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Line 2578 - 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 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary

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

2578 <Ham.> This man shall set me packing, {K1}	3.4.211

1723- mtby2

mtby2

2578 packing] Thirlby (1723-): “[4.3.40 (2701-4)] nb. the packers trade.”

1733- mtby3

mtby3 = mtby2

1791- rann

rann

2578 shall . . . packing] Rann (ed. 1791-): “would foil me, should I attempt to carry him on my back.”

1854 del2

del2

2578 packing] Delius (ed. 1854): “Wortspiel zwischen to pack = sich belasten, und = sich wegmachen. Hamlet sagt zugleich: “Ich werde an diesem Manne zu schleppen haben,” und “dieser Mann wird mir Beine machen.’” [Wordplay between to pack (weigh oneself down) and to Pack (go away). Hamlet says at the same time: This man will be a load to drag, and This man will make me flee.]

1857 fieb

fieb

2578 Fiebig (ed. 1857): “i.e. This man (pointing to Polonius) wants me to drag him off. To pack, to tie up goods.”

1869 tsch

tsch: Byron analogue; Mueller

2578 Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Dieser Mann wird bewirken, dass ich mich schleunigst entferne. Bei factiven Verben wie to set ist dieser Gebrauch nicht selten: Galvanism has set some corpses grinning. Byron D. J. 1. 130. S. M. III. 67.” [This man will make me leave as quickly as possible. With transitive verbs like to set this usage is not rare: Gavanism has set some corpses grinning. Byron, D. J. 1. 130. See M. III. 67.]

1870 rug1

rug1

2578 Moberly (ed. 1870): “I must be off as quickly as possible after this work.”

1872 del4

del4 = del2

1872 cln1

cln1: Tit., Shr., 1H4 //s

2578 set me packing] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “contriving, plotting. Compare Tit. [4.2.155 (1839)]: ‘Go pack with him, and give the mother gold.’ And Shr [5.1.118 (2499)]. There is of course a play upon the other sense, which the word has in 1H4 [2.4.297 (1253)].”

1873 rug2

rug2 = rug1

1875 Marshall

Marshall: stau

2578-83 Marshall (1875, p. 57): “The passage relating to the body of Polonius—[quotes passage] has been much censured for its coarseness, and even the affected brutality with which Hamlet speaks of the corpse of him for whose death he has, a short time before, expressed what seemed to be genuine contrition. I confess I do not understand why Shakespeare thought it necessary to add anything here to what he had originally written; but we must remember, as has been pointed out by the commentators, that the word ‘guts’ was not in Shakespeare’s time the abominable vulgarism that it is now; and that the rude stage appointments, and limited numbers of the company, necessitated the removal of the body by one of the characters on the stage. Numerous instances of this will be found in the Notes to Staunton’s edition of Shakespeare.”

1877 v1877

v1877 ≈ cln1 minus //s + contra del2

2578 packing] Furness (ed. 1877): “Clarendon: ‘Contriving,’ ‘ plotting.’ There is, of course, a play on the other sense of the word: ‘to be off quickly.’ [Delius’s interpretation of one of its meanings: ‘sich belasten,’ to load one’s self, referring to Hamlet’s lugging off Pol., is, I think, a little too fine spun. Ed.]”

1878 rlf1

rlf1: Schmidt; cln1 (for1H4, Shr. //s) + magenta underlined

2578 packing] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Schmidt makes this = going off in a hurry. Cf send packing in 1H4 [2.4.297 (1253)], R3 [3.2.61 (1861)], etc. Wr. explains it as "contriving, plotting" (with a play on the other sense); as in Shr. [5.1.118 (2499)], etc.”

rlf1 ≈ v1778, v1793. hal, stau + magenta underlined

2579 guts] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Steevens gives examples to show that anciently this word was not so offensive to delicacy as at present. It is used by Lyly, ‘who made the first attempt to polish our language; also by Stonyhurst in his translation of Virgil, and by Chapman in his Iliad. Halliwell says: ‘I have seen a letter, written about a century ago, in which a lady of rank, addressing a gentleman, speaks of her guts with the same nonchalance with which we should now write stomach.’ St. remarks that here ‘it really signifies no more than lack-brain or shallow-pate.’ For the adjective use of the word neighbour, cf. LLL [5.2.94 (1986)], AYL [5.2.94 (1986)], etc. St[eevens]. Considers that this line was introduced merely to afford the player an excuse for removing the body. In the time of S. an actor was obliged not only to play two or more parts in the same drama, but to perform such servile offices as are now by attendants of the stage. This explains Falstaff’s clumsy and unseemly exploit of carrying off Harry Percy’s body on his back. See also Rom. [3.1.196 (1641-3)], R2 [5.5.117, 118 (2789, 2790)], 1H4 [5.4.156 (3121)], R3 1.4.280, 281 (1115, 1116)], Lr. [4.6.284-6 (2741-3)], JC [3. 2. 261 (1798)], etc.”

1881 hud2

hud2

2578 set me packing] Hudson (ed. 1881): “A phrase from the packing-up of baggage for a march or voyage; hence having the general sense of getting ready, or of being off.”

1883 wh2

wh2

2578-84 White (ed. 1883): “This man, etc. I am very sure that this speech according to S. ended thus:—’O, ‘tis most sweet, When in one line two crafts directly meet. Mother, good night,’ with a rhyming tag and a final good night, and that the words enclosed thus [ ] are either from the old play, or were added by another and an inferior writer. But I cannot presume to omit them because, while the previous lines of the speech are found only in the quarto of 1604, these lines (to the end) not only appear both in the folio and the quarto of 1604, but in a mutilated form in the quarto of 1603. They were retained, it should seem, from the old play, or supplied to the stage, for their application to Hamlet’s ugly ‘job’ of dragging out the body of the victim, made necessary by the lack of shifting scenery on our early stage.”

