== 31. Teaches is usually regarded as a mistake, having the plural subject dealings. But Abbott regards it as an old Northern plural, which ended in es. 32. Break his day fail to fulfil his engagement. 33. Fearful guard = protection to be feared. 34. Hie haste. = age. 2. Whose blood is reddest. Red blood was regarded as a sign of courMacbeth calls one of his frightened soldiers a lily-livered boy." = 66 3. Fear'd terrified. Fear was often used transitively in this sense. 4. Best-regarded = most esteemed. = 5. Nice fastidious, fanciful. She intimates that judgment has some thing to do with her choice. 6. Scanted limited, restricted. = 7. Wit wisdom. A. S. witan, to know. "Will" has been suggested as an emendation. 9. Sophy = a common name for the emperor of Persia. 10. Sultan Solyman. - Probably Solyman the Magnificent, who reigned from 1520 to 1566. II. Lichas was the servant of Hercules. 12. Alcides another name for Hercules. So called because a descenIdant of Alceus. = deliberate, careful. 14. Temple church, in which the prince was to take the oath just spoken of. 3. Grow to 66 = = for Heaven's sake. a household phrase applied to milk when burnt to the bottom of the saucepan, and thence acquiring an unpleasant taste.” — - CLARK AND WRIGHT. 4. God bless the mark = a parenthetic apology for some coarse or pro fane remark. 5. Incarnal = incarnate; intended as a ludicrous blunder. A number of others occur in this scene. 6. Sand-blind: = having a defect of sight, causing the appearance of small particles flying before the eyes. High-gravel-blind" is an effort 66 conclusions; another Gobboism. "To try conclu sions means to make experiments. 8. Marry a corruption of Mary; originally a mode of swearing by the Virgin, but here a mere expletive. 9. Sonties = saints, of which it is probably a corruption. 11. Master was a title of respect that meant something in Shakespeare's day; hence Gobbo scruples to bestow it upon his son. 15. Father.. - As young people often used this term of address in speak ing to old men, Gobbo did not recognize his son. 16. Hovel-post = a post to support a hovel or shed. 17. Stand up. - Launcelot had been kneeling, and, according to an old tradition, with his back to his father, who mistook the hair of his head for a beard. thill-horse, the horse that goes between the thills or 19. Set up my rest = made up my mind. "A metaphor taken from a game, where the highest stake the parties were disposed to venture was called the rest." -The me is a dative of indirect personal reference, called in Latin the dativus ethicus. 21. Gramercy great thanks. A corruption of the French grand merci. 22. Infection = affection or inclination; another Gobboism. = 23. Cater-cousins = an expression of difficult explanation. Commonly regarded as a corruption of the French quatre-cousins, fourth cousins. 28. The old proverb "The grace of God is gear enough." 29. Guarded = braided, trimmed. 30. Table: = palm of the hand, on which Launcelot is gazing. As Hudson explains, this "table doth not only promise, but offer to swear upon a book, that I shall have good fortune.” 31. Line of life = the line passing around the base of the thumb. 32. Edge of a feather-bed: = an absurd variation of "edge of the sword." 33. Liberal: free, reckless. = 35. With my hat. Hats were worn at meals; but while grace was saying, they were taken off and held over the eyes. 4. Provideth of = provided with. The prepositions of, with, and by were often used interchangeably. 3. Black-Monday. "In the 34th of Edward III., the 13th of April, and the morrow after Easter-day, King Edward, with his host, lay before the city of Paris; which day was full of dark mist and hail, and so bitter cold, that many men died on their horses' backs with the cold. Wherefore unto this day it hath been called Black-Monday.” — STOWE, as quoted by Hudson. 4. Fife = fifer, probably. A writer in 1618 says: "A fifer is a wryneckt musician." 5. Facob's staff. "By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” Heb. xi. 21. professional jester or fool; so called from his motley or 1. Out-dwells out-stays. SCENE VI. 2. Venus' pigeons. — The chariot of Venus was drawn by doves. = 7. Who = whom. Shakespeare often omits the inflection. 8. Exchange, that is, of apparel. II. Beshrew me = curse me, used as a mild imprecation. 12. On't of it. 1. Who which. SCENE VII. In the Elizabethan age, who and which were not fully differentiated. Which was often used of persons, as who of things. "Our Father which art in heaven." Matt. vi. 9. 2. As blunt, that is, as the "dull lead." 3. Rated by thy estimation = valued by thy reputation. 4. Disabling = disparaging. 5. This shrine. — Portia is compared to a saint's shrine, which pilgrims often made long journeys to kiss. 6. Hyrcanian deserts: = an extended wilderness region lying south of the Caspian Sea. 7. Ten times undervalued.—This refers to silver, which in 1600 stood to gold in the proportion of ten to one in value. graven on the outside. The angel was in relief, The value of the coin was and represented St. Michael piercing the dragon. about ten shillings. 9. Carrion Death = a skull from which the flesh has disappeared. 2. Keep his day, that is, the day fixed for the payment of the borrowed II. Quicken his embraced heaviness = enliven the sadness which he has embraced or given up to. 12. Do we so = let us do so. This is an imperative, 1st person, plural. 3. Address'd me = prepared myself, made ready. 4. Fortune now, etc. = Success now to my heart's hope! 5. By of. These two prepositions were not yet fully differentiated. = That is, the offender cannot sit in judg 66 10. I wis I know. This is a blunder form for ywis, iwis, meaning certainly. "It is particularly to be noted," says Skeat, that the commonest form in MSS. is iwis, in which the prefix (like most other prefixes) is frequently written apart from the rest of the word, and not unfrequently the i is represented by a capital letter so that it appears as I wis. Hence, by an extraordinary error, the I has often been mistaken for the 1st per. pron., and the verb wis, to know, has been thus created, and is given in many dictionaries!"' 14. My lord is in jesting response to the servant's inquiry, my lady?" "Where is 19. Lord Love = Cupid. 1. The Goodwins = ACT III. SCENE I. the Goodwin Sands, off the eastern coast of Kent. 2. Knapped ginger = snapped or broke-up ginger- a favorite condiment with old people. 3. Wings she flew withal the clothes in which she eloped. = |