Second Guest: And I
THIRD GUEST:No, stay!I do believe it is some jest; though faith!'Tis mocking us somewhat too solemnly.I think his son has married the Infanta,Or found a mine of gold in El Dorado.'Tis but to season some such news; stay, stay!I see 'tis only raillery by his smile.
Oh, thou bright wine whose purple splendour leapsAnd bubbles gaily in this golden bowlUnder the lamplight, as my spirits do,To hear the death of my accursed sons!Could I believe thou wert their mingled blood,Then would I taste thee like a sacrament,And pledge with thee the mighty Devil in Hell,Who, if a father's curses, as men say,Climb with swift wings after their children's souls,And drag them from the very throne of Heaven,Now triumphs in my triumph!--But thou artSuperfluous; I have drunken deep of joy,And I will taste no other wine to-night.Here, Andrea! Bear the bowl around.
Thou wretch!Will none among this noble companyCheck the abandoned villain?
CAMILLO:For God's sake,Let me dismiss the guests! You are insane,Some ill will come of this.
Seize, silence him!
FIRST GUEST:I will!
Words in this poem
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- infanta n.
- A title borne by every one of the daughters of the kings of Spain and Portugal, except the eldest. [Sp. & Pg., fem. of infante. See Infante.]
- dorado n.
- A southern constellation, within which is the south pole of the ecliptic; -- called also sometimes Xiphias, or the Swordfish. [Sp. dorado gilt, fr. dorar to gild, fr. L. deaurare. See 1st Dory, and cf. Fl Dorado.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- lamplight n.
- Light from a lamp.
- sacrament n.
- The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrament. See Sacred.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Second Guest: And I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #4797; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Second Guest: And I, in Alastor, and Other Poems (1813–1820), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4797, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-poems/second-guest-and-i.html, id L00238.
Form and metre
Second Guest: And I is 32 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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- guest · stayA · faith · solemnly · infanta · dorado · stayA · smile
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THIRD GUEST: | 2 | ·· |
| No, stay! | 2 | ·· |
| I do believe it is some jest; though faith! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| 'Tis mocking us somewhat too solemnly. | 10 | ·/˘·//·/˘˘ |
| I think his son has married the Infanta, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Or found a mine of gold in El Dorado. | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| 'Tis but to season some such news; stay, stay! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I see 'tis only raillery by his smile. | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘··· |
| Oh, thou bright wine whose purple splendour leaps | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And bubbles gaily in this golden bowl | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Under the lamplight, as my spirits do, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To hear the death of my accursed sons! | 10 | ········˘· |
| Could I believe thou wert their mingled blood, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Then would I taste thee like a sacrament, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| And pledge with thee the mighty Devil in Hell, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Who, if a father's curses, as men say, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Climb with swift wings after their children's souls, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And drag them from the very throne of Heaven, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Now triumphs in my triumph!--But thou art | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Superfluous; I have drunken deep of joy, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And I will taste no other wine to-night. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Here, Andrea! Bear the bowl around. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Thou wretch! | 2 | ·· |
| Will none among this noble company | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Check the abandoned villain? | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| CAMILLO: | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| For God's sake, | 3 | ··· |
| Let me dismiss the guests! You are insane, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Some ill will come of this. | 6 | ······ |
| Seize, silence him! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| FIRST GUEST: | 2 | ·· |
| I will! | 2 | ·· |
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