Act V: Scene VI
VALERE.'Tis with regret, sir, that I bring bad news;But urgent danger forces me to do so.A close and intimate friend of mine, who knowsThe interest I take in what concerns you,Has gone so far, for my sake, as to breakThe secrecy that's due to state affairs,And sent me word but now, that leaves you onlyThe one expedient of sudden flight.The villain who so long imposed upon you,Found means, an hour ago, to see the prince,And to accuse you (among other things)By putting in his hands the private strong-boxOf a state-criminal, whose guilty secret,You, failing in your duty as a subject,(He says) have kept. I know no more of itSave that a warrant's drawn against you, sir,And for the greater surety, that same rascalComes with the officer who must arrest you.
CLEANTE.His rights are armed; and this is how the scoundrelSeeks to secure the property he claims.
ORGON.Man is a wicked animal, I'll own it!
VALERE.The least delay may still be fatal, sir.I have my carriage, and a thousand louis,Provided for your journey, at the door.Let's lose no time; the bolt is swift to strike,And such as only flight can save you from.I'll be your guide to seek a place of safety,And stay with you until you reach it, sir.
ORGON.How much I owe to your obliging care!Another time must serve to thank you fitly;And I pray Heaven to grant me so much favourThat I may some day recompense your service.Good-bye; see to it, all of you ...
CLEANTE.Come hurry;We'll see to everything that's needful, brother.
Words in this poem
- 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; -]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- needful a.
- Full of need; in need or want; needy; distressing.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: Scene VI 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 VI, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-v-scene-vi.html, id L26951.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene VI is 41 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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----A---B-B--A valere · news · so · knows · youA · break · affairs · only · flight · youA · prince · things · box · secretB · subject · itB · sir · rascal · youA
- 4 -A-----A valere · sirA · louis · door · strike · from · safety · sirA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VALERE. | 2 | ·· |
| 'Tis with regret, sir, that I bring bad news; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| But urgent danger forces me to do so. | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘···· |
| A close and intimate friend of mine, who knows | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The interest I take in what concerns you, | 10 | ·/˘····˘/· |
| Has gone so far, for my sake, as to break | 10 | ·········· |
| The secrecy that's due to state affairs, | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| And sent me word but now, that leaves you only | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| The one expedient of sudden flight. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| The villain who so long imposed upon you, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| Found means, an hour ago, to see the prince, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| And to accuse you (among other things) | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| By putting in his hands the private strong-box | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Of a state-criminal, whose guilty secret, | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| You, failing in your duty as a subject, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| (He says) have kept. I know no more of it | 10 | ·········· |
| Save that a warrant's drawn against you, sir, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And for the greater surety, that same rascal | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Comes with the officer who must arrest you. | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| CLEANTE. | 1 | · |
| His rights are armed; and this is how the scoundrel | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Seeks to secure the property he claims. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Man is a wicked animal, I'll own it! | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| VALERE. | 2 | ·· |
| The least delay may still be fatal, sir. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| I have my carriage, and a thousand louis, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Provided for your journey, at the door. | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Let's lose no time; the bolt is swift to strike, | 10 | ·········· |
| And such as only flight can save you from. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I'll be your guide to seek a place of safety, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And stay with you until you reach it, sir. | 10 | ·········· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| How much I owe to your obliging care! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Another time must serve to thank you fitly; | 11 | ˘/˘······/˘ |
| And I pray Heaven to grant me so much favour | 11 | ···/·····/˘ |
| That I may some day recompense your service. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Good-bye; see to it, all of you ... | 8 | ········ |
| CLEANTE. | 1 | · |
| Come hurry; | 3 | ·/˘ |
| We'll see to everything that's needful, brother. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
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