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Line 1481-2 - 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 1018-2022 ed. Eric Rasmussen

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

1481-2 the million, t’was cauiary to the \| generall, but it was as I receaued

1765 john1

john1

1481 cauiary] Johnson (ed. 1765): “Caviare was a kind of foreign pickle, to which the vulgar palates were, I suppose, not yet reconciled. “

[Appendix to JOHN1, p. 198 (App not itself numbered) attributes to Mr. HAWKINS:]<p. 198> “Caviare is the spawn of sturgeon pickled; it is imported hither from Russia.”]

1766-70 mwar2

mwar2

1481 t’was...generall] Warner (1766-70): “i.e. as displeasing to the common tast as Caviar. Caviar, is a Composition, made of the Roes of several kinds of Fish, particularly Sturgeon brought from Russia. A kind of Food, it may be presu[med] not in great repute, in our Author’s time, among the common people.”

1773 v1773

v1773: = JOHN Appendix [with substitution of “and” for “it”]

1481 cauiary] Steevens (ed. 1773): “The Caviare is not the spawn of the sturgeon, but of the sterlett, a fish of the sturgeon kind, which seldom grows above 30 inches long. It is found in many of the rivers of Russia, but the Volga produces the best and in the greatest plenty. See Bell’s Journey from Petersburgh to Ispahan. B. Jonson has ridiculed the introduction of these foreign delicacies in his Cinthia’s Revels. – ‘He doth learn to eat Anchovies, Macaroni, Bovoli, Fagioli, and Caviare,’ &c.”

1773 jen

jen

1481 cauiary] Jennens (ed. 1773): “Caviary or Caveer, a sort of eatable made of the roes of several sorts of fish pickled; but especially of the spawn of sturgeons taken in the river Volga in Muscovy, which in colour and substance looks much like green soap. Bayley’s Dict. The fo’s, 2d, 3d and 4th, read, Cautary; R. P. T. H. and W, Caviar; J. and C, Caviare.”

1783 Ritson

Ritson

1481 cauiary] Ritson (1783, pp. 198-9): <p. 198>“The discordant accounts given in this page will fully justify the following quotation from a writer of sense and veracity.</p. 198><p. 199>

‘Caviare is made at Astracan of the rows of Sturgeon and Belluga, a large fish, about twelve or fifteen feet long, without scales, not unlike a sturgeon, but more luscious and large; his flesh is whiter than veal, and more delicious than marrow. Of these two fishes they take great numbers only for their rows sake, which they salt and press and put up into casks; some they send unpress’d, and a little corn’d with salt, being accounted a great dainty.’ Present state of Russia, by dr. Collins, 1671, 12mo.

Hamlet seems to mean, that the play, like the pickled sturgeon, was a delicacy for which the multitude had no relish; and, hereby, pays the said multitude a compliment he did not intend; since it is hard to say, whether his tragedy or his caviare were the more strange and unnatural food.”</p. 199>

1784 ays

ays

1481-1482 cauiary to the generall] Ayscough (ed. 1784): “The caviare is the spawn of the sterlett, a fish of the sturgeon kind, which seldom grows above thirty inches long. It is found in many of the rivers of Russia. The general means the people, or multitude.”

1790 mal

mal

1481 cauiary to the generall] Malone (ed. 1790): “Caviare or Caveare is a kind of pickle, greatly esteemed in Muscovy, made of the roe of the sturgeon and Belluga, taken out, salted, and dried by the fire, or in the sun. The fish is caught in great quantities at the mouth of the Volga. Florio in his Italian Dictionary, 1598, defines, Caviare, ‘a kinde of salt meat, used in Italie, like black sope; it is made of the roes of fishes.’ Lord Clarendon uses the general for the people, in the same manner as it is used here. ‘And so by undervaluing many particulars, (which they truly esteemed,) as rather to be consented to than that the general should suffer,—’”

1791- rann

rann

1481 cauiary] Rann (ed. 1791-): “—the soft roe of sturgeon pickled; a delicacy, a dish above the relish of the vulgar.”

1819 cald1

cald1

mCALD (Caldecott’s manuscript annotations in BL copy of his edition, shelfmark 11766.k.20 , c.1819) “of several fish indeed; but of that [sturgeon] and the Mellungs principally. Not Malone. “Caviarium: ova piscium salita et exicuata.” Du and ange Glosss T. Caviale.”

