Act V: Scene I. — Daybreak. Street in Front of Upsall's House. A Light in the Window. Enter John Endicott
O silent, sombre, and deserted streets,To me ye 're peopled with a sad procession,And echo only to the voice of sorrow!O houses full of peacefulness and sleep,Far better were it to awake no moreThan wake to look upon such scenes again!There is a light in Master Upsall's window.The good man is already risen, for sleepDeserts the couches of the old.
UPSALL (at the window).Who's there?
Am I so changed you do not know my voice?
UPSALL.I know you. Have you heard what things have happened?
I have heard nothing.
UPSALL.Stay; I will come down.
I am afraid some dreadful news awaits me!I do not dare to ask, yet am impatientTo know the worst. Oh, I am very wearyWith waiting and with watching and pursuing!
UPSALL.Thank God, you have come back! I've much to tell you.Where have you been?
You know that I was seized,Fined, and released again. You know that Edith,After her scourging in three towns, was banishedInto the wilderness, into the landThat is not sown; and there I followed her,But found her not. Where is she?
UPSALL.She is here.
Oh, do not speak that word, for it means death!
UPSALL.No, it means life. She sleeps in yonder chamber.Listen to me. When news of Leddra's deathReached England, Edward Burroughs, having boldlyGot access to the presence of the King,Told him there was a vein of innocent bloodOpened in his dominions here, which threatenedTo overrun them all. The King replied."But I will stop that vein!" and he forthwithSent his Mandamus to our Magistrates,That they proceed no further in this business.So all are pardoned, and all set at large.
Thank God! This is a victory for truth!Our thoughts are free. They cannot be shut upIn prison wall, nor put to death on scaffolds!
UPSALL.Come in; the morning air blows sharp and coldThrough the damp streets.
It is the dawn of dayThat chases the old darkness from our sky,And tills the land with liberty and light.
Words in this poem
- sombre n.
- Gloom; obscurity; duskiness; somberness.
- peopled a.
- Stocked with, or as with, people; inhabited.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- overrun v. t.
- To run over; to grow or spread over in excess; to invade and occupy; to take possession of; as, the vine overran its trellis; the farm is overrun with witch grass.
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- mandamus n.
- A writ issued by a superior court and directed to some inferior tribunal, or to some corporation or person exercising authority, commanding the performance of some specified duty. [L., we command, fr. mandare to command.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: Scene I. — Daybreak. Street in Front of Upsall's House. A Light in the Window. Enter John Endicott 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 V: Scene I. — Daybreak. Street in Front of Upsall's House. A Light in the Window. Enter John Endicott, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/act-v-scene-i-daybreak-street-in-front-of-upsall-s-house-a-l.html, id L19231.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene I. — Daybreak. Street in Front of Upsall's House. A Light in the Window. Enter John Endicott is 54 lines in 15 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.
- 1 -A-B-A-B- streets · processionA · sorrow · sleepB · more · againA · window · sleepB · old
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O silent, sombre, and deserted streets, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| To me ye 're peopled with a sad procession, | 12 | ····/˘···˘/˘ |
| And echo only to the voice of sorrow! | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| O houses full of peacefulness and sleep, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Far better were it to awake no more | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Than wake to look upon such scenes again! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| There is a light in Master Upsall's window. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| The good man is already risen, for sleep | 11 | ····˘/˘/˘·· |
| Deserts the couches of the old. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| UPSALL (at the window). | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Who's there? | 2 | ·· |
| Am I so changed you do not know my voice? | 10 | ·········· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| I know you. Have you heard what things have happened? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| I have heard nothing. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Stay; I will come down. | 5 | ····· |
| I am afraid some dreadful news awaits me! | 11 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/· |
| I do not dare to ask, yet am impatient | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| To know the worst. Oh, I am very weary | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| With waiting and with watching and pursuing! | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Thank God, you have come back! I've much to tell you. | 11 | ··········· |
| Where have you been? | 4 | ···· |
| You know that I was seized, | 6 | ······ |
| Fined, and released again. You know that Edith, | 11 | ··˘/˘/···/˘ |
| After her scourging in three towns, was banished | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Into the wilderness, into the land | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| That is not sown; and there I followed her, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But found her not. Where is she? | 7 | ······· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| She is here. | 3 | ··· |
| Oh, do not speak that word, for it means death! | 10 | ·········· |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| No, it means life. She sleeps in yonder chamber. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Listen to me. When news of Leddra's death | 10 | /˘········ |
| Reached England, Edward Burroughs, having boldly | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Got access to the presence of the King, | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Told him there was a vein of innocent blood | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Opened in his dominions here, which threatened | 11 | /˘··˘/˘··/˘ |
| To overrun them all. The King replied. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| "But I will stop that vein!" and he forthwith | 10 | ········// |
| Sent his Mandamus to our Magistrates, | 10 | ··˘/˘·//˘· |
| That they proceed no further in this business. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| So all are pardoned, and all set at large. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thank God! This is a victory for truth! | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Our thoughts are free. They cannot be shut up | 10 | /····˘/··· |
| In prison wall, nor put to death on scaffolds! | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Come in; the morning air blows sharp and cold | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Through the damp streets. | 4 | ···· |
| It is the dawn of day | 6 | ······ |
| That chases the old darkness from our sky, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| And tills the land with liberty and light. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
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