Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Yes, by Saint Patrick, there is, Horatio,

And much offence too.

 

Hamlet

Hamlet                 Act I  Scene v, Line 135

Yes, it’s Hamlet, and therefore we musts have something to say. And we do, but first, a bit of context.

We’re still in scene one of the play, albeit at the end of it. Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are on the parapets of the castle at night. Hamlet, separate from the other two, has just met with the Ghost of his father who has told Hamlet that Claudius, the Ghost’s brother, murdered him. Now Marcellus and Horatio have rejoined Hamlet and are asking him what the Ghost said. Hamlet tells them that he’s not going to tell them what the Ghost said, and apologizes for offending his friends. Horatio say’s, okay, no offence taken, and that’s what Hamlet is responding to in Today’s Line. Here’s Hamlet’s full response, as I’m sure you’ve been chomping at the bit to read.

Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,-
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you:
For your desire to know what is between us,
O’ermaster’t as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.

And what is that?

Never make known what you have seen to-night.

Horatio and Marcellus don’t know what the Ghost said, but they did see it from a distance, and Hamlet wants them to keep that a secret. So Hamlet makes them swear to that whilst the Ghost is yelling Swear! from beneath the stage. When Horatio remarks how wondrously strange this all is, Hamlet gives us one of his famous lines.

And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Then are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Think about what Hamlet says there: philosophy covers a lot of ground, and yet, there is so much more.

There you go; that’s your thought for the day.

This one's for you, Andy. More than is dreamt of in your philosophy; Hegel and all! 

Imagine that! 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Then let them anatomize (dissect, reveal, lay open) Regan; see what breeds about her heart.

 

Lear

King Lear                    Act III Scene vi, Line 75

This is the scene in the farmhouse where Lear is putting his two daughters, Goneril and Regan, on trial. He’s quite mad (crazy, not angry; though he’s fairly angry too) at this point, and neither of his daughters are actually there. Nonetheless he seems to be addressing them, and the Fool and Edgar (who is pretending to be mad, but clearly is not) are present and going along with the whole thing. Kent and Gloster come in and out of the scene as they do their best to protect the king.

The scene ends with Kent, Gloster and the Fool bearing the king off as they head for Dover and safety from the daughters, whilst Edgar is left alone to soliloquize. Here’s his scene-ending summation of the situation, spoken from a very sane perspective.

 

When we our betters see bearing our woes,

We scarcely think our miseries our foes.

Who alone suffers suffers most i’the mind,

Leaving free things and happy shows behind:

But then the mind much sufferance doth o’erskip,

When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship.

How light and portable my pain seems now,

When that which makes me bend makes the king bow,

He childed as I father’d!- Tom, away!

Mark the high noises; and thy self bewray (betray) ,

When false opinion, whose wrong thoughts defile thee,

In thy just proof, repeals and reconciles thee.

What will hap more to-night, safe scape the king!

Lurk, lurk.                                                 [Exit]

 

There now; what do you think of that? That's some high quality stuff there, and I do believe there’s a little (maybe a lot) of Buddha-like thought present in Edgar's words. Take another look if you don't believe me.

Leave it to Will to be expressing the wisdom of Buddha in sixteenth century England. I told you he was a genius. The guy was probably into meditation and nonduality as well!

Speaking of that, I've promised the little guy I wouldn't interrupt him when he's meditating; so I guess we won't be getting his input today.  

Namaste!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Take Hereford’s rights away, and take from Time,

His charters and his customary rights;

 

Duke of York

King Richard the Second  Act II Scene i, Line 96

The Duke of York is King Richard’s uncle, and the last living son of Edward III. King Richard is the grandson of Edward III. John of Gaunt (another of Richard’s uncle, and the brother of the Duke of York) has just died and King Richard has confiscated all of John’s estate. John of Gaunt has a son, Harry Hereford, who is the rightful recipient of John’s estate.

In Today’s Lines, the Duke of York is telling King Richard that he is making a mistake by confiscating the estate that rightfully belongs to Harry Hereford.

