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SHAKESPEARE'S
COMEDY OF
TWELFTH NIGHT
OR
WHAT YOU WILL
EDITED, WITH NOTES
BY
WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Lnr.D.
FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
ILLUSTRATED
PROPERTY OT
DEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ART
NEW YORK . : . CINCINNATI : - CHICAGO
AMERICAN 1 BOOK COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY
WILLIAM J. ROLFE.
TWELFTH NIGHT.
W. P. 2
ART DEP-f
PREFACE
MY former edition of Twelfth Night, first published
in 1879, is now substantially remade on the same
general plan as the revised Merchant of Venice and
other plays that have preceded it.
The notes on textual variations have been either
omitted or abridged, as this play, like most of the
others read in schools and colleges, is now among the
twelve plays that Dr. Furness has edited. No teacher
can afford to do without his encyclopedic volumes,
which furnish not only a complete variorum of the
textual readings, but a condensed library of the Eng-
lish and foreign literature relating to each play.
For most of the " Critical Comments " in the former
edition I have substituted matter of my own, much of
which is drawn from familiar lectures prepared for
audiences of teachers and students.
Minor changes have been made throughout the
Notes, and many new ones have been added, includ-
ing a considerable number in place of those referring
to my former editions of other plays. The book is
now absolutely complete in itself.
I believe that teachers will prefer the new edition to
the old one ; but both can be used, without serious
inconvenience, in the same class or club.
PROPERTY OF
DEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ART
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION TO TWELFTH NIGHT 9
The History of the Play 9
The Sources of the Plot .11
General Comments on the Play . . . . .12
TWELFTH NIGHT 21
Act I . 23
Act II 47
Act III 72
Act IV . . c 101
Act V . ' 6 , .in
NOTES . 131
APPENDIX
Comments on Some of the Characters .... 225
The Time-Analysis of the Play 238
List of Characters in the Play ..... 239
INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED . . . 241
'INTO THE CHANTRY
PROPERTY OF
SEA-FIGHT (iii. 3. 26)
INTRODUCTION TO TWELFTH NIGHT
THE HISTORY OF THE PLAY
THIS play was first printed, so far as we know, in the
folio of 1623, where it appears under the title of
" Twelfe Night, Or what you will," and occupies pages
255-275 in the division of " Comedies."
The earliest reference to the play that has been found
is in a MS. diary of John Manningham, a member of
the Middle Temple, which is preserved in the British
Museum (MSS. Harl. 5353). The passage reads thus : l
1 1 give it as printed by Furness, who takes it from the Camden Society
Reprints. No two editors print it in precisely the same form. Collier,
Knight, and Staunton have " inscribing " instead of " in smiling," and
Hudson omits the words.
It will be seen that Manningham refers to Olivia as a " widdowe."
9
IO Twelfth Night
"FEBR. 1601.
" Feb. 2. At our feast, wee had a play called Twelue
Night, or What you Will, much like the Commedy of
Errores, or Menechmi in Plautus, but most like and
neere to that in Italian called Inganni. A good practise
in it to make the Steward beleeue his Lady widdowe
was in loue with him, by counterfeyting a letter as from
his Lady in generall termes, telling him what shee liked
best in him, and prescribing his gesture in smiling, his
apparaile, etc., and then when he came to practise mak-
ing him beleeue they tooke him to be mad."
As Twelfth Night is not included in Meres's list of
Shakespeare's plays in his Palladis Tamia, we may
infer that it was written between the publication of that
book, in September, 1598, and February, i6oi[2]. It
seems probable from Manningham's detailed descrip-
tion that it was comparatively a new play when he saw
it. It is assigned by the majority of critics to 1600 or
1601.
The play is, on the whole, well printed in the folio,
and the difficulties in the text are comparatively few.
It is divided into acts and scenes, but has no list of
dramatis personce.
The name Twelfth Night was probably suggested by
It is possible, as Collier suggests, that she was so represented in the
comedy as first performed, or the writer may have been misled by the
fact that she was in mourning for her brother. See also on iii. 4. 57
below.
Introduction II
the time of its first production, or by " its embodiment
of the spirit of the Twelfth Night (twelfth after Christ-
mas) sports and revels a time devoted to festivity and
merriment " (White). The second title, Or What You
Will, seems to imply that the first has no special mean-
ing, though Ulrici sees a subtle significance in it. 1
THE SOURCES OF THE PLOT
There are two Italian plays entitled GP Inganni (The
Deceits), published in the latter part of the sixteenth
century, and containing incidents somewhat resembling
those of Twelfth Night. In one of them the sister who
assumes male apparel bears the name Cesare, which
may have suggested Shakespeare's Cesario. A third
Italian play, GV Ingannati, has even a closer likeness to
Twelfth Night, and in its Induction we find the name
Malevolti, of which Malvolio may be a variation. It
has been recently discovered (see the preface to Fur-
ness's " New Variorum " edition of the play) that a
Latin translation of this Italian drama, under the title
of L&lia (the name of the heroine), was performed at
Queen's College, Cambridge, in 1590, and again in
1598. Shakespeare's " small Latin " was large enough
for the reading of this play, and he may have been in-
debted to it rather than to any other source that has
been suggested. It has been generally assumed that he
1 See half a page on the subject in his Shakspe are's Dramatic Art
(Schmitz's trans, of 3d ed. vol. ii. p. 5).
12 Twelfth Night
must have read and used the version of the story by
Barnaby Riche, in his History of Apolonius and Silla,
included in Riche His Farewell to Militarie Profession ;
but Furness doubts that Shakespeare ever read the
"coarse repulsive novel." The resemblances between
the story and the play are few and slight. " Let noth-
ing induce us to contaminate the spotless Viola and the
haughty Olivia by the remotest hint of a kinship with
the weak Silla and the brazen Julina."
From whichever source the dramatist derived the
hint of his plot, he owed to it only a few incidents and
the mere skeleton of some of the characters. Malvolio,
Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Fabian, the Clown, and Maria
are entirely his own creation ; as indeed all the other
actors in the drama are in all that gives them life and
individuality.
GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE PLAY
Twelfth Night is the brightest and sunniest of the
three plays of Shakespeare's " golden prime of comedy."
As You Like It and Much Ado both have a larger ad-
mixture of the serious and sentimental, but that element
in Twelfth Night is of the most delicate and ethereal
character. The play was meant, as the title indicates,
for the climax of the holiday season, when the sport
and revelry are at their height, and sober occupations
and serious interests are laid aside and forgotten. Only
enough of the shadow of the workaday world is left to
form a background to the lively picture, and to remind
Introduction 13
us that life is not all pleasure and pastime, but that
after the Twelfth Night revels are over, the morning
brings back its duties and responsibilities and " man
goeth forth unto his labour until the evening."
The Hall of the Middle Temple, where John Man-
ningham saw the play, is one of the only two buildings
remaining in London whtsre we know that any of Shake-
speare's dramas were performed in his lifetime ; the other
being the Hall of Gray's Inn, where, according to the
Gesta Grayorum, the Comedy of Errors was " played by
the players " in December, 1594.
The Temple Hall was built in 1572. It is one hun-
dred feet long, forty-two feet wide, and forty-seven feet
high ; and the roof is the best specimen of Elizabethan
architecture in London. The exterior has been modi-
fied considerably in more recent times, but the interior
has suffered slight change since Shakespeare's day.
Hawthorne, in his English Note-Books, gives the fol-
lowing description of the hall : " Truly it is a most
magnificent apartment ; very lofty, so lofty, indeed, that
the antique roof is quite hidden, as regards all its de-
tails, in the sombre gloom that broods under its rafters.
The hall is lighted by four great windows on each of
the two sides, descending halfway from the ceiling to
the floor, leaving all beneath enclosed by oaken panel-
ling, which on three sides is carved with escutcheons
of such members of the society as have held the office
of reader. There is likewise in a large recess or transept
a great window occupying the full height of the hall and
14 Twelfth Night
splendidly emblazoned with the arms of the Templars
who have attained to the dignity of Chief-justices. The
other windows are pictured, in like manner, with coats
of arms of local dignities connected with the Temple ;
and besides all these there are arched lights, high to-
wards the roof, at either end, full of richly and chastely
coloured glass ; and all the illumination that the great
hall had came through these glorious panes, and they
seemed the richer for the sombreness in which we stood.
I cannot describe, or even intimate, the effect of this
transparent glory, glowing down upon us in the gloomy
depth of the hall. The screen at the lower end is of
carved oak very dark and highly polished, and as old
as Queen Elizabeth's time. ... I am reluctant to leave
this hall without expressing how grave, how grand, how
sombre, and how magnificent I felt it to be. As re-
gards historical associations, it was a favourite dancing-
hall of Queen Elizabeth, and Sir Christopher Hatton
danced himself into her good graces there."
The feasts of Christmas, Halloween, Candlemas,
and Ascension were formerly celebrated here with
great magnificence. A Master of the Revels was
chosen, and the Lord Chancellor, Judges, and Benchers
opened the sports by dancing thrice around the sea-
coal fire :
" Full oft within the spacious walls,
When he had fifty winters o'er him,
My grave Lord Keeper led the brawls ;
The Seal and Maces danced before him."
Introduction 15
This judicial foolery was satirized by Buckingham in
The Rehearsal, by Prior in his Alma, and by Donne in
his Satires; and Pope has his fling at it in the
Dunciad ':
" The judge to dance, his brother Serjeant calls."
It was in this hall at dinner-time that Mr. Richard
Martin, the Bencher to whom Ben Jonson dedicated his
Poetaster, was thrashed by Sir John Davies, who for
this display of unruly temper was expelled from the
society.
Shakespeare alludes to the hall in i Henry IV. iii.
3. 223, where the Prince says to Falstaff, " Meet me
to-morrow in the Temple Hall at two o'clock in the
afternoon ; " and again in i Henry VI. ii. 4. 3, where
the scene is laid in the Temple Gardens, and Suffolk
says to Plantagenet :
" Within the Temple Hall we were too loud ;
The garden here is more convenient."
We see at a glance that the plot of Twelfth Night
combines certain features of The Two Gentlemen of
Verona and The Comedy of Errors. As in the former
play, the heroine, in a foreign land and in masculine
disguise, becomes the servant of the man she loves,
who at the time is in love with another woman, but is
not loved in return and eventually reciprocates the
affection of the maiden page ; and, as in The Comedy
of Errors, there is amusing confusion on account of the
1 6 Twelfth Night
resemblance of twins to each other. In the passion of
Olivia for the disguised girl we have the counterpart of
the episode of Phebe and Rosalind in As You Like It ;
and in both cases the lady gets a husband in place of
the one who can " marry no woman." In AlPs Well
Helena pursues Bertram, but does not woo another in
his name, though she gets him in the end. The ro-
mantic passion of the Duke for Olivia reminds us of
the similar unrequited fancy of Romeo for Rosaline ;
both of the " first loves " being forgotten as soon as the
destined mate appears.
Certain minor " parallelisms " are pointed out by
Furnivall : " The Merchant of Venice gives us another
Antonio willing to give his life for his friend Bassanio,
just as here in Twelfth Night Antonio faces danger, nay,
death, a pirate's due, for his love to his friend Sebas-
tian. And to the same Merchant we surely go for recol-
lections of the opening scene here,
'That strain again ! it had a dying fall ;
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour,'
and for a parallel^, to the Duke's love of music through
the play, ffenry SFsgives us in Falstaff and his fol-
lowers the^eempany whence Sir Toby Belch and Sir
Andrew Aguecheek come, as the Second Part of that
play gives us Falstaff playing on Justice Shallow as Sir
Toby in Twelfth Night plays on Sir Andrew. Is not
Introduction 17
also S lender's echoing of Shallow in Merry Wives
something like Sir Andrew echoing all Sir Toby's say-
ings here, and fancying himself a man for it ? It is to
the Sonnets that we turn for a parallel to Viola's plead-
ing with Olivia to marry the Duke, and not forbear to
leave a copy of her beauty to the world, and to the
Sonnets to his mistress for Shakspere's love of music ;
while to match Viola's entire devotion even to death to
the Duke's most unjust will we must look forward, even
past the Sonnets, to the true and loving Imogen's will-
ingness to die in obedience to her deceived and head-
strong husband's iniquitous sentence of death on her
(Cymb. iii. 4. 65-79)."
I cannot better close these preliminary comments
than with a portion of Verplanck's introduction to the
play : l
" We may safely fix the date of this comedy about
the year 1600 or 1601, and class it among the later pro-
ductions of that period of Shakespeare's life when his
mind most habitually revelled in humorous delineation,
while his luxuriant fancy, turning aside from the sterner
l The Illustrated Shakespeare, edited by G. C. Verpianck (New York,
1847), vol. ii, page 6 of Twelfth Night. I am the more inclined to
quote from this edition because it has now been out of print for fifty
years, having been entirely destroyed (together with nearly all the
stereotype plates) in the fire at the Harper establishment in 1853. It
was the first critical and thoroughly annotated edition of Shakespeare
published in this country, and is still one of the best of its class, Amer-
ican or English. Copies of it are rare in the public libraries, and are
seldom offered for sale.
TWELFTH NIGHT 2
1 8 Twelfth Night
and painful passions, sheds its gayest tints over in-
numerable forms of grace and beauty. He seems, by
his title of the Twelfth Night, to apprise his audience
of the general character of this agreeable and varied
comedy a notice intelligible enough at that time, and
still not without its significance in a great part of
Europe, though quite otherwise among our un-holid ay-
keeping people on this side of the Atlantic. Twelfth
Night was, in the olden times, the season of universal
^/festivity of masques, pageants, feasts, and tradi-
tionary sports. This comedy then would not disap-
point public expectation, when it was found to contain
a delightful combination of the delicate fancy and ro-
mantic sentiment of the poetic masque, with a crowd of
revelling, laughing, or laugh-creating personages, whose
truth all would recognize, and whose spirit and fun no
gravity could resist. He gave to these the revelling
spirit, and the exaggeration of character necessary for
the broadest comic effect, but still kept them from
becoming mere buffoon masquers by a truth of por-
traiture which shows them all to be drawn from real
life. Malvolio the matchless Malvolio was not
only new in his day to comic delineation of any sort,
but I believe has never since had his fellow or his copy
in any succeeding play, poem, essay, or novel. The
gravity, the acquirement, the real talent, and accom-
plishment of the man, all made ludicrous, fantastical,
and absurd by his intense vanity, is as true a conception
as it is original and droll, and its truth may still be
Introduction 19
frequently attested by actual comparison with real
Malvolios, to be found everywhere, from humble do-
mestic life up to the high places of learning, of the
State, and even of the Church. Sir Toby certainly
comes out of the same associations where the poet saw
Falstaff hold his revels. He is not Sir John, nor a
fainter sketch of him, yet with an odd sort of family
likeness to him. Dryden and other dramatists have fe-
licitated themselves upon success in grouping together
their comic underplots with their more heroic per-
sonages. But here all, grave and gay, the lovers, the
laughers, and the laughed-at, are made to harmonize in
one scene and one common purpose. I cannot help
adding though perhaps it maybe a capricious over-
refinement that to my mind this comedy resembles
Macbeth, in one of the marked characteristics of that
great drama ; appearing, like it, to have been struck
out at a heat, as if the whole plot, its characters and
dialogue, had presented themselves at once, in one
harmonious group, before the ' mind's eye ' of the poet,
previous to his actually commencing the formal busi-
ness of writing, and bearing no indication either of an
original groundwork of incident, afterwards enriched
by the additions of a fuller mind, or of thoughts, situa-
tions, and characters accidentally suggested, or growing
unexpectedly out of the story as the author proceeded."
PROPERTY OF
DEPABTMFBT OF OR8MATIP ADT
PROPERTY OF
DEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ART
TWELFTH NIGHT;
OR,
WHAT YOU WILL
DRAMATIS PERSONS
ORSINO, Duke of Illyria.
SEBASTIAN, brother to Viola.
ANTONIO, a sea captain, friend to Sebastian.
A Sea Captain, friend to Viola.
CuR?o NTINE ' ( entlemen attending on the Duke.
SIR TOBY BELCH, uncle to Olivia.
XSiR ANDREW AGUECHEEK.
MALVOLIO, steward to Olivia.
FEsT'a Clown, j savants to Olivia.
XOLIVIA.
VIOLA.
MARIA, Olivia's woman.
Lords, Priests, Sailors, Officers, Musicians,
, and other Attendants.
SCENE: A city in Illyria, and the sea-coast
near it.
22
PROPERTY OF
DEPARTO
SFALATRO
ACT I
SCENE I. The Duke's Palace
Enter DUKE, CURIO, and other Lords ; Musicians
attending
Duke. If music be the food of love, play on ;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken and so die.
That strain again ! it had a dying fall ;
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour ! Enough ; no more !
'T is not so sweet now as it was before.
O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou,
That, notwithstanding thy capacity
Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there,
Of what validity and pitch soe'er,
23
24 Twelfth Night [Act I
But falls into abatement and low price,
Even in a minute 1 So full of shapes is fancy
That it alone is high fantastical.
Curio. Will you go hunt, my lord ?
Duke. What, Curio ?
Curio. The hart.
Duke. Why, so I do, the noblest that I have.
O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Methought she purg'd the air of pestilence 1 20
That instant was I turn'd into a hart ;
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
Enter VALENTINE
How now ! what news from her ?
Valentine. So please my lord, I might not be admitted,
But from her handmaid do return this answer :
The element itself, till seven years' heat,
Shall not behold her face at ample view,
But, like a cloistress, she will veiled walk
And water once a day her chamber round
With eye-offending brine ; all this to season 30
A brother's dead love, which she would keep fresh
And lasting in her sad remembrance.
Duke. O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame '
To pay this debt of love but to a brother, ./ '
Howl/will she love when the rich golden shaft 1
Hath kill'd the flock of all affections else
That live in her ; when liver, brain, and heart, ; o
Scene II] Twelfth Night 25
These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and fill'd 1&
Her sweet perfection with one self king ! tf
Away before me to sweet beds of flowers ! i > 40
Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers. ^
\Exeunt ^
SCENE II. The Sea-coast
Enter VIOLA, a Captain, and Sailors
Viola. What country, friends, is this ?
Captain. This is Illyria, lady.
Viola. And what should I do in Illyria?
My brother he is in Elysium.
Perchance he is not drown'd ; what think you, sailors ?
Captain. It is perchance that you yourself were sav'd.
Viola. O my poor brother ! and so perchance may
he be.
Captain. True, madam ; and, to comfort you with
chance,
Assure yourself, after our ship did split,
When you and thc&e poor number sav'd with you : 10
Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother,
Most provident in peril, bind himself,
Courage and hope both teaching him the practice,
To a strong mast that liv'd upon the sea,
Where, lik f e Arion on the dolphin's back,
I saw him hoicTacquaintance with the waves
So long as I could see.
Viola. For saying so there 's gold.
Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope,
26 Twelfth Night [Acti
Whereto thy speech serves for authority, 20
The like of him. Know'st thou this country ?
Captain. Ay, madam, well ; for I was bred and born
Not three hours' travel from this very place.
Viola. Who governs here ?
Captain. A noble duke, in nature as in name.
Viola. What is his name ?
Captain. Orsino.
Viola. Orsino ! I have heard my father name him ;
He was a bachelor then.
Captain. And so is now, or was so very late ; 30
For but a month ago I went from hence,
And then 't was fresh in murmur as, you know,
\Vhat great ones do^he less will prattle of
That he did seek the love of fair Olivia.
Viola. What 's she ?
Captain. A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count
That died some twelvemonth since, then leaving her
In the protection of his son, her brother,
Who shortly also died ; for whose dear love,
They say, she hath abjur'd the company 40
And sight of men.
Viola. O that I serv'd that lady,
And might not be deliver'd to the world,
Till I had made mine own occasion mellow,
What my estate is !
Captain. That were hard to compass,
Because she will admit no kind of suit,
No, not the duke's.
Scene III] Twelfth Night 27
Viola. There is a fair behaviour in thee, captain ;
And though that nature with a beauteous wall
Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee -
I will believe thou hast a mind that suits 50
With this thy fair and outward character.
I prithee, and I '11 pay thee bounteously,
Conceal me what I am, and be my aid
For such disguise as haply shall become -
The form of my intent. I '11 serve this duke ;
Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him.
It may be worth thy pains ; for I can sing
And speak to him in many sorts of music
That will allow me very worth his service.
/hat else may hap to time I will commit ; 60
Only shape thou thy silence to my wit.
Captain. Be you his eunuch, and your mute I '11 be ;
When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see.
Viola. I thank thee ; lead me on. [Exeunt.
SCENE III. Olivia's House
Enter SIR TOBY BELCH and MARIA
Sir Toby. What a plague means my niece, to take
the death of her brother thus ? I am sure care 's an
enemy to life*
Maria. By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in
earlier o' nights ; your cousin, my lady, takes great
exceptions to your ill hours.
Sir Toby. Why, let her except before excepted.
28 Twelfth Night [Act I
Maria. Ay, but you must confine yourself within
the modest limits of order.
Sir Toby. Confine ! I '11 confine myself no finer 10
than I am. These clothes are good enough to drink
in, and so be these boots too ; an they be not, let
them hang themselves in their own straps.
Maria. That quaffing and drinking will undo you ;
I heard my lady talk of it yesterday, and of a foolish
knight that you brought in one night here to be her
wooer.
Sir Toby. Who, Sir Andrew Aguecheek ?
Maria. Ay, he.
Sir Toby. He 's as tall a man as any 's in Illyria. 20
Maria. What 's that to the purpose ?
Sir Toby. Why, he has three thousand ducats a
year.
Maria. Ay, but he '11 have but a year in all these
ducats ; he 's a. very fool and a prodigal.
Sir Toby. Fie, that you '11 say so ! he plays o' the
viol-de-gamboys, and speaks three or four languages
word for word without book, and hath all the good
gifts of nature.
Maria. He hath indeed, all most natural ; for 30
besides that he 's a fool, he 's a great quarreller,
and but that he hath the gift of a coward tp allay the
gust he hath in quarrelling, 't is thought among the
prudent he would quickly have the gift of a grave.
Sir Toby. By this hand, they are scoundrels and
substractors that say so of him. Who are they ?
Scene III] Twelfth Night 29
Maria. They that add, moreover, he 's drunk .
nightly in your company.
Sir Toby. With drinking healths to my niece ;
I '11 drink to her as long as there is a passage in 40
my throat and drink in Illyria. He 's a coward and
a coystril that will not drink to my niece till his
brains turn o' the toe like a parish-top. What,
wench ! Castilianp vulgo 1 for here comes
Andrew Agueface.
Enter SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK
Sir Andrew. Sir Toby Belch 1 how now, Sir Toby
Belch !
Sir Toby. Sweet Sir Andrew !
Sir Andrew. Bless you, fair shrew !
Maria. And you too, sir. 50
Sir Toby. Accost, Sir Andrew, accost.
Sir Andrew. What 's that ?
Sir Toby. My niece's chambermaid.
Sir Andrew. Good Mistress Accost, I desire bet-
ter acquaintance.
Maria. My name is Mary, sir.
Sir Andrew. Good Mistress Mary Accost,
Sir Toby. You mistake, knight ; accost is front
her, board her, woo her, assail her.
Sir Andrew. By my troth, I would not undertake 60
her in this company. Is that the meaning of accost ?
Maria. Fare you well, gentlemen.
Sir Toby. An thou let part so, Sir Andrew, would
thou mights t never draw sword again 1
30 Twelfth Night [Acti
Sir Andrew. An you part so, mistress, I would I
might never draw sword again ! Fair lady, do
you think you have fools in hand ?
Maria. Sir, I have not you by the hand.
Sir Andrew. Marry, but you shall have ; an$
here 's my hand. 70
Maria. Now, sir, thought is free ; I pray you,
bring your hand to the buttery-bar and let it drink.
Sir Andrew. Wherefore, sweet-heart ? what's your
metaphor ?
Maria. It 's dry, sir.
Sir Andrew. Why, I think so ; I am not such an
ass but I can keep my hand dry. But what 's your
jest?
Maria. A dry jest, sir.
Sir Andrew. Are you full of them ? 80
Maria. Ay, sir, I have them at my fingers' ends",
marry, now I let go your hand, I am barren. \Exit f
Sir Toby. O knight, thou lackest a cup of canary !
when did I see thee so put down ?
Sir Andrew. Never in your life, I think ; unless
you see canary put me down. Methinks sometimes ^'
I have no more wit than a Christian or an ordinary
man has ; but I am a great eater of beef, and I be- '
lieve that does harm to my wit.
Sir Toby. No question. 90
Sir Andrew. An I thought that, I'd forswear it.
I '11 ride home to-morrow, Sir Toby.
Sir Toby, Pourquoi, my dear knight?
Scene III] Twelfth Night 31
Sir Andrew. What is pourquoi ? do or not do ? I ^
would I had bestowed that time in the tongues that
I have in fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting ! O, ^
had I but followed the arts !
Sir Toby. Then hadst thou had an excellent head ^
of hair.
Sir Andrew. Why, would that have mended my 100
hair ?
Sir Toby. Past question ; for thou seest it will f
not curl by nature.
Sir Andrew. But it becomes me well enough, t"-~
does 't not ?
Sir Toby. Excellent ; it hangs like flax on a dis-
taff, and I hope to see a housewife take thee and
spin it off.
Sir Andrew. Faith, I '11 home to-morrow, Sir
Toby. Your niece will not be seen, or if she be, it 's no
four to one she '11 none of me ; the count himself
here hard by wooes her.
Sir Toby. She '11 none o' the count. She '11 not
match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor
wit ; I have heard her swear 't. Tut, there 's life '
in 't, man.
Sir Andrew. -II '11 stay a month longer. I am a *
fellow o' the strangest mind i' the world ; I delight
in masques and revels sometimes altogether.
Sir Toby. Art tho,u good at these kickshawses, 120
knight ?
Sir Andrew. As any man in Illyria, whatsoever
32 Twelfth Night [Acti
he be, under the degree of my betters ; and yet I
will not compare with an old man.
Sir Toby. What is thy excellence in a galliard,
knight?
Sir Andrew. Faith, I can cut a caper.
Sir Toby. And I can cut the mutton to 't.
Sir Andrew. And I think I have the back-trick y
simply as strong as any man in Illyria. ijo
Sir Toby. Wherefore are these things hid ? where-
fore have these gifts a curtain before 'em ? are they
like to take dust, like Mistress Mall's picture ? why
dost thou not go to church in a galliard and come
home in a coranto ? My very walk should be a jig.
What dost thou mean ? Is it a world to hide virtues
in ? I did think, by the excellent constitution of thy
leg, it was formed under the star of a galliard.
Sir Andrew. Ay, 't is strong, and it does indif- '
ferent well in a flame-coloured stock. Shall we set 140
about some revels ?
Sir Toby. What shall we do else ? were we not
born under Taurus ?
Sir Andrew. Taurus ! That 's sides and heart.
Sir Toby. No, sir ; it is legs and thighs. "Let me
see thee caper. Hal higher! ha, ha! excellent! /
\Eoceuiit.
SCENE IV. The Duke's Palace
Enter VALENTINE and VIOLA in man's attire
Valentine. If the duke continue these favours
towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 33
advanced ; he hath known you but three days, and
already you are no stranger.
Viola. You either fear his humour or my negli-
gence, that you call in question the continuance of
his love. Is he inconstant, sir, in his favours ?
Valentine. No, believe me.
Viola, I thank you. Here comes the count.
Enter DUKE, CURIO, and Attendants
Duke. Who saw Cesario, ho ? 10
Viola. On your attendance, my lord ; here.
Duke. Stand you awhile aloof. Cesario,
Thou know'st no less but all ; I have unclasp'd
To thee the book even of my secret soul. ^
Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her ;
Be not denied access, stand at her doors,
And tell them, there thy fixed foot shall grow -
Till thou have audience.
Viola. Sure, my noble lord,
If she be so abandon 'd to her sorrow
As it is spoke, she never will admit me. 20
Duke. Be clamorous and leap all civil bounds
Rather than make unprofited return.
Viola. Say I do speak with her, my lord, what then ?*
Duke. O, then unfold the passion of my love,
Surprise her with discourse of my dear faith.
It shall become thee well to act my woes ; ^
She will attend it better in thy youth
Than in a nuncio of more grave aspect.
TWELFTH NIGHT $
34 Twelfth Night [Act I
Viola. I think not so, my lord.
Duke. Dear lad, believe it,
x For they shall yet belie thy happy years i- 30
That say thou art a man. Diana's lip
Is not more smooth and rubious ; thy small pipe
Is as the maiden's organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman's part.
I know thy constellation is right apt
For this affair. Some four or five attend him ;
All, if you will, for I myself am best
When least in company. Prosper well in this,
And thou shalt live as freely as thy lord,
To call his fortunes thine.
Viola. I '11 do my best 40
To woo your lady. \Aside\ Yet, a barf ul strife !
Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife. ) [Exeunt. /
SCENE V. < Olivia V House
Enter MARIA and Clown
Maria. Nay, either tell me where thou hast been,
or I will not open my lips so wide as a bristle may
enter in way of thy excuse. My lady will hang thee
for thy absence.
Clown. Let her hang me ; he that is well hanged
in this world needs to fear no colours.
Maria. Make that good.
Clown. He shall see none to fear. .
Maria. A good le'nten answer. I can tell thee
where that saying was born, of ' I fear no colours.' 10
Scene V] Twelfth Night 35
Clown. Where, good Mistress Mary ?
Maria. In the wars ; and that may you be bold to
say in your foolery.
Clown. Well, God give them wisdom that have it ;
and those that are fools, let them use their talents.
Maria. Yet you will be hanged for being so long
absent ; or, to be turned away, is not that as good as
a hanging to you ?
Clown. Many a good hanging prevents a bad
marriage ; and, for turning away, let summer bear it 20
out.
Maria. You are resolute, then ?
Clown. Not so, neither ; but I am resolved on two
points.
Maria. That if one break, the other will hold ; or,
if both break, your gaskins fall.
Clown. Apt, in good faith ; very apt. Well, go f
thy way ; if Sir Toby would leave drinking, thou wert
as witty a piece of Eve's flesh as any in Illyria*
Maria. Peace, you rogue, no more o' that. Here 30
comes my lady ; make your excuse wisely, you were
best. [Exit.
Clown. Wit, an 't be thy will, put me into good
fooling ! Those wits that think they have thee do
very oft prove fools, and I, that am sure I lack thee, ^
may pass for a wise man ; for what says Quinapalus ?
' Better a witty fool than a foolish wit,'
3 6 Twelfth Night [Act I
Enter Lady OLIVIA with MALVOLIO
God bless thee, lady 1
Olivia. Take the fool away.
Clown. Do you not hear, fellows? Take away 40
the lady.
Olivia. Go to, you 're a dry fool ; I '11 no more of
you. Besides, you grow dishonest.
Clown. Two faults, madonna, that drink and good
counsel will amend ; for give the dry fool drink, then
is the fool not dry. Bid the dishonest man mend
~ himself, if he mend he is no longer dishonest ; if he
, cannot, let the botcher mend him. Any thing that 's
mended is but patched ; virtue that transgresses is
but patched with sin, and sin that amends is but 50
patched with virtue. If that this simple syllogism
will serve, so ; if it will not, what remedy ? As there
is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty 's a flower.
The lady bade take away the fool ; therefore, I say
again, take her away.
Olivia. Sir, I bade them take away you.
\ Clown. Misprision in the highest degree ! Lady,
*) cucullus non facit monachum ; that 's as much to say
r as I wear not motley in my brain. Good madonna,
give me leave to prove you a fool. 60
Olivia. Can you do it ?
Clown. Dexteriously, good madonna.
Olivia. Make your proof.
Clown. I must catechise you for it, madonna;
good my mouse of virtue, answer me.
Scene VJ Twelfth Night 37
Olivia. Well, sir, for want of other idleness, I '11
bide your proof.
Clown. Good madonna, why mournest thou ?
Olivia. Good fool, for my brother's death.
Clown. I think his soul is in -hell, madonna. 70
Olivia. I know his soul is in heaven, fool.
Clown. The more fool, madonna, to mourn for
your brother's soul being in heaven. Take away
the fool, gentlemen.
Olivia. What think you of this fool, Malvolio ?
doth he not mend ?
Malvolio. Yes, and shall do till the pangs of death
shake him ; infirmity, that decays the wise, doth ever
make the better fool.
Clown. God send you, sir, a speedy infirmity, for 80
the better increasing your folly ! Sir Toby will be
sworn that I am no fox ; but he will not pass his
word for twopence that you are no fool.
Olivia. How say you to that, Malvolio ?
Malvolio. I marvel your ladyship takes delight in
such a barren rascal; I saw him put down the other
day with an ordinary fool that has no more brain
than a stone. Look you now, he 's out of his guard
already ; unless you laugh and minister occasion to
him, he is gagged. I protest, I take these wise men 9 o
that crow so at these set kind of fools no better than
the fools' zanies.
Olivia. O, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and
taste with a distempered appetite. To be generous,
3 8 Twelfth Night [Act I
guiltless, and of free disposition, is to take those
things for bird-bolts that you deem cannon-bullets.
There is no slander in an allowed fool, though he do
nothing but rail ; nor no railing in a known discreet
man, though he do nothing but reprove. / - ../^
Clown. Now Mercury endue thee with leasing, for 100
thou speakest well of fools ! f
Re-enter MARIA
Maria. Madam, there is at the gate a young gen-
tleman much desires to speak with you.
Olivia. From the Count Orsino, is it ?
Maria. I know not, madam ; 't is a fair young ^
man, and well attended.
Olivia. Who of my people hold him in delay ?
Maria. Sir Toby, madam, your kinsman.
Olivia. Fetch him off, I pray you, he speaks noth-
ing but madman ; fie on him ! [Exit Maria. ,] Go no
you, Malvolio. If it be a suit from the count, I am
sick, or not at home ; what you will, to dismiss it.
\Exit Malvolio '.] Now you see, sir, how your fooling
grows old, and people dislike it.
Clown. Thou hast spoke for us, madonna, as if A
thy eldest son should be a fool ; whose skull Jove
cram with brains ! for here he comes one of thy /
kin has a most weak pia mater. /
Enter SIR TOBY
Olivia. By mine honour, half drunk. What is
he at the gate, cousin ? 120
Scene V] Twelfth Night 39
Sir Toby. A gentleman.
Olivia. A gentleman ! what gentleman ?
Sir Toby. 'T is a gentleman here a plague o' *^-
these pickle-herring ! How now, sot ! 5^***
Clown. Good Sir Toby !
Olivia. Cousin, cousin, how have you come so
early by this lethargy ?
Sir Toby. Lechery ! I defy lechery. There 's one
at the gate.
Olivia. Ay, marry, what is he ? 130
Sir Toby. Let him be the devil, an he will, I care
not ; give me faith, say I. Well, it 's all one. [Exit.
Olivia. What 's a drunken man like, fool ?
Clown. Like a drowned man, a fool, and a mad-
man : one draught above heat makes him a fool ; the
second mads him ; and a third drowns him.
Olivia. Go thou and seek the crowner, and let
him sit o' my coz, for he 's in the third degree of
drink, he 's drowned ; go, look after him.
Clown. He is but mad yet, madonna ; and the 140
fool shall look to the madman. \
Re-enter MALVOLIO
Malvolio. Madam, yond young fellow swears he
will speak with you. I told him you were sick ; he
takes on him to understand so much, and therefore
comes to speak with you. I told him you were
asleep ; he seems to have a foreknowledge of that
too, and therefore comes to speak with you. What
40 Twelfth Night [Act i
is to be said to him, lady ? he 's fortified against any
denial.
Olivia. Tell him he shall not speak with me. . 150
Malvofto. He has been told so ; and he says, he '11
stand at your door like a sheriff's post, and be the
supporter to a bench, but he '11 speak with you.
Olivia. What kind o' man is he ?
Malvolio. Why, of mankind.
Olivia. What manner of man ?
Malvolio. Of very ill manner ; he '11 speak with
you, will you or no.
Olivia. Of what personage and years is he ?
Malvolio. Not yet old enough for a man, nor 160 v'
young enough for a boy, as a squash is before 't is
a peascod, or a codling when 't is almost an apple ;
't is with him in standing water, between boy and
man. He is very well-favoured and he speaks very
shrewish ly ; one would think his mother's milk were
scarce out of him.
Olivia. Let him approach ; call in my gentle-
woman.
Malvolio. Gentlewoman, my lady calls. [Exit.
Re-enter MARIA
Olivia. Give me my veil ; come, throw it o'er my face.
We '11 once more hear Orsino's embassy. 171
Enter VIOLA, and Attendants
Viola. The honourable lady of the house, which
is she ?
Scene V] Twelfth Night 41
Olivia. Speak to me ; I shall answer for her.
Your will ?
Viola. Most radiant, exquisite, and unmatchable
beauty, I pray you, tell me if this be the lady of "
the house, for I never saw her ; I would be loath to
cast away my speech, for besides that it is excellently
well penned, I have taken great pains to con it. 180
Good beauties, let me sustain no scorn ; I am very
comptible, even to the least sinister usage.
Olivia. Whence came you, sir ?
Viola. I can say little more than I have studied,
and that question 's out of my part. Good gentle
one, give me modest assurance if you be the lady of
the house, that I may proceed in my speech.
Olivia. Are you a comedian?
Viola. No, my profound heart ; and yet, by the
very fangs of malice I swear, I am not that I play. 190
Are you the lady of the house ?
Olivia. If I do not usurp myself, I am.
Viola. Most certain, if you are she, you do usurp
yourself ; for what is yours to bestow is not yours to
reserve. But this is from my commission ; I will on
with my speech in your praise, and then show you
the heart of my message.
Olivia. Come to what is important in 't ; I forgive
you the praise.
Viola. Alas, I took great pains to study it, and 't 200
is poetical.
Olivia. It is the more like to be feigned ; I pray
42 Twelfth Night [Act I
V. l ''
you, keep it in. I heard you were saucy at my gates,
and allowed your approach rather to wonder at you
than to hear you. If you be not mad, be gone ; if
you have reason, be brief; 't is not that time of
moon with me to make one in so skipping a dialogue.
Maria. Will you hoist sail, sir? here lies your
way.
Viola. No, good swabber ; I am to hull here a lit- 210
tie longer. Some mollification for your giant, sweet
lady. Tell me your mind ; I am a messenger.
Olivia. Sure, you have some hideous matter to
deliver, when the courtesy of it is so fearful. Speak
your office.
Viola. It alone concerns your ear. I bring no
overture of war, no taxation of homage : I hold the
olive in my hand ; my words are as full of peace as
matter.
Olivia. Yet you began rudely. What are you ? 220
what would you ?
Viola. The rudeness that hath appeared in me
have I learned from my entertainment. What I am,
and what I would, are as secret as maidenhead : to
your ears, divinity ; to any other's, profanation.
Olivia. Give us the place alone ; we will hear this *
divinity. [Exeunt Maria and Attendants.} Now, f
sir, what is your text ?
Viola. Most sweet lady, \
Olivia. A comfortable doctrine, and much may be 230
said of it. Where lies your text ?
Scene V] Twelfth Night 43
Viola. In Orsino's bosom.
Olivia. In his bosom ! In what chapter of his
bosom ?
Viola. To answer by the method, in the first of
his heart.
Olivia. O, I have read it ; it is heresy. Have
you no more to say ?
Viola. Good madam, let me see your face.
Olivia. Have you any commission from your lord 240
to negotiate with my face ? \ You are now out of your
text ; but we will draw the curtain and show you the
picture. Look you, sir, such a one I was this pres- ;
ent ; is 't not well done ? [ Unveiling.
Viola. Excellently done, if God did all.
Olivia. 'T is in grain, sir; 't will endure wind
and weather.
Viola. 'T is beauty truly blent, whose red and white
Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on.
Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive, 250
If you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy.,
Olivia. O, sir, I will not be so hard-hearted ; I will
give out divers schedules of my beauty. It shall be
inventoried, and every particle and utensil labelled
to my will : as, item, two lips, indifferent red ; item,
two grey eyes, with lids to them ; item, one neck, f\
one chin, and so forth. Were you sent hither to/> *
praise me ?
Viola. I see you what you are, you are too proud ; 260
44 Twelfth Night [Acti
But, if you were the devil, you are fair.
My lord and master loves you ; O, such love
Could be but recompens'd though you were crown 'd
The nonpareil of beauty I
Olivia. How does he love me ?
Viola. With adorations, with fertile tears,
With groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire.
Olivia. Your lord does know my mind ; I cannot
love him.
Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble,
Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth ;
In voices well divulg'd, free, learn 'd, and valiant ; 270
And in dimension and the shape of nature
A gracious person. But yet I cannot love him ;
He might have took his answer long ago.
Viola. If I did love you in my master's flame,
With such a suffering, such a deadly life,
In your .denial I would find no sense ;
I would not understand it.
Olivia. Why, what would you ?
Viola. Make me a willow cabin at your gate,
And call upon my soul within the house ; (,iu!
Write loyal cantons of contemned love, 280
And sing them loud even in the dead of night ;
Halloo your name to the reverberate hills,
And make the babbling gossip of the air
Cry out Olivia ! O, you should not rest )
Between the elements of air and earth,
But you should pity me 1
Scene V] Twelfth Night 45
Olivia. You might do much.
What is your parentage ?
Viola. Above my fortunes, yet my state is well ;
I am a gentleman.
Olivia. Get you to your lord ;
I cannot love him. Let him send no more, 290
Unless, pprrhanrp^Qp .r.nmp to me again, x^
To tell me how he takes it. Fare you well.
I thank you for your pains ; spend this for me.
Viola. I am no fee'd post, lady, keep your purse;
My master, not myself, lacks recompense.
Love make his heart of flint that you shall love ;
And let your fervour, like my master's, be
Plac'd in contempt ! Farewell, fair cruelty. [Exit.
Olivia. What is your parentage ?
* Above my fortunes, yet my state is well ; 300
I am a gentleman.' I '11 be sworn thou art ;
Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit,
Do give thee five-fold blazon. Not too fast ! soft, soft 1
Unless the master were the man. How now !
Even so quickly may one catch the plague ?
Methinks I feel this youth's perfections
With an invisible and subtle stealth
To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be.
What ho, Malvolio !
Re-enter MALVOLIO
Malvolio. Here, madam, at your service.
Olivia, Run after that same peevish messenger, 310
46 Twelfth Night [Acti
The county's man. He left this ring behind him,
Would I or not ; tell him I '11 none of it.
Desire him not to flatter with his lord,
Nor hold him up with hopes ; I am not for him.
If that the youth will come this way to-morrow,
I '11 give him reasons for 't. Hie thee, Malvolio.
Malvolio. Madam, I will. [Exit.
Olivia. I do I know not what, and fear to find
Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind.
Fate, show thy force ! ourselves we do not owe ; 320
What is decreed must be, and be this so 1 [Exit.
PROPERTY OF
of mm
THE SEA-COAST NEAR SPALATRO
ACT II
SCENE I. The Sea-coast
Enter ANTONIO and SEBASTIAN
Antonio. Will you stay no longer? nor will you
not that I go with you ?
Sebastian. By your patience, no. My stars shine
darkly over me ; the malignancy of my fate might
perhaps distempei yours ; therefore I shall crave of
you your leave that I may bear my evils alone. It
were a bad recompense for your love, to lay any
of them on you.
Antonio. Let me yet know of you whither you are
bound.
Sebastian. No, sooth, sir ; my determinate voyage
is mere extravagancy. But I perceive in you so
47
48 Twelfth Night [Act n
excellent a touch of modesty that you will not extort
from me what I am willing to keep in ; therefore it ".)
charges me in manners the rather to express myself. ,
You must know of me then, Antonio, my name is
Sebastian, which I called Roderigo. My father was
that Sebastian of Messaline whom I know you have
heard of. He left behind him myself and a sister,
both born in an hour. If the heavens had been 20
pleased, would we had so ended ! but you, sir, altered
that; for some hour before you took me from the
breach of the sea was my sister drowned.
