Monday, October 27, 2025

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

                                               

Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood,

The letter was not nice, but full of charge

Of dear import; and the neglecting it

May do much danger. Friar John, go hence;

Get me an iron crow, and bring it straight

Unto my cell.

 

Friar Laurence

Romeo and Juliet               Act V, Scene ii, Line 18

 

Friar Knucklehead’s plan is starting to unravel here.

First off, an iron crow is a crowbar. I’m just bringing that up because I’m liable to say iron crow the next time I mean crowbar, which, to be fair, isn’t all that often. But nevertheless…

Now, back to the unravelling plan. Recall that the plan was for Romeo to return from Mantua (where he’s been banished to) in order to rescue Juliet from the crypt. Also recall that Juliet would be trapped in the crypt because she took the sleeping potion to make everyone think she had died. And finally, recall that Friar Laurence, aka Friar Knucklehead, sent a message to Romeo about the plan via Friar John. Well now in this scene we have Friar John returning having NOT delivered the message to Romeo. Why not?

Going to find a barefoot brother out,

On of our order, to associate me,

Here in this city visiting the sick,

And finding him, the searchers of the town,

Suspecting that we both were in a house

Where the infectious pestilence did reign,

Seal’d up the doors, and would not let us forth;

So that my speed to Mantua there was stay’d.

 

In other words, Friar John managed to get himself trapped in a quarantined house, and he never even got out of Verona. So Romeo got NO message. Oh boy. Now Father Knucklehead’s gotta go rescue Juliet from the crypt himself.

Quick, get the iron crow!

 


 I think we’ll just sit this one out.

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