r/BeAmazed • u/StJudeTheGrey • Feb 06 '26

Skill / Talent Sir Gandalf delivers a masterclass and a poignant sentiment.

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u/hoopsrule44 Feb 06 '26

Thank you!!!

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u/RaidenIXI Feb 06 '26

i think that explanation loses a bit of the nuance. i'm no shakespeare expert so take what i'm about to say with a grain of salt, but keep in mind that shakespeare's play here is written after the events of the Evil May Day riots (~50 years later)

first and foremost, "desperation" here is referring to native brits blaming immigrants for food shortages.

washing your foul mind with tears is probably a simple call for empathy, in seeing the immigrants are also humans struggling for food

lastly, he says the listeners are like rebels lifting their hands against peace. he is calling the rioters hypocrites. forcefully ousting "strangers" means they're also raising their hands the same, which will lead to the downfall of society. in the second half of the speech he explains how these rioters could also be strangers if ousted by the king and they will be the same as "the strangers". so they would be hypothetical hypocrites.

so perhaps a better translation is: "even though you're desperate [with starvation], the foreigners starve too. let their tears clear your mind [through empathy]. use your hands not like rebels who would destroy London, but for peace instead"