Delphi Poetry Anthology: The World's Greatest Poems (Delphi Poets Series Book 50) (36 page)
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Authors: Homer,William Shakespeare
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340–1400)
THE PROLOGUE
.
When that the Knight had thus his tale told
In all the rout was neither young nor old,
That he not said it was a noble story,
And worthy to be
1
drawen to memory
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;
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recorded
1
And
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namely the gentles
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every one.
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especially the gentlefolk
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Our Host then laugh’d and swore, “So may I gon,
1
1
prosper
This goes aright;
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unbuckled is the mail;
1
1
the budget is opened
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Let see now who shall tell another tale:
For truely this game is well begun.
Now telleth ye, Sir Monk, if that ye conne
1
,
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know
Somewhat, to quiten
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with the Knighte’s tale.”
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match
The Miller that fordrunken was all pale,
So that unnethes
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upon his horse he sat,
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with difficulty
He would avalen
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neither hood nor hat,
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uncover
Nor abide
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no man for his courtesy,
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give way to
But in Pilate’s voice he gan to cry,
And swore by armes, and by blood, and bones,
“I can a noble tale for the nones
1
1
occasion,
With which I will now quite
1
the Knighte’s tale.”
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match
Our Host saw well how drunk he was of ale,
And said; “Robin, abide, my leve
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brother,
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dear
Some better man shall tell us first another:
Abide, and let us worke thriftily.”
By Godde’s soul,” quoth he, “that will not I,
For I will speak, or elles go my way!”
Our Host answer’d; “
1
Tell on a devil way
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;
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devil take you!
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Thou art a fool; thy wit is overcome.”
“Now hearken,” quoth the Miller, “all and some:
But first I make a protestatioun.
That I am drunk, I know it by my soun’:
And therefore if that I misspeak or say,
1
Wite it
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the ale of Southwark, I you pray:
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blame it on
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For I will tell a legend and a life
Both of a carpenter and of his wife,
How that a clerk hath
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set the wrighte’s cap
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.”
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fooled the carpenter
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The Reeve answer’d and saide, “
1
Stint thy clap
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,
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hold your tongue
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Let be thy lewed drunken harlotry.
It is a sin, and eke a great folly
To apeiren
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any man, or him defame,
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injure
And eke to bringe wives in evil name.
Thou may’st enough of other thinges sayn.”
This drunken Miller spake full soon again,
And saide, “Leve brother Osewold,
Who hath no wife, he is no cuckold.
But I say not therefore that thou art one;
There be full goode wives many one.
Why art thou angry with my tale now?
I have a wife, pardie, as well as thou,
Yet
1
n’old I
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, for the oxen in my plough,
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I would not
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Taken upon me more than enough,
To deemen
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of myself that I am one;
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judge
I will believe well that I am none.
An husband should not be inquisitive
Of Godde’s privity, nor of his wife.
So he may finde Godde’s foison
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there,
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treasure
Of the remnant needeth not to enquere.”
What should I more say, but that this Millere
He would his wordes for no man forbear,
But told his churlish
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tale in his mannere;
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boorish, rude
Me thinketh, that I shall rehearse it here.
And therefore every gentle wight I pray,
For Godde’s love to deem not that I say
Of evil intent, but that I must rehearse
Their tales all, be they better or worse,
Or elles falsen
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some of my mattere.
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falsify
And therefore whoso list it not to hear,
Turn o’er the leaf, and choose another tale;
For he shall find enough, both great and smale,
Of storial
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thing that toucheth gentiless,
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historical, true
And eke morality and holiness.
Blame not me, if that ye choose amiss.
The Miller is a churl, ye know well this,
So was the Reeve, with many other mo’,
And harlotry
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they tolde bothe two.
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ribald tales
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Avise you
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now, and put me out of blame;
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be warned
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And eke men should not make earnest of game
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.
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jest, fun
THE TALE
.
Whilom there was dwelling in Oxenford
A riche gnof
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, that
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guestes held to board
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,
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miser
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took in boarders
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And of his craft he was a carpenter.
With him there was dwelling a poor scholer,
Had learned art, but all his fantasy
Was turned for to learn astrology.
