Analysis of Gentilesse
Geoffrey Chaucer 1343 (London) – 1400 (London)
The firste stok, fader of gentilesse --
What man that desireth gentil for to be
Must folowe his trace, and alle his wittes dresse
Vertu to love and vyces for to flee.
For unto vertu longeth dignitee
And noght the revers, saufly dar I deme,
Al were he mytre, croune, or diademe.
This firste stok was ful of rightwisnesse,
Trewe of his word, sobre, pitous, and free,
Clene of his gost, and loved besinesse,
Ayeinst the vyce of slouthe, in honestee;
And, but his heir love vertu as dide he,
He is noght gentil, thogh he riche seme,
Al were he mytre, croune, or diademe.
Vyce may wel be heir to old richesse,
But ther may no man, as men may wel see,
Bequethe his heir his vertuous noblesse
(That is appropred unto no degree
But to the firste fader in magestee,
That maketh hem his heyres that him queme),
Scheme | ababcdD abacbdD aaabcd |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 0111011 11111111 111101111 11101111 110111 01011111 1011111 1111111 11111101 1111011 1011101 011111111 11111111 1011111 11111111 1111111111 1111101 11110101 11011001 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 791 |
Words | 152 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 6 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 460 Views
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"Gentilesse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14621/gentilesse>.
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