You do not?

 

-Julia

Two Gentlemen of Verona              Act I, Scene ii, Line 91

Yes, that’s today’s line, you do not? I must assume that you’re asking the question you do not what? So I’ll tell you. She, Julia’s waiting-woman, does not like the tune Light ‘O Love. She feels it is too sharp.

Today’s scene has Julia, the woman that Proteus (one of the two titular gents) wants to woo, speaking with Lucetta, her servant. In the line previous, and the one subsequent, Julia addresses Lucetta as minion. So forget about everything else here, we’re just going to focus on minion.

One week ago we ran into the word minion, and at that time we decided it meant darling or favorite since it was referring to someone’s husband. But today it is referring to a waiting-woman, a servant. So now it appears that the word is being used the way we would expect it to be, and you know what that means.

 

That's right: It's Patrice and her minions again. 

I know I just used this pic last week, but I couldn't resist using it again. 

Minions!

 

 

Then, I am sure, you know how much the gross sum of deuce-ace amounts to.

 

-Moth

Love’s Labour’s Lost              Act I, Scene ii, Line 44

Wordplay. Well, I suppose you could argue that Will’s works in their entirety are all wordplay? No, let’s not go down that road. But today’s selection, and indeed most of this scene is a bunch of wordplay. Anyway, the answer is It doth amount to one more than two.

This is Armado talking to his page named Moth. Armado is listed as a fantastical Spaniard and in this scene he and his page are talking a lot about nothing and using a lot of puns and other nonsense to create what should amount to, when presented on the stage, comedy. These two don’t have much to do with the main plot of this play; they’re just there to be funny. And they are. I listened to this scene this morning, and it’s pretty funny when you hear it (more so, I imagine when you see it). I’m not sure you would get that from reading this script, but it is. I guess you’ll have to take my word for it.

I think if I had to say which of my siblings seemed to be playing the comedy part in the script of my early life, it would be the guy here in the baggy checkered pants. And he played the part quite well.

 

Truly, I would not hang a dog by my will, much more a man who hath any honesty in him.

 

-Dogberry

Much Ado About Nothing               Act III, Scene iii, Line 64

I quite literally don’t know what to say about this line. Context? Forget about it; I got nothing. The speaker? I like the name, but that’s about all I’ve got on that subject. Perhaps we just take the line as it is and look at the words, forgetting about the play.

Oh wait, Dogberry is talking about dogs. I like that. How about we just end with that and keep it short and sweet for today.

Speaking of sweet; I decided to go down to the vending machine for a snickers bar. I loaded up the change I had in my desk drawer and when I got down there I realized that one of the coins that I thought was a dime was actually an Australian five something or other. Luckily I had a little more than I needed because I'm pretty sure the machine wouldn't have taken this. Now, how I ended up with an Australian coin is beyond me. I've traveled a bit, but never down under. Anyway, now that you know where the coin is from, you should be able to figure out what the picture is of on the coin. Hint: it's not a dog (or a dingo). 

 

            Alas, she has no speech.

 -Desdemona

Othello                            Act II, Scene i, Line 103

Sometimes when I read Will’s stuff I feel like his writing is so far beyond my ability to understand all that’s packed in there. If you haven’t spent some time with his works, you probably can’t fully appreciate what it is that I’m talking about. On the other hand, if you have spent some time with it, you’d probably be nodding your head right now in understanding of what I’m saying. Anyway…

Today’s line is part of a conversation that’s going on between Cassio, Emilia, Desdemona, and Iago. I read part of it this morning so far, and the truth is that I don’t have the time this morning to spend with it that I would like to. Ahhh, how can that be. What could be more important that this? And it’s only one page. The problem is that there’s so much packed into that one page, and I feel like I’d need to see everything that he put there, if that’s even humanly possible. 

You know, it’s becoming more and more obvious to me what a genius, if that’s even the right word, Will was. Again, there are people out there who know what I’m talking about, and there are those who don’t. 

