Othello, Act 4, Scene 3, 9-104
Arden 3 | E.A.J. Honigmann | London: Bloomsbury, 1996 | 292-299
“How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.”
Scene
Words + Pronunciation
Translation
Assonance
Alliteration
Consonance
Thoughts
Thought Count
Rhythm
Pacing
Beats
Full Scene
Rhetoric
Scene
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Words and Pronunciation +
Arden 3 | 1996
Words
incontinent: one of several apostrophes to the Deity by Juliet. (Weis)
wearing: sweet, used here adjectivally; honey was the standard sweetener in Shakespeare’s day, and Juliet is humouring Nurse. (Weis)
would: tired (Leung); weary, tired (SW)
approve: fatiguing journey (cited in OED) (Weis)
stubbornness: have I had (Weis)
checks: 3. a. Denoting expression (usually authoritative) of a wish or intention: Determine, decree, ordain, enjoin, give order (that something be done). Obs. (OED)
unpin: not yet banned at this date and, outside RJ, used exclusively in the history plays, particularly in the Henry IVs (Weis)
grace and favour: wait for the detail (see without circumstance, 5.3.181) (Weis)
those sheets: special argument, detailed explanation (SW); circumlocution, verbiage, unnecessary detail (SW): pageantry, ceremony, spectacle (SW)
All’s one: foolish; Nurse picks up Juliet’s formal dichotomy of good and bad while ignoring the substance of her question. (Weis); foolish, silly, stupid (SW)
Good faith: effectively a non sequitur after flower of courtesy since gentleness could be thought to be part of courtesy; ‘as gentle as a lamb’ is proverbial (Dent, L34). (Weis)
foolish: ‘Lucky you!’ ways: well done (SW), carry on, go ahead (SW); get along, be off (SW)
you talk: i.e. how you talk! She speaks almost as if to a child; Desdemona’s reference to her mother continues this redefinition of their roles. (Honigmann)
Barbary: ‘Be good.’ (Weis)
proved: had your midday meal (Weis)
mad: as if (Weis, re: line 49)
willow: a mild and humorous imprecation on Juliet’s romantic heart for sending Nurse on this ‘back-breaking’ trip (cf. MA 5.1.55) (Weis)
fortune: blame, censure, take to task, wish mischief on (SW); curse, devil take, evil befall (SW)
hang my head: prancing about (cited under OED jaunce v.)(Weis); jaunce: jaunt, trudge about, run around (SW); jaunt, fatiguing journey (SW)
dispatch: honourable (Weis); honourable, respectable, upright (SW); genuine, real, true (SW); innocent, well-intentioned, innocuous (SW)
night-gown: assure, promise, guarantee, confirm (SW)
unpin: unequally, unevenly; or unusually, in a peculiar way (SW)
proper: ‘by the Virgin Mary’ (Weis)
nether lip: eager, with a teasing intimation of unbecoming sexual passion (Weis); active, vigourous (SW); hot-tempered, angry, passionate (SW); fast, hasty (SW); lecherous, lustful, hot-blooded (SW); amorous, sexually eager, ardent, appetent (Partridge)
sycamore: a proverbial expression of indignant or amused surprise (Dent, M699.2) (Weis); expression of (real or playful) impatience (SW)
Lay by these.: [exclamation] by Mary (SW)
hie: here meaning ‘surely’ (OED v. 4b glosses ‘I suppose’) (Weis); trow: (I) wonder, (I) ask you (SW); think, expect, believe (SW); believe, give credence to, accept as true (SW); hope, trust, suppose (SW); think, be sure (SW); know, guess, imagine (SW)
moe: soothing dressing (Shakespeare’s only usage of the word) (Weis);1. A moist, usually heated mass of a substance with a soft, pasty consistency, applied to the skin, usually by means of a bandage or dressing, in order to promote healing, reduce swelling, relieve pain, etc.; a fomentation, a cataplasm. Also figurative. (OED)
couch: ado, fuss; cf. ‘I am not worth this coil that’s made for me’ (KJ 2.1.165).(Weis); turmoil, disturbance, fuss (SW); 1. Noisy disturbance, ‘row’; ‘tumult, turmoil, bustle, stir, hurry, confusion’ (Johnson).2. Confused noise of inanimate things; clutter, rattle, confused din. 3. Fuss, ado; a ‘business’. 4.a. to keep a coil: to keep up a disturbance; make a fuss, bustle, much ado.
