Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

As certain as I know the sun is fire:

Where have you lurkt, that you made doubt of it?

 

Second Messenger

Coriolanus              Act V, Scene iv, Line 47

 

One guy is telling another guy that the Volscians and Coriolanus have been talked out of sacking the city, and the other guy asks if he’s certain about that. And this is his answer. I added the second line because where have you lurkt made me think of have you been living under a rock?

But that’s not important. What’s more germane is that I’ve got a line that I have a chance of remembering this time and it’s one that I can use a lot. A good memory aid will be to remember that it’s perfect Iambic pentameter. That will help. Am I sure?
As certain as I know the sun is fire!

Ears up! 

What's that sound?

It's your mother getting up.

Are you sure?

As certain as I know the sun is fire.

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

O sir, you are too sure an augurer;

That you did fear is done.

 

Dolabella

Antony and Cleopatra            Act V, Scene ii, Line 335

 

To augur is to predict future events. It’s a modern word, though not used all that much.
Dolabella sounds like a woman’s name, but it is one of Caesar’s guys and he’s speaking to Caesar. He’s referring to the fact that Antony and Cleopatra are both dead, something that apparently Caesar predicted.
There are only thirty-two lines left in the play, and it ends with some obligatory lofty words about our two dead heroes.

She shall be buried by her Antony:
No grave upon the earth shall clip in it
A pair so famous. High events as these
Strike those that make them; and their story is
No less in pity than his glory which
Brought them to be lamented. Our army shall
In solemn show attend this funeral;
And then to Rome. — Come, Dolabella, see
High order in this great solemnity.

Cut! And that’s a wrap.

Mojo likes to keep a degree of high order and great solemnity in everything he does. 

Well....almost everything.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

What, what, what? Ill luck, ill luck?

Shylock

The Merchant of Venice                Act III, Scene i, Line 96

This is Shylock hearing for the first time that one of Antonio’s ships may have failed, and consequently that Antonio may not be able to pay the bond. It would appear that Shylock is pretty excited about this prospect. At least, that's a common way to interpret this scene. And this can lead us right into what could be a long and potentially contentious discussion about Shylock, his Jewishness, and what that means to this play. In fact, it is this topic which has made this play a very touchy subject and has led to it being discontinued as subject matter in many schools. 

So, is The Merchant of Venice an Anti-Semitic work? It depends on who you ask. If you ask me, the answer is no. Will's works are among the most complex bodies of literary works in existence, and much of what you see in his works goes far beyond what it appears to be. So, whilst there is no one answer to the question of whether or not it is Anti-Semitic, like much of Will's work, this play is many different things to many different people. 

But as I noted, it depends on who you ask.

He's such a contemplative little fellow. I read today's post to him, and he just looked up at me for a moment saying nothing. Then he hopped down and walked slowly over to the door and sat down there to think. And he's been sitting there contemplating the complexities of Will's works ever since.

It's either that or he's just looking for some birds to bark at. 

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

You are a saucy fellow.

Katherine

King Henry the Eighth                  Act IV, Scene ii, Line 101

What a great line. What can I say about that?

He is indeed a saucy fellow, 

but I'm afraid Sam does not really appreciate his sauciness. 

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

             How, my lord!

What cheer? How is’t with you, best brother?

Polixenes

The Winter’s Tale                  Act I, Scene ii, Line 148

Polixenes is addressing Lenontes. The latter is already convinced that the former is having an affair with his wife, and that’s what he’s thinking about when Polixenes asks him how he is.

What a wiener.

Big Yawn.

Yes, I know Mojo, we've covered this bit before. Sorry to bore you. 

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

  

                                            Then began

A stop i’the chaser, a retire; anon

A rout, confusion thick: forthwith they fly

Chickens, the way which they stopt eagles; slaves

The strides the victors made:

 

Posthumus Leonatus

Cymbeline              Act V, Scene iii, Line 88

 

These are just a few lines in the middle of a long bit where Posthumus has met up with a Roman Officer, and he is describing the battle. Remember, we’re in old Britain (circa 500 A.D.?) when the Romans had invaded. So this battle is between the Brits and the Romans. Will is using the tactic of having one of his characters describe the action that took place rather than to try to stage that action. Nowadays, in the movies, we manage to make the action the centerpiece of the show; forget about dialogue. Who needs dialogue.

