A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter B

beshrew

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A verb used as a mild curse or oath, meaning to curse or invoke misfortune upon someone; often used more playfully than seriously.

Detailed Definition
"Beshrew" combines "be-" with "shrew" (to curse, from "shrewe" meaning evil person), functioning as a mild oath or imprecation meaning "curse" or "confound." Unlike serious curses, "beshrew" often appeared in playful or exasperated contexts—"beshrew my heart" or "beshrew me if"—expressing frustration more than genuine malice. Shakespeare's characters used it frequently as a relatively gentle expletive, particularly for female characters who might avoid stronger profanity. The term allowed poets and dramatists to convey emotion and emphasis without excessive vulgarity. Its mildness made it appropriate for expressing annoyance, surprise, or self-reproach in ways that maintained decorum while adding emotional color. The word's archaic quality became valuable for creating period atmosphere in later works set in earlier eras or deliberately adopting antique linguistic registers.
Example
Example in poetry:
Beshrew me if I lie about this matter!; "Beshrew thy cruel heart" curses an unkind lover; Beshrew the day I trusted such false promises; The poet cries beshrew all those who break their vows; Beshrew this weather that keeps us trapped indoors; "Beshrew my tongue" expresses regret for hasty words
Additional Notes
Beshrew functions as a mild oath or curse, significantly less severe than contemporary equivalents might suggest. Shakespeare uses it frequently, often in semi-playful or affectionate contexts: "Beshrew me if I would not." The term literally means "to curse" but often serves as verbal gesture rather than genuine malediction. Related to "shrew" (malicious person, later specifically meaning scolding woman). Often appears in subjunctive constructions expressing contrary-to-fact wishes. Essential for understanding gradations of cursing in period texts and the performative aspects of oath-taking. The term's lightness distinguishes it from serious curses like "damn" or "curse," making it suitable for polite society while maintaining formulaic power. Compare with "marry" (mild oath from "Mary") for similar registers of archaic exclamation.
Also Known As
curse blame damn wish ill
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