The Canterbury Tales; Prologue Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBC CDDEE FFFFA AGGAA HHEEA AAAAA DDFFF FDDII DDDDI FI IFF DDFFI IEEII DDJFE EFFAA AAIID DHHII FFCCK AFFAA AAAAA AAAAA AFDDA AFFHH IIIID DFFGG DDGGF FGGLL AADDA AAAII FFFFA A AAAA FFAAF FIIDD KII IGGII GGAAF FDDFF IIAAI IAAAA IIAIWhan that Aprille with hise shoures soote | A |
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote | A |
And bathed every veyne in swich licour | B |
Of which vertu engendred is the flour | B |
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth | C |
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Inspired hath in every holt and heeth | C |
The tendre croppes and the yonge sonne | D |
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne | D |
And smale foweles maken melodye | E |
That slepen al the nyght with open eye | E |
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So priketh hem Nature in hir corages | F |
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages | F |
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes | F |
To ferne halwes kowthe in sondry londes | F |
And specially from every shires ende | A |
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Of Engelond to Caunturbury they wende | A |
The hooly blisful martir for the seke | G |
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke | G |
Bifil that in that seson on a day | A |
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay | A |
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Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage | H |
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage | H |
At nyght were come into that hostelrye | E |
Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye | E |
Of sondry folk by aventure yfalle | A |
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In felaweshipe and pilgrimes were they alle | A |
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde | A |
The chambres and the stables weren wyde | A |
And wel we weren esed atte beste | A |
And shortly whan the sonne was to reste | A |
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So hadde I spoken with hem everychon | D |
That I was of hir felaweshipe anon | D |
And made forward erly for to ryse | F |
To take our wey ther as I yow devyse | F |
But nathelees whil I have tyme and space | F |
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Er that I ferther in this tale pace | F |
Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun | D |
To telle yow al the condicioun | D |
Of ech of hem so as it semed me | I |
And whiche they weren and of what degree | I |
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And eek in what array that they were inne | D |
And at a knyght than wol I first bigynne | D |
A knyght ther was and that a worthy man | D |
That fro the tyme that he first bigan | D |
To riden out he loved chivalrie | I |
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Trouthe and honour fredom and curteisie | F |
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre | I |
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And therto hadde he riden no man ferre | I |
As wel in Cristendom as in Hethenesse | F |
And evere honoured for his worthynesse | F |
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At Alisaundre he was whan it was wonne | D |
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne | D |
Aboven alle nacions in Pruce | F |
In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce | F |
No cristen man so ofte of his degree | I |
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In Gernade at the seege eek hadde he be | I |
Of Algezir and riden in Belmarye | E |
At Lyeys was he and at Satalye | E |
Whan they were wonne and in the Grete See | I |
At many a noble arive hadde he be | I |
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At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene | D |
And foughten for oure feith at Tramyssene | D |
In lystes thries and ay slayn his foo | J |
This ilke worthy knyght hadde been also | F |
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye | E |
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Agayn another hethen in Turkye | E |
And everemoore he hadde a sovereyn prys | F |
And though that he were worthy he was wys | F |
And of his port as meeke as is a mayde | A |
He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde | A |
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In al his lyf unto no maner wight | A |
He was a verray parfit gentil knyght | A |
But for to tellen yow of his array | I |
His hors weren goode but he was nat gay | I |
Of fustian he wered a gypoun | D |
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Al bismotered with his habergeoun | D |
For he was late ycome from his viage | H |
And wente for to doon his pilgrymage | H |
With hym ther was his sone a yong Squier | I |
A lovyere and a lusty bacheler | I |
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With lokkes crulle as they were leyd in presse | F |
Of twenty yeer of age he was I gesse | F |
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe | C |
And wonderly delyvere and of greet strengthe | C |
And he hadde been somtyme in chyvachie | K |
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In Flaundres in Artoys and Pycardie | A |
And born hym weel as of so litel space | F |
In hope to stonden in his lady grace | F |
Embrouded was he as it were a meede | A |
Al ful of fresshe floures whyte and reede | A |
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Syngynge he was or floytynge al the day | A |
He was as fressh as is the monthe of May | A |
Short was his gowne with sleves longe and wyde | A |
Wel koude he sitte on hors and faire ryde | A |
He koude songes make and wel endite | A |
