Shemselnihar
O MY lover! the night like a broad smooth waveBears us onward, and morn, a black rock, shines wet.How I shuddered—I knew not that I was a slave,Till I looked on thy face:—then I writhed in the net.Then I felt like a thing caught by fire, that her starGlowed dark on the bosom of Shemselnihar.
And he came, whose I am: O my lover! he came:And his slave, still so envied of women, was I:And I turned as a hissing leaf spits from the flame,Yes, I shrivelled to dust from him, haggard and dry.O forgive her:—she was but as dead lilies are:The life of her heart fled from Shemselnihar.
Yet with thee like a full throbbing rose how I bloom!Like a rose by the fountain whose showering we hear,As we lie, O my lover! in this rich gloom,Smelling faint the cool breath of the lemon-groves near.As we lie gazing out on that glowing great star—Ah! dark on the bosom of Shemselnihar.
Yet with thee am I not as an arm of the vine,Firm to bind thee, to cherish thee, feed thee sweet?Swear an oath on my lip to let none disentwineThe life that here fawns to give warmth to thy feet.I on thine, thus! no more shall that jewelled Head jarThe music thou breathest on Shemselnihar.
Far away, far away, where the wandering scentsOf all flowers are sweetest, white mountains among,There my kindred abide in their green and blue tents:Bear me to them, my lover! they lost me so young.Let us slip down the stream and leap steed till afarNone question thy claim upon Shemselnihar.
O that long note the bulbul gave out—meaning love!O my lover, hark to him and think it my voice!The blue night like a great bell-flower from aboveDrooping low and gold-eyed: O, but hear him rejoice!Can it be? ’twas a flash! that accurst scimitàrIn thought even cuts thee from Shemselnihar.
Yes, I would that, less generous, he would oppress,He would chain me, upbraid me, burn deep brands for hate,Than with this mask of freedom and gorgeousnessBespangle my slavery, mock my strange fate.Would, would, would, O my lover, he knew—dared debarThy coming, and earn curse of Shemselnihar!
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- haggard a.
- Wild or intractable; disposed to break away from duty; untamed; as, a haggard or refractory hawk. Shak [F. hagard; of German origin, and prop. meaning, of the hegde or woods, wild, untamed. See Hedge, 1st Haw, and -ard.]
- disentwine v. t.
- To free from being entwined or twisted. Shelley.
- 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,]
- 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.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- bulbul n.
- The Persian nightingale (Pycnonotus jocosus). The name is also applied to several other Asiatic singing birds, of the family Timaliidæ. The green bulbuls belong to the Chloropsis and allied genera. [Per.]
- 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.
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- upbraid n.
- The act of reproaching; contumely.
- bespangle v. t.
- To adorn with spangles; to dot or sprinkle with something brilliant or glittering.
- debar v. t.
- To cut off from entrance, as if by a bar or barrier; to preclude; to hinder from approach, entry, or enjoyment; to shut out or exclude; to deny or refuse; -- with from, and sometimes with of. [Pref. de- + bar.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Shemselnihar is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #1381; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George Meredith, Shemselnihar, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/shemselnihar.html, id L13203.
Form and metre
Shemselnihar is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.5 syllables. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 waveA · wetB · slaveA · netB · starC · shemselniharC
- 2 ABABCC cameA · iB · flameA · dryB · areC · shemselniharC
- 3 ABABCC bloomA · hearB · gloomA · nearB · starC · shemselniharC
- 4 ABABCC vineA · sweetB · disentwineA · feetB · jarC · shemselniharC
- 5 ABABCC scentsA · amongB · tentsA · youngB · afarC · shemselniharC
- 6 ABAB-- loveA · voiceB · aboveA · rejoiceB · scimitàr · shemselnihar
- 7 ABABCC oppressA · hateB · gorgeousnessA · fateB · debarC · shemselniharC
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O MY lover! the night like a broad smooth wave | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Bears us onward, and morn, a black rock, shines wet. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| How I shuddered—I knew not that I was a slave, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Till I looked on thy face:—then I writhed in the net. | 12 | ············ |
| Then I felt like a thing caught by fire, that her star | 12 | ········/··· |
| Glowed dark on the bosom of Shemselnihar. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| And he came, whose I am: O my lover! he came: | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| And his slave, still so envied of women, was I: | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| And I turned as a hissing leaf spits from the flame, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Yes, I shrivelled to dust from him, haggard and dry. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| O forgive her:—she was but as dead lilies are: | 12 | ·˘/······/˘· |
| The life of her heart fled from Shemselnihar. | 11 | ··········· |
| Yet with thee like a full throbbing rose how I bloom! | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| Like a rose by the fountain whose showering we hear, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| As we lie, O my lover! in this rich gloom, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Smelling faint the cool breath of the lemon-groves near. | 12 | /˘······/˘·· |
| As we lie gazing out on that glowing great star— | 12 | ···/˘···/˘·· |
| Ah! dark on the bosom of Shemselnihar. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Yet with thee am I not as an arm of the vine, | 12 | ············ |
| Firm to bind thee, to cherish thee, feed thee sweet? | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Swear an oath on my lip to let none disentwine | 12 | ············ |
| The life that here fawns to give warmth to thy feet. | 11 | ··········· |
| I on thine, thus! no more shall that jewelled Head jar | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| The music thou breathest on Shemselnihar. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Far away, far away, where the wandering scents | 11 | ·˘/·˘/··/˘· |
| Of all flowers are sweetest, white mountains among, | 11 | ··/·/˘·/˘·· |
| There my kindred abide in their green and blue tents: | 12 | ··/˘˘/······ |
| Bear me to them, my lover! they lost me so young. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Let us slip down the stream and leap steed till afar | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| None question thy claim upon Shemselnihar. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| O that long note the bulbul gave out—meaning love! | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| O my lover, hark to him and think it my voice! | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| The blue night like a great bell-flower from above | 11 | ·······/··· |
| Drooping low and gold-eyed: O, but hear him rejoice! | 12 | /˘········˘/ |
| Can it be? ’twas a flash! that accurst scimitàr | 12 | ············ |
| In thought even cuts thee from Shemselnihar. | 10 | ··/······· |
| Yes, I would that, less generous, he would oppress, | 11 | ·····/˘··˘/ |
| He would chain me, upbraid me, burn deep brands for hate, | 12 | ····/······· |
| Than with this mask of freedom and gorgeousness | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Bespangle my slavery, mock my strange fate. | 10 | ˘/˘·/˘···· |
| Would, would, would, O my lover, he knew—dared debar | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| Thy coming, and earn curse of Shemselnihar! | 11 | ·/˘········ |
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