political preferment after the publication of the second three books of the Faerie Queene. 67. 67. Somers-heat. Pun on Somerset. 68. 132. Bricky towres. The group of buildings by the Thames called The Temple, formerly headquarters of the Knights Templar, now given over to lawyers. 137. A stately place. Essex House, formerly residence of the Earl of Leicester, an early patron of Spenser's, who had died in 1588. 147. Dreadfull ... thunder. Alluding to the sack of Cadiz in 1596 by the Earl of Essex. 148. Hercules two pillors. Rocky eminences on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. 5. Prick-song. "Harmony written pricked down in opposition to plainsong." (Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time.) or 85. The full title runs To the Cambro-Britons and their Harp His Ballad of Agincourt. Cambro-Britons-Welsh, who fought valiantly in the battle. Henry V, invading France to make good his claim to the French throne, in 1415 won the battle of Agincourt from French army four times as numerous as his own. 41. Poitiers, Cressy. Like Agincourt, battles of the Hundred Years' War, fought in 1356 and 1346 respectively, and like Agincourt, English victories against great odds. a 7. At heaven's gates she claps her wings. Cf. Shakespeare's " Hark, hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings," p. 82. GREENE: SWEET ARE THE THOUGHTS 78. 9. The mean. The middle part in threepart music. The philosophic ideal of "the golden mean," moderation, is also suggested. RALEIGH: HIS PILGRIMAGE 79. Supposed to have been written while Raleigh was confined in the Tower on a charge of treason. "It would be difficult to find a poem more truly representative of the age of Elizabeth, with its poetical fervor, its beauty and vividness of expression, its juggling with words, and its 45. Grandsire. John of Gaunt, son of Edward III. 86. 82. Bilbows. Swords; the name comes from Bilboa, a Spanish town famous for the swords it made. 113. St. Crispin's day. October 25. BEN JONSON: TO THE MEMORY OF MY BE- 87. Prefaced to the First Folio edition of 29, 30. Lyly, Kyd, Marlowe. Immediate predecessors of Shakespeare in the English drama. 32. Seek for names. Search critically for the names of dramatists with whom to compare Shakespeare; only the greatest names will do. 33, 34. Æschylus, Euripides, Sophocles. 35. Pacuvius, Accius. Latin writers of 37. Socks. Likewise representative of 88. 51. Tart Aristophanes. Most famous of Greek satirical dramatists; he wrote in the fifth century B. C. 52. Terence, Plautus. The best writers of Latin comedy, of the second century B. С. 71. Swan of Avon. Shakespeare was born at Stratford-on-Avon. 77, 78. Rage or influence. A reference to the astrological belief that each planet exerted either a good or an evil power over the lives of men. ΕΡΙΤΑΡΗ ON SALATHIEL PAVY It was the custom of the choir boys of the Chapel Royal, of whom this small boy was one, frequently to entertain the Queen and court by acting before them; such children's companies were serious competitors of the adult companies; cf. Hamlet, II. ii. DONNE: SWEETEST LOVE, I DO NOT GO 89. This, one of the sweetest and most musical of Donne's poems, was probably addressed to his wife on the occasion of his leaving her for a trip to France. BEAUMONT: ON THE TOMBS IN WESTMINSTER 90. 5. The relative is omitted. 9. Acre. I. e., God's acre; grave yard. FLETCHER: SWEETEST MELANCHOLY Milton is supposed to have obtained from this lyric suggestions for Il Penseroso. CARE-CHARMING SLEEP 91. Cf. Daniel's sonnet, p. 72. 5. Sweet. So read the early editions; it should perhaps be light. SONG TO BACCHUS 1. Lyæus. A name for Bacchus. WEBSTER: A DIRGE "I never saw anything like this funeral dirge except the ditty which reminds Ferdinand of his drowned father in The Tempest [cf. p. 83]. As that is of the water, watery; so this is of the earth, earthy. Both have that intenseness of feeling, which seems to resolve itself into the element which it contemplates." (Charles Lamb.) HARK, NOW EVERYTHING IS STILL From The Duchess of Malfi, where it is sung, with great dramatic effect, just before the heroine of the play is strangled. 