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 COMy dearely loued friend how oft haue we | A |
In winter evenings meaning to be free | A |
To some well chosen place vs'd to retire | B |
And there with moderate meate and wine and fire | C |
Haue past the howres contentedly with chat | D |
Now talk of this and then discours'd of that | D |
Spoke our owne verses 'twixt our selves if not | E |
Other mens lines which we by chance had got | E |
Or some Stage pieces famous long before | F |
Of which your happy memory had store | F |
And I remember you much pleased were | C |
Of those who liued long agoe to heare | C |
As well as of those of these latter times | G |
Who have inricht our language with their rimes | G |
And in succession how still vp they grew | C |
Which is the subiect that I now pursue | C |
For from my cradle you must know that I | H |
Was still inclin'd to noble Poesie | C |
And when that once Pueriles I had read | I |
And newly had my Cato construed | J |
In my small selfe I greatly marueil'd then | K |
Amonst all other what strange kinde of men | K |
These Poets were And pleased with the name | L |
To my milde Tutor merrily I came | L |
For I was then a proper goodly page | M |
Much like a Pigmy scarse ten yeares of age | M |
Clasping my slender armes about his thigh | H |
O my deare master cannot you quoth I | H |
Make me a Poet doe it if you can | N |
And you shall see Ile quickly bee a man | N |
Who me thus answered smiling boy quoth he | A |
If you'le not play the wag but I may see | A |
You ply your learning I will shortly read | I |
Some Poets to you Phoebus be my speed | O |
Too't hard went I when shortly he began | N |
And first read to me honest Mantuan | N |
Then Virgils Eglogues being entred thus | C |
Me thought I straight had mounted Pegasus | C |
And in his full Careere could make him stop | P |
And bound vpon Parnassus' by clift top | P |
I scornd your ballet then though it were done | N |
And had for Finis William Elderton | N |
But soft in sporting with this childish iest | O |
I from my subiect haue too long digrest | O |
Then to the matter that we tooke in hand | O |
Ioue and Apollo for the Muses stand | O |
Then noble Chaucer in those former times | C |
The first inrich'd our English with his rimes | C |
And was the first of ours that euer brake | Q |
Into the Muses treasure and first spake | Q |
In weighty numbers deluing in the Mine | N |
Of perfect knowledge which he could refine | N |
And coyne for currant and as much as then | N |
The English language could expresse to men | N |
He made it doe and by his wondrous skill | R |
Gaue vs much light from his abundant quill | R |
And honest Gower who in respect of him | S |
Had only sipt at Aganippas brimme | S |
And though in yeares this last was him before | C |
Yet fell he far short of the others store | C |
When after those foure ages very neare | C |
They with the Muses which conuersed were | C |
That Princely Surrey early in the time | S |
Of the Eight Henry who was then the prime | S |
Of Englands noble youth with him there came | S |
Wyat with reuerence whom we still doe name | S |
Amongst our Poets Brian had a share | C |
With the two former which accompted are | C |
That times best makers and the authors were | C |
Of those small poems which the title beare | C |
Of songs and sonnets wherein oft they hit | O |
On many dainty passages of wit | O |
Gascoine and Churchyard after them againe | N |
In the beginning of Eliza's raine | N |
Accoumpted were great Meterers many a day | O |
But not inspired with braue fier had they | O |
Liu'd but a little longer they had seene | N |
Their works before them to have buried beene | N |
Graue morrall Spencer after these came on | N |
Then whom I am perswaded there was none | N |
Since the blind Bard his Iliads vp did make | Q |
Fitter a taske like that to vndertake | Q |
To set downe boldly brauely to inuent | O |
In all high knowledge surely excellent | O |
The noble Sidney with this last arose | C |
That Heroe for numbers and for Prose | C |
That throughly pac'd our language as to show | T |
The plenteous English hand in hand might goe | T |
With Greek or Latine and did first reduce | C |
Our tongue from Lillies writing then in vse | C |
Talking of Stones Stars Plants of fishes Flyes | C |
Playing with words and idle Similies | C |
As th' English Apes and very Zanies be | A |
Of euery thing that they doe heare and see | A |
So imitating his ridiculous tricks | C |
They spake and writ all like meere lunatiques | C |
Then Warner though his lines were not so trim'd | O |
Nor yet his Poem so exactly lim'd | O |
And neatly ioynted but the Criticke may | O |
Easily reprooue him yet thus let me say | O |
For my old friend some passages there be | A |
In him which I protest haue taken me | A |
With almost wonder so fine cleere and new | N |
