Turkey
The Sultan of the Purple EastIs quite a cynic, in his way,And really doesn't mind the leastHis nickname of 'Abdul the ----' (Nay!I might perhaps come in for blameIf I divulged this monarch's name.)
The Turk is such a kindly man,But his ideas of sport are crude;He to the poor ArmenianIs not intentionally rude,But still it is his heartless habitTo treat him as we treat the rabbit.
If he wants bracing up a bit,His pleasing little custom isTo take a hatchet and commitA series of atrocities.I should not fancy, after dark,To meet him, say, in Regent's Park.
A deeply married man is he,'Early and often' is his rule;He practises polygamyDirectly after leaving school,And so arranges that his wivesLive happy but secluded lives.
If they attend a public place,They have to do so in disguise,And so conceal one-half their faceThat nothing but a pair of eyesSuggests the hidden charm that lurksBeneath the veils of lady Turks.
Then too in Turkey all the menSmoke water-pipes and cross their legs;They watch their harem as a henThat guards her first attempt at eggs.(If you don't know what harems are,Just run and ask your dear papa.)
Words in this poem
- cynic a.
- Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish. [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. Hound.]
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- heartless a.
- Without a heart.
- harem n.
- The apartments or portion of the house allotted to females in Mohammedan families. [Ar.haram, orig., anything forbidden of sacred, fr. harama to forbid, prohibit.]
- papa n.
- A child's word for father. [F. papa, L. papa; cf. Gr. Pope.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Turkey is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verse and Worse, Project Gutenberg ebook #36702; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harry Graham, Turkey, in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/turkey.html, id L23317.
Form and metre
Turkey is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABABCC eastA · wayB · leastA · nayB · blameC · nameC
- 2 ABABCC manA · crudeB · armenianA · rudeB · habitC · rabbitC
- 3 ABABCC bitA · isB · commitA · atrocitiesB · darkC · parkC
- 4 -A-ABB he · ruleA · polygamy · schoolA · wivesB · livesB
- 5 ABABCC placeA · disguiseB · faceA · eyesB · lurksC · turksC
- 6 ABAB-- menA · legsB · henA · eggsB · are · papa
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Sultan of the Purple East | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is quite a cynic, in his way, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And really doesn't mind the least | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| His nickname of 'Abdul the ----' (Nay! | 8 | ·/··˘/·· |
| I might perhaps come in for blame | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| If I divulged this monarch's name.) | 8 | ··˘/·/·· |
| The Turk is such a kindly man, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But his ideas of sport are crude; | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| He to the poor Armenian | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Is not intentionally rude, | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| But still it is his heartless habit | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| To treat him as we treat the rabbit. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| If he wants bracing up a bit, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His pleasing little custom is | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| To take a hatchet and commit | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A series of atrocities. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| I should not fancy, after dark, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To meet him, say, in Regent's Park. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A deeply married man is he, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| 'Early and often' is his rule; | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| He practises polygamy | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Directly after leaving school, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| And so arranges that his wives | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Live happy but secluded lives. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| If they attend a public place, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| They have to do so in disguise, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And so conceal one-half their face | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That nothing but a pair of eyes | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Suggests the hidden charm that lurks | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Beneath the veils of lady Turks. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then too in Turkey all the men | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Smoke water-pipes and cross their legs; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They watch their harem as a hen | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That guards her first attempt at eggs. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| (If you don't know what harems are, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Just run and ask your dear papa.) | 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.