On Happienesse, by William Canynge
Maie Selynesse on erthes boundes bee hadde?Maie yt adyghte yn human shape bee founde?Wote yee, ytt was wyth Edin's bower bestadde,Or quite eraced from the scaunce-layd grounde,Whan from the secret fontes the waterres dyd abounde?Does yt agrosed shun the bodyed waulke,Lyve to ytself and to yttes ecchoe taulke?
All hayle, Contente, thou mayde of turtle-eyne,As thie behoulders thynke thou arte iwreene,To ope the dore to Selynesse ys thyne,And Chrystis glorie doth upponne thee sheene.Doer of the foule thynge ne hath thee seene;In caves, ynn wodes, ynn woe, and dole distresse,Whoere hath thee hath gotten Selynesse.ONN JOHNE A DALBENIE, by the same.
Johne makes a jarre boute Lancaster and Yorke;Bee stille, gode manne, and learne to mynde thie worke.
THE GOULER'S REQUIEM, by the same.
Mie boolie entes, adieu! ne moe the syghteOf guilden merke shall mete mie joieous eyne,Ne moe the sylver noble sheenynge bryghteSchall fyll mie honde with weight to speke ytt fyne;Ne moe, ne moe, alass! I call you myne:Whydder must you, ah! whydder must I goe?I kenn not either; oh mie emmers dygne,To parte wyth you wyll wurcke mee myckle woe;I muste be gonne, botte whare I dare ne telle;O storthe unto mie mynde! I goe to helle.
Soone as the morne dyd dyghte the roddie sunne,A shade of theves eche streake of lyght dyd seeme;Whann ynn the heavn full half hys course was runn,Eche stirryng nayghbour dyd mie harte afleme;Thye loss, or quyck or slepe, was aie mie dreme;For thee, O gould, I dyd the lawe ycrase;For thee I gotten or bie wiles or breme;Ynn thee I all mie joie and good dyd place;Botte now to mee thie pleasaunce ys ne moe,I kenne notte botte for thee I to the quede must goe.
Words in this poem 16
- bestadde p. p.
- Beset; put in peril.
- eyne n.
- Plural of eye; obsolete, or used only in poetry.
- dore v. t.
- One who does; one performs or executes; one who is wont and ready to act; an actor; an agent. [From Do, v. t. & i.]
- jarre n.
- A turn. [Only in phrase.] On the jar, on the turn, ajar, as a door. [See Ajar.]
- manne n.
- A human being; -- opposed tobeast. [AS. mann, man, monn, mon; akin to OS., D., & OHG. man, G. mann, Icel. maedhr, for mannr, Dan. Mand, Sw. man, Goth. manna, Skr. manu, manus, and perh. to Skr. ma]
- requiem n.
- A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul. [Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. S]
- merke a.
- Murky. Piers Plowman.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- mete v. i.
- To dream; also impersonally; as, me mette, I dreamed. [AS. m.]
- alass interj.
- An exclamation expressive of sorrow, pity, or apprehension of evil; -- in old writers, sometimes followed by day or white; alas the day, like alack a day, or alas the white. [OE. alas, allas, OF. alas, F. hélas; a interj. (L. ah.) + las wretched (that I am), L. lassus weary, akin to E. late. See Late.]
- kenn n.
- To know; to understand; to take cognizance of. [OE.kennen to teach, make known, know, AS. cennan to make known, proclaim, or rather from the related Icel. kenna to know; akin to D. & G. kennen to know, Goth. ]
- morne a.
- Of or pertaining to the morn; morning.
- lawe v. t.
- To cut off the claws and balls of, as of a dog's fore feet. [See 2d Lawing.]
- breme a.
- Fierce; sharp; severe; cruel. [OE. breme, brime, fierce, impetuous, glorious, AS. breme, br, famous. Cf. Brim, a.]
- kenne n.
