"He hath a heart as / sound as a bell, and his tongue is the clapper, for what / his heart thinks his tongue speaks."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)


Date
1600
Metaphor
"He hath a heart as / sound as a bell, and his tongue is the clapper, for what / his heart thinks his tongue speaks."
Metaphor in Context
DON PEDRO
I do but stay till your marriage be consummate,
and then go I toward Aragon.

CLAUDIO
I'll bring you thither, my lord, if you'll vouchsafe
me.

DON PEDRO
Nay, that would be as great a soil in the new
gloss of your marriage as to show a child his new coat
and forbid him to wear it. I will only be bold with
Benedick for his company, for from the crown of his
head to the sole of his foot he is all mirth. He hath
twice or thrice cut Cupid's bow-string, and the little
hangman dare not shoot at him. He hath a heart as
sound as a bell, and his tongue is the clapper, for what
his heart thinks his tongue speaks
.
(III.ii.1-13)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works. Oxford Shakespeare. Electronic Edition for the IBM PC. Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor, Editor.
Date of Entry
08/27/2003

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.