Poems of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
From Tottel's Miscellany, R.G. Siemens, Editor
siemensr@mala.bc.ca

A Listing of the Poems (by incipit)

The Poems

The soote season
[Description of Spring, wherin eche thing renewes, saue onelie the louer. (Tottel)]

The soote season, that bud and blome furth bringes,
With grene hath clad the hill and eke the vale:
The nightingale with fethers new she singes:
The turtle to her make hath tolde her tale:
Somer is come, for euery spray nowe springes, [5]
The hart hath hong his olde hed on the pale:
The buck in brake his winter cote he flinges:
The fishes flote with newe repaired scale:
The adder all her sloughe awaye she slinges:
The swift swalow pursueth the flyes smale: [10]
The busy bee her honye now she minges:
Winter is worne that was the flowers bale:
And thus I see among these pleasant thinges
Eche care decayes, and yet my sorow springes.

When youth had led me
[Descripcion of the restlesse state of a louer. (Tottel)]

When youth had led me halfe the race,
That Cupides scourge me causde to ronne,
I loked back to mete the place,
From whence my wery course begonne.

And then I sawe how my desire [5]
Misguiding me had led the way:
Mine eyen to gredy of their hire,
Had made me lose a better pray.

For when in sighes I spent the day,
And could not cloke my griefe with game, [10]
The boiling smoke did still bewray
The persuant heate of secrete flame.

And when salt teares doe bayne my brest,
Where loue his pleasant traines hath sowen
Her bewty hath the fruites opprest, [15]
Ere that the buds were spronge and blowen.

And when myne eyen dyd styll pursue
The flying chace that was their quest,
Their gredy lokes dyd oft renewe.
the hidden wound within my brest. [20]


When euery loke these chekes might staine,
From deadly pale to glowing red:
By outwarde signes appered plaine,
The woe wherin my hart was fed.

But all to late loue learneth me, [25]
To painte all kinde of colours new,
To blinde their eyes that els shoulde see,
My specled chekes with Cupides hewe.

And nowe the couert brest I claime,
That worshipt Cupide secretely: [30]
And norished his sacred flame,
From whence no blasing sparkes doe flye.

Wyatt resteth here
[Of the same. (Tottel)]

Wyatt resteth here, that quick could neuer rest:
Whose heauenly giftes encreased by disdayn,
And vertue sank the deper in his brest.
Such profit he by enuy could obtain.

A hed, where wisdom misteries did frame: [5]
Whose hammers bet styll in that liuely brayn,
As on a stithe: where that some work of fame
Was dayly wrought, to turne to Britaines gayn.

A visage, stern, and myld: where bothe did grow,
Vice to contemne, in vertue to reioyce: [10]
Amid great stormes, whom grace assured so,
To lyue vpright, and smile at fortunes choyce.

A hand, that taught, what might be sayd in ryme:
That reft Chaucer the glory of his wit:
A mark, the which (vnparfited, for time) [15]
Some may approche, but neuer none shall hit.

A toung, that serued in forein realmes his king:
Whose courteous talke to vertue did enflame.
Eche noble hart: a worthy guide to bring
Our English youth, by trauail, vnto fame. [20]

An eye, whose iudgement none affect could blinde,
Frendes to allure, and foes to reconcile:
Whose persing loke did represent a mynde
With vertue fraught, reposed, voyd of gyle.

A hart, where drede was neuer so imprest, [25]
To hyde the thought, that might the trouth auance:
In neyther fortune loft, nor yet represt,
To swell in wealth, or yeld vnto mischance.

A valiant corps, where force, and beawty met:
Happy, alas, to happy, but for foes: [30]
Liued, and ran the race, that nature set:
Of manhodes, shape where she the molde did lose.

But to the heauens that simple soule is fled:
Which left with such, as couet Christ to know,
Witnesse of faith, that neuer shall be ded: [35]
Sent for our helth, but not receiued so.
Thus, for our gilte, this iewel haue we lost:
The earth his bones, the heauens possesse his gost.

