Of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Sinner
O QUEEN of all courtesy,To thee I come and I kneel,My wounded heart to heal,To thee for succour I pray—
To thee I come and I kneel,For lo! I am in despair ;None other help can heal,Thou only wilt hear my prayer:And if I should lose Thy care,My spirit must waste away.
My heart is wounded more,Madonna, than tongue can tell ;Pierced to the very core ;Rottenness there doth dwell.Hasten to make me well!How canst Thou say me nay?
Madonna, so fierce the strainOf this my perilous hour,Nature is turned to pain,So strong is evil's power ;Be gracious, O Ivory Tower!My anguish touch and allay.
All that I had is spent:In nothingness am I drest ;Make me Thine instrument,Thy servant ransomed and blest:—He Who drank from Thy breast,Madonna, the price will pay.
Thy Son, Who loved me first,—By His dear love I entreat,Madonna, pity my thirst,Grant me Thy counsel meet!Succour me, Lily most sweet!Haste, and do not delay!
Come to Me, son most dear,Thy coming is all my pleasure;Ask my help without fear,Gladly I give in due measure;Yet, for my skill and treasure,In suffering must thou pay.
If that thou wouldst be well,Spare thy diet must be ;Conquer thy senses and quell,Teach them from peril to flee ;Till they be chastened and free,Lest nature ruin and slay.
Then take, for a healing draught,Fear of the coming of death:Though youth both sported and laughed,That coming still hasteneth:Let vanity, like a breath,Fade from its ancient sway.
Then, for a potion, drinkThe solemn terror of Hell:In that dark prison, O think!Lost souls forever must dwell.So, surely, thy heart will swell,And cast the poison away!
Before my priest without fear,Void forth the venomous thing:It is his office to hear,And God the ransom will bring:So the Enemy's triumphingShall be hushed for ever and aye.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- madonna n.
- My lady; -- a term of address in Italian formerly used as the equivalent of Madame, but for which Signora is now substituted. [It. madonna my lady. See Dame, Donna, and cf. Madame, Monkey.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
- chastened a.
- Corrected; disciplined; refined; purified; toned down. Sir. W.
- triumphing a.
- Having or celebrating a triumph; victorious; triumphant.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Sinner 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, Of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Sinner, in The Lauds (1919), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacopone-lauds/of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-and-of-the-sinner.html, id L27083.
Form and metre
Of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Sinner is 64 lines in 11 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 -AAB courtesy · kneelA · healA · prayB
- 2 ACACCB kneelA · despairC · healA · prayerC · careC · awayB
- 3 DEDEEB moreD · tellE · coreD · dwellE · wellE · nayB
- 4 FGFGGB strainF · hourG · painF · powerG · towerG · allayB
- 5 -H-HHB spent · drestH · instrument · blestH · breastH · payB
- 6 IJIJJB firstI · entreatJ · thirstI · meetJ · sweetJ · delayB
- 7 KLKLLB dearK · pleasureL · fearK · measureL · treasureL · payB
- 8 MNMNNB wellM · beN · quellM · fleeN · freeN · slayB
- 9 OPO-PB draughtO · deathP · laughedO · hasteneth · breathP · swayB
- 10 QRQRRB drinkQ · hellR · thinkQ · dwellR · swellR · awayB
- 11 STST-- fearS · thingT · hearS · bringT · triumphing · aye
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 QUEEN of all courtesy, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| To thee I come and I kneel, | 7 | ······· |
| My wounded heart to heal, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| To thee for succour I pray— | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| To thee I come and I kneel, | 7 | ······· |
| For lo! I am in despair ; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| None other help can heal, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thou only wilt hear my prayer: | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And if I should lose Thy care, | 7 | ······· |
| My spirit must waste away. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| My heart is wounded more, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Madonna, than tongue can tell ; | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| Pierced to the very core ; | 7 | ·˘··/˘· |
| Rottenness there doth dwell. | 6 | ······ |
| Hasten to make me well! | 6 | /˘···· |
| How canst Thou say me nay? | 6 | ······ |
| Madonna, so fierce the strain | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| Of this my perilous hour, | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Nature is turned to pain, | 7 | /˘··˘·· |
| So strong is evil's power ; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Be gracious, O Ivory Tower! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘/ |
| My anguish touch and allay. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| All that I had is spent: | 6 | ······ |
| In nothingness am I drest ; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Make me Thine instrument, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Thy servant ransomed and blest: | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| —He Who drank from Thy breast, | 6 | ······ |
| Madonna, the price will pay. | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| Thy Son, Who loved me first,— | 7 | ····˘·· |
| By His dear love I entreat, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Madonna, pity my thirst, | 7 | ˘/˘/˘·· |
| Grant me Thy counsel meet! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Succour me, Lily most sweet! | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Haste, and do not delay! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Come to Me, son most dear, | 6 | ······ |
| Thy coming is all my pleasure; | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| Ask my help without fear, | 6 | ······ |
| Gladly I give in due measure; | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Yet, for my skill and treasure, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In suffering must thou pay. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| If that thou wouldst be well, | 6 | ······ |
| Spare thy diet must be ; | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Conquer thy senses and quell, | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Teach them from peril to flee ; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Till they be chastened and free, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Lest nature ruin and slay. | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Then take, for a healing draught, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Fear of the coming of death: | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Though youth both sported and laughed, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| That coming still hasteneth: | 7 | ·/˘·/˘˘ |
| Let vanity, like a breath, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Fade from its ancient sway. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Then, for a potion, drink | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The solemn terror of Hell: | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| In that dark prison, O think! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Lost souls forever must dwell. | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| So, surely, thy heart will swell, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And cast the poison away! | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| Before my priest without fear, | 7 | ······· |
| Void forth the venomous thing: | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| It is his office to hear, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And God the ransom will bring: | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| So the Enemy's triumphing | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Shall be hushed for ever and aye. | 7 | ····/·· |
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.