I think that most would say that I’m obsessed,

But some, who know, would know that I am blessed.

Oi, now I'm ending my blogpost with a rhyming couplet? Have I been doing this blog too long? Is it starting to affect me? 

Nah, that can't be.

 

 

O, mickle is the powerful grace that lies

In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities:

For not so vile that on the earth doth live,

But to the earth some special good doth give;

Nor aught so good, but, strain’d from that fair use,

Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse:

Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied;

And vice sometime’s by action dignified.

 

-Friar Laurence

Romeo and Juliet            Act II, Scene ii, Line 19

Well that’s eight long lines that I gave you there, isn’t it. Too much? Oh, I don’t think so. Mickle, by the way, whether you look up the current or old usage, means great, much, or large.

There’s just so much to talk about, and what a great scene! It’s less than a hundred lines, but it’s packed with good stuff. Today’s lines come from the opening of the scene where Friar Laurence is alone in the garden, gathering plants and reflecting on life. It’s thirty lines of reflection that we’ve looked at before, but is most assuredly worth looking at again.  

The eight lines we have today speak about the powers and qualities of plants (and stones?), but it’s for certain that these observations are meant to be applicable to men and women as well: Goodness itself can be a bad thing, and badness at times good.

This takes some thinking about, don’t it?

Here's a pretty good example, something to consider: Frodo and Gollum. 

Give it some thought.

 

I’ll show you how t’observe a strange event.

Your lord sends now for money.

 

-Titus

Timon of Athens              Act III, Scene iv, Line 18

Titus is one of several servants waiting to talk to Timon. They are all servants of Timon’s friends who have come to collect money that Timon borrowed. Timon is hiding inside his house because he is broke and has no money to pay them. These fellows know that. One says

        ‘Tis deepest winter in Lord Timon’s purse;

        That is, one may reach deep enough, and yet

        Find little.

But when Titus talks about a strange event in Today’s Totally Random Line he is alluding to the fact that Hortensius, one of the other fellows there, is looking to collect a debt for his lord, whilst his lord wears jewelry that Timon gave him.

That’s the story of Timon of Athens: Timon is generous to a fault to all his friends. In the process of being so generous, he borrows from some of his friends, and now they don’t care about his generosity, they just want their money back. Great friends, eh?

When will people learn that there are things in life more important than money. Well, okay, some of them do cost a little bit of money, but you get the picture.

 

The exile of her minion is too new;

 

-Cymbeline

Cymbeline                       Act II, Scene iii, Line 45

Cymbeline is talking to Cloten, his stepson, about his daughter Imogen, and no, Imogen did not have a little yellow guy in overalls (though that is pretty funny to imagine that she did). In this context, minion means darling, favourite, or select one (this is before Disney got a hold of the word), and it refers to Imogen’s huband Posthumus. Imogen has married Posthumus, a fellow that her father didn’t select, so Posthumus has been banished. Meanwhile Cloten, Imogen’s stepbrother and all around ne’er-do-well, is working on nabbing Imogen for himself. Not gonna happen.

Here's a pic of Patrice with two of her minions. It's early in the day, so they haven't gotten into their blue overalls yet. As you can see, they're intent on helping her out with drinking her coffee. Very helpful the minions can be.

 

Dost thou believe, Orlando, that the boy

Can do all this that he hath promised?

 

-Duke Senior

As You Like It                 Act V, Scene iv, Line 1

I like Orlando’s answer, probably more so than the question. 

 I sometimes do believe, and sometimes do not;

As those that fear they hope, and know they fear. 

What do you think of that? Actually, that does take a little bit of thought, doesn’t it? Well then, I suppose we should meditate on it.

This boy promised that he could get enough height on this watermelon toss and I did believe him. I had no fear that he could do it.

 

 

The painful warrior famoused for fight,

After a thousand victories once foil’d,

Is from the book of houour razed quite,

And all the rest forgot for which he toil’d:

 

Sonnet 25                                        Third Quatrain

 

It’s been a while since we looked at a sonnet. Let’s see the whole thing.

