Duchess. Alas, poor Richard! where rides he the while?
York. As in a theatre, the eyes of men,
After a well-grac'd actor leaves the stage,
Are idly bent on him that enters next,
Thinking his prattle to be tedious:
Even so, or with much more contempt, men's eyes
Did scowl on Richard; no man cried God save him!
No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home:
But dust was thrown upon his sacred head!
Which with such gentle sorrow he shook off--
His face still combating with tears and smiles,
The badges of his grief and patience--
That had not God, for some strong purpose, steel'd
The hearts of men, they must perforce have melted.
And barbarism itself have pitied him.
HENRY IV
IN TWO PARTS
If Shakespeare's fondness for the ludicrous sometimes led to faults
in his tragedies (which was not often the case), he has made us
amends by the character of Falstaff. This is perhaps the most
substantial comic character that ever was invented. Sir John carries
a most portly presence in the mind's eye; and in him, not to speak
it profanely, 'we behold the fullness of the spirit of wit and
humour bodily'. We are as well acquainted with his person as his
mind, and his jokes come upon us with double force and relish from
the quantity of flesh through which they make their way, as he
shakes his fat sides with laughter, or 'lards the lean earth as he
walks along'.
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