"Her sighs will make a batt'ry in his breast, / Her tears will pierce into a marble heart."
— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Date
w. 1592-3 or 1595?, 1623
Metaphor
"Her sighs will make a batt'ry in his breast, / Her tears will pierce into a marble heart."
Metaphor in Context
KING HENRY
My queen and son are gone to France for aid,
And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
Is thither gone to crave the French King's sister
To wife for Edward. If this news be true,
Poor Queen and son, your labour is but lost --
For Warwick is a subtle orator,
And Louis a prince soon won with moving words.
By this account, then, Margaret may win him --
For she's a woman to be pitied much.
Her sighs will make a batt'ry in his breast,
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart,
The tiger will be mild whiles she doth mourn,
And Nero will be tainted with remorse
To hear and see her plaints, her brinish tears.
Ay, but she's come to beg; Warwick to give.
She on his left side, craving aid for Henry;
He on his right, asking a wife for Edward.
She weeps and says her Henry is deposed,
He smiles and says his Edward is installed;
That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no more,
Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the wrong,
Inferreth arguments of mighty strength,
And in conclusion wins the King from her
With promise of his sister and what else
To strengthen and support King Edward's place.
O, Margaret, thus 'twill be; and thou, poor soul,
Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn.
(III.i.28-54)
My queen and son are gone to France for aid,
And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
Is thither gone to crave the French King's sister
To wife for Edward. If this news be true,
Poor Queen and son, your labour is but lost --
For Warwick is a subtle orator,
And Louis a prince soon won with moving words.
By this account, then, Margaret may win him --
For she's a woman to be pitied much.
Her sighs will make a batt'ry in his breast,
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart,
The tiger will be mild whiles she doth mourn,
And Nero will be tainted with remorse
To hear and see her plaints, her brinish tears.
Ay, but she's come to beg; Warwick to give.
She on his left side, craving aid for Henry;
He on his right, asking a wife for Edward.
She weeps and says her Henry is deposed,
He smiles and says his Edward is installed;
That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no more,
Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the wrong,
Inferreth arguments of mighty strength,
And in conclusion wins the King from her
With promise of his sister and what else
To strengthen and support King Edward's place.
O, Margaret, thus 'twill be; and thou, poor soul,
Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn.
(III.i.28-54)
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
08/01/2003
