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Line 2379 - Commentary Note (CN) More Information

Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.
2379 Much heate and him, Ile silence me {euen} <e’ene> heere,3.4.4
1723- mtby2
mtby2
2379 euen] Thirlby (1723-): “in F”
“f” indicates strong conjecture by ‘Thirlby.
1733- mtby3
mtby3 = mtby2
1744 han1
han1: Wiv. //
2379 silence . . . heere] Hanmer (ed. 1744): “‘Sconce the same as insconce: that is, to cover or secure. The same word is used upon the like occasion in Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)]. I will insconce me behind the Arras.”
1745 han2
han2 = han1
1747-53 mtby4
mtby4 = mtby3
1747 warb
warb = han1
1765 john1
john1: contra han1, contra warb
2379 silence] Johnson (ed. 1765): “Sir T. Hanmer, who is followed by Dr. Warburton, reads, ‘—I’ll sconce me here. Retire to a place of security.’ They forget that the contrivance of Polonius to overhear the conference, was no more told to the Queen than to Hamlet.’—I’ll silence me ev’n here,’ is, I’ll use no more words.”
1771 han3
han3 = han1
The glossary also has ’sconce definition but minus Wiv. //.
1773 v1773
v1773 = john1
1774 capn
capn
2379 Ile silence . . . heere] Capell (1774, 1:1:139-40): <p.139>“The speaker’s only sense of these words is—I’ll <p.139><p.140> get me to my post, and be silent: but when we consider, that they are his last words, and death about to ‘silence’ him shortly, we cannot but conclude that speech ominous, and of the nature of many others that are scatter’d up and down in these plays.” </p.140>
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773
1784 ays1
ays1 ≈ john without attribution minus han, warb
2379 Ile silence . . . heere] Ayscouth (ed. 1784): “i. e. I’ll use no more words.”
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778
1790 MAL
mal ≈ john minus han, warb
2379 Ile silence . . . heere] Johnson (apud Malone, ed. 1790): “I’ll silence me ev’n here, is, I’ll use no more words. Johnson.
1791- rann
rann
2379 Ile silence . . . heere] Rann (ed. 1791-): “I’ll repair to my post, and be henceforth silent.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = mal
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793
1813 v1813
v1813 = v1803
1819 cald1
cald1
2379 silence . . . heere] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “Without a word more said, here snugly stow myself.”
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
1826 sing1
sing1: Hystory of Hamblett
2379 Ile . . . here] Singer (ed. 1826): “The circumstance of Polonius hiding himself behind the arras and the manner of his death are found in the old black letter prose Hystory of Hamblett.”
Located at 2383.
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
1845 Hunter
Hunter: john1; Wiv. // + magenta underlined
2379 Ile . . . heere] Hunter (1845, 2:256): “I’ll silence me e’en here] This is the reading of all the old copies except the first. Dr. Johnson explains it, ‘I’ll use no more words.’ In the first printed copy we have instead of it, ‘I’ll shrowd myself behind the arras.’ When this was altered, the text have no doubt stood thus: ‘I’ll ensconce me here,’ exactly as in Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)], we have ‘I’ll ensconce me behind the arras.’ In the printing en fell out, and was replaced wrongly: sconce, which remained, was then altered to silence.”
1853 coln
coln ≈ Hunter (incl. Wiv. //)
2379 silence] Collier (1853, pp. 426-7): <p.426> “Before Hamlet comes to his mother, in the closet-scene, Polonius hides himself behind the arras, and says, as it has been invariably printed,— ‘I’ll silence me e’en here.’ That this is a misprint we might guess witout any hint from the corrected folio, 1632, which thus gives the words—‘I’ll ’sconce me even here.’ Johnson felt obliged to explain that ‘I’ll silence me e’en </p.426><p.427> here’ meant ‘I’ll use no more words,’ In Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)], Falstaff says, ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras,’ which is exactly what Polonius does. ‘Sconce and ensconce are constantly used figuratively for hide.” </p.427>
1853 Singer
Singer: col; Hunter
2379 silence] Singer (1853, pp. 264-5): <p.264> “The correctors with their usual tact at coincidence, have </p.264><p.265> followed even Mr. Hunter’s reading of ‘I’ll sconce me e’en here,’ instead of ‘I’ll silence me e’en here;’ Mr. Collier himself reads silence, and did not even dream of its requiring explanation. In the exposition of sconce he follows Mr. Hunter.” </p.265>
Singer is “vindicating” Shakespeare from “the interpolations and corruptions” advocated by Collier.
