How Suhráb came to White Castle
White Castle was a stronghold of ÍránAnd veteran Hajír was castellan—A man of might and courage, mace and arrow—For Gazhdaham was failing though still braveAnd venturesome. His daughter, who was proud,Renowned, and malapert, bore arms and foughtOn horseback. As Suhráb approached, HajírSaw him and mounting on his steed like dustSped forth upon the field. Suhráb enraged,And drawing forth the scimitar of fight,Rushed from the host as 'twere a blast and cried:—"O fool to throw thy life away and comeAlone! Sit tight and firmly grasp thy reins.What are thy name and lineage? She that bareWill have to weep for thee."
Hajír replied:—"Enough! I need no help in fighting thee.Hajír am I, a warrior and chieftain.I will take off thy head to send the SháhAnd leave the vultures to consume thy body."
Suhráb laughed out and charged; both hurled their spearsToo fast for eyes to follow. Brave Suhráb,Strong as an elephant, came on like fireUpon his moving mountain of a steed.Hajír thrust at his waist; the spearpoint glanced.Suhráb the Lion drove the weapon back,Struck with the butt his foe's waist lustily,And threw him like a boulder to the earth,As though the matter were not worth a thought,Astound in heart and soul. Suhráb dismounted,Sat on his foeman's breast, and had in mindTo cut his head off, but Hajír with effortTurned on his right side and entreated quarter.Suhráb accorded it, well satisfied,Gave him some cautions, made him fast in bonds,And sent him to Húmán. Those in the holdOn hearing what had chanced cried mournfully:—"Hajír is lost among the enemy!"
Words in this poem
- castellan n.
- A goveror or warden of a castle. [OF. castelain, F. châtelain, L. castellanus pertaining to a castle, an occupant of a caste, LL., a governor of a castle, fr. L. catellum castle, citadel, dim. o]
- malapert a.
- Bold; forward; impudent; saucy; pert. [OF. malapert unskillful, ill-taught, ill-bred; mal ill + apert open, adroit, intelligent, L. apertus, p. p. of aperire to open. See Malice, and Aperient.]
- 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.]
- scimitar n.
- A saber with a much curved blade having the edge on the convex side, -- in use among Mohammedans, esp., the Arabs and persians. [F. cimeterre, cf. It. scimitarra, Sp. cimitarra; fr. Biscayan cimetarry with a sharp edge; or corrupted from Per. shimshir.]
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- lustily adv.
- In a lusty or vigorous manner.
- boulder n.
- A large stone, worn smooth or rounded by the action of water; a large pebble. [Cf. Sw. bullra to roar, rattle, Dan. buldre, dial. Sw. bullersteen larger kind of pebbles; perh. akin to E. bellow.]
- astound a.
- Stunned; astounded; astonished. [OE. astouned, astound, astoned, p. p. of astone. See Astone.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
How Suhráb came to 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 came to White Castle, in Rustam and Sohrab (from the Shahnama) (1906), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ferdowsi-rustam-and-sohrab/8.html, id L29106.
Form and metre
How Suhráb came to White Castle is 38 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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.
- 3 --------A--A------ spears · suhráb · fire · steed · glanced · back · lustily · earth · thoughtA · dismounted · mind · effortA · quarter · satisfied · bonds · hold · mournfully · enemy
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 |
|---|---|---|
| White Castle was a stronghold of Írán | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| And veteran Hajír was castellan— | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘˘ |
| A man of might and courage, mace and arrow— | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| For Gazhdaham was failing though still brave | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And venturesome. His daughter, who was proud, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Renowned, and malapert, bore arms and fought | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘···· |
| On horseback. As Suhráb approached, Hajír | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| Saw him and mounting on his steed like dust | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Sped forth upon the field. Suhráb enraged, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And drawing forth the scimitar of fight, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Rushed from the host as 'twere a blast and cried:— | 10 | ·········· |
| "O fool to throw thy life away and come | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Alone! Sit tight and firmly grasp thy reins. | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| What are thy name and lineage? She that bare | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Will have to weep for thee." | 6 | ······ |
| Hajír replied:— | 4 | ··˘/ |
| "Enough! I need no help in fighting thee. | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Hajír am I, a warrior and chieftain. | 11 | ·····/˘˘·/˘ |
| I will take off thy head to send the Sháh | 9 | ········· |
| And leave the vultures to consume thy body." | 11 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Suhráb laughed out and charged; both hurled their spears | 10 | ·········· |
| Too fast for eyes to follow. Brave Suhráb, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Strong as an elephant, came on like fire | 11 | ···/˘˘···/˘ |
| Upon his moving mountain of a steed. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Hajír thrust at his waist; the spearpoint glanced. | 10 | ·········· |
| Suhráb the Lion drove the weapon back, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Struck with the butt his foe's waist lustily, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| And threw him like a boulder to the earth, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As though the matter were not worth a thought, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Astound in heart and soul. Suhráb dismounted, | 11 | ˘/········· |
| Sat on his foeman's breast, and had in mind | 10 | ·········· |
| To cut his head off, but Hajír with effort | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Turned on his right side and entreated quarter. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Suhráb accorded it, well satisfied, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Gave him some cautions, made him fast in bonds, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And sent him to Húmán. Those in the hold | 10 | ·········· |
| On hearing what had chanced cried mournfully:— | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| "Hajír is lost among the enemy!" | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
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