Canto II: Ge XII
"My slave, Zuleika!--nay, I'm thine:But, gentle love, this transport calm,Thy lot shall yet be linked with mine;I swear it by our Prophet's shrine,gjAnd be that thought thy sorrow's balm.So may the Koran verse displayedUpon its steel direct my blade,In danger's hour to guard us both,As I preserve that awful oath!The name in which thy heart hath pridedMust change; but, my Zuleika, know,That tie is widened, not divided,Although thy Sire's my deadliest foe.My father was to Giaffir allThat Selim late was deemed to thee;That brother wrought a brother's fall,But spared, at least, my infancy!And lulled me with a vain deceitThat yet a like return may meet.He reared me, not with tender help,But like the nephew of a Cain;He watched me like a lion's whelp,That gnaws and yet may break his chain.My father's blood in every veinIs boiling! but for thy dear sakeNo present vengeance will I take;Though here I must no more remain.But first, beloved Zuleika! hearHow Giaffir wrought this deed of fear.
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,]
- nephew n.
- A grandson or grandchild, or remoter lineal descendant. [OE. neveu, nevou, nevu, fr. F. neveu, OF. also, nevou, L. nepos; akin to AS. nefa, D. neef, G. neffe, OHG. nevo, Icel. nefi a kinsman, gr. nepat grandson, desce]
- whelp n.
- One of the young of a dog or a beast of prey; a puppy; a cub; as, a lion's whelps. [AS. hwelp; akin to D. welp, G. & OHG. welf, Icel. hvelpr, Dan. hvalp, Sw. valp.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge XII 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 XII, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-xii.html, id L23886.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge XII is 29 lines in a single stanza. 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 ABA-BCCDDCE-EF-F-GGHIHIIJJIKK thineA · calmB · mineA · shrine,gj · balmB · displayedC · bladeC · bothD · oathD · pridedC · knowE · divided · foeE · allF · thee · fallF · infancy · deceitG · meetG · helpH · cainI · whelpH · chainI · veinI · sakeJ · takeJ · remainI · hearK · fearK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "My slave, Zuleika!--nay, I'm thine: | 8 | ········ |
| But, gentle love, this transport calm, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy lot shall yet be linked with mine; | 8 | ········ |
| I swear it by our Prophet's shrine,gj | 9 | ····//˘·· |
| And be that thought thy sorrow's balm. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So may the Koran verse displayed | 8 | ···˘/·˘/ |
| Upon its steel direct my blade, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| In danger's hour to guard us both, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| As I preserve that awful oath! | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The name in which thy heart hath prided | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Must change; but, my Zuleika, know, | 8 | ········ |
| That tie is widened, not divided, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Although thy Sire's my deadliest foe. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My father was to Giaffir all | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That Selim late was deemed to thee; | 8 | ········ |
| That brother wrought a brother's fall, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But spared, at least, my infancy! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And lulled me with a vain deceit | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That yet a like return may meet. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| He reared me, not with tender help, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But like the nephew of a Cain; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He watched me like a lion's whelp, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That gnaws and yet may break his chain. | 8 | ········ |
| My father's blood in every vein | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is boiling! but for thy dear sake | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No present vengeance will I take; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Though here I must no more remain. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But first, beloved Zuleika! hear | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| How Giaffir wrought this deed of fear. | 8 | ········ |
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