Act the Second: Scene X
JUSTINA. Livia.... But a step! who's there?
JUSTINA. What novelty,What extreme temerity,Thus, my lord, compels you?...
LELIUS. SpareYour reproaches. Jealous-grown,I can bear that you reprove.Pardon me, for with my loveMy respect has also flown.
JUSTINA. Why, at such a perilous costHave you dared...
LELIUS. Because I'm mad.
JUSTINA. To intrude....
LELIUS. Heart-broken, sad.
JUSTINA. Here....
LELIUS. Because, in truth, I'm lost.
JUSTINA. Nor perceive how scandal viewsSuch an act as now you do'Gainst....
LELIUS. Be not so moved, for youLittle honour now can lose.
JUSTINA. Lelius, spare at least my fame.
LELIUS. Ah, Justina, it were bestThat this language you addressedUnto him who nightly cameDown here from this balcony;--'Tis enough for me to showAll your lightness that I know,That less coy and cold to meYour pretended honour prove.If I am disdained, displaced,'Tis another suits your taste,Not that you your honour love.
JUSTINA. Silence, cease, your words withhold.Who with insult e'er beforeDared to pass my threshold's door?Are you then so blind and bold,So audacious, so insane,As my pure light to eclipse,Through the libel of your lips,By chimeras false and vain?--In my house a man?
LELIUS. 'Tis so.
JUSTINA. From my balcony?
LELIUS. With shameI repeat it.
JUSTINA. O, my fame,O'er us twain your Aegis throw.
Words in this poem
- temerity n.
- Unreasonable contempt of danger; extreme venturesomeness; rashness; as, the temerity of a commander in war. [L. temeritas, from temere by chance, rashly; perhaps akin to Skr. tamas darkness: cf. F. témérité.]
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- 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.]
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene X 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 Second: Scene X, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-second-scene-x.html, id L26623.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene X is 48 lines in 18 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic 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 A thereA
- 3 AB--B spareA · grownB · reprove · love · flownB
- 5 C madC
- 7 C sadC
- 10 DE- viewsD · doE · gainst
- 11 ED youE · loseD
- 12 F fameF
- 13 GGF-HH--II- bestG · addressedG · cameF · balcony · showH · knowH · me · prove · displacedI · tasteI · love
- 14 JKKJLMML- withholdJ · beforeK · doorK · boldJ · insaneL · eclipseM · lipsM · vainL · man
- 15 N soN
- 17 O- shameO · it
- 18 ON fameO · throwN
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| JUSTINA. Livia.... But a step! who's there? | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| JUSTINA. What novelty, | 7 | ˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| What extreme temerity, | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Thus, my lord, compels you?... | 6 | ···˘/· |
| LELIUS. Spare | 3 | ··· |
| Your reproaches. Jealous-grown, | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| I can bear that you reprove. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Pardon me, for with my love | 7 | /˘····· |
| My respect has also flown. | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| JUSTINA. Why, at such a perilous cost | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Have you dared... | 3 | ··· |
| LELIUS. Because I'm mad. | 6 | ······ |
| JUSTINA. To intrude.... | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| LELIUS. Heart-broken, sad. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| JUSTINA. Here.... | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| LELIUS. Because, in truth, I'm lost. | 8 | ········ |
| JUSTINA. Nor perceive how scandal views | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Such an act as now you do | 7 | ······· |
| 'Gainst.... | 1 | · |
| LELIUS. Be not so moved, for you | 8 | ········ |
| Little honour now can lose. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| JUSTINA. Lelius, spare at least my fame. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| LELIUS. Ah, Justina, it were best | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| That this language you addressed | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Unto him who nightly came | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Down here from this balcony;-- | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| 'Tis enough for me to show | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| All your lightness that I know, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That less coy and cold to me | 7 | ······· |
| Your pretended honour prove. | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| If I am disdained, displaced, | 8 | ···˘/˘˘/ |
| 'Tis another suits your taste, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Not that you your honour love. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| JUSTINA. Silence, cease, your words withhold. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Who with insult e'er before | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Dared to pass my threshold's door? | 8 | ·˘···/·· |
| Are you then so blind and bold, | 7 | ······· |
| So audacious, so insane, | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| As my pure light to eclipse, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Through the libel of your lips, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| By chimeras false and vain?-- | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| In my house a man? | 5 | ····· |
| LELIUS. 'Tis so. | 4 | ···· |
| JUSTINA. From my balcony? | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| LELIUS. With shame | 4 | ···· |
| I repeat it. | 4 | ·˘/· |
| JUSTINA. O, my fame, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| O'er us twain your Aegis throw. | 7 | ····/˘· |
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