As yet they haue bin equalled by few | N |
Neat Marlow bathed in the Thespian springs | C |
Had in him those braue translunary things | C |
That the first Poets had his raptures were | C |
All ayre and fire which made his verses cleere | C |
For that fine madnes still he did retaine | N |
Which rightly should possesse a Poets braine | N |
And surely Nashe though he a Proser were | C |
A branch of Lawrell yet deserues to beare | C |
Sharply Satirick was he and that way | O |
He went since that his being to this day | O |
Few haue attempted and I surely thinke | T |
Those wordes shall hardly be set downe with inke | T |
Shall scorch and blast so as his could where he | A |
Would inflict vengeance and be it said of thee | A |
Shakespeare thou hadst as smooth a Comicke vaine | N |
Fitting the socke and in thy naturall braine | N |
As strong conception and as Cleere a rage | M |
As any one that trafiqu'd with the stage | M |
Amongst these Samuel Daniel whom if I | H |
May spake of but to sensure doe denie | N |
Onely haue heard some wisemen him rehearse | C |
To be too much Historian in verse | C |
His rimes were smooth his meeters well did close | C |
But yet his maner better fitted prose | C |
Next these learn'd Johnson in this List I bring | T |
Who had drunke deepe of the Pierian spring | T |
Whose knowledge did him worthily prefer | C |
And long was Lord here of the Theater | C |
Who in opinion made our learn'st to sticke | T |
Whether in Poems rightly dramatique | T |
Strong Seneca or Plautus he or they | O |
Should beare the Buskin or the Socke away | O |
Others againe here liued in my dayes | C |
That haue of vs deserued no lesse praise | C |
For their translations then the daintiest wit | O |
That on Parnassus thinks he highst doth sit | O |
And for a chaire may mongst the Muses call | U |
As the most curious maker of them all | U |
As reuerent Chapman who hath brought to vs | C |
Mus us Homer and Hesiodus | C |
Out of the Greeke and by his skill hath reard | O |
Them to that height and to our tongue endear'd | O |
That were those Poets at this day aliue | U |
To see their bookes thus with vs to suruiue | C |
They would think hauing neglected them so long | T |
They had bin written in the English tongue | T |
And Siluester who from the French more weake | T |
Made Bartas of his sixe dayes labour speake | T |
In naturall English who had he there stayd | O |
He had done well and neuer had bewraid | O |
His owne inuention to haue bin so poore | C |
Who still wrote lesse in striuing to write more | C |
Then dainty Sands that hath to English done | N |
Smooth sliding Ouid and hath made him run | N |
With so much sweetnesse and vnusuall grace | C |
As though the neatnesse of the English pace | C |
Should tell the Ietting Lattine that it came | S |
But slowly after as though stiff and lame | S |
So Scotland sent vs hither for our owne | N |
That man whose name I euer would haue knowne | N |
To stand by mine that most ingenious knight | O |
My Alexander to whom in his right | O |
I want extreamely yet in speaking thus | C |
I doe but shew the loue that was twixt vs | C |
And not his numbers which were braue and hie | A |
So like his mind was his clear Poesie | C |
And my deare Drummond to whom much I owe | T |
For his much loue and proud I was to know | T |
His poesie for which two worthy men | N |
I Menstry still shall loue and Hauthorne den | N |
Then the two Beamounts and my Browne arose | C |
My deare companions whom I freely chose | C |
My bosome friends and in their seuerall wayes | C |
Rightly borne Poets and in these last dayes | C |
Men of much note and no lesse nobler parts | C |
Such as haue freely tould to me their hearts | C |
As I have mine to them but if you shall | U |
Say in your knowledge that these be not all | U |
Haue writ in numbers be inform'd that I | H |
Only my selfe to these few men doe tye | H |
Whose works oft printed set on euery post | O |
To publique censure subiect haue bin most | O |
For such whose poems be they nere so rare | C |
In priuate chambers that incloistered are | C |
And by transcription daintyly must goe | T |
As though the world vnworthy were to know | T |
Their rich composures let those men that keepe | P |
These wonderous reliques in their iudgement deepe | P |
And cry them vp so let such Peeces bee | A |
Spoke of by those that shall come after me | A |
I passe not for them nor doe meane to run | N |
In quest of these that them applause haue wonne | N |
Vpon our Stages in these latter dayes | C |
That are so many let them haue their bayes | C |
That doe deserue it let those wits that haunt | O |
Those publique circuits let them freely chaunt | O |
Their fine Composures and their praise pursue | C |
And so my deare friend for this time adue | O |
Michael Drayton
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