shrink from doing this. His first thought is not so much of sending him to hell as of not sending him to heaven; but he dwells upon it in his usual meditative fashion until it leads him logically to that "damn'd and black" conclusion.

Caldecott says: “Shakespeare had a full justification in the practice of the age in which he lived... With our ruder Northern ancestors, revenge, in general, was handed down in families as a duty, and the more refined and exquisite, the more honourable it was." He also refers to iv. 7. 127 below, where the king says "Revenge should have no bounds,' and adds that "even the philosophizing and moralizing Squire of Kent, in his beloved retirement from the turmoils of the world, exclaims on killing Cade (2 Hen. VI. iv. 10. 83):

'Die, damned wretch, the curse of her that bare thee;
And as I thrust thy body in with my sword,

So wish I, I might thrust thy soul to hell.'"

Wordsworth (Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible) excuses Hamlet in much the same way. See also p. 30 above.

75. That would be scann'd. That should be carefully considered. Gr. 329.

77. Sole. The folio has "foule." Warb. conjectured "fal'n" (=disinherited), and Capell "fool." Cf. A. W. i. 1. 44: "His sole child," etc. 79. Hire and salary. The quartos have "base and silly."

80. Grossly. The word refers to father, not to took. Full of bread, as Malone notes, is suggested by Ezekiel, xvi. 49: "pride, fulness of bread,"

etc.

81. Broad blown. Cf. i. 5. 76: "in the blossoms of my sin." Flush= in its prime, in full vigour (Schmidt). Cf. A. and C. i. 4. 52: “flush youth." The folio has "fresh."

82. And how, etc. Warb. says that the Ghost had told him how his audit stood; but Ritson replies that, the Ghost being in purgatory, it was doubtful how long he might have to stay there.

83. In our circumstance and course of thought. From our human point of view and according to our line of thought; or "according to human relations and thoughts" (Delius). For circumstance=condition, state of things, cf. T. G. of V. i. I. 37 : "So, by your circumstance, I fear you'll prove." See also i. 3. 102 above.

84. 'T is heavy with him. It goes hard with him, or he "hath a heavy reckoning to make" (Hen. V. iv. 1. 141).

85. To take. For the "indefinite" use of the infinitive, see Gr. 356. On purging, cf. i. 5. 13 above; and on season'd, iii. 2. 192.

88. Hent. Hold, seizure (Johnson and Schmidt). No other example of the noun has been found, but the verb (=take) occurs in W. T. iv. 3. 133 and M. for M. iv. 6. 14. Cf. Chaucer, C. T. 700: "till Jhesu Crist him hente," etc. A more horrid hent=“a more fell grasp on the villain" (M.), or a more terrible occasion to be grasped" (Wr.).

95. Stays. Is waiting for me. Cf. T. G. of V. i. 2. 131: "Dinner is ready, and your father stays," etc.

96. This physic. That is, this temporary forbearance of mine is like a medicine that merely delays the fatal end of the disease.

SCENE IV.-1. Straight. See on ii. 2. 418 above; and for home, on iii. 3. 29.

2. Broad. Free, unrestrained. Cf. Macb. iii. 4. 23 and iii. 6. 21.

4. Silence. The reading of the early eds. Sr., Coll., D., H., and Wr. adopt Hanmer's emendation, "Sconce me even here," which is plausible, but not really called for. I'll silence me e'en here I'll say no more. 5. Round. See on ii. 2. 139 above.

7. Fear me not. See on i. 3. 51 above.

12. Wicked. The folio has "idle," probably repeated by accident from the preceding line.

14. Rood. Cross, crucifix. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 3. Rich. III. iii. 2. 77, iv. 4. 165, etc. We have it in the name of Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, See also I Hen. IV. i. I. 52.

19. Set you up a glass. Cf. iii. 2. 20 above: "hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.

29. Kill a king? According to the Hystorie of Hamblet (see p. 13 above) the queen was not privy to the murder of her husband. Cf. the Ist quarto:

"But as I haue a soule, I sweare by heauen,

I neuer knew of this most horride murder."

Gr. 178.

34. Wringing of. Cf. i. 5. 175: "pronouncing of," etc. 38. Proof. Cf. W. T. iv. 4. 872: "I am proof against that title," etc. But the word in this sense was also a noun, as in Rich. II. i. 3. 73: “Add proof unto mine armour," etc. Cf. ii. 2. 476 above: "forg'd for proof eterne." Schmidt makes it an adjective here, but its association with bulwark suggests that it may be a noun. Cf. V. and A. 626:

"His brawny sides, with hairy bristles arm'd,

Are better proof than thy spear's point can enter."

This seems better than to say that bulwark is "used for an adjective," as Wr. does.

Sense. "Feeling," as Caldecott explains it, rather than "reason," as Schmidt makes it.

39. Wag thy tongue. Wr. quotes Hen. VIII. i. I. 33: "Durst wag his tongue in censure." He might have added Id. v. 3. 127: "And think with wagging of your tongue to win me." In the same speech (131), we have "wag his finger at thee."

