The Banishment of the Cid XXXIV
When three weeks were well nigh over and the fourth would soonbegin,My lord Cid and his henchmen agreed after this guise:
"They have cut us off from water; and our food must fail likewise.They will not grant unto us that we depart by night,And very great is their power for us to face and fight.My knights what is your pleasure, now say, that we shall do?Then first outspake Minaya the good knight and the true:
"Forth from Castile the noble unto this place we sped;If with the Moors we fight not, they will not give us bread.Here are a good six hundred and some few more beside.In the name of the Creator let nothing else betide:Let us smite on them tomorrow."
The Campeador said he:"Minaya Alvar Fañez, thy speaking liketh me.Thou hast done thyself much honor, as of great need thou must."
All the Moors, men and women, he bade them forth to thrustThat none his secret counsel might understand arightAnd thereupon they armed them all through that day and night.And the next day in the dawning when soon the sun should rise,The Cid was armed and with him all the men of his emprise.My lord the Cid spake to them even as you shall hear.
"Let all go forth, let no one here tarry in the rear,Save only two footsoldiers the gates to watch and shield.They will capture this our castle, if we perish in the field;But if we win, our fortunes shall grow both great and fair.Per Vermudóz, my banner I bid thee now to bear;As thou art very gallant, do thou keep it without stain.But unless I so shall order thou shalt not loose the rein."
He kissed the Cid's hand. Forth he ran the battle-flag to take.They oped the gates, and outward in a great rush did they break.And all the outposts of the Moor beheld them coming on,And back unto the army forthwith they got them gone.What haste there was among the Moors! To arm they turned themback.With the thunder of the war-drum the earth was like to crack.There might you see Moors arming, that swift their ranks didclose.Above the Moorish battle two flags-in-chief arose,But of their mingling pennons the number who shall name?Now all the squadrons of the Moors marching right onward came,That the Cid and all his henchmen they might capture out of hand.
"My gallant men here in this place see that ye firmly stand,Let no man leave the war-ranks till mine order I declare."
Per Vermudóz, he found it too hard a thing to bear,He spurred forth with the banner that in his hand he bore:
"May the Creator aid thee, thou true Cid Campeador,Through the line of battle yonder thy standard I will take;I shall see how you bring succor, who must for honor's sake."Said the Campeador: "Of charity, go not to the attack."For answer said Per Vermudóz: "Is naught shall hold me back."Spurring the steed he hurled him through the strong line of thefoes.The serried Moors received him and smote him mighty blows,To take from him the banner; yet they could not pierce his mail.Said the Campeador: "Of charity go help him to prevail."
Words in this poem 15
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- 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,]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- tomorrow adv.
- On the day after the present day; on the next day; on the morrow. [Prep. to + morrow.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- thereupon adv.
- Upon that or this; thereon.
- emprise n.
- An enterprise; endeavor; adventure. [OF. emprise, fr. emprendre to undertake; pref. em- (L. in) + F. prendre to take, L. prehendere, prendere; prae before + a verb akin to E. get. See Get, and cf. ]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- arming n.
- The act of furnishing with, or taking, arms.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- 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.]
- serried a.
