The Duke of Florence speaks with the measured authority of a man who knows he's right but won't shout about it — his language is formal without being pompous, gracious without being soft. Watch for how he turns every awkward subject into an opportunity for magnanimity.
So that, from point to point, now have you heard
The fundamental reasons of this war,
Whose great decision hath much blood let forth,
And more thirsts after.
So, point by point, you've now heard the basic reasons for this war, whose major resolution has spilled much blood and will demand more.
So, in short, you've heard why we're at war. This big decision has already cost a lot of blood, and more is still needed.
point by point u heard why were at war theres been lots of blood & more comin
Holy seems the quarrel
Upon your Grace’s part; black and fearful
On the opposer.
The cause seems righteous on your side, dark and frightening on the enemy's side.
Your cause looks just and right, while theirs looks dark and threatening.
ur side seems right theirs seems dark
Therefore we marvel much our cousin France
Would, in so just a business, shut his bosom
Against our borrowing prayers.
Therefore we're greatly puzzled that our kinsman, the King of France, would refuse our requests in such a righteous cause.
So we're confused why our cousin the King of France won't help us in such a just war.
puzzled why france wont help in such a right fight
Shakespeare's Italy is a kind of moral testing ground — a place where English characters go to either prove or lose themselves. The Italian wars in All's Well are loosely based on the ongoing conflicts between the Italian city-states that marked the sixteenth century, but Shakespeare isn't interested in historical accuracy. What Florence gives him is a stage for masculine virtue: war, honor, leadership, tested courage. This is the world Bertram runs toward because it seems simple — you fight, you win honor, there are no women complicating things. The play will complicate this. Helena is heading to Florence too. The war, which looks like Bertram's escape, is actually the trap that closes around him. Keep watching how the masculine code of honor that Bertram embraces in Florence is eventually turned against him — by a woman who has been watching him perform it.
Good my lord,
The reasons of our state I cannot yield,
But like a common and an outward man
That the great figure of a council frames
By self-unable motion; therefore dare not
Say what I think of it, since I have found
Myself in my incertain grounds to fail
As often as I guess’d.
My lord, I cannot explain matters of state policy, but like an ordinary outsider who merely repeats what councils decide without real understanding, I don't dare say what I think. My uncertain judgments have proven wrong as often as they've been right.
My lord, I can't really explain state politics. I'm just like a regular person who repeats what officials say without understanding. I don't want to say what I think because my guesses are wrong as much as they're right.
cant explain state stuff just a regular person my guesses r always wrong
Be it his pleasure.
Let it be as he wishes.
That's his choice.
ok his call
But I am sure the younger of our nature,
That surfeit on their ease, will day by day
Come here for physic.
But I'm certain the young nobles who are tired of their comfortable ease will come here daily seeking military action.
But I'm sure the young guys who are bored with easy living will come here every day looking for some action.
young guys bored w comfortable lives ll come here 4 action
Welcome shall they be;
And all the honours that can fly from us
Shall on them settle. You know your places well;
When better fall, for your avails they fell.
Tomorrow to the field.
They will be welcome, and all the honors we can bestow will settle upon them. You know your positions well—when better opportunities arise, they'll fall for your advantage. Tomorrow we march to battle.
They'll be welcomed, and they'll get all the honors we can give. You know where you stand—and when opportunities come, they'll be for your benefit. We march tomorrow.
welcome them give em honors u know ur place opportunities comin we fight tomorrow
The Reckoning
A brief scene that reorients the play geographically and politically — we are now in Florence, and there is a real war happening. The Duke is a gracious figure: he doesn't press too hard about France's refusal to send official help, and he welcomes private volunteers with honor. The scene plants the world Bertram is running toward — military, honorable, completely male — and sets it in contrast to the domestic world he's fleeing.
If this happened today…
A small country's minister of defense is meeting with foreign volunteers who have come to help without official government backing. He's careful not to embarrass anyone by asking too directly why their country officially stayed out. He thanks them, tells them there'll be room for advancement if they perform well. The foreign volunteers are young men looking for something their own country can't give them.