Shakespeare, William · published 1600 · first performed or written 1598 (Annals) comedy · Lord Chamberlain's (Hunsdon's) Men T1 Death, grief and revenge typicality 0.77 · 532 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T1: death, life, dead, die, blood, revenge, soul, father, heart, heaven.
They know that do accuse me, I know none, If I know more of any man alive Then that which maiden modesty doth warrant, Let all my sins lack mercy, O my father, Prove you that any man with me conversed, At hours unmeet, or that I yesternight Maintained the change of words with any creature, Refuse me, hate me, torture me to death. There is some strange misprision in the princes. Two of them have the very bend of honour, And if their wisdoms be miss in this, The practice of it lives in Iohn the Bastard, Whose spirits toil in frame of villainies. I know not, if they speak but truth of her, These hands shall tear her, if they wrong her honour, The proudest of them shall well hear of it. Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor Fortune made such havoc of my means, Nor my bad life reft me so much of friends, But they shall find awaked in such a kind, Both strength of limb, and policy of mind, Ability in means, and choice of friends, To quit me of them thoroughly. Pause awhile, And let my counsel sway you in this case, Your daughter here the princess (left for dead,) Let her awhile be secretly kept in, And publish it, that she is dead indeed, Maintain a mourning ostentation, And on your families old monument, Hang mournful epitaphs, and do all rites, That appertain unto a burial. What shall become of this? what will this do? Mary this well carried, shall on her behalf, Change slander to remorse, that is some good, But not for that dream I on this strange course, But on this travail look for greater birth: She dying, as it must be so maintained, Upon the instant that she was accused, Shall be lamented, pitied, and excused Of every hearer: for it so falls out, That what we have, we prise not to the worth, Whiles we enjoy it, but being lacked and lost, Why then we rack the value, than we find The virtue that possession would not show us Whiles it was ours, so will it far with Claudio: When he shall hear she died upon his words, Th' Idea of her life shall sweetly creep, Into his study of imagination, And every lovely Organ of her life, Shall come apparelld in more precious habit, More moving delicate, and full of life, Into the eye and prospect of his soul Then when she lived indeed: then shall he mourn, If ever love had interest in his liver, And wish he had not so accused her: No, though he thought his accusation true: Let this be so, and doubt not but success Will fashion the event in better shape, Then I can lay it down in likelihood. But if all aim but this be levelled false, The supposition of the lady's death, Will quench the wonder of her infamy. And if it sort not well, you may conceal her, As best befits her wounded reputation, In some reclusive and religious life, Out of all eyes, tongues, minds, and injuries.
nodes 938–1005 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 30 of 42 in this edition
Length
532 words · 670 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T1 — Death, grief and revengecross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.770 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
They know that do accuse me, I know none, If I know more of any man aliue Then that which maiden modesty doth warrant, Let all my sinnes lacke mercie, O my father, Proue you that any man with me conuerst, At houres vnmeete, or that I yesternight Maintaind the change of words with any creature, Refuse me, hate me, torture me to death. There is some strange misprision in the princes. Two of them haue the very bent of honour, And if their wisedomes be missed in this, The practise of it liues in Iohn the Bastard, Whose spirites toyle in frame of villanies. I know not, if they speake but truth of her, These hands shall teare her, if they wrong her honour, The prowdest of them shal wel heare of it. Time hath not yet so dried this bloud of mine, Nor age so eate vp my inuention, Nor Fortune made such hauocke of my meanes, Nor my bad life reft me so much of friends, But they shall find awakte in such a kind, Both strength of limbe, and policy of mind, Ability in meanes, and choise of friends, To quit me of them throughly. Pawse awhile, And let my counsell sway you in this case, Your daughter here the princesse (left for dead,) Let her awhile be secretly kept in, And publish it, that she is dead indeede, Maintaine a mourning ostentation, And on your families old monument, Hang mourneful epitaphes, and do all rites, That appertaine vnto a buriall. What shall become of this? what will this do? Mary this well caried, shall on her behalfe, Change slaunder to remorse, that is some good, But not for that dreame I on this strange course, But on this trauaile looke for greater birth: She dying, as it must be so maintaind, Vpon the instant that she was accusde, Shal be lamented, pittied, and excusde Of euery hearer: for it so falls out, That what we haue, we prize not to the worth, Whiles we enioy it, but being lackt and lost, Why then we racke the valew, then we find The vertue that possession would not shew vs Whiles it was ours, so will it fare with Claudio: When hee shall heare she died vpon his words, Th Idaea of her life shall sweetly creepe, Into his study of imagination, And euery louely Organ of her life, Shall come apparelld in more precious habite, More moouing delicate, and full of life, Into the eie and prospect of his soule Then when she liude indeed: then shall he mourne, If euer loue had interest in his liuer, And wish he had not so accused her: No, though he thought his accusation true: Let this be so, and doubt not but successe Will fashion the euent in better shape, Then I can lay it downe in likelihood. But if all ayme but this be leuelld false, The supposition of the ladies death, Will quench the wonder of her infamie. And if it sort not wel, you may conceale her, As best befits her wounded reputation, In some reclusiue and religious life, Out of all eies, tongues, minds, and iniuries.