Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand
| 3610+8 {memory, and yet but raw neither, in respect of his quick saile, but} | 5.2.115 |
|---|
1747 warb
warb
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more] Warburton (ed. 1747) : “This is designed as a specimen, and ridicule of the court-jargon, amongst the precieux of that time.” His paraphrase is as follows: “Sir, he suffers nothing in your account of him, though to enumerate his good qualities particularly would be endless; yet when we had done our best it would still come short of him. However, in strictness of truth, he is a great genius, and of a character so rarely to be met with, that to find any thing like him we must look into his mirrour, and his imitators will appear no more than his shadows.”
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Warburton (ed. 1747) : “We should read SLOW.”
1765 Heath
Heath : warb
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
Heath (1765, p. 550) : <p. 550> “p. 256.
And yet but slow neither in respect of his quick sail.
Mr. Warburton hath quite misunderstood the meaning of the poet, which undoubtedly is, that Laertes was yet but young in proportion to the quick progress he had made in all gentlemanly accomplishments. We should therefore restore the old reading, ‘and yet but raw neither in respect of his quick sail.’” </p. 550>
1765 john1
john1 = warb
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more
john1 = warb + magenta underlined
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Johnson (ed. 1765) : “I believe raw to be the right word; it is a word of great latitude; raw signifies unripe, immature, thence unformed, imperfect, unskilful. The best account of him would be imperfect, in respect of his quick sail. The phrase quick sail was, I suppose, a proverbial term for activity of mind.”
1773 v1773
v1773 = john1
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more
v1773 = john1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
-1778 mmal1
mmal1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Malone (ms. notes, -1778) : “So Jonson’s explication of the word raw is confirmed by these lines on one Byrd a coachman, in Heywood’s Pleasant Dialogues & Dramas 1637. ‘Who, had he liv’d then, might King Rhemnon— Have serv’d, or great Agamemnon, And taught their palfreys how to draw; But they alas! to him were raw .”
1778 v1778
v1778 = 1773
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more
v1778 = v1773
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1784 ays1
ays1 = v1778
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more]
ays1 ≈ v1778 (minus “I believe raw to be the right word; it is a word of great latitude”) w/o attribution
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more
v1785 = v1778
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1787 ann
ann = v1785
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more
ann = v1785
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1790 mal
mal = v1785
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more ]
mal = v1785
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
-1790 mWesley
mWesley
3610+6-3610+12 Wesley (typescript of ms. notes in ed. 1785): “No, no, no. This is not even a true paraphrase, as any tolerable critick will discover. What Warburton means by ‘the sense in English’ I doubt if he himself understood. In what language is the text?”
1791- rann
rann : standard
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more]Rann (ed 1791-) : “ This is designed as a specimen, and ridicule of the court-jargon of that time. The sense in English, is, ‘Sir, he suffers nothing in your account of him, though to enumerate his good qualities particularly would be endless, and yet he is but his good qualities particularly would be endless, and yet he is but young in respect of the rapid progress he hath made in all polite attainments. However, in strictness of truth, he is a great genius, and of a character so rarely to be met with, that to find any thing like him we must look into his mirrour, and his imitators will appear no more than than his shadows.’”
1793 v1793
v1793 = v1785
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more]
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more]
v1803 = v1793
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1813 v1813
v1813 = v1803
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more]
v1813 = v1803
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1819 cald1
cald1 : warb (minus However . . . shadows) + magenta underlined
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more] Caldecott (ed. 1819) : “‘His qualifications lose nothing in your detail of them: though to make an exact enumeration would distract the arithmetic and utmost powers of memory; and yet these most elaborate efforts would appear no better than sluggish inaptitutde, in comparison with his quick conceptions, and the rapidity of his mind.’ But it has been rendered very naturally and simply by Dr. Warburton: [cites WARB’s note up to “short of him”].
cald1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Caldecott (ed. 1819) : “Raw is unready, untrained and awkward. ‘Instruct her what she has to do, that she may not be raw in her entertainment.’ [Per. 4.3.? [4.2.58] (1576)]. Pandar.; and Touchst. in [AYL 3.2.70 (1268)]. tells the Shepherd, “You are raw .”
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
3610+6-3610+12 Ham. Sir . . . more]
v1821 = v1813
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
v1821
3610+8 raw] Boswell (ed. 1821, 21:Glossary): “ignorant.”
1826 sing1
sing1 = v1821
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1844 Dycen1
Dycen1 : col1 + magenta underlined
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
Dyce (1844, p. 220) : <p. 220> “
Mr. Collier is the only editor who has noticed that the quarto of 1604 has ‘yaw;’ and he ought at once to have perceived from the context that it is the genuine reading. Nothing, I think, can be more certain that that the passage should stand thus; ‘though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and it [which was often mistaken by our early printers for “yet,” perhaps because it was written ‘yt’] but yaw neither in respect of his quick sail.’
“‘To yaw (as a ship), huc illuc vacillare, capite nutare.’ Cole’s Dict.
“The substantie ‘yaw’ occurs in Massinger; ‘O, the yaws that she will make! Look to your stern, dear mistress, and steer right, Here’s that will work as high as the Bay of Portugal.’ Massinger’s Very Woman, act iii. sc. 5,—Works, iv. 297, ed. 1813. where Gifford remarks; ‘A yaw is that unstedy motion which a ship makes in a great swell, when, in steering, she inclines to the right or left of her course.’” </p. 220>
1854 del2
del2 : dyce1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Delius (ed. 1854) : “yawliest die erste Q., die späteren raw,was keinen Sinn giebt. It für yet in den Qs. ist eine Conjectur von Dyce. Wenn man den Laertes inventariumsmässig zerlegen wollte, so würde das die Rechenkunst des Gedächtnisses schwindlig machen und in Folge seines schnellen Segels würde es auch nicht hin und her schwanken. To yawist der technische Ausdruck von der schwankenden Begwegung des Schiffes.” [ The first Q reads yaw , the later raw, what offers no meaning. It for yet in the Qq is a conjecture from Dyce. If one desired to analyze the massive inventory of Laertes, so would the account of the memory be dizzying and in the consequence of the fast sails it would not waver to and fro. To yaw is the technical expression of the wavering movement of the ship.”]
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1 : Dyce
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Hudson (ed. 1856) : “yaw]] Thus the quarto 1604. “the others have raw instead of yaw. The word is thus defined in Cole’s Dictionary: ‘To yaw , (as of a ship,) huc illuc vacillare, capite nutare.’ It occurs as a substantive in Massinger’s Very Woman: ‘O, the yaws that she will make! Look to your stern, dear mistress, and steer right.’ Where Gifford notes,—’A yaw is that unsteady motion which a ship makes in a great swell, when, in steering, she inclines to the right or left of her course.’ Scott also has the word in The Antiquary: ‘Thus escorted, the Antiquary moved along ful of his learning, like a lordly man-of-war, and every now and then yawing to starboard and larboard to discharge a broadside upon his followers.’—The old copies have yet instead of it ; which, says Mr. Dyce, ‘was often mistaken by our early printers for yet , perhaps because it was written yt .’ His is for its , referring to memory . See [2H4 1.2.? (0000)] note 16.”
1856 sing2
sing2 = hud1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
1857 dyce1
dyce1: Dyce1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] DYCE (ed. 1857) : “and yet but yaw]] “The preceding speech (except its first sentence [3610]), the present speech, and a good deal more of the dialogue till the entrance of the King, Queen, &c., are not in the folio; nor to be traced in the quarto, 1603. (The verb yaw , as well as the substantive, was formerly in common use: see my Remarks on Mr. Collier’s and Mr. Knight’s eds. of Shakespeare , p.220.)”
