Iphigenia In Tauris. - Act The Second Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A B BCDEFBGBHIJKLKMNOPBQ BRSILTBUVWBXOY BZA2BVB2C2D2VE2VBVF2 G2VH2VG2B BVI2J2B2VK2NH2BNL2VV B BM2F2BNVH2VN2 BO2L2 BH2VH2P2B2 BBB2NVLAH2LQ2H2R2 BV BH2VF2VVLO BVVS2BB BBBVT2U2V2BNVVVBV BQ2VBVW2VVBX2VY2VBTB VN2B2L2BB BBBBBVB2Y2Y2Z2VVTA3 BBVVB BY2 BY2 BB BVBM2BB2B3Y2B2 BO BVVBBB2VBBY2 BC3B BD3E3VBG2BL2 BB2GBSOVBY2 BBXB2F3VVV BG3 BVH3VBG2B BI3 BG2BBBG2VBVBY2 BY2G2VVVOB BJ3Y2VK3G2VVVY2G2VG2 L3 A B L3Z2BBBB2 BBVBVG3VVL3BBB2 L3VY2MY2V BIBMBVL3Y2R2VBY2VVBM 3VBBVBVL3BV L3L3G2 BBBL3VVL3Y2L2Y2B L3IG2V BL3VL3G2Y2V L3V BL3V L3N3B2V BVVG2VZ2Y2N3IBVVVL3B 2VIL3BY2V L3L3 BSVVBVB2BBI L3B BY2 L3N3 BO3 L3Y2 BTBVVL3BVVB2O B2Y2 L3BY2G2BVG2B

SCENE I	A
	-
ORESTES PYLADES	B
	-
	-
ORESTES	B
It is the path of death that now we tread	C
At every step my soul grows more serene	D
When I implor'd Apollo to remove	E
The grisly band of Furies from my side	F
He seem'd with hope inspiring godlike words	B
To promise aid and safety in the fane	G
Of his lov'd sister who o'er Tauris rules	B
Thus the prophetic word fulfils itself	H
That with my life shall terminate my woe	I
How easy 'tis for me whose heart is crush'd	J
Whose sense is deaden'd by a hand divine	K
Thus to renounce the beauteous light of day	L
And must the son of Atreus not entwine	K
The wreath of conquest round his dying brow	M
Must I as my forefathers as my sire	N
Bleed like a victim an ignoble death	O
So be it Better at the altar here	P
Than in a nook obscure where kindred hands	B
Have spread assassination's wily net	Q
Yield me this brief repose infernal Powers	B
Ye who like loosen'd hounds still scent the blood	R
Which trickling from my feet betrays my path	S
Leave me ere long I come to you below	I
Nor you nor I should view the light of day	L
The soft green carpet of the beauteous earth	T
Is no arena for unhallow'd fiends	B
Below I seek you where an equal fate	U
Binds all in murky never ending night	V
Thee only thee my Pylades my friend	W
The guiltless partner of my crime and curse	B
Thee am I loath before thy time to take	X
To yonder cheerless shore Thy life or death	O
Alone awakens in me hope or fear	Y
	-
PYLADES	B
Like thee Orestes I am not prepar'd	Z
Downwards to wander to yon realm of shade	A2
I purpose still through the entangl'd paths	B
Which seem as they would lead to blackest night	V
Again to guide our upward way to life	B2
Of death I think not I observe and mark	C2
Whether the gods may not perchance present	D2
Means and fit moment for a joyful flight	V
Dreaded or not the stroke of death must come	E2
And though the priestess stood with hand uprais'd	V
Prepar'd to cut our consecrated locks	B
Our safety still should be my only thought	V
Uplift thy soul above this weak despair	F2
Desponding doubts but hasten on our peril	G2
Apollo pledg'd to us his sacred word	V
That in his sister's' holy fane for thee	H2
Were comfort aid and glad return prepar'd	V
The words of Heaven are not equivocal	G2
As in despair the poor oppress'd one thinks	B
	-
ORESTES	B
The mystic web of life my mother spread	V
Around my infant head and so I grew	I2
An image of my sire and my mute look	J2
Was aye a bitter and a keen reproof	B2
To her and base gisthus Oh how oft	V
When silently within our gloomy hall	K2
Electra sat and mus'd beside the fire	N
Have I with anguish'd spirit climb'd her knee	H2
And watch'd her bitter tears with sad amaze	B
Then would she tell me of our noble sire	N
How much I long'd to see him be with him	L2
Myself at Troy one moment fondly wish'd	V
My sire's return the next The day arrived	V
	-
Transcriber's Note Original text read Egisthus	B
	-
PYLADES	B
Oh of that awful hour let fiends of hell	M2
Hold nightly converse Of a time more fair	F2
May the remembrance animate our hearts	B
To fresh heroic deeds The gods require	N
On this wide earth the service of the good	V
To work their pleasure Still they count on thee	H2
For in thy father's train they sent thee not	V
When he to Orcus went unwilling down	N2
	-
ORESTES	B
Would I had seiz'd the border of his robe	O2
And follow'd him	L2
	-
PYLADES	B
They kindly car'd for me	H2
Who here detain'd thee for if thou hadst died	V
I know not what had then become of me	H2
Since I with thee and for thy sake alone	P2
Have from my childhood liv'd and wish to live	B2
	-
ORESTES	B
Do not remind me of those tranquil days	B
