First Episode
(The NURSE comes out from the central door followed by PHAEDRA, who is supported by two handmaids. They make ready a couch for PHAEDRA to lie upon.)
NURSE.O sick and sore are the days of men!What wouldst thou? What shall I change againHere is the Sun for thee; here is the sky;And thy weary pillows wind-swept lie,By the castle door.But the cloud of thy brow is dark, I ween;And soon thou wilt back to thy bower within:So swift to change is the path of thy feet,And near things hateful, and far things sweet;So was it before!
Oh, pain were better than tending pain!For that were single, and this is twain,With grief of heart and labour of limb.Yet all man's life is but ailing and dim,And rest upon earth comes never.But if any far-off state there be,Dearer than life to mortality;The hand of the Dark hath hold thereof,And mist is under and mist above.And so we are sick of life, and clingOn earth to this nameless and shining thing.For other life is a fountain sealed,And the deeps below are unrevealed,And we drift on legends for ever!(PHAEDRA during this has been laid on her couch; she speaks to the handmaids.)
PHAEDRA.Yes; lift me: not my head so low.There, hold my arms.--Fair arms they seem!--My poor limbs scarce obey me now!Take off that hood that weighs my brow,And let my long hair stream.
NURSE.Nay, toss not, Child, so feveredly.The sickness best will win reliefBy quiet rest and constancy.All men have grief.
PHAEDRA (not noticing her).Oh for a deep and dewy spring,With runlets cold to draw and drink!And a great meadow blossoming,Long-grassed, and poplars in a ring,To rest me by the brink!
NURSE.Nay, Child! Shall strangers hear this toneSo wild, and thoughts so fever-flown?
PHAEDRA.Oh, take me to the Mountain! Oh,Pass the great pines and through the wood,Up where the lean hounds softly go,A-whine for wild things' blood,And madly flies the dappled roe.O God, to shout and speed them there,An arrow by my chestnut hairDrawn tight, and one keen glimmering spear--Ah! if I could!
NURSE.What wouldst thou with them--fancies all!--Thy hunting and thy fountain brink?What wouldst thou? By the city wallCanst hear our own brook plash and fallDownhill, if thou wouldst drink.
PHAEDRA.O Mistress of the Sea-lorn MereWhere horse-hoofs beat the sand and sing,O Artemis, that I were thereTo tame Enetian steeds and steerSwift chariots in the ring!
NURSE.Nay, mountainward but now thy handsYearned out, with craving for the chase;And now toward the unseaswept sandsThou roamest, where the coursers pace!O wild young steed, what prophet knowsThe power that holds thy curb, and throwsThy swift heart from its race?(At these words PHAEDRA gradually recovers herself and pays attention.)
PHAEDRA.What have I said? Woe's me! And whereGone straying from my wholesome mind?What? Did I fall in some god's snare?--Nurse, veil my head again, and blindMine eyes.--There is a tear behindThat lash.--Oh, I am sick with shame!Aye, but it hath a sting,To come to reason; yet the nameOf madness is an awful thing.--Could I but die in one swift flameUnthinking, unknowing!
NURSE.I veil thy face, Child.--Would that soMine own were veiled for evermore,So sore I love thee! ... Though the loreOf long life mocks me, and I knowHow love should be a lightsome thingNot rooted in the deep o' the heart;With gentle ties, to twine apartIf need so call, or closer cling.--Why do I love thee so? O fool,O fool, the heart that bleeds for twain,And builds, men tell us, walls of pain,To walk by love's unswerving ruleThe same for ever, stern and true!For "Thorough" is no word of peace:'Tis "Naught-too-much" makes trouble cease.And many a wise man bows thereto.(The LEADER OF THE CHORUS here approaches the NURSE.)
LEADER.Nurse of our Queen, thou watcher old and true,We see her great affliction, but no clueHave we to learn the sickness. Wouldst thou tellThe name and sort thereof, 'twould like us well.
NURSE.Small leechcraft have I, and she tells no man.
