(1562-1619)

Daniel's poetry is characterized by a moral earnestness, the correctness of his English, and self-control rather than vital movement or passion. His sonnet cycle Delia includes #33 (which more or less contradicts any faith in the success of the messages in the previous two sonnets to which this one is linked by concatenation), #45 (an insomnia poem in which the sleeplessness brings fear of thought, potential sleep fear of dreams, and finally even a fear of the day), and #46 (obviously critical of Spenser's archaism and chivalric nostalgia).

Daniel, Samuel. Delia excerpts. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1. 8th ed. NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006. 998-999.