Thrice nobel Titus, spare my first-born son.

-Tamora

Titus Andronicus                   Act I, Scene i, Line 120

Nope, not gonna happen. And so it begins, and it begins (it would seem appropriately) with Titus. What would have happened if he had said, ‘well, okay, you’re right. There’s no need for bloodshed here. Let the boy go.’ I suppose if he had said that, then this wouldn’t have been much of a play. Instead he says, ‘…die he must,’.  So die he does, and it’s the first of many deaths and maimings in the play.

This play was made into a movie in 1999 with Anthony Hopkins in the titular role. I’ve seen a few segments of it, but never the whole thing. It’s one of those that I’ve been meaning to catch. If you get a chance to see it you’ll have to let me know what you think.

 

titus movie - Bing video

 

Here’s a link to the movie trailer, if you’re interested.

 

 

Take thou no scorn to wear the horn;

It was a crest ere thou wast born:

-Forester

As You Like It                Act IV, Scene ii, Line 14

This is a very short scene. Jaques and company have come across a hunter with a fallen deer. They’ve set the deer’s horns upon the hunter’s head, and now one of the foresters is singing a song for him.

 

        What shall he have that kill’d the deer?

        His leather skin and horns to wear.

        Then sing him home;

 

        Take thou no scorn to wear the horn;

        It was a crest ere thou wast born:

        Thy fathers wore it,

        And thy father bore it:

        The horn, the horn, the lusty horn

        Is not a thing to laugh to scorn.

 

And that’s the end of the scene as they all parade off the stage. I told you it was short. There’s only eighteen lines in the scene, and the song is half of them. 

So, what do you think of the song?

Sorry, no pic today.

 

Clap’s into Light o’ love; that goes without a burden: do you sing it, and I’ll dance it.

-Margaret

Much Ado About Nothing     Act III, Scene iv, Line 41

There you go; that line is a bit of a tester. But I’m not going to spend any time on it, so I’m afraid you’re on your own. Let me know you come up with.

Hold on, I’ve got some decent footnotes to help you out:

Clap – break into a song

Light o’ Love – a well known ditty of the times

Burden – chorus

 

There, that should help. And here's a nice pic for you.

 

This is a delicious breakfast. Pepper and eggs with raspberry jelly toast. Yummy!

Brew’d with her sorrow, masht upon her cheeks:-

-Titus

Titus Andronicus                   Act III, Scene ii, Line 38

Titus is telling his brother Marcus what Titus’s daughter Lavinia is thinking. She can’t speak for herself because her tongue was cut out and her hands chopped off by her rapists.

       

She says she drinks no other drink but tears,

        Brew’d with her sorrow, masht upon her cheeks:-

 

It’s not a pretty picture, and Titus is probably pretty close to correct in saying that this is what his daughter is thinking. Whilst this whole short scene is quite the downer, it’s full of exquisite writing of which these two lines are a perfect example. This is Will early on in his career, but it’s clearly Will, and clearly brilliant.

Did I mention that I was a pretty big Shakespeare fan?

Here's my drink: brewed with coffee beans, not tears (usually), and very rarely, if ever, do I mash it on my cheeks.

 Did I mention that I was a pretty big coffee fan?

  

 

Masters of the people,

Your multiplying spawn how can he flatter-

That’s thousand to one good one—when you now see

He had rather venture all his limbs for honour

Than one on’s ears to hear it? Proceed, Cominius.

 

-Menenius

Coriolanus                              Act II, Scene ii, Line 96

 

Well, I know what’s going on, but this is a hard line Than one on’s ears to hear it? I can only assume that on’s is on his. Menenius is asking the senators how can Coriolanus flatter the masses (of which one in a thousand is any good) when he’d rather be venturing all his limbs for honour (fighting for his country) than one of his limbs on his ears to hear it?

Ummmm, gonna need to look at my book that has the footnotes. I’ll try to get back to you later today.

Update (day two): Okay, very simple explanation. Than one on's ears to hear it is one of his ears. It's of, not on. So that makes it easy. He'd rather venture all of his limbs for honour than venture one of his ears to hear about that honour. Comprendez?

I know, you thought I was gonna give you some crappy pic of my ear. Well I thought about it, that's for sure. But these are far more interesting. This is a Roman aqueduct we saw in Spain. In the first pic you can see a bird at the very top. I believe it's a common crane, but don't quote me on that. In the second pic you can see the bird better and you can also appreciate the detail in the construction of the aqueduct and get an idea why it's still here even though it was built in Coriolanus's time. 

Forget about Coriolanus and all the other generals, I think it's the builders and the engineers who deserve all the honour. What do you think? 

 

And as our vineyards, fallows, meads, and hedges,

Defective in their natures, grow to wildness,

Even so our houses and ourselves and children

Have lost, or do not learn for want of time,

The sciences that should become our country;

But grow like savages,-- as soldiers will

That nothing do but meditate on blood,--

To swearing and stern looks, diffused attire

And every thing that seems unnatural.

-Burgundy

King Henry the Fifth              Act V, Scene ii, Line 60

 

Burgundy is talking about how France has been negatively affected by the lack of peace in the land. It’s a pretty vivid picture.

Well now, this pic looks a little like lands defective in their natures, grown to wildness. In fact, though, it's just a rainy fall day, seen from my dirty cellar window. I guess looks can sometimes be deceiving, eh?

 

 

For by my soul, were there worse end than death,

That end upon them should be executed.

-Saturninus

Titus Andronicus                   Act II, Scene iii, Line 303

 

Yikes! It doesn’t sound too good for Titus’s two sons, Quintus and Martius, who’ve been found in a pit with the murdered body of Saturninus’s brother. Of course, we know that the two sons are innocent, but I’m not sure that’s going to matter much. Just about everyone ends up dying in this play anyway. 

This is Will’s stab at a slasher film/play. A little out of character for him; don’t you think?

And here we have the exact opposite of the brothers' fates. Nothin' but blue African skies and beautiful clouds over a built-in pool with a backdrop of the endless African plains. Yup, I'm doing a little better than Quintus and Martius, that's for sure.