Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Dear master, I can go no further: O, I die for food! Here lie I down, and measure out my grave Farewell, kind master.

 

Adam

As You Like It             Act II, Scene vi, Line 1

There's not much to explain here. Orlando and the old man have been wandering in the forest, and the old man has about had it. Don’t worry; they’ll run into some people soon who will help them out and feed them.

Here's two old guys, and we've been wandering around backstage. But don't worry; the girls are about to take us out to feed us.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child,
And here was left by the sailors. Thou, my slave,
As thou report’s thyself, was then her servant;
And, for thou was't a spirit too delicate
To act her earthy and abhorr’d commands,
Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,
By help of her more potent ministers
And in her most unmitigated rage,
Into a cloven pine; within which rift
Imprison’d, thou dids’t painfully remain
A dozen years; within which space she died,
And left thee there; where thou first bent thy groans
As fast at mill-wheels strike. Then was this island--
Save for the son that she did litter here,
A freckled whelp hag-born-- not honour’d with
A human shape.

 

Prospero

The Tempest            Act I, Scene ii, Line 274

 

Hest is the only word in there I am completely unfamiliar with (and I’ve read this play many times). MW has it though: Command, Precept. It’s listed as archaic; so I’ll give you that.
Nonetheless, it is all in all a quite understandable passage. Wouldn’t you agree?

Just in case you didn’t know, this is Prospero talking to Ariel and recounting to him (her? them?) what Ariel had told Prospero at an earlier date. It’s the story of how when Prospero first came to the island, he found Ariel trapped inside a tree where the hag witch Sycorax had left him.

I’m not sure why I decided to type out the whole passage. Today’s Totally Random Line was Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee. Now that’s in the middle of a long sentence that takes up a good deal of the passage, so I decided to just give you the whole thing.

And there you go.

And here you go with a pic of Prospero and Ariel having this conversation.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

By whom, Camillo?

Polixenes

The Winter’s Tale     Act I, Scene ii, Line 412

Only three words in Today's Line, so I'll return with just three: 

Yes, by whom?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Oh how her eyes and tears did lend and borrow!

Her eye seen in the tears, tears in the eyes;

Both crystals, where they view’d each other’s sorrow,--

Sorrow that friendly sighs sought still to dry;

But like a stormy day, now wind, now rain,

Sighs dry her cheeks, tears make them wet again.

 

Narrator

Venus and Adonis                          Line 966

 

It’s funny that I ended my last post with Your eyes my rest easy, and now today’s starts with her eyes and tears. And yesterday we had balls bounding and today just eyeballs.

Anyway, today’s lines are simply a description of one crying. It is a rather original way to describe someone crying, and of course the language is superb: it is Will, after all. I suppose, though, that someone else could have come up with this idea: teardrops and eyeballs as similar crystals; wind and rain vs sighs and tears. 

I’ve never seen this way of talking about crying before, but what does that count for? There's an awful, awful lot that I've never seen.

If the eye was seen in the tears, he must be talking about a reflection of the eye seen in the teardrop. Did he have a microscope? And then, is tears in her eyes also talking about a reflection, or are we now just talking about seeing the teardrops in her eyes, as we would normally think of seeing tears in one's eyes. 

Well now, that's a dry eye above, and I can see a reflection of the light in it; but would I be able to see the reflection of a teardrop in it. 

I think I might be over thinking this. Just read the lines and enjoy the language, Pete.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Why, these balls bound; there’s noise in it.—

‘Tis hard:

A young man married is a man that’s marr’d:

Therefore, away, and leave her; bravely go:

The king has done you wrong; hush, ‘tis so.

 

Parolles

All’s Well That Ends Well      Act III, Scene ii, Line 113

 

Okay, Bertram is telling his buddy Parolles that the king has just forced him, Bertram, to marry a woman he had no desire to marry; so he’s decided to run off to the wars immediately without consummating the marriage.

Today’s lines are Parolles scene-ending, concluding comments.
The first of these four lines is figurative speech, assessing the situation as a whole. The last three lines are pretty easy to understand, so let’s take a look at that first line.

My dad used to say, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I think Parolles’s statement may not be too far from that. The balls bounding is the events transpiring. The noise is the negative aspect of the events, and hard is hard.
So once again we are given a phrase to use. When we, or someone we know, is faced with a somewhat difficult situation we can say
These balls bound; there’s noise in it.— ‘Tis hard.

And that, of course will get you the obligatory eye-roll. Yes, it certainly will. No worries though: the odds of me remembering this line to use are pretty remote. Your eyes may rest easy.

