Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
| 2488 That lap’st in time and passion lets goe by | 3.4.107 |
|---|
1747-53 mtby4
mtby4: xref.
2488 Thirlby (1747-53): “suffering time to slip & his anger to decrease. [3.4.111 (2491)].”
Transcribed by BWK.
1765 john1/john2
john1 ≈ mtby4
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Johnson (ed. 1765): “That, having suffered time to slip, and passion to cool, lets go, &c.”
1791- rann
rann ≈ john1
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Rann (ed. 1791-): “having suffered time to pass, and resentment to cool.”
1819 cald1
cald1 = v1813 + TN //
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Caldecott ( ed. 1819): “‘For which, if I be lapsed in this place, I shall pay dear.’ TN [3.3.36 (1504)], Antonio.”
1826 sing1
sing1 ≈ john1 + Q1 magenta underlined
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Singer (ed. 1826): “Johnson explains this—’That having suffered time to slip and passion to cool, let’s go by,’ &c. This explanation is confirmed by the quarto of 1603: ‘Do you not come your tardy son to chide, That I thus long have let revenge slip by.’”
1853 coln
coln: (corr. fo, 1632)
2488 time]
Collier (1853, p. 427): “The amended reading offered in the folio, 1632, is,—‘That laps’d in
fume and passion,’ but ‘laps’d in time and passion’ may, nevertheless, be right, supposing Hamlet to intend that he has let slip the proper opportunity.”
1853 Singer
Singer: coln (corr. fo, 1632)
2488 time] Singer (1853, p. 265): “The determination to improve upon the language of the poet is so evident at every step, that we are not surprised to find a change proposed where the reading is undoubted and the alteration a detriment; such is the substitution of fume for ‘time.’ in the following passage of Hamlet’s address to the Ghost:— [quotes 3.4.106-108 (2487-9)]] Mr. Collier himself is obliged to confess that ‘the old reading may be right,’ and interference with it therefore impertinent.”
Singer is “vindicating” Sh. from “the interpolations and corruptions” advocated by Collier.
1854 del2
del2
2488 lap’st] Delius (ed. 1854): “laps’d ist der, welcher sich gehen lässt, lässig wird.” [A person is laps’d who lets himself go and becomes indolent.]
del2: coln (corr. fo, 1632)
2488 time] Delius (ed. 1854): “Vgl. Anm. 47. Der alte Corrector liest fume für time, worüber der wesentliche Zug verloren geht, dass Hamlet sich der Saumseligkeit in Ausführung des ihm gewordenen Rächeramts beschuldigt. Die ungehörige Zusammenstellung von fume und passion würde zugleich den letzteren Worten den einzig hierher passenden Sinn nehmen.” [The Old Corrector reads fume for time, and by doing this Hamlet’s characteristic feeling of guilt for procrastination in carrying out his role of avenger is lost. The incongruous juxtaposition of fume and passion would at the same time take from the previous words their only fitting sense.]
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1 = sing1 minus confirmation based on Q1 (“This explanation . . . slip by.”)
1857 fieb
fieb ≈ john1 without attribution
2488 time and passion] Fiebig (ed. 1857): “I.e. that, having suffered time to slip, and passion to cool, lets go by, etc.”
1858 col3
col3: coln (corr. fo, 1632)
2488 time] Collier (ed. 1854): “The corr. fo. 1632, has fume in its margin for ‘time’ in the text. We do not adopt fume, because, though it may have been the word used by some actor, when the old annotator saw the play, we doubt if it were the word of the poet, who probably used the expression ‘laps’d in time’ to indicate Hamlet’s indecision, which had allowed the proper period for revenge to escape.”
1868 c&mc
c&mc
2488-89 Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1868, rpt. 1878): “‘That allows the fulfillment of your solemn injunction to pass unperformed, as if because of lapsed time and abated ardour.’”
1869 tsch
tsch: contra (corr. fo, 1632)
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Der Zeit verlustig und der Leidenschaft; fume and passion, ist als unklares Bild und der Tautologie wegen zu verwerfen.” [Lapsed time and passion, fume and passion, is an unclear image and should be discarded because of the tautology.]
1872 hud2
hud2
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Hudson (ed. 1872): “The sense appears to be, having failed in respect both of time and of purpose. Or it may be, having allowed passion to cool by lapse of time.”
