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SONNETS ON ENGLISH DRAMATIC POETS: 8. THOMAS DECKER by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE

Poet Analysis

First Line: OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF DARKLING LIFE WHERE SIN
Last Line: NOR GAVE CHRIST PRAISE FROM LIPS MORE SWEET WITH PITY.
Subject(s): DEKKER, THOMAS (1572-1632);

Out of the depths of darkling life where sin
Laughs piteously that sorrow should not know
Her own name, nor woe be counted woe
Where hate and craft and lust make drearier din
Than sounds through dreams that grief holds revel in;
What charm or joy-bells ringing, streams that flow,
Winds that blow healing in each note they blow,
Is this that the outer darkness hears begin?

O sweetest heart of all thy time save one,
Star seen for love's sake nearest to the sun,
Hung lamplike o'er a dense and doleful city,
Not Shakespeare's very spirit, howe'er more great,
Than thine toward man was more compassionate,
Nor gave Christ praise from lips more sweet with pity.




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