A dagger isn't the weapon of choice for throat slashing but more of a stabbing sort of thing:
I deplore this violent imagery but it's been imposed on me — by Biden and The Daily Mail. I'd prefer some calming and benevolence.
"Eviscerate" isn't Biden's word — or I'd have to include an embedded "Braveheart" clip (to eviscerate is to disembowel) — but "dagger" is — so we'll go with Shakespeare:
The most famous dagger in literature is an imagined dagger. Rather than read Biden's speech — or Trump's response — let's read the Shakespeare and see if we can interpret it in some way that suits the occasion of the anniversary of the incident:
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
[A bell rings]
I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.
Posts
84 comments:
Now we take up the dagger. God preserve us all!
In fairness a dagger stabbed in the throat is probably more of a threat, since slicing someone's throat takes quite a bit of work.
I see violent rhetoric is back in fashion today…
What happened to the F15s being sufficient?
Would have been better to hold a dagger rather than a 12 chef's knife.
It looks like Trump is living in their heads........rent free......or is it the voter fraud guilt!
That was different for me.
Very well done.
"Eviscerate" isn't Biden's word
They probably took it out of the speech because Slow Joe can't pronounce it.
Just when I think Biden can't possibly be a bigger asshole, he surprises me. Again.
But, hey! No more mean tweets!
Comedy skit idea: have a "straight man" read Biden's speech verbatim. and then have a gansta rapper interpret what Biden really mean to say. A Key and Peele style skit.
You know what a "straight man" in comedy is right?
Reason I ask is because I don't know if our censorious betters have nixed it or is an overlooked sacred cow?
Wait, so holding a dagger to someone's throat is bad, but eviscerating them is good?
It would be really cool to watch Biden read that Shakespeare passage from a teleprompter.
Block that metaphor!
It was more like Trump encouraged assault with a dead weapon: a representative cross section of his supporters. A mixture of Q-crazies, Cosplaying gamer dweebs, the Pride Boys on Parade and dump belly blog commentators.
I prefer to hold a pen knife to the throat of Democracy. Its much safer that way.
OTOH, I always hold a machete to the throat of Communist dictatorships. They're tough.
However, I always hold blunderbuss to the groin of Monarchy. Viva La Revolution.
Biden sure is rising to the occasion to perpetuate gaslighting hoaxes against his political opponents.
One of the things I have learned about Medieval weapons is that the naming conventions are anything but consistent. There is no general agreement on what a "longsword" is, and there are opposing camps on what exactly qualifies as a "mace" or a "flail." This is not helped by the fact that there does not appear to have been any consistency during the Middle Ages either as different regions had different opinions on the matter, no doubt exacerbated by language differences. It is also possible that there were firm definitions for some things at certain times in certain regions, but due to time passing and regional spread the definitions loosened to be whatever was similar to the original. For example a word for a specific type of shortsword becomes the word for all shortswords and then swords in general.
By the loosest definition, most daggers (probably) have at least one cutting edge so even if the point (pun intended) of the thing is stabbing you can still slash as needed. Alternate definitions may disagree.
That said, the Daily Mail should consider taking its medication again.
i thought it was smucky shoomer that was Always going On and On about a "dagger to the throat"
???
Biden was a liar before he was senile.
Et tu, Joe?
Reminds me to go see Denzel speaking those words. Once saw Patrick Stewart on stage, and he was riveting. My favorite Shakespeare tragedy.
It is now over a year since the Texas Legislature revised its weapons laws to allow open carry of dirks, daggers and poignards, which previously had been outlawed explicitly by name. Now we Texans aren't limited to Bowie knives for cosplay, and can expand to British midshipmen of the napoleonic era (dirks), Shakespearean actors (Daggers) and REnaissance noblemen (poignards). No reported acts of criminal violence with any of these, so far, but one never knows, do one?
Todays Kabuki Theatre reminds me of the Shakespeare line, "thou doth protest to much"
Here is, of course, the most appropriate Shakespeare quote:
[Biden’s] but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. [He] is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout ....
Shakespeare wrote a long, narrative poem (not a play) titled The Rape of Lucrece in about 1594 -- about a decade before he wrote Macbeth (first known performance in 1606).
Shakespeare initially became famous because of his narrative poems, not because of his plays. For sure, many more Englishmen in the early 1600s had read that poem rather than watched that play.
The narrative poem tells how Tarquin, the king's son, silently entered the bedroom of a nobleman's wife, Lucrece, and then raped her. She had to submit to the rape, because Tarquin threated to use his dagger to murder her servant, saying that he had stabbed the servant to death because he caught him raping Lucrece.
