Canto II: Ge XIV
"How first their strife to rancour grew,If Love or Envy made them foes,It matters little if I knew;In fiery spirits, slights, though fewAnd thoughtless, will disturb repose.In war Abdallah's arm was strong,Remembered yet in Bosniac song,And Paswan's rebel hordes attestHow little love they bore such guest:His death is all I need relate,The stern effect of Giaffir's hate;And how my birth disclosed to me,gkWhate'er beside it makes, hath made me free.
"When Paswan, after years of strife,At last for power, but first for life,In Widdin's walls too proudly sate,Our Pachas rallied round the state;Not last nor least in high command,Each brother led a separate band;They gave their Horse-tails to the wind,And mustering in Sophia's plainTheir tents were pitched, their post assigned;To one, alas! assigned in vain!What need of words? the deadly bowl,By Giaffir's order drugged and given,With venom subtle as his soul,glDismissed Abdallah's hence to heaven.Reclined and feverish in the bath,He, when the hunter's sport was up,But little deemed a brother's wrathTo quench his thirst had such a cup:The bowl a bribed attendant bore;He drank one draught, nor needed more!If thou my tale, Zuleika, doubt,Call Haroun--he can tell it out.
Words in this poem
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- rancour n.
- The deepest malignity or spite; deep-seated enmity or malice; inveterate hatred. [OE. rancour, OF. rancor, rancur, F. rancune, fr. L. rancor rancidity, rankness; tropically, an old grudge, rancor, fr. rancere to be rank or rancid.]
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- reclined a.
- Falling or turned downward; reclinate.
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge XIV 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 XIV, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-xiv.html, id L23887.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge XIV is 35 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 ABAABCCDDEE-- grewA · foesB · knewA · fewA · reposeB · strongC · songC · attestD · guestD · relateE · hateE · me,gk · free
- 2 AABBCCDEDE-E-EFGFGHHII strifeA · lifeA · sateB · stateB · commandC · bandC · windD · plainE · assignedD · vainE · bowl · givenE · soul,gl · heavenE · bathF · upG · wrathF · cupG · boreH · moreH · doubtI · outI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "How first their strife to rancour grew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If Love or Envy made them foes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It matters little if I knew; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In fiery spirits, slights, though few | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And thoughtless, will disturb repose. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| In war Abdallah's arm was strong, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Remembered yet in Bosniac song, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And Paswan's rebel hordes attest | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| How little love they bore such guest: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His death is all I need relate, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The stern effect of Giaffir's hate; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And how my birth disclosed to me,gk | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Whate'er beside it makes, hath made me free. | 11 | ˘˘/˘/······ |
| "When Paswan, after years of strife, | 8 | ········ |
| At last for power, but first for life, | 8 | ···/···· |
| In Widdin's walls too proudly sate, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our Pachas rallied round the state; | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| Not last nor least in high command, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Each brother led a separate band; | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| They gave their Horse-tails to the wind, | 8 | ········ |
| And mustering in Sophia's plain | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Their tents were pitched, their post assigned; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To one, alas! assigned in vain! | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| What need of words? the deadly bowl, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By Giaffir's order drugged and given, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| With venom subtle as his soul,gl | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Dismissed Abdallah's hence to heaven. | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Reclined and feverish in the bath, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| He, when the hunter's sport was up, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But little deemed a brother's wrath | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To quench his thirst had such a cup: | 8 | ········ |
| The bowl a bribed attendant bore; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He drank one draught, nor needed more! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If thou my tale, Zuleika, doubt, | 8 | ········ |
| Call Haroun--he can tell it out. | 8 | ········ |
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