CRITICAL NOTES. ACT 1., SCENE I. Page 144. That tempers him to this extremity. — So the quarto of 1597. The quarto of 1598 corrupted tempers into tempts, thus leaving the verse defective; and the folio, to complete the verse, printed "That tempts him to this harsh Extremity." P. 145. Beseech your Graces both to pardon me. The old copies have "I beseech." In such phrases as "I beseech," "I pray," &c., the elision of the pronoun is too common in Shakespeare to need any special remark. P. 145. Well struck in years, fair, and not jealous. The folio has jealious; and, as a trisyllable is wanted here to complete the verse, perhaps it should be printed so. Walker asks, "Why not write jealious in this place?" P. 145. And the Queen's kindred are made gentlefolks. — The old copies read "And that the Queenes Kindred." But the repetition of that is needless as regards the sense, and defeats the rhythm of the line. P. 146. Beseech your Grace to pardon me. editions have "I beseech," and "I do beseech." - Here, again, the old P. 147. Till George be pack'd with post-haste up to Heaven. - So Collier's second folio. The old copies have post-horse instead of posthaste. In support of the old reading, Dyce quotes from the Induction to 2 King Henry IV., where Rumour speaks of "Making the wind my post-horse." But it seems to me that the two cases are by no means parallel: there the instrument of motion was to be expressed, here the manner. ACT I., SCENE 2. P. 153. Thou wast the cause, and most accursed th' effect. - So Hanmer. The old text reads "Thou was't the cause, and most accurst effect." P. 153. To undertake the death of all the world, So I might live one hour in your sweet bosom. So the folio. The quartos have rest instead of live. Lettsom would change live to lie, as the two words were often confounded. But live was probably meant in antithesis to death in the line before. P. 154. Not when my father York and Edward wept. — So Pope. The folio has No instead of Not. The line is not in the quartos. P. 157. With curses in her mouth, tears in her eyes, The bleeding witness of her hatred by. So the quartos. The folio has "witness of my hatred," which some editors prefer. But "witness of my hatred" to what? Richard is speaking of the causes which the Lady Anne has for hating himself, and he regards King Henry's death as one of them, and the presence of Henry's bleeding corse is a witness to that hatred. P. 158. Young, wise, and valiant, and, no doubt, right royal.— So Pope. The old text reads "Yong, Valiant, Wise, and (no doubt) right Royal." Surely there ought to be no hitch or halting in the metre here. Various ways of rectifying the verse have been proposed, but Pope's is the simplest. ACT 1., SCENE 3. P. 159. Here come the Lords of Buckingham and Stanley. — Here and four times afterwards in this scene, as also in several other places, the old editions have Derby instead of Stanley; but they have Stanley in a still larger number of places. In fact, the Lord Stanley of this play did not become Earl of Derby till after the accession of Henry VII. For this confusion of names or titles in the old copies it is not easy to account; but it seems hardly credible that it could have originated with Shakespeare: at all events, I can see no sufficient reason for retaining it in the text, as some editors do. P. 161. That thereby he may gather The ground of your ill-will, and so remove it. The quartos have" and to remove it." The correction is Capell's. The folio has merely "that he may learne the ground," omitting the rest. P. 165. As little joy enjoys the Queen thereof. The old copies have "A little joy." But A is no doubt a misprint for As; for Margaret is running a variation upon what Elizabeth has just said, and the latter began her speech with "As little joy." P. 168. Thou that wast seal'd in thy nativity The slave of Nature and the son of Hell. It appears that some have stumbled at the words slave and son here. Collier's second folio has "The stain of nature and the scorn of Hell"; Singer's, "The shame of nature and the spawn of Hell." For my part, I have to confess that the words have never troubled me; and I think Walker is right in saying that a slave of nature means "neither more nor less than a born villain." P. 169. Riv. Peace, peace, for shame, if not for charity. The old text assigns this speech to Buckingham. But Margaret's reply to it, and her next speech, which is addressed to Buckingham, show that the prefix "Buc." must be wrong. Walker points out the error, and Lettsom remarks that