Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
| 2641-2 Ham. That I can keepe your counsaile & not mine | owne, besides | |
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| 2642-3 to be demaunded of a spunge, what {replycation} <re-| plication> should be made by | |
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| 2643 the sonne of a King. | 4.2.13 |
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1819 cald1
cald1
2642 demaunded of] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “Of, for by, was the common phraseology of the day; and more particularly in the use of this verb.”
1841 knt1 (nd)
knt1: cald1
2462 demaunded of] Knight (ed. [1839] nd): “Demanded of—demanded by.”
1854 del2
del2
2642-3 spunge . . . King] Delius (ed. 1854): “Manche Herausgeber setzen hinter sponge ein Ausrufungszeichen. Aber ohne Zweifel gehört der Satz zum folgenden. "Ausserdem wenn er von einem Schwamm befragt wird, welche Antwort sollte der Sohn eines Königs geben?" Hamlet nennt sich son of a king, um den grossen Unterschied, der ihn von einem sponge, von einem Rosencrantz trennt, stärker hervorzuheben.” [Many editors put an exclamation point after sponge. But doubtless the phrase belongs to the following material. Furthermore, if he is asked by a sponge, what answer should a king’s son give? Hamlet calls himself son of a king to emphasize more strongly the great difference that separates him from a sponge, from a Rosencrantz.]
1855 Jewett
Jewett
2642-3 replycation] Jewett (ed. 1855): “i.e., reply.”
1857 fieb
fieb
2641 counsaile] Fiebig (ed. 1857): “Counsel signifies here the secrets intrusted in consulting.”
fieb
2642 spunge] Fiebig (ed. 1857): “To be asked by a sponge; he calls Rosencrantz a sponge, which being squeezed will deliver up all it has sucked in:—and to this sponge he opposes himself in his dignity as a king’s son.”
1858 Rushton
Rushton
2642 replycation] Rushton (1858, p. 34): “Replication (replicatio) is an exception of the second degree made by the plaintiff upon the answer of the defendant.”
1869 tsch
tsch: Bulwer; Coventry Mystery, Luke analogues; Mueller
2642 Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Der unabhängige präpositionale Infin. tritt im affectvollen Ausrufe und bisweilen, wenn auch seltner, in der Frage auf. At my age to talk to me of such stuff! - the man is an idiot. Bulw. Rienzi 2. l. Solche Infinitive können sogar Objecte bei sich haben, z. B. I to bear a childe that xal bere alle mannys blyss etc. Cov. Myst. p. 77. S. M. III. p. 50. - Verba der Aeusserungen, wie reden, nennen, fragen, lehren u. s. w. haben beim Pass. sehr häufig of für by. When he was demanded of the Pharisees. (Luke 17, 20) S. M. II. p. 235 u. 36. Dasselbe ist der Fall bei den Verben der Affecte, wie gleich im Folgenden: He’s loved of the distracted multitude.” [The independent prepositional infinitive appears in emotional exclamations and occasionally, though less often, in a question. At my age to talk to me of such stuff! - the man is an idiot. Bulw. Rienzi 2. 1. Such infinitives can even take objects, for example, I to bear a childe that xal bere alle mannys blyss etc. Cov. Myst. p. 77. See M. III. p. 50. - Verbs of expression such as speak, name, ask, teach, etc. very frequently have of for by. When he was demanded of the Pharisees. (Luke 17, 20)/ See. M. II. p. 235 and 36. The same is the case with verbs of emotion, as in the subsequent: He is loved of the distracted multitude.]
1872 cln1
cln1: Mac. //
2642 of] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “by. See Mac. [3.6.27 (1500)].”
cln1: JC //
2642-3 replycation] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “reply. Used of echo, JC [1.1.46 (53)]. In law it has the technical sense of ‘the reply of the plaintiff in matters of fact to the defender’s plea.’ (Webster, s. v.).”
