RIDDLES See ANGLO-SAXON RIDDLES.
RIME COUÉE (TAIL RHYME) Rime couée,
or tail rhyme, is a type of STANZA where rhyming short
lines are separated by one or more longer lines. Early
forms are prevalent in satirical verse. In the Middle
Ages, however, it was commonly used for ROMANCEs,
such as SIR LAUNFAL, Emaré, and Sir Cleges.
FURTHER READING
Freeman-Regalado, Nancy. Poetic Patterns in Rutebeuf. New
Haven, Conn., and London: Yale University Press, 1970.
Daniel O’Sullivan
“ROBENE AND MAKYNE” ROBERT HEN-
RYSON (ca. 1470) Together with much of ROBERT
HENRYSON’s work, “Robene and Makyne” is preserved
in the Bannatyne manuscript now in the National
Library of Scotland. No source is known for this poem,
though it contains allusions to French and Scottish
BALLADs. It is a clear parody of courtly ROMANCE and
also, perhaps, of other modes of poetry, such as the
ELEGY and the CARPE DIEM genre. The names of the two
title characters are typical of literary shepherds and
country girls, though in the latter case a bawdy over-
tone may be intended.
Robene, a young shepherd, sits on a hill tending his
fl ock; Makyne comes to him confessing her love in pas-
sionate tones, but she is rudely rejected, as the shep-
herd knows nothing of love. Makyne tries to teach him,
offering him both her heart and her maidenhood, but
to no avail; Robene is only concerned with the well-
being of his fl ock and even suggests that Makyne might
come back on the next day, as now his sheep seem dis-
posed to wander. The spirited dialogue between the
two occupies more than half the poem, evoking and
parodying images familiar to COURTLY LOVE literature
and contrasting Makyne’s high-fl own aspirations with
Robene’s earthly concerns. The latter concludes this
fi rst part of the poem by going abruptly away and leav-
ing Makyne to her lament, but as he gathers his sheep,
he feels Makyne’s malady assailing him; this time it is
his turn to go to the girl and plead. But the man who
does not want when he may, shall have nothing when
he wants: This is Makyne’s bitter retort, and the moral
meaning of the poem, as this second, symmetrical
debate of love concludes with a grieving shepherd sigh-
ing with his fl ock under the hillside.
The poem belongs to the late medieval genre of the
PASTOURELLE—that is, a PASTORAL lyric that here takes
the form of a lovers’ debate. Unlike the French instances
of the genre, its characters are all lowly born (there is
no knight or clerk pleading with a shepherdess for
love) and the setting unequivocally realistic. Part of the
comedy resides in the reversal of roles, but we should
also underline the contrast between the homely char-
acters and their everyday occupation as well as the
courtly tone Makyne would like to establish. This effect
is obtained through very simple means: Robene con-
trasts Makyne’s pleading with a very healthy concern
for the well-being of his fl ock and never forgets his
duty, whether he is tempted by Makyne’s offers or con-
sumed by love himself.
It is diffi cult to fi nd a place for this poem within the
Henryson canon, as its light, comic tone and sheer
readability contrast with the serious, occasionally mor-
alistic tone employed by him elsewhere. But typical of
Henryson is the creative transformation of an estab-
lished tradition and the insight he gives us into human
nature as he turns his characters from simple rustic
children to knowledgeable adults, thanks to no exter-
nal infl uence but simply to the power of love. Such a
transformation is highlighted by the language used by
the two characters in their debates; in particular,
Makyne surprises the reader for the psychological sub-
tlety of her portrait, while her speech, didactic and
impassionate, prevents her falling into the stereotype
of the mannered shepherdess and makes her plastic
and vibrant—one of the memorable female characters
created by this unexpectedly modern poet.
FURTHER READING
Cornelius, Michael G. “Robert Henryson’s Pastoral Bur-
lesque ‘Robene and Makyne’ (1470).” Fifteenth-Century
Studies 28 (2003): 80–96.
Greentree, Rosemary. “Literate in Love: Makyne’s Lesson for
Robene.” In Older Scots Literature, edited by Sally Map-
stone, 61–69. Edinburgh: John Donald, 2005.
Petrina, Alessandra. “Deviations from Genre in Robert Hen-
ryson’s Robene and Makyne.” Studies in Scottish Literature
31 (1999): 107–120.
Alessandra Petrina344 RIDDLES