1857 elze1
elze1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Elze (ed. 1857, 254): "So liest QB; die folgg.: and yet but raw neither, was fast alle Herausgg. aufgenommen haben. Warburton hat st. raw geschrieben: slow, und Dyce vermuthet ’it’ für ’yet’.—’To yaw’ wird nach halliwell Dict. Von einem Schiffe gesagt, ’when she is not steered steadily, but goes in and out with her head.’ Die einzige Möglichkeit, aus diesen Worten einen Sinn herauszubringen, scheint uns die zu sein, dass wir dies sonst intransitive gebrauchte Zeitwort transitiv fassen, was in her von Hamlet auf den Gipfel getriebenen Ziersprache Osricke wol keine zu grosse Freiheit ist. Der Sinn würde dann sein: Ein Inventarium von Laertes’ Vorzügen aufzunehmen, würde die Rechenkunst des Gedächtnisses schwindlig machen; doch würde es sie auf der andern Seite nicht ((wie ein schlecht gesteuertes Schiff)) hin und her schwanken lassen, in Anbetracht seiner schnellen Fahrt. Ein schnell segelndes Schiff hat einen stetigern Lauf als ein langsam fahrendes. Oder wir müssten lesen: and yet it wouldn’t yaw neither, in welchem Falle ’yaw’ seine intransitive Bedeutung beibehalten könnte.—Schlegel: Und doch würde es nur aus dem Grob en sein, in Rücksicht seines behenden Fluges." [So Q2 reads [and yet but yaw]; the following, ’and yet but raw neither’ almost all editors have taken. ]
1859 Dyce3
Dyce3 : Dyce2 ; col3
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
Dyce (1859, p. 191) : <p. 191>“
2. In the second of these speeches Mr. Collier adds a new corruption (‘sale’) to the old ones, and introduces a dreadful confusion of metaphors,—not choosing even to mention that (in my Remarks, &c., p. 220) I gave the following emendation of the passage, which I firmly believe, restores the language of Shakespeare; ‘Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you; though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and
it but
yaw neither, in respect of his quick sail,’— ‘YAW’
being the reading of the quarto 1604.—’To
yaw (as a ship), huc illuc vacillare, capite nutare.’ Coles’s
Dict.
“(Mr. Knight, in his later editions, has adopted ‘yaw’ at my suggestion.)”
1859 stau
stau : dyce1 ; hud1
3610+8 and yet but raw] Staunton (ed. 1858) : “In the other quartos, except that of 1604, we have ‘raw’ for ‘yaw,’ though the latter is shown by the context to be unquestionably the poet’s word. To yaw is to stagger and vacillate, as a ship sometimes does, instead of going due on. Mr. Dyce, of course, adopts ‘yaw,’ but conceiving ‘yet,’ often written ‘yt,’ to be a misprint for it , he reads ‘—and it , but yaw neither.’ &c. which we must admit our inability to understand. ‘Yet ‘ certainly is suspicious, but the word displaced we have always thought was wit, not it , and the drift of Hamlet’s jargon to be this:—his qualifications are so numerous, and so far surpass all ordinary reckoning, that memory would grow giddy in cataloguing, and wit be distanced in attempting to keep pace with them.”
1861 wh1
whi : dyce1
3610+8 and yet but raw neither] White (ed. 1861) : “and it but yaw neither]] Thus the 4to. of 1604 [Q2], with the exception of ‘yet’ for ‘it;’ the later 4tos., ‘but raw.’ The words ‘quick sail,’ showing that the movement of a ship is alluded to, leave no doubt that the earlier text is the right one. Mr. Dyce first read ‘it.’ There seems no doubt that ‘yt’ was mistaken for ‘yet.’”
1864-68 c&mc
c&mc
3610+8raw] Clarke (ed. 1864, Glossary): “Unskilful.”
c&mc
3610+11 semblable] Clarke (ed. 1864, Glossary): “Resemblance, likeness.”
c&mc
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “The Folio omits the present passage; while all the Quartos, excepting one (that of 1604, which prints ‘yaw’ for ‘raw’), give the reading we adopt. We take the word ‘raw’ to be here used in the sense pointed out in Note 20, Act iii., [AYL]; and we believe it to refer to ‘definement,’ at the commencement of Hamlet’s speech. He is mimicking Osric’s affected phraseology; purposely expressing himself in the finically fantastic style which the euphuistic fops of Shakespeare’s time adopted as a fashionable jargon, and which is here satirised. We thus interpret the sentence: ‘Sir, his description loses nothing by your account; thought I know, to sum up his numerous merits would make an arithmetician giddy; and yet your description is but inefficient and inadequate, after all, owing to the rate at which he outruns all praise.’”
c&mc
3610+11-3610+12 who els . . . more] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “‘Whoever else would endeavour to give but a faint image of him, is his shadow, nothign more.’ ‘Trace’ is here used so as to include the senses of ‘follow closely,’ ‘keep up with’ (see Note 38, Act iii, [H8], ‘emulate,’ ‘imitate,’ ‘represent,’ ‘give a reflection of.’”
1865 hal
hal : Dyce1(Remarks)
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Dyce (apud Halliwell, ed. 1865) : “Mr. Collier is the only editor who has noticed that the quarto of 1604 has yaw; and he ought at once to have perceived it is clear from the context that it is the genuine reading. Nothing, I think, can be more cerain that that the passage should stand thus; ‘though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and it [which was often mistaken by our early printers for “yet,” perhaps because it was written ‘yt’] but yaw neither in respect of his quick sail.’
“‘To yaw (as a ship), huc illuc vacillare, capite nutare.’ Cole’s Dict. The substantie ‘yaw’ occurs in Massinger; ‘O, the yaws that she will make! Look to your stern, dear mistress, and steer right, Here’s that will work as high as the Bay of Portugal.’ Massinger’s Very Woman, act iii. sc. 5,—Works, iv. 297, ed. 1813. where Gifford remarks; ‘A yaw is that unstedy motion which a ship makes in a great swell, when, in steering, she inclines to the right or left of her course.’ —A. Dyce ”
1866 dyce2
dyce2 ≈ dyce1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] DYCE (ed. 1866) : “and it but yaw]] So the quarto 1604, except that it has ‘and yet but’&c.—The later quartos have ‘and yet but raw neither ,’ &c.— The preceding speech (except its first sentence [3610]), the present speech, and a good deal more of the dialogue till the entrance of the King, Queen, &c., are not in the folio; nor to be traced in the quarto, 1603. (The verb yaw , as well as the substantive, was formerly in common use: see my Remarks on Mr. Collier’s and Mr. Knight’s eds. of Shakespeare , p.220.)”
1869 stratmann
stratmann
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Stratmann (ed. 1869): “Dyce prints ‘it’, instead of ‘yet’. Singer [SING1] and Collier prefer ‘raw’ to ‘yaw’.”
