Act IV: Scene VI
A LEVITE.I know not what design they have 'gainst God;But threatening boldness growls on every side:Amidst their standards they have lighted fires,And doubtless Athaliah joins her forces;Already every path for succour's closed:The sacred mount on which the temple's rearedIs quite infested with fierce Tynans;Blaspheming, one of them came forth and said,"Your Abner is in chains, and cannot aid you."
JOSABET (to Joas)Dear child, whom Heaven in vain reserved for me,I've done whate'er I could to rescue you:But God no longer knows your father, David.
JOAD (to Josabet).What! fear you not to draw His wrath on you,And on this king so dear unto your love?Though God should tear him from your arms for ever,And will that David's house should be extinct,Are you not here upon the holy mount,Where 'gainst his innocent son the Jewish sire,Raised, without murmur, his obedient arm;And, as burnt-offering, on the altar placedThe finit of his old age, leaving with GodThe oversight of bearing out His promise,And yielded up to Him, with his loved son,His house's hope, contained in him alone?Friends let us go. Let Ishmael to his charge,Take all the side that looks unto the east;You take the northern portion, you the west,And you the centre. Let not too much zeal,Betraying my designs, cause priest or LeviteTo quit his place, and charge before the time;And, finally, let all impelled as oneKeep to the death the post I have assigned them.The foe beholding us in his blind rage,As a vile herd reserved for massacre,Thinks but to meet disorder and dismay.You, Azariah, keep beside the king.
(To Joas.)Come, you dear scion of a valiant race,With a new courage fill your champions;Assume the diadem before their eyes,And fall as king, at least, if fall you must.
(To a Levite.)Follow him, Josabet. Give me those arms.
(To the Choir.)Children, to God present your innocent tears.
Words in this poem
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
- beholding a.
- Obliged; beholden.
- massacre n.
- The killing of a considerable number of human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty, or contrary to the usages of civilized people; as, the massacre on St. Bartholomew's Day. [F., fr. LL. mazacrium; cf. Prov. G. metzgern, metzgen, to kill cattle, G. metzger a butcher, and LG. matsken to cut, hew, OHG. meizan to cut, Goth. máitan.]
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: Scene VI 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 IV: Scene VI, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-iv-scene-vi.html, id L26974.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene VI is 48 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.
- 3 -----------A-------A----- josabet · you · love · ever · extinct · mount · sire · arm · placed · god · promise · sonA · alone · charge · east · west · zeal · levite · time · oneA · them · rage · massacre · dismay · king
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A LEVITE. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| I know not what design they have 'gainst God; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| But threatening boldness growls on every side: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Amidst their standards they have lighted fires, | 11 | ˘/·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And doubtless Athaliah joins her forces; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Already every path for succour's closed: | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The sacred mount on which the temple's reared | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Is quite infested with fierce Tynans; | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| Blaspheming, one of them came forth and said, | 10 | ·········· |
| "Your Abner is in chains, and cannot aid you." | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| JOSABET (to Joas) | 5 | ····· |
| Dear child, whom Heaven in vain reserved for me, | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
| I've done whate'er I could to rescue you: | 11 | ··˘˘/···/˘· |
| But God no longer knows your father, David. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| JOAD (to Josabet). | 5 | ····· |
| What! fear you not to draw His wrath on you, | 10 | ·········· |
| And on this king so dear unto your love? | 10 | ·········· |
| Though God should tear him from your arms for ever, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And will that David's house should be extinct, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Are you not here upon the holy mount, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where 'gainst his innocent son the Jewish sire, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘/ |
| Raised, without murmur, his obedient arm; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| And, as burnt-offering, on the altar placed | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The finit of his old age, leaving with God | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The oversight of bearing out His promise, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| And yielded up to Him, with his loved son, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| His house's hope, contained in him alone? | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| Friends let us go. Let Ishmael to his charge, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Take all the side that looks unto the east; | 10 | ·········· |
| You take the northern portion, you the west, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And you the centre. Let not too much zeal, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Betraying my designs, cause priest or Levite | 11 | ˘/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| To quit his place, and charge before the time; | 10 | ·········· |
| And, finally, let all impelled as one | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/·· |
| Keep to the death the post I have assigned them. | 11 | ········˘/· |
| The foe beholding us in his blind rage, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| As a vile herd reserved for massacre, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| Thinks but to meet disorder and dismay. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| You, Azariah, keep beside the king. | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| (To Joas.) | 2 | ·· |
| Come, you dear scion of a valiant race, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With a new courage fill your champions; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Assume the diadem before their eyes, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| And fall as king, at least, if fall you must. | 10 | ·········· |
| (To a Levite.) | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Follow him, Josabet. Give me those arms. | 10 | /˘········ |
| (To the Choir.) | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Children, to God present your innocent tears. | 10 | /˘··/˘·/˘· |
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