1854 del2
del2
2379 silence . . . heere] Delius (ed. 1854): “Ic Ich will mir schon hier ein Stillschweigen auferlegen. Wie schon früher, glaubt auch hier Polonius nicht stillschweigen zu können, ohne zu verstehen zu geben, dass er eigentlich noch viel sagen könnte und müsste. S c h l e g e l fasst das zeitliche here örtlich, und übersetzt: "Ich will hier still mich bergen.’ ” [I must now make myself be silent. As earlier, here too Polonius believes that he cannot be silent without letting it be known that he really could and should say much. Schlegel understands the temporal word here as referring to place and translates the passage Ich will hier still mich bergen (I’ll hide myself here in silence.).]
del2: Wiv. //
2379 silence . . . heere] Delius (ed. 1854): “Der alte Corrector ändert dafür ‘sconce me even here, wahrscheinlich weil Falstaff in den Merry Wives of Windsor sagt: I will ensconce me behind the arras. Das humoristisch to ensconce, = sich verschanzen, passt besser in den Mund Falstaff’s, der hinter der Tapete Sicherheit sucht, als für den ernsthaft redenden Polonius. Zudem giebt die alte Lesart der Qs. und Fol. einen guten und gerade hier charakteristischen Sinn. Vgl. Anm. 3. - Ich muss demnach meine frühere, in der oben erwähnten Schrift dieser Emendation des alten Correctors ertheilte Zustimmung nach reifere Ueberlegung zurücknehmen.” [The Old Corrector changes it to ’sconce me even here, probably because Falstaff in the Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)] says, I will ensconce me behind the arras. The humorous to ensconce= dig in, entrench, fits better in Falstaff’s mouth, who seeks safety behind the curtain, than in that of the seriously spoken Polonius. Also the old version of the Qs and folio gives a good and especially here characteristic meaning. Cf. Note 3. On this account I must on further consideration take back my earlier agreement with the the Old Corrector’s emendation in the above passage.]
1856b sing2
sing2 sing1 {see n. 2380), Hunter
2379 silence] Singer (ed. 1856): “All the old copies read ‘I’ll silence me,’ except the quarto 1603, which has, ‘I’ll shrown myself behind the arras.’ There can be no doubt that we should read, as Mr. Hunter suggests, ‘I’ll sconce, or ensconce me even here.’ In Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)], we have, ‘I’ll ensconce me behind the arras.’ The circumstances of Polonius hiding himself behind the arras and the manner of his death are found in the old black letter pross Hystory of Hamblett.”
1857 dyce1
dyce1: han, col2
2379 silence . . . heere] Dyce (ed. 1857): “May be right: but the alteration made by Hanmer (and by Mr. Collier’s Ms. Corrector), ‘I’ll sconce me even [the quartos, 1604, &c. have ‘euen’] here,’ cannot be called an improbable one,—the corresponding words in the quarto, 1603, being ‘I’le shrowde myselfe behinde the Arras.’—That Hanmer’s alteration, which has long been adopted on the stage, should not be noticed in the Variorum Shakespeare, is sufficiently strange.”
1857 fieb
fieb
2379 heate] Fiebig (ed. 1857): “Heat in the meaning of agitation of violent passion, whose outbreak, until now had been prevented by her motherly love. No doubt he means her husband’s resentment.”
1858 col3
col3: col2, coln, Hunter, sing; Wiv. //
2379 silence] Collier (ed. 1853): “sconce] This is the reading of the corr. fo 1632, and there is no doubt that it is right. It has also been suggested by Mr. Hunter, we are sure, without any knowledge on his part that the emendation had been made in the corr. fo. 1632: the proposal of Mr. Hunter was, most likely, of an earlier date than that of the publication of our Vol. of ‘Notes and Emendations.’ Mr. Singer adopts the change, referring only to Mr. Hunter as his authority, but he supports it by the very citation we made (p. 440) from Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)],—’I will ensconce me behind the arras.’”
