Now, all the plagues that in the pendulous air

Hang fated o'er men’s faults light on thy daughters!

 

-Lear

King Lear                     Act III Scene iv, Line 67

Lear is transposing the ill feelings he has for his own daughters, and the troubles they have caused him, onto Edgar. The latter has just shown up, and Lear assumes that a man so wretched must have been driven to that state by miserable daughters.

         Death, traitor! Nothing could have subdued nature

        To such a lowness but his unkind daughters.—

Never mind that Edgar doesn’t have any daughters.

So, how about pendulous air? He's calling forth all the plagues, but it’s not enough to just say plagues. They are the plagues that in the pendulous air hang fated o’er men’s faults. I tell you, there’s a reason this guy is considered the greatest writer in the English language, and this is one small example of it. I’m sorry if you can’t see what I see in these lines. I wish you could.

 

 

Who shall ask it?

The tribunes cannot do’t for shame; the people

Deserve such pity of him as the wolf

Does of the shepherds: for his best friends, if they

Should say, ‘Be good to Rome,’ they charged him even

As those should do that had deserved his hate,

And therein show’d like enemies.

 

-Cominius

Coriolanus                             Act IV Scene vi, Line 115

There is certainly no more prescient play of Will, or anyone else for that matter, in respect to our current political times than Coriolanus. I’ve said this before and I’ll probably be saying it again.

This is late in the play, and at this point word has reached Rome that Coriolanus has joined forces with the Volscians and they are on their way to sack Rome. Meninius and Cominius, and advisor and a general, respectively, are two who tried to keep from having Coriolanus banished. Brutus and Sicinius are two politicians who whipped up the crowds to get Coriolanus banished. The four are here talking about ‘what now?’

Meninius has just said,

        We are all undone, unless

        The noble man have mercy.

Obviously, the noble man to whom he refers is Coriolanus. Today’s Totally Random lines are Cominius’s reply to Meninius. 'Who shall ask for his mercy?', he is saying. The tribunes Cominius refers to are the politicians. 

I am just flabbergasted every time I read this play at how accurately Will describes the useless politicians and the fickle, ignorant, and easily led crowds. I suppose this is not entirely apparent from today’s lines. However, I listened to the whole of scene six this morning, and I can tell you that Brutus and Sicicnius are the picture of useless politicians whipping up ignorant crowds and then dodging all responsibility when things go sour. You would think Will was writing this about our twenty-first century world. 

Flabbergasted.

Today's twenty-first century world, outside my window. 

Flabbergasted.

 

Go seek the traitor Gloster,

Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us.

 

-Duke of Cornwall

King Lear                             Act III Scene vii, Line 24

Pinion: To disable or restrain by binding the arms. That’s from MW online. You could kind of tell what it meant by the context, but I thought it would be good to give a proper definition. It’s not a word that’s in my vocabulary.

Alrightee then; I’ve just listened to the scene, and I must say that it’s really not the best thing to be listening to first thing Sunday morning. Yes, they do pinion Gloster like a thief, and then they gouge his eyes out. I don’t even like listening to it, let alone seeing it.

I think it's fair to say that we often take our eyes for granted. Without them we'd not be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of a backyard sunset.

 

Please your highness, note

His dangerous conception in this point.

 

-Cardinal Wolsey

King Henry the Eighth           Act I Scene ii, Line 140

This is Wolsey talking to the king. Note: Wolsey is a complete weasel. They are discussing the Duke of Buckingham who is not present. Wolsey is convincing the king that Buckingham is a traitor. Again, Wolsey is a weasel, so I don’t know whether there’s any merit to the claims being made against Buckingham, but regardless, the Duke is doomed.

As I said, Wolsey is made out to be a real weasel in this play, but to be clear, I’m not sure what the true nature of his weaselhood was. We have to remember that Will was a dramatist so that all of his history plays, whilst certainly based on history, have a certain element of drama added to them. Hence, they make for good entertainment, which is what they were written for.

And where is our lovely lady standing today? Well that's Buckingham Palace, of course. I'm guessing that it's not named after the Duke of Buckingham in today's Totally Random line, but it shares his name nonetheless.

