Look you now, he’s out of his guard already; unless you laugh and minister occasion to him, he is gagged.

 

-Malvolio

Twelfth Night                  Act I, Scene v, Line 85

 

Okay, this is a hard one, I’ll give you that. Here’s Malvolio’s whole reply: three sentences. Wait – ‘reply to what’, you ask? Well, Olivia and Feste the fool are talking. Then the fool says to Malvolio that whilst Sir Toby (a character in the play who’s not present in this scene) knows that he, the fool, is no genius, neither would Sir Toby bet that you, Malvolio, are not a fool. Olivia asks Malvolio what he thinks about that, and that is what Malvolio is replying to. 

Now, here’s his full reply.

 

I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal: I saw him put down the other day with an ordinary fool that has no more brain than a stone.

Look you now, he’s out of his guard already; unless you laugh and minister occasion to him, he is gagged.

I protest, I take these wise men, that crow so at these set kind of fools, no better than the fools’ zanies.

 

Well the first sentence is easy. Malvolio is just saying that he’s surprised that Oliva gets so much enjoyment out of the fool, a fellow who’s not as bright as a real fool.

The second sentence, today’s Totally Random Line, is a little tougher. Malvolio is saying ‘Look at him, he’s caught off his guard already; if you don’t pay attention to him and laugh at him, he’ll have nothing at all to say.’

Malvolio concludes with the thought that those people who enjoy and speak highly of fools are no better than fools themselves. This would seem to be a bit insulting to Olivia, who is Malvolio’s boss. But who am I to say.

No more brain than a stone.

Well, this stone is obviously quite smart; it's reading Shakespeare.

 

I pray thee, give it to me.

 

-Oberon

A Midsummer Night’s Dream         Act II, Scene i, Line 248

 

Oberon talking to Puck, asking him to give him the flower that he sent him to find. It’s the flower that can make people fall in love with the first person they see. Oberon’s going to have Puck use it on Demetrius, but Puck uses it on Lysander in error (or do I have that backwards?), and Oberon’s going to use it himself on Titania.

There’s some really nice verse following this line where Oberon describes how he will find Titania. I know I always dis this play, but I like the twenty or so lines that Oberon and Puck finish this scene with.

Today is Walker P.'s birthday. I almost forgot.  He is twenty years old today. The last time that I was not parenting a child in the teens or younger was March 25, 1982. And yet today I feel the strains of parenting as sharply as any day. Isn’t that…something. March, 1982. It was a different world then, inside of me and outside of me. When I dwell on it it’s overwhelming.

I pray thee, give it me. Give me what? Strength. Peace? Of course, I have both of these; I just need to find them within, not in some magic flower. Or perhaps remember that all flowers, and so much more in the world, are magic - and dwell on that. 

And hence, Calvin. 

Be Calvin.

  

When there is nothing living but thee, thou shalt be welcome. I had rather be a beggar’s dog than Apemantus.

 

-Timon

Timon of Athens                      Act IV, Scene iii, Line 355

 

Not a particularly welcoming statement, is it? FYI, Timon is speaking to Apemantus, addressing him as the third person.

This is a good conversation. It’s a pretty long scene (as you see, we’re on line 355) and in it Timon talks to several different people who show up at his cave. Right now it’s Apemantus. Will comes up with interesting ideas to play with. This is a guy that went from loving everyone to realizing that most of his friends were not friends at all. Now he hates all mankind, and Will is exploring the different facets of this state, mostly through Timon’s interactions with different types of people. This line is part of a fairly long conversation with Apemantus, a guy who’s been pretty much fed up with mankind from the start.

I wanted to listen to/read this scene, or if not the whole scene, at least this part where he’s talking to Apemantus. I think I would need to listen to/read this whole conversation to appreciate this line. But I’m afraid I just don’t have time for that this morning.

Ah, I’m no better than a beggar’s dog.

