Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

 

Speak, Lavinia, what accursed hand

Hath made thee handless in thy father’s sight?

 

-Titus

Titus Andronicus                     Act III Scene i, Line 67

 

But of course, Lavinia cannot speak, because the same hand that made her handless also cut out her tongue. This is the first that Titus has seen of his daughter since this happened and I don’t think he yet realizes that she can’t speak. Marcus, Titus’s brother, has found Lavinia and brought her to Titus. Lucius, Titus’s son, sees Lavinia and says, ‘Ay me, this object kills me!’ Titus responds with a pretty moving sixteen lines. I think they’re worth reading, so here goes.

       

        Faint-hearted boy, arise, and look upon her.—

        Speak, Lavinia, what accursed hand

        Hath made thee handless in thy father’s sight?

        What fool hath added water to the sea,

        Or brought a faggot to bright-burning Troy?

        My grief was at the height before though camest;

        And now, like Nilus, it disdaineth bounds.—

        Give me a sword, I’ll chop off my hands too;

        For they have fought for Rome, and all in vain;

        And they have nursed this woe, in feeding life;

        In bootless prayer have they been held up,

        And they have served me to effectless use:

        Now all the service I require of them

        Is, that the one will help to cut the other.—

        'Tis well, Lavinia, that thou hast no hands;

        For hands, to do Rome service, is but vain.

 

I’m not suggesting that today’s lines need to be taken to heart, or that there’s some indomitable lesson to be learned from them. But it seems to me that it’s almost always useful to stop and spend a few minutes contemplating on some well written words. The very act of stopping, leaving the world to take care of itself for a few minutes, and concentrating on the words, taking the time to understand the words, and then thinking about that meaning, can be a very worthwhile and beneficial endeavor. 

And of course, no words are more well written than Will’s.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. I would say that in some cases a picture can be worth a thousand words, and that in some cases a few words can be worth a thousand pictures. 

The picture above was an easy and effective way of remembering which wire went where; much easier than writing out, 'the green wire goes to C, and the white wire goes to W/E, etc.' 

However, I don't think there's one single picture that can convey all of what Will is giving us with the 132 words written above.

What do you think?