My tragedy, "Hesione"
CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY
HESIONE, daughter of Zeus and Corstia, wife of Cleutes
CLEUTES, king of Sikinos
THEUSIAL, brother of Hesione
PENTITHIDES, a servant of Cleutes
CHRUSTAE, a maid
ENEMY SOLDIERS
CHORUS, of courtyard statues
HESIONE
[SCENE: The courtyard of the home of Cleutes, on the isle of Sikinos. The CHORUS is dressed in whites and grays, posing as statues in the background. It is midafternoon.]
[THEUSIAL enters. He walks at a leisurely pace, wandering aimlessly around the stage for a bit before sitting down on a bench, humming idly to himself. PENTITHIDES enters.]
PENTITHIDES:
My lord, my lord! Why do you linger here, alone?
THEUSIAL:
Is it not well and good for a man to linger,
with the sun and grass as his companions?
They do not tire of my ramblings,
nor whisper behind my back.
CHORUS:
All who listen to Theusial
would do well to ignore his speech;
he has lost all reason
and can only spout nonsense.
He is only the first of the curse's victims.
THEUSIAL:
Curse? I see no curse.
Only a spot of clouds
marring a perfect azure sky.
PENTITHIDES:
If you say so, my lord,
but I bring other conversation.
Your sister is married.
Will you not see her?
THEUSIAL:
Married, you say? What is that?
Some new fancy jewelry my sister partakes?
PENTITHIDES:
Your sister has taken vows of matrimony
and pledged herself for life
to Cleutes, king of Sikinos,
the isle on which you stand.
Can you not show some congratulation
or, failing that, respect?
THEUSIAL:
Oh, so she's been sold?
A pity, I would've liked to bid.
PENTITHIDES:
Your sister approaches.
[PENTITHIDES exits.]
CHORUS:
Behold, such a tragedy,
A fine young man, brave and earnest
reduced to the mannerisms of a child
without thought of tact or logic.
Yet he is only a victim.
Such is the effect of the curse,
placed upon tragic Hesione.
Alas, poor Hesione!
Born to a mortal woman
taken by Zeus in his eagerness,
the child Hesione,
of such beauty that could outshine the gods.
Alas, for the arrogant tongues of man!
Such words do not escape the gods,
and the jealous Hera, upon hearing them,
cried out in rage and bitterness,
placing a curse upon the maiden,
that he who should linger in her presence
shall suffer a slow loss of reason
til he be reduced to naught but mutterings and fancy.
Alas, poor Hesione! Alas, poor Theusial!
THEUSIAL:
Alas, indeed! The clouds are coming in.
CHORUS:
He does not understand.
THEUSIAL:
What man truly understands anything?
[HESIONE enters.]
HESIONE:
Ah, dear brother! Pentithides informed me
you were dawdling among the shrubs.
THEUSIAL:
It is no better occupation, no worse habit.
HESIONE:
I grieve for your loss of reason, brother,
I truly do. But today my sorrow is lessened;
For I have found love, and it has found me.
Brother, I am married. Do I not have your blessing?
THEUSIAL:
You have indeed found love!
It is a yellow color and hangs around your neck
and lurks on your fingers.
HESIONE:
Brother, be not spiteful.
Do you hate me for marrying?
I shall never stop grieving for you, brother,
but I cannot bring back what is lost.
All I can do is deny my curse its power.
It has claimed one victim; it shall claim no more.
My husband comes; will you not meet him?
THEUSIAL:
I have no desire to. He has a crooked nose,
and his eyes are brown, like the color of mud.
He offends my eyes by his expressions.
CHORUS:
And you offend the eyes of all logical people.
THEUSIAL:
Let them be offended. Their egos bruise too readily.
HESIONE:
Brother! Can you not do me this one favor?
THEUSIAL:
I shall not; I cannot linger.
The sun has gone missing, and I must retrieve him.
[THEUSIAL exits.]
