Act III: Scene II
DON TOMMASO.Truly, you wrong your sister; she is young,Heedless, and wilful, that is all; a touchOf the Ribera's spirit fired the lass.Don John was but her weapon of revengeAgainst the malice of our haughty matrons,Who hurled this icy shafts of scorn from heightsOf dignity upon the artist's daughter.
ANNICCA.I cannot think with you. In her demeanor,Her kindled cheek, her melting eye, was moreThan sly revenge or cautious policy.If that was art, it overreached itself.Ere the night ended, I had blushed to seeSlighting regards cast on my father's child,And hear her name and his tossed lightly round.
DON TOMMASO.Could you not read in such disparagementThe envy of small natures?
ANNICCA.I had as liefMaria were to dance the tarantellaUpon the quay at noonday, as to see herGazed at again with such insulting homage.
DON TOMMASO.You are too strict; your baseless apprehensionsWrong her far more than strangers' jests.
ANNICCA.Not so;My timely fears prevent a greater illAnd work no harm, since they shall be impartedOnly to him who hath the power to quell them,Dissolving them to air--my father.
DON TOMMASO.How!You surely will not rouse his fatal wrath?Annicca, listen: if your doubts were true,He whose fierce love guards her with sleepless eyes,More like the passion of some wild, dumb creature,With prowling jealousy and deadly spring,Forth leaping at the first approach of ill,Than the calm tenderness of human fathers;He surely had been keen to scent the danger.I saw him at the ball--as is his wont,He mingled not among the revellers,But like her shadow played the spy on her.
ANNICCA.A word would stir less deeply than you dread.
DON TOMMASO.Ah, there you err; he knows no middle term.At once he would accept as fact the worstOf your imaginings; his rage would smiteAll near him, and rebound upon himself;For, as I learn, Don John brings royal ordersFor the Queen's gallery; he would dismissThe Prince as roughly as a begging artist.Make no such breach just now betwixt the courtAnd our own kindred.
ANNICCA.Be it so, Tommaso.I will do naught in haste.
DON TOMMASO.Watch thou and wait.A slight reproof might now suffice the child,Tame as a bird unto a gentle voice.
ANNICCA.My mind misgives me; yet will I find patience.
Words in this poem 15
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- demeanor n.
- Management; treatment; conduct. [For demeanure, fr. demean. See Demean, v. t.]
- slighting a.
- Characterized by neglect or disregard.
- quay n.
- A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [F. quai. See Key quay.]
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- baseless a.
- Without a base; having no foundation or support.
- 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,]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
- sleepless a.
- Having no sleep; wakeful.
- prowling a.
- Accustomed to prowl, or engaged in roving stealthily, as for prey.
- artist n.
- One who practices some mechanic art or craft; an artisan. [F. artiste, LL. artista, fr. L. ars. See Art, n., and cf. Artiste.]
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- reproof n.
- Refutation; confutation; contradiction. [OE. reproef. See Proof, Reprove.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: 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 III: Scene II, in The Spagnoletto (1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-spagnoletto/act-iii-scene-ii.html, id L19142.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene II is 67 lines in 12 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.
- 7 ----A---A---- tommaso · how · wrath · true · eyesA · creature · spring · ill · fathersA · danger · wont · revellers · her
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| Truly, you wrong your sister; she is young, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Heedless, and wilful, that is all; a touch | 10 | /˘········ |
| Of the Ribera's spirit fired the lass. | 10 | ··˘/˘//˘·· |
| Don John was but her weapon of revenge | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Against the malice of our haughty matrons, | 11 | ···/˘·//˘/˘ |
| Who hurled this icy shafts of scorn from heights | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of dignity upon the artist's daughter. | 11 | ·/˘˘···/˘/˘ |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| I cannot think with you. In her demeanor, | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Her kindled cheek, her melting eye, was more | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Than sly revenge or cautious policy. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘˘ |
| If that was art, it overreached itself. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Ere the night ended, I had blushed to see | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Slighting regards cast on my father's child, | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| And hear her name and his tossed lightly round. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| Could you not read in such disparagement | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| The envy of small natures? | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| I had as lief | 4 | ···· |
| Maria were to dance the tarantella | 11 | ˘/˘········ |
| Upon the quay at noonday, as to see her | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Gazed at again with such insulting homage. | 11 | ··˘/··˘/˘/˘ |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| You are too strict; your baseless apprehensions | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Wrong her far more than strangers' jests. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| Not so; | 2 | ·· |
| My timely fears prevent a greater ill | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And work no harm, since they shall be imparted | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Only to him who hath the power to quell them, | 11 | /˘·····/··· |
| Dissolving them to air--my father. | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| How! | 1 | · |
| You surely will not rouse his fatal wrath? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Annicca, listen: if your doubts were true, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He whose fierce love guards her with sleepless eyes, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| More like the passion of some wild, dumb creature, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| With prowling jealousy and deadly spring, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Forth leaping at the first approach of ill, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Than the calm tenderness of human fathers; | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| He surely had been keen to scent the danger. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| I saw him at the ball--as is his wont, | 10 | ·········· |
| He mingled not among the revellers, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| But like her shadow played the spy on her. | 10 | ···/······ |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| A word would stir less deeply than you dread. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| Ah, there you err; he knows no middle term. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| At once he would accept as fact the worst | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Of your imaginings; his rage would smite | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| All near him, and rebound upon himself; | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| For, as I learn, Don John brings royal orders | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| For the Queen's gallery; he would dismiss | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| The Prince as roughly as a begging artist. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Make no such breach just now betwixt the court | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| And our own kindred. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| Be it so, Tommaso. | 6 | ······ |
| I will do naught in haste. | 6 | ······ |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| Watch thou and wait. | 4 | ···· |
| A slight reproof might now suffice the child, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Tame as a bird unto a gentle voice. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| My mind misgives me; yet will I find patience. | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
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