in conscience: confession (Leung, SW); absolution (SW); confessional, place for hearing confession (SW)
abuse: hasten, go quickly (also at 72, 77, 78) (Weis); hasten, hurry, speed (SW)
gross kind: small, humble dwelling (SW)
price: waits (Leung); stay: stay in hiding, remain hidden (SW); staying, remaining, continued presence (SW); remain, continue, endure (SW); wait (for), await (SW)
Good Troth: Juliet is starting to blush (Weis)
blood: spirit, vigour, mettle (SW); anger, temper, passion (SW); colouring, healthy complexion, blushing (SW); hot blood, the blood as affected by sexual passion (Partridge, 67)
wanton: feminine; or: childlike (SW); lascivious, lewd, obscene (SW); carefree, lighthearted, frolicsome, playful (SW)
climb: to climb a woman’s legs (as though they were the limb of a tree) and then enjoy her (Partridge, 80)
bird’s nest: i.e. Juliet’s bedroom; the idiom ‘to climb a bird’s nest’ may have been proverbial (Dent, N124.1). (Weis) pudend and pubic hair (Partridge, 66)
at any: hasten, go quickly (also at 72, 77, 78) (Weis)
drudge and toil in your delight: ‘I am a mean labourer and hack, and I labour for your pleasure.’ (Weis)
drudge: slave, serf, lackey (SW)
bear the burden: assume responsibility for what will ensue; but also suggesting that Juliet will experience the weight of Romeo’s body during love-making (cf. AC 1.5.22).(Weis); bear: to bear children; to bear, support, a superincumbent man (Partridge, 63)
soon at night: tonight (proverbial; Dent, S639.1) (Weis); quickly, in a short time (SW)
hie to high fortune: Wish me luck. (No Fear Shakespeare Translation)
Pronunciation +
bade: (line 20) bad
Barbary: (line 24) bar-ba-ree
prithee: (line 31) prih-thee
Lodovico: (line 34) Loe-doe-vee-ko
hie: (line 49) high
troth: (line 69) trowth OR troth
petticoats: (line 73) pet-ih-cotes
ud’s: (line 74) uhdz
usage (line 103): you-ssidge OR youz-idge
Translation
No Fear Shakespeare
The NURSE and PETER enter.
JULIET
Oh my God, here she comes! Oh sweet Nurse, what news do you bring? Have you spoken to him? Send your man away.
NURSE
Peter, wait for me at the gate.
PETER exits.
JULIET
Now, good sweet Nurse—Oh Lord, why do you look so sad? Even if the news is sad, tell me with a smile on your face. If the news is good, you’re ruining the sweet news by playing a trick with a sour face like that.
NURSE
I am tired. Leave me alone for a minute. Oh my, my bones ache so much. I’ve been running all over the place.
JULIET
I wish you had my bones, and I had your news. Come on now, I beg you, speak, good Nurse, speak.
NURSE
Sweet Jesus, you’re in such a hurry! Can’t you wait for a moment? Don’t you see that I’m out of breath?
JULIET
How can you be out of breath when you have enough breath to tell me that you’re out of breath? The excuse you make to delay the news is longer than the news itself. Is the news good or bad? Answer that question. Tell me if it’s good or bad, and I’ll wait for the details. Tell me so I can be satisfied. Is it good or bad?
NURSE
Well, you have made a foolish choice. You don’t know how to pick a man. Romeo? No, not him, though his face is more handsome than any man’s, and his legs are prettier, and as for his hands and feet and body, they’re not much to speak of, and yet they’re beyond compare. He’s not the most polite man in the world, but, believe me, he’s gentle as a lamb. Well, do what you want. Be good. Have you had lunch yet?
