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Line 2811-14 - 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.

2811-2 King. Follow her close, \| giue her good watch I pray you.

2813-4 O this is the poyson of deepe griefe, it springs | all from her Fathers

2814 death, {and now behold,} ô Gertrard, Gertrard,

1723- mtby2

mtby2

2812 watch] Thirlby (1723-): “an [high probability conj.] words nonplacet [not pleasing] nm [do not change].”

1866a dyce2

dyce2: MM //

2813 this is] Dyce (ed. 1866): “Altered by Walker (Shakespeare’s Versification, &c. p. 81) to the contracted form ‘this,’ which the folio has in MM [5.1.131 (2501)].”

1867 ktlyn

ktlyn

2814 all . . . Gertrard,] Keightley (1867, p. 295): “‘All from her father’s death. And now, behold . . . O Gertrude, Gertrude!] ‘And now behold’ is added from the 4tos. Punctuated as here it seems effective.”

1869 tsch

tsch: Walker, dyce; Mueller

2813 O this is] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “es ist leicht, das Metrum herzustellen, wenn man mit Walker die contrahirte Form this’ für this is nimmt (s. Dyce VII. 234), oder einfach die Copula is auslässt, was nach den Regeln der englischen Spriache zulässig ist. M. II. 45.” [It is easy to establish the meter if, with Walker, the contracted form this is substituted for this (see Dyce VII.234), or the linking verb is is omitted, something permitted according to rules of English grammar. M. II. 45.]

1870 Abbott

Abbott

2813 this is] Abbott (1870, §461): This] “Y’are for ‘you are;’ this’ for ‘this is’: ‘O this the poison of deep grief; it springs All from her father’s death.’ – Ham. 4.5.76.”

1872 cln1

cln1

2813 this is] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “to be pronounced as one syllable.”

cln1

2814 and . . . Gertrard,] Clark and Wright (ed. 1872): “The quartos read, ‘And now behold, O Gertrude, Gertrude.’ The addition interrupts the regular flow of the metre; the author probably wrote at first the words ‘And now behold,’ and then ‘O Gertrude, Gertrude,’ as a substitute for them. We therefore follow the folios.”

1877 v1877

v1877: Walker, Abbott

2813 this is] Furness (ed. 1877): “this’] For instances of the contraction of this is into a monosyllable: this’ (where this line is given as an example), see Walker, Vers. 80; Abbott, § 461.”

v1877 = strat

2814 and . . . Gertrard,] Furness (ed. 1877): “Stratmann: I suppose Sh. first wrote and now behold, for which he then substituted ‘O Gertrude, Gertrude.’”

1877 dyce3

dyce3 = dyce2

1878 rlf1

rlf1 ≈ v1877 (Abbott)

2813 this is] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Metrically equivalent to one syllable. Abbott 461.”

rlf1 ≈ v1877 (str)

2814 o Gertrard, Gertrard] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “The quartos read “death, and now behold, o,” etc. Stratmann suggests that S. first wrote "And now behold," and then substituted ‘O Gertrude, Gertrude.’”

1882 elze2

elze2: str, cln1

2814 Fathers death] Elze (ed. 1882): “After these words Q2 inserts and now behold. Stratmann and the Clarendon Edition ingeniously suggest, that this was a former reading, for which the poet afterwards substituted O Gertrude, Gertude.”

1890 irv2

irv2 ≈ cln1

2813-4 O this . . . Gertrard] Symons (Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “These two lines are printed in Qq. as prose, and before O Gertrude, Gertrude, we have And now behold. Some editors read: ‘All from her father’s death. And now behold, O Gertrude, Gertrude, When sorrows come, &c.’ But this broken metre is unnecessary. The reading of Ff. is no doubt a revision of the words as they were first written: O Gertrude, Gertrude, being substituted for And now behold.”

irv2

2813 this is] Symons (Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “pronounce this.’”

1891 dtn

dtn

2812 giue . . . watch] Deighton (ed. 1891): “watch her carefully.”

1929 trav

trav: xref.; Abbott

2813 O this is] Travers (ed. 1929): “whether an actor’s transitional flourish or not (cp. remark in [3.3.36 (2312)] n.), may conveniently be classed as hypermetric (cp. Abbott 512 end). Contracting this is into this’, for which high authority could be quoted, would sound, here, neither natural nor (before the) euphonious.”

1934 Wilson

Wilson

2813-4 Wilson (1934, rpt. 1963, 2:218): “Here, crowding at the bottom of the pages is likely enough to have been the cause of the prose arrangement in Q2, while F1, in which the words ‘and now behold’ have been omitted, probably represents tidying up by Scribe P. There is, however, no reason why all editors should follow F1, as they do, since Q2 gives perfectly good verse when arranged thus: ‘O this is poison of deep grief, it springs All from her father’s death, and now behold! O Gertrude, Gertrude!’”

