The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene VI
CHREM. So! so!--I'm in for't--and the wine I've drankHas made me reel again.--Yet while I sat,How sober I suppos'd myself!--But INo sooner rose, than neither foot, nor head,Knew their own business!
CHREM. Who's that?--Ha!Pythias!--How much more handsome you seem now,Than you appear'd a little while ago!PYTH. I'm sure you seem a good deal merrier.
CHREM. I'faith it's an old saying, and a true one,"Ceres and Bacchus are warm friends of Venus."--But, pray, has Thais been here long before me?PYTH. Has she yet left the Captain's?
CHREM. Long time since:An age ago. They've had a bloody quarrel.PYTH. Did not she bid you follow her?
CHREM. Not she:Only she made a sign to me at parting.
PYTH. Well, wasn't that enough?
CHREM. No, faith! I did notAt all conceive her meaning, till the CaptainGave me the hint, and kick'd me out o' doors!--But here she is! I wonder how it was,I overtook her!
HarperCHREM. No, faith! I did notAt all conceive her meaning, till the CaptainColman 1768CHREM. No, faith! I never
Words in this poem
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- ceres n.
- The daughter of Saturn and Ops or Rhea, the goddess of corn and tillage. [L., Ceres, also corn, grain, akin to E. create.]
- 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 VI 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 VI, 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-vi.html, id L25773.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Fourth: Scene VI is 29 lines in 8 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHREM. So! so!--I'm in for't--and the wine I've drank | 11 | ··········· |
| Has made me reel again.--Yet while I sat, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| How sober I suppos'd myself!--But I | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/·· |
| No sooner rose, than neither foot, nor head, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Knew their own business! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CHREM. Who's that?--Ha! | 4 | ···· |
| Pythias!--How much more handsome you seem now, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Than you appear'd a little while ago! | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| PYTH. I'm sure you seem a good deal merrier. | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| CHREM. I'faith it's an old saying, and a true one, | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| "Ceres and Bacchus are warm friends of Venus." | 11 | /˘·/˘····/˘ |
| --But, pray, has Thais been here long before me? | 10 | ·········· |
| PYTH. Has she yet left the Captain's? | 8 | ······/˘ |
| CHREM. Long time since: | 4 | ···· |
| An age ago. They've had a bloody quarrel. | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| PYTH. Did not she bid you follow her? | 9 | ······/˘· |
| CHREM. Not she: | 3 | ··· |
| Only she made a sign to me at parting. | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| PYTH. Well, wasn't that enough? | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| CHREM. No, faith! I did not | 6 | ······ |
| At all conceive her meaning, till the Captain | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Gave me the hint, and kick'd me out o' doors! | 10 | ·········· |
| --But here she is! I wonder how it was, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I overtook her! | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| CHREM. No, faith! I did not | 6 | ······ |
| At all conceive her meaning, till the Captain | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| CHREM. No, faith! I never | 6 | ····/˘ |
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