1859 Dyce (Strictures)
Dyce (Strictures): col2, Hunter, sing, han
2379 silence] Dyce (1859, p. 189): “‘I’ll sconce me even here.’ This is the reading of the corr. fo. 1632, and there is no doubt that it is right. It has also been suggested by Mr. Hunter, we are sure, without any knowledge on his part that the emendation had been made in the cor. fo. 1632: the proposal of Mr. Hunter was, most likely, of an earlier date than that of the publication of our Vol. of ‘Notes and Emendations.’ Mr. Singer adopts the change, referring only to Mr. Hunter as his authority,’ &c.
“In this note Mr. Collier is so occupied with ‘the corr. fo. 1632,’ ‘Mr. Hunter,’ and ‘Mr. Singer,’ that he does not mention the reading of the old editions,—‘I’ll silence me even here.’
“Hanmer printed ‘I’ll sconce me,’ &c.”
1860 stau
stau ≈ dyce minus col2
2379 silence] Staunton (ed. 1860): “Hanmer reads, ‘I’ll sconce me even here;’ and perhaps rightly. Compare the corresponding passage in the quarto, 1603, ‘I’le shrowde myself behinde the Arras;’ and Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)].—‘I’ll ensconce me behind the arras.’”
1865 hal
hal ≈ dyce1 (incl. han)
2379 Ile . . . heere] Halliwell (ed. 1865): “That is, I’ll be silent. Hanmer alters silence to sconce, an alteration which, says Mr. Dyce, ‘cannot be called an improbable one,’ the corresponding words in ed. 1603 being, ‘Ile shrowde myselfe behinde the arras.’”
1866a dyce2
dyce2 ≈ dyce1 (incl. Wiv. //)
2379 Ile . . . heere] Dyce (ed. 1866): “So Hanmer (and Mr. Collier’s Ms. Corrector).—The quartos, 1604, &c. have ‘Ile silence me euen heere;’ and so the folio, except that it has—’e’ene heere.’—The corresponding words in the quarto 1603 are, ‘I’le shrowde myselfe behinde the Arras.’—That Hanmer’s alteration, which has long been adopted on the stage, should not be even noticed in the variorum Shakespeare, is sufficiently strange. (Compare ‘I will ensconce me behind the Arras.’ Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)].)”
1866b cam1
cam1 ≈ dyce2
2379 silence . . . heere] Clark and Wright (ed. 1866): “III. 4. 4. We have adopted Hanmer’s correction ‘sconce’ for ‘silence’ because in the corresponding passage of the first Quarto Polonius says: ‘I’le shrowde my selfe behinde the Arras.’ The Quartos of 1676, 1683, 1695, and 1703 give ‘I’ll here conceal my self.’
“In the Quarto of 1603 there is also a trace of the following speech of Hamlet, omitted in the subsequent Quartos but given in the Folios.”
1866 ktlyn
ktlyn
2379 silence] Keightley (ed. 1866, glossary): “sconce] the head, or a kind of fortification.”
1867 Keightley
Keightley ≈ dyce1 (incl. han,Wiv. //); ≈ Dyce Strictures (Hunter) without attribution
2379 silence . . . heere] Keightley (1867, p. 293): “The 4to 1603 reads, ‘I’ll shrowd myself behind the arras.’ Hanmer and Hunter read ‘sconce me,’ and we have, I’ll ensconce me behind the arras’ (Wiv. [3.3,90 (1430)]). Still no change is required.”
1868 c&mc
c&mc contra han
2379 Ile silence . . . heere] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1868, rpt. 1878): “Hanmer and others alter ‘silence’ to ‘sconce’; but the expression, ‘I’ll silence me e’en here,’ for “I’ll silently station myself even here behind the arras,’ is not only characteristic of Polonius, but it forms an antithesis to his bidding her ‘lay home to him’ and ‘be round with him.’”
