Bernart de Ventadorn Analysis

Stanza 1

“You’ve asked, my lords, for song:”

-According to his biography, Bernart de Ventadorn was the son of a servant from the castle of Ventadorn, and his “lords” were thus the Viscount of Ventadorn and his wife. Apparently, the Viscount and his wife were fans of En Bernart’s poetry and singing, hence why he begins this poem addressing their request for a song.

“I sing for my reply”

-En Bernart sings his own poetry.

“Yet never sing for long— / I’ve lost the heart to try.”

-This suggests that he will not put enthusiasm or extra effort into this song, and perhaps do only what is minimally required of him, as he has apparently lost the will to create a longer song. The use of the word “heart” can indicate both his will to put effort into his song, and perhaps also suggest that he is having romantic issues.

“How should a troubadour / Sing when his luck’s run dry?”

-This furthers the idea that he cannot sing to his fullest potential because something, likely to do with love, has gone wrong for him.

“Has love, then, gone awry?”

-Here, he proposes a question to himself, asking if it love is the issue causing him distress.

“No; better than before. / Then why feel so heartsore?”

-He then answers his previous question saying that love is not in fact the problem, and his love is actually “better than before.” However, there is clearly still something making him feel “heartsore”, perhaps suggesting while his love may be strong, there is an issue regarding his love situation.

 Stanza 2

“With gifts beyond compare/ The Lord has honored me;”

-This time, En Bernart refers to God when he says the “Lord”, as he captilizes this title whereas in the first stanza it was lowercase. In these lines, he is saying that God has given him many things to be grateful for in his life.

“I love a lady fair, / Who loves me faithfully.”

-These lines suggest that the specific gift from God that En Bernart is referring to is love for a woman who loves him in return. According to his biography, the wife of the Viscount of Ventadorn fell in love with En Bernart, and he fell in love with her, so this is likely the love he is talking about.

“Yet while I languish here”

-This line indicates a shift in the stanza from En Bernart’s expression of gratefulness for his divine gift of a mutual love, to an explanation regarding what is bothering him. Essentially, it seems he begins to answer his previous question as to why he “feel[s] so heartsore” even though his love is “better than before”.

“I can’t so much as tell / If she fares ill or well”

-These lines suggest there is a separation between En Bernart and his love, as he cannot know the state of her health (perhaps both physical and emotional); this implies both a physical separation, and an impossibility of communication between the lovers, as she would be able to update him even if they were apart if they could contact each other in some form.

“Which fills my thoughts with care / Since I dare not go there.”

-These lines imply that this separation from his love is what is causing him distress, and that, for some reason, he feels too threatened to try to overcome this distance. Relating back to his biographical story about his love for the Viscount’s wife, the Viscount apparently found out about their relationship and had his wife locked away and guarded.

Stanza 3

“Through her, such joys I find”

-Here, En Bernart emphasizes the happiness that his lover brings him.

“That if men shout or call / While she invests my mind, / I’d never hear at all.”

-He elaborates upon this by saying that even the thought of his lover is enough to distract him from what is going on around him. It is clearly an idealized, all-consuming sort of love.

“So subtly does she snare / The heart out of my breast”

-These lines suggest that she has total control over his heart, and is thus the sole focus of his love.

“That men swear and attest / That they all see me here / Though my best part’s still there.”

-Once again, this love has him disconnected from his current reality and consumed with thoughts of his lover.

Stanza 4

"Oh Love, what shall I do?"

-En Bernart now address his lover (the Viscount’s wife) directly, asking her what they are to do about their situation.

“Shall we two live in strife? / The griefs that must ensue / Would surely end my life.”

-He asks her if they should simply accept that they will have to live in conflict with one another, but responds to his own question that this would cause too much grief for him to bear. Thus, he indicates that he is unwilling to give up his love, despite their troubled circumstances.

“Unless my Lady might / Receive me in that place / She lies in, to embrace”

-Here he implies his griefs would be alleviated if he could be with his lover again. The “place / She lies in” can be seen as referring to both the place the Viscount has locked his wife/En Bernart’s lover away, and to her bed; En Bernart clearly indicates his sexual desire when he goes on to referring to her “press[ing] against [him] tight, / Her body, smooth and white.” Thus, he is referring to their reunion in both a romantic and a sexual sense.

Stanza 5

“I’ll not renounce my love/ For troubles or love’s pains.”

-En Bernart more explicitly states that he refuses to give up his love for the Viscount’s wife, despite the distress it is causing him. This can be considered in relation to Sappho’s “bittersweet” eros, which suggests that love brings both pleasure and pain. He will willing to accept love’s bitter element because the pleasure it brings to him is apparently more valuable.

“When God who reigns above / Gave much, I took my gains;”

-Here he is again referring to his love as a gift from God that he was happy to accept.

“Now when his gifts abate, / I’ll suffer that as much,”

-Now that this gift of love is facing trouble, though, En Bernart will not simply dispose of it, but will instead suffer the pain it brings him.

“Seeing the times are such / Those far apart must wait / To overcome their fate.”

-En Bernart is willing to endure the suffering brought on by his love in the hope that he and his lover will one day be reunited.

Stanza 6

“Good Lady, thank you for / Your love so true and fine;”

-Here he is again addressing his lover, and thanking her for her love. Since he previously said this love was a gift from God, thanking his lover directly for it as well perhaps suggests that she is also some sort of divine figure for him.

“I swear I love you more / Than all past loves of mine.”

-This further indicates a divine sort of love, as man should love God over all, just as En Bernart loves the Viscount’s wife over all his past loves.

“I bow and join my hands / Yielding myself to you;”

-This makes more evident the connection between his lover and God, as he describes “yielding” to her while in prayer position, just as one would do while praying to God.

“The one thing you might do / Is give me one sweet glance / If sometime you’ve the chance.”

-This is essentially his prayer to his lover, and he asks that she will allow him even just a glance of her to help diminish their separation.

Stanza 7

“May God give heart and mind / To Escudor and me / Wandering endlessly.”

-Here, En Bernart expresses a prayer to God, seemingly asking for peace of mind and heart while he “wander[s] endlessly” without his lover. The reference to “Escudor” could perhaps be referring to a myth or legend related his story, but no definitive connection can be made.

Stanza 8

“He’ll bring what he can find / To keep him company; / My Magnet goes with me.”

-It seems that this stanza responds, in a way, to Stanza 7. En Bernart is perhaps saying that God will “bring what he can find” for Escudor, but that his “Magnet” will go with him. His “Magnet” could possibly be a pet nickname for his lover. While two magnets can attach to each other (like the strong attraction between En Bernart and his lover), if turned the other way, they will repel against their will. This could be considered a representation of the current distance between En Bernart and his lover. He is saying that whether they are together or apart, his “Magnet” will still be with him, showing that he will not give up on their love.