To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us

To draw no envy, Shakespeare, on thy name,

 Am I thus ample to thy book and fame;

While I confess thy writings to be such

 As neither man nor Muse can praise too much.

`Tis true, and all men`s suffrage. But these ways

 Were not the paths I meant unto thy praise;

For silliest Ignorance on these may light,

 Which, when it sounds at best, but echoes right;

Or blind Affection, which doth ne`er advance

 The truth, but gropes and urgeth all by chance;

Or crafty Malice might pretend this praise,

 And think to ruin where it seem`d to raise.

These are as some infamous bawd or whore

 Should praise a matron. What could hurt her more?

But thou art proof against them, and, indeed,

 Above the ill - fortune of them, or the need.

I, therefore, will begin. Soul of the age!

 The applause, delight, the wonder of our stage,

My Shakespeare, rise! I will not lodge thee by

 Chaucer, or Spenser, or bid Beaumont lie

A little further, to make thee a room:

 Thou art a monument without a tomb,

And art alive still, while thy book doth live,

 And we have wits to read, and praise to give.

That I not mix thee so, my brain excuses;

 I mean, with great but disproportion`d Muses.

For, if I thought my judgment were of years,

 I should commit thee, surely, with thy peers.

And tell how far thou didst our Lyly outshine,

 Or sporting Kyd, or Marlowe`s mighty line.

And though thou hadst small Latin and less Greek,

 From thence, to honour thee, I would not seek

For names; but call forth thund`ring Aeschylus,

 Euripides, and Sophocles to us,

Paccuvius, Accius, him of Cordova dead

 To life again, to hear thy buskin tread

And shake a stage; or when thy socks were on,

 Leave thee alone, for the comparison

Of all that insolent Greece or haughty Rome

 Sent forth; or since did from their ashes come.

Triumph, my Britain! Thou hast one to show

 To whom all scenes of Europe homage owe.

He was not of an age, but for all time!

 And all the Muses still were in their prime,

When, like Apollo, he came forth to warm

 Our ears, or, like Mercury, to charm.

Nature herself was proud of his designs,

 And joy`d to wear he dressing of his lines,

Which were so richly spun, and woven so fit

 As, since, she will vouchsafe no other wit.

The merry Greek, tart Aristophanes,

 Neat Terence, witty Plautus, now not please;

But antiquated and deserted lie,

 As they were not of Nature`s family.

Yet must I not give Nature all! Thy art,

 My gentle Shakespeare, must enjoy a part.

For though the Poet`s matter Nature be

 His art doth give the fashion. And that he

Who casts to write a living line, must sweat

 (Such a thine are), and strike the second heat

Upon the Muses` anvil, turn the same

 (And himself with it), that he thinks to frame;

Or for the laurel he may gain a scorn!

 For a good Poet`s made as well as born;

And such wert thou! Look how the father`s face

 Lives in his issue; even so, the race

Of Shakespeare`s mind and manners brightly shines

 In his well - turned and true - filed lines;

In each of which he seems to shake a lance

 As brandish`d at the eyes of Ignorance.

Sweet Swan of Avon! what a sight it were

 To see thee in our water yet appear,

And make those flights upon the banks of Thames

 That so did take Eliza, and our James!

But stay, I see thee in the hemisphere

 Advanc`d, and made a constellation there!

Shine forth, thou star of poets, and with rage

 Or influence, chide, or cheer the drooping stage;

Which since thy flight from hence hath mourn`d like night,

 And despairs day, but for thy volume`s light.

This poem was prefixed to the first Folio of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623.Contextual notes:L2 - 'ample' - copiousL5 - 'suffrage' - consentL7 - 'silliest' - simplestL13 - 'as' - as thoughL20-21 - 'Chaucer...a room' - Chaucer, Spenser, and Beaumont were all buried in Westminster Abby. Shakespeare was buried in Stratford.L26 - 'disproportioned' - not comparableL29-30 - 'And tell...mighty line' - The names mentioned here were playwrights who were contemporaries of Shakespeare's.L32 - 'seek' - lackL35 - 'Pacuvius...' - Latin tragedians.L36 - 'buskin' - symbol of tragedyL37 - 'socks' - symbol of comedyL42 - 'scenes' - stagesL51-52 - 'Aristophanes...Plauts' - ancient writers of comedyL57 - 'poet's matter' - subject matterL58 - 'fashion' - form, styleL59 - 'casts' - undertakesL69 - 'shake a lance' - pun on 'Shake-speare'L74 - 'Eliza and our James' - Queen Elizabeth and King James