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Line 3669, etc. - Commentary Note (CN)

Commentary notes (CN):

1. SMALL CAPS Indicate editions. Notes for each commentator are divided into three parts:

In the 1st two lines of a record, when the name of the source text (the siglum) is printed in SMALL CAPS, the comment comes from an EDITION; when it is in normal font, it is derived from a book, article, ms. record or other source. We occasionally use small caps for ms. sources and for works related to editions. See bibliographies for complete information (in process).

2. How comments are related to predecessors' comments. In the second line of a record, a label "without attribution" indicates that a prior writer made the same or a similar point; such similarities do not usually indicate plagiarism because many writers do not, as a practice, indicate the sources of their glosses. We provide the designation ("standard") to indicate a gloss in common use. We use ≈ for "equivalent to" and = for "exactly alike."

3. Original comment. When the second line is blank after the writer's siglum, we are signaling that we have not seen that writer's gloss prior to that date. We welcome correction on this point.

4. Words from the play under discussion (lemmata). In the third line or lines of a record, the lemmata after the TLN (Through Line Number] are from Q2. When the difference between Q2 and the authors' lemma(ta) is significant, we include the writer's lemma(ta). When the gloss is for a whole line or lines, only the line number(s) appear. Through Line Numbers are numbers straight through a play and include stage directions. Most modern editions still use the system of starting line numbers afresh for every scene and do not assign line numbers to stage directions.

5. Bibliographic information. In the third line of the record, where we record the gloss, we provide concise bibliographic information, expanded in the bibliographies, several of which are in process.

6. References to other lines or other works. For a writer's reference to a passage elsewhere in Ham. we provide, in brackets, Through Line Numbers (TLN) from the Norton F1 (used by permission); we call these xref, i.e., cross references. We call references to Shakespearean plays other than Ham. “parallels” (//) and indicate Riverside act, scene and line number as well as TLN. We call references to non-Shakespearean works “analogues.”

7. Further information: See the Introduction for explanations of other abbreviations. Click here for more information about browsing the entries and here for more information about the special symbols used in Hamletworks. Click the question mark icon above to remove this help message.

Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand

For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.

3669-70 the fall of a Sparrowe, if it be <now>, tis not \| to come, if it be not to come,

3670-1 it will be now, if it | be not now, yet it {well} <will> come, the readines is all,

1562 Heywood

Heywood

3669-70 if it be . . . well come] Heywood (1562, 2: 1: 53): “That shall be shall be.”

1726 theon

theon: Matt.

3668-9 there is speciall prouidence in the fall of a Sparrowe] Theobald (1726, p. 145) : <p. 145> “S. Matt. 10:29.” </p. 145>

1754 Grey

Grey ≈ theon without attribution

3668-9 there is speciall prouidence in the fall of a Sparrowe] Grey (1754, 2:308) : <p. 308> “Alluding to that passage, Matth. x.29.’Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father.’” </p. 308>

-1790 mWesley

mWesley

3668-3673+1 Wesley (typescript of ms. notes in ed. 1785): “I marvel that Johnson did not attack this passage as profane, it being a plain allusion to the words of Christ. For my own part, I confess that nothing appears a profane quotation but what is intended to ridicule the authority whence it is taken; and such a quotation is rarely (if at all) to be found in this Authour.”

1791- rann

rann

3669 If it be now] Rann (ed. 1791-) : “death.”

1805 Seymour

Seymour : Grey?

3668-9 there is speciall prouidence in the fall of a Sparrowe] Chedworth (apud Seymour, 1805, 2:203) : <p.203> “This seems to be taken from St. Luke, 12, 6,7: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father.’ Lord Chedworth.”

[Ed:Chedworth has the wrong verse for the citation. Grey is correct, following Theobald. Chedworth is referring to a similar verse in Luke 12:6,7: ‘Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten bfore God? ‘But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.’]

