Mojo, The Bard, & Me

I know not where; but wheresoever, I wish him well.

 -Duke

Measure For Measure   Act III, scene ii   Line 92

Ahh, finally a nice easy one. And a nice one too. I mean it’s a nice thought. I’m not going to read into this one, or do a bunch of work on the context. I know next to nothing about this play, so I’m just going to say that this is a very nice sentiment. Perhaps it’s the way we should be expressing ourselves about just about everyone, whomsoever they are. I also like that ‘so’ addition to. It kind of gives it that all encompassing feel. The Duke could have said ‘wherever’, but ‘wheresoever’ is nicer, even if it does get the red underline from Word. And yes, it’s right there in my Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, tenth editition, hard copy. So I’m sticking with it.

Which brings me to geography where I’d like to spend a few minutes (wheresoever, get it?). The line before this one, to which this is a response, is Some say he is with the Emperor of Russia; other some, he is in Rome: but where is he, think you? So we’re talking Russia, and Rome. And the play is set in Vienna. I guess what I’m saying is that Will did a pretty good job of getting around the world in his plays; Egypt, Denmark, Bermuda, all over Italy, and there’s a ton more. He even makes mention of Mexico in Merchant of Venice. I wonder if he ever gets to Asia? He must at least mention it. I’ll have to look into that one. And what about that ‘undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns’?  Okay, you’re right, we’re not really talking geography on that one. Anyway, I’ll bet if you google… Okay, I took a quick look for a list of all the places that Will’s plays go to, or even places that are mentioned in his plays, but it’s not an easy find on the google. My guess is that it’s out there, but wheresoever that might be on the world wide web is yet unknown to me. You give it a try and let me know. It’s gotta be somewhere. Everything about Will is somewhere on the web.

Anyway, I’m going to try to hold on to this line because it is eminently usable. Check it out:

‘Pete, do you know where WP is?’

‘I know not where; but wheresoever, I wish him well.’

Oh that’ll get the old eyes rolling for sure.

I guess I could even use this line better if you asked me about our other kids, the older ones. They’re spread across the country and at any point in time I really don’t know where the heck any of them are. But if you asked me where they were I’d certainly say

‘I know not where; but wheresoever, I wish him/her well.’