Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I am known to be a humorous patrician, and one that loves a cup of hot wine with not a drop of allaying Tiber in’t; said to be something imperfect in favouring the first complaint; hasty and tinder-like upon too trivial motion; one that converses more with the buttock of the night than with the forehead of the morning: what I think I utter and spend my malice in my breath. Meeting two such wealsmen (statesmen), as you are, - I cannot call you Lycurguses (a legendary Greek lawmaker), - if the drink you give me touch my palate adversely, I make a crooked face for it. I cannot say you worships have deliver’d the matter well, when I find the ass in compound with the major part of your syllables: and though I must be content to bear with those that say you are reverend grave men, yet they lie deadly that tell you you have good faces.  

 

Menenius Agrippa

Coriolanus                 Act II, Scene i, Line 50

 

Where to start? Well, first off, I came to the end of a sentence with I make a crooked face for it, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to continue to include the part about the ass and the syllables. That’s right, Shakespeare is having Menenius tell these guys that they’re talking out of their asses. I felt compelled to include that.

This is a scene where Menenius Agrippa, the wise old advisor and friend to Coriolanus, comes upon two of the representatives of the people. These two are real weasels who have it out for Coriolanus, and Menenius knows it. In Today’s Lines he is talking first about himself and then about the two of them and telling them what weasels they are. Unfortunately for me, the word wealsmen has nothing to do with weasles, it’s just an old term for statesmen. Oh well.

I’m finding it very difficult today to stay at 30,000 feet. Every time I see these two wealsmen in Coriolanus, I cannot help but think of all of today’s current wealsmen (better termed weaselmen and weaselwomen), and their Weasel-in-Chief. Sorry, can’t help myself. I considered going into an epic rant, but I’ll spare you, and in the meantime limit my rants to the buttock of the night.

It just occurred to me that Will made reference to the rear end of human anatomy twice today. Menenius talks about conversing more with the buttock of the night than with the forehead of the morning, and later speaks about the ass in compound with the major part of your syllables to the two wealsmen.

Will is the best; so good that he helps me to pull back up to 30,000 feet.  Most of the time.

Something else that helps to keep us both at 30,000 feet: bird watching. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Ah, thou, the model where old Troy did stand,

Thou map of honour, thou King Richard’s tomb.

And not King Richard; thou most beauteous inn,

Why should hard-favour’d grief be lodged in thee,

When triumph is become an alehouse guest.

 

Queen

King Richard the Second                      Act V, Scene i, Line 14

 

This is King Richard’s queen talking, but this is the end of the play and Richard has been deposed by Bolingbroke at this point. The queen is waiting outside the Tower of London to watch Richard go by on his way to imprisonment there.

I believe that thou, in both sentences above, refers to the Tower, and when she says not King Richard she is referencing the fact that Richard’s no longer the king.

So, whilst the five lines can be understood fairly easily, at least on the surface, they’re pretty loaded nonetheless. Should we unload them?

NO!

 Well, I guess the king has spoken.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know,

When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul

Lends the tongue vows: these blazes, daughter,

Giving more light than heat - extinct in both,

Even in their promise, as it is a-making, -

You must not take for fire.

Polonius

Hamlet                           Act I, Scene iii, Line 117

 

It’s amazing that I taught this play to a high school class and I can still go back to it and not recall having read so very much of it. I guess, to be fair, that class was over twenty years ago, so…

Anyway, this is a scene with brother, sister, and father. Brother Laertes has already left the scene, on his way to France, but not before telling his sister Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet. He gave her a good talking to about how Hamlet was no good for her. Now father Polonius is talking to daughter Ophelia and telling her pretty much the same thing. Today’s lines are the beginning of Polonius’s lecture to his daughter, in response to her lines

My lord, he hat importuned me with love

In honourable fashion…

…And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord,

With almost all the holy vows of heaven.

Polonius is referring to Hamlet’s holy vows of heaven as springes to catch woodcocks.

In any event, after telling her in his very wordy way, to stay away from Hamlet, Ophelia ends the scene with the words,

I shall obey, my lord.

So that’s the end of that. Well, not really.

But that springes to catch woodcocks reminds me of something. What was it?

Oh yeah, I gotta put out mouse traps!

  

 There goes another one, Mr. Blagys!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Give me thy torch, boy; hence, and stand aloof:-

Yet put it out, for I would not be seen.

 

Paris

Romeo and Juliet            Act V, Scene iii, Line 1

 

These are the first lines of the last scene of the play. A lot is going to happen in the three hundred lines of this scene. Paris will die, Romeo will die, and Juliet will die. So then, as Paris speaks these lines all of these three are still alive, and, if you think about it, as this scene starts, the play could still have a fairly happy ending. Interesting. 

 

 

Wait, does it? Does this play have a happy ending? I thought it was a tragedy?

Well, I woke sleepy head up with that one.

No Mojeo, sadly it does not.

I always call him Mojeo when we’re doing Romeo and Juliet. That was his idea.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Nay, that’s certain.

Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra             Act V, Scene ii, Line 221

 

So, are we interested in what’s certain? Are we? Well, I’m a little interested, so I guess I’ll take a look.

It turns out that Cleopatra is talking to Iras about what will happen to them if Caesar takes them prisoner.

Nay, ‘tis most certain, Iras: saucy lictors (Roman officers)

Will catch at us, like strumpets; and scald rimers (contemptible balladeers)

Ballad us our o’tune: the quick comedians

Extemporally (without any preparation) will stage us, and present

Our Alexandrian revels; Antony

Shall be brought drunken forth, and I shall see

Some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness

I’the posture of a whore.

It doesn’t sound all that appealing, does it?

By the way, I got those definitions that I added in parentheses on a modern search engine. They’re not from some ancient language!

Shakespeare translation indeed!

 This Shakespeare nut I’ve got here is always getting his knickers in a twist.

He needs to just CALM DOWN.

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

The poor, lame, blind, halt, creep, cry out for thee;

But they ne’er meet with Opportunity.

 

Lucrece

Lucrece                                 Line 902

 

Lucrece is lying in her bed. She has been raped by Tarquin, he has fled, and now she is having all sorts of thoughts: none of them particularly good.

In this particular stanza, and several that go before it, she is blaming Opportunity for what happened to her. That’s right, she’s personifying Opportunity (hence the capital O). She’s spent the previous four stanzas talking about all the troubles that different people get themselves into, and how it wouldn’t have happened if they’d not had the Opportunity. Now, in these last two lines that we have today, she’s noting that the people who could use Opportunity to help them out of troubles never see Opportunity.

Interesting.

Opportunity. Today’s line is all about Opportunity and the lack thereof. But it puts a really bad spin on Opportunity. I think generally we use Opportunity in a more positive sense.

For instance: 

We recently had the Opportunity to take a fantastic trip (see previous post).

And Mojo had the Opportunity to make a new friend. Yes, he has a somewhat apprehensive look on his face, but I can assure you that Mojo and Dave got along famously. 

Opportunity. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I can live no longer by thinking.

 

Orlando

As You Like It        Act V, Scene ii, Line 52

Well how about that for a restart line! I think I feel this way after a week in Malta having the best time of my life. It feels a little bit like I should just enjoy life and stop doing so much thinking! I think (dare I use that expression) that Orlando’s got it right!

This is the crew, our crew, that traveled all the way to Malta to celebrate our 25 year vow renewals with us. 

A dream come true! 

No more thinking needed.

No, Mojo couldn't make this trip with us, but he's happy to have us back home.