The Pasha and the Dervish
Ali came riding by--the highest headBent to the dust, o'ercharged with dread,Whilst "God be praised!" all cried;But through the throng one dervish pressed,Aged and bent, who dared arrestThe pasha in his pride.
"Ali Tepelini, light of all light,Who hold'st the Divan's upper seat by right,Whose fame Fame's trump hath burst--Thou art the master of unnumbered hosts,Shade of the Sultan--yet he only boastsIn thee a dog accurst!
"An unseen tomb-torch flickers on thy path,Whilst, as from vial full, thy spare-naught wrathSplashes this trembling race:These are thy grass as thou their trenchant scythesCleaving their neck as 'twere a willow withe--Their blood none can efface.
"But ends thy tether! for Janina makesA grave for thee where every turret quakes,And thou shalt drop belowTo where the spirits, to a tree enchained,Will clutch thee, there to be 'mid them retainedFor all to-come in woe!
"Or if, by happy chance, thy soul might fleeThy victims, after, thou shouldst surely seeAnd hear thy crimes relate;Streaked with the guileless gore drained from their veins,Greater in number than the reigns on reignsThou hopedst for thy state.
"This so will be! and neither fleet nor fortCan stay or aid thee as the deathly portReceives thy harried frame!Though, like the cunning Hebrew knave of old,To cheat the angel black, thou didst enfoldIn altered guise thy name."
Ali deemed anchorite or saint a pawn--The crater of his blunderbuss did yawn,Sword, dagger hung at ease:But he had let the holy man revile,Though clouds o'erswept his brow; then, with a smile,He tossed him his pelisse.
Words in this poem 16
- dervish n.
- A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life. [Per. derw, fr. OPer. derew to beg, ask alms: cf. F. derviche.]
- unnumbered a.
- Not numbered; not counted or estimated; innumerable.
- accurst p. p.
- Doomed to destruction or misery; cursed; hence, bad enough to be under the curse; execrable; detestable; exceedingly hateful; -- as, an accursed deed.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- trenchant a.
- Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp. [OF. trenchant, F. tranchant, p. pr. See Trench, v. t.]
- tether n.
- A long rope or chain by which an animal is fastened, as to a stake, so that it can range or feed only within certain limits. [Formerly tedder, OE. tedir; akin to LG. tider, tier, Icel. tjo, Dan. töir. *64.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- guileless a.
- Free from guile; artless.
- deathly a.
- Deadly; fatal; mortal; destructive.
- knave n.
- A boy; especially, a boy servant. Wyclif. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. kna, G. knabe boy, knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, knäfvel knave.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- enfold v. t.
- To infold. See Infold.
- anchorite n.
- One who renounces the world and secludes himself, usually for religious reasons; a hermit; a recluse. [Written by some authors anachoret.] [F. anachorète, L. anachoreta, fr. Gr. ha to leave. Cf. Anchor a hermit.]
- crater n.
- The basinlike opening or mouth of a volcano, through which the chief eruption comes; similarly, the mouth of a gevser, about which a cone of silica is often built up. [L. crater, cratera, a mixing vessel, the mouth of a volcano, Gr. ir to cook, Crail, in Holy Grail.]
- blunderbuss n.
- A short gun or firearm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim. [Either fr. blunder + D. bus tube, box, akin to G. büchse box, gun, E. box; or corrupted fr. D. donderbus (literally) thunder box, gun, musket.]
- pelisse n.
- An outer garment for men or women, originally of fur, or lined with fur; a lady's outer garment, made of silk or other fabric. [F., fr. L. pelliceus, pellicius, made of skins, fr. pellis a skin. Cf. Pelt skin, Pilch, and see 2d Pell.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Pasha and the Dervish is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, the various hands 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: Victor Hugo, The Pasha and the Dervish, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/the-pasha-and-the-dervish.html, id L26721.
Form and metre
The Pasha and the Dervish is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 6 of its 7 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 AABCCB headA · dreadA · criedB · pressedC · arrestC · prideB
- 2 AABCCB lightA · rightA · burstB · hostsC · boastsC · accurstB
- 3 AAB--B pathA · wrathA · raceB · scythes · withe · effaceB
- 4 AABCCB makesA · quakesA · belowB · enchainedC · retainedC · woeB
- 5 AABCCB fleeA · seeA · relateB · veinsC · reignsC · stateB
- 6 AABCCB fortA · portA · frameB · oldC · enfoldC · nameB
- 7 AABCCB pawnA · yawnA · easeB · revileC · smileC · pelisseB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ali came riding by--the highest head | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Bent to the dust, o'ercharged with dread, | 8 | ········ |
| Whilst "God be praised!" all cried; | 6 | ······ |
| But through the throng one dervish pressed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Aged and bent, who dared arrest | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The pasha in his pride. | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| "Ali Tepelini, light of all light, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Who hold'st the Divan's upper seat by right, | 10 | ···˘//˘··· |
| Whose fame Fame's trump hath burst-- | 6 | ······ |
| Thou art the master of unnumbered hosts, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Shade of the Sultan--yet he only boasts | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In thee a dog accurst! | 6 | ······ |
| "An unseen tomb-torch flickers on thy path, | 10 | ·˘/··/˘··· |
| Whilst, as from vial full, thy spare-naught wrath | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Splashes this trembling race: | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| These are thy grass as thou their trenchant scythes | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Cleaving their neck as 'twere a willow withe-- | 10 | /˘·····/·· |
| Their blood none can efface. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| "But ends thy tether! for Janina makes | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| A grave for thee where every turret quakes, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And thou shalt drop below | 6 | ······ |
| To where the spirits, to a tree enchained, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Will clutch thee, there to be 'mid them retained | 10 | ········˘/ |
| For all to-come in woe! | 6 | ······ |
| "Or if, by happy chance, thy soul might flee | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy victims, after, thou shouldst surely see | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And hear thy crimes relate; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Streaked with the guileless gore drained from their veins, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Greater in number than the reigns on reigns | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Thou hopedst for thy state. | 6 | ······ |
| "This so will be! and neither fleet nor fort | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Can stay or aid thee as the deathly port | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Receives thy harried frame! | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Though, like the cunning Hebrew knave of old, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To cheat the angel black, thou didst enfold | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| In altered guise thy name." | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Ali deemed anchorite or saint a pawn-- | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| The crater of his blunderbuss did yawn, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Sword, dagger hung at ease: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But he had let the holy man revile, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Though clouds o'erswept his brow; then, with a smile, | 10 | ·········· |
| He tossed him his pelisse. | 6 | ····˘/ |
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