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Line 2952 - 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.”

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Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand

For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.

2952 King. Laertes, I must {commune} <common> with your griefe,	4.5.203

1755 John

John

2952 commune with] Johnson (1755, commune): “v.n. [communico, Lat.] To converse; to a together [sic]; to impart sentiments mutually. ‘I will commune with you of such things, That want no ears but your’s.’ MM.

“‘They would forbear open hostility, and resort unto him peaceably, that they might commune together as friends.’ Hayw

“‘Then commune, how that day they best may ply Their growing work.’ PL. ix. 201”

1785 v1785

v1785

2952 commune with] Henderson (in Steevens, ed. 1785) : “common with]] Should not the king say, ‘Laertes, I must commune with your grief, &c.?’ ”

1787 ann

ann=v1785

2952 commune with]

1791- rann

rann

2952 commune with] Rann (ed. 1791-) : “—common —share with you in.”

1793 v1793

v1793

2952 commune with] Steevens (ed. 1793) : “The folio reads—common . To common is to commune . This word, pronounced as anciently spelt, is still in frequent provincial use. So, in The last Voyage of Captaine Frobisher , by Dionyse Settle, 12mo. bl. l. 1577: ‘Our Generall repayred with the ship boat to common or sign with them.’ Again, in Holinshed’s account of Jack Cade’s insurrection:— ‘—to whome were sent from the king the archbishop &c. to common with him of his griefs and requests.’ ”

1803 v1803

v1803 = v1793

2952 commune with]

1813 v1813

v1813 = v1803

2952 commune with]

1815 Becket

Becket : v1785 +

2952 commune with] Becket (1815, p. 66) : <p.66> “‘I must common with your grief,’—-means I must be your associate or partner in grief. It alludes to the regular living and diet of a Society , or members of a College.” </p. 66>

1818 Todd

˙Todd = John + magenta

2952 commune] Todd (1818, commune):“ v.n. [communico, Lat.Our word was formerly written comoun, and common; even so late as in Shakspeare’s time; probably from the old Fr. comoner, to advise, or comminer, to converse with.] ] To converse; to talk a together [sic]; to impart sentiments mutually.[cites FQ; Locke] ‘I will commune with you of such things, That want no ears but your’s.’ MM. ‘They would forbear open hostility, and resort unto him peaceably, that they might commune together as friends.’ Hayw ‘Then commune, how that day they best may ply Their growing work.’ PL. ix. 201”

1819 cald1

cald1 ≈ v1813

2952 commune with] Caldecott (ed. 1819) : “Confer, have some discussion or argument with. Commune is the reading of the quartos and the folio of 1632: but, as Mr. Steevens observes, this word, pronounced as anciently spelt, is still in frequent provincial use. So, in The Last Voyage of Captaine Frobisher, by Dionyse Settle, 12mo. bl. l. 1577: “Our Generall repayred with the ship boat to common or sign with them.” Again, in Holinshed’s account of Jack Cade’s insurrection: “—to whome were sent from the king the archbishop &c. to common with him of his griefs and requests.”

1821 v1821

v1821 = v1813 +

2952 commune with] Boswell (ed. 1821) : “Surely the word common in the folio means, I must be allowed to participate in your grief, to feel in common with you.”

v1821

2952 commune] Boswell (ed. 1821, 21:Glossary): verb.

1826 sing1

sing1 : Baret

2952 commune with] Singer (ed. 182) : “The folio reads common , which is only a varied orthography of the same word. ‘We will devise and common of these matters.’—Baret .”

1832 cald2

cald2 = cald1

2952 commune with]

1833 valpy

valpy ≈ standard

2952 commune with] Valpy (ed. 1833): “Participate.”

[1839] knt1

knt1

2952 commune with] Knight (ed. [1839]) : “now written commune , is to make common--interchange thoughts.”

1854 White

White : knt1 ; v1793 ; v1821

2952 commune with] White (1854, 422-3): <p. 422>"common]] This is the text of the original folio, and also of the earliest complete quarto, 1604, yet on the authority of the quarto of 1611, ’common’ has been changed to commune, in all editions except Mr. Knight’s. There is a note by Steevens in the Variorum about ’commune’ being anciently pronounced ’common,’ and Mr. Knight has one to the </p. 422><p. 423>same effect; but how inferior is this ’winnowed opinion’ to that of Boswell, who, taking the word ’common’ in its obvious sense, remarks, ’surely the word common in the folio means ’I must be allowed to participate in your grief, tro feel in common with you.’ In the homeliness of the word lies the strength of the passage." </p. 423>

1856 hud1 (1851-6)

hud1 : ≈ sing1 witout attribution

2952 commune with] Hudson (ed. 1856): “The use of common as a verb, in the sense of making common, or of having or feeling in common, is very frequent in the old writers. In this place, as in many others, it is usually changed to commune, with which it is nearly synonymous. We retain the old form, as giving a somewhat stronger sense, and also as suiting the measure better.”

