Act the First: Scene XII
LELIUS [aside]. A figureIssues from it, whose dim presenceI distinguish.
FLORUS [aside]. Through the darknessI can there perceive some person.
DEMON [aside]. For the many persecutionsO'er Justina's head impending,Her pure honour to defameThus I make a bold commencement.
LELIUS [aside]. But, O woe! what's this I witness!--
FLORUS [aside]. What do I see! Oh, wretched! wretched!--
LELIUS [aside]. From the balcony to the groundThe dark figure has descended.
FLORUS [aside]. From her house a man comes forth!--Jealousy kill me not, preserve me,'Till I discover who he is.
LELIUS [aside]. I will try to intercept himAnd find out at once who thusTastes the bliss I've lost for ever.
DEMON [aside]. Not alone Justina's fameDo I by this act discredit,But dissensions, perhaps murders,Thus provoke. Ope, earth's dark centre,And receive me, leaving hereThis confusion
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the First: Scene XII is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Wonder-Working Magician, Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, 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 First: Scene XII, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-first-scene-xii.html, id L26609.
Form and metre
Act the First: Scene XII is 25 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LELIUS [aside]. A figure | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| Issues from it, whose dim presence | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| I distinguish. | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| FLORUS [aside]. Through the darkness | 8 | ··˘/··/˘ |
| I can there perceive some person. | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| DEMON [aside]. For the many persecutions | 11 | /˘˘/··/·˘/˘ |
| O'er Justina's head impending, | 8 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Her pure honour to defame | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Thus I make a bold commencement. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| LELIUS [aside]. But, O woe! what's this I witness!-- | 12 | ··˘/······/˘ |
| FLORUS [aside]. What do I see! Oh, wretched! wretched!-- | 13 | ··˘/·····/˘/˘ |
| LELIUS [aside]. From the balcony to the ground | 11 | ··˘/··/˘··· |
| The dark figure has descended. | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| FLORUS [aside]. From her house a man comes forth!-- | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| Jealousy kill me not, preserve me, | 8 | /˘···˘/· |
| 'Till I discover who he is. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| LELIUS [aside]. I will try to intercept him | 12 | ··˘/·····˘/· |
| And find out at once who thus | 7 | ······· |
| Tastes the bliss I've lost for ever. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| DEMON [aside]. Not alone Justina's fame | 11 | /˘˘/·˘/˘/˘· |
| Do I by this act discredit, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| But dissensions, perhaps murders, | 8 | ·˘/˘˘//˘ |
| Thus provoke. Ope, earth's dark centre, | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| And receive me, leaving here | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| This confusion | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
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.