Mouseover Annotation of General Prologue for Canterbury Tales
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath
perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in
swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour
Whan Zephirus
eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem Nature in
hir corages),
Thanne longen folk to goon
on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken
straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes,
kowthe in
sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful
martir for to
seke,
That hem hath holpen
whan that they were
seeke.