Got that? Okay, now try this on for size.

 

Methinks I am a prophet new-inspired,

And thus, expiring, do foretell of him:

His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last,

For violent fires soon burn out themselves;

Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short;

He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes;

With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder:

Light vanity, insatiate cormorant,

This home of greatest men, this blessed land,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-Paradise;

This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war;

This happy breed of men, this little world;

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands;

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this USA,

This nurse, this teeming womb of greatest men,

Feared by their breed, and famous by their birth,

Renowned for their deeds as far from home,-

For Christian service and true chivalry,-

As in the sepulchre, in stubborn Jewry,

Of the world’s ransom, blessed Mary’s Son;-

This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,

Dear for her reputation through the world,

Is now leased out-I die pronouncing it-

Like to a tenement or pelting farm:

America, bound in with the triumphant sea,

Whose rocky shores beat back the envious siege

Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,

With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds:

That America, that was wont to conquer others,

Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.

Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,

How happy then were my ensuing death!

 

Okay, this is a speech that John of Gaunt makes earlier in this scene. Of course, he’s talking about his nephew, King Richard and England. It’s a very famous speech in which I made five changes, highlighted in yellow: twice I changed kings to greatest men, and three times I changed England to America or USA.

Now, with the changes I made, is there any question as to who the him in the second line refers? I doubt it. Even if you wear a red baseball cap and resent the implied sentiment, you still know who I’m talking about.

So, tell me that Will’s words are not relevant in the twenty-first century! My goodness, they resonate perfectly! 

Or should I say, Marry, methinks they resonate perfectly!

Mr. Blagys, Mr. Blagys, she's not gonna like this post!

It's okay, Mojo. It's okay; she'll understand.

Ooohhh, I'm not so sure about that.

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Yea, marry, that’s the eftest way. – Let the watch come forth. – Masters, I charge you, in the prince’s name, accuse these men.

 

Dogberry

Much Ado About Nothing   Act IV, Scene ii, Line 33

Dogberry is a comic character in this play. He’s the sheriff, but he’s also a buffoon. Remember, the word marry here has nothing to do with marriage; it simply an exclamation like you bet. Sheriff Dogberry has just been told, previous to this line, that he should be calling the accusers (the men of the watch) forward to get their story, not the accused. Eftest is presumed to be a malapropism. So your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it means best or bestest? Whatever it is, it probably had some sort of double entendre in Will’s day. Perhaps Dogberry’s line if written today would sound more like,

Yah, you bet, that’s the bestest way.

Anyway, that’s my bestest shot at it.

Oof, that's a blank stare if ever I saw one. I guess Mojo doesn't think too much of my bestest shot. 

Oh well. 

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Why, he will look upon his boot, and sing; mend the ruff, and sing; ask questions, and sing; pick his teeth, and sing. I know a man that had this trick of melancholy sold a goodly manor for a song.

 

Clown

All’s Well That Ends Well         Act III, Scene ii, Line 7

It sounds like the guy that Clown is talking about just likes to sing. Hey, wait a minute, that sounds like me!

Holy Crow, you're right, Mr. Blagys; it is you!

Alrightee then, if you’re only in it for the pic and the caption, you can stop here. The rest of this is just gonna be analysis and thoughts – no more pics. And it’s gonna be a little long, so sayonara.

 

Now that we’ve cleared that up, there’s a bit to unpack here.

First off, a bit of context. This is the very beginning of the scene. It’s the clown talking with the countess. The countess has succeeded in setting up Helena (a young woman that she likes very much) with Bertram (her son). The two are now married but the Countess senses that all is not well. The clown asserts that the problem is that Bertram is melancholy, and the Countess asks why he thinks that is so. Today’s lines is the clown’s reply to this question: He knows that Bertram is melancholy because he’s always singing.

Apparently, the clown once knew a man who was so melancholy that he sang all the time and ended up selling his home for a song. I’m not quite sure what that means, but I’ll going to pass on that last part. You can apply to that whatever meaning you wish to it.

