Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all,
Wherein I should your great deserts repay,
Forgot upon your dearest love to call,
Whereto all bonds do tie me day by day;
That I have frequent been with unknown minds,
And given to time your own dear-purchased right;
That I have hoisted sail to all the winds
Which should transport me farthest from your sight.
Book both my wilfulness and errors down,
And on just proof surmise accumulate;
Bring me within the level of your frown,
But shoot not at me in your wakened hate;
     Since my appeal says I did strive to prove
     The constancy and virtue of your love.

Analysis

In Sonnet 117, the poet lists the tests of faith a relationship creates.

Shakespeare tells his lover that he can be accused of neglecting to to repay the great obligation he owes; that he has forgotten to invoke their love, though every day he becomes more bound to them. It could also be said that he spends too much time with strangers, time his lover has a right to. Yet again, one could that the wind has been allowed blow him far from his lover. He suggests composing a list of all the stubborn and wrong things he’s done, along with speculations on other things like them. He knows he deserves frowns, but not because of what he has done to create this hatred. He did it to test the strength of their love.

Will’s Wordplay

This is another sonnet to play with legal-ese. Terms like “accuse”, “bonds”, “proof”, “appeal”, “prove” are Shakespeare’s defense against accusations of ingratitude and infidelity. Does it please the court?

To “level” in this instance is to take aim, to level the sight with the target. Shakespeare is asking his lover to show their disapproval by shooting a frown at him. The penalty for this crime is death by disappointment!

Whispering Gallery, Grand Central Station, Manhattan

Wanna know a secret? A whispering gallery is usually a circular, hemispherical, elliptical or ellipsoidal enclosure, often beneath a dome or a vault, in which whispers can be heard clearly in other parts of the gallery. The sound is carried by waves, known as whispering-gallery waves, that travel around the circumference clinging to the walls.

The Grand Central Terminal whispering gallery, in front of the Oyster Bar restaurant on the Lower Level, allows visitors to stand in diagonal corners of the 50-foot wide chamber and whisper to one another as the sound carries across the arc of the domed ceiling. The ceiling is made of Guastavino tile, referring to a method and material patented by Rafael Guastavino, an immigrant from the Catalonia region of Spain, who arrived in New York in 1881. His domes and vaults are seen in many places around New York City, including the City Hall subway station, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo, as well as the 59th Street Bridge. Guastavino’s method of arch construction uses layers of thin, glazed terracotta tiles set in mortar in a herringbone pattern. The tiles are naturally fireproof and as strong as steel or wooden beams but weigh much less

ACTOR – Andrea Goldman

Andrea Goldman is a New York based actress and writer. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Andrea is a graduate of the New York Stella Adler Studio Conservatory and trained classically in England with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In addition, she spent time training with the Moscow Art Theater on the role of Yelena from Uncle Vanya. She participated in the 2009 Encuentro Performance Festival in Bogotá. Recent credits include the role of Calpurnia in Julius Caesar under the direction of Alvin Epstein, Drama Desk Award Nominated Frankenstein, work with the young ensemble at the Pearl Theatre Company, the role of Thaisa in New York Shakespeare Exchange’s experimental production of Pericles, award-winning independent feature film 1/20 and The Rover at the Bristol Old Vic. She is also a company member of The Flea Theatre and she was recently awarded a New York Foundation of the Arts TAP Grant. She is the artistic director of the box collective, which produces a new kind of experiential theatre in the New York art scene and beyond.
www.andreagoldmanweb.com

DIRECTOR – Daniel Farmer

Daniel has worked various roles in the film and television industry during his career. Having worked with documentary and broadcast television and completed shorts in his native Australia, Daniel relocated to New York City. Currently he is actively involved in several projects while working in the network broadcast industry.

His last short film as Director, “New York Christmas Party,” was a passion project shot on 16mm film about people coming together at Christmas who are stuck in the city. The film is available on the streaming site:
indieflix: https://indieflix.com/indie-films/new-york-christmas-party-41980/
http://www.newyorkchristmasparty.com/

Previous films include “Dream Of Vermilion,” which was filmed and produced in Puerto Rico. The English/Spanish short has played in HBO’s New York Latino Film Festival and won at the Cinefiesta Film Festival in Puerto Rico.
https://vimeo.com/28490956

Most recently Daniel directed a pilot episode for a late night variety show targeted for the web entitled “The Ben Mo Repo.”
http://www.benmorepo.com/