Analysis of Chunder Ali’s Wife
'I AM poor,' said Chunder Ali, while the Mandarin above him
Frowned in supercilious anger at the dog who dared to
speak; 'I am friendless and a Hindoo: such a one meets few to
love him Here in China, where the Hindoo finds the truth alone is
weak. I have naught to buy your justice; were I wise, I had not
striven. Speak your judgment; ' and he crossed his arras and bent
his quivering face. Heard he then the unjust sentence: all his goods and gold
were given To another, and he stood alone, a beggar in the place.
And the man who bought the judgment looked in triumph
and derision At the cheated Hindoo merchant, as he rubbed his hands
and smiled At the whispered gratulation of his friends, and at the
vision Of the more than queenly dower for Ahmeer, his only
child. Fair Ahmeer, who of God's creatures was the only one
who loved him, She, the diamond of his treasures, the one lamb within
his fold, She, whose voice, like her dead mother's, was the only
power that moved him,— She would praise the skill that gained her all this Hindoo's
silk and gold.
And the old man thanked Confucius, and the judge, and him who pleaded.
But why falls this sudden silence? why does each one hold his breath?
Every eye turns on the Hindoo, who before was all unheeded,
And in wond'ring expectation all the court grows still as death.
Not alone stood Chunder Ali: by his side Ahmeer wasstanding,
And his brown hand rested lightly on her shoulder as he smiled
At the sweet young face turned toward him. Then the father's voice commanding
Fiercely bade his daughter to him from the dog whose touch defiled.
But she moved not, and she looked not at her father or the others
As she answered, with her eyes upon the Hindoo's noble face:
'Nay, my father, he defiles not: this kind arm above all others
Is my choosing, and forever by his side shall be my place.
When you knew not, his dear hand had given many a sweet love-token,
He had gathered all my heartstrings and had bound them round his life;
Yet you tell me he defiles me; nay, my father, you have spoken
In your anger, and not knowing I was Chnnder Ali's wife.'
Scheme | XAABXXCD XXXEFXEBC XGXG HXHAIDIDFJFJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111010100011 10010010101111 1111001101111 111010101101011 111111110011111 1011100111101 110011110011011101 010101001101010001 001110101010 0010101011011111 0110101111010 1010111111110 1111111010101 1111010111001101 11111101101010 1011111101110111 101 0011101000101110 111110101111111 1001110110111010 00110101011111 101111011111 011110101010111 10111101110101010 10111011101111 1111011110101010 11101010101101 111011111101110 111000101111111 11111111101001110 11101110111111 111111111101110 01100110111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 2,093 |
Words | 398 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 9, 4, 12 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 50 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 410 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 98 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:00 min read
- 97 Views
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"Chunder Ali’s Wife" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21989/chunder-ali%E2%80%99s-wife>.
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