        Let those who are in favour with their stars

        Of public houour and proud titles boast,

        Whilst I, whom fortune of such triumph bars,

        Unlookt for joy in that I honour most.

        Great princes’ favourites their great leaves spread

        But as the marigold at the sun’s eye;

        And in themselves their pride lies buried,

        For at a frown they in their glory die.

        The painful warrior famoused for fight,

After a thousand victories once foil’d,

Is from the book of houour razed quite,

And all the rest forgot for which he toil’d:

        The happy I, that love and am beloved 

        Where I may not remove or be removed.

Oi, this is a tough one. Wait, no it’s not. As soon as I read it again and took a closer look it became very clear.

 

Q1.  Let the lucky ones have fame, not me.

Q2.  Fame is fleeting, and their glory will fade.

Q3.  The warrior who wins a thousand fights is remembered for the last one that he lost, and then he’s forgotten.

I’m happy because I love and am loved, and I have no fame to lose.

 

Pretty simple, eh? And I like it. C’est moi!

Since the sonnet is about me - unfamous, lover, and loved - I guess I had no choice. I had to give you pic of me. Simple as that.

C'est moi!

 

 

 

A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count

That died some twelvemonth since; the leaving her

In the protection of his son, her brother,

Who shortly also died: for whose dear loss,

They say, she hath abjured the company

And sight of men.

 

-Captain

Twelfth Night          Act I, Scene ii, Line 36

It’s a long answer to Viola’s short question of What’s she? This is, of course, a bit of a setup scene where we, the audience, are given some basic information about some of the players that we are about to see.

Wouldn’t it be nice to occasionally have the opportunity to watch a setup scene for the play that is our own lives? I suppose we do? I mean, we do run into people like the captain here who give us info about someone we are going to be meeting. Yeah, never mind. Skip that comment. I don’t know what I was thinking. I'm afraid that my  mind is a little bit scattered this morning. 

But speaking of scattered minds, and going back for a moment to the book I've been reading: I was learning yesterday that it was said that Will wrote in such a fashion that he never had to rewrite; that what came out on the paper on the first shot is what we have today. That's almost inconceivable to me. Ben Jonson, another writer in Will's time and someone who knew Will, apparently found this upsetting, perhaps partly out of jealousy? I dunno. I find myself jealous of anyone who could do that. Is that ability an indication of a laser focused mind (as opposed to my scattered one)? Or is there something else going on there? I don't know, but it's interesting to think about.

Now here's a perfect example. We're talking about writing, and I'm giving you a picture out of my Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio of hummingbirds. What's up with that? Well, I'll tell you. I looked out the window as I was writing this and I saw, naturally, a hummingbird. It's September 19 and I hadn't seen one in several days so I thought they had migrated, but apparently not. See? no focus at all, let alone laser focus. Oh well. 

 

Pray ye, sir?

 -Menas

Antony and Cleopatra            Act II, Scene vi, Line 111

Is that right? is probably what we would say today instead of Pray ye, sir?

In this scene Antony, Octavius and Lepidus have just concluded a treaty with Pompey. These four have all gone off to feast, and we are left with Menas and Enobarbus talking to each other. These are two old veteran soldiers from rival sides; Menas serves Pompey, and Enobarbus serves Antony. Since they are part of this truce meeting they are happy to just talk to each other. Enobarus just told Menas that Antony married Octavius’s sister, to which the latter replied Pray ye, sir?, and Enobarbus says ‘Tis true.

They spend a few minutes talking about the leaders and what’s really going on in general, and then they head off to the feast.

And that's about it.

I wanted to find a pic of someone saying Is that right? So here's my grandmother with my brother Dave. Now, truth be known, Gram was just proper enough, the descendant of Brits, that she would actually have been capable of saying Pray ye, sir? But whether she was saying, Is that right, or Pray ye sir, Dave has obviously become distracted with something else and is oblivious to her completely. Dave always did have a pretty limited attention span, God love him.

