The Brothers: Act the Third: Scene III
DEM. Confusion! I have heard that CtesiphoWas present with his brother at this riot.This is the sum of all my miseries,If he, even he, a sober, hopeful lad,May be seduc'd into debaucheries.--But where shall I inquire for him? I warrantThey have decoy'd him into some vile brothel.That profligate persuaded him, I'm sure.--But here comes Syrus; he can tell me all.And yet this slave is of the gang; and ifHe once perceives that I'm inquiring for him,He'll never tell me any thing; a rogue!I'll not discover my design.
HarperColman 1768--But here comes Syrus.--I shall know from himWhat is become of Ctesipho.--And yetThis rascal's of the gang; and if he oncePerceives that I'm enquiring after him,He'll never tell, a villain!--I'll take care
Words in this poem
- hopeful a.
- Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant.
- 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,]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Brothers: Act the Third: 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 Brothers: Act the Third: Scene III, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-brothers-act-the-third-scene-iii.html, id L25829.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Act the Third: Scene III is 20 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 ------A-A---- ctesipho · riot · miseries · lad · debaucheries · warrant · brothelA · sure · allA · if · him · rogue · design
- 2 --A--A- harper · — · himA · yet · once · himA · care
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEM. Confusion! I have heard that Ctesipho | 11 | ·˘/˘······· |
| Was present with his brother at this riot. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| This is the sum of all my miseries, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| If he, even he, a sober, hopeful lad, | 10 | ··/··/˘/˘· |
| May be seduc'd into debaucheries. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| --But where shall I inquire for him? I warrant | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| They have decoy'd him into some vile brothel. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| That profligate persuaded him, I'm sure. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| --But here comes Syrus; he can tell me all. | 10 | ·········· |
| And yet this slave is of the gang; and if | 10 | ·········· |
| He once perceives that I'm inquiring for him, | 11 | ··˘/··˘/˘·· |
| He'll never tell me any thing; a rogue! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I'll not discover my design. | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| --But here comes Syrus.--I shall know from him | 10 | ·········· |
| What is become of Ctesipho.--And yet | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| This rascal's of the gang; and if he once | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Perceives that I'm enquiring after him, | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘··· |
| He'll never tell, a villain!--I'll take care | 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.