Canto II: Ge IX
Since last she visited the spotSome change seemed wrought within the grot:It might be only that the nightDisguised things seen by better light:That brazen lamp but dimly threwA ray of no celestial hue;But in a nook within the cellHer eye on stranger objects fell.There arms were piled, not such as wieldThe turbaned Delis in the field;But brands of foreign blade and hilt,And one was red--perchance with guilt!ggAh! how without can blood be spilt?A cup too on the board was setThat did not seem to hold sherbet.What may this mean? she turned to seeHer Selim--"Oh! can this be he?"gh
His robe of pride was thrown aside,His brow no high-crowned turban bore,But in its stead a shawl of red,Wreathed lightly round, his temples wore:That dagger, on whose hilt the gemWere worthy of a diadem,No longer glittered at his waist,Where pistols unadorned were braced;And from his belt a sabre swung,And from his shoulder loosely hungThe cloak of white, the thin capoteThat decks the wandering Candiote;Beneath--his golden plated vestClung like a cuirass to his breast;The greaves below his knee that woundWith silvery scales were sheathed and bound.But were it not that high commandSpake in his eye, and tone, and hand,All that a careless eye could seeIn him was some young Galiongee.
Words in this poem
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- piled a.
- Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- turbaned a.
- Wearing a turban.
- sabre n.
- A sword with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and usually more or less curved like a scimiter; a cavalry sword. Saber fish, or Sabre fish (Zoöl.), the cutlass fish.
- capote n.
- A long cloak or overcoat, especially one with a hood. [Sp. capote (cf. F. capote.), fr. LL. capa cape, cloak. See Cap.]
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- clung a.
- Wasted away; shrunken. [Prop. p. p. fr. OE. clingen to wither. See Cling, v. i.]
- greaves n.
- The sediment of melted tallow. It is made into cakes for dogs' food. In Scotland it is called cracklings. [Cf. dial. Sw. grevar greaves, LG. greven, G. griebe, also AS. greofa pot. Cf. Gravy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge IX 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: Ge IX, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-ix.html, id L23884.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge IX is 37 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 59% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 --AABBCCDDE-EFF-- spot · grot · nightA · lightA · threwB · hueB · cellC · fellC · wieldD · fieldD · hiltE · guilt!gg · spiltE · setF · sherbetF · see · —
- 2 -A-ABBCCDDEEFFGGHH-- aside · boreA · red · woreA · gemB · diademB · waistC · bracedC · swungD · hungD · capoteE · candioteE · vestF · breastF · woundG · boundG · commandH · handH · see · galiongee
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Since last she visited the spot | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Some change seemed wrought within the grot: | 8 | ········ |
| It might be only that the night | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Disguised things seen by better light: | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| That brazen lamp but dimly threw | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A ray of no celestial hue; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| But in a nook within the cell | 8 | ········ |
| Her eye on stranger objects fell. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| There arms were piled, not such as wield | 8 | ········ |
| The turbaned Delis in the field; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But brands of foreign blade and hilt, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And one was red--perchance with guilt!gg | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Ah! how without can blood be spilt? | 8 | ········ |
| A cup too on the board was set | 8 | ········ |
| That did not seem to hold sherbet. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| What may this mean? she turned to see | 8 | ········ |
| Her Selim--"Oh! can this be he?"gh | 9 | ········· |
| His robe of pride was thrown aside, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| His brow no high-crowned turban bore, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But in its stead a shawl of red, | 8 | ········ |
| Wreathed lightly round, his temples wore: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That dagger, on whose hilt the gem | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Were worthy of a diadem, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| No longer glittered at his waist, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Where pistols unadorned were braced; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And from his belt a sabre swung, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And from his shoulder loosely hung | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The cloak of white, the thin capote | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That decks the wandering Candiote; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Beneath--his golden plated vest | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Clung like a cuirass to his breast; | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| The greaves below his knee that wound | 8 | ········ |
| With silvery scales were sheathed and bound. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But were it not that high command | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Spake in his eye, and tone, and hand, | 8 | ········ |
| All that a careless eye could see | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In him was some young Galiongee. | 8 | ········ |
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.