1869 tsch
tsch: contra Hunter, dyce, han
2379 silence] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Es ist wohl kaum nötig, mit Hunter den Ausdruck silence in ensconce oder mit Dyce Hanmer, M. D. u. Gl. - Ed. in ’sconce zu ändern, da der t r a g i s c h e Doppelsinn, den er enthält, in seiner Schönheit mehr werth ist, als die Deutlichkeit, die die Erklärung in die Stelle bringen will. Gewiss war silence beabsichtigt, wie aus even here hervorgeht. Warum soll nicht Jemand, der sich hinter einem Vorhange verbirgt, von sich sagen können: "ich will mich hier still verhalten?" Nachdem Polonius wirklich still gemacht ist, bemerkt H.: this counseller is now most still, most secret and most grave, Who was in life a foolish, prating knave.” [It is hardly necessary to change the word silence to ensconce as Hunter would, or to sconce with Dyce, Hanmer, M. D. u. Gl.-Ed., since the tragic double meaning that it contains is in its beauty worth more than the clarity that the explanation will bring to the passage. silence was certainly intended, and is evident in even here. Why should not someone who is hiding behind a curtain say of himself, I will keep still here? After Polonius has really been made still, Hamlet observes: this counseller is now most still, most secret and most grave, Who was in life a foolish, prating knave.]
1872 del4
del4 ≈ del2 (incl. Wiv. //)
2379 Delius (ed. 1872): “Ich will mir hier ein Stillschweigen auferlegen. Johnson erklärt: I’ll use no more words. Wie schon früher, glaubt auch hier Polonius nicht stillschweigen zu dürfen, ohne zu verstehen zu geben, dass er eigentlich noch viel sagen könnte und müsste. – Hanmer las dafür: I’ll sconce me even here, wie in Merry Wives of Windsor (A. 3, Sc. 3) I will ensconce me behind the arras. – Q.A. hat I’ll shroud myself behind the arras.” [I will lay a mandate of silence on myself here. Johnson says: use no more words. As already earlier, Polonius believes he may not remain silent without letting it be known that he actually has much more that he could and should say. - Hanmer had here: I’ll sconce me even here, as in Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)] I will ensconce me behind the arras. - Q.A. has I’ll shroud myself behind the arras.]
1872 cln1
cln1
2379 heate] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “the anger of the king.”
cln1:≈ dyce1
2379 silence] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “sconce] This is Hanmer’s emendation for ‘silence,’ the reading of the quartos and folios. In the corresponding passage of the quarto of 1603, Polonius says, ‘He shrowde my selfe behinde the arras.’’ Compare Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)]: ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras.’”
1874 Corson
Corson: contra cam1
2379 silence] Corson (1874, p. 29): “The editors of the C. say, Note XX.: ‘We have adopted Hanmer’s correction ‘sconce’ for ‘silence’ because in the corresponding passage of the first Quarto Polonius says: “I’le shrowde my selfe behind the Arras”.’ That really seems to be reaching very far after a reason for the adoption of ‘sconce,’ in opposition to all the authorities.”
In each of his “jottings on the text,” Corson notes variants between F1 and cam1, stating his preference and, to a greater or lesser extent, offering a rationale.
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ han1, john, Hunter, del2, dyce, wh1, cam1
2379 silence] Furness (ed. 1877): “sconce] Hanmer: ‘Sconce is the same as insconce, i.e. to cover or secure. The same word is used upon a like occasion in Wiv., [3.3.90 (1430)]. Johnson: The advocates of ‘sconce forget that the contrivance of Pol. to overhear the conference was no more told to the Queen than to Ham. ‘I’ll silence,’ &c., is ‘I’ll use no more words.’ Hunter (ii, 256): When Q1 was altered, the text stood: ‘I’ll ensconce me here;’ in printing en fell out, and was replaced wrongly; sconce, which remained, was then altered to ‘silence.’ Delius: As elsewhere, Polonius here thinks that he cannot be silent without letting it be known that he could and should say much more. Dyce: ‘Silence’ may be right; but Hanmer’s alteration cannot be called an improbable one, in view of the corresponding words of Q1. White: Hanmer’s change is very plausible. Staunton: Perhaps Hanmer is right. Cambridge Editors: We have adopted Hanmer’s correction because of the corresponding passage in Q1.”
White is from VN.
1877 dyce3
dyce3 = dyce2
1878 rlf1
rlf1: contra sing, col, dyce, cln1 + magenta underlined
2379 silence] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Sr., Coll., D., and Wr. adopt Hammer’s emendation, ‘Sconce me even here, which is plausible, but not really called for. I’ll silence me e’en here = I’ll say no more.
