THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERDESS Essay Example For Students

THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERDESS Essay A monologue from the play by John Fletcher NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Faithful Shepherdess. John Fletcher. London: J.M.Dent, 1897. SATYR: Through yon same bending plain,That flings his arms down to the main,And through these thick woods have I run,Whose bottom never kissed the sunSince the lusty spring began;All to please my master Pan,Have I trotted without restTo get him fruit, for at a feastHe entertains this coming nightHis paramour, the Syrinx bright.But behold, a fairer sight!By that heavenly form of thine,Brightest fair, thou art divine,Sprung from great immortal raceOf the gods; for in they faceShines more awful majestyThan dull weak mortalityDare with misty eyes behold,And live. Therefore on this moldLowly to I bend my kneeIn worship of thy deity.Deign it, goddess, from my handTo receive whateer this landFrom her fertile womb doth sendOf her choice fruits, and but lend beliefto that the satyr tells:Fairer by the famous wellsTo this present day neer grew,Never better nor more true.Here be grapes, whose lusty bloodIs the learned poets good,Sweeter yet did never crownThe head of Bacchus; nuts more brownTha n the squirrels teeth that crack them.Deign, O fairest fair, to take them!For these black-eyed DryopeHath oftentimes commanded meWith my clasped knee to climbSee how well the lusty timeHath decked their rising cheeks in red,Such as on your lips is spread!Here be berries for a queenSome be red, some be green;These are of that luscious meatThe great god Pan himself doth eat;All these, and what the woods can yield,The hanging mountain, or the field,I freely offer, and ere longWill bring you more, more sweet and strong,Till when, humbly leave I take,Lest the great Pan do awake,That sleeping lies in a deep gladeUnder a broad beechs shade.I must go, I must runSwifter than the fiery sun.