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Line 3485, etc. - Commentary Note (CN) More Information

Notes for lines 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand
For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.
3485 When that her golden {cuplets} <Cuplet> are {disclosed} <disclos’d> 34855.1.287
3486 His silence will sit drooping.
1730 theol
theol
3485-6 When . . . drooping] Theobald (26 Mar. 1730, [fol. 122v] [Nichols 2:576-7]): <fol. 122v> “I do not know what the cuplets are in a dove, nor, consequently, what the disclosing them means.” </fol. 122v>
1747 warb
warb:
3485-6 When . . . drooping] Warburton (ed. 1747) : “We should read, E’er that—for it is the patience of birds, during the time of incubation, that is here spoken of. The Pigeon generally sits upon two eggs; and her young, when first disclosed, are covered with a yellow down.”
1752 Dodd
Dodd :
3485-6 When . . . drooping] Dodd (1752, p. 257) : <p. 257> “Golden couplets, means, her two young ones, for doves seldom lay more than two eggs, and the young ones when first disclos’d or hatch’d, are cover’d with a kind of yellow down: when they are first hatch’d , the female broods over ‘em more carefully and sedulously than ever, as then they require most fostering. This will shew the exact beauty of the comparison.” </p. 257>
1747-60 Browne
Browne : warb +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Browne (ms. notes, 1747-60): “W. e’er that—this emendation seems to be founded on a supposition that birds, do not sit upon their young after they are hatch’t, but only on their eggs in order to hatch them.”
1765 Heath
Heath : warb +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Heath (1765, p. 547) : <p. 547>“ E’er that her golden couplets are disclos’d . There was no occasion for altering the common reading,When that her golden couplets are disclos’d .For the young nestlings of the pigeon when first disclosed are callow, covered only with a yellow down as Mr. Warburton himself observes; and for that reason stand in need of being cherished by the kindly warmth of the hen, to protect them from the chillness of the ambient air, for a considerable time after they are hatched.” </p. 547>
1765 john1
john1 = warb +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Johnson (ed. 1765) : “Perhaps it should be, Ere yet —— Yet and yt are easily confounded.”
1773 v1773
v1773 = john1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1774 capn
capn
3484 Anon as patient as the female Doue] Capell (1774:1:1:147): “Uncommon calmness and patience could be be better illustrated than by this image: The incubation of the ‘doue’ is long, and never broken as some are: her ‘couplet’ at first disclosing are naked; excepting for a thin and light down, which in colour is yellowish; upon this account, she continues to sit on them ‘till such time as they are better defended, which makes her patience more exemplary.”
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773 +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Steevens (ed. 1778 ) : “To disclose was anciently used for to hatch. So, in the Booke of Huntyng, Hauking, Fyshyng, &c. bl. 1. no date: “First they ben eges; and after they ben disclosed, haukes; and commonly goshaukes ben disclosed as sone s the choughes.’ To exclude is the technical term at present. I believe neither commentator has rightly explained this image. I believe neither commentator has rightly explained this image. During three days after the pigeon has hatched her couplets (for she lays no more than two eggs), she never quits her nest; except for a few moments in quest of a little food for herself; as all her young require in that early state, is to be kept warm, an office which she never entrusts to the male.”
1783 malsii
malsii
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Malone (1783, p. 59, n.3) : <p. 59> “note 3.] The word disclose has already occurred in a sense nearly allied to hatch , in this play: ‘And I doubt, the hatch and the disclose Will be some danger.’” </p. 59>
1784 ays1
ays1 ≈ v1778
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Steevens (apud Ayscough, ed. 1784) : “To disclose was anciently used for to hatch. So, in the Booke of Huntyng, Hauking, Fyshyng, &c. bl. 1. no date: “First they ben eges; and after they ben disclosed, haukes; and commonly goshaukes ben disclosed as sone s the choughes.’ To exclude is the technical term at present. I believe neither commentator has rightly explained this image. I believe neither commentator has rightly explained this image. During three days after the pigeon has hatched her couplets (for she lays no more than two eggs), she never quits her nest; except for a few moments in quest of a little food for herself; as all her young require in that early state, is to be kept warm, an office which she never entrusts to the male.”
