Act the Third: Scene IX
LESBIA. Before we reach the place,Whither you wish to lead us, for a spaceLet us say why we cameTo see you here to-day: a definite aimAll of us here has brought.
POLONIA. Speak as we go whatever be your thought,Still following where I lead,For I a sight that doth all sights exceedWill bring you here to see.
LESBIA. What, then, our wishes were you hear from me.Polonia, you desiredIn this wild mountain waste to live retired,Making of me the heir,While living, of your kingdom. I would shareWith you in turn my plans, however small,And so I hither come to tell you all.My will is in your hands;I ask not counsel, sister, but commands.A single woman scarce can ever beStrong through advice, and of necessityShe must be married.
POLONIA. Yes; and if your choiceHas fallen on Philip I may well rejoice,For then to me you'll oweBoth crown and husband.
PHILIP. May you live whilst glowThe sun's bright beams, that orb which dies at night,And Phoenix of its rays is born with morning's light.
POLONIA. Then since you thus have gainedYour wish, ye two, now free and unconstrained,Listen to what I tell,And all who hear me listen too, as well.With all the outward showOf fervour came a man, whom we all know,Seeking for Patrick's cave,To enter there, and so his soul to save.He entered it, and cometh forth today,And 'tis because my terror and dismayAre balanced by my wonder, that with meI bring you to behold this holy prodigy.I do not tell you who he is lest fearShould so my heart make craven, that I ne'erCould reach the end I sought:--'Tis for this object that you here are brought.
LESBIA. It is but only rightThat I should mingle terror with delight.
POLONIA. If strength from him hath fled,And he extended in the cave lies dead,At least 'twill showHis punishment; and if he comes, we'll knowThe mystery that is here;If safe he comes, who cometh forth, through fearPerchance he may not speak,But, flying men, some solitude may seekTo live and die alone.
LEOGAIRE. What mighty mysteries lie here unknown.
CAPTAIN. The time is opportune that we come here,For the religious whom we see draw near,All bathed in tears, now goTo the cave's mouth in solemn, silent rowTo throw the gates aside.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- fervour n.
- Heat; excessive warmth. [OF. fervor, fervour, F. ferveur, L. fervor, fr. fervere. See Fervent.]
- 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.]
- craven v. t.
- To make recreant, weak, spiritless, or cowardly.
- opportune v. t.
- To suit. Dr. Clerke(1637).
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act the Third: Scene IX 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 Third: Scene IX, in The Purgatory of St. Patrick (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6371, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/calderon-purgatorio-san-patricio/act-the-third-scene-ix.html, id L26696.
Form and metre
Act the Third: Scene IX is 61 lines in 10 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 66% 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.
- 1 AABBC placeA · spaceA · cameB · aimB · broughtC
- 2 C--D thoughtC · lead · exceed · seeD
- 3 D--EEFFGG--- meD · desired · retired · heirE · shareE · smallF · allF · handsG · commandsG · be · necessity · married
- 4 HHI- choiceH · rejoiceH · oweI · husband
- 5 IJJ glowI · nightJ · lightJ
- 6 KKLLMMNNOO----PP gainedK · unconstrainedK · tellL · wellL · showM · knowM · caveN · saveN · todayO · dismayO · me · prodigy · fear · ne'er · soughtP · broughtP
- 7 QQ rightQ · delightQ
- 8 RRSSTTUUV fledR · deadR · showS · knowS · hereT · fearT · speakU · seekU · aloneV
- 9 V unknownV
- 10 TTWW- hereT · nearT · goW · rowW · aside
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LESBIA. Before we reach the place, | 8 | ········ |
| Whither you wish to lead us, for a space | 10 | /˘········ |
| Let us say why we came | 6 | ······ |
| To see you here to-day: a definite aim | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| All of us here has brought. | 6 | ······ |
| POLONIA. Speak as we go whatever be your thought, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| Still following where I lead, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| For I a sight that doth all sights exceed | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Will bring you here to see. | 6 | ······ |
| LESBIA. What, then, our wishes were you hear from me. | 12 | ····//˘····· |
| Polonia, you desired | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| In this wild mountain waste to live retired, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Making of me the heir, | 6 | /˘···· |
| While living, of your kingdom. I would share | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| With you in turn my plans, however small, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And so I hither come to tell you all. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My will is in your hands; | 6 | ······ |
| I ask not counsel, sister, but commands. | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A single woman scarce can ever be | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/· |
| Strong through advice, and of necessity | 9 | ··˘/··˘/˘ |
| She must be married. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| POLONIA. Yes; and if your choice | 8 | ········ |
| Has fallen on Philip I may well rejoice, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| For then to me you'll owe | 6 | ······ |
| Both crown and husband. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| PHILIP. May you live whilst glow | 7 | /˘····· |
| The sun's bright beams, that orb which dies at night, | 10 | ·········· |
| And Phoenix of its rays is born with morning's light. | 12 | ·/˘······/˘· |
| POLONIA. Then since you thus have gained | 9 | ········· |
| Your wish, ye two, now free and unconstrained, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Listen to what I tell, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And all who hear me listen too, as well. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With all the outward show | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Of fervour came a man, whom we all know, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Seeking for Patrick's cave, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| To enter there, and so his soul to save. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He entered it, and cometh forth today, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And 'tis because my terror and dismay | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Are balanced by my wonder, that with me | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I bring you to behold this holy prodigy. | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| I do not tell you who he is lest fear | 10 | ·········· |
| Should so my heart make craven, that I ne'er | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Could reach the end I sought:-- | 6 | ······ |
| 'Tis for this object that you here are brought. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| LESBIA. It is but only right | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That I should mingle terror with delight. | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| POLONIA. If strength from him hath fled, | 9 | ········· |
| And he extended in the cave lies dead, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| At least 'twill show | 4 | ···· |
| His punishment; and if he comes, we'll know | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The mystery that is here; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| If safe he comes, who cometh forth, through fear | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Perchance he may not speak, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| But, flying men, some solitude may seek | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| To live and die alone. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| LEOGAIRE. What mighty mysteries lie here unknown. | 11 | ···/˘/˘··˘/ |
| CAPTAIN. The time is opportune that we come here, | 12 | /˘····˘/···· |
| For the religious whom we see draw near, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| All bathed in tears, now go | 7 | ··˘···· |
| To the cave's mouth in solemn, silent row | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| To throw the gates aside. | 6 | ····˘/ |
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.