Confessio Amantis. Explicit Liber Primus Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BCACABCADE CCCCBBFBCGAAAAHHIIBB JHIIKKAFCCAAGGGGCCCC AALLBBMMAAGGBBLLIICC KKBBNNMMCCHHCCHHCCBB BBCCNNCCAAHHCCCCGGGO CCCCIICCLLCCGGCCHHGG CCKKBLCCCCCCAACCAIAC CCANGGCCAAAACCAAPPAA CCCCAACCNNGGCCHHHNCC AAGNPPCCAAAAHHAAAACC CCGCABAAGGCCAANGBAAA AAAAAAHHGN| Incipit Liber Secundus | A |
| - | |
| Inuidie culpa magis est attrita dolore | B |
| Nam sua mens nullo tempore leta manet | C |
| Quo gaudent alii dolet ille nec vnus amicus | A |
| Est cui de puro comoda velle facit | C |
| Proximitatis honor sua corda veretur et omnis | A |
| Est sibi leticia sic aliena dolor | B |
| Hoc etenim vicium quam sepe repugnat amanti | C |
| Non sibi set reliquis dum fauet ipsa Venus | A |
| Est amor ex proprio motu fantasticus et que | D |
| Gaudia fert alius credit obesse sibi | E |
| - | |
| - | |
| Now after Pride the secounde | C |
| Ther is which many a woful stounde | C |
| Towardes othre berth aboute | C |
| Withinne himself and noght withoute | C |
| For in his thoght he brenneth evere | B |
| Whan that he wot an other levere | B |
| Or more vertuous than he | F |
| Which passeth him in his degre | B |
| Therof he takth his maladie | C |
| That vice is cleped hot Envie | G |
| Forthi my Sone if it be so | A |
| Thou art or hast ben on of tho | A |
| As forto speke in loves cas | A |
| If evere yit thin herte was | A |
| Sek of an other mannes hele | H |
| So god avance my querele | H |
| Mi fader ye a thousend sithe | I |
| Whanne I have sen an other blithe | I |
| Of love and hadde a goodly chiere | B |
| Ethna which brenneth yer be yere | B |
| Was thanne noght so hot as I | J |
| Of thilke Sor which prively | H |
| Min hertes thoght withinne brenneth | I |
| The Schip which on the wawes renneth | I |
| And is forstormed and forblowe | K |
| Is noght more peined for a throwe | K |
| Than I am thanne whanne I se | A |
| An other which that passeth me | F |
| In that fortune of loves yifte | C |
| Bot fader this I telle in schrifte | C |
| That is nowher bot in o place | A |
| For who that lese or finde grace | A |
| In other stede it mai noght grieve | G |
| Bot this ye mai riht wel believe | G |
| Toward mi ladi that I serve | G |
| Thogh that I wiste forto sterve | G |
| Min herte is full of such sotie | C |
| That I myself mai noght chastie | C |
| Whan I the Court se of Cupide | C |
| Aproche unto my ladi side | C |
| Of hem that lusti ben and freisshe | A |
| Thogh it availe hem noght a reisshe | A |
| Bot only that thei ben in speche | L |
| My sorwe is thanne noght to seche | L |
| Bot whan thei rounen in hire Ere | B |
| Than groweth al my moste fere | B |
| And namly whan thei talen longe | M |
| My sorwes thanne be so stronge | M |
| Of that I se hem wel at ese | A |
| I can noght telle my desese | A |
| Bot Sire as of my ladi selve | G |
| Thogh sche have wowers ten or twelve | G |
| For no mistrust I have of hire | B |
| Me grieveth noght for certes Sire | B |
| I trowe in al this world to seche | L |
| Nis womman that in dede and speche | L |
| Woll betre avise hire what sche doth | I |
| Ne betre forto seie a soth | I |
| Kepe hire honour ate alle tide | C |
| And yit get hire a thank beside | C |
| Bot natheles I am beknowe | K |
| That whanne I se at eny throwe | K |
| Or elles if I mai it hiere | B |
| That sche make eny man good chiere | B |
| Thogh I therof have noght to done | N |
| Mi thought wol entermette him sone | N |
| For thogh I be miselve strange | M |
| Envie makth myn herte change | M |
| That I am sorghfully bestad | C |
| Of that I se an other glad | C |
| With hire bot of other alle | H |
| Of love what so mai befalle | H |
| Or that he faile or that he spede | C |
| Therof take I bot litel heede | C |
| Now have I seid my fader al | H |
| As of this point in special | H |
| Als ferforthli as I have wist | C |
| Now axeth further what you list | C |
| Mi Sone er I axe eny more | B |
| I thenke somdiel for thi lore | B |
| Telle an ensample of this matiere | B |
| Touchende Envie as thou schalt hiere | B |
| Write in Civile this I finde | C |
| Thogh it be noght the houndes kinde | C |
| To ete chaf yit wol he werne | N |
| An Oxe which comth to the berne | N |
| Therof to taken eny fode | C |
| And thus who that it understode | C |
| It stant of love in many place | A |
| Who that is out of loves grace | A |
| And mai himselven noght availe | H |
| He wolde an other scholde faile | H |
| And if he may put eny lette | C |
| He doth al that he mai to lette | C |
| Wherof I finde as thou schalt wite | C |
| To this pourpos a tale write | C |
| Ther ben of suche mo than twelve | G |
| That ben noght able as of hemselve | G |
| To gete love and for Envie | G |
| Upon alle othre thei aspie | O |
| And for hem lacketh that thei wolde | C |
| Thei kepte that non other scholde | C |
| Touchende of love his cause spede | C |
| Wherof a gret ensample I rede | C |
| Which unto this matiere acordeth | I |
| As Ovide in his bok recordeth | I |
