O! never say that I was false of heart,
Though absence seemed my flame to qualify,
As easy might I from my self depart
As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie:
That is my home of love: if I have ranged,
Like him that travels, I return again;
Just to the time, not with the time exchanged,
So that myself bring water for my stain.
Never believe though in my nature reigned,
All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,
That it could so preposterously be stained,
To leave for nothing all thy sum of good;
     For nothing this wide universe I call,
     Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all.

Analysis

In Sonnet 109, the poet tells his beloved that they mean more to him than anything or anyone else.

Billy wants his lover never to say that he was unfaithful in his heart, even though his absence may have suggested otherwise. He and his feelings are as inseparable as he is from himself. She are his home, straying would make him a traveler, and he would return again, at the appointed time, with feelings unchanged. This is how he rights his misdeed. Despite the weaknesses in his nature as everyone made of flesh and blood, Billy could never be so morally compromised as to leave someone so good for something worthless. Nothing in the entire universe means anything to him but her.

Will’s Wordplay

A word on blood: It is said here with a suggestion of family, kinship, line of descent. Base-born blood would be considered to have baser desires than noble blood. There are also implications in sonnets 111 & 112 of the Will’s “baser” social connections. He’s just a poor boy, from a poor family! Blood could also mean animal passions, carnality, or a tendency to those things. Meow.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island

“Located along the north shore of Staten Island near the ferry, Sailors Snug Harbor was originally built as a home for retired sailors, eventually becoming a cultural center for both Staten Island and the rest of New York.

The institution was founded in 1801 after Captain Robert Richard Randall’s (d. 1801) will specified that his Manhattan estate be used to start a marine hospital for “aged, decrepit and worn-out seamen.” The name Sailors Snug Harbor was suggested by Randall himself. At the time of his death, Randall’s estate, located north and east of modern-day Washington Square, was rural. By the time a protracted challenge to his will was settled, the land around the estate had changed dramatically, the city being developed around the area. Opting instead to maximize profits on the Manhattan property, Snug Harbor’s trustees relocated the proposed site to Staten Island, buying property around the harbor in 1831.

The first of Snug Harbor’s many buildings opened in 1833. Over time its initial group of 37 residents grew and more buildings were added, including the chapel, music hall, and more dormitories. Completed in 1830-31, Building C, the center building in a series of five Greek-revival style structures facing the water, is the home of the Main Hall of the Newhouse Gallery. The other four buildings were added in 1839-1841 and 1879-80, and are notable in that they exhibit a high degree of stylistic uniformity. The Chapel (1854) and its romantic Anglo-Italian style of architecture is also a landmark.

In the 1960s the Trustees of Snug Harbor considered demolishing the buildings and upgrading and modernizing the facilities. In 1965 The City Landmarks Preservation Commission stepped in, designating six of the structures on the site official landmarks. (Other landmarked features include the Gatehouse and the site’s perimeter wrought-iron fence, both designated in 1973.) When the State Department of Health ordered Snug Harbor to remedy fire hazards in the landmarked buildings in 1970, the Trustees again discussed trying to undo the designation. In the early 1970s the dilapidated Sung Harbor had become economically nonviable, and the Trustees announced that they would move the home to North Carolina, agreeing to sell the site to the City for market value. The first of three parcels, 14.5 acres containing the landmarked structures, were sold to the City for $1.8 million in 1972. The City could not purchase the entire property, and in the interim a developer had purchased the site’s other land for a potential residential project before the City stepped in to purchase the 65-acre parcel for $7.2 million. A third parcel in the northwest portion of the park was added in 1978.

In December 1974 local officials appointed a committee to investigate uses and develop a strategy for Snug Harbor. Following the recommendation of the committee, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Inc. was born. The Snug Harbor Cultural Center opened in 1976 as volunteers raised funds and began programming the center. The first art exhibit at the site opened in November, 1977.

Today over 250,000 people a year visit Snug Harbor, enjoying its many amenities. The Beaux-Arts style Music Hall, built in 1892, hosts year-round concerts, dance and dramatic performances, film and video series, and poetry and fiction readings. The Newhouse Galleries exhibit contemporary art, and the Botanical Garden is one of the largest in the New York area, complementing the Connie Gretz Secret Garden and the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, the first and only classical Chinese Garden in the United States. The site also boasts a children’s museum, art labs, and the John A. Noble Collection, a collection of maritime art in Building D.

A replica of a statue of Robert Randall (1884) by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) stands in the northwestern corner of the site. After the aging sailors left for North Carolina it was feared that the statue of Randall would follow, and although the Trustees signed a long-term loan agreement in 1976 to keep the statue on site, in 1982 they returned the original to North Carolina and arranged for a cast to be made that can be seen today. The Neptune Fountain (1893) and its figure, originally cast in zinc because of lack of funding, were recast in bronze in 1994 following the original plans. A third piece by Seena Donneson made of red-reinforced concrete called Icon II was dedicated in 1980 at a sculpture show at the then-fledgling cultural center.” [1]

References

1. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/sailors-snug-harbor/history

ACTOR – Ryan George

Ryan George is a NYC based actor. He received his B.F.A. in Theatre Performance at UF. His NYC credits include I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER ON BROADWAY (Roy Arias Theatre) & SWEETHEARTS OF SWING (The Triad). Regional credits include the Hippodrome Theatre: DEFIANCE (Capt. Lee King), THE TEMPEST (Caliban), & A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Demetrius/Snug). As well as The Gablestage: THE BROTHERS SIZE (Oshoosi Size) & HAMLET (Laertes/Rosencrantz). Commercial work include DIRECT TV and GILLETTE. He can also be seen in numerous Online/Digital Media videos on YOUTUBE and THE ONION NEWS NETWORK.

FEATURING- Kristen French

DIRECTOR – Lucas Rainey

Lucas Rainey is a New York-based film and music video director and a co-founder of Doors Off Content. A graduate of Oberlin College and Prague Film School, he has directed music videos for artists including Mainland and Deviant Fix. He moonlights as one of New York’s many rock mandolinists.
www.lucasrainey.com

CO-PRODUCER/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – George Lios

George Lois is the president of Doors Off Content and a producer for Good Karma Creative. He has produced commercials for clients including Cablevision and Travalo.

EDITOR- Matthew Russell

Matthew Russell a co-founder of Doors Off Content, is a film and television editor and producer. His editing credits include work for History, National Geographic, and the Travel Channel.