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Line 829 - 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.

829 Ham. Yes by Saint Patrick but there is {Horatio} <my Lord>,	1.5.136

1747 warb

warb

829 by Saint Patrick] Warburton (ed. 1747): “How the Poet comes to make Hamlet swear by St. Patrick, I know not. However at this time all the whole northern world had their learning from Ireland; to which place it had retired, and there flourished under the auspices of this Saint. But it was, I suppose, only said at random; for he makes Hamlet a student of Wittenberg.”

1765 john1

john1 = warb

829 by Saint Patrick]

1773 v1773

v1773 = john

829 by Saint Patrick]

1774 capn

capn

829, 827 Horatio/Yes] Capell (1774, 1:1:128): “Instead of the quarto reading—“Horatio,” . . . the moderns have chosen that of the folio,—“my lord;” words put in by a printer, who fetch’d them from the line just above; and a similar mistake of the same set “Yes” at the head of [827], from whence it is now taken.”

Ed. note: Capell begins his note with 830, continues with 829, and then on to 827, all without much guidance

1778 v1778

v1778 = warb +

829 by Saint Patrick] Nichols (apud ed. 1778): “Dean Swift’s ‘Verses on the sudden drying-up of St. Patrick’s Well. 1726,’ contain many learned allusions to the early cultivation of literature in Ireland. Nichols.”

1785 v1785

v1785 = v1778

829 by Saint Patrick]

1787 ann

ann = v1785 minus Nichols

829 by Saint Patrick]

1790 mal

mal = v1785

829 by Saint Patrick]

1793 v1793

v1793 = mal

829 by Saint Patrick]

1803 v1803

v1803 = v1793

829 by Saint Patrick]

1813 v1813

v1813 = v1803

829 by Saint Patrick]

1819 cald1

cald1 ≈ warb without attribution +

829 by Saint Patrick] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “That the whole northern world in early times drew their learning, as it is said, from Ireland, may account, indeed, for St. Patrick being known in Denmark; but this will not very satisfactorily account for his name having become a familiar oath with a prince of Denmark. As Shakespeare gave the living manners, customs, and habits of thinking of his own country, to those of all ages and countries that he introduced upon the stage, he would little hesitate to make any stranger invoke the name of a saint familiar and popular in his own.”

1818 oxb

oxb: standard

829 by Saint Patrick] Oxberry (ed. 1818): “This oath is rather improper in the mouth of Hamlet, the Dane; but Shakspeare, as well as his contemporaries, is seldom nice on these points.”

1821 v1821

v1821 = v1813

829 by Saint Patrick]

1826 sing1

sing1: warb (partly without attribution); ≈ cald1 without attribution

829 by Saint Patrick] Singer (ed. 1826): “Warburton has ingeniously defended Shakspeare for making the Danish prince swear by St. Patrick, by observing that the whole northern world had their learning from Ireland. It is, however, more probable that the poet seized the first popular imprecation that came to his mind, without regarding whether it suited the country or character of the person to whom he gave it.”

1832 cald2

cald2 = cald1

829 by Saint Patrick]

1856 hud1

hud1 = sing1 minus cald1 [i.e. warb only, with attribution]

829 by Saint Patrick]

1856 sing2

sing2 = sing1

829 by Saint Patrick]

1861 wh1

wh1

829 Horatio] White (ed. 1861): “The folio, for ‘Horatio,’ has, ‘my lord,’ caught from the end of the previous line.”

1868 c&mc

c&mc ≈ sing2 without attribution, = Nichols in 1821 without attribution

829 by Saint Patrick] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1868): “There is propriety in making the studious prince, Hamlet, use this adjuration, since ‘Saint Patrick’ is the patron saint of Ireland, and Ireland was in ancient times a famed seat of learning whence the whole northern world derive their erudition. Dean Swift’s ‘Verses on the Sudden Drying Up of St. Patrick’s Well, 1726,’ contain many allusions to the cultivation of literature in Ireland.”

1869 tsch

tsch

829 by Saint Patrick] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869, apud Furness, ed. 1877): “If Sh. had wished to be historically correct, he would have made a Dane swear by St. Ansgarius. But since the subject concerned an inexpiated crime, he naturally thought of St. Patrick, who kept a Purgatory of his own. See The Honest Whore.”

1870 rug1

rug1

829 by Saint Patrick] Moberly (ed. 1870): “Saint Patrick, the patron saint of all blunders and confusions.”