Antonio. Alas the day !
Sebastian. A lady, sir, though it was said she much
resembled me, was yet of many accounted beautiful ;
but, though I could not with such estimable wonder
overfar believe that, yet thus far I will boldly publish
her : she bore a mind that envy could not but call
fair. She is drowned already, sir, with salt water, 30
though I seem to drown her remembrance again
with more.
Antonio. Pardon me, sir, your bad entertainment.
Sebastian. O good Antonio, forgive me your
trouble 1
Antonio. If you will not murther me for my love,
let me be your servant.
Sebastian. If you will not undo what you have
done, that is, kill him whom you have recovered,
desire it not. Fare ye well at once ; my bosom is 40
full of kindness, and I am yet so near the manners
Scene II] Twelfth Night 49
of my mother that upon the least occasion more \
mine eyes will tell tales of me. I am bound to the
Count Orsino's court ; farewell. \Exit.
Antonio, The gentleness of all the gods go with
thee!
I have many enemies in Orsino's court,
Else would I very shortly see thee there.
But, come what may, I do adore thee so
That danger shall seem sport and I will go. \Exit,-
SCENE II. A Street
Enter VIOLA, MALVOLIO following
Malvolio. Were not you even now with the Coun-
tess Olivia ?
Viola. Even now, sir ; on a moderate pace I have
since arrived but hither.
Malvolio. She returns this ring to you, sir ; you
might have saved me my pains, to have taken it
away yourself. She adds, moreover, that you should
put your lord into a desperate assurance she will none
of him ; and one thing more, that you be never so
hardy to come again in his affairs unless it be to 10
report your lord's taking of this. Receive it so.
Viola. She took the ring of me ; I '11 none of it.
Malvolio. Come, sir, you peevishly threw it to her,
and her will is it should be so returned. If it be
worth stooping for, there it lies in your eye ; if not,
be it his that finds it. [Exit.
TWELFTH NIGHT 4
50 Twelfth Night [Act II
Viola. I left no ring with her ; what means this
lady ?
Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her !
She made good view of me ; indeed, so much
That sure methought her eyes had lost her tongue, 20
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure ; the cunning of her passion
Invites me in this churlish messenger.
None of my lord's ring ! why, he sent her none.
I am the man ; if it be so, as 't is,
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper-false
In women's waxen hearts to set their forms ! 30
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we !
For such as we are made of, such we be.
How will this fadge ? my master loves her dearly ;
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him ;
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this ? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master's love ;
As I am woman, now alas the day !
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe !
O time ! thou must untangle this, not I ; 40
It is too hard a knot for me to untie 1 \Exit. ^
Scene III] Twelfth Night 51
SCENE III. Olivia's House
Enter SIR TOBY and SIR ANDREW
Sir Toby. Approach, Sir Andrew ; not to be a-bed
after midnight is to be up betimes, and ' diluculo
surgere,' thou know'st,
Sir Andrew. Nay, by my troth, I know not ; but
I know to be up late is to be up late.
Sir Toby. A false conclusion ; I hate it as an un-
filled can. To be up after midnight and to go to bed
then, is early ; so that to go to bed after midnight
is to go to bed betimes. Does not our life consist of
the four elements ? 10
Sir Andrew. Faith, so they say; but I think it
rather consists of eating and drinking.
Sir Toby. Thou 'rt a scholar ; let us therefore eat
and drink. Marian, I say I a stoup of wine !
Enter Clown
Sir Andrew. Here comes the fool, i' faith.
Clown. How now, my hearts ! did you never see
the picture of we three ?
Sir Toby. Welcome, ass. ' Now let 's have a catch. '
Sir Andrew. By my troth, the fool has an excellent
breast"? I had rather than forty shillings I had such 20
a leg, and so sweet a breath to sing, as the fool has.
In sooth, thou wast in very gracious fooling last
night, when thou spokest of Pigrogromitus, of the f
1 Vapians passing the equinoctial of Queubus ; 't was
52 Twelfth Night [Act n
very good, i' faith. I sent thee sixpence for thy
leman ; hadst it ?
Clown. I did impeticos thy gratillity, for Malvo-
lio's nose is no whipstock ; my lady has a white hand,
and the Myrmidons are no bottle-ale houses.
Sir Andrew. Excellent ! why, this is the best fool- 30
ing, when all is done. Now, a song.
Sir Toby. Come on ; there is sixpence for you ;
let 's have a song.
Sir Andrew. There 's a testril of me too ; if one
knight give a
Clown. Would you have a love-song or a song of
good life ?
Sir Toby. A love-song, a love-song.
Sir Andrew. Ay, ay ; I care not for good life.
Clown. [Sings] 40
O mistress mine, where are you roaming ?
O, stay and hear; your true love 's coming
That can sing both high and low.
Trip no further, pretty sweeting;
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Every wise man's son doth know.
Sir Andrew. Excellent good, i' faith.
Sir Toby. Good, good.
Clown. [Sings]
What is love ? V is not hereafter; 50
Present mirth hath present laughter ;
What 's to come is still unsure*
Scene III] Twelfth Night 53
In delay there lies no plenty.
Then come kiss me^ sweet and twenty ;
Youth V a stuff will not endure.
Sir Andrew. A mellifluous voice, as I am true
knight.
Sir Toby. A contagious Weath.
Sir Andrew. Very sweet and contagious, i' faith.
Sir Toby. To hear by the nose, it is dulcet ip con- 60
tagion. But shall we make the welkin dance indeed ? -'
shall we rouse the night-owl in a catch that will draw
three souls out of one weaver ? shall we do that ?
Sir Andrew. An you love me, let 's do 't ; I am
dog at a catch.
Clown. By 'r lady, sir, and some dogs will catch
well.
/w-"C/.'**' v -4
Sir Andrew. Most certain. Let our catch be,
Thou knave.'
Clown. * Hold thy peace, thou knave,' knight ? I 70 '
shall be constrained in 't to call thee knave, knight.
Sir Andrew. 'T is not the first time I have con-
strained one to call me knave. Begin, fool ; it be- '
gins * Hold thy peace.'
Clown. I shall never begin if I hold my peace.
Sir Andrew. Good, i' faith. Come, begin. [Catch sung.
Enter MARIA
Maria. What a caterwauling do you keep here 1
If my lady have not called up her steward Malvolio
and bid him turn you out of doors, never trust me.
54 Twelfth Night [Act II
Sir Toby. My lady 's a Catalan, we are politicians,
Malvolio 's a Peg-a-Ramsey, and ' Three merry men
be we.' Am not I consanguineous ? am I not of her
blood? Tillyvally, lady! [Sings] < There dwelt a ?
man in Babylon, lady, lady ! ' ^
Clown. Beshrew me, the knight 's in admirable
fooling.
Sir Andrew. Ay, he does well enough if he be dis-
posed, and so do I too ; he does it with a better
grace, but I do it more natural.
Sir Toby. [Sings] ' O, the twelfth day of Decem- 90
ber,'
Maria. For the love of God, peace I
Enter MALVOLIO
Malvolio. My masters, are you mad ? or what are
you ? Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but
to gabble like tinkers at this time of night ? Do ye
make an alehouse of my lady's house, that ye squeak
out your coziers' catches without any mitigation or
remorse of voice ? Is there no respect of place,
persons, nor time in you ?
Sir Toby. We did keep time, sir, in our catches. ioc
Sneck up !
Malvolio. Sir Toby, I must be round with you.
My lady bade me tell you that, though she harbours
you as her kinsman, she 's nothing allied to your dis-
orders. If you can separate yourself and your mis-
demeanours, you are welcome to the house ; if not,
Scene III] Twelfth Night 55
an it would please you to take leave of her, she is
very willing to bid you farewell.
Sir Toby. ' P'arewell, dear heart, since I must
needs be gone. 1 no
Maria. Nay, good Sir Toby.
Clown. ' His eyes do show his days are almost
done.'
Malvolio. Is 't even so ?
Sir Toby. l But I will never die.'
Clown. Sir Toby, there you lie.
Malvolio. This is much credit to you.
Sir Toby. ' Shall I bid him go ? '
Clown. ' What an if you do ? '
Sir Toby. ' Shall I bid him go, and spare not? ' 120
Clown. ' O, no, no, no, no, you dare not.'
Sir Toby. Out o' time, sir? ye lie. Art any
more than a steward ? Dost thou think, because
thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and
ale?
Clown. Yes, by Saint Anne, and ginger shall be
hot i' the mouth too.
Sir Toby. Thou 'rt i' the right. Go, sir, rub your
chain with crumbs. A stoup of wine, Maria !
Malvolio. Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady's 130
favour at any thing more than contempt, you would
not give means for this uncivil rule ; she shall know
of it, by this hand. [Exit.
Maria. Go shake your ears.
Sir Andrew. 'T were as good a deed as to drink
56 Twelfth Night [Actn
when a man 's a-hungry, to challenge him the field, f
and then to break promise with him and make a fool *
of him.
Sir Toby. Do 't, knight ! I '11 write thee a chal-
lenge ; or I '11 deliver thy indignation to him by 149
word of mouth.
Maria. Sweet Sir Toby, be patient for to-night ;
since the youth of the count's was to-day with my
lady, she is much out of quiet. For Monsieur Mal-
volio, let me alone with him ; if I do not gull him
into a nayword and make him a common recreation,
do not think I have wit enough to lie straight in my
bed ; I know I can do it.
Sir Toby. Possess us, possess us, tell us some-
thing of him. 150
Maria. Marry, sir, sometimes he is a kind of
puritan.
Sir Andrew. O, if I thought that, I 'd beat him
like a dog !
Sir Toby. What, for being a puritan ? thy exqui-
site reason, dear knight?
Sir Andrew. I have no exquisite reason for 't, but
I have reason good enough.
Maria. The devil a puritan that he is, or any
thing constantly but a time-pleaser ; an affectioned 160
ass, that cons state without book and utters it by ,.
great swarths ; the best persuaded of himself, so -
crammed, as he thinks, with excellencies that it is
his ground of faith that all that look on him love
Scene III] Twelfth Night 57
him ; and on that vice in him will my revenge find
notable cause to work.
Sir Toby. What wilt thou do ?
Maria. I will drop in his way some obscure
epistles of love, wherein, by the colour of his beard,
the shape of his leg, the manner of his gait, the ex- 170
pressure of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he
shall find himself most feelingly personated. I can
write very like my lady your niece ; on a forgotten
matter we can hardly make distinction of our hands.
Sir Toby. Excellent ! I smell a device.
Sir Andrew. I have 't in my nose too.
Sir Toby. He shall think, by the letters that thou
wilt drop, that they come from my niece and that
she 's in love with him.
Maria. My purpose is, indeed, a horse of thatiSo
colour.
Sir Andrew. And your horse now would make
him an ass.
Maria. Ass, I doubt not.
Sir Andrew. O, 't will be admirable !
Maria. Sport royal, I warrant you ; I know my
physic will work with him. I will plant you two,
and let the fool make a third, where he shall find
the letter^ observe his construction of it. For this
night, to bed, and dream on the event. Farewell. 190
[Exit:
Sir Toby. Good night, Penthesilea.
Sir Andrew. Before me, she 's a good wench.
58 Twelfth Night [Act n
Sir Toby. She 's a beagle, true-bred, and one that
adores me. What o' that ?
Sir Andrew. I was adored once too.
Sir Toby. Let 's to bed, knight. Thou hadst
need send for more money.
Sir Andrew. If I cannot recover your niece, I am
a foul way out.
Sir Toby. Send for money, knight ; if thou hast 200
her not i' the end, call me cut.
Sir Andrew. If I do not, never trust me, take it
how you will.
Sir Toby. Come, come, I '11 go burn some sack ;
't is too late to go to bed now. Come, knight;
come, knight. \Exeunt.
SCENE IV. The Duke's Palace
Enter DUKE, VIOLA, CURIO, and others
Duke. Give me some music. Now, good morrow,
friends.
Now, good Cesario, but that piece of song,
That old and antique song we heard last night.
Methought it did relieve my passion much,
More than light airs and recollected terms
Of these most brisk and giddy-paced times.
Come, but one verse.
Curio. He is not here, so please your lordship,
that should sing it.
Duke. Who was it ? 10
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 59
Curio. Feste, the jester, my lord ; a fool that the
lady Olivia's father took much delight in. He is
about the house.
Duke. Seek him out, and play the tune the
while. \_Exit Curio. Music plays.
Come hither, boy. If ever thou shalt love,
In the sweet pangs of it remember me ;
For such as I am all true lovers are,
Unstaid and skittish in all motions else,
Save in the constant image of the creature
That is belov'd. | How dost thou like this tune ? 20
Viola. It gives a very echo to the seat
Where love is thron'd.
Duke. Thou dost speak masterly.
My life upon 't, young though thou art, thine eye
Hath stay'd upon some favour that it loves ;
Hath it not, boy ?
Viola. A little, by your favour.
Duke. What kind of woman is 't ?
Viola. Of your complexion.
Duke. She is not worth thee, then. What years, i'
faith ?
Viola. About your years, my lord.
Duke. Too old, by heaven ! Let still the woman
take
An elder than herself ; so wears she to him, 30
So sways she level in her husband's heart ;
For, boy, however we do praise ourselves,
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
60 Twelfth Night [Actn
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn,
Than women's are.
Viola. I think it well, my lord.
Duke. Then let thy love be younger than thyself,
Or thy affection cannot hold the bent ;
For women are as roses, whose fair flower,
Being once displayed, doth fall that very hour.
Viola. And so they are ; alas, that they are so, 40
To die, even when they to perfection grow 1
Re-enter CURIO and Clown
Duke. O, fellow, come, the song we had last night.
Mark it, Cesario, it is old and plain ;
The spinsters and the knitters in the sun
And the free maids that weave their thread with bones
Do use to chant it. It is silly sooth,
And dallies with the innocence of love,
Like the old age.
Clown. Are you ready, sir ? 49
Duke. Ay ; prithee, sing. [Music.
Song
Clown. Come away, come away, death,
And in sad cypress let me be laid.
Fly away, fly away, breath ;
I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew>
O, prepare it!
My part of death, no one so true
Did share it.
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 6 1
Not a flower, not a flower sweet ',
On my black coffin let there be strown; 60
Not a friend, not a friend greet
My poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown.
A thousand thousand sighs to save,
Lay me, O, where
Sad true lover never find my grave,
To weep there / .
Duke. There 's for thy pains.
Clown. No pains, sir ; I take pleasure in singing,
sir.
Duke. I '11 pay thy pleasure then. 70
Clown. Truly, sir, and pleasure will be paid, one \
time or another.
Duke. Give me now leave to leave thee.
Clown. Now the melancholy god protect thee ; and
the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for
thy mind is a very opal! I would have men of such J
constancy put to sea, that their business might be
every thing and their intent every where ; for that 's
it that always makes a good voyage of nothing. 79
Farewell. [Exit.
Duke. Let all the rest give place.
[Curio and Attendants retire.
Once more, Cesario,
Get thee to yond same sovereign cruelty.
Tell her, my love, more noble than the world,
Prizes not quantity of dirty lands ;
62 Twelfth Night [Actn
The parts that fortune hath bestow'd upon her,
Tell her, I hold as giddily as fortune,
But 't is that miracle and queen of gems
That nature pranks her in attracts my soul.
Viola. But if she cannot love you, sir ? 89
Duke. I cannot be so answer'd.
Viola. Sooth, but you must.
Say that some lady, .as perhaps there is,
Hath for your love as great a pang of heart
As you have for Olivia ; you cannot love her.
You tell her so ; must she not then be answer'd ?
Duke. There is no woman's sides
Can bide the beating of so strong a passion
As love doth give my heart, no woman's heart
So big to hold so much ; they lack retention.
Alas, their love may be call'd appetite, *)
No motion of the liver, but the palate, 100
That suffer surfeit, cloyment, and revolt ;
But mine is all as hungry as the sea
And can digest as much. Make no compare
Between that love a woman can bear me
And that I owe Olivia.
Viola. Ay, but I know
Duke. What dost thou know ?
Viola. Too well what love women to men may owe ;
In faith, they are as true of heart as we.
My father had a daughter lov'd a man,
As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman, no
I should your lordship.
Scene V] Twelfth Night 63
Duke. , And what 's her history ?
Viola. A blank, my lord. She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek ; she pin'd in thought,
And with a green and yellow melancholy
She sat like Patience on a monument,
Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed ?
We men may say more, swear more, but indeed
Our shows are more than will ; for still we prove
Much in our vows, but little in our love. 120
Duke. But died thy sister of her love, my boy ?
Viola. I am all the daughters of my father's house,
And all the brothers too ; and yet I know not.
Sir, shall I to this lady ?
Duke. Ay, that 's the theme,
To her in haste ; give her this jewel ; say,
My love can give no place, bide no denay. \Exeunt.
SCENE V. Olivia's Garden
Enter SIR TOBY, SIR ANDREW, and FABIAN
Sir Toby. Come thy ways, Signior Fabian.
Fabian. Nay, I '11 come ; if I lose a scruple of this
sport, let me be boiled to death with melancholy.
Sir Toby. Wouldst thou not be glad to have the
niggardly rascally sheep-biter come by some notable
shame ?
Fabian. I would exult, man ; you know, he brought
64 Twelfth Night [Act II
me out o' favour with my lady about a bear-baiting
here.
Sir Toby. To anger him we '11 have the bear again, 10
and we will fool him black and blue ; shall we not,
Sir Andrew ?
Sir Andrew. An we do not, it is pity of our lives.
Sir Toby. Here comes the little villain.
Enter MARIA
How "now, my metal of India !
Maria. Get ye all three into the box-tree ; Malvo--
lio 's coming down this walk. He has been yonder
i' the sun practising behaviour to his own shadow
this half hour ; observe him, for the love of mockery,
for I know this letter will make a contemplative idiot 20 ^
of him. Close, in the name of jesting! Lie thou
there [throws down a letter] ; for here comes the trout
that must be caught with tickling. [Exit,
Enter MALVOLIO
Malvolio. 'T is but fortune ; all is fortune. Maria
once told me she did affect me ; and I have heard
herself come thus near, that, should she fancy, it
should be one of my complexion. Besides, she uses
me with a more exalted respect than any one else
that follows her. What should I think on 't?
Sir Toby. Here 's an overweening rogue ! 30
Fabian. O, peace 1 Contemplation makes a rare
turkey-cock of him 1 how he jets under his advanced
plumes 1
Scene V] Twelfth Night 65
Sir Andrew. 'Slight, I could so beat the rogue 1
Sir Toby. Peace, I say !
Malvolio. To be Count Malvolio !
Sir Toby. Ah, rogue !
Sir Andrew. Pistol him, pistol him.
Sir Toby. Peace, peace !
Malvolio. There is example for 't ; the lady of the 40
Strachy married the yeoman of the wardrobe.
Sir Andrew. Fie on him, Jezebel !
Fabian. O, peace ! now he 's deeply in ; look how
imagination blows him.
Malvolio. Having been three months married to
her, sitting in my state, '^
Sir Toby. O for a stone-bow, to hit him in the (
eye !
Malvolio. Calling my officers about me, in my
branched velvet gown ; having come from a day- 50
bed, where I have left Olivia sleeping,
Sir Toby. Fire and brimstone !
Fabian. O, peace, peace !
Malvolio. And then to have the humour of state ;
and after a demure travel of regard, telling them I
know my place as I would they should do theirs, to
ask for my kinsman Toby,
Sir Toby. Bolts and shackles !
Fabian. O, peace, peace, peace ! now, now.
Malvolio. Seven of my people, with an obedient 60
start, make out for him ; I frown the while, and- per-
chance wind up my watch, or play with my some
TWELFTH NIGHT 5
66 Twelfth Night [Actn
rich jewel. Toby approaches, courtesies there to
me,
Sir Toby. Shall this fellow live ?
Fabian. Though our silence be drawn from us by
th' ears, yet peace.
Malvolio. I extend my hand to him thus, quench-
ing my familiar smile with an austere regard of
control, 70
Sir Toby. And does not Toby take you a blow o'
the lips then ?
Malvolio. Saying, ' Cousin Toby, my fortunes
having cast me on your niece give me this preroga-
tive of speech/
Sir Toby. What, what ?
Malvolio. ' You must amend your drunkenness.'
Sir Toby. Out, scab !
Fabian. Nay, patience, or we break the sinews of
our plot, f- 80
Malvolio. t Besides, you waste the treasure of your
time with a foolish knight,'
Sir Andrew. That 's me, I warrant you.
Malvolio. f ' One Sir Andrew/
Sir Andrew. I knew 'twas I ; for many do call
me fool.
Malvolio. What employment have we here ?
{Taking up the letter.
Fabian. Now is the woodcock near the gin.
Sir Toby. O, peace ! and the spirit of humours
intimate reading aloud to him 1 90
Scene V] Twelfth Night 67
Malvolio. By my life, this is my lady's hand : these
be her very C's, her U's, and her T's ; and thus makes
she her great P's. It is, in contempt of question, her
hand.
Sir Andrew. Her C's, her U's,. and her T's ; why
that?
''Malvolio. [Reads] ' To the unknown beloved, this,
and my good wishes? Her very phrases ! By your O
leave, wax. Soft ! and the impressure her Lucrece, \
with which she uses to seal ; 't is my lady. To whom 100
should this be ?
Fabian. This wins him, liver and all.
Malvolio. [Reads]
'Jove knows I love ;
But who 1
Lips, do not move ;
No man must know. '
' No man must know.' What follows ? the numbers
altered! 'No man must know.' If this should
be thee, Malvolio ? no
Sir Toby. Marry, hang thee, brock !
Malvolio. [Reads]
* / may command where I adore, j_
But silence, like a Lucrece knife,
With bloodless stroke my heart doth gore ;
M, O y A, 7, doth sway my life'
Fabian. A fustian riddle 1 /
68 Twelfth Night [Actn
Sir Toby. Excellent wench, say I.
Malvolio. ' M, O, A, I, doth sway my life.' Nay,
but first, let me see, let me see, let me see. 120
Fabian. What dish o' poison has she dressed
him ! A
Sir Toby. And with what wing the staniel checks *
at it!
Malvolio. 'I may command where I adore.'
Why, she may command me ; I serve her, she is my
lady. Why, this is evident to any formal capacity ;
there is no obstruction in this; and the end, what
should that alphabetical position portend ? If I
could make that resemble something in me, Softly ! 130
M, 0,A,I,
Sir Toby. O, ay, make up that! he is now at a
cold scent.
Fabian. Sowter will cry upon 't for all this, though {
it be as rank as a fox.
Malvolio. M, Malvolio ; M, why, that begins
my name.
Fabian. Did not I say he would work it out ? the
cur is excellent at faults.
Malvolio. M, but then there is no consonancy 140
in the sequel ; that suffers under probation. A
should follow, but O does.
Fabian. And O shall end, I hope.
Sir Toby. Ay, or I '11 cudgel him, and make him
cry O!
Malvolio, And then /comes behind.
Scene V] Twelfth Night 69
Fabian. Ay, an you had any eye behind you, you
might see more detraction at your heels than fortunes
before you.
Malvolio. M, O, A, /, this simulation is not as 150
the former ; and yet, to crush this a little, it would
bow to me, for every one of these letters are in my
name. Soft ! here follows prose.
[Reads] ' If this fall into thy hand, revolve. In my
stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness ;
some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some
have greatness thrust upon ''em. Thy Fates open their
hands, let thy blood and spirit embrace them ; and, to
inure thyself to what thou art like to be, cast thy humble
slough and appear fresh. Be opposite with a kinsman, 160
surly with servants ; let thy tongue tang arguments of
state ; put thyself into the trick of singularity ; she thus
advises thee that sighs for thee. Remember who com-
mended thy yellow stockings, and wished to see thee ever
cross-gartered; I say, remember. Go to, thou art made,
if thou desirest to be so ; if not, let me see thee a steward
still, the fellow of servants, and not worthy to touch
Fortune's fingers. Farewell. She that would alter
sennces with thee,
THE FORTUNATE-UNHAPPY.' 170
Daylight and chanTpaign discovers not more ; this is
open. I will be proud, I will read politic authors, I
will baffle Sir Toby, I will wash off gross acquaint- q
ance, I will be point-devise the very man. I do not *
now fool myself, to let imagination jade me ; for every
yo Twelfth Night [Actn
reason excites to this, that my lady loves me. She did
commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise
my leg being cross-gartered ; and in this she manifests
herself to my love, and with a kind of injunction drives
me to these habits of her liking. I thank my stars 1 180
am happy. I will be strange, stout, in yellow stock-
ings, and cross-gartered, even with the swiftness of
putting on. Jove and my stars be praised 1 Here is
yet a postscript.
[Reads] ' Thou canst not choose but know who I am. If
thou entertainest my love, let it appear in thy smiling ;
thy smiles become thee well, therefore in my presence still
smile, dear my sweet, I prithee?
Jove, I thank thee ! I will smile ; I will do every-
thing that thou wilt have me. [Exit. 190
Fabian. I will not give my part of this sport for a^
pension of thousands to be paid from the Sophy.
Sir Toby. I could marry this wench for this device.
Sir Andrew. So could I too.
Sir Toby. And ask no other dowry with her but
such another jest.
Sir Andrew. Nor I neither.
Fabian. Here comes my noble gull-catcher.
Re-enter MARIA
Sir Toby. Wilt thou set thy foot o' my neck ?
Sir Andrew. Or o' mine either ? 200
Sir Toby. Shall I play my freedom at tray-trip and
become thy bond-slave ?
Scene V] Twelfth Night 71
Sir Andrew. V faith, or I either ?
Sir Toby. Why, thou hast put him in such a dream
that when the image of it leaves him he must run
mad.
Maria. Nay, but say true ; does it work upon
him ?
Sir Toby. Like aqua-vitae with a midwife.
Maria. If you will then see the fruits of the sport, 210
mark his first approach before my lady. He will
come to her in yellow stockings, and 't is a colour
she abhors ; and cross-gartered, a fashion she detests ;
and he will smile upon her, which will now be so
unsuitable to her disposition, being addicted to a
melancholy as she is, that it cannot but turn him into
a notable contempt. If you will see it, follow me.
Sir Toby. To the gates of Tartar, thou most excel-
lent devil of wit ! 219
Sir Andrew. I '11 make one too. [Exeunt.
OLIVIA'S GARDEN
ACT III
SCENE I. Olivia's Garden
Enter VIOLA and CLOWN with a tabor
Viola. Save thee, friend, and thy music ! Dost
thou live by thy tabor ?
Clown. No, sir, I live by the church.
Viola. Art thou a churchman ?
Clown. No such matter, sir. I do live by the
church ; for I do live at my house, and my house
doth stand by the church.
Viola. So thou mayst say, the king lies by a beg-
gar, if a beggar dwell near him ; or the church stan-ds
by thy tabor, if thy tabor stand by the church. 10
72
Scene I] Twelfth Night 73
Clown. You have said, sir. To sqe this age ! O
A sentence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit ; how
quickly the wrong side may be turned outward !
Viola. Nay, that's certain ; they that dally nicely
with words may quickly make them wanton.
Clown. I would, therefore, my sister had had no
name, sir.
Viola. Why, man ?
Clown. Why, sir, her name 's a word ; and to dally
with that word might make my sister wanton. But 20
indeed words are very rascals since bonds disgraced
them.
Viola. Thy reason, man ?
Clown. Troth, sir, I can yield you none without
words, and words are grown so false I am loath to
prove reason with them.
Viola. I warrant thou art a merry fellow and
carest for nothing.
Clown. Not so, sir, I do care for something, but
in my conscience, sir, I do not care for you ; if that 30
be to care for nothing, sir, I would it would make
you invisible.
Viola. Art not thou the Lady Olivia's fool ?
Clown. No, indeed, sir ; the Lady Olivia has no
folly. She will keep no fool, sir, till she be married ;
and fools are as like husbands as pilchards are to
herrings, the husband 's the bigger. I am indeed
not her fool, but her corrupter of words.
Viola. I saw thee late at the Count Orsino's.
74 Twelfth Night [Act m
Clown. Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like 40
the sun, it shines every where. I would be sorry, sir,
but the fool should be as oft with your master as with
my mistress. I think I saw your wisdom there.
Viola. Nay, an thou pass upon me, I '11 no more
with thee. Hold, there 's expenses for thee.
Clown. Now Jove, in his next commodity of hair,
send thee a beard !
Viola. By my troth, I '11 tell thee, I am almost sick
for one ; \Aside\ though I would not have it grow on
my chin. Is thy lady within ? //SHUX- */ <J*^/ 5
Clown. Would not a pair of these have bred, sir ?
Viola. Yes, being kept together and put to use.
Clown. I would play Lord Pandarus of Phrygia, ^
sir, to bring a Cressida to this Troilus.
Viola. I understand you, sir ; 't is well begged.
Clown. The matter, I hope, is not great, sir, beg-
ging but a beggar ; Cressida was a beggar. My lady
is within, sir. I will construe to them whence you
come ; who you are and what you would are out of
my welkin, I might say element, but the word is 60
overworn. [Exit.
Viola. This fellow is wise enough to play the fool ;
And to do that well craves a kind of wit.
He must observe their mood on whom he jests,
The quality of persons and the time,
Not, like the haggard, check at every feather
That comes before his eye. This is a practice
Scene I] Twelfth Night 75
As full of labour as a wise man's art ;
For folly that he wisely shows is fit,
But wise men's folly shown quite taints their wit. 70
Enter SIR TOBY and SIR ANDREW
Sir Toby. Save you, gentleman.
Viola. And you, sir.
Sir Andrew. Dieu vous garde, monsieur.
Viola. Et vous aussi ; votre serviteur.
Sir Andrew. I hope, sir, you are ; and I am yours.
Sir Toby. Will you encounter the house ? my niece
is desirous you should enter, if your trade be to her.
Viola. I am bound to your niece, sir ; I mean, she
is the list of my voyage.
Sir Toby. Taste your legs, sir ; put them to motion. 80
Viola. My legs do better understand me, sir, than
I understand what you mean by bidding me taste my
legs.
Sir Toby. I mean, to go, sir, to enter.
Viola. I will answer you with gait and entrance.
But we are prevented.
Enter OLIVIA and MARIA
Most excellent accomplished lady, the heavens rain
odours on you !
Sir Andrew. That youth 's a rare courtier. ' Rain
odours ! ' well ! 90
Viola. My matter hath no voice, lady, but to your
own most pregnant and vouchsafed ear.
76 Twelfth Night [Act ill
Sir Andrew. 'Odours,' 'pregnant,' and 'vouch-
safed ! ' I '11 get 'em all three all ready.
Olivia. Let the garden door be shut, and leave me
to my hearing. \Exeunt Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and
Marial\ Give me your hand, sir.
Viola. My duty, madam, and most humble service.
Olivia. What is your name ?
Viola. Cesario is your servant's name, fair prin-
cess. 100
Olivia. My servant, sir ! 't was never merry world
Since lowly feigning was call'd compliment ;
You 're servant to the Count Orsino, youth.
Viola. And he is yours, and his must needs be
yours ;
Your servant's servant is your servant, madam.
Olivia. For him, I think not on him ; for his
thoughts,
Would they were blanks rather than fill'd with me !
Viola. Madam, I come to whet your gentle thoughts
On his behalf.
Olivia. O, by your leave, I pray you,
I bade you never speak again of him ; no
But, would you undertake another suit,
I had rather hear you to solicit that
Than music from the spheres.
Viola. Dear lady,
t Olivia. Give me leave, beseech you. I did send,
" After the last enchantment you did here,
A ring in chase of you ; so did I abuse
Scene i] Twelfth Night 77
Myself, my servant, and, I fear me, you.
Under your hard construction must I sit,
To force that on you, in a shameful cunning,
Which you knew none of yours ; what might you
think ? 120
Have you not set mine honour at the stake,
And baited it with all the unmuzzled thoughts
That tyrannous heart can think? To one of your
receiving
Enough is shown ; a cypress, not a bosom,
Hideth my heart. So, let me hear you speak.
Viola. I pity you.
Olivia. That 's a degree to love.
Viola. No, not a grise ; for 't is a vulgar proof
That very oft we pity enemies.
Olivia. Why, then, methinks 't is time* to smile again.
world, how apt the poor are to be proud ! 130
If one should be a prey, how much the better
To fall before the lion than the wolf ! \Clock strikes.
The clock upbraids me with the waste of time.
Be not afraid, good youth, I will not have you ;
And yet, when wit and youth is come to harvest,
Your wife is like to reap a proper man.
There lies your way, due west.
Viola. Then westward-ho !
Grace and good disposition attend your ladyship !
You '11 nothing, madam, to my lord by me ?
Olivia. Stay ! 140
1 prithee, tell me what thou think'st of me.
78 Twelfth Night [Actm
Viola. That you do think you are not what you are.
Olivia. If I think so, I think the same of you.
Viola. Then think you right ; I am not what I am.
Olivia. I would you were as I would have you be !
Viola. Would it be better, madam, than I am ?
I wish it might, for now I am your fool.
Olivia. O, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful/
In the contempt/and anger of his lip ]/
A murtherous guilt shows not/itself more soon 150
Than love that would seem hid ;/ love's night is noon.
Cesario, by the roses of the spring,
By maidhood, honour, truth, and every thing,
I love thee so that, maugre all thy pride,
Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide. / o
Do not extort thy reasons from this clause, ,
For that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause j / o
But rather reason thus with reason fetter,/-' /./ ,
Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.
Viola. By innocence I swear, and by my youth, 160
I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth,
And that no woman has ; nor never none
Shall mistress be of it, save I alone.
And so adieu, good madam ; never more
Will I my master's tears to you deplore.
Olivia. Yet come again; for thou perhaps mayst
move
That heart, which now abhors, to like his love.
[Exeunt.
Scene II] Twelfth Night 79
SCENE II. Olivia's House
Enter SIR TOBY, SIR ANDREW, ^ind FABIAN
Sir Andrew. No, faith, I '11 not stay a jot longer.
Sir Toby. Thy reason, dear venom, give thy
reason.
Fabian. You must needs yield your reason, Sir
Andrew.
Sir Andrew. Marry, I saw your niece do more
favours to the count's serving-man than ever she be-
stowed upon me ; I saw 't i' the orchard.
Sir Toby. Did she see thee the while, old boy?
tell me that. 10
Sir Andrew. As plain as I see you now.
Fabian. This was a great argument of love in her
toward you.
Sir Andrew. 'Slight ! will you make an ass o' me ?
Fabian. I will prove it legitimate, sir, upon the ^
oaths of judgment and reason.
Sir Toby. And they have been grand-jurymen
since before Noah was a' sailor.
Fabian. She did show favour to the youth in your
sight only to exasperate you, to awake your dor- 20
mouse valour, to put fire in your heart and brim-
stone in your liver. You should then have accosted
her ; and with some excellent jests, fire-new from the
mint, you should have banged the youth into dumb-
ness. This was looked for at your hand, and this
8o Twelfth Night [Actm
was balked ; the double gilt of this opportunity you
let time wash off and you are now sailed into the
north of my lady',s opinion, where you will hang like
an icicle on a Dutchman's beard, unless you do re-
deem it by some laudable attempt either of valour 30
or policy.
Sir Andrew. An 't be any way, it must be with ^
valour, for policy I hate ; I had as lief be a Brownist \
as a politician.
Sir Toby. Why, then, build me thy fortunes upon
the basis of valour. Challenge me the count's youth ^
to fight with him ; hurt him in eleven places. My *
niece shall take note of it ; and assure thyself, there
is no love-broker in the world can more prevail in
man's commendation with woman than report of 40
valour.
Fabian. There is no way but this, Sir Andrew.
Sir Andrew. Will either of you bear me a chal-
lenge to him ?
Sir Toby. Go, write it in a martial hand ; be curst
and brief ; it is no matter how witty, so it be elo-
quent and full of invention ; taunt him with the '.
license of ink; if thou thou'st him some thrice, it
shall not be amiss ; and as many lies as will lie in
thy sheet of paper, although the sheet were big 50
enough for the bed of Ware in England, set 'em 7
down ; go, about it. Let there be gall enough in thy
ink, though thou write with a goose-pen, no matter; \
about it.
Scene II] Twelfth Night 8 1
Sir Andrew. Where shall I find you ?
Sir Toby. We '11 call thee at the cubiculo ; go.
[Exit Sir Andrew.
Fabian. This is a dear manikin to you, Sir Toby.
Sir Toby. I have been dear to him, lad, some two
thousand strong, or so.
Fabian. We shall have a rare letter from him ; 60
but you '11 not deliver 't?
Sir Toby. Never trust me, then ; and by all means
stir on the youth to an answer. I think oxen and
wainropes cannot hale them together. For Andrew
if he were opened, and you find so much blood in
his liver as will clog the foot of a flea, I '11 eat the
rest of the anatomy.
Fabian. And his opposite, the youth, bears in his
visage no great presage of cruelty.
Enter MARIA
7
Sir Toby. Look, where the youngest wren of nine 70
comes.
Maria. If you desire the spleen, and will laugh
yourselves into stitches, follow me. Yond gull Mal-
volio is turned heathen, a very renegado ; for there
is no Christian that means to be saved by believing
rightly can ever believe such impossible passages of
grossness. He 's in yellow stockings.
Sir Toby. And cross-gartered ?
Maria. Most villanously, like a pedant that keeps
a school i' the church. I have dogged him like his 80
TWELFTH NIGHT 6
8i Twelfth Night [Actm
murtherer. He does obey every point of the letter
that I dropped to betray him ; he does smile his face ^
into more lines than is in the new map with the aug-
mentation of the Indies ; you have not seen such a
thing as 't is. I can hardly forbear hurling things
at him. I know my lady will strike him ; if she do,
he '11 smile and take 't for a great favour.
Sir Toby. Come, bring us, bring us where he is.
[Exeunt
SCENE III. A Street
Enter SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO
Sebastian. I would not by my will have troubled you ;
But, since you make your pleasure of your pains,
I will no further chide you.
Antonio. I could not stay behind you. My desire,
More sharp than filed steel, did spur me forth ;
And not all love to see you, though so much
As might have drawn one to a longer voyage,
But jealousy what might befall your travel,
Being skilless in these parts, which to a stranger,
Unguided and unfriended, often prove
Rough and unhospitable. My willing love,
The rather by these arguments of fear,
Set forth in your pursuit.
Sebastian. My kind Antonio,
I can no other answer make but thanks,
And thanks, and ever thanks, and oft good turns
Scene III] Twelfth Night 83
Are shuffled off with such uncurrent pay ;
But, were my worth as is my conscience firm,
You should find better dealing. What 's to do ?
Shall we go see the reliques of this town ?
Antonio. To-morrow, sir ; best first go see your
lodging. 20
Sebastian. I am not weary, and 't is long to night ;
I pray you, let us satisfy our eyes
With the memorials and the things of fame
That do renown this city;
Antonio. Would you 'd pardon me !
I do not without danger walk these streets.
Once, in a sea-fight, 'gainst the count his galleys
I did some service ; of such note indeed
That were I ta'en here it would scarce be answer'd.
Sebastian. Belike you slew great number of his
people. A* v< \
Antonio. The offence is not of such a bloody
nature, 30
Albeit the quality of the time and quarrel
Might well have given us bloody argument.
It might have since been answer'd in repaying
What we took from them, which, for traffic's sake,
Most of our city did ; only myself stood out,
For which, if I be lapsed in this place, t~
I shall pay dear.
Sebastian. Do not then walk too open.
Antonio. It doth not fit me. Hold, sir, here 's my
purse.
84 Twelfth Night [Act m
In the south suburbs, at the Elephant,
Is best to lodge. I will bespeak our diet 40
Whiles you beguile the time and feed your knowledge
With viewing of the town ; there shall you have me.
Sebastian. Why I your purse ?
Antonio. Haply your eye shall light upon some toy
You have desire to purchase ; and your store,
I think, is not for idle markets, sir.
Sebastian. I '11 be your purse-bearer and leave you
For an hour.
Antonio. To the Elephant.
Sebastian. I do remember. '[Exeunt.
j
SCENE IV. Olivia's Garden
Enter OLIVIA and MARIA
Olivia. I have sent after him ; he says he '11 come.
How shall I feast him ? what bestow of him ?
For youth is bought more oft than begg'd or borrow'd.
I speak too loud.
Where is Malvolio ? he is sad and civil,
And suits well for a servant with my fortunes,
Where is Malvolio ?
Maria. He 's coming, madam, but in very strange
manner. He is, sure, possessed, madam.
Olivia.* W 7 hy, what 's the matter ? does he rave ? 10
Maria. No, madam, he does nothing but smile?
Your ladyship were best to have some guard about
you if he come, for, sure, the man is tainted in 's wits.
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 85
Olivia. Go call him hither. \Exit Maria.] I am
as mad as he,
If sad and merry madness equal be.
Re-enter MARIA with MALVOLIO
How now, Malvolio !
Malvolio. Sweet lady, ho, ho !
Olivia. Smilest thou ?
I sent for thee upon a sad occasion.
Malvolio. Sad, lady ! I could be sad ; this does 20
make some obstruction in the blood, this cross-gar-
tering, but what of that ? if it please the eye of one,
it is with me as the very true sonnet is, ' Please one,
and please all.'
Olivia. Why, how dost thou, man ? what is the
matter with thee ? ^
Malvolio. Not black in my mind, though yellow in my f
legs. It did come to his hands, and commands shall
be executed ; I think we do know the sweet Roman hand.
Olivia. Wilt thou go to bed, Maivolio ? 30
Malvolio. To bed ! ay, sweet-hear\and iXl come
to thee.
Olivia. God comfort thee ! Why dost thou smile
so and kiss thy hand so oft ?
Maria. How do you, Malvolio ?
Malvolio. At your request ! yes ; nightingales an-
swer daws.
Maria. Why appear you with this ridiculous bold-
ness before my lady ?
86 Twelfth Night [Actm
Malvolio. ' Be not afraid of greatness ; ' 't was 40
well writ.
Olivia. What meanest thou by that, Malvolio ?
Malvolio. ' Some are born great,'
Olivia. Ha!
Malvolio. ' Some achieve greatness,'
Olivia. What sayest thou ?
Malvolio. * And some have greatness thrust upon
them. 7
Olivia. Heaven restore thee !
Malvolio. ' Remember who commended thy yellow 50
stockings,'
Olivia. Thy yellow stockings !
Malvolio. ' And wished to see thee cross-gartered.'
Olivia. Cross-gartered !
Malvolio. ' Go to, thou art made, if thou desirest
to be so ;'
Olivia. Am I made
Malvolio. ' If not, let me see thee a servant
still.'
Olivia. Why, this is very midsummer madness. 60
Enter Servant
Servant. Madam, the young gentleman of the
Count Orsino's is returned ; I could hardly entreat
him back. He attends your ladyship's pleasure.
Olivia. I '11 come to him. [Exit Servant. ~] Good
Maria, let this fellow be looked to. Where 's my
cousin Toby ? Let some of my people have a special
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 87
care of him ; I would not have him miscarry for the
half of my dowry. \Exeunt Olivia and Maria.