I just like the first part: Bertram is melancholy because he’s always singing. A ruff, by the way, is the flap of a top boot, whatever that is. So Bertram is singing when he looks at his boot, when he fixes his boot, when he asks questions, and when he picks his teeth. In other words, he’s always singing.

Regardless of the singing, Clown is right about the melancholy. Bertram is melancholy and it’s because he’s been forced into a marriage with Helena. So Clown is assuming that Bertram’s way of dealing with this unwanted marriage is to constantly sing.

Well, that’s a little odd, and I’m not exactly sure what to make of it, but Mojo’s right - I do sing a lot. Still, I’m pretty sure it’s not because I’m melancholy. In fact, I really feel as though I’ve never been happier. And yet, Will is so often right about the way he depicts the human psyche. Wow, he’s got me thinking, and a little bit worried. But I’m not breaking out in song right now, so that’s good? Or…wait a minute…is it?

Now, I’m just confused. 

You should have quit while you were ahead, Mr. Blagys.

Uggghhh!

Sorry about that; I didn't realize the little guy had more to say. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

-say that she were gone,

Given to the fire, a moiety of my rest

Might come to me again.

Leontes

The Winter’s Tale      Act II, Scene iii, Line 9

 

Leontes is wondering aloud if his sleeplessness might be cured by burning his wife at the stake. He is convinced (wrongly) that she has been unfaithful to him, and that is weighing heavily on his mind; that and the fact that his son has been very ill.

This is a pretty weird play. It’s not a tragedy, even though a few people do end up dying. It’s not got much, if any, funny stuff in it, so it’s not a comedy. It’s certainly not a history play. Maybe you could call it a romance, but that would be a stretch. So, what is it? I think we have to call it a problem play.

 

 

 Oh, it’s a problem alright.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

And that shall be the day, whene’er it lights,

That this same child of honour and renown,

This gallant Hotspur, this all-praised knight,

And your unthought-of Harry, chance to meet.

 

Prince Henry     

King Henry the Fourth Part I  Act III, Scene ii, Line 140

This whole scene is a father-son talk between King Henry the Fourth and Prince Henry (who will eventually become King Henry the Fifth). King Henry spends the first hundred or so lines telling his son what a disappointment the lad is and how he wished that Hotspur were his son instead of Henry. Hotspur is a rebel, but also a great warrior and he’s the same age as the prince. The prince tells his dad not to worry, and that he will redeem himself by taking down the rebel Hotspur. Prince Henry starts his retort saying that the king will be proud of his son when he sees him in battle. And that shall be the day, per Today’s Lines, that he meets up with Hotspur. The prince goes on to say that he’ll beat Hotspur and take on the latter’s honours. Well, that’s all the king needs to hear, and he declares,

A hundred thousand rebels die in this:-

Thou shalt have charge and sovereign trust herein.

And now everybody’s happy and ready to march off to war. Isn't life great. 

 

I catch the sarcasm Mr. Blagys, or as you like to call it - cyniscasm, but really, that’s all it takes? The kid's been hanging out with his buddies in bars for the first two acts, and now he tells Pops that he’s gonna kick Hotspur’s butt, and so the old man is all happy? I dunno; sounds a little hokie to me.

 

Hokie? Now it’s you who’s second-guessing the Bard, eh Mr. Sunbeam?

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

No, precious creature;

I had rather crack my sinews, break my back,

Than you should such dishonor undergo,

While I sit lazy by.

 

Ferdinand

The Tempest                 Act III, Scene i, Line 26

 

This is Ferdinand’s reply to Miranda when the latter offers to do some of Ferdinand’s work. The young man is stacking piles of wood per Prospero’s orders, and Miranda thinks he’s working too hard.

So, it’s a pretty nice reply, isn’t it? If my wife offered to help me with some physical labor that I was doing, and I replied No, precious creature; I had rather crack my sinews, break my back, than you should such dishonor undergo, while I sit lazy by, I think she’d be pretty happy with that reply. Of course, I’ll never remember this; it’s way too long.

