From the Spanish of Bartolome Leonardo De Argensola
Blessed, yet sinful one, and broken-hearted!The crowd are pointing at the thing forlorn,In wonder and in scorn!Thou weepest days of innocence departed;Thou weepest, and thy tears have power to moveThe Lord to pity and love.
The greatest of thy follies is forgiven,Even for the least of all the tears that shineOn that pale cheek of thine.Thou didst kneel down, to Him who came from heaven,Evil and ignorant, and thou shalt riseHoly, and pure, and wise.
It is not much that to the fragrant blossomThe ragged brier should change; the bitter firDistil Arabian myrrh!Nor that, upon the wintry desert's bosom,The harvest should rise plenteous, and the swainBear home the abundant grain.
But come and see the bleak and barren mountainsThick to their tops with roses: come and seeLeaves on the dry dead tree:The perished plant, set out by living fountains,Grows fruitful, and its beauteous branches rise,For ever, towards the skies.
Words in this poem
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- brier n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Spanish of Bartolome Leonardo De Argensola is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by William Cullen Bryant, Project Gutenberg ebook #16341; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Cullen Bryant, From the Spanish of Bartolome Leonardo De Argensola, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/from-the-spanish-of-bartolome-leonardo-de-argensola.html, id L07327.
Form and metre
From the Spanish of Bartolome Leonardo De Argensola is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBACC, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 ABBACC heartedA · forlornB · scornB · departedA · moveC · loveC
- 2 AAAABB forgivenA · shineA · thineA · heavenA · riseB · wiseB
- 3 -AA-BB blossom · firA · myrrhA · bosom · swainB · grainB
- 4 ABBACC mountainsA · seeB · treeB · fountainsA · riseC · skiesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Blessed, yet sinful one, and broken-hearted! | 10 | ··/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The crowd are pointing at the thing forlorn, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| In wonder and in scorn! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thou weepest days of innocence departed; | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Thou weepest, and thy tears have power to move | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| The Lord to pity and love. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| The greatest of thy follies is forgiven, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Even for the least of all the tears that shine | 10 | /········· |
| On that pale cheek of thine. | 6 | ······ |
| Thou didst kneel down, to Him who came from heaven, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Evil and ignorant, and thou shalt rise | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| Holy, and pure, and wise. | 6 | /˘···· |
| It is not much that to the fragrant blossom | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| The ragged brier should change; the bitter fir | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| Distil Arabian myrrh! | 7 | ˘/˘/˘˘· |
| Nor that, upon the wintry desert's bosom, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| The harvest should rise plenteous, and the swain | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘··· |
| Bear home the abundant grain. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| But come and see the bleak and barren mountains | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Thick to their tops with roses: come and see | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Leaves on the dry dead tree: | 6 | ······ |
| The perished plant, set out by living fountains, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Grows fruitful, and its beauteous branches rise, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘· |
| For ever, towards the skies. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
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