When me thy home a safe asylum gave	B2
With fond solicitude thy noble sire	N
The half nipp'd tender flow'ret gently rear'd	V
While thou a friend and playmate always gay	L
Like to a light and brilliant butterfly	A
Around a dusky flower didst around me	H2
Still with new life thy merry gambols play	L
And breathe thy joyous spirit in my soul	Q2
Until my cares forgetting I with thee	H2
Was lur'd to snatch the eager joys of youth	R2
	-
PYLADES	B
My very life began when thee I lov'd	V
	-
ORESTES	B
Say then thy woes began and thou speak'st truly	H2
This is the sharpest sorrow of my lot	V
That like a plague infected wretch I bear	F2
Death and destruction hid within my breast	V
That where I tread e'en on the healthiest spot	V
Ere long the blooming faces round betray	L
The writhing features of a ling'ring death	O
	-
PYLADES	B
Were thy breath venom I had been the first	V
To die that death Orestes Am I not	V
As ever full of courage and of joy	S2
And love and courage are the spirit's wings	B
Wafting to noble actions	B
	-
ORESTES	B
Noble actions	B
Time was when fancy painted such before us	B
When oft the game pursuing on we roam'd	V
O'er hill and valley hoping that ere long	T2
With club and weapon arm'd we so might track	U2
The robber to his den or monster huge	V2
And then at twilight by the glassy sea	B
We peaceful sat reclin'd against each other	N
The waves came dancing to our very feet	V
And all before us lay the wide wide world	V
Then on a sudden one would seize his sword	V
And future deeds shone round us like the stars	B
Which gemm'd in countless throngs the vault of night	V
	-
PYLADES	B
Endless my friend the projects which the soul	Q2
Burns to accomplish We would every deed	V
At once perform as grandly as it shows	B
After long ages when from land to land	V
The poet's swelling song hath roll'd it on	W2
It sounds so lovely what our fathers did	V
When in the silent evening shade reclin'd	V
We drink it in with music's melting tones	B
And what we do is as their deeds to them	X2
Toilsome and incomplete	V
Thus we pursue what always flies before	Y2
We disregard the path in which we tread	V
Scarce see around the footsteps of our sires	B
Or heed the trace of their career on earth	T
We ever hasten on to chase their shades	B
Which godlike at a distance far remote	V
On golden clouds reclin'd the mountains crown	N2
The man I prize not who esteems himself	B2
Just as the people's breath may chance to raise him	L2
But thou Orestes to the gods give thanks	B
That they have done so much through thee already	B
	-
ORESTES	B
When they ordain a man to noble deeds	B
To shield from dire calamity his friends	B
Extend his empire or protect its bounds	B
Or put to flight its ancient enemies	B
Let him be grateful For to him a god	V
Imparts the first the sweetest joy of life	B2
Me have they doom'd to be a slaughterer	Y2
To be an honour'd mother's murderer	Y2
And shamefully a deed of shame avenging	Z2
Me through their own decree they have o'erwhelm'd	V
Trust me the race of Tantalus is doom'd	V
Nor may his last descendant leave the earth	T
Or crown'd with honour or unstain'd by crime	A3
	-
PYLADES	B
The gods avenge not on the son the deeds	B
Done by the father Each or good or bad	V
Of his own actions reaps the due reward	V
The parents' blessing not their curse descends	B
	-
ORESTES	B
Methinks their blessing did not lead us here	Y2
	-
PYLADES	B
It was at least the mighty gods' decree	Y2
	-
ORESTES	B
Then is it their decree which doth destroy us	B
	-
PYLADES	B
Perform what they command and wait the event	V
Do thou Apollo's sister bear from hence	B
That they at Delphi may united dwell	M2
Rever'd and honour'd by a noble race	B
Thee for this deed the heav'nly pair will view	B2
With gracious eye and from the hateful grasp	B3
Of the infernal Powers will rescue thee	Y2
E'en now none dares intrude within this grove	B2
	-
ORESTES	B
So shall I die at least a peaceful death	O
	-
PYLADES	B
Far other are my thoughts and not unskill'd	V
Have I the future and the past combin'd	V
In quiet meditation Long perchance	B
Hath ripen'd in the counsel of the gods	B
The great event Diana wish d to leave	B2
This savage region foul with human blood	V
We were selected for the high emprize	B
To us it is assign'd and strangely thus	B
We are conducted to the threshold here	Y2
	-
ORESTES	B