1856b sing2

sing2 = sing1

2952 commune with]

1857 dyce1

dyce1 : ≈ v1821 (boswell only) ; ≈ white (Sh. Scholar)

2952 commune with] Dyce (ed. 1857) : The folio has ‘I must common with your greefe,’ &c., which Boswell would understand as ‘I must be allowed to participate in your grief, to feel in common with you;’ and, much to my surprise, Mr. Grant White (Shakespeare’s Scholar , &c. p. 421) approves of that most erroneous interpretation.—The ‘common’ of the folio is merely an old spelling of ‘commune:’ see Richardson’s Dict . in’Common’ and ‘Commune.’”

1857 elze1

elze1: steevens (v1793?) ; Grant White Sh’s Scholar

2952 commune with] Elze (ed. 1857): "So lesen QB und FA; QF: commune.— ’To common’ is nach Steevens eine Nebenform von ’to commune’, die sich mundartlich bis jetz erhalten hat.— Grant Shakespeare’s Scholar 420." ["So read Q2, F1; Q3; commune—’To common’ is according to Steevens a cognate of ’to commune,’ which today is still used provincially."]

1861 wh1

wh1

2952 commune with] White (ed. 1861) : “So the 4tos.; the folio, ‘I must common,’ &c., where ‘common’ is the phonographic spelling of ‘commune’ which was commonly pronounced of old with the accent on the first syllable. [MM 4.3.? (2188)] “For I would commune with you of such things.” Act IV. Sc.3] ‘Then commune how that day they best may ply Their growing work.’ Par. Lost ,Book IX. 201].”

1864-68 c&mc

c&mc ≈ standard

2952 commune with] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “This is the reading of all the Quartos, while the Folio prints ‘common;’ but that was merely an old mode of spelling ‘commune.’”

1866a dyce2

dyce2 = dyce1; wh1

2952 commune with] Dyce (ed. 1866) : “Mr. Grant White in his edition of Shakespeare prints ‘commune.’

1869 tsch

tsch : dyce1; whi ; v1821

2952 commune with] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “commune ist, wie Dyce beweist, dem Sinne nach identisch mit dem von Boswell and Grant White vertheidigten common der Fol. Schon Steevens hatte dieselbe Behaumptung ausgesprochen.” [commune is, as Dyce demonstrates, identical in meaning with the Fol common supported by Boswell and Grant White]

1872 hud2

hud2

2952 commune with] Hudson (ed. 1872): “Commune, spelt common in the folio, has the first syllable long here. It was often used so by the old poets; Milton has also, and even Wordsworth.”

1877 dyce3

dyce3 = dyce2

2952 commune with]

1877 v1877

v1877 = v1793 (STEEVENS) ; v1821 (BOSWELL) ; White (Sh. Scholar) ; DYCE1 ; hud2

2952 commune with] Furness (ed. 1877): “GRANT White, in his excellent Sh. Scholar, p. 421, was beguiled by the ‘homely strength’ of the F1 text into approval of Boswell’s interpretation of it, much to Dyce’s ‘surprise,’ who pronounced it ‘most erroneous;’ the two words, common and ‘commune,’ are mere variations in spelling of the same word; they were both accented alike, on the first syllable,—as Grant White afterwards remarked in his edition. And Hudson says Milton so accents ‘commune,’ and so also even Wordsworth.”

1881 hud3

hud3: no note

2952 commune with]

1883 wh2

wh2:minus wh1note

2952 commune with]

1885 macd

macd

2952 commune with] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘I must have a share in your grief.’ The word does mean commune, but here is more pregnant, as evidenced in the next phrase, ‘Or you deny me right:’—’ do not give me justice.’”

1885 mull

mull ≈ standard

2952 commune with]

1890 irv2

irv2 : v1821 (Steevens & Boswell)

2952 commune with] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “F.1 has common, which Boswell [v1821] erroneously supposed to mean participate, jest in common. It is a mere variation of spelling, and Steevens gives two examples of it, one from Holinshed in speaking of Jack Cade (Holinshed, 1577, vol. ii. p. 1280, col.1): ’Thus this glorious Capitaine environed wyth a multitude of euill, rude and rusticall people, came again to the plaine of Blacke heathe, and there strongly encamped himselfe, to whome were sent from the Kyng, the Archbishop of Canterburye, and Hunfrey Duke of Buckingham, to common with him of his greeues and requests.”