JULIET
No, I haven’t had lunch. Everything you told me I already knew. What does he say about our marriage? What about that?
NURSE
Lord, what a headache I’ve got! My head is pounding. It feels like it’ll break into twenty pieces. My back aches too—(JULIET rubs her back) Ooh, on the other side—ah, my poor aching back! Curse your heart for sending me running all over town. I could get sick and die.
JULIET
Believe me, I’m sorry you’re in pain. Sweet, sweet, sweet Nurse, tell me, what did my love Romeo say?
NURSE
Your love says, like an honorable gentleman, who is courteous, kind, handsome, and, I believe, virtuous— where is your mother?
JULIET
Where is my mother? Why, she’s inside. Where else would she be? Your answer is so strange! “Your love says, like an honorable gentleman, ‘Where is your mother?’”
NURSE
Oh holy Mary, mother of God! Are you this impatient? Come on, you’re being ridiculous! Is this the cure for my aching bones? From now on, take care of your messages yourself.
JULIET
You’re making such a fuss. Come on, what did Romeo say?
NURSE
Do you have permission to go out and take confession today?
JULIET
I do.
NURSE
Then hurry up and rush over to Friar Lawrence’s cell. There’s a husband there who’s waiting to make you his wife. Now I see the blood rushing to your cheeks. You blush bright red as soon as you hear any news. Go to the church. I must go by a different path to get a rope ladder. Your love will use it to climb up to your window while it’s dark. I do the drudge work for your pleasure. But soon you’ll be doing a wife’s work all night long. Go. I’ll go to lunch. You go to Friar Lawrence’s cell.
JULIET
Wish me luck. Thank you, dear Nurse.
They exit.
Assonance
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Pronunciation +
shamest: (line 23) Q2–3; sham’st Q4, F; not in Q1 (Weis)
Jesu: (line 29) jeez-yoo or jee-zoo; jayz-yoo or jay-zoo
you: (line 29) The more formal pronoun is used consistently by Nurse when addressing Juliet, while the 13-year-old uses the familiar thou, thee, thy to her servant, in conformity with the etiquette of the day in which social class overrides age. (Weis)
marry: (line 62) mah-ree (UK); meh-ree (US) (OED)
trow: (line 62) tr-ah-oo (UK); tr-oh (US) (OED)
hie: (line 68) hah-ee
wanton: (line 70) want-en or want-in
Alliteration
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Consonance
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Thoughts
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
EMILIA
Long:
Medium:
Short:
Complex:
End stopped:
Midline:
Period:
Exclamation:
Question:
Dash:
Total:
DESDEMONA
Long:
Medium:
Short:
Complex:
End stopped:
Midline:
Period:
Exclamation:
Question:
Dash:
Total:
Rhythm
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Pacing
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Beats
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
Beat 1
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
Beat 2
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay.
Beat 3
EMILIA
— — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour.
Beat 4
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
Beat 4b
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘willow’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary.
Beat 5
DESDEMONA
——————————Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
Beat 6
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
Beat 7
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next.
Beat 8
DESDEMONA
——————————-Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
Beat 9
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
Beat 10
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
Beat 11
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
Beat 12
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
Beat 13
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
Beat 14
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
Beat 15
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.
Beat 16
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Beat 17
Pronunciation +
shamest: (line 23) Q2–3; sham’st Q4, F; not in Q1 (Weis)
Jesu: (line 29) jeez-yoo or jee-zoo; jayz-yoo or jay-zoo
you: (line 29) The more formal pronoun is used consistently by Nurse when addressing Juliet, while the 13-year-old uses the familiar thou, thee, thy to her servant, in conformity with the etiquette of the day in which social class overrides age. (Weis)
marry: (line 62) mah-ree (UK); meh-ree (US) (OED)
trow: (line 62) tr-ah-oo (UK); tr-oh (US) (OED)
hie: (line 68) hah-ee
wanton: (line 70) want-en or want-in
Full Scene
Arden 3 | 1996
[4.3]
Enter Othello, Lodovico, Desdemona, Emilia and Attendants.
