Canto III: Canto III XIX
They gain by twilight's hour their lonely isle.To them the very rocks appear to smile;The haven hums with many a cheering sound,The beacons blaze their wonted stations round,The boats are darting o'er the curly bay,And sportive Dolphins bend them through the spray;Even the hoarse sea-bird's shrill, discordant shriek,Greets like the welcome of his tuneless beak!Beneath each lamp that through its lattice gleams,Their fancy paints the friends that trim the beams.Oh! what can sanctify the joys of home,Like Hope's gay glance from Ocean's troubled foam?il
The lights are high on beacon and from bower,And 'midst them Conrad seeks Medora's tower:He looks in vain--'tis strange--and all remark,Amid so many, hers alone is dark.'Tis strange--of yore its welcome never failed,Nor now, perchance, extinguished--only veiled.With the first boat descends he for the shore,And looks impatient on the lingering oar.Oh! for a wing beyond the falcon's flight,To bear him like an arrow to that height!With the first pause the resting rowers gave,He waits not--looks not--leaps into the wave,Strives through the surge, bestrides the beach, and highAscends the path familiar to his eye.
He reached his turret door--he paused--no soundBroke from within; and all was night around.He knocked, and loudly--footstep nor replyAnnounced that any heard or deemed him nigh:He knocked, but faintly--for his trembling handRefused to aid his heavy heart's demand.The portal opens--'tis a well known face--But not the form he panted to embrace.Its lips are silent--twice his own essayed,And failed to frame the question they delayed;He snatched the lamp--its light will answer all--It quits his grasp, expiring in the fall.He would not wait for that reviving ray--As soon could he have lingered there for day;But, glimmering through the dusky corridor,Another chequers o'er the shadowed floor;His steps the chamber gain--his eyes beholdAll that his heart believed not--yet foretold!
Words in this poem
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- tuneless a.
- Without tune; inharmonious; unmusical.
- sanctify v. t.
- To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to hallow. [F. sanctifier, L. sanctificare; sanctus holy + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See Saint, and -fy.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- expiring a.
- Breathing out air from the lungs; emitting fluid or volatile matter; exhaling; breathing the last breath; dying; ending; terminating.
- corridor n.
- A gallery or passageway leading to several apartments of a house. [F., fr. Itt. corridpore, or Sp. corredor; prop., a runner, hence, a running or long line, a gallery, fr. L. currere to run. See Course.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto III: Canto III XIX 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 III: Canto III XIX, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/canto-iii-canto-iii-xix.html, id L23927.
Form and metre
Canto III: Canto III XIX is 44 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 91% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCCDDEE-- isleA · smileA · soundB · roundB · bayC · sprayC · shriekD · beakD · gleamsE · beamsE · home · foam?il
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGG bowerA · towerA · remarkB · darkB · failedC · veiledC · shoreD · oarD · flightE · heightE · gaveF · waveF · highG · eyeG
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFFGG--HH soundA · aroundA · replyB · nighB · handC · demandC · faceD · embraceD · essayedE · delayedE · allF · fallF · rayG · dayG · corridor · floor · beholdH · foretoldH
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| They gain by twilight's hour their lonely isle. | 10 | ···/·/·/˘· |
| To them the very rocks appear to smile; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The haven hums with many a cheering sound, | 10 | ·/˘··/·/˘· |
| The beacons blaze their wonted stations round, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| The boats are darting o'er the curly bay, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And sportive Dolphins bend them through the spray; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Even the hoarse sea-bird's shrill, discordant shriek, | 10 | /·····˘/˘· |
| Greets like the welcome of his tuneless beak! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Beneath each lamp that through its lattice gleams, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Their fancy paints the friends that trim the beams. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Oh! what can sanctify the joys of home, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Like Hope's gay glance from Ocean's troubled foam?il | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| The lights are high on beacon and from bower, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| And 'midst them Conrad seeks Medora's tower: | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| He looks in vain--'tis strange--and all remark, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Amid so many, hers alone is dark. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·· |
| 'Tis strange--of yore its welcome never failed, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Nor now, perchance, extinguished--only veiled. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| With the first boat descends he for the shore, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And looks impatient on the lingering oar. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Oh! for a wing beyond the falcon's flight, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To bear him like an arrow to that height! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With the first pause the resting rowers gave, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| He waits not--looks not--leaps into the wave, | 10 | ·········· |
| Strives through the surge, bestrides the beach, and high | 10 | ·········· |
| Ascends the path familiar to his eye. | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘··· |
| He reached his turret door--he paused--no sound | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Broke from within; and all was night around. | 10 | ·········· |
| He knocked, and loudly--footstep nor reply | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| Announced that any heard or deemed him nigh: | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| He knocked, but faintly--for his trembling hand | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Refused to aid his heavy heart's demand. | 10 | ˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| The portal opens--'tis a well known face-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| But not the form he panted to embrace. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Its lips are silent--twice his own essayed, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And failed to frame the question they delayed; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| He snatched the lamp--its light will answer all-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| It quits his grasp, expiring in the fall. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| He would not wait for that reviving ray-- | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| As soon could he have lingered there for day; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But, glimmering through the dusky corridor, | 11 | ·/˘˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Another chequers o'er the shadowed floor; | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| His steps the chamber gain--his eyes behold | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| All that his heart believed not--yet foretold! | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
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