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1787 ann
ann = v1785 +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]Henley (apud Annotations , 1787, p. 178) : <p. 178>“Probably, in the manuscript, yt might have been indiscriminately used for both yet and that. HENLEY” </p. 178>
1790 mal
mal = v1785 ; Heath (minus There was . . . For ; addition in magenta) ; malsii
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Heath (apud Malone, ed. 1790) : “ The young nestlings of the pigeon,when first disclosed, are callow, only covered with a yellow down as Mr. Warburton himself observes: and for that reason stand in need of being cherished by the kindly warmth of the hen, to protect them from the chillness of the ambient air, for a considerable time after they are hatched. HEATH” (
1791- rann
rann :
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Rann (ed. 1791) : “yellow pair of nestlings are first hatched.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = mal
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1813 v1813
v1813 = v1803
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1814 Anon.
Anon.
3486 silence will set drooping] Anon. (1814, p. 178): <p. 178>“To a profound admiration of Shakspeare, Milton, and our earlier poets, the authors of the system, on which we are remarking, appear to have united much of metaphysical habit, and metaphysical learning. Analysing by metaphysical aids the principles on which these great men exercised such imperial sway over the human heart, they found that it was not so much by operating on the reason as on the imagination of the reader. We mean that it was not so much by argument, or description, which the reason acknowledged to be true, as by touching some chord of association in the mind, which woke the imagination and set it instantly on a creation of its own. An example or two will make this clear. In the parting speech of Polonius to Laertes we admire consummate prudence and beautiful expression, and there the labour and the enjoyment of the mind ceases; but when Gertrude says of the Frantic Hamlet – ‘Anon as patient as the female dove When that her golden couplets are disclosed, His silence will set drooping’ [3484-6].
“Beautiful as the description is, the mind does not rest there; a thousand ideas of a gentle, placid, and affectionate nature rise within us in a train, which we seem ourselves to have created and arrayed.” </p. 178>
Anonymous. “The Remorse. A Tragedy. By S.T. Coleridge” Quarterly Review (April 1814, vol xi, 178). London: John Murray, 1814. BL shelfmark PP. 5989.ab. The author argues that Coleridge and the other Lake Poets have “suffered in the judgement of the world” (178) largely because their “poetical theory” (178) has been misunderstood. Here he seeks to remedy this by comparing works of Shakespeare and Milton to the Romantic model, specifically considering Gertrude’s speech in Hamlet V.i. On TLN 3486.
1818 oxberry
oxberry : standard
3485 disclosed] Oxberry (ed. 1818): “A great deal has been written on this word to little purpose, according to the usual commenting upon Shakespeare. To disclose simply means to open something, and thus show that which was concealed; it neither has, nor can have, any other signification. Hence it is by our old writers applied, and which great propriety, to the hatching of eggs; or to the opening of the bud in flowers.”
Oxberry, William. Oxberry’s Edition. Hamlet, A Tragedy; by William Shakspeare. The only edition existing which is faithfully marked with the stage business and stage directions as it is performed at the Theatres Royal. London: W. Oxberry for Simpkin and Marchall, 1818. Bodleian shelfmark: M. adds 111 e.250(3). This is from Eric’s 1998 Bod trip.
1819 cald1
cald1 = v1813 +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Caldecott (ed. 1819) : “Appear, are developed. See III.I. King”
ed., p. 125; CALD2, p. 138) follows v1813 but prefaces it with
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
v1821
3485 disclosed] Boswell (ed. 1821, 21:Glossary): “disclose]] to hatch.”
1826 sing1
sing1 = v1821 +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Singer (ed. 1826) : “To disclose was the ancient term for hatching birds of any kind; from the Fr. esclos , and that from the Lat. exclusus . I believe to exclude is now the technical term. Thus in the Boke of St. Albans, ed. 1496:---”For to speke of hawkes; Fyrst they ben egges, and afterwarde they ben dysclosed hawkys.’ And ‘comynly goshawkes ben discloysd assoone as the choughs.’”
