Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Who calls?

 

Calchas

Troilus and Cressida             Act V, Scene ii, Line 2

 

Simple as that. Who calls? So, who calls? I’ve no idea. 

There’s not much to this line, is there. We could go into the context; it is, after all, just the second line of the scene, so there’s not much has taken place yet. But that would lead us into a need to understand where we are in the play, and since it’s in the fifth act, we could be setting ourselves up for quite a bit of context.

No thank you. Not today.

Who calls? Nina, Jeff, and Sam will be calling on us today. 

There: that’s who calls.

 

I like Jeff. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

You know his nature,

That he’s revengeful; and I know his sword

Hath a sharp edge: it’s long, and, ‘t may be said,

It reaches far; and where ‘twill not extend,

Thither he darts it.  

 

Duke of Norfolk

King Henry the Eighth         Act I, Scene i, Line 110

 

The Duke of Norfolk is talking about Cardinal Wolsey. He is warning the Duke of Buckingham to be wary of the Cardinal. Wolsey has pulled a Grima Wormtongue on the king, and whilst Henry has not been incapacitated the way Theoden was, Wolsey nonetheless has a very strong hold on him. The only difference between the cardinal and Grima Wormtongue is that, unlike Grima, Cardinal Wolsey serves only himself. Unfortunately for Buckingham, it serves Wolsey's interests to have the Duke taken out of the picture.

Be careful Buckingham, Gandalf’s not going to be showing up to save you!

  

Uh oh, batten down the hatches!

 He’s started mixing in his crazy Tolkien references again!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Here comes his mother

                                         Let’s not meet her

                                             Why?

They say she’s mad.

 

Junius Brutus and Sicinius Veletus

Coriolanus              Act IV, Scene ii, Line 7

This is a short back and forth between the two tribunes who turned the crowds against Coriolanus and had him banished. Now they’re about to meet up with Coriolanus’s mother, Volumnia.

The scene starts with the two congratulating themselves for the job they did in convincing the mob to turn against Coriolanus.

The nobility are vext, whom we see have sided

In his behalf.

Now we have shown our power,

Let us seem humbler after it is done.

It continues with Volumnia and Menenius entering and the former giving the tribunes a piece of her mind.

                        ‘Twas you incensed the rabble;--

Rats, that can judge as fitly of his worth

As I can of those mysteries which heaven

Will not have earth to know.

Once the tribunes leave Menenius tries to settle Volumnia down, inviting her to dinner. He’s always the one trying to play the peacemaker, but she’ll have none of it.

Anger’s my meat; I sup upon myself,

And so shall starve with feeding.

It’s a great scene, quite short, and perhaps best summed up by the last six words of it:

Volumnia leaves saying, Come, come, come.  

Menenius, left alone mutters simply, Fie, fie, fie!

Come, come come and Fie, fie, fie. Hmm, I'm not quite sure what to make of that, Mr. Blagys. Are you sure that's a good representation of the entire scene? I mean really, is that the best you can do?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

This last old man,

Whom with a crackt heart I have sent to Rome,

Loved me above the measure of a father;

Nay, godded me, indeed. Their latest refuge

Was to send him; for whose old love I have,

Though I show’d sourly to him, once more offer’d

The first conditions, which they did refuse,

And cannot now accept; to grace him only

That thought he could do more, a very little

I have yielded to: fresh embassies and suits,

Nor from the state nor private friends, hereafter

Will I lend ear to. –Ha! What shout is this?

 

Caius Marcius Coriolanus

Coriolanus                  Act V, Scene iii, Line 11

 

Well, that's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? What can we say about Today's Lines? 

To be brief, Coriolanus, the former Roman hero now sided with the Volscians, is at Rome’s gates, ready to sack the city. He is speaking with Volscian Tullus Aufidius, telling him that he, Coriolanus has spoken with Menenius Agrippa who was sent by the Romans to plead with Coriolanus. But he sent Menenius away, and now will hear no more from any Roman embassies.

Well, not really. Coriolanus’s mother, wife, and young son are next on the list of people to show up pleading for mercy for Rome, and (spoiler alert) he will be unable to say no to them. That will be the undoing of Coriolanus.

So yes, Today’s Lines are a difficult twelve lines to work with. As such, let’s just leave it at that.  

