The Step-Mother: Act the Third: Scene IX
LACH. Did not I say he'd take it ill, Phidippus,And therefore begg'd you to send back your daughter?
PHID. 'Fore Heaven I did not think him such a churl.What! does he fancy I'll go cringing to him?No;--if he'll take his wife he may:--if not,Let him refund her portion;--there's an end!
LACH. See there now! you're as fractious as himself.
PHID. You're come back obstinate and proud enoughIn conscience, Pamphilus! (Angrily.)
LACH. This anger will subside,Though he has had some cause to be disturb'd.
PHID. Because you've had a little money left you,Your minds are so exalted!
LACH. What, d'ye quarrelWith me too?
PHID. Let him take to-day to think on't,And send me word if he shall have her homeOr not: that if she don't remain his wife,She may be given to another. (Exit hastily.
Words in this poem
- refund v. t.
- To fund again or anew; to replace (a fund or loan) by a new fund; as, to refund a railroad loan. [Pref. re- + fund.]
- fractious a.
- Apt to break out into a passion; apt to scold; cross; snappish; ugly; unruly; as, a fractious man; a fractious horse. [Cf. Prov. E. frack forward, eager, E. freak, fridge; or Prov. E. fratch to squabble, quarrel.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- 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 Step-Mother: Act the Third: Scene IX 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 Third: Scene IX, in The Comedies of Terence (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/terence-comedies/the-step-mother-act-the-third-scene-ix.html, id L25870.
Form and metre
The Step-Mother: Act the Third: Scene IX is 19 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LACH. Did not I say he'd take it ill, Phidippus, | 12 | ············ |
| And therefore begg'd you to send back your daughter? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| PHID. 'Fore Heaven I did not think him such a churl. | 11 | ··/········ |
| What! does he fancy I'll go cringing to him? | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| No;--if he'll take his wife he may:--if not, | 10 | ·········· |
| Let him refund her portion;--there's an end! | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| LACH. See there now! you're as fractious as himself. | 11 | ······/˘·˘/ |
| PHID. You're come back obstinate and proud enough | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| In conscience, Pamphilus! (Angrily.) | 9 | ·/˘···/˘˘ |
| LACH. This anger will subside, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Though he has had some cause to be disturb'd. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| PHID. Because you've had a little money left you, | 12 | ······/˘/˘·· |
| Your minds are so exalted! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| LACH. What, d'ye quarrel | 5 | ···/˘ |
| With me too? | 3 | ··· |
| PHID. Let him take to-day to think on't, | 9 | ········· |
| And send me word if he shall have her home | 10 | ·········· |
| Or not: that if she don't remain his wife, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| She may be given to another. (Exit hastily. | 12 | ···/·˘/˘/˘/˘ |
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