After that rape, Tarquin departed and Lucrece's husband arrived. She told him about the rape and then stabbed herself to death with a dagger. (I don't remember whether it was the same dagger that.)
This scandal eventually caused the overthrow of the Tarquin family's kingship and the subsequent establishment of the Republic.
In the early 1600's, educated Englishmen were likely to recognize that the play's reference to Tarquin's dagger moving silently like a ghost toward the commission of a crime. The dagger incident eventually would cause the overthrow of the Macbeth family's kingship.
------
So, who is Tarquin in the current situation?
Perhaps Tarquin is Eric Trump, the son of King Donald Trump. Eric is QAnon, telling lies about elite liberal politicians raping underage girls. Eric's (QAnon's) rape lies disgust our country's decent people, who vote King Donald Trump out of office, replacing him with a new Republic, headed by Biden and his fellow reformers.
... or else ....
Targuin is Hunter Biden, the son of King Joe Biden. Hunter is a crazy sex-addict in a family full of secret sexual perversions. Hunter's wandering laptop computers are like wandering daggers that eventually will pierce and destroy the Biden kingship.
Anyway, Joe Biden himself is exclaiming about an invisible dagger that is moving silently and fatefully.
... hmmm ....
Why is it Joe Biden (not Donald Trump) who sees and fears an invisible dagger?
------
Which son seems more likely to cause a consequential rape scandal?
Eric Trump or Hunter Biden?
A handmade tale. The double-edged scalpel.
Is Trump a dagger, a real threat to the Constitution? Or is the threat illusory? Turning Jan. 6 into a national holiday of the Left is our best chance to make our illusion seem real, use a real dagger on Trump. Big Lie, Big Lie, Big Lie. And,er, that's it. I've been promised ice cream and a trip to the zoo.
When James Taranto used to run it, I frequently read Best of The Web Today at the Wall Street Journal. He would parse politicians' statements for a variety of things including what he felt was overuse of metaphors. I seem to recall he had many, many instances of Chuck Schumer using Daggers for imagery. Though he avoided the throat slashing and it was usually something like, "This Republican blah blah is the dagger in the heart of...". At least Chuck knew that daggers are for stabbing and not slashing.
One similarity between The Rape of Lucrece and Macbeth is the idea that a dagger might be used to murder a servant, who then will be blamed for a crime.
In the Lucrece case, the stabbing of the servant is merely threatened, in order to cause Lucrece to submit to the rape.
In the Macbeth case, the servant actually is stabbed to death and then is blamed falsely.
Later, Macbeth perceives this murderous dagger moving around silently, invisibly and symbolically. Macbeth wants to clutch the dagger, to stop its future, fateful movements.
=======
Now is it Joe Biden who is raving about a dagger than nobody else sees. Biden declares that he will clutch that dagger, in order to prevent a future, evil crime.
I was working today and didn't hear Biden*'s speech. Don't feel like I missed anything. Supposedly Kamala said something about 1/6 being worse than 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. We have a pair of ignoramuses in the top two spots in the Executive branch right now.
"Julius Caesar" in the 9th grade and "Macbeth" in 11(?) were the two we struggled with. Some sonnets for poetry and that was it for the Bard.
That's a use of 'dudgeon' that I had forgotten, if we ever took note of it at all.
Perhaps the key here is Tarquin.
In time, this political theater they're calling "The Fedsurrection" will be just another show for future generations to examine or ignore.
The following lines from Macbeth says it best.
"Tomorrow,and tomorrow,and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
All our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. 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. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
From the president on down, all are idiots.
God help us!
If they somehow manage to pass legislation to "federalize" elections, and the USSC does not slap it down hard, then the next civil war will start in my lifetime...which is not that long anyway. I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, against all enemies foreign and domestic, and it didn't come with an expiration date. The tree of liberty requires occasional fertilizer, and it looks like my time may have come to be mulched up.
For all the idiots out there- this is what a real insurrection looks like. It ain't a bunch of flag wavers breaking into a building and taking selfies and then leaving without so much as taking a shit on Pelosi's lectern. But, by all means, continue to look like morons by mourning all the people the protesters killed that day year ago- at last count, there were still zero deaths caused by the rioters.
I underestimated how desperate the Regime is.
Joe Biden went full in on the Officer Sicknick blood libel.
Defending Democracy. Lies and Damned Lies.
Kamala Harris likened J6 to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.
