The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fourth: Scene I
My mind misgives me, my defeat is nigh,This unexpected incident has drivenMy forces into such a narrow pass,I can not even handsomely retreatWithout some feint, to hinder our old manFrom seeing that this wench is Clitipho's.As for the money, and the trick I dream'd of,Those hopes are flown, and I shall hold it triumph,So I but 'scape a scouring--Cursed fortune,To have so delicate a morsel snatch'dOut of my very jaws!--What shall I do?What new device? for I must change my plan.--Nothing so difficult, but may be wonBy industry.--Suppose, I try it thus. (Thinking.)--'Twill never do.--Or thus?--No better still.But thus I think.--No, no.--Yes, excellent!Courage! I have it.--Good!--Good!--best of all!------'Faith, I begin to hope to lay fast holdOf that same slipp'ry money after all.
Words in this poem
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- feint a.
- Feigned; counterfeit. [F. feint, p.p. of feindre to feign. See Feign.]
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: 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 Self-Tormentor: 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-self-tormentor-act-the-fourth-scene-i.html, id L25801.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Fourth: Scene I is 19 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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---A--AA---B-B nigh · drivenA · pass · retreat · manA · clitipho's · of · triumph · fortuneA · snatch'd · do · planA · wonA · thinking · still · excellent · allB · hold · allB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My mind misgives me, my defeat is nigh, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| This unexpected incident has driven | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| My forces into such a narrow pass, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| I can not even handsomely retreat | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Without some feint, to hinder our old man | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| From seeing that this wench is Clitipho's. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| As for the money, and the trick I dream'd of, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Those hopes are flown, and I shall hold it triumph, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| So I but 'scape a scouring--Cursed fortune, | 11 | ·····/˘˘·/˘ |
| To have so delicate a morsel snatch'd | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Out of my very jaws!--What shall I do? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What new device? for I must change my plan. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| --Nothing so difficult, but may be won | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| By industry.--Suppose, I try it thus. (Thinking.) | 11 | ·/˘˘/····/˘ |
| --'Twill never do.--Or thus?--No better still. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But thus I think.--No, no.--Yes, excellent! | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Courage! I have it.--Good!--Good!--best of all!---- | 10 | /˘········ |
| --'Faith, I begin to hope to lay fast hold | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Of that same slipp'ry money after all. | 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.