I like the big royal seals on the gate. Very impressive.

 

I’ll tell him yet of Angelo’s request,

And fit his mind to death, for his souls rest.

 

-Isabella

Measure For Measure            Act II Scene iv, Line 186

What do we have here? That’s right, it’s a rhyming couplet. And what does that mean? Right again, it’s the last two lines of the scene. We should go through, sometime, and see just how many of Will’s scenes end with a rhyming couplet. Surely it can’t be all of them. But that’s a task for another day.

I had the opportunity this morning to listen to the scene, and that’s always a fun thing to do. When you’re just listening, and not watching, a scene it gives you the opportunity to follow the written text at the same time; one of the better ways to fully appreciate Will’s words. 

So, what of the words. This is the scene where Angelo tells Isabella that he will spare her brother Claudio’s life (Isabella’s brother is under arrest and sentenced to die for his crime: Angelo is the guy in charge) if she consents to have sex with him, Angelo. Isabella has decided that she’s going to tell Claudio what Angelo requested and that Claudio’s going to have to prepare to die.

This reminds me of a joke. These two fellows are out hiking and one gets bit in the butt by a rattlesnake. He starts to get faint, so the other guy gets on his cell phone and dials 911. They put a doctor on the line, and he tells the guy ‘you’re going to have to pull his pants down, make a small slice in his butt, and then suck out the blood and spit it out before the venom spreads. Otherwise it could be fatal.’ The fellow who’s been bit looks at him and says ‘what’d he say, what’d he say!’ The other guy looks back at him, ‘He says you’re gonna die.’

I guess we all have certain things we’re not gonna do, no matter what.

No pic today. Hey, I gave you a joke, isn't that enough?

 

You are amazed, my liege, at her exclaim:

Go in, and cheer the town: we’ll forth and fight;

Do deeds worth praise, and tell you them at night.

 

-Hector

Troilus and Cressida              Act V Scene iii, Line 91

Okay, here’s the deal. Hector is getting ready to go out and do battle with the Greeks. Everyone – his wife, his sister, his father, his mother – is trying to talk him out of it. They’ve all had bad dreams or premonitions that tell them Hector is going to die if he goes. Will he listen to them? Of course not: stubborn fool. Are they all justified in their pleas? Of course they are. Achilles is going to kill Hector and then famously drag his body around behind his chariot.

So, what’s the moral of the story? I’m not sure. Listen to your family’s advice? Don’t go fighting guys like Achilles? Don’t be stubborn and proud? I guess you can take your pick.

 

I don't have a pic of my wife and sister and mother and father all together. So this is a pic of the family I spend the most time with now: my son, my wife (aka Rafhiki) and...wait a minute, that guy's not part of my family. That's King, our guide. Well, anyway, I always listen to my family's advice. I may not always follow it, but I listen and consider. And what about King? I listened to him and did everything he told me. He was in charge, and he had the gun.

 

MESSALA

Believe it not so.

CASSIUS

I but believe it partly;

For I am fresh of spirit, and resolved

To meet all perils very constantly.

 

-Messala and Cassius

Julius Caesar                  Act V Scene i, Line 90

The army of Brutus and Cassius is about to face off against the army of Octavius Caesar and Marc Antony. In the lines previous to today’s Totally Random lines Cassius talks of seeing eagles the day previous but

        This morning are they fled away and gone;

And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites,

Fly o’er our heads, and downward look on us,

As we were sickly prey: their shadows seem

A canopy most fatal, under which

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.

In today’s lines Messala is saying not to believe this omen, and based on Cassius’s response it sounds like maybe he won’t. So that’s good. You can’t go letting a bunch of stupid birds determine your future for you. You’ve got to make your own way. Right? Atta boy, Cassius.

Though, speaking of birds – spoiler alert –, the omen is actually correct: Cassius’s goose is cooked (pun intended). This is a Shakespearean tragedy after all. You should have known it. 

