We four indeed confronted were with four

In Russian habit: here they stay’d an hour,

And talkt apace; and in that hour, my lord,

They did not bless us with one happy word.

 

-Rosaline

Love’s Labour’s Lost                 Act V Scene ii, Line 370

Russians, eh? How about that. Yup, this is Shakespeare, and yup, this is a Totally Random line. So…. Russians, eh? Not a lot of happy words coming out of Russian mouths today either, is there? Good ‘ol timeless Will.

 

Hath there been a time—I’ld fain know that—

That I have positively said ‘’Tis so,’

When it proved otherwise?

 

-Polonius

Hamlet                               Act II Scene ii, Line 153

So Polonius sounds pretty sure about whatever it is that he just told the King and Queen. What did he tell him? He told them that Hamlet is mad, and that the cause of his madness is that he’s in love with Polonius’s daughter Ophelia. Do you think ‘tis this, asks the King. It may be, very like, says the Queen. To which Polonius replies with today’s Totally Random line, and to which the King replies, Not that I know.

So, there you have it. Our friend Polonius has it all figured out, and when he says ‘Tis so, it is so.

Or is it?

So we went to a two hour art class a few years back, myself, Patrice, and Walker. The object was for everyone to paint the same picture, and the teacher walked us through the steps of doing it. 

Patrice's picture came out quite good, looking very much like the model picture that everyone was copying from.

Pete's picture? Well, not nearly as good as Patrice's, but not too bad.

And Walker's picture? It seems to have incorporated a snake and a spider into it. Is the young fellow mad, like Hamlet? No, I think not; just a bit more creative, I think. Yes, 'tis so.

 

 

Take him hence, to the rack with him! We’ll touse you

Joint by joint, but we will know his purpose.

 

-Escalus

Measure For Measure             Act V Scene i, Line 313

Well, it almost sounds like a continuation of yesterday’s line. Bind him to the chair! Send him to the rack! But not quite. This fellow’s not going to end up going to the rack or anywhere else. It’s the Duke, still in disguise, that they’re talking about sending to the rack. He’s seeing just exactly how the town is being run since he left Angelo in charge, and he’s telling them so. The Duke claims he’s just a visitor in Vienna,

 

        Where I have seen corruption boil and bubble

        Till it o’errun the stew – laws for all faults,

        But faults so countenanced that the strong statutes

        Stand like the forfeits in a barber’s shop,

        As much in mock as mark.

 

The forfeits in a barber’s shop are the teeth that the barber has pulled. Remember if you will, back in those pre-dentistry days the barbers were also tooth pullers, and they’d display these pulled teeth with pride, for people to see. The Duke is comparing the laws of Vienna to those teeth which could be as much in mock as mark, that is to say, mocked as well as simply observed.

For the umpteenth time I’ll say it and I’ll say it quite simply: The relevance of Will’s words is timeless.

Rather than give you a really appropriate pic (because I couldn't come up with one), here's sleeping Nutsy. 

She's oblivious to laws, teeth, and pretty much everything else, but she's cute; totally irrelevant to today's line, but cute.

 

Which is that god in office, guiding men?

Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?

 

-Aeneas

Troilus and Cressida      Act I Scene iii, Line 232

Aeneas has a message for Agamemnon. He is speaking to the same, and I’m not sure if he actually doesn’t know that he’s talking to Agamemnon, or if he’s just pretending not to know it’s Agamemnon. Either way, don’t you think that Agamemnon has to be suspicious of someone praising him thusly?

I saw Bird, and I said Hi Bird, and he looked at me. 

Then I said Oh high and mighty Bird, the god of this household, guider of all cats. And he gave me this look. That's the look I would have expected Agamemnon to give Aeneas.

 

 

The earth can have but earth, which is his due;

Sonnet 74         Line 7

Ah, what the heck, I’ll give you the whole thing. It’s only fourteen lines and pretty easy to understand. The fell arrest in the first line is, I believe, death; just in case that was giving you trouble.

