That twixt them both a pleasaunt port they made,
And did like an halfe theatre fulfill.”
—Spenser, Faerie Queene.
“And overhead upgrew
Insuperable height of loftiest shade,
Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm,
A sylvan scene, and as the ranks ascend
Shade above shade, a woody theatre
Of stateliest view.”
—Milton, Paradise Lost.