perhaps the speech should be given to Rivers. ACT I., SCENE 4. P. 175. Brak. I will, my lord: God give your Grace good rest! — Sorrow breaks seasons and reposing hours, &c. So the quartos. Between these two lines, the folio has "Enter Brakenbury the Lieutenant," and prefixes "Bra." to the second line; the preceding dialogue being between Clarence and the "Keeper," and having "Enter Clarence and Keeper" at the opening of the scene. Of course this is making the Lieutenant and the Keeper two distinct persons. Why the folio made this change upon the quartos, is not very apparent, there being nothing gained by such variety of speakers. I must add that, in the last speech of Clarence before the entrance of Brakenbury, the folio has "Ah Keeper, Keeper, I have done these things," instead of "O Brakenbury, I have done those things." Also, in Brakenbury's speech a little after, the folio has "There lies the Duke asleepe, and there the keys," instead of "Here are the keys; there sits the duke asleep." White objects to the quarto arrangement and reading, that "it was a violation of all propriety to make Sir Robert Brakenbury, Lieutenant of the Tower, go about with a bunch of ponderous keys at his girdle or in his hand." But why may not the Lieutenant have taken the keys from one of his subordinates, for the purpose of visiting Clarence? And is there not quite as much impropriety in making Clarence, a prince of the royal blood, unbosom himself so freely in a dialogue with a mere turnkey of the prison? P. 177. I hope my holy humour will change.—So the quartos. The folio "this passionate humor of mine." Here, again, I prefer the quarto text, because the same speaker, in his next speech, says, “some certain dregs of conscience are yet within me." P. 181. Hast thou that holy feeling in thy soul, &c. - In the quartos, this and the three following lines are addressed to the second murderer only, and in reply to what is said by him alone just before, "Make peace with God." The folio reads "Have you that holy feeling in your soules," &c., and makes the whole speech an address to both the Murderers. P. 181. 2 Murd. What shall we do? Clar. Relent, and save your souls. 1 Murd. Relent! 'tis cowardly and womanish. My friend, I spy some pity in thy looks; O, if thine eye be not a flatterer, Come thou on my side, and entreat for me: A begging prince what beggar pities not? I Murd. Ay, [Stabbing him.] thus, and thus, &c. So the first quarto, which is followed by Capell, Staunton, and Dyce in his last edition. The other quartos have the same, with only some slight variations. The folio has the following: 2. Whall shall we do? Cla. Relent, and save your soules: Which of you, if you were a Princes Sonne, Being pent from Liberty, as I am now, If two such murtherers as your selves came to you, Were you in my distresse. 1. Relent? no: 'Tis cowardly and womanish. Cla. Not to relent, is beastly, savage, divellish: My Friend, I spy some pitty in thy lookes: O, if thine eye be not a Flatterer, Come thou on my side, and intreate for mee, A begging Prince, what begger pitties not. 1. Take that, and that, &c. Here it is manifest that the folio additions serve no purpose but to embarrass and enfeeble the dialogue: besides, in some places it is hardly possible to make any sense out of them. To amend the latter fault, they have been variously tinkered at, but with only partial success. I therefore have no scruple of concurring with the other editors named in omitting them altogether as an unauthorized intrusion. P. 182. How fain, like Pilate, would I wash my hands Of this most grievous murder!-So the folio. The quartos have "Of this most grievous guilty murder done." ACT II., SCENE 1. P. 185. Of you, Lord Rivers, and, Lord Grey, of you, That all without desert have frown'd on me; — Dukes, earls, lords, gentlemen; — indeed, of all.- So the quartos. Between the second and third of these lines, the folio has the following line: "Of you Lord Woodvill, and Lord Scales of you." Malone pointed out the fact, that there was no such person as Lord Woodville, and that Lord Scales was the oldest son of Earl Rivers. ACT II., SCENE 2. - - The P. 193. Hast. And so in me; and so, I think, in all: &c. old copies assign this speech to Rivers; which can hardly be right, as Rivers has all along been opposed to the faction who are here trying to dissemble their thoughts. The old copies also give the next speech to Hastings, which is here assigned to Stanley. The corrections are Capell's. P. 198. Q. Eliz. ACT II., SCENE 4. For what offence? |