THE KISS IN DRAMATIC LITERATURE.
SELECTIONS FROM SHAKSPEARE.
So full of valor that they smote the air
For breathing in their faces; beat the ground
For kissing of their feet; yet always bending
Towards their project.
Fie, fie! how wayward is this foolish love,
That, like a testy babe, will scratch the nurse,
And presently, all humbled, kiss the rod.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, i. 2.
Why, then we’ll make exchange; here, take you this,
And seal the bargain with a holy kiss.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 2.
She shall be dignified with this high honor,—
To bear my lady’s train; lest the base earth
Should from her vesture chance to steal a kiss.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 4.
The current that with gentle murmur glides,
Thou know’st, being stopped, impatiently doth rage;
But, when his fair course is not hindered,
He makes sweet music with th’ enameled stones,
Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge
He overtaketh in his pilgrimage.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 7.
Falstaff. Her husband, dwelling in a continual ’larum
of jealousy, comes me in the instant of our encounter,
after we had embraced, kissed, protested, and, as it were,
spoke the prologue of our comedy.
Merry Wives, iii. 5.
What is love? ’tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What’s to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet-and-twenty,
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.
Take, oh, take those lips away,
That so sweetly were forsworn;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:
But my kisses bring again,
Seals of love, but sealed in vain.
Measure for Measure, ii. 1.
Benedict. Only foul words; and thereupon I will kiss
thee.
Beatrice. Foul words is but foul wind, and foul wind is
but foul breath, and foul breath is noisome; therefore I
will depart unkissed.
Much Ado, v. 2.
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?
Crystal is muddy. Oh, how ripe in show
Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!
That pure congealèd white, high Taurus’ snow,
Fanned with the eastern wind, turns to a crow
When thou hold’st up thy hand: Oh, let me kiss
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!
Midsummer Night’s Dream, iii. 2.
So sweet a kiss the golden sun gives not
To those fresh morning drops upon the rose,
As thy eye-beams, when their fresh rays have smote
The night of dew that on my cheeks down flows.
Love’s Labor Lost, iv. 3.
Why, this is he
That kissed away his hand in courtesy;
——the ladies call him, sweet;
The stairs, as he treads on them, kiss his feet.
Why, that’s the lady; all the world desires her;
From the four corners of the earth they come,
To kiss this shrine, this mortal breathing saint.
Merchant of Venice, ii. 7.
Some there be that shadows kiss;
Some have but a shadow’s bliss.
Merchant of Venice, ii. 9.
The moon shines bright. In such a night as this,
When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees,
And they did make no noise——
Merchant of Venice, v. 1.
If you be well pleased with this,
And hold your fortune for your bliss,
Turn you where your lady is,
And claim her with a loving kiss.
Merchant of Venice, iii. 2.
Rosalind. His very hair is of the dissembling color.
Celia. Something browner than Judas’: marry, his
kisses are Judas’ own children.
R. I’ faith, his hair is of a good color.
C. An excellent color: your chestnut was ever the only
color.
R. And his kissing is as full of sanctity as the touch
of holy bread.
C. He hath bought a pair of cast lips of Diana: a nun
of winter’s sisterhood kisses not more religiously; the
very ice of chastity is in them.
As You Like It, iii. 4.
Rosalind. Come, woo me, woo me; for now I am in a
holiday humor, and like enough to consent. What would
you say to me now, an I were your very very Rosalind?
Orlando. I would kiss before I spoke.
R. Nay, you were better speak first; and when you
were gravelled for lack of matter, you might take occasion
to kiss. Very good orators, when they are out, they
will spit; and for lovers, lacking (God warn us) matter,
the cleanliest shift is to kiss.
O. How if the kiss be denied?
R. Then she puts you to entreaty, and there begins
new matter.
As You Like It, iv. 1.
Clown. He that comforts my wife is the nourisher of
my flesh and blood; he that cherishes my flesh and blood
loves my flesh and blood; he that loves my flesh and
blood is my friend: ergo, he that kisses my wife is my
friend.
All’s Well that Ends Well, i. 3.
Helena. I would not tell you what I would. My lord—’faith, yes;—
Strangers and foes do sunder, and not kiss.
All’s Well that Ends Well, ii. 5.
I saw sweet beauty in her face,
Such as the daughter of Agenor had,
That made great Jove to humble him to her hand,
When with his knees he kissed the Cretan strand.
Taming of the Shrew, i. 1.
