Dyssymulation
How do ye, mayster? ye loke so soberly:As I be saued at the dredefull daye,It is a perylous vyce, this enuy:Alas, a connynge man ne dwelle mayeIn no place well, but foles with hym fraye!But as for that, connynge hath no fooSaue hym that nought can, Scrypture sayth soo.
I knowe your vertu and your lytteratureBy that lytel connynge that I haue:Ye be malygned sore, I you ensure;But ye haue crafte your selfe alwaye to saue:It is grete scorne to se a mysproude knaueWith a clerke that connynge is to prate:Lete theym go lowse theym, in the deuylles date!
For all be it that this longe not to me,Yet on my backe I bere suche lewde delynge:Ryghte now I spake with one, I trowe, I see;But, what, a strawe! I maye not tell all thynge.By God, I saye there is grete herte brennyngeBetwene the persone ye wote of, you;Alas, I coude not dele so with a Jew!
I wolde eche man were as playne as I;It is a worlde, I saye, to here of some:I hate this faynynge, fye vpon it, fye!A man can not wote where to be come:I wys I coude tell,—but humlery, home;I dare not speke, we be so layde awayte,For all our courte is full of dysceyte.
Now, by saynte Fraunceys, that holy man and frere,I hate these wayes agayne you that they take:Were I as you, I wolde ryde them full nere;And, by my trouthe, but yf an ende they make,Yet wyll I saye some wordes for your sake,That shall them angre, I holde thereon a grote;For some shall wene be hanged by the throte.
I haue a stoppynge oyster in my poke,Truste me, and yf it come to a nede:But I am lothe for to reyse a smoke,Yf ye coude be otherwyse agrede;And so I wolde it were, so God me spede,For this maye brede to a confusyon,Withoute God make a good conclusyon.
Naye, see where yonder stondeth the teder man!A flaterynge knaue and false he is, God wote;The dreuyll stondeth to herken, and he can:It were more thryft, he boughte him a newe cote;It will not be, his purse is not on flote:All that he wereth, it is borowed ware;His wytte is thynne, his hode is threde bare.
More coude I saye, but what this is ynowe:Adewe tyll soone, we shall speke more of this:Ye muste be ruled as I shall tell you howe;Amendis maye be of that is now amys;And I am your, syr, so haue I blys,In euery poynte that I can do or saye:Gyue me your honde, farewell, and haue good daye.
Words in this poem 17
- loke n.
- A private path or road; also, the wicket or hatch of a door. [See Lock a fastening.]
- soberly a.
- Grave; serious; solemn; sad.
- vyce n.
- A kind of clamp with gimlet points for holding a barrel head while the staves are being closed around it. Knight. [Cf. Vise.]
- vertu n.
- Virtue; power. See Virtue.
- ensure v. t.
- To make sure. See Insure.
- lete v. t.
- To let; to leave.
- longe n.
- A thrust. See Lunge. Smollett. [Abbrev. fr. allonge. See Lunge.]
- bere
- , v. t. Etym: [Cf. OIcel. berja to strike.] To pierce.
- dele v. t.
- To deal; to divide; to distribute. [See Deal.]
- frere n.
- One who frees, or sets free.
- 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,]
- angre v. t.
- To make painful; to cause to smart; to inflame. [Cf. Icel. angra.]
- thereon adv.
- On that or this. [AS. . See There, and On.]
- reyse v. i.
- To go on a military expedition. [Cf. G. reisen to travel.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- cote n.
- A cottage or hut. [See 1st Cot.]
- flote v. t.
- To fleet; to skim. Tusser.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dyssymulation 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, Dyssymulation, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/dyssymulation.html, id L08642.