LEADER.Thou know'st no cause? Nor when the unrest began?
NURSE.It all comes to the same. She will not speak.
LEADER (turning and looking at PHAEDRA).How she is changed and wasted! And how weak!
NURSE.'Tis the third day she hath fasted utterly.
LEADER.What, is she mad? Or doth she seek to die?
NURSE.I know not. But to death it sure must lead.
LEADER.'Tis strange that Theseus takes hereof no heed.
NURSE.She hides her wound, and vows it is not so.
LEADER.Can he not look into her face and know?
NURSE.Nay, he is on a journey these last days.
LEADER.Canst thou not force her, then? Or think of waysTo trap the secret of the sick heart's pain?
NURSE.Have I not tried all ways, and all in vain?Yet will I cease not now, and thou shalt tellIf in her grief I serve my mistress well!(She goes across to where PHAEDRA lies; and presently, while speaking, kneels by her.)Dear daughter mine, all that before was saidLet both of us forget; and thou insteadBe kindlier, and unlock that prisoned brow.And I, who followed then the wrong road, nowWill leave it and be wiser. If thou fearSome secret sickness, there be women hereTo give thee comfort.(PHAEDRA shakes her head.)No; not secret? ThenIs it a sickness meet for aid of men?Speak, that a leech may tend thee.Silent still?Nay, Child, what profits silence? If 'tis illThis that I counsel, makes me see the wrong:If well, then yield to me.Nay, Child, I longFor one kind word, one look!(PHAEDRA lies motionless. The NURSE rises.)Oh, woe is me!Women, we labour here all fruitlessly,All as far off as ever from her heart!She ever scorned me, and now hears no partOf all my prayers!(Turning to PHAEDRA again.)Nay, hear thou shalt, and be,If so thou will, more wild than the wild sea;But know, thou art thy little ones' betrayer!If thou die now, shall child of thine be heirTo Theseus' castle? Nay, not thine, I ween,But hers! That barbèd Amazonian QueenHath left a child to bend thy children low,A bastard royal-hearted--sayst not so?--Hippolytus...
PHAEDRA.Ah!(She starts up, sitting, and throws the veil off.)
NURSE.That stings thee?
PHAEDRA.Nurse, most soreThou hast hurt me! In God's name, speak that name no more.
NURSE.Thou seest? Thy mind is clear; but with thy mindThou wilt not save thy children, nor be kindTo thine own life.
PHAEDRA.My children? Nay, most dearI love them,--Far, far other grief is here.
NURSE (after a pause, wondering).Thy hand is clean, O Child, from stain of blood?
PHAEDRA.My hand is clean; but is my heart, O God?
NURSE.Some enemy's spell hath made thy spirit dim?
PHAEDRA.He hates me not that slays me, nor I him.
NURSE.Theseus, the King, hath wronged thee in man's wise?
PHAEDRA.Ah, could but I stand guiltless in his eyes!
NURSE.O speak! What is this death-fraught mystery?
PHAEDRA.Nay, leave me to my wrong. I wrong not thee.
NURSE (suddenly throwing herself in supplication at PHAEDRA'S feet).Not wrong me, whom thou wouldst all desolate leave?
PHAEDRA (rising and trying to move away).What wouldst thou? Force me? Clinging to my sleeve?
NURSE.Yea, to thy knees; and weep; and let not go!
PHAEDRA.Woe to thee, Woman, if thou learn it, woe!
NURSE.I know no bitterer woe than losing thee.
PHAEDRA.Yet the deed shall honour me.
NURSE.Why hide what honours thee? 'Tis all I claim!
PHAEDRA.Why, so I build up honour out of shame!
NURSE.Then speak, and higher still thy fame shall stand.
PHAEDRA.Go, in God's name!--Nay, leave me; loose my hand!
NURSE.Never, until thou grant me what I pray.
PHAEDRA (yielding, after a pause).So be it. I dare not tear that hand away.