Malvolio. O, ho ! do you come near me now ? no
worse man than Sir Toby to look to me ! This con- 70
curs directly with the letter ; she sends him on pur-
pose, that I may appear stubborn to him, for she
incites me to that in the letter. ' Cast thy humble
slough,' says she ; ' be opposite with a kinsman, surly
with servants ; let thy tongue tang with arguments
of state ; put thyself into the trick of singularity ; '
and consequently sets down the manner how : as, a
sad face, a reverend carriage, a slow tongue, in the
habit of some sir of note, and so forth. I have limed
her ; but it is Jove's doing, and Jove make me thank- 80
ful ! And when she went away now, ' Let this fellow
be looked to;' fellow! not Malvolio, nor after my
degree, but fellow. Why, every thing adheres to-
gether, that no dram of a scruple, no scruple of a
scruple, no obstacle, no incredulous or unsafe cir-
cumstance, what can be said? Nothing that can
be can come between me and the full prospect of my
hopes. Well, Jove, not I, is the doer of this, and he
is to be thanked.
Re-enter MARIA, with SIR TOBY and FABIAN
Sir Toby. Which way is he, in the name of 90
sanctity? If all the devils of hell be drawn in (
little and Legion himself possessed him, yet I '11
speak to him.
88 Twelfth Night [Act in
Fabian. Here he is, here he is. How is 't with
you, sir ? how is 't with you, man ?
Malvolio. Go off ; I discard you. Let me enjoy
my private ; go off.
Maria. Lo, how hollow the fiend speaks within
him ! did not I tell you ? Sir Toby, my lady prays
you to have a care of him. 100
Malvolio. Ah, ha! does she so?
Sir Toby. Go to, go to ; peace, peace ! we must
deal gently with him ; let me alone. How do you, r\
Malvolio ? how is 't with you ? What, man ! defy '
the devil ; consider, he 's an enemy to mankind.
Malvolio. Do you know what you say ?
Maria. La you, an you speak ill of the devil, how
he takes it at heart ! Pray God, he be not be-
witched !
Fabian. Carry his water to the wise woman. no
Maria. Marry, and it shall be done to-morrow
morning, if I live. My lady would not lose him for
more than I '11 say.
Malvolio. How now, mistress !
Maria. O Lord !
Sir Toby. Prithee, hold thy peace ; this is not
the way ; do you not see you move him ? let me
alone with him.
Fabian. No way but gentleness ; gently, gently !
the fiend is rough and will not be roughly used. 120
Sir Toby. Why, how now, my bawcock 1 how dost
thou, chuck?
Scene IV] Twelfth Night $f
Malvolio. Sir!
Sir Toby. Ay, Biddy, come with me. What, man ! /
't is not for gravity to play at cherry-pit with Satan.
Hang him, foul collier !
Maria. Get him to say his prayers, good Sir
Toby, get him to pray.
Malvolio. My prayers, minx !
Maria. No, I warrant you, he will not hear of 130
godliness.
Malvolio. Go, hang yourselves all ! you are idle
shallow things. I am not of your element ; you
shall know more hereafter. \Exit.
Sir Toby. Is 't possible ?
Fabian. If this were played upon a stage now, I
could condemn it as an improbable fiction.
Sir Toby. His very genius hath taken the infection
of the device, man.
Maria. Nay, pursue him now, lest the device take 140
air and taint.
Fabian. Why, we shall make him mad indeed.
Maria. The house will be the quieter.
Sir Toby. Come, we '11 have him in a dark room
and bound. My niece is already in the belief that
he 's mad. We may carry it thus, for our pleasure
and his penance, till our very pastime, tired out ^
of breath, prompt us to have mercy on him ; at
which time we will bring the device to the bar, and
crown thee for a finder of madmen. But see, but 150
see.
90 Twelfth Night [Actm
Enter SIR ANDREW
Fabian. More matter for a May morning.
Sir Andrew. Here 's the challenge, read it ; I
warrant there 's vinegar and pepper in 't.
Fabian. Is 't so saucy ?
Sir Andrew. Ay, is \ I warrant him ; do but read.
Sir Toby. Give me. [Reads] ' Youth, whatever thou
art, thou art but a scurvy fellow.''
Fabian. Good, and valiant.
Sir Toby. [Reads] ' Wonder not, nor admire not in 160
thy mind, why I do call thee so, for I will show thee no
reason for '/.'
Fabian. A good note ; that keeps you from the
blow of the law.
Sir Toby. [Reads] * Thou earnest to the Lady Olivia,
and in my sight she uses thee kindly. But thou liest in
thy throat ; that is not the matter I challenge thee for?
Fabian. Very brief, and to exceeding good sense
less.
Sir Toby. [Reads] * 2 'will waylay thee going home, 170
where if it be thy chance to kill me?
Fabian. Good.
Sir Toby. [Reads] ' Thou killest me like a rogue and
a villain}
Fabian. Still you keep o' the windy side of the law ;
good.
Sir Toby. [Reads] ' Fare thee well ; and God have
mercy upon one of our souls ! He may have mercy
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 91
upon mine ; but my hope is better, and so look to thy-
self. Thy friend, as thou usest him, and thy sworn 180
enemy, ANDREW AGUECHEEK.'
If this letter move him not, his legs cannot ; I '11
give 't him.
Maria. You may have very fit occasion for 't ; he
is now in some commerce with my lady, and will
by and by depart.
Sir Toby. Go, Sir Andrew ; scout me for him at ^
the corner of the orchard like a bum-baily. So soon \
as ever thou seest him, draw, and, as thou drawest,
swear horrible ; for it comes to pass oft that a terri- 190
ble oath, with a swaggering accent sharply twanged
off, gives manhood more approbation than ever
proof itself would have earned him. Away !
Sir Andrew. Nay, let me alone for swearing. \_Exit.
Sir Toby. Now will not I deliver his letter, for the
behaviour of the young gentleman gives him out to
be of good capacity and breeding ; his employment
between his lord and my niece confirms no less.
Therefore this letter, being so excellently ignorant,
will breed no terror in the youth ; he will find it 200
comes from a clodpole. But, sir, I will deliver his
challenge by word of mouth, set upon Aguecheek a
notable report of valour, and drive the gentleman, as
I know his youth will aptly receive it, into a most
hideous opinion of his rage, skill, fury, and impetu-
osity. This will so fright them both that they will
kill one another by the look, like cockatrices.
92 Twelfth Night [Act m
Re-enter OLIVIA with VIOLA
Fabian. Here he comes with your niece ; give
them way till he take leave, and presently after him.
Sir Toby. I will meditate the while upon some 210
horrid message for a challenge.
\Exeunt Sir Toby, Fabian, and Maria.
Olivia. I have said too much unto a heart of
stone,
And laid mine honour too unchary on 't.
There 's something in me that reproves my fault,
But such a headstrong potent fault it is
That it but mocks reproof.
Viola. With the same haviour that your passion
bears
Goes on my master's grief.
Olivia. Here, wear this jewel for me, 't is my picture.
' Refuse it not, it hath no tongue to vex you ; 220
And I beseech you come again to-morrow.
What shall you ask of me that I '11 deny,
That honour sav'd may upon asking give ?
Viola. Nothing but this, your true love for my
master.
Olivia. How with mine honour may I give him that
Which I have given to you ?
Viola. I will acquit you.
Olivia. Well, come again to-morrow. Fare thee
well ;
A fiend like thee might bear my soul to hell. \Exit.
>
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 93
Re-enter SIR TOBY and FABIAN
Sir Toby. Gentleman, God save thee.
Viola. And you, sir. 230
Sir Toby. That defence thou hast, betake thee
to 't. Of what nature the wrongs are thou hast done
him, I know not ; but thy intercepter, full of despite,
bloody as the hunter, attends thee at the orchard-end, ft
Dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for 1
thy assailant is quick, skilful, and deadly.
Viola. You mistake, sir, I am sure no man hath
any quarrel to me ; my remembrance is very free and
clear from any image of offence done to any man.
Sir Toby. You '11 find it otherwise, I assure you ; 240
therefore, if you hold your life at any price, betake
you to your guard, for your opposite hath in him what
youth, strength, skill, and wrath can furnish man
withal.
Viola. I pray you, sir, what is he ?
Sir Toby. He is knight, dubbed with unhatched
rapier and on carpet consideration, but he is a devil
in private brawl ; souls and bodies hath he divorced
three, and his incensement at this moment is so im-
placable that satisfaction can be none but by pangs 250
of death and sepulchre. Hob, nob, is his word ;
give 't or take 't.
Viola. I will return again into the house and desire
some conduct of the lady. I am no fighter. I have
heard of some kind of men that put quarrels pur-
94 Twelfth Night [Actm
posely on others, to taste their valour ; belike this is
a man of that quirk.
Sir Toby. Sir, no ; his indignation derives itself out
of a very competent injury ; therefore, get you on and
give him his desire. Back you shall not to the house, 260
unless you undertake that with me which with as
much safety you might answer him ; therefore, on, or
strip your sword stark naked, for meddle you must,
that 's certain, or forswear to wear iron about you.
Viola. This is as uncivil as strange. I beseech
you, do me this courteous office, as to know of the
knight what my offence to him is ; it is something
of my negligence, nothing of my purpose.
Sir Toby. I will do so. Signior Fabian, stay you
by this gentleman till my return. [Exit. 270
Viola. Pray you, sir, do you know of this matter ?
Fabian. I know the knight is incensed against you,
even to a mortal arbitrement, but nothing of the cir-
cumstance more.
Viola. I beseech you, what manner of man is
he?
Fabian. Nothing of that wonderful promise, to read
him by his form, as you are like to find him in the
proof of his valour. He is, indeed, sir, the most
skilful, bloody, and fatal opposite that you could 280
possibly have found in any part of Illyria. Will you
walk towards him ? I will make your peace with him
if I can.
Viola. I shall be much bound to you for 't. I am
Scene iv] Twelfth Night 95
one that had rather go with sir priest than sir knight ;
I care not who knows so much of my mettle. \Exeunt.
Re-enter SIR TOBY, with SIR ANDREW
Sir Toby. Why, man, he 's a very devil ; I have not
seen such a firago. I had a pass with him, rapier,
scabbard, and all, and he gives me the stuck in with
such a mortal motion that it is inevitable ; and on the 290
answer, he pays you as surely as your feet hit the
ground they step on. They say he has been fencer
to the Sophy.
Sir Andrew. Pox on 't, I '11 not meddle with him.
Sir Toby. Ay, but he will not now be pacified;
Fabian can scarce hold him yonder.
Sir Andrew. Plague on 't, an I thought he had
been valiant and so cunning in fence, I 'd have sen
him damned ere I 'd have challenged him. Let him
let the matter slip, and I '11 give him my horse, grey 300
Capilet.
Sir Toby. I '11 make the motion. Stand here, make
a good show on 't ; this shall end without the perdir
tion of souls. [Aside] Marry, I '11 ride your horse as
well as I ride you.
Re-enter FABIAN and VIOLA
\To Fabian] I have his horse to take up the quarrel ;
I have persuaded him the youth 's a devil.
Fabian. He is as horribly conceited of him, and
pants and looks pale, as if a bear were at his heels.
96 Twelfth Night [Actm
Sir Toby. \To Viola~\ There 's no remedy, sir; he 310
will fight with you for 's oath sake. Marry, he hath
better bethought him of his quarrel, and he finds that
now scarce to be worth talking of ; therefore draw,
for the supportance of his vow ; he protests he will
not hurt you.
Viola. \Aside\ Pray God defend me 1 A little
thing would make me tell them how much I lack
of a man.
Fabian. Give ground, if you see him furious.
Sir Toby. Come, Sir Andrew, there 's no remedy ; 320
the gentleman will, for his honour's sake, have one
bout with you. He cannot by the duello avoid it ;
but he has promised me, as he is a gentleman and a
soldier, he will not hurt you. Come on ; to 't.
Sir Andrew. Pray God, he keep his oath 1
Viola. I do assure you, 't is against my will. \They
draw.
Enter ANTONIO
Antonio. Put up your sword. If this young gentle-
man
Have done offence, I take the fault on me ;
If you offend him, I for him defy you.
Sir Toby. You, sir ! why, what are you ? 330
Antonio. One, sir, that for his love dares yet do
more
Than you have heard him brag to you he will.
Sir Toby. Nay, if you be an undertaker, I am
for you. [They draw.
Scene IV] * Twelfth Night 97
Enter Officers
Fabian. O good Sir Toby, hold ! here come the
officers.
Sir Toby. I '11 be with you anon.
Viola. Pray, sir, put your sword up, if you please.
Sir Andrew. Marry, will I, sir, and, for that I
promised you, I '11 be as good as my word ; he will
bear you easily and reins well. 341
1 Officer. This is the man ; do thy office.
2 Officer. Antonio, I arrest thee at the suit of
Count Orsino.
Antonio. You do mistake me, sir.
1 Officer. No, sir, no jot ; I know your favour well,
Though now you have no sea-cap on your head.
Take him away ; he knows I know him well.
Antonio. I must obey. \To Viold\ This comes with
seeking you.
But there 's no remedy ; I shall answer it. 350
What will you do, now my necessity
Makes me to ask you for my purse ? It grieves me
Much more for what I cannot do for you
Than what befalls myself. You stand amaz'd ;
But be of comfort.
2 Officer. Come, sir, away.
Antonio. I must entreat of you some of that money.
Viola. What money, sir ?
For the fair kindness you have show'd me here, 359
And, part, being prompted by your present trouble,
TWELFTH NIGHT 7
98 Twelfth Night - [Act ill
Out of my lean and low ability
I '11 lend you something. My having is not much ;
I '11 make division of my present with you.
Hold, there 's half my coffer.
Antonio. Will you deny me now ?
Is 't possible that my deserts to you
Can lack persuasion ? Do not tempt my misery,
Lest that it make me so unsound a man
As to upbraid you with those kindnesses
That I have done for you.
Viola. I know of none,
Nor know I you by voice or any feature. 370
I hate ingratitude more in a man
Than lying, vainness, babbling drunkenness,
Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption
Inhabits our frail blood.
Antonio. O heavens themselves t
2 Officer. Come, sir, I pray you, go.
Antonio. Let me speak a little. This youth that you
see here
I snatch'd one half out of the jaws of death,
Reliev'd him with such sanctity of love,
And to his image, which methought did promise
Most venerable worth, did I devotion. 380
i Officer. What 's that to us ? The time goes by ;
away!
Antonio. But, O, how vile an idol proves this god !
Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature shame.
In nature there 's no blemish but the mind ;
Scene IV] Twelfth Night 99
None can be call'd deform 'd but the unkind.
Virtue is beauty, but the beauteous-evil
Are empty trunks o'erflourish'd by the devil.
i Officer. The man grows mad ; away with him !
Come, come, sir.
Antonio. Lead me on. \_Exit with Officers.
Viola. Methinks his words do from such passion
fly 391
That he believes himself ; so do not I.
Prove true, imagination, O, prove true,
That I, dear brother, be now ta'en for you !
Sir Toby. Come hither, knight, come hither,
Fabian ; we '11 whisper o'er a couplet or two of
most sage saws.
Viola. He nam'd Sebastian. I my brother know J
Yet living in my glass ; even such and so
In favour was my brother, and he went 400
Still in this fashion, colour, ornament,
For him I imitate. O, if it prove,
Tempests are kind, and salt waves fresh in love!
{Exit.
Sir Toby. A very dishonest, paltry boy, and more
a coward than a hare ; his dishonesty appears in
leaving his friend here in necessity and denying
him, and for his cowardship, ask Fabian. %
Fabian. A coward, a most devout coward, religious ^
in it. 409
Sir Andrew. 'Slid, I '11 after him again and beat
him.
ioo Twelfth Night [Act m
Sir Toby. Do ; cuff him soundly, but never draw
thy sword.
Sir Andrew. An I do not, \Exit.
Fabian. Come, let 's see the event.
Sir Toby. I dare lay any money 't will be nothing
yet. [Exeunt.
PROPERTY OF
EPARTME
ACT IV
SCENE I. Before Olivia's House
Enter SEBASTIAN and Clown
Clown. Will you make me believe I am not sent
for you ?
Sebastian. Go to, go to, thou art a foolish fellow ;
Let me be clear of thee.
Clown. Well held out, i' faith ! No, I do not know
you ; nor I am not sent to you by my lady, to bid
you come speak with her ; nor your name is not
Master Cesario ; nor this is not my nose neither.
Nothing that is so is so.
Sebastian. I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else ;
Thou know'st not me. n
10 r
102 Twelfth Night [Activ
Clown. Vent my folly ! he has heard that word of
some great man, and now applies it to a fool. Vent r*>
my folly ! I am afraid this great lubber, the world,
will prove a cockney. I prithee now, ungird thy
strangeness, and tell me what I shall vent to my
lady ; shall I vent to her that thou art coming ? ^
Sebastian. I prithee, foolish Greek, depart from me. ^
There 's money for thee ; if you tarry longer,
I shall give worse payment. 20
Clown. By my troth, thou hast an open hand.
T^se wise men that give fools money get them- w
selves a good* report after fourteen years' pur- ^
chase.
Enter SIR ANDREW, SIR TOBY, and FABIAN
Sir Andrew. Now, sir, have I met you again ?
there 's for you.
Sebastian. Why, there 's for thee, and there, and
there, and there.
Are all the people mad ?
Sir Toby. Hold, sir, or I '11 throw your dagger
o'er the house. 3
Clown. This will I tell my lady straight ; I would
not be in some of your coats for two pence. [Exit.
Sir Toby. Come on, sir ; hold.
Sir Andrew. Nay, let him alone. I '11 go another
way to work with him ; I '11 have an action of battery
against him, if there be any law in Illyria. Though
I struck him first, yet it 's no matter for that.
Scene I] Twelfth Night 103
Sebastian. Let go thy hand.
Sir Toby. Come, sir, I will not let you go. Come, 3
my young soldier, put up your iron. You are well 40
fleshed ; come on.
Sebastian. I will be free from thee. What wouldst
thou now ?
If thou dar'st tempt me further, draw thy sword.
Sir Toby. What, what ? Nay, then I must have
an ounce or two of this malapert blood from you.
Enter OLIVIA
Olivia. Hold, Toby ; on thy life I charge thee, hold !
Sir Toby. Madam !
Olivia. Will it be ever thus ? Ungracious wretch,
Fit for the mountains and the barbarous caves
Where manners ne'er were preach'd ! out of my
sight ! 50
Be not offended, dear Cesario.
Rudesby, be gone !
\Exeunt Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian.
I prithee, gentle friend,
Let thy fair wisdom, not thy passion, sway
In this uncivil and unjust extent
Against thy peace. Go with me to my house,
And hear thou there how many fruitless pranks
This ruffian hath botch 'd up, that thou thereby
Mayst smile at this. Thou shalt not choose but go ;
Do not deny. Beshrew his soul for me,
He started one poor heart of mine in thee. 60
104 Twelfth Night [Activ
Sebastian. What relish is in this ? how runs the
stream ?
Or I am mad, or else this is a dream.
Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep ;
If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep !
Olivia. Nay, come, I prithee ; would thou 'dst be
rul'd by me !
Sebastian. Madam, I will.
Olivia. O, say so, and so be ! [Exeunt.
SCENE II. Olivia's House
'Enter MARIA and Clown
Maria. Nay, I prithee, put on this gown and this
beard, make him believe thou art Sir Topas the curate.
Do it quickly ; I '11 call Sir Toby the whilst. [Exit.
Clown. Well, I '11 put it on, and I will dissemble
myself in 't ; and I would I were the first that ever
dissembled in such a gown. I am not tall enough to
become the function well, nor lean enough to be
thought a good student ; but to be said an honest
man and a good housekeeper goes as fairly as to say
a careful man and a great scholar. The competitors 10
enter.
Enter SIR TOBY and MARIA
Sir Toby. Jove bless thee, master Parson.
Clown. Bonos dies, Sir Toby ; for, as the old her-
mit of Prague that never saw pen and ink very wittily
said to a niece of King Gorboduc, * That that is is,'
Scene II] Twelfth Night 105
so I, being master Parson, am master Parson ; for,
what is that but that, and is but is ?
Sir Toby. To him, Sir Topas.
Clown. What, ho, I say ! peace in this prison !
Sir Toby. The knave counterfeits well ; a good 20
knave !
Malvolio. \Within\ Who calls there ?
Clown. Sir Topas the curate, who comes to visit
Malvolio the lunatic.
Malvolio. Sir Topas, Sir Topas, good Sir Topas,
go to my lady.
Clown. Out, hyperbolical fiend 1 how vexest thou
this man ! talkest thou nothing but of ladies ?
Sir Toby. Well said, master Parson.
Malvolio. Sir Topas, never was man thus wronged. 30
Good Sir Topas, do not think I am mad ; they have
laid me here in hideous darkness.
Clown. Fie, thou dishonest Satan ! I call thee by
the most modest terms, for I am one of those gentle
ones that will use the devil himself with courtesy ;
sayest thou that house is dark ?
Malvolio. As hell, Sir Topas.
Clown. Why, it hath bay-windows transparent as
barricadoes, and the clear-stores towards the south-
north are as lustrous as ebony ; and yet com plainest 40
thou of obstruction ?
Malvolio. I am not mad, Sir Topas ; I say to you,
this house is dark.
Clown. Madman, thou errest; I say, there is no
io6 Twelfth Night [Activ
darkness but ignorance, in which thou art more
puzzled than the Egyptians in their fog.
Malvolio. I say this house is as dark as ignorance,
though ignorance were as dark as hell ; and I say
there was never man thus abused. I am no more
mad than you are ; make the trial of it in any con- 50
stant question.
Clown. What is the opinion of Pythagoras con-
cerning wild fowl ?
Malvolio. That the soul of our grandam might
happily inhabit a bird.
Clown. What thinkest thou of his opinion ?
Malvolio. I think nobly of the soul, and no way
approve his opinion.
Clown. Fare thee well. Remain thou still in
darkness ; thou shalt hold the opinion of Pythagoras 60
ere I will allow of thy wits, and fear to kill a wood-
cock lest thou dispossess the soul of thy grandam.
Fare thee well.
Malvolio. Sir Topas, Sir Topas !
Sir Toby. My most exquisite Sir Topas !
Clown. Nay, I am for all waters.
Maria. Thou mightst have done this without thy
beard and gown ; he sees thee not.
Sir Toby. To him in thine own voice, and bring
me word how thou findest him ; I would we were 70
well rid of this knavery. If he may be conveniently
delivered, I would he were, for I am now so far in
offence with my niece that I cannot pursue with any
Scene II] Twelfth Night 107
safety this sport to the upshot. Come by and by to
my chamber. \Exeunt Sir Toby and Maria.
Clown. [Singing] 'Hey, Robin, jolly Robin,
Tell me how thy lady does?
Malvolio. Fool !
Clown. ' My lady is unkind, per dy?
Malvolio. Fool ! 80
Clown. ' Alas, why is she so ? '
Malvolio. Fool, I say.
Clown. * She loves another ' Who calls, ha ?
Malvolio. Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well
at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink, and
paper ; as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thank-
ful to thee for 't.
Clown. Master Malvolio ?
Malvolio. Ay, good fool.
Clown. Alas, sir, how fell you besides your five 90
wits?
Malvolio. Fool, there was never man so notori-
ously abused ; I am as well in my wits, fool, as thou art.
Clown. But as well ? then you are mad indeed, if
you be no better in your wits than a fool.
Malvolio. They have here propertied me ; keep me
in darkness, send ministers to me, asses, and do all
they can to face me out of my wits.
Clown. Advise you what you say ; the minister is
here. Malvolio, Malvolio, thy wits the heavens 100
restore ! endeavour thyself to sleep, and leave thy
vain bibble babble.
io8 Twelfth Night [Activ
Malvolio. Sir Topas 1
Clown. Maintain no words with him, good fellow.
Who, I, sir ? not I, sir. God be wi' you, good Sir
Topas. Marry, amen. I will, sir, I will.
Malvolio. Fool, fool, fool, I say !
Clown. Alas, sir, be patient. What say you, sir ?
I am shent for speaking to you.
Malvolio. Good fool, help me to some light and no
some paper ; I tell thee, I am as well in my wits as
any man in Illyria.
Clown. Well-a-day that you were, sir !
Malvolio. By this hand, I am. . Good fool, some
ink, paper, and light ; and convey what I will set
down to my lady. It shall advantage thee more
than ever the bearing of letter did.
Clown. I will help you to 't. But tell me true, are
you not mad indeed ? or do you but counterfeit ?
Malvolio. Believe -me I am not; I tell thee true. 120
Clown. Nay, I '11 ne'er believe a madman till I see
his brains. I will fetch you light and paper and ink.
Malvolio. Fool, I '11 requite it in the highest de-
gree; I prithee, be gone.
Clown. [Singing]
/ am gone, sir,
And anon, sir,
1 7/ be with you again
In a trice,
Like to the old Vice, 130
Your need to sustain ;
Scene III]
Twelfth Night
109
Who, with dagger of lath,
In his rage and his wrath,
Cries, ah, ha ! to the devil:
Like a mad lad,
Pare thy nails, dad ;
Adieu, goodman devil. [Exit.
SCENE III. Olivia's Garden
Enter SEBASTIAN
Sebastian. This is the air ; that is the glorious
sun;
This pearl she gave me, I do feel 't and see 't ;
And though 't is wonder that enwraps me thus,
Yet 't is not madness. Where 's Antonio, then ?
I could not find him at the Elephant ;
Yet there he was, and there I found this credit,
That he did range the town to seek me out.
His counsel now might do me golden service,
For though my soul disputes well with my sense ^
That this may be some error, but no madness, 10
Yet doth this accident and flood of fortune
So far exceed all instance, all discourse,
That I am ready to distrust mine eyes
And wrangle with my reason that persuades me
To any other trust but that I am mad
Or else the lady 's mad ; yet, if 't were so,
She could not sway her house, command her fol-
lowers,
no Twelfth Night [Activ
Take and give back affairs and their dispatch
With such a smooth, discreet, and stable bearing
As I perceive she does. There 's something in 't 20
That is deceivable. But here the lady comes.
Enter OLIVIA and Priest
Olivia. Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean
well,
Now go with me and with this holy man
Into the chantry by ; there, before him,
And underneath that consecrated roof,
Plight me the full assurance of your faith,
That my most jealous and too doubtful soul
May live at peace. He shall conceal it
Whiles you are willing it shall come to note,
What time we will our celebration keep 30
According to my birth. What do you say ?
Sebastian. I '11 follow this good man and go with
you,
And, having sworn truth, ever will be true.
Olivia. Then lead the way, good father ; and
heavens so shine,
That they may fairly note this act of mine ! \_Exeunt.
'ENTER PRIEST'
ACT V
SCENE I. Before Olivia's House
Enter Clown and FABIAN
Fabian. Now, as thou lovest me, let me see his
letter.
Clown. Good Master Fabian, grant me another
request.
Fabian. Any thing.
Clown. Do not desire to see this letter.
Fabia7i. This is, to give a dog, and in recom-
pense desire my dog again.
in
1 12 Twelfth Night [Actv
Enter DUKE, VIOLA, CURIO, and Lords
Duke. Belong you to the Lady Olivia, friends ?
Clown. Ay, sir ; we are some of her trappings. 10
Duke. I know thee well ; how dost thou, my good
fellow ?
Clown. Truly, sir, the better for my foes and the
worse for my friends.
Duke. Just the contrary ; the better for thy
friends.
Clown. No, sir, the worse.
Duke. How can that be ?
Clown. Marry, sir, they praise me and make an
ass of me ; now my foes tell me plainly I am an ass. 20
So that by my foes, sir, I profit in the knowledge of
myself, and by my friends I am abused ; so that,
conclusions to be as kisses, if your four negatives
make your two affirmatives, why then, the worse for
my friends and the better for my foes.
Duke. Why, this is excellent.
Clown. By my troth, sir, no ; though it please you
to be one of my friends.
Duke. Thou shalt not be the worse for me ; there's
gold. 30
Clown. But that it would be double-dealing, sir, I
would you could make it another.
Duke. O, you give me ill counsel.
Clown. Put your grace in your pocket, sir, for this f
once, and let your flesh and blood obey it.
Scene I] Twelfth Night I IJ
Duke. Well, I will be so much a sinner to be a
double-dealer ; there 's another.
Clown. Primo, secundo, tertio, is a good play, and ^
the old saying is, the third pays for all. The triplex,
sir, is a good tripping measure ; or the bells of Saint 40
Bennet, sir, may put you in mind, one, two, three.
Duke. You can fool no more money out of me at
this throw ; if you will let your lady know I am here
to speak with her, and bring her along with you, it v
may awake my bounty further.
Clown. Marry, sir, lullaby to your bounty till I
come again. I go, sir, but I would not have you to
think that my desire of having is the sin of covetous-
ness ; but, as you say, sir, let your bounty take a
nap, I will awake it anon. [Exit. 50
Viola. Here comes the man, sir, that did rescue me.
Enter ANTONIO and Officers
Duke. That face of his I do remember well v ;
Yet, when I saw it last, it was besmear'd
As black as Vulcan in the smoke of war.
A bawbling vessel was he captain of,
For shallow draught and bulk unprizable,
With which such scathful grapple did he make
With the most noble bottom of our fleet
That very envy and the tongue of loss 59
Cried fame and honour on him. What's the matter?
i Officer. Orsino, this is that Antonio
That took the Phoenix and her fraught from Candy;
TWELFTH NIGHT 8
H4 Twelfth Night [Act V
And this is he that did the Tiger board,
When your young nephew Titus lost his leg.
Here in the streets, desperate of shame and state,
In private brabble did we apprehend him.
Viola. He did me kindness, sir, drew on my side,
But in conclusion put strange speech upon me.
I know not what 't was but distraction.
Duke. Notable pirate ! thou salt-water thief ! 70
What foolish boldness brought thee to their mercies
Whom thou, in terms so bloody and so dear,
Hast made thine enemies ?
Antonio. Orsirio, noble sir,
Be pleas 'd that I shake off these names you give me ;
Antonio never yet was thief or pirate,
Though I confess, on base and ground enough,
Orsino's enemy. A witchcraft drew me hither.
That most ingrateful boy there by your side,
From the rude sea's enrag'd and foamy mouth
Did I redeem ; a wrack past hope he was. 80
His life I gave him, and did thereto add
My love, without retention or restraint,
All his in dedication ; for his sake
Did I expose myself, pure for his love,
Into the danger of this adverse town,
Drew to defend him when he was beset, ,
Where being apprehended, his fafee cunning,
Not meaning to partake with me ifi danger,
Taught him to face me out of his aequaintance,
And grew a twenty-years-removed thing 9 , 90
Scene I] Twelfth Night 115
While one would wink, denied me mine own purse
Which I had recommended to his use
Not half an hour before.
Viola. How can this be ?
Duke. When came he to this town ?
Antonio. To-day, my lord ; and for three months
before,
No interim, not a minute's vacancy,
Both day and night did we keep company.
Enter OLIVIA and Attendants
Duke. Here comes the countess ; now heaven walks
on earth.
But for thee, fellow, fellow, thy words are madness.
Three months this youth hath tended upon me ; 100
But more of that anon. Take him aside.
Olivia. What would my lord, but that he may not
have,
Wherein Olivia may seem serviceable ?
Cesario, you do not keep promise with me.
Viola. Madam !
Duke. Gracious Olivia,
Olivia. What do you say, Cesario ? Good my
lord,
Viola. My lord would speak, my duty hushes me.
Olivia. If it be aught to the old tune, my lord,
It is as fat and fulsome to mine ear no
As howling after music.
Duke. Still so cruel ?
n6 Twelfth Night [Actv
Olivia. Still so constant, lord.
Duke. What, to perverseness ? you uncivil lady,
To whose ingrate and un auspicious altars
My soul the faithfulPst offerings hath breath'd out
That e'er devotion tender'd I What shall I do ?
Olivia. Even what it please my lord, that shall be-
come him.
Duke. Why should I not, had I the heart to do it,
Like to the Egyptian thief at point of death,
Kill what I love ? a savage jealousy 120
That sometime savours nobly. But hear me this :
Since you to non-regardance cast my faith,
And that I partly know the instrument
That screws me from my true place in your favour,
Live you the marble-breasted tyrant still ;
But this your minion, whom I know you love,
And whom, by heaven I swear, I tender dearly,
Him will I tear out of that cruel eye
Where he sits crowned in his master's spite.
Come, boy, with me ; my thoughts are ripe in mis-
chief. 130
I '11 sacrifice the lamb that I do love,
To spite a raven's heart within a dove.
Viola. And I, most jocund, apt, and willingly,
To do you rest, a thousand deaths would die.
Olivia. Where goes Cesario ?
Viola. After him I love
More than I love these eyes, more than my life,
More, by all mores, than e'er I shall love wife.
Scene I] Twelfth Night 117
If I do feign, you witnesses above
Punish my life for tainting of my love !
Olivia. Ay me, detested ! how am I beguil'd I 140
Viola. Who does beguile you? who does do you
wrong ?
Olivia. Hast thou forgot thyself! is it so long?
Call forth the holy father.
Duke. Come, away 1
Olivia. Whither, my lord ? Cesario, husband, stay.
Duke. Husband !
Olivia. Ay, husband ; can he that deny ?
Duke. Her husband, sirrah !
Viola. No, my lord, not I.
Olivia. Alas, it is the baseness of thy fear
That makes thee strangle thy propriety !
Fear not, Cesario, take thy fortunes up ;
Be that thou know'st thou art, and then thou art 150
As great as that thou fear'st.
Enter Priest
O, welcome, father 1
Father, I charge thee, by thy reverence,
Here to unfold, though lately we intended
To keep in darkness what occasion now
Reveals before 7 t is ripe, what thou dost know
Hath newly pass'd between this youth and me.
Priest. A contract of eternal bond of love,
Confirm'd by mutual joinder of your hands,
Attested by the holy close of lips,
iiS Twelfth Night [Actv
Strengthen'd by interchangement of your rings, 160
And all the ceremony of this compact
Seal'd in my function, by my testimony;
Since when, my watch hath told me, toward my
grave
I have travell'd but two hours.
Duke. O thou dissembling cub ! what wilt thou be
When time hath sow'd a grizzle on thy case ?
Or will not else thy craft so quickly grow,
That thine own trip shall be thine overthrow ?
Farewell, and take her ; but direct thy feet
Where thou and I henceforth may never meet. 170
Viola. My lord, I do protest
Olivia. O, do not swear !
Hold little faith, though thou hast too much fear.
Enter SIR ANDREW
Sir Andrew. For the love of God, a surgeon !
Send one presently to Sir Toby.
Olivia. What 's the matter ?
Sir Andrew. He has broke my head across and ^
has given Sir Toby a bloody coxcomb too ; for the
love of God, your help ! I had rather than forty
pound I were at home.
Olivia. Who has done this, Sir Andrew ? 180
Sir Andrew. The count's gentleman, one Cesario ;
we took him for a coward, but he 's the very devil
incardinate.
Duke. My gentleman, Cesario ?
Scene I] Twelfth Night 1 1 9
Sir Andrew. 'Od's lifelings, here he is ! You
broke my head for nothing ; and that that I did, I
was set on to do 't by Sir Toby.
Viola. Why do you speak to me ? I never hurt
you ;
You drew your sword upon me without cause,
But I bespake you fair and hurt you not. 190
Sir Andrew. If a bloody coxcomb be a hurt, you
have hurt me ; I think you set nothing by a bloody
coxcomb.
Enter SIR TOBY and Clown
Here comes Sir Toby halting ; you shall hear more ;
but if he had not been in drink, he would have
tickled you othergates than he did.
Duke. How now, gentleman ! how is 't with you ?
Sir Toby. That 's all one ; he has hurt me, and
there 's the end on 't. Sot, didst see Dick surgeon,
SOt ? 200
Clown. O, he 's drunk, Sir Toby, an hour agone ;
his eyes were set at eight i' the morning.
Sir Toby. Then he 's a rogue, and a passy-measures
pavin. I hate a drunken rogue.
Olivia. Away with him ! Who hath made this
havoc with them ?
Sir Andrew. I '11 help you, Sir Toby, because
we '11 be dressed together.
Sir Toby. Will you help ? an ass-head and a cox-
comb and a knave, a thin-faced knave, a gull !
120 Twelfth Night [Actv
Olivia. Get him to bed, and let his hurt be look'd
tO. 210
[Exeunt Clown, Fabian, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew.
Enter SEBASTIAN
Sebastian. I am sorry, madam, I have hurt your
kinsman,
But, had it been the brother of my blood,
I must have done no less with wit and safety.
You throw a strange regard upon me, and by that
I do perceive it hath offended you.
Pardon me, sweet one, even for the vows
We made each other but so late ago.
Duke. One face, one voice, one habit, and two
persons,
A natural perspective, that is and is not!
Sebastian. Antonio, O my dear Antonio ! 220
How have the hours rack'd and tortur'd me
Since I have lost thee !
Antonio. Sebastian are you ?
Sebastian. Fear'st thou that, Antonio ?
Antonio. How have you made division of your-
self ?-
An apple, cleft in two, is not more twin
Than these two creatures. Which is Sebastian ?
Olivia. Most wonderful !
Sebastian. Do I stand there? I never had a
brother ;
Nor can there be that deity in my nature,
Scene I] Twelfth Night 121
Of here and every where. I had a sister, 230
Whom the blind waves and surges have devour'd.
Of charity, what kin are you to me ?
What countryman ? what name ? what, parentage ?
Viola. Of Messaline. Sebastian was my father ;
Such a Sebastian was my brother too,
So went he suited to his watery tomb.
If spirits can assume both form and suit,
You come to fright us.
Sebastian. A spirit I am indeed ;
But am in that dimension grossly clad ")
Which from the womb I did participate. 240
Were you a woman, as the rest goes even,
I should my tears let fall upon your cheek,
And say, Thrice-welcome, drowned Viola !
Viola. My father had a mole upon his brow.
Sebastian. And so had mine.
Viola. And died that day when Viola from her
birth
Had number'd thirteen years.
Sebastian. O, that record is lively in my soul !
He finished indeed his mortal act
That day that made my sister thirteen years. 250
Viola. If nothing lets to make us happy both
But this my masculine usurp'd attire,
Do not embrace me till each circumstance
Of place, time, fortune, do cohere and jump
That I am Viola ; which to confirm,
I '11 bring you to a captain in this town,
122 Twelfth Night [Actv
Where lie my maiden weeds, by whose gentle help
I was preserv'd to serve this noble count.
All the occurrence of my fortune since
Math been between this lady and this lord. 260
Sebastian [To Olivia} So comes it, lady, you have
been mistook ;
But nature to her bias drew in that.
You wou]fjL .hf&r been contracted to a maid ;
Nor are you therein, by my life, deceiv'd,
You are betroth'd both to a maid and man.
Duke. Be not amaz'd ; right noble is his blood.
If this be so, as yet the glass seems true,
I shall have share in this most happy wrack.
[To Viola} Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand
times
Thou never shouldst love woman like to me. 270
Viola. And all those sayings will I over-swear,
And all those swearings keep as true in soul
As doth that orbed continent the fire
That severs day from night.
Duke. Give me thy hand,
And let me see thee in thy woman's weeds.
Viola. The captain that did bring me first on
shore
Hath my maid's garments ; he upon some action
Is now in durance, at Malvolio's suit, \
A gentleman, ajid follower of my lady's.
Olivia. |& shall enlarge him, Fetch Malvolio
hither \ 280
Scene I] Twelfth Night 123
And yet, alas, now I remember me,
They say, poor gentleman, he 's much distract.
Re-enter Clown with a letter, and FABIAN
A most extracting frenzy of mine own
From my remembrance clearly banish 'd his.-
How does he, sirrah ?
Clown. Truly, madam, he holds Belzebub at the
stave's end as well as a man in his case may do.
He has here writ a letter to you ; I should have
given 't you to-day morning, but as a madman's
epistles are no gospels, so it skills not much when 290
they are delivered.
Olivia. Open 't, and read it.
Clown. Look then to be well edified when the
fool delivers the madman. [Reads] ' By the Lord,
madam?
Olivia. How now! art thou mad ?
Clown. No, madam, I do but read madness : an
your ladyship will have it as it ought to be, you
must allow vox.
Olivia. Prithee, read i' thy right wits. 300
Clown. So I do, madonna, but to read his right
wits is to read thus ; therefore perpend, my princess,
and give ear,
Olivia. [To Fabian] Read it you, sirrah.
Fabian. [Reads] ' By the Lord, madam, you wrong
me, and the world shall know it ; though you have put
me into darkness and given your drunken cousin rule
124 Twelfth Night [Actv
over me, yet have I the benefit of my senses as well as
your ladyship. I have your own letter that induced me
to the semblance I put on, with the which I doubt not 310
but to do myself much right or you much shame. Think
of me as you please. I leave my duty a little unthought
of, and speak out of my injury.
THE MADLY-USED MALVOLIO.'
Olivia. Did he write this ?
Clown. Ay, madam.
Duke. This savours not much of distraction.
Olivia. See him deliver'd, Fabian ; bring him
hither. [Exit Fabian.
My lord, so please you, these things further thought
on,
To think me as well a sister as a wife, 320
One day shall crown the alliance on 't, so please
you,
Here at my house and at my proper cost.
Duke. Madam, I am most apt to embrace your
offer.
\ToViola\ Your master quits you, and for your service
done him,
So much against the mettle of your sex,
So far beneath your soft and tender breeding,
And since you call'd me master for so long,
Here is my hand ; you shall from this time be
Your master's mistress.
Olivia. A sister 1 you are she.
Scene I] Twelfth Night 125
Re-enter FABIAN, with MALVOLIO
Duke. Is this the madman ?
Olivia. Ay, my lord, this same. 330
How now, Malvolio !
Malvolio. Madam, you have done me wrong,
Notorious wrong.
Olivia. Have I, Malvolio? no.
Malvolio. Lady, you have. Pray you, peruse that
letter.
You must not now deny it is your hand.
Write from it, if you can, in hand or phrase,
Or say 't is not your seal, not your invention.
You can say none of this. Well, grant it then,
And tell me, in the modesty of honour,
Why you have given me such clear lights of favour,
Bade me come smiling and cross-garter 'd to you, 340
To put on yellow stockings and to frown
Upon Sir Toby and the lighter people ;
And, acting this in an obedient hope,
Why have you suffer 'd me to be ipiprison'd,
Kept in a dark house, visited by the priest,
And made the most notorious geek and gull
That e'er invention play'd on ? tell me why.
Olivia. Alas, Malvolio, this is not my writing,
Though, I confess, much like the character,
But out of question 't is Maria's hand. 350
And now I do bethink me, it was she
First told me thou wast mad ; then cam'st in smiling,
126 Twelfth Night [Actv
And in such forms which here were presupposed
Upon thee in the letter. Prithee, be content ;
This practice hath most shrewdly pass'd upon thee,
But when we know the grounds and authors of it,
Thou shalt be both the plaintiff and the judge
Of thine own cause.
Fabian. Good madam, hear me speak,
And let no quarrel nor no brawl to come
Taint the condition of this present hour, 360
Which I have wonder'd at. In hope it shall not,
Most freely I confess, myself and Toby
Set this device against Malvolio here,
Upon some stubborn and uncourteous parts
We had conceiv'd against him. Maria writ
The letter at Sir Toby's great importance,
In recompense whereof he hath married her.
How with a sportful malice it was follow'd
May rather pluck on laughter than revenge,
If that the injuries be justly weigh 'd 370
That have on both sides pass'd.
Olivia. Alas, poor fool, how have they baffled thee !
Clown. Why, ' some are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some have greatness thrown upon
them.' I was one, sir, in this interlude, one Sir
Topas, sir ; but that 's all one. ' By the Lord, fool,
I am not mad.' But do you remember ? ' Madam,
why laugh you at such a barren rascal ? an you
smile not, he 's gagged.' And thus the whirligig
of time brings in his revenges. 380
Scene I] Twelfth Night 127
Malvolio. I '11 be reveng'd on the whole pack of you.
[Exit.
Olivia. He hath been most notoriously abus'd.
Duke. Pursue him and entreat him to a peace.
He hath not told us of the captain yet.
