Chapter VII: Story of King Azd and his Sick Son
The son of King Azd lay afflicted in bed ;From the mind of the father all patience had fled.A pious man giving advice said, that heShould all the wild birds from their cages set free.He released all the warblers of sweet, morning strain;When the prison is ope'd who would captive remain?He preserved in the arch of the garden retreat,A wonderful Bulbul, that piped very sweet.In the morning, the son to the summer-house hied,And that bird, all alone, in the cupola spied.He smiled, saying, " Bulbul! your notes are so choice,In the cage you remain on account of your voice."With your words while unspoken no man has to do;When spoken, be ready to prove they are true!As Sadi for some time in silence remained,From the taunts of his critics he freedom obtained.That man to his bosom takes comfort of heart,Who lives from communion with people apart.Exposing men's failings, oh wise man ! avoid !Be with faults of your own, not of others, employed!When they sing out of harmony, do not give ear !Shut your eyes when you see an unveiled one appear!
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- piped a.
- Formed with a pipe; having pipe or pipes; tubular.
- cupola n.
- A roof having a rounded form, hemispherical or nearly so; also, a celing having the same form. When on a large scale it is usually called dome. [It. cupola, LL. cupula, cuppula (cf. L. cupula little tub). fr. cupa, cuppa, cup; cf. L. cupa tub. So called on account of its resemblance to a cup turned over.]
- avoid v. t.
- To empty. Wyclif. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VII: Story of King Azd and his Sick Son 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 VII: Story of King Azd and his Sick Son, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/7-6.html, id L29689.
Form and metre
Chapter VII: Story of King Azd and his Sick Son is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK bedA · fledA · heB · freeB · strainC · remainC · retreatD · sweetD · hiedE · spiedE · choiceF · voiceF · doG · trueG · remainedH · obtainedH · heartI · apartI · avoidJ · employedJ · earK · appearK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The son of King Azd lay afflicted in bed ; | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| From the mind of the father all patience had fled. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| A pious man giving advice said, that he | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| Should all the wild birds from their cages set free. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| He released all the warblers of sweet, morning strain; | 12 | ·˘/··/˘··/˘· |
| When the prison is ope'd who would captive remain? | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| He preserved in the arch of the garden retreat, | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| A wonderful Bulbul, that piped very sweet. | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| In the morning, the son to the summer-house hied, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| And that bird, all alone, in the cupola spied. | 12 | ····˘/··˘/˘· |
| He smiled, saying, " Bulbul! your notes are so choice, | 12 | ··˘/˘/˘····· |
| In the cage you remain on account of your voice." | 12 | ····˘/·˘/··· |
| With your words while unspoken no man has to do; | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| When spoken, be ready to prove they are true! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| As Sadi for some time in silence remained, | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| From the taunts of his critics he freedom obtained. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| That man to his bosom takes comfort of heart, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Who lives from communion with people apart. | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Exposing men's failings, oh wise man ! avoid ! | 11 | ˘/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| Be with faults of your own, not of others, employed! | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| When they sing out of harmony, do not give ear ! | 12 | ·····/˘˘···· |
| Shut your eyes when you see an unveiled one appear! | 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.