1869 Romdahl
Romdahl
3610+6 definement]
Romdahl (1869, p. 42): <p.42>“description; probably a
§pax legomenon. [apaks legomenon : unique reading]
” </p. 42>
Romdahl
3610+9 extolment]
Romdahl (1869, p. 42): <p. 42> “from extol, is also one of the many derivatives formed by Sh.” </p. 42>
Romdahl
3610+10 dearth]
Romdahl (1869, p. 42): <p. 42> “stands here in the unusual sense of dearness (value), which is the original meaning of the word; compare, for instance, truth from true, etc. By Bacon, Milton, and in other passages of Sh. it is used for scarcity of provisions, famine, in which sense it still may be found.” </p. 42>
Romdahl
3610+11 semblable]
Romdahl (1869, p. 42): <p. 42> “equal. This French word, by Sh. and his contemporaries used sometimes as an adjective sometimes substantively, is now disused. Compare e.g. [
Tim. 4.3.22 (1623);
Ant 3.4.3. (1683)].” </p. 42>
1869 tsch
tsch
3610+7 inuentorially] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): ‘Ihn wie ein Inventarium in seinen einzelnen Bestandtheilen zu verzeichnen, würde die Rechenkunst des Gedächtnisses verwirren. Das folgende Bild ist der Schiffahrt entnommen, der Sinn: Mit seinen vortrefflichen Eigenschaften gleicht Laertes einem Schiff, das vor dem Winde mit vollen Segeln geht; um nun seine Vorzüge inventariumsmässig zu beschreiben, würde das Gedächtniss selbst mit Hilfe der Arithmetik diesen Schnellssegler nicht einholen können, sondern nur rudern während er segelt. Heut zu Tage würde es heissen: and yet but sail neither in respect of his full steam.” [to inventory him as an inventory of his single components would disorder the arithmatic of memory. The following image takes its meaning from the ship’s voyage: with his excellent qualities, Laertes is comparable to a ship,, which goes with full sails by the wind; to write down now a moderate inventory of his excellence, the memory itself could not take in this quick sail with the help of arithmatic; on the contrary, as he sails he rudders. Today it would be phrased: and yet but sail neither in respect of his full steam.]
tsch
3610+8 raw] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “raw der spätern Qs ist gar kein Wort, sondern offenbar nur Druckfehler für row. Liest man yaw, so muss stehen: and yet not yaw neither, und doch würden beide nicht schwanken, wenn man sein schnelles Segeln in Betracht zieht.” [raw of the later Qq is barely a word, on the contrary, clearly a misprint for row. One reads yaw, so it must stand: and yet not yaw neither, and still both would not waver if one describes in respect his fast sails.]
tsch
3610+10 infusion] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Infusion ist dem Italienischen entlehnt, wo es die Mittheilung übernatürlicher Gaben bedeutet. Ebenso ist im Folg. concernancy dem Ital. concernenza angegliehen.” [Infusion is borrowed from the Italian, where it means the announcement of a supernatural present. Even so, concernancy in the following approximates the Italian concernenza.]
1872 del4
del4 : del2 ; dyce1 ; stau
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Delius (ed. 1872) : “yawliest die Q. von 1604, die späteren raw,was keinen Sinn giebt. It für yet in den Qs. ist eine Conjectur von Dyce. Wenn man den Laertes inventariumsmässig zerlegen wollte, so würde das die Rechenkunst des Gedächtnisses schwindlig machen und in Folge seines schnellen Segels würde es auch nicht hin und her schwanken. To yawist der technische Ausdruck von der schwankenden Begwegung des Schiffes. Die meisten Hgg. bis auf Dyce, der yaw wieder in den Text setze, lasen and yet but raw neither.—Staunton vermuthet and wit but yaw neither.” [ The first Q reads yaw , the later raw, what offers no meaning. It for yet in the Qq is a conjecture from Dyce. If one desired to analyze the massive inventory of Laertes, so would the account of the memory be dizzying and in the consequence of the fast sails it would not waver to and fro. To yaw is the technical expression of the wavering movement of the ship. Most editors until Dyce, who placed yaw again in the text, have read and yet but raw neither.—Staunton conjectures and wit but raw neither.”]
del4 = del2
3610+10 infusion of such dearth]
1870 Abbott
Abbott
3610+8 and yet but raw neither] Abbott (§128): “The ellipsis of the negative explains ‘neither’ in the following difficult passage: ‘To divide him inventorily would dizzy the arithmetic of memory and yet but yaw neither (i.e. do nothing but lag clumsily behind neither) in respect of his quick sail” [Ham. 5.2.120 (3610+8)].”
“‘Neither’ for our ‘either’ is in Shakespeare’s manner, after a negative expressed or implied.”
1872 cln1
cln1
3610+6 definement] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “definition. The only illustration which can be given of the language of this dialogue, in which Hamlet talks nonsense intentionally, and Osric without knowing it, is the dialect of Parolles, in [AWW ] and of Don Armado and Holofernes in [LLL].”
cln1 : warb ; tsch ; Dyce1 (“it” for “yet” ; MASSINGER //) ; stau [obtained through DEL4?)
3610+8 and yet but raw neither] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “If this passage stands as Sh. wrote it, any meaning it may have has defied the penetration of comentators to detect. ‘Yaw’ is the reading of the quarto of 1604 [Q2]] only. The others have ‘raw.’ Warburton conjectured ‘slow,’ Tschischwitz ‘row.’ Dyce reads ‘it’ for ‘yet.’ Staunton suggested ‘wit.’ ‘To yaw’ is a nautical phrase, used of a ship which moves unsteadily and does not answer her helm. The word occurs as a a substantive in Massinger’s Very Woman, iii.5: ‘’Tis good strong wine; O, the yaws that she will make!’ If ‘yet’ is a mistake for yt or it, we should require some such word as let or make to precede. The sense would then be: ‘to attempt to catalogue his perfections would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and make it stagger, as it were, in pursuit of his swift-sailing ship.’ ‘The two metaphors are a little difficult to separate.’”
cln1 ≈ v1821 (john1)
3610+9 soule of great article] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “
cln1: standard
3610+10 infusion] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “essential qualities.”
cln1 : standard
3610+10 dearth] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “[. . . ] dearness.”
cln1
3610+11 semblable] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “Compare [Tim. 4.3.22 (1623)]: “His semblable, yea, himself, Timon disdains.’”
cln1
3610+11 trace] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “follow. See [1H4 3.1.48 (1593)]: ‘And bring him out that is but woman’s son Can trace me in the tedious ways of art, And hold me pace in deep experiments.’ And Gorge’s translation of Lucan, bk. I. p. 36 (ed. 1614): ‘And in their turnes next to them trace Prelates of an inferior place.’”
cln1
3610+12 vmbrage] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “shadow.”
1872 hud2
hud2 ≈ hud1 (minus Cole’s Dictionary ; 2H4 //)
3610+8 and yet but raw neither] Hudson (ed. 1872): “yaw]] Thus the quarto of 1604 [Q2 (u)]; the others have raw instead of yaw. The words quick sail show that yaw is right. This word occurs as a substantive in Massinger’s Very Woman: ‘O, the yaws that she will make! Look to your stern, dear mistress, and steer right.’ Where Gifford notes, —’A yaw is that unsteady motion which a ship makes in a great swell, when, in steering, she inclines to the right or left of her course.’ Scott also has the word in The Antiquary: ‘Thus escorted, the Antiquary moved along full of his learning, like a lordly man-of-war, and every now and then yawing to starboard and larboard to discharge a broadside upon his followers.’—The old copies have yet instead of it; which, says Mr. Dyce, ‘was often mistaken by our early printers for yet, perhaps because it was writtenyt.—Hamlet is purposely obscure, in order to bewilder the poor fop.”
hud2
3610+11-3610+12 trace, his vmbrage] Hudson (ed. 1872): “Hamlet is talking just like Osric, only more so. To trace is to track, or keep pace with. Umbrage, from the Latin umbra, is shadow. So that the meaning here is, The only resemblance to him is in his mirror; and nothing but his shadow can keep up with him.’”
1873 rug2
rug2
3610+8 and yet but raw neither] Moberly (ed. 1873): “yet but yaw neither]] And yet hold too unsteady a course to overtake his deserts.”