When that is known and golden time convents,
A solemn combination shall be made
Of our dear souls. Meantime, sweet sister,
We will not part from hence. Cesario, come ;
For so you shall be while you are a man,
But when in other habits you are seen, 390
Orsino's mistress and his fancy's queen.
\Exeunt all, except Clown.
Clown. [Sings]
When that I was and a little tiny boy+
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came to man's estate,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
' Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate,
For the rain it raineth every day. 400
But when I came, alas ! to wive,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
By swaggering could I never thrive,
For the rain it raineth every day.
128 Twelfth Night [Actv
But when I came unto my beds,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
With toss-pots still had drunken heads,
For the rain it raineth every day.
A great while ago the world begun,
9 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 410
But that 's all one, our play is done,
And we '// strive to please you every day.
[Exit.
NOTES
Vj>N
TWELFTH NIGHT 9
DEPART
ITIC ART
SPINSTERS AND KNITTERS"
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
THE METRE OF THE PLAY. It should be understood at the
outset that metre, or the mechanism of verse, is something altogether
distinct from the music of verse. The one is matter of rule,
the other of taste and feeling. Music is not an absolute necessity
of verse; the metrical form is a necessity, being that which consti-
tutes the verse.
The plays of Shakespeare (with the exception of rhymed pas-
sages, and of occasional songs and interludes) are all in unrhymed
or blank verse; and the normal form of this blank verse is illus-
131
132 Notes
trated by the first line of the present play : " If music be the food
of love, play on."
This line, it will be seen, consists of ten syllables, with the even
syllables (2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and loth) accented, the odd syllables
(ist, 3d, etc.) being unaccented. Theoretically, it is made up of
five feet of two syllables each, with the accent on the second sylla-
ble. Such a foot is called an iambus (plural, iambuses, or the
Latin iambi), and the form of verse is called iambic.
This fundamental law of Shakespeare's verse is subject to certain
modifications, the most important of which are as follows :
1. After the tenth syllable an unaccented syllable (or even two
such syllables) may be added, forming what is sometimes called a
female line ; as in the twenty-fourth line of the first scene : " So
please my lord, I might not be admitted." The rhythm is complete
with the second syllable of admitted, the third being an extra
eleventh syllable. In i. 2. 34 (" That he did seek the love of fair
Olivia") we have two extra syllables, the rhythm being complete
with the second syllable of Olivia.
2. The accent jn any part of the verse may be shifted from an
even to an odd syllable ; as in lines 5 and 7 of the first scene :
" O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
*******
Stealing and giving odour ! Enough ; no more ! "
In both lines the accent is shifted from the second to the first
syllable. This change occurs very rarely in the tenth syllable, and
seldom in the fourth ; and it is not allowable in two successive
accented syllables.
3. An extra unaccented syllable may occur in any part of the
line ; as in lines 7, 9, and 14. In 7 the second syllable of odour
is superfluous ; in 9 the second syllable of spirit ; and in 14
the second syllable of even and minute.
4. Any unaccented syllable, occurring in an even place immedi-
ately before or after an even syllable which is properly accented, is
Notes 133
reckoned as accented for the purposes of the verse ; as, for instance,
in lines 2 and 3. In 2 the last syllable of surfeiting, and in 3 the
last of appetite are metrically equivalent to accented syllables;
and so with the last syllable of violets in 6. Other examples
are the third syllable of notwithstanding and the last of capacity
in 10, the last of validity in 12, and the last of fantastical in 15.
5. In many instances in Shakespeare words must be lengthened
in order to fill out the rhythm :
(a) In a large class of words in which e or i is followed by
another vowel, the e or i is made a separate syllable; as
ocean, opinion, soldier, patience, partial, marriage, etc. For
instance, line 39 of the first scene of the present play appears
to have only nine syllables, but perfection is a quadrisyllable, as
perfections is in i. 5. 306. In i. 5. 265 adorations has metrically
five syllables. This lengthening occurs most frequently at the end
of the line.
(<) Many monosyllables ending in r, re, rs, res, preceded by a
long vowel or diphthong, are often made dissyllables; as fare, fear,
dear, fire, hair, hour, your, etc. In iii. I. 113 ("Than music
from the spheres. Dear lady,") both spheres arjd Dear are dis-
syllables. If the word is repeated in a verse, it is often both
monosyllable and dissyllable; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 20: "And so,
though yours, not yours. Prove it so," where either yours (pre-
ferably the first) is a dissyllable, the other being a monosyllable.
In/. C. iii. i. 172: " As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity," the first
fire is a dissyllable.
(*:) Words containing / or r, preceded by another consonant, are
often pronounced as if a vowel came between the consonants ; as
in i. i. 32: "And lasting in her sad remembrance," where remem-
brance is a quadrisyllable (rememb(e) ranee); as in W. T. iv. 4.
76: " Grace and remembrance [rememb(e) ranee] be to you both ! "
In i. 2. ii: " The like of him. Know'st thou this country ? "
country is a trisyllable (count(e)ry). See also T. of S. ii. I. 158:
"While she did call me rascal fiddler" [fidd(e)ler]; AWs Well,\\\
134 Notes
5.43: "If you will tarry, holy pilgrim" [pilg(e)rim]; C. of E.
v. i. 360: "These are the parents of these children" (childeren,
the original form of the word).
(</) Monosyllabic exclamations (ay, O, yea, nay, kail, etc.) and
monosyllables otherwise emphasized are similarly lengthened ; also
certain longer words; as commandement in M. of V. iv. I. 442;
safety (trisyllable) in Ham. i. 3. 21 ; business (trisyllable, as
originally pronounced) in J. C. iv. I. 22: "To groan and sweat
under the business " (so in several other passages) ; and other
words mentioned in the notes to the plays in which they occur.
6. Words are also contracted for metrical reasons, like plurals
and possessives ending in a sibilant, as balance, horse (for horses
and horse" 1 *}, princess, sense, marriage (plural and possessive),
image, and other words mentioned in the notes on this and other
plays.
7. The accent of words is also varied in many instances for met-
rical reasons. Thus we find both revenue and revenue in the first
scene of the M. N. D. (lines 6 and 158), dccess and access (see note
on i. 5. 1 6), dbscure and obscure, pursue and pursue, c6ntrary and
contrary, etc.
These instances of variable accent must not be confounded with
those in which words were uniformly accented differently in the
time of Shakespeare; like aspect (see on i. 4. 27), impdrtune, per-
sever (never persevere}, perseverance, rheumatic, etc.
8. Alexandrines, or verses of twelve syllables, with six accents,
occur here and there ; as in the inscriptions on the caskets in the
M. of V. See also iv. 3. 21 in the present play : " That is deceivable.
But here the lady comes"; v. I. 73: "Hast made thine enemies?
Orsino, noble sir," etc. They must not be confounded with female
lines with two extra syllables (see on i above) or with other lines
in which two extra unaccented syllables may occur.
9. Incomplete verses, of one or more syllables, are scattered
through the plays. See, for instance, in this play i. I. 17, i. 2. i, 2,
17, 1 8, 24, 26, 27, 29, 35, etc.
Notes 135
10. Doggerel measure is used in the earliest cornedies (L. L. L.
and C. of E. in particular) in the mouths of comic characters, but
nowhere else in those plays, and never anywhere after 1598 or 1599.
\\.*Rhyme occurs frequently in the early plays, but diminishes
with comparative regularity from that period until the latest. Thus,
in L. L. L. there are about noo rhyming verses (about one-third
of the whole number), in the M. N. D. about goo, in Richard II.
and R. and J. about 500 each, while in Cor. and A. and C. there
are only about 40 each, in the Temp, only two, and in the W. T.
none at all, except in the chorus introducing act iv. Songs, inter-
ludes, and other matter not in ten-syllable measure are not in-
cluded in this enumeration. In the present play, out of some 850
ten-syllable verses, about 120 are in rhyme.
Alternate rhymes are found only in the plays written before 1599
or 1600. In the M. of V. there are only four lines at the end of
iii. 2. In Much Ado and A. Y. L. we also find a few lines, but
none at all in subsequent plays.
Rhymed couplets, or "rhyme-tags" are often found at the end
of scenes ; as in the first scene, and eleven other scenes, of the
present play. In Ham. 14 out of 20 scenes, and in Macb. 21 out of
28, have such " tags " ; but in the latest plays they are not so
frequent. The Temp., for instance, has but one, and the W. T.
none.
12. In this edition of Shakespeare, the final -ed of past tenses
and participles is printed -d when the word is to be pronounced in
the ordinary way; as in purged, line 20, and turned, line 21, of the
first scene. But when the metre requires that the -ed be made a
separate syllable, the e is retained; as in veiled, line 28 of the first
scene, where the word is a dissyllable. The only variation from
this rule is in verbs like cry, die, sue, etc., the -ed of which is very
rarely, if ever, made a separate syllable.
SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF VERSE AND PROSE IN THE PLAYS.
This is a subject to which the critics have given very little atten-
tion, but it is an interesting study. In the present play we find
136 Notes
scenes entirely in verse or in prose, and others in which the two are
mixed. In general, we may say that verse is used for what is dis-
tinctly poetical, and prose for what is not poetical. The distinc-
tion, however, is not so clearly marked in the earlier as in tHe later
plays. The second scene of the M. of K, for instance, is in prose,
because Portia and Nerissa are talking about the suitors in a famil-
iar and playful way; but in the T. G. of V., where Julia and
Lucetta are discussing the suitors of the former in much the same
fashion, the scene is in verse. Dowden, commenting on Rich. //.,
remarks: "Had Shakespeare written the play a few years later, we
may be certain that the gardener and his servants (iii. 4) would
not have uttered stately speeches in verse, but would have spoken
homely prose, and that humour would have mingled with the
pathos of the scene. The same remark may be made with refer-
ence to the subsequent scene (v. 5) in whirh his groom visits the
dethroned king in the Tower." Comic characters and those in low
life generally speak in prose in the later plays, as Dowden inti-
mates, but in the very earliest ones doggerel verse is much used
instead. See on 10 above.
The change from prose to verse is well illustrated in the third
scene of the M. of V. It begins with plain prosaic talk about a
business matter; but when Antonio enters, it rises at once to the
higher level of poetry. The sight of Antonio reminds Shylock of
his hatred of the Merchant, and the passion expresses itself in verse,
the vernacular tongue of poetry. We have a similar change in
the first scene of J. C., where, after the quibbling " chaff " of the
mechanics about their trades, the mention of Pompey reminds the
Tribune of their plebeian fickleness, and his scorn and indignation
flame out in most eloquent verse. Note also in the present play
the changes from verse to prose at i. 5. 248, 260, ii. 2. 12, 17, iii.
I. 62, etc.
The reasons for the choice of prose or verse are not always so
clear as in these instances. We are seldom puzzled to explain the
prose, but not unfrequently we meet with verse where we might
Notes 137
expect prose. As Professor Corson remarks {Introduction to Shakes-
peare, 1889), "Shakespeare adopted verse as the general tenor of
his language, and therefore expressed much in verse that is within
the capabilities of prose ; in other words, his verse constantly
encroaches upon the domain of prose, but his prose can never be
said to encroach upon the domain of verse." If in rare instances
we think we find exceptions to this latter statement, and prose
actually seems to usurp the place of verse, I believe that careful
study of the passage will prove the supposed exception to be appar-
ent rather than real.
SOME BOOKS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. A few out of
the many books that might be commended to the teacher and the
critical student are the following: Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines
of the Life of Shakespeare (yth ed. 1887); Sidney Lee's Life of
Shakespeare (1898 ; for ordinary students, the abridged ed. of 1899
is preferable) ; Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon (3d ed. 1902) ;
Littledale's ed. of Dyce's Glossary (1902); Bartlett's Concordance
to Shakespeare (1895); Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar (1873);
Furness's "New Variorum" ed. of Twelfth Night (1901; ency-
clopaedic and exhaustive) ; Dowden's Shakspere : His Mind and
Art (American ed. 1881); Hudson's Life, Art, and Characters of
Shakespeare (revised ed. 1882); Mrs. Jameson's Characteristics of
Women (several eds. ; some with the title, Shakespeare Heroines) ;
Ten Brink's Five Lectures on Shakespeare (1895); Boas's Shake-
speare and His Predecessors (1895); Dyer's Folk-lore of Shake-
speare (American ed. 1884); Gervinus's Shakespeare Commentaries
(Bunnett's translation, 1875); Wordsworth's Shakespeare" 1 * Knowl-
edge of the Bible (3d ed. 1880); Elson's Shakespeare in Music
(1901).
Some of the above books will be useful to all readers who are
interested in special subjects or in general criticism of Shakespeare.
Among those which are better suited to the needs of ordinary
readers and students, the following may be mentioned: Mabie's
William Shakespeare: Poet, Dramatist, and Man (1900); Dow-
ij 8 Notes
den's Shaksperc Primer (1877; small but invaluable); Rolfe's
Shakespeare the Boy (1896 ; treating of the home and school life,
the games and sports, the manners, customs, and folk-lore of the
poet's time); Guerber's Myths of Greece and Rome (for young
students who may need information on mythological allusions not
explained in the notes).
Black's Judith Shakespeare (1884; a novel, but a careful study
of the scene and the time) is a book that I always commend to
young people, and their elders will also enjoy it. The Lambs'
Tales from Shakespeare is a classic for beginners in the study of
the dramatist ; and in Rolfe's ed. the plan of the authors is carried
out in the Notes by copious illustrative quotations from the plays.
Mrs. Cowden-Clarke's Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines (several
eels.) will particularly interest girls; and both girls and boys will
find Bennett's Master Skylark (1897) an( ^ Imogen Clark's Will
Shakespeare's Little #^(1897) equally entertaining and instructive.
H. Snowden Ward's Shake sp ear e^s Town and J^imes (1896) and
John Leyland's Shakespeare Country (enlarged ed., 1903) are
copiously illustrated books (yet inexpensive) which may be
particularly commended for school libraries.
ABBREVIATIONS IN THE NOTES. The abbreviations of the
names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood ; as
T. N. for Twelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, 3 Hen. VI. for
The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to
7^he Passionate Pilgrim ; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis ; L. C.
to Lover's Complaint ; and Sonn. to the Sonnets.
Other abbreviations that hardly need explanation are Cf. {confer,
compare), Fol. (following), Id. (idem, the same), and Prol. (pro-
logue). The numbers of the lines in the references (except for the
present play) are those of the " Globe " edition (the cheapest and
best edition of Shakespeare in one compact volume), which is now
generally accepted as the standard for line-numbers in works of ref-
erence (Schmidt's Lexicon, Abbott's Grammar, Dowden's Primer,
the publications of the New Shakspere Society, etc,).
Scene I] Notes
ACT I
In the folio the play is divided into acts and scenes, but there is
no list of dramatis persona.
SCENE I. I. If music, etc. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes 7^<?
Squire of Alsatia, 1 688: "Remember Shakespear; 'If musick be
the food of love, play on ' There 's nothing nourishes that soft
passion like it ; it imps his wings, and makes him fly a higher
pitch." For imps (adds new feathers to), cf. Rich. II. ii. I. 292.
2. Give me excess, etc. Cf. T .G. of V.\\\. I. 220: "And now
excess of it will make me surfeit ;" and Oth. ii. I. 50: "my hopes,
not surfeited to death."
4. Fall. Cadence. Cf. Milton, Comus, 251:
" At every fall smoothing the raven down
Of darkness till it smil'd."
Holt White quotes Pope, Ode on St. Cecilia's Day:
" The strains decay,
And melt away
In a dying, dying fall."
and Thomson, Spring, 722 :
" still at every dying fall
Takes up the lamentable strain."
5. Sound. The folio reading, for which Pope substituted " south,"
which some editors adopt. Knight thus defends the old reading :
" Let us consider whether S. was most likely to have written sound
or south, which involves the question of which is the better word.
Steevens tells us that the thought might have been borrowed from
Sidney's Arcadia (book i.), and he quotes a part of the passage.
We must look, however, at the context. Sidney writes, * Her
breath is more sweet than a gentle south-west wind, which comes
creeping over flowery fields and shadowed waters in the extreme
heat of summer.' The comparison is here direct. The sweet
140 Notes [Act I
breath of Urania is more sweet than the gentle south-west wind.
Sidney adds, 'and yet is nothing, compared to the honey-flowing
speech that breath doth carry.' The music of the speech is not
here compared with the music of the wind the notion of fragrance
is alone conveyed. If in the passage of the text we read south
instead of sound, the conclusion of the sentence, * Stealing, and
giving odour,' rests upon the mind; and the comparison becomes
an indirect one between the harmony of the dying fall and the
odour of the breeze that had passed over a bank of violets. This,
we think, is not what the poet meant. He desired to compare one
sound with another sound. Milton had probably this passage in
view when he wrote :
' Now gentle gales,
Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy spoils.'
The image in Milton, as well as in Shakspere, combines the
notion of sound as well as fragrance. In Shakspere, * the sound
that breathes* the soft murmur of the breeze playing amid beds
of flowers is put first, because of the 'dying fall' of the exquisite
harmony ; but in Milton the ' perfumes ' of the ' gentle gales ' are
more prominent than ' the whisper,' because the image is complete
in itself, unconnected with what precedes. Further, Shakspere has
nowhere else made the south an odour-breathing wind; his other
representations are directly contrary. In As You Like It [iii. 5. 49],
Rosalind says :
' You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her,
Like foggy south, puffing with wind and rain ? '
In Romeo and Juliet [i. 4. 103], we have the dew-dropping south;
in Cymbeline [ii. 3. 136], ' the south-fog rot him,' We prefer, there-
fore, on all accounts, to hold to the original text." White remarks :
" Sound appears in the authentic text, and, to say the least, is com-
Scene I] Notes 141
prehensible and appropriate, and is therefore not to be disturbed,
except by those who hold that S. must have written that which they
think best. But did Pope, or the editors who have followed him,
ever lie musing on the sward at the edge of a wood, and hear the
low sweet hum of the summer air, as it kissed the coyly-shrinking
wild flowers upon the banks, and passed on loaded with fragrance
from the sweet salute? If they ever did, how could they make this
change of sound to south ? and if they never did, they are unable to
entirely appreciate the passage, much less to improve it."
The main and direct comparison is between the music and the
murmur of the wind; this is at once strengthened and beautified by
the reference to the odour. It will be noticed that the poet dwells
on this secondary comparison; he is not satisfied with describing
the wind as breathing on the bank of violets, but adds the exquisite
stealing and giving odour. Milton has a direct comparison of sound
to fragrance in a very beautiful passage in Comus, 555 fol. :
" At last a soft and solemn-breathing sound
Rose like a steam of rich distill'd perfumes,
And stole upon the air, that even Silence
Was took ere she was ware, and wish'd she might
Deny her nature, and be never more,
Still to be so displac'd."
Clarke thinks that S. may also have remembered Bacon's sentence
of similar beauty : " The breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air
(where it comes and goes like the warbling of music) than in the
hand."
It may be added that this is not the only passage in which S. has
blended metaphors drawn from two of the five senses. There is
another instance in Ham. iii. I. 163 in that most pathetic utter-
ance of Ophelia :
"And I of ladies most deject and wretched,
That suck'd the honey of his music vows,"
142 Notes [Act I
where two kinds of sweetness are combined, appealing to taste and
hearing. See also the description of Perdita's violets in W. T. iv.
4. 121 :
" Violets dim,
But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes
Or Cytherea's breath."
The commentators have assumed that sweeter as applied to Juno's
eyes must mean "more fragrant," on account of the reference to
" Cytherea's breath "; and some of them have even been driven to
supposing that S. alluded to the Oriental practice of giving the eye-
lids " an obscure violet colour by means of some pigment, which
was doubtless perfumed " a sort of painting with which both Per-
dita and the poet would have been disgusted. But here again we
simply have a comparison combining two senses sight and smell.
The violets, Perdita says, are lovelier than the blue-veined lids of
Juno's eyes and more fragrant than Cytherea's breath. The refer-
ence to the eyelids is illustrated by V. and A. 482 : " Her two blue
windows faintly she upheaveth ; " where the windows are the eye-
lids, which are called blue on account of their " blue veins " {R. of
L. 440). They are called windows again in Cymb. ii. 2. 22 :
" The flame o f the taper
Bows toward her, and would under-peep her lids,
To see the enclosed lights, now canopied
Under these windows, white and azure, lac'd
With blue of heaven's own tinct ;"
and the blue veining is also exquisitely introduced. See also R.
and J. iv. I. 100: "the eyes' windows fall."
9. Spirit. Monosyllabic, as often in S. Quick lively, vigor-
ous ; as often.
10. That. In that. Cf. Macb. iii. 2. 32, etc.
12. Validity. Value ; as in R. and J. iii. 3. 33, etc. In A. W.
v. 3. 192, it is used with reference to a ring. Fitch was literally a
in falconry, for the height to which the bird soars. It is often
Scene I] Notes 143
used figuratively; as in the present passage. See also the quotation
in note on I above, and R. and J. i. 4. 21, Rich. II. i. I. 109, etc.
13. Abatement. Lower estimation (Schmidt).
14. Fancy. Love ; as often. Cf. ii. 4. 33 and v. i. 391 below.
15. Alone. Preeminently, par excellence (Schmidt). Cf. M. N.
D. iii. 2. 119: "That must needs be sport alone ; " A. and C. iv. 6.
30 : "I am alone the villain of the earth," etc. High fantastical
highly imaginative. Some print "high-fantastical."
16. Go hunt. Ci. go look (i. 5. 137), tf see (iii. 3. 20), etc. For
the play on hart, cf. /. C. iii. I. 207, A. Y. L. iii. 2. 260, etc.
22. Like fell and cruel hounds. The allusion is to the story of
Actaeon. Cf. T. A. ii. 3. 63 and M. W. ii. i. 122, iii. 2. 44.
Malone says that S. undoubtedly had in mind Daniel's 5th
Sonnet:
" Whilst youth and error led my wand'ring mind,
And sette my thoughts in heedles waies to range,
All unawares a goddesse chaste I finde,
(Diana like) to worke my suddaine change.
*******
My thoughts, like hounds, pursue me to my death, etc.
Malone adds that Daniel seems to have borrowed the comparison
from Whitney's Emblems, 1586:
11 those whoe do pursue
Theire fancies fonde, and thinges unlawfull crave,
Like brutishe beastes appeare unto the viewe,
And shall at length Actseon's guerdon have :
And as his howndes, so theire affections base
Shall them devoure, and all theire deedes deface."
But the story was familiar, and S. had doubtless read it in Golding's
Ovid.
26. Element. The air, or sky; as in iii. i. 60 below. See alsoy.
C. i. 3. 128, Hen. V. iv. I. 107, etc. Heat is a noun = course.
Johnson made heat a participle, as in K.John, iv. I. 61 : "The
144 Notes [Act I
iron of itself, though heat red-hot." Herford explains seven years'
heat as " seven summers."
28. Cloistress. Nun ; used by S. only here.
30. Eye-offending. Cf. K.John, iii. I. 47 : " foul moles and eye-
offending marks." So heart-offending, in 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 60. The
metaphor in season (= preserve, keep fresh, as in the use of brine
to preserve meats) is a favourite one with S. Cf. A. W. i. I. 55,
R. and J. ii. 3. 72, Much Ado, iv. I. 144, and Z. C. 18.
32. Remembrance. A quadrisyllable ; as in W. T. iv. 4. 76 :
" Grace and remembrance be to you both."
35. Golden shaft. Cf. M. N. D. i. I. 170 : "By his best arrow
with the golden head." In both passages there may be an allusion to
the two arrows mentioned by Ovid {Met. i. 466) ; the one that causes
love being " all of gold, with point full sharp and bright " (Gold-
ing's translation). Cf. Sidney's Arcadia : "But arrowes two, and
tipt with gold or lead." The leaden arrow was supposed to " slake
love," or destroy it.
38. Are all . . .fiWd, etc. The folio prints the passage thus:
" When Liuer, Braine, and Heart,
These soueraigne thrones, are all supply'd and fill'd
Her sweete perfections with one selfe king."
It is commonly printed as follows :
" When liver, brain, and heart,
These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and fill'd
(Her sweet perfections) with one self king."
Perfections is here considered to be in apposition with thrones, but
the arrangement is very awkward. It seems better to read " perfec-
tion," making the word refer to the preceding sentence. Clarke,
who adopts this emendation, remarks that S. has alluded to this
notion, "that a woman was perfected by marriage," in K.John, ii.
i- 437 :
" He is the half part of a blessed man,
Left to be finished by such a she ;
Scene II] Notes 145
And she a fair divided excellence,
Whose fulness of perfection lies in him."
Knight quotes Lord Berners's translation of Froissart : " my daughter
should be happy if she might come to so great a perfection as to be
conjoined in marriage with the Earl of Queries." Staunton cites
Overbury, The Wife :
" Marriage their object is ; their being then,
And now perfection, they receive from men; "
and Donne, Epithalamium :
11 Weep not, nor blush, here is no grief nor shame ;
To-day put on perfection, and a woman's name."
See also on ii. 4. 41 below. The Cambridge ed. follows the folio,
simply inserting a comma after supplied, making perfections the sub-
ject of filled (that is, " her sweet perfections are filled with one self-
king"), but the inversion seems un-Shakespearian. Perfection is a
quadrisyllable.
39. One self king. One sole king ; namely, Love.
41. Lie rich. Cf. A. W. i. 2. 49 :
" His good remembrance, sir,
Lies richer in your thoughts than on his tomb."
See also R. andj. v. 3. 303.
SCENE II. 4. Elysium. Douce thinks that there is a play on
Illyria and Elysium, but, as Furness remarks, this is utterly out
of keeping with Viola's character.
6. Perchance. By chance; a kind of play upon the composition
of the word.
9. Split. Cf. Temp. i. I. 65: "We split, we split!" See also
Id. v. I. 223, C. of E. i. I. 104, and 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 411.
10. Those poor number. The folio reading, changed by Rowe to
TWELFTH NIGHT IO
146 Notes [Act I
"that poor number." The recent editors generally retain those,
considering number as virtually plural. Cf. i. 5. 91: "these set
kind of fools." The folio, which is generally accurate in these
contractions, has " saved," not " sav'd," but it is probably a mis-
print.
11. Driving. Drifting. S. does not use drift as a verb.
12. Provident. Used by S. only here and in Hen. V. ii. 4. II.
14. Liv'd upon the sea. We still say, "A boat could not live in
such a sea."
15. Arion. The allusion is to the classical story of the minstrel
Arion, who, when the sailors were about to murder him for his
money, asked leave to play a " swan-song " before he died, after
which he threw himself into the sea, and was borne safely to land
by one of the dolphins that had gathered about the ship to listen
to his music. The folios have "Orion"; and I have seen the
same blunder in a modern guide-book in the description of a piece
of statuary somewhere in Europe. Halliwell-Phillipps remarks that
the simile was familiar to the poet and his audience, not merely
from the classical story, but from its frequent introduction into the
masques and pageants of the day. On the passage, cf. Temp. ii. I.
113 fol.
1 6. Hold acquaintance with. Cf. A. W. ii. 3. 240: "I have a
desire to hold my acquaintance with thee," etc.
21. Country. A trisyllable, as in Cor. i. 9. 17: "As you have
been; that's for my country; " and 2 Hen. VI. i. I. 206: "And
common profit of his country." See 5 (r), p. 133 above.
22. Bred. Perhaps = begotten, not brought up, as in the
familiar modern phrase "born and bred," and in M. for M. iv. 2.
135 : "A Bohemian born, but here nursed up and bred." But it may
be a careless inversion of ideas such as we find now and then in S.
Furness compares Much Ado, iv. i. 228: "lack'd and lost." See
also " dies and lives " in A. Y. L. iii. 5. 7.
25. A noble duke, etc. " I know not whether the nobility of the
name is comprised in duke or in Orsino, which is, I think, the name
Scene II] Notes 147
of a great Italian family" (Johnson). The duke is called count in
the rest of the play. See i. 3. 113, i. 4. 9, etc., below. Cf. the
use of duke for king in L. L. L. ii. I. 38, Ham. iii. 2. 249, etc.
28. I have heard, etc. "One of Shakespeare's subtle touches in
dramatic art. By the mention of Viola's father having spoken of
the Duke we are led to see the source of her interest in Orsino ;
and by the word bachelor we are made to see the peculiar nature of
that interest" (Clarke). But, as Spedding notes, she thinks "that
if he were still a bachelor there would be no female court ; there-
fore no fit place for her. Hearing that he was not married, but
going to be, her next most natural resource would be the lady
he was going to marry a lady, it seemed, well suited to her case,
for she was also an orphan maid, mourning the recent loss of an
only brother; and it was only on learning that there was no chance
of obtaining access to her that she resolved to disguise her sex
and seek service at the court in the character of a page. This
would provide for her immediate necessity ; and for her next step
she would wait till she saw her way."
30. Late. For the adverbial use, cf. iii. i. 39 and v. I. 217 below.
32. 'T was fresh in murmur. It was a recent rumour.
33. Less. Inferior in rank. Cf. Macb. v. 4. 12: "Both more
and less have given him the revolt."
35. What 's she? Who is she ? Cf. i. 3. 52 and i. 5. 119 below.
36. A virtuous maid. Not a " widdowe," as John Manningham
took her to be. See p. 10 above.
40. The company, etc. Hanmer's emendation of the folio read-
ing, " the sight And company of men." Furness thinks that the
recollection of bred and born above, with that of lacked and lost,
" might reasonably give us pause " in accepting the transposition.
42. And might not be, etc. That is, until a fit time shall come
for revealing my sex and condition. Cf. L. L. L. iv. 2. 72 : " upon
the mellowing of occasion ; " and for delivered '= shown, discovered,
cf. Cor. v. 3. 39 : " The sorrow that delivers us thus chang'd ; "
and Id. v. 6. 141 :
148 Notes [Act i
" I '11 deliver
Myself your loyal servant," etc.
The folio has "delivered," but it is probably a misprint. See on
10 above.
48. Though that. For that as a " conjunctional affix," cf. i. 5.
315, Hi. i. 157, etc., below.
49. Close in. Cf. M. of F.V.I. 6$:
" But whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it."
On the passage, cf. iii. 4. 349 fol. : " Thou hast, Sebastian," etc.
53. Me. The " redundant object." Cf. i. 5. 260 below : " I see
you what you are," etc.
56. As an eunuch. Viola was presented to the duke as a page,
not as a eunuch, which would have been inconsistent with the plot
of the play (Mason). Malone notes that eunuchs were employed
to sing in the pope's chapel as early as the year 1600 ; and he
compares M. N. D. v. i . 45 :
" The battle of the Centaurs, to be sung
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp."
59. Allow me, etc. Prove me to be well worthy, etc.
62. Mute. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 233 : " Like Turkish mute ; " and
Cymb. iii. 5. 158 : "a- voluntary mute to my design."
SCENE III. I. A plague. Cf. I Hen. -IV. i. 2. 6 : "What a
devil hast thou to do with the time of the day ? " See also Id. iv.
2.56.
7. Except before excepted. A law phrase {exceptis excipiendis) .
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes West's Simboleography, 1605 : "and all
other the demised premises and appurtenances (except before
excepted), according to the true meaning of these presents," etc.
9. Modest. Moderate ; as often. Cf. iv. 2. 34 below.
Scene III] Notes 149
20. Tall. Steevens says the word means " stout, courageous."
Schmidt recognizes this sense in A. and C. ii. 6. 7 : " much tall
youth ; " but elsewhere, as he notes, it is 'used thus only in irony
(as by Falstaff in M. W. ii. 2. n), or with braggardism (as by
Shallow, in M. W. ii. I. 237), or in ridicule (as in R. and J. ii. 4.
31), or put into the mouth of mean persons, like Bottom, Grumio,
Bardolph, Pistol, et al. It probably has that sense here.
27. Viol-de-gamboys. Sir Toby's corruption of viol da gamba,
an instrument which was held between the legs (gamba = leg in
Italian) of the player, like the modern violoncello. Halliwell-
Phillipps, among other contemporaneous references to it, quotes
Middleton, Trick to Catch the Old One, 1608 : " She now remaines
at London to learne fashions, practise musicke, the voyce betweene
her lips, and the violl betweene her legges."
30. All most natural. The folio has " almost naturall," which
many editors retain ; but Upton's emendation is approved by Dyce,
Furness, and others. There is a play on the ordinary sense of
natural and that of a fool; as in Temp. iii. 2. 37 : "That a mon-
ster should be such a natural." See also A. Y. L. i. 2. 52 fol.
33. Gust. Taste, relish. Cf. Sonn. 114. n : "Mine eye well
knows what with his gust is greeing." In 7\ of A. iii. 5. 54 it is
= notion, idea ; and in W. T. i. 2. 219 it is used as a verb =
perceive.
34. The gift of a grave. Mr. Locke Richardson suggests that
Maria means that with his prodigality, his folly, and his quarrel-
someness, he may come to grief in a duel, and have to be buried
like a pauper literally "have the gift of a grave."
36. Substractors. Warburton thought it necessary to change
Sir Toby's blunder for " detractors " to " subtracters."
42. Coystril. A mean fellow. The word occurs again in Per.
iv. 6. 176 (a scene probably not written by S.).
43. A parish-top. "A large top was formerly kept in every
village, to be whipped in frosty weather, that the peasants might
be kept warm by exercise, and out of mischief, when they could not
1 50 Notes [Act i
work " (Steevens). The custom is often alluded to in the literature
of that time.
44. Castiliano vulgo. "Spanish of Sir Toby's own making"
(Schmidt), and not easily translated. Warburton changed it to
" Castiliano volto," and explained it as = " put on your Castilian
countenance ; that is, your grave, solemn looks." Even if that is
the meaning, the blunder is probably intentional, as in viol-de-
gamboys above. Clarke thinks it may mean, " Be as reticent as a
Castilian now that one of the common herd is coming."
51. Accost. S. uses the word only here.
59. Board. Accost, address; as often. Cf. M. W.*\\. I. 92,
L. L. L. ii. i. 218, etc.
71. Thought is free. A proverbial expression. Holt White
quotes Lyly, Euphues, 1581 : "None (quoth she) can judge of
wit but they that have it ; why then (quoth he) doest thou think
me a fool ? Thought is free, my Lord, quoth she."
72. Bring your hand to the buttery-bar, etc. "A proverbial
phrase among forward Abigails, to ask at once for a kiss and a
present" (Dr. Kenrick). The buttery was the place where food
and drink were kept, and the bar was where these were served out.
Cf. T. of S. ind. I. 102 :
" Go, sirrah, take them to the buttery,
And give them friendly welcome every one ;
Let them want nothing that my house affords."
73. Sweet-heart. Printed as two words in the folio. It is
accented on the last syllable by S. except in W. T. iv. 4. 164 and
2 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 197.
75. It 's dry. A dry hand was considered a sign of age and
debility (see 2 Hen. IV. i. 2. 204), or of a cold nature. Maria
plays upon this sense of dry and the familiar one of thirsty, as she
afterwards quibbles on barren, which sometimes meant witless ; as
in Ham. iii. 2. 46. For dry = dull, stupid, cf. i. 5. 42.
83. Canary. Wine from the Canary Islands. Cf. M. W. iii. 2.
Scene III] Notes 1 5 1
89 : "I will to my honest knight Falstaff, and drink canary with
him."
88. Beef. Cf. T. and C. ii. I. 14 : "Thou mongrel beef-witted
lord ! " which, however, may mean " with no more wit than an ox "
(Schmidt). Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Borde, Regyment of Healthe,
1567 : " Beefe is good meate for an Englysshman, so be it the beest
be yonge, and that it be not cowe flesshe, for olde befe and cowe
flesshe doth ingendre melancholy and leprouse humours " ; and
Randolph's Poems :
" Ere they compose, they must for a long space
Be dieted as horses for a race.
They must not bacon, beef, or pudding eat;
A jest may chance be starv'd with such grosse meat."
96. Fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting. All these were fashion-
able amusements of the time. See also on iii. I. 122.
98. An excellent head of hair. Mr. Joseph Crosby in an article
on " Shakespeare's Puns " in the American Bibliopolist (June, 1875,
p. 143) says : " I well remember how sorely puzzled I used to be
over this dialogue. ... I was reluctantly on the point of giving
up the conundrum when it dawned on me that the facetious knight
had made a pun a first-class pun too on the word tongues ; and
then all was clear, and the joke ' as plain as the way to parish-
church.' His imagination had seized upon Sir Andrew's tongues
and converted them into tongs curling-tongs the very article
required in Sir Andrew's toilet to ' mend ' his hair withal, which,
without their assistance, hung 'like flax on a distaff,' and most per-
sistently and stubbornly refused to ' curl by nature? " Tongues
and tongs were pronounced alike. In the early eds. tongues is
sometimes spelt "tongs" or "tonges." But, as Furness notes,
Mr. Crosby was not the first to explain the pun.
115. There 's life in V. Cf. Lear, iv. 6. 206 : "Then, there 's
life in 't."
120. Kickshawses. Spelt " kicke-chawses " in the 1st and 2d
152 Notes [Act I
folios. Some editors give "kickshaws," but the blunder was no
doubt intentional. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. v. I. 29: "pretty little tiny
kickshaws."
123. I will not compare, etc. This was probably meant to be
a piece of the knight's stupid irrelevancy ; but various attempts
have been made to explain it. Warburton thought it " a satire on
that common vanity of old men, in preferring their own times and
the past generation to the present." Steevens says : " Aguecheek,
though willing enough to arrogate to himself such experience as is
commonly the acquisition of age, is yet careful to exempt his person
from being compared with its bodily weakness." Clarke thinks
that an old man is = "a man of experience," and that "the word
old gives precisely that absurd effect of refraining from competing
in dancing, fencing, etc., with exactly the antagonist incapacitated
by age over whom even Sir Andrew might hope to prove his
superiority."
125. Galliard. A lively French dance. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 252;
the only other instance in which S. has the word.
128. The mutton. The pun here shows that the association of
capers with boiled mutton is as old as that of apple-sauce with
roast goose on which Romeo quibbles in R. and J. ii. 4. 85. Cf.
also the reference to beef and mustard in T. of S. iv. 3. 23 and
M. N. D. iii. i. 197.
129. Back-trick. A caper backwards in dancing. Schmidt
thinks there may be a quibble on " the trick of going back in a
fight"; but perhaps that is giving Sir Andrew credit for too much
wit. Some explain the word as = a back-handed stroke with the
sword.
133. Mistress MalVs picture. Steevens has been generally fol-
lowed in explaining this as a reference to Mary Frith, otherwise
known as " Mall Cutpurse," a noted character of Shakespeare's
time, of whom a full account may be found in Chambers's Book of
Days, vol. ii. p. 670 ; but if she was born in 1589 (or even in 1584,
as Malone says), it is hardly probable that, with all her precocity
Scene III] Notes 153
in bad ways, she had become notorious in 1600 or 1601, when this
play was written. No allusion to her of so early a date has been
found by the commentators, the earliest being a more than doubt-
ful one of 1602. A book entitled The Madde Prancks of Merry
Mall of the Bankside, by John Day, was published in 1610 ; and
Middleton and Dekker made her the heroine of a comedy, The
Roaring Girl, or Moll Cutpurse, printed in 1611. Schmidt
remarks : " Perhaps Sir Toby only means to say : like a picture
intended for a beauty, but in fact representing Mall, the kitchen-
wench." Mr. John F. Marsh {Notes and Queries, July 6 and
Nov. 30, 1878) argues that Mall's is = Maria's. I am inclined to
agree with Singer that "Mistress Mall is a mere impersonation,
like 'my lady's eldest son' in Much Ado" On the practice of
protecting pictures by curtains, cf. i. 5. 242 below.
135. Coranto. Another lively dance, for which see Hen. V.
iii. 5. 33 and A. W. ii. 3. 49.
138. Under the star, etc. An astrological allusion. Cf. i. 4. 35,
ii. i. 3, and ii. 5. 155, 183 below.
140. Flame-coloured. Rowe's emendation of the " dam'd col-
our'd " of the folios. We have flame-coloured in I Hen. IV.'\.2. 1 1 :
"flame-coloured taffeta." Sundry other emendations have been
proposed, and attempts have been made to explai the folio read-
ing. Stock stocking ; as in T. G. of V. iii. I. 312, T. of S. iii.
2. 67, and i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 130. Steevens quotes Jack Drum's
Entertainment, 1601 : "Or would my silk stock should lose his
gloss else."
144. That 's sides and hearts. In that classic annual, The Old
Farmer's Almanac, may still be seen the ancient astrological figure
of the human body with lines radiating from its various parts to the
symbols of the zodiacal signs ; and in the column devoted to the
" moon's place " in the calendar pages the names of the parts of
the body are given instead of the corresponding signs. It is to be
noted that Sir Andrew and Sir Toby are both wrong in the parts
they assign to Taurus. The latter either burlesques the former's
154 Notes [Act i
ignorance or takes advantage of it for the sake of argument.
Taurus was supposed to govern the neck and throat.
SCENE IV. 3. Three days. As Mr. P. A. Daniel points out in
his paper " On the Times or Durations of the Action of Shakspere's
Plays," read before the New Shakspere Society, Nov. 8, 1878, there
is a statement inconsistent with this in v. i. 100 below, where the
Duke says : " Three months this youth hath tended on me."
5. Humour. Capriciousness (Furness). Cf. A. Y. L. i. 2.278:
"The duke is humorous;" K. John, iii. I. 119: "her humorous
ladyship " (Fortune), etc.
9. Count. See on i. 2. 25 above.
13. No less but. No less than. Cf. M. for M. v. I. 237: "No
more But instruments," etc.
/ have unclasped, etc. The metaphor is a favourite one with S.
Cf. i Hen. IV. i. 3. 188 : "And now I will unclasp a secret book."
See also Much Ado, i. I. 325, W. T. iii. 2. 168, and T. and C. iv.
6.60.
1 6. Access. S. accents the word on either syllable.
20. Spoke. Said. Cf. Macb. iv. 3. 154, Oth. v. 2. 327, etc.
22. Unprofited. Profitless ; used by S. nowhere else.
27. Attend, ff. R. of L. 818: "Will tie the hearers to attend
each line," etc.
28. Aspect. The regular accent in S. The folio has " Nuntio's "
for nuncio. The change of case was made by Theobald, but is
perhaps not absolutely required.
30. Yet. Implying that Viola's youthful appearance will last for
many a day to come (Furness).
32. Rubious. Red, rosy ; used by S. only here. Cf. " rubied '
in Per. v. prol. 8. On pipe = voice, cf. Cor. iii. 2. 113:
" my throat of war be turn'd,
Which quired with my drum, into a pipe
Small as an eunuch, or the virgin voice
That babies lulls asleep ! "
Scene V] Notes 155
33. And sound. Some would change this to "in sound "; but
as Clarke notes, sound = clear, uncracked. A boy's voice is shrill,
but not, like a girl's, perfectly sound, or pure in tone.
34. Semblative. Seeming like, suited to. Female parts on the
stage were then played by boys. S. uses semblative only here ; and
the same is true of constellation in the next line. For the astrologi-
cal allusion in the latter word, see on i. 3. 138 above.
39. As freely, etc. "That is, as free to use my fortune as I am."
41. Barful. Full of impediments; another word used by S.
only once.
SCENE V. 3. Hang thee. This must be said playfully ; as the
worst punishment inflicted on the domestic fool appears to have
been whipping. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 2. 91, Lear, i. 4. 197, etc.
6. Fear no colours. Fear no enemy; probably at first a military
metaphor, as Maria explains just below. The expression occurs
again in 2 Hen. IV. v. 5. 94. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Cotgrave,
Fr. Diet. : " Adventureux, hazardous, adventurous, that feares no
colours"; and The Trumpet of Fame, by H. R., 1595:
" Then fear no colours, set the chance on Christ !
