And I will make thee beds of roses,
Io And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle,
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
15 Fair-lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy-buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
20 Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning :
If these delights thy mind may move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH

1552-1618

THE NYMPH'S REPLY

If all 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.

5 But time drives flocks from field to fold,
When rivers rage, and rocks grow cold;
Then Philomel becometh dumb,
The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields 10 To wayward winter reckoning yields; A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,

15 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,
20 To come to thee and be thy love.

But could youth last, and love still breed,
Had joys no date, nor age no need;

Then these delights my mind might move,

To live with thee and be thy love.

Observe how Raleigh differs from Marlowe in his conception of the allurements of the country. Winter has its drawbacks, and youth and love possess no setting to make them permanent.

THOMAS NASHE

1567-1601

Optional Poem

In Time Of Pestilence.

SPRING

Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king;
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing,
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

5 The palm and May make country houses gay; Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay,

Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
10 Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
In every street these tunes our ears do greet,
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
Spring, the sweet Spring!

By previously read lyrics interpret this poem. From the point of view of construction, the poem possesses artificiality.

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY

1554-1586

Optional Poems

The Bargain.

Sonnet XXXI. (Astrophel and Stella.)

SONNET XXXIX. ON SLEEP.

(From Astrophel and Stella.)

Come, Sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace,
The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
The indifferent judge between the high and low;
5 With shield of proof shield me from out the prease
Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw ;
O make in me those civil wars to cease;

I will good tribute pay, if thou do so.

Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed;
10 A chamber deaf to noise, and blind of light;
A rosy garland and a weary head:

And if these things, as being thine in right,
Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me,
Livelier than elsewhere, Stella's image see.

What is a sonnet? Explain its construction. In this sonnet does the thought in the sestet transcend the thought in the octave? What is the one completely evolved thought?

Stella was Penelope Devereux, daughter of the Earl of Essex. She became Lady Rich. Sidney represents himself as Astrophel, lover of the star, Stella.

(1-4) Cf. Shakespere's metaphors applied to sleep in "Macbeth," Act II. 2.