Invective Against the People of Pistoja
I've gotten it, thanks to your courtesy;And I have read it twenty times or so:Thus much may your sharp snarling profit you,As food our flesh filled to satiety.After I left you, I could plainly seeHow Cain was of your ancestors: I knowYou do not shame his lineage, for lo,Your brother's good still seems your injury.Envious you are, and proud, and foes to heaven;Love of your neighbour still you loathe and hate,And only seek what must your ruin be.If to Pistoja Dante's curse was given,Bear that in mind! Enough! But if you pratePraises of Florence, 'tis to wheedle me.A priceless jewel she:Doubtless: but this you cannot understand:For pigmy virtue grasps not aught so grand.
Words in this poem
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- priceless a.
- Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Invective Against the People of Pistoja is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, the John Addington Symonds 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: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Invective Against the People of Pistoja, in Sonnets (1878), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/michelangelo-sonnets/invective-against-the-people-of-pistoja.html, id L15148.
Form and metre
Invective Against the People of Pistoja is 17 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A--BAA--CB-CBBDD courtesy · soA · you · satiety · seeB · knowA · loA · injury · heaven · hateC · beB · given · prateC · meB · sheB · understandD · grandD
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've gotten it, thanks to your courtesy; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| And I have read it twenty times or so: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thus much may your sharp snarling profit you, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| As food our flesh filled to satiety. | 11 | ··/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| After I left you, I could plainly see | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| How Cain was of your ancestors: I know | 10 | ·····/·˘·· |
| You do not shame his lineage, for lo, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Your brother's good still seems your injury. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Envious you are, and proud, and foes to heaven; | 10 | /˘·······/ |
| Love of your neighbour still you loathe and hate, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And only seek what must your ruin be. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| If to Pistoja Dante's curse was given, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Bear that in mind! Enough! But if you prate | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Praises of Florence, 'tis to wheedle me. | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| A priceless jewel she: | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Doubtless: but this you cannot understand: | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| For pigmy virtue grasps not aught so grand. | 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.