Rudel to the Lady of Tripoli III
Dear Pilgrim, art thou for the East indeed?Go!--saying ever as thou dost proceed,That I, French Rudel, choose for my deviceA sunflower outspread like a sacrificeBefore its idol. See! These inexpertAnd hurried fingers could not fail to hurtThe woven picture; 't is a woman's skillIndeed; but nothing baffled me, so, illOr well, the work is finished. Say, men feedOn songs I sing, and therefore bask the beesOn my flower's breast as on a platform broad:But, as the flower's concern is not for theseBut solely for the sun, so men applaudIn vain this Rudel, he not looking hereBut to the East--the East! Go, say this, Pilgrim dear!
Words in this poem
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- inexpert a.
- Destitute of experience or of much experience. [L. inexpertus inexperienced: cf. F. inexpert. See In- not, and Expert.]
- bask v. i.
- To lie in warmth; to be exposed to genial heat. [OScand. ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rudel to the Lady of Tripoli III is in the public domain. This text is taken from Men and Women, Project Gutenberg ebook #17393; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Browning, Rudel to the Lady of Tripoli III, in Men and Women (1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17393, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/browning-men-and-women/rudel-to-the-lady-of-tripoli-iii.html, id L03568.
Form and metre
Rudel to the Lady of Tripoli III is 15 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 73% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABB--CCADEDEFF indeedA · proceedA · deviceB · sacrificeB · inexpert · hurt · skillC · illC · feedA · beesD · broadE · theseD · applaudE · hereF · dearF
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Pilgrim, art thou for the East indeed? | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Go!--saying ever as thou dost proceed, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| That I, French Rudel, choose for my device | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A sunflower outspread like a sacrifice | 10 | ·/˘˘/··/˘· |
| Before its idol. See! These inexpert | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And hurried fingers could not fail to hurt | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| The woven picture; 't is a woman's skill | 11 | ·/˘/˘···/˘· |
| Indeed; but nothing baffled me, so, ill | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Or well, the work is finished. Say, men feed | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| On songs I sing, and therefore bask the bees | 10 | ·········· |
| On my flower's breast as on a platform broad: | 10 | ··/····/·· |
| But, as the flower's concern is not for these | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| But solely for the sun, so men applaud | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| In vain this Rudel, he not looking here | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But to the East--the East! Go, say this, Pilgrim dear! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.