Canto II: Ge XXVI
Morn slowly rolls the clouds away;Few trophies of the fight are there:The shouts that shook the midnight-bayAre silent; but some signs of frayThat strand of strife may bear,And fragments of each shivered brand;Steps stamped; and dashed into the sandThe print of many a struggling handMay there be marked; nor far remoteA broken torch, an oarless boat;And tangled on the weeds that heapThe beach where shelving to the deepThere lies a white capote!'Tis rent in twain--one dark-red stainThe wave yet ripples o'er in vain:But where is he who wore?Ye! who would o'er his relics weep,Go, seek them where the surges sweepTheir burthen round Sigaeum's steepAnd cast on Lemnos' shore:The sea-birds shriek above the prey,O'er which their hungry beaks delay,hcAs shaken on his restless pillow,His head heaves with the heaving billow;That hand, whose motion is not life,hdYet feebly seems to menace strife,Flung by the tossing tide on high,Then levelled with the wave--What recks it, though that corse shall lieWithin a living grave?The bird that tears that prostrate formHath only robbed the meaner worm;The only heart, the only eyeHad bled or wept to see him die,Had seen those scattered limbs composed,And mourned above his turban-stone,That heart hath burst--that eye was closed--Yea--closed before his own!
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- oarless a.
- Without oars. Sylvester.
- shelving a.
- Sloping gradually; inclining; as, a shelving shore.
- capote n.
- A long cloak or overcoat, especially one with a hood. [Sp. capote (cf. F. capote.), fr. LL. capa cape, cloak. See Cap.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- heaves n.
- A disease of horses, characterized by difficult breathing, with heaving of the flank, wheezing, flatulency, and a peculiar cough; broken wind.
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- corse n.
- A living body or its bulk. [OF. cors, F. corps. See Corpse.]
- 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 XXVI 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 XXVI, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-ii-ge-xxvi.html, id L23896.
Form and metre
Canto II: Ge XXVI is 38 lines in a single stanza. 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 ABAABCCCDDEEDFFGHHHG--II--JKJK--JJLMLM awayA · thereB · bayA · frayA · bearB · brandC · sandC · handC · remoteD · boatD · heapE · deepE · capoteD · stainF · vainF · woreG · weepH · sweepH · steepH · shoreG · prey · delay,hc · pillowI · billowI · life,hd · strife · highJ · waveK · lieJ · graveK · form · worm · eyeJ · dieJ · composedL · stoneM · closedL · ownM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Morn slowly rolls the clouds away; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Few trophies of the fight are there: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The shouts that shook the midnight-bay | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Are silent; but some signs of fray | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That strand of strife may bear, | 6 | ······ |
| And fragments of each shivered brand; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Steps stamped; and dashed into the sand | 8 | ········ |
| The print of many a struggling hand | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| May there be marked; nor far remote | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A broken torch, an oarless boat; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And tangled on the weeds that heap | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The beach where shelving to the deep | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There lies a white capote! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| 'Tis rent in twain--one dark-red stain | 8 | ········ |
| The wave yet ripples o'er in vain: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But where is he who wore? | 6 | ······ |
| Ye! who would o'er his relics weep, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Go, seek them where the surges sweep | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Their burthen round Sigaeum's steep | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And cast on Lemnos' shore: | 6 | ······ |
| The sea-birds shriek above the prey, | 8 | ········ |
| O'er which their hungry beaks delay,hc | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
| As shaken on his restless pillow, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| His head heaves with the heaving billow; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| That hand, whose motion is not life,hd | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Yet feebly seems to menace strife, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Flung by the tossing tide on high, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Then levelled with the wave-- | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| What recks it, though that corse shall lie | 8 | ········ |
| Within a living grave? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The bird that tears that prostrate form | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Hath only robbed the meaner worm; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The only heart, the only eye | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Had bled or wept to see him die, | 8 | ········ |
| Had seen those scattered limbs composed, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And mourned above his turban-stone, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That heart hath burst--that eye was closed-- | 8 | ········ |
| Yea--closed before his own! | 7 | ··˘···· |
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