384. Then came, etc. Probably a line from an old ballad (Johnson). 388. Individable. Delius thinks this refers to dramas in which the unity of place was observed, poem unlimited to those that disregarded such restrictions. Schmidt (better, we think) makes it="not to be distinguished by a particular appellation (that is, not to be called tragedy, comedy, etc.)," and unlimited = undefined. The plays of Seneca and Plautus were often acted at the Universities, and had been partially translated into English. 389. The law of writ and liberty. "For adhering to the text or extemporizing when need requires" (M.). Coll. and Wr. explain it essentially in the same way. Caldecott says: "For the observance of the rules of the drama, while they take such liberties as are allowable, they are the only men.' The quarto of 1676 has "wit," which Rowe, Pope, Theo., and Warb. adopt. 390. O Jephthah, etc. The old song from which Hamlet quotes may be found in Percy's Reliques. The old copies of it vary somewhat. Halliwell gives a fac-simile of one form, beginning "I read that many years agoe, Had one fair Daughter and no more, And as by lot God wot, It came to passe most like it was, Great warrs there thould be, 393. What treasure. and who should be the chiefe, but he, but he." The early eds. and most modern ones have "What a treasure ;" but as Walker (followed by D., H., and F.) suggests, the a is probably an interpolation. 407. Row. Properly line, but perhaps here=stanza. Pious chanson is the quarto reading; the folio has "Pons Chanson,” which Hunter defended as=" chanson du Pont-Neuf." As K. remarks, this would not justify such a form as "pons chansons;" and we may add that it is doubtful if the French expression dates back to the time of S. The Pont-Neuf in Paris was not finished until 1624, though begun in 1578. 408. Abridgments come. The folio reading; the quartos give "abridgement comes. In either case, the meaning seems to be that the players by coming shorten his talk. Schmidt explains abridgment by "that which is my pastime and makes me be brief." Wr. says that "technically abridgment means a dramatic performance," and refers to M. N. D. v. I. 39: "what abridgment have you for this evening?" But there it probably means simply pastime; here it may be explained by 509 below. 411. Valanced. Fringed with a beard. The folio has "valiant," which Rowe, K., and St. retain. We find the noun valance in T. of S. ii. 1. 356. 412. My young lady. In the time of S. female parts were played by boys or young men. See A. Y. L. p. 201, note on If I were a woman. 414. Chopine. A kind of high shoe. Coryat, in his Crudities, 1611, describes it as "a thing made of wood and covered with leather of sundry colours, some with white, some redde, some yellow." He adds, "It is called a chapiney, which they wear under their shoes... There are many O of these chapineys of a great height, even half a yard high." F. says: "At a Jewish wedding in Jerusalem at which I was present, in 1856, the young bride, aged twelve, wore chopines at least ten inches high." 415. Cracked within the ring. "There was a ring on the coin within which the sovereign's head was placed; if the crack extended from the edge beyond this ring, the coin was rendered unfit for currency" (Douce). 416. Like French falconers. According to some critics this is meant to be contemptuous; but Tollet quotes Sir Thomas Browne, who says that "the French seem to have been the first and noblest falconers in the western part of Europe." 418. Straight. Straightway; as in iii. 4. I below, etc. Quality. See on 338 above. "Ethical dative." See Gr. 220. 421. Me. 423. Caviare. A Russian condiment made from the roe of the sturgeon; at that time a new and fashionable delicacy, not obtained nor relished by the vulgar, and therefore used by S. to signify anything above their comprehension (Nares). Steevens cites many references to it in contemporaneous writers. For the general people in general, the public, cf. J. C. ii. 1. 12: “But for the general;" and see note in our ed. p. 142. 425. Cried in the top of mine. "Were higher than mine" (Johnson and Schmidt). In hunting, a dog is said to over-top "when he gives more tongue than the rest (Henley), and to this Hamlet probably refers here. The phrase is then proclaimed with a tone of authority that my voice could not give. 427. No sallets, etc. "Nothing that gave a relish to the lines as salads do to meat" (Schmidt). Cf. A. W. iv. 5. 18: "She was the sweet marjoram of the salad” (“sallet” in the folio). See also 2 Hen. VI. iv. 10. fol. where there is a play upon sallet=salad and sallet=a kind of helmet. Pope substituted "salts" and later "salt" here. The Coll. MS. also has "salt," which Sr. approves. 