That, trusted home,

Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,

Besides the Thane of Cawdor. But ‘tis strange:

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,

The instruments of darkness tell us truths,

Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s

In deepest consequence.—

Cousins, a word, I pray you.

 -Banquo

 Macbeth                                  Act I, Scene iii, Line 119

 

Good line today, folks. Here’s your context: Banquo and Macbeth have just finished talking to the witches who told the fellows that Banquo’s son would be king, and Macbeth himself would be Thane of Cawdor, and then king. As soon as the witches disappear Ross and Angus show up and tell Macbeth that he has been made the Thane of Cawdor by order of the king. Macbeth is instantly excited, and takes this to mean that all of the prophesies of the witches will come true. But Banquo, he’s a bit more circumspect, as noted by today’s line. And, of course, he is wise to be so. His words are quite prophetic.

They are really good words to listen to in a general sense as well. The instruments of darkness (and you can decide what those instruments might be, and from what darkness they come) tell us truths, and win us to our harm with honest trifles, only to betray us later to a very important consequence. So maybe we should be careful about who we listen to truths from, and from whom we accept honest trifles. Think about it. 

Well, I couldn't think of anything for a relevant pic today. However...this is a picture of the side of a Viking longboat taken in Oslo. You can see that some of the planks are original (dug up out of the ground at an archeological site), and some are new (added during the reconstruction). I think it's an interesting picture when you look close. Relevance? Well, the battle that Macbeth helped win, and for which he is being awarded the title of Thane of Cawdor, was fought against, you guessed it, Norway. This is laid out in the today's scene a few lines previous to today's Totally Random line. How about that?

 

I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning-mark upon  him; his complexion is perfect gallows.

 -Gonzalo

 The Tempest                      Act I, Scene i, Line 28

  

What a great line! Gonzalo is standing on deck in a storm. People are running all over the place, and many are afraid that this is the end. But Gonzalo looks at one of the crewmen and decides that this fellow has the look of someone who’s destined to be hanged, not drowned. And so Gonzalo is now convinced that the ship is not going down, and there’s he’s in no danger of drowning. I love it.

 

Well today's pic is perhaps the easiest one so far to pick. It's a drawing of the immortal Gonzalo speaking this very line. How about that!

 

And do you tell me of a woman’s tongue,

That gives not half so great a blow to th’ear

As will a chestnut in a farmer’s fire?

 

-Petruchio

The Taming Of The Shrew          Act I, Scene ii, Line 206

 

Petruchio has decided to set his sights on Katharina, and the boys are trying to warn him what a shrew she is. His response is to name all the things he’s dealt with.

        Have I not in my time heard lions roar?

Have I not heard the sea, puft up with winds,

Rage like an angry boar chafed with sweat?

Have I not heard great ordnance in the field,

And heaven’s artillery thunder in the sky?

Have I not in a pitched battle heard

Loud ‘larums, neighing steeds, and trumpet’s clang?

And do you tell me of a woman’s tongue,

That gives not half so great a blow to th’ear

As will a chestnut in a farmer’s fire?

Tush, tush! Fear boys with bugs.

 

That Petruchio is a man’s man!

 

Given the mention of a chestnut in today's line, I guess it was pretty much inevitable that I would give you a picture of Chestnut.

 

But time hath rooted out my parentage,

And to the world and awkward casualties

Bound me in servitude. – [aside] I will desist;

But there is something glows upon my cheek,

And whispers in mine ear, ‘Go not till he speak’.

-Marina

 

Pericles                        Act V, Scene i, Line 93

 

Here we have Marina talking to Pericles, her father. But if I’m not mistaken, as of yet she doesn’t realize that this guy is her father, and nor does he realize that Marina is his daughter. It’s a pretty typical ending for one of Will’s comedies. And it’ll all be resolved over the course of this scene and the next. You can reason, though, that Will more than makes up for these ridiculously happy endings with the endings of some of his tragedies.

Now, as to the verbiage; I believe that time hath rooted out my parentage means that time has taken away her parents; or at least that's what she thinks. That’s interesting phraseology, isn’t it? I guess you could say that time hath rooted out my parentage too, since both of them have moved on. Right?

And here are those two parents, before time rooted them out on me. In this pic they are sitting with two of their grandchildren, also known as my two Cordelias. Time does march on, doesn't it. Yes it does. 

 

Who? God?

 -Lafeu

 All’s Well That Ends Well            Act II, Scene iii, Line 249

 This is Lafeu’s response to Parolles’s statement that whom I serve above is my master. Lafeu had referred to Bertram as Parolles’s lord and master. Parolles corrected him by clarifying that Bertam my be his lord, but the guy above is his master. And Lafeu responds, Who? God? To which Parolles says, Ay, sir.

Well? Thoughts?

 

I finished writing what I have above on this line, and I looked up from my desk in thought, and I saw a squirrel jumping from one tree to the next in this line of pine trees. On some days, sitting outside where I don't have to look through dirty cellar windows, I've seen a squirrel make it across the whole row of trees. It's quite interesting to watch. Unfortunately, this row of trees is scheduled to be cut down.  

What? you ask. These trees? 

Ay sir.
 

 

Please it your Grace to be advertised

The Duke of York is newly come from Ireland;

 

-Messenger

 King Henry The Sixth Part II   Act IV, Scene ii, Line 24

 

That’s an interesting use of the word advertised, isn’t it?

And may it be advertised that this is my view as I was leaving Ireland. I'm guessing that the Duke of York's view upon leaving was a little bit different.

 

and forget

Your laboursome and dainty trims, wherein

You made great Juno angry.

 

-Pisanio

 Cymbeline                               Act III, Scene iv, Line 166

 

And here we go again with the cross-dressing. I forget the exact context, but I know that Pisanio is telling Imogen she must pretend to be a man, and how to do that. He tells her she must

           Forget that rarest treasure of your cheek,

           Exposing it—but, O, the harder heart!

           Alack, no remedy!—to the greedy touch

           Of common-kissing Titan; and forget

           Your laboursome and dainty trims, wherein

   You made great Juno angry.

In other words, well I’m not sure what the other words would be. But he’s telling her to forget how to be a woman, since she’s going to have to pretend to be a man. I’m not sure what it means to expose her cheek to common-kissing Titan (is Titan bi-sexual?), but I think that her dainty trims are the feminine qualities she has that made even Juno, the queen of the gods, jealous. So, yah, act like a man, damn it!

It’s not the first time that Will has a woman pretending to be a man in his plays. Since this is one of his later plays, it might be the last.

So this is me, using the camera angle to try to look like I'm a Giant about to stomp on this building. What's this got to do with today's Totally Random line? Well, other than the fact that it's Totally Random, nothing. Hey wait, it just occurred to me: I'm pretending to be a giant. Okay, it's not the same as pretending to be a woman, or a woman pretending to be a man, but at least it's pretending. So let's conclude that it is a relevant picture. Okay?