QUOTES BY TOPIC

QUOTES FROM THE BARD

My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, and every tongue brings in a several tale

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King Richard III
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD
Give me another horse! Bind up my wounds!
Have mercy, Jesu!—Soft, I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? Myself? There’s none else by.
Richard loves Richard; that is, I and I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.
Then fly! What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no! Alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain. Yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well. Fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, “Guilty! guilty!”
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me,
And if I die no soul will pity me.
And wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?
Methought the souls of all that I had murdered
Came to my tent, and every one did threat
Tomorrow’s vengeance on the head of Richard.

DUTCH:
O, mijn geweten heeft veel duizend tongen,
En ied’re tong vertelt een ander stuk,
En ieder stuk veroordeelt mij als schurk.

MORE:
Fly=Flee
Several=Separate
Burn blue=Indicating spirits
Compleat:
Flee=Vlieden, vlugten
Several=Verscheyden

Topics: conscience, imagination, punishment, guilt, pity

Categories: conscience, guilt, pity, punishment, Richard III|

I’ll strive with troubled thoughts to take a nap

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Richmond
CONTEXT:
RICHMOND
Good lords, conduct him to his regiment:
I’ll strive with troubled thoughts to take a nap,
Lest leaden slumber peise me down tomorrow,
When I should mount with wings of victory.
Once more, good night, kind lords and gentlemen..
O Thou, whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye.
Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with a heavy fall
The usurping helmets of our adversaries!
Make us thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise thee in the victory!
To thee I do commend my watchful soul,
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes.
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!

DUTCH:
Leidt, waarde lords, hem naar zijn schare op weg .
Ik tracht, verhit van hoofd, een wijl te sluim’ren,
Opdat geen looden slaap mij morgen drukk’,
Als ik op zegewieken stijgen moest.

MORE:
Strive with=Fight against
Peise=Weigh
Irons=Swords
Windows=Shutters
Compleat:
To strive against one=Tegen iemand stryven of stribbelen

Topics: conflict, imagination, conscience, punishment

Categories: conflict, conscience, punishment, Richard III|

Conscience is but a word that cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: Richard
CONTEXT:
NORFOLK
A good direction, warlike sovereign.
This found I on my tent this morning.
KING RICHARD
Jockey of Norfolk, be not so bold.
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.
A thing devisèd by the enemy.—
Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge.
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls.
Conscience is but a word that cowards use,
Devised at first to keep the strong in awe.
Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.
March on. Join bravely. Let us to it pell mell
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
What shall I say more than I have inferred?
Remember whom you are to cope withal,
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and runaways,
A scum of Bretons and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o’er-cloyèd country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assured destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring to you unrest;
You having lands and blessed with beauteous wives,
(…)

DUTCH:
Geweten is een lafaardswoord, een vond,
Die sterken, geeft men toe, in banden legt;
De vuist zij ons geweten, ‘t zwaard ons recht .

MORE:
Proverb: To be bought and sold

Direction=Plan
Dickon=Richard (Dick)
Bought and sold=Betrayed
Strong arms=Might, power
Be our conscience=Makes us right
Join=Join battle
Compleat:
Direction=Het bestier, aanwijzing
The directing of one’s intentions=Het bestieren van iemands voorneemen
Conscience=Het geweeten

Burgersdijk notes:
Hans Norfolk, tijdig heil gezocht, enz . Dit rijmpjen, waarmede men Norfolk, die aan Richard trouw bleef, hoewel hij zjjn handelingen laakte, tot afval trachtte te bewegen, luidt in de kroniek:
Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold .
De folio heeft ten onrechte so in plaats van too; Jocky staat voor John, zooals Dickon voor Richard.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, betrayal, conscience, order/society

Categories: conscience, order/society, proverbs and idioms, Richard III|

This argues conscience in your Grace, but the respects thereof are nice and trivial, all circumstances well considerèd

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.7
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
My lord, this argues conscience in your Grace,
But the respects thereof are nice and trivial,
All circumstances well considerèd.
You say that Edward is your brother’s son;
So say we too, but not by Edward’s wife.
For first was he contract to Lady Lucy—
Your mother lives a witness to that vow—
And afterward by substitute betrothed
To Bona, sister to the king of France.
These both put off, a poor petitioner,
A care-crazed mother to a many sons,
A beauty-waning and distressèd widow,
Even in the afternoon of her best days,
Made prize and purchase of his wanton eye,
Seduced the pitch and height of his degree
To base declension and loathed bigamy.
By her in his unlawful bed he got
This Edward, whom our manners term “the Prince.”
More bitterly could I expostulate,
Save that, for reverence to some alive,
I give a sparing limit to my tongue.
Then, good my lord, take to your royal self
This proffered benefit of dignity,
If not to bless us and the land withal,
Yet to draw forth your noble ancestry
From the corruption of abusing times
Unto a lineal, true-derivèd course.

DUTCH:
Mylord, dit toont een nauwgezet gemoed;
Doch uw bezwaren zijn gezocht en nietig,
Wanneer gij alles grondig overweegt.

MORE:
Respects=Objections
Nice=Fussy, petty
Purchase=Gain, profit
Pitch=Height
Degree=Status, rank
Declension=Descent
Sparing=Restrained
Draw forth=Rescue
Compleat:
Nice=Keurig, vies
She is very nice in her diet=Z is zeer vies op haar kost
He is a little too nice upon that matter=Hy is wat al te keurig op die zaak
Purchase=Verkrygen
Pitch=Pik
Degree=Een graad, trap
Declension=Buyging of verandering van woorden
Sparing=Spaarzaam, zuynig, karig

Topics: conscience, complaint, dignity, status, respect

Categories: conscience, dignity, respect, Richard III, status|

Ah keeper, keeper, I have done those things, that now give evidence against my soul

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Clarence
CONTEXT:
CLARENCE
Ah keeper, keeper, I have done those things,
That now give evidence against my soul,
For Edward’s sake, and see how he requites me.—
O God, if my deep prayers cannot appease thee,
But thou wilt be avenged on my misdeeds,
Yet execute thy wrath in me alone!
O, spare my guiltless wife and my poor children!—
Keeper, I prithee sit by me awhile.
My soul is heavy, and I fain would sleep.

DUTCH:
O stokbewaarder! O, ik deed die dingen,
Die tegen mijne ziel alsnu getuigen,
Om Edwards wil; en zie, hoe hij ‘t mij loont!

MORE:
Keeper=Jailer
Requite=Repay
Heavy=Sad
Fain=Am eager to
Compleat:
Keeper=Een bewaarder
Requite=Vergelden
Heavy=Zwaar, zwaarmoedig, bedrukt, bedroefd
Fain=Gaern

Topics: conscience, offence, guilt, regret

Categories: conscience, guilt, regret, Richard III|

Previous 123 Next