Argumentum
Crassantes nimium, Nimium sterilesque labruscas(Vinea quas domini sabaot non sustinet ultraLaxius expandi) nostra est resecare uoluntas.
Inpryntyd by me Rycharde faukes dwellydg sic in durā rent or els inPowlis chyrche yarde at the sygne of the A.B.C. The yere of our lorde god.M.CCCCC.XXIII. The .iii. day of Octobre, 4to.
Eterno mansura die dum sidera fulgentEquora dumq; tument hec laurea nostra virebit.Hinc nostrum celebre et nomē referetur ad astraVndiq; Skeltonis memorabitur altera donis
On the reverse of A ii. are small woodcuts of “The quene of Fame” and“Dame Pallas.” After the colophon is the device of the printer, “RichardFakes.”
Magnyfycence, A goodly interlude and a mery deuysed and made by maysterSkelton poet laureate late deceasyd.
Here after foloweth the boke of Phyllyp Sparowe compyled by maysterSkelton Poete Laureate.
Here after foloweth a litle booke of Phillyp Sparow, compiled by MaysterSkeltō Poete Laureate.
Here after foloweth a litle boke of Phillip sparow. Compyled by maysterSkelton Poete Laureate.
Imprinted at London in poules churchyard, at the sygne of the Sunne, byAntony Kitson.
Imprinted at London in poules churchyard at the sygne of the Lamb, byAbraham Weale sic.
Words in this poem
- quas n.
- A kind of beer. Same as Quass.
- octobre n.
- The tenth month of the year, containing thirty-one days. [L., the eighth month of the primitive Roman year, which began in March, fr. octo eight: cf.F. Octobre. See Octave.]
- fulgent a.
- Exquisitely bright; shining; dazzling; effulgent. [L. fulgens, -entis, p. pr. of fulgere to flash, glitter, shine, akin to Gr. Phlox, Flagrant.]
- nostrum n.
- A medicine, the ingredients of which are kept secret for the purpose of restricting the profits of sale to the inventor or proprietor; a quack medicine. [Neut. sing. of L. noster ours, fr. nos we. See Us.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- pallas n.
- Pallas Athene, the Grecian goddess of wisdom, called also Athene, and identified, at a later period, with the Roman Minerva.
- colophon n.
- An inscription, monogram, or cipher, containing the place and date of publication, printer's name, etc., formerly placed on the last page of a book. [L. colophon finishing stroke, Gr. culmen top, collis hill. Cf. Holm.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- laureate a.
- Crowned, or decked, with laurel. [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree, fr. laureus of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. lauréat. Cf. Laurel.]
- boke v. t.
- To poke; to thrust.
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Argumentum is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2), Project Gutenberg ebook #59997; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Skelton, Argumentum, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/argumentum.html, id L08619.
Form and metre
Argumentum is 25 lines in 10 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.1 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 60% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 A-A labruscasA · ultra · uoluntasA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Crassantes nimium, Nimium sterilesque labruscas | 12 | ············ |
| (Vinea quas domini sabaot non sustinet ultra | 13 | ···/˘······/˘ |
| Laxius expandi) nostra est resecare uoluntas. | 15 | ·····/˘˘/······ |
| Inpryntyd by me Rycharde faukes dwellydg sic in durā rent or els in | 17 | ················· |
| Powlis chyrche yarde at the sygne of the A.B.C. The yere of our lorde god | 18 | ···············/·· |
| .M.CCCCC.XXIII. The .iii. day of Octobre, 4to. | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| Eterno mansura die dum sidera fulgent | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| Equora dumq; tument hec laurea nostra virebit. | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| Hinc nostrum celebre et nomē referetur ad astra | 14 | ·/˘/˘·······/˘ |
| Vndiq; Skeltonis memorabitur altera donis | 14 | ··········/˘/˘ |
| On the reverse of A ii. are small woodcuts of “The quene of Fame” and | 17 | ··˘/············· |
| “Dame Pallas.” After the colophon is the device of the printer, “Richard | 19 | ······/˘˘··˘/··/˘/˘ |
| Fakes.” | 1 | · |
| Magnyfycence, A goodly interlude and a mery deuysed and made by mayster | 20 | ·····/˘/˘··········· |
| Skelton poet laureate late deceasyd. | 10 | /˘/˘/˘···· |
| Here after foloweth the boke of Phyllyp Sparowe compyled by mayster | 18 | ·················· |
| Skelton Poete Laureate. | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Here after foloweth a litle booke of Phillyp Sparow, compiled by Mayster | 20 | ·······/˘······˘/··· |
| Skeltō Poete Laureate. | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| Here after foloweth a litle boke of Phillip sparow. Compyled by mayster | 20 | ·······/˘··/˘······· |
| Skelton Poete Laureate. | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Imprinted at London in poules churchyard, at the sygne of the Sunne, by | 17 | ˘/˘·/˘··/········ |
| Antony Kitson. | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Imprinted at London in poules churchyard at the sygne of the Lamb, by | 17 | ˘/˘·/˘··/········ |
| Abraham Weale sic. | 6 | /˘···· |
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.