The Banishment of the Cid LIV
Then back to their encampment they hastened with their prey.All men were very merry for a mighty spoil had they.The Cid was glad exceeding; Alvar Fañez liked it well.But the great Cid smiled, for there at ease he could not bear todwell.
"Ha! All my knights, unto you the truth will I confess:Who still in one place tarries, his fortune will grow less.Let us tomorrow morning prepare to ride apace,Let us march and leave forever our encampment in this place."Unto the pass of Alucát the lord Cid got him gone.Then to Huésca and to Montalban he hastily marched on.And ten full days together on that raid they were to ride.The tidings to all quarters went flying far and wide,how that the Exile from Castile great harm to them had done.
Words in this poem
- encampment n.
- The act of pitching tents or forming huts, as by an army or traveling company, for temporary lodging or rest.
- 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]
- tomorrow adv.
- On the day after the present day; on the next day; on the morrow. [Prep. to + morrow.]
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid LIV 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 LIV, 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-liv.html, id L15062.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid LIV is 14 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 71% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.0 syllables. 7% 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 AAB-B preyA · theyA · wellB · to · dwellB
- 2 AABBCCDD- confessA · lessA · apaceB · placeB · goneC · onC · rideD · wideD · done
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Then back to their encampment they hastened with their prey. | 13 | ····˘/˘·/˘··· |
| All men were very merry for a mighty spoil had they. | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| The Cid was glad exceeding; Alvar Fañez liked it well. | 14 | ····˘/˘······· |
| But the great Cid smiled, for there at ease he could not bear to | 14 | ·············· |
| dwell. | 1 | · |
| "Ha! All my knights, unto you the truth will I confess: | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| Who still in one place tarries, his fortune will grow less. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| Let us tomorrow morning prepare to ride apace, | 13 | ··˘/·/˘˘/··˘/ |
| Let us march and leave forever our encampment in this place." | 16 | ·····˘/˘/˘˘/˘··· |
| Unto the pass of Alucát the lord Cid got him gone. | 14 | ·············· |
| Then to Huésca and to Montalban he hastily marched on. | 15 | ······˘/˘·/˘˘·· |
| And ten full days together on that raid they were to ride. | 14 | ····˘/˘······· |
| The tidings to all quarters went flying far and wide, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| how that the Exile from Castile great harm to them had done. | 15 | ···/··········· |
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.