Shakespeare's Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare [best fantasy books to read TXT] 📗
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22. Prick-song. Music sung from notes (Schmidt); so called from the points or dots with which it is expressed. S. uses the word only here. When opposed to plain-song, it meant counter-point as distinguished from mere melody. Here, as Elson shows, there is a reference to marking the time "by tapping the foot in time with the music, or, more frequently and more artistically, by waving the hand as the conductor of an orchestra waves his baton."
23. Me. For the "ethical dative," cf. J.C. i. 2. 270: "He plucked me ope his doublet," etc.
25. Button. Steevens quotes The Return from Parnassus, 1606: "Strikes his poinado at a button's breadth." Staunton cites George Silver's Paradoxes of Defence, 1599: "Signior Rocco, ... thou that takest upon thee to hit anie Englishman with a thrust upon anie button," etc. Duels were frequent in England in the time of S. The matter had been reduced to a science, and its laws laid down in books. The causes of quarrel had been duly graded and classified, as Touchstone explains in A.Y.L. v. 4. 63 fol.
26. Of the very first house. Of the first rank among duellists.
27. Passado. "A motion forwards and thrust in fencing" (Schmidt). Cf. L. L. L. i. 2. 184: "the passado he respects not." The punto reverso was a back-handed stroke. We have punto (= thrust) in M.W. ii. 3. 26: "to see thee pass thy punto." The hay was a home-thrust; from the Italian hai = thou hast it (not "he has it," as Schmidt and others explain it). Johnson gives it correctly: "The hay is the word hai, you have it, used when a thrust reaches the antagonist, from which our fencers, on the same occasion, without knowing, I suppose, any reason for it, cry out ha!"
30. Fantasticoes. Steevens quotes Dekker, Old Fortunatus: "I have danced with queens, dallied with ladies, worn strange attires, seen fantasticoes," etc.
32. Grandsire. Addressed to Benvolio in raillery of his staid demeanour.
33. Fashion-mongers. Cf. Much Ado, v. 1. 94: "fashion-monging boys."
34. Pardonnez-mois. Fellows who are continually saying pardonnez-moi; a hit at Frenchified affectation. The Cambridge ed. has "perdona-mi's" (Italian, suggested by the "pardona-mees" of the 4th and 5th quartos). Herford reads "pardon-me's."
35. Form. There is a play on the word, as in L. L. L. i. 1. 209: "sitting with her upon the form ... in manner and form following." Blakeway remarks: "I have heard that during the reign of large breeches it was necessary to cut away hollow places in the benches in the House of Commons, to make room for those monstrous protuberances, without which contrivance they who stood on the new form could not sit at ease on the old bench."
36. Bons. The early eds. have "bones," which is unintelligible. The correction is due to Theobald, and is generally adopted.
38. Without his roe. "That is, he comes but half himself; he is only a sigh—O me! that is, me O! the half of his name" (Seymour). It may mean without his mistress, whom he has had to leave; roe meaning a female deer as well as the spawn of a fish. Cf. L. L. L. v. 2. 309, where the Princess says: "Whip to our tents, as roes run over land;" and T. and C. v. 1. 68: "a herring without a roe."
42. Be-rhyme. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 186: "I was never so be-rhymed," etc.
43. Hildings. Base menials; used of both sexes. Cf. T. of S. ii. 1. 26: "For shame, thou hilding;" A.W. iii. 6. 4: "If your lordship find him not a hilding, hold me no more in your respect," etc. See also iii. 5. 167 below. It is used as an adjective in 2 Hen. IV. i. 1. 57 and Hen. V. iv. 2. 29.
44. Grey eye. Here Malone and others make grey = blue; while Steevens and Ulrici take the ground that it has its ordinary meaning. The latter quote Temp. i. 2. 269 ("This blue-eyed hag") in proof that blue eyes were accounted ugly; but the reference there, as in A.Y.L. iii. 2. 393 ("a blue eye and sunken"), seems to be to a bluish circle about the eyes. It is curious that these are the only specific allusions to blue eyes in S. In W.T. i. 2. 136, some make "welkin eye" = blue eye; but it is more probably = heavenly eye, as Schmidt gives it. In V. and A. 482 ("Her two blue windows faintly she upheaveth") the eyelids, not the eyes, are meant, on account of their "blue veins" (R. of L. 440). Cf. Cymb. ii. 2. 21:—
Malone cites both this last passage and V. and A. 482 as referring to blue eyes; but the "azure lac'd" ought to settle the question in regard to the former, and "windows" evidently has the same meaning in both. If the "blue windows" were blue eyes, Malone would make out his case, for in V. and A. 140 the goddess says "Mine eyes are grey and bright." But why should the poet call them blue in the one place and grey in the other, when the former word would suit the verse equally well in both? In my opinion, when he says blue he means blue, and when he says grey he means grey. See on ii. 3. 1 above. The New Eng. Dict. does not recognize blue as a meaning of grey. It seems, however, from certain passages in writers of the time that the word was sometimes = bluish grey or bluish; but never "bright blue" (as Delius defines it) or clear blue, as Dyce and others assume.
