The Brothers: Prologue
The Bard perceiving his piece cavil'd atBy partial critics, and his adversariesMisrepresenting what we're now to play,Pleads his own cause: and you shall be the judges,Whether he merits praise or condemnation.The Synapothnescontes is a pieceBy Diphilus, a comedy which Plautus,Having translated, call'd COMMORIENTES.In the beginning of the Grecian playThere is a youth, who rends a girl perforceFrom a procurer: and this incident,Untouch'd by Plautus, render'd word for word,Has our bard interwoven with his Brothers;The new piece which we represent to-day.Say then if this be theft, or honest useOf what remain'd unoccupied.--For thatWhich malice tells, that certain noble personsAssist the Bard, and write in concert with him;That which they deem a heavy slander, HeEsteems his greatest praise: that he can pleaseThose who please you, who all the people please;Those who in war, in peace, in counsel, everHave render'd you the dearest services,And ever borne their faculties so meekly.Expect not now the story of the play:Part the old men, who first appear, will open;Part will in act be shown.--Be favorable;And let your candor to the poet nowIncrease his future earnestness to write!
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- perforce v. t.
- To force; to compel.
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- meekly adv.
- In a meek manner.
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- candor n.
- Whiteness; brightness; (as applied to moral conditions) usullied purity; innocence. [L. candor, fr. candëre; cf. F. candeur. See candid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Brothers: Prologue 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: Prologue, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-brothers-prologue.html, id L25818.
Form and metre
The Brothers: Prologue is 29 lines in a single stanza. 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-B-----B----B-A---CC-C-B---- atA · adversaries · playB · judges · condemnation · piece · plautus · commorientes · playB · perforce · incident · word · brothers · dayB · use · thatA · persons · him · he · pleaseC · pleaseC · ever · servicesC · meekly · playB · open · favorable · now · write
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Bard perceiving his piece cavil'd at | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| By partial critics, and his adversaries | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘·˘ |
| Misrepresenting what we're now to play, | 10 | ˘·˘/˘····· |
| Pleads his own cause: and you shall be the judges, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Whether he merits praise or condemnation. | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| The Synapothnescontes is a piece | 9 | ········· |
| By Diphilus, a comedy which Plautus, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Having translated, call'd COMMORIENTES. | 9 | /˘˘/˘···· |
| In the beginning of the Grecian play | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| There is a youth, who rends a girl perforce | 10 | ········˘/ |
| From a procurer: and this incident, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Untouch'd by Plautus, render'd word for word, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Has our bard interwoven with his Brothers; | 11 | ·/··˘/˘··/˘ |
| The new piece which we represent to-day. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Say then if this be theft, or honest use | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of what remain'd unoccupied.--For that | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Which malice tells, that certain noble persons | 11 | ·/˘··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Assist the Bard, and write in concert with him; | 11 | ˘/·····/˘·· |
| That which they deem a heavy slander, He | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Esteems his greatest praise: that he can please | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Those who please you, who all the people please; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Those who in war, in peace, in counsel, ever | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Have render'd you the dearest services, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| And ever borne their faculties so meekly. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Expect not now the story of the play: | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Part the old men, who first appear, will open; | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| Part will in act be shown.--Be favorable; | 11 | ·······/˘˘˘ |
| And let your candor to the poet now | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Increase his future earnestness to write! | 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.