• I sat upon a promontory, And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back, Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, That the rude sea grew civil at her song; And certain stars shot madly from their spheres, To hear the sea-maid's music.

    William Shakespeare: I sat upon a promontory, 
 And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back, 
 Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, 
 That the rude sea grew civil at her song; 
 And certain stars shot madly from their spheres, 
 To hear the sea-maid's music.
    'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (1595-6) act 2, sc. 1, l. 149