1826 sing1

sing1

1481 cauiary] Singer (ed. 1826): “Caviare is said to be the pickled roes of certain fish of the sturgeon kind, called in Italy caviale, and much used there and in other Catholic countries. Great quantities were prepared on the river Volga formerly. As a dish of high seasoning and peculiar flavour it was not relished by the many, i.e. the general. A fantastic fellow, described in Jonson’s Cynthia’s Revels, is said to be learning to eat macaroni, periwinckles, French beans, and caviare, and pretending to like them.”

1832- anon.

anon.

1481 cauiary] Anonymous [possibly Thomas Carlyle ](ms. notes, ed. 1832):“ ‘Come let us go & / ask some light dinner, a dish of sliced caviare or so. Cynthia’s Revels. 3.1.” and “ ‘They [certain pilgrims] produced also a kind of black eatable caked caviare, made of roes of fish, a great awakener of thirst.’ Don Quix.”

1841 knt1 (nd)

knt1

1481 cauiary] Knight (ed. 1839): “This word is caviarie in the folio, following the Italian caviaro. Florio, in his ‘New World of Words,’ has ‘Caviaro, a kind of salt black meat made of roes of fishes, much used in Italy.’ In Sir John Harrington’s 33rd epigram, we find the word forming four syllables, and accented, as written by Shakespere:--- ‘And caveare, but it little boots.’ This preparation of the roes of sturgeons was formerly much used in Englalnd amongst the refined classes. It was imported from Russia.”

1843 col1

col1

1481-2 Collier (ed. 1843): “The general here, as in ‘Measure for Measure [a.s.l.(00000)] is used for the people at large.”

-1845 mhun1

mhun1

1481-82 t’was...generall] Hunter (-1845, f. 243v): “The commentators have shewn what caviare was, but not the propriety of the allusion to it in this passage. Caviare is by men esteemed a delicacy, but by ordinary stomachs, & I confess mine was such, it is little approved. If the sense of general needed explanation the first quarto would be sufficient: It was caviare to the million. This however does not amount to an explanation. Shakspeare means to say that it was disliked by the multitude, but Caviare was esteemed the highest luxury at effuence by the passage quoted from The Vensia Cooking shof. See also ‘Hordside sea’ p 38. It was a dish which persons affected to like in preference to good [in the margins] her, a pot of Caviar is charged in some [in margins] of Lady Savile 1631.”

1847 verp

verp = knt1 +

1481-2 to the generall] Verplanck (ed. 1847): “to the many. In modern phrase, a dish too recherché to please the popular taste.”

1856 hud1 (1851-6)

hud1

1481 cauiary] Hudson (ed. 1856): "Caviare was the pickled roes of certain fish of the sturgeon kind, called in Italy caviale, and much used there and in other countries. Great quantities were prepared on the river Volga formerly. As a dish of high seasoning and peculiar flavour, it was not relished by the many, that is, the general. A fantastic fellow, described in Jonson’s Cynthia’s Revels, is said to be learning to eat macaroni, periwinkles, French beans, and caviare, and pretending to like them."

1856b sing2

sing2=sing1

1859 stau

stau

1481 cauiary] Stauton (ed. 1859): “The play was of too peculiar a relish, like caviare, for the palate of the multitude. aviare is a preparation of sturgeon’s roe: and the taste for is was considered a mark of refinement in Shakespeare’s day: thus Mercury, in "Cynthia’s Revels," Act. II. Sc. 1, describing a coxcomb, says: "He doth learn to make strange sauces, to eat anchovies, maccaroni, bovoli, fagioli, and caviare," &c.”

1861 wh1

wh1

1481 cauiary] White (ed. 1861): “All my readers may not know that caviare is a preparation of dried fish-roe, first made in Russia, where it is still a favorite dish. It was a foreign luxury, a taste for which was acquired only by the few, not by the general.”

1865 hal

hal: = sing

1869 Romdahl

Romdahl

1481-2 the generall] Romdahl (1869, p. 27): “the common people.”

1872 hud2

hud2

1481 caviare] Hudson (ed. 1872): “Caviare was the pickled roes of certain fish of the sturgeon kind, called in Italy caviale, and much used there and in other countries. Great quantities were prepared on the river Volga formerly. As a dish of high seasoning and peculiar flavour, it was not relished by the many; that is, the general.”

