Poeta Skelton
With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd;Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace,And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd,Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase.Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this placeOf our noble courte is ones spoken owte,It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute.
God wote, theis wordes made me full sad;And when that I sawe it wolde no better be,But that my peticyon wolde not be had,What shulde I do but take it in gre?For, by Juppiter and his high mageste,I did what I cowde to scrape out the scrollis,Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis.
Now hereof it erkith me lenger to wryte;To Occupacyon I wyll agayne resorte,Whiche redde on still, as it cam to her syght,Rendrynge my deuisis I made in disporteOf the Mayden of Kent callid Counforte,Of Louers testamentis and of there wanton wyllis,And how Iollas louyd goodly Phillis;
Diodorus Siculus of my translacyonOut of fresshe Latine into owre Englysshe playne,Recountyng commoditis of many a straunge nacyon;Who redyth it ones wolde rede it agayne;Sex volumis engrosid together it doth containe:But when of the laurell she made rehersall,All orators and poetis, with other grete and smale,
Apocalipsis. Virtute senatum laureati possident: Ecclesiastica.
A thowsande thowsande. I trow, to my dome,Triumpha, triumpha! they cryid all aboute;Of trumpettis and clariouns the noyse went to Rome;The starry heuyn, me thought, shoke with the showte;The grownde gronid and tremblid, the noyse was so stowte:The Quene of Fame commaundid shett fast the boke;And therwith sodenly out of my dreme I woke.
My mynde of the grete din was somdele amasid,I wypid myne eyne for to make them clere;Then to the heuyn sperycall vpwarde I gasid,Where I saw Ianus, with his double chere,Makynge his almanak for the new yere;He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast:Good luk this new yere! the olde yere is past.
Mens tibi sit consulta, petis? sic consuls menti;Æmula sit Jani, retro speculetur et ante.
Ite, Britannorum lux O radiosa, BritannumCarmina nostra pium vestrum celebrate Catullum!Dicite, Skeltonis vester Adonis erat;Dicite, Skeltonis vester Homerus erat.Barbara cum Latio pariter jam currite versu;Et licet est verbo pars maxima texta Britanno,Non magis incompta nostra Thalia patet,Est magis inculta nec mea Calliope.Nec vos pœniteat livoris tela subire,Nec vos pœniteat rabiem tolerare caninam,Nam Maro dissimiles non tulit ille minas,Immunis nec enim Musa Nasonis erat.
Words in this poem 18
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- rase v. t.
- To rub along the surface of; to graze. [F. raser, LL. rasare to scrape often, v. freq. fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, shave; cf. Skr. rad to scratch, gnaw, L. rodere to gnaw. Cf. Raze, Razee, Razor,]
- ragman n.
- A document having many names or numerous seals, as a papal bull. Piers Plowman. [See Ragman's roll.]
- hereof adv.
- Of this; concerning this; from this; hence.
- lenger a.
- Longer; longest; -- obsolete compar. and superl. of long.
- redde
- obs. imp. of Read, or Rede.
- callid a.
- Characterized by cunning or shrewdness; crafty. [L. callidus, fr. callere to be thick-skinned, to be hardened, to be practiced, fr. callum, callus, callous skin, callosity, callousness.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- rede v. t.
- To advise or counsel. [See Read, v. t.]
- laurell n.
- An evergreen shrub, of the genus Laurus (L. nobilis), having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils; -- called also sweet bay. [OE. lorel, laurer, lorer, OF. lorier, laurier, F. laurier, (assumed) LL. Laurarius, fr. L. laurus.]
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- boke v. t.
- To poke; to thrust.
- eyne n.
- Plural of eye; obsolete, or used only in poetry.
- chere n.
- The face; the countenance or its expression. [OE. chere face, welcome, cheer, OF. chiere, F. chère, fr. LL. cara face, Gr. , L. cerebrum brain, G. hirn, and E. cranium.]
- barbara n.
- The first word in certain mnemonic lines which represent the various forms of the syllogism. It indicates a syllogism whose three propositions are universal affirmatives. Whately. [Coined by logicians.]
- calliope n.
- The Muse that presides over eloquence and heroic poetry; mother of Orpheus, and chief of the nine Muses.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poeta Skelton 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, Poeta Skelton, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/poeta-skelton-2.html, id L08705.
Form and metre
Poeta Skelton is 57 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.5 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic hexameter.
