Goffe, Thomas · published 1633 · first performed or written 1617 [c.1613-c.1618] (Annals) tragedy · at University T1 Death, grief and revenge typicality 0.81 · 502 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T1: death, life, dead, die, blood, revenge, soul, father, heart, heaven.
O hold good heart, hark, hark, he calls us villains! What is the matter, speak, how came he dead? They shall die two deaths, that did cause him one. O I am now undone; he must sit judge, To condemn us that should massacre him. Nay keep a temper, hold good friend a while. My gracious Sovereign, these two be the men, Which have confessed the deed: Are you the men which thus abused our state, Was't one or both, if both, you both shall die, If one, that one, we are just in our decree. WHat, is my Queen come here, to hear the cause,? we'll then ascend, and judge them instantly O crack my eyestrings, let these balls drop out Or the quick sights like darts fly to their souls, And pierce their entrails; he King, my mother Queen! The Briseis and Achilles, that in my dream, We come to be condemned amongst our friends, I will to speak to them, Electra's there, And Strophius your old father, Pylades. Show thyself valorous, o'ercome thyself, If we be known, we surely are condemned. Father, Lord Strophius sit and hear the cause. Why, my Lord, what is't makes the business thus? My queen shall straight way know, bring them away, Although it is not fallen out of our mind, Of a free act or pardon of all faults, Committed in the date of such a time, Our hand of mercy must not be so soft, To cover o'er with gentle lenity, Such ulcerous sores as these; there is no place For mercy left; murder must not find grace: Therefore our doom is past, one needs must die, Blood still for blood unto the gods will cry. Then, if thy doom be spent, great King here stands; The man that did it, showing his guilty hands. O hold thy doom a while, it was not he, His serious studies in the learned Arts. Hearing acute Philosophers dispute twixt life and death, and of a future state Would fain haste to it; but the man was I, Believe not him, 'twas his desire to die. No King, 'tis he which in his desperate thoughts, Would loose the bands betwixt his soul and him, Ones self against ones self is witness store, myself confesses, what wouldst thou have more. Believe him not, upon my knees I vow, These hands are only branded with the guilt, And for ones blood, let not two lives be spilled. And on my knees I the like oath do take, I gave the stab, my dagger's bloody yet. That was my dagger King, he took't from me, He does me wrong, by heaven 'twas ever mine. This doth amaze us, I ne'er yet saw two Turns Rhetoricians so to plead for death. Would not the pardon of this odious fact, Like a foul stench, or an unwholesome air, Send an infectious vapour through the land, And choke up justice; this fidelity Should for this one time set two murderers free.
nodes 1400–1459 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 23 of 38 in this edition
Length
502 words · 666 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T1 — Death, grief and revengecross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.812 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: T7 · seed 44: T1 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
O hold good heart, harke, harke, he cals vs villaines▪ What is the matter, speake, how came he dead? They shall die two deaths, that did cause him one. O I am now vndon; he must sit iudge, To condemne vs that should massacre him. Nay keepe a temper, hold good friend a while. My gracious Soueraigne, these two be the men, Which haue confess'd the deed: Are you the men which thus abus'd our state, Was't one or both, if both, you both shall die, If one, that one, we are iust in our decree. WHat, is my Queene come here, to heare the cause,? Wee'll then ascend, and iudge them instantly O crack my eye-strings, let these balls drop out Or the quick sights like darts fly to their souls, And pierce their entralls; he King, my mother Queen! The Briseis and Achilles, that in my dreame, We come to be condemnd amongst our friends, I will to speake to them, Electra's there, And Strophius your old father, Pylades. Shew thy selfe valerous, o'recome thy selfe, If we be known, we surely are condemn'd. Father, Lord Strophius sit and heare the cause. Why, my Lord, what is't makes the busines thus? My queene shall strait way know, bring them away, Although it is not fallen out of our minde, Of a free act or pardon of all faults, Committed in the date of such a time, Our hand of mercy must not be so soft, To couer or'e with gentle lenity, Such vlcerous sores as these; there is no place For mercy left; murder must not find grace: Therefore our doome is past, one needs must die, Blood still for blood vnto the gods will cry. Then, if thy doome be spent, great King here stands; The man that did it, shewing his guilty hands. O hold thy doome a while, it was not he, His serious studies in the learned Arts. Hearing acute Philosophers dispute 'twixt life and death, and of a future state Would faine haste to it; but the man was I, Beleeue not him, 'twas his desire to die. No King, 'tis he which in his desperate thoughts, Would loofe the bands betwixt his soule and him, Ones selfe against ones selfe is witnes store, My selfe confesses, what wouldst thou haue more. Beleeue him not, vpon my knees I vow, These hands are only branded with the guilt, And for ones blood, let not two liues be spilt. And on my knees I the like oath doe take, I gaue the stab, my dagger's bloody yet. That was my dagger King, he took't from me, He do's me wrong, by heauen 'twas euer mine. This doth amaze vs, I ne're yet saw two Turns Rhetoricians so to plead for death. Would not the pardon of this odious fact, Like a foule stench, or an vnwholesome ayre, Send an infectious vapour through the land, And choake vp Iustice; this fidelity Should for this one time set two murderers free.