The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene IV
AESCH. They murder me with their delays; and whileThey lavish all this pomp upon the nuptials,They waste the livelong day in preparation.DEM. How does my son?
AESCH. My father! are you here?
DEM. Aye, by affection, and by blood your father,Who love you better than my eyes.--But whyDo you not call the bride?
AESCH. 'Tis what I long for:But wait the music and the singers.
DEM. Pshaw!Will you for once be rul'd by an old fellow?
DEM. Ne'er mind singers, company, lights, music;But tell them to throw down the garden-wall,As soon as possible. Convey the brideThat way, and lay both houses into one.Bring too the mother, and whole family,Over to us.
AESCH. I will. O charming father!
DEM. (aside). Charming! See there! he calls me charming now.--My brother's house will be a thoroughfare;Throng'd with whole crowds of people; much expenseWill follow; very much: what's that to me?I am call'd charming, and get into favor.--Ho! order Babylo immediatelyTo pay him twenty minae.--Prithee, Syrus,Why don't you execute your orders?
DEM. Down with the wall!-- (Exit SYRUS.) You, Geta, go and bringThe ladies over.
GETA. Heaven bless you, Demea,For all your friendship to our family! (Exit GETA.
DEM. They're worthy of it.--What say you to this?(To AESCHINUS.)AESCH. I think it admirable.
DEM. 'Tis much betterThan for a poor soul, sick, and lying-in,To be conducted through the street.
AESCH. I neverSaw any thing concerted better, Sir.DEM. 'Tis just my way.--But here comes Micio.
Words in this poem
- livelong a.
- Whole; entire; long in passing; -- used of time, as day or night, in adverbial phrases, and usually with a sense of tediousness. [For lifelong. Cf. Lifelong.]
- pshaw interj.
- Pish! pooch! -- an exclamation used as an expression of contempt, disdain, dislike, etc. [Of imitative origin.]
- thoroughfare n.
- A passage through; a passage from one street or opening to another; an unobstructed way open to the public; a public road; hence, a frequented street. [AS. þurhfaru.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- admirable a.
- Fitted to excite wonder; wonderful; marvelous. [L. admirabilis: cf. F. admirable.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene IV 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 Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene IV, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-brothers-act-the-fifth-scene-iv.html, id L25852.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the Fifth: Scene IV is 40 lines in 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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 --AA while · nuptials · preparationA · sonA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AESCH. They murder me with their delays; and while | 11 | ··/˘···˘/·· |
| They lavish all this pomp upon the nuptials, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| They waste the livelong day in preparation. | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| DEM. How does my son? | 5 | ····· |
| AESCH. My father! are you here? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| DEM. Aye, by affection, and by blood your father, | 12 | ···˘/˘····/˘ |
| Who love you better than my eyes.--But why | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Do you not call the bride? | 6 | ······ |
| AESCH. 'Tis what I long for: | 6 | ······ |
| But wait the music and the singers. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| DEM. Pshaw! | 2 | ·· |
| Will you for once be rul'd by an old fellow? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| DEM. Ne'er mind singers, company, lights, music; | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| But tell them to throw down the garden-wall, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| As soon as possible. Convey the bride | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| That way, and lay both houses into one. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Bring too the mother, and whole family, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Over to us. | 4 | ···· |
| AESCH. I will. O charming father! | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| DEM. (aside). Charming! See there! he calls me charming now. | 13 | ·˘//˘·····/˘· |
| --My brother's house will be a thoroughfare; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Throng'd with whole crowds of people; much expense | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Will follow; very much: what's that to me? | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| I am call'd charming, and get into favor. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| --Ho! order Babylo immediately | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘˘ |
| To pay him twenty minae.--Prithee, Syrus, | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Why don't you execute your orders? | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| DEM. Down with the wall!-- (Exit SYRUS.) You, Geta, go and bring | 15 | ·····/˘········ |
| The ladies over. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| GETA. Heaven bless you, Demea, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| For all your friendship to our family! (Exit GETA. | 13 | ···/˘·//˘/˘·· |
| DEM. They're worthy of it.--What say you to this? | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| (To AESCHINUS.) | 4 | ···· |
| AESCH. I think it admirable. | 8 | ····/˘˘˘ |
| DEM. 'Tis much better | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Than for a poor soul, sick, and lying-in, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To be conducted through the street. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| AESCH. I never | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Saw any thing concerted better, Sir. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| DEM. 'Tis just my way.--But here comes Micio. | 10 | ·········· |
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