They told me that your name was Fontybell.
They told me that your name was Fontybell.
they told me that your name was fontybell.
They told me that your name was Fontybell.
No, my good lord, Diana.
No, my good lord, Diana.
no, my good lord, diana.
No, my good lord, Diana.
Titled goddess;
And worth it, with addition! But, fair soul,
In your fine frame hath love no quality?
If the quick fire of youth light not your mind,
You are no maiden but a monument;
When you are dead, you should be such a one
As you are now; for you are cold and stern,
And now you should be as your mother was
When your sweet self was got.
Titled goddess; And worth it, with addition! But, fair soul, In your fine frame has love no quality? If the quick fire of youth light not your mind, You are no maiden but a monument; When you are dead, you should be such a one As you are now; for you are cold and stern, And now you should be as your mother was When your sweet self was got.
titled goddess; and worth it, with addition! but, fair soul, in your fine frame has love no quality? if the quick fire of youth light not your mind, you 're no maiden but a monument; when you 're dead, you should be such a one as you 're now; for you 're cold and stern, and now you should be as your mother was when your sweet self was got.
Titled goddess; And worth it, with addition! But, fair soul, In your...
She then was honest.
She then was honest.
she then was honest.
She then was honest.
The ring Bertram gives Diana is not just jewelry — it's the legal and symbolic equivalent of a deed of title. Ancestral rings in Elizabethan England served multiple functions: they were family heirlooms, seals used to authenticate documents, and tokens of formal betrothal. 'Bequeathed down from many ancestors' means this ring carries the weight of the entire Rossillon lineage. When Diana demands it and Bertram hands it over, he has effectively given away his family's symbolic authority. Shakespeare knew exactly what he was doing: in the climactic scene, the ring's presence on Helena's finger becomes the proof that Bertram slept with his wife — proof he cannot deny because he said himself that this ring would never leave his possession.
So should you be.
So should you be.
so should you be.
So should you be.
No.
My mother did but duty; such, my lord,
As you owe to your wife.
No. My mother did but duty; such, my lord, As you owe to your wife.
no. my mother did but duty; such, my lord, as you owe to your wife.
No. My mother did but duty; such, my lord, As you owe...
No more a’ that!
I pr’ythee do not strive against my vows;
I was compell’d to her; but I love thee
By love’s own sweet constraint, and will for ever
Do thee all rights of service.
No more a’ that! I pr’ythee do not strive against my vows; I was compell’d to her; but I love you By love’s own sweet constraint, and will for ever Do you all rights of service.
no more a’ that! i pr’ythee do not strive against my vows; i was compell’d to her; but i love you by love’s own sweet constraint, and will for ever do you all rights of service.
No more a’ that! I pr’ythee do not strive against my vows;...
Ay, so you serve us
Till we serve you; but when you have our roses,
You barely leave our thorns to prick ourselves,
And mock us with our bareness.
Ay, so you serve us Till we serve you; but when you have our roses, You barely leave our thorns to prick ourselves, And mock us with our bareness.
ay, so you serve us till we serve you; but when you 've our roses, you barely leave our thorns to prick ourselves, and mock us with our bareness.
Ay, so you serve us Till we serve you; but when you...
How have I sworn?
How have I sworn?
how 've i sworn?
How have I sworn?
The exchange in this scene is one of Shakespeare's most elegant rhetorical structures: Bertram makes an argument, Diana flips it. He says her chastity makes her a 'monument' — cold, dead, useless. She says his vows are empty because sincerity can't be measured by repetition. He says the ring is the ancestral honor of his house. She says her chastity is the same thing. Every argument Bertram deploys against her, she turns into an argument for her own position. This isn't just clever dialogue — it's a structural comment on how the language of honor works differently for men and women in this play. Men invoke honor rhetorically when they want something. Diana takes the same words and applies them literally. Her logic is airtight. His isn't.
’Tis not the many oaths that makes the truth,
But the plain single vow that is vow’d true.
What is not holy, that we swear not by,
But take the highest to witness: then, pray you, tell me,
If I should swear by Jove’s great attributes
I lov’d you dearly, would you believe my oaths
When I did love you ill? This has no holding,
To swear by him whom I protest to love
That I will work against him. Therefore your oaths
Are words and poor conditions; but unseal’d,—
At least in my opinion.