Loue, that liueth, and reigneth in my thought
[Complaint of a louer rebuked (Tottel)]

Loue, that liueth, and reigneth in my thought,
That built his seat within my captiue brest,
Clad in the armes, wherin with me he fought,
Oft in my face he doth his banner rest.
She, that me taught to loue, and suffer payne, [5]
My doutfull hope, and eke my hote desyre,
With shamefast cloke to shadowe, and refraine,
Her smilyng grace conuerteth straight to yre.
And cowarde Loue then to the hart apace
Taketh his flight, whereas he lurkes, and plaines [10]
His purpose lost, and dare not shewe his face.
For my lordes gilt thus faultlesse byde I paynes.
Yet from my lorde shall not my foote remoue.
Swete is his death, that takes his end by loue.

The fansy, which that I haue serued long
[The fansie of a weried louer (Tottel)]

The fansy, which that I haue serued long,
That hath alway bene enmy to myne ease,
Semed of late to rue vpon my wrong,
And bad me flye the cause of my misease.
And I forthwith dyd prease out of the throng, [5]
That thought by flight my painfull hart to please
Som other way: tyll I saw faith more strong:
And to my self I sayd: alas, those dayes
In vayn were spent, to runne the race so long.
And with that thought, I met my guyde, that playn [10]
Out of the way wherin I wandred wrong,
Brought me amiddes the hylles, in base Bullayn:
Where I am now, as restlesse to remayn,
Against my will, full pleased with my payn.

When ragyng loue with extreme payne
[The louer comforteth himself with the worthinesse of his loue (Tottel)]

WHen ragyng loue with extreme payne
Most cruelly distrains my hart:
When that my teares, as floudes of rayne,
Beare witnes of my wofull smart:
When sighes haue wasted so my breath, [5]
That I lye at the poynte of death:

I call to minde the nauye greate,
That the Grekes brought to Troye towne:
And how the boysteous windes did beate
Their shyps, and rente their sayles adowne, [10]
Till Agamemnons daughters bloode
Appeasde the goddes, that them withstode.

And how that in those ten yeres warre,
Full many a bloudye dede was done,
And many a lord, that came full farre, [15]
There caught his bane (alas) to sone:
And many a good knight ouerronne,
Before the Grekes had Helene wonne.

Then thinke I thus: sithe suche repayre,
So longe time warre of valiant men, [20]
Was all to winne a ladye fayre:
Shall I not learne to suffer then,
And thinke my life well spent to be,
Seruyng a worthier wight than she?

Therfore I neuer will repent, [25]
But paynes contented stil endure.
For like as when, rough winter spent,
The pleasant spring straight draweth in vre:
So after ragyng stormes of care
Ioyful at length may be my fare. [30]

Geue place ye louers
[A praise of his loue: wherin he reproueth them that compare their Ladies with his (Tottel)]

GEue place ye louers, here before
That spent your bostes and bragges in vaine:
My Ladies beawtie passeth more
The best of yours, I dare well sayen,
Than doth the sonne, the candle light: [5]
Or brightest day, the darkest night.

And thereto hath a trothe as iust,
As had Penelope the fayre.
For what she saith, ye may it trust,
As it by writing sealed were. [10]
And vertues hath she many moe,
Than I with pen haue skill to showe.

I coulde rehearse, if that I wolde,
The whole effect of natures plaint,
When she had lost the perfit mold, [15]
The like to whom she could not paint:
With wringyng handes howe she dyd cry,
And what she said, I know it, I.

I knowe, she swore with ragyng mynd:
Her kingdom onely set apart, [20]
There was no losse, by lawe of kind,
That could haue gone so nere her hart.
And this was chiefly all her payne:
She coulde not make the lyke agayne.

Sith nature thus gaue her the prayse, [25]
To be the chiefest worke she wrought:
In faith, me thinke, some better waies
On your behalfe might well be sought,
Then to compare (as ye haue done)
To matche the candle with the sonne. [30]

Svche waiward waies hath loue
[Description of the fickle affections panges and sleightes of loue (Tottel)]

SVche waiward waies hath loue, that most part in discord
Our willes do stand, whereby our hartes but seldom doe accord.

