No Fear Shakespeare
Richard III
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 3, Scene 1, Page 4
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BUCKINGHAM
He did, my gracious lord, begin that place,
Which, since, succeeding ages have re-edified.
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BUCKINGHAM
He started it, my noble lord, and succeeding generations rebuilt it.
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PRINCE
Is it upon record, or else reported
Successively from age to age, he built it?
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PRINCE
Is it on record that he built it, or is it just word of mouth?
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BUCKINGHAM
Upon record, my gracious lord.
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BUCKINGHAM
On record, my gracious lord.
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PRINCE
But say, my lord, it were not registered,
Methinks the truth should live from age to age,
As ’twere retailed to all posterity,
Even to the general all-ending day.
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PRINCE
Well, I think that even if it weren’t on record, the truth would be remembered from one generation to the next—all the way to Doomsday.
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RICHARD
(aside) So wise so young, they say, do never live long.
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RICHARD
(to himself) As the saying goes, “Those that are this wise when they’re this young won’t live long.”
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PRINCE
What say you, uncle?
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PRINCE
What did you say, uncle?
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RICHARD
I say, without characters fame lives long.
(aside) Thus, like the formal Vice, Iniquity,
I moralize two meanings in one word.
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RICHARD
I said, “When there are no written records, a person’s fame lasts for a long time.” (to himself) Like Injustice, I get two meanings out of one word.
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PRINCE
That Julius Caesar was a famous man.
With what his valor did enrich his wit,
His wit set down to make his valor live.
Death makes no conquest of this conqueror,
For now he lives in fame, though not in life.
I’ll tell you what, my cousin Buckingham—
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PRINCE
That Julius Caesar was a famous man. His courage helped his cleverness, and his cleverness made sure that his reputation for being courageous outlived him. Death didn’t conquer this conqueror, for he lives on in his fame, even though he’s dead. I’ll tell you what, my cousin Buckingham—
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