Today’s Totally Random
Lines
Out of their saddles into the dirt; and
thereby hangs a tale.
Grumio
The Taming of the Shrew Act IV, Scene i, Line 55
Okay, I did a little reading and listening, so here’s what’s going on.
Petruchiuo has
married Kate and is traveling back to his home with her. Grumio was with them, but he
has gone ahead to make sure the servants are preparing the house for the
newlyweds’ arrival. So now Grumio is at the house talking with Curtis (apparently
one of the servants of the house). Curtis wants to hear some news, so Grumio
tells him,
First, know my horse is tired; my master and mistress fallen out.
How?
Out of their saddles into the dirt; and thereby hangs a tale.
Now, I suppose you want to hear the tale? Okay, here it is.
…we came down a foul hill, my master riding behind my mistress…
…her horse
fell, and she under her horse; thou shouldst have heard, in how miry a place;
how she was bemoiled; how he left her with the horse upon her; how he beat me
because her horse stumbled; how she waded through the dirt to pluck him off me;
how he swore; how she pray’d-that never pray’d before; how I cried; how the
horses ran away; how her bridle was burst; how I lost my crupper;
By the way, bemoiled is soiled or encumbered with mud and dirt (MW online, and it is considered obsolete, so I'll give you that one), and crupper is a leather loop passing under a horse's tail and buckled to the saddle (also MW online, and NOT obsolete).
And that’s the crux of the tale. Not a bad tale, eh?
That’s an interesting tale, Mr. Blagys, and I think it’s adds to
the humor of this comedy which can at times get easily lost with the tendency
to view it, mistakenly in my opinion, as a tale of misogyny.
I couldn’t agree more, Mojo. I think you've hit the nail on the head.
Yes, I'm a good nail hitter, opposable thumbs notwithstanding.
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