The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas
Madame, your apposelle is wele inferrid,And at your auauntage quikly it isTowchid, and hard for to be debarrid;Yet shall I answere your grace as in this,With your reformacion, if I say amis,For, but if your bounte did me assure,Myne argument els koude not longe endure.
As towchyng that Eschines is remembred,That he so sholde be, me semith it sittyng,All be it grete parte he hath surrendredOf his onour, whos dissuasyue in wrytyngTo corage Demostenes was moche excitynge,In settyng out fresshely his crafty persuacyon,From whiche Eschines had none euacyon.
The cause why Demostenes so famously is brutid,Onely procedid for that he did outrayEschines, whiche was not shamefully confutidBut of that famous oratour, I say,Whiche passid all other; wherfore I mayAmong my recordes suffer hym namyd,For though he were venquesshid, yet was he not shamyd:
As Ierome, in his preamble Frater Ambrosius,Frome that I haue sayde in no poynt doth vary,Wherein he reporteth of the coragiusWordes that were moch consolatoryBy Eschines rehersed to the grete gloryOf Demostenes, that was his vtter foo:Few shall ye fynde or none that wyll do so.
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.]
- wele n.
- Prosperity; happiness; well-being; weal. [See Weal prosperity.]
- 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,]
- longe n.
- A thrust. See Lunge. Smollett. [Abbrev. fr. allonge. See Lunge.]
- moche n.
- A bale of raw silk. [F.]
- famously adv.
- In a famous manner; in a distinguished degree; greatly; splendidly.
- outray v. i.
- To spread out in array.
- 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.]
- frater n.
- A monk; also, a frater house. Shipley. Frater house, an apartament in a convent used as an eating room; a refectory; -- called also a fratery. [L., a brother.]
- consolatory a.
- Of a consoling or comforting nature. [L. consolatorius.]
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-3.html, id L08687.
Form and metre
The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas is 28 lines in 4 stanzas of 7 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.5 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 A-ABBCC inferridA · is · debarridA · thisB · amisB · assureC · endureC
- 2 -A-AABB remembred · sittyngA · surrendred · wrytyngA · excityngeA · persuacyonB · euacyonB
- 3 ABABBCC brutidA · outrayB · confutidA · sayB · mayB · namydC · shamydC
- 4 A-ABB-- ambrosiusA · vary · coragiusA · consolatoryB · gloryB · foo · so
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, your apposelle is wele inferrid, | 13 | /˘··········· |
| And at your auauntage quikly it is | 9 | ········· |
| Towchid, and hard for to be debarrid; | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet shall I answere your grace as in this, | 10 | ·········· |
| With your reformacion, if I say amis, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| For, but if your bounte did me assure, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Myne argument els koude not longe endure. | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| As towchyng that Eschines is remembred, | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| That he so sholde be, me semith it sittyng, | 11 | ··········· |
| All be it grete parte he hath surrendred | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Of his onour, whos dissuasyue in wrytyng | 10 | ·········· |
| To corage Demostenes was moche excitynge, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| In settyng out fresshely his crafty persuacyon, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| From whiche Eschines had none euacyon. | 8 | ········ |
| The cause why Demostenes so famously is brutid, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Onely procedid for that he did outray | 11 | /˘·······˘/ |
| Eschines, whiche was not shamefully confutid | 12 | ············ |
| But of that famous oratour, I say, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Whiche passid all other; wherfore I may | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Among my recordes suffer hym namyd, | 10 | ···˘//˘··· |
| For though he were venquesshid, yet was he not shamyd: | 13 | ············· |
| As Ierome, in his preamble Frater Ambrosius, | 12 | ·····˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Frome that I haue sayde in no poynt doth vary, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Wherein he reporteth of the coragius | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| Wordes that were moch consolatory | 9 | ····˘/˘˘˘ |
| By Eschines rehersed to the grete glory | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Of Demostenes, that was his vtter foo: | 9 | ········· |
| Few shall ye fynde or none that wyll do so. | 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.