ON A SHIP AT SEA: A TEMPESTUOUS NOISE OF 
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING HEARD 

-./r Enter a Ship-Master and a Boatswain 

Mastee ^ 

OATSWAIN! 

Boats. Here, master : what 
cheer ? 

Mast. Good, speak to the mar- 
iners : fall to 't, yarely, or we run 
ourselves aground : bestir, bestir. 

Enter Mariners t^^^'" 

Boats. Heigh, my hearts! 
eheerly, cheerly, my hearts ! yare, 
yare ! Take in the topsail. Tend 
to the master's whistle. Blow, 
till thou burst thy wind, if room 
enough ! 

Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, 

and others 

Alon. Good boatswain, have care. Where's the 
master ? Play the men. 

Boats. I pray now, keep below. ^^ 

Ant. Where is the master, boatswain? 

Boats. Do you not hear him? You mar our labour: 
keep your cabins : you do assist the storm. 

GoN. Nay, good, be patient. 

Boats. When the sea is. Hence! What cares these 
roarers for the name of king? To cabin: sUencel trouble 
us not. 

GoN. Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard. 
i Boats. None that I more love than myself. You are 
a counsellor; if you can command these elements to ^° 
silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not 
hand a rope more; use your authority: if you cannot, 
give thanks you have hved so long, and make yourself 
ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so 
hap. Cheerly, good hearts ! Out of our way, I say. 

[Exit. 

GoN. I have great comfort from this feUow: me- 
thinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his com- 
plexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to 
his hanging : make the rope of his destiny our cable, for 
our own doth httle advantage. If he be not born to be ^^ 
hanged, our case is miserable. lExeunt. 

3 yarely] briskly, readily; an exclamation common among sailors. The 
form "yare" is found in lines 6 and 32, infra. The word appears as 
an adjective, V, i, 222-224, infra: "our ship ... Is tight and yare." 

7 Blow . . . room enough] The boatswain addresses the storm. His 
anxiety is about the sea room at his disposal rather than about the 
force of the gale. 

14 good] my good fellow, as in line 18, infra. 

Re-enter Boatswain 

Boats. Down with the topmast 1 yare! lower, lower! 
Bring her to try with main-course. \_A cry within.^ A 
plague upon tMs howling I they are louder than the 
weather or our office. 

Re-enter Sebastian, Aisttonio, and Gonzal© 

Yet again! what do you here? Shall we give o'er, and 
drown? Have you a mind to sink? 

Seb. a pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, 
incharitable dog! 

Boats. Work you, then. ^° 

Ant. Hang, cur! hang, you whoreson, insolent 
noise-maker. We are less afraid to be drowned than 
thou art. 

GoN. I 'U warrant him for drowning; though the 
ship were no stronger than a nutshell, and as leaky as an 
unstanched waich. 

Boats. Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her two courses; 
off to sea again; lay her off. 

33 wMitn-coMMe] mainsail, the largest and lowest sail of all on the ship. 

The boatswain orders the mainsail to be set, in order to see 

whether the vessel will thereby keep closer to the wind and drift 

less. 
43 for drowning] agaiast drowning. 
46 set her two courses] set the foresail as well as the mainsail; the foresail 

was another low and large sail of the ship, although of smaller size 

than the mainsail. 

[51 

Enter Mariners wet 

Mabinees. ah lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost I 

Boats. What, must our mouths be cold? 

GoN. The king and prince at prayers! let's assist 

them, 50 

For our case is as theirs. 

Seb. I 'm out of patience. 

Ant. We are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards : 
This wide-chapp'd rascal, — would thou mightst lie 

drowning 
The washing of ten tides ! 

GoN. He '11 be hang'd yet. 

Though every drop of water swear against it, v 

And gape at widest to glut him. 
[^ confused ndse within: " Mercy on usl " — 
" We split, we split! " — " Farewell my wife and chil- 
dren!"— 
" Farewell, brother ! " — " We split, we split, we split ! "] 

Ant. Let 's all sink with the king. ^^ 

Seb. Let 's take leave of him. {^Exeunt Ant. and Seb. 

49 must our mouths he cold?] must we die ? Cf . Beaumont and Fletcher's 
Scornful Lady, II, ii, 17: "Would I had been cold i' the mouth be- 
fore this day." 

54 washing of ten tides] a grotesque reference to the pimishment allotted 
at the time to pirates and sea robbers, to be hanged at low water, and 
to be left till three tides had washed over them. 

66 glut] swallow. Cf. Milton, P i., X, 633: " glutted [i. e., swallowed] 
ofFal." 

57-59 "Mercy on usl" . . . we spZit/] Capell first arranged these broken 
speeches so as to make them represent the confused noise within. 
They can form no part of Gonzalo's speech. 

GoN. Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea 
for an acre of barren ground, long heath, brown furze, 
any thing. The wills above be done ! but I would fain 
die a dry death. \Exmra. 

SCENE II— THE ISLAND 
BEFORE PROSPERO'S CELL 

Enter Peospeoo and Miranda 

MiE. If by your art, my dearest father, you have 

J?ut the wild waters in this roar, aUay them. 
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch. 
But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek. 
Dashes the fire out. O, I have suff er'd 
With those that I saw suffer ! a brave vessel. 
Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her, 
Dash'd all to pieces, O, the cry did knock 

I Against my very heart! Poor souls, they perish'dl 
Had I been any god of power, I would ^^ 

Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere 
It should the good ship so have swaUow'd and 
The f raughting souls within her. 
Pegs. Be collected: 

63 loTig heath, brovm furee] Thus the First Folio, save that firrs is read for 
furze. Hanmer substituted ling, heath, broom, furze. But "long 
heath" is a recognised botanical term, and "broom" and "furze" 
indicate precisely the same plant. No violent change in the Folio 
text is necessary. 

13 The fraughting souls] The souls forming the "fraught" or "freight." 

No more amazement: tell your piteous heart 
There 's no harm done. 

MiE. O, woe the day! 

Pegs. No harm. 

I have done nothing hut in care of thee, 
Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, who 
Art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing 
lOf whence I am, nor that I am more better 
Than Prospero, master of a fuU poor ceU, ^o 

And thy no greater father. 

Mir. More to know 

Did never meddle with my thoughts. 

Pegs. 'T is time 

I should inform thee farther. Lend thy hand. 
And pluck my magic garment from me. — So : 

\^Lays down his mcmfle. 
Lie there, my art. Wipe thou thine eyes ; have comfort. 
The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch'd 
The very virtue of compassion in thee, 
I have with such provision in mine art 
So safely order'd, that there is no soul. 
No, not so much perdition as an hair ^^ 

Betid to any creature in the vessel 
Which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink. Sit 

down; 
For thou must now know farther. 

19 more letter] a double comparative; cf. line 439, infra: "more braver 
daughter." 

28 froviswn] deliberate exercise of prevision. 

29 no sou[\ The sentence is unfinished. The participle "lost" is implied. 

Mm. You have often 

Begun to tell me what I am; but stopp'd, 
And left me to a bootless inquisition, 
Concluding " Stay: not yet." 

Pegs. The hour's now come; 

The very minute bids thee ope thine ear ; 
Obey, and be attentive. Canst thou remember 
A time before we came unto this cell? 
I do not think thou canst, for then thou wast not ^° 

Out three years old. 

MiE. Certainly, sir, I can. 

Pegs. By what? by any other house or person? 
Of any thing the image tell me, that 
Hath kept with thy remembrance. 

MiE. 'T is far off, 

And rather like a dream than an assurance 
That my remembrance warrants. Had I not 
Four or five women once that tended me? 

Pegs. Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how 
is it 
That this hves in thy mind? What seest thou else 
In the dark backward and abysm of time? ^^ 

If thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here. 
How thou camest here thou mayst. 

MiE. But that I do not. 

Pegs. Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since. 

41 Old three years] Full three years. 

50 backward and abysm] past and abyss. Shakespeare similarly uses 

"inward" as a substantive. Cf. Meas. for Meas., Ill, ii, 122: "I 

was an inward of his." 

Thy father was the Duke of Milan, and 
A prince of power. 

MiE. Sir, are not you my father? 

Pegs, Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and 
She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father 
Was Duke of MUan; and his only heir 
A princess, no worse issued. 

MiE. O the heavens ! 

What foul play had we, that we came -from thence? ^^ 
Or blessed was 't we did? 

Pegs. Both, both, my girl: 

By foul play, as thou say'st, were we heaved thence ; 
But blessedly holp hither. 

MiE. O, my heart bleeds 

To think o' the teen that I have turn'd you to,. 
Which is from my remembrance ! Please you, farther. 

Pegs. My brother, and thy uncle, call'd AntoniOj, — 
I pray thee, mark me, — that a brother should 
/Be so perfidious ! — he whom, next thyself, 
Of aU the world I loved, and to him put 
The manage of my state ; as at that time ^o 

Through all the signories it was the first. 
And Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed 

65 from] away from, out of. 

66seq.] The construction of this and the following speech is irregular. 
Several sentences are left unfinished, with parentheses that bear the 
main burden of the theme. But the meaning is quite intelligible. 

70 as at that time] at that very time; "as" merely emphasises "that;" 

cf. "then as," "when as." 

71 the dgrwries] the dukedoms or principalities of Northern Italy. 

72 the prime duke] holding the leading place among dukes. 

In dignity, and for the liberal arts 

Without a parallel; those being all my study, 

The government I cast upon my brother, 

And to my state grew stranger, being transported 

And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle — 

Dost thou attend me? 

Mm. Sir, most heedfully. 

Pros. Being once perfected how to grant suits, 
How to deny them, who to advance, and who ^^ 

To trash for over-topping, new created 
The creatures that were mine, I say, or changed 'em, 
Or else new form'd 'em; having both the key 
Of officer and office, set all hearts i' the state 
To what tune pleased his ear; that now he was 
The ivy which had hid my princely trunk. 
And suck'd my verdure out on 't. Thou attend'st not. 

MiE. O, good sir, I do. 

Pecs. I pray thee, mark me. 

ji, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated 
'\To closeness and the bettering of my mind '^^ 

With that which, but by being so retired, 
O'er-prized aU popular rate, in my false brother 
Awaked an evil nature; and my trust, 

81 To trash for over-topping] To restrain those who were inclined to be 
too assertive or forward. "To trash " was a hunting term for check- 
ing the pace of a hound; "over-topping" is a gardening term for a 
too luxuriant growth. 

90 closeness] seclusion. 

91-92 With that . . . rate] With that (study) which, except for the 
disadvantage that it withdrew me from affairs, exceeded in value 
any reputation combg from the people, all vulgar popularity. 

Like a good parent, did beget of him 

A falsehood in its contrary, as great 

As my trust was ; which had indeed no limit, 

A confidence sans bound. He being thus lorded, 

Not only with what my revenue yielded. 

But what my power might else exact, hke one 

Who having into truth, by telling of it, ^^^ 

Made such a sinner of his memory. 

To credit his own he, he did believe 

He was indeed the duke; out o' the substitution. 

And executing the outward face of royalty. 

With all prerogative: — hence his ambition growing, — 

Dost thou hear? 

Mir. Your tale, sir, would cure deafness. 

Pros. To have no screen between this part he play'd 

97 sans] the French preposition for "without," which was very common 
in EngHsh from the fourteenth century. It was a favourite usage with 
Shakespeare. 

100-102 Who . . . own lie] The construction here is confused, but the 
meaning is quite plain, if "by telling of it" be interpreted "by telling 
of 'his own lie'"(cf. line 102). The constant repetition of the lie 
causes his memory to fail, and him to attach such credit to it as to 
convert it into truth. Of the many suggested changes in the text 
none is quite satisfactory. Bacon, in his History of Henry VII, 
1622 (p. 120), writes similarly of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be 
the Duke of York: "Nay himselfe, with long and continuall coun- 
terfeiting, and with oft teUing a Lye, was turned by habite almost 
in to the thinge hee seemed to be, and from a Lyar to a Believer." 

103 He . . . substitution] An Alexandrine, with six accents. 

107-109 To have . . . Milan] To remove ever3fthing that lay between 
the mere role of Duke and the Duke's own being, between the 
shadow and the substance of the Duke's authority, he must needs 
be actual Duke, Duke without restriction. 

And him he play'd it for, he needs will be 

Absolute Milan. Me, poor man, my library 

Was dukedom large enough: of temporal royalties ^^° 

He thinks me now incapable ; confederates, 

So dry he was for sway, wi' the King of Naples 

To give him annual tribute, do him homage. 

Subject his coronet to his crown, and bend 

The dukedom, yet imbow'd, — alas, poor Milan ! — 

To most ignoble stooping. 

MiE. O the heavens„L 

Pegs. Mark his condition, and the event; then tell me 
If this might be a brother. 

Mir. I should sin 

To think but nobly of my grandmother : 
Good wombs have borne bad sons. 

Pegs. Now the condition. ^^° 

[fhis King of Naples, being an enemy 
5'o me inveterate, hearkens my brother's suit; 
Which was, that he, in lieu o' the premises 
Of homage and I know not how much tribute. 
Should presently extirpate me and mine 
Out of the dukedom, and confer fair Milan, 
With all the honours, on my brother : whereon, 
A treacherous army levied, one midnight 
Fated to the purpose, did Antonio open 
The gates of MUan; and, i' the dead of darkness, *^° 

The ministers for the purpose hurried thence 
Me and thy crying self. 

112 dry] thirsty, eager. 

123 in lieu o' the 'premises] in exchange for the conditions or stipulations. 

Mir. Alack, for pity! 

I, not remembering how I cried out then. 
Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint 
That wrings mine eyes to 't. 

Pegs. Hear a httle further. 

And then I '11 bring thee to the present business 
Which now 's upon 's ; without the which, this story 
Were most impertinent. 

MiE. Wherefore did they not 

That hour destroy us? 

Pegs. Well demanded, wench: 

My tale provokes that question. Dear, they durst not, ^^^ 
So dear the love my people bore me; nor set 
A mark so bloody on the business ; but 
With colours fairer painted their foul ends. 
In few, they hurried us aboard a bark. 
Bore us some leagues to sea; where they prepared 
A rotten carcass of a butt, not rigg'd. 
Nor tackle, saU, nor mast; the v ery rat5 
Instinctivelxhaye quit it : there they hoist us. 
To cry to the sea that roar'd to us; to sigh 
To the winds, whose pity, sighing back again, i^" 

Did us but loving wrong. 

Mie. Alack, what trouble 

Was I then to youl 

134 a hint] The word here seems to mean "a theme," as m 11, i, 3, infra: 

"Our hint of woe." 
144 In few] In few words, in short. 
146 bvtt] barrel or tub; the word is contemptuously applied to an imsea- 

worthy boat. 

Pegs. O, a cherubin 

Thou wast that did preserve me. Thou didst smile, 
Infused with a fortitude from heaven, 
When I have deck'd the sea with drops full salt, 
Under my burthen groan'd; which raised in me 
An undergoing stomach, to bear up 
Against what should ensue. 

Mir. How came we ashore? 

Pegs. By Providence divine. 
Some fooidTwe had, and some fresh water, that ^^ 

A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo, 
Out of his charity, who being then appointed 
Master of this design, did give us, with 
Rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries. 
Which since have steaded much; so, of his gentleness. 
Knowing I loved my books, he furnish'd me 
From mine own library vsdth volumes that 
I prize above my dukedom. 

MiE. Would I might 

But ever see that man! 

Pbos. Now I arise : [Resumes Ms mantle. 

Sit stni, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow. ^"^^ 

Here in this island we arrived; and here 
Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit 

155 deck'd] sprinkled ; doubtless a variant of the North Country provin- 
cialism "deg," which means "sprinkle with water." 

157 undergoing stomach] enduring courage. 

169 Now I arke] The Folios supply no stage direction. Dyce first sug- 
gested the one adopted here. Prospero probably sits at Miranda's 
side, till this speech. He stands, on nearing the climax of his 
story, to put on his magician's robe. 

Than other princess' can, that have more time 
For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful. 
Mm. Heavens thank you for't! And now, I pray 

fyou, sir, 
or stiQ 't is beating in my mind, your reason 
pr raising this sea-storm? 
Pegs. Know thus far forth.. 

By accident most strange, bauntiful^EQEfeli-^j 
NW^ixdear la_dy, hath mine enemies 
Brought to this shore; and by my prescience ^^^ 

I find my zenith doth depend upon 
A most auspicious star, whose influence 
If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes 
WiQ ever after droop. Here cease more questions : 
Thou art inchned to sleep ; 't is a good dulness. 
And give it way: I know thou canst not choose. 

{^Miranda sleeps. 
Come away, servant, come. I am ready now. 
Approach, my Ariel, come. 

Enter Aeiel 

Ari. All haU, great master! grave sir, hail! I come 
To answer thy best pleasure; be 't to fly, ^^^ 

To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride 

173 princess'] The First Folio reads Princesse. Dyce suggested the 
reading of the present text, where the inverted comma is intended 
to mark the elision of the plural termination, es. Others adopt 
princes, "prince" being currently used for "princess." 

181 my zenith] height of my fortune; an astrological term. 

On the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task 
Ariel and aU his quality. 

Pros. Hast thou, spirit, 

Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee? 

Ari. To every article. 
I boarded the king's ship ; now on the beak. 
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, 
I flamed amazement: sometime I 'Id divide. 
And burn in many places ; on the topmast. 
The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly,^ 2*^" 
Then meet and join. Jove's hghtnings, the precursors 
O' the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary 
And sight-outrunning were not : the fire and cracks 
Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune 
Seem to besiege, and make his bold waves tremble. 
Yea, his dread trident shake. 

Pegs. My brave spirit ! 

Who was so firm, so constant, that this coU 
Would not infect his reason? 

Am. Not a soul 

But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd 

193 all his quality] all his profession, all his confederates. 

194 to point] at every point, in every detail; like the French A 
point. 

196 the beak] the prow. 

197 the waist] the midship, the space between the quarterdeck and the 
forecastle. 

198 I flamed amazement] Many sailors of Shakespeare's day reported 
such a phenomenon as is here described. The mysterious flame, which 
was held to presage a wreck, was commonly called "St. Elmo's fire; " 
it was doubtless due to electrical disturbances of the air. 

2 [IT] 

Some tricks of desperation. All but mariners ^^^ 

Plunged in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel. 
Then all afire with me : the king's son, Ferdinand, 
With hair up-staring, — then like reeds, not hair, ^_ 
Was the first man that leap'd; cried, " Hell is empty, ' 
And all the devils are here." 

Pros. Why, that 's my spirit! 

But was not this nigh shore? 

Am. Close by, my master. 

Pros. But are they, Ariel, safe? 

Aei. Not a hair perish'd; 

On their sustaining garments not a blemish. 
But fresher than before : and, as thou badest me, 
In troops I have dispersed them 'bout the isle. ^^^ 

The king's son have I landed by himself; 
Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs 
In an odd angle of the isle, and sitting, 
V His arms in this sad knot. 

Pros. Of the king's ship. 

The mariners, say how thou hast disposed. 
And all the rest o' the fleet. 

Aai. Safely in harbour 

Is the king's ship ; in the deep nook, where once 
Thou eall'dst me up at midnight to fetch dew 
From the still- vex'd Bermoothes, there she 's hid: 

213 up-staring] standing on end. 

218 sustaining garments] garments that bore them up. 

224 in this sad knot] folded thus; folded arms was commonly regarded 

as a sign of melancholy. 
229 still^vex'd Bermoothes] the island of Bermudas. Originally sighted 

and named by the Spanish seaman Juan de Bennudez in 1515, 

The mariners all under hatches stow'd; ^^^ 

Who, with a charm join'd to their suffer'd labour, 

I have left asleep : and for the rest o' the fleet. 

Which I dispersed, they all have met again. 

And are upon the Mediterranean flote, 

Bound sadly home for Naples ; 

Supposing that they saw the king's ship wreck'd, 

And his great person perish. 

Pegs. Ariel, thy charge 

Exactly is perf orm'd : but there 's more work. 
What is the time o' the day? 

Aei. Past the mid season. 

Pros. At least two glasses. The time 'twixt six and 

now 2*0 

Must by us both be spent most preciously. 

Aei. Is there more toil ? Since thou dost give me pains. 
Let me remember thee what thou hast promised. 
Which is not yet perf orm'd me. 

Pros. How now? moody? 

What is 't thou canst demand? 

the island was rediscovered by English adventurers from Virginia 
in 1609. It is distinguished by a very rocky coast, round which the 
sea roars almost perpetually. The spelling "Bermoothes" repre- 
sents the Spanish pronunciation of the name Bermudas. 

234 flote] wave, sea; from the French word flat. 

240 At least two glasses] Shakespeare would seem to mean by "two 
glasses" two hours (after noon). Again, at V, i, 186 and 223, infra, 
three hours are distinctly described as "three glasses." Shakespeare 
obviously regarded seamen's sand-glasses for measuring time as 
hourglasses. In point of fact, they were half-hour glasses. 

242 give me pains] impose tasks on me. 

Abi. My liberty. 

Pros. Before the time be out? no morel 

Aei. I prithee, 

Remember I have done thee worthy service; 
Told thee no hes, made thee no mistakings, served 
Without or grudge or gnmiblings: thou didst promise 
To bate me a full year. 

Pegs. Dost thou forget 250 

From what a torment I did free thee? 

Aei. No. 

Peos. Thou dost; and think' st it much to tread the 
ooze 
Of the salt deep, 

To run upon the sharp wind of the north, 
To do me business in the veins o' the earth 
When it is baked with frost. 

Aei. I do not, sir. 

Pegs, Thou liest, malignant thing! Hast thou for- 
got 
The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy 
Was grown into a hoop? hast thou forgot her? 

Aei. No, sir. 

Pegs. Thou hast. Where was she born? speak; 

tell me. 200 

Aei. Sir, in Argier. 

Pegs. O, was she so? I must 

Once in a month recount what thou hast been. 
Which thou forget'st. This damn'd witch Sycorax, 
For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible 

252 the ooze] the bottom. 

To enter human hearing, from Argier, 

Thou know'st, was banish'd: for one thing she did 

They would not take her life. Is not this true? 

Ari. Ay, sir. 

Pros. This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with 
child. 
And here was left by the sailors. Thou, my slave, ^^° 

As thou report'st thyself, wast then her servant; 
And, for thou wast a spirit too dehcate 
To act her earthy and abhorr'd commands. 
Refusing her grand bests, she did confine thee. 
By help of her more potent ministers, 
Aiid in her most unmitigable rage. 
Into a cloven pine; within which rift 
Imprison'd thou didst painfuUy remain 
A dozen years ; within which space she died. 
And left thee there; where thou didst vent thy groans ^^^ 
As fast as miU- wheels strike. Then was this island — 
Save for the son that she did htter here, 
A freckled whelp hag-born — not honour'd with 
A himaan shape. 

Abi. Yes, CaUban her son. 

Pegs. DuU thing, I say so ; he, that Caliban, 
Whom now I keep in service. Thou best know'st 

265 Argier] The old form of "Algiers." 

266-^67 for one thing . . . life] the reference is to the witct 's pregnancy, 

as Prospero explains immediately in the succeeding speech. 
269 blue-eyed] with blue-ish rings round the eye. Cf. As You Like It, 

in, ii, 346: "a blu£ eye and sunken." 
281 As fast as mill-wheels strike] As often and as loudly as wheels of 

windmills make their clattering revolutions. 

What torment I did find thee in; thy groans 

Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts 

Of ever-angry bears : it was a torment 

To lay upon the damn'd, which Sycorax ^^^ 

Could not again undo : it was mine art, 

When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape 

The pine, and let thee out. 

Ari. I thank thee, master. 

Pros. If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oak. 
And peg thee in his knotty entraUs, till 
Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters. 

Am. Pardon, master: 

I will be correspondent to command. 
And do my spiriting gently. 

Peos. Do so; and after two days 

I wiE discharge thee. 

Ajai. That 's my noble master! 

What shall I do? say what; what shall I do? 2"" 

Pros. Go make thyself like a nymph o' the sea : 
Be subject to no sight but thine and mine; invisible 
To every eyeball else. Go take this shape, 
And hither come in 't : go, hence with diligence ! 

\_Exit Ariel. 
Awake, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well; 
Awake! 

MiE. The strangeness of your story put 
Heaviness in me. 

Pkos. Shake it off. Come on; 

297 correspondent] amenable. 

[ 

We '11 visit Caliban my slave, who never 
Yields us kind answer. 

MiE. 'T is a villain, sir, 

I do not love to look on. 

Pros. But, as 't is, ^lo 

We cannot miss him: he does make our fire. 
Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices 
That profit us. What, ho! slave 1 Caliban! 
Thou earth, thou! speak. 

Cal. lzenthin'\ There 's wood enough within. 

Pegs. Come forth, I say! there 's other business for 
thee: 
Come, thou tortoise! when? 

Re-enter Aimei, like a water-nymph 

Fine apparition! My quaint Ariel, 
Hark in thine ear. 

Abi. My lord, it shall be done. [Exit. 

Pros. Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself 
Upon thy wicked dam, come forth! ^^^ 

Enter Caliban 

CaIj. As wicked dew as e'er my mother brush'd 
With raven's feather from rmwholesome fen 

311 miss] do without. Cf. Sonnet cxsii, 8: "thy record never can be 
missed." 

316 thou tortoise f\ The word suggests the slow gait and unwieldy form of 
Caliban. 

when?] an exclamation of impatience. 

317 qvaint] ingenious. 
3S1 wicked ] baneful. 

Drop on you both ! a south-west blow on ye 
And blister you all o'er ! 

Pegs. For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have 
cramps. 
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins 
Shall, for that vast of night that they may work, 
All exercise on thee ; thou shalt be pinch'd 
As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging 
Than bees that made 'em. 

Cai.. I must eat my dinner. ^^'^ 

This island 's mine, by Sycorax my mother. 
Which thou takest from me. When thou earnest first, 
Thou strokedst me, and madest much of me; wouldst 

give me 
Water with berries in 't; and teach me how 
To name the bigger hght, and how the less, 

323 soiitfi-west] Of all winds of the south Shakespeare speaks disparagingly. 
Cf. Cor., I, iv, 30: "All the contagion of the south light on you," and 
Cymb., II, iii, 131, "The south-fog rot him! " 

326-328 urchins . . . exercise on thee] This punctuation is Theobald's. 
In the Folios there is only a single comma in line 327, and it follows 
night. The meaning seems to be : "goblins in the shape of hedgehogs 
shall, during that desolate period of the night when they are permitted 
to work, practise all their torments on thee." An ingenious emendation 
makes the lines run : Shall forth at vast of night, that they may work All 
exercise on thee. For urchins, [i e., hedge-hogs] Cf. II, ii, 5, infra, 
"urchin shows." 

334 Water vnth berries in 't] It is doubtful if this be a premature notice of 
coffee. The reference seems to be to the berries of the cedar trees, 
out of which, according to Strachey's True Repertory of the Wrache 
. . . of the Bermudas (1610), the shipwrecked mariners made "a 
kind of pleasant drink." 

That buin by day and night: and then I loved thee. 

And show'd thee all the qualities o' th' isle. 

The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile: 

Cursed be I that did so ! All the charms 

Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on youl ^'^^ 

For I am all the subjects that you have. 

Which first was mine own king: and here you sty me 

In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me 

The rest o' th' island. 

Pegs. Thou most lying slave, 

Whom stripes may move, not kindness ! I have used thee. 
Filth as thou art, with human care; and lodged thee 
In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate 
The honour of my child. 

Cal. O ho, O ho! would 't had been donel 
Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else ^^^ 

This isle with Cahbans. 

Pros./ fV\>,-rv\of^^ Abhorred slave. 
Which any print of goodness wilt not take. 
Being capable of aU ill! I pitied thee. 
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour 
One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage. 
Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble Hke 
A thing most brutish, I endow'd thy purposes 
With words that made them known. But thy vile race. 
Though thou didst learn, had that in 't which good 

natures 
Could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou ^^ 

Deservedly confined into this rock. 
Who hadst deserved more than a prison. 

Cal. You taught me language; and my profit 
on't 
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you 
For learning me your language ! 

Peos. Hag-seed, hence! 

Fetch us in fuel; and be quick, thou 'rt best, 
To answer other business. Shrug'st thou, malice? 
If thou neglect'st, or dost unwiUingly 
What I command, I '11 rack thee with old cramps. 
Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar, s^*' 

That beasts shall tremble at thy din. 
r^AL. No, pray thee. 

IJ^Aside] I must obey: his art is of such power, 
jit would control my dam's god, Setebos, 
iAnd make a vassal of him. 

Pros. So, slave; hence 1 [Exit Caliban. 

364 The red plague] The pestilence which was distinguished by red 
sores. 

369 old cramps] cramps incident to the aged. Cf. IV, i, 259, infra, 
aged cramps. 

370 aches] Here the word is a dissyllable, and pronounced soft, like the 
letter "aitch." But in III, iii, 2, infra, "my old bones ache," "ache" 
is pronounced hard. 

373 Setebos] Shakespeare seems to have found this name in Eden's His- 
tory of Travaile (1577). Eden translates Pigafetta's account of 
Magellan's famous voyage through the straits (called after him) in 
South America. Pigafetta states that the Patagonians, who in- 
habited the northern shore of Magellan's Straits, appealed, when 
in danger, to "Setebos, that is to say, the great devil," and that 
"the greatest of these devils [in Patagonian worship] is called in 
their language, Setebos." 

Re-enter Aeiel, mvisible, playing and singmg; Feodinand 

following 

Aeiei^'s song 

Come unto these yellow sands, 

And then take hands: 
Courtsied when you have and kiss'd 

The wild waves whist: 
Foot it featly here and there; 

And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear. 380 

Hark, hark! 
Burthen [dispersedly]. Bow-wow. 
Ari. The watch-dogs bark: 

Burthen [dispersedly]. Bow-bow. 
Abi. Hark, hark! I hear 

The strain of strutting chanticleer 
Cry, Cock-a-diddle-dow. 

Fee. Where should this music be? i' th' air or th' 
earth? 
It sounds no more: and, sure, it waits upon 
Some god o' th' island. Sitting on a bank, 
Weeping again the king my father's wreck, ^90 

377-378 Courtsied . . . whist] When you have courtsied and kissed the 
wild waves into silence. Cf. Milton, Hymn on the Nativity, lines 
64-65: "The vnnds with wonder whist, Smoothly the waters kissed." 

381-382 Hark, hark! . . . Bow-wow] CapeU made the rearrangement of 
the lines which is here adopted. The First Folio inserts as a stage 
direction " Burthen dispersedly," at the extreme end of line 380, but 
fails to distinguish the words of the "burthen" from those of the song. 

386 Cry, Cock-a^diddle-dow] This line has been sometimes printed as a 
stage direction, a change worth considering. 

This music crept by me upon the waters, 
Allaying both their fury and my passion 
With its sweet air : thence I have f ollow'd it, 
Or it hath drawn me rather. But 't is gone. 
'No, it begins again. 

AaiE(L sings 

Full fathom five thy father lies; 

Of his bones are coral made; 
Those are pearls that were his eyes: 
Nothing of him that doth fade, 
But doth sufiFer a sea-change 400 

Into something rich and strange. 
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: 

Burthen: Ding-dong. 
Abi. Hark ! now I hear them, — Ding-dong, bell. 

Fer. The ditty does remember my drown'd father. 
This is no mortal business, nor no sound 
That the earth owes : — I hear it now above me. 

Pegs. The fringed cvurtains of thine eye advance. 
And say what thou seest yond. 

396-404 Full fathom . . . Ding-dong, beli] This song is printed with 
the music in Wilson's CheerfvU Ayres or Ballads (Oxford, 1660). 
The music is there assigned to R. Johnson, a well-known musical 
composer of Shakespeare's day. Cf. Ariel's song 'Where the bee 
sucks,' V, i, 88-94, infra. 

408 The fringed curtains of thine eye advance] "Advance" means here 
"raise" or "lift," as in IV, i, 177, infra, "advanced their eyelids." 
For the whole line cf. Pericles, III, ii, 104-106: "Her eyelids . . . 
Begin to part their fringes of bright gold." 

Mm. What is 't? a spirit? 

Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir, *^^ 

It carries a brave form. But 't is a spirit. 

Pegs. No, wench; it eats and sleeps and hath such 
senses 
As we have, such. This gallant which thou seest 
Was in the wreck; and, but he 's something stain'd 
With grief, that 's beauty's canker, thou mightst call 

him 
A goodly person : he hath lost his fellows. 
And strays about to fmd 'em. -^^ 

MiK. I might call him ) 

A thing divine; for nothing natural ' 

I ever saw so noble. 

Pros. lAsidel It goes on, I see. 
As my soul prompts it. Spirit, fine spirit ! I '11 free 

thee *2o 

Within two days for this. 

Fee. Most sure, the goddess 

On whom these airs attend! Vouchsafe my prayer 
May know if you remain upon this island; 
And that you will some good instruction give 
How I may bear me here : my prime request. 
Which I do last pronounce, is, O you wonder ! 
If you be maid or no? 

MiE. No wonder, sir; 

But certainly a maid. 

Fee. My language! heavens! 

I am the best of them that speak this speech. 
Were I but where 't is spoken. 

Pros. How? the best? ^30 

What wert thou, if the King of Naples heard thee? 

Fee. a single thing, as I am now, that wonders 
To hear thee speak of Naples. He does hear me; 
And that he does I weep: myself am Naples, 
Who with mine eyes, never since at ebb, beheld 
The king my father wreck'd. 

MiE. Alack, for mercy! 

Fee. Yes, faith, and all his lords ; the Duke of Milan 
And his brave son being twain. 

Peos. [Aside'l The Duke of Milan 

And his more braver daughter could control thee. 
If now 't were fit to do 't. At the first sight ^40 

They have changed eyes. Dehcate Ariel, 
I '11 set thee free for this. [To Fer.] A word, good sir; 
I fear you have done yourself some wrong: a word. 

MiE. Why speaks my father so ungently? This 
Is the third man that e'er I saw; the first 
That e'er I sigh'd for: pity move my father 
To be inclined my way! 

Fee. O, if a virgin. 

432 single] A quibbling use of the epithet in the double sense of "onft 
and the same" and "solitary" or "companionless." 

438 his brave scm] no other reference is made to any son of the Duke 
Antonio of Milan. This reference is probably a survival from the 
unknown story whence Shakespeare borrowed his plot. 

439 control] confute. 

441 changed eyes] fallen in love. 

443 dmie yourself some wrong] made a serious mistake, done an injury to 
your reputation. 

And your affection not gone forth, I '11 make you 
The queen of Naples. 

Pros. Soft, sirl one word more. 

[Adde] They are both in cither's powers : but this swift 

business *^° 

I must uneasy make, lest too light winning 
Make the prize light. [To Fer.} One word more; I 

charge thee 
That thou attend me: thou dost here usurp 
The name thou owest not; and hast put thyself 
Upon this island as a spy, to win it 
From me, the lord on 't. 

Fee. No, as I am a man. 

MiK. There 's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple : 
If the iU spirit have so fair a house. 
Good things will strive to dwell with 't. 

Pros. Follow me. 

Speak not you for him; he's a traitor. Come; *^° 

I '11 manacle thy neck and feet together: 
Sea- water shalt thou drink; thy food shall be 
The fresh-brook muscles, wither'd roots, and husks 
Wherein the acorn cradled. Follow. 

Fer. No; 

I will resist such entertainment tiH 
Mine enemy has more power. 

{Draws, and is charmed from moving. 

Mir. O dear father. 

Make not too rash a trial of him, for 
He 's gentle, and not fearful. 

468 He 's gentle . . , fearful] He 's of gentle birth, and not formidable. 

Pbos. What! I say. 

My foot my tutor? Put thy sword up, traitor; 
Who makest a show, but darest not strike, thy conscience 
Is so possess'd with guilt : come from thy ward; ^^^ 

For I can here disarm thee with this stick 
And make thy weapon drop. 

MiE. Beseech you, father. 

Pros. Hence! hang not on my garments. 

Mir. Sir, have pity; 

I '11 be his surety. 

Pros. SUence! one word more 

Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What! 
An advocate for an impostor! hush! 
Thou think'st there is no more such shapes as he. 
Having seen but him and Cahban: foolish wench! 
iTo the most of men this is a Cahban, '^^^ 

And they to him are angels. 

Mir. My affections 

Are, then, most humble; I have no ambition 
To see a goodUer man. 

Pros. Come on; obey: 

Thy nerves are in their infancy again. 
And have no vigoiu* in them. 

Fee. So they are: 

My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up. 

469 My foot my tvtorf] A proverbial phrase meaning "Shall an mferior 

object exercise authority over me ? " 
471 come from thy ward] give up that posture of defence (which does not 

alarm me). 
484 nerves] sinews. 

My father's loss, the weakness which I feel, 

The wreck of all my friends, nor this man's threats, 

To whom I am subdued, are but hght to me. 

Might I but through my prison once a day ^^*^ 

Behold this maid: all corners else o' th' earth 

Let hberty make use of; space enough 

Have I in such a prison. 

Pros. [Aside] It works. [To Fer.] Come on. 

Thou hast done well, fine Ariel! [To Fer.] Follow me. 
[To Art.] Hark what thou else shalt do me. 

MiK. Be of comfort; 

My father 's of a better nature, sir. 
Than he appears by speech: this is unwonted 
Which now came from him. 

Pegs, Thou shalt be as free 

As mountain winds : but then exactly do 
All points of my command. 

Abi. To the syllable. ^oo 

Pegs. Come, foUow. Speak not for him. [Exeunt.

ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND 

Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adeian, 
drt-Kr^Am Francisco, and others 

'ESEECH YOU, SIR, BE 

merry ; you have cause. 

So have we all, of joy; for our 

escape 

Is much beyond our loss. Our 

hint of woe 

Is common; every day, some 

sailor's wife. 

The masters of some merchant, 

and the merchant. 

Have just our theme of woe; 

but for the miracle, 

I mean our preservation, few in 

millions 

Can speak like us : then wisely, good sir, weigh 
Our sorrow with our comfort. 

S hint] theme. Cf. I, ii, 134, supra, and note. 
B inerchant] merchant-vessel. 

Axon. Prithee, peace. 

Seb. He receives comfort like cold porridge. ^^ 

Ant. The visitor will not give him o'er so. 

Seb. Look, he 's winding up the watch of his wit; by 
and by it will strike. 

GoN. Sir, — 

Seb, One: tell. 

GoN. When every grief is entertain'd that 's offer'd, 
Comes to the entertainer — 

Seb. a dollar. 

GoN. Dolour comes to him, indeed: you have spoken 
truer than you purposed, ^^ 

Seb. You have taken it wiselier than I meant you 
should. 

GoN. Therefore, my lord, — 

Ant, Fie, what a spendthrift is he of his tongue! 

Axon. I prithee, spare. 

GoN. Well, I have done : but yet, — 

Seb, He will be talking. 

Ant. Which, of he or Adrian, for a good wager, first 
begins to crow? 

Seb. The old cock. 

11 The visitor ... so] Gonzalo is likened to one who visits the sick. 

15 tell] count. 

18 A dollar] Sebastian affects to take "entertainer " (line 17) in the sense 
of "innkeeper," to whom dollars or coins "come" naturally. Gon- 
zalo in reply punningly mistakes dollar, the coin, for dolour, grief. 
For the same pun cf. Meas. for Meas., I, ii, 48, and Lear, 11, iv, 53. 

27 Which, of he or Adrian] Which of the two, he or Adrian ? Such a 
construction, though obsolete now, is not uncommon in Elizabethan 
English. 

Ant. The cockerel. ^^ 

See, Done. The wager? 
Ant. a laughter. 
See. a match! 

Ade. Though this island seem to be desert, — 
See. Ha, ha, ha! — So, you 're paid. 
Adr. Uninhabitable, and almost inaccessible, — 
See. Yet,— 
Adk. Yet, — 

Ant. He could not miss 't. 

Ade. It must needs be of subtle, tender and delicate ^^ 
temperance. 
Ant. Temperance was a delicate wench. 
See. Ay, and a subtle ; as he most learnedly delivered. 
Ade. The air breathes upon us here most sweetly. 
See. As if it had lungs, and rotten ones. 
Ant. Or as 't were perfumed by a fen. 
GoN. Here is everything advantageous to life. 
Ant. True; save means to live. 
See. Of that there 's none, or little. 
GoN. How lush and lusty the grass looks! how green! ^*' 
Ant. The ground, indeed, is tawny. 

32-35 A laughter . . . paid] Laughter is the wager. The one who 
crows or speaks first wins the bet, and the loser is to pay with a 
laugh. Adrian speaks first; Sebastian loses the wager and pays his 
adversary with ' ' Ha, ha, ha ! " 

39 He could not miss't] He could not miss the word "yet." 

41 temperance] temperature. In the next line the word is used in its 
more ordinary sense of one of the cardinal virtues ; it was a favourite 
name of girls in Puritan circles. 

60 lush] succulent, juicy, luxuriant. 

Seb. With an eye of green in 't. 

Ant. He misses not much. 

Seb. No; he doth but mistake the truth totally. 

GoN. But the rarity of it is, — which is indeed almost 
beyond credit, — 

Seb. As many vouched rarities are. 

GoN. That our garments, being, as they were, 
drenched in the sea, hold, notwithstanding, their fresh- 
ness and glosses, being rather new-dyed than stained 
with salt water. ^^ 

Ant. If but one of his pockets could speak, would it 
not say he lies? 

Seb. Ay, or very falsely pocket up his report. 

GoN. Methinks our garments are now as fresh as 
when we put them on first in Afric, at the marriage of 
the king's fair daughter Claribel to the King of Tunis. 

Seb. 'T was a sweet marriage, and we prosper well in 
our return. 

Adr. Tunis was never graced before with such a par- 
agon to their queen. 

GoN. Not since widow Dido's time. 

Ant. Widow! a pox o' that 1 How came that widow 
in? widow Dido! 

Seb. What if he had said "widower ^Eneas " too? 
Good Lord, how you take it! 

Ade. " Widow Dido " said you? you make me study 
of that: she was of Carthage, not of Tunis. 

70 

62 an eye of green] a shade or tinge of green, 
70 to their queen] for their queen. 

THE TEMPEST act n 

GoN. This Tunis, sir, was Carthage. 

Ade. Carthage? 

GoN. I assure you, Carthage. ^'^ 

Ant. His word is more than the miraculous harp. 

Seb. He hath raised the wall, and houses too. 

Ant. What impossible matter will he make easy next? 

Seb. I think he will carry this island home in his 
pocket, and give it his son for an apple. 

Ant. And, sowing the kernels of it in the sea, bring 
forth more islands. 

GoN. Ay. 

Ant. Why, in good time. 

GoN. Sir, we were talking that our garments seem ®*^ 
now as fresh as when we were at Tunis at the marriage 
of your daughter, who is now queen. 

Ant. And the rarest that e'er came there. 

Seb. Bate, I beseech you, widow Dido. 

Ant. O, widow Dido I ay, widow Dido. 

GoN. Is not, sir, my doublet as fresh as the first day 
I wore it? I mean, in a sort. 

Ant. That sort was well fished for. 

81 the miracvhus harp] The reference is probably to the music of Apollo's 
lyre, which, according to Ovid's Heroides, XVI, 179, miraculously 
called into being the walls and towers of Troy. Ovid also, in Meta- 
morphoses, VI, 178, alludes to Amphion's creation of the walls of 
Thebes by means of his lyre. But the context suggests more closely 
the story of Apollo's magic music. 

97 in a sort] comparatively. Sort in line 98 hardly seems to mean more 
than "qualification," though there may be a quibble on the word's 
meaning of "lot " or "chance." Well fished for means that Gonzalo's 
qualifying phrase "in a sort" was long in coming (to land). 

GoN. When I wore it at your daughter's marriage? 

Ajlon. You cram these words into mine ears 

against lO" 

The stomach of my sense. Would I had never 
Married my daughter there! for, coming thence. 
My son is lost, and, in my rate, she too. 
Who is so far from Italy removed 
I ne'er again shall see her. O thou mine heir 
Of Naples and of Milan, what strange fish 
Hath made his meal on thee? 

Fran. Sir, he may hve : 

I saw him beat the surges under him. 
And ride upon their backs ; he trod the water, 
Whose enmity he flung aside, and breasted ^^" 

The surge most swoln that met him; his bold head 
'Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oar'd 
Himself with his good arms in lusty stroke 
To the shore, that o'er his wave-worn basis bow'd, 
As stooping to reheve him: I not doubt 
He came aUve to land. 

Axon. No, no, he 's gone. 

Seb. Sir, you may thank yourself for this great 
loss. 
That would not bless our Europe with your daughter. 
But rather lose her to an African; 

100-101 against The stomach of my sense\ without my wishing to hear 

them, contrary to the appetite of my feelings. 
103 in my rate] in my reckoning or opinion. 
114 his wave-worn basis] the wave- worn base or ground of the shore; 

"his" is the common form of "its." 

[39 J 

Where she, at least, is banish'd from your eye, ^^^ 

Who hath cause to wet the grief on 't. 

Alon. Prithee, peace. 

Seb. You were kneel'd to, and importuned otherwise. 
By all of us ; and the fair soiil herself 
Weigh'd between loathness and obedience, at 
Which end o' the beam should bow. We have lost your 

son, 
I fear, for ever : MUan and Naples have 
Mo widows in them of this business' making 
Than we bring men to comfort them: 
The fault 's your own. 

Alon. So is the dear'st o' the loss. 

GoN. My lord Sebastian, ^^^ 

The truth you speak doth lack some gentleness, 
And time to speak it in: you rub the sore. 
When you should bring the plaster. 

Seb. Very well. 

Ant. And most chirurgeonly. 

120-121 your eye. Who hath cause . . . on't\ The antecedent to "who" 
is probably "she" of the previous line. The meaning is that "the 
princess hath cause to grieve in tears over her banishment." 

124-125 Weigh'd . . . haw] Thus the Folios. The meaning is: "Hesi- 
tated or deliberated between reluctance and obedience as to which 
way the balance should incline, as to what decision she should take." 
The subject of "should bow" is omitted; "it," i. e., the balancing 
of ClaribeU's mind, is understood. Capell proposed to read she'd 
[i.e., "she would"] for should, thereby greatly simplifying the 
original reading. 

129 dear'st] greatest, bitterest. Cf. Hamlet, I, ii, 182, "my dearest foe." 

134 chirurgeonly] surgeon-like. 

[40J 

GoN. It is foul weather in us all, good sir, 
When you are cloudy. 

Seb. Foul weather? 

Ant. Very foul. 

GoN. Had I plantation of this isle, my lord, — 

Ajstt. He 'Id sow 't with nettle-seed. 

Seb. Or docks, or mallows. 

GoN. And were the king on 't, what would I do? 

Seb. 'Scape being drunk for want of wine. ^*° 

GoN. I' the commonwealth I would by contraries 
Execute all things ; for no kind of traffic 
Would I admit; no name of magistrate; 
Letters should not be known; riches, poverty, 
And use of service, none ; contract, succession. 
Bourn, bound of land, tUth, vineyard, none; 
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil; 
No occupation; aU men idle, aU; 
And women too, but innocent and pure ; 
No sovereignty; — 

Seb. Yet he would be king on 't. ^^'^ 

Ant. The latter end of his commonwealth forgets the 
beginning. 

137 plantation] colonisation. A "plantation" was also the ordinary word 
at the time for "a colony." 

141-162 r the commonwealth . . . golden age] These Imes closely imitate 
two passages from Montaigne's Essay on Cannibals, in which he de- 
scribes the imaginary ideal state of the native communities in newly 
discovered America. Florio's translation of Montaigne's Essays was 
first published in 1603. But there is some ground for thinking that 
Shakespeare here followed the French original. 

145 successicm] tenure of property by inheritance. 

GoN. All things in common nature should produce 
Without sweat or endeavour : treason, felony. 
Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine. 
Would I not have ; but nature should bring forth. 
Of its own kind, all foison, all abundance. 
To feed my innocent people. 

Seb. No marrying 'mong his subjects? 

Ant. None, man; all idle; whores and knaves. ^^° 

GoN. I would with such perfection govern, sir, 
To excel the golden age. 

Seb. 'Save his majesty! 

Ant. Long live Gonzalo ! 

GoN. And, — do you mark me, sir? 

Axon. Prithee, no more : thou dost talk nothing to me. 

GoN. I do well beUeve your highness; and did it to 
minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are of such 
sensible and nimble lungs that they always use to laugh 
at nothing. 

Ant. 'T was you we laughed at. 

GoN. Who in this kind of merry fooling am nothing 
to you : so you may continue, and laugh at nothing still. ^^° 

Ant. What a blow was there given! 

Seb. An it had not fallen flat-long. 

Gon. You are gentlemen of brave mettle ; you would 
lift the moon out of her sphere, if she would continue in 
it five weeks without changing. 

155 engine] sc. of war. 

157 foison] harvest. Cf. IV, i, 110, infra, "foison plenty," and Sonnet 

liii, 9, "foison of the year." 
172 fallen fkit-long] hit with the flat of the sword (instead of with the edge). 

Enter Aeiel {imnsible) playing solemn music 

Seb. We would so, and then go a bat-fowling. 

Ant. Nay, good my lord, be not angry. 

GoN. 'No, I warrant you; I will not adventure my 
discretion so weakly. Will you laugh me asleep, for I 
am very heavy? i^o 

Ant. Go sleep, and hear us. 

\^All sleep except Alon., Seb., cmd Ant. 

Alon. What, aU so soon asleep ! I wish mine eyes 
Would, with themselves, shut up my thoughts: I find 
They are inclined to do so. 

Seb, Please you, sir. 

Do not omit the heavy offer of it: 
It seldom visits sorrow; when it doth, 
It is a comforter. 

Ant. We two, my lord, 

Will guard your person while you take your rest. 
And watch your safety. 

Alon. Thank you. — Wondrous heavy. 

[Alonso sleeps. Exit Ariel. 

Seb. What a strange drowsiness possesses them! ^^° 

176 bat-fowling] catching birds by night, by suddenly lighting a fire about 
them, and then batting or cudgelling them as they endeavour to 
escape. 

178-179 I will not . . . weakly] I will not risk my character for discretion 
by conduct so weak. 

181 Go sleep, and hear us] sc. laugh. Gonzalo suggests in the previous 
line that laughter will send him to sleep. Antonio accepts the sug- 
gestion that laughter will keep him slumbering. 

185 omit the heavy offer of it] neglect the offer of heavy sleep. 

Ant. It is the quality o' the climate. 

Seb. Why 

Doth it not then our eyelids sink? I find not 
Myself disposed to sleep. 

Ant. Nor I ; my spirits are nimble. 

They fell together all, as by consent ; 
They dropp'd, as by a thunder-stroke. What might. 
Worthy Sebastian? — O, what might? — No more: — 
And yet methinks I see it in thy face. 
What thou shouldst be: the occasion speaks thee; 

and 
My strong imagination sees a crown 
Dropping upon thy head. 

Seb. What, art thou waking? 200 

Ant. Do you not hear me speak? 

Seb. I do; and surely 

It is a sleepy language, and thou speak'st 
Out of thy sleep. What is it thou didst say? 
This is a strange repose, to be asleep 
With eyes wide open; standing, speaking, moving. 
And yet so fast asleep. 

Ant. Noble Sebastian, 

Thou let'st thy fortune sleep — die, rather ; wink'st 
Whiles thou art waking. 

Seb. Thou dost snore distinctly; 

There 's meaning in thy snores. 

Ant. I am more serious than my custom: you ^^'^ 

198 speaks thee] proclaims thy destiny. 

207-208 wink'st Whiles thou art waking] closest thine eyes whilst thou 
art awake. 

Must be so too, if heed me; which to do 
Trebles thee o'er. 

Seb. Well, I am standing water. 

Ant. I '11 teach you how to flow. 

Seb. Do so: to ebb 

Hereditary sloth instructs me. 

Ant. O, 

If you but knew how you the purpose cherish 
Whiles thus you mock it! how, in stripping it. 
You more invest it! Ebbing men, indeed. 
Most often do so near the bottom run 
By their own fear or sloth. 

Seb. Prithee, say on: 

The setting of thine eye and cheek proclaim ^^° 

A matter from thee; and a birth, indeed. 
Which throes thee much to yield. 

Ant. Thus, sir: 

Although this lord of weak remembrance, this. 
Who shall be of as little memory 
When he is earth'd, hath here almost persuaded, — 

212 Trebles thee o'er] Makes thee thrice what thou now art. 

standing water] neither flowing nor ebbing, passive. Cf . Tw. Night, 

I, V, 150: '"t is with him in standing water." 
216-217 how, in stripping it, . . . invest it] how, in stripping the purpose 

of obscurity, you invest it with the more approval. 
217 Ebbing men] men whose fortunes are declining. Cf. Ant. and Cleop., 

I, iv, 43: "the ebb'd man." 
220 The setting of thine eye] The fixity, fixed expression. Cf . Ill, ii, 7-8 : 

"thy eyes are almost set in thy head." 

222 throes . . . yield] pains thee greatly to utter. 

223 weak remembrance] feeble memory. 

For he 's a spirit of persuasion, only 

Professes to persuade, — the king his son 's alive, 

'T is as impossible that he 's undrown'd 

As he that sleeps here swims. 

Seb. I have no hope 

That he 's undrown'd. 

Ant. O, out of that " no hope " 230 

What great hope have you! no hope that way is 
Another way so high a hope that even 
Ambition cannot pierce a wink beyond. 
But doubt discovery there. Will you grant with me 
That Ferdinand is drown'd? 

Seb. He 's gone. 

Ant. Then, tell me. 

Who 's the next heir of Naples? 

See. Claribel. 

Ant. She that is queen of Tunis ; she that dwells 
Ten leagues beyond man's life; she that from Naples 
Can have no note, unless the sun were post, — 
The man i' the moon 's too slow, — tiU new-born chins ^40 
Be rough and razorable; she that from whom 

226-227 only . . . persuade] persuading is his only profession. 

231-234 "no hope "... discovery] no hope of the prince's safety 

amounts, from another point of view, to so lofty a design that even 

ambition cannot reach a jot further, cannot but be doubtful of 

discovering anything beyond. 
238 Ten leagues beyond man's life] A greater distance than man could 

travel in a lifetime. 
241 she that from whom] Thus the Folios; the meaning is: "the very 

person in coming from whom." Rowe proposed to omit that. It is 

quite possible that "that" is repeated by a compositor's error from 

line 238, "she that from Naples." 

We all were sea-swallow'd, though some cast again, 
And by that destuiy, to perform an act 
Whereof what 's past is prologue; what to come, 
In yours and my discharge. 

Seb. What stuff is this ! How say you? 

'T is true, my brother's daughter 's queen of Tunis ; 
So is she heir of Naples; 'twixt which regions 
There is some space. 

Ant. a space whose every cubit 

Seems to cry out, " How shall that Claribel 
Measure us back to Naples? Keep in Tunis, ^^^ 

And let Sebastian wake." Say, this were death 
That now hath seized them; why, they were no worse 
Than now they are. There be that can rule Naples 
As well as he that sleeps ; lords that can prate 
As amply and unnecessarily 
As this Gonzalo ; I myself could make 
A chough of as deep chat. O, that you bore 
The mind that I do! what a sleep were this 
For your advancement! Do you understand me? 

Seb. Methinks I do. 

Ant. And how does your content ^^^ 

Tender your own good fortune? 

Seb. I remember 

You did supplant your brother Prospero. 

245 In yours . . . discharge] depends on what you and I will do. 

250 Measure . . . Tunis] Follow us back to Naples ? Let Claribel stay 

in Tunis. 
257 A chough . . . chat] A chough or jackdaw able to talk as profoundly. 
260-261 how does your content . . . fortune?] are you content or willing to 

look after your own good fortune ? 

Ant. True: 

And look how well my garments sit upon me ; 
Much f eater than before : my brother's servants 
Were then my fellows ; now they are my men. 

Seb. But, for your conscience. 

Ant. Ay, sir; where hes that? if 't were a kibe, 
'T would put me to my shpper : but I feel not 
This deity in my bosom: twenty consciences, 
That stand 'twixt me and Milan, candied be they, ^^° 

And melt, ere they molest! Here lies your brother, 
No better than the earth he hes upon. 
If he were that which now he 's hke, that 's dead ; 
Whom I, with this obedient steel, three inches of it, 
Can lay to bed for ever; whiles you, doing thus. 
To the perpetual wink for aye might put 
This ancient morsel, this Sir Prudence, who 
Should not upbraid our course. For all the rest, 
^They '11 take suggestion as a cat laps milk; 
They '11 tell the clock to any business that ^80 

We say befits the hour. 

Seb. Thy case, dear friend. 

264 f eater] more featly, gracefully. Cf. I, ii, 379, supra, " Foot it 
feaUy." 

270-271 candied . . . melt] let them congeal and melt away, as con- 
gealed thmga must. Cf. Tim. of Ath., IV, iii, 225: "Candied 
with ice." 

273 thM 's dead] Farmer took these words to be a marginal note, which 
was not intended for admission into the text. They are redundant, 
save that they make plainer the words which precede them. 

276 perpetiud vrink] eternal sleep of death. 

279 take suggestion] succumb to temptation. 

Shall be my precedent; as thou got'st Milan, 
I 'U come by Naples. Draw thy sword: one stroke 
Shall free thee from the tribute which thou payest; 
And I the king shall love thee. 

Ant. Draw together; 

And when I rear my hand, do you the hke 
To fall it on Gonzalo. 

Seb. O, but one word. [Thet/ talk apart. 

Re-enter Aeiel invisible 

Am. My master through his art foresees the danger 
That you, his friend, are in; and sends me forth, — 
For else his project dies, — to keep them living. / ^^^ 

l^Svngs in Gonzalo^s ear. 

While you here do snoring lie, 
Open-eyed conspiracy 

His time doth take. 
If of life you keep a care, 
Sliake off slumber, and beware: 

Awake, awake! 

Ant. Then let us both be sudden. 

GoN. Now, ..good^aiigels^ 

Preserve the king! [They make. 

Axon. Why, how now? ho, awake 1 — why are you 
drawn? 
Wherefore this ghastly looking? 

290 to keep them living] " Them " refers to Gonzalo and Alonso. Ariel 

is half apostrophising Gonzalo and half talking to himself. 
299 are you dravmf] are your swords drawn ? 
4 [49] 

GoN. What 's the matter? ^oo 

Seb. Whiles we stood here securing your repose. 
Even now, we heard a hollow biu-st of bellowing 
Like bulls, or rather hons: did 't not wake you? 
It struck mine ear most terribly. 

Alon. I heard nothing. 

Ant. O, 't was a din to fright a monster's ear, 
To make an earthquake ! sure, it was the roar 
Of a whole herd of hons. 

Alon. Heard you this, Gk)nzalo? 

GoN. Upon mine honour, sir, I heard a humming. 
And that a strange one too, which did awake me: 
I shaked you, sir, and cried: as mine eyes open'd, ^^° 

I saw their weapons drawn: — there was a noise. 
That 's verily. 'T is best we stand upon our guard. 
Or that we quit this place : let 's draw our weapons. 

Alon. Lead off this ground; and let 's make further 
search 
For my poor son. 

GoN. Heavens keep him from these beasts! 

For he is, sure, i' th' island. 

Alon. Lead away. 

Abi. Prospero my lord shall know what I have 
done: 
So, king, go safely on to seek thy son. [Exeunt. 

312 That's verily] That's in truth, that's true. The adverb is used like 
an adjective. Pope needlessly substituted That '« verity. 

SCENE n— ANOTHER PAKT OF THE ISLAND 

Enter Caliban vnth a burden oj wood. A noise of 
thunder heard 

Cal. All the infections that the sun sucks up 
From bogs, fens, flats, on PiQsper^faU, and make him 
By inch-meal a disease! His spirits hear me. 
And yet I needs must curse. But they 'U nor pinch, 
Fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i' the mire. 
Nor lead me, Uke a firebrand, in the dark 
Out of my way, unless he bid 'em: but 
For every trifle are they set upon me; 
Sometime hke apes, that mow and chatter at me. 
And after bite me ; then like hedgehogs, which ^^ 

Lie tumbUng in my barefoot way, and mount 
Their pricks at my footfall; sometime am I 
All wound with adders, who with cloven tongues 
Do hiss me into madness. 

Enter Tkjncuixj 

Lo, now, lo! 
Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me 
For bringing wood in slowly. I'll fall flat; 
Perchance he will not mind me. 

3 By inchr-meal] By inches, piecemeal. Cf. Cymb., IT, iv, 147: "limb- 
meal," limb-by-limb. 
5 urchin^shows] goblins in the shape of hedgehogs. Cf. I, ii, 326, supra. 
9 mow] make grimaces. 
^ 13 wound] twisted round, enwrapped. 

Tkin. Here 's neither bush nor shrub, to bear off any 
weather at all, and another storm brewing; I hear it 
sing i' the wind: yond same black cloud, yond huge one, ^^ 
looks like a foul bombard that would shed his hquor. 
If it should thunder as it did before, I know not where 
to hide my head: yond same cloud cannot choose but faU 
bypaUfuls. What have we here? a man or a fish? dead 
or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient 
and fish-like smell; a kind of not of the newest Poor- 
John. A strange fish! Were I in England now, as 
once I was, and had but this fish painted, not a holiday 
fool there but would give a piece of silver: there would 
this monster make a man; any strange beast there ^^ 
makes a man: when they wiU not give a doit to relieve 
a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian. 
Legged like a man ! and his fins Hke arms ! Warm o' my 
troth I I do now let loose my opinion; hold it no longer : 
this is no fish, but an islander, that hath lately suffered by 
a thunderbolt. [Thunder.] Alas, the storm is come again ! 

18-19 hear ojf . . . at all] bear the fury of the storm, and so keep it ofip me. 

19-20 storm . . . vnnd] Cf. M. Wives, III, ii, 31: "A man may hear 
this shower sing in the wind," and note. 

21 bombard] a large tankard or drinking vessel. 

26 Poor-John] A coarse fish; the name is often applied to "hake," 
which was eaten salted and dried. 

29 make a man] make a man's fortune. 

32 a dead Indian] Several American Indians wfere brought home by 
explorers of the New World during Shakespeare's lifetime, and 
excited vast popular curiosity. The deaths of several of these visitors 
are recorded, and the body of one of them was probably exhibited 
to the public shortly before this play was performed. 

my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no 
other shelter hereabout: misery acquaints a man with 
strange bed-fellows. I wiU here shroud till the dregs of 
the storm be past. 

Enter Stephano, smgmg: a bottle m his hand 

Ste. I shall no more to sea, to sea, 40 

Here shall I die a-shore, — 

This is a very scurvy time to sing at a man's funeral: 
well, here 's my comfort. [Drrnks. 

[Sings. The master, the swabber, the boatswain, and I, 

The gunner, and his mate. 
Loved Mall, Meg, and Marian, and Margery, 

But none of us cared for Kate; 

For she had a tongue with a tang. 

Would cry to a sailor. Go hang! 
She loved not the savour of tar nor of pitch; SO 

Yet a tailor might scratch her where'er she did itch. 

Then, to sea, boys, and let her go hang! 

This is a scurvy tune too : but here 's my comfort. [Drinks. 

Cal. Do not torment me: — O! 

Ste. What 's the matter? Have we devils here? Do 
you put tricks upon 's with salvages and men of Ind, ha? 

37 gaberdine] a coarse outer cloak. Cf. Merck, of Ven., I, iii, 107: "my 

Jewish gaberdine." 
39 dregs] last drops. 

44 swabber] the sailor ■whose business it was to "swab " or mop the decks. 
66 put tricks upon's] apparently a reference to the trickery practised by 
showmen of outlandish men or beasts. 

and men of Ind] Cf. L. L. L., TV, iii, 218: "rude and 

I have not scaped drowning, to be afeard now of your 
four legs; for it hath been said. As proper a man as ever 
went on four legs cannot make him give grounds ; and 
it shall be said so again, while Stephano breathes at 
nostrils. ^"^ 

Cal. The spirit torments me : — O ! 

Ste. This is some monster of the isle with four legs, 
who hath got, as I take it, an ague. Whiere the devU 
should he learn our language? I will give him some 
reUef, if it be but for that. If I can recover him, and 
keep him tame, and get to Naples with him, he 's a pres- 
ent for any emperor that ever trod on neat's-leather. 

Cal. Do not torment me, prithee; I '11 bring my wood 
home faster. 

Ste. He 's in his fit now, and does not talk after the ^^ 
wisest. He shall taste of my bottle: if he have never 
drunk wine afore, it will go near to remove his fit. If I 
can recover him, and keep him tame, I will not take too 
much for him; he shall pay for him that hath him, and 
that soundly. 

savage man of Inde." Both America and Asia were known indiffer- 
ently as "Ind" or "India" in Shakespeare's day, though "West 
Indies" was a title more correctly borne by America, as "East 
Indies" was the juster name of Southern Asia. "A man of Ind" 
was the term frequently applied to an American Indian. 

68-59 a jnan . . . on jour legs\ often said of a man on crutches. 

67 neat's-leather] cowhide or calf's skin. Cf . Wird. Tale, I, ii, 124-125 : 
"And yet the steer, the heifer and the calf Are all call'd neat," and 
Jid. Goes., I, i, 26: "As proper men as ever trod upon neat's-leather." 

73-74 I will not take too much for him] an ironical way of saying "I will 
take all I can get." 

80 

Cal. Thou dost me yet but little hurt; thou wilt anon, 
I know it by thy trembling: now Prosper works upon 
thee. 

Ste. Come on your ways; open your mouth; here is 
that which will give language to you, cat: open your 
mouth; this will shake your shaking, I can teU you, and 
that soundly: you cannot tell who 's your friend: open 
your chaps again. 

Tein. I should know that voice : it should be — but 
he is drowned; and these are devils: — O defend me! 

Ste. Four legs and two voices, — a most delicate 
monster! His forward voice, now, is to speak well of his 
friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches and 
to detract. If aU the wine in my bottle will recover him, 
I will help his ague. Come : — Amen ! I will pour some 
in thy other mouth. 

Trin. Stephano! 

Ste. Doth thy other mouth call me? Mercy, mercy! ®° 
This is a devil, and no monster: I will leave him; I have 
no long spoon. 

Trin. Stephano! If thou beest Stephano, touch me, 
and speak to me ; for I am Trinculo, — be not af card, 
— thy good friend Trinculo. 

Ste. If thou beest Trinculo, come forth : I '11 pull thee 
by the lesser legs: if any be Trinculo's legs, these are 
they. Thou art very Trinculo indeed! How earnest 

76 trembling] a recognised sign of demoniacal possession. 
78 cat] Cf. the proverb "Good liquor will make a cat speak." 
91-92 I have no long spoon] Cf. Com. of Errors, IV, iii, 58-59: "Many, 
he must have a Umg spoon that must eat with the devil," and note. 

thou to be the siege of this moon-calf? can he vent 
Trinculos? ^9 

Tein. I took him to be kUled with a thunder-stroke. 
But art thou not drowned, Stephano? I hope, now, thou 
art not drowned. Is the storm overblown? I hid me 
under the dead moon-calf's gaberdine for fear of the 
storm. And art thou hving, Stephano? O Stephano, 
two Neapohtans scaped 1 

Ste, Prithee, do not turn me about; my stomach is 
not constant. 

Cajl,. [Aside.] These be fine things, an if they be not 
sprites. 
That 's a brave god, and bears celestial liquor : 
I wiU kneel to him, i^" 

Ste. How didst thou 'scape? How earnest thou 
hither? swear, by this bottle, how thou camest hither. I 
escaped upon a butt of sack, which the sailors heaved 
o'erboard, by this bottle! which I made of the bark of 
a tree with mine own hands, since I was cast ashore. 

Cai,. I 'U swear, upon that bottle, to be thy true sub- 
ject; for the hquor is not earthly. 

Ste. Here ; swear, then, how thou escapedst. 

Tein. Swum ashore, man, Uke a duck: I can swim 
like a duck, I '11 be sworn. 120 

Ste. Here, kiss the book. Though thou canst swim 
Hke a duck, thou art made like a goose. 

99 the siege of this moon-calf] the seat of this abortion (misshapen through 

lunar influence). 
106 not constant] unsteady. 
121 kiss the book] Stephano puts the bottle to Trinculo's lips. Cf . line 132, 

'"^"- [ 66 ] 

Tein. O Stephano, hast any more of this? 

Ste. The whole butt, man: my cellar is in a rock by 
the sea-side, where my wine is hid. How now, moon- 
calf! how does thine ague? 

Cal. Hast thou not dropp'd from heaven? 

Ste. Out o' the moon, I do assure thee: I was the 
man i' the moon when time was. ^^^ 

Cal. I have seen thee in her, and I do adore thee: 
my mistress show'd me thee, and thy dog, and thy bush. 

Ste. Come, swear to that; kiss the book: I wiU fur- 
nish it anon with new contents : swear. 

Tein. By this good hght, this is a very shallow mon- 
ster! I afeard of him! A very weak monster! The 
man i' the moon ! A most poor credulous monster ! WeU 
drawn, monster, in good sooth! 

Cal. I 'U show thee every fertile inch o' th' island; 
and I will kiss thy foot : I prithee, be my god. 

Tein. By this light, a most perfidious and drunken 
monster ! when 's god 's asleep, he '11 rob his bottle. ^*^ 

Cat., I '11 kiss thy foot; I '11 swear myself thy subject. 

Ste. Come on, then; down, and swear. 

Tein. I shall laugh myself to death at this puppy- 
headed monster. A most scurvy monster ! I could find 
in my heart to beat him, — 

Ste, Come, kiss. 

Tein. But that the poor monster's in drink. An 
abominable monster! 

131 thy dog, and thy bush] allusion to the superstition that the man in the 
moon has a dog and a thorn bush. Cf . Mids. N. Dr., V, i, 134-135. 
136 WeU dravm] Heartily quaffed. 

Cal. I '11 show thee the best springs ; I '11 pluck thee 

berries ; iso 

I '11 fish for thee, and get thee wood enough. 
A plague upon the tyrant that I serve! 
I '11 bear him no more sticks, but follow thee, 
Thou wondrous man. 

Tein. a most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder 
of a poor drunkard! 

Cal. I prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow; 
And I with my long nails will dig thee pig-nuts ; 
Show thee a jay's nest, and instruct thee how 
To snare the nimble marmoset ; I 'II bring thee ^^^ 

To clustering filberts, and sometimes I '11 get thee 
Young scamels from the rock. Wilt thou go with me? 

Ste. I prithee now, lead the way, without any more 
talking. Trinculo, the king and all our company else 

157 crabs] crab-apples. 

158 pig-nvts] the country name of earth chestnuts, which grow under- 
ground. The plant is called by botanists Bunium ■flextiosum or Crnio- 
podium cienudatum,. 

160 marmoset] a kind of ape or baboon now only indigenous to South Amer- 
ica, but found according to medieval travellers in many parts of Asia. 

162 scameh] Thus the Folios ; the meaning of the word is uncertain. In 
Norfolk the female bar-tailed godwit is occasionally called a "sea- 
mell," but this bird is not a rock-breeder. Theobald proposed to 
read seor-mells or sea-malls, a name doubtfully said to be applied to 
the "sea-mew" or "sea-gull." Others suggest staniels, i. e., rock- 
breeding restrels or hawks. But in all probability sea-owls should 
be read. Strachey, in his True Repertory of Virginia, mentions his 
discovery of blind birds, which he called "sea-owls"; the text may 
well refer to these birds. Cf. Ariel's song: "There I couch when 
owls do cry" (V, i, 90, infra). 

being drowned, we will inherit here: here; bear my 
bottle : fellow Trinculo, we '11 fill him by and by again. 

Cal. sings drunkenly.] Farewell, master; farewell, farewell! 
Tein. a howling monster; a drunken monster! 

Cal. No more dams I '11 make for fish; 

Nor fetch in firing ITO 

At requiring; 
Nor scrape trencher, nor wash dish: 
'Ban, 'Ban, Cacaliban 
Has a new master: — get a new man. 

Freedom, hey-day! hey-day, freedom! freedom, hey- 
day, freedom! 

Ste. O brave monster! Lead the way. [Exeunt. 

169 No more dams . . . fish] A reference to the artificial fish weirs, in 
making which the aborigines of Virginia were very skilful. Ralph 
Lane describes how, on his visit to Virginia in 1586, he set the Indians 
to make weirs or dams in order to provide supplies of fish for food. 
The English explorers of Virginia were unable to master the intri- 
cate manner of construction and often expressed fear that disaffected 
Indians might destroy the fish-dams and imperil a chief source of 
the colonists' sustenance. Cf. Hakluyt's Voyages (ed. 1904, VIII, 
334-336 seq.). 

174 get a new man] Caliban bids Prospero find a new servant.

BEFORE PROSPERO'S CELL 

Enter Ferdinand, hearing a log 
Feedinand 

HERE BE SOME SPORTS 

are painful, and their labour 
Delight in them sets off: some 
kinds of baseness 
Are nobly undergone, and most 
poor matters 

Point to rich ends, j This my 
mean task "" 

Would be as heavy to me as 
odious, but 

The mistress which I serve 
quickens what 's dead. 
And makes my labours pleas- 
ures:' O, she is 
Ten times more gentle than her father 's crabbed, 
And he 's composed of harshness. I must remove 
Some thousands of these logs, and pile them up, 

1-2 There he . . . sets off] Some sports require labour, and delight in 
the sport is a set-oS against the labour required. 

10 

Upon a sore injunction: my sweet mistress 

Weeps when she sees me work, and says, such baseness 

Had never like executor. I forget : 

But these sweet thoughts do even refresh my labours, 

Most busy lest, when I do it. 

Enter Mibahtda ; and PaosPERO at a distance, unseen 

Mm. Alas, now, pray you. 

Work not so hard: I would the lightning had 
Burnt up those logs that you are enjoin'd to pile! 
Pray, set it down, and rest you : when this burns, 
'T will weep for having wearied you. My father 
Is hard at study; pray, now, rest yourself; 2*> 

He 's safe for these three hours. 

Fee. O most dear mistress. 

The sun will set before I shall discharge 
What I must strive to do. 

Mm. If you '11 sit down, 

I '11 bear your logs the while: pray, give me that; 
I '11 carry it to the pile. 

11 Upon a sore injunction] Under pain of a severe penalty. 

13-15 7 forget: . . . do it] Thus the First Folio. A vast number of 
changes have been suggested; lest is unintelligible, but it may be 
treated as a variant of "least," which is the form adopted in the 
Second and later Folios. Most busy lest, [or least] when I do it may 
mean "least busy, least conscious of labour, when I am working 
my hardest. " Ferdinand's preoccupation with his sweet thoughts 
robs the hardest work of pain, which is inversely proportioned to the 
severity of the labour. 

19 'T will weep . . . you] A reference to the resinous gum which the 
wood exudes on being set alight. 

Fee. No, precious creature; 

I had rather crack my sinews, break my back. 
Than you should such dishonour undergo. 
While I sit lazy by. 

MiE. It would become me 

As weU as it does you : and I should do it 
With much more ease; for my good will is to it, ^'^ 

And yoxirs it is against. 

Pros. Poor worm, thou art infected! 

This visitation shows it. 

MiE. You look wearily. 

Fee. No, noble mistress; 'tis fresh morning with 
me 
When you are by at night. I do beseech you, — 
Chiefly that I might set it in my prayers, — 
What is your name? 

MiE. Miranda. — O my father, 

I have broke your best to say so ! 

Fee. Admired Miranda! 

Indeed the top of admiration! worth 
What 's dearest to the world! FuU many a lady 
I have eyed with best regard, and many a time '**^ 

The harmony of their tongues hath into bondage 
Brought my too dihgent ear : for several virtues 
Have I liked several women; never any 
With so fuU soul, but some defect in her 
Did quarrel with the noblest grace she owed. 
And put it to the foil: but you, O you, 

46 jmt it . . . foil] frastrate it; "to foil a sword-thrust" is to turn it 
aside, make it go astray. 

So perfect and so peerless, are created 
Of every creature's best I 

Mm. I do not know 

One of my sex; no woman's face remember. 
Save, from my glass, mine own; nor have I seen ^ 

More that I may call men than you, good friend, 
And my dear father: how features are abroad, 
I am skilless of; but, by my modesty. 
The jewel in my dower, I would not wish 
Any companion in the world but you; 
Nor can imagination form a shape, 
Besides yourself, to hke of. But I prattle 
Something too wildly, and my father's precepts 
I therein do forget. 

Fee. I am, in my condition, 

A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king; ^ 

I would, not so ! — and would no more endure 
This wooden slavery than to suffer 
The flesh-fly blow my mouth. Hear my soul speak: 
The very instant that I saw you, did 
My heart fly to your service; there resides. 
To make me slave to it; and for your sake 
Am I this patient log-man. 

Mir. Do you love me? 

Feb. O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound. 
And crown what I profess with kind event. 
If I speak true I if hollowly, invert ^° 

What best is boded me to mischief ! I, 

63 The flesh-fly] The flesh-eating fly, which putrefies. 
69 kind event]- favourable result. 

Beyond all limit of what else i' the world. 
Do love, prize, honour you. 

MiE. I am a fool 

To weep at what I am glad of. 

Pegs. Fair encounter 

Of two most rare affections ! Heavens rain grace 
On that which breeds between 'em! 

Fee. Wherefore weep you? 

MiE. At mine unworthiness, that dare not offer 
What I desire to give; and much less take 
What I shall die to want. But this is trifling; 
And aU the more it seeks to hide itself, ^° 

The bigger bulk it shows. Hence, bashful cunning! 
And prompt me, plain and holy innocence! 
I am your wife, if you wiU marry me; 
If not, I '11 die your maid: to be your fellow 
You may deny me; but I 'U be your servant. 
Whether you will or no. 

Fee. My mistress, dearest ; 

And I thus humble ever. 

MiE. My husband, then? 

Fee. Ay, with a heart as willing 
As bondage e'er of freedom : here 's my hand. 

MiE. And mine, with my heart in 't : and now farewell ^^ 
Till half an hour hence. 

72 what dse] whatsoever else. 
79 to want] by wanting. 

84 maid . . . fellow] maidservant . . . companion of equal rank. 
89 As bondage . . . freedom] As ever bondman was willing to accept 
freedom. 

Fee. a thousand thousand! 

{^Exeunt Fer. and Mir. severally. 

Pegs. So glad of this as they I cannot be, 
Who are surprised withal; but my rejoicing 
At nothing can be more. I '11 to my book; 
For yet, ere supper-time, must I perform 
Much business appertaining. [Exit. 

SCENE n— ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND 

Enter Caliban, Stbphano, amd Teinculo 

Ste. TeU not me; — when the butt is out, we will 
drink water; not a drop before: therefore bear up, and 
board 'em. Servant-monster, drink to me. 

Trust. Servant-monster! the folly of this island! 
They say there 's but five upon this isle : we are three 
of them; if th' other two be brained hke us, the state 
totters. 

Ste. Drink, servant-monster, when I bid thee: thy 
eyes are almost set in thy head. 

91 A thousand thoiisand] so. farewells. 

93 withal\ with this (event); Theobald's correction of the Folio reading 
with all. 

2 hear uf, and hoard 'em] nautical expressions: "put the hekn up; go 
after them and board them." Stephano means: "let us have an- 
other go at the bottle." 

8 sd\ fixed, as in a drunken stare. Cf. II, i, 220, swpra, "The setting of 
thine eye," and Tw. Night, V, i, 190-191: "his eyes were set at 
eight i' the morning." 
5 [65] 

THE TEMPEST act hi 

Tein. Where should they be set else? he were a brave 
monster indeed, if they were set in his tail. ^^ 

Ste. My man-monster hath drowned his tongue in 
sack: for my part, the sea cannot drown me; I swam, 
ere I could recover the shore, five and thirty leagues off 
and on. By this light, thou shalt be my heutenant, mon- 
ster, or my standard. 

Tein. Your heutenant, if you list; he 's no standard. 

Ste. We '11 not run. Monsieur Monster. 

Thin. Nor go neither ; but you 'U he, hke dogs, and 
yet say nothing neither. 

Ste. Moon-calf, speak once in thy hfe, if thou beest ^^ 
a good moon-calf. 

Cal. How does thy honour? Let me lick thy shoe. 
I 'U not serve him, he is not vahant. 

Tein. Thou hest, most ignorant monster: I am in 
case to justle a constable. Why, thou deboshed fish, 
thou, was there ever man a coward that hath drunk so 
much sack as I to-day? Wilt thou tell a monstrous He, 
being but half a fish and half a monster? 

Cai,. Lo, how he mocks me! wilt thou let him, my 
lord? 

Tein, " Lord," quoth he! That a monster should be ^^ 
such a natural! 

15 standard] standard bearer. In the next line "standard" is quib- 
blingly used for a thing which stands without support, which Caliban 
in his drunken condition could not. 

18 go] walk. 

24-25 in case to justle] just ready for hustling. 

25 deboshed] Shakespeare's invariable spelling of "debauched." 

CaIi. Lo, lo, again! bite him to death, I prithee. 

Ste. Trinculo, keep a good tongue in your head: if 
you prove a mutineer, — the next tree ! The poor mon- 
ster 's my subject, and he shall not suffer indignity. 

Cai,. I thank my noble lord. Wilt thou be pleased 
to hearken once again to the suit I made to thee? 

Ste. Marry, will I : kneel and repeat it; I will stand, 
and so shall Trinculo. 

Enter Aeiex, invisible 

Cal. As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, *» 
a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the 
island. 

Ari. Thou liest. 

Cax,. Thou liest, thou jesting monkey, thou: 

I would my vaHant master would destroy theel 
I do not he. 

Ste. Trinculo, if you trouble him any more in 's tale, 
by this hand, I will supplant some of your teeth. 

Tein. Why, I said nothing. 

Ste. Mum, then, and no more. Proceed. 

Cal,. I say, by sorcery he got this isle ; 
From me he got it. If thy greatness will ^^ 

Revenge it on him, — for I know thou darest. 
But this thing dare not, — 

Ste. That 's most certain. 

Cal. Thou shalt be lord of it, and I '11 serve 
thee. 

Ste. How now shall this be compassed? Canst thou 
bring me to the party? 

60 

THE TEMPEST act hi 

Cal. Yea, yea, my lord: I '11 yield him thee asleep. 
Where thou mayst knock a nail into his head. 

Am. Thouliest; thou canst not. 

Cai,. What a pied ninny 's this! Thou scurvy patch 1 
I do beseech thy greatness, give him blovps. 
And take his bottle from him : vphen that 's gone. 
He shall drink nought but brine; for I '11 not show 

him 
Where the quick freshes are. 

Ste. Trinculo, run into no further danger: interrupt 
the monster one vrord further, and, by this hand, I 'U turn 
my mercy out o' doors, and make a stock-fish of thee. 

Trin. Why, vi^hatdidl? I did nothing. I '11 go far- 
ther off. 

Ste. Didst thou not say he lied? '^'^ 

Am. Thouliest. 

Ste. Do I so? take thou that. [Beats him.] As you 
like this, give me the lie another time. 

Trin. I did not give the lie. Out o' your vpits, and 
hearing too? A pox o' your bottle! this can sack and 
drinking do. A murrain on your monster, and the devil 
take your fingers ! 

Cal. Ha, ha, ha ! 

60 pied ninny] fool in variegated dress. Trinculo, as the king's jester, 

wears motley. 

patch] simpleton. Cf. Merch. of Ven., 11, v, 45: "The patch is 

kind enough." 
64 quick freshes] springs of fresh water. 
67 make a stock-fish of thee] treat thee like dried cod which was well 

beaten before it was cooked. 

Ste. Now, forward with your tale. — Prithee, stand 
farther ofle. ^ 

Cal. Beat him enough: after a Uttle time, 
I '11 beat him too. 

Ste. Stand farther. — Come, proceed. 

Cai,. Why, as I told thee, 't is a custom with him 
I' th' afternoon to sleep: there thou mayst brain him. 
Having first seized his books; or with a log 
Batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake. 
Or cut his wezand with thy knife. Remember 
First to possess his books ; for without them 
He 's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not 
One spirit to command : they all do hate him ^° 

As rootedly as I. Burn but his books. 
He has brave utensils, — for so he calls them, — 
Which, when he has a house, he 'U deck withal. 
And that most deeply to consider is 
The beauty of his daughter; he himself 
CaUs her a nonpareil: I never saw a woman. 
But only Sycorax my dam and she; 
But she as far surpasseth Sycorax 
As great'st does least. 

Ste. Is it so brave a lass? 

Cal. Ay, lord; she will become thy bed, I warrant, ^^'^ 
And bring thee forth brave brood. 

86 paunch . . . stake] put a stake through his paunch, impale him on 

a stake. 

87 wezand] windpipe. 

89 sot] used in the French sense of "fool," without any notion of 

drunkenness. 
92 utensils] The accents here are on the first and third syllables. 

Ste. Monster, I will kill this man : his daughter and 
I will be king and queen, — save our Graces ! — and 
Trinculo and thyself shaU be viceroys. Dost thou like 
the plot, Trinculo? 

Tein. Excellent. 

Ste. Give me thy hand : I am sorry I beat thee; but, 
while thou livest, keep a good tongue in thy head. 

