You
may do so;-but let it be so hasted, that supper be ready at the furthest by
five of the clock. See these letters deliver’d; put the liveries to making; and
desire Gratiano to come anon to my lodging. [Exit a SERVANT]
-Bassiano
The Merchant of Venice Act II, scene ii, line 113
This is the scene
where Launcelot Gobo is talking to himself and then to his father. The line
previous to Today’s Totally Random Line is just that, Launcelot Gobo talking to
old Gobo. Then, suddenly, Bassanio enters with Leonardo and a follower or two.
Apparently one of the followers is a servant that Bassanio is in the middle of
a conversation with as he enters the scene, and the lines above are the first
spoken by Bassanio as he enters. I don’t know about you, but I’m a little curious
as to what the servant asked permission to do. It must have been something since Bassanio enters the scene saying, ‘yes, you can do that, but make it quick
so that you can take care of all my stuff.’ So what did the servant want to do?
We’re never going to know, are we?
This reminds me of when I’m at a stoplight and I look over at a person standing and waiting for the bus. I look at them and realize that they have their own little world that they live in, just as I have mine, and that I will never know anything about that world. Are they thinking about the war in Ukraine, or about their Aunt Ethel who’s in the hospital. Or maybe they’re thinking about the underpants they’re wearing that are riding up on them. Whatever it is, it’s a continuum of a thousand thoughts that make up their world. And there are billions of these little worlds out there. So many of them I pass within a few feet of every day and never, ever give it a thought. But sometimes I do.
Will seems to be reminding us of these worlds right here. He’s going to give us this very little reminder of something very big, and then he’ll just move on. The servant exits and there’s never any mention further in the play of what he wanted to do. But even though we’ll never know what it was, and even though it really has nothing to do with any of the people or outcomes of the play, it must have been something.
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