NURSE (rising and releasing PHAEDRA).Tell all thou wilt, Daughter. I speak no more.
PHAEDRA (after a long pause).Mother, poor Mother, that didst love so sore!
NURSE.What mean'st thou, Child? The Wild Bull of the Tide?
PHAEDRA.And thou, sad sister, Dionysus' bride!
NURSE.Child! wouldst thou shame the house where thou wast born?
PHAEDRA.And I the third, sinking most all-forlorn!
NURSE (to herself).I am all lost and feared. What will she say?
PHAEDRA.From there my grief comes, not from yesterday.
NURSE.I come no nearer to thy parable.
PHAEDRA.Oh, would that thou could'st tell what I must tell!
NURSE.I am no seer in things I wot not of.
PHAEDRA (again hesitating).What is it that they mean, who say men...love?
NURSE.A thing most sweet, my Child, yet dolorous.
PHAEDRA.Only the half, belike, hath fallen on us!
NURSE (starting).On thee? Love?--Oh, what say'st thou? What man's son?
PHAEDRA.What man's? There was a Queen, an Amazon ...
NURSE.Hippolytus, say'st thou?
PHAEDRA (again wrapping her face in the veil).Nay, 'twas thou, not I!(PHAEDRA sinks back on the couch and covers her face again. The NURSE starts violently from her and walks up and down.)
NURSE.O God! what wilt thou say, Child? Wouldst thou tryTo kill me?--Oh, 'tis more than I can bear;Women. I will no more of it, this glareOf hated day, this shining of the sky.I will fling down my body, and let it lieTill life be gone!Women, God rest with you,My works are over! For the pure and trueAre forced to evil, against their own heart's vow,And love it!(She suddenly sees the Statue of CYPRIS, and stands with her eyes riveted upon it.)Ah, Cyprian! No god art thou,But more than god, and greater, that hath thrustMe and my queen and all our house to dust!(She throws herself on the ground close to the statue.)
Words in this poem 38
- 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]
- hateful a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- mortality n.
- The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.]
- nameless a.
- Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- madly adv.
- In a mad manner; without reason or understanding; wildly. [From Mad, a.]
- dappled a.
- Marked with spots of different shades of color; spotted; variegated; as, a dapple horse.
- downhill adv.
- Towards the bottom of a hill; as, water runs downhill.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- unthinking a.
- Not thinking; not heedful; thoughtless; inconsiderate; as, unthinking youth.
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- lightsome a.
- Having light; lighted; not dark or gloomy; bright.
- closer n.
- One who, or that which, closes; specifically, a boot closer. See under Boot.
- watcher n.
- One who watches; one who sits up or continues; a diligent observer; specifically, one who attends upon the sick during the night.
- clue n.
- A ball of thread, yarn, or cord; also, The thread itself. [OE. clewe, clowe, clue, AS. cleowen, cliwen, clywe ball of thread; akin to D. kluwen, OHG. chliwa, chliuwa, G. dim. kleuel, knäuel, and perch. to L. gluma hull,]
- leechcraft n.
- The art of healing; skill of a physician.
- unrest n.
- Want of rest or repose; unquietness; sleeplessness; uneasiness; disquietude.
- hereof adv.
- Of this; concerning this; from this; hence.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- unlock v. t.
- To unfasten, as what is locked; as, to unlock a door or a chest. [Cf. AS. unl. See 1st Un-, and Lock, v. t.]
- betrayer n.
- One who, or that which, betrays.
- amazonian a.
- Pertaining to or resembling an Amazon; of masculine manners; warlike.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- guiltless a.
- Free from guilt; innocent.
- 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.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- dolorous a.
- Full of grief; sad; sorrowful; doleful; dismal; as, a dolorous object; dolorous discourses. [L. dolorosus, from dolor: cf. F. douloureux. See Dolor.]
- belike adv.
- It is likely or probably; perhaps. -- Be*like"ly, adv. [Pref. be- (for by) + like.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- cypris n.