1874 Corson
Corson: Abbott
2642 to . . . spunge] Corson (1874, p. 30): “The modern English of the whole sentence would be, ‘in being demanded by a sponge, what reply should be made by the son of a king?’ In regard to the force of ‘to’ before, and of ‘of’ after, ‘be demanded,’ see §§ 356 and 170, respectively, of Abbott’s Shakespearian Grammar, rev. enl. ed. pp. 256 and 112.”
1875 Marshall
Marshall = cald1+
2642 spunge] Marshall (1875, p. 190): “In Caldecott’s Edition (1819), p. 98, the following passages are given:— ‘When princes (as the toy makes them in the head) have used courtiers as sponges to drinke what juice they can from the poore people, they take pleasure afterwards to wringe them out into their owne cisternes.’ —R.C.’s ‘Henr. Steph. Apology for Herodotus,’ Fo. 1608, p. 81: ‘Vespasion, when reproached for bestowing high office upon persons most rapacious, answered ‘that he served his turn with such officiers as with spunges, whihc, when they had drunke their fill, were then the fittest to be pressed.’— Barnabe Rich’s ‘Faultes, faults and nothing but faults,’ 4to, 1606, p.44b. (See Suetonius, Vespas. c. 16).
“This last passage bears such a remarkable similarity to the lines in the play, that it is almost certain Shakespeare, or the author of the older play of ‘Hamlet,’ must have borrowed the idea from the same source to which Barnabe Rich was indebted—viz. Suetonius.
“This speech about the sponge, &c. , was restored by Mr. Irving; the first time, I believe, it has been given on the stage: he spoke it in act iv, scene 2, where, as I have said in the text, it is placed in the Quarto, 1603.”
See 2650 for cald1 note.
1877 v1877
v1877: xref.; Abbott
2642 to]
Furness (ed. 1877): “For the indefinite use of the infinitive, see [3.3.85 (2361)], and
Abbott, § 356.”
v1877: xref; cln1 (Mac. //); Abbott
2642 of]
Furness (ed. 1877): “See 1.4.18 [621+2];
Mac. [3.6.27 (1500)];
Abbott, § 170.”
v1877 ≈ Corson, Coleridge
2642 spunge]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Corson defends the comma, maintaining, and rightly, that the sentence is not exclamatory. ‘In modern English we should say ‘in being demanded by a sponge, what,’” &c.
Coleridge: Hamlet’s madness is made to consist in the free utterance of all the thoughts that had passed through his mind before;—in fact, in telling home-truths.”
v1877 ≈ Rushton
2642-3 replycation]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Rushton (
Sh. a Lawyer, p. 34): This is an exception of the second degree made by the plaintiff upon the answer of the defendant.”
1878 rlf1
rlf1: Tmp., Oth. //s; ≈ Corson (for Abbott)
2642 demaunded of] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Questioned by. Cf. Tmp. [1.2.139 (244)]: ‘Well demanded;’ Oth. [5.2.301 (3605)]: ‘Will you, I pray, demand that demi-devil, Why,’ etc. For of, see Abbott 170.”
rlf1: LLL, JC, LC //s
2642 replycation] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Reply. Cf. LLL [4.2.15 (1165)], JC [1.1.46 (53)], and LC 122.”
1881 hud3
hud3
2642 to . . . spunge] Hudson (ed. 1881): “That is, on being demanded by a sponge. An instance of the infinitive used gerundively, or like the Latin Gerund. See page 91, note 2.”
hud3
2642-3 replycation] Hudson (ed. 1881): “Replication is the same as reply.”
1885 macd
macd: xref.
2641-2 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “See [3.2.369-72 (2240-2)].”
macd
2642-3 demaunded . . . King] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “euphuistic: ‘asked a question by a sponge, what answer should a prince make?’”
1889 Barnett
Barnett:JC //)
2642-3 replycation] Barnett (1889, p. 54): “answer. In JC [1.1.46 (53)] To hear the replication of your sounds.’ Lat. replicare, lit. to fold back.”
