Ah, Silly Pug, wert thou so Sore Afraid

By Queen Elizabeth I 1533–1603 Queen Elizabeth I

Ah, silly Pug, wert thou so sore afraid?

Mourn not, my Wat, nor be thou so dismayed.

It passeth fickle Fortune’s power and skill

To force my heart to think thee any ill.

No Fortune base, thou sayest, shall alter thee?

And may so blind a witch so conquer me?

No, no, my Pug, though Fortune were not blind,

Assure thyself she could not rule my mind.

Fortune, I know, sometimes doth conquer kings,

And rules and reigns on earth and earthly things,

But never think Fortune can bear the sway

If virtue watch, and will her not obey.

Ne chose I thee by fickle Fortune’s rede,

Ne she shall force me alter with such speed

But if to try this mistress’ jest with thee.

Pull up thy heart, suppress thy brackish tears,

Torment thee not, but put away thy fears.

Dead to all joys and living unto woe,

Slain quite by her that ne’er gave wise men blow,

Revive again and live without all dread,

The less afraid, the better thou shalt speed.

Biography

Although the influence of Queen Elizabeth I on the literature of the period that bears her name has been much discussed, her own status as an author has been less recognized. Critics have traced her role as subject of or inspiration for such works as Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590-1596), William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1600), and some Petrarchan sonnets but have generally considered her as the author . . .

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