My friend with wondrous skill thou link'st thy wish	C3
With the predestin'd purpose of the gods	B
	-
PYLADES	B
Of what avail is prudence if it fail	D3
Heedful to mark the purposes of Heaven	E3
A noble man who much hath sinn'd some god	V
Doth summon to a dangerous enterprize	B
Which to achieve appears impossible	G2
The hero conquers and atoning serves	B
Mortals and gods who thenceforth honour him	L2
	-
ORESTES	B
Am I foredoom'd to action and to life	B2
Would that a god from my distemper'd brain	G
Might chase this dizzy fever which impels	B
My restless steps along a slipp'ry path	S
Stain'd with a mother's blood to direful death	O
And pitying dry the fountain whence the blood	V
For ever spouting from a mother's wounds	B
Eternally defiles me	Y2
	-
PYLADES	B
Wait in peace	B
Thou dost increase the evil and dost take	X
The office of the Furies on thyself	B2
Let me contrive be still And when at length	F3
The time for action claims our powers combin'd	V
Then will I summon thee and on we'll stride	V
With cautious boldness to achieve the event	V
	-
ORESTES	B
I hear Ulysses speak	G3
	-
PYLADES	B
Nay mock me not	V
Each must select the hero after whom	H3
To climb the steep and difficult ascent	V
Of high Olympus And to me it seems	B
That him nor stratagem nor art defile	G2
Who consecrates himself to noble deeds	B
	-
ORESTES	B
I most esteem the brave and upright man	I3
	-
PYLADES	B
And therefore have I not desir'd thy counsel	G2
One step is ta'en already from our guards	B
I have extorted this intelligence	B
A strange and godlike woman now restrains	B
The execution of that bloody law	G2
Incense and prayer and an unsullied heart	V
These are the gifts she offers to the gods	B
Her fame is widely spread and it is thought	V
That from the race of Amazon she springs	B
And hither fled some great calamity	Y2
	-
ORESTES	B
Her gentle sway it seems lost all its power	Y2
At the approach of one so criminal	G2
Whom the dire curse enshrouds in gloomy night	V
Our doom to seal the pious thirst for blood	V
Again unchains the ancient cruel rite	V
The monarch's savage will decrees our death	O
A woman cannot save when he condemns	B
	-
PYLADES	B
That 'tis a woman is a ground for hope	J3
A man the very best with cruelty	Y2
At length may so familiarize his mind	V
His character through custom so transform	K3
That he shall come to make himself a law	G2
Of what at first his very soul abhorr'd	V
But woman doth retain the stamp of mind	V
She first assum'd On her we may depend	V
In good or evil with more certainty	Y2
She comes leave us alone I dare not tell	G2
At once our names nor unreserv'd confide	V
Our fortunes to her Now retire awhile	G2
And ere she speaks with thee we'll meet again	L3
	-
	-
SCENE II	A
	-
IPHIGENIA PYLADES	B
	-
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
Whence art thou Stranger speak To me thy bearing	Z2
Stamps thee of Grecian not of Scythian race	B
She unbinds his chains	B
The freedom that I give is dangerous	B
The gods avert the doom that threatens you	B2
	-
PYLADES	B
Delicious music dearly welcome tones	B
Of our own language in a foreign land	V
With joy my captive eye once more beholds	B
The azure mountains of my native coast	V
Oh let this joy that I too am a Greek	G3
Convince thee priestess How I need thine aid	V
A moment I forget my spirit wrapt	V
In contemplation of so fair a vision	L3
If fate's dread mandate doth not seal thy lips	B
From which of our illustrious races say	B
Dost thou thy godlike origin derive	B2
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
A priestess by the Goddess' self ordain'd	V
And consecrated too doth speak with thee	Y2
Let that suffice but tell me who art thou	M
And what unbless'd o'erruling destiny	Y2
Hath hither led thee with thy friend	V
	-
PYLADES	B
The woe	I
Whose hateful presence ever dogs our steps	B
I can with ease relate Oh would that thou	M
Couldst with like ease divine one shed on us	B
One ray of cheering hope We are from Crete	V
Adrastus' sons and I the youngest born	L3
Named Cephalus my eldest brother he	Y2
Laodamus Between us two a youth	R2
Of savage temper grew who oft disturb'd	V
The joy and concord of our youthful sports	B
Long as our father led his powers at Troy	Y2
Passive our mother's mandate we obey'd	V
But when enrich'd with booty he return'd	V
And shortly after died a contest fierce	B
For the succession and their father's wealth	M3
