Must I go show them my unbarb'd sconce?             must I

With my base tongue give to my noble heart

A lie that it must bear? Well, I will do't:

 

-Caius Marcius Coriolanus

 

Coriolanus                                          Act III, scene ii, line 109

 

It’s the fabulous play Coriolanus again. Fabulous, fabulous. Caius Marcius Coriolanus is in trouble with the people because he can’t help but speak his mind. And his mind tells him that the people are pretty much just worthless rabble. But his mother, friends, and advisors have talked him into going in front of the people and telling them whatever they want to hear. He has finally decided that he will go along and do this, and that’s what today’s line is. Must I with my base tongue give to my noble heart a lie that it must bear? That’s a fabulous line. I told you; it’s a fabulous play.

 

Anyway, it really is a conundrum for him, and it’s hard to figure out who’s right and who’s wrong. On the one hand, Caius Marcius is pretty uppity, and he feels that he’s much better than the common man. On the other hand, in many respects maybe he is. And this is the honest side of him that he displays. So that makes him not the nicest guy, but at the very least an honest guy. And now he’s going to forgo that honesty and be the man that the people want. Seems like a bit of a Kobayashi Maru, a no-win scenario, for Caius. 

 

               This is my unbarb'd sconce (my bare head). Not too much thinning, eh?

A fine volley of words, gentlemen, and quickly shot off.

 

-Silvia

 

The Two Gentlemen Of Verona             Act II, scene iv, line 30

 

Now just to be clear, the two gentlemen that Silvia is addressing are not the titular two gentlemen of Verona. She is speaking to Valentine and Thurio. The two gentlemen of Verona are Valentine and Proteus. I’m not sure who this Thurio fellow is.

But Silvia is right, it is a fine volley of words. It’s just a bit of a quick back and forth that she’s reacting to, with Valentine and Thurio each taking shots at one another. So, yes, I believe we can call it a volley.Here's a picture of my associate from a few years back. He's climbing on some cannon at Gettysburg. These cannon would have created a volley that your probably would not want to be a part of; a volley of destruction as opposed to a volley of words.