HESIONE:
Alas, to be burdened with such a pitiable creature!
CHORUS:
Some would say you are the pitiable one.
HESIONE:
My half-brother, born of mortal flesh only,
prey to human weakness. Yet when he begged me,
I could not turn him away from my side.
CHORUS:
Was it not you who begged him to stay?
Is it not him that paid the price for man's arrogance?
HESIONE:
Enough of my maidenly prattling. Cleutes approaches!
[Enter CLEUTES.]
CLEUTES:
My love, this is where you have spirited off to.
Is your brother not around?
HESIONE:
He has gone to frolic among the flowers.
CLEUTES:
A pity. Even if only by one parent,
you two are related, and he should have held favor
to be as enviable as you. Shall we not let him play?
He would not understand my speech anyways.
HESIONE:
He would become bored quickly. Indeed, such a fine man wasted!
But let us talk of more cheery things.
Is not the feast prepared? Have the people brought such gifts
that befit their new queen?
CLEUTES:
All is taken care of. Have no fear.
I had planned this carefully from the moment I saw you.
I am not as careless as your brother
to be caught in such a curse. Everything is planned;
from the feast and wedding night, to future years.
I even have names for our future sons.
HESIONE:
Shall the naming of daughters fall to me, then?
CLEUTES:
Indeed. But our firstborn must be male.
I desire an heir to my kingdom.
HESIONE:
I shall make it so, my lord.
Let us away to the banquet!
[HESIONE and CLEUTES exit.]
CHORUS:
The arrogance of man is always repaid by the gods.
These two who think they are happy
are no exception. This is the beginning of tragedy.
Theusial, among his flowers and sun
is the only one to stay the same.
As rightly delivered, Cleutes falls prey
as any mortal man would. His eyes betray him;
he sees dark specters in the shadows. He mutters often.
As his delusions grow, his kingdom fails.
His enemies lurk on the shores, waiting for the ultimate weakness.
And Hesione, despairing Hesione, so certain of her planned future,
finds herself unable to bear a child. Without a heir,
the fall of Sikinos looms near.
Woe to any mortal who thinks their place is among the gods.
They are always made humble.
[Enter PENTITHIDES.]
PENTITHIDES:
Oh that I had died a hundred times over
before seeing this dreadful age! My lord's kingdom is flailing;
as certainly as my lord flails among the shadows cast over him.
Mercy be upon us and our kingdom! Shall not the gods
pity us and show again their smiling faces towards us?
[Enter THEUSIAL.]
THEUSIAL:
God? What is that, but a canine facing backwards?
CHORUS:
He speaks blasphemy.
THEUSIAL:
I speak linguistics.
PENTITHIDES:
For what purpose have you come here?
Come to mock the ill shadows your sister has brought upon us?
THEUSIAL:
Ill shadows can only be cast from ill light.
PENTITHIDES:
Despite your madness, there is a sting to your words.
Be you a sophist?
THEUSIAL:
Me, a sophist? One of such godless fools?
I shall take it into consideration.
PENTITHIDES:
You mock me!
THEUSIAL:
Only if it is deserved.
CHORUS:
Such deep sarcasm can only come from the minds
of those truly mad, or those truly genius.
THEUSIAL:
A thin line between the two!
PENTITHIDES:
Speak no more of your hurtful nonsense.
THEUSIAL:
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
PENTITHEDES:
Begone from my sight, you insipid fool!
THEUSIAL:
And so I shall. After all, is shouted demands not the best way to argue?
[THEUSIAL exits.]
PENTITHIDES:
To be bested by an idiot! My anger knows no bounds.
Would that I could impress some manners into his hide!
[Enter CLEUTES.]
PENTITHIDES:
My lord! How fare you today? Are you well?
CLEUTES:
Who calls? What man knows me by name?
PENTITHIDES:
Recognize not your own faithful servant, Pentithides?