Invoking the Officer Sicknick Blood libel is going to backfire on Biden and the Regime.
You are just a bunch of sick disgusting people and you are burning your bridges back into polite society.
Fair is foul and foul is fair.
Trump .. holding a 'dagger to the throat of Democracy'....
LOL. Go Trump!
At least two great tv titles came from this speech: "Fatal Vision," the 1984 dramatization of Joe McGinnis's best-seller about the Green Beret who murdered his wife and two children in 1970, and the Star Trek TOS episode "Dagger of the Mind," season 1, episode 9. "Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses" when I see Joe Biden identified as the President of the United States.
Ann, you ever listen to Lex Friedman’s podcast? For some reason this post made me ask you that. I agree, that language is thrust upon us.
Note that the people wailing the loudest about "democracy" rearely utter a peep about "liberty." Gee, I wonder why,
Jimi Hendrix's Dolly Dagger: the story behind the song
It was this dynamic that led to the episode at the centre of the song’s lyric. On November 27, 1969, Jimi’s twenty-seventh birthday, he and Devon went to see the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden. Since it was his birthday, Jimi half-expected to sit in with his friends. But Mick Jagger was wary of being upstaged, so it didn’t happen.
Afterwards Devon hosted a party for the Stones at a luxurious apartment she’d borrowed. All night she flirted shamelessly with Jagger in front of Hendrix. Mick’s rivalry with Jimi extended beyond the stage. A few years earlier, Jimi had tried to pull Jagger’s girlfriend Marianne Faithfull. At some point, Jagger nicked his finger. Rather than get a bandage, Devon licked off the blood.
“That’s where the line ‘She drinks the blood from a jagged edge’ came from,” says Kramer.
I deplore this violent imagery but it's been imposed on me — by Biden and The Daily Mail. I'd prefer some calming and benevolence.
Where in the social contract does it stipulate that the Biden administration has to care about your preferences in the slightest?
If the handle is towards his hand, it is no immediate danger to him. It does turn out to be a danger since he uses it for shenanigans which result in his downfall.
The picture is of a chefs knife. Horrible choice as a murder tool. Unless in this new version he is going to chop some onions for the witches kettle.
And finally WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS DENZEL WASHINGTON DOING PLAYING MACBETH!!!!
Macbeth was a Celt/Scot. Denzel is black (Black? Colored? AA? It's so hard to know these days) a black playing a Scot is more tha than cultural appropriation, it is actual violence. It is genocide. As a1/73rd Scot it is like Denzel is trying to trigger me and he succeeded.
You must delete that picture Ann and apologize to everyone in your audience who identifies as Scots.
I think I need to go lie down for a bit.
John LGBTQBNY Henry
Jan 6th - walking into the left's Reichstag Fire.
"Ann, you ever listen to Lex Friedman’s podcast? For some reason this post made me ask you that. I agree, that language is thrust upon us."
No. Should I?
I can't stand to listen to anyone just talk about politics these days. I rarely go back to Scott Adams, don't listen to the NYT Daily anymore, and there's nothing else in the political category I even consider listening too. I was avoiding Joe Rogan's political stuff (though I enjoyed his talking to Carrot Top). I've been relistening to Ricky Gervais and Sam Harris talking about the nervous system. That's about my taste.
If someone did a podcast about politics that was language-focused and inventively interweaving miscellaneous material, I would be interested.
Everyone remember the burning of Washington DC!
Insurrection is bad.
And stuff.
In Manhattan that would not be a threat to democracy.
Here’s a shatheel take…
“One year later, there is really only one thing that needs to be said about January 6, 2021. It was an attempt by a sitting President to steal an election that he had lost.”
http://patterico.com/2022/01/06/january-6-2021-an-attempt-to-steal-an-election/
I am really actually kinda surprised that Biden went all in with 2 blood libels in his speech.
Especially when Evans was killed by a Farrakhan supporter 3 months after January 6th. Just adding that blatant lie to the stack is a massive unforced error.
And 5 DC police officers didn't kill themselves.
Just an Apology Dagger, Joe.
Biden has always been a lying clown, and this is the latest in a long line of lies.
"As a tale told by an idiot"
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
Yet Biden says he was ambitious,
And Biden is an honorable man.
Iman said...
Here’s a shatheel take…
“One year later, there is really only one thing that needs to be said about January 6, 2021. It was an attempt by a sitting President to steal an election that he had lost.”
http://patterico.com/2022/01/06/january-6-2021-an-attempt-to-steal-an-election/
He acts like someone who has a significant other telling him what to think.
