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CHAPTER 1
100 BEST-LOVED POEMS
BALLADS
Ballads are anonymous, frequently tragic, storytelling songs that often developed for centuries before being recorded in writing. The following are two of the most famous English ballads, dating probably from the late Middle Ages.
Lord Randal
"O where hae ye been, Lord Randal, my son?
"Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?
"What gat ye to your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?
"What became of your bloodhounds, Lord Randal, my son?
"O I fear ye are poison'd, Lord Randal, my son!
Sir Patrick Spens
I. The Sailing
The king sits in Dunfermline town Drinking the blude-red wine;
O up and spak an eldern knight,
Our king has written a braid letter,
"To Noroway, to Noroway,
The first word that Sir Patrick read So loud, loud laugh'd he;
"O wha is this has done this deed And tauld the king o' me,
"Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet,
They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn Wi' a' the speed they may;
II. The Return
"Mak ready, mak ready, my merry men a'!
"I saw the new moon late yestreen Wi' the auld moon in her arm;
They hadna sail'd a league, a league,
The ankers brak, and the topmast lap,
"Go fetch a web o' the silken claith,
They fetch'd a web o' the silken claith,
O laith, laith were our gude Scots lords To wet their cork-heel'd shoon;
And mony was the feather bed That flatter'd on the faem;
O lang, lang may the ladies sit,
And lang, lang may the maidens sit Wi' their gowd kames in their hair,
Half-owre, half-owre to Aberdour,
SIR THOMAS WYATT(1503–1542)
A courtier and diplomat active in the court of King Henry VIII, Wyatt is credited with introducing Italian sonnet forms to English literature in the 1530s.
The Lover Showeth How He Is Forsaken of Such as He Sometime Enjoyed
They flee from me that sometime did me seek,
That now are wild, and do not once remember That sometime they have put themselves in danger To take bread at my hand; and now they range,
Thank'd be fortune, it hath been otherwise Twenty times better; but once, in special,
It was no dream; I lay broad waking:
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE(1564–1593)
Second only to Shakespeare (whom he inspired) as an Elizabethan dramatist, Marlowe penned some of the earliest and greatest English-language tragedies before being killed in a tavern at age 29.
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will sit upon the rocks,
And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant posies;
A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
A belt of straw and ivy-buds With coral clasps and amber studs:
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning:
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE(1564–1616)
The preeminent English poet and playwright, Shakespeare published a sequence of 154 sonnets in 1609 that continue to be regarded as the highest perfection of the form in English.
Sonnet XVIII
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Sonnet LXXIII
That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Sonnet XCIV
They that have power to hurt and will do none,
Sonnet CXVI
Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds,
THOMAS NASHE(1567–1601)
During a tempestuous and brief career, Nashe produced plays, satire, pamphlets and a novel as well as poetry. The following lyric is taken from his comedy Summers Last Will and Testament (1592).
"Adieu, Farewell Earth's Bliss"
Adieu, farewell earth's bliss;
Rich men, trust not in wealth,
Beauty is but a flower Which wrinkles will devour;
Strength stoops unto the grave,
Wit with his wantonness Tasteth death's bitterness;
Haste, therefore, each degree,
JOHN DONNE(1572–1631)
Born a Catholic, Donne became an Anglican cleric of great influence. He also wrote secular as well as religious poetry that combined brilliant craftsmanship, heartfelt emotion and intellectual rigor while addressing issues of love and faith.
The Good Morrow
I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I Did, till we lov'd? were we not wean'd till then?
And now good morrow to our waking souls,
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
Holy Sonnet X
Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
Holy Sonnet XIV
Batter my heart, three-person'd God; for, you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
BEN JONSON(1572–1637)
At his peak the leading literary figure of his day, Jonson was an associate of Shakespeare, Donne and other distinguished persons, as well as poet laureate. He was an accomplished playwright, translator and critic, and also wrote great lyric poetry.
To Celia
Drink to me, only, with thine eyes,
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
On My First Son
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
ROBERT HERRICK(1591–1674)
One of Ben Jonson's many followers, Herrick did not let his position as an Anglican cleric deter his composing sensual lyrics (of which the following is a mild example) that celebrate the earthly pleasures of human existence.
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
That age is best which is the first,
Then be not coy, but use your time,
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "100 Best-Loved Poems"
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