The Canterbury Tales; The Prioresses Tale Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales; The Prioresses Tale Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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THE PRIORESSES TALE	A
	-
The prologe of the Prioresses tale	A
	-
Domine dominus noster	B
	-
O lord oure lord thy name how merveillous	C
Is in this large world ysprad quod she	D
For noght oonly thy laude precious	C
Parfourned is by men of dignitee	E
But by the mouth of children thy bountee	E
Parfourned is for on the brest soukynge	F
Somtyme shewen they thyn heriynge	F
	-
Wherfore in laude as I best kan or may	G
Of thee and of the whyte lylye flour	B
Which that the bar and is a mayde alway	H
To telle a storie I wol do my labour	B
Nat that I may encreessen hir honour	B
For she hirself is honour and the roote	E
Of bountee next hir sone and soules boote	E
	-
O mooder mayde O mayde mooder fre	B
O bussh unbrent brennynge in Moyses sighte	E
That ravysedest doun fro the deitee	E
Thurgh thyn humblesse the goost that in thalighte	E
Of whos vertu whan he thyn herte lighte	E
Conceyved was the Fadres sapience	C
Help me to telle it in thy reverence	C
	-
Lady thy bountee thy magnificence	C
Thy vertu and thy grete humylitee	E
Ther may no tonge expresse in no science	C
For somtyme lady er men praye to thee	D
Thou goost biforn of thy benyngnytee	E
And getest us the lyght thurgh thy preyere	B
To gyden us unto thy sone so deere	B
	-
My konnyng is so wayk O blisful queene	I
For to declare thy grete worthynesse	C
That I ne may the weighte nat susteene	I
But as a child of twelf monthe oold or lesse	C
That kan unnethes any word expresse	C
Right so fare I and therfore I yow preye	J
Gydeth my song that I shal of yow seye	J
	-
Heere begynneth the Prioresses Tale	A
	-
Ther was in Asye in a greet citee	E
Amonges cristene folk a Jewerye	J
Sustened by a lord of that contree	B
For foule usure and lucre of vileynye	J
Hateful to Crist and to his compaignye	J
And thurgh this strete men myghte ride or wende	E
For it was free and open at eyther ende	E
	-
A litel scole of cristen folk ther stood	E
Doun at the ferther ende in which ther were	B
Children an heep ycomen of cristen blood	E
That lerned in that scole yeer by yeer	B
Swich manere doctrine as men used there	B
This is to seyn to syngen and to rede	E
As smale children doon in hir childhede	E
	-
Among thise children was a wydwes sone	I
A litel clergeoun seven yeer of age	F
That day by day to scole was his wone	I
And eek also wher as he saugh thymage	F
Of Cristes mooder he hadde in usage	F
As hym was taught to knele adoun and seye	J
His Ave Marie as he goth by the weye	J
	-
Thus hath this wydwe hir litel sone ytaught	E
Oure blisful lady Cristes mooder deere	B
To worshipe ay and he forgate it naught	E
For sely child wol alday soone leere	B
But ay whan I remembre on this mateere	B
Seint Nicholas stant evere in my presence	C
For he so yong to Crist dide reverence	C
	-
This litel child his litel book lernynge	F
As he sat in the scole at his prymer	B
He 'Alma redemptoris' herde synge	F
As children lerned hir anthiphoner	B
And as he dorste he drough hym ner and ner	B
And herkned ay the wordes and the noote	E
Til he the firste vers koude al by rote	E
	-
Noght wiste he what this Latyn was to seye	J
For he so yong and tendre was of age	F
But on a day his felawe gan he preye	J
Texpounden hym this song in his langage	F
Or telle hym why this song was in usage	F
This preyde he hym to construe and declare	B
Ful often tyme upon hise knowes bare	B
	-
His felawe which that elder was than he	D
Answerde hym thus 'This song I have herd seye	J
Was maked of oure blisful Lady free	D
Hir to salue and eek hir for to preye	J
To been our help and socour whan we deye	J
I kan namoore expounde in this mateere	D
I lerne song I kan but smal grammere '	-
	-
'And is this song maked in reverence	C
Of Cristes mooder ' seyde this innocent	E
'Now certes I wol do my diligence	C
To konne it al er Cristemasse is went	E
Though that I for my prymer shal be shent	E
And shal be beten thries in an houre	D
I wol it konne oure lady for to honoure '	-
