The Banishment of the Cid IV
Fain had they made him welcome, but none dared do the thingFor fear of Don Alfonso, and the fury of the King.His mandate unto Burgos came ere the evening fell.With utmost care they brought it, and it was sealed well'That no man to Roy Diaz give shelter now, take heedAnd if one give him shelter, let him know in very deedHe shall lose his whole possession, nay! the eyes within his headNor shall his soul and body be found in better stead.'
Great sorrow had the Christians, and from his face they hid.Was none dared aught to utter unto my lord the Cid.
Then the Campeador departed unto his lodging straight.But when he was come thither, they had locked and barred the gate.In their fear of King Alfonso had they done even so.An the Cid forced not his entrance, neither for weal nor woeDurst they open it unto him. Loudly his men did call.Nothing thereto in answer said the folk within the hall.My lord the Cid spurred onward, to the doorway did he go.He drew his foot from the stirrup, he smote the door one blow.Yet the door would not open, for they had barred it fast.But a maiden of nine summers came unto him at last:
"Campeador, in happy hour thou girdedst on the sword.'This the King's will. Yestereven came the mandate of our lord.With utmost care they brought it, and it was sealed with care:None to ope to you or greet you for any cause shall dare.And if we do, we forfeit houses and lands instead.Nay we shall lose, moreover, the eyes within the headBut may God with all his power support thee in thy pain."
So spake the child and turned away. Unto her home went she.That he lacked the King's favor now well the Cid might see.He left the door; forth onward he spurred through Burgos town.When he had reached Saint Mary's, then he got swiftly downHe fell upon his knee and prayed with a true heart indeed:and when the prayer was over, he mounted on the steed.North from the gate and over the Arlanzon he went.Here in the sand by Burgos, the Cid let pitch his tent.Roy Diaz, who in happy hour had girded on the brand,Since none at home would greet him, encamped there on the sand.With a good squadron, camping as if within the wood.They will not let him in Burgos buy any kind of food.Provender for a single day they dared not to him sell.
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- 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,]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- doorway n.
- The passage of a door; entrance way into a house or a room.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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.]
- squadron n.
- Primarily, a square; hence, a square body of troops; a body of troops drawn up in a square. [F. escadron, formerly also esquadron, or It. squadrone. See Squad.]
- camping n.
- Lodging in a camp.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid IV 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 Banishment of the Cid IV, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-banishment-of-the-cid-iv.html, id L15016.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid IV is 40 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 90% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.5 syllables. 20% 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 thingA · kingA · fellB · wellB · heedC · deedC · headD · steadD
- 2 AA hidA · cidA
- 3 AABBCCBBDD straightA · gateA · soB · woeB · callC · hallC · goB · blowB · fastD · lastD
- 4 AABBCC- swordA · lordA · careB · dareB · insteadC · headC · pain
- 5 AABBCCDDEE--- sheA · seeA · townB · downB · indeedC · steedC · wentD · tentD · brandE · sandE · wood · food · sell
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fain had they made him welcome, but none dared do the thing | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| For fear of Don Alfonso, and the fury of the King. | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| His mandate unto Burgos came ere the evening fell. | 13 | ·/···/˘···/˘· |
| With utmost care they brought it, and it was sealed well | 13 | ·/·········˘· |
| 'That no man to Roy Diaz give shelter now, take heed | 13 | ·····/··/˘··· |
| And if one give him shelter, let him know in very deed | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| He shall lose his whole possession, nay! the eyes within his head | 15 | ·····˘/˘······· |
| Nor shall his soul and body be found in better stead.' | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| Great sorrow had the Christians, and from his face they hid. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| Was none dared aught to utter unto my lord the Cid. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Then the Campeador departed unto his lodging straight. | 14 | ·····˘/˘···/˘· |
| But when he was come thither, they had locked and barred the gate. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| In their fear of King Alfonso had they done even so. | 13 | ···········/· |
| An the Cid forced not his entrance, neither for weal nor woe | 14 | ······/˘/˘···· |
| Durst they open it unto him. Loudly his men did call. | 14 | ··/˘····/˘···· |
| Nothing thereto in answer said the folk within the hall. | 14 | /˘˘/·/˘······· |
| My lord the Cid spurred onward, to the doorway did he go. | 14 | ·····/˘··/···· |
| He drew his foot from the stirrup, he smote the door one blow. | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| Yet the door would not open, for they had barred it fast. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| But a maiden of nine summers came unto him at last: | 14 | ··/˘··/˘······ |
| "Campeador, in happy hour thou girdedst on the sword. | 13 | ····/˘/······ |
| 'This the King's will. Yestereven came the mandate of our lord. | 15 | ··········/··/· |
| With utmost care they brought it, and it was sealed with care: | 13 | ·/··········· |
| None to ope to you or greet you for any cause shall dare. | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| And if we do, we forfeit houses and lands instead. | 13 | ·····/˘/˘··˘/ |
| Nay we shall lose, moreover, the eyes within the head | 13 | ····˘/˘······ |
| But may God with all his power support thee in thy pain." | 13 | ······/˘/···· |
| So spake the child and turned away. Unto her home went she. | 14 | ······˘/······ |
| That he lacked the King's favor now well the Cid might see. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| He left the door; forth onward he spurred through Burgos town. | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| When he had reached Saint Mary's, then he got swiftly down | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| He fell upon his knee and prayed with a true heart indeed: | 14 | ············˘/ |
| and when the prayer was over, he mounted on the steed. | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| North from the gate and over the Arlanzon he went. | 13 | ············· |
| Here in the sand by Burgos, the Cid let pitch his tent. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Roy Diaz, who in happy hour had girded on the brand, | 14 | ·/···/˘/·/˘··· |
| Since none at home would greet him, encamped there on the sand. | 13 | ·······˘/···· |
| With a good squadron, camping as if within the wood. | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| They will not let him in Burgos buy any kind of food. | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| Provender for a single day they dared not to him sell. | 14 | /˘˘··/˘······· |
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