Epistle to Pope Boniface VIII
O BONIFACE, who art the Pope,Thy ban is heavy on my hope;Thy malediction and thy hateHave made me excommunicate.
Thy forky tongue, so like a snake's,This wound upon my spirit makes:There let thy tongue again be laid,To staunch the hurt itself hath made.
None other power but thine can healThis gaping wound I still must feel ;None other can my griefs dispel ;If thou absolve me, I am well.
By God's dear grace I humbly pray,Speak but the words " Absolvo te":All else I'll bear with steadfast mind,Until I leave the world behind.
If thou wouldst struggle with me still,And set against me all thy will,Take other weapons for the strife,Turn not this sword against my life.
If thou so brilliantly wouldst fence,And wound my dauntless innocence,Unmatched indeed thy skill must be,If thou canst pink me openly.
For on my breast two shields I bear,And whilst I hold them firm and fair,I fear nor wound nor foeman's might,Through all the ages infinite.
On my left shoulder one is hung,The other from my right is swung ;The left of adamant is madeNot to be pierced by keenest blade.
No sword can break its steely strength,It baffles every thrust at length;From love of God, from strong self-scorn,This flawless diamond shield is born.
The other shield, upon my right,Shines with a brave and fiery light,Of ruby is this buckler cut,And flames of love therein are shut.
And that I love my neighbour well,This ardent flaming shield must tell;Come, tilt, and try if either yields;Come to the fray and prove my shields!
Though fierce and sharp be thine attack,By Love I'll beat thine onslaught back;I'll speak to thee with right good will,And gladly shalt thou listen still.
Farewell, farewell, farewell to thee!From every ill God set thee free:And may He grant me, by His grace,My ills to bear with cheerful face.
Herewith I end my caseAbandoned in this place.
Words in this poem
- malediction n.
- A proclaiming of evil against some one; a cursing; imprecation; a curse or execration; -- opposed to benediction. [L. maledictio: cf. F. malédiction. See Maledicent.]
- excommunicate a.
- Excommunicated; interdicted from the rites of the church. [L. excommunicatus, p. p. of communicare to excommunicate; ex out + communicare. See Communicate.]
- forky a.
- Opening into two or more parts or shoots; forked; furcated.
- dispel v. t.
- To drive away by scattering, or so to cause to vanish; to clear away; to banish; to dissipate; as, to dispel a cloud, vapors, cares, doubts, illusions. [L. dispellere; dis- + pellere to push, drive. See Pulse a beating.]
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- steely a.
- Made of steel; consisting of steel.
- flawless a.
- Free from flaws. Boyle.
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- onslaught n.
- An attack; an onset; esp., a furious or murderous attack or assault. [OE. on on + slaught, slaht, slaughter. See Slaughter.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epistle to Pope Boniface VIII is in the public domain. This text is taken from Jacopone da Todi, Poet and Mystic, 1228-1306: A Spiritual Biography, with a Selection from the Spiritual Songs, Internet Archive, the Mrs. Theodore Beck 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: Jacopone da Todi, Epistle to Pope Boniface VIII, in The Lauds (1919), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacopone-lauds/epistle-to-pope-boniface-viii.html, id L27109.
Form and metre
Epistle to Pope Boniface VIII is 54 lines in 14 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 12 of its 14 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 popeA · hopeA · hateB · excommunicateB
- 2 AABB snake'sA · makesA · laidB · madeB
- 3 AABB healA · feelA · dispelB · wellB
- 4 --AA pray · te · mindA · behindA
- 5 AABB stillA · willA · strifeB · lifeB
- 6 AABB fenceA · innocenceA · beB · openlyB
- 7 AABB bearA · fairA · mightB · infiniteB
- 8 AABB hungA · swungA · madeB · bladeB
- 9 AABB strengthA · lengthA · scornB · bornB
- 10 AABB rightA · lightA · cutB · shutB
- 11 AABB wellA · tellA · yieldsB · shieldsB
- 12 AABB attackA · backA · willB · stillB
- 13 AABB theeA · freeA · graceB · faceB
- 14 AA caseA · placeA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O BONIFACE, who art the Pope, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Thy ban is heavy on my hope; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy malediction and thy hate | 8 | ········ |
| Have made me excommunicate. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Thy forky tongue, so like a snake's, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This wound upon my spirit makes: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There let thy tongue again be laid, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To staunch the hurt itself hath made. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| None other power but thine can heal | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| This gaping wound I still must feel ; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| None other can my griefs dispel ; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| If thou absolve me, I am well. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| By God's dear grace I humbly pray, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Speak but the words " Absolvo te": | 8 | ········ |
| All else I'll bear with steadfast mind, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Until I leave the world behind. | 8 | ········ |
| If thou wouldst struggle with me still, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And set against me all thy will, | 8 | ········ |
| Take other weapons for the strife, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Turn not this sword against my life. | 8 | ········ |
| If thou so brilliantly wouldst fence, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And wound my dauntless innocence, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Unmatched indeed thy skill must be, | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| If thou canst pink me openly. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| For on my breast two shields I bear, | 8 | ········ |
| And whilst I hold them firm and fair, | 8 | ········ |
| I fear nor wound nor foeman's might, | 8 | ········ |
| Through all the ages infinite. | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| On my left shoulder one is hung, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The other from my right is swung ; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The left of adamant is made | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Not to be pierced by keenest blade. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No sword can break its steely strength, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It baffles every thrust at length; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| From love of God, from strong self-scorn, | 8 | ········ |
| This flawless diamond shield is born. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The other shield, upon my right, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Shines with a brave and fiery light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of ruby is this buckler cut, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And flames of love therein are shut. | 8 | ········ |
| And that I love my neighbour well, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| This ardent flaming shield must tell; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Come, tilt, and try if either yields; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Come to the fray and prove my shields! | 8 | ········ |
| Though fierce and sharp be thine attack, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| By Love I'll beat thine onslaught back; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| I'll speak to thee with right good will, | 8 | ········ |
| And gladly shalt thou listen still. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Farewell, farewell, farewell to thee! | 8 | ·/·/·/·· |
| From every ill God set thee free: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And may He grant me, by His grace, | 8 | ········ |
| My ills to bear with cheerful face. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Herewith I end my case | 6 | //···· |
| Abandoned in this place. | 7 | ˘/˘˘··· |
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