1826 ed., p. 329; HUD1, p. 359) follows MALONE’s 1790 note and adds, “See note 30 on Act iii. Sc. 1, p. 244).[note 30 on 244:
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1833 valpy
valpy ≈ standard
3485 disclosed] Valpy (ed. 1833): “Hatched.”
1841 knt1 (nd)
knt1 ≈ mal?
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1843 col1
col1 ≈ malsii
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1853 Dyce1
Dyce1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Dyce (1853, p. 145) : <p. 145>“Disclos’d means—hatched. But I only notice the passage for the sake of pointing out to those who are curious in poetical phraseology the strange use of this word by Waller. In some lines To the Queen-mother of France upon her Landing, he addresses her as if she had been a second Leda; ‘Great Queen of Europe! where thy offspring wears All the chief crowns; where princes are thy heirs; As welcome thou to sea-girt Britain’s shore, As erst Latona, who fair Cynthia bore, To Delos was: here shines a nymph as bright, By thee disclos’d, with like increase of light.’” </p. 145>
1854 del2
del2
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Delius (ed. 1854) : golden couplet heissen die ungefiederten, nur mit gelblichem Flaum bedeckten, eben aus dem Ei gekrochenen Täube über einem Paar zu brüten pflegt,, Die Fol. hat mit Recht couplet im Singular, obwhol das Verbum, wie nach Collectiven üblich, im Plural steht” [“golden couplet is the name of the unfeathered, covered only with yellowish down, pigeon just creeping out of the egg, as the pigeon attends brooding over the pair. The Folio has correctly couplet in the singular, although the word, as according to the usual collective, stands in the plural.” ]
1856 hud1 (1851-6)
hud1 ≈ sing1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Hudson (ed. 1856): “The golden couplets are the two eggs of the dove; the nestlings, when first hatched, being covered with a yellow down; and in her patient tenderness the mother rarely leaves the nest, till her little-ones attain to some degree of dove-discretion. Disclose was often used for hatch. Thus in the Boke of St. Albans, 1496: ‘For to speke of hawkes: Fyrst, they ben egges, and afterwards they ben discloysd hawkys.’ Again: ‘Comynly goshawkes ben disclosyd assoone as the choughs.’”
(1856 ed., p. 359) derives his notes from SINGER. He paraphrases MALONE’s 1790 note however to get away from the phrasing: “and in her patient tenderness the mother rarely leaves the nest, till her little-ones attain to some degree of dove-discretion”
1856b sing2
sing2 = sing1 + magenta underlined
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Singer (ed. 1856) : “See note 32 on Act iii. Sc. 1, p. 226. The golden couplets allude to the dove only laying two eggs. The young nestlings when first disclosed are only covered with a yellow down, and the mother rarely leaves the nest, in consequence of the tenderness of her young. This speech in the folio is given to the king.”
1857 elze1
elze1 : warb(’E’er that") : v1773 ("To disclose . . . to hatch") : F1 VN
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Elze (ed. 1857): "Vgl. zu §113." ["Compare §113" [n. 1823]"]
1858 col3
col3 = col1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1864-68 c&mc
c&mc
3485 disclosed] Clarke (ed. 1864, Glossary)
3485 disclosed] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “Formerly a technical term for ‘hatched.’ See Note 38, Act iii. [1823].”
c&mc
3485 cuplets] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1864-68, rpt. 1874-78): “The dove lays but two eggs at a time; and the young birds, when first hatched, are covered with yellow down.”
1865 hal
hal = v1821 [arranged as MAL first originated it [v1785 (minus JOHN1) ; HEATH (minus “as Mr. Warburton himself observes”); MALSII]
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1869 tsch
tsch
3485 golden] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Die sichere Naturbetrachtung ist ähnlich wie bei Homer einer der glänzendsten Züge an Shakspere. Die Jungen der Haustaube, deren sich gewöhnlich nur zwei im Neste befinden, sind, wenn sie dem Ei entschlüpfen, mit einem hochgelben Flaum bedeckt.” [“The reliable natural observation in Shakespeare is similar to a brilliant passage by Homer. The young of the house pigeon, for which one finds only two in the nest, are, when they hatch from the egg, decked with a bright yellow down.”]
