Don Juan: Canto The Seventh Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABABABCC DEFEFEGG HIJKLKMN KKKKKKKK OKPKPKQ KKKKKKRR SESESETT UVUVUVVV KSKSKSKK WKWKWKXX WWWSWSV YKY ZKVV KKKKKKA2 SKSKSKWW XRXRXRKK WEWEWESS KWRWKWVV WXWXWXB2B2 KKKKKKXX XB2XB2X WW KWKWKWSS SKSKSKVV WRWK

O Love O Glory what are ye who flyA
Around us ever rarely to alightB
There's not a meteor in the polar skyA
Of such transcendent and more fleeting flightB
Chill and chain'd to cold earth we lift on highA
Our eyes in search of either lovely lightB
A thousand and a thousand colours theyC
Assume then leave us on our freezing wayC
-
And such as they are such my present tale isD
A non descript and ever varying rhymeE
A versified Aurora BorealisF
Which flashes o'er a waste and icy climeE
When we know what all are we must bewail usF
But ne'ertheless I hope it is no crimeE
To laugh at all things for I wish to knowG
What after all are all things but a showG
-
They accuse me Me the present writer ofH
The present poem of I know not whatI
A tendency to under rate and scoffJ
At human power and virtue and all thatK
And this they say in language rather roughL
Good God I wonder what they would be atK
I say no more than hath been said in Dante'sM
Verse and by Solomon and by CervantesN
-
By Swift by Machiavel by RochefoucaultK
By Fenelon by Luther and by PlatoK
By Tillotson and Wesley and RousseauK
Who knew this life was not worth a potatoK
'Tis not their fault nor mine if this be soK
For my part I pretend not to be CatoK
Nor even Diogenes We live and dieK
But which is best you know no more than IK
-
Socrates said our only knowledge wasO
'To know that nothing could be known ' a pleasantK
Science enough which levels to an assP
Each man of wisdom future past or presentK
Newton that proverb of the mind alasP
Declared with all his grand discoveries recentK
That he himself felt only 'like a youthQ
Picking up shells by the great ocean Truth '-
-
Ecclesiastes said 'that all is vanity'K
Most modern preachers say the same or show itK
By their examples of true ChristianityK
In short all know or very soon may know itK
And in this scene of all confess'd inanityK
By saint by sage by preacher and by poetK
Must I restrain me through the fear of strifeR
From holding up the nothingness of lifeR
-
Dogs or men for I flatter you in sayingS
That ye are dogs your betters far ye mayE
Read or read not what I am now essayingS
To show ye what ye are in every wayE
As little as the moon stops for the bayingS
Of wolves will the bright muse withdraw one rayE
From out her skies then howl your idle wrathT
While she still silvers o'er your gloomy pathT
-
'Fierce loves and faithless wars' I am not sureU
If this be the right reading 'tis no matterV
The fact's about the same I am secureU
I sing them both and am about to batterV
A town which did a famous siege endureU
And was beleaguer'd both by land and waterV
By Souvaroff or Anglice SuwarrowV
Who loved blood as an alderman loves marrowV
-
The fortress is call'd Ismail and is placedK
Upon the Danube's left branch and left bankS
With buildings in the Oriental tasteK
But still a fortress of the foremost rankS
Or was at least unless 'tis since defacedK
Which with your conquerors is a common prankS
It stands some eighty versts from the high seaK
And measures round of toises thousands threeK
-
Within the extent of this fortificationW
A borough is comprised along the heightK
Upon the left which from its loftier stationW
Commands the city and upon its siteK
A Greek had raised around this elevationW
A quantity of palisades uprightK
So placed as to impede the fire of thoseX
Who held the place and to assist the foe'sX
-
This circumstance may serve to give a notionW
Of the high talents of this new VaubanW
But the town ditch below was deep as oceanW
The rampart higher than you'd wish to hangS
But then there was a great want of precautionW
Prithee excuse this engineering slangS
Nor work advanced nor cover'd way was thereV
To hint at least 'Here is no thoroughfare '-
-
But a stone bastion with a narrow gorgeY
