To My Most Dearely-loued Friend Henery Reynolds Esquire, Of Poets & Poesie Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AABCDDEEFFCCGGCCHCIJ KKLLMMHHNNAAIONNCCPP NNOOOOCCQQNNNNRRSSCC CCSSSSCCCCOONNOONNNN QQOOCCTTCCCCAACCOOOO AANNCCCCNNCCOOTTAANN MMHNCCCCTTCCTTOOCCOO UUCCOOUCTTTTOOCCNNCC SSNNOOCCACTTNNCCCCCC UUHHOOCCTTPPAANNCCOO CO

My dearely loued friend how oft haue weA
In winter evenings meaning to be freeA
To some well chosen place vs'd to retireB
And there with moderate meate and wine and fireC
Haue past the howres contentedly with chatD
Now talk of this and then discours'd of thatD
Spoke our owne verses 'twixt our selves if notE
Other mens lines which we by chance had gotE
Or some Stage pieces famous long beforeF
Of which your happy memory had storeF
And I remember you much pleased wereC
Of those who liued long agoe to heareC
As well as of those of these latter timesG
Who have inricht our language with their rimesG
And in succession how still vp they grewC
Which is the subiect that I now pursueC
For from my cradle you must know that IH
Was still inclin'd to noble PoesieC
And when that once Pueriles I had readI
And newly had my Cato construedJ
In my small selfe I greatly marueil'd thenK
Amonst all other what strange kinde of menK
These Poets were And pleased with the nameL
To my milde Tutor merrily I cameL
For I was then a proper goodly pageM
Much like a Pigmy scarse ten yeares of ageM
Clasping my slender armes about his thighH
O my deare master cannot you quoth IH
Make me a Poet doe it if you canN
And you shall see Ile quickly bee a manN
Who me thus answered smiling boy quoth heA
If you'le not play the wag but I may seeA
You ply your learning I will shortly readI
Some Poets to you Phoebus be my speedO
Too't hard went I when shortly he beganN
And first read to me honest MantuanN
Then Virgils Eglogues being entred thusC
Me thought I straight had mounted PegasusC
And in his full Careere could make him stopP
And bound vpon Parnassus' by clift topP
I scornd your ballet then though it were doneN
And had for Finis William EldertonN
But soft in sporting with this childish iestO
I from my subiect haue too long digrestO
Then to the matter that we tooke in handO
Ioue and Apollo for the Muses standO
Then noble Chaucer in those former timesC
The first inrich'd our English with his rimesC
And was the first of ours that euer brakeQ
Into the Muses treasure and first spakeQ
In weighty numbers deluing in the MineN
Of perfect knowledge which he could refineN
And coyne for currant and as much as thenN
The English language could expresse to menN
He made it doe and by his wondrous skillR
Gaue vs much light from his abundant quillR
And honest Gower who in respect of himS
Had only sipt at Aganippas brimmeS
And though in yeares this last was him beforeC
Yet fell he far short of the others storeC
When after those foure ages very neareC
They with the Muses which conuersed wereC
That Princely Surrey early in the timeS
Of the Eight Henry who was then the primeS
Of Englands noble youth with him there cameS
Wyat with reuerence whom we still doe nameS
Amongst our Poets Brian had a shareC
With the two former which accompted areC
That times best makers and the authors wereC
Of those small poems which the title beareC
Of songs and sonnets wherein oft they hitO
On many dainty passages of witO
Gascoine and Churchyard after them againeN
In the beginning of Eliza's raineN
Accoumpted were great Meterers many a dayO
But not inspired with braue fier had theyO
Liu'd but a little longer they had seeneN
Their works before them to have buried beeneN
Graue morrall Spencer after these came onN
Then whom I am perswaded there was noneN
Since the blind Bard his Iliads vp did makeQ
Fitter a taske like that to vndertakeQ
To set downe boldly brauely to inuentO
In all high knowledge surely excellentO
The noble Sidney with this last aroseC
That Heroe for numbers and for ProseC
That throughly pac'd our language as to showT
The plenteous English hand in hand might goeT
With Greek or Latine and did first reduceC
Our tongue from Lillies writing then in vseC
Talking of Stones Stars Plants of fishes FlyesC
Playing with words and idle SimiliesC
As th' English Apes and very Zanies beA
Of euery thing that they doe heare and seeA
So imitating his ridiculous tricksC
They spake and writ all like meere lunatiquesC
Then Warner though his lines were not so trim'dO
Nor yet his Poem so exactly lim'dO
And neatly ioynted but the Criticke mayO
Easily reprooue him yet thus let me sayO
