Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale
Ay, besherewe yow, be my fay,This wanton clarkes be nyse all way;Avent, avent, my popagay!What, will ye do no thyng but play?Tully valy, strawe, let be, I say!Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jak of the vale!With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale.
Be God, ye be a praty pode,And I loue you an hole cart lode.Strawe, Jamys foder, ye play the fode,I am no hakney for your rode;Go watch a bole, your bak is brode:Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jak of the vale!With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale.
I wiss ye dele vncurtesly;What wolde ye frompill me? now, fy!What, and ye shalbe my piggesnye?Be Crist, ye shall not, no hardely;I will not be japed bodely:Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jake of the vale!With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale.Walke forth your way, ye cost me nought;Now haue I fownd that I haue sought,The best chepe flessh that euyr I bought.Yet, for His loue that all hath wrought,Wed me, or els I dye for thought!Gup, Cristian Clowte, your breth is stale!Go, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale!Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jak of the vale!With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale.
Words in this poem
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- bole n.
- The trunk or stem of a tree, or that which is like it. [OE. bole, fr. Icel. bolr; akin to Sw. bål, Dan. bul, trunk, stem of a tree, G. bohle a thick plank or board; cf. LG. boll round. Cf. Bulge.]
- wiss adv.
- Certainly; really; indeed. [Aphetic form of iwis, ywis; or fr. Icel. viss certain. See Ywis.]
- dele v. t.
- To deal; to divide; to distribute. [See Deal.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale 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, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/manerly-margery-mylk-and-ale.html, id L08629.
Form and metre
Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale is 30 lines in 3 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AAAAABB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AAAAABB fayA · wayA · popagayA · playA · sayA · valeB · aleB
- 2 AAAAABB podeA · lodeA · fodeA · rodeA · brodeA · valeB · aleB
- 3 ---AABBCCCCCBBBB vncurtesly · fy · piggesnye · hardelyA · bodelyA · valeB · aleB · noughtC · soughtC · boughtC · wroughtC · thoughtC · staleB · aleB · valeB · aleB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ay, besherewe yow, be my fay, | 8 | ········ |
| This wanton clarkes be nyse all way; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Avent, avent, my popagay! | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| What, will ye do no thyng but play? | 8 | ········ |
| Tully valy, strawe, let be, I say! | 9 | /˘······· |
| Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jak of the vale! | 9 | ········· |
| With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale. | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| Be God, ye be a praty pode, | 8 | ········ |
| And I loue you an hole cart lode. | 8 | ········ |
| Strawe, Jamys foder, ye play the fode, | 9 | ········· |
| I am no hakney for your rode; | 8 | ········ |
| Go watch a bole, your bak is brode: | 8 | ········ |
| Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jak of the vale! | 9 | ········· |
| With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale. | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| I wiss ye dele vncurtesly; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What wolde ye frompill me? now, fy! | 8 | ········ |
| What, and ye shalbe my piggesnye? | 8 | ········ |
| Be Crist, ye shall not, no hardely; | 9 | ········· |
| I will not be japed bodely: | 9 | ·····˘··· |
| Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jake of the vale! | 9 | ········· |
| With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale. | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| Walke forth your way, ye cost me nought; | 8 | ········ |
| Now haue I fownd that I haue sought, | 8 | ········ |
| The best chepe flessh that euyr I bought. | 8 | ········ |
| Yet, for His loue that all hath wrought, | 8 | ········ |
| Wed me, or els I dye for thought! | 8 | ········ |
| Gup, Cristian Clowte, your breth is stale! | 8 | ········ |
| Go, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale! | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| Gup, Cristian Clowte, gup, Jak of the vale! | 9 | ········· |
| With, Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale. | 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.