CLEUTES:
I recognize nothing! Only the hauntings of voices
echoing down the halls of this ancient house.
It is nothing but a collective grave! Shall I, too,
find my end in joining these voices?
I deny it! I deny everything! I shall not accept this fate!
PENTITHIDES:
My lord, put your mind at ease. There are no voices;
only illusions. They shall not affect you if you do not let them.
CLEUTES:
What know you of such things? Are you not also a voice?
Oh, such ill tidings...Doom, doom comes for me and my home!
Cursed walls! Say no more to me!
Your end shall come soon enough!
PENTITHIDES:
My lord, consider your words! Do not desert your people.
CLEUTES:
Silence, voice! I hear your naysaying. I eagerly await
when all of your voices have their just reward!
Silence to you all! Let me rest in silence!
Even in my sleep you haunt me!
I care not for a kingdom that plagues me so. Let it be wasted!
[CLEUTES exits.]
PENTITHIDES:
Alas, for Sikinos! Shall this once proud kingdom
fall to madmen and women?
It is that foolish woman who is to blame!
She casts an evil upon this household; and I shall remove it.
I shall not let such a blight ruin this kingdom and its lord!
[HESIONE enters.]
HESIONE:
Pentithides, where is my lord? I agonize
to see him suffer so. I go to put his mind at rest.
Where has he gone?
PENTITHIDES:
He has fallen into shadow, where you have cast him!
HESIONE:
Why do you slander me, Pentithides? Have I done you wrong?
I worry for my lord as you do. Am I not his wife?
Show me to him. I wish to comfort him!
PENTITHIDES: [seizes HESIONE]
You shall plague this house no more!
HESIONE:
Stop, stop! Release me! I have done nothing!
PENTITHIDES:
Through your nothing you destroyed your own brother.
I shall not let you repeat your folly!
HESIONE:
Help me!
PENTITHIDES:
None shall come to your aid! Had you lifted a finger once
to better the condition you inflict, I would reconsider.
Now, let Hades be thy judge!
[HESIONE is killed. THEUSIAL enters.]
THEUSIAL:
What lays here? A remarkably life-like doll.
Or perhaps a pleasant feud took place.
Did you quarrel with your lover?
PENTITHIDES:
Open your eyes, fool! See the corpse before you
and know that you are free!
THEUSIAL:
Free? Man is only free when his life is in danger.
The more a man does, the more a slave he is to his own actions.
So now a wrong reversed makes a right?
CHORUS:
He speaks more nonsense.
THEUSIAL:
Just more linguistics. I suspect they are the same.
PENTITHIDES:
I am a slave no longer to your sister. Neither is my master.
THEUSIAL:
Your master bears you a message.
PENTITHIDES:
What? More of your nonsense?
THEUSIAL:
One of the maids seeks an audience. She seemed quite flustered.
She has searched for you for a while.
PENTITHIDES:
Lead her in.
[Enter CHRUSTAE.]
CHRUSTAE:
Oh, my lord! Such terrible ills have befallen our isle!
But what lies before me? Our queen, dead?
Truly the gods have forsaken us!
PENTITHIDES:
Never you mind her. She has gotten her deserved end.
Speak plainly, what news do you bring?
CHRUSTAE:
It is of my lord Cleutes. He is dead!
CHORUS:
And so the arrogance of man is shown its folly.
The gods have been avenged.
PENTITHIDES:
What, dead? How?
CHRUSTAE:
We tried to impede him, but in his madness
he gained the strength of a thousand. Always talking of voices,
he began grappling with an invisible foe. With this illusion he fought,
all the way to the cliff's edge, tripped, and fell.
Surely the waters of the sea have swallowed all trace of him.
And now, with the queen also recently expired,
the royal family is gone. There is no hope.
Surely the island will be overrun by tomorrow's light!
PENTITHIDES:
Woman, keep your head. I have an order.
CHRUSTAE:
My lord?