Disceit is his delight, and to begile, and mock
The simple hartes whom he doth strike with froward diuers strok.

He makes the one to rage with golden burning dart, [5]
And doth alay with leaden colde agayn the other hart.

Whote glemes of burnyng fire, and easy sparkes of flame
In balance of vnegall weight he pondereth by aime.

From easy forde, where I might wade and passe ful wel,
He me withdrawes, and doth me driue into a depe dark hel, [10]

And me withholdes where I am calde and offred place,
And willes me that my mortall foe I doe beseke of grace:

He lettes me to pursue a conquest welnere wonne,
To folow where my paines were lost ere that my suite begonne.

So by this meanes I know how soone a hart may turne [15]
From warre to peace, from truce to strife, and so again returne,

I know how to content my self in others lust,
Of litle stuffe vnto my self to weaue a webbe of trust:

And how to hide my harmes with soft dissembling chere,
When in my face the painted thoughtes would outwardly apere. [20]

I know how that the blood forsakes the face for dred:
And how by shame it staines again the chekes with flaming red.

I know vnder the grene the serpent how he lurkes.
The hammer of the restles forge I wote eke how it wurkes.

I know and can by roate the tale that I would tel: [25]
But oft the wordes come furth awrie of him that loueth wel.

I know in heat and colde the louer how he shakes:
In singing how he doth complain, in slepyng how he wakes:

To languish without ache, sicklesse for to consume:
A thousand thinges for to deuise resoluing all in fume. [20]

And though he list to se his ladies grace ful sore,
Such pleasures as delight the eye doe not his health restore.

I know to seke the track of my desired foe,
And feare to finde that I do seke. But chiefly this I know,

That louers must transforme into the thing beloued, [35]
And liue (alas who would beleue?) with sprite from life remoued,

I know in harty sighes, and laughters of the splene
At once to change my state, my wyll, and eke my coloure clene.

I know how to deceaue my self with others help:
And how the Lion chastised is by beating of the whelp. [40]

In standyng nere my fire I know how that I freze.
Farre of I burne, in both I wast, and so my life I leze.

I know how loue doth rage vpon a yelding mynde:
How smal a net may take and meash a hart of gentle kinde:

Or els with seldom swete to season heapes of gall, [45]
Reuiued with a glimse of grace olde sorowes to let fall,

The hidden traines I know, and secret snares of loue:
How soone a loke wil printe a thought, that neuer may remoue.

The slipper state I know, the sodain turnes from wealth,
The doubtful hope, the certain woe, and sure despeire of health. [50]

From Tuskane came my Ladies worthy race
[Description and praise of his loue Geraldine (Tottel)]

FRom Tuskane came my Ladies worthy race:
Faire Florence was sometyme her auncient seate:
The Western yle, whose pleasaunt shore dothe face
Wilde Cambers clifs, did geue her liuely heate:
Fostered she was with milke of Irishe brest: [5]
Her sire, an Erle: her dame, of princes blood.
From tender yeres, in Britain she doth rest,
With kinges childe, where she tasteth costly food.
Honsdon did first present her to mine yien:
Bright is her hewe, and Geraldine she hight. [10]
Hampton me taught to wishe her first for mine:
And Windsor, alas, dothe chase me from her sight.
Her beauty of kind her vertues from aboue.
Happy is he, that can obtaine her loue.

Thassirian king in peace
[ Of Sardinapalus dishonorable life, and miserable death. (Tottel)]

THassirian king in peace, with foule desire,
And filthy lustes, that staynd his regall hart
In warre that should set princely hartes on fire:
Did yeld, vanquisht for want of marciall art.
The dint of swordes from kisses semed strange: [5]
And harder, than his ladies syde, his targe:
From glutton feastes, to souldiars fare a change:
His helmet, farre aboue a garlands charge.
Who scace the name of manhode did retayn,
Drenched in slouth, and womanish delight, [10]
Feble of sprite, impacient of pain:
When he had lost his honor, and his right:
Proud, time of wealth, in stormes appalled with drede,
Murthered himself, to shew some manful dede.

© R.G. Siemens, 1996-.
Last updated 21 August 2001 .