Form and metre
Dyssymulation is 56 lines in 8 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCC, complete in 5 of its 8 stanzas; the stanza is the Rhyme royal. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 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. 9% 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 -A-AABB soberly · dayeA · enuy · mayeA · frayeA · fooB · sooB
- 2 -A-AABB lytterature · haueA · ensure · saueA · knaueA · prateB · dateB
- 3 ABABBCC meA · delyngeB · seeA · thyngeB · brennyngeB · youC · jewC
- 4 ABABBCC iA · someB · fyeA · comeB · homeB · awayteC · dysceyteC
- 5 ABABBCC frereA · takeB · nereA · makeB · sakeB · groteC · throteC
- 6 ABABBCC pokeA · nedeB · smokeA · agredeB · spedeB · confusyonC · conclusyonC
- 7 ABABBCC manA · woteB · canA · coteB · floteB · wareC · bareC
- 8 ---AABB ynowe · this · howe · amysA · blysA · sayeB · dayeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How do ye, mayster? ye loke so soberly: | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| As I be saued at the dredefull daye, | 10 | ·········· |
| It is a perylous vyce, this enuy: | 10 | ·········· |
| Alas, a connynge man ne dwelle maye | 9 | ˘/······· |
| In no place well, but foles with hym fraye! | 9 | ········· |
| But as for that, connynge hath no foo | 9 | ········· |
| Saue hym that nought can, Scrypture sayth soo. | 9 | ········· |
| I knowe your vertu and your lytterature | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| By that lytel connynge that I haue: | 9 | ········· |
| Ye be malygned sore, I you ensure; | 10 | ····˘···˘/ |
| But ye haue crafte your selfe alwaye to saue: | 10 | ·········· |
| It is grete scorne to se a mysproude knaue | 11 | ······/···· |
| With a clerke that connynge is to prate: | 9 | ········· |
| Lete theym go lowse theym, in the deuylles date! | 9 | ········· |
| For all be it that this longe not to me, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet on my backe I bere suche lewde delynge: | 10 | ·········· |
| Ryghte now I spake with one, I trowe, I see; | 10 | ·········· |
| But, what, a strawe! I maye not tell all thynge. | 10 | ·········· |
| By God, I saye there is grete herte brennynge | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Betwene the persone ye wote of, you; | 9 | ········· |
| Alas, I coude not dele so with a Jew! | 11 | ˘/···/˘···· |
| I wolde eche man were as playne as I; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| It is a worlde, I saye, to here of some: | 10 | ·········· |
| I hate this faynynge, fye vpon it, fye! | 9 | ········· |
| A man can not wote where to be come: | 9 | ········· |
| I wys I coude tell,—but humlery, home; | 10 | ·········· |
| I dare not speke, we be so layde awayte, | 10 | ·········· |
| For all our courte is full of dysceyte. | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Now, by saynte Fraunceys, that holy man and frere, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| I hate these wayes agayne you that they take: | 10 | ·········· |
| Were I as you, I wolde ryde them full nere; | 10 | ·········· |
| And, by my trouthe, but yf an ende they make, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet wyll I saye some wordes for your sake, | 9 | ········· |
| That shall them angre, I holde thereon a grote; | 11 | ···/˘··˘/·· |
| For some shall wene be hanged by the throte. | 10 | ······˘··· |
| I haue a stoppynge oyster in my poke, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Truste me, and yf it come to a nede: | 9 | ········· |
| But I am lothe for to reyse a smoke, | 9 | ········· |
| Yf ye coude be otherwyse agrede; | 9 | ········· |
| And so I wolde it were, so God me spede, | 10 | ·········· |
| For this maye brede to a confusyon, | 9 | ········· |
| Withoute God make a good conclusyon. | 9 | ········· |
| Naye, see where yonder stondeth the teder man! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| A flaterynge knaue and false he is, God wote; | 11 | ··········· |
| The dreuyll stondeth to herken, and he can: | 10 | ·········· |
| It were more thryft, he boughte him a newe cote; | 10 | ·········· |
| It will not be, his purse is not on flote: | 10 | ·········· |
| All that he wereth, it is borowed ware; | 10 | ·········· |
| His wytte is thynne, his hode is threde bare. | 9 | ········· |
| More coude I saye, but what this is ynowe: | 10 | ·········· |
| Adewe tyll soone, we shall speke more of this: | 10 | ·········· |
| Ye muste be ruled as I shall tell you howe; | 10 | ·········· |
| Amendis maye be of that is now amys; | 11 | ··········· |
| And I am your, syr, so haue I blys, | 9 | ········· |
| In euery poynte that I can do or saye: | 10 | ·········· |
| Gyue me your honde, farewell, and haue good daye. | 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.