How about this ball? I can tell you that it definitely bounds, but it's not very noisy, nor is it hard. It's probably not exactly the type of ball that Parolles was picturing for his euphemism. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex:

We cannot fight for love, as men may do;

We should be woo’d, and were not made to woo.

 

Helena

A Midsummer Night’s Dream      Act II, Scene i, Line 241

 

This is Helena talking to Demetrius, pleading with him to love her. He has told her repeatedly that he wants nothing to do with her, but she won’t listen. 

I’m not sure what to say about Today's Line, so perhaps I'll just say nothing.

 I can't help but think that this is the exact expression I would get out of these two guys if I read today's lines to them. It's a sort of 

Well, we're trying to get something out of that G-pa, but really, wtf?

 

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

So-ho, so-ho!

 

Launce

Two Gentlemen of Verona      Act III, Scene i, Line 190

Yes,  that’s Today’s Totally Random Line, So-ho, so-ho! Proteus and Launce enter, the former tells the latter to go and seek out Valentine, and the latter exclaims So-ho, so-ho. I imagine seeing Launce pointing as he says this line, since Valentine is already on stage having just finished a short soliloquy. So-ho, so-ho, there he is!

So-ho, so-ho is nothing more than an expression, an exclamation. I wonder if there’s any chance I’ll remember this one so that I can use it sometime. That would take some serious effort. So-ho, so-ho. I’m repeating it here in an attempt to ingrain into my memory. Perhaps I could sing it. So-ho, so-ho, it’s off to work we go.

I don’t think I could use Hi-ho as an exclamation. Or could I? Realistically, you can use just about anything as an exclamation.
Gutterspouts, gutterspouts! There he is!
See, that works.
So-ho, gutterspouts!

 

Gutterspouts, So-ho, So-ho! 

Wait, those tortoises sticking out of that church facade are gutterspouts! 

So-ho!

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

                                      I have trusted thee, Camilo,
With all the nearest things to my heart, as well
My chamber-councils; wherein, priest-like, thou
Hast cleansed my bosom,- I from thee departed
The pentinent reform’d: but we have been
Deceived in thy integrity, deceived
In that which seems so.

 

Leontes

 

The Winter’s Tale      Act I, Scene ii, Line 240

 

This is where Leontes first goes off the rails. He has decided just now not only that his wife is cheating on him, but also that his true and trusted advisor Camillo is at fault for not realizing it as well.

The truth of the matter is that Leontes’s wife is not cheating on him, Camillo is true and wise, and Leontes is an idiot.  I was going to say chowderhead, but that’s way too nice a term. I need something quite a bit stronger than that, and idiot seems pretty good.

So that’s today’s conclusion: Leontes is an idiot.

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

Accursed be the tongue that tells me so,

For it hath cow’d my better part of man!

And be these juggling fiends no more believed,

That palter with us in a double sense;

That keep the word of promise in our ear,

And break it to our hope!—I’ll not fight with thee.

 

Macbeth

 

Macbeth                Act V, Scene viii, Line 20

 

Well now, these are close to Macbeth’s last words. We only have seven and a half more lines out of him before he exits fighting Macduff. And those lines will be his last as the next time we see him after that is with his head severed from his body. At that point he won’t be saying much at all.
Macduff’s response to Macbeth is to tell him to yield to him if he’s not going to fight, and Macbeth replies with his last lines.

                      I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcom’s feet,
And to be baited with the rabble’s curse.
Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunisane,
And though opposed, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last:— before my body
I throw my warlike shield: lay on, Macduff;
And damn’d be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough!’

And they exit fighting. Again, the last we see of Macbeth alive.

If you’ve any familiarity with this play you won’t need much help with any of today’s lines. If you don’t, well, it would take a page and a half to bring you up to speed considering we’re in the final lines of the play. I think that I won’t do that this morning.
So I guess I’ll just be giving you a whole bunch of Shakespeare lines, with a little explanation, this morning.

Today’s exchange about Macbeth being unkillable starts with him saying this to Macduff,

I bear a charmed life, which must not yield
To one of woman born.

This is what the witches had told Macbeth, that no man of woman born would be able to kill him. Of course, Macduff gives his famous reply,

               Despair thy charm:
And let the angel whom thou still hast served
Tell thee: Macduff was from his mother’s womb
Untimely ript.

In other words, since he was brought into the world through some sort of caesarian section, he was not technically of woman born. Or at least not born like most men were.