Anyway, it’s still a nice to have an easy and pleasant line to work with. And by the way, speaking of cracking sinews, have I shown you the bruise I've got from falling out of the hot tub?

 

Oh jeez; here we go!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

  

I thank you. Let’s withdraw;

And meet the rise as it seeks us. We fear not

What can from Italy annoy us; but

We grieve at chances here. – Away!

Cymbeline

Cymbeline           Act IV, Scene iii, Line 34

Let’s see: Cymbeline is the play about the people around an ancient king of Britain named Cymbeline. It’s scene four here, so we’re obviously well into the play. Without getting into too much context, at this point in the play Cymbeline is in a bit of a tizzy. His daughter is missing (she’ll be back), his stepson is missing (dead, he won’t be back), and his wife is sick with a fever (I’m not sure what happens with her). To complicate matters, an invading Roman force has just landed. All in all, Cymbeline’s not having a good day. 

One of his lords has just told Cymbeline to buck up and put his troops in motion against the Romans. The king is responding to the lord with Today’s Lines. By the sound of Cymbeline's reply, it does look like he's going to buck up. 

And that’s about it. I’m afraid I don’t have any commentary on Today’s Lines, political or otherwise. If you find that disappointing, I've put a link below to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Substack post of the day. It's about rising to the occasion, sort of like Cymbeline in Today's Line. Kareem has a pretty good blog, but you have to pay for it unless, like me, you're content to just get the preview. So here you go.

Tucker Who?, History Has No Delete Button, & Show Me the Money

  

 Apparently, this guy doesn’t have much to add either. Nor does he seem interested in Kareem's post. To each, his own. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Rivers and Dorset, you were standers by,-

And so wast thou, Lord Hastings,- when my son

Was stabb’d with bloody daggers: God, I pray Him,

That none of you may live his natural age,

But by some unlookt accident cut off!

 

Margaret

Richard the Third       Act I, Scene iii, Line 215

 

So, yesterday we had Henry VI receiving his new bride, Margaret. Today we have moved on several years and we have that very same Margaret giving us Today’s Line. In the ensuing years Margaret’s husband and son have both been killed by the Yorks who have taken over Henry's throne. Now Margaret is just a former queen and, in fact has been banished.

Apparently she hasn’t left for her banishment yet, because she is here in this scene cursing all the Yorks and York followers for their part in deposing her husband. She saves her best curses for Richard, who is brother to the current York king, Edward IV. It comes after Today's Lines. I won’t give you that whole tirade, but here’s the end of her curses for Richard.

Thou elvish-markt, abortive, rooting hog!

Thou that wast seal’d in thy nativity

Thou slave of nature and the son of hell!

Thou slander of thy mother’s heavy womb!

Thou loathed issue of thy father’s loins!

Thou rag of honor! Thou detested-

And then Richard cuts her off before she can finish. Do you get feeling that she doesn’t like Richard very much? I do.

Shakespeare really paints Richard as the creepy villain, worthy of Margaret’s curses, but Richard was certainly not alone fighting to have the Yorks take power away from the Lancasters and Margaret’s husband.

Anyway, I’ve got a few comments about this.

First, take a look at the first line of Margaret’s curse:

Thou elvish-markt. I’m not sure if she’s calling Richard elvish-markt because he looks like an elf - smallish and somewhat ill formed -, or if it’s because he’s been marked by the elves – meaning that the elves marked him as evil. Either way, my concern is with the word elvish. It’s common knowledge that Will coined many terms and phrases and literally created many words, but did you know that there was a twentieth century writer who took this word, elvish, and changed it, in all of his works, to the now accepted elfin. Yes, JRR Tolkien took elfin, which was considered irregular and substandard, and made it the standard in his works when speaking about anything that applied to the Middle Earth’s elves. Interesting, eh?

