Act the First: Scene VI
PAUL [aside]. As he's gone, I'll louder speak.--This time, Lucy mine, I've caught you,So a present I have brought you:See this window-bar, 'twill wreakMy revenge.
LUCY. Oh, how malicious!Bless me, grumbler, what grimaces!
PAUL. Then to witness two embracesDoes not look at all suspicious?--Was it malice, then, in me,Not plain seeing?
LUCY. Malice merely:For a husband, how so nearlyHe may pry, should never seeMore than half his wife doth do.
PAUL. Well, with that I'm quite content,To that condition I assent,And since twice embraced by youHas that rascal soldier been,Whom the sea spewed out in spite,I will juggle with my sight,And pretend but once to have seen;And as I for two embracesMeant to give a hundred blows,I but fifty now proposeFor one half of my disgraces.I have totted up the score;You yourself the sentence gave;Yes, by God I swear, you'll haveFifty strokes and not one more.
LUCY. I've admitted far too much.For a husband it would beQuite preposterous; he should seeBut the quarter.
PAUL. Even as suchI acknowledge the appeal.Patience, and your back prepare,For the now admitted share,Five-and-twenty blows you'll feel.
LUCY. No, not so; you're still astray.
PAUL. Then say what?
LUCY. Between us two,You're to trust not what you view,But what I am pleased to say.
PAUL. Better far, I think, 'twould be,Daughter of the devil, that youHeld the stick and used it too,With it well belabouring me;Is't agreed what I propose?Yes; then let us both change places.Give to him the two embraces,And to me the hundred blows.
PHILIP [aside]. Has the peasant gone, I wonder?
PAUL. At the nick of time you're here,So, Sir Soldier, lend an ear.Obligation I am underFor the favours you have meantTo bestow so liberallyOn my cot, my wife, and me;And although I'm well contentWith you, yet as you're progressingDay by day and getting stronger,It is best you stay no longer.Take the road, then, with God's blessing,Leave my house, for it would beSad in it to raise my hand,Leaving you dead flesh on landWho wert living fish at sea.
PHILIP. The suspicion that you showIs quite groundless, do not doubt it.
PAUL. Zounds! with reason or without it,Am I married, sir, or no?
Words in this poem
- wreak v. i.
- To reck; to care.
- grumbler n.
- One who grumbles.
- juggle v. i.
- To play tricks by sleight of hand; to cause amusement and sport by tricks of skill; to conjure. [OE. juglen; cf. OF. jogler, jugler, F. jongler. See Juggler.]
- propose v. i.
- To speak; to converse.
- preposterous a.
- Having that first which ought to be last; inverted in order. [L. praeposterus; prae before + posterus coming after, latter. See Posterior.]
- nick n.
- A notch cut into something; as: (a) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning. [Akin to Nock.]
- liberally adv.
- In a liberal manner.
- groundless a.
- Without ground or foundation; wanting cause or reason for support; not authorized; false; as, groundless fear; a groundless report or assertion. [AS. grundleás bottomless.]
- zounds interj.
- An exclamation formerly used as an oath, and an expression of anger or wonder. [Contracted from God's wounds.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the First: Scene VI is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Purgatory of St. Patrick, Project Gutenberg ebook #6371, 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 First: Scene VI, in The Purgatory of St. Patrick (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6371, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-purgatorio-san-patricio/act-the-first-scene-vi.html, id L26664.
Form and metre
Act the First: Scene VI is 72 lines in 15 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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.
- 1 A--A- speakA · you · you · wreakA · revenge
- 2 B- maliciousB · grimaces
- 3 -BC- embraces · suspiciousB · meC · seeing
- 4 DDCE merelyD · nearlyD · seeC · doE
- 5 --E-FF-GHHGI--I content · assent · youE · been · spiteF · sightF · seen · embracesG · blowsH · proposeH · disgracesG · scoreI · gave · have · moreI
- 6 JKK- muchJ · beK · seeK · quarter
- 7 JLMML suchJ · appealL · prepareM · shareM · feelL
- 8 N astrayN
- 10 OON twoO · viewO · sayN
- 11 POOPQ--Q beP · youO · tooO · meP · proposeQ · places · embraces · blowsQ
- 12 R wonderR
- 13 SSR--T-U--UTVVT hereS · earS · underR · meant · liberally · meT · content · progressingU · stronger · longer · blessingU · beT · handV · landV · seaT
- 14 W- showW · it
- 15 -W it · noW
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PAUL [aside]. As he's gone, I'll louder speak.-- | 9 | ·˘/····/· |
| This time, Lucy mine, I've caught you, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| So a present I have brought you: | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| See this window-bar, 'twill wreak | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| My revenge. | 3 | ·˘/ |
| LUCY. Oh, how malicious! | 7 | /˘··˘/˘ |
| Bless me, grumbler, what grimaces! | 8 | ··/˘·/˘˘ |
| PAUL. Then to witness two embraces | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Does not look at all suspicious?-- | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Was it malice, then, in me, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Not plain seeing? | 4 | ··/˘ |
| LUCY. Malice merely: | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| For a husband, how so nearly | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| He may pry, should never see | 7 | ····/˘· |
| More than half his wife doth do. | 7 | ······· |
| PAUL. Well, with that I'm quite content, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To that condition I assent, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| And since twice embraced by you | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Has that rascal soldier been, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Whom the sea spewed out in spite, | 8 | ····˘··· |
| I will juggle with my sight, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And pretend but once to have seen; | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| And as I for two embraces | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Meant to give a hundred blows, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| I but fifty now propose | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| For one half of my disgraces. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| I have totted up the score; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| You yourself the sentence gave; | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Yes, by God I swear, you'll have | 7 | ······· |
| Fifty strokes and not one more. | 7 | /˘····· |
| LUCY. I've admitted far too much. | 9 | /˘·˘/˘··· |
| For a husband it would be | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Quite preposterous; he should see | 8 | ·˘/˘˘··· |
| But the quarter. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| PAUL. Even as such | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| I acknowledge the appeal. | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Patience, and your back prepare, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| For the now admitted share, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Five-and-twenty blows you'll feel. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| LUCY. No, not so; you're still astray. | 9 | /˘·····˘/ |
| PAUL. Then say what? | 4 | ···· |
| LUCY. Between us two, | 6 | /˘···· |
| You're to trust not what you view, | 7 | ······· |
| But what I am pleased to say. | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| PAUL. Better far, I think, 'twould be, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Daughter of the devil, that you | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| Held the stick and used it too, | 7 | ······· |
| With it well belabouring me; | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| Is't agreed what I propose? | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| Yes; then let us both change places. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Give to him the two embraces, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| And to me the hundred blows. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| PHILIP [aside]. Has the peasant gone, I wonder? | 12 | /˘˘/··/˘··/˘ |
| PAUL. At the nick of time you're here, | 8 | ········ |
| So, Sir Soldier, lend an ear. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Obligation I am under | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| For the favours you have meant | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To bestow so liberally | 8 | ·˘/·/˘˘˘ |
| On my cot, my wife, and me; | 7 | ······· |
| And although I'm well content | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With you, yet as you're progressing | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Day by day and getting stronger, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| It is best you stay no longer. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Take the road, then, with God's blessing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Leave my house, for it would be | 7 | ······· |
| Sad in it to raise my hand, | 7 | ······· |
| Leaving you dead flesh on land | 7 | /˘····· |
| Who wert living fish at sea. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| PHILIP. The suspicion that you show | 9 | /˘·˘/˘··· |
| Is quite groundless, do not doubt it. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| PAUL. Zounds! with reason or without it, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Am I married, sir, or no? | 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.