Today’s Totally Random
Lines
God grant that some, less noble and less
loyal,
Nearer in bloody thoughts, but not in
blood,
Deserve not worse than wretched Clarence
did,
And yet go current from suspicion!
Duke of Gloster
King Richard the Third Act II, Scene i, Line 94
For starters, Duke of Gloster is Richard III; he just
hasn’t become king yet. And we all know that, in this play, Richard is the bad guy.
So, what the heck is he saying? Well, there are no difficult or
outdated words in the four lines. Perhaps a bit of context will help.
Richard is the brother of King Edward. Clarence, another brother, has been arrested under suspicion of treason and sent to the Tower of London to await execution.
Edward reconsidered and reversed the order, but before Clarence could be released,
Richard saw to it that he was murdered in the tower. Now everyone is just finding
out that Clarence is dead, and they are sort of looking at Richard.
King
Is Clarence dead? The order was reversed.
Richard/Duke of Gloster
But he, poor soul, by your order first died,
And that a winged Mercury did bear;
Some tardy cripple bore the countermand,
That came too lag to see him buried.
God grant that some, less noble and less loyal,
Nearer in bloody thoughts, but not in blood,
Deserve not worse than wretched Clarence did,
And yet go current from suspicion!
If I’m not mistaken, in the first four lines Richard is saying that he, a tardy cripple, was too late bearing the countermand and that Clarence was already dead when he got there (not true). So then, what is he saying in the next four lines.
Okay, I think I got it. Try this:
God knows that there are some who are not as good a man as Clarence, and who deserve death, and yet we don’t even realize who these baddies are.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s it, though I’m not sure who Richard is referring to. Maybe he’s just floating this idea out there to make it easier to throw suspicion on the next guy that he wants to get killed.
Okay, Shakespeare understood for today. Go in peace.
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