Easie Introduction to Practical Musicke, 1597: "when a man talketh of a descanter it must be understood of one that can extempore sing a part upon a playne song ;" and Phillips, New World of Words: "Descant (in Musick) signifies the Art of Composing in several parts," etc. Florio defines Contrapunto as "a counterpoint; also a descant in musicke or singing." The editors generally have followed Malone in explaining descant as the "variations" on an air; but, according to W., this kind of musical composition was unknown in the time of S.

50. Answer nay, and take it. Cf. the old ballad in Percy's Reliques :

66 As maids that know themselves beloved
And yieldingly resist;"

and Byron, Don Juan: "And saying 'I will ne'er consent,'-consented." 51. And if you plead, etc. "If you speak for them as plausibly as I in my own person, or for my own purposes, shall seem to deny your suit, there is no doubt but we shall bring all to a happy issue" (Steevens). Clarke would refer them to "requests," but it seems quite as well to make it the citizens, as Steevens does.

=

54. The leads. That is, the flat roof covered with lead. We take it to mean upon the roof, and not "up to the roof, or close under the eaves," as H. explains it. Cf. Cor. ii. 1. 227:

"Stalls, bulks, windows

Are smother'd up, leads fill'd, and ridges hors'd
With variable complexions, all agreeing

In earnestness to see him.

56. Withal. An emphatic form of with" (Gr. 196).

71. Love-bed.

The quartos have “ day-bed" (see T. N. p. 143), which

is retained by some editors.

75. Engross. Make gross, pamper.

80. Defend. Forbid. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 1. 98: "God defend the lute should be like the case." See also Id. iv. 2. 21, etc.

93. Zealous. Pious, religious. See K. John, p. 148.

98. Ornament. The folios have "ornaments;" corrected by D. This line and the preceding are not in the quartos.

To know a holy man. That is, to know him by. For similar ellipsis of the preposition, cf. Oth. i. 3. 91:

See also Gr. 202.

"What conjuration and what mighty magic-
For such proceeding I am charg'd withal-
I won his daughter."

III. Disgracious. S. uses the word only here and in iv. 4. 178 below. 117. Majestical. Used by S. oftener than majestic. Cf. Ham. p. 176. 119. Your state, etc. The line is not in the quartos.

124. Her proper. The reading of the 1st and 2d quartos; “his” in all the other early eds. In the next line all the quartos have Her, the folios "His."

126. Graft. Not a contraction of grafted, but from the verb graff, for which see A. Y. L. p. 171 or 2 Hen. IV. p. 200. On Shakespeare's knowledge of gardening, see W. T. p. 190.

127. Shoulder'd in. Pushed or thrust into. S. uses the verb only here

and in 1 Hen. VI. iv. 1. 189: "This shouldering of each other in the court." For in=into, see on i. 2. 261 above. Some have taken shoulder'd to be immersed to the shoulders.

66

66

129. Recure. Restore to health. Cf. V. and A. 465: A smile recures the wounding of a frown ;" and Sonn. 45. 9 : Until life's composition be recur'd.” So unrecuring=past cure, incurable, in T. A. iii. 1. 90 : “Some unrecuring wound."

135. Empery. Empire. See Hen. V. p. 150.

143-152. If not. . . answer you. These lines are not in the quartos. 146. Fondly. Unwisely. Cf. fond in iii. 4. 80 above.

154. Unmeritable. "

Unmeriting" (Cor. ii. 1. 47), devoid of merit; as in

7. C. iv. 1. 12: "a slight unmeritable man." Cf. Gr. 3.

156. And that. And if that, and if. Gr. 285.

157. The ripe revenue, etc. "That which comes to me in right of greater maturity in age and judgment; Gloster thus comparing his own claims to the crown with those of the young prince his nephew, to whom he afterwards alludes in the words 'royal fruit,' and so continuing the same figure of speech" (Clarke).

On the accent of revenue in S., see M. N. D. p. 125.

165. And much I need, etc. "And I want much of the ability requisite to give you help, if help were needed" (Johnson). Clarke believes it also includes the meaning, craftily implied, "And much I ought to help you, if you need help."

