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MIDDLE TEMPLE HALL 



COMEDY OF;_ ; : .-- 

TWELFTH NIGHT 

OR 

WHAT YOU WILL 

EDITED, WITH NOTES 
BY 

WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Lrrr.D. 

FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOI 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 

ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK-:- CINCINNATI- : CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



COPYRIGHT, 1879 AND 1898, BY 
HARPER & BROTHERS. 

COPYRIGHT, 1904 AND 1907, BY 
WILLIAM J. ROLFE. 

COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY 
JOHN C. ROLFE. 



TWELFTH NIGHT. 
W. P 19 



SOUTH EAST 



Mk 



PREFACE 

MY former edition of Twelfth Night, first published 
in 1879, is now substantially remade on the same 
general plan as the revised Merchant of Venice and 
other plays that have preceded it. 

The notes on textual variations have been either 
omitted or abridged, as this play, like most of the 
others read in schools and colleges, is now among the 
twelve plays that Dr. Furness has edited. No teacher 
can afford to do without his encyclopedic volumes, 
which furnish not only a complete variorum of the 
textual readings, but a condensed library of the Eng- 
lish and foreign literature relating to each play. 

For most of the " Critical Comments " in the former 
edition I have substituted matter of my own, much of 
which is drawn from familiar lectures prepared for 
audiences of teachers and students. 

Minor changes have been made throughout the 
Notes, and many new ones have been added, includ- 
ing a considerable number in place of those referring 
to my former editions of other plays. The book is 
now absolutely complete in itself. 

I believe that teachers will prefer the new edition to 
the old one; but both can be used, without serious 
inconvenience, in the same class or club. 



CONTENTS 

PACK 

INTRODUCTION TO TWELFTH NIGHT . 9 

The History of the Play 9 

The Sources of the Plot . . . * , . .11 

General Comments on the Play . . .12 

TWELFTH NIGHT 21 

Act I . . . , . 23 

Act II 47 

ActHI .....,.-.. 72 

Act IV ....,..*.. lox 

ActV ..,..,.... m 

EMOTES e . 131 

APPENDIX 

Comments on Some of the Character* . 225 

The Time-Analysis of the Play . 238 

List of Characters in the Play 239 

INDEX OF WORDS ANI> PHRASES .EXPLAINED . . 241 




"INTO THE CHANTRY" 




SEA-FIGHT (iii. 3. 26) 



INTRODUCTION TO TWELFTH NIGHT 



THE HISTORY OF THE PLAY 

THIS play was first printed, so far as we know, in tlie 
folio of 1623, where it appears under the title of 
" Twelfe Night, Or what you will," and occupies pages 
255275 in the division of " Comedies." 

The earliest reference to the play that has been found 
is in a MS. diary of John Manningham, a member of 
the Middle Temple, which is preserved in the British 
Museum (MSS. Harl. 5353). The passage reads thus : 1 

1 1 give it as printed by Furness, who takes it from the Camden Society 
Reprints* No two editors print it in precisely the same form. Collier, 
Knight, and Staunton have " inscribing " instead of " in smiling/" and 
Hudson omits the words. 

Jt will be seen that Manningham refers to Olivia as a " widdowe,'* 



10 Twelfth Night 



"FEBR. 1601. 

" Feb. 2. At our feast, wee had a play called Twelue 
Night, or What you Will, much like the Commedy of 
Errores, or Menechmi in Plautus, but most like and 
neere to that in Italian called IngannL A good practise 
in it to make the Steward beleeue his Lady widdowe 
was in loue with him, by counterfeyting a letter as from 
his Lady in generall termes, telling him what shee liked 
best in him, and prescribing his gesture in smiling, his 
apparaile, etc., and then when he came to practise mak- 
ing him beleeue they tooke him to be mad." 

As Twelfth Night is not included in Meres's list of 
Shakespeare's plays in his Palladis Tamia, we may 
infer that it was written between the publication of that 
book, in September, 1598, and February, i6oi[2]. It 
seems probable from Manningham's detailed descrip- 
tion that it was comparatively a new play when he saw 
it. It is assigned by the majority of critics to 1600 or 
1601. 

The play is, on the whole, well printed in the folio, 
and the difficulties in the text are comparatively few. 
It is divided into acts and scenes, but has no list of 
dramatis persona. 

The name Twelfth Night was probably suggested by 

It is possible, as Collier suggests, that she was so represented in the 
comedy as first performed, or the writer may have been raisled by the 
fact that she was in mourning for her brother. See also on iii, 4. 57 
below. 



Introduction n 

the time of its first production, or by u its embodiment 
of the spirit of the Twelfth Night (twelfth after Christ- 
mas) sports and revels a time devoted to festivity and 
merriment " (White). The second title, Or What You 
Will, seems to imply that the first has no special mean- 
ing, though Ulrici sees a subtle significance in it. 1 

THE SOURCES OF THE PLOT 

There are two Italian plays entitled Gr Inganni (Iht 
Deceits), published in the latter part of the sixteenth 
century, and containing incidents somewhat resembling 
those of Twelfth Night. In one of them the sister who 
assumes male apparel bears the name Cesare, which 
may have suggested Shakespeare's Cesario. A third 
Italian play, GV Ingannati, has even a closer likeness to 
Twelfth Night, and in its Induction we find the name 
Malevolti, of which Malvolio may be a variation. It 
has been recently discovered (see the preface to Fur- 
ness's " New Variorum " edition of the play) that a 
Latin translation of this Italian drama, under the title 
of L&lia (the name of the heroine), was performed at 
Queen's College, Cambridge, in 1590, and again in 
1598. Shakespeare's " small Latin " was large enough 
for the reading of this play, and he may have been in- 
debted to it rather than to any other source that has 
been suggested. It has been generally assumed that he 

1 See half a page on the subject in his Shakspeare's Dramatic Art 
(Schmitz's trans, of $d ed. vol. ii. p. 5). 



12 Twelfth Night 

must have read and used the version of the story by 
Barnaby Riche, in his History of Apolonius and Silla> 
included in Riche His Farewell to Militarie Profession ; 
but Furness doubts that Shakespeare ever read the 
"coarse repulsive novel." The resemblances between 
the story and the play are few and slight. " Let noth- 
ing induce us to contaminate the spotless Viola and the 
haughty Olivia by the remotest hint of a kinship with 
the weak Silla and the brazen Julina." 

From whichever source the dramatist derived the 
hint of his plot, he owed to it only a few incidents and 
the mere skeleton of some of the characters. Malvolio,^ 
Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Fabian, the Clown, and Maria^ 
are entirely his own creation ; as indeed all the other 
actors in the drama are in all that gives them life and 
individuality. 

GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE PLAY 

Twelfth Night is the brightest and sunniest of the 
three plays of Shakespeare's " golden prime of comedy. 
As You Like It and Much Ado both have a larger ad- 
mixture of the serious and sentimental, but that element 
in Twelfth Night is of the most delicate and ethereal" 
character. The play was meant, as the title indicates/ 
for the climax of the holiday season, when the sport 
and revelry are at their height, and sober occupations 
and serious interests are laid aside and forgotten. Only 
enough of the shadow of the workaday world is left to 
form a background to the lively picture, and to remind 



T , . 

Introduction 13 

us that life is not all pleasure and pastime, but that 
after the Twelfth Night revels are over, the morning 
N brings back its duties and responsibilities and "man 
Agoeth forth unto his labour until the evening." 
p The Hall of the Middle Temple, where John Man- 
^Qmngham saw the play, is one of the only two buildings 
JXjemaining in London where we know that any of Shake- 
's dramas were performed in his lifetime ; the other 
the Hall of Gray's Inn, where, according to the 
Gesta Gray or urn, the Comedy of Errors was " played by 
the players " in December, 1594. 
The Temple Hall was built in 1572. It is one hun- 
feet long, forty-two feet wide, and forty-seven feet 
; and the roof is the best specimen of Elizabethan 
architecture in London. The exterior has been modi- 
'fied considerably in more recent times, but the interior 
as suffered slight change since Shakespeare's day. 
Hawthorne, in his English Note-Books, gives the fol- 
ing description of the hall : " Truly it is a most 
magnificent apartment ; very lofty, so lofty, indeed, that 
the antique roof is quite hidden, as regards all its de- 
, in the sombre gloom that broods under its rafters. 
The hall is lighted by four great windows on each of 
two sides, descending halfway from the ceiling to 
"jthe floor, leaving all beneath enclosed by oaken panel- 
ling, which on three sides is carved with escutcheons 
<X of such members of the society as have held the office 
(f of reader. There is likewise in a large recess or transept 
a great window occupying the full height of the hall and 



ifjha 



14 Twelfth Night 

splendidly emblazoned with the arms of the Templars 
who have attained to the dignity of Chief-justices. The 
other windows are pictured, in like manner, with coats 
of arms of local dignities connected with the Temple ; 
and besides all these there are arched lights, high to- 
wards the roof, at either end, full of richly and chastely 
coloured glass ; and all the illumination that the great 
hall had came through these glorious panes, and they 
seemed the richer for the sombreness in which we stood. 
I cannot describe, or even intimate, the effect of this 
transparent glory, glowing down upon us in the gloomy 
depth of the hall. The screen at the lower end is of 
carved oak very dark and highly polished, and as old 
as Queen Elizabeth's time. ... I am reluctant to leave 
this hall without expressing how grave, how grand, how 
sombre, and how magnificent I felt it to be. As re- 
gards historical associations, it was a favourite dancing- 
hall of Queen Elizabeth, and Sir Christopher Hatton 
danced himself into her good graces there." 

The feasts of Christmas, Halloween, Candlemas, 
and Ascension were formerly celebrated here with 
great magnificence. A Master of the Revels was 
chosen, and the Lord Chancellor, Judges, and Benchers 
opened the sports by dancing thrice around the sea- 
coal fire : 

*' Full oft within the spacious walls, 

When he had fifty winters o'er him, 
My grave Lord Keeper led the brawls ; 
The Seal and Maces danced before him. 



Introduction 15 

This judicial foolery was satirized by Buckingham in 
The Rehearsal, by Prior in his Alma, and by Donne in 
his Satires; and Pope has his fling at it in the 
Duntiad: 

" The judge to dance, his brother serjearit calls." 

It was in this hall at dinner-time that Mr. Richard 
Martin, the Bencher to whom Ben Jon son dedicated his 
Poetaster, was thrashed by Sir John Davies, who for 
this display of unruly temper was expelled from the 
society. 

Shakespeare alludes to the hall in i Henry IV. iiL 
3. 223, where the Prince says to Falstaff, " Meet me 
to-morrow in the Temple Hall at two o'clock in the 
afternoon ; " and again in i Henry VI. ii. 4. 3, where 
the scene is laid in the Temple Gardens, and Suffolk 
says to Plantagenet : 

"Within the Temple Hall we were too loud; 
The garden here is more convenient." 

We see at a glance that the plot of Twelfth Night 
combines certain features of The Two Gentkmen of 
Verona and The Comedy of Errors. As in the former 
play, the heroine, in a foreign land and in masculine 
disguise, becomes the servant of the man she loves, 
who at the time is in love with another woman, but is 
not loved in return and eventually reciprocates the 
affection of the maiden page ; and, as in The Comedy 
of Errors, there is amusing confusion on account of the 



1 6 Twelfth Night 

resemblance of twins to each other. In the passion of 
Olivia for the disguised girl we have the counterpart of 
the episode of Phebe and Rosalind in As You Like It; 
and in both cases the lady gets a husband in place of 
the one who can " marry no woman." In Airs Well 
Helena pursues Bertram, but does not woo another in 
his name, though she gets him in the end. The ro- 
mantic passion of the Duke for Olivia reminds us of 
the similar unrequited fancy of Romeo for Rosaline ; 
both of the " first loves " being forgotten as soon as the 
destined mate appears. 

Certain minor " parallelisms " are pointed out by 
Furnivall : " The Merchant of Venice gives us another 
Antonio willing to give his life for his friend Bassanio, 
just as here in Twelfth Night Antonio faces danger, nay, 
death, a pirate's due, for his love to his friend Sebas- 
tian. And to the same Merchant we surely go for recol- 
lections of the opening scene here, 

* That strain again ! it had a dying fall j 
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound 
That breathes upon a bank of violets, 
Stealing and giving odour,' 

and for a parallel to the Duke's love of music through 
the play. Henry IV. gives us in Falstaff and his fol- 
lowers the company whence Sir Toby Belch and Sir 
Andrew Aguecheek come, as the Second Part of that 
play gives us Falstaff playing on Justice Shallow as Sir 
Toby in Twelfth Night plays on Sir Andrew Is not 



Introduction 17 

also Blender's echoing of Shallow in Merry Wives 
something like Sir Andrew echoing all Sir Toby's say- 
ings here, and fancying himself a man for it ? It is to 
the Sonnets that we turn for a parallel to Viola's plead- 
ing with Olivia to marry the Duke, and not forbear to 
leave a copy of her beauty to the world, and to the 
Sonnets to his mistress for Shakspere's love of music ; 
while to match Viola's entire devotion even to death to 
the Duke's most unjust will we must look forward, even 
past the Sonnets , to the true and loving Imogen's will- 
ingness to die in obedience to her deceived and head- 
strong husband's iniquitous sentence of death on her 
(Cymb. m. 4. 65-79)." 

I cannot better close these preliminary comments 
than with a portion of Verplanck's introduction to the 
play: 1 

" We may safely fix the date of this comedy about 
the year 1600 or 1601, and class it among the later pro- 
ductions of that period of Shakespeare's life when his 
mind most habitually revelled in humorous delineation, 
while his luxuriant fancy, turning aside from the sterner 

1 The Illustrated Shakespeare, edited by G. C. Verplanck (New York, 
1847), vol. ii, page 6 of Twelfth Night. I am the more inclined to 
quote from this edition because it has now been out of print for fifty 
years, having been entirely destroyed (together with nearly all the 
stereotype plates) in the fire at the Harper establishment in 1853. ft 
was the first critical and thoroughly annotated edition of Shakespeare 
published in this country, and is still one of the best of its class, Amer- 
ican or English. Copies of it are rare in the public libraries, and are 
seldom offered for sale. 

TWELFTH NIGHT 2 



1 8 Twelfth Night 

and painful passions, sheds its gayest tints over in- 
numerable forms of grace and beauty. He seems, by 
his title of the Twelfth Night, to apprise his audience 
of the general character of this agreeable and varied 
comedy a notice intelligible enough at that time, and 
still not without its significance in a great part of 
Europe, though quite otherwise among our un-holiday- 
keeping people on this side of the Atlantic. Twelfth 
Night was, in the olden times, the season of universal 
festivity of masques, pageants, feasts, and tradi- 
tionary sports. This comedy then would not disap- 
point public expectation, when it was found to contain 
a delightful combination of the delicate fancy and ro- 
mantic sentiment of the poetic masque, with a crowd of 
revelling, laughing, or laugh-creating personages, whose 
truth all would recognize, and whose spirit and fun no 
gravity could resist. He gave to these the revelling 
spirit, and the exaggeration of character necessary for 
the broadest comic effect, but still kept them from 
becoming mere buffoon masquers by a truth of por- 
traiture which shows them all to be drawn from real 
life. Malvolio the matchless Malvolio was not 
only new in his day to comic delineation of any sort, 
but I believe has never since had his fellow or his copy 
in any succeeding play, poem, essay, or novel. The 
gravity, the acquirement, the real talent, and accom- 
plishment of the man, all made ludicrous, fantastical, 
and absurd by his intense vanity, is as true a conception 
as it is original and droll, and its truth may still be 



introduction 19 

frequently attested by actual comparison with real 
Malvolios, to be found everywhere, from humble do- 
mestic life up to the high places of learning, of the 
State, and even of the Church. Sir Toby certainly 
comes out of the same associations where the poet saw 
Falstaff hole" his revels. He is not Sir John, nor a 
fainter sketch of him, yet with an odd sort of family 
likeness to him. Dryden and other dramatists have fe- 
licitated themselves upon success in grouping together 
their comic underplots with their more heroic per- 
sonages. But here all, grave and gay, the lovers, the 
laughers, and the laughed-at, are made to harmonize in 
one scene and one common purpose. I cannot help 
adding though perhaps it maybe a capricious over- 
refinement that to my mind this comedy resembles 
Macbeth^ in one of the marked characteristics of that 
great drama; appearing, like it, to have been struck 
out at a heat, as if the whole plot, its characters and 
dialogue, had presented themselves at once, in one 
harmonious group, before the i mind's eye ' of the poet, 
previous to Ms actually commencing the formal busi- 
ness of writing, and bearing no indication either of an 
original groundwork of incident, afterwards enriched 
by the additions of a fuller mind, or of thoughts, situa- 
tions, and characters accidentally suggested, or growing 
unexpectedly out of the story as the author proceeded," 



TWELFTH NIGHT ; 

OR, 

WHAT YOU WILL 



DRAMATIS PERSONS. 

ORSINQ, Duke of Ulyria. 

SEBASTIAN, brother to Viola 

ANTONIO, a sea captain, friend to Sebastian. 

A Sea Captain, friend to Viola. 

CuRi E o7 1NE ' i S entlemen a ending on the Duke. 
SIR TOBY BELCH, uncle to Olivia, 
SIR ANDREW AGUECHEKK. 
MALVOLIO steward to Olivia. 

S'a Clown, j "">" OUvi,, 

OLIVIA. 
VIOLA. 
MARIA, Olivia's woman 

Lord'?, Priests, Sailors, Officers, Musicians, 
and other Attendants. 

SCENE: A city in lilyria, and the sea-coast 
neo-T it. 




SPALATKO 



ACT I 
SCENE I. 7%<? Duke's Palace 

Enter DUKE, CURIO, and other Lords ; Musicians 
attending 

Duke. If music be the food of love, play on ; 
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, 
The appetite may sicken and so die. 
That strain again ! it had a dying fall \ 
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound 
That breathes upon a bank of violets, 
Stealing and giving odour ! Enough-; no 
'T is not so sweet now as it was before. 
O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou, 
That, notwithstanding thy capacity 
Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there, 
Of what validity and pitch soe'er, 



24 Twelfth Night [Act i 

But falls into abatement and low price, 
Even in a minute ! So full of shapes is fancy 
That it alone is high fantastical. 

Curio. Will you go hunt, my lord ? 

Duke. What, Curio ? 

Curio. The hart. 

Duke. Why, so I do, the noblest that I have. 
O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, 
Methought she purg'd. the air of pestilence t 20 

That instant was I turn'd into a hart ; 
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, 
E'er since pursue me. 

Enter VALENTINE 

How now 1 what news from her ? 

Vakntine. So please my lord, I might not be admitted, 
But from her handmaid do return this answer : 
The element itself, till seven years' heat, 
Shall not behold her face at ample view, 
But, like a cloistress, she will veiled walk 
And water once a day her chamber round 
With eye-offending brine ; all this to season 30 

A brother's dead love, which she would keep fresh 
And lasting in her sad remembrance. 

Duke. O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame 
To pay this debt of love but to a brother, 
How will she love when the rich golden shaft 
Hath kilPd the flock of all affections else 
That live in her ; when liver s brai&, and heart, 



Scene ii] Twelfth Night 25 

These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and filPd 
Her sweet perfection with one self king I 
Away before me to sweet beds of flowers I 40 

Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers. 

[Exeunt. 
SCENE II. The Sea-coast 

Enter VIOLA, a Captain, and Sailors 

Viola. What country, friends, is this ? 

Captain. This is Illyria, lady. 

Viola. And what should I do in Illyria ? 
My brother he is in Elysium. 
Perchance he is not drown J d ; what think you, sailors ? 

Captain. It is perchance that you yourself were savM 

Viola. O my poor brother! and so perchance may 
he be. 

Captain. True, madam; and, to comfort you with 

chance, 

Assure yourself, after our ship did split, 
When you and those poor number sav'd with you 10 
Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother, 
Most provident in peril, bind himself, 
Courage and hope both teaching him the practice. 
To a strong mast that liv'd upon the sea, 
Where, like Arion on the dolphin's back, 
I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves 
So long as I could see. 

Viola. For saying so there 's gold. 
Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope, 



26 Twelfth Night [Acti 

Whereto thy speech serves for authority, 20 

The like of him. Know'st thou this country ? 

Captain. Ay, madam, well ; for I was bred and born 
Not three hours' travel from this very place. 

Viola. Who governs here ? 

Captain. A noble duke, in nature as in name. 

Viola. What is his name ? 

Captain. Orsino, 

Viola. Orsino ! I have heard my father name him ; 
He was a bachelor then. 

Captain. And so is now, or was so very late ; 30 

For but a month ago I went from hence, 
And then J t was fresh in murmur as, you know, 
What great ones do the less will prattle of 
That he did seek the love of fair Olivia. 

Viola. What J s she ? 

Captain. A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count 
That died some twelvemonth since, then leaving her 
In the protection of his son, her brother. 
Who shortly also died ; for whose dear love, 
They say, she hath abjur'd the company 40 

And sight of men. 

Viola. O that I serv'd that lady, 

And might not be deliver'd to the world, 
Till I had made mine own occasion mellow, 
What my estate is ! 

Captain. That were hard to compass, 

Because she will admit no kind of suit, 
No, not the duke's. 



scene raj Twelfth Night 27 

Viola. There is a fair behaviour in thee, captain ; 
And though that nature with a beauteous wall 
Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee 
I will believe thou hast a mind that suits ^ 

With this thy fair and outward character. 
I prithee, and I '11 pay thee bounteously, 
Conceal me what I am, and be my aid 
For such disguise as haply shall become 
The form of my intent. I '11 serve this duke ; 
Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him. 
It may be worth thy pains ; for I can sing 
And speak to him in many sorts of music 
That will allow me very worth his service. 
What else may hr.p to time I will commit ; 6c 

Only shape thou thy silence to my wit. 

Captain. Be you his eunuch, and your mute I '11 be ; 
When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see. 

Viola. I thank thee ; lead me on, \Exeunt. 

SCENE III. ^Olivia's House 
Enter SIR TOBY BELCH and MARIA 

Sir Toby. What a plague means my niece, to take 
the death of her brother thus ? I am sure care y s an 
enemy to life. 

Maria. By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in 
earlier o' nights ; your cousin, my lady, takes great 
exceptions to your ill hours. 

Sir Toby. Why, let her except before excepted. 



28 Twelfth Night [Acti 

Maria. Ay, but you must confine yourself within 
the modest limits of order. 

Sir Toby. Confine ! I '11 confine myself no finer 10 
than I am. These clothes are good enough to drink 
in, and so be these boots too ; an they be not, let 
them hang themselves in their own straps. 

Maria. That quaffing and drinking will undo you ; 
I heard my lady talk of it yesterday, and of a foolish 
knight that you brought in one night here to be her 
wooer. 

Sir Toby. Who, Sir Andrew Aguecheek? 

Maria. Ay, he. 

Sir Toby. He ? s as tall a man as any 's in Illyria* 20 

Maria. What J s that to the purpose ? 

Sir Toby. Why, he has three thousand ducats a 
year. 

Maria. Ay, but he '11 have but a year in all these 
ducats ; he J s a very fool and a prodigal. 

Sir Toby. Fie, that you '11 say so ! he plays o' the 
viol-de-gamboys, and speaks three or four languages 
word for word without book, and hath all the good 
gifts of nature. 

Maria. He hath indeed, all most natural; for 30 
besides that he 's a fool, he 's a great quarreller, 
and but that he hath the gift of a coward to allay the 
gust he hath in quarrelling, J t is thought among the 
prudent he would quickly have the gift of a grave. 

Sir Toby. By this hand, they are scoundrels and 
substractors that say so of him. Who are they ? 



Scene III] Twelfth Night 29 

Maria. They that add, moreover, he 's drunk 
nightly in your company. 

Sir Toby. With drinking healths to my niece; 
I '11 drink to her as long as there is a passage in 40 
my throat and drink in Illyria. He 's a coward and 
a coystril that will not drink to my niece till his 
brains turn o' the toe like a parish-top. What, 
wench ! Castiliano vulgo 1 for here comes Sir 
Andrew Agueface. 

Enter SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK 

Sir Andrew. Sir Toby Belch ! how now, Sir Toby 
Belch 1 

Sir Toby. Sweet Sir Andrew ! 

Sir Andrew. Bless you, fair shrew I 

Maria. And you too, sir. 50 

Sir Toby. Accost, Sir Andrew, accost. 

Sir Andrew. What J s that ? 

Sir Toby. My niece's chambermaid. 

Sir Andrew. Good Mistress Accost, I desire bet- 
ter acquaintance. 

Maria. My name is Mary, sir. 

Sir Andrew. Good Mistress Mary Accost, 

Sir Toby. You mistake, knight; accost is front 
her, board her, woo her, assail her. 

Sir Andrew. By my troth, I would not undertake 60 
her in this company. Is that the meaning of accost r 

Maria. Fare you well, gentlemen. 

Sir Toby. An thou let part so, Sir Andrew, would 
thou mightst never draw sword again I 



30 Twelfth Night [Acti 

Sir Andrew. An you part so, mistress, I would I 
might never draw sword again 1 Fair lady, do 
you think you have fools in hand ? 

Maria. Sir, I have not you by the hand. 

Sir Andrew. Marry, but you shall have; and 
here 's my hand. 70 

Maria. Now, sir, thought is free; I pray you, 
bring your hand to the buttery-bar and let it drink. 

Sir Andrew. Wherefore, sweet-heart ? what's your 
metaphor ? 

Maria. It *s dry, sir. 

Sir Andrew. Why, I think so ; I am not such an 
ass but I can keep my hand dry. But what 's your 
jest? 

Maria. A dry jest, sir. 

Sir Andrew. Are you full of them ? 80 

Maria. Ay, sir, I have them at my fingers* ends ; 
marry, now I let go your hand, I am barren. \Mxit. 

Sir Toby. O knight, thou lackest a cup of canary ! 
when did I see thee so put down ? 

Sir Andrew, Never in your life, I think ; unless 
you see canary put me down. Methinks sometimes 
I have no more wit than a Christian or an ordinary 
man has ; but I am a great eater of beef, and I be- 
lieve that does harm to my wit. 

Sir Toby. No question. 90 

Sir Andrew. An I thought that, I'd forswear it. 
I '11 ride home to-morrow, Sir Toby. 

Sir Toby, Pourquoi, my dear knight? 



Scene III] Twelfth Night 31 

Sir Andrew. What Is pourquoi ? do or not do ? I 
would I had bestowed that time in the tongues that 
I have in fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting! O, 
had I but followed the arts i 

Sir Toby. Then hadst thou had an excellent head 
of hair. 

Sir Andrew. Why, would that have mended my 100 
hair ? 

Sir Toby. Past question ; for thou seest it will 
not curl by nature. 

Sir Andrew. But it becomes me well enough, 
does *t not ? 

Sir 2^oby. Excellent ; it hangs like flax on a dis- 
taff, and I hope to see a housewife take thee and 
spin it off. 

Sir Andrew. Faith, I '11 home to-morrow, Sir 
Toby. Your niece will not be seen, or if she be, it 's no 
four to one she 11 none of me; the count himself 
here hard by wooes her. 

Sir Toby. She '11 none o' the count. She '11 not 
match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor 
wit ; I have heard her swear 't. Tut, there 's life 
in 't, man. 

Sir Andrew. I '11 stay a month longer. I am a 
fellow o' the strangest mind i' the world ; I delight 
in masques and revels sometimes altogether. 

Sir Toby. Art thou good at these kickshawses, 120 
knight? 

Sir Andrew, As any man in Illyria, whatsoever 



32 Twelfth Night [Acti 

he be, under the degree of my betters ; and yet I 
will not compare with an old man. 

Sir Toby. What is thy excellence in a galliard, 
knight? 

Sir Andrew. Faith, I can cut a caper. 

Sir Toby. And I can cut the mutton to J t 

Sir Andrew. And I think I have the back-trick 
simply as strong as any man in Illyria. 130 

Sir Toby. Wherefore are these things hid? where- 
fore have these gifts a curtain before 'em ? are they 
like to take dust, like Mistress Mall's picture? why 
dost thou not go to church in a galliard and come 
home in a coranto ? My very walk should be a jig. 
What dost thou mean ? Is it a world to hide virtues 
in ? I did think, by the excellent constitution of thy 
leg, it was formed under the star of a galliard. 

Sir Andrew. Ay, 't is strong, and it does indif- 
ferent well in a flame-coloured stock. Shall we set 140 
about some revels ? 

Sir Toby. What shall we do else ? were we not 
born under Taurus ? 

Sir Andrew. Taurus ! That >s sides and heart. 

Sir Toby. No, sir ; it is legs and thighs. Let me 
see thee caper. Ha 1 higher ! ha, ha I excellent 1 

\Exeuni 
SCENE IV. The 2)uke's Palace 

Enter VALENTINE and VIOLA in man's attire 
Valentine. If the duke continue these favours 
towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 33 

advanced ; he hath known you but three days, and 
already you are no stranger. 

Viola. You either fear his humour or my negli- 
gence, that you call in question the continuance of 
his love. Is he inconstant, sir, in his favours ? 

Valentine. No, believe me. 

Viola. I thank you. Here comes the count. 

Enter DUKE, CURIO, and Attendants 

Duke. Who saw Cesario, ho ? 10 

Viola. On your attendance, my lord ; here. 

Duke. Stand you awhile aloof. Cesario, 
Thou know'st no less but all ; I have unclasp'd 
To thee the book even of my secret soul. 
Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her ; 
Be not denied access, stand at her doors, 
And tell them, there thy fixed foot shall grow 
Till thou have audience. 

Viola. Sure, my noble lord, 

If she be so abandoned to her sorrow 
As it is spoke, she never will admit me. 20 

Duke. Be clamorous and leap all civil bounds 
Rather than make unprofited return. 

Viola. Say I do speak with her, my lord, what then ? 

Duke. O, then unfold the passion of my love, 
Surprise her with discourse of my dear faith. 
It shaJll, become thee well to act my woes ; 
She will attend it better in thy youth 
Than in a nuncio of more grave aspect 

TWELFTH NIGHT 3 



34 Twelfth Night [Act i 

Viola. I think not so, my lord. 



Dear lad, believe it, 
For they shall yet belie thy happy years 30 

That say thou art a man. Diana's lip 
Is not more smooth and rubious ; thy small pipe 
Is as the maiden's organ, shrill and sound, 
And all is semblative a woman's part. 
I know th) r constellation is right apt 
For this affair. Some four or five attend him ; 
All, if you will, for I myself am best 
When least in company. Prosper well in this, 
And thou shalt live as freely as thy lord, 
To call his fortunes thine. 

Viola. I '11 do my best 4c 

To woo your lady. \Aside\ Yet, a barful strife 1 
Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife. \Exeunt* 

SCENE V. Olivia's House 
Enter MARIA and Clown 

Maria. Nay, either tell me where thou hast been, 
or I will not open my lips so wide as a bristle may 
enter in way of thy excuse. My lady will hang thee 
for thy absence. 

Clown. Let her hang me ; he that is well hanged 
in this world needs to fear no colours. 

Maria. Make that good. 

Clown. He shall see none to fear. 

Maria. A good lenten answer. I can tell thee 
where that saying was born, of * I fear no colours/ 10 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 35 

Clown. Where, good Mistress Mary ? 

Maria. In the wars ; and that may you be bold to 
say In your foolery. 

Clown. Well, God give them wisdom that have it ; 
and those that are fools, let them use their talents, 

Maria. Yet you will be hanged for being so long 
absent ; or, to be turned away, is not that as good as 
a hanging to you ? 

Clown. Many a good hanging prevents a bad 
marriage ; and, for turning away, let summer bear it 20 
out. 

Maria. You are resolute, then ? 

Clown. Not so, neither ; but I am resolved on two 
points. 

Maria. That if one break, the other will hold ; or, 
if both break, your gaskins fall. 

Clown. Apt, in good faith ; very apt. Well, go 
thy way ; if Sir Toby would leave drinking, thou wert 
as witty a piece of Eve's flesh as any in Illyria. 

Maria, Peace, you rogue, no more o' that. Here 30 
comes my lady ; make your excuse wisely, you were 
best. [Exit. 

Clown, Wit, an } t be thy will, put me into good 
fooling I Those wits that think they have thee do 
very oft prove fools, and I, that am sure I lack thee, 
may pass for a wise man ; for what says Quinapalus? 
* Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. 7 



36 Twelfth Night [Acti 

Enter Lady OLIVIA with MALVOLIO 
God bless thee, lady ! 

