The Andrian: Act the Fourth: Scene I
Is this to be believ'd, or to be told?Can then such inbred malice live in man,To joy in ill, and from another's woesTo draw his own delight?--Ah, is't then so?--Yes, such there are, the meanest of mankind,Who, from a sneaking bashfulness, at firstDare not refuse; but when the time comes onTo make their promise good, then force perforceOpen themselves and fear: yet must deny.Then too, oh shameless impudence, they cry,"Who then are you? and what are you to me?Why should I render up my love to you?Faith, neighbor, charity begins at home."--Speak of their broken faith, they blush not, they,Now throwing off that shame they ought to wear,Which they before assum'd without a cause.--What shall I do? go to him? on my wrongsExpostulate, and throw reproaches on him?What will that profit, say you?----very much.I shall at least imbitter his delight,And gratify my anger.
To make their promise good, then force perforce
Words in this poem
- inbred a.
- Bred within; innate; as, inbred worth.
- bashfulness n.
- The quality of being bashful.
- perforce v. t.
- To force; to compel.
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- 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,]
- expostulate v. t.
- To discuss; to examine.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Andrian: Act the Fourth: Scene I 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 Fourth: Scene I, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-andrian-act-the-fourth-scene-i.html, id L25737.
Form and metre
The Andrian: Act the Fourth: Scene I is 22 lines in 2 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 --------AAA---------- told · man · woes · so · mankind · first · on · perforce · denyA · cryA · meA · you · home · they · wear · cause · wrongs · him · much · delight · anger
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Is this to be believ'd, or to be told? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Can then such inbred malice live in man, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| To joy in ill, and from another's woes | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To draw his own delight?--Ah, is't then so? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| --Yes, such there are, the meanest of mankind, | 10 | ·····/˘·// |
| Who, from a sneaking bashfulness, at first | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Dare not refuse; but when the time comes on | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To make their promise good, then force perforce | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Open themselves and fear: yet must deny. | 10 | /˘˘/····˘/ |
| Then too, oh shameless impudence, they cry, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| "Who then are you? and what are you to me? | 10 | ·········· |
| Why should I render up my love to you? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Faith, neighbor, charity begins at home." | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| --Speak of their broken faith, they blush not, they, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Now throwing off that shame they ought to wear, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Which they before assum'd without a cause. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| --What shall I do? go to him? on my wrongs | 10 | ·········· |
| Expostulate, and throw reproaches on him? | 11 | ˘/˘˘··˘/˘·· |
| What will that profit, say you?----very much. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I shall at least imbitter his delight, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| And gratify my anger. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| To make their promise good, then force perforce | 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.