I think today's line would make an interesting Welcome mat. What do you think?

 

O mistress mine, where are you roaming?

O, stay and hear, your true love’s coming,

That can sing both high and low.

Trip no further, pretty sweeting,

Journeys end in lovers meeting,

Every wise man’s son doth know.

 

What is love? ‘Tis not hereafter,

Present mirth hath present laughter,

      What’s to come is still unsure:

In delay there lies no plenty,

Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty,

      Youth’s a stuff will not endure.

-Feste

Twelfth Night          Act II, Scene i, Line 78

I saw this play live in Nashville last year, and Feste was played by a guy in a cowboy hat with a guitar. So he sang this song in a very country western way, and that seemed very appropriately Nashvillian.

This is the guest house at my son-in-law's house in Nashville. Well, actually it's not the guest house. It's a little building in the backyard they call a hoos (rhymes with moose). It's sort of like a pool house, except without the pool. I stayed in the main house, not in the hoos.

I was looking for a pic of my trip to Nashville when I saw Twelfth Night, and I'm afraid this is the best I could do.

But fret not, here's a bonus for you. Enjoy!

Cantari - 1. O Mistress Mine Where are You Roaming (Three Madrigals) - Emma Lou Diemer - Bing video

 

 

‘Tis but the boldness of his hand, haply, which his heart was not consenting to.

 

-First Gentleman

All’s Well That Ends Well      Act III, Scene ii, Line 79

 

Haply means perhaps. Can you see the hap in both words?
The First Gentleman is talking about a letter, the contents of which the reader is unhappy with. Context beyond that? Nah!

The boldness of his hand.
His heart was not going along with his hand.
He doesn’t mean what he wrote.

Well then, I’ve often heard people claim that they didn’t mean what they said, or in some cases, wrote. But is that really so? Do they really not mean it? If it’s something that they’re apologizing for, then they probably said it whilst in some emotional state. So, then didn’t it come from the heart?
The Servant qualifies his statement with haply/perhaps: perhaps his heart was not consenting. Okay, perhaps his heart was not consenting; but perhaps it was.

That's right, perhaps he didn't mean what he wrote with his Blackwing Volume 7. Or perhaps he did. The good thing about writing it with his Blackwing is that he can erase it if need be. Whilst I know that they didn't have Blackwings in Will's day, I don't know whether or not they had pencils at all, in any form. 

Haply they did?

 

Your honour’s players, hearing your amendment,

Are come to play a pleasant comedy;

 

-Servant

The Taming Of The Shrew              Induction, Scene ii, Line 130

 

We shall ne’er be younger.

That right there is not today’s line, it’s the last line of the scene, and it reflects the way I often feel these days. I liked the line, so there it is.

Anyway, this is Scene Two of the Induction, and today’s lines are, I suppose, as much for the audience in the theater as they are for Christopher Sly, the character that the servant is addressing. Yes, the word for this ‘Pre-Act I’ is Induction. If you’re thinking “Why aren’t they using the word Introduction?” well, you’re probably not alone; that’s a good question.

Regardless, what to say about this line? 

Well, the sun is poking thru to the front lawn right now, through the trees on the eastern hill across the street. It’s leaving a patch of a sunbeam just the other side of the river birch. If Nutsy were out on the front lawn (which she never is), she would probably find that patch of a sunbeam to sit in.

And that’s what I’m thinking about right now, which has absolutely nothing to do with this line from the induction of The Taming Of The Shrew.

Oh well. That kind of off topic thinking happens. Doesn't it.

Here's the view I'm talking about, from the chair where I sit most mornings. But this picture was taken on a different day, so that there's no sunbeam to be seen here. That's the river birch in the middle of the picture, to the right of the mailbox. The back of that house across the street faces due east. 

