Analysis of Cantiga de Santa Maria No. 194



Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,
so against evil doers  it is mighty and fearful.
Concerning this, a miracle happened in the land of Catalonia to a minstrel who sang well, with grace and ease, earning a good living, he came to lodge in the house of a greedy knight
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

who gave him all that he needed that night. However, that base and avaricious knight began to covet so greatly the donkey and clothes belonging to that minstrel that he ordered one of his men, evil and cruel,
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

to go with another of his group and waylay him in a hidden place in the mountains. The man did so gladly, for it was a favorite pastime of his, and I assure you, he was always eager to do dastardly deeds.
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

He took a companion of the same ilk with him. The next morning the minstrel took leave of the knight, and, as soon as he was on his way and they saw him travelling all alone, those two caught him in a steep and rocky place.
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

They dragged him far off the road and did not leave him anything of what he was carrying. Then they decided between them to cut off his head, but neither the Virgin nor Her glorious Son would permit it.
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

While the two were arguing over which one would kill him, they cast lots to see who would go first, but Holy Mary would not allow such a deed to be carried out, for the minstrel cried out loudly: "Mother of the merciful King
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

do not let them kill me, defend me without delay." They, when they heard this, began to run away and lost all feeling in their bodies at that moment so that they could not speak. The minstrel who had been robbed
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,


of all he had possessed when he saw that they were in that state, staring at each other and not speaking between themselves, took all his belongings and went away and they remained in great fear of death
Just as the name of the Virgin  is beautiful to the virtuous,

No one had ever heard tell of such a marvelous miracle that uttering the name of the Virgin might cause a man to feel nothing in his body. However, the prophet said long ago that Her name was as terrible as a mighty army.
Just as the name of the Virgin / is beautiful to the virtuous,

The minstrel went on his way, giving joyful praise to the glorious Virgin, salvation of sinners. All who heard of this, both great and small, considered it a noble and merciful miracle.


Scheme AbxA bA xA xA xA xA xA xA xa b
Poetic Form
Metre 11011010110010100 10110101110010 0101010010001101010101111101100110111100110101 11011010110010100 1 11111110111011011011101100100101011101110111110010 11011010110010100 1 11101011101100101001001111011101001110101111110111001 11011010110010100 1 110010101111011001011101011111111011110010111110010101 11011010110010100 1 1111101011111011111001110011111111100101010011011 11011010110010100 1 10101001011111111111111110101101101111011010111010101001 11011010110010100 1 11111101101011111101110101110011011101111110101111 11011010110010100 1 111101111110011101110011001011110100101010101111 11011010110010100 1 1111011110100100110001101011011110011010010110110111100101010 11011010110010100 1 010111110101101001001011011111110101010100100100
Characters 2,786
Words 541
Sentences 15
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 22, 8
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 72
Words per line (avg) 18
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,075
Words per stanza (avg) 274
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:42 min read
43

Discuss this Alfonso X El Sabio poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Cantiga de Santa Maria No. 194" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/616/cantiga-de-santa-maria-no.-194>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    7
    hours
    59
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    How many lines does a sonnet have?
    A 18
    B 12
    C 16
    D 14