1811-12 CLRLec

Lectures

3668-73+1 Coleridge (Lectures on Shakespeare and Milton, Lecture 12, 1812 rept. in John Payne Collier longhand transcript; rpt. Coleridge, 1987, 5.1:390): <p. 390>“Even after the scene with Osrick, we see Hamlet still indulging in reflections, and thinking little of the action new task he has just undertaken; he is all meditation, all resolution <as far as words are concerned>, but all hesitation & inaction, so that irresolution when called upon to act; so that resolving to do everything he <in fact> does nothing. He is full of purpose, but void of disposition that quality of mind wch wod lead him at the proper time to carry his purpose into effect.”</p.390>

1818-19 mCLR2

mCLR2:

3668-3673+1Coleridge (ms. notes 1819 in Ayscough, ed. 1807; rpt. Coleridge, 1998, 12.4:859): <p. 859>“and his [[Hamlet]] & Shakespear’s fondness for presentiment[[3668-3673+1]]—O my prophetic Soul[[728]]—and his ‘Most generous and free from all contriving’ in his D Fencing-Duel—and all at last done by [? shock] & accident at the conclusion.”</p. 859>

1850 Grinfield

Grinfield

3668-73] we . . . betimes] Grinfield (1850, pp. 47-8): <p. 47> “A brief, but very sententious and remarkable speech; especially as illustrative of Hamlet’s deep and difficult character. The sentiment is in exact harmony with his noted soliloquy on Death, as ‘a consummation devoutly to be wish’d,’ by those who would, by dying, ‘end their heart-ache.’ Just before the present passage, the melancholy Prince had said to his friend Horatio,—’Tho wouldst not hink how ill all’s here about my heart; but it is no matter.’ This is said in expectation of his fencing with Laertes, which proves fatal to both. There is great signification in the brief remark—’the readiness is all;’ it is a sermon in a word; and reminds us of the Divine Warning: ‘Be ye ready.’ The meaning is unfolded in those few memorable words of the Angel to Adam: ‘Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou liv’st Live well: how long, or short, permit to heaven.’ Paradise Lost, Book XI. ‘Since the time of our dying is foreordered by Providence, and we retain no knowledge of what we leave behind; what </p. 47> <p. 48>matter how soon we die? The readiness for death is all.’ One of the many noble thoughts, and mighty truths, flung over his pages by our wild, deep, universal Shakspeare; thick, and bright, and varied as the stars over the midnight heavens!” </p. 48>

1862 N&Q

Warwick

3669-3671 if . . . come] Warwick (1862, p. 266): <p. 266> “On the fatalism of the ancient Danish religion, note a curious parallel to the above passage as follows:—’They (the Icelanders) say that if they were not fey (i.e. fated or fore-doomed to die) they must live; and that if they were fey, they must die.’—Edinburgh Review No. 232, Oct. 1861, p. 450.

“The doomed man was conscious of approaching death. ‘How ill all’s about my heart.’—[Ham. (3661-2)].”

1866 cam1

cam1: standard

3671-363+1 the readines . . . let be] Clark & Wright (ed. 1866) : “The reading in the text is taken partly from the Folios and partly from the Quartos, altering however the punctuation.

“The second Quarto, followed substantially by the rest, has as follows: [cites Q2 reading]

“The first Folio, followed, except in spelling, by the rest, has: [cites F1 reading]

“The Quartos of 1676, 1683, 1695, and 1703 have: ‘The readiness is all, since no man of ought he leaves knows what ‘tis to leave betimes, let be.’

“Rowe, Pope, and Theobald followed the Folios.

“Hanmer: ‘The readines is all. Since no man owes aught of what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes?’

“Warburton: ‘The readiness is all. Since no man, of ought he leaves, knows, what is’t to leave betimes? Let be.’

“Johnson: ‘The readiness is all. Since no man knows aught of what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes?’

“Steevens (1773, 1778, 1785) and Rann adopt the reading of Johnson, adding the words ‘Let be.’

“Warburton’s reading was followed by Capell, Malone, Steevens (1793), the Editors of the three Variorum Shakespeares, 1803, 1813, 1821, Singer, Harness and Mr. Collier.