The second thing I wanted to mention about Margaret’s rant is how eerily familiar her feelings are to my own feelings (and, to be sure, many people’s feelings) about the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. I bring this up because I was, coincidentally, journaling this morning about the fact that today’s upsetting political climate is due not to policies, as it might have been in the past, but rather to the existence of one person whose very nature is, to say the very least, questionable, and to say the most, reprehensible. It/he is very different from Shakespeare’s Richard, but similarly reprehensible, nonetheless. In the past, politics would bother me in the sense of what actions, or laws, or tax legislation was happening and how they would affect me, but today, now, I worry about everything because of what government in the USA has become, or perhaps what it isn’t anymore. It has become an entity wholly subservient to the whims of a six-year-old: a very precocious, and very dangerous six-year-old. And it’s very troublesome that this six-year-old has the moral compass, or lack thereof, of Shakespeare’s Richard. One can only wonder where and when today’s Richard will find his Bosworth Field; and, most worryingly, how much damage he will do before he finds it. 

I do my best to keep these comments out of my posts, and I meditate to try to keep these thoughts from killing me. There are times, though, that I just can’t be silent about this.

Sorry.  

No need to apologize, Mr. Blagys. I feel your pain. So many of us do. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

  

And was his highness in his infancy

Crowned in Paris in despite of foes?

 

Duke of Gloster

King Henry the Sixth Part II  Act I, Scene i, Line 93

  

Context! Context!

Okay, here you go: the young King Henry sent Suffolk to France to bring home a bride for the king. In doing so Suffolk has agreed to give back to France the duchy of Anjou and the County of Maine (two big chunks of France that King Henry’s father, Henry the Fifth, won in the wars with France). Now Suffolk is presenting the bride to King Henry with the news of this deal with the French. Young King Henry is happy with his bride and the deal, and he leaves the scene with his bride and Suffolk. Once he’s gone, everyone else is ranting about what a rotten deal this is to have given land back to the French. The Duke of Gloster (father to Richard III and uncle to King Henry) is the first to rant, and Today’s Lines are in the middle of that rant.

What’s that? You want the whole rant? Well, it’s quite long…

 

I’d bail right now, if I were you. I'm stuck here, but you're not. There’s no telling if he’s going to follow through with that threat, but I can tell you that it’s a long rant, about thirty lines long.

Go ahead, skedaddle.  

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Navarre had notice of your fair approach;

And he and his competitors in oath

Were all addrest to meet you, gentle lady,

Before I came. Marry thus much I have learnt,-

He rather means to lodge you in the field,

Like one that comes here to besiege his court,

Than seek a dispensation for his oath,

To let you enter his unpeopled house.

Here comes Navarre.

 

Boyet

Love’s Labour’s Lost   Act II, Scene i, Line 88

 

Long story short: Boyet is the attendant of the princess, and she has come to visit Navarre (Navarre is the name of the person and the place: his name is Ferdinand, the king of Navarre, but he's referred to simply as Navarre). Anyway, Navarre has made an oath to spend the next three years studying with his buddies and eschewing all female company. The princess knows this but has nonetheless sent Boyet to ask Navarre to receive her. Today’s Lines are what Boyet is now reporting to the princess.

So, if you read Today's Lines you will see that, based on what Boyet has to say above, Navarre was aware that the princess was coming and is willing to receive her, but he’s not going to let the princess into his castle. She and her ladies will have to stay in tents in the fields outside it.

And that’s the long story short. 

So, what did we get out of that? Anything? Where’s the genius of Shakespeare this morning? Anyone?

Honestly, Mr. Blagys, I think you might have your expectations a little high. Just like the princess who was expecting to be welcomed into the castle. You should be more like me. Lookee here: I was expecting nothing and then I got this treat from Mrs. B. Now I'm just as happy as can be. It's all about expectations, Mr. B. You should know that. 

Isn't that the same treat you had yesterday, Mojo?

No, and that's the thing! I wasn't expecting another one today, and yet...

