# Prithee, speak'st thou to me in the honey-tongued wit of the Swan of Avon, absolute in their numbers as he conceived them **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [May 18, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330 "2021-05-18T00:56:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/1 "2021-05-18T00:56:38Z")
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue… (_Hamlet_, III, ii) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/2 "2021-05-18T01:04:21Z")
These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: (_The Tempest_, IV, i) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/3 "2021-05-18T01:07:45Z")
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! (_Hamlet_, I, ii) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/4 "2021-05-18T01:16:14Z")
Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. (_Macbeth_, V, v) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/5 "2021-05-18T01:23:02Z")
> Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish; > A vapour sometime like a bear or lion, > A tower’d citadel, a pendent rock, > A forked mountain, or blue promontory > With trees upon’t, that nod unto the world, > And mock our eyes with air: thou hast seen > these signs; > They are black vesper’s pageants… > … That which is now a horse, even with a thought > The rack dislimns, and makes it indistinct, > As water is in water… > … My good knave Eros, now thy captain is > Even such a body. – _Antony and Cleopatra_, IV.xiv ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/6 "2021-05-18T01:24:35Z")
For God’s sake, let’s sit on the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings Richard II, III, ii ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/7 "2021-05-18T01:26:14Z")
Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. _Hamlet_, V, ii ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/8 "2021-05-18T01:29:30Z")
I thought about coming up with some really witty response to the OP but conscience does make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er, with the pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pitch and moment, with this regard their currents turn awry. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/9 "2021-05-18T01:31:18Z")
Why, there’s a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate. _Taming of the Shrew V i_ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/10 "2021-05-18T01:32:33Z")
nmind ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/11 "2021-05-18T01:33:01Z")
Though she be but little, she is fierce. _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, III, ii ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/12 "2021-05-18T01:38:16Z")
And the poor beetle, that we tread upon, In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant dies. _Measure for Measure_, III, i ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/13 "2021-05-18T01:42:52Z")
No, Percy, thou art dust, and food for— _Henry IV, Part I_, V, iv ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/14 "2021-05-18T01:46:52Z")
This story shall the good man teach his son, And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother. _Henry V_, IV, iii ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/15 "2021-05-18T02:05:15Z")
As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods: They kill us for their sport. _King Lear_, IV, i ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/16 "2021-05-18T02:09:33Z")
nmind ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/17 "2021-05-18T02:25:33Z")
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. – _As You Like It_, II, vii. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/18 "2021-05-18T02:40:03Z")
Our court shall be a little Academe, Still and contemplative in living art. You three, Biron, Dumain, and Longaville, Have sworn for three years’ term to live with me My fellow-scholars, and to keep those statutes That are recorded in this schedule here: - _Love’s Labour’s Lost_ I, i ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/19 "2021-05-18T02:44:02Z")
When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married. _Much Ado About Nothing_, II, iii ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330/20 "2021-05-18T02:47:09Z")
Just, if he send me no husband, for the which blessing I am at him upon my knees every morning and evening. Lord, I could not endure a husband with a beard on his face! I had rather lie in the woolen. – _Much Ado About Nothing_ , II, iii [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prithee-speakst-thou-to-me-in-the-honey-tongued-wit-of-the-swan-of-avon-absolute-in-their-numbers-as-he-conceived-them/942330.md?page=2)