Six Centuries of English Poetry Part 48

He docht richt nocht, quhilk out of thocht the tynis; Thy name but blame, and royal fame diuine is; Thow port at schort of our comfort and reid, Till bring all thing till glaiding efter deid, All wicht but sicht of thy greit micht ay crynis, O schene I mene, nane may sustene thy feid.

Haill rois maist chois till clois thy fois greit micht, Haill stone quhilk schone vpon the throne of licht, Vertew, quhais trew sweit dew ouirthrew al vice, Was ay ilk day gar say the way of licht; Amend, offend, and send our end ay richt.

Thow stant, ordant as sanct, of grant maist wise, Till be supplie, and the high gre of price.

Delite the t.i.te me quite of site to dicht, For I apply schortlie to thy deuise.

--_From "The Palice of Honour."_

GLOSSARY.

=afoir=, before.

=auance=, advance.

=ay=, ever, always.

=but=, without.

=conding=, condign, worthy.

=crynis=, diminishes.

=deid=, death.

=degest=, grave.

=dicht=, relieve.

=docht=, avails.

=feid=, hatred.

=fois=, time.

=glaiding=, happiness.

=gloir=, glory.

=grant=, giving.

=gre=, degree.

=guerdoun=, reward.

=ilk=, any.

=mekill=, much, mickle.

=peir=, peer.

=poureall=, the poor.

=puissance=, power.

=quhilk=, who, which.

=quhome=, without whom.

=reid=, advice.

=rois=, king.

=sanct=, saint.

=site=, shame.

=till=, to.

=t.i.te=, quickly.

=tynis=, loses.

=wicht=, person, wight.

FOUR POETS OF THIS CENTURY.

JOHN LYDGATE was born at the village of Lydgate, near Newmarket, about 1370. He was a Benedictine monk attached to the monastery of Bury St.

Edmunds, and is remembered as the author of three poems, which, in their time, attracted much attention. These are "The Storie of Thebes,"

written in ten-syllable rhyming couplets, and founded upon the "Teseide"

of Boccaccio; the "Troye Book," finished about 1420, and relating the story of the Trojan war as recounted by Guido di Colonna in his Latin prose history of Troy; and "The Falls of Princes," founded on a French version of Boccaccio's "De Casibus Virorum Ill.u.s.trium." In 1433, Lydgate wrote a wearisome but somewhat amusing poem, "Pur le Roy," describing a visit to London, and the pageants, processions, and other rejoicings, on the occasion of the entrance of Henry VI. into the city after his coronation. The date of the poet's death is not exactly known, but it was probably not later than 1440.

ROBERT HENRYSON, "an accomplished man and a good and genuine poet," was born about the year 1425, and died near the close of the century. He was for a time a schoolmaster and notary public at Dunfermline, in Scotland, and was connected, in some capacity, with the University of Glasgow. He was probably, like Lydgate, a Benedictine monk. His princ.i.p.al works are "The Testament of Cresseid," a sequel to Chaucer's "Troilus and Cresseide," and a collection of thirteen fables. He wrote also many shorter poems, of which the ballad of "Robin and Makyne" (published in Percy's _Reliques_) is the best known.

WILLIAM DUNBAR was born in East Lothian, Scotland, about the year 1450.

He was educated at the University of St. Andrews, and in early life travelled somewhat extensively as a novitiate of the order of St.

Francis. He visited England in 1501, upon the occasion of the marriage of James IV. of Scotland to the Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry VII. One of his best poems, "The Thistle and the Rose," was written in commemoration of that event. He accompanied the queen to Aberdeen in 1511, and for some time, both before and after, was in attendance and favor at the Scotch court. Nothing is known of his death, but it has been conjectured that he fell in the battle of Flodden, in 1513.

Besides the poem just mentioned, he wrote "The Golden Targe," "The Dance of the Deadly Sins," and many shorter poems, most of which are allegories. The "Thistle and the Rose" has been p.r.o.nounced "the happiest political allegory in our language. Heraldry has never been more skilfully handled, nor compliments more gracefully paid, nor fidelity more persuasively preached to a monarch than in this poem."

