Notes for lines 1018-2022 ed. Eric Rasmussen
| 1448-50 Plautus |too light for the lawe of writ, and the liberty: these are | the | |
|---|
1765 john1
john1
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Johnson (ed. 1765): “All the modern editions have, the law of wit, and the liberty; but both my old copies have, the law of writ, I believe rightly. Writ, for writing, composition. Wit was not, in our authour’s time, taken either for imagination, or acuteness, or both together, but for understanding, for the faculty by which we apprehend and judge. Those who wrote of the human mind distinguished its primary powers into wit and will. Ascham distinguishes boys of tardy and of active faculties into quick wits and slow wits.” [N.B. SJ edited Ascham’s Schoolmaster in 1761: actual distinction is between ’quick’ and ’hard’ wits]
1773 v1773
v1773 = john
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Johnson (ed 1773): “All the modern editions have, the law of wit, and the liberty; but both my old copies have, the law of writ, I believe rightly. Writ, for writing, composition. Wit was not, in our author’s time, taken either for imagination, or acuteness, or both together, but for understanding, for the faculty by which we apprehend and judge. Those who wrote of the human mind distinguished its primary powers into wit and will. Ascham distinguishes boys of tardy and of active faculties into quick wits and slow wits.”
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Malone (ed. 1778): “The old copies are certainly right. Writ is used for writing by authors contemporary with Shakspeare. Thus, in The Apologie of Pierce Pennilesse, by Thomas Nashe, 1593: ‘For the lowsie circumftance of his poverty before his death, and sending that miserable writte to his wife, it cannot be but thou liest, learned Gabriel.’ Again, in Bishop Earle’s Character of a mere dull Physician, 1638: ‘Then followes a writ to his drugger, in a strange tongue, which he understands, though he cannot conster.’”
1780 mals
mals = v1778
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Malone (1780, p.355): "The old copies are certainly right. Writ is used for writing by authors contemporary with Shaspeare. Thus, in The Apologie of Pierce Pennilesse, by Thomas Nash, 1593: ’For the lowsie circumstance of his poverty before his death, and sending that miserable write to his wife, it cannot be but thou liest, learned Gabriel.’ Again, in bishop Earle’s Character of a meere dull Physician, 1638: ’Then followes a writ to his drugger, in a strange tongue, which he understands, through he cannot conster.’ Malone."
1784 ays
ays
1449 writ] Ayscough (ed. 1784): “Writ, for writing, composition.”
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778 + malone
1790- mtooke
mtooke : mal
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Tooke (ms. notes, ed. 1790): Re Malone’s note “No; but for what is written.”
1793 v1793
v1793 =
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Steevens (ed, 1793): “That writ is here used for writing, may be proved by the following passage in Titus Andronicus: ‘Then all to late I bring this fatal writ.’”
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Malone (ed. 1793): “The old copies are certainly right. Writ is used for writing by authors contemporary with Shakspeare. Thus, in The Apologie of Pierce, Pennilesse, by Thomas Nashe, 1593: ‘For the lowsie circumftance of his poverty before his death, and sending that miserable writte to his wife, it cannot be but thou liest, learned Gabriel.’ Again, in Bishop Earle’s Character of a mere dull Physician, 1638: ‘Then followes a writ to his drugger, in a strange tongue, which he understands, though he cannot conster.’ Again, in King Henry VI. Part II: ‘Now, good my lord, let’s see the devil’s writ.’”
1819 cald1
cald1
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “In this difficult, and probably corrupted passage, we follow the modelling and pointing of the modern editors; and purpose this interpretation: ‘For the observance of the rules of the drama, while they take such liberties, as are allowable, they are the only men.’ Steevens says, writ for writing: and instances Nashe’s Apologie of Pierce Pennilesse, 1593: ‘For the lowsie circumstance of his poverty before his death, and sending that miserable writte to his wife, it cannot be but thou liest, learned Gabriel.’ And Earle’s Character of a mere dull Physician, 1638: ‘Then followes a writ to his drugger, in a strange tongue, which he understands, though he cannot conster.’ In our own author, . . . we have, ‘Now, good my lord, let’s see the Devil’s writ.’ I. 4. York. Most of the modern Editors had substituted wit for writ; and the last have thought proper, in contradiction to the quartos as well as the folios, to read--’too light. For the law of writ and the liberty these are,’ &c.”
