And keep the winged choristers still there, Or the song of the fairies: By the moon we sport and play; Two by two, and three by three, And about go we, and about go we. The genius of Lyly was essentially lyrical. The songs in his plays seem to flow freely from nature. The following exquisite little pieces are in his drama of Alexander and Campaspe,' performed before the queen in 1584. ་ GEORGE PEELE held the situation of city poet and conductor of pageants for the court. In 1584 his Arraignment of Paris,' a court show, was represented before Elizabeth. The author was then a young man, who had recently left Christ Church, Oxford. In 1593, Peele gave an example of an English historical play in his Edward 1.' The style of this piece is turgid and monotonous; yet in the following allusion to England, we see something of the high-sounding kingly speeches in Shakspeare's historical plays: Apostrophe to England. Illustrious England, ancient seat of kings, Rings glorious echoes through the farthest world! Or frozen zone under his brumal stage, Erst has not quaked and trembled at the name Her neighbour realms, as Scotland, Denmark, France, Longshank, your king, your glory, and our son, Higher than all his army by the head, Marching along as bright as Phoebus' eyes! And we, his mother, shall behold our son, And England's peers shall see their sovereign. ¢ Peele was also author of the O11 Wives' Tale,' a legendary story, part in prose, and part in blank verse, which afforded Milton a rude outline of his fable of 'Comus.' The Old Wives' Tale' was printed in 1595, as acted by the Queen's Majesty's Players.' The greatest work of Peele is his Scripture drama, the Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe,' with the tragedy of Absalom,' which Campbell terms the earliest fountain of pathos and harmony that can be traced in our dramatic poetry.' The date of representation of this drama is not known; it was not printed till 159), after Shakspeare had written some of his finest comedies, and opened up a fountain compared with which the feeble tricklings of Peele were wholly insignificant. It is not probable that Peele's play was written before 1590, as one passage in it seems a direct plagiarism from the Faery Queen' of Spenser. We may allow Peele the merit of a delicate poetical fancy and smooth musical versification. The defect of his blank verse is its want of variety: the art of varying the pauses and modulating the verse without the aid of rhyme had not yet been generally adopted. In 'David and Bethsabe,' this monotony is less observable, because his lines are smoother, and there is a play of rich and luxurious fancy in some of the scenes. Prologue to King David and Fair Bethsabe. Of Israel's sweetest singer now I sing, His holy style and happy victories; Whose Muse was dipt in that inspiring dew, Heaven rained on tous of Sion and Mount Sinai. Upon the bosom of his ivory lute The cherubim and angels laid their breasts; The golden wires of his ravishing harp, He gave alarum to the host of heaven, That, winged with lightning, brake the clouds, and cast Of this sweet poet, Jove's musician, And of his beauteous son, I press to sing; Upon the wings of my well-tempered verse, BETHSABE and her maid bathing. King David above. The Song. Inflame unstaid desire. Nor pierce any bright eye That wandereth lightly. BETHSABE. Come, gentle Zephyr, tricked with those perfumes, That erst in Eden sweetened Adain's love, And stroke my bosom with the silken fan: This shade-sun-proof-is yet no proof for thee; Thy body, smoother than this waveless spring, And purer than the substance of the same, Can creep through that his lances (1) cannot pierce Keeps every fountain fresh and arbour sweet; No brazen gate her passage can repulse, Nor bushy thicket bar thy subtle breath. Then deck thee with thy loose delightsome robes, And on thy wings bring delicate perfumes, To play the wanton with us through the leaves. DAVID. What tunes, what words, what looks, what wonders pierce My soul, incensed with a sudden fire! What tree, what shade, what spring, what paradise, Enjoys the beauty of so fair a dame ? Fair Eva, placed in perfect happiness, Lending her praise-notes to the liberal heavens, Struck with the accents of archangels' tunes, 1 The sun's rays. Wrought not more pleasure to her husband's thoughts That pierce earth's bowels to maintain the source, Of moss, that sleeps with sound the waters make · That hangs like chains of pearl on Hermon hill, Enter CUSAY. See, Cusay, see the flower of Israel, The fairest daughter that obeys the king, Brighter than inside bark of new-hewn cedar, DAV. Go now and bring her quickly to the king; DAV. Bright Bethsabe shall wash in David's bower And with their murmur summon easeful Sleep, [Ext. Charles Lamb says justly, that the line, 'seated in hearing of a hundred streams,' is the best in the above passage. It is indeed a noble poetical image. Parable of Nathan and David. NATHAN. Thus Nathan saith unto his lord the king: The one was mighty, and exceeding rich In oxen, sheep, and cattle of the field: The other poor, having nor ox, nor calf, Which he had bought, and nourished by his hand; But took the poor man's sheep, partly poor man's store; What, tell me, shall be done to him for this? DAVID. Now, as the Lord doth live, this wicked man Is judged, and shall become the child of death; Fourfold to the poor man he shall restore, That without mercy took his lamb away. NATH. THOU ART THE MAN, AND THOU HAST JUDGED THYSELF.— David, thus saith the Lord thy God by me: I thee anointed king in Israel, And saved thee from the tyranny of Saul; Thy master's house I gave thee to possess, His wives unto thy bosom I did give, And Juda aud Jerusalem withal: And might, thou know'st, if this had been too small, Have given thee more. Wherefore, then, hast thou gone so far astray, And hast done evil, and sinued in my sight? Urias thou hast killed with the sword, Yea, with the sword of the uncircumcised Thou hast him slam; wherefore, from this day forth, DAV. Nathan, I have against the Lord, I have Sinned, O sinned grievously, and lo! From heaven's throne doth David throw himself, And groan and grovel to the gates of hell. NATH. David, stand up; thus saith the Lord by me: The true repentant sorrow of thy heart; Stirred up the enemies of Israel To triumph and blaspheme the Lord of Hosts, Over his loved people and his tribes ;' The child shall surely die. that erst was born, His mother's sin, his kingly father's scorn. DAV. How just is Jacob's God in all his works! But must it die, that David loveth so ?... Mourn, Israel, and weep in Sion gates; Wither, ye cedar trees of Lebanon; Ye sprouting almonds with your flowing tops, Droop, drown, and drench in Hebron's fearful streams! |