3485 are] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Verwendung des Plur. bei Collectivbegriffen.” [“The use of the plural with a collective sense.”]
1872 del4
del4 = del2 +
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Delius (ed. 1872) :” Die Qs. haben cuplets im Plural.”
1872 cln1
cln1 : standard
3485 golden cuplets] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “The pigeon lays only two eggs at a time, and the newly hatched birds are covered with yellow down.”
cln1 ≈ v1778 (Steevens, from “First they . . . choughes.”) ; Holme’s Academy of Armoury ; warb ; john1 ; v1778 (Steevens ref. to ‘three days . . . “)
3485 disclosed] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “Compare 3.1.165 [(0000)]”
3485 disclosed] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “In Holme’s Academy of Armoury, B. ii. c.11.p. 238, he says: ‘Disclose, is when the young just peeps through the shell. It is also taken for laying, hatching, or bringing forth young: as she disclosed three birds.’” Warburton, for ‘when that,’ read ‘e’er that,’ followed by Johnson (‘ere that’), because they thought that the patient tranquillity of the dove would be specially marked while sitting upon her yet unhatched eggs. But, according to Steevens, the dove, for three days after the hatching, ‘never quits her nest except for a few moments in quest of a little food for herself; as all her young require in that early state is to be kept warm, an office which she never entrusts to the male.’”
1872 hud2
hud2 ≈ hud1 (minus St. Albans //)
3485 Hudson (ed. 1872): “The golden couplets are the two chicks of the dove; which, when first hatched, are covered with a yellow down; and in her patient tenderness the mother rarely leaves the nest, till her little ones attain to some degree of dove-discretion.—Disclose was often used for hatch.”
1873 rug2
rug2 ≈ standard
3485 Moberly (ed. 1873): “When she has hatched her two downy nestlings. Doves hatch only two eggs at once.”
1875 Marshall
Marshall
3485-86 Marshall (1875, p. 101): “This is a curious instance of Shakespeare’s accuracy in those illustrative deails which he is so fond of introducing. The dove lays only two eggs, and when the young are first hatched they are covered with a yellow down, which afford so slight a protection from the cold that the mother is obliged to sit on them for three days. (See Steevens’ and Heath’s Notes, Malone’s ‘Shakespeare,’ edition 1821, vol. vii, p. 482.)”
1877 v1877
v1877 ≈ warb ; Heath (from “The young nestlings of the pigeon when first disclosed . . . stand in need of the kindly warmth of the hen”] ; v1778 [from “During three days “ to “entrusts to the male”] ; ≈ john1
3485 When that]
v1877
3485 disclosed] Furness (ed. 1877): “See 3.1.166 [0000] and notes.”
1877 neil
neil ≈ Campell [see n. 3434]
3483-6 Neil (ed. 1877, Notes): “This passage seems to dispose of a criticism in Blackwood’s Magazine, probably by Thomas Campbell (II, 504, etc.) [see n. 3434], in these terms: [cites Browne, from “Hamlet is afterwards . . . world of his memory.”] Here we have hint of another way of accounting for this fact. Shakespeare knew that the deeper griefs of the soul are nursed and guarded in silence most carefully within the sufferer’s own heart.”
1881 hud3
Hud3 = hud2
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1883 wh2
Wh2
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] White (ed. 1883): “the dove has but two nestlings, which at first are covered with yellow down, and over thee she broods constantly for the first few days, not trusting her mate, and leaving them but for a moment to get necessary food.”
