Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
| 2729 By Letters {congruing} <coniuring> to that effect | 4.3.64 |
|---|
1726 theon
theon: xef.; Mac, Rom. //s
2729 congruing]
Theobald (1726, pp. 109-110): <p.109> “Methinks, there is an unnecessary Tautology in this Term
Congruing, which is avoided by the Various Reading that possesses many of the Editions, and is taken Notice of by the
Editor at the Bottom of his Page. If the
Letters, importing the Tenour of this Process, were to
that Effect, they were certainly
congruing; but of no great Use, when the sovereign Process imported the
same Thing. Now a Process might import a Command, and Letters
conjuring a Compliance with it be sent, and be of great Efficacy, where the Execution of the Command was to be doubted of, or might admit of a Demur. I cannot therefore but think the other Reading the truest; and the Passage ought to be pointed thus; ‘
Our Sovereign Process, which imports at full, By Letters CONJURING
to that Effect, The present Death of Hamlet.’
“
Hamlet, who put a Change upon his Uncle’s Commission, and reversed the Substance of it, ‘tis likely, kept to the Model of it in That which He drew up: And, where he recounts the Contents of it to
Horatio, we find him beginning his Command by forcible Conjurations implying the Necessety of it. See
pag. 460 [5.2.37-41ff. (3539-43ff.)] </p.109><p.110> ‘Haml.—
Wilt Thou know Th’Effect of What I wrote? Hor. —
Ay, my good Lord. Haml.
An earnest CONJURATION
from the King, As England was his faithful Tributary, As Peace should still &c.’
“Perhaps, the Editor might dislike the word conjuring here, because the Cadence of the Verse requires that the Accent should lie upon the Antepenultima; and the Sense, that it should like upon the Penultima. To explain this Difference; when we intend by conjure, to signify a solemn Adjuration only, we lay the Accent upon the last Syllable; where we mean by it a magical Invocation or Effect, the Accent falls upon the first. But our Poet uses the Word in both these Senses promiscuously, without regard to this Difference in the Pronunciation; and, I believe, generally, if not always, will be found to lay the Stress upon the first Syllable. So, again, in Ham,. pag. 457 [5.1.254-7 (3449-52)] ‘—What is He, whose Griefs Bear such an Emphasis? whose Phrase of Sorrow Conjures the wand’ring Stars, and makes them stand Like wonder-wounded Hearers?’
“So, in Mac., pag. 568 [4.1.50-51 (1580-81)]. ‘I conjure You by That which you profess, Howe’er you come to know it, answer Me.
“So, in
Rom.,
pag. 268 [2.1.17-8 (767-8)]. ‘
I conjure
Thee by Rosaline’s bright Eyes, By her high Forehead, &c.’ </p.110><p.111>
“And, again, in the next Page [2.1.27-9 (778-9)]; ‘—my Invocation is Honest and fair, and in his Mistress’ Name I conjure only but to raise up Him.’
“Indeed, but three Lines before the last quoted Instance, he seems to lay the Accent upon the last Syllable of this Word by the Necessity of the Numbers; tho’ the Sense and Acceptation, which it carries, require it to be pronounced with the Accent on the first. ‘—letting it there stand, Till She had laid it, and conjur’d it down.’
“But, perhaps, either the
Copyists, or the
Press, by Mistake, made a small Variation from the Author here; and this wrong Cadence is easily cur’d by only taking out the first
it, which is of no Use there; and extending the Second Verb to three Syllables, by pronouncing it, without the
Apostrophe, at length; than which Nothing is more frequent throughout our Author’s Works: As, ‘
Till She had laid, and conjured
it down.’” <p.111>
1755 Johnson Dict.
Johnson
2729 congruing] Johnson (1755): “agreeing; correspondent.”
1765 Heath
Heath ≈ theon (abbrev.)
