Farewell to Malta
Adieu, ye joys of La Valette!Adieu, Sirocco, sun, and sweat!Adieu, thou palace rarely entered!Adieu, ye mansions where--I've ventured!Adieu, ye cursed streets of stairs!(How surely he who mounts them swears!)Adieu, ye merchants often failing!Adieu, thou mob for ever railing!Adieu, ye packets--without letters!Adieu, ye fools--who ape your betters!Adieu, thou damned'st quarantine,That gave me fever, and the spleen!Adieu that stage which makes us yawn, Sirs,Adieu his Excellency's dancers!Adieu to Peter--whom no fault's in,But could not teach a colonel waltzing;Adieu, ye females fraught with graces!Adieu red coats, and redder faces!Adieu the supercilious airOf all that strut en militaire!I go--but God knows when, or why,To smoky towns and cloudy sky,To things (the honest truth to say)As bad--but in a different way.
Farewell to these, but not adieu,Triumphant sons of truest blue!While either Adriatic shore,And fallen chiefs, and fleets no more,And nightly smiles, and daily dinners,Proclaim you war and women's winners.Pardon my Muse, who apt to prate is,And take my rhyme--because 'tis "gratis."
And now I've got to Mrs. Fraser,Perhaps you think I mean to praise her--And were I vain enough to thinkMy praise was worth this drop of ink,A line--or two--were no hard matter,As here, indeed, I need not flatter:But she must be content to shineIn better praises than in mine,With lively air, and open heart,And fashion's ease, without its art;Her hours can gaily glide along.Nor ask the aid of idle song.
And now, O Malta! since thou'st got us,Thou little military hot-house!I'll not offend with words uncivil,And wish thee rudely at the Devil,But only stare from out my casement,And ask, "for what is such a place meant?"Then, in my solitary nook,Return to scribbling, or a book,Or take my physic while I'm able(Two spoonfuls hourly, by this label),Prefer my nightcap to my beaver,And bless my stars I've got a fever.
Words in this poem
- valette n.
- A male waiting servant; a servant who attends on gentleman's person; a body servant. [F. valet, OF. vallet, varlet, vaslet. See Varlet, and Vassal.]
- sirocco n.
- An oppressive, relaxing wind from the Libyan deserts, chiefly experienced in Italy, Malta, and Sicily. [It. sirocco, scirocco, Ar. shorug, fr. sharq the rising of the sun, the east, fr, sharaca to rise as the sun. Cf. Saracen.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- quarantine n.
- A space of forty days; -- used of Lent. [F. quarantaine, OF. quaranteine, fr. F. quarante forty, L. quadraginta, akin to quattuor four, and E. four: cf. It. quarantina, quarentine. See Four, and cf. Qu]
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- adriatic a.
- Of or pertaining to a sea so named, the northwestern part of which is known as the Gulf of Venice. [L. Adriaticus, Hadriaticus, fr. Adria or Hadria, a town of the Veneti.]
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
- gratis adv.
- For nothing; without fee or recompense; freely; gratuitously. [L., contr. fr. gratiis out of favor or kindness, without recompense, for nothing, fr. gratia favor. See Grace.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- scribbling n.
- The act or process of carding coarsely. Scribbing machine, the machine used for the first carding of wool or other fiber; -- called also scribbler. [See 1st Scribble.]
- hourly a.
- Happening or done every hour; occurring hour by hour; frequent; often repeated; renewed hour by hour; continual.
- nightcap n.
- A cap worn in bed to protect the head, or in undress.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Farewell to Malta 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, Farewell to Malta, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/farewell-to-malta.html, id L23838.