Cai,. Within this half hour will he be asleep : 
Wilt thou destroy him then? 

Ste. Ay, on mine honour. ^^® 

Ari. This will I teU my master. 

Cal. Thou makest me merry; I am fuU of pleasure: 
Let us be jocund: will you troU the catch 
You taught me but whUe-ere? 

Ste. At thy request, monster, I will do reason, any 
reason. — Come on, Trinculo, let us sing. [Sings. 

Flout 'em and scout 'em, and scout 'em and flout 'em; 
Thought is free. 

Cal. That 's not the tune. 

[Ariel plays the tune on a tabor and pipe. 
Ste. What is this same? 120 

Tein. This is the time of our catch, played by the 
picture of Nobody. 

113 trolI\ smg glibly. 

114 whUe-ere] no uncommon form of the more familiar "ere-while," 
i. e., a short time since. 

118 Thought is free] A proverbial expression also quoted in Tw. 

Night, I, iii, 65. 
121-122 played by the picture of Nobody] The picture of Nobody was a 

common sign for tradesmen's shops. A head was represented with 

Ste. If thou beest a man, show thyself in thy hkeness : 
if thou beest a d,evil, take 't as thou list. 

Tein. O, forgive me my sins ! 

Ste. He that dies pays aU debts : I defy thee. Mercy 
upon us ! 

Cal. Art thou afeard? 

Ste. 'No, monster, not I. 

CAii. Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, ^^^ 

Sounds and sweet airs, that give dehght, and hvui; not. 
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments 
Will hum about mine ears ; and sometime voices. 
That, if I then had waked after long sleep, 
WiU make me sleep again : and then, in dreaming. 
The cloudy methought would open, and show riches 
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked, 
I cried to dream again. 

Ste. This wiU prove a brave kingdom to me, where I 
shall have my music for nothing. ^^^ 

Cal,. When Prospero is destroyed. 

Ste. That shall be by and by: I remember the story." 

Trin. The sound is going away; let 's follow it, and 
after do our work. 

Ste. Lead, monster; we'U follow. I would I could 
see this taborer; he lays it on. 

Trin. Wilt come? I '11 f ollow, Stephano, [Exeunt. 

legs and arms without any body. The shop of the Elizabethan 
stationer John Trundle in the Barbican was "at the signe of 
Nobody." 
146 this taborer] this drammer. Ariel, aceordmg to the "stage direction," 
has been playing on a tabor (i. e., a drum worn at the side) and a 
pipe; see line 119, supra. 

[711 

SCENE m— ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND 

Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adeian, 
rBANCisco", and others 

GoN. By 'r lakin, I can go no further, sir; 
My old. bones ache : here 's a maze trod, indeed. 
Through f orth-rights and meanders I By your patience, 
I needs must rest me. 

Alon. Old lord, I cannot blame thee, 

Who am myself attach'd with weariness. 
To the dulling of my spirits : sit down, and rest. 
Even here I will put off my hope, and keep it 
No longer for my flatterer : he is drown'd 
Whom thus we stray to find; and the sea mocks 
Our frustrate search on land. Well, let him go. ^^ 

Ant. [Aside to Seb.^ I am right glad that he 's so out 
of hope. 
Do not, for one repulse, forgo the purpose 
That you resolved to effect. 

Seb. [Aside to Ant.] The next advantage 
Will we take throughly. 

Ant. [Aside to Seb.] Let it be to-night; 
For, now they are oppress'd with travel, they 
Will not, nor cannot, use such vigilance 
As when they are fresh. 

Seb. [Aside to Ant.] I say, to-night: no more. 
[Solemn and strange music. 

1 By V lakin] By our lady, by the Virgin Mary. 
3 forth-righis and meanders] straight and winding paths. 
6 attach'd] seized; used figuratively in its legal significance. 

Axon. What harmony is this? — My good friends, 

harkl 
GoN. Marvellous sweet music! 

Enter Pkospebo above, invisible. Enter several strange Shapes, 
brmgimg in a banquet: they dance about it with gentle 
actions of salutation; and, inviting the King, Sec. to eat, 
they depart 

Alon. Give us kind keepers, heavens ! — What were 

these? 20 

See. a hving drollery. Now I will beheve 
That there are unicorns ; that in Arabia 
There is one tree, the phoenix' throne; one phoenix 
At this hour reigning there. 

Ant. I '11 beheve both; 

And what does else want credit, come to me, 
And I '11 be sworn 't is true: travellers ne'er did he. 
Though fools at home condemn 'em. 

GoN. If in Naples 

I should report this now, would they beheve me? 
If I should say, I saw such islanders, — 
For, certes, these are people of the island, — ^ 

21 A living drollery] A puppet show presented by Hving persons. 

23 one phoenix] Cf. As You Like It, IV, Hi, 17, and note. Here Shake- 
speare seems to have had in mind the passage in Lyly's Euphues 
(ed. Arber, p. 312) : "For as there is but one Phamix in the world, 
so there is but one tree in Arabia wherein she buyldeth." The faith 
in the myth was widespread. 

29 islanders] The Second Folio's correction of the First Folio misprint, 
Islands, 

Who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet, note. 
Their manners are more gentle-kind than of 
Our human generation you shall find 
Many, nay, almost any. 

Pegs. lAside] Honest lord, 

Thou hast said well; for some of you there present 
Are worse than devils. 

Alon. I cannot too much muse 

Such shapes, such gesture, and such sound, express- 
ing— 
Although they want the use of tongue — a kind 
Of excellent dumb discourse. 

Pros. [Aside] Praise in departing. 

Fran. They vanish'd strangely. 

Seb, 'No matter, since ^'^ 

They have left their viands behind; for we have 

stomachs. — 
Will 't please you taste of what is here? 

Axon. Not I. 

GoN. Faith, sir, you need not fear. When we were 
boys. 
Who would believe that there were mountaineers 
Dew-lapp'd like buRs, whose throats had hanging 
at 'em 

36 muse] wonder. Cf. Macb., Ill, iv, 85: "Do not muse at me." 

39 Praise in departing] A proverbial phrase: "reserve your praise for 

your departure," "wait to see how it turns out." 
45 Dew-lapp'd like btiMs] With pendulous skin at the throat, as in the 

case of bulls ; a reference to sufferers from goitre, to which the 

inhabitants of mountainous districts are liable. 

[T4] 

Wallets of flesh? or that there were such men 
Whose heads stood in their breasts? which now we find 
Each putter-out of five for one wiU bring us 
Good warrant of. 

Ax,ON. I will stand to, and feed, 

Although my last: no matter, since I feel ^'^ 

The best is past. Brother, my lord the duke. 
Stand to, and do as we. 

Thunder and lightning. Enter Aeiex., like a harpy; claps his 
•mmgs wpon the table; and, with a quaint device, the banquet 
vanishes 

Asj. You are three men of sin, whom Destiny, — 
That hath to instrument this lower world 
And what is in 't, — the never-surfeited sea 
Hath caused to belch up you ; and on this island. 
Where man doth not inhabit, — you 'mongst men 
Being most unfit to live. I have made you mad; 
And even with such-like valour men hang and drown 

46-47 men Whose heads . . . breasts] Ralegh in his Discovery of Guiana 
(1595) reported that west of the Oronoko River was a nation of people 
"whose heads appeare not above their shoulders . . . they are reported 
to have their eyes in their shoulders and their mouths in the middle 
of their breasts" (Hakluyt's Voyages, ed. 1904, X, 406). 

48 putter-out of five for one] Merchants were in the habit of accepting from 
those who embarked on long and venturesome voyages a sum of 
money, on the understanding that it should become their property 
if the vessel failed to return home, but should be restored fivefold 
if the ship came safely to port. The voyager thus wagered five to 
one on his chance of surviving the dangers of the voyage. 

64 to instrument] for instrument. 

: Their proper selves. \_Alon., Seb. ^c. draw their swords. 

You fools! I and, my fellows ^° 

Are ministers of Fate : the elements. 
Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well 
Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at stabs 
Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish 
One dowle that 's in my plume : my fellow-ministers 
Are like invulnerable. If you could hurt, 
Your swords are now too massy for your strengths, 
And will not be uphf ted. But remember, — 
For that 's my business to you, — that you three 
From Milan did supplant good Prospero; ^° 

Exposed unto the sea, which hath requit it. 
Him and his innocent child: for which foul deed 
The powers, delaying, not forgetting, have 
Incensed the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures. 
Against your peace. Thee of thy son, Alonso, 
They have bereft ; and do pronovmce by me : 
Lingering perdition — worse than any death 
Can be at once — shall step by step attend 
You and your ways ; whose wraths to guard you from, — 
Which here, in this most desolate isle, else falls ^^ 

Upon your heads, — is nothing but heart-sorrow 
And a clear Uf e ensuing. 

65 dowle\ a particle of down ; the word is still used ia provincial English 
dialects. It is sometimes spelt "dowlne." 

79-8^ whose wraths . . , ensuing] The subject of the relative 
" whose " is "the seas and shores " and " all the creatures " of line 
74. The meaning is that delivery from their wraths can only come 
from heartfelt repentance and amended life hereafter. 

[T6] 

He vanishes m thunder; then, to soft music, enter the Shapes 
again, and dance, with mocks and mows, and carrying out 
the table 

Pros. Bravely the figure of this harpy hast thou 
Perform' d, my Ariel; a grace it had, devouring: 
Of my instruction hast thou nothing bated 
In what thou hadst to say : so, with good Hf e 
And observation strange, my meaner ministers 
, Their several kinds have done. My high charms work. 
And these mine enemies are aU knit up 
In their distractions : they now are in my power ; ^^ 

And in these fits I leave them, while I visit 
Young Ferdinand, — whom they suppose is drown'd, — 
And his and mine loved darling. [Exit above. 

GoN. I' the name of something holy, sir, why stand you 
In this strange stare? 

Axon. O, it is monstrous, monstrous ! 

Methought the biUows spoke, and told me of it; 
The winds did sing it to me ; and the thunder. 
That deep and dreadful organ-pipe, pronounced 
The name of Prosper : it did bass my trespass. 
Therefore my son i' th' ooze is bedded ; and ^"^ 

I 'U seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded. 
And with him there he mudded. [Eodt. 

83 figure] role, assumed part. Cf. Cymh., HI, iii, 96. 

86-87 vyith good life . . . strange] with presentation of their characters 

to the life, and rare attention to their several roles. 
96 of it] of my sin; "my trespass" of line 99, infra. 
99 bass ] Johnson's emendation of the Folio reading base. The meaning 

is that the thunder proclaimed my sin in bass notes. 

Seb. But one fiend at a time, 

I '11 fight their legions o'er. 

AtSTT. I '11 be thy second. 

[^Exeunt Seb. and Ant. 

GoN. All three of them are desperate: their great 
guilt, 
Like poison given to work a great time after, 
Now 'gins to bite the spirits. I do beseech you, 
That are of suppler joints, follow them swiftly, 
And hinder them from what this ecstasy 
May now provoke them to. 

Ade. Follow, I pray you. [Exeunt. 

105 Like poison . . . after] It was believed that poisons could be so 

tempered as to operate a long time after their administration. 
108 ecstasy] fit of madness, frenzy.

BEFORE PROSPEROUS CELL 

Enter Pkospeeo, FEEJjrNAND, amd Miranda 

Prospero 

[F I HAVE TOO Au- 
sterely punish'd you, 
Your compensation makes 
amends; for I 

Have given you here a third of 
mine own life. 

Or that for which I live; who 
once again 

I tender to thy hand: aU thy 
vexations 

Were but my trials of thy love, 
and thou 

Hast strangely stood the test: 
here, afore Heaven, 

I ratify this my rich gift. O Ferdinand, 

Do not smile at me that I boast her off, 

3 a third] Thus the Folios. The reading is not quite clear. Theobald 
substituted a thread,, on the ground that Prospero has no logical pre- 
text for calling Miranda a third of his life. But it may well be that 

For thou shalt find she will outstrip aU praise, ^*^ 

And make it halt behind her 

Fee. I do beheve it 

Against an oracle. 

Pegs. Then, as my gift, and thine own acquisition 
Worthily purchased, take my daughter: but 
If thou dost break her virgin-knot before 
All sanctimonious ceremonies may 
With fuU and holy rite be minister'd. 
No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall 
To make this contract grow; but barren hate, 
Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew ^^ 

The union of your bed with weeds so loathly 
That you shall hate it both: therefore take heed. 
As Hymen's lamps shall hght you. 

Fer. As I hope 

he regards his life as made up of three parts — himself, his realm, and 
his daughter. In V, i, 311, infra, he declares at the end of the play 
that every third thought shall be his grave, a statement that confirms 
the triplicity of his interests. 

7 strangely] wonderfully. 

9 boast her off] Thus the Second and later Folios. The First Folio reads 
boast her of, vrhich has been interpreted as a careless transposition 
of boast of her. But "off" is often used adverbially as an intensi- 
tive, meaning "to the best advantage." Cf. the common phrase 
"come off," [i. e., turn out well]. 

13 gift] Rowe's correction of the erroneous Folio reading guest. 

16 sandimoniom] sacred, without the ironical intention, which often 
attached to it in Shakespeare's day, and invariably attaches to it now. 

18 aspersion] in the Latin sense of "sprinkling." 

23 As Hymen's lamps . . . you] According as Hymen's lamps shall 
guide you. Only follow the light of Hymen's lamps. 

For quiet days, fair issue and long life. 

With such love as 't is now, the murkiest den, 

The most opportune place, the strong'st suggestion 

Our worser Genius can, shall never melt 

Mine honour into lust, to take away 

The edge of that day's celebration 

When I shall think, or Phcebus' steeds are f ounder'd, ^^ 

Or Night kept chain'd below. 

Pegs. Fairly spoke. 

Sit, then, and talk with her; she is thine own. 
What, Ariel! my industrious servant, Ariel 1 

Enter Akiei. 

Am. What would my potent master? here I am. 

Pegs. Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service 
Did worthily perform; and I must use you 
In such another trick. Go bring the rabble, 
O'er whom I give thee power, here to this place: 
Incite them to quick motion; for I must 
Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple ^^ 

Some vanity of mine art: it is my promise. 
And they expect it from me. 

Aei. Presently? 

Pegs. Ay, with a twink. 

26-27 the strong'st suggestion . . . can] the strongest temptation of which 

our worser genius is capable. 
30 Phcsbus' steeds are founder'd\ the general meaning is that the sun is 

at a standstill. "Foundering" was a recognised disease in horses, 

which rendered all movement impossible. 
37 rabble] the crew of meaner spirits. 
41 Some vanity] Some illusion. 
43 tinth a tmnk] in a twinkling. 

6 [81] 

Ari. Before you can say, " come," and " go," 
And breathe twice, and cry, " so, so," 
Each one, tripping on his toe, 
Wni be here with mop and mow. 
Do you love me, master? no? 
Pegs. Dearly, my delicate Ariel. Do not approach 
TlU thou dost hear me call. 
Ari. WeU, I conceive. lExit. 5° 

Pros. Look thou be true ; do not give dalliance 
Too much the rein : the strongest oaths are straw 
To the fire i' the blood : be more abstemious. 
Or else, good night your vow! 

Fee. I warrant you, sir ; 

The white cold virgin snow upon my heart 
Abates the ardour of my liver. 

Pegs. WeU. 

Now come, my Ariel! bring a corollary. 
Rather than want a spirit: appear, and pertly! 
No tongue I aU eyes ! be silent. [Soft music. 

Enter Iris 

Iris. Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas 60 
Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and pease; 
Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep, 
And flat meads thatch'd with stover, them to keep; 

47 vrith mop and mow] with gibbering grimace. 

67 a corollary] a surplus, more than is sufficient; this is the meanmg 

assigned by Cotgrave to the French word eorolaire. 
61 vetches] Capell's correction of the Folio reading fetches, which gives 

the common provincial pronunciation of the word. 
63 stouter] coarse grass used for thatching. Cf. Drayton's Polyolhwn, 

Song 25 : "To draw out sage and reed for thatch and stover fit." 

Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims, 

Which spongy April at thy hest betrims, 

To make cold nymphs chaste crowns; and thy broom-groves. 

Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves. 

Being lass-lom; thy pole-clipt vineyard; 

And thy sea-marge, sterile and rocky-hard. 

Where thou thyself dost air; — the queen o' the sky, "^^ 

Whose watery arch and messenger am I, 

Bids thee leave these; and with her sovereign grace. 

Here on this grass-plot, in this very place. 

To come and sport : — her peacocks fly amain : 

Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertain. 

Enter Ceres 

Cee. Hail, many-colour 'd messenger, that neer 
Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter; 

64 pioned and twilled] Thus the Folios. The meaning is obscure. The 
line seems to describe the river-banks in winter or early spring before 
flowers adorn them, and when their brims or edges have been sub- 
jected to some agricultural operations in the way of ditching and 
banking which are indicated in the difficult words "pioned" and 
"twilled." "Pioned" may mean "dug out" or "raked with the 
spade." Cf. Hamlet, I, v, 163, "A worthy pioner [i. e., digger] " and 
Spenser's Faerie Queene, II, x, 63 : " painefuU pyonings [i. e., diggings]." 
"Twilled" might mean "hoed into ridges," like the lines on twilled 
cloth. The substitution of peonied, i. e., overgrown with peonies 
or marsh marigolds, is in conflict with the succeeding line, which 
makes it clear that the banks were not in flower at the "pioning " and 
"twilling" stage. 

66 chaste crowns] The reference seems to be to the "lady-smocks all silver 
white " (jL. L. L.,V, ii, 905), a common meadow plant with white 
flowers, which blossoms in "spongy [i. e., rainy] April." 
broom-groves] The reference is to a species of broom known to botanists, 
as Spartium scoparium, which grows to a considerable height. 

68 pole-clipt] embraced or fenced about by poles. 

Who, with thy saflFron wings, upon my flowers 

Diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers; 

And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown 80 

My bosky acres and my unshrubb'd down. 

Rich scarf to my proud earth; — why hath thy queen 

Summon 'd me hither, to this short-grass'd green ? 

Iris. A contract of true love to celebrate; 
And some donation freely to estate 
On the blest lovers. 

Cer. Tell me, heavenly bow. 

If Venus or her son, as thou dost know. 
Do now attend the queen ? Since they did plot 
The means that dusky Dis my daughter got. 
Her and her blind boy's scandal'd company 90 

I have forsworn. 

Iris. Of her society 

Be not afraid: I met her Deity 
Cutting the clouds towards Paphos, and her son 
Dove-drawn with her. Here thought they to have done 
Some wanton charm upon this man and maid. 
Whose vows are, that no bed-right shall be paid 
Till Hymen's torch be lighted: but in vain; 
Mars's hot minion is returned again; 
Her waspish-headed son has broke his arrows, 
Swears he will shoot no more, but play with sparrows, lOO 

And be a boy right out. 

81 My hoshy . . . down] My wooded acres and bare downs. 
85 to estate] to settle. 

89 dusky Dis] The reference is to Pluto's rape of Proserpma, of which 

the story is told in Ovid's Metamorphoses, V, 359-550. There is 
another allusion to the story in Wint. Tale, IV, iv, 116-118. 

90 scandal'd] scandalous, disgraceful. 

Cer. High'st queen of state. 

Great Juno, comes; I know her by her gait. 

Enter Jttno 

JtTNO. How does my bounteous sister ? Go with me 
To bless this twain, that they may prosperous be, 
And honour'd in their issue. [They sing: 

Juno. Honour, riches, marriage-blessing. 
Long continuance, and increasing. 
Hourly joys be still upon you! 
Juno sings her blessings on you. 

Cer. Earth's increase, foison plenty, IW 

Barns and gamers never empty; 
Vines with clustering bunches growing; 
Plants with goodly burthen bowing; 
Spring come to you at the farthest 
In the very end of harvest! 
Scarcity and want shall shun you; 
Ceres' blessing so is on you. 

Fer. This is a most majestic vision, and 
Harmonious charmingly. May I be bold 
To think these spirits? 

Pros. Spirits, which by mine art ^^o 

I have from their confines call'd to enact 
My present fancies. 

Fer. Let me Uve here ever; 

110 foison plenty] harvest in abundance. Cf. 11, i, 167, supra: "all 

foison, all abundance," and note. 
114i at the fart?iest] at the latest, when the harvest is over. 
119 charmingly] in magical fashion. 

[85J 

So rare a wonder'd father and a wise 
Makes this place Paradise. 

[Juno and Ceres whisper, and send Iris on employment, 
Pkos. Sweet, now, sUencel 

Juno and Ceres whisper seriously; 
There 's something else to do : hush, and be mute. 
Or else our spell is marr'd. 

Iris. You nymphs, call'd Naiads, of the windring brooks, 
With your sedged crowns and ever-harmless looks. 
Leave your crisp channels, and on this green land 130 

Answer your summons; Juno does command: 
Come, temperate nymphs, and help to celebrate 
A contract of true love; be not too late. 

Enter certain Nymphs 

You sunbum'd sicklemen, of August weary. 
Come hither from the furrow, and be merry: 
Make holiday; your rye-straw hats put on. 
And these fresh nymphs encounter every one 
In country footing. 

Enter certam Reapers, properly habited: they join with the 
Nymphs in a graceful dance; towards the end whereof 
PaosPEBO starts suddenly, and speaJcs; after which, to a 
strange, hollow, and confused noise, they heavily vanish 

Pros. [Aside] I had forgot that foul conspiracy 
Of the beast Cahban and his confederates i*^ 

123 So rare a wonder'd father] a father able to perform such rare wonders. 
128 windring] apparently "winding." Thus the Folios. Steevens sub- 

stituted wandring. 
130 cris-p] with the water curled or rippled by the breeze. 
138 fooling] dance. 

Against my life: the minute of their plot 
Is almost come. {_To the Spirits.] Well done! avoid; no 
morel 

Fer. This is strange: your father 's in some passion 
That works him strongly. 

Mir. Never till this day 

Saw I him touch'd with anger so distemper'd. 

Pros. You do look, my son, in a moved sort. 
As if you were dismay'd: be cheerful, sir. 
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, 
As I foretold you, were aU spirits, and 
Are melted into air, into thin air: ^^** 

And,| hke the baseless fabric of this vision, 
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
Yea, aU which it inherit, shaU dissolve. 
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded. 
Leave not a rack behind^! We. are such stuff 
As dreams are made onj and our Httle life 
Is rounded with a sleep. Sir, I am vex'd; 
Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled: 

142 avoid] begone. 

145 in a moved sort] in a troubled state. 

154 all which it inherit] all the things which possess or occupy the globe. 
Cf. Matthew v, 5: "For they shall inherit the earth." 

156 a rack] a wreath of cloud, a bank of light cloud. Cf. Bacon's Sylva 
Sylvarum, Cent, ii, § 115 : "the clouds above, which we call the rack, 
and are not perceived below." "Rack" is philologically connected 
with "reek," i. e., smoke. The suggested change wreck has nothing 
to commend it. 

157 made ori] still a colloquial usage for "made of." 

158 rounded] rounded off, finished. 

160 

Be not disturb'd with my infirmity: 
If you be pleased, retire into my cell. 
And there repose : a turn or two I '11 walk, 
To stiU my beating mind. 

Fee. Mir. We wish your peace. [Exeunt. 

Pegs. Come with a thought. I thank thee, Ariel : come. 
Enter Aeeei, 

Afii. Thy thoughts I cleave to. What 's thy pleasure ? 

Pros. Spirit, 

We must prepare to meet with CaUban. 

Ari. Ay, my commander: when I presented Ceres, 
I thought to have told thee of it; but I fear'd 
Lest I might anger thee. 

Pegs. Say again, where didst thou leave these varlets? 

Ari. I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking; 
So fuU of valour that they smote the air ^^^ 

For breathing in their faces; beat the ground 
For kissing of their feet ; yet always bending 
Towards their project. Then I beat my tabor; 
At which, like unback'd colts, they prick'd their ears. 
Advanced their eyeUds, hfted up their noses 
As they smelt music: so I charm'd their ears. 
That, calf-hke, they my lowing foUow'd through 
Tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss, and thorns, ^^'^ 

164 ivith a thought] quick as thought. 

166 meet with] encounter, counteract. 

167 presented] presented the part of. 

176 unback'd colts] colts that never have been ridden. 

177 Advanced] Raised. Cf. I, ii, 408, supra, and note. 

180 goss] gorse. Similarly a waterfall in the English Lake Country is 
called indifferently both "force" and "foss." 

Which enter'd their frail shins : at last I left them 
I' the filthy-mantled pool beyond your cell, 
There dancing up to the chins, that the foul lake 
O'erstunk their feet. 

Pegs. This was well done, my bird. 

Thy shape invisible retain thou still: 
The trumpery in my house, go bring it hither. 
For stale to catch these thieves. 

Aei. I go, I go. [Exit. 

Pegs. A devil, a born devU, on whose nature 
Nurture can never stick; on whom my pains. 
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost; 
And as with age his body uglier grows, 
So his mind cankers. I will plague them all. 
Even to roaring. ' 

Re-enter Akiex, loaden with glistering apparel, ^c. 
Come, hang them on this line. 

Pkospeko and Ariel remain, irmsible. Enter Caliban, 
Stephano, and Trincxjlo', all wet 

Cal. Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may 
not 
Hear a foot fall : we now are near his cell. 

X90 

186-187 The trumpery . . . stale] The gaudy apparel, which is to be used 

as "stale," i. e., decoy or lure. 
189 Nurture . . . stick] Education or training can never adhere to. 
193 line] line tree or linden. Cf. V, i, 10, infra, "the line-grove which 

weather-fends your [i. e., Prospero's] cell." In line 234, infra, 

Stephano addresses the tree as "mistress line," and puns on the word 

in the succeeding Imes 235, 238, 242. 

Ste. Monster, your fairy, which you say is a harmless 
fairy, has done little better than played the Jack with us. 

Trin. Monster, I do smell all horse-piss ; at which my 
nose is in great indignation, 

Ste. So is mine. Do you hear, monster? If I should 
take a displeasure against you, look you, — ^"^ 

Trin. Thou wert but a lost monster. 

Cal. Good my lord, give me thy favour still. 
Be patient, for the prize I '11 bring thee to 
Shall hoodwink this mischance: therefore speak softly. 
All 's hush'd as midnight yet. 

Trin, Ay, but to lose our bottles in the pool, — 

Ste. There is not only disgrace and dishonour in that, 
monster, but an infinite loss. 

Trin. That 's more to me than my wetting : yet this is 
your harmless fairy, monster. 211 

Ste. I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears 
for my labour. 

Cal. Prithee, my king, be quiet. See'st thou here. 
This is the mouth o' the cell : no noise, and enter. 
Do that good mischief which may make this island 
Thine own for ever, and I, thy Caliban, 
For aye thy foot-licker. 

Ste. Give me thy hand. I do begin to have bloody 
thoughts. 220 

Trin. O King Stephano ! Opeer! O worthy Stephano ! 
look what a wardrobe here is for thee ! 

197 -played the Jack] played the fool or knave. Cf. Much Ado, I, i, 157: 

"play the floutmg Jack." 
205 hoodwink] put out of sight. 

221-222 O King Stephano . . . wardrobe] An allusion to the old popular 

Cal,. Let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash. 

Trin. O, ho, monster! we know what belongs to a 
frippery, O King Stephano! 

Ste. Put off that gown, Trinculo ; by this hand, I 'U 
have that gown. 

Trin. Thy Grace shall have it, 

Cal. The dropsy drown this fool! what do you mean 
To dote thus on such luggage? Let 's alone, ^^^ 

And do the murder first : if he awake, 
From toe to crown he 'U fiU our skins with pinches. 
Make us strange stuff. 

Ste. Be you quiet, monster. Mistress line, is not this 
my jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line: now, 
jerkin, you are like to lose your hair, and prove a bald 
jerkin. 

Trin. Do, do : we steal by line and level, an 't like your 
Grace. ^^^ 

Ste. I thank thee for that jest; here's a garment 
for 't : wit shall not go unrewarded while I am king of 

ballad called Take thy Old Cloak ahoid Thee, of which a stanza con- 
cerning King Stephen's scanty wardrobe begins, "King Stephen was 
a worthy peer, His breeches cost him but a crown." The stanza about 
King Stephen is quoted in Othello, II, iii, 82-89. The whole ballad 
appears in Percy's Reliques (ed. 1876, Vol. I, pp. 195-198). 

225 frippery] old clothes shop. 

234 Mistress line] Addressed to the line or linden tree, on which the 
clothes are hung. Cf. 193, supra, and note. The word "line" is 
jestingly used at 235 for the equinoctial line, in crossing which the 
voyagers were often reported to suffer loss of hair, owing to fever 
or other violent distemper. 

238 line and level] according to rule ; a common phrase, which continues 
the quibbling on the word "line." 

this country. " Steal by line and level " is an excellent 
pass of pate; there 's another garment for 't. 

Trin. Monster, come, put some lime upon your 
fingers, and away with the rest. 

Cal. I wiU have none on 't : we shall lose our time, 
And aU be turn'd to barnacles, or to apes 
With foreheads viUanous low. 

Ste. Monster, lay-to your fingers: help to bear this 
away where my hogshead of wine is, or I '11 turn you out 
of my kingdom: go to, carry this. ^^^ 

Trin. And this. 

Ste. Ay, and this. 

A noise of hunters heard. Enter divers Spirits, in shape of dogs 
and hounds, hunting them about; Peospeuo and Akiei 
setting them on 

Pros. Hey, Moimtain, hey! 

Ari. Silver! there it goes. Silver! 

Pros. Fury, Fury! there, Tyrant, there! hark, hark! 

[Cal., Ste., and Trim, are driven out. 
Go charge my goblins that they grind their joints 
With dry convulsions ; shorten up their sinews 

248-243 foss of pate] thrust of wit. "Pass' is a technical fencing time. 

244 lime] bird lime, to which things stick. 

247 barnacles] The shell-fish of that name were popularly reputed to 
develop into geese. The word was applied indifferently to both shell- 
fish and geese. Caliban uses it in the latter sense. 

265 Silver] This name is also applied to a hoimd in T. of Shrew, Induc- 
tion, I, 17. 

258 dry conwlaioru] convulsions due to morbid dryness of the joints. 

With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make them 
' Than pard or cat o' mountain. 

Ari. Hark, they roar! ^eo 

Pegs. Let them be hunted soundly. At this hour 

Lie at my mercy all mine enemies : 

Shortly shall aU my labours end, and thou 

Shalt have the air at freedom: for a little 

Follow, and do me service. [Exeunt. 

259 aged cramps] Cf . I, ii, 369, old cramps, cramps incident to the aged. 

260 cat o' mountain] A term applied by contemporary authors both to 
the leopard and the wild cat.

BEFORE THE CELL OF PROSPERO 

Enter Prospero in his magic robes, and Aktkt. 
Peospeeo 

^ OW DOES MY PROJECT 

gather to a head: 

'i^^^ My charms crack not; my spirits 
'^)!^ obey; and time 

Am. 

n Goes upright with his carriage. 

How 's the day? 

Am. On the sixth hour; at 
which time, my lord, 
You said our work should cease. 

Pegs. I did say so. 

When first I raised the tempest. 
Say, my spirit, 

How fares the king and 's fol- 
lowers? 

Confined together 

In the same fashion as you gave in charge, 

2 crack noi\ have no flaw. 

3 Goes upright . . . carriage] Walks upright with what he has to cany, 

does not bend under his load. 

Just as you left them; all prisoners, sir, 

In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell; ^^ 

They cannot budge tiU your release. The king, 

His brother, and yours, abide aU three distracted. 

And the remainder mourning over them. 

Brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly 

Him that you term'd, sir, " The good old lord, Gonzalo ; " 

His tears run down his beard, like winter's drops 

From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works 'em. 

That if you now beheld them, your affections 

Would become tender. 

Pegs. Dost thou think so, spirit? 

Am. Mine would, sir, were I human. 

Pegs. And mine shall. ^° 

Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling 
Of their afflictions, and shall not myself. 
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply. 
Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art? 
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the 

quick. 
Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury 
Do I take part : the rarer action is 
In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent, 
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend 

10 line-grove . . . weather-fends] grove of lines or linden-trees which 

protects from the weather. Cf. IV, i, 193, supra, and note. 

11 your release] release (of them) by you. 

17 eaves of reeds] edge of a roof made of reeds. 

23-24 that relish . . . as they] who have the same quick sensibility, are 
moved by the same passion as they. 

Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel: ^^ 

My charms I 'U break, their senses I '11 restore, 
And they shall be themselves. 

Ari. I '11 fetch them, sir. \_Emt. 

Pegs. Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and 
groves; 
And ye that on the sands with printless foot 
Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him 
When he comes back; you demi-puppets that 
By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make. 
Whereof the ewe not bites ; and you whose pastime 
Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice 
To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid — *" 

Weak masters though ye be — I have bedimm'd 
The noontide sun, caU'd forth the mutinous winds. 
And 'twixt the green sea and the azured vault 
Set roaring war : to the dread rattling thunder 
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak 
With his own bolt ; the strong-based promontory 

33 Ye elves of hills] Shakespeare in this speech closely follows Golding's 
translation of Medea's invocation in Ovid's Metamorphoses, YU, 197- 
219. 

36 demi-puppets] dwarf-puppets, tiny elves. Cf. Prospero's reference 

to Ariel's "meaner fellows" (TV, i, 35, supra) and "weak masters" 
(line 41, infra). 

37 green sour ringlets] ringlets of grass, commonly called "fairy rings," 

of which the colour is a deeper green than usual, and the taste is 
reputed to be sour. 

40 the solemn curfew] the signal of the beginning of night. 

41 Weak makers] Puny controllers of magical power. Cf . " demi- 

puppets " (line 36, supra). 

Have I made shake, and, by the spurs pluck'd up 

The pine and cedar: graves at my command 

Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth 

By my so potent art. But this rough magic ^^ 

I here abjure; and, when I have required 

Some heavenly music, — which even now I do, — 

To work mine end upon their senses, that 

This airy charm is for, I '11 break my staff. 

Bury it certain fathoms in the earth. 

And deeper than did ever plummet sound 

I '11 drown my book. \^Sohmn music. 

Re-enter Aeiel before: then AtoNSO, with a frantic gesture, 
attended by Gonzalo; Sebastian and Antonio m like 
manner, attended by Adrian and Francisco: they all 
enter the circle which Peospeho had made, and there stand 
charmed; which PaosPEao observing, speaks: 

A solemn air, and the best comforter 

To an unsettled fancy, cure thy brains, 

Now useless, boU'd within thy skull! There stand, ^^ 

For you are speU-stopp'd. 

Holy Gonzalo, honourable man, 

47 spurs] the longest roots of trees. Cf. Cymb., IV, ii, 58-59: "grief 

and patience, rooted in him both. Mingle their spurs together," and 

note. 
51 required] asked for. 
59-60 brains . . . boil'd] brains . . . overexcited, unbalanced. Cf. 

Wint. Tale, III, iii, 63: boiled brains, and note. 
62 Holy] Just, good. Cf. Wint. Tale, V, i, 170: "You have a holy 

father." 

' [97] 

Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine. 
Fall feUowly drops. The charm dissolves apace; 

^And as the morning steals upon the night. 
Melting the darkness, so their rising senses 

' Begin to chase the ignorant fmnes that mantle 
Their clearer reason. O good Gtonzalo, 
My true preserver, and a loyal sir 

Tohim thou foUow'stI I -will pay thy graces ''^ 

Home both in word and deed. Most cruelly 
Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter: 
Thy brother was a furtherer in the act. 
Thou art pinch'd for 't now, Sebastian. Flesh and blood, 
You, brother mine, that entertain'd ambition, 
ExpeU'd remorse and nature; who, with Sebastian, — 
Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong, — 
Would here have ldll'd.your king; I do forgive thee. 
Unnatural though thou art. Their understanding 
Begins to swell; and the approaching tide ^'^ 

WUl shortly fill the reasonable shore, 
That now lies foul and muddy. Not one of them 
That yet looks on me, or would know me : Ariel, 
Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell: 
I will disease me, and myself present 
As I was sometime Milan: quickly, spirit; 
Thou shalt ere long be free. 

63 sociable to . . . thine] sympathetic with the feeling which thme eyes 

betray. 
76 remorse and nature] pity and natural affection. 
79-80 Ttieir understanding . . . sweU] Their consciousness (which had 

ebbed to the lowest point) is turning towards full tide. 
81 reasonable shore] shore of reason. 

Aeiei. sings and helps to attire Mm 

Where the bee sucks, there suck I: 

In a cowslip's bell I lie; 

There I couch when owls do cry. 90 

On the bat's back I do fly 

After summer merrily. 
Merrily, merrily shall I live now 
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. 

Peos. Why, that 's my dainty Ariel ! I shall miss thee ; 
^But yet thou shalt have freedom : so, so, so. 
To the king's ship, invisible as thou art : 
There shalt thou find the mariners asleep 
Under the hatches; the master and the boatswain 
Being awake, enforce them to this place, ^"^ 

And presently, I prithee. 

Am. I drink the air before me, and return 
Or ere your pulse twice beat. [Exit. 

GoN. All torment, trouble, wonder and amazement 
Inhabits here : some heavenly power guide us 
Out of this fearful country! 

Pegs. Behold, sir king. 

The wronged Duke of MUan, Prospero : 
For more assurance that a living prince 
Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body; 

88-94 Where- the bee sucks . . . hangs on the bough] This song is 
printed with the music in Wilson's Cheerjvll Ayres or Ballads 
(Oxford, 1660). The music is there assigned to R. Johnscm, a well- 
known composer of Shakespeare's day. Cf. Ariel's song, "Full 
fathom five," I, ii, 396-404, supra. 

92 After summer] In pursuit of summer. 

And to thee and thy company I bid "° 

A hearty welcome. 

Alon. Whether thou be'st he or no. 

Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me. 
As late I have been, I not know : thy pulse 
Beats, as of flesh and blood ; and, since I saw thee. 
The affliction of my mind amends, with which, 
I fear, a madness held me : this must crave — 
An if this be at all — a most strange story. 
Thy dukedom I resign, and do entreat 
Thou pardon me my wrongs. — But how should Prospero 
Be living and be here ? 

Pkos. First, noble friend, ^^^ 

Let me embrace thine age, whose honour cannot 
Be measured or confined. 

GoN. Whether this be 

Or be not, I '11 not swear. 

Pkos. You do yet taste 

Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you 
Believe things certain. Welcome, my friends all ! 
[Aside to Seb. and Ant.] But you, my brace of lords, were 

I so minded, 
I here could pluck his Highness' frown upon you. 
And justify you traitors : at this time 
I will tell no tales. 

112 enchanted trifle] trick of enchantment. 

117 An if this be at all\ If there be reality in all this. 

124 subtillies] deceptions, or illusions. The word was specifically applied 

to devices in pastry and confectionery, a circumstance which explains 

Prospero 's use of the word "taste." 
128 jvMify\ prove. 

Seb. [Aside] The devil speaks in him. 

Pros. No. 

For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother ^^^ 

Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive 
Thy rankest fault, — aU of them; and require 
My dukedom of thee, which perforce, I know, 
Thou must restore. 

Axon. If thou be'st Prospero, 

Give us particulars of thy preservation ; 
How thou hast met us here, who three hours since 
Were vpreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost — 
How sharp the point of this remembrance is ! — 
My dear son Ferdinand. 

Pros. I am woe for 't, sir. 

Alon. Irreparable is the loss; and patience ^^" 

Says it is past her cure. 

Pegs. I rather think 

You have not sought her help, of whose soft grace 
For the like loss I have her sovereign aid. 
And rest myself content. 

Alon. You the like loss! 

Pros. As great to me as late; and, supportable 
To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker 
Than you may call to comfort you, for I 
Have lost my daughter. 

Axon. A daughter? 

O heavens, that they were Uving both in Naples, 
The king and queen there! that they were, I wish ^^^ 

145-146 As great . . . loss] As great to me as it is recent; and, to make 
this bitter loss bearable, etc. 

Myself were mudded in that oozy bed 

Where my son lies. When did you lose your daughter? 

Pros. In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords 
At this encounter do so much admire. 
That they devour their reason, and scarce think 
Their eyes do offices of truth, their words 
Are natural breath: but, howsoe'er you have 
Been justled from your senses, know for certain 
That I am Prospero, and that very duke 
Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely ^^^ 
Upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was 

landed. 
To be the lord on 't. No more yet of this ; 
For 't is a chronicle of day by day. 
Not a relation for a breakfast, nor 
Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir; 
This ceE 's my court: here have I few attendants, 
And subjects none abroad: pray you, look in. 
My dukedom since you have given me again, 
I wiU requite you with as good a thing ; 
At least bring forth a wonder, to content ye ^'^'^ 

As much as me my dukedom. 

Here Prospero discovers Ferdinand and Miuanda playing 

at chess 

MiB. Sweet lord, you play me false. 
Fee. No, my dear'st love, 

I would not for the world. 

157 Are natural breath] Come from human beings. 

Mir. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle, 
And I would caU it fair play. 

Alon. If this prove 

A vision of the island, one dear son 
Shall I twice lose. 

Seb. a most high miracle!/ 

Fer. Though the seas threaten, they are merciful; 
I have cursed them without cause. [Kneels. 

Alon. Now all the blessings 

Of a glad father compass thee about! ^^^ 

Arise, and say how thou camest here. 

Mir. O, wonder! 

How many goodly creatures are there here ! 
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, 
That has such people in 't ! 

Pros. 'T is new to thee. 

Axon. What is this maid with whom thou wast at 
play? 
Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours : 
Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us. 
And brought us thus together? 

Fer. Sir, she is mortal; 

But by immortal Providence she 's mine : 
I chose her when I could not ask my father ^®° 

For his advice, nor thought I had one. She 
Is daughter to this famous Duke of MUan, 

174-175 Yes, . . . fair play] The meaning required is: "Should you win 
a stake of twenty kingdoms by cheating me at the game, I would call 
it fair play." "Wrangle " is employed in the unusual sense of "com- 
- pete by unworthy means." 

Of whom so often I have heard, renown, 
But never saw before ; of whom I have 
Received a second hf e ; and second father 
This lady makes him to me. 

Axon. I am hers : 

But, O, how oddly wiU it sound that I 
Must ask my child forgiveness ! 

Pros. There, sir, stop: 

Let us not burthen our remembrances with 
A heaviness that 's gone. 

GoN. I have inly wept, ^^ 

Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you gods, 
And on this couple drop a blessed crown ! 
For it is you that have chalk'd forth the way 
Which brought us hither. 

Axon. I say. Amen, Gonzalo! 

GoN. Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue 
Should become kings of Naples? O, rejoice 
Beyond a common joy! and set it down 
With gold on lasting pillars: In one voyage 
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis, 
And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife ^^^ 

Where he himself was lost, Prospero his dukedom 
In a poor isle, and all of us ourselves 
When no man was his own. 

Axon, [to Fer. and Mir.] Give me your hands: 
Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart 
That doth not wish you joy! 

GoN. Be it so! Amen! 

213 When no man . . . own] At a time when no one was in his senses. 

Re-enter Ariel, tenth the Master and Boatswain amazedly 

fdUowing 

O, look, sir, look, sirl here is more of us: 

I prophesied, if a gallows were on land, 

This fellow could not drown. Now, blasphemy, 

That swear' st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore? 

Hast thou no mouth by land? What is the news? ^^^ 

Boats. The best news is, that we have safely found 
Our king and company; the next, our ship — 
Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split — 
Is tight and yare and bravely rigg'd, as when 
We first put out to sea. 

Aei. \_Aside to Pros.'\ Sir, aU this service 
Have I done since I went. 

Pros. [Aside to ArLI My tricksy spirit! 

Alon. These are not natural events ; they strengthen 
From strange to stranger. Say, how came you 
hither? 

Boats. If I did think, sir, I were well awake, 
I 'Id strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep, ^^° 

And — how we know not — all clapp'd under hatches; 
Where, but even now, with strange and several 

noises 
Of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains. 
And mo diversity of sounds, aU horrible, 

'iiS three glasses] Shakespeare means "three hours." Cf. line 186, JMpro. 

Seamen's sand-glasses really marked the half hours; cf. I, ii, 240, 

supra, and note. 
824 yare] fit, ready. Cf. I, i, 3, supra, "fall to't, yarely." 

We were awaked; straightway, at liberty; 
Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld 
Our royal, good, and gallant ship; our master 
Capering to eye her: — on a trice, so please you, 
Even in a dream, were we divided from them, 
And were brought moping hither. 

Am. [Aside to Pros.] Was 't well done? ^40 

Pegs. \_Aside to AH.] Bravely, my diligence. Thou 
shalt be free. 

Axon. This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod; 
And there is in this business more than nature 
Was ever conduct of : some oracle 
Must rectify our knowledge. 

Pegs. Sir, my liege. 

Do not infest your mind with beating on 
The strangeness of this business; at pick'd leisure 
Which shall be shortly, single I 'U resolve you. 
Which to you shall seem probable, of every 
These happen'd accidents ; till when, be cheerful, ^50 

And think of each thing well. [Aside to Ari.] Come hither, 

spirit: 
Set Caliban and his companions free; 
Untie the speU. [Exit Ariel.J How fares my gracious 

sir? 
There are yet missing of your company 
Some few odd lads that you remember not. 

237 royal] See note on Merck, of Ven., Ill, ii, 241. 

238 Capering to eye her] Skippmg about at sight of her. 

244 conduct] conductor, guide. Cf. Rom. and Jul., V, iii, 116: "Come 
bitter condud, come, unsavoury guide." 

Re-enter Aeiel, drvaing m Caliban, Stephano, and TaiNcuLO, 
m their stolen apparel 

Ste. Every man shift for all the rest, and let no man 
take care for himself; for all is but fortune. — Coragio, 
bully-monster, coragio! 

Trin. If these be true spies which I wear in my head, 
here 's a goodly sight. ^^^ 

Cal,. O Setebos, these be brave spirits indeed! 
How fine my master is! I am afraid 
He will chastise me. 

See. Ha, ha! 

What things are these, my lord Antonio? 
Will money buy 'em? 

Ant. Very hke; one of them 

Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable. 

Pros. Mark but the badges of these men, my lords, 
Then say if they be true. This mis-shapen knave. 
His mother was a witch; and one so strong 
That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs, ^^° 

And deal in her command, without her power. 
These three have robb'd me; and this demi-devil — 
For he 's a bastard one — had plotted with them 
To take my hf e. Two of these fellows you 
Must know and own; this thing of darkness I 
Acknowledge mine. 

Cajl. I shall be pinch'd to death. 

Axon. Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler? 

271 And deal . . . power] And exercise the moon's own powers of con- 
trol, while remaining outside the limits of her sovereignty. 

Seb. He is drunk now: where had he wine? 

Al,on. And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they 
Find this grand hquor that hath gilded 'em? — ^^^ 

How earnest thou in this pickle? 

Trin. I have been in such a pickle, since I saw you 
last, that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I 
shall not fear fly-blowing. 

Seb. Why, how now, Stephano ! 

Ste. O, touch me not; — I am not Stephano, but a 
cramp. 

Pros. You 'Id be king o' the isle, sirrah? 

Ste. I should have been a sore one, then. 

Alon. This is a strange thing as e'er I look'd on. 

[Poimtmg to Caliban. 

Pros. He is as disproportion'd in his manners ^^^ 

As in his shape. Go, sirrah, to my cell; 
Take with you your companions ; as you, look 
To have my pardon, trim it handsomely. 

CAii. Ay, that I will; and I '11 be wise hereafter. 
And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass 
Was I, to take this drunkard for a god, 
And worship this dull fool! 

Pros. Go to; away! 

Alon. Hence, and bestow your luggage where you 
found it. 

Seb. Or stole it, rather. \^Exetmt Cd., Ste., and Trin. 

279 reeling Wpe] ripe for reeling (in drunkenness). 

280 gilded] a slang term for "made drunk." 

284 shall not fear fly-blovnng] pickling was a preservative against "fly- 
blowing [i. e. putrefaction by flies]." 

Pegs. Sir, I invite your Highness and your train ^°° 
To my poor cell, where you shall take your rest 
For this one night; which, part of it, I '11 waste 
With such discourse as, I not doubt, shall make it 
Go quick away: the story of my hfe. 
And the particular accidents gone by 
Since I came to this isle : and in the morn 
I 'II bring you to your ship, and so to Naples, 
Where I have hope to see the nuptial 
Of these our dear-beloved solemnized; 
And thence retire me to my Milan, where ^^^ 

Every third thought shall be my grave. 

Alon. I long 

To hear the story of your life, which must 
Take the ear strangely. 

Pegs. I '11 deliver all; 

And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales, 
And saQ so expeditious, that shall catch 
Your royal fleet far off. [Aside to Ari.'\ My Ariel, chick. 
That is thy charge: then to the elements 
Be free, and fare thou welll Please you, draw near. 

[ExettMt. 

EPILOGUE 

SPOKEN BY PROSPERO 

Now my charms are all o'erthrown, 
I And what strength I have 's mine own. 
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true, 
I must be here confined by you, 
Or sent to Naples, Let me not, 
Since I have my dukedom got. 
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell 
In this bare island by your spell; 
But release me from my bands 
With the help of your good hands : 
Gentle breath of yours my sails 
Must fill, or else my project fails. 
Which was to please. Now I want 
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant; 
And my ending is despair. 
Unless I be relieved by prayer, 
Which pierces so, that it assaults 
Mercy itself, and frees all faults. 
As you from crimes would pardon'd be. 
Let your indulgence set me free. ^^ 

10 

10 With the help . . . hands\ With your applause; noise was held to 

dissolve a spell. 
18 Mercy itself ] The Deity. 

[ xxii ] 

A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM 

DRAMATIS PERSONS 

Theseus, Duke of Athens. 
Egeus, father to Hermia. 

-rx ' !■ in love with Hermia. 

Demeteius, j 

Philostrate, master of the revels to Theseus. 

Quince, a carpenter. 

Snug, a joiner. 

Bottom, a weaver. 

Flute, a bellows-mender. 

Snout, a tinker. 

Starveling, a tailor. 

HippoLYTA, queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus. 
Hermia, daughter to Egeus, in love with Lysander. 
Helena, in love with Demetiius. 

Obeeon, king of the fairies. 
TiTANiA, queen of the fairies. 
Puck, or Robin Goodfellow. 

fairies. 

Peaseblossom, "* 
Cobweb, 
Moth, 
mustaedseed, 

Other fairies attending their King and Queen. Attendants on 
Theseus and Hippolyta. 

Scene — Athens, and a wood near it 

* Dramatis PersoNje] Two editions of the play appeared in quarto in 
1600, during Shakespeare's lifetime. Of these, that which was " printed 
by James Roberts " was followed in the First Folio of 1623. None of 
the early texts are divided into scenes. The Folio version marked the 
acts alone. The Quartos ignore acts and scenes alike. Again, neither 
Folios nor Quartos supply the "dramatis personae." Rowe's edition of 
1709 first gave a list of characters, with indication of the scenes. The 
scenic divisions, as usually adopted now, were devised by a later commen- 
tator, Capell.

THE PALACE OF THESEUS 

Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostrate, and Attendants 

Theseus 

~ low, FAIR HIPPOLYTA, 

our nuptial hour 

Draws on apace ; four happy days 

bring in 

Another moon : but, O, methinks, 

how slow 

This old moon wanes ! she lingers 

my desires, 

Like to a step-dame, or a dowager. 

Long withering out a young man's 

revenue. 

Hip. Four days will quickly 

steep themselves in night ; 
Four nights wiU quickly dream away the time ; 
And then the moon, hke to a silver bow 
New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night 
Of our solemnities. 

10 

4 lingers] causes to linger, protracts. 

10 New-bent] Rowe's correction of the original reading Korv bent. 

The. Go, Philostrate, 

Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments ; 
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth : 
Turn melancholy forth to funerals ; 

The pale companion is not for our pomp. [Exit Philostrate, 
Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword. 
And won thy love, doing thee injuries ; 
But I will wed thee in another key, 
With pomp, with triumph and with reveUing. 

Enter Egeus, Heemia, Lysandek, and Demetrius 

Ege. Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke ! 20 

The. Thanks, good Egeus: what's the news with 

thee? 
Ege. Full of vexation come I, with complaint 
Against my child, my daughter Hermia. 
Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord. 
This man hath my consent to marry her. 
Stand forth, Lysander : and, my gracious duke, 
This man hath bewitch'd the bosom of my child : 
Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes. 
And interchanged love-tokens with my child : 
Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung, 30 

With feigning voice, verses of feigning love ; 

27 This man hath betvitch'd] This is the reading of the two Quartos and 
the First Folio. By slurring " hath " in pronunciation, the metrical 
irregularity may be neutralised. The later Folios improve the 
metre by reading This hath betvitch'd. Theobald proposed This 
man hath rvitch'd. 

31 feigning voice . . . feigning /o«e] There is a play on the word 

And stolen the impression of her fantasy 

With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits, 

Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers 

Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth : 

With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's heart ; 

Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me, 

To stubborn harshness : and, my gracious duke. 

Be it so she wiU not here before your Grace 

Consent to marry with Demetrius, 4o 

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens, 

As she is mine, I may dispose of her : 

Which shall be either to this gentleman 

Or to her death, according to our law 

Immediately provided in that case. 

The. What say you, Hermia ? be advised, fair maid : 
To you your father should be as a god ; 
One that composed your beauties ; yea, and one 
To whom you are but as a form in wax 
By him imprinted and within his power so 

" feigning," which is first used in the technical sense (in music) 
of " singing softly," " humming," and then in the ordinary sense 
of " dissembling. " 
32 And stolen . . . fantasy] The general sense is " stealthily gained 
her affections." " Fantasy " is used like " fancy," for " love " or 
"thought of love." Cf. line 155, infra, and M. Wives, V, v, 91 : 
" Fie on sinful fantasy." " Impression " means semblance or 
shape, so that " impression of her fantasy " is equivalent to the 
"semblance of her love." Cf Two Gent., II, iv, 197, 198: 
" a waxen image 'gainst the fire, 
Bears no impression of the thing it was. " 

35 unharden'i\ soft, impressionable. 

To leave the figure or disfigure it. 
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. 

Her. So is Lysander. 

The. In himself he is ; 

But in this kind, wanting yoiu- father's voice, 
The other must be held the worthier. 

Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes. 

The. Rather your eyes must with his judgement 
look. 

Her. I do entreat your Grace to pardon me. 
I know not by what power I am made bold. 
Nor how it may concern my modesty, so 

In such a presence here to plead my thoughts ; 
But I beseech your Grace that I may know 
The worst that may befall me in this case, 
If I refuse to wed Demetrius. 

The. Either to die the death, or to abjure 
For ever the society of men. 
Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires ; 
Know of your youth, examine well your blood, 
Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice. 
You can endure the livery of a nun ; to 

For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd. 
To live a barren sister all your life. 
Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. 
Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood. 
To undergo such maiden pilgrimage ; 

54 in this kind] in business of this nature. The expression twice recurs 
below. Cf. IV, i, 88 and 210. 
father's voice] father's approval. Cf. All 's Well, II, iii, 52. 

But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd. 

Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn. 

Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness. 

Her. So will I grow, so Uve, so die, my lord, 
Ere I win yield my virgin patent up so 

Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke 
My soul consents not to give sovereignty. 

The. Take time to pause; and, by the next new 
moon, — 
The sealing-day betwixt my love and me. 
For everlasting bond of fellowship, — 
Upon that day either prepare to die 
For disobedience to your father's wiU, 
Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would ; 
Or on Diana's altar to protest 
For aye austerity and single life. so 

Dem. Relent, sweet Hermia : and, Lysander, yield 
Thy crazed title to my certain right. 

Lys. You have her father's love, Demetrius ; 
Let me have Hermia's : do you marry him. 

Ege. Scornful Lysander ! true, he hath my love. 
And what is nyne my love shaU render him. 

76 distiird] with its scent extracted and preserved by distillation. Cf. 
Sonnet V, 9j "summer's distillation," and 13, "flowers distilled," 
and Sonnet LIV, 21: "Of their [i. e., roses] sweet deaths are 
sweetest odours made." The general sentiment is a leading topic 
of Shakespeare's Sonnets. 

80 virgin patent'] the privilege of remaining a virgin. 

81 Am lordship, whose] the dominion or guardianship of him, to whose, 

etc. 

And she is mine, and aU my right of her 
I do estate unto Demetrius. 

Lys. I am, my lord, as well derived as he. 
As well possess'd ; my love is more than his ; loo 

My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd. 
If not with vantage, as Demetrius' ; 
And, which is more than all these boasts can be, 
I am beloved of beauteous Hermia : 
Why should not I then prosecute my right ? 
Demetrius, I 'U avouch it to his head. 
Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena, 
And won her soul ; and she, sweet lady, dotes. 
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry. 
Upon this spotted and inconstant man, no 

The. I must confess that I have heard so much. 
And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof; 
But, being over-fuU of self-afFairs, 
My mind did lose it. But, Demetrius, come ; 
And come, Egeus ; you shall go with me, 
I have some private schooling for you both. 
For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself 
To fit your fancies to your father's mil ; 
Or else the law of Athens yields you up, — 
Which by no means we may extenuate, — 120 

To death, or to a vow of single hfe. 
Come, my Hippolyta : what cheer, my love ? 
Demetrius and Egeus, go along : 
I must employ you in some business 
Against our nuptial, and confer with you 
Of something nearly that concerns yourselves. 

[81 

Ege. With duty and desire we follow you. 

[Exeu7it all but Li/sander and Hermia. 

Lys. How now, my love I why is your cheek so pale ? 
How chance the roses there do fade so fast ? 

Hek. Belike for want of rain, which I could well i3o 
Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes. 

Lys. Ay me ! for aught that I could ever read, 
Could ever hear by tale or history, 
The course of true love never did run smooth ; 
But, either it was different in blood, — 

Her. O cross ! too high to be enthrall'd to low. 

Lys. Or else misgraifed in respect of years, — 

Her. O spite ! too old to be engaged to young. 

Lys. Or else it stood upon the choice of friends, — 

Her. O hell ! to choose love by another's eyes. i4o 

Lys. Or, if there were a sympathy in choice. 
War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it, 
Making it momentany as a sound. 
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream ; 
Brief as the hghtning in the collied night. 
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth, 
And ere a man hath power to say " Behold ! " 
The jaws of darkness do devour it up : 
So quick bright things come to confusion. 

Her. If then true lovers have been ever cross'd, 140 

It stands as an edict in destiny : 

136 low] Theobald's emendation for the old reading lone. 

143 momentany] The reading of the Quartos. The Folios read momem- 
tarie. Both forms were common. Momentany had the authority 
of early usage. Cf. " momemtaine," Fr. Lat. " momentaneus." 

[9J 

Then let us teach our trial patience. 

Because it is a customary cross, 

As due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs. 

Wishes and tears, poor fancy's followers. 

Lys. a good persuasion : therefore, hear me, Hermia. 
I have a widow aunt, a dowager 
Of great revenue, and she hath no child : 
From Athens is her house remote seven leagues ; 
And she respects me as her only son. leo 

There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee ; 
And to that place the sharp Athenian law 
Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me, then. 
Steal forth thy father's house to-morrow night ; 
And in the wood, a league without the town. 
Where I did meet thee once with Helena, 
To do observance to a morn of May, 
There will I stay for thee. 

Her. My good Lysander ! 

I swear to thee, by Cupid's strongest bow. 
By his best arrow with the golden head, 170 

By the simplicity of Venus' doves. 
By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves, 

7- 

155 fancy's followers] For "fancy" in the sense of love, cf. "fancy- 
free," II, i, 164, infra, "fancy-sick," III, ii, Q6, and "infancy," 
IV, i, 160. 

156 persuasion] persuasive argument. 

170 By his . . . head] Ovid (Met, I, 466) credits Cupid with two 
arrows ; one, that " causeth love," is " all of gold with point full 
sharpe and bright " ; the other, that " chaseth love," is blunt, 
"whose Steele with leaden head is dight."' The quoted words are 
from Golding's translation. 

And by that fire which burn'd the Carthage queen, 
When the false Troyan under sail was seen, 
By all the vows that ever men have broke. 
In number more than ever women spoke, 
In that same place thou hast appointed me. 
To-morrow truly wiU I meet with thee. 
Lys. Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena. 

Enter Helena 

Her. God speed fair Helena ! whither away ? i8o 

Hel. Call you me fair ? that fair again unsay. 
Demetrius loves your fair : O happy fair 1 
Your eyes are lode-stars ; and your tongue's sweet air 
More tuneable than lark to shepherd's ear, 
When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear. 
Sickness is catching : O, were favour so. 
Yours would I catch, fair Hermia, ere I go ; 
My ear should catch your voice, my eye your eye. 
My tongue should catch your tongue's sweet melody. 
Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated, iso 

TLe rest I'ld give to be to you translated. 
O, teach me how you look ; and with what art 
You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart I 
Her. I frown upon him, yet he loves me still, 
Hel. O that your frowns would teach my smiles such 

skmi 
Her. I give him curses, yet he gives me love. 

173 the Carthage queen] In Dido, Queen of Carthage, the play by Marlowe 
and Nashe, the heroine is thus described four times. Cf. Act. Ill, 
Sc. iv, 40, and IV, iv, 29, 132, 157. 

Hel. O that my prayers could such affection move 1 

Her. The more I hate, the more he follows me. 

Hel. The more I love, the more he hateth me. 

Her. His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine. 200 

Hel. None, but your beauty : would that fault were 
mine I 

Her. Take comfort : he no more shall see my face ; 
Lysander and myself will fly this place. 
Before the time I did Lysander see, 
Seem'd Athens as a paradise to me : 
O, then, what graces in my love do dwell. 
That he hath turn'd a heaven unto a heU ! 

Lys. Helen, to you our minds we will unfold : 
To-morrow night, when Phoebe doth behold 
Her silver visage in the watery glass, 210 

Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass, 
A time that lovers' flights doth still conceal, 
Through Athens' gates have we devised to steal. 

Her. And in the wood, where often you and I 
Upon faint priiiu-ose-beds were wont to lie. 
Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet. 
There my Lysander and myself shall meet ; 
And thence from Athens turn away our eyes. 
To seek new friends and stranger companies. 

200 no fault] the reading of the first Quarto. The second Quarto 
and the Folios read none fault. 

215 faint primrose-beds] The epithet probably refers to the colour rather 
than to the smell. Steevens thought reference was made to the 
smell. Cf. " pale primroses," Wint. Tale, IV, iv, ] 22, and Cymb., 
IV, ii, 221 ; "This T^a\& faint swan," K. John, V, vii, 21. 

Farewell, sweet playfellow : pray thou for us ; 22a 

And good luck grant thee thy Demetrius ! 
Keep word, Lysander : we must starve our sight 
From lovers' food till morrow deep midnight. 

Lys. I will, my Hermia. [Ei>oit Herm. 

Helena, adieu : 
As you on him, Demetrius dote on you ! [Exit. 

Hel. How happy some o'er other some can be 1 
Through Athens I am thought as fair as she. 
But what of that ? Demetrius thinks not so ; 
He wiU not know what all but he do know : 
And as he errs, doting on Hermia's eyes, 230 

So I, admiring of his qualities : 
Things base and vile, holding no quantity, 
Love can transpose to form and dignity : 
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind ; 
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind : 
Nor hath Love's mind of any judgement taste ; 
Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste : 
And therefore is Love said to be a child, 
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled. 
As waggish boys in game themselves forswear, 240 

So the boy Love is perjured everywhere : 
For ere Demetrius look'd on Hermia's eyne. 
He haU'd down oaths that he was only mine ; 
And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt. 
So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt. 

232 holding no quantity] having no genuine value, no value proportioned 
to that which is perversely set on them (by love). Cf. Hamlet, III, 
ii, 162 : "For women's fear and love holds quantity. 

1 will go tell him of fair Hermia's flight: 
Then to the wood will he to-morrow night 
Pursue her ; and for this intelligence 

If I have thanks, it is a dear expense : 

But herein mean I to enrich my pain, 250 

To have his sight thither and back again. [Exit. 

SCENE II — THE SAME 
QUINCE'S HOUSE 

Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, and Starveling 

QuiN. Is all our company here ? 

BoT. You were best to call them generally, man by 
man, according to the scrip. 

QuiN. Here is the scroll of every man's name, which 
is thought fit, through all Athens^ to play in our inter- 
lude before the duke and the duchess, on his wedding- 
day at night. 

BoT. First, good Peter Quince, say what the play 
treats on ; then read the names of the actors ; and so 
grow to a point. 

QuiN. Marry, our play is, The most lamentable com- 10 
edy, and most cruel death of Pjramus and Thisby. 

BoT. A very good piece of work, I assure you, and 
a merry. Now, good Peter Quince, call forth your 
actors by the scroll. Masters, spread yourselves. 

249 it is a dear expense] I pay dearly, I make a bitter bargain (in giving 
Demetrius information, which will put him on the track of my 
rival Hermia). 

2 generally] Bottom's confused error for "particularly," or " severally." 

QuiN. Answer as 1 call you. Nick Bottom, the 
weaver. 

BoT. Ready. Name what part I am for, and proceed. 

QuiN. You, Nick Bottom, are set down for Pyramus. 

BoT. What is Pyramus ? a lover, or a tyrant ? 

QuiN. A lover, that kills himself most gallant for love. 

Box. That will ask some tears in the true performing of 20 
it : if I do it, let the audience look to their eyes ; I will 
move storms, I will condole in some measure. To the 
rest : yet my chief humour is for a tyrant : I could play 
Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cat in, to make all spht. 

The raging rocks 
And shivering shocks 
Shall break the locks 
Of prison-gates ; 

22 condole] mourn, show signs of lamentation. Cf. Hamlet, 1, a, 93 : 

" In obstinate condolement," and " condoling," line 34, infra. 

23 Ercles] Apparent reference to a popular play of the period. Cf. 

Greene's Groatsrvorth of Wit : " The twelve labors of Hercules have 
I terribly thundered on the stage." Greene's Works, Ed. Grosart 
Vol. XII, p. 131. 

24 to tear a cat in] to rant violently. In Middleton's Roaring Girl, 1 6l 1, 

a roguish character is called "Tearcat " ; cf. V, i, I6O-I6I : " Ruf- 
fling Tearcat is my name, and a ruffler is my style, my title, my pro- 
fession." In the anonymous piece called Histriomasiix, I6IO, it was 
said of an actor that he " would rend and tear a cat upon the stage." 
Hamlet illustrates the general sentiment m his advice to the players 
to beware of tearing a passion to tatters. Hamlet, III, ii, 9 sea 
to make all split] to use extravagantly violent gesture; an expres- 
sion derived from the figure of a storm splitting a vessel at sea 
Cf. Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady, II, iii: «Two roaring 
boys of Rome, that made all split." ^ 

[15J 

And Phibbus' car 

Shall shine from far, 30 

And make and mar 
The foolish Fates. 
This was lofty I Now name the rest of the players. 
This is Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein ; a lover is more 
condoling. 

QuiN. Francis Flute, the bellows-mender. 

Flu. Here, Peter Quince. 

QuiN. Flute, you must take Thisby on you. 

Flu. What is Thisby ? a wandering knight ? 

QuiN. It is the lady that Pyramus must love. 

Flu. Nay, faith, let not me play a woman ; I have a 40 
beard coming. 

Qum. That 's all one : you shall play it in a mask, and 
you may speak as small as you will. 

BoT. An I may hide my face, let me play Thisby 
too, I '11 speak in a monstrous little voice, " Thisne, 
Thisne ; " " Ah Pyramus, my lover dear I thy Thisby 
dear, and lady dear ! " 

QuiN. No, no ; you must play Pyramus : and. Flute, 
you Thisby. 

Box. Well, proceed. 

QuiN. Robin Starveling, the tailor. so 

Stae. Here, Peter Quince. 

QuiN. Robin Starveling, you must play Thisby's 
mother. Tom Snout, the tinker. 

43 speak as smalt] Cf. M. Wives, I, i, 43, where Slender says of Anne 

Page, " She has brown hair, and speaks stnatt like a woman." 
52-53 Thisby's mo<Aer]This character, like "Pyramus* father," and "This- 

Snout. Here, Peter Quince. 

QuiN. You, Pjrramus' father : myself, Thisby's father : 
Snug, the joiner ; you, the lion's part : and, I hope, 
here is a play fitted. 

Snug. Have you the lion's part written ? pray you, if 
it he, give it me, for I am slow of study. 

QuiN. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing eo 
but roaring. 

BoT. Let me play the lion too : I will roar, that I 
will do any man's heart good to hear me ; I will roar, 
that I will make the duke say, " Let him roar again, 
let him roar again." 

QuiN. An you should do it too terribly, you would 
fright the duchess and the ladies, that they would shriek ; 
and that were enough to hang us all. 

All. That would hang us, eveiy mother's son. 

Box. I grant you, friends, if you should fright the 70 
ladies out of their wits, they would have no more dis- 
cretion but to hang us : but 1 will aggravate my voice 
so, that I will roar you as gently as any sucking dove ; 
I win roar you an 't were any nightingale. 

QuiN. You can play no part but Pyramus ; for Pyra- 
mus is a sweet-faced man ; a proper man, as one shall 
see in a summer's day ; a most lovely, gentleman-Uke 
man : therefore you must needs play Pyramus. 

by's father," mentioned below (L 55), does not appear in the inter- 
lude, as presented in Act V. Sc. i. Starveling, Snout, and Quince 
play respectively the parts of Moonshine, Wall, and Prologue, 
which are not noticed in the rehearsals. 

' [17] 

BoT. Well, 1 will undertake it. What beard were I 
best to play it in ? ^ 

QuiN. Why, what you wiU. 

Box. I will discharge it in either your straw colour 
beard, your orange-tawny beard, your purple-in-grain 
beard, or your French crown colour beard, your perfect 
yellow. 

QuiN. Some of your French crowns have no hair at 
all, and then you will play barefaced. But,. masters, here 
are your parts : and I am to entreat you, request you, 
and desire you, to con them by to-morrow night ; and 
meet me in the palace wood, a mile without the town, 
by moonlight ; there will we rehearse, for if we meet in 90 
the city, we shaU be dogged with company, and our de- 
vices known. In the mean time I will draw a bOl of prop- 
erties, such as our play wants. I pray you, fail me not. 

BoT, We will meet ; and there we may rehearse 
most obscenely and courageously. Take pains ; be 
perfect : adieu. 

QuiN. At the duke's oak we meet. 

Box. Enough ; hold or cut bow-strings. ^Exeunt. 

83 purple-in-grain'] scarlet or crimson. Under " migraine," Cotgrave, 
Fr.-Engl. Diet, gives the meanings scarlet or purple in grain. 

86 French cronms] coins of a bright yellow colour. There is a play- 
ful allusion here to the belief that baldness was due to venereal 
disease, which was held to be a pecuUarly French malady. 

95 obscenely'] an ignorant blunder for " seemly." Cf. L. L. L., IV, i, 145, 
where the clown Costard employs the word with like clumsiness. 

98 hold or cut bowstrings] a colloquial expression for "whatever 
happens," " in any event." 

Puck

A WOOD NEAR ATHENS 
Enter, from opposite sides, a Fairy and Puck 

O W NOW, S P 1 R I T 1 

whither wander you? 
Fai. Over hill, over dale, 
Thorough bush, thorough brier. 

Over park, over pale. 

Thorough flood, thorough fire, 

I do wander every where, 

Swifter than the moon's sphere ; 

And I serve the fairy queen, 

To dew her orbs upon the green. 

The cowslips taU her pensioners 

be : 

In their gold coats spots you see ; 
Those be rubies, fairy favours, 
In those freckles live their savours : 

10 

7 moon's sphere^ The metre requires that moon's should be pro- 
nounced dissyllabically. The moon, like all other planets and 
stars, was currently held to be enclosed in a hollow crystalline 
globe or sphere, and it was this sphere which was supposed to 
circle swiftly round the earth. 

9 To dew her orbs] To sprinkle with dew fairy rings. 

I must go seek some dewdrops here, 
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear. 
Farewell, thou lob of spirits ; I 'U be gone : 
Our queen and all her elves come here anon. 

Puck. The king doth keep his revels here to-night : 
Take heed the queen come not within his sight ; 
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath, 20 

Because that she as her attendant hath 
A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king; 
She never had so sweet a changehng : 
And jealous Oberon would have the child 
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild ; 
But she perforce withholds the loved boy, 
Crowns him with flowers, and makes him aU her joy : 
And now they never meet in grove or green. 
By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen, 
But they do square, that all their elves for fear so 

Creep into acorn cups and hide them there. 

10 pensioners] The cowslips are here hkened to Queen Elizabeth's 

gentlemen-at-arms, who were called " pensioners " and wore rich 
uniforms. 

11 spots'] A reference to the red spots, "the crimson drops I' the 

bottom of a cowslip," Cymh., II, ii, 38. 

15 hang a pearl . . . ear] an allusion to the custom of wearing pearl 
or other jewel in the ear. Cf. Rom. and Jul., I, v, 44 : " Like a rich 
jewel in an Ethiop's ear." 

23 changeling] Here the child stolen by the fairies ; but commonly ap- 
plied to the feeble infant who is left by the fairies in exchange 
for the strong child which they stole away. 

30 square] Cf. Cotgrave, Fr.-Engl. Diet., " Sequarrer : to strout, or sqtmre 
it ; looke big on't, carrie his armes a kemboll, bragadocio-Uke." 

[W] 

Fai. Either I mistake your shape and making quite, 
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite 
Call'd RobiQ GoodfeUow : are not you he 
That frights the maidens of the villagery ; 
Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern. 
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn ; 
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm ; 
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm ? 
Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck, 4o 

You do their work, and they shall have good luck : 
Are not you he ? 

Puck. Thou speak'st aright ; 

I am that merry wanderer of the night. 
I jest to Oberon, and make him smile. 
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile. 
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal : 
And sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl. 
In very Kkeness of a roasted crab ; 
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob 
And on her withered dewlap pour the ale. «) 

The wisest aimt, teUing the saddest tale, 
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me ; 
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she. 
And " tailor " cries, and falls into a cough ; 

47 gossip's horvl] properly a christening cup^ usually filled with 
spiced ale and roasted crabapples. A " gossip " was a " sponsor." 

54 "tailor"'] The reading seems doubtful. Dr. Johnson thought 
that he had heard some such exclamation start to the hps of one 
who suddenly fell backward ; the doctor also suggested that one 
who slips beside his chair " falls as a tailor squats upon his board " 

And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh ; 
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear 
A merrier hour was never wasted there. 
But, room, fairy I here comes Oberon. 
Fai. And here my mistress. Would that he were 
gone ! 

Enter, from one side, Obekon, with his train ; from the other, 
TiTANiA, mth hers 

Obe. Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania. 6o 

TiTA. What, jealous Oberon ! Fairies, skip hence : 
I have forsworn his bed and company. 

Obe. Tarry, rash wanton : am not I thy lord ? 

TiTA. Then I must be thy lady : but I know 
When thou hast stolen away from fairy land. 
And in the shape of Corin sat all day. 
Playing on pipes of corn, and versing love 
To amorous PhiUida. Why art thou here. 
Come from the farthest steppe of India ? 
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, to 

Your buskin'd mistress and your warrior love. 
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come 
To give their bed joy and prosperity. 

Obe. How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, 

No contemporary usage has been met with to confirm the doctor's 
conjectural explanation. 
69 steppe'l This is the reading of the first Quarto, but is doubtless a mis- 
spelling of " steepe " or " mountain," which is found in all other 
early editions. The Russian form, "steppe," was unknown to 
Western Europe till the end of the 18th century. 

Glance at my credit with Hippolyta, 

Knowing I know thy love to Theseus ? 

Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night 

From Perigenia, whom he ravished ? 

And make him with fair ^gle break his faith, 

With Ariadne and Antiopa ? so 

Tit A. These are the forgeries of jealousy : 
And never, since the middle summer's spring, 
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead. 
By paved fountain or by rushy brook, 
Or in the beached margent of the sea. 
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind. 
But with thy brawls thou hast disturb 'd our sport. 
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain. 
As in revenge, have suck'd up from the sea 
Contagious fogs ; which, falling in the land, 9o 

Have every pelting river made so proud. 
That they have overborne their continents : 
The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain, 
The ploughman lost his sweat ; and the green corn 

78-80 Perigenia . . . JEgle . . . Ariadne . . . Antiopcb\ The tale of 
Theseus's relations with these four women is described in Plu- 
tarch's life of Theseus, with which his collected " Lives " begin. 
The book was accessible to Shakespeare in North's translation. 
North transforms the Greek Uepiyvvij into the unauthorised shape 
" Perigouna." 

88-114 the winds . . . which is which] The extremely bad weather in 
England during the winter of 1593-94 seems to have suggested 
this passage. The meteorological disturbances of that season are 
described in very similar terms in Dr. King's " Lectures upon 
lonas," delivered at York in 1594, but not published till l6l8. 

Hath rotted ere his youth attain'd a beard : 

The fold stands empty in the drowned field, 

And crows are fatted with the murrion flock ; 

The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud ; 

And the quaint mazes in the wanton green. 

For lack of tread, are undistinguishable : loo 

The human mortals want their winter here ; 

No night is now with hymn or carol blest : 

Therefore the moon, the governess of floods. 

Pale in her anger, washes all the air. 

That rheumatic diseases do abound : 

And thorough this distemperature we see 

The seasons alter : hoary-headed frosts 

Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose ; 

And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown 

98 nine men's mortis'^ This was a boy's game, popular in the Midlands. 
It was played on turf. Three concentric squares were cut. 
The middle space was kept clear. Outside it, four lines con- 
nected the angular points of the three squares, while another four 
bisected their sides. Holes in each of these eight transverse 
lines emphasised the points at which they crossed or touched 
the squares. There were two players, each of whom, being 
provided with " nine men," or counters, sought to prevent the 
other from filling with his counters the three holes in any one 
of the eight transverse lines. Players were permitted alternate 
moves, as in draughts. The French name of " merelles," 
which the men or counters originally bore, was corrupted into 
" morris." 

99 quaint mazes] complicated labyrinthine figures, which boys were in 
the habit of marking on the grass. 

109 thin] All the early editions read chin. Theobald conjectured 
chill. " Thin," a late emendation, often means " thin haired." Cf. 

An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds no 

Is, as in mockery, set : the spring, the summer, 
The childing autumn, angry winter, change 
Their wonted liveries ; and the mazed world. 
By their increase, now knows not which is which : 
And this same progeny of evils comes 
From our debate, from our dissension ; 
We are their parents and original. 

Obe. Do you amend it, then ; it lies in you : 
Why should Titania cross her Oberon ? 
I do but beg a Uttle changeling boy, 120 

To be my henchman. 

TiTA. Set your heart at rest : 

The fairy land buys not the child of me. 
His mother was a votaress of my order : 
And, in the spiced Indian air, by night. 
Full often hath she gossip'd by my side ; 
And sat with me on Neptune's yellow sands. 
Marking the embarked traders on the flood ; 
When we have laugh'd to see the sails conceive 
And grow big-beUied with the wanton wind ; 
Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait 130 

Following, — her womb then rich with my young 

squire, — 
Would imitate, and sail upon the land. 
To fetch me trifles, and return again, 
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise. 

Rich. II, III, ii, 112 : "thin and hairless scalps." In Elizabethan 
writing t and c were difficult to distinguish, 
130 swimming] gliding ; a dancing step was called the swim. 

But she, being mortal, of that boy did die ; 
And for her sake do I rear up her boy ; 
And for her sake I will not part with him. 

Obe. How long within this wood intend you stay ? 

TiTA, Perchance till after Theseus' wedding-day. 
If you will patiently dance in our round, uo 

And see our moonlight revels, go with us ; 
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts. 

Obe. Give me that boy, and I wiU go with thee. 

TiTA. Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away 1 
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay. 

[Exit Titania with her Train. 

Obe. WeU, go thy way: thou shalt not from this 
grove 
Till I torment thee for this injury. 
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest 
Since once I sat upon a promontory. 

And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back, iso 

Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath. 
That the rude sea grew civil at her song, 

149-166. This passage is commonly interpreted as a reminiscence of 
the pageant with which the Earl of Leicester entertained Queen 
Elizabeth on her visit to his castle of Kenilworth in 1575. It is 
quite possible that the outdoor fStes which distinguished the royal 
reception were witnessed by Shakespeare in boyhood. Queen 
Elizabeth is certainly intended by " a fair vestal throned by the 
west" (1. 158). The ordinary interpretation identifies "Cupid all 
arm'd" with the Queen's host, Leicester, who, failing in his 
endeavour to entrap his sovereign's affections, attracted the love 
of Lettice, Countess of Essex, whom he subsequently married. On 
the other hand, the lines may be no more than a play of fancy 
encircling a poetic compliment to Queen Elizabeth 

And certain stars shot madly from their spheres, 
To hear the sea-maid's music. 

Puck. I remember. 

Obe. That very time I saw, but thou couldst not, 
Flying between the cold moon and the earth, 
Cupid aU arm'd : a certain aim he took 
At a fair vestal throned by the west. 
And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow. 
As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts : leo 

But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft 
Quench 'd in the chaste beams of the watery moon. 
And the imperial votaress passed on. 
In maiden meditation, fancy-free. 
Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell : 
It fell upon a httle western flower. 
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound. 
And maidens call it love-in-idleness. 
Fetch me that flower ; the herb I shew'd thee once : 
The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid ito 

WiU make or man or woman madly dote 
Upon the next Uve creature that it sees. 
Fetch me this herb ; and be thou here again 
Ere the leviathan can swim a league. 

Puck. I 'U put a girdle round about the earth 
In forty minutes. [Exit. 

Obe. Having once this juice, 

l64 fancy-free] free from love; cf. "fancy-sick," III, ii, 96, infra, and 

note on I, i, 155, supra. 
168 love-in-idleness] one of the many popular names of the pansy, or 

heart' s-ease (Lat., Viola tricolor). 

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM act n 

I '11 watch Titania when she is asleep, 

And drop the liquor of it in her eyes. 

The next thing then she waking looks upon, 

Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, iso 

On meddling monkey, or on busy ape. 

She shall pursue it with the soul of love : 

And ere I take this charm from off her sight. 

As I can take it with another herb, 

I '11 make her render up her page to me. 

But who comes here ? I am invisible ; 

And I win overhear their conference. 

Enter Demetrius, Helena Jbllowing him 

Dem. I love thee not, therefore pursue me not. 
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia ? 
The one I '11 slay, the other slayeth me. 190 

Thou told'st me they were stolen unto this wood ; 
And here am I, and wode within this wood, 
Because I cannot meet my Hermia. 
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more. 

Hel. You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant ; 
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart 
Is true as steel : leave you your power to draw, 
And I shall have no power to follow you. 

Dem. Do I entice you ? do I speak you fair ? 
Or, rather, do I not in plainest truth 200 

Tell you, I do not nor I cannot love you ? 

186 I am invisible] Among the properties enumerated in the Diary of 
the stage-manager, Henslowe, was "a robe for to go invisible." 
This Oberon now assumes. 

Hel. And even for that do I love you the more. 
I am your spaniel ; and, Demetrius, 
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you : 
Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me. 
Neglect me, lose me ; only give me leave. 
Unworthy as 1 am, to foUow you. 
What worser place can I beg in your love, — 
And yet a place of high respect with me, — 
Than to be used as you use your dog ? 210 

Dem. Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit ; 
For I am sick when I do look on thee. 

Hel. And I am sick when I look not on you. 

Dem. You do impeach your modesty too much. 
To leave the city, and commit yourself 
Into the hands of one that loves you not ; 
To trust the opportunity of night 
And the ill counsel of a desert place 
With the rich worth of your virginity. 

Hel. Your virtue is my privilege : for that 220 

It is not night when I do see your face. 
Therefore I think I am not in the night ; 
Nor doth this wood lack worlds pf company, 
Forjou.ia-my_ respect are all the world : 
Then how can it be said I am alone, 
When all the world is here to look on me ? 

Dem, I 'U nm from thee and hide me in the brakes. 
And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts. 

220-224] This seems an echo of Tibullus, IV, xiii, 11 : 

"tu nocte vel atra 
Lumen, etin solis tu mihi turba locis." 

Hel. The wildest hath not such a heart as you. 
Run when you will, the story shall be changed : 230 

Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase ; 
The dove pursues the griffin ; the mild hind 
Makes speed to catch the tiger ; bootless speed. 
When cowardice pursues, and valour flies. 

Dem. I wiU not stay thy questions ; let me go : 
Or, if thou follow me, do not believe 
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood. 

Hel. Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field. 
You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius ! 
Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex : 240 

We cannot fight for love, as men may do ; 
We should be woo'd, and were not made to woo. 

[Eauit Dem. 
1 11 follow thee, and make a heaven of hell, 
To die upon the hand I love so well. [Exit. 

Obe. Fare thee well, nymph : ere he do leave this grove. 
Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love. 

Re-enter Puck 

Hast thou the flower there ? Welcome, wanderer. 

Puck. Ay, there it is. 

Obe. I pray thee, give it me. 

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows. 
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows ; 2so 

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine. 
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine : 

244 upon the hand] by the hand. Cf. Much Ado, IV, i, 223 : " She 
died upon his words." 

