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Titus Andronicus

Act III, Scene 2

A room in Titus's house. A banquet set out.
 
[Enter TITUS, MARCUS, LAVINIA and Young LUCIUS, a boy]
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
            ,         ,          ,         ,         ,
      So,* so,| now* sit,| and look | you eat | no more
             ,         ,           ,            ,          ,
      Than will | preserve | just^so | much^strength | in us
           ,        ,            ,        ,         ,
      As will | revenge | these^bit|ter woes | of ours.
       ,           ,          ,         ,        ,
      Marcus | unknit | that sor|row-wreath|en knot:
            ,         ,           ,           ,          ,
      Thy niece | and I |(poor* creat|ures) want | our hands
         2    ,     ,       ,         T   T    T
      And cannot | passion|ate our | tenfold grief,
            ,        ,           ,      T     T   .   T
      With fol|ded arms.| This poor | right hand of mine,
           ,        ,      ,      ,          ,
      Is left | to tyr|annize | upon | my breast.
       ,      2       T    T   T          ,    ,
      Who when my | heart all mad | with mis|ery,
        ,              ,        ,      ,        ,
      Beats in | this hol|low pris|on of | my flesh,
             ,        ,     __    __    oo
      Then thus | I thump | it | down.|
            ,        ,           ,           ,         ,
      Thou map | of woe,| that thus | dost^talk | in signs,
                   ,    ,       ,       2     ,          ,
      When thy / poor heart | beats with out|rageous | beating,
             ,      T     T    .   T         ,         ,
      Thou canst | not strike it thus | to make | it still?
        ,               ,        ,      ,               ,
      Wound it | with sigh|ing girl,| kill it | with groans:
          ,          ,        ,         ,           ,
      Or get | some lit|tle knife | between | thy teeth,
            ,        ,           ,       ,             ,
      And just | against | thy heart | make thou | a hole,
            ,          ,                  ,    ,           ,
      That all | the tears | that thy / poor eyes | let* fall
           ,       ,          ,          ,       ,
      May run | into | that sink,| and soak|ing in,
        ,      2    ,          ,         T    T    T
      Drown the la|menting | fool, in | sea-salt tears.
 
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
       T      Tx   T      ,               ,        ,
      Fie brother fie,| teach her | not^thus | to lay
            ,   2     ,       ,         ,        ,
      Such^vi|olent hands | upon | her tend|er life.
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
            ,         ,        ,           ,       ,      ->
      How* now!| Has sor|row made | thee dote | alread||y?
       ,     ,           ,          2    ,        ,
      Why | Marcus,| no man | should be mad | but I:
            ,  2      ,          ,     ,             ,
      What vi|olent hands | can she | lay on | her life:
            ,           ,           ,          ,         ,
      Ah* where|fore* dost | thou urge | the name | of hands,
          ,       ,      ,     .    T    T    T
      To bid | Aene|as tell | the tale twice ore
            ,          ,          ,     ,    ,
      How Troy | was burnt,| and he | made mise/rable?
      T    Tx    T          ,          ,         ,
      O, handle not | the theme,| to talk | of hands,
        ,          ,        ,                 ,    ,
      Lest we | remem|ber still | that we / have none,
       T    T    T      ,    2           ,          ,
      Fie, fie, how | frantically | I square | my talk
          ,    ,       2     ,        T   T   T
      As if | we should for|get we | had no hands:
            x      T   T    T          ,         ,
      If Marcus | did not name | the word | of hands.
        ,            T   T   .   T        ,          ,
      Come, let's^|fall to, and gent|le girl | eat^this,
        ,             ,       ,    ,                  ,
      Here is | no* drink?| Hark Marc/us what | she says,
      ,          ,        ,          ,         ,
      I can | inter|pret all | her mart|yred signs,
            ,           ,         ,       ,           ,
      She says,| she drinks | no oth|er drink | but tears
         ,               ,          ,       ,           ,
      Brewed with | her sor|row: meshed | upon | her cheeks,
         ,              ,       ,          ,            ,
      Speechless | complain|er, I | will learn | thy thought:
          ,      ,   ,              ,   2      ,
      In thy | dumb act/ion, will | I be as | perfect
          ,        ,        ,          ,       x
      As beg|ging her|mits in | their ho|ly prayers.
             ,           ,          ,           ,           x
      Thou shalt | not^sigh | nor hold | thy stumps | to heaven,
            ,         ,          ,           ,        ,
      Nor wink,| nor nod,| nor kneel,| nor make | a sign,
          ,        ,            ,          ,    ,
      But I |(of these)| will wrest | an alph|abet
         2     ,       ,          ,          ,          ,
      And by still | practice,| learn to | know thy | meaning.
 