1934 cam3

cam3: MSH

2813-4 O this. . .Gertrard] Wilson (ed. 1934): “Q2 prints this as prose; F1 regularises but omits ‘and now behold.’ MSH. p. 218.”

cam3

2813-4 it springs . . . death] Wilson (ed. 1934): “i.e. from Ham.’s violence. The K. never loses an opportunity with the Queen of stressing the danger of her son being at large.”

1939 kit2

kit2: xrefs.

2813-4 this is . . . death] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “That it is Claudius who speaks must not blind us to the fact that this sentence is meant to sum up for us—the audience—the meaning of the madness that precedes, as the Gentleman’s ‘She speaks much of her father’ [4.5.3 (2747)] prepares us to understand it. Laertes agrees with the King’s diagnosis (2909 ff.). Disappointed love and Hamlet’s madness had no doubt made Ophelia ‘deject and wretched’ (1811), but it is the mysterious tragedy of her father’s death that has driven her mad. In her madness, thoughts of love and marriage of course recur and take strange shapes in their utterance.”

kit2 ≈ irv2

2813 this is] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “Pronounced as one syllable (with prolonged s). Often written this (without is).”

kit2

2814-33 ô Gertrard . . . death] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “The King feels genuine sorrow for Polonius and Ophelia; and, besides, their fate has involved him in such difficulties that he seems to be hemmed in by troubles which are ever drawing nearer.”

1980 pen2

pen2

2811-2 Follow . . . you] Spencer (ed. 1980): “There is no indication whom the King is addressing; but except for Gertrude (and, possibly, unspecified attendants) Horatio is the only other character on stage, and editors usually leave the King and Queen alone for their obviously private conversation.”

pen2

2813-4 it springs . . . death] Spencer (ed. 1980): “Claudius does not consider – or wish Gertrude to consider – that Ophelia’s love for Hamlet has anything to do with her madness.”

1982 ard2

ard2: xref.

2812 Jenkins (ed. 1982): SD Exit Horatio at end of line] “See n. on S.D. at head of scene [4.5.1 (2744)]. It is clear that the King and Queen must now have the stage to themselves.”

ard2: Abbott

2813 this is] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Often contracted to a single syllable. Abbott 461.”

ard2: xref.

2814 All . . . father’s death.] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “See above, n. [4.5.45 (2787)].”

ard2

2814 And now behold] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “F’s omission of these words regularizes the metre. But they must have stood in the Q2 copy. Possibly O Gertrude, Gertrude was meant to replace them.”

1984 klein

klein: xref.; Wilson

2811 Follow her close] Klein (ed. 1984): “Neither Q2 nor F1 give any indication to whom Claudius speaks and who goes out. That depends on the editorial decisions taken concerning the entrance SD and the text attribution and SP for lines [4.5.14-16 (2759-61)] as well as concerning Ophelia’s entrance. It would seem natural that (as in Wilson) both Horatio and the Gentleman leave the room and that (as opposed to Wilson’s vision) the King and Queen are once more, as in 4.1, alone. That we are never told how Ophelia got away and that Horatio never mentions the matter later, highlights the play’s concentration on certain aspects.”

1985 cam4

cam4

2813-4 O this . . . Gertrard] Edwards (ed. 1985): “Q2 prints all of this as two lines of prose, which suggests a confused MS. F omits ‘and now behold’, creating two lines of regular verse. It seems very likely that ‘and now behold’ was a false start, that ‘Oh, Gertrude, Gertrude’ was substituted, and that once again the Q2 compositor has failed to register Shakespeare’s deletion marks.”

1987 oxf4

oxf4

2811-2 Hibbard (ed. 1987): Exit Horatio] “Neither Q2 nor F has any stage direction at this point. Someone must, however, obey the King’s command; and it is essential that the stage be cleared of all but Claudius and Gertrude.”

dent: xrefs.

2813-2814 O this . . . behold] Andrews (ed. 1993): “The King’s momentary lapse into prose is an indication of his own disturbed condition; he has temporarily lost his secure command of the discourse habitual to him. In the speech that follows, moreover, there are several lines (among them [4.5.82-83 (2819-20)]]) that contain enough metrical irregularities to make them seem like eruptions of prose beneath an otherwise smooth overlay of verse. Compare [2.1.49-51 (942-944)].”

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2: 2717 xref; Branagh

2811-12 Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “The King’s command echoes his words on Hamlet’s exit at 4.3.51 [2717]: ’Follow him at foot.’ It becomes apparent, of course, that whoever follows Ophelia does not in fact ’Give her good watch’; Branagh provides an explanation of how she gets away in his 1996 film (133).”

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2

2813 poison. . . grief] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “In this formulation, Ophelia dies metaphorically by poison, as old Hamlet, the Queen, the King, Laertes and Hamlet die literally by it.”

ard3q2

2813-14 It. . . death] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “The King does not acknowledge Hamlet’s possible role in causing Ophelia’s condition.”

2006 ard3q2

ard3q2: Jenkins

2814 and now behold] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Jenkins points out that F’s omission of these words regularizes the metre and Edwards sees them as a ’false start’ probably marked for omission.”