Poetry of Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
born 1328, died 1400 |
He's called
"the father of english poetry" |
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The God Of Love
(from "the cuckow and the nightingale")
The god of love, and benedicite,
How mighty and how great a lord is he!
For he can make of low hertes [1] hie, [2]
And of high low, and like for to die,
And hard hertes he can maken free.
He can make within a little stound, [3]
Of sicke folke hole, [4] fresh, and sound,
And of hole he can make seke, [5]
He can bind and unbinden eke,
That he woll [6] have bounden or unbound
To tell his might my wit may not suffice,
For he can make of wise folke full nice, [7]
For he may do all that he woll devise,
And lither [8] folke to destroyen vice,
And proud hertes he can make agrise. [9]
Shortly, all that ever he woll he may,
Against him dare no wight say nay,
For he can glad and greve whom he liketh,
And who that he woll he lougheth [10] or siketh, [11]
And most his might he shedeth ever in May.
For every true gentle herte free,
That with him is or thinketh for to be,
Againe May now shall shave some stering [12]
Or to joy or els to some mourning,
In no season so much, as thinketh me.
For whan they may here [13] the birds sing,
And see the floures and the leaves spring,
That bringeth into hir [14] remembraunce
A manner ease, [15] medled with grevaunce,
And lustie thoughts full of great longing.
And of that longing commeth hevinesse,
And thereof groweth of great sicknesse,
And for lacke of that that they desire,
And thus in May ben [16] hertes set on fire,
So that they brennen [17] forth in great distresse.
[1] hearts
[2] high
[3] a moment, a short space of time
[4] whole
[5] sick
[6] will
[7] foolish
[8] wicked
[9] shudder
[10] laughs
[11] sighs
[12] stirring
[13] hear
[14] their
[15] a kind of ease
[16] are
[17] burn
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