compilation Melisata, the contents of “The Three
Ravens” suggest composition long before that. It fol-
lows the standard BALLAD STANZA form with four-line
STANZAS and a REFRAIN, and it relates a poignant narra-
tive. Three ravens are sitting in a tree. When one asks
about breakfast, another reports that while there is a
potential meal in the fi eld—the body of a dead
knight—the corpse is too heavily guarded by faithful
animal retainers (a hawk and a hound). As this tale is
being told, a pregnant doe comes up to the knight’s
body, licks his wounds clean, and then bears away his
body for burial. Afterward, she lies next to his grave
and dies. The ballad does not return to the ravens;
instead, it closes with a “prayer” of sorts, asking God to
send to send every man “Such haukes, such hounds,
and such a Leman [sweetheart].”
Most critical debates about the ballad have focused
on the “fallow doe” in the poem. To assume the fi gure
is literally a deer presents physical problems (how
might a doe lift up a man?), ethical concerns (why
would a doe assist a hunter?), and moral complexities
(why would the doe be a man’s sweetheart?). Many
scholars suggest that the doe is a supernatural crea-
ture, perhaps a wood-wife from Teutonic mythol-
ogy—a wood fairy that takes human lovers. As a
supernatural creature, the fairy could shape-shift into
animal form.
Other scholars have suggested that the ballad may
have had Celtic origins, particularly because of the
spelling of the word derrie. In this case, the doe may
represent the knight’s attendant spirit, a personal ani-
mal guide unseen by the individual until death
approaches. Ravens serve as a symbol of death, being
carrion eaters, but also as a symbol of potential evil
forces—black birds that feast on eyes, traditional “win-
dows of the soul.” The animal spirits protect and sur-
round the honorable knight, depriving evil of its
opportunity to take him. That there are three ravens
also fi nds a parallel in Celtic mythology: the Morrigan,
a goddess of death who took the form of a raven,
appeared with her sister Fates as a trio and consumed
the heads of slain warriors. Scholars also note the con-
nection to the ballad “The TWA CORBIES,” which is often
considered a parody of this one.
FURTHER READING
Chatman, Vernon. “The Three Ravens Explicated.” Midwest
Folklore 13, no. 3 (1963): 177–186.“TO ADAM, HIS SCRIBE” GEOFFREY CHAU-
CER (1385) GEOFFREY CHAUCER’s briefest poem, “To
Adam, His Scribe” details the frustrations of a poet who
must rely on a careless scribe to copy and transmit his
words to the world. Adam, Chaucer’s scribe, is accused
of “negligence” and “rape” [haste], making many mis-
takes while copying the manuscripts that Chaucer
must later correct. In venting his frustrations, Chaucer
wishes “scalle,” an itchy, scabby scalp, upon the scribe
for making the author constantly “scrape” out Adam’s
copying and editing errors.
This amusing, seemingly lighthearted epigraph
reveals much about the relationships and troubles of
publication in the 14th century. Scholars have associ-
ated Chaucer’s concerns with those of Dante and other
contemporaries who feared losing control of their work
once it was sent out to the world.
Analysis of this poem has varied, presenting it as a
broad COMPLAINT that is not directed at any one scribe
in particular, or presenting “Adam” as an allusion to the
biblical Adam, connecting creation through an author’s
textual work with God’s power to create life. The pos-
sibility of “Adam” being one of Chaucer’s more authori-
tative scribes is also of interest, and recent scholarship
has focused on identifying the scribe through analysis
of historical records and manuscripts.
FURTHER READING
Ruud, Jay. “Many a Song and Many a Leccherous Lay”: Tradi-
tion and Individuality in Chaucer’s Lyric Poetry. New York:
Garland, 1992.
Catherine A. Perkins“TO ST MARY MAGDALEN” HENRY CON-
STABLE (early 1590s) HENRY CONSTABLE wrote two
important SONNET SEQUENCEs. The fi rst, Diana, pub-
lished in 1592, is a pioneering collection of carnal and
romantic love SONNETs. By contrast, his 17 Spirituall
Sonnettes—not published until 1815—are devotional
poems that celebrate an intense relationship with God.
The Spirituall Sonnettes were almost certainly written436 “TO ADAM, HIS SCRIBE”