| How Poliphemus whilom wroghte | C |
| Whan that he Galathee besoghte | C |
| Of love which he mai noght lacche | L |
| That made him forto waite and wacche | L |
| Be alle weies how it ferde | C |
| Til ate laste he knew and herde | C |
| How that an other hadde leve | G |
| To love there as he mot leve | G |
| As forto speke of eny sped | C |
| So that he knew non other red | C |
| Bot forto wayten upon alle | H |
| Til he may se the chance falle | H |
| That he hire love myhte grieve | G |
| Which he himself mai noght achieve | G |
| This Galathee seith the Poete | C |
| Above alle othre was unmete | C |
| Of beaute that men thanne knewe | K |
| And hadde a lusti love and trewe | K |
| A Bacheler in his degree | B |
| Riht such an other as was sche | L |
| On whom sche hath hire herte set | C |
| So that it myhte noght be let | C |
| For yifte ne for no beheste | C |
| That sche ne was al at his heste | C |
| This yonge knyht Acis was hote | C |
| Which hire ayeinward als so hote | C |
| Al only loveth and nomo | A |
| Hierof was Poliphemus wo | A |
| Thurgh pure Envie and evere aspide | C |
| And waiteth upon every side | C |
| Whan he togedre myhte se | A |
| This yonge Acis with Galathe | I |
| So longe he waiteth to and fro | A |
| Til ate laste he fond hem tuo | C |
| In prive place wher thei stode | C |
| To speke and have here wordes goode | C |
| The place wher as he hem syh | A |
| It was under a banke nyh | N |
| The grete See and he above | G |
| Stod and behield the lusti love | G |
| Which ech of hem to other made | C |
| With goodly chiere and wordes glade | C |
| That al his herte hath set afyre | A |
| Of pure Envie and as a fyre | A |
| Which fleth out of a myhti bowe | A |
| Aweie he fledde for a throwe | A |
| As he that was for love wod | C |
| Whan that he sih how that it stod | C |
| This Polipheme a Geant was | A |
| And whan he sih the sothe cas | A |
| How Galathee him hath forsake | P |
| And Acis to hire love take | P |
| His herte mai it noght forbere | A |
| That he ne roreth lich a Bere | A |
| And as it were a wilde beste | C |
| The whom no reson mihte areste | C |
| He ran Ethna the hell aboute | C |
| Wher nevere yit the fyr was oute | C |
| Fulfild of sorghe and gret desese | A |
| That he syh Acis wel at ese | A |
| Til ate laste he him bethoghte | C |
| As he which al Envie soghte | C |
| And torneth to the banke ayein | N |
| Wher he with Galathee hath seyn | N |
| Acis whom that he thoghte grieve | G |
| Thogh he himself mai noght relieve | G |
| This Geant with his ruide myht | C |
| Part of the banke he schof doun riht | C |
| The which evene upon Acis fell | H |
| So that with fallinge of this hell | H |
| This Poliphemus Acis slowh | H |
| Wherof sche made sorwe ynowh | N |
| And as sche fledde fro the londe | C |
| Neptunus tok hire into honde | C |
| And kept hire in so sauf a place | A |
| Fro Polipheme and his manace | A |
| That he with al his false Envie | G |
| Ne mihte atteigne hir compaignie | N |
| This Galathee of whom I speke | P |
| That of hirself mai noght be wreke | P |
| Withouten eny semblant feigned | C |
| Sche hath hire loves deth compleigned | C |
| And with hire sorwe and with hire wo | A |
| Sche hath the goddes moeved so | A |
| That thei of pite and of grace | A |
| Have Acis in the same place | A |
| Ther he lai ded into a welle | H |
| Transformed as the bokes telle | H |
| With freisshe stremes and with cliere | A |
| As he whilom with lusti chiere | A |
| Was freissh his love forto qweme | A |
| And with this ruide Polipheme | A |
| For his Envie and for his hate | C |
| Thei were wrothe And thus algate | C |
| Mi Sone thou myht understonde | C |
| That if thou wolt in grace stonde | C |
| With love thou most leve Envie | G |
| And as thou wolt for thi partie | C |
| Toward thi love stonde fre | A |
| So most thou soffre an other be | B |
| What so befalle upon the chaunce | A |
| For it is an unwys vengance | A |
| Which to non other man is lief | G |
| And is unto himselve grief | G |
| Mi fader this ensample is good | C |
| Bot how so evere that it stod | C |
| With Poliphemes love as tho | A |
| It schal noght stonde with me so | A |
| To worchen eny felonie | N |
| In love for no such Envie | G |
| Forthi if ther oght elles be | B |
| Now axeth forth in what degre | A |
| It is and I me schal confesse | A |
| With schrifte unto youre holinesse | A |
| Mi goode Sone yit ther is | A |
| A vice revers unto this | A |
| Which envious takth his gladnesse | A |
| Of that he seth the hevinesse | A |
| Of othre men for his welfare | A |
| Is whanne he wot an other care | A |
| Of that an other hath a fall | H |
| He thenkth himself arist withal | H |
| Such is the gladschipe of Envie | G |
| In worldes thin | N |
John Gower
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
<< Confessio Amantis. Explicit Liber Tercius Poem
Next Poem
About Confessio Amantis. Explicit Liber Primus
Confessio Amantis. Explicit Liber Primus is a poem by John Gower. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.