Mojo, The Bard, & Me

He had two sons: if this be worth your hearing,
Mark it: the eldest of them at three years old,
I' the swathing-clothes the other, from their nursery
Were stol'n, and to this hour no guess in knowledge
Which way they went.

First Gentleman

 Cymbeline                                          Act I, Scene i      Line 58

This line is sort of interesting to talk about. This is two gentleman talking, and this is the very beginning of the play. They’re the first two guys to show up on stage, in the garden of the palace of Cymbeline, and they’re here to give an introduction to the audience. Oh they’re speaking to each other, one asking questions, and the other giving up the facts, but their only purpose is to give the audience a heads up as to what’s going on. It’s interesting because Will uses this feature in some of his plays to one extent or another, and in some plays he just skips it all together and assumes that you, the viewer of the play, know what’s going on and what the back story is. This particular line is telling us about the king’s two sons who went missing as a baby and a toddler over twenty years ago. As I said, in some of Will’s works we just skip any kind of intro, and in some we get a pretty extensive one like we have here. In fact, this is definitely one of the most extensive that I can think of. And one of the only ones where the introduction is done by two no-names who have no other part in the play. So what do you think about that?

I was thinking about going through all Will’s plays, or maybe just the comedies, and making note of which ones had this sort of intro and which ones didn’t. But I thought better of that exercise.

In the meantime, do you want to read the whole conversation between these two gentlemen? Here it is. This pretty much gives you the set up for the whole play. Which, I suppose is only going to be relevant to you if you plan on reading and/or seeing the play. So, on second thought, never mind.

Boy, we’re just not getting anywhere with this line today. Let’s cut our losses.

What do you suppose would be the intro by the two gentleman for this scene of Tarzan holding up a Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency pencil while the snow piles up outside?

   Second Gentleman-

                  So what's with the guy with no shirt and the big pencil?

    First Gentleman-

                  Oh that's just Tarzan. I believe MEMA hired him as their new spokesperson.

    Second Gentleman-

                  Ay, sooth!