Act the Third: Scene IX
SIGISMUND. If Rome could see me on this dayAmid the triumphs of its early sway,Oh, with what strange delightIt would have seen so singular a sight,Its mighty armies ledBy one who was a savage wild beast bred,Whose courage soars so high,That even an easy conquest seems the sky!But let us lower our flight,My spirit; 'tis not thus we should inviteThis doubtful dream to stay,Lest when I wake and it has past away,I learn to my sad cost,A moment given, 'twas in a moment lost;Determined not to abuse it,The less will be my sorrow should I lose it.
CLARIN. Upon a rapid steed,(Excuse my painting it; I can't indeedResist the inspiration),Which seems a moving mass of all creation,Its body being the earth,The fire the soul that in its heart hath birth,Its foam the sea, its panting breath the air,Chaos confused at which I stand and stare,Since in its soul, foam, body, breath, to meIt is a monster made of fire, earth, air, and sea;Its colour dapple grey,Speckled its skin, and flecked, as well it may,By the impatient spur its flank that dyes,For lo! it doth not run, the meteor flies;As borne upon the wind,A beauteous woman seeks thee.
SIGISMUND. I'm struck blind!
CLARIN. Good God, it is Rosaura, oh, the pain!
SIGISMUND. Heaven has restored her to my sight again.
Words in this poem
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- singular a.
- Separate or apart from others; single; distinct. [OE. singuler, F. singulier, fr. L. singularius, singularis, fr. singulus single. See Single, a.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- chaos n.
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
- dapple n.
- One of the spots on a dappled animal. [Cf. Icel. depill a spot, a dot, a dog with spots over the eyes, dapi a pool, and E. dimple.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: Scene IX 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 Third: Scene IX, in Life Is a Dream (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6363, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-life-is-a-dream/act-the-third-scene-ix.html, id L26592.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene IX is 35 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 86% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCCDDBBAAEEFF dayA · swayA · delightB · sightB · ledC · bredC · highD · skyD · flightB · inviteB · stayA · awayA · costE · lostE · itF · itF
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGG-E steedA · indeedA · inspirationB · creationB · earthC · birthC · airD · stareD · meE · seaE · greyF · mayF · dyesG · fliesG · wind · theeE
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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| SIGISMUND. If Rome could see me on this day | 11 | ··········· |
| Amid the triumphs of its early sway, | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Oh, with what strange delight | 6 | ····˘/ |
| It would have seen so singular a sight, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Its mighty armies led | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| By one who was a savage wild beast bred, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whose courage soars so high, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That even an easy conquest seems the sky! | 10 | ·/·/˘/˘··· |
| But let us lower our flight, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| My spirit; 'tis not thus we should invite | 9 | ·/·····˘/ |
| This doubtful dream to stay, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Lest when I wake and it has past away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I learn to my sad cost, | 6 | ······ |
| A moment given, 'twas in a moment lost; | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| Determined not to abuse it, | 8 | ˘/˘··˘/· |
| The less will be my sorrow should I lose it. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| CLARIN. Upon a rapid steed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Excuse my painting it; I can't indeed | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Resist the inspiration), | 7 | ˘/··˘/˘ |
| Which seems a moving mass of all creation, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Its body being the earth, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| The fire the soul that in its heart hath birth, | 10 | ·/········ |
| Its foam the sea, its panting breath the air, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Chaos confused at which I stand and stare, | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| Since in its soul, foam, body, breath, to me | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| It is a monster made of fire, earth, air, and sea; | 12 | ···/˘··/···· |
| Its colour dapple grey, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Speckled its skin, and flecked, as well it may, | 10 | /˘········ |
| By the impatient spur its flank that dyes, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| For lo! it doth not run, the meteor flies; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| As borne upon the wind, | 6 | ······ |
| A beauteous woman seeks thee. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| SIGISMUND. I'm struck blind! | 6 | ······ |
| CLARIN. Good God, it is Rosaura, oh, the pain! | 12 | ············ |
| SIGISMUND. Heaven has restored her to my sight again. | 13 | ···/·˘/····˘/ |
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