Chapter I: Story of Kizil-Arslan and his Fort
King Kizil-Arslan a strong castle once held,The height of whose head that of Alwand excelled.No concern for a soul, not a want did betide—Its path was all twists, like the curls of a bride.It stood in a garden, attractive and rare,Like an egg on a platter of blue earthenware.A person of presence benign, I've heard say,To visit the king, came a long, tedious way.A man of experience and versed in the true—A person of skill, who had roamed the Earth through.Kizil said, "'Mong the places in which you have been,Such another strong fortress as this, have you seen?"He, smiling, replied—" True, this fort lovely shows,But that it is strong, I by no means suppose.Did not chiefs of renown hold it previous to you ?For a time they existed, then vanished from view !After you, in like mode, other kings will have sway,And the fruit of the tree of your hope take away.Remember the time of your own father's reign,And your heart from the bonds of concern free again !Fortune forces him so in a corner to sit,That he has not the spending of one copper bit.When hopeless of persons and things he had grown,In the favour of God was his hope set alone.In a wise man's opinion, the Earth is a weedThat remains with each man but a moment, indeed."
Words in this poem
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- platter n.
- One who plats or braids. [From Plat to braid.]
- spending n.
- The act of expending; expenditure. Spending money, money set apart for extra (not necessary) personal expenses; pocket money.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story of Kizil-Arslan and his Fort is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Garden of Fragrance: being a complete translation of the Bostan of Sadi from the original Persian into English verse, by G. S. Davie (London: Kegan Paul, Trench and Co., 1882), Internet Archive, the G. S. Davie 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: Saadi, Chapter I: Story of Kizil-Arslan and his Fort, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-36.html, id L29541.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story of Kizil-Arslan and his Fort is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM heldA · excelledA · betideB · brideB · rareC · earthenwareC · sayD · wayD · trueE · throughE · beenF · seenF · showsG · supposeG · youH · viewH · swayI · awayI · reignJ · againJ · sitK · bitK · grownL · aloneL · weedM · indeedM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| King Kizil-Arslan a strong castle once held, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The height of whose head that of Alwand excelled. | 12 | ·········˘/˘ |
| No concern for a soul, not a want did betide— | 12 | ·˘/·······˘/ |
| Its path was all twists, like the curls of a bride. | 11 | ··········· |
| It stood in a garden, attractive and rare, | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| Like an egg on a platter of blue earthenware. | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| A person of presence benign, I've heard say, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| To visit the king, came a long, tedious way. | 12 | ·/˘·····/˘˘· |
| A man of experience and versed in the true— | 12 | ···˘/˘˘····· |
| A person of skill, who had roamed the Earth through. | 12 | ·/˘·····˘··· |
| Kizil said, "'Mong the places in which you have been, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Such another strong fortress as this, have you seen?" | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘····· |
| He, smiling, replied—" True, this fort lovely shows, | 11 | ·/˘˘/···/˘· |
| But that it is strong, I by no means suppose. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Did not chiefs of renown hold it previous to you ? | 12 | ····˘/··/˘·· |
| For a time they existed, then vanished from view ! | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| After you, in like mode, other kings will have sway, | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| And the fruit of the tree of your hope take away. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Remember the time of your own father's reign, | 11 | ˘/˘·····/˘· |
| And your heart from the bonds of concern free again ! | 12 | ·······˘/·˘/ |
| Fortune forces him so in a corner to sit, | 12 | /˘/˘····/˘·· |
| That he has not the spending of one copper bit. | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| When hopeless of persons and things he had grown, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| In the favour of God was his hope set alone. | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| In a wise man's opinion, the Earth is a weed | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| That remains with each man but a moment, indeed." | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘/ |
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.