2729 congruing]
Heath (1765, pp.543-4) notes: <p.543>“Mr. Theobald, in his Shakespear restored, p.109— </p.543><p.544>111. hath made it fully evident, that the genuine reading, authorized by many of the editions is, ‘
By letters conjuring
to that effect.’” <p.544>
1774 capn
capn
2729 congruing] Capell (1774, 1:1: glossary, congruing): “congruent: agreeing. Lat. congruens.”
1780 malsi
malsi: Hystory of Hamblet analogue
2729 congruing] Malone (ed. 1778, p.359): “The reading of the folio is supported by the following passage in The Hystory of Hamblet, bl. let. ‘—making the king of England minister of his massecring resolution; to who he purposed to send him [Hamlet], and by letters, desire him to put him to death.’ So also, by a subsequent line: ‘Ham. Wilt thou know The effect of what I wrote? Hor. Ay, good my lord. Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king &c.’ [5.2.38 (3540)].
“The circumstances mentioned as inducing the king to send the prince to England, rather than elsewhere, are likewise found in The Hystory of Hamblet. Malone.”
1790 mal
mal = v1785; ≈ theon (Mac., Rom. //s) + magenta underlined
2729 congruing] Malone (ed. 1790): “Effect was formerly used for act or deed, simply, and is so used in the line before us. So, in Leo’s Historie of Africa, translated by Pory, folio, 1600, p. 253: ‘Three daies after this effect, there came to us a Zuum, that is, a captaine,’ &c. See also supra, p. 340, n.9.
“The verb to conjure (in the sense of to supplicate,) was formerly accented on the first syllable. So, in Mac. [4.1.50-51 (1580-81)]: ‘I cónjure you, by that which you profess,Howe’er you come to know it, answer me.’
“Again, in KJ [4.2.269 (1994)]: [ ‘I cónjure thee but slowly; run more fast.’
“Again, in Rom. [2.1.17-18 (767-768)]: ‘I cónjure thee, by Rosaline’s bright eyes.’—
“Again, in MM [2404]: ‘O Prince, I cónjure thee, as thou believ’st.’ &c. Malone.”
1791- rann
rann
2729 congruing] Rann (ed. 1791-): ‘cónjuring] soliciting pressingly.”
1805 Seymour
Seymour: Homer analogue
2729-30 Letters . . . Hamlet] Seymour (1805, p. 194): “Vide Homer’s Iliad, Book VI. where Ballerophon is sent to Lycia, in the same manner.”
1819 cald1
cald1: xref.; Rom. //; Baret, Minshieu
2729 congruing] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “In [5.2.38 (3540)] we have ‘Wilt thou know the effect of what I wrote? An earnest conjuration from the king.’ Ham.
“And in this sense of earnest solicitation or entreaty this word is used in Rom. ‘I do defy thy conjurations.’ [5.3.68 (2921)]. Paris.
“The word conjurre, in the sense of ‘entreat, implore, or supplicate,’ is not known to the dictionary writers of our author’s day: nor throughout our author is the word conjure any where, as we recollect, used in that sense, with the accentuation, plainly and clearly, as is the modern use, thrown upon the last syllable. In its orignial accentuation and sense, in numberless pages of our author, and in Baret’s Alvearie, 1580, and Minshieu, 1617, a year after our author’s death, to conjure is interpreted to adjure, obtest, joint together in calling upon heaven in the exercise of magical rites, to exorcise. For conjuring the quartos read congruing.”
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
Boswell adjusts reference from mal: “See Also supra, p. 399, n. 2.”
1822 Nares
Nares: Hall analogue
2729 congruing] Nares (1822, glossary, conjure): “To agree. Accented on the first. [Hamlet passage cited]. To conjúre, obtestor, or to bind by asseveration, and to cónjure, to use magical arts, were not then always distinguished from each other, or from this; all were accented cónjure. Instances are found in Shakespeare both ways: and Hall has conjúr’d, for raised by conjuration: ‘But who conjúr’d this bawdie Poggie’s ghost?’ Sat. B.2. S.1 So fluctuating was accent as yet.”
