Daily Dialogue — May 22, 2020

“I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth. And indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory. This most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o’erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! How like an angel in apprehension. How like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me, no, nor women neither. Nor women neither.”

— Withnail & I (1987), written by Bruce Robinson

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Rain.

Trivia: Richard E. Grant’s Withnail is alcoholic, whereas in actuality Grant is allergic to alcohol himself.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The final scene in the wonderful comedy Withnail & I in which Withnail recites a monologue from Hamlet made all the more atmospheric by the rain.