He is your load-star, God of power highest."
9. Lenten. "Scanty, poor, answering modest expectations"
(Schmidt). Johnson explains the phrase as = "a lean, or as we
now call it, a dry answer." Clarke suggests that while Maria seems
to praise the clown's answer for being brief, she hints that it is
scant or bare of wit.
15. Let them use their talents. Make the best use of such abili-
ties as they have.
17. Or to be turned away. The folio joins this to what precedes,
and that construction has been defended.
20. For turning away, etc. As for being turned away, I care
not, so that it be in summer, when I can find employment in every
field and lodging under every hedge (Steevens).
i 5 6
Notes [Act i
25. If one break. Maria plays upon the word points as applied
to the metal hooks by which the gaskins, or galligaskins (a kind
of loose breeches), were attached to the doublet, and thus kept
from falling down. Cf. T. of S. iii. 2. 49 : " with two broken points."
See also I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 238 and A. and C. iii. 13. 157.
29. A piece of Eve's flesh. Cf. Much Ado, iv. 2. 85, A. Y. L. iii.
2. 68, etc.
31. You were best. Originally the pronoun was dative (it were
best for you), but it came to be regarded as nominative.
36. Quinapalus. A philosopher known only to the clown.
42. Dry. Sapless, insipid, dull. Cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 39 :
11 his brain,
Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit
After a voyage ; "
and see also L. L. L. v. 2. 373, T. and C. i. 3. 329, etc.
44. Madonna. Cf. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, 1598: "Ma-
donna, mistres, mistres mine, madam."
47. Dishonest. Lewd (Schmidt); as in M. W. iii. 3. 196, iv. 2.
104, Hen. V. i. 2. 49, etc. So honest often = chaste ; as in M. IV.
1. 4. 148, ii. I. 247, ii. 2. 230, Oth. iii. 3. 384, iv. 2. 12, 38, etc.
48. Botcher. Mender of old clothes (Schmidt). Cf. A. W. iv.
3. 21 1 : "a botcher's prentice in Paris "; Cor. ii. I. 98 : "a botcher's
cushion," etc.
51. Syllogism. The word is used by S. nowhere else.
52. So. So be it, well and good. Cf. M. of V. i. 3. 170: "If
he will take it, so; if not, adieu."
57. Misprision. Mistake, misapprehension. Cf. M. N. D. iii.
2. 90 :
" Of thy misprision must perforce ensue
Some true love turn'd, and not a false turn'd true ; "
Much Ado, iv. I. 187: "There is some strange misprision in the
princes," etc.
58. Cucullus non facit monachum. A cowl does not make a
Scene V] Notes 157
monk ; that is, wearing motley does not prove me a fool. For
motley, cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 34, 58, etc.
As much to say as. The same arrangement occurs in 2 Hen. VI.
iv. 2. 1 8, and is found in other writers of the time.
62. Dexteriously. The 4th folio changes the word to " dexter-
ously"; but the blunder was probably intentional.
65. Good my mouse of -virtue. For mouse as a term of endear-
ment, cf. Ham. iii. 4. 183: "call you his mouse," etc. For the
arrangement, cf. "good my lord," etc.
66. Idleness. Pastime, means of whiling away an idle hour.
.Schmidt explains it as " frivolousness, vanity." Furness remarks :
"The interpretation of idle should be always approached with fear
and trembling. ... It is the most fatal single word in dramatic
literature, possibly in all literature. Owing to Macready's interpre-
tation of it in Hamlet's * I must be idle,' twenty-three persons
were killed outright, and as many more horribly mutilated." This
was in the riot at the Astor Place Opera House, in New York,
May 10, 1849.
78. Decays. For the transitive sense, cf. Sonn. 65.8: "Nor
gates of steel so strong but Time decays." See also Cymb. i. 5. 56.
86. Barren. Dull ; as in M. N. D. iii. 2. 13: "The shallowest
thick-skin of that barren sort," etc. See on i. 3. 75 above.
87. With = by ; as very often.
91. These set kind. Cf. Lear, ii. 2. 107 : " These kind of knaves
I know," etc. See also i. 2. 10 above. For crow, cf. A. Y. L. ii.
7. 30 and T. G. of V. ii. i. 28.
92. Fools' zanies. Subordinate buffoons whose office it was to
make awkward attempts at mimicking the tricks of professional
clowns. The word occurs again in L. L. L. v. 2. 463.
94. Distempered. Disordered, diseased. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 312,
etc.
96. Bird-bolts. Blunt-headed arrows. Cf. Much Ado, i. I. 43
and L.L. L. iv. 3. 25.
97. Allowed. Licensed. Cf, L, L. L. v. 2. 478 : " go, you are
158 Notes [Act I
allow'd " (that is, as here, a licensed fool). In Hollyband's
Dictionarie t 1593, mention is made of "an allowed cart or
chariot."
100. Leasing. A euphemism for lying (Schmidt). Cf. Cor. v.
2. 22 : " Have almost stamp'd the leasing." Johnson explains the
passage thus : " May Mercury teach thee to lie, since thou liest
in favour of fools ! " Heath more aptly suggests that the Fool
humorously intimates that "whoever undertook the defence of
fools would have plentiful occasion " for lying.
103. Much desires. The omission of the relative is common.
109. Speaks nothing but madman. Cf. Hen. K v. 2. 156: "I
speak to thee plain soldier "; Oth, ii. 3. 281 : " speak parrot," etc.
117. For here he comes, etc. I adopt the pointing of the
Cambridge ed. The common reading is, "for here he comes, one
of thy kin, has [that is, who has] a most weak pia mater."
1 1 8. For pia mater, cf. L. L. L. iv. 2. 71 and T. and C. ii. I. 77.
In Holland's translation of Pliny's Nat. History, it is spoken of as
" the fine pellicle called pia mater, which lappeth and enfoldeth
the braine."
119. What. Who. Cf. i. 2. 35 and i. 3. 52 above.
124. Pickle-herring. Many of the editors have followed Malone
in changing this to "pickle-herrings"; but it is a legitimate plural,
like trout, salmon, and other names of fishes. Cf. Lear, iii. 6. 33 :
" two white herring." The regular form of the plural is also used,
as in the case of some other nouns of this class. See iii. I. 37
below. Clarke quotes the Spectator, where " pickled herrings " is
mentioned as a nickname, and adds : " Thus Sir Toby, asked what
sort of gentleman the youth at the gate is, intends to describe
him scofftngly, while a reminiscence of his last-eaten provocative
to drink disturbs him in the shape of a hiccup " ; but I doubt whether
any such double meaning was intended.
135. Above heat. According to Steevens, this means "above
the state of being warm in a proper degree." Schmidt makes
heat = thirst; and compares K. John, iii^i. 341 : "A rage whose
Scene V] Notes 159
heat hath this condition," etc. Clarke, who adopts Steevens's
explanation, refers to Falstaffs eulogium on " sherris-sack,"
2 Hen. IV. iv. 3. no: "The second property of your excellent
sherds is the wanning of the blood," etc.
137. Cr owner. Rowe thought it necessary to change this to
" coroner "; but, as Schmidt notes, " the Shakespearian form of the
word is crowner." He uses it only here and in Ham. v. I. 4, 24.
151. He has. The folio has "Ha J s," and some editors print
" Has."
152. A sheriffs post. It was the custom for a sheriff to have
posts set up at his door, to which proclamations and other public
notices were affixed. Jonson, in his Every Man Out of his
Humour, refers to these " Shrives posts"; and many similar illus-
trations might be cited from writers of the time-
159. Personage. Personal appearance; as in M. N. D. iii. 2.
292 : " And with her personage, her tall personage," etc. Cf.
Udall's Roister Doister, 1553: "For your personage, beautie, de-
meanour and wit."
161. Squash. An immature pea-pod. See M. N. D. iii. I. 191;
and im peascod, A. Y. L. ii. 4. 52. Codling, used by S. only in this
passage, obviously means here an unripe apple. The present Eng-
lish application of the word to a particular kind of apple was
unknown in his day.
163. In standing water. That is, between the ebb and the flood
of the tide (Schmidt). Cf. Temp. ii. I. 221 : "Well, I am standing
water." The use of in ( in the condition of) is not infrequent.
164. Well-favoured. Good-looking. Cf. Much Ado, iii. 3. 15,
Lear, ii. 4. 259, etc. See also favour (= face, aspect) in ii. 4. 25
and iii. 4. 313, 366 below.
165. Shrewishly. Sharply, pertly. S. uses the word nowhere
else. Shrewish occurs only in C. of E. iii. I. 2, and shrewishness
only in M. N. D. iii. 2. 301. Clarke remarks here : " It is worthy
of note, not only how Olivia is so much struck by the sauciness of
the page-messenger, whose manner is so different from the usual
1 60 Notes [Act i
deference with which Orsino's envoys treat her as to interest her in
the youth even before she sees him, but it is also to be remarked
how Viola assumes flippancy when coming from the Duke, although,
while in his -house, speaking to either himself or his gentlemen, she
maintains the most quiet, distant, and even reservedly dignified
speech and conduct."
176. Unmatchable. Cf. K. John, iv. 3. 52 : "And this so sole
and so unmatchable," etc.
182. Comptible. Sensitive, or " susceptible " (Harness). S. uses
the word only here.
1 88. Are you a comedian? "Olivia's sarcasm at the acting a
part which the delivery of a set speech implies " (Clarke). Furness
suggests that " the sting is in the word comedian, the social brand
thereby implied being almost of the lowest."
189. Profound. Sage, wise ; as in L. L. L. iv. 3. 168 : "profound
Solomon."
192. Usurp. Cf. v. I. 242 below: "my masculine usurp'd
attire."
193. Most certain, etc. Furness paraphrases thus: "If it be in
your power to give away the lordship of this house, it is so right-
fully your duty to do it that, if you do not do it, you are a usurper
of the lord on whom you should bestow it that is, of course, on
Orsino." For myself, I doubt whether there is any such reference
to the " lordship of the house." Viola has pretended that she does
not know Olivia is the lady of the house. When Olivia admits that
she is that lady, Viola recognizes her as the lady to whom she has
been sent, and whom her master loves. In reply to Olivia's " If I
do not usurp myself," she says in substance : " You do usurp your-
self in not giving yourself to the man who loves you and is worthy
of you. This gift of yourself is yours to bestow, for it is not already
pledged to another, and therefore you should not refuse Orsino's
suit." That the lady does not love him does not occur to Viola as
a reason for refusing him ; she herself loves the man and feels that
Olivia must certainly come to love him if she marries him. Furness
Scene V] Notes l6l
adds : " In thus earnestly pleading Orsino's cause, Viola was here, I
think, for a moment betrayed into seriousness. She instantly sees,
however, that this tone is premature, and apologizes, ' But this is
from my commission.' Her bearing is forced and unnatural, even
flippant, until Maria has retired, then it becomes serious, and every
word comes from her heart." I agree with Furness entirely except
in his explanation of what, which seems to me to refer unquestion-
ably to Olivia's very self, not merely to " the lordship of her house."
195. From. Away from, apart from. Cf. Temp. i. i. 65:
"Which is from my remembrance"; and v. I. 335 below: "Write
from it if you can."
198. Forgive. Excuse you from, spare you the trouble of. Cf.
Z. L. L. iv. 2. 147 : " I forgive thy duty," etc.
202. Feigned. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 3. 19: "No, truly; for the truest
poetry is the most feigning," etc.
205. Not mad. Some editors omit not ; but Clarke remarks :
" S. has sometimes these apparent antitheses ; and here we believe
he means Olivia to say, * If you are not quite without reason, be
gone '; giving the effect of antithetical construction without actually
being so."
207. Skipping. Wild, frolic, mad (Johnson). Cf. M. of V. ii.
2. 196 :
" take pain
To allay, with some cold drops of modesty,
Thy skipping spirit."
See also Z. Z. Z. v. 2. 771 and I Henry IV. iii. 2. 60. For the
allusion to the moon as causing lunacy (I need not refer to the
derivation of the word), cf. Oik. v. 109, etc.
210. Swabber. One who scrubs the deck of a ship. Viola takes
up the nautical metaphor of hoist sail, and turns it contemptuously
against Maria. Cf. Temp. ii. 2. 48 : " The master, the swabber, the
boatswain, and I," etc. Hull means, literally, to drift to and fro
without sails or rudder ; here = to float. Cf. Kick. III. iv. 4. 438 :
" And there they hull " ; and Hen. VIII. ii. 4. 199 :
TWELFfH NIGHT II
1 62 Notes [Act i
" Thus hulling in
The wild sea of my conscience, I did steer
Toward this remedy."
211. Some mollification, etc. Something to pacify your gigantic
waiting-maid ; a hit at the diminutive Maria, with an allusion to
the giants who guard ladies in the old romances. " It is pleasant to
see the playful tone that Viola falls into now that she is with those
of her sex" (Clarke).
212. Tell me your mind, etc. There seems to be some corrup-
tion here. Hanmer and some other editors have adopted the cori-
jecture of Warburton that Tell me your mind belongs to Olivia, and
/ am a messenger to Viola. Dyce believes that something more than
the names of the speakers is omitted in the folio. Furness is
inclined to accept Capell's explanation of the folio text, that Viola's
" Tell me your mind " is " Shall I have this favour from you ? "
alluding to what she had just asked ; or, as Hunter puts it, "Viola
evidently appeals to Olivia whether she will suffer Maria to turn her
out of the house so unceremoniously." Furness thinks that " it is
not extravagant to picture Maria's zeal as so warm that she attempts
to force Viola from the apartment." The context does not give the
slightest support to this explanation, but, aside from that, it seems to
me a mere " trick of desperation." The petite Maria would not at-
tempt to put a young man out of doors, but if she had done it Olivia
would not have allowed it to pass without a shar^ reproof. I let
the old text stand because I am not entirely satisfied with the only
emendation that has been suggested ; but as it stands, it is to me
utterly inexplicable.
216. // alone concerns your ear. It concerns your ear alone.
The transposition is not uncommon.
217. Taxation. Claim, demand.
223. My entertainment. My reception, the way I have been
treated. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 465 : " I will resist such entertainment "
(that is, treatment); and V. and A. no8: "Witness the enter-
tainment that he gave."
Scene V] Notes 1 63
224. Maidenhead. Changed by Theobald to " maidhood " ; but
in the time of S. the word was = maidenhood, to which it is etymo-
logically equivalent. Cf. Godhead, etc.
230. Comfortable. Comforting. For the active sense, cf. Rich.
II. ii. 2. 76 : " Uncle, for God's sake, speak comfortable words."
See also on ii. I. 27.
242. We will draw the curtain. See on i. 3. 133 above. Cf.
T. and C. lii. 2. 49 : " Come, draw this curtain, and let 's see your
picture." Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Skialetheia, 1598 :
\
" Oh, sir, she 's painted, and you know the guise,
Pictures are curtaind from the vulgar eyes."
243. Sttch a one I was this present. The reading of the folio,
and perhaps corrupt. Various emendations have been proposed :
as " I wear this present," " such a one as I was," "such a one I was
as this presents" " such a one I am at this present," etc. Furness
aptly suggests that Olivia's words are " an attempt to be jocular to
hide the embarrassment caused by removing her veil to allow an
exceedingly handsome young man to gaze on her face, and she says
in effect, * Such a one I was an instant ago,' before she removed her
veil, and of course, such she still remains."
246. In grain. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 108: "No, sir, 't is in grain;
Noah's flood could not do it " (that is, wash it out) ; M. N. D. i.
2. 97 : " purple-in-grain," etc.
248. Blent. Used again in M. of V. iii. 2. 183 ; elsewhere
(twice) S. has " blended." Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 42 :
" Yet ill thou blamest me, for having blent
My name with guile and traiterous intent."
249. Cunning. Skilful ; as in iii. 4. 298 below : " cunning in
fence," etc.
250. She. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. n, Hen. V. ii. i, 83, Cymb. i. 6,
40, etc.
1 64 Notes [Act I
252. Leave the world no copy. Cf. Sonn. II. 13:
" She carv'd thee for her seal, and meant thereby
Thou shouldst print more, nor let that copy die."
See also Sonn. 3. 14 and 9. 3 fol.
255. Labelled. A legal term, a label being = a codicil to a will.
Cf. R. and J. iv. I. 57.
256. Indifferent. For the adverbial use, cf. i. 3. 139 above.
256. Grey eyes. Commonly explained as = blue eyes ; but I
have no doubt that it means what it says.
259. Praise. Appraise ; but not an abbreviation of that word,
as often printed. Cf. T. and C. iii. 2. 97 : " praise us as we are
tasted ; allow us as we prove." Halliwell-Phillipps cites Palsgrave,
Lesclarcissement, etc., 1530: "I prayse a th-ynge, I esteme of what
value it is, Je aprise" ; Baret, Alvearie, 1580 : "A praiser or val-
uer," etc. Olivia plays upon the word here.
260. You. For the "redundant object," cf. i. 2. 53 above.
264. Nonpareil. Cf. Temp. iii. 2. 108 :
" And that most deeply to consider is
The beauty of his daughter ; he himself
Calls her a nonpareil."
265. With fertile tears. That is, abundant or copious tears.
The with is not in the folio; supplied by Pope. Adorations is
metrically equivalent to five syllables. See on i. I. 39 above.
270. In voices ivell divulged. Well spoken of, well reputed.
271. Dimension. Body. Cf. v. i. 239 below, the only other
example of the singular in S.
272. Gracious. Full of graces, attractive ; as often.
275. Deadly. Deathlike, pining.
280. Cantons. Cantos. Malone cites The London Prodigal,
1605: "in his third canton"; and Hey wood, Preface to Britaynes
Troy, 1609: "in the judicial perusal of these few cantons."
282. Reverberate. Reverberant, echoing; as not unfrequently.
Scene V] Notes 165
Other words in -ate (from Latin passive participles) are used both
passively and actively.
288. State. Estate ; as in M. of F. iii. 2. 262 : " my state was
nothing," etc.
294. Post. Messenger; as in M. of V. ii. 9. 100, v. i. 48, etc.
298. Cruelty. Cf. ii. 4. 82 below.
303. Blazon. Literally, an heraldic description of a coat of
arms; hence, any description or record. Cf. M. W. v. 5. 68:
" With loyal blazon," etc.
304. Unless the master were the man. Various attempts have
been made to explain this. Malone says : " Unless the dignity of
the master were added to the merit of the servant, I shall go too
far and disgrace myself." Steevens thinks she may mean to check
herself by observing, " This is unbecoming forwardness on my part,
unless I were as much in love with the master as I am with the
man." Clarke makes it = " unless the master's love for me were
felt by the man." Olivia evidently wishes that the master and the
man could change places, but just what she would have said if she
had not checked herself we need not trouble ourselves to guess.
306. Perfections. See on i. I. 39 above.
308. To creep. S. often uses the to of the infinitive where it is
now omitted, and vice versa.
310. Peevish. Silly; its most common meaning in S.
311. County* s. Count's; as repeatedly in R. and J. and else-
where.
313. Flatter with. Deal flatteringly with, encourage with hopes.
Cf. T. G. ofV. iv. 4. 193 : " Unless I flatter with myself too much ";
Rich. II. ii. i. 88: " Shall dying men flatter with those that live? "
315. If that. See on i. 2. 48 above.
318. Fear to find, etc. "I fear that my eyes will seduce my
understanding; that I am indulging a passion for the beautiful
youth which my reason cannot approve " (Malone) ; " I fear lest
my admiration of this youth prove stronger than my judgment "
(Clarke).
1 66 Notes [Act ii
320. Owe. Own ; that is, we are not our own masters. Cf.
Temp. i. 2. 454 : " the name thou owest not," etc.
ACT II
SCENE I. I. Nor will you not. These double negatives are
common in S. For a triple negative, see iii. I. 162 below: "nor
never none," etc.
4. Malignancy. S. uses the word nowhere else, malignity not
at all. For distemper, see on i. 5. 94 above.
11. Determinate. Fixed. Cf. Sonn. 87. 4, etc.
12. Extravagancy. Vagrancy; used by'S. only here. Cf. the
use of extravagant in Ham. i. I. 154 and Oth. i. i. 137.
15. In manners. Cf. Sonn. 85. I: " My tongue-tied Muse in
manners holds her still." We find "with manners" in Sonn. 39. I
and Cymb. i. 4. 56. To express myself ' to reveal myself.
17. Which I called Roderigo. No reason for his assuming a false
name is hinted at, and I can imagine none.
1 8. Messaline. Cf. v. I. 234 below. As no such place is known,
Hanmer substituted " Metelin," the modern name of Mitylene. Fur-
ness jocosely suggests that Messaline was " the chief city of Pros-
pero's island."
20. An. One. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 277: "These foils have all a
length," etc.
23. Breach. Breaking, surf.
26. Was yet. For the ellipsis of the relative, cf. i. 5. 103 above.
27. Though I could not, etc. " Though I could not believe that,
like those who estimated her at too high a rate" (Schmidt).
Estimable wonder = " esteeming wonder, or wonder and esteem "
(Johnson). For the active sense of estimable, cf. comfortable in i.
5. 230 above, and Receivable in iv. 3. 21 below.
30. Drowned already, etc. Cf. Ham. iv. 7. 1 86:
Scene II] Notes 167
" Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,
And therefore I forbid my tears."
33. Your bad entertainment. The humble way in which I have
entertained you as my guest ; as your trouble = the trouble I have
been to you.
36. Murther me. Knight suggests that there may be an allusion
to the superstition, made use of by Scott in The Pirate, that the
man who was saved by another from shipwreck would kill his
benefactor. But, as Wright suggests, "Antonio seems only to
appeal to Sebastian not to kill him as a reward for his love by
abandoning him."
41. The manners of my mother, etc. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 6. 31 :
" And all my mother came into my eyes."
45. Gentleness. Favour, good -will.
SCENE II. 6. To have taken. By taking ; an " indefinite use "
of the infinitive, common in S.
10. So hardy to come. For the omission of as, cf. ii. 4. 98 below :
" So big to hold," etc.
1 2. She took the ring. " Viola, perceiving that Olivia has framed
an excuse to blind her steward whom she sends, and willing to aid
her in screening herself, accepts the version given of the ring's
having been sent from Orsino to the Countess ; which, moreover,
affords a ready and plausible motive for refusing to take it now
herself" (Clarke),
1 8. Fortune forbid my outside have not, etc. That is, forbid that
it have. Cf. P. P. 124 : " Forbade the boy he should not pass those
grounds." Elsewhere the negative is omitted ; as in Sonn. 58. I :
" That god forbid that made me first your slave
I should in thought control your times of pleasure," etc.
20. That sure methought. The reading of the later folios ; the
1st omits sure. Her eyes had lost her tongue ; that is, she was so
absorbed in looking at me that she talked distractedly. For lose
1 68 Notes [Act ii
in this causative sense (= caused the loss of), cf. Lear, i. 2. 125:
" It shall lose thee nothing."
26. She were better love. See on i. 5. 31 above, and cf. iii. 4. 12
below : " your ladyship were best," etc.
28. Pregnant. Ready, expert (Johnson and Schmidt). Cf. iii.
i. 92 below.
29. Proper-false. Good-looking and deceitful. For proper, cf.
M. of V. i. 2. 77 : "a proper man's picture " ; Hebrews, xi. 23 : "a
proper child," etc.
30. In wouierfs waxen hearts, etc. To make an impression on
the soft hearts of women, or to fix their image there. Johnson
took it to mean, " How easy is disguise to women ! how easily does
their own falsehood, contained in their waxen changeable hearts,
enable them to assume deceitful appearances ! " Steevens com-
pares R. of L. 1240:
" For men have marble, women waxen minds,
And therefore are they form'd as marble will ;
The weak oppress'd, the impression of strange kinds
Is form'd in them by force, by fraud, or skill.
Then call them not the authors of their ill,
No more than wax shall be accounted evil
Wherein is stamp'd the semblance of a devil."
See also M.for M. ii. 4. 128 :
" Nay, call us ten times frail ;
For we are soft as our complexions are,
And credulous to false prints."
32. Made of, such. The folios hare "made, if such." The
correction was proposed by Tyrwhitt. Johnson wished to read,
" For such as we are made, if such we be,
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we ! "
33. Fadge. Succeed, prosper. Cf. L. L. L. v. i. 154: "We will
have, if this fadge not, an antique." Boswell quotes Florio, Worlde
Scene III] Notes 169
of Wordes : " Andar* a vanga, to fadge, to prosper with, to go as
one would have it " ; and Niccols, Beggars Ape :
" For who so beares simplicities true badge
To live in Princes courts doe seldome fadge."
34. Monster. Referring to her disguise, which makes her appear
a man though really a woman. Fond = dote ; the only example of
the verb in S. Schmidt thinks it may be the adjective.
SCENE III. 2. Diluculo surgere. The rest of the adage (which
S. found in Lilly's Grammar} is " saliiberrimum est " (to rise early
is most healthful).
10. The four elements. Cf. Sonn. 45, Hen. V. Hi. 7. 22, /. C. v.
5. 73, etc.
14. Stoup. A drinking cup. Cf. Ham. v. I. 68: "Fetch me a
stoup of liquor," etc.
17. The picture of we three. Alluding to a common old sign
representing two fools, with the inscription " We three," the spec-
tator being of course the third. The device is said to be still seen
in some parts of England.
1 8. Catch. A song in which the parts follow one another. Cf.
Temp. iii. 2. 126, 135.
20. Breast. Voice. Warton cites the statutes of Stoke Col-
lege: "which said queristers, after their breasts are broken" (that
is, after their voices have changed), etc.; and Fiddes Life of
Wolsey. "singing- men well-breasted." Halliwell-Phillipps quotes
The Proverbis in the Caret at Lekingfelde :
" A naturall breste is goode with sowndes of moderacion,
A glorifiede breste is to curyus with notis of altefacion,
But he that syngithe a trewe songe mesurithe in the meane [tenor] ,
And he that rechithe to hye a trebill his tewyns is not clene ; "
Udall, Roister Doister : " So loe ! that is a breast to blowe out a
candle," etc.
Notes [Act ii
I had rather, etc. Cf. M. W. i. I. 205: "I had rather than
forty shillings I had my Book of Songs and Sonnets here." Had
rather, though condemned by grammar-mongers, is still good
English.
23. Pigrogromitus. A philosopher of the same school as Qui-
napalus.
25. Leman. Mistress, sweetheart; as in 2 Hen. IV. v. 3. 49:
"And drink unto the leman mine." In M. W. iv. 2. 172, it is
masculine = paramour. In the present passage the folios have
" Lemon," and some have thought that the fruit was meant. The
two words were often played upon ; as in Buttes, Dyets Dry
Dinner , 1599: "All say a limon in wine is good; some thinke
a leman and wine better."
27. Impeticos thy gratillity. Johnson wished to read " impeti-
coat thy gratuity," that is, put it in the pocket of his long coat;
but, even if that is the meaning, we need not correct the clown's
wording of it. Johnson adds, " There is yet much in this dialogue
which I do not understand." I fear that no commentator will
make it clear why the Myrmidons are no bottle-ale houses, or fix
the exact time of the transit of the equinoctial of Queubus by the
Vapians.
28. Whipstock. English editors think it necessary to explain
that this means the handle of a whip. The word is still in com-
mon use in this country.
34. TestriL Sixpence; also called a tester, as in 2 Hen. IV.
iii. 2. 296.
If one knight give a . There is no point after the a in the 1st
folio ; the later ones add the dash. Feste interrupts Sir Andrew.
39. Good life^ Virtuous conduct or good behaviour (Malone
and Schmidt) ; evidently intended to prepare the way for Andrew's
answer. Steevens thought it meant "harmless mirth and jollity,"
which Furness prefers. Malone quotes M. W. iii. 3. 137: "De-
fend your reputation, or farewell to your good life for ever."
41. O mistress mine^ etc. The song is probably not by S. It is
Scene III] Notes 17 1
found in Morley's Consort Lessons, 1599, which seems too early foi
the date of the play. Furness gives the music of it.
44. Sweeting. Cf. T. of S. iv. 3. 36 : " What, sweeting, all
amort ? " Oth. ii. 3. 252 : "All 's well now, sweeting," etc.
Lovers. Some eds. make the word a plural possessive.
53. In delay, etc. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 3. 53 : " Delay leads impo-
tent and snail-pac'd beggary."
54. Sweet and twenty. Found elsewhere as a term of endear-
ment. Steevens quotes Wit of a Woman, 1604: "Sweet and
twenty : all sweet and sweet." Schmidt compares M. W. ii. I. 202 :
" Good even and twenty." Wright thinks it is " certainly wrong "
to regard the phrase as vocative, and explains it as = " sweet kisses,
and twenty of them." Furness believes it to be vocative, and finds in
it " the indescribable charm which differentiates poetry from prose."
58. Breath. Cf. " so sweet a breath to sing " in 20 above ; also
M. N. D. ii. I. 151: "Uttering such dulcet and harmonious
breath," etc.
61. Make the welkin dance. "That is, drink till the sky seems
to turn round" (Johnson). Cf. A. arid C. ii. 7. 124: "Cup us
till the world go round."
62. Draw three souls, etc. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 3. 6 1 : "Is it not
strange that sheeps' guts should hale souls out of men's bodies ? "
Warburton sees here an allusion to the three souls of the Peri-
patetic philosophy ; whereupon Coleridge remarks : " O genuine
and inimitable (at least I hope so) Warburton! This note of
thine, if but one in five millions, would be half a one too much."
Weavers were supposed to be good singers and particularly given
to singing psalms, being most of them Calvinists and refugees from
the Netherlands (Schmidt). Cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 147 : " I would I
were a weaver ; I could sing psalms or anything."
65. I am dog. The 3d and 4th folios have "a dog"; but the
phrase was a common one. Halliwell-Phillipps cites Englishmen
for my Money: " I am dogg at this"; The Devil of a Wife:
" Ay, ay, come I 'm old dogg at that," etc.
Notes [Act ii
70. Hold thy peace, etc. This old three-part catch is so arranged
that each singer calls another knave in turn. It is to be found in
a book entitled " Pammelia, Musickes Miscellanie, or mixed Varietie
of pleasant Roundelays and delightful Catches of 3, 4, 5, 6, y ?
8, 9, 10 Parts in one," of which a second ed. was printed in
1618.
80. Catalan. A Chinese ; Cataia or Cathay being the name
given to China by the early travellers. Tennyson uses it in Locksley
Hall : " a cycle of Cathay." Nares says the word " was used also
to signify a sharper, from the dexterous thieving of those people ;
which quality is ascribed to them in many old books of travels."
Cf. M. W.\\. I. 148: "I will not believe such a Catalan, though
the priest of the town commended him for a true man." Sir Toby
uses it in a loose way as a mere term of reproach, as a drunken
fellow might use " heathen Chinee " nowadays. Steevens cites
Davenant, Love and Honour : " Hang him, bold Cataian," etc.
81. Peg-a-Ramsey. There were two tunes with this name in the
time of S. The music of one of them, with that of Hold thy
peace, etc., may be found in the Varioriim of 1821. Three merry
men be we is likewise a fragment of an old song, often quoted in
the plays of the time.
82. Consanguineous. Used by S. only here ; as consanguinity
is only in T. and C. iv. 2. 103.
83. Tillyvally was an expression of contempt and impatience.
Johnson says that Sir Thomas More's lady was much in the habit
of using it, and Nares gives illustrative quotations from Roper's
Life of More. Dame Quickly corrupts the word into tillyfally in
2 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 90. Inhere dwelt a man, etc., is from the old ballad
of Susanna, quoted also by Mercutio in R. and J. ii. 4. 151.
85. Beshrew me. A mild imprecation, though originally = may
evil befall me !
89. Natural. Possibly intended to suggest the other sense of
the word (see on i. 3. 30), though of course Andrew does not
mean it so.
Scene III] Notes 173
90. 0, the twelfth day, etc. From some old ballad that has not
come down to us.
94. Honesty. Decency, propriety. Cf. Oth. iv. 1 . 288 : " It is
not honesty in me to speak"; Hen. VIII. v. 2. 28: "honesty
... At least good manners," etc.
95. Tinkers. "Proverbial tipplers and would-be politicians"
(Schmidt). Cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 20: "I can drink with any
tinker," etc.
97. Coziers 1 . Cobblers'. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Percivale's
Dictionarie^ 1599: "A cosier or cobler, remendon" ; and Min-
sheu's Guide: "A cosier or sowter, ab Hisp. Coser, to sow"
(sew).
101. Sneck up ! "This was a scoffing interjection, tantamount
to ' Go hang! ' and here has the added humorous effect of a hic-
cup" (Clarke). Steevens quotes Beaumont and Pletcher, Knight
of the Burning Pestle : " Give him his money, George, and let him
go sneck up," etc. Taylor the Water-Poet has " Snickup, which is
in English gallow-grasse," or what in the same passage he calls
" a Tiburne hempen-caudell" [rope for the gallows]. Tyburn
(Z. L. L. iv. 3. 54) was the usual place for London executions.
102. Round. Plain, blunt; as in Hen. V. iv. I. 216, etc. So
the adverb directly ; as in Ham. iii. 2. 191, etc.
104. Disorders. Explained by the following misdemeanours.
Cf. Lear, ii. 4. 202 :
" I set him there, sir; but his own disorders
Deserv'd much less advancement," etc.
109. Farewell, dear heart, etc. From " Condon's Farewell to
Phillis," which may be found in Percy's Reliques. Some of the
snatches that follow are from the same song.
122. Out 0' time, sir ? The folio has " Out o' tune sir, ye lye " :
etc. The emendation is due to Theobald and is adopted by most
of the editors. Collier retains the old reading, pointing it " Out
of tune! sir," etc., and making it refer to the Clown; but, as
174 Notes [Act ii
Dyce remarks, the Clown was a professional singer and would not
be likely to be out of tune. It is a drunken iteration of what Sir
Toby has said in 89 above. Furness defends the folio.
123. Dost thou think, etc. Clarke takes this to be "a fling at
Malvolio's Puritanism," and the Clown's swearing by Saint Anne
as another, such oaths being regarded with abhorrence by the
Puritans ; but Malvolio is not a Puritan. See comments on the
character in the Appendix.
126. Ginger. A favourite spice in the time of S., especially
with old people. Cf. M. of V. iii. I. 10, M. for M. iv. 3, 8, etc.
129. With crumbs. That is, to clean it. Cf. Webster, Duchess
of Malfy : " Tea, and the chippings of the buttery fly after him, to
scouer his gold chain." Stewards wore such chains as badges of
office.
132. Rule. Conduct, behaviour. Cf. night-rule in M. N. D.
iii. 2. 5. Steevens quotes Heywood, English Traveller : " What
guests we harbour and what rule we keep"; and Jonson, Tale of a
Tub : " And set him in the stocks for his ill rule."
134. Go shake your ears. A common expression of contempt.
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes, among other instances, .Howell, Fa-
miliar Letters : " This being one day done, they shut their gates
against him, and made him go shake his ears, and to shift for his
lodging," etc. Cf. J. C. iv. I. 26, which suggests that the ex-
pression is equivalent to calling a man an ass.
136. The field. Some adopt Rowe's " to the field." Perhaps,
as Schmidt suggests, S. wrote "to field." Cf. R. and J. iii. I. 61 :
" Marry, go before to field." It seems hardly worth our while to
correct Andrew's grammar, particularly when he is drunk.
146. A nayword. The folio has " an ayword," which has been
explained as " a word always used, a proverbial reproach"; but as
S. uses nayword in M. W. ii. 2. 131 and v. 2. 5, that was probabl)
his word here. There it is = watchword ; here it is = byword.
Dyce quotes Forby, Vocab. of E, Angliq ; "Nayword . . A bye-
word ; a laughing-stock."
Scene III] Notes 175
149. Possess. Inform, tell. Cf. M. of V. iv. I. 35: "I have
possess'd your grace of what I purpose " (cf. Id. i. 3. 65), etc.
152. Puritan. For other allusions to the Puritans, see A. W.
i. 3. 56, 98, W. 7'. iv. 3. 46, and Per. iv. 6. 9.
1 60. Time-pleaser. Time-server. Cf. Cor. Hi. I. 45 : " Time-
pleasers, flatterers, foes to nobleness." Affectioned affected ;
used by S. only here. In L. L. L. v. i. 4, the 1st folio has "affec-
tion " = affectation (the reading of the other folios) ; and in Ham.
ii. 2. 464, the quarto has " affection," the folios " affectation."
161. Cons state studies dignity of deportment.
162. Swarths. Swaths. The word is used by S. only here ; and
swath only in T. and C. v. 5. 25. Swarth indicates the pronuncia-
tion. The best persuaded, etc. = having the best opinion of him-
self.
170. Expressure. Expression ; as in M. W. v. 5. 71 and T.
and C. iii. 3. 204. Cf. impressure in ii. 5. 99 below.
172. Feelingly. Exactly; as in Ham. v. 2. 113, etc.
1 80. A horse of that colour. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 393 : " boys and
women are for the most part cattle of this colour."
184. Ass. With possibly a play on as ; as in M. N. D. v. 1.317
on ass and ace.
191. Penthesilea. The queen of the Amazons ; an ironical allu-
sion to Maria's diminutive size, like beagle below. See also on
i. 5. 211 above.
192. Before me. By my soul. Cf. Oth. iv. I. 149 : "Before
me ! Look where she comes ! "
193. Beagle. A small kind of dog. The word is again used
figuratively in T. of A. iv. 3. 174.
198. Recover. Gain, win. Cf. Temp. iii. 2. 16 : "ere I could
recover the shore," etc.
199. Out. Out of pocket ; still colloquially used in that sense.
201. Call me cut. Like "call me horse" in i Hen. IV. ii. 4.
215. As Malone remarks, cut was probably synonymous with cur-
tal (A. W. ii. 3. 65) and = a horse whose tail has been docked.
176 Notes [Act ii
Cf. The Two Noble Kinsmen, iii. 4 : " He '11 buy me a white cut
forth for to ride" ; and Sir John Oldcastle, 1600 : "But master,
pray ye, let me ride upon Cut." Some make it = gelding.
204. Burn some sack. Cf. " burnt sack " in J\L W.\\ I. 223 and
iii. I. 112. Sack was "the generic name of Spanish and Canary
wines."
SCENE IV. 3. Antique. Quaint. The accent is always on the
first syllable.
5. Recollected. " Studied " (Warburton). It has been variously
defined as "repeated," "refined," "trivial," "light," etc.
ii. Feste. Possibly, as Clarke suggests, from the Italian festeggi-
ante which Florio defines as " Feasting, merrie, banqueting, pleas-
ant, of good entertainment."
18. Motions. Emotions; "often used with reference to love"
(Furness). Cf. M. N. D. i. I. 204, Oth. i. 3. 113, etc.
21. The seat, etc. That is, the heart. Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 448 :
"Yield up, O Love, thy crown and hearted throne." Malone
refers to i. I. 37 above.
22. Thou dost speak masterly, " One of the few instances in
which S. indirectly (and of course unconsciously) comments upon
himself. Certainly there never was more masterly speaking on the
effect produced by music upon a nature sensitively alive to its
finest influences than Viola's few but intensely expressive words "
(Clarke). For the adverbial use of masterly, cf. W. T. v. 3. 65 and
Oth. i. I. 26.
25. By your favour. There is an obvious play upon favour.
For its use face, aspect, cf. iii. 4. 346, 400 below.
26. Complexion. Personal appearance; as in V. and A. 215:
" Thou art no man, though of a man's complexion," etc. See also
ii. 5. 27 below.
29. Let still the woman, etc. Some believe that the poet had
in mind his own marriage with a woman much older than himself,
but this is exceedingly improbable. Furness takes the same view,
Scene IV] Notes 177
and, moreover, does not believe that Orsino's assertion itself is
true.
33. Unfirm. Cf. /. C. i. 3. 4 and A\ and J. v. 3. 6. S. also
uses infirm ; as in Alacb. ii. 2. 52, Lear, i. I. 303, etc.
34. Worn. Changed by Hanmer to " won." The emendation
is plausible, but as worn (= forgotten, effaced) gives a good sense,
we are hardly justified in displacing it. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. ii. 4. 69 :
" These few days' wonder will be quickly worn."
37. The bent. That is, its tension. The metaphor is taken
from the bending of a bow. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 3. 232 : " her affec-
tions have their full bent," etc.
41. Perfection. The word "not only applies to the blown
beauty of the rose, but has figurative reference to the full loveli-
ness of a woman when matched with her chosen manly counter-
part in married union; thus affording corroboration of the reading
perfection in i. I. 39 above" (Clarke).
44. Spinsters. In its original sense of female spinners. Cf.
Oth. i. i. 24 and Hen. VIII. i. 2. 33, the only other instances of the
word in S.
45. Free. Free from care, happy ; as in Oth. iii. 3. 340 : "free
and merry," etc.
46. Use. Are accustomed. We still use the past tense in this
sense, but not the present. Cf. Temp. ii. i. 175, A. and C. ii. 5.
32, etc. Silly sooth = simple truth (Johnson). For sooth, cf.
W. T. iv. 4. 171 : "he looks like sooth" ; Macb. i. 2. 36 : "if
I say sooth, etc.
48. The old age. The olden time, the primitive age. Cf. Sonn.
127. i : " In the old age black was not counted fair."
52. Cypress. It is doubtful whether this means a shroud of cy-
press or cyprus (the modern crape}, as Warton and Steevens explain
it, or a coffin of cypress wood, as Malone makes it. It has been
objected to the former that the shroud here is white, but Cotgrave
mentions " white cipres." In proof that cypress wood was used
for coffins, Malone quotes Speed, who, in referring to the death of
TWELFTH NIGHT 12
178 Notes [Act n
Robert de Vere, speaks of " the cypress chest wherein his body lay
embalmed." Wright thinks it is " either a coffin of cypress wood
or a bier strewn with branches or garlands of cypress." " Cy-
press chests " not coffins are mentioned in T. of S. ii. 1.353.
57. My part of death, etc. "Though death is a part in which
every one acts his share, yet of all these actors no one is so true as
I " (Johnson).
68. I take pleasure in singing. From what Viola says in i. 2. 58
fol. (" I can sing," etc.) we might infer that S. at first intended
that she should do some singing in the play (at this point perhaps),
but he seems to have changed his mind afterwards possibly be-
cause the boy in the theatrical company who would take the part
of Viola was not a good singer.
73. Give me now leave, etc. A courteous form of dismissal.
Cf. i Hen. IV. i. 3. 20, etc.
75. Taffeta. A silken fabric ; mentioned again in L. L. L. v. 2.
159. See also on i. 3. 140 above. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes
Taylor the Water-Poet : "No Taffaty more changeable than
they."
76. Opal alludes to the changeable colour of the stone. Stee-
vens quotes Drayton, Muses' Elysium :
" With opals more than any one
We '11 deck thine altar fuller,
For that of every precious stone
It doth retain some colour."
S. mentions the stone only here and in Z. C. 215.
78. Every where. Warburton wanted to read " no where " ; but,
as Mason says, " we cannot accuse a man of inconstancy who has
no intents at all, though we may the man whose intents are every-
where, that is, are constantly varying."
82. Cruelty. For the concrete use, cf. i. 5. 298 above.
86. Giddily. Carelessly, negligently.
87. That miracle, etc. That fair frame, that beauteous person
Scene IV] Notes 179
(Clarke). Pranks = decks, adorns. Cf. IV. T. iv. 4. 10 : "Most
goddess-like prank'd up" ; and Cor. iii. I. 23 : " For they do prank
them in authority."
95. There is. A singular verb is often used before a plural sub-
ject, particularly with there is.
98. So big to hold. That is, as to hold. See on ii. 2. 9
above.
They lack retention. "This, from the Duke who has lately
affirmed that women's love is firmer and more lasting than men's
is but another point in keeping with his opal-hued mind"
(Clarke).
