Notes for lines 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman
| 355 Ham. I am very glad to see you, (good euen sir) | 1.2.167 |
|---|
355 1809
-1729? mtheo4
mtheo4 V&A DYCE Collection M 4to 8965 D.25.D.63/ Q5 with Theobald’s annotations.
355 euen] Theobald, in his copy of Q5, writes that Sh. “seems to have forgot himself, for when the Guard broke up their watch, Marcellus said he knew that morning where they might meet Hamlet most conveniently: & it couldn’t be even yet, for the King in his very last speech says, ‘No jocund Health get Denmarks drinks to day’ etc. ”
1729 mtheo3
mtheo3
355 euen] Theobald (letter to Warburton, 14 February 1730, fol. 43r): “Scene VI.—You think, this should be the division of the Second Act. I am not convinced of the necessity, dear Sir, for the reasons you give: because it is plain that Shakespeare makes free with the unity of time through all his Tragedies; without any intervals of Acts to make this breach probable. I will give you one very flagrant instance of our Author’s licence in this respect. &c. The scene opens in Hamlet about twelve o’clock at night. Horatio, having seen the Ghost, proposes that the apparition should be imparted to Hamlet; Marcellus consents, and says, ‘I this morning know where we shall find him most conveniently.’ They immediately go out: and without any interval or time possibly lapsed between, the King, Queen, Hamlet, and all the Court appear, talking sedately of state affairs. The King, in his going out, within ten minutes at farthest, orders that all the healths he drinks that day shall be signalized with drums, trumpets, and cannons. Hamlet does not stay three minutes after him, and Hamlet says to Marcellus, Good even, Sir. So that you see, what a strange method our Poet had of running over hours, as well as of changing climates” (ii, 492-3).
1765 john1
john1: han1, warb
355 euen] Johnson (ed. 1765): “So the copies. Sir Th. Hanmer and Dr. Warburton put it, good morning. The alteration is of no importance, but all licence is dangerous. There is no need of any change. Between the first and eighth scene [as he marked the scenes] of this act it is apparent that a natural day must pass, and how much of it is already over, there is nothing that can determine. The King has held a council. It may now as well be evening as morning.’
1766 Tyrwhitt
Tyrwhitt: han; warb; john
355 euen] Tyrwhitt (1766, p. 23): “So in Hamlet’s greeting to Marcellus. Act I. Scene I. Sir T. Hanmer and Dr. Warburton, not being aware, I presume, of this wide sense of Good even, have altered it to Good morning; without any necessity, as from the course of the incidents, precedent and subsequent, the day may well be supposed to be turn’d of noon. Mr.Johnson who, upon occasion of the passage in Timon, had only laid claim to our indulgence for the human inadvertencies of his author, here undertakes his defence, but still very oddly, by saying, that it may as well be evening as morning.”
1768 cap
cap
355 Capell (ed. 1768) has the low dash at the end of the line that indicates change of direction of speech, from Marcellus to Horatio.
1787 ann
ann = v1785 (subst.)
[“T.” rather than “Th.”]
1791- rann
Rann: Tyrwhitt without attribution
355 euen] Rann (ed. 1791-): “The usual salutation from noon, the moment good morrow became improper.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = mal +
355 euen] Steevens (ed. 1793): “The change made by Sir T. Hanmer might be justified by what Marcellus said of Hamlet at the conclusion of scene i: ‘—and I this morning know Where we shall find him most convenient.’ ”
Ed. note: Steevens forgets the dramatic time that has passed: the council met in the morning but it is afternoon by the time the men meet. Evening was used for any time after the main meal in mid-day.
1818 Jackson
Jackson
355 euen] Jackson (1818, p.7): “This passage has been totally misunderstood; and that it should, I am not at all surprised; for the punctuation would deceive the most minute critic. The word even, according to the acceptation it must receive in its present position, means, to make one party out of debt with another, either in point of pecuniary obligation or compliment: in the latter sense, Hamlet’s familiar politeness induces him to use it: but false punctuation has perverted the sense of the passage, and made my predecessors, under the persuasion that it alluded to the time of the day, attempt its illustration. See the punctuation corrected. ‘Marcellus. My good lord, Hamlet. I am glad to see you good: —even, Sir. ’
“Hamlet plays on the word good; and though it is understood to mean —well; he, at the same time, tells Marcellus, that he is even with him in courtesy of expression.”
1819 Jackson
Jackson 1819 = Jackson 1818; john1 +
355 euen] Jackson (1819, pp. 344-5): “Hamlet plays doubly on he word good; he is understood to mean—well in health, and pure in morals: and at the same time, he tells Marcellus, that he is even with him in courtesy of expression.
“Sir Thomas Hanmer was so well convinced that the present reading was corrupt, he altered the text from ‘good even’ to ‘good morning:’ a change, which, if Hamle’s salutation was intended to distinguish the time of the day; would be perfectly just; for, on the determination of Marcellus to advise Hamlet of the strange figure they had seen, he observes: —‘And I this morning know Where we shall find him most convenient.’
