"The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape / In forms imaginary th' unguided days / And rotten times that you shall look upon / When I am sleeping with my ancestors."
— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Work Title
Date
1598
Metaphor
"The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape / In forms imaginary th' unguided days / And rotten times that you shall look upon / When I am sleeping with my ancestors."
Metaphor in Context
KING HENRY
Why art thou not at Windsor with him, Thomas?
CLARENCE
He is not there today; he dines in London.
KING HENRY
And how accompanied? Canst thou tell that?
CLARENCE
With Poins and other his continual followers.
KING HENRY
Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds,
And he, the noble image of my youth,
Is overspread with them; therefore my grief
Stretches itself beyond the hour of death.
The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape
In forms imaginary th' unguided days
And rotten times that you shall look upon
When I am sleeping with my ancestors;
For when his headstrong riot hath no curb,
When rage and hot blood are his counsellors,
When means and lavish manners meet together,
O, with what wings shall his affections fly
Towards fronting peril and opposed decay?
(IV.iii.50-66)
Why art thou not at Windsor with him, Thomas?
CLARENCE
He is not there today; he dines in London.
KING HENRY
And how accompanied? Canst thou tell that?
CLARENCE
With Poins and other his continual followers.
KING HENRY
Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds,
And he, the noble image of my youth,
Is overspread with them; therefore my grief
Stretches itself beyond the hour of death.
The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape
In forms imaginary th' unguided days
And rotten times that you shall look upon
When I am sleeping with my ancestors;
For when his headstrong riot hath no curb,
When rage and hot blood are his counsellors,
When means and lavish manners meet together,
O, with what wings shall his affections fly
Towards fronting peril and opposed decay?
(IV.iii.50-66)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works. Oxford Shakespeare. Electronic Edition for the IBM PC. Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor, Editor.
Date of Entry
08/26/2003
