Opening the text

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey

General

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

Name: Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales
Author: Chaucer, Geoffrey

Chaucer, Geoffrey

English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500

Or ones that we mighte kissen swete,
  Than were we covered of our cares colde.
  But natheles, yit be we to thee holde
  In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon
  Our wordes through thy lyme and eek thy stoon.                        765
  Yit oghte we with thee ben wel apayd.'                               (61)
    And whan thise ydel wordes weren sayd,
  The colde wal they wolden kisse of stoon,
  And take hir leve, and forth they wolden goon.
  And this was gladly in the even-tyde                                  770
  Or wonder erly, lest men hit espyde;
  And longe tyme they wroghte in this manere
  Til on a day, whan Phebus gan to clere,
  Aurora with the stremes of hir hete
  Had dryed up the dew of herbes wete;                                  775
  Unto this clifte, as it was wont to be,                              (71)
  Com Pyramus, and after com Tisbe,
  And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey
  That ilke same night to stele awey,
  And to begyle hir wardeins everichoon,                                780
  And forth out of the citee for to goon;
  And, for the feldes been so brode and wyde,
  For to mete in o place at o tyde,
  They sette mark hir meting sholde be
  Ther king Ninus was graven, under a tree;                             785
  For olde payens that ydoles heried                                   (81)
  Useden tho in feldes to ben beried
  And faste by this grave was a welle.
  And, shortly of this tale for to telle,
  This covenant was affermed wonder faste;                              790
  And longe hem thoughte that the sonne laste,
  That hit nere goon under the see adoun.
    This Tisbe hath so greet affeccioun
  And so greet lyking Piramus to see,
  That, whan she seigh her tyme mighte be,                              795
  At night she stal awey ful prively                                   (91)
  With her face y-wimpled subtilly;
  For alle her frendes--for to save her trouthe--
  She hath for-sake; allas! and that is routhe
  That ever woman wolde be so trewe                                     800
  To trusten man, but she the bet him knewe!
  And to the tree she goth a ful good pas,
  For love made her so hardy in this cas;
  And by the welle adoun she gan her dresse.
  Allas! than comth a wilde leonesse                                    805
  Out of the wode, withouten more areste,                             (101)
  With blody mouthe, of strangling of a beste,
  To drinken of the welle, ther as she sat;
  And, whan that Tisbe had espyed that,
  She rist her up, with a ful drery herte,                              810
  And in a cave with dredful foot she sterte,
  For by the mone she seigh hit wel with-alle.
  And, as she ran, her wimpel leet she falle,
  And took noon heed, so sore she was a-whaped.
  And eek so glad of that she was escaped;                              815
  And thus she sit, and darketh wonder stille.                        (111)
  Whan that this leonesse hath dronke her fille,

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey

General

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

Chaucer, Geoffrey

English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500

Or ones that we mighte kissen swete,
  Than were we covered of our cares colde.
  But natheles, yit be we to thee holde
  In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon
  Our wordes through thy lyme and eek thy stoon.                        765
  Yit oghte we with thee ben wel apayd.'                               (61)
    And whan thise ydel wordes weren sayd,
  The colde wal they wolden kisse of stoon,
  And take hir leve, and forth they wolden goon.
  And this was gladly in the even-tyde                                  770
  Or wonder erly, lest men hit espyde;
  And longe tyme they wroghte in this manere
  Til on a day, whan Phebus gan to clere,
  Aurora with the stremes of hir hete
  Had dryed up the dew of herbes wete;                                  775
  Unto this clifte, as it was wont to be,                              (71)
  Com Pyramus, and after com Tisbe,
  And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey
  That ilke same night to stele awey,
  And to begyle hir wardeins everichoon,                                780
  And forth out of the citee for to goon;
  And, for the feldes been so brode and wyde,
  For to mete in o place at o tyde,
  They sette mark hir meting sholde be
  Ther king Ninus was graven, under a tree;                             785
  For olde payens that ydoles heried                                   (81)
  Useden tho in feldes to ben beried
  And faste by this grave was a welle.
  And, shortly of this tale for to telle,
  This covenant was affermed wonder faste;                              790
  And longe hem thoughte that the sonne laste,
  That hit nere goon under the see adoun.
    This Tisbe hath so greet affeccioun
  And so greet lyking Piramus to see,
  That, whan she seigh her tyme mighte be,                              795
  At night she stal awey ful prively                                   (91)
  With her face y-wimpled subtilly;
  For alle her frendes--for to save her trouthe--
  She hath for-sake; allas! and that is routhe
  That ever woman wolde be so trewe                                     800
  To trusten man, but she the bet him knewe!
  And to the tree she goth a ful good pas,
  For love made her so hardy in this cas;
  And by the welle adoun she gan her dresse.
  Allas! than comth a wilde leonesse                                    805
  Out of the wode, withouten more areste,                             (101)
  With blody mouthe, of strangling of a beste,
  To drinken of the welle, ther as she sat;
  And, whan that Tisbe had espyed that,
  She rist her up, with a ful drery herte,                              810
  And in a cave with dredful foot she sterte,
  For by the mone she seigh hit wel with-alle.
  And, as she ran, her wimpel leet she falle,
  And took noon heed, so sore she was a-whaped.
  And eek so glad of that she was escaped;                              815
  And thus she sit, and darketh wonder stille.                        (111)
  Whan that this leonesse hath dronke her fille,

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

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