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      Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

    from The Masque of the Gypsies

    The faiery beame upon you,
    The starres to glister on you,
            A Moone of light,
            In the Noone of night,
    Till the Fire-Drake hath o're-gone you.

    The Wheele of Fortune guide you,
    The Boy with the Bow beside you,
            Runne aye in the way
            Till the Bird of day,
    And the luckyer lot betide you.

 


Jonson was the first Poet Laureate of England, serving from 1616 until 1637.

The above poem appeared in: Q. Horatious Flaccus: His Art of Poetry which was Englished by Ben Jonson, and printed by J.Okes in London in 1640 for John Benson. A copy of its text can be found in:

  • Jonson, Ben. The Gypsies Metamorphosed. George Watson Cole, ed. New York: The Century Co., 1931.