Poet of the Month 101: GEOFFREY CHAUCER

 

GEOFFREY CHAUCER

c 1343 — 25 October 1400 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LACK OF STEADFASTNESS

 

 

Ballad

 

Some time ago this world was so steadfast and stable,

That a man's word was his obligation,

And now it is so false and deceivable,

That word and deed, in the end,

Are nothing alike, for all this is turned upside down

For the sake of liquor and wilfulness,

Everything is lost for lack of steadfastness.

 

 

What makes this world so variable,

But the fondness we have for dissent?

Among us now a man is considered useless,

Unless he can, by some collusion,

Do his neighbour wrong or oppress him.

What causes this, but wilful wretchedness,

When everything is lost, for lack of steadfastness?

 

 

Truth is suppressed, reason held to be a fable;

Virtue now has no dominion,

Pity is exiled, no man is merciful.

Through covetousness discretion is deceived;

The world has made a shift

From right to wrong, from truth to fickleness,

Everything is lost, for lack of steadfastness.

 

 

L'envoy to King Richard

 

O prince, desire to be honourable,

Cherish your subjects and hate extortion!

Suffer nothing, that may be reprehensible

To your reign, to be conducted in your kingdom.

Wield your sword of castigation,

Dread Lord, obey the law, love truth and worthiness,

And bond your subjects again to steadfastness. 

c 1380–1396

 

 

 

 

Adapted into modern(ish) English by

BR

 

 

[See below for original Middle English version] 

 

 

 

Use the link below to read about the life of English poet, author and civil servant GEOFFREY CHAUCER:

 

 

 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/geoffrey-chaucer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LAK OF STEDFASTNESSE  

 

 

Balade.

 

Som tyme this world was so steadfast and stable,

That mannes word was obligacioun,

And now hit is so fals and deceivable,

That word and deed, as in conclusioun,

Ben no-thing lyk, for turned up so doun

Is al this world for mede and wilfulness,

That al is lost for lak of stedfastnesse.

 

 

What maketh this world to be so variable,

But lust that folk have in dissensioun?

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 wreechednesse,

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.

 

 

Lenvoy to King Richard.

 

O prince, desyre to be honourable,

Cherish thy folk and hate extorcioun!

Suffre no thing, that may be reprevable

To thyn estate, done in thy regioun.

Shew forth thy swerd of castigacioun,

Dred God, do law, love trouthe and worthinesse,

And wed they folk agein to stedfastnesse.

 

 

 

c 1380–1396 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Write Advice 219: LISA APPIGNANESI

 

Writing a memoir means that you've probably reached a certain age, an age where mortality seems close to you, either because your parents have died or are dying, or because your children are growing up and abandoning you in one sense or another.  And I think that's the age at which people begin to think about the past.  It will lead you to consider all kinds of questions about truth and the workings of memory… I think the first thing to do is to select out.  Otherwise you'll have no time to live as you recollect the past — there is a great deal of it!  So select out for the moments that have a particular resonance for you.  Play with those and see where they take you.  They may take you into interesting places and not necessarily the places where you thought you might visit… For me, the memoir is not autobiography.  It's very, very distant from that.  There's no attempt to give a chronological rendition of one's life.  I was looking at the traces of the legacies.  I used the novelist's skills of going into the minds of the people you know least — namely my parents before I was born!  These are totally mysterious others.  You also need to be able to set scenes and to be able create movement in the text and create characters the way a novelist would. 

'How To Write Memoirs' [BBC World Service]

 

 

 

Use the link below to read a recent article by Polish-British-Canadian novelist, writer and social advocate LISA APPIGNANESI:

 

 

https://www.freud.org.uk/2025/01/05/24042/

 

 

 

 

 

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