The Step-Mother: Act the Second: Scene I
LACH. Oh heav'n and earth, what animals are women!What a conspiracy between them all,To do or not do, love or hate alike!Not one but has the sex so strong in her,She differs nothing from the rest. Step-mothersAll hate their Step-daughters: and every wifeStudies alike to contradict her husband,The same perverseness running through them all.Each seems train'd up in the same school of mischief:And of that school, if any such there be,My wife, I think, is schoolmistress.
SOSTRA. Ah me!Who know not why I am accus'd.
SOSTRA. No, as I hope for mercy! as I hopeWe may live long together!LACH. Heav'n forbid!
SOSTRA. Hereafter, Laches, you'll be sensibleHow wrongfully you have accus'd me.
LACH. I?Accuse you wrongfully?----Is't possibleTo speak too hardly of your late behavior?Disgracing me, yourself, and family;Laying up sorrow for your absent son;Converting into foes his new-made friends,Who thought him worthy of their child in marriage.You've been our bane, and by your shrewishnessBrew'd this disturbance.
LACH. You, woman, you!Who take me for a stone, and not a man.Think ye, because I'm mostly in the country,I'm ignorant of your proceedings here?No, no; I know much better what's done here,Than where I'm chiefly resident. BecauseUpon my family at home dependsMy character abroad. I knew long sincePhilumena's disgust to you;----no wonder!Nay, 'twere a wonder, had it not been so.Yet I imagin'd not her hate so strong,'Twould vent itself upon the family:Which had I dream'd of, she should have remain'd,And you pack'd off.--Consider, Sostrata,How little cause you had to vex me thus.In complaisance to you, and husbandingMy fortune, I retir'd into the country:Scraping, and laboring beyond the boundsOf reason, or my age, that my estateMight furnish means for your expense and pleasure.--Was it not then your duty, in return,To see that nothing happen'd here to vex me?SOSTRA. 'Twas not my doing, nor my fault indeed.
LACH. 'Twas your fault, Sostrata; your fault alone.You was sole mistress here; and in your careThe house, though I had freed you of all other cares.A woman, an old woman too, and quarrelWith a green girl! oh shame upon't!--You'll sayThat 'twas her fault.
SOSTRA. Not I indeed, my Laches.
LACH. 'Fore Heav'n, I'm glad on't! on my son's account.For as for you, I'm well enough assur'd,No fault can make you worse.
SOSTRA. But prithee, husband,How can you tell that her aversion to meIs not a mere pretense, that she may stayThe longer with her mother?
LACH. No such thing.Was not your visit yesterday a proof,From their denial to admit you to her?
SOSTRA. They said she was so sick she could not see me.
LACH. Sick of your humors; nothing else, I fancy.And well she might: for there's not one of youBut want your sons to take a wife: and that'sNo sooner over, but the very womanWhich, by your instigation, they have married,They, by your instigation, put away.
HarperYou was sole mistress here; and in your careColman 1768
Words in this poem
- schoolmistress n.
- A woman who governs and teaches a school; a female school- teacher.
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- laches n.
- Neglect; negligence; remissness; neglect to do a thing at the proper time; delay to assert a claim. [OF. lachesse, fr. lache lax, indolent, F. lâche, ultimately fr. L. laxus loose, lax. See Lax.]
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- complaisance n.
- Disposition to please or oblige; obliging compliance with the wishes of others; a deportment indicative of a desire to please; courtesy; civility. [F. complaisance. See Complaisant, and cf. Complacence.]
- laboring a.
- That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- aversion n.
- A turning away. [L. aversio: cf. F. aversion. See Avert.]
- instigation n.
- The act of instigating, or the state of being instigated; incitement; esp. to evil or wickedness. [L. instigatio: cf. F. instigation.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Step-Mother: Act the Second: 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 Step-Mother: Act the Second: Scene I, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-step-mother-act-the-second-scene-i.html, id L25859.
Form and metre
The Step-Mother: Act the Second: Scene I is 77 lines in 14 stanzas. 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.
