The Andrian: Act the First: Scene III
Troth Davus, 'tis high time to look about you;No room for sloth, as far as I can soundThe sentiments of our old gentlemanAbout this marriage, which if not fought off,And cunningly, spoils me, or my poor master.I know not what to do; nor can resolveTo help the son, or to obey the father.If I desert poor Pamphilus, alas!I tremble for his life; if I assist him,I dread his father's threats: a shrewd old Cuff,Not easily deceiv'd. For first of all,He knows of this amour; and watches meWith jealous eyes, lest I devise some trickTo break the match. If he discovers it,Woe to poor Davus! nay, if he's inclin'dTo punish me, he'll seize on some pretenseTo throw me into prison, right or wrong.Another mischief is, this Andrian,Mistress or wife, 's with child by Pamphilus.And do but mark their confidence! 'tis sureThe dotage of mad people, not of lovers.Whate'er she shall bring forth, they have resolv'dTo educate: and have among themselvesDevis'd the strangest story! that GlyceriumIs an Athenian citizen. "There wasOnce on a time a certain merchant, shipwreck'dUpon the isle of Andros; there he died:And Chrysis' father took this orphan-wreck,Then but an infant, under his protection."Ridiculous! 'tis all romance to me:And yet the story pleases them. And see!Mysis comes forth. But I must to the ForumTo look for Pamphilus, for fear his fatherShould find him first, and take him unawares.
HarperAnother mischief is, this Andrian,Mistress or wife, 's with child by Pamphilus.And do but mark their confidence! 'tis sureColman 1768Another mischief too, to make bad worse,This Andrian, wife or mistress, is with childBy Pamphilus. And do but mark the height
Words in this poem
- troth n.
- Belief; faith; fidelity. [A variant of truth. See Truth.]
- shrewd a.
- Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish. [Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.]
- cuff v. t.
- To strike; esp., to smite with the palm or flat of the hand; to slap. [Cf. Sw. kuffa to knock, push,kufva to check, subdue, and E. cow, v. t.]
- amour n.
- Love; affection. [F., fr. L. amor love.]
- dotage n.
- Feebleness or imbecility of understanding or mind, particularly in old age; the childishness of old age; senility; as, a venerable man, now in his dotage. [From Dote, v. i.]
- 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,]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- forum n.
- A market place or public place in Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people. [L.; akin to foris, foras, out of doors. See Foreign.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: Act the First: Scene III is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Comedies of Terence, Project Gutenberg ebook #22695; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Terence, The Andrian: Act the First: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-andrian-act-the-first-scene-iii.html, id L25719.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the First: Scene III is 42 lines in 2 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.
- 1 --------------------A---A----BB--- you · sound · gentleman · off · master · resolve · father · alas · him · cuff · all · me · trick · it · inclin'd · pretense · wrong · andrian · pamphilus · sure · loversA · resolv'd · themselves · glycerium · wasA · shipwreck'd · died · wreck · protection · meB · seeB · forum · father · unawares
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Troth Davus, 'tis high time to look about you; | 11 | ··········· |
| No room for sloth, as far as I can sound | 10 | ·········· |
| The sentiments of our old gentleman | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘·/˘˘ |
| About this marriage, which if not fought off, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And cunningly, spoils me, or my poor master. | 11 | ·/˘˘·····/˘ |
| I know not what to do; nor can resolve | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To help the son, or to obey the father. | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| If I desert poor Pamphilus, alas! | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| I tremble for his life; if I assist him, | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/· |
| I dread his father's threats: a shrewd old Cuff, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Not easily deceiv'd. For first of all, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/···· |
| He knows of this amour; and watches me | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| With jealous eyes, lest I devise some trick | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| To break the match. If he discovers it, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Woe to poor Davus! nay, if he's inclin'd | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To punish me, he'll seize on some pretense | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| To throw me into prison, right or wrong. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Another mischief is, this Andrian, | 9 | ˘/˘/˘···· |
| Mistress or wife, 's with child by Pamphilus. | 11 | /˘········· |
| And do but mark their confidence! 'tis sure | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The dotage of mad people, not of lovers. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Whate'er she shall bring forth, they have resolv'd | 11 | ˘˘/······˘/ |
| To educate: and have among themselves | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Devis'd the strangest story! that Glycerium | 11 | ˘/·/˘/˘···· |
| Is an Athenian citizen. "There was | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Once on a time a certain merchant, shipwreck'd | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| Upon the isle of Andros; there he died: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And Chrysis' father took this orphan-wreck, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Then but an infant, under his protection." | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Ridiculous! 'tis all romance to me: | 10 | ˘/˘˘··˘/·· |
| And yet the story pleases them. And see! | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Mysis comes forth. But I must to the Forum | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| To look for Pamphilus, for fear his father | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Should find him first, and take him unawares. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| Another mischief is, this Andrian, | 9 | ˘/˘/˘···· |
| Mistress or wife, 's with child by Pamphilus. | 11 | /˘········· |
| And do but mark their confidence! 'tis sure | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| Another mischief too, to make bad worse, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| This Andrian, wife or mistress, is with child | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| By Pamphilus. And do but mark the height | 10 | ·········· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.