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Enter VIOLA, a CAPTAIN, and sailors
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VIOLA, a CAPTAIN, and sailors enter.
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VIOLA What country, friends, is this?
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VIOLA What country is this, friends?
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CAPTAIN This is Illyria, lady.
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CAPTAIN This is Illyria, lady.
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VIOLA And what should I do in Illyria?
My brother he is in Elysium.
Perchance he is not drown’d.—What think you, sailors?
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VIOLA And what am I supposed to do in Illyria? My brother is in heaven. Or maybe there’s a chance he didn’t drown.—What do you think, sailors?
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CAPTAIN
5It is perchance that you yourself were saved.
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CAPTAIN It was a total fluke that you yourself were saved.
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VIOLA O, my poor brother! And so perchance may he be.
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VIOLA Oh, my poor brother! But maybe by some fluke he was saved too.
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CAPTAIN True, madam. And, to comfort you with chance,
Assure yourself, after our ship did split,
When you and those poor number saved with you
10Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother,
Most provident in peril, bind himself,
Courage and hope both teaching him the practice,
To a strong mast that lived upon the sea,
Where, like Arion on the dolphin’s back,
15I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves
So long as I could see.
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CAPTAIN It’s possible, ma'am. Don’t give up yet. When our ship was wrecked and you and a few other survivors were clinging onto our lifeboat, I saw your brother tie himself to a big mast floating in the sea. He was acting resourcefully and courageously in a dangerous situation. For as long as I could see him, he stayed afloat on the waves like
ArionArion was a Greek poet who was saved from drowning by a dolphin. Arion on the dolphin’s back. |
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VIOLA
(giving him money)
For saying so, there’s gold.
Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope,
Whereto thy speech serves for authority,
20The like of him. Know’st thou this country?
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VIOLA
(giving him money) Thank you for saying that—here’s some money to express my gratitude. Since I survived, it’s easier for me to imagine he survived too, and what you say gives me a reason to hope for the best. Do you know this area we’re in?
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CAPTAIN Ay, madam, well, for I was bred and born
Not three hours' travel from this very place.
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CAPTAIN Yes, ma'am, I know it well. I was born and raised less than three hours from here.
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