And,
commendable proved, let’s die in pride.
-Lord Talbot
King Henry the Sixth Part I Act IV, scene vii Line 58
And cut! Yes, that’s the last line of the scene, followed by
the stage direction ‘Exeunt’, which I learned is the plural of ‘Exit’. So if it
says ‘Exit’ it means one person is leaving, and if it says ‘Exeunt’ it means
everybody out. So Exeunt usually means it’s the end of the scene, but not
always.
First off, let me report that I am certainly making progress
in reading Shakespeare’s Kings.
Second I’ll tell you that this progress includes getting up to King Henry IV,
but unfortunately not Henry VI. And since I’ve not added Shakespeare’s Henry
VI, Part I, II, or III to the plays that I’ve read, well, you guessed it, I
really don’t know what’s going on with this line too much. But it’s a short
scene, and I read it, so I can give you the micro context, if not the macro
version.
The scene includes Lord Talbot, today’s speaker, and his son
John Talbot. They are caught up in the middle of a battle (I believe the
Talbots are English and they’re fighting the French), and the two Talbots are
discussing the merits of the younger one hightailing it out of there while he
still can. Apparently the battle’s not going all that well for the English, and
sticking it out may not work out that well for either of them. In the end
though, they both agree that they’ll stick it out together whatever the outcome
and thus Father Talbot’s line in today’s Totally Random Daily Shakespeare. And
commendable proved, let’s die in pride. Not terribly optimistic, but I
guess you can say it’s a positive attitude. I mean, if they’re gonna go, they
might as well go together as opposed to apart and running away like cowards.
Just the same, I think getting killed in war is a little over-rated.
So today’s line doesn’t quite have the cachet Oh
world, thy slippery turns! Yeah, that’s right, I’m still stuck on that
one. Honestly, I think it’s right up there with What need the bridge much wider
than the flood. In fact, it might even be better. Can’t seem to get
past it. In any event, at least I got you back to a manageable line today. One
line, seven words, as opposed to yesterday’s epistle. So let’s just let it go
at that. You decide if today’s line is worth anything. In the meantime, I’m
moving on.
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