The Accounte of W. Canynges Feast
Thorowe the halle the belle han sounde;Byelecoyle doe the Grave beseeme;The ealdermenne doe sytte arounde,Ande snoffelle oppe the cheorte steeme.Lyche asses wylde ynne desarte wasteSwotelye the morneynge ayre doe taste,
Syke keene theie ate; the minstrels plaie,The dynne of angelles doe theie keepe;Heie stylle the guestes ha ne to saie,Butte nodde yer thankes ande falle aslape.Thus echone daie bee I to deene,Gyf Rowley, Iscamm, or Tyb. Gorges be ne seene.
Words in this poem
- belle n.
- A young lady of superior beauty and attractions; a handsome lady, or one who attracts notice in society; a fair lady. [F. belle, fem. of bel, beau, beautiful, fine. See Beau.]
- butte n.
- A detached low mountain, or high rising abruptly from the general level of the surrounding plain; -- applied to peculiar elevations in the Rocky Mountain region. [F. See Butt a bound.]
- nodde v. i.
- To bend or incline the upper part, with a quick motion; as, nodding plumes. [OE. nodden; cf. OHG. kn, genuot, to shake, and E. nudge.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Accounte of W. Canynges Feast 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, The Accounte of W. Canynges Feast, in The Rowley Poems (1777), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13037, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/chatterton-rowley/the-accounte-of-w-canynges-feast.html, id L12169.
Form and metre
The Accounte of W. Canynges Feast is 12 lines in 2 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABABCC soundeA · beseemeB · aroundeA · steemeB · wasteC · tasteC
- 2 A-A-BB plaieA · keepe · saieA · aslape · deeneB · seeneB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Thorowe the halle the belle han sounde; | 8 | ········ |
| Byelecoyle doe the Grave beseeme; | 9 | ········· |
| The ealdermenne doe sytte arounde, | 8 | ········ |
| Ande snoffelle oppe the cheorte steeme. | 8 | ········ |
| Lyche asses wylde ynne desarte waste | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Swotelye the morneynge ayre doe taste, | 9 | ········· |
| Syke keene theie ate; the minstrels plaie, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The dynne of angelles doe theie keepe; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Heie stylle the guestes ha ne to saie, | 9 | ········· |
| Butte nodde yer thankes ande falle aslape. | 9 | ········· |
| Thus echone daie bee I to deene, | 8 | ········ |
| Gyf Rowley, Iscamm, or Tyb. Gorges be ne seene. | 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.