Canto II XVIII
But where is Harold? shall I then forgetTo urge the gloomy wanderer o'er the wave?Little recked he of all that men regret;No loved one now in feigned lament could rave;No friend the parting hand extended gave,Ere the cold stranger passed to other climes.Hard is his heart whom charms may not enslave;But Harold felt not as in other times,And left without a sigh the land of war and crimes.
He that has sailed upon the dark blue sea,Has viewed at times, I ween, a full fair sight;When the fresh breeze is fair as breeze may be,The white sails set, the gallant frigate tight,Masts, spires, and strand retiring to the right,The glorious main expanding o'er the bow,The convoy spread like wild swans in their flight,The dullest sailer wearing bravely now,So gaily curl the waves before each dashing prow.
And oh, the little warlike world within!The well-reeved guns, the netted canopy,The hoarse command, the busy humming din,When, at a word, the tops are manned on high:Hark to the boatswain's call, the cheering cry,While through the seaman's hand the tackle glidesOr schoolboy midshipman that, standing by,Strains his shrill pipe, as good or ill betides,And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- convoy v. t.
- To accompany for protection, either by sea or land; to attend for protection; to escort; as, a frigate convoys a merchantman. [F. convoyer, OF. conveier, convoier. See Convey.]
- sailer n.
- A sailor. Sir P. Sidney.
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- schoolboy n.
- A boy belonging to, or attending, a school.
- docile a.
- Teachable; easy to teach; docible. [L. docilis,fr. docere to teach; cf. Gr. discere to learn, Gr. docile. Cf. Doctor, Didactic, Disciple.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II XVIII 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 XVIII, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-ii-xviii.html, id L06511.
Form and metre
Canto II XVIII 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 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% 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 forgetA · waveB · regretA · raveB · gaveB · climesC · enslaveB · timesC · crimesC
- 2 ABABBCBCC seaA · sightB · beA · tightB · rightB · bowC · flightB · nowC · prowC
- 3 ABABBCBCC withinA · canopyB · dinA · highB · cryB · glidesC · byB · betidesC · guidesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| But where is Harold? shall I then forget | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| To urge the gloomy wanderer o'er the wave? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Little recked he of all that men regret; | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| No loved one now in feigned lament could rave; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| No friend the parting hand extended gave, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Ere the cold stranger passed to other climes. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Hard is his heart whom charms may not enslave; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| But Harold felt not as in other times, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And left without a sigh the land of war and crimes. | 12 | ············ |
| He that has sailed upon the dark blue sea, | 10 | ·········· |
| Has viewed at times, I ween, a full fair sight; | 10 | ·········· |
| When the fresh breeze is fair as breeze may be, | 10 | ·········· |
| The white sails set, the gallant frigate tight, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Masts, spires, and strand retiring to the right, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The glorious main expanding o'er the bow, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| The convoy spread like wild swans in their flight, | 10 | ·/········ |
| The dullest sailer wearing bravely now, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| So gaily curl the waves before each dashing prow. | 12 | ·/˘······/˘· |
| And oh, the little warlike world within! | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| The well-reeved guns, the netted canopy, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| The hoarse command, the busy humming din, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| When, at a word, the tops are manned on high: | 10 | ·········· |
| Hark to the boatswain's call, the cheering cry, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While through the seaman's hand the tackle glides | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or schoolboy midshipman that, standing by, | 10 | ·/·//˘·/˘· |
| Strains his shrill pipe, as good or ill betides, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides. | 12 | ···/˘··/˘/˘· |
Notes from the edition 2
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 4 [Byron is speaking of his departure from Spain, but he is thinking of his departure from Malta, and his half-hearted amour with Mrs. Spencer Smith.]
- Stanza 3, line 2 To prevent blocks or splinters from falling on deck during action.
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.