The Shepheardes Calender: October Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBABA ACDDCEC FGGFGF FFCCFCF HIIHIH ACGGCGC FCAFCFC JAAJAJ FJJAJA GGAAGAG GAAKAG LFFLFL FCCGCA FFAAFAF ACAACAC FMGGJGG AFNNFNA FAAFAF OCCOCO HAAH FAH NJOCTOBER AElig gloga DecimaPIERCE CUDDIE | A |
Cuddie for shame hold up thy heavye head | A |
And let us cast with what delight to chace | B |
And weary thys long lingring Phoebus race | B |
Whilome thou wont the shepheards laddes to leade | A |
In rymes in ridles and in bydding base | B |
Now they in thee and thou in sleepe art dead | A |
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CUDDY | A |
Piers I have pyped erst so long with payne | C |
That all mine Oten reedes bene rent and wore | D |
And my poore Muse hath spent her spared store | D |
Yet little good hath got and much lesse gayne | C |
Such pleasaunce makes the Grashopper so poore | E |
And ligge so layd when Winter doth her straine | C |
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The dapper ditties that I wont devise | F |
To feede youthes fancie and the flocking fry | G |
Delighten much what I the bett for thy | G |
They han the pleasure I a sclender prise | F |
I beate the bush the byrds to them doe flye | G |
What good thereof to Cuddie can arise | F |
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PIERS | F |
Cuddie the prayse is better then the price | F |
The glory eke much greater then the gayne | C |
O what an honor is it to restraine | C |
The lust of lawlesse youth with good advice | F |
Or pricke them forth with pleasaunce of thy vaine | C |
Whereto thou list their trayned willes entice | F |
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Soone as thou gynst to sette thy notes in frame | H |
O how the rurall routes to thee doe cleave | I |
Seemeth thou dost their soule of sence bereave | I |
All as the shepheard that did fetch his dame | H |
From Plutoes balefull bowre withouten leave | I |
His musicks might the hellish hound did tame | H |
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CUDDIE | A |
So praysen babes the Peacoks spotted traine | C |
And wondren at bright Argus blazing eye | G |
But who rewards him ere the more for thy | G |
Or feedes him once the fuller by a graine | C |
Sike prayse is smoke that sheddeth in the skye | G |
Sike words bene wynd and wasten soone in vayne | C |
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PIERS | F |
Abandon then the base and viler clowne | C |
Lyft up thy selfe out of the lowly dust | A |
And sing of bloody Mars of wars of giusts | F |
Turne thee to those that weld the awful crowne | C |
To doubted Knights whose woundlesse armour rusts | F |
And helmes unbruzed wexen dayly browne | C |
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There may thy Muse display her fluttryng wing | J |
And stretch her selfe at large from East to West | A |
Whither thou list in fayre Elisa rest | A |
Or if thee please in bigger notes to sing | J |
Advaunce the worthy whome shee loveth best | A |
That first the white beare to the stake did bring | J |
- | |
And when the stubborne stroke of stronger stounds | F |
Has somewhat slackt the tenor of thy string | J |
Of love and lustihed tho mayst thou sing | J |
And carrol lowde and leade the Myllers rownde | A |
All were Elisa one of thilke same ring | J |
So mought our Cuddies name to Heaven sownde | A |
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CUDDYE | G |
Indeed the Romish Tityrus I heare | G |
Through his Mec oe nas left his Oaten reede | A |
Whereon he earst had taught his flocks to feede | A |
And laboured lands to yield the timely eare | G |
And eft did sing of warres and deadly drede | A |
So as the Heavens did quake his verse to here | G |
- | |
But ah Mec oe nas is yclad in claye | G |
And great Augustus long ygoe is dead | A |
And all the worthies liggen wrapt in leade | A |
That matter made for Poets on to play | K |
For ever who in derring doe were dreade | A |
The loftie verse of hem was loved aye | G |
- | |
But after vertue gan for age to stoupe | L |
And mighty manhode brought a bedde of ease | F |
The vaunting Poets found nought worth a pease | F |
To put in preace emong the learned troupe | L |
Tho gan the streames of flowing wittes to cease | F |
And sonnebright honour pend in shamefull coupe | L |
- | |
And if that any buddes of Poesie | F |
Yet of the old stocke gan to shoote agayne | C |
Or it mens follies mote be forst to fayne | C |
And rolle with rest in rymes of rybaudrye | G |
Or as it sprong it wither must agayne | C |
Tom Piper makes us better melodie | A |
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PIERS | F |
O pierlesse Poesye where is then thy place | F |
If nor in Princes pallace thou doe sitt | A |
And yet is Princes pallace the most fitt | A |
Ne brest of baser birth doth thee embrace | F |
Then make thee winges of thine aspyring wit | A |
And whence thou camst flye backe to heaven apace | F |
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CUDDIE | A |
Ah Percy it is all to weake and wanne | C |
So high to sore and make so large a flight | A |
Her peeced pyneons bene not so in plight | A |
For Colin fittes such famous flight to scanne | C |
He were he not with love so ill bedight | A |
Would mount as high and sing as soote as Swanne | C |
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PIERS | F |
Ah fon for love does teach him climbe so hie | M |
And lyftes him up out of the loathsome myre | G |
Such immortall mirrhor as he doth admire | G |
Would rayse ones mynd above the starry skie | J |
And cause a caytive corage to aspire | G |
For lofty love doth loath a lowly eye | G |
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CUDDIE | A |
All otherwise the state of Poet stands | F |
For lordly love is such a Tyranne fell | N |
That where he rules all power he doth expell | N |
The vaunted verse a vacant head demaundes | F |
Ne wont with crabbed care the Muses dwell | N |
Unwisely weaves that takes two webbes in hand | A |
- | |
Who ever casts to compasse weightye prise | F |
And thinks to throwe out thondring words of threate | A |
Let powre in lavish cups and thriftie bitts of meate | A |
For Bacchus fruite is frend to Phoebus wise | F |
And when with Wine the braine begins to sweate | A |
The nombers flowe as fast as spring doth ryse | F |
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Thou kenst not Percie howe the ryme should rage | O |
O if my temples were distaind with wine | C |
And girt in girlonds of wild Yvie twine | C |
How I could reare the Muse on stately stage | O |
And teache her tread aloft in buskin fine | C |
With queint Bellona in her equipage | O |
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But ah my corage cooles ere it be warme | H |
For thy content us in thys humble shade | A |
Where no such troublous tydes han us assayde | A |
Here we our slender pipes may safely charme | H |
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PIERS | F |
And when my Gates shall han their bellies layd | A |
Cuddie shall have a Kidde to store his farme CUDDIES EMBLEME | H |
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Agitante calescimus illo | N |
c | J |
Edmund Spenser
(1)
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