Act III: Scene V
DAMIS.Father, we've news to welcome your arrival,That's altogether novel, and surprising.You are well paid for your caressing care,And this fine gentleman rewards your loveMost handsomely, with zeal that seeks no lessThan your dishonour, as has now been proven.I've just surprised him making to your wifeThe shameful offer of a guilty love.She, somewhat over gentle and discreet,Insisted that the thing should be concealed;But I will not condone such shamelessness,Nor so far wrong you as to keep it secret.
ELMIRE.Yes, I believe a wife should never troubleHer husband's peace of mind with such vain gossip;A woman's honour does not hang on telling;It is enough if she defend herself;Or so I think; Damis, you'd not have spoken,If you would but have heeded my advice.
Words in this poem
- altogether adv.
- All together; conjointly. [OE. altogedere; al all + togedere together. See Together.]
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
- discreet a.
- Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete.]
- condone v. t.
- To pardon; to forgive. [L. condonare, -donatum, to give up, remit, forgive; con- + donare to give. See Donate.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene V 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 V, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-iii-scene-v.html, id L26935.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene V is 20 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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.
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---AB--B damis · arrival · surprising · care · loveA · less · proven · wife · loveA · discreetB · concealed · shamelessness · secretB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DAMIS. | 2 | ·· |
| Father, we've news to welcome your arrival, | 11 | /˘···/˘·˘/˘ |
| That's altogether novel, and surprising. | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| You are well paid for your caressing care, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| And this fine gentleman rewards your love | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| Most handsomely, with zeal that seeks no less | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Than your dishonour, as has now been proven. | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| I've just surprised him making to your wife | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| The shameful offer of a guilty love. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| She, somewhat over gentle and discreet, | 10 | ·//··/˘·˘/ |
| Insisted that the thing should be concealed; | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| But I will not condone such shamelessness, | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| Nor so far wrong you as to keep it secret. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| ELMIRE. | 2 | ·· |
| Yes, I believe a wife should never trouble | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Her husband's peace of mind with such vain gossip; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| A woman's honour does not hang on telling; | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| It is enough if she defend herself; | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘/ |
| Or so I think; Damis, you'd not have spoken, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| If you would but have heeded my advice. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
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.