Act the Third: Scene V
BASILIUS. Who can expect, Astolfo, to restrainAn untamed steed that wildly turns to flee?Who can the current of a stream detain,That swollen with pride sweeps down to seek the sea?Who can prevent from tumbling to the plainSome mighty peak the lightning's flash sets free?Yet each were easier in its separate way,Than the rude mob's insensate rage to stay.The several bands that throng each green retreatThis truth proclaim by their disparted cries;Astolfo here the echoing notes repeat,While there 'tis Sigismund that rends the skiesThe place where late the land was glad to greetThe choice we made, a second venture tries;And soon will be, as Horror o'er it leans,The fatal theatre of tragic scenes.
ASTOLFO. My lord, let all this joy suspended be,These plaudits cease, and to another dayDefer the rapture thou hast promised me;For if this Poland (which I hope to sway)Resists to-day my right of sovereignty,'Tis that by merit I should win my way.Give me a steed; to stem this wild revoltMy pride shall be the flash that bears the bolt.
BASILIUS. Slight help there is for what is fixed by fate,And much of danger to foresee the blow;If it must fall, defence is then too late,And he who most forestalls doth most foreknow.Hard law! Stern rule! Dire fact to contemplate!That he who thinks to fly doth nearer go.Thus by the very means that I employed,My country and myself I have destroyed.
Words in this poem
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- 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.]
- insensate a.
- Wanting sensibility; destitute of sense; stupid; foolish. [L. insensatus. See In- not, and Sensate.]
- theatre n.
- An edifice in which dramatic performances or spectacles are exhibited for the amusement of spectators; anciently uncovered, except the stage, but in modern times roofed. [F. thé\'83tre, L. theatrum, Gr. dhya to meditate, think. Cf. Theory.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- foresee v. i.
- To have or exercise foresight.
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- foreknow v. t.
- To have previous knowledge of; to know beforehand.
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- contemplate v. t.
- To look at on all sides or in all its bearings; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study. [L. contemplatus, p.p. of contemplari to contemplate; con- + templum a space for observation marked out by the augur. See Temple.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: 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 Third: 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-third-scene-v.html, id L26588.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene V is 32 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See 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 ABABABCCDEDEDEFF restrainA · fleeB · detainA · seaB · plainA · freeB · wayC · stayC · retreatD · criesE · repeatD · skiesE · greetD · triesE · leansF · scenesF
- 2 ABAB-BCC beA · dayB · meA · swayB · sovereignty · wayB · revoltC · boltC
- 3 ABA-ABCC fateA · blowB · lateA · foreknow · contemplateA · goB · employedC · destroyedC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BASILIUS. Who can expect, Astolfo, to restrain | 13 | ·····˘/····˘/ |
| An untamed steed that wildly turns to flee? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Who can the current of a stream detain, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| That swollen with pride sweeps down to seek the sea? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Who can prevent from tumbling to the plain | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Some mighty peak the lightning's flash sets free? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Yet each were easier in its separate way, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| Than the rude mob's insensate rage to stay. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The several bands that throng each green retreat | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| This truth proclaim by their disparted cries; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Astolfo here the echoing notes repeat, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| While there 'tis Sigismund that rends the skies | 10 | ·········· |
| The place where late the land was glad to greet | 10 | ·········· |
| The choice we made, a second venture tries; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And soon will be, as Horror o'er it leans, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The fatal theatre of tragic scenes. | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| ASTOLFO. My lord, let all this joy suspended be, | 13 | ·········˘/˘· |
| These plaudits cease, and to another day | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Defer the rapture thou hast promised me; | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| For if this Poland (which I hope to sway) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Resists to-day my right of sovereignty, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘˘ |
| 'Tis that by merit I should win my way. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Give me a steed; to stem this wild revolt | 10 | ········˘/ |
| My pride shall be the flash that bears the bolt. | 10 | ·········· |
| BASILIUS. Slight help there is for what is fixed by fate, | 13 | ············· |
| And much of danger to foresee the blow; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| If it must fall, defence is then too late, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And he who most forestalls doth most foreknow. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Hard law! Stern rule! Dire fact to contemplate! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That he who thinks to fly doth nearer go. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thus by the very means that I employed, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| My country and myself I have destroyed. | 10 | ·/˘··/··˘/ |
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.