Olivia. Take the fool away. 

Clown. Do you not hear, fellows? Take away 40 
the lady. 

Olivia. Go to, you 're a dry fool ; I '11 no more of 
you. Besides, you grow dishonest. 

Clown. Two faults, madonna, that drink and good 
counsel will amend ; for give the dry fool drink, then 
is the fool not dry. Bid the dishonest man mend 
himself, if he mend he is no longer dishonest ; if he 
caftnot, let the botcher mend him. Any thing that 's 
mended is but patched ; virtue that transgresses is 
but patched with sin, and sin that amends is but 50 
patched with virtue. If that this simple syllogism 
will serve, so ; if it will not, what remedy ? As there 
is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty 's a flower. 
The lady bade take away the fool ; therefore, I say 
again, take her away. 

Olivia. Sir, I bade them take away you. 

Clown. Misprision in the highest degree 1 Lady, 
cucullus non facit monachum ; that J s as much to say 
as I wear not motley in my brain. Good madonna, 
give me leave to prove you a fool. 60 

Olivia. Can you do it ? 

Clown. Dexteriously, good madonna. 

Olivia. Make your proof. 

Clown. I must catechise you for it, madonna; 
good my mouse of virtue, answer me. 



Scene VJ Twelfth Night 37 

Olivia. Well, sir, for want of other idleness, I '11 
bide your proof. 

Clown. Good madonna, why mournest thou ? 

Olivia. Good fool, for my brother's death. 

Clown. I think his soul is in hell, madonna. 70 

Olivia. I know his soul is in heaven, fool. 

Clown. The more fool, madonna, to mourn for 
your brother's soul being in heaven. Take away 
the fool, gentlemen. 

Olivia. What think you of this fool, Malvolio? 
doth he not mend ? 

Malvolio. Yes, and shall do till the pangs of death 
shake him ; infirmity, that decays the wise, doth ever 
make the better fool. 

Clown. God send you, sir, a speedy infirmity, for So 
the better increasing your folly! Sir Toby will be 
sworn that I am no fox ; but he will not pass his 
word for twopence that you are no fool. 

Olivia. How say you to that, Malvolio ? 

Malvolio. I marvel your ladyship takes delight in 
such a barren rascal ; I saw him put down the other 
day with an ordinary fool that has no more brain 
than a stone. Look you now, he J s out of his guard 
already ; unless you laugh and minister occasion to 
him, he is gagged. I protest, I take these wise men 90 
that crow so at these set kind of fools no better than 
the fools* zanies. 

Olivia. O, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and 
taste with a distempered appetite. To be generous, 



3 g Twelfth Night [Acti 

guiltless, and of free disposition, is to take those 
things for bird-bolts that you deem cannon-bullets. 
There is no slander in an allowed fool, though he do 
nothing but rail ; nor no railing in a known discreet 
man, though he do nothing but reprove. 

Clown. Now Mercury endue thee with leasing, for 100 
thou speakest well of fools ! 

Re-enter MARIA 

Maria. Madam, there is at the gate a young gen- 
tleman much desires to speak with you. 

Olma. From the Count Orsino, is it ? 

Maria. I know not, madam ; 't is a fair young 
man, and well attended. 

Olivia. Who of my people hold him in delay ? 

Maria. Sir Toby, madam, your kinsman. 

Olivia. Fetch him off, I pray you, he speaks noth- 
ing but madman ; fie on him ! [Exit Marial\ Go no 
you, Malvolio. If it be a suit from the count, I am 
sick, or not at home ; what you will, to dismiss it. 
[Exit Malvolio^ Now you see, sir, how your fooling 
grows old, and people dislike it. 

Clown, Thou hast spoke for us, madonna, as if 
thy eldest son should be a fool ; whose skull Jove 
cram with brains ! for here he comes one of thy 
kin has a most weak pia mater. 

Enter SIR TOBY 

Olivia. By mine honour, half drunk. What is 
he at the gate, cousin? 120 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 39 

Sir Toby. A gentleman. 

Olivia. A gentleman 1 what gentleman ? 

Sir Toby. 'T is a gentleman here a plague o 
these pickle-herring ! How now, sot ! 

Clown. Good Sir Toby ! 

Olivia. Cousin, cousin, how have you come so 
early by this lethargy ? 

Sir Toby. Lechery ! I defy lechery. There J s one 
at the gate. 

Olivia. Ay, marry, what is he ? 130 

Sir Toby. Let him be the devil, an he will, I care 
not ; give me faith, say I. Well, it 's all one. \Exit. 

Olivia. What 's a drunken man like, fool ? 

Clown. Like a drowned man, a fool, and a mad- 
man : one draught above heat makes him a fool ; the 
second mads him ; and a third drowns him. 

Olivia. Go thou and seek the crowner, and let 
him sit o' my coz, for he 's in the third degree of 
drink, he *s drowned ; go, look after him. 

Clown. He is but mad yet, madonna ; and the 140 
fool shall look to the madman. \Exit. 

Re-enter MALVOLIO 

Malvolio. Madam, yond young fellow swears he 
will speak with you. I told him you were sick ; he 
takes on him to understand so much, and therefore 
comes to speak with you. I told him you were 
asleep ; he seems to have a foreknowledge of that 
too, and therefore comes to speak with you. What 



4 o Twelfth Night [Acti 

is to be said to him, lady ? he 's fortified against any 
denial. 

Olivia* Tell him he shall not speak with me. 150 

Malvolio. He has been told so ; and he says, he '11 
stand at your door like a sheriff's post, and be the 
supporter to a bench, but he '11 speak with you. 

Olivia. What kind o' man is he ? 

Malvolio. Why, of mankind. 

Olivia. What manner of man ? 

Malvolio. Of very ill manner; he'll speak with 
you, will you or no. 

Olivia. Of what personage and years is he ? 

Malvolio. Not yet old enough for a man, nor 160 
young enough for a boy, as a squash is before ? t is 
a peascod, or a codling when 't is almost an apple ; 
J t is with him in standing water, between boy and 
man. He is very well-favoured and he speaks very 
shrewishly ; one would think his mother's milk were 
scarce out of him. 

Olivia. Let him approach; call in my gentle- 
woman. 

Malvolio. Gentlewoman, my lady calls. \Exit. 

Re-enter MARIA 

Olivia. Give me my veil ; come, throw it o'er my face. 
We 7 1I once more hear Orsino's embassy. 171 

Eitter VIOLA, and Attendants 
Viola. The honourable lady of the house, which 
is she ? 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 41 

Olivia. Speak to me ; I shall answer for her. 
Your will ? 

Viola. Most radiant, exquisite, and unmatchable 
beauty, I pray you, tell me if this be the lady of 
the house, for I never saw her ; I would be loath to 
cast away my speech, for besides that it is excellently 
well penned, I have taken great pains to con it. 180 
Good beauties, let me sustain no scorn ; I am very 
comptible, even to the least sinister usage. 

Olivia. Whence came you, sir ? 

Viola. I can say little more than I have studied, 
and that question 's out of my part. Good gentle 
one, give me modest assurance if you be the lady of 
the house, that I may proceed in my speech. 

Olivia. Are you a comedian ? 

Viola. No, my profound heart; and yet, by the 
very fangs of malice I swear, I am not that I play. 190 
Are you the lady of the house ? 

Olivia. If I do not usurp myself, I am. 

Viola. Most certain, if you are she, you do usurp 
yourself ; for what is yours to bestow is not yours to 
reserve. But this is from my commission ; I will on 
with my speech in your praise, and then show you 
the heart of rny message. 

Olivia. Come to what is important in 't ; I forgive 
you the praise. 

Viola. Alas, I took great pains to study it, and 't 200 
is poetical. 

Olivia. It is the more like to be feigned ; I pray 



42 Twelfth Night [Acti 

you, keep it in. I heard you were saucy at my gates, 
and allowed your approach rather to wonder at you 
than to hear you. If you be not mad, be gone ; if 
you have reason, be brief; 't is not that time of 
moon with me to make one in so skipping a dialogue. 

Maria. Will you hoist sail, sir? here lies your 
way. 

Viola. No, good swabber ; I am to hull here a lit- 210 
tie longer. Some mollification for your giant, sweet 
lady. Tell me your mind ; I am a messenger. 

Olivia. Sure, you have some hideous matter to 
deliver, when the courtesy of it is so fearful. Speak 
your office. 

Viola. It alone concerns your ear. I bring no 
overture of war, no taxation of homage : I hold the 
olive in my hand ; my words are as full of peace as 
matter. 

Olivia. Yet you began rudely. What are you ? 220 
what would you ? 

Viola. The rudeness that hath appeared in me 
have I learned from my entertainment. What I am, 
and what I would, are as secret as maidenhead : to 
your ears, divinity; to any other's, profanation. 

Olivia, Give us the place alone ; we will hear this 
divinity. \_Bxeunt Maria and Attendants. \ Now, 
sir, what is your text ? 

Viola. Most sweet lady, 

Olivia. A comfortable doctrine, and much may be 230 
said of it. Where lies your text ? 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 43 

Viola. In Orsino's bosom. 

Olivia. In his bosom! In what chapter of his 
bosom ? 

Viola. To answer by the method, in the first of 
his heart. 

Olivia. O, I have read it; it is heresy. Have 
you no more to say ? 

Viola. Good madam, let me see your face. 

Olivia. Have you any commission from your lord 240 
to negotiate with my face ? You are now out of your 
text ; but we will draw the curtain and show you the 
picture. Look you, sir, such a one I was this pres- 
ent ; is 't not well done ? [ Unveiling. 

Viola. Excellently done, if God did all. 

Olivia. J T is in grain, sir; J t will endure wind 
and weather. 

Viola. 'T is beauty truly blent, whose red and white 
Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on. 
Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive, 250 

If you will lead these graces to the grave 
And leave the world no copy. 

Olivia. O, sir, I will not be so hard-hearted ; I will 
give out divers schedules of my beauty. It shall be 
inventoried, and every particle and utensil labelled 
to my will : as, item, two lips, indifferent red ; item, 
two grey eyes, with lids to them; item, one neck, 
one chin, and so forth. Were you sent hither to 
praise me ? 

Viola. I see you what you are, you are too proud ; 260 



44 Twelfth Night 

But, if you were the devil, you are fair. 
My lord and master loves you; O, such love 
Could be but recompensed though you were crown'd 
The nonpareil of beauty ! 

Olivia. How does he love me ? 

Viola, With adorations, with fertile tears, 
With groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire. 

Olivia. Your lord does know my mind; I cannot 

love him. 

Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble, 
Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth ; 
In voices well divulg'd, free, learn'd, and valiant; 270 
And in dimension and the shape of nature 
A gracious person. But yet I cannot love him $ 
He might have took his answer long ago. 

Viola. If I did love you in my master's flame, 
With such a suffering, such a deadly life, 
In your denial I would find no sense ; 
I would not understand it 

Olivia. Why, what would you r 

Viola. Make me a willow cabin at your gate, 
And call upon my soul within the house ; 
Write loyal cantons of contemned love, 280 

And sing them loud even in the dead of night J 
Halloo your name to the reverberate hills, 
And make the babbling gossip of the air 
Cry out Olivia I O, you should not rest 
Between the elements of air and earth* 
But you should pity me 1 



Twelfth Night 45 

You might do much. 
What is your parentage ? 

Viola. Above my fortunes, yet my state is well \ 
I am a gentleman. 

Olivia. Get you to your lord ; 

I cannot love him. Let him send no more, 290 

Unless, perchance, you come to me again, 
To tell me how he takes it. Fare you well. 
I thank you for your pains ; spend this for me. 

Viola. I am no f ee'd post, lady, keep your purse ; 
My master, not myself, lacks recompense. 
Love make his heart of flint that you shall love ; 
And let your fervour, like my master's, be 
Plac'd in contempt ! Farewell, fair cruelty. \Exfa 

Olivia. What is your parentage ? 

'Above my fortunes, yet my -state is well ; 300 

I am a gentleman. 5 I '11 be sworn thou art; 
Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit, 
Do give thee five-fold blazon. Not too fast ! soft, soft I 
Unless the master were the man. How now" I 
Even so quickly may one catch the plague ? 
Methinks I feel this youth's perfections 
With an invisible and subtle stealth 
To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be* 
WEatho,Malvoliol 

Re-enter MALVOLIO 

Malvolio* Here, madam, at your service. 

Olivia. Run after that same peevish messenger, 320 



46 Twelfth Night [Acti 

The county's man* He left this ring behind him, 

Would I or not ; tell him I '11 none of it. 

Desire him not to flatter with his lord, 

Nor hold him up with hopes ; I am not for him. 

If that the youth will come this way to-morrow, 

I '11 give him reasons for 7 t. Hie thee, Malvolio. 
Malvoth. Madam, I will. \Mxtt 

Olivia. I do I know not what, and fear to find 

Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind. 

Fate, show thy force ! ourselves we do not owe \ 320 

What is decreed must be, and be this so 1 




THE SEA-COAST NEAR SPALATRO 



ACT II 
SCENE I. The Sea-coast 

Enter ANTONIO and SEBASTIAN 

Antonio. Will you stay no longer? nor will you 
not that I go with you? 

Sebastian. By your patience, no. My stars shine 
darkly over me ; the malignancy of my fate might 
perhaps distemper yours ; therefore I shall crave of 
you your leave that I may bear my evils alone. It 
were a bad recompense for your love, to lay any 
of them on ydu. 

Antonio. Let me yet know of you whither you are 
bound. 

Sebastian. No, sooth, sir ; my determinate voyage 
is mere extravagancy. But I perceive in you so 

4? 



48 Twelfth Night [Actn 

excellent a touch of modesty that you will not extort 
from me what I am willing to keep in ; therefore it 
charges me in manners the rather to express myself. 
You must know of me then, Antonio, my name is 
Sebastian, which I called Roderigo. My father was 
that Sebastian of Messaline whom I know you have 
heard of. He left behind him myself and a sister, 
both born in an hour. If the heavens had been 20 
pleased, would we had so ended J but you, sir, altered 
that; for some hour before you took me from the 
breach of the sea was my sister drowned. 

Antonio. Alas the day 1 

Sebastian. A lady, sir, though it was said she much 
resembled me, was yet of many accounted beautiful ; 
but, though I could not with such estimable wonder 
overfar believe that, yet thus far I will boldly publish 
her : she bore a mind that envy could not but call 
fair. She is drowned already. sir, with salt water, 30 
though I seem to drown her remembrance again 
with more. 

Antonio. Pardon me, sir, your bad entertainment. 

Sebastian. O good Antonio, forgive me your 
trouble 1 

Antonio. If you will not murther me for my love, 
Jet me be your servant. 

Sebastian. If you will not undo what you have 
done, that is, kill him whom you have recovered, 
desire it not. Fare ye well at once ; my bosom is 40 
full of kindness, and I am yet so near the manners 



Scene II] Twelfth Night 49 

of my mother that upon the least occasion more 
mine eyes will tell tales of me. I am bound to the 
Count Orsino's court ; farewell. [Exit. 

Antonio. The gentleness of all the gods go with 

theel 

i have many enemies in Orsino's court, 
Else would I very shortly see thee there. 
But, come what may, I do adore thee so 
That danger shall seem sport and I will go, \Exit. 

SCENE II. A Street 
Enter VIOLA, MALVOLIO following 

Malvolio. Were not you even now with the Coun- 
tess Olivia? 

Viola. Even now, sir ; on a moderate pace I have 
since arrived but hither. 

Malvolio* She returns this ring to you, sir ; you 
might have saved me my pains, to have taken it 
away yourself. She adds, moreover, that you should 
put your lord into a desperate assurance she will none 
of him ; and one thing more, that you be never so 
hardy to come again in his affairs unless it be to 10 
report your lord's taking of this. Receive it so. 

Viola. She took the ring of me ; I '11 none of it. 

Malvolio. Come, sir, you peevishly threw it to her, 
and her will is it should be so returned. If it be 
worth stooping for, there it lies in your eye ; if not, 
be it his that finds it. [.Exit 

TWELFTH NIGHT 4 



50 Twelfth Night [Act n 

Viola* I left no ring with her ; what means this 

lady? 

Fortune forbid my outside have not charm 'd her ! 
She made good view of me ; indeed, so much 
That sure methought her eyes had lost her tongue, 20 
For she did speak in starts distractedly. 
She loves me, sure ; the cunning of her passion 
Invites me in this churlish messenger. 
None of my lord's ring ! why, he sent her none. 
I am the man ; if it be so, as 't is, 
Poor lady, she were better love a dream. 
Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness, 
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much. 
How easy is it for the proper-false 
In women's waxen hearts to set their forms ! 30 

Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we ! 
For such as we are made of, such we be. 
How will this fadge ? my master loves her dearly ; 
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him ; 
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me. 
What will become of this ? As I am man, 
My state is desperate for my master's love ; 
As I am woman, now alas the day ! 
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe I 
O time ! thou must untangle this, not I ; 4 o 

It is too hard a knot for me to untie I \Exit \ 



Scene m] Twelfth Night 51 

SCENE III. Olivia's House 
Enter SIR TOBY and SIR ANDREW 

Sir Toby. Approach, Sir Andrew ; not to be a-bed 
after midnight is to be up betimes, and i diluculo 
surgere,' thou know'st, 

Sir Andrew. Nay, by my troth, I know not ; but 
I know to be up late is to be up late. 

Sir Toby. A false conclusion ; I hate it as an un- 
filled can. To be up after midnight and to go to bed 
then, is early ; so that to go to bed after midnight 
is to go to bed betimes. Does not our life consist of 
the four elements ? 10 

Sir Andrew. Faith, so they say; but I think it 
rather consists of eating and drinking. 

A$ Toby. Thou 'rt a scholar ; let us therefore eat 
and drink. Marian, I say I a stoup of wine 1 

Enter Clown 

Sir Andrew. Here comes the fool, i s faith. 

Clown. How now, my hearts ! did you never see 
the picture of we three ? 

Sir Toby. Welcome, ass. Now let 's have a catch. 

Sir Andrew. By my troth, the fool has an excellent 
breast. I had rather than forty shillings I had such ac 
a leg, and so sweet a breath to sing, as the fool has. 
In sooth, thou wast in very gracious fooling last 
night, when thou spokest of Pigrogromitus, of the 
Vapians passing the equinoctial of Queubus; 't was 



52 Twelfth Night [Act n 

very good, i* faith. I sent thee sixpence for thy 
leman; hadst it? 

Clown. I did impeticos thy gratillity, for Malvo- 
lio's nose is no whipstock ; my lady has a white hand, 
and the Myrmidons are no bottle-ale houses. 

Sir Andrew. Excellent 1 why, this is the best fool- 30 
ing, when all is done. Now, a song. 

Sir Toby. Come on; there is sixpence for you; 
let 's have a song. 

Sir Andrew. There 's a testril of me too ; if one 
knight give a 

Clown. Would you have a love-song or a song of 
good life ? 

Sir Toby. A love-song, a love-song. 

Sir Andrew. Ay, ay ; I care not for good life. 

Clown. [Sings] 40 

O mistress mine, where are you roaming? 
O, stay and hear; your true love 's coming 

That can sing both high and low t 
Trip no further , pretty sweeting y 
Journeys end in lovers meeting^ 
Every wise man's son doth know* 

Sir Andrew. Excellent good, P faith, 
Sir Toby. Good, good. 
Clown. [Sings] 

What is love ? V is not hereafter; 50 

Present m&zth &ath freszn~t'~laT%gkter~; 
What V to come is still unsure^ 



Scene III] Twelfth Night $3 

In delay there lies no plenty, 
Then come kiss me^ sweet and twenty ; 
Youth *s a stuff will not endure. 

Sir Andrew. A mellifluous voice, as I am true 
knight. 

Sir Toby. A contagious breath. 

Sir Andrew. Very sweet and contagious, i' faith. 

Sir Toby. To hear by the nose, it is dulcet in con- 60 
tagion. But shall we make the welkin dance indeed ? 
shall we rouse the night-owl in a catch that will draw 
three souls out of one weaver ? shall we do that ? 

Sir Andrew. An you love me, let 's do 't ; I am 
dog at a catch. 

Clown. By 'r lady, sir, and some dogs will catch 
well. 

Sir Andrew. Most certain. Let our catch be, 
f Thou knave.' 

Clown. * Hold thy peace, thou knave,' knight ? I 70 
shall be constrained in 't to call thee knave, knight. 

Sir Andrew. 'T is not the first time I have con- 
strained one to call me knave. Begin, fool ; it be- 
gins * Hold thy peace.' 

Clown. I shall never begin if I hold my peace. 

Sir Andrew. Good, i' faith. Come, begin. \Catch sung. 

Enter MARIA 

Maria. What a caterwauling do you keep here I 
If my lady have not called up her steward Malvolio 
and bid him turn you out of doors, never trust me. 



54 Twelfth Night [Actn 

Sir Toby. My lady 's a Catalan, we are politicians, KC 
Malvolio 's a Peg-a- Ramsey, and c Three merry men 
be we.' Am not I consanguineous ? am I not of her 
blood? Tillyvally, lady! \Smgs\ < There dwelt a 
man in Babylon, lady, lady ! ' 

Clown. Beshrew me, the knight 's in admirable 
fooling. 

Sir Andrew. Ay, he does well enough if he be dis- 
posed, and so do I too; he does it with a better 
grace, but I do it more natural 

Sir Toby. \Sing$\ * O, the twelfth day of Decem- 90 
ber,' 

Maria, For the love of God, peace I 

Enter MALVOLIO 

MalvoKo* My masters, are you mad ? or what are 
you ? Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but 
to gabble like tinkers at this time of night ? Do ye 
make an alehouse of my lady's house, that ye squeak 
out your coziers' catches without any mitigation or 
remorse of voice? Is there no respect of place ? 
persons, nor time in you ? 

Sir Toby. We did keep time, sir, in our catches. 100 
Sneck up I 

Malvolio. Sir Toby, I must be round with you. 
My lady bade me tell you that, though she harbours 
you as her kinsman, she 's nothing allied to your dis- 
orders. If you can separate yourself and your mis- 
demeanours, you are welcome to the house ; if not, 



Scene III] Twelfth Night 55 

an it would please you to take leave of her, she is 
very willing to bid you farewell. 

Sir Toby. * Farewell, dear heart, since I must 
needs be gone.' no 

Maria. Nay, good Sir Toby. 

Clown. ' His eyes do show his days are almost 
done.' 

Malvolio. Is 't even so ? 

Sir Toby. ( But I will never die. 1 

Clown. Sir Toby, there you lie. 

Malvolio. This is much credit to you. 

Sir Toby. ' Shall I bid him go ? ' 

Clown. ( What an if you do ? ' 

Sir Toby. fc Shall I bid him go, and spare not ? * 120 

Clown. ' O, no, no, no, no, you dare not.' 

Sir Toby. Out o' time, sir? ye lie. Art any 
more than a steward ? Dost thou think, because 
thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and 
ale? 

Clown. Yes, by Saint Anne, and ginger shall be 
hot i' the mouth too. 

Sir Toby. Thou 'rt i' the right. Go, sir, rub your 
chain with crumbs. A stoup of wine, Maria \ 

Malvolio. Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady's 130 
favour at any thing more than contempt, you would 
not give means for this uncivil rule ; she shall know 
of it, by this hand. [Exit. 

Maria. Go shake your ears. 

Sir Andrew. 'T were as good a deed as to drink 



56 Twelfth Night [Actn 

when a man *s a-hungry, to challenge him the field, 
and then to break promise with him and make a fool 
of him. 

Sir Toby. Do J t, knight ! I '11 write thee a chal- 
lenge ; or I '11 deliver thy indignation to him by 140 
word of mouth. 

Maria. Sweet Sir Toby, be patient for to-night ; 
since the youth of the count's was to-day with my 
lady, she is much out of quiet. For Monsieur Mal- 
volio, let me alone with him ; if I do not gull him 
into a nayword and make him a common recreation, 
do not think I have wit enough to lie straight in my 
bed ; I know I can do it. 

Sir Toby. Possess us, possess us, tell us some- 
thing of him. 150 

Maria. Marry, sir, sometimes he is a kind of 
puritan. 

Sir Andrew. O, if I thought that, I 'd beat him 
like a dog 1 

Sir Toby. What, for being a puritan ? thy exqui- 
site reason, dear knight ? 

Sir Andrew. I have no exquisite reason for % but 
I have reason good enough. 

Maria. The devil a puritan that he is, or any 
thing constantly but a time-pleaser ; an affection ed i6a 
ass, that cons state without book and utters it by 
great swarths ; the best persuaded of himself, so 
crammed, as he thinks, with excellencies that it is 
his ground of faith that all that look on him love 



Scene ill] Twelfth Night 57 

him ; and on that vice in him will my revenge find 
notable cause to work. 

Sir Toby. What wilt thou do ? 

Maria* I will drop in his way some obscure 
epistles of love, wherein, by the colour of his beard, 
the shape of his leg, the manner of his gait, the ex- 170 
pressure of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he 
shall find himself most feelingly personated. I can 
write very like my lady your niece ; on a forgotten 
matter we can hardly make distinction of our hands. 

Sir Toby. Excellent ! I smell a device. 

Sir Andrew. I have J t in my nose too. 

Sir Toby. He shall think, by the letters that thou 
wilt drop, that they come from my niece and that 
she *s in love with him. 

Maria. My purpose is, indeed, a horse of that 180 
colour. 

Sir Andrew. And your horse now would make 
him an ass. 

Maria. Ass, I doubt not. 

Sir Andrew. O, 't will be admirable ! 

Maria. Sport royal, I warrant you; I know my 
physic will work with him. I will plant you two, 
and let the fool make a third, where he shall find 
the letter ; observe his construction of it. For this 
night, to bed, and dream on the event. Farewell. 190 

[Exit. 

Sir Toby. Good night, Penthesilea. 

Sir Andrew. Before me, she 's a good wench. 



58 Twelfth Night [Actn 

Sir Toby. She 's a beagle, true-bred, and one that 
adores me. What o j that ? 

Sir Andrew. I was adored once too. 

Sir Toby. Let 's to bed, knight. Thou hadst 
need send for more money. 

Sir Andrew. If I cannot recover your niece, I am 
a foul way out. 

Sir Toby. Send for money, knight ; if thou hast 200 
her not i' the end, jail me cut 

Sir Andrew. If I do not, never trust me, take it 
how you will. 

Sir Toby, Come, come, I '11 go burn some sack ; 
} t is too late to go to bed now. Come, knight; 
come, knight. \Exennt< 

SCENE IV. The Duke's Palace 

Enter DUKE, VIOLA, CURIO, and others 

Duke. Give me some music. Now, good morrow, 

friends. 

Now, good Cesario, but that piece of song, 
That old and antique song we heard last night. 
Methought it did relieve my passion much, 
More than light airs and recollected terms 
Of these most brisk and giddy-paced times. 
Come, but one verse. 

Curio. He is not here, so please your lordship, 
that should sing it 

Duke. Who was it ? 10 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 59 

Curio. Feste, the jester, my lord ; a fool that the 
lady Olivia's father took much delight in. He is 
about the house. 

Duke. Seek him out, and play the tune the 
while. {Exit Curio. Music plays. 

Come hither, boy. If ever thou shalt love, 
In the sweet pangs of it remember me ; 
For such as I am all true lovers are, 
Unstaid and skittish in all motions else, 
Save in the constant image of the creature 
That is belov'd. How dost thou like this tune ? 20 

Viola. It gives a very echo to the seat 
Where love is thron'd. 

Duke. Thou dost speak masterly. 

My life upon 't, young though thou art, thine eye 
Hath stay'd upon some favour that it loves ; 
Hath it not, boy? 

Viola. A little, by your favour. 

Duke. What kind of woman is 't ? 

Viola. Of your complexion. 

Duke. She is not worth thee, then. What years, i' 
faith? 

Viola. About your years, my lord. 

Duke. Too old, by heaven 1 Let still the woman 

take 

An elder than herself ; so wears she to him, 30 

So sways she level in her husband's heart ; 
For, boy, however we do praise ourselves, 
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, 



60 Twelfth Night [Actn 

More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn, 
Than women's are. 

Viola. I think it well, my lord. 

Duke. Then let thy love be younger than thyself, 
Or thy affection cannot hold the bent ; 
For women are as roses, whose fair flower, 
Being once display'd, doth fall that very hour. 

Viola. And so they are ; alas, that they are so, 40 
To die, even when they to perfection grow 1 

Re-enter CURIO and Clown 
Duke. O, fellow, come, the song we had last night. 

Mark it, Cesario, it is old and plain ; 

The spinsters and the knitters in the sun 

And the free maids that weave their thread with bones 

Do use to chant it. It is silly sooth, 

And dallies with the innocence of love, 

Like the old age. 

Clown. Are you ready, sir ? 49 

Duke. Ay ; prithee, sing. \Mnsic* 

Song 
Clown. Come away, come away, death. 

And in sad cypress let me be laid. 
Fly aw ay, fly away, breath; 

I am slain by a fair cruel maid. 
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew^ 

O> prepare it! 

My part of death, no one so true 
Did share it. 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 6 1 

Not a flower ) not a flower sweet ', 

On my black coffin let there be strown; 60 

Not a friend, not a friend greet 

My poor corpse ; where my bones shall be thrown. 
A thousand thousand sighs to save, 

Lay me, O, where 
Sad true lover never find my grave^ 
To weep there ! 

Duke. There y s for thy pains. 

Clown. No pains, sir ; I take pleasure in singing, 
sir. 

Duke. I '11 pay thy pleasure then. 70 

Clown. Truly, sir, and pleasure will be paid, one 
time or another. 

Duke. Give me now leave to leave thee. 

Clown. Now the melancholy god protect thee ; and 
the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for 
thy mind is a very opal ! I would have men of such 
constancy put to sea, that their business might be 
every thing and their intent every where ; for that 's 
it that always makes a good voyage of nothing. 79 
Farewell. \Exit. 

Duke. Let all the rest give place. 

\Curio and Attendants retire. 
Once more, Cesario, 

Get thee to yond same sovereign cruelty. 
Tell her, my love, more noble than the world, 
Prizes not quantity of dirty lands ; 



6a Twelfth Night [Actn 

The parts that fortune hath bestow'd upon her, 
Tell her, I hold as giddily as fortune, 
But 't is that miracle and queen of gems 
That nature pranks her in attracts my soul 

Viola. But if she cannot love you, sir ? 89 

Duke. I cannot be so answer'd. 

Viola. Sooth, but you must. 

Say that some lady, as perhaps there is, 
Hath for your love as great a pang of heart 
As you have for Olivia ; you cannot love her. 
You tell her so ; must she not then be answer'd . 

Duke. There is no woman's sides 
Can bide the beating of so strong a passion 
As love doth give my heart, no woman's heart 
So big to hold so much ; they lack retention. 
Alas, their love may be call'd appetite, 
No motion of the liver, but the palate, xoo 

That suffer surfeit, cloyment, and revolt ; 
But mine is all as hungry as the sea 
And can digest as much. Make no compare 
Between that love a woman can bear me 
And that I owe Olivia. 

Viola. Ay, but I know 

Duke. What dost thou know ? 

Viola. Too well what love women to men may owe ; 
In faith, they are as true of heart as we. 
My father had a daughter lov'd a man, 
As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman, no 

I should your lordship. 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 63 

Duke. And what 's her history ? 

Viola. A blank, my lord. She never told her love, 
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud, 
Feed on her damask cheek ; she pin'd in thought, 
And with a green and yellow melancholy 
She sat like Patience on a monument, 
Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed ? 
We men may say more, swear more, but indeed 
Our shows are more than will ; for still we prove 
Much in our vows, but little in our love. 120 

Duke. But died thy sister of her love, my boy ? 

Viola. I am all the daughters of my father's house, 
And all the brothers too ; and yet I know not. 
Sir, shall I to this lady ? 

Duke. Ay, that 's the theme, 

To her in haste ; give her this jewel ; say, 
My love can give no place, bide no denay. [Exeunt* 

SCENE V. Olivia's Garden 

Enter SIR TOBY, SIR ANDREW, and FABIAN 

Sir Toby. Come thy ways, Signior Fabian. 

Fabian. Nay, I '11 come ; if I lose a scruple of this 
sport, let me be boiled to death with melancholy. 

Sir Toby. Wouldst thou not be glad to have the 
niggardly rascally sheep-biter come by some notable 
shame ? 

