Hellespont to join Hero, but was drowned one night in a storm. Rosalind, of course, is making fun of the fate of these classical lovers. IV. i. 109. chroniclers. Thus set down in the First Folio, although some editors have altered it to 'coroners.' IV. i. 161. Diana fountain. Diana was a frequent subject for Renaissance fountains. It is not necessary to suppose that Shakespeare had any particular fountain in mind. The 'weeping' naturally refers to the water gushing from the fountain, and not to any sad story of Diana. IV. i. 174. 'Wit... wilt.' A phrase of proverbial purport, whose meaning is now somewhat obscure. Perhaps it means, 'Whither away? Restrain your tendency to roam.' Or, 'Do not let your wit desert you.' IV. i. 184. husband's occasion. I.e., 'occasioned by her husband,' or 'the woman who cannot make her offence against her husband seem a special service to him.' IV. i. 216. bird nest. A reference to the proverb, 'It is a foul bird that defiles its own nest.' IV. i. 220. bay of Portugal. A portion of the sea, of great depth, from Oporto to the headland of Cintra (Wright). IV. ii. 5. branch. A quibble on 'palm-branch,' an emblem of victory, and on the division of a deer's horn called a 'branch.' IV. ii. 12 S. d. The . . . burden. This apparent stage direction is printed in the First Folio as a part of the song. IV. iii. 18. phoenix. There was never but one phoenix in the world at one time. After several hun dred years this miraculous bird would burn itself to ashes, and from these ashes would arise another. IV. iii. 34. Turk . . . Christian. In the old Christmas mumming plays the Turkish knight challenged the Christian to combat with many 'strange oaths' in the name of 'Mahound.' IV. iii. 54. aspect. A term from astrology. In 'mild aspect' meant in ‘a favorable conjunction.' IV. iii. 119. royal. The lion was supposed not to touch any who submitted or lay prostrate before him on the ground. The lion accepted this as the proper homage to the king of beasts. V. i. 49. ipse is he. Touchstone is punning on the current use of the phrase 'ipse he,' i.e., the man himself, the man of the hour, with special reference to a successful lover. Cf. Lyly's Euphues (ed. Croll, p. 92): though Curio be. Ipse, he.' V. ii. 21. fair sister. 'Oliver enters into Orlando's humour in regarding the apparent Ganymede as Rosalind' (Wright). V. ii. 23. heart in a scarf. As we say, 'wear your heart on your sleeve.' The red stain of Orlando's wound suggested to Rosalind her gentle teasing. V. ii. 35. thrasonical. This adjective is derived from the name of a boastful character in the Eunuchus of Terence, and had come into English before Shakespeare's day. V. ii. 36. 'I . overcame.' Cæsar's famous dispatch was 'veni, vidi, vici.' V. ii. 44. incontinent. The second time this word is used it has its present-day meaning. V. ii. 46. clubs. 'Clubs' was the rallying cry of the London 'prentices, who used these weapons in their not infrequent riots. It is with this in mind that Rosalind uses the word. V. ii. 62-65. neither good. I.e., 'nor am I seeking any further favorable opinion than that degree of trust in my powers which will conduce to your own good.' V. ii. 69. damnable. I.e., Rosalind means that his magic was not 'black art' but lawful spells, not contrary to the teachings of the Church. V. ii. 79. though magician. A statute of Elizabeth provided severe penalties for magicians who used their art to cause harm. V. ii. 105. The First Folio has 'observance,' which already appears in line 103. Clearly, therefore, the second 'observance' is a careless substitution by the compositor. Probably the original word resembled in lettering 'observance' and thus caught the printer napping. In addition to ‘obedience,' which the present editor follows Malone in inserting, other suggestions are 'obeisance,' 'endurance,' and 'deservance.' V. ii. 116. Irish wolves. Why Rosalind prefers to go to Ireland for her zoological allusions, cf. her 'Irish rats'—is not certain, unless the animals of Erin share in the Celtic temperament. There were no wolves in England at this time, but they were still to be found in Scotland. As between the two, an Irish wolf would probably make more noise. V. iii. 17. Song. The First Folio arranges this Song in a different order. The stanza 'And therefore prime' is there printed as part of the chorus. Music for this song will be found on p. 205 of Chapell's Popular Music of the Olden Time. V. iv. 4. As fear. I.e., 'As those who hope against hope and yet fear that they know their hopes to be vain.' Nearly all the commentators have different paraphrases. The present editor offers still another. V. iv. 44. put purgation. I.e., 'Let him test me thoroughly,' with a quibble on the medical meaning of the word. Cf. Hamlet, III. ii. 323. V. iv. 47. undone three tailors. I.e., 'like a true courtier, I have ruined three tailors by not paying my bills.' desire... like. I.e., 'I desire this With a quibble on 'like' as an V. iv. 56. "like" of yours." adjective. V. iv. 95. book. There were several books on fencing and the proper methods to follow in challenging an opponent. Possibly Shakespeare is here ridiculing a treatise by Vincentio Saviolo (Second Book 1594; First Book 1595). Cf. also Mercutio's mockery, in Romeo and Juliet, of the elaborate terms used in Italian fencing. Shakespeare probably had in mind the type and not a particular book. V. iv. 112. stalking-horse. A real or artificial horse behind which a fowler hid when pursuing his game. V. iv. 114 S. d. Hymen. The Greek and Roman god of marriage, represented as a young man carrying a torch and veil. As Rosalind's appearance is supposed to be caused by magic, she has carried out her plan as an allegorical masque in which she has some shepherd swain take the part of Hymen. V. iv. 121, 122. In the First Folio the pronoun throughout these two lines is 'his.' The alteration of 'his' to 'her' where this occurs in the present text was suggested by Malone. A case can, however, by casuistry be made for the reading of the Folio. V. iv. 127. sight and shape. I.e., if all this is not magic and Phebe may trust the evidence of her eye sight, 'why then, etc.' V. iv. 155. Even daughter. I.e., 'you are welcome both as niece and daughter.' Epil. 1. the lady. It was rare in Shakespeare's day for a female character to speak the epilogue, as these rôles were taken by boy actors who were, usually, not the most important actors in the company. |