“…The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service” (Tempest act 3 sc. 1)
Tips for Use. In declarations of love the frontier between the romantic and the ridiculous is usually quite narrow. It is quite true that, “Love is blind and lovers cannot see the pretty follies they themselves commit” (Merchant of Venice) – however, an elegant Shakespearean quote dramatically reduces the risk of ridicule, at the time when it is uttered (or written) even years or decades later. In the instance these lines lend themselves to multiple use, including, for example an inscription on a blank card, Valentine or otherwise.
The quote starts with, “Hear my soul speak / The very instant….” That ‘speaking soul’ is perhaps a bit too much but the rest is ‘Shakespeare proof’ in appropriateness and effect.
In the book “Your Daily Shakespeare” you will find literally hundreds of other elegant, irreproachable lines for romantic and other occasions. Click on “The Book” in the menu and/or on the related video presentation.
In the play. Miranda has bloomed into an exceptionally beautiful flower of youth. She lives with her father, Prospero the Magician, in a kind of enchanted island probably not too far from the Island of Giglio, immune at the time from the dangers of a buffoonish captain. Still, a tempest shipwrecks on Prospero’s island his perfidious brother Antonio, the co-conspirators Alonso, King of Naples and other sundry characters. Ferdinando, son of the King of Naples does not take after his father in deviousness. While on the island he sees Miranda and is immediately besotted. It is not difficult to guess that at the end they all will live happy thereafter.
Original site for image http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Love_at_First_Sight