Parted the brothers I the eldest joined	V
He slew the second and the Furies hence	B
For kindred murder dog his restless steps	B
But to this savage shore the Delphian god	V
Hath sent us cheer'd by hope commanding us	B
Within his sister's temple to await	V
The blessed hand of aid We have been ta'en	L3
Brought hither and now stand for sacrifice	B
My tale is told	V
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
Tell me is Troy o'erthrown	L3
Assure me of its fall	G2
	-
PYLADES	B
It lies in ruins	B
But oh ensure deliverance to us	B
Hasten I pray the promis'd aid of heav'n	L3
Pity my brother say a kindly word	V
But I implore thee spare him when thou speakest	V
Too easily his inner mind is torn	L3
By joy or grief or cruel memory	Y2
A feverish madness oft doth seize on him	L2
Yielding his spirit beautiful and free	Y2
A prey to furies	B
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
Great as is thy woe	I
Forget it I conjure thee for a while	G2
Till I am satisfied	V
	-
PYLADES	B
The stately town	L3
Which ten long years withstood the Grecian host	V
Now lies in ruins ne'er to rise again	L3
Yet many a hero's grave will oft recall	G2
Our sad remembrance to that barbarous shore	Y2
There lies Achilles and his noble friend	V
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
And are ye godlike forms reduc'd to dust	V
	-
	-
PYLADES	B
Nor Palamede nor Ajax ere again	L3
The daylight of their native land behold	V
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
He speaks not of my father doth not name	N3
Him with the fallen He may yet survive	B2
I may behold him still hope on my heart	V
	-
PYLADES	B
Yet happy are the thousands who receiv'd	V
Their bitter death blow from a hostile hand	V
For terror wild and end most tragical	G2
Some hostile angry deity prepar'd	V
Instead of triumph for the home returning	Z2
Do human voices never reach this shore	Y2
Far as their sound extends they bear the fame	N3
Of deeds unparallel'd And is the woe	I
Which fills Mycene's halls with ceaseless sighs	B
To thee a secret still And know'st thou not	V
That Clytemnestra with gisthus' aid	V
Her royal consort artfully ensnar'd	V
And murder'd on the day of his return	L3
The monarch's house thou honourest I perceive	B2
Thy heaving bosom vainly doth contend	V
With tidings fraught with such unlook'd for woe	I
Art thou the daughter of a friend or born	L3
Within the circuit of Mycene's walls	B
Do not conceal it nor avenge on me	Y2
That here the horrid crime I first announc'd	V
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
Proceed and tell me how the deed was done	L3
	-
PYLADES	B
The day of his return as from the bath	S
Arose the monarch tranquil and refresh'd	V
His robe demanding from his consort's hand	V
A tangl'd garment complicate with folds	B
She o'er his shoulders flung and noble head	V
And when as from a net he vainly strove	B2
To extricate himself the traitor base	B
gisthus smote him and envelop'd thus	B
Great Agamemnon sought the shades below	I
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
And what reward receiv'd the base accomplice	B
	-
PYLADES	B
A queen and kingdom he possess'd already	Y2
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
Base passion prompted then the deed of shame	N3
	-
PYLADES	B
And feelings cherish'd long of deep revenge	O3
	-
IPHIGENIA	L3
How had the monarch injured Clytemnestra	Y2
	-
PYLADES	B
By such a dreadful deed that if on earth	T
Aught could exculpate murder it were this	B
To Aulis he allur'd her when the fleet	V
With unpropitious winds the goddess stay'd	V
And there a victim at Diana's shrine	L3
The monarch for the welfare of the Greeks	B
Her eldest daughter doom'd And this 'tis said	V
Planted such deep abhorrence in her heart	V
That to gisthus she resign'd herself	B2
And round her husband flung the web of death	O
	-
IPHIGENIA veiling herself	B2
It is enough Thou wilt again behold me	Y2
	-
PYLADES alone	L3
The fortune of this royal house it seems	B
Doth move her deeply Whosoe'er she be	Y2
She must herself have known the monarch well	G2
For our good fortune from a noble house	B
She hath been sold to bondage Peace my heart	V
And let us steer our course with prudent zeal	G2
Toward the star of hope which gleams upon us	B

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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