Second Episode
(As the Chorus ceases, a party of the guards return, leading in the midst of them DIONYSUS, bound. The SOLDIER in command stands forth, as PENTHEUS, hearing the tramp of feet, comes out from the Castle.)
SOLDIER.Our quest is finished, and thy prey, O King,Caught; for the chase was swift, and this wild thingMost tame; yet never flinched, nor thought to flee,But held both hands out unresistingly--No change, no blanching of the wine-red cheek.He waited while we came, and bade us wreakAll thy decree; yea, laughed, and made my hestEasy, till I for very shame confessedAnd said: 'O stranger, not of mine own willI bind thee, but his bidding to fulfilWho sent me.'And those prisoned Maids withalWhom thou didst seize and bind within the wallOf thy great dungeon, they are fled, O King,Free in the woods, a-dance and gloryingTo Bromios. Of their own impulse fellTo earth, men say, fetter and manacle,And bars slid back untouched of mortal hand.Yea, full of many wonders to thy landIs this man come. . . . Howbeit, it lies with thee!
PENTHEUS.Ye are mad!--Unhand him. Howso swift he be,My toils are round him and he shall not fly.
(The guards loose the arms of DIONYSUS; PENTHEUS studies him for a while in silence, then speaks jeeringly. DIONYSUS remains gentle and unafraid.)
Marry, a fair shape for a woman's eye,Sir stranger! And thou seek'st no more, I ween!Long curls, withal! That shows thou ne'er hast beenA wrestler!--down both cheeks so softly tossedAnd winsome! And a white skin! It hath costThee pains, to please thy damsels with this whiteAnd red of cheeks that never face the light!(DIONYSUS is silent.)Speak, sirrah; tell me first thy name and race.
DIONYSUS.No glory is therein, nor yet disgrace.Thou hast heard of Tmolus, the bright hill of flowers?
PENTHEUS.Surely; the ridge that winds by Sardis' towers
DIONYSUS.Thence am I; Lydia was my fatherland.
PENTHEUS.And whence these revelations, that thy bandSpreadeth in Hellas?
DIONYSUS.Their intent and useDionysus oped to me, the Child of Zeus.
PENTHEUS (brutally).Is there a Zeus there, that can still begetYoung Gods?
DIONYSUS.Nay, only He whose seal was setHere in thy Thebes on Semele.
PENTHEUS.What wayDescended he upon thee? In full dayOr vision of night?
DIONYSUS.Most clear he stood, and scannedMy soul, and gave his emblems to mine hand.
PENTHEUS.What like be they, these emblems?
DIONYSUS.That may noneReveal, nor know, save his Elect alone.
PENTHEUS.And what good bring they to the worshipper?
DIONYSUS.Good beyond price, but not for thee to hear.
PENTHEUS.Thou trickster! Thou wouldst prick me on the moreTo seek them out!
DIONYSUS.His mysteries abhorThe touch of sin-lovers.
PENTHEUS.And so thine eyesSaw this God plain; what guise had he?
DIONYSUS.What guiseIt liked him. 'Twas not I ordained his shape.
PENTHEUS.Aye, deftly turned again. An idle jape,And nothing answered!
DIONYSUS.Wise words being broughtTo blinded eyes will seem as things of nought.
PENTHEUS.And comest thou first to Thebes, to have thy GodEstablished?
DIONYSUS.Nay; all Barbary hath trodHis dance ere this.
PENTHEUS.A low blind folk, I ween,Beside our Hellenes!
DIONYSUS.Higher and more keenIn this thing, though their ways are not thy way.
PENTHEUS.How is thy worship held, by night or day?
DIONYSUS.Most oft by night; 'tis a majestic thing,The darkness.
PENTHEUS.Ha! with women worshipping?'Tis craft and rottenness!
DIONYSUS.By day no less,Whoso will seek may find unholiness.
PENTHEUS.Enough! Thy doom is fixed, for false pretenceCorrupting Thebes.
DIONYSUS.Not mine; but thine, for denseBlindness of heart, and for blaspheming God!
PENTHEUS.A ready knave it is, and brazen-browed,This mystery-priest!
DIONYSUS.Come, say what it shall be,My doom; what dire thing wilt thou do to me?
PENTHEUS.First, shear that delicate curl that dangles there.
(He beckons to the soldiers, who approach DIONYSUS.)
DIONYSUS.I have vowed it to my God; 'tis holy hair.
(The soldiers cut off the tress.)