Fabian. I would exult, man ; you know, he brought 



6 4 Twelfth Night [Act ii 

me out o* favour with my lady about a bear-baiting 

here. 

Sir Toby, To anger him we '11 have the bear again, 10 
and we will fool him black and blue ; shall we not, 
Sir Andrew ? 

Sir Andrew. An we do not, it is pity of our lives- 

Sir Toby. Here comes the little villain. 

Enter MARIA 
How now, my metal of India 1 

Maria. Get ye all three into the box-tree ; Malvo- 
lio 's coming down this walk. He has been yonder 
i> the sun practising behaviour to his own shadow 
this half hour; observe him, for the love of mockery, 
for I know this letter will make a contemplative idiot 20 
of him. Close, in the name of jesting! Lie thou 
there \throws down a ktter\ ; for here comes the trout 
that must be caught with tickling. \Exit. 

Enter MALVOLIO 

Malvolio. J T is but fortune ; all is fortune. Maria 
once told me she did affect me ; and I have heard 
herself come thus near, that, should she fancy, it 
should be one of my complexion. Besides, she uses 
me with a more exalted respect than any one else 
that follows her. What should I think on 't? 

Sir Toby. Here 's an overweening rogue f 30 

FaUan. O, peace! Contemplation makes a rare 
turkey-cock of him 1 how he jets under his advanced 
plumes 1 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 65 

Sir Andrew, 'Slight, I could so beat the rogue I 

Sir Toby. Peace, I say ! 

Malvolio, To be Count Malvolio S 

Sir Toby. Ah, rogue I 

Sir Andrew. Pistol him, pistol him, 

Sir Toby. Peace, peace ! 

Malvolio. There is example for ? t ; the lady of the 
Strachy married the yeoman of the wardrobe. 

Sir Andrew* Fie on him, Jezebel ! 

Fabian. O, peace ! now he 's deeply in ; look how 
imagination blows him. 

Malvolio. Having been three months married to 
her, sitting in my state, 

Sir Toby. O for a stone-bow, to hit him in the 
eyel 

Malvolio Calling my officers about me, in my 
branched velvet gown ; having come from a day- 50 
bed, where I have left Olivia sleeping, 

Sir Toby. Fire and brimstone 1 

Fabian. O, peace, peace ! 

Malvolio. And then to have the humour of state ; 
and after a demure travel of regard, telling them I 
know my place as I would they should do theirs, to 
ask for my kinsman Toby, 

Sir Toby. Bolts and shackles 1 

Fabian. O, peace, peace, peace I now, now. 

Malvolio. Seven of my people, with an obedient 60 
start, make out for him ; I frown the while, and per- 
chance wind up my watch, or play with my some 

TWELFTH NIGHT $ 



66 Twelfth Night [Actn 

rich jewel. Toby approaches, courtesies there to 
me, 

Sir Toby. Shall this fellow live ? 

Fabian. Though our silence be drawn from us by 
th' ears, yet peace. 

Malvolio. I extend my hand to him thus, quench- 
ing my familiar smile with an austere regard ot 
control, 70 

Sir Toby. And does not Toby take you a blow o ? 
the lips then ? 

Malvolio. Saying, * Cousin Toby, my fortunes 
having cast me on your niece give me this preroga- 
tive of speech,' 

Sir Toby. What, what ? 

Malvolio. t You must amend your drunkenness/ 

Sir Toby. Out, scab 1 

Fabian. Nay, patience, or we break the sinews of 
our plot. SQ 

Malvolio. Besides, you waste the treasure of your 
time with a foolish knight/ 

Sir Andrew. That 7 s me, I warrant you. 

Malvolio. ' One Sir Andrew/ 

Sir Andrew. I knew 'twas I; for many do call 
me fool 

Malvolio. What employment have we here ? 

{Taking up the letter 

Fabian. Now is the woodcock near the gin, 

Sir Toby. O, peace I and the spirit of humours 
intimate reading aloud to him J 90 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 67 

Malvolio. By my life, this is my lady's hand : these 
be her very Cs, her U's, and her T's ; and thus makes 
she her great P's. It is, in contempt of question, her 
hand. 

Sir Andrew. Her C's, her U's, and her T's ; why 
that? 

Malvolio, [Reads] * To the unknown beloved^ this, 
and my good wishes? Her very phrases 1 By your 
leave, wax. Soft ! and the impressure her Lucrece, 
with which she uses to seal ; J t is my lady. To whom 100 
should this be ? 

Fabian* This wins him, liver and all. 

Malvolio. [Reads] 

''Jove knows I lovt, 

But who ? 
Lips, do not move ; 
No man must know, 11 

* No man must know,' What follows ? the ntimbers 
altered! 4 No man must know.' If this should 
be thee, Malvolio ? no 

! 



Malvolio. [Reads] 

c I may command where I adore, 

But silence, like a Lucrece knife, 
With bloodless stroke my heart doth gone * 
M, O, A, I, doth sway my life. 9 



68 Twelfth Night i> ct11 



by* ^Excellent wench, say L 

Malvolio. ' M, O, A, I, doth sway my life/ Nay, 
but first, let me see, let me see, let me see. 120 

Fabian. What dish o' poison has she dressed 
him! 

Sir Toby. And with what wing the staniel checks 
at it I 

Malwlio. 'I may command where I adore.' ~ 
Why, she may command me ; I serve her, she is my 
lady. Why, this is evident to any formal capacity ; 
there is no obstruction in this ; and the end, what 
should that alphabetical position portend? If I 
could make that resemble something in me, Softly] 130 



*~Q 9 ay, make.up43aat*!^-he is now -at a 
cold- scent. 

Fa&an* So.wter will cry upon *t for all this, though 
it be as rank as.a fox. 

Malwlio. M t Malvolio; M, why, that begins 
my name. 

Fabian. Did not I say he would work it out ? the 
cur is excellent at faults, 

Malvolio. M> but then there is no consonancy 140 
in the sequel ; that suffers under probation. A 
should follow, but O does. 

Fabian. And O shall end, I hope. 

SitJtihy*-^^ him 



Mafoolio. AncJ then /cpmes behind. 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 69 

Fabian. Ay, an you had any eye behind you, you 
might see more detraction at your heels than fortunes 
before you. 

Malvolio. M, O, A, I, this simulation is not as 150 
the former ; and yet, to crush tHis a little, it would 
bow to me, for every one of these letters are in my 
name. Soft 1 here follows prose. 
[Reads] ' If this fall into thy hand, revolve. In my 
stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness ; 
some are born great, some achieve greatness ', and some 
have greatness thrust upon ''em. Thy Fates open their 
hands, let thy blood and spirit embrace them ; and, to 
inure thyself to what thou art like to be, tost thy humble 
slough and appear fresh. Be opposite with a kinsman, 160 
surly with servants ; let thy tongue tang arguments of 
state ; put thyself into the trick of singularity ; she thus 
advises thee that sighs for thee. Re?nember who com- 
mended thy yellow stockings -, and wished to see thee ever 
cross-gartered; I say, remember. Go to, thou art made, 
if thou desirest to be so ; if not, let me see thee a steward 
still, the fellow of servants, and not worthy to touch 
Fortune^s fingers. Farewell, She that would alter 

services with thee, 

THE FORTUNATE-UNHAPPY.' 170 

D&yLHgkk^i^-ete -this, as 

open, t writ be-proud, f will- rea"d~pt>litre authors; -I 
will baffle Sir-Toby,. I wilLwash-^ff-gro 89 acquaint- 
ance, 1 will be^point-devise'the-very rnarr/f Itlb"not 
now fool myself, to let imagination jade me ; for every 



70 Twelfth Night [Actn 

reason excites to this, that my lady loves me. She did 
commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise 
my leg being cross-gartered ; a&4 in this she manifests 
herself to my love, and with a kind of injunction drives 
me to these habits of her liking. I thank my stars 1 18* 
ana happy. I will be strange, stout, in yellow stock- 
ings, and cross-gartered, even with the swiftness of 
putting on. Jove and my stars be praised ! Here is 
yet a postscript. 

[Reads] c Thou canst not choose but know who 1 am. If 
thou entertainest my love, let it appear in thy smiling; 
thy smiles become thee well, therefore in my presence still 
smile > dear my sweet, I prithee* 

Jtyi^e r ^lirCfilc"fh'ee-4' I^lhstmle "f f will" ~db every- 
thing that thoH wilt-have me. [Exit. 190 

Fabian* I. will not give my part of this sport for a 
pension of thousands to be paid from the Sophy. 

Sir Toby. I could.marry.this wench for this device. 

Sir Andrew. So - could I too. 

Sir Toby. And ask no- other dowry with her but 
such another jest. 

Sir Andrew. Nor I neither. 

Fabian. Here <comes my noble gull-catcher, 

Re-enter MARIA 

Sfc-Ztoi.. Wilt thpujet thy foot o' my neck? 
Siz. Andrew. Or o' mine either ? aoc 

Sir^Teby v. Shall I play my freedom at tray-trip and 
become tlrjr bond-slave ? 



Scene V] Twelfth Night 71 

Sin Attdr&iv^ .JL^faith, or I either? 

Sir Toby. Why, them hast put him in such a dream 
that when the image of it leaves him he must run 
mad. 

Maria. Nay, but say true ; does it work upon 
him ? 

Sir Toby. Like aqua-vitae with a midwife. 

Maria. If you will then see the fruits, of the sport, io 
mark his first approach before my lady. He will 
come to her in yellow stockings, and J t is a colour 
she abhors ; and cross-gartered, a fashion she detests ; 
and he will smile upon her, which will now be so 
unsuitable to her disposition, being addicted to a 
melancholy as she is, that it cannot but turn him into 
a notable contempt. li^zuiijuiiLsee it, follow me. 

Sir Toby. To the gates of Tartar, thou most excel- 
lent devil of wit ! 219 

Sir Andrew. I s ll make one too* \Exeunt. 




OLIVIA'S GARDEN 



ACT III 

SCENE I. Olivia? s Garden 
Enter VIOLA and CLOWN with a tabor 

Vtola. Save thee, friend, and thy music I Dost 
thou live by thy tabor ? 

Clown. No, sir, I live by the church. 

Viola. Art thou a churchman ? 

Clown. No such matter, sir. I do live by the 
church ; for I do live at my house, and my house 
doth stand by the church. 

Viola. So thou mayst say, the king lies by a beg- 
gar, if a beggar dwell near him ; or the church stands 
by thy tabor, if thy tabor stand by the church. 
' ' ' 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 73 

Clown. You have said, sir. To see this age! 
A sentence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit ; how 
quickly the wrong side may be turned outward 1 

Viola, Nay, that 's certain ; they that dally nicely 
with words may quickly make them wanton. 

Clown. I would, therefore, my sister had had no 
name, sir. 

Viola. Why, man ? 

Clown. Why, sir, her name 's a word ; and to dally 
Ttttli that word might make my sister wanton. But 29 
indeed words are very rascals since bonds disgraced 
them. 

Viola. Thy reason, man ? 

Clown. Troth, sir, I can yield you none without 
words, and words are grown so false I am loath to 
prove reason with them. 

Viola. I warrant thou art a merry fellow and 
carest for nothing. 

Clown. Not so, sir, I do care for something, but 
in my conscience, sir, I do not care for you ; if that 30 
be to care for nothing, sir, I would it would make 
you invisible. 

Viola. Art not thou the Lady Olivia's fool ? 

Clown. No, indeed, sir ; the Lady Olivia has no 
folly. She will keep no fool, sir, till she be married ; 
and fools are as like husbands as pilchards are to 
herrings, the husband 's the bigger. I am indeed 
not her fool, but her corrupter of words. 

Viola. I saw thee late at the Count Orsino's. 



74 Twelfth Night [Act in 

Clown. Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like *j 
the sun, it shines every where. I would be sorry, sir, 
but the fool should be as oft with your master as with 
my mistress. I think I saw your wisdom there. 

Viola. Nay, an thou pass upon me, I '11 no more 
with thee. Hold, there J s expenses for thee. 

Clown, Now Jove, in his next commodity of hair, 
send thee a beard 1 

Viola. By my troth, I '11 tell thee, I am almost sick 
for one ; \Aside\ though I would not have it grow on 
my chin. Is thy lady within ? e 

Clown. Would not a pair of these have bred, sir ? 

Viola. Yes, being kept together and put to use, 

Clown. I would play Lord Panclarus of Phrygia, 
sir, to bring a Cressida to this Troilus. 

Viola. I understand you, sir ; } t is well begged. 

Clown. The matter, I hope, is not great, sir, beg- 
ging but a beggar ; Cressida was a beggar. My lady 
is within, sir. I will construe to them whence you 
come ; who you are and what you would are out of 
my welkin, I might say element, but the word is 6c 
overworn. [Exit. 

Viola. This fellow is wise enough to play the fool ; 
And to do that well craves a kind of wit. 
He must observe their mood on whom he jests, 
The quality of persons and the time, 
Not, like the haggard, check at every feather 
That comes before his eye. This is a practice 



Seam I] Twelfth Night 75 

As full of labour as a wise man's art ; 

For folly that he wisely shows is fit, 

But wise men's folly shown quite taints their wit. 70 

Enter SIR TOBY and SIR ANDREW 

Sir Toby. Save you, gentleman, 

Viola. And you, sir. 

Sir Andrew. Dieu vous garde, monsieur, 

Viola. Et vous aussi ; votre serviteur. 

Sir Andrew. I hope, sir, you are ; and I am yours. 

-Sir Toby, Will you encounter the house ? my niece 

is desirous you should enter, if your trade be to her. 

Viola. I am bound to your niece, sir ; I mean, she 
is the list of my voyage. 

Sir Toby. Taste your legs, sir ; put them to motion. 80 

Viola. My legs do better understand me, sir, than 
I understand what you mean by bidding me taste my 
legs. 

Sir Toby, I mean, to go, sir, to enter. 

Viola. I will answer you with gait and entrance. 
But we are prevented. 

Enter OLIVIA and MARIA 

Most excellent accomplished lady, the heavens rain 
odours on you ! 

Sir Andrew. That youth J s a rare courtier. ' Rain 
odours ! ' well ! 90 

Viola. My matter hath no voice, lady, but to your 
own most pregnant and vouchsafed ear. 



76 Twelfth Night [Actm 

Sir Andrew. 4 Odours/ ' pregnant/ and 'vouch- 
safed 1 ' I '11 get ? em all three all ready. 

Olivia, Let the garden door be shut, and leave me 
to my hearing. \Ecceunt Sir Toby> Sir Andrew , and 
Maria.] Give me your hand, sir. 

Viola. My duty, madam, and most humble service. 

Olivia. What is your name ? 

Viola. Cesario is your servant's name, fair prin- 
cess. ioo 

Olivia. My servant, sir ! J t was never merry world 
Since lowly feigning was call'd compliment ; 
You 're servant to the Count Orsino, youth. 

Viola. And he is yours, and his must needs be 

yours ; 
Your servant's servant is your servant, madam. 

Olivia, For him, - 1 think not on him ; for his 

thoughts, 
Would they were blanks rather than fill'd with me ! 

Viola. Madam, I come to whet your gentle thoughts 
On his behalf. 

Olivia. O, by your leave, I pray you, 

I bade you never speak again of him ; no 

But, would you undertake another suit, 
I had rather hear you to solicit that 
Than music from the spheres. 

Viola. Dear lady, 

Olivia. Give me leave, beseech you. I did send, 
After the last enchantment you did here, 
A ring in chase of you ; so did I abuse 



Scene i] Twelfth Night 77 

Myself, my servant, and, I fear me, you. 
Under your hard construction must I sit, 
To force that on you, in a shameful cunning, 
Which you knew none of yours ; what might you 
think ? 120 

Have you not set mine honour at the stake, 
And baited it with all the unmuzzled thoughts 
That tyrannous heart can think? To one of your 

receiving 

Enough is shown; a cypress, not a bosom, 
Hideth my heart. So, let me hear you speak. 

Viola* I pity you. 

Olivia. That 's a degree to love. 

Viola. No, not a grise ; for 't is a vulgar proof 
That very oft we pity enemies. 

Olivia. Why, then, methinks 't is time to smile again. 

world, how apt the poor are to be proud ! 130 
If one should be a prey, how much the better 

To fall before the lion than the wolf ! \_Clock strikes. 
The clock upbraids me with the waste of time. 
Be not afraid, good youth, I will not have you ; 
And yet, when wit and youth is come to harvest, 
Your wife is like to reap a proper man. 
There lies your way, due west. 

Viola. Then westward-hoi 

Grace and good disposition attend your ladyship 1 
You '11 nothing, madam, to my lord by me ? 

Olivia. Stay 1 14 

1 prithee, tell me what thou think'st of me. 



78 Twelfth Night [Actnr 

Viola. That you do think you are not what you are. 
Olivia. If I think so, I think the same of you, 
Viola, Then think you right ; I am not what I am, 
Olivia. I would you were as I would have you be f 
Viola. Would it be better, madam, than I am ? 

1 wish it might, for now I am your fool. 

Olivia. O, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful 

In the contempt and anger of his lip i 

A murtherous guilt shows not itself more soon 150 

Than love that would seem hid ; love's night is noon. 

Cesario, by the roses of the spring, 

By maidhood, honour, truth, and every thing, 

I love thee so that, maugre all thy pride, 

Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide, 

Do not extort thy reasons from this clause, 

For that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause ; 

But rather reason thus with reason fetter, 

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better. 
Viola. By innocence I swear, and by my youth, 160 

I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth, 

And that no woman has ; nor never none 

Shall mistress be of it, save I alone. 

And so adieu, good madam ; never more 

Will I my master's tears to you deplore. 

Olivia. Yet come again ; for thou perhaps mayst 
move 

That heart, which now abhors, to like his love. 

\Exeunt. 



scene ii] Twelfth Night 79 

SCENE II. Olivia's House 
Enter SIR TOBY, SIR ANDREW, and FABIAN 

Sir Andrew. No, faith, I '11 not stay a jot longer. 

Sir Toby. Thy reason, dear venom, give thy 
reason. 

Fabian. You must needs yield your reason, Sir 
Andrew. 

Sir Andrew. Marry, I saw your niece do more 
favours to the count's serving-man than ever she be- 
stowed upon me ; I saw 't i 5 the orchard. 

Sir Toby. Did she see thee the while, old boy ? 
tell me that. 10 

Sir Andrew, As plain as I see you now. 

Fabian. This was a great argument of love in her 
toward you. 

Sir Andrew. 'Slight ! will you make an ass o* me ? 

Fabian. I will prove it legitimate, sir, upon the 
oaths of judgment and reason. 

Sir Toby, And they have been grand-jurymen 
since before Noah was a sailor. 

Fabian. She did show favour to the youth in your 
sight only to exasperate you, to awake your dor- 20 
mouse valour, to put fire in your heart and brim- 
stone in your liver. You should then have accosted 
her ; and with some excellent jests, fire-new from the 
mint, you should have banged the youth into dumb- 
ness. This was looked for at your hand, and this 



8o Twelfth Night [Actm 

was balked ; the double gilt of this opportunity you 
let time wash off and you are now sailed into the 
north of my lady's opinion, where you will hang like 
an icicle on a Dutchman's beard, unless you do re- 
deem it by some laudable attempt either of valour 30 
or policy. 

Sir Andrew. An 't be any way, it must be with 
valour, for policy I hate ; I had as lief be a Brownist 
as a politician. 

Sir Toby. Why, then, build me thy fortunes upon 
the basis of valour. Challenge me the count's youth 
to fight with him ; hurt him in eleven places. My 
niece shall take note of it; and assure thyself, there 
is no love-broker in the world can more prevail in 
man's commendation with woman than report of 40 
valour. 

Fabian. There is no way but this, Sir Andrew. 

Sir Andrew. Will either of you bear me a chal- 
lenge to him? 

Sir Toby. Go, write it in a martial hand ; be curst 
and brief ; it is no matter how witty, so it be elo- 
quent and full of invention ; taunt him with the 
license of ink; if thou thou'st him some thrice, it 
shall not be amiss ; and as many lies as will lie in 
thy sheet of paper, although the sheet were big 50 
enough for the bed of Ware in England, set 'em 
down ; go, about it. Let there be gall enough in thy 
ink, though thou write with a goose-pen, no matter ; 
about it. 



Scene nj Twelfth Night 81 

Sir Andrew. Where shall I find you ? 

Sir Toby. We '11 call thee at the cubiculo ; go. 

\Exit Sir Andrew. 

Fabian. This is a dear manikin to you, Sir Toby. 

Sir Toby. I have been dear to him, lad, some two 
thousand strong, or so. 

Fabian. We shall have a rare letter from him ; 60 
but you '11 not deliver 't? , 

Sir Toby. Never trust me, then ; and by all means 
stir on the youth to an answer, I think oxen and 
wainropes cannot hale them together. For Andrew 
if he were opened, and you find so much blood in 
his liver as will clog the foot of a flea, I '11 eat the 
rest of the anatomy. 

Fabian. And his opposite, the youth, bears in his 
visage no great presage of cruelty. 

Enter MARIA 

Sir Toby. Look, where the youngest wren of nine 70 
comes. 

Maria. If you desire the spleen, and will laugh 
yourselves into stitches, follow me. Yond gull Mal- 
volio is turned heathen, a very renegado ; for there 
is no Christian that means to be saved by believing 
rightly can ever believe such impossible passages of 
grossness. He 's in yellow stockings. 

Sir Toby. And cross-gartered ? 

Maria. Most villanously, like a pedant that keeps 
a school i' the church. I have dogged him like his So 

TWELFTH NIGHT 6 



82 Twelfth Night [Act in 

murtherer. He does obey every point of the letter 
that I dropped to betray him ; he does smile his face 
into more lines than is in the new map with the aug- 
mentation of the Indies ; you have not seen such a 
thing as 't is. I can hardly forbear hurling things 
at him. I know my lady will strike him ; if she do, 
he '11 smile and take 7 t for a great favour. 

Sir Toby. Come, bring us, bring us where he is. 

[Mx&int. 

SCENE III. A Street 
Enter SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO 

Sebastian. I would not by my will have troubled you ; 
But, since you make your pleasure of your pains, 
I will no further chide you. 

Antonio. I could not stay behind you. My desire. 
More sharp than filed steel, did spur me forth ; 
And not all love to see you, though so much 
As might have drawn one to a longer voyage, 
But jealousy what might befall your travel, 
Being skilless in these parts, which to a stranger, 
Unguided and unfriended, often prove 10 

Rough and unhospitable. My willing love, 
The rather by these arguments of fear, 
Set forth in your pursuit. 

Sebastian. My kind Antonio, 

I can no other answer make but thanks, 
And thanks, and ever thanks. and oft good turns 



Scene in] Twelfth Night 83 

Are shuffled off with such uncurrent pay ; 
But, were my worth as is my conscience firm, 
You should find better dealing. What 's to do ? 
Shall we go see the reliques of this town ? 

Antonio. To-morrow, sir; best first go see your 
lodging. 20 

Sebastian. I am not weary, and J t is long to night ; 
I pray you, let us satisfy our eyes 
With the memorials and the things of fame 
That do renown this city. 

Antonio. Would you 'd pardon me ! 

I do not without danger walk these streets. 
Once, in a sea-fight, 'gainst the count his galleys 
I did some service ; of such note indeed 
That were I ta'en here it would scarce be answerM 

Sebastian. Belike you slew great number of his 
people. 

Antonio. The offence is not of such a bloody 
nature, 30 

Albeit the quality of the time and quarrel 
Might well have given us bloody argument. 
It might have since been answer d in repaying 
What we took from them, which, for traffic's sake, 
Most of our city did ; only myself stood out, 
For which, if I be lapsed in this place, 
I shall pay dear. 

Sebastian. Do not then walk too open. 

Antonio. It doth not fit me. Hold, sir, here 's my 
purse. 



84 Twelfth Night [Act in 

In the south suburbs, at the Elephant, 
Is best to lodge. I will bespeak our diet IQ 

Whiles you beguile the time and feed your knowledge 
With viewing of the town ; there shall you have me. 

Sebastian. Why I your purse ? 

Antonio. Haply your eye shall light upon some toy 
You have desire to purchase ; and your store, 
I think, is not for idle markets, sir. 

Sebastian. I '11 be your purse-bearer and leave you 
For an hour. 

Antonio. To the Elephant. 

Sebastian. I do remember. \Exeunt f 

SCENE IV. Olivia's Garden 

JEnter OLIVIA and MARIA 

Olivia. I have sent after him ; he says he '11 come. 
How shall I feast him ? what bestow of him ? 
For youth is bought more oft than begg'd or borrowU 
I speak too loud. 

Where is Malvolio ? he is sad and civil, 
And suits well for a servant with my fortunes, 
Where is Malvolio ? 

Maria. He J s coming, madam, but in very strange 
manner. He is, sure, possessed, madam. 

Olivia. Why, what 7 s the matter ? does he rave ? 10 

Maria. No, madam, he does nothing but smile. 
Your ladyship were best to have some guard about 
you if he come, for, sure, the man is tainted in } s wits. 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 85 

Olivia. Go call him hither. [Exit Maria.~\ I am 

as mad as he, 
If sad and merry madness equal be. 

Re-enter MARIA with MALVOLIO 

How now, Malvolio ! 

Malvolio. Sweet lady, ho, ho 1 

Olivia. Smilest thou ? 
I sent for thee upon a sad occasion. 

Malvolio. Sad, lady 1 I could be sad ; this does 20 
make some obstruction in the blood, this cross-gar- 
tering, but what of that ? if it please the eye of one, 
it is with me as the very true sonnet is, * Please one, 
and please all. 5 

Olivia. Why, how dost thou, man? what is the 
matter with thee ? 

Malvolio. Not black in my mind, though yellow in my 
legs. it did come to his hands, and commands shall 
be executed ; I think we do know the sweet Roman hand. 

Olivia. Wilt thou go to bed, Malvolio ? 30 

Malvolio. To bed ! ay, sweet-heart, and I '11 come 
to thee. 

Olivia. God comfort thee ! Why dost thou smile 
so and kiss thy hand so oft ? 

Maria. How do you, Malvolio ? 

Malvolio. At your request 1 yes ; nightingales an- 
swer daws. 

Maria. Why appear you with this ridiculous bold- 
ness before my lady ? 



86 Twelfth Night [Act in 

Malvolio. ' Be not afraid of greatness ; ' *t was 40 
well writ. 

Olivia. What meanest thou by that, Malvolio ? 

Malvolio. t Some are born great, ' 

Olivia, Ha I 

Malvolio. Some achieve greatness,' 

Olivia. What sayest thou ? 

Malvolio. ' And some have greatness thrust upon 
them.' 

Olivia, Heaven restore thee 1 

Malvolio. ' Remember who commended thy yellow 50 
stockings, ' 

Olivia. Thy yellow stockings ! 

Malvolio, ' And wished to see thee cross-gartered.' 

Olivia. Cross-gartered! 

Malvolio. * Go to, thou art made, if thou desirest 
to be so ; J 

Olivia. Am I made ? 

Malvolio. ' If not, let me see thee a servant 
still.' 

Olivia* Why, this is very midsummer madness. 6a 

Enter Servant 

Servant. Madam, the young gentleman of the 
Count Orsino's is returned ; I could hardly entreat 
him back. He attends your ladyship's pleasure. 

Olivia. I '11 come to him, [Exit Servant."] Good 
Maria, let this fellow be looked to. Where 's my 
cousin Toby ? Let some of my people have a special 



] Twelfth Night 87 

care of him ; I would not have him miscarry for the 
half of my dowry. \Exeunt Olivia and Maria. 

Malvolio. O, ho i do you come near me now ? no 
worse man than Sir Toby to look to me ! This con- 70 
curs directly with the letter ; she sends him on pur- 
pose, that I may appear stubborn to him, for she 
incites me to that in the letter. * Cast thy humble 
slough/ says she ; * be opposite with a kinsman, surly 
with servants ; let thy tongue tang with arguments 
of state ; put thyself into the trick of singularity ; ' 
and consequently sets down the manner how : as, a 
sad face, a reverend carriage, a slow tongue, in the 
habit of some sir of note, and so forth. I have limed 
her ; but it is Jove's doing, and Jove make me thank- So 
ful ! And when she went away now, Let this fellow 
be looked to ; ' fellow ! not Malvolio, nor after my 
degree, but fellow. Why, every thing adheres to- 
gether, that no dram of a scruple, no scruple of a 
scruple, no obstacle, no incredulous or unsafe cir- 
cumstance, what can be said ? Nothing that can 
be can come between me and the full prospect of my 
hopes. Well, Jove, not I, is the doer of this, and he 
is to be thanked. 

Re-enter MARIA, with SIR TOBY and FABIAN 

Sir Toby. Which way is he, in the name of 90 
sanctity? If all the devils of hell be drawn in 
little and Legion himself possessed him, yet I J ll 
speak to him. 



88 Twelfth Night [Actm 

Fabian. Here he is, here he is. How is 't with 
you, sir ? how is 't with you, man ? 

Malvolio. Go off ; I discard you. Let me enjoy 
my private ; go off. 

Maria. Lo, how hollow the fiend speaks within 
him 1 did not I tell you ? Sir Toby, my lady prays 
you to have a care of him. zoo 

Malvolio. Ah, ha ! does she so ? 

Sir Toby. Go to, go to ; peace, peace ! we must 
deal gently with him ; let me alone. How do you, 
Malvolio ? how is 't with you ? What, man ! defy 
the devil ; consider, he y s an enemy to mankind. 

Malvolio. Do you know what you say ? 

Maria. La you, an you speak ill of the devil, how 
he takes it at heart I Pray God, he be not be- 
witched ! 

Fabian. Carry his water to the wise woman. n 

Maria. Marry, and it shall be done to-morrow 
morning, if I live. My lady would not lose him for 
more than I '11 say. 

Malvolio. How now, mistress 1 

Maria. O Lord ! 

Sir Toby. Prithee, hold thy peace ; this is not 
the way; do you not see you move him? let me 
alone with him. 

Falian. No way but gentleness ; gently, gently ! 
the fiend is rough and will not be roughly used. 120 

Sir Toby. Why, how now, my bawcock I how dost 
thou, chuck? 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 89 

Malvolio. Sir! 

Sir Toby. Ay, Biddy, come with me. What, man ! 
't is not for gravity to play at cherry-pit with Satan. 
Hang him, foul collier 1 

Maria. Get him to say his prayers, good Sir 
Toby, get him to pray. 

Malvolio. My prayers, minx ! 

Maria. No, I warrant you, he will not hear of 130 
godliness. 

Malvolio. Go, hang yourselves all! you are idle 
shallow things. I am not of your element; you 
shall know more hereafter. \Exit. 

Sir Toby. Is 't possible ? 

Fabian. If this were played upon a stage now, I 
could condemn it as an improbable fiction. 

Sir Toby. His very genius hath taken the infection 
of the device, man. 

Maria. Nay, pursue him now, lest the device take 140 
air and taint. 

Fabian. Why, we shall make him mad indeed. 

Maria. The house will be the quieter. 

Sir Toby. Come, we '11 have him in a dark room 
and bound. My niece is already in the belief that 
he 's mad. We may carry it thus, for our pleasure 
and his penance, till our very pastime, tired out 
of breath, prompt us to have mercy on him; at 
which time we will bring the device to the bar, and 
crown thee for a finder of madmen. But see, but 150 
see. 



90 Twelfth Night [Act in 



Enter SIR ANDREW 

Fabian. More matter for a May morning. 

Sir Andrew, Here 's the challenge, read it; I 
warrant there *s vinegar and pepper in J t. 

Fabian. Is 't so saucy ? 

Sir Andrew. Ay, is 't, I warrant him ; do but read. 

Sir Toby, Give me. [Reads] * Youth, whatsoever thou 
art, thou art but a scurvy fellow? 

Fabian. Good, and valiant. 

Sir Toby. [Reads] ' Winder not^ nor admire not in 160 
thy mind, why I do call thee so, for I will show thee no 
reason for Y, } 

Fabian. A good note; that keeps you from tfte 
blow of the law. 

Sir Toby. [Reads] ' Thou earnest to the Lady Olivia, 
and in my sight she uses thee kindly. But thou liest in 
thy throat; that is not the matter I challenge thee for? 

Fabian. Very brief, and to exceeding good sense 
less. 

Sir Toby. [Reads] i I will waylay thee going home, 170 
where if it be thy chance to kill me? 

Fabian. Good. 

Sir Toby. [Reads] Ihou kilkstme like a rogue and 
a villain? 

