Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

 

With all my heart.

 

-Edmund Mortimer

King Henry the Fourth Part II      Act III, Scene i, Line 265

 

This is Edmund’s response to Owen Glendower who is ready to rock. Glendower says,

           By this our book is drawn; we’ll but seal, and then
           To horse immediately.

And Edmund Mortimer replies, With all my heart.

So they’re off to the fights.

Edmund Mortimer, his father-in-law Owen Glendower, and Hotspur have just laid out the territories on a map that they will each be claiming once they’ve rebelled from the crown. And now, they're off to the rebellion. 

With all my heart. That’s a pretty straight forward expression. I was going to say a common expression, but then I thought twice and realized that I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that (other than in the movies). So it can’t be that common. Well, I suppose I must have heard that expression used once or twice? I guess. Regardless, it's perfectly understood. And it has the same meaning in the 1690’s as it does in the 2020’s.

With all my heart. I don’t suppose that’s something I would say lightly.

     Do you wanna go to the movies?

       With all my heart!

Nah, that doesn’t work.

The Arctic in August. 

Totally irrelevant to Today's Totally Random Line.

(unless you can think of a connection)

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

 

Do so; and after two days

I will discharge thee.

 

-Prospero

The Tempest                   Act I, Scene ii, Line 298

‘Do so? do what?’, you might ask. Ariel (that’s who Prospero is speaking with) has just said,

        I will be correspondent to command,

        And do my spiriting gently.

So, Ariel's going to do his spiriting gently, and in turn Prospero will give him his freedom.

Now that’s just a lovely turn of phrase. Did you ever hear anyone respond to you that they would be correspondent to command. Of course, I guess the word command has a bit of a strong vibe to it; perhaps a bit too strong for modern sensibilities (which can be very sensitive). If we’re going to use this line (and I certainly think we should), perhaps we should amend it slightly. I will be correspondent to …request? Hmmm, that’s not quite right. Demand? Ummm, no.

Well, for now, I’ll just stick to the original, and perhaps include the spiriting gently part.

Every once in a while, I manage to come up with the perfect pic, and today is one of those whiles.

Imagine, if you will, that my associate and I are at the airport waiting for our luggage to come out. He's asked me to grab the bags when they come, because he's got to go use the men's room. And my reply is,

I will be correspondent to command

and do my spiriting gently.

This would be the exact look he would give me.

 

Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

 

This fever, that hath trembled me so long,

Lies heavy on me;--  O, my heart is sick!

 

-King John

John                                     Act V, Scene iii, Line 3

 

There’s not too much to this. It’s a short scene near the end of the play, and John’s going to be dying shortly. The Shakespeare version is that John has been poisoned by a monk. History, however, says it was dysentery that killed John.

Will does a pretty good job in his history plays of telling the story of a bunch of England’s kings. But make no mistake: his main purpose was to entertain, not to teach. He was a dramatist, not a history teacher. And poisoning is much more interesting than dysentery.

Another one of those days where I looked all over for a pic and came up empty.

 

Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

 

What? I, that kill’d her husband and his father,

To take her in her heart’s extremest hate,

With curses in her mouth, tears in her eyes,

The bleeding witness of my hatred by,

Having God, her conscience, and these bars against me,

And I no friends to back my suit at all

But the plain devil and dissembling looks?

And yet to win her? All the world to nothing!

Hah!

 

-Richard III

Richard                               Act I, Scene ii, Line 235

 

Richard is congratulating himself on convincing Anne to marry him, even though they both know that he, Richard, killed Anne’s husband and father-in-law. He’s a cocky little SOB. 

All the world to nothing! That’s how this guy sees it, and that pretty much sums up the character that Will has created.

All the world to nothing!

Hah!

I wanted a pic that gave some sense of the whole, wide world. Not sure if this is it or not. But I thought that it's such a simple, and yet all-encompassing thought. Consider All the world; all of it, in its vastness. All of it. Then consider to nothing. No thought for any small part of it. 

All the world to nothing.

Hah!

That's a good one.

 

Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

 

 Make that demand to the Creator. It suffices me thou art.

 

-Thersites

Troilus and Cressida              Act II, Scene iii, Line 68

 

I’m not sure what they were discussing, but Thersites suddenly decides that pretty much everyone, including himself, a fool.

        Agamemnon is a fool to offer to command Achilles;

        Achilles is a fool to be commanded of Agamemnon;

        Thersites is a fool to serve such a fool, and

        Patroclus is a fool positive.

To which Patroclus replies,

Why am I a fool?

And that’s where Thersites comes in with Today’s Totally Random Line,

        Make that demand to the Creator. It suffices me thou art.

Sounds like Thersites is fed up with the whole lot and Patroclus is just collateral damage. But what do I know? At least we’ve moved on from eyes!

Two heavy thinkers in Barren Plains.

Another one of those pics that just showed up, all on its own. Sort of. 

No, it's got no relevance. But I couldn't go three days in a row without a pic. Could I?

 Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

  

O your sweet queen!

That the strict fates had pleas’d you had brought her hither

To have blest mine eyes with her!

 

-Dionyza

Pericles                   Act III, Scene iii, Line 8

 

Pericles is leaving his infant daughter with King Cleon and his wife Dionyza whilst he goes off on more adventures. They promise to care for her as if she were their own, Dionyza declaring how blest her eyes are just to have seen the baby. But of course, it’s not going to work out quite as well as Pericles may have hoped for.

This is one of Will’s plays that doesn’t really fit into the Comedy or Drama category. It’s mostly an adventure with a little romance, and it’s got a happy ending. This play wasn’t included in the First Folio, where all the plays were categorized as Comedy, History, or Drama. I believe the Shakespeare scholars already have a fourth category that they use. I’ve heard the term Problem Plays, and also Romance Plays.

I’m not sure either of these works for Pericles. Perhaps we’ll have to come up with our own category name. Pericles starts with incest, includes betrayal and adventure, and has a happy ending. Anyone? I’m open to suggestions.

Okay, so yesterday it was wagging eyelids, and today it's blest eyes. Seems like the eyes have it. And yet, I've got no good eye pics. I promise, if there's eyes again tomorrow we'll have a pic. 

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Line(s)

 

 Good my lord, be quiet.

 

-Horatio

Hamlet                    Act V, Scene i, Line 272

  

Laertes and Hamlet are fighting and arguing in Ophelia’s grave and everyone is trying to get them to stop. Horatio, Hamlets best bud, is the last one to speak before the two separate and climb out of the grave. Then Hamlet says

        Why, I will fight with him upon this theme

        Until my eyelids will no longer wag.

That’s right, until his eyelids will no longer wag. One more time, until those eyelids stop wagging.

I’m just having a really hard time with that visual: wagging eyelids. How about you?

Well, I've heard of tongues wagging, and there's wagging tails. But wagging eyelids? I just couldn't come up with pic of wagging eyelids. Sorry, no pic today.