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Line 1369-70 - 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 1018-2022 ed. Eric Rasmussen

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

1369-70 his part in \| peace, <the Clowne shall make those laugh whose lungs>

1747 warb

warb

1369-70 his part in peace] Warburton (ed. 1747): “After these words [shall end his part in peace] the Folio adds, the clown shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickled o’ th’ sere.”

1765 john1

john1 = warb +

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Johnson (ed. 1765): “This passage I have omitted, for the same reason, I suppose, as the other editors. I do not understand it.”

1773 v1773

v1773=warb, john+

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Steevens (ed, 1773): “The clown shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickled a’th’ sere, i. e. those who are asthmatical, and to whom laughter is most uneasy. This is the case (as I am told) with those whose lungs are tickled by the sere or serum: but about this passage I am neither very confident, nor very felicitous.”

1778 v1778

v1778 = v1773 minus john+ magenta underline

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Steevens (ed. 1778): “The clown shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickled a’th’ sere, i. e. those who are asthmatical, and to whom laughter is most uneasy. This is the case (as I am told) with those whose lungs are tickled by the sere or serum: but about this passage I am neither very confident, nor very felicitous. The word seare occurs unintelligibly in an ancient Dialogue betweene the Comen Secretary and Jelowsy, touchynge the unstablenes of harlottes, bl. l. no date: ‘And wyll byde whysperynge in the eare,‘Thynke ye her tayle is not lyght of the seare.’ The sere is likewise a part about a hawk.”

1784 ays

ays : Steevens

1370 lungs... sere] Ayscough (ed. 1784): “i.e. (says Mr. Steevens) those who are asthmatical, and to whom laughter is most uneasy, which is the case with those whose lungs are tickled in the sere or serum.”

1784 davies

Davies

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Davies (1784, p.46): "That is:’The mirth of the fool, or clown, is so powerful, that it will raise laughter in those whose age and gravity are unused to it.’ What Falstaff says to the Chief Justice is something similar:’Your lordship has somewhat of the falseness of age about you.’ The sere and the yellow leaf are words expressive of decay."

1790 mal

mal

1370-71 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Malone (ed. 1790): “These words are not in the quarto. I am by no means satisfied with the explanation given, though I have nothing satisfactory to propose. I believe Hamlet only means, that the clown shall make those laugh who have a disposition to laugh; who are pleased with their entertainment. That no asthmatick disease was in contemplation, may be inferred from both the words used, tickled and lungs; each of which seems to have a relation to laughter, and the latter to have been considered by Shakspeare, as (if I may so express myself,) its natural feat. So, in Coriolanus: ‘—with a kind of smile, Which ne’er came from the lungs,—.’ Again, in As you Like it: ‘—When I did hear The motley fool thus moral on the time, My lungs began to crow like chanticleer.’ O’ the sere, or of the sere, means, I think, by the sere; but the word sere I am unable to explain, and suspect it to be corrupt. Perhaps we should read—the clown shall make those laugh, whose lungs are tickled o’ the scene, i.e. by the scene. A similar corruption has happened in another place, where we find scare for scene.”

1793 v1793

v1793 = v1778, mal +

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Steevens (ed. 1793): “i. e. those who are asthmatical, and to whom laughter is most uneasy. This is the case (as I am told) with those whose lungs are tickled by the sere or serum: but about these words I am neither very confident, nor very felicitous. Will the following passage in the Tempest be of any use to any future commentator? ‘--to minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are of such sensible and nimble lungs, that they always use to laugh at nothing.’ The word seare occurs unintelligibly in an ancient Dialogue betweene the Comen Secretary and Jelowsy, touchynge the unstablenes of harlottes, bl. l. no date: ‘And wyll byde whysperynge in the eare, Thinke ye her tayle is not light of the seare.’ The sere is likewise a part about a hawk.”

