Poetry · Chapter
XVI explained
A lord's daughter, the fairest of three, is torn between her master and an Englishman.
What happens
A lord's daughter, the fairest of three, is torn between her master and an Englishman. Love and duty conflict until the learned man wins her with his gift of learning, ending the song.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because the speaker reaches an emotional and psychological peak of self-aware torm…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Love and Desire
The damsel's internal conflict between two loves drives the chapter.
- Art and Immortality
The learned man's gift of learning (art) triumphs over arms, securing the lady.
Characters to notice
- Love
Personified as a force in the combat between love for the master and love for the knight.
Key passages
“It was a lording's daughter, the fairest one of three, That liked of her master as well as well might be, Till looking on an Englishman, the fair'st that eye could see, Her fancy fell a-turning.”
A nobleman's daughter, the most beautiful of three sisters, was fond of her master until she saw an Englishman so handsome that her affections shifted.
Introduces the love triangle and the damsel's changing heart.
“Thus art with arms contending was victor of the day, Which by a gift of learnlng did bear the maid away: Then, lullaby, the learned man hath got the lady gay; For now my song is ended.”
So learning triumphed over military prowess, and the educated man won the maiden with his intellectual gift. Now the song concludes with a lullaby.
Concludes the ballad with the victory of art and learning over martial valor.
