QUOTES FROM THE BARD

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors ACT/SCENE: 1.1 SPEAKER: Duke CONTEXT: DUKE
Nay, forward, old man. Do not break off so,
For we may pity though not pardon thee.
AEGEON
O, had the gods done so, I had not now
Worthily termed them merciless to us.
For, ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues,
We were encountered by a mighty rock,
Which being violently borne upon,
Our helpful ship was splitted in the midst;
So that, in this unjust divorce of us,
Fortune had left to both of us alike
What to delight in, what to sorrow for.
Her part, poor soul, seeming as burdenèd
With lesser weight, but not with lesser woe,
Was carried with more speed before the wind,
And in our sight they three were taken up
By fishermen of Corinth, as we thought.
At length, another ship had seized on us
And, knowing whom it was their hap to save,
Gave healthful welcome to their shipwracked guests,
And would have reft the fishers of their prey
Had not their bark been very slow of sail;
And therefore homeward did they bend their course.
Thus have you heard me severed from my bliss;
That by misfortunes was my life prolonged
To tell sad stories of my own mishaps. DUTCH: Neen, oude, breek niet af; want mededoogen
Mag ik u schenken, schoon genade niet.. MORE: Worthily=Deservedly, justly
Helpful ship=Mast, which was helpful when the ship was “sinking-ripe”
In the midst=Down the middle
Twice five leagues=Thirty miles
Hap=Luck
Reft=Bereft, deprived
Prey=Those rescued
Bark=Ship
Compleat:
Worthily=Waardiglyk
Helpful=Behulpelyk
Midst=Het middenst, midden
Hap=Het luk, geval, toeval
Bereft=Beroofd
Bark=Scheepje Topics: pity, mercy, judgment, fate/destiny, life