Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

The cod-piece that will house

Before the head has any,

The head and he shall louse;-

So beggars marry many.

The man that makes his toe

What he his heart should make

Shall of a corn cry woe,

And turn his sleep to wake.

 

-Fool

King Lear                        Act III Scene ii, Line 32

 

Lear and the Fool are out on the heath at night alone in a storm. Lear is raging at the storm whilst at the same time yelling about his two daughters. He’s telling the storm to let him have it, but still complaining about the two daughters he’s been given. And this is the poem that the fool says in response to Lear’s ranting. Much like most of the fool’s lines, the meaning of what he’s saying is a bit clouded. Now, I found a really good note on this poem in my auxiliary Shakespeare compilation, the one edited by G.B. Harrison. I’m going to give you the note in full.

The man who goes wenching before he has a roof over his head will become a lousy beggar. The man who is kinder to his toe than to his heart will be kept awake by his corns- i.e., Lear has been kinder to his feet (his daughters) than to his heart (himself). The fool’s remarks, especially when cryptic, and indecent, are not easy to paraphrase.

 

That should help a little, but Harrison’s last sentence is still very true. Like I said above, the meaning of the fool’s lines can be a bit clouded, even when you know what they mean (if you get what I mean).

What have I given you today? Well, Lear and the fool are wandering around in a storm, so I'm giving you a picture of a Storm Petrel (under a cloudy sky). It's plate 14 from my Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio, and it's a Leach's Storm Petrel, not Lear's Storm Petrel, though you have to admit that's pretty close. Also, I think it's a really nice pic, and I especially like the waves in the background.