Form and metre
Farewell to Malta is 56 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEEFF, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See 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 A---BBCCDDEEB-E-FFGGHHAA valetteA · sweat · entered · ventured · stairsB · swearsB · failingC · railingC · lettersD · bettersD · quarantineE · spleenE · sirsB · dancers · inE · waltzing · gracesF · facesF · airG · militaireG · whyH · skyH · sayA · wayA
- 2 AABBCCC- adieuA · blueA · shoreB · moreB · dinnersC · winnersC · isC · gratis
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFF fraserA · herA · thinkB · inkB · matterC · flatterC · shineD · mineD · heartE · artE · alongF · songF
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFF usA · houseA · uncivilB · devilB · casementC · meantC · nookD · bookD · ableE · labelE · beaverF · feverF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Adieu, ye joys of La Valette! | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| Adieu, Sirocco, sun, and sweat! | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Adieu, thou palace rarely entered! | 9 | ˘/·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Adieu, ye mansions where--I've ventured! | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Adieu, ye cursed streets of stairs! | 8 | ˘/··˘··· |
| (How surely he who mounts them swears!) | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Adieu, ye merchants often failing! | 9 | ˘/·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Adieu, thou mob for ever railing! | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Adieu, ye packets--without letters! | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Adieu, ye fools--who ape your betters! | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Adieu, thou damned'st quarantine, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| That gave me fever, and the spleen! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Adieu that stage which makes us yawn, Sirs, | 9 | ˘/······· |
| Adieu his Excellency's dancers! | 8 | ˘/·//˘/˘ |
| Adieu to Peter--whom no fault's in, | 9 | ˘/·/˘···· |
| But could not teach a colonel waltzing; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Adieu, ye females fraught with graces! | 9 | ˘/·/···/˘ |
| Adieu red coats, and redder faces! | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Adieu the supercilious air | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| Of all that strut en militaire! | 8 | ········ |
| I go--but God knows when, or why, | 8 | ········ |
| To smoky towns and cloudy sky, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To things (the honest truth to say) | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As bad--but in a different way. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Farewell to these, but not adieu, | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| Triumphant sons of truest blue! | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| While either Adriatic shore, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And fallen chiefs, and fleets no more, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And nightly smiles, and daily dinners, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Proclaim you war and women's winners. | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Pardon my Muse, who apt to prate is, | 9 | /˘······· |
| And take my rhyme--because 'tis "gratis." | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And now I've got to Mrs. Fraser, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Perhaps you think I mean to praise her-- | 9 | ˘/······· |
| And were I vain enough to think | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My praise was worth this drop of ink, | 8 | ········ |
| A line--or two--were no hard matter, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| As here, indeed, I need not flatter: | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| But she must be content to shine | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| In better praises than in mine, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| With lively air, and open heart, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And fashion's ease, without its art; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her hours can gaily glide along. | 8 | ·/·/˘·˘/ |
| Nor ask the aid of idle song. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And now, O Malta! since thou'st got us, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Thou little military hot-house! | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘·· |
| I'll not offend with words uncivil, | 9 | ··˘/··˘/˘ |
| And wish thee rudely at the Devil, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| But only stare from out my casement, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And ask, "for what is such a place meant?" | 9 | ········· |
| Then, in my solitary nook, | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Return to scribbling, or a book, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Or take my physic while I'm able | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| (Two spoonfuls hourly, by this label), | 9 | ·/·/˘··/˘ |
| Prefer my nightcap to my beaver, | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| And bless my stars I've got a fever. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 6
E. H. Coleridge's notes to The Works of Lord Byron, Poetry, Vol. III (John Murray, 1900; Project Gutenberg #21811). Bracketed passages are the editor's; unbracketed are Byron's own or earlier editors'. Lettered variant readings (manuscript and edition collations) are not harvested here, matching the treatment of Coleridge's Don Juan notes.
- Stanza 1, line 5 ["The principal streets of the city of Valetta are flights of stairs."--Gazetteer of the World.]
- Stanza 1, line 14 [Major-General Hildebrand Oakes (1754-1822) succeeded Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keates as "his Majesty's commissioner for the affairs of Malta," April 27, 1810. There was an outbreak of plague during his tenure of office (1810-13).--Annual Register, 1810, p. 320; Dict. Nat. Biog., art. "Oakes."]
- Stanza 1, line 20 ["Lord Byron ... was once rather near fighting a duel--and that was with an officer of the staff of General Oakes at Malta" (1809).--Westminster Review, January, 1825, iii. 21 (by J. C. Hobhouse). (See, too, Life (First Edition, 1830, 4to), i. 202, 222.)]
- Stanza 2, line 3 [On March 13, 1811, Captain (Sir William) Hoste (1780-1828) defeated a combined French and Italian squadron off the island of Lissa, on the Dalmatian coast. "The French commodore's ship La Favorite was burnt, himself (Dubourdieu) being killed." The four victorious frigates with their prizes arrived at Malta, March 31, when the garrison "ran out unarmed to receive and hail them." The Volage, in which Byron returned to England, took part in the engagement. Captain Hoste had taken a prize off Fiume in the preceding year.--Annual Register, 1811; Memoirs and Letters of Sir W. Hoste, ii. 79.]
- Stanza 2, line 5 ["We have had balls and fetes given us by all classes here, and it is impossible to convey to you the sensation our success has given rise to."--Memoirs and Letters of Sir W. Hoste, ii. 82.]
- Stanza 3, line 1 [Mrs. (Susan) Fraser published, in 1809, "Camilla de Florian (the scene is laid in Valetta) and Other Poems. By an Officer's Wife." Byron was, no doubt, struck by her admiration for Macpherson's Ossian, and had read with interest her version of "The Address to the Sun," in Carthon, p. 31 (see Poetical Works, 1898, i. 229). He may, too, have regarded with favour some stanzas in honour of the Bolero (p. 82), which begin, "When, my Love, supinely laying."]
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