He coude
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a certain of conclusions
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knew
To deeme
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by interrogations,
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determine
If that men asked him in certain hours,
When that men should have drought or elles show’rs:
Or if men asked him what shoulde fall
Of everything, I may not reckon all.
This clerk was called Hendy
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Nicholas;
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gentle, handsome
Of derne
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love he knew and of solace;
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secret, earnest
And therewith he was sly and full privy,
And like a maiden meek for to see.
A chamber had he in that hostelry
Alone, withouten any company,
Full
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fetisly y-dight
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with herbes swoot
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,
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neatly decorated
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And he himself was sweet as is the root
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sweet
Of liquorice, or any setewall
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.
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valerian
His Almagest, and bookes great and small,
His astrolabe, belonging to his art,
His augrim stones, layed fair apart
On shelves couched
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at his bedde’s head,
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laid, set
His press y-cover’d with a falding
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red.
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coarse cloth
And all above there lay a gay psalt’ry
On which he made at nightes melody,
So sweetely, that all the chamber rang:
And Angelus ad virginem he sang.
And after that he sung the kinge’s note;
Full often blessed was his merry throat.
And thus this sweete clerk his time spent
After
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his friendes finding and his rent.
1
1
Attending to his friends,
and providing for the
cost of his lodging
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This carpenter had wedded new a wife,
Which that he loved more than his life:
Of eighteen year, I guess, she was of age.
Jealous he was, and held her narr’w in cage,
For she was wild and young, and he was old,
And deemed himself belike
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a cuckold.
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perhaps
He knew not Cato, for his wit was rude,
That bade a man wed his similitude.
Men shoulde wedden after their estate,
For youth and eld
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are often at debate.
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age
But since that he was fallen in the snare,
He must endure (as other folk) his care.
Fair was this younge wife, and therewithal
As any weasel her body gent
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and small.
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slim, neat
A seint
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she weared, barred all of silk,
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girdle
A barm-cloth
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eke as white as morning milk
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apron
Upon her lendes
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, full of many a gore
2
.
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loins
2
plait
White was her smock
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, and broider’d all before,
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robe or gown
And eke behind, on her collar about
Of coal-black silk, within and eke without.
The tapes of her white volupere
1
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head-kerchief
Were of the same suit of her collere;
Her fillet broad of silk, and set full high:
And sickerly
1
she had a likerous
2
eye.
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certainly
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lascivious
Full small y-pulled were her browes two,
And they were bent
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, and black as any sloe.
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arched
She was well more
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blissful on to see
1
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pleasant to look upon
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Than is the newe perjenete
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tree;
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young pear-tree
And softer than the wool is of a wether.
And by her girdle hung a purse of leather,
Tassel’d with silk, and
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pearled with latoun
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.
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set with brass pearls
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In all this world to seeken up and down
There is no man so wise, that coude thenche
1
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fancy, think of
So gay a popelot
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, or such a wench.
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puppet
Full brighter was the shining of her hue,
Than in the Tower the noble
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forged new.
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a gold coin
But of her song, it was as loud and yern
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,
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lively
As any swallow chittering on a bern
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.
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barn
Thereto
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she coulde skip, and
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make a game
1
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also
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romp
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As any kid or calf following his dame.
Her mouth was sweet as braket, or as methe
1
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mead
Or hoard of apples, laid in hay or heath.
Wincing
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she was as is a jolly colt,
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skittish
Long as a mast, and upright as a bolt.
A brooch she bare upon her low collere,
As broad as is the boss of a bucklere.
Her shoon were laced on her legges high;
She was a primerole,
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a piggesnie ,
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primrose
For any lord t’ have ligging
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in his bed,
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lying
Or yet for any good yeoman to wed.
Now, sir, and eft
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sir, so befell the case,
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again
That on a day this Hendy Nicholas
Fell with this younge wife to rage
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and play,
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toy, play the rogue
While that her husband was at Oseney,
As clerkes be full subtle and full quaint.
And privily he caught her by the queint,
1
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cunt
And said; “Y-wis,
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but if I have my will,
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assuredly
For
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derne love of thee, leman, I spill.”
1
1
for earnest love of thee
And helde her fast by the haunche bones, my mistress, I perish
1
And saide “Leman, love me well at once,
Or I will dien, all so God me save.”