100. Liver. For the liver as the seat of love, cf. ii. 5. 102 below.
It was also reckoned the seat of courage. Cf. iii. 2. 22 and 66
below.
101. Cloyment. Used by S. only here. We find cloy less in A.
and C. ii. I. 25.
102. The sea. Cf. i. I. ii above; also Temp. iii. 3. 55: "the
never-surfeited sea."
103. Compare. For the noun, cf. R. and J. ii. 5. 43, iii. 5. 238,
M. N. D. iii. 2. 290, etc.
109. Lov'd. For the omission of the relative, cf. i. 5. 103
above.
113. A worm i' the bud. Cf. R. of L. 848: "Why should the
worm intrude the maiden bud ?" See also Sonn. 35. 4, 70. 7,
95. 2, K. John, iii. 4. 82, i Hen. VI. ii. 4. 68, 71, Ham. i. 3.
99, etc.
114. Thought. Love ; or "brooding over her love."
116. Like Patience. Patience is personified, but grief is not.
Smiling refers to she, not to Patience. The passage is often mis-
pointed and misunderstood. Cf. Per. v. I. 138 :
" yet thou dost look
Like Patience gazing on kings' graves and smiling
Extremity out of act."
i8o Notes [Act ii
122. I am all the daughters, etc. "S., in such speeches as these,
has shown not only his knowledge of the depths of feminine nature,
but the utmost grace, refinement, and delicacy in fancy of which
enigmatic reply is susceptible" (Clarke). And yet I know not
refers to the possibility that her brother is still living.
126. Denay. Denial. Steevens cites examples of the old verb
denay from Holinshed and Warner, but does not refer to its occur-
rence (in the folio) in 2 Hen. VI. i. 3. 107 : "Then let him be de-
nay'd the regentship." S. uses the verb only there, the noun only
here.
SCENE V. 5. Sheep-biter. A cant term for a thief (Dyce).
Schmidt says it is " evidently = a morose, surly, and malicious fel-
low " ; but the following from Taylor the Water-Poet seems to
show that Dyce is right :
" And in some places I have heard and scene
That currish sheep-biters have hanged beene."
The word seems originally to have been applied to a dog that bit
or worried sheep ; and Taylor may refer to killing (perhaps liter-
ally hanging) such a dog. Cf. M. of V. iv. i. 134: "a wolf, who
hang'd for human slaughter," etc. In the olden time animals were
often tried and executed. Like many other words of the kind, sheep-
biter doubtless came to be used as a general term of contempt.
We find sheep-biting in M. for M. v. i. 359 : " your sheep-biting
face."
15. Metal. The 1st folio has " Mettle," the later folios " Nettle,"
which is doubtless a misprint, though some editors have adopted it.
Metal and mettle are used indiscriminately in the folio. My metal
of India ( = my golden girl, my jewel) is an expression quite in Sir
Toby's vein.
23. Caiight with tickling. Steevens cites Cogan, Haven of
Health, 1595: "This fish of nature loveth flatterie: for, being in
Scene V] Notes 1 8 1
the water, it will suffer itself to be rubbed and clawed, and so to be
taken."
, 26. Should she fancy. If she (Olivia) should love. This is the
only sense of the verb in S. For the absolute use, cf. T. and C. v.
2. 165 :
" never did young man fancy
With so eternal and so fix'd a soul."
For complexion, see on ii. 4. 26 above.
32. Jets. Struts. Cf. Cymb. iii. 3. 5 : "arch'd so high that giants
may jet through." Steevens quotes Arden of Fever sham, 1592:
" And bravely jets it in a silken gown " ; and Bussy d'Ambois,
1607: "To jet in others' plumes so haughtily." Advanced up-
raised; as in Temp. i. 2. 408: "The fringed curtains of thine eye
advance," etc.
34. 'Slight. A corruption of " God's light " ; used again in iii.
2. 14 below. Cf. 'slid (iii. 4. 375 below), 'sblood {Oth. i. I. 4), J sdeath.
(Cor. i. i. 221), 'swounds (Ham. ii. 2. 604), etc.
40. The lady of the Strachy, etc. The briefest and most mysteri-
ous of love romances immortalized in prose or verse. We may
imagine, however, that the pair lived happily ever after, or Malvolio
would not have quoted their story as a precedent. The word
Strachy is printed in the folio with a capital and in italics, as if
a proper noun. It has been the subject of much conjecture and
discussion. Among the emendations proposed are " Stratarch,"
"Trachy " (= Thrace), " Straccio," " Strozzi," " Stracci," " Duchy,"
etc. It may be the corruption of a family name (Italian most
likely), in some old story now lost. For almost five pages of com-
ment upon it, see Furness, who himself assumes that the word is
probably a misprint.
41. The yeoman of the wardrobe was a regular title of office in
the time of S. Florio translates vestiario by " a wardrobe-keeper,
or a yeoman of a wardrobe."
42. Jezebel. " Sir Andrew merely knows this name as a term of
1 82 Notes [Act ii
reproach ; and his applying a woman's name to a man is of a piece
with his other accomplishments " (Clarke).
43. Deeply in. "Deeply lost in his wild fancies" (Furness).
44. Blows him. Puffs him up. Cf. Lear, iv. 4. 27 : " No blown
ambition doth our arms incite," etc.
46. State. That is, chair of state ; as in I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 416 :
" this chair shall be my state," etc.
47. Stone-boiv. A cross-bow for throwing stones. Coles gives
balista as the Latin equivalent. Marston, in his Dutch Courtesan,
1605, speaks of " those who shoot in stone-bows," etc.
50. Branched. Referring to the flowered pattern of the fabric.
Cotgrave refers to figured velvet as " branched velvet." Day-
bed '= couch, sofa. The word is used again in Rich. III. iii. 7. 72
(" love-bed" in the folios).
54. The humour of state. " The high airs, the capricious inso-
lence, of authority."
55. A demure travel of regard. Looking gravely about.
62. My watch. At the date of the play watches were just begin-
ning to be worn in England. Malone says they were first brought
to England from Germany in 1580. Steevens quotes The Antipodes,
a comedy, 1638 :
" your project against
The multiplicity of pocket- watches ; "
and again :
"when every puny clerk can carry
The time o* th' day in his breeches."
With my some, etc. The dash is not in the folio, and some
modern editors omit it, making my some rich jewel = some rich
jewel of mine. Probably, as Dr. Nicholson has suggested, Malvolio
was about to say "with my chain," but "suddenly remembering
that he would be no longer a steward, or any other golden-chained
attendant [cf. ii. 3. 129 above], he stops short, and then confusedly
alters his phrase to. some rich jewel"
Scene V] Notes 1 83
66. By th? ears. The ist folio has "with cars," the later folios,
" with cares." Johnson conjectured " with carts," Tyrwhitt " with
cables," Walker "with racks," Bailey "with screws," etc. The
reading in the text is Hanmer's, and seems to me the best that has
been proposed. Clarke defends " with cars," comparing T. G. of V.
iii. i. 265 : "a team of horse shall not pluck that from me " ; and
Sir Toby's own expression " oxen and wainropes cannot hale them
together," in iii. 2. 63 below. Furness also is willing to retain
"cars." But "cars" are neither horses nor oxen, and S. uses the
word only in the sense of chariots or triumphal cars.
78. Scab. For the personal use of the word, cf. Much Ado, iii.
3. 107, T. and C. ii. I. 31, etc. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Marlowe,
Dr. Faustus : " Doctor ! you cozening scab ! " and The DiviVs
Charter, 1607 :
" And by these honors, if I prove a blabbe,
Then call me villaine, varlet, coward, skabbe."
87. What employment have we here? What work have we
here ? What 's to do here ?
88. Woodcock. The bird was supposed to have no brains, and
was therefore a common metaphor for a fool. Cf. Much Ado, v. I.
158, T. of S. i. 2. 161, etc.
92. Her very C's, etc. Steevens having observed that there was
neither a C nor a P in the direction of the letter, Ritson suggested
that the full direction, according to the custom of the time, would
be " To the Unknown Beloved, this, and my good wishes, with
Care /'resent " ; but S. was careless about consistency in these little
matters.
93. In contempt of question. " Past question" (i. 3. 102 above).
98. By your leave, wax. Cf. Lear, iv. 6. 258 : " Leave, gentle
wax." See also Cymb. iii. 2. 35.
99. Soft! This is, " in contempt of question," the familiar
exclamation = hold ! (cf. i. 5. 303 above), but Malone saw in
it an allusion to the custom of sealing letters with soft wax.
184 Notes [Act ii
According to Steevens, it was only certain legal instruments for
which the soft wax was used. Impressure = impression ; as in
A. Y. L. iii. 5. 23. The head of Lucretia was no unusual device
on seals.
102. Liver. See on'ii. 4, 100 above.
108. Numbers. Measure, versification ; as in L. L. L. iv. 3.
57, etc.
in. Brock. Badger. Florio defines tasso as "a gray, a brocke,
a badger " ; and Baret has " A brocke, ... or badger, Melis" It
was often used as a term of contempt. Nares quotes The Isle of
Gulls : " I' faith, old brock, have I tane you ? "
116. Af, O, A, /, etc. Clarke remarks : " Such riddle-like
assemblage of initial letters was not unusual, at the time S. wrote,
in amatory epistles or gallant mottoes ; and he has twice given
nearly verbatim the doth sway my life, as though it were one of
the conventional phrases of love-profession then in vogue." Cf.
A. Y. L. iii. 2. 4: "Thy huntress' name that my full life doth
sway."
121. What dish, etc. What a dish, etc. Cf. /. C. i. 3. 42 :
" Cassius, what night is this ! "
123. Staniel. lianmer's correction of the "stallion" of the
folios. The staniel was a species of hawk. Check was " a term in .
falconry, applied to a hawk when she forsakes her proper game,
and follows some other of inferior kind that crosses her in her
flight." Cf. iii. i. 66 below.
127. Formal. Normal, ordinary. Cf. A. and C. ii. 5. 41 :
" Thou should'st come like a Fury crown'd with snakes,
Not like a formal man."
134. Sowter. Here the name of a hound. The word meant a
cobbler, as in the quotation illustrating coziers\ ii. 3. 97 above.
Though if be. Hanmer made this negative ("be n't"), but
Malone explains it thus : " This fellow will, notwithstanding, catch
at and be duped by our device, though the cheat is so gross that;
Scene V] Notes 185
any one else would find it out." Clarke takes though it be as =
since it is ; and Furness, emphasizing be strongly, makes that the
meaning (= "because it really is").
141. Suffers under probation. Is the worse for examination.
Cf. T. of A. i. I. 165 : " Hath sufter'd under praise."
143. O shall end. Johnson thought that O here meant "a
hempen collar " ; but more likely, as Steevens suggests, the idea is,
" shall end in sighing"; or in cries of pain, I should suggest. Cf.
R. and J. iii. 3. 90: "Why should you fall into so deep an O?"
144. Ay, or I '// cudgel him, etc. Furness thinks this sounds
more like Andrew than Sir Toby, after his longing for a "stone-
bow," etc. I see no reason for such change. A cudgelling from
Toby would be no " anti-climax."
152. Are. Changed by Rowe to "is"; but this "confusion of
proximity," as Abbott calls it, is not unfrequent in S. Cf. J. C.
v. i. 33: "The posture of your blows are yet unknown." See also
Hen. V. v. 2. 19, Ham. i. 2. 38, etc. For soft, see on 99 above.
154. In my stars. In my destiny. See on i. 3. 138 above.
160. Opposite. Antagonistic, hostile; as in Rich. III. iv. 4. 215,
402. Cf. the use of the noun = opponent, in iii. 2. 68 and iii. 4.
242, 280 below.
161. Tang. Twang. The only other instance of the verb in S.
i in iii. 4. 75 below.
164. Yellow stockings. Much worn in the time of S. Steevens
cites many allusions to the fashion in contemporaneous writers,
and Clarke refers to the evidence of it still existing "in the saffron-
coloured hose of the London Blue-Coat or Christ's-Hospital boys,
who maintain the same costume as was worn in the time of the
royal boy-founder of their school, Edward VI."
165. Cross-gartered. The fashion of wearing the garters crossed
in various styles is illustrated by several woodcuts in Halliwell-
Phillipps's folio ed. Steevens quotes, among other references to
the practice, The Lovers Melancholy, 1629: "As rare an old
youth as ever walk'd cross-gartered."
1 86 Notes [Act ii
170. The Fortunate-Unhappy. The folio disguises the passage
thus : " Farewell, shee that would alter seruices with thee, tht \_sic~]
fortunate vnhappy daylight and champian discouers not more :
This is open," etc.
171. Daylight and champaign, etc. Daylight and an open
country cannot make things plainer,
172. / will read politic authors. "That is, authors on state-
craft; so that his tongue may tang arguments of state" (Furness).
174. Point-devise. Exactly, with utmost precision; also spelt
point-device. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 401 and L. L. L. v. i. 21.
175. Jade me. Make me appear like a jade, make me ridicu-
lous. For the contemptuous use of the noun jade, cf. Much Ado,
i. I. 145: " a jade's trick," etc.
181. Strange, stout. That is, distant, or reserved, and proud, or
overbearing. Cf. v. I. 214 below: "a strange regard"; and
2 Hen. VI. i. I. 187: "As stout and proud as he were lord of
all."
192. The Sophy. The Sufi or Shah of Persia. Cf. M. of V. ii.
i. 25 : " the Sophy and a Persian prince "; and Bacon, Essay 43 :
" Ismael, the Sophy of Persia"
199. G 1 my neck. Of and on were often confounded.
20 1. Tray- trip. A game in which success depended on throw-
ing a trois (Nares). It is often mentioned by writers of the time,
but by S. only here.
209. Aqua-vita. "The old name of strong waters" (Johnson).
Cf. R. andj. iii. 2. 88, iv. 5. 16, etc.
212. A colour she abhors, etc. I am not aware that any com-
mentator has noted the inconsistency of Maria's assertions that
yellow is a colour Olivia abhors and cross-gartering a fashion that
she detests, and what she has written in the forged letter : " Re-
member who commended thy yellow stockings," etc.; which is
confirmed by Malvolio when he reads it. Possibly Olivia had
spoken ironically ; but more likely it is one of S.'s inconsistencies
in minor matters,
Scene I] Notes 1 87
218. Tartar. Tartarus. Cf. C. of E. iv. 2. 32: "Tartar limbo,
worse than hell"; and Hen. V. ii. 2. 123: " vasty Tartar."
ACT III
SCENE I. 2. By thy tabor. The tabor (a small drum) was an
instrument often used by professional clowns, and Tarleton, the
celebrated jester, is represented in an old print as playing on it.
Here there is a play upon by, but it is not necessary to see in tabor
any allusion to its use as the sign or name of an inn.
8. Lies. Lodges, lives ; a common meaning of the word. Cf.
T. G. of V. iv. 2. 137: " Where lies Sir Proteus?" etc.
11. To see this age ! Cf. Ham. v. I. 151 : "the age is grown so
picked," etc.
12. Cheveril. Kid; elsewhere used as a symbol of flexibility.
Cf. Hen. VIII. ii. 3. 32: "your soft cheveril conscience"; and
R. and J. ii. 4. 87: "a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch
narrow to an ell broad."
14. Dally nicely. Play subtly or sophistically. Cf. Rich. II. ii.
I. 84 : " Can sick men play so nicely with their names? "
21. Since bonds disgraced them. There is some quibble on bonds,
but it has not been satisfactorily explained.
36. Pilchards. The fish " is so like the herring that, according
to Lord Teignmouth, they can only be distinguished by the ability
of the pilchard to furnish the fat in which it can be fried, which
the herring lacks " (White).
40. The orb. The earth ; as in A. and C. v. 2. 85 : " But when
he meant to quail and shake the orb," etc.
44. Pass upon. Make a thrust at ; a metaphor taken from
fencing. For the literal use, see Ham. v. 2. 309 : " I pray you,
pass with your best violence," etc.
45. Expenses. Money to spend. Schmidt makes it " drinking-
money."
PRflPFRTY OF
1 88 Notes [Act m
46. Commodity. Consignment, goods sent.
51. A pair of these. Referring of course to the coin given
him.
52. Use. Usury, interest. Cf. V. and A. 768 :" But gold that 's
put to use more gold begets," etc.
53. Lord Pandarus, etc. Cf. T. and C.i. I. 98, where Troilus
says, " I cannot come to Cressid but by Pandar," etc. See also
M. W. i. 3. 83 : " Shall I Sir Pandarus of Troy become? "
57. Cressida was a beggar. According to the story, she finally
became a leper and begged by the roadside.
58. Construe. Spelt " conster " in the folio, as elsewhere, indi-
cating the common pronunciation. So "misconster" for mis-
construe.
60. Welkin. Sky. See on ii. 3. 61 above ; and for element in
the same sense, i. I. 26 above.
66. * Not, like the haggard, etc. The folios have " And like " ;
the correction was suggested by Johnson. For haggard= a wild
or untrained hawk, cf. Muck Ado, iii. I. 36, etc. ; and for check,
see on ii. 5. 123 above. The meaning seems to be that the Fool
must use tact and discrimination in his sallies, not make them at
random. The folio reading is inconsistent with the context, but
attempts have been made to explain it.
70. Wise merfs folly shown, etc. The 1st folio reads "wisemens
folly falne, quite taint," etc. ("wise mens" in later folios). The
reading in the text is Hanmer's, and is adopted by White, who re-
marks : " The antithesis is plainly between the folly which the fool
shows and that which the wise men show. The former isyf/, that
is, becoming ; but the latter, being unfit, that is, unbecoming, quite
taints their wit, or intelligence." Many editors adopt Capell's
reading, " wise men, folly-fallen [that is, fallen into folly] , quite
taint," etc., and Furness prefers it.
73. Dieu votis garde. As Sir Andrew did not know the mean-
ing of pourquoi (i. 3. 93 above), some have thought it an over-
sight on the part of S. that he is made to speak French here ; but
Scene I] Notes 189
we may suppose that he had merely picked up a few phrases, which
he airs upon occasion. Viola humours the affectation by replying
in French, but Andrew either does not know what serviteur
(servant) means, or blunders in his usual way in replying / hope,
sir, you are. Toby (in i. 3. 27) evidently exaggerated Andrew's
knowledge of the " tongues." Cf. what Andrew himself says in
the pourquoi passage. The folio, which invariably corrupts French,
has " pur-quoy " for pourquoi ; and in the present passage, " Dieu
vou guard Monsieur " and " Et vouz ousie vostre serviture."
76. Encounter. Go towards; in the affected style of the
time.
77. Trade. Business ; as in Ham. iii. 2. 346 : " Have you any
further trade with us? "
79. List. Bound, limit ; here used affectedly for goal or end, in
sportive keeping with Sir Toby's address.
80. Taste. Try. Probably meant as another bit of affectation,
and not an ordinary metaphor, like " taste their valour " in iii. 4.
256 below.
86. Prevented. Anticipated. Cf. Ham. ii. 2. 305 : "so shall
my anticipation prevent your discovery," etc. See also Psalms,
cxix. 147 : " I prevented the dawning of the morning," etc.
92. Pregnant. See on ii. 2. 28 above.
113. Music from the spheres. For the allusion to the Pythag-
orean doctrine of the music of the spheres, cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 6,
M. of V.\. I. 60, A. and C. v. 2. 84, etc. Spheres and dear are
dissyllables.
114. Beseech you. The ellipsis of the nominative is common in
such phrases. Cf. " Pray God " in iii. 4. 108, " Prithee " (a corrup-
tion of "pray thee") in iii. 4. 116, etc.
115. In enchantment there is an allusion to the old idea of love-
charms. Cf. Oth. i. 2. 63 : " thou hast enchanted her," etc.
116. Abuse. Deceive; as often. Cf. Temp. v. I. 112, A. Y. Z.
iii. 5. 80, etc.
122. Baited it. An allusion to " bear-baiting" (i. 3. 96 above).
190 Notes [Act m
Cf. 2 Hen. VI. v. I. 148 : " Are these thy bears ? we '11 bait thy
bears to death," etc.
1230 Receiving. Ready apprehension. Cf. ii. 2. II above.
124. Cypress. See on ii. 4. 52 above. Cf. W. T. iv. 4. 220:
" Lawn as white as driven snow,
Cyprus black as e'er was crow ; "
and Milton, // Pens. 35 :
" And sable stole of Cyprus lawn,
Over thy decent shoulders drawn."
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes the Ballad of Robin Hood, Scarlet, and
John :
" Her riding-suit was of sable-hue black,
Cyprus over her face,
Through which her rose-like cheeks did blush
All with a comely grace."
125. Hideth. The conjecture of Delius for the "Hides" of ist
folio. The later folios read " Hides my poor heart." Malone took
hear to be a dissyllable, like dear in 113 above, but he was clearly
wrong.
126. Degree. Step ; like grise (cf. Oth. i. 3. 200) in the next
line.
127. A vulgar proof. A matter of common experience-, as in
J. C. ii. I. 21 : " 't is a common proof," etc.
136. Proper. Comely, handsome ; as in M. N. D. \. 2. 88,
M. of V. i. 2. 77, etc.
137. Westward-ho ! The familiar cry of the boatmen on the
Thames, like " Eastward-ho ! " The former was taken as the name
of a comedy by Dekker, as the latter was by Chapman and Marston.
153. Maidhood. Cf. Oth. i. I. 173: "youth and maidhoocl."
See on i. 5. 224 above.
154. Maugre. In spite of j used only here and in T. A. iv. 2,
1 10 and Lear, v. 3. 131,
Scene II] Notes 19!
157. For that. Because. See on i. 2. 48 above.
162. And that no woman has. And that has never been given
to woman; that referring to the idea of "true love" implied in
heart, bosom, and truth. For the triple negative in nor never none,
cf. A. Y. L. i. 2. 27 : " nor no further in sport neither," etc.
163. Save is often followed by the nominative, but I doubt
whether it is used for saved, as Abbott {Grammar, 118) makes it.
S. often puts pronouns in the nominative with prepositions.
SCENE II. 12. Argument. Proof. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 3. 243,
L. L. L. i. 2. 175, etc.
14. ^Slight. See on ii. 5. 34 above.
22. Liver. See on ii. 4. 100 above ; and for accosted, cf. i. 3. 51.
23. Fire-new. Fresh from the mint, like brand-neiv. Cf. L. L.
L.\. i. 179: "fire-new words"; Rich. III. i. 3. 256: "Your fire-
new stamp of honour is scarce current," etc.
27. Sailed into the north, etc. Mr. C. H. Coote, in a paper on
the " new map" of 83 below, read before the New Shakspere Soci-
ety, June 14, 1878, makes this a reference to the discovery of
Northern Novya Zembla by the Dutchman Barenz in 1596, the
news of which did not reach Holland until 1598.
33. Brownist. The Brownists were a Puritan sect, so called
from Robert Browne, a noted separatist of Elizabeth's time.
34. Politician is generally used by S. in an unfavourable sense.
Cf. i Hen. IV. i. 3. 241, Lear, iv. 6. 175, etc.
35. Build me. The me is the familiar colloquial expletive (like
the Latin " ethical dative ") ; as in the next sentence and in iii. 4.
187 (" scout me") below.
39. Love-broker. Agent or " ambassador of love " ( M. of V. ii.
9. 92).
45. Curst. Sharp, waspish ; as often. Cf. W. T. iii. 3. 135,
Lear, ii. I. 67, etc.
47. With the license of ink. " With all the freedom of speech
which the written word allows " (Furness).
192 Notes [Act m
Thottst him. The use of thou towards strangers who were not
inferiors was an insult. % S. uses the verb only here.
51. 77/<? bed of Ware. This famous old four-poster was ten feet
and nine inches square, and capable of holding a dozen persons. A
cut of it may be found in Knight's Pictorial Shakspere, in Halliwell-
Phillipps's folio eel., and in Chambers's Book of Days. Dyce says:
" At what inn in Ware it was kept during Shakespeare's days is
uncertain ; but, after being for many years at the Saracen's Head,
it was sold there by auction in September, 1864, and knocked down
at a hundred guineas, the newspapers erroneously adding that Mr.
Charles Dickens was the purchaser."
52. Gall. Cf. Cymb. i. I. 101 : "Though ink be made of
gall"
56. Cubic ulo. Chamber, lodging (from the Latin cubiculuni) ;
another of Sir Toby's " affectioned " words.
57. Manikin. Little man ; contemptuous. S. uses the word
only here.
64. Wainropes. Cart-ropes. See on ii. 5. 66 above ; and for
hale '( = haul, draw), see Much Ado iii. 3. 62, etc.
66. Liver. See on ii. 4. 100 above.
67. Anatomy. Contemptuous for body ; as in R. and J. iii. 3.
106 (Schmidt).
68. Opposite. Opponent. See on ii. 5. 160 above.
70. Nine. The wren lays nine or ten eggs at a time, and the
last-hatched nestling is generally the smallest of the brood (Stee-
vens). The folio has " mine," which some editors retain. Furness
thinks it is probably right.
72. Spleen. Apparently here a fit of laughter or excessive
mirth. Cf. T. of S. ind. I. 137 : " their over-merry spleen "; T. and
C. i. 3. 178: "I shall split all in pleasure of my spleen," etc.
73. Stitches. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 326 :
" For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps,
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up."
Scene II] Notes 193
74. Renegado. Apostate ; used by S. only here.
76. Passages. Acts ; as in I Hen. IV. iii. 2. 8 : " passages of
life," etc.
79. Pedant. Pedagogue ; its only sense in S. Cf. Z. L. Z. iii.
I. 179: "a domineering pedant o'er the boy," etc.
80. A school i' the church. Halliwell-Phillipps states that the
Grammar School at Stratford was at intervals during Shakespeare's
time (probably while the schoolhouse was under repair) kept in the
adjacent Chapel of the Guild, which was separated only by a lane
from New Place. The Chapel was founded in 1269 ; but the chan-
cel was rebuilt in 1450, and the rest of the edifice in the reign of
Henry VII., to which period the schoolhouse also belongs.
83. The new map, etc. The editors have generally followed
Steevens in seeing here an allusion to a map engraved for Linscho-
ten's Voyages, an English translation of which was published in
1598. But, as Mr. Coote has proved in the paper mentioned above
(see on 27), this map was not a new one, but "a feebly reduced
copy of an old one, the latest geographical information to be found
on it when T. N. appeared being at least thirty years old," and
"it showed no portion of the great Indian peninsula." The true
new map was pretty certainly one which Hallam in his Literature
of Europe calls "the best map of the i6th century," and which he
says is " found in a few copies of theyfr^/ edition of Hakluyt's Voy-
ages." This edition, however, was published in 1589, while the
map (as it is referred to just above) records discoveries made at
least seven years later. "The truth," as Mr. Coote remarks, "seems
to be that it was a separate map well known at the time, made in all
probability for the convenience of the purchasers of either one or
the other of the two editions of Hakluyt " [the second was pub-
lished in 1598-1600]. The author of the map was probably Mr.
Emmerie Mollineux of Lambeth, who was also the first Englishman
to make a terrestrial globe. 1
1 This globe was brought out in 1592, and "the only example of it
known to exist in England is the one now preserved in the Library
TWELFTH NIGHT 13
194 Notes [Act m
The augmentation of fhe Indies on this map consists in " a marked
development of the geography of India proper, then known as the
land of the Mogores or Mogol, the Island of Ceylon, and the two
peninsulas of Cochin-China and the Corea." Japan also " began to
assume its modern shape," and there are " traces of the first ap-
pearance of the Dutch under Houtman at Bantam (west end of
Java), synchronizing almost within a year with that of their fellow-
countrymen in Novya Zembla, and which within ten years led to
their unconscious discovery, or rather rediscovery, of Australia."
It may be added that this map has more lines than the one in Lin-
schoten's Voyages, there being sixteen sets of rhumblines on the
former to twelve on the latter. Mr. Coote's paper is printed in full
in the Transactions of the New Shakspere Society, 1877-79, p. 88
fol., with a facsimile engraving of a portion of the map.
85. / can hardly forbear hurling things at him. " O mighty
Master ! " is Furness's apt comment on this feminine touch.
SCENE III. 8. Jealousy. Apprehension. It is often = suspi-
cion ; as in Hen. V. ii. 2. 126.
9. Skilless. Inexperienced. Cf. Temp. iii. I. 53:
" How features are abroad
I am skilless of ; "
and R. and J. iii. 3. 132: "Like powder in a skilless soldier's
flask."
14. But thanks, etc. The folio reads : " And thankes : and euer
oft good turnes." The emendation is due to Theobald, and is the
best of the many that have been proposed.
17. Worth. Wealth, fortune. Cf. R. and f. ii. 6. 32: "They
of the Middle Temple, with the date altered (by the pen) to 1603." Mr.
Coote suggests that, as S. was not unfamiliar with the use of the globe
(see C. of E. iii. 2. 116, and cf. R. of L. 407), " he may possibly have
consulted and handled this precious monument of geography, f he first
globe made in England and by an Englishman''
Scene IV] Notes 195
are but beggars that can count their worth"; Oth. i. 2. 28: "the
sea's worth"; Lear iv. 4. 10: "my outward worth," etc.
1 8. What 's to do? The active use of the infinitive is still good
English.
19. Reliques. Explained by the memorials and things of fame
in 24 just below.
24. Renown. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 118: "The blood and courage
that renowned them," etc. The participle renowned is still in use.
26. His. Cf. i Hen. VI. iii. 2. 123: " Charles his gleeks," etc.
29. Belike. Probably, very likely; as often. Cf. iii. 4. 256 below.
32. Bloody argument. Cf. Hen. V. iv. I. 150: "when blood is
their argument"; Id. iii. I. 21 : "And sheath'd their swords for
lack of argument," etc.
36. Lapsed. Surprised, caught (Schmidt). The New Eng. Diet.
gives it with a ? as apprehended. The word occurs again in Ham.
iii. 4. 107, where it is also somewhat perplexing.
37. Open. Openly. Cf. in open in Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 405 : " was
view'd in open as his queen."
41. Whiles. Needlessly changed by some editors to "while."
Cf. Temp. ii. i. 217, 284, 310,7. C. i. 2. 209, etc.
SCENE IV. I. He says he '// come. Apparently = Suppose he
says he '11 come. Cf. i. 4. 23 above : " Say I do speak with her."
2. Of. On. Cf. A. W. iii. 5. 103 : " I will bestow some precepts
of this virgin " (" on " in later folios), etc.
5. Sad and civil. Serious and grave. For sad, cf. 19 and 78
below; and for civil, cf. R. and J. iii. 2. 10, etc.
12. Were best. See on i. 5. 28 above.
23. Please one, etc. The title of an old ballad, from which Fur-
ness makes some extracts. Sonnet was often used loosely for a' short
song or poem.
52. Thy yellow stockings ! Lettsom suggested " My yellow stock-
ings ! " as Olivia has no idea that Malvolio is quoting the letter.
57. Am I made? It has been suggested by those who believe
196
Notes [Act m
that Olivia was a widow (see p. 10 above) that made should be
" maid "; but this is sufficiently disproved by i. 2. 36 above. Clarke
says : " Olivia's surprise is at hearing that she, the rich heiress, the
lady of rank, should be supposed to have a chance of making her
fortune, of becoming *a made woman.'" Cf. M. N. D. iv. 2. 18:
"We had all been made men." Furness favours this interpreta-
tion.
60. Midsummer madness. Steevens quotes from Ray's Proverbs,
" 'T is midsummer moon with you " (that is, you are mad) ; and
Halliwell-Phillipps, among many similar allusions, gives from Pals-
grave, 1590 : " He wyll waxe madde this mydsommer moone, if you
take nat good hede on hym"; and Poor Richard" 1 s Almanack:
" Some people about midsummer moon are affected in their brain."
67. Miscarry. Often = come to a bad end, perish, die, etc. Cf.
M. of V. ii. 8. 29, iii. 2. 318, v. I. 251, Cor. i. I. 270, R. and J. v.
3. 267, etc.
69. Come near me. Understand me, know who I am (Wright).
75. Tang. Cf. ii. 5. 161 above.
77. Consequently. Subsequently, afterwards ; as in K.John, iv.
2. 240, etc.
79. Sir. Lord ; as in Temp. v. I. 69 : "a loyal sir," etc. Limed
her = caught her as with bird-lime. Cf. R. of L. 88, Macb. iv. 2. 34,
etc.
82. Fellow. He takes the word in the sense of " companion "
(Johnson).
83. Adheres. Coheres, is in accordance. Cf. Macb. i. 7. 52,
M. W. ii. i. 62, etc.
85. Incredulous. Incredible. Cf. deceivable in iv. 3. 21 below,
and unprizable in v. I. 56. Many adjectives (particularly in -ble,
-ful, -less, etc.) are used by S. in both active and passive senses.
See on comfortable, i. 5. 236.
91. In little. In a small compass. Cf. L. C. 91 :
" For on his visage was in little drawn
What largeness thinks in Paradise was sawn [sown]."
Scene IV] Notes 197
92. Legion himself. Cf. Mark v. 9. See also Ham. ii. 2. 383.
97. Private. Privacy ; as in the common phrase in private.
no. Water. For other allusions to this method of diagnosis, see
2 Hen. IV. \. 2. 2 and Macb. v. 3. 51. Douce remarks : " Here may
be a direct allusion to one of the two ladies of this description
mentioned in the following passage from Heywood's play of The
Wise Woman of Hogsdon : 'You have beard of Mother Notting-
ham, who for her time was pretty well skill' d in casting of waters :
and after her Mother Bombye.' "
121. Bawcock. Used like chuck (= chick] but always masculine
(Schmidt). Cf. W. T. i. 2. 121, Hen. V. iii. 2. 26, iv. I. 44, etc.;
and for chuck, Macb. iii. 2. 45, Oth. iii. 4. 49, iv. 2. 24, etc.
125. Cherry-pit. A game in which cherry-stones were pitched
into a small hole ; mentioned by S. only here. Steevens quotes The
Witch of Edmonton : " I have lov'd a witch ever since I play'd at
cherry-pit."
126. Collier. The devil was so called for his blackness. Johnson
quotes the old proverb, " Like will to like, quoth the Devil to the
collier."
133. Element. Cf. iii. I. 60 above.
140. Take air and taint. Be exposed and spoiled.
144. In a dark room and bound. On the old-time treatment of
the insane, cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 382 : " a dark house and a whip," etc.
150. A finder of madmen. Alluding to the legal phrase, find-
ing mad (cf. finding guilty, etc.) .
152. For a May morning. An allusion to the popular sports
and diversions of May-day.
1 60. Admire. Wonder. Cf. Temp. v. I. 154:
" these lords
At this encounter do so much admire
That they devour their reason," etc.
175. The windy side. The safe side; a metaphor taken from
hunting. Cf. Much Ado, ii. I. 327: "it keeps on the windy side
of care " ; that is, " so that care cannot scent and find it."
198 Notes [Act m
179- Upon mine. Johnson suggested "upon thine"; but, as
Mason remarks, the old reading is more humorous. " The man on
whose soul he hopes that God will have mercy is the one that he
supposes will fall in the combat; but Sir Andrew hopes to escape
unhurt, and to have no present occasion for that blessing." Cf.
what Dame Quickly says in Hen. V. iii. 2. 20 : " Now I, to comfort
him, bid him a' should not think of God ; I hoped there was no
need to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet."
185. Commerce. Business, intercourse. Cf. Ham. iii. I. no, etc.
By and by = presently, soon ; as often.
187. Scout. Be on the lookout. For me, see on iii. 2. 35 above.
1 88. Bum-baily. Changed by Theobald to " bum-bailiff "; but
the blunder was no doubt intentional.
190. Horrible. For the adverbial use, cf. unchary, 213 below.
192. Gives manhood more approbation. That is, gets one more
credit for manly courage. For approbation =. attestation, cf. Hen. V.
i. 2. 19:
"Shall drop their blood in approbation
Of what your reverence shall incite us to."
207. Cockatrices. For the fabled power of the cockatrice or
basilisk to kill with a look, cf. R. and J. iii. 2. 47: "the death-
darting eye of cokatrice "; A\ of L. 540 : " a cockatrice' dead-killing
eye," etc.
213. On^t. Some editors adopt Theobald's "out," and Furness
approves it ; but no change seems called for. I am inclined, with
Schmidt, to make laid on V = staked upon it. Cf. M. of V. iii. 5.
85 : " And on the wager lay two earthly women " ; Ham. v. 2. 1 74 :
" he hath laid on twelve for nine," etc. Unchary heedlessly,
recklessly.
217. Haviour. Commonly printed "'haviour," but it is not a
contraction of behaviour.
219. Je^veL "Any personal ornament of gold or precious stones "
(Schmidt), a piece of jewelry. Thus in M. of V. v. I. 224, it is = a
ring ; in Cymb. ii. 3. 146, a bracelet, etc. Steevens quotes Mark-
Scene IV] Notes 199
ham, Arcadia, 1607 : " She gave him a very fine jewel, wherein was
set a most rich diamond."
228. A fiend like thee. That is, if he were like thee.
234. Attends. Is waiting for. Cf. M. W.'\.\. 279: "the dinner
attends you," etc.
235. Dismount thy tuck = draw thy sword or rapier. Cf. I
Hen. IV. ii. 4. 274: "you vile standing-tuck " (no hyphen in early
eds.). Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Nomenclator, 1585: "Verutum,
... a rapier; a tucke " ; and Cotgrave defines verdun as "the
little Rapier, called a Tucke." Yare quick, ready. Cf. A. and
C. Hi. 7. 39 : " Their ships are yare, yours heavy." See also Id. iii.
13. 131, v. 2. 286, Temp. i. I. 7, 37, v. I. 224, etc. The adverb
yarely occurs in Temp. i. r. 4 and A. and C. ii. 2. 216.
242. Opposite. See on ii. 5. 160 above, and cf. 280 below.
246. Unhatched. Unhacked. Cf. hatched (Fr. hache} = cut, en-
graved, in T. and C. i. 3. 65. As Singer remarks, "the word exists
still in the technical cross-hatching of engravers."
247. On carpet consideration. That is, "a mere carpet-knight";
which, according to Clarke, means one " created in times of peace,
kneeling on a carpet, and not on the field of battle."
249. Incensement. Anger, exasperation ; used by S. only here.
251. Hob, nob. A corruption of hab or nab = have or have not,
hit or miss, at random. Holinshed (Ireland} has " shot hab or
nab at random." Cf. Hudibras : "Although set down hab-nab, at
random."
254. Conduct. Escort ; as in M. of V. iv. I. 148, Hen. V. i. 2.
197, etc.
256. Belike. See on iii. 3. 29 above.
257. Quirk = humour, whim. Cf. A. W iii. 2. 51 : "quirks of
joy and grief," etc. Taste = test. See on iii. i. 80 above.
263. Meddle. " Have to do " (Schmidt) ; as in 294 below. Cf.
R. and J. i. 2. 40 : " the shoemaker should meddle with his yard,"
etc. Malone compares the vulgar expression, " I '11 neither meddle
nor make with it,"
200 Notes [Act in
273. A mortal arbitrement. " A deadly decision, and arbitration
by the sword."
285. Sir priest. See on iv. 2. 2 below.
286. Re-enter Sir Tody, etc. Dyce begins a new scene here,
headed " The Street adjoining Olivia's Garden" He says :
"Though the folio does not mark a new scene, it is certain that
previous to the entrance of the two knights, the audience of
Shakespeare's days (who had no painted movable scenery before
their eyes) were to suppose a change of scene." But, as Furness re-
marks, " on a stage like Shakespeare's, which made such a constant
demand on the imagination, it is conceivable that the two couples
might have obeyed the stage-directions of the folios, when at Exe-
unt they retired a few paces, and Re-ehtered by advancing, and all
the while have remained but a few paces apart, in full sight of each
other, and yet be supposed to be beyond earshot ; as Toby left
Viola he was supposed to have made his exit, and to have re-
entered as he joined Andrew."
288. Fir ago. A corruption of virago, unless it be a word coined
by Toby. The critics have been troubled because virago is femi-
nine ; but Schmidt says it is " used at random by Sir Toby to
frighten Sir Andrew, who 'has. not bestowed his time in the
tongues.' " See on ii. 5. 42 above.
289. Stuck. The same word as stock = stoccado t or stoccata, a
thrust in fencing. Cf. Ham. iv. 7. 162: "your venomed stuck."
293. The Sophy. See on ii. 5. 192. above.
306. To take up the quarrel. That is, to make it up, as we say.
Cf. A. Y. L. v. 4. 103: "when seven justices could not take up a
quarrel," etc.
308. Is as horribly conceited. Is possessed with as horrible an
idea. For conceit to form an idea, to judge, cf. J. C. i. 3. 162, iii.
I. 192, and Oth. iii. 3. 149.
311. Oath sake. So printed in the early eds., and probably to be
explained in the same way as "justice sake" (_/. C, iv. 3. 19),
"sentence end" (A. Y. L. iii. 2. 144), etc. Similarly we find in
Scene IV] Notes 2OI
the folio fashion sake, heaven sake, recreation sake, sport sake, etc.
Abbott {Grammar, 217) recognizes this ellipsis only in dissyllables
ending in a sibilant.
314. Supportance. Maintaining, upholding ; used only here and
(literally) in Rich. II. iii. 4. 32 : " supportance to the bending twigs."
322. By the duello. According to the laws of duelling. Cf.
L. L. L. i. 2. 185 : "the duello he regards not." S. uses the word
only twice.
333. Undertaker. One who takes a business upon himself, as in
Oth. iv. i. 224, the only other instance of the word in S.
338. If you please. " The exquisite humour and perfectly charac-
teristic effect of these three words in Viola's mouth, at this juncture,
are delightful" (Clarke).
346. Favour. Face. See on ii. 4. 24 above.
360. Part. For the adverbial use, cf. Oth. v. 2. 296 : " hath part
confess'd his villany," etc.
362. Having. Property; as in A. Y. L. iii. 2. 396, etc. So my
present what I now have.
372. Lying, vainness, babbling drunkenness. The folio has
" lying, vainnesse, babbling drunkennesse." Most editors insert a
comma after babbling ; but Wright and Furness believe both lying
and babbling are adjectives. This is certainly true of babbling, but
I have my doubts as to lying.
380. Venerable. Worthy of reverence or worship. It is used
metaphorically, as the context shows.
383. Feature. For the singular ( "make, exterior, the whole
turn or cast of the body," as Schmidt defines it), cf. I Hen. VI. v. 5.
68 : " Her peerless feature, joined with her birth " ; Ham. iii. I. 167 :
" to show virtue her own feature," etc.
385. Unkind. Used in a stronger sense than at present, and
almost = unnatural. Cf./. C. Hi. 2. 187: "the most unkindest cut
of all"; Lear, iii. 4. 73: "his unkind daughters," etc.
386. Beauteous-evil. " A combination similar to proper-false in
ii. 2. 31 " (Furness).
202 Notes [Act iv
387. Trunks. The allusion is to the elaborately carved chests
of the poet's time, specimens of which are still to be seen in museums
and old English mansions. Schmidt makes o'erflourished " var-
nished over"; but it more likely refers to the florid carving of
these ancient trunks. This word is again used figuratively in
I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 495, where the Prince calls Falstaff " that trunk
of humours."
392. 60 do not I. "This, I believe, means, I do not yet believe
myself when, from this accident, I gather hope of my brother's
life" (Johnson). It may mean "He believes that he knows me;
I do not believe so" (Clarke).
396. Couplet. Couple ; used by S. only here and in Ham. v. I.
310: " her golden couplets."
398. / my brother know, etc. That is, I recognize my resemblance
to my brother when I see my own face in a mirror. Furness approves
Deighton's explanation : " I know my brother to be mirrored to the
life in my person, in myself who am the glass," but this seems a
forced interpretation of in my glass.