“Accordingly, Marcellus and his two companions pay Hamet a morning visit.
“But, what transcriber or compositor could make so extraordinary a blunder? Is there either affinity of sound or resemblance of characters in even and morning? Had the corrupt reading been —good evening, a careless writer or compositor might, unguardedly, insert the one for the other; but the contradiction displays that this could not have been the case; and that even was the Author’s word.
“The familiar salutation—good evening, is generally used when company separate towards night: but surely, when one or more gentlemen come to visit another, were the person so visited to say, on their entrance,—I am glad to see you: good evening: must it not be tantamount to telling his visitors he cannot remain longer in their company? or, in fact,—go about your business, I cannot attend to you?
“But mark Horatio’s guarded mode of expression, and which results from his observing how Hamlet has just played on the word good: he avoids saying ‘my good lord;’ and, in reply to Hamlet’s question, says,— ‘A truant disposition, good my lord.’
“He understands Hamlet’s meaning; and knows, that restraint and ceremonial distinction are unpleasant to him: of this he has also had a lesson. See the anterior part of this scene: [quotes 348-51].
“Thus Hamlet’s humility and courtesy would even change prince for servant with his friend.
“In respect to time, alluding to good even, Dr. Johnson observes, ‘Between the first and eighth scene of this Act it is apparent, that a natural day must pass:’—this is but the second scene.”
1819 cald1
cald1: v1813 han, warb, john; Tyrwhitt
355 euen] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “To a substitution of morning for even, made by Hanmer and Warburton, Dr. Johnson answered, that ‘between the first and eighth scene here a natural day must pass, and though much of it is already over, there is nothing that can determine. The king had held a council.’ And Mr. Tyrwhitt adds, that ‘good even or den was the usual salutation from noon, the moment that good morrow became improper. [Rom. 2.4.113 (1210-13)] Nurse & Mercut.; and that from the course of the incidents, precedent and subsequent, the day may here be well supposed to be turned of noon’.”
BWK: mentions HAN, WARB and JOHN, quotes Tyrwhitt. note placed in check in library (original edition doc.). Judging from the garbled quotation of JOHN, the quotation of Tyrwhitt may be inaccurate and he may have partly used RANN w/o saying. See above, 1766, for Tyrwhitt quotation directly from Tyrwhitt’s book.
1820 Bicknell
Bicknell: Jackson +
355 Bicknell (1820, pp. 151n-152n): <p.151n> “A miserable attempt having been lately made to convert the above line into a miserable pun, upon the pretext that it will bear no other sense,—the following plain comment upon it is submitted:
“Hamlet, in engaging courtesy with Marcellus, who had accosted him, says, ‘I am very glad to see you;’ </p. 151n><p.152n> closes the conference with him, by wishing him ‘good even;’ and then turns to Horatio, and converses with him, Marcellus in the mean time retiring. It is only when Horatio necessarily refers to Bernardo, and Marcellus, to avouch his relation of the Ghost’s appearance, that Marcellus again takes a part in the scene.” </p.152n>
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
355 euen]
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
355 euen]
1839 knt1
knt1 ≈ cald2 without attribution
355 good euen] Knight (ed. 1839): “This has been changed to good morning: and Steevens defends the change, because Marcellus has previously said of Hamlet,—‘I this morning know Where we shall find him.’ The changers of the text forgot that the salutation ‘good even’ was used immediately after noon.”
1844 verp
verp
355 (good euen sir)]
Verplanck (ed. 1844): This “Kemble addressed to Bernardo more distantly after the cordial welcome to Horatio and Marcellus. The quartos print that salutation in a parenthesis, which agrees with this understanding as to the person addressed.”
1854 del2
del2
355 euen] Delius (ed. 1854): “ein Gruss, den man schon gleich nach Mittag gebrauchte, ehe der Abend da war.” [A greeting, which was used immediately after mid-day, before the evening arrived.]
1854 White
White: Jackson, knt1; verp without attribution; adds Jhones + in magenta underlined (which, however, derives from verp)
346-55 White (1854, pp. 408-9): <p. 408> “Richard Jhones, who published
Promos and Cassandra, is the best commentator on the passage. I have quoted this sentence from his advertisement once before; but it is worth quoting here again:—‘and if by chaunce thou light of some speache that seemeth dark, consider of it with judgment, before thou condemne the worke: for in many places he is driven both to praise and blame with one breath, which in readinge wil seeme hard, and in action appeare plaine.’