17. Full tide. There may be a reference here to the popular belief that sick people usually died at the turning of the tide. So Falstaff "parted even at the turning of the tide," Henry V, II. iii. BROWNE: ON THE COUNTESS DOWAGER OF PEMBROKE 3. Sidney's sister. It was to this lady, Mary Sidney, later Countess of Pembroke, that Sir Philip Sidney dedicated his Arcadia. Pembroke's mother. The third Earl of Pembroke, a minor poet, to whom, with his brother, the first folio of Shakespeare was dedicated, was the Countess's son. This epitaph, delicate and chastely beautiful, has been erroneously ascribed to Ben Jonson. There is a second and inferior stanza, which may not be by the same hand. NORTH THE DEATH OF CÆSAR 92. 69. The first Brutus. Lucius Junius Brutus, who led the revolt expelling the Tarquins from Rome. 72. Marcus Cato. Cato Uticensis, the staunch republican who committed suicide at Utica on hearing of Pompey's defeat by Cæsar at Pharsalia. 93. 132. Element. Sky. 166. Preventing. Anticipating. 95. 436. Forms. Benches. 96. 499. Journey. Day. LYLY QUEEN ELIZABETH 97. The text is based on Bond's edition, vol. II., pp. 206 ff.; spelling and punctuation have been modernized. 97. 1. This queen. Mary, elder sister of Elizabeth. 13. Praxiteles. A fondness for citing "Ac The following words allude to the projected Anjou match, which in the autumn of 1579 she was known to favor; and reflect the general anxiety for an heir to the crown." (Bond, II. 534.) 78. Tickle. Uncertain. 79. Twist. Small thread or piece of silk. 88. Like the bird Ibis. Reference to the so-called "unnatural natural history," most of which goes back to Pliny, is characteristic of Lyly and his Euphuistic imitators. 98. 117. Escapes. Mistakes. 133. Twice directed her progress unto 157. Admiration. Wonder. 99. 202. The curses of the Pope. "Pius V.'s bull of excommunication and deposition, issued Feb. 25, 1570, was found nailed on the Bishop of London's door, May 15." (Bond, II. 535.) 251. Bound the crocodile to the palm tree. "A way of saying 'made Egypt a field for his victories." (Bond, II. 535.) SIDNEY THE DEFENCE OF POESY 100. 9. Mirror of Magistrates. A collection of tales published first in 1559, and with Sackville's famous Induction, in 1563. 34. Gorboduc. A play by Sackville and Norton, acted 1561, the first English blank verse tragedy. It was modelled on the Latin tragedies of Seneca. 101. 109. Pacolet's horse. An enchanted steed in the romance of Valentine and Orson. 115. Ab ovo. From the egg; i. e., from the beginning. 119. Polydorus. In Euripides' tragedy 208. Pounded. Impounded, put in a 103. 337. Libertino patre natus. Son of an ex-slave. 338. Herculea proles. Descendant of Hercules. 339. Si quid, etc. If my verse can do aught. 343. Dull-making, etc. People living near the cataracts of the Nile were said by Cicero to be deafened by the sound. 344. Planet-like music. The "music of the spheres." 349. Mome. Blockhead. RALEIGH THE LAST FIGHT OF THE REVENGE The text is based on Arber's Reprint; spelling and punctuation are modernized. 103. 3. This late encounter. The battle between the Revenge and the Spanish fleet began 10 September, 1591. The pamphlet describing it appeared the same year. 29. The year 1588. The year when the 57. Recover. Obtain. 58. All pestered and rummaging. The ships were encumbered with badly stowed gear. 104. 88. Weigh their anchors. Hoist their anchors on board. Slip the cables means to cut loose from the mooring. 94. Recovered the wind. Got to wind- 97. Cut his mainsail and cast about. 110. Sprang their luff, etc. Allowed the 113. Answered. Justified. 122. High carged. Towering. 