Line 3490, etc. - 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 2951-end ed. Hardin A. Aasand
| 3490 Let Hercules himselfe doe what he may | 5.1.291 |
|---|
| 3491 The Cat will mew, and Dogge will haue his day. Exit {Hamlet} | 5.1.292 |
|---|
1562 Heywood
Heywood
3491 Dogge . . . day] Heywood (1562, 1:11:36): “ a dog hath a day..”
1569 Taverner
Taverner: Erasmus
3491 Dogge . . . day] Taverner (1569, p. 59): “Canis vindictam. A dogge hath a day. There is none so uile nor simple a person, but at one time or other may auenge him selfe of wronges done unto him. Wherfore it is a wise mans part to contemne no man.”
1754 Grey
Grey
3491 The cat . . . day ] Grey (1754, p. 307) : “Alluding to the proverbial saying, ‘Every dog will have his day, and every man his hour.’ Ray’s Prouerbs , p. 226.
“Ben Johnson [sic], in his Tale of a Tub , act ii. sc. I., has the same. Medley . ‘Right! for a man ha’ his houre, and a dog his day.’”
1819 cald1
cald1
3491 The cat . . . day ] Caldecott (ed. 1819) : “‘Things have their appointed course; nor have we power to divert it,’ may be the sense here conveyed; though the proverb is in general applied to those who for a time fill stations to which their merits give them no claim.”
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1
3491 The cat . . . day ]
1854 del2
del2
3491 The cat . . . day ] Delius (ed. 1854) : “Der Sinn, in welchem hier die sprüchwörtlichen Reden von der Art der Kate und des Hundes mit dem Herkules zusammengestellt werden, ist der, dass auch eine Herkulische, übermenschliche Anstrengung den gemeinen Lauf der thierischen Nature nicht zu ändern vermag.” [“The sense in which this rhetorical oration combines the manner of cats and dogs with Hercules is this: even a Hercules, superhuman in strength, is not able to alter the common species of brute nature.” ]
Street
3491 The Cat will mew, and Dogge will haue his day]
Street (1868, p. 314): <p. 314> “Perhaps from the very fact that the above couplet is daily quoted and has furnished us with the proverb, ‘Every dog has his day,’ the less attention has been paid to the wording of it; and so what seems the correct reading, viz., ‘dog will have his bay,’ has not been suspected. But that Shakspeare wrote, ‘bay,’ not
day, appears so probable as to be almost certain, if we consider that a dog might have his day of popularity without – at least, without any expressed disparagement of him; whereas the idea of the poet is the expression of detraction on the part of an inferior against his better: [quotes 3488-91] Each animal severally employing its natural utterance in carping at worthiness; the cat mewing the cavils, the dog barking his dislike.” </p. 314>
Street, B. “Shakspeare Jottings.” The Athenauem, September 1868, p. 314). On TLN 3491.
1868 Forrest
Forrest ≈ Street
3491 The Cat will mew, and Dogge will haue his day] Forrest (1868, p. 346) : <p. 346> “In your Miscellanea of the 5th inst. Are two ingenious remarks by Mr. B. Street on two well-known passages in Shakespeare. With regard to the first, ‘and dog will have his
bay’ instead of the customary ‘
day,’ I can assure him that the suggestions was made, to my knowledge, more than forty-five years ago. I was taught by my father, when repeating the passage, to say
bay for
day.” </p. 346>
Forrest, H.R. “Shakspeare Jottings.” The Athenaeum, September 1868, p. 346. On TLN 3491.
1869 tsch
tsch
3490-1 Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “Da seine Aufgabe noch nicht gelöst ist, ist H. gezwungen, seine Wahnsinnsrolle von Neuem aufzunehmen; er ist zum Rachewerke nach Helsingoer zurückgekehrt. Der Sinn dieser scheinbar dunklen Worte ezieht sich auf Larets, den König und den Prinzen selbst: Mag die herculische Kraft des Laertes thun, was sie im Stande ist, und die im Finstern schleichende Katze miauen, an den treuen Hund wird endlich auch die Reihe kommen. Der letzte Ausdruck erinnert an das bekannte englische Sprüchwort: Every dog will have his day, so shall I.” [“Because his duty is still not relinquished, Hamlet is compelled to take up his madness from the beginning; he returned to Elsinor for revenge. The meaning of these apparently dark words refer to Laertes, the King, and to the Prince himself: the Herculean power of Laertes may do that which is in his position, and the creeping cat in sadness meow, for the turn will finally come for the loyal dog. The last expression reminds one of the well-known English expression: Every dog will have his day, so shall I.”]