 

 

O, Warwick, Warwick! I foresee with grief

The utter loss of all the realm of France.

 

-Duke of York

King Henry the Sixth Part I            Act V, Scene iv, Line 111

Well, we’re near the end of Henry VI, Part I. York is correct in that the Brits will lose most of what they have in France, but not in this play. That will take place in Henry VI, parts II and III. The French agree to a truce, later in this scene whereby the Brits maintain control of most of France, for now. But it’s clear to us, whilst not so much to the Brits, that the French have no intention of honoring this truce. In the meantime, there’s only one more scene in this play and that’s the act where we’re back in London and Suffolk is telling King Henry about the wonderful French bride he’s found for him. 

Ooh la, la.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to rail on for one more day about this book I'm reading. This map is on the back of the inside cover. It's a pretty good indication of what the book is going to cover, which is what was going on with the theater scene in London and how Will fit into it. 

It's really interesting. At least, I think it is.

 

‘But if thou needs wilt hunt, be ruled by me;

Uncouple at the timorous flying hare,

Or at the fox which lives by subtlety,

Or at the roe which no encounter dare:

Pursue these fearful creatures o’er the downs,

And on thy well-breathed horse keep with thy hounds.

 

-Venus

Venus and Adonis                           Lines 673 - 678

 

There are all sorts of things to talk about here, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give you a little bit of context. 

Venus is talking to Adonis. She’s been trying unsuccessfully to seduce him throughout this poem, and now he’s told her that he’s going to go boar hunting tomorrow. Venus is fearful that he’s going to get himself killed by a boar, so she’s trying to talk him out of it. In this stanza she’s suggesting that he hunt rabbits, or foxes, or roes (fish eggs?) instead, and to stay on his horse with his dogs around him. It turns out that her fears are well based since Adonis does indeed manage to get himself killed in the boar hunt. Bummer. 

Anyway, I’ve been reading a book lately titled Shakespeare Of London. I don’t know, I just like reading about Will and about the world he lived in. This particular book’s got a 1949 copyright, so it’s not a recently written biography (the oldest Shakespeare biography that I’ve read so far is by J.Q. Adams with a 1923 copyright). I picked it up last weekend in a little used book shop in Stroudsburg PA called Carroll and Carroll Booksellers. A wonderful little shop, if you like books ( I don’t think they have a website, so you’re just going to have to make a trip to Stroudsburg if you want to check them out). I was doing a little reading of the book this morning whilst having my first cup of coffee, and I was on a section about the London playhouses being closed in 1593 due to the plague (and by the way, the steps that London took in response to the plague had a lot in common with the steps taken in 2020-21; go figure). So, since he couldn’t write plays, what do you think Will wrote in 1593-4? Yup, you guessed it: Venus and Adonis. And then I come down here to my office and what line do I randomly come up with? Venus and Adonis. Amazing.

Well, now that I’ve given you that little spiel, what else should we talk about? The fact that for two days in a row our random line ends with hound(s)? Yesterday’s hound was an insult (calling a man a dog) and today’s hounds are literal (talking about the hunting dogs). That’s a little bit random. Should we talk about the salacious language of the poem? Nah. In fact, I think I may have used up my ten minutes of fame for this morning, so we’ll just leave you to your own devices from here on in. 

But please, no boar hunting today. Or tomorrow. 

The aforementioned book.

 

Stain all your edges on me.—Boy! False hound!

 

-Caius Marcius Coriolanus

Coriolanus                      Act V Scene vi, Line 112

 

This is the last scene of the play and Coriolanus is seconds away from being slain by Tulles Aufidius and a group of his soldiers. When he says stain all your edges on me he’s talking about his red blood on the edges of their swords. He spits the word Boy at Aufidius and calls him a false hound. Aufidius had called Coriolanus a boy of tears a few lines earlier. I guess that not too many men like to be called boy. Here’s Caius Marcius’s full response.