There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, 
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight ; 
And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin, 
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in : 
And with the juice of this I 'U streak her eyes, 
And make her full of hateful fantasies. 
Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove : 
A sweet Athenian lady is in love 26o 

With a disdainful youth : anoint his eyes ; 
But do it when the next thing he espies 
May be the lady : thou shalt know the man 
By the Athenian garments he hath on. 
Effect it with some care that he may prove 
More fond on her than she upon her love : 
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow. 
Puck. Fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so. 

[Exeunt. 

SCENE n — ANOTHER PART OF THE WOOD 

Enter Titania, with her train 

TiTA. Come, now a roundel and a fairy song ; 
Then, for the third part of a minute, hence ; 
Some to kiU cankers in the musk-rose buds ; 
Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings. 
To make my small elves coats ; and some keep back 
The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots and wonders 
At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep ; 
Then to your offices, and let me rest. 

[31J 

Song 

Fir. Fairy. You spotted snakes with double tongue, 

Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen ; 10 

Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong. 
Come not near our fairy queen. 

Choeus 

Philomel, with melody 
Sing in our sweet lullaby ; 
Lulla, luUa, luUaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby : 

Never harm. 

Nor spell, nor charm. 
Come our lovely lady nigh ; 
So, good night, with lullaby. 

Fir. Fairy. Weaving spiders, come not here ; 20 

Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence ! 
Beetles black, approach not near ; 
Worm nor snail, do no offence. 

Choeus 
Philomel, with melody, &c. 

Sec. Fairy. Hence, away 1 now all is well : 
One aloof stand sentinel. 

[Exeunt Fairies. Titania sleeps. 

9 double] forked. Cf. Ill, ii, 72, infra, "adder . . . with doubler 
tongue," and Tempest, II, ii, 13: "Adders who with cloven 
tongues." 

21 long-legg'd spinners] a synonym of the "weaving spiders" of the 
previous line. 

[32 J 

Enter Obekon, and squeezes the Jtower on Titania's eyelids 

Obe. What thou seest when thou dost wake. 
Do it for thy true-love take ; 
Love and languish for his sake : 
Be it ounce, or cat, or bear, 30 

Pard, or boar with bristled hair, 
In thy eye that shall appear 
When thou wakest, it is thy dear : 
Wake when some vile thing is near. [Exit. 

Enter Lysandee and Hermia 

Lys. Fair love, you faint with wandering in the 
wood ; 
And to speak troth, I have forgot our way : 

We 'U rest us, Hermia, if you think it good. 
And tarry for the comfort of the day. 

Her. Be it so, Lysander : find you out a bed ; 
For I upon this bank will rest my head. *o 

Lys. One turf shall serve as pillow for us both ; 
One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth. 

Her. Nay, good Lysander ; for my sake, my dear. 
Lie further off yet, do not lie so near. 

Lys. O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence ! 
Love takes the meaning in love's conference. 
I mean, that my heart unto yours is knit. 
So that but one heart we can make of it : 
Two bosoms interchained with an oath ; 

49 interchained] the reading of the Quartos. The Folios read, less in- 
telligibly, interchanged, 
3 [33] 

So then two bosoms and a single troth. so 

Then by your side no bed-room me deny ; 
For lying so, Hermia, I do not lie. 

Her. Lysander riddles very prettily : 
Now much beshrew my manners and my pride. 
If Hermia meant to say Lysander lied. 
But, gentle friend, for love and coiui;esy 
Lie further off ; in human modesty. 
Such separation as may well be said 
Becomes a virtuous bachelor and a maid, 
So far be distant ; and, good night, sweet friend : eo 

Thy love ne'er alter till thy sweet life end ! 

Lys. Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I ; 
And then end life when I end loyalty I 
Here is my bed : sleep give thee all his rest 1 

Her. With half that wish the wisher's eyes be 
press'd 1 IThey sleep. 

Enter Puck 

Puck: Through the forest have I gone. 
But Athenian found I none. 
On whose eyes I might approve 
This flower's force in stirring love. 
Night and silence. — Who is here ? to 

Weeds of Athens he doth wear : 
This is he, my master said. 
Despised the Athenian maid ; 
And here the maiden, sleeping sound. 
On the dank and dirty ground. 
Pretty soul I she durst not lie 

Near this lack-love, this kill-courtesy. 

Churl, upon thy eyes I throw 

AU the power this charm doth owe. 

When thou wakest, let love forbid so 

Sleep his seat on thy eyelid : 

So awake when I am gone ; 

For I must now to Oberon. [Exit. 

Enter Demetrius and Helena, running 

Hel. Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius. 

Dem. I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me 
thus. 

Hel. O, wilt thou darkling leave me ? do not so. 

Dem. Stay, on thy peril : I alone will go. [Exit. 

Hel. O, I am out of breath in this fond chase ! 
The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace. 
Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies ; 90 

For she hath blessed and attractive eyes. 
How came her eyes so bright ? Not with salt tears : 
If so, my eyes are oftener wash'd than hers. 
No, no, I am as ugly as a bear ; 
For beasts that meet me run away for fear : 
Therefore no marvel though Demetrius 
Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus. 
What wicked and dissembling glass of mine 
Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne ? 
But who is here ? Lysander I on the ground ! 100 

Dead ? or asleep ? I see no blood, no wound. 
Lysander, if you live, good sir, awake. 

[S5] 

Lys. [J waking] And run through fire I will for thy 
sweet sake. 
Transparent Helena 1 Nature shews art, 
That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart. 
Where is Demetrius ? O, how fit a word 
Is that vile name to perish on my sword I 

Hel. Do not say so, Lysander ; say not so. 
What though he love your Hermia ? Lord, what 

though ? 
Yet Hermia still loves you : then be content. no 

Lys. Content with Hermia ! No ; I do repent 
The tedious minutes I with her have spent. 
Not Hermia but Helena I love : 
Who will not change a raven for a dove ? 
The will of man is by his reason sway'd 
And reason says you are the worthier maid. 
Things growing are not ripe until their season : 
So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason ; 
And touching now the point of human skill. 
Reason becomes the marshal to my will, 120 

And leads me to your eyes ; where I o'erlook 

104 Nature skews art] This is the reading of the Quartos. The 
First Folio substitutes Nature her shewes. The other Folios read 
here for her. In any case the metre is slightly irregular. Nature 
here shows art gives the best sense and metre: "in the present 
instance Nature displays the ingenuity of art, which has invented 
transparent substances like glass." 

118-120 So /.. . mill] While I was young I did not grow ripe in 
reason, and now that I have reached the height of human intel- 
ligence, reason takes command of my will. 

Love's stories, written in love's richest book. 

Hel. Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born ? 
When at your hands did I deserve this scorn ? 
Is 't not enough, is 't not enough, young man, 
That I did never, no, nor never can. 
Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye. 
But you must flout my insufficiency ? 
Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do. 
In such disdainful manner me to woo. i3o 

But fare you well : perforce I must confess 
I thought you lord of more true gentleness. 
O, that a lady, of one man refused, 
Should of another therefore be abused I lExit. 

Lys. She sees not Hermia. Hermia, sleep thou there : 
And never mayst thou come Lysander near 1 
For as a surfeit of the sweetest things 
The deepest loathing to the stomach brings. 
Or as the heresies that men do leave 
Are hated most of those they did deceive, i4o 

So thou, my surfeit and my heresy, 
Of all be hated, but the most of me 1 
And, all my powers, address your love and might 
To honour Helen and to be her knight 1 [Exit 

Her. iJwaking] Help me, Lysander, help me ! do thy 
best 
To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast 1 

122 love's richest book] Cf. Rom. and Jul, I, iii, 86, seq. : 

" And what obscured in this fair volume lies 
Find written in the margent of his eyes. 
This predotis book of love ..." 

Ay me, for pity I what a dream was here 1 

Lysander, look how I do quake with fear : 

Methought a serpent eat my heart away. 

And you sat smUing at his cruel prey. iso 

Lysander ! what, removed ? Lysander 1 lord ! 

What, out of hearing ? gone ? no sound, no word ? 

Alack, where are you ? speak, an if you hear : 

Speak, of all loves 1 I swoon almost with fear. 

No ? then I well perceive you are not nigh : 

Either death or you I 'U find immediately. [Exit. 

154 of all loves /] in the name of all lovers, a common adjuration.

TITANIA LYING ASLEEP 
Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, amd Starveling 
Bottom 

!RE WE ALL MET? 
QuiN. Pat, pat ; and here 's a 
marvellous convenient place for 
our rehearsal. This green plot 
shaU be our stage, this hawthorn- 
brake our tiring-house ; and we 
will do it in action as we wUl do 
it before the duke. 

BoT. Peter Quince, — 
QuiN. What sayest thou, bully 
Bottom ? 

Box. There are things in this 
comedy of Pyramus and Thisby 
that win never please. First, Pyramus must draw a 
sword to kill himself; which the ladies cannot abide, lo 
How answer you that ? 

7 hullii] A good fellow ; a general term of endearment, without any 
insinuation of blustering or hectoring. Cf. Henry V, IV, i, 48 : "I 
love the lovely bully." 

Snout. By 'r lakin, a parlous fear. 

Star. I believe we must leave the killing out, when 
all is done. 

BoT. Not a whit : I have a device to make all well. 
Write me a prologue ; and let the prologue seem to say, 
we will do no harm with our swords, and that Pyramus 
is not killed indeed ; and, for the more better assurance, 
tell them that I Pyramus am not Pyramus, but Bottom 
the weaver : this will put them out of fear. 20 

QuiN. Well, we will have such a prologue; and it 
shall be written in eight and six. 

BoT. No, make it two more ; let it be written in eight 
and eight. 

Snout. Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion ? 

Stab. I fear it, I promise you. 

Bot. Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves : 
to bring in, — God shield us ! — a lion among ladies, is a 
most dreadful thing ; for there is not a more fearful wild- 
fowl than your lion living : and we ought to look to 't. so 

Snout. Therefore another prologue must tell he is 
not a lion. 

BoT. Nay, you must name his name, and half his face 
must be seen through the lion's neck ; and he himself 
must speak through, saying thus, or to the same defect, 
— " Ladies," — or, " Fair ladies, — I would wish you," 

22 eight and six] in alternate verses of eight and six syllables, a com- 
mon metre of ballads. The prologue, as spoken in Act V. i. 108 
seq., when the play is performed, is in alternately rhymed lines of 
ten syllables each. The piece, as rehearsed, bears small relation 
at this and other points to the actual performance. 

— or, " I would request you," — or, " I would entreat 
you, — not to fear, not to tremble : my life for yours. 
If you think I come hither as a lion, it were pity of my 
life : no, I am no such thing ; I am a man as other men 
are : " and there indeed let him name his name, and tell 40 
them plainly, he is Snug the joiner. 

QuiN. Well, it shall be so. But there is two hard 
things ; that is, to bring the moonUght into a chamber ; 
for, you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight. 

Snout. Doth the moon shine that night we play our 
play ? 

BoT. A calendar, a calendar ! look in the almanac ; 
find out moonshine, find out moonshine. 

QuiN. Yes, it doth shine that night. 

Box. Why, then may you leave a casement of the 
great chamber window, where we play, open, and the 50 
moon may shine in at the casement. 

QuiN. Ay ; or else one must come in with a bush of 
thorns and a lantern, and say he comes to disfigure, or to 
present, the person of moonshine. Then, there is another 
thing : we must have a wall in the great chamber ; for 
Pyramus and Thisby, says the story, did talk through 
the chink of a wall. 

Snout. You can never bring in a wall. What say 
you. Bottom ? 

Box. Some man or other must present wall : and let 60 
him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough- 
cast about him, to signify wall ; and let him hold his 
fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and 
Thisby whisper. 

QuiN. If that may be, then aU is well. Come, sit 
down, every mother's son, and rehearse your parts. Pyra- 
mus, you begin: when you have spoken your speech, 
enter into that brake : and so every one according to 
his cue. 

Enter Puck behind 

Puck. What hempen home-spuns have we swagger- 
ing here. 
So near the cradle of the fairy queen ? 
What, a play toward I I '11 be an auditor ; 70 

An actor too perhaps, if I see cause. 

QuiN. Speak, Pyramus. Thisby, stand forth. 
Box. Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet, — 
QuiN. Odours, odours. 

BoT. odours savours sweet : 

So hath thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear. 
But hark, a voice ! stay thou but here awhile. 

And by and by I will to thee appear. [Exit. 

Puck. A stranger Pyramus than e'er play'd here. 

[Exit. 
Flu. Must I speak now ? so 

QuiN. Ay, marry, must you ; for you must under- 
stand he goes but to see a noise that he heard, and is 
to come again. 

Flu. Most radiant Pyramus, most lily-white of hue, 
Of colour like the red rose on triumphant brier, 
Most brisky juvenal, and eke most lovely Jew, 

As true as truest horse, that yet would never tire, 
I '11 meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny's tomb. 

85 Jem] See note on L. L. L., Ill, i, 128. 

QuiN. " Ninus' tomb," man : why, you must not speak 
that yet ; that you answer to Pyramus : you speak all 
your part at once, cues and all. Pyramus enter : your 90 
cue is past ; it is, " never tire." 

Flu. O, — As true as truest horse, that yet would never tire. 

Re-enter Puck, and Bottom with an ass's head 

BoT. If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine. 

QuiN. O monstrous ! O strange 1 we are haunted. 
Pray, masters 1 fly, masters! Help I 

[Exeunt Quince, Snug, Flute, Snout, and Starveling'. 

Puck. I '11 follow you, I 'U lead you about a round. 

Through bog, through bush, through brake, through 
brier : 
Sometime a horse I '11 be, sometime a hound, 

A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire ; 
And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, 100 
Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. \_Eccit. 

BoT. Why do they run away ? this is a knavery of 
them to make me afeard. 

Re-enter Snout 

Snout. O Bottom, thou art changed ! what do I see 
on thee ? 

Box. What do you see ? you see an ass-head of your 
own, do you ? \_Exit Snout. 

1 06 an ass-head of your onm\ a familar tu quoque. Cf. M. Wives, I, iv, 1 1 4 : 
" You shall have a fooFs head of your own." The transformation 
or "translation" of a man into an ass -is the main topic of the 
popular Greek novel. The Golden Ass, of Apuleius, translated by 
Wilham Adlington, 1566. Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft, 15 84, and 

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM act hi 

Re-enter Quince 

QuiN. Bless thee, Bottom I bless thee I thou art 
translated. [Eodt. 109 

BoT, I see their knavery : this is to make an ass of 
me ; to fright me, if they could. But I will not stir 
from this place, do what they can : I will walk up and 
down here, and I will sing, that they shall hear I am 

not afraid. \_Sings. 

The ousel cock so black of hue, 

With orange-tawny bill, 
The throstle with his note so true. 

The wren with little quill ; 

TiTA. [Awaking] What angel wakes me from my 

flowery bed ? 
Box. [Sings] 

The finch, the spaiTow, and the lark, 

The plain-song cuckoo gray, 120 

Whose note full many a man doth mark. 
And dares not answer nay ; — 
for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a 
bird? who would give a bird the lie, though he cry 
" cuckoo " never so ? 
TiTA. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again : 

the prose history of Dr. Famtus, cap. xliii, both describe the magical 
change of a man's head into an ass's head. Shakespeare probably 
derived hints for Bottom's experience from all these sources. 

117 quilf] musical pipe, not feather, as sometimes interpreted. 

120 plain-song] melody without variation or accompaniment; the epi- 
thet is appropriate to the monotonous note of the cuckoo. 

123 set his wit to] would match his wit against. Cf. Trail, and Cress., 
II, i, 84 : " Will you set your wit to a fool's ?" 

[44 ] 

Mine ear is much enamour 'd of thy note ; 

So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape ; 

And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me 

On the &st view to say, to swear, I love thee. 129 

BoT. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason 
for that : and yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep 
little company together now-a-days ; the more the pity, 
that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. 
Nay, I can gleek upon occasion. 

TiTA. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. 

BoT. Not so, neither : but if I had wit enough to get 
out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn. 

TiTA. Out of this wood do not desire to go : 
Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. 
I am a spirit of no common rate : 140 

The summer still doth tend upon my state ; 
And I do love thee : therefore, go vnth me ; 
I '11 give thee fairies to attend on thee ; 
And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, 
And sing, while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep : 
And I will purge thy mortal grossness so. 
That thou shalt like an airy spirit go. 
Peaseblossom I Cobweb ! Moth 1 and Mustardseed ! 
Enter Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed 

First Fai. Ready. 

Sec. Fai. And I. 

Third Fai. And I. 

Fourth Fai. And I. 

^^^- Where shall we go ? 

[45 J 

TiTA. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman ; i5o 
Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes ; 
Feed him with apricoeks and dewberries, 
With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries ; 
The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees. 
And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs. 
And light them at the fiery glow-worm's eyes. 
To have my love to bed and to arise ; 
And pluck the wings from painted butterflies, 
To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes : 
Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies. leo 

FiEST Fai. Hail, mortal 1 

Sec. Fai. Hail! 

Third Fai. HaU ! 

Fourth Fai. Hail 1 

BoT. I cry your worships mercy, heartily : I beseech 
your worship's name. 

Cob. Cobweb. 

BoT. I shaU desire you of more acquaintance, good 
Master Cobweb : if I cut my finger, I shall make bold 
with you. Your name, honest gentleman ? no 

Peas. Peaseblossom. 

BoT. I pray you, commend me to Mistress Squash, 
your mother, and to Master Peascod, your father. 
Good Master Peaseblossom, I shall desire you of more 
acquaintance too. Your name, I beseech you, sir ? 

156 Jiery glow-worm s eyes] Commentators invariably point out that the 

glow-worm's light is in its tail, and that Shakespeare is here in error. 

172 Squash] Cf. Tw. Night, I, v, 149 : " As a squash is before it is a 

peascod." 

Mus. Mustardseed. 

BoT. Good Master Mustardseed, I know your pa- 
tience well : that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath 
devoured many a gentleman of your house : I promise 
you your kindred hath made my eyes water ere now. I de- 
sire your more acquaintance, good Master Mustardseed. 

TiTA. Come, wait upon him ; lead him to my bower. i82 

The moon methinks looks with a watery eye ; 
And when she weeps, weeps every little flower. 

Lamenting some enforced chastity. 

Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. [Exeunt. 

SCENE II — ANOTHER PART OF THE WOOD 

Enter Obekon 

Obe. I wonder if Titania be awaked ; 
Then, what it was that next came in her eye, 
Which she must dote on in extremity. 

Enter Puck 

Here comes my messenger. 

How now, mad spirit I 
What night-rule now about this haunted grove ? 

177 patience] used ironically, mustard being credited with exciting 

anger or impatience. 
186 love's tongue] Pope's emendation for the old reading lover's tongue, 

which is difficult to scan. 
5 night-rule] night revelry. Cf. Tw. Night, II, iii, 117 : « this uncivil rule." 

Puck. My mistress with a monster is in love. 
Near to her close and consecrated bower. 
While she was in her dull and sleeping hour, 
A crew of patches, rude mechanicals. 
That work for bread upon Athenian stalls, lo 

Were met together to rehearse a play. 
Intended for great Theseus' nuptial-day. 
The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort. 
Who Pyramus presented, in their sport 
Forsook his scene, and enter 'd in a brake : 
When I did him at this advantage take. 
An ass's nole I fixed on his head : 
Anon his Thisbe must be answered. 
And forth my mimic comes. When they him spy. 
As wild geese that the creeping fowler eye, so 

Or russet-pated choughs, many in sort. 
Rising and cawing at the gun's report. 
Sever themselves and madly sweep the sky. 
So, at his sight, away his feUows fly ; 
And, at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls ; 
He murder cries, and help from Athens caUs. 
Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong. 
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong ; 
For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch ; 
Some sleeves, some hats, from yielders all things catch. 30 
I led them on in this distracted fear. 
And left sweet Pyramus translated there : 

1 3 barren sort] dull, brainless company. Cf. Hamlet, III, ii, 44-46 : 

" Some quantity of barren spectators." 
25 at our stamp] at hearing our footsteps. 

When in that moment, so it came to pass, 
Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass. 

Obe. This falls out better than I could devise. 
But hast thou yet latch'd the Athenian's eyes 
With the love-juice, as I did bid thee do ? 

Puck. I took him sleeping, — that is finish'd too, — 
And the Athenian woman by his side ; 
That, when he waked, of force she must be eyed. 4o 

Enter Heemia and Demeteius 

Obe. Stand close : this is the same Athenian. 

Puck. This is the woman, but not this the man. 

Dem. O, why rebuke you him that loves you so ? 
Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe. 

Her. Now I but chide ; but I should use thee worse. 
For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse. 
If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep. 
Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep. 
And kill me too. 

The sun was not so true unto the day so 

As he to me : would he have stolen away 
From sleeping Hermia ? I 'U believe as soon 
This whole earth may be bored, and that the moon 
May through the centre creep, and so displease 
Her brother's noontide with the Antipodes. 
It cannot be but thou hast murder'd him ; 
So should a murderer look, so dead, so grim. 

57 dead] deadly. Cf. 2 Hen. IF, I, i, 71 : "So dull, so dead in look, 
so woe-begone." 

Dem. So should the murder 'd look ; and so should I, 
Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty : 
Yet you, the murderer, look as bright, as clear, eo 

As yonder Venus in her glimmering sphere. 

Hek. What's this to my Lysander? where is he? 
Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me ? 

Dem. I had rather give his carcass to my hounds. 

Her. Out, dog ! out, cur ! thou drivest me past the 
bounds 
Of maiden's patience. Hast thou slain him, then ? 
Henceforth be never number'd among men I 
O, once tell true, tell true, even for my sake ! 
Durst thou have look'd upon him being awake, 
And hast thou kiU'd him sleeping ? O brave touch I to 
Could not a worm, an adder, do so much ? 
An adder did it ; for with doubler tongue 
Than thine, thou serpent, never adder stung. 

Dem. You spend your passion on a misprised mood : 
I am not guilty of Lysander's blood ; 
Nor is he dead, for aught that I can tell. 

Her. I pray thee, tell me then that he is well. 

Dem. An if I could, what should I get therefore ? 

Her. a privilege, never to see me more. 

72 doubler tongue] See note on II, ii, 9, mpra : " Snakes with double 
[z. e. forked] tongue." There is a play here on the word " double " 
in the sense of " deceitful " as well as in that of " forked." 

74 on a misprised mood] on a fit of anger caused by a mistake. " Mis- 
prision " (line 90, infra) means "mistake." " Mood " is not uncom- 
monly used by Shakespeare in the sense of " anger " or " fit of 
anger." 

And from thy hated presence part I so : 8o 

See me no more, whether he be dead or no. [Ea:nt. 

Dem. There is no following her in this fierce 
vein: 
Here therefore for a while I will remain. 
So sorrow's heaviness doth heavier grow 
For debt that bankrupt sleep doth sorrow owe ; 
Which now in some slight measure it will pay, 
If for his tender here I make some stay. 

[Lies dowin and sleeps. 

Obe. What hast thou done? thou hast mistaken 
quite. 
And laid the love-juice on some true-love's sight : 
Of thy misprision must perforce ensue 90 

Some true love turn'd, and not a false tum'd true. 

Puck. Then fate o'er-rules, that, one man holding 
troth, 
A million faU, confounding oath on oath. 

Obe. About the wood go swifter than the wind. 
And Helena of Athens look thou find : 
All fancy-sick she is and pale of cheer. 
With sighs of love, that costs the fresh blood dear : 
By some illusion see thou bring her here : 
I 'U charm his eyes against she do appear. 

Puck. I go, 1 go ; look how I go, 100 

Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow. [Exit. 

96 fanct/-dck'\ See note on I, i, 155, gupra. 

101 Tartar's bom] Probably an Ovidian reminiscence. Cf. Met., X. 
588 : " Scythkd non setius sagitta," rendered by Golding, " as swift 
as arrow from a Turkey bow." Tartar's bow is a more accurate 
rendering of the Latin. 

Obe. Flower of this purple dye, 
Hit with Cupid's archery. 
Sink in apple of his eye. 
When his love he doth espy. 
Let her shine as gloriously 
As the Venus of the sky. 
When thou wakest, if she be by. 
Beg of her for remedy. 

Re-enter Puck 

Puck. Captain of our fairy band, no 

Helena is here at hand ; 
^ And the youth, mistook by me. 

Pleading for a lover's fee. 

Shall we their fond pageant see ? 

Lord, what fools these mortals be ! 
Obe. Stand aside : the noise they make 

Will cause Demetrius to awake. 
Puck. Then wUl two at once woo one ; 

That must needs be sport alone ; 

And those things do best please me 120 

That befal preposterously. 

Enter Ltsandee and Helena 

Lys. Why should you think that I should woo in 

scorn ? 
Scorn and derision never come in tears : 
Look, when I vow, I weep ; and vows so bom, 
In their nativity aU truth appears. 

How can these things in me seem scorn to you, 
Bearing the badge of faith, to prove them true ? 

Hel. You do advance your cunning more and 
more. 

When truth kills truth, O devilish-holy fray I 
These vows are Hermia's : will you give her o'er ? i3o 

Weigh oath with oath, and you wiU nothing weigh : 
Your vows to her and me, put in two scales, 
WUl even weigh ; and both as light as tales. 

Lys. I had no judgement when to her I swore. 

Hel. Nor none, in my mind, now you give her 
o'er. 

Lys. Demetrius loves her, and he loves not you. 

Dem. [Awaking] O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, 
divine ! 
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne ? 
Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show 
Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow ! no 

That pure congealed white, high Taurus' snow, 
Fann'd-with the eastern wind, turns to a crow 
When thou hold'st up thy hand : O, let me kiss 
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss ! 

Hel. O spite 1 O hell 1 I see you aU are bent 
To set against me for your merriment : 
If you were civil and knew courtesy, 
You would not do me thus much injury. 

144 princess of pure white] That which is the most excellent of its 
kind may easily be called the princess of its kind. Suggested 
emendations, e. g. pureness, impress (i. e. crest), and others, may be 
neglected. 

Can you not hate me, as I know you do, 

But you must join in souls to mock me too ? iso 

If you were men, as men you are in show, 

You would not use a gentle lady so ; 

To vow, and swear, and superpraise my parts, 

When I am sure you hate me with your hearts. 

You both are rivals, and love Hermia ; 

And now both rivals, to mock Helena : 

A trim exploit, a manly enterprise, 

To conjure tears up in a poor maid's eyes 

With your derision 1 none of noble sort 

Would so offend a virgin, and extort leo 

A poor soul's patience, all to make you sport. 

Lys. You are unkind, Demetrius ; be not so ; 
For you love Hermia ; this you know I know : 
And here, with all good will, with all my heart. 
In Hermia's love 1 yield you up my part ; 
And yours of Helena to me bequeath, 
Whom I do love, and will do till my death. 

Hel. Never did mockers waste more idle breath. 

Dem. Lysander, keep thy Hermia ; I will none : 
If e'er i loved her, all that love is gone. no 

My heart to her but as guest- wise sojourn'd. 
And now to Helen is it home return'd. 
There to remain. 

150 in souls'] "heartily/' "earnestly," "of set purpose," like the 
Latin "ex animo." Very many emendations have been suggested, 
but the original reading is obviously right. 

171/0 her] Modern usage requires rviih her. Elsewhere Shakespeare 
has " make friends to " (i. e. with), Meas.for Meas., I, ii, 186. 

Lys. Helen, it is not so. 

Dem. Disparage not the faith thou dost not know, 
Lest, to thy peril, thou aby it dear. 
Look, where thy love comes ; yonder is thy dear. 

Re-enter Hermia 

Her. Dark night, that from the eye his function takes, 
The ear more quick of apprehension makes ; 
Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense. 
It pays the hearing double recompence. iso 

Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found ; 
Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound. 
But why unkindly didst thou leave me so ? 

Lys. Why should he stay, whom love doth press to 
gol 

Her. What love could press Lysander from my side ? 

Lys. Lysander's love, that would not let him bide. 
Fair Helena, who more engilds the night 
Than all yon fiery oes and eyes of light. 
Why seek'st thou me ? could not this make thee know, 
The hate I bare thee made me leave thee so ? 190 

Her. You speak not as you think : it cannot be. 

Hel. Lo, she is one of this confederacy I 
Now I perceive they have conjoin'd aU three 
To fashion this false sport, in spite of me. 
Injmious Hermia ! most ungrateful maid 1 
Have you conspired, have you with these contrived 
To bait me with this foul derision ? 
Is all the c ounsel that we two have shared, 

] 88 ^ejy oes] circles of fire, stars. 

The sisters' vows, the hours that we have spent. 

When we have chid the hasty-footed time 200 

For parting us, — O, is all forgot ? 

All school-days' friendship, childhood innocence ? 

We, Hermia, like two artificial gods. 

Have with our needles created both one flower. 

Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion, 

Both warbling of one song, both in one key ; 

As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds. 

Had been incorporate. So we grew together. 

Like to a double cherry, seeming parted. 

But yet an union in partition ; 210 

Two lovely berries moulded on one stem ; 

So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart ; 

Two of the first, like coats in heraldry. 

Due but to one, and crowned with one crest. 

And will you rent our ancient love asunder. 

To join with men in scorning your poor friend ? 

It is not friendly, 't is not maidenly : 

Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it. 

Though I alone do feel the injury. 

Heb. I am amazed at your passionate words. 220 

I scorn you not : it seems that you scorn me. 

Hel. Have you not set Lysander, as in scorn. 
To follow me and praise my eyes and face ? 
And made your other love, Demetrius, 
Who even but now did spurn me vsdth his foot, 

213-214 Ttvo of the first, . . . cresi\ Our two bodies resemble two coats 
of arms in heraldry, which belong to a single person, and are sur- 
rounded by a single crest. 

To call me goddess, nymph, divine and rare. 

Precious, celestial ? Wherefore speaks he this 

To her he hates ? and wherefore doth Lysander 

Deny your love, so rich within his soul. 

And tender me, forsooth, affection, 230 

But by your setting on, by your consent ? 

What though I be not so in grace as you, 

So hung upon with love, so fortunate, 

But miserable most, to love unloved ? 

This you should pity rather than despise. 

Her. I understand not what you mean by this. 

Hel. Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks, 
Make mouths upon me when I turn my back ; 
Wink each at other ; hold the sweet jest up : 
This sport, well carried, shall be chronicled. 240 

If you have any pity, grace, or manners. 
You would not make me such an argument. 
But fare ye well : 't is partly my own fault ; 
Which death or absence soon shall remedy. 

Lys. Stay, gentle Helena ; hear my excuse : 
My love, my life, my soul, fair Helena ! 

Hel. O excellent ! 

Her. Sweet, do not scorn her so. 

Dem. If she cannot entreat, I can compel. 

Lys. Thou canst compel no more than she entreat : 
Thy threats have no more strength than her weak 

prayers. 2so 

Helen, I love thee ; by my life, I do : 

250 prayers] Theobald's emendation for the old meaningless read- 
ing praise. 

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM act hi 

I swear by that which I wiU lose for thee. 
To prove him false that says I love thee not. 

Dem. I say I love thee more than he can do. 

Lys. If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too. 

Dem, Quick, come ! 

Heb. Lysander, whereto tends all this ? 

Lys. Away, you Ethiope ! 

Dem. No, no ; he '11 . . . 

Seem to break loose ; take on as you would follow. 
But yet come not : you are a tame man, go ! 

Lys. Hang off, thou cat, thou burr I vile thing, let 

loose, 260 

Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent I 
Her. Why are you grown so rude ? what change is 
this? 
Sweet love, — 

257 Ethiope] Sneering allusion to Hermia's brunette complexion. Cf. 
L. L. L., IV, iii, 208 : " And Ethiopes of their sweet complexion 
crack." 

257-258 No, no ; he 'II . . . loose ;] In the first Quarto this difficult pas- 
sage read : " No, no ; heele seeme to breake loose." In the First 
Folio Sir is substituted for heele, and the line ends at loose. 
Perhaps some words have dropped out. It is difficult to make 
logical sense of these abrupt expressions. Demetrius denounces 
Lysander with angry incoherence, in a general sense anticipating 
his " I '11 not trust your word " of line 268, infra. First 
addressing the forsaken Hermia, he now says in effect : " I don't 
believe Lysander ; he '11 say anything. He is only pretending to 
give you up." Then, turning to face his rival Lysander, he adds 
threateningly : " Behave honestly ; take the course that you pro- 
pose to follow and stick to it ; yet don't cross my path (unless at 
your peril). You are a spiritless, contemptible fellow. Get out 
of my way." 

Lys. Thy love I out, tawny Tartar, out ! 
Out, loathed medicine I hated potion, hence ! 

Her. Do you not jest ? 

Hel. Yes, sooth ; and so do you. 

Lys. Demetrius, I wiU keep my word with thee. 

Dem. I would I had your bond, for I perceive 
A weak bond holds you : I 'U not trust your word. 

Lys. What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her 
dead? 
Although I hate her, I '11 not harm her so. 2to 

Her. What, can you do me greater harm than hate ? 
Hate me I wherefore ? O me ! what news, my love I 
Am not I Hermia ? are not you Lysander ? 
I am as fair now as I was erewhile. 
Since night you loved me ; yet since night you left 

me: 
Why, then you left me, — O, the gods forbid 1 — 
In earnest, shall I say ? 

Lys. Ay, by my life ; 

And never did desire to see thee more. 
Therefore be out of hope, of question, of doubt ; 
Be certain, nothing truer ; 'tis no jest 28o 

That 1 do hate thee, and love Helena. 

Her. O me ! you juggler 1 you canker-blossom ! 
You thief of love ! what, have you come by night 
And stolen my love's heart from him ? 

Hel. Fine, i' faith 1 

Have you no modesty, no maiden shame, 

272 ivhat news, my love /] what new-fangled notion. Collier's emenda- 
tion, what means my love ? is unnecessary. 

No touch of bashfulness ? What, wDl you tear 
Impatient answers from my gentle tqngue ? 
Fie, fie ! you counterfeit, you puppet, you ! 

Her. Puppet ? why so ? ay, that way goes the game. 
Now I perceive that she hath made compare 290 

Between our statures : she hath urged her height ; 
And with her personage, her tall personage, 
Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him. 
And are you grown so high in his esteem. 
Because I am so dwarfish and so low ? 
How low am I, thou painted maypole ? speak ; 
How low am I ? I am not yet so low 
But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes. 

Hel. I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen, 
Let her not hurt me : I was never curst ; 300 

I have no gift at aU in shrewishness ; 
I am a right maid for my cowardice : 
Let her not strike me. You perhaps may think. 
Because she is something lower than myself, 
That I can match her. 

Her. Lower I hark, again. 

Hel. Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me. 
I evermore did love you, Hermia, 
Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong'd you ; 
Save that, in love unto Demetrius, 

I told him of your stealth unto this wood. 310 

He foUow'd you ; for love I follow'd him ; 
But he hath chid me hence, and threaten'd me 
To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too : 
And now, so you will let me quiet go, 

To Athens will I bear my folly back, 
And follow you no further : let me go : 
You see how simple and how fond I am. 

Her. Why, get you gone : who is 't that hinders you ? 

Hel. a foolish heart, that I leave here behind. 

Hek. What, with Lysander ? 

Hel. With Demetrius. 390 

Lys. Be not afraid ; she shall not harm thee, Helena. 

Dem. No, sir, she shall not, though you take her part. 

Hel. O, when she 's angry, she is keen and shrewd I 
She was a vixen when she went to school ; 
And though she be but little, she is fierce. 

Her. Little again I nothing but low and little ! 
Why will you suiFer her to flout me thus ? 
Let me come to her. 

Lys. Get you gone, you dwarf ; 

You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made ; 
You bead, you acorn. 

Dem. You are too officious 330 

In her behalf that scorns your services. 
Let her alone : speak not of Helena ; 
Take not her part ; for, if thou dost intend 
Never so little show of love to her, 
Thou shalt aby it. 

Lys. Now she holds me not ; 

329 knot-grass] a reference to "knot-grass," a straggling, many 
jointed weed, which was supposed when eaten to check a child's 
growth. Cf. Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight of the Burning Pestle, 
II, 2 : " Should they put him into a strait pair of gaskins, 't were 
worse than knot-grass ; he would never grow after it." 

Now follow, if thou darest, to try whose right, 
Of thine or mine, is most in Helena. 

Dem. Follow ! nay, I '11 go with thee, cheek by jole. 

[Exeunt Lysander and Demetrius. 

Heu. You, mistress, all this coil is 'long of you : 
Nay, go not back. 

Hel. I will not trust you, T, 340 

Nor longer stay in your curst company. 
Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray, 
My legs are longer though, to run away. ^Exit. 

Her. I am amazed, and know not what to say. [Exit. 

Obe. This is thy negligence : still thou mistakest. 
Or else committ'st thy knaveries wilfully. 

Puck. Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook. 
Did not you tell me I should know the man 
By the Athenian garments he had on ? 
And so far blameless proves my enterprise, sso 

That I have 'nointed an Athenian's eyes ; 
And so far am I glad it so did sort. 
As this their jangling I esteem a sport. 

Obe. Thou see'st these lovers seek a place to fight : 
Hie therefore, Robin, overcast the night ; 
The starry welkin cover thou anon 
With drooping fog, as black as Acheron ; 
And lead these testy rivals so astray, 
As one come not within another's way. 

357 Acheron] a river of Hades (not, as Shakespeare describes it in 
Macb., Ill, V, 15, " a pit "). " Blackness " was an invariable 
characteristic of the river. Cf. Verg. ^n., vi, 107, " Tenebrosa 
palus Acheronte refuse," and Milton, Par. Lost, II, 578, "Sad 
Acheron of sorrow black and deep." 

Like to Lysandet sometime frame thy tongue, seo 

Then stir Demetrius up with bitter wrong ; 

And sometime rail thou like Demetrius ; 

And from each other look thou lead them thus. 

Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting sleep 

With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep : 

Then crush this herb into Lysander's eye ; 

Whose hquor hath this virtuous property, 

To take from thence aU error with his might. 

And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight. 

When they next wake, all this derision 370 

Shall seem a dream and fruitless vision ; 

And back to Athens shall the lovers wend. 

With league whose date tUl death shall never end. 

Whiles I in this affair do thee employ, 

I 'U to my queen and beg her Indian boy ; 

And then I will her charmed eye release 

From monster's view, and all things shall be peace. 

Puck. My fairy lord, this must be done with haste. 
For night's swift dragons cut the clouds frill fast. 
And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger ; sso 

At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and there. 
Troop home to churchyards : damned spirits all, 
That in crossways and floods have burial. 
Already to their wormy beds are gone ; 
For fear lest day should look their shames upon, 
They wilfully themselves exile from light, 
And must for aye consort with black-brow'd night. 

379 See note infra, V, i, 373 (" Hecate's team "). 

Obe. But we are spirits of another sort : 
I with the morning's love have oft made sport ; 
And, hke a forester, the groves may tread, 39o 

Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red, 
Opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams. 
Turns into yellow gold his salt green streams. 
But, notwithstanding, haste ; make no delay : 
We may effect this business yet ere day. [Exit. 

Puck. Up and down, up and down, 

I wiU lead them up and down : 

I am fear'd in field and town : 

Goblin, lead them up and down. 
Here comes one. *oo 

Re-enter Lysander 

Lys. Where art thou, proud Demetrius ? speak thou 

now. 
Puck. Here, villain ; drawn and ready. Where art 

thou? 
Lys. I wiU be with thee straight. 
Puck. Follow me, then. 

To plainer ground. [Exit Lysander, as following the voice. 

Re-enter Demeteius 

Dem. Lysander I speak again : 

Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled ? 

389 the morning's lave'\ Doubtless a reference to Cephalus, the hunts- 
man, to whom the goddess of the morning, Aurora, made love. 
Cf. Ov., Met., VII, 700 seq. 

393 Turns . . . streams] Cf. Sonnet xxxiii, 4 : " Gilding pale streams 
with heavenly alchemy." 

Speak ! In some bush ? Where dost thou hide thy 
head? 
Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the stars. 
Telling the bushes that thou look'st for wars. 
And wilt not come ? Come, recreant ; come, thou 

child ; 
I 'U whip thee with a rod : he is defiled 410 

That draws a sword on thee. 

Dem. Yea, art thou there ? 

Puck. FoUow my voice : we '11 try no manhood here. 

[Exeunt, 

Re-enter Lysander 

Lys. He goes before me and stiU dares me on : 
When I come where he calls, then he is gone. 
The villain is much lighter-heel'd than I : 
I foUow'd fast, but faster he did fly ; 
That fallen am I in dark uneven way. 
And here will rest me. [Lks down.} Come, thou gentle 

day! 
For if but once thou show me thy grey light, 
I '11 find Demetrius, and revenge this spite. [Sleeps. 420 

Re-enter Puck and Demetrius 

Puck. Ho, ho, ho I Coward, why comest thou not ? 

Dem. Abide me, if thou darest ; for well I wot 
Thou runn'st before me, shifting every place. 
And darest not stand, nor look me in the face. 
Where art thou now ? 

Puck. Come hither : I am here. 

5 [65 ] 

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM act hi 

Dem. Nay, then, thou mock'st me. Thou shalt buy 
this dear. 
If ever I thy face by daylight see : 
Now, go thy way. Faintness constraineth me 
To measure out my length on this cold bed. 
By day's approach look to be visited. *3o 

[Lies down and sleeps. 

Re-enter Helena 

Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night. 

Abate thy hours ! Shine comforts from the east, 
That I may back to Athens by dayhght. 

From these that my poor company detest : 
And sleep, that sometimes shuts up sorrow's eye. 
Steal me awhile from mine own company. 

[Lies down and sleeps. 
Puck. Yet but three ? Come one more ; 
Two of both kinds makes up four. 
Here she comes, curst and sad : 
Cupid is a knavish lad, 440 

Thus to make poor females mad. 

Re-enter Heemia 

Her. Never so weary, never so in woe ; 

Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briers ; 
I can no further crawl, no further go ; 

My legs can keep no pace with my desires. 
Here will I rest me till the break of day. 
Heavens shield Lysander, if they mean a fray ! 

[Lies down a/nd sleeps. 

Puck. On the ground 

Sleep sound : 

I '11 apply 450 

To your eye, 
Gentle lover, remedy. 

[^Sqiieezing the juice on Li/Sander's eye. 

When thou wakest 

Thou takest 

True deUght 

In the sight 
Of thy former lady's eye : 
And the country proverb known, 
That every man should take his own, 
In your waking shall be shown : *6o 

Jack shall have JtU ; 

Nought shall go ill ; 
The man shaU have his mare again, and all shall be well. 

[Exit.

LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HELENA, AND HERMIA, 
LYING ASLEEP 

Enter Titania and Bottom ; Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, Mustaed- 
SEED, and other Fairies attending ; Oberon behind unseen 

Titania 

OME, SIT THEE DOWN 

upon this flowery bed, 

While I thy amiable cheeks do 

coy. 

And stick musk-roses in thy 

sleek smooth head, 

And kiss thy fair large ears, my 

gentle joy. 

Box. Where 's Peaseblossom ? 

Peas. Ready. 

Box. Scratch my head, Pease- 
blossom. Where 's Mounsieur 
Cobweb ? 
Cob. Ready. 

Box. Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsieur, get you lo 
your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped 

2 amiable cheeks do coy] caress thy lovely cheeks. 

humble-bee on the top of a thistle ; and, good mounsieur, 
bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too 
much in the action, mounsieur ; and, good mounsieur, 
have a care the honey-bag break not ; I would be loth 
to have you overflown with a honey-bag, signior. 
Where 's Mounsieur Mustardseed ? 
Mus. Ready. 

BoT. Give me your neaf, Mounsieur Mustardseed. 
Pray you, leave your courtesy, good mounsieur. 

Mus. What's your will? 20 

BoT. Nothing, good mounsieur, but to help Cavalery 
Cobweb to scratch. 1 must to the barber's, mounsieur ; 
for methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face ; and 
I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I 
must scratch. 

TiTA. What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet 

love? 

Box. I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let 's 
have the tongs and the bones. 

TiTA. Or say, sweet love, what thou desirest to eat. 

BoT. Truly, a peck of provender: I could munch 
your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire to so 
a bottle of hay : good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. 

TiTA. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek 
The squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts. 

Box. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peas. 
But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me : I have 
an exposition of sleep come upon me. 

30 hottle] bundle or measure of hay. Cf. Cotgrave's Fr.-Engl. Diet. : 
« Boteau, a bundle or bottle, as of hay," etc. 

TiTA. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms. 
Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away. [Exeunt Fairies. 
So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle 
Gently entwist ; the female ivy so *o 

Enrings the barky fingers of the elm. 
O, how I love thee ! how I dote on thee ! [They sleep. 

Enter Puck 

Obe. [Advancmg] Welcome, good Robin. See'st thou 
this sweet sight ? 
Her dotage now I do begin to pity : 
For, meeting her of late behind the wood. 
Seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool, 
I did upbraid her, and fall out with her ; 
For she his hairy temples then had rounded 
With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers ; 
And that same dew, which sometime on the buds ao 

Was wont to swell, like round and orient pearls. 
Stood now within the pretty flowerets' eyes, 
Like tears, that did their own disgrace bewail. 
When I had at my pleasure taunted her. 
And she in mild terms begg'd my patience, 

38 6e all ways away] disperse in all directions. Theobald corrected 
the original reading alwaies into all ways. 

S9 woodbine . . . honeysuckle] Woodbine and honeysuckle are usually 
employed as names of the same plant. But here woodbine would 
seem to mean "bind- weed," a species of convolvulus. Cf. Jon- 
son's Vision of Delight : " Behold ! How the blue bind-weed doth 
itself infold with honeysuckle." 

51 orient] sparkling, pellucid ; the ordinary epithet of pearls of the 
finest quality, which came from the East. 

I then did ask of her her changeling child ; 
Which straight she gave me, and her fairy sent 
To bear him to my bower in fairy land. 
And now I have the boy, I will undo 
This hateful imperfection of her eyes : so 

And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp 
From off the head of this Athenian swain ; 
That, he awaking when the other do, 
May all to Athens back again repair. 
And think no more of this night's accidents 
But as the fierce vexation of a dream. 
But first I will release the fau-y queen. 
Be as thou wast wont to be ; 
See as thou wast wont to see : 
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower 7o 

Hath such force and blessed power. 
Now, my Titania ; wake you, my sweet queen. 

TiTA. My Oberon 1 what visions have I seen ! 
Methought I was enamour 'd of an ass. 

Obe. There hes your love. 

TiTA. How came these things to pass ? 

O, how mine eyes do loathe his visage now 1 

Obe. Silence awhile. Robin, take off this head. 
Titania, music call ; and strike more dead 
Than common sleep of all these five the sense. 

70 Dian's bud] The part of the vitex agnus castas, leaves of which 
were believed to insure chastity in those who tasted them. 
Chaucer, who in his Florver and the Leaf, 11. 472-475, represents Dian, 
goddess of chastity, as bearing a branch of the « agnus castus " in 
her hand. " Cupid's flower " is the pansy, which already has been 
mentioned under the name of " love-in-idleness," II, i, l68, supra. 

TiTA. Music, ho I music, such as charmeth sleep ! 8o 

[Miisic, still. 
Puck, Now, when thou wakest, with thine own fool's 

eyes peep. 
Obe. Sound, music ! Come, my queen, take hands 
with me. 
And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. 
Now thou and I are new in amity. 
And will to-morrow midnight solemnly 
Dance in Duke Theseus' house triumphantly. 
And bless it to all fair prosperity : 
There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be 
Wedded, with Theseus, all in joUity. 

Puck. Fairy king, attend, and mark : so 

I do hear the morning lark. 
Obe. Then, my queen, in silence sad. 
Trip we after night's shade : 
We the globe can compass soon. 
Swifter than the wandering moon. 
TiTA. Come, my lord ; and in our flight, 
Tell me how it came this night. 
That I sleeping here was found 
With these mortals on the ground. {Exeunt. 

[Horns winded within. 

Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and train 
The. Go, one of you, find out the forester ; loo 

For now our observation is perform'd ; 

101 observation] sc. of the rites of May-day. Cf. I, i, l67, supra, 
"Observance to a morn of May," and line ISO, infra, "to observe 
The rite of May." 

And since we have the vaward of the day, 
My love shall hear the music of my hounds. 
Uncouple in the western vaUey ; let them go : 
Dispatch, I say, and find the forester. [Exit an attend. 

We wUl, fair queen, up to the moimtain's top. 
And mark the musical confusion 
Of hounds and echo in conjunction. 

Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once. 
When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear no 

With hounds of Sparta : never did I hear 
Such gallant chiding ; for, besides the groves. 
The skies, the fountains, every region near 
Seem'd all one mutual cry : I never heard 
So musical a discord, such sweet thunder. 

The. My hoimds are bred out of the Spartan kind. 
So flew'd, so sanded ; and their heads are hung 
With ears that sweep away the morning dew ; 
Crook-knee'd, and dew-lapp'd like Thessalian bulls ; 
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells, 120 

Each under each, A cry more tuneable 
Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horn. 
In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly : 
Judge when you hear. But, soft ! what nymphs are these ? 

Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep ; 
And this, Lysander ; this Demetrius is ; 
This Helena, old Nedar's Helena : 
I wonder of their being here together. 

m Jlewd] Cf. Ov., Met., Ill (Golding's translation, leaf 33 a, last 
line) : " a great and la.rge Jlemed (i. e. with hanging chaps) hound." 

, MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM act iv 

The. No doubt they rose up early to observe 
The ritg^gf May ; and, hearing our intent, i3o 

Came here in grace of our solemnity. 
But speak, Egeus ; is not this the day 
That Hermia should give answer of her choice ? 

Ege. It is, my lord. 

The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their 
horns. [Iloms and shout within. Lys., Dem., 

Hel., and Her., wake and start up. 
Good morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past : 
Begin these wood-birds but to couple now ? 

Lys. Pardon, my lord. 

The. I pray you all, stand up. 

I know you two are rival enemies : 

How comes this gentle concord in the world, i4o 

That hatred is so far from jealousy. 
To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity ? 

Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly. 
Half sleep, half waking : but as yet, I swear, 
I cannot truly say how I came here ; 
But, as I think, — for truly would I speak. 
And now I do bethink me, so it is, — 
I came with Hermia hither : our intent 
Was to be gone from Athens, where we might, 
Without the peril of the Athenian law. 150 

144c Half sleep, half waking :'\ "Sleep" and "waking" are substan- 
tives, the objects of the verb "reply." "He speaks holiday" 
(M. Wives, III, ii, 59) is a similar construction. 

149 where we mighi\ This is the obviously right reading of the first 
Quarto, which was wrongly altered in the second Quarto and 
Folios to where we might be. 

[74j 

Ege. Enough, enough, my lord ; you have enough : 
I beg the law, the law, upon his head. 
They would have stolen away ; they would, Demetrius, 
Thereby to have defeated you and me. 
You of yotir wife and me of my consent. 
Of my consent that she should be your wife. 

Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth. 
Of this their purpose hither to this wood ; 
And I in fury hither follow'd them. 

Fair Helena in fancy following me. leo 

But, my good lord, I wot not by what power, — 
But by some power it is, — my love to Hermia, 
Melted as the snow, seems to me now 
As the remembrance of an idle gaud. 
Which in my childhood I did dote upon ; 
And all the faith, the virtue of my heart. 
The object and the pleasure of mine eye. 
Is only Helena. To her, my lord. 
Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia : 

But, hke in sickness, did I loathe this food ; ito 

But, as in health, come to my natural taste. 
Now I do wish it, love it, long for it, 
And wiU for evermore be true to it. 

The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met : 
Of this discourse we more will hear anon. 
Egeus, I will overbear your will ; 
For in the temple, by and by, with us 
These couples shall eternally be knit : 

160 fancy] love. Cf. I, i, 155, supra, and note. 

And, for the morning now is something worn, 

Our purposed hunting shall be set aside. iso 

Away with us to Athens 1 three and three. 

We 11 hold a feast in great solenmity. 

Come, Hippolyta. \_Exeunt The., Hip., Ege., and train, 

Dem. These things seem small and undistinguishable. 
Like far-oif mountains turned into clouds. 

Her. Methinks I see these things with parted eye. 
When every thing seems double. 

Hel. So methinks : 

And I have found Demetrius like a jewel. 
Mine own, and not mine own. 

Dem. Are you sure 

That we are awake ? It seems to me i9o 

That yet we sleep, we dream. Do not you think 
The Duke was here, and bid us foUow him ? 

Hee. Yea ; and my father. 

Hel. And Hippolyta. 

Lys. And he did bid us follow to the temple. 

Dem. Why, then, we are awake : let 's foUow him ; 
And by the way let us recount our dreams. [Exeunt. 

Box. [Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and 
I wUl answer : my next is, " Most fair P5rramus." 
Heigh-ho ! Peter Quince ! Flute, the bellows-mender ! 

186 with parted eye] with eye out of focus, which sees two objects when 

only one is present. 
188 found . . . like a jewel] Hermia compares herself to one who, finding 

a jewel by accident, is uncertain whether he ought to retain it or no, 

is not sure whether the jewel is his own property or another's. 
189-190 Are you sure . . . awake?] This query is only found in the 

Quartos. 

Snout, the tinker I Starveling 1 God 's my life, stolen 
hence, and left me asleep 1 I have had a most rare 
vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say 
what dream it was : man is but an ass, if he go about 
to expound this dream. Methought I was — there is 
no man can tell what. Methought I was, — and me- 
thought I had, — but man is but a patched fool, if he 
win offer to say what methought I had. The eye of 
man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, 
man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, 
nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get 
Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream : it shall 
be called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom ; 
and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the 
Duke: peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I 
shall sing it at her death. lExit. 213 

SCENE II — ATHENS 
QUINCE'S HOUSE 

Enter Quince, Flute, Snout, and Staeveling 

QuiN. Have you sent to Bottom's house ? is he come 
home yet ? 

Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is 
transported. 

21s at her death] obviously at Thisbe's death in the play. 

4 transported] Apparently an echo of Quince's " thou art translated," 
J. e. "transformed " (III, i, 108, supra). Starveling cannot but be- 
lieve that Bottom has been "transported to the next world," ». e. 

Flu, If he come not, then the play is marred : it goes 
not forward, doth it ? 

QuiN. It is not possible : you have not a man in all 
Athens able to discharge Pyramus but he. 

Flu. No, he hath simply the best wit of any handi- 
craft man in Athens. lo 

QuiN. Yea, and the best person too ; and he is a very 
paramour for a sweet voice. 

Flu. You must say " paragon " : a paramour is, God 
bless us, a thing of naught. 

Enter Snug 

Snug. Masters, the Duke is coming from the temple, 
and there is two or three lords and ladies more married : 
if our sport had gone forward, we had all been made men. 

Flu. O sweet bully Bottom 1 Thus hath he lost six- 
pence a day during his life ; he could not have scaped 
sixpence a day : an the Duke had not given him six- 20 
pence a day for playing Pyramus, I '11 be hanged ; he 
would have deserved it: sixpence a day in Pyramus, 
or nothing. 

Enter Bottom 

BoT. Where are these lads ? where are these hearts ? 

QuiN. Bottom I O most courageous day ! O most 
happy hour! 

BoT. Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask 
me not what ; for if I tell you, I am no true Athenian. 
I will tell y ou every thing, right as it fell out. 

"killed," in which sense the word is used in Meas. for Meas., 
IV, iii, 64. *^ ' 

QuiN. Let us hear, sweet Bottom. 

BoT. Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is, so 
that the Duke hath dined. Get your apparel together, 
good strings to your beards, new ribbons to your 
pumps ; meet presently at the palace ; every man look 
o'er his part ; for the short and the long is, our play is 
preferred. In any case, let Thisby have clean linen ; 
and let not him that plays the lion pare his nails, for 
they shall hang out for the lion's claws. And, most 
dear actors, eat no onions nor garhc, for we are to utter 
sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them 
say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words : away I go, 
away ! [Exeunt. 40

THE PALACE OF THESEUS 

Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philosteate, Lords, and Attendants 
HiPPOLYTA 

IS STRANGE, MY THE- 

seus, that these lovers speak of. 
The. More strange than true : 

I never may beUeve 

These antique fables, nor these 

fairy toys. 

Lovers and madmen have such 

seething brains, 

Such shaping fantasies, that ap- 
prehend 

More than cool reason ever 

comprehends. 

The lunatic, the lover and the 
Are of imagination all compact : [poet 

One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. 
That is, the madman : the lover, aU as frantic, lo 

Sees Helen's beauty in a bjow of Egj^t : 

The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, 

Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to 

heaven ; 
And as imagination bodies forth 
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen 
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing 
A local habitation and a name. 
Such tricks hath strong imagination. 
That, if it would but apprehend some joy. 
It comprehends some bringer of that joy ; so 

Or in the night, imagining some fear, 
How easy is a bush supposed a bear I 

Hip. But all the story of the night told over. 
And all their minds transfigured so together. 
More witnesseth than fancy's images. 
And grows to something of great constancy ; 
But, howsoever, strange and admirable. 

The. Here come the lovers, full of joy and mirth. 

Enter Lysandek, Demetuius, Hermia, and Helena 

Joy, gentle friends ! joy and fresh days of love 
Accompany your hearts ! 

Lys. More than to us 30 

Wait in your royal walks, your board, your bed I 

The. Come now ; what masques, what dances shall 
we have. 

11 a brotv of Egypt] a brow of a gipsy. 

6 

To wear away this long age of three hours 
Between our after-supper and bed-time ? 
Where is our usual manager of mirth ? 
What revels are in hand ? Is there no play. 
To ease the anguish of a torturing hour ? 
Call PhUostrate. 

Phil, Here, mighty Theseus. 

The. Say, what abridgement have you for this 
evening ? 
What masque ? what music ? How shall we beguile 40 
The lazy time, if not with some delight ? 

Phil. There is a brief how many sports are 
ripe: 
Make choice of which your highness wiU see first. 

[Giving a paper. 

The. [reads'] The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung 
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp. 
We '11 none of that : that have I told my love. 
In glory of my kinsman Hercules, 

[Reads] The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals, 

Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage. 

That is an old device ; and it was play'd so 

When I from Thebes came last a conqueror. 

34. after-supper] Cf. Cotgrave's Fr.-Engl. Diet.: « Regoubillonner, to 

make a reare supper, steale an after supper." 
42 ripe] This obvious correct reading is in the First Quarto alone, and is 

wrongly altered elsewhere to rife. 
44-49 The references both to "the Centaurs " and to "the Thracian 

singer " Orpheus are reminiscences of Ovid's Metamorphoses. See 

Bks. XII and XI, respectively. 

[82 ] 

[Reads] The thrice three Muses mourning for the death 

Of Learning, late deceased in beggary. 

That is some satire, keen and critical, 

Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony. 

[Reads] A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus 

And his love Thisbe ; very tragical mirth. 

Merry and tragical I tedious and brief I 

That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow. 

How shall we find the concord of this discord 1 eo 

Phil. A play there is, my lord, some ten words long, 
Which is as brief as I have known a play ; 
But by ten words, my lord, it is too long. 
Which makes it tedious ; for in all the play 
There is not one word apt, one player fitted : 
And tragical, my noble lord, it is ; 
For Pyramus therein doth kill himself. 
Which, when I saw rehearsed, I must confess, 
Made mine eyes water ; but more merry tears 
The passion of loud laughter never shed. to 

The. What are they that do play it ? 

Phil. Hard-handed men, that work in Athens here, 
Which never labour'd in their minds till now ; 
And now have toil'd their unbreathed memories 

52 The thrice three Muses] Probably an allusion to the Tears of the Muses, 
a poem by Edmund Spenser, lamenting the decay of literature, 
■which was published in 1591. 

59 wondroiis strange snow] a tautological echo of hot ice. For "wondrous 
strange," cf. Hamlet, I, v, l64: "O day and night, but this is 
wondrous strange!" and S Hen. VI, II, i, 33: "'T is wondrous 
strange, the like yet never heard of." 

74 toiFd . . . menurries] wearied out their unpractised memories. 

With this same play, against your nuptial. 

The. And we wiU hear it. 

Phil. No, my noble lord ; 

It is not for you : I have heard it over. 
And it is nothing, nothing in the world ; 
Unless you can find sport in their intents. 
Extremely stretch'd and conn'd with cruel pain, so 

To do you service. 

The. I will hear that play ; 

For never any thing can be amiss. 
When simpleness and duty tender it. 
Go, bring them in : and take your places, ladies. 

[Ea-it Philostrate. 

Hip. I love not to see wretchedness o'ercharged, 
And duty in his service perishing. 

The. Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such 
thing. 

Hip. He says they can do nothing in this kind. 

The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for 
nothing. 
Our sport shall be to take what they mistake : so 

And what poor duty cannot do, noble respect 
Takes it in might, not merit. 
Where I have come, great clerks have purposed 
To greet me with premeditated welcomes ; 
Where I have seen them shiver and look pale, 

88 in this kind] See note, I, i, 54, supra; cf. V, i., 210, infra. 

91-92 And n'hat . . . merit] And any genuine effort to please is wel- 
comed by the magnanimous for its good intention without regard 
to its intrinsic merit. 

Make periods in the midst of sentences, 

Throttle their practised accent in their fears, 

And, in conclusion, dumbly have broke off. 

Not paying me a welcome. Trust me, sweet. 

Out of this silence yet 1 picked a welcome ; loo 

And in the modesty of fearful duty 

I read as much as from the rattling tongue 

Of saucy and audacious eloquence. 

Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity 

In least speak most, to my capacity. 

Re-enter Philosteate 

Phil. So please your Grace, the Prologue is address'd. 
The. Let him approach. {Flourish of trumpets. 

Enter QysmcE. for the Prologue 

Pro. If we offend, it is with our good will. 

That you should think, we come not to oiFend, 
But with good will. To show our simple skiU, no 

That is the true beginning of our end. 
Consider, then, we come but in despite. 

We do not come, as minding to content you. 
Our true intent is. All for your delight, 

We are not here. That you should here repent you. 
The actors are at hand ; and, by their show. 
You shall know all, that you are like to know. 

The. This fellow doth not stand upon points. 

Lys. He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt ; he 

108 seq.\ Mlspunctuation gives these lines a sense opposite to that 
which is intended. A like comic device is employed in the old 
farce Ralph Roister Doister, III, 4. 

knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord : it is not 
enough to speak, but to speak true. 121 

Hip. Indeed he hath played on his prologue Uke a 
chUd on a recorder ; a sound, but not in government. 

The. His speech was like a tangled chain ; nothing 
impaired, but aU disordered. Who is next ? 

Enter Pyeamus and Thisbe, Wall, Moonshine, and Lion 

Pro. Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show ; 

But wonder on, till truth make all things plain. 
This man is Pyramus, if you would know ; 

This beauteous lady Thisby is certain. 
This man, with lime and rough-cast, doth present 130 

Wall, that vile Wall which did these lovers sunder ; 
And through Wall's chink, poor souls, they are content 

To whisper. At the which let no man wonder. 
This man, with lanthom, dog, and bush of thorn, 

Presenteth Moonshine ; for, if you will know. 
By moonshine did these lovers think no scom 

To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo. 
This grisly beast, which Lion hight by name. 
The trusty Thisby, coming first by night, 

Did scare away, or rather did affright ; 140 

And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall. 

Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain. 
Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall. 

And finds his trusty Thisby's mantle slain : 
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade, 

He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast ; 

145-146 Whereat . . . breast] Shakespeare has abeady ridiculed the 
practice of alliteration in L. L. L., IV, ii, 52 : "I will some thing 
affect the letter," etc. 

And Thisby, tarrying in mulberry shade, 

His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest, 

Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain 

At large discourse, while here they do remain, ISO 

[Exeunt Prologue, Pyramus, Thisbe, Lion, and Moonshiiie. 

The. I wonder if the lion be to speak. 
Dem. No wonder, my lord : one lion may, when many 
asses do. 

Wall. In this same interlude it doth befall 

That I, one Snout by name, present a wall ; 

And such a wall, as I would have you think, 

Thathad in it a crannied hole or chink. 

Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisby, 

Did whisper often very secretly. 

This loam, this rough-cast, and this stone, doth show 160 

That I am that same wall ; the truth is so : 

And this the cranny is, right and sinister. 

Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper. 
The. Would you desire lime and hair to speak better ? 
Dem. It is the wittiest partition that ever I h6ard dis- 
course, my lord. 

The. Pyramus draws near the wall : silence ! 

Re-enter Pyramus 

Pye. grim-look'd night ! O night with hue so black ! 

night, which ever art when day is not ! 

O night, O night ! alack, alack, alack, 170 

1 fear my Thisby's promise is forgot ! 

157-162 crannied hole . . . cranni/] This feature of Thisbe's story is 
derived directly from Ovid's Met., IV, 65-69 : " Fissus erat tenui 
rima," etc., rendered by Gelding thus : " A wall that parted house 
from house have riven therein a crany." 

And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall, 

That stand'st between her father's ground and mine ! 
Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall, 

Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne ! 

[Wall holds up his fingers. 
Thanks, courteous wall : Jove shield thee well for this ! 

But what see I ? No Thisby do I see. 
O wicked wall, thi-ough whom I see no bliss ! 

Cursed be thy stones for thus deceiving me ! 
The. The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse 
again. i8o 

Pyr. No, in truth, sir, he should not. "Deceiving 
me " is Thisby's cue : she is to enter now, and I am to 
spy her through the wall. You shall see, it will fall pat 
as I told you. Yonder she comes. 

Re-enter Thisbe 

This. O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans. 
For parting my fair Pyramus and me ! 
My cherry lips have often kiss'd thy stones. 

Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee. 
Pyr. I see a voice : now will I to the chink, 190 

To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face. 
Thisby! 

This. My love thou art, my love I think. 
Pyr. Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace ; 
And, like Limander, am I ti-usty still. 

This. And I like Helen, till the Fates me kill. 

195-196 Limander . . . Helen] A blunder apparently for Leander and 
Hero. 

Pyr. Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true. 

This. As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you. 

Pyk. O, kiss me through the hole of this vile wall ! 

This. I kiss the wall's hole, not your lips at all. 200 

Pye. Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me straightway ? 

This. Tide life, 'tide death, I come without delay. 

[Exeunt Pyramus and Thisbe. 

Waix. Thus have I, wall, my part discharged so ; 
And, being done, thus wall away doth go. [Exit. 

The. Now is the mural down between the two 
neighbours. 

Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are so wilful 
to hear without warning. 

Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. 209 

The. The best in this kind are but shadows ; 
and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend 
them. 

Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not 
theirs. 

The. If we imagine no worse of them than they of 
themselves, they may pass for excellent men. Here 
come two noble beasts in, a man and a Uon. 

197-198 Shafalus to Procnisl A blunder for Cephalus and Procris, whose 
story of constant love is in Ovid's Met., VII. A poem on the sub- 
ject was entered in the Stationers' Register, 1593. The only copy 
known to be extant is dated 1595. 

205 Now is the mural dorvri] This is Pope's emendation of the obviously 
erroneous readings of the early editions. The Quartos read, 
moon vsed. " The Folios' alteration, morall donme, justifies Pope's 
correction. 

210 in this kind] See note, I, i, 54, supra; cf. V, i, 88. 

Re-enter Lion and Moonshine 

Lion. You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear 

The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor. 
May now perchance both quake and tremble here, 
When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar. 
Then know that I, one Snug the joiner, am 220 

A lion-fell, nor else no lion's dam ; 
For, if I should as lion come in strife 
Into this place, 't were pity on my life. 

The. a very gentle beast, and of a good conscience. 

Dem. The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er I 
saw. 

Lys. This lion is a very fox for his valour. 

The. True ; and a goose for his discretion. 

Dem. Not so, my lord ; for his valour cannot carry 
his discretion ; and the fox carries the goose. 

The. His discretion, I am sure, cannot carry his 
valour ; for the goose carries not the fox. It is well : 
leave it to his discretion, and let us listen to the moon. 232 

Moon. This lanthom doth the homed moon present ; — 

Dem. He should have worn the horns on his 
head. 

The. He is no crescent, and his horns are invisible 
within the circumference. 

Moon. This lanthorn doth the homed moon present ; 
Myself the man i' the moon do seem to be. 

The. This is the greatest error of all the rest : the 
man should be put into the lantern. How is it else the 
man i' the moon ? 241 

221 A lion-felt\ a lion's skin (not a real lion). 

Dem. He dares not come there for the candle ; for, 
you see,it is already in snufF. 

Hip. I am aweary of this moon : would he would 
change ! 

The. It appears, by his small light of discretion, that 
he is in the wane ; but yet, in courtesy, in all reason, we 
must stay the time. 

Lys. Proceed, Moon. 249 

Moon. AU that I have to say, is, to tell you that 
the lanthom is the moon ; I, the man i' the moon ; 
this thorn-bush, my thorn-bush ; and this dog, my 
dog. 

Dem. Why, all these should be in the lantern; for 
all these are in the moon. But, silence I here comes 
Thisbe. 

Re-enter Thisbe 

This. This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love ? 

Lion. [Roaring] Oh [TTiisbe runs off . 

Dem. Well roared. Lion. 
The. Well run, Thisbe. 

Hip. Well shone. Moon. Truly, the moon shines 
with a good grace. [The Lion shakes Thisbe's mantle, and exit. 
The. Well moused. Lion. 261 

Dem. And then came Pyramus. 
Lys. And so the lion vanished. 

243 in muff] See note on L. L. L., V, ii, 22. 

262-263 And then . . . vanished] It has been suggested that these Unes 

ought to be reversed. But Lysander may be reminding Demetrius 

of a point that he had omitted to mention. 

[91J 

Re-enter Pyeamus 

Pyr. Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams ; 
I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright ; 
For, by thy gracious, golden, gUttering gleams, 
I trust to take of truest Thisby sight. 
But stay, O spite ! 
But mark, poor knight, 
What dreadful dole is here ! 270 

Eyes, do you see ? 
How can it be ? 
O dainty duck ! dear ! 
Thy mantle good. 
What, stain'd with blood ! 
Approach, ye Furies fell ! 
O Fates, come, come, 
Cut thread and thrum ; 
Quail, crush, conclude, and quell ! 
The. This passion, and the death of a dear friend, 
would go near to make a man look sad. 281 

Hip. Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man. 
Pyr. O wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame ? 

Since lion vile hath here deflower'd my dear : 
Which is — no, no — which was the fairest dame 

That lived, that loved, that liked, that look'd with cheer. 
Come, tears, confound ; 
Out, sword, and wound 
The pap of Pyramus ; 

Ay, that left pap, ^90 

Where heart doth hop : {Stabs himself. 

Thus die I, thus, thus, thus. 

266 gleams] The Quartos and First Folio read beames, a careless 
repetition of line 264. The other Folios read streams. Gleams 
is Knight's conjecture. 

Now am I dead, 

Now am I fled ; 
My soul is in the sky : 

Tongue, lose thy light ; 

Moon, take thy flight : lExit Moonshine. 
Now die, die, die, die, die. IDies. 

Dem. No die, but an ace, for him ; for he is but one. 

Lys. Less than an ace, man ; for he is dead ; he is 
nothing. 301 

The. With the help of a surgeon he might yet re- 
cover, and prove an ass. 

Hip. How chance Moonshine is gone before Thisbe 
comes back and finds her lover ? 

The. She wiU find him by starlight. Here she 
comes ; and her passion ends the play. 

Re-enter Thisbe 

Hip. Methinks she should not use a long one for 
such a Pjnramus : I hope she will be brief 309 

Dem. a mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus, 
which Thisbe, is the better ; he for a man, God warrant 
us ; she for a woman, God bless us. 

Lys. She hath spied him already with those sweet 
eyes. 

299 A'o die, but an ace'] A play upon words which depends on " ace " 
and " ass," being given the same sound in pronunciation. 

311-312 he for a man . . . God bless us] These words only appear in 
the Quartos, and were omitted from the Folios, perhaps on account 
of the statute of 1605, which prohibited the use of the name of 
God on the stage. 

Dem. And thus she means, videlicet : — 

This. Asleep, my love ? 

What, dead, my dove ? 
O Pyramus, arise ! 

Speak, speak. Quite dumb ? 

Dead, dead ? A tomb 
Must cover thy sweet eyes. 320 

ITiese lily lips. 

This cherry nose, 
These yeUow cowslip cheeks, 

Are gone, are gone : 

Lovers, make moan : 
His eyes were green as leeks. 

O Sisters Three, 

Come, come to me. 
With hands as pale as milk : 

Lay them in gore, 330 

Since you have shore 
With shears his thread of silk. 

Tongue, not a word : 

Come, trusty sword ; 
Come, blade, my breast imbrue : [Stabs herself. 

And, farewell, friends ; 

Thus Thisby ends : 
Adieu, adieu, adieu. [Dies. 

The. Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead. 
Dem. Ay, and Wall too. 340 

BoT. [Starting up] No, I assure you ; the wall is down 
that parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the 

314 meafis] This is the original reading, and Theobald's emendation of 
moans is unnecessary. " Means " was itself often used in the 
sense of " lament." But its union here with " videlicet " suggests 
that the sense is, "she has that meaning," "she takes it seriously." 

epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance between two of 
our company ? 

The. No epilogue, I pray you ; for your play needs 
no excuse. Never excuse ; for when the players are all 
dead, there need none to be blamed. Marry, if he that 
writ it had played Pyramus and hanged himself in 
Thisbe's garter, it would have been a fine tragedy : and 
so it is, truly ; and very notably discharged. But, come, 
your Bergomask : let your epilogue alone. [^ dance, ssi 

The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve : 

Lovers, to bed ; 't is almost fairy time. 

I fear we shall out-sleep the coming morn. 

As much as we this night have overwatch'd. 

This palpable-gross play hath well beguiled 

The heavy gait of night. Sweet friends, to bed. 

A fortnight hold we this solemnity. 

In nightly revels and new jollity. [Exeunt. 

Enter Puck 

Puck. Now the hungry lion roars, seo 

And the wolf behowls the moon ; 

WhUst the heavy ploughman snores, 
All with weary task fordone. 

Now the wasted brands do glow, 

Whilst the screech-owl, screeching loud. 

357 gaii\ march. Cf. 1. 405, infra, " take his gait," i. e., take his march, 

go away. 
361 hehotvh'] The emendation of Warburton which Theobald accepted 

for the original beholds. 

Puts the wretch that hes in woe 

In remembrance of a shroud. 
Now it is the time of night, 

That the graves, all gaping wide, 
Every one lets forth his sprite, sto 

In the church- way paths to glide : 
And we fairies, that do run 

By the triple Hecate's team. 
From the presence of the sun. 

Following darkness like a dream, 
Now are frolic : not a mouse 
Shall disturb this hallow'd house : 
I am sent with broom before. 
To sweep the dust behind the door. 

Enter Obeeon and Titania with their train 

Obe. Through the house give gUmmering light, sso 

By the dead and drowsy fire : 

368-369 Now . . . wide] Cf. Hamlet, III, ii, 378-379 : 
" 'T is now the witching time of night, 
When churchyards yawn" etc. 

373 triple Hecate's] Hecate is here a dissyllable. The epithet " triple " 
is derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses, where the goddess Hecate 
is called " triformis dea " (vii, 94?), and " triceps Hecate " (vii, 194). 
Both epithets appear in Golding as " triple." The epithet is com- 
monly explained by the fact that the goddess has a threefold sov- 
ereignty over heaven, earth, and hell, under the respective names 
of Luna, Diana, and Hecate. In the present text she figures as 
goddess of the infernal regions or darkness, whose " team " consists 
of dragons. " Triple Hecate's team " is thus equivalent to " night's 
swift dragons," III, ii, 379, supra. 

380-381 Through . . .fire] Through the house shed gleams of light, 

Every elf and fairy sprite 

Hop as light as bird from brier ; 

And this ditty, after me, 

Sing, and dance it trippingly. 
TiTA. First, rehearse your song by rote. 

To each word a warbling note : 

Hand in hand, wdth fairy grace, 

WiU we sing, and bless this place. 

\_Song and dance. 
Obe. Now, until the break of day, 390 

Through this house each fairy stray. 

To the best bride-bed will we, 

Which by us shall blessed be ; 

And the issue there create 

Ever shaU be fortunate. 

So shall all the couples three 

Ever true in loving be ; 

And the blots of Nature's hand 

ShaU not in their issue stand ; 

Never mole, hare hp, nor scar, 400 

Nor mark prodigious, such as are 

Despised in nativity, 

ShaU upon their children be. 

With this field-dew consecrate. 

Every fairy take his gait ; 

with the aid of the drooping fire. For through it has been pro- 
posed needlessly to read though, and to substitute a comma for a 
colon at " fire." The meaning would then be : " Though the house 
is almost in darkness, (still) by the light of the dead fire," etc. 
405 gait] See note on 1. 357, supra. 
-! [97 ] 

And each several chamber bless, 

Through this palace, with sweet peace. 

Ever shall in safety rest. 

And the owner of it blest. 

Trip away ; make no stay ; 410 

Meet me all by break of day. 

[Exeunt Oberon, Titania, and train. 
Puck. If we shadows have offended. 

Think but this, and all is mended, 

That you have but slumber'd here. 

While these visions did appear. 

And this weak and idle theme. 

No more yielding but a dream. 

Gentles, do not reprehend : 

If you pardon, we wiU mend. 

And, as I am an honest Puck, 420 

If we have unearned luck 

Now to scape the serpent's tongue. 

We wiU make amends ere long ; 

Else the Puck a har caU : 

So, good night unto you all. 

Give me your hands, if we be friends. 

And Robin shall restore amends. \_Exif. 

420 an honest Puck] Puck, or " the Puck " (as at line 424), is a title 
usually conferred in contemporary literature on an evil spirit who 
is incapable of honesty. The speaker deprecates complete identi- 
fication with ordinary creatures of his name. 

421-422 unearned . . . tongue] luck that we have not earned (or de- 
served) of being dismissed without hisses. 

426 Give . . . hands] Clap hands^ give a round of applause. 

1 See an account of the performance in the " Athenaeum," of Sept. 8, 1906 : 
" During recent years ' The Winter's Tale ' has sprung into consideration with 
Shakespeare worshippers. . . . Deafening applause attended the whole, which 
may count among the most imaginative and poetical of Mr. Tree's revivals." 

[xlvl 

THE WINTER'S TALE 

Four Lords of Sicilia. 

DRAMATIS PERSONS' 

Leontes, king of Sicilia. 

Mamillitjs, young prince of Sicilia. 

Camtllo, 

Antigonus, 

Cleomenes, 

Dion, 

PoLESENES, king of Bohemia. 

Flobizel, prince of Bohemia. 

Akchidamtjs, a Lord of Bohemia. 

Old Shepherd, reputed father of Perdita. 

Clown, his son. 

AuTOLTCtJS, a rogue. 

A Mariner. 

A Gaoler. 

Hermione, queen to Leontes. 

Perdita, daughter to Leontes and Hermione. 

PAUiiESTA, wife to Antigonus. 

Emilia, a lady attending on Hermione. 

TV ' i Shepherdesses. 
Dorcas, ) ^ 

Other Lords and Gentlemen, Ladies, Officers, and 
Servants, Shepherds, and Shepherdesses. 

Time, as Chorus. 

Scene: Partly in Sicilia, and partly in Bohemia 

1 >'r 

'The Winter's Tale " was printed for the first time in the First Polio 
of 1623. It is there divided into Acts and Scenes, and at the end of the 
piece a list of "The names of the actors" {i. e. "dramatis personse)," 
was supplied. A notice of the "Scene" was given first by Rowe.

ANTECHAMBER IN LEONTES' PALACE 

Enter Camillo and Abchidamus 
Ab,chidamtjs 

F YOU SHALL CHANCE, 

Camillo, to visit Bohemia, on the 
like occasion whereon my services 
are now on foot, you shall see, 
as I have said, great difference 
betwixt our Bohemia and your 
Sicilia. 

Cam. I think, this coming 
summer, the King of Sicilia 
means to pay Bohemia the visi- 
tation which he justly owes him. 

AncH. Wherein our enter- 
tainment shall shame us we wiU 

be justified in our loves; for indeed- 
Cam. Beseech you, — 

10 

6 Bohemia] the King of Bohemia. Cf. line 20 infra, and I, ii, 334. 
8-9 Wherein . . . loves] In so far as our entertainment shall discredit us 
through inefficiency, we will make up the defect with our love. 

AjacH. Verily, I speak it in the freedom of my knowl- 
edge : we cannot with such magnificence — in so rare — 
I know not what to say. We will give you sleepy drinks, 
that your senses, unintelligent of our insufficience, may, 
though they cannot praise us, as little accuse us. 

Cam. You pay a great deal too dear for what 's given 
freely. 

Arch. Believe me, I speak as my understanding in- 
structs me, and as mine honesty puts it to utterance. 

Cam. Sicilia cannot show himself over-kind to Bo- ^^ 
hernia. They were trained together in their childhoods ; 
and there rooted betwixt them then such an affection, 
which cannot choose but branch now. Since their more 
mature dignities and royal necessities made separation 
of their society, their encoimters, though not personal, 
have been royally attorneyed with interchange of gifts, 
letters, loving embassies; that they have seemed to be 
together, though absent; shook hands, as over a vast; 
and embraced, as it were, from the ends of opposed winds. 
The heavens continue their loves ! 30 

Arch. I think there is not in the world either malice 
or matter to alter it. You have an unspeakable comfort 
of your young prince Mamillius : it is a gentleman of the 
greatest promise that ever came into my note. 

Cam. I very well agree with you in the hopes of him: 

20 Sicilia . . . Bohemia] The King of SicUia ... the king of Bohemia. 

Cf. line 6 supra. 
26 royally attorneyed] done royally by attorney or deputy. 
28 vast] Thus the First Folio. The Second and later Folios substitute 

vast sea. But "vast " is used by itself as a noun in that sense. Cf. 

Pericles, HI, i, 1: "Thou god of this great vasf." 

it is a gallant child; one that indeed physics the subject, 
makes old hearts fresh: they that went on crutches ere 
he was born desire yet their life to see him a man. 

Arch. Would they else be content to die? 

Cam. Yes; if there were no other excuse why they *° 
should desire to live. 

Arch. If the king had no son, they would desire to 
live on crutches till he had one. lExeunt. 

SCENE n— A ROOM OF STATE IN THE SAME 

Enter Leontes, Heumione, Mamillius, Polixenes, 
Camixlo, and Attendants 

Pol. Nine changes of the watery star hath been 
The shepherd's note since we have left our throne 
Without a burthen: time as long again 
Would be fill'd up, my brother, with our thanks; 
And yet we should, for perpetuity. 
Go hence in debt: and therefore, hke a cipher. 
Yet standing in rich place, I multiply 
With one " We thank you," many thousands moe 
That go before it. 

Leon. Stay your thanks a whUe; 

And pay them when you part. 

Pol. Sir, that 's to-morrow. 

36 physics the subject] makes healthy or cheerful the people subject to 

him, acts as a cordial to the nation. 
1 Nin^ changes of the watery star] Nine lunar months. The watery^ star 

is the moon, which governs the tides. Cf. Hamlet, I, i, 118: "the 

moist star." 
10 when you part] when you depart. 

10 

I am question'd by my fears, of what may chance 

Or breed upon our absence ; that may blow 

No sneaping winds at home, to make us say 

" This is put forth too truly: " besides, I have stay'd 

To tire your royalty. 

Leon. We are tougher, brother, 

Than you can put us to 't. 

Pol. No longer stay. 

Leon. One seven-night longer. 

Pol. Very sooth, to-morrow. 

Leon. We '11 part the time between 's, then: and in 
that 
I '11 no gainsaying. 

Pol. Press me not, beseech you, so. 

There is no tongue that moves, none, none i' the world, ^^ 
So soon as yours could win me : so it should now. 
Were there necessity in your request, although 
'T were needful I denied it. My affairs 
Do even drag me homeward: which to hinder 
Were in your love a whip to me ; my stay 
To you a charge and trouble : to save both. 
Farewell, our brother. 

Leon. Tongue-tied our queen ? speak you. 

Hee. I had thought, sir, to have held my peace until 
You had drawn oaths from him not to stay. You, sir. 
Charge him too coldly. Tell him, you are sure 3*^ 

All in Bohemia 's well ; this satisfaction 

12-14 that may blow . . . truly] may it be that no nipping winds may 
blow at home to make me say "This fear of ill has too good cause." 
18 part the time] split the difference as to the time. 
31-33 this satisjadion . . . ward] this satisfactory news was announced 

The by-gone day proclaim'd : say this to him, 
He 's beat from his best ward. 

Leon. Well said, Hermione. 

Her. To tell, he longs to see his son, were strong: 
But let him say so then, and let him go ; 
But let him swear so, and he shall not stay. 
We '11 thwack him hence with distaffs. 
Yet of your royal presence I 'U adventure 
The borrow of a week. When at Bohemia 
You take my lord, I '11 give him my commission ^^ 

To let him there a month behind the gest 
Prefix'd for 's parting: yet, good deed, Leontes, 
I love thee not a jar o' the clock behind 
What lady she her lord. You 'U stay? 

Pol. No, madam. 

