tion. Wood is used to make the gallows. The weed, or
hemp, is used to make the noose. The wag, Raleigh
states, is his son “my pretty knave” (l.8). The third qua-
train warns the boy to make sure that the three never
meet, because a meeting would result in the timber
rotting, the rope fraying, and the child choking. The
ending COUPLET repeats this warning and offers the
hope that such a dire meeting will never occur.
There are two main interpretations of this poem.
Some critics believe that Raleigh is being seriously
threatening, while others believe that the tone of the
poem points to a much less serious interpretation. The
riddling format combined with the heavy use of ALLIT-
ERATION and terms of endearment for young Walter
(Wat) Raleigh certainly indicate that even though Raleigh
senior knew fi rsthand about the dangers of being on the
wrong side of the law or government, he chose to couch
his serious warning in this clever SONNET.
FURTHER READING
May, Stephen R. Sir Walter Raleigh. Twayne’s English
Authors Series. Boston: Twayne, 1989.
Leah Larson
SKELTON, JOHN (ca. 1460–1529) It may
surprise some readers to learn that John Skelton, whose
poems sometimes seem irreverent if not downright
bawdy, was a serious courtier and a priest. Skelton
attended Cambridge University, and shortly before
entering service at court, Oxford University gave him
the title poet laureate; the University of Louvain and
Cambridge followed suit a few years later. Although
the title did not carry the weight it now does, Skelton
was praised early in life by the likes of WILLIAM CAXTON
and Desiderus Erasmus. He took holy orders in 1498
and was promptly appointed tutor and chaplain to
Prince Henry, son of King Henry VII. A year later The
Bowge of Courte (1498) became Skelton’s fi rst pub-
lished poem.
Despite his renown as a scholar, Skelton’s position
at court was disrupted by the death of Prince Arthur,
the heir apparent. Skelton’s pupil, Prince Henry,
became heir apparent, and positions in the service of
the young Henry were highly sought after by those
hoping to maintain their infl uence in affairs of state.
Skelton was dismissed from tutoring the prince and
appointed rector of Diss in Norfolk, a prosperous town
far from court.
When Henry VII died, Skelton immediately began
offering verses to his former pupil, King HENRY VIII. By
1512, he had attracted the new king’s attention,
returned to court, and was given the title orator regius
(the king’s orator). Biographers tend to view this return
as somewhat ironic since Skelton’s poem Why Come Ye
Nat to Courte (1522) criticizes those who abandon their
clerical duties, as Skelton had apparently done, in favor
of a court appointment.
Despite the new title, Skelton’s function in court
and his relation to the king is not at all clear. Several of
Skelton’s most famous satirical poems—Collyn Clout
(1519); Speke, Parrot (1521); and Why Come Ye Nat to
Courte (1522)—attack Cardinal Wolsey when the
infl uential Wolsey was closest to the king. In a surpris-
ing reversal, Skelton later dedicated GARLAND OF LAUREL
(1523) and Howe the Douty Duke of Albany (1523) to
Wolsey. What conditions led to this complete change
of attitude have provided scholars with an apparently
endless debate about Skelton’s politics, poetic aspira-
tions, and PATRONAGE.
In addition to satirical poems, Skelton wrote several
plays, only one of which survives, Magnifi cence (1515).
Framed as a morality play, Magnifi cence provides a polit-
ical ALLEGORY about the monarch’s choice of advisors.
However, Skelton is remembered primarily as a poet.
Occasionally described as antiquated or merely transi-
tional, he should be read as an early modern poet. What
has come to be known as SKELTONICS, poems heavily
rhymed but with no set rhyme scheme and lines con-
taining beats that range from two to fi ve, is not an indi-
cation of Skelton’s inability to write in regularized meter.
Skeltonics show that the poet was an experimentalist,
consciously breaking with set rhyme schemes, playing
with colloquial speech, and working with various metri-
cal patterns derived from ballads and sacred chants.
Through his poetic experiments, Skelton pushed the
limits of conventional poetry and created a lively form
for his social and political commentary.
See also KNOLOGE, AQUAYNTANCE, RESORT, FAUOUR
WITH GRACE; “PHILIP SPARROW”; SATIRE; “TUNNING OF ELI-
NOUR RUMMING, THE”; WOMANHOOD, WANTON.”SKELTON, JOHN 417