Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

It is a life that I have desired: I will thrive.

 

Bardolf

The Merry Wives of Windsor      Act I, Scene iii, Line 18

 

What a great line! Imagine if we all had the opportunity to say that! I suppose in theory, most of us should? Yes, I put a question mark on that one.

By the way, the life that Bardolf is referring to is the life of a bartender. Yes, a bartender. I think there was a time when I thought that a bartender would be a good job, but as I grew older, I realized that being a bartender would mean helping some people drink themselves to death, and that’s not a good thought. Also, I know one bartender who’s now homeless. So I don’t think that I would have Bardolf’s enthusiasm for that particular job. But, to each his own, eh?

So, to end on a more upbeat note - the host of the tavern in today’s scene tells Falstaff that he will hire Bardolf, and Falstaff’s line to Bardolf, that precedes Today’s Totally Random Line, is

Bardolf, follow him. A tapster is a good trade: an old cloak makes a new jerkin; a wither’d serving-man a fresh tapster. Go; adieu.

FYI

Tapster = bartender
Jerkin = jacket

A day without a Falstaff line just isn’t a proper day, is it?

What about this withered serving man;

Would he make a fresh tapster?

Yeah, I don't think so. 

 Today’s Totally Random Line

  

I will, my lord. 

 

First Huntsman

The Taming of the Shrew      Induction, Line 29

Ahh, the induction of The Taming of the Shrew. Induction is sort of the introduction, except that it’s not a proper introduction, so I guess we’d better stick with calling it the induction. It’s a little one scene play that’s got nothing to do with the story of The Taming of the Shrew except that it’s a similar, but unrelated, story. A bit odd.

Anyway, the first Huntsman is answering the lord who’s told him to take care of the hunting dogs. They’ve just returned from the hunt. They briefly mention the different dogs. There’s Echo, Belmont, Brach Merriman (I’m not kidding, I think one of them is named Brach Merriman), and there’s Silver. It’s Silver that caught my eye because I recognized that name from The Tempest when Prospero summons up the dogs to chase Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo. I checked to see if any of the other hounds had the same name, but no. There was Silver, Tyrant, Mountain, and Fury in The Tempest.

But Silver was repeated. So that leads me to believe that one of two things applies. Either Silver was a very common dog name back then, or Silver was a dog that the author knew personally, or perhaps owned.

So that’s today’s takeaway. Silver the dog. Not Silver the horse, as in Hi-Ho Silver, away! I don’t suppose any of you recognize that Hi-Ho Silver thing? That’s okay. I’m old. And I’ve never had, or known, of a dog named Silver in my life (that I can remember). Have you?

This is a picture of Jean Louise Finch, but we called her Scout; not Silver but Scout (she was a rescue dog and never lost that worried look).

Now, if you realize that Hi-Ho Silver was the Lone Ranger's call and Silver was his horse, you might also know that the Lone Ranger's sidekick was named Tonto, and Tonto's horse was named... you guessed it - Scout. 

A perfectly relevant picture. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

Even here she sheathed in her harmless breast

A harmful knife, that thence her soul unsheathed:

That blow did bail it from the deep unrest

Of that polluted prison where it breathed:

Her contrite sighs unto the clouds bequeathed

Her winged sprite, and through her wounds doth fly

Life’s lasting date from cancell’d destiny.

 

 

Narrator

The Rape of Lucrece                     Line 1729

This is a full stanza from the poem The Rape of Lucrece. It contains line 1,729 of this 1,855 line long poem, so we can see that we’re nearing the end. And in fact, this is the stanza in which Lucrece’s life does end. It’s pretty readable for the most part. Remember too, that this was written to be read, not to be performed. She puts the knife in her breast and sets her soul loose from her body. The only part that confuses me a bit is the last line of the stanza. Her spirit flies up to the clouds, and through that same wound flies out life’s lasting date from cancell’d destiny. Life’s lasting date from cancell’d destiny. I think I might have to think about that one and possibly get back to it. 

Okay, I’m back. Is life’s lasting date the leftover plans that aren’t needed now that her life is over, her destiny cancell’d? I think I’ll have to go with that. Lot’s of imagery here: her soul gets unsheathed from the polluted prison of her body. Wow. Then her spirit flies out of her body along with all her leftover plans for life. Again, wow.

I think I’ll leave it at that. All yours.

And this picture pretty much sums up my three-day weekend. It didn't matter what my plans were, this is where my destiny lay. I had to figure this problem out and fix it. The hard parts all done. I just have to finish up putting everything back together.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

The raging rocks

And shivering shocks

Shall break the locks

Of prison-gates;

And Phibbus’ car

Shall shine from far,

And make and mar

The foolish Fates.

 

Bottom

A Midsummer Night’s Dream       Act I, Scene ii, Line 32

My favorite parts of this play are the parts that have Bottom and his buddies in them. Today’s lines are Bottom reciting a piece. I think it is a few lines from another play that he is reciting to show all what a great actor he is. Since we only have the words, and not- please hold…

I was going to say we only have the printed word here, but of course we have more than the printed word. We have the Arkangel recording of the play. So, I just listened to act one, scene two. It was only six minutes long, and yes, it was as I said. This scene is Peter Quince (there aren’t all that many Peters in Will’s plays, are there?) meeting with all his buddies to tell them about a play they’ll be performing for the duke and duchess on their wedding night. Quince is assigning all the parts and Nick Bottom has something to say about everything. So his little burst of theatrical recital, to show all the others what a great actor he is, is not at all unexpected. In fact, in the Arkangel version it draws an applause from the other members of the group. Quince assigns all the parts and then tells them to learn their lines and meet in the forest tomorrow night to begin rehearsals. At the duke’s oak we meet, he says. Bottom replies with the last line of the scene, Enough; hold, or cut bowstrings.