GAWAIN DOUGLAS was a son of the famous Earl of Angus, and was born in Brechin, Scotland, about 1474. He was educated partly at the University of St. Andrews, and partly in Paris. His first considerable poem, "The Palice of Honour," was published in 1501, and dedicated to King James IV. It is an allegory, such as was at that time the staple of poetical composition, and contains but little that is particularly original.

Another allegory, printed after his death, is ent.i.tled "King Hart," and has for its subject the heart of man. His greatest work is his translation of Virgil's "aeneid" into Scottish verse. In 1509, Douglas was appointed provost of St. Giles, Edinburgh, and after the battle of Flodden he was made abbot of Aberbrothwick. In 1515 he was consecrated Bishop of Dunkeld, but was unable to gain possession of the cathedral except by force. Becoming involved in the feud between the rival families of Angus and Hamilton, he was obliged to escape into England in 1521, where towards the end of the same year he died.

The Fourteenth Century.

"_In the fourteenth century there comes an Englishman nourished on this [the romance] poetry, taught his trade by this poetry, getting words, rhyme, metre from this poetry; for even of that stanza which the Italians used, and which Chaucer derived immediately from the Italians, the basis and suggestion was probably given in France. . . . If we ask ourselves wherein consists the immense superiority of Chaucer's poetry over the [earlier] romance-poetry, why it is that in pa.s.sing from this to Chaucer we suddenly feel ourselves to be in another world, we shall find that his superiority is both in the substance of his poetry and in the style of his poetry. His superiority in substance is given by his large, free, simple, clear yet kindly view of human life. . . . We have only to call to mind the Prologue to 'The Canterbury Tales.' The right comment upon it is Dryden's: 'It is sufficient to say, according to the proverb, that _here is G.o.d's plenty_.' And again: 'He is a perpetual fountain of good sense.' It is by a large, free, sound representation of things, that poetry, this high criticism of life, has truth of substance; and Chaucer's poetry has truth of substance. If we think of Chaucer's divine liquidness of diction, his divine fluidity of movement, it is difficult to speak temperately. They are irresistible, and justify all the rapture with which his successors speak of his gold 'dew-drops of speech.' . . . Chaucer is the father of our splendid English poetry, he is our 'well of English undefiled,' because by the lovely charm of his diction, the lovely charm of his movement, he makes an epoch and founds a tradition. In Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, we can follow the tradition of the liquid diction, the fluid movement, of Chaucer; at one time it is his liquid diction of which in these poets we feel the virtue, and at another it is his fluid movement. And the virtue is irresistible._"--MATTHEW ARNOLD.

Poets of the Fourteenth Century.

=Geoffrey Chaucer= (1328-1400). See biographical note, page 301.

=William Langland= (1332- ). "The Vision of William concerning Piers the Ploughman."

=John Gower= (1330-1408). "Confessio Amantis."

Geoffrey Chaucer.

FROM THE "PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES."

Whan that Aprille with his schowres swoote The drought of Marche had perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertue engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breethe Enspired hath in every holte and heethe The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram{1} his halfe cours i-ronne,{2} And smale fowles maken melodie, That slepen al the night with open eye, So priketh hem nature in here corages:-- Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages, And palmers for to seeken{3} straunge strondes, To ferne halwes, kouthe in sondry londes; And specially, from every schires ende Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, The holy blisful martir{4} for to seeke, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.{5} Byfel that, in that sesoun on a day, In Southwerk at the Tabard{6} as I lay, Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, At night was come into that hostelrye Wel nyne and twenty in a compainye, Of sondry folk, by aventure i-falle In felaweschipe, and pilgryms were thei alle, That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde; The chambres and the stables{7} weren wyde, And wel we weren esed atte beste.

And schortly, whan the sonne was to reste, So hadde I spoken with hem everychon, That I was of here felaweschipe anon, And made forward erly for to ryse, To take our wey ther as I yow devyse.