Act the Second: Scene XVI
BAD ANGEL [to himself]. Fearful that the favouring skiesMay accede to Patrick's prayer,And discover to him whereEarth's most wondrous treasure lies,Like a minister of light,Full of scorn, I hither flyIt to chill and nullify.Covering with my poison blightHis petition.
GOOD ANGEL. Then give o'er,Cruel monster; for in meHis protecting angel see.But be silent, speak no more.--Patrick, God has heard Thy prayer,He has listen'd to thy vows,And, as thou hast asked, allowsEarth's great secrets to lie bare.Seek along this island groundFor a vast and darksome cave,Which restrains the lake's dark wave.And supports the mountains round;He who dares to go therein,Having first contritely toldAll his faults, shall there beholdWhere the soul is purged from sin.He shall see, with mortal eyes,Hell itself, where those who dieIn their sins for ever lieIn the fire that never dies.He shall see, in blest fruition,Where the happy spirits dwell.But of this be sure as well --He who without due contritionEnters there to idly tryWhat the cave may be, doth goTo his death; he'll suffer woe,While the Lord doth reign on high,Who thy soul this day shall freeFrom this poor world's weariness.It is thus that God doth blessThose who love His name like thee.He shall grant to thee in pity,Bliss undreamed by mortal men,Making thee a denizenOf His own celestial city.He shall to the world proclaimHis omnipotence and glory,By the wondrous PurgatoryWhich shall bear thy sainted name.Lest thou think the promise vainOf this miracle divine,I will take this shape malign,Which came hither to profaneThy devotion, and withinThis dark cavern's dark abyssFling it,-- there to howl and hissIn the everlasting din.
PATRICK. Glory, glory unto Thee,Mighty Lord; the heavens proclaim,Miracles attest Thy name,Wonders show that Thou must be.--King!
Words in this poem 15
- accede v. i.
- To approach; to come forward; -- opposed to recede. T. [L. accedere to approach, accede; ad + cedere to move, yield: cf. F. accédere. See Cede.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- nullify v. t.
- To make void; to render invalid; to deprive of legal force or efficacy. [L. nullificare; nullus none + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Null, a., and -fy.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- darksome a.
- Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
- 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,]
- fruition n.
- Use or possession of anything, especially such as is accompanied with pleasure or satisfaction; pleasure derived from possession or use. [OF. fruition, L. fruitio, enjoyment, fr. L. frui, p. p. fruitus, to use or enjoy. See Fruit, n.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- contrition n.
- The act of grinding or ribbing to powder; attrition; friction; rubbing. [F. contrition, L. contritio.]
- undreamed a.
- Not dreamed, or dreamed of; not thof.
- omnipotence n.
- The state of being omnipotent; almighty power; hence, one who is omnipotent; the Deity. [L. omnipotentia: cf.F. omnipotence.]
- purgatory a.
- Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. Burke. [L. purgatorius.]
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Second: Scene XVI 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 XVI, 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-xvi.html, id L26684.
Form and metre
Act the Second: Scene XVI is 62 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 ABBACDDC- skiesA · prayerB · whereB · liesA · lightC · flyD · nullifyD · blightC · petition
- 2 -AA-BCCBDEEDFGGFHIIHJKKJLMMLLNNLOPPOQRRQSTTSUVVU o'er · meA · seeA · more · prayerB · vowsC · allowsC · bareB · groundD · caveE · waveE · roundD · thereinF · toldG · beholdG · sinF · eyesH · dieI · lieI · diesH · fruitionJ · dwellK · wellK · contritionJ · tryL · goM · woeM · highL · freeL · wearinessN · blessN · theeL · pityO · menP · denizenP · cityO · proclaimQ · gloryR · purgatoryR · nameQ · vainS · divineT · malignT · profaneS · withinU · abyssV · hissV · dinU
- 3 ABBA- theeA · proclaimB · nameB · beA · king
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BAD ANGEL [to himself]. Fearful that the favouring skies | 13 | ·/˘·˘//˘··/˘· |
| May accede to Patrick's prayer, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| And discover to him where | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Earth's most wondrous treasure lies, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Like a minister of light, | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Full of scorn, I hither fly | 7 | ····/˘· |
| It to chill and nullify. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Covering with my poison blight | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| His petition. | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| GOOD ANGEL. Then give o'er, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Cruel monster; for in me | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| His protecting angel see. | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| But be silent, speak no more.-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Patrick, God has heard Thy prayer, | 7 | /˘····· |
| He has listen'd to thy vows, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And, as thou hast asked, allows | 8 | ·····˘˘/ |
| Earth's great secrets to lie bare. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Seek along this island ground | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| For a vast and darksome cave, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Which restrains the lake's dark wave. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And supports the mountains round; | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| He who dares to go therein, | 7 | ······· |
| Having first contritely told | 8 | /˘······ |
| All his faults, shall there behold | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Where the soul is purged from sin. | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| He shall see, with mortal eyes, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Hell itself, where those who die | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| In their sins for ever lie | 7 | ····/˘· |
| In the fire that never dies. | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| He shall see, in blest fruition, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Where the happy spirits dwell. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| But of this be sure as well -- | 7 | ······· |
| He who without due contrition | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Enters there to idly try | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| What the cave may be, doth go | 7 | ······· |
| To his death; he'll suffer woe, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| While the Lord doth reign on high, | 7 | ······· |
| Who thy soul this day shall free | 7 | ······· |
| From this poor world's weariness. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| It is thus that God doth bless | 7 | ······· |
| Those who love His name like thee. | 7 | ······· |
| He shall grant to thee in pity, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Bliss undreamed by mortal men, | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| Making thee a denizen | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| Of His own celestial city. | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| He shall to the world proclaim | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| His omnipotence and glory, | 8 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| By the wondrous Purgatory | 8 | ··/˘/˘·˘ |
| Which shall bear thy sainted name. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Lest thou think the promise vain | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of this miracle divine, | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| I will take this shape malign, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Which came hither to profane | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Thy devotion, and within | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| This dark cavern's dark abyss | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Fling it,-- there to howl and hiss | 7 | ······· |
| In the everlasting din. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| PATRICK. Glory, glory unto Thee, | 9 | /˘/˘/˘··· |
| Mighty Lord; the heavens proclaim, | 8 | /˘··/˘˘/ |
| Miracles attest Thy name, | 7 | /˘˘˘/·· |
| Wonders show that Thou must be.-- | 7 | /˘····· |
| King! | 1 | · |
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