Act V: Scene VI
ISHMAEL (to Joad).The temple, sire, is free, the foe's no more;The stranger's army's fled, the Jewish docile;As wind disperses vapour in the air,The voice of the Almighty's chased that army.Our Levites, from the sacred porches' height,The son of Ochoziah have proclaimedUnto the people, and recited howHis infancy was stolen from the sword;How Ahab's daughter's buried in the snare.At the same time the trumpet on all sidesResounded, and its blasts, blent with their shouts,Into the astonished camp disorder spread,And utter panic: (as proud MidianiteWas struck by Gideon) Tyrians threw awayTheir arms and bucklers, and by diverse roadsScattered the first; some Hebrews next took flight;But with loud voice the rest declared for Joas;Admiring how the Lord had dealt with him.At length the people, by one spirit moved,The women, children, and old men, with joyEmbraced each other, blessing God who sent,And those who tended him, celebrating JoasWith hymns, the son of David come again to life!Baal in the holy city is in horror!His temple's doors are shivered Mathan's slain!
ATHALIAH.God of the Jews, Thou conquerest!Yea, it is Joas, I try deceit in vain;I see where I did cause him to be struck;I own the port and mien of Ochoziah;True, all remind me of the blood I hate;David's triumphant; Ahab is destroyed.Merciless God Thou hast o'erruled the whole:Who, with an easy vengeance flattering me,Hast made me self-conflicting through the day.Now, by a child exciting my remorse;Now, dazzling me with lust of Thy rich treasures,I feared to give this temple to destruction.Then let that son be king, Thy care, Thy work,And that to signalize his new dominion,Cause him to plunge his knife into my breast!This is his dying mother's wish towards him.What do I say? I soothe myself with hopes,That to Thy yoke unbent, tired of Thy law,Faithful to Ahab's blood received from me,In his grandfather's steps, and like his sire,The hateful heir of David will be foundTo abrogate Thy honour, and profaneThy temple, Venging Ahab, Jezebel,And Athaliah!
JOAD.Let her at once be taken from the temple,So that its sanctity be not profaned.Go, sacred Vengers of our murdered princes,Stay, by her death, the outcry of their blood.If any rash adherent take her part,Let him be given to the sword with her.
Words in this poem
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- docile a.
- Teachable; easy to teach; docible. [L. docilis,fr. docere to teach; cf. Gr. discere to learn, Gr. docile. Cf. Doctor, Didactic, Disciple.]
- vapour n.
- Any substance in the gaseous, or aëriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. [OE. vapour, OF. vapour, vapor, vapeur, F. vapeur, L. vapor; probably for cvapor, and akin to Gr. kvepti to breathe, smell, Russ. kopote fine soot. Cf. Vapid.]
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- admiring a.
- Expressing admiration; as, an admiring glance.
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- signalize v. t.
- To make signal or eminent; to render distinguished from what is common; to distinguish. [From Signal, a.]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- hateful a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
- abrogate a.
- Abrogated; abolished. Latimer. [L. abrogatus, p. p.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- jezebel n.
- A bold, vicious woman; a termagant. Spectator. [From Jezebel, Heb. Izebel, the wife of Ahab king of Israel.]
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 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 VI, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-v-scene-vi.html, id L26981.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene VI is 58 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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-B---A---B--BC----C--- joad · more · docile · airA · army · heightB · proclaimed · how · sword · snareA · sides · shouts · spread · midianiteB · away · roads · flightB · joasC · him · moved · joy · sent · joasC · life · horror · slain
- 2 A-B-A---C----------C--B-A athaliahA · conquerest · vainB · struck · ochoziahA · hate · destroyed · whole · meC · day · remorse · treasures · destruction · work · dominion · breast · him · hopes · law · meC · sire · found · profaneB · jezebel · athaliahA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ISHMAEL (to Joad). | 4 | /˘·· |
| The temple, sire, is free, the foe's no more; | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| The stranger's army's fled, the Jewish docile; | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| As wind disperses vapour in the air, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| The voice of the Almighty's chased that army. | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Our Levites, from the sacred porches' height, | 10 | //˘··/˘/˘· |
| The son of Ochoziah have proclaimed | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Unto the people, and recited how | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| His infancy was stolen from the sword; | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| How Ahab's daughter's buried in the snare. | 10 | ·/·/˘/˘··· |
| At the same time the trumpet on all sides | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Resounded, and its blasts, blent with their shouts, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Into the astonished camp disorder spread, | 11 | ···˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| And utter panic: (as proud Midianite | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Was struck by Gideon) Tyrians threw away | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Their arms and bucklers, and by diverse roads | 10 | ···/˘˘··/· |
| Scattered the first; some Hebrews next took flight; | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| But with loud voice the rest declared for Joas; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Admiring how the Lord had dealt with him. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| At length the people, by one spirit moved, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The women, children, and old men, with joy | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Embraced each other, blessing God who sent, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| And those who tended him, celebrating Joas | 11 | ···/˘·/˘·˘· |
| With hymns, the son of David come again to life! | 12 | ·····/˘·˘/·· |
| Baal in the holy city is in horror! | 12 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘ |
| His temple's doors are shivered Mathan's slain! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| ATHALIAH. | 4 | ···· |
| God of the Jews, Thou conquerest! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Yea, it is Joas, I try deceit in vain; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| I see where I did cause him to be struck; | 10 | ·········· |
| I own the port and mien of Ochoziah; | 10 | ·········· |
| True, all remind me of the blood I hate; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| David's triumphant; Ahab is destroyed. | 10 | /˘˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Merciless God Thou hast o'erruled the whole: | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| Who, with an easy vengeance flattering me, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Hast made me self-conflicting through the day. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Now, by a child exciting my remorse; | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Now, dazzling me with lust of Thy rich treasures, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| I feared to give this temple to destruction. | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Then let that son be king, Thy care, Thy work, | 10 | ·········· |
| And that to signalize his new dominion, | 11 | ···/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| Cause him to plunge his knife into my breast! | 10 | ·········· |
| This is his dying mother's wish towards him. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| What do I say? I soothe myself with hopes, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| That to Thy yoke unbent, tired of Thy law, | 10 | ······/··· |
| Faithful to Ahab's blood received from me, | 10 | /˘·/··˘/·· |
| In his grandfather's steps, and like his sire, | 11 | ··/·˘····/˘ |
| The hateful heir of David will be found | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| To abrogate Thy honour, and profane | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Thy temple, Venging Ahab, Jezebel, | 10 | ·/˘··/·/˘˘ |
| And Athaliah! | 5 | ····· |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Let her at once be taken from the temple, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| So that its sanctity be not profaned. | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| Go, sacred Vengers of our murdered princes, | 11 | ·/˘···//˘/˘ |
| Stay, by her death, the outcry of their blood. | 10 | ·····/···· |
| If any rash adherent take her part, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Let him be given to the sword with her. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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