263. stand on: insist on; quillets: i.e., subtle distinctions about

  264. gins: traps

  267. mates: checkmates, defeats

  268. resolutely spoke: i.e., boldly spoken

  269. resolute: characterized by firmness of purpose; except . . . done: unless the words spoken are acted on

  271. But that: i.e., but to prove that; accordeth: agrees

  272. Seeing: since, because

  274. I will . . . priest: proverbial for “I will kill him”

  275. would have: wish to have

  276. due orders for: i.e., Holy Orders to become

  277. censure well the deed: i.e., judge the deed to be good

  279. I tender so: i.e., I have such care for

  283. It skills not greatly: i.e., it does not matter much; impugns: opposes, finds fault with; doom: decision; sentence

  283 SD. Post: special messenger with dispatches

  284. amain: in haste

  285. signify: make known; up: risen in rebellion

  287. succors: military assistance; rage: violence; betime: early

  288. uncurable: incurable

  289. being green: i.e., (the wound [line 288]) being recent

  290. breach: injury; craves: requires, demands; expedient: expeditious, speedy; stop: closing up

  293. meet: appropriate

  295. far-fet: far-fetched; policy: political cunning

  299. betimes: speedily, forthwith

  301. staying: delaying

  302. charactered: inscribed

  303. Men’s flesh: i.e., men whose flesh is

  304–5. this spark . . . it with: Proverbial: “Of a little spark a great fire.”

  306. still: quiet

  308. happily: perhaps

  309. naught: nothing

  311. the . . . shame: perhaps alluding to the motto of the Knights of the Garter: Honi soit qui mal y pense (French for “Shame be to him who thinks evil.”)

  312. try . . . is: i.e., see what luck you have

  313. uncivil: barbarous; kerns: lightly armed foot soldiers (See picture.)

  An Irish kern. (3.1.313, 365–66; 4.9.26–27)

  From John Derricke, The image of Irelande, with a discouerie of woodkarne . . . (1581; 1883 facsimile).

  314. temper: moisten (so as to form a paste)

  316. choicely: carefully

  317. hap: fortune, luck

  318. so . . . Majesty: i.e., if the king agrees

  320. establish: ratify

  323. Whiles: i.e., while; take order: make arrangements

  324. charge: duty

  328. break off: i.e., (let’s) stop talking

  329. that event: i.e., what we contemplate happening

  333. truly: properly

  334. steel: harden, strengthen; fearful: apprehensive

  335. misdoubt: mistrust

  336. that: i.e., that which

  337. Resign: surrender, consign

  338. keep: live, reside; mean-born: lowborn

  342. dignity: high rank (i.e., kingship)

  344. Weaves tedious snares: i.e., tiresomely and laboriously weaves snare after snare (a transferred epithet)

  345. politicly: shrewdly, craftily (ironic)

  346. send me packing: dismiss me

  347. fear me: i.e., fear (ethical dative); starvèd: (nearly) frozen

  348. cherished: given warmth; sting: i.e., bite (Proverbial: “To nourish a snake in one’s bosom.”)

  351. take it kindly: i.e., accept (your gift) with pleasure

  352. You . . . hands: Proverbial: “Put not a naked sword in a madman’s hand.”

  353. nourish: maintain

  354. storm: i.e., storm that

  356. fell: deadly

  357. circuit: i.e., circle

  358. transparent: penetrating

  359. Do: i.e., does; mad-bred: stirred up by a madman (See line 352.) flaw: short spell of rough weather; tumult, uproar

  360. minister of: i.e., agent for

  361. seduced: enticed

  362. Ashford: a town in central Kent

  363. commotion: insurrection; full: very

  364. title: name (For the Mortimer claim to the English throne, see 2.2.37–56, and Henry VI, Part 1, 2.5.0 SD, where John and Edmund are merged.)

  365. stubborn: ruthless, fierce

  367. till that: until; darts: arrows

  368. porpentine: porcupine (See picture.)

  A porcupine. (3.1.368)

  From Edward Topsell, The historie of foure-footed beastes . . . (1607).