400. He went, etc. This seems to be introduced by the poet to
explain why Viola is dressed like her brother, which was necessary
to their being taken for each other.
402. If it prove. That is, " that I, clear brother, be now ta'en for
you."
410. 'Slid. A contraction of "by God's lid" ( T. and C. i. 2.
228). ' It occurs again in M. IV. iii. 4. 24. See on ii. 5. 30 above.
Religious in it ; that is, " one who practises it religiously " (Furness).
ACT IV
SCENE I. 12. Vent. Reed remarks that "this affected word
seems to have been in use in Shakespeare's time." There can be
no doubt of that, as he has used it himself eight or ten times.
See Temp. i. 2. 280, A. Y. L. ii. 7. 41, Lear, \. I. 168, etc.
14. This great lubber, the world. The folio reading, retained by
Scene II] Notes 2OJ
most of the editors. The meaning seems to be, I am afraid the
whole world is growing cockneyish ; or, as Johnson puts it, " affec-
tation and foppery will overspread the world." This certainly
seems a simpler and more natural explanation than we get from
Douce's emendation, " this great lubberly word." As Dyce re-
marks, it is hardly probable that S. would have made the Clown
speak of vent as " a great lubberly word," or that "great lubberly "
could signify either "imposing" (Badham) or "pretentious"
(White). The text seems preferable to any emendation that
has been proposed.
15. Ungird thy strangeness. Unbend or relax thy reserve. Cf.
strange in ii. 5. 181 above.
18. Greek. Jester, or merry-maker. Cf. T. and C. i. 2. 118:
" a merry Greek indeed"; Id. iv. 4. 58 : " the merry Greeks." The
Greeks were proverbially spoken of by the Romans as fond of
revelry and merriment (Schmidt).
23. Fourteen years' 1 purchase. An English technical term in
buying land. The current price in the time of S. appears to have
been twelve years' purchase ; and fourteen years' purchase may
therefore be =: a high price.
27. And there, etc. The folio has "and there, and there," but
the measure requires the third " and there," which Capell added.
Such omissions are not uncommon in the early eds.
40. Well fleshed. Evidently addressed to Sebastian, not, as some
have supposed, to Sir Andrew. Fleshed made fierce and eager
for combat, as a dog fed with flesh. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 3.11: " the
flesh'd soldier"; Rich. III. iv. 3. 6: "flesh'd villains, bloody dogs,"
etc.
45. Malapert. Pert, saucy. Cf. Rich. III. i. 5. 255 : " Peace,
master marquess, you are malapert."
50. Manners. Used as singular in A. W. ii. 2. 9, R. and J. v.
3. 214, etc.
52. Rudesby. Rude fellow. Cf. T. of S. iii. 2. 10: "a mad-
brain rudesby, full of spleen."
204 Notes [Act iv
54. Extent. Conduct (Schmidt); as in Ham. ii. 2. 390: "my
extent to the players." Johnson takes it to be = violence, connect-
ing it with the legal sense of seizure of goods, as in A. Y. L. iii.
i. 17.
56. Fruitless. Vain, idle, Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 371 : "a dream
and fruitless vision."
57. Botch? d up. Cf. the use of botcher in i. 5. 48 above. See
also Hen. V. ii. 2. 115 and Ham. iv. 5. 10.
59. Deny. Refuse, say no. Cf. M. of V. iii. 2. 291, A. W. ii. I.
90, Rich. III. iii. I. 35, etc. For beshrew as a mild imprecation,
cf. M. N. D. ii. 2. 54, v. i. 295, M. of V. iii. 2. 14, etc.
60. Heart. For the play on the word, see on i. i. 16 above.
Furness does not regard it as a play upon words, but believes it to
be " an unconscious adoption of both significations of the word."
61. What relish is in this? "How does this taste! What
judgment am I to make of it ?" (Johnson).
63. Lethe. For the allusion to the infernal river whose waters
caused forgetfulness, cf. Ham. i. 5. 33, 2 Hen. IV. v. 2. 72, A. and
C. ii. 7. 1 14, etc.
SCENE II. 2. Sir Topas. The title Sir was formerly applied
to priests and curates in general. Nares explains the usage thus :
" Dominus, the academical title of a bachelor of arts, was usually
rendered by Sir in English at the universities ; therefore, as most
clerical persons had taken that first degree, it became usual to style
them Sir." Latimer speaks of " a Sir John, who hath better skill
in playing at tables, or in keeping a garden, then in God's
word."
4. Dissemble. Disguise. Singer quotes Hutton's Diet., 1583:
" Dissimulo, to dissemble, to cloak, to hide."
6. Tall. The word has been variously explained, and sundry
emendations have been suggested. It may be = stout, robust, (as
in i. 3. 20 above), or not of sufficiently commanding presence.
8. To be said. To be called.
Scene II] Notes 205
10. Competitors. Confederates, associates. Cf. L. L. Z. ii. I. 82 :
" he and his competitors in oath," etc.
13. Bonos dies. Clarke says, " Spanish, good-day." I should
have taken it to be Latin.
The old hermit of Prague. "Not the celebrated heresiarch,
Jerome of Prague, but another of that name, born likewise at
Prague, and called the hermit of Camaldoli in Tuscany " (Douce).
But, as Wright remarks, "this is treating the Clown's nonsense
too seriously."
15. King Gorboduc. An old British king.
16. For what is that, etc. "A playful satire on the pedantry of
logic in the schools" (Clarke).
34. Modest. See on i. 3. 9 above.
38. Bay-windows. The English editors explain that this is " the
name for what are now called bow-windows." I hardly need say
that in this country bay-window is the term in use. Cf. B. J.,
Cynthia's Revels : " retired myself into a bay-window "; Middleton,
Women beware Women :
" *T is a sweet recreation for a gentlewoman
To stand in a bay-window, and see gallants," etc.
Boswell says : " Johnson admits only bay-window into his Diction-
ary, and consequently considers bow-window as a vulgar corrup-
tion."
39. Clear-stores. The first folio has " cleere stores," the later
ones "cleare stones" or "clear stones." If the former is what S.
wrote, it is doubtless equivalent to the Gothic clerestory ; if the
latter, "clear stones," or transparent stones, is nonsense of the
same sort as transparent as barricadoes. That some of the editors
should complain of both readings as " unintelligible " is almost as
good a joke as any of the Clown's.
46. The Egyptians in their fog. See Exodus, x. 21.
50. Constant. Consistent, logical. Cf. constancy = consistency,
in M. N. D.\. i. 26, etc.
206 Notes [Act iv
52. Pythagoras. For other allusions to his doctrine of metemp-
sychosis, see M. of V. iv. 2. 54 fol. and A. Y. L. iii. 2. 187.
55. Happily. Most editors adopt CapelPs " haply " ; but hap-
pily often occurs with this sense.
61. Woodcock. See on ii. 5. 88 above.
66. For all waters. That is, fit for anything, like a fish that can
swim equally well in all waters (Malone).
74. Upshot. Conclusion, final issue ; in archery the final shot
that decided the match. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 395 ; the only other
instance of the word in S.
76. Hey Robin, etc. This old ballad may be found in Percy's
Reliques.
79. Perdy. A corruption of par Dieu. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 305,
Lear, ii. 4, 86, etc.
90. Besides. Often used *as a preposition. Cf. Sonn. 23. 2 :
" besides his part " ; C. of E. iii. 2. 78 : " besides myself," etc.
For Jive wits, cf. Much Ado, v. I. 66 : " four of his five wits "; Lear,
iii. 4. 59 : " Bless thy five wits ! " etc. The term seems to have
been first suggested by the five senses, but the senses and the
wits were regarded as distinct. See Sonn. 141.9: "my five wits
nor my five senses," etc.
96. Propertied. Made a property of, taken possession of (as a
thing having no will of its own). Cf. K. John, v. 2. 79 :
" I am too high-born to be propertied,
To be a secondary at control," etc.
100. Malvolio, etc. Staunton inserts " \_As Sir Topas~\ " here ;
but it is sufficiently evident that the Clown is playing a double part,
and carrying on a colloquy with the imaginary parson.
101. Endeavour thyself. Halliwell-Phillipps cites Latimer, Ser-
mons : "The devil, with no less diligence, endeavoureth himself to
let [see on v. I. 251 below] and stop our prayers"; and Holinshed,
Chronicles : " IJe endevored himself to answer the expectation of
his people, "
Scene III] Notes 2OJ
102. Bibble babble. Idle talk. Fluellen (Hen. V. iv. I. 71) calls
it "pibble pabble." Cf. Florio, Second Frutes, 1591 : "cast idlenes,
slouthfulnes, and thy bible bable aside"; and Heyvvood, Spider
and File, 1566: " all confused so in such bibble babble."
106. / will, sir, I will. " Spoken after a pause, as if, in the
mean time, Sir Topas had whispered" (Johnson).
109. Shent. Chidden, reproved, or " snubbed." Cf. M. IV. i. 4.
38: "we shall all be shent." See also Cor. v. 2. 104, Ham. iii. 2.
416, etc.
113. W ell- a-day that, etc. Ah that, alas that, etc. Cf. R. and
J. iv. 5. 15 : "O, well-a-day, that ever I was born! " In Per. iv.
4. 49 : " His daughter's woe and heavy well-a-day " ( = grief,
sorrow).
1 1 6. Advantage. For the verb, cf. Temp. i. I. 34: "for our
own doth little advantage." See also Hen. V. iv. i. 20 1,/. C. iii.
i. 242, etc.
118. Are you not mad indeed? or do you, etc. " You are mad,
are you not ? " etc. Johnson omitted not, and other changes have
been suggested, but none is necessary.
130. Vice. The fool of the old moralities, doubtless so called
from the vicious qualities attributed to him. He often carried a
dagger of lath, with which he used to belabour the devil and some-
times attempted to pare his long nails. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 4. 76 :
" Bardolph and Nym had ten times more valour than this roaring
devil i' the old play, that every one may pare his nails with a
wooden dagger." See also 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 343, Ham. iii. I. 98,
etc.
137. Goodman devil. Goodman was a familiar appellation, and
sometimes used contemptuously; as in the "goodman boy" of R.
andj. i. 5. 79 and Lear, ii. 2. 48.
SCENE III. 3. Wonder that enwraps me. Cf. Much Ado,
iv. I. 146: "I am so attir'd in wonder," etc.
6. Was. That is, had been. Credit belief or opinion.
208 Notes [Act iv
8. Golden. Valuable, excellent ; as in Macb. i. 7. 33 : " golden
opinions," etc. Cf. v. I. 385: "golden time."
9. Disputes. Reasons, argues; as^in R. and J. iii. 3. 63: "Let
me dispute with thee," etc.
1 2. Instance. Example, precedent. For discourse = reasoning,
cf. Ham. iv. 4. 36: "such large discourse, looking before and
after." Singer quotes from Granville : " The act of the mind which
connects propositions, and deduceth conclusions from them, the
schools call discourse, and we shall not miscall it if we name it
reason"
14. Wrangle. Quarrel or dispute. Cf. Temp.v. I. 174, M. W.
ii. i. 88, etc.
1 8. Take and give back, etc. Take affairs in hand and see to
their dispatch. The construction (a favourite with S.) is like that
in Macb. iii. 2. 164:
41 Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favours nor your hate."
21. Deceivable. Deceptive, delusive ; as in the only other ex-
ample of the word in S. See Rich. II. ii. 3. 84 : " whose duty is
deceivable and false." See also on i. 5. 230 and ii. I. 27 above.
24. Chantry. A chapel endowed for the purpose of chanting
masses for the souls of the dead. Cf. Hen V. iv. I. 318:
" and I have built
Two chantries, where the sad and solemn priests
Sing still for Richard's soul."
By = hard by, or near ; as in L. L. L. v. 2. 94 : " into a neigh-
bour thicket by," etc.
26. Plight me, etc. This was not an actual marriage, but a be-
trothing, or formal promise of future marriage. It was anciently
known by the name of espousals, which subsequently came to be
applied to the marriage proper, or what is here called the celebra-
tion. See on v. i. 263 below.
27. Jealous. Anxious, doubtful. Cf. Hen. V. iv. I. 302:
Scene IJ Notes 209
" My lord, your nobles, jealous of your absence,
Seek through your camp to find you."
29. Whiles. Until. Cf. the use of while in Rich. II. i. 3. 122,
Macb. iii. I. 44, etc. Come to note = become known. Cf. W. T.
i. i. 40: "a gentleman of the greatest promise that ever came into
my note," etc.
30. What time. At which time, when ; a poetical idiom. Cf.
Rich. III. iv. 4. 490 : " Where and what time your majesty shall
please"; Milton, Lycidas, 28: "What time the gray-fly winds her
sultry horn," etc.
34. And heavens so shine, etc. Steevens suggests that there
may be an allusion to the proverbial saying, " Happy is the bride
upon whom the sun shines." But, as Furness remarks, Olivia
merely echoes a similar prayer uttered by Friar Lawrence in R. and
J. ii. 6. i :
" So smile the heavens upon this holy act
That after hours with sorrow chide us not I "
ACT V
SCENE I. 7. To give a dog, etc. In Manningham's Diary (see
p. 9 above) there is a story of Dr. Bullein, who had a dog which
Queen Elizabeth wanted. . . . She promised that if he would
grant her one desire he should have whatever he would ask. She
then demanded his dog, which he gave her, and then, claiming the
fulfilment of her promise, asked that the dog be given back to him.
23. Conclusions to be as kisses, etc. Warburton thought this a
" monstrous absurdity," and conjectured, " so that, conclusion to
be asked, is," etc. Farmer cites Lust's Dominion :
" Queen. Come, let 's kisse.
Moor. Away, awav.
Queen. No, no, sayes, I [ay] ; and twice away, sayes stay."
TWELFTH NIGHT 14
210 Notes [Act v
Coleridge says : " Surely Warburton could never have wooed by
kisses and won, or he would not have flounder-flatted so just and
humorous, nor less pleasing than humorous, an image into so pro-
found a nihility. In the name of love and wonder, do not four
kisses make a double affirmative ? The humour lies in the whis-
pered ' No ! ' and the inviting * Don't ! ' with which the maiden's
kisses are accompanied, and thence compared to negatives, which
by repetition constitute an affirmative."
31. Double-dealing. There is a play on the word, as on double-
dealer just below, and in Much Ado, v. 4. 116.
34. Grace. Virtue, as in R. of L. 712: "desire doth fight with
grace"; A. Y. L. i, 3. 56: " as innocent as grace itself," etc.
36. So much a sinner to be. For the omission of as, see on ii. 4.
98 above.
39. Triplex. Triple time in music.
40. Saint Bennet. This church was probably St. Bennet's,
Paul's Wharf, London, destroyed in the great fire of 1666, but
rebuilt by Wren and now used as a Welsh church. There were
three other churches by that name in London, but this one was
near the Blackfriars Theatre in a neighbourhood familiar to S.
Bennet = Benedict (not "Benedick," as Schmidt gives it), as in the
name of "Sir Bennet Seely" in Rich. II. v. 6. 14.
42. At this throw. By this trick ; alluding to playing with dice
or with bowls. Cf. M. of V. ii. I. 33 :
41 If Hercules and Lichas play at dice
Which is the better man, the greater throw
May turn by fortune from the weaker hand ; "
and Cor. v. 2. 20 :
" Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground,
I have tumbled past the throw."
46. Lullaby. Some take this to be a verb, and it is occasionally
used as such ; but here it may be a noun : " A lullaby to your
bounty," etc.
Scene I] Notes 211
55. Bawbling. Insignificant, like a bauble. Cf. T. and C. i.
3. 35 : " How many shallow bauble boats dare sail," etc.
56. Unprizable. Not to be prized, valueless. In the only other
passage in which S. uses the word {Cymb. I. 4.99), it is = invalua-
ble, inestimable. Similarly (as Furness notes) S. uses unvalued
with opposite meanings in Ham. i. 3. 19 and Rich. III. i. 4.27.
57. Scathful. Harmful, destructive. Cf. the noun scathe (= in-
jury, damage) in K. John, ii. i. 75 : "To do offence and scathe in
Christendom," etc. ; and the verb in R. and J. i. 5. 86 : " This trick
may chance to scathe you."
58. Bottom. Still used in the sense of vessel. Cf. M. of V.
i. i. 42, K. John, ii. 1.73, and Hen. V. iii. chor. 12.
62. Fraught. Freight (which is not found in S.). Cf. Oth. iii.
3.449 : "Swell, bosom, with thy fraught." We find fraughtage in
the same sense in C. of E. iv. I. 87 and T. and C. prol. 13. For
the verb fraught, see Temp. i. 2. 13, Cymb. i. I. 126, etc. From
Candy ; that is, on her voyage from Candy, or Candia.
63. Tiger. Again used as the name of a ship in Macb. i. 3. 7 :
" Her husband 's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger."
65. Desperate of shame and state. Reckless of disgrace and the
effect upon his state or condition.
66. Brabble. Brawl, quarrel. Cf. T. A. ii. I. 62 : "This petty
brabble will undo us all." The word becomes prabble in the
Welsh dialect of Evans (M. W. i. I. 56, iv. I. 52, v. 5. 169) and
Fluellen {Hen. V. iv. 8. 69). We have brabbler = quarreller in
K. John, v. 2. 162.
69. Distraction. Madness ; as in 317 below. The word is here
a quadrisyllable, like perfection in i. 1 . 39 above.
70. Notable. Used oftener by S. in a bad than in a good sense.
Cf. T. G. of V. ii. 5. 47 : "a notable lubber " ; Oth. v. I. 78 : " O
notable strumpet ! " etc.
71. Mercies. The plural is used because more than one person
is referred to ; as in 2 Hen. IV. v. 5. 130 : "I commit my body to
your mercies."
2 1 2 Notes [Act v
72. Dear. Heartfelt, earnest ; used of both agreeable and dis-
agreeable emotions. Cf. Ham. i. 2. 182 : "my dearest foe," etc.
77. Witchcraft. Used figuratively ; as in Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 18:
" he hath a witchcraft Over the king in 's tongue," etc.
78. Ingrateful. Used by S. oftener than ungrateful. Cf. ingrate
in 114 below.
80. Wrack. Wreck ; the only spelling in the early eds. It
rhymes with back in R. of L. 841, 966, Sonn. 126. 5, Macb. v. 5. 51,
and with alack in Per. iv. prol. 12.
82. Retention. Reserve. It is used in a different sense in ii. 4. 98
above.
83. All his in dedication. Entirely dedicated or devoted to him.
84. Pure. Purely, merely. For the adverbial use, cf. Ham. iii.
4. 158; " live the purer."
^5. Into. Unto; as often. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 102 : "Look back
into your mighty ancestors," etc.
87. Being apft ehended. That is, / being apprehended. Such
ellipsis is common when the pronoun can be easily supplied.
89. To face me out. Cf. iv. 2. 98 above : " to face me out of my
wits."
90. Twenty-years-removed. The hyphens are not in the early
eds.
100. Three months. See on i. 4. 3 above.
no. Fat. Heavy, dull, distasteful. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes
Chapman, Bussy d^Ambois : " 'T is grosse and fulsome."
1 14. Unauspicious. S. uses the word only here, and inauspicious
only in R. and J. v. 3. ill : "inauspicious stars."
115. FaithfuWst. This contraction of superlatives, often very
harsh, was a fashion of the time.
119. The Egyptian thief. An allusion to the Greek romance of
Theogenes and Chariclea, which was translated into English before
1587. Thyamis, a robber chief, having fallen in love with Chari-
clea, seized her and shut her up in a cave with the intent to make
her his wife. Being overpowered by another band of robbers, he '
Scene I] Notes
rushed to the cave, in order to kill her, but in the darkness slew
another person instead.
121. Sometime. Used by S. interchangeably with sometimes, both
adverbially and adjectively.
1 22. Non-regar dance. Disregard, contempt ; used by S. only
here.
123. And that. The that is used instead of repeating the pre-
ceding since ; as with other conjunctions.
125. Marble-breasted. Cf. marble-hearted in Lear, i. 4. 281.
Marble-constant (= firm as marble) occurs in A. and C. v. 2. 240.
126. Minion. Darling, favourite (Fr. mignon}. In the time of
S. it was beginning to be used in the sense of a spoiled favourite,
hence of a pert and saucy person, and even more contemptuously.
127. Tender. Cherish, regard ; as often.
132. A raven's heart, etc. Cf. R. and J. iii. 2. 76: "Dove-
feather'd raven ! " and 2 Hen. VI. iii. I. 76 :
" Seems he a dove ? His feathers are but borrow'd,
For he 's disposed as the hateful raven."
133. Most jocund, apt, and willingly. For the ellipsis of the
adverbial ending, cf. J. C. ii. I. 224 : "look fresh and merrily," etc.
134. To do you rest. Cf. R. and J. i. 5. 72 : "do him dispar-
agement," etc.
139. Tainting. Disgracing, exposing to shame. Cf. I Hen. VI.
iv. 5. 46 : " My age was never tainted with such shame," etc.
148. Strangle thy propriety. Deny thy identity. Cf. Oth. ii.
3. 176:
"Silence that dreadful bell ; it frights the isle
From her propriety "
(that is, out of herself).
149. Take thy fortunes up. That is, accept or acknowledge
them.
156. Newly. Lately, just now; as very often. See M. W. iv.
4. 52, T. of S. ii. i. 174, iv. 2. 86,^. and J. iii. I. 176, v. 3. 175, etc.
214 Notes [Act v
157. A contract, etc. The betrothal referred to in the note on
iv. 3. 26 above. It was a legal ceremony, consisting in the inter-
change of rings, kissing, and joining hands, in the presence of wit-
nesses, and often before a priest. Violation of the contract was
punished by the Ecclesiastical Law with excommunication ; and it
was not until the time of George II. that this penalty was abolished
in England. The betrothal was a legal bar to marriage with an-
other person. Henry VIII. took advantage of this in divorcing
Anne Boleyn. Before her execution he obtained a decision from
the Ecclesiastical Court that the marriage was void, on the ground
of her alleged pre-contract with Northumberland. In Scotland to
this day the betrothal is a legal contract, the fulfilment of which
can be enforced. This ancient betrothal is introduced by S. in at
least seven of his plays T. G. of F., T. of S., K. John, Much
Ado, M.for M., W. T. (twice), and T. N. It will be noticed that
Olivia addresses Sebastian as "husband" in 144 above. Similarly,
Robert Arden, the poet's maternal grandfather, in a legal docu-
ment, calls his daughter Agnes the wife \uxor) of the man to
whom she was married three months later. Of course she had
been betrothed before the document was written. Other instances
of the kind are mentioned by Halliwell-Phillipps, who believed
that S. and Anne Hathaway had been thus formally betrothed
several months before their hurried marriage.
158. Joinder. Joining ; used by S. only here. We find rejoin-
dure in T. and C. iv. 4. 38.
1 60. Inter changement of your rings. As already stated, rings
were usually exchanged in the betrothal, but there is no clear
evidence that this was done in the marriage ceremony, as Stee-
vens asserts.
161. Compact. Accented on the last syllable by S. except in
I Hen. VI. v. 4. 163, which is probably not his.
162. In my function. In the discharge of my official duty.
163. Watch. See on ii. 5. 62 above.
1 66. Case. Integument, skin. Cf. A. and C. iv. 15. 89 : "The
Scene I] Notes 215
case of that huge spirit now is cold." Malone quotes Gary, Present
State of England, 1626 : "Queen Elizabeth asked a knight named
Young how he liked a company of brave ladies? He answered, as
I like my silver-haired conies at home : the cases are far better
than the bodies." Halliwell-Phillipps cites Bussy d 1 Ambois : " the
asse, stalking in the lion's case."
1 68. That thine own trip, etc. That you will trip yourself up,
be caught in your own snare.
172. Little. A little, at least some. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. I. 43 :
" It is but as a body yet distemper'd,
Which to his former strength may be restor'd
With good advice and little medicine."
Elsewhere S. uses a little in this sense, and little negatively ( = not
much, scarce any), as we do now.
176. Broke my head. This expression, in the time of S., did
not mean a fractured skull, but as Schmidt properly defines it, " to
crack the skin of the head so that the blood comes." Cf. M. IV. i.
i. 125, etc. Similarly, "a broken shin" (Z,. Z. L. iii. I. 74 and
R. and J. i. 2. 53) means one that is bruised and bloody ; but
Ulrici misunderstood it in these passages, assuming that the sug-
gestion of a "plantain leaf" as a remedy for the damaged shin
was merely " ironical." He says that " the English commentators "
are obviously wrong in " considering plantain a good remedy for a
broken bone."
177. Coxcomb. Used jokingly for the head ; as in Hen. V. v. i.
45, 57, Lear, ii. 4. 125, etc.
1 78. / had rather than forty pound. Cf. ii. 3. 20 above. For
the plural pound, cf. Much Ado, i. i. 90, iii. 5. 27, etc.
183. Incardinate. Rowe takes pains to correct this into
" incarnate."
185. 'Od's lifelings. One of the many corruptions of God in
oaths, Cf. M. W. iii. 4. 59 : " 'Od's heartlings ! " A. Y. L. iii. 5.
2 1 6 Notes [Act v
43 : " 'Od's my little life ! " Cymb. iv. 3. 293 : " 'Od's pittikins ! "
etc. See also on ii. 5. 34 above.
190. Bespake you fair. Spoke kindly to you. Cf. Rich. II. v.
2.20: " Bespake them thus"; C. of E. iv. 2. 15: "Didst speak
him fair ? " Id. iv. 4. 157 : " they speak us fair," etc.
196. Othergates. Otherwise, in another manner; the only in-
stance of the word in S. Anothergates was more common.
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Lyly, Mother Bombie : " anothergates
marriage " ; and Hudibras :
" When Hudibras about to enter
Upon anothergates adventure," etc.
201. Agone. Ago ; used by S. only here and in T. G. of V. iii.
I. 85 : " long agone."
202. His eyes were set, etc. Cf. Temp. iii. 2. 9 : " Drink, ser-
vant-monster, when I bid thee ; thy eyes are almost set in thy
head."
203. A passy- measures pavin. The 1st folio has " a passy meas-
ures panyn " ; the later folios read " Rogue after a passy measures
Pavin." Singer and others adopt the reading in the text. Passy-
measure is a corruption of the Italian passamezzo, which is defined
by Florio, 1598, as "a passa-measure in dancing, a cinque pace."
Steevens cites many references to ihe pavin ; as in Beaumont and
Fletcher, Mad Lover: "I '11 pipe him such a pavan"; Gosson,
School of Abuse, 1579: "Dumps, pavins, galliards, measures," etc.
Ben Jonson, in The Alchemist, calls it a Spanish dance. Sir J.
Hawkins says that it was "a grave and majestick dance." He
adds that every pavin had its galliard (see i. 3. 125 above), a
lighter kind of air derived from the former. Cf. Middleton, More
Dissemblers, etc. :
" I can dance nothing but ill favour'dly,
A strain or two of passe measures galliard."
Malone says that Sir Toby means only that the surgeon is a rogue
and a grave, solemn coxcomb. In the first act of the play he has
Scene I] Notes 2 1 7
shown himself well acquainted with the various kinds of dance.
Shakespeare's characters are always consistent, and even in drunk-
enness preserve the traits of character which distinguished them
when sober.
208. Will you help ? etc. The folio reads, " Will you helpe an
Assehead, and a coxcombe, & a knaue:- a thin fac'd knaue, a
gull?" Toby applies the epithets to Andrew, not to the surgeon
or to Sebastian, as Malone supposed. For gull, see on iii. 2. 63
above.
213. Wit and safety. A wise regard for safety. For wit =
wisdom, cf. Oth. ii. I. 130:
" If she be fair and wise, fairness and wit,
The one 's for use, the other useth it."
214. A strange regard. An estranged or distant look. Cf. ii.
5. 181 and iv. I. 16 above.
219. Perspective. The name was applied to various optical de-
vices for assisting the sight or producing illusions. Toilet quotes
from Humane Industry, 1661, the following description of one of
these contrivances : " It is a pretty art that in a pleated paper and
table furrowed or indented, men make one picture to represent
several faces that being viewed from one place or standing, did
shew the head of a Spaniard, and from another the head of an ass.
... A picture of a chancellor of France presented to the com-
mon beholder'a multitude of little faces; but if one did look on it
through a perspective, there appeared only the single pourtraicture
of the chancellor himself. Thus that, which is, is not, or in a
different position appears like another thing." Cf. Hen. V. v. 2.
347 : " Yes, my lord, you see them perspectively, the cities turned
into a maid." Perspective is always accented on the first syllable.
222. Since I have lost thee ! "The warmth of Sebastian's words
here to Antonio comes with delightful effect as a response to the
sea-captain's affectionate expressions heretofore, and as a comfort
for his past distress of mind " (Clarke).
2 1 8 Notes [Act v
229. Nor can there be, etc. That is, I have not the divine power
of ubiquity.
231. Blind. That is, to "the loveliness they were destroying"
(Furness).
232. Of charity. Out of charity, for the sake of charity ; as of is
often used in adjurations.
234. Messaline. See on ii. I. 18 above.
236. Suited. Dressed. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 3. 118: "That I did suit
me all points like a man," etc. So suit in next line = dress.
239. Dimension. Bodily shape. See on i. 5. 271 above.
240. Participate. Possess as part of my nature. S. uses the
verb only here. ^
241. Goes even. Agrees, coincides. Cf. Cymb. i. 4. 47: "to go
even with what I heard," etc.
248. Record. Remembrance; as in T.andC.\. 3. 14, etc. S.
puts the accent on either syllable, as suits the measure.
251. Lets. Hinders. Cf. Ham. i. 4. 85.: " I'll make a ghost of
him that lets me," etc. See also Exodus, v. 5, Isaiah, xliii. 13,
Romans, i. 13, etc.
254. Jump. Agree, tally; as in T. of S. i. I. 195: "Both our
inventions meet and jump in one," etc. On cohere, cf. adhere, iii.
4. 74 above.
257. Where. That is, at whose house or lodgings. Where, as
Schmidt notes, is often used loosely for " in which, in which case,
on which occasion, and sometimes almost = when*." Weeds
clothes, garments; as in 275 below.
262. Bias. Natural tendency. The metaphor is taken from
the game of bowls, the bias being a weight in one side of the bowl,
affecting its motion. It is a common figure in S. Cf. L. L. L.
iv. 2. 113, K. John, ii. I. 574, Lear, i. 2. 120 ("bias of nature"),
Ham. ii. I. 65, etc.
263. Contracted. This word, like the betrothed in 255, confirms
the explanation given in the note on iv. 3. 26 above. Contract, is
often used by S. with reference to the ceremony of betrothal (as in
Scene I] Notes 219
W. T. iv. 4. 401, v. 3. 5, M.for M. v. I. 380, Lear, v. 3. 228, etc.),
but never to that of marriage.
266. Right noble, etc. " Not only is there the pleasant effect
produced in these few words of Orsino's coming forward to avouch
the nobility of his old friend's son and daughter, but they serve the
dramatic purpose of attesting the gentle birth of the youth who is
chosen by a countess for a husband, and of the maiden who is
about to be taken by the duke for a wife" (Clarke).
267. As yet the glass, etc. As yet still ; as in L. C. 75 ; "I
might as yet have been a spreading flower," etc. The glass seems
to refer to the perspective of 219 above.
271. Over-swear. Swear over again. Cf. swear over-=. swear
down, in W. T. i. 2. 424.
273. That orbed continent. The sun. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 166:
" Tellus' orbed ground." Continent = that which contains (as in
M. N. D. ii. I. 92, Lear, iii. 2. 58, etc.), here applied to the sun as
the seat and source of light. Keeps is understood after continent.
278. At Malvolio's suit. There is no hint of this elsewhere in
the play (cf. note on ii. i. 17), and it may be inserted merely to
give occasion for referring to Malvolio at this point. In 256 just
above, Viola implies that there is nothing to prevent her taking
Sebastian at once to the captain.
280. Enlarge. Release, set at liberty ; as in Hen. V. ii. 2. 40,
57, etc.
281. Remember me. For the reflexive use, cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4.
68 : " and now, I remember me, his name is Falstaff," etc.
282. Distract. For the form of the participle, cf. J. C. iv. 3.
155 : " she fell distract" ; Ham. iv. 5. 2 : " She is importunate, in-
deed distract," etc.
283. Extracting. "Drawing other thoughts from my mind"
(Schmidt). The later folios have " exacting" (which may be what
S. wrote), and Hanmer substituted " distracting." Clarke remarks ;
" There is a playful and bewitching effect in Olivia's change of the
first syllable of the slightly varying word, with, mayhap, a half-
lie Notes [Act v
smiling, half-tender emphasis in her tone, and a momentary glance
towards her new-trothed husband, as she utters the significant con-
clusion."
286. At the stave's end. Cf. Withals, Diet. : " To hold off, keepe
aloofe, as they say, at the stave's ende." Behebub is an old spelling.
288. He has. The folio has simply "has" (as in 198 above),
which may be right, such ellipsis of the pronoun being common.
290. Skills. Matters, signifies. Cf. T. of S. iii. 2. 134: "It
skills not much," etc.
299. Vox* Voice ; that is, loud voice, which he thinks in keep-
ing with a madman's letter.
302. Perpend. Consider, look to it ; a word used only by
Pistol, Polonius, and the Clowns (Schmidt). Cf. M. W. ii. I. 119,
A. Y. L. iii. 2. 69, etc.
307. Cousin. Changed by Rowe to " uncle " ; but cf. i. 3. 5
above, where it is used in close connection with Toby's " niece,"
which is the only ground for considering Toby to be Olivia's
uncle. But cousin was used very loosely by S., being applied
to nephew, niece, brother-in-law, and grandchild, and also as a
mere complimentary form of address between princes, etc.
312. My duty. "An allusion to the subscription of duty at the
end of letters to a superior" (Deighton).
318. Delivered. Released, set free ; as in iv. 2. 72 above.
320. A sister. "The manner in which Olivia is made to take
cognizance of her mistaken Cesario is both proper and delicate ;
intimating that she would have more than a sister's love for her
from remembrance of what had passed" (Clarke).
321. Alliance on V. In on V, the on = of, and the it is used in
an indefinite way, referring to the idea implied in what precedes.
Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 270: "grow till you come unto it" ; A. and
C. iii. 13. 176: "There's hope in 't yet" (cf. 192 just below),
etc.
322. Proper. Own, personal ; as often. Cf. Temp. iii. 3. 60 :
" their proper selves," ,etc.
Scene I] Notes
323. Apt. Ready; as in 133 above. Cf. Z. L. L. iv. 3. 114:
" Youth so apt to pluck a sweet," etc.
324. Quits. Releases. It is often = acquit, absolve ; as in A.
Y. L. iii. I. n, Hen. V. ii. 2. 166, etc.
325. Mettle. Disposition. See on ii. 5. 15 above.
332. Notorious. Notable, egregious. Cf. notoriously in 366
below.
335. From it. See on i. 5. 195 above.
342. Lighter. "Of less dignity or importance" (Johnson).
346. Geek. Dupe ; used by S. only here and in Cymb. v. 4. 67 :
"And to become the geek and scorn
O* th' other's villany."
351. 1 do bethink me. I recollect ; as in M. N. D. iv. I. 155,
Oth. v. 2. 25, etc.
352. Then. Changed by some editors to " thou " ; but the
ellipsis is a common one.
353. Such . . . which. Cf. W. T. i. I. 26: " Such an affection
which," etc. Pres^lppos > d upon thee = " previously pointed out for
thy imitation, or such as it was supposed thou wouldst assume
after reading the letter" (Steevens).
355. Practice. Trick, or plot ; as often. Shrewdly sharply,
keenly; as in Ham. i. 4. i: "The air bites shrewdly," etc. For
pass upon, cf. iii. I. 44 above.
364. Upon. In consequence of. Cf. Much Ado, iv. I. 225 :
"she died upon his words" ; Id. v. I. 258: "And fled he is upon
this villany," etc.
365. Against. " In opposition or repugnance to" (Schmidt).
366. Importance. Importunity ; as in K. John, ii. 1.7: " At
our importance hither is he come." So important = importunate,
in Much Ado, ii. i. 74, Lear, iv. 4. 26, etc. Daniel remarks here:
"Now Maria writ the letter at the 'importance 'of her own love of
mischief; the plot originated entirely with her, though Sir Toby
and the rest eagerly joined in it."
222 Notes [Act v
369. Pluck on. Excite. Cf. M. for M. ii. 4. 147 : "To pluck on
others" ; Rich. III. iv. 2. 65 : "sin will pluck on sin." Pluck is a
favourite word with S.
370. If that. See on i. 2. 48 above.
372. Poor fool. For the use of fool as a term of endearment or
pity, cf. Much Ado, ii. I. 326, Lear, v. 3. 305, etc. Baffled = treated
contemptuously ; as in Rich. II. i. I. 170, etc.
374. Thrown. Theobald changed this to " thrust," the word in
the letter, ii. 5. 157 above ; but the variation may have been pur-
posely introduced by the poet, " possibly from his knowing, by pro-
fessional experience, the difficulty of quoting with perfect accuracy "
(Staunton). It is more probable, however, that it was due to
the carelessness in these little matters of which we find so many
illustrations in the plays. Wright refers to an instance in A. IV.
(v. 3. 13) where in reading a letter the original (as given in iii.
2. 21 fol.) is materially varied from. See also on ii. 5. 92 above ;
and cf. notes on i. 4. 3 and ii. 5. 212.
379. Whirligig. Properly a top; like 7^ in L. L. L. iv. 3. 167
and v. I. 70.
384. He hath not told us, etc. " In this line and the preceding
we have true Shakespearian touches. First, we have the Duke,
with his gentle nature and his new joy, eager to have the injured
though crabbed purist brought back and soothed into partaking of
the general harmony; and then we have the indication of Orsino's
naturally keen interest respecting the Captain who had saved Viola,
while it also serves the dramatic purpose of showing that the prom-
ise of interrogating the Captain in reference to Malvolio^s suit has
not been lost sight of, although the interest of the play's last scene
does not require that point to be further pursued" (Clarke).
385. Convents. Is convenient, suits ; or, possibly, as others ex-
plain it = invites. Elsewhere (in M. for M. v. i. 158, Hen. VIII.
v. i. 52, and Cor. ii. 2. 58) it is = calls together, summons.
391. Fancy's. Love's. Cf. i. I. 14 and ii. 4. 33 above.
393. When that, etc. Sta.unton remarks ; " It is to be regretted,
Scene I] Notes 22J
perhaps, that this ' nonsensical ditty,' as Steevens terms it, has not
long since been degraded to the foot-notes. It was evidently one
of those jigs with which it was the rude custom of the Clown to
gratify the groundlings \_Ham. iii. 2. 12] upon the conclusion of a
play. These absurd compositions, intended only as a vehicle for
buffoonery, were usually improvisations of the singer, tagged to
some popular ballad-burden, or the first lines of various songs
strung together in ludicrous juxtaposition, at the end of each of
which the performer indulged in hideous grimace and a grotesque
sort of* Jump Jim Crow ' dance." The editors and commentators
generally agree with Staunton and Steevens. Knight, on the other
hand, says : " We hold the Clown's epilogue song to be the most
philosophical clown's song upon record ; and a treatise might be
written upon its wisdom. It is the history of a life, from the con-
dition of 'a little tiny boy,' through 'man's estate,' to decaying
age ' when I came into my bed ' ; and the conclusion is, that
what is true of the individual is true of the species, and what was
of yesterday was of generations long passed away for
' A great while ago the world begun.' "
Mr. John Weiss also says : " When the play is over . . . Feste is
left alone on the stage. Then he sings a song which conveys to us
his feeling of the world's impartiality ; all things proceed according
to law ; nobody is humoured ; people must abide the consequences
of their actions, ' for the rain it raineth every day.' . . . The grave
insinuation of this song is touched with the vague soft bloom of the
play. . . . How gracious has Shakespeare been to mankind in this
play ! He could not do otherwise than leave Feste all alone to
pronounce its benediction." Furness, after quoting this, adds :
" It is delightful to find a reader, since Knight, on whom the
charm of this song is not lost."
In Lear (iii. 2. 74 fol.) the Fool sings this stanza of a song :
" He that has and a little tiny wit,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
224 Notes [Act v
Must make content with his fortunes fit,
For the rain it raineth every day."
Furness thinks that this may have been the same song as in the
present play, " but changed by the Fool to suit the occasion." On
the other hand, it might be suggested that the occurrence of the
same song in two plays perhaps tells against the theory that it is
Shakespeare's, whether it is worthy of him or not.
And a little, etc. And is often used as an expletive in popular
songs. Cf. Oth. ii. 3. 92 : " King Stephen was and a worthy peer "
(ist quarto and most modern eds. omit " and" ).
401. Wive. For the verb, cf. M. of V. ii, 9. 83, Oth. iii. 4. 64, etc.
APPENDIX
COMMENTS ON SOME OF THE CHARACTERS
VIOLA. Viola is not only one of the loveliest of Shakespeare's
heroines, but she surpasses them all in the unselfishness of her love;
or, since true love is always unselfish, we will say that her unselfish-
ness is subjected to severer tests than that of any other of these
heroines, and never fails in the ordeal. As another puts it, " in
her we see the full beauty and pathos of faithful self-abnegation."
She not only cannot tell her love, but she is compelled to be the
messenger and advocate of the man she loves in secret to another
woman ; and she discharges the unwelcome duty with absolute
loyalty. When Olivia refuses to see her, she might have escaped
the painful task, but she persists in gaining admittance to the lady,
and urges her master's suit as earnestly as if it had been her own.
When Olivia resorts to the trick of sending the ring after her by
Malvolio, her conduct is marked by equal presence of mind and
delicate regard for the reputation of the Countess. Some of the
critics (see note on ii. 2. 12) have failed to appreciate this, and
have changed the text from " She took the ring of me " to " She
took no ring of me," which is what most women would have said,
but which would have betrayed the trick to Malvolio. Viola, who
is quick to perceive that Olivia has given him the message that he
m$y not suspect her motive in sending the ring, accepts the false
version as true in order to screen the lady from the consequences
of her stratagem. She tells a falsehood to prevent the detection
of Olivia's falsehood, and gives the Duke no hint of it, though it
might have been the means of disenchanting him.
TWELFTH NIGHT 15 225
226 Appendix
Julia, in the Two Gentlemen of Verona^ is sent with a mes-
sage of love to Sylvia by the faithless Proteus, but she is not
enjoined to urge his suit, but merely to give Sylvia a ring and ask
for the picture the lady had promised to Proteus to get rid of his
importunities. Julia discharges the duty, but takes the opportunity
of referring indirectly to her own claims upon the false lover, thus
damaging his prospect of gaining his suit and winning for herself
the sympathy of Sylvia. Her task is easy compared with that
of Viola, but she does not perform it with the same forget fulness
of her own interests.
Viola's position is the more trying from the fact that she has no
confidant as Julia and Rosalind have. She " never tells her love "
she cannot tell it, as Olivia does, though she can be eloquent in
describing it as the love of another while pleading for the Duke
with the Countess, and in hinting of it to him in the pathetic story
of her fictitious sister.
When Olivia tellsj^iola (Cesario) that "she loves her (him), the
girl, though she sees the ludicrous side of the avowal, does not treat
the deluded lady as Rosalind, in a similar position, treats Phebe.
To be sure, the Countess is a very different person from the pert
little shepherdess, and this naturally affects the bearing of Viola
towards her ; but, though Olivia has scorned the love of the Duke
as Phebe has scorned that 6T~Silvius, Viola does not refer to that
fact at all, but merely continues to urge Yhe suit of her master, after
assuring the lady that her own suit is hopeless. She pities Olivia,
as she tells her, but does not laugh at her.
