Canto II: Ge V
Late, late to-night will Dian cheerThe swain, and chase the boatman's fear;Till then--no beacon on the cliffMay shape the course of struggling skiff;The scattered lights that skirt the bay,All, one by one, have died away;The only lamp of this lone hourIs glimmering in Zuleika's tower.Yes! there is light in that lone chamber,And o'er her silken ottomanAre thrown the fragrant beads of amber,O'er which her fairy fingers ran;Near these, with emerald rays beset,(How could she thus that gem forget?)Her mother's sainted amulet,Whereon engraved the Koorsee text,Could smooth this life, and win the next;And by her Comboloio liesA Koran of illumined dyes;And many a bright emblazoned rhymeBy Persian scribes redeemed from Time;And o'er those scrolls, not oft so mute,Reclines her now neglected lute;And round her lamp of fretted goldBloom flowers in urns of China's mould;The richest work of Iran's loom,And Sheeraz tribute of perfume;
All that can eye or sense delightAre gathered in that gorgeous room:But yet it hath an air of gloom.She, of this Peri cell the sprite,What doth she hence, and on so rude a night?
Words in this poem
- skiff n.
- A small, light boat. [F. esquif, fr. OHG. skif, G. schiff. See Ship.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- comboloio n.
- A Mohammedan rosary, consisting of ninety-nine beads.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- gorgeous a.
- Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
- peri n.
- An imaginary being, male or female, like an elf or fairy, represented as a descendant of fallen angels, excluded from paradise till penance is accomplished. Moore. [Per. peri a female genus, a fairy.]
- sprite n.
- A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge V 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 V, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-v.html, id L23882.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge V is 32 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See 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 AABBCCDD-E-EFFFGGHHIIJJKKLL cheerA · fearA · cliffB · skiffB · bayC · awayC · hourD · towerD · chamber · ottomanE · amber · ranE · besetF · forgetF · amuletF · textG · nextG · liesH · dyesH · rhymeI · timeI · muteJ · luteJ · goldK · mouldK · loomL · perfumeL
- 2 ABBAA delightA · roomB · gloomB · spriteA · nightA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Late, late to-night will Dian cheer | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The swain, and chase the boatman's fear; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Till then--no beacon on the cliff | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| May shape the course of struggling skiff; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The scattered lights that skirt the bay, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| All, one by one, have died away; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The only lamp of this lone hour | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Is glimmering in Zuleika's tower. | 8 | ·/˘····/ |
| Yes! there is light in that lone chamber, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And o'er her silken ottoman | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Are thrown the fragrant beads of amber, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| O'er which her fairy fingers ran; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Near these, with emerald rays beset, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| (How could she thus that gem forget?) | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Her mother's sainted amulet, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Whereon engraved the Koorsee text, | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| Could smooth this life, and win the next; | 8 | ········ |
| And by her Comboloio lies | 7 | ······· |
| A Koran of illumined dyes; | 8 | ·˘/·˘/˘· |
| And many a bright emblazoned rhyme | 8 | ·/··˘/˘· |
| By Persian scribes redeemed from Time; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And o'er those scrolls, not oft so mute, | 8 | ········ |
| Reclines her now neglected lute; | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| And round her lamp of fretted gold | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bloom flowers in urns of China's mould; | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| The richest work of Iran's loom, | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| And Sheeraz tribute of perfume; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| All that can eye or sense delight | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Are gathered in that gorgeous room: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But yet it hath an air of gloom. | 8 | ········ |
| She, of this Peri cell the sprite, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What doth she hence, and on so rude a night? | 10 | ·········· |
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