Drede
Than thanked I hym for his grete gentylnes:But, as me thoughte, he ware on hym a cloke,That lyned was with doubtfull doublenes;Me thoughte, of wordes that he had full a poke;His stomak stuffed ofte tymes dyde reboke:Suspycyon, me thoughte, mette hym at a brayde,And I drewe nere to herke what they two sayde.
In faythe, quod Suspecte, spake Drede no worde of me?Why, what than? wylte thou lete men to speke?He sayth, he can not well accorde with thé.Twyst, quod Suspecte, goo playe, hym I ne reke.By Cryste, quod Fauell, Drede is soleyne freke:What lete vs holde him vp, man, for a whyle?Ye soo, quod Suspecte, he maye vs bothe begyle.
And whan he came walkynge soberly,Wyth whom and ha, and with a croked loke,Me thoughte, his hede was full of gelousy,His eyen rollynge, his hondes faste they quoke;And to me warde the strayte waye he toke:God spede, broder! to me quod he than;And thus to talke with me he began.
Words in this poem
- quod v.
- Quoth; said. See Quoth.
- lete v. t.
- To let; to leave.
- soberly a.
- Grave; serious; solemn; sad.
- loke n.
- A private path or road; also, the wicket or hatch of a door. [See Lock a fastening.]
- eyen n.
- Plural of eye; obsolete, or used only in poetry.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Drede 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, Drede, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/drede-2.html, id L08633.
Form and metre
Drede is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 ABABBCC gentylnesA · clokeB · doublenesA · pokeB · rebokeB · braydeC · saydeC
- 2 -A-AABB me · spekeA · — · rekeA · frekeA · whyleB · begyleB
- 3 -A-AABB soberly · lokeA · gelousy · quokeA · tokeA · thanB · beganB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Than thanked I hym for his grete gentylnes: | 10 | ··˘······· |
| But, as me thoughte, he ware on hym a cloke, | 10 | ·········· |
| That lyned was with doubtfull doublenes; | 9 | ··˘··/˘·· |
| Me thoughte, of wordes that he had full a poke; | 10 | ·········· |
| His stomak stuffed ofte tymes dyde reboke: | 10 | ····˘····· |
| Suspycyon, me thoughte, mette hym at a brayde, | 10 | ·········· |
| And I drewe nere to herke what they two sayde. | 10 | ·········· |
| In faythe, quod Suspecte, spake Drede no worde of me? | 11 | ··········· |
| Why, what than? wylte thou lete men to speke? | 9 | ········· |
| He sayth, he can not well accorde with thé. | 9 | ········· |
| Twyst, quod Suspecte, goo playe, hym I ne reke. | 10 | ·········· |
| By Cryste, quod Fauell, Drede is soleyne freke: | 9 | ········· |
| What lete vs holde him vp, man, for a whyle? | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Ye soo, quod Suspecte, he maye vs bothe begyle. | 13 | ·······/˘···· |
| And whan he came walkynge soberly, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Wyth whom and ha, and with a croked loke, | 10 | ········˘· |
| Me thoughte, his hede was full of gelousy, | 10 | ·········· |
| His eyen rollynge, his hondes faste they quoke; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And to me warde the strayte waye he toke: | 9 | ········· |
| God spede, broder! to me quod he than; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And thus to talke with me he began. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
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.