Petruchio. I tell you, ’tis incredible to believe
How much she loves me. Oh, the kindest Kate!—
She hung about my neck; and kiss on kiss
She vied so fast, protesting oath on oath,
That in a twink, she won me to her love.
Taming of the Shrew, ii. 1.
Gremio. This done, he took the bride about the neck,
And kissed her lips with such a clamorous smack,
That, at the parting, all the church did echo.
Taming of the Shrew, iii. 2.
Petruchio. First kiss me, Kate, and we will.
Katharine. What, in the midst of the street?
P. What, art thou ashamed of me?
K. No sir; God forbid:—but ashamed to kiss.
P. Why, then let’s home again. Come, sirrah, let’s away.
K. Nay, I will give thee a kiss: now pray thee, love, stay.
Taming of the Shrew, v. 1.
Never gazed the moon
Upon the water, as he’ll stand, and read,
As ’twere, my daughter’s eyes; and, to be plain,
I think there is not half a kiss to choose
Who loves another best.
Never saw I
Wretches so quake: they kneel, they kiss the earth.
Leontes. You are married?
Florizel. We are not, sir, nor are we like to be;
The stars, I see, will kiss the valleys first.
Perdita. Do not say ’tis superstition that
I kneel, and then implore her blessing. Lady,
Dear queen, that ended when I but began;
Give me that hand of yours to kiss.
Paulina. Oh, patience;
The statue is but newly fixed, the color’s
Leontes. There is an air comes from her. What fine chisel
Could ever yet cut breath? Let no man mock me,
For I will kiss her.
Paulina. Good my lord, forbear:
The ruddiness upon her lip is wet;
You’ll mar it if you kiss it; stain your own
With oily painting.
Is it night’s predominance, or the day’s shame,
That darkness does the face of earth entomb,
When living light should kiss it?
Macbeth. I’ll not yield
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet,
And to be baited with the rabble’s curse.
Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss,
As seal to this indenture of my love.
Fortune shall cull forth
Out of one side her happy minion;
To whom in favor she shall give the day,
And kiss him with a glorious victory.
Nor let my kingdom’s rivers take their course
Through my burned bosom; nor entreat the north
To make his bleak winds kiss my parchèd lips,
And comfort me with cold.
(Richard to Bolingbroke, kneeling.)
Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee,
To make the base earth proud with kissing it.
(Richard to the Queen.)
Let me unkiss the oath ’twixt thee and me;
And yet not so, for with a kiss ’twas made.
[20]...
Come, come, in wooing sorrow let’s be brief,
Since, wedding it, there is such length in grief.
One kiss shall stop our mouths, and dumbly part:
Thus give I mine, and thus I take thy heart. [They kiss.
Queen. Give me mine own again; ’twere no good part,
To take on me to keep, and kill thy heart. [Kiss again.
So now I have mine own again, begone,
That I may strive to kill it with a groan.
I understand thy kisses, and thou mine,
And that’s a feeling disputation.
Falstaff. Thou dost give me flattering busses.
Doll. Nay, truly: I kiss thee with a most constant heart.
Pistol. Touch her soft mouth, and march.
Bardolph. Farewell, hostess. [Kissing her.
Nym. I cannot kiss, that is the humor of it; but adieu.
I kiss his dirty shoe, and from my heart-strings
I love the lovely bully.
King Henry. Katharine, break thy mind to me in
broken English. Wilt thou have me?
Katharine. Dat is, as it shall please de roy mon pere.
Hen. Nay, it will please him well, Kate; it shall please
him, Kate.
Kath. Den it shall also content me.
Hen. Upon that I will kiss your hand, and I call you—my
queen.
Kath. Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez: ma foy, je
ne veux point que vous abaissez vostre grandeur en baisant
la main d’un vostre indigne serviteure; excusez moy, je
vous supplie, mon tres puissant seigneur.
Hen. Then I will kiss your lips, Kate.
Kath. Les dames, et damoiselles, pour estre baisées devant
leur nopces, il n’est pas le coutume de France.
Hen. Madam my interpreter, what says she?
Alice. Dat it is not de fashion pour les ladies of France,—I
cannot tell what is, baiser, en English.
Hen. To kiss.
Alice. Your majesty entendre bettre que moy.
Hen. It is not the fashion for the maids in France to
kiss before they are married, would she say?
Alice. Ouy, vrayment.
Hen. O Kate, nice customs curtsey to great kings.