41. That. For such... that, see Gr. 279. Just below we have such Cf. Sonn. 73.5, 9.

...as.

43. The rose. "The ornament, the grace, of an innocent love" (Boswell). Cf. iii. 1. 152 above.

44. Sets a blister there. Wr. explains this, "brands as a harlot," and refers to C. of E. ii. 2. 138. Cf. iv. 5. 101 below.

46. Contraction. The marriage contract (Warb. and Schmidt). S. usés the word nowhere else.

48. Rhapsody. Wr. well illustrates the meaning of the word here by quoting Florio, Montaigne: “This concerneth not those mingle-mangles of many kindes of stuffe, or as the Grecians call them Rapsodies." 49. This solidity, etc. The earth (K.).

50. Tristful. Sorrowful (Fr. triste). Cf. 1 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 434: "My tristful queen" ("trustful" in the early eds.).

As against the doom. As if doomsday were coming. For against, see on i. I. 158.

51. Thought-sick. Cf. iii. 1. 85: "Sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought." Tschischwitz ("O dear discretion! how his words are suited!") omits the hyphen, and explains the passage, "Is thought to be sick!"

52. Index. Prologue. The index was formerly placed at the beginning of a book (Edwards). Cf. Rich. III. ii. 2. 149, iv. 4. 85, T. and C. i. 3. 343, and Oth. ii. 1. 263.

53. Look here, etc. The original practice of the stage seems to have been to have the two pictures hanging in the queen's closet. They are so represented in a print prefixed to Rowe's Hamlet, published in 1709. Afterwards it became the fashion for Hamlet to take two miniatures from his pocket; but as Hamlet would not be likely to carry his uncle's picture in that way, a Bath actor suggested snatching it from his mother's neck. Another arrangement was to have the new king's portrait hanging on the wall, while Hamlet took his father's from his bosom. Fitzgerald, in his Life of Garrick, suggested that the pictures be seen with the mind's eye only; and this is followed by Irving and Salvini. Fechter tears the miniature from the queen's neck and throws it away. Edwin Booth makes use of two miniatures, taking one from his own neck and the other from the queen's (F.).

54. Counterfeit. Cf. the use of the noun in Sonn. 16. 8: "your painted counterfeit ;" and see also M. of V. iii. 2. 116 and T. of A. v. I. 83.

Presentment. Representation. In the only other instance of the word in S. (T. of A. i. 1. 27) it means presentation. Wr. quotes Milton, Comus, 156; "Of power to cheat the eye with blear illusion, And give it false presentments.'

55. This brow. The 4th and 5th quarto and the folios have "his." 56. Hyperion's. See on i. 2. 140 above. The front of Jove.

wrinkled front," etc.

That is, the forehead; as in Rich. III. i. 1. 9: “his
See cut on p. 166.

58. Station. Attitude in standing (Theo.). Cf. Macb. v. 8. 42 and A. and C. iii. 3. 22.

59. New-lighted. Cf. 1 Hen. IV. i. 1. 63: "new-lighted from his horse." S. is fond of compounds with new; as "new-added" (J. C. iv. 3. 109), new-apparelled" (C. of E. iv. 3. 14), "new-built" (T. of S. v. 2. 118, Cymb. i. 5. 59), "new-crowned" (M. of V. iii. 2. 50, K. John, iv. 2. 35), "new-fallen (V. and A. 354, A. Y. L. v. 4. 182, 1 Hen. IV. v. I. 44), and

so on.

Heaven-kissing. Cf. R. of L. 1370: “cloud-kissing Ilion.”

66. Leave. See on i. 2. 155 above.

67. Batten. Fatten. Cf. Cor. iv. 5. 35: "batten on cold bits ;" Milton,. Lycidas, 29: "battening our flocks," etc.

69. Hey-day. "Frolicsome wildness" (Schmidt). Steevens quotes Ford, 'Tis Pity, etc.: "The hey-day of your luxury." S. does not use

it elsewhere as a noun.

We have it as an exclamation in Temp. ii. 2. 190 ("highday" in the old eds.), Rich. III. iv. 4. 460, T. and C. v. I. 73, and T. of A. i. 2. 137 (in these last three passages "hoyday in most of the early eds.). Highday in M. of V. ii. 9. 98 is another word= holiday.

71-76. Sense difference. This passage is omitted in the folio. Sense sensibility, sensation; and motion=impulse, desire (as in M. for M. i. 4. 59: "The wanton stings and motions of the sense," etc.). "You must have perception, else how could you still have desire?" (M.). 73. Apoplex'd. Affected as with apoplexy. Would not err. That is, err so (Wr.).

74. Ecstasy. Insanity; as in ii. 1. 102 and iii. 1. 160 above.

75. Quantity. Measure, degree. "Sense was never so dominated by the delusions of insanity but that it retained some power of choice" (H.). Quantity is sometimes used contemptuously (= an insignificant portion), as in C. of E. iv. 3. 112, K. John, v. 4. 23, and 2 Hen. IV. v. 1. 70.

