Canto II: Canto II I
In Coron's bay floats many a galley light,Through Coron's lattices the lamps are bright,For Seyd, the Pacha, makes a feast to-night:A feast for promised triumph yet to come,When he shall drag the fettered Rovers home;This hath he sworn by Allah and his sword,And faithful to his firman and his word,His summoned prows collect along the coast,And great the gathering crews, and loud the boast;Already shared the captives and the prize,Though far the distant foe they thus despise;'Tis but to sail--no doubt to-morrow's SunWill see the Pirates bound--their haven won!Meantime the watch may slumber, if they will,Nor only wake to war, but dreaming kill.Though all, who can, disperse on shore and seekTo flesh their glowing valour on the Greek;How well such deed becomes the turbaned brave--To bare the sabre's edge before a slave!Infest his dwelling--but forbear to slay,Their arms are strong, yet merciful to-day,And do not deign to smite because they may!Unless some gay caprice suggests the blow,To keep in practice for the coming foe.Revel and rout the evening hours beguile,And they who wish to wear a head must smile;For Moslem mouths produce their choicest cheer,And hoard their curses, till the coast is clear.
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,]
- fettered a.
- Seeming as if fettered, as the feet pf certain animals which bend backward, and appear unfit for walking.
- allah n.
- The name of the Supreme Being, in use among the Arabs and the Mohammedans generally. [contr. fr. the article al the + ilah God.]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- turbaned a.
- Wearing a turban.
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Canto II I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3, Project Gutenberg ebook #21811; 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: Canto II I, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-canto-ii-i.html, id L23902.
Form and metre
Canto II: Canto II I is 28 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AAABB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIIJJKKLL lightA · brightA · nightA · comeB · homeB · sword · word · coastC · boastC · prizeD · despiseD · sunE · wonE · willF · killF · seekG · greekG · braveH · slaveH · slayI · dayI · mayI · blowJ · foeJ · beguileK · smileK · cheerL · clearL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In Coron's bay floats many a galley light, | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Through Coron's lattices the lamps are bright, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| For Seyd, the Pacha, makes a feast to-night: | 10 | ·········· |
| A feast for promised triumph yet to come, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| When he shall drag the fettered Rovers home; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| This hath he sworn by Allah and his sword, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And faithful to his firman and his word, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| His summoned prows collect along the coast, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| And great the gathering crews, and loud the boast; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Already shared the captives and the prize, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Though far the distant foe they thus despise; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| 'Tis but to sail--no doubt to-morrow's Sun | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Will see the Pirates bound--their haven won! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Meantime the watch may slumber, if they will, | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| Nor only wake to war, but dreaming kill. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Though all, who can, disperse on shore and seek | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| To flesh their glowing valour on the Greek; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| How well such deed becomes the turbaned brave-- | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| To bare the sabre's edge before a slave! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Infest his dwelling--but forbear to slay, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·· |
| Their arms are strong, yet merciful to-day, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| And do not deign to smite because they may! | 10 | ·········· |
| Unless some gay caprice suggests the blow, | 10 | ····˘/˘/·· |
| To keep in practice for the coming foe. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Revel and rout the evening hours beguile, | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘/ |
| And they who wish to wear a head must smile; | 10 | ·········· |
| For Moslem mouths produce their choicest cheer, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And hoard their curses, till the coast is clear. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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