Politics. zzzzzz.
Political accusations about an event a year ago. ZZzzzZzZZZZzzzSNORKzzzzzzz.
"Shame on those-including many of my friends-attempting to minimize the malignant malfeasance of my old friend #DonaldTrump. After inciting & unleashing mob that invaded the #Capitol #POTUS45
Shamefully Gloated-Binge-Watching Chaotic Scenes-
Doing Nothing to call off his crazies."
Geraldo
Ann, you need a "Codpiece" tag.
Mutaman takes time out from lying about hoax dossiers, hoax collusion, hoax "illegally" crossing state lines, hoax Covington Catholic smears, hoax "drink bleach" lies, hoax soldiers-are-"losers and sucker" lies, etc to now offer up additional hoax insurrection lies.
I'm guessing Mutaman doesn't want to miss a single opportunity to toss up debunked lies.
So he/she/xe hasn't.
At least that's consistent one supposes.
My favorite part of the Hoax Insurrection proceedings today has to be the appearance of of the cast of Hamilton to sing a song!
You know the democraticals are serious about leveraging their hoax insurrection lies to achieve permanent federal control of cheatable elections when they bring out their broadway show "heavies"!
Really, the only thing missing was Dick Cheney and his Pelosi-poodle daughter Liz dressing up as George and Martha Washington.....which wouldn't be a good idea really since the lefties are busy canceling Washington too.
"My favorite part of the Hoax Insurrection proceedings today has to be the appearance of of the cast of Hamilton to sing a song!"
Having avoided the news all day, I'd like to believe that you are joking. But somehow, I know you're not. How pathetic. We are so utterly beyond farce or parody at this point. It's like the country has entered the Twilight Zone. As the saying goes, "I can't even..."
OK. I watched the speech in its entirety. He used the“dagger at the throat of democracy” line twice. That is less repetitive than the rest though. … his big lie about a big lie must have come up a half dozen times. There were also highlights from the best of his stump talks (battle for the nation’s soul etcetera). When he wasn’t meanderingly self-plagerizing or repeating thrice made points he was at least coherent. A wooden delivery to a hall of statues. Too bad he cannot have empathy for those who oppose him and bind our wounds … he is not that Abel, just an unimaginative Joe.
I will repeat what I said on another thread. This is all about stirring up the base. Normal people don't buy this bullshit. The Democrats are scared.
The Cheneys have another agenda. They are terrified that Trump (and his supporters) will cause the destruction of the military-industrial complex the makes them and their friends rich.
Establishment Republicans don't have Hollywood and Big Tech to shower them with money, so they need something, doncha' know.
Drago
"Mutaman takes time out from lying about hoax dossiers, hoax collusion, hoax "illegally" crossing state lines, hoax Covington Catholic smears, hoax "drink bleach" lies, hoax soldiers-are-"losers and sucker" lies, etc to now offer up additional hoax insurrection lies."
Nothing like a simple little quote to get the Know Nothings totally bent out of shape.
I can't stand to listen to anyone just talk about politics these days. I rarely go back to Scott Adams, don't listen to the NYT Daily anymore, and there's nothing else in the political category I even consider listening too.
@Althouse, I interpret this to mean you are conceding that your side has lost the battle of ideas.
My Shakespearean comment on January 6 would be Much Ado About Nothing.
Re Lex Fridman yes listen! My 20 year old son introduced me to him, he was born in Russia, was researcher at MIT til recently, AI guy. He interviews a wide range of people. Been on Rogan a few times, that’s where I found him.
According to I.A. Richards, metaphorical thinking is a major part of cognition. Its how we make analogies/comparisons to make sense of the world. In this case, addled metaphors suggest an addled mind. The dagger passage suggests one of my favorite Shakespearean themes:
that all is not seems or everything is not as it seems. Much of experience is illusion. Imaginary dagger, imaginary insurrection.
I can't stand to listen to anyone just talk about politics these days. I rarely go back to Scott Adams, don't listen to the NYT Daily anymore, and there's nothing else in the political category I even consider listening too. I was avoiding Joe Rogan's political stuff (though I enjoyed his talking to Carrot Top). I've been relistening to Ricky Gervais and Sam Harris talking about the nervous system. That's about my taste.
Very Understandable.
@big mike
I am not on a side, and I read. That’s a more efficient and substantive way to get at ideas. Your reading is pretty bad, you know.
Mutaman,
How many people were killed by the protesters on January 6th 2021?
