Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

The queen, madam,

Desires your highness’ company.

Lady

Cymbeline                Act I, Scene iii,  Line 38

The Queen, in this play, is like the evil stepmother to Imogen, even though Imogen’s father is still alive. Imogen is the person being addressed by the speaker in Today’s Line. No doubt the queen is up to something, but I’m not sure what.

Speaking of I'm not sure what -

I saw this orange ball in the sky (it was more orange than this pic shows), setting on the horizon, and at first I was confused. Yup, that's the western sky all right, same place I'm always seeing the sun set this time of year; only problem is that I took this pick at 6:30 a.m. So, obviously it was the moon; but it kind of threw me for a minute.

For the record: I'm still not sure what the queen is up to.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

But come, I’ll tell thee all my whole device

When I am in my coach, which stays for us

At the park-gate; and therefore haste away,

For we must measure twenty miles to-day.

 

Portia

The Merchant of Venice      Act III, Scene iv, Line 82

 

Portia is talking to her right-hand lady, Nerissa. She’s talking about the fact that they need to get moving if they’re going to get to Venice in time, and the fact that she’s going to tell Nerissa the whole plan (my whole device) in the coach, on the way. Of course, the plan she’s alluding to is where Portia will show up at the trial disguised as Balthazar.

I’m trying to recall if there are any instances in Will’s plays where a guy gets dressed up as a lady (other than the male actors who play all the women’s roles). I can’t think of one, and yet the women getting dressed up as men happens time and time again. What’s up with that?

By the way, I hope you noted the rhyming couplet: haste away, miles today. You know what that means, don't you? That's right - the last lines of the scene. Very good!

Mojo thinks he's cleverly disguised as part of my fleece robe. I'm not so sure the disguise was working as well as Portia's did, but I didn't have the heart to tell him.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

Saw’st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good

At the hedge-corner, in the coldest fault.

 

Lord

The Taming of the Shrew            Induction, Scene i,  Line 17

 

The setting: The lord has just arrived back from the hunt and he’s giving instructions for the caring of the dogs. Silver is one of the hunting dogs. In the coldest fault means when the scent of the prey had nearly been lost.

So that should make sense, n’est pas?

Use of the coldest fault is perhaps what led to the use of cold when describing a trail, or an investigation, as in Cold Case the television show.

Apparently Silver picked up the scent at the hedge-corner, when the trail had appeared to be lost. That Silver, he’s got quite the nose, eh?

This guy here has got a pretty solid schnozz. 

I'll bet he'd make a great hunting dog.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

  

She’s not fourteen.

 

Lady Capulet

Romeo and Juliet         Act I, Scene iii, Line 13

 

So, according to her mother, Juliet is thirteen years old. Her mother is saying that she’s not yet fourteen. Well. What do we have to say about that? in modern times Juliet is played as and by a young woman. Young, yes; but woman, not girl.

Thirteen. Does that count as a young woman? In 2024? Not really.

I asked Mojo what he thought, and he said that he'd have to do a little reading up on the subject before answering that question. I'll let you know what he comes up with. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Turn, slave, and fight.

 

Margarelon

Troilus and Cressida            Act V, Scene vii,  Line 13

I don’t believe I’ve ever run into this Margarelon guy before in my seven years of randomly picking lines from this book.

Today’s scene takes place on the plains where a battle is raging. Thersites has just been watching Menelaus and Paris fighting, and commenting on it. Those two fighters leave the scene and now Margarelon, one of the Trojans, comes up behind Theresites, a Greek, and offers Today’s Totally Random Line. Theresites turns around and responds, What art thou? Margarelon anwers, A bastard son of Priam’s, and Theresites has quite a reply to that.

I am a bastard too; I love bastards: I am a bastard begot, bastard instructed, bastard in mind, bastard in valour, in every thing illegitimate. One bear will not bite another, and wherefore should one bastard? Take heed, the quarrel’s most ominous to us: if the son of a whore fight for a whore, he tempts judgment: farewell bastard.

And with that he runs off with Margarelon chasing him, and yelling, The devil take thee coward!

And that’s the end of the scene. Not really too much to it, really. The scene is mostly made up of Theresites talking; first about Paris and Menelaus fighting, and then about bastards.

Any thoughts? I think what Theresites has to say is pretty funny; particularly the I love bastards part.

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

Now, Catesby, what says your lord to my request?

 

Duke of Buckingham

King Richard the Third           Act III, Scene vii,  Line 58

 

Okay, now we have to decide how interested we are in knowing what the request is, and what Catesby’s answer is. As for me, I’m not at all interested, and I’ve got a bit of work that needs to be done. In another month or two I should be retired, and then I might have more time for a line like this. But today, not so much. Sorry.

Oh, by the way, I decided on the way in to work today to only post pics when they were readily available, and not to let the lack of pics prevent me from posting. I believe I've reached this conclusion before. Anyway, here you go. If you want to spend more time with Today’s Totally Random Line don’t let me slow you down.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

What should you do, but knock ‘em down by the dozens? Is this Moorfields to muster in? Or have we some strange Indian with the great tool come to court, the women so besiege us? Bless me, what a fry of fornication is at door! On my Christian conscience, this one christening will beget a thousand; here will be father, godfather, and all together.

 

Porter

King Henry the Eighth        Act V, Scene iii,  Line 31

 

This is the Porter responding to the question What would you have me do?
The question comes from the Porter’s man who is trying to hold back the crowds who have come to see the christening of Elizabeth.

A few notes on words. Moorfields is a big park where crowds would be expected. The word tool in regards to the Indian means exactly what you were thinking it meant, and the Indian is a reference to an American Indian. The word fry is brood; a brood of fornication. Now, given that, the passage should be pretty understandable, eh?

This scene is Will’s way of trying to show how all of London was excited about the christening of Elizabeth, who would become England’s great monarch of the latter half of the sixteenth century. Elizabeth died sometime around 1600 (give or take a year or two) and this play was written and first performed around 1612 (again, give or take a year or two). She had been pretty popular and Will’s trying to portray her as such. The following scene, the last of the play, is the christening with Cranmer giving a big long speech about how great this child being christened will become.

One more interesting, albeit unrelated, thing. I went to Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare to see if there was any more info on this particular scene. Alas, no; but I did pick up an interesting tidbit. Asimov gives a rather lengthy discussion of Gardiner’s attempt to destroy Cranmer, and in the process he brings up the Peasants’ War of 1524-25 in Germany. He ends the discussion of this war speaking of how the peasants were punished after they lost, and that there was little indignation of that, for who worries about the inarticulate robots at the bottom of the economic pyramid? Yes, robots. Who but Isaac Asimov would bring robots into a discussion of Shakespeare? You gotta love Isaac.  

 

 

I couldn't find a picture of Queen Elizabeth (I have some postage stamps with Elizabeth II, but not Elizabeth I), and I couldn't find a picture of Isaac Asimov or a robot. So then I thought I'd use a picture of a pyramid. I know I have one somewhere, but I couldn't find it. So I'm going with this picture of a baobab tree. I know, it's not the same as a pyramid, but it's something that's really big and quite iconic, like the pyramids. Right?