	-
His felawe taughte hym homward prively	A
Fro day to day til he koude it by rote	E
And thanne he song it wel and boldely	A
Fro word to word acordynge with the note	E
Twies a day it passed thurgh his throte	E
To scoleward and homward whan he wente	E
On Cristes mooder set was his entente	E
	-
As I have seyd thurghout the Jewerie	D
This litel child as he cam to and fro	D
Ful murily than wolde he synge and crie	D
'O Alma redemptoris' evere mo	D
The swetnesse hath his herte perced so	D
Of Cristes mooder that to hir to preye	J
He kan nat stynte of syngyng by the weye	J
	-
Oure firste foo the serpent Sathanas	D
That hath in Jewes herte his waspes nest	E
Up swal and seyde 'O Hebrayk peple allas	D
Is this to yow a thyng that is honest	E
That swich a boy shal walken as hym lest	E
In youre despit and synge of swich sentence	D
Which is agayn oure lawes reverence '	-
	-
Fro thennes forth the Jewes han conspired	E
This innocent out of this world to chace	D
An homycide therto han they hyred	E
That in an aleye hadde a privee place	D
And as the child gan forby for to pace	D
This cursed Jew hym hente and heeld hym faste	E
And kitte his throte and in a pit hym caste	E
	-
I seye that in a wardrobe they hym threwe	H
Where as this Jewes purgen hire entraille	A
O cursed folk of Herodes al newe	H
What may youre yvel entente yow availle	A
Mordre wol out certeyn it wol nat faille	A
And namely ther thonour of God shal sprede	E
The blood out crieth on youre cursed dede	E
	-
O matir sowded to virginitee	E
Now maystow syngen folwynge evere in oon	I
The white lamb celestial quod she	D
Of which the grete Evaungelsit Seint John	I
In Pathmos wroot which seith that they that goon	I
Biforn this lamb and synge a song al newe	H
	-
That never fleshly wommen they ne knewe	H
	-
This povre wydwe awaiteth al that nyght	E
After hir litel child but he cam noght	E
For which as soone as it was dayes light	E
With face pale of drede and bisy thoght	E
She hath at scole and elles where hym soght	E
Til finally she gan so fer espie	K
That he last seyn was in the Jewerie	D
	-
With moodres pitee in hir brest enclosed	E
She gooth as she were half out of hir mynde	E
To every place where she hath supposed	E
By liklihede hir litel child to finde	E
And evere on Cristes mooder meeke and kynde	E
She cride and atte laste thus she wroghte	E
Among the cursed Jewes she hym soghte	E
	-
She frayneth and she preyeth pitously	A
To every Jew that dwelte in thilke place	D
To telle hir if hir child wente oght forby	L
They seyde nay but Jesu of his grace	D
Yaf in hir thoght inwith a litel space	D
That in that place after hir sone she cryde	E
Wher he was casten in a pit bisyde	E
	-
O grete God that parfournest thy laude	E
By mouth of innocentz lo heer thy myght	E
This gemme of chastite this emeraude	E
And eek of martirdom the ruby bright	E
Ther he with throte ykorven lay upright	E
He 'Alma redemptoris' gan to synge	F
So loude that al the place gan to rynge	F
	-
The cristene folk that thurgh the strete wente	E
In coomen for to wondre upon this thyng	M
And hastily they for the Provost sente	E
He cam anon withouten tariyng	M
And herieth Crist that is of hevene kyng	M
And eek his mooder honour of mankynde	E
And after that the Jewes leet he bynde	E
	-
This child with pitous lamentacioun	I
Uptaken was syngynge his song alway	H
And with honour of greet processioun	I
They carien hym unto the nexte abbay	L
His mooder swownynge by his beere lay	A
Unnethe myghte the peple that was theere	D
This newe Rachel brynge fro his beere	D
	-
With torment and with shameful deeth echon	I
This Provost dooth the Jewes for to sterve	N
That of this mordre wiste and that anon	I
He nolde no swich cursednesse observe	N
Yvele shal have that yvele wol deserve	N
Therfore with wilde hors he dide hem drawe	H
And after that he heng hem by the lawe	H
	-
Upon his beere ay lith this innocent	E
Biforn the chief auter whil masse laste	E
And after that the abbot with his covent	E
Han sped hem for to burien hym ful faste	E
And whan they hooly water on hym caste	E
Yet spak this child whan spreynd was hooly water	D
And song 'O Alma redemptoris	D