XIX.

The Compleint of Chaucer to his Empty Purse

To you, my purse, and to none other wight, Compleyne I, for ye be my lady dere! I am so sory, now that ye be light; For certes, ye now make me hevy chere, e were as leef be leyd up!on my bere; For which un!to your mercy thus I crie" #eth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I dye!
ageyn . adv . against bere . n . mound /bier0 beth . v . be certes . adv . certainly chere . n . demeanor compleyne . v . complain crie . v . cry out dere . adj . dear, pri1ed dye . v . die ageyn . adv . against beth . v . be blisful . adj . 2oyous companye . n companionship dye . v . die elles . adv . else here . v . hear hertes . n . heart3s hevy . adj . heavy hit . pron . it lyf . n . life ageyn . adv . against beth . v . be curtesye . n . honor downe . adv . down dye . v . die elles . adv . else frere . n . friar /monk0 helpe . v . help hevy . adj . heavy lyves . n . life3s might . n . power elles . adv . else hevy . adj . heavy leef . n . leaf leyd . v . laid mot . v . may, must none . pron . none sory . adj . woeful wight . n . person ye . pron . you lyk adv like mot . v . may, must pere . n . peer quene . n . 4ueen sauf . adj . safe soun . n . sound stere . n . star sunne . n . sun voucheth . v . vouch ye . pron . you yelownesse . n . yellowness mot . v . may, must nat . adv . not nye . adv . near shave . adj . shaved sin . conj . when, since thou . pron . you toune . n . town tresorere . n . treasure wole . v . will ye . pron . you yit . adv . yet, even now

$ow voucheth sauf this day or hit be night, That I of you the blisful soun may here, %& 'r see your colour lyk the sunne bright, That of yelownesse had never pere( )e be my lyf, ye be my hertes stere, *uene of comfort and of good companye" #eth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I dye!

%5 $ow purse, thou be to me my lyves light, +nd saviour, as downe in this world here, 'ut of this toune helpe me through your might, ,in that ye wole nat been my tresorere; For I am shave as nye as any frere( -& #ut yit I pray un!to your curtesye" #eth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I dye!

$ote" I3ve not glossed words that are perfectly transparent to native speakers of modern 5nglish( 6here I have glossed an obvious word, it has a different meaning( %.-( ToI . the word order is somewhat backwards here %( you . Chaucer addresses his purse with the plural you, a sign of respect and formality -( lady dere . ad2ectives can come after nouns 7( ye . this is the sub2ect form of you( You is for ob2ects /direct and prepositional0 8( hevy chere . heavy hearted 5( Me were . I may as well be; sub2unctive to show an unreal condition 9( Chaucer is going to repeat this line at the end of each stan1a, so make sure you3ve got it(

mot I . reverse the order :( or . before ;( The word order in this line is strange /and mostly backwards to odern 5nglish0, keep trying until it makes sense( <ere are the bits colori1ed to help you shuf=e them" That I of you the blisful soun may here, %5( thou . Chaucer shifts to the singular you here, a sign of closeness be . Chaucer uses the sub2unctive here to show his desire %:( ye wole nat been . you will not have been %;( nye as any frere . monks shaved their heads and took vows of poverty(

Te>t source" The Student's Chaucer, Clarendon ?ress, %:;9 http"@@books(google(com@booksAidB&wcCDE#?,C)C