1883 Kinnear
Kinnear : warb ; john1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Kinnear (1883, p. 409): <p. 409> “‘While’ = till,—so [R2 4.1.269 (2191)]—’Read o’er this paper while the glass doth come.’ [Mac. 3.1.42-3 (1031-2)]—’We will keep ourself Till supper-time alone: while then, God be with you!’ The old eds. have ‘When’—an error which Warburton corrected by reading ‘E’er that,’ and Johnson ‘Ere that.’ All the compared eds. retain ‘When.’ See Note (10) King John.” </p. 409>
1885 macd
macd : Heath only (“covered with a yellow down’)
3485 golden cuplets]
macd : v1778 (only “[the pigeon] lays no more than two eggs”) +
3485 golden cuplets] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “Only, couplets might be used like twins.”
macd
3485 disclosed] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “hatched, the sporting term of the time.”
Macd ≈ v1778 (“she never quits . . . foot”)
3486 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “
1885 mull
mull ≈ standard
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1889 Barnett
Barnett
3485 golden cuplets] Barnett (1889, p. 61): <p. 61>“newly hatched pigeons. The pigeon only lays two eggs at a time.” <p. 61>
Barnett
3485 disclosed] Barnett (1889, p. 61): <p. 61>“hatched. A technical term.” </p. 61>
1890 irv2
irv2 ≈ v1821 (STEEVENS’s 1778 note, from “During three days . . . to the male.”)
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed] Symons (in Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “The birds, when hatched, are covered with yellow down. See note 323 [1823]”
1891 oxf1
oxf1
3485 cuplets] Craig (ed. 1891: Glossary): “sub. a pair, [TN 3.4.414 (0000)].”
oxf1
3485 disclosed] Craig (ed. 1891: Glossary): “v.t.to hatch; sub. the coming forth of the chicken from the shell, [Ham. 3.1.175 (0000)].”
1899 ard1
ard1 ≈ cln1 w/o attribution
3485 golden cuplets]
1905 rltr
rltr : standard
3485 cuplets]
1906 nlsn
nlsn: standard
3485 disclosed] Neilson (ed. 1906, Glossary)
1931 crg1
crg1≈ ard1
3485 golden cuplets]
1934 cam3
cam3 : standard ; OED (St. Alban’s //)
3485 disclosed]
cam3 : standard
3485 cuplets] Wilson (ed. 1934, Glossary)
1934b RID2
Rid2 : standard
3485 golden cuplets] Ridley (ed. 1934, Glossary):
1939 kit2
kit2 ≈ standard
3485 cuplets]
3485 cuplets] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
kit2 ≈ standard
3485 disclosed]
3485 disclosed] Kittredge (ed. 1939, Glossary):
1937 pen1a
pen1a : standard
3485 cuplets]
1942 n&h
n&h ≈ standard
3485 cuplets]
1947 cln2
cln2 ≈ standard
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1951 crg2
crg2=crg1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1957 pel1
pel1 : standard
3485 cuplets]
pel1 : standard
3485 disclosed]
1970 pel2
pel2=pel1
3485 cuplets]
3485 disclosed]
1974 evns1
evns1 ≈ standard
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
1980 pen2
pen2 ≈ standard
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
pen2 ≈ standard
3485 disclosed]
1982 ARD2
ard2 ≈ standard
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
ard2 ≈ standard
3485 disclosed]
1984 chal
chal : standard
3485 cuplets]
chal : standard
3485 golden]
chal : standard
3485 disclosed]
1985 cam4
cam4 = Ard1
3485 When that her golden cuplets are disclosed]
cam4
3486 Edwards (ed. 1985): “i.e. his quietness resembles that of the patient dove not moving from her young and ‘drooping’ with lack of food for herself.”
1987 oxf4
oxf4 ≈ standard
3485 cuplets]
3485 disclosed]
1988 bev2
bev2: standard
3485 cuplets]
3485 disclosed]
1992 fol2
fol2≈ standard
3485 cuplets]
3485 disclosed]
1993 dent
dent
3485 golden cuplets] Andrews (ed. 1989): “the golden-downed couplets ((offspring)) of the Dove, a traditional symbol of peace, love, deliverance, and Divine grace ((see Genesis 8:8-12 and Matthew 3:16)).”
3486 drooping] Andrews (ed. 1989): “with eyelids lowered, spent. The Queen’s words imply that Hamlet will also feel remorse for his outburst.”
dent ≈ standard
3485 disclosed]
3485 3486