The Iliad: Book 4 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGBHIJKLMNOIDMP QRSFTUFVEWNXNYZZA2SB 2C2NWD2DSE2ZC2C2C2ZX ZC2F2G2NFZZH2I2C2D2E J2IMD2K2ZIZZZK2L2M2I N2C2FDIIIC2SD2K2ZIC2 IO2P2SQ2ZC2LR2C2IUII LZZS2T2ZU2ILZV2M2ID2 D2A2B2| Now the gods were sitting with Jove in council upon the golden floor | A |
| while Hebe went round pouring out nectar for them to drink and as | B |
| they pledged one another in their cups of gold they looked down upon | C |
| the town of Troy The son of Saturn then began to tease Juno | D |
| talking at her so as to provoke her Menelaus said he has two | E |
| good friends among the goddesses Juno of Argos and Minerva of | F |
| Alalcomene but they only sit still and look on while Venus keeps | G |
| ever by Alexandrus' side to defend him in any danger indeed she has | B |
| just rescued him when he made sure that it was all over with him | H |
| for the victory really did lie with Menelaus We must consider what we | I |
| shall do about all this shall we set them fighting anew or make peace | J |
| between them If you will agree to this last Menelaus can take back | K |
| Helen and the city of Priam may remain still inhabited | L |
| Minerva and Juno muttered their discontent as they sat side by | M |
| side hatching mischief for the Trojans Minerva scowled at her father | N |
| for she was in a furious passion with him and said nothing but | O |
| Juno could not contain herself Dread son of Saturn said she | I |
| what pray is the meaning of all this Is my trouble then to go | D |
| for nothing and the sweat that I have sweated to say nothing of my | M |
| horses while getting the people together against Priam and his | P |
| children Do as you will but we other gods shall not all of us | Q |
| approve your counsel | R |
| Jove was angry and answered My dear what harm have Priam and | S |
| his sons done you that you are so hotly bent on sacking the city of | F |
| Ilius Will nothing do for you but you must within their walls and eat | T |
| Priam raw with his sons and all the other Trojans to boot Have it | U |
| your own way then for I would not have this matter become a bone of | F |
| contention between us I say further and lay my saying to your heart | V |
| if ever I want to sack a city belonging to friends of yours you | E |
| must not try to stop me you will have to let me do it for I am | W |
| giving in to you sorely against my will Of all inhabited cities under | N |
| the sun and stars of heaven there was none that I so much respected | X |
| as Ilius with Priam and his whole people Equitable feasts were | N |
| never wanting about my altar nor the savour of burning fat which | Y |
| is honour due to ourselves | Z |
| My own three favourite cities answered Juno are Argos | Z |
| Sparta and Mycenae Sack them whenever you may be displeased with | A2 |
| them I shall not defend them and I shall not care Even if I did and | S |
| tried to stay you I should take nothing by it for you are much | B2 |
| stronger than I am but I will not have my own work wasted I too am a | C2 |
| god and of the same race with yourself I am Saturn's eldest daughter | N |
| and am honourable not on this ground only but also because I am | W |
| your wife and you are king over the gods Let it be a case then | D2 |
| of give and take between us and the rest of the gods will follow | D |
| our lead Tell Minerva to go and take part in the fight at once and | S |
| let her contrive that the Trojans shall be the first to break their | E2 |
| oaths and set upon the Achaeans | Z |
| The sire of gods and men heeded her words and said to Minerva | C2 |
| Go at once into the Trojan and Achaean hosts and contrive that the | C2 |
| Trojans shall be the first to break their oaths and set upon the | C2 |
| Achaeans | Z |
| This was what Minerva was already eager to do so down she darted | X |
| from the topmost summits of Olympus She shot through the sky as | Z |
| some brilliant meteor which the son of scheming Saturn has sent as a | C2 |
| sign to mariners or to some great army and a fiery train of light | F2 |
| follows in its wake The Trojans and Achaeans were struck with awe | G2 |
| as they beheld and one would turn to his neighbour saying Either | N |
| we shall again have war and din of combat or Jove the lord of | F |
| battle will now make peace between us | Z |
| Thus did they converse Then Minerva took the form of Laodocus | Z |
| son of Antenor and went through the ranks of the Trojans to find | H2 |
| Pandarus the redoubtable son of Lycaon She found him standing | I2 |
