Ballad of Ladies’ Love, No. 2
WHOSO in love would bear the bell,Needs must he prank him gallantly,Swagger and ruffle it, bold and snell,And when to his lady's sight comes he,Don cloth of gold and embroidery;For ladies liken a goodly show.This should serve well; but, by Marie,Not all can nick it that will, heigho!
Once on a season in love I fellWith a lady gracious and sweet to see,Who spoke me fair, that she liked me wellAnd gladly would hearken to my plea,But first I must give to her for feeFifty gold crowns, nor less nor mo.Fifty gold crowns ?—O' right good gree!Not all can nick it that will, heigho!
To bed I went with the damszelAnd there four times right merrilyI did to her what I may not tellIn less than an hour and a half, perdie.Then with a failing voice said she,"Once more, I prithee! my heart is woe."Once more, quotha, sweetheart ? Ah me,Not all can nick it that will, heigho!
Great God of love, I crave of thee,If ever again I lay her low,Ne'er let my lance untempered be.Not all can nick it that will, heigho!
Words in this poem 15
- whoso pron.
- Whosoever. Piers Plowman.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- gallantly adv.
- In a polite or courtly manner; like a gallant or wooer.
- swagger v. i.
- To walk with a swaying motion; hence, to walk and act in a pompous, consequential manner. [Freq. of swag.]
- snell a.
- Active; brisk; nimble; quick; sharp. [Archaic or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [AS. snell; akin to D. snel, G. schnell, OHG. snel, Icel. snjallr valiant.]
- liken v. t.
- To allege, or think, to be like; to represent as like; to compare; as, to liken life to a pilgrimage. [OE. liknen. See Like, a.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- nick n.
- A notch cut into something; as: (a) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning. [Akin to Nock.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- gree n.
- Good will; favor; pleasure; satisfaction; -- used esp. in such phrases as: to take in gree; to accept in gree; that is, to take favorably. [F. gré. See Grateful, and cf. Agree.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- quotha interj.
- Indeed; forsooth. [For quoth'a, said he, 'a being corrupted from he.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad of Ladies’ Love, No. 2 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris, now first done into English verse, in the original forms, with a biographical and critical introduction, by John Payne, Internet Archive, the John Payne translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: François Villon, Ballad of Ladies’ Love, No. 2, in The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris (1892), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/villon-poems/ballad-of-ladies-love-no-2.html, id L27082.
Form and metre
Ballad of Ladies’ Love, No. 2 is 28 lines in 4 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 A-AB--B- bellA · gallantly · snellA · heB · embroidery · show · marieB · heigho
- 2 ABABB-B- fellA · seeB · wellA · pleaB · feeB · mo · greeB · heigho
- 3 ----A-A- damszel · merrily · tell · perdie · sheA · woe · meA · heigho
- 4 A-A- theeA · low · beA · heigho
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 |
|---|---|---|
| WHOSO in love would bear the bell, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Needs must he prank him gallantly, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Swagger and ruffle it, bold and snell, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| And when to his lady's sight comes he, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Don cloth of gold and embroidery; | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| For ladies liken a goodly show. | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| This should serve well; but, by Marie, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Not all can nick it that will, heigho! | 9 | ········· |
| Once on a season in love I fell | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| With a lady gracious and sweet to see, | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| Who spoke me fair, that she liked me well | 9 | ········· |
| And gladly would hearken to my plea, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| But first I must give to her for fee | 9 | ········· |
| Fifty gold crowns, nor less nor mo. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Fifty gold crowns ?—O' right good gree! | 8 | /˘······ |
| Not all can nick it that will, heigho! | 9 | ········· |
| To bed I went with the damszel | 8 | ········ |
| And there four times right merrily | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| I did to her what I may not tell | 9 | ········· |
| In less than an hour and a half, perdie. | 10 | ····/···˘/ |
| Then with a failing voice said she, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Once more, I prithee! my heart is woe." | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Once more, quotha, sweetheart ? Ah me, | 8 | ··/˘/··· |
| Not all can nick it that will, heigho! | 9 | ········· |
| Great God of love, I crave of thee, | 8 | ········ |
| If ever again I lay her low, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Ne'er let my lance untempered be. | 8 | ········ |
| Not all can nick it that will, heigho! | 9 | ········· |
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.