The Example Of Vertu : Cantos Viii.-xiv. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BCBCCDEEFEFFBGCGEGGA ACECEEGGFBFBBGGHEHIJ CCGKGKKGGEGEGGBBCGCG BJJEBEBBCC K LCECCEEEJEJJEEGCGCCE EEGEGGJJGEGEEGGEJEJJ EE CBGBBEEJEJBEEEJEAEEC CBJBCCJJEEEEEBBJCJCC JJEEEEECCJJJJJGGMJEJ JEEJEJEEFF J JEJEEEEBEBEEFFEEEEEJ JEJEJJJBCJECapitalum VIII | A |
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Dame Sapyence taryed a lytell whyle | B |
Behynd the other saynge to Dyscrecyon | C |
And began on her to laugh and smyle | B |
Axynge her how I stode in condycyon | C |
Well she sayd in good perfeccyon | C |
But best it is that he maryed be | D |
For to eschewe all yll censualyte | E |
I knowe a lady of meruelous beaute | E |
Spronge out of hyghe and noble lynage | F |
Replete with vertue and full of bounte | E |
Whiche vnto youth were a good maryage | F |
For she is comen of royall apparage | F |
But herde it wyll be to gete her loue | B |
Without youth frayltye do sore reproue | G |
I kneled downe than vpon my kne | C |
Afore dame Sapyence with humble chere | G |
Besechynge her of me to haue pyte | E |
And also Dyscrecyon her syster dere | G |
Than dame Sapyence came me nere | G |
Saynge youth wyll ye haue a wyfe | A |
And her to loue durynge her lyfe | A |
Ye madame that wolde I fayne | C |
Yf that she be both fayre and bryght | E |
I wyll her loue euer more certayne | C |
And pleas her alway with all my myght | E |
Of suche a persone wolde I haue a syght | E |
With all my herte now at this houre | G |
Wolde to god I had so fayre a floure | G |
Than sayd dyscrecyon there is a kynge | F |
Dwellynge fer hens in a fayre castell | B |
Of whome I oft haue herd grete talkynge | F |
Whiche hath a doughter as I you tell | B |
I trowe that youth wyll lyke her well | B |
She is both good eke fayre and pure | G |
As I report me vnto dame Nature | G |
But yf that youth sholde her go seke | H |
Ye must syster than hym well indue | E |
With your grete power so good and meke | H |
That he all frayltye may eschue | I |
For by the way it wyll oft pursue | J |
On hym by flatery and grete temptacyon | C |
That shall brynge hym in tribulacyon | C |
As for that sayd she he shall not care | G |
For he shall theym sone ouercome | K |
And of theyr flatery ryght well beware | G |
For I to hym shall gyue grete wysedome | K |
Theyr dedes to withstande make theym d me | K |
Wherfore dere syster as I you pray | G |
Unto her lede hym now on the way | G |
Loke that ye send me in his necessyte | E |
By dame swyftnes full sone a letter | G |
By whiche that I may knowe the certaynte | E |
That I may come to ayde hym beter | G |
So that fraylte to hym be no freter | G |
And though I be not alway vysyble | B |
With hym my power he hath inuyncyble | B |
Than sayd dame Sapyence to dyscrecyon | C |
Fare well dere syster I may not tary | G |
Loke ye of youth haue the tuycyon | C |
That he fall not into vaynglory | G |
And that ye puruey for hym shortly | B |
That he may wedde the fayre dame clennesse | J |
Whiche for her loue haue ben in duresse | J |
With that dame Sapyence downe went | E |
Into her place that was the doctrynall | B |
Of famous clerkes in connynge splendent | E |
A myrrour of lernyng that was dyuynall | B |
With all the craftes artyfycyall | B |
Byfore her dame Fortune went to her mancyon | C |
And eke dame hardynes to her habytacyon | C |
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Capitulum nonum | K |
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Forth than went dyscrecyon and I | L |
Out of the castell into a grene | C |
Where byrdys sange by grete melody | E |
There daunst also the fayre quene | C |
Besyde a ryuer named Ephesene | C |
Ouer whiche we wente to the other syde | E |
That was a medowe both longe and wyde | E |
Longe there we wandred tyll at the last | E |
We came vnto a ryght grete wyldernes | J |
By that tyme Phebus was ouer past | E |
Wherfore we walked in grete derkenes | J |
The whiche to me was a grete heuynes | J |
For Lucyna eke dyd her shrowde | E |
Under a blacke and mysty clowde | E |
For she was horned and no thynge cleere | G |
And entred into the sygne of caprycorne | C |
Ryght ferre from phebus fulgent speere | G |
And not ayenst hym the crowne had worne | C |
I went vp and downe tyll on the morne | C |
That phebus his golden reyes dyd sprede | E |
Than dyscrecyon ferther forth me lede | E |
Amonge thornes sharpe bestes wylde | E |
There was the lyon the wolf the bere | G |
But I coude mete nother man ne chylde | E |
But many serpentes that dyde me fere | G |
And by a swete smelle I knewe a pantere | G |
So forth I went by longe contynuaunce | J |
Tyll that I sawe an herber of pleasaunce | J |
To whiche I toke anone my waye | G |
Where that I sawe a lady excellent | E |
Rydynge on a goote in fresshe arraye | G |
Ryght yonge of age lusty of entent | E |
Prayenge me to her for to assent | E |
