Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame
The sum of your purpose, as we ar aduysid,Is that our seruaunt is sum what to dull;Wherin this answere for hym we haue comprisid,How ryuers rin not tyll the spryng be full;Better a dum mouthe than a brainles scull;For if he gloryously pullishe his matter,Then men wyll say how he doth but flatter;
And if so hym fortune to wryte true and plaine,As sumtyme he must vyces remorde,Then sum wyll say he hath but lyttill brayne,And how his wordes with reason wyll not accorde;Beware, for wrytyng remayneth of recorde;Displease not an hundreth for one mannes pleasure;Who wryteth wysely hath a grete treasure.
Also, to furnisshe better his excuse,Ouyde was bannisshed for suche a skyll,And many mo whome I cowde enduce;Iuuenall was thret parde for to kyllFor certayne enuectyfys, yet wrote he none ill,Sauynge he rubbid sum vpon the gall;It was not for hym to abyde the tryall.
In generrall wordes, I say not gretely nay,A poete somtyme may for his pleasure taunt,Spekyng in parablis, how the fox, the grey,The gander, the gose, and the hudge oliphaunt,Went with the pecok ageyne the fesaunt;The lesarde came lepyng, and sayd that he must,With helpe of the ram, ley all in the dust.
Yet dyuerse ther be, industryous of reason,Sum what wolde gadder in there coniectureOf suche an endarkid chapiter sum season;How be it, it were harde to construe this lecture;Sophisticatid craftely is many a confecture;Another manes mynde diffuse is to expounde;Yet harde is to make but sum fawt be founde.
Words in this poem
- scull n.
- A shoal of fish. [See 1st School.]
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- displease v. i.
- To give displeasure or offense.
- parde adv.
- Certainly; surely; truly; verily; -- originally an oath. [F. pardi, for par Dieu by God.]
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- gander n.
- The male of any species of goose. [AS. gandra, ganra, akin to Prov. G. gander, ganter, and E. goose, gannet. See Goose.]
- hudge n.
- An iron bucket for hoisting coal or ore. Raymond.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- gadder n.
- One who roves about idly, a rambling gossip.
- chapiter n.
- A capital See Chapital. Ex. xxxvi. 38. [OF. chapitel, F. chapiteau, from L. capitellum, dim. of caput head. Cf. Capital, Chapter.]
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.html, id L08684.
Form and metre
Dame Pallas to the Quene of Fame is 35 lines in 5 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCC, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas; the stanza is the Rhyme royal. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.5 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyme royal, 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 ABA-BCC aduysidA · dullB · comprisidA · full · scullB · matterC · flatterC
- 2 ABABBCC plaineA · remordeB · brayneA · accordeB · recordeB · pleasureC · treasureC
- 3 ABAB--- excuseA · skyllB · enduceA · kyllB · ill · gall · tryall
- 4 ABABBCC nayA · tauntB · greyA · oliphauntB · fesauntB · mustC · dustC
- 5 ABABBCC reasonA · coniectureB · seasonA · lectureB · confectureB · expoundeC · foundeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sum of your purpose, as we ar aduysid, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| Is that our seruaunt is sum what to dull; | 10 | ··/······· |
| Wherin this answere for hym we haue comprisid, | 12 | ············ |
| How ryuers rin not tyll the spryng be full; | 9 | ········· |
| Better a dum mouthe than a brainles scull; | 9 | /˘······· |
| For if he gloryously pullishe his matter, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Then men wyll say how he doth but flatter; | 10 | ········/˘ |
| And if so hym fortune to wryte true and plaine, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| As sumtyme he must vyces remorde, | 9 | ········· |
| Then sum wyll say he hath but lyttill brayne, | 10 | ·········· |
| And how his wordes with reason wyll not accorde; | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Beware, for wrytyng remayneth of recorde; | 11 | ˘/········· |
| Displease not an hundreth for one mannes pleasure; | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| Who wryteth wysely hath a grete treasure. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Also, to furnisshe better his excuse, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Ouyde was bannisshed for suche a skyll, | 9 | ····˘···· |
| And many mo whome I cowde enduce; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Iuuenall was thret parde for to kyll | 8 | ········ |
| For certayne enuectyfys, yet wrote he none ill, | 12 | ············ |
| Sauynge he rubbid sum vpon the gall; | 8 | ········ |
| It was not for hym to abyde the tryall. | 10 | ·········· |
| In generrall wordes, I say not gretely nay, | 12 | ············ |
| A poete somtyme may for his pleasure taunt, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Spekyng in parablis, how the fox, the grey, | 11 | ··········· |
| The gander, the gose, and the hudge oliphaunt, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Went with the pecok ageyne the fesaunt; | 10 | ·········· |
| The lesarde came lepyng, and sayd that he must, | 11 | ··········· |
| With helpe of the ram, ley all in the dust. | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet dyuerse ther be, industryous of reason, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Sum what wolde gadder in there coniecture | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of suche an endarkid chapiter sum season; | 12 | ······/˘˘·/˘ |
| How be it, it were harde to construe this lecture; | 12 | ·······˘/·/˘ |
| Sophisticatid craftely is many a confecture; | 14 | ·········/·˘/˘ |
| Another manes mynde diffuse is to expounde; | 11 | ˘/˘··˘/···· |
| Yet harde is to make but sum fawt be founde. | 10 | ·········· |
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