He Inveighs Against the Court of Rome
Vengeaunce must fall on thee, thow filthie whoreOf Babilon, thow breaker of Christ's fold,That from achorns, and from the water colde,Art riche become with making many poore.Thow treason's neste that in thie harte dost holdeOf cankard malice, and of myschief moreThan pen can wryte, or may with tongue be tolde,Slave to delights that chastitie hath solde;For wyne and ease which settith all thie storeUppon whoredome and none other lore,In thye pallais of strompetts yonge and oldeTheare walks Plentie, and Belzebub thye Lorde:Guydes thee and them, and doth thye raigne upholde:It is but late, as wryting will recorde,That poore thow weart withouten lande or goolde;Yet now hathe golde and pryde, by one accorde,In wickednesse so spreadd thie lyf abrode,That it dothe stincke before the face of God.
Words in this poem
- whore n.
- A woman who practices unlawful sexual commerce with men, especially one who prostitutes her body for hire; a prostitute; a harlot. Wyclif. [OE. hore, AS. h; akin to D. hoer, hoere, G. hure, OHG. huora, huorra, Icel. h, Dan. hore, Sw. hora, Goth. h an adulterer, AS. h adultery, OHG. huor, and probabl]
- breaker n.
- One who, or that which, breaks.
- goolde n.
- An old English name of some yellow flower, -- the marigold (Calendula), according to Dr. Prior, but in Chaucer perhaps the turnsole.
- golde n.
- An old English name of some yellow flower, -- the marigold (Calendula), according to Dr. Prior, but in Chaucer perhaps the turnsole.
- spreadd v. t.
- To extend in length and breadth, or in breadth only; to stretch or expand to a broad or broader surface or extent; to open; to unfurl; as, to spread a carpet; to spread a tent or a sail. [OE. spreden, AS. sprædan; akin to D. spreiden, spreijen, LG. spreden, spreen, spreien, G. spreiten, Dan. sprede, Sw. sprida. Cf. Spray water flying in drops.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
He Inveighs Against the Court of Rome is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, the various hands 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: Petrarch, He Inveighs Against the Court of Rome, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/he-inveighs-against-the-court-of-rome.html, id L14655.
Form and metre
He Inveighs Against the Court of Rome is 18 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 28% 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 ABB-BABBAABCBCBC-- whoreA · foldB · coldeB · poore · holdeB · moreA · toldeB · soldeB · storeA · loreA · oldeB · lordeC · upholdeB · recordeC · gooldeB · accordeC · abrode · god
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vengeaunce must fall on thee, thow filthie whore | 10 | ·········· |
| Of Babilon, thow breaker of Christ's fold, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That from achorns, and from the water colde, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Art riche become with making many poore. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Thow treason's neste that in thie harte dost holde | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of cankard malice, and of myschief more | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Than pen can wryte, or may with tongue be tolde, | 10 | ·········· |
| Slave to delights that chastitie hath solde; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| For wyne and ease which settith all thie store | 10 | ·········· |
| Uppon whoredome and none other lore, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In thye pallais of strompetts yonge and olde | 10 | ·········· |
| Theare walks Plentie, and Belzebub thye Lorde: | 10 | ·········· |
| Guydes thee and them, and doth thye raigne upholde: | 10 | ·········· |
| It is but late, as wryting will recorde, | 10 | ·········· |
| That poore thow weart withouten lande or goolde; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Yet now hathe golde and pryde, by one accorde, | 10 | ·········· |
| In wickednesse so spreadd thie lyf abrode, | 10 | ·········· |
| That it dothe stincke before the face of God. | 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.