Poem IV
"Son of a slave"--the Pacha said--"From unbelieving mother bred,Vain were a father's hope to seeAught that beseems a man in thee.Thou, when thine arm should bend the bow,And hurl the dart, and curb the steed,Thou, Greek in soul if not in creed,Must pore where babbling waters flow,feAnd watch unfolding roses blow.Would that yon Orb, whose matin glowThy listless eyes so much admire,Would lend thee something of his fire!Thou, who woulds't see this battlementBy Christian cannon piecemeal rent;Nay, tamely view old Stambol's wallBefore the dogs of Moscow fall,Nor strike one stroke for life and deathAgainst the curs of Nazareth!Go--let thy less than woman's handAssume the distaff--not the brand.But, Haroun!--to my daughter speed:And hark--of thine own head take heed--If thus Zuleika oft takes wing--Thou see'st yon bow--it hath a string!"
Words in this poem
- unbelieving a.
- Not believing; incredulous; doubting; distrusting; skeptical.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- matin n.
- A French mastiff. [F. matin.]
- listless a.
- Having no desire or inclination; indifferent; heedless; spiritless. [OE. listles, lustles. See Lust.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- piecemeal adv.
- In pieces; in parts or fragments. [OE. pecemele; pece a piece + AS. m, dat. pl. of m part. See Meal a portion.]
- tamely adv.
- In a tame manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem IV 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, Poem IV, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/poem-iv.html, id L23869.
Form and metre
Poem IV is 24 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCDD-CCEEFFGGHHIIDDJJ saidA · bredA · seeB · theeB · bowC · steedD · creedD · flow,fe · blowC · glowC · admireE · fireE · battlementF · rentF · wallG · fallG · deathH · nazarethH · handI · brandI · speedD · heedD · wingJ · stringJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Son of a slave"--the Pacha said-- | 8 | ········ |
| "From unbelieving mother bred, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Vain were a father's hope to see | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Aught that beseems a man in thee. | 8 | ········ |
| Thou, when thine arm should bend the bow, | 8 | ········ |
| And hurl the dart, and curb the steed, | 8 | ········ |
| Thou, Greek in soul if not in creed, | 8 | ········ |
| Must pore where babbling waters flow,fe | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| And watch unfolding roses blow. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Would that yon Orb, whose matin glow | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thy listless eyes so much admire, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Would lend thee something of his fire! | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Thou, who woulds't see this battlement | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| By Christian cannon piecemeal rent; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/·· |
| Nay, tamely view old Stambol's wall | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Before the dogs of Moscow fall, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Nor strike one stroke for life and death | 8 | ········ |
| Against the curs of Nazareth! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Go--let thy less than woman's hand | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Assume the distaff--not the brand. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| But, Haroun!--to my daughter speed: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And hark--of thine own head take heed-- | 8 | ········ |
| If thus Zuleika oft takes wing-- | 8 | ········ |
| Thou see'st yon bow--it hath a string!" | 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.