125. Laid the Revenge aboard. Took position alongside the Revenge, the two ships touching each other. 127. Luffing up. Turning towards the wind. 134. Out of her chase. The guns in the bows of a ship would be the first used in a pursuit; the noun chase here means the bows. 105. 177. Admiral of the Hulks. Flagship of the transports. ،، 185. Ship of Lime. So the original text; possibly a misprint for Ship of the line," a warship of the first class. 191. A-dressing. Having his wounds dressed. 211. Composition. Terms of agreement. 245. But. Nothing but. 106. 356. Approved. Experienced. 372. Fly-boats. Small, swiftly sailing ships. 107. 384. Road. Roadstead; harbor. BACON OF TRUTH 107. 1. See John, xviii: 38. 3. There be that. There are those who. 17. One of the later school, etc. Probably a reference to the "New Academy." 15. A melancholy thing. This sentence is an apt commentary on Bacon's own fall from great place. Cum non sis, etc. Since you are not what you were, there is no reason why you should desire to live. 110. 39. Illi mors gravis, etc. Death lies heavy on the man who dies known to almost all, but unknown to himself. 53. Conscience of the same. Consciousness of the same. 56. Et conversus Deus, etc. When God had looked, to see the works which his own hands had made, he saw that all were good beyond measure. 86. De facto. As a matter of fact. 111. 131. Omnium consensu, etc. In the opinion of all, fit to rule, if only he had not ruled. 134. Solus imperantium, etc. Of all rulers Vespasian alone changed for the better. HERRICK: ARGUMENT OF HIS BOOK 117. The poem serves as a sort of foreword to The Hesperides, as Herrick called his book, telling the sorts of things about which Herrick wrote. 3. Hock-carts. The hock-cart was the last cart in from the field at harvest time. Wassails. Drinking-bouts. Wakes. Village festivities. CORINNA'S GOING A-MAYING 2. God unshorn. The sun adorned in his rays. 4. Fresh-quilted. "Referable to the bright and variegated colors of sunrise." (Schelling, Seventeenth Century Lyrics.) 14. May. The term was loosely applied to all sorts of May blossoms, particularly those of the hawthorn. 118. 30 ff. For a good account of the Mayday customs see Brand's Popular Antiquities. 51. Green-gown. Tumble on the grass. AN ODE FOR BEN JONSON 119. 5, 6. Sun, Dog, Triple Tun. Famous London taverns of Jonson's day. 125. 23. Cæsar's. Charles the First's. 24. Through his laurels. In spite of his royal crown. 29. His private gardens. Until the outbreak of the Civil War Cromwell had lived in retirement. 41. Nature, that hateth emptiness. A variant of the well known phrase " Nature abhors a vacuum." Two 42. Allows of penetration less. 57. He. The King. This fine passage 69. A bleeding head. Pliny tells, in his 92. Heavy. I. e., with her prey. 126. 101, 2. Cromwell shall be to France what Cæsar was, to Italy what Hannibal was. 104. Climacteric. The force that brings about the result at a critical time. 106. Parti-colored. Variegated, i. e., ... in. To send dogs into HERBERT: VIRTUE 120. 15. Coal. I. e., on the Day of Judgment. THE COLLAR 6. In suit. Suing for the favor of a superior. 8. Me. For me; an example of the socalled ethical dative. 22. The attempt to weave a rope of sand CRASHAW: IN THE HOLY NATIVITY OF OUR 122. 91 ff. She sings Thy tears asleep, etc. VAUGHAN: THE RETREAT 123. The idea of this poem suggests Wordsworth's Intimations of Immortality, and it is probable that Wordsworth was influenced by Vaughan. MARVELL: HORATIAN ODE 124. Written in 1650 after Cromwell had re- 125. 15. His own side. In 1647 the Puritan cover. DORSET: TO ALL YOU LADIES NOW AT LAND 127. "Written in 1665, when the author, at 128. 27. Whitehall stairs. The royal palace 44. A merry main. To throw a main was to cast dice in a game of chance. BROWNE HYDRIOTAPHIA The Urn-Burial sets out to be an historical account of the methods of dealing with the dead, but turns into a meditation upon the brevity and vanity of the life |