1872 cln1

cln1 contra tsch without attribution

829 by Saint Patrick] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “Some have supposed that there is a reference to St. Patrick’s Purgatory, but this does not seem probable.”

1872 hud2

hud2 = hud1

829 by Saint Patrick]

1873 rug2

rug2 = rug1

829 by Saint Patrick]

1874 Corson

Corson: F1, cam1 +

829 is Horatio] Corson (1874, pp. 15-16): <p. 15>“The ‘my </p. 15><p. 16> Lord’ in Hamlet’s speech is a retort to the ‘my Lord’ in Horatio’s speech, and it has an effect which is lost in the [cam1] reading; ‘is’ should reveive a strong accent, ‘my Lord’ being uttered enclitically.” </p.16>

1877 v1877

v1877 ≈ warb; ≈ cald; ≈ tsch; ≈ rug2

829 by Saint Patrick] Furness (ed. 1877): Warburton: “At this time all the whole northern world had their learning from Ireland; to which place it had retired, and there flourished. Caldecott: As Sh. gave the living manners, customs, and habits of thinking of his own country, to those of all ages and countries that he introduced upon the stage, he would little hesitate to make any stranger invoke the name of a saint familiar and popular in his own. Tschischwitz: If Sh. had wished to be historically correct, he would have made a Dane swear by St. Ansgarius. But since the subject concerned an inexpiated crime, he naturally thought of St. Patrick, who kept a Purgatory of his own. See The Honest Whore [pt. 2, 1.1.p. 330, Dodsley ed. 1825, where the text reads ‘keeps Purgatory,’ and not as the learned German quotes: ‘keeps his Purgatory. Ed.] Moberly: “Saint Patrick, the patron saint of all blunders and confusion.”

v1877 ≈ Corson (minus comment on accent)

829 is Horatio] Furness (ed. 1877): “Corson: “The ‘my lord’ (of the Ff) in Hamlet’s speech is a retort to the ‘my lord’ in Horatio’s speech, and has an effect which is lost in the Qq text.”

1880 Tanger

Tanger

829 Horatio] Tanger (1880, p. 126): “The [F1] compositor’s eye caught the preceding line, which ends with my Lord.”

1881 hud3

hud3 = hud2

829 by Saint Patrick]

1885 macd

macd ≈ Corson without attribution

829 Horatio] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “I take the change from the Quarto here to be no blunder.”

1899 ard1

ard1

829 Saint Patrick] Dowden (apud Crawford, ed. 1917): St. Patrick “banished serpents from Ireland, hence he was the proper saint” to take notice of a killing by serpent, as King Hamlet is alleged to have suffered.

1929 trav

trav: Dowden on serpents + analogue in Dekker

829 by Saint Patrick] Travers (ed. 1929) alludes to a character in Dekker who says that Saint Patrick “keeps Purgatory.”

1930 TLS

Anon.

829 by Saint Patrick] anon. “The Shakespearian Ghost,” rev. of a rpt of the 1572 trans. of Lavater, ed. J. D. Wilson (intro) and May Yardley (appendix), 1930, TLS 1930: 24): Wilson has not noticed that stories of the Purgatory of Saint Patrick could be a Catholic source for legends of devils inhabiting bodies of the dead and walking the earth. Yardley summarizes the work of Le Loyer, who presents the Catholic position, which is to be wary of spirits that purport to be returnees from Purgatory.

1930 TLS

Synge, E. H. contra rev. of Lavater, TLS 1930: 24

829 by Saint Patrick] Synge (“’Yes, by Saint Patrick,’” TLS1930: 44) objects to the reviewer’s commonplace idea that Hamlet refers to Saint Patrick’s Purgatory. Rather, Hamlet expresses his irritation, signaled by invoking the patron saint of the Irish. Sh., in MacMorris, in H5 stereotypes the Irish as irritable. Hamlet is signaling a shift in mood.

1934 Wilson

Wilson MSH

829 Horatio] Wilson (1934, p. 52) lists my Lord as one of the 15 instances in F1 when the compositor misremembered a word, picking it up from an earlier line.

1934 rid1

rid1 ≈ ard1 without attribution

829 Patrick] Ridley (ed. 1934) thinks the connection may be St. Patrick’s killing of all snakes in Ireland.

1935 Wilson

Wilson WHH

829 Saint Patrick] Wilson (1935, pp. 79, 337):< p. 79> “‘the keeper of Purgatory.’” </ p. 79> < p. 337> In an added note, Wilson (1935, p. 337) mentions that the playhouse’s cellarage was called “hell.” a naming he thinks might be significant. </ p. 337>

1938 parc

parc

829 Saint Patrick] Parrott & Craig (ed. 1938): “St Patrick’s Purgatory in Ireland was a famous resort for pilgrims. There is peculiar fitness in Hamlet’s swearing by St. Patrick after he had seen a ghost from Purgatory.”