  369. in the end: finally

  370. caper: dance, leap; Morisco: morris dancer (Morris dancers performed in costume and wore bells on their legs.)

  371. as he: i.e., as the morris dancer shakes

  372. shag-haired crafty kern: wily Irish soldier with rough matted hair

  374. undiscovered: undetected, unobserved

  375. notice: information, intelligence

  376. This devil here: i.e., this diabolical creature I just described; substitute: deputy

  377. For that: because

  379. By this: i.e., by means of Cade’s rebellion

  380. affect: like, favor

  381. taken: captured; racked: torn apart on the rack, an instrument of torture (See picture.)

  Being tortured on the rack. (3.1.381)

  From Girolamo Maggi, . . . De tintinnabulis liber postumus . . . Accedit . . . De equuleo liber . . . (1689).

  383. moved: persuaded

  384. great like: very likely

  385. strength: military power, army

  386. reap . . . sowed: Proverbial: “One sows, another reaps.”  rascal: scoundrel

  388. put apart: perhaps, killed; or, perhaps, deposed (euphemism); the next for me: Interpreted in relation to 2.2, the phrase suggests, “I will be next on the throne.”

 

  * * *

 

  3.2  The news of Gloucester’s murder makes King Henry faint and the Commons rise to demand Suffolk’s exile. The King obliges them. News arrives of the Cardinal’s imminent death.

  2. dispatched: killed

  3. to do: i.e., still to be done (and therefore to be avoided)

  6. dispatched: got done, finished off

  8. well said: well done

  9. venturous: daring; risky

  10. peers: nobles

  11. laid fair: i.e., straightened, smoothed; Is: i.e., are

  17. If: whether; publishèd: reported publicly

  18. presently: immediately

  20. straiter: more strictly or severely

  21. true evidence: honest witnesses; esteem: reputation

  22. approved . . . culpable: i.e., proved guilty of treason  practice: treachery

  25. acquit him: i.e., acquit or clear himself

  31. forfend: forbid

  32. tonight: last night

  35. Rear up: lift into a vertical position; Wring . . . nose: See Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis, where Adonis, trying to revive the unconscious Venus, “wrings her nose” (line 475).

  36. ope: open

  40. Comfort: i.e., take comfort

  41. comfort: cheer up; console

  42. right now: just now; raven’s note: For the association of the croaking of the raven with death, see Shakespeare’s Macbeth 1.5.45–47, “The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements.”

  43. dismal: cheerless; fatal; bereft: i.e., deprived me of; vital powers: faculties of mind and body necessary to life

  44. chirping of a wren: In Macbeth, the wren is described as “The most diminutive of birds” (4.2.12).

  45. hollow: insincere

  46. first-conceivèd sound: sound first heard

  47. poison . . . words: Proverbial: “poison under sugar” and “sugared words.”

  49. as: i.e., as if it were

  50. baleful: malignant, deadly

  51. Tyranny: violence, outrage

  52. fright: frighten

  54. basilisk: mythological reptile whose glance is fatal (See picture.)

  A basilisk. (3.2.54, 336)

  From Edward Topsell, The history of four-footed beasts and serpents . . . (1658).

  56. shade: shadow (Proverbial: “shadow of death.”)

  58. rate: berate

  61. for: i.e., as for

  62. liquid: watery

  63. blood-consuming sighs: Sighs were believed to draw blood from the heart.

  67. deem of: judge

  69. made . . . away: i.e., killed the Duke

  71. princes’: rulers’; my reproach: disgrace or blame of me

  74. woe is me: (1) alas; (2) I am grieved

  75. woe: sorry

  77. leper: See picture.

  A leper. (3.2.77)

  From Guillaume Guéroult, Figures de la Bible . . . (1565–70).

