Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

To heave the traitor Somerset from hence;

And fight against the monstrous rebel Cade,

Who since I heard to be discomfited.

 

Duke of York

King Henry the Sixth Part II    Act V, Scene i, Line 61

Well now, per MW online, the word discomfited means to put in a state of perplexity, or to frustrate the plans of. However, MW gives the archaic meaning as to defeat in battle. I would suspect that Will is going for that latter meaning, since these lines are followed immediately by the stage direction

        Enter IDEN, with CADE’s head.

So, I won’t bother getting into who is Cade, or Iden, or Somerset, or even the Duke of York. Suffice to say that the three Henry the Sixth plays are full of civil strife and fighting twixt the factions of the royal family, and also that Cade has been sufficiently discomfited. 

We’re almost to the end of Henry VI Part II with this line, but the strife just continues into Part III and then into Richard the Third. It more or less ends in that latter play with Richard’s death, the last British Monarch to die in battle, if I’m not mistaken.   

Now, I'll bet you're wondering where I've been, seeing as this is the first Totally Random Daily Shakespeare post since mid-October? Well, I’ll tell you where I've been: I just returned yesterday from a three-week tour of Portugal. Yes, that’s right, Portugal.

Lovely Country! Wonderful people, stunning vistas, great wine and food… and the history! Castles, Cathedrals, Roman ruins, medieval town centers and walled cities. Fabulous! And, of course, I found Shakespeare, or at least his name, and it was in the most unlikeliest of places. 

Our last three nights in Portugal were spent in a fairly modern and very, very quirky place on the coast, north of Lisbon. The rooms didn’t have numbers, they had names. Ours was No Set Schedule. It was written in Portuguese, but I’m not going to try to remember that. You’ll have to settle for the English. Every time we wanted to charge something to the room we had to say No Set Schedule, and they understood. In addition, all the doors had different quotes or words of wisdom written on them. Ours had a quote from, believe it or not, William Shakespeare. If that’s just not amazing, what is?

To attest to the quirkiness of the place (as if Shakespeare on the door wasn’t enough), here are a few pics.

Here's Patrice walking down the stairs to our room. That's the Atlantic straight out above her. She was not fond of those stairs.

This is our bathroom. Yes, that's a fireplace at the end of a jacuzzi tub. This room reminded me a little of the Turkish prison in Midnight Express.

And this isn't quirky, but I had to include it. Patrice and I spent the better part of a late afternoon sitting on that bench and taking in the view of the Portuguese shoreline. Again, fabulous.

And here is the door to our room, No Set Schedule. I was able to find the English for this quote.

Time is too slow for those who wait, 

Too swift for those who fear, 

Too long for those who grieve, 

Too short for those who rejoice; 

But for those who love, 

Time is not.

Now here's the thing: It's not Shakespeare. Yes, I had to google it. Turns out that it's a quote from a fellow named Henry Van Dyke, written in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1904, and inspired by a sundial. Apparently it is often misattributed to Will. Some think it was inspired by a line from Richard II, a play that has a lot to do with time. 

In any event, I didn't have the heart to tell them at the hotel that it wasn't Will's lines. Besides, it's a really good quote, and the perfect words to sum up our vacation, and especially the afternoon spent on the bench looking out on the Portuguese Coast.

For those who love, Time is not.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

                I am sure,

Though you can guess what temperance should be,

You know not what it is.

 

                                               Wherefore is this?

 

Mark Antony/Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra        Act III, Scene xiii, Line 122

 

That’s Mark Antony with the first part, and Cleopatra answering Wherefore is this? Remember, wherefore is why, it has nothing to do with where. I’m not quite sure if Cleopatra is talking to Antony, asking why she doesn’t know what temperance is, or whether she’s talking to herself and saying why is he ranting? I’m pretty sure it’s the former because Antony does answer her, though I’m not quite clear what he’s saying in that answer. It’s for sure that he’s ranting, though, and pretty much telling her what a whore she is, so it would make perfect sense that she would be talking to herself.

