[General] like patience on a monument = like resignation incarnated

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence from the Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”?

Duke: And what’s her history?
Viola: A blank, my lord. She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm in the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek, she pined in thought;
And, with a green and yellow melancholy.
She sat like patience on a monument,
Smiling in grief. Was not this love, indeed?

like patience on a monument = like resignation incarnated/personified

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

 

[Tdol]

If she's smiling despite her suffering, could it really be called 'resignation'?

 

[vil]

Hi Tdol,

Sometimes your laconic and muddled questions pass beyond my comprehension. I am none the wiser for it.

You put me in an awkward situation. It is all too obvious that “smile” is compatible to “resignation”.

a smile of resignation to the reality that she is cut off from the joys of friendship and a smile of amused sadness

Regards,

V.

 

[Jay Louise]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence from the Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”?

Duke: And what’s her history?
Viola: A blank, my lord. She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm in the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek, she pined in thought;
And, with a green and yellow melancholy.
She sat like patience on a monument,
Smiling in grief. Was not this love, indeed?

like patience on a monument = like resignation incarnated/personified

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

**I am neither an English Lit teacher nor a student and it has been awhile since I read through Twelfth Night**


My deconstruction would go as follows.
1) She is obviously hiding her feelings.
--She never told her love
--She let concealment feed on her damask cheek
-- like a worm [hiding] in a flower bud

2)with melancholy She sat Smiling in grief like patience on a monument
I interpret this as describing how she was sitting, her demeanor. Her expression etched in stone, unchanging, fixed like a statue, with all the patience of a monument that will stand for generations.