Act I: Scene II
FIAMETTA.But did you see her?
LUCA.Nay, I saw her sister, Donna Annicca.
LUCA.Thou speakest more like her page than her handmaiden.
LUCA.If he have but eyes, I warrant thee he finds jewels enough in thybright face. Tell me his name.
FIAMETTA.Nay, that is my secret.
LUCA.He must be a poor-souled lad if he will wait till thou hast earneda dowry.
FIAMETTA.A poor-souled lad! my good Vicenzo--ah! but no matter; thou knowesthim, Luca, my Lord Lorenzo's page. There!--is he poor, or mean, orplain, or dull? He claims no dowry, he--but I have my pride, as wellas the great ones.
LUCA.May the saints preserve thee from such as theirs! I am heartily gladof thy good fortune. I am not sure whether thou or Lady Marie-Rosabe the most favored. Well, the end proves all.
RIBERA.What do ye here, my children? Haste away!Maria waits you for the ball; folk say'T will be the bravest show e'er seen in Naples.I warrant you the Spagnoletto bringsThe richest jewels--what say'st thou, my son?
DON TOMMASO.I who have robbed you of one gem, need scarceRe-word, sir, how I prize it.
RIBERA.Why, 't is true.Robbed me, thou sayst? So hast thou. She was mine--The balanced beauty of her flesh and spirit,That was my garland, and I was her all,Till thou, a stranger, stole her heart's allegiance,Suborned--Forgive me, I am old, a father,Whose doting passions blind. I am not jealous,Believe me, sir. When we Riberas give,We give without retraction or reserve,Were it our life-blood. I rejoice with theeThat she is thine; nor am I quite bereft,I have some treasure still. I do repentSo heartily of my discourteous speech,That I will crave your leave before I kissYour wife's soft palm.
ANNICCA (kissing him repeatedly).Why, father, what is this?Can Don Tommaso's wife so soon forgetShe is the Spagnoletto's child?
RIBERA.Enough.I can bear praise, thou knowest, from all save theeAnd my Maria. My grave son, I fear,Will mock these transports. Pray go in with me.No one of us but has this night a triumph.Let us make ready.
Words in this poem
- donna n.
- A lady; madam; mistress; -- the title given a lady in Italy. [It. donna, L. domina. See Don, Dame.]
- handmaiden n.
- A maid that waits at hand; a female servant or attendant.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- dowry n.
- A gift; endowment. [Contr. from dowery; cf. LL. dotarium. See Dower.]
- 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.]
- 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]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- doting a.
- That dotes; silly; excessively fond.
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- discourteous a.
- Uncivil; rude; wanting in courtesy or good manners; uncourteous. [Pref. dis- + courteous: cf. OF. discortois.]
- 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 I: Scene II is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Act I: Scene II, in The Spagnoletto (1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-spagnoletto/act-i-scene-ii.html, id L19137.
Form and metre
Act I: Scene II is 59 lines in 13 stanzas.
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.
- 9 -AA--- ribera · awayA · sayA · naples · brings · son
- 13 --A-A-- ribera · enough · theeA · fear · meA · triumph · ready
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| FIAMETTA. | 3 | ··· |
| But did you see her? | 5 | ····· |
| LUCA. | 2 | /˘ |
| Nay, I saw her sister, Donna Annicca. | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| LUCA. | 2 | /˘ |
| Thou speakest more like her page than her handmaiden. | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| LUCA. | 2 | /˘ |
| If he have but eyes, I warrant thee he finds jewels enough in thy | 17 | ······/˘···/˘˘/·· |
| bright face. Tell me his name. | 6 | ······ |
| FIAMETTA. | 3 | ··· |
| Nay, that is my secret. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| LUCA. | 2 | /˘ |
| He must be a poor-souled lad if he will wait till thou hast earned | 15 | ··············· |
| a dowry. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| FIAMETTA. | 3 | ··· |
| A poor-souled lad! my good Vicenzo--ah! but no matter; thou knowest | 17 | ············/˘·/˘ |
| him, Luca, my Lord Lorenzo's page. There!--is he poor, or mean, or | 16 | ·/˘··˘/˘········ |
| plain, or dull? He claims no dowry, he--but I have my pride, as well | 16 | ······/˘········ |
| as the great ones. | 4 | ···· |
| LUCA. | 2 | /˘ |
| May the saints preserve thee from such as theirs! I am heartily glad | 15 | ···˘/·······/˘· |
| of thy good fortune. I am not sure whether thou or Lady Marie-Rosa | 19 | ···/˘········/˘˘//˘ |
| be the most favored. Well, the end proves all. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| RIBERA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| What do ye here, my children? Haste away! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Maria waits you for the ball; folk say | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| 'T will be the bravest show e'er seen in Naples. | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| I warrant you the Spagnoletto brings | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The richest jewels--what say'st thou, my son? | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| I who have robbed you of one gem, need scarce | 10 | ·········· |
| Re-word, sir, how I prize it. | 7 | ······· |
| RIBERA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Why, 't is true. | 4 | ···· |
| Robbed me, thou sayst? So hast thou. She was mine-- | 10 | ·········· |
| The balanced beauty of her flesh and spirit, | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| That was my garland, and I was her all, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Till thou, a stranger, stole her heart's allegiance, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Suborned--Forgive me, I am old, a father, | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| Whose doting passions blind. I am not jealous, | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Believe me, sir. When we Riberas give, | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| We give without retraction or reserve, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Were it our life-blood. I rejoice with thee | 10 | ··/···˘/·· |
| That she is thine; nor am I quite bereft, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I have some treasure still. I do repent | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| So heartily of my discourteous speech, | 10 | ·/˘··˘/˘˘· |
| That I will crave your leave before I kiss | 10 | ·········· |
| Your wife's soft palm. | 4 | ···· |
| ANNICCA (kissing him repeatedly). | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Why, father, what is this? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Can Don Tommaso's wife so soon forget | 10 | ········˘/ |
| She is the Spagnoletto's child? | 8 | ········ |
| RIBERA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Enough. | 2 | ˘/ |
| I can bear praise, thou knowest, from all save thee | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And my Maria. My grave son, I fear, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Will mock these transports. Pray go in with me. | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| No one of us but has this night a triumph. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Let us make ready. | 5 | ···/˘ |
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