167. Stealing. That is, stealing on, moving imperceptibly.

172. Defend. See on 80 above.

174. The respects thereof, etc. The considerations or motives that influence you are over scrupulous and of little weight. On nice, cf. L. C. 97:

"And nice affections wavering stood in doubt

If best were as it was, or best without."

178. Contract. Contracted, affianced. acquit in v. 4. 16 below.

For the form, see Gr. 342. Cf.

180. By substitute. By proxy; according to the custom of the times. Cf. the reference in Longfellow's Belfry of Bruges to the proxy-wedding of the Archduke Maximilian and Marie de Valois in 1477; and see the author's note on the passage.

66

181. Bona. 'Daughter to the Duke of Savoy, and sister to Charlotte, wife to Louis XI. King of France" (Malone).

183. A many. A form like a few, but now obsolete. See Hen. V. p. 170. Gr. 87. For sons the quartos have "children."

188. Declension. Decline, degradation. See 2 Hen. IV. p. 165. "Bigamy, by a canon of the Council of Lyons, A.D. 1274 (adopted in England by a statute in 4 Edward I.), was made unlawful and infamous. It differed from polygamy, or having two wives at once; as it consisted in either marrying two virgins successively, or once marrying a widow" (Blackstone). S. uses the word nowhere else.

190. Whom our manners call, etc. Whom by courtesy we call, etc. 192. To some alive. Hinting at the Duchess of York, the mother of Edward and Richard. Cf. iii. 5. 92 above.

201. Refuse not, etc.

This line is not in the quartos.

210. Effeminate remorse.

Feminine pity. Cf. M. for M. ii. 2. 54:

If so your heart were touch'd with that remorse
As mine is to him;"

Id. v. 1. 100: "My sisterly remorse," etc. See also on i. 2. 157 above. 218. Come, citizens, etc. The quartos read:

Come citizens, zounds, Ile entreat no more.

"Glo. O do not sweare my lord of Buckingham."

W. remarks: "It is quite probable that the passage was originally written thus, and that the change was made by Shakespeare because it made Gloster overdo his hypocrisy; for zounds was a common and venial expletive in Shakespeare's time. If, as Mr. Collier suggests, the zounds was struck out only in consequence of the statute 3 Jac. I., we should restore the reading of the quarto; for the removal of the quasi oath of course required the removal of the remonstrance." On the omission of zounds and similar oaths in the folio, see Oth. p. 11.

Exit Buckingham, etc. "The proper stage-directions for this passage were first supplied by Mr. Dyce. The quartos have no directions; the folio, in the careless manner common in old dramatic publications, has 'Exeunt,' and afterwards, ‘Enter Buckingham, and the rest. But clearly, from Catesby's entreaty and Richard's reply, there was an audience left for his hypocrisy" (W.).

220. If you deny them, etc. In the quartos this line is given to another speaker, and reads "Ano. Do, good my lord, lest all the land do rue it." 227. Whether. The folio has "where," and some follow Steevens in reading "whe'r." See Gr. 466.

231. Mere enforcement. Absolute compulsion. See 7. C. p. 129 (note on Merely upon myself) or Temp. p. 111 (note on We are merely cheated). On enforcement, cf. A. Y. L. p. 166.

Acquittance. Acquit; the only instance of the verb in S.

237. Royal. The quartos have "kingly," and in the next line "royal" for worthy. There are many such petty variations above which we have not noted.

243. And so, etc. The quartos omit this line.

SCENE I.-I. Niece.

ACT IV.

Here granddaughter. So nephew = grandchild (Oth. i. 1. 112) and cousin (1 Hen. VI. ii. 5. 64 and T. and C. i. 2. 13). See also on cousin, ii. 2. 8 above.

2-6. Led... day. These lines are not in the quartos.

5. God give, etc. Malone remarks of this reappearance of Anne: "We have not seen this lady since the second scene of the first act, in which she promised to meet Richard at Crosby Place. She was married about the year 1472." The portrait of Anne is from the Warwick Roll in the Heralds' College. It "presents us with the peculiar head-dress characterizing this period, namely a cap or caul of gold embroidery, covered by a

veil of some very transparent material, stiffened out in the form of wings"

(K.).

QUEEN ANNE.

