5 combrous > cumbrous 1590 9 oft > off conj. Collier
1 As gentle shepherd in sweet eventide 2 (When ruddy Phoebus begins to welk in west),
welk > fade, wane
3 High on a hill, his flock to view wide, 4 Marks which do bite their hasty supper best, 5 A cloud of cumbrous gnats do him molest,
A > [And a] cumbrous > harassing
6 All striving to infix their feeble stings, 7 That from their annoyance he nowhere can rest,
That > [So that]
8 But with his clownish hands their tender wings
clownish > rude, rustic
9 He brushes oft, and oft does mar their murmurings.