fire-ypointed Steevens conj. 
 
 371. draw] draw aside, as in Troilus ii. 32 : " O sleep, thou ape of death, 
 and Cressida, in. ii. 49 : " Come, draw lie dull upon her ! And be her sense 
 this curtain, and let's see your picture." but as a monument Thus in a chapel 
 
 372. fiery-pointed] Steevens quotes lying " (Steevens) ; and AlPs Well 
 Milton, On Shakespear, 1. 4 : " Under that Ends Well, IV. ii. 6 : "If the 
 a Star-ypointing Pyramid " in favour quick fire of youth light not your 
 of his conjecture " fire-ypointed." mind, You are no maiden, but a monu- 
 
 375. wink] close, as is clear from ment." 
 
 11. 378 and 383. See 1. 458, and Venus 397. like marigolds] See Winter's 
 
 arid Adonis, 11. 90 and 121. Tale, IV. iv. 105 ; " The marigold that 
 
 391. monument] Cf. Cymbeline, II. goes to bed wi' the sun." 
 
LUCRECE 83 
 
 And canopied in darkness sweetly lay, 
 Till they might open to adorn the day. 
 
 t-Ier hair, like golden threads, play'd with her breath; 400 
 
 modest wantons ! wanton modesty ! 
 
 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, 405 
 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 desired? 415 
 
 What he beheld, on that he firmly doted, 
 
 And in his will his wilful eye he tired. 
 
 With more than admiration he admired 
 
 Her azure veins, her alabaster skin. 
 
 Her coral lips, her snow-white dimpled chin. 420 
 
 As the grim lion fawneth 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; 
 
 419. alabaster^ Q 6, alablaster The rest. 
 
 398. canopied in darkness] Cf. 408, 409. A . . . kneTv] Malone 
 
 Cymbeline, 11. ii. 18-22: "the flame compares Ovid, Fasti, ii. 803, 804: 
 
 o' the taper Bows toward her, and " Effugiat ? positis urguentur pectora 
 
 would under-peep her lids, To see the palmis. Nunc primum externa pectora 
 
 enclosed lights now canopied Under tacta manu." Steevens ascribed to 
 
 these windows." "Amner" a criticism of "maiden," 
 
 402. map] representation, picture, which has been repeated in substance 
 
 See Never Too Late, Grosart's Greene, by some modern commentators, 
 
 viii. 39: "Her countenance is the 413. ^rase] thrust or drive ; cf. ^jVj/ 
 
 verie map of modestie " ; and Orpharion, Part of the Contention, v. i. 22 : 
 
 ibid. xii. 14: "I see thy thoughts to "And heave proud Somerset from out 
 
 be full of passions, and thy face the map the Court" ; and 1. 39 : " To heave the 
 
 ofsorrowes, the true notes of a lover." Duke of Somerset from thence." 
 
 Malone cites Richard II. v. i. 12: 424. ^«a/^«rf] tempered, moderated ; 
 
 "map of honour," ». phrase which cf. Two Gentlemen of Verona, II. vii. 
 
 occurs also in S Henry VI. in. i. 203 ; 22 : " I do not seek to quench your 
 
 cf. "map of ^oe," Titus Andronictis, love's hot fire But qualify the fire's 
 
 III. ii. 12. extreme rage." 
 
84 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Slack'd, not suppress'd; for standing by her side, 425 
 
 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, 435 
 
 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, 440 
 Left their round turrets destitute and pale. 
 
 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 : 445 
 
 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 controU'd. 
 
 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 'tis ! but she, in worser taking, 
 From sleep disturbed, heedfully doth view 
 The sight which makes supposed terror true. 455 
 
 439. breasf] breasts Qq 5-8. 
 
 428. straggHng\ Usually said con- affect or meditate fell exploits, they are 
 temptuously, e.g. of camp followers or supposed to be actually engaged in 
 banditti. See Richard III. v. iii. 327 carnage." 
 
 (stragglers) ; Timon of Athens, v. i. 436. commends'] entrusts, commits ; 
 
 7 ; and Greene's Orlando Furioso, 1. cf. Lov^s Labour's Lost, III. i. 169 : 
 
 177: "what is Orlando, but a "And to her white hand see thou do 
 
 stragling mate ? " commend This seal'd-up counsel " ; 
 
 429. effecting] Steevens's conjecture, Henry VI I L v. i. 17: "I love you ; 
 "affecting," is needless, as Malone And durst commend a secret to your 
 showed by the context. Tarquin's ear." 
 
 veins are awaiting the onset, 1. 432, 442. cabinet] See note on Venus and 
 but "the slaves here mentioned do not Adonis, 1. 854. 
 
LUCRECE 85 
 
 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 1 — 
 
 May feel her heart, poor citizen ! distress'd, 465 
 
 Wounding itself to death, rise up and fall, 
 
 Beating her bulk, that his hand shakes withal. 
 
 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 475 
 
 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, 
 
 469. the breach] his breach Q 3. 472. Who] When Q 3. 
 
 459. antics] grotesque figures ; all his bulk, And end his being." See 
 perhaps a metaphor from the stage : also Golding's Gvid, viii. 998 : " Her 
 Giesae's James IV. opens with a dance skinne was starched and so sheere a 
 of "Antiques." That they were ugly man might well espye The very bowels 
 is sufficiently clear from a passage in in her bulk how every one did lye." 
 Toxophilus (Arber, p. 67): "To go 471. heartless] disheartened, timid; 
 on a man his tiptoes, stretching cf. Romeo and Juliet, I. i. 73; "What, 
 out th' one of his armes forwarde, art thou drawn among these heartless 
 the other backwarde, which if he blered hinds ? " 
 
 out his tunge also, might be thought to 475. prayers] a dissyllable, as it 
 
 dance Anticke verye properlie." usually is in Elizabethan English ; cf. 
 
 460. shadows] forms, pictures. See Daniel, Delia, xi. 11. i, 2, 11 : "Tears, 
 note on Merchant of Venice, 11. ix. 65, vowes, and prayers winne the hardest 
 in this series. hart," etc. 
 
 467. bulk] frame, body. See Richard 476, 477. colour] Steevens notes the 
 
 ///. I. iv. 40 : " But smother'd it same play on the same words in ^ 
 
 within my panting bulk Which almost Henry IV. v. v. 91: "This that you 
 
 burst." Malone compares Hamlet, 11. heard was but a colour. — A colour that I 
 
 i. 95 : " He raised a sigh so piteous and fear you will die in. Sir John." See 
 
 profound That it did seem to shatter also note on 1. 267, ante. 
 
86 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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, 485 
 
 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; 
 
 I think the honey guarded with a sting ; 
 
 All this beforehand counsel comprehends: 
 
 But will is deaf and hears no heedful friends; 49S 
 
 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, Soo 
 
 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, 505 
 
 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 $10 
 
 With trembling fear, as fowl hear falcon's bells. 
 
 482. never-conquet^d] hyphened in Qq 3, 4- 49°- "'"•f. «''] '^ '^"^ Ql 3-8- 
 491. attempt^ attempts Qq 5-8. 507. his\ her Anon. conj. 
 
 493. / . . . sting], I ain aware that 507. CouchetK\ causes to crouch^; cf. 
 
 the honey is guarded with a sting Timon of Athens, II. 11. 181 : one 
 
 (Malone). cloud of winter showers, These flies 
 
 500. affection s'\ desire's or passion's, are couch'd." The intransitive use is 
 
 See Much Ado, u. iii. 106: "She loves more common^.^. Alfs Well, IV. 1. 
 
 him with an enraged affection: it is 24: " But couch, ho ! here he comes, 
 past the infinite of thought"; King ^ii. as . . . iells] Steevens cites 
 
 John, V. ii. 41 : "And great affections S Henry VI. I. 1. 47= nor he that 
 
 wrestling in thy bosom Doth make an loves him best . . . Dares stir a wing 
 
 earthquake of nobility. " if Warwick shake his bells. 
 
LUCRECE 87 
 
 "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'll slay, S 1 5 
 
 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. 
 
 " 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. 525 
 
 " 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 sometime is compacted 530 
 
 In a purer compound; being so applied. 
 
 His venom in effect is purified. 
 
 "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, 535 
 
 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; 
 
 530. sometime] sometimes Qq 6-8. 531. a pure compound] purest com- 
 
 poundes Qq 5-8. 540. dead-killing] hyphened in Qq 3, 4. 
 
 522. nameless]3snulliusjilius. See xiv. 304: "And like a father that 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona, III. i. 319- affection beares So tendred he the 
 
 323 (Malone). poore with inward teares." 
 
 530. compacted] compounded. In 537. wipe] More disgraceful than the 
 
 Venus and Adonis, 1. 149, occurs the brand with which slaves were marked 
 
 older and correct form compact. (Malone). 
 
 534. Tender] Deal kindly with, i.e. 540. cockatrice] otherwise called basi- 
 
 do not reject ; cf. Carde of Fancie, lisk. It is fully described in Topsell's 
 
 Grosart's Greene, iv. 165 : " The young History of Serpents, pp. 677-681, where 
 
 Storkes so tender the old ones in their the power of its eye is specially noted : 
 
 age, as they will not suffer them so "Among all living creatures there is 
 
 much as to flie to get their owne none that perisheth sooner than doth 
 
 living " ; and A Maiden's Dreame, ibid, a man by the poyson of a Cockatrice, 
 
88 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 While she, the picture of true piety, 
 
 Like a white hind under the gripe's sharp claws, 
 
 Pleads, in a wilderness where are no laws, 
 
 To the rough beast that knows no gentle right, 545 
 
 Nor aught obeys but his foul appetite. 
 
 But when a black-faced 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, 550 
 Hindering their present fall by this dividing; 
 So his unhallow'd haste her words delays. 
 And moody Pluto winks while Orpheus plays. 
 
 Yet, foul night-waking cat, he doth but dally, 
 
 While in his hold-fast foot the weak mouse panteth: 555 
 
 543. under] beneath Qq 5-8. 547. Buf] As Sewell, Look, Malone (Capell 
 
 MS.). 548. mountains] mountaine Qq 5-8. 549. dark womb] hyphened 
 
 in Qq 1-3. 550. blows] Malone, blow Qq. 
 
 for with his sight he killeth him, be- 
 cause the beams of the Cockatrices eyes 
 do corrupt the visible spirit of a man, 
 which visible spirit corrupted, all the 
 other spirits coming from the brain and 
 life of the heart, are thereby corrupted, 
 and so the man dyeth : even as ... a 
 Wolf suddenly meeting a Man, taketh 
 from him his voyce, or at the least-wise 
 maketh him hoarse." See also Selimus, 
 1673-1686 (Grosart's Greene, xiv. 
 290) : " From out their egges [those of 
 the Ibides] riseth the basiliske, Whose 
 only sight killes millions of men . . . 
 But as from Ibis springs the Basiliske 
 Whose only touch burneth up stones 
 and trees ; So Selimus hath prov'd a 
 Cocatrice." For Shakespeare's refer- 
 ences, see Twelfth Night, III. iv. 215 ; 
 Richard HI. IV. i. 55 ; Romeo and 
 Juliet, III. ii. 47. 
 
 543. gripe] " The gryphon was 
 meant," says Malone, " which in our 
 author's time was usually written grype 
 or gripe." Cotgrave has " Griffon m. a 
 Gripe or Griffon." Steevens, though 
 he refers to Cotgrave, quotes Reed's 
 Dodsley, i. 124, "where gripe seems 
 to be used for vulture": "Ixion's 
 wheel Or cruell gripe to gnaw my 
 growing harte " ; and Jonson, Alchemist, 
 II. i. : "let the water in glass E be 
 filter'd And put into the gripe's egg," 
 and suggests that " perhaps anciently 
 those birds which are remarkable for 
 griping their prey in their talons were 
 
 occasionally called gripes." That 
 vultures were called gripes is clear 
 from the complaint of Turner (1544), 
 De Historia Avium, Cambridge ed. , p. 
 178, that the vulture is wrongly called 
 gryps, "quum gryps sit 'a griffin,' 
 animal ut creditur volatile & quad- 
 rupes"; but vultures do not prey on 
 living animals, and Shakespeare may 
 here refer to the eagle. The bird of 
 Prometheus was an eagle and is often 
 called "gripe," as by Sydney, Astrophel 
 and Stella, xiv. : " Upon whose breast 
 a fiercer Gripe doth tire Than did on 
 him who first stale down the fire " ; and 
 by Greene, Mourning Garment (ed. 
 Grosart, ix. 183) : " Fie upon such 
 Gripes as cease not to prey upon poore 
 Prometheus untill they have devoured 
 up his very entrailles." See, however, 
 " vulture folly," I. 556. 
 
 547. But] Malone read Look on the 
 grounds that there is "no opposition 
 whatsoever between this and the pre- 
 ceding passage" and that "Look" 
 often introduces a simile, as in 11. 372, 
 694, and Venus and Adonis, 67, 289, 
 815 ; but Boswell explains, rightly, " He 
 knows no gentle right, but still her 
 words delay him, as a gentle gust blows 
 away a black-faced cloud." 
 
 552. delays] delay. See Abbott's 
 Shakesperian Grammar, pp. 235-237, 
 and note on Venus and Adonis, 1. 1 1 28, 
 ante. 
 
LUCRECE 89 
 
 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. 560 
 
 Her pity-pleading eyes are sadly fixed 
 
 In the remorseless wrinkles of his face; 
 
 Her modest eloquence with sighs is mixed, 
 
 Which to her oratory adds more grace. 
 
 She puts the period often from his place, 565 
 
 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, 
 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 575 
 
 With such black payment as thou hast pretended ; 
 
 572. power] powers Qq 7, 8. 
 
 557. wantethyis\aiN3,-Bi.;cf. Eafhues midst of sentences. Throttle their 
 
 his Censure to Philautus, Grosart's practised accent in their fears, And in 
 
 Greene, vi. 260: "it is possible to conclusion dumbly have broke oflf." 
 
 want others, having this wisdom ; but 569. gentry] good birth, but perhaps 
 
 to possess none, if this be absent." implying nobility of character or man- 
 
 559. penetrable] perhaps connoting ners, as in Hamlet, n. ii. 22: "gentry 
 
 pity or tenderness ; cf. Hamlet, iii. iv. and good will " ; and Greene, Mena- 
 
 36: "And let me wring your heart; phon (ed. Grosart, vi. 79): "his 
 
 for so I shall, If it be made of pene- lookes in shepheard's weede are Lordlie, 
 
 trable stuff." Contrast "impenetrable" his voyce pleasing, his wit full of 
 
 used of Shylock, Merchant of Venice, gentrie " ; and Quippe for an Upstart 
 
 III. iii. 18. Courtier (xi. 267): "he holdeth not 
 
 562. remorseless wrinkles] pitiless the worth of his Gentry to be & 
 frown. For " remorseless " see ,? ^ifKrc consist in velvet breeches." 
 VI. III. i. 213: "And as the butcher 576. pretended] proposed, intended; 
 takes away the calf . . . Even so zi. Princlie Mirrour of Peereles Modestie, 
 remorseless have they borne him Grosart's Greene, iii. 14: "each of 
 hence " ; and for " wrinkle," King them carefuUie conjecturing by what 
 yb^K, II. i. 505 :" the frowning vreinkle meanes hee might bring to pass his 
 of her brow," and Richard II . II. i. pretended journey"; ibid. p. 75: 
 170 : "sour my patient cheek Or "neither shall these painted speeches 
 bend one wrinkle on my sovereign's prevaile against our pretended pur- 
 face." pose " ; and Second Part of Conny Catch- 
 
 565-567. She . . . speaks] Steevens ing (x. 83): "under that colour of 
 
 compares Midsummer-Nights Dream, carelesnes doe shadow their pretended 
 
 V. i. 96-98: "make periods in the knavery." 
 
90 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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. 585 
 
 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 wreck-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! 
 
 Soft pity enters at an iron gate, 59S 
 
 " 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, 600 
 
 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! 
 
 If in thy hope thou dar'st do such outrage, 605 
 
 What dar'st thou not when once thou art a king ? 
 
 590. wreck-threatening^ wracke-threatning Q^ i, 2. 
 
 579. j,4rai;] shot, act of shooting. See woodman, ha? Speak I like Heme 
 Toxophilus, ed. Arber, p. 146: "An the hunter?" 
 
 other I sawe, whiche at everye shoote, 586. hewve\ See note on 1. 413. 
 
 after the loose, lyfted up his ryght 592. converi] are turned or changed 
 
 legge so far, that he was ever in into ; cf. ^«ir/5 ^(^0, 1, i. 1 23 :" Courtesy 
 
 jeoperdye of faulyng." Cf. Love's itself must convert to disdain, ^ if you 
 
 Labour's Lost, IV. i. 10 ; and Z Henry come much in her presence " ; and 
 
 IV. III. ii. 49. Richard IL v. i. 66: "The love of 
 
 580. woodman'] sportsman ; used of a wicked men converts to fear ; That 
 hunter in Cymbeline, III. vi. 28 : " Vou, fear to hate." 
 
 Polydore, have proved best woodman 602. govern] control. See 11. 624, 
 and Are master of the feast." Cf. 625: "Hast thou command ? . . . 
 Merry Wives, v. v. 30: "Am I a command thy rebel will." 
 
LUCRECE 91 
 
 O, be remember'd, no outrageous thing 
 
 From vassal actors can be wip'd away ; 
 Then kings' misdeeds cannot be hid in clay. 
 
 "This deed will make thee only lov'd for fear; 6io 
 
 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, 615 
 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? 
 
 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 : 625 
 
 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 ? 630 
 
 'Think but how vile a spectacle it were, 
 To view thy present trespass in another. 
 Men's faults do seldom to themselves appear ; 
 Their own transgressions partially they smother : 
 
 607. reinembei' d\ Malone, remembred Qq. 6io. wiir\ shall Qq 5-8. 
 
 616. subjects'^ subject Q 3. 
 
 607. be remember' d\ remember, do 629. paiiern'cl] using it as a pre- 
 not forget. See As You Like It, m. v. cedent ; cf. Measure for Measure, II. i. 
 131: "And, now I am remember'd, 30: "When I that censure him do so 
 scorn'd at me"; and Taming of the offend, Let mine own judgment pattern 
 Shrew, IV. iii. 96: "Marry, and did ; out my death, And nothing come in 
 but if you be remember'd, I did not bid partial." See also Winter's Tale, III. 
 you mar it to the time." ii. 37: "which is more Than history 
 
 608. vassal actors'] subjects who do can pattern." 
 
 it. 634. partially'] showing favour, using 
 
 615. ^/ajj] Malone compares ^/?««?y partiality, as in Othello, II. iii. 2i8 : 
 
 /F'. II. iii. 31 : " He was the mark and "If partially affined or leagued in 
 
 glass, copy and book. That fashion'd office. Thou dost deliver more or less 
 
 others." than truth. Thou art no soldier." 
 
92 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 This guilt would seem death-worthy in thy brother. 635 
 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 645 
 
 Turns not, but swells the higher by this let. 
 
 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 650 
 Add to his flow, but alter not his taste." 
 
 "Thou art," quoth she, "a sea, a sovereign king; 
 
 And, lo, there falls into thy boundless flood 
 
 Black lust, dishonour, shame, misgoverning, 
 
 Who seek to stain the ocean of thy blood. 655 
 
 If all these petty ills shall change thy good. 
 
 Thy sea within a puddle's womb is hearsed. 
 And not the puddle in thy sea dispersed. 
 
 " 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 Issser 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. 665 
 
 651. to his\ Qq I, 2 ; to t/ie Q ^ ; to this Qq 4-8. not his] not the Qq 7, 8. 
 665. low shrubs'] hyphened in Qq I, 2. 
 
 637. askance] turn. See Abbott, 646, let] See note on 1. 328. 
 
 Shakes. Gram. p. 5. 657. hearsed] confined as in a coffin ; 
 
 639. thy rash relier] "which con- cf. Merchant of Venice, III. i. 93; 
 fides too rashly in thy present disposi- Hamlet, I. iv. 47. For a history of 
 tion and does not foresee its necessary the word, see Skeat, Etymological Diet. 
 change " (Schmidt). 659. So . . . slave] Malone com- 
 
 640. repeal] recall from banishment, pares Lear, IV. iii. 16 : "It seem'd she 
 See Coriolanus, IV. vii. 32 : " Their was a queen Over her passion ; who, 
 people Will be as rash in the repeal, as most rebel-like, Sought to be king o'er 
 hasty To expel him thence." her." 
 
LUCRECE 93 
 
 " 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." 
 
