Act IV: Scene II
DON JOHN (springing forward and embracing her).At last! at last!
MARIA.Juan, beware! My father's fears,I cannot guess by whom or what, are roused.Oh, let me feel thee near me--I see naught.Follow me; here our voices may be heard.Have not slow ages passed with crowding woesSince we last met! What have I not endured!
DON JOHN.Dearest child, be calm.Thou art strangely overwrought. Speak not. AwaitTill this wild fear be past.
MARIA.How great you are!Your simple presence stills and comforts me.While you are here, the one thing real to meIn all the universe is love.
DON JOHN.And yetMy love is here, if I be far or nigh.Is this the spirit of a soldier's wife?Nay, fiery courage, iron fortitude,That soul must own that dares to say, "I love."
MARIA.And I dare say it. I can bear the worstThat envious fate may heap upon my head,If thou art with me, or for hope of thee.
DON JOHN.Art sure of that? Thou couldst not part from me,Even for thy father's sake?
MARIA.Talk you of parting?For God's sake, what is this? You love no more?
DON JOHN.Rather I love so truly that I shrinkFrom asking thee to share a soldier's fate.I tremble to uproot so fine a flowerFrom its dear native earth. I--
MARIA (putting her hand on his lips).Hush, no more!I need no preparation more than this,Your mere request.
DON JOHN.There spake my heroine.The King, my father, bids me to repairUnto Palermo.
MARIA.Shall we sail to-night?
DON JOHN.My Princess! Thou recoilest not from allThou must endure, ere I can openlyClaim thee my wife!
MARIA.The pangs of purgatoryWere lightly borne with such a heaven in view.I were content with one brief hour a day,Snatched from the toils of war and thy high duties,To gaze on thy dear face--to feel thy hand,Even as now a stay and a caress.
DON JOHN.Angel, I have no thanks. May God forget meWhen I forget this hour! So, thou art firm--Ready this night to leave thy home, thy kin,Thy father?
MARIA (solemnly).I am ready and resolved.Yet judge me not so lightly as to deemI say this with no pang. My love were naught,Could I withdraw it painlessly at onceFrom him round whose colossal strength the tendrilsOf mine own baby heart were taught to twine.I speak not now as one who swerves or shrinks,But merely, dear, to show thee what sharp torturesI, nowise blind, but with deliberate soul,Embrace for thee.
DON JOHN.How can I doubt the anguishSo rude a snapping of all ties must smiteThy tender heart withal? Yet, dwell we notOn the brief pain, but on the enduring joys.If Ribera's love be all thou deemest,He will forgive thy secret flight, thy--
MARIA.Secret!May I not bid farewell? May I not tell himWhere we are bound? How soon he may have hopeTo hear from me--to welcome me, thy Princess?I dare not leave him without hope.
DON JOHN.My child,Thou art mad! We must be secret as the grave,Else are we both undone. I have given outThat I depart in princely state to-morrow.Far from the quay a bark awaiteth us.I know my man. Shrouded by careful night,We will set secret sail for Sicily.Once in Palermo, thou mayst write thy father--Sue for his pardon--tell him that, ere long,When I have won by cautious policyKing Philip's favor, thou shalt be proclaimedPrincess of Austria.
MARIA (who has hung upon his words with trembling excitement,covers her face with her hands, and bursts into tears).I cannot! no! I cannot!
DON JOHN (scornfully).I feared as much. Well, it is better thus.I asked thee not to front the "worst of illsThat envious fate could heap upon thy head"--Only a little patience. 'T was too much;I cannot blame thee. 'T is a loving father.I, a mere stranger, had naught else to hope,Matching my claim with his.
MARIA (looks at him and throws herself at his feet).Oh, pardon, pardon!My Lord, my Prince, my husband! I am thine!Lead wheresoe'er thou wilt, I follow thee.Tell me a life's devotion may effaceThe weakness of a moment!
DON JOHN (raising her tenderly and embracing her).Ah, mine own!
Words in this poem 23
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- overwrought p. p.
- Wrought upon excessively; overworked; overexcited.
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- uproot v. t.
- To root up; to tear up by the roots, or as if by the roots; to remove utterly; to eradicate; to extirpate.
- heroine n.
- A woman of an heroic spirit. [F. héroïne, L. heroina, Gr. Hero.]
- 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,]
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- purgatory a.
- Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. Burke. [L. purgatorius.]
- caress n.
- An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- colossal a.
- Of enormous size; gigantic; huge; as, a colossal statue. [Cf. F. cossal, L. colosseus. See Colossus.]
- nowise adv.
- Not in any manner or degree; in no way; noways. [For in no wise. See Wise, n.]
- snapping
- a. & n. from Snap, v. Snapping beetle. (Zoöl.) See Snap beetle, under Snap.
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- 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.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: 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 IV: Scene II, in The Spagnoletto (1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-spagnoletto/act-iv-scene-ii.html, id L19146.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene II is 121 lines in 23 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.
