The essayes of a prentise, in the diuine art of poesie

SONNET. 1.

FIRST Ioue, as greatest God aboue the rest, Graunt thou to me a pairt of my desyre: That when in verse of thee I wryte my best, This onely thing I earnestly requyre, That thou my veine Poetique so inspyre, As they may suirlie think, all that it reid, When I descryue thy might and thundring fyre, That they do see thy self in verie deid From heauen thy greatest Thunders for to leid, And syne vpon the Gyants heads to fall: Or cumming to thy Semele with speid In Thunders least, at her request and call: Or throwing Phaethon downe from heauen to eard, With threatning thunders, making mōstrous reard.

SONNET. 2.

APollo nixt, assist me in a parte, Sen vnto Ioue thou second art in might, That when I do descryue thy shyning Carte, The Readers may esteme it in their sight. And graunt me als, thou worlds ô onely light, That when I lyke for subiect to deuyse To wryte, how as before thy countenaunce bright The yeares do stand, with seasons dowble twyse, That so I may descryue the verie guyse Thus by thy help, of yeares wherein we liue: As Readers syne may say, heir surely lyes, Of seasons fowre, the glasse and picture viue. Grant als, that so I may my verses warpe, As thou may play them syne vpon thy Harpe.

SONNET. 3.

AND first, ô Phoebus, when I do descriue The Springtyme sproutar of the herbes and flowris, Whome with in rank none of the foure do striue, But nearest thee do stande all tymes and howris: Graunt Readers may esteme, they sie the showris, Whose balmie dropps so softlie dois distell, Which watrie cloudds in mesure suche downe powris, As makis the herbis, and verie earth to smell With sauours sweit, fra tyme that onis thy sell The vapouris softlie sowkis with smyling cheare, VVhilks syne in cloudds are keiped closs and well, VVhill vehement Winter come in tyme of yeare. Graunt, when I lyke the Springtyme to displaye, That Readers think they sie the Spring alwaye.

SONNET. 4.

AND graunt I may so viuely put in verse The Sommer, when I lyke theirof to treat: As when in writ I do theirof reherse, Let Readers think they fele the burning heat, And graithly see the earth, for lacke of weit, With withering drouth and Sunne so gaigged all, As for the grasse on feild, the dust in streit Doth ryse and flee aloft, long or it fall. Yea, let them think, they heare the song and call, Which Floras wingde musicians maks to sound. And that to taste, and smell, beleue they shall Delicious fruictis, whilks in that tyme abound. And shortly, all their senses so bereaued, As eyes and earis, and all may be deceaued.

SONNET. 5.

OR when I lyke my pen for to imploy Of fertile Harvest in the description trew: Let Readers think, they instantly conuoy The busie shearers for to reap their dew, By cutting rypest cornes with hookes anew: Which cornes their heauy heads did dounward bow, Els seking earth againe, from whence they grew, And vnto Ceres do their seruice vow. Let Readers also surely think and trow, They see the painfull Vigneron pull the grapes: First tramping them, and after pressing now The grenest clusters gathered into heapes. Let then the Harvest so viue to them appeare, As if they saw both cornes and clustersneare.

SONNET. 6.

BVT let them think, in verie deid they feill, When as I do the VVinters stormes vnfolde, The bitter frosts, which waters dois congeill In VVinter season, by a pearsing colde. And that they heare the whiddering Boreas bolde, With hiddeous hurling, rolling Rocks from hie. Or let them think, they see god Saturne olde, Whose hoarie haire owercouering earth, maks flie The lytle bird's in flocks, fra tyme they see The earth and all with stormes of snow owercled: Yea let them think, they heare the birds that die, Make piteous mone, that Saturnes hairis are spred. Apollo, graunt thir foirsaid suitis of myne, All fyue I say, that thou may crowne me syne.

SONNET. 7.

AND when I do descriue the Oceans force, Graunt syne, ô Neptune, god of seas profound, That readars think on leebord, and on dworce, And how the Seas owerflowed this massiue round: Yea, let them think, they heare a stormy sound, Which threatnis wind, and darknes come at hand: And water in their shipps syne to abound, By weltring waues, lyke hyest towres on land. Then let them thinke their shipp now low on sand, Now climmes & skippes to top of rageing seas, Now downe to hell, when shippmen may not stand, But lifts their hands to pray thee for some eas. Syne let them think thy Trident doth it calme, Which maks it cleare and smothe lyke glas or alme.

SONNET. 8.

AND graunt the lyke when as the swimming sort Of all thy subiects skaled I list declare: As Triton monster with a manly port, Who drownd the Troyan trumpetour most raire: As Marmaids wyse, who wepis in wether faire: And marvelous Monkis, I meane Monkis of the see. Bot what of monsters, when I looke and staire On wounderous heapes of subiectis seruing the? As whailes so huge, and Sea eylis rare, that be Myle longs, in crawling cruikis of sixtie pace: And Daulphins, Seahorse, Selchs with oxin ee, And Mersvvynis, Pertrikis als of fishes race. In short, no fowle doth flie, nor beast doth go, But thow hast fishes lyke to them and mo.

SONNET. 9.

O Dreidfull Pluto, brother thrid to Ioue, With Proserpin, thy wife, the quene of hell: My sute to yow is, when I like to loaue The ioyes that do in Elise field excell: Or when I like great Tragedies to tell: Or flyte, or murne my fate: or wryte with feare The plagues ye do send furth with Dirae fell. Let Readers think, that both they see and heare Alecto, threatning Turnus sister deare: And heare Celaenos wings, with Harpyes all: And see dog Cerberus rage with hiddeous beare, And all that did Aeneas once befall. When as he past throw all those dongeons dim, The foresaid feilds syne visited by him.

SONNET. 10.

O Furious Mars, thow warlyke souldiour bold, And hardy Pallas, goddess stout and graue: Let Reidars think, when combats manyfold I do descriue, they see two champions braue, With armies huge approching to resaue Thy will, with cloudds of dust into the air. Syne Phifers, Drūmes, and Trumpets cleir do craue The pelmell chok with larum loude alwhair, Then nothing hard but gunnis, and ratling fair Of speares, and clincking swords with glaunce so cleir, As if they foght in skyes, then wrangles thair Men killd, vnkilld, whill Parcas breath reteir. There lyes the venquisht wailing sore his chaunce: Here lyes the victor, rewing els the daunce.

SONNET. 11.

AND at your handis I earnestly do craue, O facound Mercure, with the Muses nyne, That for conducting guyde I may you haue, Aswell vnto my pen, as my Ingyne. Let Readers think, thy eloquence deuyne O Mercure, in my Poems doth appeare: And that Parnassis flowing fountaine fyne Into my works doth shyne lyke cristall cleare. O Muses, let them think that they do heare Your voyces all into my verse resound. And that your vertewis singuler and seir May wholly all in them be also found. Of all that may the perfyte Poems make, I pray you let my verses haue no lake.

SONNET. 12.

IN short, you all forenamed gods I pray For to concur with one accord and will, That all my works may perfyte be alway: Which if ye doe, then sweare I for to fill My works immortall with your praises still: I shall your names eternall euer sing, I shall tread downe the grasse on Parnass hill By making with your names the world to ring: I shall your names from all obliuion bring. I lofty Virgill shall to life restoir, My subiects all shalbe of heauenly thing, How to delate the gods immortals gloir. Essay me once, and if ye find me swerue, Then thinke, I do not graces such deserue.

FINIS.