Act the Third: Scene XXVII
LIVIA. Sure the house is tumbling down.
MOSCON. How terrific! what a tempest!
GOVERNOR. Doubtless in disastrous ruinTopple down the walls of heaven
FABIUS. Scarcely on the public scaffoldHad the headsman's hand disseveredCyprian and Justina's necks,When the earth, even to its centre,Seemed to tremble.
LELIUS. And a cloud,From whose burning womb extendedThe wild lightnings, the loud thunders,Awful embryos were projected,Fell upon us.
FLORUS. From which issuedA most horrid, most repellingShape, who on the scaly shellsOf a mailed and mighty serpent,O'er the scaffold made a signMotioning silence and attention.
DEMON. Hear, O mortals, hear what I,By the orders of high Heaven,For Justina's exculpation,Must declare to all here present.I it was, who to dishonourHer pure fame, in form dissembledFor the purpose, scaled her house,And her very chamber entered.And in order that her fameShould not by that fraud be lessened,I come here her injured honourTo exhibit pure and perfect.Cyprian, who with her liethOn a happy bier at rest there,Was my slave. But he effacing,With the blood his neck outsheddeth,The red signature, the linenIs now spotless and unblemished.And the two, in spite of me,Having to the spheres ascendedOf the sacred throne of God,Live there in a world far better.--This, then, is the truth, which ITell, because God makes me tell it,Much against my will, my practiceNot being great as a truth-teller.
LIVIA. Oh! what horror!
FLORUS. What confusion!
LIVIA. What a prodigy!
MOSCON. What terror!
GOVERNOR. These are all but the enchantmentsWhich this sorcerer effectedAt his death.
FLORUS. I am in doubtTo believe them or reject them.
LELIUS. The mere thought of them confounds me.
CLARIN. If magician, it is certain,As I hold, he must have beenThe magician then of heaven.
MOSCON. Leaving our partitioned loveIn a rather odd dilemma,For "The Wonderful Magician"Ask the pardon of its errors.
Words in this poem 16
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- disastrous a.
- Full of unpropitious stellar influences; unpropitious; ill-boding. [Cf. F. désastreux. See Disaster.]
- topple v. i.
- To fall forward; to pitch or tumble down. [From Top summit.]
- cyprian a.
- Belonging to Cyprus.
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- mailed a.
- Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
- exculpation n.
- The act of exculpating from alleged fault or crime; that which exculpates; excuse. [Cf. LL. exculpatio.]
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
- scaled a.
- Covered with scales, or scalelike structures; -- said of a fish, a reptile, a moth, etc.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- unblemished a.
- Not blemished; pure; spotless; as, an unblemished reputation or life.
- 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.]
- dilemma n.
- An argument which presents an antagonist with two or more alternatives, but is equally conclusive against him, whichever alternative he chooses. [L. dilemma, Gr. Lemma.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: Scene XXVII 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 XXVII, in The Wonder-Working Magician (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6372, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-magico-prodigioso/act-the-third-scene-xxvii.html, id L26658.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene XXVII is 63 lines in 16 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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.
- 5 AA-A- cloudA · extendedA · thunders · projectedA · us
- 6 ----AA issued · repelling · shells · serpent · signA · attentionA
- 7 A---B-----B-------ACC-A--- iA · heaven · exculpation · present · dishonourB · dissembled · house · entered · fame · lessened · honourB · perfect · lieth · there · effacing · outsheddeth · linen · unblemished · meA · ascendedC · godC · better · iA · it · practice · teller
- 15 AAA certainA · beenA · heavenA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LIVIA. Sure the house is tumbling down. | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| MOSCON. How terrific! what a tempest! | 10 | ···˘/˘··/˘ |
| GOVERNOR. Doubtless in disastrous ruin | 9 | /˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Topple down the walls of heaven | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| FABIUS. Scarcely on the public scaffold | 10 | ··/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Had the headsman's hand dissevered | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Cyprian and Justina's necks, | 8 | /˘˘·˘/˘· |
| When the earth, even to its centre, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Seemed to tremble. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| LELIUS. And a cloud, | 5 | ····· |
| From whose burning womb extended | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| The wild lightnings, the loud thunders, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Awful embryos were projected, | 9 | /˘/˘··˘/˘ |
| Fell upon us. | 4 | ···· |
| FLORUS. From which issued | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| A most horrid, most repelling | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Shape, who on the scaly shells | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of a mailed and mighty serpent, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| O'er the scaffold made a sign | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Motioning silence and attention. | 9 | /˘˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| DEMON. Hear, O mortals, hear what I, | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| By the orders of high Heaven, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| For Justina's exculpation, | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| Must declare to all here present. | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| I it was, who to dishonour | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Her pure fame, in form dissembled | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| For the purpose, scaled her house, | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| And her very chamber entered. | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| And in order that her fame | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Should not by that fraud be lessened, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I come here her injured honour | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| To exhibit pure and perfect. | 8 | ·˘/˘··/· |
| Cyprian, who with her lieth | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| On a happy bier at rest there, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Was my slave. But he effacing, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| With the blood his neck outsheddeth, | 8 | ········ |
| The red signature, the linen | 8 | ··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Is now spotless and unblemished. | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| And the two, in spite of me, | 7 | ······· |
| Having to the spheres ascended | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Of the sacred throne of God, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Live there in a world far better.-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| This, then, is the truth, which I | 7 | ······· |
| Tell, because God makes me tell it, | 8 | ········ |
| Much against my will, my practice | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Not being great as a truth-teller. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| LIVIA. Oh! what horror! | 7 | /˘˘··/˘ |
| FLORUS. What confusion! | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| LIVIA. What a prodigy! | 8 | /˘˘··/˘˘ |
| MOSCON. What terror! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| GOVERNOR. These are all but the enchantments | 10 | /˘·····˘/˘ |
| Which this sorcerer effected | 8 | ··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| At his death. | 3 | ··· |
| FLORUS. I am in doubt | 6 | ······ |
| To believe them or reject them. | 8 | ·˘/··˘/· |
| LELIUS. The mere thought of them confounds me. | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| CLARIN. If magician, it is certain, | 10 | ···˘/˘··/˘ |
| As I hold, he must have been | 7 | ······· |
| The magician then of heaven. | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| MOSCON. Leaving our partitioned love | 9 | ··/˘/˘/˘· |
| In a rather odd dilemma, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| For "The Wonderful Magician" | 8 | ··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Ask the pardon of its errors. | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
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