1890 irv2
irv2 ≈ Marshall (cald1, R.C.)
2642 sponge] Symons (Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “Marshall, Study of Hamlet, p. 190, has the following note on this passage: ‘In Caldecott’s Edition (1819), p. 98, the following passages are given:— “When princes (as the toy makes them in the head) have used courtiers as sponges to drinke what juice they can from the poore people, they take pleasure afterwards to wringe them out into their owne cisternes.” R.C.’s “Henr. Steph. Apology for Herodotus,’ Fo. 1608, p. 81: ‘Vespasion, when reproached for bestowing high office upon persons most rapacious, answered ‘that he served his turn with such officiers as with spunges, whihc, when they had drunke their fill, were then the fittest to be pressed” (Barnabe Rich’s ‘Faultes, faults and nothing but faults,’ 4to, 1606, p.44b). (See Suetonius, Vespas. c. 16). ‘This speech about the sponge, &c. , was restored by Mr. Irving; the first time, I believe, it has been given on the stage: he spoke it in act iv, scene 2, where, as I have said in the text, it is placed in the Quarto, 1603.’”
irv2 ≈ v1877 (Rushton); cln1 (JC //) + magenta underlined
2642-3 replycation]
Symons (Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “
Replication, says Rushton (Shakespeare a Lawyer, p. 34, quoted in
Furness), is ‘an exception of the second degree made by the plaintiff upon the answer of the defendant.’
In simple English, it is a reply; and is used in LLL [4.2.15 (1165)], as a part of Holofernes’ jargon. The word is used in
JC [1.1.46 (53)], in the sense of echo, reverberation.”
1891 dtn
dtn: xref.
2641 keepe your counsaile] Deighton (ed. 1891): “keep your secret; referring perhaps to his discovery, in [2.2.284-6 (1331-2)], that they had been sent to sound him.”
dtn
2642 besides . . . spunge] Deighton (ed. 1891): “besides, to think of my being questioned by a fellow like you, who would get everything out of me, suck me dry, with the same insidiousness that a sponge sucks up water! Some editors follow the quartos and folios in putting a comma, instead of a note of admiration, after sponge; with that punctuation the meaning will be, ‘in the case of one’s being questioned,’ etc.”
By “note of admiration,” Deighton perhaps means an exclamation point.
dtn: Rushton, rlf (LLL , JC //s) + magenta underlined
2642-3 what . . . King] Deighton (ed. 1891): “what sort of answer do you expect to receive form one, like me, of royal birth? Do you expect that such a one would submit to be sucked dry byh a fellow like you? Rushton says that replication is ‘an exception of the second degree made by the plaintiff upon the answer of a defendant.’ In the jargon of Holofernes, LLL [4.2.15 (1165)], the word is used as here, for ‘reply’; in JC [1.1.46 (53)], for ‘echo.’”
1899 ard1
ard1
2641 keepe . . . counsaile] Dowden (ed. 1899): “Hamlet knows of the commission to England. Or perhaps the reference is to his not betraying their confession that they had been sent for by the King. See [2.2.292 (1339)]. Possibly there is a play on the word counsel meaning councillor, as elsewhere in Shakespeare. See stage direction in Q1, 1.2. (opening) ‘Counsaile; as Polonius.’”
ard1: cald1 (see n. 2650)
2642 spunge] Dowden (ed. 1899): “The same image was used, in nearly the same way, by Vespasian, as recorded by Suetonius. Caldecott quotes from R. C.’s Henr. Steph. Apology for Herodotus, 1608, and Barnabe Riche, Faultes, faults, 1606, in illustration of the image. Steevens quotes Marston, Satires, vii.”
