A Proper Trewe Idyll Of Camelot Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCCDD EEFFGGGGHH IIJJKKGGLLDDDDABGG GGHHGGGG JJFFFFMBNNKKDDCCCCGG FFJJ GGGG OOGGHHDDPP GGQQGGKKHHGGHH HHGGGGHHGGGGNNRRGG PPGGGGGGDDCCJJGG JJGGDDGGDDGGGSDDDDFF GGGGGGGGDDJJ GGGGGGGGGGWhenas ye plaisaunt Aperille shoures have washed and purged awaye | A |
Ye poysons and ye rheums of earth to make a merrie May | B |
Ye shraddy boscage of ye woods ben full of birds that syng | C |
Right merrilie a madrigal unto ye waking spring | C |
Ye whiles that when ye face of earth ben washed and wiped ycleane | D |
Her peeping posies blink and stare like they had ben her een | D |
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Then wit ye well ye harte of man ben turned to thoughts of love | E |
And tho' it ben a lyon erst it now ben like a dove | E |
And many a goodly damosel in innocence beguiles | F |
Her owne trewe love with sweet discourse and divers plaisaunt wiles | F |
In soche a time ye noblesse liege that ben Kyng Arthure hight | G |
Let cry a joust and tournament for evereche errant knyght | G |
And lo from distant Joyous garde and eche adjacent spot | G |
A company of noblesse lords fared unto Camelot | G |
Wherein were mighty feastings and passing merrie cheere | H |
And eke a deale of dismal dole as you shall quickly heare | H |
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It so befell upon a daye when jousts ben had and while | I |
Sir Launcelot did ramp around ye ring in gallaunt style | I |
There came an horseman shriking sore and rashing wildly home | J |
A mediaeval horseman with ye usual flecks of foame | J |
And he did brast into ye ring wherein his horse did drop | K |
Upon ye which ye rider did with like abruptness stop | K |
And with fatigue and fearfulness continued in a swound | G |
Ye space of half an hour or more before a leech was founde | G |
Now tell me straight quod Launcelot what varlet knyght you be | L |
Ere that I chine you with my sworde and cleave your harte in three | L |
Then rolled that knyght his bloudy een and answered with a groane | D |
By worthy God that hath me made and shope ye sun and mone | D |
There fareth hence an evil thing whose like ben never seene | D |
And tho' he sayeth nony worde he bode the ill I ween | D |
So take your parting evereche one and gird you for ye fraye | A |
By all that's pure ye Divell sure doth trend his path this way | B |
Ye which he quoth and fell again into a deadly swound | G |
And on that spot perchance God wot his bones mought yet be founde | G |
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Then evereche knight girt on his sworde and shield and hied him straight | G |
To meet ye straunger sarasen hard by ye city gate | G |
Full sorely moaned ye damosels and tore their beautyse haire | H |
For that they feared an hippogriff wolde come to eate them there | H |
But as they moaned and swounded there too numerous to relate | G |
Kyng Arthure and Sir Launcelot stode at ye city gate | G |
And at eche side and round about stode many a noblesse knyght | G |
With helm and speare and sworde and shield and mickle valor dight | G |
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Anon there came a straunger but not a gyaunt grim | J |
Nor yet a draggon but a person gangling long and slim | J |
Yclad he was in guise that ill beseemed those knyghtly days | F |
And there ben nony etiquette in his uplandish ways | F |
His raiment was of dusty gray and perched above his lugs | F |
There ben the very latest style of blacke and shiny pluggs | F |
His nose ben like a vulture beake his blie ben swart of hue | M |
And curly ben ye whiskers through ye which ye zephyrs blewe | B |
Of all ye een that ben yseene in countries far or nigh | N |
None nonywhere colde hold compare unto that straunger's eye | N |
It was an eye of soche a kind as never ben on sleepe | K |
Nor did it gleam with kindly beame nor did not use to weepe | K |
But soche an eye ye widdow hath an hongrey eye and wan | D |
That spyeth for an oder chaunce whereby she may catch on | D |
An eye that winketh of itself and sayeth by that winke | C |
Ye which a maiden sholde not knowe nor never even thinke | C |
Which winke ben more exceeding swift nor human thought ben thunk | C |
And leaveth doubting if so be that winke ben really wunke | C |
And soch an eye ye catte fysshe hath when that he ben on dead | G |
And boyled a goodly time and served with capers on his head | G |
A rayless eye a bead like eye whose famisht aspect shows | F |
It hungereth for ye verdant banks whereon ye wild time grows | F |
An eye that hawketh up and down for evereche kind of game | J |
And when he doth espy ye which he tumbleth to ye same | J |
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Now when he kenned Sir Launcelot in armor clad he quod | G |
Another put a nickel in and see me work be god | G |
But when that he was ware a man ben standing in that suit | G |
Ye straunger threw up both his hands and asked him not to shoote | G |
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Then spake Kyng Arthure If soe be you mind to do no ill | O |
Come enter into Camelot and eat and drink your fill | O |
But say me first what you are hight and what mought be your quest | G |
Ye straunger quod I'm five feet ten and fare me from ye West | G |
Sir Fivefeetten Kyng Arthure said I bid you welcome here | H |
So make you merrie as you list with plaisaunt wine and cheere | H |
This very night shall be a feast soche like ben never seene | D |
And you shall be ye honored guest of Arthure and his queene | D |
Now take him good sir Maligraunce and entertain him well | P |
Until soche time as he becomes our guest as I you tell | P |
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That night Kyng Arthure's table round with mighty care ben spread | G |
Ye oder knyghts sate all about and Arthure at ye heade | G |
