Well thought on: take my sword,

Give it the captain.

-Edmund

King Lear                                Act V, scene iii, line 253

Okay, this is the last scene of the play. You want context? I’ll give you context.

Everything is coming together here and Edmund (the bad brother) has just turned good and he’s told Edgar (the good brother) to go run quick and save Lear and Cordelia. It seems that Edmund sent them away with a captain and he gave orders to the captain to kill Cordelia. So now he’s telling Edgar about this and telling him to run and go stop the captain. Edgar says that he needs some token to prove to the captain that Edmund has given the order to stop the killing, and Edmund replies with today’s line. He gives Edgar his sword so that Edgar can prove to the captain that the order came from Edmund.

There, that’s your context. Of course, we know (spoiler alert) that Edgar will not arrive in time, and that Cordelia is already dead. Thought: is it really necessary to note spoiler alerts for something that was written four hundred years ago?

So then, what of it? What of today’s Totally Random line? How about just the Well thought on part, or in other words, good idea. How about if we stick with that one. Let’s see if we can’t supplant good idea with well thought on. I think that might be interesting to try. You’ll just have to remember the next time you’re thinking of replying with good idea.

‘What do think about going to the movies tonight?’

‘Well thought on!’

‘Huh?’

‘Well thought on. You know, good idea.’

‘Oh, yeah, right. So do you want to go or not?’

Yeah, this could be harder than I thought.

 

Okay, do you know what this is? It's some ancient Roman ruins in Merida Spain. And do you know what the white columns and modern structure is? It's the foundation of the apartment building that's directly above me. Yes, they found the ruins, but they wanted to build the apartment building anyway. So they did just that: they preserved the ruins and they built the apartments on top of them. Well thought on, eh?

A blessed labour, my most solemn liege:

-Gloucester

Richard III                              Act II, scene i, line 52

Richard (Gloucester) has just entered the room and his brother King Edward IV has informed him that they have just made peace enmity, fair love of hate, Between these swelling wrong-incensed peers. And Richard responds with today’s Totally Random line. But of course that’s complete baloney on the part of Richard because he, more than any other, is responsible for all of the discord that Edward has been attempting to settle. 

Richard is a good example of someone who is not what he purports to be. In this play he’s a downright weasel. Historians differ as to how much of a weasel he actually was, and how much of his weaselness was made up or exaggerated by Will for the sake of drama. But in this play, make no mistake about it; he is a weasel.

 

This is my impersonation of a weasel. Well, sort of. It's actually an otter, but that's pretty close. What do you think?

Full many a glorious morning have I seen

Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye,

Kissing with golden face the meadows green,

Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy;

Anon permit the basest clouds to ride

With ugly rack on his celestial face,

And from the forlorn world his visage hide,

Stealing unseen to west with this disgrace:

Even so my sun one early morn did shine

With all-triumphant splendor on my brow;

But, out, alack! he was but one hour mine,

The region cloud hath maskt him from me now.

Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;

Suns of the world may stain when heaven’s sun staineth.

Sonnet 33

We've picked a sonnet today, and I was with it right up to the last line, then Will lost me. I really thought I had it. I’ve got to tell you, the sonnets are tough. And part of the problem is that they’re not written separately, they’re supposedly part of some confusing long story.

Well let’s see, you can pretty much break a sonnet up into sections; lines 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, and the last two lines. Let’s try that with this one.

First four - I’ve seen many a glorious morning spread its brilliance over the world.

Second four - Then the clouds show up and hide the suns face.

Third four -  Just like that, my sun (my love? My son?) shone his brilliance on me, but then the region cloud  (not sure what that is) hid him/her from me.

Final two – Yet, in spite of this, my love for him/her is not in the least hidden. Sons or lovers of the world may hide when, or just like, the sun hides.

Well there you go; I think I nearly got it. What do you think?

 

Okay, here's a clear sky in Beijing. The only thing hiding the sun here is pollution. 

Not so; but I answer you right painted cloth, from whence you have studied your questions.



-Orlando



As You Like It                         Act III, scene ii, line 279





I don’t quite understand this line. Orlando and Jaques are going back and forth with witty comments, and then Jaques says

Your are full of pretty answers. Have you not been acquainted with goldsmiths’ wives, and conn’d them out of rings?

And Orlando answers with today’s Totally Random line. I’ve found explanatory notes in a few different places on this line that tell me that painted cloth is wall hangings painted with pictures and mottoes. But that doesn’t really help me too much. How about you?

Okay, here you go. Well, actually this is a tapestry, not a painted cloth. But it's definitely a wall hanging with pictures on it (and Jessica standing in front of it). Does this help?

This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth

The tender leaves of hope; to-morrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And – when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening—nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do.



-Cardinal Wolsey



King Henry The Eighth                 Act III, scene ii, line 353





This is a splendid couple of lines. It’s Wolsey reflecting. He’s alone, and he’s just learned that he’s fallen out of Henry’s favor and about to be shown the door, or possibly worse. I’m going to give you his whole soliloquy. It’s only twenty-three lines; I think you can handle it.

The line previous to it, spoken by Norfolk immediately before he leaves the room is

     So fare you well, my little good lord Cardinal.

Note the word little. Norfolk is being a bit nasty. As soon as he is alone Wolsey responds with



So farewell to the little good you bear me.

Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!

This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth

The tender leaves of hope; to-morrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And – when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening—nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,

Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,

This many summers in a sea of glory;

But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride

At length broke under me; and now has left me,

Weary and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:

I feel my heart new open’d. O, how wretched

Is that that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!

There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,

That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,

More pangs and fears than wars or women have;

And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,

Never to hope again.



Wow, there’s a lot going on there. First the stages of greatness compared to a flowers life, then the floating on a sea of glory imagery, then the stuff about princes’ favour, and ending with the fate/fall of Lucifer. Well you can’t sink too much lower than the fate of Lucifer, can you?


Now I try pretty hard to avoid getting political, but I sometimes I just can’t help myself. Nonetheless, I’ll keep it short and simple. When he starts talking about hanging on princes’ favour I began to think of the many people in DC over the past few years that might have felt the way Wolsey feels as they were shown the door. 
Well, what does this passage make you think of?

I don't know; somehow I thought this picture fit in. With all the talk of fame and glory (it's a pretty famous place), and blossoms with killing frosts (see the snow?), and the stream (hard to miss the stream); well this seemed to fit them all. No?