PENTITHIDES:
Bring me logs for a fire, large enough to light up a night sky.
CHRUSTAE:
If you request it, so it shall be done.
[CHRUSTAE exits.]
CHORUS: [produces several logs and brings them to the front]
All too late Pentithides has realized his own folly,
his mortal foolishness and his blindness to it.
He rectifies his mistake now.
PENTITHIDES: [alights the bonfire]
Have you any last words, Theusial? Any last mockery
for my foolishness? No last probing jaunt?
THEUSIAL:
I shall continue to watch the clouds. Such light and innocent things,
they are untouched by man's petty troubles.
PENTITHIDES:
I envy you and your simplicity.
THEUSIAL:
What truly is simple? Even white clouds can bring rain.
[PENTITHIDES steps into the fire. CHRUSTAE re-enters.]
CHRUSTAE:
My lord, Pentithides? Where have you gone?
Were you not here a mere moment ago?
Lord Theusial, whereforth has he gone?
THEUSIAL:
He has built a fire, but left it unattended.
I am watching over it for him. It shall die down soon, I think.
CHRUSTAE:
Oh, would that I had died before seeing this terrible day!
First our king, then our queen, and now even Lord Pentithides!
There is no hope for us. Even now,
the terrible sound of enemy voices draw near.
THEUSIAL:
If you do not like the sounds, maybe you should retire to a quieter place.
CHRUSTAE:
And what of you, my lord? Where shall you go?
THEUSIAL:
I am tending the fire. I shall watch the clouds.
[CHRUSTAE exits. Three ENEMY SOLDIERS rush onto the stage, yelling. They rush THEUSIAL, attacking him as the CHORUS speaks.]
CHORUS:
Thus ends a tragedy filled with fools, but which were fools
and which were truly wise? The gods shall always strike
against those who grow beyond their position.
Man is a creature of folly, but man's biggest folly
is being blinded to their mistakes until rectification
no longer comes. Such is man's downfall.
I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
HESIONE, daughter of Zeus and Corstia, wife of Cleutes
CLEUTES, king of Sikinos
THEUSIAL, brother of Hesione
PENTITHIDES, a servant of Cleutes
CHRUSTAE, a maid
ENEMY SOLDIERS
CHORUS, of courtyard statues
HESIONE
[SCENE: The courtyard of the home of Cleutes, on the isle of Sikinos. The CHORUS is dressed in whites and grays, posing as statues in the background. It is midafternoon.]
[THEUSIAL enters. He walks at a leisurely pace, wandering aimlessly around the stage for a bit before sitting down on a bench, humming idly to himself. PENTITHIDES enters.]
PENTITHIDES:
My lord, my lord! Why do you linger here, alone?
THEUSIAL:
Is it not well and good for a man to linger,
with the sun and grass as his companions?
They do not tire of my ramblings,
nor whisper behind my back.
CHORUS:
All who listen to Theusial
would do well to ignore his speech;
he has lost all reason
and can only spout nonsense.
He is only the first of the curse's victims.
THEUSIAL:
Curse? I see no curse.
Only a spot of clouds
marring a perfect azure sky.
PENTITHIDES:
If you say so, my lord,
but I bring other conversation.
Your sister is married.
Will you not see her?
THEUSIAL:
Married, you say? What is that?
Some new fancy jewelry my sister partakes?
PENTITHIDES:
Your sister has taken vows of matrimony
and pledged herself for life
to Cleutes, king of Sikinos,
the isle on which you stand.
Can you not show some congratulation
or, failing that, respect?
THEUSIAL:
Oh, so she's been sold?
A pity, I would've liked to bid.
PENTITHIDES:
Your sister approaches.
[PENTITHIDES exits.]
CHORUS:
Behold, such a tragedy,
A fine young man, brave and earnest
reduced to the mannerisms of a child
without thought of tact or logic.
Yet he is only a victim.