 This said, he sets his foot upon the light. 
 
 For light and lust are deadly enemies : 
 
 Shame folded up in blind concealing night, " 675 
 
 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 controll'd 
 Entombs her outcry in her lips' sweet fold : 
 
 For with the nightly linen that she wears 680 
 
 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, 685 
 
 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, 695 
 
 Make slow pursuit, or altogether balk 
 
 The prey wherein by nature they delight, 
 
 So surfeit-taking Tarquin fares this night: 
 His taste delicious, in digestion souring. 
 Devours his will, that liv'd by foul devouring. 700 
 
 684. prone] Qq I, ^, 4 ; proud Q 3 ; foule Qq 5-8. 698. fares] feares Qq 
 
 677. The . . , m«j] The same figure 691. converts] See note, I. 592. 
 is used by Ovid, J^asii, ii. 800 : "lUa 696. *fl//4] miss or let slip ; of. Twelfth 
 
 nihil: . . . Sed tremit, ut quondam Night, m. ii. 26: "This was look'd 
 
 stabulis deprensa relictis, Parva sub for at your hand, and this was balk'd : 
 
 infesto cum jacet agna lupo " (Ma- the double gilt of this opportunity you 
 
 lone). let time wash off." 
 
94 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 O, deeper sin than bottomless conceit 
 
 Can comprehend in still imagination ! 
 
 Drunken Desire must vomit his receipt, 
 
 Ere he can see his own abomination. 
 
 While Lust is in his pride, no exclamation 705 
 
 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, 715 
 
 Who this accomplishment so hotly chased ; 
 
 For now against himself he sounds this doom. 
 
 That through the length of times he stands disgraced : 
 
 Besides, his soul's fair temple is defaced. 
 
 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. 
 
 And by their mortal fault brought in subjection 
 
 Her immortality, and made her thrall 725 
 
 To living death and pain perpetual : 
 
 Which in her prescience she controlled still, 
 But her foresight could not forestall their will. 
 
 709. knit hrow\ hyphened in Qq I, 2. 711. bankruff] Gildon, banckrout 
 
 Qq 1-4, bankerout Qq 5-8. 
 
 701. bottomless conceif] boundless i. 133: " anger is like A full-hot horse, 
 
 imagination. who being allow'd his way. Self-mettle 
 
 703. receipt'] As in Coriolanus, I. i. tires him " (Steevens). A similar 
 
 116 : "it tauntingly replied To the dis- passage is in Julius Ccesar, IV. ii. 23 : 
 
 contented members, the mutinous parts ' ' But hollow men, like horses hot at 
 
 That envied his receipt." hand, Make gallant show and promise 
 
 705. exclamation] Perhaps here, as of their mettle : But when they should 
 
 often, reproach rather than "outcry." endure the bloody spur. They fall their 
 
 In /J/«fA.4(&, III. V. 28, Dogberry, who crests, and like deceitful jades, Sink 
 
 has just comprehended two auspicious in the trial. " 
 
 persons, says: "I hear as good ex- 716. accomplishment] Almost "act" 
 
 clamation on your worship as of any or " event," the fulfilment of his desire, 
 
 man in the city. " See also King John, A somewhat similar use is found in 
 
 II. i. 558: "Yet in some measure Henry V. I. Prologue, 30: "Turning 
 
 satisfy her so That we shall stop her the accomplishment [events] of many 
 
 exclamation." years Into an hour-glass." 
 
 707. like a jade] Cf. Henry VIII, I. 
 
LUCRECE 95 
 
 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. 735 
 
 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 cast-away; 
 
 He in his speed looks for the morning light; 745 
 
 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. 
 
 " They think not but that every eye can see 750 
 
 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, 755 
 
 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 
 
 729. Even] Eu'n Q i. dark night] hyphened in Qq 1-3. 
 
 741. exclaiming on] denouncing, your stubborn usage of the pope ; But 
 
 crying out against. See note on Venus since you are a gentle convertite, My 
 
 ■ and Adonis, 1. 930. tongue shall hush again the storm of 
 
 743. convertite] penitent. See As war." 
 youLikeIt,v.i\.it)0: " The duke hath 747. 'scapes] misdeeds; cf. Greene's 
 
 put on a religious life. ... To him Metamorphosis, ed. Grosart, ix. 47 : 
 
 will I : out of these convertites There " blaming the gods that would suffer 
 
 is much matter to be heard and learn'd"; such a gigglet to remaine in heaven 
 
 Bxid King John, \ . i. 19: "It was my repeating her lawlesse loves with Adonis^ 
 
 breath that blew this tempest up Upon and her scapes with Mavors." 
 
96 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 ! 
 
 Dim register and notary of shame! 765 
 
 Black stage for tragedies and murders fell ! 
 
 Vast sin-concealing chaos ! nurse of blame ! 
 
 Blind muffled bawd ! dark harbour for defame ! 
 Grim cave of death! whisp'ring conspirator 
 With close-tongued treason and the ravisher! 770 
 
 " O hateful, vaporous and foggy Night ! 
 
 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 775 
 
 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 exhal'd unwholesome breaths make sick 
 
 The life of purity, the supreme fair, 780 
 
 Ere he arrive his weary noon-tide prick ; 
 
 And let thy musty vapours march so thick 
 
 766. murders'] Gildon, murthers Qq. 768. for] of Qq 6-8. 778. rolten 
 damps] rotting damp Q 3. 782. musty] mustie Qq I, 2 ; mystie Qq 3, 4 ; mysty 
 Qq 5, 6 ; misty Qq 7, 8. vapours] vapour Q 3. 
 
 761. dose] enclose. New. Eng. Diet, this centre Observe degree, priority, 
 
 cites Paston Letters, 'i^o. 5, i. 19: "I and place, Insisture, course, proportion, 
 
 send you copies . . . closed with this season, form, Office, and custom, in all 
 
 bille"; and Bacon, Sylva, § 343: line of order." 
 " Fruit closed in Wax, keepeth fresh." 779, 780. Let . . . fair] So in Lear, 
 
 766. Black . . . tragedies] "In our 11. iv. 168: "Infect her beauty. You 
 
 author's time, I believe, the stage vi^as fen-suck'd fogs" (Steevens). For 
 
 hung with black when tragedies were "supreme" see the list of words 
 
 performed" (Malone). Steevens, on 1 variously accented, in Schmidt, Shaks. 
 
 Henry VI. I. i. I cites Sidney, Arcadia, Lex. p. 1415, a. 
 
 bk. ii. ; "There arose even with the 781. arrive] arrive at, reach; as in 
 
 sun, a vail of dark clouds before his Julius Casar, i ii. 1 10 ; and Milton, 
 
 face, which shortly, like ink poured Paradise Lost, ii. 409 : " ere he arrive 
 
 into water, had blacked over all the The happy isle." 
 
 face of heaven, preparing as it were a 781. weary rwon-tideprick]%ie.m\n^y 
 
 mournful stage for a tragedy to be so called from the hour-marks on the 
 
 played on." For other illustrations, dial. %t.& Romeo and Juliet, l\.'vi.\l<). 
 
 see Hart's 1 Henry VI. in this series, Steevens compares 3 Henry VI. I. iv. 
 
 768. defa?ne] disgrace; cf. 11. 817, 34: "Now Phaethon hath tumbled 
 
 1033. from his car, And made an evening at 
 
 y y 4. proportion' d]regu\sx 01c legulzted the noon-tide prick." 
 interchange of day and night. Propor- 782. musty] musty may be right ; it 
 
 tion seems to mean order or regularity is quite in keeping with the context, 
 
 in Troilus and Cressida, I. iii. 87 : " The " rotten damps," etc. 
 heavens themselves, the planets, and 
 
LUCRECE 97 
 
 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, 785 
 
 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, 795 
 
 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 800 
 
 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! 805 
 
 " Make me not object to the tell-tale Day ! 
 The light will show, character'd in my brow, 
 
 783. ranks] rackes Q 3, 786. silver-sMmng] hyphened by Gildon. he . . , 
 distain] he . . . disdaine Qq 5, 6, 8 ; Ae . , . disdain Q 7 ; him . . . disdain 
 Sewell. 79I- palmers' chat makes] Palmers that make Qq 3, 8 ; Palmers that 
 makers Qq 5, 6 ; Palmers that makes Q 7- their] the Q 3. 799. foul-reeking] 
 hyphened by Ewing. 807. will] shal Qq 4-6, 8 ; shall Q 7. my] thy Q 4. 
 
 786. distain] defile ; as in Richard the next line Richard II. II. iii. 4-7, 
 ///. V. iii. 322. 10-12. 
 
 787. handmaids] the stars ; called 792- Where] Whereas ; as in Richard 
 "Diana's waiting- women " in Troilus II. in. ii. 185. 
 
 and Cressida, v. ii. 92 (Malone). 805. sepulchred] For the accent, see 
 
 790. And . . . assuage] Cf. Romeo Two Gentlemen of Verona, iv. ii. 118. 
 
 and Juliet, III. ii. 116: "If sour woe Malone cites an instance from Milton's 
 
 delight in fellowship"; Lear, in. vi. verses on Shakespeare : "Andsosepul- 
 
 114: " But then the mind much suffer- cher'd in such pomp does lie, That 
 
 ance doth o'erskip, When grief hath kings for such a tomb would wish to 
 
 mates, and bearing fellowship " ; die." The noun was usually accented 
 
 Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, I. cii. : as now. An exception is Richard II. 
 
 " Men seyn ' to wrecche is consolacioun i. iii. 196. 
 
 To have an-other felawe in his peyne ' " 807. character'd] So accented in 
 
 (Malone). Steevens cites the Latin Hamlet, i. iii. 59 ; and the noun, in 
 
 proverb: "Solamen miseris socios Richard III. iii. i. 81. Both were 
 
 habuisse doloris," and compares with usually accented on the first syllable. 
 
 7 
 
98 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 The story of sweet chastity's decay, 
 
 The impious breach of holy wedlock vow: 
 
 Yea, the illiterate, that know not how 8io 
 
 To cipher what is writ in learned books, 
 Will quote my loathsome trespass in my looks. 
 
 "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, 815 
 
 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. 
 
 "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 825 
 
 As I, ere this, was pure to Collatine. 
 
 " O unseen shame ! invisible disgrace ! 
 
 O unfelt sore! 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 I 
 
 808. sioty'] stories Q3. 809. breach'] breath Q 3 ; wedlock'] weldocks Q 3 ; 
 
 wedlocks Qq 4, 8 ; ivedlockes Qq 5-7. 830. mot] mote Qq 7, 8. 
 
 811. cipher] decipher, read. No own attaint?" the meaning is rather 
 other instance in New Eng. Diet. conviction than disgrace. The sense 
 
 812. qiiote] mark or observe. So "wound" is found in James IV., 
 in Hamlet, II. i. 112: "I am sorry Grosart's Greene, xiii. 321 : " Spoyle 
 that with better heed and judgment I thou his subjects, thou despoilest me ; 
 had not quoted him" (Malone). See Touch but his breast, thou dost attaint 
 also Romeo and Juliet, i. iv. 31 : this heart." Lucretia's attaint wounds 
 "what care I What curious eye may at least Collatine, see I. 831 ; but the 
 quote deformities ? " Titus Andronicus, word had probably lost definiteness by 
 IV. i. 50: "note how she quotes the being confused with "taint." 
 leaves," said of Lavinia, who is dumb ; 830. mo(] motto ; cf. Gascoigne, 
 Love's Labour's Lost, v. ii. 796 : "Our Cambridge ed. I. 17 : "if I had sub- 
 letters, madam, show'd much more scribed the same with mine owne usual 
 than jest . . . We did not quote them mot or devise "[?.«. device]. New Eng. 
 so," where the meaning is "interpret." Diet, cites Halliwell's Marston, I. 55, 
 
 825. attaint] wound to honour, dis- Antonio and Mellida, Act v. : "I 
 credit. In Comedy of Errors, III. ii. did send for you to drawe me a devise, 
 16 : "What simple thief brags of his an Imprezza, by Sinecdoche a Mott." 
 
LUCRECE 99 
 
 " If, Collatine, thine honour lay in me, 
 
 From me by strong assault it is bereft. 835 
 
 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. 840 
 
 " Yet am I guilty of thy honour's wrack ; 
 
 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, 845 
 
 And talk'd of virtue : O unlook'd-for evil. 
 When virtue is profan'd in such a devil ! 
 
 "Why should the worm intrude the maiden bud? 
 
 Or hateful cuckoos hatch in sparrows' nests? 
 
 Or toads infect fair founts with venom mud? 8 50 
 
 Or tyrant folly lurk in gentle breasts? 
 
 Or kings be breakers of their own behests? 
 
 But no perfection is so absolute 
 
 That some impurity doth not pollute. 
 
 "The aged man that coffers up his gold 855 
 
 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. 
 
 " So then he hath it when he cannot use it, 
 And leaves it to be master 'd by his young; 
 
 846. talk'd] talke Qq 3, 5, 6, 8 ; unlook'd-for] hyphened by Bell. 854. im- 
 purity] iniquity Qq 7, 8. 858. still-pining] hyphened by Malone. 859. 
 bams] bannes Qq 5-7, bans Q 8. 
 
 836. drone-like] Of drones it is said read, with Sewell, as a question, and 
 
 in the Theater of Insects, I. vii. (Top- " Yet " in the next line changed to 
 
 sell's History of Fourfooted Beasts, p. "No." But.Lucretia is debating her 
 
 919) : "Others will have them to be guilt in her own mind; she is a chaste 
 
 the issue of Bees by a certain degenera- bee robbed, yet the cause of CoUatine's 
 
 tion, when they have lost their stings, dishonour ; yet again it was for his 
 
 for then they become Drones, nor are honour that she welcomed his friend, 
 
 observed to gather any honey." See a similar debate, 11. 239-242. 
 
 841,842. Yet . . . him] Malone 853. absolute] complete, perfect; of. 
 
 conjectured that either " guilty " was 1 Henry IV. IV. iii. 50 ; Henry V. ill, 
 
 a misprint, or the first line should be vii. 27 ; Othello, 11. i. 193, etc. 
 
100 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Who in their pride do presently abuse it: 
 
 Their father was too weak, and they too strong, 865 
 
 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. 
 
 "Unruly blasts wait on the tender spring; 
 
 Unwholesome weeds take root with precious flowers ; 870 
 
 The adder hisses where the sweet birds sing; 
 
 What virtue breeds iniquity devours: 
 
 We have no good that we can say is ours 
 
 But ill-annexed Opportunity 
 
 Or kills his Hfe or else his quality. 875 
 
 "O Opportunity, thy guilt is great! 
 
 'Tis thou that execut'st the traitor's treason; 
 
 Thou sets the wolf where he the lamb may get ; 
 
 Whoever plots the sin, thou point'st the season ; 
 
 'Tis 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 makest the vestal violate her oath; 
 
 Thou blowest the fire when temperance is thaw'd; 
 
 Thou smother'st honesty, thou murder'st troth; 885 
 
 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! 
 
 "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. 
 
 867. for\ oft Qq 7, 8. 871. hisses\ hisseth Qq 3-8. 874. ill-annexed] 
 
 not hyphened in Qq i, 2. 878. seis]seist Q 8. 881, 882. Aim . . . Aim'] 
 her . . . her Qq 5-8. 884. blowesi] Qq ; blowest Gildon. 8S5. murder'st] 
 Gildon ; murthrest Qq I, 2, 4 ; murtherst Qq 5) 6 5 mtirtherest Qq 3, 7, 8. 
 892. smoothing] smothering Qq 5-8. 893. bitter] a bitter Q 3. 
 
 879. /oj«^j/] appointest ; cf. Taming Andronicus, v. ii. 140: "Yield to his 
 
 of the Shrew, in. i. 19: "I'll not be humour, smooth and speak him fair"; 
 
 tied to hours nor 'pointed times " ; and Groatsworth of Wit, Grosart's Greene, 
 
 ibid. in. ii. I: "This is the 'pointed xii. 114: " For since he [Love] learned 
 
 day." to use the Poets pen He learnd likewise 
 
 892. smoothing]?\.3.\.\.trm%;ci. Richard with smoothing words to faine, Witch- 
 
 ///. I. iii. 48 : "Smile in men's faces, ing chast eares with trothlesse toungs 
 
 smooth, deceive and cog"; Titus of men." 
 
LUCRECE 101 
 
 How comes it then, vile Opportunity, 895 
 
 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 obtained? 
 
 When wilt thou sort an hour great strifes to end? 
 
 Or free that soul which wretchedness hath chained? 900 
 
 Give physic to the sick, ease to the pained? 
 
 The poor, lame, blind, halt, creep, cry out for thee; 
 
 But they ne'er meet with Opportunity. 
 
 " The patient dies while the physician sleeps ; 
 
 The orphan pines while the oppressor feeds; 905 
 
 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 murder'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. 915 
 
 My Collatine would else have come to me 
 When Tarquin did, but he was stay'd by thee. 
 
 " Guilty thou art of murder 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 the general doom. 
 
 899. strifes] strife Q 3. 903. meef] met Qq 3-8. 909. murder' s] Malone, 
 murihers Qq 1-4, murther Qq 5-8. 913. buy thy\ buy, they Q 8. 918. 
 
 murder] Gildon, murther Qq. 
 
 899. sort] choose ; as in 1 Jlenry VI. make thee well apaid [i.e. glad] To 
 
 II. iii. 27: "I'll sort some other time recant thy words." 
 
 to visit you " ; and Richard III. 11. ii. 920. shift] mean trick, swindle ; cf. 
 
 148: "I'll sort occasion . . . To part Bacon, Essay s , vm. . " The Illiberalitie 
 
 the queen's proud kindred from the of Parents, in allowance towards their 
 
 king." Children . . . makes them base, 
 
 914. appaid]-p\e3,sei;ci. Hickscorner, Acquaints them with Shifts"; Merry 
 
 Hazlitt's Dodsley, i. 175 : " when we Wives, i. iii. 37 : "I must cony-catch ; 
 
 do amend, God would be well apaid " ; I must shift " ; and Greene, ed. Grosart, 
 
 New Custom, ibid. iii. 18: "I will x. 9, calls "Coosening Cunnie-catchets " 
 
 shifting companions. 
 
102 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 " Mis-shapen Time, copesmate of ugly Night, 925 
 
 Swift subtle post, carrier of grisly care. 
 
 Eater of youth, false slave to false delight, 
 
 Base watch of woes, sin's pack-horse, virtue's snare; 
 
 Thou nursest all and murder'st all that are: 
 
 O, hear me then, injurious, shifting Time ! 930 
 
 Be guilty of my death, since of my crime. 
 
 " 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? 935 
 
 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 ; 945 
 
 " To fill with worm-holes stately monuments. 
 To feed oblivion with decay of things. 
 To blot old books and altei their contents. 
 To pluck the quills from ancient ravens' wings, 
 
 929. murder'st] murthrest Qq 1-4, murthtrest Qq 5-8. 936, fine\ finde 
 
 Q 8. 937. errors] errour Q 3, error Qq 7, 8. 
 
 925. copesmate] companion, accom- Historyes of Troy, ed. Sommer, ii. 537 : 
 
 pUce ; a favourite word of Greene's. See "Certes that shall be your dolorouse 
 
 Mourning Garment, ed. Grosart, ix. fyn and end." 
 
 176: "He . . . sent for such copes- 943. wrong the wronger] Compare 
 
 mates as they pleased, who with their Browning, Dra^natic Romances, Before, 
 
 false dice, were oft sharers with him of iv. : " Better sin the whole sin, sure 
 
 his crownes " ; Arden of Feversham, that God observes ; Then go live his 
 
 in. V. 104: "Go, get thee gone, a life out ! Life will try his nerves," said 
 
 copesmate for thy hinds." of " the culprit," St. iii., who is called 
 
 936, _/?««] terminate; cf. Chaucer, " the wronger," st. x. Malone para- 
 
 Wife of Bath's Prologue, 788: "And phrases " wrong " by " punish by com- 
 
 when I saw that he wolde never fyne punctious visitings of conscience," and 
 
 To reden on this cursed book al night," notes that this kind of wrong, damnum 
 
 etc. The noun is common in Shake- jzKezK/Krz'a, illustrates and supports Tyr- 
 
 speare, e.g. AlVs Well, iv. iv. 35 : whitt's explanation oi Julius Ccesar, III. 
 