        Cut me to pieces, Volsces; men and lads, 

        Stain all your edges on me.—Boy! False hound!

        If you have writ your annals true, ‘tis there,

        That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I

        Flutter’d your Volscians in Corioli:

        Alone I did it.—Boy!

 Twice he calls Aufidius Boy. Earlier, when Aufidius had called Coriolanus a boy of tears he had called him Cauis Marcius, telling him that Coriolanus was a name that he stole.

         Ay, Marcius, Caius Marcius: dost thou think

Ill grace thee with that robbery, thy stol’n name

Coriolanus, in Corioli?

 Well they’re in Corioli now, and that’s the Volscian city that Coriolanus got his honorary name from. Early on in the play he had helped the Romans defeat the Volscians in Corioli. That’s what Coriolanus is referring to when he talks about being an eagle in a dove-cote.

So, yah, that should be a pretty satisfactory explanation of everything here. This really is one of my favourites of Will’s plays. I’m sure I’ve said that before, but, whatevs.

Sorry, no pic today. 

 

Give me thy hand. I do begin to have bloody thoughts.

 

-Stephano

The Tempest                    Act IV Scene i, Line 219

 

This is right before they see the clothes hanging on the line that Propsero has left out as bait, and it is also right before Prospero springs the trap and chases Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban off with dogs.

Previous to today’s Totally Random Line is Caliban talking about killing Prospero so that Stephano could be king of the island. That’s why Stephano is having bloody thoughts, but these thoughts are interrupted by Trinculo, who sees the clothes, 

O King Stephano! O peer! O worthy Stephano! Look what a wardrobe is here for thee!

And then the two of them start fighting over the clothes. Note that the two humans are easily distracted. The sub-human Caliban is not fooled at all. What does that tell you?

I'm keying in on wardrobe, as opposed to bloody thoughts for today's pic. So, here's your favorite blogger with a new look. Actually, not a new wardrobe, but a new haircut, which is not the same thing, but at least it's sort of related. Isn't it?

 

 

Hail to thee, worthy Timon, and to all

That of his bounties taste!

 

-Cupid

Timon of Athens                      Act I Scene ii, Line 123

 

This is Cupid talking, but it’s Cupid in a masque, which is not to be confused with Cupid in a mask. Although, it is possible that he has a mask on. Confused? Let me explain. A masque is a show, sort of a pageant. It usually involves a bunch of people dressed up in elaborate costumes performing some choreographed display, often including music. Apparently, they performed masques in Shakespeare’s time. In this case, we are seeing a show within the play. Timon is having a masque performed at his home for his guests, and Cupid is one of the players in the masque. Capiche?

This is Walker the kudu. Now it may not seem like this picture has any relevance, but on the way driving in today I was listening to some music and George Benson's Ode to a Kudu came up. So in that sense, this is a highly relevant picture. In terms of relevance to today's Totally Random Line, well not so much.

 

O, behold,

The riches of the ship is come on shore!

Ye men of Cyprus, let her have your knees.

Hail to thee, lady! And the grace of heaven,

Before, behind thee, and on every hand,

Enwheel thee round!

 

-Michael Cassio

Othello                    Act II Scene i, Line 86

 

Well, I couldn’t give you just the one line I picked, which was Before, behind thee, and on every hand; that, at the very least needed the line before and after it to make it complete. And then I thought that since I was giving you three lines, I might as well give you the three lines previous to that which really make it fully complete. Then I started going back further and actually considered giving you even more, because in the paragraphs previous Cassio goes even further in his praise of Desdemona. He talks about a maid that paragons description and wild fame; One that extols the quirks of blazoning pens. He also talks about how the tempests themselves…do omit their mortal natures, letting go safely by the divine Desdemona. I never realized before how far Cassio goes in his praise of Desdemona. It becomes a little more obvious as to why Iago picked Cassio to make Othello jealous. The way he talks about Othello’s wife makes it already seem like he might have designs on her.

