Act the Second: Scene XI
LUCY [within]. Who's there?
LUIS. A traveller,Benighted, his way lost, confused, distressed,Good worthy husbandman, disturbs thy rest.
LUCY [within]. Ho, Juan! how you snore!Awake! there's some one knocking at the door.
PAUL [within]. Why, I am well enough here in my bed.He knocks for you, so answer him instead.
LUCY [within]. Who's there?
LUIS. A traveller, I say.
PAUL [within]. A traveller?
LUIS. Yes.
PAUL [within]. Then travel on, I pray.This cabin is no inn, sir, not a bit.
LUIS. I'm getting weary of this fellow's wit.I'll try what kicking in the door will do.Ay, there it goes.
LUCY [within]. Why, Juan Paul, halloo!Awake, I say, for if I don't mistake,The door's knocked in.
PAUL [within]. Well, one eye is awake,But underneath its lid the other's laid.--Come with me, Lucy, for I'm sore afraid.
LUIS. Be silent, peasants, and attendIf you would not that now your lives should end.Lost in this woodland wasteI sought your door; and so, my friend, make hasteTo tell me the best wayFrom this to the port, where I by break of dayMay from the coast get clear.
PAUL. Go right ahead: first take the pathway here,They left, then right again,Rise where there's hill, descend where there's a plain,And going thus, in short,The port you'll reach when you have reached the port.
LUIS. 'Tis better that you comeAlong with me, or by the heavens o'erhead,Your blood shall stain the ground on which you tread.
LUCY. Were it not better, cavalier,To pass the night here till the dawn appear?
PAUL. How very kind you are when least expected!Are you already to this knight infected?
LUIS. Choose now, at once, I say,To die or guide me.
PAUL. Don't be vexed, I pray;If I without more haggling or vain clackSelect to go, and carry you on my back,If so you chose, 'tis not that death I fear,But just to disappoint my Lucy here.
LUIS [aside]. That he may not betrayWhither I go, to those who track my way,Him from some cliff I'll throwHeadlong amid the icy waves below.--You with this consolation here remainYour husband will be with you soon again.
Words in this poem
- husbandman n.
- The master of a family.
- snore v. i.
- To breathe with a rough, hoarse, nasal voice in sleep. [OE. snoren, AS. snora a snoring; akin to LG. snoren, snorken, snurken, to snore, D. snorken, G. schnarchen to snore, schnarren to rattle, MHG. snarren, Sw. snar]
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- 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,]
- cavalier n.
- A military man serving on horseback; a knight. [F. cavalier, It. cavaliere, LL. caballarius, fr. L. caballus. See Cavalcade, and cf. Cavallier, Caballine.]
- clack v. i.
- To make a sudden, sharp noise, or a succesion of such noises, as by striking an object, or by collision of parts; to rattle; to click. [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. F.claquer to clap, crack, D. klakken, MHG. klac crack, Ir. clagaim I make a noise, ring. Cf. Clack, n., Clatter, Click.]
- 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.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene XI 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 XI, 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-xi.html, id L26679.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene XI is 55 lines in 20 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 -AA traveller · distressedA · restA
- 3 BB snoreB · doorB
- 4 CC bedC · insteadC
- 6 D sayD
- 9 DE prayD · bitE
- 10 EF- witE · doF · goes
- 11 FG- hallooF · mistakeG · in
- 12 GHH awakeG · laidH · afraidH
- 13 IIJJKKL attendI · endI · wasteJ · hasteJ · wayK · dayK · clearL
- 14 L--MM hereL · again · plain · shortM · portM
- 15 -NN come · o'erheadN · treadN
- 16 OO cavalierO · appearO
- 17 PP expectedP · infectedP
- 18 Q- sayQ · me
- 19 QRRSS prayQ · clackR · backR · fearS · hereS
- 20 QQTT-- betrayQ · wayQ · throwT · belowT · remain · again
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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| LUCY [within]. Who's there? | 6 | /˘···· |
| LUIS. A traveller, | 6 | ˘/·/˘˘ |
| Benighted, his way lost, confused, distressed, | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/˘/ |
| Good worthy husbandman, disturbs thy rest. | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| LUCY [within]. Ho, Juan! how you snore! | 10 | /˘········ |
| Awake! there's some one knocking at the door. | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| PAUL [within]. Why, I am well enough here in my bed. | 13 | ·······˘/···· |
| He knocks for you, so answer him instead. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| LUCY [within]. Who's there? | 6 | /˘···· |
| LUIS. A traveller, I say. | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| PAUL [within]. A traveller? | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| LUIS. Yes. | 3 | ˘/· |
| PAUL [within]. Then travel on, I pray. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| This cabin is no inn, sir, not a bit. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| LUIS. I'm getting weary of this fellow's wit. | 12 | ˘/·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| I'll try what kicking in the door will do. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ay, there it goes. | 4 | ···· |
| LUCY [within]. Why, Juan Paul, halloo! | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| Awake, I say, for if I don't mistake, | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| The door's knocked in. | 4 | ···· |
| PAUL [within]. Well, one eye is awake, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| But underneath its lid the other's laid.-- | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Come with me, Lucy, for I'm sore afraid. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| LUIS. Be silent, peasants, and attend | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| If you would not that now your lives should end. | 10 | ·········· |
| Lost in this woodland waste | 6 | ···/·· |
| I sought your door; and so, my friend, make haste | 10 | ·········· |
| To tell me the best way | 6 | ······ |
| From this to the port, where I by break of day | 11 | ··········· |
| May from the coast get clear. | 6 | ······ |
| PAUL. Go right ahead: first take the pathway here, | 11 | ···˘/···/·· |
| They left, then right again, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Rise where there's hill, descend where there's a plain, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And going thus, in short, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The port you'll reach when you have reached the port. | 10 | ·········· |
| LUIS. 'Tis better that you come | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Along with me, or by the heavens o'erhead, | 11 | ˘/·····/˘·· |
| Your blood shall stain the ground on which you tread. | 10 | ·········· |
| LUCY. Were it not better, cavalier, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| To pass the night here till the dawn appear? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| PAUL. How very kind you are when least expected! | 12 | ··/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Are you already to this knight infected? | 11 | ··˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| LUIS. Choose now, at once, I say, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| To die or guide me. | 5 | ····· |
| PAUL. Don't be vexed, I pray; | 6 | ······ |
| If I without more haggling or vain clack | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Select to go, and carry you on my back, | 11 | ˘/···/˘···· |
| If so you chose, 'tis not that death I fear, | 10 | ·········· |
| But just to disappoint my Lucy here. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| LUIS [aside]. That he may not betray | 10 | ˘/˘/····˘/ |
| Whither I go, to those who track my way, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Him from some cliff I'll throw | 6 | ······ |
| Headlong amid the icy waves below.-- | 10 | /·˘/·/˘··· |
| You with this consolation here remain | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Your husband will be with you soon again. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
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