The Canterbury Tales;the Knyghtes Tale Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A AB A BBCDDC EFGCG EEGGC CEEBB GFHHC CIIGG DDDDG GEEJJ HHDDH EEGG KCCD DCCBB AADDA ABBGG BBGGD DGLGG EELLG G GGB GKKG GGGGG KKGGG GGGGG DDGGH HDDGG GGGGK KGGGG DDBBH HGGGG BBGGG GGGGG EGDDG GGGDD GGDDD DGG MM GGGGD DMMMM MMMM BBBMTHE KNYGHTES TALE | A |
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Iamque domos patrias Scithice post aspera gentis prelia | A |
laurigero c Thebaid xii | B |
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Heere bigynneth the knyghtes tale | A |
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Whilom as olde stories tellen us | B |
Ther was a duc that highte Theseus | B |
Of Atthenes he was lord and governour | C |
That gretter was ther noon under the sonne | D |
Ful many a riche contree hadde he wonne | D |
What with his wysdom and his chivalrie | C |
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He conquered al the regne of Femenye | E |
That whilom was ycleped Scithia | F |
And weddede the queene Ypolita | G |
And broghte hir hoom with hym in his contree | C |
With muchel glorie and greet solempnytee | G |
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And eek hir yonge suster Emelye | E |
And thus with victorie and with melodye | E |
Lete I this noble duk to Atthenes ryde | G |
And al his hoost in armes hym bisyde | G |
And certes if it nere to long to heere | C |
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I wolde have toold yow fully the manere | C |
How wonnen was the regne of Femenye | E |
By Theseus and by his chivalrye | E |
And of the grete bataille for the nones | B |
Bitwixen Atthenes and Amazones | B |
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And how asseged was Ypolita | G |
The faire hardy queene of Scithia | F |
And of the feste that was at hir weddynge | H |
And of the tempest at hir hoom comynge | H |
But al the thyng I moot as now forbere | C |
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I have God woot a large feeld to ere | C |
And wayke been the oxen in my plough | I |
The remenant of the tale is long ynough | I |
I wol nat letten eek noon of this route | G |
Lat every felawe telle his tale aboute | G |
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And lat se now who shal the soper wynne | D |
And ther I lefte I wol ayeyn bigynne | D |
This duc of whom I make mencioun | D |
Whan he was come almoost unto the toun | D |
In al his wele and in his mooste pride | G |
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He was war as he caste his eye aside | G |
Where that ther kneled in the hye weye | E |
A compaignye of ladyes tweye and tweye | E |
Ech after oother clad in clothes blake | J |
But swich a cry and swich a wo they make | J |
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That in this world nys creature lyvynge | H |
That herde swich another waymentynge | H |
And of this cry they nolde nevere stenten | D |
Til they the reynes of his brydel henten | D |
'What folk been ye that at myn hom comynge | H |
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Perturben so my feste with criynge ' | - |
Quod Theseus 'hav ye so greet envye | E |
Of myn honour that thus compleyne and crye | E |
Or who hath yow mysboden or offended | G |
And telleth me if it may been amended | G |
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And why that ye been clothed thus in blak ' | - |
The eldeste lady of hem alle spak | K |
Whan she hadde swowned with a deedly cheere | C |
That it was routhe for to seen and heere | C |
And seyde 'Lord to whom Fortune hath yeven | D |
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Victorie and as a conqueror to lyven | D |
Nat greveth us youre glorie and youre honour | C |
But we biseken mercy and socour | C |
Have mercy on oure wo and oure distresse | B |
Som drope of pitee thurgh thy gentillesse | B |
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Upon us wrecched wommen lat thou falle | A |
For certes lord ther is noon of us alle | A |
That she ne hath been a duchesse or a queene | D |
Now be we caytyves as it is wel seene | D |
Thanked be Fortune and hir false wheel | A |
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That noon estat assureth to be weel | A |
And certes lord to abyden youre presence | B |
Heere in the temple of the goddesse Clemence | B |
We han ben waitynge al this fourtenyght | G |
Now help us lord sith it is in thy myght | G |
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I wrecche which that wepe and waille thus | B |
Was whilom wyf to kyng Cappaneus | B |
That starf at Thebes cursed be that day | G |
And alle we that been in this array | G |
And maken al this lamentacioun | D |
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We losten alle oure housbondes at that toun | D |
Whil that the seege theraboute lay | G |
And yet now the olde Creon weylaway | L |
That lord is now of Thebes the Citee | G |
Fulfild of ire and of iniquitee | G |
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He for despit and for his tirannye | E |
To do the dede bodyes vileynye | E |
Of alle oure lordes whiche that been slawe | L |
He hath alle the bodyes on an heep ydrawe | L |
And wol nat suffren hem by noon assent | G |
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Neither to been yburyed nor ybrent | G |
But maketh houndes ete hem in despit ' | - |
And with that word withouten moore respit | G |
They fillen gruf and criden pitously | G |
'Have on us wrecched wommen som mercy | B |
