WHEN I behold, by warrant from thy pen, A prince rigging our fleets, arming our men, Conducting to remotest shores our force, (Without a Dido to retard his course), And thence repelling in successful fight Th' usurping foe, whose strength was all his right, By two brave heroes (whom we justly may By Homer's Ajax or Achilles lay): I doubt the author of the Tale of Troy, With him that makes his fugitive enjoy The Carthage Queen, and think thy poem may Impose upon posterity, as they Have done on us. What though romances lie Thus blended with more faithful history; We of th' adult'rate mixture not complain, But thence more characters of virtue gain; More pregnant patterns of transcendent worth Than barren and insipid Truth brings forth: So oft the bastard nobler fortune meets Than the dull issue of the lawful sheets. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BIRTH SONG OF CHRIST by EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS A PRESENCE by KENNETH SLADE ALLING HOME'S A NEST by WILLIAM BARNES CLIO, NINE ECLOGUES IN HONOUR OF NINE VIRTUES: 3. OF CONTENTMENT by WILLIAM BASSE UPON MY FATHERS SUDDEN & DANGEROUS SICKNESS by JOSEPH BEAUMONT |