Well, I listened to this scene, and I’m still not one hundred per cent sure if she’s talking to Antony or to herself. Wherefore is this? Well, it’s because…um…I’m not sure; I just don’t know.

The lighting on this elephant that's marching across the window sill on the other side of the room from where I was sitting this morning, really struck me.

 Wherefore is this? Again, I'm not sure; I just don't know. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Why, here walk I, in the black brow of night,

To find you out.

 

Hubert De Burgh

King John                Act V, Scene vi, Line 17

This is a short scene, the second to last scene of the play. Hubert Du Burgh and Bastard (the guy’s name is Philip Faulconbridge, but since he is supposedly the bastard son of King Richard the Lionhearted he is simply referred to as Bastard in the text) are roaming around alone in the dark in an open place near Swinstead Abbey. I took that last part from the notes at the beginning of the scene.

I believe that Hubert is saying to Bastard, in reply to the latter’s question of what he’s up to, that he was actually looking for him. So they end up having a little chat about what’s going on, but it seems absolutely pointless to fill you in on what’s happening because, as I said, there’s only one more, relatively short scene left in the play. So what am I going to do? Sum up all that’s happened so far? I don’t think so.

I will say that I like the phrase black brow of night: very poetic. I think it’s mostly the word brow. It’s giving a human feature to night. I’ve really gotta find a way to remember this one so I can use it. But I'm pretty sure I won’t.

I'll help you, Mr. Blagys. 

Look! There's the black brow of night outside the window behind me!

Thank you, Mojo.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

 

King Henry

King Henry the Fifth    Act IV, Scene iii, Line 61

Yes, that’s right, we randomly picked this line. Actually, it was my second choice because I just did not feel like dealing with the first line I picked. It was from All’s Well That Ends Well. It was the scene where Parolles gets tricked into proving what a coward he is, and we’ve done that scene a few times before. I very rarely refuse a line, but I did this morning, and so we’ve ended up here.

This is one line in Henry’s famous speech before the battle that’s over fifty lines long. Of course, you recognize it for the Band of Brothers show about WWII. It’s probably also the genesis of the USMC tagline, The Few, The Proud, The Marines. It’s just a really famous line.

Though you’re probably familiar with the show and the USMC usage, you may not be familiar with Shakespeare’s use of it. This is part of Henry’s pep talk to his troops before the battle of Agincourt. It’s pretty much the denouement of the play. The Brits are outnumbered by the Frenchies by a lot (I forget the actual numbers. I could look it up but…). Henry is telling them all…well, heck, here’s the YouTube link. You can listen to the speech yourself. It’s less than five minutes. I’m a little disappointed that Branagh actually cut a few lines of the speech; he’s usually one for being a Shakespeare purist, but it’s still well worth the watch. Yes, here’s how Shakespeare is meant to be enjoyed: he wrote it to be performed, to be seen and heard, not read.

Enjoy!

Henry V - Speech - Eve of Saint Crispin's Day - HD

BTW, just in case you didn’t know, or were in doubt, the Brits do win the battle, and with amazingly few losses. It had to do with the use of the long bow, but that’s a story for another time.

Ahh, yes, the long bow. I know it well.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Did ever Dian so become a grove,

As Kate this chamber with her princely gait?

O, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate;

And then let Kate be chaste, and Dian sportful!

 

Petruchio

The Taming of the Shrew     Act II, Scene i, Line 252

 

This is Petruchio at his first meeting of Kate (the titular shrew). Everyone else thinks Kate is the worst, the shrewest woman in town. They don’t really talk so much about her appearance as they do her temperament, so I don’t know what they think of her looks. Petruchio meets her and immediately decides that she is beautiful in and out. In this first scene together they go back and forth quite a lot, he telling her how beautiful she is, and she telling him that he’s crazy.

This is a bit of a tough play for 2026, because Petruchio dominates, and ultimately can be said to tame, Kate. Still, I think there’s more to it than meets the eye. In the same way that The Merchant of Venice can be viewed as an antisemitic play, this one can be viewed as wholly misogynistic; but I think both assumptions are too simplistic and basically wrong. On the other hand, what do I know.

