An Absey Book:

Resources and References

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Quote sources

Examples and Definitions

A Few Shakespeare Resources

All references to Shakespeare plays are in italics. They give the common title (sometimes abbreviated) followed by a capitalized Roman numeral for the act, a lower case Roman numeral for the scene, and an Arabic numeral for the first line quoted. Thus "Caesar IV.iii 18" means "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, fourth act, third scene, beginning at line 18".

The line numbers given are from the Arden Shakespeare, Second Series. Line numbers often vary between editions, but the ones listed should be enough to get you to the right part of the scene.

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Quote Sources

Quotes were chosen for comedy value. No real attempt was made to take account of the original meaning or context. Here they are:

Pages other than the Challenges page:

[Start of the play]
FIRST WITCH

When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
SECOND WITCH
When the hurlyburly's done
When the battle's lost and won
Macbeth I.i 1

[Three witches share recipes:]
ALL
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
SECOND WITCH
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the kettle boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog ...
Macbeth IV.i 10

The phrase "Absey Book" is Elizabethan slang for an elementary school reader: an ABC book. It's used by Shakespeare in King John I.i

[Claudius and Laertes discuss Hamlet's fate.]
KING CLAUDIUS

Break not your sleeps for that: you must not think
That we are made of stuff so flat and dull
That we can let our beard be shook with danger
And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more.
Hamlet IV.vii 30

[The magician Prospero weirds-out his guests, then ...]
PROSPERO
... Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
Tempest IV.i 147

[Romeo ends up in Juliet's garden, if you know what we mean.]
JULIET

By whose direction found'st thou out this place?
ROMEO
By love, who first did prompt me to inquire;
He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes.
I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far
As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise.
Romeo and Juliet II.ii 79

[Antonio and Sebastian arrive in Illyria.]
ANTONIO

In the south suburbs, at the Elephant,
Is best to lodge
.
Twelfth Night III.iii 39

Challenges page

In the order you encounter them on the page:

[Macbeth is totally bummed. Wow. This is a threefer.]
SEYTON
The queen, my lord, is dead.
MACBETH

She should have died hereafter;
... Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot
, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth V.v 17

[Way too complicated to explain.]
TOUCHSTONE

I will name you the degrees. The first, the Retort Courteous; the second, the Quip Modest; the third, the Reply Churlish; the fourth, the Reproof Valiant; the fifth, the Countercheque Quarrelsome; the sixth, the Lie with Circumstance; the seventh, the Lie Direct. All these you may avoid but the Lie Direct; and you may avoid that too, with an If. I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel, but when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but of an If, as, 'If you said so, then I said so;' and they shook hands and swore brothers. Your If is the only peacemaker; much virtue in If.
As You Like It V.iv 90

[Hamlet returns (again) to Elsinore; in the graveyard ...]
HAMLET

Let me see.
[Takes the skull]
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen?
Hamlet V.i 178

[Theseus contemplates the strange "dream" the lovers relate:]
THESEUS

More strange than true: I never may believe
These antique fables, nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
Midsummer Night's Dream V.i 2

A walking shadow and Out, out, brief candle (see above)

[Convincing Brutus to join the conspiracy ...]
CASSIUS

I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
Julius Caesar I.ii 89

[Cleopatra placates Caesar.]
CLEOPATRA
O Caesar, what a wounding shame is this,
That thou, vouchsafing here to visit me,
Doing the honour of thy lordliness
To one so meek, that mine own servant should
Parcel the sum of my disgraces by
Addition of his envy! Say, good Caesar,
That I some lady trifles have reserved,
Immoment toys, things of such dignity
As we greet modern friends withal; and say,
Some nobler token I have kept apart
For Livia and Octavia, to induce
Their mediation.
Antony and Cleopatra V.ii.158

[From Antony's funeral oration:]
ANTONY

If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
You all do know this mantle: I remember
The first time ever Caesar put it on;
'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent,
That day he overcame the Nervii:
Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through:
See what a rent the envious Casca made:
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd;
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Caesar follow'd it,
As rushing out of doors, to be resolved
If Brutus so unkindly knock'd, or no;
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquish'd him: then burst his mighty heart.
Julius Caesar III.ii 171

The Ben Jonson quote ("Would he had blotted a thousand") can be found in his "memoir" Timber, in the section "De Shakespeare Nostrat"

[Lear has been driven mad:]
KING LEAR
Look, look, a mouse! Peace, peace; this piece of toasted cheese will do 't.
King Lear IV.vi 88

[The Chorus entertains conjecture of a time ...]
CHORUS
Now all the youth of England are on fire,
And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies:
Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought
Reigns solely in the breast of every man:
Henry the Fifth II Prologue 1

[Puck gives Oberon the sitrep:]
PUCK

Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand;
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
Midsummer Night's Dream III.ii 110

[Inspector Guildenstern tries to outwit Hamlet.]
GUILDENSTERN

If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I will do your mother's commandment: if not, your pardon and my return shall be the end of my business.
HAMLET
Sir, I cannot.
GUILDENSTERN
What, my lord?
HAMLET
Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased.
Hamlet III.ii 307

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Examples and definitions

The Wikipedia entries on these are quite well done.

A soliloquy in a play is a long speech which is not addressed to other characters, but to the speaker himself (and/or the audience). In Shakespeare soliloquys are virtually always in blank verse although rhyme is sometimes used to conclude the passage or emphasize a point.

This page is loaded with Shakespeare monologues. Note that it includes long speeches delivered to other characters, which are not, for our purposes, soliloquys.

Note that soliloquys - even ones on rather gloomy topics - are often funny (at least in context). Richard III's "Was ever woman in this humour woo'd?" never fails to get a laugh. And they don't have to be long to pack a punch.

Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter, that is, lines which are made up primarily of five metric feet in which the first syllable is unstressed and the second is stressed. Since blank verse is often used in English poetry to simulate natural speech, the meter is rarely perfectly regular, and in any case the "beats" are often very subtle.

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A Few Shakespeare Resources

The challenges don't really require any special knowledge of Shakespeare, but if the topic fires your imagination ...

Wikipedia, as you might expect, does a pretty good job with the introductory material.

No Fear Shakespeare (Sparknotes) has side-by-side translations into modern English. Be warned that while these translations are adequate they typically provide only a superficial, literal, meaning. Shakespeare's works are loaded with layers of meaning, and NFS doesn't give these.

Shakespeare's Words (book and website) is the first thorough internet age glossary of Shakespeare's works. By David and Ben Crystal, a British father (linguist) and son (actor).

Internet Shakespeare Editions from the University of Victoria (British Columbia) has tons of material, including all of the texts (plays and poems) in facsimile editions and most in modern spelling as well.

M.I.T. Complete Works has modern-spelling texts in downloadable form. (The Internet Shakespeare Editions mentioned above are presented scene-by-scene, so aren't very convenient for downloading.) These are public domain but not always the most carefully prepared editions.

Others: There are a lot of other Shakespeare books and websites out there, of dizzyingly variable quality. Tread carefully.

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