1825 European Magazine
"Gunthio" pseudonym: Q1
1448-50 for the law of writ, and the liberty, these are the only men.] "Gunthio" (1825, p. 344): Q1 “makes the matter clear enough, ’The law hath writ, these are the only men.’ Although the scene lies in Denmark, Shakspeare, as usual, alludes without ceremony to the manners and customs of England, and has just before introduced a defence of the licensed Bankside players against the unauthorised ’little eyases’ [1396-7], their rivals. Is it not therefore pretty clear that by the above remark he meant to enhance their claims to consideration, by referring to the exclusive patent for acting granted by Elizabeth to Burbage and others, of the Globe? At any rate, upon this supposition, the passage acquires some meaning, whereas it previously had little or none.;”
1826 sing1
sing1: Q1 punc.
1448-50 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Singer (ed. 1826): “Writ for writing, a common abbreviation, which is not yet obsolete: we still say holy writ, for the sacred writings. I should not have noticed this, but that there have been editors who thought that we should read, ‘the law of wit.’ The quarto of 1603 reads, ‘for the law hath writ.’ The modern editions have pointed this passage in the following manner:---- ‘Scene individable, or poem ulimited; Seneca cannot be too heavy nor Plautus too light. For the law of writ, and the liberty, these are the only men.’ I have adhered to the pointing of the quarto, because it appears to me that the law and the liberty of writing relates to Seneca and Plautus, and not to the players.”
1841 knt1 (nd)
knt1
1448-50 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Knight (ed. 1839): “In the second scene of the third act, Hamlet thus addresss Plonius:--’My lord, you played once in the university, you say?’ [1953-4)]. It is to the practice of Elizabeth, of acting Latin plays, thata Hamlet alludes; and the frequency o f such performances, as Qarton remarks, may have suggested to Shakespere the names of Seneca and Plautus in the passage before us. In that very curious book, Braun’s ‘Civitates,’ 1575, there is a Latin memoir prefixed to a map of Cambridge, in which these theatrical entertainments are discribed; and the fables of Plautus, Terence, and Seneca, are expressly mentioned as being performed by the students with elegance, magnificence, dignity of action, and propriety of boice and countenance. Malone says, ‘The most celebrated actors at Cambridge were the students of St. John’s and King’s colleges: at Oxford, those of Christ--xhursh. In the hall of that college a Latin comedy, called Marcus Geminus, and the Latin tragedy of Progne, were performed before Queen Elizabeth in the year 1566; and, in 1564, the latin tragedy of Dido was played before her majesty, when she visited the University of Cambridge. The exhibition was in the body or nave of the chapel of King’s College, which was lighted by the royal guards, each of whom bore a staff--torch in his hand.’ The account of this visit of Elizabeth to Cambridge is to be found in Peck’s ‘Desiderata Curiosa,’ vol. ii. p. 25; and it appears from the subjoined passage, that there was great competition amongst the colleges for the theatrical recreation of her majesty:--- ‘Great preparations and charges, as before in the other plays, were employed and spent about the tragedy of Sophocles, called Ajax Flagellifer, in Latin, to be this night played before her. But her highness, as it were tired with going about th the colleges, and with hearing of disputataions, and overwatched with former plays, (for it was very late nightly before she came to them, as also departed from them,) and furthermore, minding early in the mornong t depart from Cambridge and ride to a dinner unto a house of the Bishop of Ely, at Stanton, and from thence to her bed at Hinchinbrook (a house of Sir Henry Cromwell;s, in Huntingdonshire, about twelve miles from Cambridge,) could not, as otherwise, no doubt, she was present at the other, she would, (with like patience and cheerfulness, as she was present at the other,) hear the said tragedy; to the great sorrow, not only of the players, but of all the whole Univerity.’”
1843 col1
col1
1448-50 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Collier (ed. 1843): “The meaning probably is, that the players were good, whether at written productions or at extemporal plays, where liberty was allowed to the performers to invent the dialogue, in imitation of the Italian commedie al improviso See History of Engl. Dram. Poetry and the Stage, vol. iii. p. 303.”
-1845 mhun1
mhun1
1449-50 For...men.] Hunter (-1845, f. 243r): “Steevens & Malone agree in restoring writ where wit had long held a place. Rather the support of all the old copies including the newly-discovered quarto— when known the line stands thus: ‘For the law hath writ these are the only men’— which is scarcely more intelligible than the line as it stands in Malone.”
1847 verp
verp = col1 (minus “The...good”)
1449 for the lawe of writ, and the liberty]
Verplanck (ed. 1847): “The players were good, whether at written productions or at extemporal plays, where liberty was allowed to the performers to invent the dialogue, in imitation of the Italian
comedia al improviso. — COLLIER.”
