The Affront of Corpes CXVII
And don Jerome the Bishop went spurring thence away.'Gainst the end of the encampment he guided forth the fray.By his good hap and God's mercy who ever loved him well,At the first stroke he delivered two Moors before him fell.When in twain his lance was broken, he set hand upon the blade.Well was he tried. And Name of God! what a fair fight he made!Two with the lance, and with the sword five of the foe he slew.The Moors are very many. Around him close they drew,They did not pierce his armour, though they laid on strokes ofpower.
His eyes beheld the Bishop, who was born in happy hour,He caught his shield, the battle-spear he laid it low along,He spurred Baviéca the well-paced steed and strong,He went to smite against them with all his soul and heart.The foremost ranks of battle did the lord Cid dispart:Of the Moors he struck down seven, and five of them hath slain.God was well pleased, the battle it was granted him to gain.My lord Cid and his henchmen in hot pursuit they went.There had you seen the stakes uptorn and may a tent-rope rent,And all the ten-poles falling that were wrought so rich and brave.From the tents, my lord Cid's vassals King Búcar's henchmendrave.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- encampment n.
- The act of pitching tents or forming huts, as by an army or traveling company, for temporary lodging or rest.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- 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.]
- dispart v. t.
- To part asunder; to divide; to separate; to sever; to rend; to rive or split; as, disparted air; disparted towers. [Pref. dis- + part: cf. OF. despartir.]
- drave
- , old imp. of Drive.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Affront of Corpes CXVII is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Lay of the Cid, Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, the R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon 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: Anonymous, The Affront of Corpes CXVII, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-affront-of-corpes-cxvii.html, id L15121.
Form and metre
The Affront of Corpes CXVII is 22 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 73% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.5 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABBCCDD-- awayA · frayA · wellB · fellB · bladeC · madeC · slewD · drewD · of · power
- 2 -AABBCCDDECE hour · alongA · strongA · heartB · dispartB · slainC · gainC · wentD · rentD · braveE · henchmenC · draveE
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| And don Jerome the Bishop went spurring thence away. | 13 | ··˘/·/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| 'Gainst the end of the encampment he guided forth the fray. | 14 | ·····˘/˘·/˘··· |
| By his good hap and God's mercy who ever loved him well, | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| At the first stroke he delivered two Moors before him fell. | 14 | ·····˘/˘······ |
| When in twain his lance was broken, he set hand upon the blade. | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Well was he tried. And Name of God! what a fair fight he made! | 14 | ·············· |
| Two with the lance, and with the sword five of the foe he slew. | 14 | ·············· |
| The Moors are very many. Around him close they drew, | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| They did not pierce his armour, though they laid on strokes of | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| power. | 2 | /˘ |
| His eyes beheld the Bishop, who was born in happy hour, | 15 | ··˘/·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| He caught his shield, the battle-spear he laid it low along, | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| He spurred Baviéca the well-paced steed and strong, | 11 | ··········· |
| He went to smite against them with all his soul and heart. | 13 | ············· |
| The foremost ranks of battle did the lord Cid dispart: | 13 | ·/···/˘····˘/ |
| Of the Moors he struck down seven, and five of them hath slain. | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| God was well pleased, the battle it was granted him to gain. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| My lord Cid and his henchmen in hot pursuit they went. | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/·· |
| There had you seen the stakes uptorn and may a tent-rope rent, | 14 | ·············· |
| And all the ten-poles falling that were wrought so rich and brave. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| From the tents, my lord Cid's vassals King Búcar's henchmen | 13 | ······/˘···/˘ |
| drave. | 1 | · |
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.