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Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
(c. 1343 – 25 October 1400 / London, England)
Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer : 29 / 74
Rondel Of Merciless Beauty - Poem by Geoffrey Chaucer
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.
Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer : 29 / 74
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Read poems about / on: beauty, death, truth, heart, life, wind
Poem Submitted: Tuesday, December 31, 2002
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Kneeling in perilous undergrowth (Report) Reply
Only your word will heal the injury.
Great poem!
SYLVA (Report) Reply
This beautiful poem is a variation of the Rondel. The first stanza should be a quatrain, but the last line is absent. The poet wanted to suggest that the lover was that person who should add the last line. It was a way to make the missing line become a future response. The first line belonging to the next stanza is relevant, ''Only your word will heal the injury''.
Any wound must be clean in order to be cured. The poet's wound was not a common one; he felt his heart suffering.
Only love has the holy power of perfection. Usually, the lovers end up wounding each other. This is the consequence of living in this world where the imperfection certainly happens in time. Even they love each other and keep the perfection in their minds, the suffering cannot be avoided.
In the poem, this remedial process implies forgiveness, acceptance, and love.
Jesus welcomed all who followed Him and told them to love each other. (John 6: 37 and 15: 12) .
Usually, the Rondel ends with the first line of the poem. This poem ended with the whole first stanza because it was a need to underline the importance of the holy love for the deep wound.
The poet was crying out for a quick positive attitude while being in the imminence of death.
It was not the silence to create an invisible barrier in the communication between lovers but the idea of unfaithfulness.
The beauty of her eyes shook him, but he waited for her loving gaze in a desperate attempt to save the relationship. Moreover, he called for her words of love.
This way, the line, ''Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly; '' gains the main importance in the poem and the whole poem becomes a desperate letter coming from a dying lover.
I voted 10. (Report) Reply
Lovely
The looks in beauty kills and the person who falls in love only knows the consequences. (Report) Reply
An amazing poem with profound emotions. Thanks for sharing it here. (Report) Reply
Injury
To hurt my heart! Thanks for sharing this poem with us. (Report) Reply
Amazing poem. So profound is the impact of the beloved's piercing eyes. The passion becomes a question of life and death. Like Ghalib said- मुहब्बत में नहीं है फ़र्क जीने और मरने का / उसी को देख कर जीते हैं जिस काफिर पे दम निकले (In love there is no difference between life and death / I live to see her, the one whom I am prepared to die for) . Thanks. (Report) Reply
Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly; excellently written (Report) Reply
This poem reminds me of the songs BETTE DAVIS EYES and RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES popularized by KIM CARNES and AMERICA, respectively.... Greta Garbo is also remembered...... (Report) Reply
The great poet's great Rondel poem....beyond comments (Report) Reply
Exquisite! Beautiful! Superb! Beauty and blissful attraction at their best. A great poet, Chaucer. (Report) Reply
What girl or guy doesn't want to feel this captivating through the beauty and power of eyes? I adore this poem. (Report) Reply
Nice one geoffrey (Report) Reply
'...their beauty shake me who was once serene' that's the part that gets me plus his resignation to the loss of his self composure for a greater comfort; one of falling in love... (Report) Reply
'...their beauty shake me who was once serene' that's the part that gets me plus his resignation to the loss of his self composure for a greater comfort; one of falling in love... (Report) Reply
Very simple and clear write. A great poet for these days . Style is very common to all. (Report) Reply
beauty shakes me, good poem, (Report) Reply
Geoffrey Chaucer is one of my favourite poet. He was the first to bring poetry to common man and based his poems on common people and their feeling. He is unique in english poetry! (Report) Reply
I love reading anything by Chaucer,
but he was mare than his Canterbury Tales;
his skills weren't limited to poetic travails.
He was a businessman, diplomat, and courtier,
dealing with wartime rival France with all that entails.
I love reading anything by Chaucer,
but he was more than his Canterbury Tales.
I recommend a book by his biographer
Marchette Gaylor Chute (try Amazon sales
if your local bookstore fails) .
I love reading anything by Chaucer,
but he was more than his Canterbury Tales;
his skills weren't limited to poetic travails. (Report) Reply
the wound is quick and clean. no resolve except only your word will heal the injury. its kinda funny because sometimes you can see so much beauty in a person until you get to know them. (Report) Reply