1803 v1803

v1803=v1793 minus “The sere . . . a hawk” +

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Steevens (ed. 1803): “i. e. those who are asthmatical, and to whom laughter is most uneasy. This is the case (as I am told) with those whose lungs are tickled by the sere or serum: but about these words I am neither very confident, nor very felicitous. Will the following passage in the Tempest be of any use to any future commentator? ‘--to minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are of such sensible and nimble lungs, that they always use to laugh at nothing.’ The word seare occurs unintelligibly in an ancient Dialogue betweene the Comen Secretary and Jelowsy, touchynge the unstablenes of harlottes, bl. l. no date: ‘And wyll byde whysperynge in the eare, Thinke ye her tayle is not light of the seare.’ The sense of the adjective sere is not more distinct in Chapman’s version of the 22d Iliad: ‘Hector, thou only pestilence, in all mortalitie, To my sere spirits.’ See p. 135, n. 1.

A sere is likewise the talon of a hawk.”

1819 cald1

cald1 : Steevens, Douce

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Caldecott(ed. 1819): “sere, or parched affection of the throat. Mr. Steevens, who says that laughing is very uneasy to asthmatical patients, adds, that ‘such is the case, as he is told, with those whose lungs are tickled by serum;’ and Mr. Douce (Illustr. II.230.) says, that ‘every one has felt that dry tickling in the throat and lungs, which excites coughing;’ and he instances the use of this phrase in Howard’s Defensative against the poyson of supposed prophecies, fo. 1620. ‘discovering the moods and humors of the vulgar sort to be so loose and tickle of the seare.’ The sense, to which we are led, seems to be conformity with the ideas above stated; and the passage may be rendered. ‘By his merriment make even those whose haske or huskiness subjects them to incessant coughing, involuntarily yield to laughter.’ Steevens produces an instance of the substantive and adjective use of the word in a still less intelligible sense: ‘And wyll byde whysperynge in the eare; Thynk ye her tayle is not light of the seare.’ An antient Dialogue between Comen Secretary and Jelowsy, touchynge the unstableness of Harlottes. bl. l. no date. ‘Hector, thou onely pestilence in all mortalitie ‘To my sere spirits.’ Chapman’s Iliad, fo. p.304.”

1832 cald2

cald2

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] caldecott (ed. 1832): “Two more words of the quotation cited.”

“The quartos, published by Steevens, wholly omit the instance of the clown; but it is observable, that the quarto of 1603 runs thus; ‘the clowne shall make them laugh, that are tickled in the lungs, or the blank verse,’ &c.: ‘at the same time that it makes the sense defective in one respect, affording us a various reading: i. e. defective, as it does not distinctly and in terms set out the cause that produces the effect in the lungs, which makes laughter so much an annoyance’”

1839 douce

douce

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Douce (1839, p. 456): “Sere is dry. Thus in Macbeth, ‘He is deformed, crooked, old and sere.’ Among the Saxons June was called the sere month. In the present instance sere appears to be used as a substantive. The same expression occurs in Howard’s Desensative against the poyson of supposed prophecies, 1620, folio: ‘Discovering the moods and humors of the vulgar sort to be so loose and tickle of the scare,’ &c., fo.31. Every one has felt that dry tickling in the throat and lungs which excites coughing. Hamlet’s meaning may therefore be, the clown by his merriment shall convert even their coughing into laughter.”

-1845 mhun1

mhun1

1370-71 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Hunter (-1845, f. 242v): “This passage is wanting in the quartos & found in the folio. But it is found in the newly discovered quarto, where it without the concluding clause o’the sere which has vexed the commentators. ‘The clown shall make them laugh that are tickled in the lungs.’— We still say a tickling cough. Perhaps the title of the Poem addressed to Robert Aravice by Davice (Scourge of Folly f. 228) may assist in explaining this passage. Is honest-Sameson Robert aru that tickles the spleen later, [in the margins].”

1845 Hunter

Hunter

1370-71 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Hunter (1845, p. 229): <p. 229>“This passage is wanting in the quartos, but found in the folios. It is found also in the newly-discovered quarto, except that there it wants the words ‘o’ the sere;’ an additional evidence that the readings of that edition are entitled to attention.”</p. 229>

1826 sing1

sing1

1370-2 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Singer (ed. 1826): “The first quarto reads:--’The clown shall make them laugh that are tickled in the lungs.’ The words as they now stand are in the folio. The meaning appears to be, the clown shall make even those laugh whose lungs are tickled with a dry cough, or huskiness; by his merriment shall convert even their coughing into laughter. The same expression occurs in Howard’s Defensative against the Poyson of supposed Prophecies, 1620, folio:--’Discovering the moods and humours of the vulgar sort to be so loose and tickle of th seare.’”