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1 : col1
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Hudson (ed. 1856): "’The meaning,’ says Collier, ’probably is, that the players were good, whether at written productions or at extemporal plays, where liberty was allowed to the performers to invent the dialogue, in imitation of the Italian commedie al improviso.’ In Elizabeth’s time, it was the custom of the students in the Universities to act Latin plays; and, as Warton remarks, it may have been this that suggested the names of Seneca and Plautus to the Poet. In the next Act, Hamlet says to Polonius,--’My lord, you play’d once in the university, you say.’ H."
sing2
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Singer (ed. 1856): “The quarto of 1603 reads, ‘for the law hath writ’. The sense intended is evidently that the players could adhere to the part written for them, or depart from it and extemporize.”
1860 Walker
Walker
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Walker(1860, p. 265): “Writ for composition is not English. It is as if we should say, the laws of peom for the laws of poetry; or talk of so and so being contrary to the genius of ode, meaning the genius of lyrical composition. The passages quoted by the Var. commentators are utterly irrelevant. The same erratum occurs, Julius Caesar, iii.2, folio, p. 122, col. 2,— ‘For I haue neyther writ nor words, nor worth, Action, nor Vtterance, nor the power of Speech, To stirr mens Blood’.”
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] White (MS notes in Walker, 1860, p. 265): “It is nearly as difficult to make any sense with ‘wit,’ as with ‘writ.’ Taking the latter, it may mean, for the repeating correctly what was written in the play, or for the freedom of improvisation. V.C.P. Ed.”
1865 hal
hal = Steevens, t. wharton
1866a dyce2
dyce2 = john1 + col
1448-50 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Dyce (ed. 1886): “‘Writ’ for writing, composition.’ JOHNSON.--- ‘(The) law of writ and the liberty’mean pieces written in rule, and pieces out of rule.’ Capell’s Notes, &c. vol.i. P.i. p.133.--- ‘The meaning probably is, that the players were good, whether at written productions, or at extemporal plays where liberty was allowed to the performers to invent the dialogue, in imitation of the Italian commedie al improviso. See ‘History of Engl. Dram. Poetry and the Stage.’ Vol. iii. p. 393.’ COLLIER.---’Read with ‘the modern editions’ (Johnson’s note in loc.) ‘wit’ (Rowe’s alteration). ‘Writ’ for composition is not English. It is as if we should say, the laws of poem, for the laws of poetry; or talk of so and so being contrary to the genius of ode, meaning the genius of lyrical composition. The same erratum occurs, Julius Cæsar,[3.2.221-3 (1758-60)]; ‘For I haue neyther writ nor words, nor worth, | Action, nor Vtterance, nor the power of Speech, | To stirre mens Blood.’ Walker’s Crit. Exam. &c. vol. iii. p. 265.”
1872 Staunton
Staunton
1449 For the law of writ and the liberty]
Staunton (1872, p. 867): <p.867> "is it simply an
erratum for
right; as it appears to be in the familliar passage of ’Hamlet,’ act ii, sc 2."
1856 hud2
hud2 = hud1 minus ‘Elizabeth’s time’ note
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Hudson (ed. 1856): "’The meaning,’ says Collier, ’probably is, that the players were good, whether at written productions or at extemporal plays, where liberty was allowed to the performers to invent the dialogue, in imitation of the Italian commedie al improviso.’”
1872 cln1
cln1
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “For ’writ’ the quarto of 1676, followed by Rowe and most editors, reads ’wit.’ In either case it is difficult to find a distinct meaning in Polonius’s words. Probably the author did not intend that we should. Taking ’writ,’ the sense may be, ’for repeating correctly what was written, and for the freedom of improvisation.’ "
1874 Corson
Corson
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty]
Corson (1874, pp. 22-3): <p. 22>“
Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor
Plautus too light, for the law of Writ, and the Liberty. These are the only men. F. Seneca cannot be too </p. 22><p. 23>heavy, nor Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the liberty, these are the only men. C. The pointing of C. is Theobald’s. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Quartos have no point after ’light’ and a period after ’liberty;’ the 6th Quarto and Quarto (1676) have no point after ’light’ and a semicolon after ’liberty.’ All the Quartos and Folios, therefore, connect in construction, ’for the law of writ and the liberty,’ with Seneca and Plautus, and not with ’these are the only men, which evidently refers to the actors he’s talking about. ’Liberty’ should be construed with ’law:’ the law and liberty of writ [writing]. And ’law’ and ’liberty’ seem to refer, respectively, to ’heavy’ and ’light.’ This respective construction is frequent in Shakespeare.
See Macbeth, I. 3. 60, 61; Hamlet, 3. I. 151; Winter’s Tale, 3. 2. 160-162; Antony and Cleopatra, 3.2. 15-18; 4. 15. 25, 26; Comedy of Errors, 2. 2. 112-117; The Tempest, 1. 2. 335, 336; Midsummer Night’s Dream, 3. 1. 98-101.”