 "Still the fine's the crown, Whate'er i. 47, as quoted by Ben Jonson : "Know 
 
 the course, the end is the renown " ; and Csesar doth not wrong but with just 
 
 .eaw/«/, V. i. IIJ: "Is this the fineof cause." He adds that here "Dr. 
 
 his fines, and The recovery of his re- Farmer very elegantly would read 
 
 coveries?" So Caxion, Recuyell of the wring." 
 
LUCRECE 
 
 103 
 
 To dry the old oak's sap and cherish springs, 
 To spoil antiquities of hammer'd steel 
 And turn the giddy round of Fortune's wheel; 
 
 9SO 
 
 "To show the beldam daughters of her daughter, 
 To make the child a man, the man a child, 
 To slay the tiger that doth live by slaughter, 
 To tame the unicorn and lion wild. 
 To mock the subtle in themselves beguil'd, 
 
 To cheer the ploughman with increaseful crops. 
 And waste huge stones with little water-drops. 
 
 9S5 
 
 " 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, 965 
 I could prevent this storm and shun thy wrack! 
 
 966. shun thy'] shun this Qq 5, 6 ; shunt his Qq 7, 8. 
 
 950. cherish springs'] According to 
 Warburton, who asserts that the subject 
 is "the decays and not the repairs 
 of time," the poet certainly wrote 
 "tarish," i.e. dry up springs, from the 
 French tarir. Johnson proposed 
 "perish," which Farmer found used 
 actively in The Maid's Tragedy, pro- 
 bably in IV. i. 222 : " let not my sins 
 Perish your noble youth." Toilet ex- 
 plained "the shoots or buds of young 
 trees," quoting Holinshed's Description 
 of England \i.q. Harrison's (ed. Fur- 
 nivall, p. 339)]: "We have manie 
 woods, forests, and parkes which cherish 
 trees abundantlie . . . beside infinit 
 numbers of hedgerowes, groves, and 
 springs, that are mainteined," etc. 
 Malone cites Comedy of Errors, in. ii. 
 3: "Even in the spring of love thy 
 love-springs rot " ; and Venus arid 
 Adonis, 1. 656; "This canker that 
 eats up love's tender spring." The 
 ' ' springs " may be young oaks. In the 
 Eng. Dialect Diet, sub voc. the meanings 
 young whitethorn, undergrowth of wood 
 from one to four years old, are abund- 
 antly illustrated ; cf. Turbervile's Book 
 of Hunting, reprint, p. 42 : " The Hart 
 hath a propertie, that if he goe to feede 
 in a young springe or Coppes, he goeth 
 first to seeke the winde." 
 
 953. beldam] grandmother, or merely, 
 as in 1. 1458, old woman. 
 
 956. unicorn] But according to Top- 
 sell, Fourfooted Beasts, p. 557, time has 
 an unfavourable influence : " It [the 
 Unicorn] is a beast of an untameable 
 nature . . . except they be taken before 
 they be two years old they will never be 
 tamed . . . when they are old, they 
 differ nothing at all from the most bar- 
 barous bloudy and ravenous beasts." 
 
 959. And . . . drops] Cf. Ovid, A. A. 
 476 : " Quid magis est saxo durum, 
 quid mollius unda ? Dura tamen moUi 
 saxa cavantur aqua.'' 
 
 962. retiring]. Malone explains 
 "returning," a sense for which Prof. 
 Case cites A Warning for Faire 
 Women, Simpson's School of Shakspere, 
 ii. pp. 246, 247 : 
 
 " This Mistress Drury must be made 
 the mean, 
 What e'er it cost, to compass my 
 
 desire. 
 And I hope well she doth so soon 
 retire. 
 
 [Enter Roger and Drurie." 
 For the less likely meaning " recalling " 
 (cf. French retirer) or " restoring," he 
 quotes Fortune by Land and Sea, 
 Pearson's Hey wood, vi. 369 : "Help to 
 retire his spirits overtravell'd With age." 
 
104 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 "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; 975 
 
 Let there bechance him pitiful mischances. 
 To make him moan ; but pity not his moans : 
 Stone him with harden'd hearts, harder than stones ; 
 And let mild women to him lose their mildness, 
 Wilder to him than tigers in their vvildness. 980 
 
 " 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, 985 
 
 And time to see one that by alms doth live 
 Disdain to him disdained scraps to give. 
 
 " 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, 995 
 
 Teach me to curse him that thou taught' st this ill ! 
 
 975. bedrid] dedred Qq. 
 
 969. deyond exiremiiy'] Steevens cites wrinkled chaps." Elsewhere in Shake- 
 
 Lear, v. iii. 207 : ' ' would make much speare it is used figuratively, as in Julius 
 
 more And top extremity" ; with which CcBsar, IV. i. 37 : "one that feeds On 
 
 Craig compares Cyinbeline, III. ii. 58 : abjects, orts and imitations " ; Timon 
 
 "For mine's beyond beyond." of Athens, IV. iii. 400; "It is some 
 
 974, 975- Disturb . . . groans} poor fragment, some slender ort of his 
 
 Malone notes that here we have in remainder " ; Troilus and Cressida, V. 
 
 embryo that scene of Richard III. v. ii. 158 : " The fractions of her faith, 
 
 iii. 1 19-177, in which he is terrified by orts of her love, The fragments, scraps, 
 
 the ghosts of those whom he had the bits and greasy relics Of her o'er- 
 
 slain. eaten faith." 
 
 985. arts'] remains of food ; cf. Hood, 993. unrecalling] irrevocable ; so 
 
 The Last Man, st. 3 : " The very sight " unrecuring " is used in the sense of 
 
 of his broken orts Made a work in his incurable, Titus Andronicus, III. i. 90. 
 
LUCRECE 105 
 
 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 looo 
 
 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; 1005 
 
 For greatest scandal waits on greatest state. 
 
 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; loio 
 
 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. 1015 
 
 " Out, idle words, servants to shallow fools ! 
 
 Unprofitable sounds, weak arbitrators ! 
 
 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. 
 
 1016. Out] Our Qq 4-8. 1018. skill-contending\ hyphened in Qq 3, 5-7. 
 
 looi. slanderous] ill-reputed, despic- explains "not seeing, blind, dark"; as 
 
 able. in Sonnets, xxvii. 10, xliii. 12. 
 
 looi. deathsman] executioner; cf. 1021. force] value, CBire foi ; ci. Carde 
 
 TuUies Love, Giosurt's Greene, vii. 14^: of Fancie, Grosart's Greene, iv. 156: 
 
 "in love delay is the unhappie deaths- "she doubteth no daungers, she forceth 
 
 man that holding thee up neither saves of no misfortune, she careth for no 
 
 nor killes" ; Metamorphosis, ix. no : calamitie, she passeth for no perils, so 
 
 "the deaths-man having laid the blocke, she may enjoy thy desired company"; 
 
 and holding the axe in his hand " ; and Romeus and Juliet, Hazlitt's Shaks. 
 
 and p. 112: "and so turning to the Lib. p. 78: "Had served her, who 
 
 deathsman, laying his necke on forced not what pains he did endure " ; 
 
 the blocke, his head was smitten off." p. 80 : "hydes her from thy sight. Not 
 
 1013. grooms] creatures, fellows; cf. forsing all thy great expense"; p. 112: 
 
 1 Henry VI. I. iii. 14. "But now what is decreed by fatall 
 
 1013. sightless] The context seems to desteny I force it not," and p. 133 : 
 
 require the meaning ," invisible," as in " He [Cupid] forceth not a lovers payne, 
 
 Macbeth, I. v. 50, I. vii. 23. Schmidt theyr ernest is his sport." 
 
106 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 " In vain I rail at Opportunity, 
 
 At Time, at Tarquin, and uncheerful Night; 
 
 In vain I cavil with mine infamy, 1025 
 
 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'st thou at this decree? 1030 
 
 Honour thyself to rid me of this shame; 
 
 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, 1035 
 
 Kill both thyself and her for yielding so." 
 
 This said, from her be-tumbled couch she starteth. 
 To find some desperate instrument of death : 
 But this no slaughterhouse 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. 
 
 " In vain," quoth she, " I live, and seek in vain 
 
 Some happy mean to end a hapless life. 1045 
 
 I fear'd by Tarquin's falchion to be slain. 
 
 Yet for the self-same 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: 1055 
 
 Poor helpless help, the treasure stol'n away. 
 To burn the guiltless casket where it lay ! 
 
 "Well, well, dear CoUatine, thou shalt not know 
 The stained taste of violated troth ; 
 
 1024. uncheerful] vnsearchfull C)i\\-%. 102,1). foul defiled] foul-deJiled'Dy ce. 
 1037. startetK] starts Qq 5-8. 1039. imparteth] imparts Qq $-8. 
 
 1054. badgel In our author's time the arms of their masters were en- 
 the servants of the nobility all wore graved (Malone). 
 silver badges on their liveries, on which 
 
LUCRECE 107 
 
 I will not wrong thy true affection so, 1060 
 
 To flatter thee with an infringed oath; 
 
 This bastard graff 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, 1065 
 
 Nor laugh with his companions at thy state; 
 But thou shalt know thy interest was not bought 
 Basely with gold, but stol'n 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: 1075 
 
 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'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 : 
 But cloudy Lucrece shames herself to see. 
 And therefore still in night would cloister'd be. 1085 
 
 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 peeping: 
 Mock with thy tickling beams eyes that are sleeping: 1090 
 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, 
 
 1062. graff^ grasse Qq 3-8. 1073. cleanly-coin'd'] hyphened by Malone. 
 
 1074. of] with Qq 7, 8. 1083. will] would Qq 4-8. 
 
 1062. ^ra^ older form of graft ; used bird, And made a Gardener putting 
 by Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien: "I in a graff." 
 took his brush and blotted out the 
 
108 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Who wayward once, his mood with nought agrees: 1095 
 Old woes, not infant sorrows, bear them mild; 
 Continuance tames the one; the other wild, 
 
 Like an unpractis'd swimmer plunging still) 
 With too much labour drowns for want of skill. 
 
 So she, deep-drenched in a sea of care, iioo 
 
 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; 1105 
 Sometime 'tis mad and too much talk affords. 
 
 The little birds that tune their morning's joy 
 Make her moans mad with their sweet melody : 
 For mirth doth search the bottom of annoy; 
 Sad souls are slain in merry company; mo 
 
 Grief best is pleas'd with grief's society: 
 True sorrow then is feelingly sufficed 
 When with like semblance it is sympathized. 
 
 'Tis double death to drown in ken of shore; 
 He ten times pines that pines beholding food; 1115 
 
 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 o'erflows; 
 
 Grief dallied with nor law nor limit knows. 11 20 
 
 "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: 1125 
 
 Relish your nimble notes to pleasing ears; 
 
 Distress likes dumps when time is kept with tears. 
 
 " Come, Philomel, that sing'st of ravishment, 
 Make thy sad grove in my dishevell'd hair: 
 As the dank earth weeps at thy languishment, 11 30 
 
 1 105. Sometime] Sometimes Qq 4-8. 1 122. hollow-siaelling] hyphened by 
 
 Malone. 1 123. mute and] ever Qq 5-8. 1129. grove] grone Q 4. 
 
 1 1 15. pines] starves, as in 1. 905; TAaXont cilei Two Gentlemen of Verona, 
 cf. Sonnets, Ixxv. 13. in. ii. 85 : "to their instruments Tune 
 
 1 127. dumps] sad tunes or songs, a despairing dump." 
 
LUCRECE 
 
 109 
 
 So I at each sad strain will strain a tear, 
 And with deep groans the diapason bear; 
 
 For burden-wise I'll hum on Tarquin still, 
 While thou on Tereus descants better skill. 
 
 "And whiles against a thorn thou bear'st thy part, 1135 
 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. 
 
 "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, 1145 
 
 1 133. burden-wise] Sewell, burthen-wise Qq. 1133, 1 134- Tarquin still 
 . . . Tereus . . . skill] Tarquin! s ill . . . Tereus' . . . still, Steevens conj. 
 1145. not] nor Qq 5-8. 
 
 1 132. diapason] "An air or bass 
 sounding in exact concord, i.e. in 
 octaves" — JVem Eng. Diet,, which cites 
 Dyer's Ruins of Rome : " While winds 
 and tempests sweep his [Time's] various 
 lyre, How sweet thy diapason, Melan- 
 choly." See also Greene's Menaphon 
 (Grosart, vi. 130) : " If the feare of 
 thy hardie deedes were like the dia- 
 pason of thy threates " ; and A Maiden's 
 Dreame (xiv. 308): "Her sorrowes 
 and her teares did well accorde, Their 
 Diapason was in selfe-same [ch]ord." 
 
 1 133. burden] "Burden from con- 
 fusion with 'bourdon' came to mean 
 'the base, undersong or accompani- 
 ment,'" New Eng. Did. p. 1183 b; 
 see also p. 1183 a: "Apparently the 
 notion was that the base or undersong 
 was heavier than the air. The bourdon 
 usually continued when the singer of 
 the air paused at the end of a stanza, 
 and (when vocal) was usually sung to 
 words forming a refrain, being often 
 taken up in chorus ; hence sense 10 " 
 [refrain or chorus]. Compare Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona, i. ii. 85 : "It is 
 
 tpoheavyforsolightatune Heavy! 
 
 belike it hath some burden then" ; and 
 As You Like It, III. ii. 261 : " I would 
 sing ray song without a burden ; thou 
 bringest me out of tune." 
 
 1 1 34. Tereus] See Passionate Pilgrim, 
 xxi. 15. 
 
 1 1 34. descants] I have restored the 
 reading of the quartos, as sound in poetry 
 seems to me of more importance than 
 grammar. New Eng. Diet, explains 
 "descant" as "To play or sing an air 
 in harmony with a fixed theme." 
 
 1134. belter skill] i.e. with better 
 skill. Steevens doubtfully conjectures : 
 "I'll hum on Tarquin's ill, While thou 
 on Tarquin descant'st better still " ; but 
 "still," i.e. continually, seems needed 
 to explain " burden- wise " ; and the 
 old reading harmonises better with the 
 thought that, though Philomel may 
 lament more sweetly, she has no 
 greater cause for lamentation than 
 Lucrece. 
 
 1 135. against a thorn] Of. Passionate 
 Pilgrim, xxi. 10-24. 
 
 1139. Who, if it wink] The construc- 
 tion is, "Which heart, if the eye wink, 
 shall fall," etc. (Malone). 
 
 wifi. frets] See Fret, sb.', New Eng. 
 Did.: "In musical instruments like 
 the guitar, formerly a ring of gut 
 (Stainer), now a bar or ridge of wood, 
 metal, etc., placed on the fingerboard 
 to regulate the fingering." 
 
 1 142. thou . . . (fajc] The same error 
 is implied in Merchant of Venice, v. i. 
 104, cited by Malone. 
 
 1 144. from] at a distance from; cf. 
 King John, IV. i. 86 ; and Timon of 
 Athens, IV. iii. 533. 
 
no SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 encompass'd 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. 1155 
 
 " To kill myself," quoth she, " 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 
 
 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, 1165 
 
 When both were kept for heaven and Collatine? 
 
 Ay me ! 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 1 175 
 
 Through which I may convey this troubled soul. 
 1167,' 1169. peeVd] lAxAoit, pild Q({ i-T, pil'd (piirdin 1169) Q 8. 
 
 1 155. When . . . debtor] Malone body's sc. pollution. Suicide would 
 
 paraphrases : " She debates whether add to the ruin of her body, the ruin of 
 
 she should not rather destroy herself her soul. It is not a Roman thought, 
 than live; life being disgraceful in con- 1160. tries . . . ctmctusion] Undsont 
 
 sequence of his violation, and her death if by a cruel experiment she can regain 
 
 being a debt which she owes to the her peace of mind ; cf. Hamlet, III. 
 
 reproach of her conscience." But this iv. 195 : "like the famous ape, To try 
 
 is to make Lucrece the debtor. Perhaps, conclusions, in the basket creep, And 
 
 in spite of the contrast with life, death break your own neck down." Malone 
 
 is personified and represented as being compares Antony and Cleopatra, v. ii. 
 
 bound to slay Lucrece in satisfaction of 358: "She hath pursued conclusions 
 
 the claims of reproach. infinite Of easy ways to die." 
 
 1 157. with my body'] i.e. with my 
 
LUCRECE 111 
 
 "Yet die 1 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. 1180 
 
 My stained blood to Tarquin I'll 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. 11 85 
 
 'Tis honour to deprive dishonour'd life; 
 
 The one will live, the other being dead: 
 
 So of shame's ashes shall my fame be bred ; 
 For in my death I murder 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: 1195 
 
 Myself, thy friend, will kill myself, thy foe. 
 And, for my sake, serve thou false Tarquin so. 
 
 "This brief abridgement of my will I make: 
 My soul and body to the skies and ground; 
 My resolution, husband, do thou take; 1200 
 
 My 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 me. 
 
 "Thou, Collatine, shalt oversee this will; 1205 
 
 1182. by] for Q I. 1189. murder] murther Qq 1-7. Iigo. mine] my Qq 
 3-8. 1200. thou] you Qq 3-8. 1205. Thou] Then Qq 4-8, When Sewell ; 
 shali] shall Qq 5-8. 
 
 1199. My . . . ground] Cf. Rich- his executors, and Thomas Russel and 
 
 ard II. IV. i. 97-100 : "and there at Francis Collins as his overseers." 
 
 Venice gave His body to that pleasant Malone says that " Overseers were 
 
 country's earth, And his pure soul frequently added in Wills from the 
 
 unto his captain Christ, Under whose superabundant caution of our ancestors ; 
 
 colours he had fought so long " ; and but our law acknowledges no such 
 
 Shakespeare's own will : "I commend persons, nor are they (as contradis- 
 
 my soule into the handes of God my tinguished from executors), invested 
 
 Creator . . . and my bodye to the with any legal rights whatever. In 
 
 earth whereof yt is made." some old wills the term overseer is used 
 
 1205. oversee] be the executor of. instead of executor." In Shakespeare's 
 
 " The overseer of a will was, I suppose," will the words " giving of such sufficient 
 
 says Steevens, "designed as a check securitie as the overseers of this my 
 
 upon the executors. Our author will shall like of," imply that overseers 
 
 appoints John Hall and his wife for might at least have duties. 
 
112 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 How was I overseen that thou shalt see it! 
 
 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 : ' 
 
 Yield to my hand; my hand shall conquer thee: 1210 
 Thou dead, both die and both shall victors be." 
 
 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; 1215 
 
 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. 1225 
 
 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 1235 
 
 No cause, but company, of her drops spilling: 
 
 1210. my hand shair\ shall Q 6, attd it shall Qq 'J, 8. 1220. slow tongtie'] 
 hyphened in Qq I, 2. 1224. cloud-eclipsed\ hyphened in Qq 3-8. 1 23 1. 
 
 salt-waved] hyphened in Qq 3-8. ! 
 
 1206. overseen] The analogy of says: "To sort is to choose out. So 
 
 "overlooked" might lead to the belief before (1. 899) : 'When wilt thou sort 
 
 that here the sense is "bewitched" or an hour great strifes to end?'" 
 "under the influence of the evil eye," 1234. conduits] Cf. As You Like It, 
 
 but it is perhaps better understood as IV. i. 154 : "I will weep for nothing, 
 
 " deceived, deluded " ; see illustrations like Diana in the fountain"; Romeo 
 
 in New Eng. Diet. and Juliet, m. v. 130 : " How now ! a 
 
 1221. jor^j] adapts; as in ^^«»;^ F/. conduit, girl? what, still in tears?" 
 
 n. iv. 68 ; and Two Gentlemen of (Malone). 
 Verona, I. iii. 63 (Schmidt). Malone 
 
LUCRECE 113 
 
 Their gentle sex to weep are often willing, 
 
 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 1245 
 
 Wherein is stamp'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: 1255 
 
 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. 1260 
 
 The precedent whereof in Lutrece view, 
 
 Assail'd by night with circumstances strong 
 
 Of present death, and shame that might ensue 
 
 By that her death, to do her husband wrong: 
 
 Such danger to resistance did belong, 1265 
 
 That dying fear through all her body spread ; 
 
 And who cannot abuse a body dead? 
 
 1238. others''] other Qq 5-7. 1243- or] and Q 3. 1254. inveigh] inveighs 
 Qq 2-8. 1255. chide] chides Qli\ 3, 7, 8. 1257. hild] held Qq 5-8. 
 
 1266. That] Thy Q 4, The Qq 5-8. 
 
 1245. ■wax]Qi. Twelfth Night, \\. i\. filled"; and Swinburne, Sftidies in 
 
 31 : "How easy is it for the proper- Song, p. 168: "If thou slay me, O 
 
 false In women's waxen hearts to set death, and outlive me, Yet thy love hath 
 
 their forms " (Malone). fulfilled me of thee." 
 
