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All Site ContentTaming of the ShrewAct 4Scene 2
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“if God lend me life”
Cultural Context
Act 4,
Scene 2
Lines 72a-76

An explanation of the phrase “if God lend me life” in Act 4, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Merchant

God save you, sir!    

Tranio-as-Lucentio

                                  And you, sir. You are welcome. 
Travel you far on, or are you at the farthest?    

Merchant

Sir, at the farthest for a week or two,
But then up farther, and as far as Rome,
And so to Tripoli, if God lend me life.

This reflects the notion that we owe our souls to God; he has only lent them to us for our relatively short stay on this earth.