’is not the many oaths that makes the truth, But the plain single vow that is vow’d true. What is not holy, that we swear not by, But take the highest to witness: then, pray you, tell me, If I should swear by Jove’s great attributes I lov’d you dearly, would you believe my oaths When I did love you ill? This has no holding, To swear by him whom I protest to love That I will work against him. Therefore your oaths Are words and poor conditions; but unseal’d,— At least in my opinion.
’t's not the many oaths that makes the truth, but the plain single vow that 's vow’d true. what 's not holy, that we swear not by, but take the highest to witness: then, pray you, tell me, if i should swear by jove’s great attributes i lov’d you dearly, would you believe my oaths when i did love you ill? th's has no holding, to swear by him whom i protest to love that i will work against him. therefore your oaths 're words and poor conditions; but unseal’d,— at least in my opinion.
’is not the many oaths that makes the truth, But the plain...
Change it, change it.
Be not so holy-cruel. Love is holy;
And my integrity ne’er knew the crafts
That you do charge men with. Stand no more off,
But give thyself unto my sick desires,
Who then recovers. Say thou art mine, and ever
My love as it begins shall so persever.
Change it, change it. Be not so holy-cruel. Love is holy; And my integrity ne’er knew the crafts That you do charge men with. Stand no more off, But give yourself unto my sick desires, Who then recovers. Say you are mine, and ever My love as it begins shall so persever.
change it, change it. be not so holy-cruel. love 's holy; and my integrity ne’er knew the crafts that you do charge men with. stand no more off, but give yourself unto my sick desires, who then recovers. say you 're mine, and ever my love as it begins shall so persever.
Change it, change it. Be not so holy-cruel. Love is holy; And...
I see that men make hopes in such a case,
That we’ll forsake ourselves. Give me that ring.
I see that men make hopes in such a case, That we’ll forsake ourselves. Give me that ring.
i see that men make hopes in such a case, that we’ll forsake ourselves. give me that ring.
I see that men make hopes in such a case, That we’ll...
I’ll lend it thee, my dear, but have no power
To give it from me.
I’ll lend it you, my dear, but have no power To give it from me.
i’ll lend it you, my dear, but 've no power to give it from me.
I’ll lend it you, my dear, but have no power To give...
Will you not, my lord?
Will you not, my lord?
will you not, my lord?
Will you not, my lord?
The bed-trick — a woman substituted for another in darkness — was a recognized plot device in Renaissance literature and folklore. Shakespeare uses it twice: here and in Measure for Measure. Modern readers often find it uncomfortable, and the discomfort is worth sitting with. Bertram intends to commit adultery with Diana while his wife is supposedly dead. Helena substitutes herself and technically fulfills the conditions Bertram set as impossibly high barriers to their marriage. She gets what she wants. So does the play. But Bertram's 'consent' to the consummation is obtained under false pretenses. Shakespeare doesn't resolve this — he presents it, completes the plot, and leaves the audience to decide how they feel. The final scene's 'if she can make me know this clearly, I'll love her dearly, ever, ever dearly' doesn't quite close the wound.
It is an honour ’longing to our house,
Bequeathed down from many ancestors,
Which were the greatest obloquy i’ the world
In me to lose.
It is an honour ’longing to our house, Bequeathed down from many ancestors, Which were the greatest obloquy i’ the world In me to lose.
it 's an honour ’longing to our house, bequeathed down from many ancestors, which were the greatest obloquy i’ the world in me to lose.
It is an honour ’longing to our house, Bequeathed down from many...
Mine honour’s such a ring;
My chastity’s the jewel of our house,
Bequeathed down from many ancestors,
Which were the greatest obloquy i’ the world
In me to lose. Thus your own proper wisdom
Brings in the champion honour on my part
Against your vain assault.
Mine honour’s such a ring; My chastity’s the jewel of our house, Bequeathed down from many ancestors, Which were the greatest obloquy i’ the world In me to lose. Thus your own proper wisdom Brings in the champion honour on my part Against your vain assault.
mine honour’s such a ring; my chastity’s the jewel of our house, bequeathed down from many ancestors, which were the greatest obloquy i’ the world in me to lose. thus your own proper wisdom brings in the champion honour on my part against your vain assault.