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1 +
2729 congruing]
Caldecott (ed. 1832): “and so only: and in Dr. Pryce’s
Cornish Vocabulary, 4to. 1790, we find ‘
Conjur, to abjure, conjure.
“In Miege’s Great English and French Orthographical Dict. fo.1688, the noun is rendered ‘enchantement’ and the verb in its different senses ‘exorcise and supplicate.’ And see Rom. 2.1, Merc. ‘I cònjure thee’ [2.1.17 (767)] and ‘conjùr’d it down’ [2.1.26 (776)]where the word in the same sense is differently accentuated, the only instance in which such a thing has occurred. In Skinner fo. 1671 the word does not occur at all: [here the capping collation note]”
Supplement interpolated before capping collation note.
1843 col1
col1: H5 //
2729 congruing] Collier (ed. 1843): “The same word occurs in the quartos of H5 (See Vol. iv. p. 476, note 7 [2.1.54 (556)]), which the folio there alters to congreeing. The text of the folio seems preferable, although the quartos may be right.”
1854 del2
del2
2729 congruing] Delius (ed. 1854): conjuring] “conjuring ist hier adjectivisch: durch Briefe, die zu dem Endzwecke (effect d. h. the present death of Hamlet) beschwörend, dringlich sind. Für conjuring haben die Quartos congruing. To cónjure ist die gewöhnliche Betonung bei Sh.; seltener findet sich bei ihm to conjúre.” [conjuring is here an adjective: by urgent letters demanding the final result (effect, i. e., the present death of Hamlet). For conjuring the Quartos have congruing. To cónjure is the usual emphasis for Shakespeare; conjúre is found less frequently in his works.]
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1: cald1 (Rom. //) without attribution
2729 congruing] Hudson (ed. 1851-6): “The folio has conjuring; the quartos congruing, which may be right, in the sense of concurring or agreeing. Conjuring is earnestly requesting. See Rom. [5.3.68 (2921)], note 3. H.”
1857 fieb
fieb ≈ mals1 (Historie source); ≈ theon (Rom., KJ //s); xref.)
2729 congruing] Fiebig (ed. 1857): [conjuring] “Thus the folio; conjuring, adjectively, whilst the present accent of the verb is to conjure, to supplicate. There are many examples to be found in Shakespeare’s plays, by which it may be proved that the verb to conjure was formerly accented on the first syllable. So, in KJ [4.2.269 (1994)]: ‘I conjure thee but slowly; fun more fast.’ Again in Rom. [767-68]; ‘I conjure thee, by Rosaline’s bright eyes.’—Conjuring is the reading of the folio; the quartos read congruing. The reading of the folio, says Malone, may derive some support from the following passage in The History of Hamblet: ‘—making the king of England minister of his massacring resolution; to whom he purposed to send him, (Hamlet) and by letters desire him to put him to death. So also, by a subsequent line: ‘Ham. Wilt thou know the effect of what I wrote?/Hor. Ay, good my lord./Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king,’ etc. [5.2.38 (3540)]”
1861 wh1
wh1
2729 congruing] White (ed. 1861): “conjuring] This accent is very unusual, I believe. ‘Conjure,’ when used in the sense of earnestly entreat, is generally accented on the last syllable.”
1869 tsch
tsch
2729 congruing . . . effect] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Ich ziehe congruing to that effect der Qs. jener andern Lesart vor, weil a) der Accent für congrue spricht. b) Weil der König, seine Ueberlegenheit England gegenüber ("sovereign process") in einer Weise bezeichnet, dass anzunehmen ist, in den Briefen sei der Inhalt seiner Absichten nur als Wunsch oder höchstens als Befehl mit versteckter Drohung ausgedrückt gewesen. Bis zum "Beschwören" des jüngst gedemüthigten England d u r f t e sich der König nicht herablassen, auch wenn ihm noch so viel an der Ermordung Hamlets lag.” [I prefer congruing to that effect of the Qs. to that other reading because: a) the accent supports congrue, b) because the king shows his superiority to England (sovereign process) in such a way that it can be assumed that in the letters his wishes are expressed only as a wish or at most as a command with a hidden threat. It is not permissable for the king to lower himself to entreat the recently humbled England, no matter how much he wishes the murder of Hamlet.]
