William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907. Montana the Shepherd, His Love to Aminta By Anthony Munday (1553–1633)
I SERVE 1 Aminta, whiter than the snow, Straighter than cedar, brighter than the glass; More fine in trip 2 than foot of running roe, More pleasant than the field of flowering grass; More gladsome to my withering joys that fade 5 Than winter’s sun or summer’s cooling shade. Sweeter than swelling grape of ripest wine, Softer than feathers of the fairest swan; Smoother than jet, more stately than the pine, Fresher than poplar, smaller than my span; 10 Clearer than Phœbus’ fiery-pointed beam, Or icy crust of crystal’s frozen stream. Yet is she curster than the bear by kind, 3 And harder-hearted than the agèd oak; More glib than oil, more fickle than the wind, 15 More stiff than steel, no sooner bent but broke. Lo! thus my service is a lasting sore, Yet will I serve, although I die therefore.
Note 1. I serve Aminta, whiter than the snow. Like Nos. 253 and 255 (see note supra) this poem is from England’s Helicon, 1600, where it is signed “Shepherd Tony.” [back ]Note 2. More fine in trip: of daintier step. [back ]Note 3. Curster … by kind: more vixenish in disposition. [back ]
