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Line 12 - Commentary Note (CN) More Information

Notes for lines 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman
For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.
12 Fran. For this reliefe much thanks, tis bitter cold,1.1.8
12 13 14 15 16 17 157 165 604
1784 Davies
Davies
12-13 Fran. For . . . hart.] Davies (1784, 3:5-6) <p. 5> “The right expression of a simple thought is sometimes of considerable and unexpected consequence to the speaker. Mr. Boheme was, about the year 1718, accidentally seen by Rich, when playing with some itinerants at Stratford le Bow, who soon distinguished him from his companions, and hired him, at a small income, to act at his theatre in Lincoln’s-inn fields. I have been told, that this actor was, on his first trial, cast into the trifling part of Francisco. His unaffected, yet feeling, manner, of pronouncing this short speech, roused the auditors to an attention of his merit. His salary was immediately increased by the </p. 5> <p. 6> manager, and he proved afterwards a great ornament of the stage.” </p.6>
1819 cald1
cald1
12 bitter cold] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “As to ‘bitter cold,’ see ‘bitter business,’ at the end of Act. III [3.2 (F1 2262)], Hamlet’s soliloquy.”
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1 + correction, eliminates “at the end of”
12 bitter cold] Caldecott (ed. 1832): “See ‘bitter business,’ solil. Haml. III.”
1839 knt1
knt1 See 165
12
1843- mLewes
mLewes: knt2
12 bitter cold] Lewes (ms. note in 1832 ed.) quotes Knight’s note (from ed. 1843) without comment, but in the 1843 ed. itself, which he reviewed, he disagreed with both Caldecott’s and Knight’s literalism. See cn 165 for all three.
1847 Lewes
Lewes
12-17 Lewes (1847, p. 319): “[ . . . ] in the answer of Francisco we have another slight trait which strikingly exemplifies how careful Shakespeare was to preserve entire consistency in the conduct of his characters:—[quotes 12-13]. And because he is sick at heart, absorbed in the contemplation of his individual griefs, he has not remarked the ill-concealed agitation of Bernardo. With a mind at ease, his attention would have been excited and his curiosity roused. As he is going, Bernardo asks with an off-hand air of assumed indifference, [quotes 14]—an inquiry he dared not make in a formal way, in direct conversation, lest he should betray his anxiety. The assurance he receives [quotes 15] in relieving him as to the hours past, fixes his thoughts the more exclusively on the coming moments. He has no wish to be left alone. He is impatient to be joined by his companions, and his parting word to Francisco is [quotes 16-17].”
In what seems a direct stroke against Coleridge, who had said that the scene was full of commonplace talk, Lewes says, “The few words which pass in the next half-page, common-place as they appear to the inattentive reader, are strokes of character the finest and the most expressive.”
1857 fieb
fieb
12 reliefe] Fiebig (ed. 1857): “The dismission of a sentry from his post.”
1870 Abbott
Abbott
12 much] Abbott (§ 51): “Much, More, is frequently used as an ordinary adjective, after a pronominal adjective, like the Scotch mickle, . . . ”
1872 cln1
cln1 : Abbott + analogues, //s
12 much thanks] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “For this use of ‘much’ with a noun of plural form, compare Luke 12. 19. ‘Thou hast much goods laid up for many years.’ ‘Much,’ like the A. S. micel, mycel, mucel, from which it is derived, was once not used only, as it is now, with abstract or collective nouns, but generally in the sense of ‘great.’ So in [R3 3.7.159 (2380)], ‘Yet so much is my poverty of spirit,’ and MM 5.1.528 (2927)], ‘Thy much goodness.’ Abbott’s Shakespeare Grammar, § 51.
cln1: Abbott § 1 without attribution; //
12 bitter cold] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “Here “bitter’ is used adverbially to qualify the adjective ‘cold.’ So we have ‘daring hardy’ in [R2 1.3.43 (340)]. Where the combination is likely to be misunderstood, modern editors generally put a hyphen between the two words.”
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ Abbott
12 much thanks] Furness (ed. 1877): “Abbott, § 51: Much, more, is frequently used as an ordinary adjective, like the Scottish mickle, and the Early English muchel.”
v1877 = knt (but at TLN 157, rather than here or at 165)
12 bitter cold]
1878 rlf1
rlf1≈ cln1 without attribution; Abbott §51
12 much thanks]
rlf1: Abbott § 1
12 bitter cold]
1891 dtn1
dtn1
12 much] Deighton (ed. 1891): “great in quantity, formerly used of size also.”
dtn1 ≈ cln1 without attribution
12 bitter] Deighton (ed. 1891): “bitterly.”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1 (minus analogues)
12 much thanks]
1913 tut2
tut2 ≈ cln1 gloss great without attribution +
12 much] Goggin (ed. 1913): “one of the many phrases in Hamlet which have become proverbial.”
tut2 ≈ cln1 without attribution
12 bitter]
1930 Granville-Barker
Granville-Barker
12 tis bitter cold] Granville-Barker (1930, rpt. 1946, 1: 49): Though scene 1 is long, the cold suggests a brisk pace.
1934 cam3
cam3
12 bitter cold] Wilson (ed. 1934): “Sh. builds up the atmosphere of the frosty, star-lit, northern night as he proceeds; cf. [47-9 and quotes].”
1980 pen2
pen2
12 bitter cold] Spencer (ed. 1980) believes the action takes place in winter. with a cross-reference to [604].
1982 ard2
ard2: standard
12 much thanks] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “ ’Thanks’ was often used as singular. . . . ”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2
12 tis bitter cold] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006) agree with others that the chill does not reliably indicate a particular season. “Guilfoyle, however, draws an analogy between the opening scene and the topical ’Shepherds’ Play’ in the medieval cycle plays where the shepherds, like Hamlet’s sentries, wait on a cold night for a supernatural event (see 157n. and p. 71).”

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