The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 8 of 9]

by William Shakespeare

NOTES.

Note I.

Act I. Scene 1. The acts and scenes are marked throughout in the Folios, but not in the Quartos.

Note II.

I. 1. 25, 26. There is a curious example of careless printing here in the third Quarto, which reads:

'Bast. No my Lord.

Glo. My services to your Lordship.
unrable friend.

Kent. I must loue you &c.'

Note III.

I. 1. 36. 'and tis our fast intent.' 'This,' says Warburton, 'is an interpolation of Mr Lewis Theobald, for want of knowing the meaning of the old reading in the Quarto of 1608, and first folio of 1623; where we find it—and 'tis our FIRST intent, which is as Shakespear wrote it.' Warburton's error was corrected by Johnson.

Note IV.

I. 1. 80-84. The reading given in the text is that of the Folios, except as otherwise stated in the foot note. The first Quarto, which is followed, except in the spelling of a word or two, by the rest, has:

'but now our ioy,
Although the last, not least in our deere loue,
What can you say to win a third, more opulent
Then your sisters.'

Pope reads:

'Now our joy,
Although our last, not least; to whose young love,
The vines of France, and milk of Burgundy,
Strive to be int'rest: what say you to draw
A third, more opulent than your sisters? speak.'

Capell:

'Now, our joy,
Although the last, not least in our dear love,
What can you say, to win a third more opulent
Than your two sisters?'

Malone first gave the passage exactly as it stands in our text.

Note V.

I. 1. 114. This and other anonymous conjectures are found in MS. in an imperfect copy of the second Quarto of 1608, now in the British Museum (C. 34. k. 17). Besides those which we have quoted there are many others made by the MS. corrector which agree either with the other Quartos or with the Folios.

Note VI.

I. 1. 220. Hanmer, adopting Rowe's alteration, reads the whole passage thus:

'Sure th' offence
Must be of such unnatural degree,
As monsters it; or your fore-voucht affection
Could not fall into taint; which to believe
Of her must be a faith reason without
A miracle should never plant in me.'

The next lines he also alters thus:

'Cor. I yet beseech your Majesty, (if so
I want that glib and oily art, to speak
And purpose not, since what I well intend,
I'll do't before I speak) that you make known &c.'

Note VII.

I. 4. 225-228. In this passage Rowe followed the Folios. Pope introduced some of the lines of the Quartos, making verse of them thus:

'Lear's shadow? I would learn, for by the marks
Of sovereignty, of knowledge, and of reason,
I should be false persuaded I had daughters.
Your name, fair gentlewoman?'

Theobald and Hanmer followed Pope. So did Warburton, except that in the second line he read 'Of sovereignty of knowledge, &c.' Johnson and Capell followed the Folios. Steevens in his edition of 1773 read as in the text, but in 1778 recurred to the reading of Pope: except that he transferred 'Lear's shadow?' to the end of the previous line, and for 'learn' read 'learn that.' Mr Dyce, in his first edition, arranged lines 225-228 thus:

'Lear. I would learn that; for by the marks of sovereignty,
Knowledge, and reason,
I should be false persuaded I had daughters.'

In his second edition he reads:

'Lear. I would learn that; for, by the marks of sovereignty,
Knowledge, and reason, I should be false-persuaded
I had daughters.'

Mr Staunton reads 'I would ... reason' as prose, and the next line as verse. He suggests that "possibly the meaning may be restored by simply omitting the comma after sovereignty, 'by the marks of sovereignty knowledge and reason,' i.e. of supreme or sovereign knowledge, &c." But his later conjecture is that for 'Of sovereignty, of knowledge' we should read 'Of sovereignly knowledge.' Mr Keightley, adopting some of the readings of the Quartos, arranges the whole passage as follows:

'Lear. Does any here know me?—Why, this is not Lear.
Does Lear walk thus? speak thus? Where are his eyes?
Either his notion weakens, or his discernings
Are lethargied.—Sleeping or waking?—Ha!
Sure 'tis not so.—Who is it that can tell me
Who I am?

Fool. Lear's shadow,—

Lear. I would learn that; for by
The marks of sovereignty, knowledge, and reason,
I should be false persuaded I had daughters.'

Becket proposes:

'Who is it that can tell me who I am?
Lear's shadow? I would learn that; for by the marks
Of sov'reignty, I should be false persuaded.—
Of knowledge and of reason I had daughters.'

Note VIII.

I. 4. 338. In the imperfect copy of Q₂ in the British Museum 'attaskt for' was the original reading, but the first two letters of the word have been erased. In II. 1. 123, 'lest,' the original reading, has been altered to 'best.'

Note IX.

II. 1. 76. We take this opportunity of stating that we have not thought it worth while, either in this play or in Hamlet, to notice the few inaccuracies which occur in Steevens's reprints.

Note X.

II. 2. 40. Mr Dyce first suggested that 'Part' was intended as a stage-direction.

Note XI.

II. 2. 136-142. The first Quarto, followed substantially by the others, reads here:

'His fault is much, and the good King his Master
Will checke him for't; your purposd low correction
Is such, as basest and temnest wretches for pilfrings
And most common trespasses are punisht with,
The King must take it ill, that hee's so slightly valued
In his Messenger, should haue him thus restrained.'

The Folios have only the following lines:

'The King his Master, needs must take it ill
That he so slightly valued in his Messenger,
Should haue him thus restrained.'

In the last line the fourth Folio reads 'this' for 'thus.' Rowe followed the Folios. Pope first introduced the lines from the Quartos, and gave the arrangement adopted in our text. In the third and the last lines he introduced readings which we have given in the foot notes. The passage was first given in Capell's edition as it actually stands in our text.