Fabian. Still you keep o' the windy side of the law ; 
good. 

Sir Toby. [Reads] ' Fare thee well; and God haw 
mercy upon one of our souls I He may have 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night yi 

upon mine ; but my hope is better \ and so look to thy- 
self. Thy friend, as thou mest him, and thy sworn 180 
enemy > ANDREW AGUECHEEK.' 
If this letter move him not, his legs cannot ; I "11 
give ? t him. 

Maria. You may have very fit occasion for 't ; he 
is now in some commerce with my lady, and will 
by and by depart. 

Sir Toby. Go, Sir Andrew ; scout me for him at 
the corner of the orchard like a bum-baity. So soon 
as ever thou seest him, draw, and, as thou drawest, 
swear horrible ; for it comes to pass oft that a terri- 190 
ble oath, with a swaggering accent sharply twanged 
off, gives manhood more approbation than ever 
proof itself would have earned him. Away 1 

Sir Andrew. Nay, let me alone for swearing. [Exit. 

Sir Toby. Now will not I deliver his letter, for the 
behaviour of the young gentleman gives him out to 
be of good capacity and breeding ; his employment 
between his lord and my niece confirms no less. 
Therefore this letter, being so excellently ignorant, 
will breed no terror in the youth ; he will find it 200 
comes from a clodpole. But, sir, I will deliver his 
challenge by word of mouth, set upon Aguecheek a 
notable report of valour, and drive the gentleman, as 
I know his youth will aptly receive it, into a most 
hideous opinion of his rage, skill, fury, and impetu- 
osity. This will so fright them both that they will 
kill one another by the look, like cockatrices. 



92 Twelfth Night [Act in 



Re-enter OLIVIA with VIOLA 

Fabian. Here he comes with your niece; give 
them way till he take leave, and presently after him. 

Sir Toby. I will meditate the while upon some 210 
horrid message for a challenge. 

\Exeunt Sir Toby> Fabian, and Maria. 

Olivia. I have said too much unto a heart of 

stone, 

And laid mine honour too unchary on 't. 
There 's something in me that reproves my fault. 
But such a headstrong potent fault it is 
That it but mocks reproof. 

Viola. With the same haviour that your passion 

bears 
Goes on my master's grief. 

Olivia. Here, wear this jewel for me, 't is my picture, 
Refuse it not, it hath no tongue to vex you ; 221 

And I beseech you come again to-morrow. 
What shall you ask of me that I '11 deny, 
That honour sav'd may upon asking give ? 

Viola. Nothing but this, your true love for my 
master. 

Olivia. How with mine honour may I give him that 
Which I have given to you ? 

Viola. I will acquit you. 

Olivia. Well, come again to-morrow. Fare thee 

well; 
A fiend like thee might bear my soul to hell. \2Lxit 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 93 

Re-enter SIR TOBY and FABIAN 

Sir Toby. Gentleman, God save thee. 

Viola. And you, sir. 330 

Sir Toby. That defence thou hast, betake thee 
to 't Of what nature the wrongs are thou hast done 
him, I know not ; but thy intercepter, full of despite, 
bloody as the hunter, attends thee at the orchard-end. 
Dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for 
thy assailant is quick, skilful, and deadly. 

Viola. You mistake, sir, I am sure no man hath 
any quarrel to me ; my remembrance is very free and 
clear from any image of offence done to any man. 

Sir Toby. You '11 find it otherwise, I assure you ; 240 
therefore, if you hold your life at any price, betake 
you to your guard, for your opposite hath in him what 
youth, strength, skill, and wrath can furnish man 
withal. 

Viola. I pray you, sir, what is he ? 

Sir Toby. He is knight, dubbed with unhatched 
rapier and on carpet consideration, but he is a devil 
in private brawl ; souls and bodies hath he divorced 
three, and his incensement at this moment is so im- 
placable that satisfaction can be none but by pangs 253 
of death and sepulchre. Hob, nob, is his word; 
give 't or take ? t. 

Viola. I will return again into the house and desire 
some conduct of the lady. I am no fighter. I have 
heard of some kind of men that put quarrels pur- 



94 Twelfth Night [Actm 

posely on others, to taste their valour ; belike this is 
a man of that quirk. 

Sir Toby. Sir, no ; his indignation derives itself out 
of a very competent injury ; therefore, get you on and 
give him his desire. Back you shall not to the house, 260 
unless you undertake that with me which with as 
much safety you might answer him ; therefore, on, or 
strip your sword stark naked, for meddle you must, 
that *s certain, or forswear to wear iron about you. 

Viola. This is as uncivil as strange. I beseech 
you, do me this courteous office, as to know of the 
knight what my offence to him is - } it is something 
of my negligence, nothing of my purpose. 

Sir Toby. I will do so. Signior Fabian, stay you 
by this gentleman till my return. \Exit. 270 

Viola. Pray you, sir, do you know of this matter ? 

Fabian. I know the knight is incensed against you, 
even to a mortal arbitrament, but nothing of the cir- 
cumstance more. 

Viola. I beseech you, what manner of man is 
he? 

Fabian. Nothing of that wonderful promise, to read 
him by his form, as you are like to find him in the 
proof of his valour. He is, indeed, sir, the most 
skilful, bloody, and fatal opposite that you could 380 
possibly have found in any part of Illyria. Will you 
walk towards him ? I will make your peace with him 
if I can. 

Viola. I shall be much bound to you for y t. I am 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 95 

one that had rather go with sir priest than sir knight ; 
I care not who knows so much of my mettle. \_Exeunt* 

Re-enter SIR TOBY, with SIR ANDREW 

Sir Toby. Why, man, he J s a very devil ; I have not 
seen such a firago. I had a pass with him, rapier, 
scabbard, and all, and he gives me the stuck in with 
such a mortal motion that it is inevitable ; and on the 290 
answer, he pays you as surely as your feet hit the 
ground they step on. They say he has been fencer 
to the Sophy. 

Sir Andrew, Pox on J t, I 'II not meddle with him. 

Sir Toby* Ay, but he will not now be pacified ; 
Fabian can scarce hold him yonder. 

Sir Andrew. Plague on J t, an I thought he had 
been valiant and so cunning in fence, I 'd have seen 
him damned ere I 'd have challenged him. Let him 
let the matter slip, and I '11 give him my horse, grey 3<x 
Capilet. 

Sir Toby. I J ll make the motion. Stand here, make 
a good show on 't ; this shall end without the perdi- 
tion of souls. \Aside\ Marry, I '11 ride your horse as 
well as I ride you, 

Re-mter FABIAN and VIOLA 

\To Fabiari\ I have his horse to take up the quarrel; 
I have persuaded him the youth 's a devil 

Fabian. He is as horribly conceited of him, and 
pants and looks pale, as if a bear were at his heels. 



9 6 Twelfth Night fActm 

Sir Toby, \To Viola] There 's no remedy, sir; he 310 
will fight with you for 's oath sake. Marry, he hath 
better bethought him of his quarrel, and he finds that 
now scarce to be worth talking of ; therefore draw, 
for the supportance of his vow ; he protests he will 
not hurt you. 

Viola. \Aside\ Pray God defend me I A little 
thing would make me tell them how much I lack 
of a man. 

Fabian. Give ground, if you see him furious. 

Sir Toby. Come, Sir Andrew, there 's no remedy ; 320 
the gentleman will, for his honour's sake, have one 
bout with you. He cannot by the duello avoid it; 
but he has promised me, as he is a gentleman and a 
soldier, he will not hurt you. Come on ; to 't 

Sir Andrew. Pray God, he keep his oath 1 

Viola. I do assure you, \ is against my will. \They 

draw. 

Enter ANTONIO 

Antonio. Put up your sword. If this young gentle- 
man 

Have done offence, I take the fault on me ; 
If you offend him, I for him defy you. 

Sir Toby. You, sir 1 why, what are you ? 330 

Antonio. One, sir, that for his love dares yet do 

more 
Than you have heard him brag to you he will. 

Sir Toby. Nay, if you be an undertaker, I am 
for you. \27uy draw. 



Scene iv] Twelfth Night 97 

Enter Officers 

Fabian. O good Sir Toby, hold ! here come the 
officers. 

Sir Toby. I '11 be with you anon. 

Viola. Pray, sir, put your sword up, if you please. 

Sir Andrew. Marry, will I, sir, and, for that I 
promised you, I '11 be as good as my word ; he will 
bear you easily and reins well. 341 

1 Officer. This is the man ; do thy office. 

2 Officer. Antonio, I arrest thee at the suit of 
Count Orsino. 

Antonio. You do mistake me, sir. 

1 Officer. No, sir, no jot ; I know your favour well, 
Though now you have no sea-cap on your head. 
Take him away ; he knows I know him well. 

Antonio. I must obey. [To Viold\ This comes with 

seeking you. 

But there 's no remedy ; I shall answer it. 350 

What will you do, now my necessity- 
Makes me to ask you for my purse ? It grieves me 
Much more for what I cannot do for you 
Than what befalls myself. You stand amaz'd ; 
But be of comfort. 

2 Officer. Come, sir, away. 

Antonio. I must entreat of you some of that money. 

Viola. What money, sir ? 

For the fair kindness you have show'd me here, 359 
And, part, being prompted by your present trouble- 

TWELFTH NIGHT 7 



98 Twelfth Night [Actm 

Out of my lean and low ability 
I J ll lend you something. My having is not much ; 
I '11 make division of my present with you. 
Hold, there 's half my coffer. 

Antonio. Will you deny me now 5 

Is : t possible that my deserts to you 
Can lack persuasion ? Do not tempt my misery, 
Lest that it make me so unsound a ms n 
As to upbraid you with those kindnesses 
That I have done for you. 

Viola. I know of none, 

Nor know I you by voice or any feature. 370 

I hate ingratitude more in a man 
Than lying, vainness, babbling drunkenness, 
Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption 
Inhabits our frail blood. 

Antonio, O heavens themselves ! 

2 Officer. Come, sir, I pray you, go. 

Antonio. Let me speak a little. This youth that you 

see here 

I snatch'd one half out of the jaws of death, 
Reliev'd him with such sanctity of love, 
And to his image, which methought did promise 
Most venerable worth, did I devotion. 3$o 

i Officer. What 's that to us ? The time goes by 
away! 

Antonio. But, O, how vile an idol proves this godl 
Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature shame, - 
In nature there *s no blemish but the mind : 



Scene IV] Twelfth Night 99 

None can be call'd deform 'd but the unkind. 
Virtue is beauty, but the beauteous-evil 
Are empty trunks o'erflourish'd by the devil. 

i Officer. The man grows mad ; away with him J 
Come, come, sir. 

Antonio. Lead me on. [Exit with Officers 

Viola. Methinks his words do from such passion 
fly 39 i 

That he believes himself ; so do not I. * 
Prove true, imagination, O, prove true, 
That I, dear brother, be now ta'en for you ! 

Sir Toby. Come hither, knight, come hither, 
Fabian ; we '11 whisper o'er a couplet or two of 
most sage saws. 

Viola. He nam'd Sebastian. I my brother know 
Yet living in my glass ; even such and so 
In favour was my brother, and he went 400 

Still in this fashion, colour, ornament, 
For him I imitate. O, if it prove, 
Tempests are kind, and salt waves fresh in love! 

\Exit. 

Sir Toby. A very dishonest, paltry boy, and more 
a coward than a hare; his dishonesty appears in 
leaving his friend here in necessity and denying 
him, and for his co wardship, ask Fabian. 

Fabian. A coward, a most devout coward, religious 
in it. 40*2 

Sir Andrew. 'Slid, I '11 after him again and beat 
him. 



TOO Twelfth Night [Actm 

Sir Toby. Do ; cuff him soundly, but never draw 
thy sword. 

Sir Andrew. An I do not, [-#//. 

Fabian. Come, let 's see the event. 

Sir Toby. I dare lay any money 't will be nothing 

yet* [Exeunt. 







ACT IV 

SCENE I. Before Olivia's House 

Enter SEBASTIAN and Clown 

Clown. Will you make me believe I am not sent 
for you ? 

Sebastian. Go to, go to, thou art a foolish fellow ; 
Let me be clear of thee. 

Clown. Well held out, i' faith ! No, I do not know 
you; nor I am not sent to you by my lady, to bid 
you come speak with her; nor your name is not 
Master Cesario; nor this is not my nose neither. 
Nothing that is so is so. 

Sebastian. I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else ; 
Thou know'st not me. H 

101 



102 Twelfth Night [ActiV 

Clown. Vent my folly 1 he has heard that word of 
some great man, and now applies it to a fool. Vent 
my folly ! I am afraid this great lubber, the world, 
will prove a cockney. I prithee now, ungird thy 
strangeness, and tell me what I shall vent to my 
lady ; shall I vent to her that thou art coming ? 

Sebastian. I prithee, foolish Greek, depart from me. 
There 's money for thee ; if you tarry longer, 
I shall give worse payment. 20 

Clown. By my troth, thou hast an open hand. 
These wise men that give fools money get them- 
selves a good report after fourteen years' pur- 
chase. 

Enter SIR ANDREW, SIR TOBY, and FABIAN 

Sir Andrew. Now, sir, have I met you again ? 
there 's for you. 

Sebastian. Why, there 7 s for thee, and there, and 

there, and there. 
Are all the people mad ? 

Sir Toby. Hold, sir, or I '11 throw your dagger 
o'er the house. 30 

Clown. This will I tell my lady straight ; I would 
not be in some of your coats for two pence. [Exit* 

Sir Tody. Come on, sir; hold. 

Sir Andrew. Nay, let him alone. I '11 go another 
way to work with him ; I '11 have an action of battery 
against him, if there be any law in Illyria. Though 
I struck him first, yet it 's no matter for that. 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 103 

Sebastian. Let go thy hand. 

Sir Toby. Come, sir, I will not let you go. Come, 
my young soldier, put up your iron. You are well 40 
fleshed ; come on. 

Sebastian. I will be free from thee. What wouldst 

thou now? 
If thou dar'st tempt me further, draw thy sword. 

Sir Toby. What, what? Nay, then I must have 
an ounce or two of this malapert blood from you. 

Enter OLIVIA 

Olivia. Hold, Toby ; on thy life I charge thee, hold \ 

Sir Toby. Madam ! 

Olivia. Will it be ever thus ? Ungracious wretch, 
Fit for the mountains and the barbarous caves 
Where manners ne'er were preach M ! out of my 
sight ! 50 

Be not offended, dear Cesario. 
Rudesby, be gone ! 

\Exeunt Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian. 

I prithee, gentle friend, 
Let thy fair wisdom, not thy passion, sway 
In this uncivil and unjust extent 
Against thy peace. Go with me to my house, 
And hear thou there how many fruitless pranks 
This ruffian hath botch'd up, that thou thereby 
Mayst smile at this. Thou shalt not choose but go ; 
Do not deny. Beshrew his soul for me, 
He started one poor heart of mine in thee. 6c 



104 Twelfth Night [Activ 

Sebastian. What relish is in this ? how runs the 

stream ? 

Or I am mad, or else this is a dream. 
Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep ; 
If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep ! 

Olivia. Nay, come, I prithee; would thou 'dst be 

rul'd by me ! 

Sebastian. Madam, I will. 
Olivia* O, say so, and so be 1 \_Exeunt, 

SCENE II. Olivia's House 
Enter MARIA and Clown 

Maria. Nay, I prithee, put on this gown and this 
beard, make him believe thou art Sir Topas the curate. 
Do it quickly ; I '11 call Sir Toby the whilst. \Exit. 

Clown. Well, I '11 put it on, and I will dissemble 
myself in 't ; and I would I were the first that ever 
dissembled in such a gown. I am not tall enough to 
become the function well, nor lean enough to be 
thought a good student; but to be said an honest 
man and a good housekeeper goes as fairly as to say 
a careful man and a great scholar. The competitors 10 
enter. 

Enter SIR TOBY and MARIA 

Sir Toby. Jove bless thee, master Parson. 

Clown. Bonos dies, Sir Toby ; for, as the old her- 
mit of Prague that never saw pen and ink very wittily 
said to a niece of King Gorboduc, f That that is is/ 



Scene ii] Twelfth Night 105 

so I, being master Parson, am master Parson ; for, 
what is that but that, and is but is ? 

Sir Toby. To him, Sir Topas. 

Clown. What, ho, I say ! peace in this prison ! 

Sir Toby. The knave counterfeits well ; a good 20 
knave! 

Malvolio. \Within\ Who calls there? 

Clown. Sir Topas the curate, who comes to visit 
Malvolio the lunatic. 

Malvolio. Sir Topas, Sir Topas, good Sir Topas, 
go to my lady. 

Clown. Out, hyperbolical fiend ! how vexest thou 
this man 1 talkest thou nothing but of ladies ? 

Sir Toby. Well said, master Parson. 

Malvolio. Sir Topas, never was man thus wronged. 30 
Good Sir Topas, do not think I am mad ; they have 
laid me here in hideous darkness. 

Clown. Fie, thou dishonest Satan ! I call thee by 
the most modest terms, for I am one of those gentle 
ones that will use the devil himself with courtesy ; 
sayest thou that house is dark? 

Malvolio. As hell, Sir Topas. 

Clown. Why, it hath bay-windows transparent as 
barricadoes, and the clear-stores towards the south- 
north are as lustrous as ebony ; and yet complainest 40 
thou of obstruction ? 

Malvolio. I am not mad, Sir Topas ; I say to you, 
this house is dark. 

Clown. Madman, thou errest ; I say, there is no 



io6 Twelfth Night [Act IT 

darkness but ignorance, in which thou art more 
puzzled than the Egyptians in their fog. 

Mahwlio. I say this house is as dark as ignorance, 
though ignorance were as dark as hell ; and I say 
there was never man thus abused. I am no more 
mad than you are; make the trial of it in any con- 50 
stant question. 

Clown. What is the opinion of Pythagoras con- 
cerning wild fowl ? 

Mafoolio. That the soul of our grandam might 
happily inhabit a bird. 

Clown. What thinkest thou of his opinion ? 

Malvolio. I think nobly of the soul, and no way- 
approve his opinion/ 

Clown. Fare thee well. Remain thou still in 
darkness ; thou shalt hold the opinion of Pythagoras 60 
ere I will allow of thy wits, and fear to kill a wood- 
cock lest thou dispossess the soul of thy grandam. 
Fare thee well. 

Malvolio. Sir Topas, Sir Topas ! 

Sir Toby. My most exquisite Sir Topas ! 

Clown. Nay, I am for all waters. 

Maria. Thou mightst have done this without thy 
heard and gown ; he sees thee not. 

Sir Toby. To him in thine own voice, and bring 
me word how thou findest him ; I would we were ?c 
well rid of this knavery. If he may be conveniently 
delivered, I would he were, for I am now so far in 
offence with my niece that I cannot pursue with am 



Scene II] Twelfth Night 107 

safety this sport to the upshot. Come by and by to 
my chamber. \_Exeunt Sir Toby and Maria. 

Clown. [Singing] "Hey, Robin, jolly Robin, 

Tell me how thy lady does} 

Malvolio. Fool ! 

Clown. i My lady is unkind, perdy? 

Malvolio. Fool ! So 

Clown. ' Alas, why is she so ? 7 

Malvolio. Fool, I say. 

Clown. * She loves another ' Who calls, ha ? 

Malvolio. Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well 
at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink, and 
paper ; as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thank- 
ful to thee for 't 

Clown. Master Malvolio ? 

Malvolio. Ay, good fool 

Clown. Alas, sir, how fell you besides your five 90 
wits? 

Malvolio. Fool, there was never man so notori- 
ously abused ; I am as well in my wits, fool, as thou art. 

Clown, But as well ? then you are mad indeed, if 
you be no better in your wits than a fool. 

Malvolio. They have here propertied me ; keep me 
in darkness, send ministers to me, asses, and do all 
they can to face me out of my wits. 

Clown. Advise you what you say ; the minister is 
here. Malvolio, Malvolio, thy wits the heavens 100 
restore 1 endeavour thyself to sleep, and leave thy 
vain bibble babble. 



io8 Twelfth Night [Activ 

Malwlio* Sir Topas 1 

Clown. Maintain no words with him, good fellow. 
Who, I, sir? not I, sir. God be wi' you, good Sir 
Topas. Marry, amen. I will, sir, I will. 

Malvolio. Fool, fool, fool, I say 1 

Clown. Alas, sir, be patient What say you, sir? 
I am shent for speaking to you. 

Malvolio. Good fool, help me to some light and no 
some paper ; I tell thee, I am as well in my wits as 
any man in Illyria. 

Clown. Well-a-day that you were, sir ! 

Malvolio. By this hand r I am. Good fool, some 
ink, paper, and light ; and convey what I will set 
down to my lady. It shall advantage thee more 
than ever the bearing of letter did. 

Clown. I will help you to 't. But tell me true, are 
you not mad indeed ? or do you but counterfeit ? 

Malvolio. Believe me I am not; I tell thee true. 120 

Clown. Nay, I '11 ne'er believe a madman till I see 
his brains. I will fetch you light and paper and ink. 

Malvolio* Fool, I '11 requite it in the highest de- 
gree; I prithee, be gone. 

Clown* [Singing] 

I am gone, szr, 
And anon, sir, 

/ 77 be with you again 
In a trice, 
Like to the old Vice, 130 

Your need to sustain ; 



Scene III] Twelfth Night 109 



O) with dagger of lath, 
In his rage and his wrath , 

Cries ) ah^ ha ! to the devil: 
Like a mad lad> 
Pare thy nails > dad ; 

Adieu,) goodman devil. [Exit. 

SCENE III. Olivia's Garden 

Enter SEBASTIAN 

Sebastian. This is the air; that is the glorious 

sun; 

This pearl she gave me, I do feel 't and see 't ; 
And though 't is wonder that enwraps me thus, 
Yet y t is not madness. Where 's Antonio, then ? 
I could not find him at the Elephant ; 
Yet there he was, and there I found this credit, 
That he did range the town to seek me out. 
His counsel now might do me golden service, 
For though my soul disputes well with my sense 
That this may be some error, but no madness, 10 

Yet doth this accident and flood of fortune 
So far exceed all instance, all discourse, 
That I am ready to distrust mine eyes 
And wrangle with my reason that persuades me 
To any other trust but that I am mad 
Or else the lady *s mad ; yet, if J t were so, 
She could not sway her house, command her fol- 
lowers, 



no Twelfth Night [Act r? 

Take and give back affairs and their dispatch 
With such a smooth, discreet, and stable bearing 
As I perceive she does. There 's something in 't ac 
That is deceivable. But here the lady comes. 

Enter OLIVIA and Priest 

Olivia. Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean 

well, 

Now go with me and with this holy man 
Into the chantry by ; there, before him, 
And underneath that consecrated roof, 
Plight me the full assurance of your faith, 
That my most jealous and too doubtful soul 
May live at peace. He shall conceal it 
Whiles you are willing it shall come to note, 
What time we will our celebration keep 30 

According to my birth. What do you say ? 

Sebastian. I '11 follow this good man and go with 

you, 
And, having sworn truth, ever will be true, 

Olivia. Then lead the way, good father ; and 

heavens so 'shine, 
That they may fairly note this act of mine i [Exeunt, 




"ENTER PRIEST " 



ACT V 

SCENE I. Before Olivia's House 

Enter Clown and FABIAN 

Fabian* Now, as thou lovest me, let me see his 
letter. 

Clown. Good Master Fabian, grant me another 
request. 

Fabian. Any thing. 

Clown. Do not desire to see this letter. 

Fabian. This is, to give a dog, and in recom- 
pense desire my dog again. 

in 



112 Twelfth Night [Actv 

Enter DUKE, VIOLA, CURIO, and Lords 

Duke. Belong you to the Lady Olivia, friends ? 

Clown. Ay, sir ; we are some of her trappings. 10 

Duke. I know thee well ; how dost thou, my good 
fellow? 

Clown. Truly, sir, the better for my foes and the 
worse for my friends. 

Duke. Just the contrary ; the better for thy 
friends. 

Clown. No, sir, the worse. 

Duke. How can that be ? 

Clown. Marry, sir, they praise me and make an 
ass of me ; now my foes tell me plainly I am an ass. 20 
So that by my foes, sir, I profit in the knowledge of 
myself, and by my friends I am abused ; so that, 
conclusions to be as kisses, if your four negatives 
make your two affirmatives, why then, the worse for 
my friends and the better for my foes. 

Duke. Why, this is excellent. 

Clown. By my troth, sir, no ; though it please you 
to be one of my friends. 

Duke. Thou shalt not be the worse for me ; there's 
gold. 30 

Clown. But that it would be double-dealing, sir, I 
would you could make it another. 

Duke. O, you give me ill counsel. 

Clown. Put your grace in your pocket, sir, for this 
once, and let your flesh and blood obey it. 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 113 

Duke. Well, I will be so much a sinner to be a 
double-dealer ; there 's another. 

Clown. Primo, secundo, tertio, is a good play, and 
the old saying is, the third pays for all. The triplex, 
sir, is a good tripping measure ; or the bells of Saint 40 
Bennet, sir, may put you in mind, one, two, three. 

Duke. You can fool no more money out of me at 
this throw; if you will let your lady know I am here 
to speak with her, and bring her along with you, it 
may awake my bounty further. 

Clown. Marry, sir, lullaby to your bounty till I 
come again. I go, sir, but I would not have you to 
think that my desire of having is the sin of covetous- 
ness ; but, as you say, sir, let your bounty take a 
nap, 1 will awake it anon. [Exit. 50 

Viola. Here comes the man, sir, that did rescue me. 

Enter ANTONIO and Officers 

Duke. That face of his I do remember well ; 
Yet, when I saw it last, it was besmear *d 
As black as Vulcan in the smoke of war. 
A bawbling vessel was he captain of, 
For shallow draught and bulk unprizable, 
With which such scathful grapple 'did he make 
With the most noble bottom of our fleet 
That very envy and the tongue of loss 59 

Cried fame and honour on him. What's the matter? 

i Officer. Orsino, this is that Antonio 
That took the Phoenix and her fraught from Candy; 

TWELFTH NIGHT 8 



U4 Twelfth Night LActv 

And this is he that did the Tiger board, 
When your young nephew Titus lost his leg. 
Here in the streets, desperate of shame and state, 
In private brabble did we apprehend him. 

Viola. He did me kindness, sir, drew on my side. 
But in conclusion put strange speech upon me. 
I know not what 't was but distraction. 

Duke. Notable pirate ! thou salt-water thief ! 70 

What foolish boldness brought thee to their mercies 
Whom thou, in terms so bloody and so dear, 
Hast made thine enemies ? 

Antonio. Orsino, noble sir, 

Be pleased that I shake off these names you give me ; 
Antonio never yet was thief or pirate, 
Though I confess, on base and ground enough, 
Orsino 's enemy. A witchcraft drew me hither. 
That most ingrateful boy there by your side, 
From the rude sea's enrag'd and foamy mouth 
Did I redeem ; a wrack past hope he was. So 

His life I gave him, and did thereto add 
My love, without retention or restraint* 
All his in dedication ; for his sake 
Did I expose myself, pure for his love, 
Into the danger of this adverse town, 
Drew to defend him when he was beset, 
Where being apprehended, his false cunning, 
Not meaning to partake with me in danger, 
Taught him to face me out of his acquaintance, 
And grew a twenty-years-removed thing 90 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 115 

While one would wink, denied me mine own purse 
Which I had recommended to his use 
Not half an hour before. 

Viola. How can this be ? 

Duke. When came he to this town ? 

Antonio. To-day, my lord ; and for three months 

before, 

No interim, not a minute's vacancy, 
Both day and night did we keep company. 

Mnter OLIVIA and Attendants 

Duke. Here comes the countess ; now heaven walks 

on earth. 

But for thee, fellow, fellow, thy words are madness. 
Three months this youth hath tended upon me ; roc 
But more of that anon. Take him aside. 

Olivia. What would my lord, but that he may not 

have, 

Wherein Olivia may seem serviceable ? 
Cesario, you do not keep promise with me. 

Viola. Madarn 1 

Duke. Gracious Olivia, 

Olivia. What do you say, Cesario? Good my 
lord, 

Viola. My lord would speak, my duty hushes me: 

Olivia. If it be aught to the old tune, my lord, 
It is as fat and fulsome to mine ear IK 

As howling after music. 

Duke. Still so cruel ? 



ii6 Twelfth Night [Actv 

Olivia. Still so constant, lord. 

Duke. What, to perverseness ? you uncivil lady, 
To whose ingrate and unauspicious altars 
My soul the faithfull'st offerings hath breath 'd out 
That e'er devotion tender'd 1 What shall I do ? 

Olivia. Even what it please my lord, that shall be- 
come him. 

Duke. Why should I not, had I the heart to do it, 
Like to the Egyptian thief at point of death, 
Kill what I love ? a savage jealousy 120 

That sometime savours nobly. But hear me this : 
Since you to non-regardance cast my faith, 
And that I partly know the instrument 
That screws me from my true place in your favour, 
Live you the marble-breasted tyrant still ; 
But this your minion, whom I know you love, 
And whom, by heaven I swear, I tender dearly, 
Him will I tear out of that cruel eye 
Where he sits crowned in his master's spite. 
Come, boy, with me; my thoughts are ripe in mis 
chief. 13^ 

I '11 sacrifice the lamb that I do love, 
To spite a raven's heart within a dove. 

Viola. And I, most jocund, apt, and willingly, 
To do you rest, a thousand deaths would die. 

Olivia. Where goes Cesario ? 

Viola. After him I love 

More than I love these eyes, more than my life, 
More, by all mores, than e'er I shall love wife, 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 117 

If I do feign, you witnesses above 
Punish my life for tainting of my love ! 

Olivia. Ay me, detested 1 how am I beguil'd ! 140 

Viola. Who does beguile you? who does do you 
wrong ? 

Olivia. Hast thou forgot thyself 1 is it so long ? 
Call forth the holy father. 

Duke. Come, awayl 

Olivia. Whither, my lord ? Cesario, husband, stay. 

Duke. Husband 1 

Olivia. Ay, husband ; can he that deny ? 

Duke. Her husband, sirrah 1 

Viola. No, my lord, not I. 

Olivia. Alas, it is the baseness of thy fear 
That makes thee strangle thy propriety 1 
Fear not, Cesario, take thy fortunes up ; 
Be that thou know'st thou art, and then thou art 150 
As great as that thou fear'st. 

Enter Priest 

O, welcome, father I 

Father, I charge thee, by thy reverence, 
Here to unfold, though lately we intended 
To keep in darkness what occasion now 
Reveals before 3 t is ripe, what thou dost know 
Hath newly pass'd between this youth and me* 

Priest. A contract of eternal bond of love, 
Confirm'd by mutual joinder of your hands, 
Attested by the holy close of lips, 



n8 Twelfth Night [Actv 

Strengthen 'd by interchangement of your rings, 160 

And all the ceremony of this compact 

Seal'd in my function, by my testimony ; 

Since when, my watch hath told me, toward my 

grave 
I have travelled but two hours. 

Duke. O thou dissembling cub ! what wilt thou be 
When time hath sow'd a grizzle on thy case ? 
Or will not else thy craft so quickly grow, 
That thine own trip shall be thine overthrow ? 
Farewell, and take her ; but direct thy feet 
Where thou and I henceforth may never meet. 170 

Viola. My lord, I do protest 

OKvia. O, do not swear 1 

Hold little faith, though thou hast too much fear, 

Enter SIR ANDREW 

Sir Andrew. For the love of God, a surgeon! 
Send one presently to Sir Toby. 

Olivia. What 's the matter ? 

Sir Andrew. He has broke my head across and 
has given Sir Toby a bloody coxcomb too ; for the 
love of God, your helpl I had rather than forty 
pound I were at home. 

Olivia. Who has done this, Sir Andrew ? i8c 

Sir Andrew. The count's gentleman, one Cesario ; 
we took him for a coward, but he 's the very devil 
incardinate. 

Duke. My gentleman, Cesario ? 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 119 

Sir Andrew. 'Od's lifelings, here ne is! You 
broke my head for nothing ; and that that I did, I 
was set on to do J t by Sir Toby. 

Viola. Why do you speak to me? I never hurt 

you; 

You drew your sword upon me without cause, 
But I bespake you fair and hurt you not. 190 

Sir Andrew. If a bloody coxcomb be a hurt, you 
have hurt me ; I think you set nothing by a bloody 
coxcomb. 

Enter SIR TOBY and Clown 

Here comes Sir Toby halting ; you shall hear more ; 
but if he had not been in drink, he would have 
tickled you othergates than he did. 

