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.

1846 Ulrici

Ulrici

3851-2 Ulrici (1846, pp. 226-27): <p. 226>“Lastly, the concluding scene has been no less unjustly treated. The unexpected and sudden untying of the entangled knot by a series of accidents, and Hamlet’s rash and passionate conduct, have, I think, been already shewn to be necessary. But another and a different fault has been found with it. It is objected, that the appearance of Fortinbrtas, even though preparation may have been made for it as early as in the first act, is irrelevant to the subject-matter, and is an insignificant piece of ornament capriciously stuck on to the story in order to close the scene with striking effect. It argues a slight acquaintance with guileless, maidenly muse of Shakspeare, to ascribe to it the coquettish arts of modern poets. Never was there a poet who strove less after effect, and yet succeeded better in producing it. The least consideration, the most superficial examination, and a very ordinary power of vision, would have been sufficient to detect the groundlessness of such a charge. It is enough for the reader to consult his own judgment, whether it would satisfy the essence of tragedy, to leave the spectator with the question unanswered, why so noble and powerful a race of kings is given up so entirely to destruction. This ‘murderous route’ ought to have its reason, its intrinsic necessity, and its ideal significance, and so it has. Fortinbras, in whose favour Hamlet gives his dying voice, possesses an ancient claim and hereditary right to the throne of Denmark. Some deed of violence or injustice, by which his family were dispossessed of their just claims, hung in the dark back-ground over the head of that royal house which has now become extinct. Of this crime its last successors have now paid the penalty. And thus, in this closing</p. 226> <p. 227>scene, that idea of the overruling justice of God, which pervades all the other tragedies of Shakspeare, impresses on the whole play its seal of historical significance.” </p. 227>

1848 Strachey

Strachey

3851-2 Strachey (1848, p. 101-2): <p. 101>“That this is Shakspeare’s own view of the case, that he considers Hamlet to have triumphed in death, seems to be plainly marked by the introduction of Fortinbras. </p. 101> <p. 102> Young Fortinbras is the Hotspur of this play, the representative of practical, as distinguished from speculative, energy; of martial honour and glory, as distinguished from philosophical and political wisdom. The cannon’s salute, and the martial music, of the young conqueror’s triumphant rnarch as he returns from Poland, are the last sounds that fall, softened by distance, on the ear of the dying Hamlet: and at the soldier’s hands he receives a soldier’s funeral, and from his lips a soldier’s funeral eulogy:— ‘Let four captains Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage; For he was likely, had he been put on, To have proved most royally: and for his passage, The soldier’s music, and the rights of war, Speak loudly for him.’ Who can doubt that, if Hamlet could have chosen, this would have been the lot thathe would most have wished, and esteemed the greatest honour—to be recognized as a practical man, by him who was himself altogether practical, and a man of action.” </p. 102>

1875 Marshall

Marshall

3851-2 Marshall (1875, pp. 108): <p. 108>“The approach of the victorious Fortinbras, the sight of whose energetic action had so keenly rebuked Hamlet’s indolent procrastination, and the arrival of the ambassadors from England with the news of the success of his deadly stratagem against Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, add to the dramatic force of this closing scene.” </p. 108

1929 trav

trav

3851 Why] Travers (ed. 1929): “From the first words of Fortinbras the reason will appear to be that the news of what has happened had reached him at once.”

1980 pen2

pen2

3852-3 Spencer (ed. 1980): “his train of drum]] As there are now four dead bodies on the stage, requiring at least eight men for their simultaneous removal, Shakespeare has good reason to bring on a stage-army. It provides a splendid military finale.”

pen2

3852 Drumme] Spencer (ed. 1980): “drummer.”

pen2

3853 Colours] Spencer (ed. 1980): “military ensigns.”

1985 cam4

cam4 ≈

3852-3 Edwards (ed. 1985): “The F direction gives us only one ambassador, again reflecting the theatre’s scaling down of Shakespeare’s generous provisions.”

1993 dent

dent

3852 Embassadors] Andrews (ed. 1989): "the ambassadors from England. It is only by coincidence that they arrive at the same time that Fortinbrasse returns from his expedition to Poland."

1999 Dessen & Thomson

Des˙sen & Thomson

3853 Colours Dessen & Thomson(1999): “usually a flag, ensign, or standard of a regiment or ship called for in approximately 100 directions, (2) . . . usually in the military context the phrase is drum and colors, which can mean not only the instrument and property but also the players bringing them onstage; typically these items indicate readiness for battle and are part of a show of power: [quotes F1 3852-3] . . . .”

[BWK: the SD could then be a signal that Fortinbras is not entering in peace but prepared to challenge the king.]