Note XII.

II. 2. 163. The first Quarto here reads:

'Of my obscured course, and shall finde time
From this enormious state, seeking to giue
Losses their remedies, all weary &c.'

The other Quartos differ only in spelling. The first Folio, followed substantially by the rest, has:

'Of my obscured course. And shall finde time
From this enormous State, seeking to giue
Losses their remedies. All weary &c.'

Rowe reads:

'Of my obscured course. I shall find time
For this enormous State, and seek to give
Losses their Remedies. All weary &c.'

Pope followed him, but restored 'From' in the second line, and this reading was silently adopted by Theobald and Warburton, and by Hanmer in his margin. Johnson thinks the passage very obscure if not corrupt. Jennens prints it as follows:

[Reading parts of the letter.

'Of my obscured course—and shall find time
From this enormous state—seeking to give
Losses their remedies.—All weary &c.'

Steevens (1773) gives as his own conjecture what Jennens had already published.

Singer (ed. 1) read thus:

'Of my obscured course; and shall find time
From this enormous state,—seeking,—to give
Losses their remedies:—All weary &c.'

Dr Delius adopts nearly the same punctuation:

'Of my obscured course; and shall find time
From this enormous state,—seeking to give
Losses their remedies—All weary &c.'

He supposes that Kent overcome with drowsiness leaves his sentences unfinished. Mr Bailey (On the Received Text of Shakespeare's Dramatic Writings, &c. II. 91) proposes to read:

'and shall find balm
For this enormous state, seeking to give
Losses their remedies &c.'

Note XIII.

III. 1. 53-55. The first Folio, followed substantially by the rest, reads thus:

'That when we have found the King, in which your pain
That way, Ile this: He that first lights on him,
Holla the other.'

The Quartos thus:

'That when we have found the King,
Ile this way, you that, he that first lights
On him, hollow the other.'

Pope:

'That, when we have found the King, (in which you take
That way, I this:) he that first lights on him,
Hollow the other.'

Hanmer follows Pope, reading however 'for which' instead of 'in which' in the first line. Steevens, in his edition of 1773, reads with the Quartos, adopting the following strange punctuation, and dividing the lines thus:

'That when we have found the King. I'll this way,
You that: he that first lights on him,
Halloo the other.'

Note XIV.

III. 2. 2. Both Capell and Jennens agree in giving 'Your' as the reading of the Quartos in this line for 'You,' but Capell's own copies and all others that we have seen read 'You.'

Note XV.

III. 4. 112, 113. In the imperfect copy of the second Quarto in the British Museum, it is impossible to say whether the reading was & the pin-queues or the pin-queues, on account of an erasure by which it is made he pin-queues. Jennens quotes it as the pin-queues, and this is the reading of the copy in the Bodleian Library which we have called 'Bodl. 1.'

Note XVI.

III. 6. 101-114. Every editor from Theobald downwards, except Hanmer, has reprinted this speech from the Quartos. In deference to this consensus of authority we have retained it, though, as it seems to us, internal evidence is conclusive against the supposition that the lines were written by Shakespeare.

Note XVII.

IV. 1. 12. These conjectures of Hanmer's are derived from a letter of his to Warburton, still unpublished, which is now in the British Museum (Egerton, 1957).

Note XVIII.

IV. 6. 196-200. The first Quarto has in this passage:

'... water-pottes, I and laying Autumnes dust.

Gent. Good Sir.

Lear. I will dye brauely like a Bridegroome. What, I will bee
iouiall: Come, come, I am a King my masters, know you that?'

The second Quarto omits 'Gent. Good Sir.'

The first Folio has:

'To vse his eyes for Garden water-pots. I wil die brauely,
Like a smugge Bridegroome. What? I will be Iouiall:
Come, come, I am a King, Masters, know you that?'

The second and following Folios put a full stop at 'King.'

Pope combines the readings of the Folios and second Quarto thus:

'To use his eyes for garden-water-pots,
And laying autumn's dust. I will die bravely,
Like a smug bridegroom. What? I will be jovial:
Come, come, I am a King. My masters know you that?'

He is followed by Theobald, Hanmer, Warburton and Johnson.

Capell altered the last line thus:

'Come, come;
I am a king, my masters; Know you that?'

The arrangement adopted in our text is that which Steevens gave in his edition of 1778. Jennens, from whom Steevens borrowed as usual without acknowledgement, had given in 1770 the same arrangement, omitting the word 'smug.' In his edition of 1793 Steevens reads 'Ay and for laying autumn's dust,' making 'Ay ... sir' one line.

Mr Collier prints 'I will die bravely;' in a line by itself, adopting in the former line the arrangement of Steevens, and in what follows that of the Folios. Keightley reads 'Ay, and laying autumn's dust ... bravely' as one line.

Note XIX.

V. 1. 26. 'Not bolds the king' is usually interpreted as an elliptical phrase for 'Not as it emboldens the king.' This is however a very harsh construction, and the word 'bolds' occurs nowhere else in Shakespeare with this meaning, though we have, according to the most probable reading, 'dear'd,' for 'endear'd,' in Antony and Cleopatra, I. 4. 44. Possibly these words are corrupt and a line has dropped out before them. Albany ought to say something of this kind: 'I should be ready to resist any mere invader, but the presence in the invader's camp of the king and other Britons, who have just cause of enmity to us, dashes my courage.'

Note XX.

V. 3. 315. Capell reads 'rough' in his text, believing that he had the authority of the first Quarto for it; but in his own copy and that of the Duke of Devonshire, the reading is plainly 'tough,' though the 't' is broken.

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