 12$Z. fulfilFd] completely filled; cf. 1261. precedent] ^icoof ; ci. Venus and 
 
 Troilus and Cressida, Prologue, 18 : Adonis, 1. 26. 
 
 " massy staples And corresponsive and 1267. abuse] ill-treat ; cf. As You 
 
 fulfilling bolts Sperr up the sons cf Like It, ni.ii. ■^'ji: " abuses our young 
 
 Troy." This meaning has been revived, plants with carving ' Rosalind ' on their 
 
 e.g. Morris, Goldilocks and Goldilocks: barks." 
 "Like man and maid with love ful- 
 
114 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 raining ? 
 
 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 1275 
 Till after a deep groan — " Tarquin from hence ? " 
 " 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 ! " quoth Lucrece : " if it should be told, 
 
 The repetition cannot make it less, 1285 
 
 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. 
 
 " 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." 1295 
 
 Her maid is gone, and she prepares to write, 
 
 First hovering o'er the paper with her quill: 
 
 Conceit and grief an eager combat iight; 
 
 What wit sets down is blotted straight with will ; 
 
 This is too curious-good, this blunt and ill: 1 300 
 
 Much like a press of people at a door. 
 Throng her inventions, which shall go before. 
 
 1268. bid] did Qq 3, 8. 1274. mine] my Q 3. 1278. sluggard] sluggish 
 Q 3. 1299. straight] stil Q 4, still Qq 3, 5-8. 1300. curious-good] 
 hyphened by Malone. 
 
 1269. To . . . complaining] "To signified a portrait." Cf. Merchant 
 her maid, whose countenance exhibited of Venice, in. ii. 115: "What find I 
 an image of her mistress's grief. A here ? Fair Portia's counterfeit I " (Ma- 
 counterfeit, in ancient language, lone). 
 
LUCRECE 115 
 
 At last she thus begins: "Thou worthy lord 
 
 Of that unworthy wife that greeteth thee, 
 
 Health to thy person ! next vouchsafe t' afford — 1 305 
 
 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 tenour of her woe, 13 10 
 
 Her certain sorrow writ uncertainly. 
 
 By this short schedule Collatine may know 
 
 Her grief, but not her griefs true quality: 
 
 She dares not thereof make discovery, 
 
 Lest he should hold it her own gross abuse, 1315 
 
 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 1325 
 
 The heavy motion that it doth behold. 
 
 When every part a part of woe doth bear. 
 
 'Tis 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. 1330 
 
 Her letter now is seal'd and on it writ 
 
 " At Ardea to my lord with more than haste." 
 
 1310. ienour] Malone, tenor Qq 5-8, tenure Qq 1-4. 
 
 1308. So . . . grief \ "Shakespeare irritant animos demissa per aurem 
 
 has here closely followed the practice Quam quse sunt oculis subjecta 
 
 of his own times. Thus, Anne BuUen fidelibus" (Malone). 
 
 concluding her pathetick letter to her 1329. sounds] Malone proposed 
 
 savage murderer: 'From my doleful " floods," quoting 1. 1 1 18 : "Deep woes 
 
 prison in the Tower, this 6th of May.' roll forward like a gentle flood." The 
 
 So also Gascoigne the poet ends his point is debated at some length in 
 
 address to the Youth of England, pre- the Variorum of 1823, and in Mr. 
 
 fixed to his works : ' From my poor Wyndham's edition of the Poems, 
 
 house at Walthamstowe in the Forest, 1332. with more than haste] Just as 
 
 the 2nd of February, 1575 ' " (Ma- in old time English letters requiring 
 
 lone). speed were superscribed "with post 
 
 1324,1325. To. . . ear] Cf. Horace, post haste" (Steevens). See, for a 
 
 Ars Poetica, 11. 180, 181: "Segnius similar anachronism, 1. 1308. 
 
116 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 The post attends, and she delivers it, 
 
 Charging the sour-fac'd groom to hie as fast 
 
 As lagging fowls before the northern blast: 1335 
 
 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 
 
 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 ! God wot, it was defect 1 345 
 
 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 blazed ; 
 
 She thought he blush'd, as knowing Tarquin's lust. 
 
 And blushing with him, wistly on him gazed; 1355 
 
 Her earnest eye did make him more amazed : 
 
 The more she saw the blood his cheeks replenish. 
 The more she thought he spied in her some blemish. 
 
 1338. curtsies] Sewell, cursies Qq. 1342. within'] doth in Beale conj 
 
 1348. others] other Qq 7, 8. 
 
 1338. villain] servant ; cf. Comedy of but here rather " similitude'' or " repre- 
 
 Errors, I. ii. 19, where Antiphilo calls sentation " of what servants used to be. 
 
 his attendant, Dromio, "a trusty With the thought Steevens compares 
 
 villain." As You Like It, II. iii. 57: "O good 
 
 1338. curtsies] bows ; formerly used old man, how well in thee appears The 
 
 of men, as in Twelfth Night, II. v. constant service of the antique world." 
 67: "Toby approaches: courtesies 1 355- wistly] earnestly; cf. Venus 
 
 there to me." and Adonis, 343 ; Passionate Pilgrim, 
 
 1348. To talk in deeds] Malone com- vi. 12; Richard II. v. iv. 7: "And 
 
 pares Troilus and Cressida, IV. v. 98 : speaking it, he wistly look'd on me ; 
 
 " Speaking in deeds and deedless in his As who should say, 'I would thou 
 
 tongue." wert the man ' " ; and Holland, Pliny, 
 
 1350. pattern] Usually "model," as x. xxiii : "whiles she [the bird Otis] 
 
 \n As You Like It, IV. i. TOO : " And is amused, and looking wistly upon one 
 
 he [Troilus] is one of the patterns of that goeth about her, another commeth 
 
 love," i.e. a model or typical lover; behind and soon catcheth her." 
 
LUCRECE 117 
 
 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 'tis 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. 1365 
 
 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; 137° 
 
 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, 1375 
 
 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 pioner 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 1385 
 That one might see those far-off eyes look sad. 
 
 In great commanders grace and majesty 
 You might behold, triumphing in their faces, 
 
 1380. pioner] Qq 7, 8, fyoner Qq 1-6, pioneer Lintott and Gildon. 
 
 1366. a/w«] Evidently not a picture See also S Henry VI. III. i. 67; and 
 
 in the modern sense, but hangings or Julius Casar, i. iii. 22. 
 
 painted cloths. I37I' conceited] im^native. See 
 
 1368. drawn] it2i-wn up, assembled; "conceit,"!. 701. 
 
 cf. King John, iv. ii. 118: "Where 1377. strife] ^SarV to surpass nature, 
 
 is my mother's care That such an army See Timon of Athens, I. i. 37 : "I will 
 
 could be drawn in France, And she not say of it, It tutors nature : artificial strife 
 
 hear of it ? " Lives in these touches, livelier than life " 
 
 1370. annoy] injury. See Marriage 1384. lust] pleasure ; cf. Anatomie of 
 
 Night, Hazlitt's Dodsley, xv, p. 120 : Fortune, Grosart's Greene, iii. p. 193 ; 
 
 "It has recompens'd me in part to " if thou wilt needes love, use it as a toy 
 
 know, where That close annoy lay to pass the time, whyche thou mayest 
 
 which wounded me i' th' dark." take up at thy luste, and laie downe at 
 
 thy pleasure." 
 
118 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 In youth, quick bearing and dexterity; 
 And here and there the painter interlaces 1390 
 
 Pale cowards, marching on with trembling paces; 
 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! - 1395 
 
 The face of either cipher'd cither'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 'twere 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 1405 
 
 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 lean'd on another's head, 141 5 
 
 His nose being shadow'd by his neighbour's ear; 
 
 Here one being throng'd bears back, all boU'n and red ; 
 
 1389. quick bearing] hyphened in Qq. 1417. bolln\ boln Qq, swoln Gildon. 
 
 1 392. heartless} cowardly, as in 1. 47 1 . curies. '' See also Wright, Dialect Diet. 
 
 1396. a^AerW] expressed their several sub voc. "pirle." 
 characters; seel. 207. 1417. Here . . , red] There is a 
 
 1400. goverttmenf] Probably "self- man with his face flushed and swollen 
 
 control." in his efforts to force his way backward 
 
 1406. wag^d] moved ; formerly used out of a crowd that is crushing him. 
 in contexts where it would now sound " Thronged " means pressed by a crowd ; 
 ridiculous, e.g. of pines in a wind, cf. St. Mark v. 24: "as he went the 
 Merchant of Venice, IV. i. 76 ; and of people thronged him " ; and Pericles, I. 
 the eyelids, Hamlet, v. i. 290. i. loi : " the earth is throng'd By man's 
 
 1407. purV d\c\a\eA. Malone quotes oppression, " where the use is figurative. 
 Drayton, 4to, 1596 : " Whose stream an For "boU'n," cf. Gascoigne, Jo- 
 easie breath doth seem to blow ; Which casta (Cambridge ed. p. 304): "Two 
 on the sparkling gravel runs in purles, brothers sprang, whose raging hateful! 
 As though the waves had been of silver hearts, By force of boyling yre are bolne 
 
LUCRECE 119 
 
 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 
 
 Grip'd in an armed hand ; himself behind 1425 
 
 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, 1430 
 
 Stood many Trojan mothers sharing joy 
 
 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. 1435 
 
 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 
 
 1429. strong-besieged] hyphened by Sewell. 1431. Trojan] Q 8 ; Troian 
 
 Qq I, 6, 7 ; Troyan Q 2 ; Troiane Qq 3-5. 1436. strand] Ewing, strond Qq. 
 
 so sore As each doth thyrst to sucke the 1422. imaginary] imaginative, work 
 
 others bloude." Malone cites Golding-s of the imagination. So in Henry V. 
 
 Ovid, viii. 1. 1003 : " Her leannesse Act I. Prologue, 18, where those present 
 
 made her joynts bolne big, and knee- are asked to picture to themselves what 
 
 pannes for to swell"; and Phser's^Kdz'rf, cannot be represented on the stage: 
 
 bk. X.: "with what bravery bolne in "And let us, ciphers to this great 
 
 pride King Turnus prosperous rides," accompt, On your imaginary forces 
 
 where "bolne" translates "tumidus." work." 
 
 1418. feU] Here probably "storm or 1423. compact] well-composed, 
 
 rage " ; see the various meanings given 1423. kind] natural, appropriate, 
 
 in ^«^. Dialect Diet. almost "life-like." The sense is akin 
 
 142 1, debate] fight; cf. Spenser, to that in the New Eng. Dictionary's 
 
 Faerie Queene, III. ix. 14: "Both quotation from Gosson's £/A«fflie?-jV&j 0/' 
 
 were full loth to leave that needful tent, Phialo : "It is but kinde \i.e. accord - 
 
 And both full loth in darkenesse to ing to nature] for a Cockes head to 
 
 debate"; ibid. vi. iv. 30: "Ne any breede a. Combe." 
 
 dares with him for it debate"; and 1436. Dardan] See Recuyell of the 
 
 Caxton, Recuyell of the Historyes of Historyes of Troye, ed. Sommer, i. 37 : 
 
 Troye, ed. Sommer, i. 220: "And yf "This cytewas that tyme named dar- 
 
 thow wylt debate and fyghte for her, dane after the name of dardanus but 
 
 assemble thy power and make the redy afterward hit was callyd Troye." 
 
 in thy bataylle." 1440. Ma»] then. The former is not 
 
120 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Retire again, till meeting greater ranks 
 
 They join and shoot their foam at Simois' banks. 
 
 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. 
 
 1445 
 
 In her the painter had anatomiz'd 1450 
 
 Time's ruin, beauty's wreck, 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, 1455 
 
 Show'd life imprison'd in a body dead. 
 
 1451. wreck'] Tvracke Qq 1-3, wrack Qq 4-8. 
 Qq 1-6. 
 
 1452. chaps'] Qq 7, 8 ; chops 
 
 a poetic licence, as Malone thought. 
 It occurs very frequently in both prose 
 and poetry, and has Anglo-Saxon and 
 Gothic precedent. 
 
 1444. steWd]. Possibly =" fixed " 
 (M.E. "stellen" is to set or estab- 
 lish). Prof. Case refers to Craig's 
 note on Lear, III. vii. 64, in this 
 series. Malone, reading stiFd, quotes 
 Sonnet xxiv. : " Mine eye hath play'd 
 the painter and hath steel'd Thy 
 beauty's form in table of my heart." 
 He explains "steel'd" as "drawn,'' 
 and remarks : ' ' This therefore I suppose 
 to have been the word intended here, 
 which the poet altered for the sake of 
 rhyme [a mistake, for the rime is the 
 same]. . . . He might, however, have 
 written : ' where all distress is spell'd,' 
 i.e. written. So, in The Comedy of 
 Errors [v. i. 299] : ' And careful hours 
 with times deformed hand Have written 
 strange defeatures in my face.' " Mr. 
 Wyndham reads "steel'd" in the sense 
 of "engraved," quoting for Shakes- 
 peare's use of a verb, to " steel," 'i^'enus 
 and Adonis, 377 : "O give it me, lest 
 thy hard heart do Steele it, And being 
 steeld, soft sighes can never grave it." 
 The obvious objection that these lines 
 represent steeling and engraving as in- 
 
 compatible he answers thus : " ' Soft 
 sighs,' naturally, cannot grave a sub- 
 stance that has been ' steel'd. ' But the 
 Poet's eye, in Sonnet xxiv., could, like 
 a painter, steel or engrave the Friend's 
 ' beauty's form ' on ' the table of his 
 heart,' and the sorrows of Hecuba may 
 well be said (Lucrece, 1444) to have 
 steel'd or engraven all distress in her 
 face. That steel'd ( = engraved) was 
 intended is confirmed by the next line : 
 ' Many (faces) she sees where cares have 
 carvid some.' " 
 
 1445. where . . , some] The same 
 idea is characteristically expressed by 
 Hood, The Sea of Death, 1. 26 : "where 
 care had set His crooked autograph." 
 
 1450. anatomized] dissected; hence 
 described minutely, painted with the 
 details of a pre-Raffaelite. Cf. Greene's 
 Mourning Garment (Grosart, ix. 123) : 
 " Wherein (Gentlemen) looke to see the 
 vanity of youth, so perfectly anatomised, 
 that you may see every veine, muscle, 
 and arterie of her unbridled follies " ; 
 and Defence of Conny-catching (xi. p. 
 50) : " So that you have herein done 
 the part of a good subject, and a, good 
 schoUer, to anotomize such secret 
 villanies as are practised by cozening 
 companions." 
 
LUCRECE 121 
 
 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'll tune thy woes with my lamenting tongue, 1465 
 
 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. 
 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 fire that burneth here; 1475 
 
 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 many fall. 
 
 To plague a private sin in general? 
 
 "Lo, here weeps Hecuba, here Priam dies, 1485 
 
 Here manly Hector faints, here Troilus swounds. 
 Here friend by friend in bloody channel lies. 
 And friend to friend gives unadvised wounds, 
 
 i486, swounds] Malone, sounds Qq. 
 
 1457. shadow] painted form; cf. iv. v. 19: "Our general doth salute 
 
 Fareive/l io FoUze {Gicoss.it' s Greene, ix. you with a kiss. — Yet is this kindness 
 
 248): " Then sir, let me say . . . that but particular; 'Twere better she 
 
 Apelles boies aimed at selfe love for were kiss'd in general. " 
 
 grinding colours for their maisters i486, sjtiounds] swoons ; cf. Julius 
 
 shadowes"; and note. Merchant of Casar, I. ii. 253; Hamlet, v. ii. 319. 
 
 Venice, II. ix. 65, in this series. Coleridge uses the noun in The Ancient 
 
 1479. moe] more in number ; an ob- Mariner, 1. 392. 
 
 solete form used by Shakespeare more 1488. unadvised] unintentional ; cf. 
 
 than thirty times. Two Gentlemen of Verona, IV. iv. 127 : 
 
 1484. in general] upon the whole " Pardon me, madam, I have un- 
 
 community^; cf Troilus and Cressida, advised Deliver'd you a paper. " 
 
122 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 And one man's lust these many lives confounds: 
 
 Had doting Pdam check'd his son's desire, 1490 
 
 Troy had been bright with fame and not with fire." 
 
 Here feelingly she weeps Troy's painted woes ; 
 
 For sorrow, like a heavy-hanging bell 
 
 Once set on ringing, with his own weight goes; 
 
 Then little strength rings out the doleful knell : 1495 
 
 So Lucrece, set a-work, sad tales doth tell 
 
 To pencill'd pensiveness and colour'd 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. 1505 
 
 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, 1515 
 
 1491. been] Q 8, bin Qq 1-7. 1493- heavy-hanging] hyphened in Q 8. 
 
 1496. a-work] a worke Qq 1-6, one word in Qq 7, 8. 1499. painting] Qq 1,2; 
 painted Qq 3-8. 1504. the] these Qq 5-8. 1508. wailing] vailing Anon, 
 conj. 
 
 1494. on ringing] the older form of 103: "I have received A certain in- 
 
 a' ringing. stance \i.e. proof positive] that Glen- 
 
 1497. pencill'd] painted. See Timon dower is dead." In Julius Casar, iv. 
 
 of Athens, l. i. 159: "Painting is ii. 16, "familiar instances" means 
 
 welcome . . . these pencill'd figures tokens of good will, 
 are Even such as they give out." 15 14. entertain'd a show] assumed 
 
 1499. about . . . round] i.e. round or rather maintained the appearance 
 
 about the painting ; that painted is read of an honest man. See Merchant^ of 
 
 by the third and later quartos seems to Venice, I. i. 90 : " And do a wilful 
 
 show that Shakespeare did not revise stillness entertain''; Richard II. 11. ii. 
 
 them. \: "And entertain a cheerful disposi- 
 
 1511. guilty instance] evidence or tion." 
 proof of guilt ; cf. ^ Henry IV. in. i. 
 
LUCRECE 
 
 123 
 
 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. 
 
 The well-skill'd workman this mild image drew 1520 
 
 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, 1525 
 
 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 
 
 1517. False creeping] Fabe-creeping Malone. 
 
 1^16. j'ea/ousy] suspicion; as in 
 Twelfth Night, III. iii. 8 : " But 
 jealousy what might befall your 
 travel, Being skilless in these parts"; 
 and Cymbeline, IV. iii. 22: "We'll 
 slip you for a season ; but our jealousy 
 Does yet depend." 
 
 1521. enchanting] deluding as if by 
 witchcraft. See Titus Andronicus, IV. 
 iv. 89: "I will enchant the old 
 Andronicus With words more sweet, 
 and yet more dangerous Than baits 
 to fish." So in Hakluyt's Voyages 
 (1904), iv. p. 207: "The Duke of 
 Parma by these wiles enchanted and 
 dazeled the eyes of many English & 
 Dutchmen." 
 
 1523. •wildfire] According to Smyth's 
 Sailor's Word-Book, "A pyrotechnical 
 preparation burning with great fierce- 
 ness, whether under water or not ; it 
 is analogous to the ancient Greek fire, 
 and is composed mainly of sulphur, 
 naphtha, and pitch." 
 
 1525, 1526. And . . . faces] Malone 
 compared Midsummer-Night's Dream, 
 II. i. 153: "And certain stars shot 
 madly from their spheres," where the 
 context is different, and missed the 
 more probable sense by a literal in- 
 terpretation — "Why Priam's palace, 
 however beautiful or magnificent, should 
 be called the mirrour in which the fixed 
 stars behold themselves, I do not see." 
 But " glass " was used like map, mould, 
 etc., to denote a counterpart or exact 
 
 representation, see Sonnets, iii. 9 : 
 "Thou art thy mother's glass and she 
 in thee Calls back the lovely April 
 of her prime"; and 11. 1758-1764 
 post. Boswell quotes, without com- 
 ment, what "Lydgate says of Priam's 
 palace," Troy Book, ii. 965: "That 
 verely when [so] the sonne shone, 
 Upon the golde meynt {i.e. mingled] 
 amonge the stone. They gave a lyght 
 withouten any were, As doth Apollo 
 in his mid - day sphere." Possibly 
 Shakespeare was thinking of Lyd- 
 gate's description of Priam's city 
 rather than of " his paleys princypal 
 callyd Illyoun," see ibid. 11. 661-667 '• 
 " thei putten in stede of morter, 
 In the Joynturys copur gilt ful 
 
 clere, 
 To make hem Joyne by level & 
 
 by lyne. 
 Among the marble freschely for 
 
 to shine 
 Agein the sonne, whan his schene 
 
 lyght 
 Smote in the gold, that was 
 
 horned bryght. 
 To make the werk gletere on 
 every side." 
 These clamps of copper, gilt and 
 burnished, joining blocks of marble, 
 of which all the houses in Troy were 
 built, might very well have been com- 
 pared to stars. 
 