-1875 Bulloch1
Bulloch1 : = stau
3610+8 and yet but raw neither]Bulloch (-1875, New Readings # 16): “In this note of Mr. Staunton’s there are several matters to notice. The Quarto of 1603 [Q1] has not the passage at all any more than the Folio. The Quarto of 1604 [Q2] is the only one that has ‘yaw,’ all the others ‘raw.’ Yaw may mean as Mr. Staunton asserts, but certainly the following word cannot be ‘neither,’ as that would be contradictory. Wit, we believe to be the rpoper reading for ‘yet,’ and the note explains the idea intended tolerably well, but is based upon wrong premises. On the other hand, the two words ‘yaw neither’ appear to be a misprint for ‘Yaw mynheer,’ a common appellation for a Dutchman, as Monsieur, or oui monsieur, would be for a Frenchman, and, Yes, Sir, or milord for an Englishman, and the passage thus amended would be, ‘and wit but a yaw mynheer, in respect of his quick sail.’ Hamlet by this expression would seem to imply, that ordinary wit would be no better than a heavy lumbering Dutchman, in respect of Laertes’ quick sailing properties. The one was a clumsy Dutch built lugger, and the other a nimble craft, of what in modern phrase would be styled, true clipper-build.”
1877 v1877
v1877 = john1 ; ≈ Heath ; ≈ cald2 ; Dyce1 (Remarks) ; elze ; ≈ stau (subst) ; whi (only “There seems no doubt that ‘yt’ was mistaken for ‘yet.’”) ; clarke ; ≈ Abbott ; tsch ; ≈ cln1
3610+8 and yet but raw neither]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Elze thinks the possible solution of this difficulty is to consider ‘yaw’ as a transitive verb, and he thus interprets: ‘An inventory of Laertes’s excellence would dizzy the arithemetic of memory; yet it would not let it stagger hither and thither (like a badly-steered ship), in view of his quick sail.’ A quick-sailing ship holds a steadier course than one that sails slowly.”
3610+8 and yet but raw neither]
Furness (ed. 1877) :
“Clarke believes
raw to be used in the same sense as in [
AYL a.s.? (0000)], and interprets: ‘your description is but inefficient and inadequate after all.’”
3610+8 and yet but raw neither]
Abbott (
apud Furness, ed. 1877): “The ellipsis of the negative explains ‘neither.’ That is, ‘do
nothing but lag clumsily behind neither.’ ‘Neither,’ for our
either, is in Shakespeare’s manner, after a negative expressed or implied.”
3610+8 and yet but raw neither]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Tschischwitz says
raw is merely a misprint for
row, and so gives it in his text, and thus interprets: ‘Memory, even with the help of arithmetic, cannot overtake this swift sailer, but can only row while he sails. At the present day we should say: and yet but sail neither in respect of his full steam.’”
3610+8 and yet but raw neither]
Clark & Wright (
apud Furness, ed. 1877): “If this passage stands as Sh. wrote it, any meaning it may have has defied the penetration of comentators to detect. ‘Yaw’ is the reading of the quarto of 1604 [Q2]] only. The others have ‘raw.’ Warburton conjectured ‘slow,’ Tschischwitz ‘row.’ Dyce reads ‘it’ for ‘yet.’ Staunton suggested ‘wit.’ ‘To yaw’ is a nautical phrase, used of a ship which moves unsteadily and does not answer her helm. The word occurs as a a substantive in Massinger’s Very Woman, iii.5: ‘’Tis good strong wine; O, the yaws that she will make!’ If ‘yet’ is a mistake for
yt or
it, we should require some such word as
let or
make to precede. The sense would then be: ‘to attempt to catalogue his perfections would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and make it stagger, as it were, in pursuit of his swift-sailing ship.’ ‘The two metaphors are a little difficult to separate.’”
v1877 : col3-4 (misidentified as col2); see n. 3610+3)
3610+8 saile]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Collier (ed. 2) [see COL3-4] prints
sale, and thinks that
sellingly of theQq in line 108 [3610+3] may very possibly be right when taken in connection with it, and ‘inventorily,’ line 112 [3610+7].
Sale has reference to the value, and speedy
sale of the qualifications, of Laer.”
v1877 = john1 ; ≈ cald2 (“Of great account or value”)
3610+9 article]
v1877 = john1 ; ≈ cald2 (minus “that, to say . . . faintest shadow”) ; ≈ cln1
3610+10 infusion of such dearth]
Furness (ed. 1872): “
Clarendon defines ‘infusion, essential qualities.”
v1877 : ≈ cln1(minus 1H4 quotation)
3610+11 trace]
Clark & Wright (
apud Furness, ed. 1877): “Follow. Compare [
1H4 3.1.48 (1593)]; and Gorge’s
Trans. of Lucan, bk I, p. 36 (ed. 1614): ‘And in their turnes next to them trace Prelates of an inferior place.’”
1877 neil
neil ≈ standard
3610+8 and yet but raw neither] Neil (ed. 1877, Notes, yaw): “This is a sea-term signifying that a ship does not answer her helm, but moves unsteadily and untrustworthily.”
1878 Bulloch2
Bulloch2 ≈ Bulloch1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
Bulloch (1878, p. 236) : <p. 236> “
The Globe edition prefixes the obelus to the phrase ‘and yet but yaw neither,’ in the last line of the passage. The Cambridge notes present a few readings and conjectures, amongst which, four Quartos for ‘yaw’ read raw, and in this scene about thirty lines are not in the Folios, but supplemented from the Quarto copies. The other readings are one by Warburton ‘yet but slow’; and another by Singer in his second edition ‘it but yaw’; Mr. Staunton’s conjecture is ‘
wit but yaw’; and my own conjecture at the time also noticed with ‘
yaw mynheer’ reading
wit for ‘yet’ as Staunton.
“One meaning given to ‘yaw’ is, that it is a nautical term; which may be the case, but the phraseology is not very clear, and the ‘yet but yaw neither’ does not mend the matter, though ‘in respect of his quick sail’. The whole language of the passage is of a very stilted kind. Osric beings it in keeping with his character, and Hamlet echoes it. However, he implies that ordinary wit would be no better than a heavy lumbering Dutchman in respect of Laertes’ ability. Hamlet’s opinion of Laertes is as follows—’Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you; though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and wit but ‘Yaw Mynheer’ in respect of his quick sail.” </p. 236>
1881 hud3
hud3
3610+6 Ham. Sir . . . you] Hudson (ed. 1881): “‘He suffers no loss in your description of him.’”
hud3
3610+7-+8 arithmaticke of memory] Hudson (ed. 1881): “‘To distinguish all his good parts, and make a schedule or inventory of them, would be too mcuch for the most mathematical head.’”
hud3 ≈ hud2
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Hudson (ed. 1881): “The word yaw occurs as a substantive in Massinger’s Very Woman: ‘O, the yaws that she will make! Look to your stern, dear mistress, and steer right.’ Where Gifford notes, ‘A yaw is that unsteady motion which a ship makes in a great swell, when, in steering, she inclines to the right or left of her course.’ In the text, yaw is a verb, and in the same construction with dizzy: ‘and yet would no thing but reel hither and thither.’”
hud3 ≈ hud2
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither] Hudson (ed. 1881): “and yet but yaw neither]] So the quartos of 1604[uncorrected]. The other quartos have raw instead of yaw. The context shows yaw to be right. Dyce undertakes to help the sense by substituting it for yet; which, to my thinking, just defeats its sense. Staunton proposes to substitute wit; which would have the same effect. See [n. 3610+7-+8].”
hud3
3610+8 in respect of his quick saile] Hudson (ed. 1881): “In respect of is equivalent to in comparison with. So that the sense of the passage comes thus: ‘To discriminate the good parts of Laertes, and make a full catalogue of them, would dizzy the head of an arithmetician, and yet would be but a slow and staggering process, compared to his swift sailing.’ Hamlet is running Osric’s hyperbolical euphuism into the ground, and is purposely obscure, in order to bewilder the poor fop.”
hud3 ≈ hud2
3610+11-3610+12 trace, his vmbrage] Hudson (ed. 1881): “Hamlet is talking just like Osric, only more so. To trace is to track, or keep pace with. Umbrage, from the Latin umbra, is shadow. So that the meaning here is, The only resemblance to him is in his mirror; and nothing but his shadow can keep up with him.’”