Duke. How now, gentleman ! how is 't with you ? 

Sir Toby. That 5 s all one ; he has hurt me, and 
there } s the end on 't. Sot, didst see Dick surgeon, 

SOt ? 200 

Clown. O, he 5 s drunk, Sir Toby, an hour agone ; 
his eyes were set at eight i' the morning. 

Sir Toby. Then he 's a rogue, and a passy-measures 
pavin. I hate a drunken rogue. 

Olivia. Away with him 1 Who hath made this 
havoc with them ? 

Sir Andrew. I '11 help you, Sir Toby, because 
we '11 be dressed together. 

Sir Toby. Will you help ? an ass-head and a cox 
comb and a knave, a thin-faced knave, a gull ! 



120 Twelfth Night [Actv 

Olivia. Get him to bed, and let his hurt be look'd 

to, 210 

[.Exeunt Clown, Fabian , Sir Toby^ and Sir Andrew. 

Enter SEBASTIAN 

Sebastian. I am sorry, madam, I have hurt your 

kinsman, 

But, had it been the brother of my blood, 
I must have done no less with wit and safety. 
You throw a strange regard upon me, and by that 
I do perceive it hath offended you. 
Pardon me, sweet one, even for the vows 
We made each other but so late ago. 

Duke. One face, one voice, one habit, and two 

persons, 
A natural perspective, that is and is not ! 

Sebastian. Antonio, O my dear Antonio ! 220 

How have the hours rack'd and tortur'd me 
Since I have lost thee ! 

Antonio. Sebastian are you ? 

Sebastian. Fear'st thou that, Antonio ? 

Antonio, How have you made division of your- 
self? 

An apple, cleft in two, is not more twin 
Than these two creatures. Which is Sebastian ? 

Olivia. Most wonderful ! 

Sebastian. Do I stand there? I never had a 

brother j 
Nor can there be that deity in my nature, 



Scene IJ 1 welf th Night 121 

Of here and every where. I had a sister, 230 

Whom the blind waves and surges have devour'd, 
Of charity, what kin are you to me ? 
What countryman ? what name ? what parentage ? 

Viola. Of Messaline. Sebastian was my father ; 
Such a Sebastian was my brother too, 
So went he suited to his watery tomb. 
If spirits can assume both form and suit, 
You come to fright us. 

Sebastian. A spirit I am indeed ; 

But am in that dimension grossly clad 
Which from the womb I did participate. 240 

Were you a woman, as the rest goes even, 
I should my tears let fall upon your cheek, 
And say, Thrice-welcome, drowned Viola 1 

Viola. My father had a mole upon his brow. 

Sebastian. And so had mine. 

Viola. And died that day when Viola from her 

birth 
Had numbered thirteen years. 

Sebastian. O, that record is lively in my soul 1 
He finished indeed his mortal act 
That day that made my sister thirteen years. 250 

Viola. If nothing lets to make us happy both 
But this my masculine usurp'd attire, 
Do not embrace me till each circumstance 
Of place, time, fortune, do cohere and jump 
That I am Viola ; which to confirm, 
I 11 bring you to a captain in this town, 



122 Twelfth Night [Actv 

Where lie my maiden weeds, by whose gentle help 

I was preserved to serve this noble count. 

All the occurrence of my fortune since 

Hath been between this lady and this lord. 260 

Sebastian [To Olivia] So comes it, lady, you have 

been mistook ; 

But nature to her bias drew in that. 
You would have been contracted to a maid ; 
Nor are you therein, by my life, deceiv'd, 
You are betroth 'd both to a maid and man. 

Duke. Be not amaz'd ; right noble is his blood. 
If this be so, as yet the glass seems true, 
I shall have share in this most happy wrack. 
[To Viola} Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand 

times 
Thou never shouldst love woman like to me. 270 

Viola. And all those sayings will I over-swear, 
And all those swearings keep as true in soul 
As doth that orbed continent the fire 
That severs day from night. 

Duke. Give me thy hand, 

And let me see thee in thy woman's weeds. 

Viola. The captain that did bring me first on 

shore 

Hath my maid's garments ; he upon some action 
Is now in durance, at Malvolio's suit, 
A gentleman, and follower of my lady's. 

Olivia. He shall enlarge him. Fetch Malvclio 
hither ; ~ ago 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 123 

And yet, alas, now I remember me, 

They say, poor gentleman, he *s much distract. 

Re-enter Clown with a Utter, and FABIAN 

A most extracting frenzy of mine own 

From my remembrance clearly banish J d his. 

How does he, sirrah ? 

Clown. Truly, madam, he holds Belzebub at the 
stave's end as well as a man in his case may do. 
He has here writ a letter to you; I should have 
given \ you to-day morning, but as a madman's 
epistles are no gospels, so it skills not much when 290 
they are delivered. 

Olivia. Open *t, and read it. 

Clown. Look then to be well edified when the 
fool delivers the madman. [Reads] By the Lord, 
madam, 

Olivia. How now! art thou mad ? 

Clown. No, madam, I do but read madness : an 
your ladyship will have it as it ought to be, you 
must allow vox. 

Olivia. Prithee, read i* thy right wits. 3 

Clown. So I do, madonna, but to read his right 
wits is to read thus ; therefore perpend, my princess, 
and give ear. 

Olivia. \To Fabiari\ Read it you, sirrah. 

Fabian. [Reads] ' By the Lord, madam, you wrong 
me, and the world shall know it; though you have put 
me into darkness and given your drunken cousin rule 



124 Twelfth Night [Actv 

over me, yet have I the benefit of my senses as well as 
your ladyship. I have your own letter that induced me 
to the semblance I put on, with the which I doubt not 310 
but to do myself much right or you much shame. Think 
of me as you please, I leave my duty a little unthought 
of, and speak out of my injury. 

THE MADLY-USED MALVOLIO.' 

Olivia. Did he write this ? 
Clown. Ay, madam, 

Duke. This savours not much of distraction. 
Olivia, See him deliver'd, Fabian ; bring him 
hither. \_Exit Fabian. 

My lord, so please you, these things further thought 

on, 

To think me as well a sister as a wife, 320 

One day shall crown the alliance on 't, so please 

you, 

Here at my house and at my proper cost. 
Duke. Madam, I am most apt to embrace your 

offer. 
\ToViola~\ Your master quits you, and for your service 

done him, 

So much against the mettle of your sex, 
So far beneath your soft and tender breeding, 
And since you calPd me master for so long, 
Here is my hand ; you shall from this time be 
Your master's mistress. 

Olivia. A sister ! you are she. 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 125 

Re-enter FABIAN, with MALVOHO 

Duke. Is this the madman ? 

Olivia. Ay, my lord, this same. 330 

How now, Malvolio 1 

Malvolio. Madam, you have done me wrong, 

Notorious wrong. 

Olivia. Have I, Malvolio? no. 

Malvolio. Lady, you have. Pray you, peruse that 

letter. 

You must not now deny it is your hand. 
Write from it, if you can, in hand or phrase, 
Or say 't is not your seal, not your invention. 
You can say none of this. Well, grant it then, 
And tell me, in the modesty of honour, 
Why you have given me such clear lights of favour, 
Bade me come smiling and cross-garter 'd to you, 340 
To put on yellow stockings and to frown 
Upon Sir Toby and the lighter people ; 
And, acting this in an obedient hope, 
Why have you suffer'd me to be imprison'd, 
Kept in a dark house, visited by the priest, 
And made the most notorious geek and gull 
That e'er invention play'd on ? tell me why. 

Olivia. Alas, Malvolio, this is not my writing, 
Though, I confess, much like the character, 
But out of question *t is Maria's hand. 350 

And now I do bethink me, it was she 
First told me thou wast mad ,* then cam'st in smiling, 



126 Twelfth Night [Actv 

And in such forms which here were presupposed 
Upon thee in the letter. Prithee, be content ; 
This practice hath most shrewdly pass'd upon thee. 
But when we know the grounds and authors of it, 
Thou shalt be both the plaintiff and the judge 
Of thine own cause. 

Fabian, Good madam, hear me speak, 

And let no quarrel nor no brawl to come 
Taint the condition of this present hour, 360 

Which I have wonder'd at. In hope it shall not. 
Most freely I confess, myself and Toby 
Set this device against Malvolio here, 
Upon some stubborn and uncourteous parts 
We had conceived against him. Maria writ 
The letter at Sir Toby's great importance, 
In recompense whereof he hath married her. 
How with a sportful malice it was follow'd 
May rather pluck on laughter than revenge, 
If that the injuries be justly weigh'd 370 

That have on both sides pass'd. 

Olivia. Alas, poor fool, how have they baffled thee ! 

Clown. Why, * some are born great, some achieve 
greatness, and some have greatness thrown upon 
them.' I was one, sir, in this interlude, one Sir 
Topas, sir ; but that 's all one. * By the Lord, fool, 
I am not mad.' But do you remember ? ' Madam, 
why laugh you at such a barren rascal? an you 
smile not, he 's gagged.' And thus the whirligig 
of time brings in his revenges. 380 



Scene I] Twelfth Night 

Malvolio. I '11 be revenged on the whole pack of you. 

\Exit. 

Olivia. He hath been most notoriously abus'd. 

Duke. Pursue him and entreat him to a peace. 
He hath not told us of the captain yet. 
When that is known and golden time convents, 
A solemn combination shall be made 
Of our dear souls. Meantime, sweet sister, 
We will not part from hence, Cesario, come ; 
For so you shall be while you are a man, 
But when in other habits you are seen, 39c 

Orsino's mistress and his fancy's queen. 

[Exeunt all, except Clown. 

Clown. [Sings] 

When that I was and a little tiny boy. 
With hey, ho, the wind and the ram, 
A foolish thing was but a toy, 
For the rain it raineth every day. 

But when I came to man's estate ', 

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 

* Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, 
For the rain it raineth every day. 4oc 

But when I came, alas / to wive, 

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 

By swaggering could I never thrive, 
For the rain it raineth every day. 



128 Twelfth Night [Actv 

But when I came unto my beds, 

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain 9 

With toss-pots still had drunken heads, 
For the rain it raineth every day. 

A great while ago the world begun, 

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 410 

But that '$ all one, our flay is done, 

And we Y/ strive to please you every day. 

\Exit. 



NOTES 



TWELFTH NIGHT 9 




** SPINSTERS AND KNITTERS" 



NOTES 



INTRODUCTION 

fHE METRE OF THE PLAY. It should be understood at the 
jutset that metre, or the mechanism of verse, is something altogether 
distinct from the music of verse. The one is matter of rule, 
the other of taste and feeling. Music is not an absolute necessity 
of verse; the metrical form is a necessity, being that which consti- 
tutes the verse. 

The plays of Shakespeare (with the exception of rhymed pas- 
sages, and of occasional songs and interludes) are all in unrhymed 
or blank verse; and the normal form of this blank verse is illus 



132 Notes 

trated by the first line of the present play : ** If music be the food 
of love, play on." 

This line, it will be seen, consists of ten syllables, with the even 
syllables (2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and loth) accented, the odd syllables 
(ist, 3d, etc.) being unaccented. Theoretically, it is made up of 
five feet of two syllables each, with the accent on the second sylla- 
ble. Such a foot is called an iambus (plural, iambuses, or the 
Latin iambi), and the form of verse is called iambic. 

This fundamental law of Shakespeare's verse is subject to certain 
modifications, the most important of which are as follows : 

1. After the tenth syllable an unaccented syllable (or even two 
such syllables) may be added, forming what is sometimes called a 
female line ; as in the twenty-fourth line of the first scene : " So 
please my lord, I might not be admitted." The rhythm is complete 
with the second syllable of admitted, the third being an extra 
eleventh syllable. In i. 2. 34 ("That he did seek the love of fair 
Olivia") we have two extra syllables, the rhythm being complete 
with the second syllable of Olivia. 

2. The accent in any part of the verse may be shifted from an 
even to an odd syllable ; as in lines 5 and 7 of the first scene : 

" O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound 

******* 
Stealing and giving odour ! Enough ; no more ! " 

In both lines the accent is shifted from the second to the first 
syllable. This change occurs very rarely in the tenth syllable, and 
seldom in the fourth ; and it is not allowable in two successive 
accented syllables. 

3. An extra unaccented syllable may occur in any part of the 
line ; as in lines 7, 9, and 14. In 7 the second syllable of odour 
is superfluous ; in 9 the second syllable of spirit; and in 14 
the second syllable of even and minute. 

4. Any unaccented syllable, occurring in an even place immedi- 
ately before or after an even syllable which is properly accented, is 



Notes 

reckoned as accented for the purposes of , __, tance, 

in lines 2 and 3. In 2 the last syllable of surfeiting, and in 3 the 
last of appetite are metrically equivalent to accented syllables; 
and so with the last syllable of violets in 6. Other examples 
are the third syllable of notwithstanding and the last of capacity 
in 10, the last of -validity in 12, and the last of fantastical in 15. 

5. In many instances in Shakespeare words must be lengthened 
in order to fill out the rhythm : 

(a} In a large class of words in which e or * is followed by 
another vowel, the e or i is made a separate syllable; as 
ocean, opinion, soldier, patience, partial, marriage, etc. For 
instance, line 39 of the first scene of the present play appears 
to have only nine syllables, but perfection is a quadrisyllable, as 
perfections is in i. 5. 306. In i. 5. 265 adorations has metrically 
five syllables. This lengthening occurs most frequently at the end 
of the line. 

() Many monosyllables ending in r, re, rs, res, preceded by a 
long vowel or diphthong, are often made dissyllables; as fare, fear, 
dear, fire, hair, hour, your, etc. In in. I. 113 ("Than music 
from the spheres. Dear lady,") both spheres and Dear are dis- 
syllables. If the word is repeated in a verse, it is often both 
monosyllable and dissyllable ; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 20 : " And so, 
though yours, not yours. Prove it so," where either yours (pre- 
ferably the first) is a dissyllable, the other being a monosyllable. 
In/. C. iii. i. 172: u As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity," the first 
fire is a dissyllable. 

(c] Words containing / or r, preceded by another consonant, are 
often pronounced as if a vowel came between the consonants; as 
in i. I. 32: "And lasting in her sad remembrance," where remem- 
brance is a quadrisyllable (rememb(e) ranee); as in W 71 iv. 4. 
76 : " Grace and remembrance [rememb(e) ranee] be to you both ! " 
In i. 2. n : ? The like of him. Know'st thou this country ? " 
country is a trisyllable (count (e)ry). See also T. of S, ii. i, 158: 
* While she did call me rascal fiddler * [fidd(e)ler]; 



134 Notes 

5.43: **If you will tarry, holy pilgrim" [pilg(e)rim]; C. of E* 
v. 1.360: "These are the parents of these children" (childeren, 
the original form of the word). 

(d) Monosyllabic exclamations (ay, O, yea, nay, kail, etc.) and 
monosyllables otherwise emphasized are similarly lengthened ; also 
certain longer words ; as commandement in M. of V. iv. I. 442; 
safety (trisyllable) in Ham. i. 3. 21 ; business (trisyllable, as 
originally pronounced) in/. C. iv. i. 22: "To groan and sweat 
under the business" (so in several other passages); and other 
words mentioned m the notes to the plays in which they occur. 

6. Words are also contracted for metrical reasons, like plurals 
and possessives ending in a sibilant, as balance, horse (for horses 
and horse's), princess, sense, marriage (plural and possessive), 
image, and other words mentioned in the notes on this and other 
plays. 

7. The accent of words is also varied in many instances for met- 
rical reasons. Thus we find both revenue and revenue in the first 
scene of the M. M D. (lines 6 and 158), dccess and access (see note 
on i. 5. 16), obscure and obscure, pursue and pursue, cdntrary and 
contrary, etc. 

These instances of variable accent must not be confounded with 
those in which words were uniformly accented differently in the 
time of Shakespeare; like aspect (see on i. 4. 27), impdrtune, per" 
sever (never persevere), perseverance, rheumatic, etc. 

8. Alexandrines, or verses of twelve syllables, with six accents, 
occur here and there ; as in the inscriptions on the caskets in the 
M, of V. See also iv, 3. 21 in the present play : " That is deceivable. 
But here the lady comes"; v. 1.73: "Hast made thine enemies? 
Orsino, noble sir," etc. They must not be confounded with female 
lines with two extra syllables (see on I above) or with other lines 
in which two extra unaccented syllables may occur. 

9. Incomplete verses, of one or more syllables, are scattered 
through the plays. See, for instance, in this play i. i, 17, i, 2, I, 2, 
17, xS, 24, 26, 27, 29, 35, etc. 



Notes 135 

IO. Doggerel measure is used in the earliest comedies (L. Z. Z. 
and C. ofE. in particular) in the mouths of comic characters, but 
nowhere else in those plays, and never anywhere after 1598 or 1599. 

n. Rhyme occurs frequently in the early plays, but diminishes 
with comparative regularity from that period until the latest. Thus, 
in Z. Z. Z. there are about uoo rhyming verses (about one-third 
of the whole number), in the M. N. D. about 900, in Richard 7Z 
and R. and J. about 500 each, while in Cor* and A. and C. there 
are only about 40 each, in the Temp, only two, and in the W. T, 
none at all, except in the chorus introducing act iv. Songs, inter- 
ludes, and other matter not in ten-syllable measure are not in- 
cluded in this enumeration. In the present play, out of some 850 
ten-syllable verses, about 120 are in rhyme. 

Alternate rhymes are found only in the plays written before 1599 
or 1600. In the M. of V. there are only four lines at the end of 
Hi. 2. In Much Ado and A. F. Z. we also find a few lines, but 
none at all in subsequent plays. 

Rhymed couplets, or " rhyme-tags " arc often found at the end 
of scenes ; as in the first scene, and eleven other scenes, of the 
present play. In Ham. 14 out of 20 scenes, and in Macb. 21 out of 
28, have such ** tags " \ but in the latest plays they are not so 
frequent. The Temp., for instance, has but one, and the W. T. 
none. 

12. In this edition of Shakespeare, the final -ed of past tenses 
and participles is printed -d when the word is to be pronounced in 
the ordinary way; as in purged, line 20, and turn^d^ line 21, of the 
first scene. But when the metre requires that the -ed be made a 
separate syllable, the e is retained; as in veiled, line 28 of the first 
scene, where the word is a dissyllable. The only variation from 
this rule is in verbs like cry, die, sue, etc., the -ed of which is very 
rarely, if ever, made a separate syllable. 

SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF VERSE AND PROSE IN THE PLAYS. 
This is a subject to which the critics have given very little atten- 
tion, but it is an interesting study. In the present play we find 



136 Notes 



scenes entirely in verse or in prose, and others in which the two are 
mixed. In general, we may say that verse is used for what is dis- 
tinctly poetical, and prose for what is not poetical. The distinc- 
tion, however, is not so clearly marked in the earlier as in the later 
plays. The second scene of the M. of K, for instance, is in prose, 
because Portia and Nerissa are talking about the suitors in a famil- 
iar and playful way; but in the T. G. of V. t where Julia and 
Lucetta are discussing the suitors of the former in much the same 
fashion, the scene is in verse. Dowden, commenting on Rich, //., 
remarks : " Had Shakespeare written the play a few years later, we 
may be certain that the gardener and his servants (iii. 4) would 
not have uttered stately speeches in verse, but would have spoken 
homely prose, and that humour would have mingled with the 
pathos of the scene. The same remark may be made with refer- 
ence to the subsequent scene (v. 5) in which his groom visits the 
dethroned king in the Tower." Comic characters and those in low 
life generally speak in prose in the later plays, as Dowden inti- 
mates, but in the very earliest ones doggerel verse is much used 
instead. See on 10 above. 

The change from prose to verse is well illustrated in the third 
scene of the M. of V. It begins with plain prosaic talk about a 
business matter; but when Antonio enters, it rises at once to the 
higher level of poetry. The sight of Antonio reminds Shylock of 
his hatred of the Merchant, and the passion expresses itself in verse, 
the vernacular tongue of poetry. We have a similar change in 
the first scene of f. C. 9 where, after the quibbling " chaff " of the 
mechanics about their trades, the mention of Pompey reminds the 
Tribune of their plebeian fickleness, and his scorn and indignation 
flame out in most eloquent verse. Note also in the present play 
the changes from verse to prose at i. 5. 248, 260, ii. 2. 12, 17, iii. 
i. 62, etc. 

The reasons for the choice of prose or verse are not always so 
clear as in these instances. We are seldom puzzled to explain the 
prose, but not unfrequently we meet with verse where we might 



Notes 137 

expect prose. As Professor Corson remarks {Introduction to Shakes** 
peare, 1889), "Shakespeare adopted verse as the general tenor of 
his language, and therefore expressed much in verse that is within 
the capabilities of prose ; in other words, his verse constantly 
encroaches upon the domain of prose, but his prose can never be 
said to encroach upon the domain of verse." If in rare instances 
we think we find exceptions to this latter statement, and prose 
actually seems to usurp the place of verse, I believe that careful 
study of the passage will prove the supposed exception to be appar- 
ent rather than real. 

SOME BOOKS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. A few out of 
the many books that might be commended to the teacher and the 
critical student are the following: Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines 
of the Life of Shakespeare (yth ed. 1887); Sidney Lee's Life of 
Shakespeare (1898 ; for ordinary students, the abridged ed. of 1899 
is preferable); Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon (3d ed. 1902); 
Littledale's ed. of Dyce's Glossary (1902); Bartlett's Concordance 
to Shakespeare (1895); Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar (1873); 
Furness's "New Variorum" ed. of Twelfth Night (1901; ency- 
clopaedic and exhaustive) ; Dowden's Shakspere : If is Mind and 
Art (American ed. 1881); Hudson's Life, Art, and Characters of 
Shakespeare (revised ed. 1882) ; Mrs. Jameson's Characteristics of 
Women (several eds.; some with the title, Shakespeare Heroines] \ 
Ten Brink's Five Lectures on Shakespeare (1895) ? Boas's Shake- 
speare and His Predecessors (1895); Dyer's Folk-lore of Shake- 
speare (American ed. 1884) ; Gervinus's Shakespeare Commentaries 
(Bunnett's translation, 1875) > Wordsworth's Shakespeare's Knowl- 
edge of the Bible (3d ed. 1880); Elson's Shakespeare in Music 
(1901). 

Some of the above books will be useful to all readers who are 
interested in special subjects or in general criticism of Shakespeare. 
Among those which are better suited to the needs of ordinary 
readers and students, the following may be mentioned: Mabie's 
Shakes f ear e : Poet^ Dramatist, and Man (1900); I}ow- 



138 Notes 

den's Shakspere Primer (1877; small but invaluable); Rolfe* 
Shakespeare the Boy (1896 ; treating of the home and school life, 
the games and sports, the manners, customs, and folk-lore of the 
poet's time); Guerber's Myths of Greece and Rome (for young 
students who may need information on mythological allusions not 
explained in the notes). 

Black's Judith Shakespeare (1884; a novel, but a careful study 
of the scene and the time) is a book that I always commend to 
young people, and their elders will also enjoy it. The Lambs' 
Tales from Shakespeare is a classic for beginners in the study of 
the dramatist; and in Rolfe's ed. the plan of the authors is carried 
out in the Notes by copious illustrative quotations from the plays, 
Mrs. Cowden-Clarke's Girlhood of Shakespeare 's Heroines (several 
eds.) will particularly interest girls ; and both girls and boys will 
find Bennett's Master Skylark (1897) and Imogen Clark's Will 
Shakespeare 's Little Lad '(1897) equally entertaining and instructive. 

H. Snowden Ward's Shakespeare '.? Town and Times (1896) and 
John Leyland's Shakespeare Country (enlarged ed., 1903) are 
copiously illustrated books (yet inexpensive) which may be 
particularly commended for school libraries. 

ABBREVIATIONS IN THE NOTES. The abbreviations of the 
names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood ; as 
T. N. for Twelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, 3 Hen. VI. for 
The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to 
The Passionate Pilgrim ; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis ; L. C. 
to Lover's Complaint; and Sonn. to the Sonnets. 

Other abbreviations that hardly need explanation are Cf. (confer, 
compare), FoL (following), Id. (idem, the same), and ProL (pro- 
logue). The numbers of the lines in the references (except for the 
present play) are those of the " Globe " edition (the cheapest and 
best edition of Shakespeare in one compact volume), which is now 
generally accepted as the standard for line-numbers in works of ref- 
erence (Schmidt's Lexicon, Abbott's Grammar, Dowden's Primer 
the publications of the New Shakspere Society, etc.). 



scene ij Notes 139 

ACT I 

In the folio the play is divided into acts and scenes, but there is 
no list of dramatis person. 

SCENE I, i. If music, etc, Halliwell-Phillipps quotes The 
Squire of Ahatia, 1 688: "Remember Shakespear; 'If musick be 
the food of love, play on ' There 's nothing nourishes that soft 
passion like it ; it imps his wings, and makes him fly a higher 
pitch." For imps (adds new feathers to), cf. Rick. //. ii. I. 292. 

2. Give me excess, etc. Cf. 7\<7. of Kiii. I. 220: "And now 
excess of it will make me surfeit ;" and Oth. ii. I. 50: "my hopes, 
not surfeited to death." 

4. FalL Cadence. Cf. Milton, Comus, 251 : 

** At every fall smoothing the raven down 
Of darkness till it smil'd." 

Holt White quotes Pope, Ode on St. Cecilia?* Dayt 

" The strains decay, 
And melt away 
In a dying, dying ML* 

and Thomson, Spring, 722 : 

M still at every dying fell 
Takes up the lamentable strain.** 

5. Sound. The folio reading, for which Pope substituted " south," 
which some editors adopt. Knight thus defends the old reading : 
" Let us consider whether S. was most likely to have written sound 
or south, which involves the question of which is the better word. 
Steevens tells us that the thought might have been borrowed from 
Sidney's Arcadia (book i.), and he quotes a part of the passage. 
We must look, however, at the context Sidney writes, * Her 
breath is more sweet than a gentle south-west wind, which comes 
creeping over flowery fields and shadowed waters in the extreme 
heat of summer.* The comparison is here direct. Hie sweet 



140 Notes [Act i 

breath of Urania is more sweet than the gentle south-west wind. 
Sidney adds, *and yet is nothing, compared to the honey-flowing 
speech that breath doth carry.' The music of the speech is not 
here compared with the music of the wind the notion of fragrance 
is alone conveyed. If in the passage of the text we read south 
instead of sound, the conclusion of the sentence, 'Stealing, and 
giving odour,' rests upon the mind; and the comparison becomes 
an indirect one between the harmony of the dying fall and the 
odour of the breeze that had passed over a bank of violets. This, 
we think, is not what the poet meant. He desired to compare one 
sound with another sound. Milton had probably this passage in 
view when he wrote : 

1 Now gentle gales, 

Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense 
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole 
Those balmy spoils/ 

The image in Milton, as well as in Shakspere, combines the 
notion of sound as well as fragrance. In Shakspere, * the sound 
that breathes' the soft murmur of the breeze playing amid beds 
of flowers is put first, because of the 'dying fall* of the exquisite 
harmony; but in Milton the 'perfumes' of the 'gentle gales' are 
more prominent than * the whisper,* because the image is complete 
in itself, unconnected with what precedes. Further, Shakspere has 
nowhere else made the south an odour-breathing wind; his other 
representations are directly contrary. In As You Like If [iii. 5. 49], 



1 You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her, 
Likey^gy south t puffing with wind and rain ? " 

In Romeo and Juliet [i. 4. 103], we have the dew-dropping south ; 
in Cymbeline [ii. 3. 136], * the south-fog rot him.' We prefer, there- 
fore, on all accounts, to hold to the original text." White remarks : 
** Sound appears in the authentic text, and, to say the least, is com 



Scene I] Notes 

prehensible and appropriate, and is therefore not to be disturbedj 
except by those who hold that S. must have written that which they 
think best. But did Pope, or the editors who have followed him, 
ever lie musing on the sward at the edge of a wood, and hear the 
low sweet hum of the summer air, as it kissed the coyly-shrinking 
wild flowers upon the banks, and passed on loaded with fragrance 
from the sweet salute ? If they ever did, how could they make this 
change of sound to south ? and if they never did, they are unable to 
entirely appreciate the passage, much less to improve it." 

The main and direct comparison is between the music and the 
murmur of the wind ; this is at once strengthened and beautified by 
the reference to the odour. It will be noticed that the poet dwells 
on this secondary comparison; he is not satisfied with describing 
the wind as breathing on the bank of violets, but adds the exquisite 
stealing and giving odour. Milton has a direct comparison of sound 
to fragrance in a very beautiful passage *n Comus t 555 foL : 

*' At last a soft and solemn-breathing sound 
Rose like a steam of rich distill'd perfumes, 
And stole upon the air, that even Silence 
Was took ere she was ware, and wish'd she might 
Deny her nature, and be never more, 
Still to be so displac'd." 

Clarke thinks that S. may also have remembered Bacon's sentence 
of similar beauty : " The breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air 
(where it comes and goes like the warbling of music) than in the 
hand." 

It may be added that this is not the only passage in which S. has 
blended metaphors drawn from two of the five senses. There is 
another instance in Ham. iii. I. 163 in that most pathetic utter- 
ance of Ophelia : 

"And I of ladies most deject and wretched, 
That suck'd the honey of his music vows/* 



142 Notes CAct i 

where two kinds of sweetness are combined, appealing to taste and 
hearing. See also the description of Perdita's violets in W T. iv. 
4. 121 : 

" Violets dim, 

But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes 

Or Cytherea's breath." 

The commentators have assumed that siveeter as applied to Juno's 
eyes must mean "more fragrant," on account of the reference to 
'* Cytherea's breath "; and some of them have even been driven to 
supposing that S. alluded to the Oriental practice of giving the eye- 
lids M an obscure violet colour by means of some pigment, which 
was doubtless perfumed " a sort of painting with which both Per- 
dita and the poet would have been disgusted. But here again we 
simply have a comparison combining two senses sight and smell. 
The violets, Perdita says, are lovelier than the blue-veined lids of 
, uno's eyes and more fragrant than Cytherea's breath. The refer- 
ence to the eyelids is illustrated by V. and A. 482 : " Her two blue 
windows faintly she upheaveth ; " where the windows are the eye- 
lids, which are called blue on account of their '* blue veins " (JR. of 
L. 440), They are called windows again in Cymb. ii. 2. 22 : 

" The flame o* the taper 

Bows toward her, and would under-peep her lids, 
To see the enclosed lights, now canopied 
Under thes windows, white and azure, lac'd 
With blue of heaven's own tinct;" 

tna the blue veining is also exquisitely introduced. See also R, 
andj. iv. i. 100 : " the eyes' windows fall.'* 

9. Spirit* Monosyllabic, as often in S. Quick = lively, vigor- 
ous ; as often. 

10. That. In that. Cf. M&cb. iii. 2. 32, etc. 

12. Validity. Value ; as in JR. andj. iii. 3. 33, etc. In A. W. 
v. 3. 192, it is used with reference to a ring* Pitch was literally a 
term in falconry, for the height to which the bird soars. It is ofter 



Scene I] Notes 143 

used figuratively; as in the present passage. See also the quotation 
in note on I above, and J?. and J. L 4. 21, Rich. //. i. I. 109, etc. 

13. Abatement. Lower estimation (Schmidt). 

14. Pancy* Love ; as often. Cf. ii. 4. 33 and v. i. 391 below. 

15. Alone. Preeminently, par excellence (Schmidt). Cf. ILN. 
D* iii. 2. 119: " That must needs be sport alone ; " A. and C iv. 6. 
30 : "I am alone the villain of the earth," etc. High fantastical = 
highly imaginative. Some print "high-fantastical." 

1 6. Go hunt. CLgo look (i. 5. 137),^ see (iii. 3. 20), etc. For 
the play on hart, cf./. C. iii. I. 207, A. Y. Z. iii. 2. 260, etc. 

22. Like fell and cruel hounds. The allusion is to the story of 
Actseon. Cf. 71 A. ii. 3. 63 and M. W. ii. i. 122, iii. 2. 44. 
Malone says that S. undoubtedly had in mind Daniel's 5th 
Sonnet: 

" Whilst youth and error led my wand'ring mind, 

And sette my thoughts in heedles waies to range, 
All unawares a goddesse chaste I finde, 

(Diana like) to worke my suddaine change. 
******* 
My thoughts, like hounds, pursue me to my death, etc. 