- A genus of small, bivalve, freshwater Crustacea, belonging to the Ostracoda; also, a member of this genus. [L. Cypris, the Cyprian goddess Venus, Gr. Cyprian.]
- cyprian a.
- Belonging to Cyprus.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
First Episode is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hippolytus of Euripides, translated into English rhyming verse by Gilbert Murray (Harvard Classics reprint), Project Gutenberg ebook #8418, 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, First Episode, in Hippolytus (1902), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8418, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/euripides-hippolytus/first-episode.html, id L28787.
Form and metre
First Episode is 284 lines in 71 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 -AABBC--DDC nurse · menA · againA · skyB · lieB · doorC · ween · within · feetD · sweetD · beforeC
- 3 AABBC--DDEEFFC- painA · twainA · limbB · dimB · neverC · be · mortality · thereofD · aboveD · clingE · thingE · sealedF · unrevealedF · everC · handmaids
- 4 --ABBA phaedra · low · seemA · nowB · browB · streamA
- 5 --A-A nurse · feveredly · reliefA · constancy · griefA
- 6 -ABAAB her · springA · drinkB · blossomingA · ringA · brinkB
- 7 -AA nurse · toneA · flownA
- 8 -ABABACCCB phaedra · ohA · woodB · goA · bloodB · roeA · thereC · hairC · spearC · couldB
- 9 -ABAAB nurse · allA · brinkB · wallA · fallA · drinkB
- 10 -ABAAB phaedra · mereA · singB · thereA · steerA · ringB
- 11 -ABABCCB- nurse · handsA · chaseB · sandsA · paceB · knowsC · throwsC · raceB · attention
- 12 -ABABBCDCDCD phaedra · whereA · mindB · snareA · blindB · behindB · shameC · stingD · nameC · thingD · flameC · unknowingD
- 13 ABCCBDEEDFGGF-HH-A nurseA · soB · evermoreC · loreC · knowB · thingD · heartE · apartE · clingD · foolF · twainG · painG · ruleF · true · peaceH · ceaseH · thereto · nurseA
- 14 -AABB leader · trueA · clueA · tellB · wellB
- 27 --AA-BBCCDD--EEFGGHFH----II--JJ--KKLL- nurse · vain · tellA · wellA · her · saidB · insteadB · browC · nowC · fearD · hereD · comfort · head · thenE · menE · theeF · stillG · illG · wrongH · meF · longH · look · rises · me · fruitlessly · heartI · partI · prayers · again · beJ · seaJ · betrayer · heir · weenK · queenK · lowL · soL · hippolytus
- 30 -AA phaedra · soreA · moreA
- 31 -AA- nurse · mindA · kindA · life
- 32 -AA phaedra · dearA · hereA
- 71 -ABBAA-CCDEEDFFC nurse · tryA · bearB · glareB · skyA · lieA · gone · youC · trueC · vowD · itE · itE · thouD · thrustF · dustF · statueC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| (The NURSE comes out from the central door followed by PHAEDRA, who is supported by two handmaids. They make ready a couch for PHAEDRA to lie upon.) | 36 | ······/˘·/˘·····˘/˘······/˘········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| O sick and sore are the days of men! | 9 | ········· |
| What wouldst thou? What shall I change again | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Here is the Sun for thee; here is the sky; | 10 | ·········· |
| And thy weary pillows wind-swept lie, | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| By the castle door. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| But the cloud of thy brow is dark, I ween; | 10 | ·········· |
| And soon thou wilt back to thy bower within: | 10 | ·······/·· |
| So swift to change is the path of thy feet, | 10 | ·········· |
| And near things hateful, and far things sweet; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| So was it before! | 5 | ····· |
| Oh, pain were better than tending pain! | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| For that were single, and this is twain, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| With grief of heart and labour of limb. | 9 | ·····/··· |
| Yet all man's life is but ailing and dim, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And rest upon earth comes never. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But if any far-off state there be, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Dearer than life to mortality; | 9 | /˘···˘/˘˘ |
| The hand of the Dark hath hold thereof, | 9 | ········· |
| And mist is under and mist above. | 9 | ········· |
| And so we are sick of life, and cling | 9 | ········· |
| On earth to this nameless and shining thing. | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| For other life is a fountain sealed, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·˘ |
| And the deeps below are unrevealed, | 10 | ·········˘ |
| And we drift on legends for ever! | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| (PHAEDRA during this has been laid on her couch; she speaks to the handmaids.) | 17 | ··/˘············· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Yes; lift me: not my head so low. | 8 | ········ |
| There, hold my arms.--Fair arms they seem!-- | 8 | ········ |
| My poor limbs scarce obey me now! | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Take off that hood that weighs my brow, | 8 | ········ |
| And let my long hair stream. | 6 | ······ |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Nay, toss not, Child, so feveredly. | 9 | ········· |
| The sickness best will win relief | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| By quiet rest and constancy. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| All men have grief. | 4 | ···· |