 1527. advisedly] See note on 1. 180. 
 
124 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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;" 1535 
 
 But Tarquin's shape came in her mind the while, 
 And from her tongue " can lurk " from " cannot " took : 
 " It cannot be " 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 defil'd 1545 
 
 1542. sober-sad] hyphened by Malone (Capell MS.). IS44' artned ; so be- 
 
 guiled] Malone, armed so beguild Gildon, armed, so beguiVd SeweU, armed to 
 beguild Qq 1-7, armed to beguiPd Q 8. 
 
 1532. plain] honest; as in Julius 
 CcBsar, III. ii. 222. 
 
 1544. To . . , beguil'd] If a change 
 is needed, I should be inclined to 
 read "To me came Tarquin, armed 
 so, beguil'd With outward honesty," 
 etc., meaning he came so armed as 
 Sinon was, viz. with the weapons 
 of hypocrisy, sober - sadness, weari- 
 ness, mildness. That there is no 
 reference to Lucrece's bedroom and 
 Tarquin's intrusion sword in hand, is 
 shown by 1. 154?. As Sinon arrives 
 and is welcomed by Priam, so Tarquin 
 arrives and is welcomed by Lucrece. 
 Sinon's treachery and Tarquin's outrage 
 are alike later than their arrival. 
 Malone, to whom we are indebted for 
 the pointing of the text, explains 
 "armed" as above, and "beguiled" 
 as beguiling, comparing delighted= 
 delighting, in Othello,!, iii. 290: "If 
 virtue no delighted beauty lack," on 
 which see Hart's note in this series. 
 Steevens accepts Malone's reading, and 
 renders "beguiled" by "so cover'd, 
 so mask'd with fraud," comparing 
 Merchant of Venice, III. ii. 97 ; " Thus 
 ornament is but the guiled shore To 
 a most dangerous sea." Mr. Wyndham 
 reads: "To me came Tarquin, armed 
 to begild With outward honesty," but 
 does not explain, though he rightly 
 says that "guild" for " gild " is found 
 
 elsewhere. His objections to Malone's 
 reading are that (i) so great an error 
 as "armed to beguild" for "armed; 
 so beguild, " would be without a parallel 
 in the carefully printed Quarto (1594) ; 
 
 (2) the (;) would be unusual, if not 
 unparalleled at this point in the stanza ; 
 
 (3) the (;) would deprive the epithet 
 ' ' armed " of meaning, reducing it to 
 padding ; (4) the emendation demands 
 that " beguil'd "= beguiling, and (5) 
 makes the grammatical construction 
 of the whole stanza most awkward. 
 These objections do not apply to the 
 pointing I have suggested, with the 
 exception of (4), beguiled = beguiling, 
 and this actually occurs in the Eliza- 
 bethan translation of Seneca's plays, 
 Tenne Tragedies (Spenser Soc. Part i. 
 p. 10) ; " And either his begiled hookes 
 doth bayte. Or els beholds and feeles 
 the pray from hye With paised hand," 
 though there the form may be due to 
 the original "deceptos instruit hamos." 
 I once thought "beguild" might be a 
 corrupt form of '" beguile " ; an ex- 
 crescent "t" or "d" is common, e.g. 
 twind, and twinde for twine (Gas- 
 coigne's Poesies, Cambridge ed. pp. 
 loi, 142), shoulds for shoals (Hakluyt, 
 reprint 1904, vol. iv. p. 212), vilde 
 for vile (revived by Scott, Lay, III. 
 xiii.), graft and wcift, now current for 
 graffe and waffe. 
 
LUCRECE 125 
 
 With inward vice: as Priam him did cherish, 
 So did I Tarquin; so my Troy did perish. 
 
 "Look, look, how listening Priam wets his eyes, 
 
 To see those borrow'd tears that Sinon sheds ! 
 
 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; 1555 
 
 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 1565 
 
 Whose deed hath made herself herself detest: 
 
 At last she smilingly with this gives o'er; 
 
 " Fool, fool ! " 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. IS70 
 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. 1575 
 
 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, 
 
 1552. eye drops'] eyes drops Qq S, 6 ; eyes drop Qq 7, 8. 1554- thyl the 
 
 Qq 7, 8. 1557. hot-burning] hyphened by Gildon. 
 
 1549. borrow' d]f^gneA; cf. 1 Henry 1555, 1556- Such . . . cold] So the 
 
 IV. V. iii. 23: "A borrow'd title hast Pseudo-Csedmon's Satan says of hell 
 
 thou bought too dear." (ed. Thorpe, p. 273): "hwsether hat 
 
 1551. falls] drops, sheds ; as in [ond] ceald hwilum mencgath." 
 Richard II. in. iv. 104. 
 
126 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Losing her woes in shows of discontent. 1580 
 
 It easeth some, though none it ever cured, 
 To think their dolour others have endured. 
 
 But now the mindful messenger come back 
 
 Brings home his lord and other company; 
 
 Who finds his Lucrece clad in mourning black: 1585 
 
 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, iSpo 
 
 Amazedly in her sad face he stares: 
 
 Her eyes, though sod in tears, look'd 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 trance, 1595 
 Met far from home, wondering each other's chance. 
 
 At last he takes her by the bloodless hand. 
 
 And thus begins : " What uncouth ill event 
 
 Hath thee befall'n, 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: 1605 
 
 At length address'd to answer his desire, 
 
 1583. come] comes Qq 3-8. 1590. sad-beholding] hyphened by Sewell. 
 
 1582. To . . . endured] Cf. Richard weather if seen to leeward." The 
 
 //. V. V. 23 : " Thoughts tending to meaning here is probably the broken 
 
 content flatter themselves That they rainbows that sailors call "dogs." 
 are not the first of fortune's slaves . . . 1592. sod] sodden, seethed. For a 
 
 And in the thought they find a kind of somewhat similar trifling with the literal 
 
 ease." meaning, see Troilus and Cressida, lii. 
 
 1586. <fcto»isrf] Elsewhere in Shake- i. 44: "Sodden business! there's a 
 
 speare used figuratively, see 1. 786 ; stewed phrase indeed ! " 
 3xA Richard III. ^.\-a. 'i'^2. 15^3. lively] life-like, living; cf. 
 
 1588. waier-galls]See Smyth, Saiior's Titus Andronicus, ni. i. 105: "Had 
 
 Word-Book: "Water-gall. A name I but seen thy picture in this plight It 
 
 of the wind-gall"; "Wind-gall. A would have madded me: what shall 
 
 luminous halo on the edge of a distant I do Now I behold thy lively body so ? " 
 
 cloud, where there is rain, usually seen and Romeus and Juliet, Hazlitt's Shaks. 
 
 in the wind's eye, and looked upon as Lib. p. 97 : " They [the fatal sisters 
 
 a sure precursor of stormy weather, three] may, in spite of foes, draw foorth 
 
 Also, an atmospheric effect of prismatic my lively thred," i.e. my thread of 
 
 colours, said likewise to indicate bad life. 
 
LUCRECE 127 
 
 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; 
 " 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; 1615 
 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 
 
 By foul enforcement might be done to me. 
 From that, alas, thy Lucrece is not free. 
 
 " For in the dreadful dead of dark midnight, 1625 
 
 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. 
 
 " ' For some hard-favour'd groom of thine,' quoth he, 
 
 ' Unless thou yoke thy liking to my will, 
 
 I'll murder straight, and then I'll slaughter thee, 
 
 And swear I found you where you did fulfil 1635 
 
 The loathsome act of lust, and so did kill 
 
 The lechers in their deed : this act will be 
 
 My fame, and thy perpetual infamy.' 
 
 "With this, I did begin to start and cry; 
 
 And then against my heart he set 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. 1645 
 
 1615. moe] Qq 1-3, more Qq 5-8. 164O. se(] sets Qq 2-8. 
 161 1, swani Cf. Merchant of Venice, in. ii. 44; Othello, v, ii. 247. 
 
128 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 " Mine enemy was strong, my poor self weak, 
 
 And far the weaker with so strong a fear: 
 
 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, 1655 
 
 Immaculate and spotless is my mind ; 
 
 That was not forc'd ; that never was inclin'd 
 To accessary yieldings, 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 ; 1665 
 
 What he breathes 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. 
 
 1648. foybade] forbad Qq I, 2 ; forbad Qq 3-8. 1661. declined] inclin'd 
 
 Qq 2-8. 1662. sad sef] sad-set Malone ; wretched] wreathed Dyce ed. 2 (S. 
 Walker conj.). 
 
 1650. jcizW«/ /«J<] " A conceit drawn diets 1. 1669. There is a main tide 
 
 from ajudge's scarlet robe " (Wyndham). running violently forward and a counter- 
 
 Cf. "Thou scarlet sin," addressed to tide running violently back. 
 Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII. III. 1672, 1673. Even . . . draw] His 
 
 ii. 255. sighs make a saw, the tool so called, of 
 
 1658. accessary yieldings] yielding his sorrows by pushing grief forwards 
 
 that would make me an accessary to the and drawing it back again ; i.e. his sighs 
 
 crime. gave him only momentary relief, a 
 
 1667. ^j through an arch . . .] repetition of 11. 1663-1666, he sighs 
 
 Dr. Furnivall says : "It was no doubt away his grief and drinks it up again, 
 
 from looking over this Nonesuch or the Care is a saw, though not driven by 
 
 more Northern gap in the [Old London] sighs, in Nicholas Breton, Chertsey 
 
 Bridge houses" that Shakespeare got Worthies' Library, 27 b: "Since 
 
 this stanza. See Temporary Foretalk cruel care, not like a carving knife, 
 
 to Harrison, Part III. p. 6t. But like a Sawe, still hackling to and 
 
 1671. In . . . past] Farmer's con- froe Thus gnawes my heart, with gripes 
 
 jecture "the rage being past" contra- of weary woe." 
 
LUCRECE 129 
 
 Which speechless woe of his poor she attendeth 
 
 And his untimely frenzy thus awaketh: 1675 
 
 "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 
 
 " 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 1685 
 
 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, 1690 
 
 With swift pursuit to venge this wrong of mine; 
 
 For 'tis 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 169S 
 
 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 protestation stops. "O, speak," quoth she, 1700 
 " How may this forced stain be wiped from me ? 
 
 "What is the quality of my offence. 
 
 Being constrain'd with dreadful circumstance? 
 
 May my pure mind with the foul act dispense, 
 
 1680. one] on Qq I, 2 ; in Malone conj. 1702. my\ mine Qq 3-8. 
 
 1680. one woej It is perhaps in favour 1682. sAe'] her. 
 
 of OK (Q I Q 2) that the resemblance 1687. For . . . iniquity] Malone 
 
 between the old pronunciation of "one" compares Romeo and Juliet, in. i. 202 : 
 
 and "on" is sufficient for a pun in "Mercy but murders, pardoning those 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona, 11. i. 2 : that kill." 
 
 "my gloves are on. — Why, then, this 1694. Knights . . . harms] The 
 
 may be yours, for this is but one. " anachronism is noted by Malone. 
 
 For "drown," cf. Twelfth Night, 11. i. 1697. imposition] injunction, charge, 
 
 31: "drown her remembrance"; and as in Merchant of Venice, i. ii. 114; 
 
 3 Henry VI. 11. i. 104: "Ten days Troilm and Cressida, lu. ii. 86. 
 ago I drown'd these news in tears," 
 
 9 
 
130. SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 My low-declined honour to advance? 170S 
 
 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; 17 10 
 
 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." 17 15 
 
 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, 'tis 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 unsheathed: 
 
 That blow did bail it from the deep unrest 1725 
 
 Of that polluted prison where it breathed : 
 
 Her contrite sighs unto the clouds bequeathed 
 
 Her winged sprite, and through her wounds doth fly 
 Life's lasting date from cancell'd 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 ; 
 
 1705. low-decHned\ hyphened by Malone. 1710. her mind] he mmii Q j, 
 the mind Qq 4-8. 1712. The] Her Hudson (S. Walker conj.) ; That Kinnear 
 conj. that] the Kinnear conj. 1713- in it] Malone (Capell MS.), it in Qq 
 1-7, in Q 8. 1721. lords] lord Qq 3-8. 1730. Stone-stiH] hyphened in 
 Qq 7. 8. 
 
 1712. map] Cf. S Henry VI. III. Painter, /Vz/a^ «/■ /"/eararg (ed. Jacobs, 
 
 i. 203: "in thy face I see The map i. 24): "As for my part, though I 
 
 of honour, truth and loyalty " ; and cleare my selfe of the offence, my 
 
 Titus Andronicus, III. ii. 12; but here body shall feele the punishment; for 
 
 there is a special allusion to the lines no unchast or ill woman, shall hereafter 
 
 in a map, somewhat as in the jesting impute no dishonest act to Lucrece." 
 reference in Twelfth Night, in. ii. 85. 1730. astonish'd] astounded, thunder- 
 
 1714, 1715] no dame . . . giving] struck; cf. Venus and Adonis, \. 825; 
 
 Malone compares Livy, i. 58, and 3.nA Julius Casar, I. iii. 56. 
 
LUCRECE 131 
 
 And from the purple fountain Brutus drew 
 
 The murderous knife, and, as it left the place, 1735 
 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, 1745 
 
 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 putrified. 1750 
 
 " Daughter, dear daughter," old Lucretius cries, 
 
 " That life was mine which thou hast here deprived. 
 
 If in the child the father's image lies. 
 
 Where shall I live now Lucrece is unlived? 
 
 Thou wast not to this end from me derived. 1755 
 
 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. 
 
 1762. i&y'] mj> Qq 3-8. 1763. of] from Qq ^-S. 
 
 1736. AeM it in chase] Cf. Julius 1753- image] Malone compares 
 
 Casar, III. ii. 181-184: "And as he Richard III. II. ii. 50: "I have be- 
 
 pluck'd his cursed steel away, Mark wept a worthy husband's death, And 
 
 how the blood of Csesar foUow'd it, lived by looking on his im^es," i.e. 
 
 As rushing out of doors, to be resolved children. 
 
 If Brutus so unkindly knock'd, or no." 1758. glass] Cf. 1. 1526. 
 
 1740. Who] which ; cf. 1. 1805. 1761. deatK] image or representation 
 
 1740. vastly] i.e. like a waste of death, often found in the sense of 
 
 (Malone). skull or skeleton, e.g. Love's Labour's 
 
 1745. rigoT] a circle (Malone). Lost, v. ii. 616: "A Death's face in a 
 
 Steevens cites S Henry IV, IV. v. 36 : ring" ; Merchant of Venice, 11. vii. 63 : 
 
 "this is a sleep That from this golden "A carrion death." Steevens quotes 
 
 rigol hath divorced So many English King John, v. ii. 177: "and in his 
 
 kings." forehead sits A bare-ribb'd death." 
 
132 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 "O time, cease thou thy course and last no longer, 1765 
 
 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, 1775 
 
 And counterfeits to die with her a space; 
 
 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; 1780 
 
 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. 1785 
 
 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, mine she is," 1795 
 
 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'd." 
 
 1765. last] hast Qq 3-8, haste Gildon. 1766. they\ thou Qq 3-8. 1787. 
 the\ his Qq 3-8. 1788. blow] bleia Q 8. 
 
 1774. key-cold] Cf. Richard III. I. ii. 1776. And . . , space] i.e. lies in a 
 5 : "Poor key-cold figure of a holy death-like swoon, 
 icing " (Steevens). 
 
LUCRECE 133 
 
 " Woe, woe," quoth Collatine, " she was my wife ; 
 
 I ow'd her, and 'tis mine that she hath kill'd." 
 
 " My daughter " and " my wife " with clamours fill'd 
 
 The dispers'd air, who, holding Lucrece' life, 1805 
 
 Answer'd their cries, " my daughter " and " 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. 18 10 
 
 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, 1815 
 
 And arm'd his long-hid wits advisedly 
 
 To check the tears in Collatinus' eyes. 
 
 " Thou wronged lord of Rome," quoth he, " arise : 
 Let my unsounded self, supposed 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: 1825 
 Thy wretched wife mistook the matter so. 
 To slay herself, that should have slain her foe. 
 
 " 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 disgraced. 
 By our strong arms from forth her fair streets chased. 
 
 1812. silly jeering] silly-jeering Malone ; jeering] leering Qq 7) 8. 1815. 
 deep] the Qq 5-8, true Sewell. 1829. relenting] lamenting Qq 5-8. 1834. 
 her fair streets] her streets be Capell MS. 
 
 1803. ow'd] owned ; cf. Macbeth, I. " Gloucester is a man Unsounded yet 
 
 iv. 10. and full of deep deceit." 
 
 1819. unsounded] Used literally in 1821. Why] An exclamation of im- 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona, III. ii. 81 : patience, as in Merchant of Venice, 11. 
 
 " unsounded deeps," and figuratively, v. 6. 
 as here, in S Henry VI. m. i, 57 : 
 
134 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 "Now, by the Capitol that we adore, 1835 
 
 And by this chaste blood so unjustly stained, 
 
 By heaven's fair sun that breeds the fat earth's store, 
 
 By all our country rights in Rome maintained 
 
 And by chaste Lucrece' soul that late complained 
 
 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: 1845 
 
 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 dear 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. 1855 
 
 1849. this] Ms Q 7. 1851. her] the Qq 4-8. thorough] through out Q 5, 
 through-out Qq 7, 8. 1854. plausibly] plausively Capell MS. 
 
 1845. allow] approve ; cf. Grosart's Spanish Masquerado, Grosart's Greene, 
 
 Greene, vi. 126: "My fellow swaine v. 241 : "I have found you favourable, 
 
 has told a pretie tale Which moderne at the least smiling at my labours, with 
 
 Poets may perhaps allow, Yet I a plausible silence"; and Euphues his 
 
 condemn the terms." Censure to Philautus, ibid. vi. 199 : 
 
 Y?!^^ plausibly] with approval, " Ulysses having ended his tale with a 
 
 applaudingly ; the meaning is the same plausible silence of both parties." 
 as that of plausively (Capell MS. ). See 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 
 
 I 
 
 When my love swears that she is made of truth, 
 I do believe her, though I know she lies. 
 That she might think me some untutor'd youth, 
 Unskilful in the world's false forgeries. 
 Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, 
 Although I know my years be past the best, 
 I smiling credit her false-speaking tongue. 
 Outfacing faults in love with love's ill rest. 
 7. false-speaking] hyphened by Malone. 
 
 I. Cf. Sonnet cxxxviii. (differences in 
 italics) : 
 
 " When my love swears that • she is 
 made of truth, 
 I do believe her, though I know 
 
 she lies, 
 That she might think me some un- 
 tutor'd youth. 
 Unlearned in the world's false 
 
 subtleties. 
 Thus vainly thinking that she thinks 
 
 me young, 
 Although she knows my days are 
 
 past the best, 
 Simply I credit her false-speaking 
 
 tongue : 
 On both sides thus is simple truth 
 
 sufpress'd. 
 But wherefore says she not she is 
 
 unjust ? 
 And wherefore say not I that I am 
 
 old? 
 O, love's best habit is in seeming 
 
 trust. 
 And age in love loves not to have 
 years told : 
 Therefore I lie with her and she 
 
 with me. 
 And in our faults by lies we 
 Jlattei'dht." 
 This is clearer and more consistent 
 than the form in the text, though 1. 8 
 sounds harsh. 
 
 137 
 
 4. forgeries'] deceits, trickeries. Even 
 without an epithet it is used of what 
 is unreal (Lucrece, 460), or untrue 
 (Hamlet, II. i. 20). 
 
 7. false - speaking] The Cambridge 
 Edd. credit Delius with the hyphen, 
 but it appears in Malone's transcript, 
 note on Sonnet cxxxviii. (1790). 
 
