Canto II: Ge XVI
"Within thy Father's house are foes;Not all who break his bread are true:To these should I my birth disclose,His days-his very hours were few:They only want a heart to lead,A hand to point them to the deed.But Haroun only knows, or knewThis tale, whose close is almost nigh:He in Abdallah's palace grew,And held that post in his SeraiWhich holds he here--he saw him die;But what could single slavery do?Avenge his lord? alas! too late;Or save his son from such a fate?He chose the last, and when elateWith foes subdued, or friends betrayed,Proud Giaffir in high triumph sate,He led me helpless to his gate,And not in vain it seems essayedTo save the life for which he prayed.The knowledge of my birth securedFrom all and each, but most from me;Thus Giaffir's safety was ensured.Removed he too from RoumelieTo this our Asiatic side,Far from our seats by Danube's tide,With none but Haroun, who retainsSuch knowledge--and that Nubian feelsA Tyrant's secrets are but chains,From which the captive gladly steals,And this and more to me reveals:Such still to guilt just Allah sends--Slaves, tools, accomplices--no friends!
Words in this poem
- serai n.
- A palace; a seraglio; also, in the East, a place for the accommodation of travelers; a caravansary, or rest house. [Per. sera\'8b, or saraï, a palace, a king's court, a seraglio, an inn. Cf. Caravansary.]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- 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.]
- nubian a.
- Of or pertaining to Nubia in Eastern Africa.
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- allah n.
- The name of the Supreme Being, in use among the Arabs and the Mohammedans generally. [contr. fr. the article al the + ilah God.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge XVI 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 XVI, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-xvi.html, id L23889.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge XVI is 33 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 ABAB--BCB-CBDDDEDDEEF-F-GGHIHIIJJ foesA · trueB · discloseA · fewB · lead · deed · knewB · nighC · grewB · serai · dieC · doB · lateD · fateD · elateD · betrayedE · sateD · gateD · essayedE · prayedE · securedF · me · ensuredF · roumelie · sideG · tideG · retainsH · feelsI · chainsH · stealsI · revealsI · sendsJ · friendsJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Within thy Father's house are foes; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Not all who break his bread are true: | 8 | ········ |
| To these should I my birth disclose, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| His days-his very hours were few: | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| They only want a heart to lead, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A hand to point them to the deed. | 8 | ········ |
| But Haroun only knows, or knew | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| This tale, whose close is almost nigh: | 8 | ·····/·· |
| He in Abdallah's palace grew, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And held that post in his Serai | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Which holds he here--he saw him die; | 8 | ········ |
| But what could single slavery do? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Avenge his lord? alas! too late; | 8 | ˘/··˘/·· |
| Or save his son from such a fate? | 8 | ········ |
| He chose the last, and when elate | 8 | ······˘/ |
| With foes subdued, or friends betrayed, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Proud Giaffir in high triumph sate, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He led me helpless to his gate, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And not in vain it seems essayed | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To save the life for which he prayed. | 8 | ········ |
| The knowledge of my birth secured | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| From all and each, but most from me; | 8 | ········ |
| Thus Giaffir's safety was ensured. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Removed he too from Roumelie | 8 | ˘/······ |
| To this our Asiatic side, | 8 | ··/·˘/˘· |
| Far from our seats by Danube's tide, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| With none but Haroun, who retains | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Such knowledge--and that Nubian feels | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A Tyrant's secrets are but chains, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| From which the captive gladly steals, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And this and more to me reveals: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Such still to guilt just Allah sends-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Slaves, tools, accomplices--no friends! | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
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