1861 wh1

WH1

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] White (ed. 1861): “‘---the clown shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickled o’ th’ sere’:--I may be pardoned for expressing my surprise at the explanation universally given to this passage hitherto, that Hamlet means the Clown shall make even those laugh whose lungs are irritable, or shall convert their coughing into laughter. But the whole speech is ironical; and here, as in his famous directions to the players (Act III.Sc. 2,) Hamlet is severest upon the Clown, who, he says, will have to be content with such semblance of laughter as comes from those who are tickled not by his jokes, but by a dry cough--’o’ th’ sere.’”

1872 hud2

hud2 ≈ wh1

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Hudson (ed. 1872): “Hamlet is not pleased with the behaviour of the clowns, and is disparaging them by ironical praise. ‘Tickled o’the sere’ is tickled with dryness, or afflicted with a dry cough. So that the meaning is, the clown shall have the pleasure of thinking those to be laughing at his jokes, who are merely coughing from huskiness.”

1872 cln1

cln1

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): "Omitted in the quartos."

1882 elze

elze

1370-1 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Elze (ed. 1882): “QA: The clowne shall make them laugh That are tickled in the lungs; tickle Staunton conj. The correct interpretation of this passage has been given by Dr Brinsley Nicholson; see Furness ad loc. Compare the lines from ‘A Dialogue bytwene the commune secretary and Jalowsye’ &c. quoted by Mr Furnivall in his edition of Tell-Trothes New-Yeares Gift, p. 199: —‘She that is fayre, lusty and yonge,And can comon in termes with fyled tonge,And wyll abyde whysperynge in the eare,Thynke ye her tayle is not lyght of the seare?”

1890 irv

irv

1370 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Symons (in Irving & Marshall ed. 1890): “This clause is omitted in Qq.; Ff. print tickled, for which Staunton substituted tickle. The phrase was a proverbial one, which, however, has been generally misunderstood. The convincing interpretation was made by Dr. Brinsley Nicholson in Notes and Queries, July 22, 1871. He writes: ‘The sere, or, as it is now spelt sear, (or scear) of a gun-lock is the bar or balance-lever interposed between the trigger on the one side, and the tumbler and other mechanism on the other, and is so called from its acting tha part of a serre, or talon, in gripping that mechanism and preventing its action. It is, in fact, a paul or stop-catch. When the trigger is made to act on one end of it, the other end releases the tumbler, the mainspring acts, and the hammer, flint, or match falls. Hence Lombard (1596), as quoted that is ready charged and bent will flie off by-and-by, if a man doe but touch the seare.’ Now if the lock be so made of purpose, or be worn, or be faulty in construction, this sear, grip, may be so tickle or ticklish in its adjustment that a slight touch or even jar may displace it, and then, of course the gun goes off. Hence ‘light’ or ‘tickle of the sear’ (equivalent to, like a hair-trigger), applied metaphorically, means that which can be started into action at a mere touch, or on the slightest provocation at all.’ The Clarendon Press edd. (1872) independently hit on the same explanation. They remark: ‘In old matchlocks the sear and trigger were in one piece. This is proved by a passage from Barret’s Theorike and Practike of Modern Warre (1598), p. 33 [35]: ‘drawing down the serre with the other three fingers. He has given directions for holding the stock between the thumb and forefinger.’”

1982 ard2

ard2

1369 in peace] Jenkins (ed. 1982): "Topical innuendoes have been sought in this reference to the humorous man, but although Jonson admits that the original ending of Every Man Out of his Humour was not ’relished’, it is no more than a conjecture that the audience created a disturbance which prevented Macilente from ending his part ’in peace’. Dover Wilson’s explanation that the humorous man was liable to interruption seems no more than a dubious inference from the passage."

1369-71 the Clowne...a’th’sere] Jenkins (ed. 1982): "See B. Nicholson, N&Q, 4th ser. VIII, 62 ; Ingleby, Shakespeare Hermeneutics, pp. 71 ff. Corrupted in both F and Q1, this phrase, as distinct from ’light of the sear’, may not have been familiar. Possibly it was an echo from Howard’s Defensative against the Poison of Supposed Prophesies (1583), where it occurs twice, while being otherwise unknown (see Harlow, SEL, V. 269 ff.)."