Analysis of Ch 01 Manner Of Kings Story 01
I heard a padshah giving orders to kill a prisoner. The helpless
fellow began to insult the king on that occasion of despair, with
the tongue he had, and to use foul expressions according to the
saying:
Who washes his hands of life
Says whatever he has in his heart.
When a man is in despair his tongue becomes long and he is like a
vanquished cat assailing a dog.
In time of need, when flight is no more possible,
The hand grasps the point of the sharp sword.
When the king asked what he was saying, a good-natured vezier
replied: 'My lord, he says: Those who bridle their anger and forgive
men; for Allah loveth the beneficent.'
The king, moved with pity, forbore taking his life but another
vezier, the antagonist of the former, said: 'Men of our rank ought
to speak nothing but the truth in the presence of padshahs. This
fellow has insulted the king and spoken unbecomingly.' The king, being
displeased with these words, said: 'That lie was more acceptable to me
than this truth thou hast uttered because the former proceeded from
a conciliatory disposition and the latter from malignity; and wise men
have said: "A falsehood resulting in conciliation is better than a
truth producing trouble."'
He whom the shah follows in what he says,
It is a pity if he speaks anything but what is good.
The following inscription was upon the portico of the hall of
Feridun:
O brother, the world remains with no one.
Bind the heart to the Creator, it is enough.
Rely not upon possessions and this world
Because it has cherished many like thee and slain them.
When the pure soul is about to depart,
What boots it if one dies on a throne or on the ground?
Scheme | XXAB XC AX DX EXXEXXBXXFAD XX XF XXXXCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011010110100010 100110101110101011 0111011101001010 10 1101111 11011011 10110011101101110 10101001 011111111100 011011011 10111111001101 0111111110110001 111010010 011110110111010 10010010101111011 11101010010111 1010100101010110 0111111111010011 1111110010100101 00100010001011011 11010100001011010 101010 1101100111 11010111101111 01000101010101011 1 1100101111 101100101101 01101010011 0111101011011 1011101101 1111111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,710 |
Words | 305 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 2, 2, 2, 12, 2, 2, 6 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 41 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 162 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:30 min read
- 122 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ch 01 Manner Of Kings Story 01" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33770/ch-01-manner-of-kings-story-01>.
Discuss this Sa di poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In