Bride of Abydos, The

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | 700+ words | Copyright

Bride of Abydos, The, a poem in irregular stanzas by Byron, one of his ‘Turkish tales’, published in December 1813. The beautiful Zuleika, daughter of the Pacha Giaffir, is destined to marry the rich, elderly Bey of Carasman, whom she has never seen. She confesses her grief to her beloved brother Selim, who takes her to his grotto, where he reveals himself in magnificent pirate garb and declares he is not her brother but her cousin. He begs her to share his future, but Giaffir and his soldiers arrive and Selim is killed. Zuleika dies of grief. In the first draft Zuleika and Selim were not cousins but half-brother and sister: a variation of the incest theme to which Byron was frequently drawn.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Bride of Abydos, The." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Bride of Abydos, The." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BrideofAbydosThe.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Bride of Abydos, The." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BrideofAbydosThe.html

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