But hold on; there’s some interesting language in here that we should look at. First, the riches of the ship is come on shore! Sounds like a grammatical error: singular verb for a plural noun. However, it turns out that the ship’s riches is singular: Desdemona is come on shore.

How about the grace of heaven, before, behind thee and on every hand, enwheel thee round. It sounds pretty good, but what exactly does that mean?

And finally, how about being a maid that extols the quirks of blazoning pens? Got any idea what that means? Let’s think: a blazoning pen is a pen that’s writing something big or important. To extol is to praise. Uh, forget it.

 

In troth, I think she would.—Fare you well, then.

-Valeria

Coriolanus                      Act I, scene iii, line 109

 

This is Valeria talking to Volumnia about Virgilia. That’s a lot of V’s. Valeria has been trying to talk Vigilia, her friend, into coming out with her to go do something. Vigilia insists that she won’t leave the house until her husband Coriolanus is home from the battles. Volumnia, Coriolanus’s mother, has just said to Valeria, Let her alone, lady: as she is now, she will but disease our better mirth. That is what Valeria is responding to with Today’s Totally Random Line. In troth, is In truth. 

I find it interesting that these three women, the only women in the play other than a few unnamed extras, all have V names. And further, can you imagine any woman embracing the name Volumnia? It makes me think Voluminus and, ergo, Fatso. 

Volumnia will end up playing a small, but very pivotal, role in the play later on when she talks Coriolanus out of sacking Rome. But for today, she’s just the mother-in-law to Virgilia.

Finally, disease our better mirth. That's a very cool little turn of phrase. I like that, and perhaps I'll use that one, if I can manage to remember it. My wife is always calling me a party pooper. I'll respond with, What, are you afraid I'm going to disease your better mirth?

Yeah, she likes to enjoy life. I do my best not to disease her better mirth.

 

His speech was like a tangled chain; nothing impaired, but all disordered. Who is next?

-Theseus

A Midsummer Night’s Dream       Act V, scene i, line 125

 

Prologue

If we offend, it is with our good will.

That you should think, we come not to offend,

But with good will. To show our simple skill

That is the true beginning of our end.

Consider, then, we come but in despite.

We do not come as minding to content you,

Our true intent is. All for your delight,

We are not here. That you should here repent you,

The actors are at hand; and, by their show,

You shall know all that you are like to know.

 

This is the prologue to the play within the play, and it is what Theseus is referring to as like a tangled chain. I don’t know which of the players is speaking the Prologue, but I like to think it’s Peter Quince, the carpenter. 

I have to agree with Theseus, though, the line breaks and the punctuation, and the words are a little bit out of whack. The question is whether or not Prologue/Peter is purposefully doing it this way. Probably not. As far as Theseus's question of who’s next? Well, it's more of the Prologue, continuing to tell Theseus and the other viewers what’s happening next in the play. 

The play within a play takes up a major part of Act Five, Scene One, and since this is the last scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the play within a play and the play itself end almost concurrently. So that's kind of interesting.

Tangled Chains

 

Come,-- what’s Agamemnon?

-Achilles

Troilus and Cressida              Act II, scene iii, line 43

 

Achilles, his buddy Patroclus, and Thersites are talking. I’m not familiar with Thersites (I’ve never read this play completely through), but he’s listed in the cast of characters as a deform’d and scurrilous Grecian. In fact, he appears to be another one of Will’s characters best described as Fool. Anyway, in this part of this scene the three of them are talking, going back and forth with questions about each other. Thersites’s answer to Achilles’s question about Agamemnon is Thy commander, Achilles. Then they go back and forth with then what’s this one, and what’s that one, before Thersites sums it up,

Agamemnon is a fool to offer to command Achilles; Achilles is a fool to be commanded of Agamemnon; Thersites is a fool to serve such a fool; and Patroclus is a fool positive.

