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Line 2167+1 - 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 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary

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

2167+1 {Enter Rosencraus and Guyldensterne.}

1870 Miles

Miles

2167+1 Miles (1870, p. 50): “The instant he perceives [Rosencrantz and Guildenstern], his hysterical mirth curdles into deadly scorn. With princely and measured disdain, he beats back their joint attack, trampling alike on them and on the royalty they represent. This trialogue is one of the most memorable portions of the play. Every speech of Hamlet’s, has the flash and sweep of an archangel’s sword.”

1929 trav

trav

2167+1 Travers (ed. 1929): “F. prints this after 275; which would account for 276-8 somewhat differently. But directions in advance, for the benefit of the players, are a common feature of promptbooks (cp. the uncertainty in n. 3 p. 55).”

1934 Wilson

Wilson

2167+1 Wilson (1934, rpt. 1963, 2:184): <2:184> “Brief consideration may, however, be given to one instance in which I think the direction in Q2 has been displaced, though hardly any editor seems to have noticed it. F1 gives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern their re-entry before [3.2.292 (2164)] after the play scene in 3.2, and the position is most apt since it explains Hamlet’s laugh and also his calling for the recorders, as he turns his back upon the spies and deliberately ignores them. That Q2 prints the entry after [3.2.295 (2167)], i.e. at the end of Hamlet’s speech, is due, I suggest to the fact that [3.2.291 (2163)] is the last on a page, so that the stage direction had to be carried over not only on to another page but into another printer’s forme, where it was not unnaturally inserted immediately before Guildenstern’s first speech. This explanation is borne out by the entry for Hamlet and Horatio in [5.1.56 (3245)], where Q2 postpones the SD for four lines for exactly the same reason.” </2:184>

1982 ard2

ard2: contra Wilson; contra john

2167+1 Jenkins (ed. 1982): “S.D.] It is unnecessary to see their entry as motivating Hamlet’s ‘Ah ha!’ (Dover Wilson, following F) or, after a pause at ‘belike’, his impromptu conclusion of the couplet (Johnson).Their first words, however, suggest that Hamlet does not give them immediate or unsolicited attention.”

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2: ≈ ard2; TxC //; Edwards

2167+1 Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “F’s earlier placing (see t.n.) may suggest that the appearance of the two spying courtiers motivates Hamlet’s further burst of manic behaviour (though Edwards suggests that he ’pointedly ignores’ them). TxC takes Q1’s agreement with the earlier placing of this [stage direction] as confirmation that it reflects stage practice.”