Analysis of When Nightingales Their Lulling Song
Bernard de Ventadorn 1135 – 1194
When nightingales their lulling song
For me have breathed the whole night long,
Thus soothed, I sleep; - yet, when awake,
Again will joy my heart forsake,
Pensive in love, in sorrow pining
All other fellowship declining:
Not such was once my blest employ,
When all my heart, my song, was joy.
And none who knew that joy, but well
Could tell how bright, unspeakable,
How far above all common bliss,
Was then my heart's pure happiness;
How lightly on my fancy ranged,
Gay tale and pleasant jest exchanged,
Dreaming such joy must ever be
In love like that I bore for thee.
They that behold me little dream
How wide my spirit soars from them,
And, borne on fancy's pinion, roves
To seek the beauteous form it loves:
Know, that a faithful herald flies
To bear her image to my eyes,
My constant thought, for ever telling
How fair she is, all else excelling.
I know not when we meet again,
For grief hath rent my heart in twain:
For thee the royal court I fled,--
But guard me from the ills I dread,
And quick I'll join the bright array
Of courteous knights and ladies gay.
Ugonet, faithful messenger!
This to the Norman queen go bear,
And sing it softly to her ear.
Scheme | AABBCCDD XXEXFFGG XXEXHHCC XXIIJJ XXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101 11110111 11111101 01111101 100101010 11010010 11111101 11111111 01111111 11110100 11011101 11111100 11011101 11010101 10111101 01111111 11011101 11110111 0111101 1101111 11010101 11010111 110111010 111111010 11111101 11111101 11010111 11110111 01110101 110010101 110100 11010111 01110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,136 |
Words | 218 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 6, 3 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 180 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 87 Views
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"When Nightingales Their Lulling Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4274/when-nightingales-their-lulling-song>.
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