Such is the effect of the curse,
placed upon tragic Hesione.
Alas, poor Hesione!
Born to a mortal woman
taken by Zeus in his eagerness,
the child Hesione,
of such beauty that could outshine the gods.
Alas, for the arrogant tongues of man!
Such words do not escape the gods,
and the jealous Hera, upon hearing them,
cried out in rage and bitterness,
placing a curse upon the maiden,
that he who should linger in her presence
shall suffer a slow loss of reason
til he be reduced to naught but mutterings and fancy.
Alas, poor Hesione! Alas, poor Theusial!
THEUSIAL:
Alas, indeed! The clouds are coming in.
CHORUS:
He does not understand.
THEUSIAL:
What man truly understands anything?
[HESIONE enters.]
HESIONE:
Ah, dear brother! Pentithides informed me
you were dawdling among the shrubs.
THEUSIAL:
It is no better occupation, no worse habit.
HESIONE:
I grieve for your loss of reason, brother,
I truly do. But today my sorrow is lessened;
For I have found love, and it has found me.
Brother, I am married. Do I not have your blessing?
THEUSIAL:
You have indeed found love!
It is a yellow color and hangs around your neck
and lurks on your fingers.
HESIONE:
Brother, be not spiteful.
Do you hate me for marrying?
I shall never stop grieving for you, brother,
but I cannot bring back what is lost.
All I can do is deny my curse its power.
It has claimed one victim; it shall claim no more.
My husband comes; will you not meet him?
THEUSIAL:
I have no desire to. He has a crooked nose,
and his eyes are brown, like the color of mud.
He offends my eyes by his expressions.
CHORUS:
And you offend the eyes of all logical people.
THEUSIAL:
Let them be offended. Their egos bruise too readily.
HESIONE:
Brother! Can you not do me this one favor?
THEUSIAL:
I shall not; I cannot linger.
The sun has gone missing, and I must retrieve him.
[THEUSIAL exits.]
HESIONE:
Alas, to be burdened with such a pitiable creature!
CHORUS:
Some would say you are the pitiable one.
HESIONE:
My half-brother, born of mortal flesh only,
prey to human weakness. Yet when he begged me,
I could not turn him away from my side.
CHORUS:
Was it not you who begged him to stay?
Is it not him that paid the price for man's arrogance?
HESIONE:
Enough of my maidenly prattling. Cleutes approaches!
[Enter CLEUTES.]
CLEUTES:
My love, this is where you have spirited off to.
Is your brother not around?
HESIONE:
He has gone to frolic among the flowers.
CLEUTES:
A pity. Even if only by one parent,
you two are related, and he should have held favor
to be as enviable as you. Shall we not let him play?
He would not understand my speech anyways.
HESIONE:
He would become bored quickly. Indeed, such a fine man wasted!
But let us talk of more cheery things.
Is not the feast prepared? Have the people brought such gifts
that befit their new queen?
CLEUTES:
All is taken care of. Have no fear.
I had planned this carefully from the moment I saw you.
I am not as careless as your brother
to be caught in such a curse. Everything is planned;
from the feast and wedding night, to future years.
I even have names for our future sons.
HESIONE:
Shall the naming of daughters fall to me, then?
CLEUTES:
Indeed. But our firstborn must be male.
I desire an heir to my kingdom.
HESIONE:
I shall make it so, my lord.
Let us away to the banquet!
[HESIONE and CLEUTES exit.]
CHORUS:
The arrogance of man is always repaid by the gods.
These two who think they are happy
are no exception. This is the beginning of tragedy.
Theusial, among his flowers and sun
is the only one to stay the same.
As rightly delivered, Cleutes falls prey
as any mortal man would. His eyes betray him;
he sees dark specters in the shadows. He mutters often.
As his delusions grow, his kingdom fails.
His enemies lurk on the shores, waiting for the ultimate weakness.