 

But be contented: when that fell arrest

Without all bail shall carry me away,

My life hath in this line some interest,

Which for memorial still with thee shall stay.

 

When thou reviewest this, thou dust review

The very part was consecrate to thee:

The earth can have but earth, which is his due;

My spirit is thine, the better part of me:

 

So, then, thou hast but lost the dregs of life,

The prey of worms, my body being dead;

The coward conquest of a wretched knife,

Too base of thee to be remembered.

 

The worth of that is that which it contains,

And that is this, and this with thee remains.

 

And there you go. I added the spaces between every four lines and that last two lines. I think it’s really easier to understand the sonnets when you take it this way. Each of those four line segments has its own piece of the total.

It’s pretty much the same theme as the summer’s day sonnet. That one ends with so long lives this, and this gives life to thee (I had to look it up). That poem talks about the poem giving the subject of the poem everlasting life. In this one we're talking about the sonnet giving him, the writer/speaker eternal life. Either way, the words grant eternal life, and the physical body is eventually just worm food. 

Well, we’re still talking about Will and his words four hundred years later, and Will is way past the worm food stage. Sooo…..words, eh?

No pic today. Just words.

 

I am none, by this good light.

 

-Antigonus

The Winter’s Tale           Act II Scene iii, Line 82

You tell him, Antigonus! Leontes the king has just accused Antigonus of being a traitor. He’s not, and that’s what he’s declaring in today’s Totally random line.

Couple of things:

First: Good line. Even though it’s just a simple declaration, I like the second part: by this good light. Yeah. He’s not just saying no, I’m not a traitor. He’s not swearing on the bible. By this good light. Plain as day it should be. I like it.

Second thing: Every time I read or listen to this play (I’ve never seen it performed), my first reaction is that no one could be as stupid, or as insanely and wrongly jealous, as Leontes. Yes, that’s my first impression. Then I finish my morning time with Will, and I go out and live the day in the real world and realize, lo and behold, there are people like that. I mean this in a general sense, not that I have any examples in mind of modern day Leontes. I just mean, that no matter what I see taking place in Will’s works sooner or later I see something in my, in our, world that reminds me that Will was not exaggerating.

And that’s all I’ve got for today.  

How about this good light? It's not exactly the best light in terms of giving you light to see something, but I think it's a pretty cool pic of the day's last light. 

 

 

And now you are metamorphosed with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you my master.

 

-Speed

The Two Gentlemen of Verona       Act II Scene i, Line 31

Valentine (one of the two titular gentlemen) is talking to Speed, his right-hand man. Valentine asks Speed how he knows that Valentine is in love. Speed answers with a paragraph of reasons, ending with today’s Totally Random line. What’s that? You want to hear all the reasons that Speed has for knowing that Valentine is in love? Okay, here you go.

        Marry, by these special marks: first, you have learned, like Sir Proteus, to wreathe your arms, like a malcontent; to relish a love song, like a robin-redbreast; to walk alone, like one that had the pestilence; to sigh, like a school-boy that had lost his A B C; to weep, like a young wench that had buried her grandam; to fast, like one that takes diet; to watch, like one that fears robbing; to speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas. You were wont, when you laughed, to crow like a cock; when you walked, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you looked sadly, it was for want of money: and now you are metamorphosed with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you my master.

There, how’s that? It’s not all particularly easy to grasp. But perhaps you get the idea? Remember that the first word there, marry, has nothing to do with weddings. In Will’s time marry is just a sort of meaningless exclamatory, intro word that is used all over the place. It doesn’t add any meaning to the sentence. The first part of the paragraph is a list of how Valentine is acting now. Then, after You were wont, Speed lists all the ways Valentine used to act, before he was in love. As you can see, there is a marked difference. Now, in love, he’s walking alone and weeping like a girl. Before he was in love, he walked proudly like a lion and crowed like a rooster when he laughed. Sounds about right? What do you think?

 

And here's how a lion walks. He's not overstating anything, but he definitely looks like he's pretty sure he owns the place. Is that what Speed was going for?