Rank Offence
Posted on 04.02.04 4:17PM in high school
O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t,
A brother’s murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will:
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent;
And, like a man to double business bound,
I stand in pause where I shall first begin,
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother’s blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy
But to confront the visage of offence?
And what’s in prayer but this two-fold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,
Or pardon’d being down? Then I’ll look up;
My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul murder’?
That cannot be; since I am still possess’d
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.
May one be pardon’d and retain the offence?
In the corrupted currents of this world
Offence’s gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft ’tis seen the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law: but ’tis not so above;
There is no shuffling, there the action lies
In his true nature; and we ourselves compell’d,
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence. What then? what rests?
Try what repentance can: what can it not?
Yet what can it when one can not repent?
O wretched state! O bosom black as death!
O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,
Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay!
Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart with strings of steel,
Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe!
All may be well.
Had to memorize that beast for Powell’s class. And I made it cry to its mommy.
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Posted by Taryn on 10.15.05 at 14:42:58
Lame entry casey..any one of us can cut and paste from sparknotes..it takes a true blogger to resist such tempations and try to pass it off as a valid entry. I’m disappointed, what a drop from your PacMan blog ::shakes head:: You can do better than this
Posted by Taryn on 10.15.05 at 14:43:22
Aw casey I’m sry, that came out kind of mean..I just think you’re capable of better. Know what? nm, my xanga sucks way more ass, you rock!
Posted by Joey on 10.15.05 at 14:43:46
“Baloney” is my dog’s name… I’ll just kill him and end his suffering…