76. To serve, etc. "To help your decision where the difference is so complete" (M.).

77. Hoodman-blind. Blind-man's-buff. Cf. A. W. iv. 3. 136: "Hoodman comes!" Sr. quotes Baret, Alvearie: "The Hoodwinke play, or hoodmanblinde, in some places called the blindmanbuf.”

See A. Y. L. p. 163 or Temp. p. 114.

79. Sans. 81. So mope. Be so stupid. Cf. Temp. v. 1. 239: "And were brought moping hither" (that is, bewildered); and Hen. V. iii. 7. 143: "to mope with his fat-brained followers.'

83. Mutine. The same as mutiny (=rebel), which S. elsewhere uses. We find mutine as a noun (= (=a rebel) in v. 2. 6 below, and also in K. John, ii. 1. 378. Mutineer occurs once (Temp. iii. 2. 40), and so does mutiner (Cor. i. I. 254).

86. Compulsive. Cf. compulsative, i. 1. 103 above. Compulsive occurs again in Oth. iii. 3. 454. On gives the charge, cf. R. of L. 434.

88. Panders will. Panders to appetite.

90. Grained. Dyed in grain. Marsh (Lect. on Eng. Lang.) shows that grain originally meant the dye kermes, obtained from the coccus insect; but as this sense grew less familiar, and the word came to be used chiefly as expressive of fastness of colour, an idea which was associated with dyeing in the wool or other raw material, dyed in grain got this latter meaning. Wr. quotes Cotgrave, Fr. Dict.: "Graine: ... graine wherewith cloth is dyed in graine; Scarlet dye, Scarlet in graine.'

91. Leave their tinct. Part with or give up their dye. On leave, cf. M. of V. v. 1. 172, 196, Cor. ii. 3. 180, etc.; and on tinct, cf. Cymb. ii. 2. 23. The latter word tincture in A. W. v. 3. 102 and A. and C. i. 5. 37. 94. In. Into. See Gr. 159.

97. Precedent. Former; used also in T. of A. i. 1. 133 and A. and C. iv. 14. 83, and with the same accent as here. The noun is always accented on the first syllable. See v. 2. 237 below; also M. of V. iv. I. 220, etc.

A vice of kings. A clown of a king; alluding to the Vice in the old inoralities or moral-plays. Cf. 7. N. iv. 2. 134:

"Like to the old Vice,

Who, with dagger of lath,

In his rage and his wrath,

Cries, ah, ha! to the devil," etc.

The Vice was equipped with a wooden sword or dagger, with which he used to beat the devil and sometimes tried to pare his nails. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 343 and Hen. V. iv. 4. 76.

98. Cutpurse. "Purses were usually worn outside attached to the girdle" (Wr.).

101. A king of shreds and patches. Referring to the motley dress worn by the professional fool (see A. Y. L. p. 162) and generally by the

Vice.

102. The stage-direction in the 1st quarto is "Enter the Ghost in his night gowne;" that is, in his dressing-gown. See Macb. p. 194. The Coll. MS. has "Enter Ghost unarmed."

Save me, etc. M. remarks here: "Just when Hamlet's rage is on the verge of becoming impotent and verbose, it is restored to overpowering grandeur by the ghost's reappearance, who with divine compassion interferes to save his erring wife from distraction. Cf. the splendid passage in Tennyson's Guinevere, where Arthur says to his false queen: 'I did not come to curse thee, Guinevere, I whose vast pity almost makes me die To see thee laying there thy golden head...

Lo, I forgive thee, as Eternal God

Forgives; do thou for thine own soul the rest...

Let no man dream but that I love thee still

Perchance, and so thou purify thy soul,

And so thou lean on our fair father Christ,

Hereafter, in that world where all are pure,

We too may meet before high God, and thou
Wilt spring to me, and claim me thine, and know

I am thine husband.""

105. Laps'd in time and passion. The meaning seems to be, having let time slip by while indulging in mere passion. Johnson says: "having suffered time to slip and passion to cool;" and Schmidt: "who, surprised by you in a time and passion fit for the execution of your command, lets them go by."

106. Important. Momentous; or, perhaps, urgent (as in C. of E. v. I. 138, Much Ado, ii. I. 74, etc.).

112. Conceit. Imagination. Cf. W. T. iii. 2. 145: with mere conceit and fear;" Rich. II. ii. 2. 33: "T is nothing but conceit," etc.

116. Incorporal. Immaterial. Cf. corporal in J. C. iv. 1. 33, Macb. i. 3. 81, etc. S. uses neither corporeal nor incorporeal.

119. Bedded. Lying flat (Schmidt). Wr. explains it as "matted." Hair. The quartos and 1st and 2d folios have "haire," and are followed by most of the modern eds. The Camb. and W. give "hairs.” S. uses the plural very often in this way. Cf. M. of V. iii. 2. 120, J. C. ii. 1. 144, A. and C. ii. 7. 123, etc.

Excrements. Excrescences, outgrowths (as if from excrescere, like increment from increscere). Cf. C. of E. ii. 2. 79, L. L. L. v. 1. 109, M. of V.