Today’s Totally Random
Line(s)
Arm
me, audacity, from head to foot!
-Iachimo
Cymbeline Act I, Scene vi, Line 19
Here’s
Iachimo’s full seven lines.
All of
her that is out of door most rich!
If she be
furnish with a mind so rare,
She is
alone the Arabian bird; and I
Have lost
the wager. Boldness be my friend!
Arm me, audacity,
from head to foot!
Or, like
the Parthian, I shall flying fight;
Rather,
directly fly.
So,
a little context: This is Iachamo talking to himself when he first sets eyes on
Imogen. A bit earlier in the play Iachamo was talking to Imogen’s husband,
Posthumus Leonatus, in Italy. Posthumus
was bragging about the beauty and the fidelity of his wife back home in
Britain. Iachimo, having never met Imogen, claimed that on his upcoming travels
to Britain he would easily be able to sleep with Imogen. So, being the sensible
husband (sarcasm), Posthumus made a wager out of it.
Now
Iachimo is in Britain meeting Imogen for the first time. He’s remarking to
himself what a beauty Imogen is and realizing that bedding her is not going to be easy.
I
think when he say’s out of door, he’s
talking about her outsides, her appearance. The Arabian bird is a reference to the Phoenix, a rare and precious
bird. And the Parthian were a cavalry
famous for turning in the saddle as they retreated, shooting arrows at their
enemy (Asimov’s Guide To Shakespeare, of course).
There,
now you know as much about these lines as I do; which, let’s face it, isn’t all
that much.
But
how about we go back to Today’s Totally Random Line,
Arm me, audacity, from head to
foot!
Not bad. And eminently useful if, like me, you tend to talk to
yourself as Iachimo is doing here. In his case he’s being quite audacious in
that his intent is to bed this married woman. But audacious behavior can be
good behavior too. Showing a willingness
to take surprisingly bold risks - that’s MW’s online definition, and it
talks about bold risks, not the intent behind taking them.
There
are lots of times when audacity can be our friend: when we’re afraid to ask
that girl out, when we’re nervous about asking for that raise. There are a
million examples like that, when saying to yourself Arm me, audacity, from head to
foot! can be a good thing to say
to yourself.
Of
course, if you’re going to say this to yourself, well then you’ve got to listen
yourself too!
Arm me, audacity, from
head to foot!
As is often the case, I was about to give up on finding a pic for today. Then, like mana from heaven...well, here you go. If that's not an audacious choice of sport coat I'm wearing on the right, then I don't know what is.
Thanks Jim!