Tuesday, July 16, 2024

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

            My sons, I must,

From mine own part, unfold a dangerous speech,

Though, haply, well for you.

 

Belarius

Cymbeline                      Act V, Scene v, Line 313



Haply, though it sounds a bit like a shortened version of happily, means perhaps. Haply: Perhaps. No further help should be needed to understand what’s being said in today’s line.
Context? Well, that’s another story; haply a long one. We’ll try to keep it as short as possible.


As you can see, we’re in Act V, Scene v, so this is the end of the play; the last scene. Will used a lot of different number of scenes in the acts of his play, but all his plays have exactly five acts. In this particular play act five has five scenes, making this the last scene of the play. There are only about 170 lines left in the play after Today’s Totally Random Line.

So, what’s going on? Do you really want to know? Well I guess I’m going to tell you whether you do or not.

I forget why, but for some reason Belarius ended up in a cave, raising the king’s two sons as his own. Now, after many years, he’s about to reveal to the king who he and the boys (now young men) really are, and he’s not sure how that’s going to go over.

That was pretty short, eh? Haply it leaves you with a few questions, but that’s okay too.

Haply, Schmaply.

I could be chasing those birds out there, but no, I get stuck reading Shakespeare with this nut.


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