Her. Nay, but you will? 

Pol. I may not, verily. 

Her. Verily! 
You put 'me off with hmber vows; but I, 

yesterday. If you say this to him, he is deprived of his best excuse 
for going. 
41-42 let him there . . . parting] hinde|^imself or stay there a month 
beyond the scheduled time prearranged for his departure. "Gest," 
a French word, literally meaning "a lodging," was applied to a 
schedule of lodgings or a time-table of stoppages appointed for a 
royal journey. 

42 good deed] indeed. 

43 a jar o' the clock] a trick of the clock. 

44 What lady she] "She" is redundant and adds emphasis to "what 

lady," i. e., "whatever lady." Cf. Rich. Ill, HI, vii, 236: "For 
God he knows." 
47 limber] flexible, untrustworthy, unstable. 

Though you would seek to unsphere the stars with oaths. 

Should yet say " Sir, no going." Verily, 

You shall not go: a lady's " Verily " 's ^^ 

As potent as a lord's. WiU you go yet? 

Force me to keep you as a prisoner, 

Not hke a guest ; so you shall pay your fees 

When you depart, and save your thanks. How say you? 

My prisoner? or my guest? by your dread " Verily," 

One of them you shall be. 

Poii. Your guest, then, madam: 

To be your prisoner should import offending; 
Which is for me less easy to commit 
Than you to punish. 

Heb. Not your gaoler, then. 

But your kind hostess. Come, I 'll question you *"' 

Of my lord's tricks and yours when you were boys : 
You were pretty lordings then? 

Pol. We were, fair queen. 

Two lads that thought there was no more behind. 
But such a day to-morrow as to-day. 
And to be boy eternal. 

Her. Was not my lord 

The verier wag o' the two? 

Pol. We were as twinn'd lambs that did frisk i' the sun. 
And bleat the one at the other: what we changed 

48 unsphere the stars] The phrase belongs to the Ptolemaic system of astron- 
omy, which assumed that the stars were each enclosed in a hollow 
sphere of crystal. 

6^ lordings] a familiar diminutive of "lords." Ct Pass. Pilg., ill: "It 
was a lording's daughter." 

68 what we changed] the talk we exchanged. 

Was innocence for innocence ; we knew not 

The doctrine of ill-doiag, nor dream'd "^^ 

That any did. Had we pursued that life. 

And our weak spirits ne'er been higher rear'd 

With stronger blood, we should have answer'd heaven 

Boldly " not guilty; " the imposition clear'd 

Hereditary ours. 

Her. By this we gather 

You have tripp'd since. 

Pol. O my most sacred lady ! 

Temptations have since then been born to 's : for 
In those unfledged days was my wife a girl ; 
Your precious self had then not cross'd the eyes 
Of my young play-fellow. 

Hek. Grace to boot! ^^ 

Of this make no conclusion, lest you say 
Your queen and I are devils: yet go on; 
The offences we have made you do we '11 answer, 
If you first sinn'd with us, and that with us 
You did continue fault, and that you shpp'd not 
With any but with us. 

Leon. Is he won yet? 

Her. He '11 stay, my lord. 

Leon. At my request he would not. 

Hermione, my dearest, thou never spokest 
To better purpose. 

70 doctrine] here used as a trisyllable. 

74-75 the impositimi clear'd Hereditary ours] the imposition or stain of 

original sin, which was ours by heredity, being by our innocence cleared 

away, altogether removed. 
80 Grace to hoot ! ] Pray grace come to our aid ! 

Hee. Never? 

Leon. Never, but once. 

Hee. What! have I twice said well? when was 't be- 
fore? ^ «o 
I prithee tell me; cram 's with praise, and make 's 
As fat as tame things : one good deed dying tongueless 
Slaughters a thousand waiting upon that. 
Our praises are our wages : you may ride 's 
With one soft kiss a thousand furlongs ere 
With spur we heat an acre. But to the goal: 
My last good deed was to entreat his stay: 
What was my first? it has an elder sister. 
Or I mistake you : O, would her name were Grace I 
But once before I spoke to the purpose : when? ^^^ 
Nay, let me have 't ; I long. 

Leon. Why, that was when 

Three crabbed months had sour'd themselves to death. 
Ere I could make thee open thy white hand, 
And clap thyself my love : then didst thou utter 
" I am yours for ever." 

Her. 'T is Grace indeed. 

Why, lo you now, I have spoke to the purpose twice : 
The one for ever earn'd a royal husband; 
The other for some while a friend. 
To mingle friendship far is minghng bloods. 

96 heai an acre] run a heat or course of an acre's length, "acre" being 
used as a lineal measure, equivalent to a furlong. 
to the goal] to the point. 

104 clap] close the bargain (by clapping hands) ; acknowledge (thyself 
my love). 

105 'T is Grace indeed] Cf. line 99, SMpra,"0, would her name were Grace." 

Leon. \_Aside'\ Too hot, too hot! 

I have tremor cordis on me : my heart dances ; ^^° 

But not for joy; not joy. This entertainment 
May a free face put on, derive a liberty 
From heartiness, from bounty, fertile bosom. 
And well become the agent; 't may, I grant; 
But to be paddhng palms and pinching fingers, 
As now they are, and making practised smiles. 
As in a looking-glass, and then to sigh, as 't were 
The mort o' the deer ; O, that is entertainment 
My bosom Ukes not, nor my brows! MamilHus, 
Art thou my boy? 

Mam. Ay, my good lord. 

Leon. I' fecks! ^^o 

Why, that 's my bawcock. What, hast smutch'd thy nose ? 
They say it is a copy out of mine. Come, captain. 
We must be neat; not neat, but cleanly, captain: 
And yet the steer, the heifer and the calf 

112 May a free face ptd on] May have an aspect of innocence. Cf . Hamlet, 
n, ii, 236: "We that have free souls." 

113 fertile bosom] spontaneous exuberance, impulsiveness. 

118 mcrt o' the deer] probably the long-drawn sigh of the dying deer. 
Although "mort," the French word for death, is technically applied 
to the musical flourish on the horn which announced in the hunting 
field the death of the deer, it seems unlikely that Leontes should 
liken the sighs of secret lovers to the blast of a horn. 

120 r fecks] a colloquial diminutive of "In faith," "I' faith-kins." 

121 bawcock] a colloquial term of endearment, from the French "beau 
coq," "a fine feUow." 

124-125 steer . . . heifer . . . calf . . . neat] homed cattle were gener- 
ically known as ' ' neat." The allusion is to the horns which were 
popularly assigned to husbands of faithless wives. 

Are all caU'd neat. — StiU virginaUing 

Upon his palm! — How now, you wanton calf! 

Art thou my calf? 

Mam. Yes, if you wUl, my lord. 

Leon. Thou want'st a rough pash and the shoots that 
I have. 
To be full hke me : yet they say we are 
Almost as like as eggs ; women say so, ^^^ 

That will say any thing : but were they false 
As o'er-dyed blacks, as wind, as waters, false 
As dice are to be wish'd by one that fixes 
No bourn 'twixt his and mine, yet were it true 
To say this boy were like me. Come, sir page. 
Look on me with your welkin eye : sweet villain I 
Most dear'st! my coUop! Can thy dam? — may 't be? — 
Affection! 'thy intention stabs the centre: 

125 virginalling] fingering the musical instrument called the virginal. 

128 a rough pash . . . have] a rough head and the horns that shoot from 
it as I have. The rare word "pash" for "head " seems to be Scottish. 

131-132 false . . . as waters] Cf. Othello, V, ii, 137: "She was false as 
water." 

o'er-dyed blacks] stuffs falsely dyed black over their former (light) 
colour, for purposes of mourning. Cf. Massinger's Old Law, II, 1 : 
' ' blacks [i. e., mourning clothes] are often such dissembling mourners." 

134 bourn] boundary, distinguishing mark. The reference is to one who 
makes no distinction between his property and mine, a thief. 

136 welkin eye] blue eye, eye of the colour of the welkin or sky. 

137 my collop] piece of my flesh. 

Can thy dam?] Can thy mother (be unchaste) ? 
138-146 Affection . . . of my brows] In these abrupt and disjointed sen- 
tences Leontes describes confusedly the disorderly workings of lust 
("affection"). The mental connection between the various ejacu- 

Thou dost make possible things not so held, 

Communicatest with dreams ; — how can this be? — ^'^^ 

With what 's unreal thou coactive art, 

And f ellow'st nothing : then 't is very credent 

Thou mayst co-join with something; and thou dost. 

And that beyond commission, and I find it. 

And that to the infection of my brains 

And hardening of my brows. 

Pol. What means Siciha? 

Her. He something seems unsettled. 

Pol. How, my lord! 

What cheer? how is 't with you, best brother? 

Hee. You look 

As if you held a brow of much distraction : 
Are you moved, my lord? 

Leon. No, in good earnest. ^^^ 

How sometimes nature wUl betray its folly, 
Its tenderness, and make itself a pastime 

lations is not easy to define. Some such paraphrase as the following 
expresses the general meaning ; Lust, in its intensity, pierces the 
very centre or root of Nature; it makes possible things that are 
reckoned impossible ; it holds communion with dreams ; it co-operates 
with unrealities ; it makes companion of nothingness. Yet, moreover, 
it is quite credible that it should ally itself with actual substance. 
Indeed that is just what it does, and does beyond all warrant. I find 
that mode of lust's activity now poisoning my brain, and hardening 
my brows for horns to sprout from. 
147-148 How, my lord! . . . brother] In the Folios this speech is given to 
Ijcontes. Hanmer's assignment of it to Polixenes seems to improve 
the context, though Leontes' claim to it has been defended on the 
ground that he asks a dissembling counter question by way of 
diverting attention from his real state of mind. 

To harder bosoms ! Looking on the lines 

Of my boy's face, methoughts I did recoil 

Twenty-three years, and saw myself imbreech'd. 

In my green velvet coat, my dagger muzzled. 

Lest it should bite its master, and so prove. 

As ornaments oft do, too dangerous: 

How hke, methought, I then was to this kernel, 

This squash, this gentleman. Mine honest friend, ^^'^ 

Will you take eggs for money? 

Mam. No, my lord, I 'U fight. 

Leon. You will! why, happy man he's dole! My 
brother. 
Are you so fond of your young prince, as we 
Do seem to be of ours? 

Pol. - If at home, sir. 

He 's aU my exercise, my mirth, my matter: 
Now my sworn friend, and then mine enemy; 
My parasite, my soldier, statesman, aU: 
He makes a July's day short as December; 
And with his varying childness cures in me i'^" 

Thoughts that would thick my blood. 

Leon. So stands this squire 

OfRced with me : we two will walk, my lord, 

160 sqiuish] unripe peascod. Cf. Tw. Night, I, v, 148, 149: "Not yet 
old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy; as a squash is 
before 'tis a peascod." 

161 take eggs for money] a proverbial phrase for allowing oneself tamely 
to be duped. 

170 childness] childishness, way of childhood. 

171-172 So stands . . . with me] My young squire fulfils like offices in 
regard to myself. 

And leave you to your graver steps. Hermione, 
How thou lovest us, show in our brother's welcome ; 
Let what is dear in Sicily be cheap : 
Next to thyself and my young rover, he 's 
Apparent to my heart. 

Her. If you would seek us. 

We are yours i' the garden: shall 's attend you there? 

Leon. To your own bents dispose you: you '11 be 
found, 
Be you beneath the sky. [Asidel I am angling now, ^^'^ 
Though you perceive me not how I give line. 
Go to, go to! 

How she holds up the neb, the bill to him! 
And arms her with the boldness of a wife 
To her allowing husband ! 

\Exetmt Polixenes, Hermione, and Attendants. 
Gone already! 
Inch-thick, knee-deep, o'er head and ears a f ork'd one ! 
Go, play, boy, play: thy mother plays, and I 
Play too; but so disgraced a part, whose issue 
Will hiss me to my grave: contempt and clamour 
Will be my knell. Go, play, boy, play. There have been. 
Or I am much deceived, cuckolds ere now; ^^^ 

And many a man there is, even at this present, 

177 Apparent] Next-of-kin, as in "heir-apparent." Cf. Fr. "apparente." 
183 neb] The word usually means a bird's bill or beak. Here it refers 
to Hermione's mouth. 

185 allowing] lawful. 

186 a fork'd one] another allusion to the cuckold's brow forked with horns. 
Cf. Othello, in, iii, 280: "this forked plague." 

189 contempt and clamour] shouts of derision. 

Now, while I speak this, holds his wife by the arm. 

That little thinks she has been sluiced in 's absence 

And his pond fish'd by his next neighbour, by 

Sir Smile, his neighbour: nay, there 's comfort in 't. 

Whiles other men have gates and those gates open'd. 

As mine, against their will. Should all despair 

That have revolted wives, the tenth of mankind 

Would hang themselves. Physic for 't there is none ; 2°'* 

It is a bawdy planet, that will strike 

Where 't is predominant ; and 't is powerful, think it, 

From east, west, north and south : be it concluded. 

No barricado for a belly; know 't; 

It will let in and out the enemy 

With bag and baggage : many thousand on 's 

Have the disease, and feel 't not. How now, boy! 

Mam. I am like you, they say. 

Leon. Why, that 's some comfort. 

What, Camillo there? 

Cam. Ay, my good lord. 210 

Leon. Go play, MamiEius ; thou 'rt an honest man. 

[Exit MamUlius. 
CamiUo, this great sir will yet stay longer. 

Cam. You had much ado to make his anchor hold: 
When you cast out, it stUl came home. 

194 sZwicedJconunonly used of drawing oflF water from, or emptying, a pond. 

196 Sir Smile] Cf. Pericles, I, ii, 44, Signior Sooth. 

201-202 It is . . . ■predomiTiant] Lust is likened to a planet which, accord- 
ing to astrology, strikes or infects all over whose birth it exercises domi- 
nating influence. 

208 they say] Thus the Second and later Folios. The Fast omits they. 

214 it still came home] the anchor continually refused to hold. 

Leon. Didst note it? 

Cam. He would not stay at your petitions ; made 
His business more material. 

Leon. Didst perceive it? 

{^Aside} They 're here with me already; whispering, 

rounding 
" Sicilia is a so-forth: " 't is far gone, 
When I shall gust it last. — How came 't, Camillo, 
That he did stay? 

Cam. At the good queen's entreaty. ^^^ 

Leon. At the queen's be 't: " good " should be per- 
tinent; 
But, so it is, it is not. Was this taken 
By any understanding pate but thine? 
For thy conceit is soaking, wiU draw in 
More than the common blocks : not noted, is 't. 
But of the finer natures? by some severals 
Of head-piece extraordinary? lower messes 
Perchance are to this business purbUnd? say. 

217 They're here . . . rounding] People already realise my disgrace; 
they already see the homs on my head ; they are whispering, 
muttering. 

219 / shall gust it last] I shall be the last to taste or find it out. Cf . Juve- 
nal, Sai., X, 342: "dedecus ille domus sciet ultimus." 

222 taken] apprehended. 

224-225 thy conceit . . . blocks] thy intelligence absorbs or assimilates 
more than ordinary duU heads. 

226-227 by some severals . . . extraordinary] by some individuals of more 
than ordinary intellect. 

227 lower messes] persons of lower degree, dining at messes set at the 
lower end of a dining hall. 

228 purblind] Here in the original sense of "whoUy blind." 

2 [ 17 ] 

Cam. Business, my lord! I think most understand 
Bohemia stays here longer. 

Leon. Ha! 

Cam. Stays here longer. ^^^ 

Leon, Ay, but why? 

Cam. To satisfy your highness, and the entreaties 
Of our most gracious mistress. 

Leon. Satisfy! 

The entreaties of your mistress! satisfy! 
Let that suffice. I have trusted thee, Camillo, 
With all the nearest things to my heart, as well 
My chamber-councils ; wherein, priest-like, thou 
Hast cleansed my bosom, I from thee departed 
Thy penitent ref orm'd : but we have been 
Deceived in thy integrity, deceived 240 

In that which seems so. 

Cam. Be it forbid, my lord ! 

Leon. To bide upon 't, thou art not honest; or, 
If thou inchnest that way, thou art a coward, 
Which boxes honesty behind, restraining 
From course required; or else thou must be counted 
A servant grafted in my serious trust 
And therein negligent ; or else a fool 
That seest a game play'd home, the rich stake drawn. 
And takest it aU for jest. 

Cam. My gracious lord, 

242 To hide upon 't] To dwell upon this point. 

244 hoxes] a variant of the more common "hough" or "hock," "to 

hamstring," "to cut the sinews." 
248 a game play'd home . . . drawn] a game played in all seriousness, 

the large stake won (by a fellow-player). 

260 

I may be negligent, foolish and fearful; ^^^ 

In every one of these no man is free, 

But that his negligence, his foUy, fear. 

Among the infinite doings of the world, 

Sometime puts forth. In your affairs, my lord, 

If ever I were wilful-negligent. 

It was my foUy; if industriously 

I play'd the fool, it was my negligence. 

Not weighing well'the end; if ever fearful 

To do a thing, where I the issue doubted, 

Whereof the execution did cry out 

Against the non-performance, 't was a fear 

Which oft infects the wisest : these, my lord. 

Are such allow'd infirmities that honesty 

Is never free of. But, beseech your Grace, 

Be plainer with me ; let me know my trespass 

By its own visage : if I then deny it, 

'T is none of mine, 

Leon, Ha' not you seen, CamiUo, — 

But that 's past doubt, you have, or your eye-glass 
Is thicker than a cuckold's horn, — or heard, — 
For to a vision so apparent rumour 
Cannot be mute, — or thought, — for cogitation 
Besides not in that man that does not think, — 

270 

254 pids forth] appears, shows up. 

256 industrwusly] on purpose, like the Latin de industria. 

260-261 Whereof the execiction . . . non-performance] the act, perfonn- 

ance of which was so absolutely necessary that the call (to action) 

forbade neglect. 
268 eye-glass] glasslike cover of the eye, the visual organ. 
272 think] This is the reading of all the Folios, though the Second Folio 

My wife is slippery? If thou wUt confess. 
Or else be impudently negative. 
To have nor eyes nor ears nor thought, then say 
My wife 's a hobby-horse; deserves a name 
As rank as any flax- wench that puts to 
Before her troth-plight: say 't and justify 't. 

Cam. I would not be a stander-by to hear 
My sovereign mistress clouded so, without 280 

My present vengeance taken: 'shrew my heart, 
You never spoke what did become you less 
Than this ; which to reiterate were sin 
As deep as that, though true. 

Leon. Is whispering nothing? 

Is leaning cheek to cheek? is meeting noses? 
Kissing with inside lip ? stopping the career 
Of laughter with a sigh? — a note infaUible 
Of breaking honesty; — horsing foot on foot? 
Skulking in corners? wishing clocks more swift? 
Hours, minutes? noon, midnight? and all eyes ^90 

Blind with the pin and web but theirs, theirs only, 
That would unseen be wicked? is this nothing? 
Why, then the world and aU that 's in 't is nothing; 
The covering sky is nothing; Bohemia nothing; 

has been wrongly credited by many commentators with the reading 

think it. There is no need for any change. 
276 hobby-horse] Rowe's correction of the Folio reading Holy-Horse. 

"Hobby-horse" is often applied to a woman of light character. 
280 clouded so] blackened so. 

284 though true] even granting the accusation of sin were well founded. 
291 pin and web] cataract of the eye. Cf. Lear, HI, iv, 115: "he gives 

the web and the pin." 

My wife is nothing ; nor nothing have these nothings, 
If this be nothing. 

Cam. Good my lord, be cured 

Of this diseased opinion, and betimes ; 
For 't is most dangerous. 

Leon. Say it be, 't is true. 

Cam. No, no, my lord. 

Leon. It is ; you lie, you lie : 

I say thou hest, Canullo, and I hate thee, ^""^ 

Pronounce thee a gross lout, a mindless slave. 
Or else a hovering temporizer, that 
Canst with thine eyes at once see good and evil. 
Inclining to them both : were my wife's Uver 
Infected as her life, she would not Uve 
The running of one glass. 

Cam, Who does infect her? 

Leon. Why, he that wears her hke her medal, hanging 
About his neck, Bohemia: who, if I 
Had servants true about me, that bare eyes 
To see ahke mine honour as their profits, ^^^ 

Their own particular thrifts, they would do that 
Which should undo more doing: ay, and thou. 
His cupbearer, — whom I from meaner form 
Have bench'd and rear'd to worship, who mayst see 
Plainly as heaven sees earth and earth sees heaven. 
How I am gaU'd, — mightst bespice a cup. 
To give mine enemy a lasting wink; 
Which draught to me were cordial. 

302 a hovering temporizer] a wavering opportunist. 
316 bespice a cup] Cf. Chapman, Homer's Odysseys, X, 386, 387: "[she 
will] spice thy bread With flowery poisons." 

Cam. Sir, my lord, 

I could do this, and that with no rash potion. 
But with a lingering dram, that should not work ^^^ 

Maliciously like poison: but I cannot 
Believe this crack to be in my dread mistress, 
So sovereignly being honourable. 
I have loved thee, — 

Leon. Make that thy question, and go rot ! 

Dost think I am so muddy, so unsettled. 
To appoint myself in this vexation; suUy 
The purity and whiteness of my sheets. 
Which to preserve is sleep, which being spotted 
Is goads, thorns, nettles, tails of wasps; 
Give scandal to the blood o' the prince my son, ^^° 

Who I do think is mine and love as mine. 
Without ripe moving to 't? Would I do this? 
Could man so blench? 

Cam. I must believe you, sir: 

I do ; and wiU fetch oflf Bohemia for 't ; 
Provided that, when he 's removed, your highness 
WiU take again your queen as yoiirs at first. 

323 So sovereignly being honourable] Being so supremely honourable. 

324 Make that thy question] Raise doubt about this matter. 

326 To appoint myself in this vexation] To make this trouble my business. 
"Appoint" is frequently found in the sense of "settle" or "arrange," 
(a matter of business). Hence the modem "appointment," i. e., fixed 
arrangement. 

333 Could man so blench] Could one shrink to such a degree from just 
behaviour ? 

334 jetch off Bohemia] make away with, murder, the King of Bohemia; cf. 
I, i, 6, supra. 

Even for your son's sake; and thereby for sealing 
The injury of tongues in courts and kingdoms 
Known and allied to yours. 

Leon. Thou dost advise me 

Even so as I mine own course have set down : ^^^ 

I '11 give no blemish to her honovu*, none. 

Cam. My lord, 
Go then; and with a countenance as clear 
As friendship wears at feasts, keep with Bohemia 
And with your queen. I am his cupbearer: 
If from me he have wholesome beverage, 
Account me not your servant. 

Leon. This is all: 

Do 't, and thou hast the one half of my heart; 
Do 't not, thou splitt'st thine own. 

Cam. I 'U do 't, my lord. 3« 

Leon. I will seem friendly, as thou hast advised me. 

Cam. O miserable lady! But, for me. 
What case stand I in? I must be the poisoner 
Of good PoHxenes : and my ground to do 't 
Is the obedience to a master, one 
Who, in rebellion with himself, will have 
All that are his so too. To do this deed. 
Promotion follows. If I could find example 
Of thousands that had struck anointed kings 
And flourish'd after, I 'Id not do 't; but since 
Nor brass nor stone nor parchment bears not one, ^^° 

Let villany itself forswear 't. I must 

337-338 sealing . . . tongms] silencing slanderous tongues. 

Forsake the court : to do 't, or no, is certain 
To me a break-neck. Happy star reign nowl 
Here comes Bohemia. 

Re-enter Polixenes 

Pol. This is strange: methitiks 

My favour here begins to warp. Not speak? 
Good day, Camillo. 

Cam. Hail, most royal sir! 

Pol. What is the news i' the court? 

Cam. None rare, my lord. 

Pol. The king hath on him such a countenance 
As he had lost some province, and a region 
Loved as he loves himself : even now I met him ^^^^ 

With customary compliment; when he, 
Wafting his eyes to the contrary, and falling 
A lip of much contempt, speeds from me and 
So leaves me, to consider what is breeding 
That changes thus his manners. 

Cam. I dare not know, my lord. 

Pol. How ! dare not ! do not. Do you know, and dare 
not? 
Be intelligent to me: 't is thereabouts; 
For, to yourself, what you do know, you must. 
And cannot say, you dare not. Good Camillo, ^^^ 

Your changed complexions are to me a mirror 

375 That changes thus his manners] Leontes had clearly broken his 
promise to Camillo to treat Polixenes with every appearance of 
friendship (see 11. 339-345, supra) ; his feelings prove too strong for 
any evasion. 

378 Be intelligent] Give intelligence. 

Which shows me mine changed too ; for I must be 
A party in this alteration, finding 
Myself thus alter'd with 't. 

Cam. There is a sickness 

Which puts some of us in distemper; but 
I cannot name the disease ; and it is caught 
Of you that yet are well. 

Pol. How! caught of me! 

Make me not sighted hke the basihsk: 
I have look'd on thousands, who have sped the better 
By my regard, but kiU'd none so. Camillo, — ^^^ 

As you are certainly a gentleman; thereto 
Clerk-like experienced, which no less adorns 
Our gentry than our parents' noble names. 
In whose success we are gentle, — I beseech you. 
If you know aught which does behove my knowledge 
Thereof to be inform' d, imprison 't not 
In ignorant concealment. 

Cam. I may not answer. 

Pol. a sickness caught of me, and yet I weUl 
I must be answer'd. Dost thou hear, CamiUo? 
I conjure thee, by aU the parts of man *°° 

Which honour does acknowledge, whereof the least 
Is not this suit of mine, that thou declare 

388 basilisic] a fabulous serpent, also called "cockatrice," which was said 
to kiU those on whom it fixed its sight. 

393 gentry] rank of gentleman. 

394 In whose . . . gentle] To succession from whom we owe our gentle 
blood. 

400-401 all the parts . . . acknowledge] all the duties imposed by honour 
on the man. 

What incidency thou dost guess of harm 

Is creeping toward me; how far off, how near; 

Wliich way to be prevented, if to be ; 

If not, how best to bear it. 

Cam. Sir, I will tell you; 

Since I am charged in honour and by him 
That I think honourable : therefore mark my counsel, 
Which must be ev'n as swiftly foUow'd as 
I mean to utter it, or both yourself and me ^^^ 

Cry lost, and so good night! 

Pol. On, good Camillo. 

Cam. I am appointed him to murder you. 

Pol. By whom, Camillo? 

Cam. By the king. 

Pol. For what? 

Cam. He thinks, nay, with all confidence he swears. 
As he had seen 't, or been an instrument 
To vice you to 't, that you have touch'd his queen 
Forbiddenly. 

Pol. O then, my best blood turn 

To an infected jelly, and my name 
Be yoked with his that did betray the Best! 
Turn then my freshest reputation to ^^ 

A savour that may strike the dullest nostril 

iOS incidency] contingency or likelihood. "Incident" b similarly used for 
"contingent" in Tim. of Ath.,'V, i, 198: "with other incirfenf throes." 

412 him to murder you] the man to murder you. 

416 To vice] To screw. Cf. Tw. Night, V. i, 116, 117: "I partly know 
the instrument That screws me from my place in your favour." 

419 his that . . . Best] Judas Iscariot. Excommunicated persons were 
formally condemned to "have part with Judas that betrayed Christ." 

Where I arrive, and my approach be shuim'd, 
Nay, hated too, worse than the great'st infection 
That e'er was heard or read! 

Cam. Swear his thought over 

By each particular star in heaven and 
By all their influences, you may as well 
Forbid the sea for to obey the moon. 
As or by oath remove or counsel shake 
The fabric of his folly, whose foundation 
Is piled upon his faith, and will continue ^^^ 

The standing of his body. 

Pol. How should this grow? 

Cam. I know not : but I am sure 't is safer to 
Avoid what 's grown than question how 't is born. 
If therefore you dare trust my honesty, 
That hes enclosed in this trunk which you 
Shall bear along impawn' d, away to-night! 
Your followers I will whisper to the business ; 
And will by twos and threes at several posterns, 
Clear them o' the city. For myself, I 'U put 
My fortunes to your service, which are here 
By this discovery lost. Be not imcertain; 
For, by the honour of my parents, I 
Have utter'd truth : which if you seek to prove, 
I dare not stand by; nor shall you be safer 

440 

424 Swear his thought over] Swear his belief down ; overcome his opinion 

by swearing oaths as numerous as the stars. 
430 piled upon his faith] set on the basis of his fixed belief. 
435 this trunk] this body of mine. The quibble is continued in the 

expression imjfmvn'd {i.e., "m pledge") in the next Ime. 

[271 

Than one condemn'd by the king's own mouth, thereon 
His execution sworn. 

Pol. I do believe thee: 

I saw his heart in 's face. Give me thy hand : 
Be pilot to me and thy places shall 
Still neighbour mine. My ships are ready, and 
My people did expect my hence departure ^^^ 

Two days ago. This jealousy 
Is for a precious creature: as she 's rare. 
Must it be great ; and, as his person 's mighty. 
Must it be violent; and as he does conceive 
He is dishonour'd by a man which ever 
Profess'd to him, why, his revenges must 
In that be made more bitter. Fear o'ershades me : 
Good expedition be my friend, and comfort 
The gracious queen, part of his theme, but nothing 
Of his ill-ta'en suspicion! Come, CamiUo; ^^^ 

I will respect thee as a father if 
Thou bear'st my life off hence : let us avoid. 

Cam. It is in mine authority to command 
The keys of all the posterns : please your highness 
To take the urgent hour. Come, sir, away. [Exeunt. 

448-449 thy places shall . . . mirui] thy preferments or offices of honour 
shall be next to mine. 

456 Profess'd] Made honourable professions. 

458-460 Good expedition . . . sttspiciont] A safe and quick journey be- 
friend me and comfort the queen, who is theme of half his thoughts, 
but is no object for his iU- justified suspicions.

A ROOM IN LEONTES' PALACE 
Enter Hekmione, Mamillius, and Ladies 
Hermione 

JAKE THE BOY TO YOU: 

he so troubles me, 
'T is past enduring. 

First Lady. Come, my gra- 
cious lord. 

Shall I be your playfellow? 
Mam. No, I '11 none of you. 
First Lady. Why, my sweet 
lord? 

Mam. You'll kiss me hard, 
and speak to me as if 
I were a baby still. I love you 
better. 

Sec. Lady. And why so, my lord? 
Mam. 'Not for because 

Your brows are blacker ; yet black brows, they say. 
Become some women best, so that there be not 

Too much hair there, but in a semicircle, ^° 

Or a half -moon made with a pen. 

Sec. Lady. Who taught you this? 

Mam. I learn'd it out of women's faces. Pray now 
What colour are your eyebrows? 

FiEST Lady. Blue, my lord. 

Mam. Nay, that 's a mock: I have seen a lady's nose 
That has been blue, but not her eyebrows. 

FiEST Lady. Hark ye; 

The queen your mother rounds apace : we shall 
Present our services to a fine new prince 
One of these days ; and then you 'Id wanton with us. 
If we would have you. 

Sec. Lady. She is spread of late 

Into a goodly bulk: good time encounter her! ^^ 

Her. What wisdom stirs amongst you? Come, sir, 
now 
I am for you again: pray you, sit by us. 
And tell 's a tale. 

Mam. Merry or sad shall 't be? 

Her. As merry as you will. 

Mam. a sad tale 's best for winter: I have one 
Of sprites and goblins. 

Hee. Let 's have that, good sir. 

Come on, sit down : come on, and do your best 
To fright me with your sprites ; you 're powerful at it. 

Mam. There was a man — 

Her. Nay, come, sit down; then on. 

Mam. Dwelt by a churchyard: I will tell it softly; ^o 
Yond crickets shall not hear it. 

Hee. Come on, then, 

And give 't me in mine ear. 

Enter Leontes, wiih Antigonus, Lords, and others 

Leon. Was he met there? his train? CamUlo with him? 

FmsT LoBD. Behind the tuft of pines I met them; 
never 
Saw I men scour so on their way: I eyed them 
Even to their ships. 

Leon. How blest am I 

In my just censure, in my true opinion! 
Alack, for lesser knowledge! how accursed 
In being so blest! There may be in the cup 
A spider steep'd, and one may drink, depart, ^^ 

And yet partake no venom ; for his knowledge 
Is not infected: but if one present 
The abhorr'd ingredient to his eye, make known 
How he hath drunk, he cracks his gorge, his sides, 
With violent hefts. I have drunk, and seen the spider. 
Camillo was his help in this, his pandar: 
There is a plot against my hfe, my crown; 
All 's true that is mistrusted: that false villain 
Whom I employ'd was pre-employ'd by him: 
He has discover'd my design, and I ^^ 

Remain a pinch'd thing; yea, a very trick 
For them to play at wiU. How came the posterns 

50 easily open? 

First Lord. By his great authority; 

38 Alack, . . . knowledge] Alas, would that my knowledge were less. 
48 AU 's true that is mistrusted] All that I suspected is true. 

51 a jdnch'd thing] a shrunk, shrivelled thing, a nonentity. 

[311 

Which often hath no less prevail'd than so 
On your command. 

Leon. I know 't too well. 

Give me the boy: I am glad you did not nurse him: 
Though he does bear some signs of me, yet you 
Have too much blood in him. 

Hee. What is this? sport? 

Leon. Bear the boy hence; he shall not come about 
her; 
Away with him! and let her sport herself ^ 

With that she 's big with ; for 't is Polixenes 
Has made thee swell thus. 

Her. But I 'Id say he had not, 

And I '11 be sworn you would beheve my saying, 
Howe'er you lean to the najrward. 

Leon. You, my lords. 

Look on her, mark her well ; be but about 
To say " she is a goodly lady," and 
The justice of your hearts wiU thereto add 
" 'T is pity she 's not honest, honourable : " 
Praise her but for this her without-door form. 
Which on my faith deserves high speech, and straight '^'^ 
The shrug, the hum or ha, these petty brands 
That calumny doth use ; O, I am out. 
That mercy does, for calumny will sear 
Virtue itself: these shrugs, these hums and ha's. 

64 lean to the nayward] incline to the denial of it. 

71 these petty brands] these little stigmas. The figure is pursued at line 73, 

where calumny is credited with searing, i. e., branding with hot irons, 

virtue itself. 

When you have said " she *s goodly," come between 
Ere you can say " she 's honest: " but be 't known, 
From him that has most cause to grieve it should be, 
She 's an adulteress. 

Her. Should a villain say so. 

The most replenish'd villain in the world. 
He were as much more villain : you, my lord, ®* 

Do but mistake. 

Leon. You have mistook, my lady, 

Pohxenes for Leontes: O thou thing! 
Which I '11 not call a creature of thy place. 
Lest barbarism, making me the precedent. 
Should a hke language use to all degrees. 
And mannerly distinguishment leave out 
Betwixt the prince and beggar: I have said 
She 's an adulteress; I have said with whom: 
More, she 's a traitor and Camillo is 

A federary with her; and one that knows, ^^ 

What she should shame to know herself 
But with her most vile principal, that she 's 
A bed-swerver, even as bad as those 
That vulgars give bold'st titles ; ay, and privy 
To this their late escape. 

Her. No, by my hfe. 

Privy to none of this. How will this grieve you. 

79 replenish'd\ Cf. Rich. Ill, IV, iii, 18: "The most replenished [i.e., 

complete] sweet work of nature." 
83 a creature . . . place] a person of your rank. 
90 federary] a confederate or accomplice. Cf. Cymb., m, ii, 21: "Art 

thou a feodary for this act?" 

3 [33] 

When you shall come to clearer knowledge, that 
You thus have publish'd me! Gentle my lord. 
You scarce can right me throughly then to say 
You did mistake. 

Leon. No; if I mistake ^'^ 

In those foundations which I build upon. 
The centre is not big enough to bear 
A school-boy's top. Away with her, to prison! 
He who shall speak for her is afar off guilty 
But that he speaks. 

Hek. There 's some ill planet reigns : 

I must be patient till the heavens look 
With an aspect more favourable. Good my lords, 
I am not prone to weeping, as our sex 
Commonly are; the want of which vain dew 
Perchance shall dry your pities: but I have ^^^ 

That honourable grief lodged here which burns 
Worse than tears drown : beseech you all, my lords. 
With thoughts so qualified as your charities 
Shall best instruct you, measure me; and so 
The king's will be perform'd! 

Leon. Shall I be heard? 

Hee. Who is 't that goes with me? Beseech your 
highness. 
My women may be with me; for you see 

102 The centre] The centre of the universe, the earth, according to the old 

system of astronomy. 
104-105 is afar off . . . speaks] is guilty in a remote degree in the mere 

fact of his speaking for her. 
107 aspect] An astrological term, denoting the appearance of the planets. 

See note on As You Like It, IV, iii, 53. 

My plight requires it. Do not weep, good fools ; 
There is no cause : when you shall know your mistress 
Has deserved prison, then abound in tears ^^° 

As I come out : this action I now go on 
Is for my better grace. Adieu, my lord: 
I never wish'd to see you sorry; now 
I trust I shall. My women, come; you have leave. 
Leon. Go^ do our bidding; hence! 

[Exit Queen, guarded; with Ladies. 

First Lord. Beseech your highness, caU the queen 
again. 

Ant. Be certain what you do, sir, lest your justice 
Prove violence ; in the which three great ones suffer. 
Yourself, your queen, your son. 

First Lord. For her, my lord, 

I dare my life lay down and will do 't, sir, ^3° 

Please you to accept it, that the queen is spotless 
I' the eyes of heaven and to you; I mean. 
In this which you accuse her. 

Ant. If it prove 

She 's otherwise, I '11 keep my stables where 

121-122 this action . . . grace] what I am now about to do or experience 
is for my good. Cf. Much Ado, I, i, 259: "When you went onward 
on this ended action." 

134-136 I'll keep my stahles where . . . trust her] This passage, the 
interpretation of which has been much disputed, is probably no more 
than an emphatic declaration, that if Hermione be proved unchaste, 
then the speaker wiU never allow his wife to be out of his sight. He 
will have his eye on her, even when he is engaged in hunting or riding. 
His horses shall be stabled wherever she may be dwelling. He and 
she will go about like hounds coupled together. 

I lodge my wife; I '11 go in couples with her; 
Than when I feel and see her no farther trust her; 
For every inch of woman in the world, 
Ay, every dram of woman's flesh is false. 
If she be. 

Leon. Hold your peaces. 

First Loed. Good my lord, — 

Ant. It is for you we speak, not for ourselves : ^^^ 

You are abused, and by some putter-on 
That will be damn'd for 't; would I knew the viUain, 
I would land-damn him. Be she honour-flaw'd, 
I have three daughters; the eldest is eleven; 
The second and the third, nine, and some five; 
If this prove true, they '11 pay for 't: by mine honour, 
I 'U geld 'em all; fourteen they shall not see. 
To bring false generations: they are co-heirs; 
And I had rather glib myself than they 
Should not produce fair issue. 

Leon. Cease; no more. i^" 

You smeU this business with a sense as cold 
As is a dead man's nose : but I do see 't and feel 't. 
As you feel doing thus ; and see withal 
The instruments that feel. 

141 You are abused, etc.] You are deceived, and by some instigator or 

plotter. 
143 land-damn] abuse with rancour ; damn through the land. The form 

"landam " is reported to be familiar, in this sense, in the dialect of the 

Cotswolds and in some parts of Yorkshire. 
149 glib] geld; another dialect word, common in the north of England 

in the form "lib." 
153-154 As you feel . . . instruments that feet] Apparently Leontes here 

Ant. If it be so, 

We need no grave to bury honesty: 
There 's not a grain of it the face to sweeten 
Of the whole dungy earth. 

Leon. What! lack I credit? 

FiEST LoED. I had rather you did lack than I, my lord. 
Upon this ground; and more it would content me 
To have her honour true than your suspicion, ^^^ 

Be blamed for 't how you might. 

Leon. Why, what need we 

Conmiune with you of this, but rather follow 
Our forceful instigation? Our prerogative 
Calls not your counsels, but our natural goodness 
Imparts this ; which if you, or stupified 
Or seeming so in skill, cannot or will not 
Rehsh a truth hke us, inform yourselves 
We need no more of your advice : the matter. 
The loss, the gain, the ordering on 't, is aU 
Properly ours. 

Ant. And I wish, my liege, ^"^^ 

You had only in your silent judgement tried it. 
Without more overture. 

Leon. How could that be? 

Either thou art most ignorant by age. 
Or thou wert born a fool. Camillo's flight, 

grasps Antigonus's hand in his own. The "instruments" are doubt- 
less Antigonus's fingers, which "feel" Leontes' movement. 

163 forceful instigation] imperative promptings. 

166 in skiU] of cunning purpose. 

172 overture] open disclosure, publicity. Cf. Lear, HI, vii, 88: "he That 
made the overture of thy treasons to us." 

Added to their familiarity, 

Which was as gross as ever toueh'd conjecture. 

That lack'd sight only, nought for approbation 

But only seeing, all other circumstances 

Made up to the deed, — doth push on this proceeding: 

Yet, for a greater confirmation, ^^° 

For in an act of this importance 't were 

Most piteous to be wild, I have dispatch'd in post 

To sacred Delphos, to ApoUo's temple, 

Cleomenes and Dion, whom you know 

Of stuff' d sufficiency : now from the oracle 

They will bring all; whose spiritual counsel had. 

Shall stop or spur me. Have I done well? 

First Lord. Well done, my lord. 

Leon. Though I am satisfied and need no more 
Than what I know, yet shall the oracle ^^^ 

Give rest to the minds of others, such as he 
Whose ignorant credulity will not 
Come up to the truth. So have we thought it good 
From our free person she should be confined. 
Lest that the treachery of the two fled hence 
Be left her to perform. Come, follow us ; 

176 toueh'd] stirred or inspired. 

177 approhation] positive proof. 

182 vrild, . . . in post] rash, impetuous, ... in great haste. 

185 stufl'd sufficiency] ample ability. Ci.MuchAdo,l,i,4i7,4!8: "stuffed 

with aU honourable virtues." 
187 stop or spur me] withhold me or press me forward. Cf. Cymh., I, 

vi, 97-98: "discover to me What both you spur and stop." 
195 the two fled hence] Polixenes and Camillo, whom Leontes suspects of 

a plot against his life and crown. See line 45, supra. 

We are to speak in public; for this business 
Will raise us all. 

Ant. [Aside'] To laughter, as I take it, 
If the good truth were known. lExmnt. 

SCENE II— A PRISON 

Enter Paulina, a Gentleman, and Attendants 

Paul. The keeper of the prison, call to him; 
Let him have knowledge who I am. [Eont Gent. 

Good, lady. 
No court in Evu'ope is too good for thee; 
What dost thou then in prison? 

Re-enter Gentleman, with the Gaoler 

Now, good sir. 
You know me, do you not? 

Gaol. For a worthy lady 

And one who much I honour. 

Paul. Pray you, then. 

Conduct me to the queen. 

Gaol. I may not, madam: 

To the contrary I have express commandment. 

Paul. Here 's ado. 
To lock up honesty and honour from ^'^ 

The access of gentle visitors ! Is 't lawful, pray you. 
To see her women? any of them? Emilia? 

198 raise us aU] rouse, stir up everybody. Cf. M. Wives, Y, v, 197, "I 'II 
raise aU Windsor." 

THE WINTER'S TALE act n 

Gaol. So please you, madam, 
To put apart these yom- attendants, I 
Shall bring Emilia forth. 

Paul. I pray now, call her. 

Withdraw yourselves. [Exeunt Gentleman and Attendants. 

Gaol. And, madam, 

I must be present at your conference. 

Paul. Well, be 't so, prithee. \EaAt Gaoler. 

Here 's such ado to make no stain a stain 
As passes colouring. 

Re-enter Gaoler, mth Emima 

Dear gentlewoman, ^o 

How fares our gracious lady? 

Emil. As well as one so great and so forlorn 
May hold together: on her frights and griefs. 
Which never tender lady hath borne greater, 
She is something before her time deliver'd. 

Paul. A boy? 

Emil. A daughter; and a goodly babe, 

Lusty and like to live : the queen receives 
Much comfort in 't ; says " My poor prisoner, 
I am innocent as you." 

Paul. I dare be sworn : 

These dangerous unsafe lunes i' the king,beshrew them! ^^ 

19-20 o stain As passes colouring] a stain that outdoes all painting. 

30 lunes] fits of madness. Cotgrave, Fr.-Engl. Did., gives the entry "lune; 
folie," and quotes the still common French phrase "les femmes ont les 
lunes dans la tete." The word is more commonly found in another 
and quite independent sense. In the sport of hawking "limes" was 

He must be told on 't, and, he shall : the office 

Becomes a woman best ; I 'U take 't upon me : 

If I prove honey-mouth' d, let my tongue bhster, 

And never to my red-look'd anger be 

The trumpet any more. Pray you, Emilia, 

Commend my best obedience to the queen: 

If she dares trust me with her Uttle babe, 

I '11 show 't the king and imdertake to be 

Her advocate to the loud'st. We do not know 

How he may soften at the sight o' the child: *^ 

The silence often of pure innocence 

Persuades when speaking fails. 

Emil. Most worthy madam, 

Your honour and yoiu* goodness is so evident. 
That your free undertaking cannot miss 
A thriving issue : there is no lady living 
So meet for this great errand. Please your ladyship 
To visit the next room, I 'U presently 
Acquaint the queen of your most noble offer; 
Who but to-day hammer'd of this design, 
But durst not tempt a minister of honour, ®^ 

Lest she should be denied. 

Paul. Tell her, Emilia, 

technically applied to small thongs of leather which confined the 

hawk's talons. 
41-42] For the thought, of. Meas. for Meas., I, ii, 175-177: "in her youth 

There is a prone and speechless dialect. Such as move men." 
44 free undertaking] freely offered undertakmg. 
49 hammer'd of this design] considered, forged (in the mind). Cf. Two 

Gent., I, iii, 18: "Whereon ... I have been hammering." 

I '11 use that tongue I have : if wit flow from 't 
As boldness from my bosom, let 't not be doubted 
I shall do good. 

Emil. Now be you blest for it ! 

I '11 to the queen: please you, come something nearer. 

Gaol. Madam, if't please the queen to send the 
babe, 
I know not what I shall incur to pass it. 
Having no warrant. 

Paul. You need not fear it, sir: 

This child was prisoner to the womb, and is 
By law and process of great nature thence ^o 

Freed and enfranchised; not a party to 
The anger of the king, nor guilty of. 
If any be, the trespass of the queen. 

Gaol. I do believe it. 

Paul, Do not you fear: upon mine honour, I 
Will stand betwixt you and danger. lExeunt. 

SCENE III— A ROOM IN LEONTES' PALACE 

Enter Leontes, Antigonus, Lords, and Servants 

Leon. Nor night nor day no rest : it is but weakness 
To bear the matter thus; mere weakness. If 
The cause were not in being, — part o' the cause, 
She the adulteress ; for the harlot king 

4 harlot] a tenn of abuse used of men as well as of women. Of. Com. of 
Errors, V, i, 205: "she with harlots feasted " 

Is quite beyond mine arm, out of the blank 
And level of my brain, plot-proof ; but she 
I can hook to me : say that she were gone. 
Given to the fire, a moiety of my rest 
Might come to me again. Who's there? 

First Serv. My lord? 

Leon. How does the boy? 

First Serv. He took good rest to-night; ^® 

'T is hoped his sickness is discharged. 

Leon. To see his nobleness ! 
Conceiving the dishonour of his mother, 
He straight declined, droop'd, took it deeply, 
Fasten'd and fix'd the shame on 't in himself. 
Threw off his spirit, his appetite, his sleep. 
And downright languish'd. Leave me solely: go, 
See how he fares. [Exit Serv.] Fie, fie! no thought of 

him: 
The very thought of my revenges that way 
Recoil upon me: in himself too mighty, ^ 

And in his parties, his alliance ; let him be 
Until a time may serve : for present vengeance. 
Take it on her. CamiUo and PoUxenes 
Laugh at me, make their pastime at my sorrow: 
They should not laugh if I could reach them, nor 
Shall she within my power. 

5-6 blank And level] mark and aim; technical terms of archery and 
gunnery. Cf. Ill, ii, 79, infra, "the level of your dreams." 

11 discharged] dispelled. 

18 710 thought of him] Leontes by a characteristically abrupt transition 
here refers to Polixenes. 

Enter Paulina, with a child 

FiEST Lord. You must not enter. 

Paul. Nay, rather, good my lords, be second to 
me: 
Fear you his tyrannous passion more, alas, 
Than the queen's hfe? a gracious innocent soul. 
More free than he is jealous. 

Ant. That's enough. ^o 

Sec. Sebv. Madam, he hath not slept to-night; com- 
manded 
None should come at him. 

Paul. Not so hot, good sir: 

I come to bring him sleep. 'T is such as you. 
That creep hke shadows by him, and do sigh 
At each his needless heavings, such as you 
Nourish the cause of his awaking: I 
Do come with words as medicinal as true. 
Honest as either, to purge him of that humour 
That presses him from sleep. 

Leon. What noise there, ho? 

Paul. No noise, my lord; but needful conference *^ 
About some gossips for your highness. 

Leon. How! 

Away with that audacious lady I Antigonus, 
I charged thee that she should not come about me : 
I knew she would. 

Ant. I told her so, my lord, 

30 More free] so. from tamt. 

41 gossips] sponsors or godparents of the new-bom babe. 

On your displeasure's peril and on mine. 
She should not visit you. 

Leon. What, canst not rule her? 

Paux. From all dishonesty he can : in this, 
Unless he take the course that you have done. 
Commit me for committing honour, trust it. 
He shall not rule me. 

Ant. La you now, you hear: ^o 

When she will take the rein I let her run ; 
But she 'U not stumble. 

Paul. Good my liege, I come; 

And, I beseech you, hear me, who professes 
Myself your loyal servant, your physician. 
Your most obedient counsellor, yet that dares 
Less appear so in comforting your evils. 
Than such as most seem yours : I say, I come 
From your good queen. 

Leon. Good queen 1 

Paul. Good queen, my lord, 

Good queen; I say good queen; 

And would by combat make her good, so were I ^ 

A man, the worst about you. 

Leon. Force her hence. 

Paul. Let him that makes but trifles of his eyes 
First hand me: on mine own accord I 'U off ; 

49 Commit . . . feonoMr]Imprisonmeforcoininittmganhonourable action. 

66 comforting your einls\ encouraging or abetting your evil courses. The 
meaning is, that, when condonation of the king's offences is in ques- 
tion, Paulina dares appear to be less loyal than the men whom Leontes 
takes to be his best friends. 

But first I '11 do my errand. The good queen. 

For she is good, hath brought you forth a daughter; 

Here 't is; commends it to your blessing. 

[^Laying down the chMd. 

Leon. Out! 

A mankind witch! Hence with her, out o' door: 
A most intelligencing bawd! 

Paxil. Not so : 

I am as ignorant in that as you 

In so entitling me, and no less honest ^° 

Than you are mad; which is enough, I '11 warrant, 
As this world goes, to pass for honest. 

Leon. Traitors! 

Will you not push her out? Give her the bastard. 
Thou dotard! thou art woman-tired, unroosted 
By thy dame Partlet here. Take up the bastard; 
Take 't up, I say; give 't to thy crone. 

Paul. For ever 

Unvenerable be thy hands, if thou 
Takest up the princess by that forced baseness 
Which he has put upon 't ! 

Leon. He dreads his wife. 

67 mankind] virago or termagant, used adjectivally. Cf. Cor., IV, ii, 16 

(of Volumnia) : "Are you mankind?" 

68 intelligencing] acting as go-between. 

74 woman-tired] henpecked. In falconry "to tire" is to "peck" or tear 

with the beak. 

75 dame Partlet] a colloquial name for a hen ; apparently first so applied 

in the popular story of "Reynard the Fox." 
78 by that forced baseness] under that false appellation of bastardy, which 
Leontes has just uttered (line 75). 

Paul. So I would you did; then 't were past all doubt ^^ 
You 'Id caU your children yours. 

Leon. A nest of traitors! 

Ant. I am none, by this good hght. 

Paul. Nor I; nor any 

But one that 's here, and that 's himself; for he 
The sacred honour of himself, his queen's. 
His hopeful son's, his babe's, betrays to slander. 
Whose sting is sharper than the sword's ; and wiU not, — 
For, as the case now stands, it is a curse 
He cannot be compell'd to 't, — once remove 
The root of his opinion, which is rotten 
As ever oak or stone was sound. 

Leon. A callat ^° 

Of boundless tongue, who late hath beat her husband 
And now baits me ! This brat is none of mine ; 
It is the issue of Polixenes : 
Hence with it, and together with the dam 
Commit them to the fire! 

Paul. It is yours ; 

And, might we lay the old proverb to your charge. 
So like you, 't is the worse. Behold, my lords. 
Although the print be little, the whole matter 

82 by this good light] in this full light of day. 

86 Whose sting . . . sword's] Cf. Cymb., UI, iv, 31-32: "slander; 

Whose edge is sharper than the sword." 
90 callat] Cf. 2 Hen. VI, I, iii, 81, " Contemptuous base-bom eallel 

[i. e., trull] as she is," and Bums's The Jolly Beggars, "Here's our 

ragged brats and collets." 
96 the old proverb] "The better the worser" (of a good deed productive 

of evil consequences). 

[4T] 

And copy of the father, eye, nose, lip ; 

The trick of 's frown; his forehead; nay, the valley, ^'"^ 

The pretty dimples of his chin and cheek ; his smiles ; 

The very mould and frame of hand, nail, finger : 

And thou, good goddess Nature, which hast made it 

So Hke to him that got it, if thou hast 

The ordering of the mind too, 'mongst all colours 

No yellow in 't, lest she suspect, as he does. 

Her children not her husband's ! 

Leon. A gross hag! 

And, lozel, thou art worthy to be hang'd. 
That wUt not stay her tongue. 

Ant. Hang all the husbands 

That cannot do that feat, you '11 leave yourself ^^^ 

Hardly one subject. 

Leon. Once more, take her hence. 

Paul. A most unworthy and unnatural lord 
Can do no more. 

Leon. I '11 ha' thee burnt. 

Paul. I care not : 

It is an heretic that makes the fire. 
Not she which burns in 't. I 'U not call you tyrant; 
But this most cruel usage of your queen — 
Not able to produce more accusation 
Than your own weak-hinged fancy — something savours 
Of tyranny, and wiU ignoble make you. 
Yea, scandalous to the world. 

Leon. On your allegiance, ^^o 

Out of the chamber with her! Were I a tyrant, 

106 yeliow] the colour of jealousy. 

Where were her life? she durst not call me so, 
If she did know me one. Away with her ! 

Paul. I pray you, do not push me ; I 'U be gone. 
Look to your babe, my lord ; 't is yours : Jove send her 
A better guiding spirit I What needs these hands ? 
You, that are thus so tender o'er his follies. 
Will never do him good, not one of you. 
So, so: fareweU; we are gone. [Exit. 

Leon. Thou, traitor, hast set on thy wife to this. ^^^ 

My child? away with 't ! Even thou, that hast 
A heart so tender o'er it, take it hence 
And see it instantly consumed with fire; 
Even thou and none but thou. Take it up straight: 
Within this hour bring me word 't is done. 
And by good testimony, or I 'U seize thy life. 
With what thou else call'st thine. If thou refuse 
And wilt encounter with my wrath, say so; 
The bastard brains with these my proper hands 
Shall I dash out. Go, take it to the fire ; i^° 

For thou set'st on thy wife. 

Ant. I did not, sir: 

These lords, my noble fellows, if they please. 
Can clear me in 't. 

LoEDS. We can: my royal liege, 

He is not guilty of her coming hither. 

Leon. You 're hars aU. 

First Loed. Beseech your highness, give us better 
credit : 
We have always truly served you; and beseech you 

142 fellows] colleagues. 

* [49] 

So to esteem of us : and on our knees we beg. 

As recompense of our dear services 

Past and to come, that you do change this purpose, ^^° 

Which being so horrible, so bloody, must 

Lead on to some foul issue : we all kneel, 

Leon. I am a feather for each wind that blows: 
Shall I hve on to see this bastard kneel 
And call me father? better burn it now 
Than curse it then. But be it ; let it live. 
It shall not neither. You, sir, come you hither; 
You that have been so tenderly officious 
With Lady Margery, your midwife there. 
To save this bastard's life, — for 't is a bastard, ^^'^ 

So sure as this beard 's grey, — what wiU you adventure 
To save this brat's life? 

Ant. Any thing, my lord, 

That my ability may undergo. 
And nobleness impose: at least thus much: 
I '11 pawn the Uttle blood which I have left 
To save the innocent : any thing possible. 

Leon. It shall be possible. Swear by this sword 
Thou wilt perform my bidding. 

Ant. I will, my lord. 

Leon. Mark and perform it: seest thou? for the fail 
Of any point in 't shall not only be 170 

Death to thyself but to thy lewd-tongued wife, 

149 dear] devoted. 

161 this beard's] This is the Folio reading, which has been variously 
changed to his and thy. The reference is clearly to Antigonus's 
beard, at which Leontes may be supposed to point his finger. 

Whom for this time we pardon. We enjoin thee. 

As thou art liege-man to us, that thou carry 

This female bastard hence, and that thou bear it 

To some remote and desert place, quite out 

Of our dominions ; and that there thou leave it. 

Without more mercy, to it own protection 

And favour of the climate. As by strange fortune 

It came to us, I do in justice charge thee. 

On thy soul's peril and thy body's torture, ^^^ 

That thou commend it strangely to some place 

Where chance may nurse or end it. Take it up. 

Ant. I swear to do this, though a present death 
Had been more merciful. Come on, poor babe : 
Some powerful spirit instruct the kites and ravens 
To be thy nurses ! Wolves and bears, they say, 
Casting their savageness aside have done 
Like offices of pity. Sir, be prosperous 
In more than this deed does require 1 And blessing 
Against this cruelty fight on thy side, ^^^ 

Poor thing, condemn'd to loss ! [Exit with the child. 

Leon. No, I '11 not rear 

Another's issue. 

Enter a Servant 

Serv. Please your highness, posts 

From those you sent to the oracle are come 

181 commend it strangely] commit it as a stranger. " Commended " is simi- 
larly used for "committed," III, ii, 166, and IV, iv, 369, infra. 

191 condemn'd to loss] In Baret's Alvearie, 1580, "loss " is defined " 'hurt, ' 
properly things cast out of a shippe in time of a tempest." Cf. Ill, 
iii, 50-51, infra: "thus exposed To loss." 

An hour since : Cleomenes and Dion, 

Being well arrived from Delphos, are both landed. 

Hasting to the court. 

First Loed. So please you, sir, their speed 

Hath been beyond account. 

Leon. Twenty three days 

They have been absent: 't is good speed; foretells 
The great Apollo suddenly will have 
The truth of this appear. Prepare you, lords ; 200 

Summon a session, that we may arraign 
Our most disloyal lady; for, as she hath 
Been pubHcly accused, so shall she have 
A just and open trial. While she lives 
My heart will be a burthen to me. Leave me. 
And think upon my bidding. lExemit. 

Cleomenes 

It was i' the offering!

A SEA-PORT IN SICILIA 
Enter Cleomenes and Dioir 

HE CLIMATE'S DELI- 

cate, the air most sweet. 

Fertile the isle, the temple much 

surpassing 

The common praise it bears. 

Dion. I shall report. 

For most it caught me, the celes- 
tial habits, 

Methinks I so should term them, 
and the reverence 
Of the grave wearers. O, the 
sacrifice! 

How ceremonious, solemn and 
unearthly 

Cleg. 

But of all, the burst 

8 the isle] Apollo's oracle was at Delphi in Phocis, on the mainland 
of Greece. But Greene in his novel of Pandosto, on which Shake- 

THE WINTER'S TALE act hi 

And the ear-deafening voice o' the oracle. 

Kin to Jove's thunder, so surprised my sense, ^^ 

That I was nothing. 

Dion. If the event o' the journey 

Prove as successful to the queen, — O be 't so ! — 
As it hath been to us rare, pleasant, speedy. 
The time is worth the use on 't. 

Cleg. Great Apollo 

Turn all to the best 1 These proclamations. 
So forcing faults upon Hermione, 
I httle Hke. 

Dion. The violent carriage of it 
WiU clear or end the business : when the oracle. 
Thus by Apollo's great divine seal'd up, 
ShaU the contents discover, something rare ^^ 

Even then will rush to knowledge. Go : fresh horses ! 
And gracious be the issue 1 [Exeunt. 

SCENE II— A COURT OF JUSTICE 

Enter Leontes, Lords, and Officers 

Leon. This sessions, to our great grief we pronounce, 
Even pushes 'gainst our heart : the party tried 
The daughter of a king, our wife, and one 
Of us too much beloved. Let us be clear'd 
Of being tyrannous, since we so openly 
Proceed in justice, which shall have due course, 

speare based his play, carelessly located it m the isle of Delphos, and 
Shakespeare adopted the error. 

Even to the guilt or the purgation. 
Produce the prisoner. 

Off. It is his highness' pleasure that the queen 
Appear in person here in court. Silence! ^° 

Enter Heemione guarded; Paulina and Ladies attending 
Leon. Read the indictment. 

Off. [reads] Hermione, queen to the worthy Leontes, king 
of Sicilla, thou art here accused and arraigned of high treason, 
in committing adultery with PoHxenes, king of Bohemia, and con- 
spiring with Camillo to take away the hfe of our sovereign lord 
the king, thy royal husband: the pretence whereof being by cir- 
cumstances partly laid open, thou, Hermione, contrary to the 
faith and allegiance of a true subject, didst counsel and aid them, 
for their better safety, to fly away by night. 

Hee. Since what I am to say must be but that ^° 

Which contradicts my accusation, and 
The testimony on my part no other 
But what comes from myself, it shall scare boot me 
To say " not guilty: " mine integrity. 
Being counted falsehood, shall, as I express it. 
Be so received. But thus, if powers divine 
Behold our human actions, as they do, 
I doubt not then but innocence shall make 

7 Even to the guilt or the purgation] Whether it lead to conviction or 

acquittal. 
10 Sikncel] In the Folios this is printed in italics, like a stage direction. 

But it would seem to be the fitting exclamation of the officer of the 

court. 
16-17 pretence . . . laid open] See Greene's "Novel": "their pretence 

[i. e., design] being partly spyed." 

THE WINTER'S TALE act hi 

False accusation blush, and tyranny 

Tremble at patience. You, my lord, best know, ^^ 

Who least will seem to do so, my past hfe 
Hath been as continent, as chaste, as true. 
As I am now unhappy ; which is more 
Than history can pattern, though devised 
And play'd to take spectators. For behold me 
A fellow of the royal bed, which owe 
A moiety of the throne, a great king's daughter, 
The mother to a hopeful prince, here standing 
To prate and talk for hfe and honour 'fore 
Who please to come and hear. For hfe, I prize it ■*" 

As I weigh grief, which I would spare: for honour, 
'T is a derivative from me to mine, 
And only that I stand for. I appeal 
To your own conscience, sir, before Polixenes 
Came to your court, how I was in your grace. 
How merited to be so ; since he came. 
With what encounter so uncurrent I 
Have strain' dj to appear thus : if one jot beyond 
The bound of honour, or in act or will 
That way inchning, harden'd be the hearts ^^ 

Of all that hear me, and my near'st of kin 
Cry fie upon my grave ! 
Leon. I ne'er heard yet 

36-37 owe A mmety] own a share. 

41 which I would spare] which I would willingly be rid of. 

47-48 With what . . . thus] With what unwarrantable familiarity of in- 
tercourse have I so exceeded bounds as to be condemned to figure 
as defendant in this kind of suit. 

62-55 I ne'er . . . first] Cf. Greene's "Novel": "As for her, it was her 

That any of these bolder vices wanted 
Less impudence to gainsay what they did 
Than to perform it first. 

Hek. That 's true enough; 

Though 't is a saying, sir, not due to me. 

Leon. You will not own it. 

Hee. More than mistress of 

Which comes to me in name of fault, I must not 
At all acknowledge. For Polixenes, 

With whom I am accused, I do confess *•* 

I loved him as in honour he required. 
With such a kind of love as might become 
A lady like me, with a love even such. 
So and no other, as yourself commanded: 
Which not to have done I think had been in me 
Both disobedience and ingratitude 
To you and toward your friend; whose love had spdse, 
Even since it could speak, from an infant, freely 
That it was yours. Now, for conspiracy, 
I know not how it tastes; though it be dish'd ^* 

For me to try how : all I know of it 
Is that Camillo was an honest man; 
And why he left your court, the gods themselves, 
Wotting no more than I, are ignorant. 

parte to deny such a monstrous crime, and to be impudent in forswear- 
ing the fact [cf. line 83, infra], since shee had passed all shame in 
committing the fault." 
57-59 More than mistress of . . . acknowledge] It is not for me in any 
way to admit more knowledge of the grounds of the imputation made 
against me than I learn from the terms of the charge. 

THE WINTER'S TALE act hi 

Leon. You knew of his departure, as you know 
What you have underta'en to do in 's absence. 

Hee. Sir, 
You speak a language that I understand not : 
My Uf e stands in the level of your dreams. 
Which I '11 lay down. 

Leon. Your actions are my dreams; ^^ 

You had a bastard by Polixenes, 
And I but dream'd it. As you were past all shame, — 
Those of your fact are so, — so past aU truth : 
Which to deny concerns more than avails ; for as 
Thy brat hath been cast out, hke to itself. 
No father owning it, — which is, indeed. 
More criminal in thee than it, — so thou 
Shalt feel our justice, in whose easiest passage 
Look for no less than death. 

Hee. Sir, spare your threats: 

The bug which you would fright me with I seek. ®° 

To me can hfe be no commodity: 
The crown and comfort of my life, your favour. 

79 in the level of\ within the range of, at the mercy of. Cf . 11, iii, 6, 
supra. 

83 Those of your fact] See note on lines 52-55, supra, for a quotation from 

Greene's "Novel," where "fact" is used in the present sense of "crim- 
inal action." 

84 Which to deny . . . avails] The denial of a point of interest but of 

no practical utility. Cf. Meas. for Meas., V, i, 411 : "Which, though 
thou wouldst deny, denies thee vantage." 
88 easiest passage] mildest sentence. 

90 bug] bugbear. Cf. T. of Shrew, I, ii, 207: "fear boys with btigs." 

91 commodity] profit, advantage. 

I do give lost; for I do feel it gone, 

But know not how it went. My second joy 

And first-fruits of my body, from his presence 

I am barr'd, like one infectious. My third comfort, 

Starr'd most unluckily, is from my breast. 

The innocent milk in it most innocent mouth. 

Haled out to murder : myself on every post 

Proclaim'd a strumpet : with immodest hatred ^"^ 

The child-bed privilege denied, which 'longs 

To women of all fashion; lastly, hurried 

Here to this place, i' the open air, before 

I have got strength of limit. Now, my hege, 

TeU me what blessings I have here ahve. 

That I should fear to die ? Therefore proceed. 

But yet hear this; mistake me not; no hfe, 

I prize it not a straw, but for mine honour. 

Which I would free, if I shaU be condemn'd 

Upon surmises, all proofs sleeping else ^^^ 

But what your jealousies awake, I tell you 

'T is rigour and not law. Your honours aU, 

I do refer me to the oracle : 

ApoUo be my judge! 

First Loed. This your request 

Is altogether just : therefore bring forth, 
And in ApoUo's name, his oracle. [Exeunt certain Officers. 

Hee. The Emperor of Russia was my father : 
O that he were ahve, and here beholding 
His daughter's trial! that he did but see 

104 strength of limit] strength to go to such a limit, so far. 

The flatness of my misery, yet with eyes ^^^ 

Of pity, not revenge 1 

Re-enter Officers, with CiiEOMENES and Dion 

Off. You here shall swear upon this sword of justice. 
That you, Cleomenes and Dion, have 
Been both at Delphos, and from thence have brought 
This seal'd-up oracle, by the hand dehver'd 
Of great Apollo's priest, and that since then 
You have not dared to break the holy seal 
Nor read the secrets in 't. 

Ci^o. Dion. All this we swear. 

Leon. Break up the seals and read. 129 

Off. [reads] Hermione is chaste; Polixenes blameless; 
Camillo a true subject; Leontes a jealous tyrant; his innocent 
babe truly begotten; and the king shall live without an heir, if 
that which is lost be not found. 

LoEDs. Now blessed be the great Apollo! 

Hek. Praised! 

Leon. Hast thou read truth? 

Oyf. Ay, my lord; even so 

As it is here set down. 

Leon. There is no truth at all i' the oracle : 
The sessions shall proceed: this is mere falsehood. 

Enter Servant 

Seev. My lord the king, the king! 

Leon. What is the business? 

120 pAness] completeness. "Flat" is still similarly used in such phrases 
as "a flat [i. e., downright] lie." 

Serv. O sir, I shall be hated to report itl ^^^ 

The prince your son, with mere conceit and fear 
Of the queen's speed, is gone. 

Leon. How! gone! 

Seev. Is dead. 

Leon. Apollo 's angry; and the heavens themselves 
Do strike at my injustice. IHermione faints.'] How now 
there! ' 

Paul. This news is mortal to the queen: look 
down 
Ajid see what death is doing. 

Leon. Take her hence: 

Her heart is but o'ercharged; she will recover: 
I have too much believed mine own suspicion: 
Beseech you, tenderly apply to her 
Some remedies for life. 

{^Exeunt Patdina amd ladies, with Hertidone. 
Apollo, pardon ^^^ 

My great profaneness 'gainst thine oracle! 
I '11 reconcile me to Pohxenes ; 
New woo my queen; recall the good Camillo, 
Whom I proclaim a man of truth, of mercy; 
For, being transported by my jealousies 
To bloody thoughts and to revenge, I chose 
Camillo for the minister to poison 
My friend Pohxenes : which had been done. 

141-142 mere conceit . . . speed] mere apprehension and fear of the 
queen's fortune. "Conceit" is applied by Shakespeare to all manner 
of mental conceptions. With " speed " cf . the modem use of " sped " 
(i. e,, fared). 

[611 

Bat that the good mind of Camillo tardied 

My swift command, though I with death and with ^^^ 

Reward did threaten and encourage him, 

Not doing it and being done: he, most humane 

And fill'd with honour, to my kingly guest 

Unclasp'd my practice, quit his fortunes here, 

Which you knew great, and to the hazard 

Of all incertainties himself commended, 

No richer than his honour : how he ghsters 

Thorough my rust ! and how his piety 

Does my deeds make the blacker! 

Re-enter PAtrutrrA 

Paul. Woe the while! 

O, cut my lace, lest my heart, cracking it, ^''^ 

Break too I 

FiEST LoBD. What fit is this, good lady? 

Paul. What studied torments, tyrant, hast for 
me? 
What wheels? racks? fires? what flaying? boiling? 
In leads or oils ? what old or newer torture 
Must I receive, whose every word deserves 

159 tardied] delayed to execute. 

165 the fiuzard] Thus the First Folio. The Second and later Folios read 
the certain hazard, which improves the metre, and does no harm to 
the sense. 

166 commended] committed Cf. 11, iii, 181, supra. 

167 No richer than] With no riches other than. 

173 boiling f] Thus the First Folio. The Second and later Folios add 
burning after boiling for the sake of metre. 

To taste of thy most worst? Thy tyranny 

Together working with thy jealousies, 

Fancies too weak for boys, too green and idle 

For girls of nine, O, think what they have done 

And then run mad indeed, stark mad! for all ^^** 

Thy by-gone fooleries were but spices of it. 

That thou betray' dst Polixenes, 't was nothing; 

That did but show thee, of a fool, inconstant 

And damnable ingrateful: nor was 't much, 

Thou wouldst have poison'd good CamiUo's honour. 

To have him kill a king; poor trespasses. 

More monstrous standing by : whereof I reckon 

The casting forth to crows thy baby-daughter 

To be or none or little ; though a devil 

Would have shed water out of fire ere done 't : ^^^ 

Nor is 't directly laid to thee, the death 

Of the young prince, whose honourable thoughts, 

Thoughts high for one so tender, cleft the heart 

That could conceive a gross and f oohsh sire 

Blemish'd his gracious dam: this is not, no. 

Laid to thy answer : but the last, — O lords. 

When I have said, cry "woe!" — the queen, the 

queen. 
The sweet' st, dear'st creature 's dead, and vengeance 

for't 
Not dropp'd down yet. 

183 of a fool, inconstant] Thus the Folios; there is no need for any 
change. The meaning is that Leontes, being a fool, shows himself 
inconstant in addition. 

190 shed water ovi of fire] shed tears amid the flames (of hell). 

THE WINTER'S TALE act hi 

First Lord. Thehigher powers forbid! 

Paul. I say she 's dead, I '11 swear 't. If word nor 

oath 200 

Prevail not, go and see : if you can bring 
Tincture or lustre in her lip, her eye, 
Heat outwardly or breath within, I 'U serve you 
As I would do the gods. But, O thou tyrant! 
Do not repent these things, for they are heavier 
Than all thy woes can stir : therefore betake thee 
To nothing but despair. A thousand knees 
Ten thousand years together, naked, fasting. 
Upon a barren mountain, and still winter 
In storm perpetual, could not move the gods ^^^ 

To look that way thou wert. 

Leon. Go on, go on: 

Thou canst not speak too much; I have deserved 
All tongues to talk their bitterest. 

First Lord. Say no more : 

Howe'er the business goes, you have made fault 
I' the boldness of your speech, 

Paul. I am sorry for 't : 

All faults I make, when I shall come to know them, 
I do repent. Alas ! I have show'd too much 
The rashness of a woman : he is touch'd 
To the noble heart. What 's gone and what 's past 
help 

206 woes can stir\ woes self-inflicted by way of penance can remove. 

219-220 What 's gone . . . past grief] Cf . Rich. II, II, iii, 171 : Things 
past redress are rurw with me past care. Similar proverbial sayings 
are found in L. L. L., V, ii, 28, paM cure is stiU past care, and Macb., 

Should be past grief : do not receive affiction ^^^ 

At my petition; I beseech you, rather 

Let me be punish' d, that have minded you 

Of what you should forget. Now, good my liege, 

Sir, royal sir, forgive a foolish woman : 

The love I bore your queen, lo, fool again! 

I '11 speak of her no more, nor of your children; 

I '11 not remember you of my own lord. 

Who is lost too : take your patience to you. 

And I 'n say nothing. 

Leon. Thou didst speak but well 

When most the truth ; which I receive much better ^^^ 
Than to be pitied of thee. Prithee, bring me 
To the dead bodies of my queen and son: 
One grave shall be for both ; upon them shall 
The causes of their death appear, unto 
Our shame perpetual. Once a day I 'U visit 
The chapel where they lie, and tears shed there 
Shall be my recreation : so long as nature 
Will bear up with this exercise, so long 
I daily vow to use it. Come and lead me 
To these sorrows. [Exeunt. 240 

in, ii, 11, 12, Things wiihovt all remedy Should he vnthovt regard. 
Leontes is credited with similar reflections at this stage of the story in 
Greene's novel of Pandosto. 
220-221 do not . . . petition] Thus the Folios. The meaning apparently 
is: do not accept or give way to the aflBiction or sorrow caused by my 
entreaty or appeal to you. 

THE WINTER'S TALE act hi 

SCENE III— BOHEMIA 
A DESERT COUNTRY NEAR THE SEA 

Enter Antigonus with a Child, and a Mariner. 

Ant. Thou art perfect, then, our ship hath touch'd 
upon 
The deserts of Bohemia? 

Mae. Ay, my lord; and fear 

We have landed in ill time : the skies look grimly 
And threaten present blusters. In my conscience, 
The heavens with that we have in hand are angry 
And frown upon 's. 

Ajstt. Their sacred wiUs be done ! Go, get aboard ; 
Look to thy bark: I '11 not be long before 
I call upon thee. 

Mae. Make your best haste, and go not ^° 

Too far i' the land : 't is hke to be loud weather ; 
Besides, this place is famous for the creatures 
Of prey that keep upon 't. 

Ant. Go thou away: 

I '11 follow instantly. 

1 perfect] certain. Cf . Cymb., HI, i, 73 : / am perfect [i. e., certam, well 
aware] that. 

1-2 ship . . . Bohemia] Ben Jonson adversely criticised Shakespeare for 
giving Bohemia a sea-coast. See his Conversations with Drummond, 
1619, ch. xii. Shakespeare here precisely follows the like episode in 
Green's "Novel." It would appear that during the thirteenth centuiy 
the kingdom of Bohemia included provinces on the coast of the Adriatic. 
But doubtless Greene was ignorant of such a fact, and conmiitted a 
geographical blunder which Shakespeare did not detect. 

Mar. I am glad at heart 

To be so rid o' the business. [Exit. 

Ant. Come, poor babe : 

I have heard, but not beUeved, the spirits o' the 

dead 
May walk again: if such thing be, thy mother 
Appear'd to me last night, for ne'er was dream 
So Hke a waking. To me comes a creature. 
Sometimes her head on one side, some another; ^*' 

I never saw a vessel of hke sorrow. 
So fiU'd and so becoming: in pure white robes. 
Like very sanctity, she did approach 
My cabin where I lay; thrice bow'd before me. 
And, gasping to begin some speech, her eyes 
Became two spouts : the fury spent, anon 
Did this break from her: " Good Antigonus, 
Since fate, against thy better disposition. 
Hath made thy person for the thrower-out 
Of my poor babe, according to thine oath. 
Places remote enough are in Bohemia, 
There weep and leave it crying; and, for the 

babe 
Is counted lost for ever, Perdita, 
I prithee, call 't. For this ungentle business. 
Put on thee by my lord, thou ne'er shalt see 
Thy wife Paulina more." And so, with shrieks. 
She melted into air. Affrighted much, 
I did in time collect myself, and thought 
This was so, and no slumber. Dreams are toys: 
Yet for this once, yea, superstitiously, 

30 

40 

I will be squared by this. I do believe 

Hermione hath suffer'd death; and that 

ApoUo would, this being indeed the issue 

Of King Polixenes, it should here be laid, 

Either for hfe or death, upon the earth 

Of its right father. Blossom, speed thee well! 

There he, and there thy character: there these; 

Which may, if fortune please, both breed thee, pretty. 

And still rest thine. The storm begins : poor wretch. 

That for thy mother's fault art thus exposed ^° 

To loss and what may follow! Weep I cannot. 

But my heart bleeds ; and most accursed am I 

To be by oath enjoin'd to this. Farewell! 

The day frowns more and more : thou 'rt like to 

have 
A lullaby too rough: I never saw 
The heavens so dim by day. A savage clamour! 
Well may I get aboard! This is the chase: 
I am gone for ever. \_Exit, pursued by a bear. 

Enter a Shepherd 

Shep. I would there were no age between ten and 
three-and-twenty, or that youth would sleep out the rest ; 
for there is nothing in the between but getting wenches 
with child, wronging the ancientry, steahng, fighting — 

CO 

41 7 wiU be squared by this] I will be ruled, regulate my conduct, by this 

vision. Cf. V. i, 52, infra, "squared me to thy counsel." 
47 thy character] written description of thee. 

51 loss] hurt. See note on II, iii, 191, supra, "condenmed to loss." 
62 wronging the ancientry] wronging their elders. 

Hark you now! Would any but these boiled brains of 
nineteen and two-and-twenty hunt this weather? They 
have scared away two of my best sheep, which I fear 
the wolf will sooner find than the master: if any where 
I have them, 't is by the sea-side, browzing of ivy. Good 
luck, an 't be thy will I what have we here? Mercy on 's, 
a barne ; a very pretty barne I A boy or a child, I won- 
der ? A pretty one ; a very pretty one : sure, some scape : ^*^ 
though I am not bookish, yet I can read waiting-gentle- 
woman in the scape. This has been some stair- work, some 
trunk- work, some behind-door-work: they were warmer 
that got this than the poor thing is here. I '11 take it up 
for pity : yet I 'U tarry tiU my son come ; he hallooed but 
even now. Whoa, ho, hoa! 

Enter Clown 

Clo. HiUoa, loa! 

Shep. What, art so near? If thou 'It see a thing to 
talk on when thou art dead and rotten, come hither. 
What ailest thou, man? ^" 

Clo. I have seen two such sights, by sea and by land! 
but I am not to say it is a sea, for it is now the sky: 

63 bffiled brains] madcaps. Prospero applies the same epithet to 
"brains" in the sense of "over-excited" or "unbalanced" in Temr- 
pest, V, i, 59-60 : ' ' brains. Now useless, boil'd within thy skull ! " Cf . 
Mids. N. Dr., V, i, 4: "Lovers and madmen have such seething 
brains." 
barne] a north-countiy form of "bairn," child. 

69 child] This word was often exclusively applied to a baby girl, and is 

still so employed in English provincial dialects. 

70 scape] (fruit of) transgression. 

betwixt the firmament and it you cannot thrust a bod- 
kin's point. 

Shep. Why, boy, how is it? 

Clo. I would you did but see how it chafes, how it 
rages, how it takes up the shore ! but that 's not to the 
point. O, the most piteous cry of the poor souls ! some- 
times to see 'em, and not to see 'em; now the ship boring 
the moon with her main-mast, and anon swallowed with ^° 
yest and froth, as you 'Id thrust a cork into a hogshead. 
And then for the land-service, to see how the bear tore 
out his shoulder-bone ; how he cried to me for help and 
said his name was Antigonus, a nobleman. But to make 
an end of the ship, to see how the sea flap-dragoned 
it: but, first, how the poor souls roared, and the sea 
mocked them; and how the poor gentleman roared and 
the bear mocked him, both roaring louder than the sea or 
weather. 

Shep. Name of mercy, when was this, boy? ^°o 

Clo, Now, now: I have not winked since I saw these 
sights: the men are not yet cold under water, nor the 
bear half dined on the gentleman : he 's at it now. 

Shep. Would I had been by, to have helped the old 
man! 

Clo. I would you had been by the ship side, to have 
helped her : there your charity would have lacked footing. 

87 takes uf\ rails against. 

95 flap-dragoned] Cf. L. L. L., V, i, 38: "thou art easier swallowed than 
a flap-dragon [i. e., a burning raisin swimming in brandy or other 
strong liquor]." "To swallow a flap-dragon," or "snap-dragon," as 
it is now generally called, was a popular Christmas pastime. 

[TO] 

Shep, Heavy matters ! heavy matters ! but look thee 
here, boy. Now bless thyself: thou mettest with things 
dying, I with things new-born. Here 's a sight for thee ; 
look thee, a bearing-cloth for a squire's child! look thee 
here; take up, take up, boy; open 't. So, let 's see: it 
was told me I should be rich by the fairies. This is some 
changeling: open 't. What 's within, boy? ^^* 

Clo. You 're a made old man : if the sins of your youth 
are forgiven you, you 're well to Uve. Gold! aU gold! 

Shep. This is fairy gold, boy, and 't will prove so : up 
with 't, keep it close : home, home, the next way. We 
are lucky, boy; and to be so still requires nothing but 
secrecy. Let my sheep go: come, good boy, the next 
way home. ^^^ 

Clo. Go you the next way with your findings. I 'U go 
see if the bear be gone from the gentleman and how much 
he hath eaten: they are never curst but when they are 
hungry: if there be any of him left, I 'U bury it. 

Shep. That 's a good deed. If thou mayest discern 
by that which is left of him what he is, fetch me to the 
sight of him. 

Ill a hearing-doth] a christening mantle. 

114 changeling] a child stolen from its parents by the fairies, who are 
usually credited with leaving another in its place. Cf . Mids. N. Dr., 
II, i, 23. The word is more commonly applied to the child alleged 
to be substituted by the fairies for the stolen infant. Cf . IV, iv, 
677, infra. 

115 made] Theobald's correction of mad, the impossible reading of the 
Folios. The word ' ' made " in the present sense figures in like context 
in Greene's "Novel." 

124 curst] ill-tempered, angry. 

THE WINTER'S TALE act hi 

Clo. Marry, will I ; and you shall help to put him i' 
the ground. ^^^ 

Shep. 'T is a lucky day, boy, and we '11 do good deeds 
on 't. [Exeunt. 

131 do good deeds] Cf. the proverbial expression "to thrive and do good," 
in S Hen. VI, IV, iii, 14.

Enter Time, the Chorus 

Time 

THAT PLEASE SOME, 

try all, both joy and terror 

Of good and bad, that makes and 

unfolds error. 

Now take upon me, in the name 

of Time, 

To use my wings. Impute it not 

a crime 

To me or my swift passage, that 

I sUde 

O'er sixteen years and leave the 

growth untried 

Of that wide gap, since it is in 

my power 

To o'erthrow law and in one self -born hour 
To plant and o'erwhelm custom. Let me pass 

6-7 leave the growth . . . wide gap] leave unexamined the progress of 

time that fills up that wide gap (of sixteen years). 
8 in one self-bom hour] in one hour my own creation. 

The same I am, ere ancient'st order was ^^ 

Or what is now received : I witness to 

The times that brought them in ; so shall I do 

To the freshest things now reigning, and make stale 

The glistering of this present, as my tale 

Now seems to it. Your patience this allowing, 

I turn my glass and give my scene such growing 

As you had slept between : Leontes leaving. 

