Act IV: Scene V
SEV.Most vain! No word have ISuch blindness must amaze! must stupefy!Nay, this is frenzy! I cannot conceiveA mind so strange! Mine ears cannot believeThat one who loved thee--yet, who would not loveA face that must the great immortals move?--Blessed by thy heart!--Thy sweetest lips to taste!--Then leave, refuse, spurn--yield with clamorous haste,To yield a girl so dear--so pure--so fair!And of that gift to make thy rival heir--This beggars madness! Or the Christian blissBeyond man's soul to grasp! To spurn thy kiss!--We treasure barter for a just exchange,But to buy pain for thee! Pauline, 'tis strange!Not thus, ye Gods! Severus had been blindTo perfect bliss--had Fortune been more kindThe only heaven for me is in thine eyes,These are my kings, these my divinities!To me--for thee--were death with torture dear;But to renounce thee!
PAUL.Nay, I must not hear!Thy words bring back the dear, the bygone days,When I, a maid, might listen to thy praise:Severus, thou must know my inmost heart;I hear the knell bids Polyeucte depart.He dies,--the victim of thine Emperor's laws,And thou, though innocent, art yet the cause.Oh, if thy soul, to thy desires a slave,See hope emerging from my husband's graveThen will I wed with pain--despair embrace,--But wed Severus? Never! 'Twere disgrace!To light fresh torch from that pale, flickering fire--Oh, bliss too monstrous! Thrice abhorred desire!Back, hope! Back, happiness! The mate for meWhen Polyeucte leaves my side--is Constancy!Were this my will, were this, ye Gods, my fate--To shame would memory turn, as love must yield to hate!But generous art thou--most generous be!His pardon will my father grant to thee.He fears thee: more, if Polyeucte's life he take,For thee he slays him--yes, 'tis for thy sake.Christ died for man--let pagan virtue dimHis fame: plead for thy foe! so rival him!No easy boon I ask, there needs a soul most rare;But when the fight is fierce--then is the victory fair.To help a man to be what thou wouldst beIs triumph that belongs alone to thee!Let this suffice thee: she, whom thou hast loved,She, who by thy great love was not unmoved,Of thee, and of no other dares to craveThat thou, Severus, shouldst my husband save!Farewell! of this thy labour gauge the scope:If thou art less than I yet dare to hope,Then tell me not! all else Pauline can bear!
(Exit Pauline.)
Words in this poem
- amaze v. t.
- To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze. [Pref. a- + maze.]
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- 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.]
- bygone n.
- Something gone by or past; a past event.
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- suffice v. i.
- To be enough, or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be equal to the end proposed; to be adequate. [OE. suffisen, OF. soufire, F. suffire (cf. suffisant, p.pr.), L. sufficere to put under, to substitute, to avail for, to suffice; sub under + facere to make. Se]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: Scene V 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 V, in Polyeucte (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corneille-polyeucte/act-iv-scene-v.html, id L27794.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene V is 57 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 77% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 -AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII-- sev · iA · stupefyA · conceiveB · believeB · loveC · moveC · tasteD · hasteD · fairE · heirE · blissF · kissF · exchangeG · strangeG · blindH · kindH · eyesI · divinitiesI · dear · thee
- 2 --AABB--CCDDEEF-GGFFHHIIJJKK--LLMM- paul · hear · daysA · praiseA · heartB · departB · laws · cause · slaveC · graveC · embraceD · disgraceD · fireE · desireE · meF · constancy · fateG · hateG · beF · theeF · takeH · sakeH · dimI · himI · rareJ · fairJ · beK · theeK · loved · unmoved · craveL · saveL · scopeM · hopeM · bear
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Most vain! No word have I | 6 | ······ |
| Such blindness must amaze! must stupefy! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘˘ |
| Nay, this is frenzy! I cannot conceive | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| A mind so strange! Mine ears cannot believe | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| That one who loved thee--yet, who would not love | 10 | ·········· |
| A face that must the great immortals move?-- | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Blessed by thy heart!--Thy sweetest lips to taste!-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Then leave, refuse, spurn--yield with clamorous haste, | 11 | ··˘/···/˘˘· |
| To yield a girl so dear--so pure--so fair! | 10 | ·········· |
| And of that gift to make thy rival heir-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| This beggars madness! Or the Christian bliss | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Beyond man's soul to grasp! To spurn thy kiss!-- | 10 | ·········· |
| We treasure barter for a just exchange, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| But to buy pain for thee! Pauline, 'tis strange! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Not thus, ye Gods! Severus had been blind | 10 | ·········· |
| To perfect bliss--had Fortune been more kind | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| The only heaven for me is in thine eyes, | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| These are my kings, these my divinities! | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| To me--for thee--were death with torture dear; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But to renounce thee! | 5 | ··˘/· |
| PAUL. | 1 | · |
| Nay, I must not hear! | 5 | ····· |
| Thy words bring back the dear, the bygone days, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| When I, a maid, might listen to thy praise: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Severus, thou must know my inmost heart; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I hear the knell bids Polyeucte depart. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| He dies,--the victim of thine Emperor's laws, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And thou, though innocent, art yet the cause. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Oh, if thy soul, to thy desires a slave, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| See hope emerging from my husband's grave | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Then will I wed with pain--despair embrace,-- | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| But wed Severus? Never! 'Twere disgrace! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| To light fresh torch from that pale, flickering fire-- | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| Oh, bliss too monstrous! Thrice abhorred desire! | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Back, hope! Back, happiness! The mate for me | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| When Polyeucte leaves my side--is Constancy! | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Were this my will, were this, ye Gods, my fate-- | 10 | ·········· |
| To shame would memory turn, as love must yield to hate! | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| But generous art thou--most generous be! | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘· |
| His pardon will my father grant to thee. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| He fears thee: more, if Polyeucte's life he take, | 10 | ·········· |
| For thee he slays him--yes, 'tis for thy sake. | 10 | ·········· |
| Christ died for man--let pagan virtue dim | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| His fame: plead for thy foe! so rival him! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| No easy boon I ask, there needs a soul most rare; | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| But when the fight is fierce--then is the victory fair. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| To help a man to be what thou wouldst be | 10 | ·········· |
| Is triumph that belongs alone to thee! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| Let this suffice thee: she, whom thou hast loved, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| She, who by thy great love was not unmoved, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Of thee, and of no other dares to crave | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That thou, Severus, shouldst my husband save! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Farewell! of this thy labour gauge the scope: | 10 | ·/···/···· |
| If thou art less than I yet dare to hope, | 10 | ·········· |
| Then tell me not! all else Pauline can bear! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| (Exit Pauline.) | 4 | /˘˘/ |
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.