The Self-Tormentor: Act the Third: Scene I
CHREM. 'Tis now just daybreak.--Why delay I thenTo call my neighbor forth, and be the firstTo tell him of his son's return?--The youth,I understand, would fain not have it so.But shall I, when I see this poor old manAfflict himself so grievously, by silenceRob him of such an unexpected joy,When the discov'ry can not hurt the son?No, I'll not do't; but far as in my pow'rAssist the father. As my son, I see,Ministers to th' occasions of his friend,Associated in counsels, rank, and age,So we old men should serve each other too.
Words in this poem
- daybreak n.
- The time of the first appearance of light in the morning.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- 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,]
- afflict v. t.
- To strike or cast down; to overthrow. [L. afflictus, p. p. of affigere to cast down, deject; ad + fligere to strike: cf. OF. aflit, afflict, p. p. Cf. Flagellate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Third: 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 Third: 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-third-scene-i.html, id L25794.
Form and metre
The Self-Tormentor: Act the Third: Scene I is 13 lines in a single stanza. 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. 'Tis now just daybreak.--Why delay I then | 11 | ····/··˘/·· |
| To call my neighbor forth, and be the first | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To tell him of his son's return?--The youth, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| I understand, would fain not have it so. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| But shall I, when I see this poor old man | 10 | ·········· |
| Afflict himself so grievously, by silence | 11 | ˘/˘/·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Rob him of such an unexpected joy, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| When the discov'ry can not hurt the son? | 10 | ·········· |
| No, I'll not do't; but far as in my pow'r | 10 | ·········· |
| Assist the father. As my son, I see, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Ministers to th' occasions of his friend, | 10 | /˘˘·˘/˘··· |
| Associated in counsels, rank, and age, | 11 | ˘/˘·˘·/˘··· |
| So we old men should serve each other too. | 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.