Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

What are your pleasures with me, reverend lords?

 

Queen Katherine

King Henry the Eighth    Act III, Scene i, Line 25

 

What do you guys want?
There, that’s the Pete version; plain and simple.
What more is there to say about today’s line? I have to say, though, I like the full three lines of the Queen’s statement here, partly because she uses the term housewife.

Your Graces find me here part of a housewife:
I would be all, against the worst may happen.
What are your pleasures with me, reverend lords?

Here I am, part housewife, part queen:
I’d just as soon be all housewife, regardless of what might happen.
Anyway, what do you guys want?

Maybe I should do my own rendition of NoFear Shakespeare. But what would I call it?
Totally Random Shakespeare? That doesn’t seem to make sense.
In Pete’s Words Shakespeare? That’s a little better, but way too long.
How about Shakespeare, For Pete’s Sake? Maybe.

I was gonna say it’s a moot point, because I’m not gonna be writing that book. Then it occurred to me that I could do it as a regular segment of my blog here. I’m pretty sure my follower would like it.

Okay, then I need a name, and I don’t really like any of the ones I’ve come up with so far.

Totally Random Pete? No

For Pete’s Sake Version? I’ll give that a maybe. That last one is growing on me. I certainly don’t hate it. Yah, I might use that…wait a minute--- the Pete Version. That’s what I called today’s version at the top of this post. 

The Pete Version. Yup, that’s it. Sold.

The Pete Version of a fall day at Ten Mile River

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Thou say’s well, and it holds well too; for the fortune of us that are the moon’s men doth ebb and flow like the sea, being govern’d, as the sea is, by the moon. As, for proof, now: a purse of gold most resolutely snatcht on Monday night, and most dissolutely spent on Tuesday morning; got with swearing ‘lay by,’ and spent with crying ‘bring in;’ now in as low an ebb as the foot of the ladder, and by and by in as high a flow as the ridge of the gallows.

 

Hal

King Henry the Fourth Part I    Act I, Scene ii, Line 41

 

Okay, long line. It is the reply to a long line of last week. Here, go take a look at that line, then come back and we’ll continue with this one.

Totally Random Daily Shakespeare

So this is Hal’s reply to Falstaff. Sir John remarked that they are squires of the night, governed by the moon, just as the sea is. Hal is agreeing, but he’s putting a different spin on it, saying that the ebb and flow of the tides are as low as the first step up to the gallows and as high as the top of the gallows. In other words, the squires of the night will all hang for their actions.
And what does Falstaff do? Well he responds in true falstaffian manner (and I’m really surprised that falstaffian is not a word; let’s make it one, shall we?),

By the Lord, thou say’st true, lad. And is not my hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench?

First he agrees, so as not to create an argument, and then he immediately and completely changes the subject.
It’s brilliant!

You know, I often use the ploy of changing the subject and sometimes it works, sometimes not (it depends a lot on the situation and on the person(s) you’re working with). But I really like the idea of agreeing first. That gives the other party the feeling that they’ve won, and so they’re more apt to be ready to move on.

Yes, brilliant. I’ll have to remember that.

Self-explanatory.

 Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Peace, I pray you.

 

Mistress Quickly

The Merry Wives of Windsor         Act I, Scene iv, Line 79

 

Please stop. Please be quiet.
Peace, I pray you. 

Infinitely nicer than shut up. I’ve got to remember to use this one. Simple, sweet, to the point without being curt.

Peace, I pray you.
Yah, that’s a good one.

Peace, I pray you, and let me drink my coffee.

Well, couple of things: 

I was sitting at home when I wrote the post above, and now I'm at work posting it to my blog; so this is not the coffee cup that I was trying to get back to when I was writing this post. Also, this particular cup, pictured above, is empty. I haven't gotten around to making a cup of coffee here at work, this morning, yet.