And walls as thick as most skulls born as yetK
Two batteries cap a pie as our St GeorgeY
Case mated one and t' other 'a barbette '-
Of Danube's bank took formidable chargeZ
While two and twenty cannon duly setK
Rose over the town's right side in bristling tierV
Forty feet high upon a cavalierV
-
But from the river the town 's open quiteK
Because the Turks could never be persuadedK
A Russian vessel e'er would heave in sightK
And such their creed was till they were invadedK
When it grew rather late to set things rightK
But as the Danube could not well be wadedK
They look'd upon the Muscovite flotillaA2
And only shouted 'Allah ' and 'Bis Millah '-
-
The Russians now were ready to attackS
But oh ye goddesses of war and gloryK
How shall I spell the name of each CossacqueS
Who were immortal could one tell their storyK
Alas what to their memory can lackS
Achilles' self was not more grim and goryK
Than thousands of this new and polish'd nationW
Whose names want nothing but pronunciationW
-
Still I 'll record a few if but to increaseX
Our euphony there was Strongenoff and StrokonoffR
Meknop Serge Lwow Arsniew of modern GreeceX
And Tschitsshakoff and Roguenoff and ChokenoffR
And others of twelve consonants apieceX
And more might be found out if I could poke enoughR
Into gazettes but Fame capricious strumpetK
It seems has got an ear as well as trumpetK
-
And cannot tune those discords of narrationW
Which may be names at Moscow into rhymeE
Yet there were several worth commemorationW
As e'er was virgin of a nuptial chimeE
Soft words too fitted for the perorationW
Of Londonderry drawling against timeE
Ending in 'ischskin ' 'ousckin ' 'iffskchy ' 'ouskiS
Of whom we can insert but RousamouskiS
-
Scherematoff and Chrematoff KoklophtiK
Koclobski Kourakin and Mouskin PouskinW
All proper men of weapons as e'er scoff'd highR
Against a foe or ran a sabre through skinW
Little cared they for Mahomet or MuftiK
Unless to make their kettle drums a new skinW
Out of their hides if parchment had grown dearV
And no more handy substitute been nearV
-
Then there were foreigners of much renownW
Of various nations and all volunteersX
Not fighting for their country or its crownW
But wishing to be one day brigadiersX
Also to have the sacking of a townW
A pleasant thing to young men at their yearsX
'Mongst them were several Englishmen of pithB2
Sixteen call'd Thomson and nineteen named SmithB2
-
Jack Thomson and Bill Thomson all the restK
Had been call'd 'Jemmy ' after the great bardK
I don't know whether they had arms or crestK
But such a godfather's as good a cardK
Three of the Smiths were Peters but the bestK
Amongst them all hard blows to inflict or wardK
Was he since so renown'd 'in country quartersX
At Halifax ' but now he served the TartarsX
-
The rest were jacks and Gills and Wills and BillsX
But when I've added that the elder jack SmithB2
Was born in Cumberland among the hillsX
And that his father was an honest blacksmithB2
I've said all I know of a name that fillsX
Three lines of the despatch in taking 'Schmacksmith '-
A village of Moldavia's waste whereinW
He fell immortal in a bulletinW
-
I wonder although Mars no doubt's a godK
Praise if a man's name in a bulletinW
May make up for a bullet in his bodyK
I hope this little question is no sinW
Because though I am but a simple noddyK
I think one Shakspeare puts the same thought inW
The mouth of some one in his plays so dotingS
Which many people pass for wits by quotingS
-
Then there were Frenchmen gallant young and gayS
But I'm too great a patriot to recordK
Their Gallic names upon a glorious dayS
I'd rather tell ten lies than say a wordK
Of truth such truths are treason they betrayS
Their country and as traitors are abhorr'dK
Who name the French in English save to showV
How Peace should make John Bull the Frenchman's foeV
-
The Russians having built two batteries onW
An isle near Ismail had two ends in viewR
The first was to bombard it and knock downW
The public buildings andK

George Gordon Byron



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