“No other clue is needed. How can any one with the scene in his ‘mind’s eye’ avoid intuitively understanding it thus? Hamlet has three visitors, who find him alone: being a well bred gentleman he speaks to all of them; and being a prince, he addresses each one in a manner suited to his degree. In his old friend and schoolfellow he expresses interest, and asks, ‘And what make you from Wittenberg?’ But breaking off, to bestow civility upon his other guests, he, says, interrogatively, to one (whom he thinks he recognizes, and who, by the present, the preceding and the subsequent Scenes, is show to be the more important of the two), ‘Marcellus?’ On finding by the rely of Marcellus that he is right, he bestows a brief welcome, </p. 408><p. 409> ‘I’m very glad to see you;’ &c. and then turning to the third and least important person, whom he does not recognize, he merely says, ‘Good even, sir.’ Having thus satisfied the demands of courtesy, he returns immediately to that which interests him, and says to Horatio, ‘But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?’
“The passage is natural, simple, and colloquial in the highest degree; its sense palpable, it would seem, to the dullest perception.” </p. 409>
346 355
1856 hud1
hud1 ≈ cap; han; verp; White—all without attribution
355 good euen sir] Hudson (ed. 1856): “The words, Good even, sir, are evidently addressed to Bernardo, whom Hamlet has not before known; but as he now meets him in company with old acquaintances, like a true gentleman, as he is, he gives him a salutation of kindness. Some editors have changed even to morning, because Marcellus has said before of Hamlet,—‘I this morning know where we shall find him.’ It needs but be remembered that good even was the common salutation after noon. H.”
1861 wh1
wh1:standard
355 good euen sir] White (ed. 1861): “It was not what we now call evening. Two or three hundred years ago, any time after midday was called evening.”
1868 c&mc
c&mc ≈ hud1 without attribution (except specific eds.)
355 good euen sir]
Clarke &
Clarke (ed. 1868): “This is said by Hamlet as a courteous greeting to Bernardo, whom he does not seem to know so well as he knows the others; but whom he salutes in his own gracious manner. Hanmer and Warburton changed ‘even’ to ‘morning’ here because, in the previous scene, Marcellus has said, ‘I this
morning know where we shall find him.’ But ‘good even” was used for any time subsequent to noonday.”
1872 hud2
hud2 = hud1
355 good euen sir]
1875 N&Q
Swifte
355 swifte (1875, pp. 181-2): <p. 181>“Characteristic as is Hamlet’s play upon words [good even, sir] carries a meaning and purpose more significant than the sneer of Marcellus being ‘good even’ as himself. The three idions of ‘even,’ substantive, adjectival, and adverbial, have in the context no reciprocation; ‘good even, sir,’ being the prince’s civil dimissal of Marcellus, who, though during </p. 181> <p. 182> the rest of the scene he five times joins in the dialogue, obtains no further notice.
“Mr. Irving’s intuitive perception of Hamlet, in all his moods, presents, I doubt not, his different consideration of Horatio and Marcellus. Edmund Lenthall Swifte.” </p. 182>
This note begins in TLN 346-9 doc.
1875 N&Q
Kennedy: wh1 without attribution
355 Kennedy (1875, p. 182): “It seems to me that Hamlet’s ‘good even, sir,’ in this passage, is spoken, not to Marcellus, as your correspondent supposes, but to Bernardo, who, it must be borne in mind, is also present on the scene. Hamlet is conversing with Horatio, and interrupts himself to severally greet these two gentlemen:— ‘Ham. “And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio? Marcellus!”’ To which Marcellus replies, ‘My good lord.’ The prince says kindly to him, ‘I am very glad to see you’; then turning to Bernardo salutes him with ‘good even, sir,’ and, resuming the thread of his talk with Horatio, immediately reiterates the inquiry,—‘But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg!’’ I think the reading as it stands is perfectly intelligible and satisfactory. H.A.Kennedy.”
1877 v1877
v1877: john; Steevens; Tyrwhitt; White (Sh. Scholar, p. 409)
355 euen]
Ed. note: Furness adds in brackets a ref to
Rom as if this his own addition, but Tyrwhitt includes the ref with his note.
1881 hud3
hud3 = hud2
355 good euen sir]
1885 macd
macd
355 you, (good euen sir)] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “Point thus: ‘you.—Good even, sir.’—to Barnardo, whom he does not know.”
1929 trav
trav: standard
355 Travers (ed. 1929), like many others, considers the 2nd half-line to be directed to Barnardo and sees three distinct shades of intimacy reflected in each greeting.
1939 kit2
kit2: standard
355 Kittredge (ed. 1939), without distinguishing the recipients of this (or these) greetings, says: "Hamlet’s courtesy to his inferiors is charming. It is not without reason that Ophelia calls him ’the glass of fashion and the mould of form’ [1809]. This makes the rudeness which he puts on when he is counterfeiting madness all the more deceptive."
1982 ard2
ard2: standard
355 good euen] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “A normal greeting at any time after noon. Cf. Rom. 2.4.105ff.”
1987 oxf4
oxf4: standard
355 good euen] Hibbard (ed. 1987): "a usual form of greeting at any time after midday."
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: standard
355 good euen sir] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “presumably addressed to Barnardo, whom Hamlet does not recognize”
ard3q2: standard
355 euen] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “evening/afternoon (used at any time after midday)”
