Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

O, out of that ‘no hope’

What great hope have  you! no hope, that way, is

Another way so high a hope that even

Ambition cannot pierce a wink beyond,

But doubts discovery there. Will you grant with me

That Ferdinand is drowned?

-Antonio

 The Tempest        Act II, Scene i, Line 239

 

This is Antonio talking his friend, Sebastian, into killing the king, Sebastian’s brother. We’ve covered this section, though not this exact line, about two years ago. The ‘no hope’ being referred to is the fact that there’s no hope that the king’s son, Ferdinand, is alive. And since he’s not, Sebastian is the next in line to be king if anything should happen to the king. And that’s what Antonio is talking about here. I love the wording

no hope, that way , is

Another way so high a hope that even

Ambition cannot pierce a wink beyond,

But doubts discovery there.

 I don’t know how you can fail to appreciate the genius of Will when you read a line such as this.

Yes, you're right; I've used this pic from The Rarer Action before. But it's such a good one, and specifically drawn for today's Totally Random line, that I couldn't resist.