I'll tell you what's also difficult: trying to access what this young lad is concentrating on. No, he's not concentrating on Coriolanus, Aufidius, or anything else in Today's Lines, that's for sure. But look at that stare: he's certainly concentrating on something. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Good morrow, and well met. How have ye done

Since last we saw in France?

 

Duke of Buckingham

King Henry the Eighth      Act I, Scene i, Line 1

Well, well, well. We have the first line of the play- sort of. King Henry the Eighth starts with a Prologue, so I guess that’s the first lines of the play. But this is the first line of Act One, Scene One. Buckingham is speaking with Norfolk and they’re here to do a little table setting for us- give us an idea of what’s going on. You might have thought that the Prologue could have taken care of that for us, but I guess not.

In any event, since we’re not going to be proceeding any further into the play this morning, I don’t think we need to get into the info that these two are going to give us. Rather, I thought I’d say a few words about the word morrow.

Morrow, in 1600’s England could mean either tomorrow or morning. In Today’s Line it’s obviously the latter. Good morning, and well met. This double usage most likely comes to us from the German morgen, which means (you guessed it) tomorrow or morning -  morgen fruh: tomorrow morning, and guten morgen: good morning. As you know, Old English is primarily a Germanic language, so there you have it.

So, today’s takeaway? When reading or listening to Shakespeare morrow might mean morning. Yup, that’s it.  

 

My little Pikachu does not seem to be buying into my explanation of morrow; I see a significant amount of doubt written on that cute little face. Her friend Mojo, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to give a hoot. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d think he wasn’t even listening. But I know that can’t be; he finds my posts riveting.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Now with the drops of this most balmy time

My love looks fresh, and Death to me subscribes,

Since, spite of him, I’ll live in this poor rhyme,

While he insults o’er dull and speechless tribes.

Sonnet 107

Lines 9-12

Here we have the third quatrain of Sonnet 107. As I’ve pointed out many times in the past (but it’s been a while since we looked at a sonnet) the sonnets are made up of three quatrains (lines of four) and one final couplet (two lines). Each quatrain is best understood taken as a whole (as opposed to looking at one single line), and further, it’s easier to understand this quatrain if we look at the two that precede it, and/or the sonnet as a whole. So here we go…

Not mine own fears, nor the prophet’s soul

Of the wide, world, dreaming on things to come,

Can yet the lease of my true love control,

Supposed as forfeit to a confined doom.

Nothing (Not mine own fears, nor the prophet’s soul/Of the wide, world, dreaming on things to come,) can control my true love (for you).

The mortal moon hath her eclipse endured,

And the sad augers mock their own presage;

Uncertainties now crown themselves assured,

And peace proclaims olives of endless age.

Things have come and gone (The mortal moon hath her eclipse endured, And the sad augers mock their own presage) but now we can be assured that we’ve come to a peaceful age.

 

Now with the drops of this most balmy time

My love looks fresh, and Death to me subscribes,

Since, spite of him, I’ll live in this poor rhyme,

While he insults o’er dull and speechless tribes.

And in this peaceful time my love looks fresh, and death submits to me, since in spite of him I’ll live on in this sonnet while he just goes on killing.

 

And thou in this shalt find thy monument,

When tyrants’ crests and tombs of brass are spent.

And this sonnet will be my monument to you long after tyrants, and the monuments they create, have crumbled to dust.

 

Well there, taken as a whole it’s pretty darn easy to understand Today’s Lines and the whole sonnet, isn’t it?

 

Yessiree Mr. B., easy peasy. Just about as easy as it will be for you to put those covers back, eh? I wasn't quite ready to get up yet, comprendez?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

                                        [to the TRIBUNES]

Masters of the people,

We do request your kindest ears; and, after,

Your loving motion toward the common body,

To yield what passes here.

 

First Senator

Coriolanus             Act II, Scene ii, Line 55

This is a relatively short scene which Mojo and I took the opportunity to listen to. It’s early in the play. Coriolanus has returned to the city after leading his troops to victory over the Volscens at Corioli. Now, the senate has convened to appoint Coriolanus as the leader of Rome. With Today’s Line, the First Senator is asking the tribunes (the representatives of the common folk) to listen to the one of the generals describe what Coriolanus did, and then to vote with them on approving him as the leader.

Of course, it’s not going to be that simple. Is it ever?

 

No, you’re right Mr. B., nothing is simple. Look at me for example; I hopped up here expecting some treats and attention, but all Mrs. B. wants to do is look at those stupid birds. Simple? I think not.