The dedication to

is dated 1574, but printer’s device at foot of colophon dated 1573 (probably a simple mistake). The poem begins by establishing a winter setting for the poet’s night of drinking that eventually leads to his journey into Hell with the god Morpheus. He tells the reader that he wandered into a pub and proceeded to enjoy Ale with a jolly crowd. Robinson continues to drink with this crowd until closing time when they all search for a place in the tavern to rest for the night and fall into a drunken slumber. However, Robinson’s rest is interrupted, he tells us, just shortly after falling asleep: “Not lying thus one houre by the clocke, [. . .] I hearde one knocke, / (And sayde what) Slugge, why sleepest all the night?” (B2v). The poem then…

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Citation: Ward, Allyna. "The Rewarde of Wickednesse". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 September 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34171, accessed 27 November 2024.]