- 4 --AA- maria · are · meA · meA · love
- 11 AA-- johnA · heroineA · repair · palermo
- 18 ---A-A maria · secret · him · hopeA · princess · hopeA
- 22 -AA--- feet · pardonA · thineA · thee · efface · moment
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 JOHN (springing forward and embracing her). | 11 | ··/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| At last! at last! | 4 | ···· |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Juan, beware! My father's fears, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| I cannot guess by whom or what, are roused. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Oh, let me feel thee near me--I see naught. | 10 | ·········· |
| Follow me; here our voices may be heard. | 10 | /˘··//˘··· |
| Have not slow ages passed with crowding woes | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Since we last met! What have I not endured! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| Dearest child, be calm. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Thou art strangely overwrought. Speak not. Await | 11 | ··/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| Till this wild fear be past. | 6 | ······ |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| How great you are! | 4 | ···· |
| Your simple presence stills and comforts me. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| While you are here, the one thing real to me | 10 | ·········· |
| In all the universe is love. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| And yet | 2 | ·· |
| My love is here, if I be far or nigh. | 10 | ·········· |
| Is this the spirit of a soldier's wife? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Nay, fiery courage, iron fortitude, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘//˘· |
| That soul must own that dares to say, "I love." | 10 | ·········· |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| And I dare say it. I can bear the worst | 10 | ·········· |
| That envious fate may heap upon my head, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| If thou art with me, or for hope of thee. | 10 | ·········· |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| Art sure of that? Thou couldst not part from me, | 10 | ·········· |
| Even for thy father's sake? | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Talk you of parting? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| For God's sake, what is this? You love no more? | 10 | ·········· |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| Rather I love so truly that I shrink | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| From asking thee to share a soldier's fate. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| I tremble to uproot so fine a flower | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| From its dear native earth. I-- | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| MARIA (putting her hand on his lips). | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| Hush, no more! | 3 | ··· |
| I need no preparation more than this, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Your mere request. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| There spake my heroine. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| The King, my father, bids me to repair | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Unto Palermo. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Shall we sail to-night? | 5 | ····· |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| My Princess! Thou recoilest not from all | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Thou must endure, ere I can openly | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Claim thee my wife! | 4 | ···· |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| The pangs of purgatory | 7 | ···/˘·˘ |
| Were lightly borne with such a heaven in view. | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| I were content with one brief hour a day, | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| Snatched from the toils of war and thy high duties, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| To gaze on thy dear face--to feel thy hand, | 10 | ·········· |
| Even as now a stay and a caress. | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| Angel, I have no thanks. May God forget me | 11 | /˘······˘/· |
| When I forget this hour! So, thou art firm-- | 10 | ··˘/·/···· |
| Ready this night to leave thy home, thy kin, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Thy father? | 3 | ·/˘ |
| MARIA (solemnly). | 6 | ˘/˘/˘˘ |
| I am ready and resolved. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Yet judge me not so lightly as to deem | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I say this with no pang. My love were naught, | 10 | ·········· |
| Could I withdraw it painlessly at once | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| From him round whose colossal strength the tendrils | 11 | ····˘/˘···· |
| Of mine own baby heart were taught to twine. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I speak not now as one who swerves or shrinks, | 10 | ·········· |
| But merely, dear, to show thee what sharp tortures | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| I, nowise blind, but with deliberate soul, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Embrace for thee. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| How can I doubt the anguish | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| So rude a snapping of all ties must smite | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy tender heart withal? Yet, dwell we not | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| On the brief pain, but on the enduring joys. | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| If Ribera's love be all thou deemest, | 10 | ·˘/˘····/˘ |
| He will forgive thy secret flight, thy-- | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| MARIA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Secret! | 2 | /˘ |
| May I not bid farewell? May I not tell him | 11 | ·····/····· |
| Where we are bound? How soon he may have hope | 10 | ·········· |
| To hear from me--to welcome me, thy Princess? | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| I dare not leave him without hope. | 8 | ········ |
| DON JOHN. | 2 | ·· |
| My child, | 2 | ·· |
| Thou art mad! We must be secret as the grave, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Else are we both undone. I have given out | 10 | ····˘/··/· |
| That I depart in princely state to-morrow. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Far from the quay a bark awaiteth us. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| I know my man. Shrouded by careful night, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| We will set secret sail for Sicily. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Once in Palermo, thou mayst write thy father-- | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Sue for his pardon--tell him that, ere long, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When I have won by cautious policy | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| King Philip's favor, thou shalt be proclaimed | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Princess of Austria. | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| MARIA (who has hung upon his words with trembling excitement, | 16 | ˘/˘········/˘˘/˘ |
| covers her face with her hands, and bursts into tears). | 12 | /˘·········· |
| I cannot! no! I cannot! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| DON JOHN (scornfully). | 5 | ····· |
| I feared as much. Well, it is better thus. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I asked thee not to front the "worst of ills | 10 | ·········· |
| That envious fate could heap upon thy head"-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Only a little patience. 'T was too much; | 11 | /˘·/˘/˘···· |
| I cannot blame thee. 'T is a loving father. | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘/˘ |
| I, a mere stranger, had naught else to hope, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Matching my claim with his. | 6 | /˘···· |
| MARIA (looks at him and throws herself at his feet). | 13 | ˘/˘·····˘/··· |
| Oh, pardon, pardon! | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| My Lord, my Prince, my husband! I am thine! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Lead wheresoe'er thou wilt, I follow thee. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Tell me a life's devotion may efface | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| The weakness of a moment! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| DON JOHN (raising her tenderly and embracing her). | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Ah, mine own! | 3 | ··· |
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.