The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene I
Now, as I hope for mercy, I'm afraid,From what I've seen, lest yonder swaggererMake some disturbance, or do violenceTo Thais. For as soon as Chremes came,(The youth that's brother to the virgin,) sheBeseech'd of Thraso he might be admitted.This piqu'd him; yet he durst not well refuse.She, fearing Chremes should not be detain'd,Till she had time and opportunityTo tell him all she wish'd about his sister,Urg'd Thraso more and more to ask him in.The Captain coldly asks him; down he sat;And Thais enter'd into chat with him.The Captain, fancying a rival broughtBefore his face, resolv'd to vex her too:"Here, boy," said he, "let Pamphila be call'dTo entertain us!"--"Pamphila!" cries Thais;"She at a banquet?--No it must not be."----Thraso insisting on't, a broil ensued:On which my mistress slyly slipping offHer jewels, gave them me to bear away;Which is, I know, a certain sign, she will,As soon as possible, sneak off herself. Exit.)
Harper(The youth that's brother to the virgin,) sheBeseech'd of Thraso he might be admitted.Colman 1768(Chremes, the youth that's brother to the virgin,)
Words in this poem
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- coldly adv.
- In a cold manner; without warmth, animation, or feeling; with indifference; calmly.
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Eunuch: 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 Eunuch: 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-eunuch-act-the-fourth-scene-i.html, id L25768.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene I is 28 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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----- afraid · swaggerer · violence · came · sheA · admitted · refuse · detain'd · opportunity · sister · in · sat · him · brought · too · call'd · thais · beA · ensued · off · away · will · exit
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Now, as I hope for mercy, I'm afraid, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| From what I've seen, lest yonder swaggerer | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Make some disturbance, or do violence | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| To Thais. For as soon as Chremes came, | 8 | ········ |
| (The youth that's brother to the virgin,) she | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Beseech'd of Thraso he might be admitted. | 11 | ˘/······˘/˘ |
| This piqu'd him; yet he durst not well refuse. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| She, fearing Chremes should not be detain'd, | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Till she had time and opportunity | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| To tell him all she wish'd about his sister, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Urg'd Thraso more and more to ask him in. | 10 | ·········· |
| The Captain coldly asks him; down he sat; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And Thais enter'd into chat with him. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The Captain, fancying a rival brought | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Before his face, resolv'd to vex her too: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| "Here, boy," said he, "let Pamphila be call'd | 10 | ·········· |
| To entertain us!"--"Pamphila!" cries Thais; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| "She at a banquet?--No it must not be."---- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thraso insisting on't, a broil ensued: | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| On which my mistress slyly slipping off | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Her jewels, gave them me to bear away; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Which is, I know, a certain sign, she will, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As soon as possible, sneak off herself. Exit.) | 11 | ···/˘··˘//˘ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| (The youth that's brother to the virgin,) she | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Beseech'd of Thraso he might be admitted. | 11 | ˘/······˘/˘ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| (Chremes, the youth that's brother to the virgin,) | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
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