The effects of his fond jealousies so grieving 

That he shuts up himself, imagine me, 

Gentle spectators, that I now may be ^^ 

In fair Bohemia ; and remember well, 

I mentioned a son o' the king's, which Florizel 

I now name to you ; and with speed so pace 

To speak of Perdita, now grown in grace 

Equal with wondering: what of her ensues 

I list not prophesy; but let Time's news 

Be known when 't is brought forth. A shepherd's 

daughter. 
And what to her adheres, which follows after. 
Is the argimient of Time. Of this allow, 

15 Now seems to it] Now seems stale in comparison with the "glister- 
ing of this present." 

19 imagine me] "Me" is here the ethical dative, as in such phrases as 
"bethink me." 

2a I mentioned] Thus the Folios. Mention has been made of Polixenes's 
young prince by both Polixenes and Leontes, I, ii, 164 seq., and to 
these remarks Time here seems to refer, vaguely a^uming responsi- 
bility for their utterance. 

23 with speed so pace] with equal haste go forward. 

25 Eqval with wondering] To an extent that justifies no less wonder or 
admiration. 

If ever you have spent time worse ere now; ^^ 

If never, yet that Time himself doth say 

He wishes earnestly you never may. lExit. 

SCENE II — BOHEMIA 
THE PALACE OF POLIXENES 

Enter Polixenes and Camillo 

Pol. I pray thee, good Camillo, be no more impor- 
tunate: 't is a sickness denying thee any thing; a death 
to grant this. 

Cam, It is fifteen years since I saw my country: 
though I have for the most part been aired abroad, I 
desire to lay my bones there. Besides, the penitent king, 
my master, hath sent for me; to whose feeling sorrows I 
might be some allay, or I o'erween to think so, which is 
another spur to my departure. 

Pol. As thou lovest me, CamiUo, wipe not out the rest ^^ 
of thy services by leaving me now: the need I have of 
thee, thine own goodness hath made; better not to have 
had thee than thus to want thee : thou, having made me 
businesses, which none without thee can sufficiently man- 
age, must either stay to execute them thyself, or take 
away with thee the very services thou hast done ; which 
if I have not enough considered, as too much I cannot, 

4 fipeen] Thus the Folios. But sixteen years is thrice stated elsewhere 
to be the length of time that elapses between the first and second 
parts of the play. Cf. IV, i, 6, and V, iii, 31 and 50. 

6 have . . . been aired\ have breathed air, lived. 

to be more thankful to thee shall be my study; and my 
profit therein, the heaping friendships. Of that fatal 
country, Siciha, prithee speak no more; whose very ^^ 
naming punishes me with the remembrance of that peni- 
tent, as thou caUest him, and reconciled king, my brother; 
whose loss of his most precious queen and children are 
even now to be afresh lamented. Say to me, when sawest 
thou the Prince Florizel, my son? Kings are no less 
unhappy, their issue not being gracious, than they are 
in losing them when they have approved their virtues. 

Cam. Sir, it is three days since I saw the prince. What 
his happier affairs may be, are to me unknown: but I 
have missingly noted, he is of late much retired from ^^ 
court and is less frequent to his princely exercises than 
formerly he hath appeared. 

Pol. I have considered so much, Camillo, and vdth 
some care; so far, that I have eyes under my service 
which look upon his removedness; from whom I have 
this inteUigence, that he is seldom from the house of a 
most homely shepherd; a man, they say, that from very 
nothing, and beyond the imagination of his neighbours, 
is grown into an unspeakable estate. 

Cam. I have heard, sir, of such a man, who hath a ^"^ 
daughter of most rare note : the report of her is extended 
more than can be thought to begin from such a cottage. 

19 friendships] friendly services. Cf. Merck, of Ven., I, iii, 163: "To 

buy his favour, I extend this friendship." 
25 gracious] in a state of grace, well conducted. 
30 missingly] missing him, feeling his absence. 
34-35 eyes . . . removedness] spies who watch him in his withdrawal 

from court. 

Pol. That 's likewise part of my intelligence ; but, I 
fear, the angle that plucks our son thither. Thou shalt 
accompany us to the place ; where we will, not appearing 
what we are, have some question with the shepherd; 
from whose simplicity I think it not uneasy to get the 
cause of my son's resort thither. Prithee, be my present 
partner in this business, and lay aside the thoughts of 
Sicilia. 

Cam. I willingly obey your command. ^^ 

Pol. My best CamiUo! We must disguise ourselves. 

[^Exeunt. 

SCENE III— A ROAD NEAR THE SHEPHERD'S 
COTTAGE 

Enter Autolycus, singimg 

When daffodils begin to peer, 

With heigh! the doxy over the dale, 
Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year; 

For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale. 

43-44 hvt, I fear, the angle] but I fear she is the hook and line, or the 
attraction. "Angle" here means "fishing-rod." 

2 doxy] beggar's mistress. Cf . Bums's Jolly Beggars, ' ' Hug our doxies 

on the hay." "Aunts" (1. 11, infra) is a slang word of the same 
significance. 

3 sweet o' the year] Beaumont and Fletcher, in A Wife for a Month, 

II, i, applies the phrase to the month of April. 

4 red blood . . . pale] the red blood of spring conquers the province of 

snow-coloured winter; "pale" is used in the double sense of "pale- 
ness," and of "settlement" or "province." 

The white sheet bleaching on the hedge, 

With heigh ! the sweet birds, O, how they sing ! 

Doth set my pugging tooth on edge; 
For a quart of ale is a dish for a king 

The lark, that tirra-lyra chants, 

With heigh! with heigh! the thrush and the jay, lo 
Are siunmer songs for me and my aunts, 

While we lie tumbling in the hay. 

I have served Prince Florizel and in my time wore three- 
pUe; but now I am out of service: 

But shall I go mourn for that, my dear? 

The pale moon shines by night: 
And when I wander here and there, 

I then do most go right. 

If tinkers may have leave to live, 

And bear the sow-skin budget, 20 

Then my account I well may give. 

And in the stocks avouch it. 

My traffic is sheets ; when the kite builds, look to lesser 
linen. My father named me Autolycus ; who being, as I 

7 pugging] thievish. Cf. "puggard," a cant term for a thief. 

11 aunts] See note on "doxy" (1. 2, supra). 

13 three-pile] the most costly kind of velvet, worn only by persons of 
consequence. 

20 sow-skin budget] pouch or wallet of pigskin. 

23-24 My traffic . . . linen] Autolycus's business is the theft of sheets, of 
larger linen. The kite, when buUding its nest, takes smaller pieces of 
linen, which only then need special guarding. According to Ovid, 
Metamorphoses, XI, 313-315, a work which Shakespeare knew well, 
Autolycus was a son of Mercury, "furtum ingeniosus ad omne . . . 

am, littered under Mercury, was likewise a snapper-up 
of unconsidered trifles. With die and drab I purchased 
this caparison, and my revenue is the silly cheat. Gal- 
lows and knock are too powerful on the highway: beat- 
ing and hanging are terrors to me : for the hf e to come, 
I sleep out the thought of it. A prize ! a prize ! ^'^ 

Enter Clown 

Clo. Let me see : every 'leven wether tods ; every tod 
yields pound and odd shilling; fifteen hundred shorn, 
what comes the wool to ? 

AuT. [Aside} If the springe hold, the cock 's mine. 

Clo. I cannot do 't without counters. Let me see; 
what am I to buy for our sheep-shearing feast? Three 
pound of sugar; five pound of currants; rice — what 
will this sister of mine do with rice? But my father hath 
made her mistress of the feast, and she lays it on. She 
hath made me four and twenty nosegays for the shearers, 
three-man songmen all, and very good ones; but they '**' 

patriae non degener artis." In Golding's translation it is said that he 

' ' proved a wily pie And such fellow as in theft and filching had no pew. " 
26-27 With die and drab . . . caparison] By means of gaming and 

going with loose women I acquired these rags. 
28 hnoclc\ a reference to the blows to which the highwayman is liable from 

those whom he assaults. 

30 J sleep out the tfiought] I drown in sleep the thought. 

31 every 'leven wether tods] every eleven sheep will produce a tod or twenty- 

eight pounds of wool. 
34 springe] trap, snare. Cf. Hamlet, I, iii, 115: "springes to catch 

woodcocks." 
40 three-man songmen] singers of catches. A "three-man song " was a 

catch in three parts. 

are most of them means and bases; but one puritan 
amongst them, and he sings psahns to hornpipes. I 
must have saifron to colour the warden pies; mace; 
dates, none, that 's out of my note; nutmegs, seven; a 
race or two of ginger, but that I may beg; four pound 
of prunes, and as many of raisins o' the sun, 

AuT. O that ever I was born! [_Grovellmg on the ground. 

Clo. I' the name of me — 

AuT. O, help me, help mel pluck but off these rags; 
and then, death, death! ^^ 

Clo. Alack, poor soul! thou hast need of more rags 
to lay on thee, rather than have these off. 

AuT. O sir, the loathsomeness of them offends me 
more than the stripes I have received, which are mighty 
ones and milhons. 

Clo. Alas, poor man ! a milhon of beating may come 
to a great matter. 

AuT. I am robbed, sir, and beaten; my money and 

42 ineans\ the parts between the tenor and the treble. There is a 

pun here, implying that the songmen are "mean" fellows of no 
account. 

43 to hornpipes] to the lively tunes commonly played on hornpipes. 
43-44 saffron . . . pies] See note on All 's Well, IV, v, 2. 

warden pies] pies of warden, or baking, pears. 

44 ovi of my note] It is questionable whether the clown woidd be reading 

from a written list. It probably means here that the item "dates" 
is not in the directions, which he is repeating from memory. 

45 race] root. Cf. old French ra:is, Spanish raiz, and Latin radix. 

46 raisins o' the sun] the ordinary raisin which is dried in the sun. 

48 r the name of me] Cf. Tw. Night, U, iii, 167: "Before me, she's a 
good wench." 

apparel ta'en from me, and these detestable things put 
upon me. ^^ 

Clo. What, by a horseman, or a footman? 

AuT. A footman, sweet sir, a footman. 

Clo. Indeed, he should be a footman by the garments 
he has left with thee: if this be a horseman's coat, it 
hath seen very hot service. Lend me thy hand, I 'U help 
thee : come, lend me thy hand. [Helping him up. 

AuT. O, good sir, tenderly, O ! 

Clo. Alas, poor soul! 

AuT. O, good sir, softly, good sir! I fear, sir, my 
shoulder-blade is out. "^^ 

Clo. How now! canst stand? 

AuT. Softly, dear sir [picks his pocket] ; good sir, 
softly. You ha' done me a charitable office. 

Clo. Dost lack any money? I have a little money 
for thee. 

AuT. No, good sweet sir; no, I beseech you, sir: I 
have a kinsman not past three quarters of a mile hence, 
unto whom I was going; I shall there have money, or 
any thing I want : offer me no money, I pray you ; that 
kills my heart. ^^ 

Clo. What manner of fellow was he that robbed you ? 

AuT. A fellow, sir, that I have known to go about 
with troU-my-dames : I knew him once a servant of the 
prince: I cannot tell, good sir, for which of his virtues 
it was, but he was certainly whipped out of the court. 

83 troU-my-dames] A Frencli game resembling nine holes or bagatelle, 
which was called "trou-madame," would seem to have suggested 
this invented term for light women. 
6 [81] 

Clo. His vices, you would say ; there 's no Aortue 
whipped out of the court: they cherish it to make it stay 
there ; and yet it will no more but abide. 

AuT. Vices I would say, sir. I know this man well: 
he hath been since an ape-bearer; then a process-server, 
a baUiff ; then he compassed a motion of the Prodigal 
Son, and married a tinker's wife within a mile where 
my land and hving lies; and, having flown over many 
knavish professions, he settled only in rogue: some caU 
him Autolycus. 

Clo. Out upon him! prig, for my life, prig: he 
haunts wakes, fairs and bear-baitings. 

AuT. Very true, sir ; he, sir, he ; that 's the rogue that 
put me into this apparel. 

Clo. Not a more cowardly rogue in all Bohemia: if 
you had but looked big and spit at him, he 'Id have run. 

AuT. I must confess to you, sir, I am no fighter: I 
am false of heart that way; and that he knew, I warrant 
him. 

Clo. How do you now? 

AuT. Sweet sir, much better than I was ; I can stand 
and walk: I will even take my leave of you, and pace 
softly towards my kinsman's. 

90 

99 

88 will no TTwre but abide] will barely stay. 

90 ape-bearer] travelling showman with a performing ape. Cf. Over- 
bury 's Characters, 1627: "There is nothing on the earth so pittifull 
[as a rymer], no, not an ape-earrier." 

91-92 a motion of the Prodigal Sori] Puppet shows of this and other 
scriptural tales were popular exhibitions at the time. 

96 prig] slang word for a thief. 

Clo. Shall I bring thee on the way? 

AuT. No, good-faced sir; no, sweet sir. ^^^ 

Clo. Then fare thee well: I must go buy spices for 
our sheep-shearing. 

AuT. Prosper you, sweet sir! [Exit Clown.] Your 
pm-se is not hot enough to purchase your spice. I '11 be 
with you at your sheep-shearing too : if I make not this 
cheat bring out another and the shearers prove sheep, let 
me be unrolled and my name put in the book of virtue! 

Song. Jog on, jog on, the foot-path way. 

And merrily hent the stile-a: 
A merry heart goes all the day, 120 

Your sad tires in a mile-a. [Exit. 

SCENE IV — THE SHEPHERD'S COTTAGE 

Enter Floeizel and Peedita 

Flo. These your unusual weeds to each part of you 
Do give a Hf e : no shepherdess, but Flora 

117 unrolled and my name put in the book of virtue] struck off the roll of 
thieves, struck out of the book of vice. Cf. 8 Hen. IV, 11, ii, 43; 
"thou think'st me as far in the devil's hook as thou and Falstafl." 

118-121 Jog on ... a mile-a] This was clearly a popular song of the day. 
The contemporary tune is fotmd in Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book, 
a manuscript in the FitzwiUiam Museum at Cambridge. In the mis- 
cellany called An Antidote against Melancholy, 1661, Autolycus's lines 
are repeated without any author's name, together with a second stanza. 

119 h,erU] grip, take hold of (in order to vault over). Cf. for the substan- 
tive, Hamlet, III, iii, 88: "Up, sword; and know thou a more 
horrid hent." 

Peering in April's front. This yoxix sheep-shearing 
Is as a meeting of the petty gods. 
And you the queen on 't. 

Pek. Sir, my gracious lord, 

To chide at your extremes it not becomes me : 
O, pardon, that I name them! Your high self. 
The gracious mark o' the land, you have obscured 
With a swain's wearing, and me, poor lowly maid, 
Most goddess-hke prank'd up : but that our feasts 
In every mess have folly and the feeders 
Digest it with a custom, I should blush 
To see you so attired, sworn, I think. 
To show myself a glass. 

Flo. I bless the time 

When my good falcon made her flight across 
Thy father's ground. 

Pee. Now Jove afford you cause! 

To me the difference forges dread ; your greatness 
Hath not been used to fear. Even now I tremble 
To think your father, by some accident. 

10 

3 Peering in April's front] Appearing at the beginning of April. Cf. 
Sonnet cii, 7, "summer's front." 

6 your extremes] the extravagance of your conduct in disguising yourself. 

10-12 our feasts . . . with a custom] At every table or in every group, 
our feasts through every rank admit strange frolics, and the guests 
accept it aU as customary. The necessary it following digest was first 
supplied in the Second Folio. For mess, cf . I, ii, 227, supra, and 
note. 

13-14 sworn . . , glass] The prince seems, by his rustic disguise, 
to be fulfilling an oath to show her, as in a glass, her own dress. 

17 the difference] the difference of rank between us. 

Should pass this way as you did: O, the Fates! ^^ 

How would he look, to see his work, so noble, 
Vilely bound up ? What would he say ? Or how 
Should I, in these my borrow'd flaunts, behold 
The sternness of his presence? 

Flo. Apprehend 

Nothing but joUity. The gods themselves, 
Humbhng their deities to love, have taken 
The shapes of beasts upon them : Jupiter 
Became a bull, and bellow'd; the green Neptune 
A ram, and bleated; and the fire-robed god, 
Golden ApoUo, a poor humble swain, ^^ 

As I seem now. Their transformations 
Were never for a piece of beauty rarer. 
Nor in a way so chaste, since my desires 
Run not before mine honour, nor my lusts 
Burn hotter than my faith. 

Pek. O, but, sir. 

Your resolution cannot hold, when 't is 
Opposed, as it must be, by the power of the king: 
One of these two must be necessities. 
Which then will speak, that you must change this 

purpose. 
Or I my Uf e. 

21-22 his work . . . bound up] Florizel is compared with a fine piece of 
literature badly bound, clothed in an inferior binding. 

S3 Nor in a way] The suggested emendation Nor any way is worth 
considering. 

40 Or I my life] Or I must convert my life or rank of rusticity into one 
of gentility. 

Flo. Thou dearest Perdita, ^0 

With these forced thoughts, I prithee, darken not 
The mirth o' the feast. Or I '11 be thine, my fair, 
Or not my father's. For I cannot be 
Mine own, nor any thing to any, if 
I be not thine. To this I am most constant, 
Though destiny say no. Be merry, gentle; 
Strangle such thoughts as these with any thing 
That you behold the while. Your guests are coming: 
Lift up your countenance, as it were the day 
Of celebration of that nuptial which ^^ 

We two have sworn shall come. 

Per. O lady Fortune, 

Stand you auspicious ! 

Flo. See, your guests approach: 

Address yourself to entertain them sprightly, 
And let 's be red with mirth. 

Enter Shepherd, Clown, Mopsa, Doe.cas, and others, with 
PocLrxENEs and Camtllo disguised 

Shep. Fie, daughter! when my old wife lived, upon 
This day she was both pantler, butler, cook. 
Both dame and servant; welcomed aU, served all; 
Would sing her song and dance her turn; now here. 
At upper end o' the table, now i' the middle ; 
On his shoulder, and his ; her face o' fire ^o 

With labour and the thing she took to quench it, 

66 pantler] pantry-man. Cf. ^ Hen. IV, U, iv, 227-228 : "a' would have 
made a good pantler, a' would ha' chipped bread well." 

She would to each one sip. You are retired. 
As if you) were a feasted one and not 
The hostess of the meeting: pray you, bid 
These unknown friends to 's welcome ; for it is 
A way to make us better friends, more known. 
Come, quench your blushes and present yourself 
That which you are, mistress o' the feast : come on. 
And bid us welcome to your sheep-shearing, 
As your good flock shall prosper. 

Per. [To PoZ.] Sir, welcome: ''^ 

It is my father's will I should take on me 
The hostess-ship o' the day. [_To Cam.'] You 're welcome, 

sir. 
Give me those flowers there, Dorcas. Reverend sirs. 
For you there 's rosemary and rue ; these keep 
Seeming and savoiir all the winter long: 
Grace and remembrance be to you both, 
And welcome to our shearing! 

Pol. Shepherdess, 

A fair one are you, well you fit our ages 
With flowers of winter. 

Per. Sir, the year growing ancient. 

Not yet on summer's death, nor on the birth ^'^ 

Of trembling winter, the fairest flowers o' the season 
Are our carnations and streak'd gUlyvors, 

74—76 rosemary and rue . . . Grace and remembrance] Cf. Hamlet, 
TV, V, 172-178: "There's rosemary; that's for remembrance: . . . 
there's me for you: ... we may call it heTh-grace." 

82 giUyvors] a corruption of the French "girofle." The name is com- 
monly bestowed on various kinds of pinks or carnations. Possibly 

Which some call nature's bastards : of that kind 
Our rustic garden 's barren; and I care not 
To get slips of them. 

Poll. Wherefore, gentle maiden. 

Do you neglect them? 

Pee. For I have heard it said 

There is an art which in their piedness shares 
With great creating nature. 

Pol. Say there be; 

Yet nature is made better by no mean. 
But nature makes that mean : so, over that art ^° 

Which you say adds to nature, is an art 
That nature makes. You see, sweet maid, we marry 
A gentler scion to the wildest stock. 
And make conceive a bark of baser kind 
By bud of nobler race: this is an art 
Which does mend nature, change it rather, but 
The art itself is nature. 

Per. So it is. 

Pol. Then make your garden rich in gillyvors, 
And do not call them bastards. 

Per. I '11 not put 

The dibble in earth to set one shp of them ; lo" 

Perdita credits the "streak'd" flower with a bad character because 
its colouring suggests the painting in which immodest women 
indulged. See lines 86-88 and 101, m/ra, where "gillyvors" and 
women's artificially painted faces are brought more directly into 
association. 

86-88 For I . . . nature] Because Perdita has heard of an art which 
competes with nature in creating the gillyvors' variegation of colour. 

100 dibble] a small sharp hoe. 

No more than were I painted I would wish 
Tliis youth should say 't were well, and only therefore 
Desire to breed by me. Here 's flowers for you; 
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram; 
The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun 
And with him rises weeping: these are flowers 
Of middle summer, and I think they are given 
To men of middle age. You 're very welcome. 

Cam. I should leave grazing, were I of your flock. 
And only live by gazing. 

Per. Out, alas! "" 

You 'Id be so lean, that blasts of January 
Would blow you through and through. Now, my f air'st 

friend, 
I would I had some flowers o' the spring that might 
Become your time of day ; and yours, and yours. 
That wear upon your virgin branches yet 
Your maidenheads growing: O Proserpina, 
For the flowers now, that frighted thou let'st f aU 
From Dis's waggon! daffodils. 
That come before the swallow dares, and take 

104 mints] usually found in the plural in Elizabethan authors, owing to 
the various species of the herb in common use. 

105 marigold] probably the garden marigold, calendula officinalis. 
116-118 O Proserpina . . . Dis's waggon] A reminiscence of Ovid's 

story in Metamorphoses, V, 359 seq., of the rape of Proserpina, who, 
affrighted by the approach of Pluto's chariot, lets fall from her lap 
the flowers she had gathered. Cf. Golding's translation, "By chance 
she let her lap slip dovme and out her flowers went," etc. 
119 take] bewitch, captivate. The usage survives in the modem col- 
loquial epithet "taking." 

The winds of March with beauty; violets dim, ^^^ 

But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes 

Or Cytherea's breath ; pale primroses. 

That die unmarried, ere they can behold 

Bright PhcEbus in his strength, a malady 

Most incident to maids ; bold oxhps and 

The crown imperial; lilies of all kinds, 

The flower-de-luce being one! O, these I lack. 

To make you garlands of; and my sweet friend. 

To strew him o'er and o'er! 

Flo. What, like a corse? 

Pee. No, like a bank for love to he and play on; ^^'^ 

Not like a corse; or if, not to be buried. 
But quick and in mine arms. Come, take your 

flowers : 
Methinks I play as I have seen them do 
In Whitsun pastorals : sure this robe of mine 
Does change my disposition. 

Flo. What you do 

Still betters what is done. When you speak, sweet, 
I 'Id have you do it ever : when you sing, 
I 'Id have you buy and sell so, so give alms. 
Pray so ; and, for the ordering your affairs. 
To sing them too : when you do dance, I wish you ^^ 

A wave o' the sea, that you might ever do 
Nothing but that; move still, stiU so. 

126 crmvn imperial] the fritillary, called fritillaria imperialis. 

127 flower-de-luce] The fleur de lys is usually identified with an iris, not 
with a lily. 

And own no other function: each your doing. 
So singular in each particular, 
Crowns what you are doing in the present deeds, 
That all your acts are queens. 

Pee. O Doricles, 

Your praises are too large : but that your youth. 
And the true blood which peeps fairly through 't. 
Do plainly give you out an unstain'd shepherd. 
With wisdom I might fear, my Doricles, ^^^ 

You woo'd me the false way. 

Flo. I think you have 

As httle skill to fear as I have purpose 
To put you to 't. But come; our dance, I pray: 
Your hand, my Perdita: so turtles pair. 
That never mean to part. 

Pee. I 'U swear for 'em. 

Pol. This is the prettiest low-born lass that ever 
Ran on the green-sward: nothing she does or seems 
But smacks of something greater than herself, 
Too noble for this place. 

Cam. He tells her something 

143-146 each your doing . . . queens] your manner of doing each thing, 
so unique in excellence in every detail, crowns all that you are 
engaged in doing at the moment; each one of your acts is of royal 
quality, deserves a queen's crown. 

148 peeps] Thus the Folios. The metre requires that "peeps " should be 
read as a dissyllable. Capell and other editors insert so before fairly, 
on the metrical ground. 

150 With vnsdom] On consideration. 

152 sMS] reason, the outcome of skill or knowledge. 

153 To put you to 't] To give you occasion for it. 

That makes her blood look out : good sooth, she is ^^^ 

The queen of curds and cream. 

Clo. Come on, strike up! 

Doe. Mopsa must be your mistress : marry, garlic. 
To mend her kissing with ! 

Mop. Now, in good time I 

Clo. Not a word, a word; we stand upon our 
manners. 
Come, strike up ! 

l^Music. Here a dance of Shepherds cmd Shepherdesses. 

Pol. Pray, good shepherd, what fair swain is this 
Which dances with your daughter? 

Shep. They call him Doricles ; and boasts himself 
To have a worthy feeding : but I have it 
Upon his own report and I believe it ; ^^° 

He looks like sooth. He says he loves my daughter : 
I think so too; for never gazed the moon 
Upon the water, as he '11 stand and read 
As 't were my daughter's eyes : and, to be plain, 
I think there is not half a kiss to choose 
Who loves another best. 

Pol. She dances featly. 

Shep. So she does any thing; though I report it. 
That should be silent : if young Doricles 

160 hok oirf] Theobald's correction of the Folio reading loolce on't. 

"Makes her blood look out" means "calls up the blood in her 

cheeks," "makes her blush." 
163 Now, in good time] An ejaculation of surprise implying rebuke. 
169 woHhy feeding] pasturage of value. Cf. As You Like It, II, iv, 78, 

"bounds of feed." 

Do light upon her, she shall bring him that 

Which he not dreams of. ^^ 

Enter Servant 

Sekv. O master, if you did but hear the pedlar at the 
door, you would never dance again after a tabor and 
pipe; no, the bagpipe could not move you: he sings 
several tunes faster than you'll tell money; he utters 
them as he had eaten ballads and all men's ears grew to 
his tunes. 

Clo. He could never come better; he shall come in. 
I love a baUad but even too weU, if it be doleful matter 
merrUy set down, or a very pleasant thing indeed and 
sung lamentably. ^^^ 

Serv. He hath songs for man or woman, of aU sizes; 
no milliner can so fit his customers with gloves: he has 
the prettiest love-songs for maids; so without bawdry, 
which is strange; with such delicate burthens of dildos 
and fadings, " jump her and thump her; " and where 
some stretch-mouthed rascal would, as it were, mean mis- 
chief and break a foul gap into the matter, he makes the 

191 milliner] here used by Shakespeare for a man who sells fancy articles. 
Cf. 1 Hen. IV, I, iii, 36: "perfumed like a miUiner." 

193 dildos and fadings] "Dildo" is a word often foimd in the nonsense 
refrains of popular songs. It was also used at times in a coarse sense, 
which added indelicate point to a vulgar song's burden. "Fadings," 
which is likewise found in the refrains of popular songs, was properly 
the name of a popular Irish dance. 

195 stretch-movthed] broad-mouthed, foul-mouthed. 

196 break a fovl gap] insert a coarse digression or parenthesis. The 
proposed substitution of jajie for gap does not seem necessary. 

maid to answer " Whoop, do me no harm, good man; " 
puts him off, shghts him, with " Whoop, do me no harm, 
good man." 

Pol. This is a brave fellow. 

Clo. Believe me, thou talkest of an admirable con- 
ceited fellow. Has he any unbraided wares? ^"^ 

Seev. He hath ribbons of aU the colours i' the rainbow ; 
points more than all the lawyers in Bohemia can learnedly 
handle, though they come to him by the gross: inkles, 
caddisses, cambrics, lawns: why, he sings 'em over as 
they were gods or goddesses; you would think a smock 
were a she-angel, he so chants to the sleeve-hand and the 
work about the square on 't. 

Clo. Prithee bring him in; and let him approach 
singing. 

Per. Forewarn him that he use no scurrilous words 
in 's tunes. [Exit Servant. 211 

Clo. You have of these pedlars, that have more in 
them than you 'Id think, sister. 

Pee. Ay, good brother, or go about to think. 

197 "Whoop, do me no harm, good man"] The burden of a coarse song, 

of which mention is made in The Fammbs History of Friar Bacon. 

The tune is given in Corkine's Ayres, 1610, No. 20. 
201 unbraided wares] undamaged goods. For "braided ware" [i.e., 

"damaged goods,"] see Marston's Scourge of Villainie, Satire V. 

The proposed substitution of embroidered for unbraided is needless. 
203 points] laces with metal tags. 
204-205 inkles, caddisses] linen tape, worsted tape. Cf. 1 Hen. IV, U, iv, 

67: caddis-garter. 

207 sleeve-hand] cuff or wristband. 

208 work about the square on 't] embroidery about the square-cut bosom 
front of the smock. 

Enter AutoiLyctjs, smgmg 

Lawn as white as driven snow,' 

Cypress black as e'er was crow; 

Gloves as sweet as damask roses; 

Masks for faces and for noses; 

Bugle bracelet, necklace amber, 

Perfmne for a lady's chamber; 220 

Golden quoifs and stomachers. 

For my lads to give their dears; 

Pins and poking-sticks of steel. 

What maids lack from head to heel: 

Come buy of me, come; come buy, come buy; 

Buy, lads, or else your lasses cry: 

Come buy. 

Clo. If I were not in love with Mopsa, thou shouldst 
take no money of me; but being enthralled as I am, it 
will also be the bondage of certain ribbons and gloves. ^^^ 

Mop. I was promised them against the feast; but 
they come not too late now. 

216 Cypress black] Black crape. Cyprus was substituted for cypress by 
Rowe on the ground that the fabric may have been manufactured 
from cloth or satin, which is often stated to have been imported 
from Cyprus in Shakespeare's day. Less satisfactory is the sugges- 
tion that the reference is to the cypress tree, from which it is only 
known that ropes and matting were made. 

217 Gloves as sweet . . . roses] Perfiuned gloves were in fashion. Cf. 
line 245, infra, sweet gloves. 

223 poking-sticks] steel rods to be heated in the fire wherewith to adjust 

and stifiFen the plaits of ruffs. 
225 Come buy of me, come, etc.] The music, with words, of this song is 

found in John Wilson's Cheerfidl Ayres, 1660. 

Dor. He hath promised you more than that, or there 
be liars. 

Mop. He hath paid you all he promised you: may 
be, he has paid you more, which wiU shame you to give 
him again. ^^^ 

Clo. Is there no manners left among maids? wiUthey 
wear their plackets where they should bear their faces? 
Is there not milking-time, when you are going to bed, 
or kiln-hole, to whistle off these secrets, but you must be 
tittle-tatthng before aU our guests? 'tis well they are 
whispering: clamour your tongues, and not a word 
more. 

Mop. I have done. Come, you promised me a tawdry- 
lace and a pair of sweet gloves. 

Clo. Have I not told thee how I was cozened by the 
way and lost all my money? 

AuT. And indeed, sir, there are cozeners abroad; 
therefore it behoves men to be wary. ^^^ 

Clo. Fear not thou, man, thou shalt lose nothing here. 

239 'plackets] The word is used in many senses, some of -wHcli are 
indelicate. Cf. line 601, inpa. Here it means woman's undergar- 
ments. The clown asks in effect: "WUl they wear their under- 
garments outside?" "Will they disclose everything?" 

241 kiln-hole\ the fireplace for making malt, a favourite place for gossiping. 

243 clamour] apparently a rare intensitive derived from "clam "or "clem," 
which is found in contemporary authors in the sense of "stifle" or 
"stop." It seems desirable to adopt the proposed spelling (Hammer. 

244-245 tawdry-lace] Cf. Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar, Eclogue IV: 
"and gird your waste . . . with a tawdry-lace [i. e., ribbons of 
bright coloxir.]" 

245 sweet gloves] Cf. line 217, supra. 

AtTT. I hope so, sir; for I have about me many par- 
cels of charge. 

Clo. What hast here? ballads? 

Mop. Pray now, buy some: I love a ballad in print 
o' life, for then we are sure they are true. 

AuT. Here 's one to a very doleful tune, how a usurer's 
wife was brought to bed of twenty money-bags at a 
burthen, and how she longed to eat adders' heads and 
toads carbonadoed. 

Mop. Is it true, think you? ^eo 

AuT. Very true, and but a month old. 

Dor. Bless me from marrying a usurer! 

AuT. Here 's the midwife's name to 't, one Mistress 
Tale-porter, and five or six honest wives that were 
present. Why should I carry hes abroad? 

Mop. Pray you now, buy it. 

Clo. Come on, lay it by: and let's first see moe 
baUads ; we 'U buy the other things anon. ^®^ 

AuT. Here 's another ballad of a fish, that appeared 
upon the coast, on Wednesday the fourscore of April, 
forty thousand fathom above water, and sung this baUad 
against the hard hearts of maids: it was thought she 
was a woman, and was turned into a cold fish for she 
would not exchange flesh with one that loved her: the 
baUad is very pitiful and as time. 

255 o' life] The Folios read a life. But an imprecation is clearly intended, 
equivalent to "i' faith," "in truth;" "a' life" or "o' life" (i. e., 
"upon my life") is often used thus in Elizabethan English. 

259 carbonadoed] often used of a piece of meat cut across or slashed for 
broiling. 
7 [97] 

Dor. Is it true too, think you? 

Atjt. Five justices' hands at it, and witnesses more 
than my pack will hold. 

Clo. Lay it by too : another. 

AuT. This is a merry ballad, but a very pretty 
one. 280 

Mop. Let 's have some merry ones. 

AuT. Why, this is a passing merry one and goes to 
the tune of " Two maids wooing a man: " there 's scarce 
a maid westward but she sings it; 't is in request, I can 
tell you. 

Mop. We can both sing it: if thou 'It bear a part, 
thou shalt hear; 'tis in three parts. 

Doe. We had the tune on 't a month ago. 

AuT. I can bear my part; you must know 'tis my 
occupation: have at it with you. 2®*^ 

Song 

A. Get you hence, for I must go 
Where it fits not you to know. 
D. Whither? M. O, whither? D, Whither? 
M. It becomes thy oath full well, 
Thou to me thy secrets tell: 
D. Me too, let me go thither. 

M. Or thou goest to the grange or mill: 
D. If to either, thou dost ill. 

A. Neither. D. What, neither? A. Neither. 
D. Thou hast sworn my love to be; 300 

M. Thou hast sworn it more to me: 
Then whither goest ? say, whither ? 

Clo. We '11 have this song out anon by ourselves : my 
father and the gentlemen are in sad talk, and we '11 not 
trouble them. Come, bring away thy pack after me. 
Wenches, I 'U buy for you both. Pedlar, let 's have the 
first choice. Follow me, girls. 

[^Exit with Dorcas and Mopsa. 
AuT. And you shall pay well for 'em. 

[^Follows sirngmg. 

Will you buy any tape. 

Or lace for your cape, 3io 

My dainty duck, my dear-a? 

Any silk, any thread, 

Any toys for your head. 
Of the new'st, and finest, finest wear-a? 

Come to the pedlar; 

Money 's a medler, 
That doth utter all men's ware-a. [Exit. 

Re-enter Servant 

Serv. Master, there is three carters, three shepherds, 
three neat-herds, three swine-herds, that have made them- 
selves all men of hair, they call themselves Saltiers, and 
they have a dance which the wenches say is a gallimaufry 
of gambols, because they are not in 't; but they them- 

304 sad talk] serious, earnest talk. 

316-317 a medler. That doth utter] an agent that puts into circulation; 
"medler" is used in a good sense here. 

320 men of hair . . . Saltiers] men dressed in haiiy skins of goats or other 
animals. "Saltiers" is a punning mispronunciation of "satyrs," in 
which characters the peasants perform their dance. Literally, "saltiers " 
could only mean "saultiers," "vaulters," "somersault throwers." 

321 gallimaufry] medley. 

selves are o' the mind, if it be not too rough for some that 
know little but bowling, it will please plentifully. ^^4 

Shep. Away! we'll none on't: here has been too 
much homely foolery already, I know, sir, we weary you. 

Pol. You weary those that refresh us : pray, let 's see 
these four threes of herdsmen. 

Seev. One three of them, by their own report, sir, hath 
danced before the king; and not the worst of the three 
but jumps twelve foot and a half by the squier. ^^^ 

Shep. Leave your prating: since these good men are 
pleased, let them come in; but quickly now. 

Seev. Why, they stay at door, sir. [Exit. 

Here a dance of twelve Satyrs 

Pol. O, father, you '11 know more of that hereafter. 
[To Cam.] Is it not too far gone? 'T is time to part them. 
He 's simple and tells much. How now, fair shepherd ! 
Your heart is full of something that does take 
Your mind from feasting. Sooth, when I was young 
And handed love as you do, I was wont ^^^ 

To load my she with knacks : I would have ransack'd 
The pedlar's silken treasury and have pour'd it 
To her acceptance ; you have let him go 
And nothing marted with him. If your lass 
Interpretation should abuse and call this 

324 howling] the gentle game of bowls on a smooth green. 

331 squier] from the French "esquierre," the mason's or carpenter's meas- 
uring rule or square. 

340 handed] touched or treated. The proposed substitution of handled 
is needless. 

345 Interpretationshouldabuse] Make a wrong interpretation of your conduct. 

Your lack of love or bounty, you were straited 
For a reply, at least if you make a care 
Of happy holding her. 

Flo. Old sir, I know 

She prizes not such trifles as these are : 
The gifts she looks from me are pack'd and lock'd ^®® 

Up in my heart ; which I have given already. 
But not dehver'd. O, hear me breathe my life 
Before this ancient sir, who, it should seem. 
Hath sometime loved! I take thy hand, this hand. 
As soft as dove's down and as white as it. 
Or Ethiopian's tooth, or the fann'd snow that 's bolted 
By the northern blasts twice o'er. 

Pol. What follows this? 

How prettily the young swain seems to wash 
The hand was fair before! I have put you out: 
But to your protestation; let me hear ^^ 

What you profess. 

Flo. Do, and be witness to 't. 

Pol. And this my neighbour too? 

Flo. And he, and more 

Than he, and men, the earth, the heavens, and aU: 
That, were I crown'd the most imperial monarch, 
Thereof most worthy, were I the fairest youth 
That ever made eye swerve, had force and knowledge 
More than was ever man's, I would not prize them 

353 sir] Cf. Tw. Night, HI, iv, 70: "some sir of note." 

35&-357 fann'd srum . . . o'er] Cf. Mids. N. Dr., HI, ii, 141, 142: 

"high Taurua' snow, Fann'd with the eastern wind." "Bolted" means 

"sifted." 

Without her love ; for her employ them all ; 
Commend them and condemn them to her service 
Or to their own perdition. 

Pol. Fairly offer'd. 370 

Cam. This shows a sound affection. 

Shep. But, my daughter. 

Say you the like to him? 

Pee. I cannot speak 

So well, nothing so well; no, nor mean better: 
By the pattern of mine own thoughts I cut out 
The purity of his. 

Shep. Take hands, a bargain! 

And, friends tmknown, you shall bear witness to 't : 
I give my daughter to him, and wiU make 
Her portion equal his. 

Flo. O, that must be 

I' the virtue of your daughter: one being dead, 
I shall have more than you can dream of yet ; ^80 

Enough then for your wonder. But, come on. 
Contract us 'fore these witnesses. 

Shep. Come, your hand; 

And, daughter, yours. 

Pol. Soft, swain, awhile, beseech you; 

Have you a father? 

Flo. I have: but what of him? 

Pol. Knows he of this? 

Flo. He neither does nor shall. 

Pol. Methinks a father 

369 Command] Commit. Cf. II, iii, 181, supra, and note. 
374 cut out] a common term in dressmaking. 

Is at the nuptial of his son a guest 

That best becomes the table. Pray you once more. 

Is not your father grown incapable 

Of reasonable affairs? is he not stupid ^®° 

With age and altering rheums? can he speak? hear? 

Know man from man? dispute his own estate? 

Lies he not bed-rid? and again does nothing 

But what he did being childish? 

Flo. No, good sir; 

He has his health and ampler strength indeed 
Than most have of his age. 

Poll. By my white beard. 

You oflFer him, if this be so, a wrong 
Something unfihal: reason my son 
Should choose himself a wife, but as good reason 
The father, aU whose joy is nothing else ^^ 

But fair posterity, should hold some counsel 
In such a business. 

Flo. I yield all this; 

But for some other reasons, my grave sir. 
Which 't is not fit you know, I not acquaint 
My father of this business. 

Pol. Let him know 't. 

Flo. He shall not. 

Pol. Prithee, let him. 

Flo. No, he must not. 

391 altering rheums] rheumatic affections, ■which change a man's dispo- 
sition or reduce his bodily power. 

892 dispute his own estate] C{. Rom. and Jul., TH/m^SS: "TM. me dispute 
■with thee of thy estate [i. e., discuss thy affairs]." 

898 reason my son] there is reason that my son. 

Shep. Let him, my son: he shall not need to grieve 
At knowing of thy choice. 

Flo. Come, come, he must not. 

Mark our contract. 

Pol. Mark your divorce, young sir, 

[^Discovering himself. 

Whom son I dare not call; thou art too base ^^^ 

To be acknowledged: thou a sceptre's heir, 

That thus affects a sheep-hook! Thou old traitor, 

I am sorry that by hanging thee I can 

But shorten thy Hfe one week. And thou, fresh piece 

Of excellent witchcraft, who of force must know 

The royal fool thou copest with, — 

Shep. O, my heart ! 

Pol. I 'U have thy beauty scratch'd ynth briers, and 
made 
More homely than thy state. For thee, fond boy. 
If I may ever know thou dost but sigh 
That thou no more shalt see this knack, as never ^° 

I mean thou shalt, we 'U bar thee from succession; 
Not hold thee of our blood, no, not our kin. 
Far than DeucaUon off : mark thou my words : 
Follow us to the coiiit. Thou churl, for this time, 
Though full of our displeasure, yet we free thee 

420 knack] toy, or plaything. The word is uaed quite literally in line 341, 

supra. 
423 Far] Sometimes used as the comparative "farther," like "near" for 

"nearer." Cf. Rich. II, V, i, 88. 

Deucalion] Deucalion, the Noah of classical mythology, is one of 

the heroes of Ovid's Metamorphoses, I, 313 seq. Cf. Cor., II, i, 

85: "worth all your predecessors since Deucalion." 

From the dead blow of it. And you, enchantment, — 

Worthy enough a herdsman; yea, him too, 

That makes himself, but for our honour therein. 

Unworthy thee, — if ever henceforth thou 

These rural latches to his entrance open, ^^^ 

Or hoop his body more with thy embraces, 

I wiil devise a death as cruel for thee 

As thou art tender to 't. [Exit. 

Per. Even here undone! 

I was not much afeard; for once or twice 
I was about to speak and tell him plainly. 
The selfsame sun that shines upon his court 
Hides not his visage from our cottage, but 
Looks on ahke. WUl 't please you, sir, be gone? 
I told you what would come of this : beseech you. 
Of your own state take care: this dream of mine, — ■**" 
Being now awake, I 'U queen it no inch farther. 
But milk my ewes and weep. 

Cam. Why, how now, father! 

Speak ere thou diest. 

Shep. I cannot speak, nor think, 

Nor dare to know that which I know. O sir ! 
You have undone a man of fourscore three, 
That thought to fiU his grave in quiet ; yea. 

426 dead\ deadly, fatal. The proposed change dread, though ingenious, 

is unnecessary. 
431 hoop] Pope's correction for the Folio misprint Jwpe. 
438 Looks on alike] The phrase is stiU used as an intransitive verb (of an 

idle spectator). Cf. V, iii, 100, infra: "all that look upon with 

marvel." 

[105 J 

To die upon the bed my father died. 

To lie close by his honest bones : but now 

Some hangman must put on my shroud and lay me 

Where no priest shovels in dust. O cursed wretch, ^5° 

That knew'st this was the prince, and wouldst adventure 

To mingle faith with him! Undone! undone! 

If I might die within this hotu*, I have lived 

To die when I desire, lExit. 

Flo. Why look you so upon me? 

I am but sorry, not afeard; delay'd, 
But nothing alter'd: what I was, I am; 
More straining on for plucking back, not following 
My leash unwillingly. 

Cam. Gracious my lord, 

You know your father's temper: at this time 
He will allow no speech, which I do guess '^^^ 

You do not purpose to him; and as hardly 
Win he endure yom* sight as yet, I fear: 
Then, till the fury of his highness settle, 
Come not before him. 

Flo. I not purpose it. 

I think, Camillo? 

Cam. Even he, my lord. 

Peb. How often have I told you 't would be thus ! 
How often said, my dignity would last 
But till 't were known! 

450 Where no priest shovels in dust] Without any burial service. In the 
old liturgies the priest is directed to fling earth into the grave. 

459 your father's] The Fbst Folio misprints my father's. The Second 
Folio made the correction. 

Flo. It cannot fail but by 

The violation of my faith; and then 

Let nature crush the sides o' the earth together ^'^'^ 

And mar the seeds within 1 Lift up thy looks ; 
From my succession wipe me, father, I 
Am heir to my affection. 

Cam. Be advised. 

Flo. I am, and by my fancy: if my reason 
WUl thereto be obedient, I have reason; 
If not, my senses, better pleased with madness, 
Do bid it welcome. 

Cam. This is desperate, sir. 

Flo. So call it: but it does fulfil my vow; 
I needs must think it honesty. Camillo, 
Not for Bohemia, nor the pomp that may ^^^ 

Be thereat glean'd; for aU the sun sees, or 
The close earth wombs, or the profound seas hide 
In unknown fathoms, wiU I break my oath 
To this my fair beloved: therefore, I pray you. 
As you have ever been my father's honour'd friend, 
When he shall miss me, — as, in faith, I mean not 
To see him any more, — cast your good counsels 
Upon his passion : let myself and fortune 
Tug for the time to come. This you may know 
And so dehver, I am put to sea *^° 

471 seeds mthin] Cf. Macb., IV, i, 59, "nature's germens tumble all to- 
gether," and Lear, HI, ii, 8, "all germens spiM at once." 

474 fancy] love. 

489 Tug for the tim^ to come] Fight it out henceforth, make a fight of it 
for the future. 

With her whom here I cannot hold on shore; 
And most opportmie to our need I have 
A vessel rides fast by, but not prepared 
For this design. What course I mean to hold 
ShaU nothing benefit your knowledge, nor 
Concern me the reporting. 

Cam. O my lord! 

I would your spirit were easier for advice, 
Or stronger for your need. 

Flo. Hark, Perdita. IDrawmg Tier aside. 

I '11 hear you by and by. 

Cam. He 's irremoveable. 

Resolved for flight. Now were I happy, if ^°*^ 

His going I could frame to serve my turn, 
Save him from danger, do him love and honour. 
Purchase the sight again of dear Sicilia 
And that unhappy king, my master, whom 
I so much thirst to see. 

Flo. Now, good CamiUo; 

I am so fraught with curious business that 
I leave out ceremony. 

Cam. Sir, I think 

You have heard of my poor services, i' the love 
That I have borne your father? 

Flo, Very nobly 

Have you deserved: it is my father's music ^^° 

492 our need] Theobald's correction of the Folio reading her need. 

506 curious] involving care or embarrassment. See TroU. and Cress., HI, 
ii, 63: "What too curious dreg [i. e., too embarrassing source of cor- 
ruption] espies my sweet lady ? " 

To speak your deeds, not little of his care 
To have them recompensed as thought on. 

Cam. Well, my lord, 

If you may please to think I love the king. 
And through him what is nearest to him, which is 
Your gracious self, embrace but my direction, 
If your more ponderous and settled project 
May suffer alteration, on mine honour 
I '11 point you where you shall have such receiving 
As shall become your highness ; where you may 
Enjoy your mistress, from the whom, I see, ^^° 

There 's no disjunction to be made, but by 
As heavens forefend! your ruin; marry her. 
And, with my best endeavours in your absence. 
Your discontenting father strive to quaHfy 
And bring him up to hking. 

Flo. How, CamiUo, 

May this, almost a miracle, be done? 
That I may call thee something more than man 
And after that trust to thee. 

Cam. Have you thought on 

A place whereto you '11 go? 

Flo. Not any yet: 

But as the unthought-on accident is guilty ^^^ 

To what we wUdly do, so we profess 
Oxu"selves to be the slaves of chance, and flies 
Of every wind that blows. 

Cam. Then list to me: 

524 discontenting . . . qualify] discontented . . , mollify. 
530-531 is guilty To] is responsible for. 

. THE WINTER'S TALE act it 

This follows, if you will not change your purpose 

But undergo this flight, make for SiciUa, 

And there present yourself and your fair princess, 

For so I see she must be, 'fore Leontes : 

She shall be habited as it becomes 

The partner of your bed. Methinks I see 

Leontes opening his free arms and weeping ^^ 

His welcomes forth; asks thee the son forgiveness, 

As 'twere i' the father's person; kisses the hands 

Of your fresh princess; o'er and o'er divides him 

'Twixt his unkindness and his kindness; the one 

He chides to heU and bids the other grow 

Faster than thought or time. 

Flo. Worthy Camillo, 

What colour for my visitation shall I 
Hold up before him? 

Cam. Sent by the king your father 

To greet him and to give him comforts. Sir, 
The manner of your bearing towards him, with ^^'^ 

What you as from your father shall deUver, 
Things known betwixt us three, I '11 write you down : 
The which shall point you forth at every sitting 
What you must say; that he shall not perceive 
But that you have your father's bosom there 
And speak his very heart. 

Flo. I am bound to you: 

There is some sap in this. 

Cam. a course more promising 

543-544 o'er and o'er divides him . . . kindness] constantly divides his 
talk between his past unkindness and his present kindness. 

Than a wild dedication of yourselves 

To unpath'd waters, undream'd shores, most certain 

To miseries enough: no hope to help you, ^^^ 

But as you shake oflF one to take another: 

Nothing so certain as your anchors, who 

Do their best office, if they can but stay you 

Where you 'U be loath to be: besides you know 

Prosperity 's the very bond of love, 

Whose fresh complexion and whose heart together 

Affliction alters. 

Feb.. One of these is true: 

I think affliction may subdue the cheek, 
But not take in the mind. 

Cam. Yea, say you so? 

There shall not at your father's house these seven years 
Be born another such. 

Flo. My good Camillo, ^^^ 

She is as forward of her breeding as 
She is i' the rear o' her birth. 

Cam. I cannot say 't is pity 

She lacks instructions, for she seems a mistress 
To most that teach. 

Pee. Your pardon, sir ; for this 

I '11 blush you thanks. 

Flo. My prettiest Perdital 

But O, the thorns we stand upon! CamUlo, 

661 one] one misery. Ct. Cymb.,l,v, 55: "to exchange one misery with 

another." 
669 take in] conquer, subdue. Cf. Cywh., Ill, ii, 9: "take in some 

virtue," and note. 

[Ill] 

Preserver of my father, now of me. 

The medicine of our house, how shall we do? 

We are not furnish'd Hke Bohemia's son, ^^'^ 

Nor shall appear in SicUia. 

Cam. My lord. 

Fear none of this : I think you know my fortunes 
Do aU lie there : it shall be so my care 
To have you royally appointed as if 
The scene you play were mine. For instance, sir, 
That you may know you shall not want, one word. *®^ 

IThey talk aside. 
Re-enter Autolycus 

AuT. Ha, ha! what a fool Honesty is! and Trust, 
his sworn brother, a very simple gentleman! I have sold 
all my trumpery; not a counterfeit stone, not a ribbon, 
glass, pomander, brooch, table-book, ballad, knife, tape, 
glove, shoe-tie, bracelet, horn-ring, to keep my pack from 
fasting: they throng who should buy first, as if my 
trinkets had been hallowed and brought a benediction 
to the buyer: by which means I saw whose purse was 
best in picture; and what I saw, to my good use I re- 
membered. My clown, who wants but something to be 
a reasonable man, grew so in love with the wenches' 
song, that he would not stir his pettitoes till he had 
both tune and words; which so drew the rest of the 

590 pomander] a ball of perfumes, or smelling-salts. 

tahle-book] tablets, memorandum book. 
595 best in picture] best in appearance, and therefore best for picking, A 

feeble pun. 
598 pettitoes] feet; probably "pig's trotters." 

herd to me, that all then* other senses stuck in ears: 
you might have pinched a placket, it was senseless; 
't was nothing to geld a codpiece of a purse ; I would 
have filed keys off that hung in chains: no hearing, no 
feeling, but my sir's song, and admiring the nothing of 
it. So that in this time of lethargy I picked and cut 
most of their festival purses; and had not the old man 
come in with a whoo-bub against his daughter and the 
king's son and scared my choughs from the chaff, I had 
not left a purse ahve in the whole army. ®°* 

\_Camillo, Florizel, and Perdita coTne forward. 

Cam. Nay, but my letters, by this means being there 
So soon as you arrive, shall clear that doubt. 

Flo. And those that you '11 procure from King 
Leontes — 

Cam. Shall satisfy your father. 

Per. Happy be you! 

All that you speak shows fair. 

Cam. Who have we here? 

[Seeing Autolycus. 
We '11 make an instrvunent of this; omit 
Nothing may give us aid. 

AuT. If they have overheard me now, why, hanging. 

Cam. How now, good fellow! why shakest thou so? 
Fear not, man; here 's no harm intended to thee. 

AuT. I am a poor fellow, sir. ^20 

Cam. Why, be so still; here 's nobody wiU steal that 
from thee: yet for the outside of thy poverty we must 

601 placket] See line 239, supra, and note. 
607 whoo-bub] the old spelling of "hubbub," 

make an exchange ; therefore disease thee instantly, — 
thou must think there 's a necessity in 't, — and change 
garments with this gentleman: though the pennyworth 
on his side be the worst, yet hold thee, there 's some 
boot. 

AxjT. I am a poor fellow, sir. \_Aside'\ I know ye well 
enough. 

Cam. Nay, prithee, dispatch: the gentleman is half 
flayed already. 631 

AuT. Are you in earnest, sir? [Aside] I smell the 
trick on 't. 

Flo. Dispatch, I prithee. 

AxjT. Indeed, I have had earnest; but I cannot with 
conscience take it. 

Cam. Unbuckle, unbuckle. 

[Florizel and Autolycus exchange garments. 
Fortunate mistress, — let my prophecy 
Come home to ye ! — you must retire yourseK 
Into some covert : take your sweetheart's hat ^^o 

And pluck it o'er your brows, muffle your face. 
Dismantle you, and, as you can, dishken 
The truth of your own seeming; that you may — 
For I do fear eyes over — to shipboard 
Get undescried. 

623 disease] undress. 

627 boot] advantage, recompense. See line 665, infra, "without boot." 
631 flayed] stripped. The Folios read fled, for which Steevens substi- 
tuted flayed. 
635 earnest] earnest money. 

638 my prophecy] my prophetic use of the epithet "fortunate." 
644 eyes over] overlooking, spying eyes. 

Pek. I see the play so lies 

That I must bear a part. 

Cam. No remedy. 

Have you done there? 

Flo. Should I now meet my father, 

He would not call me son. 

Cam. Nay, you shall have no hat. 

\_Givmg it to Perdita. 
Come, lady, come. Farewell, my friend. 

AuT. Adieu, sir. 

Flo. O Perdita, what have we twain forgot ! ^^^ 

Pray you, a word. 

Cam. [Aside^ What I do next, shall be to tell the king 
Of this escape and whither they are bound; 
Wherein my hope is I shall so prevail 
To force him after: in whose company 
I shall review SicUia, for whose sight 
I have a woman's longing. 

Flo. Fortune speed us! 

Thus we set on, Camillo, to the sea-side. 

Cam. The swifter speed the better. ®^® 

[^Exeunt Florizel, Perdita, and Camillo. 

AuT. I understand the business, I hear it: to have 
an open ear, a quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary 
for a cut-purse; a good nose is requisite also, to smell 
out work for the other senses. I see this is the time that 
the unjust man doth thrive. What an exchange had 
this been without boot! What a boot is here with this 

656 review] see again. Cf. Sonnet Ixxiv, 5, "When thou reviewest this." 
665 withmd loot\ without profit, recompense. Cf. line 627, supra. 

exchange! Sure the gods do this year connive at us, and 
we may do any thing extempore. The prince himself 
is about a piece of iniquity, stealing away from his father 
with his clog at his heels : if I thought it were a piece of 
honesty to acquaint the king withal, I would not do 't: 
I hold it the more knavery to conceal it; and therein am 
I constant to my profession. ^^2 

Re-enter Clown and Shepherd 

Aside, aside ; here is more matter for a hot brain : every 
lane's end, every shop, church, session, hanging, yields a 
careful man work. 

Clo. See, see; what a man you are now! There is 
no other way but to teU the long she 's a changeling 
and none of your flesh and blood. 

Shep. Nay, but hear me. 

Clo. Nay, but hear me. 68O 

Shep. Go to, then. 

Clo. She being none of your flesh and blood, your 
flesh and blood has not offended the king ; and so your 
flesh and blood is not to be punished by him. ShoAv those 
things you found about her, those secret things, all but 
what she has with her: this being done, let the law go 
whistle : I warrant you. 

Shep. I wiU tell the king all, every word, yea, and 
his son's pranks too; who, I may say, is no honest man, 
neither to his father nor to me, to go about to make 
me the king's brother-in-law. *"' 

677 changdingl Cf. IH, iii, 114, suyra, and note. 

Clo. Indeed, brother-in-law was the farthest off you 
could have been to him and then your blood had been 
the dearer by I know how much an ounce. 

AuT. lAside} Very wisely, puppies ! 

Shep. WeU, let us to the king: there is that in this 
fardel will make him scratch his beard. 

AuT. [Aside] I know not what impediment this com- 
plaint may be to the flight of my master. 

Clo. Pray heartily he be at palace. '^'^^ 

AuT. [Aside] Though I am not naturally honest, I 
am so sometimes by chance : let me pocket up my pedlar's 
excrement. [Takes off his false beard.] How now, rustics 1 
whither are you bound? 

Shep. To the palace, an it like your worship. 

AuT. Your affairs there, what, with whom, the con- 
dition of that fardel, the place of your dwelling, your 
names, your ages, of what having, breeding, and any 
thing that is fitting to be known, discover. 

Clo. We are but plain fellows, sir. '^^'^ 

AuT. A lie ; you are rough and hairy. Let me have 
no lying : it becomes none but tradesmen, and they often 
give us soldiers the lie: but we pay them for it with 
stamped coin, not stabbing steel; therefore they do not 
give us the he. 

694 / know how] Thus the Folios. Hanmer substituted 7 know not hxm, 
probably rightly. 

713-715 give us ... the lie] lie about their wares when selling them to 
us soldiers. "Give us the lie" is repeated at line 715 in the ordi- 
nary sense of "flatly contradict us" (in the manner which provokes 
a challenge). 

Clo. Your worship had hke to have given us one, if 
you had not taken yourself with the manner. 

Shep. Are you a courtier, an 't like you, sir? "^^^ 

AuT. Whether it like me or no, I am a courtier. 
Seest thou not the air of the court in these enfoldings? 
hath not my gait in it the measure of the court? receives 
not thy nose court-odour from me? reflect I not on 
thy baseness court-contempt? Thinkest thou, for that I 
insinuate, or toaze from thee thy business, I am there- 
fore no courtier? I am courtier cap-a-pe ; and one that 
wiU either push on or pluck back thy business there: 
whereupon I command thee to open thy affair. 

Shep. My business, sir, is to the king. 

AuT. What advocate hast thou to him? 

Shep. I know not, an 't hke you. '^^^ 

Clo. Advocate 's the court- word for a pheasant : say 
you have none. 

Shep. None, sir; I have no pheasant, cock nor 
hen. 

AuT. How blessed are we that are not simple men ! 

717 taken . . . with the marmer] caught in the act; a legal phiase. See 

L. L. L., I, i, 199, and note. 
721 the measure] the stately pace. 
724 insinuate, or toaze] slily ingratiate oneself or drag (or rend). The 

form "toaze" is not met with elsewhere. It is apparently a variant 

of "touse" (i. e., pull), which is found in Meas. for Meas., V, i, 309- 

310, "We '11 touse you Joint by joint." The Second Folio corrects the 

misprint at toaze of the First Folio. 
731 Advocate's . . . pheasartt] The clown imagines that "advocate" is 

the word used at court for the gift of game or pheasants, which suitors 

were in the habit of offering patrons or judges. 

Yet nature might have made me as these are, 
Therefore I will not disdain. 

Clo. This cannot be but a great courtier. 

Shep. His garments are rich, but he wears them not 
handsomely. ^^^ 

Clo. He seems to be the more noble in being fantas- 
tical: a great man, I '11 warrant; I know by the picking 
on 's teeth. 

AuT. The fardel there? what 's i' the fardel? Where- 
fore that box? 

Shep. Sir, there lies such secrets in this fardel and 
box, which none must know but the king; and which 
he shall know within this hour, if I may come to the 
speech of him. 

AuT. Age, thou hast lost thy labour. 

Shep. Why, sir? ^^^ 

AuT. The king is not at the palace ; he is gone aboard 
a new ship to purge melancholy and air himself: for, if 
thou beest capable of things serious, thou must know the 
king is full of grief. 

Shep. So 'tis said, sir; about his son, that should 
have married a shepherd's daughter. 

AuT. If that shepherd be not in hand-fast, let him 
fly: the curses he shall have, the tortures he shall feel, 
will break the back of man, the heart of monster. 

741-742 I know . . . teeth] An EKzabethan man of fashion made con- 
spicuous play with his toothpick. Cf. jK^. John, I, i, 190 (of an 
affected traveller): "He and his toothpick." 

757 hand-fast] custody. Properly "handfast" means "the custody of 
a friend who gives security for one's appearance;" this form of 
detention is technically known in law as "mainprise." 

Clo. Think you so, sir? 7^" 

AuT. Not he alone shall suffer what wit can make 
heavy and vengeance bitter; but those that are germane 
to him, though removed fifty times, shall all come under 
the hangman: which though it be great pity, yet it is 
necessary. An old sheep-whistling rogue, a ram-tender, 
to offer to have his daughter come into grace! Some 
say he shall be stoned; but that death is too soft for him, 
say I: draw our throne into a sheep-cote! all deaths are 
too few, the sharpest too easy. ^''^ 

Clo. Has the old man e'er a son, sir, do you hear, an 't 
Uke you, sir? 

AuT. He has a son, who shall be flayed alive; then, 
'nointed over -with honey, set on the head of a wasp's 
nest; then stand till he be three quarters and a dram 
dead ; then recovered again vnth aqua-vitae or some other 
hot infusion; then, raw as he is, and in the hottest day 
prognostication proclaims, shall he be set against a brick- 
wall, the sun looking vidth a southward eye upon him, 
where he is to behold him with flies blown to death. But 
what talk we of these traitorly rascals, whose miseries 
are to be smiled at, their offences being so capital? Tell 
me, for you seem to be honest plain men, what you have 

762 germane] akin. 

766-767 come into grace] get into good society. 

773-781 He has a son . . . to death] Boccaccio in the story (Day II, 

story 9), whence Shakespeare drew the main plot of Cymbeline, 

condemns the character, whom Shakespeare calls lachimo, to an 

almost identical series of torments. 
778 hottest day progrwstieation proclaims] hottest day which is foretold 

in the almanac. 

[ 120 ] 

to the king: being something gently considered, I '11 
bring you where he is aboard, tender your persons to his 
presence, whisper him in your behalf s; and if it be in 
man besides the king to effect your suits, here is man 
shaU do it. 788 

Clo. He seems to be of great authority: close with 
him, give him gold; and though authority be a stubborn 
bear, yet he is oft led by the nose with gold: show the 
inside of your purse to the outside of his hand, and no 
more ado. Remember " stoned," and " flayed alive." 

Shep. An 't please you, sir, to undertake the business 
for us, here is that gold I have : I '11 make it as much 
more and leave this young man in pawn tiU I bring it 
you. 

AuT. After I have done what I promised? 

Shep. Ay, sir. 

AuT. Well, give me the moiety. Are you a party in 
this business? ®^^ 

Clo. In some sort, sir: but though my case be a piti- 
ful one, I hope I shall not be flayed out of it. 

AuT. O, that 's the case of the shepherd's son: hang 
him, he '11 be made an example. 

Clo. Comfort, good comfort! We must to the king 
and show our strange sights : he must know 't is none of 
your daughter nor my sister; we are gone else. Sir, I 
wiU give you as much as this old man does when the 
business is performed, and remain, as he says, your pawn 
till it be brought you. ^^^ 

785 being . . . considered] bearing a good, gentlemanlike reputation. 
802 case] a pun on "case"in the double sense of "skin "and "dilemma." 

[m] 

AuT. I will trust you. Walk before toward the sea- 
side; go on the right hand: I will but look upon the 
hedge and foUow you. 

Clo. We are blest in this man, as I may say, even 
blest. 

Shep. Let 's before as he bids us : he was provided 
to do us good. {^Exeunt Shepherd and Clown. 817 

AuT. If I had a mind to be honest, I see Fortune 
would not suffer me : she drops booties in my mouth. I 
am courted now with a double occasion, gold and a means 
to do the prince my master good; which who knows how 
that may turn back to my advancement? I avUI bring 
these two moles, these blind ones, aboard him: if he think 
it fit to shore them again and that the complaint they 
have to the king concerns him nothing, let him caU me 
rogue for being so far officious ; for I am proof against 
that title and what shame else belongs to 't. To him will 
I present them : there may be matter in it. [Exit. 829 

822 turn back] recoil. 

[122 ]

A ROOM IN LEONTES' PALACE 

Enter Leontes, Cleomenes, Dion, Paulina, amd Servants 

Cleomenes 

IR, YOU HAVE DONE 

enough, and have perform'd 

A saint-like sorrow: no fault 

could you make. 

Which you have not redeem'd; 

indeed, paid down 

More penitence than done tres- 
pass: at the last. 

Do as the heavens have done, 

forget your evil ; 

With them forgive yourself. 
Leon. Whilst I remember 

Her and her virtues, I cannot 

forget 

My blemishes in them, and so still think of 
The wrong I did myself : which was so much, 

8 in them] in regard to them. Cf. Macb., Ill, i, 49: "Our fears in 
Banquo." 

[123 ] 

That heirless it hath made my kingdom; and ^® 

Destroy'd the sweet'st companion that e'er man 
Bred his hopes out of. 

Paul. True, too true, my lord: 

If, one by one, you wedded all the world. 
Or from the aU that are took something good. 
To make a perfect woman, she you kill'd 
Would be unparaUel'd. 

Leon. I think so. Kill'd! 

She I kill'd! I did so: but thou strikest me 
Sorely, to say I did; it is as bitter 
Upon thy tongue as in my thought: now, good now. 
Say so but seldom. 

Cleg. Not at all, good lady: 20 

You might have spoken a thousand things that 

would 
Have done the time more benefit and graced 
Your kindness better. 

Paul. You are one of those 

Would have him wed again. 

Dion. If you would not so, 

You pity not the state, nor the remembrance 
Of his most sovereign name; consider little 
What dangers, by his highness' fail of issue. 
May drop upon his kingdom and devour 

li True, too true] The Folios make Leontes's speech end with of, true, 
and Paulina's begin with Too true. Theobald rearranged the words, 
with manifest advantage to sense and metre. 

19 now, good nme] a plaintive precatory exclamation, equivalent to "my 
dear lady." 

[124 ] 

Incertain lookers on. What were more holy 

Than to rejoice the former queen is well? ^^ 

What holier than, for royalty's repair. 

For present comfort and for future good. 

To bless the bed of majesty again 

With a sweet fellow to 't? 

Paul. There is none worthy, 

Respecting her that 's gone. Besides, the gods 
WiU have fulfiU'd their secret purposes ; 
For has not the divine Apollo said, 
Is 't not the tenor of his oracle. 
That King Leontes shall not have an heir 
Till his lost child be found? which that it shall, 4° 

Is all as monstrous to our human reason 
As my Antigonus to break his grave 
And come again to me ; who, on my life. 
Did perish with the infant. 'T is your counsel 
My lord should to the heavens be contrary. 
Oppose against their wills. [To Leontes] Care not for issue ; 
The crown wiU find an heir : great Alexander 
Left his to the worthiest ; so his successor 
Was like to be the best. 

Leon. Good Paulina, 

Who hast the memory of Hermione, so 

I know, in honour, O, that ever I 

29 Incertain lookers on] Perplexed bystanders, mere spectators, who would 
not know what course to take in case of revolution. 

SO well] happy, at rest. Cf. Ani. and Cleop., U, v, 32-33: "we use To 
say the dead are well." 

35 Respecting her] If we take her into consideration. 

Had squared me to thy counsel! — then, even now, 
I might have look'd upon my queen's full eyes; 
Have taken treasure from her lips, — 

Paul. And left them 

More rich for what they yielded. 

Leon. Thou speak' st truth. 

No more such wives ; therefore, no wife : one worse, 
And better used, would make her sainted spirit 
Again possess her corpse, and on this stage. 
Where we offenders now, appear soul-vex'd, 
And begin, " Why to me? " 

Paxtl. Had she such power, ^^ 

She had just cause. 

Leon. She had; and would incense me 

To miu-der her I married. 

Paul. I should so. 

Were I the ghost that walk'd, I 'Id bid you mark 
Her eye, and tell me for what duU part in 't 
You chose her; then I 'Id shriek, that even your ears 
Should rift to hear me; and the words that foUow'd 
Should be " Remember mine." 

52 squared] Cf. HI, iii, 41, supra, and note. 

53 fuU eyes] Cf. Hen. V, V, ii, 160-161: "a fair face will wither, a full 

eye wax hollow." 

59 Where we ojjenders now, appear] The verb "are" is here understood 

after "we." "We" is equivalent to "we're." The Folios dis- 
arranged the words thus: (Where we Offenders now appeare). More 
violent changes than that adopted in the text have been suggested; 
none are satisfactory. 

60 "Why to me?"] Why did you mete out this treatment to me? 
67 "Remember mine"] "Remember my eyes." 

Leon. Stars, stars. 

And all eyes else dead coals ! Fear thou no wife; 
I '11 have no wife, PauUna. 

Paul. Will you swear 

Never to marry but by my free leave? ^° 

Leon. Never, Paulina ; so be blest my spirit! 

Paul. Then, good my lords, bear witness to his oath. 

Cleo. You tempt him over-much. 

Paul. Unless another, 

As like Hermione as is her picture, » 
Affront his eye. 

Cleo. Good madam, — 

Paul. I have done. 

Yet, if my lord wiU marry, — if you wiU, sir. 
No remedy, but you will, — give me the office 
To choose you a queen: she shall not be so young 
As was your former; but she shall be such 
As, walk'd your first queen's ghost, it should take 

joy 80 

To see her in your arms. 

Leon. My true Paulina, 

We shall not marry till thou bid'st us. 

Paul. That 

Shall be when your first queen 's again in breath; 
Never tiQ then. 

Enter a Gentleman 

Gent. One that gives out himself Prince Florizel, 
Son of Pohxenes, with his princess, she 

75 Affront] Confront. Cf. Harrdd, Ul, i, 30, 31: "That he . . . may 
here Affront Ophelia." 

The fairest I have yet beheld, desu-es access 
To your high presence. 

Leon. What with him? he comes not 

Like to his father's greatness : his approach. 
So out of circmnstance and sudden, tells us ^^ 

'T is not a visitation framed, but forced 
By need and accident. What train ? 

Gent. But few. 

And those but mean. 

Leon. His princess, say you, with him? 

Gent. Ay, the most peerless piece of earth, I think, 
That e'er the sun shone bright on. 

Paul. O Hermione, 

As every present time doth boast itself 
Above a better gone, so must thy grave 
Give way to what 's seen now! Sir, you yourself 
Have said and writ so, but your writing now 
Is colder than that theme, " She had not been, i^o 

Nor was not to be equall'd; " — thus your verse 
Flow'd with her beauty once : 't is shrewdly ebb'd. 
To say you have seen a better. 

Gent. Pardon, madam: 

The one I have almost forgot, — your pardon, — 
The other, when she has obtain'd your eye, 
WUl have yoru- tongue too. This is a creature. 
Would she begin a sect, might quench the zeal 

90 out of circumstance] without ceremony. Cf. Hamld, I, v, 127: "with- 
out more circumstance at all." 
97 thy grave] all that is buried in thy grave, thy beauty. 
102 't is shrewdly ebb'<I\ 't is a sad decline. 

Of all professors else; make proselytes 
Of who she but bid follow. 

Paul. How! not women? 

Gent. Women will love her, that she is a woman ^^^ 
More worth than any man; men, that she is 
The rarest of aU women. 

Leon. Go, Cleomenes; 

Yourself, assisted with your honour'd friends. 
Bring them to our embracement. 

[ExevMt Cleomenes and others. 
Still, 't is strange 
He thus should steal upon us. 

Paul. Had our prince. 

Jewel of children, seen this hour, he had pair'd 
Well with this lord: there was not full a month 
Between their births. 

Leon. Prithee, no more; cease; thou know'st 
He dies to me again when talk'd of: sure, ^^ 

When I shall see this gentleman, thy speeches 
Win bring me to consider that which may 
iUnf urnish me of reason. They are come. 

Re-enter Cleomenes a/nd others, "with Floeizel and Pebdita 

Your mother was most true to wedlock, prince; 
For she did print your royal father off. 
Conceiving you: were I but twenty one. 
Your father's image is so hit in you. 
His very air, that I should call you brother, 

108 aU professors else\ all who profess another faith. 
9 [ 129 ] 

As I did him, and speak of something wildly 

By us perform'd before. Most dearly welcome 1 ^^^ 

Arid your fair princess, — goddess ! — O, alas ! 

I lost a couple, that 'twixt heaven and earth 

Might thus have stood begetting wonder, as 

You, gracious couple, do : and then I lost. 

All mine own f oUy, the society. 

Amity too, of your brave father, whom. 

Though bearing misery, I desire my life 

Once more to look on him. 

Flo. By his command 

Have I here touch'd Sicilia, and from him 
Give you aU greetings, that a king, at friend, 1*<^ 

Can send his brother : and, but infirmity. 
Which waits upon worn times, hath something seized 
His wish'd abihty, he had himself 
The lands and waters 'twixt your throne and his 
Measured to look upon you ; whom he loves. 
He bade me say so, more than aU the sceptres 
And those that bear them hving. 

Leon. O my brother, 

Good gentleman! the wrongs I have done thee stir 
Afresh within me ; and these thy offices. 
So rarely kind, are as interpreters iso 

Of my behind-hand slackness I Welcome hither, 
As is the spring to the earth. And hath he too 
Exposed this paragon to the fearful usage. 
At least ungentle, of the dreadful Neptune, 

140 at friend] on tenns of friendship. Cf. the modem phrase "at feud." 
142 worn timesl wasting years. 

To greet a man not worth her pains, much less 
The adventure of her person? 

Flo. Good my lord, 

She came from Libya. 

Leon. Where the warlike Smalus, 

That noble honour 'd lord, is fear'd and loved? 

Flo. Most royal sir, from thence; from him, whose 
daughter 
His tears proclaim'd his, parting with her: thence, ^^^ 

A prosperous south-wind friendly, we have cross'd. 
To execute the charge my father gave me. 
For visiting your highness : my best train 
I have from your Sicilian shores dismiss'd; 
Who for Bohemia bend, to signify 
Not only my success in Libya, sir. 
But my arrival, and my wife's, in safety 
Here where we are. 

Leon. The blessed gods 

Purge all infection from our air whilst you 
Do climate here ! You have a holy father, ^^ 

A graceful gentleman; against whose person. 
So sacred as it is, I have done sin: 
For which the heavens, taking angry note. 
Have left me issueless ; and your father 's blest, 
As he from heaven merits it, with you 
Worthy his goodness. What might I have been. 
Might I a son and daughter now have look'd on, 
Such goodly things as you 1 

170 climate] sojourn. 
holy] just, good. 

[ISl] 

Enter a Lord 

Lord. Most noble sir. 

That which I shall report will bear no credit. 
Were not the proof so nigh. Please you, great sir, ^^^ 
Bohemia greets you from himself by me ; 
Desires you to attach his son, who has — 
His dignity and duty both cast off — 
Fled from his father, from his hopes, and with 
A shepherd's daughter. 

Leon. Where 's Bohemia? speak. 

Lord. Here in your city; I now came from him: 
I speak amazedly; and it becomes 
My marvel and my message. To your court 
Whiles he was hastening, in the chase, it seems. 
Of this fair couple, meets he on the way i^o 

The father of this seeming lady and 
Her brother, having both their country quitted 
With this young prince. 

Elo. CamiEo has betray 'd me; 

Whose honour and whose honesty till now 
Endured all weathers. 

Lord. Lay 't so to his charge: 

He 's with the king your father. 

Leon. Who? Camillo? 

Lord. CamiUo, sir; I spake with him; who now 
Has these poor men in question, Never saw I 
Wretches so quake: they kneel, they kiss the earth; 

198 in que3tion\ under examination, in conversation. 

[ 132 ] 

Forswear themselves as often as they speak: ^°^ 

Bohemia stops his ears, and threatens them 
With divers deaths in death. 

Pee. O my poor father! 

The heaven sets spies upon us, will not have 
Our contract celebrated. 

Leon. You are married? 

Flo. We are not, sir, nor are we like to be; 
The stars, I see, wiU kiss the valleys first: 
The odds for high and low 's alike. 

Leon. My lord, 

Is this the daughter of a king? 

Flo. She is. 

When once she is my wife. 

Leon. That "once," I see by your good father's 
speed, 

WiU come on very slowly. I am sorry. 
Most sorry, you have broken from his Uking 
Where you were tied in duty, and as sorry 
Your choice is not so rich in worth as beauty. 
That you might well enjoy her. 

Flo. Dear, look up : 

Though Fortune, visible an enemy. 
Should chase us with my father, power no jot 
Hath she to change our loves. Beseech you, sir. 
Remember since you owed no more to time 
Than I do now: with thought of such affections, ^^^ 

210 

207 The odds for high and low 's alike] High-bom and low-bom have the 

same chances. 
219 since] the time when. 

Step forth mine advocate; at your request 
My father will grant precious things as trifles. 

Leon. Would he do so, I 'Id beg your precious mis- 
tress, 
Which he counts but a trifle. 

Paxil. Sir, my liege, 

Your eye hath too much youth in 't: not a month 
'Fore your queen died, she was more worth such gazes 
Than what you look on now. 

Leon, I thought of her, 

Even in these looks I made. [To Florizel'\ But your 

petition 
Is yet unanswer'd. I will to your father : 
Your honour not o'erthrown by your desires, ^^^ 

I am friend to them and you : upon which errand 
I now go toward him ; therefore follow me 
And mark what way I make : come, good my lord. 

\_Ea;eunt. 

SCENE n— BEFORE LEONTES' PALACE 
Enter Autoltcus and a Gentleman 

AuT, Beseech you, sir, were you present at this re- 
lation? 

FiEST Gent. I was by at the opening of the fardel, 
heard the old shepherd deliver the manner how he f oimd 
it: whereupon, after a little amazedness, we were all 
commanded out of the chamber ; only this methought I 
heard the shepherd say, he found the child. 

AuT. I would most gladly know the issue of it. 

FiEST Gent. I make a broken delivery of the busi- 
ness; but the changes I perceived in the king and ^° 
Camillo were very notes of admiration: they seemed 
aknost, with staring on one another, to tear the cases of 
their eyes ; there was speech in their dumbness, language 
in their very gesture ; they looked as they had heard of a 
world ransomed, or one destroyed : a notable passion of 
wonder appeared in them; but the wisest beholder, that 
knew no more but seeing, could not say if the importance 
were joy or sorrow; but in the extremity of the one, 
it must needs be. 

Enter another Gentleman 

Here comes a gentleman that haply knows more. The ^^ 
news, Rogero? 

Sec. Gent. Nothing but bonfires: the oracle is ful- 
filled; the king's daughter is found: such a deal of 
wonder is broken out within this hour, that ballad- 
makers cannot be able to express it. 

Enter a third Gentleman 

Here comes the Lady Paulina's steward: he can deliver 
you more. How goes it now, sir? this news which is 

9 broken delivery] fragmentary accomit. 

12-13 cases of their eyes] Cf. Pericles, III, ii, 104: "Her eyelids, cases 
to those heavenly jewels." 

17 importance] import, purport. Cf. Cymh., I, iv, 45: "upon impor- 

tance [t. e. import] of so slight and trivial a nature." 

18 the one] either one. 

called true is so like an old tale, that the verity of it is 
in strong suspicion: has the king found his heir? 

Third Gent. Most true, if ever truth were pregnant ^^ 
by circumstance : that which you hear you '11 swear you 
see, there is such unity in the proofs. The mantle of 
Queen Hermione's, her jewel about the neck of it, the 
letters of Antigonus found with it, which they know to 
be his character, the majesty of the creature in resem- 
blance of the mother, the affection of nobleness which 
nature shows above her breeding, and many other 
evidences proclaim her with all certainty to be the 
king's daughter. Did you see the meeting of the two 
kings? 
Sec. Gent. No. ^ 

Thied Gent, Then have you lost a sight, which was 
to be seen, cannot be spoken of. There might you have 
beheld one joy crown another, so and in such manner, 
that it seemed sorrow wept to take leave of them, for 
their joy waded in tears. There was casting up of eyes, 
holding up of hands, with countenance of such distrac- 
tion, that they were to be known by garment, not by 
favour. Our king, being ready to leap out of himself for 
joy of his found daughter, as if that joy were now be- 
come a loss, cries " O, thy mother, thy mother! " then ^^ 
asks Bohemia forgiveness; then embraces his son-in- 

30-31 pregnant by circumstance] convincing through corroborative de- 
tail. Cf. Othelh, n, i, 232: "a most pregnant and unforced posi- 
tion." 

35 character] handwriting. 

36 affectum] disposition or quality. Cf. Macb., TV, iii, 76-78: "there 

grows In my most ill-composed affection such A. stanchless avarice." 

law; then again worries he his daughter with clipping 
her; now he thanks the old shepherd, which stands by 
Uke a weather-bitten conduit of many kings' reigns. I 
never heard of such another encounter, which lames re- 
port to follow it and undoes description to do it. 

Sec. Gent. What, pray you, became of Antigonus, 
that carried hence the child,? 

Thied Gent. Like an old tale stUl, which will have 
matter to rehearse, though credit be asleep and not an ^*^ 
ear open. He was torn to pieces with a bear: this 
avouches the shepherd's son; who has not only his inno- 
cence, which seems much, to justify him, but a handker- 
chief and rings of his that Paulina knows. 

First Gent. What became of his bark and his fol- 
lowers? 

Thied Gent. Wrecked the same instant of their mas- 
ter's death and in the view of the shepherd: so that aU 
the instruments which aided to expose the child were 
even then lost when it was found. But O, the noble "^^ 
combat that 'twixt joy and sorrow was fought in 
Paulina! She had one eye declined for the loss of her 
husband, another elevated that the oracle was fulfilled: 
she lifted the princess from the earth, and so locks her in 
embracing, as if she would pin her to her heart that she 
might no more be in danger of losing. 

52 clipping] embracing. 

54 wecUher-bitten conduit] a fountain bitten or corroded by the 'weather. 

Fountains were often made of bronze or marble, shaped like human 

figures. 

61 ivith a bear] by a bear. 

62 avouches] corroborates. 

FiEST Gent. The dignity of this act was worth the 
audience of kings and princes ; for by such was it acted. 

Third Gent. One of the prettiest touches of all and 
that which angled for mine eyes, caught the water ^" 
though not the fish, was when, at the relation of the 
queen's death, with the manner how she came to 't 
bravely confessed and lamented by the king, how atten- 
tiveness woxinded his daughter; till, from one sign of 
dolour to another, she did, with an " Alas," I would fain 
say, bleed tears, for I am sure my heart wept blood. 
Who was most marble there changed colour; some 
swooned, all sorrowed : if all the world could have seen 't, 
the woe had been universal. 

FiKST Gent. Are they returned to the court? ^^ 

Thikd Gent. No: the princess hearing of her 
mother's statue, which is in the keeping of Paulina, — a 
piece many years in doing and now newly performed by 
that rare Italian master, JuUo Romano, who, had he 
himself eternity and could put breath into his work, 
would beguile Nature of her custom, so perfectly he is 
her ape: he so near to Hermione hath done Hermione, 
that they say one would speak to her and stand in hope 

80-81 caught . . . fish] A very stilted conceit, characteristic of much 

Elizabethan writing. 
86 most marble] most hardened. 
94 Julio Romano] Julio Romano (1493-1546) is well known as a painter 

and architect. But Vasari, the sixteenth-century biographer of Italian 

artists, quotes an epitaph on Romano, which credits him with skill in 

sculpture in addition. 
95-96 would beguile . . . custom] would draw Nature's customers from 

her and attract them to himself. 

