Act the Second: Scene XVI
JUSTINA. Unhappy me!
GOVERNOR. What is this? But empty scabbards,Naked swords, are quite sufficientTo inform me what has happened.
JUSTINA. What misfortune!
LYSANDER. What affliction!--
LELIUS. Ah, my lord...
GOVERNOR. Enough, no farther.Lelius, thou a son of mine,A disturber? Thou a scandalTo all Antioch through my favour?
LELIUS. Think, my lord...
GOVERNOR. Arrest, disarm them,Take them hence. Make no distinctionOn account of blood or rank here.Let them suffer both alike,Since in guilt alike they acted.
LELIUS [aside]. I came jealous, and go outraged.
FLORUS [aside]. To my pains new pains are added.
GOVERNOR. In distinct and separate prisons,And with watchful eyes to guard them,Place the two.--And you, Lysander,Is it possible you have tarnishedSuch a noble reputation,Suffering....
LYSANDER. No; let not these dazzlingFalse appearances mislead you,For Justina in what happenedWas quite blameless.
GOVERNOR. In her house here,Would you have her live regardlessOf the fact that they were young,And that she was fair; My angerI restrain, lest people say,I, an interested party,Sentence passed as partial judge.--But of you who caused this quarrel,Now that maiden shame has left you,Well I know that you will glad meWith the occasion I desire,Of exposing, of unmasking,In the light of actual vices,The false virtuous part you've acted.
Words in this poem
- disturber n.
- One who, or that which, disturbs of disquiets; a violator of peace; a troubler. [Cf. OF. destorbeor.]
- 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.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- disarm v. t.
- To deprive of arms; to take away the weapons of; to deprive of the means of attack or defense; to render defenseless. [OE. desarmen, F. désarmer; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + armer to arm. See Arm.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene XVI 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 XVI, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-second-scene-xvi.html, id L26629.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene XVI is 43 lines in 13 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JUSTINA. Unhappy me! | 7 | ˘/˘˘/˘· |
| GOVERNOR. What is this? But empty scabbards, | 10 | /˘····/˘/˘ |
| Naked swords, are quite sufficient | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| To inform me what has happened. | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| JUSTINA. What misfortune! | 7 | ˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| LYSANDER. What affliction!-- | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| LELIUS. Ah, my lord... | 5 | ····· |
| GOVERNOR. Enough, no farther. | 8 | /˘˘˘/·/˘ |
| Lelius, thou a son of mine, | 7 | ······· |
| A disturber? Thou a scandal | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| To all Antioch through my favour? | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| LELIUS. Think, my lord... | 5 | ····· |
| GOVERNOR. Arrest, disarm them, | 8 | /˘˘˘/˘/· |
| Take them hence. Make no distinction | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| On account of blood or rank here. | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| Let them suffer both alike, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Since in guilt alike they acted. | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| LELIUS [aside]. I came jealous, and go outraged. | 12 | ··˘/··/˘··/· |
| FLORUS [aside]. To my pains new pains are added. | 12 | ··˘/······/˘ |
| GOVERNOR. In distinct and separate prisons, | 11 | /˘·˘/·/˘·/˘ |
| And with watchful eyes to guard them, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Place the two.--And you, Lysander, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Is it possible you have tarnished | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| Such a noble reputation, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Suffering.... | 3 | /˘˘ |
| LYSANDER. No; let not these dazzling | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| False appearances mislead you, | 8 | ·˘/˘˘˘/· |
| For Justina in what happened | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Was quite blameless. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| GOVERNOR. In her house here, | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| Would you have her live regardless | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Of the fact that they were young, | 7 | ······· |
| And that she was fair; My anger | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I restrain, lest people say, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| I, an interested party, | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| Sentence passed as partial judge.-- | 8 | /˘·˘·/˘· |
| But of you who caused this quarrel, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Now that maiden shame has left you, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Well I know that you will glad me | 8 | ········ |
| With the occasion I desire, | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Of exposing, of unmasking, | 8 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| In the light of actual vices, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| The false virtuous part you've acted. | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
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