Anyway, this is a long bit, a lot longer than the four lines I gave you, and it’s not really easy to understand- as you can see from these four lines, But I read through it a few times and, lo and behold, it made a little more sense each time. Posthumus is describing how the Romans were chasing the Brits but then the retreat stopped and the Brits began routing the Romans.   

Trust me; that’s what he’s talking about. 

Some how I don't feel like Mojo trusts me on this one. 

I feel like he thinks I'm trying to sell him a bag of goods. 

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

Why, then,

She’s fled unto that peasant Valentine;

And Eglamour is in her company.

 

Duke of Milan

Two Gentlemen of Verona     Act V, Scene ii, Line 36

Eglamour? There’s a name for you. Eglamour. I don’t think I’ve ever run into that name.

So I don't have anything to say about today’s line, other than remarking on the name Eglamour. That’s because I’ve no idea about what’s going on with today’s line, so I didn’t really want to get into discussing it.

Eglamour.

Happy Mother's Day all. 

My associate has abandoned Will and me today in favor of his Mother.

He knows who butters his bread.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

                O you are well  tuned now!

But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music,

As honest as I am.

Iago

Othello                    Act II, Scene i, Line 200

 

Iago is saying this line in an aside after watching Othello and Desdemona express their love and affection for each other. He’s letting the audience know that he’ll be making sure that this love and affection does not last.

I like that he ends his thought with as honest as I am. I’m familiar with the fact that honest Iago is a phrase oft repeated in this play, but I didn’t realize that even dishonest Iago says it. That’s kind of funny. 

I caught Mojo in a sunbeam this morning.

Now here's a guy who is always honest and straightforward with me. Yes sir, with Mojo it's what you see is what you get.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Anointed, I implore so much expense of thy royal sweet breath as will utter a brace of words.

Armado

Love’s Labour’s Lost             Act V, Scene ii, Line 519

Okay, no context today, mostly form. Well, a little context.

Today’s lines are preceded in the text by the stage direction Enter Armado, and immediately followed by the further stage direction Converses apart with the King, and delivers him a paper. So that whatever is going on, Armado enters and interrupts with Today’s Totally Random Line.

Having said that, it’s a pretty solid interruption. Honestly, he starts off with addressing the King as anointed. That’s pretty good. It seems appropriate when addressing a king, but it’s not one I’ve run into before, as far as I can remember. And then he implores the king. He doesn’t just ask, he implores. And what does he implore: the expense of thy royal sweet breath. Well as far as interruptions go, this is one sweet interruption.

We should all get this sort of treatment when being interrupted. I know that I would be much more willing to listen to anyone interrupting me if they started with anointed, I implore so much expense of thy sweet breath as will utter a brace of words. See, I took out the word royal (since I’m not a king) and it still sounds really great. This is one of those lines that I wish I could remember, but I know I never will.

Anointed, I implore so much expense of thy sweet breath as will utter a brace of words.

Zzzzzzz.

When this guy gets comfortable it doesn't matter how sweetly you put it. He's simply not going to have his nap interrupted. Period.

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Edward the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk,

Sir Richard Kelly, Davy Gam, esquire;

None else of name, and of all other men

But five and twenty.

 

Henry

King Henry the Fifth                    Act IV, Scene viii,  Line 104

 

The battle having been fought and won, Henry is here listing the English killed. Wikipedia tells me that the English dead were around six hundred, not just five and twenty. And whilst that’s a far cry from France’s six thousand, and still a great victory, it shows that Will liked to exercise his dramatic license in the retelling of the Battle of Agincourt. And why not; like they say, history is written by the victors. Actually, that was a Brit too: Winston Churchill (according to Google).  

Wait, Winston who?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

You are welcome: but my uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived.

 

Hamlet

Hamlet                   Act II, Scene ii,  Line 381

 

Why are they deceived? Because, says Hamlet, I am but mad north northwest: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.

He’s speaking in riddles more or less. Hamlet knows that the king has sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out what’s going on with him, and why he’s been acting so strange, so he’s just toying with the pair.

