The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

Name: The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)
Author: Skelton, John

Skelton, John

English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700

The gyse now a dayes
  Of some ianglynge iayes
  Is to discommende                                                   1270
  That they cannot amend,
  Though they wold spend
  All the wyttes they haue.
    What ayle them to depraue
  Phillip Sparowes graue?
  His _Dirige_, her Commendacyon
  Can be no derogacyon,
  But myrth and consolacyon
  Made by protestacyon,
  No man to myscontent                                                1280
  With Phillyppes enterement.
    Alas, that goodly mayd,
  Why shuld she be afrayde?
  Why shuld she take shame
  That her goodly name,
  Honorably reported,
  Sholde be set and sorted,
  To be matriculate
  With ladyes of estate?
    I coniure thé, Phillip Sparow,                                    1290
  By Hercules that hell dyd harow,
  And with a venemous arow
  Slew of the Epidaures
  One of the Centaures,
  Or Onocentaures,
  Or Hipocentaures;[460]
  By whose myght and mayne
  An hart was slayne
  With hornes twayne
  Of glytteryng gold;                                                 1300
  And the appels of gold
  Of Hesperides withhold,
  And with a dragon kept
  That neuer more slept,
  By marcyall strength
  He wan at length;
  And slew Gerion
  With thre bodyes in one;
  With myghty corage
  Adauntid[461] the rage                                              1310
  Of a lyon sauage;
  Of Dyomedes stable
  He brought out a rable
  Of coursers and rounses
  With leapes and bounses;
  And with mighty luggyng,
  Wrestlyng and tuggyng,
  He plucked the bull
  By the horned skull,
  And offred to Cornucopia;                                           1320
  And so forth _per cetera_:
    Also by Ecates bower
  In Plutos[462] gastly tower;
    By the vgly Eumenides,
  That neuer haue rest nor ease;
    By the venemous serpent,
  That in hell is neuer brent,
  In Lerna the Grekes fen,
  That was engendred then;
    By Chemeras flames,                                               1330
  And all the dedly names
  Of infernall posty,
  Where soules frye and rosty;[463]
    By the Stygyall flood,
  And the streames wood
  Of Cocitus botumles well;
    By the feryman of hell,
  Caron with his beerd hore,
  That roweth with a rude ore
  And with his frownsid[464] fore top                                 1340
  Gydeth his bote with a prop:
    I coniure[465] Phylyp, and call
  In the name of kyng Saul;
  _Primo Regum_ expresse,
  He bad[466] the Phitonesse
  To wytchcraft her to dresse,
  And by her abusyons,
  And dampnable illusyons
  Of marueylus conclusyons,
  And by her supersticyons,                                           1350
  And wonderfull condityons,
  She raysed vp in that stede
  Samuell that was dede;
  But whether it were so,
  He were _idem in numero_,
  The selfe same Samuell,
  How be it to Saull dyd he tell
  The Philistinis shuld hym ascry,
  And the next day he shuld dye,
  I wyll my selfe dyscharge                                           1360
  To lettred men at large:

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

Opening the text

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)Skelton, John

General

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

Skelton, John

English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700

The gyse now a dayes
  Of some ianglynge iayes
  Is to discommende                                                   1270
  That they cannot amend,
  Though they wold spend
  All the wyttes they haue.
    What ayle them to depraue
  Phillip Sparowes graue?
  His _Dirige_, her Commendacyon
  Can be no derogacyon,
  But myrth and consolacyon
  Made by protestacyon,
  No man to myscontent                                                1280
  With Phillyppes enterement.
    Alas, that goodly mayd,
  Why shuld she be afrayde?
  Why shuld she take shame
  That her goodly name,
  Honorably reported,
  Sholde be set and sorted,
  To be matriculate
  With ladyes of estate?
    I coniure thé, Phillip Sparow,                                    1290
  By Hercules that hell dyd harow,
  And with a venemous arow
  Slew of the Epidaures
  One of the Centaures,
  Or Onocentaures,
  Or Hipocentaures;[460]
  By whose myght and mayne
  An hart was slayne
  With hornes twayne
  Of glytteryng gold;                                                 1300
  And the appels of gold
  Of Hesperides withhold,
  And with a dragon kept
  That neuer more slept,
  By marcyall strength
  He wan at length;
  And slew Gerion
  With thre bodyes in one;
  With myghty corage
  Adauntid[461] the rage                                              1310
  Of a lyon sauage;
  Of Dyomedes stable
  He brought out a rable
  Of coursers and rounses
  With leapes and bounses;
  And with mighty luggyng,
  Wrestlyng and tuggyng,
  He plucked the bull
  By the horned skull,
  And offred to Cornucopia;                                           1320
  And so forth _per cetera_:
    Also by Ecates bower
  In Plutos[462] gastly tower;
    By the vgly Eumenides,
  That neuer haue rest nor ease;
    By the venemous serpent,
  That in hell is neuer brent,
  In Lerna the Grekes fen,
  That was engendred then;
    By Chemeras flames,                                               1330
  And all the dedly names
  Of infernall posty,
  Where soules frye and rosty;[463]
    By the Stygyall flood,
  And the streames wood
  Of Cocitus botumles well;
    By the feryman of hell,
  Caron with his beerd hore,
  That roweth with a rude ore
  And with his frownsid[464] fore top                                 1340
  Gydeth his bote with a prop:
    I coniure[465] Phylyp, and call
  In the name of kyng Saul;
  _Primo Regum_ expresse,
  He bad[466] the Phitonesse
  To wytchcraft her to dresse,
  And by her abusyons,
  And dampnable illusyons
  Of marueylus conclusyons,
  And by her supersticyons,                                           1350
  And wonderfull condityons,
  She raysed vp in that stede
  Samuell that was dede;
  But whether it were so,
  He were _idem in numero_,
  The selfe same Samuell,
  How be it to Saull dyd he tell
  The Philistinis shuld hym ascry,
  And the next day he shuld dye,
  I wyll my selfe dyscharge                                           1360
  To lettred men at large:

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

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

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