1872 del4
del4 = del2 for lap’st
1872 cln1
cln1: contra john1
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “Johnson explains: ‘having suffered time to go by and passion to cool.’ Or rather, the indulgence of mere passion has diverted him from the execution of his purpose.”
1873 rug2
rug2
2488 lap’st in time and passion] Moberley (ed. 1873): “Given up to delay and mere sentiment.”
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ john, cln1, col3, elze1
2488 time and passion]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Johnson: That, having suffered
time to
slip and
passion to
cool, lets go., &c.
Clarendon: Or rather the indulgence of mere passion has diverted him from the execution of his purpose.
Collier (ed. 2): The (MS) has fume for ‘time.’ We do not adopt fume, because, though it may have been the word used by some actor when the old annotator saw the play, we doubt if it were the word of Sh. , who probably used ‘laps’d in time’ to indicate Hamlet’s indecision, which had allowed the proper period for revenge to escape.
Elze: applauds and adopts fume.”
1878 rlf1
2488 lap’st in time and passion]
Rolfe (ed. 1878): “The meaning seems to be, having let time slip by while indulging in mere passion. Johnson says: “having suffered time to slip and passion to cool;” and
Schmidt: “who, surprised by you in a time and passion fit for the execution of your command, lets them go by.””
1882 elze2
elze2: Tell-Trothes . . . Gift, Mucedorus, and Samson Agon. anals.
2488 time and passion] Elze (ed. 1882): “Q2 and F1; om. Q1; Collier (MS): fume and passion. Fume might well have come from Sh’s pen. Compare Tell-Trothes New-yeares Gift, ed. Furnivall, p. 61: upon whose denial, in a great fume he flung forth of the doores, &c. Mucedorus, ed. Warnke and Proescholdt, p. 23 (Induction, 1. 66): And though thou think’st with tragic fumes, To brave my play &c. Milton, Samson Agonistes, 1.552: Whose heads that turbulent liquor fills with fumes.”
1883 wh2
wh2 ≈ rug2
2488 lap’st . . . passion] White (ed. 1883): “given up to delay and emotion.”
1883 Kinnear
Kinnear: xref.; coln (corr. fo, 1632)
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Kinnear (1883, p. 405-6): “‘laps’d in fume and passion’ = fallen into fume and rant. Compare Hamlet of himself [cites 2.2.581-586 (1622-27)], emphasis added on “vnpacke my hart”]. The old eds. have ‘That laps’t in Time and Passon.’—a misprint easily made. All the compared eds. retain ‘time.’ ‘fume’ is the reading of the Collier MS.”
1885 macd
macd
2488 lap’st . . . passion] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “1. ‘Who lapsed (fallen, guilty), lets action slip in delay and suffering.’ 2. ‘Who, lapsed in (fallen in, overwhelmed by) delay and suffering, omits’ &c. 3. ‘lapsed in respect of time, and because of passion’—the meaning of the preposition in, common to both, reacted upon by the word it governs. 4. ‘faulty both in delaying, and in yielding to suffering, when action is required.’ 5. ‘lapsed through having too much time and great suffering.’ 6. ‘Allowing himself to be swept along y time and grief.’
“Surely there is not another writer whose words would so often admit of such multiform and varied interpretation—each form good, and true, and suitable to the context! He seems to see at once all the relations of a thing, and to try to convey them at once, in an utterance single as the thing itself. He would condense the infinite soul of the meaning into the trembling, overtaxed body of the phrase!”
1885 mull
mull
2488 passion] Mull (ed. 1885): “suffering, or here sensibility.”
1888 mulls
mulls: cln1 + magenta underlined
2488 lap’st . . .
passion]
Mull (1888, p. 15): <p.15> “
i.e. ‘having declined by delay and in the strong emotion I entertained for revenge.’ The Clarendon editors render it, ‘the indulgence of mere passion has diverted him from the execution of his purpose.’” </p.15>
1889 Barnett
Barnett
2488-89 lap’st . . . command] Barnett (1889, p. 52): “having failed in duty in this life through giving way to his own feelings.”
1891 dtn
dtn
2488-89 That lap’st . . . command] Deighton (ed. 1891): “who, having allowed the time to pass in inactivity and passionate regrets, has failed to carry out your dread command, a matter of such pressing importance.”