[138j 

of answer : — thither with all greediness of affection are 
they gone, and there they intend to sup. ^°° 

Sec. Gent. I thought she had some great matter 
there in hand; for she hath privately twice or thrice a 
day, ever since the death of Hermione, visited that re- 
moved house. ShaU we thither and with our company 
piece the rejoicing? 

First Gent. Who would be thence that has the bene- 
fit of access ? every wink of an eye, some new grace will 
be born: our absence makes us unthrifty to our knowl- 
edge. Let 's along. {Exeunt Gentlemen. ^^^ 

AuT. Now, had I not the dash of my former hfe in 
me, would preferment drop on my head. I brought the 
old man and his son aboard the prince; told him I heard 
them talk of a fardel and I know not what : but he at that 
time, overfond of the shepherd's daughter, so he then 
took her to be, who began to be much sea-sick, and him- 
self little better, extremity of weather continuing, this 
mystery remained undiscovered. But 't is all one to me ; 
for had I been the finder out of this secret, it would not 
have relished among my other discredits. ^^^ 

Enter Shepherd and Clown 

Here come those I have done good to against my will, 
and already appearing in the blossoms of their fortune. 
Shep. Come, boy; I am past moe children, but thy 
sons and daughters will be all gentlemen born. 

104 'piece\ contribute to. 

112 aboard the prince] aboard the prince's ship. 
119 relished] found appreciation, been valued. 

Clo. You are well met, sir. You denied to fight with 
me this other day, because I was no gentleman born. 
See you these clothes? say you see them not and think 
me still no gentleman born: you were best say these 
robes are not gentlemen born: give me the lie, do, and 
try whether I am not now a gentleman born. 

AuT. I know you are now, sir, a gentleman born. ^^^ 

Clo. Ay, and have been so any time these four hours. 

Shep. And so have I, boy. 

Clo. So you have: but I was a gentleman born be- 
fore my father; for the king's son took me by the hand, 
and called me brother; and then the two kings called my 
father brother; and then the prince my brother and the 
princess my sister called my father father; and so we 
wept, and there was the fiLrst gentleman-hke tears that 
ever we shed. 

Shep. We may live, son, to shed many more. ^*° 

Clo. Ay; or else 'twere hard luck, being in so pre- 
posterous estate as we are. 

AuT. I himibly beseech you, sir, to pardon me all the 
faults I have committed to your worship, and to give me 
your good report to the prince my master. 

Shep. Prithee, son, do; for we must be gentle, now 
we are gentlemen. 

Clo. Thou wilt amend thy Hfe? 

AuT. Ay, an it like your good worship. 

Clo. Give me thy hand: I will swear to the prince 
thou art as honest a true fellow as any is in Bohemia. ^^^ 

14:1-14:2 preposterous estate] prosperous state; "preposterous " is the 
clown's blunder. 

Shep. You may say it, but not swear it. 

Clo. Not swear it, now I am a gentleman? Let boors 
and franklins say it, I '11 swear it. 

Shep. How if it be false, son? 

Clo. If it be ne'er so false, a true gentleman may 
swear it in the behalf of his friend : and I '11 swear to the 
prince thou art a tall fellow of thy hands and that thou 
wilt not be drunk; but I know thou art no tall fellow of 
thy hands and that thou wilt be drunk : but I '11 swear it, 
and I would thou wouldst be a tall feUow of thy hands. ^^^ 

AuT. I wiU prove so, sir, to my power. 

Clo. Ay, by any means prove a tall fellow : if I do not 
wonder how thou darest venture to be drunk, not being 
a tall feUow, trust me not. Hark! the kings and the 
princes, our kindred, are going to see the queen's picture. 
Come, f oUow us : we 'U be thy good masters. lExeunt. 

SCENE ni— A CHAPEL IN PAULINA'S HOUSE 

Enter Leontbs, Polixenes, Floeizel, Peudita, Camillo, 
Paulina, Lords, and Attendants 

Leon. O grave and good Paulina, the great comfort 
That I have had of thee! 
Paul. What, sovereign sir, 

154 Jranklins] freemen, freeholders, below the rank of gentlemen. 

158 a tall fellow of thy hands] a brave man, a man of notable valour. 
"Tall" is often used in the sense of bold or courageous, as in lines 
163 and 165, infra. Cotgrave, Fr.-Engl. Did., 1611, defines "homme 
a la main" as "a man of execution or valour; a man of his hands." 

167 good masters] generous patrons. 

I did not well, I meant well. All my services 

You have paid home: but that you have vouchsafed 

With your crown'd brother and these your contracted 

Heirs of your kingdoms, my poor house to visit, 

It is a surplus of your grace, which never 

My hf e may last to answer. 

Leon. O Paulina, 

We honour you with trouble : but we came 
To see the statue of our queen : your gallery ^° 

Have we pass'd through, not without much content 
In many singularities ; but we saw not 
That which my daughter came to look upon. 
The statue of her mother. 

Paul. As she lived peerless, 

So her dead hkeness, I do well believe. 
Excels whatever yet you look'd upon 
Or hand of man hath done; therefore I keep it 
Lonely, apart. But here it is : prepare 
To see the life as lively mock'd as ever 
Still sleep mock'd death : behold, and say 't is well. ^^ 

[Paulina draws a curtain, and discovers 
Hermione standing like a statue. 
I like your silence, it the more shows off 
Your wonder: but yet speak; first, you, my hege. 
Comes it not something near? 

9 We . . . troubk] The honour we pay you gives you trouble. 

18 Lonely] This is Hanmer's correction of the Folio reading Lonely, or 
Lovely, which has been interpreted as "lovingly," "with more than 
ordinary tenderness." "Lonely, apart" is tautological. The Folio 
reading seems defensible. 

Leon. Her natural posture 1 

Chide me, dear stone, that I may say indeed 
Thou art Hermione; or rather, thou art she 
In thy not chiding, for she was as tender 
As infancy and grace. But yet, Pauhna, 
Hermione was not so much wrinkled, nothing 
So aged as this seems. 

Pol. O, not by much. 

Paul. So much the more our carver's excellence; ^'^ 
Which lets go by some sixteen years and makes her 
As she hved now. 

Leon. As now she might have done. 

So much to my good comfort, as it is 
Now piercing to my soul. O, thus she stood. 
Even with such life of majesty, warm hfe. 
As now it coldly stands, when first I woo'd her! 
I am ashamed: does not the stone rebuke me 
For being more stone than it? O royal piece, 
There 's magic in thy majesty, which has 
My evils conjured to remembrance, and *^ 

From thy admiring daughter took the spirits, 
Standing Uke stone with thee. 

Per. And give me leave. 

And do not say 't is superstition, that 
I kneel and then implore her blessing. Lady, 
Dear queen, that ended when I but began. 
Give me that hand of yours to kiss. 

Paxil. O, patience! 

32 As she lived] As if she lived. 

The statue is but newly fix'd, the colour 's 
Not dry. 

Cam, My lord, your sorrow was too sore laid on, 
Which sixteen winters cannot blow away, ^° 

So many summers dry: scarce any joy 
Did ever so long hve ; no sorrow 
But kill'd. itself much sooner. 

Pol. Dear my brother. 

Let him that was the cause of this have power 
To take off so much grief from you as he 
Will piece up in himself. 

Paul. Indeed, my lord. 

If I had thought the sight of my poor image 
Would thus have wrought you, for the stone is mine, 
I 'Id not have show'd it. 

Leon. Do not draw the curtain. 

Paul. No longer shall youi gaze on 't, lest your 

fancy ^^ 

May think anon it moves. 

Leon. Let be, let be. 

Would I were dead, but that, methinks, already — 
What was he that did make it? See, my lord. 
Would you not deem it breathed? and that those veins 
Did verily bear blood? 

Pol. Masterly done: 

The very Hfe seems warm upon her Up. 

52-53 rw sorrow . . . sooner] Cf . note on All 's Well, I, i, 50. 
56 Will piece up in himself] Will make his own, take upon himself. 
62 Would I were dead, . . . already — ] The interrupted sentence means, 
"May I die, if I did not think this statue already moved." 

Leon. The fixure of her eye has motion in 't, 
As we are mock'd with art. 

Paul. I '11 draw the curtain: 

My lord 's almost so far transported that 
He 'U think anon it lives. 

Leon. O sweet Paulina, ""* 

Make me to think so twenty years together! 
No settled senses of the world can match 
The pleasure of that madness. Let 't alone. 

Paul. I am sorry, sir, I have thus far stirr'd you: but 
I could aflBict you farther. 

Leon. Do, Paulina; 

For this affliction has a taste as sweet 
As any cordial comfort. StUl, methinks. 
There is an air comes from her: what fine chisel 
Could ever yet cut breath? Let no man mock me. 
For I will ^ss her. 

Paxil. (Jood my lord, forbear: ^^ 

The ruddiness upon her hp is wet ; 
You 'U mar it if you kiss it, stain your own 
With oily painting. Shall I draw the curtain? 

Leon. No, not these twenty years. 

Per. So long could I 

Stand by, a looker on. 

Paul. Either forbear, 

67 fixure] fixity, fixedness, stability. Cf. Trail, and Cress., I, iii, 99- 

101 : "deracinate The unity and married calm of states Quite from 
their fixure." 

68 As we are mock'd wUh art] For so we are mocked by art. 

85-86 Either forbear . . . resolve you\ Either abstain from touching, and 
at once quit the chapel, or make up your mind. 
10 [ 145 ] 

Quit presently the chapel, or resolve you 

For more amazement. If you can behold, it, 

I '11 make the statue move indeed, descend 

And take you by the hand : but then you '11 think. 

Which I protest against, I am assisted ^^ 

By wicked powers. 

LEOiSr. What you can make her do, 

I am content to look on : what to speak, 
I am content to hear ; for 't is as easy 
To make her speak as move. 

Paul. It is required 

You do awake your faith. Then all stand still; 
On : those that think it is unlawful business 
I am about, let them depart. 

Leon. Proceed: 

No foot shall stir. 

Paul. ■ Music, awake her; strike! [Music. 

'T is time; descend; be stone no more; approach; 
Strike all that look upon with marvel. Come, i<"> 

I '11 fill your grave up : stir, nay, come away. 
Bequeath to death your numbness, for from him 
Dear life redeems you. You perceive she stirs : 

[Hermione comes down. 
Start not ; her actions shall be holy as 
You hear my spell is lawful: do not shun her 
Until you see her die again ; for then 
You kill her double. Nay, present your hand: 

96 On: those] Thus the Folios. Hanmer substituted Or f/wse, a welcome 

simplification. 
100 look wpon] look on. Cf. IV, iv, 438, swpra, and note. 

When she was young you woo'd her ; now in age 
Is she become the suitor? 

Leon. O, she 's warm I 

If this be magic, let it be an art ^^" 

Lawful as eating. 

Pol. She embraces him. 

Cam. She hangs about his neck: 
If she pertain to hfe let her speak too. 

Pol. Ay, and make 't manifest where she has hved. 
Or how stolen from the dead. 

Paul. That she is hving. 

Were it but told you, should be hooted at 
Like an old tale : but it appears she lives, 
Though yet she speak not. Mark a little while. 
Please you to interpose, fair madam: kneel 
And pray your mother's blessing. Turn, good lady; ^^^ 
Our Perdita is found, 

Hek. You gods, look down. 

And from your sacred vials pour your graces 
Upon my daughter's head! Tell me, mine own. 
Where hast thou been preserved? where lived? how 

found 
Thy father's court? for thou shalt hear that I, 
Knowing by Paulina that the oracle 
Gave hope thou wast in being, have preserved 
Myself to see the issue. 

Paul. There's time enough for that; 

Lest they desire upon this push to trouble 

129 this pmh] this emergency, as in Macb., V, iii, 20-21, "This -push 
Will cheer me." 

Your joys with like relation. Go together, ^^^ 

You precious winners all ; your exultation 

Partake to every one. I, an old turtle. 

Will wing me to some wither'd bough and there 

My mate, that 's never to be found again. 

Lament till I am lost. 

Leon. O, peace, Paulina! 

Thou shouldst a husband take by my consent. 
As I by thine a wife : this is a match. 
And made between 's by vows. Thou hast found 

mine; 
But how, is to be question'd; for I saw her. 
As I thought, dead; and have in vain said many ^^o 

A prayer upon her grave. I '11 not seek far, — 
For him, I partly know his mind, — to find thee 
An honourable husband. Come, Camillo, 
And take her by the hand, whose worth and honesty 
Is richly noted and here justified 
By us, a pair of kings. Let 's from this place. 
What! look upon my brother: both your pardons, 
That e'er I put between yoiu* holy looks 
My ill suspicion. This your son-in-law. 
And son unto the king, whom heavens directing, ^^^ 

135 lost] given up (to death). 

144 whose] The antecedent is "Camillo." 

149-150 Thi^ your son-in-law, . . . directing] Thus the Folios. The 
irregularities of the grammatical construction here are removed by 
reading This is for This, and who for whom. But a gesture might 
well supply is after this, and whom heaven 's directing {i. e., who under 
heaven's direction) is a grammatical solecism of a kind which is 
familiar in Shakespeare's work. 

Is troth-plight to your daughter. Good Paulina, 

Lead us from hence, where we may leisurely 

Each one demand, and answer to his part 

Perform'd in this wide gap of time, since first 

We were dissever'd: hastily lead away. [Exeunt. 

[ xxviii ] 

KING LEAR 

DRAMATIS PERSONS » 

Leab, king of Britain. 

King of Pkance. 

Dtjke of Burgundy. 

Duke of Cornwall. 

Duke of Albany. 

Earl of Kent. 

Earl of Gloucester. 

Edgar, son to Gloucester. 

Edmund, bastard son to Gloucester. 

CuRAN, a courtier. 

Old Man, tenant to Gloucester, 

Doctor. 

Fool. 

Oswald, steward to Goneril. 

A captain employed by Edmund. 

Gentleman attendant on Cordelia. 

Herald. 

Servants to Cornwall. 

Goneril, 1 

Regan, V daughters to Lear. 

Cordelia, j 

Knights of Lear's train. Captains, Messengers, Soldiers, and 
Attendants. 

Scene: Britain 

^ This play was first printed in Quarto in 1608, when two impressions 
were pubHshed, both with somewhat confused text. An improved version 
from a different transcript was supphed by the First Folio, which first 
divided the play into Acts and Scenes. Rowe first added a list of the 
"dramatis personse" and indicated the general " Scene." 

Kent

KING LEAR'S PALACE 

Enter Kent, Gloucester, and Edmxind 

^THOUGHT THE KING 

had more affected the Duke of 
Albany than Cornwall. 

Glou. It did always seem so 
to us: but now, in the division 
of the kingdom, it appears not 
which of the dukes he values 
most; for equalities are so 
weighed that curiosity in neither 
can make choice of cither's 
moiety. 

Kent. Is not this your son, 
my lord? 

Glou. His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge : I 
have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now 
I am brazed to it. lo 

1 more ajfeded] showed greater aflPection for. 

[3], 

Kent. I cannot conceive you. 

Glou. Sir, this young fellow's mother could : where- 
upon she grew round-wombed, and had indeed, sir, a 
son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. 
Do you smell a fault .? 

Kent. I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it 
being so proper. 

Glou. But I have, sir, a son by order of law, some 
year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account : 
though this knave came something saucily into the world 20 
before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair; there 
was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must 
be acknowledged. Do you know this noble gentleman, 
Edmund ? 

Edm. No, my lord. 

Glou. My lord of Kent : remember him hereafter as 
my honourable friend. 

Edm. My services to your lordship. 

Kent. I must love you, and sue to know you better. 

Edm. Sir, I shall study deserving. so 

Glou. He hath been out nine years, and away he 
shall again. The king is coming. 

5-6 equalities . . . moiety] There is such well-balanced equality in the 
distribution that close scrutiny cannot determine one portion to be any 
greater than the other. For equalities, the reading of the early Quartos, 
the Folios read qualities, which is plausible. "Moiety" commonly 
stands for "portion," not necessarily "half." 

10 brazed] brazened, hardened. 

17 proper] goodly, handsome. 

19 account] esteem. 

.SO study deserving] study to be worthy (of your acquaintance), 

31 out] abroad, away from home. 

[4J 

Sennet. Enter one bearing a coronet, King Leah, Coknwali^ 
Albany, Gonebil, Regan, Cobdelia, and Attendants 

Lear. Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, 
Gloucester. 

Glou. I shall, my liege. [Exeunt Gloucester and Edmund. 

Lear. Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. 
Give me the map there. Know we have divided 
In three our kingdom : and 't is our fast intent 
To shake all cares and business from our age, 
Conferring them on younger strengths, while_we^ 
Unburthen'H crawl toward dea th. Our son oiCorn- 

wall, 40 

And you, our no less loving son of Albany, 
We have this hour a constant will to publish 
Our daughters' several dowers, that future strif e 
May be prevented now . The princes, I'rance and Bur- 
gundy, 

33 (stage direction) Sennet] A note of music commonly indicating the en- 
trance or exit of important characters. 
Attend the lords] Bid the lords attend upon us. 

35 darker] more secret. The king has already indicated his general inten- 
tion of distributing his domiuions. He now discloses the hitherto 
concealed grounds and details of his procedure. 

37 fast irderd] fixed resolve; "constant will" (line 42) has the same mean- 

ing. Cf. the Latiu "certa voluntas." 

38 pom our age] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read of our state. 

39 Conferring . . . strengths] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read Corv- 

prming . . . yeares. Cf. line 81 , in/ra, where the Quartos again read 
confirmed for the Folio reading conferr'd. 

Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love. 

Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, 

And here are to be answer'd. Tell me, my daughters. 

Since now we will divest us both of rule. 

Interest of territory, cares of state. 

Which of you shall we say doth love us most? so 

That we our largest bounty may extend 

Where nature doth with merit challenge. Goneril, 

Our eldest-born, speak first. 

GoN. Sir, I love you more than words can wield the 
matter. 
Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty. 
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare, 
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour. 
As much as child e'er loved or father found; 
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable; 
Beyond all manner of so much I love you. 60 

Cor. [Aside] What shall Cordelia do ? Love, and be 
silent. 

Lear. Of all these bounds, even from this line to this. 

49 Interest of territory] Profit derived from possession of territory. 

52 Where nature . . . challenge] Where natural affection prefers a claim 

equally with merit, where the due of natural affection coincides with 

the due of merit. 

54 than words . . . matter] than can be fully expressed in words. 

55 space and liberty] fullest range of liberty. 
57 with grace] endowed with grace. 

59 unable] incapable, feeble. 

60 Beyond all manner of so much] Beyond all such kind of comparisons. 

61 do] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read speak, which is scarcely in 

keeping with Cordelia's mistrust of verbal professions. 

With shadowy forests and with champains rich'd. 
With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads, 
We make thee lady. To thine and Albany's issue 
Be this perpetual. What says our second daughter, 
Our dearest Regan, wife to Cornwall ? Speak. 

Reg. I am made of that self metal as my sister. 
And prize me at her worth. In my true heart 
I find she names my very deed of love; 70 

Only she comes too short: that I profess 
Myself an enemy to all other joys 
Which the most precious square of sense possesses, 
And find I am alone felicitate 
In your dear highness' love. 

Cob. [Aside] Then poor Cordelia ! 

And yet not so, since I am sure my love's 
More ponderous than my tongue. 

Lear. To thee and thine hereditary ever 
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom. 
No less in space, validity and pleasure, so 

63 vnth champains rich'd] with open plains enriched. 

68 self] self-same. 

70 my very deed of love] the exact state of my own love. 

73 Which . . . possesses] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read professes 

for possesses. Square of sense is difficult; spirit and sphere have 
been adopted by some editors for square. But Regan refers to the 
joys which are associated with the very quintessence of sensibility, and 
"the most precious square" may well mean "the most precious seg- 
ment, the summit or acme." 

74 felicitate] made happy. 

76 yet not so] sc. poor in love. 

77 ponderous] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read richer. 
80 validity] value, worth. 

Than that conferr'd on Goneril. Now, our joy, 
Although the last, not least, to whose young love 
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy 
Strive to be interess'd, what can you say to draw 
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak. 

CoE. Nothing, my lord. 

Lear. Nothing ! 

Cor. Nothing. 

Lear. Nothing will come of nothing : speak again. 

Cor. Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave so 

My heart into my mouth : I love your majesty 
According to my bond; nor more nor less. 

Lear. How, how, Cordelia! mend your speech a 
little. 
Lest it may mar your fortunes. 

Cor. Good my lord, 

You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I 
Return those duties back as are right fit, 

81 conferr'd] See note on line 39, supra. 

82 the last, not lecist] Thus the Quartos. The expression is proverbial. 

The Folios read wrongly our last and least. 
82-84 to whose young love . . . interess'd] Thus the Folios, save that 
interess'd {i. e., interested, concerned) is Jennens' change for the 
original interest, which may be a form of " interested." In the Quartos 
in our deere hue follows the word least without any stop, and the 
whole clause to whose young love . . . interess'd is omitted. 

83 millcl the milk-producing pastures. 

89 Nothing will come of nothing] Cf. the Latin proverb "Ex nihilo nihil 

fit." Lear repeats the phrase, I, iv, 42, infra. 
92 my bond] my obligation of filial duty. 

96 Return . . . right ft] Render those filial duties as they are rightly to 
be rendered. 

Obey you, love you, and most honour you. 

Why have my sisters husbands, if they say 

They love you all ? Haply, when I shall wed, 

That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry 

Half my love with him, half my care and duty : loi 

Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters. 

To love my father all. 

Lear. But goes thy heart with this ? 

Cob. Ay, good my lord. 

Lear. So young, and so untender? 

Cob. So young, my lord, and true. 

Lear. Let it be so ; thy truth then be thy dower : 
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun. 
The mysteries of Hecate, and the night; 
By all the operation of the orbs no 

From whom we do exist and cease to be; 
Here I disclaim all my paternal care, 
Propinquity and property of blood. 
And as a stranger to my heart and me 
Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian, 
Or he that makes his generation messes 

100 my flight] my plighted troth. 

109 Hecate] The goddess of night. The word is pronounced as a dissyl- 
lable. Cf. Macb., II, i, 52 and note. 
113 Propinquity . . . blood] Kinship and blood relationship. 

115 Tfie barbarous Scythian] The Scjdhians are again instanced as the 
extreme type of barbarism in Tit. Andr., I, i, 131 : "Was ever Scythia 
half so barbarous?" 

116 he . . . messes] he that turns his progeny into messes of food, he 
that eata his children. Hakluyt quotes an account of such cannibal 
practices among the Tartars (ed. 1905, Vol. I, p. 51). 

To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom 
Be as well neighbour'd, pitied and relieved. 
As thou my sometime daughter. 

Kent. Good my liege, — 

Lear. Peace, Kent! 120 

Come not between the dragon and his wrath. 
I loved her most, and thought to set my rest 
On her kind nursery. Hence, and avoid my sip^ht! 
So be my grave my peace, as here I give 
Her father's heart from her ! Call France. Who stirs .'' 
Call Burgundy. Cornwall and Albany, 
With my two daughters' dowers digest this third: 
Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. 
I do invest you jointly with my power. 
Pre-eminence and all the large effects iso 

That troop with majesty. Ourself, by monthly course. 
With reservation of an hundred knights 
By you to be sustain'd, shall our abode 
Make with you by due turns. Only we still retain 
The name and all the additions to a king; 
The sway, revenue, execution of the rest. 
Beloved sons, be yours : which to confirm. 
This coronet part betwixt you. 

122 set my rest] stake my all is a technical expression in the card game 
of "primero." 

123 Hence, and avoid my sigM] These words are clearly addressed to Cor- 
delia, and not to Kent, as many editors suggest. 

127 digest] absorb. 

128 marry her] find her a husband. 

130 the large effects] the spacious attributes or dignities. 
135 additicms to a king] titles of a king. 

Kent. Royal Lear, 

Whom I have ever honour'd as my king, 
Loved as my father, as my master foUow'd, 140 

As my great patron thought on in my prayers, — 

Lear. The bow is bent and drawn; make from the 
shaft. 

Kent. Let it fall rather, though the fork invade 
The region of my heart : be Kent unmannerly. 
When Lear is mad. What wouldst thou do, old man ? 
Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak. 
When power to flattery bows ? To plainness honour 's 

bound. 
When majesty stoops to folly. Reverse thy doom. 
And in thy best consideration cheek 
This hideous rashness : answer my life my judgement, iso 
Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least; 
Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound 
Reverbs no hoUowness. 

Leab. Kent, on thy life, no more. 

Kent. My life I never held but as a pawn 
To wage against thy enemies, nor fear to lose it. 
Thy safety being the motive. 

Leab. Out of my sightj _ 

143 fork] arrow-head. Cf. As you like it, II, i, 24, "forked heads," i. e., 
arrow-heads. 

148 stoops . . . Reverse thy domn] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read 
jails to folly resenie thy state {i. e., retain thy power). 

149 best] most careful, most deliberate. 

153 Reverbs no hoUowness] Reverberates or proclaims no emptiness or 

insincerity. 
155 To wage] To wager, stake, or hazard. 

Kent. See hetter. Lear, and let me still remain 
The true blank of thine ey e. 

L.EAR. JNow, by Apollo, — 

Kent. Now, by Apollo, king, 

Thou swear'st thy gods in vain. 

Leab. O, vassal ! miscreant ! leo 

[Laying his hand on his sword. 

Corn [ Dear sir, forbear. 

Kent. Do; 
Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow 
Upon the foul disease. Revoke thy doom; 
Or, whilst I can vent clamour from my throat, 
I '11 tell thee thou dost evil. 

Lear. Hear me, recreant ! 

On thy allegiance, hear me ! 

Since thou hast sought to make us break our vow, 
Which we durst never yet, and with strain'd pride 
To come between our sentence and our power, 170 

Which nor our nature nor our place can bear. 
Our potency made good, take thy reward. 
Five days we do allot thee, for provision 
To shield thee from diseases of the world. 
And on the sixth to turn thy hated back 

158 blank] The white mark forming the bull's eye of the target. Kent 
appeals to Lear to let him remain by him as the mark by which to 
guide the aim of his vision. 

170 power] sc. to carry out our sentence. 

172 Our potency made good] By way of proving the reality of our authority. 

174 diseases] troubles, distresses. Thus the Quartos. The Folios read 
disasters. 

Upon our kingdom : if on the tenth day following 
Thy banish'd trunk be found in our dominions, 
The moment is thy death. Away ! By Jupiter, 
This shall not be revoked. 

Kent. Fare thee well, king: sith thus thou wilt 

appear, iso 

Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here. 
[To Cordelia] The gods to their dear shelter take thee, 

maid. 
That justly think'st and hast most rightly said ! 
[To Regan and Goneril] And your large speeches may your 

deeds approve. 
That good effects may spring from words of love. 
Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu; 
He'll shape his old course in a country new. [Exit. 

Flourish. Re-enter Glotjcesteb, loith France, Bubqundy, and 

Attendants 

Glou. Here's France and Burgundy, my noble lord. 

Leak. My lord of Burgundy, 
We first address towards you, who with this king i90 

Hath rivall'd for our daughter: what, in the least, 

176 tenth] Thus all the early editions. Some modern editors substitute 

seventh, which suits the context better. 
181 Freedom] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read Friendship, perhaps 

a better antithesis to "banishment." 
184 approve] prove, make good. 

187 his old course] his career in old age. 

188 Gloo. Here 's France . . . lord] Thus the Quartos. The Folios give 
the line to Cordelia. 

191 rivall'd] competed. 

Will you require in present dower with her, 
Or cease your quest of love ? 

Bur. Most royal majesty, 

I crave no more than what your highness offer'd. 
Nor will you tender less. 

Leab. Right noble Burgundy, 

When she was dear to us, we did hold her so; 
But now her price is fall'n. Sir, there she stands: 
If aught within that little seeming substance. 
Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced. 
And nothing more, may fitly like your grace, 200 

She's there, and she is yours. 

Bur. I know no answer. 

Lear. Will you, with those infirmities she owes, 
Unfriended, new adopted to our hate, 
Dower'd with our curse and stranger'd with our oath, 
Take her, or leave her? 

Bur. Pardon me, royal sir; 

Election makes not up on such conditions. 

Lear. Then leave her, sir; for, by the power that 
made me, 
I tell you all her wealth. [To France] For you, great king, 
I would not from your love make such a stray. 

196 hold her s6\ hold her worthy of a great dowry. 

198 that little seeming substance] that slight looking body. 

199 ■pieced] supplemented. 

204 stranger'd . . . oath] abjured by us, made a stranger to us, alienated 

from us by oath. 
206 Election makes not up] Choice makes no decision, no choice is possible. 
209-210 I would not . . . To match] I would not neglect or ignore 

your love to such an extent as to match. 

[14J 

To match you where I hate; therefore beseech you 210 
To avert your Uking a more worthier way 
Than on a wretch whom nature is ashamed 
Almost to acknowledge hers. 

France. This is most strange. 

That she, that even but now was your best object. 
The argument of your praise, balm of your age. 
Most best, most dearest, should in this trice of time 
Commit a thing so monstrous, to dismantle 
So many folds of favour. Sure, her oflFence 
Must be of such unnatural degree 

That monsters it, or your fore-vouch'd affection 220 

Fall'n into taint: which to believe of her. 
Must be a faith that reason without miracle 
Could never plant in me. 

Cor. I yet beseech your majesty, — 

If for I want that glib and oily art. 
To speak and purpose not, since what I well intend, 
I'll do't before I speak, — that you make known 
It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness. 

814 your best object] the "delight of your eye"; best is omitted from the 
Folios; object stands for "object of attraction." Cf. Mids. N. Dr„ 
rV, i, 167: "The objed and the pleasure of mine eye." 

215 argument] theme. 

220-221 That monsters it, or . . . into taint:] That befits a monster, 
or as makes it monstrous before your previously professed affection 
could have suffered taint. The Quartos read Falne for which 
the Folios substitute Fall. 

227 It is no mcUms blot, murder, or foulness] Cordelia hyperbolically 
exaggerates the absurdity of the charges brought against her. She 
scornfully mentions the worst crimes possible. 

No unchaste action, or dishonour'd step, 

That hath deprived me of your grace and favour ; 

But even for want of that for which I am richer, 230 

A still-sohciting eye, and such a tongue 

As I am glad I have not, though not to have it 

Hath lost me in your liking. 

Lear, Better thou 

Hadst not been born than not to have pleased me better. 

France. Is it but this ? a tardiness in nature 
Which often leaves the history unspoke 
That it intends to do ? My lord of Burgundy, 
What say you to the lady? Love's not love 
When it is mingled with regards that stand 
Aloof from the entire point. Will you have her? 240 
She is herself a dowry. 

Bur. Royal Lear, 

Give but that portion which yourself proposed, 
And here I take Cordelia by the hand. 
Duchess of Burgundy. 

Lear. Nothing: I have sworn; I am firm. 

Bur. I am sorry then you have so lost a father 
That you must lose a husband. 

Cor. Peace be with Burgundy ! 

Since that respects of fortune are his love, 
I shall not be his wife. 

230 for want . . . richer] The construction is obscure ; "for which "must 
mean "for wanting which." 

231 stiU^aolidting] constantly importuning. 

239-240 with regards . . . the entire point] with scruples which are 

irrelevant to the essential or main point. 
248 respects] considerations. 

{16] 

France. Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being 

poor, ^^^ 250 

Most choice forsaken, and most loved despised. 

Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon : 

Be it lawful I take up what's cast away. 

Gods, gods ! 't is strange that from their cold'st neglect 

My love should kindle to inflamed respect. 

Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance. 

Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France : 

Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy 

Can buy this unprized precious maid of me. 

Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind: 260 

Thou losest here, a better where to find. 

Lear. Thou hast her, France : let her be thine, for we 
Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see 
That face of hers again. J nei'ef m W iSegone 
Without our grace, our iove, our benison. 
Come, noble Burgundy. 

[Flourish. Exeunt all but France, Ooneril, 
Regan, and Cordelia. 

France. Bid farewell to your sisters. 

Cor. The jewels of our father, with wash'd eyes 
Cordelia leaves you : I know you what you are ; 

255 inflamed respect] increased regard. 

258 waterish] well-watered. 

259 unprized] priceless. "Unvalued" is similarly used for "invalu- 
able"; cf. Rich. HI, I, iv, 27: "unvalued jewels." 

260 though unkind] though they are unkind, though they lack natural 
affection. Cf. Ill, iv, 70, infra: "his unkind daughters." 

268 The jewels] Thus the early editions, for which Rowe substituted Ye 
jewels. 
2 [17] 

And, like a sister, am most loath to call 270 

Your faults as they are named. Use well our father: 
To your professed bosoms I commit him: 
But yet, alas, stood I within his grace, 
I would prefer him to a better place. 
So farewell to you both. 

Reg. Prescribe not us our duties. 

GoN. Let your study 

Be to content your lord, who hath received you 
At fortune's alms. You have obedience scanted, 
And well are worth the want that you have wanted. 

Cor. Time shall unfold what plaited cunning hides : 
Who cover faults, at last shame them derides. 28i 

Well may you prosper ! 

France. Come, my fair Cordelia. 

[Exeunt France and Cordelia. 

GoN. Sister, it is not a little I have to say of what 
most nearly appertains to us both. I think our father 
will hence to-night. 

272 bosoms] affections. Cf. V, iii, 50, infra, "the common bosom," i. e., 
the affection of the common people. 

279 weU . . . wanted] well deserve to suffer the want of that affection 
(from your husband) which you have shown yourself to be without 
(for your father). Thus the Folios. The Quartos awkwardly read 
worth the worth for worth the want. 

280 plaited] twisted, crafty. The Folios read plighted and the Quartos 
pleated. "Plighted" is frequently foimd in the sense of "folded." 

281 Who cover . . . derides] The old editions read couers for cover which 
is more grammatical. For shams them of the Quartos the Folios 
substitute with shame, which is diflBcult. The line seems a reminis- 
cence of Proverbs, ssiVm, 13: "He that covereth his sins shall not 
prosper." 

Reg. That's most certain, and with you ; next month 
with us. 

GoN. You see how full of changes his age is; the 
observation we have made of it hath not been little : he 
always loved our sister most ; and with what poor judge- 
ment he hath now cast her off appears too grossly. 291 

Reg. 'T is the infirmity of his age ; yet he hath ever 
but slenderly known himself. 

GoN. The best and soundest of his time hath been 
but rash; then must we look to receive from his age, 
not alone the imperfections of long ingrafted condition, 
but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm 
and choleric years bring with them. 

Reg. Such unconstant starts are we like to have 
from him as this of Kent's banishment. soo 

GoN. There is further compliment of leave-taking 
between France and him. Pray you, let's hit together: 
if our father carry authority with such dispositions as he 
bears, this last surrender of his will but offend us. 

Reg. We shall further think on 't. 

GoN. We must do something, and i' the heat. 
[Exeunt. 

291 grossly] obviously, manifestly. 

294 The best . . . time] The period of his life when he was in the prime 

of his bodily powers. 
296 long ingraped condition] disposition confirmed by long habit. 
299 unccmstant starts] fickle impulses. 
302-304 let's hit together . . . offend iis] let's join together in our course 

of action ; if our father assert his authority in such headstrong temper 

as he now manifests, this final surrender to us of his kingdom will 

merely breed trouble for us. 
306 i' the heat] Cf. the proverb "Strike while the iron 's hot." 

SCENE n — THE EARL OF GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

Enter Edmund, with a letter 

Edm. Thou, nature, art my goddess ; to thy law 
My services are bound. Wherefore should I 
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit 
The curiosity of nations to deprive me. 
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines 
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base? 
When my dimensions are as well compact. 
My mind as generous and my shape as true. 
As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us 
With base ? with baseness ? bastardy ? base, base ? lo 
Who in the lusty stealth of nature take 
More composition and fierce quality 
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed, 
Go to the creating a whole tribe of fops, 

3 Stand in the flagiie of custom] Be subjected to the taint that custom or 

tradition lays on bastards. 

4 The curiosity . . . deprive me] The scrupulousness or false delicacy of 

civilised society to disinherit me. 

6 Lag of a brother] Lagging behind a brother in years; older than my 

brother. 
base] "A base son" was a synonym for "a bastard." The words have 
no etymological connection. Cf. line 10, infra. 

7 my dimensions . . . compact] my proportions are put together as well. 
12 More composition] More effective blending. 

14 fops] fools. Cf. line 113, infra: "the excellent foppery (i.e., foolish- 
ness) of the world," and I, iv, 165, "foppish" (i. e., foolish). Shake- 
speare also uses the verb "fop" in the sense of "dupe," "cheat"; 
cf. Othello, IV, ii, 195. 

Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well then, 

Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land : 

Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund 

As to the legitimate: fine word, "legitimate"! 

Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed 

And my invention thrive, Edmund the base 20 

Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper: 

Now, gods, stand up for bastards ! 

Enter Gloucesteb 

GiiOU. Kent banish'd thus ! and France in choler 
parted ! 
And the king gone to-night ! subscribed his power ! 
Confined to exhibition ! All this done 
Upon the gad ! Edmund, how now ! what news ? 
Edm. So please your lordship, none. 

[PvMing up the letter. 
Glou. Why so earnestly seek you to put up that 

letter ? 
Edm. I know no news, my lord. 
Glou. What paper were you reading ? 30 

21 ShaU top the] Shall get above, surpass the. Thus Capell for the old 
reading ShaU to the, which has been explained as "Shall come up to 
the," "get on a level with the." 

23 in choler parted] departed in anger. There is no evidence in the previ- 

ous scene (cf. I, i, 301, supra), that the King of France and Lear de- 
parted otherwise than amicably. But the French king is called by 
Lear "hot-blooded" (11, iv, 211, infra). 

24 avbscribed\ yielded (by a written surrender). 

25 Confined to exhibition] Restricted to an allowance. 

26 Upon the gad] Upon the spur of the moment. 

Edm. Nothing, my lord. 

Glou. No ? What needed then that terrible dispatch 
of it into your pocket ? the quality of nothing hath not 
such need to hide itself. Let's see: come, if it be noth- 
ing, I shall not need spectacles. 

Edm. I beseech you, sir, pardon me: it is a letter 
from my brother, that I have not all o'er-read; and 
for so much as I have perused, I find it not fit for your 
o'er-looking. 

Glou. Give me the letter, sir. 

Edm. I shall offend, either to detain or give it. The 40 
contents, as in part I understand them, are to blame. 

Glou. Let's see, let's see. 

Edm. I hope, for my brother's justification, he wrote 
this but as an essay or taste of my virtue. 

Glou. [Reads] "This policy and reverence of age makes the 
world bitter to the best of our times ; keeps our fortunes from us 
till our oldness cannot relish them. I begin to find an idle and 
fond bondage in the oppression of aged tyranny; who sways, not 
as it hath power, but as it is suffered. Come to me, that of this I 
may speak more. If our father would sleep till I waked him, you 50 
should enjoy half his revenue for ever, and live the beloved of 
your brother, Edgar." 

32 terrible] terrifying, implying terror. 

38 for your o'er-looking] for your observation or inspection. Cf. V, i, 50, 
infra: "I will overlook thy paper." 

44 an essay or taste] a trial or test. 

45 poliof and reverence of age] policy or practice of reverencing age. 

46 to the best of our times] to the best years of our life. Cf . I, i, 294, »upra. 

47 fond] foolish. 

Hum! Conspiracy! — "Sleep till I waked him, you 
should enjoy half his revenue ! " — My son Edgar ! Had 
he a hand to write this ? a heart and brain to breed it 
in ? When came this to you ? who brought it ? 

Edm. It was not brought me, my lord; there's the 
cunning of it; I found it thrown in at the casement of 
my closet. 

Glou. You know the character to be your brother's ? 

Edm. If the matter were good, my lord, I durst 60 
swear it were his ; but, in respect of that, I would fain 
think it were not. 

Glou. It is his. 

Edm. It is his hand, my lord; but I hope his heart 
is not in the contents. 

Glou. Hath he never heretofore sounded you in this 
business ? 

Edm. Never, my lord: but I have heard him oft 
maintain it to be fit, that, sons at perfect age, and 
fathers declining, the father should be as ward to the to 
son, and the son manage his revenue. 

Glou. O villain, villain ! His very opinion in the 
letter ! Abhorred villain ! Unnatural, detested, brutish 
villain ! worse than brutish ! Go, sirrah, seek him ; 
ay, apprehend him : abominable villain ! Where is 
he.? 

Edm. I do not well know, my lord. If it shall please 
you to suspend your indignation against my brother till 
you can derive from him better testimony of his intent, 

69 character] handwriting. 

61 in reaped of that] in view of the fact that the matter is far from good 

you should run a certain course ; where, if you violently 
proceed against him, mistaking his purpose, it would so 
make a great gap in your own honour and shake in 
pieces the heart of his obedience. I dare pawn down 
my life for him that he hath wrote this to feel my affec- 
tion to your honour and to no further pretence of danger. 

Glou. Think you so ? 

Edm. If your honour judge it meet, I will place you 
where you shall hear us confer of this, and by an auricu- 
lar assurance have your satisfaction, and that without 
any further delay than this very evening. 

Glou. He cannot be such a monster — 90 

Edm. Nor is not, sure. 

Glou. To his father, that so tenderly and entirely 
loves him. Heaven and earth ! Edmund, seek him out ; 
wind me into him, I pray you : frame the business after 
your own wisdom. I would unstate myself, to be in a 
due resolution. 

Edm. I will seek him, sir, presently, convey the busi- 
ness as I shall find means, and acquaint you withal. 

79 a certain course; where] a safe or secure course; whereas. 

84 pretence of danger] dangerous purpose or design. 

91-93 Nor is not . . . Heaven and earth] These words only appear in 
the Quartos. They are omitted from the Folios. It has been ar- 
gued that Gloucester's professions of affection for his son are 
hardly in keeping with his readiness to condemn him, and are best 
omitted. 

94 loind me into hirri] steal or insinuate yourself into his confidence; 
"me" is the ethic dative. 

95-96 7 would unstate . . . resolution] I would give up my rank and es- 
tate in order to assure myself (of the facts). 

97 convey] tactfully manage. 

Glou. These late eclipses in the sun and moon por- 
tend no good to us : though the wisdom of nature can 
reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged 
by the sequent effects: love cools, friendship falls off, 
brothers divide: in cities, mutinies; in countries, dis- 
cord ; in palaces, treason ; and the bond cracked 'twixt 
son and father. This villain of mine comes under the 
prediction; there's son against father: the king falls 
from bias of nature ; there 's father against child. We 
have seen the best of our time: machinations, hoUow- 
ness, treachery and all ruinous disorders follow us dis- 
quietly to our graves. Find out this villain, Edmund; 
it shall lose thee nothing; do it carefully. And the 
noble and true-hearted Kent banished ! his offence, 
honesty ! 'T is strange. [Exit. 112 

Edm. This is the excellent foppery of the world, that 
when we are sick in fortune — often the surfeit of our 

99-100 These late eclipses . . . portend no good\ Eclipses were almost 
universally held at the time to foreshadow calamity. 

100-102 though the wisdom . . . sequent effects] though natural science 
or philosophy can account for these eclipses on scientific grounds, 
yet there is no mistaking their calamitous consequences. 

105-109 This villain . . . graves] This passage is only in the Folios. It 
is omitted from the Quartos. 

106-107 faUs from bias of nature] runs counter to his natural disposition ; 
"bias" is strictly the piece of lead which diverts the bowl from the 
straight course. 

113 foppery] folly. See note on line 14, supra. Edmund in his cynical 
misanthropy condemns as an empty superstition the current faith 
in astrology. 

114 the surfeit] the morbid excesses. 

own behaviour — we make guilty of our disasters the 
sun, the moon and the stars : as if we were villains by 
necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion ; knaves, thieves 
and treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards, 
liars and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of plane- 
tary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine 
thrusting on: an admirable evasion of whoremaster 
man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a 
star ! My father compounded with my mother under 
the dragon's tail, and my nativity was under Ursa 
major; so that it follows I am rough and lecherous. 
Tut, I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest 
star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing. 
Edgar — 127 

Enter Edgab 

And pat he comes like the catastrophe of the old comedy : 
my cue is villanous melancholy, with a sigh like Tom o' 

118 treachers] traitors. Thus the Folios. The Quartos read Trecherers. 

The form "treacher" or "treachour" is not uncommon. 

spherical predominance] an astrological term meaning much the same 

as planetary influence (line 119, infra). 
120-121 a divine thrusting on] a supernatural impulse. 
125 Tvt] Thus Jennens. The Quartos read Fut, i. e., "God's foot." 

The Folios omit the word. 
128 pat he comes . . . old comedy] In the crude comedies of an old date 

the catastrophe was brought about in defiance of the natural order 

of things by the entry of a dominant character in quite unjustifiable 

circumstances. Cf. the "deus ex machina"of Horace's Ars Poet- 

ica, 191-192. 
129-130 Tom, o' Bedlam] A mad beggar-man, a half-witted vagrant; cf. 

"Bedlam beggars" II, iii, 14, infra, and note, and III, vii, 102. 

Bedlam. O, these eclipses do portend these divisions ! 
fa, sol, la, mi. i3i 

Edg. How now, brother Edmund! what serious 
contemplation are you in? 

Edm. I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I read 
this other day, what should follow these eclipses. 

Edg. Do you busy yourself about that.? 

Edm. I promise you, the effects he writ of succeed 
unhappily; as of unnaturalness between the child and 
the parent; death, dearth, dissolutions of ancient ami- 
ties; divisions in state, menaces and maledictions 
against king and nobles; needless diffidences, banish- 
ment of friends, dissipation of cohorts, nuptial breaches, 
and I know not what. 

Edg. How long have you been a sectary astronom- 
ical? 

Edm. Come, come ; when saw you my father last ? 

Edg. Why, the night gone by. 

130 divisions] schisms, disunion with a quibbling suggestion of the word 
in the difiFerent sense of "musical modulations." 

131 fa . . . mi\ Edmund sings superciliously some notes of the scale. 
The words are omitted from the Quartos. 

137-138 succeed unhappily] have bad results. 

138-144 asof . . . Come,c(m,e] This passage is only found in the Quartos, 
and is often treated as a spurious interpolation. 

141 diffidences] breaches of confidence. 

141-142 dissipatimi of cohorts] dispersal or dissolution of parties, soci- 
eties, companionships. The phrase is difficult, and neither sub- 
stantive is used by Shakespeare elsewhere. "Cohort" has no mili- 
tary significance here ; it can only mean a band of persons united 
in any common cause. 

143 a sectary astronomical] a devotee of astronomy. 

Edm. Spake you with him ? 

Edg. Ay, two hours together. 

Edm. Parted you in good terms? Found you no 
displeasure in him by word or countenance? 

Edg. None at all. iso 

Edm. Bethink yourself wherein you may have of- 
fended him: and at my entreaty forbear his presence 
till some little time hath qualified the heat of his dis- 
pleasure, which at this instant so rageth in him that 
with the mischief of your person it would scarcely allay. 

Edg. Some villain hath done me wrong. 

Edm. That's my fear. I pray you, have a continent 
forbearance till the speed of his rage goes slower, and, 
as I say, retire with me to my lodging, from whence I 
will fitly bring you to hear my lord speak : pray ye, go ; 
there's my key: if you do stir abroad, go armed. lei 

Edg. Armed, brother ! 

Edm. Brother, I advise you to the best: go armed: 
I am no honest man if there be any good meaning 
towards you: I have told you what I have seen and 
heard ; but faintly, nothing like the image and horror of 
it: pray you, away. 

Edg. Shall I hear from you anon? 

154-155 that with . . . allay] that with mjury done your person it would 

scarcely subside. 
157-163 That's my fear . . . Brother, I advise you] Thus the Folios. 

The Quartos omit the whole passage, between the words That's my 

fear and Brother I advise you. 
157-158 have a continent forbearance] keep a well-controlled distance, a 

restrained aloofness, deliberately keep away (from him). Cf . line 152, 

supra: "forbear his presence." 

Edm. I do serve you in this business. [Exit Edgar. 
A credulous father, and a brother noble, no 

Whose nature is so far from doing harms 
That he suspects none; on whose foolish honesty 
My practices ride easy. I see the business. 
Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit: 
All with me's meet that I can fashion fit, [Exit. 

SCENE III — THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S PALACE 

Enter GoNEEni and Oswald, her steward 

GoN. Did my father strike my gentleman for chiding 
of his fool ? 

Osw. Yes, madam. 

GoN. By day and night he wrongs me; every hour 
He flashes into one gross crime or other. 
That sets us all at odds : I '11 not endure it : 
His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us 
On every trifle. When he returns from hunting, 
I will not speak with him; say I am sick: 
If you come slack of former services, lo 

You shall do well; the fault of it I'll answer. 

173 practices] machinations, plots. 

175 All with me's meet . . . fit] With me every device which I can adapt 
to my purpose is fair game. 

4 By day and night] Every hour. 

5 flashes] breaks out. Cf. Hamlet, II, i, 33: "The flash and outbreak of 

a fiery mind." 

Osw. He's coming, madam; I hear him. 

[Horns within. 

GoN. Put on what weary negligence you please, 
You and your fellows; I 'Id have it come to question: 
If he distaste it, let him to our sister. 
Whose mind and mine, I know, in that are one. 
Not to be over-ruled. Idle old man. 
That still would manage those authorities 
That he hath given away ! Now, by my life. 
Old fools are babes again, and must be used 20 

With checks as flatteries, when they are seen abused. 
Remember what I tell you. 

Osw. Very well, madam. 

GoN. And let his knights have colder looks among 
you I 
What grows of it, no matter ; advise your fellows so : 
I would breed from hence occasions, and I shall, 
That I may speak: I'll write straight to my sister, 
To hold my very course. Prepare for dinner. [Exeunt. 

13 weary negligence] listless inattentiveness. Cf. I, iv, 67, infra. 

15 distaste] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read more simply dislike. 

17-21 Not to be over-ruled . . . seen abused] These lines are omitted 
from the Folios, and appear as prose in the Quartos. Line 21 (With 
checks . . . abused) means: With punishments or restrictions in the 
place of flatteries, when they (i.e., the old fools) are seen to be 
misled or deceived (as to the true position of affairs). 

25-26 I would breed . . . speak] These words which are also printed as 
prose in the Quartos are again omitted from the Folios. 

SCENE IV — A HALL IN THE SAME 

Enter Kent, disguised 

Kent. If but as well I other accents borrow. 
That can my speech defuse, my good intent 
May carry through itself to that full issue 
For which I razed my likeness. Now, banish'd Kent, 
If thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemn'd. 
So may it come, thy master whom thou lovest 
Shall find thee full of labours. 

Horns within. Enter Leak, Knights, and Attendants 

Leab. Let me not stay a jot for dinner; go get it 
ready. [Exit an Attendant.] How now ! what art thou ? 

Kent. A man, sir. lo 

Lear. What dost thou profess ? What wouldst thou 
with us ? 

Kent. I do profess to be no less than I seem; to 
serve him truly that will put me in trust; to love him 
that is honest; to converse with him that is wise and 
says little ; to fear judgement ; to fight when I cannot 
choose, and to eat no fish. 

2 defuse] disorder, confuse. Kent is anxious to complete his disguise by 

adopting an accent which shall make his speech indistinct. 
7 fidl of lahours] ready for any service. 

16 to fear judgement] to fear the day of judgment. 

17 to eat no fish] Eating fish was held to be the sign of a Roman Catholic, 

of one disaflFected to the government. Hence "to eat no fish" is 
equivalent to a profession of loyalty and orthodoxy. Cf. Marston's 

Leak. What art thou ? 

Kent. A very honest-hearted fellow, and as poor as 
the king. 20 

Leak. If thou be as poor for a subject as he is for a 
king, thou art poor enough. What wouldst thou ? 

Kent. Service. 

Lear. Who wouldst thou serve ? 

Kent. You. 

Lear. Dost thou know me, fellow? 

Kent. No, sir ; but you have that in your countenance 
which I would fain call master. 

Lear. What's that? 

Kent. Authority. 30 

Lear. What services canst thou do? 

Kent. I can keep honest counsel, ride, run, mar a 
curious tale in telling it, and deliver a plain message 
bluntly : that which ordinary men are fit for, I am quali- 
fied in, and the best of me is diligence. 

Lear. How old art thou? 

Kent. Not so young, sir, to love a woman for singing, 
nor so old to dote on her for any thing: I have years 
on my back forty eight. 

Lear. Follow me ; thou shalt serve me : if I like thee 40 
no worse after dinner, I will not part from thee yet. 
Dinner, ho, dinner ! Where 's my knave ? my fool ? Go 
you, and call my fool hither. [Exit an Attendant. 

Dvich Courtesan, I, ii, 19-20: "I trust I am none of the wicked that 

eat fish a' Fridays." 
33 curious] elaborate, complex. 

42 knave] lad ; a common tenn of endearment, frequently used by Lear. 

Enter Oswald 

You, you, sirrah, where 's my daughter? 

Osw. So please you, — [Exit. 

Leab. What says the fellow there ? Call the clotpoU 
back. [Exit a Knight.] Where's my fool, ho? I think 
the world's asleep. 

Re-enter Knight 

How now! where 's that mongrel? 

Knight. He says, my lord, your daughter is not well, so 

Lear. Why came not the slave back to me when I 
called him? 

Knight. Sir, he answered me in the roundest man- 
ner, he would not. 

Leab. He would not ! 

Knight. My lord, I know not what the matter is; 
but, to my judgement, your highness is not entertained 
with that ceremonious affection as you were wont; 
there's a great abatement of kindness appears as well 
in the general dependants as in the duke himself also 60 
and your daughter. 

Lear. Ha ! sayest thou so ? 

Knight. I beseech you, pardon me, my lord, if I be 
mistaken; for my duty cannot be silent when I think 
your highness wronged. 

Lear. Thou but rememberest me of mine own con- 
ception : I have perceived a most faint neglect of late ; 

46 clotpoU] clodpate, blockhead. 
S3 roundest] bluntest. 

67 faint] listless, languid. Cf. I, iii, 13, supra, "weary negligence." 
3 [33] 

which I have rather blamed as mine own jealous curi- 
osity than as a very pretence and purpose of unkind- 
ness : I will look further into 't. But where 's my fool ? 70 
I have not seen him this two days. 

Knight. Since my young lady's going into France, 
sir, the fool hath much pined away. 

Lear. No more of that; I have noted it well. Go 
you, and tell my daughter I would speak with her. 
[Exit an Attendant.] Go you, call hither my fool. 

[Exit an Attendant. 

Re-enter Oswald 

O, you sir, you, come you hither, sir : who am I, sir ? 

Osw. My lady's father. 

Lear. My lady's father ! my lord's knave : you whore- 
son dog ! you slave ! you cur ! so 

Osw. I am none of these, my lord; I beseech your 
pardon. 

Lear. Do you bandy looks with me, you rascal ? 

[Striking him. 

Osw. I'll not be struck, my lord, 

Kent. Nor tripped neither, you base foot-ball player. 

[Tripping up his heels. 

Lear. I thank thee, fellow ; thou servest me, and I '11 
love thee. 

Kent, Come, sir, arise, away ! I '11 teach you differ- 

68-69 mine own jealous . . . very pretence] my own suspicious punctil- 
iousness than as a deliberate design. 
88 differences] differences of rank between master and man, 

ences : away, away ! If you will measure your lub- 
ber's length again, tarry : but away ! go to ; have you 
wisdom ? so. [Pushes Oswald out. 

Leab. Now, my friendly knave, I thank thee : there 's 
earnest of thy service. [Giving Kent money. 

Enter Fool 

Fool. Let me hire him too: here's my coxcomb. 

[Offering Kent his cap. 

Lear. How now, my pretty knave ! how dost thou ? 

Fool. Sirrah, you were best take my coxcomb. 

Kent. Why, fool ? 9T 

Fool. Why, for taking one's part that's out of favour : 
nay, an thou canst not smile as the wind sits, thou 'It 
catch cold shortly : there, take my coxcomb : why, this 
fellow hath banished two on's daughters, and done the 
third a blessing against his will; if thou follow him, 
thou must needs wear my coxcomb. How now, nuncle ! 
Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters ! 

Lear. Why, my boy ? 

Fool. If I gave them all my living, I 'Id keep my 
coxcombs myself. There's mine; beg another of thy 
daughters. 

Lear. Take heed, sirrah ; the whip. io9 

Fool. Truth 's a dog must to kennel ; he must be 

93 earnest] earnest money, payment in advance. 

94 coxcomh] the fool's cap. 

103 nuncle] a contraction of "mine uncle." Fools usually addressed their 
superiors thus. 

whipped out, when Lady the brach may stand by the 
fire and stink. 

Lear. A pestilent gall to me ! 

Fool. Sirrah, I'll teach thee a speech. 

Lear. Do. 

Fool. Mark it, nuncle : 

Have more than thou showest. 

Speak less than thou knowest, 

Lend less than thou owest. 

Ride more than thou goest, 120 

Learn more than thou trowest. 

Set less than thou throwest; 

Leave thy drink and thy whore. 

And keep in-a-door. 

And thou shalt have more 

Than two tens to a score. 

Kent. This is nothing, fool. 

Fool. Then 't is like the breath of an unfee'd lawyer, 
you gave me nothing for't. Can you make no use of 
nothing, nuncle? iso 

111 Lady the hrach\ a bitch hound. Thus Steevens. The Folios read the 
Lady Brach; the Quartos Lady oth'e hrach. Cf. 1 Hen. IV, III, i, 
237: "I'd rather hear Lady my brach howl in Irish." For "brach," 
see in, vi, 68, infra. 

119 owest] ownest, possessest. 

120 goest] walkest on foot. 

121 <7-0TOe«<] trustest, believest. The line means "Hear or learn more than you 
believe ; don't believe all you hear." "Trow " is found in the sense both 
of " believe " and "know." But here the former sense suits the context. 

122 Set less than thou throwest] A confused way of saying " Keep something 
in reserve when you stake a throw of the dice." 

Lear. Why, no, boy; nothing can be made out of 
nothing. 

Fool. [To Kent] Prithee, tell him, so much the rent of 
his land comes to: he will not believe a fool. 

Lear. A bitter fool ! 

Fool. Dost thou know the difference, my boy, be- 
tween a bitter fool and a sweet fool? 

Lear. No, lad; teach me. 

Fool. That lord that counsell'd thee 

To give away thy land, 140 

Come place him here by me; 

Do thou for him stand : 
The sweet and bitter fool 

Will presently appear; 
The one in motley here, 

The other found out there. 

Lear. Dost thou call me fool, boy ? 

Fool. All thy other titles thou hast given away ; that 
thou wast born with. 

Kent. This is not altogether fool, my lord. iso 

Fool. No, faith, lords and great men will not let me ; 
if I had a monopoly out, they would have part on't: 

139-154 Tfualord . . . they'll be snatching] This passage is omitted from 

the Folios. 
139 That lord that eounseU'd thee] In the old play of King Lear, Lear is 

advised by a lord called Scalliger to divide his kingdom among his 

children. No such counsellor figures in Shakespeare's piece. 
145 motley] the ordinary parti-coloured dress of the domestic fool. 
152 if I had a monopoly out] if a patent of monopoly (in folly) had been 

granted me. 

and ladies too, they will not let me have all the fool to 
myself; they'll be snatching. Give me an egg, nuncle, 
and I'll give thee two crowns. 

Leak. What two crowns shall they be ? 156 

Fool. Why, after I have cut the egg in the middle 
and eat up the meat, the two crowns of the egg. Wlien 
thou clovest thy crown i' the middle and gavest away 
both parts, thou borest thine ass on thy back o'er the 
dirt : thou hadst little wit in thy bald crown when thou 
gavest thy golden one away. If I speak like myself in 
this, let him be whipped that first finds it so. 

[Singing] Fools had ne'er less wit in a year ; 

For wise men are grown foppish. 
And know not how their wits to wear. 
Their manners are so apish. 

Lear. When were you wont to be so full of songs, 
sirrah ? 169 

Fool. I have used it, nuncle, ever since thou madest 
thy daughters thy mother: for when thou gavest them 
the rod and puttest down thine own breeches. 

153 ladies too] Thus some copies of the First Quarto, though most copies 
read with the Second and Third Quart»s and lodes too. 

160 borest thine ass . . . hack] An allusion to jEsop's fable of the old man 
who tried to please everybody. 

162 like myself] like a fool. The fool means that he is in earnest. 

164-165 Fools . . . foppish] Fools never at any time enjoyed less recog- 
nition; for wise men are grown foolish. For "foppish" see supra, 
I, ii, 14, "fops," and 113, "foppery" (i. e., foolishness). 

170 / have wed U] Jt has been my use or habit. 

[Singing] Then they for sudden joy did weep, 

And I for sorrow sung, 
That such a king should play bo-peep. 
And go the fools among. 

Prithee, nuncle, keep a schoolmaster that can teach thy 
fool to lie: I would fain learn to lie. 

Lear. An you lie, sirrah, we'll have you whipped. it9 
Fool. I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters are : 
they'll have me whipped for speaking true, thou 'It have 
me whipped for lying, and sometimes I am whipped for 
holding my peace. I had rather be any kind o' thing 
than a fool : and yet I would not be thee, nuncle ; thou 
hast pared thy wit o' both sides and left nothing i' the 
middle. Here comes one o' the parings. 

Enter Gonebil 

Lear. How now, daughter ! what makes that front- 
let on? Methinks you are too much of late i' the 
frown. 189 

Fool. Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst no 
need to care for her frowning ; now thou art an O with- 

173-176 Then they . . . among] A similar stanza ending: 

"Some men for sudden joy gan weep 
But I for sorrow sing," 

is sung in Thomas Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1608. Heywood prob- 
ably imitated Shakespeare here. 

175 play bo-peep] play childish games. 

187 frontlet] properly a tight band worn on women's foreheads, but here 
an incipient frown. Cf. Zepheria (1694), a collection of sonnets, xxvii, 
14 : "And veil thy face with frowns as wiih a frontlet." 

191-192 an O vnthout a figure] a cipher. 

out a figure: I am better than thou art now; I am a 
fool, thou art nothing. [To Gon.] Yes, forsooth, I will 
hold my tongue ; so your face bids me, though you say 
nothing. 

Mum, mum: 

He that keeps nor crust nor crumb, 

Weary of all, shall want some. 
[Pointing to Lear] That's a shealed peascod. 

Gon. Not only, sir, this your all-licensed fool, 
But other of your insolent retinue 200 

Do hourly carp and quarrel, breaking forth 
In rank and not to be endured riots. Sir, 
I had thought, by making this well known unto you. 
To have found a safe redress; but now grow fearful. 
By what yourself too late have spoke and done. 
That you protect this course and put it on 
By your allowance ; which if you should, the fault 
Would not 'scape censure, nor the redresses sleep. 
Which, in the tender of a wholesome weal. 
Might in their working do you that offence 210 

197 Weary of all] Rejecting from ennui all sustenance. 

198 a shealed peascod] an empty husk, or pod without the peas ; "shealed " 
is the old spelling of "shelled." 

206-207 pvi iton . . . allowance] prompt or encourage it by your approval. 

207-212 which if you should . . . proceeding] The construction is con- 
fused. The lines mean: Encouragement of this order on your 
part is a fault inviting censure, nor will needful remedial measures 
be spared ; such measures, undertaken for the due care and protec- 
tion of a healthy court or state, might in their operation do you an 
injury, which injury it would in other circumstances be reprehensible 
to inflict on you, but will in the necessities of the case be reckoned a 
prudent or discreet procedure. 

Which else were shame, that then necessity 
Will call discreet proceeding. 
Fool. For, you know, nuncle. 

The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long, 
That it had it head bit off by it young. 

So out went the candle, and we were left darkling. 

Leae. Are you our daughter? 

GoN. Come, sir, 
I would you would make use of that good wisdom 
Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away 220 

These dispositions that of late transform you 
From what you rightly are. 

Fool. May not an ass know when the cart draws the 
horse ? Whoop, Jug ! I love thee. 

Leak. Doth any here know me ? This is not Lear : 
Doth Lear walk thus ? speak thus ? Where are his eyes ? 
Either his notion weakens, his discernings 
Are lethargied — Ha ! waking ? 't is not so. 
Who is it that can tell me who I am ? 

215 it head . . . it young] in both cases "it" is the old form of "its." 
The lines refer to the cuckoo's habit of laying her eggs in the spar- 
row's nest. The sparrow is wont to hatch and nurture the cuckoo's 
chicks, though they when they grow up often kill the bird which has 
cherished them. 

216 darJcling] in the dark. The line is probably a colloquial catch-phrase. 
221 dispositions] humours, caprices. Cf. liue 292, infra. 

224 Whoop, Jug I I love thee] Possibly the burden of an old song. "Jug" 

was the pet name for Joan. 
227 notion . . . diseemings] mind . . . understanding. 

weakens] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read weakness, 

Fool. Lear's shadow. 230 

Lear. I would learn that; for, by the marks of sov- 
ereignty, knowledge and reason, I should be false per- 
suaded I had daughters. 

Fool. Which they will make an obedient father. 

Leak. Your name, fair gentlewoman ? 

GoN. This admiration, sir, is much o' the savour 
Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you 
To understand my purposes aright: 
As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. 
Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires; 240 
Men so disorder'd, so debosh'd and bold. 
That this our court, infected with their manners, 
Shows like a riotous inn: epicurism and lust 
Make it more like a tavern or a brothel 
Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak 
For instant remedy : be then desired 

231-234 / wovid learn . . . father] These lines are only found in the 
Quartos. Their genuineness has been disputed. "Marks of sov- 
ereignty . . . daughters" would seem to mean evidence offered 
by " supreme mental power or faculty would delude me into the belief 
that I was the father of daughters." Lear ignores the Fool's interrup- 
tion " Lear's shadow," line 230, and the Pool retaliates by ignoring 
Lear's interpolated sentences, and by continuing his comment in line 
234, "Which . . . father." 

236 This admiration] This expression of astonishment. 

239 you shoidd] Thus the Second and Third Quartos. Other early editions 
omit you. Steevens would omit you should, and thus improve the 
metre. 

241 debosh'd] an old spelling of "debauched." 

243 epicurism] gluttony. Cf. Macb., V, iii, 8: "the English epicurei." 

245 graced] dignified, decorous. 

By her that else will take the thing she begs 

A little to disquantity your train, 

And the remainder that shall still depend. 

To be such men as may besort your age, 250 

Which know themselves and you. 

Lear. Darkness and devils ! 

Saddle my horses; call my train together. 
Degenerate bastard ! I '11 not trouble thee : 
Yet have I left a daughter. 

GoN. You strike my people, and your disorder'd 
rabble 
Make servants of their betters. 

Enter Albany 

Leae. Woe, that too late repents, — [To Alb.] O, 
sir, are you come ? 
Is it your will ? Speak, sir. Prepare my horses. 
Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend. 
More hideous when thou show'st thee in a child 260 

Than the sea-monster ! 

Alb. Pray, sir, be patient. 

Lear. [To Gon.] Detested kite ! thou liest. 
My train are men of choice and rarest parts. 
That all particulars of duty know. 
And in the most exact regard support 

248 disquantity] diminish the quantity of. Cf. line 283, infra, "dis- 

natured." 

249 still depend] still be your dependants, still continue in your service. 
Cf. Trail, and Cress.,111, i,5 : " I do depend upon (i. e., serve) the Lord." 

261 the seor-monster] a vague reference to the sea-monster described in 
Ovid's Metam., xi, 199, seq., to which reference is made in Merck, of 
Ven., Ill, ii, 55-57, and note. 

The worships of their name. O most small fault. 

How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show ! 

That, like an engine, wrench'd my frame of nature 

From the fix'd place, drew from my heart all love 

And added to the gall. O Lear, Lear, Lear ! 270 

Beat at this gate, that let thy folly in [Striking his head. 

And thy dear judgement out ! Go, go, my people. 

Alb. My lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant 
Of what hath moved you. 

Leab. It may be so, my lord. 

Hear, nature, hear ; dear goddess, hear ! 
Suspend thy purpose, if thou didst intend 
To make this creature fruitful: 
Into her womb convey sterility: 
Dry up in her the organs of increase, 
And from her derogate body never spring 280 

A babe to honour her ! If she must teem, 
Create her child of spleen, that it may live 
And be a thwart disnatured torment to her. 
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth; 
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks; 
Turn all her mother's pains and benefits 

266 The worships] The honourable repute. Such a plural is often met 

with. 
268 like an engine] like the rack. 
280 derogate] degenerate or degraded. 
283 thwart disnatured] perverse, lacking natural affection or instinct. 

285 cadent] falling; a rare Latinism. Thus the Folios; the Quartos read 
hardly intelligibly accent or acdent. 

286 mother's ■pains and benefits] maternal anxieties and kind offices ren- 
dered by mothers to children. 

To laughter and contempt; that she may feel 

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 

To have a thankless child ! Away, away ! [Exit. 

Alb. Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes this ? 290 
GoN. Never afflict yourself to know the cause. 

But let his disposition have that scope 

That dotage gives it. 

Re-enter Leak 

Lear. What, fifty of my followers at a clap ! 
Within a fortnight ! 

Alb. What's the matter, sir? 

Lear. I'll tell thee. [To Gon.] Life and death! 
am ashamed 
That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus ; 
That these hot tears, which break from me perforce. 
Should make thee worth them. Blasts and fogs upon 

thee! 
The untented woundings of a father's curse soo 

Pierce every sense about thee ! Old fond eyes, 
Beweep this cause again, I'll pluck ye out 
And cast you with the waters that you lose 
To temper clay. Yea, is it come to this ? 
Let it be so : yet have I left a daughter, 

292 dispodtum] caprice. Cf. line 221, supra. 

294 at a clap] at a stroke. 

300 untented] not to be healed, incapable of yielding to the surgeon's cura- 
tive "tent" or probe. 

305 Let . . . daughter] The Quartos omit Le< i< 6e so ; which is only in the 
Folios. Yet have I left a daughter is the Quarto reading for the 
Folio / haue another daughter. 

Who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable: 
When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails 
She '11 flay thy wolvish visage. Thou shalt find 
That I'll resume the shape which thou dost think 
I have cast off for ever : thou shalt, I warrant thee. 3io 

[Exeunt Lear, Kent, and Attendants. 

GoN. Do you mark that, my lord ? 

Alb. I cannot be so partial, Goneril, 
To the great love I bear you, — 

GoN. Pray you, content. What, Oswald, ho ! 
[To the Fool] You, sir, more knave than fool, after your 
master. 

Fool. Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry ; take the fool 
with thee. 

A fox, when one has caught her. 

And such a daughter, 

Should sure to the slaughter, 320 

If my cap would buy a halter: 

So the fool follows after. [Exit. 

GoN. This man hath had good counsel: a hundred 
knights ! 
'T is politic and safe to let him keep 
At point a hundred knights : yes, that on every dream. 

306 comfortable] comforting, giving comfort or sympathy. 

322 after] The Elizabethans pronounced this word much like "slaughter" 

and "halter," words with which it rhymes here. 
323-334 This . . . unfitness, —] These lines are omitted from the 

Quartos. 
325 At point] Equipped. 

Each buzz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike, 
He may enguard his dotage with their powers 
And hold our lives in mercy. Oswald, I say ! 

Alb. Well, you may fear too far. 

GoN. Safer than trust too far: 

Let me still take away the harms I fear, sso 

Not fear still to be taken: I know his heart. 
What he hath utter'd I have writ my sister: 
If she sustain him and his hundred knights. 
When I have show'd the unfitness, — 

Re-evier Oswald 

How now, Oswald ! 
What, have you writ that letter to my sister .? 

Osw. Yes, madam. 

GoN. Take you some company, and away to horse: 
Inform her full of my particular fear, 
And thereto add such reasons of your own 
As may compact it more. Get you gone; 340 

And hasten your return. [Exit Oswald.] No, no, my lord, 
This milky gentleness and course of yours 
Though I condemn not, yet, under pardon, 
You are much more attask'd for want of wisdom 
Than praised for harmful mildness. 

326 buzz] vague rumour, undertone of gossip. 

831 Not fear . . . taken] Nor constantly fear to be overtaken by harms. 

340 compact it more] strengthen it. 

344 attask'd] (to be) taken to task, reproved. Thus some copies of the 
First Quarto. The word is found nowhere else. Other copies of the 
First Quarto with the Second and Third Quartos read alapt. The 

Alb. How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell : 
Striving to better, oft we mar what's well. 
GoN. Nay, then — 
Alb. Well, well; the event. [ExeutU. 

SCENE V — COURT BEFORE THE SAME 
Enter Leab, Kent, and Fool 

Leak. Go you before to GloncEStes with these letters. 
Acquaint my daughter no further with any thing you 
know than comes from her demand out of the letter. If 
your diligence be not speedy, I shall be there afore you. 

Kent. I will not sleep, my lord, till I have delivered 
your letter. [Exit. 

Fool. If a man's brains were in 's heels, were't not 
in danger of kibes ? 

Lear. Ay, boy. 

Fool. Then, I prithee, be merry ; thy wit shall ne'er lo 
go slip-shod. 

Folios have at task. The strange word alapt (i. e., slap or strike) 
is found in the form "alapat," in Melton's Sixfold Politician (1609, 
page 185) : "not with a wand to alapat and strike them." 

349 the event] (we '11 wait to see) how it turns out. 

Scene v, 4 there] at Gloucester; see line 1. The Duke of Cornwall 
and Lear's daughter Regan are supposed to reside at Gloucester, and 
the Earl of Gloucester to have in the neighbourhood of the city, a 
castle, where the next two scenes take place. 

8 kibes] chilblains. 

10-11 thy luit . . . jKp-s^d] "slipshod "means "in slippers," the natural 
footgear for sore heels. The Fool means that Lear has no brains, and 

Lear. Ha, ha, ha ! 

Fooii. Shalt see thy other daughter will use thee 
kindly; for though she's as like this as a crab's like 
an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell. 

Leab. Why, what canst thou tell, my boy ? 

Fool. She will taste as like this as a crab does to a 
crab. Thou canst tell why one's nose stands i' the 
middle on 's face ? 

Lear. No. 20 

Fool. Why, to keep one's eyes of either side's nose, 
that what a man cannot smell out he may spy into. 

Lear. I did her wrong — 

Fool. Canst tell how an oyster makes his shell ? 

Lear. No. 

Fool. Nor I neither; but I can tell why a snail has 
a house. 

Lear. Why? 

Fool. Why, to put's head in; not to give it away 
to his daughters, and leave his horns without a case, so 

Lear. I will forget my nature. — So kind a father ! 
— Be my horses ready ? 

Fool. Thy asses are gone about 'em. The reason why 
the seven stars are no more than seven is a pretty reason. 

in virtue of his quibbling association of brains with sore heels, he 

denies that Lear will have any need of invalid shoes. 
14 crab] The "crabapple," commonly called "crab," had a very sour 

taste. 
23 I did her wrong] Lear refers to his treatment of Cordelia. 
34 the seven stars] the Pleiades. Cf. 1 Hen. IV, I, ii, 13 : "the moon and 

the seven stars." 
4 [49] 

Leab. Because they are not eight ? 

Fool. Yes, indeed : thou wouldst make a good fool. 

Leab. To take 't again perforce ! Monster ingrati- 
tude! 

Fool. If thou wert my fool, nuncle, I 'Id have thee 
beaten for being old before thy time. 

Leab. How's that? 40 

Fool. Thou shouldst not have been old till thou 
hadst been wise. 

Leab. O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet 
heaven ! 
Keep me in temper : I would not be mad ! 

Enter Gentleman 

How now ! are the horses ready ? 
Gent. Ready, my lord. 
Leab. Come, boy. 

Fool. She that's a maid now and laughs at my de- 
parture 
Shall not be a maid long, unless things be cut shorter. 

[Exeunt. 

37 To take 't again perforce] No doubt Lear is meditating a forcible 

resumption of his royal power. 
48-49 She that 's ... cut shorter] The Quartos make Lear go out before 

the fool speaks this couplet, which many critics regard as an actor's 

interpolation.

THE EARL OF GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

Edmund 

Enter EoMimD and Cuban, meeting 

)AVE THEE, CURAN. 

Cur. And you, sir. I have 
been with your father, and given 
him notice that the Duke of 
Cornwall and Regan his duchess 
will be here with him this night. 

Edm. How comes that? 

Cur. Nay, I know not. You 
have heard of the news abroad, 
I mean the whispered ones, for 
they are yet but ear-kissing 
arguments ? 

Edm. Not I: pray you, what 
are they ? 

Cur. Have you heard of no likely wars toward, 'twixt lo 
the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany ? 

8 ear-Jdsdng arguments] expressions that lightly touch the ear, topics 
merely spoken of in an undertone. Thus the Folios. The Quartos 
read eare-busdng, " bussing " being an archaic word for " kissing." 

Edm. Not a word. 

Cur. You may do then in time. Fare you well, sir. 

[Exit. 

Edm. The duke be here to-night ? The better ! best ! 
This weaves itself perforce into my business. 
My father hath set guard to take my brother ; 
And I have one thing, of a queasy question. 
Which I must act : briefness and fortune, work ! 
Brother, a word ; descend : brother, I say ! 

Enter Edgab 

My father watches: O sir, fly this place; 20 

Intelligence is given where you are hid; 
You have now the good advantage of the night: 
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall ? 
He 's coming hither, now, i' the night, i' the haste, 
And Regan with him : have you nothing said 
Upon his party 'gainst the Duke of Albany ? 
Advise yourself. 

Edg. I am sure on't, not a word. 

Edm. I hear my father coming: pardon me: 
In cunning I must draw my sword upon you: 
Draw : seem to defend yourself : now quit you well. so 

10 toward] imminent. 

17 of a queasy question] of a delicate or ticklish character. 

26 Upon his party] On the Duke of Cornwall's side, in that duke's sup- 

port. Edmund is mystifying Edgar by putting him a question quite 
contradicting his first query: "Have you not spoken 'gainst the 
Duke of Cornwall ? " (liue 23, supra). 

27 Advise yourself] RecoUect. 

29 In cunning] By way of pretence. 

Yield : come before my father. Light, ho, here ! 
Fly, brother. Torches, torches ! So farewell. 

[Exit Edgar. 
Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion 

[Wounds his arm. 
Of my more fierce endeavour : I have seen drunkards 
Do more than this in sport. Father, father ! 
Stop, stop ! No help ? 

Enier Glottcesteb, and Servants with torches 

Gloxt. Now, Edmund, where 's the villain ? 
Edm. Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword 
out. 
Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon 
To stand's auspicious mistress. 

Glou. But where is he ? 4o 

Edm. Look, sir, I bleed. 

Glou. Where is the villain, Edmund ? 

Edm. Fled this way, sir. When by no means he 

could — 
Glou. Pursue him, ho ! — Go after. [Exeunt some 

Servants.] "By no means" what? 
Edm. Persuade me to the murder of your lordship ; 
But that I told him the revenging gods 

33 beget opinion] create a notion. 

34-35 I have seen . . . sport] Reference is often made by the dramatists 
to the practice of young gallants when inflamed with drink stabbing 
themselves and drinking all manner of filth, by way of attesting their 
devotion to their mistress. 

'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend. 

Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond 

The child was bound to the father; sir, in fine. 

Seeing how loathly opposite I stood 

To his unnatural purpose, in fell motion 60 

With his prepared sword he charges home 

My unprovided body, lanced mine arm: 

But when he saw my best alarum'd spirits 

Bold in the quarrel's right, roused to the encounter. 

Or whether gasted by the noise I made, 

Full suddenly he fled. 

GiiOU. Let him fly far: 

Not in this land shall he remain uncaught; 
And found — dispatch. The noble duke my master. 
My worthy arch and patron, comes to-night: 
By his authority I will proclaim it, 60 

That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, 
Bringing the murderous caitiff to the stake; 
He that conceals him, death. 

Edm. When I dissuaded him from his intent 

49 hxm loathly opposite I stood] with what disgust I declared my 

opposition. 

50 motion] a technical term in fencing for making an attack. 

62 lanced] The Quartos have lanchi or launcht which is an old spelling of 

"lanced." The Folios have htch'd. 

63 my best alarwm'd spiriis\ my finest courage roused to action. 

65 goMed hy] frightened by, aghast at. Cf. Othello, V, i, 106: "Do you per- 
ceive the gastness of her eye ? " 

68 And found — dispatch] An elliptical expression for "and when he is 
found there shall be no delay; he shall be killed outright." Cf. line 
63, infra : "He that conceals him, death." 

59 arch] chief. 

And found him pight to do it, with curst speech 

I threaten'd to discover him: he replied, 

"Thou unpossessing bastard! dost thou think. 

If I would stand against thee, could the reposure 

Of any trust, virtue, or worth, in thee 

Make thy words faith'd ? No : what I should deny — 70 

As this I would ; ay, though thou didst produce 

My very character — I 'Id turn it all 

To thy suggestion, plot, and damned practice: 

And thou must make a dullard of the world, 

If they not thought the profits of my death 

Were very pregnant and potential spurs 

To make thee seek it." 

Glou. Strong and fasten'd villain ! 

Would he deny his letter ? I never got him. 

[Tucket within. 
Hark, the duke's trumpets ! I know not why he comes. 
All ports I'll bar; the villain shall not 'scape; so 

65 pight . . . curst] settled or pledged . . . vehement. 

67 unpossessing] without the right of inheriting. 

68 reposure] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read reposaU or reposal. 

69 virtus, or worih] These words are co-ordinate with "reposure of any 

trust." 

70 faith'd] believed. 

72 character] handwriting. 

73 suggestion . . . practice] prompting or instigation . . . plotting or 

intrigue. 

76 pregnant] obvious. 

77 Strong and fasten'd] Resolute and determined. 

78 I never get him] I never begot him ; of. Ill, iv, 142, infra, where 

" gets " is similarly used for " begets." Thus the Quartos. The 
Folios substitute less intelligibly said he ? 

The duke must grant me that: besides, his picture 
I will send far and near, that all the kingdom 
May have due note of him; and of my land. 
Loyal and natural boy, I'll work the means 
To make thee capable. 

Enter Cornwall, Regan, and Attendants 

Corn. How now, my noble friend ! since I came hither. 
Which I can call but now, I have heard strange news. 

Reg. If it be true, all vengeance comes too short 
Which can pursue the offender. How dost, my lord ? 

Glou. O, madam, my old heart is crack'd, is crack'd ! so 

Reg. What, did my father's godson seek your life ? 
He whom my father named .'' your Edgar ? 

Glou. O, lady, lady, shame would have it hid ! 

Reg. Was he not companion with the riotous knights 
That tend upon my father? 

Glou. I know not, madam : 't is too bad, too bad. 

Edm. Yes, madam, he was of that consort. 

Reg. No marvel then, though he were ill affected : 
'T is they have put him on the old man's death. 
To have the waste and spoil of his revenues. lOO 

I have this present evening from my sister 
Been well inform'd of them, and with such cautions 

84 natural] used in the double sense of "illegitimate" and "possessed of 

good natural instincts." 

85 capable] sc. of the succession. 
97 consort] company, fellowship. 

99 put him on] instigate him to attempt. 

100 the waste and spoit] Thus some copies of the First Quarto. The Folios 
read th' expense and wast. 

That if they come to sojourn at my house, 
I'll not be there. 

CoKN. Nor I, assure thee, Regan. 

Edmund, I hear that you have shown your father 
A child-like oflSce. 

Edm. 'T was my duty, sir. 

Glou. He did bewray his practice, and received 
This hurt you see, striving to apprehend him. 

Corn. Is he pursued? 

Glou. Ay, my good lord. 

Corn. If he be taken, he shall never more no 

Be fear'd of doing harm : make your own purpose. 
How in my strength you please. For you, Edmund, 
Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant 
So much commend itself, you shall be ours : 
Natures of such deep trust we shall much need : 
You we first seize on. 

Edm. I shall serve you, sir. 

Truly, however else. 

Glou. For him I thank your grace. 

Corn. You know not why we came to visit you, — 

Reg. Thus out of season, threading dark-eyed night : 
Occasions, noble Gloucester, of some poise, 120 

106 cMM-like] filial. 

107 bewray his practice] betray his plot. For "practice" cf. line 73, swpra. 
111-112 make your own . . . please] make your own arrangements, using 

as you will my power to serve you. 

119 threading] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read threatning. Cf. Cor., 
ni, i, 124: "They would not thread {i. e., pass through) the gates." 
The image is from threading a needle. 

120 poise] weight, moment. 

Wherein we must have use of your advice : 

Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister. 

Of diflferences, which I least thought it fit 

To answer from our home; the several messengers 

From hence attend dispatch. Our good old friend. 

Lay comforts to your bosom, and bestow 

Your needful counsel to our business. 

Which craves the instant use. 

Glott. I serve you, madam : 

Your graces are right welcome. [Flourish. Exeunt. 

SCENE n — BEFORE GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

Enter Kent and Oswald, severally 

Osw. Good dawning to thee, friend: art of this 

house ? 
Kent. Ay. 

Osw. Where may we set our horses ? 
Kent. I' the mire. 

Osw. Prithee, if thou lovest me, tell me. 
Kent. I love thee not. 

123 least] The Cambridge editors substitute had for lest, which is the 
reading of some copies of the First Quarto. Best is the reading of 
other copies of the First Quarto and of all other early editions. Best 
makes very good sense. " From our home " in line 124 may well mean 
"away from home," "in absence from home." 