And then this exchange is immediately followed by Today’s Totally Random Daily Lines given by Macbeth.

There, now it should make sense.

 

 Here's an excerpt from the book above, from the chapter The Battle of the Pelennor Fields (yes, that's right: I only have the cover left of this particular copy).

“Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!”

Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

Of course, in the movie she says simply, “I am no man!” Hollywood likes to get to the point.

Still think JRR didn't read Shakespeare?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

By heaven, I will not do thee so much ease.

Clarence

King Henry the Sixth Part III      Act V, Scene v, Line 72

 

Margaret, having just witnessed her son murdered, has asked Clarence to kill her. Today’s line is his reply to her.

What on earth are we going to say about this? Well, I suppose we could note that it’s two days in a row of a woman requesting help in dying. Cleopatra got the guy to bring her the asp/worm, whilst Margaret will have no such help. Clarence wants nothing to do with her. Remember also Antony requested the help of one of his soldiers in killing himself, and that soldier took his own life rather than help Antony take his.

So we’ve seen three very different answers to the request for help in ending it all. Very interesting. Also interesting that none of the responses had anything to do with helping the person cope with whatever was driving them to suicide. I guess though, that sort of response would not really fit into the Shakespearean drama, would it? It's hard to imagine Clarence responding, Well Margaret (or Cleopatra, or Antony), you know there are people you can talk to when you're having these urges. In fact, I have the address of someone who's been terribly helpful to me when I've been going through bad times. Why don't you look him up. Honestly, things are bound to get better.

Whilst that may be an appropriate and good thing to say nowadays, I really can't see Will writing that into his script. Can you?

 To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Just in case you think I'm not taking suicide seriously enough, the link above is to the site of  TWLOHA, a group that I've donated to in the past. They seem like good folks. 

I don't think Will could have written his words without suicide in them, but we can live out our lives without suicide. The world is full of goodness and beauty, even though sometimes that's hard to see or believe.  

Don't be thinking that you're in the sixteenth century where no one cares. 

People do care, and everyone matters.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I wish you all joy of the worm.

Clown

Antony and Cleopatra                  Act V, Scene ii, Line 260

 

Well that’s an odd little line, eh? Now, given that this is almost the end of the play, can you guess what the worm is? Yes, that’s right, it’s the asp that Cleopatra’s going to use to end her life. The clown (whoever that is) has just brought a basket with the asp/worm in it. He and Cleopatra have a little bit of back and forth about the asp/worm, and then the clown leaves.

Twice he wishes her the joy of the worm; an interesting little turn of phrase. What exactly does he mean? What is the joy of the worm? Death? Hmmm. I don’t know. It’s a bit odd.

How about a worm like this guy; do you think you could get much joy out of him?

Not me!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

In my stars I am above thee; but be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.

Malvolio

Twelfth Night                Act II, Scene v, Line 144

It’s pretty funny that this quote about greatness has been used over and over again with such gravitas; funny because it’s original context above is in a letter playing a cruel practical joke on Malvolio. The letter he is reading has been written by Maria and Sir Toby. They designed it to be found by Malvolio and for him to believe it is a letter written by his Mistress Olivia professing that she is secretly in love with him. Of course, she is not, and it leads to Malvolio acting so ridiculous in her presence that she has him locked up.

And now here we are; for once we have randomly picked a line from Shakespeare’s works that we’ve actually heard before - only to find that its original meaning has nothing to do with the meaning people have when they use it today.

How ironic. How perfectly Shakespearean. It almost feels as though Will put it there to play a joke on us! What a clever fellow. I told you he had a good sense of humor.

Yes, that's right: some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em. 

But most, like yours truly here, simply live to be used and abused by the Sir Toby's of the world. I say that with a smile in my heart and laugh on my lips. Sort of.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

By this, lamenting Philomel had ended

The well-tuned warble of her nightly sorrow,

And solemn night with slow sad gait descended

To ugly hell; when, lo, the blushing morrow

Lends light to all fair eyes that light will borrow:

    But cloudy Lucrece shames herself to see,

    And therefore still in night would cloister’d be.

 

Narrator

Lucrece                          Line 1083

 

It’s a little bit cryptic, but basically it’s saying that though night is ending, Lucrece wants no part of the day, and would rather stay in the dark.

Yup, that’s what it’s saying.

Sunrise, or sunset? 

Actually, it's sunset, so not the right pic for these lines. But I couldn't find a pic of sunrise. Not to mention the fact that it's the same pic I used three days ago.

Sorry.