Act V: Scene IV
(Joad is followed by a procession of priests and Levites', and the chorus. The high-priest arranges them round their king, and orders them to wait in concealment the expected signal. He seats Joas on the throne, and immediately after Athaliah arrives. At her approach Joad draws a curtain, by which Joas and the Levites are hid from view.)
JOAD.Ye saintly Levites, ministers of God,Surround this place, concealed on every side;And, leaving to my charge to guide your zeal,Wait till my voice commands you to appear.
(They all conceal themselves.)King, I believe this hope's allowed your vows;You come to see your foes fall at your feet.That one, whose madness in your infancyPursued you, now advances towards this place,With hasty step, intent to ruin you;But fear you not, think, that surrounding you,The exterminating angel, stands with us.Ascend your throne, and--but the doors are opening:Allow this screen to cover you a moment.
(He draws the screen.)Princess, you are pale.
JOSABET.Without becoming soCan I behold the temple filled with murderers?What! See you not that numerous escort?
JOAD.I see them close the sacred temple's doors,That everything is safe.
Words in this poem
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: Scene IV 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 V: Scene IV, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-v-scene-iv.html, id L26979.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene IV is 25 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 -----AA--- themselves · vows · feet · infancy · place · youA · youA · us · opening · moment
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 is followed by a procession of priests and Levites', and the chorus. The high-priest arranges them round their king, and orders them to wait in concealment the expected signal. He seats Joas on the throne, and immediately after Athaliah arrives. At her approach Joad draws a curtain, by which Joas and the Levites are hid from view.) | 82 | ··/˘··˘/˘·······/˘···˘/˘·····/˘····˘/˘·˘/˘/˘·······˘/˘······˘/··˘/···/˘·····/˘···· |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Ye saintly Levites, ministers of God, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Surround this place, concealed on every side; | 10 | ˘/··˘/·/˘· |
| And, leaving to my charge to guide your zeal, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Wait till my voice commands you to appear. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| (They all conceal themselves.) | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| King, I believe this hope's allowed your vows; | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| You come to see your foes fall at your feet. | 10 | ·········· |
| That one, whose madness in your infancy | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Pursued you, now advances towards this place, | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘··· |
| With hasty step, intent to ruin you; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| But fear you not, think, that surrounding you, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The exterminating angel, stands with us. | 11 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Ascend your throne, and--but the doors are opening: | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| Allow this screen to cover you a moment. | 11 | ˘/···/˘··/˘ |
| (He draws the screen.) | 4 | ···· |
| Princess, you are pale. | 5 | /˘··· |
| JOSABET. | 3 | ··· |
| Without becoming so | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Can I behold the temple filled with murderers? | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| What! See you not that numerous escort? | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| I see them close the sacred temple's doors, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| That everything is safe. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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