SEMELE.
"For there bee none of those pagan fables in whiche there lyeth not a more subtle meanynge than the extern expression thereof should att once signifye."—Marriages of ye Deade.
Spirit of light divine!
Quick breath of power,
Breathe on these lips of mine,
Persuade the bud to flower;
Cleave thy dull swathe of cloud! no longer waits the hour.
Quick breath of power,
Breathe on these lips of mine,
Persuade the bud to flower;
Cleave thy dull swathe of cloud! no longer waits the hour.
Exulting, rapturous flame,
Dispel the night!
I dare not breathe thy name,
I tremble at thy light,
Yet come! in fatal strength,—come, in all matchless might
Dispel the night!
I dare not breathe thy name,
I tremble at thy light,
Yet come! in fatal strength,—come, in all matchless might
Burn, as the leaping fire
A martyr's shroud;
A martyr's shroud;
