‘Tis
nothing but some bond that he is enter’d into
For gay
apparel ‘gainst the triumph-day.
-Duchess of York
King Richard the Second Act
V, scene ii Line 55
Well this is a bit of a confusing little line. Let me set
the scene. It’s mother, father, and son in the scene. The son, it turns out, is
in cahoots with a bunch of guys to kill King Henry IV so that Richard II, who
was recently deposed by Henry IV, can get his throne back. In this scene, at
the family’s home, the father notices a piece of paper that the son has,
apparently tucked in his shirt? The son doesn’t want to show it to dad, and mom
is trying to tell dad not to bother with it and that is today’s Totally Random
line
First off, dad notices the paper: What seal is that that hangs
without thy bosom?/ Yea, look’st thou pale? Let me see the writing. So
what’s the deal here? I guess the son has the paper stuffed in his shirt? Dad
sees the wax seal that’s on the paper. That kind of makes sense. They go back
and forth for a few lines – ‘Let me see it,’ ‘No,’ ‘Yes,’ ‘No’ – and then mom
steps in with today’s Random Daily line. Ok, wait, I think I get it. She’s
saying that the paper has something to do with a deal that he’s entered into
for what he’s going to be wearing to the festivities. The festivities is either
the celebration of the crowning of King Henry IV or the celebration of some
recent military victories. Okay, let’s go with that. Mom says, ‘It’s nothing
but a receipt. He bought some new clothes for the celebration.’
So young Duke of York has a document of a treasonous plot
stuffed in his shirt and the Duchess of York is telling her husband, old Duke
of York, that it’s a receipt for some clothes. Now eventually dad grabs the
paper, reads it, and goes running off to tell King Henry IV, like any good dad
would do. And that’s today’s Totally Random Daily Shakespeare.
Comments? Because other than figuring out what the heck it
means, I don’t have much more to say about it.
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