“Caldecott first adopted the reading given in our text. Mr. Grant White follows him.

“Becket would substitute ‘has thought’ for ‘has aught.’

“Mr. Keightley prints thus, marking the sentence as unfinished: ‘The readiness is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows what it is to leave betimes . . . Let be.’

1872 cln1

cln1

3668-9 there is . . . Sparrowe] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “See Matthew x.29.”

cln1 : standard

1874 Tyler

Tyler

3668-71 there . . . all] Tyler (1874, p. 23): <p. 23): “It is worth while to observe that in the Quarto of 1603, instead of ‘there’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow,’ we have ‘there’s a predestinate providence in the fall of a sparrow.’” </p. 23>

1875 Marshall

Marshall

3668-3673+1 Marshall (1875, p. 104): <p. 104> “Hamlet’s last speech to Horatio points to the fact that his fatalism has been growing upon him until it has entirely usurped the place of any other faith. true that it is not a pagan fatalism, but neither is it the resignation of a Christian, in spite of the allusion to the New Testament. It is at best the negative courage of a conscientious doubter, who knows that death must come, but is content to leave the hereafter in uncertainty.” </p. 104>

1877 v1877

v1877 : tsch

3669-73 if . . . betimes] Furness (ed. 1877): “Tschischwitz (Sh. Foprschungen, 1.62) calls attention to an ‘exactly parallel’ passage in the Dedication to Giordano Bruno’s Candelajo. ‘By this philosophy my soul is elevated and my capacity for thinking enlarged. but whatsoever may be the appointed hour of that evening which I am awaiting, when the change will take place, I, who am in the night, await the day, and those who are in the day await the night. Everything that exists is either at hand or at a distance, near or far, now or later, instantly or hereafter.’”

1881 hud3

hud3 : hud2 ; cam1

3671-3 the readines . . . let be] Hudson (ed. 1881): “The readiness is all. Since no man knows aught of what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes?]] So Johnson. The quartos read ‘The readines is all, since no man of ought he leaves, knowes what ist to leave betimes, let be.’ The folio reads ‘The readinesse is all, since no man ha’s aught of what he leaves. What is’t to leave betimes?’ Modern editors differ a good deal in their readings of the passage. The Cambridge editors print as follows: ‘The readiness is all; since no man has aught of what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes? Let be.’”

1883 wh2

wh2

3671-3 White (ed. 1883): “The ‘it’ of this speech [“what ist”] might refer to retribution for the murder of Hamlet’s father, but this passage shows that he is dreamily thinking about himself and his own death.”

1885 macd

macd

3669 it] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “—death, the end.”

macd

3670 the readines is all] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “His father had been taken unready.

macd ≈ standard

3668-9 there is . . . Sparrowe]

1890 Orger

Orger

3670-3 if . . . betimes] Orger (1890, pp. 86-7): <p. 86>“The substance of Hamlet’s reflections seems to be the uncertainty of the time when we shall die, whence he infers that all times are pretty much alike if only we are ready; and therefore as well betimes as later.</p. 86> <p. 87>

“We may obtain this sense by borrowing ‘knows’ from the quarto, and changing ‘what’ to ‘when,’ and read—’The readiness is all, since no man knows aught of when he leaves.’”</p. 87>

1895 cam2

cam2 = cam1 +

3670-3 if . . . betimes] Wright (ed. 1895, p. 611): <p. 611>“Mr. Orger conjectures, [cites ‘The readiness is all . . . he leaves”].” </p. 611>

1929 trav

trav : Matthew // +

3669-70 Travers (ed. 1929): “The allusion assists in giving to the sentiment a character more definitely Christian than might be affirmed, strictly, of 10-11 [3509-10].”.

trav : Montaigne

3671 the readines is all] Travers (ed. 1929): “Critics on the look out for traces of the influence on Sh. of Montaigne’s Essays have noted the identity of the sentiment expressed by Hamlet here and of the central theme of ch. XIX ((]Que philosopher c’est apprendre á mourir.’)) ‘ll est incertain oú la mort nous attende : attendons-la partout.’ Identity, or significant resemblance, of phrase (such as, in § 7, ‘Il faut estre tousjours botté et prest á partir’— ‘ready booted to take his journey,’ in Florio’s translation, 1603)) on the other hand, there is none.—Cp. J. Cæsar, II,ii, 36-7.”