1882 elze2
elze2 : Dyce Glossary
3610+8 raw] Elze (ed. 1882): “Compare Trelawny, Adventures of a Younger Son, Chap. XXIX: ‘We found it difficult, to tow her: not being sterred, she yawed about. Trelawny, Recollections of the Last Days of Shelly and Byron (1858), p. 103: luff! said Williams, as the boat was yawing about. Dyce, Glossary, s. Yaw.”
1883 wh2
wh2
3610+8 raw] White (ed. 1883): “yaw]] an obsolete sailor’s phrase=not ansering the helm; the verb yaw, as in ‘yaw about,’ is still in use. But to explain Hamlet’s talk or Osric’s in the scene would do more than dizzy the arithmetic of memory: it would spoil the scene for those who can enjoy it.”
1883 Kinnear
Kinnear: dyce ; del ; sing2 ; stau ; cam1
3610+ 8 and yet but raw neither]
Kinnear (1883, p. 410-1): <p. 410>“‘and
yet but
yaw’= and yet but make
slow sailing,
i.e. and yet fail to
overtake his excellence—in the description. Compare [
Tmp. 4.1.10-1 (1661-2)]—’For thou shalt find she will
outstrip all
praise And make it
halt behind her.’ A ship
yaws when she loses the wind and makes little way. The above is the reading of the quarto of 1604,—the later quartos have ‘but
raw’—the passage is not in the folio. Dyce, Delius, and Singer alter ‘and
it but yaw.’ Staunton, the Camb. eds., and the Clar. P. eds. print as the quarto of 1604, but consider the text corrupt. There is a similar expression in [
Oth. 1.1.28-31 (30-3)]—’
And I’—’must be
be-leed and
calm’d By debitor-and-creditor, this counter-caster.’ ‘
be-leed and calm’d’—
i.e. sailed past by debitor, &c. </p. 410> <p. 411> when a faster sailing vessel passes another, she takes the wind out of her sails, and so
be-lees and
calms her.” </p. 411>
1885 macd
macd
3610+6-3610-+12 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “Hamlet answers the fool according to his folly, but outdoes him, to his discomfiture.”
macd
3610+6 suffers no perdition] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘his description suffers no loss in your mouth.’”
macd
3610+9 article] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “I take this use of the word article to be merely for the occasion; it was never surely in use for substance.”
macd
3610+10 infusion] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘—the infusion of his soul into his body,’ ‘his soul’s embodiment’ The Sh. Lex. explains infusion as ‘endowments, qualities,’ and it may be right.”
macd
3610+8 raw] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “scarcity.”
macd
3610+11 semblable] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘—it alone can show his likeness.’”
macd ≈ standard
3610+7 inuentorially]
macd ≈ standard
3610+7 dazzie] dosie]]
macd ≈ standard
3610+11-3610+12 trace, his vmbrage]
macd ≈ standard +
3610+8 raw] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “yaw]] and yet would but yaw neither.’ Yaw,’ the movement by which a ship deviates from the line of her course towards the right or left in steering.’ Falconer’s Marine Dictionary. . . . Hamlet is set on using far-fetched and absurd forms and phrases to the non-plussing of Osricke, nor cares much to be correct.”
1885 mull
mull ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
mull : contra cln1 ; contra stau ; col3-4
3610+6-3610+8 Ham. Sir . . .
saile]
Mull (ed. 1885, pp. xxvii-viii):<p. xxvii> “‘
Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you; though I know, to diuide him inuentorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither in respect of his quick sail.’
“This is the text adopted by the Cambridge editors [cln1], by Staunton, and by some other editors of repute. The first named remark upon it as follows [see cln1 n. above, which mull cites]
“Staunton says, ‘Mr. Dyce, of course, adopts ‘yaw,’ but conceiving ‘yet,’ often written ‘it,’ to be a misprint for it , he reads ‘—and it , but yaw neither.’ &c. which we must admit our inability to understand. ‘Yet ‘ is certainly is suspicious, but the word displaced we have always thought was wit, not it , and the drift of Hamlet’s jargon to be this:—his qualifications are so numerous, and so far surpass all ordinary reckoning, that memory would grow giddy in cataloguing, and wit be distanced in attempting to keep pace with them.’ i.e. Laertes’ qualifications.
Delius reads, ‘and it but yaw neither, in respect of his quick sale.’ [mull is in error here; COL3-4 have sale].’
“If we accept the change in the last word,
sale, a clear and satisfactory meaning may, I think, be easily seen. Hamlet would then says, ‘his qualifications are so numerous that memory would grow giddy in rehearsing ((‘cataloguing’)) them, and yet only delay ((‘yaw’)) their quick acceptance ((‘sale’)), i.e. the ‘excellent differences’ you proffer me.” Confirmation of this rendering may be found in Hamlet’s immediate remark, ‘I take him to be a soul of great
article,’ such as you repre- </p. xxvii> <p. xxviii>sent, and so calculated to obtain a ready sale. I am aware that
Johnson explains this sentence as ‘a soul of large comprehension,’ but this need not affect my explanation, for the reason that Shakespeare often plays with two meanings in one word, but probably the commercial sense only is here intended.” </p. xxviii>
1885 Perring
Perring : contra cln1
3610+6-3610+8 Ham. Sir. . .
saile]
Perring (1885, pp. 320-1): <p. 321>“There is a passae in Act V, 2,118, the depths of which no critic’s plumb-line has yet sounded, nor perhaps ever will. It is where Osric, sent by the King to Hamlet on an insidious and sinister errand, approaches him with strained courtesy, and in langauge with more sound than sense proceeds to pass an extravagant eulogium on Laertes. Hamlet, perceiving his evil purpose, mimics his bombastic nonsense: ]cites lines]
“Mr. Aldis Wright [cln1], who is entitled to be listened to, especially when we want to know the meaning of a word, tells us that ‘to yaw’ is a nautical phrase, used of a ship which moves unsteadily, and does not answer her helm; but neither he, nor any one else, can apply the meaning to the passage without making other alterations which may not be tolerated. On the presumption that any solution will be listened to, where none has yet been forthcoming, I will hazard an explanation, which, be its worth what it may, shall at least give sense and consistency to the passage.
“I conceive that the actual words, which Hamlet uttered, were ‘and yet
boot you neither,’ or possibly, </p. 320> <p. 321>as ‘yet’ and ‘not’ are sometimes confused, ‘and
not boot you neither’; but that, as Hamlet took off Osric’s affected tone and manner, ‘boot’ he minced to ‘but,’ and ‘you’ he drawlingly pronounced ‘yaw’: what the actor, to sustain the part, did on the platform, the shorthand writer, consciously or unconsciously, might have done on his paper: the transcriber and the printer followed suit. Thus we have the tone of the speaker rather than the terms of his speech. The words, as I have given them, explain themselves. Hamlet tells Osric that to divide Laertes inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of his memory, and yet be of no advantage to him, in respect of Laertes’ ‘quick sail,’ that is to say, because of his shifting Protean-like charcter. Elsewhere editors have not hesitated to read ‘
boat,’ where the reading of the Folios is unquestionably ‘
butt’—’
but.’