1872 cln1

cln1

1481 caviare] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “a condiment made of sturgeons’ roe, and brought from Russia. The trade with Russia was carried on by means of ’the Russian Company’ established in London. Caviare is a dainty which only a cultivated taste can appreciate. The early quartos spell the word ’cauiary.’ "

Ib. the general] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “the public. See Measure for Measure, ii. 4. 27: ’The general, subject to a well-wish’d king, Quit their own part.’ "

1877 clns

clns

1481-2 cauiary to the generall] Neil (ed. 1877): “Caviare to the general — too dainty for the untaught commonalty. Nehemiah Grew, M.D., F.R.S., informs us in his Museum Regalis Societatis, 1681, that ‘the eggs [roe] of a sturgeon, being salted and made up into a mass, were first brought from Constantinople by the Italians, and called caviare.’ It is reckoned a peculiar delicacy. Giles Fletcher, in The Russe Commonwealth, 1591, p. 11, notes and describes it.”

1882 elze

elze

1481 cauiary] Elze (ed. 1882): “The pronunciation of this word varies no less than its spelling. See Furness, The Pronunciation of the Word ‘caviare’ in Hamlet, A. II, 2, 416. (In Robinson’s Epitome of Literature, Philadelphia, Feb. 1, 1879, p. 23). Compare B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, III, 1: Come, let us go and taste some slight dinner, a dish of sliced caviare, or so. Lingua, II, 1 (Dodsley, ed. Hazlitt, IX, 366): Because they know a little thing drives me [viz. Appetitus] from them, therefore in midst of meat they present me with some sharp sauce or a dish of delicate anchovies, or a caviare, to entice me back again. Marston, What you will, II, 1 (Works, ed. Halliwell, I, 241): — ‘A man can skarce put on a tuckt-up cap, A button’d frizado sute, skarce eate good meate, Anchoves, caviare, but hee’s satyred And term’d phantasticall.’

Cartwright, The Ordinary, II, 1 (Dodsley, ed. Hazlitt, XII, 236): — ‘Twelve yards of sausage by, instead of match; And caveary then prepar’d for wild-fire’.”

1885 macd

macd

1481-2 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “The salted roe of the sturgeon is a delicacy disliked by most people.”

1890 irv

1481 cauiary] Symons (in IRVING & MARSHALL ed. 1890):Caviare seems to have been an object of wonder and almost of dread in Shakespeare’s day. Elze quotes Cartwright, The Ordinary, ii. 1: Twelve yards of sausage by, instead of match, And caveary then prepar’d for wild-fire. –Hazlitt’s Dodsley, vol. xii. P. 236. Read quotes Giles Fletcher, who in his Russe Commonwealth, 1591, p. 41, says that in Russia they have “divers kinds of fish very good and delicate: as the Bellouga and Bellougina of four or five elnes long, the Ositrina and Sturgeon, but not so thick or long. Then four kind of fish breed in the Wolgha and are catched in great plenty, and served thence into the whole realme for a good food. Of the ores of these four kinds they make very great store of scary or caveary.” For the general, in the sense of the general public, compare Measure for Measure, ii. 4. 27, 28: The general, subject to a well-wish’d king, Quit their own part.

1899 ard1

caviare] DOWDEN (ed. 1899): “The spelling of Q1 ‘caviary’ and of F1 ‘caviarie’ indicates the pronunciation here.”

the general] DOWDEN (ed. 1899): “the multitude. Malone notes that Lord Claredon uses the word in this sense.”

1982 ard2

ard2: analogues

1481 caviare] Jenkins (ed. 1982): "As to its lacking general appreciation, Bullokar (English Expositor, 1616) describes ’cavearee’ as ’a strange meat like black soap’ and N. Breton (The Court and Country, 1618) has a tale of ’a little barrel of "Cauiary" ’ which a countryman sent back to the donor with this message, ’Commend me to my good Lady, and thank her honour, and tell her we have black soap enough already ; but if it be any better thing, I beseech her Ladyship to bestowe it upon a better friend, that can better tell how to use it’. Harbage (Shakespeare and the Rival Traditions, p. 292) comments that caviare to the general ’has passed into general currency in a sense quite contrary to the speaker’s apparent intention . . . with purveyors of "caviar" receiving the cuff rather than "the general" who fails to relish it’."