Act the Second: Scene VII
POLONIA [aside] (Now with mind made up I come.)Luis, an occasion offersEver as the test and touchstoneOf true love. By certain knowledgeHave I learned the imminent dangerOf thy life. The wrath grows hotterOf my father, and his furyTo evade is most important.All the guards that here are with theeHas my liberal hand suborned,So that at the clink of goldHave their ears grown deaf and torpid.Fly! and that thou mayest seeHow a woman's heart can prompt her,How her honour she can trample,How her self-respect leave prostrate,With thee I will go, since nowIt is needful that henceforwardI in life and death am thine,For without thee life were worthless,Thou who in my heart dost live.I bring with me gems and moneyQuite enough to the most distantParts of India to transport us,Where the sun with beams and shadowsScatters frost, or burning scorches.At the door two steeds are standing,I should rather call these horsesTwo swift lynxes, air-born creatures,Thoughts by liveliest minds begotten;They so rapid are, that thoughWe as fugitives fly on them,An assurance of our safetyWe shall feel. At once resolve then.Why thus ponder? what delays thee?Time is pressing, therefore shortenAll discourse; and that mischance,Which disturbs love's plans so often,May not offer an obstructionTo so well-prepared a project,First before thee I will go.Issue, while in specious converseI divert thy guards, and giveTo thy coming forth a cover.Even the sun our project favours,Which amid the west waves yonder,Sinking, dips his golden curlsTo refresh his glowing forehead.
Words in this poem
- touchstone n.
- Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite.
- imminent a.
- Threatening to occur immediately; near at hand; impending; -- said especially of misfortune or peril. [L. imminens, p. pr. of imminere to project; pref. im- in + minere (in comp.) to jut, project. See Eminent.]
- clink v. t.
- To cause to give out a slight, sharp, tinkling, sound, as by striking metallic or other sonorous bodies together. [OE. clinken; akin to G. klingen, D. klinken, SW. klinga, Dan. klinge; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Clank, Clench, Click, v. i.]
- 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.]
- needful a.
- Full of need; in need or want; needy; distressing.
- henceforward adv.
- From this time forward; henceforth.
- 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,]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene VII 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 VII, 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-vii.html, id L26675.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene VII is 48 lines in a single stanza. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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------B---BCC-CCD---D-D-D---------- come · offers · touchstone · knowledge · danger · hotter · fury · important · theeA · suborned · gold · torpid · seeA · her · trample · prostrate · now · henceforward · thine · worthlessB · live · money · distant · usB · shadowsC · scorchesC · standing · horsesC · creaturesC · begottenD · though · them · safety · thenD · thee · shortenD · mischance · oftenD · obstruction · project · go · converse · give · cover · favours · yonder · curls · forehead
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 |
|---|---|---|
| POLONIA [aside] (Now with mind made up I come.) | 12 | ···˘/······· |
| Luis, an occasion offers | 8 | ˘/·˘/˘/˘ |
| Ever as the test and touchstone | 8 | /˘····/· |
| Of true love. By certain knowledge | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Have I learned the imminent danger | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Of thy life. The wrath grows hotter | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Of my father, and his fury | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| To evade is most important. | 8 | ·˘/··˘/˘ |
| All the guards that here are with thee | 8 | ········ |
| Has my liberal hand suborned, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| So that at the clink of gold | 7 | ······· |
| Have their ears grown deaf and torpid. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Fly! and that thou mayest see | 6 | ······ |
| How a woman's heart can prompt her, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| How her honour she can trample, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| How her self-respect leave prostrate, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| With thee I will go, since now | 7 | ······· |
| It is needful that henceforward | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| I in life and death am thine, | 7 | ······· |
| For without thee life were worthless, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Thou who in my heart dost live. | 7 | ······· |
| I bring with me gems and money | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Quite enough to the most distant | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| Parts of India to transport us, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| Where the sun with beams and shadows | 8 | ······/· |
| Scatters frost, or burning scorches. | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| At the door two steeds are standing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I should rather call these horses | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Two swift lynxes, air-born creatures, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Thoughts by liveliest minds begotten; | 9 | ··/·˘·˘/˘ |
| They so rapid are, that though | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| We as fugitives fly on them, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| An assurance of our safety | 9 | ·˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| We shall feel. At once resolve then. | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Why thus ponder? what delays thee? | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| Time is pressing, therefore shorten | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| All discourse; and that mischance, | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| Which disturbs love's plans so often, | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| May not offer an obstruction | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| To so well-prepared a project, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| First before thee I will go. | 7 | ······· |
| Issue, while in specious converse | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| I divert thy guards, and give | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| To thy coming forth a cover. | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Even the sun our project favours, | 9 | /··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Which amid the west waves yonder, | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| Sinking, dips his golden curls | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| To refresh his glowing forehead. | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
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