6

(2) Now by cryst,' quod pe kynge and I cacche my3te Fals or fauel or any of his feres,

I wolde be wroke of po wrecches pat worcheth so ille, And don hem hangé by be hals and alle pat hem meyn

teneth!

Shal neure man of molde meynprise pe leste,
But rizte as pe lawe wil loke late falle on hem alle.'
And comanded a constable pat come atte furst,
To attache po tyrauntz for eny thynge, I hote,
And fettereth fast falsnesse for enykynnes 3iftes,
And gurdeth of gyles hed · and lat hym go no furthere.

(3) For-pi I rede 30w, renkes pat riche ben on pis erthe,

Vppon trust of 30wre tresoure triennales to haue,

Be ze neuere pe balder to breke pe ten hestes;

And namelich, ze maistres mayres and iugges,

pat han þe welthe of pis worlde and for wyse men ben holden,

To purchace 30w pardoun and pe popis bulles.
At pe dredeful dome whan dede shullen rise,
And comen alle bifor cryst acountis to zelde,
How pow laddest pi lyf here and his lawes keptest,
And how pow dedest day bi day pe dome wil reherce;
A poke ful of pardoun þere ne prouinciales lettres,
Theigh 3e be founde in pe fraternete of alle pe foure
ordres,

And haue indulgences double-folde· but if dowel 30w help,
I sette 30wre patentes and 30wre pardounz · at one pies

hele!

5. How does the vocabulary of William differ from that of Chaucer?

6. Give the meaning and derivation of-meobles, massepans, polsche, piries, meynpernour, loue-dayes, forweny, fauel, disoures, cheuesance.

7. Put into modern English, noting grammatical peculiarities, etc. :

(1) A yerd sche hadde, enclosed al aboute
With stikkes, and a drye dich withoute,
In which she hadde a cok, highte Chauntecleer,
In al the lond of crowyng nas his peer.

His vois was merier than the merye orgon,
On masse dayes that in the chirche goon;
Wel sikerer was his crowyng in his logge,
Than is a clok, or an abbay orlogge.
By nature knew he ech ascencioun
Of equinoxial in thilke toun;

For whan degrees fyftene were ascended,
Thanne crew he, that it mighte not ben amended.
His comb was redder than the fyn coral,
And bataylld, as it were a castel wal.
His bile was blak, and as the geet it schon;
Like asure were his legges, and his ton;
His nayles whitter than the lilye flour,
And lik the burnischt gold was his colour.

(2) A Sergeant of Lawe, war and wys,
That often hadde ben atte parvys,
Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.
Discret he was, and of gret reverence:
He semede such, his wordes weren so wise,
Justice he was ful often in assise,

By patente, and by pleyn commissioun ;
For his science, and for his heih renoun,
Of fees and robes hadde he
many oon.
So gret a purchasour was nowher noon.
Al was fee symple to him in effecte,
His purchasyng mighte nought ben enfecte.
Nowher so besy a man as he ther nas,
And yit he seemede besier than he was.
In termes hadde he caas and domes alle,
That fro the tyme of kyng William were falle.
Therto he couthe endite, and make a thing,
Ther couthe no wight pynche at his writyng;
And every statute couthe he pleyn by roote.
He rood but hoomly in a medlé coote,
Gird with a seynt of silk, with barres smale;
Of his array telle I no lenger tale.

(3) Ther mayst thou seen devysyng of herneys So uncowth and so riche, and wrought so wel Of goldsmithrye, of browdyng, and of steel; The scheldes brighte, testers, and trappures; Gold-beten helmes, hauberkes, cote-armures;

Lordes in paramentz on here courseres,
Knightes of retenue, and eek squyeres
Naylyng the speres, and helmes bokelynge,
Giggyng of scheeldes, with layneres lasynge;
Ther as need is, they were nothing ydel.

8. To what contemporary persons and events does Chaucer allude in the Knights and Nonne Prestes Tales?

9. Who were Chaucer's-Master Gaufrid, Creon, Calystopé, Atthalaunte, Adoun, Genilon, Pirrus?

10. Analyse the character of Palamon.

11. Chaucer's naiveté was common to his century, but his peculiar pathos' is his own.

Discuss this.

[M. T. 1878.]

Pass School. Group B.

Shakespeare.

1. 'Players are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time.' How far is this true of Shakespeare's plays, and of the modern drama?

2. What distinction can you draw between the characters of Goneril and Regan? Illustrate by quotation.

3. Contrast and compare the four plays as regards simplicity or complexity of plot.

4. York. No: it is stopped with other flattering sounds,

Reports of fashions in proud Italy,

Whose manners still our tardy apish nation
Limps after in base imitation.

What was the influence of Italy upon English literature in Shakespeare's time?

5. Explain the meaning and use in Shakespeare, giving when you can the derivations, of the following words:Cue, caitiff, blank, abridgment, crants, cockney, samphire, frippery, lewd, chopine, renege, merely, vast, wanton.

6. Explain the following passages, with especial reference to the context. Give the signification of all obscure

words.

(1)

Poor worm, thou are infected!

This visitation shows it.

(2) Steph. Be you quiet, monster. Mistress line, is not this my jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin, you are like to lose your hair and prove a bald jerkin.

Trin. Do, do we steal by line and level, an 't like your grace.

Steph. I thank thee for that jest; here's a garment for 't: wit shall not go unrewarded while I am king of

[Turn over.

this country. Steal by line and level' is an excellent pass of pate; there's another garment for 't.

Trin. Monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers, and away with the rest.

Cal. I will have none on 't: we shall lose our time,
And all be turned to barnacles, or to apes
With foreheads villanous low.

(3) I am denied to sue my livery here,

(4)

And yet my letters-patents give me leave:
My father's goods are all distrain'd and sold,
And these and all are all amiss employ'd.
What would you have me do? I am a subject,
And I challenge law attorneys are denied me;
And therefore personally I lay my claim
To my inheritance of free descent.

"Twill make me think the world is full of rubs, And that my fortune runs against the bias. (5) My wretchedness unto a row of pins,

They'll talk of state; for every one doth so
Against a change; woe is forerun with woe.

(6) So, oft it chances in particular men,

That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth-wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin-
By the o'ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or by some habit that too much o'erleavens
The form of plausive manners, that these men,
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,—
Their virtues else, be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo-

Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault.

(7) Rosencrantz. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace but there is, sir, an aery of children, little eyases, that cry out on the top of question and are most tyrannically clapped for 't: these are now the fashion, and so berattle the common stages-so they call them—that many wearing rapiers are afraid of goose-quills, and dare scarce come thither.