Social Commentaries
Go Forth, King
From Minor Poems
Go forth, king, rule thee by sapience;
Bishop, be able to minister doctryne;
Lord, to trew consayl yeve audience;
Womanheed, to chastitè ever enclyne;
Knight, let thy dedes worship determyne;
Be rightwis, jugë, in saving thy name;
Rich, do almesse, lest thou lese blis with shame.
People, obey your king and the lawe;
Age, be thou ruled by good religioun;
Trew servant, be dredful, and keep thee under awe,
And thou, povre, fy on presumpcioun;
Inobedience to youth is utter distruccioun;
Remembre you how god hath set you, lo!
And do your part, as ye be ordained to.
Codex Note
Fourteen lines exhorting each estate to its duty — king, bishop, lord, knight, judge, rich man, people, age, servant, poor man and youth. Thynne’s print of 1532 precedes it with a Latin list of twelve abuses (‘Rex sine sapientia’), omitted here. Text from W. W. Skeat, Chaucerian and Other Pieces (Oxford, 1897).
Cite this poem
MLA
Lydgate, John. “Go Forth, King.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/lydgate/8/.
Chicago
Lydgate, John. “Go Forth, King.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/lydgate/8/.
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