Canto II: Ge XXIII
Dauntless he stood--"'Tis come--soon past--One kiss, Zuleika--'tis my last:But yet my band not far from shoreMay hear this signal, see the flash;Yet now too few--the attempt were rash:No matter--yet one effort more."Forth to the cavern mouth he stept;His pistol's echo rang on high,Zuleika started not, nor wept,Despair benumbed her breast and eye!--"They hear me not, or if they plyTheir oars,'tis but to see me die;That sound hath drawn my foes more nigh.Then forth my father's scimitar,Thou ne'er hast seen less equal war!Farewell, Zuleika!--Sweet! retire:Yet stay within--here linger safe,At thee his rage will only chafe.Stir not--lest even to thee perchanceSome erring blade or ball should glance.Fear'st them for him?--may I expireIf in this strife I seek thy sire!No--though by him that poison poured;No--though again he call me coward!But tamely shall I meet their steel?No--as each crest save his may feel!"
Words in this poem
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- scimitar n.
- A saber with a much curved blade having the edge on the convex side, -- in use among Mohammedans, esp., the Arabs and persians. [F. cimeterre, cf. It. scimitarra, Sp. cimitarra; fr. Biscayan cimetarry with a sharp edge; or corrupted from Per. shimshir.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- tamely adv.
- In a tame manner.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto II: Ge XXIII 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 XXIII, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-xxiii.html, id L23894.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge XXIII is 26 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 AABCCBDEDEEEE-BFGGHHF---II pastA · lastA · shoreB · flashC · rashC · moreB · steptD · highE · weptD · eyeE · plyE · dieE · nighE · scimitar · warB · retireF · safeG · chafeG · perchanceH · glanceH · expireF · sire · poured · coward · steelI · feelI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dauntless he stood--"'Tis come--soon past-- | 8 | /˘······ |
| One kiss, Zuleika--'tis my last: | 8 | ········ |
| But yet my band not far from shore | 8 | ········ |
| May hear this signal, see the flash; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet now too few--the attempt were rash: | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| No matter--yet one effort more." | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Forth to the cavern mouth he stept; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His pistol's echo rang on high, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Zuleika started not, nor wept, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Despair benumbed her breast and eye!-- | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| "They hear me not, or if they ply | 8 | ········ |
| Their oars,'tis but to see me die; | 8 | ········ |
| That sound hath drawn my foes more nigh. | 8 | ········ |
| Then forth my father's scimitar, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thou ne'er hast seen less equal war! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Farewell, Zuleika!--Sweet! retire: | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| Yet stay within--here linger safe, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At thee his rage will only chafe. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Stir not--lest even to thee perchance | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Some erring blade or ball should glance. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Fear'st them for him?--may I expire | 8 | ······˘/ |
| If in this strife I seek thy sire! | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| No--though by him that poison poured; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No--though again he call me coward! | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| But tamely shall I meet their steel? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No--as each crest save his may feel!" | 8 | ········ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.