| among the stalwart heroes who had followed him from the banks of the | C2 |
| Aesopus so she went close up to him and said Brave son of Lycaon | D2 |
| will you do as I tell you If you dare send an arrow at Menelaus you | E |
| will win honour and thanks from all the Trojans and especially from | J2 |
| prince Alexandrus he would be the first to requite you very | I |
| handsomely if he could see Menelaus mount his funeral pyre slain by | M |
| an arrow from your hand Take your home aim then and pray to Lycian | D2 |
| Apollo the famous archer vow that when you get home to your strong | K2 |
| city of Zelea you will offer a hecatomb of firstling lambs in his | Z |
| honour | I |
| His fool's heart was persuaded and he took his bow from its case | Z |
| This bow was made from the horns of a wild ibex which he had killed as | Z |
| it was bounding from a rock he had stalked it and it had fallen as | Z |
| the arrow struck it to the heart Its horns were sixteen palms long | K2 |
| and a worker in horn had made them into a bow smoothing them well | L2 |
| down and giving them tips of gold When Pandarus had strung his bow | M2 |
| he laid it carefully on the ground and his brave followers held their | I |
| shields before him lest the Achaeans should set upon him before he had | N2 |
| shot Menelaus Then he opened the lid of his quiver and took out a | C2 |
| winged arrow that had yet been shot fraught with the pangs of | F |
| death He laid the arrow on the string and prayed to Lycian Apollo | D |
| the famous archer vowing that when he got home to his strong city | I |
| of Zelea he would offer a hecatomb of firstling lambs in his honour | I |
| He laid the notch of the arrow on the oxhide bowstring and drew | I |
| both notch and string to his breast till the arrow head was near the | C2 |
| bow then when the bow was arched into a half circle he let fly and | S |
| the bow twanged and the string sang as the arrow flew gladly on | D2 |
| over the heads of the throng | K2 |
| But the blessed gods did not forget thee O Menelaus and Jove's | Z |
| daughter driver of the spoil was the first to stand before thee | I |
| and ward off the piercing arrow She turned it from his skin as a | C2 |
| mother whisks a fly from off her child when it is sleeping sweetly | I |
| she guided it to the part where the golden buckles of the belt that | O2 |
| passed over his double cuirass were fastened so the arrow struck | P2 |
| the belt that went tightly round him It went right through this and | S |
| through the cuirass of cunning workmanship it also pierced the belt | Q2 |
| beneath it which he wore next his skin to keep out darts or arrows | Z |
| it was this that served him in the best stead nevertheless the | C2 |
| arrow went through it and grazed the top of the skin so that blood | L |
| began flowing from the wound | R2 |
| As when some woman of Meonia or Caria strains purple dye on to a | C2 |
| piece of ivory that is to be the cheek piece of a horse and is to | I |
| be laid up in a treasure house many a knight is fain to bear it | U |
| but the king keeps it as an ornament of which both horse and driver | I |
| may be proud even so O Menelaus were your shapely thighs and your | I |
| legs down to your fair ancles stained with blood | L |
| When King Agamemnon saw the blood flowing from the wound he was | Z |
| afraid and so was brave Menelaus himself till he saw that the barbs | Z |
| of the arrow and the thread that bound the arrow head to the shaft | S2 |
| were still outside the wound Then he took heart but Agamemnon heaved | T2 |
| a deep sigh as he held Menelaus's hand in his own and his comrades | Z |
| made moan in concert Dear brother he cried I have been the death | U2 |
| of you in pledging this covenant and letting you come forward as our | I |
| champion The Trojans have trampled on their oaths and have wounded | L |
| you nevertheless the oath the blood of lambs the drink offerings | Z |
| and the right hands of fellowship in which have put our trust shall | V2 |
| not be vain If he that rules Olympus fulfil it not here and now | M2 |
| he will yet fulfil it hereafter and they shall pay dearly with their | I |
| lives and with their wives and children The day will surely come when | D2 |
| mighty Ilius shall be laid low with Priam and Priam's people when | D2 |
| the son of Saturn from his high throne shall overshadow them with | A2 |
| his awful aegis in punishment of their present treache | B2 |
Homer
(1)
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