Analysis of Balade

Geoffrey Chaucer 1343 (London) – 1400 (London)



HYD, Absolon, thy gilte tresses clere;
Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun;
Hyd, Jonathas, al thy frendly manere;
Penalopee, and Marcia Catoun,
Mak of your wyfhod no comparisoun;
Hyde ye your beautes, Isoude and Eleyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne.

Thy faire body, lat hit nat appere,
Lavyne; and thou, Lucresse of Rome toun,
And Polixene, that boghten love so dere,
And Cleopatre, with al thy passioun,
Hyde ye your trouthe of love and your renoun;
And thou, Tisbe, that hast of love swich peyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne.

Herro, Dido, Laudomia, alle y-fere,
And Phyllis, hanging for thy Demophoun,
And Canace, espyed by thy chere,
Ysiphile, betraysed with Jasoun,
Maketh of your trouthe neyther boost ne soun;
Nor Ypermistre or Adriane, ye tweyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may distevne.


Scheme ababbbB ababbbB ababbbb
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101 101111101 111111 10101 111111 1111101 1101011111 11101111 1011111 0111111 011111 111111011 011111111 1101011111 10101111 01010111 00101111 1111 11111111 111111 1101011111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 834
Words 142
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 213
Words per stanza (avg) 47
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

42 sec read
166

Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer, known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. more…

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    Repeated use of words for effect and emphasis is called ________.
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