Act IV: Scene IV
LORENZO.Good-morning, sir.
GENTLEMAN.Hail and farewell so soon,Friend dreamer? I will lay a goodly sumThe news that flies like fire from tongue to tongueHath not yet warmed thine ear.
LORENZO.What's that? I layA sum as fair thy news is some dry taleOf courtly gossip, touching me as nighAs the dissensions of the antipodes.
GENTLEMAN.Done for a hundred florins! In the night,'Midst the wild storm whose roar must have invadedEven thy leaden sleep, Prince John left Naples.We should have had a pageant here to-day,A royal exit, floral arches thrownFrom house to house in all the streets he passed,Music and guard of honor, homage fittingThe son of Philip--but the bird has flown.
LORENZO.So! I regret our busy citizens,Who sun themselves day-long upon the quays,Should be deprived of such a festival.Your wager's lost--how am I moved by this?
GENTLEMAN.Hark to the end. 'T would move all men whose veinsFlow not clear water. He hath carried offThe Rose of Naples.
LORENZO.What wouldst thou say? Speak out!In God's name, who hath followed him?
GENTLEMAN.Ah, thou'rt roused.Thy master hath been robbed--the Spagnoletto--Maria of the Golden Locks--his daughter.
LORENZO.How is this known? 'T is a foul slander forgedBy desperate malice. What! in the night, you say?--She whose bright name was clean as gold, whose heartShone a fixed star of loyal love and dutyBeside her father's glory! This coarse lieDenies itself. I will go seek the master,And if this very noon she walk not forth,Led by the Spagnoletto, through the streets,To blind the dazed eyes of her slanderers,--I am your debtor for a hundred florins.
GENTLEMAN.Your faith in womanhood becomes you, sir.(Aside.) A beggar's child the mistress of a Prince;Humph! there be some might think the weight of scandalLay on the other side. (To Lorenzo.) You need not forthTo seek her father. See, he comes, alone.I will not meddle in the broil. Farewell!
LORENZO.Oh heart, break not for pity! Shall he thusUnto all Naples blazon his disgrace?This must not be (advancing). Father!
RIBERA (starts and looks up sharply).Who calls me father?
LORENZO.Why, master, I--you know me not? Lorenzo.
RIBERA.Nor do I care to know thee. Thou must beAn arrant coward, thus to league with foesAgainst so poor a wretch as I--to call meBy the most curst, despised, unhallowed nameGod's creatures can own. Away! and let me pass;I injure no man.
LORENZO.Look at me, dear master.Your head is bare, your face is ashy pale,The sun is fierce. I am your friend, your pupil;Let me but guide my reverend master home,In token of the grateful memoryWherein I hold his guidance of my mindUp the steep paths of art.situation, raises his hand to his head and shudders violently.
RIBERA.I crave your pardonIf I have answered roughly, Sir Lorenzo.My thoughts were far away--I failed to know you--I have had trouble, sir. You do remind me,I had forgot my hat; that is a trifle,Yet now I feel the loss. What slaves are weTo circumstance! One who is wont to coverFor fashion or for warmth his pate, goes forthBareheaded, and the sun will seem to smiteThe shrinking spot, the breeze will make him shiver,And yet our hatless beggars heed them not.We are the fools of habit.
LORENZO.Pray you, sirLet me conduct you home. Here is no placeTo hold discourse. In God's name, come with me.
RIBERA.What coupled staring fools were they that passed?They seemed to scare thee. Why, boy, face them out.I am the shadow of the Spagnoletto,Else had I brooked no gaze so insolent.Well, I will go with thee. But, hark thee, lad;A word first in thine ear. 'T is a grim secret;Whisper it not in Naples; I but tell thee,Lest thou should fancy I had lost my wits.My daughter hath deserted me--hath fledFrom Naples with a bastard. Thou hast seen her,Maria-Rosa--thou must remember her;She, whom I painted as Madonna once.She had fair hair and Spanish eyes. When was it?I came forth thinking I might meet with herAnd find all this a dream--a foolish thought!I am very weary. (Yawning.) I have walked and walkedFor hours. How far, sir, stand we from the StradaNardo? I live there, nigh Saint Francis' church.
LORENZO.Why, 't is hard by; a stone's throw from this square.So, lean on me--you are not well. This way.Pluck up good heart, sir; we shall soon be there.
Words in this poem 24
- dreamer n.
- One who dreams.
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- courtly a.
- Relating or belonging to a court. [From Court.]
- antipodes n.