This colorful little guy is a malachite kingfisher. What do you suppose Cassius would have done if he saw these guys circling? Perhaps he would've said, "What the heck are those malachite kingfishers doing here. We're not in southern Africa."

 

 

Alas, your too much love and care of me

Are heavy orisons ‘gainst this poor wretch!

 

-King Henry

King Henry the Fifth              Act II Scene ii, Line 52

Henry is talking to Scroop (I love that name), Cambridge, and Thomas Grey. They’re discussing the punishment for some anonymous henchman, this poor wretch, who apparently rail’d against the king. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds like he got drunk and was going off about Henry.

Henry says the guy just had too much wine, so let him go. These other three want him punished, because he needs to be made an example of for the sake of Henry’s safety, and that’s what Henry is responding to in today’s Totally Random line. Orisons in this context are pleas.

Of course, the funny part about this is that several lines down the king arrests all three of these guys for treason. When they appeal to him for mercy he answers

 

        The mercy that was quick in us but late,

        By your own counsel is suppress’d and kill’d:

        You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy;

 

What comes around goes around, eh?

These two coconuts kept comin' around and goin' around. Lord have mercy, that ride would have made me ill. 

 

That’s done sir; they have all stomachs.

 

-Launcelot Gobo

The Merchant of Venice         Act III Scene v, Line 48

Lorenzo just told Launcelot to go in and bid them prepare for supper. Today’s Totally Random line is Launcelot’s wise-ass reply. They’re all ready because all they need to be prepared for supper is to have a stomach, and they have all stomachs.

Comedy.

And speaking of stomachs...

A pretty unflattering picture of your favourite blogger, I'll grant you that; but it gives you a pretty good picture of the stomach I'm dealing with. Good news? You bet. The starting point was 248.2 lbs about six few weeks back. Today I broke into the 230's for the first time with 239.8 lbs. Still got a long way to go, but I'm happy with the progress. Steady as she goes Cap'n!

 

And thrice cried, ‘Courage, father! Fight it out!’

 

-Duke of York

King Henry the Sixth Part III         Act I Scene iv, Line 10

I think I’ll not spend any time with context today and, since the line mentions ‘father’ and today is Father’s Day, just take the line in general and talk about it. And yes, today's line is Totally Random, believe or not. 

The Duke is talking about the encouragement he’s received from his sons, or maybe in this case, one son. So I'm going to reflect on the sons I've received encouragement from. But of course I also receive a tremendous amount of encouragement from my daughters. I’m a very lucky guy. I have two wonderful daughters, one fabulous son, and three tremendous stepsons. Oh and let’s not forget about those two stupendous sons-in-law, two fantastic daughters-in-law and that outstanding godson. And holy crow, there's the newcomers: an amazing granddaughter and two unbelievable grandsons (have I left anyone out?) 

Jeez, so much encouragement. How could I possibly not fight it out?

Okay, I know you're thinking, 'wait a minute Pete, who this?' You were probably expecting a pic of one, or all, of the coconuts I mentioned above. That's understandable. But I got to thinking about it, and thinking about where I got my encouragement before I was a father. See that guy in the back there (I know, hard to look past the stylin' shirt I'm rocking)? He's my big brother, and he was giving me encouragement when my dad was alive and has continued to be like a second dad to me since dad died. So I wanted to give a shout out to this guy on father's day. Happy Fathers Day Big Guy! (he doesn't like being called Big Guy, but don't worry, he doesn't read this blog)

 

 

You are as fond of grief as of your child.

 

-King Philip

King John                       Act III Scene iv, Line 92

I’m not sure where to begin, but I’m afraid I’m going to rattle on a bit today, because today’s Totally Random line leads into one of my favourite passages in all of Will’s works. I wrote at length on this passage once previously, about five years ago, and here’s that blog, if you’re interested Totally Random Daily Shakespeare . Today I want to throw a slightly different angle at you.

Almost thirty years ago the wonderful American author Toni Morrison gave remarks upon the acceptance of her Nobel Prize in Literature. I’ve read a copy of those remarks several times, and I think it’s a really extraordinary composition on language. One of points (if not the main point) that she makes is about the ‘…recognition that language can never live up to life once and for all. Nor should it. Language can never “pin down” slavery, genocide, war. Nor should it yearn for the arrogance to do so. Its force, its felicity is in its reach toward the ineffable.’