1881 hud3
hud3 ≈ han1 (Wiv. //)
2379 silence . . . heere] Hudson (ed. 1881): “In Wiv., [3.3.90 (1430)], Falstaff says, ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras.’”
1882 elze
elzedyce1 + magenta underlined
2379 silence . . . heere] Elze (ed. 1882): “Not only the reading of Q1, but also the parallel passages in Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)] and in Sonnet XLIX (Against that time do I ensconce me here) speak in favour of Hamner’s conjecture.”
1890 irv2
irv2 ≈ cln1 (Wiv. //); ≈ john1 minus explan.
2379 silence . . . heere] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “Compare Wiv. [3.3.90-91 (1430-31)]: ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras.’ Silence, however, is a reading not without its justifications.”
1891 dtn
dtn: Wiv. //
2379 silence me] Deighton (ed. 1891): “sconce me] hide myself; from O. F. esconser, to hide, cover; cp. Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)], ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras.’”
1899 ard1
ard1 ≈ cln1 + magenta underlined
2379 silence . . . heere] Dowden (ed. 1899): “Several editors adopt Hanmer’s sconce. Cf. Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)]: ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras.’ Clar. Press reads sconce because it is supported by Q1: ‘Ile shrowde my selfe behinde the arras,’ The ‘foolish prating knave’ Polonius can be ‘most still’ only in death; his resolve ‘to silence himself’ may have an ironical relation to the occasion of his death, his loud ‘What, ho!’
1903 p&c
p&c: warb; xref.
2379 silence] Porter & clarke (ed. 1903): “Warburton’s word (see foot-note, p. 86) should not have been permitted to usurp silence so long in modernized texts. All the authority and all the dramatic point of the situation uphold silence. Polonius is talking too much, as usual. The queen is impatient of his admonishing and nervous lest Hamlet come before he hides. Answering her look and gesture, he holds his peace and hides. The perpetual silence which the old courtier never dreamed was so soon to seal up his prattling is foretold. With surpassing beauty the same word sounds again on Hamlet’s lips [5.2.358 (3847)]. Q1. makes Polonius say, Ile shrowde myselfe behind the arras. Shrowde is a still more ominous word, but there no tiresome lecturing of the queen precedes it. If that lecturing were added later, which, of course, there is no means whatsoever of knowing, the word silence might well be Shakespeare’s finishing touch. Compared with it, Warburton’s word is flat as well as presumptuous.”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1 minus sing, col, dyce, cln1
1904 ver
ver ≈ v1877 without attributions to commentators cited in v1877
2379 silence] Verity (ed. 1904): “hide; oftener ensconce; see G. The 2nd Quarto (1604) and Folio have silence me, which is possible perhaps in the sense ‘I’ll keep quiet here.’ But most editors adopt the change sconce, comparing Wiv. [3.3.90 (1430)], “She shall not see me: I will ensconce me behind the arras” (cf. [3.3.28 (2303)]). Sconce might easily be corrupted into silence, and it is favoured by the reading of the 1st Quarto (1603), “Ile shrowde [i.e. conceal] myselfe behinde the arras.” (F.).”
1905 rltr
rltr: standard
2379 silence] Chambers (ed. 1905): “sconce] conceal.”
1909 subb
subb ≈ john without attribution
2379 silence] Subbarau (ed. 1909): “How did the very same error and the same correction occur in the printing of the Folio? . . . . Polonius’s words simply mean ‘I will say no more, I’ll stop speaking here.’”
