Act V: Scene V
ORGON.Well, mother, am I right or am I not?This writ may help you now to judge the matter.Or don't you see his treason even yet?
MADAME PERNELLE.I'm all amazed, befuddled, and beflustered!
DORINE (to Orgon)You are quite wrong, you have no right to blame him;This action only proves his good intentions.Love for his neighbour makes his virtue perfect;And knowing money is a root of evil,In Christian charity, he'd take awayWhatever things may hinder your salvation.
ORGON.Be still. You always need to have that told you.
CLEANTE (to Orgon)Come, let us see what course you are to follow.
ELMIRE.Go and expose his bold ingratitude.Such action must invalidate the contract;His perfidy must now appear too blackTo bring him the success that he expects.
Words in this poem
- madame n.
- My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- ingratitude n.
- Want of gratitude; insensibility to, forgetfulness of, or ill return for, kindness or favors received; unthankfulness; ungratefulness. [F. ingratitude, L. ingratitudo. See Ingrate.]
- invalidate v. t.
- To render invalid; to weaken or lessen the force of; to destroy the authority of; to render of no force or effect; to overthrow; as, to invalidate an agreement or argument. [From Invalid null.]
- perfidy n.
- The act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust reposed; faithlessness; teachery. [L. perfidia, fr. L. perfidus faithless; per (cf. Skr. para away) + fides faith: cf. F. perfidie. See Faith.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: 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 V: Scene V, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-v-scene-v.html, id L26950.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene V is 22 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Well, mother, am I right or am I not? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This writ may help you now to judge the matter. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Or don't you see his treason even yet? | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| MADAME PERNELLE. | 5 | /˘··· |
| I'm all amazed, befuddled, and beflustered! | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘···· |
| DORINE (to Orgon) | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| You are quite wrong, you have no right to blame him; | 11 | ··········· |
| This action only proves his good intentions. | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Love for his neighbour makes his virtue perfect; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/· |
| And knowing money is a root of evil, | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| In Christian charity, he'd take away | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| Whatever things may hinder your salvation. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Be still. You always need to have that told you. | 11 | ···/······· |
| CLEANTE (to Orgon) | 4 | ···· |
| Come, let us see what course you are to follow. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| ELMIRE. | 2 | ·· |
| Go and expose his bold ingratitude. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| Such action must invalidate the contract; | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘··/· |
| His perfidy must now appear too black | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/·· |
| To bring him the success that he expects. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
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