And Hesione, despairing Hesione, so certain of her planned future,
finds herself unable to bear a child. Without a heir,
the fall of Sikinos looms near.
Woe to any mortal who thinks their place is among the gods.
They are always made humble.
[Enter PENTITHIDES.]
PENTITHIDES:
Oh that I had died a hundred times over
before seeing this dreadful age! My lord's kingdom is flailing;
as certainly as my lord flails among the shadows cast over him.
Mercy be upon us and our kingdom! Shall not the gods
pity us and show again their smiling faces towards us?
[Enter THEUSIAL.]
THEUSIAL:
God? What is that, but a canine facing backwards?
CHORUS:
He speaks blasphemy.
THEUSIAL:
I speak linguistics.
PENTITHIDES:
For what purpose have you come here?
Come to mock the ill shadows your sister has brought upon us?
THEUSIAL:
Ill shadows can only be cast from ill light.
PENTITHIDES:
Despite your madness, there is a sting to your words.
Be you a sophist?
THEUSIAL:
Me, a sophist? One of such godless fools?
I shall take it into consideration.
PENTITHIDES:
You mock me!
THEUSIAL:
Only if it is deserved.
CHORUS:
Such deep sarcasm can only come from the minds
of those truly mad, or those truly genius.
THEUSIAL:
A thin line between the two!
PENTITHIDES:
Speak no more of your hurtful nonsense.
THEUSIAL:
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
PENTITHEDES:
Begone from my sight, you insipid fool!
THEUSIAL:
And so I shall. After all, is shouted demands not the best way to argue?
[THEUSIAL exits.]
PENTITHIDES:
To be bested by an idiot! My anger knows no bounds.
Would that I could impress some manners into his hide!
[Enter CLEUTES.]
PENTITHIDES:
My lord! How fare you today? Are you well?
CLEUTES:
Who calls? What man knows me by name?
PENTITHIDES:
Recognize not your own faithful servant, Pentithides?
CLEUTES:
I recognize nothing! Only the hauntings of voices
echoing down the halls of this ancient house.
It is nothing but a collective grave! Shall I, too,
find my end in joining these voices?
I deny it! I deny everything! I shall not accept this fate!
PENTITHIDES:
My lord, put your mind at ease. There are no voices;
only illusions. They shall not affect you if you do not let them.
CLEUTES:
What know you of such things? Are you not also a voice?
Oh, such ill tidings...Doom, doom comes for me and my home!
Cursed walls! Say no more to me!
Your end shall come soon enough!
PENTITHIDES:
My lord, consider your words! Do not desert your people.
CLEUTES:
Silence, voice! I hear your naysaying. I eagerly await
when all of your voices have their just reward!
Silence to you all! Let me rest in silence!
Even in my sleep you haunt me!
I care not for a kingdom that plagues me so. Let it be wasted!
[CLEUTES exits.]
PENTITHIDES:
Alas, for Sikinos! Shall this once proud kingdom
fall to madmen and women?
It is that foolish woman who is to blame!
She casts an evil upon this household; and I shall remove it.
I shall not let such a blight ruin this kingdom and its lord!
[HESIONE enters.]
HESIONE:
Pentithides, where is my lord? I agonize
to see him suffer so. I go to put his mind at rest.
Where has he gone?
PENTITHIDES:
He has fallen into shadow, where you have cast him!
HESIONE:
Why do you slander me, Pentithides? Have I done you wrong?
I worry for my lord as you do. Am I not his wife?
Show me to him. I wish to comfort him!
PENTITHIDES: [seizes HESIONE]
You shall plague this house no more!
HESIONE:
Stop, stop! Release me! I have done nothing!
PENTITHIDES:
Through your nothing you destroyed your own brother.
I shall not let you repeat your folly!
HESIONE:
Help me!
PENTITHIDES:
None shall come to your aid! Had you lifted a finger once
to better the condition you inflict, I would reconsider.
