I. i. 132. That may give thee ease and be a virtuous thing for me to do.

I. i. 135.

I. i. 141. halberd.

I. i. 155. Erring. In I. i. 157.

I. i. 159.

I. i. 163.

struck."

I. i. 164.

Happily. Haply; or luckily.

Partisan. A kind of long-handled battle-axe, a

Extravagant. Wandering beyond bounds. the etymological sense of "wandering." Probation. Proof.

'Gainst. Just before.

Strike.

Takes.

bewitching.

I. i. 165.

Gracious.
Loves.

I. i. 174.

Exert evil influence. Cf. "moon

Bewitches. Cf. "taking" - infectious;

Blessed.

Cf. Introduction, p. 46, 1, (b).

I. ii. 1 ff. This speech, being delivered from the throne, is necessarily formal.

I. ii. 2.

I. ii. 4.

45, 1, (a).

That. Often used instead of repeating "though."
Brow of woe. Woful brow. Cf. Introduction, p.

I. ii. 9. Jointress.

troduction, p. 48.

I. ii. 10. Defeated. "Defeat thy favour beard."

Joint possessor.

Disfigured.

To. Of. Cf. In

Cf. Othello, I. iii. 346, [= appearance] with an usurped

I. ii. 11. An ... a. The Folios read, “one.
I. ii. 14.

Barred. Shut out of our counsels.

one."

I. ii. 15. Wisdoms. Cf. Introduction, p. 46, 1, (b), and "loves," I. i. 174

I. ii. 17. That. What.

Supposal. Notion.

Disjoint. Cf. Introduction, p. 47, 4, (d).

Colleagued with this dream. Having as his

(only) ally this imaginary advantage.

Importing. Concerning.

I. ii. 18.

I. ii. 38. Delated. This may mean (1) handed over (to you); or (2) submitted for acceptance (to Norway); or (3) it may be a form of dilated, the reading of the Folios, mean

ing "set forth at large." Allow. Cf. Introduction, p. 47,

4, (b).

I. ii. 41.

I. ii. 45.

I. ii. 47.

Nothing. Used as adverb, = not at all.

Lose your voice. Waste your breath.

Native. Naturally related.

I. ii. 56. Pardon. Permission.

I. ii. 63. Spend your time according to your will and your best virtues.

I. ii. 64. Cousin. Used for any grade of relationship outside of one's immediate family.

I. ii. 65. More than kin. Closer than kinsmen usually are, because both uncle and step-father. Less than kind. (1) The feeling between us is less than that of kindness; or, (2) though so closely related, we are not of the same nature. For other interpretations, see Var.

I. ii. 67. Sun. The mention of "clouds" immediately after "son" suggested the obvious pun. He means to hint obscurely that he does not like being so nearly a son to his uncle as his mother's marriage has made him.

I. ii. 70. Vailed. Cast down.

I. ii. 71.

I. ii. 81.

I. ii. 86.

For metre, cf. Introduction, p. 44, 5.

I. ii. 90. Survivor. This may be taken as object of bound; or "was" may be understood.

I. ii. 92. Obsequious. Suitable to obsequies. For metre, cf. Introduction, p. 43, 1. Persever. For accent, cf. Intro

duction, p. 44, 6.

I. ii. 93. Condolement. Grief. The prefix has a merely intensive force.

I. ii. 95.

I. ii. 96.

I. ii. 97.

I. ii. 99.

Incorrect. Unsubmissive.

Unfortified. I. e., by religion.

Simple. Foolish.

Any the most vulgar thing to sense. Any thing most frequently presented to the senses.

I. ii. 104. Who. This form of the relative personifies Reason. Still Always.

I. ii. 105. Till he. Cf. Introduction, p. 46, 3, (a), and Abbott, 184 and 206.

I. ii. 107. Unprevailing.

for "unavailing."

Used in Elizabethan English

I. ii. 112. Impart. The construction seems confused. Impart would regularly take "nobility of love" (=distin

guished love) as a direct object; the "with" is lost sight of before the main verb appears. Otherwise, impart must "express myself," a sense not easily par

be taken as =

alleled.

I. ii. 114.

Retrograde.

Adverse; an astrological term.

I. ii. 124. Sits smiling to my heart. This may be taken as implying a personification of accord; or sits may be used "suits," somewhat as in 2 Henry IV., V. ii. 44-45, "This new and gorgeous garment, majesty, Sits not so easy on me as you think."

1

I. ii. 125. The frequency of the king's drinking may be intended to suggest an attempt to drive away remorse. Rouse. A deep draught, a bumper. Resolve. Dissolve.

I. ii. 127.

I. ii. 130.

I. ii. 134.

I. ii. 137.

Uses. Ways.

Merely. Entirely.

I. ii. 140. Hyperion. Here used for Apollo, the sun god. Shakspere accents the antepenult, the Greek the penult. For the metre of the line, cf. Introduction, p. 44, 4.

I. ii. 141. Beteem.

I. ii. 147. Or e'er.

Permit.

Before ever. It is often written "or

ere," but cf. line 183, below.

