Act the Second: Scene II
CLARIN [aside]. Four good blows are all it cost meTo come here, inflicted smartlyBy a red-robed halberdier,With a beard to match his jacket,At that price I see the show,For no window's half so handyAs that which, without entreatingTickets of the ticket-master,A man carried with himself;Since for all the feasts and galasCool effrontery is the windowWhence at ease he gazes at them.
CLOTALDO [aside]. This is Clarin, heavens! of her,Yes, I say, of her the valet,She, who dealing in misfortunes,Has my pain to Poland carried:--Any news, friend Clarin?
CLARIN. News?Yes, sir, since your great compassionIs disposed Rosaura's outrageTo revenge, she has changed her habit,And resumed her proper dress.
CLOTALDO. 'Tis quite right, lest possible scandalMight arise.
CLARIN. More news: her nameHaving changed and wisely barteredFor your niece's name, she nowSo in honour has advanced her,That among Estrella's ladiesShe here with her in the palaceLives.
CLOTALDO. 'Tis right that I once moreShould her honour re-establish.
CLARIN. News; that anxiously she waitethFor that very thing to happen,When you may have time to try it.
CLOTALDO. Most discreetly has she acted;Soon the time will come, believe me,Happily to end this matter.
CLARIN. News, too; that she's well regaled,Feasted like a queen, and flatteredOn the strength of being your niece.And the last news, and the saddest,Is that I who here came with herAm with hunger almost famished.None remember me, or thinkI am Clarin, clarion rather,And that if that clarion sounded,All the Court would know what passes.For there are two things, to wit,A brass clarion and a lackey,That are bad at keeping secrets;And it so may chance, if haplyI am forced to break my silence,They of me may sing this passage:"Never, when the day is near,Does clarion sound more clear."
CLOTALDO. Your complaint is too well-founded;I will get you satisfaction,Meanwhile you may wait on me.
CLARIN. See, sir, Sigismund advances.
Words in this poem
- smartly adv.
- In a smart manner.
- halberdier n.
- One who is armed with a halberd. Strype. [F. hallebardier.]
- handy a.
- Performed by the hand. [OE. hendi, AS. hendig (in comp.), fr. hand hand; akin to D. handig, Goth. handugs clever, wise.]
- effrontery n.
- Impudence or boldness in confronting or in transgressing the bounds of duty or decorum; insulting presumptuousness; shameless boldness; barefaced assurance. [F. effronterie, fr. effronté shameless, fr. L. effrons, -ontis, putting forth the forehead, i. e., barefaced, shameless; ex + frons the forehead. See Front.]
- valet n.
- A male waiting servant; a servant who attends on gentleman's person; a body servant. [F. valet, OF. vallet, varlet, vaslet. See Varlet, and Vassal.]
- scandal n.
- Offense caused or experienced; reproach or reprobation called forth by what is regarded as wrong, criminal, heinous, or flagrant: opprobrium or disgrace. [F. scandale, fr. L. scandalum, Gr. scandle, OF. escandle. See Slander.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- anxiously adv.
- In an anxious manner; with painful uncertainty; solicitously.
- happily adv.
- By chance; peradventure; haply. Piers Plowman. [From Happy.]
- niece n.
- A relative, in general; especially, a descendant, whether male or female; a granddaughter or a grandson. B. Jonson. Wyclif. [OE. nece, F. nièce, LL. neptia, for L. neptis a granddaughter, niece, akin to nepos. See Nephew.]
- clarion n.
- A kind of trumpet, whose note is clear and shrill. [OE. clarioun, OF. clarion, F. clairon, LL. clario, claro; so called from its clear tone, fr. L. clarus clear. See Clear.]
- lackey n.
- An attending male servant; a footman; a servile follower. [F. laquais; cf. Sp. & Pg. lacayo; of uncertain origin; perh. of German origin, and akin to E.lick, v.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Life Is a Dream, Project Gutenberg ebook #6363, the Denis Florence MacCarthy translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Act the Second: Scene II, in Life Is a Dream (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6363, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-life-is-a-dream/act-the-second-scene-ii.html, id L26567.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene II is 61 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 9 ----------------AA regaled · flattered · niece · saddest · her · famished · think · rather · sounded · passes · wit · lackey · secrets · haply · silence · passage · nearA · clearA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| CLARIN [aside]. Four good blows are all it cost me | 12 | ··˘/········ |
| To come here, inflicted smartly | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| By a red-robed halberdier, | 8 | ····˘··· |
| With a beard to match his jacket, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| At that price I see the show, | 7 | ······· |
| For no window's half so handy | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| As that which, without entreating | 8 | ········ |
| Tickets of the ticket-master, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| A man carried with himself; | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Since for all the feasts and galas | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Cool effrontery is the window | 9 | ·˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Whence at ease he gazes at them. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| CLOTALDO [aside]. This is Clarin, heavens! of her, | 13 | ···˘/····/˘·· |
| Yes, I say, of her the valet, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| She, who dealing in misfortunes, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Has my pain to Poland carried:-- | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Any news, friend Clarin? | 6 | /˘···· |
| CLARIN. News? | 3 | ··· |
| Yes, sir, since your great compassion | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Is disposed Rosaura's outrage | 8 | ·˘/···/· |
| To revenge, she has changed her habit, | 9 | ·˘/····/˘ |
| And resumed her proper dress. | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| CLOTALDO. 'Tis quite right, lest possible scandal | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Might arise. | 3 | ·˘/ |
| CLARIN. More news: her name | 6 | ······ |
| Having changed and wisely bartered | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| For your niece's name, she now | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| So in honour has advanced her, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| That among Estrella's ladies | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| She here with her in the palace | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lives. | 1 | · |
| CLOTALDO. 'Tis right that I once more | 9 | ········· |
| Should her honour re-establish. | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| CLARIN. News; that anxiously she waiteth | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| For that very thing to happen, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| When you may have time to try it. | 8 | ········ |
| CLOTALDO. Most discreetly has she acted; | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Soon the time will come, believe me, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Happily to end this matter. | 8 | /˘˘···/˘ |
| CLARIN. News, too; that she's well regaled, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Feasted like a queen, and flattered | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| On the strength of being your niece. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And the last news, and the saddest, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Is that I who here came with her | 8 | ········ |
| Am with hunger almost famished. | 8 | ··/˘/··· |
| None remember me, or think | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| I am Clarin, clarion rather, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| And that if that clarion sounded, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| All the Court would know what passes. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For there are two things, to wit, | 7 | ······· |
| A brass clarion and a lackey, | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| That are bad at keeping secrets; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And it so may chance, if haply | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I am forced to break my silence, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| They of me may sing this passage: | 8 | ······/˘ |
| "Never, when the day is near, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Does clarion sound more clear." | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| CLOTALDO. Your complaint is too well-founded; | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| I will get you satisfaction, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Meanwhile you may wait on me. | 7 | /······ |
| CLARIN. See, sir, Sigismund advances. | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
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