Satire Ii:the Country Mouse And The Town Mouse Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDBDEDEFEFEFEGEGH GHEHEGEGIGJKIKEKELEE GEGLGLBLBBBEMBMNMNON OPODEDEQEQRQREREBSBE BEBEBMSTETEEEEMEMUMU VEVEVEBEBMY mother's maids when they did sew and spin | A |
They sang sometime a song of the field mouse | B |
That for because her livelood was but thin livelihood | C |
Would needs go seek her townish sister's house | B |
She thought herself endured to much pain | D |
The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse | B |
That when the furrows swimmed with the rain | D |
She must lie cold and wet in sorry plight | E |
And worse than that bare meat there did remain | D |
To comfort her when she her house had dight | E |
Sometime a barleycorn sometime a bean | F |
For which she labored hard both day and night | E |
In harvest time whilst she might go and glean | F |
And when her store was 'stroyed with the flood | E |
Then well away for she undone was clean | F |
Then was she fain to take instead of food | E |
Sleep if she might her hunger to beguile | G |
My sister qoth she hath a living good | E |
And hence from me she dwelleth not a mile | G |
In cold and storm she lieth warm and dry | H |
In bed of down and dirt doth not defile | G |
Her tender foot she laboreth not as I | H |
Richly she feedeth and at the rich man's cost | E |
And for her meat she needs not crave nor cry | H |
By sea by land of the delicates the most | E |
Her cater seeks and spareth for no peril | G |
She feedeth on boiled baken meat and roast | E |
And hath thereof neither charge nor travail | G |
And when she list the liquor of the grape | I |
Doth goad her heart till that her belly swell | G |
And at this journey she maketh but a jape joke | J |
So forth she goeth trusting of all this wealth | K |
With her sister her part so for to shape | I |
That if she might keep herself in health | K |
To live a lady while her life doth last | E |
And to the door now is she come by stealth | K |
And with her foot anon she scrapeth full fast | E |
The other for fear durst not well scarce appear | L |
Of every noise so was the wretch aghast | E |
Peace quoth the town mouse why speakest thou so loud | E |
And by the hand she took her fair and well | G |
Welcome quoth she my sister by the rood | E |
She feasted her that joy is was to tell | G |
The fare they had they drank the wine so clear | L |
And as to purpose now and then it fell | G |
She cheered her with How sister what cheer | L |
Amids this joy there fell a sorry chance | B |
That wellaway the stranger bought full dear | L |
The fare she had For as she looks askance | B |
Under a stool she spied two steaming eyes | B |
In a round head with sharp ears In France | B |
was never mouse so feared for though the unwise afraid | E |
Had not yseen such a beast before | M |
Yet had nature taught her after her guise | B |
To know her foe and dread him evermore | M |
The town mouse fled she knew whither to go | N |
The other had no shift but wondrous sore | M |
Feared of her life at home she wished her though | N |
And to the door alas as she did skip | O |
Th' heaven it would lo and eke her chance was so | N |
At the threshold her silly foot did trip | O |
And ere she might recover it again | P |
The traitor cat had caught her by the hip | O |
And made her there against her will remain | D |
That had forgotten her poor surety and rest | E |
For seeming wealth wherein she thought to reign | D |
Alas my Poynz how men do seek the best a friend of Wyatt | E |
And find the worst by error as they stray | Q |
And no marvel when sight is so opprest | E |
And blind the guide Anon out of the way | Q |
Goeth guide and all in seeking quiet life | R |
O wretched minds there is no gold that may | Q |
Grant that ye seek no war no peace no strife | R |
No no although thy head was hoopt with gold crowned | E |
Sergeant with mace haubert sword nor knife | R |
Cannot repulse the care that follow should | E |
Each kind of life hath with him his disease | B |
Live in delight even as thy lust would as you would desire | S |
And thou shalt find when lust doth most thee please | B |
It irketh strait and by itself doth fade | E |
A small thing it is that may thy mind appease | B |
None of ye all there is that is so mad | E |
To seek grapes upon brambles or breers briars | B |
Not none I trow that hath his wit so bad | E |
To set his hay for conies over rivers snares for rabbits | B |
Ne ye set not a drag net for an hare nor | M |
And yet the thing that most is your desire | S |
Ye do misseek with more travail and care | T |
Make plain thine heart that it be not notted | E |
With hope or dread and see thy will be bare | T |
From all effects whom vice hath ever spotted | E |
Thyself content with that is thee assigned | E |
And use it well that is to thee allotted | E |
Then seek no more out of thyself to find | E |
The thing that thou hast sought so long before | M |
For thou shalt find it sitting in thy mind | E |
Mad if ye list to continue your sore | M |
Let present pass and gape on time to come | U |
And deep yourself in travail more and more | M |
Henceforth my Poynz this shall be all and some | U |
These wretched fools shall have nought else of me | V |
But to the great God and to His high doom judgment | E |
None other pain pray I for them to be | V |
But when the rage doth lead them from the right | E |
That looking backward Virtue they may see | V |
Even as She is so goodly fair and bright | E |
And whilst they clasp their lusts in arms across | B |
Grant them good Lord as Thou mayst of Thy might | E |
To fret inward for losing such a loss | B |
Sir Thomas Wyatt
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