See, expectations! It's all about expectations. And there, sir, is the genius of Shakespeare.   You're welcome, Mr. B.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

This blot, that they object against your house,
Shall be wiped out in the next parliament,
Call’d for the truce of Winchester and Gloster:
And if thou be not then created York,
I will not live to be accounted Warwick.
Meantime, in signal of my love to thee,
Against proud Somerset and William Pole,
Will I upon the party wear this rose;
And here I prophesy,- this brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction, in the Temple-garden,
A thousand souls to death and deadly night.

 

Earl of Warwick

King Henry the Sixth Part I   Act II, Scene iv, Line 116

 

A thousand souls to death and deadly night.

Yes, that’s right, Warwick is predicting the amount of English that will die in what came to be known as The Wars of the Roses. I think we’ve been to this scene before, but it’s a good one, and it’s been a while.

This is the Temple garden scene where all the leaders of the two factions - those of the house of Lancaster (red rose), and those of the house of York (white rose) - align with one house or another and signify as such by plucking either a white or red rose. What follows is a series of civil wars in a battle for the throne. Whilst these wars are documented history, I cannot help but wonder if there is any historical reality to this scene from whence the name The Wars of the Roses arises. But does it really matter?

The reality in this scene of the portrayal of a few elites making decisions that will lead to wars where thousands of almost exclusively non-elites will suffer and die is spot on; as spot on in 1450 as it is in 2026. If that’s not relevance and reason enough to study Shakespeare today then what is? 

I'll tell you what's spot on: it's this treat that Mrs. B. gave me. That's what's spot on.

 

Yes Mojo, I suppose it is. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

Hold, take this letter; early in the morning

See thou deliver it to my lord and father.

Romeo 

Romeo and Juliet   Act V, Scene iii, Line 23

This is Romeo talking to Balthazar. They are in the cemetery and Romeo is about to open Juliet’s tomb. We're near the beginning of the last scene of the play. Paris has already arrived and is watching Romeo from the shadows. Remember Paris? He’s the guy who also loved Juliet and was supposed to marry her per Juliet’s parent’s plans. So whilst Paris watches, Romeo has arrived with Balthazar, and Romeo gives Balthazar a letter which is used later in the scene to verify Friar Knucklehead’s account of what has taken place previously in the play. Curiously, Romeo also talks about taking a ring from Juliet’s finger.

Here's the rest of Romeo’s lines after Today’s Lines above.

Give me the light: upon thy life, I charge thee,
Whate’er thou hear’st or see'st, stand all aloof,
And do not interrupt me in my course.
Why I descend into this bed of death,
Is partly to behold my lady’s face;
But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger
A precious ring,— a ring that I must use
In dear employment: therefore hence, be gone:—
But if thou, jealous, dost return to pry
In what I further shall intend to do,
By heaven, I will tear thee joint by joint,
And strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs:
The time and my intents are savage-wild;
More fierce and more inexorable far
Than empty tigers or the roaring sea.

Okay, first off, what’s with this ring thing? Do I need to go back and read the whole play. Did he give Juliet his ring? And even if he did, how does he intend to use in dear employment this ring? And further, what’s with all these threats to Balthazar if he comes back to see what Romeo’s doing?  And what makes Romeo’s time and intents more savage-wild than empty tigers or the roaring sea?

It’s all a bit confusing as far as I’m concerned. I guess I don’t know this play perhaps as well as I should. What do you think Mojo?

 

Perhaps if you hadn't been gallivanting all over New Zealand and the Southern Ocean for the past month, leaving me here to fend for myself, you wouldn't be so confused and out of touch with Today's Lines. That's what I think, Mr. Shakespeare-Is-So-Great.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

And then he (Marc Antony) offer’d it (the crown) the third time; he (Julius Caesar) put it the third time by; and still as he refused it, the rabblement shouted, and clapt their chopt hands, and threw up their sweaty nightcaps, and utter’d such a deal of stinking breath because Caesar refused the crown, that it had almost choked Caesar; for he swounded, and fell down at it: and for my own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air.

 

Casca

Julius Caesar         Act I, Scene ii, Line 242

Casca is telling Cassius and Marus Brutus what just happened with Caesar and the crowds. Cassius and Brutus were busy talking and did not witness it.

