Analysis of Lak of Stedfastnesse
Geoffrey Chaucer 1343 (London) – 1400 (London)
Somtyme the world was so stedfast and stable
That mannes word was obligacioun,
And now it is so fals and deceivable
That word and deed, as in conclusioun,
Ben nothing lyk, for turned up-so-doun
Is al this world for mede and wilfulnesse,
That al is lost for lak of stedfastnesse.
What maketh this world to be so variable
But lust that folk have in dissensioun?
For among us now a man is holde unable,
But if he can by som collusioun
Don his neighbour wrong or oppressioun.
What causeth this but wilful wrecchednesse,
That al is lost for lak of stedfastnesse?
Trouthe is put doun, resoun is holden fable,
Vertu hath now no dominacioun;
Pitee exyled, no man is merciable.
Through covetyse is blent discrecioun.
The world hath mad a permutacioun
Fro right to wrong, fro trouthe to fikelnesse,
That al is lost for lak of stedfastnesse.
O prince, desyre to be honourable,
Cherish thy folk and hate extorcioun.
Suffre nothing that may be reprevable
To thyn estat don in thy regioun.
Shew forth thy swerd of castigacioun,
Dred God, do law, love trouthe and worthinesse,
And wed thy folk agein to stedfastnesse.
Scheme | ababbcC ababbcC ababbcC ababbcc |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101111010 11111 01111101 1101101 110111111 11111101 11111111 11111111000 1111101 101110111010 1111111 111111 111111 11111111 1111111010 11111 111111 11111 011101 11111111 11111111 111111 1011011 1101111 1111011 111111 11111101 0111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,083 |
Words | 195 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 220 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 179 Views
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"Lak of Stedfastnesse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14624/lak-of-stedfastnesse>.
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