Act IV: Scene IV. — The Street. A Crowd, Reading a Placard on the Door, of the Meeting-House. Nicholas Upsall Among Them. Enter John, Norton
NORTON.What is this gathering here?
UPSALL.One William Brand,An old man like ourselves, and weak in body,Has been so cruelly tortured in his prison,The people are excited, and they threatenTo tear the prison down.
NORTON.What has been done?
UPSALL.He has been put in irons, with his neckAnd heels tied close together, and so leftFrom five in the morning until nine at night.
NORTON.What more was done?
UPSALL.He has been kept five daysIn prison without food, and cruelly beaten,So that his limbs were cold, his senses stopped.
NORTON.What more?
UPSALL.And is this not enough?
NORTON.Now hear me.This William Brand of yours has tried to beatOur Gospel Ordinances black and blue;And, if he has been beaten in like manner,It is but justice, and I will appearIn his behalf that did so. I supposeThat he refused to work.
UPSALL.He was too weak.How could an old man work, when he was starving?
NORTON.And what is this placard?
UPSALL.The Magistrates,To appease the people and prevent a tumult,Have put up these placards throughout the town,Declaring that the jailer shall be dealt withImpartially and sternly by the Court.
NORTON (tearing down the placard).Down with this weak and cowardly concession,This flag of truce with Satan and with Sin!I fling it in his face! I trample itUnder my feet! It is his cunning craft,The masterpiece of his diplomacy,To cry and plead for boundless toleration.But toleration is the first-born childOf all abominations and deceits.There is no room in Christ's triumphant armyFor tolerationists. And if an AngelPreach any other gospel unto youThan that ye have received, God's maledictionDescend upon him! Let him be accursed!
UPSALL.Now, go thy ways, John Norton, go thy ways,Thou Orthodox Evangelist, as men call thee!But even now there cometh out of England,Like an o'ertaking and accusing conscience,An outraged man, to call thee to accountFor the unrighteous murder of his son!
Words in this poem
- jailer n.
- The keeper of a jail or prison. [OE. jailer, gailer, OF. geolier, F. geôlier. See Jail.]
- 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,]
- impartially a.
- In an impartial manner.
- sternly adv.
- In a stern manner.
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- masterpiece n.
- Anything done or made with extraordinary skill; a capital performance; a chef-d'oeuvre; a supreme achievement.
- toleration n.
- The act of tolerating; the allowance of that which is not wholly approved. [L. toleratio: cf. OF. toleration.]
- malediction n.
- A proclaiming of evil against some one; a cursing; imprecation; a curse or execration; -- opposed to benediction. [L. maledictio: cf. F. malédiction. See Maledicent.]
- evangelist n.
- A bringer of the glad tidings of Church and his doctrines.
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- unrighteous a.
- Not righteous; evil; wicked; sinful; as, an unrighteous man. [OE. unrightwise, AS. unrihtwis. See Un- not, and Righteous.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: Scene IV. — The Street. A Crowd, Reading a Placard on the Door, of the Meeting-House. Nicholas Upsall Among Them. Enter John, Norton is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Act IV: Scene IV. — The Street. A Crowd, Reading a Placard on the Door, of the Meeting-House. Nicholas Upsall Among Them. Enter John, Norton, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/act-iv-scene-iv-the-street-a-crowd-reading-a-placard-on-the-.html, id L19229.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene IV. — The Street. A Crowd, Reading a Placard on the Door, of the Meeting-House. Nicholas Upsall Among Them. Enter John, Norton is 64 lines in 14 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 ---AAA upsall · brand · body · prisonA · threatenA · downA
- 3 AA nortonA · doneA
- 5 AA nortonA · doneA
- 13 -AA---A------- placard · concessionA · sinA · it · craft · diplomacy · tolerationA · child · deceits · army · angel · you · malediction · accursed
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NORTON. | 2 | /˘ |
| What is this gathering here? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| One William Brand, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| An old man like ourselves, and weak in body, | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| Has been so cruelly tortured in his prison, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| The people are excited, and they threaten | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘··/˘ |
| To tear the prison down. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| NORTON. | 2 | /˘ |
| What has been done? | 4 | ···· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| He has been put in irons, with his neck | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And heels tied close together, and so left | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| From five in the morning until nine at night. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| NORTON. | 2 | /˘ |
| What more was done? | 4 | ···· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| He has been kept five days | 6 | ······ |
| In prison without food, and cruelly beaten, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| So that his limbs were cold, his senses stopped. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| NORTON. | 2 | /˘ |
| What more? | 2 | ·· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| And is this not enough? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| NORTON. | 2 | /˘ |
| Now hear me. | 3 | ··· |
| This William Brand of yours has tried to beat | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Our Gospel Ordinances black and blue; | 10 | //˘/˘˘˘··· |
| And, if he has been beaten in like manner, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| It is but justice, and I will appear | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| In his behalf that did so. I suppose | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| That he refused to work. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| He was too weak. | 4 | ···· |
| How could an old man work, when he was starving? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| NORTON. | 2 | /˘ |
| And what is this placard? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| The Magistrates, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To appease the people and prevent a tumult, | 12 | ·˘/·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Have put up these placards throughout the town, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Declaring that the jailer shall be dealt with | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘···· |
| Impartially and sternly by the Court. | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| NORTON (tearing down the placard). | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Down with this weak and cowardly concession, | 11 | ·····/˘˘˘/˘ |
| This flag of truce with Satan and with Sin! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I fling it in his face! I trample it | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Under my feet! It is his cunning craft, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The masterpiece of his diplomacy, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| To cry and plead for boundless toleration. | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| But toleration is the first-born child | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Of all abominations and deceits. | 10 | ··˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| There is no room in Christ's triumphant army | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| For tolerationists. And if an Angel | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Preach any other gospel unto you | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Than that ye have received, God's malediction | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| Descend upon him! Let him be accursed! | 10 | ˘/········ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Now, go thy ways, John Norton, go thy ways, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thou Orthodox Evangelist, as men call thee! | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘···· |
| But even now there cometh out of England, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Like an o'ertaking and accusing conscience, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| An outraged man, to call thee to account | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| For the unrighteous murder of his son! | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
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