“But I may be asked, ‘Whence comes ‘yaw,’ and what authroity is there for making it the ground of a conjecture’? I answer that ‘yaw’ is the reading of the Quarto which was printed in 1604, and it has been though peculiarly deserving of consideration, because that was the edition in which the tragedy appeared for the first time as it has come down to us. The other editions in Quarto, and the Folios, have ‘raw.’”</p. 321>
1889 Barnett
Barnett
3610+6 definement]
Barnett (1889, p. 63): <p. 63>“
description.” </p. 63>
Barnett
3610+8 raw]
Barnett (1889, p. 63): <p. 63>“
yaw]]
bend out of the true course. Nor.
gaga,
to bend backwards. Hamlet is speaking nonsensically on purpose. But if there is any meaning in his words, there is a mixture of two metaphors, and the sense is, ‘To make an inventory of every attribute of Laertes, would test arithmetic to its utmost capacity, and even then would not succeed in keeping up with his merits.” <,/p. 63>
Barnett
3610+9 of great article]
Barnett (1889, p. 63): <p. 63>“
of many articles, of large contents.” </p. 63>
Barnett
3610+10 infusion]
Barnett (1889, p. 63): <p. 63>“his
combination of qualities.”</p. 63>
Barnett
3610+10 true dixion]
Barnett (1889, p. 63): <p. 63>“to speak the
truth. [3610+10-+12] mean, ‘To speak the truth, his combination of qualities is such that there is no likeness of him in the world save in his mirror, and no one follows anywhere near him save his own image (umbrage)’”</p. 63>.
1890 irv2
irv2 : standard
3610+8 raw] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “yaw]] to move unsteadily (nautical term).”
irv2 : v1877 (Dyce and Abbott)
3610+8 raw] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “yaw]] Q2 [uncorrected] reads yaw, the later Qq. raw. Yaw is a nautical term,used of the unsteady motion made by a ship in a swell, when she does not properly answer her helm. The passage as it reads is somewhat confused, and Dyce conjectured that yet was a misprint for it, spelt yt. Hamlet intended to puzzle Osric, so why should he not puzzle the commentators? It seems to me that Abbot is right in taking the sense to be: ‘do nothing but lay clumsily behind neither.’ The ellipsis of the negative explains neither.”
irv2 ≈ v1877 w/o attribution
3610+8 infusion] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “essential qualities.”
irv2 ≈ v1877 w/o attribution
3610+8 dearth] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “dearness.”
irv2 ≈ v1877 w/o attribution
3610+11 trace] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “follow.”
irv2
3610+11 semblable] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “This word is used by Shakespeare in one other place, [Tim.4.3.22 (1623)], as a substantive, and twice as an adjective, [2H4 5.1.75 (2853)], and [Ant. 3.4.3 (1683)]. As an adjective it is given in Boyer’s Dictionary as the equivalent of the French semblable.”
1890 Orger
Orger
3610+7-3610+8 to . . .
saile]
Orger (1890, pp. 85-6): <p. 85>“Hamlet, means, I apprehend, the utmost effort of memory, though it made the mind dizzy, would </p. 85> <p. 86> yet come far behind the enumeration of his excellencies.
“‘Yare’ is used for ‘agile,’ for ‘quick,’ in several places as [TN 3.4.214 (1752), ‘Be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick.’ It seems to have been especially employed in nautical language. [Tem. 1.1.6 (6); Ant. 3.7.38 (1905)]; which recommends its adoption here, where ‘quick sail’ follows immediately. ‘But’ is apparently a mistake for ‘be not.’
“I would accordingly propose—’To divide him inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and yet be not yare neither, in respect of his quick sail.’”</p. 86>
1891 oxf1
oxf1
3610+12 vmbrage] Craig (ed. 1891: Glossary): “sub. shadow [Hamlet’s Euphuism].”
oxf1 : standard
3610+8 raw] Craig (ed. 1891: Glossary): “yaw]] v.t. to move unsteadily as a ship which does not answer the helm.”
1899 ard1
ard1: OED
3610+6 definement] Dowden (ed. 1899): “definition. Hamlet uses an affected preciosity; no other example of the word in this sense earlier than 1867 is recorded in New Eng. Dict. [OED]; no other example in any sense before 1643.”
ard1
3610+7 dazzie] Dowden (ed. 1899): “[Q2] dosie is only an obsolete form of dizzy (see New Eng. Dict., dozy).”
ard1 : cln1
3610+7 arithmaticke] Dowden (ed. 1899): “‘The two metaphors (arithmetic and quick sail),’ says Clar. Press [cln1], ‘are a litle difficult to separate.’ Perhaps they should rather be united. The card and continent suggest a voyage to discover Laertes’ parts. The arithmetic of memory may be the computations made in anavigator’s head; in 1625 T. Addison published his Arithmetical Navigation.”
ard1 ≈ v1877 w/o attribution (Johnson def. ; Heath def. ; dyce ; staunton ) +
3610+8 raw]
Dowden (ed. 1899): “
‘huc illuc vacillare,’ says Coles’s Dictionary. But neither means ‘for all that’ (examples in Schmidt’s Sh. Lexicon, under neither). In respect of has two meanings in Shakespeare: (I) with regard to, (2) in comparison with. ‘His quick sail’ may possibly as Deighton holds, mean its. These are the data for an explanation of Hamlet’s jargon; to which it should be added that for
yet Dyce and others read
it;
yet,
it, being easily mistaken for
yet; and that
Staunton conjectures
wit for
yet. The explanation of the text as it stands may be: To enumerate in detail the perfections of Laertes would bewilder the computations of memory, yet for all that—in spite of the calculations—the enumeration would stagger to and fro (and so fall behind) in comparison with Laertes’ quick sailing (or, possibly, considering
its quick sail, which ought to steady the ship.”
ard1
3610+9 article] Dowden (ed. 1899): “business, concern; ‘of great article,’ of great moment or importance. See New Eng. Dict, article, 10.”
ard1
3610+10 infusion of such dearth] Dowden (ed. 1899): “the qualities infused into him; something higher than acquisition. Sir T. Browne (Religio Medici, II. §viii.) would sometimes shut his books, thinking the pursuit of knowledge a vanity, when, wiat a little and we shall enjoy knowledge by ‘instinct and infusion.’ Dearth, dearness. Bishop barlow, Three Sermons (1596): ‘Dearth is that, when all things . . . are rated at a high price.’
ard1 ≈ cln1 w/o attribution (1H4 //)
3610+11 trace]
1905 rltr
rltr : standard
3610+8 raw]yaw]]
rltr : standard
3610+11 trace]
rltr : standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
1906 nlsn
nlsn: standard
3610+8 raw]yaw]]Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
nlsn: standard
3610+9 article] Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
nlsn: standard
3610+10 infusion] Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
nlsn: standard
3610+11 semblable] Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
nlsn: standard
3610+12 vmbrage] Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
1931 crg1
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+6 definement]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+6 perdition]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+9 article]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+10 dearth and rarenesse]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+11 semblable]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+11 trace]
crg1 ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
crg1 ≈ ard1
3610+8 raw]yaw
crg1
3610+10 infusion] Craig (ed. 1951): “infused temperament, character imparted by nature.”
1934 Wilson
Wilson
3610+7 dazzie] Wilson (1934, 1:123) lists the uncorrected dosie of the Devonshire, Elizabethan Club of New York, and Folger copies of Q2 compared with the corrected dazzie in the British Library, Capell copy in Trinity College, and Grimston of the Bodleian Library copy of the Q2 as an example of a corrector interceding between Shakespeare and the Q2.
3610+7 dazzie] Wilson (1934, 1:131) sees this reading as a miscorrection arising from a misunderstanding of Shakespeare’s dosie.
