Analysis of Cantiga de escarnio:



O que foi passar a serra
e non quis servir a terra,
é ora, entrant' a guerra,
     que faroneja?
Pois el agora tan muito erra,
     maldito seja!

O que levou os dinheiros
e non troux' os cavaleiros,
é por non ir nos primeiros
     que faroneja?
Pois que ven cõnos prestumeiros,
     maldito seja!

O que filhou gran soldada
e nunca fez cavalgada,
é por non ir a Graada
     que faroneja?
Se é rie' omen ou á mesnada,
     maldito seja!

O que meteu na taleiga
pouc' aver e muita meiga,
é por non entrar na Veiga
     que faroneja?
Pois chus mol[e] é que manteiga,
     maldito seja!

He who passed over the mountains
And did not want to serve on the plain--
Is he the one, when war was returned,
     Who's now bragging?
Since he vacillates so much now,
     Let him be damned!

He who doled out his money
Without attracting any good knights--
Is it because he wasn't first in the fight
     That he's bragging now?
Since he came at us with his rear,
     Let him be damned!

He who raised a great soldiery
But never quite a good cavalry,
Since he didn't go to Granada, is he
     The one who's bragging?
Whether he's rich or has a strong band,
     Let him be damned!

He who loaded up his bags
With a little gold and a lot of guff,
And never quite entered the town of Vega,
     Is he bragging now?
Since he's more like fat than butter,
     Let him be damned!


Scheme aaaBaB cccBcB dddBdB eeaBeB cxdefD gcdfxD aggedD cxafxD
Poetic Form
Metre 1111010 1111010 1010010 11 111001110 11 11111 11111 11111 11 111111 11 11111 1111 11101 11 111011 11 11111 110111 111110 11 11111 11 11110010 011111101 110111101 1110 1110111 1111 1111110 010101011 11011101001 11101 11111111 1111 111011 110101100 11101101011 01110 101111011 1111 1110111 1010100111 01011001110 11101 11111110 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,389
Words 253
Sentences 17
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 121
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

1:18 min read
126

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