In 1601 a poem, _The Phoenix and the Turtle_, was also printed as his in an appendix to a longer poem by another man. We cannot trust the printer when he signs it with Shakespeare's name, and we have no other evidence about its authorship; but the majority of scholars believe it to be genuine. Another poem, _A Lover's Complaint_, which was printed in the same volume with the sonnets in 1609, is of distinctly less merit and probably spurious.
Lastly, the short poems incorporated in the plays deserve brief notice. In a way they are part of the plots in which they are embedded; but they may also be considered as separate lyrics. Several sonnets and verses in stanza form occur in _Romeo and Juliet_ and in the early comedies. Three of these were printed as separate poems in _The Passionate Pilgrim_. Far more important than the above, however, are the songs which are scattered through all the plays early and late. Their merit is of a supreme quality; some of the most famous musical composers, inspired by his works, have graced them with admirable music. One of the most attractive features in his lyrics is their spontaneous ease of expression. They seem to lilt into music of their own accord, as naturally as birds sing. The best of these are found in the comedies of the Second Period and in the romantic plays of the Fourth. "Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more" in _Much Ado About Nothing_; "Blow, blow, thou winter wind" in _As You Like it_; "Hark, hark, the lark at heaven's gate sings" in _Cymbeline_; and "Full fathom five thy father lies" in _The Tempest_,--these and others like them show that the author, though primarily a dramatist, could be among the greatest of song writers when he tried.
The following lines taken from the little-read play, _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_, may serve to illustrate the perfection of the Shakespearean lyric.
Who is Sylvia? what is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair, and wise is she; The heaven such grace did lend her, That she might admired be.
Is she kind as she is fair? For beauty lives with kindness: Love doth to her eyes repair To help him of his blindness, And being helped, inhabits there.
Then to Sylvia let us sing, That Sylvia is excelling; She excels each mortal thing Upon the dull earth dwelling; To her let us garlands bring.