In the theater appreciation class, my students and I are writing essays about “All’s Well that Ends Well” that we’ve been reading, watching and talking about. The requirement is to choose a slender slice, as it were, of the play, and write a five-page paper in MLA format.
My topic is based on something that happens in Act III, Scene 2 in a room in the French palace of Roussillon [REW-see-own]. The countess reads a letter from her son who has recently married Helena, a waiting gentlewoman to the Countess. Lavache, the countess’ clown, is in her presence as she opens the letter. Skimming the contents she asks, “What have we here?” to which the clown cleverly replies, “Whatever you have there.”
Bertram’s letter is tersely disturbing to his mother. In 65 words, he’s informed her that he’s sending her a daughter-in-law who has cured the King of France and “undone” him (Bertram). Moreover, he wants her to know of his running away from his marriage before she hears about it from anyone else.
I find it interesting that he ends his letter with these two statements: “If there be breadth enough in the world, I will hold a long distance. My duty to you.” He closes with “Your unfortunate son, Bertram.”
1. “Lavache is the French word that means
A. laughter.
B. kiss.
C. cow
D. joker and dancer
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2. MLA stands for
A. Make Language Accurate
B. Modern Languages Association.
C. Modern Language Association
D. None of the above
No. 1 is – are you ready for this? Cow! No. 2 is C; it’s Language, singular.
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3. rash
A. gnomic
B. marked by or proceeding from undue haste or lack of deliberation or caution
C. prompt, efficient action
D. a linguistic error
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4. indignation (in-dig-NAY-shun)
A. the act of giving depth in writing or conversing
B. a display of affable mannerisms
C. amicableness
D. anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy or mean
No. 3, rash, is B, which came from Merriam-Webster. The countess uses the adjective rash to describe her son.
No. 4 is D, which also came from M-W. “To pluck his indignation [the king’s] on thy head” is a phrase used by the countess. Vaughan’s translation is this: The king is going to have your head for what you’re doing!
Editor’s Note: Dr. Don Rodney Vaughan is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church near Eupora and is on the faculty of East Mississippi Community College, Golden Triangle Campus. Contact him at dvaughan@eastms.edu.
