The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas
Madame, with fauour of your benynge sufferaunce,Vnto your grace then make I this motyue;Whereto made ye me hym to auaunceVnto the rowme of laureat promotyue?Or wherto shulde he haue that prerogatyue,But if he had made sum memoryall,Wherby he myght haue a name inmortall?
To pas the tyme in slowthfull ydelnes,Of your royall palace it is not the gyse,But to do sumwhat iche man doth hym dres:For how shulde Cato els be callyd wyse,But that his bokis, whiche he did deuyse,Recorde the same? or why is had in myndePlato, but for that he left wrytynge behynde,
For men to loke on? Aristotille also,Of phylosophers callid the princypall,Olde Diogenes, with other many mo,Demostenes, that oratour royall,That gaue Eschines suche a cordyall,That bannisshed was he by his proposicyoun,Ageyne whome he cowde make no contradiccyoun?
Words in this poem
- madame n.
- My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- royall a.
- Kingly; pertaining to the crown or the sovereign; suitable for a king or queen; regal; as, royal power or prerogative; royal domains; the royal family; royal state. [OE. roial, riall, real, OF. roial. reial, F. royal, fr. L. regalis, fr. rex, regis, king. See Rich, and cf. regal, real a coin, Rial.]
- loke n.
- A private path or road; also, the wicket or hatch of a door. [See Lock a fastening.]
- 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.]
- oratour n.
- A public speaker; one who delivers an oration; especially, one distinguished for his skill and power as a public speaker; one who is eloquent. [L., fr. orare to speak, utter. See Oration.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas 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, The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas, in Poetical Works, Volume I (1500–1529), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/skelton-poems/the-quene-of-fame-to-dame-pallas-2.html, id L08685.
Form and metre
The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABB-- sufferaunceA · motyueB · auaunceA · promotyueB · prerogatyueB · memoryall · inmortall
- 2 ABA-BCC ydelnesA · gyseB · dresA · wyse · deuyseB · myndeC · behyndeC
- 3 ---AABB also · princypall · mo · royallA · cordyallA · proposicyounB · contradiccyounB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Madame, with fauour of your benynge sufferaunce, | 11 | /˘········· |
| Vnto your grace then make I this motyue; | 8 | ········ |
| Whereto made ye me hym to auaunce | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Vnto the rowme of laureat promotyue? | 8 | ········ |
| Or wherto shulde he haue that prerogatyue, | 10 | ·········· |
| But if he had made sum memoryall, | 9 | ········· |
| Wherby he myght haue a name inmortall? | 10 | ·········· |
| To pas the tyme in slowthfull ydelnes, | 9 | ········· |
| Of your royall palace it is not the gyse, | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
| But to do sumwhat iche man doth hym dres: | 10 | ·········· |
| For how shulde Cato els be callyd wyse, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But that his bokis, whiche he did deuyse, | 9 | ········· |
| Recorde the same? or why is had in mynde | 10 | ·········· |
| Plato, but for that he left wrytynge behynde, | 11 | /˘········· |
| For men to loke on? Aristotille also, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Of phylosophers callid the princypall, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Olde Diogenes, with other many mo, | 10 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘/· |
| Demostenes, that oratour royall, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| That gaue Eschines suche a cordyall, | 8 | ········ |
| That bannisshed was he by his proposicyoun, | 11 | ··········· |
| Ageyne whome he cowde make no contradiccyoun? | 11 | ··········· |
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.