theedibster
New member
- Oct 14, 2010
- 1
- 0
- 1
I'm translating a brief passage from Henry IV, part I, and it's going well, except I find this line a little ambiguous.
In context:
So, when this loose behavior I throw off/And pay the debt I never promised,/By how much better than my word I am,/By so much shall I falsify men's hopes,/And, lik bright metal on a sullen ground,/my reformation, glitt'ring o'er my fault/whall show more goodly and attract more eyes/THAN THAT WHICH HATH NO FOIL TO SET IT OFF
I understand the analogy and such; Prince Hal wants to suddenly stop hanging out with trash and the reformation will be so sudden it will make people forget past mistakes, and he likens this to a bright metal contrasted with a dull floor.
But what do THAT, FOIL, and IT mean/refer to?
Any help would be appreciated!
In context:
So, when this loose behavior I throw off/And pay the debt I never promised,/By how much better than my word I am,/By so much shall I falsify men's hopes,/And, lik bright metal on a sullen ground,/my reformation, glitt'ring o'er my fault/whall show more goodly and attract more eyes/THAN THAT WHICH HATH NO FOIL TO SET IT OFF
I understand the analogy and such; Prince Hal wants to suddenly stop hanging out with trash and the reformation will be so sudden it will make people forget past mistakes, and he likens this to a bright metal contrasted with a dull floor.
But what do THAT, FOIL, and IT mean/refer to?
Any help would be appreciated!