124 from our home] For home some copies of the First Quarto read 
hand. 

125 attend dispatch] wait to be dispatched. 

1 dawning] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read euen (i. e., evening). The 
affected phrase implies the time about daybreak. 

Osw. Why then I care not for thee. 

Kent. If I had thee in Lipsbury pinfold, I would 
make thee care for me. 

Osw. Why dost thou use me thus ? I know thee not. lo 

Kent. Fellow, I know thee. 

Osw. What dost thou know me for ? 

Kent. A knave ; a rascal ; an eater of broken meats ; 
a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred- 
pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered 
action-taking knave ; a whoreson, glass-gazing, superser- 
viceable, finical rogue ; one-trunk-inheriting slave ; one 

8 Lipsbury pinfold] "Pinfold" is a synonym for "pound," a public en- 
closure for the confinement of stray cattle. Lipsbury is unexplained. 
It is perhaps a coined word sarcastically meaning "the lips." Kent 
might well threaten to get Oswald between his teeth. 

14 three-suited] obviously a term of reproach, as in Jonson's Silent Woman, 

iv, 5, 10-11 : "Thou wert a pitiful poor fellow, . . . and had nothing 
but three suits of apparel." Below, III, iv, 129, Edgar speaks rather 
contradictorily of "three suits to his back" as a sign of comparative 
prosperity. But Kent means here that a beggarly servitor like 
Oswald gives himself the airs of a man with a rich wardrobe. 
14-15 hundredpound] another term of reproach. Cf. Middleton's Phoenix, 
IV, iii, 55-56: "How's this ? am I used like a hundredpound gentle- 
man?" 

15 worstedstocMng] Poor people wore worsted stockings, while the stock- 

ings of rich people were invariably of silk. 

16 action-taking Icnave] one who resorts to legal action when assaulted 

instead of challenging an assailant to fight. 

glass-gazing] surveying his person in a looking-glass. 

superserviceahle] one above his duties. Cf. IV, vi, 254, infra: "a, service- 
able villain." 

17 one-trunk-inheriting] possessing a stock of clothes which would all go 

into a single trunk. 

KING LEAR act n 

that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, and art 
nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, 
pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch : one 20 
whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou de- 
niest the least syllable of thy addition. 

Osw. Why, what a monstrous fellow art thou, thus to 
rail on one that is neither known of thee nor knows 
thee! 

Kent. What a brazen-faced varlet art thou, to deny 
thou knowest me ! Is it two days ago since I tripped 
up thy heels and beat thee before the king ? Draw, you 
rogue : for, though it be night, yet the moon shines ; I '11 
make a sop o' the moonshine of you : draw, you whore- 
son cuUionly barber-monger, draw. [Drawing his sword. 30 

Osw. Away ! I have nothing to do with thee. 

Kent. Draw, you rascal: you come with letters 
against the king, and take vanity the puppet's part 
against the royalty of her father: draw, you rogue, or 
I '11 so carbonado your shanks : draw, you rascal ; come 
your ways. 

Osw. Help, ho ! murder ! help ! 

22 addition] title. 

28-29 / 'II make a sop o' the moonshine of yov\ I '11 beat you to a mummy 

by moonlight. There is a quibbling reference to a popular dish 

known as "eggs in moonshine." "A sop " literally meant a piece 

of toast soaked in wine or ale. 
30 culliorily barber-monger] rascally frequenter of barbers' shops, where he 

was forever getting his hair and beard trimmed. 
33 vanity the puppet's part] Lady Vanity was a conventional character in 

the old moralities, and was usually dressed as a woman. 
35 carbonado] slash; a culinary term. 

Kent. Strike, you slave; stand, rogue; stand, you 
neat slave, strike. [Beating him. 

Osw. Help, ho ! murder ! murder ! 

Enter Edmond, vnth his rapier drawn, Cornwall, Regan, 
Gloucesteb, and Servants 

Edm. How now! What's the matter? [Parting them. 40 

Kent. With you, goodman boy, an you please : come, 
I'll flesh you; come on, young master. 

Glou. Weapons ! arms ! What 's the matter here ? 

Corn. Keep peace, upon your lives; 
He dies that strikes again. WTiat is the matter? 

Reg. The messengers from our sister and the king. 

Corn. What is your difference ? speak. 

Osw. I am scarce in breath, my lord. 

Kent. No marvel, you have so bestirred your valour. 
You cowardly rascal, nature disclaims in thee : a tailor so 
made thee. 

37-38 you neat slave] you unmitigated scoundrel. Cf . Jonson's Poetaster, 
rn, V, 15, "neat wine " and ibid., IV, iii, 20, "my neat scoundrel." 
There may be in "neat" an implicit allusion to the "neatness," i. e., 
spruceness, of Oswald's attire. 

40-41 What's the matter? . . . goodman hoy\ In the Folios the word 
matter? is followed by an italicised word Part which is no doubt an 
elliptical indication of the accepted .stage direction. Kent attaches 
to the word "matter " the special sense of "quarrel." 
goodnmn] a contemptuous mode of address, equivalent to "master." 

42 flesh you] initiate you in fight. Cf. Hen. V, II, iv, 50, and line 118, 
infra. 

50 disclaims in thee] disowns thee ; in Elizabethan English an enclitic 
"in" commonly follows "disclaim." 

Corn. Thou art a strange fellow: a tailor make a 
man? 

Kent. Ay, a tailor, sir: a stone-cutter or a painter 
could not have made him so ill, though he had been but 
two hours at the trade. 

Corn. Speak yet, how grew your quarrel ? 

Osw. This ancient ruffian, sir, whose life I have 
spared at suit of his gray beard, — 

Kent. Thou whoreson zed ! thou unnecessary letter ! 
My lord, if you will give me leave, I will tread this un- 60 
bolted villain into mortar, and daub the walls of a jakes 
with him. Spare my gray beard, you wagtail ? 

Corn. Peace, sirrah ! 
You beastly knave, know you no reverence ? 

Kent. Yes, sir; but anger hath a privilege. 

Corn. Why art thou angry? 

Kent. That such a slave as this should wear a sword, 
Who wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues as these. 
Like rats, oft bite the holy cords a-twain 
Which are too intrinse to unloose ; smooth every passion 70 
That in the natures of their lords rebel; 
Bring oil to fire, snow to their colder moods; 

63 stone-cutter] sculptor. 

69 zed . . . letter] Cf. Ben Jonson's English Grammar: "Zed is a letter 

often heard among us, but seldom seen." 
60-61 unbolted] unsifted, crude, coarse. Cf. Hen. V, H, ii, 137: "finely 

bolted." 
65 anger hath a privilege] Cf. K. John, IV, iii, 32: "impatience hath his 

privilege." 

69 holy cords] bonds of filial affection. 

70 intrinse] tightly knotted; a fuller form is "intrinsecate"; cf. Ant. 

and Cleop., V, ii, 302: "this knot intrinsicate," and note. 

Renege, aflfirm, and turn their halcyon beaks 
With every gale and vary of their masters. 
Knowing nought, like dogs, but following. 
A plague upon your epileptic visage ! 
Smile you my speeches, as I were a fool ? 
Goose, if I had you upon Sarum plain, 
I 'Id drive ye cackling home to Camel ot. 

CoKN. What, art thou mad, old fellow ? 8o 

Glou. How fell you out ? say that. 

Kent. No contraries hold more antipathy 
Than I and such a knave. 

Corn. Why dost thou call him knave ? What is his 
fault ? 

Kent. His countenance likes me not. 

73 Renege] Deny, renounce. 

halcyon] the kingfisher. There was a popular belief that if the bird 
was suspended in the air by a cord round its neck, its bill would 
always point to the quarter from which the wind blew. Cf . Marlowe's 
Jew of Malta, I, i, 3&-39: "But now how stands the wind? Into 
what comer peers my halcyon's bill ? " 

76 epileptic] distorted by grinning. 

77 Smile you?] Do you smile at ? The verb is rarely used actively. The 

preposition is similarly omitted, I, i, 160, supra: "Thou swear'st thy 
gods." All the early editions save the Fourth Folio read smoile or 
smoyle, an archaic form of "smile." 

78 Sarum] Salisbury. 

79 Catnelot] the name of the place where in the Arthurian romances King 

Arthur kept his court and sat in judgment on unworthy knights. 
Camelot is variously identified with Winchester and South Cadbury, a 
village in Somerset. The latter is doubtfuUy said to have been famous 
for its wealth of geese. So literal an association is not necessary to the 
interpretation of the passage. 

[63J 

Corn. No more perchance does mine, nor his, nor 
hers. 

Kent. Sir, 't is my occupation to be plain : 
I have seen better faces in my time 
Than stands on any shoulder that I see 
Before me at this instant. 

Corn. This is some fellow, ^ 

Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect 
A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb 
Quite from his nature : he cannot flatter, he, — 
An honest mind and plain, — he must speak truth 
An they will take it, so; if not, he's plain. 
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness 
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends 
Than twenty silly ducking observants 
That stretch their duties nicely. 

Kent. Sir, in good faith, in sincere verity, loo 

Under the allowance of your great aspect. 
Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire 
On flickering Phoebus' front, — 

Corn. What mean'st by this ? 

Kent. To go out of mysdialect, which you discom- 

92-93 constrains . . . nature] forces his outward manner to something 
different from his natural disposition; his frankness conceals a deceit- 
ful nature. 

96 These kind] See note on Tw. Night, I, V, 83 : " These set kind of fools." 

98-99 silly ducking observants . . . nicely] stupidly obsequious attendants, 
who perform their duties to the extreme limit of punctiliousness. 

101-102 aspect . . . influence] technical terms of astrology; they well 
suit the pompously stilted style of speech which Kent here ironically 
affects. 

mend so much. I know, sir, I am no flatterer : he that 
beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain knave ; which, 
for my part, I will not be, though I should win your 
displeasure to entreat me to 't. 

Corn. What was the offence you gave him ? 

Osw. I never gave him any: no 

It pleased the king his master very late 
To strike at me, upon his misconstruction; 
When he, conjunct, and flattering his displeasure, 
Tripp'd me behind; being down, insulted, rail'd. 
And put upon him such a deal of man. 
That worthied him, got praises of the king 
For him attempting who was self-subdued. 
And in the fleshment of this dread exploit 
Drew on me here again. 

Kent. None of these rogues and cowards 

But Ajax is their fool. 

107-108 7 vdll not be . . . me to't] Kent clumsily implies that he would 
decline to be, like Oswald, "a plain (or downright) knave," though 
he should win Cornwall's disfavour (which he values more than his 
favour) by yielding to his request to assume that character. 

113 conjunct] in concert or alliance (with Lear). This reading of the 
Quartos is replaced in the Folios by compact, which has much the same 
meaning. 

114-117 being dawn . . . self-subdued] when I was down he insulted and 
railed at me, and made himself out to be such a brave man that he won 
much repute, obtained praises of the king for attacking one who was 
able to control his anger. 

118 the fleshmsnt] the initial elation. Cf. line 42, supra. 

120 Ajax] a synonym for a brave, blunt man, whom designing ■villains 
always make their butt or get the better of. Doubtless Shakespeare 
s [65] 

Corn, Fetch forth the stocks ! 120 

You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend braggart, 
We '11 teach you — 

Kent. Sir, I am too old to learn: 

Call not your stocks for me : I serve the king. 
On whose employment I was sent to you : 
You shall do small respect, show too bold malice 
Against the grace and person of my master, 
Stocking his messenger. 

Corn. Fetch forth the stocks ! As I have life and 
honour, 
There shall he sit till noon. 

Reg. Till noon ! till night, my lord, and all night too. 

Kent. Why, madam, if I were your father's dog, isi 
You should not use me so. 

Reg. Sir, being his knave, I will. 

Corn. This is a fellow of the self-same colour 
Our sister speaks of. Come, bring away the stocks ! 

[Stocks brought out. 

Glott. Let me beseech your grace not to do so: 
His fault is much, and the good king his master 
Will check him for 't : your purposed low correction 
Is such as basest and contemned'st wretches 
For pilferings and most common trespasses 
Are punish'd with : the king must take it ill, wo 

had in mind crafty Ulysses' contemptuous usage of Ajax in Ovid's 

Metamorphoses, Bk. XIII. 
136-140 His fault . . . Are punish'd with] This passage is omitted from 

the Folios. 
140 the king] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read The King his Master, 

needs. 

166] 

That he, so slightly valued in his messenger, 
Should have him thus restrain'd. 

CoEN. I'll answer that. 

Reg. My sister may receive it much more worse. 

To have her gentleman abused, assaulted, 

For following her affairs. Put in his legs. 

g~i J 1 J [Kent is put in the stocks. 

Come, my good lord, away. ■■ ^ 

[Exeunt all but Glcmcester and Kent. 

Glou. I am sorry for thee, friend ; 't is the duke's 

pleasure. 

Whose disposition, all the world well knows. 

Will not be rubb'd nor stopp'd: I'll entreat for 

thee. 

Kent. Pray, do not, sir : I have watch'd and travell'd 

hard ; ifio 

Some time I shall sleep out, the rest I'll whistle. 

A good man's fortune may grow out at heels: 

Give you good morrow ! 

Glou. The duke's to blame in this; 'twill be ill 

taken. [Exit. 

Kent. Good king, that must approve the common 

saw. 

Thou out of heaven's benediction comest 

To the warm sun ! 

145 For . . . legs] This line is omitted from the Folios. 

149 nii)b'd\ impeded, hindered. "Rub" technically meant an obstacle 
in the bowling alley. 

155-157 must approve . . . sun] must make good the common proverb, 
which ordinarily runs "out of God's blessing into the warm sun." 
The phrase is usually applied to a passage "from better to worse," 

Approach, thou beacon to this under globe. 
That by thy comfortable beams I may 
Peruse this letter ! Nothing almost sees miracles leo 

But misery ; I know 't is from Cordelia, 
Who hath most fortunately been inform'd 
Of my obscured course; and shall find time 
From this enormous state, seeking to give 
Losses their remedies. All weary and o'er-watch'd. 
Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold 
This shameful lodging. 

Fortune, good night : smile once more ; turn thy wheel ! 

[Sleeps. 

to the exchange of a reasonably safe haven for a scene of probable 
danger. The origin of the proverb, which is often cited by Elizabethan 
authors, is obscure. There is perhaps a reference to the perils that 
awaited threatened persons who took sanctuary in churches on coming 
out into the open air. 

160-161 Nothing . . . misery] It is almost only by the unfortunate that 
miracles are looked for or seen; prosperous people stand in no need 
of them. 

163-165 and shall find time . . . remedies] This is the reading of all the 
old editions; the punctuation is substantially that of the Folios. 
Kent is continuing in a disjointed way his reference to Cordelia, who, 
he says, will (or, is certain to) find opportunity out of this anomalous 
condition of things for an endeavour to remedy these wrongs. The 
loose construction reflects Kent's drowsy condition. " Enormous " is 
found in the sense of "abnormal" or "anomalous" in Two Noble 
Kinsmen, V, i, 62: "O great corrector of enormmts times." 

166 Take vantage] Take advantage of your sleepiness. 

SCENE m — A WOOD 

Enter Edgab 

Edg. I heard myself proelaim'd ; 
And by the happy hollow of a tree 
Escaped the hunt. No port is free; no place, 
That guard and most unusual vigilance 
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'scape 

1 will preserve myself: and am bethought 
To take the basest and most poorest shape 
That ever penury in contempt of man 

Brought near to beast : my face I '11 grime with filth, 
Blanket my loins, elf all my hair in knots, lo 

And with presented nakedness out-face 
The winds and persecutions of the sky. 
The country gives me proof and precedent 
Of Bedlam beggars, who with roaring voices 
Strike in their numb'd and mortified bare arms 
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary ; 

2 happy] discovered by good luck. 

3 port] place of exit. 

4 That guard] Where watchful sentinel. 

6 am bethought] have thought, have designed. 

10 elf . . hair] tangle all my hair; as elves were held to mat the hair of 

sluts. Cf. Rom. and Jul., I, iv, 90-91 : "(Queen Mab) bakes the eK- 

locks in foul, sluttish hairs." 
14 Bedlam beggars] half-crazy beggars, strictly applied to mendicant 

patients discharged from Bethlehem or Bedlam hospital, but often 

used with a more general significance of pauper idiots. Cf . I, ii, 

129-130, supra, and III, vii, 102, infra. 
16 wooden pricks] skewers of wood. 

And with this horrible object, from low farms, 
Poor pelting villages, sheep-cotes and mills, 
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers. 
Enforce their charity. Poor Turlygod ! poor Tom ! 20 
That's something yet: Edgar I nothing am. [Exit. 

SCENE IV — BEFORE GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

KENT IN THE STOCKS 

Enter Leak, Fool, and Gentleman 

Leae. 'T is strange that they should so depart from 
home. 
And not send back my messenger. 

Gent. As I learn'd, 

The night before there was no purpose in them 
Of this remove. 

Kent. Hail to thee, noble master ! 

Lear. Ha! 
Makest thou this shame thy pastime? 

Kent. No, my lord. 

17 object . . . low] appearance . . . lowly. 

18 pelting] paltry, contemptible. 

19 lunatic bans] mad imprecations. 

20 Turlygod] This fantastic appellation of a crazy beggar is unexplained. 

A strange fraternity of naked beggars, which infested the continent of 
Europe in the fourteenth century seems to have been known as Turl- 
upins, of which Turlygod has been doubtfully interpreted as a corrupt 
form. 

21 Edgar I nothing am] I am no longer likely to be mistaken for Edgar. 

I have rid myself of his likeness. 

[70 J 

Fool. Ha, ha ! he wears cruel garters. Horses are 
tied by the heads, dogs and bears by the neck, mon- 
keys by the loins, and men by the legs: when a man's 
over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden nether- 
stocks. 10 

Lear. What's he that hath so much thy place mistook 
To set thee here .'' 

Kent, It is both he and she; 

Your son and daughter. 

Lear. No. 

Kent. Yes. 

Lear. No, I say. 

Kent. I say, yea. 

Lear. No, no, they would not. 

Kent. Yes, they have. 

Lear. By Jupiter, I swear, no. 20 

Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay. 

Lear. They durst not do't; 

They could not, would not do't; 't is worse than 

murder. 
To do upon respect such violent outrage: 
Resolve me with all modest haste which way 

7 cruel] a pun on the word in its ordinary use, and in the sense of worsted 

yam, commonly spelt "crewel." The quip is often met with. Cf. 

Ben Jonson's Alchemist, I, i, 173-174: "Ere we contribute a new 

crewel garter To his most worsted worship." 
10 nether-stocks] stockings or socks, as opposed to knee breeches, the 

upper-stocks. 

23 upon respect] with deliberation. 

24 Resolve me . . . haMe] Inform me with all the speed that becomes a 

truthful statement. 

Thou miglitst deserve, or they impose, this usage. 
Coining from us. 

Kent. My lord, when at their home 

I did commend your highness' letters to them. 
Ere I was risen from the place that show'd 
My duty kneeling, came there a reeking post, 
Stew'd in his haste, half breathless, panting forth so 

From Goneril his mistress salutations; 
Deliver'd letters, spite of intermission. 
Which presently they read: on whose contents 
They summon'd up their meiny, straight took horse; 
Commanded me to follow and attend 
The leisure of their answer ; gave me cold looks : 
And meeting here the other messenger. 
Whose welcome, I perceived, had poison'd mine — 
Being the very fellow that of late 

Display'd so saucily against your highness — 4o 

Having more man than wit about me, drew : 
He raised the house with loud and coward cries. 
Your son and daughter found this trespass worth 
The shame which here it suflFers. 

Fool. Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly 
that way. 

Fathers that wear rags 

Do make their children blind; 

32 spite of intermission] without any delay, at the cost of postponing 

audience of me. 
34 meiny] retinue, household. 

40 Display'd so saucily] Showed so saucy a demeanour. 

41 drew] I drew my sword. The subject "I " is drawn from "I perceived '* 

in line 38. 

But fathers that bear bags 

Shall see their children kind. 60 

Fortune, that arrant whore. 
Ne'er ttirns the key to the poor. 

But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolours' for thy 
daughters as thou canst tell in a year. 

Lear. O, how this mother swells up toward my 
heart ! 
Hysterica passio, down, thou climbing sorrow. 
Thy element's below! Where is this daughter? 

Kent. With the earl, sir, here within. 

Lear. Follow me not; stay here. [Exit. 

Gent. Made you no more oflFence but what you 
speak of? 60 

Kent. None. 
How chance the king comes with so small a train ? 

Fool. An thou hadst been set i' the stocks for that 
question, thou hadst well deserved it. 

Kent. Why, fool? 

Fool. We'll set thee to school to an ant, to teach 
thee there 's no labouring i' the winter. All that follow 

52 turns the key] offers the key of her favours. 

53 dolours] a pun on the word in the sense of the coin, and of grief. For 

the like quibble see Tempest, U, i, 18-19, and note. 
for thy daughters] owing to, in regard to, thy daughters. 

55 this mother] the popular name of an hysterical malady, the chief symp- 
tom of which was a choking sensation in the throat. The disease was 
technically known as "hysterica passio." 

66-67 We'll set thee . . . winter] Cf. Proverbs, vi, 6-8: "Go to the ant, 
thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no 
guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gath- 
ereth her food in the harvest." 

their noses are led by their eyes but blind men; and 
there's not a nose among twenty but can smell him 
that's stinking. Let go thy hold when a great wheel 70 
runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with following 
it; but the great one that goes up the hill, let him 
draw thee after. When a wise man gives thee better 
counsel, give me mine again: I would have none but 
knaves follow it, since a fool gives it. 

That sir which serves and seeks for gain, 

And follows but for form. 
Will pack when it begins to rain. 

And leave thee in the storm. 
But I will tarry; the fool will stay, 80 

And let the wise man fly: 
The knave turns fool that runs away; 

The fool no knave, perdy. 

Kent. Where learned you this, fool ? 
Fool. Not i' the stocks, fool. 

Re-enter Leak, with Gloucester 

Lear. Deny to speak with me ? They are sick ? they 
are weary? 
They have travell'd all the night? Mere fetches; 
The images of revolt and flying off. 
Fetch me a better answer. 

Glou. My dear lord. 

You know the fiery quality of the duke; so 

76 That sir] That gentleman. 

87-88 fetches . . . flying off] tricks or subterfuges ; the tokens of rebellion 
and disafiPection. 

[74J 

How unremoveable and fix'd he is 
In his own course. 

Leab. Vengeance ! plague ! death ! confusion ! 
Fiery ? what quality ? Why, Gloucester, Gloucester, 
I 'Id speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his wife. 

Glou. Well, my good lord, I have inform'd them so. 

Leab. Inform'd them ! Dost thou understand me, 
man? 

Glou. Ay, my good lord. 

Leab. The king would speak with Cornwall ; the dear 
father 99 

Would with his daughter speak, commands her service : 
Are they inform'd of this ? My breath and blood ! 
"Fiery" ? "the fiery duke" ? Tell the hot duke that — 
No, but not yet : may be he is not well : 
Infirmity doth still neglect all office 
Whereto our health is bound; we are not ourselves 
When nature being oppress'd commands the mind 
To suffer with the body: I'll forbear; 
And am fall'n out with my more headier will, 
To take the indisposed and sickly fit 
For the sound man. [Looking on Kent] Death on my 

state ! wherefore no 

Should he sit here ? This act persuades me 
That this remotion of the duke and her 

100 commands her service] Thus most copies of the First Quarto. The 
Folios read less intelligibly commands, tends, sendee. 

108-110 faWn out . . . sound man] angered with my too headstrong will, 
in mistaking a man suffering from a fit of indisposition and sickness 
for one in health. 

112 remotion] removal. 

Is practice only. Give me my servant forth. 
Go tell the duke and's wife I 'Id speak with them, 
Now, presently : bid them come forth and hear me. 
Or at their chamber-door I'll beat the drum 
Till it cry sleep to death. 

Glou. I would have all well betwixt you. [Exit. 

Leak. O me, my heart, my rising heart ! But down ! 

Fool. Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney did to the 
eels when she put 'em i' the paste alive; she knapped 
'em o' the coxcombs with a stick, and cried "Down, 
wantons, down ! " 'T was her brother that, in pure kind- 
ness to his horse, buttered his hay. 124 

Re-enter Glottcestek, vrith Coknwall, Regan, and Servants 

Lear. Good morrow to you both. 

Corn. Hail to your grace ! 

[Kent is set at liberty. 

Reg. I am glad to see your highness. 

Lear. Regan, I think you are ; I know what reason 
I have to think so: if thou shouldst not be glad, 
I would divorce me from thy mother's tomb. 
Sepulchring an adultress. [To Kent] O, are you free? 130 

113 Give . . . forth] Free my servant from the stocks. 
117 cry sleep to death] murder sleep with the noise. 

120 cockney] "cockney" is rare in the sense, apparently required here, 
of a female " cook" or "scullion. " It is more often applied to an ef- 
feminate man or woman. But the fool talks somewhat at random. 

121 knapped] cracked; this is the reading of the Folios. The Quartos 
read rapt. 

124 buttered his hay] a reference to the practice of dishonest ostlers, who 
sold for their own profit greased hay which the horses refused. 

[^6] 

Some other time for that. Beloved Regan, 
Thy sister's naught: O Regan, she hath tied 
Sharp-tooth'd unkindness, like a vulture, here : 

[Poinls to his heart. 
I can scarce speak to thee; thou 'It not believe 
With how depraved a quality — O Regan ! 

Reg. I pray you, sir, take patience: I have hope 
You less know how to value her desert 
Than she to scant her duty. 

Lear. Say, how is that? 

Reg. I cannot think my sister in the least 
Would fail her obligation: if, sir, perchance 140 

She have restrain'd the riots of your followers, 
'T is on such ground and to such wholesome end 
As clears her from all blame. 

Lear. My curses on her ! 

Reg. O, sir, you are old; 

Nature in you stands on the very verge 
Of her confine: you should be ruled and led 
By some discretion that discerns your state 

135 quality] disposition. 

137-138 You less know . . . duty] The duplication of the negative words 
"less know" and "scant" makes the somewhat inverted language diffi- 
cult to paraphrase, though the sense is clear. The general meaning is 
"You are no more capable of adequately valuing her merits than she 
is capable of failing in her filial duty"; in other words, "she is more 
dutiful than you are capable of recognising." 

147 some discretion . . . state] some discreet person that understands 
your helpless condition. The abstract word "discretion" is put for 
the concrete person, who possesses that quality. Cf . Ill, i, 24, infra, 
"speculations." 

Better than you yourself. Therefore I pray you 
That to our sister you do make return; 
Say you have wrong'd her, sir. 

Lear. Ask her forgiveness ? iso 

Do you but mark how this becomes the house: 
[Kneeling] "Dear daughter, I confess that I am old; 
Age is unnecessary: on my knees I beg 
That you'll vouchsafe me raiment, bed and food." 

Reg. Good sir, no more; these are unsightly tricks: 
Return you to my sister. 

Leab. [Rising] Never, Regan: 

She hath abated me of half my train ; 
Look'd black upon me; struck me with her tongue, 
Most serpent-like, upon the very heart: 
All the stored vengeances of heaven fall leo 

On her ingrateful top ! Strike her young bones, 
You taking airs, with lameness. 

Corn. Fie, sir, fie ! 

Lear. You nimble lightnings, dart your blinding 
flames 
Into her scornful eyes. Infect her beauty. 
You fen-suck'd fogs, drawn by the powerful sun 
To fall and blast her pride. 

151 beamies the house] fits family relations, suits the domestic ties between 

father and daughter. 
153 Age is unnecessary] Old people are useless. 

161 young bones] unborn infants. 

162 taking airs] airs that bewitch, strike with disease. Cf . m, iv, 58, infra; 
Hamlet, I, i, 163, and M. Wives, IV, iv, 31 : "And there he blasts the 
tree, and takes the cattle." 

166 To faU and blast] " So that it fall and blast." Thus the Quartos. 

Reg. O the blest gods ! so will you wish on me. 
When the rash mood is on. 

Lear. No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse : 
Thy tender-hefted nature shall not give 170 

Thee o'er to harshness : her eyes are fierce, but thine 
Do comfort and not burn. 'T is not in thee 
To grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train. 
To bandy hasty words, to scant my sizes. 
And in conclusion to oppose the bolt 
Against my coming in: thou better know'st 
The oflBces of nature, bond of childhood, 
Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude; 
Thy half o' the kingdom hast thou not forgot, 
Wherein I thee endow'd. 

Reg. Good sir, to the purpose. iso 

Lear. Who put my man i' the stocks .'' [Tticket within. 

The Folios read To fall and blister. "Fall" is often used transi- 
tively in Shakespeare in the sense of "humble" or " puU down." 
But it may have been the ordinary intransitive meaning of "fall 
to ruin." 

168 rash moo3\ impulsive fit of passion. 

170 tender-hefted] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read tender hested. 
Neither word is quite easy to understand. Shakespeare uses "hefts" 
iaWint. Tafe, II, i, 45, for"heavings" (of the breast); hence tender- 
hefted may mean "of tender disposition." More commonly "heft" 
means either "weight" or "handle" (cf. "haft"), which would make 
"tender-hefted" equivalent either to " weighted with tenderness " or 
" manageable." " Hest " or " behest " means vow or promise, and 
tender-hested would mean "tender- vowed," "plighted to gentleness." 
Cf. "plighted feerf" (Turberville, Ovid's E^., 1576, p. Ul). 

174 scant my sizes] contract my allowances. At Cambridge a sizar was 
one who received sizes or allowances of food from the college. 

178 Effects] Shows, manifestations. 

Corn. What trumpet's that? 

Reg, I know't; my sister's: this approves her letter. 
That she would soon be here. 

Enter Oswald 

Is your lady come ? 
Lear. This is a slave whose easy-borrow'd pride 
Dwells in the fickle grace of her he follows. 
Out, varlet, from my sight! 

Corn. WTiat means your grace ? 

Lear. Who stock'd my servant? Regan, I have 
good hope 
Thou didst not know on't. Who comes here? 

Enter Goneril 

O heavens, 
If you do love old men, if your sweet sway 
Allow obedience, if yourselves are old, i90 

Make it your cause ; send down, and take my part ! 
[To Gon.] Art not ashamed to look upon this beard? 
O Regan, wilt thou lake her by the hand? 

Gon. Why not by the hand, sir? How have I 
offended ? 
All's not offence that indiscretion finds 
And dotage terms so. 

182 approves] corroborates, confirms. 

184-185 easy-borrow'd pride . . . follows] whose pride, assumed on easy 

pretensions (i. e., on no just ground) rises and falls with the shifting 

favour of his mistress. 
190 Allow] Approve of. 
195 fiTids] judges, esteems. 

Leak. O sides, you are too tough ; 

Will you yet hold ? How came my man i' the stocks ? 

Corn. I set him there, sir : but his own disorders 
Deserved much less advancement. 

Lear. You ! did you ? 

Reg. I pray you, father, being weak, seem so. 200 

If, till the expiration of your month. 
You will return and sojourn with my sister. 
Dismissing half your train, come then to me : 
I am now from home and out of that provision 
Which shall be needful for your entertainment. 

Lear. Return to her, and fifty men dismiss'd.'' 
No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose 
To wage against the enmity o' the air. 
To be a comrade with the wolf and owl, — 
Necessity's sharp pinch ! Return with her ? 210 

Why, the hot-blooded France, that dowerless took 
Our youngest born, I could as well be brought 
To knee his throne, and, squire-like, pension beg 
To keep base life afoot. Return with her? 
Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter 
To this detested groom. [Pointing at Oswald. 

GoN. At your choice, sir. 

Lear. I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad : 
I will not trouble thee, my child ; farewell : 
We'll no more meet, no more see one another: 

200 seem so] deem yourself so, behave so. 

208 wage against] contend with. " Wage " is rarely used intransitively. 

209 owl] Thus the early editions. There seems no good ground for accept- 
ing Collier's suggestion howl. 

215 sumpter] literally a pack-horse, but often found in the sense of "drudge." 
6 [81] 

But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter; 220 

Or rather a disease that 's in my flesh. 

Which I must needs call mine: thou art a boil, 

A plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle. 

In my corrupted blood. But I'll not chide thee; 

Let shame come when it will, I do not call it: 

I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot, 

Nor tell tales of thee to high- judging Jove: 

Mend when thou canst; be better at thy leisure: 

I can be patient; I can stay with Regan, 

I and my hundred knights. 

Reg. Not altogether so: 230 

I look'd not for you yet, nor am provided 
For your fit welcome. Give ear, sir, to my sister; 
For those that mingle reason with your passion 
Must be content to think you old, and so — 
But she knows what she does. 

Lear. Is this well spoken? 

Reg. I dare avouch it, sir : what, fifty followers ? 
Is it not well ? What should you need of more ? 
Yea, or so many, sith that both charge and danger 
Speak 'gainst so great a number ? How in one house 
Should many people under two commands 240 

Hold amity ? 'T is hard, almost impossible. 

223 e^mbossed] swollen. 

226-227 thunder-bearer . . . high-jtidging] Both expressions refer to 
Jupiter. Ct. Trail, and Cre««., II, iii, 9 : "thunder-darter." "High- 
judging" merely means "pronouncing judgments on high." 

233 mingle reason . . . passion] examine your passionate outbursts in 
the light of reason. 

238 charge] expense. 

GoN. Why might not you, my lord, receive attendance 
From those that she calls servants or from mine ? 

Reg. Why not, my lord? If then they chanced to 
slack you, 
We could control them. If you will come to me. 
For now I spy a danger, I entreat you 
To bring but five and twenty : to no more 
Will I give place or notice. 

Leak. I gave you all — 

Reg. And in good time you gave it. 

Leab. Made you my guardians, my depositaries, 2S0 
But kept a reservation to be foUow'd 
With such a number. What, must I come to you 
With five and twenty, Regan ? said you so ? 

Reg. And speak 't again, my lord ; no more with me. 

Leae. Those wicked creatures yet do look well- 
favour'd. 
When others are more wicked; not being the worst 
Stands in some rank of praise. [To Gon.] I'll go with 

thee: 
Thy fifty yet doth double five and twenty. 
And thou art tvsdce her love. 

Gon. Hear me, my lord : 

What need you five and twenty, ten, or five, 360 

To follow in a house where twice so many 
Have a command to tend you? 

248 notice] recognition. 

250 depositaries] trustees. 

251 reservaticm] used in the legal sense of savmg clause, as in I, i, 133, 
supra. 

Reg. What need one ? 

Lear. O, reason not the need : our basest beggars 
Are in the poorest thing superfluous : 
Allow not nature more than nature needs, 
Man's life 's as cheap as beast's : thou art a lady ; 
If only to go warm were gorgeous. 
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear'st, 
Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But for true 

need, — 
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I 

need ! 270 

You see me here, you gods, a poor old man. 
As full of grief as age ; wretched in both : 
If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts 
Against their father, fool me not so much 
To bear it tamely ; touch me with noble anger. 
And let not women's weapons, water-drops, 
Stain my man's cheeks ! No, you unnatural hags, 
I will have such revenges on you both 
That all the world shall — I will do such things, — 
What they are, yet I know not, but they shall be 280 
The terrors of the earth. You think I'll weep; 
No, I'll not weep: 
I have full cause of weeping; but this heart 

264 Are . . . superfluoiis] Have in the very depths of poverty something 
above their actual need. Cf. IV, i, 68, infra, where "superfluous" 
means "possessed of abundance." 

267-269 // only . . . warm] If fine clothing were only to be measured 
by its power of keeping one warm, there would be no need of your 
gorgeous raiment, which scarcely serves the purposes of warmth. 

Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws, 
Or ere I'll weep. O fool, I shall go mad! 

[Exeunt Lear, Gloucester, Kent, and Fool. 

Corn. Let us withdraw ; 't will be a storm. 

[Storm and tempest. 

Reg. This house is little : the old man and his people 
Cannot be well bestow'd. 

GoN. 'T is his own blame ; hath put himself from rest, 
And must needs taste his folly. 290 

Reg. For his particular, I'll receive him gladly. 
But not one follower. 

GoN. So am I purposed. 

Where is my lord of Gloucester.? 

Corn. FoUow'd the old man forth: he is return'd. 

Re-enter Gloucesteb 

Glou. The king is in high rage. 

Corn. Whither is he going ? 

Glou. He calls to horse ; but will I know not whither. 

Corn. 'T is best to give him way ; he leads himself. 

GoN. My lord, entreat him by no means to stay. 

Glou. Alack, the night comes on, and the bleak 
winds 
Do sorely ruffle; for many miles about soo 

There's scarce a bush. 

284 flaws] usually "cracks" or "ctinks," but not uncommonly "frag- 
ments." The word is specifically used of thin paiings of precious 
stones. 

291 For his particular] In his own person, as for himself alone. 

298 entreat . . . no means] do not on any account entreat him. 

300 ruffle] bluster. 

Reg. O, sir, to wilful men 

The injuries that they themselves procure 
Must be their schoolmasters. Shut up your doors : 
He is attended with a desperate train; 
And what they may incense him to, being apt 
To have his ear abused, wisdom bids fear. 

Corn. Shut up your doors, my lord ; 't is a wild night : 
My Regan counsels well : come out o' the storm. 

[Exeunt. 

304 He is attended . . . train] Regan appears to falsify the present 
facts. Lear departs unattended by any train of followers. The fool 
is now the king's only companion, cf. HI, i, 15-16, infra. 

Storm still.

A HEATH 
Enter Kent and a Gentleman, meeting 

Kent 

BESIDES 

mO'S THERE, 

foul weather? 

Gent. One minded like the 
weather, most unquietly. 

Kent. I know you. Where's 
the king? 

Gent. Contending with the 
fretful elements; 
Bids the wind blow the earth into 
the sea. 

Or swell the curled waters 'bove 
the main, 

That things might change or 
cease; tears his white hair. 
Which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage. 
Catch in their fury, and make nothing of; 

6 main] mainland. 
7-15 tears his white hair . . 
omitted from the Folios. 

. what will take aH] This passage is 
It occurs only in the Quartos. 

Strives in his little world of man to out-scorn lo 

The to-and-fro-conflicting wind and rain. 

This night, wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch. 

The lion and the belly-pinched wolf 

Keep their fur dry, unbonneted he runs. 

And bids what will take all. 

Kent. But who is with him ? 

Gent. None but the fool ; who labours to out-jest 
His heart-struck injuries. 

Kent. Sir, I do know you; 

And dare, upon the warrant of my note. 
Commend a dear thing to you. There is division. 
Although as yet the face of it be cover'd 20 

With mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Cornwall; 
Who have — as who have not, that their great stars 
Throned and set high ? — servants, who seem no less, 

8 eyeless] blind, undisceming. 

9 make nothing of] toss about irreverently. 

10 his little world of man] Elizabethans were very fond of comparing man 

to a little world or microcosm. Cf . 2 Hen. IV, IV, iii, 107 : "this little 
kingdom, man." 

12 cub-drawn] sucked dry by the cubs, and thereby rendered hungry and 

ferocious. 

13 belly-pinched] ravenous. 

15 what will take all] a common exclamation of hopeless despair. 

18 vpon the warrant of my note] on the strength of my knowledge of you. 

Thus the Folios. For note the Quartos read Art, which is hardly 
intelligible. 

19 o dear thing] an urgent, desperate matter. 

22-29 Whx} have . . . furnishings] These lines are omitted from the 

Quartos. They appear only in the Folios. 
22-23 as who . . . set highf] as what persons have not, whose eminent 

fortune has ever elevated them to thrones. 

Which are to France the spies and speculations 

Intelligent of our state; what hath been seen. 

Either in snufifs and packings of the dukes, 

Or the hard rein which both of them have borne 

Against the old kind king, or something deeper. 

Whereof perchance these are but furnishings, — 

But true it is, from France there comes a power so 

Into this scatter'd kingdom; who already; 

Wise in our negligence, have secret feet 

In some of our best ports, and are at point 

To show their open banner. Now to you : 

If on my credit you dare build so far 

To make your speed to Dover, you shall find 

Some that will thank you, making just report 

Of how unnatural and bemadding sorrow 

The king hath cause to plain. 

I am a gentleman of blood and breeding, 40 

And from some knowledge and assurance offer 

This office to you. 

24-28 speculations . . . king] observers giving intelligence about our 
political affairs; reporting what has been noticed either in the matter of 
the jealous quarrels and underhand intrigues of the dukes one against 
another or the cruel tyranny which both have exerted on the kind old 
king. "Speculations" is another instance of the abstract used for 
the concrete. Cf . 11, iv, 147, supra. 

29 furnishings] trimmings, appendages. 

30-42 But true . . . to you] These lines are omitted from the Folios. They 
are found only in the Quartos. 

30 a power] a military force. 

31 scatter'd] divided, disimited. 

32 have secret feet] have secretly set foot. Cf. HI, iii, 13, infra: "a, power 

already footed." 
33-34 at paint To show] on the point of showing. 

KING LEAR act hi 

Gent. I will talk further with you. 

Kent. No, do not. 

For confirmation that I am much more 
Than my out-wall, open this purse and take 
What it contains. If you shall see Cordelia, — 
As fear not but you shall, — show her this ring, 
And she will tell you who your fellow is 
That yet you do not know. Fie on this storm ! 
I will go seek the king. 

Gent. Give me your hand : so 

Have you no more to say ? 

Kent. Few words, but, to effect, more than all yet ; 
That when we have found the king, — in which your 

pain 
That way, I '11 this, — he that first lights on him 
Holla the other. [Exeunt severally. 

SCENE II — ANOTHER PART OF THE HEATH 

STORM STILL 

Enter Leab and Fool 

Lear. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks ! rage ! 
blow! 
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout 

45 Old-wall] exterior. 

48 your fellow] your present companion. 

52 to effect] in effect, in importance. 

53-54 in which your pain . . .I'll this] in which your endeavours shall 

take that way, while I '11 take this direction. 
2 cataracts and hurricanoes] cataracts of water falling from the heavens, 

Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks ! 

You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, 

Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts. 

Singe my white head ! And thou, all-shaking thunder. 

Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world ! 

Crack nature's moulds, all germins spill at once 

That make ingrateful man ! 

Fool. O nuncle, court holy-water in a dry house is lo 
better than this rain-water out o' door. Good nuncle, 
in, and ask thy daughters' blessing : here's a night pities 
neither wise man nor fool. 

Leak. Rumble thy bellyful ! Spit, fire ! spout, rain ! 
Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters : 
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness; 
I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children. 
You owe me no subscription: then let fall 
Your horrible pleasure; here I stand, your slave, 
A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man: 20 

and waterspouts in the sea. Cf. TroU. and Cress., V, ii, 169-170: 
"the dreadful spout Which shipman do the hurricano call." 

3 cocks] the cocks on the tops of steeples. 

4 thougkt-execvting] working with the rapidity of thought. 

5 Vaunt-couriers] Heralds, forerunners. 

8 germins] seeds. Cf. Macb., IV, i, 59 : "nature's germins tumble all 
together," and see for the whole passage, Wint. Tale, TV, iv, 470-471 : 
"Let nature crush the sides o' the earth together. And mar the seeds 
within." 

10 court holy-water] flattering speeches. Cotgrave (French-Eng. Diet.) 
gives under "Eau" the French phrase "eau beniste de Cour," which 
he explains as "Court holy water; compliments . . . glosing, soothing, 
palpable cogging." 

18 subscriftion] allegiance. 

KING LEAR act hi 

But yet I call you servile ministers. 
That have with two pernicious daughters join'd 
Your high-engender' d battles 'gainst a head 
So old and white as this. O ! O ! 't is foul ! 
Fool. He that has a house to put's head in has a 
good head-piece. 

The cod-piece that will house 

Before the head has any. 
The head and he shall louse 

So beggars marry many. 30 

The man that makes his toe 

What he his heart should make 
Shall of a corn cry woe. 

And turn his sleep to wake. 

For there was never yet fair woman but she made 
mouths in a glass. 
Lear. No, I will be the pattern of all patience; 
I will say nothing. 

23 high-engender'd battks] armies bred on high (i. e., in the sky); 
battalions recruited in the heavens. 

27 cod-piece] a conspicuous part of masculine attire among Elizabethans. 
The fool's semi-intelligible verse suggests here that he who provides 
an asylum for the least worthy object about him before he takes meas- 
ures to safeguard his worthier self is likely to incur filthy disgrace. 

29 louse] suffer from lice. 

30 So beggars marry many] A proverbial phrase, with some barely relevant 

allusion here to the plague of insect-parasites that beggars invite by 
their wholesale breaches of strict monogamic law. 
31-34 The man . . . wake] The general meaning is that the man who 
cherishes a mean part of his being, instead of a really vital part, is 
likely to suffer pain from the very part to which he shows the unwise 
preference. 

Enter Kent 

Kent. Who's there? 

Fooii. Marry, here's grace and a cod-piece; that's a 40 
wise man and a fool. 

Kent. Alas, sir, are you here ? things that love night 
Love not such nights as these; the wrathful skies 
Gallow the very wanderers of the dark. 
And make them keep their caves: since I was man, 
Such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder. 
Such groans of roaring wind and rain, I never 
Remember to have heard : man's nature cannot carry 
The affliction nor the fear. 

Lear. Let the great gods. 

That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads, so 

Find out their enemies now. Tremble, thou wretch, 
That hast within thee undivulged crimes, 
Unwhipp'd of justice : hide thee, thou bloody hand ; 
Thou perjured, and thou simular man of virtue 
That art incestuous : caitiff, to pieces shake, 

40 grace] an allusion to the expression "king's grace," the ordinary form 
of address to a sovereign. 
cod-piece] The fool calls himself by this name, because among profes- 
sional fools this part of their dress was usually exceptionally exag- 
gerated. 

42 are you] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read sit you. 

44 GaUmc] Frighten; a rare form of the archaic "gaily." Both forms 
survive in dialects. 

48 carry] bear, endure. 

50 pother] Thus the First Quarto. The Second and Third Quartos read 
Thundring. The Folios substitute pudder, a variant form of "pother." 

64 simular] simulating. Cf. Cym6., V,v, 200, "with wmttZar proof." The 
Folios omit man, treating "simular" as equivalent to "simulator." 

KING LEAR act hi 

That under covert and convenient seeming 
Hast practised on man's life: close pent-up guilts, 
Rive your concealing continents and cry 
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man 
More sinn'd against than sinning. 

Kent. Alack, bare-headed ! 6o 

Gracious my lord, hard by here is a hovel ; 
Some friendship will it lend you 'gainst the tempest : 
Repose you there ; while I to this hard house — 
More harder than the stones whereof 't is raised ; 
Which even but now, demanding after you, 
Denied me to come in — return, and force 
Their scanted courtesy. 

Leak. My wits begin to turn. 

Come on, my boy: how dost, my boy.? art cold.? 
I am cold myself. Where is this straw, my fellow ? 
The art of our necessities is strange, 70 

That can make vile things precious. Come, your hovel. 
Poor fool and knave, I have one part in my heart 
That's sorry yet for thee. 

Fool. [Singing] 

He that has and a little tiny wit, — 
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, — 
Must make content with his fortunes fit, 
For the rain it raineth every day. 

56 seeming] hj^pocrisy. 

58-59 Rive . . . grace] Break the bounds of your concealment (i.e., come 

out into the open) and ask pardon of these dread officers summoning 

you to justice. 
70 art] alchemical art, which transmutes the base into the precious metals. 
74-77 He that has . . . even/ day] The burden in the second and fourth 

Leab. True, my good boy. Come, bring us to this 
hovel. [Exeunt Lear and Kent. 

Fool. This is a brave night to cool a courtezan. I '11 
speak a prophecy ere I go: so 

When priests are more in word than matter; 

When brewers mar their malt with water; 

When nobles are their tailors' tutors ; 

No heretics burn'd, but wenches' suitors; 

When every case in law is right; 

No squire in debt, nor no poor knight; 

When slanders do not live in tongues. 

Nor cutpurses come not to throngs; 

When usurers tell their gold i' the field. 

And bawds and whores do churches build; 90 

Then shall the realm of Albion 

Come to great confusion : 

Then comes the time, who lives to see 't. 

That going shall be used with feet. 

This prophecy Merlin shall make ; for I live before his 

time. [E^- 

lines of the song occur in the clown's concluding song, Tw. Night, V, 
i, 375, seq., of which the first line "When that I was and a little tiny 
boy" resembles the first line of the fool's song here. In both lines 
"and" is a common expletive. 

79-96 This . . . time [Exit]\ This passage only appears in the Folios. 
It is omitted from the Quartos. 

81-94 When priests . . . with feet] These Imes are adapted, after the man- 
ner of parody, from a popular piece of mediaeval verse often called 
Chaucer's prophecy, although there is small ground for assigning it to 
Chaucer. The piece is quoted inaccurately in Puttenham's Art of 
English Poesie, 1589 (ed. Arber, p. 232). 

84 burn'd, but wenches' suitors] an allusion to the fever of venereal disease. 

95 Merlin] The prophet of Arthurian romance, to whom was popularly 

SCENE III — GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

Enter Gloucesteb and Edmxjnd 

Glou. Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this unnat- 
ural dealing. When I desired their leave that I might 
pity him, they took from me the use of mine own house ; 
charged me, on pain of their perpetual displeasure, 
neither to speak of him, entreat for him, nor any way 
sustain him. 

Edm. Most savage and unnatural ! 

Glou. Go to; say you nothing. There's a division 
betwixt the dukes, and a worse matter than that : I have 
received a letter this night ; 't is dangerous to be spoken ; lo 
I have locked the letter in my closet : these injuries the 
king now bears will be revenged home; there is part 
of a power already footed : we must incline to the king. 
I will seek him and privily relieve him: go you, and 
maintain talk with the duke, that my charity be not of 
him perceived : if he ask for me, I am ill and gone to 
bed. Though I die for it, as no less is threatened me, 
the king my old master must be relieved. There is sonie 
strange thing toward, Edmund; pray you, be careful. 

[Exit. 20 

assigned many current prophetic utterances. Cf. 1 Hen. IV, HI, 
i, 150: "the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies." 
13 footedl Thus the Folios. The Quartos read landed, which gives the 
requisite sense. Cf. HI, i, 32, supra: "a power . . . who already 
. . . have secret feet." 

Edm. This courtesy, forbid thee, shall the duke 
Instantly know, and of that letter too : 
This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me 
That which my father loses ; no less than all : 
The younger rises when the old doth fall. [Exit. 

SCENE IV — THE HEATH 

BEFORE A HOVEL 

Enter Leab, Kent, and Fool 

Kent. Here is the place, my lord: good my lord, 
enter : 
The tyranny of the open night 's too rough 
For nature to endure. [Storm still. 

Lear. Let me alone. 

Kent. Good my lord, enter here. 
Lear. Wilt break my heart? 

Kent. I had rather break mine own. Good my lord, 

enter. 
Lear. Thou think'st 't is much that this contentious 
storm 
Invades us to the skin : so 't is to thee ; 
But where the greater malady is fix'd 
The lesser is scarce felt. Thou'ldst shun a bear. 

21 forbid thee] which has been forbidden thee. 

23 a fair deserving] an action deserving fair recognition. 

7 [97] 

But if thy fliglit lay toward the raging sea lo 

Thou 'Idst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the mind 's 

free 
The body's delicate: the tempest in my mind 
Doth from my senses take all feeling else 
Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude ! 
Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand 
For lifting food to 't ? But I will punish home. 
No, I will weep no more. In such a night 
To shut me out ! Pour on ; I will endure. 
In such a night as this ! O Regan, Goneril ! 
Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave you all, — 20 
O, that way madness lies; let me shun that; 
No more of that. 

Kent. Good my lord, enter here. 

Lear. Prithee, go in thyself ; seek thine own ease : 
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder 
On things would hurt me more. But I'll go in. 
[To the Fool] In, boy ; go first. You houseless poverty, — 
Nay, get thee in. I'll pray, and then I'll sleep. 

[Fool goes in. 
Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, 
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, 
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, so 

Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you 

11-12 Wfien the viind '« . . . delicate] When the mind's free from care 

the body is sensitive to every outward pain. 
26-27 In, boy . . . sleep] These lines are omitted from the Quartos. 
26 poverty] poor creature, pauper, beggar ; another instance of the abstract 

for the concrete. Cf. 11, iv, 147, and m, i, 24, supra. 
31 loop'd and window'd] full of holes and apertures. 

From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en 
Too little care of this ! Take physic, pomp ; 
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, 
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them 
And show the heavens more just. 

Edg. [Within] Fathom and half, fathom and half ! 
Poor Tom ! [The Fool runs out from the hovel. 

Fool. Come not in here, nuncle, here 's a spirit. Help 
me, help me ! 40 

Kent. Give me thy hand. Who 's there ? 

Fool. A spirit, a spirit : he says his name 's poor Tom. 

Kent. What art thou that dost grumble there i' the 
straw ? 
Come forth. 

Enter Edgab disguised as a madman 

Edg. Away ! the foul fiend follows me ! 

Through the sharp hawthorn blows the cold wind. 

Hum ! go to thy cold bed and warm thee. 

Lear. Hast thou given all to thy two daughters ? and 
art thou come to this? 

Edg. Who gives any thing to poor Tom ? whom the so 
foul fiend hath led through fire and through flame, 
through ford and whirlpool, o'er bog and quagmire; 
that hath laid knives under his pillow and halters in his 

37 Fathom and half] Probably Edgar refers to the depth of the flood of 

rain from which he is taking refuge in the hovel. 
¥1 go . . . warm thee] This colloquial ejaculation appears also in T. of 

Shrew, Induction, I, 8. 
53-54 laid knives . . . pew] The devil was popularly credited with plac- 

pew ; set ratsbane by his porridge ; made him proud of 
heart, to ride on a bay trotting-horse over four-inched 
bridges, to course his own shadow for a traitor. Bless 
thy five wits ! Tom's a-cold. O, do de, do de, do de. 
Bless thee from whirlwinds, star-blasting, and taking ! 
Do poor Tom some charity, whom the foul fiend vexes. 
There could I have him now, and there, and there again, 60 
and there. [Storm still. 

Lear. What, have his daughters brought him to this 
pass? 
Couldst thou save nothing ? Didst thou give them all ? 

Fool. Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been 
all shamed. 

Lear. Now, all the plagues that in the pendulous air 
Hang fated o'er men's faults light on thy daughters ! 

ing such temptations to suicide in the way of possessed or insane 
persons. Shakespeare would seem to have been acquainted with 
Saxaue\Ha,Tsnet's" A Declaration of egregious Popish Impostures . . . 
vnder the pretence of Casting out devils. Practised by ... a Jesuit 
and divers Romish priests" (London, 1603, quarto). Harsnet quotes 
evidence to show that the devil was represented by an obvious trick to 
have placed within reach of an alleged lunatic "a new halter and two 
blades of knives." Shakespeare would seem to have derived from 
Harsnet the names of all the so-called demons or devils, whom Edgar 
mentions below. 

57 five wits] The "wits " were reckoned of the same number as the senses. 

Cf. Ill, vi, 55, infra, and cf. Tw. Night, IV, ii, 83, and note. 

O, do de, do de,do de] An onomatopteic expression of shivering. The 

words are omitted from the Quartos. Cf . Ill, vi, 73, infra. 

58 taking] bewitchment, infection by witches. Cf. II, iv, 162, supra: "You 

taking airs." 
66-67 Now, all the plagues . . . daughters] Cf. Tim. of Ath., IV, iii, 108- 

Kent. He hath no daughters, sir. 

Leae. Death, traitor! nothing could have subdued 
nature 
To such a lowness but his unkind daughters. 70 

Is it the fashion that discarded fathers 
Should have thus little mercy on their flesh? 
Judicious punishment ! 't was this flesh begot 
Those pelican daughters. 

Edg. Pillicock sat on Pillicock-hill : 

Halloo, halloo, loo, loo ! 

Fool. This cold night will turn us all to fools and 
madmen. 

Edg. Take heed o' the foul fiend : obey thy parents ; 
keep thy word justly ; swear not ; commit not with man's so 
sworn spouse ; set not thy sweet heart on proud array. 
Tom's a-cold. 

Lear. What hast thou been ? 

Edg. a serving-man, proud in heart and mind ; that 
curled my hair ; wore gloves in my cap ; served the lust 
of my mistress' heart and did the act of darkness with 

110: "Be as a planetary plague, when Jove Will o'er some high- 
viced city hang his poison In the sick air." 
72 Mule mercy on their flesh] apparently a reference to the pins or thorns 
which crazy beggars stuck in their flesh; cf. II, iii, 15-16, supra. 

74 pelican daughters] The young of the pelican was commonly credited 

with drinking its parent's blood. 

75 Pillicock . . . Pillicoeh-hUt] A nursery rhyme. "Pillicock," which had an 

indelicate meaning, was often used as a term of endearment for children. 
85 wore gloves in my cap] Mistresses' favours often took the form of gloves 
and were worn in the admirers' caps. Cressida begs Troilus wear 
her glove. Cf . Trail, and Cress., IV, iv, 73. 

KING LEAR act hi 

90 

her ; swore as many oaths as I spake words and broke 
them in the sweet face of heaven : one that slept in the 
contriving of lust and waked to do it: wine loved I 
deeply, dice dearly, and in woman out-paramoured the 
Turk : false of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand ; hog 
in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog in mad- 
ness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking of shoes nor 
the rustling of silks betray thy poor heart to woman: 
keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, 
thy pen from lenders' books, and defy the foul fiend. 

"Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind." 
Says suum, mun, ha, no, nonny. 

Dolphin my boy, my boy, sessa ! let him trot by. 99 

[Storm still. 

Lear. Why, thou wert better in thy grave than to 
answer with thy uncovered body this extremity of the 

91 light of ear] credulous of slanderous gossip or of obscenity. 
95 plackets] the apertures in petticoats. 

97-99 StiU through . . . trot by] The Globe text first printed these lines 
as verse. The early editions give them as prose. 

98 Says suum . . . nonny] A combination due to Steevens, of the Folio 

reading sayes, suum,,mun, monny and the Quarto reading hay no on ny. 
"Hey nonny nonny" was a common burden of a song. Ci. Mitch Ado, 
n, iii, 64. 

99 Dolphin my boy] An almost meaningless colloquial form of address 

which appears in Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair (Act V, Sc. iii), as 
"Dauphin my boy." Steevens doubtfully assigned the phrase to a 
popular ballad. The dolphin was often cited as a type of beauty. Cf . 
"A Merry Knack to know a Knave" (1594), "fairer than the dol- 
phin's eye." Dodsley's Old Plays, ed. Hazlitt, Vol. VI, p. 514. 
sessa] an interjection enjoining silence. See HI, vi, 73, infra, and note 
on T. of Shrew, Induction, I, 5. 

skies. Is man no more than this ? Consider him well. 
Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the 
sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha! here's three 
on's are sophisticated. Thou art the thing itself: un- 
accommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, 
forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you lendings ! come, 
unbutton here. [Tearing off his clothes. 

Fool. Prithee, nuncle, be contented ; 't is a naughty 
night to swim in. Now a little fire in a wild field were 
like an old lecher's heart, a small spark, all the rest on 's 
body cold. Look, here comes a walking fire. 112 

Enter Glottcesteb, vnth a torch 

Edg. This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet: he be- 
gins at curfew and walks till the first cock ; he gives the 
web and the pin, squints the eye and makes the hare- 
lip ; mildews the white wheat and hurts the poor creature 
of earth. 

104 the cat] the perfumed civet cat. 

105 sophisticated] artificially made up (by wearing clothes). 

106 unaccommodated] unfurnished with artificial equipment. 

107 forked] two-pronged, two-legged. 
lendings] borrowed clothes. 

112 here comes a walking fire] a reference to Gloucester's approach with 
a torch. 

113 Flibbertigibbet] a traditional name of an imp or demon mentioned by 
Harsnet. See note on lines 53-54, supra. 

115 the web and the pin] cataract of the eye. Cf. Wint. Tale, I, ii, 291 : 
"pin and web." 

116 the white wheat] the ripening wheat. 

Saint Withold footed thrice the 'old ; 

He met the night-mare and her nine-fold; 

Bid her alight, 120 

And her troth plight. 
And aroint thee, witch, aroint thee ! 

Kent. How fares your grace ? 

Lear. What's he? 

Kent. Who's there? What is't you seek? 

Glou. What are you there ? Your names ? 

Edg. Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the 
toad, the tadpole, the wall-newt and the water ; that in 
the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cow- 
dung for sallets; swallows the old rat and the ditch- 
dog ; drinks the green mantle of the standing pool ; who 
is whipped from tithing to tithing, and stock-punished, 
and imprisoned ; who hath had three suits to his back, 
six shirts to his body, horse to ride and weapon to 
wear; 

118 Saint Withold . . . Wei] For Saint Withold the Quartos read Sm^AaW, 
and the Folios Swithold. "Sweet Swithold of thy lenity" is invoked 
by a friar in The Troublesome Raigne of King John (Six Old Plays, 
1779, I, 256). No such saint apparently is noticed elsewhere, but 
he has been doubtfully identified with Saint Vitalis, who seems to 
have been invoked against nightmares. "The 'old" clearly stands 
for "the wold," low-lying country. 

119 nine-fold] nine foals. 

122 aroint thee] begone. Cf. Mad)., I, iii, 6: "'Aroint thee, witch!'" 

and note. 
128 the water] the water-newt. "Newt" is commonly applied to the lizard. 
ISO for sallets] by way of salads. 
132 tithing] district or parish. 

But mice and rats and such small deer 
Have been Tom's food for seven long year. 

Beware my follower. Peace, Smulkin ; peace, thou fiend ! 

Glou. What, hath your grace no better company ? 

Edg. The prince of darkness is a gentleman : Modo 
he's call'd, and Mahu. i40 

Glou. Our flesh and blood is grown so vile, my lord, 
That it doth hate what gets it. 

Edg. Poor Tom's a-cold. 

Glou. Go in with me: my duty cannot suffer 
To obey in all your daughters' hard commands: 
Though their injunction be to bar my doors 
And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you. 
Yet have I ventured to come seek you out 
And bring you where both fire and food is ready. 

Lear. First let me talk with this philosopher. 150 

What is the cause of thunder.? 

Kent. Good my lord, take his offer ; go into the house. 

Lear. I '11 talk a word with this same learned Theban. 
What is your study ? 

135-136 Bvi mice and rats . . . seven long year] The lines are cited with 

slight modifications from the mediaeval metrical romance of Bevis of 

Hampton; "deer" means game. 
137 Smulkin] the name of one of the fiends noticed, like "Modo" and 

"Mahu," lines 139, 140, infra, by Harsnet. See note on lines 53, 54, 

supra. 
142 gets] begets. Gloucester, who similarly uses "got" for "begot" 

(n, i, 80, supra), is reflecting on the undutifulness of his son 

Edgar, whom he does not recognise in his disguise, as well as on that 

of Lear's daughters. 
153 learned Thehan] an ironical incoherence. A Theban or Boeotian — 

Thebes was the chief city of Boeotia — commonly connotes stupidity. 

KING LEAR act hi 

Edg. How to prevent the fiend and to kill vermin. 

Lear. Let me ask you one word in private. 

Kent. Importune him once more to go, my lord; 
His wits begin to unsettle. 

Glou. Canst thou blame him ? 

[Storm still. 
His daughters seek his death : ah, that good Kent ! 
He said it would be thus, poor banish'd man ! i60 

Thou say'st the king grows mad ; I '11 tell thee, friend, 
I am almost mad myself: I had a son, 
Now outlaw'd from my blood; he sought my life. 
But lately, very late : I loved him, friend. 
No father his son dearer: truth to tell thee, 
The grief hath crazed my wits. What a night's 

this! 
I do beseech your grace, — 

Lear. O, cry you mercy, sir. 

Noble philosopher, your company. 

Edg. Tom's a-cold. 

Glou. In, fellow, there, into the hovel : keep thee 

warm. 170 

Lear. Come, let's in all. 

Kent. This way, my lord. 

Lear. With him; 

I will keep still with my philosopher. 

Kent. Good my lord, soothe him; let him take the 
fellow. 

Glou. Take him you on. 

Kent. Sirrah, come on; go along with us. 

163 outlaw'd from my blood] disowned and disinherited. 

Lear. Come, good Athenian. 
Glou. No words, no words : hush. 

XiDG. Child Rowland to the dark tower came : 

His word was still "Fie, foh, and fum, 

I smell the blood of a British man." [Exeunt. 180 

SCENE V — GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

Enter Cornwall and Edmund 

Corn. I will have my revenge ere I depart his house. 

Edm. How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature 

thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think of. 

178-180 Child Rowland . . . British man] These lines are probably 
scraps from one or (it may be) two old ballads, which are not posi- 
tively known to have been handed down in fuU. Doubt exists as to 
the antiquity and authenticity of an extant Scottish ballad called 
"Child Roland and Burd Ellen," dealing with an heroic rescue by 
the " Child Roland" of his sister EUen from a giant's enchantment. 
This ballad in its present shape contains the lines "with fie, fie, fo 
and fum, I smell the blood of a Christian man," but they are pos- 
sibly based on Shakespeare's lines. (Cf. Child, Ballads, I, 245.) 
The words "Fy, fa, fum, I smell the bloud of an English-man," are 
quoted as too familiar a colloquialism to deserve discussion, in 
Nashe's Have with you to Saffron Walden, 1596. (Nashe's Works, 
ed. McKerrow, III, 37). They possibly belong to an early (lost) ver- 
sion of a nursery ballad of Jack the Giant Killer, of which Child 
Roland may perhaps have been the hero's original name ; but pre- 
cise evidence is lacking. For Shakespeare's use of "British" here 
in place of English see IV, vi, 252, infra, and note. 

2-3 How, my lord . . . fears me to think of] I am somewhat afraid, my 
lord, of the opinion that may be formed of me, in that I sacrifice my 
filial feeling to my sense of loyalty to you. 

KING LEAR act hi 

Corn. I now perceive, it was not altogether your 
brother's evil disposition made him seek his death, but a 
provoking merit, set a- work by a reproveable badness in 
himself. 

Edm. How malicious is my fortune, that I must re- 
pent to be just ! This is the letter he spoke of, which 
approves him an intelligent party to the advantages of lo 
France. O heavens ! that this treason were not, or not 
I the detector ! 

Corn. Go with me to the duchess. 

Edm. If the matter of this paper be certain, you have 
mighty business in hand. 

Corn. True or false, it hath made thee earl of Glou- 
cester. Seek out where thy father is, that he may be 
ready for our apprehension. 

Edm. [Aside] If I find him comforting the king, it will 
stuff his suspicion more fully. — I will persever in my 20 
course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between 
that and my blood. 

Corn. I will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find 
a dearer father in my love. [Exeunt. 

6-7 a provoking merit . . . in himself] a certain measure of virtue, which 
prompted action, being set in motion by a reprehensible depravity 
in his father's own nature. 

10 an intelligent party] an informer, a spy. 

19 comforting] supporting (as a legal accessory) ; the word is used in its 
legal sense. 

22 my blood] my natural feeling. 

SCENE VI — A CHAMBER IN A FARMHOUSE 
ADJOINING THE CASTLE 

Enter Gloucesteb, Leab, Kent, Fool, and Edgar 

Glou. Here is better than the open air; take it 
thankfully, I will piece out the comfort with what 
addition I can: I will not be long from you. 

Kent. All the power of his wits have given way to 
his impatience : the gods reward your kindness ! 

[Eodt Gloucester. 

Edg. Frateretto calls me, and tells me Nero is an 
angler in the lake of darkness. Pray, innocent, and be- 
ware the foul fiend. 

Fool. Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be 
a gentleman or a yeoman. lo 

Leab. A king, a king ! 

Fool. No, he's a yeoman that has a gentleman to his 
son, for he's a mad yeoman that sees his son a gentle- 
man before him. 

Leab. To have a thousand with red burning spits 
Come hissing in upon 'em, — 

6 Frateretto] The name of a fiend in Harsnet. See note on III, iv, 53-54, 
supra. 

6-7 Nero . . . darkness] According to Rabelais (Pantagruel, II, 30) Tra- 
jan in hell was an angler for frogs, while Nero was there as a fiddler. 
Possibly Shakespeare was thinking confusedly of Rabelais' remark. 
There seems no historic ground for describing Nero as an angler. 

12-15 No, he's a yeoman . . . before him] This speech of the fool is 
omitted from the Quartos; it is only found in the Folios. 

Edg. The foul fiend bites my back. 

Fool. He 's mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, 
a horse's health, a boy's love, or a whore's oath. 

Lear. It shall be done ; I will arraign them straight. 20 
[To Edgar] Come, sit thou here, most learned justicer ; 
[To the Fool] Thou, sapient sir, sit here. Now, you she 
foxes ! 

Edg. Look, where he stands and glares ! Wantest 
thou eyes at trial, madam? 

Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me. 
Fool. Her boat hath a leak. 

And she must not speak 
Why she dares not come over to thee. 

Edg. The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the voice of 
a nightingale. Hopdance cries in Tom's belly for two so 

17-55 The foul fiend . . . let her 'scape] This passage occurs only in the 
Quartos ; it is omitted from the Folios. 

19 a horse's health] A horse's health was notoriously held to be uncer- 
tain. Cf. T. of Shrew, III, ii, 46, seq., for a long list of diseases to 
which horses were subject. Cf. ibid., I, ii, 79: "as many diseases as 
two and fifty horses." 

21 justicer] justiciar, judge of a high court. Theobald's emendation of the 
Quarto reading iustice, which might possibly be retained. But cf. 
Cymb., V, v, 214: "some upright justicer." 

23-24 W artiest thou eyes at trial, madam f] These words are crazily 
addressed to Goneril or her sister ("she-foxes"), and implies that 
the woman who is on her trial fails to see the fiend who "stands 
and glares." 

25 Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me] The first line of a popular ballad, 
dating certainly as early as Henry VIII's reign. The music is also 
preserved. Cf. Rimbault's Songs and Ballads, 1851, pp. 71-76. 
The Quartos wrongly read broome for bourn (i. e., brook). 

30 Hopdance] Pope's spelling of the Quarto Hoppedance. Harsnet men- 

[1101 

white herring. Croak not, black angel ; I have no food 
for thee. 

Kent. How do you, sir ? Stand you not so amazed : 
Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions ? 

Lear. I'll see their trial first. Bring in the evidence. 
[To Edgar] Thou robed man of justice, take thy place; 
[To the Fool] And thou, his yoke-fellow of equity. 
Bench by his side. [To Kent] You are o' the commission ; 
Sit you too. 

Edg. Let us deal justly. 40 

Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd ? 

Thy sheep be in the corn ; 
And for one blast of thy minikin mouth, 

Thy sheep shall take no harm. 

Pur ! the cat is gray. 

Lear. Arraign her first; 'tis Goneril. I here take 
my oath before this honourable assembly, she kicked 
the poor king her father. 

Fool. Come hither, mistress. Is your name Goneril ? 

tions a fiend called Hobberdidaunce, who figures IV, i, 61, infra, as 

Hobbididence. See note on III, iv, 53-54, supra. 
31 white herring] more often used for fresh herring than pickled herring. 
36 robed] Edgar is wrapped in a blanket; see III, iv, 65, supra. 
38 the commission] the commission of justices of the peace. 
41-44 Sleepest . . . harm] Possibly a stanza from some unidentified 

popular song of the day. Many early ballads contain the expression 

"sleep you, wake you." Cf. Percy's Folio MS., Vol. I, p. 70. 
43 minikin] pretty, dainty. 
45 Purl . . . gray] A demon is designated "Purre" by Harsnet. But 

Edgar may only be imitating a cat, with a .suggestion that he, like the 

animal, is too "gray" (i. e., too old) to sing. 

[Ill] 

Leak. She cannot deny it. so 

Fool. Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool. 

Leak. And here's another, whose warp'd looks pro- 
claim 
What store her heart is made on. Stop her there ! 
Arms, arms, sword, fire ! Corruption in the place ! 
False justicer, why hast thou let her 'scape? 

Edg. Bless thy five wits ! 

Kent. O pity ! Sir, where is the patience now. 
That you so oft have boasted to retain? 

Edg. [Aside] My tears begin to take his part so much. 
They'll mar my counterfeiting. 60 

Leak. The little dogs and all, 
Tray, Blanch, and Sweet-heart, see, they bark at me. 

Edg. Tom will throw his head at them. Avaunt, you 

curs ! 

Be thy mouth or black or white. 

Tooth that poisons if it bite; 

Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim. 

Hound or spaniel, brach or lym. 

Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail, 

Tom will make them weep and wail: 70 

51 I took you for a joint-stoot\ A proverbial phrase for a mock apology. 

A " joint-stool " was a folding stool. See note on T. of Shrew, II, i, 197. 
62-53 whose warp'd looks . . . made on] whose perverse expression shows 

what stuff her heart is made of. 
56 five ivits] See note on HI, iv, 57, supra. 

68 brach or lym] bitch hound or bloodhound. Lym is Hanmer's correction 

of the Quarto reading him and the Folio Hym. "LjTnmer" or "lime- 
hound" was a term applied to the bloodhound, which was always 
led by a "leam," or "liam," i. e., a leather thong or heavy leash. 
For "brach," cf. I, iv, 111, supra. 

69 trundle-tait\ a dog with a curled tail. 

For, with throwing thus my head, 
Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled. 

Do de, de, de. Sessa ! Come, march to wakes and fairs 
and market-towns. Poor Tom, thy horn is dry, 

Lear. Then let them anatomize Regan; see what 
breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in nature 
that makes these hard hearts ? [To Edgar] You, sir, I 
entertain for one of my hundred ; only I do not like the 
fashion of your garments. You will say they are Persian 
attire; but let them be changed. so 

Kent. Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile. 

Lear. Make no noise, make no noise ; draw the cur- 
tains: so, so, so. We'll go to supper i' the morning. 
So, so, so. 

Fool. And I'll go to bed at noon. 

Re-enter Gloucesteb 

Glou. Come hither, friend: where is the king my 

master ? 
Kent. Here, sir ; but trouble him not : his wits are 

gone. 

72 the hatch] the half-door. 

73 Do, de, de, de] See note III, iv, 57, supra. 

Sessa] See III, iv, 99, supra, and note on T. of Shrew, Induction, I, 5. 

74 horn] a drinking-cup of horn usually carried by beggars. 

79-80 Persian attire] perhaps a reminiscence of Horace, Odes, Bk. I, Ode 
xxxviii: "Persicos apparatus," i. e., the gorgeous robes of the East. 

85 And . . . noon] This speech is omitted from the Quartos. These are 
the last words spoken by the fool in the play. The expression is often 
used to describe an easy way of life. It seems to lack recondite 
significance. 
8 [ 113 ] 

Glou. Good friend, I prithee, take him in thy arms ; 
I have o'erheard a plot of death upon him: 
There is a Utter ready ; lay him in 't, so 

And drive toward Dover, friend, where thou shalt meet 
Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master : 
If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life. 
With thine and all that offer to defend him, 
Stand in assured loss. Take up, take up, 
And follow me, that will to some provision 
Give thee quick conduct. 

Kent. Oppressed nature sleeps. 

This rest might yet have balm'd thy broken sinews. 
Which, if convenience will not allow. 
Stand in hard cure. [To the Fool] Come, help to bear 

thy master; lOO 

Thou must not stay behind. 

Glou. Come, come, away. 

[Exeunt all but Edgar. 

Edg. When we our betters see bearing our woes. 
We scarcely think our miseries our foes. 

89 upon him] against him. 

95 Stand in assured loss] Are exposed to certain ruin. No uncommon 
construction. Cf. "Stand in hard cure" (line 100, infra). 

97-101 Oppressed . . . behind] This speech is omitted from the Folios. 

98 broken sinews] shattered nerves. 

100 Stand in hard cure] Must prove difficult to cure. Cf., for the expres- 
sion, line 95, supra: "Stand in assured loss." 

102-115 When we . . . lurk] The whole of this soliloquy is omitted 
from the Folios, and only appears in the Quartos. Doubts have been 
raised as to Shakespeare's full responsibility for it. But though the 
sententious rhyming has pathetic effect, parallels are to be found for 
it in his authentic work. 

Who alone suflfers suffers most i' the mind, 

Leaving free things and happy shows behind: 

But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip. 

When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. 

How light and portable my pain seems now, 

When that which makes me bend makes the king bow, 

He childed as I father'd ! Tom, away ! no 

Mark the high noises, and thyself bewray 

When false opinion, whose wrong thought defiles thee. 

In thy just proof repeals and reconciles thee. 

What will hap more to-night, safe 'scape the king ! 

Lurk, lurk. [Exit. 

SCENE Vn — GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 

Enter Cohnwall, Regan, Gonebil, Edmund, and Servants 

Corn. Post speedily to my lord your husband ; show 
him this letter : the army of France is landed. Seek out 
the traitor Gloucester. [Exeunt some of the Servants. 

Reg. Hang him instantly. 

105 free things] things free of trouble. 

107 bearing] suffering. The word is a substantive. 

110 He childed as I father'd] A bold use. Such conversion of substantives 
into verbs is not uncommon in Shakespeare. 

111-114 Mark the high noises . . . hap more] Note the loud, ominous 
signs of approaching disturbance, and betray or declare yourself when 
that false opinion about you of which the error defiles thee shall in 
presence of just proof of thy integrity repeal the dishonourable verdict 
and recall thee to the life of honour now denied thee. Whatever 
further happens, etc. 

2 this letter] The letter which Edmund has already given to Cornwall, 
m, V, 9, et seq., supra. 

[115 J 

GoN. Pluck out his eyes. 

Corn. Leave him to my displeasure. Edmund, keep 
you our sister company : the revenges we are bound to 
take upon your traitorous father are not fit for your be- 
holding. Advise the duke, where you are going, to a 
most festinate preparation: we are bound to the like, lo 
Our posts shall be swift and intelligent betwixt us. 
Farewell, dear sister : farewell, my lord of Gloucester. 

Enter Oswald 

How now! where 's the king? 

Osw. My lord of Gloucester hath convey'd him 
hence : 
Some five or six and thirty of his knights. 
Hot questrists after him, met him at gate; 
Who, with some other of the lords dependants, 
Are gone with him toward Dover; where they boast 
To have well-armed friends. 

Corn. Get horses for your mistress. 

7 bound] prepared, committed. So in line 10, infra. Cf . Hamlet, I, v, 6 : 
"Speak; I am bound to hear." 

10 festinate] huTiied; a pedantic word. Cf. L. L. L.,ni, i, 6:"festiaately." 

11 intelligent] giving full information. Cf. Ill, i, 25, supra. 

12 my lord of GUmcester] These words are addressed to Edmund, whom 

Cornwall somewhat prematurely invests with his father's title. Os- 
wald in line 14 applies the title to the father. 

16 questrists] searchers or pursuers (engaged in the quest) ; a very rare 

word. 

17 lords dependants] Thus the Quartos. The First Folio reads Lords, 

dependants, which gives the right sense. It is likely that these com- 
panions of Lear were vassals of Cornwall, who now forsake their alle- 
giance. Pope substituted lord's dependants, meaning less satisfactorily 
Gloucester's followers. 

GoN. Farewell, sweet lord, and sister. 20 

Corn. Edmund, farewell. 

[Exeunt Goneril, Edmund, and Oswald. 
Go seek the traitor Gloucester. 
Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us. 

[Exeunt other Servants. 
Though well we may not pass upon his life 
Without the form of justice, yet our power 
Shall do a courtesy to our wrath, which men 
May blame but not control. Who's there ? the traitor ? 

Enter Gloucesteb, brought in by two or three 

Reg. Ingrateful fox ! 't is he. 

Corn. Bind fast his corky arms. 

Glou. What mean your graces ? Good my friends, 
consider 
You are my guests : do me no foul play, friends. so 

Corn. Bind him, I say. [Servants bind him. 

Reg. Hard, hard. O filthy traitor ! 

Glotj. Unmerciful lady as you are, I'm none. 

Corn. To this chair bind him. Villain, thou shalt 
find — [Regan plucks his beard. 

Glott. By the kind gods, 't is most ignobly done 
To pluck me by the beard. 

Reg. So white, and such a traitor ! 

Glou. Naughty lady. 

These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin 

23 pass upon his life] pass sentence of death on him. 
Z5 do a courtesy to] indulge, gratify. 
28 corky] sapless, shrivelled with age. 

Will quicken and accuse thee : I am your host : 

With robbers' hands my hospitable favours 

You should not ruffle thus. What will you do ? 40 

Corn, Come, sir, what letters had you late from 
France ? 

Reg. Be simple answerer, for we know the truth. 

Corn. And what confederacy have you with the 
traitors 
Late footed in the kingdom ? 

Reg. To whose hands have you sent the lunatic king ? 
Speak. 

Glotj. I have a letter guessingly set down. 
Which came from one that's of a neutral heart. 
And not from one opposed. 

Corn. Cunning. 

Reg. And false. 

Corn. Where hast thou sent the king ? 

Glou. To Dover. 50 

Reg. Wherefore to Dover? Wast thou not charged 
at peril — 

Corn. Wherefore to Dover? Let him first answer 
that. 

Glou. I am tied to the stake, and I must stand the 
course. 

Reg. Wherefore to Dover, sir? 

38 quicken] assume life. 

39 mi/ hospitable favours] the face or features of me your host. 
47 guessingly set dovm] written from conjecture. 

53 the course] the attack; the bout; the onset of dogs baiting the bear, 
according to the custom of the sport. Cf. Macb., V, vii, 2: "bearlike 
I must fight the course." 

Glou. Because I would not see thy cruel nails 
Pluck out his poor old eyes, nor thy fierce sister 
In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs. 
The sea, with such a storm as his bare head 
In hell-black night endured, would have buoy'd up, 
And quench'd the stelled fires : so 

Yet, poor old heart, he holp the heavens to rain. 
If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that stern time, 
Thou shouldst have said, "Good porter, turn the key," 
All cruels else subscribed: but I shall see 
The winged vengeance overtake such children. 

Corn. See 't shalt thou never. Fellows, hold the chair. 
Upon these eyes of thine I'll set my foot. 

Gloxj. He that will think to live till he be old. 
Give me some help ! O cruel ! O you gods ! 

Reg. One side will mock another ; the other too. 70 

Corn. If you see vengeance — 

First Serv. Hold your hand, my lord : 

I have served you ever since I was a child ; 

67 stick] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read rash, a term often applied 
to the rending of flesh by a boar's tusks. 

69 buoy'd wp] risen up like a buoy, which was sunk in water. 

60 steUed] probably "fixed," "everlasting." In Sonnet xxiv, and Luerece, 
1444, "steUed" is found in the sense of "firmly fixed." Theobald 
less satisfactorily connected "stelled" with "stellatus," i. e., starry. 

62 stem] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read deame, i. e., dreary. Cf. 
Pericles, III, Prol., 15: "a dern and painful perch," and note. 

64 AU cruels else stihscribed] All their cruelty and fierceness in other 
circumstances being forgiven or condoned. Thus the Quartos. For 
subscribed the Folios read subscribe, which it is difficult to interpret, 
though the phrase might then mean "AU other cruel beings in such 
circumstances yield their ferocity" or "show some humanity." 

KING LEAR act hi 

But better service have I never done you 
Than now to bid you hold. 

Reg. How now, you dog ! 

First Serv. If you did wear a beard upon your chin, 
I 'Id shake it on this quarrel. What do you mean ? 

Corn. My villain ! [They draw and fight. 

First Serv. Nay, then, come on, and take the chance 
of anger. 

Reg. Give me thy sword. A peasant stand up thus ! 
[Takes a sword and runs at him behind. 

First Serv. O, I am slain ! My lord, you have one 
eye left so 

To see some mischief on him. O ! [Dies. 

Corn. Lest it see more, prevent it. Out, vile jelly ! 
Where is thy lustre now? 

Glou. All dark and comfortless. Where's my son 
Edmund ? 
Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature. 
To quit this horrid act. 

Reg. Out, treacherous villain ! 

Thou call'st on him that hates thee: it was he 
That made the overture of thy treasons to us; 
Who is too good to pity thee. 

76 What do you mean?] This inquiry would come more appropriately from 

Cornwall. 

77 My villain] My serf; one legally bound to me in ties of servitude. 

83 Where is thy lustre now?] The barbarity of the episode of the blinding 
of Gloucester exceeds in horror any other scene in Shakespeare's work. 
The pity shown by Cornwall's servants barely relieves the repulsive- 
ness of the outrage. 

86 quit] requite, repay. 

88 overture] disclosure. Cf. Wint. Tale, U, i, 172. 

Glou. O my follies ! Then Edgar was abused. so 
Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him ! 

Reg. Go thrust him out at gates, and let him smell 
His way to Dover. [Exit one with Gloucester.] How is't, 
my lord ? how look you ? 
CoEN. I have received a hurt : follow me, lady. 
Turn out that eyeless villain: throw this slave 
Upon the dunghill. Regan, I bleed apace: 
Untimely comes this hurt: give me your arm. 

[Exit Cornwall, led by Regan. 
Sec. Serv. I '11 never care what wickedness I do. 
If this man come to good. 

Thied Seev. If she live long. 

And in the end meet the old course of death, loo 

Women will all turn monsters. 
Sec. Serv. Let 's follow the old earl, and get the 
Bedlam 
To lead him where he would: his roguish madness 
Allows itself to any thing. 