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And lat oure sorwe synken in thyn herte ' | - |
This gentil duk doun from his courser sterte | G |
With herte pitous whan he herde hem speke | K |
Hym thoughte that his herte wolde breke | K |
Whan he saugh hem so pitous and so maat | G |
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That whilom weren of so greet estaat | G |
And in his armes he hem alle up hente | G |
And hem conforteth in ful good entente | G |
And swoor his ooth as he was trewe knyght | G |
He solde doon so ferforthyl his myght | G |
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Upon the tiraunt Creon hem to wreke | K |
That all the peple of Grece sholde speke | K |
How Creon was of Theseus yserved | G |
As he that hadde his deeth ful wel deserved | G |
And right anoon withouten moore abood | G |
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His baner he desplayeth and forth rood | G |
To Thebesward and al his hoost biside | G |
No neer Atthenes wolde he go ne ride | G |
Ne take his ese fully half a day | G |
But onward on his wey that nyght he lay | G |
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And sente anon Ypolita the queene | D |
And Emelye hir yonge suster sheene | D |
Unto the toun of Atthenes to dwelle | G |
And forth he rit ther is namoore to telle | G |
The rede statue of Mars with spere and targe | H |
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So shyneth in his white baner large | H |
That alle the feeldes gliteren up and doun | D |
And by his baner gorn is his penoun | D |
Of gold ful riche in which ther was ybete | G |
The Mynotaur which that he slough in Crete | G |
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Thus rit this duc thus rit this conquerour | G |
And in his hoost of chivalrie the flour | G |
Til that he cam to Thebes and alighte | G |
Faire in a feeld ther as he thoughte fighte | G |
But shortly for to speken of this thyng | K |
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With Creon which that was of Thebes kyng | K |
He faught and slough hym manly as a knyght | G |
In pleyn bataille and putte the folk to flyght | G |
And by assaut he wan the citee after | G |
And rente adoun bothe wall and sparre and rafter | G |
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And to the ladyes he sestored agayn | D |
The bones of hir housbondes that weren slayn | D |
To doon obsequies as was tho the gyse | B |
But it were al to longe for to devyse | B |
The grete clamour and the waymentynge | H |
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That the ladyes made at the brennynge | H |
Of the bodies and the grete honour | G |
That Theseus the noble conquerour | G |
Dooth to the ladyes whan they from hym wente | G |
But shortly for to telle is myn entente | G |
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Whan that his worthy duc this Theseus | B |
Hath Creon slayn and wonne Thebes thus | B |
Stille in that feeld he took al nyght his reste | G |
And dide with al the contree as hym leste | G |
To ransake in the taas of bodyes dede | G |
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Hem for to strepe of harneys and of wede | G |
The pilours diden bisynesse and cure | G |
After the bataille and disconfiture | G |
And so bifel that in the taas they founde | G |
Thurgh girt with many a grevous blody wounde | G |
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Two yonge knyghtes liggynge by and by | E |
Bothe in oon armes wroght ful richely | G |
Of whiche two Arcita highte that oon | D |
And that oother knyght highte Palamon | D |
Nat fully quyke ne fully dede they were | G |
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But by here cote armures and by hir gere | G |
The heraudes knewe hem best in special | G |
As they that weren of the blood roial | G |
Of Thebes and of sustren two yborn | D |
Out of the taas the pilours han hem torn | D |
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And had hem caried softe unto the tente | G |
Of Theseus and he ful soone hem sente | G |
To Atthenes to dwellen in prisoun | D |
Perpetuelly he nolde no raunsoun | D |
And whan this worthy due hath thus ydon | D |
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He took his hoost and hoom he rood anon | D |
With laurer crowned as a conquerour | G |
And ther he lyveth in joye and in honour | G |
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Terme of his lyve what nedeth wordes mo | M |
And in a tour in angwissh and in wo | M |
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Dwellen this Palamon and eek Arcite | G |
For evermoore ther may no gold hem quite | G |
This passeth yeer by yeer and day by day | G |
Till it fil ones in a morwe of May | G |
That Emelye that fairer was to sene | D |
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Than is the lylie upon his stalke grene | D |
And fressher than the May with floures newe | M |
For with the rose colour stroof hir hewe | M |
I noot which was the fairer of hem two | M |
Er it were day as was hir wone to do | M |
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She was arisen and al redy dight | M |
For May wole have no slogardrie a nyght | M |
The sesoun priketh every gentil herte | M |
And maketh hym out of his slepe to sterte | M |
And seith arys and do thyn observaunce ' | - |
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This maked Emelye have remembraunce | B |
To doon honour to May and for to ryse | B |
Yclothed was she fressh for to devyse | B |
Hir yelow heer was broyde | M |
Geoffrey Chaucer
(1)
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