Lament for Chaucer

Thomas Hoccleve 1368 – 1426



ALLAS! my worthi maister honorable,
This landes verray tresor and richesse!
Deth by thy deth hath harme irreparable
Unto us doon: hir vengeable duresse
Despoiled hath this land of the swetnesse
Of rethorik; for unto Tullius
Was never man so lyk amonges us.

Also who was hier in philosophie
To Aristotle in our tonge but thou?
The steppes of Virgile in poesie
Thou folwedist eeke, men wot wel ynow.
Thou combre-worlde that the my maister slow--
Wolde I slayn were!--Deth, was to hastyf
To renne on thee and reve the thi lyf...

She myghte han taried hir vengeance a while
Til that sum man had egal to the be;
Nay, lat be that! sche knew wel that this y1e
May never man forth brynge lyk to the,
And hir office needes do mot she:
God bad hir so, I truste as for the beste;
O maister, maister, God thi soule reste!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

46 sec read
269

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABBBB CXBXXCC XDDXDEE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 817
Words 154
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7

Thomas Hoccleve

Thomas Hoccleve or Occleve was an English poet and clerk. more…

All Thomas Hoccleve poems | Thomas Hoccleve Books

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