Wait, was that a rhetorical question?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Prepare there,

The duke is coming: see the barge is ready;

And fit it with such furniture as suits

The greatness of his person.

 

Sir Nicholas Vaux

King Henry the Eighth           ActII, Scene i, Line 97

 

The duke referred to above is the Duke of Buckingham, and he has just been sentenced to death. The barge they’re talking about is the barge that will take him to his execution, presumably at the Tower of London. The duke is still well loved, and Sir Nicholas is trying to make sure he is still being treated as befitting his state, but the duke will have none of it.

 

                                      Nay, Sir Nicholas,

Let it alone; my state now will but mock me.

When I came hither, I was lord high constable

And Duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun.

 

Edward Bohun: that name certainly does not have the regal ring to it that the Duke of Buckingham does. But Edward/the duke is being realistic; he knows that his goose is cooked. It’s hard to imagine being so accepting of one’s fate as he is. What’s even harder a lot of the time, at least I think it is, is knowing when to accept, and when to fight to change it. It gets back to that saying: Give me the strength to change what I can, the patience to accept what I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference. Gotta have the wisdom. I guess Edward Bohum’s wisdom tells him his fate is sealed. Poor guy.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Shall I be tempted of the devil thus?

 

Queen Elizabeth

King Richard the Third          Act IV, Scene iv, Line 419

 

Elizabeth is talking to Richard, and the devil she is referencing is Richard himself. I’ve lost track of who Richard has killed, but I know that right now he is trying to talk Elizabeth into helping him woo her daughter. This is in spite of the fact that he’s already killed one or two of her kids. Elizabeth is understandably reluctant as is evidenced by her words above. I’m pretty sure, at least I hope, that I would be more than reluctant. Here’s the next few lines of the exchange Between Elizabeth and Richard,

Elizabeth-      Shall I be tempted of the devil thus?

Richard-        Ay, if the devil tempt thee to do good.

E-      Shall I forget myself to be myself?

R-      Ay, if your self’s remembrance wrong yourself.

E-      But thou didst kill my children.

R-      But in your daughter’s womb I’ll bury them;

          Where, in that nest of spicery, they shall breed

          Selves of themselves, to your recomforture.

E-     Shall I go win my daughter to thy will?

R-     And be a happy mother by the deed.

E-     I go.-Write to me very shortly,

        And you shall understand from me her mind.

R-    Bear her my true love’s kiss; and so, farewell.

                              [Exit Queen Elizabeth]

R-   Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!

Oh my goodness! How about that last line; two seconds after the woman leaves the room.

        Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!

I’m sorry, but I’m going to go current on you, just to show you how timeless this behavior (both Queen Elizabeth’s and Richard’s) is, and how relevant Will’s works are to current time. Here goes…

I can’t help but see the parallel here between Elizabeth and the supporters of the Orange Guy, especially, especially those supporters who were so adamant about the absolute lack of any positive aspects (to say the very least) of the Orange Guy a few years ago. Did they ask themselves, in the interim, the question, Shall I forget myself to be myself? Did they decide that it was okay to go ahead because by not doing so their self’s remembrance would wrong themselves? REALLY!?!

I just can’t buy it. I’ve long ago moved past my disgust for Richard, the one in 1590 as well as the one we seem to be stuck with in 2026. But I cannot, I cannot, understand Elizabeth and all the other supporters. I can’t understand them in 1590, and I certainly can’t understand them in 2026. And yet, as improbable as they are in 1590, they’re there. And if you read or see the play and say to yourself that it’s not realistic, just take a look at what we’ve got in 2026. It stretches credulity, and yet, there it is.

I’m not sure if Will gives us any answers to the questions of how this can be; probably not, since he is better at posing questions than he is at providing answers. But I would sure love an answer...if there is one.

The same world that brings us those kind of impossible questions also brings us the beauty of this sunset.

Ain't that a kick in the head.