Act V: Scene I
DON TOMMASO.If he still live, now shall we hear of him.The news I learn will lure him from his covert,Where'er it lie, to pardon or avenge.
ANNICCA (eagerly).What news? What cheer, Tommaso?
DON TOMMASO.Meagre cheer,But tidings that break through our slow suspense,Like the first thunder-clap in sultry air.Don John sets sail from Sicily, to wedA Princess chosen by the King. Maria--
ANNICCA.Talk not of her--I know her not; her nameWill sear thy tongue. Think'st thou, in truth this newsWill draw my father from his hiding-place?No--teach me not to hope. Within my heartA sure voice tells me he is dead. Not hisThe spirit to drag out a shameful life,To shrink from honest eyes, to sink his browUnto the dust, here where he wore his crown.Thou knowest him. Have I not cause to mournUncomforted, that he, the first of fathers,Self-murdered--nay, child-murdered--Oh, Tommaso,I would fare barefoot to the ends of the earthTo look again upon his living face,See in his eyes the light of love restored--Not blasting me with lightnings as before--To kneel to him, to solace him, to winFor mine own head, yoked in my sister's curseThe blessing he refused me.
DON TOMMASO.Well, take comfort;This grace may yet be thine.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- meagre a.
- Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. Emaciate, Maigre.]
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- barefoot a.
- With the feet bare; without shoes or stockings.
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: Scene I 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 V: Scene I, in The Spagnoletto (1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-spagnoletto/act-v-scene-i.html, id L19151.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene I is 34 lines in 5 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.
- 3 -A-A-- tommaso · cheerA · suspense · airA · wed · maria
- 4 ---A---------A----- annicca · name · news · placeA · heart · his · life · brow · crown · mourn · fathers · tommaso · earth · faceA · restored · before · win · curse · me
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 | ···· |
| If he still live, now shall we hear of him. | 10 | ·········· |
| The news I learn will lure him from his covert, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Where'er it lie, to pardon or avenge. | 11 | ˘˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| ANNICCA (eagerly). | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| What news? What cheer, Tommaso? | 7 | ······· |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| Meagre cheer, | 3 | /˘· |
| But tidings that break through our slow suspense, | 10 | ·/˘···/·˘/ |
| Like the first thunder-clap in sultry air. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Don John sets sail from Sicily, to wed | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| A Princess chosen by the King. Maria-- | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| ANNICCA. | 3 | ··· |
| Talk not of her--I know her not; her name | 10 | ·········· |
| Will sear thy tongue. Think'st thou, in truth this news | 10 | ·········· |
| Will draw my father from his hiding-place? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| No--teach me not to hope. Within my heart | 10 | ·········· |
| A sure voice tells me he is dead. Not his | 10 | ·········· |
| The spirit to drag out a shameful life, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To shrink from honest eyes, to sink his brow | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Unto the dust, here where he wore his crown. | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou knowest him. Have I not cause to mourn | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Uncomforted, that he, the first of fathers, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Self-murdered--nay, child-murdered--Oh, Tommaso, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| I would fare barefoot to the ends of the earth | 11 | ···/······· |
| To look again upon his living face, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| See in his eyes the light of love restored-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Not blasting me with lightnings as before-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| To kneel to him, to solace him, to win | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For mine own head, yoked in my sister's curse | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The blessing he refused me. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| DON TOMMASO. | 4 | ···· |
| Well, take comfort; | 4 | ··/˘ |
| This grace may yet be thine. | 6 | ······ |
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