PENTHEUS.Next, yield me up thy staff!
DIONYSUS.Raise thine own handTo take it. This is Dionysus' wand.
(PENTHEUS takes the staff.)
PENTHEUS.Last, I will hold thee prisoned here.
DIONYSUS.My LordGod will unloose me, when I speak the word.
PENTHEUS.He may, if e'er again amid his bandsOf saints he hears thy voice!
DIONYSUS.Even now he standsClose here, and sees all that I suffer.
PENTHEUS.What?Where is he? For mine eyes discern him not.
DIONYSUS.Where I am! 'Tis thine own impurityThat veils him from thee.
PENTHEUS.The dog jeers at me!At me and Thebes! Bind him!
(The soldiers begin to bind him.)
DIONYSUS.I charge ye, bindMe not! I having vision and ye blind!
PENTHEUS.And I, with better right, say bind the more!
(The soldiers obey.)
DIONYSUS.Thou knowest not what end thou seekest, norWhat deed thou doest, nor what man thou art!
PENTHEUS.(Mocking)
Agave's son, and on the father's partEchion's, hight Pentheus!
DIONYSUS.So let it be,A name fore-written to calamity!
PENTHEUS.Away, and tie him where the steeds are tied;Aye, let him lie in the manger!--There abideAnd stare into the darkness!--And this routOf womankind that clusters thee about,Thy ministers of worship, are my slaves!It may be I will sell them o'er the waves,Hither and thither; else they shall be setTo labour at my distaffs, and forgetTheir timbrel and their songs of dawning day!
DIONYSUS.I go; for that which may not be, I mayNot suffer! Yet for this thy sin, lo, HeWhom thou deniest cometh after theeFor recompense. Yea, in thy wrong to us,Thou hast cast Him into thy prison-house!
Words in this poem 34
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- wreak v. i.
- To reck; to care.
- hest n.
- Command; precept; injunction. See Behest. [AS. hs, fr. h to call, bid. See Hight, and cf. Behest.]
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- dungeon n.
- A close, dark prison, commondonjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. [OE. donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a]
- manacle n.
- A handcuff; a shackle for the hand or wrist; -- usually in the plural. [OE. manicle, OF. manicle, F. manicle sort glove, manacle, L. manicula a little hand, dim. of manus hand; cf. L. manica sleeve, manacle, fr.manus. See Manual.]
- howbeit conj.
- Be it as it may; nevertheless; notwithstanding; although; albeit; yet; but; however. [How + be + it.]
- unhand v. t.
- To loose from the hand; to let go. [1 st pref. un- + hand.]
- 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,]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wrestler n.
- One who wrestles; one who is skillful in wrestling. [AS. wræstlere.]
- winsome a.
- Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]
- fatherland n.
- One's native land; the native land of one's fathers or ancestors. [Imitated fr. D. vaderland. See Father, and Land.]
- brutally adv.
- In a brutal manner; cruelly.
- semele n.
- A daughter of Cadmus, and by Zeus mother of Bacchus.
- trickster n.
- One who tricks; a deceiver; a tricker; a cheat.
- abhor v. i.
- To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
- deftly adv.
- Aptly; fitly; dexterously; neatly. [Cf. Defly.]
- jape v. i.
- To jest; to play tricks; to jeer. [Prob. from the same source as gab,influenced by F. japper to yelp. See Gab to deceive.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- whoso pron.
- Whosoever. Piers Plowman.
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- knave n.
- A boy; especially, a boy servant. Wyclif. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. kna, G. knabe boy, knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, knäfvel knave.]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- tress n.
- A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet. [OE. tresse, OF. trece, F. tresse, LL. tricia, fr. Gr. tri`cha threefold, because a tress is usually formed by interlacing three pieces; akin to trei^s three. Se]
- unloose v. t.
- To make loose; to loosen; to set free. [1st pref. un- (intensive) + loose.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- hight v. t.
- To be called or named. [OE. heiten, highten, haten, hoten; also hight, hatte, hette, is called, was called, AS. hatan to call, name, be called, to command, promise; also hatte is calle]
- manger n.
- A trough or open box in which fodder is placed for horses or cattle to eat. [F. mangeoire, fr. manger to eat, fr. L. manducare, fr. mandere to chew. Cf. Mandible, Manducate.]
- womankind n.
- The females of the human race; women, collectively.
- timbrel n.
