The Cid’s Departure into Exile

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

iambic pentameter · AABB · 37 lines · from Poems

With sixty knights in his gallant train,Went forth the Campeador of Spain;For wild sierras and plains afar,He left the lands of his own Bivar.

To march o’er field, and to watch in tent,From his home in good Castile he went;To the wasting siege and the battle’s van,--For the noble Cid was a banish’d man!

Through his olive-woods the morn-breeze play’d,And his native streams wild music made,And clear in the sunshine his vineyards lay,When for march and combat he took his way.

With a thoughtful spirit his way he took,And he turn’d his steed for a parting look,For a parting look at his own fair towers,--Oh! the exile’s heart hath weary hours!

The pennons were spread, and the band array’d,But the Cid at the threshold a moment stay’d--It was but a moment; the halls were lone,And the gates of his dwelling all open thrown.

There was not a steed in the empty stall,Nor a spear nor a cloak on the naked wall,Nor a hawk on the perch, nor a seat at the door,Nor the sound of a step on the hollow floor.

Then a dim tear swell’d to the warrior’s eye,As the voice of his native groves went by;And he said--“My foemen their wish have won:Now the will of God be in all things done!”

But the trumpet blew, with its note of cheer,And the winds of the morning swept off the tear,And the fields of his glory lay distant far,--He is gone from the towers of his own Bivar!

“Tornaba la cabeza, e estabalos catando:Vio puertas abiertas, e uzos sin cañados,Alcandaras vacias, sin pielles e sin mantos:E sin falcones, e sin adtores mudados.Sospirò mio Cid.” Poem of the Cid.

Words in this poem

went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
afar adv.: At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
sunshine n.: The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
steed n.: A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
lone n.: A lane. See Loanin.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Cid’s Departure into Exile is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Felicia Hemans, The Cid’s Departure into Exile, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-cid-s-departure-into-exile.html, id L19285.

Form and metre

The Cid’s Departure into Exile is 37 lines in 9 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 8 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%).

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 train^A · spain^A · afar^B · bivar^B
2 AABB tent^A · went^A · van^B · man^B
3 AABB play'd^A · made^A · lay^B · way^B
4 AABB took^A · look^A · towers^B · hours^B
5 AABB array'd^A · stay'd^A · lone^B · thrown^B
6 AABB stall^A · wall^A · door^B · floor^B
7 AABB eye^A · by^A · won^B · done^B
8 AABB cheer^A · tear^A · far^B · bivar^B
9 -AAA- catando · cañados^A · mantos^A · mudados^A · cid

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
With sixty knights in his gallant train,	9	·/˘···/˘·
Went forth the Campeador of Spain;	8	········
For wild sierras and plains afar,	9	··˘/˘··˘/
He left the lands of his own Bivar.	9	·········
To march o’er field, and to watch in tent,	9	·········
From his home in good Castile he went;	10	··········
To the wasting siege and the battle’s van,	10	··/˘···/˘·
--For the noble Cid was a banish’d man!	10	··/˘···/˘·
Through his olive-woods the morn-breeze play’d,	9	··/˘·····
And his native streams wild music made,	9	··/˘··/˘·
And clear in the sunshine his vineyards lay,	10	····/··/˘·
When for march and combat he took his way.	10	····/˘····
With a thoughtful spirit his way he took,	10	··/˘/˘····
And he turn’d his steed for a parting look,	10	·······/˘·
For a parting look at his own fair towers,	11	··/˘·····/˘
--Oh! the exile’s heart hath weary hours!	10	··/···/˘/˘
The pennons were spread, and the band array’d,	10	········˘/
But the Cid at the threshold a moment stay’d--	11	·····/··/˘·
It was but a moment; the halls were lone,	10	····/˘····
And the gates of his dwelling all open thrown.	11	·····/˘·/˘·
There was not a steed in the empty stall,	10	·······/˘·
Nor a spear nor a cloak on the naked wall,	11	········/˘·
Nor a hawk on the perch, nor a seat at the door,	12	············
Nor the sound of a step on the hollow floor.	11	········/˘·
Then a dim tear swell’d to the warrior’s eye,	10	·······/˘·
As the voice of his native groves went by;	10	·····/˘···
And he said--“My foemen their wish have won:	10	··········
Now the will of God be in all things done!”	10	··········
But the trumpet blew, with its note of cheer,	10	··/˘······
And the winds of the morning swept off the tear,	11	·····/˘····
And the fields of his glory lay distant far,	11	·····/˘·/˘·
--He is gone from the towers of his own Bivar!	11	·····/·····
“Tornaba la cabeza, e estabalos catando:	15	···············
Vio puertas abiertas, e uzos sin cañados,	13	·············
Alcandaras vacias, sin pielles e sin mantos:	12	············
E sin falcones, e sin adtores mudados.	11	··/˘·······
Sospirò mio Cid.” Poem of the Cid.	9	····/˘···

Notes from the edition 2

Notes from The Poems of Felicia Hemans (Project Gutenberg #66785), largely Mrs Hemans's own.

Stanza 1, line 4 Bivar, the supposed birthplace of the Cid, was a castle, about two leagues from Burgos.
Stanza 6, line 4 “Tornaba la cabeza, e estabalos catando: Vio puertas abiertas, e uzos sin cañados, Alcandaras vacias, sin pielles e sin mantos: E sin falcones, e sin adtores mudados. Sospirò mio Cid.” Poem of the Cid.

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.

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