Act the Second: Scene IV
KING. I but wanted this aloneAfter what I've heard, that heWho escaped from slavery,And to distant Rome had flown,Now with purpose too well known,Has to Ireland come again,Where proclaiming the new reignOf the faith, he has enticedMany to believe in Christ,Rending all the world in twain.A magician he must be,Since condemned, so rumour saith,By some other kings to death,He though tied upon the treeIn an instant set him free,With such prodigies of wonderThat the earth (within whose wombThe dead lie as in a tomb)Trembled, the air groaned in thunder,Dark eclipse the sun lay under,Deigning not a single glanceOf his radiant countenanceTo the moon: from which I seeThat this Patrick, for 'tis he,Lords it over fate and chance;Awe-struck by the prodigy,Fearing they may punished be,Crowds attend him on his way.And 'tis said that he to-dayComes to try his spells on me.Let him come, and once for allWave in vain his conjuring rod!We shall see who is this God,Whom their God the Christians call.By my hand must Patrick fall,Were it but to see if heCan escape his destiny,Or my will subvert and master,He this Bishop, he this Pastor,He Pope's Legate, though he be.
Words in this poem
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- 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.]
- 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.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene IV 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 Second: Scene IV, in The Purgatory of St. Patrick (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6371, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-purgatorio-san-patricio/act-the-second-scene-iv.html, id L26672.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene IV is 40 lines in a single stanza. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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--AA-BCCBDEEDDFGGFFHHIIH-IJJIKLLKKM-NNM aloneA · he · slavery · flownA · knownA · again · reignB · enticedC · christC · twainB · beD · saithE · deathE · treeD · freeD · wonderF · wombG · tombG · thunderF · underF · glanceH · countenanceH · seeI · heI · chanceH · prodigy · beI · wayJ · dayJ · meI · allK · rodL · godL · callK · fallK · heM · destiny · masterN · pastorN · beM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| KING. I but wanted this alone | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| After what I've heard, that he | 7 | ······· |
| Who escaped from slavery, | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| And to distant Rome had flown, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now with purpose too well known, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Has to Ireland come again, | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| Where proclaiming the new reign | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Of the faith, he has enticed | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Many to believe in Christ, | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Rending all the world in twain. | 7 | /˘····· |
| A magician he must be, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Since condemned, so rumour saith, | 8 | ·˘/˘··˘· |
| By some other kings to death, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| He though tied upon the tree | 7 | ······· |
| In an instant set him free, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With such prodigies of wonder | 8 | ··/˘˘·/˘ |
| That the earth (within whose womb | 7 | ······· |
| The dead lie as in a tomb) | 7 | ······· |
| Trembled, the air groaned in thunder, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Dark eclipse the sun lay under, | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| Deigning not a single glance | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Of his radiant countenance | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| To the moon: from which I see | 7 | ······· |
| That this Patrick, for 'tis he, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Lords it over fate and chance; | 7 | ······· |
| Awe-struck by the prodigy, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Fearing they may punished be, | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Crowds attend him on his way. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And 'tis said that he to-day | 7 | ······· |
| Comes to try his spells on me. | 7 | ······· |
| Let him come, and once for all | 7 | ······· |
| Wave in vain his conjuring rod! | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| We shall see who is this God, | 7 | ······· |
| Whom their God the Christians call. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| By my hand must Patrick fall, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Were it but to see if he | 7 | ······· |
| Can escape his destiny, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘˘ |
| Or my will subvert and master, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| He this Bishop, he this Pastor, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| He Pope's Legate, though he be. | 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.