Rondel of Merciless Beauty

Geoffrey Chaucer 1343 (London) – 1400 (London)



Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;
Their beauty shakes me who was once serene;
Straight through my heart the wound is quick and keen.

Only your word will heal the injury
To my hurt heart, while yet the wound is clean -
Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;
Their beauty shakes me who was once serene.

Upon my word, I tell you faithfully
Through life and after death you are my queen;
For with my death the whole truth shall be seen.
Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;
Their beauty shakes me who was once serene;
Straight through my heart the wound is quick and keen.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

34 sec read
1,071

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABB abAB abbABB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 585
Words 114
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 3, 4, 6

Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer, known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. more…

All Geoffrey Chaucer poems | Geoffrey Chaucer Books

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