Notes for lines 1018-2022 ed. Eric Rasmussen
| 1098 Giues him {threescore}<three> thousand crownes in anuall fee, | 2.2.73 |
|---|
1726 theon
theon
1097-1100 Whereon...Pollacke.] Theobald (1726, pp. 63-4): “Cornelius and Voltimand, being returned from their Embassy to Norway, bring Word, that That Monarch had suppress’d his Nephew Fortinbras’s Expedition; which he at first supposed designed against Poland, but found, upon Enquiry, to be levell’d at Denmark: That he had put Fortinbras under Arrest, who had obey’d it; and, upon a Check receiv’d, had made Protestation before his Uncle never more to make any hostile Attempts against the Danish State.
“So, indeed, the Generality of the Editions read; but my two Quarto’s, of 1637 and 1703, both have it; ‘Whereon old Norway, overcome with Joy, Gives him THREESCORE thousand Crowns in annual Fee, &c.
“This Addition of a Syllable gives a little Roughness to the Beginning of the Verse; but one Syllable in the first Foot of it must be resolv’d in the Pronunciation; which is very usual, as I have observ’d, with our Poet. ‘Tis true, this Alteration is of no Moment to the Sense of the Passage; but, methinks, Threescore thousand Crowns are a much more suitable Donative from a King to his own Nephew, and the General of an Army, than so poor a Pittance as Three thousand Crowns, a Pension scarce large enough for a dependant Courtier.”
1733 theo1
theo1 : pope
1098 threescore thousand crownes] Theobald (ed.1733): “This Reading [i.e. three] first obtain’d in the Edition put out by the Players. But all the old Quarto’s (from 1605, downwards,) read, as I have reform’d the Text. [i.e. threescore] I had hinted, that threescore thousand Crowns seem’d a much more suitable Donative from a King to his own Nephew, and the General of an Army, than so poor a Pittance as three thousand Crowns, a Pension scarce large enough for a dependent Courtier. I therefore restor’d, ‘Gives him threescore thousand Crowns--’
“To this Mr Pope (very archly critical, as he imagines;) has only replyed, ‘which in his Ear is a Verse.’ I own, it is; and I’ll venture to prove to this great Master in Numbers, that 2 Syllables may, by Pronunciation, be resolv’d and melted into one, as easily as two Notes are slur’d in Musick : and a Redundance of a Syllable, that may be so sunk, has never been a Breach of Harmony in any Language. We must pronounce, as if ’twere written: ‘Gi’s’m three | score thou \ sand crowns \. But has Mr. Pope, indeed, so long been conversant with Verse, and never observ’d the Licence of the Pes Proceleusmaticus: or that an Anapest is equal in Time and Quantity to a Spondee? A few instances from the Classics will convince him, and Persons (if there are any such) of superior Learning.”
[goes on to cite Greek & Latin egs + cites other egs from Sh. (+ 1 from Volpone) of the need to melt or extend syllables]
1740 theo2
theo2 = theo1 minus “But has . . . Learning” +
1098 threescore thousand crownes ] Theobald (ed. 1740): “Mr. Pope would advance a false Nicety of Ear against the License of Shakespeare’s Numbers; nay, indeed, against the License of all English Versification, in common with That of other Languages. Three Syllables, thus liquidated into Two, are in Scansion plainly an Anapest; and equal to Spondee, or four of two Syllables. I could produce at least two thousand of our Poet’s Verses, that would be disturb’d by this modern, unreasonable, Chasteness of Metre.”
1765 Heath
Heath : theobald
1098 threescore thousand crownes ] Heath (1765, p. 535): "This appears to Mr Theobald to be too poor a pittance from a King to his nephew and the general of an army , and therefore he gives the preference to the reading of the old quarto’s, ’threescore thousand crowns,’ not recollecting the great difference both of the intrinsick and commercial value of money in those earlier ages from what they are at present. I think it more than probable, that in the poor kingdom of Norway, and in the age attributed to Hamlet, the King’s whole revenue might scarce amount to so large a sum. So that three thousand crowns in annual fee, might well pass for a royal munificence."
1765 john1
john1 : theo1, cites him and reads ’threescore’
1773 v1773
v1773 ≈ theo1
1098 threescore thousand crownes ] Theobald ( ed. 1773): This reading first obtained in the edition put out by the players. But all the old quartos (from 1605, onwards), read, as I have reformed the text.
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773
1098 annual fee] Steevens (ed. 1778): Fee in this place signifies reward, recompense. So, in All’s well that ends well: ‘—Not helping, death’s my fee; But if I help, what do you promise me?’