| PHAEDRA (not noticing her). | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Oh for a deep and dewy spring, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With runlets cold to draw and drink! | 8 | ········ |
| And a great meadow blossoming, | 8 | ···/·/˘˘ |
| Long-grassed, and poplars in a ring, | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| To rest me by the brink! | 6 | ······ |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Nay, Child! Shall strangers hear this tone | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So wild, and thoughts so fever-flown? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh, take me to the Mountain! Oh, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Pass the great pines and through the wood, | 8 | ········ |
| Up where the lean hounds softly go, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-whine for wild things' blood, | 6 | ······ |
| And madly flies the dappled roe. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| O God, to shout and speed them there, | 8 | ········ |
| An arrow by my chestnut hair | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Drawn tight, and one keen glimmering spear-- | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Ah! if I could! | 4 | ···· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| What wouldst thou with them--fancies all!-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thy hunting and thy fountain brink? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What wouldst thou? By the city wall | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Canst hear our own brook plash and fall | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Downhill, if thou wouldst drink. | 6 | //···· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| O Mistress of the Sea-lorn Mere | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where horse-hoofs beat the sand and sing, | 8 | ········ |
| O Artemis, that I were there | 8 | ········ |
| To tame Enetian steeds and steer | 8 | ········ |
| Swift chariots in the ring! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Nay, mountainward but now thy hands | 8 | ········ |
| Yearned out, with craving for the chase; | 9 | ·˘··/˘··· |
| And now toward the unseaswept sands | 9 | ········· |
| Thou roamest, where the coursers pace! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O wild young steed, what prophet knows | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The power that holds thy curb, and throws | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Thy swift heart from its race? | 6 | ······ |
| (At these words PHAEDRA gradually recovers herself and pays attention.) | 17 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘/··˘/˘ |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| What have I said? Woe's me! And where | 8 | ········ |
| Gone straying from my wholesome mind? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What? Did I fall in some god's snare? | 8 | ········ |
| --Nurse, veil my head again, and blind | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Mine eyes.--There is a tear behind | 8 | ········ |
| That lash.--Oh, I am sick with shame! | 8 | ········ |
| Aye, but it hath a sting, | 6 | ······ |
| To come to reason; yet the name | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of madness is an awful thing.-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Could I but die in one swift flame | 8 | ········ |
| Unthinking, unknowing! | 6 | ˘/˘˘/˘ |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| I veil thy face, Child.--Would that so | 8 | ········ |
| Mine own were veiled for evermore, | 9 | ····˘·/˘· |
| So sore I love thee! ... Though the lore | 8 | ········ |
| Of long life mocks me, and I know | 8 | ········ |
| How love should be a lightsome thing | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Not rooted in the deep o' the heart; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| With gentle ties, to twine apart | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| If need so call, or closer cling.-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Why do I love thee so? O fool, | 8 | ········ |
| O fool, the heart that bleeds for twain, | 8 | ········ |
| And builds, men tell us, walls of pain, | 8 | ········ |
| To walk by love's unswerving rule | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The same for ever, stern and true! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For "Thorough" is no word of peace: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Tis "Naught-too-much" makes trouble cease. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And many a wise man bows thereto. | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| (The LEADER OF THE CHORUS here approaches the NURSE.) | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘·· |
| LEADER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Nurse of our Queen, thou watcher old and true, | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| We see her great affliction, but no clue | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Have we to learn the sickness. Wouldst thou tell | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The name and sort thereof, 'twould like us well. | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Small leechcraft have I, and she tells no man. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| LEADER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Thou know'st no cause? Nor when the unrest began? | 11 | ·······˘/˘/ |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| It all comes to the same. She will not speak. | 10 | ·········· |