And that's all I've got to say about that. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

  

But if the first heir of my invention prove deform’d , I shall be sorry it had so  noble  a godfather:

 

-Venus and Adonis

William Shakespeare                                  Dedication

 

Well now I certainly hope you’ll agree with me that we have something a bit different today. We’ve randomly picked the first page after the end of King Henry the Eighth, and that is the last play in my book. The first work to follow is the poem Venus and Adonis, and line 80 on this page (80 being today’s random page line) falls right in the middle of Will’s dedication of the poem to The Right Honourable Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southhampton, and Baron of Titchfield. Apparently, Mr. Wriothesley was a patron of Will. What the exact nature of his patronage was, I don’t know, but based on this dedication Will seems to be intent on buttering the Earl up quite a bit. The first heir of Will’s invention would be the poem that follows this dedication, and of course the godfather is the Earl.

So, you might say that this is not a line from one of Will’s works, but I think we could argue that point. Since I don't care to argue, nor am I inclined to type out the whole dedication, I am going to give you the dedication as today’s pic. 

As usual, no need to thank me.

And there you go.

 

 

He seems to be a stranger; but his present is

A wither’d branch, that’s only green at top;

The motto, ‘In hac spe vivo.’

 

-Thaisa

Pericles                           Act II, Scene ii, Line 45

 

Let’s see, Pericles is traveling, he gets shipwrecked and washed up on the shores of a strange land (with his armor, of course) and immediately decides to take part in a knights tournament, where the winner will get the hand of the King’s daughter. In this scene the knights are parading in front of King Simonides and his daughter Thaisa. She describes each knight in turn as they pass the reviewing stand, and Today’s Totally Random Line is her description of the last knight, who just happens to be Pericles. The motto, ‘In hac spe vivo’ translates to ‘In this hope I live.’ At least, according to G.B. Harrison that’s what it translates to. If I’m correct, the wither’d branch and the motto are seen on Pericle’s shield (which must have washed up on shore with his armor).

So, what’s it all mean Basil? I suppose the hope is in the green leaves that exist on the wither’d, dying branch, green leaves signifying life? That seems to make sense.

Here you go- perfect example. You can see all the dead branches, but there's still live branches in there too. Well, I cleared out all the dead and it turned out that there's two separate rhododendron bushes in there: one mostly live, one all dead. I got rid of the dead one, and now the live one looks like it might do okay. 

How about that!

 

 

If I begin the battery once again,

I will not leave the half-achieved Harfleur

Till in her ashes she lie buried.

 

-Henry

King Henry the Fifth                      Act III, Scene iii, Line 8

 

King Henry is outside the gates of the French town of Harfleur, talking to the governor of the town (you’d think it would be a mayor, but what do I know). He is telling him that if he surrenders his town, the English will show mercy. He is also telling him that if he makes Henry take the town by force, Henry will not attempt to hold back his men from pillaging. Henry goes into significant detail as to what that pillaging will entail.  

         The gates of mercy shall be all shut up;

        And the flesht soldier, -rough and hard of heart,-

        In liberty of bloody hand shall range

        With conscience wide as hell; mowing like grass

        Your fresh-fair virgins and your flowering infants.

 

He goes on, array’d in flames…waste and desolation…heads dasht to walls…infants spitted on spikes for thirty-four more lines, ending of course with a rhyming couplet. By the end of his speech I’m shouting at the governor Surrender the town! Surrender the town! Thankfully, he does. I hope the French were good to their word!

So what do we have here, and how could it possibly be relevant. Well, let me tell you. The relevance is war, and the ravages of war. I think it's safe to say that's a takeaway from today's line. On a similar note, owing to the news of Russians fleeing Putin's new draft (presumably to escape being involved in the ravages of war), I thought it would be interesting to do a little research on the fellow who's name I bear, who supposedly fled Lithuania in the late 1800's, similar to today's Russians, to escape being conscripted into the Russian army (and avoid being involved in the ravages of war). The first thing I needed was a date as to when John Blagys did this fleeing. Luckily my sister has spent the time working on this stuff and I was able to do a screen print from an Ancestry.com page of a 1910 census page. There he is, at the top of the page, and if you zoom in you will see that column 15 is Year of Immigration to the United States. John put in 1891. Now I have to do a little history research and see if the family story makes sense based on what was going on in Lithuania and Russia in that year. 