46. Slop. For slops (= large loose breeches), see Much Ado, iii. 2. 36, etc. Gave us the counterfeit = played a trick on us. Counterfeit is used for the sake of the coming play on slip, which sometimes meant a counterfeit coin. Cf. Greene, Thieves Falling Out, etc.: "counterfeit pieces of money, being brasse, and covered over with silver, which the common people call slips." There is also a play upon the word in the only other instance in which S. uses it, V. and A. 515:—
58. Kindly. The word literally means "naturally, in a manner suited to the character or occasion" (Schmidt); hence aptly, pertinently.
63. Then is my pump, etc. The idea seems to be, my shoe or pump, being pinked or punched with holes, is well flowered. Cf. unpinked in T. of S. iv. 1. 136: "And Gabriel's pumps were all unpink'd i' the heel."
68. Single-soled. "With a quibble on sole and soul = having but one sole, and silly, contemptible" (Schmidt). Steevens gives several examples of single-soled = mean, contemptible. Singleness here = simplicity, silliness.
74. Wild-goose chase. A kind of horse-race, resembling the flight of wild geese. Two horses were started together; and if one got the lead the other was obliged to follow over whatever ground the foremost rider chose to take (Holt White).
77. Was I with you, etc. Was I even with you, have I paid you off? as, perhaps, in T. of S. iv. 1. 170: "What, do you grumble? I'll be with you straight!" For the allusion to five wits see on i. 4. 47 above.
80. I will bite thee by the ear. A playful expression of endearment, common in the old dramatists.
81. Good goose, bite not. A proverbial phrase, found in Ray's Proverbs.
82. Sweeting. A kind of sweet apple. The word is still used in this sense, at least in New England. Steevens quotes Sumner's Last Will and Testament, 1600: "as well crabs as sweetings for his summer fruits." There was also a variety known as the bittersweet. Cf. Fair Em: "And left me such a bitter sweet to gnaw upon."
84. And is it not well served in, etc. White remarks that "the passage illustrates the antiquity of that dish so much esteemed by all boys and many men—goose and apple-sauce." Cf. the allusions to mutton and capers in T.N. i. 3. 129, and to beef and mustard in M. N. D. iii. 1. 197 and T. of S. iv. 3. 23.
86. Cheveril. Soft kid leather for gloves, proverbially elastic. Cf. Hen. VIII. ii. 3. 32:—
See also T. N. iii. 1. 13: "a cheveril glove," etc.
90. A broad goose. No satisfactory explanation of this quibble has been given. Schmidt defines broad here as "plain, evident." Dowden suggests that there is a play on brood-goose, which occurs in Fletcher, Humorous Lieutenant, ii. 1: "They have no more burden than a brood-goose" (breeding goose).
95. Natural. Fool, idiot. Cf. Temp. iii. 2. 37 and A.Y.L. i. 2. 52, 57.
97. Gear. Matter, business. Cf. T. and C. i. 1. 6: "Will this gear ne'er be mended?" 2 Hen. VI. i. 4. 17: "To this gear the sooner the better," etc.
99. Two, two, etc. This is given to Mercutio in most of the early eds., and White doubts whether it belongs to the sober Benvolio; but he is not incapable of fun. Cf. 125 below.
102. My fan, Peter. Cf. L. L. L. iv. 1. 147: "To see him walk before a lady and to bear her fan!" The fans of the time of S. were large and heavy.
105. God ye good morrow. That is, God give ye, etc. For good den, see on i. 2. 57 above.
109. Prick of noon. Point of noon. Cf. 3 Hen. VI. i. 4. 34: "at the noontide prick." See also R. of L. 781.
123. Confidence. Probably meant for conference. Cf. Much Ado, iii. 5. 3, where Dogberry says, "Marry, sir, I would have some confidence with you that decerns you nearly."
125. Indite. Probably used in ridicule of the Nurse's confidence. Mrs. Quickly uses the word in the same way in 2 Hen. IV. ii. 1. 30: "he is indited to dinner."
126. So ho! The cry of the sportsmen when they find a hare. Hence Romeo's question that follows.
129. Hoar. Often = mouldy, as things grow white from moulding (Steevens).
134. Lady, lady, lady. From the old ballad of Susanna, also quoted in T.N. ii.
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