Why, what a ruthless thing is this in him, for

the rebellion of a codpiece to take away the 

life of a man!

 

-Lucio

Measure For Measure            Act III, Scene ii, Line 116

 

Lucio is speaking to the Duke, who is disguised as a friar. He’s talking about the fact that Angelo, the fellow who is in charge in the Duke’s absence, is going to have a man put to death for the crime of getting a woman pregnant (or was it just for having sex with her? Not sure). The rebellion of a codpiece. The codpiece was a flap of material that covered a man’s genitals. Interesting phraseology. The codpiece rebelled.

It’s always interesting to wonder about how many of these turns of phrase Will invented, and how many were common phrases of the day that he just documented. Certainly many had to be the latter. I guess the scholars know which is which from a study of other writings of the times, but I sure don’t.

Still, it’s an interesting phrase and one that could still easily be used. Let’s see.

Ahh, there was no rebellion of the codpiece last night, Bert. I came home from the bar quite alone.

Quel Domage, my friend. Quel domage.

 

 

Well finding a picture for today's topic could have got me into all sorts of trouble. So instead of staying on topic, I'll just give you a pic of Spike in his pajamas. It has nothing to do with anything, but I hope you'll admit that Spike really knew how to rock those pj's. In fact, getting back on topic, I'll bet those pj's could get 'ol Spikey into some codpiece rebellions if worn in the right company. Am I right?

 

 

Only we still retain

The name, and all the additions to a king;

The sway, revenue, execution of the rest,

Beloved sons, be yours: which to confirm,

This coronet part betwixt you. [Giving the crown]

 

-King Lear

King Lear                        Act I, Scene i, Line 136

 

In the lines previous to this Lear has disowned poor Cordelia and given his kingdom to his other two daughters and their husbands. Apparently, though, it remains to be seen just how much of the name, and all the additions to a king that he’s actually going to be able to retain. Not much, I’m afraid. Once he gives away the crown and, in his own words, my power,/pre-eminence, and all the large effects/that troop with majesty, well then he’s pretty much put himself at the mercy of his two daughters and two son-in-laws. And that’s going to prove to be not only a big mistake, but the crux of the play.

So here is one of my Cordelia's and a son-in-law. Hmmm, maybe I'd better just hold on to that crown for now. 

 

He hath confest: away with him! He’s a

 villain and a traitor.

 -All

King Henry the Sixth Part II       Act IV, Scene ii, Line 103

 

We touched on this scene, but just barely, in a post back in August 2019. So let’s get into it a bit today.

The ‘All’ here is a mob, and the mob leader is a fellow named Jack Cade. Now on the one hand, this is taking place in the time of a monarchy, you know, divine rights of kings and all that. So a group of ordinary folks rising up might seem like a good thing. Right? Well, not exactly.

In this case we have a group of ordinary folks being led by a king wanna-be. Cade is a pretender to the throne. His aspirations are not about the good of the common folk, his aspirations are about the good of Jack Cade. And right now they have found an educated fellow, a common folk, who can read and write. They’re going to take this as a sign that he’s part of the establishment and they’re going to hang him.

And this just shows that there’s a difference between democracy and mob rule: a big difference, and yet sometimes a fine line. Consider: A bunch of unhappy guys get together in Philadelphia in 1776, and we're celebrating it almost 250 years later. A bunch of unhappy guys (and gals) get together in Washington on January 6, 2021; no cause for celebration there.

So listen to Will. He has a lot to say about a lot of things. He won’t give you all the answers, but he’ll get you to ask a lot of important questions.

Happy Fourth of July y'all.

 Faith, Sir John, ‘tis more than time that 

I were there, and you too; but my powers are 

there already. The king, I can tell you,

looks for us all: we must away all night.

 

-Earl of Westmoreland

King Henry the Fourth Part I         Act IV, Scene ii, Line 58

 

Prince Hal and the Earl of Westmoreland have come upon Sir John on the road, in the night. Falstaff is leading a very ragtag group of men/soldiers, and the Earl is telling him that they need to get moving and catch up with the king at Shrewsbury since battle is looming.

The better part of this scene is the soliloquy that Falstaff gives us before Hal and the Earl show up. It’s about his group of misfit soldiers. So if you’re going to look at this scene, that’s probably what you want to concentrate on. Here’s the link. It’s a short scene, less than one page and, like any Shakespeare, well worth the read.

I wonder how Falstaff's ragtag group would do against these guys? Well, considering they're made out of clay, Falstaff's group would probably do okay. But if these guys were real? Well that would be a different story.

 

Where I have learn’d me to repent the sin

Of disobedient opposition

To you and your behests, and am enjoin’d

By holy Laurence to fall prostrate here,

And beg your pardon: pardon, I beseech you!

Henceforward I am ever ruled by you.

 

-Juliet

Romeo and Juliet            Act IV, Scene ii, Line 20

 

This is Juliet’s response to her father’s question, Where have you been gadding? Which naturally leads to our question, what the heck is gadding?

Well I looked in my Shakespeare app and there’s nothing for gad or gadding, but the online dictionary has it: go around from one place or another, in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment.

So that is supposedly a modern definition, and it appears to work perfectly. Okay then, there’s a word to add to our vocabulary. 

 

 

What's this a picture of, you ask? Well it's just my two Cordelias. We were gadding about the Tennessee state capital when we decided we needed a pic of this Geodesic Survey Marker. Go figure. 

 

To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia,-

Doubt thou the stars are fire;

Doubt that the sun doth move;

Doubt truth to be a liar;

But never doubt I love.

O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans: but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu.

Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him,                

HAMLET

 

-Polonius reading Hamlet’s letter aloud to Gertrude

Hamlet                        Act II, Scene ii, Line 164

 

So, as it says, this is Hamlet’s letter to Ophelia. There’s a little bit of Gertrude and Polonius back and forth that interrupts some of the reading, but for the sake of clarity I’ve left that out and given you just the pure letter. And what do we think? Does it sound like a typical love letter? Does it sound like a love letter period?

My opinion? It’s about as cryptic as any of Hamlet’s words in this play. The little four line poem about doubts leaves off the word ‘you’ at the end, just to maintain a sense of, well, doubt. Though, to be fair, he’s pretty clear towards the end about loving her: but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. And yet, he can’t resist the curveball with whilst this machine is to him. What the heck is that all about? What machine? The human body? Who’s him? God? No wait, him is Hamlet. He's speaking in third person and he's saying Thine evermore while this body is still mine, that is to say, while I still live.  Yeah, that’s probably right. I'm glad we got that settled. Machine indeed.

 

Now here's a machine. Whilst you may not think of an organ as a machine, take a look at the close-up below of one of the side panels...

 

This organ can re-create every sound from soup to nuts. It's a sound making machine!