Act IV: Scene IV
(Enter Severus, Fabian and Guards)Who comes to invade, ah, not to cure my grief?Severus! Who could guess that thou wouldst showRevenge unworthy o'er a prostrate foe?
POLY.Unworthy thee the thought, Pauline, for ISeverus called, and he hath heard my cry.My importunity he will excuse,My prayer I know that he will not refuse.Severus--this--the treasure that was mineTo thy most tender care I now resign:To thee, as noblest man that I have known;--Since earthly ties and joys I must disown.The gift is worthy thee,--I know thy worthIs great, but she no equal hath on earth.My life, the bar,--my death the link shall be,--Oh, grudge me not my dear brief ecstasy!Oh, ease the heart that once was hers,--and guideHer doubting footsteps to the Crucified!This my last benison! All else is poor!Await the promised light! Believe! Endure!But words are vain!
(Polyeucte signs to Guards to conduct him back to prison. Exeunt Polyeucte and Guards.)
Words in this poem
- pauline a.
- Of or pertaining to the apostle Paul, or his writings; resembling, or conforming to, the writings of Paul; as, the Pauline epistles; Pauline doctrine. [L. Paulinus, fr. Paulus Paul.]
- 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,]
- benison n.
- Blessing; beatitude; benediction. [OE. beneysun, benesoun, OF. beneï, beneïson, fr. L. benedictio, fr. benedicere to bless; bene (adv. of bonus good) + dicere to say. See Bounty, and Diction, and]
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- exeunt
- They go out, or retire from the scene; as, exeunt all except Hamlet. See 1st Exit. [L., 3d pers. pl. pres. of exire to go out.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: 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 IV: Scene IV, in Polyeucte (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corneille-polyeucte/act-iv-scene-iv.html, id L27793.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene IV is 23 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 --AA guards · grief · showA · foeA
- 2 -AABBCCDDEE--FFGG- poly · iA · cryA · excuseB · refuseB · mineC · resignC · knownD · disownD · worthE · earthE · be · ecstasy · guideF · crucifiedF · poorG · endureG · vain
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 Severus, Fabian and Guards) | 10 | /˘···/˘˘·· |
| Who comes to invade, ah, not to cure my grief? | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Severus! Who could guess that thou wouldst show | 10 | ·········· |
| Revenge unworthy o'er a prostrate foe? | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| POLY. | 2 | /˘ |
| Unworthy thee the thought, Pauline, for I | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| Severus called, and he hath heard my cry. | 10 | ·········· |
| My importunity he will excuse, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| My prayer I know that he will not refuse. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Severus--this--the treasure that was mine | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To thy most tender care I now resign: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| To thee, as noblest man that I have known;-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Since earthly ties and joys I must disown. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| The gift is worthy thee,--I know thy worth | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Is great, but she no equal hath on earth. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My life, the bar,--my death the link shall be,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, grudge me not my dear brief ecstasy! | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Oh, ease the heart that once was hers,--and guide | 10 | ·········· |
| Her doubting footsteps to the Crucified! | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| This my last benison! All else is poor! | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Await the promised light! Believe! Endure! | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| But words are vain! | 4 | ···· |
| (Polyeucte signs to Guards to conduct him back to prison. Exeunt Polyeucte and Guards.) | 20 | ······˘/···/˘/˘˘···· |
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