1903 p&c
p&c ≈ irv2 (Rich analogue)
2642 spunge] Porter & clarke (ed. 1903): “Barnabe Rich uses a kindred idea derived from Suetonius: ‘Vespasian . . . when reproached for bestowing high office upon persons most rapacious answered that he served his turne with such officers as with spunges which when they had drunke their fill were then fittest to be pressed’ (‘Faultes, Faults and Nothing but Faults,’ 1606).”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1 minus Abbott for demaunded (2642)
rlf3 = rlf1 for replycation (2642)
1913 tut2
tut2
2641 keepe your counsaile] Goggin (ed. 1913): “perhaps Hamlet is alluding to the fact that he had not betrayed to the King and Queen the confession made by Guildenstern [2.2.284-6 (1331-2)].”
1931 crg1
crg1
2641 keepe your counsaile] Craig (ed. 1931): “Hamlet is aware of their treachery but says nothing about it.”
crg1
2642 demanded of] Craig (ed. 1931): “questioned by.”
crg1 = Jewett
2642-3 replycation] Craig (ed. 1931): “reply.”
1935 ev2
ev2
2642- besides . . . spunge] Boas (ed. 1935): “That I should be questioned by a fellow like you, who would suck me dry.”
1934 cam3
cam3
2641-2 keepe . . . owne] Wilson (ed. 1934): “i.e. follow your advice and not keep my own secret. A quibbling retort to Ros.’s rudeness. v. G. ‘counsel.’”
cam3: OED
2642 replycation] Wilson (ed. 1934): “A legal term = an answer to a charge (v. N.E.D. [OED] 2).”
1934 cam3 Glossary
cam3
2641 counsaile] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “(a) advice, (b) secret.”
1939 kit2
kit2: xrefs.
2641 keepe your counsaile] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “keep your secrets. Cf. [3.2.141-2 (2008-9)]. Hamlet suggests that he knows well enough (but will not tell) what they and the King have in mind with regard to him. Cf. [3.4.202-10 (2577+1-2577+9)].”
kit2 ≈ crg1
2642 demaunded] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “interrogated by.”
kit2
2642-3 replycation] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “formal answer.”
1942 n&h
n&h = crg1 for demaunded of
1947 cln2
cln2
2642 replycation] Rylands (ed. 1947): “rejoinder.”
1957 pel1
pel1 = crg1 for replycation
1958 fol1
fol1
2641 keepe your counsaile] Wright & LaMar (ed. 1958): “Hamlet promised to keep secret his knowledge that they were summoned.”
1974 evns1
evns1 = n&h for demaunded of
evns1
2642 spunge] Evans (ed. 1974): “sponge.”
evns1 = crg1 for replycation
1980 pen2
pen2: xref.
2641-2 keepe. . . mine owne] Spencer (ed. 1980): “Hamlet’s riddling speech is as baffling to us as to Rosencrantz. Perhaps counsel means ‘secret’, and Hamlet is referring to his not betraying their confession at . [2.2.292 (1339)] that they had been sent for. His own counsel (or ‘secret’) is the whereabouts of the body.”
pen2 ≈ kit2
2642 to be demaunded of] Spencer (ed. 1980): “on being questioned by.”
pen2 ≈ cam3
2642 replycation] Spencer (ed. 1980): “(a legal term) reply.”