 8. Outfacing . . . rest] It is not 
 clear whether "Outfacing" should be 
 taken with "I" or with "tongue," 
 whether "with" means "together 
 with" or "by means of," and what 
 "love's ill rest " may mean. I doubt- 
 fully refer "outfacing" to "tongue," 
 and explain: "defending her well- 
 known lapses from constancy, by means 
 of the remaining vice in love, viz. 
 falsehood, i.e. meeting evidence of 
 guilt by perjury in her own favour." 
 Prof. Case writes : " It seems possible 
 that, though outfacing rather suggests 
 the action of the sinner than that of 
 the sufferer, it refers to smiling, and 
 that the sense may be : ' Dissembling 
 (i.e. concealing my knowledge of) faults 
 in love together with my own uneasi- 
 ness.' Outfacing agrees well enough 
 with loveh ill rest in this sense, and 
 after all, the poet has his own fault in 
 love to outface, the simulation of youth, 
 or the absence of youth." 
 
138 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 But wherefore says my love that she is young? 
 
 And wherefore say not I that I am old? lO 
 
 O, love's best habit is a soothing tongue, 
 
 And age, in love, loves not to have years told. 
 Therefore I '11 lie with love, and love with me, 
 Since that our faults in love thus smother'd be. 
 
 II 
 
 Two loves I have, of comfort and despair. 
 
 That like two spirits do suggest me still ; 
 
 My better angel is a man right fair. 
 
 My worser spirit a woman colour'd ill. 
 
 To win me soon to hell, my female evil 5 
 
 Tempteth my better angel from my side. 
 
 And would corrupt my saint to be a devil. 
 
 Wooing his purity with her fair pride. 
 
 And whether that my angel be turn'd fiend. 
 
 Suspect I may, yet not directly tell : 10 
 
 For being both to me, both to each friend, 
 
 I guess one angel in another's hell: 
 
 The truth I shall not know, but live in doubt. 
 
 Till my bad angel fire my good one out. 
 
 II. soothing\ smoothing QAAon. II, me, both to each friend, 1 me: both, to 
 each friend, ed. 1599. 
 
 9. she z>] / am would give a. some- 3, 4. My . . , My] ' ' The . . . 
 
 what better sense, viz. she says I am The," Sonnet cxh'v. 
 young, for lovers must be flatterers, and 8. fair] foul, Sonnet cxliv. , gives a 
 
 I do not contradict her, for an old man sense more in accordance with "colour'd 
 
 in love is vain. But this is to drift ill," 1. 4. 
 
 from 1. I, where she protests her faith 10. directly] exactly, precisely. See 
 
 though she is unfaithful and he knows Merchant of Venice, I. iii. 78. 
 it. In return he delicately hints that 11. to me] Being both of them alike 
 
 he is young by assuming the credulity friends of mine and of each other ; 
 
 of the inexperienced. Possibly / am which does not give a satisfactory sense, 
 
 was the original reading, and she is a It would be better to read from me 
 
 partial correction, on its way to become with Sonnet cxliv., i.e. at a distance 
 
 she is unjust, i.e. unfaithful. from; cf. Lucrece, 1 144: "Some dark 
 
 11. . . . tongue] Love is best deep desert seated from the way." 
 clothed in flattery. Cf. Hamlet, I. iii. 12. / . . . hell] I suspect that she 
 70 : " Costly thy habit as thy purse can has him in her own place. 
 
 buy - . . For the apparel oft betrays 13. The . . , know] "Yet this I 
 
 the man." Gildon's smoothing for ne'er shall know," Sonnet cxliv. 
 
 soothing is unnecessary : both meant 14. Till . . . out] This may mean 
 
 "flattering.'' See C(;ra/a»«j-, II. ii. 77. merely, "drive him away from her," 
 
 12. told] counted, reckoned up; cf. but in an unquotable epigram in 
 Timon of Athens, III. v. 107 : " While Guilpin's Skialetheia, the same expres- 
 they have told their money " ; Lov^s sion occurs : ' ' But I should loth be to 
 Labour's Lost, i. ii. 41: "How many be fired out.'' On Sonnet cxliv. 12, 
 is one thrice told ? " Prof. Dowden quotes S Henry IV. 
 
 II. See Sonnet cxliv. 11. iv. 365: "For the women? — For 
 
 2. suggest] prompt or urge. See one of them, she is in hell already, and 
 Lucrece, 37. burns poor souls." 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 139 
 
 III 
 
 Did not the heavenly rhetoric of thine eye, 
 
 'Gainst whom the world could not hold argument, 
 
 Persuade my heart to this false perjury? 
 
 Vows for thee broke deserve not punishment. 
 
 A woman I forswore; but I will prove, 5 
 
 Thou being a goddess, I forswore not thee: 
 
 My vow was earthly, thou a heavenly love; 
 
 Thy grace being gain'd cures all disgrace in me. 
 
 My vow was breath, and breath a vapour is; 
 
 Then, thou fair sun, that on this earth doth shine, lo 
 
 Exhale this vapour vow ; in thee it is : 
 
 If broken then, it is no fault of mine. 
 
 If by me broke, what fool is not so wise 
 
 To break an oath, to win a paradise? 
 
 IV 
 
 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, 5 
 
 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, 
 
 2. could no{\ cannot Malone, from Love's Labour's Lost. lo, ii. that . . . 
 Exhale] which on my earth dost shine, ExhaVst Malone, from Love's Labour 's 
 Lost. 5. ear] Malone, eares ed. 1599. 
 
 III. See Love's Labour's Lost, IV. iii. m. break] "lose," Love's Labour's 
 
 56-69. Lost, is better. 
 
 2. whom] which, i.e. the heavenly IV. 2. green] perhaps "iimocent," 
 
 rhetoric, or possibly 'thine eye.' as in King John, in. iv. 145: "How 
 
 9. My vow was] In Love's Labour 's green you are and fresh in this old 
 
 Zoj^, "Vows are but." world." 
 
 11. Exhale] "exhalest," Love's 5. She . . . ear] Venus tells the 
 Labour's Lost. story of Atalanta in Ovid, Met. x. 
 
 12. If broken then,] viz. when 560-704. 
 
 exhaled. The original, followed by the 9. whether . . . conceit] whether he 
 
 Cambridge Edd., has the comma at was too young to understand. To 
 
 broken. The pointing in the text, which want is to be destitute of, as in Lucrece, 
 
 \%'Ca&\.oi Love's Labour's Lost, SshetVex: 557; and conceit is intelligence or 
 
 we need an explicit contrast to "If possibly imagination. See VIII. 7, 8 
 
 by me broke," 1. 13. If a change were post and 2 Henry IV. 11. iv. 263 : "his 
 
 needed, I should suggest "If broken wit's as thick as Tewkesbury mustard ; 
 
 there," i.e. in the sun, accounting for there 's no more conceit in him than is 
 
 then as a transference from 1, 10. in a mallet." 
 
140 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Or he refus'd to take her figur'd proffer, 10 
 
 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. 
 
 If love make me forsworn, how shall I swear to love? 
 O never faith could hold, if not to beauty vowed : 
 Though to myself forsworn, to thee I '11 constant prove ; 
 Those thoughts, to me like oaks, to thee like osiers bowed. 
 Study his bias leaves, and makes his book thine eyes, 5 
 Where all those pleasures live that art can comprehend. 
 If knowledge be the mark, to know thee shall suffice; 
 Well learned is that tongue that well can thee commend : 
 All ignorant that soul that sees thee without wonder; 
 Which is to me some praise, that I thy parts admire : lo 
 Thine eye Jove's lightning seems, thy voice his dreadful 
 
 thunder, 
 Which, not to anger bent, is music and sweet fire. 
 Celestial as thou art, O do not love that wrong, 
 To sing heaven's praise with such an earthly tongue. 
 
 10, figur'd'l sugar'd Collier conj. J. makes'] make Camb. Edd, 14. 
 heaven's] Gildon, heavens ed. 1599, the heavens' Malone. 
 
 10. lake] possibly "accept," and J. book] Malone compares Love's 
 
 certainly, if Collier's conjecture ja^fl;-V Zafoar'jZorf, IV. iii. 350-353: "From 
 
 for figured be accepted ; but perhaps women's eyes this doctrine I derive 
 
 better "understand," so that 11. 9, 10 ... They are the books, the arts, the 
 
 will mean "whether he really couldn't academes, That show, contain and 
 
 understand or wouldn't." Cf. xi. 12 : nourish all the world" ; cf. 11. 302, 303. 
 
 "And would not take her meaning or See also Winter's Tale, II. i. 12: 
 
 he.x-^\essa.xe" ■,^rv& Midsummer- Night's "Who taught you this? — I learnt it 
 
 Dream, v. i. 90: "Our sport shall be out of women's faces"; and Lucrece, 
 
 to take what they mistake." 100, 102. 
 
 10. figur'd proffer] signs or gestures II, 12. thy voice . . . music] So in 
 
 of invitation. See Richard III. I. ii. Antony and Cleopatra, V. ii. 83-86 : 
 
 194: "I would I knew thy heart, — "his voice was propertied As all the 
 
 "Tis figured in my tongue." tuned spheres, and that to friends : 
 
 V. See Love's Labour's Lost, IV. ii. But when he meant to quail and shake 
 
 100-113. the orb, He was as rattling thunder" 
 
 5. Study . . . leaves] The student (Steevens). 
 
 abandons his inclination to learning. 13, 14. . . . tongue] With this 
 
 As Shallow says, Merry Wives, m. i. reading the poet must be understood to 
 
 38 : " Keep a gamester from the dice, break off and appeal to himself. The 
 
 and a good student from his book, and version in Love's Labour's Lost is better: 
 
 it is wonderful." For " bias," cf. Lear, " O, pardon Love the wrong That sings 
 
 I. ii. 120: "the king falls from bias of heaven's praise with such an earthly 
 
 nature," a meaning due to the use of tongue." 
 
 "bias" for the lead inserted in a bowl 14. heaven's] "the heaven's, "Malone, 
 
 to cause it to run in a certain curve. who is mistaken in saying that this is 
 
 5. makes] The Cambridge Shake- the reading in the corresponding line 
 
 speare, followed by the Temple ed., in Love's Labour's Lost. 
 reads " make," seemingly a misprint. 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 141 
 
 VI 
 
 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 used 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 naked on the 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, " why was not I a flood ! " 
 
 lO 
 
 vn 
 
 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, 
 
 5. Ul}i\ little Lintott. 
 
 VI. The subject is that of one of the 
 pictures offered to Christopher Sly, 
 Taming of the Shrew, Induction, ii. 
 50: "Dost thou love pictures? We 
 will show thee straight Adonis painted 
 by the running brook, And Cytherea 
 all in sedges hid."^ 
 
 12. wistly\ eagerly, earnestly ; cf. 
 Holland's Pliny, il. xl. : "A wild 
 beast there is in Egypt, called Orix, 
 which the Egyptians say, doth Stand 
 full against the Dog starre when it 
 riseth, looking wistly upon it, and 
 testifieth after a sort by sneesing, a kind 
 of worship." See also Venus and 
 Adonis, 343, and Lucrece, 1355' 
 
 VII. 3. brittle'] Perhaps we should 
 read for the rime's sake brickie, which 
 is still in provincial use. See Eng. 
 Dialect Diet, sab voc. It occurs in 
 Spenser, Ruines of Time : " But th' 
 Altare, on the which this Image staid, 
 Was O great pitie ! built of brickie 
 clay " ; and Faerie Queene, IV. x. 39 : 
 "Yet glasse was not, if one did rightly 
 deeme ; But being faire and brickie, 
 likest glasse did seeme," 
 
 5. damask dye] Cf. King John, III. 
 i. 53 : "Of Nature's gifts thou may'st 
 with lilies boast And with the half- 
 blown rose." "The Damaske Rose," 
 says Parkinson (Paradisus, p. 413), 
 "is of a fine deepe blush colour, and 
 the great double Damaske Province or 
 Holland Rose of the same or rather 
 somewhat deeper." The New Eng. 
 Diet, cites Lyte, Dodoens, vi. i. 654 : 
 " The flowers ... be neither redde 
 nor white but of a mixt colour betwixt 
 red and white, almost carnation colour." 
 In Love's Labour 's Lost, v. ii. 295, the 
 damask rose seems to be identified with 
 the York and Lancaster, from which 
 Parkinson distinguishes it ; cf. As You 
 Like It, III. V. 123. 
 
 $,6.A... ,4«r] The words " None 
 fairer " are with this pointing left 
 suspended. The antithesis between 
 " grace " and "deface " seems to require 
 a change : "A lily pale with damask 
 dye : to grace her. None fairer, nor 
 none falser, to deface her," i.e. To her 
 honour it may be said that there is 
 none fairer, and to her discredit that 
 
142 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 ! lo 
 
 Yet in the midst of all her pure protestings. 
 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 ; 1 5 
 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. 
 
 vni 
 
 If music and sweet poetry agree, 
 
 As they must needs, the sister and the brother, 
 
 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 5 
 
 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 ; 10 
 
 And I in deep delight am chiefly drown'd 
 
 When as himself to singing he betakes. 
 
 One god is god of both, as poets feign ; 
 
 One knight loves both, and both in thee remain. 
 
 10. thereof'\ whereof ed. 1599. II. mzdsi'] ed. 1640; miiis ed. 1599. 
 
 IT,. flametKl flaviing Sewell ed. I. 14. oat-bumeth'] hyphened by Malone, 
 
 out burning Sewell. 16. a-tuming\ hyphened by Dyce. 
 
 there is none more false. Possibly, the ed. 1613), Lacrymce, or Semen Teares 
 
 phrase "none fairer" was displaced figured in seaven passionate Pavans 
 
 by the exigencies of the rime, or the (1605), andotherworks. Hewasatone 
 
 writer may have thought the chiasmus time of his life very popular. ' ' But in 
 
 desirable in itself. music we know how fashions end." 
 
 13, 14. She . . . out-burneth'jyLalone See. Z)ict. Nat. Biog. 
 
 compares 1 Henry IV. in. ii. 62 : 7. conceit] thought. In the next line 
 
 "rash bavin wits, Soon kindled and it is rather "imagination"; cf. IV. 9 
 
 soon burnt." ante. 
 
 VIII. 5. Dowland] John Dowland 14. One knight] Sir George Carey. 
 
 (1563?-! 626?), lute-player and com- 14. thee] Richard Linche, author of 
 
 poser, published First Booke of Songes Diella. See also Introduction. 
 or Ayres of Foure-Partes in 1597 (5th 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 143 
 
 IX 
 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: 5 
 
 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 : 
 "Once," quoth she, "did I see a fair sweet youth 
 Here in these brakes deep-wounded with a boar, lo 
 
 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. 
 
 X 
 
 Sweet rose, fair flower, untimely pluck'd, soon vaded, 
 
 Pluck'd in the bud and vaded in the spring! 
 
 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, 5 
 
 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 : 10 
 
 O yes, dear friend, I pardon crave of thee. 
 Thy discontent thou didst bequeath to me. 
 
 2. Omission of line first marked by Malone, As a long-parted mother from 
 her child Bullock conj. 5. steep-up] hyphened by Sewell. 10. deep- 
 
 wounded] hyphened by Malone. i. vaded] faded, Gildon. 8. leffsC] 
 
 Malone, lefts ed. 1599. 
 
 IX. 3. Paler . . . ] The line pre- which it means, though the words are 
 ceding this is lost (Malone). of different origin. See Skeat, Z'zW. iai 
 
 5. J^««/-«/] Malone compares &iKK«&, voc. Spenser makes them rime in The 
 
 vii. 5: " And having climb'd the steep- Ruines of Ro7ne, xx. : "Her power, 
 
 up heavenly hill. " In Othello, v. ii. disperst through all the world did vade ; 
 
 280, we have "steep-down " ; " Wash To shew that all in th' end to nought 
 
 me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire." shall fade." "Vade" occurs four 
 
 8. pass] pass through, as often. times in The Passionate Pilgrim, but 
 
 X. I. vaded] Gildon read "faded," not in Shakespeare's genuine work. 
 
144 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 XI 
 
 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," 5 
 
 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; 
 
 " Even thus," quoth she, " he seized on my lips," 
 
 And with her lips on his did act the seizure: 10 
 
 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 ! 
 
 I. Venus, withyoung\ Venus with edd. 1599, 1612, 1640; Fair Venus with 
 Malone (Farmer conj.) ; Venus and yong Griffin. 4. so fell she] Griffin, she 
 fell edd. 1599, 1612, 1640. 5. warlike] wanton Griffin. 6. clipf'd] clasfd 
 Griffin. 1 1, And] But Dyce. 
 
 XI. 4.] Boswell writes : " I have 
 given this line from Fidessa ; the want 
 of metre shows it to be corrupt as it 
 appears in Jaggard : ' And as he fell 
 to her, she fell to him.' The emphasis 
 must be laid on ' to him,' as the corre- 
 sponding rhyme is ' woo him.' " 
 
 /^. And . . . him] She began to 
 treat Adonis as Mars had treated her. 
 To "fall to" is to begin or set about 
 doing anything ; and in modern pro- 
 vincial use means often to attack ; thus 
 "He fell to him like a day's work " 
 means violently assaulted him. See 
 Taming of the Shrew, I. i. 38 : " The 
 mathematics and the metaphysics, Fall 
 to them as you find your stomach serves 
 you"; Hamlet, V. ii. 216: "before 
 you fall to play." Prof. Case prefers 
 the less idiomatic sense : " And as Mars 
 fell (or leant) towards her, so she fell 
 towards Adonis." 
 
 6. clipp'd] clasped. See Venus and 
 Adonis, 600. 
 
 9-14. In Griffin's Fidessa the last 
 six lines are as follows {Elizabethan 
 Sonnets, ed. Lee, ii. 266): "But he, 
 a wayward boy, refused the offer. 
 And ran away, the beauteous Queen 
 neglecting. Showing both folly to abuse 
 her proffer. And all his sex of cowardice 
 detecting. O that I had my Mistress at 
 
 that bay ! To kiss and clip me till I 
 ran away." 
 
 12. take] understand. See IV. 10. 
 
 13. at this bay] At first sight it may 
 seem natural to explain this, as the New 
 Eng. Did., "at close quarters ... at 
 one's last extremity " ; cf. Spenser, 
 Faerie Queene, VI. i. 12, of a squire 
 bound to a tree: "what hard mishap 
 thee brought Into this bay of perill and 
 disgrace?" But this is to miss the 
 point : the poet does not wish that he 
 was hunting his lady, but that his lady 
 was hunting him. He would like, 
 mutata mutanda, to be in Adonis's 
 shoes, i.e. to be the hunted not the 
 hunter. And "to hold at a bay" 
 could be said of the stag as well as of 
 the hounds. See Cotgrave : "Aux 
 derniers abbois ... A metaphor from 
 hunting ; wherein a Stag is said, Rendre 
 les abbois when wearie of running he 
 turns upon the hounds, and holds them 
 at, or put them to, a bay." Cf. Venus 
 and Adonis, 877: "The hounds 
 are at a bay." A stag caught by a 
 hound may escape if the hound loses its 
 grip by opening its mouth. Adonis 
 was seized by Venus, 1. 10, but she 
 fetched breath and he skipped, 1. II. 
 The poet merely says that if he were 
 the stag, Adonis, and his lady the 
 hound, Venus, he would not run. 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 145 
 
 XII 
 
 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 ; 5 
 
 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! lo 
 
 Age, I do defy thee: O, sweet shepherd, hie thee. 
 
 For methinks thou stay'st too long. 
 
 XIII 
 
 Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; 
 
 A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly ; 
 
 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, 5 
 
 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, 
 
 12. stay'st} Ewing, siayst Sewell, staies ed. 1599. i. doubtful] fleeting 
 Anon. MS. (Gent. Mag. xx. 521). 2. vadeth] fadeth Gildon. 3. first . . . 
 bud] almost in the bud Anon. MS. (Gent. Mag.). 4. that's broken] that 
 
 breaketk Anon. MS. (Gent. Mag.). 6, 8. vaded] faded Gildon. 7. And 
 
 . . . found] As goods, when lost, are wonoCrous seldom found Anon. MS. (Gent. 
 Mag.). 8-10. will refresh . . . redress] can excite . . . unite Anon. MS. 
 
 (Gent. Mag.). 9. dead lie wither'd] when dead, are trampled Anon. MS. 
 
 (Gent. Mag.). 
 
