Indian Dancers
Eyes ravished with rapture, celestially panting, what passionate bosoms aflaming with fireDrink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light;O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire,And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night.
The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter and die in the maze of their gem-tangled hair,And smiles are entwining like magical serpents the poppies of lips that are opiate-sweet;Their glittering garments of purple are burning like tremulous dawns in the quivering air,And exquisite, subtle and slow are the tinkle and tread of their rhythmical, slumber-soft feet.
Now silent, now singing and swaying and swinging, like blossoms that bend to the breezes or showers,Now wantonly winding, they flash, now they falter, and, lingering, languish in radiant choir;Their jewel-girt arms and warm, wavering, lily-long fingers enchant through melodious hours,Eyes ravished with rapture, celestially panting, what passionate bosoms aflaming with fire!
Words in this poem
- celestially adv.
- In a celestial manner.
- maze n.
- A wild fancy; a confused notion. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw.]
- wantonly adv.
- In a wanton manner; without regularity or restraint; loosely; sportively; gayly; playfully; recklessly; lasciviously.
- falter v. t.
- To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- enchant v. t.
- To charm by sorcery; to act on by enchantment; to get control of by magical words and rites. [F. enchanter, L. incantare to chant or utter a magic formula over or against one, to bewitch; in in, against + cantare to sing. See Chant, and cf. Incantation.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Indian Dancers is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Golden Threshold, with an introduction by Arthur Symons (Hyderabad, 1905; London, John Lane, 1905), Project Gutenberg ebook #680; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sarojini Naidu, Indian Dancers, in The Golden Threshold (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #680, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/naidu-golden-threshold/indian-dancers.html, id L27501.
Form and metre
Indian Dancers is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is anapaestic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in anapaestic octameter.
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 ABAB fireA · lightB · desireA · nightB
- 2 ABAB hairA · sweetB · airA · feetB
- 3 ABAB showersA · choirB · hoursA · fireB
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 octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Eyes ravished with rapture, celestially panting, what passionate bosoms aflaming with fire | 24 | ····/˘˘/˘˘/˘·/˘˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| Drink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light; | 23 | ·······/˘·/˘·/˘····/˘·· |
| O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire, | 24 | ···/˘˘····/˘·/˘······˘/˘ |
| And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night. | 23 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘·/˘˘/·˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter and die in the maze of their gem-tangled hair, | 24 | ····/˘·/˘˘/˘········/˘˘· |
| And smiles are entwining like magical serpents the poppies of lips that are opiate-sweet; | 23 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘/˘·/˘····/˘˘· |
| Their glittering garments of purple are burning like tremulous dawns in the quivering air, | 23 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘˘···/˘˘· |
| And exquisite, subtle and slow are the tinkle and tread of their rhythmical, slumber-soft feet. | 23 | ·/˘˘/˘····/˘·······/˘·· |
| Now silent, now singing and swaying and swinging, like blossoms that bend to the breezes or showers, | 24 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘····/˘·/˘ |
| Now wantonly winding, they flash, now they falter, and, lingering, languish in radiant choir; | 24 | ·/˘˘/˘····/˘·/˘˘/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Their jewel-girt arms and warm, wavering, lily-long fingers enchant through melodious hours, | 24 | ·/˘····/˘˘/˘·/˘˘/·˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Eyes ravished with rapture, celestially panting, what passionate bosoms aflaming with fire! | 24 | ····/˘˘/˘˘/˘·/˘˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
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