Translation of the Romaic Song
I enter thy garden of roses,Beloved and fair Haidee,Each morning where Flora reposes,For surely I see her in thee.Oh, Lovely! thus low I implore thee,Receive this fond truth from my tongue,Which utters its song to adore thee,Yet trembles for what it has sung;As the branch, at the bidding of Nature,Adds fragrance and fruit to the tree,Through her eyes, through her every feature,Shines the soul of the young Haidee.
But the loveliest garden grows hatefulWhen Love has abandoned the bowers;Bring me hemlock--since mine is ungrateful,That herb is more fragrant than flowers.The poison, when poured from the chalice,Will deeply embitter the bowl;But when drunk to escape from thy malice,The draught shall be sweet to my soul.Too cruel! in vain I implore theeMy heart from these horrors to save:Will nought to my bosom restore thee?Then open the gates of the grave.
As the chief who to combat advancesSecure of his conquest before,Thus thou, with those eyes for thy lances,Hast pierced through my heart to its core.Ah, tell me, my soul! must I perishBy pangs which a smile would dispel?Would the hope, which thou once bad'st me cherish,For torture repay me too well?Now sad is the garden of roses,Beloved but false Haidee!There Flora all withered reposes,And mourns o'er thine absence with me.
Words in this poem
- flora n.
- The goddess of flowers and spring. [L., the goddess of flowers, from flos, floris, flower. See Flower.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- hateful a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- embitter v. t.
- To make bitter or sad. See Imbitter.
- 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,]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- dispel v. t.
- To drive away by scattering, or so to cause to vanish; to clear away; to banish; to dissipate; as, to dispel a cloud, vapors, cares, doubts, illusions. [L. dispellere; dis- + pellere to push, drive. See Pulse a beating.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Translation of the Romaic Song 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, Translation of the Romaic Song, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/translation-of-the-romaic-song.html, id L26289.
Form and metre
Translation of the Romaic Song is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABACCDCD-C-B rosesA · haideeB · reposesA · theeC · theeC · tongueD · theeC · sungD · nature · treeC · feature · haideeB
- 2 ABABCDCDEFEF hatefulA · bowersB · ungratefulA · flowersB · chaliceC · bowlD · maliceC · soulD · theeE · saveF · theeE · graveF
- 3 ABABCDCDE-E- advancesA · beforeB · lancesA · coreB · perishC · dispelD · cherishC · wellD · rosesE · haidee · reposesE · me
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I enter thy garden of roses, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Beloved and fair Haidee, | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| Each morning where Flora reposes, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/·˘ |
| For surely I see her in thee. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Oh, Lovely! thus low I implore thee, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/· |
| Receive this fond truth from my tongue, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Which utters its song to adore thee, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/· |
| Yet trembles for what it has sung; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As the branch, at the bidding of Nature, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Adds fragrance and fruit to the tree, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Through her eyes, through her every feature, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Shines the soul of the young Haidee. | 8 | ········ |
| But the loveliest garden grows hateful | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| When Love has abandoned the bowers; | 9 | ···˘/˘·/˘ |
| Bring me hemlock--since mine is ungrateful, | 10 | ··/····˘/˘ |
| That herb is more fragrant than flowers. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| The poison, when poured from the chalice, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Will deeply embitter the bowl; | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| But when drunk to escape from thy malice, | 10 | ····˘/··/˘ |
| The draught shall be sweet to my soul. | 8 | ········ |
| Too cruel! in vain I implore thee | 8 | ·/···˘/· |
| My heart from these horrors to save: | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Will nought to my bosom restore thee? | 9 | ····/˘˘/· |
| Then open the gates of the grave. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As the chief who to combat advances | 10 | ·····˘/˘/˘ |
| Secure of his conquest before, | 8 | ˘/··/˘·· |
| Thus thou, with those eyes for thy lances, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Hast pierced through my heart to its core. | 8 | ········ |
| Ah, tell me, my soul! must I perish | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| By pangs which a smile would dispel? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Would the hope, which thou once bad'st me cherish, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| For torture repay me too well? | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| Now sad is the garden of roses, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Beloved but false Haidee! | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| There Flora all withered reposes, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/·˘ |
| And mourns o'er thine absence with me. | 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.