“The word commonly used in Scotland for wages, as we say lawyer’s fee, physician’s fee. “
1783 Ritson
Ritson : steevens, theobald
1098 threescore thousand crownes in anuall fee]
Ritson (1783, pp. 196-7): <p. 196>“
Fee in this place, says mr. Steevens, signifies
reward,
recompence. The word
annual, however, might have inclined him to find some other meaning for it. The king gave his nephew a
feud or
fee (in land) of that yearly value. The folio reads the line thus: ‘Gives him
three thousand crowns in annual fee.’ </p. 196><p. 197>
But mr. Theobald, and the present editors after him, thinking that too little for a prince, have very liberally (upon the credit of some of the old quarto editions) enlarged his income to 60,000. To be sure the interpolation spoiled the measure: but as the critic has for this licence the authority of one of the Canons, nothing is to be objected on that head. </p. 197>
1784 ays1
ays1=v1778 minus All’s well parallel
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778 + EDITOR
1098 annual fee ] Reed (ed. 1785): “I have restored the reading of the folio. The author of The Remarks explains it, I think, rightly thus, “the king gave his nephew a feud or fee (in land) of that yearly value.”
1785 Mason
Mason:theo
1098 threescore thousand crownes in anuall fee] Mason (1785, p. 380): “The first edition, as Theobold informs us, reads, ‘Give him three thousand crowns in annual fee.’ And this I believe is the right reading. The metre is destroyed by the subsequent alteration; and threescore thousand crowns in the days of Hamlet was an enormous sum of money.”
1790 mal
mal ≈ v1778
1098 annual fee] Malone (ed. 1790): “Fee is defined by Minsheu in his Dict. 1617, a reward.”
1791- rann
rann
1098 in annual fee;] Rann (ed. 1791-): “—the annual value thereof in land.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = v1785 minus + malone, mason, reed
1807 Pye
Pye = v1773, mal, v1793 (reed) +
1098 threescore thousand crownes in anuual fee] Pye (1807, p. 316): “That Mr. Ritson is right there cannot be the shadow of a doubt. Messrs. Steevens and Malone are weak here in their strong old black letter learning. Gold and fee are the old terms for mony and land. See the Pepys Collection, or if you cannot, Dr. Percy’s Reliques of Ancient Poetry, passin.”
1826 sing1
sing1 ≈ ritson
1098 threescore thousand crownes in annual fee] Singer (ed. 1826): “That is, the king gave his nephew a feud or fee in land of that annual value. The quartos read three score thousand.”
1845 mhun1
mhun1 : malone
1098 threescore...fee] Hunter (-1845, f. 241v): “Shakspeare seems to have fluctuated in this numeral. It is three in the folio but in all the old quartos known to Malone it is threescore thousand. But when the real first quarto presented itself, it was found to be then three thousand.”
1845 hunter
hunter : malone
1098 Giues...fee]
Hunter (1845, p. 227-8): <p. 228>“All the quartos known to Malone read ‘three score thousand;’ the folios have ‘three thousand,’ and when the </p. 227><p. 228>quarto of 1603 came to light, it was found to have ‘three thousand.’ This is one proof amongst others, either that the editors of the folio did not disdain the assistance of the first quarto, imperfect as it is, or that the first quarto has preserved readings which the editors of the folio had other reasons for knowing to be genuine.”</p. 228>
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1 = sing1 (without attribution)
1098 threescore...fee] HUDSON (ed. 1856): "That is, the king gave his nephew a feud or fee in laud of that annual value."
1869 romdahl
romdahl
1098 fee] Romdahl (1869, p. 24): “See above A. I. Sc. IV, 65 [654].”
1872 hud2
hud2
1098 annual fee] Hudson (ed. 1881): “Fee was often used for fee—simple, which is the strongest tenure in English law, and means an estate held in absolute and perpetual right.”
1881 hud3
hud3 = hud2
1098 annual fee] Hudson (ed. 1881): “Fee was often used for fee—simple, which is the strongest tenure in English law, and means an estate held in absolute right.”
1890 irv
irv
1098 threescore...fee] Symons (in Irving & Marshall ed. 1890): “Gives him THREE thousand crowns in annual fee. –So Ff. and Q. 1; the other Qq. have three score thousand. Probably the larger sum was inserted because the copyist thought three thousand not enough; but considering the value of money at the time, it was a good addition to Fortinbras’s income; taking the gold crowns=4s. 6d., it would be the equivalent of £900.”
1934a cam3
cam3
1098 threescore...fee] Wilson (ed. 1934): “The ‘score’ disturbs the metre, but is required by the sense. ‘Three thousand crowns’ would be a very poor allowance for a prince embarking upon a campaign that was estimated to cost ‘twenty thousand ducats’ [(243+18)]. Cf. ‘a poor thousand crowns’ A.Y.L. [1.1.3. (5-6)].”
