Canto II LI
Amidst the grove that crowns yon tufted hill,Which, were it not for many a mountain nighRising in lofty ranks, and loftier still,Might well itself be deemed of dignity,The convent's white walls glisten fair on high;Here dwells the caloyer, nor rude is he,Nor niggard of his cheer: the passer-byIs welcome still; nor heedless will he fleeFrom hence, if he delight kind Nature's sheen to see.
Here in the sultriest season let him rest,Fresh is the green beneath those aged trees;Here winds of gentlest wing will fan his breast,From heaven itself he may inhale the breeze:The plain is far beneath--oh! let him seizePure pleasure while he can; the scorching rayHere pierceth not, impregnate with disease:Then let his length the loitering pilgrim lay,And gaze, untired, the morn, the noon, the eve away.
Dusky and huge, enlarging on the sight,Nature's volcanic amphitheatre,Chimera's alps extend from left to right:Beneath, a living valley seems to stir;Flocks play, trees wave, streams flow, the mountain firNodding above; behold black Acheron!Once consecrated to the sepulchre.Pluto! if this be hell I look upon,Close shamed Elysium's gates, my shade shall seek for none.
Words in this poem
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- caloyer n.
- A monk of the Greek Church; a cenobite, anchoret, or recluse of the rule of St. Basil, especially, one on or near Mt. Athos.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- scorching a.
- Burning; parching or shriveling with heat.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- amphitheatre n.
- An oval or circular building with rising tiers of seats about an open space called the arena. [L. amphitheatrum, fr. Gr. amphithé\'83tre. See Theater.]
- acheron n.
- A river in the Nether World or infernal regions; also, the infernal regions themselves. By some of the English poets it was supposed to be a flaming lake or gulf.
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II LI is in the public domain. This text is taken from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Project Gutenberg ebook #5131; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, Canto II LI, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-ii-li.html, id L06522.
Form and metre
Canto II LI is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABBCBCC, the Spenserian stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in the Spenserian stanza, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABBCBCC hillA · nighB · stillA · dignityB · highB · heC · byB · fleeC · seeC
- 2 ABABBCBCC restA · treesB · breastA · breezeB · seizeB · rayC · diseaseB · layC · awayC
- 3 ABABBCBCC sightA · amphitheatreB · rightA · stirB · firB · acheronC · sepulchreB · uponC · noneC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Amidst the grove that crowns yon tufted hill, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Which, were it not for many a mountain nigh | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Rising in lofty ranks, and loftier still, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Might well itself be deemed of dignity, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| The convent's white walls glisten fair on high; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Here dwells the caloyer, nor rude is he, | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| Nor niggard of his cheer: the passer-by | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Is welcome still; nor heedless will he flee | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| From hence, if he delight kind Nature's sheen to see. | 12 | ····˘/·/˘··· |
| Here in the sultriest season let him rest, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fresh is the green beneath those aged trees; | 9 | ········· |
| Here winds of gentlest wing will fan his breast, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| From heaven itself he may inhale the breeze: | 10 | ·/˘/··˘/·· |
| The plain is far beneath--oh! let him seize | 10 | ·········· |
| Pure pleasure while he can; the scorching ray | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Here pierceth not, impregnate with disease: | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| Then let his length the loitering pilgrim lay, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And gaze, untired, the morn, the noon, the eve away. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Dusky and huge, enlarging on the sight, | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| Nature's volcanic amphitheatre, | 10 | /˘˘/˘/˘·˘˘ |
| Chimera's alps extend from left to right: | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/···· |
| Beneath, a living valley seems to stir; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Flocks play, trees wave, streams flow, the mountain fir | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nodding above; behold black Acheron! | 10 | /˘··˘/·/˘˘ |
| Once consecrated to the sepulchre. | 9 | ·/˘·˘···· |
| Pluto! if this be hell I look upon, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Close shamed Elysium's gates, my shade shall seek for none. | 12 | ··˘/˘······· |
Notes from the edition 4
E. H. Coleridge's notes to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, The Works of Lord Byron, Poetry vol. II (John Murray, 1899; Project Gutenberg #25340). Bracketed passages are the editor's; unbracketed are Byron's own (Cantos I-III) or John Cam Hobhouse's (Canto IV, his 'Historical Notes'). Digit footnotes ('[17]') are informational and numbered continuously through the whole book; end-notes keyed '[n.B.]' (Byron) or '[n.H.]' (Hobhouse) follow each canto and are numbered afresh from 1 there. Both kinds are placed here by matching each note's own quoted words against the site's text, not by the number or stanza the note states, because the site's text (Gutenberg #5131) and this edition (#25340) are different editions with different stanza counts in Canto I. Lettered footnotes ('[h]', '[dn]') are manuscript and edition variant readings and are not harvested, matching the treatment of Don Juan's and byron-works-3's lettered notes.
- Stanza 1, line 6 The Greek monks are so called.
[Caloyer is derived from the late Greek [Greek: kalo/geros], "good in old age," through the Italian caloieso. Hence the accent on the last syllable.--N. Eng. Dict.] - Stanza 1, line 7 ["The prior of the monastery, a humble, meek-mannered man, entertained us in a warm chamber with grapes and a pleasant white wine ...We were so well pleased with everything about us that we agreed to lodge with him."--Hobhouse's Travels in Albania, i. 73.]
- Stanza 3, line 2 The Chimariot mountains appear to have been volcanic.
[By "Chimaera's Alps" Byron probably meant the Ceraunian Mountains, which are "woody to the top, but disclose some wide chasms of red rock" (Travels in Albania, i. 73) to the north of Jannina,--not the Acroceraunian (Chimariot) Mountains, which run from north to south-west along the coast of Mysia. "The walls of rock (which do not appear to be volcanic) rise in tiers on every side, like the seats and walls of an amphitheatre" (H. F. Tozer). The near distance may have suggested an amphitheatre; but he is speaking of the panorama which enlarged on his view, and uses the word not graphically, but metaphorically, of the entire "circle of the hills."] - Stanza 3, line 6 Now called Kalamas.
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