1872 del4
del4 = del2
3491 The Cat will mew, and Dogge will haue his day]
rug2 ≈ standard
3491 The Cat will mew, and Dogge will haue his day] Moberly (ed. 1873): “It is the very nature of mankind to act capriciously as you are doing.”
1876 Elze
Elze : contra Street
3491 The Cat will mew, and Dogge will haue his day]
Elze (1876, pp. 26-7): <p. 26>"Man hat hierzu die sehr annehmbar klingende Conjectur gemacht:
a ((and, oder
the))
dog will have his bay. S. Athen. 1868, II, 314, 346, 440. Und doch muss diese Conjectur entschieden zurückgewiesen werden. Dig folgende Stelle aus Nash, Summer’s" </p. 26> <p. 27>Last will and Testament ((Dodsley, 1825, IX, 37)), von der ich nicht weiss, ob sie bereits beigebraucht worden ist oder nicht, giebt die richtige Erklärung an die Hand:
Each one of these foul-mouthed mangy dogs Governs a day ((no dog but hath his day)); And all the days by them so governed The dog-days hight."<p. 26>["One has moreover the remarkable sounding conjecture made:
a ((and, or
the))
dog will have his bay. S. Athe. 1868, II, 314, 346, 440. And yet this conjecture must be definitely rejected. The following passage from Nash,
Summer’s </p. 26> <p. 27>
Last Will and Testament ((Dodsley, 1825, IX, 37)), from which I do not know if it has been cited already or not, the proper explanation gives the origin:
Each one of these foul-mouthed mangy dogs Governs a day ((no dog but hath his day)); And all the days by them so governed The dog-days hight."] </p. 27>
1877 v1877
v1877 = cald2 ; Tsch
3491 The cat . . .
day]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Tschischwitz detects here a reference to Laer., the King, and to Ham. himself. ‘Let the herculean power of Laer. do what it may, and the cat, which creeps stealthily in the dark, mew, the faithful do will have his turn at last.’”
v1877 : Street ; Daniel ; Elze
3491 day]
Street (
apud Furness, ed. 1877): “These lines are so familar that we pay little attention to their wording, and what seems the correct reading, ‘dog will have its
bay,’ has not been suspected. That it is
bay, and not ‘day,’ appears so probable as to be almost certain if we consider that a dog might have its day of popularity without any detraction from a very Hercules,—at least without any expressed disparagement of him; the idea is the expression of detraction on the part of an inferior against his better. Each animal severally employing its natural utterances in carping at worthiness; the cat mewing its cavils, the dog barkings its dislike. In
The Athenœum, 3 Oct. 1868, ‘A.O.S.’ showed that the phrase is older than Sh. by giving an extract from a letter from the Princess Elizabeth to her sister, Queen Mary: ‘—as a doge hathe a day, so may I,’ &c. In
The Athenæum, 19 Nov. 1870,
P.A. Daniel adduced two other instances of the use of the phrase. In
The Interlude (printed in 1573), entitled
New Custom, II, iii: ‘Well if it chaunce that a dogge hatha day,” &c. Also, in Jonson’s
Tale of a Tub, II, I: ‘A man hath his hour, and a dog his day.’ This was written in 1663, ‘later,’ adds Daniel, ‘than
Hamlet, n doubt, but Jonson would scarcely have adopted a
meaningless bit of slang.’
Elze (
Shakespeare-Jahrbuch, Bd. xi) adds a fourth example from
Summe’s Last Will and Testament, ed. Dodsley, vol. ix, p. 37.”
The B. Street entry is from The Athenæum, 5 Sept. 1868.
1882 elze2
elze2
3491 The cat . . . day] Elze (ed. 1882): “See my note in the Jahrbuch der Deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft, XI, 297 seq. The meaning seems to be this: Every cur wants to resemble the dog-star that has its appointed days, when it may wreak its rage on earth and mankind, and not even Hercules is able to stop him; thus also Laertes, though never once offended by me, has his day when he thinks himself at liberty to rage against me.”
1885 macd
macd
3491 MacDonald (ed. 1885): “‘but I cannot compel you to hear reason. Do what he will, Hercules himself cannot keep the cat from mewing, or the dog from following his inclination!’—said in a half humorous, half contemptuous despair.”
