Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

Northumberland, thou ladder wherewithal

The mounting Bolingbroke ascends my throne,

The time shall not be many hours of age

More than it is, ere foul sin gathering head

Shall break into corruption: thou shalt think,

Though he divide the realm, and give thee half,

It is too little, helping him to all;

And he shall think, that thou, which know’st the way

To plant unrightful kings, wilt know again,

Being ne’er so little urged, another way

To pluck him headlong from the usurped throne.

The love of wicked friends converts to fear;

That fear to hate; and hate turns one or both

To worthy danger and deserved death.

 

-King Richard

King Richard The Second       Act V, Scene i, Line 65

 

Well, the reality is that today’s Totally Random line is To pluck him headlong from the usurped throne. That is near the end of the passage I’ve given you, and a good line in its own right (in fact, a really good line in its own right), but I thought it best to give you the whole passage which is nearly one long sentence. This passage is Richard’s response to Northumberland after the latter tells him that Bolingbroke, the new Henry IV, has ordered that Richard is to be confined the Pomfret Castle and the Queen be banished to France.

I like that Richard calls Northumberland a ‘ladder.’ And, of course, the deposed king is right. Northumberland and Henry IV will end up fighting over the throne. But that will have to wait for King Henry the Fourth Part I; we won’t get to that in this play.

So for now, let’s just listen to the bottom line of Richard’s warning which can apply to any time or place.

The love of wicked friends converts to fear;

That fear to hate; and hate turns one or both

To worthy danger and deserved death.

 

So don’t be wicked, ok?

Well it's certainly been way too long since I've graced you with any of my own artwork (remember Mr. Sword?).  

So here is Northumberland, the ladder (not to be confused with the latter). What do you think?