  78. adder . . . deaf: See Psalm 58.4–5: “like the deaf adder that stoppeth his ear. Which heareth not the voice of the enchanter [snake charmer].”  waxen: grown

  79. forlorn: abandoned, desolate

  83. an alehouse sign: therefore paltry, worthless, or despicable: “an alehouse’ paltry sign” (5.2.68)

  84. nigh-wracked: almost shipwrecked

  85. awkward: unfavorable, adverse; bank: coast

  86. Drove: i.e., driven; clime: region

  87. boded: foretold; but well forewarning: i.e., but that accurately prophesying

  91. he: Aeolus (line 94), mythological god of the winds; brazen caves: i.e., caves strong as brass

  92. bid them: i.e., bade the winds

  93. turn our stern: i.e., cast the ship

  95. office: task

  96. pretty-vaulting sea: i.e., attractively arching waves of the sea

  99. salt as sea: i.e., salty as the sea (proverbial)

  100. splitting rocks: i.e., rocks that can split ships; sinking sands: i.e., sandbars or shoals, which wreck and sink ships

  101. ragged: jagged

  102. Because: in order that; flinty heart: proverbial

  103. perish: kill

  104. ken: see, descry; chalky cliffs: white cliffs of Dover

  106. hatches: deck

  107. dusky: dark

  108. earnest-gaping: ardently staring

  109. jewel: ornament made of gold or silver and precious stones

  110. bound in with: surrounded by

  114. packing: gone; heart: i.e., the jewel

  115. dusky spectacles: dim instruments of seeing

  116. ken: sight; Albion’s: England’s; wishèd: desired

  117. tempted: enticed

  118. agent: proxy (because of his role in arranging the marriage of Margaret and Henry)

  119. Ascanius: son of Aeneas in Virgil’s Latin epic poem the Aeneid

  120. madding: frenzied (in this case, with love); Dido: queen of Carthage, where Aeneas lands at the beginning of the epic (See longer note, and picture.) unfold: disclose, i.e., tell

  Dido. (3.2.120)

  From [Guillaume Rouillé,] . . . Promptuarii iconum . . . (1553).

  121. burning Troy: See note to 1.4.19.

  122. witched like her: charmed as Dido was by love

  122–23. false like him: inconstant as Aeneas was when he sailed away from Dido to fulfill his destiny

  124. I . . . more: i.e., my strength fails me

  130. want: lack

  131. his revenge: i.e., revenge of his death

  132. spleenful: angry; mutiny: rebellion

  133. order: i.e., circumstances

  139. rude: ignorant, barbarous; multitude: crowd

  140. O Thou . . . things: See Genesis 18.25: “the judge of all the world.” stay: check, restrain

  143. suspect: suspicion

  145. Fain: gladly; chafe: warm; paly: pale

  146. drain: let fall

  148. trunk: corpse

  150. mean: i.e., unworthy, insignificant

  151. his . . . image: his dead body, now earth or dust

  158. King: i.e., Christ

  159. curse: See Genesis 3.17: “Accursed shall be the ground on your account.”

  161. thrice-famèd: very famous

  163. instance: proof, evidence

  164. settled: come to rest

  165. timely-parted ghost: corpse of someone who died (parted) in a natural or timely manner

  166. semblance: appearance; meager: thin, emaciated

  167. Being: i.e., the blood being

  168. Who: i.e., which

  169. the same: i.e., the blood (line 164); aidance: assistance

  170. Which: i.e., the blood

  175. full: very

  176. upreared: on end

  178. abroad displayed: spread out

  181. well-proportioned: well-shaped

  181–82. rough and rugged: shaggy

  183. corn: wheat; lodged: beaten down

  185. were probable: i.e., would be sufficient proof (literally, would be worthy of belief)

  191. keep: hold in custody

  192. like: likely

  194. belike: perhaps, possibly

  195. timeless: untimely

  197. fast: close

  199. puttock’s: kite’s, vulture’s (See line 201, and picture.)

  202. tragedy: fatal event

  203. Are . . . knife: See picture.

  A butcher. (3.2.203; 4.2.26; 4.3.3–5)

  From Jan Luiken, Spiegal . . . (1704).