Malone adds that Daniel seems to have borrowed the comparison 
from Whitney's Emblems^ 1586: 

" those whoe do pursue 

Theire fancies fonde, and thinges unlawmll crave. 
Like brutishe beastes appeare unto the viewe, 
And shall at length Actsson's guerdon have : 
And as his howndes, so theire affections base 
Shall them devoure, and all theire deedes deface.** 

But the story was familiar, and S. had doubtless read it m Golding*s 
Ovid. 

26. Element. The air, or sky; as in iii. i. 60 below. See also/. 
C* i. 3. 128, Hen* F iv. i. 107, etc. Heat is a noun = course. 
Johnson made keat a participle, as in K.John, iv. x, 6 1 : **The 



144 Notes [Act i 

iron of itself, though heat red-hot. 1 ' Herford explains seven year? 
heat as " seven summers." 

28. Cloistress. Nun ; used by S. only here. 

30. Eye-offending. Cf. K.John, iii. 1. 47 : "foul moles and eye- 
offending marks." So heart- off ending, in 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 60. The 
metaphor in season (= preserve, keep fresh, as in the use of brine 
to preserve meats) is a favourite one with S. Cf. A. W. i. i. 55, 
R. and J. ii. 3. 72, Much Ado, iv, I. 144, and L. C. 18. 

32. Remembrance. A quadrisyllable ; as in W. T. iv. 4. 76 : 
" Grace and remembrance be to you both." 

35. Golden shaft. Cf. M. N. D. i. I. 170 : "By his best arrow 
with the golden head." In both passages there may be an allusion to 
the two arrows mentioned by Ovid {Met. \. 466) ; the one that causes 
love being " all of gold, with point full sharp and bright " (Gold- 
ing's translation). Cf. Sidney's Arcadia : "But arrowes two, and 
tipt with gold or lead.'* The leaden arrow was supposed to " slake 
love," or destroy it. 

38. Are all . . .filPd, etc. The folio prints the passage thus : 

** When Liuer, Braine, and Heart, 
These soueraigne thrones, are all supply'd and fill'd 
Her sweete perfections with one selfe king." 

It is commonly printed as follows : 

" When liver, brain, and heart, 
These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and filTdi 
(Her sweet perfections) with one self king." 

Perfections is here considered to be in apposition with thrones, but 
the arrangement is very awkward. It seems better to read " perfec- 
tion," making the word refer to the preceding sentence. Clarke, 
who adopts this emendation, remarks that S. has alluded to this 
notion, "that a woman was perfected by marriage," in K.John, ii, 
1-437' 

" He Is the half part of a blessed man, 
Left to be finished by sf ^ a she ; 



Scene IF, Notes 145 

And she a fair divided excellence, 
Whose fulness of perfection lies in him." 

Knight quotes Lord Berners's translation of Froissart : " my daughter 
should be happy if she might come to so great a perfection as to be 
conjoined in marriage with the Earl of Queries." Staunton cites 
Overbury, The Wife: 

Marriage their object is ; their being then. 
And now perfection, they receive from men; ** 

and Donne, Epithalamium : 

" Weep not, nor blush, here is no grief nor shame ; 
To-day put on perfection, and a woman's name.** 

See also on ii. 4. 41 below. The Cambridge ed. follows the folio, 
simply inserting a comma after supplied, making perfections the sub- 
ject of filled (that is, ** her sweet perfections are filled with one self- 
king"), but the inversion seems un-Shakespearian, Perfection is a 
quadrisyllable. 

39. One self king. One sole king ; namely, Love* 

41. Lie rich. Cf. A. W. i. 2. 49 : 

** His good remembrance, sir, 
Lies richer in your thoughts than on his tomb,** 

See also R. andj. v. 3. 303. 

SCENE II. 4. Elysium, Douce thinks 'that there is a play on 
Illyria and Elysium* but, as Furness remarks, this is utterly out 
of keeping with Viola's character. 

6. Perchance. By chance; a kind of play upon the composition 
of the word. 

9. Split. Cf. Temp. i. I. 65 : ** We split, we split ! * See also 
Id. v. i. 223, C. of E, i. I. 104, and 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 411. 

10. Those poor number. IQie folio reading, changed by Rowe to 

TWELFTH NIG 1 IO 



x 4 6 Notes [Act i 

"that poor number/* The recent editors generally retain those, 
considering number as virtually plural, Cf. i. 5. 91: " these set 
kind of fools." The folio, which is generally accurate in these 
contractions, has " saved," not *' sav'd," but it is probably a mis- 
print. 

11. Driving* Drifting. S. does not use drift as a verb. 

12. Provident. Used by S. only here and in Hen. V, ii 4. II. 

14. ZzW upon the sea. We still say, " A boat could not live ir 
such a sea." 

15. Arion. The allusion is to the classical story of the minstrel 
Arion, who, when the sailors were about to murder him for his 
money, asked leave to play a *' swan-song J> before he died, after 
which he threw himself into the sea, and was borne safely to land 
by one of the dolphins that had gathered about the ship to listen 
to his music. The folios have "Orion"; and I have seen the 
same blunder in a modern guide-book in the description of a piece 
of statuary somewhere in Europe. Halliwell-Phillipps remarks that 
the simile was familiar to the poet and his audience, not merely 
from the classical story, but from its frequent introduction into the 
masques and pageants of the day. On the passage, cf. Temp. ii. i. 
113 fol. 

16. Hold acquaintance with. Cf. A. W. ii. 3. 240: "I have a 
desire to hold my acquaintance with thee," etc. 

21. Country. A trisyllable, as in Cor. 1.9. 17: "As you have 
been; that's for my country; " and 2 Hen. VI. i. I. 206: "And 
common profit of his country." See 5 (V), p. 133 above. 

22. Bred. Perhaps = begotten, not brought up, as in the 
familiar modern phrase "born and bred," and in M.forM. iv. 2. 
1 35 : " A Bohemian born, but here nursed up and bred." But it may 
be a careless inversion of ideas such as we find now and then in S, 
Furness compares Muck Ado, iv. I. 228: "lack'd and lost." See 
also " dies and lives " in A. Y. Z. iii. 5. 7. 

25. A noble duke, etc. " I know not whether the nobility of the 
name is comprised in duke or in Orsino, which is, I think, the name 



Scene II J Notes 147 

of a great Italian family 1 " (Johnson). The duke is called count in 
the rest of the play. See i. 3. 113, i. 4. 9, etc., below. Cf. the 
use si duke for king in L. L. L. ii. i. 38, Ham. iii. 2. 249, etc. 

28. / have heard) etc. " One of Shakespeare's subtle touches in 
dramatic art. By the mention of Viola^s father having spoken of 
the Duke we are led to see the source of her interest in Orsino ; 
and by the word bachelor we are made to see the peculiar nature of 
that interest " (Clarke). But, as Spedding notes, she thinks "that 
if he were still a bachelor there would be no female court ; there- 
fore no fit place for her. Hearing that he was not married, but 
going to be, her next most natural resource would be the lady 
he was going to marry a lady, it seemed, well suited to her case, 
for she was also an orphan maid, mourning the recent loss of an 
only brother; and it was only on learning that there was no chance 
of obtaining access to her that she resolved to disguise her sex 
and seek service at the court in the character of a page. This 
would provide for her immediate necessity ; and for her next step 
she would wait till she saw her way." 

30. Late* For the adverbial use, cf. iii. I. 39 and v. 1.217 below. 

32. ^T was fresh in murmur* It was a recent rumour. 

33. Less. Inferior in rank. Cf. Macb. v. 4. 12: "Both more 
and less have given him the revolt." 

35. What >s she? Who is she ? Cf. i. 3. 52 and i. 5. 119 below. 

36. A virtuous maid. Not a " widdowe," as John Manmngham 
took her to be. See p. 10 above. 

40. The company, etc. Hanmer's emendation of the folio read- 
ing, " the sight And company of men." Furness thinks that the 
recollection of bred and born above, with that of lactfd and lost, 
*< might reasonably give us pause " in accepting the transposition. 

42. And might not be, etc. That is, until a fit time shall come 
for revealing my sex and condition. Cf. Z. L. L. iv. 2. 72 : " upon 
the mellowing of occasion ; " and for deliver* d=. shown, discovered, 
cf. Cor. v. 3. 39 : ** The sorrow that delivers us thus chang'd j n 
and Id. v. 6. 141 : 



148 Notes [Act i 

" I '11 deliver 
Myself your loyal servant," etc. 

The folio has "delivered," but it is probably a misprint. See on 
10 above. 

48. Though that. For that as a " conjunctional affix," cf. i. 5. 
315, iii. i. 157, etc., below. 

49. Close in. Cf. M. of V. v. I. 65 : 

" But whilst this muddy vesture of decay 
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it," 

On the passage, cf. Iii. 4. 349 fol. : " Thou hast, Sebastian," etc. 

53. Me. The " redundant object." Cf. i. 5. 260 below : " I see 
you what you are," etc. 

56. As an eunuch. Viola was presented to the duke as &page, 
not as a eunuch, which would have been inconsistent with the plot 
of the play (Mason) . Malone notes that eunuchs were employed 
to sing in the pope's chapel as early as the year 1600 ; and he 
compares M. IV. D. v. i. 45 : 

The battle of the Centaurs, to be sung 
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp." 

59. Allow me, etc. Prove me to be well worthy, etc. 
62. Mute. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 233 : Like Turkish mute ; " and 
Cymb. iii, 5. 158 : "a voluntary mute to my design." 

SCENE III. I. A plague. Cf. I Hen. IV. i. 2. 6 : "What a 
devil hast thou to do with the time of the day ? " See also Id. iv. 

2.56. 

7. Except before excepted. A law phrase (exceptis excipiendis} . 
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes West's Simboleography t 1605 : "and all 
other the demised premises and appurtenances (except before 
excepted), according to the true meaning of these presents," etc. 

9. Modest. Moderate 5 a often, Cf. iv. 2. 34 below. 



Scene mj Notes 149 

20. Tall. Steevens says the word means " stout, courageous." 
Schmidt recognizes this sense in A. and C. ii. 6. 7 : " much tali 
youth ; " but elsewhere, as he notes, it is used thus only in irony 
(as by Falstaff in M* W. ii. 2. n), or with braggardism (as by 
Shallow, in M. W. ii. I. 237), or in ridicule (as in R* and J. ii. 4. 
31), or put into the mouth of mean persons, like Bottom, Grumio* 
Bardolph, Pistol, et al. It probably has that sense here. 

27. Viol-de-gamboys. Sir Toby's corruption of viol da gamoa> 
an instrument which was held between the legs (gamba = leg in 
Italian) of the player, like the modern violoncello. Halliwell- 
Phillipps, among other contemporaneous references to it, quotes 
Middleton, Trick to Catch the Old One, 1608 : " She now remaines 
at London to learne fashions, practise musicke, the voyce betweene 
her lips, and the violl betweene her legges." 

30. All most natural The folio has " almost naturall," which 
many editors retain ; but Upton's emendation is approved by Dyce, 
Furness, and others. There is a play on the ordinary sense of 
natural and that of a fool ; as in Temp. iii. 2. 37 : " That a mon- 
ster should be such a natural." See also A. Y. L. i. 2. 52 fol. 

33. GusL Taste, relish. Cf. Sonn. 114. II : "Mine eye well 
knows what with his gust is greeing." In T. of A. iii. 5. 54 it is 
= notion, idea ; and in W. 71 i. 2. 219 it is used as a verb = 
perceive. 

34. The gift of a grave. Mr. Locke Richardson suggests that 
Maria means that with his prodigality, his folly, and his quarrel- 
someness, he may come to grief in a duel, and have to be buried 
like a pauper literally "have the gift of a grave." 

36. Substradors* Warburton thought it necessary to change 
Sir Toby's blunder for " detractors " to " subtracters." 

42. CoystriL A mean fellow. The word occurs again in Per. 
iv. 6. 176 (a scene probably not written by S.). 

43. A parish-fop. "A large top was formerly kept in every 
village, to be whipped in frosty weather, that the peasants might 
be kept warm by exercise,* and out of mischief, when they could not 



150 Notes (Act i 

work M (Steevens). The custom is often alluded to in the literature 
of that time. 

44. Castiliano vulgo, "Spanish of Sir Toby's own making" 
(Schmidt), and not easily translated. Warburton changed it to 
" Castiliano volto," and explained it as = " put on your Castilian 
countenance ; that is, your grave, solemn looks." Even if that is 
the meaning, the blunder is probably intentional, as in viol-de- 
gamboys above. Clarke thinks it may mean, " Be as reticent as a 
Castilian now that one of the common herd is coming." 

51. Accost. S. uses the word only here. 

59, Board. Accost, address ; as often. Cf. Jlf. W. ii. I. 92, 
L. L. JL ii. I. 218, etc. 

71. Thought is free. A proverbial expression. Holt White 
quotes Lyly, Euphues, 1581 : "None (quoth she) can judge of 
wit but they that have it ; why then (quoth he) doest thou think 
me a fool ? Thought is free, my Lord, quoth she." 

72. Bring your hand to the buttery-bar, etc. "A proverbial 
phrase among forward Abigails, to ask at once for a kiss and a 
present*' (Dr. Kenrick). The buttery was the place where food 
and drink were kept, and the bar was where these were served out* 
Cfc T. of ind. I. 102 : 

" Go, sirrah, take them to the buttery, 
And give them friendly welcome every one ; 
Let them wvnt nothing that my house affords." 

73. Sweet-heart. Printed as two words in the folio. It is 
accented on the last syllable by S. except in W. T. iv. 4. 164 and 
2 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 197. 

75. It's dry. A dry hand was considered a sign of age and 
debility (see 2 Hen. IV, i. 2. 204), or of a cold nature. Maria 
plays upon this sense of dry and the familiar one of thirsty, as she 
afterwards quibbles on barren^ which sometimes meant witless ; as 
in Ham. iiL 2. 46. For dry = dull, stupid, cf. i. 5* 42. 

83. Canary. Wine from the Canary Islands. Cf. M. W. Hi. 2, 



Scene III] Notes 

89 : "I will to my honest knight Falstaff, and drink canary with 
him." 

88. Beef. Cf. T. and C. ii. I. 14 : "Thou mongrel beef-witted 
lord ! " which, however, may mean " with no more wit than an ox " 
(Schmidt). Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Borde, Regyment of Healthy 
1567 : " Beefe is good meatefor an Englysshman, so be it the beest 
be yonge, and that it be not cowe flesshe, for olde befe and cowe 
flesshe doth ingendre melancholy and leprouse humours " ; and 
Randolph's Poems ; 

" Ere they compose, they must for a long space 
Be dieted as horses for a race. 
They must not bacon, beef, or pudding eat; 
A jest may chance be starv'd with such grosse meat.** 

96. Fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting* All these were fashion- 
able amusements of the time. See also on iii. I. 122. 

98. An excellent head of hair. Mr. Joseph Crosby in an article 
on " Shakespeare's Puns" in the American Bibliopolist (June, 1875, 
p. 143) says : " I well remember how sorely puzzled I used to be 
over this dialogue. ... I was reluctantly on the point of giving 
up the conundrum when it dawned on me that the facetious knight 
had made a pun a first-class pun too on the word tongues ; and 
then all was clear, and the joke * as plain as the way to parish- 
church.' His imagination had seized upon Sir Andrew's tongues 
and converted them into tongs curling-tongs the very article 
required in Sir Andrew's toilet to * mend * his hair withal, which, 
without their assistance, hung *like flax on a distaff,' and most per- 
sistently and stubbornly refused to * curl by nature? " Tongues 
and tongs were pronounced alike. In the early eds. tongues is 
sometimes spelt " tongs" or "tonges." But, as Furness notes, 
Mr. Crosby was not the first to explain the pun. 

115. There >s life in *t. Cf. Lear, iv. 6. 206 : Then, there J s 
life in 't." 

1 20. Kickshawses. Spelt " kicke-chawses " in the 1st and 2d 



152 Notes [Act 1 

folios. Some editors give "kickshaws," but the blunder was no 
doubt intentional. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. v. I. 29: "pretty little tiny 
kickshaws." 

123. I will not compare, etc. This was probably meant to be 
a piece of the knight's stupid irrelevancy ; but various attempts 
have been made to explain it. Warburton thought it " a satire on 
that common vanity of old men, in preferring their own times and 
the past generation to the present." Steevens says : " Aguecheek, 
though willing enough to arrogate to himself such experience as is 
commonly the acquisition of age, is yet careful to exempt his person 
from being compared with its bodily weakness." Clarke thinks 
that an old man is = "a man of experience," and that "the word 
old gives precisely that absurd effect of refraining from competing 
in dancing, fencing, etc., with exactly the antagonist incapacitated 
by age over whom even Sir Andrew might hope to prove his 
superiority." 

125. Galliard. A lively French dance. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 252; 
the only other instance in which S. has the word. 

128. The mutton. The pun here shows that the association of 
capers with boiled mutton is as old as that of apple-sauce with 
roast goose on which Romeo quibbles in R. and J. ii. 4. 85. Cf. 
also the reference to beef and mustard in 71 of S. iv. 3. 23 and 
M. N. D. iii. I. 197. 

129. Back-trick. A caper backwards in dancing. Schmidt 
thinks there may be a quibble on " the trick of going back in a 
fight"; but perhaps that is giving Sir Andrew credit for too much 
wit. Some explain the word as = a back-handed stroke with the 
sword. 

133. Mistress Mall's picture. Steevens has been generally fol- 
lowed in explaining this as a reference to Mary Frith, otherwise 
known as "Mall Cutpurse," a noted character of Shakespeare's 
time, of whom a full account may be found in Chambers's Book of 
Days, vol. ii. p. 670 ; but if she was born in 1589 (or even in 1584, 
as Malone says), it is hardly probable that, with all her precocity 



Scene HI] Notes 153 

in bad ways, she had become notorious in 1600 or 1 60 1, when this 
play was written. No allusion to her of so early a date has been 
found by the commentators, the earliest being a more than doubt- 
ful one of 1602. A book entitled The Madde Prancks of Merry 
Matt of the Bankside, by John Day, was published in 1610 ; and 
Middleton and Dekker made her the heroine of a comedy, The 
Roaring Girl, or Moll Cutpurst, printed in 1611. Schmidt 
remarks: " Perhaps Sir Toby only means to say: like a picture 
intended for a beauty, but in fact representing Mall, the kitchen* 
wench." Mr. John F. Marsh (Notes and Queries, July 6 and 
Nov. 30, 1878) argues that MalFs is = Maria's. I am inclined to 
agree with Singer that "Mistress Mall is a mere impersonation, 
like 'my lady's eldest son* in Much Ado." On the practice of 
protecting pictures by curtains, cf. i. 5. 242 below. 

135. Coranto. Another lively dance, for which see I/en. V* 
iiL 5. 33 and A. W. ii. 3. 49. 

138. Under the star, etc. An astrological allusion. Cf. i. 4. 35, 
ii. i. 3, and ii. 5. 155, 183 below. 

140. Flame-coloured. Rowe's emendation of the "dam'd col- 
our'd " of the folios. We have flame-coloured in I Hen. IV. i. 2. 1 1 : 
** flame-coloured taffeta.** Sundry other emendations have been 
proposed, and attempts have been made to explain the folio read- 
ing. Stock- stocking ; as in T. G. of V. iiL x. 312, T. of S, Hi 
2. 67, and I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 130. Steevens quotes Jack Drvm^ 
Entertainment, 1601 : "Or would my silk stock should lose his 
gloss else." 

144. That 9 s sides and hearts. In that classic annual, The Old 
Farmer's Almanac, may still be seen the ancient astrological figure 
of the human body with lines radiating from its various parts to the 
symbols of the zodiacal signs j and in the column devoted to the 
" moon's place " in the calendar pages the names of the parts of 
the body are given instead of the corresponding signs. It is to be 
noted that Sir Andrew and Sir Toby are both wrong in the parts 
they assign to Taurus. The latter either burlesques the former's 



154 Notes [Act/ 

ignorance or takes advantage of it for the sake ot argument 
Taurus was supposed to govern the neck and throat. 

SCENE IV. 3. Three days. As Mr. P. A. Daniel points out in 
his paper " On the Times or Durations of the Action of Shakspere's 
Plays," read before the New Shakspere Society, Nov. 8, 1878, there 
is a statement inconsistent with this in v. I. 100 below, where the 
Duke says : " Three months this youth hath tended on me." 

5. Humour. Capaciousness (Furness). Cf. A. Y. L. 1.2.278: 
"The duke is humorous;" JC. John, iii. I. 119: "her humorous 
ladyship " (Fortune), etc. 

9. Count, See on i. 2. 25 above. 

13. No less but. No less than. Cf. M* for M. v. I. 237: **No 
more But instruments," etc. 

/ haw unclasp d t etc. The metaphor is a favourite one with S. 
Cf. i Hen. IV. i. 3. 188 : "And now I will unclasp a secret book." 
See also Much Ado, i. i. 325, W. T. iii. 2. 168, and T. and C. iv. 
6.60. 

1 6. Access. S. accents the word on either syllable. 

20. Spoke. Said. Cf. Macb. iv. 3. 154, Oth. v. 2. 327, etc. 

22. Unprofited. Profitless ; used by S. nowhere else. 

27. Attend. Cf. R. of L. 818: "Will tie the hearers to attend 
each line," etc. 

28. Aspect. The regular accent in S. The folio has "Nuntio's " 
for nuncio. The change of case was made by Theobald, but is 
perhaps not absolutely required. 

30. Yet. Implying that Viola's youthful appearance will last fot 
many a day to come (Furness). 

32. Rubious. Red, rosy ; used by S. only here. Cf. " rubied ? 
to Per* v. proL 8. On pipe = voice, cf. Cor. iii. 2. 113 : 

" my throat of war be turn'd. 
Which quired with my drum, into a pipe 
Small as an eunuch, or the virgin voice 
That babies lulls asleep 1 " 



Scene Vj Notes 155 

33. And sound. Some would change this to "in sound"; but 
as Clarke notes, sound clear, uncracked. A boy's voice is shrill, 
but not, like a girl's, perfectly sound, or pure in tone. 

34. Semblative. Seeming like, suited to. Female parts on the 
stage were then played by boys. S. uses semblaiive only here ; and 
the same is true of constellation in the next line. For the astrologi- 
cal allusion m the latter word, see on i. 3. 138 above. 

39. As freely, etc. "That is, as iree to use my fortune as I am." 
41. Barful. Full of impediments; another word used by S. 
only once. 

SCENE V. 3. Hang thee. This must be said playfully ; as the 
worst punishment inflicted on the domestic fool appears to have 
been whipping. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 2. 91, Lear, i. 4. 197, etc. 

6. Fear no colours. Fear no enemy; probably at first a military 
metaphor, as Maria explains just below. The expression occurs 
again in 2 Hen. 2V. v. 5. 94. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Cotgrave, 
Fr. Diet. : " Adventureux, hazardous, adventurous, that feares no 
colours' 7 ; and The Trumpet of Fame, by H. 1?., 1595: 

" Then fear no colours, set the chance on Christ ! 
He is your load-star, God of power highest." 

9. Lenten. "Scanty, poor, answering modest expectations" 
(Schmidt). Johnson explains the phrase as = "a lean, or as we 
now call it, a dry answer." Clarke suggests that while Maria seems 
to praise the clown's answer for being brief, she hints that it is 
scant or bare of wit. 

15. Let them use their talents. Make the best use of such abili- 
ties as they have. 

17, Or to be turned away. The folio joins this to what precedes, 
and that construction has been defended. 

20. For turning away, etc. As for being turned away, I care 
not, so that it be in summer, when I can find employment in every 
field and lodging under every hedge (Steevens). 



156 Notes fAct i 

2 5 If one break. Maria plays upon the word points as applied 
to the metal hooks by which the gaskins, or galligaskins (a kind 
of loose breeches), were attached to the doublet, and thus kept 
from falling down. Cf. T. of S. Hi. 2. 49 : " with two broken points." 
See also i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 238 and A. and C. iii. 13, 157. 

29. Apiece of Eve's flesh. Cf, Much Ado, iv. 2. 85, A. Y. L. iii. 
2. 68, etc. 

31. You were best. Originally the pronoun was dative (it were 
best for you), but it came to be regarded as nominative. 

36. Quinapalus. A philosopher known only to the clown. 

42. Dry. Sapless, insipid, dull. Cf. A. K Z. ii. 7. 39 : 

" his brain, 

Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit 
After a voyage ; " 

and see also L. L. L. v. 2. 373, T. and C. i. 3. 329, etc. 

44. Madonna. Cf. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, 1598: * Ma* 
donna, mistres, mistres mine, madam." 

47. Dishonest. Lewd (Schmidt); as in M. W. iii. 3. 196, iv. 2. 
104, Hen. V. i, 2. 49, etc. So honest often = chaste ; as in M. W. 
i. 4. 148, ii. i. 247, ii. 2. 230, Oik. iii. 3. 384, iv. 2. 12, 38, etc. 

48. Botcher. Mender of old clothes (Schmidt). Cf. A. W. iv, 
3. 21 1 : " a botcher's prentice in Paris "; Cor. ii. I. 98 : ** a botcher'i 
cushion," etc. 

51. Syllogism. The word is used by S. nowhere else. 

52. So. So be it, well and good. Cf. M. of V. i. 3. 170: "If 
he will take it, so; if not, adieu." 

57. Misprision. Mistake, misapprehension. Cf. M. M> D. iii. 
2.90: 

*' Of thy misprision must perforce ensue 
Some true love turn'd, and not a false turn'd true ; " 

Much Ado, iv. i. 187: "There is some strange misprision in the 
princes," etc. 
58- Cucullus non facit monachum. A cowl does not make a 



Scene VJ Notes IJ7 

monk ; that is, wearing motley does not prove me a fool. For 
motley, cf. A. Y* Z. ii. 7. 34, 58, etc. 

As much to say as. The same arrangement occurs in 2 Hen. VL 
iv. 2. 1 8, and is found in other writers of the time. 

62. Dexteriously. The 4th folio changes the word to *' dexter* 
ously "; but the blunder was probably intentional. 

65. Good my mouse of virtue* For mouse as a term of endear- 
ment, cf. Ham. iii. 4. 183: "call you his mouse," etc. For the 
arrangement, cf. " good my lord," etc. 

66. Idleness. Pastime, means of whiling away an idle hour. 
Schmidt explains it as " frivolousness, vanity." Furness remarks : 
" The interpretation of idle should be always approached with fear 
and trembling. ... It is the most fatal single word in dramatic 
literature, possibly in all literature. Owing to Macready's interpre- 
tation of it in Hamlet's *I must be idle,' twenty-three persons 
were killed outright, and as many more horribly mutilated." This 
was in the riot at the Astor Place Opera House, in New York, 
May 10, 1849. 

78. Decays* For the transitive sense, cf. Sonn. 65.8: "Nor 
gates of steel so strong but Time decays." See also Cymb. i. 5. 56. 

86. Barren. Dull ; as in M* N. D. iii. 2. 13 : "The shallowest 
thick-skin of that barren sort," etc. See on i. 3. 75 above. 

87. With by ; as very often. 

91. These set kind. Cf. Lear, ii. 2. 107 : ** These kind of knaves 
I know," etc. See also L 2. 10 above. For crow, cf. A. KZ.il. 
/. 30 and T* G* of V* ii. I. 28. 

92. Fools' zanies* Subordinate buffoons whose office it was to 
make awkward attempts at mimicking the tricks of professional 
clowns. The word occurs again in L. L. Z. v. 2, 463. 

94. Distempered* Disordered, diseased. Cf. Ham* iii. 2. 312, 
etc. 

96. Bird-bolts. Blunt-headed arrows. Cf. Much Ado, i I. 43 
and Z. Z. L* iv. 3. 25. 

97. Allowed. Licensed. Cf* L. L.JL v. 2. 478: *' go, you are 



i$8 Notes [Act I 

illow'd " (that is, as here, a licensed fool). In Holl> band's 
Dictionarie 9 1593, mention is made of "an allowed cart or 
chariot" 

i oo. Leasing. A euphemism for lying (Schmidt). Cf. Cor. v. 
2. 22 : " Have almost stamp'd the leasing." Johnson explains the 
passage thus: "May Mercury teach thee to He, since thou liest 
in favour of fools ! " Heath more aptly suggests that the Fool 
humorously intimates that ** whoever undertook the defence of 
fools would have plentiful occasion " for lying. 

103. Much desires. The omission of the relative is common. 

109. Speaks nothing but madman. Cf. Hen. V. v. 2. 156: "I 
speak to thee plain soldier "; Oth. ii. 3. 281 : ** speak parrot," etc. 

117. For here he comes, etc. I adopt the pointing of the 
Cambridge ed. The common reading is, " for here he comes, one 
of thy kin, has [that is, who has] a most weak pia mater?* 

llS. For/z'0 mater ,cf. L. L> L. iv. 2. 71 and T. and C. ii. I. 77. 
In Holland's translation of Pliny's Nat. History ', it is spoken of as 
" the fine pellicle called pia mater, which lappeth and enfoldeth 
the braine." 

1 19. What. Who. Cf. i. 2. 35 and i. 3. 52 above. 

124. Pickle-herring. Many of the editors have followed Malone 
in changing this to *' pickle-herrings " ; but it is a legitimate plural, 
like trout, salmon, and other names of fishes. Cf. Lear, iii. 6. 33 : 
** two white herring." The regular form of the plural is also used, 
as in the case of some other nouns of this class. See iii. I. 37 
below. Clarke quotes the Spectator, where '* pickled herrings " is 
mentioned as a nickname, and adds : " Thus Sir Toby, asked what 
sort of gentleman the youth at the gate is, intends to describe 
him scoffingly, while a reminiscence of his last-eaten provocative 
to drink disturbs him in the shape of a hiccup " ; but I doubt whether 
any such double meaning was intended. 

135. Above heat. According to Steevens, this means "above 
the state of being warm in a proper degree." Schmidt makes 

t^=. thirst; and compares J. John, iii. i. 341 : "A rage whose 



Scene V] Notes 159 

heat hath this condition," etc. Clarke, who adopts Steevens*s 
explanation, refers to FalstafFs eulogium on " sherris-sack," 
2 Hen. IV. iv. 3. no: "The second property of your excellent 
sherris is the warming of the blood," etc. 

137. Crowner. Rowe thought it necessary to change this to 
"coroner"; but, as Schmidt notes, "the Shakespearian form of the 
word is crowner." He uses it only here and in Ham. v. 1. 4, 24. 

151. He has. The folio has " Ha J s," and some editors print 
"Has." 

152. A sherifs post. It was the custom for a sheriff to have 
posts set up at his door, to which proclamations and other public 
notices were affixed. Jonson, in his Every Man Out of Ms 
Humour, refers to these ** Shrives posts "; and many similar illus- 
trations might be cited from writers of the time* 

159. Personage. Personal appearance; as in M. N. D. iiL 2. 
292: "And with her personage, her tall personage," etc. Cf. 
Udall's Roister Doister, 1553: " For your personage, beautie, de- 
meanour and wit." 

161. Squash. An immature pea-pod. See M, IV. D. iii. I. 191; 
and for peascod, A. Y. L. ii. 4. 52. Codling, used by S. only in this 
passage, obviously means here an unripe apple. The present Eng- 
lish application of the word to a particular kind of apple was 
unknown in his day. 

163. In standing water. That is, between the ebb and the flood 
of the tide (Schmidt). Cf. Temp. ii. I. 221 : " Well, I am standing 
water." The use of in (= in the condition of) is not infrequent. 

164. Well-favoured. Good-looking. Cf, Much Ado, iii. 3, 15, 
Lear t ii. 4. 259, etc. See also favour (= face, aspect) in ii. 4. 25 
and iii. 4. 313, 366 below. 

165. Shrewishly. Sharply, pertly. S. uses the word nowhere 
else. Shrewish occurs only in C. of E. iii. I. 2, and shrewishness 
only in M. N. D. iii. 2. 301. Clarke remarks here : " It is worthy 
of note, not only how Olivia is so much struck by the sauciness of 
the page-messenger, whose manner is so different from the usual 



160 Notes [Actl 

deference with which < rsino's envoys treat her as to interest her in 
the youth even before she sees him, but it is also to be remarked 
how Viola assumes flippancy when coming from the Duke, although, 
while in his house, speaking to either himself or his gentlemen, she 
maintains the most quiet, distant, and even reservedly dignified 
speech and conduct." 

