Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

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?