LODOVICO
I do beseech you, sir, trouble yourself no further.
OTHELLO
O, pardon me, ‘twill do me good to walk.
LODOVICO
Madam, good night: I humbly thank your ladyship.
DESDEMONA
Your honour is most welcome.
OTHELLO
——————————-Will you walk, sir?
O, Desdemona –
DESDEMONA
——————-My lord?
OTHELLO
—————————–Get you to bed 5
On th’instant, I will be returned forthwith.
Dismiss your attendant there: look’t be done.
DESDEMONA
I will, my lord.
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.
Rhetoric
Arden 3 | 1996
Exeunt Othello, Lodovico and Attendants.
EMILIA
How goes it now? He looks gentler than he did.
DESDEMONA
He says he will return incontinent, 10
And hath commanded me to go to bed
And bid me to dismiss you.
EMILIA
—————————Dismiss me?
DESDEMONA
It was his bidding; therefore, good Emilia,
Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu.
We must not now displease him. 15
EMILIA
Ay. — Would you had never seen him!
DESDEMONA
So would not I: my love doth so approve him
That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns
— Prithee unpin me – have grace and favour .
EMILIA
I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed. 20
DESDEMONA
All’s one. Good faith , how foolish are our minds!
If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me
In one of these same sheets.
EMILIA
—————————-Come, come, you talk.
DESDEMONA
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad 25
And did forsake her. She had a song of ‘ willow ’,
An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind. I have much to do
But to go hang my head all at one side 30
And sing it like poor Barbary. Prithee dispatch.
EMILIA
Shall I go fetch your night-gown?
DESDEMONA
No, unpin me here.
EMILIA
This Lodovico is a proper man. A very hand
some man. 35
DESDEMONA
He speaks well.
EMILIA
I know a lady in Venice would have walked
barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
DESDEMONA
[Sings.]
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow: 40
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow:
Her salt tears fell from her and softened the stones, 45
Sing willow, willow, willow.
[Speaks.] Lay by these.
Willow, willow
[Speaks.] Prithee hie thee: he’ll come anon.
Sing all a green willow must be my garland. 50
Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve —
[Speaks.] Nay, that’s not next. Hark, who is’t that knocks?
EMILIA
It’s the wind.
DESDEMONA [Sings.]
I called my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow: 55
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men.
[Speaks.] So, get thee gone; good night. Mine eyes do itch,
Doth that bode weeping?
EMILIA
————————–’Tis neither here nor there.
DESDEMONA
I have heard it said so. O, these men, these men!
Dost thou in conscience think – tell me, Emilia – 60
That there be women do abuse their husbands
In such gross kind?
EMILIA
——————–There be some such, no question.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
Why, would not you?
DESDEMONA
———————No, by this heavenly light!
EMILIA
Nor I neither, by this heavenly light: 65
I might do’t as well i’th’ dark.
DESDEMONA
Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?
EMILIA
The world’s a huge thing: it is a great price
For a small vice.
DESDEMONA
—————–Good troth, I think thou wouldst not.
EMILIA
By my troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I 70
had done. Marry, I would not do such a thing for
a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns,
petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for
all the whole world? ud’s pity, who would not make
her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I 75
should venture purgatory for’t.
DESDEMONA
Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong
For the whole world!
EMILIA
Why, the wrong is but a wrong i’th’ world; and
having the world for your labour, ’tis a wrong in your 80
own world, and you might quickly make it right.
DESDEMONA
I do not think there is any such woman.
EMILIA
Yes, a dozen, and as many to th’ vantage as would
store the world they played for.
But I do think it is their husbands’ faults 85
If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties
And pour our treasures into foreign laps;
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite, 90
Why, we have galls: and though we have some grace
Yet have we some revenge. Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell,
And have their palates both for sweet and sour
As husbands have. What is it that they do 95
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is. And doth affection breed it?
I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too. And have not we affections?
Desires for sport? and frailty, as men have? 100
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so .
DESDEMONA
Good night, good night. God me such usage send
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend!
Exeunt.