The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene V
A lucky thought of mine! for Clitipho:The less he hopes, so much more easilyWill he reduce his father to good terms.Besides, who knows but he may take a wife?No thanks to Syrus neither.--But who's here?Chremes!--I'm off: for seeing what has pass'd,I wonder that he did not order meTo be truss'd up immediately. I'll henceTo Menedemus, and prevail on himTo intercede for me: as matters stand,I dare not trust to our old gentleman. (Exit SYRUS.
Words in this poem
- intercede v. i.
- To pass between; to intervene. [L. intercedere, intercessum; inter between + cedere to pass: cf. F. intercéder. See Cede.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: 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 Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene V, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-self-tormentor-act-the-fifth-scene-v.html, id L25814.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene V is 11 lines in a single stanza. 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A lucky thought of mine! for Clitipho: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The less he hopes, so much more easily | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Will he reduce his father to good terms. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Besides, who knows but he may take a wife? | 10 | ˘/········ |
| No thanks to Syrus neither.--But who's here? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Chremes!--I'm off: for seeing what has pass'd, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| I wonder that he did not order me | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To be truss'd up immediately. I'll hence | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| To Menedemus, and prevail on him | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| To intercede for me: as matters stand, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| I dare not trust to our old gentleman. (Exit SYRUS. | 13 | ·····/·/˘/˘·· |
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