[I. 1. 15.] What cares these roarers. This grammatical inaccuracy, which escaped correction in the later folios, probably came from Shakespeare’s pen. Similar cases occur frequently, especially when the verb precedes its nominative. For example, Tempest, IV. 1. 262, ‘Lies at my mercy all mine enemies,’ and Measure for Measure, II. 1. 22, ‘What knows the laws, &c.’ We correct it in those passages where the occurrence of a vulgarism would be likely to annoy the reader. In the mouth of a Boatswain it can offend no one. We therefore leave it.
[ Note II.]
[I. 1. 57-59.] Mercy on us!—we split, &c. It may be doubtful whether the printer of the first folio intended these broken speeches to express ‘a confused noise within.’ Without question such was the author’s meaning. Rowe, however, and subsequent editors, printed them as part of Gonzalo’s speech. Capell was the first editor who gave the true arrangement.
[ Note III.]
[I. 2. 173.] princesses. See Mr Sidney Walker’s Shakespeare’s Versification, p. 243 sqq. ’The plurals of substantives ending in s, in certain instances, in se, ss, ce, and sometimes ge, ... are found without the usual addition of s or es, in pronunciation at least, although in many instances the plural affix is added in printing, where the metre shows that it is not to be pronounced.’
In this and other instances, we have thought it better to trust to the ear of the reader for the rhythm than to introduce an innovation in orthography which might perplex him as to the sense. The form ‘princesses,’ the use of which in Shakespeare’s time was doubted by one of our correspondents, is found in the History of King Leir.
Rowe’s reading ‘princes’ might be defended on the ground that the sentiment is general, and applicable to royal children of both sexes; or that Sir Philip Sidney, in the first book of the Arcadia, calls Pamela and Philoclea ‘princes.’
[ Note IV.]
[I. 2. 298.] The metre of this line, as well as of lines 301, 302, is defective, but as no mode of correction can be regarded as completely satisfactory we have in accordance with our custom left the lines as they are printed in the Folio. The defect, indeed, in the metre of line 298 has not been noticed except by Hanmer, who makes a line thus:
‘Do so, and after two days I’ll discharge thee.’