176. Unmatckable. Cf. K. John, iv. 3. 52 : "And this so sole 
and so unmatchable," etc. 

182. ComptibU. Sensitive, or " susceptible ** (Harness). S. uses 
the word only here. 

188. Are you a comedian ? '* Olivia's sarcasm at the acting a 
part which the delivery of a set speech implies " (Clarke). Furness 
suggests that "the sting is in the word comedian^ the social brand 
thereby implied being almost of the lowest." 

189. Profound* Sage, wise ; as in L. Z. Z. iv. 3. 168 : ** profound 
Solomon." 

192. Usurp. Cf. v. I. 242 below: "my masculine usurped 
attire." 

193. Most certain, etc. Furness paraphrases thus: "If it be in 
your power to give away the lordship of this house, it is so right- 
fully your duty to do it that, if you do not do it, you are a usurper 
of the lord on whom you should bestow it that is, of course, on 
Orsino." For myself, I doubt whether there is any such reference 
to the ** lordship of the house." Viola has pretended that she does 
not know Olivia is the lady of the house. When Olivia admits that 
she is that lady, Viola recognizes her as the lady to whom she has 
been sent, and whom her master loves. In reply to Olivia's " If I 
do not usurp myself," she says in substance : " You do usurp your- 
self in not giving yourself to the man who loves you and is worthy 
of you. This gift of yourself is yours to bestow, for it is not already 
pledged to another, and therefore you should not refuse Orsino's 
suit." That the lady does not love him does not occur to Viola as 
a reason for refusing him ; she herself loves the man and feels that 
Olivia must certainly come to love him if she marries him. Furness 



Scene V] Notes l6l 

adds : " In thus earnestly pleading Orsino's ^ause, Viola was here, I 
think, for a moment betrayed into seriousne ^3. She instantly sees, 
however, that this tone is premature, and apologizes, * But this is 
from my commission. 7 Her bearing is forced and unnatural, even 
flippant, until Maria has retired, then it becomes serious, and every 
word comes from her heart." I agree with Furness entirely except 
in his explanation of what, which seems to me to refer unquestion- 
ably to Olivia's very $clf> not merely to " the lordship of her house." 

195. From* Away from, apart from. Cf. Temp. i. i. 65: 
" Which is from my remembrance "; and v. i. 335 below : " Write 
from it if you can." 

198. Forgive. Excuse you from, spare you the trouble of. Cf. 
Z. Z. L. iv. 2. 147 : "I forgive thy duty," etc. 

202. Feigned. Cf. A. Y. L. iii, 3. 19: "No, truly; for the truest 
poetry is the most feigning," etc. 

205. Not mad. Some editors omit not; but Clarke remarks : 
{< S. has sometimes these apparent antitheses ; and here we believe 
he means Olivia to say, *If you are not quite without reason, be 
gone * ; giving the effect of antithetical construction without actually 
being so." 

207. Skipping. Wild, frolic, mad (Johnson). C M. of V. it 
2. 196 : 

* f take pain 

To allay, with some cold drops of modesty, 
Thy skipping spirit." 

See also Z. Z. Z. v. 2. 771 and i Henry IV. iii. 2. 60. For the 
allusion to the moon as causing lunacy (I need not refer to the 
derivation of the word), cf. Oth. v. 109, etc. 

210. Swabber. One who scrubs the deck of a ship. Viola takes 
ftp the nautical metaphor of hoist sail t and turns it contemptuously 
against Maria. Cf. Temfi. ii. 2. 48 : " The master, the swabber, the 
boatswain, and I," etc. Hull means, literally, to drift to and fro 
without sails or rudder ; here = to float. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 438 : 
And there they hull " ; and Hen. VIIL ii. 4. 199 : 

TWELFTH NIGHT II 



1 62 Notes [Act i 

** Thus hulling in 

The wild sea of my conscience, I did steer 
Toward this remedy." 

211. Some mollification, etc. Something to pacify your gigantic 
waiting-maid ; a hit at the diminutive Maria, with an allusion to 
the giants who guard ladies in the old romances. " It is pleasant to 
see the playful tone that Viola falls into now that she is with those 
of her sex" (Clarke). 

212. Tell me your mind, etc. There seems to be some corrup- 
tion here. Hanmer and some other editors have adopted the con- 
jecture of Warburton that Tell me yoitr mind belongs to Olivia, and 
/ am a messenger to Viola. Dyce believes that something more than 
the names of the speakers is omitted in the folio. Furness is 
inclined to accept CapelPs explanation of the folio text, that Viola's 
" Tell me your mind " is = " Shall I have this favour from you ? " 
alluding to what she had just asked ; or, as Hunter puts it, " Viola 
evidently appeals to Olivia whether she will suffer Maria to turn her 
out of the house so unceremoniously.** Furness thinks that " it is 
not extravagant to picture Maria's zeal as so warm that she attempts 
to force Viola from the apartment." The context does not give the 
slightest support to this explanation, but, aside from that, it seems to 
me a mere " trick of desperation." The petite Maria would not at- 
tempt to put a young man out of doors, but if she had done it Olivia 
would not have allowed it to pass without a sharp reproof. I let 
the old text stand because I am not entirely satisfied with the only 
emendation that has been suggested ; but as it stands, it is to me 
utterly inexplicable. 

216. It alone concerns your ear* It concerns your ear alone. 
The transposition is not uncommon. 

217. Taxation. Claim, demand. 

223. My entertainment. My reception, the way I have been 
treated. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 465 : " I will resist such entertainment " 
(that is, treatment); and V. and A. 1108: "Witness the enter- 
tainment that he gave." 



Scene V] Notes l6j 

224. Maidenhead. Changed by Theobald to "maidhood " ; but 
in the time of S. the word was = maidenhood^ to which it is etymo 
logically equivalent. Cf. Godhead^ etc. 

230. Comfortable. Comforting. For the active sense, cf. Rich. 
IL ii. 2. 76 : " Uncle, for God's sake, speak comfortable words." 
See also on ii. i . 27. 

242. We will draw tJie curtain. See on i. 3. 133 above. Cf. 
T. and C. lii. 2. 49 : " Come, draw this curtain, and let *s see your 
picture." Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Skialetheia* 1598 : 

** Oh, sir, she 's painted, and you know the guise, 
Pictures are curtain d from the vulgar eyes." 

243. Suck a one I was this present. The reading of the folio, 
and perhaps corrupt. \ r arious emendations have been proposed : 
as *' I wear this present,"' ** such a one as I was," " such a one I was 
as this presents" ** such a one I am at this present," etc. Furness 
aptly suggests that Olivia's words are " an attempt to be jocular to 
hide the embarrassment caused by removing her veil to allow an 
exceedingly handsome young man to gaze on her face, and she says 
in effect, * Such a one I was an instant ago,* before she removed her 
veil, and of course, such she still remains." 

246. In grain. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 108: "No, sir, J t is in grain; 
Noah's flood could not do it " (that is, wash it out) ; M. N"* D. \. 
2. 97: " purple-in-grain," etc. 

248. Blent. Used again in M. of V. iii. 2. 183; elsewhere 
(twice) S. has "blended." Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 42: 

" Yet ill thou blamest me, for having blent 
My name with guile and traitorous intent.** 

249. Cunning. Skilful ; as in iii. 4. 298 below: "cunning fn 
fence," etc. 

250. She. CL A. K . iii. 2. II, Hen. V. ii. I. 83, Cymb. i, 6 
40, eta 



164 Notes [Act I 

252. Leave the world no copy. Cf. Sonn. II. 13: 

M She carv'd thee for her seal, and meant thereby 
Thou shouldst print more, nor let that copy die." 

See also Sonn. 3. 14 and 9. 3 fol. 

255. Labelled. A legal term, a label being = a codicil to a will. 
Cf. . andj. iv. I. 57, 

256. Indifferent. For the adverbial use, cf. i. 3. 139 above. 
256. Grey eyes. Commonly explained as = blue eyes ; but J 

have no doubt that it means what it says, 

259. Praise. Appraise ; but not an abbreviation of that word, 
as often printed. Cf. T. and C. in. 2. 97: "praise us as we are 
tasted ; allow us as we prove." Halliwell-Phillipps cites Palsgrave, 
Lcsclarcissement, etc., 1530: " I prayse a thynge, I esteme of what 
value it is, Je aprise" ; Baret, Alvearie, 1580: "A praiser or val- 
uer," etc. Olivia plays upon the word here. 

260. You. For the "redundant object," cf. i. 2. 53 above. 
^64. Nonpareil. Cf, Temp. iii. 2. 1 08 : 

" And that most deeply to consider is 
The beauty of his daughter ; he himself 
Calls her a nonpareil" 

265. With fertile tears. That is, abundant or copious tears. 
The with is not in the folio; supplied by Pope. Adorations is 
metrically equivalent to five syllables. See on i. I. 39 above. 

270. In 'voices well divulged. Well spoken of, well reputed. 

271. Dimension. Body. Cf. v. I. 239 below, the only othei 
example of the singular in S. 

272. Gracious. Full of graces, attractive ; as often. 
275. Deadly. Deathlike, pining. 

280. Cantons. Cantos. Malone cites The London Prodigal, 
1605: "in his third canton"; and Heywood, Preface to Britaynes 
Troy, 1609 : " in the judicial perusal of these few cantons." 

282. Reverberate. Reverberant, echoing; as not ^infrequently. 



Scene V] Notes I#5 

Other words in -ate (from Latin passive participles) are used both 
passively and actively. 

288. State. Estate ; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 262 ; " my state was 
nothing," etc, 

294. Post. Messenger; as in M. of V. ii. 9. 100, v. i. 48, etc. 

298. Cruelty. Cf. ii. 4. 82 below. 

303. Blazon. Literally, an heraldic description of a coat of 
arms; hence, any description or record. Cf. M. W. v. 5. 68: 
"With loyal blazon," etc. 

304. Unless the master were the man. Various attempts have 
been made to explain this. Malone says : " Unless the dignity of 
the master were added to the merit of the servant, I shall go too 
far and disgrace myself." Steevens thinks she may mean to check 
herself by observing, " This is unbecoming forwardness on my part, 
unless I were as much in love with the master as I am with the 
man." Clarke makes it = " unless the master's love for me were 
felt by the man." Olivia evidently wishes that the master and the 
man could change places, but just what she would have said if she 
had not checked herself we need not trouble ourselves to guess. 

306. Perfections. See on i. I. 39 above. 

308. To creep. S. often uses the to of the infinitive where it 5s 
now omitted, and vice versa. 

310. Peevish. Silly; its most common meaning in S. 

311. County* s. Count's; as repeatedly in R. and f^ and else- 
where. 

313. Flatter with* Deal flatteringly with, encourage with hopes. 
Cf. T. G. ofV. iv. 4. 193 : "Unless I flatter with myself too much "; 
Rich. II. ii. I. 88: " Shall dying men flatter with those that live? " 

315. If that. See on i. 2. 48 above. 

318. Fear to find, etc. "I fear that my eyes will seduce my 
understanding; that I am indulging a passion for the beautiful 
youth which my reason cannot approve " (Malone) ; " I fear lest 
my admiration of this youth prove stronger than my judgment w 
(Clarke). 



r 66 Notes [Act n 

320. Owe. Own ; that is, we are not our own masters. C 
Temp* i 2. 454 : " the name thou owest not," etc. 



ACT II 

SCENE I. i. Nor will you not. These double negatives are 
common in S. For a triple negative, see Hi. i. 162 below: "nor 
never none," etc. 

4. Malignancy* S. uses the word nowhere else, malignity not 
at all. For distemper, see on i. 5. 94 above. 

1 1. Determinate. Fixed. Cf, Bonn. 87. 4, etc. 

12. Extravagancy. Vagrancy; used by S. only here. Cf. the 
use of extravagant in Hani* i. I. 154 and Oth. i. i. 137. 

15. In manners. Cf. Sonn. 85. i: ** My tongue-tied Muse in 
manners holds her still." We find "with manners " in Sonn. 39, i 
and Cymb. i. 4. 56. To express myself = to reveal myself. 

17. Which I called Roderigo. No reason for his assuming a false 
name is hinted at, and I can imagine none. 

18. Messaline. Cf. v. I. 234 below. As no such place is known, 
Hanmer substituted " Metelin,'? the modern name of Mitylene. Fur- 
ness jocosely suggests that Messaline was ** the chief city of Pros- 
pero's island." 

20. An. One. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 277: " These foils have all a 
length," etc. 

23. Breach. Breaking, surf. 

26. Was yet. For the ellipsis of the relative, cf. i. 5. 103 above. 

27. Though / could not, etc. " Though I could not believe that, 
like those who estimated her at too high a rate " (Schmidt) , 
Estimable wonder = " esteeming wonder, or wonder and esteem " 
(Johnson). For the active sense of estimable, cf. comfortable in i 
5. 230 above, and deceivable in iv. 3. 21 below. 

30. Drowned 'already* etc. Cf. Ham. iv. 7. 1861 - 



Scene II] Notes 1 67 

" Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, 
And therefore I forbid my tears." 

33. Your bad entertainment. The humble way in which I have 
entertained you as my guest ; z&your trouble = the trouble I have 
been to you. 

36. Mnrther me. Knight suggests that there may be an allusion 
to the superstition, made use of by Scott in The Pirate, that the 
man who was saved by another from shipwreck would kill his 
benefactor. But, as Wright suggests, "Antonio seems only to 
appeal to Sebastian not to kill him as a reward for his love by 
abandoning him." 

41. The manners of my mother, etc* Cf. Hen* V. iv 6, 31 s 
"And all my mother came into my eyes." 

45. Gentleness. Favour, good-will. 

SCENE II. 6. To have taken. By taking ; an " indefinite use * 
of the infinitive, common in S. 

10. So hardy to come. For the omission of as, cf. ii. 4. 98 below : 
" So big to hold," etc. 

12. She took the ring". " Viola, perceiving that Olivia has framed 
an excuse to blind her steward whom she sends, and willing to aid 
her in screening herself, accepts the version given of the ring's 
having been sent from Orsino to the Countess ; which, moreover, 
affords a ready and plausible motive for refusing to take it now 
herself" (Clarke). 

1 8. Fortune forbid my outside have not, etc. That is, forbid that 
it have. Cf. P. P. 124 : " Forbade the boy he should not pass those 
grounds." Elsewhere the negative is omitted ; as in Sonn. 58. I : 

" That god forbid that made me first your slave 
I should in thought control your times of pleasure," etc, 

20. That sure meihought. The reading of the later folios ; the 
1st omits sure. Her eyes had lost her tongue; that is, she was so 
absorbed in looking at me that she talked distractedly. For lose 



1 68 Notes [Act n 

in this causative sense (= caused the loss of), cf. Lear % i. 2. 125 : 
"It shall lose thee nothing." 

26, She were better love. See on i. 5. 31 above, and cf. iii. 4. 12 
below: "your ladyship were best," etc. 

28. Pregnant. Ready, expert (Johnson and Schmidt). Cf. iii. 
I. 92 below. 

29. Proper-false. Good-looking and deceitful. For proper, cf. 
M. of V. i. 2. 77 : "a proper man's picture " ; Hebrews, xi. 23 : "a 
proper child," etc. 

30. In women's waxen hearts, etc. To make an impression on 
the soft hearts of women, or to fix their image there. Johnson 
took it to mean, " How easy is disguise to women ! how easily does 
their own falsehood, contained in their waxen changeable hearts, 
enable them to assume deceitful appearances ! " Steevens com- 
pares R. ofL. 1240: 

" For men have marble, women waxen minds, 
And therefore are they form'd as marble will ; 
The weak oppress'd, the impression of strange kinds 
Is form'd in them by force, by fraud, or skill. 
Then call them not the authors of their ill, 
No more than wax shall be accounted evil 
Wherein is stamp'd the semblance of a devil" 

See also M.far M. ii. 4. 128 : 

" Nay, call us ten times frail; 
For we are soft as our complexions are, 
And credulous to false prints." 

32. Made of, such. The folios have "made, if such." The 
correction was proposed by Tyrwhitt Johnson wished to read, 

" For such as we are made, if such we be, 
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we J ** 

33. Fadge. Succeed, prosper. Cf. Z. L. L. v. i. 154: "We will 
have, if this fadge not, an antique." Boswell quotes Florio, Worldt, 



Scene III] Notes 169 

of Wordes : '* Andar* a vanga, to fadge, to prosper with, to go as 
one wonld have it " ; and Niccols, Beggars Ape : 

*' For who so beares simplicities true badge 
To live in Princes courts doe seldome fadge." 

34. Monster* Referring to her disguise, which makes her appear 
a man though really a woman. Fond= dote ; the only example of 
the verb in S. Schmidt thinks it may be the adjective. 

SCENE III. 2. Diluculo surgere. The rest of the adage (which 
S. found in Lilly's Grammar} is " saluberrimum est " (to rise early 
is most healthful). 

10. The four elements. Cf. Sonn. 45, Hen. V. iii. 7. 22, f. C, v. 
5. 73, etc. 

14. Stoup. A drinking cup. Cf. Ham. v. I. 68: "Fetch me a 
stoup of liquor," etc. 

17. The picture of we three. Alluding to a common old sign 
representing two fools, with the inscription " We three," the spec- 
tator being of course the third. The device is said to be still seen 
in some parts of England. 

1 8. Catch. A song in which the parts follow one another. C 
Temp. iii. 2. 126, 135. 

20. Breast Voice. Warton cites the statutes of Stoke Col- 
lege: "which said queristers, after their breasts are broken" (that 
is, after their voices have changed), etc.; and Fiddes Life of 
Wolsey: " singing- men well-breasted." Halliwell-Phillipps quotes 
The ProverUs in the Caret at Lekingfelde: 

" A naturall breste is goode with sowndes of moderacion, 
A glorifiede breste is to curyus with notis of alteracion, 
But he that syngithe a trewe songe mesurithe in the meane [tenor] , 
And he that rechithe to hye a trebill his tewyns is not clene; " 

Udall, Roister Doister : "So loe! that is a breast to blowe out a 
candle," etc. 



170 Notes [Act n 

7 had t-aiher, etc. Cf. AT. W* i. I. 205: "I had rather than 
forty shillings I had my Book of Songs and Sonnets here,' 1 Had 
rather, though condemned by grammar-mongers, is still good 
English. 

23, Pigrogromitus. A philosopher of the same school as Qui- 
napalus. 

25. Leman. Mistress, sweetheart; as in 2 Hen. /F, v. 3. 49; 
"And drink unto the leman mine." In M. W. iv. 2. 172, it is 
masculine = paramour. In the present passage the folios have 
" Lemon," and some have thought that the fruit was meant. The 
two words were often played upon; as in Buttes, Dyets Dry 
Dinner * 1599: "All say a limon in wine is good; some thinke 
a leman and wine better.'* 

27. Impeticos thy gratittity. Johnson wished to read " irnpeti- 
coat thy gratuity," that is, put it in the pocket of his long coat; 
but, even if that is the meaning, we need not correct the clown's 
wording of it. Johnson adds, " There is yet much in this dialogue 
which I do not understand." I fear that no commentator will 
make it clear why the Myrmidons are no bottle-ale houses, or fix 
the exact time of the transit of the equinoctial of Queubus by the 
Vapians. 

28. Whipstock* English editors think it necessary to explain 
that this means the handle of a whip. The word is still in com- 
mon use in this country. 

34. TestriL Sixpence; also called a tester, as in 2 Hen. IV* 
iii. 2. 296. 

If one knight give a . There is no point after the a in the 1st 
folio ; the later ones add the dash. Febte interrupts Sir Andrew. 

39. Good life. Virtuous conduct or good behaviour (Malone 
and Schmidt) ; evidently intended to prepare the way for Andrew's 
answer. Steevens thought it meant "harmless mirth and jollity," 
which Furness prefers. Malone quotes Jlf. W. iii. 3. 137: "De- 
fend your reputation, or farewell to your good life for ever." 

41. mistress mine^ etc. The song is probably not by S. It is 



Scene III] Notes iyi 

found in Morley j s Consort Lessons, 1599, which seems too early for 
the date of the play. Furness gives the music of it. 

44. Sweeting, Cf. 7\ of S* iv. 3. 36 : " What, sweeting, all 
amort ? " Oth. ii. 3. 252 : " All 's well now, sweeting," etc. 

Lovers. Some eds. make the word a plural possessive. 

53. In delay, etc. Cf. Rick. III. iv. 3. 53 : " Delay leads impo- 
tent and snail-pac'd beggary." 

54. Sweet and twenty. Found elsewhere as a term of endear- 
ment. Steevens quotes Wit of a Woman, 1604 : " Sweet and 
twenty : all sweet and sweet." Schmidt compares M. W. ii. i. 202 : 
" Good even and twenty." Wright thinks it is " certainly wrong" 
to regard the phrase as vocative, and explains it as = "sweet kisses, 
and twenty of them." Furness believes it to be vocative, and finds in 
it " the indescribable charm which differentiates poetry from prose." 

58. Breath. Cf. " so sweet a breath to sing " in 20 above ; also 
M, W. D, ii. i. 151: "Uttering such dulcet and harmonious 
breath," etc. 

61. Make the welkin dance. ''That is, drink till the sky seems 
to turn round" (Johnson). Cf. A. and C. ii. 7. 124: "Cup us 
till the world go round." 

62, Draw three souls, etc. Cf. Much Ado, ii. j. 6 1 : "Is it not 
strange that sheeps' guts should hale souls out of men's bodies ? " 
Warburton sees here an allusion to the three souls of the Peri- 
patetic philosophy ; whereupon Coleridge remarks : " O genuine 
and inimitable (at least I hope so) Warburton 1 This note of 
thine, if but one in five millions, would be half a one too much." 
Weavers were supposed to be good singers and particularly given 
to singing psalms, being most of them Calvinists and refugees from 
the Netherlands (Schmidt). Cf. i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 147 : " I would I 
were a weaver ; I could sing psalms or anything." 

65. Jam dog. The 3d and 4th folios have "a dog"; but the 
phrase was a common one. Halliwell-Phillipps cites Englishmen 
for my Money: "I am dogg at this"; The Devil of a Wife; 
'* Ay, ay, come I *m old dogg at that," etc. 



f 7 a Notes [Act n 

70. Hold thy peace, etc. This old three-part catch is so arranged 
that each singer calls another knave in turn. It is to be found in 
a book entitled *' Pammelia, Musickes Miscellanie, or mixed Varietie 
of pleasant Roundelays and delightful Catches of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 
8, 9, 10 Parts in one," of which a second ed. was printed in 
1618. 

80. Catalan. A Chinese ; Cataia or Cathay being the name 
given to China by the early travellers. Tennyson uses it in Locksley 
Hall: "a cycle of Cathay." Nares says the word "was used also 
to signify a sharper, from the dexterous thieving of those people ; 
which quality is ascribed to them in many old books of travels." 
Cf. M. W, ii. I. 148 : "I will not believe such a Catalan, though 
the priest of the town commended him for a true man.'' Sir Toby 
uses it in a loose way as a mere term of reproach, as a drunken 
fellow might use "heathen Chinee" nowadays. Steevens cites 
Davenant, Love and Honour : ** Hang him, bold Catalan," etc. 

81. Peg-a-Ramsey* There were two tunes with this name in the 
time of S. The music of one of them, with that of Hold thy 
peace, etc., may be found in the Variorum of 1821. Three merry 
men be we is likewise a fragment of an old song, often quoted in 
the plays of the time. 

82. Consanguineous, Used by S. only here ; as consanguinity 
is only in T. and C. iv, 2. 103. 

83. Tillyvally was an expression of contempt and impatience. 
Johnson says that Sir Thomas More's lady was much in the habit 
of using it, and Nares gives illustrative quotations from Roper's 
Life of More. Dame Quickly corrupts the word into titty fatty in 
2 Hen. IV* ii. 4. 90. There dwelt a man, etc., is from the old ballad 
of Susanna, quoted also by Mercutio in R. and J* ii. 4. 151. 

85. Beshrew me. A mild imprecation, though originally = may 
evil befall me 1 

89. Natural* Possibly intended to suggest the other sense of 
the word (see on i 3. 30), though of course Andrew does not 
mean it so. 



Scene 1X1] Notes 173 

90. O 9 the twelfth day* etc. From some old ballad that has not 
tome down to us. 

94. Honesty* Decency, propriety. Cf. Oth. iv. I. 288 : " It is 
not honesty in me to speak"; Hen. VIIL v. 2. 28: "honesty 
... At least good manners," etc. 

95. Tinkers. "Proverbial tipplers and would-be politicians" 
(Schmidt). Cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 20: "I can drink with any 
tinker," etc. 

97. Cozier?* Cobblers'. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Percivale's 
Dictionarie, 1599: "A cosier or cobler, retne ndon " ,- and Min- 
sheu's Guide: **A cosier or sowter, ab Hisp. Coser, to sow" 
(sew). 

101, Sneck up ! "This was a scoffing interjection, tantamount 
to * Go hang ! * and here has the added humorous effect of a hic- 
cup " (Clarke). Steevens quotes Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight 
of the Burning Pestle : ** Give him his money, George, and let him 
go sneck up," etc. Taylor the Water-Poet has " Snickup, which is 
in English gallow-grasse," or what in the same passage he calls 
" a Tiburne hempen-caudell" [rope for the gallows], Tyburn 
(Z. L. Z. iv. 3, 54) was the usual place for London executions. 

102. Round. Plain, blunt ; as in Hen. V. iv. i. 216, etc. So 
the adverb = directly ; as in Ham. Hi. 2. 191, etc. 

104. Disorders. Explained by the following misdemeanours. 
Cf, Lear. ii. 4. 202 : 

" I set him there, sir; but his own disorders 
Deserv'd much less advancement,'* etc. 

109. Farewell, dear heart, etc. From " Condon's Farewell to 
Phillis," which may be found in Percy's Reliques. Some of the 
snatches that follow are from the same song. 

122. Out o* time, sir / The folio has " Out o' tune sir, ye lye " : 
etc. The emendation is due to Theobald and is adopted by most 
of the editors. Collier retains the old reading, pointing it " Out 
of tune ! sir,*' etc., and making it refer to the Clown ; but, as 



174 Notes [Act n 

Dyce remarks, the Clown was a professional singer and would not 
be likely to be out of tune. It is a drunken iteration of what Sir 
Toby has said in 89 above. Furness defends the folio. 

123. Dost thou think> etc. Clarke takes this to be " a fling at 
Malvolio's Puritanism," and the Clown's swearing by Saint Anne 
as another, such oaths being regarded with abhorrence by the 
Puritans; but Malvolio is not a Puritan. See comments on the 
character in the Appendix. 

126. Ginger. A favourite spice in the time of S., especially 
with old people. Cf. M, of V. iii. I. 10, M./or M. iv. 3, 8, etc. 

129. With crumbs. That is, to clean it. Cf. Webster, Duchess 
ofMaljy : ** Tea, and the chippings of the buttery fly after him, to 
scouer his gold chain." Stewards wore such chains as badges of 
office. 

132. Rttle. Conduct, behaviour. Cf. mght-rule in M. N. Z>. 
iii. 2. 5. Steevens quotes Heywood, English Traveller ; " What 
guests we harbour and what rule we keep"; and Jonson, Tale of a 
Tub .* " And set him in the stocks for his ill rule.*' 

134. Go shake your ears. A common expression of contempt. 
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes, among other instances, Howell, Fa- 
miliar Letters : " This being one day done, they shut their gates 
against him, and made him go shake his ears, and to shift for his 
lodging," etc. Cf. J. C. iv. I. 26, which suggests that the ex- 
pression is equivalent to calling a man an ass. 

136. The field. Some adopt Rowe's " to the field." Perhaps, 
as Schmidt suggests, S. wrote "to field." Cf. . andj. iii. I. 61 : 
" Marry, go before to field." It seems hardly worth our while to 
correct Andrew's grammar, particularly when he is drunk. 

146. A nayword. The folio has " an ayword," which has been 
explained as "a word always used, a proverbial reproach"; but as 
S. uses nayword in M. W* ii. 2. 131 and v, 2. 5, that was probablj 
his word here. There it is = watchword ; here it is = byword. 
Dyce quotes Forby, Vocab* of E. Anglia: "Nayword , * , A bye 
word ; a laughing-stock.*' 



Scene III] Notes 175 

149. Possess. Inform, tell. Cf. M, of V. iv. i. 35: "I have 
possessed your grace of what I purpose " (cf. Id. \. 3. 65), etc. 

152. Puritan. For other allusions to the Puritans, see A. W 
* 3- 56, 98, W. T. iv. 3. 46, and Per, iv. 6. 9. 

1 60. Time-pleaser. Time-server. Cf. Cor. in. i. 45: "Time- 
pleasers, flatterers, foes to nobleness." Affectioned = affected ; 
used by S. only here. In L. L. L. v. i. 4, the ist folio has " affec- 
tion " = affectation (the reading of the other folios) ; and in Ham. 
li. 2. 464, the quarto has " affection," the folios " affectation/ 1 

161. Cons slate = studies dignity of deportment. 

162. Swartks. Swaths. The word is used by S. only here ; and 
swath only in T. and C. v. 5. 25. Swartk indicates the pronuncia- 
tion. The best persuaded^ etc. = having the best opinion of him- 
self. 

170. Expressure Expression ; as in M. W. v. 5. 71 and TV 
and C- iii. 3. 204. Cf. impressztre in ri. 5. 99 below. 

172. Feelingly. Exactly; as in Ham. v. 2. 113, etc. 

1 80. A horse of that colour. Cf. A* K Z. iii. 2. 393 : " boys and 
women are for the most part cattle of this colour." 

184. Ass. With possibly a play on as; as in M. -V. Z>. v. i. 317 
on ass and ace. 

191. Penthesilea. The queen of the Amazons ; an ironical allu- 
sion to Maria's diminutive size, like beagle below. See also on 
i. 5. 211 above. 

192. Before me. By my soul. Cf. Oth. iv. i. 1^9 : " Before 
me ! Look where she comes ! '* 

193. Beagle. A small kind of dog. The word is again used 
figuratively in T. of A. iv. 3. 174. 

198. Recover. Gain, win. Cf. Temp, iii 2. 16 s "ere I could 
recover the shore," etc. 

199. Out. Out of pocket ; still colloquially used in that sense. 
201. Call me cut. Like "call me horse" in I Hen. IV. ii 4. 

215. As Malone remarks, *#/was probably synonymous with cur* 
tal (A. W ii. 3. 65) and = a horse whose tail has been docked 



176 Notes [Act n 

Cf. The Two Noble Kinsmen, iii. 4 : "He '11 buy me a white cut 
forth for to ride" ; and Sir John Oldcastle, 1600 : * But master, 
pray ye, let me ride upon Cut." Some make it = gelding. 

204, Burn some sack. Cf. " burnt sack " in M. W. li I. 223 and 
iii. I. 112. Sack was "the generic name of Spanish and Canary 
wines." 

SCENE IV. 3. Antique. Quaint. The accent is always on the 
first syllable. 

5. Recollected. " Studied " (Warburton). It has been variously 
defined as "repeated," "refined," "trivial," "light," etc. 

II. Feste. Possibly, as Clarke suggests, from the Italian festeggi- 
ante which Florio defines as " Feasting, merrie, banqueting, pleas- 
ant, of good entertainment." 

1 8. Motions. Emotions; " often used with reference to love" 
(Furness). Cf. M. N. D.\. I. 204, Oth. \: 3. 113, etc. 

21. The seat, etc. That is, the heart. Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 448 : 
"Yield up, O Love, thy crown and hearted throne." Malone 
refers to i. I. 37 above. 

22. Thou dost speak masterly. " One of the few instances in 
which S. indirectly (and of course unconsciously) comments upon 
himself. Certainly there never was more masterly speaking on the 
effect produced by music upon a nature sensitively alive to its 
finest influences than Viola's few but intensely expressive words " 
(Clarke). For the adverbial use of masterly, cf. W. T. v. 3. 65 and 
Oth. i. I. 26. 

25. By your favour. There is an obvious play upon favour* 
For its use = face, aspect, cf. iii. 4. 346, 400 below. 

26. Complexion. Personal appearance ; as in V. and A. 215 : 
** Thou art no man, though of a man's complexion," etc. See also 
ii. 5. 27 below. 

29. Let still the woman, etc. Some believe that the poet had 
in mind his own marriage with a woman much older than himself, 
but this is exceedingly improbable. Furness takes the same view, 



Scene IV] Notes 177 

and, moreover, does not believe that Orsino's assertion itself is 
true. 