1895 goll
goll
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Gollancz (ed. 1895, glossary): “having let the time slip by indulging in mere passion.”
1899 ard1
ard1: john, rlf1,
Schmidt,
coln (corr. fo, 1632); ≈
cald1 (
TN //)
2488 lap’st . . .
passion]
Dowden (ed. 1899): “Johnson: ‘having suffered time to slip and passion to cool.’ Rolfe: ‘having let time slip by while indulging in mere passion.’
Schmidt (guided by the use of lapsed in
TN [3.3.36 (1504)]: ‘surprised by you inm a time and passion fit for the execution of your command.’ Collier MS. has ‘fume’ for ‘time.’”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1 minus john,
Schmidt for
lap’st . . .
passion
1925 Kellner
Kellner: contra john; Wright
2488-89 lap’st . . . command] Kellner (1925, p. 66) : “Johnson’s explanation, ‘having suffered time to slip and passion to cool’ is not acceptable. W.A. Wright says, the indulgence of mere passion has diverted him from the execution of his purpose. If this interpretation is right, then very likely the original reading was love, not time. See §117.”
Kellner cites this example under the general category misprints “i misprinted for o,” (§80)., though he indicates that a second category of misprint is involved: §117 involves “m misprinted for u (v).” This conjectural emendation is a bit strained.
1929 trav
trav: john, Wilson
2488 lap’st . . .
passion]
Travers (ed. 1929): “Johnson’s interpretation was: having suffered time to go by and passion to cool. Prof. Wilson adopts the sense
of lapsed in the only other passage in Sh. (
TN [3.3.36 (1504)]) and explains: become the prisoner of time (=circumstances) and “passion’s slave” [3.2.72 (1923)]. Having to struggle against “paroxysms of passion which, while they last, are akin to insanity’ is, indeed, part of his tragedy (D. W.).”
1931 crg1
crg1 = john
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Craig (ed. 1931): “having suffered time to slip and passion to cool (Johnson); also explained as ‘engrossed in casual events and lapsed into mere fruitless passion, so that he no longer entertains a rational purpose.”
1934 cam3
2488 lap’st . . .
passion]
Wilson (ed. 1934): “Hitherto unexplained, because it has been forgotten that ‘time’ in Sh. often means ‘circumstance, the conditions of the moment’ (cf. [4.7.110-13 (3109-12)] ‘love is begun by time’ and ‘convenience both of time and means’). Further, ‘lapsed’ (v. G.) in the only other place Sh. uses it (
Tw. Nt. 3.3.36) means ‘arrested’ or ‘taken prisoner.’ Thus Ham. describes himself as ‘the prisoner of circumstance and of passion,’ repeating ‘passion’s slave’ of 3.2.70, and referring to those fits of morbid excitement which so often take possession of him. Cf.
Introd. p. lxiv and notes [3.1.120 (1776)]; [3.4.179 (2555+1)]; [5.1.284 (3482)]; [5.2.232 (3684)]
Schmidt, also citing
TN. [3.3.36 (1504)], interprets the whole passage: ‘who, surprised by you in a time and passion fit for the execution of your command, lets them go by.’”
1934 cam3 Glossary
cam3:
TN // without attribution to
Schmidt;
OED
2488 lap’st] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary): “Generally explained ‘having let (time) slip’; better, I think, ‘apprehended, arrested.’ Cf. TN [3.3.36 (1504)], N.E.D. [OED] (v. ‘lap,’ sb.1 6) commenting on the latter passage suggests association with ‘laps’ and quotes Strype (1558) ‘fallen in the Lapse of the Law’ and Daus (1560) ‘fel into the lappes of their ennemies’ (v. note).”
1939 kit2
kit2 = john
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “‘having suffered time to slip and passion to cool’ (Johnson). Literally, laps’d means ‘having slipped or failed.’”
kit2
2489 important] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “momentous.”
1942 n&h
n&h ≈ ard1
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Neilson & Hill (ed. 1942): “having let slip time and the desire for revenge.”
1947 yal2
yal2
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Cross & Brooke (ed. 1947): “frittering away time and energy.”