Mine honour’s such a ring; My chastity’s the jewel of our house,...
Here, take my ring;
My house, mine honour, yea, my life be thine,
And I’ll be bid by thee.
Here, take my ring; My house, mine honour, yea, my life be yours, And I’ll be bid by you.
here, take my ring; my house, mine honour, yea, my life be yours, and i’ll be bid by you.
Here, take my ring; My house, mine honour, yea, my life be...
When midnight comes, knock at my chamber window;
I’ll order take my mother shall not hear.
Now will I charge you in the band of truth,
When you have conquer’d my yet maiden-bed,
Remain there but an hour, nor speak to me.
My reasons are most strong; and you shall know them
When back again this ring shall be deliver’d;
And on your finger in the night, I’ll put
Another ring, that what in time proceeds
May token to the future our past deeds.
Adieu till then; then fail not. You have won
A wife of me, though there my hope be done.
When midnight comes, knock at my chamber window; I’ll order take my mother shall not hear. Now will I charge you in the band of truth, When you have conquer’d my yet maiden-bed, Remain there but an hour, nor speak to me. My reasons are most strong; and you shall know them When back again this ring shall be deliver’d; And on your finger in the night, I’ll put Another ring, that what in time proceeds May token to the future our past deeds. Adieu till then; then fail not. You have won A wife of me, though there my hope be done.
when midnight comes, knock at my chamber window; i’ll order take my mother shall not hear. now will i charge you in the band of truth, when you 've conquer’d my yet maiden-bed, remain there but an hour, nor speak to me. my reasons 're most strong; and you shall know them when back again th's ring shall be deliver’d; and on your finger in the night, i’ll put another ring, that what in time proceeds may token to the future our past deeds. adieu till then; then fail not. you 've won a wife of me, though there my hope be done.
When midnight comes, knock at my chamber window; I’ll order take my...
A heaven on earth I have won by wooing thee.
A heaven on earth I have won by wooing you.
a heaven on earth i 've won by wooing you.
A heaven on earth I have won by wooing you.
For which live long to thank both heaven and me!
You may so in the end.
My mother told me just how he would woo,
As if she sat in’s heart. She says all men
Have the like oaths. He had sworn to marry me
When his wife’s dead; therefore I’ll lie with him
When I am buried. Since Frenchmen are so braid,
Marry that will, I live and die a maid.
Only, in this disguise, I think’t no sin
To cozen him that would unjustly win.
For which live long to thank both heaven and me! You may so in the end. My mother told me just how he would woo, As if she sat in’s heart. She says all men Have the like oaths. He had sworn to marry me When his wife’s dead; therefore I’ll lie with him When I am buried. Since Frenchmen are so braid, Marry that will, I live and die a maid. Only, in this disguise, I think’t no sin To cozen him that would unjustly win.
for which live long to thank both heaven and me! you may so in the end. my mother told me just how he would woo, as if she sat in’s heart. she says all men 've the like oaths. he had sworn to marry me when h's wife’s dead; therefore i’ll lie with him when i am buried. since frenchmen 're so braid, marry that will, i live and die a maid. only, in th's disguise, i think’t no sin to cozen him that would unjustly win.
For which live long to thank both heaven and me! You may...
The Reckoning
This scene is a duel of wits dressed as a seduction, and Diana wins every exchange. Bertram throws flattery, pressure, vows, and finally his most precious possession — a ring that has been in his family for six generations — and Diana accepts it all while giving away nothing. Her final soliloquy makes clear she's operating entirely on Helena's behalf, fully aware of what Bertram is and what he deserves. The audience leaves the scene holding two rings: Helena's plan is in motion, and Bertram has just handed the woman he claims to love his own undoing.
If this happened today…
A married exec at a conference slides into a junior colleague's DMs with increasingly shameless lines. She's already been briefed by his wife — this is a sting operation. She matches every move: asks for his passcode, his car keys, his login to the family account. He hands them over because he thinks he's winning. When he finally gets what he thinks he wants, the colleague has documented everything, transferred the car keys to the wife, and blocked him. He thought he was running game. He was running himself into a corner she built.