The New Life (La Vita Nuova.)
Οὐδὲ ἐῴκειἈνδρός γε θνητοῦ παῖς ἔμμεναι, ἀλλὰ θεοῖο.
To every heart which the sweet pain doth move,And unto which these words may now be broughtFor true interpretation and kind thought,Be greeting in our Lord’s name, which is Love.Of those long hours wherein the stars, above,Wake and keep watch, the third was almost nought,When Love was shown me with such terrors fraughtAs may not carelessly be spoken of.He seemed like one who is full of joy, and hadMy heart within his hand, and on his armMy lady, with a mantle round her, slept;Whom (having wakened her) anon he madeTo eat that heart; she ate, as fearing harm.Then he went out; and as he went, he wept.
All ye that pass along Love’s trodden way,Pause ye awhile and sayIf there be any grief like unto mine:I pray you that you hearken a short spacePatiently, if my caseBe not a piteous marvel and a sign.
Love (never, certes, for my worthless part,But of his own great heart,)Vouchsafed to me a life so calm and sweetThat oft I heard folk question as I wentWhat such great gladness meant:—They spoke of it behind me in the street.
But now that fearless bearing is all goneWhich with Love’s hoarded wealth was given me;Till I am grown to beSo poor that I have dread to think thereon.And thus it is that I, being like as oneWho is ashamed and hides his poverty,Without seem full of glee,And let my heart within travail and moan.
Words in this poem
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- patiently adv.
- In a patient manner.
- certes adv.
- Certainly; in truth; verily. [F. certes, for à certes, fr. L. certus. See Certain.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- thereon adv.
- On that or this. [AS. . See There, and On.]
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The New Life (La Vita Nuova.) is in the public domain. This text is taken from The New Life, Project Gutenberg ebook #41085, the Dante Gabriel Rossetti translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Dante Alighieri, The New Life (La Vita Nuova.), in The New Life (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #41085, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dante-vita-nuova/the-new-life-la-vita-nuova.html, id L14438.
Form and metre
The New Life (La Vita Nuova.) is 36 lines in 5 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is AABCCB, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 39% 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 AA — · —
- 2 ABBAABBA-CD-CD moveA · broughtB · thoughtB · loveA · aboveA · noughtB · fraughtB · ofA · had · armC · sleptD · made · harmC · weptD
- 3 AABCCB wayA · sayA · mineB · spaceC · caseC · signB
- 4 AABCCB partA · heartA · sweetB · wentC · meantC · streetB
- 5 ABBA--B- goneA · meB · beB · thereonA · one · poverty · gleeB · moan
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Οὐδὲ ἐῴκει | 0 | |
| Ἀνδρός γε θνητοῦ παῖς ἔμμεναι, ἀλλὰ θεοῖο. | 0 | |
| To every heart which the sweet pain doth move, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And unto which these words may now be brought | 10 | ·········· |
| For true interpretation and kind thought, | 10 | ··˘·˘/˘··· |
| Be greeting in our Lord’s name, which is Love. | 10 | ·/˘·/····· |
| Of those long hours wherein the stars, above, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Wake and keep watch, the third was almost nought, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| When Love was shown me with such terrors fraught | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| As may not carelessly be spoken of. | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| He seemed like one who is full of joy, and had | 11 | ··········· |
| My heart within his hand, and on his arm | 10 | ·········· |
| My lady, with a mantle round her, slept; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Whom (having wakened her) anon he made | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| To eat that heart; she ate, as fearing harm. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Then he went out; and as he went, he wept. | 10 | ·········· |
| All ye that pass along Love’s trodden way, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Pause ye awhile and say | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| If there be any grief like unto mine: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I pray you that you hearken a short space | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Patiently, if my case | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| Be not a piteous marvel and a sign. | 11 | ···/˘˘/˘··· |
| Love (never, certes, for my worthless part, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But of his own great heart,) | 6 | ······ |
| Vouchsafed to me a life so calm and sweet | 10 | ·········· |
| That oft I heard folk question as I went | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What such great gladness meant:— | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They spoke of it behind me in the street. | 10 | ·········· |
| But now that fearless bearing is all gone | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Which with Love’s hoarded wealth was given me; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Till I am grown to be | 6 | ······ |
| So poor that I have dread to think thereon. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And thus it is that I, being like as one | 10 | ······/··· |
| Who is ashamed and hides his poverty, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Without seem full of glee, | 6 | ······ |
| And let my heart within travail and moan. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
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.