I read this for the first time a number of years ago, and it’s really stuck with me. At the time, I had to think ‘of course that’s right’. But on the other hand, without it being stated, the obviousness of it might never have been apparent to me. But it is now, and it gives me pause.

The best writers are those who allow us to visit places or experience situations that we would otherwise not be able to. And yet, we know, or should know, that it’s only a semblance, not the real thing. I think of this specifically when I read or hear Constance’s response to King Philip, speaking of the child she has lost. 

        Grief fills up the room of my absent child,

        Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,

        Remembers me of all his gracious parts,

        Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form;

        Then have I reason to be fond of grief!

 

I think to myself, ‘I know full well that I do not actually know how Constance feels, having never experienced this type of loss. But I believe her words, Will’s words, bring me oh so close to that feeling.’

Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form; Where, or how, on earth did Will come up with this?

 

And I guess that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

 

 I have been studying how I may compare

This prison where I live unto the world:

And for because the world is populous

And here is not a creature but myself,

I cannot do it; yet I’ll hammer it out.

 

-Richard

King Richard the Second                Act V Scene v, Line 1

A most excellent line; the beginning of Richards soliloquy in the cell before he is murdered. I’m tempted to give you the whole thing, but it’s pretty long, so I suppose not. I really like the yet I’ll hammer it out part. I actually use that line occasionally. No, really, I do.

Apparently we’ve covered this soliloquy, at least in part, once before in Totally Random Daily Shakespeare. Here’s a link to that post in case your interested.

Totally Random Daily Shakespeare

 

I'm quite certain I've used this pic before, but I really like it. It has nothing to do with today's line, but everything to do with the fact that it's little Nina's birthday today. 

 

 

 

Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?

 

-Desdemona

Othello                            Act IV Scene iii, Line 66

The deed that Desdemona is asking Emilia about is cheating on her husband. Emilia answers that if it was truly for ‘all the world’, she would do it, but not for anything less. Desdemona says that she wouldn’t cheat on her husband for anything. 

This is a very sad scene as Desdemona has sensed her forthcoming demise and talks about it with Emilia. Before they get into the discussion about cheating, Desdemona sings a sad song. I think you would appreciate it more if you heard Desdemona sing the song, but regardless, I think I’ll give you the words.

         The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,

                        Sing all a green willow;

        Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,

                Sing willow, willow, willow;

        The fresh streams ran by her, and murmur’d her moans;

                Sing willow, willow, willow;

        Her salt tears fell from her, and soften’d the stones;

                Sing willow, willow, willow;

        Sing all a green willow must be my garland.

        Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve,

(Desdemona corrects herself after this line, ‘Nay, that’s not next’, but then continues.)

        I call’d my love false love; but what said he then?

                Sing willow, willow, willow;

        If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.

And this leads to Desdemona asking Emilia the question which is today's Totally Random line. 

So sad.

You're wondering what the heck these are pictures of, and I'm going to tell you. The top one is an old black and white photo that my sister Jean took of the willow tree that was at the bottom of the street where I grew up. My dad always told us that my grandfather planted that willow. The picture below that is a pic that I just snapped of a piece of the tree in the photo. When they cut the tree down, forty or so years ago, I grabbed a piece of it to save. And I still have it. 

Sing willow, willow, willow.

 

 

O, that’s an honest fellow. –Do not doubt, Cassio,

But I will have my lord and you again

As friendly as you were.

 

-Desdemona

Othello                       Act III Scene iii, Line 5

The first part of this quote is Desdemona talking to Iago’s wife Emilia, and, of course, the one being referred to as an honest fellow is, you guessed it, Iago; good ‘ol, honest Iago. In the remainder of today’s Totally Random line she has turned to address Michael Cassio, assuring him that she will speak to Othello on his behalf.

