Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

The spirits that know

All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus,

‘Fear not, Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman

Shall e’er have power upon thee.’—Then fly, false thanes,

And mingle with the English epicures:

The mind I sway by and the heart I bear

Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.   

 

Macbeth

Macbeth                         Act V, Scene iii,  Line 8

 

One with sensitive and discriminating tastes, especially in food or wine.

One devoted to sensual pleasure.

Those are the two definitions of epicure from MW online. The first is the modern definition and the latter is archaic. You can sort of see how one begot the other, but it’s more the archaic version that Macbeth is using here.  

We’re near the end of the play and things are starting to turn bad for Macbeth, but he remains defiant. After all, the witches who know all have told him that no man can kill him. Right?

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

And, as he drinks his draughts of Rhenish down,

The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out

The triumph of his pledge.

 

Hamlet

Hamlet                   Act I, Scene iv,  Line 10

 

…the king is feasting and every time he drinks, trumpets, drums, and cannon make their joyful noise in celebration.

There, instead of Pete’s version I gave you Isaac’s version this morning. So that’s right, every time the king drinks there is a musical salute with a cannon. It sounds a bit much, doesn’t it; sort of like a backwards drinking game. Instead of drinking every time something happens, something (in this case a musical and cannon salute) happens every time he drinks. I guess it’s great to be king. Sort of.

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I shall do’t, my lord.

 

Sir Thomas Erpingham

King Henry the Fifth      Act V, Scene i,  Line 292

That’s a pretty long name: Sir Thomas Erpingham. I don’t recall ever running into this fellow before, but it looks like we've visited this page twice previously, so…   In any event, he sounds like a solid guy. I shall do’t, my lord. It’s a no-nonsense reply to the king who has told Sir Thomas to gather all the nobles and meet them at his tent. So, Mr. No-Nonsense Sir Thomas is now Mr. Errand-Boy. He has to go around the camp and gather up all the nobles to meet at the king’s tent. I guess I should say Sir Errand Boy. Either way, I feel pretty certain that he’ll get the job done.

Good ‘ol Sir Thomas Errand-Boy Erpingham.

 

Well, I've got nothing further on Sir Thomas Erpingham, but I do have something on this little cutie; she's forty-two years old today! That's right, and just as cute as she was thirty or so years ago. 

Happy Birthday Jess!

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

 

The queen, the courtiers: who is that they follow?

And with such maimed rites? This doth betoken

The corse they follow did with desperate hand

Fordo its own life: ‘twas of some estate.

Couch me awhile and mark.

 

Hamlet

Hamlet                      Act V, Scene i,  Line 225

 

Quick vocab check: corse is corpse and couch is lie hidden. And, by the way, MW has one modern meaning of couch as to lie in ambush. I’m just saying. Maimed rites simply means that the burial they’re watching is not being performed with the proper rites and of some estate means rich and/or important.

Okay, with all that, you shouldn’t need Pete’s Version. See, it's written in plain, modern English. Almost.

Obviously what Hamlet and Horatio are witnessing is the burial of Ophelia. They just don’t know, yet, that it’s Ophelia. That information's not going to go over well with our titular hero. 

Now, in my world the verb form of couch (or in this case recliner) has a slightly different meaning. 

 

 

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.