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Line 2593 - Commentary Note (CN) More Information

Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.
2593 {Ger.}<Qu.> Mad as the {sea} <Seas> and wind when both contend4.1.7
1733- mtby3
mtby3
Mad . . . mightier] Thirlby (1733-): “[illegible source] 29, 30. If Hercules and L [?] play at dice Which is the better man.”
Transcribed by BWK.
1790 mal
mal: Lr. //
2593 Mad . . . contend] Malone (ed. 1790): “We have precisely the same image in Lr. [4.4.1-2 (2352-3)] expressed with more brevity: ‘—he was met even now, As mad as the vex’d sea.’ Malone.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = mal
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793
1813 v1813
v1813 = v1803
1819 cald1
cald1 ≈ v1813
2593 Mad . . . contend] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “Lr. 4.4.1-2 (2352-3)] Cord.”
Caldecott omits introd and specifies reference.
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
1826 sing1
sing1 ≈ cald1
2593 mad . . . contend] Singer (ed. 1826): “Thus in Lr. 4.4.1-2 (2352-3)]: ‘—he was met e’en now As mad as the vex’d sea.’”
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
1856b sing2
sing2 = sing1
1857 fieb
fieb ≈ mal (incl. Lr. //) for mad . . . sea
1868 c&mc
c&mc
2593 Mad . . . wind] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1868, rpt. 1878): “Here Queen Gertrude both follows her son’s injunction of keeping up the belief in his madness, and, with maternal ingenuity, makes it the excuse for his rash deed. This affords a clue to Hamlet’s original motive in putting ‘an antic disposition on’ and feigning insanity; he foresaw that it might be useful to obviate suspicion of his having a steadily-pursued object in view, and to account for whatever hostile attempt he should make.”
1869 tsch
tsch: R2 //
2593 Mad . . . sea] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Ein bei Sh. beliebtes Bild. Cf. R2 1.1.18. High stomach’d are they both and full of ire, In rage deaf as the sea, hasty as fire.” [One of Shakespeare’s favorite images. Cf.R2 [1.1.18-9 (22)]. High stomach’d are they both and full of ire, In rage deaf as the sea, hasty as fire.]
1875 Marshall
Marshall
2593-8 Mad . . . man] Marshall (1875, pp. 59-60): <p.59>“This speech is certainly, at first sight, a most puzzling one; we have just heard Gertrude give her son the most solemn assurance that she will not reveal to his uncle the fact that his madness is assumed; therefore we must understand that she is now deliberately deceiving Claudius, and affecting to believe in the reality of Hamlet’s madness. Otherwise it would seem that the Queen had only pretended to believe her son was not mad, and that she was now giving his uncle fresh cause to put some restraint on him. The meaning of her conduct becomes much more intelligible on reference to the Quarto of 1603. </p.59><p.60>
“In that edition a subsequent scene between the Queen and Horatio, to which I have before alluded, makes it clear that the author’s intention was to represent the Queen now as helping Hamlet’s counterplots against the treachery of Claudius. In order to do this, she could adopt no better device that to pretend a most thorough belief in the genuineness of her son’s madness, knowing, as we have seen, from the latter part of the preceding act, she did, that Hamlet had determined to go to England agreeably to the advice, or rather the command, of Claudius.” </p.60>
Here Marshall is referring to the scene between Horatio and Gertrude, which appears only in Q1. Marshall provides this scene in Appendix M, p. 176.
1877 v1877
v1877 = c&mc
2593 Mad] Furness (ed. 1877): “Clarke: The Queen both follows her son’s injunction of keeping up the belief in his madness, and, with maternal ingenuity, makes it the excuse for his rash deed. This affords a clue to Hamlet’s original motive in putting ‘an antic disposition on’ and feigning insanity; he foresaw that it might be useful to obviate suspicion of his having a steadily-pursued object in view, and to account for whatever hostile attempt he should make.”
1878 rlf1
rlf1 ≈ c&mc minus “This affords . . . make.”
2593 mad] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “’The queen both follows her son’s injunction in keeping up the belief in his madness, and, with maternal ingenuity, makes it the excuse for his rash deed’ (Clarke).”
1885 macd
macd ≈ v1877 (abbrev.) without attribution
2593-4 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “She is faithful to her son, declaring him mad, and attributing the death of the ‘unseen’ Polonius to his madness.”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1
1930 Granville-Barker
Granville-Barker
2593-8 Granville-Barker (1930, rpt. 1946, 1: 227): Gertrude “does not tell [the king] everything. Polonius’ death is news enough; the rest, after all, was madness. But here, we may gather, starts a rift between them; from now on they will stay conjugally apart, and he feels he has lost her.” Ed. note: Granville-Barker assumes a division between the couple but cannot see that the justification for that interpretation lies in her decision to obey Hamlet’s wishes and withhold information from the king.
1934 cam3
cam3: xrefs.
2593 Mad as the sea] Wilson (ed. 1934): “Obedient to Ham.’s implied command at [3.4.186-8 (2562-4)], the Queen insists upon his madness for the rest of the play; cf. [5.1.284-8 (3482-6)].”
1939 kit2
kit2: xref.
2593 mad] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “Despite Hamlet’s protestations in [3.4.139ff. (2522ff.)]., the Queen still believes that he is mad, and that he was really trying to kill a rat behind the arras. His seeing the Ghost and talking with it has confirmed this opinion. Thus she can conceal his protestations of sanity without being false to her husband.”
1947 yal2
yal2: xref.
2593 Mad as the sea and wind] Cross & Brooke (ed. 1947): “The queen’s report attempts to free Hamlet of responsibility for Polonius’ death. She does not really think him mad, but avoids doing what Hamlet has instructed her not to do. See [3.4.181-8 (2557-64)].”
1987 oxf4
oxf4 macd
2593-8 Mad . . . man] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “Gertrude keeps the promise she made to her son, not only by stressing his ‘madness’ but also by ‘translating’ Polonius’s cry for help into a mere noise made by something or other stirring behind the arras, and thus suggesting that the rat Hamlet referred to was literal not metaphorical.”
oxf4: Dent
2593 Mad as the sea] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “proverbial (Dent S170).”
1992 Adelman
Adelman
2409-10 Adelman (1992, p. 15, quoted by Griffiths, 2005, p. 77): “Insofar as [Gertrude] follows Hamlet’s instructions in reporting his madness to Claudius (3.4.189-90; 4.1.7), she seems to enact every son’s scenario for the good mother, choosing his interests over her husband’s. But she may of course believe that he is mad and think that she is reporting accurately to her husband.”
1993 dent
dent: xref.
2593 Mad] Andrews (ed. 1993): “The Queen’s first words about the preceding interview indicate that she has indeed shifted her loyalty to Hamlet, at least to the extent of protecting him from the charge that what he did was intentional. She is now a willing party to his ‘Antic Disposition’ [1.5.173 (868)], his use of a pretence of insanity to excuse actions that would otherwise be regarded as capital crimes.”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: 2557-64 xref; Dent
2593 Mad. . . sea] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “proverbial (Dent, S170). Q2’s singular sea consorts better with both than F’s ’Seas’ and is supported by Q1’s ’Alas my lord, as raging as the sea’. The Queen seems to be obeying Hamlet’s request or command at 3.4.179-86 [2557-64]. Sometimes in performance she shrinks from the King’s touch, but she has to defend him from Laertes in 4.5 so it may be inconsistent for her to express a complete change of heart.”
2593