Wish me luck. 

 

 

What’s the matter,

That in these several places of the city

You cry against the noble senate, who,

Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else

Would feed on one another?

 

-Caius Marcius

Coriolanus                      Act I, Scene i, Line 181

I’m not sure where to go with this. We’ve posted on this scene a few times already, and Coriolanus is a complex character. But then, who of Will’s characters isn’t?

How’s about this: rather than talk about it, why don’t we take a look/listen? I’ve found this scene on YouTube. It’s the Ralph Fiennes version and it’s fabulous. They’ve set the tale in the twenty-first century, but they’ve kept Will’s words, albeit abridged. In fact, this first scene is severely shortened, but Today’s Totally Random Line made the cut. It’s right past the two minute mark in the video.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I think Fiennes is brilliant.

 

(139) The Tragedy of Coriolanus - Act 1, Scene 1 - YouTube

 

 

Hold; get you gone, be strong and prosperous

In this resolve: I’ll send a friar with speed

To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord.

 

-Friar Laurence

Romeo and Juliet            Act IV, Scene i, Line 122

 

Good ol’ Friar Laurence. We’ve talked about him before; a piece of work. He’s setting Juliet up right here with his infamous plot of faking her death so as to be able to get away with Romeo. And we all know how well that works out.

Not.

 

Oh my, two pics in a row of maps! Well, I like maps (if that wasn't already obvious). And this one (cut and pasted from Google Maps)  shows you the distance from Verona (upper center) to Mantua (it's down in the bottom left outlined in red - the word 'Mantua' is not on the map). You can see from the scale in the bottom right of the map that the distance from Verona to Mantua is about fifteen miles. So, do you think that Friar Knucklehead will get the message to Romeo in Mantua? No, of course he won't.

Oyy!

 

 

What, gone, my lord, and bid me not farewell!

 

-Duchess of Gloster

Henry the Sixth Part II           Act II, Scene iv, Line 85

 

And here’s Gloster’s reply to his wife as she is being led away to banishment on the Isle of Man. 

Witness my tears, I cannot stay to speak. 

He doesn’t appear to be all that upset that he’s probably seeing his wife for the last time ever. If I’m not mistaken though, Gloster will be meeting a bad end fairly soon, so don’t waste too much time thinking poorly of him. He’s not worth it.

Just in case you were wondering, the Isle of Man is that little island between the United Kingdom and Ireland. If you look close, you can see it, and right below it you can see 'Man'. 

So, you get your daily Shakespeare and a geography lesson, all in one today. No extra charge.

 

Let me excuse thee: ah, my love well knows

Her pretty looks have been mine enemies;

And therefore from my face she turns my foes,

That they might elsewhere dart their injuries:

 

-Sonnet 139

Line 11

Here is the third quatrain of the Sonnet 139. Since each quatrain is built around one thought, it seems reasonable to give you those four lines together. Q1 one addresses the lover, asking that he or she not wound the writer of the sonnet by looking at him. Q2 asks him or her to just tell the writer that he or she loves someone else, don’t show him. The third quatrain, above, admits that his love is indeed sparing him the pain of his or her looks, but the final couplet pleads the opposite – for him or her to just go ahead and put him out of his misery.

Yet do not so; but since I am near slain,

Kill me outright with looks, and rid my pain.

 

Well, what do you think? No pic today, just words. And hopefully thoughts.

 

Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier’s debt:

He only lived but till he was a man;

The which no sooner had his prowess confirm’d

In the unshrinking station where he fought,

But like a man he died.

