Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame
A thanke to haue, ye haue well deseruyd,Your mynde that can maynteyne so apparently;But a grete parte yet ye haue reseruydOf that most folow then conseqently,Or els ye demeane you inordinatly;For if ye laude hym whome honour hath opprest,Then he that doth worste is as good as the best.
But whome that ye fauoure, I se well, hath a name,Be he neuer so lytell of substaunce,And whome ye loue not ye wyll put to shame;Ye counterwey not euynly your balaunce;As wele foly as wysdome oft ye do avaunce:For reporte ryseth many deuerse wayes:Sume be moche spokyn of for makynge of frays;
Some haue a name for thefte and brybery;Some be called crafty, that can pyke a purse;Some men be made of for their mokery;Some carefull cokwoldes, some haue theyr wyues curs;Some famous wetewoldis, and they be moche wurs;Some lidderons, some losels, some noughty packis;Some facers, some bracers, some make great crackis;
Some dronken dastardis with their dry soules;Some sluggyssh slouyns, that slepe day and nyght;Ryot and Reuell be in your courte rowlis;Maintenaunce and Mischefe, theis be men of myght;Extorcyon is counted with you for a knyght;Theis people by me haue none assignement,Yet they ryde and rinne from Carlyll to Kente.
But lytell or nothynge ye shall here tellOf them that haue vertue by reason of cunnyng,Whiche souerenly in honoure shulde excell;Men of suche maters make but a mummynge,For wysdome and sadnesse be set out a sunnyng;And suche of my seruauntes as I haue promotyd,One faute or other in them shalbe notyd:
Eyther they wyll say he is to wyse,Or elles he can nought bot whan he is at scole;Proue his wytt, sayth he, at cardes or dyce,And ye shall well fynde he is a very fole;Twyshe, set hym a chare, or reche hym a stole,To syt hym vpon, and rede Iacke a thrummis bybille,For truly it were pyte that he sat ydle.
Words in this poem
- apparently adv.
- Visibly. Hobbes.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- wele n.
- Prosperity; happiness; well-being; weal. [See Weal prosperity.]
- avaunce v. t.
- To advance; to profit. [See Advance.]
- moche n.
- A bale of raw silk. [F.]
- carefull a.
- Full of care; anxious; solicitous [AS. cearful.]
- ryot n.
- A peasant or cultivator of the soil. [India] [Ar. & Hind. ra'iyat, the same word as ra'iyah, a subject, tenant, peasant. See Rayah.]
- 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,]
- excell v. t.
- To go beyond or surpass in good qualities or laudable deeds; to outdo or outgo, in a good sense. [L. excellere, excelsum; ex out + a root found in culmen height, top; cf. F. exceller. See Culminate, Column.]
- chare v. t.
- To perform; to do; to finish. Nores. [See 3d Char.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- rede v. t.
- To advise or counsel. [See Read, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame 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, Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/dame-pallas-to-the-quene-of-fame-3.html, id L08688.
Form and metre
Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame is 42 lines in 6 stanzas of 7 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABBCC, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 A-A--BB deseruydA · apparently · reseruydA · conseqently · inordinatly · opprestB · bestB
- 2 ABABBCC nameA · substaunceB · shameA · balaunceB · avaunceB · wayesC · fraysC
- 3 -A-AABB brybery · purseA · mokery · cursA · wursA · packisB · crackisB
- 4 -A-AABB soules · nyghtA · rowlis · myghtA · knyghtA · assignementB · kenteB
- 5 ABABBCC tellA · cunnyngB · excellA · mummyngeB · sunnyngB · promotydC · notydC
- 6 -A-AA-- wyse · scoleA · dyce · foleA · stoleA · bybille · ydle
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A thanke to haue, ye haue well deseruyd, | 10 | ·········· |
| Your mynde that can maynteyne so apparently; | 11 | ·······˘/˘˘ |
| But a grete parte yet ye haue reseruyd | 10 | ·········· |
| Of that most folow then conseqently, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or els ye demeane you inordinatly; | 11 | ··········· |
| For if ye laude hym whome honour hath opprest, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Then he that doth worste is as good as the best. | 11 | ··········· |
| But whome that ye fauoure, I se well, hath a name, | 12 | ·······/···· |
| Be he neuer so lytell of substaunce, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| And whome ye loue not ye wyll put to shame; | 10 | ·········· |
| Ye counterwey not euynly your balaunce; | 10 | ·········· |
| As wele foly as wysdome oft ye do avaunce: | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| For reporte ryseth many deuerse wayes: | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Sume be moche spokyn of for makynge of frays; | 11 | ··········· |
| Some haue a name for thefte and brybery; | 10 | ·········· |
| Some be called crafty, that can pyke a purse; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Some men be made of for their mokery; | 10 | ·········· |
| Some carefull cokwoldes, some haue theyr wyues curs; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Some famous wetewoldis, and they be moche wurs; | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| Some lidderons, some losels, some noughty packis; | 12 | ············ |
| Some facers, some bracers, some make great crackis; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Some dronken dastardis with their dry soules; | 10 | ·········· |
| Some sluggyssh slouyns, that slepe day and nyght; | 9 | ········· |
| Ryot and Reuell be in your courte rowlis; | 10 | /˘········ |
| Maintenaunce and Mischefe, theis be men of myght; | 11 | ··········· |
| Extorcyon is counted with you for a knyght; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Theis people by me haue none assignement, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Yet they ryde and rinne from Carlyll to Kente. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| But lytell or nothynge ye shall here tell | 10 | ·········· |
| Of them that haue vertue by reason of cunnyng, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Whiche souerenly in honoure shulde excell; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Men of suche maters make but a mummynge, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For wysdome and sadnesse be set out a sunnyng; | 12 | ············ |
| And suche of my seruauntes as I haue promotyd, | 12 | ············ |
| One faute or other in them shalbe notyd: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Eyther they wyll say he is to wyse, | 9 | ········· |
| Or elles he can nought bot whan he is at scole; | 12 | ············ |
| Proue his wytt, sayth he, at cardes or dyce, | 9 | ········· |
| And ye shall well fynde he is a very fole; | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Twyshe, set hym a chare, or reche hym a stole, | 10 | ·········· |
| To syt hym vpon, and rede Iacke a thrummis bybille, | 13 | ············· |
| For truly it were pyte that he sat ydle. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
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