Delia XXXVI

By Samuel Daniel 1562–1619 Samuel Daniel

But love whilst that thou mayst be loved again,

Now whilst thy May hath filled thy lap with flowers,

Now whilst thy beauty bears without a stain,

Now use the summer smiles, ere winter lowers.

And whilst thou spread’st unto the rising sun

The fairest flower that ever saw the light,

Now joy thy time before thy sweet be done,

And, Delia, think thy morning must have night,

And that thy brightness sets at length to west,

When thou wilt close up that which now thou shew’st;

And think the same becomes thy fading best

Which then shall most inveil and shadow most.

Men do not weigh the stalk for what it was,

When once they find her flower, her glory, pass.

Biography

Though admired as a lyric poet and historian, Samuel Daniel has found few enthusiastic readers for his dramatic works. Sober minded, restrained, reflective, and frequently prosaic, Daniel stands outside the popular-stage tradition, yet as an innovator he is of considerable importance in the history of Renaissance drama. Cleopatra is one of the earliest and best attempts to transplant French Senecan closet drama to the English . . .

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