Act the Second: Scene V
ESTRELLA. Welcome may your Highness be,Welcomed oft to this thy throne,Which long longing for its ownFinds at length its joy in thee;Where, in spite of bygone fears,May your reign be great and bright,And your life in its long flightCount by ages, not by years.
SIGISMUND (to CLARIN). Tell me, thou, say, who can beThis supreme of loveliness --Goddess in a woman's dress --At whose feet divine we seeHeaven its choicest gifts doth lay?--This sweet maid? Her name declare.
CLARIN. 'Tis your star-named cousin fair.
SIGISMUND. Nay, the sun, 'twere best to say.--Though thy sweet felicitationAdds new splendour to my throne,'Tis for seeing thee aloneThat I merit gratulation;Therefore I a prize have drawnThat I scarce deserved to win,And am doubly blessed therein:--Star, that in the rosy dawnDimmest with transcendent rayOrbs that brightest gem the blue,What is left the sun to do,When thou risest with the day?--Give me then thy hand to kiss,In whose cup of snowy whitenessDrinks the day delicious brightness.
ESTRELLA. What a courtly speech is this?
ASTOLFO [aside]. If he takes her hand I feelI am lost.
SECOND SERVANT [aside]. Astolfo's griefI perceive, and bring relief:--Think, my lord, excuse my zeal,That perhaps this is too free,Since Astolfo . . . .
SIGISMUND. Did I sayWoe to him that stops my way?--
SECOND SERVANT. What I said was just.
SIGISMUND. To meThis is tiresome and absurd.Nought is just, or good or ill,In my sight that balks my will.
SECOND SERVANT. Why, my lord, yourself I heardSay in any righteous thingIt was proper to obey.
SIGISMUND. You must, too, have heard me sayHim I would from window throwWho should tease me or defy?
SECOND SERVANT. Men like me perhaps might showThat could not be done, sir.
SIGISMUND. No?Then, by Heaven, at least, I'll try!
ASTOLFO. What is this I see? Oh, woe!
ESTRELLA. Oh, prevent him! Follow me!
SIGISMUND. [returning]. From the window into the seaHe has fallen; I told him so.
ASTOLFO. These strange bursts of savage maliceYou should regulate, if you can;Wild beasts are to civilised manAs rude mountains to a palace.
SIGISMUND. Take a bit of advice for that:Pause ere such bold words are said,Lest you may not have a headUpon which to hang your hat.
Words in this poem
- highness n.
- The state of being high; elevation; loftiness. [AS. heáhnes.]
- bygone n.
- Something gone by or past; a past event.
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- felicitation n.
- The act of felicitating; a wishing of joy or happiness; congratulation. [Cf. F. félicitation.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- gratulation n.
- The act of gratulating or felicitating; congratulation. [L. gratulatio.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- courtly a.
- Relating or belonging to a court. [From Court.]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- civilised a.
- Reclaimed from savage life and manners; instructed in arts, learning, and civil manners; refined; cultivated.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene V 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 V, 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-v.html, id L26570.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene V is 68 lines in 19 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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.
- 1 ABBACDDC beA · throneB · ownB · theeA · fearsC · brightD · flightD · yearsC
- 2 A--AEF beA · loveliness · dress · seeA · layE · declareF
- 3 F fairF
- 4 EGHHGIJJIKLLKMNN sayE · felicitationG · throneH · aloneH · gratulationG · drawnI · winJ · thereinJ · dawnI · rayK · blueL · doL · dayK · kissM · whitenessN · brightnessN
- 5 M thisM
- 6 O- feelO · lost
- 7 PPOQ- griefP · reliefP · zealO · freeQ · astolfo
- 8 RR sayR · wayR
- 10 QSTT meQ · absurdS · illT · willT
- 11 S-U heardS · thing · obeyU
- 12 UVW sayU · throwV · defyW
- 13 V- showV · sir
- 14 VW noV · tryW
- 15 V woeV
- 16 X meX
- 17 XV seaX · soV
- 18 YZZY maliceY · canZ · manZ · palaceY
- 19 abba thata · saidb · headb · hata
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ESTRELLA. Welcome may your Highness be, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Welcomed oft to this thy throne, | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Which long longing for its own | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Finds at length its joy in thee; | 7 | ······· |
| Where, in spite of bygone fears, | 7 | ····/·· |
| May your reign be great and bright, | 7 | ······· |
| And your life in its long flight | 7 | ······· |
| Count by ages, not by years. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| SIGISMUND (to CLARIN). Tell me, thou, say, who can be | 13 | ············· |
| This supreme of loveliness -- | 7 | ·˘/·/˘˘ |
| Goddess in a woman's dress -- | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| At whose feet divine we see | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Heaven its choicest gifts doth lay?-- | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| This sweet maid? Her name declare. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| CLARIN. 'Tis your star-named cousin fair. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| SIGISMUND. Nay, the sun, 'twere best to say.-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Though thy sweet felicitation | 5 | ····· |
| Adds new splendour to my throne, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| 'Tis for seeing thee alone | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| That I merit gratulation; | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘˘ |
| Therefore I a prize have drawn | 7 | ······· |
| That I scarce deserved to win, | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| And am doubly blessed therein:-- | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| Star, that in the rosy dawn | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Dimmest with transcendent ray | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Orbs that brightest gem the blue, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| What is left the sun to do, | 7 | ······· |
| When thou risest with the day?-- | 7 | ······· |
| Give me then thy hand to kiss, | 7 | ······· |
| In whose cup of snowy whiteness | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Drinks the day delicious brightness. | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| ESTRELLA. What a courtly speech is this? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| ASTOLFO [aside]. If he takes her hand I feel | 12 | ···˘/······· |
| I am lost. | 3 | ··· |
| SECOND SERVANT [aside]. Astolfo's grief | 11 | /˘/˘˘/····· |
| I perceive, and bring relief:-- | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| Think, my lord, excuse my zeal, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| That perhaps this is too free, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Since Astolfo . . . . | 4 | ···· |
| SIGISMUND. Did I say | 6 | ······ |
| Woe to him that stops my way?-- | 7 | ······· |
| SECOND SERVANT. What I said was just. | 9 | /˘/˘····· |
| SIGISMUND. To me | 5 | ····· |
| This is tiresome and absurd. | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| Nought is just, or good or ill, | 8 | ········ |
| In my sight that balks my will. | 7 | ······· |
| SECOND SERVANT. Why, my lord, yourself I heard | 11 | /˘/˘···˘/·· |
| Say in any righteous thing | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| It was proper to obey. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| SIGISMUND. You must, too, have heard me say | 10 | ·········· |
| Him I would from window throw | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Who should tease me or defy? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| SECOND SERVANT. Men like me perhaps might show | 11 | /˘/˘···˘/·· |
| That could not be done, sir. | 6 | ······ |
| SIGISMUND. No? | 4 | ···· |
| Then, by Heaven, at least, I'll try! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| ASTOLFO. What is this I see? Oh, woe! | 10 | ·········· |
| ESTRELLA. Oh, prevent him! Follow me! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| SIGISMUND. [returning]. From the window into the sea | 14 | ···˘/˘··/˘···· |
| He has fallen; I told him so. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| ASTOLFO. These strange bursts of savage malice | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| You should regulate, if you can; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Wild beasts are to civilised man | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| As rude mountains to a palace. | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| SIGISMUND. Take a bit of advice for that: | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| Pause ere such bold words are said, | 7 | ······· |
| Lest you may not have a head | 7 | ······· |
| Upon which to hang your hat. | 7 | ······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.