The Banishment of the Cid XXIV
"Much do I thank thee for it, illustrious Campeador.With what thou giv'st me, the fifth part of all our spoils of war,The King Alfonso of Castile full well content would be.I renounce it in thy favor; and without a claim to thee.But I swear to God who dwelleth in the high firmament,That till upon my charger I gallop in contentAgainst the Moors, and till I wield both spear and brand again,And till unto my elbow from the blade the blood doth drainBefore the Cid illustrious, howe'er so small it be,I will not take the value of a copper groat from thee.When through me some mighty treasure thou hast at thy command.I will take thy gift; till such a time, all else is in thinehand."
Words in this poem
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- groat n.
- An old English silver coin, equal to four pence. [LG. grote, orig., great, that is, a great piece of coin, larger than other coins in former use. See Great.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XXIV 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 XXIV, 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-xxiv.html, id L15035.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XXIV is 13 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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 --AABBCCAAD-D campeador · war · beA · theeA · firmamentB · contentB · againC · drainC · beA · theeA · commandD · thine · handD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Much do I thank thee for it, illustrious Campeador. | 14 | ·······˘/˘˘··· |
| With what thou giv'st me, the fifth part of all our spoils of war, | 14 | ··········/··· |
| The King Alfonso of Castile full well content would be. | 15 | ···········/˘·· |
| I renounce it in thy favor; and without a claim to thee. | 15 | ·˘/···/˘······· |
| But I swear to God who dwelleth in the high firmament, | 14 | ······/˘···/˘˘ |
| That till upon my charger I gallop in content | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Against the Moors, and till I wield both spear and brand again, | 14 | ············˘/ |
| And till unto my elbow from the blade the blood doth drain | 14 | ·····/········ |
| Before the Cid illustrious, howe'er so small it be, | 14 | ····˘/˘˘······ |
| I will not take the value of a copper groat from thee. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| When through me some mighty treasure thou hast at thy command. | 14 | ····/˘/˘····˘/ |
| I will take thy gift; till such a time, all else is in thine | 14 | ·············· |
| hand." | 1 | · |
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