The Eunuch: Act the Third: Scene V
But yesterday a knot of us young fellowsAssembled at Piraeus, and agreedTo club together for a feast to-day.Chaerea had charge of all; the rings were given,And time and place appointed.--The time's past;No entertainment's at the place; and ChaereaIs nowhere to be found.--I can't tell whatTo think on't.--Yet the rest of my companionsHave all commission'd me to seek him out.I'll see if he's at home;--but who comes hereFrom Thais?--Is it he, or no?--'Tis he.------What manner of man's here?--what habit's that?--What mischief has the rogue been at? I'm allAstonishment, and can not guess.--But I'llWithdraw a while, and try to find it out. (Retires.)
HarperIs nowhere to be found.--I can't tell whatTo think on't.--Yet the rest of my companionsHave all commission'd me to seek him out.Colman 1768Is no where to be met with.--For my part,I'm quite to seek in this; and what to say,Or guess, I know not.--Yet the companyHave all commission'd me to find him out.
Harper--What mischief has the rogue been at? I'm allAstonishment, and can not guess.--But I'llWithdraw a while, and try to find it out.Colman 1768--What mischief is the meaning of all this?I'm all astonishment, and can not guess.
Words in this poem
- nowhere adv.
- Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
- astonishment n.
- The condition of one who is stunned. Hence: Numbness; loss of sensation; stupor; loss of sense. [Cf. OF. est, F. étonnement.]
- 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 Third: Scene V 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 Third: Scene V, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-eunuch-act-the-third-scene-v.html, id L25766.
Form and metre
The Eunuch: Act the Third: Scene V is 31 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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--- fellows · agreed · day · given · past · chaerea · whatA · companions · out · here · he · thatA · all · i'll · retires
- 2 ---A----A harper · what · companions · outA · — · part · say · company · outA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| But yesterday a knot of us young fellows | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Assembled at Piraeus, and agreed | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| To club together for a feast to-day. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Chaerea had charge of all; the rings were given, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And time and place appointed.--The time's past; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| No entertainment's at the place; and Chaerea | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| Is nowhere to be found.--I can't tell what | 10 | ·/········ |
| To think on't.--Yet the rest of my companions | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Have all commission'd me to seek him out. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| I'll see if he's at home;--but who comes here | 10 | ·········· |
| From Thais?--Is it he, or no?--'Tis he.---- | 9 | ········· |
| --What manner of man's here?--what habit's that? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| --What mischief has the rogue been at? I'm all | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Astonishment, and can not guess.--But I'll | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| Withdraw a while, and try to find it out. (Retires.) | 12 | ˘/········˘/ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| Is nowhere to be found.--I can't tell what | 10 | ·/········ |
| To think on't.--Yet the rest of my companions | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Have all commission'd me to seek him out. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| Is no where to be met with.--For my part, | 10 | ·········· |
| I'm quite to seek in this; and what to say, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or guess, I know not.--Yet the company | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Have all commission'd me to find him out. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| --What mischief has the rogue been at? I'm all | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Astonishment, and can not guess.--But I'll | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| Withdraw a while, and try to find it out. | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| --What mischief is the meaning of all this? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I'm all astonishment, and can not guess. | 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.