429. Indict. Accuse; as in Oth. iii. 4. 154, the only other instance of the word in S. Affectation. The folio reading; the quartos have "affection," which S. uses in the same sense in L. L. L. v. i. 4 (where the later folios have "affectation"). So affectioned=affected in Ț. N. ii. 3. 160. 431. Handsome denotes genuine, natural beauty; fine, artificial, la. boured beauty (Delius). 432. Thereabout. Possibly a noun, as Wr. makes it; but thereabout of it seems to be merely there. We might now say colloquially: “I liked that speech-there especially where," etc. 436. The rugged Pyrrhus, etc. Whether this speech was meant to be admired or to be laughed at has been much disputed. See F. vol. i. pp. 180-185. Pope thought it "purely ironical;" Warb., Ritson, Caldecott, Coleridge, and others have taken the opposite ground. What Hamlet has said just before shows that the latter are right. Coleridge says: "The fancy that a burlesque was intended sinks below criticism; the lines, as epic narrative, are superb." "the Hyrcan The Hyrcanian beast is the tiger. Cf. Macb. iii. 4. 101: tiger;" and see note in our ed. p. 219. 443. Gules. Red; an heraldic term. S. uses it again in T. of A. iv. 3.59: "With man's blood paint the ground, gules, gules." Cf. Keats, St. Agnes' Eve: "Full on this casement shone the wintry moon, And threw warm gules on Madeline's fair breast." Trick'd. Adorned. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 6. 80: "which they trick up with new-tuned oaths;" Milton, Il Pens. 123: "Not trick'd and frounc'd as she was wont," etc. In heraldry, a trick is "a delineation of arms in which the colours are distinguished by their technical marks, without any colour being laid on " (D.). 445. Impasted. Made into a paste; a word used by S. nowhere else. 448. O'ersized. Covered as with "size," or glue. For the form of coagulate cf. adulterate, i. 5. 42 above. 449. Eyes like carbuncles. Wr. quotes Milton, P.L. ix. 500: “and carbuncle his eyes." 452. Fore. See Hen. V. p. 155. 455. Striking too short, etc. Cf. Virgil, Æn. ii. 544 fol. 458. Drives. Followed by upon in T. A. ii. 3. 64: "and the hounds Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs." 459. But. According to Delius, here=merely. 464. Declining. Cf. T. and C. iv. 5. 189: "When thou hast hung thy advanc'd sword i' the air, Milky. Probably white, but Schmidt makes it="weak," as in T. of A. iii. i. 57 and Lear, i. 4. 364. S. has milk-white six times. 466. A painted tyrant. Malone thinks that S. had in mind "the tremendous personages often represented in old tapestry, whose uplifted swords stick in the air, and do nothing." Delius cites Mach. v. 8. 25-27. 467. Neutral. "Taking no part in the contest" (Schmidt). Matterthat on which his will is to be exercised (M.). 469. Against. Cf. i. 1. 158 above, and iii. 4. 50 below. Gr. 142. 470. Rack. Mass of cloud, especially in motion. Cf. Sonn. 33. 6: "Anon permit the basest clouds to ride With ugly rack on his celestial face," etc. See also Temp. p. 137. 472. Hush. Not elsewhere used as an adjective by S. Gr. 22. 473. Region. Originally a division of the sky marked out by the Roman augurs (Wr.). S. uses it several times for the air. Cf. 565 below: "the region kites." See also Sonn. 33. 12 and R. and J. ii. 2. 21. Wr. quotes Milton, P. L. vii. 425: "wing the region." 474 A-work. Cf. R. of L. 1496: "So Lucrece, set a-work." See also T. and C. v. 10. 38, Lear, iii. 5. 8, etc. Gr. 24. 476. Mars's. The quartos have "Marses," the folio "Mars his." On proof, see Rich. II. p. 162; and for eterne, cf. Macb. iii. 2. 38. 477. Remorse. Pity. See Macb. p. 171. 479. Fortune. See A. Y. L. p. 141. 480. Synod. For the use of the word in S. see A. Y. L. p. 173. 486. fig. The word sometimes meant a facetious ballad (Schmidt). Cf. jig-maker, iii. 2. 108 below. 488. Mobled. The reading of the 2d folio; the 1st has "inobled." evidently a misprint. The word means veiled or muffled, of which it may be a corruption. Farmer quotes Shirley, Gent. of Venice: "The moon does mobble up herself;" and Holt White adds from Ogilby's Fables: "Mobbled nine days in my considering cap." Mabled (which Malone substitutes) is another form of the word. Nares cites Sandys, Travels: "Their heads and faces are mabled in fine linen, that no more is seen of them than their eyes.' 490. That's good. "Polonius praises the epithet to make up for his blunder in objecting to the length" (M.); or, perhaps, because it is a quaint and fantastical word" (Warb.). 66 66 492. Bisson rheum. Blinding tears" (Schmidt). We find bisson= purblind, in Cor. ii. 1. 70, and some modern eds. give it in Cor. iii. 1. 