How Suhráb took White Castle
Whenas the sun rose o'er the mountain-heightsThe soldiers of Túrán girt up their loins,And spear in hand Suhráb the chief bestrodeHis swift-paced charger, purposing to captureThe garrison and bind them like a flock;But having, roaring like a lion, forcedThe gates, he saw no man of name within,For in the night the garrison had fledWith Gazhdaham, because beneath the holdThere was a way not wotted by the foe.Those still inside concerned with the defenceOr otherwise came to Suhráb as bidden,And sought by every means to save their lives.He looked for Gurdáfríd but found her not.His heart was fain for love and union with her."Woe's me!" he thought, "the bright Moon is be-clouded!"
Káús received the letter and was grievedHe called the captains of the host to counsel—Tús and Gúdarz son of Kishwád, and Gív,Gurgín, Bahrám, and brave Farhád—and readAloud to them the news about Suhráb.He said in private: "This will cost us time,And Gazhdaham saith naught to comfort us.What shall we do, and what will cure this smart?Who in Írán can fight him?"
All agreedThat Gív should go to Rustam at ZábulTo say: "The throne of empire is in danger,"And summon him to take the field for war,Because the Íránians looked to him for shelter.A scribe as they discussed was sitting byIn that the case was one of urgency.
Words in this poem
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- 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,]
- scribe n.
- One who writes; a draughtsman; a writer for another; especially, an offical or public writer; an amanuensis or secretary; a notary; a copyist. [L. scriba, fr. scribere to write; cf. Gr. scarify. Cf. Ascribe, Describe, Script, Scrivener, Scrutoire.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
How Suhráb took White Castle 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, How Suhráb took White Castle, in Rustam and Sohrab (from the Shahnama) (1906), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ferdowsi-rustam-and-sohrab/11.html, id L29109.
Form and metre
How Suhráb took White Castle is 32 lines in 3 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Whenas the sun rose o'er the mountain-heights | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| The soldiers of Túrán girt up their loins, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And spear in hand Suhráb the chief bestrode | 10 | ········˘/ |
| His swift-paced charger, purposing to capture | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| The garrison and bind them like a flock; | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| But having, roaring like a lion, forced | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The gates, he saw no man of name within, | 10 | ·········· |
| For in the night the garrison had fled | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| With Gazhdaham, because beneath the hold | 10 | ·········· |
| There was a way not wotted by the foe. | 10 | ·········· |
| Those still inside concerned with the defence | 10 | ··˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Or otherwise came to Suhráb as bidden, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| And sought by every means to save their lives. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He looked for Gurdáfríd but found her not. | 10 | ·········· |
| His heart was fain for love and union with her. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| "Woe's me!" he thought, "the bright Moon is be-clouded!" | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Káús received the letter and was grieved | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| He called the captains of the host to counsel— | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Tús and Gúdarz son of Kishwád, and Gív, | 11 | //········· |
| Gurgín, Bahrám, and brave Farhád—and read | 10 | ·········· |
| Aloud to them the news about Suhráb. | 10 | ˘/········ |
| He said in private: "This will cost us time, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And Gazhdaham saith naught to comfort us. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| What shall we do, and what will cure this smart? | 10 | ·········· |
| Who in Írán can fight him?" | 7 | ······· |
| All agreed | 3 | ·˘/ |
| That Gív should go to Rustam at Zábul | 10 | ·········· |
| To say: "The throne of empire is in danger," | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| And summon him to take the field for war, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Because the Íránians looked to him for shelter. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| A scribe as they discussed was sitting by | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| In that the case was one of urgency. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
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