The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne,
burnish'd=polished
Burn’d on the water. The poop was beaten gold,
poop=rear part of the barge
Purple the sails and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them. The oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,
As amorous=as if amorous
It beggar’d all description. She did lie
beggar'd=exhausted the resources of
In her pavilion--cloth of gold, of tissue--
pavilion=shelter/tent
cloth of gold, of tissue=cloth made of threads of gold so fine as to look like tissue
O'er-picturing that Venus where we see
O'er picturing that Venus=surpassing the picture of Venus
The fancy outwork nature.
fancy=artist's imagination
outwork=surpass
. . .
. . .
Age cannot wither her nor custom stale
custom=being accustomed
Her infinite variety. Other women cloy
The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies, for vilest things
Become themselves in her, that the holy priests
become themselves=are becoming
that=so that
Bless her when she is riggish.
riggish=imprudently carefree
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The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne,
Burn’d on the water. The poop was beaten gold,
Purple the sails and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them. The oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,
It beggar’d all description. She did lie
In her pavilion--cloth of gold, of tissue--
O'er-picturing that Venus where we see
The fancy outwork nature.
. . .
. . .
Age cannot wither her nor custom stale
Her infinite variety. Other women cloy
The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies, for vilest things
Become themselves in her, that the holy priests
Bless her when she is riggish.
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