 

Hold, or cut bowstrings. That’s an interesting phrase. At first I thought it might be more or less the same as fish, or cut bait. The Google tells me that it comes from a battle decision: hold your position, or retreat. In the case of the latter, they would cut their bowstrings so that their bows (presumably left behind) could not be used by the enemy. And, according to the Google, this does indeed roughly translate to the modern expression fish or cut bait. I think in today’s instance it’s just something for Bottom to say, because he’s got something to say about everything. Here’s the Google link if you want to read it.

Act 1, Scene 2: Popup Note Index Item: “Hold or cut bowstrings” | myShakespeare

Now when I read this explanation, the first thing that came to mind was, why wouldn’t they just take their bows with them? Why would they leave them when they retreat, cut bowstrings or not?

Yes, I guess that’s my takeaway. Don’t ask me why; it just is.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

Stand sir, and throw us what you have about ye:

If not, we’ll make you sit and rifle ye.

 

Third Outlaw

Two Gentlemen of Verona             Act IV, Scene i, Line 4

Valentine, one of the two gents, is being robbed by highwaymen. A few comments.

First, they’re fairly polite robbers, calling Valentine ‘sir’. I’ve been getting called ‘sir’ a lot of late. Thankfully not by robbers, and mostly just because I’m old and I look old. Sometimes I like it, but most of the time I see it as a recognition that I’m old and then it bugs me a little bit.

The other thing I took note of was the word rifle, used as a verb. I use that word (I rifled through the drawer looking for my keys) but I don’t hear it used much as a verb; just a noun, an ever present noun. I kind of like the verb; it’s very descriptive. If I rifled through the drawer, I didn’t look in an orderly fashion; I just pushed things around, usually in a rush, and probably left the drawer in a mess. So it’s a pretty good word as far as verbs go. 

As a noun, in 2023 America: not so much.

Here you have the famous Underpants Incident picture of 1985. That's Emily in the front row deciding, for some inexplicable reason, to show everyone her Wonder Woman underpants. Aren't these underpants great!, she's thinking. That's Jessica, to her left with the red bow, aghast because she realizes that Emily stole her underpants. Did she rifle through my underpants drawer?, she's thinking. That's cousin Matt, the younger fellow observing the Underpants Incident with his hand on his head. WTF, he's thinking. That's Aunt Marie, in the blue dress, the only adult who realizes in real time that the Underpants Incident is taking place. Ummm...., she's thinking. 

And what are the rest of this blissfully ignorant group thinking? That was almost forty years ago; who the heck knows!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

O, these I lack,

To make you garlands of; and my sweet friend,

To strew him o’er and o’er!

 

Perdita
The Winter’s Tale                          Act IV, Scene iv, Line 129

 

Perdita is talking to Florizel. The lead-in to today’s line is a list of all the different flowers that Perdita does not have. The list is kind of nice. I should give you that.

                                                        Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty; violets dim,
But sweeter than the lids of Juno’s eyes
Or Cytherea’s breath; pale primroses,
That die unmarried, ere they can behold
Bright Phoebus in his strength,- a malady
Most incident to maids; bold oxlips and
The crown-imperial; lilies of all kinds,
The flower-de-luce being one! O, these I lack,
To make you garlands of; and my sweet friend,
To strew him o’er and o’er.

Lots of flowers, and also some allusions to people that we’re not too familiar with. Let’s see… daffodils we know. Juno we know, but Cytherea? I dunno who that is. Bright Phoebus who is a malady to maids? Oxlip I guess is a flower? And the flower-de-Luce is a type of lily? Yes, lots of flowers. 

It's a flower day.

Yes, it's a flower day.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

But if your father had been victor there,

He ne’er had borne it out of Coventry.

 

Westmoreland

Henry the Fourth Part II               Act IV, Scene i, Line 135

 

Well how about a little context today? Or maybe quite a bit of context today.

Mowbray, who I believe is the son of Thomas Mowbray the guy who got banished at the beginning of Richard II, is one of the leaders of the rebellion against Henry IV. Westmorland is one of Henry’s generals and he’s come to talk to the rebels to see if he can understand exactly why they are rebelling. Mowbray says that Henry IV is an illegitimate king and that if his father, Thomas Mowbray, had been allowed to go through with his fight with Henry he would have killed Henry and become king. Apparently that fight was to take place in Coventry and Westmoreland is saying that if Thomas Mowbray won it, that he never would have been able to go any further. Why?

For all the country, in a general voice,
Cried hate upon him (Thomas Mowbray); and all their prayers and love
Were set on Hereford (Henry IV), whom they doted on,
And blest and graced indeed, more than the king (Richard II).

I added the names in parentheses there so that it might be clear who's who and to whom Westmoreland was referring.

So, what do you think of today’s context? Too much? Too little? You stopped reading many lines ago?
Ah well, I tried.

And what, you are asking yourself, is this a picture of. Well I'll tell you. That little black hole right of center is a varmint hole, and I am convinced that this varmint is the culprit in our recent electrical problems. I can't attack him from the crawlspace above, so I'm going to be attacking from the room below. And yes, I plan on being the victor. All the varmints up there can cry hate upon me in a general voice if they want. I don't care. I plan on being the victor.