3610+7 dazzie]
Wilson (1934, 1:132): <p. 132> “‘Dosie’ is an old-fashioned spelling of an unusual verb ‘dizzy’ (
vide N.E.D. ‘dozy’), and it looks as if the press-corrector may have altered it in the margin to ‘dazzle’, a word the compositor in his turn misread ‘dazzie’, which is of course sheer nonsense. The miscorrections of the second and third class are likely to be fairly numerous, since the corrector would soon grow aware of the the compositor’s propensity to miss out letters and words and be on his guard against it; at times too much on his guard, for there can be little doubt that he now and then discovered omissions that were not there. Those of the third class ought also to be easy to recognize, inasmuch as there being no clue to the lost word beyond the general context the corrector could only take a short which would of course be generally wide of the mark.” </p. 132>
Wilson
3610+8 raw] Wilson (1934, 1:131) sees this reading as a miscorrection arising from a misunderstanding of Shakespeare’s yaw.
3610+8 raw] Wilson (1934, 1:123) lists the uncorrected yaw of the Devonshire, Elizabethan Club of New York, and Folger copies of Q2 compared with the corrected raw in the British Library, Capell copy in Trinity College, and Grimston of the Bodleian Library copy of the Q2 as an example of a corrector interceding between Shakespeare and the Q2.
3610+8 raw]
Wilson (1934, 1:133-4): <p. 133>“As for the fourth and fifth classes [of press corrections], they be considered as one from the corrector’s point of view, seeing that he would not alter words unless he took them to be compositor’s misprints. . . </p. 132> <p. 133> Thus he alters ‘yaw’ to ‘raw’ and ‘pall’ to ‘fall’ [3508], though the letters ‘y’ and ‘r’, ‘p’ and ‘f’ have not the remotest resemblance to each other in the English script of the age. He seimply assumed that the compositor had inadvertently set up the wrong letter, and emended accordingly.”
1934 cam3
cam3
3610+6-3610+12 Wilson (ed. 1934): “Osric has mixed the metaphors of the shop and the ship; and Ham. follows suit. To paraphrase: the specification (definement) of his perfections has lost nothing at your hands, though I know they are so numerous that to make a detailed inventory of them (as a shopkeeper might) would puzzle (dizzy) the mental arithmetic of the ordinary commercial man, who would, moreover, be left staggering (‘and yet but yaw neither’) by his quick sale (with a quibble on ‘sail’); but in truth I take him to be a soul of great scope (‘article,’ with a commercial quibble: ‘the particulars of an inventory are called articles,’ Johnson), and his essence (‘infusion’) of such costliness (‘dearth’) and rarity, that indeed I can compare him nothing save his own looking-glass; for what can better describe him than a shadow? The whole speech is rattled off and intended, of course, to be a rubbish-heap of affectation; but there is more in it than has hitherto been perceived. For the individual words v.G[lossary].”
cam3 : standard
3610+7 dazzie] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary, dizzy)
cam3
3610+6 definement] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “description, specification.”
cam3
3610+7 deuide] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary, divide inventorially): “classify in detail.”
cam3
3610+7 inuentorially] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “as with a list of goods.”
cam3 : standard
3610+8 raw] Wilson (ed. 1934): “yaw]] Q2 (some copies). Others ‘raw’—a press-correction. MSH, pp. 123, 130-32.”
cam3 : standard
3610+8 raw] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary):
cam3 : standard
3610+9 article] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “with a quibble on ‘article’ =item in an inventory; v. note [above].”
cam3 : standard
3610+10 dixion] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “description.”
cam3 : standard
3610+11 trace] Wilson (ed. 1934):”A quibble: (a) describe, depict, (b) follow (as a shadow does).”
cam3 : standard
3610+11 semblable] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary)
cam3 : standard
3610+12 vmbrage] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary)
cam3 : standard +
3610+10 infusion] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “A term of alchemy or medicine (cf. [Per. 3.2.35-6 (1195)] ‘The blest infusions That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones’).”
cam3 : OED
3610+10 dearth] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “dearness (N.E.D. quotes Bishop Barlow, Three Sermons, 1596, ‘Dearth is that when all . . . things . . . are rated at a high price’).”
1939 kit2
kit2≈ standard
3610+6 definement]
kit2≈ standard
3610+8 raw] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2≈ standard
3610+9 article]
3610+9 article] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
kit2≈ standard
3610+10 dixion] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2≈ standard
3610+10 of such dearth and rarenesse]
kit2≈ standard
3610+11-3610+12 who . . . more]
kit2≈ standard
3610+11 semblable] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2
3610+6 perdition] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “loss.”
3610+6 perdition] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2
3610+7 dazzie] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “dosy]] confuse, stagger.”
3610+7 dazzie] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2
3610+8 neither] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “after all.”
3610+8 neither] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary): “after all.”
kit2
3610+8 in respect of] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “in comparison with.”
3610+8 in respect of] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2
3610+9 in . . . extolment] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “to give him the praise he truly deserves.”
kit2
3610+11 his . . . mirrour] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “the only person who resembles him is his own image in the looking glass.”
kit2
3610+11 trace] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary): “to keep pace with.”
kit2 ≈ standard +
3610+7-3610+8 to . . . saile] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “The excellence of Laertes is a fast boat that sails steadily on; the inventory is another boat, which tries to overtake the leader, but yaws continually and thus falls far behind. A boat yaws when she steers badly, so that she does not hold her course but swings her bow from side to side and thus loses headway.”
1937 pen1a
pen1a : standard
3610+6 definement] HarrisonK (ed. 1937) simply notes that Hamlet’s intentional affection silences Osric’s responses.
pen1a : standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
pen1a : standard
3610+11 his . . . mirrour]
1938 parc
parc ≈ standard
3610+6 definement]
parc ≈ standard
3610+9 article]
parc ≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
parc ≈ standard
3610+11 semblable]
parc ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
parc
3610+8 raw] Parrott (ed. 1938): “yaw]] And yet only stagger (yaw) in trying to overtake his virtues.”
1942 n&h
n&h ≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw]]
n&h ≈ standard
3610+9 article]
n&h ≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
n&h ≈ standard
3610+10 dearth]
n&h ≈ standard
3610+11 semblable]
n&h ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
1947 cln2
cln2
3610+6-3610+12 Rylands (ed. 1947, Notes): “Hamlet bewilders and disconcerts Osric with court jargon equal to his own.”
cln2
3610+6-3610+12 Rylands (ed. 1947): “i.e. his graces, sir, lose nothing in your specification of them. To make a detailed inventory of them would puzzle a man’s mental arithmetic and yet lag behind his speedy progress. To praise Laertes truly, I think of him as a soul of great worth. His essential quality is so valuable and so rare that I can indeed compare him with nothing except his own looking-glass: any other representation of him would be a mere shadow, nothing more.”
