The Banishment of the Cid XVI
"Oh Campeador fair-bearded, a favor at thy hand!Behold I kneel before thee, and thy daughters are here with me,That have seen of days not many, for children yet they be,And these who are my ladies to serve my need that know.Now well do I behold it, thou art about to go.Now from thee our lives a season must sunder and remove,But unto us give succor for sweet Saint Mary's love."
The Cid, the nobly bearded, reached down unto the twain,And in his arms his daughters has lifted up again,And to his heart he pressed them, so great his love was grown,And his tears fell fast and bitter, and sorely did he moan:"Xiména as mine own spirit I loved thee, gentle wife;But o'er well dost thou behold it, we must sunder in our life.I must flee and thou behind me here in the land must stay.Please God and sweet Saint Mary that yet upon a dayI shall give my girls in marriage with mine own hand rich andwell,And thereafter in good fortune be suffered yet to dwell,May they grant me, wife, much honored, to serve thee then oncemore."
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.]
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- sorely adv.
- In a sore manner; grievously; painfully; as, to be sorely afflicted.
- 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,]
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XVI 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 XVI, 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-xvi.html, id L15027.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XVI is 20 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines. 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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 -AABBCC hand · meA · beA · knowB · goB · removeC · loveC
- 2 AABBCCDD-EE-- twainA · againA · grownB · moanB · wifeC · lifeC · stayD · dayD · and · wellE · dwellE · once · more
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "Oh Campeador fair-bearded, a favor at thy hand! | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| Behold I kneel before thee, and thy daughters are here with me, | 15 | ˘/·······/˘···· |
| That have seen of days not many, for children yet they be, | 13 | ······/·/˘··· |
| And these who are my ladies to serve my need that know. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Now well do I behold it, thou art about to go. | 13 | ····˘/······· |
| Now from thee our lives a season must sunder and remove, | 14 | ···/··/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| But unto us give succor for sweet Saint Mary's love." | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| The Cid, the nobly bearded, reached down unto the twain, | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| And in his arms his daughters has lifted up again, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| And to his heart he pressed them, so great his love was grown, | 13 | ············· |
| And his tears fell fast and bitter, and sorely did he moan: | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| "Xiména as mine own spirit I loved thee, gentle wife; | 13 | ······/···/˘· |
| But o'er well dost thou behold it, we must sunder in our life. | 15 | ·····˘/···/˘·/· |
| I must flee and thou behind me here in the land must stay. | 14 | ·············· |
| Please God and sweet Saint Mary that yet upon a day | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| I shall give my girls in marriage with mine own hand rich and | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| well, | 1 | · |
| And thereafter in good fortune be suffered yet to dwell, | 14 | ·˘/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| May they grant me, wife, much honored, to serve thee then once | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| more." | 1 | · |
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