A Passage from the 'General Prologue,' from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbery Tales
Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne;
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open yë—
So priketh hem Nature in hir corages—
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martirfor to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne;
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open yë—
So priketh hem Nature in hir corages—
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martirfor to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
Translation
When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)-
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in sundry lands.
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury wend,
The holy blessed martyr there to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill and weak.
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)-
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in sundry lands.
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury wend,
The holy blessed martyr there to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill and weak.
Analytical Passage
In this poetic prologue to Chaucer's story, The Canterbury Tales, there is a lot of literary devices. Some of these devices include alliteration, such as 'Inspired Hath in every Holt and Heeth.' Chaucer also includes assonance, such as 'Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne;.' Along with assonance, we find some consonance. For example, 'strondes... londes,' 'ende... wende,' and 'breeth... heeth.' Besides these devices, we also see some personification throughout the translated version. In the very beginning this poem is about the coming of spring, and the leaving of winter. Geoffrey Chaucer's writing has a rhetoric form and linguistic style. Finally, Chaucer's rhyme scheme, for this poem, his rhyme scheme is as follows. AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH II
Welcome, Spring
Welcome, spring, with his sweet April showers,
and say goodbye to the droughts, winters,
and dried up roots. Springs showers give powers
to the plants, as they flourish. Again the buds shoot up,
as the bright sun shines down on them,
birds begin to sing sweet melodies,
after always sleeping with one eye open,
people long to travel, possibly in search
for a sacred shrine, in the dry dessert lands.
Martyrs from England came to Canterbury,
seeking those who helped them,
while they suffered, so ill and weak.
and say goodbye to the droughts, winters,
and dried up roots. Springs showers give powers
to the plants, as they flourish. Again the buds shoot up,
as the bright sun shines down on them,
birds begin to sing sweet melodies,
after always sleeping with one eye open,
people long to travel, possibly in search
for a sacred shrine, in the dry dessert lands.
Martyrs from England came to Canterbury,
seeking those who helped them,
while they suffered, so ill and weak.