1939 kit2

kit2 contra idea of relevance; contra rug2 without attribution

829 by Saint Patrick] Kittredge (ed. 1939): "Hamlet still speaks rather wildly, swearing by a saint whom a Dane would not be expected to adjure. There is no allusion (as some have thought) to ’blunders and confusion’ [see rug1; nor is it likely that Hamlet is thinking of St. Patrick’s Purgatory—a cave in Ireland supposed to afford an entrance to the world beyond the grave."

1946 TLS

Brownfield, Clarence

829 Yes by Saint Patrick] Brownfield (25 May, 1946, apud Semper, p. 367) suggests Holinshed’s Chronicles as the source of Hamlet’s invocation.

1946 TLS

Semper, I. J.

829 Yes by Saint Patrick] Semper (3 August 1946, p. 367) agrees that a possible source for the invocation may be “The Golden Legend,” by Jacobus de Voragine, as suggested by a review in the TLS 9 Jan. 1930. Semper adds support for the The Golden Legend as a source. “In Hamlet the Ghost comes not on a personal mission, but as sent by a higher power to sanction the punishment of a villain who could not be brought to judgment by a legal and public process . . . . [A] precedent is furnished by ’The Golden Legend,’ ” where a ghost appears to enact justice. The idea of the Ghost as demon also appears in Voragine. “In a word, Shakespeare could have gleaned most of the theology in Hamlet from ’The Golden Legend’ . . . . ”

Ed. note: The ghosts’ purpose for returning, whether personal vengeance or to right a wrong is not clear.

1980 pen2

pen2: //; xref in magenta underlined

829 Saint Patrick] Spencer (ed. 1980): “Hamlet swears by him because Saint Patrick was a keeper of purgatory (whence the Ghost comes), having found an entrance to it in Donegal; or perhaps because he banished serpents from Ireland (see [R2, 2.1.157-8]), and Hamlet’s task is to get rid of a serpent (line 39).”

1982 ard2

ard2: standard gloss; analogues

829 Saint Patrick] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “An apt oath. For ’St. Patrick, you know, keeps purgatory’ (Dekker, 2 Honest Whore, 1.1.42). To seek a particular source for this belief is to ignore the very great fame of St Patrick’s Purgatory, in an Irish cave, much visited by pilgrims. The story was that all who spent a day and night there would both be purged of their sins and have visions of the damned and the blest. See Holinshed, Chronicles, 1587, 2: 28; D.P. Barton, Ireland and Shakespeare, 1919, pp. 30ff.”

1985 cam4

cam4

829 Saint Patrick] Edwards (ed. 1985): "It is not clear why Hamlet should pick on this saint. Some say it is because he was the patron saint of Purgatory."

1987 oxf4

oxf4

829 Saint Patrick] Hibbard (ed. 1987): "Compare Dekker, 2 The Honest Whore 1.1.42-3, ‘Saint Patrick, you know, keeps purgatory.’ "

1988 bev2

bev2: standard

829 Saint Patrick] Bevington (ed. 1988): “(The keeper of Purgatory and the patron saint of all blunders and confusion.)”

2001 Greenblatt

Greenblatt ≈ tsch without attribution +

829 by Saint Patrick] Greenblatt (2001, p.75) believes that there is good reason for Hamlet to name Saint Patrick; “the Latin Saint Patrick’s Purgatory and its many translations are closely linked to an institutional program, and they seem to be addressed to . . . those who doubt the very existence of the place described.”

Greenblatt ≈ tsch without attribution

829 by Saint Patrick] Greenblatt (2001, p. 234): Allusions to Saint Patrick in the Middle Ages and Renaissance connect the saint with purgatory, and to fictions about purgatory.

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2: Greenblatt; xref

829 Saint Patrick] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Editors suggest he is appropriate, either as a saint associated with purgatory (see also Greenblatt, Purgatory, 233-4), or because he is supposed to have banished snakes from Ireland (see serpent in [726]). This line (present in all three texts) is Shakespeare’s only reference to the saint or the name apart from references to Friar Patrick in TGV.”