1931 crg1
crg1 ≈ cln1
2379 Much heate] Craig (ed. 1931): “i.e., the king’s anger.”
1934 Wilson
Wilson: ≈ cam1 (han); ≈ Greg (incl.ard1, cap for contra han)
2379 Ile silence me] Wilson (1934, rpt. 1963, 2:292): <2:292> “Cam. Sh. ‘I’ll ’sconce me’ (Hanmer). Editors quote Wiv., 3.3.96-7 [1430-31], ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras’ and Q1 ‘I’le shrowde my selfe behind the Arras’ in support of this emendation. But as Dr Greg, following Dowden who in turn follows Capell, remarks, ‘Only in death could Polonius be really silent, and it is just because he cannot ‘silence’ him that he dies. The emendation destroys the dramatic irony of the phrase.’1” </p/292>
<n><2:292> “1Emendation, p. 26; Aspects, p. 151. Cf. Capell, Notes, 1, 139-40.” </2:292></n>
1934 cam3
cam3: han, ard1, MSH
2379 Ile silence me] Wilson (ed. 1934): “(Q2, F1) Q1 “I’le shrowde my selfe.’ Hanmer and most mod. edd. read “I’ll sconce me.’ ‘The “foolish prating knave” Pol. can be “most still” only in death’; and the word ‘silence’ here ‘may have an ironical relation to the occasion of his death, his loud “What, ho!”’ (Dowden). MSH. p. 292.”
1939 kit2
kit2 ≈ crg1
2379 heate] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “anger (on the King’s part).”
kit2 ≈ ver
2379 silence me] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “stop talking and hide myself. The Second Quarto and the Folios read ‘silence’; the First Quarto has ‘shrowde my selfe.’ Hanmer reads ‘sconce, i.e., ‘ensconce’—a not improbable emendation. Cf. Wiv. 3.3.96 [1430]: ‘I will ensconce me behind the arras.”
1947 cln2
cln2 ≈ Wilson (Gref)
2379 I’ll silence me] Rylands (ed. 1947): “Modern editors often follow Hanmer’s emendation, ‘I’ll sconce me,’ which destroys the irony. Polonius, ‘the foolish prating knave,’ can be ‘grave and still’ only in death.”
1947 yal2
yal2
2379 silence me] Cross & Brooke (ed. 1947): “withdraw into silence.”
1958 fol1
fol1
2379 Ile silence . . . heere] Wright & LaMar (ed. 1958): “I’ll say no more than this.”
1980 pen2
pen2 ≈ kit2
2379 heate] Spencer (ed. 1980): “anger (of the court, and of the King in particular).”
pen2 ≈ cln2
2379 silence] Spencer (ed. 1980): “This is the reading of both Q2 and F. Editors often accept the emendation ‘sconce’ (hide). But silence may be right, as a stroke of irony against the foolish prating knave who can only be still when dead [3.4.214-15 (2581-2)].”
1982 ard2
ard2: xref.
2379 I’ll silence me] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Ironically he does not [3.4.22 (2403)] and so meets his death.”
1984 klein
klein
2379 silence] Klein (ed. 1984): “The arras will really become a sort of shroud to Polonius; Q1 may reflect a concretized association of silence in this sense.”
1985 cam4
cam4: ard1, han; xref.
2379 Ile silence me] Edwards (ed. 1985): “Dowden thought this ironical, since it is Polonius’s shout [3.4.22 (2403)] that causes his death. Early editors were puzzled by ‘silence’ and preferred Hanmer’s emendation ‘sconce’. But Q1 has the best reading of all, the gruesomely apt sentence, ‘I’le shrowd myself behind the arras.’ Is it conceivable that this is the one place where an authoritative change, occurring to Shakespeare when the play was in production, is preserved only in the corrupt first quarto?.”
1988 bev2
bev2 ≈ kit2
2379 Much heate] Bevington (ed. 1988): “i.e., the King’s anger.”
bev2 ≈ klein without attribution
2379 silence] Bevington (ed. 1988): “conceal (with ironic fitness to Polonius’s imminent death. The word is only in the first quarto; the second quarto and the Folio read “silence”).”
1993 dent
dent: xref.
2379 heate] Andrews (ed. 1993): “Polonious alludes to the smouldering wrath of the King. The fire-screen image implies that if Claudius’ dependency on Gertrard didn’t confine him, at least figuratively, to the hearth of domesticity, he would burst into a conflagration that would incinerate his nettlesome nephew in roaring flames."
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: 2303 xref; Edwards
2379 I’ll. . . here] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Polonius presumably gestures towards the arras he mentioned at 3.3.28 [2303] and where he is to hide at 6 [2281] [stage direction]. Both Q2/F’s ’silence’ and Q1’s ’shrowde’ are ironically apt. Edwards wonders, ’Is it conceivable that this is the one place where an authoritative change, occurring to Shakespeare when the play was in production, is preserved only in the corrupt first quarto?’”
2379