Line 2337 - 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
| 2337 There is no shufling, there the action lies | 3.3.61 |
|---|
1819 cald1
cald1: xref.
2337-8 lies . . . his] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “The transaction shews or presents itself; the suit, stripped of all chicane, is entertained and prosecuted simply as it is: and there it is that we are compelled, &c. For the use of the personal pronoun here, see ‘his own scandal.’ [2.1.29 (921)] Haml.”
1854 del2
del2
2337 shufling] Delius (ed. 1854): “shuffling = Gaukelei, Spiegelfechterei.” [shuffling means trickery or pretence.]
1857 fieb
fieb
2337 shufling] Fiebig (ed. 1857): “To shuffle, properly, to throw the cards into a new order; thence, to practice fraud or artifice.”
1869 tsch
tsch: xref.
2337 shufling] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Kniff. cf. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil. III. 1. 67.” [break. Cf. "When we have shuffled off this mortal coil." [3.1.66 (1721)].
1872 cln1
cln1
2337 lies] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “Here Shakespeare uses the word in its legal sense.”
1877 v1877
v1877=cln1
2337 lies]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Clarendon: This word is here used in its legal sense.”
1878 rlf1
rlf1 ≈ cln1
2337 lies] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Used in the legal sense (Wr.).”
1888 macl
macl
2337 the action lies] Maclachlan (ed. 1888): “When an action is maintainable by the plaintiff against the defendant, it is said the action lies.”
1889 Barnett
Barnett: xref.
2337 shufling] Barnett (1889, p. 50): “a doublet of scuffling. Here it has the sense of shiftiness, but in Hamlet’s soliloquy, it has its root senses—‘When we have shuffled off (pushed off) this mortal coil’ [[3.1.66 (1721)].”
1891 dtn
dtn: contra cln1
2337-8 There . . . nature] Deighton (ed. 1891): “before God’s tribunal there is no evading justice, there the deed is seen in its real enormity. The Cl. Pr. Edd. say that Shakespeare here uses lies in its legal sense; but though there is probably a play upon the word in that sense, it can scarcely be the only or even the primary one.”
1899 ard1
ard1 ≈ cln1
2337 lies] Dowden (ed. 1899): “Clar. Press: ‘used in its legal sense.’”
1903 rlf3
rlf3=rlf1 minus cln1 attrib. for lies (2337)
1904 ver
ver: xref.
2337-40 Verity (ed. 1904): “The language is that of “the law” (60). Thus action has the double sense ‘deed’ and ‘legal action,’ and lies (‘lies bare, is seen in its bare colours’) has reference to the legal phrase that ‘an action lies.’
“Shakespeare’s partiality for legal terms and accuracy in using them (cf. [5.1.98-112 (3289-3303)]) indicate a considerable knowledge of law, and it has been conjectured that as a youth he may have been in an attorney’s office. But his use of technical terms in general is very correct. King Lear shows that his medical knowledge was great; yet the medical profession have not claimed him as a doctor.”
1931 crg1
crg1
2337 shufling] Craig (ed. 1931): “escape by trickery.”
1934 cam3
cam3
2337-8 the action . . . true nature] Wilson (ed. 1934): “the deed is seen in its true colors. A quibble on the legal terms ‘action,’ ‘lie,’ v.G. ‘lie.’”
1934 cam3 Glossary
cam3
2337-8 lie] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “(vb.), in the legal sense, to be admissible or sustainable.”
1939 kit2
kit2
2337 There] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “Emphatic.”
kit2
2337-8 there . . . nature] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “There (in God’s court) the suit must be brought in its true nature—in exact accord with the facts. An action at law is said to lie when it may legally be brought.”
1947 cln2
cln2
2337 action] Rylands (ed. 1947): “in the double sense of an act and an action at law.”
1957 pel1
pel1
2337 shufling] Farnham (ed. 1957): “shuffling sharp practice, double-dealing action legal proceeding (in heaven’s court).”
1974 evns1
evns1
2337 shufling] Evans (ed. 1974): “evasion.”
evns1
2337 the action lies] Evans (ed. 1974): “the charge comes for legal consideration.”
1980 pen2
pen2
2337 There . . . there] Spencer (ed. 1980): “(emphasized in heaven) in heaven.”
pen2 ≈ crg1
2337 shufling] Spencer (ed. 1980): “trickery.”
pen2
2337-8 the action lies | In] Spencer (ed. 1980): “(probably ‘legal action can be brought against us according to’, as well as ‘the wicked deed is revealed in’).”
1982 ard2
ard2
2337 There] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “(empathetic) above, in heaven.”
ard2: xref.
2337 shufling] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “evasion by trickery, sleight-of-hand. Cf. [4.7.137 (3127)]. A variant of shovelling, the word recalls shove (l.58), in order to enforce the contrast between ‘this world’ and ‘above’.”
ard2
2337 the action lies] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “the deed is exposed to view, with a quibble on the legal sense of both words. By a further quibble, that paradoxically lies which shows its true nature.”
1984 chal
chal: xref.
2337 shufling] Wilkes (ed. 1984): “shuffling a) the ‘shoving’ [3.3.58 (2334)] b) deceit, evasion.”
chal
2337 action] Wilkes (ed. 1984): “action suit.”
chal
2337 lies] Wilkes (ed. 1984): “lies is admissible or sustainable (law).”
1988 bev2
bev2
2337 There] Bevington (ed. 1988): “i.e., in heaven.”
bev2=ceg1 for shufling
bev2 ≈ evns1
2337 the action lies] Bevington (ed. 1988): “the accusation is made manifest, comes up for consideration. (A legal metaphor).”
1985 cam4
cam4
2337 the action lies] Edwards (ed. 1985): “A legal phrase, meaning that a case is admitted to exist. But of course it also means that every deed lies exposed to God’s scrutiny.”
1993 dent
dent
2337-8 there . . . nature] Andrews (ed. 1993): “There (before God) the case (legal ‘Action’) is presented in its true character, with no trickery. Since Claudius’ ‘Action’ depends upon ‘lies’ for its success in ‘this World’, his words do ‘double Business’ here.”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: ≈ ard2; 3127 xref; Jenkins
2337 shuffling] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “ trickery (as at 4.7.135 [3127]). Jenkins points out that shuffling is a variant of ’shovelling’, supporting shove in 58.”
ard3q2
2337 the action lies] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “the case exists (a standard legal phrase).”
2337