- A kind of drum, tabor, or tabret, in use from the highest antiquity. [Dim. of OE. timbre, OF. timbre; probably fr. L. typmanum, Gr. tabl a drum; cf. Per. tambal a drum. See Tympanum, and cf. 2d Timbre, Tymbal.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Second Episode is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bacchae of Euripides, translated into English verse by Gilbert Murray, Project Gutenberg ebook #35173, the Gilbert Murray 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: Euripides, Second Episode, in The Bacchae (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #35173, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/euripides-bacchae/second-episode.html, id L28767.
Form and metre
Second Episode is 188 lines in 60 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See 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 -AAB-CCDD--BEEAA--FFB soldier · kingA · thingA · fleeB · unresistingly · cheekC · wreakC · hestD · confessedD · will · fulfil · meB · withalE · wallE · kingA · gloryingA · fell · manacle · handF · landF · theeB
- 3 -AA pentheus · beA · flyA
- 5 -AABBCC-- eye · weenA · beenA · tossedB · costB · whiteC · lightC · silent · race
- 10 -AA dionysus · useA · zeusA
- 13 -AA- pentheus · wayA · dayA · night
- 14 -AA dionysus · scannedA · handA
- 24 -AA dionysus · broughtA · noughtA
- 32 -AA dionysus · lessA · unholinessA
- 36 -AA dionysus · beA · meA
- 52 -AA dionysus · bindA · blindA
- 59 -AABBCCDD- pentheus · tiedA · abideA · routB · aboutB · slavesC · wavesC · setD · forgetD · day
- 60 --AA-- dionysus · may · heA · theeA · us · house
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 |
|---|---|---|
| (As the Chorus ceases, a party of the guards return, leading in the midst of them DIONYSUS, bound. The SOLDIER in command stands forth, as PENTHEUS, hearing the tramp of feet, comes out from the Castle.) | 48 | ··/˘/˘·/˘···˘//˘··········/˘·˘/·····/˘········/˘ |
| SOLDIER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Our quest is finished, and thy prey, O King, | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| Caught; for the chase was swift, and this wild thing | 10 | ·········· |
| Most tame; yet never flinched, nor thought to flee, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But held both hands out unresistingly-- | 10 | ·········· |
| No change, no blanching of the wine-red cheek. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He waited while we came, and bade us wreak | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| All thy decree; yea, laughed, and made my hest | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Easy, till I for very shame confessed | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| And said: 'O stranger, not of mine own will | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I bind thee, but his bidding to fulfil | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Who sent me.' | 3 | ··· |
| And those prisoned Maids withal | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Whom thou didst seize and bind within the wall | 10 | ·········· |
| Of thy great dungeon, they are fled, O King, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Free in the woods, a-dance and glorying | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| To Bromios. Of their own impulse fell | 9 | ······/˘· |
| To earth, men say, fetter and manacle, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘˘ |
| And bars slid back untouched of mortal hand. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Yea, full of many wonders to thy land | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Is this man come. . . . Howbeit, it lies with thee! | 11 | ····˘/˘···· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Ye are mad!--Unhand him. Howso swift he be, | 11 | ···˘/·/˘··· |
| My toils are round him and he shall not fly. | 10 | ·········· |
| (The guards loose the arms of DIONYSUS; PENTHEUS studies him for a while in silence, then speaks jeeringly. DIONYSUS remains gentle and unafraid.) | 36 | ···········/˘·····/˘········˘//˘··˘/ |
| Marry, a fair shape for a woman's eye, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Sir stranger! And thou seek'st no more, I ween! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Long curls, withal! That shows thou ne'er hast been | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| A wrestler!--down both cheeks so softly tossed | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And winsome! And a white skin! It hath cost | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thee pains, to please thy damsels with this white | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And red of cheeks that never face the light! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| (DIONYSUS is silent.) | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Speak, sirrah; tell me first thy name and race. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| No glory is therein, nor yet disgrace. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Thou hast heard of Tmolus, the bright hill of flowers? | 11 | ··········/ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Surely; the ridge that winds by Sardis' towers | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Thence am I; Lydia was my fatherland. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| And whence these revelations, that thy band | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Spreadeth in Hellas? | 5 | /˘··· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Their intent and use | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Dionysus oped to me, the Child of Zeus. | 10 | ·········· |
| PENTHEUS (brutally). | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| Is there a Zeus there, that can still beget | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Young Gods? | 2 | ·· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Nay, only He whose seal was set | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Here in thy Thebes on Semele. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| What way | 2 | ·· |
| Descended he upon thee? In full day | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Or vision of night? | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Most clear he stood, and scanned | 6 | ······ |
| My soul, and gave his emblems to mine hand. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| What like be they, these emblems? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| That may none | 3 | ··· |
