Question:

What does this shakespeare quote mean?

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So farewell to the little good you bear me.

Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!

This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth

The tender leaves of hopes; to-morrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do. I have ventur'd,

Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,

This many summers in a sea of glory,

But far beyond my depth. My high-blown pride

At length broke under me, and now has left me,

Weary and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream that must for ever hide me.

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye!

I feel my heart new open'd. O, how wretched

Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours!

There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,

That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,

More pangs and fears than wars or women have;

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2 ANSWERS


  1. I don't know.


  2. It is from  Henry The Eighth Act 3, scene 2

    Cardinal Wolsey, the most interesting character in this play, is considerably ambitious. By becoming the chief advisor to the king, he has furthered his plots to amass wealth and secure the Papacy—the ultimate form he imagines his "greatness" will take. After a series of successes in foiling his enemies, however, Wolsey is exposed. Here, he bitterly calls after his antagonists, who have come to taunt him, and then falls meditatively into a fine soliloquy.

    By "greatness," then, Wolsey means "power." His bitter farewell to political esteem and influence is pretty ironic, considering that he is the cardinal. In his current state of mind, he sees the reversal of his fortunes as the workings of a malicious "killing frost" (a phrase he coins)—an evil force of nature rather than the doings of divine Providence.  

    god bless

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