1934 Wilson

Wilson

3668-3673+1 Wilson (1934, 2:214-15): <p. 214>“My final example of Q2 punctuation . . . provides an even more triumphant proof of its general superiority over that of F1, since it makes sense of an important and difficult passage which has hitherto baffled every editor of Hamlet. 1

“Hamlet is troubled with his ‘gain-giving’ before the fencing with Laertes, and Horatio offers to have the match postponed; to which offer Hamlet replies, in the two versions, as follows (5.2.230-55 [3668-3673+1]): [cites Q2 and F1 versions] The passage illustrates the quality of both texts in admirable fashion. We have the inevitable omission in Q2, together with the spelling ‘well’ for ‘will’ in the third line, while the stops are commas throughout. In F1, on the other hand, there is not merely the heavier, and at first sight far more intelligible, punctuation, but high-handed interference with the sense, amounting to a complete re-writing of the last line, with the result that obscurity becomes more </p. 214 <p. 215>obscure. Editors, as usual, have attempted to make the best of both worlds. Here, for example, is the Globe text: [cites Glo version] Dr. Johnson, who proposed to conclude the speech ‘since no man knows aught of what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes?’, criticises the F1 text and points out truly enough that Hamlet is much more likely to leave life willingly because he cannot fathom it than because he cannot take this world’s goods away with him. But Dr. Johnson, like every other editor, has been misled by the F1 query after ‘betimes’, as the F1 scribe in his turn was clearly misled by the word ‘is’t’. Yet ‘is’t’ may of course be affirmative just as well as interrogative (cf. 1.4.13 ‘Ay, marry is’t’.). And if we restore the Q2 comma after ‘betimes’ and thus make ‘let be’ the principal clause of the last sentence of the speech, there is no difficulty whatever with the text, though a modern editor will do well to translate some of the commas into dashes and periods so as to break the speech up for the reader’s convenience. Thus modernised it runs: ‘Not a whit, we defy augury, there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ‘tis not to come—if it be not to come, it will be now—if it be not now, yet it will come—the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows what is’t to leave betimes, let be.’ Hamlet’s argument is: ‘early’ or ‘late’ is no matter, so long as one is prepared; and since we can gather from nothing in this life whether we are leaving it early or late, why bother about it?” </p. 215>

<n> <p. 214>“1Mommsen (vide vol. I, p. 12n.), however, came very near to solving it.” </p. 214>

Wilson

3668-3673+1 Wilson (1934, 2:277): <p. 277>“This has been already dealt with under the head of punctuation on pp. 214-15.” </p. 277>

Wilson

3669 it be] Wilson (1934, 2:248) characterizes the Q2 omission of this F1 variant as “certainly omitted.” </p. 248>

1934 cam3

cam3

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe] Wilson (ed. 1934): “Cf. Matth. x.29. As ususal when Sh. quotes, the context should be borne in mind; e.g. ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul,’ and ‘But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.’”

cam3

3671 the readines is all] Wilson (ed. 1934): “The whole speech, as Brandes notes (Will. Shak. p. 354), is a distillation of Montaigne, I. 19 ‘That to Philosophie is to learne how to die.’ To quote one or two passages from Florio’s trans.: ‘At the stumbling of a horse, at the fall of a stone, at the least prick with a pinne, let us presently ruminate and say with our selves, what if it were death itself? and thereupon let us take heart of grace, and call our wits together to confront her. . . . It is uncertain where death looks for us; let us expect her everie where. . . . I am ever prepared about that which I may be. . . . A man should ever, as much as in him lieth, be ready booted to take his journey, and above all things, looke he have then nothing to doe but with himselfe. . . . For why should we feare to lose a thing, which being lost, cannot be moaded? . . . what matter is it when it cometh, since it is unavoidable?’ " Ed. note: See CN 2685 where Brandes’s reference to Folio’s Montaigne is widely cited.