1885 macd

macd

2578 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘My banishment will be laid to this deed of mine.’”

1885 mull

mull contra cln1 without attribution; xref.

2578 packing] Mull (ed. 1885): “This is taken by some to mean plotting; here it seems, however, rather to mean, that the deed Hamlet has committed will afford the incentive to have him promptly packed off to England. See [4.3.40-46 (2701-7)].”

1890 irv2

irv2 ≈ cln1 minus //s

2578 set me packing] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “plotting (as well as in its present sense).”

1891 dtn

dtn

2578 set me packing] Deighton (ed. 1891): “hurry me off about my business; in packing there is perhaps the idea of contriving which is often found in Shakespeare, though here it does not seem to be the primary one.”

1899 ard1

ard1 ≈ Schmidt, cln1

2578 packing] Dowden (ed. 1899): “Schmidt: departing in a hurry. Clar. Press: contriving, plotting, with a play on the other sense. ‘Pack’ occurs in both senses in Shakespeare.”

1900 ev1

ev1

2578 packing] Boas (ed. 1900): “plotting (with a play upon the other sense, to be off quickly).”

1903 rlf3

rlf3 = rlf1

1904 ver

ver = ev1; ≈ cln1 (Shr. //) without attribution

2578 packing] Verity (ed. 1904): “plotting (with a play upon the other sense, to be off quickly)—Herford. For the former sense see Shr. [5.1.118 (2499)]. The latter is common enough; cf. the pretty old song, ‘Pack, clouds, away, and welcome day’.”

1929 trav

trav: xrefs.

2578 packing] Travers (ed. 1929): “(familiar), taking myself off with my belongings, even more swiftly [4.1.30 (2617); 4.3.42-3 (2703-4)] than it was first meant I should do. Cp. ‘to send somebody packing’ i.e. to dismiss him summarily. To pack might also then (perhaps through derivation from, or influence of, ‘pact’) mean to conspire, or to contrive (though always, it seems, with some confederate); and commentators of weight have supposed this to be one of the senses here. But does Hamlet conspire? or even contrive anything before he leaves Denmark?”

1931 crg1

crg1 ≈ ard1 + magenta underlined

2578 set me packing] Craig (ed. 1931): “set me to making schemes, and set me to lugging (him), and, possibly, send me off in a hurry.”

1934 cam3

cam3

2578 packing] Wilson (ed. 1934): “A quibble, v. G. Ham. recognises that the death of Pol. will hasten his departure.”

1934 cam3 Glossary

cam3

2578 packing] Wilson (ed. 1936, Glossary): “(a) packing up, for a journey, (b) plotting.”

1939 kit2

kit2

2578 packing] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “With a pun: (1) lugging; carrying a load on my back; (2) leaving the country in haste (on account of his death).”

1947 cln2

cln2 ≈ kit

2578 packing] Rylands (ed. 1947): “both plotting and hastening on my journey.”

1957 pel1

pel1 ≈ kit2

2578 packing] Farnham (ed. 1957): “travelling in a hurry (with a play upon his ’packing’ or shouldering of Polonius’ body and also upon his ’packing’ or ’contriving’).”

1964 Falconer

Falconer

2578+5 - 2578+8 For tis . . . Moone] Falconer (1964, pp. 120-1): “The Petar or Petard, a metal container, filled with gunpowder and fired by a fuse, was used to blow in doors or gates or to make a breach in walls. Hamlet, in planning to outwit knavery, muses: [quotes 2478+5 - 2578+6, ’For ’tis . . .petar’] 3.4.206 ff., or, in more modern words, blown up by his own bomb. And with the strategy of besieging and undermining in mind, he goes on: [quotes 2578+6 - 2578+8, ’and ’t . . . moon].”

1974 evns1

evns1 ≈ kit

2578 packing] Evans (ed. 1974): “(1) taking on load; (2) leaving in a hurry.”

1980 pen2

pen2

2578 set me packing] Spencer (ed. 1980): “make me start plotting (with a quibble on the other meaning, ‘cause me to be sent away quickly’).”

1982 ard2

ard2 ≈ ard1 w/o attrib.; ≈cln1 (Shr. //); contra [crg1]

2578 packing] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “(1) off in a hurry; but also continuing the idea of (2) plotting (cf. Shr. [5.1.118 (2499)], ‘Here’s packing . . . to deceive us all’). Some suppose a further pun, (3) loading up (with the body). But this would surely not be lugging it.”

1984 chal

chal

2578 packing] Wilkes (ed. 1984): “referring to ‘packing’ as a) dismissal b) scheming, plotting.”

1985 cam4

cam4

2578 Edwards (ed. 1985): “This death will make them send me off immediately.”

1987 oxf4

oxf4 ≈ pen2; OED

2578 set me packing] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “(1) cause me to be sent off in a hurry (OED pack v. 10) (2) make me start plotting (OED pack v. 3).”

1988 bev2

bev2 ≈ kit2; ≈ oxf4

2578 set me packing] Bevington (ed. 1988): “set me to making schemes, and set me to lugging (him), and, also, send me off in a hurry.”

1997 evns2

evns2 = evns1

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2 ≈ OXF4

2578 set me packing] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “oblige me to go at once; start me plotting..”