As to fulfyll the flesshly pleasure | G |
Whiche she desyred me out of mesure | G |
Nay sayd dyscrecyon that may not be | E |
No sayd I in no maner of wyse | J |
To her request I wyll now agree | E |
But euermore here foule lust despyse | J |
For I my selfe do now aduyse | J |
To kepe me chast that I may mary | E |
Fayre dame Clennes that noble lady | E |
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So forth I went walkynge my iournay | C |
Metynge a lady olde and amyable | B |
Syttynge in a castell both fressh and gay | G |
On an olyphauntes backe in strength so stable | B |
Whiche it to bere was good and able | B |
Hauynge in her hande a cup of golde | E |
Sette with perles ryght many afolde | E |
She sayd she was the lady of rychesse | J |
The quene of welth and worldely glory | E |
Praynge me to company with her noblenesse | J |
And she than wolde promote me shortely | B |
To innumerable ryches and make me worthy | E |
Where I am poore and sette by nought | E |
By her to worshyp I sholde be brought | E |
Unto her I answered I wolde not so | J |
As for to hunt in the parke of pryde | E |
The whiche to Clennes is mortall fo | A |
But with Dyscrecyon I wyll abyde | E |
Whiche doth a wyfe for me prouyde | E |
By whome I shall haue the possessyowne | C |
Of heuenly kyngdome grete renowne | C |
So forth I went and had grete trauayle | B |
Without the comfort of ony persons | J |
Saue of dyscrecyon whiche dyd me counsayle | B |
As she went walkynge with me alone | C |
Unto her I made full grete mone | C |
And lykened the wyldernes by morall scence | J |
Unto worldely trouble by good experyence | J |
She sayd the fyrst lady that I dyd mete | E |
Iclyped was dame Sensualyte | E |
Whiche can well flater with wordes swete | E |
Causynge a man to fall into fragylyte | E |
And for to haunt the carnall freylte | E |
Whiche vnto clennes is abhomynable | B |
For they in werke be gretely varyable | B |
The seconde was pryde enduyd with couetyse | J |
A lady of ryght fruytles medytacyon | C |
Delytynge gretly in the synne of auaryce | J |
The whiche is cause of her dampnacyon | C |
For she by her fals supportacyon | C |
Blyndeth many a mannes conscyence | J |
And dryueth ryght oft fer in absence | J |
So ferther I went tyll at the last | E |
I was in a mase goynge in and oute | E |
Ther was none other way I was agast | E |
But forth I walked in grete doute | E |
Now here now there and so rounde aboute | E |
Than sayd vnto me dame Dyscrecyon | C |
Ye are in the besynes of worldely fastyon | C |
There in I trauayled by longe space | J |
Tyll that I mette a lady gloryous | J |
Indued with vertue and grete grace | J |
To whom I sayd o lady precyous | J |
As ye seme to be good and vertuous | J |
I you beseche now without delaye | G |
Unto dame Clennes to teche me the waye | G |
I Sapyence now wyll shewe to the | M |
The ryght waye vnto fayre clennes | J |
And yf thou wylt be ruled by me | E |
Thou shalt mary that noble prynces | J |
Yes that wyll I sayd than douteles | J |
Dyscrecyon sayd she wolde be my suerte | E |
Sapyence sayd none better myght be | E |
Than sayd dyscrecyon to dame sapyence | J |
Welcome to vs my syster dere | E |
And I to her dyd humble reuerence | J |
Saynge who had went to fynde you here | E |
Yes she sayd I haue ben neere | E |
You often tymes syth my departynge | F |
And haue ben cause of your goode gydynge | F |
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Capitulum X | J |
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Come on your waye walke on a pace | J |
For ye longe for to haue a syght | E |
Of dame Clennes so clere a face | J |
So goodely of body in beauty bryght | E |
That there can not be so fayre a wyght | E |
So forth we walked to a ryuer syde | E |
That ebbed and flowed at euery tyde | E |
Than I saw a castell a pales royall | B |
Bylded with marble blacke as the gette | E |
With glasse wyndowes as clere as crystall | B |
Whiche on the other syde was sette | E |
No man to the castell myght gette | E |
But ouer the water on a lytell brydge | F |
Not halfe so brode as a hous rydge | F |
But as I cast myn eye than asyde | E |
I saw a lady wounderous fayre | E |
Demure of contenaunce without pryde | E |
That went her selfe for to repayre | E |
By the water syde to take the ayre | E |
Beholde and se than sayd dame sapyence | J |
Yonder is dame Clennes the sterre of excellence | J |
Full glad was I than in my mynde | E |
For to se that flour of complacence | J |
The syght of her dyd my herte bynde | E |
Euer her to loue with percynge influence | J |
Unto her I sayd o well of contynence | J |
Unto your grace fayne wolde I go | J |
Ner lettynge of this water blo | B |
To me she answered than agayne | C |
Saynge this worlde withouten mys | J |
Is but a vanyte no thynge certa | E |
Stephen Hawes
(1)
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