1939 kit2

kit2

3671 is all] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “is the only important matter.”

kit2 ≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

1942 n&h

n&h

3669 it] Neilson & Hill (ed. 1942): “death.”

1947 cln2

cln2

3671 the readines is all] Rylands(ed. 1947, Notes): “cf. [Lr. 5.2.11 (2928)], ‘Ripeness ia all.’”

cln2 ≈ cam3 ; kit2 w/o attribution

3669 if it be] Rylands(ed. 1947, Notes)

1957 pel1

pel1 : standard

3671 is all]

1970 pel2

pel2=pel1

3671 is all]

1974 evns1

evns1 ≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

1980 pen2

pen2

3669 it] Spencer (ed. 1980): “my death.”

pen2 ≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

1982 ard2

ard2

3671 the readines is all] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Cf. Matthew xxiv.44 ((‘Be ye also ready’)); Luke xii.40.”

ard2 ≈ standard (Matthew //) +

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “The Elizabethans believed both in general providence manifesting itself in the whole system of creation and, within this, in in a singular or special providence manifesting itself in the particular event. The latter, along with its scriptural exemplification in the sparrow, was especially insisted on by Calvin ((see Institutes, I, esp. xvi.I, xvii.6)). Cf. above, [3509-10, 3551].”

ard2 ≈ standard

3669 it]

1984 chal

chal : standard (Matthew 10:29) + VN (Q2)

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

1985 cam4

cam4 ≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe] Edwards (ed. 1985): “Hamlet rejects ‘augury’, the attempt to read signs of future events and to take steps accordingly. All occurrences show God’s immediate concern and control, and he will therefore accept the circumstances which present themselves and not try to avoid them. ‘special providence’ is a theological term for a particular act of divine intervention. ‘the fall of a sparrow’ alludes to Matthew 10.29.”

cam4 ≈ standard

3369 if it be] Edwards (ed. 1985): “i.e. his own death. He knows the king will be making a second attempt to murder thim. He must also have in mind the final confrontation when he will ‘quit’ Claudius, even if it costs him his life.”

1987 oxf4

oxf4

3671 the readines is all] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “The importance of being ready to face death at any moment had been central to the teaching of the Church for centuries. See, for instance, Chaucer’s ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’, 683-4, ‘beth redy for to mete him [Death] evermore.|Thus taughte me my dame, I sey na-more.’”

oxf4 ≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

oxf4 ≈ standard

3669 it]

1993 dent

dent ≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

1992 fol2

fol2≈ standard

3668-69 there is . . . Sparrowe]

2008 Pequigney

Pequigney: Matthew; Jenkins: Calvin; Aquinas

3669 fall of a Sparrowe] Pequigney (2008, private communication): “The prime source of Hamlet’s statement is generally recognized to be the words of Jesus recorded in Matt. 10.29: ’Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father.’ The purport is that God oversees his creation even to the most paltry details, as the next verse verifies: ’But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.’ A second source, cited by Jenkins, is Calvin. He writes of ’a special providence sustaining, cherishing, superintending all the things which [God] has made, to the very minutest, even a sparrow’ (Institutes, 1.16.1). Calvin’s sparrow seems also to derive from the Gospel of Matthew, but it differs from that sparrow and that of Hamlet. Providentially sustained, Calvin’s sparrow does not fall. Hamlet’s does, and properly so, since its trivial fall is distantly analogous to, and delicately presages, the tragic fall, also divine-regarded, of a prince. The signifier ’special providence’ may come out of Calvin but the concept that it signified--the Godhead’s attention to the minutiae of nature--is by no means peculiar to him; it is traditional Christian providence-theology. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, in the Summa Contra Gentiles (3.75), argues ’That the providence of God is exercised over individual and contingent things,’ and the article concludes, ’Divine providence therefore has care also of singulars.’ Aguinas follows with a quotation from Matt. 10.29.”

3669 3670 3671