  206. ease: i.e., lack of use

  207. scoured: cleansed

  208. badge: distinctive sign

  210. faulty: to blame

  212. contumelious: insolent, overbearing

  213. controller: one who reproves or censures

  215. still: quiet

  220. blameful: guilty

  221. stern: grim, merciless; untutored: uneducated, boorish; churl: peasant; stock: i.e., family tree

  222. graft with: i.e., grafted to (See picture.) crab-tree: wild-apple tree; slip: shoot

  Grafting. (3.2.222)

  From Marco Bussato, Giardino di agricoltura . . . (1599).

  223. race: family

  224. bucklers: shields

  225. deathsman: executioner

  226. Quitting: freeing, clearing

  227. mild: not easily provoked

  229. thy passèd speech: what you just said

  232. fearful homage: timorous reverence (the kneeling to apologize)

  233. Give thee thy hire: give you your reward; i.e., kill you (proverbial)

  234. Pernicious: dangerous

  236. this presence: i.e., the presence of the king

  238. cope: fight

  240. What . . . untainted: See Ephesians 6.14: “the breastplate of righteousness.”

  242. locked up in steel: i.e., enclosed in armor

  243 SD. within: offstage

  247. in our presence: It was treason to have a weapon drawn in the presence of the monarch.

  249. men of Bury: townsmen of Bury St. Edmunds

  250. Set all upon me: all attacked me

  253. straight: straightaway, immediately

  259. mere: pure

  260. opposite: hostile, antagonistic

  261. As being: i.e., which might be

  262. forward in: i.e., eager for

  265. charge: order

  266. In pain: on penalty; dislike: displeasure

  267. strait: strict

  271. being suffered: i.e., you being allowed to remain; harmful: a transferred epithet (because it is the snake and not the slumber that is harmful)

  272. mortal: deadly; worm: snake

  274. whe’er: whether

  275. fell: deadly

  276. sting: i.e., bite

  278. bereft: deprived

  280. like: i.e., likely that; rude: uneducated; unpolished: unrefined; hinds: boors

  284. quaint: clever, affected

  287. sort: band; tinkers: menders of metal household utensils, but also a term for vagrants and suspected thieves

  291. cited: summoned, aroused

  292. did I purpose: I resolved (to act)

  293. sure: surely, certainly

  294. Mischance: calamity; state: government

  296. far: very

  297. infection in: i.e., infection into

  299. gentle: noble

  300. Ungentle: discourteous, unmannerly

  313. playfellows: companions in amusement

  314. the devil . . . third: let the devil make a third (Proverbial: “There cannot lightly come a worse except the devil come himself.”)

  315. tend upon: accompany

  317. heavy: sorrowful

  320. Wherefore: why

  322. mandrake’s groan: According to superstition, the mandragora plant, when uprooted, gave a shriek that caused its hearers to run mad or die. See Romeo and Juliet 4.3.48–49.

  323. invent: find; searching: probing, piercing

  324. curst: malignant

  325. fixèd: perhaps, clenched or gritted

  326. full: entirely

  327. lean-faced Envy: In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Envy’s home is a hideous, filthy cave. She is lean-faced because “she pines away” at “the sight of men’s successes, she gnaws and is gnawed, herself her own punishment” (book 2, lines 760–805, esp. lines 779–82). See picture.

  “ . . . lean-faced Envy in her loathsome cave.” (3.2.327)

  From Gabriele Simeoni, La vita . . . (1559).

  329. flint: stone from which sparks are struck

  330. distract: distracted, driven mad

  331. ban: call down damnation

  334. Gall: bile; daintiest: most delicate thing

  335. grove . . . trees: associated with graveyards

  336. prospect: view; basilisks: legendary reptiles whose glance can kill (see line 54 and picture); or, large cannons

  337. smart: painful; lizards’ stings: Lizards were thought to have stings and, according to Pliny’s Natural History (c. 80 C.E.), they were poisonous.

  339. boding: foreboding, ominous; consort: company of musicians

  A screech owl. (3.2.339)

  From Konrad Gesner, Icones animalium quadrupedum . . . (1560).