How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #10
SALISBURY
We had a kind of light what would ensue.
It is the shameful work of Hubert's hand,
The practice and the purpose of the King,
From whose obedience I forbid my soul,
Kneeling before this ruin of sweet life
And breathing to his breathless excellence
The incense of a vow, a holy vow:
Never to taste the pleasures of the world,
Never to be infected with delight,
Nor conversant with ease and idleness,
Till I have set a glory to this hand
By giving it the worship of revenge. (4.3.62-73)
These lines reveal some of the play's key paradoxes of loyalty. On the one hand, Salisbury is angry that the king no longer deserves his loyalty because of the shameful actions he has done. So he swears loyalty to the corpse of Arthur instead. But by swearing loyalty to Arthur, he has to then betray his king. Pandolf kind of has a field day with this—at the moment, he's giving his blessing to the people who break their loyalty with King John. It's a crazy world out there.