Act III: Scene V
JOAD.Where am I? Am I looking at Baal's priest?What, David's daughter speaking to that traitor?And will you tolerate his speech with you?Do you not fear that a profound abyssWill yawning open underneath his feet,So that its flames at once will compass you?Or that these walls will crush you fallen on him?What wants he? Wherefore comes, this enemyOf God, to taint the air we here inhale?
MATHAN.This violence gives evidence of Joad.Yet he would show more prudence to respectHis sovereign, and not outrage one that sheHas deigned to charge with her commands.
JOAD.Well, what's the ill she bids you to announce,What frightful charge may such an agent bear?
MATHAN.To Josabet I have made known her will.
JOAD.Then quit me, monster of iniquity,Go fill thy measure of all horrid things.God rules to join thee with the perjured race,Achitophel, Abiron, Doeg, Dathan tThe dogs which tore the limbs of Jezebel,Waiting to show their fury upon thee,Already, at thy gates, demand their prey.mathan (agitated).Before this day expires--it will be seenWhich of us---- He shall be forced--
(To Nabal.)But, Nabal, let us go.
NABAL.Where wander you? What wildering chaos isThe master of your senses? That's your way.
Words in this poem
- tolerate v. t.
- To suffer to be, or to be done, without prohibition or hindrance; to allow or permit negatively, by not preventing; not to restrain; to put up with; as, to tolerate doubtful practices. [L. toleratus, p.p. of tolerare, fr. the same root as tollere to lift up, tuli, used as perfect of ferre to bear, latus (for tlatus), used as p.p. of ferre to be]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- frightful a.
- Full of fright; affrighted; frightened.
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- perjured a.
- Guilty of perjury; having sworn falsely; forsworn.
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- jezebel n.
- A bold, vicious woman; a termagant. Spectator. [From Jezebel, Heb. Izebel, the wife of Ahab king of Israel.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- wildering n.
- A plant growing in a state of nature; especially, one which has run wild, or escaped from cultivation.
- chaos n.
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
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 Athaliah: A Tragedy, Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, the J. Donkersley 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: Jean Racine, Act III: Scene V, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-iii-scene-v.html, id L26967.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene V is 36 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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--- joad · priest · traitor · youA · abyss · feet · youA · him · enemy · inhale
- 5 ----A-A---- joad · iniquity · things · race · tA · jezebel · theeA · prey · agitated · seen · forced
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Where am I? Am I looking at Baal's priest? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What, David's daughter speaking to that traitor? | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And will you tolerate his speech with you? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Do you not fear that a profound abyss | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Will yawning open underneath his feet, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| So that its flames at once will compass you? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or that these walls will crush you fallen on him? | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| What wants he? Wherefore comes, this enemy | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Of God, to taint the air we here inhale? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| MATHAN. | 2 | /˘ |
| This violence gives evidence of Joad. | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘·· |
| Yet he would show more prudence to respect | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| His sovereign, and not outrage one that she | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Has deigned to charge with her commands. | 9 | ··˘····˘/ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Well, what's the ill she bids you to announce, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What frightful charge may such an agent bear? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| MATHAN. | 2 | /˘ |
| To Josabet I have made known her will. | 10 | ·········· |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Then quit me, monster of iniquity, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Go fill thy measure of all horrid things. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| God rules to join thee with the perjured race, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Achitophel, Abiron, Doeg, Dathan t | 11 | ··········· |
| The dogs which tore the limbs of Jezebel, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Waiting to show their fury upon thee, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Already, at thy gates, demand their prey. | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| mathan (agitated). | 6 | /˘/˘·˘ |
| Before this day expires--it will be seen | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Which of us---- He shall be forced-- | 7 | ······· |
| (To Nabal.) | 3 | ··· |
| But, Nabal, let us go. | 6 | ······ |
| NABAL. | 2 | ·· |
| Where wander you? What wildering chaos is | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| The master of your senses? That's your way. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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