A small wooden boat pitches on a breaking wave beside a plain dock post beneath a glowing cloudy sky.

Original artwork, not a still

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

William Shakespeare

A man I am cross'd with adversity.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker describes themself as thwarted and troubled by misfortune. To be crossed here means being opposed and blocked, so the line pictures a person hemmed in by bad luck. It carries weary resignation along with a plain statement of being beset.

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