The Prelude
The story of Suhráb and Rustam hear:Thou hast heard others; let it be thy partTo hear this too: 'tis fraught with many a tear,And Rustam will enrage thy gentle heart.
Now if a rude gust should arise and bearA yet unripened orange to the dust,Shall I describe this as unfair or fair,Shall I pronounce it tyrannous or just?
Where is the evil if we all must die?Why clamour and appeal from what is right?Thy spirit wotteth not this mystery;Beyond the Veil there is no path in sight.
We all must reach the insatiable door,The greedy door that openeth twice for none;Yet so a better place may be in storeFor thee, and heaven's eternal rest be won.
Unless death swallowed all men up in turnEarth would be trampled down by young and old;If fire in giving light shall also burnThe matter is no marvel to behold,
For burn it will and that as readilyAs offshoots issue from an ancient stem,And whether young or old the victims beDeath's blast, like dread fire, hath no awe of them.
Should pleasure then a youthful mind engageSince years are not the only cause of death,Which is the end alike of youth and ageUnless thou seek a passage in the Faith?
While if Salvation's light be in thy heartThy lot as servant is to hold thy peace;Be busied in preparing to depart,Let prayerful adoration never cease.
In serving God there is no mysteryUnless the Dív consorteth with thy soul;Be fervent here below and thou shalt beIn perfect peace when thou hast reached thy goal.
The exploits of Suhráb I next shall tell,And how the combat with his sire befell.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- tyrannous a.
- Tyrannical; arbitrary; unjustly severe; despotic. Sir P.
- clamour n.
- A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation. [OF. clamour, clamur, F. clameur, fr. L. clamor, fr. clamare to cry out. See Claim.]
- wotteth
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Wit, to know.
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- prayerful a.
- Given to prayer; praying much or often; devotional.
- fervent a.
- Hot; glowing; boiling; burning; as, a fervent summer. [F. fervent, L. fervens, -entis. p.pr. of fervere o the boiling hot, to boil, glow.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Prelude is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Shahnama of Firdausi, done into English by Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner, vol. II (Trübner’s Oriental Series), London, 1906; Part III, Suhráb (sections 1 to 25), Internet Archive, the Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ferdowsi, The Prelude, in Rustam and Sohrab (from the Shahnama) (1906), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ferdowsi-rustam-and-sohrab/1.html, id L29099.
Form and metre
The Prelude is 38 lines in 10 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 ABAB hearA · partB · tearA · heartB
- 2 ABAB bearA · dustB · fairA · justB
- 3 -A-A die · rightA · mystery · sightA
- 4 ABAB doorA · noneB · storeA · wonB
- 5 ABAB turnA · oldB · burnA · beholdB
- 6 ABAB readilyA · stemB · beA · themB
- 7 ABAB engageA · deathB · ageA · faithB
- 8 ABAB heartA · peaceB · departA · ceaseB
- 9 ABAB mysteryA · soulB · beA · goalB
- 10 AA tellA · befellA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The story of Suhráb and Rustam hear: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thou hast heard others; let it be thy part | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To hear this too: 'tis fraught with many a tear, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| And Rustam will enrage thy gentle heart. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Now if a rude gust should arise and bear | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| A yet unripened orange to the dust, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Shall I describe this as unfair or fair, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Shall I pronounce it tyrannous or just? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Where is the evil if we all must die? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Why clamour and appeal from what is right? | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Thy spirit wotteth not this mystery; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Beyond the Veil there is no path in sight. | 10 | ·········· |
| We all must reach the insatiable door, | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| The greedy door that openeth twice for none; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Yet so a better place may be in store | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For thee, and heaven's eternal rest be won. | 11 | ···/˘˘/˘··· |
| Unless death swallowed all men up in turn | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Earth would be trampled down by young and old; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If fire in giving light shall also burn | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| The matter is no marvel to behold, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| For burn it will and that as readily | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| As offshoots issue from an ancient stem, | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| And whether young or old the victims be | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Death's blast, like dread fire, hath no awe of them. | 10 | ····/····· |
| Should pleasure then a youthful mind engage | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Since years are not the only cause of death, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which is the end alike of youth and age | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Unless thou seek a passage in the Faith? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| While if Salvation's light be in thy heart | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Thy lot as servant is to hold thy peace; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Be busied in preparing to depart, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Let prayerful adoration never cease. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| In serving God there is no mystery | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Unless the Dív consorteth with thy soul; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Be fervent here below and thou shalt be | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In perfect peace when thou hast reached thy goal. | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| The exploits of Suhráb I next shall tell, | 10 | ·/········ |
| And how the combat with his sire befell. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘/ |
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.