These things, indeed, you have articulate,
Proclaim’d
at market-crosses, read in churches,
To
face the garment of rebellion
With
some fine colour that may please the eye
Of
fickle changelings and poor discontents,
Which
gape and rub the elbow at the news
Of
hurlyburly innovation.
-Henry
King Henry the Fourth Part I Act V, Scene i, Line 75
The line I landed
on this morning was With some fine colour that may please the eye, and I thought, ‘well
that’s a nice line’. Then I decided to listen to the whole scene (and I’d like to
once again put in my plug for listening to the scene whilst reading it whenever
possible) and of course realized that this line was part of a much bigger
thought. Henry is responding to Worcester who has just articulated the reasons
for the rebellion. Those reasons are ‘these things’ that Henry is alluding to,
and as you can see, fine colour that may please the eye is, in the context of
Henry’s little speech, lipstick on a pig. Well, so much for the nice line.
There’s quite a
bit to unpack in these seven lines, and a steamliner full of luggage to go through
if we want to attack the whole scene, even though it’s only 141 lines. But I
could spend the day on that, and there are other things I want to get to this morning.
Perhaps one day I’ll be at the point where I can, and will, spend the hours
needed on an excerpt like this; but I'm afraid it is not this day.
In the meantime,
I think I’ll take the line a bit out of context and enjoy it for what I had
initially seen in it. That's allowed, isn't it?
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