1982 ard2
ard2: Suetonius, B. Riche, Raleigh, Whitney, Alciati, Marston, Andrewes, Massinger, Jonson, Mabbe analogues
2641-50 Jenkins (ed. 1982): “This image of the sponge is very common one with Elizabethan writers. ln. Apart from vaguer uses, the image of the sponge, when used as here with precision, exploits the irony latent in the thing: what the sponge soaks up can be just as easily squeezed out of it. This goes back to Suetonius, who tells how it was said of the emperor Vespasian that he used rapacious officials like sponges, advancing them to high position so that they would be richer when he came to condemn them (Lives of the Caesars: Vesp. 16). This story continued to be attached to Vespasian (as by B. Riche, Faults, Faults, 1606, p.44) but was also adapted by Raleigh, again with the sponge metaphor, to account of Henry III (Prerogative of Parliaments, Works, Oxford, 1829, viii.165); and the same image to describe extortioners and acquirers of wealth in general is found in emblem-book (see Whitney, Choice of Emblems, pt, ii, no.43), satire (Estienne, A World of Wonders, trans. R.C., 1607, p.81; Marston, The Scourge of Villainy, vii, 58-60) and sermon (Andrewes, Sermons, Oxford, 1841-3, v.23-4) as well as in the drama (e.g. Massinger, Duke of Milan, iii.i.25-7). Whitney’s emblem, itself deriving from Alciati (see Omnia Emblemata, Antwerp, 1581, no.147, p.526), pictures a king squeezing a sponge and in the background the condemned hanging from a gallows. Shakespeare is thus in the tradition here, while adapting the image from extortioners to obsequious hangers-on. There are novel applications of it in Jonson – to the satirist castigating other men’s vanities or the poet plagiarizing other men’s wit (Every Man Out of his Humor, Ind. 143-6; Poetaster, iv.iii.104-7). Cf. Mabbe, The Rogue, Tudor Trans., ii.34.”
ard2: Tilley; contra Dover Wilson
2641-2 keepe . . . owne] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “An adaptation of the proverb that a man who cannot keep his own secrets is unlikely to keep another’s. Tilley C682. Hamlet hints that they have purposes they do no divulge and claims the same right for himself. Dover Wilson finds a quibble in ‘keep counsel’: (1) follow (your) advice; (2) keep (my) secrets. But I know no authority for (1).”
ard2: xref.
2642 of] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “by. Cf. [1.4.18 (621+2)].”
1985 cam4
cam4
2641-2 keepe . . . owne] Edwards (ed. 1985): “To keep counsel is to maintain silence about one’s judgments and intentions. Hamlet’s riddling remark hints that he knows the secrets of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern but is not revealing his own.”
cam4
2642-3 replication] Edwards (ed. 1985): “formal response.”
1987 oxf4
oxf4: MM //; Tilley
2641-42 keepe . . . owne] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “i.e. follow your advice – to tell you where the body is – and not keep my own secret – my knowledge of the body’s whereabouts – to myself. Hamlet is quibbling on two senses of counsel : (1) advice (2) secret; and on two sense s keep: (1) follow, as in MM [4.5.3 (2310)], ‘keep your instruction’ (2) retain, keep to oneself, as in the proverbial ‘The counsel thou wouldst have another keep first keep thyself’ (Tilley C682).”
1988 bev2
bev2
2641-2 That . . . owne] Bevington (ed. 1988): “(Perhaps Hamlet is suggesting that they have their secrets and he has his).”
bev2 = evns1 for demaunded of
bev2 = evns1 for replycation
1993 dent
dent: xrefs.
2641 keepe your counsaile] Andrews (ed. 1993): “Act in accordance with your counsel (advice or judgement), with wordplay on the more usual sense ‘keep your secrets’. Compare [3.2.142 (2009)], and see the note to 3.4.210 [2581].”
dent
2642 demaunded of a spunge] Andrews (ed. 1993): “Ordered around by a sponge.”
dent: JC //
2642 replycation] Andrews (ed. 1993): “Reply. But Hamlet is probably playing on other senses of replication, among them (a) fold or bend (to squeeze), and (b) echo or reverberate (as in a musical tone repeated an octave higher or lower). Murellus uses the word to mean ‘echo’ in JC [1.1.46 (53)].”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: 2216-43 xref
2641-2 That. . . own] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “’That I keep your secret (namely that you are agents for the King) and not my own.’ This passage in which eh specifically refuses to answer their questions recalls the dialogue about the recorders at 3.2.342-63 [2216-43] (with which it is combined in Q1).”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2
2642 demanded of] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “interrogated by.”
ard3q2: OED
2642-3 replication] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “reply; OED 2c cites a 1586 usage in a legal sense of an answer to a charge.”
2641 2642 2643
