Samuel Daniel's sonnets in "Delia" are basically in
Shakespearian form, using the scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
Three quatrains followed by a couplet: the prototype of
Shakespeare's sonnets. These sonnets are dedicated to
Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke.
Samuel Daniel's "Delia" sonnet XIV
Those snary locks are those same nets, my dear,
Wherewith my liberty thou didst surprise;
Love was the flame that firèd me so near,
The dart transpiercing were those crystal eyes.
Strong is the net, and fervent is the flame;
Deep is the wound my sighs do well report.
Yet I do love, adore, and praise the same,
That holds, that burns, that wounds in this sort;
And list not seek to break, to quench, to heal,
The bond, the flame, the wound that festereth so,
By knife, by liquor, or by salve to deal;
So much I please to perish in my woe.
Yet lest long travails be above my strength,
Good Delia, loose, quench, heal me, now at length!
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