Act the Third: Scene VI
DEMON. Come, and I will tell thee where.
JUSTINA. Who art thou who has procuredEntrance to this lone retreat,Though the entrance is secured?Or, my senses being obscured,Art thou but delusion's cheat?
DEMON. No, not so; but having knownHow this passion pressed thee so,I have sought thee here alone,Having promised thee to showWhither Cyprian has flown.
JUSTINA. Then thou'lt reach not thy intent;For this passion, this strange pain,Which my thought doth so torment,Though my fancy it may gain,It will never my consent.
DEMON. But in thought to enter inShows that half the deed is done;Since accomplished is the sin:--Stop not halfway, ere is wonWhat the wish desired to win.
JUSTINA. Even in this desponding hour,Though to think may taint the flower,Thy suggestion comes to nought,--In my power is not my thoughtBut my act is in my power.I can follow to the brink,Free to pause or to pursue,Move my foot, or backward shrink,For it is one thing to do,And another thing to think.
DEMON. If a stronger power than thine,Drawn from a profounder source,With thine own desires combine,How resist the double forceWhich with force thy steps incline?
JUSTINA. I will trust a safer spell:--My free will suffices me.
DEMON. But my power will it excel.
JUSTINA. Then the will no more were freeIf a force could it compel.
DEMON. Come where every bliss thou'lt meet.
JUSTINA. Ah! the bliss were bought too dear.
DEMON. It is peace, serene and sweet.
JUSTINA. 'Tis a slavery most severe.
DEMON. Life, 'tis joy.
JUSTINA. 'Tis death, deceit.
DEMON. Thy defence, what can it be,If my power thus forces thee?
JUSTINA. In my God it doth consist.
DEMON. By persisting to resist,Woman, thou has conquered me.Thy defence to God is due,And my counsel is disdained;Yes, but raging I'll renewMy attempt and have thee feigned,If I cannot have thee true.To a spirit I will giveShape like thine though fugitive,It will counterfeit thy form,As with seeming life be warm,And in it disgraced thou'lt live.Thus two triumphs at one timeI am sure to win by this,Be thy virtue so sublime,Since through an ideal blissI will consummate a crime.
Words in this poem
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- cyprian a.
- Belonging to Cyprus.
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- persisting a.
- Inclined to persist; tenacious of purpose; persistent.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: Scene VI 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 VI, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-third-scene-vi.html, id L26637.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene VI is 67 lines in 19 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
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.
- 2 ABAAB procuredA · retreatB · securedA · obscuredA · cheatB
- 3 CDCDC knownC · soD · aloneC · showD · flownC
- 4 EFEFE intentE · painF · tormentE · gainF · consentE
- 5 GHGHG inG · doneH · sinG · wonH · winG
- 6 IIJJIKLKLK hourI · flowerI · noughtJ · thoughtJ · powerI · brinkK · pursueL · shrinkK · doL · thinkK
- 7 MN-NM thineM · sourceN · combine · forceN · inclineM
- 8 OP spellO · meP
- 9 O excelO
- 10 PO freeP · compelO
- 11 Q meetQ
- 12 R dearR
- 13 Q sweetQ
- 14 R severeR
- 16 Q deceitQ
- 17 SS beS · theeS
- 18 T consistT
- 19 TSUVUVU--WW-XYXYX resistT · meS · dueU · disdainedV · renewU · feignedV · trueU · give · fugitive · formW · warmW · live · timeX · thisY · sublimeX · blissY · crimeX
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEMON. Come, and I will tell thee where. | 9 | /˘······· |
| JUSTINA. Who art thou who has procured | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| Entrance to this lone retreat, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Though the entrance is secured? | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Or, my senses being obscured, | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘/ |
| Art thou but delusion's cheat? | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| DEMON. No, not so; but having known | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| How this passion pressed thee so, | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| I have sought thee here alone, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Having promised thee to show | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| Whither Cyprian has flown. | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| JUSTINA. Then thou'lt reach not thy intent; | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| For this passion, this strange pain, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Which my thought doth so torment, | 7 | ·····/· |
| Though my fancy it may gain, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| It will never my consent. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| DEMON. But in thought to enter in | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Shows that half the deed is done; | 7 | ······· |
| Since accomplished is the sin:-- | 8 | ·˘/˘˘··· |
| Stop not halfway, ere is won | 7 | ··//··· |
| What the wish desired to win. | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| JUSTINA. Even in this desponding hour, | 10 | ˘/˘/·····/ |
| Though to think may taint the flower, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Thy suggestion comes to nought,-- | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| In my power is not my thought | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| But my act is in my power. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I can follow to the brink, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Free to pause or to pursue, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Move my foot, or backward shrink, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| For it is one thing to do, | 7 | ······· |
| And another thing to think. | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| DEMON. If a stronger power than thine, | 9 | /˘··/˘/·· |
| Drawn from a profounder source, | 7 | ······· |
| With thine own desires combine, | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| How resist the double force | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Which with force thy steps incline? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| JUSTINA. I will trust a safer spell:-- | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| My free will suffices me. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| DEMON. But my power will it excel. | 9 | /˘··/··˘/ |
| JUSTINA. Then the will no more were free | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| If a force could it compel. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| DEMON. Come where every bliss thou'lt meet. | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| JUSTINA. Ah! the bliss were bought too dear. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| DEMON. It is peace, serene and sweet. | 9 | /˘···˘/·· |
| JUSTINA. 'Tis a slavery most severe. | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| DEMON. Life, 'tis joy. | 5 | /˘··· |
| JUSTINA. 'Tis death, deceit. | 7 | ˘/˘··˘/ |
| DEMON. Thy defence, what can it be, | 9 | /˘·˘/···· |
| If my power thus forces thee? | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| JUSTINA. In my God it doth consist. | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| DEMON. By persisting to resist, | 9 | /˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Woman, thou has conquered me. | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Thy defence to God is due, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And my counsel is disdained; | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Yes, but raging I'll renew | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| My attempt and have thee feigned, | 8 | ·˘/····˘ |
| If I cannot have thee true. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To a spirit I will give | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Shape like thine though fugitive, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| It will counterfeit thy form, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| As with seeming life be warm, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And in it disgraced thou'lt live. | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Thus two triumphs at one time | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I am sure to win by this, | 7 | ······· |
| Be thy virtue so sublime, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Since through an ideal bliss | 6 | ···˘/· |
| I will consummate a crime. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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.