Canto II: Ge XVIII
"All this, Zuleika, harshly sounds;But harsher still my tale must be:Howe'er my tongue thy softness wounds,Yet I must prove all truth to thee."gnI saw thee start this garb to see,Yet is it one I oft have worn,And long must wear: this Galiongee,To whom thy plighted vow is sworn,Is leader of those pirate hordes,Whose laws and lives are on their swords;To hear whose desolating taleWould make thy waning cheek more pale:Those arms thou see'st my band have brought,The hands that wield are not remote;This cup too for the rugged knavesIs filled--once quaffed, they ne'er repine:Our Prophet might forgive the slaves;They're only infidels in wine.
"What could I be? Proscribed at home,And taunted to a wish to roam;And listless left--for Giaffir's fearDenied the courser and the spear--Though oft--Oh, Mahomet! how oft!--In full Divan the despot scoffed,As if my weak unwilling handRefused the bridle or the brand:He ever went to war alone,And pent me here untried--unknown;To Haroun's care with women left,goBy hope unblest, of fame bereft,While thou--whose softness long endeared,Though it unmanned me, still had cheered--To Brusa's walls for safety sent,Awaited'st there the field's event.Haroun who saw my spirit pininggpBeneath inaction's sluggish yoke,His captive, though with dread resigning,My thraldom for a season broke,On promise to return beforeThe day when Giaffir's charge was o'er.'Tis vain--my tongue can not impartgqMy almost drunkenness of heart,When first this liberated eyeSurveyed Earth--Ocean--Sun--and Sky--As if my Spirit pierced them through,And all their inmost wonders knew!One word alone can paint to theeThat more than feeling--I was Free!E'en for thy presence ceased to pine;The World--nay, Heaven itself was mine!
Words in this poem
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- 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]
- repine v. i.
- To fail; to wane. [Pref. re- + pine to languish.]
- listless a.
- Having no desire or inclination; indifferent; heedless; spiritless. [OE. listles, lustles. See Lust.]
- courser n.
- One who courses or hunts. [F. coursier.]
- divan n.
- A book; esp., a collection of poems written by one author; as, the divan of Hafiz. [Persia] [Per. diwan a book of many leaves, an account book, a collection of books, a senate, council: cf. Ar. daiwan, F. divan.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- pent p. p.
- Penned or shut up; confined; -- often with up. [From Pen, v. t.]
- unblest a.
- Not blest; excluded from benediction; hence, accursed; wretched. [Pref. un- not + blessed, blest.]
- unmanned a.
- Etym: [Properly p. p. of unman.]
- thraldom n.
- The condition of a thrall; slavery; bondage; state of servitude. [Icel. . See Thrall, and -dom.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge XVIII 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 XVIII, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-xviii.html, id L23890.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge XVIII is 50 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 -A--AB-BCCDD--E-E- sounds · beA · wounds · — · seeA · wornB · galiongee · swornB · hordesC · swordsC · taleD · paleD · brought · remote · knavesE · repine · slavesE · wine
- 2 AABBCCDDEE--FFGG-H-H----IIJJIIKK homeA · roamA · fearB · spearB · oftC · scoffedC · handD · brandD · aloneE · unknownE · left,go · bereft · endearedF · cheeredF · sentG · eventG · pininggp · yokeH · resigning · brokeH · before · o'er · impartgq · heart · eyeI · skyI · throughJ · knewJ · theeI · freeI · pineK · mineK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "All this, Zuleika, harshly sounds; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But harsher still my tale must be: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Howe'er my tongue thy softness wounds, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet I must prove all truth to thee."gn | 9 | ········· |
| I saw thee start this garb to see, | 8 | ········ |
| Yet is it one I oft have worn, | 8 | ········ |
| And long must wear: this Galiongee, | 8 | ········ |
| To whom thy plighted vow is sworn, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is leader of those pirate hordes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose laws and lives are on their swords; | 8 | ········ |
| To hear whose desolating tale | 8 | ···/˘˘˘· |
| Would make thy waning cheek more pale: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Those arms thou see'st my band have brought, | 8 | ········ |
| The hands that wield are not remote; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| This cup too for the rugged knaves | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is filled--once quaffed, they ne'er repine: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Our Prophet might forgive the slaves; | 8 | //˘·˘/·· |
| They're only infidels in wine. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| "What could I be? Proscribed at home, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And taunted to a wish to roam; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And listless left--for Giaffir's fear | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Denied the courser and the spear-- | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Though oft--Oh, Mahomet! how oft!-- | 8 | ········ |
| In full Divan the despot scoffed, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| As if my weak unwilling hand | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Refused the bridle or the brand: | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| He ever went to war alone, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And pent me here untried--unknown; | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| To Haroun's care with women left,go | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| By hope unblest, of fame bereft, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| While thou--whose softness long endeared, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Though it unmanned me, still had cheered-- | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| To Brusa's walls for safety sent, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Awaited'st there the field's event. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Haroun who saw my spirit pininggp | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Beneath inaction's sluggish yoke, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| His captive, though with dread resigning, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| My thraldom for a season broke, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| On promise to return before | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The day when Giaffir's charge was o'er. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis vain--my tongue can not impartgq | 8 | ········ |
| My almost drunkenness of heart, | 8 | ·/·/˘˘·· |
| When first this liberated eye | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Surveyed Earth--Ocean--Sun--and Sky-- | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| As if my Spirit pierced them through, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And all their inmost wonders knew! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| One word alone can paint to thee | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That more than feeling--I was Free! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| E'en for thy presence ceased to pine; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The World--nay, Heaven itself was mine! | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
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