Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 11 (tospot, rees, ralph, soch, tout, oundes…). Matches are highlighted.
away and hide him for fear He would think that Typhoeus the giant were alive And his brother Enceladus, again with him to strive If that Mars of battle the God stout and bold In this array should chance the to behold He would yield up his sword unto the And God of battle (he would say) thou shouldst be Now fare thou well go
Full speech
¶ What fellow Thersites, do you speak Latin now? Nay, then farewell, I make God a vow I do not you understand, no Latin is in my palet And then he must do as he would go away. ¶ Why Thersites hast thou any wit in thy head? Wouldst thou have a salad now, all the herbs are dead Beside that it is not meet for a smyth To gether herbs and sallettes to meddle with Go get the to my lover venus She hath sallettes enough for all us I eat none such sallettes for now I wax old and for my stomach they are very could ¶ It is a small tasting of a man's might That he should for any matter Fight with a few herbs in a platter No great laud should follow that victory ¶ Why sir in your stomach long you shall it feel For stele is harden for to digest ¶ your mind now I see Why thou peuysshe lad Art thou almost mad Or well in thy wit Get the a wallet Would thou have a sallette What wouldst thou do with it ¶ I must do somewhat for this knave What manner of fallet sir would you have. ¶ I perceive your mind. you shall find me kind I will for you prepare Here Thersites do this salad wear And on thy head it bear And none shall work the care ¶ Bokell on this habergyn as fast as thou can And fear for the meeting of neither beast nor man if it were possible for one too shote and oak This habergyn will defend thee From the stroke Let them throw millstones at the as thick as hail yet the to kill they shall their purpose fail if Maluerue Hills should on thy shoulders light They shall not hurt the, nor suppress thy might If Beves of Hampton, Colburne and Guy Will the assay, set not by them a fly To be brief, this habergyn shall the save Both by land and water, now play the lusty knave ¶ Have here Thersites briggen irons bright and fear thou no man manly to fight Though he be stronger then Hercules or Sampson Be thou pressed and bold to set him upon Neither Amazon nor xerxes with their hold rabble the to assail shall find it profitable I warrant the they will fle from thy face as does and Hare from the dogs in a chase Would not thy black and rusty grim berde Now thou art so armed, make any man afeard Surely if Jupiter did see the in this gere He would run away and hide him for fear He would think that Typhoeus the giant were alive And his brother Enceladus, again with him to strive If that Mars of battle the God stout and bold In this array should chance the to behold He would yield up his sword unto the And God of battle (he would say) thou shouldst be Now fare thou well go the world through And seek adventurus thou art man good enough. ¶ Truly I have such a one in my shop that will pare iron as it were a rope have, here it is, gird it to thy side Now fare thou well, Jupiter be thy guide
Plot summary
Plot — Thersites
Thersites has returned from the siege of Troy, but has lost most of his military equipment in a fire. He buys armour from Mulciber the smith. Newly equipped, he grows boastful, and challenges members of the audience to fight him, but nobody takes him up on it. His mother tries unsuccessfully to persuade him not to fight, and prays that at least he will not be hurt. He does battle with a snail, but his performance does not impress a soldier, who fights him. Thersites runs away and hides behind his mother, emerging when the coast is clear. Ulysses writes to Thersites asking him to help procure medical help for Telemachus, who is troubled with the worms. Thersites asks his mother to do a charm, but she will not oblige because Ulysses has been unfriendly in the past. Thersites threatens to beat her, but the promise of hospitality at Ulysses' house is more persuasive. She does a spell on Telemachus, then goes off to Ulysses' house. Thersites confides in the audience that he wishes her dead. He also plans to take his revenge on the soldier who attacked him, but the soldier returns, beats him off the stage, and moralizes to the audience about braggarts.