Act V: Scene IV
(Enter Albin)O task ungrateful to my gentle mind!Well did he say, 'Be cruel to be kind!'The people I defy, ah, let them rage!Severus may in war of words engage.Yes, I have saved myself--I mean the State,To wilful man there comes relentless fate;My conscience pure of all reproach,--for IHave lied and stormed to shake his constancy.To give his hot young blood due time to coolI played the coward--nay, I played the fool!Why did he thus assail the gods and meWith insult, and with horrid blasphemy?But interest helped me, and resentment too.Else had I found my duty hard to do!
ALBIN.Soon mayst thou this thy dear-bought victory rue,For thou hast done what thou canst ne'er undo!Unworthy deed for Roman knight! ah, me!(Aside.)I would that I could add, 'unworthy thee!'
FELIX.Manlius and Brutus both a son have slain,And neither did thereby his glory stain;The part that is diseased--that part we bleed,So is the State from knaves and caitiffs freed.
ALBIN.Revenge and pressing peril thee unman,Else--couldst thou bless a deed all men must ban?When she, thy widowed daughter, comes--the airOf heaven will echo to her deep despair!
FELIX.Thou dost remind me she with Polyeucte went--I know not with what mind, with what intent:But her despair awakes my fond alarm,Go, Albin, go, and guard my child from harm!She might the execution of the lawImpede: I would not that his death she saw.Try to console her--Go! what dost thou fear?
(Enter Pauline)
ALBIN.I need not go, for ah--Pauline is here!
Words in this poem
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- relentless a.
- Unmoved by appeals for sympathy or forgiveness; insensible to the distresses of others; destitute of tenderness; unrelenting; unyielding; unpitying; as, a prey to relentless despotism.
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- lied n.
- A lay; a German song. It differs from the French chanson, and the Italian canzone, all three being national. [G.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- unman v. t.
- To deprive of the distinctive qualities of a human being, as reason, or the like. South. [1st pref. un- + man.]
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: 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 V: Scene IV, in Polyeucte (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corneille-polyeucte/act-v-scene-iv.html, id L27799.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene IV is 42 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% 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 -AABBCCD-EED-FF albin · mindA · kindA · rageB · engageB · stateC · fateC · iD · constancy · coolE · foolE · meD · blasphemy · tooF · doF
- 2 -AAB-B albin · rueA · undoA · meB · aside · theeB
- 3 -AABB felix · slainA · stainA · bleedB · freedB
- 4 A-ABB albinA · unman · banA · airB · despairB
- 5 -AABBCC- felix · wentA · intentA · alarmB · harmB · lawC · sawC · fear
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 Albin) | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| O task ungrateful to my gentle mind! | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Well did he say, 'Be cruel to be kind!' | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The people I defy, ah, let them rage! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Severus may in war of words engage. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Yes, I have saved myself--I mean the State, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To wilful man there comes relentless fate; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| My conscience pure of all reproach,--for I | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Have lied and stormed to shake his constancy. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| To give his hot young blood due time to cool | 10 | ·········· |
| I played the coward--nay, I played the fool! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Why did he thus assail the gods and me | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| With insult, and with horrid blasphemy? | 10 | ·/···/˘/˘˘ |
| But interest helped me, and resentment too. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Else had I found my duty hard to do! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| Soon mayst thou this thy dear-bought victory rue, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For thou hast done what thou canst ne'er undo! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Unworthy deed for Roman knight! ah, me! | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| (Aside.) | 2 | ˘/ |
| I would that I could add, 'unworthy thee!' | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| Manlius and Brutus both a son have slain, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And neither did thereby his glory stain; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The part that is diseased--that part we bleed, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| So is the State from knaves and caitiffs freed. | 10 | ·········· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| Revenge and pressing peril thee unman, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Else--couldst thou bless a deed all men must ban? | 10 | ·········· |
| When she, thy widowed daughter, comes--the air | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Of heaven will echo to her deep despair! | 10 | ·/·/˘···˘/ |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| Thou dost remind me she with Polyeucte went-- | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I know not with what mind, with what intent: | 10 | ········˘/ |
| But her despair awakes my fond alarm, | 10 | ··˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Go, Albin, go, and guard my child from harm! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| She might the execution of the law | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Impede: I would not that his death she saw. | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Try to console her--Go! what dost thou fear? | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| (Enter Pauline) | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| I need not go, for ah--Pauline is here! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
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