 XII.] Printed by Malpne as 20 11. 7. seld] seldom. See Troilus and 
 
 4. brave] adorned, flourishing. The Cressida, IV. v. ijo: "If I might in 
 
 New Eng. Diet, cites H. Smith (1593), entreaties find success— As seld I have 
 
 fr»r/5j(i866-67): "The lilies which are a chance"; and Romeus and Juliet 
 
 braver than Solomon" ; and Heywood, (Hazlitt's Shaks. Lib. p. 105) : "Tvi^o 
 
 Apol. Actors, Author to Bk. : ' ' One sortes of men there are, seeld welcome 
 
 man is ragged and another brave." in at doore, The welfhy sparing niggard, 
 
 XIII.] The Cambridge Edd. cite and the sutor who is poore." So 
 
 from a second MS. copy of this poem " seld-shown," Coriolanus, n. i. 229; 
 
 (Gentleman!s Magazine, xxx. 39) the "selcouth," i.e. seldom known, 
 
 ieitdiDgs,afleeiing{oi and fleeting {I. i), Spenser, Faerie Queene, iv. viii. 14. 
 aaA fading fot faded (1. 8 of first copy). 
 
 10 
 
146 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 As broken glass no cement can redress, lO 
 
 So beauty blemish'd once for ever's lost, 
 In spite of physic, painting, pain and cost. 
 
 XIV, XV 
 
 Good night, good rest. Ah, neither be my share : 
 She bade good night that kept my rest away ; 
 And daffd me to a cabin hang'd with care. 
 To descant on the doubts of my decay. 
 
 "Farewell," quoth she, "and come again to- 
 morrow : " 5 
 Fare well I could not, for I supp'd with 
 sorrow. 
 
 Yet at my parting sweetly did she 'smile, 
 
 In scorn or friendship, niU I conster whether; 
 
 'T may be, she joy'd to jest at my exile, 
 
 'T may be, again to make me wander thither: lo 
 
 "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 
 
 10. cemenf\ symant ed. 1599. 11. once for ever's] Gildon, once' s for ever 
 Edd. Globe ed., once, is ever Anon. MS. (Gent. Mag.). 8. conster^ed. 1599, 
 construe Ewing. 9, 10. 'T may be] ed. 1599, It may be Gildon, May be 
 
 Malone. 11. a word] so Malone, in parentheses in ed. 1599. 14. charge] 
 change Delius conj. 
 
 10. cement] So accented in Antony iv. i. 96: " dafPd the world aside And 
 and Cleopatra, iii. ii. 29. bid it pass.'' 
 
 11. So . . . lost] Perhaps we should 4. descant . . . decay] comment on 
 read :" So beauty 's, blemish'd once, for apprehensions of loss of strength or 
 ever lost." hope; cf. Richard III. I. i. 27: "'I 
 
 XIV, XV. These are one poem, as . . . Have no delight to pass away the 
 
 Prof. Dowden has shown, noting the time Unless to spy my shadow in the 
 
 catchword Lord under pelf in the ori- sun And descant on mine own de- 
 
 ginal. Prof. Rolfe pointed out the formity." "Decay" was used of any 
 
 small capital of Lord (1. 13) as evi- change for the worse, 
 
 dence of the same thing. 8. nill] will not ; cf. Pericles, in. 
 
 I. be] are. Gower, 55: "I nill relate, action may 
 
 3. dafTd] "Daff" usually means do Conveniently the rest display." 
 
 or put off, but is here stronger, "packed 8. whether] which of the two. See 
 
 me off." Malone compares Much Ado, note on Venus and Adonis, 1. 304. 
 
 V. i. 78: "Away, I will not have to 14. charge the watch] Steevens says, 
 
 do with you. — Canst thou so daff "The meaning of this phrase is not 
 
 me?" See also ibid. 11. iii. 76: "I very clear"; and Malone, that "Per- 
 
 would have daff'd all other respects, and haps the poet, wishing for the approach 
 
 made her half myself" ; and 1 Henry IV. of morning, enjoins the watch to hasten 
 
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 147 
 
 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; 
 
 IS 
 
 For she doth welcome daylight with her ditty, 
 And drives away dark dreaming night; 
 The night so pack'd, I post unto my pretty; 
 Heart hath his hope and eyes their wished sight; 
 Sorrow chang'd to solace and solace mix'd with 
 
 sorrow ; 
 For why, she sigh'd^ and bade me come to- 
 morrow. 
 
 20 
 
 Were I with her, the night would post too soon; 25 
 
 15. res/.] rest, ed. 1599. 17- sits ami} omit. Edd. Cambridge ed. conj. 
 
 20. And drives] And daylight drives Anon. conj. ; dark dreaming] dark 
 dismal - dreaming Malone, dark dreary dreaming Anon. conj. 23. and 
 
 solace] solace Malone. 24. sigKd] Gildon, sight ed. 1599. 
 
 through their nocturnal duties,'' but 
 this is to bid them exceed their powers. 
 If the text is right, "the watch" may 
 be "mine eyes," which are bidden to 
 act as watchmen, e.g. to announce the 
 dawn; but other senses, e.g. hearing, 
 are roused by the glimmer of morning 
 twilight, and I listen for the lark to 
 confirm the evidence of my eyes when 
 daylight actually comes. Objections 
 to the text are that " the morning rise 
 . . . rest," seems either an unmeaning 
 parenthesis or a contradiction of 1. 19, 
 for morning rise and daylight can 
 hardly be distinguished, and also of 
 11. 29, 30. Besides, the rhythm is 
 jarred and interrupted by the full stop at 
 " rest." It might be better to restore the 
 pointing of ed. 1599, merely changing 
 the comma at "watch" to the end of 
 the line, an3 to read "them" for " the " : 
 m may have been in the MS. a mere 
 stroke above the e. "Them" is so 
 printed in the original of XIX. 40. 
 This would give continuity of sense 
 and rhythm, besides bringing the stanza 
 into line with the rest as regards its 
 form, for the others are, in the original, 
 quatrains ending in a full stop, and 
 followed by couplets : 
 
 "Lord, how mine eyes throw gazes 
 
 to the east ! 
 My heart doth charge them watch 
 
 the morning rise, 
 
 Doth cite each moving sense from 
 
 idle rest. 
 Not daring trust the office of mine 
 
 eyes. 
 While Philomela sings, I sit and 
 
 mark, 
 And wish her lays were tuned 
 
 like the lark"; 
 i.e. My heart, unable to trust my eyes, 
 rouses my other senses. "Moving" 
 may mean "living"; cf. Venus and 
 Adonis, 368 : " O fairest mover on 
 this mortal round," i.e. fairest who 
 lives on earth. Prof. Case cites R. 
 Chester, Love's Martyr (1601, ed. 
 Grosart, p. 154): "My eyes like 
 Watchmen gaze within the night," 
 but suggests that "instead of tak- 
 ing 'the watch' as 'mine eyes,' we 
 might take 'charge the watch' as 
 = impose or enjoin the watch or 
 vigil." 
 
 17. sits . . . mark] The Cambridge 
 Edd. f>ropose to omit "sits and," 
 which is better than to read "I 
 mark.'' 
 
 21. pack'i\ gone, as in 1. 29 below, 
 and Richard III. i. i. 146: "Till 
 George be pack'd with post-horse up 
 to heaven." 
 
 22. wjiAerf] longed-for ; cf. "wished 
 light" in Comedy of Errors, i. i. 91. 
 In this sense it is common, especially 
 in Fletcher's plays. 
 
148 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 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 ! 
 
 Pack night, peep day; good day, of night now borrow; 
 
 Short, night, to-night, and length thyself, to-morrow. 30 
 
 27. a moon} Malone (Steevens conj.), «« houre ed. 1599. 
 
 27. mooB] month ; cf. Midsummer- in Romeus and Juliet {)iaz\it\^s Shaks. 
 
 Nigkfs Dream, I. i. 3; and Othello, Lib. p. 147): "Shall short our days 
 
 I. iii. 84. So Tennyson calls March \i.e. life] by shameful death." 
 " this roaring moon of daffodil And 30. thyself^ I have inserted the 
 
 crocus." comma, as to-morrow is addressed, 
 
 30. Shorti shorten; used in a some- the meaning being, "O Night, make 
 
 what different sense in Cymbeline, I. thyself short, O To-morrow, make 
 
 vi. 200: "I shall short my word By thyself long." "For why? She sighed, 
 
 lengthening my return"; but as here and bade me come to-morrow " (1. 24). 
 
SONNETS 
 
 TO SUNDRY NOTES OF 
 MUSIC 
 
 XVI 
 
 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 : 6 
 To put in practice either, alas, it was a spite 
 
 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, lo 
 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 ; 1 5 
 
 For now my song is ended. 
 
 XVII 
 
 On a day, alack the day! 
 
 Love, whose month was ever May, 
 
 Spied a blossom passing fair, 
 
 2. her masler] a master S. Walker conj. 4. a-turning\ hyphened by Dyce. 
 
 XVI. I. /o?-(?j«/ J'] gentleman's. The to be given in derision and for a kind 
 
 word is usually used in the plural and of contempt, as when we say Lording 
 
 in addresses, e.g. 2 Henry VI. I. i. for Lord." 
 
 14s ; cf. Selimus, Temple ed. 1. 199 2. master'\ teacher, as in Taming of 
 
 (lording), 11. 753, 1832 (lordirgs). In the Shrew, ill. i. 54. 
 
 iii^ Arte of English Poesie (ed. Arber, XVII. See ZwA Labour's Lost, iv. 
 
 p. 229), it is given as an example of iii. 97-116, and Hart's notes in this 
 
 meiosis: "Also such terms are used series. 
 
150 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Playing in the wanton air: 
 
 Through the velvet leaves the wind 5 
 
 All unseen 'gan passage find; 
 
 That the lover, sick to death, 
 
 Wish'd himself the heaven's breath, 
 
 " Air," quoth he, " thy cheeks may blow ; 
 
 Air, would I might triumph so ! 10 
 
 But, alas ! my hand hath sworn 
 
 Ne'er to pluck thee from thy thorn : 
 
 Vow, alack ! for youth unmeet : 
 
 Youth, so apt to pluck a sweet. 
 
 Thou for whom Jove would swear 15 
 
 Juno but an Ethiope were; 
 
 And deny himself for Jove, 
 
 Turning mortal for thy love." 
 
 XVIII 
 
 My flocks feed not. 
 My ewes breed not, 
 My rams speed not, 
 
 All is amiss: 
 Love's denying, 5 
 
 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: 10 
 
 Where her faith was firmly fix'd in love. 
 There a nay is plac'd without remove. 
 
 7. lover'\ Sheepheard England's Helicon. 12. th.orn\ Malone (England's 
 Helicon), throne ei. 1599. li,. Jove]ev'nJove Gildon. 5. Love's denying] 
 Love is denying England's Helicon, Love is dying ed. 1599. 6. Faith's'] 
 Gildon, Faithes ed. 1599, Faith is England's Helicon. 7. Hearts renying] 
 Malone, Harts renying England's Helicon, Harts nenying ed. 1599, Harts 
 denying ed. 1612. 8. Causer] 'Cause Steevens conj. 9. my merry] our 
 OT«?-?7 Weelkes's Madrigals. 11. Aer] o«r Weelkes's Madrigals. 12. anay] 
 annoy Weelkes's Madrigals. 
 
 16. Ethiope] Negro. See Two Gentle- 5. denying] refusal. 
 
 men of Verona, 11. vi. 26 : " And 6. defying] rejection. 
 
 Silvia — witness Heaven that made her 7. renying] Cotgrave has : " Renier. 
 
 fair ! — Shoves Julia but a swarthy To denie stifly, disaffirme earnestly, 
 
 Ethiope." disadvow ; abjure, forsweare vehe- 
 
 XVIII. In the older editions, the mently." 
 
 first eight lines and the last six in each 12. nay] probably " refusal," as 
 
 stanza are printed as four. "why" for reason, As You Like It, 
 
 5. Love's denying] I think the original 11. vii. 52, and for question, Richard II. 
 
 " Love is dying" is right : later, 1. 48, II. iii. 92. It would perhaps be forcing 
 
 " love is dead." the meaning to explain it as "false- 
 
PASSIONATE PILGRIM— SONNETS 151 
 
 One silly cross 
 Wrought all my loss; 
 
 O frowning Fortune, cursed, fickle dame! IS 
 
 For now I see 
 Inconstancy 
 
 More in women than in men remain. 
 
 In black mourn I, 
 
 All fears scorn I, 20 
 
 Love hath forlorn me. 
 
 Living in thrall : 
 Heart is bleeding, 
 All help needing, 
 O cruel speeding, 25 
 
 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; 30 
 
 My sighs so deep 
 Procure to weep. 
 
 In howling wise, to see my doleful plight. 
 How sighs resound 
 Through heartless ground, 35 
 
 Like a thousand vanquish'd men in bloody fight! 
 
 Clear wells spring not. 
 Sweet birds sing not. 
 Green plants bring not 
 
 Forth their dye ; 40 
 
 Herds stand weeping, 
 
 13. One] Our Weelkes's Madrigals. 18. men remain] many men to be 
 
 Weelkes's Madrigals. 20. fears] fear Weelkes's Madrigals. 21. Lcnie . . . 
 me] Love forlorn I Steevens conj. 26. Fraughted] Fraught Weelkes's 
 
 Madrigals. 27. can] will Weelkes's Madrigals. 28. mether's] weather's 
 
 Gildon, weathers ed. 1599, wethers' Malone. 31, 32. My sighs . . . Procure 
 to] Malone, With sighes . . . procures to ed. ^599- 33- -^^ howling wise] 
 
 With howling noise Weelkes's Madrigals. 35. heartless] harkless Weelkes's 
 
 Madrigals, and Malone. 39, 40. Green . . . dye] Loud bells ring not 
 
 cheerfully Weelkes's Madrigals. 40. Forth their dye] forth their die edd. 
 
 1599. 1612, 1640; Forth: they die Malone 1780. 
 
 hood" in contrast to the "faith . . . "She is conditioned, I tell thee 
 
 fixed " of the previous line ; but the playne, 
 
 word practically means " a lie " in The Mooste like a Fiend, this is no nay." 
 
 Dethe of Blaunche the Duchesse, 1. 147 : 26. Fraughted] freighted, laden ; cf. 
 
 "And shewe her shortly^ — hit is no fraughting, Tempest, i. ii. 13. 
 
 nay ! — How hit was dreynt this other 29. curtal] docked. 
 
 day " ; and elsewhere in Chaucer. Cf. 32. Procure] cause ; cf. Merry Wives, 
 
 The Wife lapped in MorrelFs Skin, IV. vi. 48: "you'll procure the vicar 
 
 1. 82 : To stay for me at church." 
 
152 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 Flocks all sleeping, 
 Nymphs back peeping 
 
 Fearfully : 
 All our pleasure known to us poor swains, 45 
 
 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 50 
 
 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. 
 
 XIX 
 
 When as thine eye hath chose the dame. 
 And stall'd the deer that thou shouldst strike, 
 Let reason rule things worthy blame, 
 As well as fancy, partial wight: 
 
 Take counsel of some wiser head, 5 
 
 Neither too young nor yet unwed. 
 
 43. back peeping] backe peeping England's Helicon; blacke peeping ed. 1599; 
 back creeping Weelkes's Madrigals, Malone. 45. pleasure} pleasures Weelkes's 
 Madrigals. 46. meetings'] meeting England's Helicon. 47. sport . . . is] 
 sports . . . are England's Helicon, Weelkes's Madrigals. 49. lass] Weelkes's 
 Madrigals, Malone ; love ed. 1599, England's Helicon. 51. a] omit. England's 
 Helicon; the] thou Malone conj., though Hudson (Dyce conj.) ; ZBoaw] Malone, 
 moane England's Helicon, woe ed. 1599. 54. see that there is] know there's 
 Weelkes's Madrigals. I. When as] When y' MS. 2. stalVd] Evans 
 (Capell MS.), stalde ed. 1599; that] omit. Sewell ; shouldst] wouldst 
 Malone, MS. 4. fancy, partial wight] Cambridge Edd. (Capell MS. and Malone 
 conj. withdrawn) ; faruy (party all might) ed. 1599 ; fancy (partly all might) ed. 
 idifi; fancy, partial might Malone (1780); fancy, partial tike Malone (1790, 
 Steevens conj.) ; fancy partial like MS. cited by Malone ; fancy's partial might 
 Furnivall conj. 6. unwed] unwayde MS. 
 
 XIX. 1 , 2. When . . . strike] Cf. where it is used of a sts^ standing and 
 
 Ovid, A. A. i. 45-50: " Scit bene ven- looking about before going to its lair, 
 
 ator, cervis ubi retia tendat, Scit bene, Stratmann (M.E. Diet.) has "Stallen 
 
 qua frendens valle moretur aper: place in a stall, locate." Prof. 
 
 "Tu quoque, materiam longo qui qujeris Case notes that to read stalk'd would 
 
 amori. Ante frequens quo sit disce agree with "strike," but does not pro- 
 
 puella loco." pose the emendation. 
 
 2. stall'd] The context and the par- 4. fancy . . . wight] Furnivall's 
 
 allel in Ovid suggest that this is a conjecture, "fancy's partial might," 
 
 hunting term. It may mean lodged or does not account for the parenthesis in 
 
 harboured. The glossary to The Master Q, but is in other respects excellent. 
 
 of Game, ed. 1909, explains "stall" as "Wight" seems to me only a little 
 
 "to corner, to bring to bay, to stand better than "tike," for which Malone 
 
 still," but refers only to a passage discarded it. 
 
PASSIONATE PILGRIM- SONNETS 153 
 
 And when thou com'st thy tale to tell, 
 
 Smooth not thy tongue with filed talk, 
 
 Lest she some subtle practice smell, — 
 
 A cripple soon can find a halt; — lO 
 
 But plainly say thou lov'st her well, 
 
 And set thy person forth to sell. 
 
 What though her frowning brows be bent, 
 
 Her cloudy looks will calm ere night: 
 
 And then too late she will repent IS 
 
 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, 20 
 
 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." 
 
 8. Smootfi] Whett MS. lo. a Aali] oiie hault MS. 12. thy . . . self] 
 
 Malone (1790) (from a MS.); her . . . sale ed. 1599; her . . . sell Steevens 
 conj. 13-24. What . . . then] follows 1. 36 Malone (from a MS.). 14. 
 
 calm ere] clear ere Malone (1790) (from a MS.). 15. then . . . will] she 
 
 perhaffes will soon MS. 16. thus] she MS. 18. which with] with such 
 Malone (1790) and MS. 20. ban] chide MS. ; thee] ed. 1612, the ed. 1599. 
 22. When] AndyiS. 24. not had] not got MS. 
 
 %. filed talk] polished phrases; cf. but "her person" gives a sense more 
 
 Arden of Fevershavi, v. vi. 15: "this in keeping with the context: "say you 
 
 naked tragedy Wherein no filed points love her and praise her beauty," seems 
 
 are foisted in To make it gracious to the better advice than, " say you love her and 
 
 ear or eye." boast or show off." "To set forth to 
 
 \o. A . . . halt] There are various sell" is "to set off to advantage, as a 
 
 forms of this proverb. See Farmer's salesman by praising his goods " ; cf. 
 
 Heywood, p. 71: "It is hard halting Sonnets, xxi. 14: "I will not praise 
 
 before a cripple, ye wot " ; and Chaucer, that purpose not to sell " ; and Troilus 
 
 Troilus and Criseyde, IV. ccix. i ; "It and Cressida, iv. i. 78 : " We'll but 
 
 is full hard to halten unespyed Bifore commend what we intend to sell." 
 
 a crepul, for he can the craft," i.e. Contrast Proverbs, xx. 14: "It 
 
 knows the business. is naught, it is naught, sayth the 
 
 12. set . . . sell] Q reads "set her buyer." 
 person forth to sale." Steevens proposed 13. What though . . .] This stanza 
 
 " sell," a conjecture confirmed by a and the following one occupy a single 
 
 copy of the poem seen by Malone, page in Q, and the next two stanzas 
 
 which also read "thy" for "her." If occupy the next page. These two 
 
 the text is right, the meaning will be pages seem to have changed places, 
 
 "make the most of yourself"; cf. and U. 25-36 should follow 1. 12. 
 
 Ovid, A. A. 595, 596: "Si vox est. This is' Malone's arrangement, and that 
 
 canta: si mollia brachia, salta : Et of his old MS. 
 quacumque potes dote placere place " ; 
 
154 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 And to her will frame all thy ways; 25 
 
 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 a new : 
 
 When time shall serve, be thou not slack 35 
 
 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: 
 
 There is no heaven, by holy then, 45 
 
 When time with age shall them attaint. 
 
 Were kisses all the joys in bed. 
 
 One woman would another wed. 
 