So the reality is, that this picture is sort of a prop, not the real thing. But since the blog is about theater, I guess that's okay. And if you have any objections to that, well...

Peace, I pray you.

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Such commendations as become a maid,

A virgin, and his servant, say to him.

Margaret

King Henry the Sixth Part I          Act V, Scene iii, Line 177

 

Yesterday we saw Margaret saying good-bye to Suffolk, holding his head.

Today we have Margaret and Suffolk (the latter’s body still attached to the head) shortly after they’ve met.

Suffolk has received Margaret’s assent to go to England to marry Henry and become the queen. Now Suffolk is leaving to go back to tell Henry, but before he leaves, he asks Margaret,

Farewell, sweet madam: but, hark you, Margaret,—
No princely commendations to my king?

Today’s Totally Random Line is Margaret’s reply to Suffolk.

Apparently he’s looking for more because when he pushes her and she tells him she sends an unspotted heart, he responds

And this withal?

That’s all? Then kisses her as he says it.

Ol’ Suffolk is looking to get a little bit of Margaret for himself. Does he succeed? Well, based on the way Margaret was hugging his head yesterday, you gotta wonder.

Here we have just a head, albeit not the head of Suffolk. This is the head on a letter opener. I got it as a gift from someone that I used to work with. I guess that's all I have to say about that. 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Oft have I heard that grief softens the mind,

And makes it fearful and degenerate;

Think therefore on revenge, and cease to weep.

But who can cease to weep and look on this?

Here may his head lie on my throbbing breast:

But where’s the body that I should embrace?

 

Queen Margaret

King Henry the Sixth Part II         Act IV, Scene iv, Line 1

 

The scene opens with Queen Margaret hugging Suffolk's head to her breast. Yes, just the head; no body. Apparently, Suffolk was beheaded by pirates, and somehow his head has found its way back home.

He was always a favorite of Margaret’s and she is not at all happy that he is dead. Can you tell?

Happy Fourth everyone!

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

Give me leave. Here lies the water; good: here stands the man; good: if the man go to this water, and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he, he goes,--mark you that; but if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself: argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life.

 

First Clown

Hamlet                            Act V, Scene i, Line 20

 

Okay, at first glance this looks hard, but let’s not dive into it willy nilly, and perhaps we’ll see that it’s not all that difficult. First let’s look at the context. Why they’re listed as First and Second Clown I’ll never know, but the two guys talking are gravediggers digging a grave. They’re in a churchyard cemetery and they’re discussing the fact that they’re digging a grave here for someone who drowned themselves, namely Ophelia. At issue is the fact that someone who committed suicide cannot be buried in hallowed ground. The First Clown/Gravedigger is being a little silly and trying to say that the maybe Ophelia is not guilty of suicide. More importantly though, he’s giving us the idiom willy nilly.

 

And that’s our takeaway: willy nilly. I’ll bet you didn’t see that one coming.

Two Gravediggers

 

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

I cannot believe that in her; she’s full of  most blest condition.

 

Roderigo

Othello, The Moor of Venice         Act II, Scene i, Line 252

 

Iago has just spent thirty lines or so convincing Roderigo that Desdemona is in love with Michael Cassio (all part of his scheme to get Othello convinced that his wife is cheating on him) and today’s line is Roderigo’s response. Roderigo is right, of course, but what I really like is Iago’s retort to this.

Blest fig’s-end!

Blessed fig’s end. I wonder if… word used with a rude gesture (of the thumb between the first tow fingers of a fist). That’s out of my Shakespeare app’s glossary. So it might have been recognized as a very inappropriate expression in the day, might’ve even been akin to F you. However, no one’s going to recognize that today, so you can use it to your heart’s content.

Blest fig’s-end!

And here are the remnants of last night's project to replace the water shut-off valve on the toilet; a job that started as the task of just turning the water off so that the toilet could be drained to be cleaned better.

Two hours, and a trip to the Deeps later!

Blest figs-end!!