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Shakespeare Electronic Conference, Vol. 3, No. 57. Wednesday, 11 Mar 1992.
 
 
(1)	Date:   Mon, 09 Mar 92 23:04:51 EDT
	From: 	David Alan Grier <DAGRIER@gwuvm.gwu.edu>
	Subj:   Re: SHK 3.0045  Public Domain files on SHAKSPER
 
(2)	Date: 	Mon, 9 Mar 1992 23:12:00 -0500
	From: 	"George Mosley" <MOSLEY@UNC.BITNET>
	Subj: 	Re: SHK 3.0049  Q: Prospero's Epilogue
 
 
(1)----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:         	Mon, 09 Mar 92 23:04:51 EDT
From: 		David Alan Grier <DAGRIER@gwuvm.gwu.edu>
Subject: 3.0045  Public Domain files on SHAKSPER
Comment:      	Re: SHK 3.0045  Public Domain files on SHAKSPER
 
This is an attempt to add to the discussion on tagging files for the PD
Shakespeare and may be coming from from someone too far afield.  The math/
science crowd use a typesetting language named TeX (pronounced "tech")
developed by Don Knuth at Stanford.  So long as you don't use the formulae,
and I trust that we will not, the style is fairly simple:  sl is italics
(for slanted) r is roman.  There are a number of public domain processors
and drivers that will easily print the final typeset documents on printers
or screens.  We could easily put together a package that would allow most
users to print the documents, read them or to convert them to straight ascii.
 
David Grier
 
(2)--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 		Mon, 9 Mar 1992 23:12:00 -0500
From: 		"George Mosley" <MOSLEY@UNC.BITNET>
Subject: 3.0049  Q: Prospero's Epilogue
Comment: 	Re: SHK 3.0049  Q: Prospero's Epilogue
 
For once, I'm glad to actually have something helpful (I hope)
to contribute to the SHAKSPERians.  Prospero's epilogue and its
reference to piercing mercy is partially biblical in its
source.  We can find this in the "Ancrene Wisse" (or "Ancrene
Riwle," an anonymous 13th century book for anchoresses):
 
"In alle ower neoden sendeth cwicliche anan thes sonde toward
houene; for, as Salomon seith, 'Oratio humiliantis se
penetrat nubes et c.'--thet is, the eadmodies bone thurleth
the weolcne.  Ant ter seith Seint Austin: 'Magna est uirtus
pure conscientie que ad deum intrat et mandata peragit
ubi caro peruenire nequit.'"
 
The references are to Solomon (Ecclesiastes 35: 21) and to
Augustine.  In other words, "the humble prayer pierces the
sky" and tears "force pity."  The lines I quoted are 98-100
roughly (in the Bennett and Smithers "Early Middle English
Poetry and Prose"...which may not be the best source).  Also,
though, see about six lines earlier for a discussion of how
tears 'force' mercy.
 
The metaphor is not really military as much as it may be
paschal.  The piercing of mercy may be like the piercing of
Christ's sides.
 
I have no interpretation of the Shakespeare lines to offer
myself, but I thought I'd point out some Biblical and
devotional antecendents to the usage.
 
George Mosley (Mosley@unc.bitnet)

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