- Those who live on the side of the globe diametrically opposite.
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- desperate a.
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
- humph interj.
- An exclamation denoting surprise, or contempt, doubt, etc. [Of imitative origin.]
- scandal n.
- Offense caused or experienced; reproach or reprobation called forth by what is regarded as wrong, criminal, heinous, or flagrant: opprobrium or disgrace. [F. scandale, fr. L. scandalum, Gr. scandle, OF. escandle. See Slander.]
- meddle v. i.
- To mix; to mingle. [OE. medlen to mix, OF. medler, mesler, F. mêler, LL. misculare, a dim. fr. L. miscere to mix. Mix, and cf. Medley, Mellay.]
- 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,]
- blazon v. t.
- To depict in colors; to display; to exhibit conspicuously; to publish or make public far and wide. [From blazon, n.; confused with 4th blaze: cf. F. blasonner.]
- arrant a.
- Notoriously or preëminently bad; thorough or downright, in a bad sense; shameless; unmitigated; as, an arrant rogue or coward. [OE. erraunt, errant, errand, equiv. to E. errant wandering, which was first applied to vagabonds, as an errant rogue, an errant thief, and hence passed graduall]
- curst a.
- Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [SeeCurse.]
- unhallowed a.
- Not consecrated; hence, profane; unholy; impious; wicked. [Pref. un- not + hallowed.]
- ashy a.
- Pertaining to, or composed of, ashes; filled, or strewed with, ashes.
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
- 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.]
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
- pate n.
- A pie. See Patty. [F. pâté.]
- bareheaded a.
- Having the head uncovered; as, a bareheaded girl.
- scare v. t.
- To frighten; to strike with sudden fear; to alarm. [OE. skerren, skeren, Icel. skirra to bar, prevent, skirrask to shun , shrink from; or fr. OE. skerre, adj., scared, Icel. skjarr; both perhaps akin to E. sheer ]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- madonna n.
- My lady; -- a term of address in Italian formerly used as the equivalent of Madame, but for which Signora is now substituted. [It. madonna my lady. See Dame, Donna, and cf. Madame, Monkey.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: Scene IV 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 IV, in The Spagnoletto (1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-spagnoletto/act-iv-scene-iv.html, id L19148.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene IV is 119 lines in 19 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.
- 2 AA--- gentlemanA · soonA · sum · tongue · ear
- 4 -----A--A gentleman · night · invaded · naples · day · thrownA · passed · fitting · flownA
- 10 ---A--A gentleman · sir · prince · scandalA · forth · alone · farewellA
- 13 AA lorenzoA · lorenzoA
- 14 -A-A--- ribera · beA · foes · meA · name · pass · man
- 15 --AA----- lorenzo · master · paleA · pupilA · home · memory · mind · art · violently
- 16 ----A-A----BB ribera · pardon · lorenzo · you · meA · trifle · weA · cover · forth · smite · shiver · notB · habitB
- 18 --A---A---BB--B---- ribera · passed · outA · spagnoletto · insolent · lad · secretA · thee · wits · fled · herB · herB · once · it · herB · thought · walked · strada · church
- 19 -A-A lorenzo · squareA · way · thereA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Good-morning, sir. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| GENTLEMAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Hail and farewell so soon, | 6 | ···/·· |
| Friend dreamer? I will lay a goodly sum | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The news that flies like fire from tongue to tongue | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Hath not yet warmed thine ear. | 6 | ······ |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| What's that? I lay | 4 | ···· |
| A sum as fair thy news is some dry tale | 10 | ·········· |
| Of courtly gossip, touching me as nigh | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| As the dissensions of the antipodes. | 11 | ··˘/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| GENTLEMAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Done for a hundred florins! In the night, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| 'Midst the wild storm whose roar must have invaded | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Even thy leaden sleep, Prince John left Naples. | 11 | /˘·/˘····/˘ |
| We should have had a pageant here to-day, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A royal exit, floral arches thrown | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| From house to house in all the streets he passed, | 10 | ·········· |
| Music and guard of honor, homage fitting | 11 | /˘···/˘/˘/˘ |
| The son of Philip--but the bird has flown. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| So! I regret our busy citizens, | 11 | ··˘//˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Who sun themselves day-long upon the quays, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Should be deprived of such a festival. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Your wager's lost--how am I moved by this? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| GENTLEMAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Hark to the end. 'T would move all men whose veins | 11 | ··········· |
| Flow not clear water. He hath carried off | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The Rose of Naples. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| What wouldst thou say? Speak out! | 6 | ······ |
| In God's name, who hath followed him? | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| GENTLEMAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Ah, thou'rt roused. | 3 | ··· |
| Thy master hath been robbed--the Spagnoletto-- | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Maria of the Golden Locks--his daughter. | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| How is this known? 'T is a foul slander forged | 11 | ········/˘· |
| By desperate malice. What! in the night, you say?-- | 11 | ·/˘/˘······ |
| She whose bright name was clean as gold, whose heart | 10 | ·········· |
