Canto II: Canto II VII
But first, ere came the rallying host to blows,And rank to rank, and hand to hand oppose,Gulnare and all her Haram handmaids freed,Safe in the dome of one who held their creed,By Conrad's mandate safely were bestowed,And dried those tears for life and fame that flowed:And when that dark-eyed lady, young Gulnare,Recalled those thoughts late wandering in despair,Much did she marvel o'er the courtesyThat smoothed his accents, softened in his eye--'Twas strange--that robber thus with gore bedewed,Seemed gentler then than Seyd in fondest mood.The Pacha wooed as if he deemed the slaveMust seem delighted with the heart he gave;The Corsair vowed protection, soothed affright,As if his homage were a Woman's right."The wish is wrong--nay, worse for female--vain:Yet much I long to view that Chief again;If but to thank for, what my fear forgot,The life--my loving Lord remembered not!"
Words in this poem
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- corsair n.
- A pirate; one who cruises about without authorization from any government, to seize booty on sea or land. [F. corsaire (cf. It. corsare, corsale, Pr. corsari), LL. corsarius, fr. L. cursus a running, course, whence Sp. corso cruise, corsa cruise, coasting voyage, cor]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Canto II VII 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 VII, 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-vii.html, id L23907.
Form and metre
Canto II: Canto II VII is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 90% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 AABBCCDD--EEFFGGHHII blowsA · opposeA · freedB · creedB · bestowedC · flowedC · gulnareD · despairD · courtesy · eye · bedewedE · moodE · slaveF · gaveF · affrightG · rightG · vainH · againH · forgotI · notI
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 first, ere came the rallying host to blows, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And rank to rank, and hand to hand oppose, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Gulnare and all her Haram handmaids freed, | 10 | ·········· |
| Safe in the dome of one who held their creed, | 10 | ·········· |
| By Conrad's mandate safely were bestowed, | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| And dried those tears for life and fame that flowed: | 10 | ·········· |
| And when that dark-eyed lady, young Gulnare, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Recalled those thoughts late wandering in despair, | 10 | ˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| Much did she marvel o'er the courtesy | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| That smoothed his accents, softened in his eye-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| 'Twas strange--that robber thus with gore bedewed, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Seemed gentler then than Seyd in fondest mood. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The Pacha wooed as if he deemed the slave | 10 | ·········· |
| Must seem delighted with the heart he gave; | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| The Corsair vowed protection, soothed affright, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| As if his homage were a Woman's right. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| "The wish is wrong--nay, worse for female--vain: | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Yet much I long to view that Chief again; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| If but to thank for, what my fear forgot, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The life--my loving Lord remembered not!" | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
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