| LEADER (turning and looking at PHAEDRA). | 10 | /˘/˘·/˘··· |
| How she is changed and wasted! And how weak! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| 'Tis the third day she hath fasted utterly. | 11 | ······/˘/˘˘ |
| LEADER. | 2 | /˘ |
| What, is she mad? Or doth she seek to die? | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| I know not. But to death it sure must lead. | 10 | ·········· |
| LEADER. | 2 | /˘ |
| 'Tis strange that Theseus takes hereof no heed. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| She hides her wound, and vows it is not so. | 10 | ·········· |
| LEADER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Can he not look into her face and know? | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Nay, he is on a journey these last days. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| LEADER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Canst thou not force her, then? Or think of ways | 10 | ·········· |
| To trap the secret of the sick heart's pain? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Have I not tried all ways, and all in vain? | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet will I cease not now, and thou shalt tell | 10 | ·········· |
| If in her grief I serve my mistress well! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| (She goes across to where PHAEDRA lies; and presently, while speaking, kneels by her.) | 18 | ··˘/······/˘·/˘··· |
| Dear daughter mine, all that before was said | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Let both of us forget; and thou instead | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Be kindlier, and unlock that prisoned brow. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| And I, who followed then the wrong road, now | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Will leave it and be wiser. If thou fear | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Some secret sickness, there be women here | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| To give thee comfort. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| (PHAEDRA shakes her head.) | 5 | ····· |
| No; not secret? Then | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Is it a sickness meet for aid of men? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Speak, that a leech may tend thee. | 7 | ······· |
| Silent still? | 3 | /˘· |
| Nay, Child, what profits silence? If 'tis ill | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| This that I counsel, makes me see the wrong: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If well, then yield to me. | 6 | ······ |
| Nay, Child, I long | 4 | ···· |
| For one kind word, one look! | 6 | ······ |
| (PHAEDRA lies motionless. The NURSE rises.) | 10 | ···/˘˘··/˘ |
| Oh, woe is me! | 4 | ···· |
| Women, we labour here all fruitlessly, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘˘ |
| All as far off as ever from her heart! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| She ever scorned me, and now hears no part | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of all my prayers! | 4 | ···· |
| (Turning to PHAEDRA again.) | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Nay, hear thou shalt, and be, | 6 | ······ |
| If so thou will, more wild than the wild sea; | 10 | ·········· |
| But know, thou art thy little ones' betrayer! | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| If thou die now, shall child of thine be heir | 10 | ·········· |
| To Theseus' castle? Nay, not thine, I ween, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But hers! That barbèd Amazonian Queen | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| Hath left a child to bend thy children low, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A bastard royal-hearted--sayst not so?-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Hippolytus... | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Ah! | 1 | · |
| (She starts up, sitting, and throws the veil off.) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| That stings thee? | 3 | ··· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Nurse, most sore | 3 | ··· |
| Thou hast hurt me! In God's name, speak that name no more. | 12 | ············ |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Thou seest? Thy mind is clear; but with thy mind | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou wilt not save thy children, nor be kind | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To thine own life. | 4 | ···· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| My children? Nay, most dear | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I love them,--Far, far other grief is here. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| NURSE (after a pause, wondering). | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Thy hand is clean, O Child, from stain of blood? | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| My hand is clean; but is my heart, O God? | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Some enemy's spell hath made thy spirit dim? | 10 | ·/˘˘····/· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| He hates me not that slays me, nor I him. | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Theseus, the King, hath wronged thee in man's wise? | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Ah, could but I stand guiltless in his eyes! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| O speak! What is this death-fraught mystery? | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Nay, leave me to my wrong. I wrong not thee. | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE (suddenly throwing herself in supplication at PHAEDRA'S feet). | 16 | ·/˘/˘˘/········· |
