Act the Second: Scene XII
LYSANDER. My Justina.
JUSTINA [aside]. Woe is me!Ah, if here before LysanderLelius from that room comes forth!
LYSANDER. My misfortunes, my disastersFly to be consoled by thee.
JUSTINA. What can be the grief, the sadness,That your face betrays so plainly?
LYSANDER. And no wonder, when the pallorSprings even from the heart. This sobbingStops my weak words in their passage.
LELIUS [aside]. I begin now to believe,Since he is not in this chamber,Jealousy can cause these spectres.He, the man I saw, has vanished,How I know not.
JUSTINA [aside to Lelius]. Come not forth,Lelius, here before my father.
LELIUS. Convalescent in my sicknessI will wait till he is absent.
JUSTINA. Why this weeping? why this sighing?What, sir, moves thee, what unmans thee?
LYSANDER. I am moved by a misfortune,I'm unmanned by a disaster,Greater far than tender pityEver wept,--the dread exampleCruelty has sworn to makeIn the innocent blood of martyrs.To the Governor of this cityDecius Caesar a strict mandateHas despatched... I can speak no more.
JUSTINA [aside]. What position e'er was harder?Moved with pity for the ChristiansHither comes to me LysanderThe sad news to tell, not knowingLelius to his words may hearken,--Lelius, the Governor's son.
LYSANDER. So Justina...
JUSTINA. Sir, no farther,Since you feel it so acutely,Speak upon this painful matter.
LYSANDER. Let me, for I'll feel some solaceWhen to thee it is imparted.In it he commands...
JUSTINA. Proceed notFurther now, when you should ratherCheat your years with more repose.
LYSANDER. How? when I, to make you partnerIn those lively fears whose bodingsAre sufficient to despatch me,Would inform you of the edict,The most cruel that the marginOf the Tiber ever sawWrit in blood to stain its waters,Do you stop me? Ah, Justina,You were wont in another mannerOnce to listen to me.
JUSTINA. Sir,Different were the circumstances.
LELIUS [at the door, aside]. I can hear but indistinctlyHalf-formed words and broken accents.
Words in this poem
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- pallor n.
- Paleness; want of color; pallidity; as, pallor of the complexion. Jer. Taylor. [L., fr. pallere to be or look pale. See Pale, a.]
- sobbing n.
- A series of short, convulsive inspirations, the glottis being suddenly closed so that little or no air enters into the lungs.
- convalescent a.
- Recovering from siclness or debility; partially restored to health or strength. [L. convalescens, -entis, p.pr.: cf. F. convalescent.]
- unmanned a.
- Etym: [Properly p. p. of unman.]
- disaster n.
- An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
- acutely adv.
- In an acute manner; sharply; keenly; with nice discrimination.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: 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 Second: Scene XII, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-second-scene-xii.html, id L26625.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene XII is 61 lines in 18 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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.
- 10 --A---A-- misfortune · disaster · pityA · example · make · martyrs · cityA · mandate · more
- 16 --A------A partner · bodings · meA · edict · margin · saw · waters · justina · manner · meA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LYSANDER. My Justina. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| JUSTINA [aside]. Woe is me! | 8 | ˘/˘˘/··· |
| Ah, if here before Lysander | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lelius from that room comes forth! | 7 | ······· |
| LYSANDER. My misfortunes, my disasters | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Fly to be consoled by thee. | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| JUSTINA. What can be the grief, the sadness, | 11 | ˘/˘······/˘ |
| That your face betrays so plainly? | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| LYSANDER. And no wonder, when the pallor | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Springs even from the heart. This sobbing | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Stops my weak words in their passage. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| LELIUS [aside]. I begin now to believe, | 11 | ··˘/·˘/··˘/ |
| Since he is not in this chamber, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Jealousy can cause these spectres. | 8 | /˘˘···/˘ |
| He, the man I saw, has vanished, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| How I know not. | 4 | ···· |
| JUSTINA [aside to Lelius]. Come not forth, | 11 | ˘/˘˘/······ |
| Lelius, here before my father. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| LELIUS. Convalescent in my sickness | 10 | ···˘/˘··/˘ |
| I will wait till he is absent. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| JUSTINA. Why this weeping? why this sighing? | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| What, sir, moves thee, what unmans thee? | 8 | ········ |
| LYSANDER. I am moved by a misfortune, | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| I'm unmanned by a disaster, | 8 | ·˘/··˘/˘ |
| Greater far than tender pity | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Ever wept,--the dread example | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Cruelty has sworn to make | 6 | /˘···· |
| In the innocent blood of martyrs. | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| To the Governor of this city | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| Decius Caesar a strict mandate | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| Has despatched... I can speak no more. | 8 | ········ |
| JUSTINA [aside]. What position e'er was harder? | 13 | ˘/˘˘/·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Moved with pity for the Christians | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Hither comes to me Lysander | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| The sad news to tell, not knowing | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lelius to his words may hearken,-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lelius, the Governor's son. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| LYSANDER. So Justina... | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| JUSTINA. Sir, no farther, | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| Since you feel it so acutely, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Speak upon this painful matter. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| LYSANDER. Let me, for I'll feel some solace | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| When to thee it is imparted. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| In it he commands... | 5 | ···˘/ |
| JUSTINA. Proceed not | 6 | ˘/˘˘/· |
| Further now, when you should rather | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Cheat your years with more repose. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| LYSANDER. How? when I, to make you partner | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| In those lively fears whose bodings | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Are sufficient to despatch me, | 8 | ·˘/˘·˘/· |
| Would inform you of the edict, | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| The most cruel that the margin | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Of the Tiber ever saw | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Writ in blood to stain its waters, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Do you stop me? Ah, Justina, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| You were wont in another manner | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Once to listen to me. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| JUSTINA. Sir, | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| Different were the circumstances. | 9 | /˘˘··/˘·˘ |
| LELIUS [at the door, aside]. I can hear but indistinctly | 15 | ·····˘/········ |
| Half-formed words and broken accents. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
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