The Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII
GNAT. What now? in what hope, or with what designAdvance we hither? what adventure, Thraso?
THRASO. What do I mean?--To Thais to surrenderOn her own terms?
THRASO. Indeed! why not,As well as Hercules to Omphale?
GNAT. A fit example.--Would I might beholdYour head broke with her slipper. (Aside.) But her doorsCreak, and fly open.
THRASO. 'Sdeath! what mischief now?I ne'er so much as saw this face before.Why bursts he forth with such alacrity?
version of entire scene:GNAT. What now? with what hope, or design, advance we?What's your intention, Thraso?THRASO. My intention?To Thais to surrender at discretion.GNAT. How say you?THRASO. Even so. Why should not I,As well as Hercules to Omphale?GNAT. A fit example.--Oh, that I could see herCombing your empty noddle with her slipper!But her door opens.THRASO. 'Sdeath! what mischief now?I ne'er so much as saw this face before.
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- creak v. i.
- To make a prolonged sharp grating or ssqueaking sound, as by the friction of hard substances; as, shoes creak. [OE. creken, prob. of imitative origin; cf. E. crack, and. D. kreiken to crackle, chirp.]
- discretion n.
- Disjunction; separation. Mede. [F. discrétion, L. discretio separation, difference, discernment, fr. discernere, discretum. See Discreet, Discern.]
- noddle n.
- The head; -- used jocosely or contemptuously. [OE. nodil, nodle; perh. fr. nod, because the head is the nodding part of the body, or perh. akin to E. knot; cf. Prov. E. nod the nape of the neck.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII 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 Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-eunuch-act-the-fifth-scene-viii.html, id L25783.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Fifth: Scene VIII is 25 lines in 6 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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.
- 6 A--AA-------- sceneA · we · thraso · intentionA · discretionA · you · i · omphale · her · slipper · opens · now · before
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GNAT. What now? in what hope, or with what design | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Advance we hither? what adventure, Thraso? | 11 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| THRASO. What do I mean?--To Thais to surrender | 12 | ·········˘/˘ |
| On her own terms? | 4 | ···· |
| THRASO. Indeed! why not, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| As well as Hercules to Omphale? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| GNAT. A fit example.--Would I might behold | 11 | ···˘/˘···˘/ |
| Your head broke with her slipper. (Aside.) But her doors | 12 | ·····/˘˘/··· |
| Creak, and fly open. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| THRASO. 'Sdeath! what mischief now? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I ne'er so much as saw this face before. | 10 | ·········· |
| Why bursts he forth with such alacrity? | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| version of entire scene: | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| GNAT. What now? with what hope, or design, advance we? | 12 | ·······˘/˘/· |
| What's your intention, Thraso? | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| THRASO. My intention? | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| To Thais to surrender at discretion. | 10 | ···˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| GNAT. How say you? | 4 | ···· |
| THRASO. Even so. Why should not I, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| As well as Hercules to Omphale? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| GNAT. A fit example.--Oh, that I could see her | 12 | ···˘/˘······ |
| Combing your empty noddle with her slipper! | 11 | /˘·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| But her door opens. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| THRASO. 'Sdeath! what mischief now? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I ne'er so much as saw this face before. | 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.