- To know; to understand; to take cognizance of. [OE.kennen to teach, make known, know, AS. cennan to make known, proclaim, or rather from the related Icel. kenna to know; akin to D. & G. kennen to know, Goth. ]
- notte
- Wot not; know not; knows not. [Contr. from ne wot. See 2d Note.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Happienesse, by William Canynge is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Rowley Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #13037; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Chatterton, On Happienesse, by William Canynge, in The Rowley Poems (1777), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13037, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/chatterton-rowley/on-happienesse-by-william-canynge.html, id L12168.
Form and metre
On Happienesse, by William Canynge is 38 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABBCC haddeA · foundeB · bestaddeA · groundeB · aboundeB · waulkeC · taulkeC
- 2 -A-AABB- eyne · iwreeneA · thyne · sheeneA · seeneA · distresseB · selynesseB · same
- 3 AA yorkeA · workeA
- 5 A-ABBC-CDD syghteA · eyne · bryghteA · fyneB · myneB · goeC · dygne · woeC · telleD · helleD
- 6 ABABB-B-CC sunneA · seemeB · runnA · aflemeB · dremeB · ycrase · bremeB · place · moeC · goeC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Maie Selynesse on erthes boundes bee hadde? | 9 | ········· |
| Maie yt adyghte yn human shape bee founde? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Wote yee, ytt was wyth Edin's bower bestadde, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Or quite eraced from the scaunce-layd grounde, | 10 | ····˘····· |
| Whan from the secret fontes the waterres dyd abounde? | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Does yt agrosed shun the bodyed waulke, | 10 | ····˘··/˘· |
| Lyve to ytself and to yttes ecchoe taulke? | 10 | ·········· |
| All hayle, Contente, thou mayde of turtle-eyne, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| As thie behoulders thynke thou arte iwreene, | 10 | ·········· |
| To ope the dore to Selynesse ys thyne, | 10 | ·········· |
| And Chrystis glorie doth upponne thee sheene. | 10 | ·········· |
| Doer of the foule thynge ne hath thee seene; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In caves, ynn wodes, ynn woe, and dole distresse, | 10 | ·········· |
| Whoere hath thee hath gotten Selynesse. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| ONN JOHNE A DALBENIE, by the same. | 9 | ········· |
| Johne makes a jarre boute Lancaster and Yorke; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Bee stille, gode manne, and learne to mynde thie worke. | 10 | ·········· |
| THE GOULER'S REQUIEM, by the same. | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Mie boolie entes, adieu! ne moe the syghte | 11 | ···/˘˘/···· |
| Of guilden merke shall mete mie joieous eyne, | 9 | ········· |
| Ne moe the sylver noble sheenynge bryghte | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Schall fyll mie honde with weight to speke ytt fyne; | 10 | ·········· |
| Ne moe, ne moe, alass! I call you myne: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Whydder must you, ah! whydder must I goe? | 10 | ·········· |
| I kenn not either; oh mie emmers dygne, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To parte wyth you wyll wurcke mee myckle woe; | 10 | ·········· |
| I muste be gonne, botte whare I dare ne telle; | 10 | ·········· |
| O storthe unto mie mynde! I goe to helle. | 10 | ·········· |
| Soone as the morne dyd dyghte the roddie sunne, | 11 | ···/˘···/˘· |
| A shade of theves eche streake of lyght dyd seeme; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Whann ynn the heavn full half hys course was runn, | 10 | ·········· |
| Eche stirryng nayghbour dyd mie harte afleme; | 11 | /˘········· |
| Thye loss, or quyck or slepe, was aie mie dreme; | 10 | ·········· |
| For thee, O gould, I dyd the lawe ycrase; | 10 | ·········· |
| For thee I gotten or bie wiles or breme; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ynn thee I all mie joie and good dyd place; | 10 | ·········· |
| Botte now to mee thie pleasaunce ys ne moe, | 10 | ·········· |
| I kenne notte botte for thee I to the quede must goe. | 12 | ············ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.