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Juste and eek daunce and weel purtreye and write | A |
So hoote he lovede that by nyghtertale | A |
He slepte namoore than dooth a nyghtyngale | A |
Curteis he was lowely and servysable | A |
And carf biforn his fader at the table | A |
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A Yeman hadde he and servantz namo | A |
At that tyme for hym liste ride soo | F |
And he was clad in cote and hood of grene | D |
A sheef of pecok arwes bright and kene | D |
Under his belt he bar ful thriftily | A |
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Wel koude he dresse his takel yemanly | A |
Hise arwes drouped noght with fetheres lowe | F |
And in his hand he baar a myghty bowe | F |
A not heed hadde he with a broun visage | H |
Of woodecraft wel koude he al the usage | H |
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Upon his arm he baar a gay bracer | I |
And by his syde a swerd and a bokeler | I |
And on that oother syde a gay daggere | I |
Harneised wel and sharpe as point of spere | I |
A Cristophere on his brest of silver sheene | D |
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An horn he bar the bawdryk was of grene | D |
A Forster was he soothly as I gesse | F |
Ther was also a Nonne a Prioresse | F |
That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy | G |
Hir gretteste ooth was but by Seinte Loy | G |
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And she was cleped Madame Eglentyne | D |
Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne | D |
Entuned in hir nose ful semely | G |
And Frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly | G |
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe | F |
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For Frenssh of Parys was to hir unknowe | F |
At mete wel ytaught was she withalle | G |
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle | G |
Ne wette hir fyngres in hir sauce depe | L |
Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel kepe | L |
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That no drope ne fille upon hir brist | A |
In curteisie was set ful muche hir list | A |
Hire over lippe wyped she so clene | D |
That in hir coppe ther was no ferthyng sene | D |
Of grece whan she dronken hadde hir draughte | A |
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Ful semely after hir mete she raughte | A |
And sikerly she was of greet desport | A |
And ful plesaunt and amyable of port | A |
And peyned hir to countrefete cheere | I |
Of court and been estatlich of manere | I |
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And to ben holden digne of reverence | F |
But for to speken of hir conscience | F |
She was so charitable and so pitous | F |
She wolde wepe if that she saugh a mous | F |
Kaught in a trappe if it were deed or bledde | A |
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Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde | A |
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With rosted flessh or milk and wastel breed | A |
But soore weep she if oon of hem were deed | A |
Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte | A |
And al was conscience and tendre herte | A |
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Ful semyly hir wympul pynched was | F |
Hire nose tretys hir eyen greye as glas | F |
Hir mouth ful smal and therto softe and reed | A |
But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed | A |
It was almoost a spanne brood I trowe | F |
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For hardily she was nat undergrowe | F |
Ful fetys was hir cloke as I was war | I |
Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar | I |
A peire of bedes gauded al with grene | D |
An theron heng a brooch of gold ful sheene | D |
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On which ther was first write a crowned A ' | - |
And after Amor vincit omnia ' | - |
Another Nonne with hir hadde she | K |
That was hire Chapeleyne and preestes thre | I |
A Monk ther was a fair for the maistrie | I |
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An outridere that lovede venerie | I |
A manly man to been an abbot able | G |
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable | G |
And whan he rood men myghte his brydel heere | I |
Gynglen in a whistlynge wynd als cleere | I |
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And eek as loude as dooth the chapel belle | G |
Ther as this lord was keper of the celle | G |
The reule of Seint Maure or of Seint Beneit | A |
Bycause that it was old and somdel streit | A |
This ilke Monk leet olde thynges pace | F |
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And heeld after the newe world the space | F |
He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen | D |
That seith that hunters beth nat hooly men | D |
Ne that a monk whan he is recchelees | F |
Is likned til a fissh that is waterlees | F |
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This is to seyn a monk out of his cloystre | I |
But thilke text heeld he nat worth an oystre | I |
And I seyde his opinioun was good | A |
What sholde he studie and make hymselven wood | A |
Upon a book in cloystre alwey to poure | I |
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Or swynken with his handes and laboure | I |
As Austyn bit How shal the world be served | A |
Lat Austyn have his swynk to him reserved | A |
Therfore he was a prikasour aright | A |
Grehoundes he hadde as swift as fowel in flight | A |
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Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare | I |
Was al his lust for no cost wolde he spare | I |
I seigh his sleves ypurfiled at the hond | A |
With gry | I |
Geoffrey Chaucer
(1)
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