The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene VI
SOSTRA. Nay indeed, husband, if you don't take care,You'll bring some kind of mischief on your son:I can't imagine how a thought so idleCould come into your head.
CHREM. Still, woman, stillD'ye contradict me? Did I ever wishFor any thing in all my life, but youIn that same thing oppos'd me, Sostrata?Yet now if I should ask wherein I'm wrong,Or wherefore I act thus, you do not know.Why then d'ye contradict me, simpleton?
CHREM. Well, well, you know: I grant it, ratherThan hear your idle story o'er again.
SOSTRA. Ah, 'tis unjust in you to ask my silenceIn such a thing as this.
CHREM. I do not ask it.Speak if you will: I'll do it ne'ertheless.
SOSTRA. You don't perceive what harmMay come of this. He thinks himself a foundling.CHREM. A foundling, say you?
SOSTRA. Yes indeed, he does.
CHREM. Confess it to be true.
SOSTRA. Ah, Heav'n forbid!Let our most bitter enemies do that!Shall I disown my son, my own dear child!
CHREM. What! do you fear you can not at your pleasureProduce convincing proofs that he's your own?
SOSTRA. Is it because my daughter's found you say this?
CHREM. No: but because, a stronger reason far,His manners so resemble yours, you mayEasily prove him thence to be your son.He is quite like you: not a vice, whereofHe is inheritor, but dwells in you:And such a son no mother but yourselfCould have engender'd.--But he comes.--How grave!Look in his face, and you may guess his plight.
HarperHis manners so resemble yours, you mayEasily prove him thence to be your son.Colman 1768His manners are so very like your own,
Words in this poem
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- foundling n.
- A deserted or exposed infant; a child found without a parent or owner. Foundling hospital, a hospital for foundlings. [OE. foundling, fundling; finden to find + - ling; cf. fündling, findling. See Find, v. t., and -ling.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- inheritor n.
- One who inherits; an heir.
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: 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 Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene VI, 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-vi.html, id L25815.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fifth: Scene VI is 41 lines in 13 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SOSTRA. Nay indeed, husband, if you don't take care, | 12 | ···˘//˘····· |
| You'll bring some kind of mischief on your son: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I can't imagine how a thought so idle | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Could come into your head. | 6 | ······ |
| CHREM. Still, woman, still | 5 | ··/˘· |
| D'ye contradict me? Did I ever wish | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| For any thing in all my life, but you | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In that same thing oppos'd me, Sostrata? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Yet now if I should ask wherein I'm wrong, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or wherefore I act thus, you do not know. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Why then d'ye contradict me, simpleton? | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| CHREM. Well, well, you know: I grant it, rather | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Than hear your idle story o'er again. | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| SOSTRA. Ah, 'tis unjust in you to ask my silence | 13 | ····˘/·····/˘ |
| In such a thing as this. | 6 | ······ |
| CHREM. I do not ask it. | 6 | ······ |
| Speak if you will: I'll do it ne'ertheless. | 10 | ·········· |
| SOSTRA. You don't perceive what harm | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| May come of this. He thinks himself a foundling. | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| CHREM. A foundling, say you? | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| SOSTRA. Yes indeed, he does. | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| CHREM. Confess it to be true. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| SOSTRA. Ah, Heav'n forbid! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Let our most bitter enemies do that! | 10 | ·/·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Shall I disown my son, my own dear child! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| CHREM. What! do you fear you can not at your pleasure | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Produce convincing proofs that he's your own? | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| SOSTRA. Is it because my daughter's found you say this? | 13 | ·······/˘···· |
| CHREM. No: but because, a stronger reason far, | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| His manners so resemble yours, you may | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Easily prove him thence to be your son. | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| He is quite like you: not a vice, whereof | 10 | ·········· |
| He is inheritor, but dwells in you: | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| And such a son no mother but yourself | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Could have engender'd.--But he comes.--How grave! | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Look in his face, and you may guess his plight. | 10 | ·········· |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| His manners so resemble yours, you may | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Easily prove him thence to be your son. | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
| His manners are so very like your own, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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