So, this is line 5 of scene iii, a scene with 478 lines. This morning I listened to the full scene, about a half hour long. It’s a fabulous scene.  Othello walks into the scene a few lines down from today’s Totally Random line in perfect contentment. He leaves the scene some four hundred lines later convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity with Cassio and thinking about how he will murder her: Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her! 

In between, honest Iago works his spell in the most dishonest way; good ‘ol honest Iago.

 

 

We four indeed confronted were with four

In Russian habit: here they stay’d an hour,

And talkt apace; and in that hour, my lord,

They did not bless us with one happy word.

 

-Rosaline

Love’s Labour’s Lost                 Act V Scene ii, Line 370

Russians, eh? How about that. Yup, this is Shakespeare, and yup, this is a Totally Random line. So…. Russians, eh? Not a lot of happy words coming out of Russian mouths today either, is there? Good ‘ol timeless Will.

 

Hath there been a time—I’ld fain know that—

That I have positively said ‘’Tis so,’

When it proved otherwise?

 

-Polonius

Hamlet                               Act II Scene ii, Line 153

So Polonius sounds pretty sure about whatever it is that he just told the King and Queen. What did he tell him? He told them that Hamlet is mad, and that the cause of his madness is that he’s in love with Polonius’s daughter Ophelia. Do you think ‘tis this, asks the King. It may be, very like, says the Queen. To which Polonius replies with today’s Totally Random line, and to which the King replies, Not that I know.

So, there you have it. Our friend Polonius has it all figured out, and when he says ‘Tis so, it is so.

Or is it?

So we went to a two hour art class a few years back, myself, Patrice, and Walker. The object was for everyone to paint the same picture, and the teacher walked us through the steps of doing it. 

Patrice's picture came out quite good, looking very much like the model picture that everyone was copying from.

Pete's picture? Well, not nearly as good as Patrice's, but not too bad.

And Walker's picture? It seems to have incorporated a snake and a spider into it. Is the young fellow mad, like Hamlet? No, I think not; just a bit more creative, I think. Yes, 'tis so.

 

 

Take him hence, to the rack with him! We’ll touse you

Joint by joint, but we will know his purpose.

 

-Escalus

Measure For Measure             Act V Scene i, Line 313

Well, it almost sounds like a continuation of yesterday’s line. Bind him to the chair! Send him to the rack! But not quite. This fellow’s not going to end up going to the rack or anywhere else. It’s the Duke, still in disguise, that they’re talking about sending to the rack. He’s seeing just exactly how the town is being run since he left Angelo in charge, and he’s telling them so. The Duke claims he’s just a visitor in Vienna,

 

        Where I have seen corruption boil and bubble

        Till it o’errun the stew – laws for all faults,

        But faults so countenanced that the strong statutes

        Stand like the forfeits in a barber’s shop,

        As much in mock as mark.

 

The forfeits in a barber’s shop are the teeth that the barber has pulled. Remember if you will, back in those pre-dentistry days the barbers were also tooth pullers, and they’d display these pulled teeth with pride, for people to see. The Duke is comparing the laws of Vienna to those teeth which could be as much in mock as mark, that is to say, mocked as well as simply observed.

For the umpteenth time I’ll say it and I’ll say it quite simply: The relevance of Will’s words is timeless.

Rather than give you a really appropriate pic (because I couldn't come up with one), here's sleeping Nutsy. 

She's oblivious to laws, teeth, and pretty much everything else, but she's cute; totally irrelevant to today's line, but cute.

 

Which is that god in office, guiding men?

Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?

 

-Aeneas

Troilus and Cressida      Act I Scene iii, Line 232

Aeneas has a message for Agamemnon. He is speaking to the same, and I’m not sure if he actually doesn’t know that he’s talking to Agamemnon, or if he’s just pretending not to know it’s Agamemnon. Either way, don’t you think that Agamemnon has to be suspicious of someone praising him thusly?

I saw Bird, and I said Hi Bird, and he looked at me. 

Then I said Oh high and mighty Bird, the god of this household, guider of all cats. And he gave me this look. That's the look I would have expected Agamemnon to give Aeneas.