Act II: Scene IV
(Enter Polyeucte and Nearchus.)
POLY.The source of tears is dry, oh, weep no more,Thy grief lay down, thy fearful heart restore!Let night's dark dream with superstition die,The dream is past, for here in life am I!
PAUL.The day is young, and oh, the day is long,--And half the dream is true, and Fate is strong;Severus have I seen, who thought him dead!
POLY.I know it! Let no tear for this be shed!Secure with thee am I! Tho' great the knight,Thy father will command to do me right;The general is a man of honour,--heWould ne'er that honour dim by treachery!He comes in amity, our friend, our guest;To greet his worth and valour now my quest.
PAUL.Radiant he came, who left me hopeless, sad,But he will come no more,--this grace I had.
POLY.What? Thinkest thou that I can jealous be?
PAUL.An outrage this on him, on thee, on me!He came in peace, who all my peace hath marred.Who would run safely, every step must guard;The wife who danger courts but courts her fallMy husband, aid me!--I would tell thee all!His worth, his charm, do my weak hearth enflameA traitor here! And he is aye the same!If I should gaze, and long--'gainst virtue, honour, sense,The citadel I yield, and mine my own defence!I know my virtues sure, and fair my fame,But struggle is defeat,--and combat shame!
POLY.Oh, true thy shield, thy victory is won,He only who has lost thee is undone;His noble grief the cost of all my bliss,Ah, Cleopatra's pearl was naught to this!The more my faults I see, the more thy truth I learn,The more do I admire----
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- amity n.
- Friendship, in a general sense, between individuals, societies, or nations; friendly relations; good understanding; as, a treaty of amity and commerce; the amity of the Whigs and Tories. [F. amitié, OF. amistié, amisté, fr. an assumed LL. amisitas, fr. L. amicus friendly, from amare to love. See Amiable.]
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act II: Scene IV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Polyeucte, Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, the Thomas Constable 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: Pierre Corneille, Act II: Scene IV, in Polyeucte (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corneille-polyeucte/act-ii-scene-iv.html, id L27782.
Form and metre
Act II: Scene IV is 42 lines in 8 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 -AABB poly · moreA · restoreA · dieB · iB
- 3 -AA- paul · longA · strongA · dead
- 4 --AA--BB poly · shed · knightA · rightA · he · treachery · guestB · questB
- 5 -AA paul · sadA · hadA
- 7 A-BBAACCDDCC paulA · me · marredB · guardB · fallA · allA · enflameC · sameC · senseD · defenceD · fameC · shameC
- 8 -AABB-- poly · wonA · undoneA · blissB · thisB · learn · admire
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 |
|---|---|---|
| (Enter Polyeucte and Nearchus.) | 7 | /˘····· |
| POLY. | 2 | /˘ |
| The source of tears is dry, oh, weep no more, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy grief lay down, thy fearful heart restore! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Let night's dark dream with superstition die, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The dream is past, for here in life am I! | 10 | ·········· |
| PAUL. | 1 | · |
| The day is young, and oh, the day is long,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| And half the dream is true, and Fate is strong; | 10 | ·········· |
| Severus have I seen, who thought him dead! | 10 | ·········· |
| POLY. | 2 | /˘ |
| I know it! Let no tear for this be shed! | 10 | ·········· |
| Secure with thee am I! Tho' great the knight, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Thy father will command to do me right; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| The general is a man of honour,--he | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Would ne'er that honour dim by treachery! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| He comes in amity, our friend, our guest; | 10 | ···/˘˘/·/· |
| To greet his worth and valour now my quest. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| PAUL. | 1 | · |
| Radiant he came, who left me hopeless, sad, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| But he will come no more,--this grace I had. | 10 | ·········· |
| POLY. | 2 | /˘ |
| What? Thinkest thou that I can jealous be? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| PAUL. | 1 | · |
| An outrage this on him, on thee, on me! | 10 | ·/········ |
| He came in peace, who all my peace hath marred. | 10 | ·········· |
| Who would run safely, every step must guard; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The wife who danger courts but courts her fall | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My husband, aid me!--I would tell thee all! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| His worth, his charm, do my weak hearth enflame | 10 | ·········· |
| A traitor here! And he is aye the same! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| If I should gaze, and long--'gainst virtue, honour, sense, | 12 | ·······/˘/˘· |
| The citadel I yield, and mine my own defence! | 12 | ·/˘·······˘/ |
| I know my virtues sure, and fair my fame, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But struggle is defeat,--and combat shame! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| POLY. | 2 | /˘ |
| Oh, true thy shield, thy victory is won, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| He only who has lost thee is undone; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| His noble grief the cost of all my bliss, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Ah, Cleopatra's pearl was naught to this! | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| The more my faults I see, the more thy truth I learn, | 12 | ············ |
| The more do I admire---- | 6 | ····˘/ |
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