Strengthen, my Love, this castle of my heart,
And with some store of pleasure give me aid,
For Jealousy, with all them of his part,
Strong siege about the weary tower has laid.
Nay, if to break his bands thou art afraid,
Too weak to make his cruel force depart,
Strengthen at least this castle of my heart,
And with some store of pleasure give me aid.
Nay, let not Jealousy, for all his art
Be master, and the tower in ruin laid,
That still, ah Love! thy gracious rule obeyed.
Advance, and give me succour of thy part;
Strengthen, my Love, this castle of my heart.
Notes
[To his Mistress, to succour his heart that is beleaguered by jealousy.]
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From guest Marie (contact)
Just a quick fact. This poem was specifically written for Bonne D'Armagnac, D'Orlean's second wife. Needless to say, it was wirtten while he was in captivity. -
very good
A Strengthen, my Love, this castle of my heart,
B And with some store of pleasure give me aid,
a For Jealousy, with all them of his part,
b Strong siege about the weary tower has laid.
b Nay, if to break his bands thou art afraid,
a Too weak to make his cruel force depart,
A Strengthen at least this castle of my heart,
B And with some store of pleasure give me aid.
a Nay, let not Jealousy, for all his art
b Be master, and the tower in ruin laid,
b That still, ah Love! thy gracious rule obeyed.
a Advance, and give me succour of thy part;
A Strengthen, my Love, this castle of my heart.
Again the rhyming sequence does not match encylopedia descriptions:
RONDEL, a form of verse closely allied to the rondeau (q.v.) but distinguished from it by containing fourteen instead of thirteen lines, and by demanding a slightly different arrangement of rhymes. Moreover, the initial couplet is repeated in the middle and again at the close. The arrangement of rhymes is as follows: a, b b, a; a b, a b; a, b, b, a, a, b. This form, which was invented in the i4th century, was largely used in later medieval French poetry, but particularly by Charles d’Orléans (1391—1465), the very best of whose graceful creations are all rondels.
The poem itself is very beautiful and is definitely one to add to the collection.
John
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9/10
No errors do I see. A great piece that has been written here. It flows grandly and the vernacular is endearing to, probably most to the person it was written for.
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