Page:Richard III (1927) Yale.djvu/16

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I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,

Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,

Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time

Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,

And that so lamely and unfashionable

That dogs bark at me, as I halt by them;

Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,

Have no delight to pass away the time,

Unless to see my shadow in the sun

And descant on mine own deformity:

And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,

To entertain these fair well-spoken days,

I am determined to prove a villain,

And hate the idle pleasures of these days.

Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,

By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams,

To set my brother Clarence and the king

In deadly hate the one against the other:

And if King Edward be as true and just

As I am subtle, false, and treacherous,

This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up,

About a prophecy, which says that G

Of Edward's heirs the murtherer shall be.

Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here Clarence comes.

Brother, good day: what means this armed guard

That waits upon your Grace?

Clar. His majesty,

 18 fair proportion: goodly form

19 feature; cf. n.

dissembling; cf. n.

21 breathing: living

22 unfashionable: unfashionably

23 halt: limp

24 weak piping time; cf. n.

27 descant: comment

29 fair days; cf. n.

30 villain; cf. n.

31 idle: trifling

32 inductions: initial steps in an undertaking

33 drunken prophecies; cf. n.

36 true and just; cf. n.

38 mew'd: cooped

39 About: because of; cf. n.

43 His majesty; cf. n.

