Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame
To your request we be well condiscendid:Call forthe, let se where is your clarionar,To blowe a blaste with his long breth extendid;Eolus, your trumpet, that knowne is so farre,That bararag blowyth in euery mercyall warre,Let hym blowe now, that we may take a veweWhat poetis we haue at our retenewe;
To se if Skelton wyll put hymselfe in preaseAmonge the thickeste of all the hole rowte;Make noyse enoughe, for claterars loue no peas;Let se, my syster, now spede you, go aboute;Anone, I sey, this trumpet were founde out,And for no man hardely let hym spareTo blowe bararag tyll bothe his eyne stare.
Words in this poem
- farre n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- prease v. t.
- To press; to crowd. -- n.
- eyne n.
- Plural of eye; obsolete, or used only in poetry.
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-4.html, id L08690.
Form and metre
Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame is 14 lines in 2 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.7 syllables. 21% 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 A-A--BB condiscendidA · clarionar · extendidA · farre · warre · veweB · reteneweB
- 2 A-ABBCC preaseA · rowte · peasA · abouteB · outB · spareC · stareC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To your request we be well condiscendid: | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| Call forthe, let se where is your clarionar, | 11 | ····/······ |
| To blowe a blaste with his long breth extendid; | 11 | ··········· |
| Eolus, your trumpet, that knowne is so farre, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That bararag blowyth in euery mercyall warre, | 12 | ············ |
| Let hym blowe now, that we may take a vewe | 10 | ·········· |
| What poetis we haue at our retenewe; | 10 | ······/··· |
| To se if Skelton wyll put hymselfe in prease | 12 | ··/·/˘······ |
| Amonge the thickeste of all the hole rowte; | 10 | ·········· |
| Make noyse enoughe, for claterars loue no peas; | 11 | ··········· |
| Let se, my syster, now spede you, go aboute; | 12 | ··/········· |
| Anone, I sey, this trumpet were founde out, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And for no man hardely let hym spare | 10 | ·········· |
| To blowe bararag tyll bothe his eyne stare. | 10 | ·········· |
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.