The Reign of King Edward the Third · chunk 32 of 39
Anonymous / Shakespeare, William · published 1596 · first performed or written 1590 [c.1590-1595] (Annals) history · Derby's (Strange's) Men (?) T1 Death, grief and revenge typicality 0.54 · 533 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T1: death, life, dead, die, blood, revenge, soul, father, heart, heaven.
To die is all as common as to live, The one in choice the other holds in chase, For from the instant we begin to live, We do pursue and hunt the time to die, First bud we, than we blow, and after seed, Then presently we fall, and as a shade Follows the body, so we follow death, If then we hunt for death, why do we fear it? If we fear it, why do we follow it? If we do tear, how can we shun it? If we do fear, with fear we do but aid The thing we fear, to seize on us the sooner, If we fear not, than no resolved proffer, Can overthrow the limit of our fate, For whether ripe or rotten, drop we shall, as we do draw the lottery of our doom. Ah good old man, a thousand thousand armours, These words of thine have buckled on my back, Ah what an idiot hast thou made of life, To seek the thing it fears, and how disgraced, The imperial victory of murdering death, Since all the lives his conquering arrows strike, Seek him, and he not them, to shame his glory, I will not give a penny for a life, Nor half a half penny to shun grim death, Since for to live is but to seek to die, And dying but beginning of new life, Let come the hour when he that rules it will, To live or die I hold indifferent. A sudden darkness hath defaced the sky, The winds are crept into their caves for fear, the leaves move not, the world is hushed and still, the birds cease singing, and the wandering brooks, Murmur no wonted greeting to their shores, Silence attends some wonder, and expecteth That heaven should pronounce some prophesy, Where or from whom proceeds this silence Charles? Our men with open mouths and staring eyes, Look on each other, as they did attend Each others words, and yet no creature speaks, A tongue-tied fear hath made a midnight hour, and speeches sleep through all the waking regions. But now the pompous Sun in all his pride, Looked through his golden coach upon the world, and on a sudden hath he hid himself, that now the under earth is as a grave, Dark, deadly, silent, and uncomfortable. Hark, what a deadly outcry do I hear? Here comes my brother Philip. All dismayed. What fearful words are those thy looks presage? A flight, a flight. Coward what flight? thou liest there needs no flight. A flight. Awake thy craven powers, and tell on the substance of that very fear in deed, Which is so ghastly printed in thy face, What is the matter? A flight of ugly ravens Do croak and hover o'er our soldiers heads, And keep in triangles and cornered squares, Right as our forces are embattled, With their approach there came this sudden fog, Which now hath hid the airy flower of heaven, And made at noon a night unnatural, Upon the quaking and dismayed world; In brief, our soldiers have let fall their arms, and stand like metamorphosed images, Bloodless and pale, one gazing on another.
nodes 1976–2043 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 32 of 39 in this edition
Length
533 words · 667 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T1 — Death, grief and revengecross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.535 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: T1 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
To die is all as common as to liue, The one in choice the other holds in chaſe, For from the inſtant we begin to liue, We do purſue and hunt the time to die, Firſt bud we, then we blow, and after ſeed, Then preſently we fall, and as a ſhade Followes the bodie, ſo we ſollow death, If then we hunt for death, why do we feare it? If we feare it, why do we follow it? If we do teare, how can we ſhun it? If we do feare, with feare we do but aide The thing we feare, to ſeize on vs the ſooner, If wee feare not, then no reſolued proffer, Can ouerthrow the limit of our fate, For whether ripe or rotten, drop we ſhall, as we do drawe the lotterie of our doome. Ah good olde man, a thouſand thouſand armors, Theſe wordes of thine haue buckled on my backe, Ah what an idiot haſt thou made of lyfe, To ſeeke the thing it feares, and how diſgraſt, The imperiall victorie of murdring death, Since all the liues his conquering arrowes ſtrike, Seeke him, and he not them, to ſhame his glorie, I will not giue a pennie for a lyfe, Nor halfe a halfe penie to ſhun grim death, Since for to liue is but to ſeeke to die, And dying but beginning of new lyfe, Let come the houre when he that rules it will, To liue or die I hold indifferent. A ſodaine darknes hath defaſt the skie, The windes are crept into their caues for feare, the leaues moue not, the world is huſht and ſtill, the birdes ceaſe ſinging, and the wandring brookes, Murmure no wonted greeting to their ſhores, Silence attends ſome wonder, and expecteth That heauen ſhould pronounce ſome propheſie, Where or from whome proceeds this ſilence Charles? Our men with open mouthes and ſtaring eyes, Looke on each other, as they did attend Each others wordes, and yet no creature ſpeakes, A tongue-tied feare hath made a midnight houre, and ſpeeches ſleepe through all the waking regions. But now the pompeous Sunne in all his pride, Lookt through his golden coach vpon the worlde, and on a ſodaine hath he hid himſelfe, that now the vnder earth is as a graue, Darke, deadly, ſilent, and vncomfortable. Harke, what a deadly outcrie do I heare? Here comes my brother Phillip. All diſmaid. What fearefull words are thoſe thy lookes preſage? A flight, a flight. Coward what flight? thou lieſt there needs no flight. A flight. Awake thy crauen powers, and tell on the ſubſtance of that verie feare in deed, Which is ſo gaſtly printed in thy face, What is the matter? A flight of vgly rauens Do croke and houer ore our ſouldiers heads, And keepe in triangles and cornerd ſquares, Right as our forces are imbatteled, With their approach there came this ſodain fog, Which now hath hid the airie flower of heauen, And made at noone a night vnnaturall, Vpon the quaking and diſmaied world; In briefe, our ſouldiers haue let fall their armes, and ſtand like metamorphoſd images, Bloudleſſe and pale, one gazing on another.