| Reveal, nor know, save his Elect alone. | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘/ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| And what good bring they to the worshipper? | 10 | ·········· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Good beyond price, but not for thee to hear. | 10 | ·········· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Thou trickster! Thou wouldst prick me on the more | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To seek them out! | 4 | ···· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| His mysteries abhor | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| The touch of sin-lovers. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| And so thine eyes | 4 | ···· |
| Saw this God plain; what guise had he? | 8 | ········ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| What guise | 2 | ·· |
| It liked him. 'Twas not I ordained his shape. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Aye, deftly turned again. An idle jape, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And nothing answered! | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Wise words being brought | 5 | ··/˘· |
| To blinded eyes will seem as things of nought. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| And comest thou first to Thebes, to have thy God | 11 | ··········· |
| Established? | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Nay; all Barbary hath trod | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| His dance ere this. | 4 | ···· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| A low blind folk, I ween, | 6 | ······ |
| Beside our Hellenes! | 6 | ·//˘/˘ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Higher and more keen | 5 | /˘··· |
| In this thing, though their ways are not thy way. | 10 | ·········· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| How is thy worship held, by night or day? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Most oft by night; 'tis a majestic thing, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The darkness. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Ha! with women worshipping? | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| 'Tis craft and rottenness! | 6 | ······ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| By day no less, | 4 | ···· |
| Whoso will seek may find unholiness. | 10 | /˘········ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Enough! Thy doom is fixed, for false pretence | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Corrupting Thebes. | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Not mine; but thine, for dense | 6 | ······ |
| Blindness of heart, and for blaspheming God! | 10 | /˘········ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| A ready knave it is, and brazen-browed, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| This mystery-priest! | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Come, say what it shall be, | 6 | ······ |
| My doom; what dire thing wilt thou do to me? | 10 | ·········· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| First, shear that delicate curl that dangles there. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| (He beckons to the soldiers, who approach DIONYSUS.) | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/··· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| I have vowed it to my God; 'tis holy hair. | 11 | ········/˘· |
| (The soldiers cut off the tress.) | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Next, yield me up thy staff! | 6 | ······ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Raise thine own hand | 4 | ···· |
| To take it. This is Dionysus' wand. | 9 | ········· |
| (PENTHEUS takes the staff.) | 5 | ····· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Last, I will hold thee prisoned here. | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| My Lord | 2 | ·· |
| God will unloose me, when I speak the word. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| He may, if e'er again amid his bands | 10 | ····˘/˘/·· |
| Of saints he hears thy voice! | 6 | ······ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Even now he stands | 5 | /˘··· |
| Close here, and sees all that I suffer. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| What? | 1 | · |
| Where is he? For mine eyes discern him not. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Where I am! 'Tis thine own impurity | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| That veils him from thee. | 5 | ····· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| The dog jeers at me! | 5 | ····· |
| At me and Thebes! Bind him! | 6 | ······ |
| (The soldiers begin to bind him.) | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| I charge ye, bind | 4 | ···· |
| Me not! I having vision and ye blind! | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| And I, with better right, say bind the more! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (The soldiers obey.) | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| Thou knowest not what end thou seekest, nor | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| What deed thou doest, nor what man thou art! | 9 | ········· |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| (Mocking) | 2 | /˘ |
| Agave's son, and on the father's part | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Echion's, hight Pentheus! | 5 | ····· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| So let it be, | 4 | ···· |
| A name fore-written to calamity! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| PENTHEUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Away, and tie him where the steeds are tied; | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Aye, let him lie in the manger!--There abide | 11 | ······/˘·˘/ |
| And stare into the darkness!--And this rout | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of womankind that clusters thee about, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Thy ministers of worship, are my slaves! | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| It may be I will sell them o'er the waves, | 10 | ·········· |
| Hither and thither; else they shall be set | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| To labour at my distaffs, and forget | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| Their timbrel and their songs of dawning day! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| DIONYSUS. | 3 | ··· |
| I go; for that which may not be, I may | 10 | ·········· |
| Not suffer! Yet for this thy sin, lo, He | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Whom thou deniest cometh after thee | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| For recompense. Yea, in thy wrong to us, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thou hast cast Him into thy prison-house! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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.