In other words, Patroclus is just a plain fool, period. Fools, all of them. And all of us, I suppose.

This is the sort of Random Line that gets me waxing philosophical. As I may have told you, I’ve been certified as a philosopher by Dr. Andrew Davis who is an actual Doctor of Philosophy. In fact, Dr. Davis told me that there really is no qualification needed to be considered a philosopher. One merely needs to philosophize to be considered a philosopher, and pretty much anyone is capable of philosophizing. I spend way too much time philosophizing. But that's a story for another day.

I thought this was a pretty good philosophizing pic. This is the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway. It's full of statues of naked people. This particular statue, and the young lady in front of it, look like they're doing a bit of philosophizing, don't they?

 

What beast was’t, then,

That made you break this enterprise to me?

-Lady Macbeth

Macbeth                  Act I, scene vii, line 47

 

I think that if you were going to read, or hear, just one scene of this play, this would be the one you’d want. The whole play sort of pivots on this one scene, and it’s got some really good stuff in it. And, it’s relatively short.

Macbeth begins this scene with a soliloquy where he’s thinking about the murder of King Duncan that he and his wife have planned: If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well/It were done quickly; However, by the end of thirty lines of talking to himself, he’s talked himself out of it; I have no spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/And falls on th’other.

Then his wife shows up, and he tells her that they’re not going to do it. Lady Macbeth will have none of that, and she starts in on him,

                            Lady Macbeth

        Was the hope drunk

        Where in you dress’d yourself? Hath it slept since?

        And wakes it now, to look so green and pale

        At what it did so freely? From this time

        Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard

        To be the same in thine own act and valour  

        As thou are in desire? Wouldst thou have that

        Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,

        And live a coward in thine own esteem,

        Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would,’

        Like the poor cat in the adage?

 

                                Macbeth

        Prithee, peace:

        I dare do all that may become a man;

        Who dare do more is none

       

                                Lady Macbeth

                                        What beast was’t, then,

That made you break this enterprise to me?

When you durst do it, then you were a man;

And, to be more than what you were, you would

Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place

Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:

They have made themselves, and that their fitness now

Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know

How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have pluckt my nipple from his boneless gums,

And dasht the brains out, Had I so sworn as you

Have done to this.

Oh my. This woman is, um…well.. I’m not sure what the words are. Suffice it to say that without her this play ends here with Macbeth deciding that it’s not a good idea to kill the king. And, of course, he’s right, it’s not. But after listening to his wife, he nonetheless ends the scene deciding otherwise,

         I am settled, and bend up

        Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.

        Away, and mock the time with fairest show:

        False face must hide what the false heart doth know. 

So we end up getting a rhyming couplet, and four more acts.

I'm afraid I've come up empty today in terms of a pic. That line about dashing the baby's brains out, well that sort of made me feel that we don't want a pic for today's lines. Hopefully we'll have one tomorrow.

 

It is a damned and a bloody work;

The graceless action of a heavy hand,--

If that it be the work of any hand.

-Bastard

King John                       Act IV, scene iii, line 57

Well you certainly must be interested in knowing what this bloody work is, so I’ll tell you. Bastard, Bigot, Salisbury, and Pembroke (that sounds like an interesting group, doesn't it?) have just come upon the dead body of Arthur. This is the son of King John’s older brother. Arthur, therefore, had a right to the throne, and Bastard and the rest of these guys believe that John has had the boy killed because of that. In fact, though, this scene begins with the boy falling from the wall trying to escape. So, whilst John did have him imprisoned, and probably intended to have him killed, no one actually killed the boy, and it was, in fact, not the work of any hand. So, what do you think of that?

This is the type of wall I picture Arthur falling to his death from. Though in the play he appears to have fallen on rocks, not a nice, soft lawn like you see here. Perhaps he would have survived a fall from this wall. Then again, this wall is in France, not England. I suppose England's walls don't have nice lawns around them?