1904 ver

ver

2952 commune with] Verity (ed. 1904): "Common and commune are developments of the same word ((Lat. Communis)), though they early split into different forms and senses. Editors note that Milton ((Par. Lost, IX. 201)) has the accentuation cómmune ((as here)). We have remarked on the variable accent in words formed with the prefix com- or con-."

1906 sub

sub≈ c&mc

2952 commune with]

1980 pen2

pen2

2952 commune with your griefe] Spencer (ed. 1980): “have your grief in common with you.”

pen2

2952 commune] Spencer (ed. 1980): “(accented on the first syllable).”

1982 ard2

ard2 ≈ standard +

2952 commune] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “((F common is but a variant form.))”

1985 cam4

cam4 : contra pen2 without attribution

2952 commune] Edwards (ed. 1985): “Accent on first syllable. I think the meaning here is ‘converse’, as usually in Shakespeare, not ‘share’ or ‘participate’ as Boswell and others suggest. Claudius is insisting on ‘getting through’ to Laertes’ grief, and informing him of the true state of affairs.”

1987 oxf4

oxf4 ≈ standard

2952 commune]

1984 chal

chal ≈ standard

2952 commune]

1998 OED

OED

2952 commune] OED (kmjun, kmjun), v. Forms: 4-6 comune, 5 comewne, 3-

commune. [ME. comune, a. OF. comune-r, to make common, share, f. comun

COMMON a. As mentioned under COMMON v., this specially represents those forms

of the OF. vb. in which the stress was upon the u, as 3 sing. pres. comune (: – L.

type communat); the forms with the stress on the termination, e.g. comuner, (: –

L. type communare, etc.) gave the ME. form comun, common. The latter was

long the prevalent type in Eng., though commune never became obsolete; and in

the 16th c., when the senses under I. became mostly obsolete, and those senses

which were associated with communion survived, this became the accepted form.

But a result of the two types common and commune remains in the two

pronunciations commune and commune, of which the former is frequent in verse

(Pope, Cowper, Wordsworth, Scott, Mrs. Browning; both forms are used by

Shakspere, Milton, Tennyson).

(In early prose quotations it is often impossible to say how co(m)mune was stressed. Hence

some of the early quots. here placed, may belong to COMMON vb., as do all those spelt comun,

comen, comyn, comon.)]I. Obsolete senses: in which COMMON was the more usual

form.

II. Current senses, now always commune. 6. intr. a. To talk together,

converse. b. To confer, consult (with a view to decision).

1297 R. GLOUC. (1724) 571 Come Sir Gui de Mountfort..& is aunte sone..& commune with

him. c 1340 Cursor M. 12244 (Trin.) Mani may not with him comoun. c 1386 CHAUCER

Frankl. Prol. 21 He hath leuere talken with a page Than to comune with any gentil wight. 1418

ABP. CHICHELE in Ellis Orig. Lett. I. 2. I. 4 our uncle..seyd to me that he hadde comunyd with

Sir Thomas Fyschborn. a 1561 G. CAVENDISH Life Wolsey (1885) 248 Call for master Palmes,

that ye may commune with him until your meat be ready. 1611 BIBLE Acts xxiv. 26 Hee sent for him the oftner, and communed with him.

c. Const. of, upon, on (the matter discussed).

1393 GOWER Conf. III. 21 It stant nought upon my fortune. But if you liste to comune Of the

seconde glotony. c 1460 FORTESCUE Abs. & Lim. Mon. (1714) 115 Thees Counceillours

may..comewne and deliber upon..maters of Deficultie. a 1561 G. CAVENDISH Life Wolsley

(1827) 240 Sitting thus at dinner communing of divers matters. 1611 SHAKS. Wint. T. II. i. 162

Why what neede we Commune with you of this? 1765 H. WALPOLE Otranto v, We were

communing on important matters.

d. with dependent clause.

1611 BIBLE Luke xxii. 4 He went his way, and communed with the chiefe Priests and captaines,

how he might betray him vnto them. 1667 MILTON P.L. IX. 201 Then commune how that day they

best may ply Thir growing work.

e. trans. To talk over together, confer about, discuss, debate; = COMMON v. 7.

Obs.

1596 SHAKS. Tam. Shr. I. i. 101 For I have more to commune with Bianca.”