Marriage Thoughts: By Morsellin Khan
BridegroomI give you my house and my lands, all golden with harvest;My sword, my shield, and my jewels, the spoils of my strife,My strength and my dreams, and aught I have gathered of glory,And to-night--to-night, I shall give you my very life.
BrideI may not raise my eyes, O my Lord, towards you,And I may not speak: what matter? my voice would fail.But through my downcast lashes, feeling your beauty,I shiver and burn with pleasure beneath my veil.
Younger SistersWe throw sweet perfume upon her head,And delicate flowers round her bed.Ah, would that it were our turn to wed!
MotherI see my daughter, vaguely, through my tears,(Ah, lost caresses of my early years!)I see the bridegroom, King of men in truth!(Ah, my first lover, and my vanished youth!)
BrideAlmost I dread this night. My senses fail me.How shall I dare to clasp a thing so dear?Many have feared your name, but I your beauty.Lord of my life, be gentle to my fear!
Younger SistersIn the softest silk is our sister dressed,With silver rubies upon her breast,Where a dearer treasure to-night will rest.
Dancing GirlsSee! his hair is like silk, and his teeth are whiterThan whitest of jasmin flowers. Pity they marry him thus.I would change my jewels against his caresses.Verily, sisters, this marriage is greatly a loss to us!
BrideWould that the music ceased and the night drew round us,With solitude, shadow, and sound of closing doors,So that our lips might meet and our beings mingle,While mine drank deep of the essence, beloved, of yours.
Passing mendicantOut of the joy of your marriage feast,Oh, brothers, be good to me.The way is long and the Shrine is far,Where my weary feet would be.
And feasting is always somewhat sadTo those outside the door--Still; Love is only a dream, and LifeItself is hardly more!
Words in this poem
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- 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,]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Marriage Thoughts: By Morsellin Khan is in the public domain. This text is taken from India's Love Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #8197; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Laurence Hope, Marriage Thoughts: By Morsellin Khan, in India's Love Lyrics (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8197, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hope-india/marriage-thoughts-by-morsellin-khan.html, id L22577.
Form and metre
Marriage Thoughts: By Morsellin Khan is 47 lines in 10 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 --A-A bridegroom · harvest · strifeA · glory · lifeA
- 2 --A-A bride · you · failA · beauty · veilA
- 3 -AAA sisters · headA · bedA · wedA
- 4 -AABB mother · tearsA · yearsA · truthB · youthB
- 5 --A-A bride · me · dearA · beauty · fearA
- 6 -AAA sisters · dressedA · breastA · restA
- 7 --A-A girls · whiter · thusA · caresses · usA
- 8 --A-A bride · us · doorsA · mingle · yoursA
- 9 --A-A mendicant · feast · meA · far · beA
- 10 -A-A sad · doorA · life · moreA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bridegroom | 2 | /· |
| I give you my house and my lands, all golden with harvest; | 14 | ·········/˘·/˘ |
| My sword, my shield, and my jewels, the spoils of my strife, | 13 | ······/˘····· |
| My strength and my dreams, and aught I have gathered of glory, | 14 | ·········/˘·/˘ |
| And to-night--to-night, I shall give you my very life. | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| Bride | 1 | · |
| I may not raise my eyes, O my Lord, towards you, | 11 | ··········· |
| And I may not speak: what matter? my voice would fail. | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| But through my downcast lashes, feeling your beauty, | 12 | ···/·/˘/˘·/˘ |
| I shiver and burn with pleasure beneath my veil. | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Younger Sisters | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| We throw sweet perfume upon her head, | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| And delicate flowers round her bed. | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| Ah, would that it were our turn to wed! | 9 | ·····/··· |
| Mother | 2 | /˘ |
| I see my daughter, vaguely, through my tears, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| (Ah, lost caresses of my early years!) | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| I see the bridegroom, King of men in truth! | 10 | ···/······ |
| (Ah, my first lover, and my vanished youth!) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Bride | 1 | · |
| Almost I dread this night. My senses fail me. | 11 | /······/˘·· |
| How shall I dare to clasp a thing so dear? | 10 | ·········· |
| Many have feared your name, but I your beauty. | 10 | /·······/˘ |
| Lord of my life, be gentle to my fear! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Younger Sisters | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| In the softest silk is our sister dressed, | 10 | ··/˘··//˘· |
| With silver rubies upon her breast, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Where a dearer treasure to-night will rest. | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| Dancing Girls | 3 | /˘· |
| See! his hair is like silk, and his teeth are whiter | 11 | ··········/ |
| Than whitest of jasmin flowers. Pity they marry him thus. | 14 | ·/˘·/˘//˘·/˘·· |
| I would change my jewels against his caresses. | 12 | ····/˘···˘/˘ |
| Verily, sisters, this marriage is greatly a loss to us! | 15 | /˘˘/˘·/˘·/˘···· |
| Bride | 1 | · |
| Would that the music ceased and the night drew round us, | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| With solitude, shadow, and sound of closing doors, | 12 | ·/˘·/····/˘· |
| So that our lips might meet and our beings mingle, | 12 | ··/····//˘/˘ |
| While mine drank deep of the essence, beloved, of yours. | 12 | ······/˘˘/·· |
| Passing mendicant | 5 | /˘/˘˘ |
| Out of the joy of your marriage feast, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Oh, brothers, be good to me. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The way is long and the Shrine is far, | 9 | ········· |
| Where my weary feet would be. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And feasting is always somewhat sad | 9 | ·/˘·/·//· |
| To those outside the door-- | 6 | ··//·· |
| Still; Love is only a dream, and Life | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Itself is hardly more! | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
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.