1872 hud2
hud2 = hud1
2729 congruing] Hudson (ed. 1872): cónjuring,] “In Shakespeare’s time the two senses of conjure had not acquired each its peculiar way of pronouncing the word. Here conjuring has the first syllable long, with the sense of earnestly entreating.”
1872 cln1
cln1
2729 congruing] “So the quartos. The folios have ‘conjuring, probably a misprint, although it yields a fair sense.”
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ theon (abbrev.), cln1
2729 congruing]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Theobald (
Sh. Rest. 109}: If the ‘letters,’ importing the tenour of the process, were to that effect, they were certainly congruing; but of no great use, when the sovereign process imported the same thing. Now a process might import a command, and letters
conjuring a compliance with it be sent, and be of great efficacy, where the execution of the command was to be doubted of. Moreover, Ham. when he changed the substance of the commission would be likely to retain the form, and we find him using ‘earnest conjurations.’ As to the accent, Sh. generally accented the first syllable.
Clarendon thinks ‘conjuring’ probably a misprint, although it yields a fair sense.”
1878 rlf1
rlf1: rug; MND //
2729 congruing] Rolfe (ed. 1878): Conjuring.] “The folio reading; the quartos have ‘congruing,’ which Wr. prefers. On the accent of conjure in S. see MND [3.2.158 (1183)] p. 164.”
1890 irv2
irv2: H5 //; Stone
2729 congruing] Symons (Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “This is the reading of Qq,; Ff. have conjuring. It is very doubtful which of the two words is the right one, and which the misprint. On the whole congruing seems to me the better reading. The word does not occur anywhere else in Shakespeare, except in the pirated and spurious Qq. of H5 [2.1.54 (556)], where the reading of Ff. is congreeing—a word not met with elsewhere, and perhaps, as Mr. Stone suggests in his edition of the play, formed by Shakespeare by analogy with agree.”
1891 dtn
dtn
2729 congruing] Deighton (ed. 1891): “conjuring] is the reading of the folios, the quartos giving congruing, the objection to which is its tautology.”
1899 ard1
ard1: xref.; MM//
2729 congruing] Dowden (ed. 1899): conjuring] “This word, rather than Q congruing, corresponds with the ‘earnest conjuration’ of the document, described by Hamlet in [5.2.38 (3540)]. The accent on the first syllable is found in MM [5.1.48 (2404)].”
1903 p&c
p&c
2729 Letters] Porter & clarke (ed. 1903): “See quotation from the ‘Hystorie’ in Sources, p. 158.”
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1 minus rug
2729 congruing] rolfe (ed.1903): <coniuring>“Accented on either syllable by S. without regard to the meaning. Cf. [5.1.256 (3451)] below.”
1904 ver
ver: H5 //; ≈ ard1 (xref.)
2729 congruing] Verity (ed. 1904): “agreeing; so the Quarto; the Folio has conjuring. In H5 [2.1.54 (556)] the Quarto (1600) has this verb congrue, while the Folio has congree. It seems to me not improbable that congrue is what Shakespeare wrote in each place, and that the editors of the Folio, twenty years later, changed it as being an old-fashioned or obsolete word. If so, then they substituted conjuring here in reference to conjuration in [5.2.38 (3540)]. The accent in these words is variable, and therefore has no bearing on the comparative merits of the alternative readings.”
1905 rltr
rltr
2729 congruing] Chambers (ed. 1905): “agreeing.”