1957 pel1
pel1 ≈ kit2 without attribution to john1
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Farnham (ed. 1957): “having let the moment slip and passion cool.”
1958 fol1
fol1
2488 laps’t . . . passion] Wright & LaMar (ed. 1958): “having wasted opportunity and failed to act on passionate impulse.”
1974 evns1
evns1 = john
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Evans (ed. 1974): “ ‘having suffered time to slip and passion to cool’ (Johnson).”
evns1 = crb1
2489 important] Evans (ed. 1974): “urgent.”
1980 pen2
pen2
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Spencer (ed. 1980): “having allowed time to slip by and his passionate commitment to his task of revenge to cool (also sometimes interpreted as ‘deteriorated into mere emotion’).”
1982 ard2
ard2: xrefs.; Dover Wilson
2488 laps’d . . . passion] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Commentators divide on whether Hamlet has failed through too little passion or too much. I take the natural interpretation to be that he has let both time and passion slip away. This (significantly) accords with a recurrent motif of the play – the failure of human purposes through a weakening of passion or resolve. See [3.1.83-87 (1738-42), 4.7.118-121 (3112+5-3112+8)], and esp. 3.2.188-189 (2056-7)] (where the purpose fails because the passion ends). Dover Wilson (among others) argues for the opposite: that Hamlet has fallen into inactivity through to great indulgence in passion.”
1984 chal
chal
2488 passion] Wilkes (ed. 1984): “passion the strong feeling appropriate to an avenger.”
1985 cam4
cam4 ≈ Schmidt (
TN //);
contra john1
2488 lap’st]
Edwards (ed. 1985): “
Schmidt compares
TN [3.3.36 (1504)], the only other occasion Sh. uses the word, ‘If I be lapsed in this place, / I shall pay dear’, and his gloss is ‘surprised taken in the act’. His paraphrase here is ‘surprised by you in a time and passion fit for the execution of your command’. This is much more suitable than Johnson’s ‘having suffered time to slip and passion to cool’. The Ghost intervenes when Hamlet’s passion is anything but cool. At a time when he has confirmed the Ghost’s words and is all worked up, he is misusing his passion in doing what the Ghost has specifically forbidden – punishing his mother – and neglecting the revenge he was ordered to carry out.”
1987 oxf4
2488-9 That lap’st . . .
command]
Hibbard (ed. 1987): “The meaning of these lines is disputed.
Schmidt connects
lapsed with its use in
TN 3.3.36-7 [1504]: ‘For which, if I be lapsed in this place, / I shall pay dear’, where lapsed signifies ‘surprised’, ‘apprehended’. He therefore construes the passage thus: ‘who, surprised by you in a time and passion fir for the execution of your command, lets them go by’. Dr. Johnson, on the other hand, taking
lapsed to mean ‘having fallen into error’, interprets the lines: ‘having suffered time to go by and passion to cool’. This explanation is the simpler and the one that fits the facts better.”
1988 bev2
bev2 ≈ evns1 without attribution + magenta underlined
2488 lap’st in time and passion] Bevington (ed. 1988): “having allowed time to lapse and passion to cool, or, having lost momentum through excessive indulgence in passion.”
bev2 ≈ evns1 without attribution
2489 important] Bevington (ed. 1988): “importunate, urgent.”
2001 Greenblatt
Greenblatt
2488 lap’st . . . passion] Greenblatt (2001, p.223): “considers the phrase ambiguous, “poised between the reproach of coolness and the reproach of excess.”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: MacDonald
2488 That. . . passion] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Commentators agree that Hamlet is accusing himself of having wasted time, but they disagree on whether he is also saying he has allowed his original passion (for revenge) to cool. MacDonald offers six different meanings for the phrase: ’1. Who, lapsed (fallen, guilty), lets action slip in delay and suffering; 2. Who, lapsed in (fallen in, overwhelmed by) delay and suffering, omits etc.; 3. lapsed in respect of time, and because of passion -- the meaning of the preposition in, common to both, reacted upon by the word it governs; 4. faulty both in delaying, and in yielding to suffering, when action is required; 5. lapsed through having too much time and great suffering; 6. allowing himself to be swept along by time and grief.’ In the immediate context it seems equally likely that he is acknowledging that he is indulging in the wrong kind of passion -- directed against his mother.”
2488