 27. deserf] expences MS. ; merit] sound thy MS. 28. in . . . ear] always 
 in ker ear Malone (1790) and MS. 29. and] or MS. 30. beats it] 
 
 hathe beat MS. 34. Press] Prease ed. 1599, Please Sewell, Seek Malone 
 
 (1790); a new] ed. 1599, anew Lintott. 35. shall] doth MS. ; be thou] then 
 be MS. 36. thee] it ed. i6i2 and MS. 37-42. Placed after 1. 48 in MS. 
 37. women work] in them lurkes MS. 39. that . . . lurk] and meanes to 
 
 woorke MS. 41. it] that MS. 45. by holy] be holy Collier, by th' holy ! 
 or by holy ! Doggett conj. 
 
 26-30. Spare . . . down] Ovid, A. A. Richard III. III. vii. 51 : "Play the 
 
 3SS, more thrifty, advises to bribe the maid's part, still answer nay and take 
 
 lady's maid with promises and entreaties, it"; Herrick (ed. Grosart, ii. 247): 
 
 33. unjust] unfaithful, perhaps a " Maids' nays are nothing : they are shy 
 
 mark of Shakespeare's hand. See Sonnet But to desire what they deny"; cf. 
 
 cxxxviii. 1. 10, where "unjust" is ibid. -p. 222. 
 
 opposed to "made of truth," 1. i. 43-46. Think. , .attaint] Malone, 
 
 42. A . . . nought] A common following the old MS. copy, reads : 
 
 slander or experience of the time. See "Think, women love to match with 
 
 Cotgrave : "Guedon. Faire de guedon men, And not to live so like a saint: 
 
 guedon, To mince, or Simper it ; to be Here is no heaven ; they holy then 
 
 nice, quaint, scrupulous of receiving Begin, when age doth them attaint." 
 
 what inwardly is longed for ; to say nay This seems impossibly bad, but the 
 
 and take it, as men say maids doe " ; text is inexplicable. 
 
PASSIONATE PILGRIM— SONNETS 155 
 
 But, soft! enough — too much, I fear — 
 
 Lest that my mistress hear my song: 5° 
 
 She will not stick to round me on th'ear, 
 
 To teach my tongue to be so long: 
 
 Yet will she blush, here be it said, 
 
 To hear her secrets so bewray'd. 
 
 XX 
 
 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, 5 
 
 And see the shepherds feed their flocks. 
 By shallow rivers, by whose falls 
 Melodious birds sing madrigals. 
 
 49. But, soft!] Now hoe MS. 5a I.est that] For if Malone (1790), 
 
 from his MS. 51. round . . . ear] Gildon, round me on tK are ed. 1599, 
 round me on tK ere ed. 1612, round me f th' ear Malone (1780), ring mine ear 
 Malone (1790), wring mine ear Boswell conj., ringe my eare MS. 53- "wH^ 
 would MS. 54. so] thus MS. i. Live] Come live England's Helicon, 
 
 and Walton. 2. pleasures] pleasure Gildon. 3, 4. dales and fields . . . 
 mountains yields] dales and fields . . . mountaines yeelds ed. 1640, dales and 
 fields . . . mountaines yeeld eA. 1599, hills and fields . . . mountaines yeelds ^ng- 
 b.nd's Helicon, dale and f eld . . . mountains yield Gildon, dales and ^elds . . . 
 mountain yields Collier. 6. And see] Seeing England's Helicon. 1, by] to 
 England's Helicon, and Merry Wives of Windsor, and Collier. 
 
 51. round , . . ear] If "round" in his old MS. How he understood it 
 
 could mean "strike roundly," i.e. cannot be known, perhaps as " cause to 
 
 vigorously, the sense would be ring." Boswell proposes " wring," 
 
 appropriate to the times of Great supporting it by the irrelevant " Cynthius 
 
 Elizabeth, but the usual meaning is aurem vellit." There is a real parallel 
 
 "whisper" (A.S. runian, to whisper in Taming of the Shrew, I. ii. 16: 
 
 or mutter). Cf. Promptorium Parvu- "An you'll not knock, I'll ring it," 
 
 lorum : " Rownyn to-gedyr : Susurro" ; where the stage direction (F l) is : " He 
 
 King John, 11. i. 566 : " rounded in the rings him by the eares." 
 
 ear With that same purpose-changer, XX. This is the song sung by Evans, 
 
 that sly devil " ; Winter's Tale, I. ii. when as a duellist he is " full of chollors 
 
 217: " whispering, rounding 'Siciliais and Uem^Mngoi mind," Merry Wives, 
 
 a so-forth.'" Other instances may be III. i. 15-26; and commended by 
 
 seen in Dyce's Skelton, vol. ii. p. 120, Walton as old-fashioned poetry but 
 
 and in Nares' Glossary, The objec- choicely good. See Dyce, Marlowe, p. 
 
 tions are : (i) whisper seems too weak 381, for the text of this poem as given 
 
 for the context; (z) "round" in this in England's Helicon, viithvaxiows xs2id- 
 
 sense is constructed with "in," not ings from The Passionate Pilgrim, &nd 
 
 "on." Malone prints "ring my ear," '^aXion's Compleat Angler. 
 
 without comment, though he may have 8. madrigals] love-songs, 
 found the reading, as Staunton asserts. 
 
156 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 There will I make thee a bed of roses, 
 
 With a thousand fragrant posies, lo 
 
 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, 15 
 
 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. go 
 
 XXI 
 
 As it fell upon a day 
 
 In the merry month of May, 
 
 Sitting in a pleasant shade 
 
 WhicTi a grove of myrtles made, 
 
 Beasts did leap and birds did sing, 5 
 
 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, 10 
 
 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 ; 
 
 9. a bed] beds England's Helicon, and Gildon. II. kirilel, girdle Gildon. 
 
 10. up-iilt] against England's Helicon. 14. Tereu, Tereu] Sewell (ed. 2), 
 
 Teru, Teru ed. 1599. 
 
 XXI. 10. up-till] a northern form, Pandion, king of Athens, and had a 
 
 up against. See Lodge, Scillaes Meta- son, Itys. Tereus violated his wife's 
 
 «o>^;4tfm(l589, Hunterian Club, p. 9) : sister, Philomela, cut out her tongue, 
 
 ' ' A Nightingale gan sing : but woe the and imprisoned her. Progne released 
 
 lucke ; The branch so neere her breast, Philomela and killed and cooked Itys as 
 
 while she did quicke her To turne her a cannibal feast for his father. She 
 
 head, on sodaine gan to pricke her." was changed into a swallow, Philomela 
 
 14. Tereu] For the form of the story to a nightingale, Tereus to a hoopoe 
 
 accepted by Elizabethan writers see ("lapwing," Golding's Ovid). For a 
 
 Ovid, Met. vi. 424-676 — Tereus, king different account, see Apollodorus, Bit. 
 
 of Thrace, married Progne, daughter of in. xiv. 8. 
 
PASSIONATE PILGRIM— SONNETS 157 
 
 That to hear her so complain, 1 5 
 
 Scarce I could from tears refrain ; 
 
 For her griefs so lively shown 
 
 Made me think upon mine own. 
 
 Ah, thought I, thou mourn'st in vain! 
 
 None takes pity on thy pain: 20 
 
 Senseless trees they cannot hear thee; 
 
 Ruthless beasts they will not cheer thee: 
 
 King Pandion he is dead ; 
 
 All thy friends are lapp'd in lead ; 
 
 All thy fellow birds do sing, 25 
 
 Careless of thy sorrowing. 
 
 Even so, poor bird, like thee, 
 
 None alive will pity me. 
 
 Whilst as fickle Fortune smiled, 
 
 Thou and I were both beguiled. 30 
 
 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 35 
 
 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, 40 
 
 And with such-like flattering, 
 " Pity but he were a king ; " 
 If he be addict to vice, 
 Quickly him they will entice; 
 
 If to women he be bent, 45 
 
 They have at commandement : 
 
 17. lively] lovely ed. 1640. 22. beasts'] England's Helicon ; Beares edd. 
 
 1599, 1612, 1640, and Barnfield. 27, 28. Even . . . me] England's 
 
 Helicon; omit. edd. 1599, 1612, 1640, and Barnfield. 29-58. Wkil'st . . . foe] 
 omit. England's Helicon. 42, "Pity. . . /j/k^"] Quotation marks by Malone ; 
 were] was Sewell. 43-46. If . . . commandement] omit. Pepys MS. 46. 
 have at] have him at Sewell; commandement] commaundement ed. 1599, com- 
 mandment Cambridge, etc. 
 
 23. King . . . dead] Cf. Golding's the needy friend was soon forsaken, And 
 Ovid, vi. 854: "The sorrow of this he that had the crownes was half a. 
 great mischance did stop; Pandion's king." 
 
 breath Before his time and long ere age 43. addict] now corrupted to " ad- 
 
 determinde had his death." dieted." 
 
 24. lapped] wrapped ; cf. the title 46. They have] sc. women. Sewell's 
 "The Wife lapped in Morrel's Skin," reading, " They have him at command- 
 i.e. wrapped in the skin of a horse, ment," is rhythmical enough, for " com- 
 Hazlitt's Early Pop, Poetry, vol. iv. mandemente " is a word of four syllables 
 
 37-42. But . . . king] Cf. N. (se& Merchant of Venice, IV. i. ^t,i),h\>.t 
 Breton (ed. Grosart, i. 16a) : "I found is hardly in keeping with the four lines 
 
158 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 But if Fortune once do frown, 
 
 Then farewell his great renown ; 
 
 They that fawn'd on him before 
 
 Use his company no more. 50 
 
 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 55 
 
 He with thee doth bear a part. 
 
 These are certain signs to know 
 
 Faithful friend from flattering foe. 
 
 56. dotk] ed. 1640, doeth ed. 1599, does Collier. 
 
 following, and the objection stands if to plural being not uncommon, but the 
 
 "they" is explained as "women," in return to the singular in 1. 48 is against 
 
 which case it would be better to take this. If a change is needed, I would 
 
 "have" as a misprint for "are"; cf. suggest: "They have them at com- 
 
 Blind Beggar of Betknal Green : " And mandement," much as in Z Henry IV. 
 
 at their commandement still would she III. fi. 27, but with the additional 
 
 be." "They" might possibly be implication that they are prepared to 
 
 "prodigals," the change from singular introduce him. 
 
THE PHCENIX AND TURTLE 
 
THE PHCENIX AND 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, 5 
 
 Foul precurrer of the fiend, 
 
 Augur of the fever's end, 
 
 To this troop come thou not near ! 
 
 From this session interdict 
 
 Every fowl of tyrant wing, lO 
 
 Save the eagle, feather'd king: 
 
 Keep the obsequy so strict. 
 
 Let the priest in surplice white, 
 
 That defunctive music can, 
 
 'Be the death-divining swan, 15 
 
 Lest the requiem lack his right. 
 
 1. loudestl lowest ed. 1640. 2. On the sole} Sole on the Anon. conj. apud 
 Maione. 
 
 2. On ... tree} On the ground not found elsewhere. For the sake of 
 that there are many Arabian trees, the rhythm I would read " precursor," 
 Maione, who had no ear, only fingers, which occurs in the plural in Tempest, 
 would have accepted the conjecture I. ii. 201; cf. "precurse" in Hamlet, 
 of a learned friend, "Sole on the i. i. 121 : " And even the like precurse 
 Arabian tree," had he not remembered of fierce events, As harbingers preceding 
 The Tempest, ill. iii. 23 : " that in still the fates And prologue to the 
 Arabia There is one tree, the phoenix' omen coming on," etc. However, the 
 throne; one phoenix At this hour simple form "currer" or "currour" 
 reigning there." occurs in the sense courier or mes- 
 
 3. trumpet} trumpeter to summ.on senger. 
 
 all good birds ; cf. Troilus and Cressida, 7. Augur . . . end] Maione com- 
 
 IV. V. 6 : "Thou, trumpet, there's my ^aies Midsummer-Nighf s Dream, v. i. 
 
 purse. Now crack thy lungs." 383-385: "Whilst the screech-owl, 
 
 5. shrieking harbinger} the screech- screeching loud. Puts the wretch that 
 owl, which, according to Holland's lies in woe In remembrance of a 
 Pliny, X. xii. p. 276, " betokeneth shroud." 
 
 alwaies some heavie newes, and is most 14. That , . . can} Who is skilful 
 
 execrable and accursed." in singing the funeral service. 
 
 6. precurrer} forerunner, a word 
 
 II 
 
162 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 And thou treble-dated crow, 
 
 That thy sable gender makest 
 
 With the breath thou givest and takest, 
 
 'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go. 
 
 Here the anthem doth commence : 
 Lovg_and_constancy is dead; 
 PKcenixaird the turtle fled 
 In a mutual flame from hence. 
 
 20 
 
 So they lov'd, as love in twain 
 Had the essence but in one ; 
 Two distincts, division none: 
 Number there in love was slain. 
 
 25 
 
 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. 
 
 17. ireble-dateil\ hyphened by Sewell. 1 8, 19. makest . . . givest . . . 
 
 takest'] maKst . . . gitfst . . . tak'st edd. 1601 and 1640. 27. division none] 
 
 but in none ed. 1640. 31. the] Cambridge Edd., thy ed. 1640, this Grosart. 
 treble - dated] See Holland's 
 
 17- 
 Pliny, vn. xlviii. p. 180 : " Hesiodus, 
 the first writer (as I take it) who hath 
 treated of this argument, and yet Hke 
 a poet, in his fabulous discourse as 
 touching the £^e of man, saith forsooth, 
 That a crow liveth 9 times as long 
 as we ; and the harts or stags 4 times 
 as long as the crow ; but the ravens 
 thrice as long as they." Possibly 
 "crow" is for raven, and "treble- 
 dated " means living as long as three 
 st^s. 
 
 18. sable gender] Perhaps "black 
 offspring." Gender is class, kind, or 
 sex. In Hamlet, iv. vii, 18, the 
 general gender = the masses, and in 
 Othello, 1. iii. 326, one gender of herbs 
 means one kind. Steevens writes : "I 
 suppose this uncouth expression means 
 that the crow or raven continues its 
 race by the breath it gives to them as 
 its parent, and by that which it takes 
 from other animals, i.e. by first pro- 
 ducing its young from itself and then 
 providing for their support by depreda- 
 tion." If "crow" stands here for 
 "raven," a more natural explanation 
 is that Shakespeare is referring to the 
 belief that ravens had a peculiar way 
 of reproducing their species. Prof. 
 Case cites Seager, Natural History in 
 
 Shakespeare's 7zot«( 1896), which among 
 other citations .under Raven has this 
 from Hortus Sanitatis, bk. iii. § 34 : 
 " They are said to conceive and to lay 
 their eggs at the bill. The young 
 become __black on the seventh day." 
 This seenis conclusive, but Grosart's 
 note (Chester's Lovers Martyr, p. 242) 
 is of inte'rest : " It is a ' Vulgar Error ' 
 still, that the ' Crow ' can change its 
 ' gender ' at will. My friend Mr. E. 
 W. Gosse puts it : ' thou Crow that 
 makest [change in] thy sable gender, 
 with the mere exhalation and inhala- 
 tion of thy breath' (letter to me), 1. 3, 
 ' With the breath,' etc. — query, Is there 
 a sub-reference to the (mythical) belief 
 that the crow re-clothes its aged parents 
 with feathers and feeds them? As 
 being ' sable ' it is well fitted to be a 
 ' mourner.' " There seems to be some- 
 thing in "a black sex" and in the 
 equating of "sex" and "parents" that 
 eludes analysis. 
 
 32, But . . . wonder] But = except, 
 and were = would be. " So extra- 
 ordinary a phenomenon 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). 
 
THE PHOENIX AND TURTLE 163 
 
 35 
 
 40 
 
 So between them love did shine, 
 That the turtle saw his right 
 Flaming in the phcenix' sight; 
 Either was the other's mine. 
 
 Property was thus appalled, 
 That the self was not the same ; 
 Single nature's double name 
 Neither two nor one was called. 
 
 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 45 
 
 Seemeth this concordant one! 
 
 34. righf] light Steevens conj. 39. natures] Malone, Natures Chester and 
 ed. 1640, natures, Sewell. 43. either neither] hyphened by Malone. 
 
 34. righ(\ Steevens, not Malone, as 
 Cambridge Edd. say, conjectured 
 "light : i.e. the turtle saw all the day 
 he wanted in the eyes of the Phoenix." 
 Malone writes: "I do not perceive 
 any need of change. The turtle saw 
 those qualities which were his right, 
 which were peculiarly appropriated to 
 him, in the Phoenix. — Light certainly 
 corresponds better with the word 
 flaming in the next line ; but Shake- 
 speare seldom puts his comparisons on 
 four feet." Grosart says: "It is 
 merely a variant mode of expressing 
 seeing love-babies (or one's self imaged) 
 in the other's eyes. This gives the 
 truer sense to the 'mine' of 1. 4." I 
 do not see how the turtle himself or 
 himself imaged could well be said to 
 flame ; and would prefer to explain 
 "his right" as "what is due to him," 
 viz. love in return, and this he sees 
 shining in her eyes. 
 
 37, 38. Property . . . same] "This 
 communication of appropriated 
 qualities," says Malone, "alarmed the 
 power that presides over property. 
 Finding that the self was not the same, 
 he began to fear that nothing would 
 remain distinct and individual ; that all 
 things might become common." 
 
 39, 40. Single . . . called] They 
 could not be called one because their 
 persons were distinct, the self (nature), 
 was not the same (person), 1. 38, or two, 
 
 because their nature or essence was 
 the same ; division, i.e. distinct or 
 sundered persons, grew one in nature, 
 1. 42. 
 
 43, 44. To . . . compounded] So, in 
 T)i3.yton's Mortimeriados (1596) : "fire 
 seem'd to be water, water flame. Either 
 or neither, and yet both the same" 
 (Malone). I doubt if this is relevant. 
 Can the construction be "Yet neither 
 saw either grow to themselves," i.e. to 
 himself or herself, because they grew 
 for and to each other ? Reason saw a 
 growth, but it was a very different one 
 from that of Adonis, for example, who 
 grew to himself ( Venus and Adonis, 
 1. 1 180). This requires the lines, "To 
 . . . compounded " to be regarded as a 
 parenthesis. The change of subject is 
 avoided by a suggestion of Prof. Case : 
 ' ' Reason . . . saw division grow 
 together, yet saw neither grow to or 
 become absorbed in the other, so well 
 were simple compounded ; So that it 
 cried," etc. Prof. Case adds : "As to 
 this, I do not stand upon it, but I am 
 not sure that the obvious objection, 
 viz. the presence of the affirmative 
 ' either,' is conclusive against it." 
 
 45, 46. That . . . one] So, in 
 Drayton's Mortimeriados : 
 
 " Still in her breast his secret 
 
 thoughts she beares, 
 Nor can her tongue pronounce an 
 
 /, but wee ; 
 
ss 
 
 164 SHAKESPEARE'S POEMS 
 
 \Love hath reason, reason none, 
 Uf what parts can so remain. 
 \^ 
 
 Whereupon it made this threne 
 
 To the phcenix and the dove, ^o 
 
 Co-supremes and stars of love, 
 
 As chorus to their tragic scene. 
 
 THRENOS 
 
 Beauty, truth, and rarity, 
 Grace in all simplicity, 
 Here enclos'd in cinders lie. 
 
 Death is now the phoenix' nest ; 
 And the turtle's loyal breast 
 To eternity doth rest, 
 
 Leaving no posterity: 
 
 'Twas not their infirmity, 60 
 
 It was married chastity. 
 
 Truth may seem, but cannot be; 
 Beauty brag, but 'tis not she; 
 Truth and beauty buried be. 
 
 To this urn let those repair 65 
 
 That are either true or fair ; 
 
 For these dead birds sigh a prayer. 
 
 Threnos] Threnes ed. 1640. S5- Here] Hence ed. 1640. 
 
 Thus two in one and one in two can yet remain together and un- 
 
 they bee ; divided." 
 
 And as his soule possesseth head 49. threne] funeral song, Malone, 
 
 and heart, who cites Kendal's /"oewi (1577) : "Of 
 
 She's all in all, and all in every verses, threnes, and epitaphs. Full 
 
 part " (Malone). fraught with tears of teene," and on 
 
 47, 48. Love , . . remain] Love is Farmer's authority, the title of a book 
 
 right and reason wrong, or, as Malone by J. Heywood, David's Threanes 
 
 explains: "Love is reasonable, and (1620), reprinted two years later as 
 
 reason is folly (has no reason), if two David's Tears, probably a sign that 
 
 that are disunited from each other " threnes " was obsolete. 
 
 Printed hy Morrison & Gibb Limited, Edinintrgk