Dear Kate, you and I cannot be confined within the weak
list of a country’s fashion; we are the makers of manners,
Kate; and the liberty that follows our places stops the
mouths of all find-faults, as I will do yours, for upholding
the nice fashion of your country, in denying me a
kiss: therefore, patiently, and yielding [kissing her].
You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate; there is more
eloquence in the sugar touch of them than in the tongues
of the French council, and they should sooner persuade
Harry of England than a general petition of monarchs.
Henry V., v. 2.
Mortimer. Direct mine arms, I may embrace his neck,
And in his bosom spend my latter gasp;
Oh, tell me, when my lips do touch his cheeks,
That I may kindly give one fainting kiss.
(Suffolk to Lady Margaret.)
Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner.
O fairest beauty, do not fear, nor fly;
For I will touch thee but with reverent hands,
And lay them gently on thy tender side.
I kiss these fingers [kisses her hand] for eternal peace.
King Henry. Welcome, Queen Margaret;
I can express no kinder sign of love,
Than this kind kiss.
(Queen Margaret to Suffolk, kissing his hand.)
Oh, could this kiss be printed in thy hand,
That thou mightst think upon these by the seal,
Through whom a thousand sighs are breathed for thee!
[21]...
Oh, go not yet! Even thus two friends condemned
Embrace, and kiss, and take ten thousand leaves.
And that I love the tree from whence thou sprang’st,
Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.
[Aside.] To say the truth, so Judas kissed his master;
And cried, all hail! when as he meant all harm.
Teach not thy lip such scorn; for it was made
For kissing, lady, not for such contempt.
Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,
Which, in their summer beauty, kissed each other.
(Henry VIII. to Anne Bullen, after the dance.)
Sweetheart,
I were unmannerly, to take you out,
The hearts of princes kiss obedience,
So much they love it.
Cressida. My lord, I do beseech you pardon me;
’Twas not my purpose, thus to beg a kiss:
I am ashamed,—Oh, heavens! what have I done?
Troilus and Cressida, iii. 2.
As many farewells as the stars in heaven,
With distinct breath and consigned kisses to them,
He fumbles up into a loose adieu;
And scants us with a single famished kiss,
Distasted with the salt of broken tears.
Troilus and Cressida, iv. 4.
(Headquarters of the Grecian camp. Enter Diomed
with Cressida.)
Agamemnon. Is this the lady Cressid?
Agam. Most dearly welcome to the Greeks, sweet lady.
Nestor. Our general doth salute you with a kiss.
Ulysses. Yet is the kindness but particular;
’Twere better she were kissed in general.
Nest. And very courtly counsel: I’ll begin.—
So much for Nestor.
Achilles. I’ll take that winter from your lips, fair lady:
Achilles bids you welcome.
Menelaus. I had good argument for kissing once.
Patroclus. But that’s no argument for kissing now.
...
The first was Menelaus’ kiss;—this, mine;
Patroclus kisses you.
Patr. Paris and I kiss evermore for him.
Men. I’ll have my kiss, sir:—Lady, by your leave.
Cressida. In kissing, do you render or receive?
[23]
Patr. Both take and give.
Cres. I’ll make my match to live.
The kiss you take is better than you give;
Therefore no kiss.
Men. I’ll give you boot, I’ll give you three for one.
Cres. You’re an odd man; give even or give none.
Ulyss. May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you?
Ulyss. Why, then, for Venus’ sake, give me a kiss
When Helen is a maid again and his.
Cres. I am your debtor, claim it when ’tis due.
Ulyss. Never’s my day, and then a kiss of you.
Troilus and Cressida, iv. 5.
(Cressida to Diomed.)
Thy master now lies thinking in his bed
Of thee, and me; and sighs, and takes my glove,
And gives memorial dainty kisses to it,
As I kiss thee.
Troilus and Cressida, v. 2.
(Timon, looking on the gold.)
Thou ever young, fresh, loved, and delicate wooer,
Whose blush doth thaw the consecrated snow
That lies on Dian’s lap! thou visible god,
That solder’st close impossibilities,
And mak’st them kiss!
Oh, a kiss
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss
I carried from thee, dear; and my true lip
Hath virgined it e’er since.
Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault,
Assemble all the poor men of your sort;
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears
Into the channel, till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.
Let but the commons hear his testament,
And they would go and kiss dead Cæsar’s wounds,
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood.
Last thing he did, dear queen,
He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses—
This orient pearl.
Antony and Cleopatra, i. 5.
(Cleopatra to Messenger.)