Analysis of The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse
Geoffrey Chaucer 1343 (London) – 1400 (London)
To yow, my purse, and to noon other wight
Complayne I, for ye be my lady dere!
I am so sory, now that ye been lyght;
For certes, but ye make me hevy chere,
Me were as leef be layd upon my bere;
For which unto your mercy thus I crye:
Beth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I dye!
Now voucheth sauf this day, or yt be nyght,
That I of yow the blisful soun may here,
Or see your colour lyk the sonne bryght,
That of yelownesse hadde never pere.
Ye be my lyf, ye be myn hertes stere,
Quene of comfort and of good companye:
Beth hevy ageyn, or elles moote I dye!
Now purse, that ben to me my lyves lyght
And saveour, as doun in this world here,
Out of this toune helpe me thurgh your myght,
Syn that ye wole nat ben my tresorere;
For I am shave as nye as any frere.
But yet I pray unto your curtesye:
Beth hevy agen, or elles moote I dye!
Lenvoy de Chaucer
O conquerour of Brutes Albyon,
Which that by lyne and free eleccion
Been verray kyng, this song to yow I sende;
And ye, that mowen alle oure harmes amende,
Have mynde upon my supplicacion!
Scheme | ABABBCC ABABBCC ABABBCC BDDAAD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011101 111111101 111111111 11111111 1011110111 1110110111 11111111 111111111 111101111 11111011 1111101 111111111 11100111 11111111 111111111 01110111 111111111 11111111 1111111101 11111011 11111111 1110 11111 1111011 111111111 011101111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,039 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 6 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 196 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 395 Views
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"The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14651/the-complaint-of-chaucer-to-his-purse>.
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