Ballad VII: Take Thy Old Cloak about Thee
Besides the reference to this ballad in Othello mentioned byPercy above, Mr. Hales has pointed out to me another evidentallusion in the Tempest, act iv. sc. 1, where Trinculo says,
"O King Stephano, O Peere: O worthy Stephano,Looke what a wardrobe here is for thee."
This winters weather itt waxeth cold,And frost doth freese on every hill,And Boreas blowes his blasts soe bold,That all our cattell are like to spill;Bell my wiffe, who loves noe strife,She sayd unto me quietlye,Rise up, and save cow Crumbockes liffe,Man, put thine old cloake about thee.
O Bell, why dost thou flyte 'and scorne'?Thou kenst my cloak is very thin:Itt is soe bare and overworneA cricke he theron cannot renn:Then Ile noe longer borrowe nor lend,'For once Ile new appareld bee,To-morrow Ile to towne and spend,'For Ile have a new cloake about mee.
Cow Crumbocke is a very good cowe,Shee ha beene alwayes true to the payle,Shee has helpt us to butter and cheese, I trow,And other things shee will not fayle;I wold be loth to see her pine,Good husband, councell take of mee,It is not for us to go soe fine,Man, take thine old cloake about thee.
My cloake it was a verry good cloake,Itt hath been alwayes true to the weare,But now it is not worth a groat;I have had it four and forty yeere:Sometime itt was of cloth in graine,'Tis now but a sigh clout as you may see,It will neither hold out winde nor raine;And Ile have a new cloake about mee.
It is four and fortye yeeres agoeSince the one of us the other did ken,And we have had betwixt us toweOf children either nine or ten;Wee have brought them up to women and men;In the feare of God I trow they bee;And why wilt thou thyselfe misken?Man, take thine old cloake about thee.
O Bell my wiffe, why dost thou 'floute!'Now is nowe, and then was then:Seeke now all the world throughout,Thou kenst not clownes from gentlemen.They are cladd in blacke, greene, yellowe, or 'gray',Soe far above their owne degree:Once in my life Ile 'doe as they,'For Ile have a new cloake about mee.
King Stephen was a worthy peere,His breeches cost him but a crowne,He held them sixpence all too deere;Therefore he calld the taylor Lowne.He was a wight of high renowne,And thouse but of a low degree:Itt's pride that putts this countrye downe,Man, take thine old cloake about thee.
'Bell my wife she loves not strife,Yet she will lead me if she can;And oft, to live a quiet life,I am forced to yield, though Ime good-man:'Itt's not for a man with a woman to threape,Unlesse he first give oer the plea:As wee began wee now will leave,And Ile take mine old cloake about mee.
Words in this poem 15
- allusion n.
- A figurative or symbolical reference. [L. allusio, fr. alludere to allude: cf. F. allusion.]
- wardrobe n.
- A room or apartment where clothes are kept, or wearing apparel is stored; a portable closet for hanging up clothes. [OE. warderobe, OF. warderobe, F. garderobe; of German origin. See Ward, v. t., and Robe.]
- boreas n.
- The north wind; -- usually a personification. [L. boreas, Gr. .]
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- liffe n.
- The fiber by which the petioles of the date palm are bound together, from which various kinds of cordage are made. [Written also lief.]
- flyte n.
- Strife; dispute; abusive or upbraiding talk, as in fliting; wrangling. [Obs. or Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- groat n.
- An old English silver coin, equal to four pence. [LG. grote, orig., great, that is, a great piece of coin, larger than other coins in former use. See Great.]
- sometime adv.
- At a past time indefinitely referred to; once; formerly.
- clout n.
- A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag. [AS. clut a little cloth, piece of metal; cf. Sw. klut, Icel. klutr a kerchief, or W. clwt a clout, Gael. clud.]
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- cladd v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad VII: Take Thy Old Cloak about Thee is in the public domain. This text is taken from Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume 1 (of 3) Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs and Other Pieces of Our Earlier Poets Together With Some Few of Later Date, Project Gutenberg ebook #45939; 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 Percy, Ballad VII: Take Thy Old Cloak about Thee, in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume I (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #45939, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/percy-reliques/ballad-vii-take-thy-old-cloak-about-thee.html, id L20828.
Form and metre
Ballad VII: Take Thy Old Cloak about Thee is 69 lines in 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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.
