Vertadron

In You've asked, My Lords, for Song Ventadorn, develops the theme of a distant love. Similar to the other troubadour poetry we have read, the distance seems to become the pillar of the poem, for if the lover were reachable, the poet would not need to express longing and heartache. Thus, the poem itself would not have written. To express his theme, Ventadorn uses predictable rhyme scheme, and bird imagery. These literary techniques are very characteristic of troubadour poetry.

            Throughout the poem Ventadorn employs a predictable rhyme scheme A-B-A-B-C-C-D-D. The consistent pattern not only leans a lyrical quality ot the work, but it also reflects the theme. Because the theme of distant love is so prevalent throughout troubadour poems, the reader has likely encountered the topic before. Thus, they are likely able to predict not only how the poet will describe his feelings, but also how the poem will end.

In the beginning stanzas, Vernadron speaks about how a distant love has changed him. He asserts that he, "never sings for long-/for he's lost the heart to try". Here, Ventadorn parallels himself to a bird. A male bird sings to attrach a mate. Before falling in love, Ventadorn had no trouble singing for his lords. Falling in love, however, has taken away his desire to sing, for he has chosen a mate. With this parallel alone, the reader may interpret this as a positive, but the repeated uses of negatives like “never’,”lost”,”run dry”, “awry” illuminate the sadness, which accompanies his love.

The second stanza serves to justify Ventadorn’s reason for “heartsore”. He explains that though his lover loves him as well, he may never go see her. Rather than diminishing his love, however, the distance augments it. Ventadorn states, “I can’t so much as tell/If she fares ill or well’which fills my thoughts with care”. Again, if he were with his lover, her daily activities and health would be apparent. Therefore, the poet would not have to wonder, constantly, about his love’s well-being.

In the final stanza, Ventadorn reaffirms, how his love has changed him. Claiming that his thoughts take him away toward his beloved, he asserts that “men swear and attest/That they all see me here/Though my best part’s still there”. Just as in the first stanza, he explains that his lover has taken his heart, and with it his better half. Torn, Ventadorn exists in agony. However, he remains unwilling to relinquish his love.