People
Hang yourself, brave Crillon; we fought at Arques and you were not there.
— Henri IV
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker addresses Crillon as brave, then tells him to despair because he missed the fighting at Arques. The violent opening reads as exaggerated reproach for being absent from a notable occasion. Praise and provocation sit together, making the regret of missing out the point.
Context reviewed