1890 irv2
irv2 ≈ v1877 w/o attribution
3491 The cat . . . day]
1899 ard1
ard1 ≈ v1877 w/o attribution (Bay conj. ) +
3491 The cat . . . day] Dowden (ed. 1899): “The meaning is, ‘Laertes must have his whine and his bark.’ Hamlet had previously (1.2.153 (0000)] contrasted himself with Hercules: if Hercules cannot silence dogs, much less I, who am little like that hero.”
1934 cam3
cam3 : ≈ ard1 ;
3491 The cat . . . day] Wilson (ed. 1934): “I prefer: ‘Bluster away, my young Hercules: but poor Hamlet’s turn will come’ (Verity), since Laertes with his thrasonical brag of o’er-topping Pelion and Olympus is surely the Hercules of the situation. Hercules is reputed to have disliked dogs and flies, which were not allowed within his temple at Rome. N.E.D. (‘day’ 15) quotes Queen Elizbeth, as reported by Strype, saying in 1550 ‘Notwithstanding, as a dog hath a day, so I may perchance have time to declare it in deeds,’ which seems to come close to Ham.’s meaning; cf. also Jonson, Tale of a Tub, 2.1.4 ‘a man has his hour and a dog his day.’”
1939 kit2
kit2
3489-91 Kittredge (ed. 1936): See n. 3488-89.
3491 The cat . . . day] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “A familiar proverb. The King may or may not regard Hamlet’s words as a veiled threat.”
1947 cln2
cln2
3490 Hercules] Rylands (ed. 1947, Notes): “in scornful reference to Laertes’ bragging. ‘My turn will come.’”
1954 sis
sis
3490 Hercules] Sisson (ed. 1954, Glossary): “as a baby stranged two serpents: performed twelve great labours, one the obtaining of the golden apples of the Hesperides, another the overcoming of Cerberus, the three-headed dog of the underworld.”
1974 evns1
evns1 ≈
3490 1 Evans (ed. 1974): “i.e. nobody can prevent another from making the scenes he feels he has a right to.”
1980 pen2
pen2 ≈ Cln2 w/o attribution
3491 The cat . . . day] Spencer (ed. 1980): “Presumably Hamlet is comparing Laertes to a cat for his whining lamentation and to a dog for his snarling. But perhaps dog will have his day refers to Hamlet: ‘My turn will come soon’.”
1982 ard2
ard2 ≈ standard +
3490 Hercules] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “((2))rodomontade, as in Bottom’s ‘Ercles’ vein’, [MND 1.2.23-34 (0000)]. See next note.”
ard2 : contra kit2 (n. 3487-9) ; Ard1
3491 The cat . . . day] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “One cannot agree with Kittredge that this cryptic utterance, in which Hamlet returns to the method of madness, is therefore not to be related to the present situation. But it characteristically admits of more than one interpretation ((cf. [4.2.26-7] and LN [Longer Notes]). ((1)) You cannot stop a creature from acting according to its nature; a cat will not be silenced nor a dog kept down. Hence Hamlet abandons the more than Herculean task of trying to restrain Laertes. But the saying about the dog, already a familar proverb ((Tilley D 464)), usually implied that the dog would have its turn of prosperity or success. Hence ((2)), as Verity suggests and Dover Wilson prefers, Hamlet dismisses the Herculean rant of Laertes and boasts his own eventual triumph.”
1984 chal
chal :
3491 The cat . . . day] Wilkes (ed. 1984): "i.e. even the powers of Hercules cannot prevent the mewing of a cat or stop a dog from having its day [cites proverb]."
1985 cam4
cam4 ≈ ard2 w/o attribution
3491 The cat . . . day]
1987 oxf4
oxf4 : ard2 ; Tilley ; MND //
3491 The cat . . . day]
bev2: standard
3491 The cat . . . day] Bevington (ed. 1988): “i.e. ((1)) even Hercules couldn’t stop Laertes’s theatrical rant ((2)) I too will have my turn; i.e., despite any blustering attempts at interference, every person will sooner or later do what he must do.”
1993 dent
dent ≈ standard +
3491 The cat . . . day] Andrews (ed. 1989): “He may be saying that he and Laertes have just gone at each other like a dog and cat; he may be trying to excuse his own passions; or he may be warning Laertes that ‘his Day’ ((Hamlet’s)) will come ((to finish what he was prevented from doing on this occasion)).”
3490 3491