Act the Third: Scene III
CLARIN. Ungrateful fair, who still my heart doth hold,Not burning Libya sure, but Livia cold,The time is come to showWhether in love you have been true or no,Whether, since I within this cave was placed,Not chased by me you have yourself been chaste;For I have studied hereAt second hand some magic for a year,Just to find out (alack! I can't but wince)Whether with Moscon you have wronged me since:--Ye watery skies (some people call them pure)List to my conjurations I conjure,Mountains....
DEMON. How, Clarin?
CLARIN. Oh! my master wise!By the concomitance of my hands and eyes,I've learned some magic, and would know by itIf Livia, that ungrateful little chit,Has played me false since I have been away,Embracing that rogue Moscon on my day.
DEMON. Have done with these buffooneries: leave me, go.And 'mid these intricate rocks whose paths you know,Assist your master, who will let you see(If you would witness such a prodigy)The end of all his woe.I wish to be alone.
CLARIN. And I not so.I now perceiveWhy to use magic I have not your leave,The fault was mine, neglecting to attestMy bond, and sign it with the blood of my breast.--Upon this linen handkerchief(None cleaner he can have who cries for grief)I'll sign it now, the method I proposeIs but to give myself a box on the nose,For there is little harmWhether the blood is drawn from nose or arm.
I, the great Clarin, say, if I can levelPert Livia's cruel pride, whom I give to the devil....
DEMON. Leave me, I say again,Go seek your master and with him remain.
CLARIN. Yes, I will do so, don't get angry though.The reason you reject my bond I know:'Tis this, because you see,Do what I will that you are sure of me.
Words in this poem
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- alack interj.
- An exclamation expressive of sorrow. [Prob. from ah! lack! OE. lak loss, failure, misfortune. See Lack.]
- conjure v. t.
- To call on or summon by a sacred name or in solemn manner; to implore earnestly; to adjure. [F. conjurer, fr. L. conjurare to swear together, to conspire; con- + jurare to swear. See Jury.]
- concomitance n.
- The state of accompanying; accompaniment. [Cf. F. concomitance, fr. LL. concomitantia.]
- chit n.
- The embryo or the growing bud of a plant; a shoot; a sprout; as, the chits of Indian corn or of potatoes. [Cf. AS. ci shoot, sprig, from the same root as cinan to yawn. See Chink a cleft.]
- prodigy n.
- Something extraordinary, or out of the usual course of nature, from which omens are drawn; a portent; as, eclipses and meteors were anciently deemed prodigies. [L. prodigium; pro before + (perh.) a word appearing in adagium adage: cf. F. prodige. Cf. Adage.]
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
- cleaner n.
- One who, or that which, cleans.
- propose v. i.
- To speak; to converse.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: Scene III 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 III, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-third-scene-iii.html, id L26634.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene III is 45 lines in 8 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% 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.
- 1 AABBCCDDEE--- holdA · coldA · showB · noB · placedC · chasteC · hereD · yearD · winceE · sinceE · pure · conjure · mountains
- 3 AABBCC wiseA · eyesA · itB · chitB · awayC · dayC
- 4 AA--A- goA · knowA · see · prodigy · woeA · alone
- 5 -AABBCCDDEE so · perceiveA · leaveA · attestB · breastB · handkerchiefC · griefC · proposeD · noseD · harmE · armE
- 6 AA levelA · devilA
- 7 AA againA · remainA
- 8 AABB thoughA · knowA · seeB · meB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CLARIN. Ungrateful fair, who still my heart doth hold, | 12 | ··˘/˘······· |
| Not burning Libya sure, but Livia cold, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The time is come to show | 6 | ······ |
| Whether in love you have been true or no, | 10 | ·········· |
| Whether, since I within this cave was placed, | 10 | ·········· |
| Not chased by me you have yourself been chaste; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| For I have studied here | 6 | ···/˘· |
| At second hand some magic for a year, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Just to find out (alack! I can't but wince) | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Whether with Moscon you have wronged me since:-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Ye watery skies (some people call them pure) | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| List to my conjurations I conjure, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Mountains.... | 2 | /˘ |
| DEMON. How, Clarin? | 5 | /˘··· |
| CLARIN. Oh! my master wise! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| By the concomitance of my hands and eyes, | 11 | ··········· |
| I've learned some magic, and would know by it | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If Livia, that ungrateful little chit, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Has played me false since I have been away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Embracing that rogue Moscon on my day. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| DEMON. Have done with these buffooneries: leave me, go. | 12 | /˘·········· |
| And 'mid these intricate rocks whose paths you know, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Assist your master, who will let you see | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| (If you would witness such a prodigy) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| The end of all his woe. | 6 | ······ |
| I wish to be alone. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| CLARIN. And I not so. | 6 | ······ |
| I now perceive | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Why to use magic I have not your leave, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The fault was mine, neglecting to attest | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| My bond, and sign it with the blood of my breast.-- | 11 | ··········· |
| Upon this linen handkerchief | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| (None cleaner he can have who cries for grief) | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I'll sign it now, the method I propose | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Is but to give myself a box on the nose, | 11 | ·····/····· |
| For there is little harm | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whether the blood is drawn from nose or arm. | 10 | ·········· |
| I, the great Clarin, say, if I can level | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Pert Livia's cruel pride, whom I give to the devil.... | 11 | ·/˘/······/ |
| DEMON. Leave me, I say again, | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| Go seek your master and with him remain. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| CLARIN. Yes, I will do so, don't get angry though. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| The reason you reject my bond I know: | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| 'Tis this, because you see, | 6 | ······ |
| Do what I will that you are sure of me. | 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.