The Step-Mother: Act the Third: Scene VI
PAR. (to SOSIA). Aye?And had you such a wretched voyage, say you?
SOSIA. Oh Parmeno, words can't express how wretchedA sea-life is.
SOSIA. Oh happy Parmeno!You little know the dangers you've escap'd,Who've never been at sea.--For not to dwellOn other hardships, only think of this!I was on shipboard thirty days or more,In constant fear of sinking all the while,The winds so contrary, such stormy weather!
SOSIA. I found it so, I promise you.In short, were I assur'd I must return,'Fore Heaven, Parmeno, I'd run away,Rather than go on board a ship again.
PAR. You have been apt enough to think of thatOn slighter reasons, Sosia, before now.--But yonder's my young master PamphilusStanding before that door.--Go in! I'll to him,And see if he has any business for me.
PAM. Oh Parmeno!I waited for you.PAR. What's your pleasure, Sir?
PAR. The Citadel!For what?
PAM. Find out one Callidemides,My landlord of Mycone, who came overIn the same ship with me.
PAR. A plague upon it!Would not one swear that he had made a vowTo break my wind, if he came home in safety,With running on his errands?PAR. What message? must I only find him out?
PAM. Yes; tell him that it is not in my powerTo meet him there to-day, as I appointed;That he mayn't wait for me in vain.--Hence; fly!
PAR. But I don't know him, if I see him, Sir.
PAM. (impatiently). Well; I'll describe him, so you can not miss him.--A large, red, frizzle-pated, gross, blear-eyed,Ill-looking fellow.
PAR. Plague on him, say I!--What if he should not come, Sir, must I waitTill evening for him?
PAM. Wait.--Be quick!
PAR. Be quick?I can't be quick,--I'm so much tir'd. (Exit.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- slighter n.
- One who slights.
- impatiently adv.
- In an impatient manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Step-Mother: Act the Third: 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 Step-Mother: Act the Third: Scene VI, 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-vi.html, id L25867.
Form and metre
The Step-Mother: Act the Third: Scene VI is 46 lines in 15 stanzas. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PAR. (to SOSIA). Aye? | 5 | ····· |
| And had you such a wretched voyage, say you? | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| SOSIA. Oh Parmeno, words can't express how wretched | 13 | ········˘/·/˘ |
| A sea-life is. | 4 | ···· |
| SOSIA. Oh happy Parmeno! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| You little know the dangers you've escap'd, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Who've never been at sea.--For not to dwell | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| On other hardships, only think of this! | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| I was on shipboard thirty days or more, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| In constant fear of sinking all the while, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The winds so contrary, such stormy weather! | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| SOSIA. I found it so, I promise you. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In short, were I assur'd I must return, | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| 'Fore Heaven, Parmeno, I'd run away, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Rather than go on board a ship again. | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| PAR. You have been apt enough to think of that | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| On slighter reasons, Sosia, before now. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| --But yonder's my young master Pamphilus | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Standing before that door.--Go in! I'll to him, | 11 | /˘········· |
| And see if he has any business for me. | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| PAM. Oh Parmeno! | 5 | ····· |
| I waited for you. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| PAR. What's your pleasure, Sir? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| PAR. The Citadel! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| For what? | 2 | ·· |
| PAM. Find out one Callidemides, | 8 | ········ |
| My landlord of Mycone, who came over | 10 | ·/········ |
| In the same ship with me. | 6 | ······ |
| PAR. A plague upon it! | 6 | ······ |
| Would not one swear that he had made a vow | 10 | ·········· |
| To break my wind, if he came home in safety, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| With running on his errands? | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| PAR. What message? must I only find him out? | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| PAM. Yes; tell him that it is not in my power | 11 | ··········/ |
| To meet him there to-day, as I appointed; | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| That he mayn't wait for me in vain.--Hence; fly! | 10 | ·········· |
| PAR. But I don't know him, if I see him, Sir. | 11 | ··········· |
| PAM. (impatiently). Well; I'll describe him, so you can not miss him. | 15 | ·˘/˘··˘/······· |
| --A large, red, frizzle-pated, gross, blear-eyed, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Ill-looking fellow. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| PAR. Plague on him, say I! | 6 | ······ |
| --What if he should not come, Sir, must I wait | 10 | ·········· |
| Till evening for him? | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| PAM. Wait.--Be quick! | 4 | ···· |
| PAR. Be quick? | 3 | ··· |
| I can't be quick,--I'm so much tir'd. (Exit. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
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