Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

That approaches apace: I would gladly have him see his company anatomized, that he might take a measure of his own judgments, wherein so curiously he had set this counterfeit.

 

First Lord

All’s Well That Ends Well            Act IV, Scene iii,  Line 31

 

This is All’s Well That Ends Well and you know what that means: that’s right - I have no idea what’s going on because I don’t know anything about this play. Well, I know a little, a very little. Nonetheless, I have no idea who the speaker is, what he’s talking about, or what’s taking place in this scene. So, now what do we do?
I suppose we could read the play. No, that’s not going to happen this morning.

As you can see, Mojo was all excited about getting started this morning.

Two minutes later, when he found out that today’s line was from All’s Well, he was pretty much done.

I felt pretty much the same way.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

This is strange: your father’s in some passion

That works him strongly.

 

Ferdinand

The Tempest                   Act IV, Scene i,  Line 144

 

This is at the end of the masque that Prospero is presenting for Ferdinand and Miranda. Prospero has suddenly remembered that he has to deal with Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo.

This got me to thinking if I ever had to deal with the father of a girlfriend who was in a passion that worked him strongly, and I don’t think that I ever did. Lucky me, I guess. On the other hand, I never had the father of a girlfriend throw a masque for her and me either.

No, I’m not going to ask Mojo if he's ever had this experience. I know for a fact that he hasn’t. 

"Well, have you, Mojo?"

"Thinking, thinking..."

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Mome, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch!

 

Dromio of Syracuse

The Comedy of Errors    Act III, Scene i,  Line 32

 

Yes Mojo, I believe these are all insults that Dromio of Syracuse is yelling at Dromio of Ephesus. No Mojo, I would never call you a coxcomb. 

Merriam Webster online:

Mome: blockhead, fool (archaic)

Capon: a castrated male chicken

Coxcomb: jester’s cap (archaic), fool (obsolete)

Patch: noun (2) fool, dolt

Nothing for Malt-horse.

So, other than malt-horse, these insults are all available in Merriam Webster online. How about that?

He's such a sensitive little guy.

I would never call him a coxcomb, or a mome, or malt-horse, or any of these things.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Who? Sylvia?

 

Thurio

Two Gentlemen of Verona     Act IV, Scene ii,  Line 23

 

“Who’s Sylvia?”

“No, Mojo, Who? Sylvia?”

“No, who is Sylvia?”

“Oh. I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure?”

“Yes, I’m not sure. I don’t know this play very well.”

“So, you’ve been doing this for over seven years, and you still don’t know the plays?”

“Well, I know them, but I don’t know all of them really well, and this is one of the ones that I don’t know well at all.”

“Ugfff. Can we play throw the chipmunk now?”

Some days we don't get too far with this new format.

I don't know where your stuffed Chipmunk is, Mojo.

I don't know who Sylvia is, and I don't know where the stuffed chipmunk is, and I'm beginning to seriously question why I decided to include you in this blog.

Ooof!

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Why, thou full dish of fool, Troy.

 

Thersites

Troilus and Cressida                      Act V, Scene i,  Line 9

 

So, we're at it again, Mojo and me, taking our morning foray into the world of Elizabethan drama.

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s pretty simple Mojo: Thersites is delivering a letter to Achilles who is hanging out with his buddy Patroclus. The latter asks Thersites where the letter is from, and Thersites answers that it’s from Troy, calling Patroclus a full dish of fool in the process.”

“So, he’s calling the guy a full dish of fool?” My little man looked up at me, obviously confused.

“Yes, you’ve got it.”

“A full dish of fool: that’s an insult?”

“Yes, obviously. Would you like me to call you a full dish of fool?”

“No, I’d like you to get me a full dish of food.”

“Okay, well now you’re changing the subject.”

“No I’m not. I’d like a full dish of food, please.”

“It’s hard to stay on topic with you.”

“I think we’re on the topic of a full dish of food. What’s so hard about that?”

“Okay.”

1. It didn't stay full very long.

2. Why do I feel like some little guy with a tail just made a full dish of fool out of me?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

If there be one among the fair’st of Greece

That holds his honor higher than his ease;

That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril;

That knows his valour, and knows not his fear;

That loves his mistress more than in confession

With truant vows to her own lips he loves,

And dare avow her beauty and her worth

In other arms than hers,-- to him this challenge.

 

Aeneas

Troilus and Cressida                      Act I, Scene iii,  Line 268

 

Well, Aeneas is a Trojan and he’s come down to the Greek camp to issue a challenge. The challenge is for any of the Greeks That holds his honour high, etc, etc. to come and fight Troy’s best guy. That would be Hector.

Now we were looking at today’s passage, Mojo and I, and it sort of made sense until we got to the bit about loving his mistress more than in confession. That’s the part where Mojo looked up and me and said, “What’s this nonsense?” Well I certainly didn’t know and I told him as much. “And you’re thinking about using me to be your spokesman for telling people to read Shakespeare?” he said. I tried to explain to him that there are passages that we would come across that might take a little work to get a true understanding of. “Sure,” he replied, “let me know how that works out for you. I’m pretty sure my breakfast is calling me.” And off he strutted.

So I guess we’re going to have to work out the kinks in this Mojo Reads Shakespeare idea of mine.

Maybe I should just stick to letting the guy help with getting the knots out of my shoelaces. Leastways, that's what he told me he was doing. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

                   If thou couldst, doctor, cast

The water of my hand, find her disease,

And purge it to a sound and pristine health,

I would applaud thee to the very echo,

That should applaud again.

 

Macbeth

Macbeth                                  Act V, Scene iii,  Line 51

  

Today we have our friend Macbeth, not Frank Macbeth, or Sam Macbeth – just Macbeth. He’s in a bit of a sour mood. His servant has just told him that there are thousands of English soldiers marching on his castle, and the doctor has just told him that Lady Macbeth (at least she has a title; of course if she didn’t then we wouldn’t know, when we said Macbeth, whether we were talking about him or her) is ill and has a disease of the mind that he has no cure for.

Not a lot of good news for Macbeth. Today’s Totally Random Lines are Macbeth’s response to the doctor. I must say, it’s a bit of an odd response. First, that after all that the Macbeth couple have done, to expect the doctor to bring her back to a sound and pristine health. Yes, that’s right – not just sound but pristine. And if the doctor could do that, Macbeth would applaud him to the very echo, that should applaud again? That seems like a fairly odd way to compensate the good doctor, doesn’t it? And first off, what's this cast the water of my hands nonsense?

It's a fairly odd line today from the Scottish play.

This is the result of the doctor purging Lady Blagys's disease and bringing her to a sound and pristine health. To be clear, neither Lady Blagys, nor her husband Blagys, was involved in any murder plot. Lady Blagys's disease was flat feet. It seems unlikely that Will would write a play about flat feet, but you never know.