YOUNG LUCIUS
              ,           ,            ,        ,        ,
      Good* grand|sire* leave | these^bit|ter deep | laments,
        ,         ,   ,                    ,         ,
      Make my | aunt mer/ry, with | some pleas|ing tale.
 
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
        ,          ,      ,        ,         ,
      Alas,| the tend|er boy | in pas|sion moved,
             ,        ,          ,      ,     ,
      Doth^weep | to see | his grand|sire's heav/iness.
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
        T     Tx    T          ,          ,         ,
      Peace tender sap|ling, thou | art made | of tears,
            ,            ,        ,          ,      ,
      And tears | will quick|ly melt | thy life | away.
             ,      T     T    T    ,              ,
      What dost | thou strike at | Marcus | with knife?
 
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
           ,         ,           ,          ,       ,
      At that | that I | have killed | my lord,| a fly.
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
       ,            ,     ,            ,          ,
      Out on | the murd|erer:| thou killst | my heart,
             ,           ,            ,        ,     ,
      Mine eyes | are cloyed | with view | of tyr|anny:
          ,         ,       ,            ,     ,
      A deed | of death | done on | the in|nocent
          ,      T    Tx     T        ,           ,
      Becomes | not Titus' broth|er: get | thee gone,
         ,      ,         ,         ,  ,
      I see | thou art | not for | my com/pany.
 
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
        ,         ,        ,           ,        ,
      Alas |(my lord)| I have | but killed | a fly.
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
       ,    ,               ,     2      ,   2        ,
      But? How:/ if that | fly had a | father and | mother?
       ,               ,          ,        ,       ,
      How would | he hang | his slend|er gild|ed wings
            ,       ,        ,       ,        ,
      And buzz | lament|ing do|ings in | the air,
       __      ,        ___
      Poor | harmless | fly,  \\
        ,               ,      ,        ,    ,
      That with | his pret|ty buz|zing mel|ody,
        ,       2       ,        ,
      Came here* to | make us | merry,
            ,            ,          o
      And thou | hast killed | him.    (tri with prev)
 
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
       , 3  3      ,     3   3      T    T   T        ,
      Pardon me | sir, it was a | black ill-fav|ored fly,
        ,    2       ,           ,     ,               ,
      Like to the | empress' | Moor, there/fore I | killed him.
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
      _   _   _
      O,| O,| O,  \\
            ,       ,        ,      ,        ,
      Then pard|on me | for rep|rehend|ing thee,
            ,           ,        ,    ,       ,
      For thou | hast done | a char|itab|le deed:
        ,             ,     ,            ,        ,
      Give me | thy knife,| I will | insult | on him,
        ,    2         ,        ,        ,          ,
      Flattering | myself,| as if | it were | the Moor,
             ,      ,       ,       ,       ,
      Come^hith|er pur|posely | to pois|on me
        ,        2      ,            ,          ,  2        ,       ->
      There's for thy|self, and | that's for | Tamora:| ah sir||rah,
       ,        ,               ,     ,          ,
      Yet | I think | we are / not brought | so low,
            ,        ,          ,         ,       ,
      But that | between | us, we | can kill | a fly,
             ,          ,                 ,    ,     ,
      That comes | in like|ness of a // coal-black Moor.
 
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
        ,      T   T     T          ,      ,      2
      Alas | poor man, grief | has so | wrought on him,
       .   T     T     T               ,   ,       ,
      He takes false shad|ows, for / true sub|stances.
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS
        T     T  . T       ,  2   ,         ,
      Come, take away:| Lavin|ia go | with me,
            ,         ,             ,   ,           ,
      I'll to | thy clos|et, and / go read | with thee
      ___     ,          ,               ,         ,
      Sad | stories,| chanced in | the times | of old.
        T   T    .   T         ,         ,          ,
      Come boy, and go | with me,| thy sight | is young,
            ,            ,           ,       ,          x
      And thou | shalt read,| when mine | begin | to dazzle.
 
[Exeunt]

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