How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #1
KING
You three, Berowne, Dumain, and Longaville,
Have sworn for three years' term to live with me,
My fellow-scholars... (1.1.15-17)
The first line of the play announces a boys' club soon to be invaded.
Quote #2
ARMADO
What
great men have been in love?
BOY
Hercules, master.
ARMADO
Most sweet Hercules! More authority, dear
boy, name more; and, sweet my child, let them be
men of good repute and carriage. (1.2.64-69)
Great men in history are an important motif in the play. Take a look at our "Allusions" section in order to get a better sense of how many references there are to famous men in Mythology and History.
Quote #3
ARMADO
Yet was Samson so tempted,
and he had an excellent strength; yet was Solomon
so seduced, and he had a very good wit. Cupid's
butt-shaft is too hard for Hercules' club, and therefore
too much odds for a Spaniard's rapier. (1.2.173-177)
Armado and the lords comfort themselves with reminders that even heroes can love.