From the Spanish of Don Francisco De Quevedo
I saw the ramparts of my native land,One time so strong, now dropping in decay,Their strength destroyed by this new age's wayThat has worn out and rotted what was grand.I went into the fields: there I could seeThe sun drink up the waters newly thawed,And on the hills the moaning cattle pawed;Their miseries robbed the day of light for me.
I went into my house: I saw how spotted,Decaying things made that old home their prize.My withered walking-staff had come to bend;I felt the age had won; my sword was rotted,And there was nothing on which I set my eyesThat was not a reminder of the end.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- reminder n.
- One who, or that which, reminds; that which serves to awaken remembrance.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Spanish of Don Francisco De Quevedo is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #40717; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Masefield, From the Spanish of Don Francisco De Quevedo, in The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #40717, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masefield-round-house/from-the-spanish-of-don-francisco-de-quevedo.html, id L24986.
Form and metre
From the Spanish of Don Francisco De Quevedo is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBACDDC landA · decayB · wayB · grandA · seeC · thawedD · pawedD · meC
- 2 ABCABC spottedA · prizeB · bendC · rottedA · eyesB · endC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I saw the ramparts of my native land, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| One time so strong, now dropping in decay, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Their strength destroyed by this new age's way | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| That has worn out and rotted what was grand. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I went into the fields: there I could see | 10 | ·········· |
| The sun drink up the waters newly thawed, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And on the hills the moaning cattle pawed; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Their miseries robbed the day of light for me. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I went into my house: I saw how spotted, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Decaying things made that old home their prize. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| My withered walking-staff had come to bend; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| I felt the age had won; my sword was rotted, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And there was nothing on which I set my eyes | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| That was not a reminder of the end. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
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.