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Line 23 - 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 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman

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

23 Mar. O, farwell honest {souldiers} <Soldier>, who hath relieu’d you?	1.1.16

1844 Lewes

Lewes

23 Lewes (1844, p. 320): Marcellus “exclaims, like one awakened from a trance, ‘O! farewell, honest soldier!’ On any other supposition the ejaculation would be unmeaning, and it is conclusive to show what Shakespeare intended. The reverie of Marcellus once broken, he turns from fruitless speculation to the business of the night; and in the same breath in which he bids Francisco farewell, inquires who has relieved him, that he may be satisfied it is no other than his own partner Bernardo.”

1918 TLS

Sargeaunt ≈ Lewes + in magenta underlined

23 souldiers] Sargeaunt (“Hamlet’s Solid Flesh,” TLS 1918, pp. 417-18): <p. 417> Marcellus’ ‘O’ is expostulatory and he would say ‘You must not say good-night, but farewell to men whose duty it is to watch.’”</p. 417>

1938 parc

parc: Kellner

23 souldiers] Parrott & Craig (ed. 1938) explain their decision to use the F1 variant: “An unnecessary s appended to a verb or noun is common in Elizabethan printing, probably due to the printer mistaking a flourish on the final r for an s. See examples of these letters in Kellner, Restoring Shakespeare, pp. 206-8.”

2000 Kliman

Kliman

23 honest] Kliman (2000): The adjective may be a clue to Francisco’s status, often considered by editors to be beneath that of Marcellus and Barnardo. According to the OED 1.3, “As a vague epithet of appreciation or praise, especially as used in a patronizing way to an inferior (Cf. worthy).” First used in this sense in 1551, it is found in MND 3.1.184 (1002) and elsewhere, most effectively perhaps in Othello with respect to Iago (2.3.535).

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2

23 souldiers] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “The plural in Q2 perhaps indicates that someone (Marcellus, Shakespeare, the scribe or compositor) expected the two new arrivals to replace Barnardo and Francisco, rather than that one watchman, Francisco should be replaced by the other three.”