A hawk from a handsaw. I wonder why Will picked that pair of items.  Random? Oh, I doubt it. See, here’s another discussion opportunity. Why a hawk and a handsaw. Why not a rake from a rocking chair?

Well?

Or how about a chihuahua and a jigsaw puzzle, eh? 

What, you think a chihuahua can't do a jigsaw puzzle? 

Now you're just being chihuahuaist.

 Today’s Totally Random Line 

 

First, the fair reverence of your highness curbs me

From giving reins and spur to my free speech;

Which else would post until it had return’d

These terms of treason doubled down his throat.

 

Thomas Mowbray

King Richard the Second        Act I, Scene i,  Line 54

 

This is a pretty familiar scene to me. Surprised? Anyway, it’s the first scene of King Richard the Second, the one where Bolingbroke and Mowbray are brought before the king to settle their dispute with each other.  Richard asks them to state their cases, Bolingbroke calls Mowbray a traitor and miscreant, and Mowbray starts his long winded response. Apparently this response is going to be a bit diluted because Mowbray is afraid to speak frankly in the king’s presence. Though, to be fair, talking about shoving the words back down Bolingbroke’s throat is not in the most polite terms possible.

One thing I find a little odd about this scene is the fact that Bolingbroke calls Mowbray a traitor, and yet it is Bolingbroke who’s going to come back and overthrow King Richard.
So…. Who’s the traitor?

And now for something completely different.

In the most stupendous scenes you will see delicate and fragile features, as slight wreathes of vapor, dew-lines, feathery sprays, which suggest a high refinement, a noble blood and breeding, as it were. It is not hard to account for elves and fairies; they represent this light grace, this ethereal gentility. Bring a spray from the wood, or a crystal from the brook, and place it on your mantel, and your household ornaments will seem plebeian beside its nobler fashion and bearing. It will wave superior there, as if used to a more refined and polished circle. It has a salute and a response to all your enthusiasm and heroism.

There you go. I’ve tossed a little Thoreau at you this morning. Why? It’s because I was reading a bit of him just now, and I ran into the passage assigning royal status to wreaths of vapor, dew-lines, and feathery sprays. I couldn’t help but think of Mowbray’s comments about curbing his speech because of the fair reverence of your highness.
What terribly different examples of how to look at, or treat, the symbols of royalty.

That aside, I thought Thoreau’s passage was really quite nice, and I wanted to share it with you. I just started reading him recently, having never spent any time with him before. I find his writing (at least so far) very soothing. So far it’s all about nature, pretty much appreciating nature above all else.
Seems like a pretty good attitude. 

Sometimes the little guy actually does listen to me. When I finished reading the Thoreau passage about nature, he decided he needed to look outside to check out nature for himself. 

What did he see? Well, you'll have to ask him yourself. He didn't tell me. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Property was thus appalled,

That the self was not the same;

Single natures double name,

Neither two nor one was called.

 

Narrator

The Phoenix and the Turtle   Lines 37 - 40

 

Well, let’s see. I believe this is the last time we’re going to visit this poem. It’s my fourth visit, and the poem is only sixty-seven lines long, and it’s not just that. This poem is confusing and convoluted, and nobody knows what Will's talking about. Even G.B. Harrison thinks so. In reference to this poem he says it is difficult and enigmatical, and no one has yet offered any satisfactory interpretation of its inner meaning.

So there!

Why are we messing with it? Not sure, but we won’t be in the future.

 Finito.

You heard him: Finito!

 

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

                                            I am much sorry , sir,

You put me to forget a lady’s manners,

By being so verbal: and learn now, for all,

That I, which know my heart, do here pronounce,

By the very truth of it, I care not for you.

 

Imogen

Cymbeline              Act II, Scene iii, Line 108

 

This started out by Imogen answering Cloten’s question of whether she had called him a fool. She answers yes, and then begins apologizing for it, then lets him know what she really thinks of him, finally taking it further, saying,

And I am so near the lack of charity,-
To accuse myself,- I hate you; which I had rather
You felt than make’t my boast.