Lex Fridman covers mostly sciency academia and technology subjects. He's interviewed Elon Musk a few times. Sam Harris. It's worth looking through his shows to see if a topic is of interest.
Mutaman: "Nothing like a simple little quote to get the Know Nothings totally bent out of shape."
A "simple little quote"...comprised of Big Lies....which always work on Know Nothings.
Like yourself.
Your attempt to launder your lies thru others "simple little quotes" didn't work.
Cope.
Daggers? Our assault rifles have bayonets, dontcha-know.
Today's Kabuki Theatre reminds me of the Shakespeare line, "thou doth protest to much"
That's not Shakespeare's line. The famous line is "The lady doth protest too much methinks," and is spoken by Queen Gertrude in Hamlet. Nothing to do with Macbeth, the peripheral subject of this discussion.
Gertrude says the line while watching a play given before the Danish royal court by some itinerant actors hired by Hamlet, Shakespeare's famous play within a play. The drama concerns the murder of Gonzago, Duke of Vienna with circumstances strongly similar to the murder of the late king, Hamlet's father, by his brother, the now the reigning king.
Hamlet has commissioned this performance specifically to test the accusation given by the spirit to Hamlet in Act One, said apparition being the ghost of Hamlet's father or perhaps a malign spirit or demon out to sew discord and regicide. The reactions of Claudius and Gertrude to the play confirm the testimony of the ghost -- they are guilty of murder and infidelity. Hamlet, therefore, resolves to exact vengeance upon them.
"The lady doth protest too much," is one of those famously pregnant Shakespearean utterances laden with more meaning per word than anything written in English before or since. It's usually taken to be a criticism of the actor's insincere histrionics (and Shakespeare's critique of the typical dramatics of his time). However, it could be Gertrude's knowing remark to Claudius reminding him of how cooly she received the news of her own husband's murder and how quickly she relinquished widowhood to marry the man who likely did the crime.
There is a line in Act Two of Macbeth which carries some of the same meaning, though it is hardly famous or quoted out of context like Queen Gertrude's famous comment. Spoken by Malcolm, elder son of the murdered King Duncan to his bother, Donalbain:
What will you do? Let's not consort with them [Macbeth and his wife]
To show an unfelt sorrow is an office
Which the false man does easy. I'll to England.
To show an unfelt sorry is an office which the false man does easy... we're seeing plenty of unfelt sorry from the Democrats these days.
I reiterate I think you’d like Lex. Very rarely talks politics. He’s friends with Tim Dillon and Michael Malice both who have been on recently. He’s a unique mind and comes at every topic through the lens of love. He’s different and sweet and amazingly smart.
I'm a conservative Republican who wants the Republicans to take control of Congress later this year and the White House 2 years later. And with that in mind, I would prefer that Trump go back to real estate development. He was a darned good President (and every day of the Biden Administration adds to Trump's standing), but he wasn't a good team player, and that's what our system requires.
"I would prefer that Trump go back to real estate development"
Can't happen- no New York bank will give him a loan.
"I am not on a side, and I read. That’s a more efficient and substantive way to get at ideas. Your reading is pretty bad, you know."
Not fair-I'll have you know that Big Mike has read "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO" by Mike Lindell. Well he's listened to the audio book-same difference.
Blogger Yancey Ward said...
Mutaman,
How many people were killed by the protesters on January 6th 2021?
Take it up with Karl Rove, Sparky.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-jan-6-responsibility-anniversary-riot-storm-capitol-trump-protesters-investigation-11641417707
The Godfather: "...but he wasn't a good team player, and that's what our system requires."
Unfortunately for the republican party, when it came to supporting conservatives and American workers and standing up for America's interests and actually fighting effectively against the dems, Trump was probably the ONLY team player...in terms of our team.
Lots of republicans were/are good team players for the dems.
I am not on a side
I think you are trying to fool yourself.
So, your answer is no one, right Mutaman?
“A dagger isn't the weapon of choice for throat slashing but more of a stabbing sort of thing”
The most famous dagger of the 21st century is the catspaw of The Game of Thrones:
“Arya and Sansa’s plot during season 7 largely centres around a possible rift between the two being caused by Littlefinger, who is trying to turn them against each other to strengthen his grip on the North.
But in a final episode twist, what is set up as a trial for Arya actually turns out to be judgement day for Littlefinger. He is found guilty of treason – including betraying Ned and possibly ordering Bran’s assassination – and Arya poetically uses the catspaw dagger to cut his throat, on Sansa’s orders.”
Post a Comment