Line 753 - Commentary Note (CN) 
Commentary notes (CN):
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Notes for lines 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman
| 753 And with a sodaine vigour it doth {possesse} <posset> | 1.5.68 |
|---|
1755 Johnson Dict.
Johnson
753 possesse] Johnson (1755): “3. To make master of.” See Nares. The only uses Johnson records are with a preposition
Ed. note: Nares says possess in the sense of to “inform precisely” can be used also without a preposition, which would make possess possible in 753.
Johnson
753 possesse] Johnson (1755) on posset as a verb he quotes Ham. and says it is “not used.” He defines the noun as a drink, mostly medicinal in his quotations, though he does include one from Suckling in which the bridesmaids bring the posset and the bridegroom drinks it.
1805 Seymour
Seymour
753-4 Seymour (1805, 2:160): “ This allusion to the acescence of milk occurs in Timon of Athens: ‘Has friendship such a pale and milky heart, It turns in less than two nights!’”
1822 Nares
Nares: Johnson +
753 possesse] Nares (1822): “to make master of in point of knowledge, to inform precisely; nearly the same as the third sense in Johnson, but without a preposition.” He quotes johnd and says the form with the prep. is more common.
Nares: F1
753 possesse] Nares (1822), on F1 posset: “A drink composed of hot milk, curdled by some strong infusion . . . [quotes and discusses Mac. 2.2.6 (654) and Fletcher’s Scornful Lady].
“Shakespeare has boldly made a verb of it: [quotes 753].
“It was usually prepared for a bridegroom. [quotes as noun B&F Hon. Man’s F.]. See Johnson [probably dictionary].”
1854 del2
del2
753-4 possesse . . . curde] Delius (ed. 1854): “posset und curd bezeichnet als Substantiv geronnene Milch, ersteres mit dem Zusatz anderer Substanzen, and demnach als transtive Verbs, wie hier, etwas in ähnlicher Art gerinnen lassen.” [posset and curd mean the substantive curdled milk, the first with the addition of an another substance, and then as transitive verbs, as here, somewhat in analogical manner allowed to coagulate.]
ck the trans.
1860 stau
stau
753 vigour] Staunton (ed. 1860): “‘Vigour’ may be right; but rigour seems more suitable to the context, and more accordant with the supposed effects of narcotics formerly.”
† note placed in conjectural emendations never used doc.
1872 cln1
cln1: stau VN +
753 sodaine vigour] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “rapid and violent action.”
cln1 ≈ del2 without attribution + in magenta underlined
753 possesse] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “This is the only passage where Shakespeare uses ‘posset’ as a verb.”
1877 v1877
v1877 = stau
753 vigour]
v1877 = cln1 (del2)
753 possesse]
1878 rlf1
rlf1: stau +
753 vigour] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Power, activity.”
1880 Tanger
Tanger
753 possesse] Tanger (1880, p. 125): Q2 variant “probably owing to the negligence, inattention, or criticism of the compositor.”
1881 hud3
hud3
753 possesse] Hudson (ed. 1881): “See vol. vi, page 24, for posset.”
to be ck’d; I have put Hudson’s ref. in check doc.
1904 ver
ver : standard gloss; = unknown source + derivation
753 possesse] Verity (ed. 1904): on posset. “ ‘[. . . ] formerly much in favour both as a luxury and as medicine.’ Probably posset is a Celtic word; Irish pusoid; cf. Welsh posel, ‘curdled milk.’”
He quotes a def. but I do not have the part about luxury.
1934 rid1
rid1: standard
753 possesse] Ridley (ed. 1934) prefers possess because posset is redundant, given curd in 754, “and the movement from general ‘possession’ (to which the sudden vigour is appropriate enough) to the specific curd is quite effective.”
1938 parc
parc
753 possesse] Parrott & Craig (ed. 1938): “curdle.”
1939 kit2
kit2: standard
753 possesse] Kittredge (ed. 1939): "posset: curdle, coagulate. A posset was a curdled drink made of spiced wine or ale, hot milk, grated biscuit, pulp of apples, etc. The compound was something like a custard, and was often said to be ’eaten.’ "
1947 cln2
cln2: standard
753 possesse] Rylands (ed. 1947): "posset: curdle."
1970 pel2
pel2: standard
753 possesse] posset Farnham (ed. 1970): “curdle”
1980 pen2
pen2
753 sodaine] Spencer (ed. 1980): “rapid in action.”
pen2
753 vigour] Spencer (ed. 1980): “power, efficacy.”
pen2: standard
753 possesse] Spencer (ed. 1980): “curdle (so that the blood is clotted). A posset was a drink made from milk curdled with wine or ale.”
1982 ard2
ard2 contra Staunton; Milton:
753 vigour] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Staunton thought rigour ’more suitable to the ’more suitable to the context’. But cf. Comus, 627, ’shew me simples . . . Telling their strange and vigorous faculties.’ ”
ard2:
753 possesse] posset:Jenkins (ed. 1982): “thicken and curdle like a posset, i.e. hot milk in which ale or wine is mixed.”
1985 cam4
cam4
753 possesse] posset Edwards (ed. 1985): "curdle."
1987 oxf4
oxf4: // Cym.
753 vigour] Hibbard (ed. 1987): "efficacy. The word is again applied to poison in [Cym. 1.5.19-22 (510-13)], where the Queen says, ‘I will try the forces Of these thy compounds . . . To try the vigour of them.’ "
oxf4: standard gloss + in magenta underlined
753 possesse] Hibbard (ed. 1987): "curdle. A posset was a drink made of hot milk curdled with ale, wine, or the like, formerly regarded as a delicacy and as a cure for colds. Shakespeare, characteristically, turns it into a verb defining an effect that is neither comforting nor remedial."
1988 bev2
bev2: standard
753 possesse] Bevington (ed. 1988): “coagulate, curdle.”
1992 fol2
fol2: standard
753 possesse] posset Mowat & Werstine (ed. 1992): “clot”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: //; F1
753 possesse] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “This must mean something like ’take control of’ or ’overpower’; Shakespeare uses the verb elsewhere in relation to sickness or disease, as in ’I will possess him with yellowness’ (MWW 1.3.97). F’s ’posset’ means the same thing as curd: the idea is that the poison causes the blood to curdle or clot like sour milk.”
753