9. Like... as. Cf. T. and C. prol. 25: "In like conditions as our ar

gument," etc.

"And gratu

10. Gratulate. Congratulate, greet. Cf. T. A. i. I. 221: late his safe return to Rome;" and T. of A. i. 2. 131: "To gratulate thy plenteous bosom."

14. How doth, etc. The line in the quartos is simply "How fares the Prince?"

15. Patience. A trisyllable; as in i. 3. 248 above. See also I Hen. IV. PP. 153, 175.

18. The king, etc. The quarto reading is:

"Q. Eliz. The king! why, who's that?

Brak. I cry you mercy: I mean the lord protector."

20. Between. The quartos have "betwixt," and in the next line "should keep" for shall bar. There are many such trifling variations in the remainder of the scene.

24. Sights. For the plural cf. Rich. II. iv. 1. 314: "Whither you will, so I were from your sights;" and see note in our ed. p. 206. The quartos have simply "Then feare not thou."

26. Leave it. "That is, resign my office" (Johnson).

35. Dead-killing. Cf. R. of L. 540: "a cockatrice' dead-killing eye." We have "kill her dead" in M. Ñ. D. iii. 2. 269. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 194. 36. Despiteful, etc.

The line is not in the quartos.

45. Thrall. Slave; as in Sonn. 154. 12: “I, my mistress' thrall," etc. See also Macb. p. 225.

49. My son. That is, son to Margaret, Countess of Richmond, whose third husband Stanley was.

55. Whose unavoided eye, etc. See on i. 2. 152 above, and cf. the quota tion in note on 35 just above.

58. Inclusive verge. Enclosing circle. Cf. Rich. II. ii. 1. 102: “incaged in so small a verge" (that is, the crown, as here).

60. Red-hot steel. Steevens sees here an allusion to the ancient mode of punishing a regicide by placing a red-hot iron crown on his head. Cf. Goldsmith, Traveller, 436: "Luke's iron crown ;" and see our ed. p. 121. 65. No! why? The why is not in the quartos. W. prints "No why?" which he explains as=" Why not?" For "No had?" and similar instances of no with a verb, see K. John, p. 167; but we are not aware of any examples of such use of the negative with why, etc.

74. If any be so mad. That is, so mad as to become thy wife.

75. Life. The quartos have " death,"

79. Honey. Often used by S. as an adjective; as in V. and A. 16, Sonn. 65. 5, Temp. iv. 1. 79, etc. See also R. and J. p. 177, note on Honey nurse. Honeyed occurs only in Hen. V. i. 1. 50.

82. Hour. A dissyllable; as in v. 3. 31 below. Gr. 480.

83. The golden dew of sleep. Cf. 7. C. ii. 1. 230: "the honey-heavy dew of slumber."

84. His timorous dreams. "Not only is this characteristic touch confirmed by historical accounts of Richard's disturbed nights, but the dramatist has given it consistency and forcible effect of climax by the impressive picture presented to our sight in the waking words uttered by this guilt-burdened soul in starting from sleep in v. 3" (Clarke).

91. Go thou, etc. The 2d folio reads: "Duc. Yo: ke. Go to Richmond, to Dorset, to Anne, to the Queene, and good fortune guide thee," etc. In the margin of the 1st folio, from which the 2d was printed, some one had evidently inserted the stage-directions "to Dorset," "to Anne," and "to the Queene," which the printer took to be additions to the text. The error is repeated in the 3d folio, but corrected in the 4th (Camb. ed.).

95. Eighty odd years, etc. Malone remarks: "Shakespeare has here, I believe, spoken at random. The present scene is in 1483. Richard, Duke of York, the husband of this lady, had he then been living, would have been but seventy-three years old, and we may reasonably suppose that his Duchess was younger than he was. Nor did she go speedily to her grave. She lived till 1495."

96. Teen. Sorrow. See R. and J. p. 150 or Temp. p. 113.

97-103. Stay yet... farewell. These lines are not in the quartos.

101. Nurse... playfellow. Johnson remarks: "To call the Tower nurse and playfellow is very harsh: perhaps part of the speech is addressed to the Tower and part to the Lieutenant." Malone replies that S. was only thinking of the children as "being constrained to carry on