Deliberate
With, troll, cytrace, and trouy,They ranged, hankin bouy,My churche all aboute.This fawconer then gan showte,These be my gospellers,These be my pystillers,These be my querystersTo helpe me to synge,My hawkes to mattens rynge.In this priestly gydyngeHis hawke then flew vpponThe rode with Mary and John.Delt he not lyke a fon?Delt he not lyke a daw?Or els is this Goddes law,Decrees or decretals,Or holy sinodals,Or els prouincials,Thus within the walsOf holy church to deale,Thus to rynge a pealeWith his hawkis bels?Dowtles such loselsMake the churche to beIn smale auctoryte:A curate in speciallTo snappar and to fallInto this open cryme;To loke on this were tyme.
Words in this poem
- troll n.
- A supernatural being, often represented as of diminutive size, but sometimes as a giant, and fabled to inhabit caves, hills, and like places; a witch. Troll flower. (Bot.) Same as Globeflower (a). [Icel. troll. Cf. Droll, Trull.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- curate n.
- One who has the cure souls; originally, any clergyman, but now usually limited to one who assist a rector or vicar Hook. [LL. curatus, prop., one who is charged with the care (L. cura) of souls. See Cure, n., and cf. Cur]
- speciall n.
- A particular. Hammond.
- loke n.
- A private path or road; also, the wicket or hatch of a door. [See Lock a fastening.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Deliberate 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, Deliberate, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/deliberate.html, id L08660.
Form and metre
Deliberate is 29 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 AA--BBBCCCDDDEEFFGFHHGG--IIJJ trouyA · bouyA · aboute · showte · gospellersB · pystillersB · querystersB · syngeC · ryngeC · gydyngeC · vpponD · johnD · fonD · dawE · lawE · decretalsF · sinodalsF · prouincialsG · walsF · dealeH · pealeH · belsG · loselsG · be · auctoryte · speciallI · fallI · crymeJ · tymeJ
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| With, troll, cytrace, and trouy, | 6 | ······ |
| They ranged, hankin bouy, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| My churche all aboute. | 5 | ····· |
| This fawconer then gan showte, | 7 | ······· |
| These be my gospellers, | 6 | ······ |
| These be my pystillers, | 6 | ······ |
| These be my querysters | 6 | ······ |
| To helpe me to synge, | 5 | ····· |
| My hawkes to mattens rynge. | 6 | ······ |
| In this priestly gydynge | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| His hawke then flew vppon | 5 | ····· |
| The rode with Mary and John. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Delt he not lyke a fon? | 6 | ······ |
| Delt he not lyke a daw? | 6 | ······ |
| Or els is this Goddes law, | 6 | ······ |
| Decrees or decretals, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Or holy sinodals, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or els prouincials, | 4 | ···· |
| Thus within the wals | 5 | ····· |
| Of holy church to deale, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thus to rynge a peale | 5 | ····· |
| With his hawkis bels? | 5 | ····· |
| Dowtles such losels | 4 | ···· |
| Make the churche to be | 5 | ····· |
| In smale auctoryte: | 5 | ····· |
| A curate in speciall | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| To snappar and to fall | 6 | ······ |
| Into this open cryme; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To loke on this were tyme. | 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.