1877 clns
clns
1449-50 for the lawe of writ, and the liberty: these are the only men] Neil (ed. 1877): “This has been interpreted by the Rev. C. E. Moberly to mean, ‘For adhering to their text, or for extemporising when need requires;’ but perhaps there is a quip intended, within the city, where ‘the law of writ’ prevails, and ‘the liberty,’ or the outlying districts to which the municipal franchises and privileges have been extended. In a very old map of Southwark, preserved in the Record Office, a boundary in three or four places is thus indicated: ‘Hyer endeth the lyberte of the Mayre, and beghinneth the Kyng.’”
1885 macd
macd
1448-50 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “Point thus: ‘to light. For the law of Writ, and the Liberty, these are the only men’:—either for written plays, that is , or for those in which the players extemporized their speeches.”
1890 irv
irv
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Symons (in Irving & Marshall ed. 1890): “The sense of these lines has been much debated, and its very existence has even been called in question. But while the phrase is intentionally fanciful, it seems pretty obviously to mean, that the players were equally excellent at written and at extemporary plays. The Q. of 1676 reads wit, which some editors adopt.
1899 ard1
ard1
1449 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Dowden (ed. 1899): “Capell: ‘This means pieces written in rule and pieces out of rule.’ Corson suggests that Seneca exemplified the law and Plautus the liberty of writing. Probably, however, the reference is to written plays, and extemporised parts. In Middleton’s The Spanish Gipsy, the gipsy-actors can perform in ‘a way which the Italians and the Frenchmen use’:‘That is, on a word given, or some slight plot, The actors will extempore fashion out Scenes neat and witty.’ Rowe and other editors read ‘law of writ.’”
1934a cam3
cam3
1448-50 the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Wilson (ed. 1934): “I preserve in effect the punct. of Q2 with which FI substantially agrees. Most edd. follow Theobald, and thus render the passage unintelligble. I take ‘the law of writ’ and ‘the liberty’ as terms defining the jurisdiction of the Sheriffs in and about the city of London ( a jurisdiction very important for players), quibblingly applied to types of drama. ‘The law of writ’ refers to those districts where the sheriff’s writ ran and where no playhouses would be erected. Sh. associates these with Seneca, who was for the Elizabethans a paragon of dramatic propriety, so that the phrase may be paraphrased ‘plays written under strict frgulation.’ On the other hannnd, the lively and careless genius of Plautus is connected wiht ‘the liberty ‘ (i.e. districts whithin or without the city exempt from the sheriff’s jurisdiction, and therefore convenient for the erection of playhouses), and may in turn be paraphrased as ‘plays out of all bounds’ ( cf. Chambers ,Eilz. Stage, ii. 477--80)> The sentence ‘These are the only men ‘ stands apart from the rest. Pol. is repeating in other words ‘The best actors in the world’ after his pompous fashion.”
1982 ard2
ard2
1448-9 for the lawe of writ, and the liberty] Jenkins (ed. 1982): "The paraphrase proposed makes an antithesis between law and liberty in the matter of writing, or writ. But some, less strictly, oppose liberty to the whole phrase law of writ and so make a distinction between plays with a written text and acting extempore. The rules are usually taken to imply the three unities, in which Shakespeare, however may have been less interested than his critics. Many, including Sisson (NR), suppose him to be contrasting classical and modern ; Ifor Evans (The Language of Shakespeare’s Plays, p. 96) even finds ’the whole contrast of classical and romantic drama’ here defined. We must not take too solemnly (or too precisely) words occurring in a speech by Polonius which already mingles sense and nonsense. Its climax seeks to assert the pre-eminence of the actors in all kinds of drama whatsoever, for which writ, anything written, as an all-embracing term. But writ by a quibble suggests a legal instrument and law brings in its opposite, liberty (which Polonius perhaps adds as an afterthought), to acknowledge that some writing is without law, though these actors, it appears, can cope with this no less well. Liberty has also the sense, inescapable for the Elizabethans, of an area outside the jurisdiction of the city officers - and it was of course in the liberties that plays normally took place. So the actors’ proficiency is quibbling extended to their acting both under authority and without it.
“Dover Wilson and Sisson are among those who seek to uphold the Q2 and F punctuation and hence attach ’for the law of writ, and the liberty’ to what precedes instead of to what follows. (Wilson links Seneca with ’propriety’ and Platus with ’careless genius’.) But the natural interpretation which makes prowess with both law and liberty a sign of the players’ versatility (the theme of the whole speech) is confirmed by Q1, which, while garbling the sense, witnesses to the rhythm and phrasing of the speech in contemporary performance (’For the law hath writ those are the onely men’)."
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