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-B-- afraydA · graceB · praydA · rase · placeB · owte · aboute
- 2 A-A---- sadA · be · hadA · gre · mageste · scrollis · rollis
- 3 ABABB-- wryteA · resorteB · syghtA · disporteB · counforteB · wyllis · phillis
- 4 ABABB-- translacyonA · playneB · nacyonA · agayneB · containeB · rehersall · smale
- 6 A-ABBCC domeA · aboute · romeA · showteB · stowteB · bokeC · wokeC
- 7 A-ABBCC amasidA · clere · gasidA · chereB · yereB · fastC · pastC
- 9 AABB-------B britannumA · catullumA · eratB · eratB · versu · britanno · patet · calliope · subire · caninam · minas · eratB
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd; | 11 | ··········· |
| Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace, | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase. | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this place | 9 | ········· |
| Of our noble courte is ones spoken owte, | 10 | ·//˘···/˘· |
| It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute. | 11 | ··········· |
| God wote, theis wordes made me full sad; | 8 | ········ |
| And when that I sawe it wolde no better be, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| But that my peticyon wolde not be had, | 10 | ·········· |
| What shulde I do but take it in gre? | 9 | ········· |
| For, by Juppiter and his high mageste, | 10 | ·········· |
| I did what I cowde to scrape out the scrollis, | 11 | ··········· |
| Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis. | 12 | ˘/˘·····/˘/˘ |
| Now hereof it erkith me lenger to wryte; | 11 | ·˘/····/˘·· |
| To Occupacyon I wyll agayne resorte, | 11 | ··········· |
| Whiche redde on still, as it cam to her syght, | 10 | ·········· |
| Rendrynge my deuisis I made in disporte | 10 | ·········· |
| Of the Mayden of Kent callid Counforte, | 10 | ··/˘··/˘·· |
| Of Louers testamentis and of there wanton wyllis, | 13 | ·········/˘·· |
| And how Iollas louyd goodly Phillis; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Diodorus Siculus of my translacyon | 11 | ··········· |
| Out of fresshe Latine into owre Englysshe playne, | 11 | ··········· |
| Recountyng commoditis of many a straunge nacyon; | 13 | ········/···· |
| Who redyth it ones wolde rede it agayne; | 10 | ·········· |
| Sex volumis engrosid together it doth containe: | 14 | ·······˘/˘···· |
| But when of the laurell she made rehersall, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| All orators and poetis, with other grete and smale, | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··· |
| Apocalipsis. Virtute senatum laureati possident: Ecclesiastica. | 21 | ····················· |
| A thowsande thowsande. I trow, to my dome, | 10 | ·········· |
| Triumpha, triumpha! they cryid all aboute; | 9 | ········· |
| Of trumpettis and clariouns the noyse went to Rome; | 12 | ············ |
| The starry heuyn, me thought, shoke with the showte; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The grownde gronid and tremblid, the noyse was so stowte: | 12 | ············ |
| The Quene of Fame commaundid shett fast the boke; | 11 | ··········· |
| And therwith sodenly out of my dreme I woke. | 12 | ············ |
| My mynde of the grete din was somdele amasid, | 13 | ············· |
| I wypid myne eyne for to make them clere; | 10 | ·········· |
| Then to the heuyn sperycall vpwarde I gasid, | 11 | ··········· |
| Where I saw Ianus, with his double chere, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Makynge his almanak for the new yere; | 10 | ·········· |
| He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast: | 12 | ············ |
| Good luk this new yere! the olde yere is past. | 10 | ·········· |
| Mens tibi sit consulta, petis? sic consuls menti; | 14 | ·/········/˘·· |
| Æmula sit Jani, retro speculetur et ante. | 14 | /˘·/˘/˘·····/˘ |
| Ite, Britannorum lux O radiosa, Britannum | 13 | ············· |
| Carmina nostra pium vestrum celebrate Catullum! | 14 | ···/˘···/˘···· |
| Dicite, Skeltonis vester Adonis erat; | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| Dicite, Skeltonis vester Homerus erat. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Barbara cum Latio pariter jam currite versu; | 13 | /˘··········· |
| Et licet est verbo pars maxima texta Britanno, | 15 | ···˘/···/˘····· |
| Non magis incompta nostra Thalia patet, | 12 | ·/˘···/˘/˘·· |
| Est magis inculta nec mea Calliope. | 13 | ˘//˘·····˘/˘· |
| Nec vos pœniteat livoris tela subire, | 12 | ············ |
| Nec vos pœniteat rabiem tolerare caninam, | 13 | ············· |
| Nam Maro dissimiles non tulit ille minas, | 12 | ·/˘·······/˘ |
| Immunis nec enim Musa Nasonis erat. | 13 | ······/˘····· |
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.