“… I stand as one upon a rock,
Environ’d with a wilderness of sea,
Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave,
Expecting ever when some envious surge
Will in his brinish bowel swallow him.” (Titus Andronicus 3.1)
Tip for use. Forcefully express that you are surrounded by enemies, ‘I stand upon……sea.’ – or that you are in a precarious political position. One of the many answers to “How are you?” that you will find in “Your Daily Shakespeare” and suite to the particular state or circumstances you are in. In the topic instance, you don’t know what to do as every option seems wrong or hopeless.
I have developed a DVD enabling the viewer to easily memorize this and another 400 Shakespearean quotations. I will gladly send you the mnemonic frame for this quote if you email your request.
In the play. Titus A. is pained to the point of madness after seeing the status his daughter Lavinia is in. Lavinia has been ravished, killed and mutilated by Titus’ envious enemies at the court of Rome.