So she’s trying to qualify it the whole way, rather than just say it outright, but all she really wants to say is that she thinks he’s a fool and she hates him. No unnecessary words! Of course, that’s Strunk and White’s advice and this is Shakespeare. And never the twain shall meet. Really though, I think she could have been a little more straight forward. And Colten really is a creep, so he deserves it.
Oh well.

Funny, isn’t it, how sometimes we try so hard to hedge what we’re really feeling. And yet there are some people who don’t do that. Some people who have no filter. And that’s really not so good either.

I’m telling you, so many of these random lines can take you down nearly endless, and usually interesting, discussion paths.
Again, oh well.

Day four of retirement. Today actually is Saturday. No, really, it’s Saturday. Tomorrow is Sunday. Which brings up the question: if every day of retirement is Saturday, then there’s no Sunday? I’ll ask Buck.

Either way, I think I can get used to this.

This mornings writing spot and view.

Yes, I can get used to this, and no, I don't know where Mojo is.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Nay; good my fellows, do not please sharp fate

To grace it with your sorrows.

 

Antony

Antony and Cleopatra    Act IV, Scene xiv,  Line 135

Well, day three of retirement. Another day, and another line in a long list of Shakesperar’s characters’ last words. Perhaps we should look at the whole passage since it’s Antony’s last. And let’s face it, we have time now. Don’t worry, it’s only six lines.

Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp fate
To grace it with your sorrows: bid that welcome
Which comes to punish us, and we punish it
Seeming to bear it lightly. Take me up:
I have led you oft: carry me now good friends,
And have my thanks for all.

I think it’s a pretty easy passage. At first I got lost on the first line because somehow I missed the fact that ‘please’ is the verb there. Don’t make fate happy with your sorrow: Welcome cruel fate, and you will punish fate by taking its punishments lightly. Or something like that. 

Now the more I look at it, the more I like that first line.

Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp fate

To grace it with your sorrows.

Wow, that is classic. The whole thing. This is exactly why they refer to Will as the Poet Playwright. Those two lines are poetry. Nay, good my fellows. I love that – good my fellows.

And do not please sharp fate. Isn’t that about the best one word description of fate – sharp! The twists and turns of fate can be as sharp as anything there is.

What a great line. I think I found the opening line of my own elegy. I love it.

Okay, but just a sec. I made a mistake. Antony doesn’t die here; it just sounds like he does. He fell on his sword several lines back, but apparently he temporarily survives his suicide attempt. They carry him, dying, to Cleopatra and he dies in the next scene. For the record, his last word, in the next scene, are, 

Now my spirit is going; I can no more.

I felt I had to give you that since I opened telling you that we had Antony’s last lines. And now we did.

But one more time..

Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp fate

To grace it with your sorrows.

Fabulous!

"Mojo! Sleepyhead! Wake up! You're gonna miss a really good line."

"What?"

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.

 Prince of Morocco

The Merchant of Venice        Act II, Scene vi,  Line 7

 

This is the inscription on the second box, the silver one, and the Prince is reading it. He reads the inscriptions on all the boxes and, of course, chooses the wrong one. Portia’s picture is in the lead box which has the inscription ‘Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.’ The gold box, the one the prince chooseth says ‘Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.’

These inscriptions are supposed to test a man’s logic and, more importantly betray his true character. At least that’s the theory.
The three inscriptions can be pretty thought provoking, if you’re so inclined. Of course, I can at times be so inclined; probably more so today than ever.

Why so today, you ask? Today is the first day of my retirement. The proverbial first day of the rest of my life. It’s got me being very philosophical. And as you know, I am a philosopher.

But getting back to the inscriptions, supposedly dear old dad set them up so that the person who chose the lead box would be deserving of his daughter, and the estate that went with her. Certainly, of the three, the lead box, and its inscription make it the hardest, or at least, most unlikely choice of most men. But there’s got to be more to dad’s theory than just that.

Well, this is something that you can think on; or even better, find someone to discuss it with. What, you’re thinking that I should discuss it with Mojo? I’m up early this morning (first day of retirement; remember?) and that little guy is still in bed. Perchance I’ll bring up the subject of Portia’s boxes with him later on.

The little guy is under there somewhere. It's not his first day of retirement, so he feels no need to get up early.