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---B-AB-- women · allA · alike · her · mothers · wifeB · husband · allA · mischiefB · be · schoolmistress
- 6 --ABB-----------A------ you · man · countryA · hereB · hereB · because · depends · since · wonder · so · strong · family · remain'd · sostrata · thus · husbanding · countryA · bounds · estate · pleasure · return · me · indeed
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LACH. Oh heav'n and earth, what animals are women! | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| What a conspiracy between them all, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| To do or not do, love or hate alike! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Not one but has the sex so strong in her, | 10 | ·········· |
| She differs nothing from the rest. Step-mothers | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| All hate their Step-daughters: and every wife | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Studies alike to contradict her husband, | 11 | /˘˘/··˘/·/˘ |
| The same perverseness running through them all. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Each seems train'd up in the same school of mischief: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And of that school, if any such there be, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My wife, I think, is schoolmistress. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| SOSTRA. Ah me! | 4 | ···· |
| Who know not why I am accus'd. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| SOSTRA. No, as I hope for mercy! as I hope | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| We may live long together! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| LACH. Heav'n forbid! | 4 | ··˘/ |
| SOSTRA. Hereafter, Laches, you'll be sensible | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| How wrongfully you have accus'd me. | 9 | ·/˘˘··˘/· |
| LACH. I? | 2 | ·· |
| Accuse you wrongfully?----Is't possible | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| To speak too hardly of your late behavior? | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Disgracing me, yourself, and family; | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·/˘˘ |
| Laying up sorrow for your absent son; | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Converting into foes his new-made friends, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Who thought him worthy of their child in marriage. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| You've been our bane, and by your shrewishness | 10 | ··/······· |
| Brew'd this disturbance. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| LACH. You, woman, you! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Who take me for a stone, and not a man. | 10 | ·········· |
| Think ye, because I'm mostly in the country, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| I'm ignorant of your proceedings here? | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| No, no; I know much better what's done here, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Than where I'm chiefly resident. Because | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Upon my family at home depends | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| My character abroad. I knew long since | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/···· |
| Philumena's disgust to you;----no wonder! | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| Nay, 'twere a wonder, had it not been so. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet I imagin'd not her hate so strong, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| 'Twould vent itself upon the family: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Which had I dream'd of, she should have remain'd, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And you pack'd off.--Consider, Sostrata, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| How little cause you had to vex me thus. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In complaisance to you, and husbanding | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘˘ |
| My fortune, I retir'd into the country: | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| Scraping, and laboring beyond the bounds | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| Of reason, or my age, that my estate | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Might furnish means for your expense and pleasure. | 11 | ·/˘···˘/·/˘ |
| --Was it not then your duty, in return, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| To see that nothing happen'd here to vex me? | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| SOSTRA. 'Twas not my doing, nor my fault indeed. | 11 | ·····/···˘/ |
| LACH. 'Twas your fault, Sostrata; your fault alone. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| You was sole mistress here; and in your care | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The house, though I had freed you of all other cares. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| A woman, an old woman too, and quarrel | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| With a green girl! oh shame upon't!--You'll say | 10 | ·········· |
| That 'twas her fault. | 4 | ···· |
| SOSTRA. Not I indeed, my Laches. | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| LACH. 'Fore Heav'n, I'm glad on't! on my son's account. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| For as for you, I'm well enough assur'd, | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| No fault can make you worse. | 6 | ······ |
| SOSTRA. But prithee, husband, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| How can you tell that her aversion to me | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| Is not a mere pretense, that she may stay | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The longer with her mother? | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| LACH. No such thing. | 4 | ···· |
| Was not your visit yesterday a proof, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| From their denial to admit you to her? | 11 | ··˘/˘·˘/··· |
| SOSTRA. They said she was so sick she could not see me. | 13 | ············· |
| LACH. Sick of your humors; nothing else, I fancy. | 12 | ····/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And well she might: for there's not one of you | 10 | ·········· |
| But want your sons to take a wife: and that's | 10 | ·········· |
| No sooner over, but the very woman | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Which, by your instigation, they have married, | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| They, by your instigation, put away. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Harper | 2 | /˘ |
| You was sole mistress here; and in your care | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Colman 1768 | 2 | /˘ |
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