- Crowded; compact; dense; pressed together. [See Serry.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XXXIV 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 XXXIV, 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-xxxiv.html, id L15044.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XXXIV is 56 lines in 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.5 syllables. 11% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 --A soon · begin · guiseA
- 2 ABBCC likewiseA · nightB · fightB · doC · trueC
- 3 DDEE- spedD · breadD · besideE · betideE · tomorrow
- 4 FFG heF · meF · mustG
- 5 G--HHI thrustG · aright · night · riseH · empriseH · hearI
- 6 IJJKKLL rearI · shieldJ · fieldJ · fairK · bearK · stainL · reinL
- 7 MM---NN---OOP takeM · breakM · on · gone · them · backN · crackN · did · close · arose · nameO · cameO · handP
- 8 PQ standP · declareQ
- 9 Q- bearQ · bore
- 10 -RRSS-TTUU campeador · takeR · sakeR · attackS · backS · the · foesT · blowsT · mailU · prevailU
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When three weeks were well nigh over and the fourth would soon | 13 | ············· |
| begin, | 2 | ˘/ |
| My lord Cid and his henchmen agreed after this guise: | 13 | ·····/˘˘/···· |
| "They have cut us off from water; and our food must fail likewise. | 16 | ······/˘·/˘···/· |
| They will not grant unto us that we depart by night, | 13 | ·········˘/·· |
| And very great is their power for us to face and fight. | 14 | ·/˘···/˘······ |
| My knights what is your pleasure, now say, that we shall do? | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Then first outspake Minaya the good knight and the true: | 12 | ············ |
| "Forth from Castile the noble unto this place we sped; | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| If with the Moors we fight not, they will not give us bread. | 13 | ············· |
| Here are a good six hundred and some few more beside. | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| In the name of the Creator let nothing else betide: | 14 | ·····˘/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Let us smite on them tomorrow." | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| The Campeador said he: | 6 | ······ |
| "Minaya Alvar Fañez, thy speaking liketh me. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Thou hast done thyself much honor, as of great need thou must." | 14 | ···˘/·/˘······ |
| All the Moors, men and women, he bade them forth to thrust | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| That none his secret counsel might understand aright | 13 | ···/˘/˘··˘/˘/ |
| And thereupon they armed them all through that day and night. | 13 | ··˘/········· |
| And the next day in the dawning when soon the sun should rise, | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| The Cid was armed and with him all the men of his emprise. | 14 | ············˘/ |
| My lord the Cid spake to them even as you shall hear. | 13 | ·······/˘···· |
| "Let all go forth, let no one here tarry in the rear, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| Save only two footsoldiers the gates to watch and shield. | 13 | ·/˘·········· |
| They will capture this our castle, if we perish in the field; | 16 | ··/˘·/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| But if we win, our fortunes shall grow both great and fair. | 14 | ····/˘/˘······ |
| Per Vermudóz, my banner I bid thee now to bear; | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| As thou art very gallant, do thou keep it without stain. | 14 | ···/˘/˘······· |
| But unless I so shall order thou shalt not loose the rein." | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| He kissed the Cid's hand. Forth he ran the battle-flag to take. | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| They oped the gates, and outward in a great rush did they break. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| And all the outposts of the Moor beheld them coming on, | 14 | ···/····˘/·/˘· |
| And back unto the army forthwith they got them gone. | 13 | ·····/˘//···· |
| What haste there was among the Moors! To arm they turned them | 13 | ············· |
| back. | 1 | · |
| With the thunder of the war-drum the earth was like to crack. | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| There might you see Moors arming, that swift their ranks did | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| close. | 1 | · |
| Above the Moorish battle two flags-in-chief arose, | 13 | ···/˘/˘····˘/ |
| But of their mingling pennons the number who shall name? | 14 | ···/˘˘···/˘··· |
| Now all the squadrons of the Moors marching right onward came, | 14 | ···/˘···/˘·/˘· |
| That the Cid and all his henchmen they might capture out of hand. | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| "My gallant men here in this place see that ye firmly stand, | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| Let no man leave the war-ranks till mine order I declare." | 14 | ·········/˘·˘/ |
| Per Vermudóz, he found it too hard a thing to bear, | 13 | ············· |
| He spurred forth with the banner that in his hand he bore: | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| "May the Creator aid thee, thou true Cid Campeador, | 13 | ··˘/˘········ |
| Through the line of battle yonder thy standard I will take; | 14 | ····/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| I shall see how you bring succor, who must for honor's sake." | 14 | ······/˘···/˘· |
| Said the Campeador: "Of charity, go not to the attack." | 15 | ······/˘˘····˘/ |
| For answer said Per Vermudóz: "Is naught shall hold me back." | 14 | ·/˘··········· |
| Spurring the steed he hurled him through the strong line of the | 13 | /˘··········· |
| foes. | 1 | · |
| The serried Moors received him and smote him mighty blows, | 13 | ·/˘·˘/····/˘· |
| To take from him the banner; yet they could not pierce his mail. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| Said the Campeador: "Of charity go help him to prevail." | 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.