And she sprang as a colt doth in the trave:
And with her head she writhed fast away,
And said; “I will not kiss thee, by my fay
1
.
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faith
Why let be,” quoth she, “let be, Nicholas,
Or I will cry out harow and alas!
Do away your handes, for your courtesy.”
This Nicholas gan mercy for to cry,
And spake so fair, and proffer’d him so fast,
That she her love him granted at the last,
And swore her oath by Saint Thomas of Kent,
That she would be at his commandement,
When that she may her leisure well espy.
“My husband is so full of jealousy,
That but
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ye waite well, and be privy,
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unless
I wot right well I am but dead,” quoth she.
“Ye muste be full derne
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as in this case.”
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secret
“Nay, thereof care thee nought,” quoth Nicholas:
“A clerk had
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litherly beset his while
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,
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ill spent his time
1
1
But if
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he could a carpenter beguile.”
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unless
And thus they were accorded and y-sworn
To wait a time, as I have said beforn.
When Nicholas had done thus every deal
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,
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whit
And thwacked her about the lendes
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well,
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loins
He kiss’d her sweet, and taketh his psalt’ry
And playeth fast, and maketh melody.
Then fell it thus, that to the parish church,
Of Christe’s owen workes for to wirch
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,
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work
This good wife went upon a holy day;
Her forehead shone as bright as any day,
So was it washen, when she left her werk.
Now was there of that church a parish clerk,
The which that was y-cleped Absolon.
Curl’d was his hair, and as the gold it shone,
And strutted
1
as a fanne large and broad;
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stretched
Full straight and even lay his jolly shode
1
.
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head of hair
His rode
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was red, his eyen grey as goose,
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complexion
With Paule’s windows carven on his shoes
In hosen red he went full fetisly
1
.
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daintily, neatly
Y-clad he was full small and properly,
All in a kirtle
1
of a light waget
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;
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girdle
2
sky blue
Full fair and thicke be the pointes set,
And thereupon he had a gay surplice,
As white as is the blossom on the rise
1
.
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twig
A merry child he was, so God me save;
Well could he letten blood, and clip, and shave,
And make a charter of land, and a quittance.
In twenty manners could he trip and dance,
After the school of Oxenforde tho
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,
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then
And with his legges caste to and fro;
And playen songes on a small ribible
1
;
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fiddle
Thereto he sung sometimes a loud quinible
1
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treble
And as well could he play on a gitern.
1
1
guitar
In all the town was brewhouse nor tavern,
That he not visited with his solas
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,
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mirth, sport
There as that any
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garnard tapstere
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was.
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licentious barmaid
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But sooth to say he was somedeal squaimous
1
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squeamish
Of farting, and of speeche dangerous.
This Absolon, that jolly was and gay,
Went with a censer on the holy day,
Censing
1
the wives of the parish fast;
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burning incense for
And many a lovely look he on them cast,
And namely
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on this carpenter’s wife:
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especially
To look on her him thought a merry life.
She was so proper, and sweet, and likerous.
I dare well say, if she had been a mouse,
And he a cat, he would
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her hent anon
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.
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have soon caught her
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This parish clerk, this jolly Absolon,
Hath in his hearte such a love-longing!
That of no wife took he none offering;
For courtesy he said he woulde none.
The moon at night full clear and brighte shone,
And Absolon his gitern hath y-taken,
For paramours he thoughte for to waken,
And forth he went, jolif
1
and amorous,
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joyous
Till he came to the carpentere’s house,
A little after the cock had y-crow,
And
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dressed him
1
under a shot window ,
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stationed himself.
1
That was upon the carpentere’s wall.
He singeth in his voice gentle and small;
“Now, dear lady, if thy will be,
I pray that ye will rue
1
on me;”
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take pity
Full well accordant to his giterning.
This carpenter awoke, and heard him sing,
And spake unto his wife, and said anon,
What Alison, hear’st thou not Absolon,
That chanteth thus under our bower
1
wall?”
1
chamber
And she answer’d her husband therewithal;
“Yes, God wot, John, I hear him every deal.”
This passeth forth; what will ye bet
1
than well?
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better