Now, let Hades be thy judge!
[HESIONE is killed. THEUSIAL enters.]
THEUSIAL:
What lays here? A remarkably life-like doll.
Or perhaps a pleasant feud took place.
Did you quarrel with your lover?
PENTITHIDES:
Open your eyes, fool! See the corpse before you
and know that you are free!
THEUSIAL:
Free? Man is only free when his life is in danger.
The more a man does, the more a slave he is to his own actions.
So now a wrong reversed makes a right?
CHORUS:
He speaks more nonsense.
THEUSIAL:
Just more linguistics. I suspect they are the same.
PENTITHIDES:
I am a slave no longer to your sister. Neither is my master.
THEUSIAL:
Your master bears you a message.
PENTITHIDES:
What? More of your nonsense?
THEUSIAL:
One of the maids seeks an audience. She seemed quite flustered.
She has searched for you for a while.
PENTITHIDES:
Lead her in.
[Enter CHRUSTAE.]
CHRUSTAE:
Oh, my lord! Such terrible ills have befallen our isle!
But what lies before me? Our queen, dead?
Truly the gods have forsaken us!
PENTITHIDES:
Never you mind her. She has gotten her deserved end.
Speak plainly, what news do you bring?
CHRUSTAE:
It is of my lord Cleutes. He is dead!
CHORUS:
And so the arrogance of man is shown its folly.
The gods have been avenged.
PENTITHIDES:
What, dead? How?
CHRUSTAE:
We tried to impede him, but in his madness
he gained the strength of a thousand. Always talking of voices,
he began grappling with an invisible foe. With this illusion he fought,
all the way to the cliff's edge, tripped, and fell.
Surely the waters of the sea have swallowed all trace of him.
And now, with the queen also recently expired,
the royal family is gone. There is no hope.
Surely the island will be overrun by tomorrow's light!
PENTITHIDES:
Woman, keep your head. I have an order.
CHRUSTAE:
My lord?
PENTITHIDES:
Bring me logs for a fire, large enough to light up a night sky.
CHRUSTAE:
If you request it, so it shall be done.
[CHRUSTAE exits.]
CHORUS: [produces several logs and brings them to the front]
All too late Pentithides has realized his own folly,
his mortal foolishness and his blindness to it.
He rectifies his mistake now.
PENTITHIDES: [alights the bonfire]
Have you any last words, Theusial? Any last mockery
for my foolishness? No last probing jaunt?
THEUSIAL:
I shall continue to watch the clouds. Such light and innocent things,
they are untouched by man's petty troubles.
PENTITHIDES:
I envy you and your simplicity.
THEUSIAL:
What truly is simple? Even white clouds can bring rain.
[PENTITHIDES steps into the fire. CHRUSTAE re-enters.]
CHRUSTAE:
My lord, Pentithides? Where have you gone?
Were you not here a mere moment ago?
Lord Theusial, whereforth has he gone?
THEUSIAL:
He has built a fire, but left it unattended.
I am watching over it for him. It shall die down soon, I think.
CHRUSTAE:
Oh, would that I had died before seeing this terrible day!
First our king, then our queen, and now even Lord Pentithides!
There is no hope for us. Even now,
the terrible sound of enemy voices draw near.
THEUSIAL:
If you do not like the sounds, maybe you should retire to a quieter place.
CHRUSTAE:
And what of you, my lord? Where shall you go?
THEUSIAL:
I am tending the fire. I shall watch the clouds.
[CHRUSTAE exits. Three ENEMY SOLDIERS rush onto the stage, yelling. They rush THEUSIAL, attacking him as the CHORUS speaks.]
CHORUS:
Thus ends a tragedy filled with fools, but which were fools
and which were truly wise? The gods shall always strike
against those who grow beyond their position.
Man is a creature of folly, but man's biggest folly
is being blinded to their mistakes until rectification
no longer comes. Such is man's downfall.
I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE