The Lauds
Thirty-four of Jacopone's lauds on divine love and penance, with his letters to Popes Celestine V and Boniface VIII, in Mrs. Theodore Beck's verse from Evelyn Underhill's 1919 life.
Measured across the book
Across its 3,496 lines, 93% of stressed syllables fall on the beat (95% interval 92% to 93%). Alliteration runs at 1.04 times what shuffling the words would give (0.24 observed against 0.23 expected). 22% of the lines have a feminine ending.
Baselines and intervals are described in the methods.
Contents
Of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Sinneriambic tetrameter · 64 linesHow Christ Mourns over Man the Sinneriambic tetrameter · 115 linesOf the Soul, Contrite for Its Offences against Godiambic tetrameter · 46 linesOf the Contemplation of Death and Burial, to Counter Prideiambic pentameter · 82 linesOf Watchfulness over the Sensestrochaic tetrameter · 38 linesOf the Jubilus of the Heart, That Breaks Forth in the Voiceiambic tetrameter · 32 linesHow It Is the Highest Wisdom to Be Reputed Mad for the Love of Christtrochaic tetrameter · 30 linesOf the Love of Christ on the Cross, and How the Soul Desires to Die with Himiambic trimeter · 57 linesHow the Soul Laments the Parting from Its Loveiambic pentameter · 42 linesHow the Soul Mourns for Divine Love That Hath Departedtrochaic tetrameter · 162 linesHow the Life of Jesus Is the Mirror of the Souliambic trimeter · AABB · 136 linesHow Reason Comforts the Soul That Returns to Godiambic trimeter · 68 linesHow the Soul Comes, through Faith, to Things Invisibleiambic tetrameter · 124 linesHow the Soul Entreats the Angels to Teach It How to Find Jesus Christiambic trimeter · 106 linesHow the Soul Asks Pardon for the Offending and Trying of Lovetrochaic tetrameter · 66 linesHow True Love Is Never Idleiambic pentameter · 212 linesOf Differences in the Contemplation of the Crossiambic pentameter · AABB · 62 linesHow the Soul Complains to God of the Over-Ardent Love Infused in Heriambic pentameter · 364 linesOf Impatience, Which Brings All Our Gains to Nothingiambic pentameter · AABB · 30 linesExhortation to His Own Soul, That, Considering Her Great Nobility, She Should Not Delay to Take the Way of Divine Loveiambic tetrameter · AABB · 125 linesHow the Angels Are Amazed at Christ's Pilgrimage in This Worldiambic tetrameter · 112 linesOf the Incarnation of the Divine Wordiambic pentameter · AABB · 92 linesSong of the Nativity of Jesus Christtrochaic tetrameter · 111 linesOf Holy Poverty, and Her Threefold Heaventrochaic pentameter · 122 linesEpistle to Pope Celestine V., Formerly Called Petro da Morronetrochaic pentameter · AABB · 58 linesLament of the Church Reduced to Evil Stateiambic pentameter · 62 linesEpistle to Pope Boniface VIIIiambic tetrameter · AABB · 54 linesHow the Soul Finds God in All Creatures by Means of the Sensesiambic tetrameter · 58 linesHow God Appears to the Soul in Five Waysiambic trimeter · 52 linesOf Divine Goodness and Created Williambic tetrameter · 84 linesOf the Love That Is Silentiambic trimeter · 52 linesOf Divine Love, and the Praises Thereofiambic tetrameter · ABBA · 142 linesThe Condition of Perpetual Loveiambic trimeter · AABB · 52 linesHow the Soul by Holy Annihilation and Love Reaches a Condition That Is Unknown and Unspeakableiambic tetrameter · AABB · 484 lines
About this text
Public domain. Text from Jacopone da Todi, Poet and Mystic, 1228-1306: A Spiritual Biography, with a Selection from the Spiritual Songs, Internet Archive. Free to read, print, copy and reuse.