What’s he that speaks for Edmund Earl of Gloucester?

 -Edgar

King Lear                        Act V Scene iii, Line 125

 

We’re near to the end of the play, and Edgar has come forward to challenge Edmund. This is the part in the play where people start dying left and right. Edgar will be taking care of Edmund directly. Then we’ll get to Goneril, and then Cordelia, and then Lear. 

Did I mention that this is a tragedy?

 

The cod-piece that will house

Before the head has any,

The head and he shall louse;-

So beggars marry many.

The man that makes his toe

What he his heart should make

Shall of a corn cry woe,

And turn his sleep to wake.

 

-Fool

King Lear                        Act III Scene ii, Line 32

 

Lear and the Fool are out on the heath at night alone in a storm. Lear is raging at the storm whilst at the same time yelling about his two daughters. He’s telling the storm to let him have it, but still complaining about the two daughters he’s been given. And this is the poem that the fool says in response to Lear’s ranting. Much like most of the fool’s lines, the meaning of what he’s saying is a bit clouded. Now, I found a really good note on this poem in my auxiliary Shakespeare compilation, the one edited by G.B. Harrison. I’m going to give you the note in full.

The man who goes wenching before he has a roof over his head will become a lousy beggar. The man who is kinder to his toe than to his heart will be kept awake by his corns- i.e., Lear has been kinder to his feet (his daughters) than to his heart (himself). The fool’s remarks, especially when cryptic, and indecent, are not easy to paraphrase.

 

That should help a little, but Harrison’s last sentence is still very true. Like I said above, the meaning of the fool’s lines can be a bit clouded, even when you know what they mean (if you get what I mean).

What have I given you today? Well, Lear and the fool are wandering around in a storm, so I'm giving you a picture of a Storm Petrel (under a cloudy sky). It's plate 14 from my Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio, and it's a Leach's Storm Petrel, not Lear's Storm Petrel, though you have to admit that's pretty close. Also, I think it's a really nice pic, and I especially like the waves in the background. 

 

Do you call me fool?

 -Cloten

Cymbeline               Act II Scene iii, Line 104

 

Yah, she (Imogen) pretty much did. And even though Cloten is kind of a dirtbag, well, I don’t know of anyone who likes to be called a fool. Do you?

And what do we have here? I guess we could suppose that this is Imogene, on the left, calling Cloten, on the right, a fool. He does look a little taken aback, doesn't he? But, actually, the reason I'm giving you this particular pic, is because these guys are Thin-billed Murres; also known as... wait for it... Foolish Guillemots! How about that; plate 213, straight from The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio to you.

 

Come when the king doth to my lady come;

Then, if I have much love, I’ll give you some.

-Katharine

Love’s Labour’s Lost             Act V Scene ii, Line 823

 

Yes, that’s right, line 823. This is a long scene, and it’s not over yet. It ends with line 918. It’s also an odd line, don’t you agree? It doesn’t seem to matter that I give you more context, because my knowing the context doesn’t really change for me what the line seems to say when taken in isolation.

So there you have it. A Totally Random line. It’s yours to do with as you will. I suppose if you’re trying to put someone off until a later date, or until some other thing happens, you could use this line. You’ll probably have to alter the first of the two lines (and please try to keep the iambic pentameter intact), but I’m sure you can do it. Something like this.

Come when you’ve learned how not to be so dumb,

Then, if I have much love, I’ll give you some.

Now that’s a bit non-specific, but you get the idea. 

 

Dive, thoughts, down to my soul:-- here Clarence comes.

-Richard

Richard III                     Act I Scene 1, Line 41

 

So, it’s the second day in a row that we’re in the first scene of the play. Today we’re in the first speech of the play, albeit at the end of the speech. It’s Richard’s well known Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this sun of York; soliloquy. We’ve spent some time here before. So much so that I considered picking an alternate line today. But I didn’t. However, since I didn’t, let’s just stick to today’s line.

Richard has spent the speech talking about how lowly he is and some of the rotten things he’s going to be doing, and now he’s ending with today’s line: Dive, thoughts, down to my soul:-- here Clarence comes. It seems to me that the thoughts he’s just finished expressing are pretty low. So, is he saying that his soul is even lower, or what? Clarence, by the way, is his brother whom he is already plotting against. You don’t see too many people named Clarence these days, do you?

 

I thought of a Clarence: Clarence the cross-eyed Lion. Remember him? Well I was recently on a trip to Clarence country. I saw plenty of Clarence's relatives, but I din't get a pic of any. However, I did get a pic of this fellow. He might have been familiar with Clarence, but I forgot to ask him.

 

Shall I strike at it with my partisan?

-Marcellus

Hamlet                   Act I Scene 1, Line 140

 

For starters, a partisan is one of those spear type things like what the guards at the Tower of London carry. So in this context it’s a weapon, not a person who’s leaning in a particular political direction.

That said, well, act one, scene one of Hamlet. Not a whole lot of too much going on here. It’s the ramparts of the castle at night, and the guys up there are doing a little bit of intro stuff for the play, and talking about the ghost they’ve been seeing. The ghost shows up and Marcellus throws out today’s line. Considering that the ghost is dead, I’m not sure what striking him with a partisan is going to do. Marcellus probably didn’t think that one all the way through. On the other hand, a few lines down here’s Marcellus again,

         We do it wrong, being so majestical,

        To offer it the show of violence;

        For it is, as the air, invulnerable,  

        And our vain blows malicious mockery

So I guess I didn’t initially give our buddy Marcellus enough credit, did I? And I guess that just shows that you shouldn’t rush to judge people. Or better said, I shouldn’t rush to judge people; leastways, not Marcellus.

 

What say’st thou, my lady?

-Hotspur

King Henry the Fourth  Part I      Act II Scene 111, Line 77

 

This is Hotspur addressing his wife. Most of this scene is the dialogue of Hotspur with his wife, and it’s a good one. So you know what? Instead of talking about it, why don’t you just read it? I'll give you a link. If you page down to the end of the scene there’s a few lines telling you exactly what’s going on in the scene. Read that first, then read the scene. Its’ only 122 lines. It’ll do you good.

 Go ahead, take the link and read the scene.

Henry IV, I Act II, scene iii