1951 alex
alex ≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw Alexander (ed. 1951, Glossary, yaw)
alex ≈ standard
3610+10 dearth] Alexander (ed. 1951, Glossary)
alex ≈ standard
3610+11 semblable] Alexander (ed. 1951, Glossary)
alex ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage] Alexander (ed. 1951, Glossary)
1951 crg2
crg2=crg1
3610+6 definement]
crg2=crg1
3610+6 perdition]
crg2=crg1
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
crg2=crg1
3610+10 infusion
crg2=crg1
3610+10 dearth and rarenesse]
crg2=crg1
3610+11 semblable]
crg2=crg1
3610+12 vmbrage]
1954 sis
sis ≈ standard
3610+6 perdition] Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary):
sis ≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary, yaw):
sis ≈ standard
3610+11 semblable] Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary):
sis ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage] Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary):
1957 pel1
pel1 : standard
3610+6 definement]
pel1 : standard
3610+6 perdition]
pel1 : standard
3610+7 dazzie] dozy
pel1 : standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
pel1 : standard
3610+9 article]
pel1 : standard
3610+10 infusion]
pel1 : standard
3610+10 dearth]
pel1 : standard
3610+11 semblable]
pel1 : standard
3610+11 trace]
pel1 : standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
pel1: kit2
3610+8 neither]
pel1: kit2
3610+8 in respect of]
1970 pel2
pel2=pel1
3610+6 definement]
pel2=pel1
3610+6 perdition]
pel2=pel1
3610+7 dazzie] dozy
pel2=pel1
3610+10 infusion]
pel2=pel1
3610+11 semblable]
pel2=pel1
3610+12 vmbrage]
pel2=pel1
3610+8 in respect of]
1974 evns1
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+6 perdition]
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+7 dazzie] dozy
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+10 dearth]
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+11 semblable]
evns1 ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
evns1
3610+8 neither] Evans (ed. 1974): “ for all that.”
evns1
3610+8 in respect] Evans (ed. 1974): “compared with.”
evns1
3610+9 in the vertie of extolment] Evans (ed. 1974): “to praise him truly.”
evns1
3610+9 article] Evans (ed. 1974): “scope (?) or importance (?).”
evns1
3610+10 make true dixion] Evans (ed. 1974): “speak truly.”
evns1
3610+11 who els would trace him] Evans (ed. 1974): “anyone else who tried to follow him.”
1980 pen2
pen2
3610+6 definement . . . you] Spencer (ed. 1980): “he loses nothing by being described by you.”
pen2
3610+7-3610+8 dazzie th’ arithmaticke of memory] Spencer (ed. 1980): “((the number of his qualities would be so large that one’s memory would become confused in trying to remember them)).”
pen2
3610+11 his semblable is his mirrour] Spencer (ed. 1980): “the only thing that resembles him is his own image in a mirror.”
pen2≈ standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
pen2≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
pen2≈ standard
3610+8 neither]
pen2≈ standard
3610+9 in the vertie of extolment]
pen2≈ standard
3610+9 article]
pen2≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
pen2≈ standard
3610+10 dearth and rarenesse]
pen2≈ standard
3610+10 make true dixion]
pen2≈ standard
3610+11 who els would trace him]
pen2≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
1982 ard2
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+6 perdition]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+9 article]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+10 dearth]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+11 his semblable is his mirrour]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+11 trace]
ard2 ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
ard2
3610+7 dazzie] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “dozy]] bewilder, stupfey. Q2 gives a rare but accept form which is difficult to explain except as the ms. reading and which the corrector, falling between dizzy and dazzle, failed to improve.”
ard2
3610+8 in respect] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “In respect of is regularly used for ‘in comparison with’, but may alternatively mean ‘on account of’, which would imply that it was the very attempt to keep up with the swift sailing that threw the pursuer off course. In either case, the excellences of Laertes elude any attempt to catalogue them.”
ard2 : OED ; Abbott
3610+8 neither] Jenkins (ed. 1982):”Neither, and nothing else, emphasizes the negative implied in but. Cf. [MV3.5.7 (1821)] ((‘that is but a kind of bastard hope neither’)), [AWW 2.2.33 (958)]; and see Abbott 128, OED neither A 3b.”
1984 chal
chal : standard
3610+6 definement]
chal : standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
chal : standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
chal : standard
3610+9 article]
chal : standard
3610+10 dearth]
chal : standard
3610+11 his semblable is his mirrour]
chal : standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
1984 chal
chal :
3610+6 perdition] Wilkes (ed. 1984): "loss ((Hamlet mocks Osric’s affected diction))."
chal: OED
3610+10 infusion] Wilkes (ed. 1984): "lit. p[ouring in, thus ’’charactger imparted by nature’’)
1985 cam4
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+6 perdition]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+8 in respect]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+9 in the vertie of extolment]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+9 article]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+10 infusion]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+10 dearth]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+11 trace]
cam4 ≈ standard
3610+12 vmbrage]
cam4 ≈ kit2
3610+7 dazzie] dozy]]
1987 oxf4
oxf4 : OED
3610+6 definement]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367): <p. 367>“description ((earliest example cited by
OED)).”
oxf4 : OED
3610+6 perdition in you]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367): <p. 367>“loss or diminution in your mouth.
OED’s first instance of this affected use of
perdition (
sb. 1b)), which seems peculiar to Shakespeare, is Fluellen’s ‘The perdition of th’athversary hath been very great’ ((
H5 3.6.100-1)).”</p. 367>
oxf4 : OED
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367): <p. 367>“list his accomplishments one by one ((earliest instance of
inventorially cited by
OED)).”</p. 367>
oxf4 : OED
3610+10 infusion]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367): <p. 367>“infused temperament, character imposed by nature ((
OED sb. 2c—no other instance of this sense cited)).”</p. 367>
oxf4 : OED
3610+10 make true dixion]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367): <p. 367>“give an accurate verbal description ((
OED diction 3)).” </p. 367>
oxf4 : OED
3610+11 his semblable is his mirrour]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix, p. 367): <p. 367>“i.e. the only thing that really resembles him is his own image in a looking-glass ((
OED semblable sb. 2)).” </p. 367>
oxf4 : OED
3610+11-3610+12 who else . . .
more]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367): <p. 367>“i.e. anyone who tries to follow the path he takes can do so only as the shadow follows the substance ((
OED umbrage sb. 3)).” </p. 367>
oxf4
3610+7-3610+8 th’arithmaticke of memory]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367: <p. 367>“This could be a reference to one of the memory systems described by Frances A. Yates in her
The Art of Memory ((1966)).” </p. 367>
oxf4 : OED
3610+9 extolment]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367: <p. 367>“eulogy ((first instance cited by
OED)).”
oxf4 ≈ kit2 w/o attribution
3610_+8
and yet . . .
saile]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367: <p. 367>“
yaw]] deviate, fail to steer a straight court ((not elsewhere in Shakespeare)).” </p. 367>
oxf4 : Abbott
3610+8 neither]
oxf4 : Onions
3610+9 great article]
Hibbard (ed. 1987, Appendix A, p. 367: <p. 367>“large scope ((Onions)).” </p. 367>
1988 bev2
bev2: standard
3610+8 raw]yaw
1993 dent
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+6 definement
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+6 perdition]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+7 dazzie]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+9 in the vertie of extolment]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+9 article]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+10 infusion]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+10 dearth]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+11 semblable]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+11-3610+12 who else . . . more]
dent ≈ oxf4
3610+12 vmbrage]
dent
3610+8 raw]Andrews (ed. 1989): “unripe.”
dent
3610+10 make true dixion] Andrews (ed. 1989): “speak truly.”
1992 fol2
fol2≈ standard
3610+6 definement
fol2≈ standard
3610+6 perdition]
fol2≈ standard
3610+7 deuide him inuentorially]
fol2≈ standard
3610+11-3610+12 who else . . . more] Mowat & Werstine (ed. 1992): “Hamlet’s mockingly affected language says, in essence, that Laertes is a fine man, so special that he can be matched only by his image in a mirror; everyone else in comparison to him is only his shadow.”
1998 OED
OED
3610+7 dazzie] OED dizzy (dz), v. 3. To render unsteady in brain or mind; to bewilder or confuse mentally. 1604 SHAKS. Ham. V. ii. 119 (Qo [sic]. 2) To deuide him inuentorially would dosie [Qo. 3 dazzie, Qq. 4 & 5 dizzie] th’ arithmaticke of memory.
3610+8