| Shone a fixed star of loyal love and duty | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Beside her father's glory! This coarse lie | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Denies itself. I will go seek the master, | 11 | ˘/˘/·····/˘ |
| And if this very noon she walk not forth, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Led by the Spagnoletto, through the streets, | 10 | ·········· |
| To blind the dazed eyes of her slanderers,-- | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| I am your debtor for a hundred florins. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| GENTLEMAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Your faith in womanhood becomes you, sir. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| (Aside.) A beggar's child the mistress of a Prince; | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘··· |
| Humph! there be some might think the weight of scandal | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Lay on the other side. (To Lorenzo.) You need not forth | 14 | ···/˘··˘/˘···· |
| To seek her father. See, he comes, alone. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| I will not meddle in the broil. Farewell! | 10 | ···/˘····/ |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Oh heart, break not for pity! Shall he thus | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Unto all Naples blazon his disgrace? | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| This must not be (advancing). Father! | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| RIBERA (starts and looks up sharply). | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| Who calls me father? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Why, master, I--you know me not? Lorenzo. | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| RIBERA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Nor do I care to know thee. Thou must be | 10 | ·········· |
| An arrant coward, thus to league with foes | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Against so poor a wretch as I--to call me | 11 | ··········· |
| By the most curst, despised, unhallowed name | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| God's creatures can own. Away! and let me pass; | 11 | ·/˘··˘/···· |
| I injure no man. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Look at me, dear master. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Your head is bare, your face is ashy pale, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The sun is fierce. I am your friend, your pupil; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Let me but guide my reverend master home, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| In token of the grateful memory | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Wherein I hold his guidance of my mind | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Up the steep paths of art. | 6 | ······ |
| situation, raises his hand to his head and shudders violently. | 16 | ·˘/˘/˘······/˘/˘ |
| RIBERA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| I crave your pardon | 5 | ···/˘ |
| If I have answered roughly, Sir Lorenzo. | 11 | ···/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| My thoughts were far away--I failed to know you-- | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| I have had trouble, sir. You do remind me, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/· |
| I had forgot my hat; that is a trifle, | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| Yet now I feel the loss. What slaves are we | 10 | ·········· |
| To circumstance! One who is wont to cover | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| For fashion or for warmth his pate, goes forth | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Bareheaded, and the sun will seem to smite | 11 | ··········· |
| The shrinking spot, the breeze will make him shiver, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| And yet our hatless beggars heed them not. | 10 | ··//˘/˘··· |
| We are the fools of habit. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Pray you, sir | 3 | ··· |
| Let me conduct you home. Here is no place | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To hold discourse. In God's name, come with me. | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| RIBERA. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| What coupled staring fools were they that passed? | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| They seemed to scare thee. Why, boy, face them out. | 10 | ·········· |
| I am the shadow of the Spagnoletto, | 11 | ···/······· |
| Else had I brooked no gaze so insolent. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Well, I will go with thee. But, hark thee, lad; | 10 | ·········· |
| A word first in thine ear. 'T is a grim secret; | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Whisper it not in Naples; I but tell thee, | 11 | /˘···/˘···· |
| Lest thou should fancy I had lost my wits. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My daughter hath deserted me--hath fled | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| From Naples with a bastard. Thou hast seen her, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| Maria-Rosa--thou must remember her; | 11 | ˘/˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| She, whom I painted as Madonna once. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| She had fair hair and Spanish eyes. When was it? | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| I came forth thinking I might meet with her | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And find all this a dream--a foolish thought! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I am very weary. (Yawning.) I have walked and walked | 13 | ··/˘/˘/˘····· |
| For hours. How far, sir, stand we from the Strada | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| Nardo? I live there, nigh Saint Francis' church. | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| LORENZO. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Why, 't is hard by; a stone's throw from this square. | 11 | ··········· |
| So, lean on me--you are not well. This way. | 10 | ·········· |
| Pluck up good heart, sir; we shall soon be there. | 10 | ·········· |
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