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.

1773 v1778

v1778

3888 Of . . . speake] Steevens (ed. 1773) :”Voltaire’s first remark on this play is, that the old king had been poison’d by Claudius, and his own queen Gertrude, which is far from being certain, as the ghost himself does not accuse her as an accessary to the deed, but, on the contrary, recommends her to the mercy of her son. His concluding observation has no less veracity to boast of, for (says he) all the actors in the piece are now destroyed, and one Monsieur Fort-en-bras is introduced to conclude the play whereas Horatio, the friend of Hamlet, survives as well as Osrick; nor do we hear of any accident that has befallen Voltimand and Cornelius, who, as well as the whole court of Denmark, may be supposed to be present at the catastrophe. Even Mons. D’Alembert, a puny whipster, in comparison to the bard of Geneva, has had the insolence to declare, that there is more sterling sense in ten French verses, than can be found in any thirty Italian or English ones.”

1857 elze1

elze1 : F1, F2 VN : Collier (see n. 3885-6)

3888 also] Elze (ed. 1857, 263): <p. 263>"Collier Notes and Emendatt. 433."

1885 macd

macd

3888 also] MacDonald (ed. 1885): “The Quarto surely is right here.”