The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas
To make repungnaunce agayne that ye haue sayde,Of very dwte it may not well accorde,But your benynge sufferaunce for my discharge I laid,For that I wolde not with you fall at discorde;But yet I beseche your grace that good recordeMay be brought forth, suche as can be founde,With laureat tryumphe why Skelton sholde be crownde;
For elles it were to great a derogacyonVnto your palas, our noble courte of Fame,That any man vnder supportacyonWithoute deseruynge shulde haue the best game:If he to the ample encrease of his nameCan lay any werkis that he hath compylyd,I am contente that he be not exylide
Frome the laureat senate by force of proscripcyon;Or elles, ye know well, I can do no lesseBut I most bannysshe hym frome my iurydiccyon,As he that aquentyth hym with ydilnes;But if that he purpose to make a redresse,What he hath done, let it be brought to syght;Graunt my petycyon, I aske you but ryght.
Words in this poem
- encrease v. t.
- i. See Increase.
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-4.html, id L08689.
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 78%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.7 syllables. 29% 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-- saydeA · accordeB · laidA · discordeB · recordeB · founde · crownde
- 2 ABABB-- derogacyonA · fameB · supportacyonA · gameB · nameB · compylyd · exylide
- 3 ABA-BCC proscripcyonA · lesseB · iurydiccyonA · ydilnes · redresseB · syghtC · ryghtC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To make repungnaunce agayne that ye haue sayde, | 11 | ··········· |
| Of very dwte it may not well accorde, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But your benynge sufferaunce for my discharge I laid, | 13 | ·········˘/·· |
| For that I wolde not with you fall at discorde; | 11 | ··········· |
| But yet I beseche your grace that good recorde | 11 | ··········· |
| May be brought forth, suche as can be founde, | 9 | ········· |
| With laureat tryumphe why Skelton sholde be crownde; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For elles it were to great a derogacyon | 11 | ··········· |
| Vnto your palas, our noble courte of Fame, | 10 | ····//˘··· |
| That any man vnder supportacyon | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Withoute deseruynge shulde haue the best game: | 10 | ·········· |
| If he to the ample encrease of his name | 11 | ····/˘˘/··· |
| Can lay any werkis that he hath compylyd, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| I am contente that he be not exylide | 11 | ··········· |
| Frome the laureat senate by force of proscripcyon; | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| Or elles, ye know well, I can do no lesse | 10 | ·········· |
| But I most bannysshe hym frome my iurydiccyon, | 12 | ············ |
| As he that aquentyth hym with ydilnes; | 10 | ·········· |
| But if that he purpose to make a redresse, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| What he hath done, let it be brought to syght; | 10 | ·········· |
| Graunt my petycyon, I aske you but ryght. | 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.