Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN: 4. INTRODUCTION, by GEOFFREY CHAUCER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN: 4. INTRODUCTION, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Thou rote of false lovers, duc jasoun
Last Line: By isiphile and medea the quene.


Thou rote [source] of false lovers, duk Jason!
Thou sly devourer and confusioun
Of gentil-wommen, tender creatures,
Thou madest thy reclaiming and thy lures
To ladies of thy statly apparaunce,
And of thy wordes, farced with plesaunce,
And of thy feyned trouthe and thy manere,
With thyn obeissaunce and thy humble chere,
And with thy counterfeted peyne and wo.
Ther other falsen oon, thou falsest two!
O! ofte swore thou that thou woldest dye
For love, whan thou ne feltest maladye
Save foul delyt, which that thou callest love!
If that I live, thy name shal be shove
In English, that thy sleighte shal be knowe!
Have at thee, Jason! now thyn horn is blowe!
But certes, hit is bothe routhe and wo
That love with false loveres werketh so;
For they shul have wel better love and chere
That he that hath aboght his love ful dere,
Or had in armes many a blody box.
For ever as tendre a capoun et the fox,
Thogh he be fals and hath the foul betrayed,
As shal the good-man that ther-for hath payed.
Al have he to the capoun skille and right,
The false fox wol have his part at night.
On Jason this ensample is wel y-sene
By Isiphile and Medea the quene.





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