Apparently, the crowd, at the suggestion of Marc Antony, three times offered to make Caesar king, and three times he declined. Also apparently, Casca has a pretty low opinion of the crowd and the whole spectacle.

Cassius and Brutus had been busy talking about how they were afraid of Caesar becoming the king, and the fact that this would not be a good thing. Casca will be joining these two when the conspiracy to take out Caesar is formed.

Hmmm, someone making rumblings about becoming king in what was up until then a representative republic, and other people discussing the danger of that. It’s too bad that none of Will’s works have any relevance to our modern- day world (in case you missed it, that was sarcasm).

Program note: We will be leaving early tomorrow for four days in Cally before taking off from there for New Zealand for three weeks. We won’t be back in CT for most of January, and consequently, it’s unlikely I’ll be posting again before the end of January. Just so you know.

They're going where?

Until when?!!?! 

Uh-oh.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

  

Come, come, do you think I do not know you by your excellent wit? Can virtue hide itself? Go to, mum, you are he: graces will appear, and there’s an end.

 

Ursula

Much Ado About Nothing   Act II, Scene vi, Line 117

 

This scene is a masked ball. Ursula, one of Hero’s waiting-women, is dancing with Antonio, Hero’s uncle. Ursula knows that the masked man she is dancing with is Antonio, but Antonio is trying to convince Ursula that it’s not him. To this protestation, Ursula gives us Today’s Line.

A line or two further up, she had told Antonio that she knew it was him by his hands,

Here’s his dry hand up and down: you are he, you are he.

Hands always give away age, don’t they?

He’s right; they do.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Ajax hath ta’en Aeneas: shall it be?

No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven,

He shall not carry him; I’ll be ta’en too,

Or bring him off:--fate, hear me what I say!

I reck (care) not though I end my life to-day.

 

Troilus 

Troilus and Cressida    Act V, Scene vi, Line 24

 

Note that this is scene six. You might have noticed that when Will has battles in his plays, he tends to have a lot of scenes within those acts, as he switches back and forth between spots on the battlefield. Such is the case here. 

This is the final act of the play, taking place on the battlefield below the walls of Troy, and it has ten scenes. Every one of Will’s plays (as far as I know) is made up of five acts. Usually each act is made up of one to five scenes; with exceptions as I just noted.

I didn’t have anything exciting to say about Today’s Lines, so I thought I'd toss out a little tidbit about Will’s play constructions.

That's the best you could do, huh?

Yes, your highness, that's the best I could do. I'll try harder next time.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I would I were thy bird.

 

Romeo

Romeo and Juliet    Act II, Scene i, Line 226

 

This is Romeo’s response to Juliet. I think it best if we look at the six lines of hers that he is responding to.

‘Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone,--

And yet no further than a wanton’s bird,

Who lets it hop a little from her hand,

Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,

And with a silk thread plucks it back again,

So loving-jealous of his liberty.

Wanton, used as a noun, can be one given to self-indulgent flirtation or trifling, a lewd or lascivious person, a pampered person or animal, or a frolicsome child or animal (all per MW online). You decide what Will considers Juliet to be.

Gyves are fetters or shackles (again, per MW online).

So Romeo is saying that he wants to be the bird held by Juliet on a silk thread leash. There’s a lot to unpack there, between her six lines and his one.

But you know, like much of Will’s work, these seven lines need no unpacking. That is to say, they’re not going to get any better by me analyzing them for you. They are best left alone by me, and read by you, and experienced by you in whatever way it is that you will experience them.

You now know the meaning of the two words that might have given you trouble, so please read it again: first Juliet’s six lines, and then Romeo’s one line response.

And have your own experience with them.

‘Tis almost morning; I would have thee gone,--

And yet no further than a wanton’s bird,

Who lets it hop a little from her hand,

Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,

And with a silk thread plucks it back again,

So loving-jealous of his liberty.

I would I were thy bird.

Beautiful.

 

Agreed: Beautiful.