The Country Mouse And The Town Mouse Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABABCBCDCDEDEDEDFDFG FGDGDFDFHFHIHIDIDJDD FDFJFJBJBBBBKBKLKLHL HMHCDCDNDNONODODBDBD BDBDBPQPDPDDDDKDKRKR STSDSDBDBMy 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 | A |
Would needs go seek her townish sister's house | B |
She thought herself endured to much pain | C |
The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse | B |
That when the furrows swimmed with the rain | C |
She must lie cold and wet in sorry plight | D |
And worse than that bare meat there did remain | C |
To comfort her when she her house had dight | D |
Sometime a barleycorn sometime a bean | E |
For which she labored hard both day and night | D |
In harvest time whilst she might go and glean | E |
And when her store was 'stroyed with the flood | D |
Then well away for she undone was clean | E |
Then was she fain to take instead of food | D |
Sleep if she might her hunger to beguile | F |
My sister qoth she hath a living good | D |
And hence from me she dwelleth not a mile | F |
In cold and storm she lieth warm and dry | G |
In bed of down and dirt doth not defile | F |
Her tender foot she laboreth not as I | G |
Richly she feedeth and at the rich man's cost | D |
And for her meat she needs not crave nor cry | G |
By sea by land of the delicates the most | D |
Her cater seeks and spareth for no peril | F |
She feedeth on boiled baken meat and roast | D |
And hath thereof neither charge nor travail | F |
And when she list the liquor of the grape | H |
Doth goad her heart till that her belly swell | F |
And at this journey she maketh but a jape | H |
So forth she goeth trusting of all this wealth | I |
With her sister her part so for to shape | H |
That if she might keep herself in health | I |
To live a lady while her life doth last | D |
And to the door now is she come by stealth | I |
And with her foot anon she scrapeth full fast | D |
The other for fear durst not well scarce appear | J |
Of every noise so was the wretch aghast | D |
Peace quoth the town mouse why speakest thou so loud | D |
And by the hand she took her fair and well | F |
Welcome quoth she my sister by the rood | D |
She feasted her that joy is was to tell | F |
The fare they had they drank the wine so clear | J |
And as to purpose now and then it fell | F |
She cheered her with How sister what cheer | J |
Amids this joy there fell a sorry chance | B |
That wellaway the stranger bought full dear | J |
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 | B |
Had not yseen such a beast before | K |
Yet had nature taught her after her guise | B |
To know her foe and dread him evermore | K |
The town mouse fled she knew whither to go | L |
The other had no shift but wondrous sore | K |
Feared of her life at home she wished her though | L |
And to the door alas as she did skip | H |
Th' heaven it would lo and eke her chance was so | L |
At the threshold her silly foot did trip | H |
And ere she might recover it again | M |
The traitor cat had caught her by the hip | H |
And made her there against her will remain | C |
That had forgotten her poor surety and rest | D |
For seeming wealth wherein she thought to reign | C |
Alas my Poynz how men do seek the best | D |
And find the worst by error as they stray | N |
And no marvel when sight is so opprest | D |
And blind the guide Anon out of the way | N |
Goeth guide and all in seeking quiet life | O |
O wretched minds there is no gold that may | N |
Grant that ye seek no war no peace no strife | O |
No no although thy head was hoopt with gold | D |
Sergeant with mace haubert sword nor knife | O |
Cannot repulse the care that follow should | D |
Each kind of life hath with him his disease | B |
Live in delight even as thy lust would | D |
And thou shalt find when lust doth most thee please | B |
It irketh strait and by itself doth fade | D |
A small thing it is that may thy mind appease | B |
None of ye all there is that is so mad | D |
To seek grapes upon brambles or breers | B |
Not none I trow that hath his wit so bad | D |
To set his hay for conies over rivers | B |
Ne ye set not a drag net for an hare | P |
And yet the thing that most is your desire | Q |
Ye do misseek with more travail and care | P |
Make plain thine heart that it be not notted | D |
With hope or dread and see thy will be bare | P |
From all effects whom vice hath ever spotted | D |
Thyself content with that is thee assigned | D |
And use it well that is to thee allotted | D |
Then seek no more out of thyself to find | D |
The thing that thou hast sought so long before | K |
For thou shalt find it sitting in thy mind | D |
Mad if ye list to continue your sore | K |
Let present pass and gape on time to come | R |
And deep yourself in travail more and more | K |
Henceforth my Poynz this shall be all and some | R |
These wretched fools shall have nought else of me | S |
But to the great God and to His high doom | T |
None other pain pray I for them to be | S |
But when the rage doth lead them from the right | D |
That looking backward Virtue they may see | S |
Even as She is so goodly fair and bright | D |
And whilst they clasp their lusts in arms across | B |
Grant them good Lord as Thou mayst of Thy might | D |
To fret inward for losing such a loss | B |
Sir Thomas Wyatt
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