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Line 48 - 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 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman

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

48 Had made his course t’illume that part of heauen	1.1.37

1598 Gabriel Harvey

Gabriel Harvey

48 Harvey (apud v1821 1: 569-70)

1726 theon

theon

48 t’illume] Theobald (1726, pp.1-2)): <p.1> “Some of the old Editions read, t’illumine; which seems to be the truest deriv’d Word, (from illumino in the Latin,) and is the word used by our Author in another Place. [TGV a.s.l. (000):] ‘If we be not by her fair Influence Foster’d, illumin’d.’ </p.1> <p.2> In another of his Plays, our Poet has extended this Word to illuminate. [JC a.s.l. (000):] ‘——What Trash is Rome? What Rubbish, and what Offal? when it serves For the base Matter to illuminate So vile a Thing as Cæsar?’ And I almost think, Mr. Pope was of the Opinion that illumine, rather than illume, in this Place of Hamlet, is the right Word; since he, in another of the Tragedies, has wrote relumine, tho’ one of the old Editions there have it relume. [Oth. 5.2.13 (3251):] I know not where is that Promethean Heat, That can thy Light relumine. —’ But may it not be objected, that if we should read, ‘Had made his Course t’illumine that Part of Heav’n, &c.’ this Additional Syllable spoils the Scanning of the Verse? In a word, too nice a Regard must not be had to the Numbers of Shakespeare: Nor needs the Redundance of a Syllable here be any Objection; for nothing is more usual with our Poet than to make a Dactyl, or allow a supernumerary Syllable, which is sunk and melted in the Pronunication. It were most easy to produce above a thousand Instances of this Custom in him; but unnecessary, because they lie open to the Observation of every discerning Reader.” </p.2>

1728 pope2

pope2: theon

48 t’illume] Pope (ed. 1728, Appendix Aa4r): Theobald’s conjecture “spoils a Verse. . . .”

-1761 Rochester?

Rochester?

48 Rochester? (-1761, p. 192): “His and its, are of different Genders; and the wore[sic] Enlighten[as in the players’ quartos this forger knew] too long for the Measure.”

1805 Seymour

Seymour: theon without attribution

48 heauen] Seymour (1805, pp. 16-17), <p. 16>“ It is, perhaps, unncessary to tell the reader of Shakspeare, that ‘Passion,’ like all other words, wherein a junction of vowels will admit of either a lenthened or contracted utterance. the poet applies variously to suit the quantity and tenor of [the] verse. . . . ” </p. 16><p.17> heaven being one he instances.</p.17>

1870 Abbott

Abbott

48 his] See § 228 recorded in 409.

1872 cln1

cln1

48 t’illume] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “Not used elsewhere by Shakspeare. We have however ‘relume,’ [Oth. 5.2.13 (3251)].”

1872 hud2

hud2

48 his] Hudson (ed. 1872): “Note the use of his for its.”

Ed. note: Hudson has a fuller note in 409, where he seems to imply that Sh. was somewhat backward in not accepting the new word its.

1877 v1877

v1877 = cln1 (minus Oth. //)

48 t’illume]

1881 hud3

hud3 ≈ hud2 + Oth. //

48 his] Hudson (ed. 1881): “His for its, as usual. See vol. I, page 90, note 1.”

1891 dtn1

dtn1

48 Had . . . t’illume] Deighton (ed. 1891): “not, had caused its course to light up, but, proceeded on its course with the object of lighting up.”

Ed. note: Deighton appears to be the 1st who tackles the meaning of the phrase, rather than one word.

1903 rlf3

rlf3 ≈ cln1 without attribution, minus Oth. //, +

48 t’illume] Rolfe (ed. 1903): “He has illuminate twice, and illumine three times.”

1913 tut2

tut2: standard on poss. pronoun but quite full

48 his] Goggin (ed. 1913): “his was originally the neuter possessive as well as the masculine. In Shakespeare’s time its, which was formed from it by the addition of the possessive ending -s, had not yet established itself in the language, while his was going out of use as a neuter. Hence we sometimes find it used as a possessive, cp. [409, 3410], and ‘the innocent milk in it most innocent mouth” [WT 3.2.209 (1279]. Its does not occur in Spenser or the Authorized Version of the Bible, and is found only three times in Milton. There are ten examples of its (nine of which are spelt it’s) in the text of the First Folio (1623); but they may be printer’s errors. No instances are found in the Quartos.”

tut2: standard

48 t’illume]

1939 kit2

kit2: standard

48 his] Kittredge (ed. 1939): "its; the regular genitive of the neuter pronoun. See [cn 409]."

1984 Klein

Klein: standard; Abbott § 228

48 his course] Klein (ed. 1984): “the first of many examples in the play where his continues from ME as the genitive of the neuter possessive pronoun . . . . its . . . is still rare in Sh. . . . we also occasionally meet it as genitive, e.g. [409].”

1992 fol2

fol2 : standard

48 his] Mowat & Werstine (ed. 1992): “its“

1996 Kliman

Kliman

48 his] Kliman (1996): These lines have his for its 128, 150, 154, 395, 525, 610, 621+10, 635, 660, 775, 1517, 1872, 2338, 2628+3, 2839, 2870, 3023, 3112+5, 3159, 3263; 409 and 3410 have it for its.

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2: standard

48 his] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “its”

ard3q2: standard gloss; standard Oth. // + OED; Q1, Q6 in magenta underlined

48 t’illume] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “to illuminate, enlighten. This is Shakespeare’s only use of illume and the only usage cited by OED. Q1 has the more familiar ’illumine’ and Q6 ’modernizes’ to ’enlighten,’ but see the similar Shakespearean coinage ’relume’ at Oth. 5.2.13.”