Thied Seev. Go thou: I'll fetch some flax and 
whites of eggs 
To apply to his bleeding face. Now, heaven help him ! 

[Exeunt severally. 

98-106 / 'tt never care . . . heaven help him] These lines are omitted 

from the Folios, and only appear in the Quartos. 
100 old] natural, familiar. 
102 the Bedlam] the crazy beggar, Edgar. Cf. I, ii, 129-130, and II, 

iii, 14, supra. With a slight inconsistency Gloucester figures in the 

next scene in charge not of Edgar, but of a faithful old tenant, and 

meets Edgar apparently by accident. 
104 Allows itself] Adapts itself, is amenable. 

[ 121 ] 

Edgar

THE HEATH 

Enter Edgab 

AND 

flat- 

lET BETTER THUS, 

known to be contemn'd, 

Than still contemn'd and 

ter'd. To be worst, 

The lowest and most dejected 

thing of fortune. 

Stands still in esperance, lives 

not in fear: 

The lamentable change is from 

the best; 

The worst returns to laughter. 

Welcome then, 

Thou unsubstantial air that I 

embrace ! 

The wretch that thou hast blown unto the worst 
Owes nothing to thy blasts. But who comes here? 

1-2 Yet better . . . ^aiier'<fl The general meaning is, "It is better to know 
that one is contemned than for one to be really contemned and at 
the same time to be treated with false flattery which conceals the 

Enter Gloucesteb, led by an Old Man 

My father, poorly led ? World, world, O world ! lo 

But that thy strange mutations make us hate thee. 
Life would not yield to age. 

Old Man. O, my good lord, I have been your tenant, 
and your father's tenant, these fourscore years. 

Gloxj. Away, get thee away ; good friend, be gone : 
Thy comforts can do me no good at all ; 
Thee they may hurt. 

Old Man. Alack, sir, you cannot see your way. 

Glou. I have no way and therefore want no eyes; 
I stumbled when I saw : full oft 't is seen, so 

Our means secure us, and our mere defects 
Prove our commodities. Ah, dear son Edgar, 

tnith." Johnson's proposal to substitute unknown for and known 
conflicts with the context. 

3 most dejected thing] thing cast down to the lowest depth. 

4 esperance] French word for " hope." 

5-6 The lamentable change . . . lattghter] Change from the best fortune 
gives cause for lamentation ; change from fortune when at the worst 
implies recovery, a return to something which makes for gaiety. 

6-9 Welcome . . . thy blasts] This passage is omitted from the Quartos, 
and appears only in the Folios. 

10-12 O world! . . . age] O world, if reverses of fortune did not make us 
contemn existence altogether, we should never resign ourselves to the 
hateful incidents of infirm age. In other words, the world with all its 
uncertainties of fortune is such a repellent object to us that it is a 
trifling matter whether we are yoimg or old, strong or weak. 

21-22 Our means secure us . . . commodities] The very possession of re- 
sources or capacities renders us careless in using them, and our very 
deficiencies or weaknesses cause us to employ such care as to make 
them of advantage to us. In other words, Gloucester means that when 
he had eyes he used them so carelessly as to stumble ; now that he is 

The food of thy abused father's wrath ! 
Might I but live to see thee in my touch, 
I 'Id say I had eyes again ! 

Old Man. How now ! Who 's there ? 

Edg. [Adde] O gods ! Who is 't can say "I am at 
the worst" ? 
I am worse than e'er I was. 

Old Man. 'T is poor mad Tom. 

Edg. [Aside] And worse I may be yet : the worst is not 
So long as we can say "This is the worst." 

Old Man. Fellow, where goest ? 

Glou. Is it a beggar-man ? so 

Old Man. Madman and beggar too. 

Glou. He has some reason, else he could not beg. 
I' the last night's storm I such a fellow saw, 
Which made me think a man a worm: my son 
Came then into my mind, and yet my mind 
Was then scarce friends with him : I have heard more 

since. 
As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; 
They kill us for their sport. 

Edg. [Aside] How should this be? 

Bad is the trade that must play fool to sorrow. 
Angering itself and others. Bless thee, master ! 40 

blind he must be so watcliful of his steps that he is likely to avoid 
stumbling. "Secure," which is conmionly used adjectively as "care- 
less," means as a verb "to render careless." Cf. Tim. of Ath., 11, ii, 
177: "Seotre thy heart." 

23 abrised] deceived. 

38 kill] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read, hardly intelligibly, hitt or bit. 

39-40 play fool to sorrow . . . others] divert sorrow by making merri- 
ment, whereby the distress is aggravated to the general vexation. 

[ 124] 

Glou. Is that the naked fellow ? 

Old Man. Ay, my lord. 

Glou. Then, prithee, get thee gone : if for my sake 
Thou wilt o'ertake us hence a mile or twain 
I' the way toward Dover, do it for ancient love ; 
And bring some covering for this naked soul. 
Who I'll entreat to lead me. 

Old Man. Alack, sir, he is mad. 

Glou. 'T is the times' plague, when madmen lead the 
blind. 
Do as I bid thee, or rather do thy pleasure; 
Above the rest, be gone. 

Old Man. I '11 bring him the best 'parel that I have, 5o 
Come on 't what will. [Exit. 

Glou. Sirrah, naked fellow, — 

Edg. Poor Tom 's a-cold. [Aside] I cannot daub it 
further. 

Glou. Come hither, fellow. 

Edg. [Aside] And yet I must. — Bless thy sweet eyes, 
they bleed. 

Glou. Know'st thou the way to Dover? 

Edg. Both stile and gate, horse-way and foot-path. 
Poor Tom hath been scared out of his good wits. Bless 
thee, good man's son, from the foul fiend ! Five fiends 
have been in poor Tom at once ; of lust, as Obidicut ; 6o 

53 daiib] disguise. 

59-64 Five fiends . . . bless thee, master] These lines are omitted from 

the Folios, and appear only in the Quartos. 
60-62 Obidicni . . . Flibbertigibbet] The names of all these five fiends 

are adapted from Harsnet (see III, iv, 154, supra), though Obidicut 

is spelt hj Harsnet Hoberdicvt. 

Hobbididence, prince of dumbness ; Mahu, of stealing ; 
Modo, of murder ; Flibbertigibbet, of mopping and mow- 
ing; who since possesses chambermaids and waiting- 
women. So, bless thee, master ! 

Glou. Here, take this purse, thou whom the heavens' 
plagues 
Have humbled to all strokes : that I am wretched 
Makes thee the happier. Heavens, deal so still ! 
Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man. 
That slaves your ordinance, that will not see 
Because he doth not feel, feel your power quickly; 70 
So distribution should undo excess 
And each man have enough. Dost thou know Dover ? 

Edg. Ay, master. 

Glou. There is a cliff whose high and bending head 
Looks fearfully in the confined deep : 
Bring me but to the very brim of it. 
And I'll repair the misery thou dost bear 
With something rich about me : from that place 
I shall no leading need. 

Edg. Give me thy arm : 

Poor Tom shall lead thee. [Exeunt, so 

62-63 vwpping and mowing] grinning and grimacing (like an ape). 

68-69 the superfluous . . . ordinance] the man surfeited with superfluous 
luxuries, and fed up by inordinate lusts, who makes the divine 
ordinances his slave by treating them as subservient to his pleasure. 

70 feel] sc. pain, suffer. 

[ 126 ] 

SCENE II — BEFORE THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S PALACE 

Enter Goneril and Edmund 

GoN. Welcome, my lord : I marvel our mild husband 
Not met us on the way. 

Enter Oswald 

Now, where 's your master? 

Osw. Madam, within ; but never man so changed. 
I told him of the army that was landed; 
He smiled at it : I told him you were coming ; 
His answer was, " The worse : " of Gloucester's treachery 
And of the loyal service of his son 
When I inform'd him, then he call'd me sot 
And told me I had turn'd the wrong side out: 
What most he should dislike seems pleasant to him ; lo 
What like, offensive. 

GoN. [To Edm.] Then shall you go no further. 
It is the cowish terror of his spirit, 
That dares not undertake: he'll not feel wrongs, 
Which tie him to an answer. Our wishes on the way 

1 Welcome, my lord] Edmund has escorted Goneril home. See III, vii, 12- 
21, supra. She now welcomes him on entering her house. 

8 sot] fool. 

9 turn'd the wrong side out] completely misinterpreted the facts. 

13-14 he'll not feel . . . answer] he'll take no notice of injuries which 

will require of him retaliation. 
14-15 Our ivishes . . . effects] The things we wished for when talking of 

them on the road may come to pass. The reference is to the murder 

of Goneril's husband, Albany. 

May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my brother; 

Hasten his musters and conduct his powers : 

I must change arms at home and give the distaff 

Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant 

Shall pass between us : ere long you are like to hear, 

If you dare venture in your own behalf, 20 

A mistress's command. Wear this; spare speech; 

[Giving a favour. 
Decline your head: this kiss, if it durst speak, 
Would stretch thy spirits up into the air: 
Conceive, and fare thee well. 

Edm. Yours in the ranks of death. 

GoN. My most dear Gloucester ! 

[Exit Edmund. 
O, the difference of man and man ! 
To thee a woman's services are due: 
My fool usurps my body. 

Osw. Madam, here comes my lord. 

[Exit. 
Enter Albany 

GoN. I have been worth the whistle. 

Alb. O Goneril ! 

You are not worth the dust which the rude wind so 

Blows in your face. I fear your disposition: 
That nature which contemns it origin 

17 change arms] exchange implements (i. e., spears for spindles). 

29 I have been worth the whistle] an adaptation of the common proverb, 

"A poor dog is not worth the whistling." Goneril was wont to receive 

an elaborate welcome on her return home. 
31-50 I fear your disposition . . . Like monsters of the deep] These lines 

are omitted from the Folios, and appear only in the Quartos. 
32-33 That nature . . . in itself] That disposition which contemns its 

Cannot be border'd certain in itself; 
She that herself will sliver and disbranch 
From her material sap, perforce must wither 
And come to deadly use. 

GoN. No more; the text is foolish. 

Alb. Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile: 
Filths savour but themselves. What have you done? 
Tigers, not daughters, what have you perform'd ? 40 

A father, and a gracious aged man. 
Whose reverence even the head-lugg'd bear would lick, 
Most barbarous, most degenerate ! have you madded. 
Could my good brother suflFer you to do it ? 
A man, a prince, by him so benefited ! 
If that the heavens do not their visible spirits 
Send quickly down to tame these vile offences, 
It will come, 

Humanity must perforce prey on itself. 
Like monsters of the deep. 

GoN. Milk-liver' d man ! so 

That bear'st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs; 

parentage cannot be restrained within any fixed bounds (of law and 
order). It origin is the reading of (most copies of) the First Quarto 
and of the Second Quarto. The Third Quarto has the more 
modem form its. 

35 rrMterial sap] sap giving essential nourishment. 

36 deadly use] the use fitted for a thing that is dead, as in the case of dead 

wood, which is fit only for burning. 
39 FiUhs . . . themselves] Filthy things only have a taste for filthy things. 

42 the head-lugg'd bear] the bear dragged about by a cord round its head, 

and thereby infuriated. 

43 madded] made mad, maddened. 

9 [ 129 ] 

Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning 
Thine honour from thy suffering; that not know'st 
Fools do those villains pity who are punish'd 
Ere they have done their mischief. Where's thy drum ? 
France spreads his banners in our noiseless land, 
With plumed helm thy state begins to threat, 
Whiles thou, a moral fool, sit'st still and criest 
"Alack, why does he so?" 

Alb. See thyself, devil ! 

Proper deformity seems not in the fiend 60 

So horrid as in woman. 

GoN. O vain fool ! 

Alb. Thou changed and self-cover'd thing, for shame, 
Be-monster not thy feature. Were 't my fitness 
To let these hands obey my blood, 

52-55 W}io hast not . . . mischief] Whose eyes are not able to distinguish 
the injury to thy honour in tamely suffering wrong; who dost not 
know that only fools show pity for those wretches who are pimished 
before they have wrought the mischief they have designed. 

53-59 that not know'st . . . does he so?\ This passage is omitted from the 
Folios, and appears only in the Quartos. 

67 thy state begins to threat] Jennens' emendation of the First Quarto read- 
ing thy state begins thereat and the later Quartos' reading thy slaier 
begins threats. 

58 moral] moralising. 

60-61 Proper deformity . . . woman] Innate deformity or depravity 
seems not to be so horrible in the devil as in a woman. 

62-68 Thou chan.ged . . . mewl] These lines are omitted from the Folios. 

62 self-cover'd] having your self or real personality covered or concealed 
(by a woman's shape). Cf. lines 66-67, infra. Albany means that 
Goneril, his wife, is really a fiend, whose form is exchanged with and 
concealed by "a woman's shape." 

64 blood] disposition or impulse. 

They are apt enough to dislocate and tear 
Thy flesh and bones: howe'er thou art a fiend, 
A woman's shape doth shield thee. 
GoN. Marry, your manhood ! mew ! 

Enter a Messenger 

Alb. What news ? 

Mess. O, my good lord, the Duke of Cornwall's 

dead, 70 

Slain by his servant, going to put out 
The other eye of Gloucester. 

Alb. Gloucester's eyes ! 

Mess. A servant that he bred, thrill'd with remorse. 
Opposed against the act, bending his sword 
To his great master; who thereat enraged 
Flew on him and amongst them fell'd him dead. 
But not without that harmful stroke which since 
Hath pluck'd him after. 

Alb. This shows you are above. 

You justicers, that these our nether crimes 

68 manhood! mewf] Some copies of the First Quarto read manhood 
mew — ; others manhood now — , a reading substantially followed by 
the later Quartos. Marry, your manhood now I would mean that 
Goneril, who at Ime 50 had called her husband "milk-liver'd," 
now taunts him with his boast of manhood. Your manhood mew 
woiUd mean "restrain your manhood." If the two notes of exclama- 
tion be admitted as in the text here, "mew" is a derisive interjection, 
for the use of which there is ample contemporary authority. 

73 remwse\ compassion. 

74-75 bending . . . To] directing ... at. 

79 jiisticers] judges. Cf. HI, vi, 23, supra, 

So speedily can venge. But, O poor Gloucester ! so 

Lost he his other eye ? 

Mess. Both, both, my lord. 

This letter, madam, craves a speedy answer; 
'T is from your sister. 

GoN. [Aside] One way I like this well; 

But being widow, and my Gloucester with her. 
May all the building in my fancy pluck 
Upon my hateful life: another way, 
The news is not so tart. — I '11 read, and answer. [Exit. 
Alb. Where was his son when they did take his eyes ? 
Mess. Come with my lady hither. 
Alb. He is not here. 

Mess. No, my good lord ; I met him back again. 90 
Alb. Knows he the wickedness ? 
Mess. Ay, my good lord ; 't was he inform'd against 
him. 
And quit the house on purpose, that their punishment 
Might have the freer course. 

Alb. Gloucester, I live 

To thank thee for the love thou show'dst the king. 
And to revenge thine eyes. Come hither, friend: 
Tell me what more thou know'st. [Exeunt. 

83-86 One way . . . hateful life] Goneril's cruelty approves the death of 
Cornwall and the blinding of Gloucester. But seeing that her sister is 
now a widow and Edmund, whom she calls by his father's title, 
" my Gloucester," is in her sister's company, she fears that the design 
of killing her own husband and of thus opening the road to her 
own union with Edmund may be foiled, and that the castle of her 
imagination may fall and crush her own life, which in its present con- 
dition is loathsome to her. 
90 back again] on his way back. 

SCENE III — THE FRENCH CAMP NEAR DOVER 

ErUer Kent and a G«ntleman 

Kent. Why the King of France is so suddenly gone 
back know you the reason ? 

Gent. Something he left imperfect in the state which 
since his coming forth is thought of, which imports to 
the kingdom so much fear and danger that his personal 
return was most required and necessary. 

Kent. Who hath he left behind him general ? 

Gent. The Marshal of France, Monsieur La Far. 

Kent. Did your letters pierce the queen to any 
demonstration of grief ? lo 

Gent. Ay, sir; she took them, read them in my 
presence. 
And now and then an ample tear trill'd down 
Her delicate cheek : it seem'd she was a queen 
Over her passion, who most rebel-like 
Sought to be king o'er her. 

Kent. O, then it moved her. 

Gent. Not to a rage : patience and sorrow strove 
Who should express her goodliest. You have seen 
Sunshine and rain at once: her smiles and tears 

Scene iii] The whole of this scene is omitted from the Folios. It appears 

only in the Quartos, 
(stage direction) a Gentleman] Cf. Ill, i, supra, where this gentleman was 

ordered to Dover to inform the French kmg and Cordelia of Lear's 

misfortunes. 
12 trUrd] trickled. 

[133 ] 

Were like a better way : those happy smilets 

That play'd on her ripe lip seem'd not to know 20 

What guests were in her eyes; which parted thence 

As pearls from diamonds dropp'd. In brief. 

Sorrow would be a rarity most beloved. 

If all could so become it. 

Kent. Made she no verbal question ? 

Gent. Faith, once or twice she heaved the name of 
"father" 
Pantingly forth, as if it press'd her heart; 
Cried "Sisters ! sisters! Shame of ladies ! sisters! 
Kent ! father ! sisters ! What, i' the storm ? i' the night ? 
Let pity not be believed ! " There she shook , 
The holy water from her heavenly eyes, so 

And clamour moisten' d : then away she started 
To deal with grief alone. 

Kent. It is the stars. 

The stars above us, govern our conditions; 
Else one self mate and mate could not beget 
Such different issues. You spoke not with her since ? 

19 Were like a better way] Had an effect of greater beauty than even the 

concurrence of sunshine and rain could produce. The reading is much 
disputed. Theobald accepted Warburton's absurd alteration Were lilce 
a wetter May. Another conjecture Were like an April day is, at any 
rate, imobjectionable. 

20 seem'd] Pope's emendation of the Quarto reading secme. 

31 clamour mmsten'd] Capell's emendation of the Quarto reading clamour 

moistened her. The words would mean that tears allayed her utterance, 

and stayed it from clamorous lamentation. 
34 self mate and mate] the same husband and wife. Thus the Second and 

Third Quartos. The First Quarto reads self mMe and make, "make" 

being a somewhat archaic word for "partner." 

[134<] 

Gent. No. 

Kent. Was this before the king return'd ? 

Gent. No, since. 

Kent. Well, sir, the poor distressed Lear 's i' the 
town; 
Who sometime in his better tune remembers 
What we are come about, and by no means 40 

Will yield to see his daughter. 

Gent. Why, good sir.? 

Kent. A sovereign shame so elbows him : his own 
unkindness 
That stripp'd her from his benediction, turn'd her 
To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights 
To his dog-hearted daughters : these things sting 
His mind so venomously that burning shame 
Detains him from Cordelia. 

Gent. Alack, poor gentleman ! 

Kent. Of Albany's and Cornwall's powers you heard 
not? 

Gent. 'T is so ; they are afoot. 

KJENT. Well, sir, I '11 bring you to our master Lear, so 
And leave you to attend him: some dear cause 
Will in concealment wrap me up awhile; 
When I am known aright, you shall not grieve 
Lending me this acquaintance. I pray you, go 
Along with me. [Exeunt. 

42 A sovereign shame . . . him] A predominant sense of shame thus 
thrusts him aside (from a reconciliation). The sense is explained in 
lines 46, 47, infra, "burning shame detains him from Cordelia." 

49 'T is so] It is the fact that I have heard of them. 

61 some dear cause] some very good reason. 

SCENE IV — THE SAME 
A TENT 

Enter, with drum and colours, Cobdelia, Doctor, and Soldiers 

Cor. Alack, 't is he : why, he was met even now 
As mad as the vex'd sea ; singing aloud ; 
Crown'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds. 
With bur-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers. 
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow 
In our sustaining corn. A century send forth ; 
Search every acre in the high-grown field. 
And bring him to our eye. [Exit an Officer.] What can 

man's wisdom 
In the restoring his bereaved sense? 
He that helps him take all my outward worth. lo 

DocT. There is means, madam: 
Our foster-nurse of nature is repose, 

3-5 rank fumiter . . . bur-docks . . . cv/ikoo-flowers. Darnel] Cf . Hen. V, V, 
ii, 44-46: "her fallow leas The darnel, hemlock and rank fumitory 
Doth root upon." "Fumiter," i. e., "fumitory," from the French 
"fumeterre," i. e., earth-smoke, is a common sort of weed, of which 
there seem to be five species known in England. Bur-docks is Han- 
mer's change for the Quarto reading hordocks and the Folio reading 
Hardokes or Hardocks; "hoardock" is the name of a coarse weed with 
whitish woolly leaves, which seems closely related to the "burdock," 
a coarse flower bearing prickly flowerheads called "burs," and having 
large dock-leaves. "Cuckoo flowers" is applied to many plants flower- 
ing in the spring, especially "ragged robin"; cf. L. L. L., V, ii, 883, 
"cuckoo-buds." "Darnel" is raygrass, a weed often found in open 
corn-fields. 

The which he lacks : that to provoke in him, 
Are many simples operative, whose power 
Will close the eye of anguish. 

Cor. All blest secrets, 

All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth, 
Spring with my tears ! be aidant and remediate 
In the good man's distress ! Seek, seek for him ; 
Lest his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life 
That wants the means to lead it. 

Enter a Messenger 

Mess. News, madam; 20 

The British powers are marching hitherward. 

Cor. 'T is known before ; our preparation stands 
In expectation of them. O dear father. 
It is thy business that I go about ; 
Therefore great France 

My mourning and important tears hath pitied. 
No blown ambition doth our arms incite. 
But love, dear love, and our aged father's right: 
Soon may I hear and see him ! [Exeunt. 

14 simples] medicinal herbs. 

17 aidant and remediate] helpful and remedial. "Remediate" is Shake- 
speare's coinage, on the model of "immediate." 
20 the means to had it] the control of reason to guide it. 

26 important tears] importimate tears. Cf. AU's Well, III, vii, 21: "im- 

portant blood." 

27 blown] inflated. 

SCENE V — GLOUCESTER'S CASTLE 
Enter Regan and Oswald 

Reg. But are my brother's powers set forth ? 

Osw. Ay, madam. 

Reg. Himself in person there ? 

Osw. Madam, with much ado: 

Your sister is the better soldier. 

Reg. Lord Edmund spake not with your lord at 
home? 

Osw. No, madam. 

Reg. What might import my sister's letter to him ? 

Osw. I know not, lady. 

Reg. Faith, he is posted hence on serious matter. 
It was great ignorance, Gloucester's eyes being out. 
To let him live: where he arrives he moves lo 

All hearts against us: Edmund, I think, is gone. 
In pity of his misery, to dispatch 
His nighted life; moreover, to descry 
The strength o' the enemy. 

Osw. I must needs after him, madam, with my letter. 

Reg. Our troops set forth to-morrow : stay with us ; 
The ways are dangerous. 

4 your lord\ Thus the Folios. The Quartos read your Lady, which is 
pointless; for Regan knows that Edmund was her sister Goneril's 
companion from Gloucester's castle to Albany's palace, and that he had 
every opportunity of speaking with her on her journey home. On 
their arrival, Regan's enquiry can only be directed to Edmund's 
recent relations with Albany, Goneril's husband and Oswald's lord. 

13 nighted] darkened, gloomy. Cf. Hamlet, I, ii, 68 : "thy nighted colour" 
(■i. e., thy gloomy complexion). 

Osw. I may not, madam : 

My lady charged my duty in this business. 

Reg. Why should she write to Edmund ? Might not 
you 
Transport her purposes by word ? Belike, 20 

Something — I know not what : I '11 love thee much. 
Let me unseal the letter. 

Osw. Madam, I had rather — 

Reg. I know your lady does not love her husband ; 
I am sure of that : and at her late being here 
She gave strange oeillades and most speaking looks 
To noble Edmund. I know you are of her bosom. 

Osw. I, madam ? 

Reg. I speak in understanding: you are; I know't: 
Therefore I do advise you, take this note : 
My lord is dead ; Edmund and I have talk'd ; so 

And more convenient is he for my hand 
Than for your lady's : you may gather more. 
If you do find him, pray you, give him this; 
And when your mistress hears thus much from you, 
I pray, desire her call her wisdom to her. 

25 osUlades] amorous glances ; a French word. Cf . M. Wives, I, iii, 67. 

26 of her bosom] in her confidence. 

29 take this note] usually explained as "take note of this." But in view 
of the "give him this" of line 33, infra, and "take thou this note," V, 
iii, 28, infra, Regan has been credited with referring to a letter which 
she now hands to Oswald. At IV, vi, 250-258, infra, when Oswald 
dies, " letters " which are in his pockets are twice mentioned, though 
only one from Goneril to Edmund is actually read out. 

35 desire her call her wisdom to her] an ironical way of advising Goneril to 
think better of her amour with Edmimd. 

So, fare you well. 

If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor. 

Preferment falls on him that cuts him off. 

Osw. Would I could meet him, madam ! I should 
show 
What party I do follow. 

Reg. Fare thee well. [Exeunt. 40 

SCENE VI — FIELDS NEAR DOVER 

Enter Gloucestek, and Edgak dressed like a peasant 

Glou. When shall we come to the top of that same 
hill? 

Edg. You do climb up it now : look, how we labour. 

Glou. Methinks the ground is even. 

Edg. Horrible steep. 

Hark, do you hear the sea ? 

Glou. No, truly. 

Edg. Why then your other senses grow imperfect 
By your eyes' anguish. 

Glou. So may it be indeed: 

Methinks thy voice is alter'd, and thou speak'st 
In better phrase and matter than thou didst. 

Edg. You 're much deceived : in nothing am I changed 
But in my garments. 

38 Preferment] Advancement, promotion. 

1 that same hill] -The fine description which follows of the great cliff 

near Dover has caused it to be long christened "The Shakespeare 

Cliff." 

Glotj. Methinks you're better spoken. lo 

Edg. Come on, sir; here's the place: stand still. 
How fearful 
And dizzy 't is to cast one's eyes so low ! 
The crows and choughs that wing the midway air 
Show scarce so gross as beetles : half way down 
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade ! 
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head : 
The fishermen that walk upon the beach 
Appear like mice; and yond tall anchoring bark 
Diminish'd to her cock; her cock, a buoy 
Almost too small for sight: the murmuring surge eo 

That on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes 
Cannot be heard so high. I'll look no more. 
Lest my brain turn and the deficient sight 
Topple down headlong. 

Glou. Set me where you stand. 

Edg. Give me your hand: you are now within a 
foot 
Of the extreme verge: for all beneath the moon 
Would I not leap upright. 

13 choughs] jackdaws. 

15 samphire] The early editions read sampire, indicating the pronunci- 
ation which still survives in America. It is a rock herb named 
after St. Pierre or St. Peter, which is much used for pickling. It is 
sometimes called "sea-fennel." 

19 cock] a ship's small boat, often called cock-boat. 

21 unnumber'd] innumerable. 

27 Would I not leap upright] The spot is pretended to be so near the edge 
of the precipice that the utmost peril would be incurred by any leap 
or rapid movement in an upright posture. 

Glou. Let go my hand. 

Here, friend, 's another purse ; in it a jewel 
Well worth a poor man's taking : fairies and gods 
Prosper it with thee ! Go thou further off ; 30 

Bid me farewell, and let me hear thee going. 

Edg. Now fare you well, good sir. 

Glou. With all my heart. 

Edg. Why I do trifle thus with his despair 
Is done to cure it. 

Glou. [Kneeling] O you mighty gods ! 
This world I do renounce, and in your sights 
Shake patiently my great affliction off: 
If I could bear it longer and not fall 
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills. 
My snuff and loathed part of nature should 
Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O bless him ! 40 

Now, fellow, fare thee well. [He falls forward. 

Edg. Gone, sir: farewell. 

And yet I know not how conceit may rob 
The treasury of life, when life itself 
Yields to the theft: had he been where he thought. 
By this had thought been past. Alive or dead ? 
Ho, you sir ! friend ! Hear you, sir ! speak ! 
Thus might he pass indeed : yet he revives. 
What are you, sir ? 

Glou. Away, and let me die. 

28 another purse] Cf . IV, i, 65, supra, where Gloucester already gives Edgar 

one of his purses. 
39 snuff] refuse or dregs. 
42 conceit] imagination, false impression. 
47 pass] pass away, die. 

Edg. Hadst thou been aught but gossamer, feathers, 
air. 
So many fathom down precipitating, so 

Thou'dst shiver'd like an egg: but thou dost breathe; 
Hast heavy substance; bleed'st not; speak'st; art 

sound. 
Ten masts at each make not the altitude 
Which thou hast perpendicularly fell: 
Thy life's a miracle. Speak yet again. 

Glou. But have I fall'n, or no ? 

Edg. From the dread summit of this chalky bourn. 
Look up a-height ; the shrill-gorged lark so far 
Cannot be seen or heard : do but look up. 

Glou. Alack, I have no eyes. 60 

Is wretchedness deprived that benefit. 
To end itself by death ? 'T was yet some comfort. 
When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage 
And frustrate his proud will. 

Edg. Give me your arm : 

Up : so. How is 't ? Feel you your legs ? You stand. 

Glou. Too well, too well. 

Edg. This is above all strangeness. 

Upon the crown o' the cliff, what thing was that 
Which parted from you? 

Glou. A poor unfortunate beggar. 

Edg. As I stood here below, methought his eyes 
Were two full moons ; he had a thousand noses, 70 

53 Ten masts at each] Ten masts fastened end to end. 
57 this chalky houm] this boundary of chalk. 
68 shrill^gorged\ shrill-throated. 

Horns whelk'd and waved like the enridged sea : 
It was some fiend ; therefore, thou happy father. 
Think that the clearest gods, who make them honours 
Of men's impossibilities, have preserved thee. 

Glou. I do remember now : henceforth I 'II bear 
Affliction till it do cry out itself 

"Enough, enough," and die. That thing you speak of, 
I took it for a man ; often 't would say 
"The fiend, the fiend:" he led me to that place. 

Edg. Bear free and patient thoughts. But who comes 

here ? so 

Enter Leak, fantastically dressed wiih wild -flowers 

The safer sense will ne'er accommodate 
His master thus. 

Lear. No, they cannot touch me for coining; I am 
the king himself. 

Edg. O thou side-piercing sight! 

Leab. Nature 's above art in that respect. There 's 
your press-money. That fellow handles his bow like a 

71 whelk'd and waved . . . sea] twisted or convolved (like the shell of the 
whelk fish) and fluted like the furrowed sea. 

73 clearest] most pure or righteous. 

74 impossibilities] incapacities, things that men's powers make it impos- 

sible for them to do. 
80 free] free from fear. 

81-82 The safer sense . . . thus] The saner sense or the reason would 
never allow one in full possession of it to dress himself up thus. "His 
master" would be in modem grammar "its master." 
85 side-pierdng] piercing the heart. 

86-87 There 's your press-money] Lear imagines himself a recruiting officer 
handing bounty money to men forcibly impressed. 

90 

crow-keeper ; draw me a clothier's yard. Look, look, a 
mouse ! Peace, peace ; this piece of toasted cheese will 
do 't. There's my gauntlet; I'll prove it on a giant. 
Bring up the brown bills. O, well flown, bird ! i' the 
clout, i' the clout : hewgh ! Give the word. 

Edg. Sweet marjoram. 

Lear. Pass. 

Glou. I know that voice. 

Lear. Ha ! Goneril, with a white beard ! They flat- 
tered me like a dog, and told me I had white hairs in 
my beard ere the black ones were there. To say "ay" 
and "no" to every thing that I said ! "Ay" and "no" 99 
too was no good divinity. When the rain came to wet 
me once and the wind to make me chatter ; when the 
thunder would not peace at my bidding ; there I found 
'em, there I smelt 'em out. Go to, they are not men o' 
their words : they told me I was every thing ; 't is a lie, 
I am not ague-proof. 

88 crow-Jeeeper] scarecrow; an office sometimes filled by a loutish boy; 
more often by a clumsy figure resembling a man. 
draw me a clothier's yard] shoot an arrow the length of a clothier's 
yard measure. "Me" is the ethic dative. 

90 gauntlet] the leather glove commonly thrown down to invite a challenge. 

91 the brovm bills] the halberdiers, soldiers bearing halberds, which 

were painted brown to preserve them from rust. 
well flown, birdi] the falconer's cry to the hawk. 

92 i' the eloict] the cry of the archer who hit the " clout " i. e., the bull's 

eye or pin fixed in the centre of the butt or target. 
Give the word] The mad king imagines himself a sentinel demanding 
the watchword of Edgar. 
99-100 "Ay"and"no" . . . divinity] Merely to echo my "yes "and "no" 
had nothing that was good or divine in it. It was mere sycophancy. 
10 [ 145 ] 

Glou. The trick of that voice I do well remember : 
Is 't not the king ? 

Lear. Ay, every inch a king: 

When I do stare, see how the subject quakes. 
I pardon that man's life. What was thy cause? 
Adultery ? no 

Thou shalt not die : die for adultery ! No : 
The wren goes to 't, and the small gilded fly 
Does lecher in my sight. 

Let copulation thrive; for Gloucester's bastard son 
Was kinder to his father than my daughters 
Got 'tween the lawful sheets. 
To 't, luxury, pell-mell ! for I lack soldiers. 
Behold yond simpering dame, 
Whose face between her forks presages snow, 
That minces virtue and does shake the head 120 

To hear of pleasure's name; 
The fitchew, nor the soiled horse, goes to 't 
With a more riotous appetite. 

106 trick] peculiar note. 

109 thy cause] the charge brought against thee. 

117 luxury] lust. 

119 Whose face . . . snow] Cf. Tim. of Ath., IV, iii, 383-384: "Whose 
blush doth thaw the consecrated snow That lies on Dian's lap." Lear 
means that the person of the "simpering dame" suggests coyness. 
" Forks " is equivalent to " legs"; rf. HI, iv, 107, supra: " a forked 
animal." 

120 minces] affects with pretence of timidity. 
122 fitchew] polecat, often applied to a harlot. 

the soiled horse] the horse turned out to new grass, which rendered 
him wanton. 

Down from the waist they are Centaurs, 

Though women all above: 

But to the girdle do the gods inherit. 

Beneath is all the fiends' ; 

There 's hell, there 's darkness, there 's the sulphurous pit. 

Burning, scalding, stench, consumption ; fie, fie, fie ! 

pah, pah ! Give me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, 

to sweeten my imagination : there 's money for thee, isl 

Glou. O, let me kiss that hand ! 

Leab. Let me wipe it first ; it smells of mortality. 

Glou. O ruin'd piece of nature ! This great world 
Shall so wear out to nought. Dost thou know me ? 

Leab. I remember thine eyes well enough. Dost 
thou squiny at me ? No, do thy worst, blind Cupid ; I '11 
not love. Read thou this challenge ; mark but the pen- 
ning on't. 

Glou. Were all the letters suns, I could not see one. 

Edg. I would not take this from report : it is, i4i 

And my heart breaks at it. 

Leab. Read. 

Glou. What, with the case of eyes ? 

Leab. O, ho, are you there with me? No eyes in 
your head, nor no money in your purse ? Your eyes are 

124 Centaurs] used as the type of sensuality. The Centaurs, according to 
Ovid, Metam., XII, 210, seq., were given up to lust and violence. 

126 do the gods inherit] do the gods possess or own. 

130 dvet] a musky perfume, obtained from the glands of the civet cat. Cf. 
in, iv, 103-104: "thou owest . . . the cat no perfume." 

137 squiny] look asquint. 

144 with the case of eyes] with the sockets which once held eyes. 

145 are you there with me?] do you understand me ? 

in a heavy case, your purse in a light : yet you see how 
this world goes. 

Glou. I see it feelingly, i49 

Lear. What, art mad? A man may see how this 
world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears : see 
how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark, 
in thine ear : change places, and, handy-dandy, which is 
the justice, which is the thief ? Thou hast seen a farmer's 
dog bark at a beggar? 

Glou. Ay, sir. 

Leab. And the creature run from the cur? There 
thou mightst behold the great image of authority: a 
dog's obeyed in office. 

Thou rascal beadle, hold thy bloody hand ! 160 

Why dost thou lash that whore ? Strip thine own back ; 
Thou hotly lust'st to use her in that kind 
For which thou whip'st her. The usurerhangs the cozener. 
Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear; 
Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, 

147 a heavy case\ a sad plight. 

153 handy-dandy] a children's game ; sleight of hand in which a thing is 

rapidly changed from one hand to the other, to the confusion of the 

onlooker. 

163 The usurer hangs the cozener] The magistrate, who practises usury, 
sentences to death the swindler. 

164 «moi/ vices] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read ^reoi ■wee*, which may 
give the passage the difficult meaning that vice is always greater when 
seen through tatters. 

165 furr'd gowns] For this reference to the merchant-alderman's official 
dress, cf. Meas. for Meas., Ill, ii, 7. 

165-170 Plate sin . . . accuser's lips] This passage is omitted from the 
Quartos, and appears only in the Folios. 

And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks ; 

Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it. 

None does offend, none, I say, none; I'll able 'em: 

Take that of me, my friend, who have the power 

To seal the accuser's lips. Get thee glass eyes, 170 

And, like a scurvy politician, seem 

To see the things thou dost not. 

Now, now, now, now : pull off my boots : harder, harder : 

so. 

Edg. O, matter and impertinency mix'd ! 
Reason in madness ! 

Lear. If thou wilt weep my fortunes, take my eyes. 
I know thee well enough; thy name is Gloucester: 
Thou must be patient; we came crying hither: 
Thou know'st, the first time that we smell the air, 180 

We wawl and cry. I will preach to thee: mark. 

Glou. Alack, alack the day ! 

Lear. When we are born, we cry that we are come 
To this great stage of fools. This 's a good block. 
It were a delicate stratagem, to shoe 
A troop of horse with felt: I'll put 't in proof; 

168 I'U able 'em] I'll answer or vouch for them. 

171 politician] political intriguer; always used in a depreciator7 sense by 
Shakespeare. 

175 impertinency] irrelevancy. 

181 wawl] waU or howl. 

184 This's a good block] All the old editions read substantially This a 
good block. The sentence is diflBcult. " Block " is frequently used for 
the mould on which a hat is fashioned, and thus for the hat itself. Lear 
may be supposed crazily to snatch a hat from the head of a bystander, 
and, then noticing that it is made of felt, to be led to his next reflection. 

And when I have stol'n upon these sons-in-law. 
Then, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill ! 

Enter a Gentleman, with Attendants 

Gent. O, here he is : lay hand upon him. Sir, 
Your most dear daughter — i9o 

Lear. No rescue ? What, a prisoner ? I am even 
The natural fool of fortune. Use me well; 
You shall have ransom. Let me have a surgeon; 
I am cut to the brains. 

Gent. You shall have any thing. 

Lear. No seconds? all myself? 
Why, this would make a man a man of salt. 
To use his eyes for garden water-pots. 
Ay, and laying autumn's dust. 

Gent. Good sir, — 

Lear. I will die bravely, like a smug bridegroom. 

What ! 200 

I will be jovial : come, come ; I am a king. 
My masters, know you that. 

Gent. You are a royal one, and we obey you. 

Lear. Then there s life in 't. Nay, an you get it, 
you shall get it by running. Sa, sa, sa, sa. 

[Exit running; Attendants follow. 

Gent. A sight most pitiful in the meanest wretch, 

196 salt] salt tears. 

200 I will die . . . bridegroom] Cf. Ant. & Cleop., IV, xiv, 99-100: "I 
will be A hridegroom in my death." " Smug " means spruce, with- 
out any depreciatory sense. Cf. Merch. of Ven., Ill, i, 39: "so 
smug upon the mart." 

205 Sa, sa, sa, sa] These syllables represent Lear's panting as he runs. 
They are omitted from the Quartos. 

Past speaking of in a king ! Thou hast one daughter, 
Who redeems nature from the general curse 
Which twain have brought her to. 

Edg. Hail, gentle sir. 

Gent. Sir, speed you: what's your will? 

Edg. Do you hear aught, sir, of a battle toward ? 211 

Gent. Most sure and vulgar: every one hears that. 
Which can distinguish sound. 

Edg. But, by your favour. 

How near's the other army? 

Gent. Near and on speedy foot; the main descry 
Stands on the hourly thought. 

Edg. ' I thank you, sir: that's all. 

Gent. Though that the queen on special cause is here. 
Her army is moved on. 

Edg. I thank you, sir. [Exit Gent. 

Glou. You ever-gentle gods, take my breath from me ; 
Let not my worser spirit tempt me again 220 

To die before you please ! 

Edg. Well pray you, father. 

Glou. Now, good sir, what are you ? 

Edg. a most poor man, made tame to fortune's 
blows ; 

212 vulgar] generally known. 

215-216 the main descry . . . hourly thought] it is expected every hour 

that the main army wUl be descried. For another usage of " stand 

on," see V, i, 68-69, infra. 
221 father] a colloquial term of address of a young to an old man. Cf. 

line 257, infra. Gloucester has not yet recognised his son in Edgar. 
223 tame to] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read lame by, with which 

compare Sonnet xxxvii, 3 : "So I made lams by fortune's dearest spite." 

Who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows, 
Am pregnant to good pity. Give me your hand, 
I'll lead you to some biding. 

Glou. Hearty thanks; 

The bounty and the benison of heaven 
To boot, and boot ! 

Enter Oswald 

Osw. A proclaim'd prize ! Most happy ! 

That eyeless head of thine was first framed flesh 
To raise my fortunes. Thou old unhappy traitor, 230 
Briefly thyself remember: the sword is out 
That must destroy thee. 

Glou. Now let thy friendly hand 

Put strength enough to 't. [Edgar interposes. 

Osw. Wherefore, bold peasant, 

Darest thou support a publish'd traitor ? Hence ! 
Lest that the infection of his fortune take 
Like hold on thee. Let go his arm. 

Edg. Chill not let go, zir, without vurther 'casion. 

Osw. Let go, slave, or thou diest ! 

Edg. Good gentleman, go your gait, and let poor volk 
pass. An chud ha' been zwaggered out of my life, 

224-225 by the art . . . pregnant] by the tuition of experienced and heart- 
felt sorrows am readily moved. 

226 biding] lodging. 

228 To boot, and boot] In addition, and addition; to the fullest possible 
extent. 

231 Briefly thyself remember] Quickly recall thy sins and repent. 

234 publish'd] proclaimed. 

237 Chill] I wiU. This south country rustic dialect is ordinarily allotted 
to rustics on the contemporary stage. 

't would not ha' been zo long as 't is by a vortnight. Nay, 
come not near th' old man ; keep out, che vor ye, or I 'se 
try whether your costard or my ballow be the harder: 
chill be plain with you. 

Osw. Out, dunghill ! [They fight. 245 

Edg. Chill pick your teeth, zir : come ; no matter vor 
your foins. [Oswald falls. 

Osw. Slave, thou hast slain me. Villain, take my purse: 
If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body; 
And give the letters which thou find'st about me 250 

To Edmund earl of Gloucester; seek him out 
Upon the British party. O, untimely death ! 
Death ! [Dies. 

Edg. I know thee well : a serviceable villain. 
As duteous to the vices of thy mistress 
As badness would desire. 

Glou. What, is he dead? 

Edg. Sit you down, father; rest you. 

242 che vor ye] I warn you. 

243 your costard or my ballow] your head or my cudgel. 

245 Out, dunghill] a common term of opprobrium. Cf . K. John, TV, iii, 
87 : " Out dunghill, darest thou brave a nobleman ? " 

247 foins] thrusts in fencing. Cf . Much Ado, V, i, 84 : "foining fence." 

252 Upon the British party] Among the British. The Quartos read British, 
while the Folios read English. Cf . Ill, iv, 180, supra, where ' ' a British 
man" is read in a passage quoted from an old ballad, which has 
" Engliskaxan." Owing to the accession of James I to the English 
throne, it was deemed complimentary to the Scottish king to give aU 
his subjects the epithet British, though Shakespeare in first drafting 
the play failed to respect this punctilio. 

255 duteous] obsequious, obedient. 

257 father] See note on line 221, supra. 

Let 's see these pockets : the letters that he speaks of 
May be my friends. He 's dead ; I am only sorry 
He had no other deathsman. Let us see : seo 

Leave, gentle wax ; and, manners, blame us not : 
To know our enemies' minds, we 'Id rip their hearts ; 
Their papers, is more lawful. 

[Reads] "Let our reciprocal vows be remembered. You have 
many opportunities to cut him off : if your will want not, time and 
place will be fruitfully offered. There is nothing done, if he return 
the conqueror : then am I the prisoner, and his bed my gaol ; from 
the loathed warmth whereof deliver me, and supply the place for 
your labour. 

"Your — wife, so I would say — affectionate servant, 

"GoNEBtt." 270 

O undistinguish'd space of woman's will ! 

A plot upon her virtuous husband's life; 

And the exchange my brother ! Here, in the sands. 

Thee I'll rake up, the post unsanctified 

Of murderous lechers; and in the mature time 

With this ungracious paper strike the sight 

Of the death-practised duke : for him 't is well 

That of thy death and business I can tell. 

260 deathsman] executioner. 

261 Leave, gentle wax] Cf. Tw. Night, II, v, 85: "By your leave, wax." 
269 servant] lover, as in the Italian " (cavaliere) servente." Cf . Two Gent., 

n, i, 97. 

271 undistinguish'd . . . wilt] boundless range of woman's desire. 
"Will" is constantly used by Shakespeare in the significance of 
lust. Cf . Lee's Ldfe of Shakespeare, Appendix VIII. 

274 rake up] cover. 

277 death-practised] whose death is plotted. 

Glou. The king is mad : how stiff is my vile sense. 
That I stand up, and have ingenious feeling 280 

Of my huge sorrows ! Better I were distract : 
So should my thoughts be sever'd from my griefs. 
And woes by wrong imaginations lose 
The knowledge of themselves. [Drum afar off. 

Edg. Give me your hand : 

Far off, methinks, I hear the beaten drum: 
Come, father, I'll bestow you with a friend. [Exeunt. 

SCENE VII — A TENT IN THE FRENCH CAMP. LEAR 
ON A BED ASLEEP, SOFT MUSIC PLAYING; 
GENTLEMAN, AND OTHERS ATTENDING 

Enter Cordelia, Kent, and Doctor 

Cor. O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work, 
To match thy goodness ? My life will be too short, 
And every measure fail me. 

280 ingenious feeling] lively consciousness. 

283 hy wrong imaginations] by dint of crazy misapprehensions. 

Sc. vii (stage direction) A Tent . . . and Doctor] These directions are 
mainly due to CapeU. The original editions only indicate here the en- 
trance of Cordelia, with whom the Quartos associate Kent and Doctor, 
and the Folios, Kent and Gentleman. The Quartos give no indica- 
tion at all of Lear's entry, which the Folios do not note until (see 
line 20, infra, note). The Folios give to the "Gentleman" the 
speeches assigned to the "Doctor" by the Quartos. The Quartos 
specifically allot but one speech (lines 23-25, infra) to the "Gentle- 
man," whose presence their stage direction fails to indicate. The 
first draft of the piece doubtless introduced both a Gentleman and 
a Doctor in consultation with Cordelia and Kent; a revision of the 
play made the two parts one. 

[155 ] 

Kent. To be acknowledged, madam, is o'erpaid. 
All my reports go with the modest truth, 
Nor more nor clipp'd, but so. 

CoK. Be better suited: 

These weeds are memories of those worser hours : 
I prithee, put them off. 

Kent. Pardon me, dear madam; 

Yet to be known shortens my made intent: 
My boon I make it, that you know me not lo 

Till time and I think meet. 

Cob. Then be 't so, my good lord. [To the Doctor] How 
does the king? 

DocT. Madam, sleeps still. 

Cor. O you kind gods. 
Cure this great breach in his abused nature ! 
The untuned and jarring senses, O, wind up 
Of this child-changed father ! 

DocT. So please your majesty 

That we may wake the king: he hath slept long. 

Cor. Be govern'd by your knowledge, and proceed 
I' the sway of your own will. Is he array'd ? 20 

6 Nor more nor clipp'd, but so] neither exaggerated nor curtailed, but just 
the truth. 
svited] dressed. 

9 Yet to be known . . . inienl] Yet to be recognised comes short of, pre- 
vents, the due realisation of my deliberately formed aim. Main is 
sometimes substituted for the somewhat awkward word made. But 
the change is not essential. 

17 child^changed] either "changed to a child" or "changed by the conduct 
of his children." 

20 Is he array'd?] The Folios insert here the stage direction. Enter Lear 
in a chaire carried by Servants. 

Gent. Ay, madam; in the heaviness of his sleep 
We put fresh garments on him. 

DocT. Be by, good madam, when we do awake him ; 
I doubt not of his temperance. 

Cor. Very well. 

DocT. Please you, draw near. Louder the music there ! 

CoE. O my dear father ! Restoration hang 
Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss 
Repair those violent harms that my two sisters 
Have in thy reverence made ! 

Kent. Kind and dear princess ! 

CoK. Had you not been their father, these white flakes so 
Had challenged pity of them. Was this a face 
To be opposed against the warring winds ? 
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder? 
In the most terrible and nimble stroke 
Of quick, cross lightning ? to watch — poor perdu ! — 

23-24 DocT. Be by, . . . temperance] The Folios continue this speech 
to the " Gentleman." The First Quarto, which like the other Quartos 
gives the preceding speech to the " Doctor," assigns this to the " Gentle- 
man," who is not otherwise known to the Quarto text. The 
Second and Third Quartos allot the passage to Kent. 

24 temperance] sanity, calmness. 

24-25 Very well . . . music tlierel] These lines, which appear in the 
Quartos, are omitted from the Folios. 

26-27 Restoration . . . lips] Let the curative or restorative powers hang 
medicine for thee on my lips. 

30 white flaJees] snow-white hair. 

33-36 To stand . . . helm?] This passage is omitted from the Folios, and 
appears only in the Quartos. 

35 perdu] Cotgrave explains " enf ans perdus " or " perdus " as a " f orlorne 
hope of a campe," i. e., soldiers intrusted with very perilous service. 

With this thin helm ? Mine enemy's dog, 

Though he had bit me, should have stood that night 

Against my fire; and wast thou fain, poor father. 

To hovel thee with swine and rogues forlorn. 

In short and musty straw ? Alack, alack ! 40 

'T is wonder that thy life and wits at once 

Had not concluded all. He wakes ; speak to him. 

DocT. Madam, do you ; 't is fittest. 

Cor. How does my royal lord? How fares your 
majesty ? 

Lear. You do me wrong to take me out o' the grave : 
Thou art a soul in bliss ; but I am bound 
Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears 
Do scald like molten lead. 

Cor. Sir, do you know me ? 

Lear. You are a spirit, I know : when did you die ? 

Cor. Still, still, far wide ! so 

DocT. He 's scarce awake : let him alone awhile. 

Lear. Where have I been? Where am I? Fair 
daylight ? 
I am mightily abused. I should e'en die with pity. 

The term here applies to a sentinel in a situation of great danger 
who was often so designated. Cf. Beaumont & Fletcher's The 
Little French Lawyer, II, iii, 3-4: "I am set here like a perdu To 
watch a feUow." 

36 Mine enemy's dog] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read mine incurious 
dog. 

40 short] scanty, insufficient. 

50 wide] astray. 

53 mightily abused] terribly deceived or imposed upon. Cf . line 77, infra, 
and Much Ado, V, ii, 84: "the prince and Claudio mightily abused." 

[ 158 1 

To see another thus. I know not what to say. 
I will not swear these are my hands : let 's see ; 
I feel this pin prick. Would I were assured 
Of my condition ! 

Cor. O, look upon me, sir, 

And hold your hands in benediction o'er me. 
No, sir, you must not kneel. 

Lear. Pray, do not mock me : 

I am a very foolish fond old man, eo 

Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less; 
And, to deal plainly, 
I fear I am not in my perfect mind. 
Methinks I should know you and know this man; 
Yet I am doubtful; for I am mainly ignorant 
What place this is, and all the skill I have 
Remembers not these garments, nor I know not 
Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me; 
For, as I am a man, I think this lady 
To be my child Cordelia. 

Cor. And so I am, I am. 70 

Lear. Be your tears wet ? yes, faith. I pray, weep 
not: 
If you have poison for me, I will drink it. 
I know you do not love me ; for your sisters 
Have, as I do remember, done me wrong: 
You have some cause, they have not. 

Cor. No cause, no cause. 

61-62 Fourscore . . . plainly] The Quartos omit the words not an hour 
more or less, and read the rest as a single line. The words, which 
the Quartos omit, valuably illustrate Lear's continued mental 
weakness. 

Lear. Am I in France ? 

Kent. In your own kingdom, sir. 

Lear. Do not abuse me. 

DocT. Be comforted, good madam : the great rage. 
You see, is kill'd in him : and yet it is danger 
To make him even o'er the time he has lost. so 

Desire him to go in; trouble him no more 
Till further settling. 

Cor. Will 't please your highness walk ? 

Lear. You must bear with me. Pray you now, 
forget and forgive : I am old and foolish, 

[Exeunt all but Kent and Gentleman. 

Gent, Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cornwall 
was so slain.? 

Kent, Most certain, sir. 

Gent. Who is conductor of his people ? 

Kent. As 't is said, the bastard son of Gloucester. so 

Gent. They say Edgar, his banished son, is with the 
Earl of Kent in Germany. 

Kent. Report is changeable. 'Tis time to look 
about; the powers of the kingdom approach apace. 

77 abuse] deceive. Cf. line 53, supra, and note. 

79-80 and yet . . . hsl] These words are omitted from the Folios. 

80 even o'er] account for, bridge over in his recollection. "Make even 

with" was commonly used for "settle up with." Cf. Macb., V, 

viii, 62. 

82 Till further settling] Till he be calmer. The word "settling" is in 

harmony with "even o'er" of line 80. 

83 walk] withdraw. 

86-98 Holds it true . . . batik's fought] This passage is omitted from 
the Folios. 

Gent. The arbitrement is like to be bloody. Fare 
you well, sir. [Exit. 

Kent. My point and period will be throughly 
wrought, 
Or well or ill, as this day's battle 's fought. [Exit. 

07-98 My paint and period . . . fought] The aim and end of my life will 
be fully attained for either good or ill in the course of this day's 
battle. 

11

THE BRITISH CAMP NEAR DOVER 

Enter, with drum and colours, Edmund, Regan, Gentlemen, and 

Soldiers 
Edmund 

[NOW OF THE DUKE IF 
his last purpose hold, 
Or whether since he is advised 
by aught 
^ To change the course : he 's full 
of alteration 

And self-reproving: bring his 
constant pleasure. 

[To a Gentleman, who goes out. 
Reg. Our sister's man is cer- 
tainly miscarried. 

Edm. 'T is to be doubted, 
madam. 

Reg. Now, sweet lord. 
You know the goodness I intend upon you : 

4 constant pleasure] settled decision. 

6 doubted] feared. 

7 lintend upon you] I design for you. 

Tell me, but truly, but then speak the truth, 
Do you not love my sister ? 

Edm. In honour'd love. 

Reg. But have you never found my brother's way lo 
To the forfended place ? 

Edm. That thought abuses you. 

Reg. I am doubtful that you have been conjunct 
And bosom'd with her, as far as we call hers. 

Edm. No, by mine honour, madam. 

Reg. I never shall endure her : dear my lord, 
Be not familiar with her. 

Edm. Fear me not. — 

She and the duke her husband ! 

Enter, with drum and colours, Albany, Gonekil, and Soldiers 

GoN. [Aside] I had rather lose the battle than that 
sister 
Should loosen him and me. 

Alb. Our very loving sister, well be-met. 20 

Sir, this I hear ; the king is come to his daughter. 
With others whom the rigour of our state 
Forced to cry out. Where I could not be honest, 
I never yet was valiant : for this business. 
It toucheth us, as France invades our land. 

11 forfended] forbidden. 

11-13 Thai thought . . . call hers] This passage is omitted from the Folios. 

15 I never . . . her] I shall never submit to her capture of you. 

23-28 Where I could not be . . . you speak nobly] These lines are 

omitted from the Quartos. 
25-26 It toucheth . . . the king] It concerns us, inasmuch as the French 

force is invading our territory, not because our French foe is sup- 

Not holds the king, with others, whom, I fear. 
Most just and heavy causes make oppose. 

Edm. Sir, you speak nobly. 

Reg. Why is this reason'd ? 

GoN. Combine together 'gainst the enemy; 
For these domestic and particular broils so 

Are not the question here. 

Alb. Let's then determine 

With the ancient of war on our proceedings. 

Edm. I shall attend you presently at your tent. 

Reg. Sister, you '11 go with us ? 

GoN. No. 

Reg. 'T is most convenient ; pray you, go with us. 

GoN. [Aside] O, ho, I know the riddle. — I will go. 

As they are going out, enter Edgab disguised 

Edg. If e'er your grace had speech with man so poor. 
Hear me one word. 

Alb. I'll overtake you. Speak. 

[Exeunt all but Albany and Edgar. 

Edg. Before you fight the battle, ope this letter. 40 

If you have victory, let the trumpet sound 

porting King Lear. "Bolds" is used as a transitive verb meaning 
"encourages," "supports." 

28 reason'd] discussed, talked about. 

30 particular broih] private broils. Thus substantially the Folios. The 
Quartos read door {dare or doore) particulars, which is doubtfully ex- 
plained as private affairs, at our business doors, or own homes. The 
Quarto reading looks like a misprint. 

32 ancient of war] military veterans, those of long experience in warfare. 

33 I shaU . . . terU] This Ime is omitted from the Folios. 
37 I know the riddle] I know your game. 

For him that brought it : wretched though I seem, 
I can produce a champion that will prove 
What is avouched there. If you miscarry, 
Your business of the world hath so an end. 
And machination ceases. Fortune love you ! 

Alb. Stay till I have read the letter. 

Edg. I was forbid it. 

When time shall serve, let but the herald cry. 
And I '11 appear again. 

Alb. Why, fare thee well : I will o'erlook thy paper, so 

[Exit Edgar. 

Re-enter Edmund 

Edm. The enemy 's in view : draw up your powers. 
Here is the guess of their true strength and forces 
By diUgent discovery ; but your haste 
Is now urged on you. 

Alb. We will greet the time. [Exit. 

Edm, To both these sisters have I sworn my love ; 
Each jealous of the other, as the stung 
Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take ? 
Both ? one ? or neither ? Neither can be enjoy'd. 
If both remain alive : to take the widow 
Exasperates, makes mad her sister Goneril; 60 

And hardly shall I carry out my side, 

46 machination ceases] the plot or intrigue against you concludes (with 
your death). 

54 We will greet the time] We will welcome the occasion, we shall be ready. 

61 carry out my side] win my game. "Side" is often found as a technical 
term for a set of partners in a game played by two or more players, and 
hence was sometimes applied to the game itself or to a bout of play. 

Her husband being alive. Now then we'll use 

His countenance for the battle ; which being done, 

Let her who would be rid of him devise 

His speedy taking off. As for the mercy 

Which he intends to Lear and to CordeHa, 

The battle done, and they within our power. 

Shall never see his pardon; for my state 

Stands on me to defend, not to debate. [Exit. 

SCENE II — A FIELD BETWEEN THE TWO CAMPS 

Alarum within. Enter, with drum and colours, Leab, Cobdelia, 

and Soldiers, over the stage; and exeurd 

Enter Edgak and Gloucesteb 

Edg. Here, father, take the shadow of this tree 
For your good host ; pray that the right may thrive : 
If ever I return to you again, 
I'll bring you comfort. 

Glou. Grace go with you, sir ! 

[Exit Edgar. 

Alarum and retreat mthin. Re-enter Edgar 

Edg. Away, old man ; give me thy hand ; away ! 

68-69 my state . . . debate] my situation imposes on me the need of active 
defence, not of talk. For a cognate, although not identical use of 
"Stands on," cf. IV, vi, 216, supra. See also "Stand in," III, vi, 
95-100, supra. 

5 (stage direction) Alarum . . . Edgar] Thus substantially the Folios. 
Within. Re-enter Edgah are words omitted by the Quartos. This 
slight and inadequate indication of the battle, in which the Duke of 
Albany overcomes the French invaders, has been treated by many 
critics as a serious blemish in the perspicuous development of the 

King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en : 
Give me thy hand; come on. 

Glou. No further, sir; a man may rot even here. 

Edg. What, in ill thoughts again ? Men must endure 
Their going hence, even as their coming hither: lo 

Ripeness is all : come on. 

Glou. And that's true too. [Exeunt. 

SCENE m — THE BRITISH CAMP NEAR DOVER 

Enter, in conqtiest, with drum and colours, Edmund; Leak and 
CoKDELiA, as prisoners; Captain, Soldiers, etc. 

Edm. Some officers take them away: good guard. 
Until their greater pleasures first be known 
That are to censure them. 

Cor. We are not the first 

Who with best meaning have incurr'd the worst. 
For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down; 
Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown. 
Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters ? 

Lear. No, no, no, no ! Come, let's away to prison : 
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage: 
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down lo 

And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live, 

plot. The sympathies of the audience which are already strained to 
the uttermost on behalf of the suffering Lear and Cordelia, could, 
however ill endure any emphasis being laid on the defeat of the 
French champion of Cordelia and her father. 

11 Ripeness is all] Cf. Hamlet, V, ii, 214: "if it be not now yet it will 
come; the readiness is all." 

2-3 their greater pleasures . . . That are to censure th^m] the pleasures or 
commands of those greater persons who are to judge them. 

And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh 
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues 
Talk of court news ; and we '11 talk with them too. 
Who loses and who wins, who 's in, who 's out ; 
And take upon's the mystery of things. 
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out. 
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones 
That ebb and flow by the moon. 

Edm. Take them away. 

Lear. Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia, 20 

The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught thee ? 
He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven. 
And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes; 
The good-years shall devour them, flesh and fell, 

13 gilded butterflies] fashionable courtiers. 

16 take upon's] undertake inquiry into. 

17 Ood's spies] angels commissioned by God to report on the lives of men. 

18 packs and sects] parties and factions (of politicians). 

23 fire us hence like foxes] drive us away as foxes are expelled from their 

holes by burning them out. Cf . Sonnet cxliv, 14 : "Till my bad angel 
fire my good one out," and Guilpin's Skialetheia, 1598 (ed. Grosart, 
p. 17) : "But Ee be loth, wench, to be fired out." 

24 The good-years] There is no justification for Hanmer's generally ac- 

cepted suggestion that this expression was a corruption of a French 
word "goujeres" which meant venereal diseases. No such French 
word exists. The colloquial phrase "what the goodyear!" is com- 
mon in Elizabethan English as an imprecation equivalent to "What 
the devil ? " and suggests that "good year" was popularly used, by an 
ironical inversion of speech, of any maleficent influence. See note 
on M. Wives, I, iv, 110. "The good years" doubtless means here 
"the bad powers." 

flesh and fell] literally "flesh and skin"; colloquially used for "flesh 
and bones." 

Ere they shall make us weep : we'll see 'em starve first. 
Come. [Exeunt Lear and Cordelia, guarded. 

Edm. Come hither, captain; hark. 
Take thou this note: go follow them to prison: 
One step I have advanced thee; if thou dost 
As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way so 

To noble fortunes: know thou this, that men 
Are as the time is : to be tender-minded 
Does not become a sword : thy great employment 
Will not bear question; either say thou 'It do't. 
Or thrive by other means. 

Capt. I'll do't, my lord. 

Edm. About it; and write happy when thou hast 
done. 
Mark ; I say, instantly, and carry it so 
As I have set it down. 

Capt. I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried oats ; 
If it be man's work, I'll do't. [Exit. 40 

Flourish. Enter Albany, Gonebil, Regan, another Captain, and 

Soldiers 

Alb. Sir, you have shown to-day your valiant strain. 
And fortune led you well : you have the captives 
That were the opposites of this day's strife: 

28 this note] the warrant for the execution of Lear and Cordelia. 
34 Will not bear question] Will not admit of discussion. 
36 write happy] deem yourself fortunate. 

3fr-40 I cannot draw . . .do't] These lines are omitted from the Folios. 
41 strain] lineage. 

43 the opposites] the persons opposed to us, our enemies. 

We do require them of you, so to use them 
As we shall find their merits and our safety 
May equally determine. 

Edm. Sir, I thought it fit 

To send the old and miserable king 
To some retention and appointed guard; 
Whose age has charms in it, whose title more. 
To pluck the common bosom on his side, so 

And turn our impress'd lances in our eyes 
Which do command them. With him I sent the queen : 
My reason all the same; and they are ready 
To-morrow or at further space to appear 
Where you shall hold your session. At this time 
We sweat and bleed : the friend hath lost his friend ; 
And the best quarrels, in the heat, are cursed 
By those that feel their sharpness. 
The question of Cordelia and her father 
Requires a fitter place. 

Alb. Sir, by your patience, 60 

I hold you but a subject of this war. 
Not as a brother. 

Reg. That's as we list to grace him. 

48 retention] confinement. 

60 the common 6o«07re] the heart of the common people. 

51 our impress'd lances] weapons of the men we have impressed into our 
service. 

55-60 At this time . . . fitter place] This passage is omitted from the 
Folios. 

57-58 And the best qttarrels . . . sharpness] And those engaged in wars 
even when waged in the justest of causes curse the quarrel in the 
excitement of the moment, when they suffer the bitter consequences, 
(either from loss of friends or by reason of their own wounds). 

Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded. 
Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers. 
Bore the commission of my place and person; 
The which immediacy may well stand up 
And call itself your brother. 

GoN. Not so hot: 

In his own grace he doth exalt himself 
More than in your addition. 

Reg. In my rights. 

By me invested, he compeers the best. to 

GoN. That were the most, if he should husband you. 

Reg. Jesters do oft prove prophets. 

GoN. Holla, holla ! 

That eye that told you so look'd but a-squint. 

Reg. Lady, I am not well ; else I should answer 
From a full-flowing stomach. General, 
Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony ; 
Dispose of them, of me; the walls are thine: 
Witness the world, that I create thee here 
My lord and master. 

66 The which immediacy] Such intimate association with my "place 

and person." Cf. Hamlet, I, ii, 109: "the most immediate to our 

throne." 
69 in your addition] by virtue of the title with which you invest him. 
73 That eye . . . a^squint] Cf. Ray's English Proverbs: "Love being 

jealous makes a good eye look a-squint." 
75 stomach] anger. 
77 Dispose . . . thine] This line is omitted from the Quartos, and 

appears only in the Folios. "The walls are thine" means that Regan 

surrenders her person as though it were a vanquished person. Cf. 

Cymb., n, i, 60-61: "The heavens hold firm The waUs of thy dear 

honour." 

GoN. Mean you to enjoy him ? 

Alb. The let-alone lies not in your good will. so 

Edm. Nor in thine, lord. 

Alb. Half -blooded fellow, yes. 

Reg. [To Edmund] Let the drum strike, and prove 
my title thine. 

Alb. Stay yet; hear reason. Edmund, I arrest thee 
On capital treason; and in thine attaint 
This gilded serpent [pointing to Gon.]. For your claim, 

fair sister, 
I bar it in the interest of my wife; 
'Tis she is sub-contracted to this lord. 
And I, her husband, contradict your bans. 
If you will marry, make your loves to me ; 
My lady is bespoke. 

Gon. An interlude ! 90 

Alb. Thou art arm'd, Gloucester: let the trumpet 
sound : 
If none appear to prove upon thy person 
Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons, 
There is my pledge [throwing down a glove] : I '11 prove it 

on thy heart. 
Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less 
Than I have here proclaim'd thee. 

Reg. Sick, O, sick ! 

80 let-alone] prohibition. 

84 in thine attaint] in connexion with thy impeachment. Thus the 

Quartos. The Folios read less satisfactorily in thy arrest. 
90 An interlvdel] A farce is on foot ! This sarcastic interruption is omitted 

from the Quartos. 
94 'prove it] Thus the Quartos. The Folios read make it. 

GoN. [Aside] If not, I'll ne'er trust medicine. 

Edm. [Throwing down a glove} There's my exchange: 
what in the world he is 
That names me traitor, villain-like he lies: 
Call by thy trumpet: he that dares approach, lOO 

On him, on you, — who not ? — I will maintain 
My truth and honour firmly. 

Alb. a herald, ho ! 

Edm. a herald, ho, a herald ! 

Alb. Trust to thy single virtue ; for thy soldiers. 
All levied in my name, have in my name 
Took their discharge. 

Reg. My sickness grows upon me. 

Alb. She is not well ; convey her to my tent. 

[Exit Regan, led. 

Enter a Herald 

Come hither, herald, — Let the trumpet sound, — 
And read out this. 

Capt. Sound, trumpet ! [A trumpet sounds. 110 

Heb. [Reads] "If any man of quality or degree within the 
lists of the army will maintain upon Edmund, supposed Earl of 
Gloucester, that he is a manifold traitor, let him appear by the third 
sound of the tnunpet : he is bold in his defence." 

Edm. Sound ! [First trumpet. 

97 I'U ne'er trust medicine] Goneril has pK>isoned her. Cf. line 228, infra. 
104 thy single virttie] thy personal valour. 

115 Sound I] Thus the Second and Third Quartos. The First Quarto reads 
Sound ? The Folios omit Edmund's exclamation. 

Hee. Again ! [Second trumpet. 

Her. Again ! [Third trumpet. 

[Trumpet answers within. 

Enter Edgab, at the third sound, armed, with a trumpet before him 

Alb. Ask him his purposes, why he appears 
Upon this call o' the trumpet. 

Her. What are you ? 

Your name, your quality ? and why you answer 120 

This present summons ? 

Edg. Know, my name is lost; 

By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit: 
Yet am I noble as the adversary 
I come to cope. 

Alb. Which is that adversary ? 

Edg. What's he that speaks for Edmund, Earl of 
Gloucester ? 

Edm. Himself : what say'st thou to him ? 

Edg. Draw thy sword. 

That if my speech offend a noble heart. 
Thy arm may do thee justice : here is mine. 
Behold, it is the privilege of mine honours. 
My oath, and my profession: I protest, 130 

Maugre thy strength, youth, place and eminence. 
Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune, 

122 canker-bit] bitten by the caterpillar, by vermin. 
124 cope] encounter. 

129 mine honours] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read m?/ foji^iie. "Mine 
honours" probably means "my honourable birth and standing." 

Thy valour and thy heart, thou art a traitor. 

False to thy gods, thy brother and thy father, 

Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince. 

And from the extremest upward of thy head 

To the descent and dust below thy foot, 

A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou "No," 

This sword, this arm and my best spirits are bent 

To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak, 140 

Thou liest. 

Edm. In wisdom I should ask thy name. 
But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike 
And that thy tongue some say of breeding breathes, 
What safe and nicely I might well delay 
By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn : 
Back do I toss these treasons to thy head; 
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart; 
Which for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise. 

133 thy heart] thy courage. 

138 toad-spotted\ spotted with marks of infamy as numerous as the spots 
on a toad. 

143 some say] some assay, taste or smack. 

144 What safe . . . delay] This line is omitted from the Quartos. 
144-145 What safe . . . knighthood] That refusal (of your challenge) 

which I might well and quite accurately make in accordance with 
the laws of chivalry. "Safe" is often used adverbially; "nicely" 
is often used for "punctiliously"; "delay" often stands for "re- 
fuse." Cf. lines 152-153, infra. 

146 Back do I . . . head] Thus the Folios; the Second and Third 
Quartos omit the line. The First Quarto reads Heere do I tosse those 
treasons to thy head. 

147 heU'hated] hated as hell. 

This sword of mine shall give them instant way, 
Where they shall rest for ever. Trmnpets, speak ! iso 

[Alarums. They fight. Edmund falls. 

Alb. Save him, save him ! 

GoN. This is practice, Gloucester: 

By the law of arms thou wast not bound to answer 
An unknown opposite ; thou art not vanquish'd. 
But cozen'd and beguiled. 

Alb. Shut your mouth, dame. 

Or with this paper shall I stop it. Hold, sir; 
Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil. 
No tearing, lady ; I perceive you know it. 

GoN. Say, if I do, the laws are mine, not thine: 
Who can arraign me for 't? 

Alb. Most monstrous ! 

Know'st thou this paper? i60 

GoN. Ask me not what I know. [Exit. 

150 Where they shall rest for ever] Edmund threatens to drive the treason- 
able accusations into Edgar's heart with the blow of death. 

151 Save him, save himl] The involuntary exclamation either illustrates 
Albany's humanity or expresses Albany's wish to preserve Edmund's 
life until at least he has confessed the gwlt of which the intercepted 
letter convicts him. 

practice] deceitful intrigue. 
155 Hold, sir] Look, sir. "Hold" is used in much the same sense as 
" tenez," to arrest attention. The words are omitted from the Quartos. 

159 Most monstrous 1] Thus the Quartos. The Folios insert after these 
words the exclamation O, an impressive groan from Albany at Gon- 
eril's insolent confession of her iniquity. 

160 GoN. Ask me not what I know. [Exit.] Thus the Quartos. The 
Folios assign this line to Edmund, marking GonerU's exit after her pre- 
vious speech (line 159). Seeing that Albany has already elicited from 

Alb. Go after her: she's desperate; govern her. 

Edm. What you have charged me with, that have 
I done; 
And more, much more; the time will bring it out: 
'T is past, and so am I. But what art thou 
That hast this fortune on me ? If thou 'rt noble, 
I do forgive thee. 

Edg. Let's exchange charity. 

I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund ; 
If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me. 
My name is Edgar, and thy father's son. 
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices 170 

Make instruments to plague us : 
The dark and vicious place where thee he got 
Cost him his eyes. 

Edm. Thou hast spoken right, 't is true ; 

The wheel is come full circle ; I am here. 

Alb. Methought thy very gait did prophesy 
A royal nobleness : I must embrace thee : 
Let sorrow split my heart, if ever I 
Did hate thee or thy father ! 

Edg. Worthy prince, I know't. 

Alb. Where have you hid yourself ? 
How have you known the miseries of your father ? iso 

Edg. By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale ; 
And when 't is told, O, that my heart would burst ! 

Goneril the admission that she knew this paper, it might be thought 
unnecessary for him to renew his inquiry. But his next speech, "Go 
after her," etc., suggests that his wife is still addressing him here. 
174 The wheel is come full circle] Cf. Tw. Night, V. i, 363 : "The whMi- 
gig of time brings in his revenges." 

13 [ 177 ] 

The bloody proclamation to escape 

That foUow'd me so near, — O, our lives' sweetness ! 

That we the pain of death would hourly die 

Rather than die at once ! — taught me to shift 

Into a madman's rags, to assume a semblance 

That very dogs disdain'd : and in this habit 

Met I my father with his bleeding rings. 

Their precious stones new lost; became his guide, iso 

Led him, begg'd for him, saved him from despair; 

Never — O fault ! — reveal'd myself unto him. 

Until some half -hour past, when I was arm'd; 

Not sure, though hoping, of this good success, 

I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last 

Told him my pilgrimage : but his flaw'd heart, — 

Alack, too weak the conflict to support ! — 

'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief. 

Burst smilingly. 

Edm. This speech of yours hath moved me, 

And shall perchance do good : but speak you on ; 200 
You look as you had something more to say. 

Alb. If there be more, more woful, hold it in; 
For I am almost ready to dissolve. 
Hearing of this. 

Edg. This would have seem'd a period 

185-186 we the pain . . . dieat once] we would suffer every hour the pain 
of death rather than die once for all. Thus the Folios. The Quartos 
read with the pain for we the pain. 

189 rings] sockets of the eyes. 

303 dissolve] shed tears, melt in tears. 

204-221 This would . . . for a slave] These lines are omitted from the 
Folios. They appear only in the Quartos. 

To such as love not sorrow ; but another. 

To amplify too much, would make much more, 

And top extremity. 

Whilst I was big in clamour, came there in a man, 

Who, having seen me in my worst estate, 

Shunn'd my abhorr'd society ; but then, finding 210 

Who 'twas that so endured, with his strong arms 

He fasten'd on my neck, and bellow'd out 

As he 'Id burst heaven; threw him on my father; 

Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him 

That ever ear received : which in recounting 

His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life 

Began to crack: twice then the trumpets sounded. 

And there I left him tranced. 

Alb. But who was this ? 

Edg. Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent ; who in disguise 
FoUow'd his enemy king, and did him service 220 

Improper for a slave. 

Enter a Gentleman, vnth a hloody Jcnife 

Gent. Help, help, O, help ! 
Edg. What kind of help ? 

Alb. Speak, man. 

Edg. What means this bloody knife ? 
Gent. 'T is hot, it smokes ; 

It came even from the heart of — O, she's dead ! 
Alb. Who dead? speak, man. 

205-207 bid another . . . extremity] Any further period or conclusion 
to my story, by adding sorrow to what is already too much, would 
substantially increase the pathos and exceed the utmost limits of 
crief "To amplify too much" is the gerundial infinitive. 
^ [179] 

Gent. Your lady, sir, your lady : and her sister 
By her is poisoned; she hath confess'd it. 

Edm. I was contracted to them both: all three 
Now marry in an instant. 

Edg. Here comes Kent. 

Alb. Produce the bodies, be they alive or dead. 230 

[Exit Gentleman. 
This judgement of the heavens, that makes us tremble. 
Touches us not with pity. 

Enter Kent 

O, is this he? 
The time will not allow the compliment 
Which very manners urges. 

Kent. I am come 

To bid my king and master aye good night: 
Is he not here ? 

Alb. Great thing of us forgot ! 

Speak, Edmund, where 's the king? and where 's 

Cordelia ? 
See'st thou this object, Kent? 

[The bodies of Goneril and Regan are brought in, 

Kent. Alack, why thus ? 

Edm. Yet Edmund was beloved: 

The one the other poison'd for my sake, 240 

And after slew herself. 

226-227 her sister . . . foiscmed] Cf. line 97, supra. 

231 judgement] Thus the Folios. The Quartos read Justice. , 

233-234 the compliment . . . urges] the interchange of courtesies which 

mere good breeding requires. "Manners" is also used thus in the 

singular in Bam. and Jul., V, iii, 213. 

Alb, Even so. Cover their faces. 

Edm. I pant for life : some good I mean to do. 
Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send. 
Be brief in it, to the castle ; for my writ 
Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia: 
Nay, send in time. 

Alb. Run, run, O, run ! 

Edg. To who, my lord ? Who hath the office ? send 
Thy token of reprieve. 

Edm. Well thought on : take my sword, 250 

Give it the captain. 

Alb. Haste thee, for thy life. [Exit Edgar. 

Edm. He hath commission from thy wife and me 
To hang Cordelia in the prison, and 
To lay the blame upon her own despair. 
That she fordid herself. 

Alb. The gods defend her ! Bear him hence awhile. 

[Edmund is horne off. 

Re-enter Leab, vnth Cobdelia dead in his arms; Edgab, Captain, 

and others following 

Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl ! O, you are men of 
stones : 
Had I your tongues and eyes, I 'Id use them so 
That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever : 
I know when one is dead and when one lives; 260 

She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass; 
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone. 
Why, then she lives. 

255 fordid herself] destroyed herself. Cf. line 291, infra. 
262 the sUme] the mirror of crystal. 

Kent. Is this the promised end? 

Edg. Or image of that horror ? 

Alb. Fall and cease. 

Lear. This feather stirs ; she lives. If it be so. 
It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows 
That ever I have felt. 

Kent. [Kneeling] O my good master ! 

Lear. Prithee, away. 

Edg. 'T is noble Kent, your friend. 

Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors all ! 
I might have saved her; now she's gone for ever! 270 
Cordelia, Cordelia ! stay a little. Ha ! 
What is 't thou say'st ? Her voice was ever soft, 
Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman. 
I kill'd the slave that was a-hanging thee. 

Capt. 'T is true, my lords, he did. 

Lear. Did I not, fellow ? 

I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion " 

263-264 Is this . . . image of that horror] Kent asks if this is the end 
allotted to all things, according to Scriptural prophecy. Edgar asks 
whether it is not rather a premonitory phantasm of the finer cataclysm. 
Cf. Macb., II, iii, 76, where the murder of Duncan is described : "The 
great doom's image." 

264 Fall and cease] Probably "Let all things fall and come to an end." 
Such an exclamation is naturally suggested by the two preceding in- 
terrogations. It is just possible (as has been suggested) that 
" fall" and "cease" are used here as substantives and that the phrase 
means " (It is) ruin and end (of things)." The speaker, Albany, 
designates the situation " this great decay " at line 297, infra. 

265 This feather stirs] Cf. 2 Hen. IV, IV, v, 31-32: "By his gates of 
breath There lies a downy feather which stirs not." 

276 falchion] scimitar. 

[182 ] 

I would have made them skip : I am old now. 
And these same crosses spoil me. Who are you ? 
Mine eyes are not o' the best: I'll tell you straight. 

Kent. If fortune brag of two she loved and hated, 280 
One of them we behold. 

Leab. This is a dull sight. Are you not Kent ? 

Kent. The same, 

Your servant Kent. Where is your servant Caius ? 

Lear. He's a good fellow, I can tell you that; 
He'll strike, and quickly too: he's dead and rotten. 

Kent. No, my good lord ; I am the very man — 

Lear. I'll see that straight. 

Kent. That from your first of diiference and decay 
Have foUow'd your sad steps. 

Lear. You are welcome hither. 

Kent. Nor no man else : all 's cheerless, dark and 

deadly. 290 

278 erosses\ misadventures. 

281 One of them we behold\ Thus all the early editions. But there is some 
justification for the conjectural change of you or ye behold for we be- 
hold. Kent is explaining to Lear his identity. After suggesting that 
there are two men of whom fortune may well boast that she has visited 
them with the full force of both her love and hate, he calls attention 
to himself as being one of the two. In the next line Lear glimmeringly 
recognises Kent from this description. 

282 This is a duU sight] This is a melancholy spectacle which your words 
suggest. Thus the Folios. The Quartos omit the words. The sug- 
gested change This is a duU light in reference to the darkening of Lear's 
dying eyes is ingenious, but supererogatory. 

288 from your first of difference] from the first indication of your change of 

fortune. 
290 Nor no man else] There is no just cause of welcome for me or anyone 

else. 

Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves. 
And desperately are dead. 

Lear. Ay, so I think. 

Alb. He knows not what he says, and vain is it 
That we present us to him. 

Edg. Very bootless. 

Enter a Captain 

Capt. Edmund is dead, my lord. 

Alb. That's but a trifle here. 

You lords and noble friends, know our intent. 
What comfort to this great decay may come 
Shall be applied: for us, we will resign. 
During the life of this old majesty. 
To him our absolute power : [To Edgar and Keni] you, to 

your rights; 300 

With boot, and such addition as your honours 
Have more than merited. All friends shall taste 
The wages of their virtue, and all foes 
The cup of their deservings. O, see, see ! 

Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd ! No, no, no life ! 

291 fordone themselves] destroyed themselves. Cf. line 255, supra. 

292 desperately] in the despair of sin which denies them salvation. 
297 this great decay] this colossal series of disasters. 

304 O, see, seel] Lear moves to embrace the dead body of Cordelia. 

305 my poor fool] a common term of endearment, here applied by Lear 
to Cordelia. The context makes it quite clear that Lear's thoughts 
are all concentrated on his dead daughter, whom he lately rescued 
from hanging (line 274, supra), and that he has no word to spare, as 
has been suggested, for the professional fool who was formerly his com- 
panion but disappeared leaving no trace, at III, vi, 101. 

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life. 

And thou no breath at all ? Thou 'It come no more. 

Never, never, never, never, never ! 

Pray you, undo this button : thank you, sir. 

Do you see this ? Look on her, look, her lips, sio 

Look there, look there ! [Dies. 

Edg. He faints. My lord, my lord ! 

Kent. Break, heart; I prithee, break! 

^^G. Look up, my lord. 

Kent. Vex not his ghost : O, let him pass ! he hates 
him 
That would upon the rack of this tough world 
Stretch him out longer. 

Edg. He is gone indeed. 

Kent. The wonder is he hath endured so long: 
He but usurp'd his life. 

Alb. Bear them from hence. Our present business 
Is general woe. [To Kent and Edgar] Friends of my soul, 

you twain 
Rule in this realm and the gored state sustain. 320 

Kent. I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; 
My master calls me, I must not say no. 

309 Pray you, undo this button] A singularly vivid touch, suggesting the 
sense of suffocation, which ends a few moments later in Lear's death. 

310-311 Do you see this? . . . look therel] Thus the Folios. The Quartos 
read O, o, o, 0, 0. 

321 Z have a journey . . . go] an often repeated figurative description of 
death. Cf . Marlowe's Edward II, V, vi, 65-66, where Mortimer says 
as he is led to execution that he "as a traveller Goes to discover 
countries yet unknown." The most familiar instance is Hamlet's 
mention of death (III, i, 79-80) as "the undiscovered country from 
whose bourn No traveller returns." 

[1861 

Alb. The weight of this sad time we must obey. 
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. 
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young 
Shall never see so much, nor live so long. 
[Exeunt, with a dead march. 

323-326 Alb. The weight ... so long] The Quartos justly give this 
speech to Albany. The Folios awkwardly transfer it to Edgar.