For my old friend some passages there beA
In him which I protest haue taken meA
With almost wonder so fine cleere and newN
As yet they haue bin equalled by fewN
Neat Marlow bathed in the Thespian springsC
Had in him those braue translunary thingsC
That the first Poets had his raptures wereC
All ayre and fire which made his verses cleereC
For that fine madnes still he did retaineN
Which rightly should possesse a Poets braineN
And surely Nashe though he a Proser wereC
A branch of Lawrell yet deserues to beareC
Sharply Satirick was he and that wayO
He went since that his being to this dayO
Few haue attempted and I surely thinkeT
Those wordes shall hardly be set downe with inkeT
Shall scorch and blast so as his could where heA
Would inflict vengeance and be it said of theeA
Shakespeare thou hadst as smooth a Comicke vaineN
Fitting the socke and in thy naturall braineN
As strong conception and as Cleere a rageM
As any one that trafiqu'd with the stageM
Amongst these Samuel Daniel whom if IH
May spake of but to sensure doe denieN
Onely haue heard some wisemen him rehearseC
To be too much Historian in verseC
His rimes were smooth his meeters well did closeC
But yet his maner better fitted proseC
Next these learn'd Johnson in this List I bringT
Who had drunke deepe of the Pierian springT
Whose knowledge did him worthily preferC
And long was Lord here of the TheaterC
Who in opinion made our learn'st to stickeT
Whether in Poems rightly dramatiqueT
Strong Seneca or Plautus he or theyO
Should beare the Buskin or the Socke awayO
Others againe here liued in my dayesC
That haue of vs deserued no lesse praiseC
For their translations then the daintiest witO
That on Parnassus thinks he highst doth sitO
And for a chaire may mongst the Muses callU
As the most curious maker of them allU
As reuerent Chapman who hath brought to vsC
Mus us Homer and HesiodusC
Out of the Greeke and by his skill hath reardO
Them to that height and to our tongue endear'dO
That were those Poets at this day aliueU
To see their bookes thus with vs to suruiueC
They would think hauing neglected them so longT
They had bin written in the English tongueT
And Siluester who from the French more weakeT
Made Bartas of his sixe dayes labour speakeT
In naturall English who had he there staydO
He had done well and neuer had bewraidO
His owne inuention to haue bin so pooreC
Who still wrote lesse in striuing to write moreC
Then dainty Sands that hath to English doneN
Smooth sliding Ouid and hath made him runN
With so much sweetnesse and vnusuall graceC
As though the neatnesse of the English paceC
Should tell the Ietting Lattine that it cameS
But slowly after as though stiff and lameS
So Scotland sent vs hither for our owneN
That man whose name I euer would haue knowneN
To stand by mine that most ingenious knightO
My Alexander to whom in his rightO
I want extreamely yet in speaking thusC
I doe but shew the loue that was twixt vsC
And not his numbers which were braue and hieA
So like his mind was his clear PoesieC
And my deare Drummond to whom much I oweT
For his much loue and proud I was to knowT
His poesie for which two worthy menN
I Menstry still shall loue and Hauthorne denN
Then the two Beamounts and my Browne aroseC
My deare companions whom I freely choseC
My bosome friends and in their seuerall wayesC
Rightly borne Poets and in these last dayesC
Men of much note and no lesse nobler partsC
Such as haue freely tould to me their heartsC
As I have mine to them but if you shallU
Say in your knowledge that these be not allU
Haue writ in numbers be inform'd that IH
Only my selfe to these few men doe tyeH
Whose works oft printed set on euery postO
To publique censure subiect haue bin mostO
For such whose poems be they nere so rareC
In priuate chambers that incloistered areC
And by transcription daintyly must goeT
As though the world vnworthy were to knowT
Their rich composures let those men that keepeP
These wonderous reliques in their iudgement deepeP
And cry them vp so let such Peeces beeA
Spoke of by those that shall come after meA
I passe not for them nor doe meane to runN
In quest of these that them applause haue wonneN
Vpon our Stages in these latter dayesC
That are so many let them haue their bayesC
That doe deserue it let those wits that hauntO
Those publique circuits let them freely chauntO
Their fine Composures and their praise pursueC
And so my deare friend for this time adueO

Michael Drayton



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