Analysis of Ballad III

Christine de Pizan 1364 (Republic of Venice) – 1430 (Poissy)



Now in good sooth my joy is vanished clean,
And all my gladness changed to grievous ire :
What profits it, dear flower ! since I have seen
Thy going hence, that I could never tire

When thou wast here
To greet thee every day in every year ?
Delight that was is grown disaster fell :
Alas ! How can I bid thee now farewell !

My love, my choice, my lady and my queen,
For whom my heart is kindled in desire,
What shall I do when love from what hath been
Taketh the gold and leaveth me the mire ?

Nor far nor near

Is comfort found, nor any pleasant cheer.
Gone is thy beauty, that did all excel :
Alas ! How can I bid thee now farewell !

Thine is the deed, O evil tongue and keen !
Forged for my fate upon an anvil dire :
Fortune, that loveth not my hand, I ween,
Nor yet my pen, did in the task conspire.

No help is clear

Save Death, when God shall grant him to appear
Else thou alone could'st win me out of hell.
Alas ! How can I bid thee now farewell !

Ah, simple and dear !

At least behold me and my mourning drear.
Thy loss is torment more than I can tell.
Alas ! How can I bid thee now farewell !


Scheme abac xdeE acxb d deE abac d deE d beE
Poetic Form
Metre 1011111101 011111101 11011101111 11011111010 1111 111100101001 0111110101 011111111 1111110011 11111100010 1111111111 100101101 1111 1101110101 1111011101 011111111 1101110101 1111011101 101111111 11111001010 1111 1111111101 11011111111 011111111 11001 1101101101 111111111 011111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,106
Words 218
Sentences 19
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 1, 3, 4, 1, 3, 1, 3
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 83
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

1:05 min read
196

Christine de Pizan

Christine de Pizan was an Italian French late medieval author. She served as a court writer for several dukes and the French royal court during the reign of Charles VI. She wrote both poetry and prose works such as biographies and books containing practical advice for women. She completed forty-one works during her 30-year career from 1399–1429. She married in 1380 at the age of 15, and was widowed 10 years later. Much of the impetus for her writing came from her need to earn a living for herself and her three children. She spent most of her childhood and all of her adult life in Paris and then the abbey at Poissy, and wrote entirely in her adopted language, Middle French. Her early courtly poetry is marked by her knowledge of aristocratic custom and fashion of the day, particularly involving women and the practice of chivalry. more…

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