Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, REPENTANCE OF KING RODERIGO, by WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR


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REPENTANCE OF KING RODERIGO, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: There is, I hear, a poor half-ruined cell
Last Line: And held them, like a treasure, with claspt hands.
Subject(s): Repentance; Penitence


THERE is, I hear, a poor half-ruined cell
In Xeres, whither few indeed resort;
Green are the walls within, green is the floor
And slippery from disuse; for Christian feet
Avoid it, as half-holy, half-accurst.
Still in its dark recess fanatic sin
Abases to the ground his tangled hair,
And servile scourges and reluctant groans
Roll o'er the vault uninterruptedly,
Till, such the natural stillness of the place,
The very tear upon the damps below
Drops audible, and the heart's throb replies.
There is the idol maid of Christian creed,
And taller images, whose history
I know not, nor inquired -- a scene of blood,
Of resignation amid mortal pangs,
And other things, exceeding all belief.
Hither the aged Opas of Seville
Walked slowly, and behind him was a man
Barefooted, bruised, dejected, comfortless,
In sackcloth; the white ashes on his head
Dropt as he smote his breast; he gathered up,
Replaced them all, gron'd deeply, looked to heaven,
And held them, like a treasure, with claspt hands.





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