1934 Wilson
Wilson: ard1
2729 congruing] Wilson (1934, rpt. 1963, 1:60): <1:60> “F1 prints ‘coniuring’ for ‘congruing,’ and Dowden follows, on the ground that ‘this word, rather than the Q2 ‘congruing’ corresponds with the ‘earnest conjuration’ of the document, described by Hamlet at [5.2.38 (3540)].’ The observation is acute; yet knowing what we now know about the F1 text, we can see that the reason Dowden advances for preferring it here is really the explanation of how ‘coniuring’ came to be substituted for ‘congruing.’ In other words, the two passages concerning the ‘grand commission’ of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have become mixed up in the memory of the transmitter, so that the language of the one has affected that of the other.” </1:60>
1934 cam3
cam3: MSH
2729 congruing] Wilson (ed. 1934): “(Q2) F1 ‘coniuring.’ MSH. p. 60.”
1939 kit2
kit2: xrefs.
2729 Letters] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “a letter (Lat. litteræ). See [3.4.202-4 (2577+1-2577+3)]. This sealed mandate to the English king is quite distinct from the ‘commission’ given to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern [3.3.3 (2274)]. Its contents are secret. Their commission gives them custody of the mandate and of Hamlet and directs them to deliver it and him. They are ignorant of its contents.”
kit2
2729 congruing to] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “Is congruent with; in complete agreement with. The Folio reads coniuring, i.e., calling upon him solemnly.”
kit2
2729 effect] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “purport.”
1974 evns1
evns1
2729 congruing to] Evans (ed. 1974): “in accord with.”
1980 pen2
pen2 ≈ ard1 (xref.) without attribution
2729 congruing] Spencer (ed. 1980): “agreeing. Claudius seems to be referring to a second letter with more explicit instructions. Nothing further is made of this. F reads ‘coniuring’ (‘earnestly requesting’), which would correspond to earnest conjuration [5.2.38 (3540)].”
1982 ard2
ard2: H5 // [also cited in irv2), Dover Wilson
2729 congruing to] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “in accordance with. The reading is supported by H5 [2.1.54 (556)] (F Congreeing, Q Congrueth). Those who prefer F conjuring point to conjuration at [5.2.38 (3540)], which may, however, have prompted it. See MSH, p. 60.”
1985 cam4
cam4: xref.
2729 congruing] Edwards (ed. 1985): “agreeing. So Q2. ‘congrue’ is a word unique to Shakespeare, occurring only here and in the bad quarto of H5. The F scribe was understandably shy of it.”
1987 oxf4
oxf4
2729 congruing] Hibbard (ed. 1987): conjuring] “making a solemn demand. This F reading makes better sense than Q2’s congruing. The letters are designed to put pressure on the King of England, as distinct from merely spelling out the details of Claudius’s ‘sovereign process’.”
1998 OED
OED
2729 congruing] OED (Sept. 15, 1998): “congrue] congrue, v. Obs. rare. [a. OF. congru-er or L. congru-ere to meet together, coincide, agree, correspond, accord; f. con- together + *gruere, not found exc. in this composition.] intr. To agree, accord. (The Quarto reading in the two following passages of Shakspere. The stress differs in the two quots.)
“1600 SHAKS. Hen. V, I. ii. 182 (Qo.) Gouernment..being put into parts, Congrueth with a mutuall consent like musicke [1st Fo. congreeing, but context different]. 1603 –– Ham. IV. iii. 66 (Qq.) Our soueraigne processe, which imports at full, By letters congruing [Ff. conjuring] to that effect, The present death of Hamlet.”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2: 3540 xref; H5 //; Jenkins
2729 congruing] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “conforming, agreeing. F’s ’coniuring’ (= demanding) is preferred by some editors, perhaps because Hamlet refers to the King’s earnest conjuration at 5.2.38 [3540], but, as Jenkins points out, that phrase may have prompted this one. H5 has the unique but related form ’Congreeing’ (1.2.182) in F, but the word appears in a slightly different context in its Q 1600 version as ’Congrueth’.”
2729
