The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXVI
It irked them in Valencia. It gave them no delight,Be it known; that to surround him they planned. They marched bynightThey pulled up at Murviédro to camp as morning broke.My lord the Cid beheld it and wondering much he spoke:"Father in Heaven, mighty thanks must I now proffer Thee.In their lands we dwell and do them every sort of injury;And we have drunk their liquor, of their bread our meal we make.If they come forth to surround us, justly they undertake.Without a fight this matter will in no way be a-paid.Let messengers go seek them who now should bear us aid;Let them go to them in Jérica and Alucát that areAnd thence to Onda. Likewise let them go to Almenár.Let the men of Bórriana hither at once come in.In this place a pitched battle we shall certainly begin.I trust much will be added to our gain in this essay."
They all were come together in his host on the third day.And he who in good hour was born 'gan speak his meaning clear:
"So may the Creator aid us, my gallants hark and hear.Since we have left fair Christendom--We did not as we would;We could no other--God be praised our fortune has been good.The Valencians besiege us. If here we would remain,They must learn of us a lesson excelling in its pain.
Words in this poem
- valencia n.
- A kind of woven fabric for waistcoats, having the weft of wool and the warp of silk or cotton. [Perhaps fr. Valence in France.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- 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]
- 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,]
- christendom n.
- The profession of faith in Christ by baptism; hence, the Christian religion, or the adoption of it. [AS. cristend; cristen a Christian + -dom.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXVI 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 Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXVI, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-marriage-of-the-cid-s-daughters-lxvi.html, id L15074.
Form and metre
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXVI is 23 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 80% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.4 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% 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 A-ABB--CCDD--EEF delightA · by · nightA · brokeB · spokeB · thee · injury · makeC · undertakeC · paidD · aidD · are · almenár · inE · beginE · essayF
- 2 FG dayF · clearG
- 3 GHHII hearG · wouldH · goodH · remainI · painI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It irked them in Valencia. It gave them no delight, | 14 | ····˘/˘˘····˘/ |
| Be it known; that to surround him they planned. They marched by | 14 | ·····˘/···˘··· |
| night | 1 | · |
| They pulled up at Murviédro to camp as morning broke. | 14 | ··˘········/˘· |
| My lord the Cid beheld it and wondering much he spoke: | 14 | ····˘/··/˘˘··· |
| "Father in Heaven, mighty thanks must I now proffer Thee. | 14 | /˘·/˘/˘····/˘· |
| In their lands we dwell and do them every sort of injury; | 15 | ········/˘··/˘˘ |
| And we have drunk their liquor, of their bread our meal we make. | 14 | ·····/˘···/··· |
| If they come forth to surround us, justly they undertake. | 14 | ·····˘/·/˘·/˘· |
| Without a fight this matter will in no way be a-paid. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| Let messengers go seek them who now should bear us aid; | 13 | ·/˘˘········· |
| Let them go to them in Jérica and Alucát that are | 15 | ··············· |
| And thence to Onda. Likewise let them go to Almenár. | 14 | ·····/········ |
| Let the men of Bórriana hither at once come in. | 13 | ·······/˘···· |
| In this place a pitched battle we shall certainly begin. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| I trust much will be added to our gain in this essay." | 14 | ·····/˘·/···˘/ |
| They all were come together in his host on the third day. | 14 | ····˘/˘······· |
| And he who in good hour was born 'gan speak his meaning clear: | 14 | ·····/·····/˘· |
| "So may the Creator aid us, my gallants hark and hear. | 14 | ···˘/˘···/˘··· |
| Since we have left fair Christendom--We did not as we would; | 14 | ·····/˘˘······ |
| We could no other--God be praised our fortune has been good. | 14 | ···/˘···//˘··· |
| The Valencians besiege us. If here we would remain, | 13 | ····˘/·····˘/ |
| They must learn of us a lesson excelling in its pain. | 14 | ······/˘˘/˘··· |
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.