"My lord, 'tis but a base ignoble mind / That mounts no higher than a bird can soar."
— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Date
1594, 1623
Metaphor
"My lord, 'tis but a base ignoble mind / That mounts no higher than a bird can soar."
Metaphor in Context
KING HENRY
But what a point, my lord, your falcon made,
And what a pitch she flew above the rest!
To see how God in all his creatures works!
Yea, man and birds are fain of climbing high.
SUFFOLK
No marvel, an it like your majesty,
My Lord Protector's hawks do tower so well;
They know their master loves to be aloft,
And bears his thoughts above his falcon's pitch.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, 'tis but a base ignoble mind
That mounts no higher than a bird can soar.
CARDINAL BEAUFORT
I thought as much; he would be above the clouds.
GLOUCESTER
Ay, my lord Cardinal, how think you by that?
Were it not good your grace could fly to heaven?
KING HENRY
The treasury of everlasting joy.
to Gloucester
CARDINAL BEAUFORT
Thy heaven is on earth; thine eyes and thoughts
Beat on a crown, the treasure of thy heart,
Pernicious Protector, dangerous peer,
That smooth'st it so with King and common weal!
(II.i.5-22)
But what a point, my lord, your falcon made,
And what a pitch she flew above the rest!
To see how God in all his creatures works!
Yea, man and birds are fain of climbing high.
SUFFOLK
No marvel, an it like your majesty,
My Lord Protector's hawks do tower so well;
They know their master loves to be aloft,
And bears his thoughts above his falcon's pitch.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, 'tis but a base ignoble mind
That mounts no higher than a bird can soar.
CARDINAL BEAUFORT
I thought as much; he would be above the clouds.
GLOUCESTER
Ay, my lord Cardinal, how think you by that?
Were it not good your grace could fly to heaven?
KING HENRY
The treasury of everlasting joy.
to Gloucester
CARDINAL BEAUFORT
Thy heaven is on earth; thine eyes and thoughts
Beat on a crown, the treasure of thy heart,
Pernicious Protector, dangerous peer,
That smooth'st it so with King and common weal!
(II.i.5-22)
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
07/30/2003
