WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

These violent delights have violent ends & Now is the winter of our discontent

1 ¼ Inch Buttons or Magnets

Two 1.25” buttons (or magnets) drawn from the writings of William Shakespeare.

These violent delights have violent ends – in Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence declares: “These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder / Which, as they kiss, consume.” Everything in this play points to those two things – violent delight and a violent ending: a pair of star-crossed lovers caught in irresistible sexual attraction rushing towards a violent end. Love in this play is extreme and violence pervades the whole text.

In the television series “Westworld,” the phrase has a surprising effect when heard by the robot ‘hosts’ that populate the futuristic theme park.

“These Violent Delights” by Chloe Gong is an acclaimed novel, reworking the themes of Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai.

Now is the winter of our discontent – The opening lines of Richard III are: “Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York.” In context, Richard is celebrating his family’s victory and ascendance to the throne. The war is over, and times are peaceful once again.

Sometimes, however, people forget the celebratory nature of this line and use it to emphasize a current negative situation.

The phrase ‘winter of our discontent,’ or more commonly, ‘the winter of discontent,’ is widely quoted to tag political and social unrest, whichever season of the year it occurs in because the word ‘winter’ is such a powerful metaphor for a bleak, discouraging period of time, and ‘discontent’ suggests restlessness and a looming threat. ‘The winter of our discontent’ is John Steinbeck’s last novel, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature.

Wear these buttons while eating bacon, while fluffing out your frilly ruff, or while shoveling snow.

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Pin back on each button. US penny for scale. Penny and ruler NOT included in price. 1.25 inches = 3.175 cm.

A button! A button! My kingdom for a button!