Act the Third: Scene II
DEMON. Cyprian!
CYPRIAN. Wise friend and master still!
DEMON. Why, how is this, that using your free-willMore than my precept meant,Say for what end, what object, what intent,Through ignorance or boldness can it be,You thus come forth the sun's bright face to see?
CYPRIAN. Seeing that now my spellCan fill with fear, with horror even hell,Since I, with so much careHave studied magic and its depths laid bare,So that yourself can scarcely tellWhether 'tis I or you that most excel,Seeing that now there is no place or partThat I with study, diligence and art,have not attained,Since necromancy's secret I have gained,That art whose lines of gloomCan ope to me the dark funereal tomb,And bring before mine eyesEach corpse that in it lies,Regaining them, as 'twere by a new birthFrom the hard avarice of the grasping earth.The pale ghosts, one and all,Rise and respond my call;--And seeing that at length the sunMy goal of life had won,Since from its innate forceSwift-speeding on its course,Climbing the heavens each day,It turns as 'twere reluctantly away,And with a natural fearCompletes to-day the lifetime of a year,I wish to attain the scopeTo last of all my dreams, of all my hope.To-day the rare, the beautiful, the divineJustina will be mine,Here summoned by my charms,Here lured by love she'll come unto my arms,For you from me no longer can requirePostponement of my hope's, my heart's desire.
DEMON. Nor do I wish to do it, no,Since thus so earnestly you wish it so.Now trace upon the groundMute mystic symbols, and the deep profoundOf air, with powerful incantations moveObedient to your hope and to your love.
CYPRIAN. For that I will retire;You soon shall see the heaven and earth admire.
DEMON. I give you leave to go,Because our science being the same, I knowThat the abyss of hellObedient to your spellWill yield through me, this way,The fair Justina to your arms to-day:For, though my mighty powerCannot enslave free-will even for an hour,It may presentThe outward show of rapture and content,Suggesting thoughts impure:--If force I cannot use, at least I lure.
Words in this poem
- cyprian a.
- Belonging to Cyprus.
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- reluctantly adv.
- In a reluctant manner.
- lifetime n.
- The time that life continues.
- 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,]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: Scene II 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 Third: Scene II, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-third-scene-ii.html, id L26633.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene II is 61 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 95% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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.
- 3 -AABB will · meantA · intentA · beB · seeB
- 4 AABBAACCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPP spellA · hellA · careB · bareB · tellA · excelA · partC · artC · attainedD · gainedD · gloomE · tombE · eyesF · liesF · birthG · earthG · allH · callH · sunI · wonI · forceJ · courseJ · dayK · awayK · fearL · yearL · scopeM · hopeM · divineN · mineN · charmsO · armsO · requireP · desireP
- 5 AABBCC noA · soA · groundB · profoundB · moveC · loveC
- 6 AA retireA · admireA
- 7 AABBCCDDEEFF goA · knowA · hellB · spellB · wayC · dayC · powerD · hourD · presentE · contentE · impureF · lureF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEMON. Cyprian! | 5 | /˘/˘˘ |
| CYPRIAN. Wise friend and master still! | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| DEMON. Why, how is this, that using your free-will | 12 | /˘·····/˘··· |
| More than my precept meant, | 6 | ···/·· |
| Say for what end, what object, what intent, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Through ignorance or boldness can it be, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| You thus come forth the sun's bright face to see? | 10 | ·········· |
| CYPRIAN. Seeing that now my spell | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| Can fill with fear, with horror even hell, | 9 | ·····/˘/· |
| Since I, with so much care | 6 | ······ |
| Have studied magic and its depths laid bare, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| So that yourself can scarcely tell | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Whether 'tis I or you that most excel, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Seeing that now there is no place or part | 9 | /········ |
| That I with study, diligence and art, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| have not attained, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Since necromancy's secret I have gained, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| That art whose lines of gloom | 6 | ······ |
| Can ope to me the dark funereal tomb, | 11 | ······˘/˘˘· |
| And bring before mine eyes | 6 | ······ |
| Each corpse that in it lies, | 6 | ······ |
| Regaining them, as 'twere by a new birth | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| From the hard avarice of the grasping earth. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The pale ghosts, one and all, | 6 | ······ |
| Rise and respond my call;-- | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And seeing that at length the sun | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My goal of life had won, | 6 | ······ |
| Since from its innate force | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Swift-speeding on its course, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Climbing the heavens each day, | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| It turns as 'twere reluctantly away, | 9 | ····˘/˘˘/ |
| And with a natural fear | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Completes to-day the lifetime of a year, | 10 | ˘/···/···· |
| I wish to attain the scope | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| To last of all my dreams, of all my hope. | 10 | ·········· |
| To-day the rare, the beautiful, the divine | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Justina will be mine, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Here summoned by my charms, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Here lured by love she'll come unto my arms, | 10 | ·········· |
| For you from me no longer can require | 10 | ·····/˘··/ |
| Postponement of my hope's, my heart's desire. | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| DEMON. Nor do I wish to do it, no, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Since thus so earnestly you wish it so. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Now trace upon the ground | 6 | ······ |
| Mute mystic symbols, and the deep profound | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Of air, with powerful incantations move | 10 | ···/˘˘//˘· |
| Obedient to your hope and to your love. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| CYPRIAN. For that I will retire; | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| You soon shall see the heaven and earth admire. | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| DEMON. I give you leave to go, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Because our science being the same, I know | 10 | ··//˘/···· |
| That the abyss of hell | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Obedient to your spell | 7 | ˘/˘˘··· |
| Will yield through me, this way, | 6 | ······ |
| The fair Justina to your arms to-day: | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| For, though my mighty power | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Cannot enslave free-will even for an hour, | 10 | ˘/˘/··/··/ |
| It may present | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The outward show of rapture and content, | 9 | ·/··/˘·˘/ |
| Suggesting thoughts impure:-- | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| If force I cannot use, at least I lure. | 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.