The Quene of Fame to Dame Pallas
Prynces moost pusant, of hygh preemynence,Renownyd lady aboue the sterry heuyn,All other transcendyng, of very congruenceMadame regent of the scyence seuyn,To whos astate all noblenes most lenen,My supplycacyon to you I arrect,Whereof I beseche you to tender the effecte.
Not vnremembered it is vnto your grace,How you gaue me a ryall commaundementThat in my courte Skelton shulde haue a place,Bycause that his tyme he studyously hath spentIn your seruyce; and, to the accomplysshementOf your request, regestred is his nameWith laureate tryumphe in the courte of Fame.
But, good madame, the accustome and vsageOf auncient poetis, ye wote full wele, hath beneThem selfe to embesy with all there holl corage,So that there workis myght famously be sene,In figure wherof they were the laurell grene;But how it is, Skelton is wonder slake,And, as we dare, we fynde in hym grete lake:
For, ne were onely he hath your promocyon,Out of my bokis full sone I shulde hym rase;But sith he hath tastid of the sugred pociounOf Elyconis well, refresshid with your grace,And wyll not endeuour hymselfe to purchaseThe fauour of ladys with wordis electe,It is sittynge that ye must hym correct.
Words in this poem
- congruence n.
- Suitableness of one thing to another; agreement; consistency. [L. congruentia: cf. OF. cornguence.]
- 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.]
- arrect a.
- Lifted up; raised; erect. [L. arrectus, p. p. of arrigere to raise, erect; ad + regere to lead straight, to direct.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- laureate a.
- Crowned, or decked, with laurel. [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree, fr. laureus of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. lauréat. Cf. Laurel.]
- wele n.
- Prosperity; happiness; well-being; weal. [See Weal prosperity.]
- bene n.
- A prayer; boon. [AS. b.]
- famously adv.
- In a famous manner; in a distinguished degree; greatly; splendidly.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- sith prep.
- Since; afterwards; seeing that. [See Since.]
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.html, id L08683.
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 77%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.6 syllables. 4 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-A-BB preemynence · heuynA · congruence · seuynA · lenen · arrectB · effecteB
- 2 ABABBCC graceA · commaundementB · placeA · spentB · accomplysshementB · nameC · fameC
- 3 A-ABBCC vsageA · bene · corageA · seneB · greneB · slakeC · lakeC
- 4 ---AABB promocyon · rase · pocioun · graceA · purchaseA · electeB · correctB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prynces moost pusant, of hygh preemynence, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Renownyd lady aboue the sterry heuyn, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| All other transcendyng, of very congruence | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Madame regent of the scyence seuyn, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| To whos astate all noblenes most lenen, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| My supplycacyon to you I arrect, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Whereof I beseche you to tender the effecte. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Not vnremembered it is vnto your grace, | 10 | ····˘····· |
| How you gaue me a ryall commaundement | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| That in my courte Skelton shulde haue a place, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Bycause that his tyme he studyously hath spent | 11 | ··········· |
| In your seruyce; and, to the accomplysshement | 12 | ············ |
| Of your request, regestred is his name | 10 | ··˘//˘˘··· |
| With laureate tryumphe in the courte of Fame. | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| But, good madame, the accustome and vsage | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Of auncient poetis, ye wote full wele, hath bene | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| Them selfe to embesy with all there holl corage, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| So that there workis myght famously be sene, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| In figure wherof they were the laurell grene; | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| But how it is, Skelton is wonder slake, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And, as we dare, we fynde in hym grete lake: | 10 | ·········· |
| For, ne were onely he hath your promocyon, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Out of my bokis full sone I shulde hym rase; | 11 | ··········· |
| But sith he hath tastid of the sugred pocioun | 11 | ··········· |
| Of Elyconis well, refresshid with your grace, | 12 | ············ |
| And wyll not endeuour hymselfe to purchase | 10 | ········/˘ |
| The fauour of ladys with wordis electe, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| It is sittynge that ye must hym correct. | 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.