Act III: Scene II
TARTUFFE (speaking to his valet, off the stage, as soon as he sees Dorine is there)Lawrence, put up my hair-cloth shirt and scourge,And pray that Heaven may shed its light upon you.If any come to see me, say I'm goneTo share my alms among the prisoners.
DORINE (aside)What affectation and what showing off!
TARTUFFE.What do you want with me?
DORINE.To tell you ...
TARTUFFE (taking a handkerchief from his pocket)Ah!Before you speak, pray take this handkerchief.
DORINE.What?
TARTUFFE.Cover up that bosom, which I can'tEndure to look on. Things like that offendOur souls, and fill our minds with sinful thoughts.
DORINE.Are you so tender to temptation, then,And has the flesh such power upon your senses?I don't know how you get in such a heat;For my part, I am not so prone to lust,And I could see you stripped from head to foot,And all your hide not tempt me in the least.
TARTUFFE.Show in your speech some little modesty,Or I must instantly take leave of you.
DORINE.No, no, I'll leave you to yourself; I've onlyOne thing to say: Madam will soon be down,And begs the favour of a word with you.
TARTUFFE.Ah! Willingly.
DORINE (aside)How gentle all at once!My faith, I still believe I've hit upon it.
TARTUFFE.Will she come soon?
DORINE.I think I hear her now.Yes, here she is herself; I'll leave you with her.
Words in this poem
- tartuffe n.
- A hypocritical devotee. See the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. [F. tartufe.]
- valet n.
- A male waiting servant; a servant who attends on gentleman's person; a body servant. [F. valet, OF. vallet, varlet, vaslet. See Varlet, and Vassal.]
- scourge n.
- A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite, Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, the Curtis Hidden Page translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Molière, Act III: Scene II, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-iii-scene-ii.html, id L26932.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene II is 44 lines in 14 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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.
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. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| TARTUFFE (speaking to his valet, off the stage, as soon as he sees Dorine is there) | 21 | ··/˘··˘/········˘/˘·· |
| Lawrence, put up my hair-cloth shirt and scourge, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And pray that Heaven may shed its light upon you. | 11 | ···/······· |
| If any come to see me, say I'm gone | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To share my alms among the prisoners. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| DORINE (aside) | 5 | ˘/˘˘/ |
| What affectation and what showing off! | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| What do you want with me? | 6 | ······ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| To tell you ... | 3 | ··· |
| TARTUFFE (taking a handkerchief from his pocket) | 11 | ··/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Ah! | 1 | · |
| Before you speak, pray take this handkerchief. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| What? | 1 | · |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Cover up that bosom, which I can't | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| Endure to look on. Things like that offend | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Our souls, and fill our minds with sinful thoughts. | 10 | /···/··/˘· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Are you so tender to temptation, then, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| And has the flesh such power upon your senses? | 11 | ·····/···/˘ |
| I don't know how you get in such a heat; | 10 | ·········· |
| For my part, I am not so prone to lust, | 10 | ·········· |
| And I could see you stripped from head to foot, | 10 | ·········· |
| And all your hide not tempt me in the least. | 10 | ·········· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Show in your speech some little modesty, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Or I must instantly take leave of you. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| No, no, I'll leave you to yourself; I've only | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| One thing to say: Madam will soon be down, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| And begs the favour of a word with you. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Ah! Willingly. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| DORINE (aside) | 5 | ˘/˘˘/ |
| How gentle all at once! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My faith, I still believe I've hit upon it. | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Will she come soon? | 4 | ···· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| I think I hear her now. | 6 | ······ |
| Yes, here she is herself; I'll leave you with her. | 11 | ····˘/····· |
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.