Oh 't was a goodly spectacle to ken that noblesse liege | Q |
Dispensing hospitality from his commanding siege | Q |
Ye pheasant and ye meate of boare ye haunch of velvet doe | G |
Ye canvass hamme he them did serve and many good things moe | G |
Until at last Kyng Arthure cried Let bring my wassail cup | K |
And let ye sound of joy go round I'm going to set 'em up | K |
I've pipes of Malmsey May wine sack metheglon mead and sherry | H |
Canary Malvoisie and Port swete Muscadelle and perry | H |
Rochelle Osey and Romenay Tyre Rhenish posset too | G |
With kags and pails of foaming ales of brown October brew | G |
To wine and beer and other cheere I pray you now despatch ye | H |
And for ensample wit ye well sweet sirs I'm looking at ye | H |
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Unto which toast of their liege lord ye oders in ye party | H |
Did lout them low in humble wise and bid ye same drink hearty | H |
So then ben merrisome discourse and passing plaisaunt cheere | G |
And Arthure's tales of hippogriffs ben mervaillous to heare | G |
But stranger far than any tale told of those knyghts of old | G |
Ben those facetious narratives ye Western straunger told | G |
He told them of a country many leagues beyond ye sea | H |
Where evereche forraine nuisance but ye Chinese man ben free | H |
And whiles he span his monstrous yarns ye ladies of ye court | G |
Did deem ye listening thereunto to be right plaisaunt sport | G |
And whiles they listened often he did squeeze a lily hande | G |
Ye which proceeding ne'er before ben done in Arthure's lande | G |
And often wank a sidelong wink with either roving eye | N |
Whereat ye ladies laughen so that they had like to die | N |
But of ye damosels that sat around Kyng Arthure's table | R |
He liked not her that sometime ben ron over by ye cable | R |
Ye which full evil hap had harmed and marked her person so | G |
That in a passing wittie jest he dubbeth her ye crow | G |
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But all ye oders of ye girls did please him passing well | P |
And they did own him for to be a proper seeming swell | P |
And in especial Guinevere esteemed him wondrous faire | G |
Which had made Arthure and his friend Sir Launcelot to sware | G |
But that they both ben so far gone with posset wine and beer | G |
They colde not see ye carrying on nor neither colde not heare | G |
For of eche liquor Arthure quafft and so did all ye rest | G |
Save only and excepting that smooth straunger from the West | G |
When as these oders drank a toast he let them have their fun | D |
With divers godless mixings but he stock to willow run | D |
Ye which and all that reade these words sholde profit by ye warning | C |
Doth never make ye head to feel like it ben swelled next morning | C |
Now wit ye well it so befell that when the night grew dim | J |
Ye Kyng was carried from ye hall with a howling jag on him | J |
Whiles Launcelot and all ye rest that to his highness toadied | G |
Withdrew them from ye banquet hall and sought their couches loaded | G |
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Now lithe and listen lordings all whiles I do call it shame | J |
That making cheer with wine and beer men do abuse ye same | J |
Though eche be well enow alone ye mixing of ye two | G |
Ben soche a piece of foolishness as only ejiots do | G |
Ye wine is plaisaunt bibbing whenas ye gentles dine | D |
And beer will do if one hath not ye wherewithal for wine | D |
But in ye drinking of ye same ye wise are never floored | G |
By taking what ye tipplers call too big a jag on board | G |
Right hejeous is it for to see soche dronkonness of wine | D |
Whereby some men are used to make themselves to be like swine | D |
And sorely it repenteth them for when they wake next day | G |
Ye fearful paynes they suffer ben soche as none mought say | G |
And soche ye brenning in ye throat and brasting of ye head | G |
And soche ye taste within ye mouth like one had been on dead Soche | S |
be ye foul conditions that these unhappy men | D |
Sware they will never drink no drop of nony drinke again | D |
Yet all so frail and vain a thing and weak withal is man | D |
That he goeth on an oder tear whenever that he can | D |
And like ye evil quatern or ye hills that skirt ye skies | F |
Ye jag is reproductive and jags on jags arise | F |
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Whenas Aurora from ye east in dewy splendor hied | G |
King Arthure dreemed he saw a snaix and ben on fire inside | G |
And waking from this hejeous dreeme he sate him up in bed | G |
What ho an absynthe cocktail knave and make it strong he said | G |
Then looking down beside him lo his lady was not there | G |
He called he searched but Goddis wounds he found her nonywhere | G |
And whiles he searched Sir Maligraunce rashed in wood wroth and cried | G |
Methinketh that ye straunger knyght hath snuck away my bride | G |
And whiles he spake a motley score of other knyghts brast in | D |
And filled ye royall chamber with a mickle fearfull din | D |
For evereche one had lost his wiffe nor colde not spye ye same | J |
Nor colde not spye ye straunger knyght Sir Fivefeetten of name | J |
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Oh then and there was grevious lamentation all arounde | G |
For nony dame nor damosel in Camelot ben found | G |
Gone like ye forest leaves that speed afore ye autumn wind | G |
Of all ye ladies of that court not one ben left behind | G |
Save only that same damosel ye straunger called ye crow | G |
And she allowed with moche regret she ben too lame to go | G |
And when that she had wept full sore to Arthure she confess'd | G |
That Guinevere had left this word for Arthure and ye rest | G |
Tell them she quod we shall return to them whenas we've made | G |
This little deal we have with ye Chicago Bourde of Trade | G |
Eugene Field
(1)
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