 

-Ross

Macbeth                          Act V, Scene viii, Line 42

The unshrinking station. I love that. You don’t hear that being used, but you could. Will is talking about a battle station, but you could apply this to any station in life. A parent’s need to always be there to care for a kid is an unshrinking station. A breadwinner’s need to always be supporting their family is an unshrinking station. It goes on and on.

So that’s our two words for the day: unshrinking station. Got it?

Keeping up on this blog is an unshrinking station.

 

Soft and swiftly, sir; for the priest is ready.

 

-Biondello

The Taming of the Shrew                Act V, Scene i, Line 1

This is the scene where Lucentio is sneaking off to marry Bianca. Today’s Totally Random Line is Biondello speaking to his master, Lucentio. Most of this scene takes place without Lucentio and Bianca, but they show up towards the end of it, married. That’s about it. That’s about all I’ve got today. Sorry.

I was talking to my daughter this morning, and she mentioned something about one of my blog posts. I told her that I was unaware that she read my blog. She replied that she just looked at the pictures and read the captions. 

Here's a pic of the caption reader.

 

 

 

Marcus, unknit that sorrow-wreathen knot:

Thy niece and I, poor creatures, want our hands,

And cannot passionate our tenfold grief

With folded arms. This poor right hand of mine

Is left to tyrannize upon my breast;

Who, when my heart, all mad with misery,

Beats in this hollow prison of my flesh,

Then thus I thump it down.

-Titus

Titus Andronicus                             Act III, Scene ii, Line 11

Man, I remember why I found Titus so upsetting. When they’re not hacking people to death, they’re laying this language on me. Just read that out loud to yourself. The language is alive.

Sorrow wreathen knot

Cannot passionate our tenfold grief

Tyrannize upon my breast

Hollow prison of my flesh

Thus I thump it down

Oyy! Read the whole passage again.

And again.

Can you hear the genius of the writer? Please tell me you can. Or maybe you’re just not listening.

No pic today; just words.

 

I cannot tell; but I had as lief take her dowry with this condition,-- to be whipt at the high-cross every morning.

 

-Gremio

The Taming of the Shrew                Act I, Scene i, Line 131

So now, this is the first scene (not including the induction) of the play. Baptista has presented his two daughters and declared that the young one, Bianca, will not be given away in marriage until the older one, Katharina, has been married. Now, Gremio and Hortensio are alone and discussing this. They both want Bianca and both consider Katharina to be a shrew (she is, of course, the titular shrew). However, they have also concluded that if they want to have any chance at Bianca, they’ve got to find a husband for Katharina. This is what Gremio is talking about in today’s line. The her he speaks of is Katharina, and this is how he feels about marrying her. It’s a good line, but I like the first line of Hortensio’s response to this even more: 

    Faith, as you say, there’s small choice in rotten apples.

Honestly, don’t you think you could find a use for that line? It’s akin to the less of two evils when you’re confronted with a situation that has no good alternative. Try it next time you're forced to accept something that you'd rather not.

Dad: Listen buddy, you're not getting the car; you can walk or take the bus. Got it?

Buddy: Well, there's small choice in rotten apples, isn't there Dad?

Oh, yeah. Dad will love you for that response.

 

Okay, I can hear you. You're saying, what the heck is that a picture of, and what could it possibly have to do with today's line. Well, nothing actually. This is a pic of me about thirty years ago playing the campsite game of picking up a paper bag with your teeth and having only one foot touching the ground. Again, no relevance whatsoever to the line. However (oh no, here we go) I was doing a balancing test at a new gym for seniors that I've signed up for, and the best I could do was about fifteen seconds of standing on one foot; that's right, just standing. Forget about bending over, and double-forget about picking up a paper bag with your teeth. So, I was telling the young fellow who was giving me the test (his name is Hunter) about how we used to play this game. I don't think, looking at me do fifteen seconds, that he believed me. Then, by chance, I ran into this photo this morning. 

So, I really had no choice about posting it. Did I?