Tartary ~ Expalanation of the Peom

If I were Lord of Tartary,
Myself, and me alone,
My bed should be of ivory,
Of beaten gold my throne;
And in my court should peacocks flaunt,
And in my forests tigers haunt,
And in my pools great fishes slant
Their fins athwart the sun.

Explanation

In these lines the poet presents the picture of an imaginary kingdom “Tartary”. He considers himself the king of this empire. He says if he were the king of Tartary, he would be its sole king. There should be no one else to share this kingdom. His bed would be made of ivory, a precious material. His throne would be made of pure gold. There would not be any mixture of base metal in it. He would have a spacious court in which peacocks would move here and there very proudly. His forests would be full of wild animals like tigers and lions. They would freely stroll in the forests as its real owners. His kingdom would have pools full of different kinds of fish. They would swim aslant. They would be very happy and freer than any other object. The tiny fins of these fish would be sloppy towards the sunlight and would shine proudly and happily.


If I were Lord of Tartary,
Trumpeters every day
To all my meals should summon me,
And in my courtyards bray;
And in the evening lamps should shine,
Yellow as honey, red as wine,
While harp, and flute, and mandoline
Made music sweet and gay.

Explanation

In this stanza the poet further imagines himself as the king of Tartary and mentions his mealtime. He says that if he were the king of Tartary, bugles would call him to meals every day. This would become a ceremonial event. There would be great trumpeters that would produce heavy and noisy sounds. In the evening there would be lamps of different kinds. The light emitted by these lamps would be as yellow as pure honey. Some of the lights would be as red as pure and bitter wine. And during his meal and even in the evening, the players would play upon harp, pipe and many other musical devices. All these musical instruments would create sweet and beautiful music.

If I were Lord of Tartary,
I'd wear a robe of beads,
White, and gold, and green they'd be —
And small and thick as seeds;
And ere should wane the morning star,
I'd don my robe and scimitar.
And zebras seven should draw my car
Through Tartary's dark gleades.

Explanation

In this stanza the poet says something about himself. He says that if he were the king of Tartary, he would wear dress of pure pearls. The pearls would be of white and gold colour. There would also be green beads among them. All these pearls would be mixed and would be a thick as grains of seeds. Further the poet wishes that he would wear his dress, his small sword before the waning of the morning star. This would mean that he would prepare himself very early in the morning. His carriage would be drawn by seven specific horses known as zebras. And these horses would draw his carriage through the deep and dark shades and clearings of Tartary.


Lord of the fruits of Tartary.
Her rivers silver-pale!
Lord of the hills of Tartary.
Glen, thicket, wood, and dale!
Her flashing stars, her scented breeze,
Her trembling lakes, like foamless seas,
Her bird-delighting citron-trees,
In every purple vale!


Explanation

In these lines the poet says if he were the king of the imaginary kingdom, Tartary, he would be the sole owner of its silvery pale rivers. Water of these rivers would be very clear and tasty. He would be king of its fruits of all types. Hills of the land of Tartary would be his. The gorges bushes, tall trees and the entire valley would be under his command and control. He would enjoy all the natural objects. The bright stars shining in the sky and the perfumed morning air would also please him. The shivering lakes of Tartary would be like the quiet and motionless oceans. There would be beautiful juicy trees of different kinds of fruits. These would attract birds and would delight him as well as the birds in the beautiful red valleys, red because of fruits and colourful flowers. This imaginary kingdom would please the poet all the time. All the beautiful natural objects mentioned by the poet shows his deep love for nature.