QUOTES FROM THE BARD

PLAY: Coriolanus ACT/SCENE: 4.1 SPEAKER: Coriolanus CONTEXT: VOLUMNIA
Now the red pestilence strike all trades in Rome,
And occupations perish!
CORIOLANUS
What, what, what!
I shall be loved when I am lack’d. Nay, mother.
Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say,
If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labours you’ld have done, and saved
Your husband so much sweat. Cominius,
Droop not; adieu. Farewell, my wife, my mother:
I’ll do well yet. Thou old and true Menenius,
Thy tears are salter than a younger man’s,
And venomous to thine eyes. My sometime general,
I have seen thee stem, and thou hast oft beheld
Heart-hardening spectacles; tell these sad women
‘Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes,
As ’tis to laugh at ’em. My mother, you wot well
My hazards still have been your solace: and
Believe’t not lightly— though I go alone,
Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen
Makes fear’d and talk’d of more than seen— your son
Will or exceed the common or be caught
With cautelous baits and practice.
VOLUMNIA
My first son.
Whither wilt thou go? Take good Cominius
With thee awhile: determine on some course,
More than a wild exposture to each chance
That starts i’ the way before thee. DUTCH: Uw zoon verheft zich boven al ‘t gemeene,
Of valt door list en sluw verraad. MORE: Hercules=Son of Zeus, known for his strength (e.g. Herculean tasks)
Salter=Saltier
Wot=Know
Fen=Swamp
Cautelous=Deceitful
Practice=Intrigues
Compleat:
Wot=Weet
Fen=Veen, moeras
Cautelous=Crafty, false; cautious
Practice=(underhand dealing, intrigue, plot) Praktyk, bedekten handel, list Topics: wellbeing, age/experience, risk, courage