I. ii. 149. Niobe.

"Proud of her numerous progeny, she provoked the anger of Apollo and Artemis by boasting over their mother, Leto, who had but those two children. She was punished by seeing all her children die by the arrows of the two light deities." (Century Dictionary). I. ii. 150. Discourse of reason. Reasoning faculties. I. ii. 154.

Unrighteous. Because insincere.

I. ii. 155. Flushing. Red color. The sense derived from "flush" = to fill with water, is less probable. Galled. Sore with weeping.

I. ii. 157. Dexterity. Celerity, for which some editors have thought it a misprint. But cf. the colloquial use of "clever" = smart, quick, showing alacrity.

I. ii. 159. Break. A subjunctive.

I. ii. 163. Change. Exchange, reciprocate (the name of friend).

I. ii. 164. Make.

Do. Cf.II. ii. 283.

Shakspere puns

on the two senses of the word in As You Like It, I. i. 31 ff.:

Oli.

Orl.

Now, sir, what make you here?

Nothing. I am not taught to make any thing.

Oli. What mar you then, sir?

I. ii. 182. Dearest. "Dear" is used of whatever touches us nearly, either in love or hate, joy or sorrow. [Clar.]

I. ii. 186. I saw him once. Note the inconsistency with I. i. 60-63, where two occasions are mentioned.

I. ii. 192. Season your admiration. Modify your wonder. Cf. II. i. 28.

I. ii. 198. Waste. Q1 reads "vast"; Q2 and Fi read "wast," and editors have read variously (1) "vast," with sense of "limitlessness" or "void"; (2) "waste," with sense of "emptiness"; or (3) "waist," with sense of "middle." I. ii. 200. At point. At all points, completely. Cap-apie. From head to foot.

I. ii. 203. Fear-surprised. Seized with fear.

I. ii. 204. Distilled. Besides "to vaporize and then condense," distill may mean "to trickle in drops," or "to melt." The last of these senses is probably what Shakspere intended, but it is not very exact. Some editors adopt the reading of F1, "bestilled," a strong form of "stilled;" others cmend to "bechilled."

I. ii. 205.

action."

I. ii. 209.

With. Cf. Introduction, p. 48. Act. "Operative

Delivered. Cf. line 193, above.

It.

I. ii. 216. This form of the neuter possessive is frequent in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The older regular possessive neuter was "his," which began to be replaced by the irregular coinage, "its," in the seventeenth century. Cf. I. iii. 60; V. i. 246.

I. ii. 230. Beaver. The movable part in the front of the helmet.

I. ii. 235. Amazed. Confounded—a stronger word than it is to-day.

I. ii. 237.

Tell. Count.

I. ii. 239, 241. Grizzled. Grey, "a sable silvered."

I. ii. 247. Tenable. To be held. For this passive use, cf. "sensible;" in I. i. 57, and Abbott, § 3.

I. ii. 250. Loves. Cf. Introduction, p. 46, 1, (b), and line 253, below.

I. II. 255.

der.

Foul play. Unfair play, not necessarily mur

I. iii. The third scene introduces the family of the Lord Chamberlain : Polonius, a statesman long past his prime, retaining in his memory the phrases in which he had once

summed up the results of much shrewdness of observation, but displaying no lofty sense of honor; Laertes, the type of the gilded youth, with some of his father's love of giving advice and with equally low personal ideals; Ophelia, gentle and charming, but too docile to be a worthy mate for Hamlet.

I. iii. 2. Give benefit. Are favorable.

I. iii. 8. The scansion of this line is difficult. The most natural way of reading it is to dwell on "sweet" so as to give it the value of two syllables.

I. iii. 9. Suppliance. That which supplies, or fills up, a minute; pastime.

I. iii. 12. Thews. Physical strength. Temple. For this figure of speech for the human body, cf. I Cor. vi. 19. I. iii. 15. Cautel. Deceit.

Safety.

I. iii. 21. If this, the reading of the Quartos, is retained, it must be trisyllabic. The Folios read "sanctity," which has been conjecturally emended to "sanity."

I. iii. 23. Voice. Vote. Cf. V. ii. 376. Yielding. Consent.

I. iii. 26.

Particular act and place. The power of action which belongs to him in his peculiar position. The Folios read, "peculiar sect and force."

I. iii. 34. Do not go as far as your feelings may prompt. Canker. A kind of worm or caterpillar. Buttons. Buds. Disclosed. Opened.

I. iii. 39.

I. iii. 40.

I. iii. 42.

I. iii. 44.

be near.

I. iii. 45.

Contagious blastments. Pernicious blights.
Youth rebels against itself, though no tempter

Effect. Upshot, substance.

Ungracious. Graceless.

I. iii. 47.

I. iii. 49.

Puffed. Bloated.

I. iii. 50.

I. iii. 51.

Dalliance. Pleasure, wantonness.

Recks not his own rede.

advice. Fear me. Fear for me.

I. ill. 53. Grace. Favor of heaven.

Heeds not his own

Fortune is propitious

in permitting.