Shakespeare often puts his heroines into male apparel, but they
assume it for various reasons and behave differently in it. Viola is
driven to adopt it by the necessities of her situation. Shipwrecked
on the coast of a strange land, she can think of no shelter except
in the court of the Duke, about whom she has heard, but as he is a
bachelor she cannot seek service there unless her sex is disguised.
Rosalind and Portia play the part of young men with no hesitation
when it answers their purposes, and recognize the humorous aspect
Appendix 227
of the transformation from the first. Rosalind, whatever " hidden
woman's fear " may be in her heart, will " have a swashing and a
martial outside,"
" As many other mannish cowards have
That do outface it with their semblances."
Portia will walk and talk " like a fine bragging youth," and practise
" a thousand raw tricks " of such fellows. Julia will attire herself
as a " well-reputed page," knit up her hair in silken strings " with
twenty odd-conceited true-love knots," and go boldly from Verona
to Milan in pursuit of her good-for-nothing lover, though at the
time she does not suspect his perfidy and plans the journey only
because she longs to see him. Imogen, when she gets the message
from her husband to meet him at Milford Haven, decides to start at
once with the faithful Pisanio, and when he leaves her after she has
read the letter of Posthumus urging her murder, she follows the
advice of Pisanio and puts on the male attire which he has provided
in anticipation of the emergency. Like Viola, she does it under
the pressure of necessity, though of a far more painful character,
but she wears the unfamiliar dress with no apparent embarrassment.
/ But Viola is never quite at ease in her disguise. She finds no
pleasure or amusement in it like Rosalind and "Portia. This is
shown by her occasional allusions to it, and her -hints that she is not
whaf she seems hints that show her self-consciousness rather than
any fear or suspicion that the disguise will be detected or suspected.
When she finds that Olivia is in love with her, she half reproaches
herself for the part she is playing, though driven to it in self-defence :
( " Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much."
She feels that she is in a predicament out of which she can see no
escape at present. She recognizes the humorous side of it, but finds
no amusement in it, her pity for Olivia being the predominant r
feeling :
228 Appendix
" How will this fadge ? my master loves her dearly;
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him ;
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this ? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master's love ;
As I am woman, now alas the day !
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe !
O time ! thou must untangle this, not I ;
It is too hard a knot for me to untie ! "
Even more trying and perplexing is the position in which she
finds herself when the duel with Sir Andrew is impending and she
is led to believe that he is a formidable antagonist. Her instinc-
tive timidity and his natural though ridiculous cowardice are most
laughably set forth ; and we who are in the secret are almost sorry
when Antonio interposes and puts a stop to the threatened passage
at arms. We cannot help feeling a curiosity to see which would
prove the better man of the two. It is not impossible that, in
sheer desperation, the maiden might have assumed a semblance of
valour that would have driven the pusillanimous knight from the
field.
Viola is not lacking in true courage when love draws it forth.
When the Duke, confounding her with her brother, believes that
she has treacherously gained the heart and hand of Olivia and
threatens her with death, she offers her bosom to the knife and
cries :
" And I most jocund, apt, and willingly,
To do you rest, a thousand deaths would die ! "
But a happy life with the man she has loved in secret, not a dread-
ful death at his hands, is to be her destiny. The intricacies of the
plot are unravelled, and when Orsino, recalling her hints at her con-
cealed passion, now finds that she is a woman, and says,
" Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times
Thou never shouldst love woman like to me, "
Appendix 229
we know that she can tell her love at last, and that she means all
that she speaks when she turns to him and exclaims :
" And all those sayings will I over-swear,
And all those swearings keep as true in soul
As doth that orbed continent the fire
That severs day from night."
ORSINO. One might feel some doubt at first whether the Duke
was quite worthy of Viola, and the transfer of his devotion from Olivia
to her may seem unnaturally sudden. But Shakespeare has really
prepared the way for it. The Duke, as the poet has taken pains to
show by many little touches, is greatly attracted by his new page,
so much so that others in the court notice it almost from the
first. Valentine says to Viola (i. 4. i) : " If the duke continue these
favours towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much advanced;
he hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger."
Orsino indicates his feeling toward the supposed boy by the confi-
dence he reposes in him, and by the affectionate tone he soon
adopts in speaking to him. " Good youth," " good Cesario," " dear
lad," and the like, are the terms in which he addresses him. The
page's talk about love has perhaps as much to do with the affection
he inspires as his pleasing personality. "Thou dost speak mas-
terly," the Duke declares, and he suspects at once that the youth
must have been in love himself.
Besides, Orsino is not so much in love as he imagines he is. He,
reminds us of Romeo, in the salad days of his love for Rosaline.
VnmTgjjipri pf i^fcjx)mantic andj>gnHmrnt a 1 typ* fancy that jhe;
are in love sometimes again and again before a genuine pas-
sfim- takes pnsses&iuii of them! "AsT Rosalind expresses it, Cupid
may have clapped them on the shoulder, but they are really heart-
whole. They are capable of love, have a longing for love, and are
apt to become enamoured of the first attractive young woman that
comes in their way. Such love is like that of the Song in the
Merchant of Venice :
2jo Appendix
" It is engender'd in the eyes,
By gazing fed, and fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies."
It lives only until it is displaced by a healthier, more vigorous love,
capable of outliving the precarious period of infancy.
The Duke himself seems at times to be aware of the nature of
his passion, or of similar instances in other people. He tells Viola,
supposing her to be of his own sex :
" For, boy, however we do praise ourselves,
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn,
Than women's are;"
and in his next speech he says that unless the woman is younger
than the man, his affection "cannot hold the bent" that is,
retain its tension or strength because feminine beauty in that
case will the sooner fade :
" For women are as roses, whose fair flower,
Being once display'd, doth fall that very hour."
The unspoken inference is that the man's love will not outlast the
faded bloom of beauty.
A moment afterwards, when Viola, who with feminine insight
may have a notion of the instability of his love, hints at the possi-
bility of his getting over it, as a woman would have to do if- he could
not love her, he contradicts what he has just said, declaring that
" There is no woman's sides
Can bide the beating of so strong a passion
As love doth give my heart, no woman's heart
So big to hold so much. . . .
Make no compare
Between that love a woman can bear me
And that I owe Olivia."
But this rhapsodical passion is a lazy languorous one after all. It
does not drive him, as it would if it were the overmastering love
Appendix 23 1
he imagines it to be, to press his suit in person, despite the lady's
resolution to shut herself up in solitary grief for the loss of her
brother. He does his wooing by proxy, like Claudio in Much Ado,
whose love is of the same weak sentimental sort. Viola herself in-
directly reproves him for this lack of spirit in his love-making when
she tells Olivia that, were she the wooer, she would not take any
second-hand denial from the lady :
41 In your denial I would find no sense ;
I would not understand it."
Olivia asks :
" Why, what would you ? "
and Viola replies :
" Make me a willow cabin at your gate,
And call upon my soul within the house ;
Write loyal cantons of contemned love,
And sing them loud even in the dead of night;
Halloo your name to the reverberate hills,
And make the babbling gossip of the air
Cry out Olivia ! O, you should not rest
Between the elements of air and earth
But you should pity me ! "
When at last in the final scene of the play Orsino meets
Olivia face to face, and she checks him as he begins to plead his
case in person, he asks : " Still so cruel ? " " Still so constant,"
she replies ; and when he, after complaining of her perversity
and ingratitude in rejecting him, weakly asks, " What shall I
do ? " she answers : " Even what it please my lord, that shall be-
come him." Then he -gets angry and threatens both her and
Cesario, whom he suspects her of loving, with death. This is quite
, consistent with the sentimental selfishness of his feeling for Qliyia./^
There is nothing of the true lover in it> It is the petulant wrath
23 2 Appendix
of the child that cannot have its way. Compare what Shakespeare
says in the ii6th Sonnet :
" Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O, no ! it is an ever fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken ;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth 's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love 's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come ;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom."
Love that is love indeed alters not with disappointment or sepa-
ration or the lapse of time, but endures " even to the edge of
doom."
The appearance of Sebastian and the disclosure of the sex of
Viola save both her and Olivia from the fate threatened by Orsino,
who promptly transfers his affections to the maiden for whom he
has had a kindly feeling in her disguise. Let us not say, however,
that he transfers to her the kind of affection that he had for the
Countess. We will hope that it is the true love of which that sen-
timental fancy was but the poor semblance ; or, if it is not such
at the moment, that it will grow to be such and what we know
of Viola assures us that this will inevitably come to pass. And the
Duke is not a bad match for the lovely and loving Viola. Olivia,
though she could not return his love, said of him :
" Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble,
Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth ;
In voices well divulg'd, free, learn'd, and valiant;
And in dimension and the shape of nature
A gracious person,"
Appendix 233
We will believe that " they lived happily ever after," and that the
Countess was equally fortunate in the exchange of Cesario for
Sebastian.
MARIA. Maria is unrivalled in her way among Shakespeare's
women. So much mischief, fun, and vivacity were never before or
since put into one little body. If she had not been a diminutive
sprite-like personage, she could never have been so alert and active
in mischief. Her petite frame is packed full of merriment and
sportiveness. She is like Puck in petticoats, and like Puck she
would say :
" And those things do best please me
That befall preposterously."
Not a person in the house or that comes into the house escapes
the attacks of her wit and waggery. When Viola comes disguised
as the Duke's page, and Olivia is inclined to dismiss her briefly,
Maria, ever on the watch for a chance to give somebody a rap,
chimes in with " Will you hoist sail, sir ? here lies your way ; " but
Viola, who is not without wit, though she seldom has opportunity
in the play to show it, is -here a match for her pert assailant, and
promptly retorts the nautical impudence in the same figurative
fashion, " No, good swabber, I am to hull here a little longer."
Before Maria recovers sufficiently from the sharp repartee to strike
back, the Countess sends her from the room.
Maria does not spare her companions in mischief. She berates
them for their " caterwauling," as she calls it, though, when Mal-
volio comes in and joins in the attack, she turns from them to
assail him, and when he goes out bids him " go shake his ears."
All the subsequent plot against Malvolio is of her devising, and
with what zest she follows it up ! She is as ready to join in a
practical joke started by others as to carry out one of her own
concocting. When Toby and Fabian are urging Sir Andrew to
challenge Viola, she zealously seconds them. And she enjoys it all
so much that she becomes utterly merciless in pursuing it. When
234 Appendix
the others are disposed to think that the joke has been carried far
enough, she will not hear of its being given up. Fabian says when
they are tormenting Malvolio, " Why, we shall make him mad
indeed." "The house will be the quieter" is her only reply. The
Clown is the only one who is a match for her, but perhaps this is
due to the fact that he knows her liking for Toby, about which she
does not fancy being joked. In the end Toby marries her, but we
cannot imagine that he ever became her master.
SIR TOBY AND SIR ANDREW. Toby, as some of the critics have
noted, has a certain resemblance to Falstaff, but it is to the fat
knight in his decadence. He has Falstaffs love for a practical
joke, and his unscrupulousness in getting money from his friends
by humouring their weaknesses. He " bleeds " Sir Andrew with-
out mercy, fooling him with hopes of winning the hand of Olivia,
much as lago does Roderigo. It may seem at first to be in a
meaner way than lago's, for Olivia is his kinswoman, and he is
enjoying her hospitality at the time ; but we must not imagine
that he believes Andrew could ever succeed in his suit.
Andrew is an unmitigated fool from first to last. He never says
or does a sensible thing. All his talk is marked by a plentiful lack
of wit, and much of it is a stupid echoing of Toby, for whom he
has a boobyish admiration. When Toby says of Maria that she
"adores" him, Andrew follows with "I was adored once too,"
catching at the word with the senseless iteration of the parrot.
Toby says, " I could marry this wench for this device." " So could
I too " is the echo. " And ask no other dowry with her than such
another joke," says Toby. " Nor I neither " chimes in Andrew ;
and so the antiphony goes on.
There is a touch of humour in the innocent readiness with which
Andrew refers to his reputation as both knave and fool. In the
noisy carousal at night he proposes that they sing the catch called
" Thou knave." The fool says, " I shall be constrained in 't to
call thee knave, knight." " T is not the first time I have con-
strained one to call me knave " is the reply, Later, he and his
Appendix 235
friends are overhearing Malvolio as he rehearses in the garden
what he means to say to Toby : " Besides, you waste the treasure
of your time with a foolish knight." " That 's me, I warrant you,"
Andrew says to his companions. " One Sir Andrew," continues
Malvolio ; and the knight cries, " I knew 't was I, for many do call
me fool ! "
MALVOLIO. From the first Malvolio was a favourite character
on the stage. In the earliest known reference to the play, in the
manuscript Diary of John Manningham, the trick played upon the
steward is the chief feature mentioned ; and Leonard Digges, in
the verses prefixed to the edition of Shakespeare's Poems printed
in 1640, alludes to the character, in connection with Falstaff, Bene-
dick, and Beatrice, as attracting crowds to the theatre :
" lo, in a trice
The cockpit, galleries, boxes, all are full
To hear Malvolio, that cross-garter'd Gull."
Malvolio, however, has been often misunderstood, not only by
the average reader of the play, but by critics and commentators.
The stage tradition of former days made him a " low comedy '
character ; an idea against which Charles Lamb protested, declar-
ing that the steward was not essentially ludicrous, and that an air
of dignity should be thrown about the part : " He might have
worn his gold chain with honour in one of our old Roundhead
families, in the service of a Lambert or a Lady Fairfax." LHe is
the trusted and valued steward of Olivia, who is seriously troubled
when she is led to suspect that he is apparently becoming insane. *
He is no fool except so far as his inordinate self-conceit makes him
so ; and upon this weakness the conspirators base their plot against
him. The high opinion his mistress has of him, and the favour
which on this account she has shown him, prepare the way for his
falling into the trap set for him.J
In ii. 3. 151 Maria says of Malvolio, "Marry, sometimes he is a
kind of Puritan." From this it has been assumed by some of the
236 Appendix
editors that the steward was a Puritan, and they have quoted his
"cross-gartering" as being a Puritan fashion. Steevens cites
Barton Holyday (1593-1666) :
11 Had there appear'd some sharp cross-garter'd man,
Whom their loud laugh might nickname Puritan."
But Maria does not call Malvolio a Puritan; she simply says that
" sometimes he is a kind of Puritan "; that is, he has something of
the ways and manners of the Puritans. Like them he is indifferent
to "cakes and ale," and takes life very seriously. When Sir
Andrew understands her to mean that the steward really is a Puri-
tan, she corrects him : " The devil a Puritan that he is, or anything
constantly but a time-pleaser," etc.
Malvolio at no time talks like a Puritan, as he would naturally
have done if he had been one when he came in to reprove the
midnight roysterers (ii. 3). It is the noise and disturbance they
are making at that unseasonable hour for which he reproaches
them, not the sin of their drunken revelry, against which a Puritan
would have inveighed. Falstaff was a better Puritan when he
played the part of one at the Boar's Head (i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 421
fol.) and lectured Prince Hal on his profligate habits.
As to the cross-gartering, Halliwell-Phillipps remarks: "In
Shakespeare's time the fashion was yet in credit, and Olivia's
detestation of it arose, we may suppose, from thinking it coxcombi-
cal. . . . But when Barton Holyday wrote [toward the middle of
the seventeenth century], the fashion was exploded, and was re-
tained only by Puritans and old men." He cites, among other
illustrations of this, Ford, Lovers Melancholy (1629) : "As rare an
old gentleman as ever walk'd cross-garter'd."
FESTE. The Clown is one of the best of Shakespeare's profes-
sional fools, no two of whom are alike in all respects. They have
as distinct an individuality as his more serious and more important
characters. One of the notable peculiarities of Feste is the vein of
sentiment which appears in him at times. He is a singer, and his
Appendix 237
repertory is not confined to comic songs, but includes lyrics of love
and death, like the one, "Come away, come away, death," of which
the Duke was so fond "that old and antique song" which suited
his mood better than "light airs and recollected tunes of these most
brisk and giddy-paced times," and which Feste could render with
so much feeling that Viola says of it :
" It gives a very echo to the seat
Where Love is thron'd."
There is, moreover, much wisdom in his foolery on occasion; as
when Toby comes in drunk and Olivia asks, " What's a drunken
man like, fool?" and Feste replies: "Like a drowned man, a fool,
and a madman. One draught above heat makes him a fool; the
second mads him; and a third drowns him."
He can^criticise his own punning and quibbling ; as when, after
joking in that way with Viola, he says : " To see this age ! A sen-
tence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit ; how quickly the wrong
side may be turned outward ! " and in the same scene when he
says : " Who you are and what you would are not of my welkin
I might say element, but the word is over-worn." Shakespeare is
Jpnd of satirizing the affectations in the language of his day, but he
generally does it through serious characters ; as when Hamlet and
Horatio ridicule Osric's fine talk, or when Lorenzo comments on
Launcelot's word -twisting (M. of V. iii. 5. 70 fol.), comparing it
with that of " fools that stand in better place [of higher social
rank] who for a tricksy word defy the matter " sacrificing the
sense for the sake of a quibble. So when Sebastian says to Feste,
" I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else," the Clown catches at
the word vent: "Vent my folly! he has heard that word of some
great man, and now applies it to a fool. Vent my folly ! I am
afraid this great lubber, the world, will prove a cockney."
He is shrewd to see the weaknesses of his superiors in rank. He
knows that Toby is a fool indeed he " has a most weak pia
mater" He can slyly reprove Olivia's excessive mourning for her
23 8 Appendix
I
brother who is " in heaven." He understands the fickle vagaries of
the Duke, to whom he says : " Now the melancholy god protect thee;
and the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind
is a very opal ! I would have men of such constancy put to sea,
that their business might be every thing and their intent every
where; for that 's it that always makes a good voyage of nothing."
He can play the part of the parson, Sir Topas, quoting Latin and
Scripture, and catechizing the imprisoned Malvolio on the Pythag-
orean doctrine of metempsychosis in short, as he says, he is
"for all waters," equal to any demand, dramatic, musical, or other,
that may be made upon him. He is the most versatile of fools, a
favourite with everybody in the play except the sour Malvolio, and
with every reader of the play, unless he be like Malvolio, incapable
of appreciating the mingled wit and wisdom of such foolery as
Feste's.
THE TIME-ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY
As Mr. P. A. Daniel shows in his paper " On the Times or Dura-
tions of the Action of Shakspere's Plays" (see on i. 4. 3 above),
the action of this play occupies three days, with an interval of
three days between the first and second.
The events of the first three scenes may all be supposed to take
place in one day. In i. 4. 3, Valentine says " he hath known you
but three days" (see note thereupon), which ihows that time to
have elapsed since i. 3. The remaining scenes of act i., with the
first three of act ii., occur on this second day, at the close of which
(ii. 3. 204) Sir Toby and Sir Andrew go off to " burn some sack,"
as it is "too late to go to bed." In ii. 4. 3, the Duke asks for the
song "we heard last night" which indicates that only one night
has intervened; and the rest of the play furnishes matter for but a
single " May morning" (iii. 4. 152). It is difficult to understand
when Sir Toby and Maria found time to be married, as the bride-
Appendix 239
groom has left the stage in the very same scene, drunk and with
a broken head. But Biondello tells us in T. of S. (iv. 4. 99),
" I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the gar-
den for parsley to stuff a rabbit"; and possibly Sir Toby snatched
a spare moment for an impromptu wedding, and so crammed more
matter into this busy May morning. Maria had evidently been
manoeuvring for the match all along, and would willingly " be
married under a bush like a beggar " (A. Y. L. iii. 3. 85) rather
than run the risk of delay.
LIST OF CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY
The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines the characters
have in each scene.
&Duke: i. 1(31), 4(27); ii. 4(69); v. 1(94). Whole no.
Sebastian: ii. 1(36); iii. 3(20); iv. 1(17), 3( 2 3); v.
Whole no. 128.
Antonio: ii. 1(13); iii. 3(33), 4(33); v. 1(28). Whole no. 107.
Captain: i. 2(32). Whole no. 32. *
Valentine: i. 1(9), 4(5). Whole no. 14.
Curio: i. 1(2); ii. 4(5). Whole no. 7.
I Sir Toby: i. 3(67), 5(7); ii. 3(63), 5(44); iii. 1(7), 2(36),
4(144); iv. 1(10), 2(13); v. 1(7). Whole no^^T^)
Sir Andrew: 1.3(53); ii. 3(51), 5(15); iii. 1(7), 2(12), 4(18) ;
iv. 1(7); v. 1(20). Whole no.
$ Malvolio: i. 5J^f; ii.
2(45); v - i09)' Whole
Fabian: ii. 5(33); iii. 2(25), 4(40) ; v. 1(30). Whole no. 128.
3 Clown: i. 5(66); ii. 3(33)4(29); "i- 1(42); iv. 1(20), 2 (77);
v z (77) Whole no.jg^X)
Priest: v. 1(8). Whole no. 8.
\st Officer : iii. 4(6); v. 1(6). Whole no. 12.
2d Officer: iii. 4(4). Whole no. 4.
140 Appendix
Servant: iii. 4(4). Whole no. 4.
*/ Olivia: 1.5(127); iii. 1(54), 4(45); iv. 1(16), 3(12); v. 1(67).
Whole no.^2T,
JL Viola: T2(34), 4(13), 5(75); " 2(28), 4(32); iii. 1(69),
4(56); v. 1(46). Whole no.<2p
Maria: i. 3(31), 5(25); ii- 3UO 5( 2 ); - 2(17), 4(29); iv.
2(6). Whole no. ^/
In the above enumeration, parts of lines are counted as whole
lines, making the total in the play greater than it is. The actual
number of lines in each scene (Globe edition numbering) is as
follows: i. 1(41), 2(64), 3(151), 4(42), 5(330); ii. 1(49), 2(42),
3(208), 4(127), 5(227); i". 1(176), 2(90), 3(49), 4(433); iv.
1(69), 2(141), 3(35); v. 1(418). Whole no. in the play, 2692.
INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES
EXPLAINED
a (omitted), 184
baited, 189
burn some sack, 176
abatement, 143
barful, 155
but (= than), 154
above heat, 158
barren (=dull), 157
buttery-bar, 150
abuse (= deceive), 189
bawbling, 211
by (= hard by), 208
access (accent), 154
bawcock, 197
by (play upon), 187
accost, 150
bay-windows, 205
by and by (= presently).
Actaeon, 143
beagle, 175
198
adheres (= coheres), 196
bear-baiting, 151, 189
by th' ears, 183
admire (= wonder), 197
adorations (five sylla-
bed of Ware, the, 192
beef, 151
C's, etc., 183
bles), 164
before me, 175
canary, 150
advance (= raise), 181
belike, 195, 199
Candy, 211
advantage (verb), 207
bent, 177
cantons, 164
aflfectioned, 175
beseech you, 189
caper (play upon), 152
against, 221
beshrew, 172, 204
carpet consideration, 199
agone (= ago), 216
besides (preposition), 206
case (= skin), 214
allow (= prove), 148
bespake you fair, 216
Castiliano vulgo, 150
allowed, 157
bethink me, 221
Cataian, 172
alone, 143, 162
am I made ? 195
betrothing, 214
bias, 218
catch (noun), 169
caught with tickling, 180
an (= one), 166
bibble babble, 207
celebration, 208
anatomy, 192
bird-bolts, 157
champaign, 186
and (expletive), 224
blazon, 165
chantry, 208
anothergates, 216
blent, 163
check (in falconry), 184,
antique, 176
bloody argument, 195
1 88
apt (= ready), 221
aqua-vita^, 186
blows (= puffs up), 182
board (verb), 150
cherry-pit, 197
cheveril, 187
argument (= proof), 191
bonds (play upon), 187
civil, 195
Arion, 146
bonos dies, 205
clear-stores, 205
as (omitted), 167, 179
botched up, 204
cloistress, 144
as much to say as, 157
botcher, 156
close in, 148
aspect (accent), 154
bottom (= vessel), 211
cloyment, 179
ass (play upon), 175
brabble, 211
cockatrice, 198
as yet (= still), 219
branched (velvet), 182
codling, 159
attend (= attend to), 154
breach (= breaking), 166
collier (= devil), 197
attend (= wait for), 199
breast (= voice), 169
comedian, 160
at the stave's end, 220
breath (= voice), 171
come near me, 196
at this throw, 210
bred (= begotten), 146
come to note, 209
ay word, 174
brock, 184
comfortable, 163
broke my head, 215
commerce, 198
back-trick, 152
Brownist, 191
commodity, 188
baffled, 222
bum-baily, 198
compact (accent), 214
TWELFTH NIGHT 1 6 24!
242 Index of Words and Phrases
compare (noun), 179
degree (=step), 190
eyes had lost tongue, 167
competitors, 205
delivered (= released), 220
eyes set, 216
complexion, 176, 181
delivered i,= shown), 147
comptible, 160
demure travel of regard,
fadge, 1 68
conceit (verb), 200
182
faithfull'st, 212
conclusions to be as
denay, 180
fall (= cadence), 139
kisses, 209
deny (= refuse) , 204
fancy (=love), 143, 181,
conduct (= escort), 199
desperate of shame and
222
consanguineous, 172
state. 211
fat (= heavy), 212
consequently, 196
determinate, 166
favour (= face), 159, 176,
cons state, 175
dexteriously, 157
201
constant (= consistent),
diluculo surgere, 169
fear rn> colours, 155
205
dimension (= body), 164,
feature, 201
conster, 188
218
feelingly (= exactly), 175
continent (= container),
discourse (= reasoning),
fellow, 196
219
208
fertile tears, 164
contract ( = betrothal) ,
dishonest, 156
Feste, 176
214, 218
dismount thy tuck, 199
finder of madmen, 197
contracted (= betrothed) ,
disorders, 173
firago, 200
218
dispute (= argue), 208
fire-new, 191
convents (verb), 222
dissemble, 204
flame-coloured, 153
coranto, 153
count (== duke), 146, 154
distempered, 157
distract (= distracted), 219
flatter with, 165
fleshed, 203
country (trisyllable), 146
distraction, 211
fond (= dote), 169
county (= count), 165
double-dealing, 216
fool, 222
couplet (= couple), 202
do you rest, to, 213
fools' zanies, 157
cousin, 220
draw the curtain, 163
for (= because), 191
coxcomb (=head), 215
draw three souls out of
for all waters, 206
coystril, 149
one weaver, 171
forbid not, 167
cozier, 173
driving (= drifting), 146
forgive (= excuse from),
credit, 207
dry (= sapless), 156
161
Cressida, 188
dry hand, 150
formal, 184
cross-gartered, 185
duello, by the, 201
fortunate-unhappy, 186
crow, 157
duke (= count) , 146
four elements, the, 169
crowner, 159
fourteen years' purchase,
cruelty (concrete), 165,
Egyptians in their fog, 205
203
178
crumbs (for cleaning gold
Egyptian thief, the, 212
element (= sky), 143, 197
fraught (noun\ 211
free (= careless), 177
chains), 174
Elysium (= play upon?),
fresh in murmur, 147
cubiculo, 192
cucullus non facit mona-
i45
mployment, 183
from (= away from), 161,
221
chum, 156
nchantment, 189
fruitless, 205
cunning, 163
ncounter, 189
function, 214
curst, 191
ndeavour thyself, 206
cut (=curtal), 175
nlarge (= release), 219
gall (in ink), 192
cypress, 177, 190
ntertainment, 162, 167
galliard, 152
stimable wonder, 166
gaskins, 156
dally nicely, 187
day-bed, 182
xcept before excepted,
148
geek, 221
gentleness (= favour), 167
deadly (= deathlike), 164
xpenses, 187
giant (ironical), 162
dear (dissyllable), 189
xpress myself, to, 166
giddily, 178
dear (= heartfelt), 212
decay (transitive), 157
xpressure, 175
xtent (= conduct), 204
gift of a grave, 149
ginger, 174
deceivable, 208
xtracting, 219
gives manhood approba-
dedication, 212
xtravagancy, 166
tion, 198
Deeply in, 182
eye-offending, 144
goes even ( agrees), 218
Index of Words and Phrases 243
go hunt, 143
instance, 208
manikin, 192
golden (,= valuable), 208
golden shaft, 144
in standing water, 159
interchangement of rings,
manners (singular), 203
marble-breasted, 213
good life, 170
214
masterly (adverb), 176
goodman devil, 207
into (= unto), 212
maugre, 190
good my mouse, 157
in voices well divulged,
May morning, 197
go shake your ears, 174
165
me (ethical dative), 191
grace (= virtue), 210
is (with plural), 179, 184
me (redundant), 148
gracious, 164
it (indefinite), 220
meddle (= have to do),
Greek (= jester), 203
199
grey eyes, 164
jade me, 186
mercies, 211
grise, 190
jealous, 208
Messaline, 166, 218
gust, 149
jealousy, 194
metal of India, 180
jets (= struts), 181
mettle, 180, 221
had rather, 170, 215
jewel, 198
midsummer madness, 196
haggard (noun), 188
Jezebel, 181
minion, 213
hale (verb), 192
happily (= haply), 206
joinder, 214
jump (= agree), 218
miscarry, 196
misprision, 156
hart (play upon), 143, 204
Mistress Mall's picture,
having (= property), 201
kickshawses, 151
i5 2
haviour, 198
King Gorboduc, 205
modest (= moderate), 148.
heart (play upon), 143,
205
204
abel, 164
mollification, 162
heat (= course), 143
apsed, 195
monster, 169
hermit of Prague, the, 205
ate (adverb), 147
mortal arbitrement, 200
high fantastical, 143
easing, 158
motions (= emotions), 176
his, 195
hob-nob, 199
eave to leave, 178
Legion, 197
mouse, 157
music from the spheres,
hold acquaintance with,
eman, 170
189
146
honesty, 173
enten, 155
ess (= inferior), 147
mute (noun), 148
mutton and capers, 152
horrible (adverb), 198
et (= hinder), 218
hull (verb), 161
Lethe, 204
natural (play upon), 149,
humour (= capricious-
icense of ink, 191
172
ness), 154
ie rich, 145
nay word, 174
humour of state, 182
ies (= lodges), 187
newly (= lately), 213
ife in it, 151
new map, the, 193
I am dog, 171
ighter, 221
nine (eggs of wren), 192
idleness (= pastime), 157
imed, 196
nonpareil, 164
impeticos thy gratillity,
ist (= bound), 189
non-regardance, 213
170
ittle (= a little), 215
nor never none, 191
importance (= importu-
ived upon the sea, 146
north, the, 191
nity), 221
iver (seat of love, etc.),
nor will not, 166
impressure, 184
179, 184, 191, 192
notable, 211
incardinate, 215
ove-broker, 191
notorious, 221
incensement, 199
ullaby (verb), 210
numbers (= measure), 184
in contempt of question,
unacy, 161
. 183
O (= cry of pain) , 185
incredulous, 196
M, O, A, I, 184
oath sake, 200
Indies, the, 194
madonna, 156
'Od's lifelings! 215
indifferent (adverb"), 164
maidenhead, 163
o'erflourished, 202
in grain, 163
maidhood, 190
of (in adjurations), 218
ingrateful, 212
make the welkin dance,
of (=on), 186, 195
in little, 196
171
old age, the, 177
in manners, 166
malapert, 203
on (= of), 220
ill my star*, 185
malignancy, 166
one self king, 145
244 Index of Words and Phrases
opal, 178
presupposed upon, 221
silly sooth, 177
open (adverb), 195
prevented, 189
sir (= lord), 196
opposite (= opponent),
private (= privacy), 197
Sir (priestly title), 200,
185, 192, 199
profound (= sage) , 160
204
orb (= earth), 187
proper (= comely), 190
skilless, 194
orbed continent, 219
proper (= own), 220
skills (= matters), 220
othergates, 216
proper-false, 168
skipping (= wild, mad),
out (= out of pocket) , 175
propertied, 206
161
over-swear, 219
provident, 146
'slid, 202
owe (=own), 166
pure (adverb), 212
Puritan, 174, 175
'slight, 181, 191
sneck up, 173
Pandarus, 188
Pythagoras, 206
so (= so be it), 156
parish-top, 149
soft! 183, 185
part (adverb), 201
participate, 218
quick (= lively), 142
Quinapalus, 156
sometime, 213
sonnet, 195
part of death, 178
quirk, 199
sooth (= truth), 177
passages (= acts), 193
quit (= release), 221
Sophy, 186, 200
pass upon, 187
sound (= clear), 155
passy-measures pavin,
receiving, 190
sound (or south ?), 139
216
recollected terms, 176
sowter, 184
Patience (personified),
record (= remembrance),
speaks madman, 158
179
218
spheres (dissyllable), 189
peascod, 159
recover (=gain), 175
spinsters, 177
pedant, 193
peevish, 165
reliques, 195
relish, 204
spirit (monosyllable), 142
spleen, 192
Peg-a-Ramsey, 172
remember me, 219
split, 145
Penthesilea, 175
remembrance (quadrisyl-
spoke (= said), 154
perchance, 145
lable), 144
squash, 159
perdy, 206
renegado, 193
staniel, 184
perfection (by marriage) ,
renown (verb), 195
state (= authority), 182
144, 165, 177
retention, 212
state (= chair of state) ,
perfection (quadrisylla-
reverberate, 164
182
ble), 145
round (= plain), 173
state (= estate), 165
perpend, 220
rubious, 154
stitches, 192
personage, 159
rudesby, 203
stock (= stocking), 153
perspective, 217
rule (= conduct), 174
stone-bow, 182
pia mater, 158
stoup, 169
pickle-herring, 158
sack, 176
stout (= proud), 186
picture of we three, 169
sad (= sober, grave), 195
Strachy, 181
piece of Eve's flesh, 156
said (= called) , 204
strange (= distant), 186,
Pigrogromitus, 170
Saint Anne, 174
217
pilchards, 187
Saint Bennet, 210
strangeness, 203
pipe ( = voice), 154
pitch (in falconry), 142
pluck on, 222
save (= except), 191
scab, 183
scathful, 2ii
strangle thy propriety,
213
stuck (= thrust), 200
point-devise, 186
school i' the church, 193
substractors, 149
points, 156
scout (verb), 198
suffers under probation,
politician, 191
possess (= inform), 175
season (metaphor), 144
self (adjective), 145
185
suited (= dressed), 218
post (= messenger), 165
semblative, 155
supportance, 201
pound (plural), 215
she (= woman), 163
swabber, 161
practice (= trick), 221
sheep-biter, 180
swarths, 175
praise (= appraise), 164
shent, 207
sweet and twenty, 171
prank (verb), 179
sheriff's post, 159
sweet-heart, 150
pregnant (= ready), 168,
shrewdly, 221
sweeting, 171
189
shrewishly, 159
syllogism, 156
Index of Words and Phrases 245
tabor, 187
trunks, 202
weeds (= garments), 218
taffeta, 178
tuck (= rapier), 199
welkin, 171, 188
tainting, 213
well-a-day that, 207
take air and taint, 197
unauspicious, 212
well-favoured, 159
take thy fortunes up, 213
unchary, 198
were better, 168
take up (quarrel), 200
undertaker, 201
westward-ho, 190
tall, 149, 204
unfirm, 177
what (= what a), 184
tang, 185, 196
ungird thy strangeness,
what (= who), 147, 158
Tartar, 187
taste (= try), 189, 199
203
unhatched, 199
what's to do? 195
what time, 209
taxation, 162
unkind, 201
where, 218
tender (= cherish), 213
unmatchable, 160
whiles, 195, 209
testril, 170
unprizable, 211
whipstock, 170
that (conjunctional affix),
unprofited, 154
whirligig, 222
148, 165, 191, 213, 222
upon, 221
windy side, 197
that (=in that), 142
upshot, 206
wit and safety, 217
these set kind, 157
use (= usury), 188
witchcraft, 212
this great lubber, the
world, 202
use (verb), 177
usurp, 160
with (= by), 157
wive (verb), 224
those poor number, 145
woodcock, 183, 206
thou (verb), 192
thought (= love ?), 179
validity (= value), 142
venerable, 201
worn (= forgotten), 177
worth (= wealth), 194
thought is free, 150
vent, 202
wrack, 212
throw, 210
vice, 207
wrangle, 208
Tiger (name of ship), 211
viol-de gamboys, 149
tillyvally, 172
VOX, 220
yare, 199
time pleaser, 175
vulgar proof, 190
yellow stockings, 185, 195
tinkers, 173
yeoman of the wardrobe,
to (infinitive), 165
wainropes, 192
181
tongues (play upon), 151
was (= had been), 207
you (redundant), 164
trade, 189
watch, 182, 214
you were best, 156, 195
tray-trip, 186
water (in diagnosis), 197
triplex, 210
waxen hearts, 168
zanies, 157
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The Same. Morocco, Indexed ... .90
Webster's American People's Dictionary and Manual .48
Webster's Practical Dictionary 80
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American Book Company
NEW YORK CINCINNATI * CHICAGO
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An Introduction to the
Study of American Literature
BY BRANDER MATTHEWS
Professor of Literature in Columbia University
Cloth, 12mo, 256 pages .... Price $1.00
A text-book of literature on an original plan, and conform-
ing with the best methods of teaching.
Admirably designed to guide, to supplement, and to stimu-
late the student's reading of American authors.
Illustrated with a fine collection of facsimile manuscripts,
portraits of authors, and views of their homes and birthplaces.
Bright, clear, and fascinating, it is itself a literary work of
high rank.
The book consists mostly of delightfully readable and yet
comprehensive little biographies of the fifteen greatest and
most representative American writers. Each of the sketches
contains a critical estimate of the author and his works, which
is the more valuable coming, as it does, from one who is
himself a master. The work is rounded out by four general
chapters which take up other prominent authors and discuss
the history and conditions of our literature as a whole. The
book also contains a complete chronology of the best American
literature from the beginning down to the present period.
Each of the fifteen biographical sketches is illustrated by
a fine portrait of its subject and views of his birthplace or
residence and in some cases of both. They are also accom-
panied by each author's facsimile manuscript covering one or
two pages. The book contains excellent portraits of many
other authors famous in American literature.
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American Book Company
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A History of English Literature
BY REUBEN POST HALLECK, M.A. (Yale)
Cloth, 12mo, 499 pages. Illustrated . . Price $1.25
Halleck's History of English Literature is a concise and
interesting text-book of the history and development of Eng-
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the work is sufficiently simple to be readily comprehended by
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but also stimulating and suggestive, and will naturally lead to
original thinking.
The book is a history of literature and not a mere collection
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work. The author's productions, their relation to the age, and
the reasons why they hold a position in literature, receive
treatment commensurate with their importance.
One of the most striking features of the work consists in
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the beginning of each of the chapters. Special attention is
given to the essential qualities which differentiate one period
from another, and to the animating spirit of each age.
At the end of each chapter a carefully prepared list of
books is given to direct the student in studying the original
works of the authors treated. He is told not only what to
read, but also where to find it at the least cost.
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American Book Company
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BEGINNINGS OF RHETORIC AND COM-
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FOUNDATIONS OF RHETORIC . . $1.00
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PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC . . . $1.20
This popular work has been almost wholly rewritten, and is
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on the principle that the function of rhetoric is not to pro-
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AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
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HISTORIES FOP SECONDARY SCHOOLS
ESSENTIALS IN ANCIENT
HISTORY
Half Leather, 528 Pages. Price, $J.SO
By ARTHUR MAYER WOLFSON, Ph.D.
Assistant in History, De Witt Clinton High School^ New York City
In Consultation with
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D.
Professor of History ', Harvard University
convenient manual presents the essentials in ancient
history as a unit in a manner both comprehensible and
interesting to first-year students in secondary schools. It is
prepared on the plan recommended by the Committee of
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Regents of the State of New York. It combines in one
volume Greek and Roman history with that of the Eastern
nations, and pays more attention to civilization than to mere
constitutional development.
The paragraph headings are given in the margins, thus
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each chapter are lists of topics for further research, bibli-
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and modern authorities. A special feature is the giving of a
brief list of selected books, not exceeding $25 in cost, and
suitable for a school library. The numerous maps show only
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too much detail. The illustrations, although attractive, have
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<s. 137)
Burnet's Zoology
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BY MARGARETTA BURNET
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Cloth, 12mo, 216 pages. Illustrated . . Price 75 cents
This new text-book on Zoology is intended for classes
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While sufficiently elementary for beginners in the study it is
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a practical teacher, and is the direct result of schoolroom
experience, field observation, and laboratory practice.
The design of the book is to give a good general knowl-
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nature study, and to encourage the pupil to observe and to
compare for himself, and then to arrange and classify his
knowledge. Only typical or principal forms are described,
and in their description only such technical terms are used as
are necessary, and these are carefully defined.
Each subject is fully illustrated, the illustrations being
selected and arranged to aid the pupil in understanding the
structure of each form.
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American Book Company
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A Modern Chemistry
ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY
$1.10
LABORATORY MANVAL
50c.
By F. W. CLARKE
Chief Chemist of the United
States Geological Survey
and L. M. DENNIS
Professor of Inorganic and Analytical
Chemistry in Cornell University
THE study of chemistry, apart from its scientific and
detailed applications, is a training in the interpretation
of evidence, and herein lies one of its chief merits as an in-
strument of education. The authors of this Elementary
Chemistry have had this idea constantly in mind: theory and
practice, thought and application, are logically kept together,
and each generalization follows the evidence upon which it
rests. The application of the science to human affairs, and
its utility in modern life, are given their proper treatment.
The Laboratory Manual contains directions for experiments
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is left blank for recording the details of the experiment, and
for writing answers to suggestive questions which are intro-
duced in connection with the work.
The books reflect the combined knowledge and experience
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AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
Publishers
NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO
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Botany all the Year Round
By E. F. ANDREWS
HIGH SCHOOL, WASHINGTON, GA.
Cloth, 1 2 mo, 302 pp., with illustrations. Price, $I.OO
IT is the aim of this book to show that botany can
be taught to good advantage by means within the
reach of every one. Although adapted for use in
any secondary school, it is designed more especially
for those which have no elaborate and expensive labo-
ratory, but which have easily available a sufficient
amount of botanical material. It is therefore particu-
larly suited to country schools.
The language of the text is very simple and direct.
Botanical terms are introduced only as required. The
pupil is led to make accurate observations, and from
them to deduce safe conclusions. He is first taught
to observe the conditions of plant life, then the essen-
tial organs of the plant are taken up, and finally the
author treats of plants as they relate to their surround-
ings ecology.
The subject is treated in a manner both practical
and scientific, and by leading the pupil to nature for the
objects of each lesson it takes up each topic at just the
time of the year when material for it is most abundant.
In this way the study can be carried on all the year
round. The leaf has been selected as the starting
point, and prominence is given to the more familiar
forms of vegetation presented by the seed-bearing
plants, in this way proceeding from the familiar and
well-known to the more primitive and obscure forms.
The experiments described are simple, requiring only
such appliances as the teacher and pupil can easily de-
vise. Practical questions are given at the end of each
section with a view to bringing out the relations more
clearly and to teaching the pupil to reason for himself.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
(S. 175)
A Descriptive Catalogue of High
School and College Text-Books
w
E issue a complete descriptive catalogue
of our text-books for secondary schools
and higher institutions, illustrated with
authors' portraits. For the convenience
of teachers, separate sections are published, de-
voted to the newest and best books in the following
branches of study;
EJVGLISH
MA THEM A TICS'
HISTO*Ry and POLITICAL SCIBJVCE
SCIEJVCE
MO'DE.'Rf*
and E,*D\7CATIOJ*
If you are interested in any of these branches,
we shall be very glad to send you on request the
catalogue sections which you may wish to see.
Address the nearest office of the Company.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
Tublishersof School and College Tejct-'BooKf
NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO
Boston Atlanta, DaJlsxs Ssxn Francisco
(S. 312 .)
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UN 2 2 1970
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FEB 7 2000
LD21A-60m-3,'70
(N5382slO)476-A-32
General Library
University of California
Berkeley