A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter L

Lance

Military
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A lance is a long spear-like weapon traditionally wielded by mounted cavalry in charges and jousts.

Detailed Definition
The lance carries strong associations with chivalric romance and medieval knighthood, appearing frequently in Arthurian and epic poetry as a symbol of noble combat and honor. Its use in jousting tournaments also lends it ceremonial and sporting connotations distinct from purely martial weapons. Poets employ the lance to evoke a bygone era of individualized, personal combat contrasted against the impersonal weaponry of later centuries.
Example
Example in poetry:
Arthurian poetry often depicts knights wielding lances in ceremonial jousts as well as battlefield charges; A poem might describe a lance shattering upon impact, its splintered wood evoking chivalric spectacle; Poets use "lance" to evoke medieval romance and individualized combat distinct from later firearms; A verse could contrast the lance's ceremonial jousting use with its lethal battlefield application; The term appears in epic poetry celebrating knighthood's now-vanished era of personal honor; Historical poetry sometimes uses the lance to symbolize a nobler, more personal age of warfare.
Additional Notes
A lance is a long spear-like weapon traditionally wielded by mounted cavalry in charges and jousts. The lance was the primary weapon of the knight, delivering the shock of massed cavalry. Its length gave the rider reach over infantry, while the pennon or flag added identification. In poetry, the lance embodies chivalry, power, and the romance of the knightly charge. Related terms include spear, pike, and joust. The lance's role in breaking enemy formations made it a decisive weapon, but its vulnerability in close combat required the rider to carry a sword. Its symbolism extends to honor, as in "breaking a lance" for a cause.
Other Meanings of “Lance”
Also Known As
Spear Javelin Pike Cavalry Lance Assagai
Skip to main content