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Line 611 - 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.”

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Notes for lines 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman

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

611 What does this meane my Lord? {and 2. peeces goes of.}	1.4.

1774 capn

capn

611 and 2. peeces goes of] Capell (1774, 1:1:125): “in the scenical direction . . . we have ‘ordnance’ shooting; for that direction is had from the quarto’s, and there is no cause to suspect it’s authentickness, as one of the very same ends the play.”

1843 col1

col1

611 and 2. peeces goes of] Collier (ed. 1843): “The folios have no stage-direction here: in the quarto, 1604, it is, ‘and 2 pieces go [sic] off:’ perhaps the theatre had only two pieces belonging to it.”

1854 del2

del2

611 and 2. peeces goes of] Delius (ed. 1854): “Die Bühnenweisung ist theilweise modern, die Fol. hat gar keine hier, Q. A. nur: Sound trumpet, die andern Qs. a Flourish of trumpets, and two pieces go off. Das hinter der Scene gelöste Geschütz bestand demnach aus zwei Stücken, wahrschieinlich sog. chambers, wie sie in [H8 1.4.49 (731)] erwähnt werden.” [The stage direction is partly modern, the folio having none here, Q1 only Sound trumpet, the other 4tos a Flourish of trumpets, and two pieces go off. The artillery set off behind the scene consisted according to this in two pieces, probably so-called chambers, as mentioned in [H8 1.4.49 (731)]].

1858 col3

col3 = col1 +

611 and 2. peeces goes of] Collier (ed. 1858): “This is the more likely because Ben Jonson, in his ‘Execration against Vulcan,’ speaking of the burning of the Globe Theatre in 1613, tells us that the calamity was occasioned by the discharge of ‘two poor chambers.’”

1887 v1877

v1887 = col3

611 2 peeces]

1904 ver

ver

611-16 Verity (ed. 1904): “The King’s revel is designedly a contrast to the scene of watching on the battlements. From a scenic point of view the contrast may be made very effective, with the lights of the banqueting hall in the far background.”

-1938 Lawrence

Lawrence

611 Lawrence (apud Parrott & Craig, ed. 1938): <p. 32> “Lawrence (Shakespeare’s Workshop, p. 115) calls attention to two prompter’s directions in Q1 Sound Trumpets. [Q1 CLN 413], and Enter Fortenbrasse, Drumme, and Souldiers at the beginning of scene 12 [Q1 CLN 1669]. Both of these notes, calling for trumpets and a drum, are </ p. 32> <p. 33> evidences of the Prompter’s marginal notes—not things reported. On p. 118 Lawrence also notes that Q1 omits all reference to the firing of ‘pieces,’ i.e. small cannon behind the stage, There are four or five such directions in Q2 and F ([Q2 611, 3747] and after the last line of the play [F1 3906]). Lawrence ingeniously suggests that a company on tour could not carry even a small cannon with them and accordingly substituted trumpets in the first place and cut out all reference to shots in the others.” </ p. 33>

1939 kit2

kit2: standard

611 2. peeces goes of.] Kittredge (ed. 1939): "pieces of ordinance. For the old Scandinavian custom of cannon shot as an accompaniment to royal toasts see [310 (and note); 3736-9]."

1980 pen2

pen2

611 peeces] Spencer (ed. 1980): “The gun-salutes honour Hamlet’s gentle and unforced accord (1.2.123), so celebrate a kind of triumph of the King over Hamlet.”

1982 ard2

ard2:

611 peeces] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “ The cannon of 309. It is with an effective irony—which perhaps the audience does not always note—that the cannon by which Claudius celebrates Hamlet’s staying on in Denmark are heard by Hamlet at the very moment when he waits for his father’s ghost. And the echoes of the new King’s revelry (610 ff) will still be in our ears when the ghost of the King he has murdered tells how he got the crown.”

1985 cam4

cam4

611 2. peeces goes of] Edwards (ed. 1985): "i.e. a salvo from two cannons is fired."

1987 oxf4

oxf4

611 What . . . Lord?] Hibbard (ed. 1987): "Horatio, earlier so well informed about Denmark, asks this question, in his role of factotum, so that Hamlet can give his answer."

Ed. note: Hibbard does not consider that Horatio (or any educated Dane) might be familiar with Danish history without knowing the customs of the court.

1988 bev2

bev2: standard

611 peeces] Bevington (ed. 1988): “i.e., of ordnance, cannon.”

1999 Dessen&Thomson

Dessen&Thomson

611 peeces goes of] Dessen & Thomson(1999): “ . . . the sound of a cannon or gun fired offstage.” See also 3747

2000 Edelman

Edelman

611 2 peeces] Edelman (2000): “A piece of artillery, a cannon, a hand-gun (OED sb 11 a, b). Use of the word ‘piece’ for a firearm of any sort is ubiquitous in military manuals of the early modern period: cannons that fire every time Claudius tipples in Hamlet [[§Q2]] are called ‘pieces” [611 SD].”

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2: xref

611 Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Horatio’s questions, here and at [616], seem to confirm his role as a visitor rather than a native as he appeared by his knowledge of Danish politics in 1.1 (see [97-112], [352 CN]).”