| Not wrong me, whom thou wouldst all desolate leave? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| PHAEDRA (rising and trying to move away). | 11 | ··/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| What wouldst thou? Force me? Clinging to my sleeve? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Yea, to thy knees; and weep; and let not go! | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Woe to thee, Woman, if thou learn it, woe! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| I know no bitterer woe than losing thee. | 11 | ········/˘· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Yet the deed shall honour me. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Why hide what honours thee? 'Tis all I claim! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Why, so I build up honour out of shame! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Then speak, and higher still thy fame shall stand. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Go, in God's name!--Nay, leave me; loose my hand! | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Never, until thou grant me what I pray. | 10 | /˘········ |
| PHAEDRA (yielding, after a pause). | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| So be it. I dare not tear that hand away. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| NURSE (rising and releasing PHAEDRA). | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| Tell all thou wilt, Daughter. I speak no more. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| PHAEDRA (after a long pause). | 7 | ······· |
| Mother, poor Mother, that didst love so sore! | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| What mean'st thou, Child? The Wild Bull of the Tide? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| And thou, sad sister, Dionysus' bride! | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Child! wouldst thou shame the house where thou wast born? | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| And I the third, sinking most all-forlorn! | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| NURSE (to herself). | 4 | ··˘/ |
| I am all lost and feared. What will she say? | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| From there my grief comes, not from yesterday. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| I come no nearer to thy parable. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh, would that thou could'st tell what I must tell! | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| I am no seer in things I wot not of. | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA (again hesitating). | 8 | ··˘//˘·˘ |
| What is it that they mean, who say men...love? | 10 | ·········· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| A thing most sweet, my Child, yet dolorous. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| Only the half, belike, hath fallen on us! | 11 | /˘··˘/·/˘·· |
| NURSE (starting). | 3 | ·/˘ |
| On thee? Love?--Oh, what say'st thou? What man's son? | 10 | ·········· |
| PHAEDRA. | 2 | ·· |
| What man's? There was a Queen, an Amazon ... | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| Hippolytus, say'st thou? | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| PHAEDRA (again wrapping her face in the veil). | 11 | ··˘//˘····· |
| Nay, 'twas thou, not I! | 5 | ····· |
| (PHAEDRA sinks back on the couch and covers her face again. The NURSE starts violently from her and walks up and down.) | 26 | ········/˘··˘/···/˘······· |
| NURSE. | 1 | · |
| O God! what wilt thou say, Child? Wouldst thou try | 10 | ·········· |
| To kill me?--Oh, 'tis more than I can bear; | 10 | ·········· |
| Women. I will no more of it, this glare | 10 | /˘········ |
| Of hated day, this shining of the sky. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I will fling down my body, and let it lie | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Till life be gone! | 4 | ···· |
| Women, God rest with you, | 6 | /˘···· |
| My works are over! For the pure and true | 10 | ·········· |
| Are forced to evil, against their own heart's vow, | 10 | ···/······ |
| And love it! | 3 | ··· |
| (She suddenly sees the Statue of CYPRIS, and stands with her eyes riveted upon it.) | 20 | ·/˘··/··/˘·····/˘··· |
| Ah, Cyprian! No god art thou, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| But more than god, and greater, that hath thrust | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Me and my queen and all our house to dust! | 10 | ······/··· |
| (She throws herself on the ground close to the statue.) | 12 | ··˘/······/· |
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.