- 3 ABAB---- coldA · hillB · boldA · spillB · strife · quietlye · liffe · thee
- 4 A-A-BCBC scorneA · thin · overworneA · renn · lendB · beeC · spendB · meeC
- 5 ABABCDCD coweA · payleB · trowA · fayleB · pineC · meeD · fineC · theeD
- 6 -A-ABCBC cloake · weareA · groat · yeereA · graineB · seeC · raineB · meeC
- 7 -A-AAB-B agoe · kenA · towe · tenA · menA · beeB · misken · theeB
- 8 ABABCDCD flouteA · thenB · throughoutA · gentlemenB · grayC · degreeD · theyC · meeD
- 9 ABABBCBC peereA · crowneB · deereA · lowneB · renowneB · degreeC · downeB · theeC
- 10 ABAB-C-C strifeA · canB · lifeA · manB · threape · pleaC · leave · meeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Besides the reference to this ballad in Othello mentioned by | 16 | ˘/·/˘··/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Percy above, Mr. Hales has pointed out to me another evident | 18 | /˘··/˘··/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| allusion in the Tempest, act iv. sc. 1, where Trinculo says, | 15 | ˘/˘··/˘········ |
| "O King Stephano, O Peere: O worthy Stephano, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| Looke what a wardrobe here is for thee." | 9 | ···/····· |
| This winters weather itt waxeth cold, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| And frost doth freese on every hill, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Boreas blowes his blasts soe bold, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| That all our cattell are like to spill; | 9 | ··/˘/···· |
| Bell my wiffe, who loves noe strife, | 7 | ······· |
| She sayd unto me quietlye, | 7 | ······· |
| Rise up, and save cow Crumbockes liffe, | 8 | ········ |
| Man, put thine old cloake about thee. | 8 | ········ |
| O Bell, why dost thou flyte 'and scorne'? | 8 | ········ |
| Thou kenst my cloak is very thin: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Itt is soe bare and overworne | 8 | ········ |
| A cricke he theron cannot renn: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Then Ile noe longer borrowe nor lend, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| 'For once Ile new appareld bee, | 9 | ········· |
| To-morrow Ile to towne and spend,' | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| For Ile have a new cloake about mee. | 10 | ·········· |
| Cow Crumbocke is a very good cowe, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Shee ha beene alwayes true to the payle, | 9 | ········· |
| Shee has helpt us to butter and cheese, I trow, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And other things shee will not fayle; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I wold be loth to see her pine, | 8 | ········ |
| Good husband, councell take of mee, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It is not for us to go soe fine, | 9 | ········· |
| Man, take thine old cloake about thee. | 8 | ········ |
| My cloake it was a verry good cloake, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Itt hath been alwayes true to the weare, | 8 | ········ |
| But now it is not worth a groat; | 8 | ········ |
| I have had it four and forty yeere: | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Sometime itt was of cloth in graine, | 8 | /······· |
| 'Tis now but a sigh clout as you may see, | 10 | ·········· |
| It will neither hold out winde nor raine; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And Ile have a new cloake about mee. | 10 | ·········· |
| It is four and fortye yeeres agoe | 9 | ········· |
| Since the one of us the other did ken, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And we have had betwixt us towe | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Of children either nine or ten; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Wee have brought them up to women and men; | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| In the feare of God I trow they bee; | 9 | ········· |
| And why wilt thou thyselfe misken? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Man, take thine old cloake about thee. | 8 | ········ |
| O Bell my wiffe, why dost thou 'floute!' | 8 | ········ |
| Now is nowe, and then was then: | 7 | ······· |
| Seeke now all the world throughout, | 7 | ······· |
| Thou kenst not clownes from gentlemen. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| They are cladd in blacke, greene, yellowe, or 'gray', | 10 | ·········· |
| Soe far above their owne degree: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Once in my life Ile 'doe as they,' | 9 | ········· |
| For Ile have a new cloake about mee. | 10 | ·········· |
| King Stephen was a worthy peere, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| His breeches cost him but a crowne, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He held them sixpence all too deere; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Therefore he calld the taylor Lowne. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He was a wight of high renowne, | 8 | ········ |
| And thouse but of a low degree: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Itt's pride that putts this countrye downe, | 8 | ········ |
| Man, take thine old cloake about thee. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Bell my wife she loves not strife, | 7 | ······· |
| Yet she will lead me if she can; | 8 | ········ |
| And oft, to live a quiet life, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I am forced to yield, though Ime good-man:' | 9 | ········· |
| Itt's not for a man with a woman to threape, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Unlesse he first give oer the plea: | 8 | ········ |
| As wee began wee now will leave, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And Ile take mine old cloake about mee. | 10 | ·········· |
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