131. For rheum=tears, cf. Much Ado, v. 2. 85, K. John, iii. 1. 22, iv. 1. 33, iv. 3. 108, etc. 494. O'erteemed. "Exhausted by child-bearing" (Wr.). 500. Mincing. Cutting in pieces. Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 122: it [the babe] sans remorse." 501. Instant. See on i. 5. 71 above. "And mince 503. Milch. Milk-giving; a metaphor for tearful. For the literal use of the word, see M. W. iv. 4. 33, T. of S. ii. 1. 359, etc. Steevens quotes Drayton, Polyolbion, xiii. : Exhaling the milch dew." 504. Passion. 66 For Sorrow (Schmidt), or compassion (Sr.). Cf. 536 and 545 below. See also L. L. L. v. 2. 118, M. N. D. v. I. 293, 321, etc. passion in the Coll. MS. gives "passionate." 505. Whether. The early eds. have "where," and some modern ones print "whe'r" or "whêr." See J. C. p. 128 or Gr. 466. For in 's, see Gr. 461. 508. Bestowed. Lodged, taken care of. Cf. iii. 4. 174 and iv. 3. 12 be. low. It is used reflexively (=hide) in iii. 1. 33 and 44 below. 509. Abstract. The folio has "abstracts." 510. You were better. See A. Y. L. p. 180 (note on But I were better), or Gr. 230, 352. 514. Bodykins. A diminutive of body. "The reference was originally to the sacramental bread" (Wr.). Cf. M. W. ii. 3. 46; and see on 358 above. 515. Scape. See on i. 3. 38 above. 525. Some dozen or sixteen lines. Many attempts have been made to find these added lines in the play (iii. 2 below), but we are disposed to agree with Dr. Ingleby in the view that Hamlet writes no speech at all. The poet simply represents him as doing so in order to adapt the old play to his purpose. As F. remarks, “it would tax the credulity of an audience too severely to represent the possibility of Hamlet's finding an old play exactly fitted to Claudius's crime, not only in the plot, but in all the accessories, even to a single speech which should tent the criminal to the very quick. The discussion, therefore, that has arisen over these 'dozen or sixteen lines' is a tribute to Shakespeare's consummate art." 533. Alone. "The eagerness shown by Hamlet to be left in peace by himself appears to be a main evidence of his merely acting a part and assuming madness; he longs to get rid of the presence of persons before whom he has resolved to wear a show of insanity. Alone, he is collected, coherent, full of introspection. That he is neither dispassionate nor cool appears to be the result of his unhappy source of thought, not the result of derangement; he is morally afflicted, not mentally affected" (Clarke). 534. Peasant slave. Mr. Furnivall has shown (Notes and Queries for Apr. 12 and May 3, 1873) that S. might possibly have seen in the flesh some of the bondmen or peasant slaves of England. 538. Her working. Wr. says: "Soul when personified is feminine in S." Cf., however, Rich. II. v. 5. 6: "My brain I'll prove the female to my soul, My soul the father." Milton also personifies the soul as feminine. See Il Pens. 92, Comus, 454 fol., P. L. v. 486, etc. Wann'd. The quartos have "wand," the folio "warm'd," which Rowe, Pope, Theo., and some others retain. S. does not elsewhere use wan as a verb. Gr. 40. 539. Aspect. Always accented on the last syllable by S. 540. Function. Action; "the whole energies of soul and body" (Caldecott). 541. Conceit. Conception (that is, of the character). See A. Y. L. p. 162 and cf. p. 194. 545. Cue. Still used as a stage term. For its literal use, cf. M. W. iii. 3. 39, M. N. D. iii. 1. 78, 102, etc.; and for the figurative, as here, Hen. V. iii. 6. 130, Oth. i. 2. 83, etc. 548. Free. Free from guilt, innocent. Cf. iii. 2. 224 below, and see A. Y. L. p. 165. 549. Amaze. Confuse, confound. See A. Y. L. p. 143. 552. Muddy-mettled. "Heavy, irresolute " (Schmidt). For the literal meaning of rascal see A. Y. L. p. 179. Peak. Literally grow lean, pine, as in Macb. i. 3. 23; figuratively= "sneak, play a contemptible part" (Schmidt), as here and in M. W. iii. 5. 71. 553. John-a-Dreams. That is, John of Dreams, or John the Dreamer =a dreamy, idle fellow. Cf. Jack-a-lent (a puppet thrown at during Lent) in M. W. iii. 3. 27, v. 5. 134, Jack-a-lanthorn (the ignis fatuus), and similar forms. Coll. quotes Armin, Nest of Ninnies, 1608: “His name is John, indeede, saies the cinnick; but neither John a nods nor John a dreames, yet either as you take it." Unpregnant of. Not quickened by, not inspired with. Cf. M. for M. iv. 4. 23: "unpregnant And dull to all proceedings." 66 555. Property. Wr. thinks this may be="own person or perhaps 'kingly right," and doubts whether it can have its ordinary modern sense. Schmidt, however, gives it the latter meaning here; and F. says: "I suppose it refers to his crown, his wife, everything, in short, which he |