33. Unfirm. Cf. /. C. i. 3. 4 and JR. and f. v. 3. 6. S. also 
uses infirm; as in Macb. ii. 2. 52, Lear, i. I. 303, etc. 

34. Worn, Changed by Hanmer to "won." The emandation 
is plausible, but as worn ( = forgotten, effaced) giv^s a good sense, 
we are hardly justified in displacing it. Cf. 2 H*n. VI. ii. 4. 69 : 
** These few days' wonder will be quickly worn/' 

37. The bent. That is, its tension. The metaphor is taken 
from the bending of a bow. Cf. Much -4do t ii. 3. 232 : " her affec- 
tions hive their full bent," etc. 

41. Perfection. The word **not only applies to the blown 
beauty of the rose, but has figurative reference to the full loveli- 
ness of a woman when matched with her chosen manly counter- 
part in married union; thus affording corroboration of the reading 
perfection in i. 1. 39 above" (Clarke). 

44. Spinsters. In its original sense of female spinners. Cf. 
Oth. i. i, 24 and Hen. VI 77. i. 2. 33, the only other instances of the 
word it* S. 

45. Free. Free from care, happy ; as in Oik. iii. 3. 340 : ** free 
and merry," etc. 

46. Use. Are accustomed. We still use the past tense in this 
sense, but not the present. Cf. Temp. ii. I. 175, A. and C. ii. 5. 
32, etc. Silly sooth simple truth (Johnson). For sooth, cf. 
W. T. iv. 4. 171 : "he looks like sooth" ; Macb. i. 2. 36 : "if 
I say sooth, etc. 

48. The old age. The olden time, the primitive age. Cf. Sonn. 
127. I : " In the old age black was not counted fair." 

52. Cypress. It is doubtful whether this means a shroud of cy- 
press or cyprus (the modern crape), as Warton and Steevens explain 
it, or a coffin of cypress wood, as Malone makes it. It has been 
objected to the former that the shroud here is white, but Cotgrave 
mentions " white cipres." In proof that cypress wood was used 
&t camns, Malone quotes Speed, who, in referring to the death of 

TWELFTH NIGHT 12 



1 78 Notes [Actn 

Robert de Vere, speaks of " the cypress chest wherein his body lay 
embalmed." Wright thinks it is * either a coffin of cypress wood 
or a bier strewn with branches or garlands of cypress." " Cy 
press chests" not coffins are mentioned in T. of S. ii. 1.353. 

57. My part of death, etc. "Though death is a part in which 
every one acts his share, yet of all these actors no one is so true as 
I " (Johnson). 

68. I take pleasure in singing. From what Viola says in i. 2. 58 
fol. ("I can sing," etc.) we might infer that S. at first intended 
that she should do some singing in the play (at this point perhaps), 
but he seems to have changed his mind afterwards possibly be- 
cause the boy in the theatrical company who would take the part 
of Viola was not a good singer. 

73. Give me now leave^ etc. A courteous form of dismissal. 
Cf. I Hen. /K i. 3. 20, etc. 

75. Taffeta. A silken fabric ; mentioned again in Z-. L. L* v. 2. 
159. See also on i. 3. 140 above. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes 
Taylor the Water-Poet : "No Taffaty more changeable than 
they." 

76. Opal alludes to the changeable colour of the stone* Stee- 
vens quotes Drayton, Muses' Elysium : 

" With opals more than any one 
We '11 deck thine altar fuller, 
For that of every precious stone 
It doth retain some colour. 1 * 

S. mentions the stone only here and in L. C. 215. 

78. Every where* Warburton wanted to read "no where M ; but, 
as Mason says, " we cannot accuse a man of inconstancy who has 
no intents at all, though we may the man whose intents are every- 
where, that is, are constantly varying." 

82. Cruelty. For the concrete use, cf. i. 5. 298 above. 

86. Giddily* Carelessly, negligently. 

87. That miracle t etc. That fair frame, that beauteous person 



Scen rv] Notes 179 

(Clarke). Pranks = decks, adorns. Cf. W. T. iv. 4. 10: " Most 
goddess-like prank'd up " ; and Cor. iii. 1. 23 : " For they do prank 
them in authority." 

95. There is. A singular verb is often used before a plural sub- 
ject, particularly with there is. 

98. So big to hold. That is, as to hold. See on ii. 2. 9 
above. 

They lack retention. "This, from the Duke who has lately 
affirmed that women's love is firmer and more lasting than men's 
is but another point in keeping with his opal-hued mind** 
(Clarke). 

ICQ. Liver. For the liver as the seat of love, cf. ii. 5. 102 below. 
It was also reckoned the seat of courage. Cf. iii. 2. 22 and 66 
below. 

101. Cloyment. Used by S. only here. We find cloyless in A. 
and C. ii. I. 25. 

102. The sea. Cf. i. I. 1 1 above; also Temp. iii. 3. 55: "the 
never-surfeited sea. 51 

103. Compare. For the noun, cf. R. and J. ii. 5. 43, iii. 5. 238, 
M* N. D. iii. 2. 290, etc. 

109. Lcnfd. For the omission of the relative, cf. i. 5. 103 
above. 

113. A worm ? the btid. Cf. R. of L. 848: "Why should the 
worm intrude the maiden bud ? " See also Bonn. 35. 4, 70. 7, 
95. 2, K. John, iii. 4. 82, I Hen. VI. ii. 4, 68, 71, Ham. L 3. 
99, etc. 

1 14. Thought. Love ; or ** brooding over her love." 

1 1 6. Like Patience. Patience is personified, but grief is not. 
Smiling" refers to she, not to Patience. The passage is often mis- 
pointed and misunderstood. Cf. Per* v. i, 138 : 

** yet thou dost look 

Like Patience gazing on kings' graves and smiling' 
Extremity out of act" 



t8o Notes [Act ii 

122. I am all the daughters, etc. " S., in such speeches as these, 
nas shown not only his knowledge of the depths of feminine nature, 
but the utmost grace, refinement, and delicacy in fancy of which 
enigmatic reply is susceptible" (Clarke). And yet I know not 
refers to the possibility that her brother is still living. 

126. Denay. Denial. Steevens cites examples of the old verb 
denay from Holinshed and Warner, but does not refer to its occur- 
rence (in the folio) in 2 Hen. VI. i. 3. 107 : "Then let him be de- 
nay'd the regentship." S. uses the verb only there, the noun only 
here. 

SCENE V. 5. Sheep-biter ; A cant term for a thief (Dyce). 
Schmidt says it is " evidently == a morose, surly, and malicious fel- 
low"; but the following from Taylor the Water-Poet seems to 
show that Dyce is right : 

** And in some places I have heard and seene 
That currish sheep-biters have hanged beene." 

The word seems originally to have been applied to a dog that bit 
or worried sheep ; and Taylor may refer to killing (perhaps liter- 
ally hanging) such a dog. Cf. M. of V. iv. I. 134: "a wolf, who 
hang'd for human slaughter," etc. In the olden time animals were 
often tried and executed. Like many other words of the kind, sheep- 
biter doubtless came to be used as a general term of contempt. 
We find sheep-biting in M. for M. v. i. 359 : " your sheep-biting 
face." 

15. MetaL The 1st folio has "Mettle," the later folios "Nettle," 
which is doubtless a misprint, though some editors have adopted it. 
Metal and mettle are used indiscriminately in the folio. My metal 
of India ( = my golden girl, my jewel) is an expression quite in Sir 
Toby's vein. 

23. Caught with tickling. Steevens cites Cogan, Haven of 
Health, 1595: "This fish of nature loveth flatterie: for, being in 



Scene V] Notes 181 

the water, it will suffer itself to be rubbed and clawed, and so to be 
taken." 

26, Should she fancy* If she (Olivia) should love. This is the 
only sense of the verb in S. For the absolute use, cf, T. and C. v. 
2. 165 : 

" never did young man fancy 
With so eternal and so fix'd a souL** 

For complexion, see on ii. 4. 26 above. 

32. Jets. Struts. Cf. Cymb. iii. 3. 5 : " arch'd so high that giants 
may jet through." Steevens quotes Arden of Feversham, 1592: 
" And bravely jets it in a silken gown " ; and Bussy d'Ambois, 
1607: "To jet in others' plumes so haughtily." Advanced =. up- 
raised; as in Temp. i. 2. 408: "The fringed curtains of thine eye 
advance," etc. 

34. * Slight. A corruption of "God's light" ; used again in iii. 
2. 14 below. Cf. *slid (iii. 4. 375 below), 'sblood (Oth. i. 1. 4), *sdeath. 
{Cor. i. i. 221), 'swounds (Ham. ii. 2. 604), etc. 

40. The lady of the Strachy, etc. The briefest and most mysteri- 
ous of love romances immortalized in prose or verse. We may 
imagine, however, that the pair lived happily ever after, or Malvolio 
would not have quoted their story as a precedent. The word 
Strachy is printed in the folio with a capital and in italics, as if 
a proper noun. It has been the subject of much conjecture and 
discussion. Among the emendations proposed are "Stratarch," 
"Trachy " (= Thrace), " Straccio," Strozzi," " Stracci," M Duchy," 
etc. It may be the corruption of a family name "(Italian most 
likely), in some old story now lost. For almost five pages of com- 
ment upon it, see Furness, who himself assumes that the word is 
probably a misprint. 

41. The yeoman of the wardrobe was a regular title of office in 
the time of S. Florio translates wstiario by " a wardrobe-keeper, 
or a yeoman of a wardrobe." 

42. Jezebel. " Sir Andrew merely knows this name as a term o* 



1 82 Notes [Act n 

reproach ; and his applying a woman's name to a man is of a piece 
with his other accomplishments " (Clarke). 

43. Deeply in. " Deeply lost in his wild fancies " (Furness). 

44. Blows him. Puffs him up. Cf. Lear, iv. 4. 27 : " No blown 
ambition doth our arms incite," etc. 

46. State. That is, chair of state ; as in I Hen. IV. ii. 4* 4*6 : 
" this chair shall be my state, 1 ' etc. 

47. Stone-bow. A cross-bow for throwing stones. Coles gives 
balista as the Latin equivalent. Marston, in his Dutch Courtesan, 
1605, speaks of " those who shoot in stone-bows," etc. 

50. Branched. Referring to the flowered pattern of the fabric. 
Cotgrave refers to figured velvet as branched velvet." Day- 
ted couch, sofa. The word is used again in Rich. II L iii. 7. 72 
(" love-bed" in the folios). 

54. The humour of state. "The high airs, the capricious inso- 
lence, of authority." 

55. A demure travel of regard. Looking gravely about. 

62. My watch. At the date of the play watches were just begin- 
ning to be worn in England. Malone says they were first brought 
to England from Germany in 1580, Steevens quotes The Antipodes, 
a comedy, 1638 : 

" your project against 
The multiplicity of pocket-watches; " 



"when every puny clerk can carry 
The time o' th' day in his breeches." 

With mysome> etc. The dash is not in the folio, and some 
modern editors omit it, making my some rich jewel = some rich 
jewel of mine. Probably, as Dr. Nicholson has suggested, Malvolio 
was about to say "with my chain," but "suddenly remembering 
that he would be no longer a steward, or any other golden-chained 
attendant [cf. ii 3. 129 above], he stops short, and then confusedly 
alters his phrase to some rich jewel." 



Scene V] Notes 1 8 j 

66. By ttt ears. The ist folio has with cars," the later folios, 
" with cares." Johnson conjectured " with carts," Tyrwhitt " with 
cables," Walker "with racks," Bailey "with screws," etc. The 
reading in the text is Hanmer's, and seems to me the best that has 
been proposed. Clarke defends " with cars," comparing T. G. of V, 
Hi. i. 265 : " a team of horse shall not pluck that from me " ; and 
Sir Toby's own expression " oxen and wainropes cannot hale them 
together," in iii. 2. 63 below. Furness also is willing to retain 
" cars." But " cars " are neither horses nor oxen, and S. uses the 
word only in the sense of chariots or triumphal cars. 

78. Scab. For the personal use of the word, cf. Muck Ado^ iii. 
3. 107, 7 1 . and C ii. I. 31, etc. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Marlowe, 
Dr. Faustus : " Doctor ! you cozening scab ! " and The DiviPs 
Charter, 1607 : 

" And by these honors, if I prove a blabbe, 
Then call me villaine, varlet, coward, skabbe." 

87. What employment have we here? What work have we 
here ? What } s to do here ? 

88. Woodcock. The bird was supposed to have no brains, and 
was therefore a common metaphor for a fool. Cf. Much Ado> v. i. 
158, T. ofS. i. 2. 161, etc. 

92. Her very C$ t etc. Steevens having observed that there was 
neither a C nor a P in the direction of the letter, Ritson suggested 
that the full direction, according to the custom of the time, would 
be " To the 7nknown Beloved, this, and my good wishes, with 
Care -Present " ; but S. was careless about consistency in these little 
matters. 

93. In contempt of question. " Past question " (i. 3. 102 above) . 

98. By your leave, wax. Cf. Lear t iv. 6. 258 : " Leave, gentle 
wax." See also Cymb. iii. 2. 35. 

99. Soft! This is, "in contempt of question," the familiar 
exclamation = hold ! (cf. i. 5. 303 above), but Malone saw in 
it an allusion to the custom of sealing letters with soft wax 



Notes [Actn 

According to Steevens, it was only certain legal instruments fot 
which the soft wax was used. Impressure impression ; as in 
A. K Z. iii. 5, 23. The head of Lucretia was no unusual device 
on seals. 

102. Liver. See on ii. 4, too above. 

108. Numbers* Measure, versification; as in Z. Z. Z. iv. 3. 
57, etc. 

ill. Brock. Badger. Florio defines tasso as " a gray, a brocke, 
a badger " ; and Baret has " A brocke, ... or badger, Melis^ It 
was often used as a term of contempt. Nares quotes The Isle of 
Gulls : " P faith, old brock, have I tane you ? " 

1 1 6. M, O s A> /, etc. Clarke remarks: "Such riddle-like 
assemblage of initial letters was not unusual, at the time S. wrote, 
in amatory epistles or gallant mottoes ; and he has twice given 
nearly verbatim the doth sway my hfe, as though it were one of 
the conventional phrases of love-profession then in vogue.'* Cf. 
A. Y. Z. iii. 2. 4: "Thy huntress' name that my full life doth 
sway." 

121. What dish, etc. What a dish, etc. Cf. /. C. i. 3. 42 : 
*' Cassius, what night is this 1 " 

123. StanieL Hanmer's correction of the ** stallion" of the 
folios. The staniel was a species of hawk. Check was *' a term in 
falconry, applied to a hawk when she forsakes her proper game, 
and follows some other of inferior kind that crosses her in her 
flight." Cf. iii. I. 66 below. 

127. For maL Normal, ordinary. Cf. A. and C. ii. 5. 41 : 

"Thou should'st come like a Fury crown'd with snakes, 
Not like a formal man." 

134. Sffwter* Here the name of a hound. The word meant a 
cobbler, as in the quotation illustrating coziers\ ii. 3. 97 above. 

Though it be. Hanmer made this negative ("be n't"), but 
Malone explains it thus : " This fellow will, notwithstanding, catch 
at and be duped by our device, though the cheat is so gross that 



Scene V] Notes 185 

any one else would find it out." Clarke takes though it be as = 
since it is ; and Furness, emphasizing be strongly, makes that the 
meaning (= "because it really &")* 

141. Suffers under probation. Is the worse for examination. 
Cf. T. of A. i. i. 165 : " Hath sufter'd under praise." 

143. O shall end. Johnson thought that here meant "a 
hempen collar " ; but more likely, as Steevens suggests, the idea is, 
" shall end in sighing " ; or in cries of pain, I should suggest. Cf. 
R. and J. iii. 3. 90: "Why should you fall into so deep an O? " 

144. Ay, or I 'II cudgel him, etc. Furness thinks this sounds 
more like Andrew than Sir Toby, after his longing for a " stone- 
bow,^ etc. I see no reason for such change. A cudgelling from 
Toby would be no " anti-climax." 

152. Are. Changed by Rowe to "is"; but this " confusion of 
proximity," as Abbott calls it, is not unfrequent in S. Cf./. C. 
v. i. 33: "The posture of your blows are yet unknown." See also 
Hen. V. v. 2. 19, Ham. i. 2. 38, etc. For soft, see on 99 above. 

154. In my stars. In my destiny. See on i. 3. 138 above. 

1 60. Opposite. Antagonistic, hostile; as in Rich. III. iv. 4.215, 
402. Cf. the use of the noun = opponent, in iii. 2. 68 and iii. 4. 
242, 280 below. 

161. Tang* Twang. The only other instance of the verb in S. 
is in iii. 4. 75 below. 

164. Yellow stockings. Much worn in the time of S. Steevens 
cites many allusions to the fashion in contemporaneous writers, 
and Clarke refers to the evidence of it still existing "in the saffron- 
coloured hose of the London Blue-Coat or Christ's-Hospital boys, 
who maintain the same costume as was worn in the time of the 
royal boy-founder of their school, Edward VI." 

165. Cross-gartered. The fashion of wearing the garters crossed 
in various styles is illustrated by several woodcuts in Halliwell- 
Phillipps's folio ed. Steevens quotes, among other references to 
the practice, The Lovers Melancholy, 1629: "As rare an old 
youth as ever walk'd cross-gartered." 



iS6 Notes [Act n 

170. The Fortunate-Unhappy. The folio disguises the passage 
thus : " Farewell, shee that would alter seruices with thee, tht [sic] 
fortunate vnhappy daylight and champian discouers not more: 
This is open," etc. 

171. Daylight and champaign, etc. Daylight and an open 
country cannot make things plainer. 

172. / will read politic authors. "That is, authors on state- 
craft; so that his tongue may tang arguments of state " (Furness). 

174. Point-devise. Exactly, with utmost precision; also spelt 
point-device. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 401 and L. L. L. v. i. 21. 

175. Jade me. Make me appear like a jade, make me ridicu- 
lous. For the contemptuous use of the noun jade, cf. Much Ado, 
L 1. 145 : "a jade's trick," etc. 

181. Strange, stout. That is, distant, or reserved, and proud, or 
overbearing. Cf. v. I. 214 below: "a strange regard"; and 
2 Hen. VL i. I. 187: "As stout and proud as he were lord of 
all." 

192. The Sophy, The Sufi or Shah of Persia. Cf. M. of V. ii. 
i. 25 : "the Sophy and a Persian prince"; and Bacon, Essay 43: 
ts Ismael, the Sophy of Persia." 

199. <7 my neck. Of&nd on were often confounded. 

201. Tray-trip. A game in which success depended on throw- 
ing a trois (Nares). It is often mentioned by writers of the time, 
but by S. only here. 

209. Aqua-vitce. " The old name of strong waters " (Johnson) . 
Cf. . andf. iii. 2. 88, iv. 5. 16, etc. 

212. A colour she abhors, etc. I am not aware that any com- 
mentator has noted the inconsistency of Maria's assertions that 
yellow is a colour Olivia abhors and cross-gartering a fashion that 
she detests, and what she has written in the forged letter : " Re- 
member who commended thy yellow stockings," etc.; which is 
confirmed by Malvolio when he reads it. Possibly Olivia had 
spoken ironically ; but more likely it is one of S.'s inconsistencies 
in minor matters. 



Scene I] JNotCS 187 

218. Tartar, Tartarus. Cf. C. of E. iv. 2. 32: "Tartar limbo, 
worse than hell"; and Hen. V. ii. 2. 123: * vasty Tartar*" 



ACT III 

SCENE I. 2. J?j/ #y tabor. The /a0r (a small drum) was an 
instrument often used by professional clowns, and Tarleton, the 
celebrated jester, is represented in an old print as playing on it, 
Here there is a play upon fy, but it is not necessary to see in tabor 
any allusion to its use as the sign or name of an inn. 

8. Lies. Lodges, lives ; a common meaning of the word. Cf. 
T. G. of V. iv. 2. 137: ' Where lies Sir Proteus?" etc. 

11. To see this age! Cf. Ham. v. i. 151 : " the age is grown so 
picked," etc. 

12. Cheveril. Kid; elsewhere used as a symbol of flexibility. 
Cf. Hen. VHL ii. 3. 32: "your soft cheveril conscience"; and 
R. and J. ii. 4. 87: "a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch 
narrow to an ell broad." 

14. Dally nicely. Play subtly or sophistically. Cf. Rich. //. il 
I, 84: " Can sick men play so nicely with their names? " 

21. Since bonds disgraced them. There is some quibble on bonds $ 
but it has not been satisfactorily explained. 

36. Pilchards. The fish " is so like the herring that, according 
to Lord Teignmouth, they can only be distinguished by the ability 
of the pilchard to furnish the fat in which it can be fried, which 
the herring lacks " (White). 

40. The orb. The earth ; as in A. and ". v. 2. 85 : *' But when 
he meant to quail and shake the orb," etc. 

44. Pass upon. Make a thrust at; a metaphor taken from 
fencing. For the literal use, see Ham. v* 2. 309: "I pray you, 
pass with your best violence," etc, 

45. Expenses* Money to spend. Schmidt makes it "drinking- 
raoney." 



1 88 Notes [Act m 

46. Commodity. Consignment, goods sent. 

51. A pair of these. Referring of course to the coin given 
him. 

52. Use. Usury, interest. Cf. V. and A. 768: "But gold that s 
put to use more gold begets," etc. 

53. Lord Pandarus, etc. Cf. T. and C. i. I. 98, where Troilus 
says, "I cannot come to Cressid but by Pandar," etc. See also 
M. W. i. 3. 83 : Shall I Sir Pandarus of Troy become? 

57. Cressida was a beggar. According to the story, she finally 
became a leper and begged by the roadside. 

58. Construe. Spelt " conster " in the folio, as elsewhere, indi- 
cating the common pronunciation. So "misconster" for mis- 
construe. 

60. Welkin. Sky. See on ii. 3. 61 above ; and for element in 
the same sense, i. i. 26 above. 

66. Not, like the haggard, etc. The folios have " And like " ; 
the correction was suggested by Johnson. For haggard a wild 
or untrained hawk, cf. Much Ado, iii. I. 36, etc. ; and for check, 
see on ii. 5. 123 above. The meaning seems to be that the Fool 
must use tact and discrimination in his sallies, not make them at 
random. The folio reading is inconsistent with the context, but 
attempts have been made to explain it. 

70. Wise men's folly shown, etc. The ist folio reads " wisemens 
folly falne, quite taint," etc. ("wise mens"in later folios). The 
reading in the text is Hanmer's, and is adopted by White, who re- 
marks : " The antithesis is plainly between the folly which the fool 
shows and that which the wise men show. The former is Jit, that 
is, becoming ; but the latter, being unfit, that is, unbecoming, quite 
taints their wit, or intelligence." Many editors adopt Capell's 
reading, "wise men, folly-fallen [that is, fallen into folly], quite 
taint," etc., and Furness prefers it. 

73. Dieu vous garde. As Sir Andrew did not know the mean- 
ing o f pourquoi (i. 3. 93 above), some have thought it an over- 
sight on the part of S. that he is made to speak French here ; but 



Scene I] Notes 189 

we may suppose that he had merely picked up a few phrases, which 
he airs upon occasion. Viola humours the affectation by replying 
in French, but Andrew either does not know what sermteur 
(servant) means, or blunders in his usual way in replying / hope, 
sir, you are. Toby (in i. 3. 27) evidently exaggerated Andrew's 
knowledge of the " tongues." Cf. what Andrew himself says in 
the pourquoi passage. The folio, which invariably corrupts French, 
has " pur-quoy " for pourquoi ; and in the present passage, ** Dieu 
vou guard Monsieur " and " Et vouz ousie vostre serviture." 

76. Encounter. Go towards; in the affected style of the 
time. 

77. Trade. Business ; as in Ham. Hi. 2. 346 : " Have you any 
further trade with us?" 

79. List. Bound, limit ; here used affectedly for goal or end, in 
sportive keeping with Sir Toby's address. 

80. Taste. Try. Probably meant as another bit of affectation, 
and not an ordinary metaphor, like " taste their valour " in iii. 4. 
256 below. 

86. Prevented. Anticipated. Cf. Ham. ii. 2. 305 : "so shall 
my anticipation prevent your discovery," etc. See also Psalms, 
cxix. 147 : " I prevented the dawning of the morning," etc. 

92. Pregnant. See on ii. 2. 28 above. 

113. Music from the spheres. For the allusion to the Pythag- 
orean doctrine of the music of the spheres, cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 6, 
M. of V. v. I. 60, A. and C. v. 2. 84, etc. Spheres and dear are 
dissyllables. 

1 14. Beseech you. The ellipsis of the nominative is common in 
such phrases. Cf. " Pray God" in iii. 4. 108, "Prithee" (a corrup- 
tion of "pray thee") in iii. 4. 1 1 6, etc. 

115. In enchantment there is an allusion to the old idea of love- 
charms. Cf. Oth. i. 2. 63 : " thou hast enchanted her," etc. 

1 1 6. Abuse. Deceive; as often. Cf. Temp. v. i. 112, A. Y. Z. 
iii. 5. 80, etc. 

122. Baited it. An allusion to " bear-baiting" (i. 3. 96 above). 



190 Notes [Act m 

Cf. 2 Hen. VI. v. I. 148 : Are these thy bears ? we '11 bait thy 
bears to death," etc. 

123, Receiving* Ready apprehension. Cf. ii. 2. II above. 

124. Cypress, See on ii. 4. 52 above. Cf. W. T* iv. 4. 220: 

" Lawn as white as driven snow, 
Cyprus black as e'er was crow ; " 

and Milton, // Pens. 35 : 

" And sable stole of Cyprus lawn, 
Over thy decent shoulders drawn," 

Halliwell-Phillipps quotes the Ballad of Robin Hood, Scarlet, an* 



" Her riding-suit was of sable-hue black, 

Cyprus over her face, 

Through which her rose-like cheeks did blush 
AH with a comely grace." 

125. Hideth. The conjecture of Delius for the "Hides" of ist 
folio. The later folios read " Hides my poor heart.'* Malone took 
hear to be a dissyllable, like dear in 1 1 3 above, but he was clearly 
wrong, 

126. Degree. Step ; like grise (cf. Oik. i. 3, 200) in the next 
line. 

127. A vulgar proof. A matter of common experience; as in 
% C. ii. I. 21 : " 't is a common proof," etc. 

136. Proper. Comely, handsome ; as in M. N. JO. i. 2. 88, 
M. of V.I 2.>7, etc. 

137. We $tward-ho ! The familiar cry of the boatmen on the 
Thames, like "Eastward-ho ! " The former was taken as the name 
of a comedy by Dekker, as the latter was by Chapman and Marston. 

153. Maidkood. Cf. Qth. i. I. 173: "youth and maidhood." 
See on i. 5. 224 above. 

154. Mattgre. In spite of; used only here and in T. AAv. 2. 
1 10 and Lear, v. 3. 131. 



Scene II] Notes 191 

157. For that. Because. See on i. 2. 48 above. 

162. And that no woman has. And that has never been given 
to woman; that referring to the idea of "true love" implied in 
heart, bosom, and truth. For the triple negative in nor never none 
cf. A. K L. i. 2. 27 : " nor no further in sport neither," etc. 

163. Save is often followed by the nominative, but I doubt 
whether it is used for saved, as Abbott {Grammar, 118) makes it. 
S. often puts pronouns in the nominative with prepositions, 

SCENE II. 12. Argument. Proof. Cf. Much Ado, it 3. 243, 
L. L. L.i. 2. 175, etc. 

14. ' } Slight. See on ii. 5. 34 above. 

22. Liver. See on ii. 4. 100 above ; and for accosted, cf. i. 3. 51. 

23, Fire-new. Fresh from the mint, like brand-new. Cf. L. L. 
L. i. i. 179: "fire-new words"; Rich. ///. i. 3. 256: "Your fire- 
new stamp of honour is scarce current," etc. 

27. Sailed into the north, etc. Mr. C. H. Coote, in a paper on 
the " new map" of 83 below, read before the New Shakspere Soci- 
ety, June 14, 1878, makes this a reference to the discovery of 
Northern Novya Zembla by the Dutchman Barenz in 1596, the 
news of which did not reach Holland until 1598. 

33. Brownist. The Brownists were a Puritan sect, so called 
from Robert Browne, a noted separatist of Elizabeth's time. 

34. Politician is generally used by S. in an unfavourable sense. 
Cf. f i Hen. IV. i. 3. 241, Lear> iv. 6. 175, etc. 

35. Build me. The me is the familiar colloquial expletive (like 
the Latin " ethical dative ") ; as in the next sentence and in iii. 4. 
187 ("scout me") below. 

39. Love-broker. Agent or "ambassador of love" (M. of V, ii. 
9. 92). 

45. Curst. Sharp, waspish ; as often. Cf. W. T. iii. 3. 135, 
Lear, ii. I. 67, etc. 

47. With the license of ink. " With all the freedom of speech 
which the written word allows " (Furness). 



1 92 Notes [Act in 

Thou'st him. The use of thou towards strangers who were not 
inferiors was an insult. S. uses the verb only here. 

51. The bed of Ware. This famous old four-poster was ten feet 
and nine inches square, and capable of holding a dozen persons. A 
cut of it may be found in Knight's Pictorial Shakspere t in Halliwell- 
Phillipps's folio ed., and in Chambers's Book of Days. Dyce says : 
" At what inn in Ware it was kept during Shakespeare's days is 
uncertain ; but, after being for many years at the Saracen's Head, 
it was sold there by auction in September, 1864, and knocked down 
at a hundred guineas, the newspapers erroneously adding that Mr. 
Charles Dickens was the purchaser." 

52. Gall. Cf. Cymb. i. i. 101 : "Though ink be made of 
gall." 

56. Cubiculo. Chamber, lodging (from the Latin cubiculum) ; 
another of Sir Toby's " affectioned " words. 

57. Manikin. Little man ; contemptuous. S. uses the word 
only here. 

64. Wainropes. Cart-ropes. See on ii. 5. 66 above; and for 
hale (= haul, draw), see Much Ado iii. 3. 62, etc. 

66. Liver. See on ii. 4. 100 above. 

67. Anatomy. Contemptuous for body; as in R. andf.m.^. 
106 (Schmidt). 

68. Opposite. Opponent. See on ii. 5. 160 above. 

70. Nine. The wren lays nine or ten eggs at a time, and the 
last-hatched nestling is generally the smallest of the brood (Stee- 
vens). The folio has " mine," which some editors retain. Furness 
thinks it Is probably right. 

72. Spleen. Apparently here = a fit of laughter or excessive 
mirth. Cf. T. of S. md. 1. 137 : " their over-merry spleen "; T. and 
C. i. 3. 178: "I shall split all in pleasure of my spleen," etc. 

73. Stitches. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 326 : 

For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps, 
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up." 



&cene II] Notes 193 

74. Renegado* Apostate ; used by S. only here. 

76. Passages. Acts ; as in I Hen. IV. iii. 2. 8 : " passages of 

life," etc. 

79. Pedant Pedagogue ; its only sense in S. Cf. Z. Z. Z. iii. 
I. 179: "a domineering pedant o'er the boy," etc. 

80. A school ? the church. Halliwell-Phillipps states that the 
Grammar School at Stratford was at intervals during Shakespeare's 
dme (probably while the schoolhouse was under repair) kept in the 
adjacent Chapel of the Guild, which was separated only by a lane 
from New Place. The Chapel was founded in 1269 ; but the chan- 
cel was rebuilt in 1450, and the rest of the edifice in the reign of 
Henry VII., to which period the schoolhouse also belongs. 

83. The new map, etc. The editors have generally followed 
Steevens in seeing here an allusion to a map engraved for Linscho- 
ten's Voyages, an English translation of which was published in 
1598. But, as Mr. Coote has proved in the paper mentioned above 
(see on 27), this map was not a new one, but "a feebly reduced 
copy of an old one, the latest geographical information to be found 
on it when T. N. appeared being at least thirty years old," and 
" it showed no portion of the great Indian peninsula.'* The true 
new map was pretty certainly one which Hallam in his Literature 
of Europe calls "the best map of the i6th century," and which he 
says is " found in a few copies of the^rrf edition of Hakluyt's Voy- 
ages? This edition, however, was published in 1589, while the 
map (as it is referred to just above) records discoveries made at 
least seven years later. "The truth," as Mr. Coote remarks, " seems 
to be that it was a separate map well known at the time, made in all 
probability for the convenience of the purchasers of either one or 
the other of the two editions of Hakluyt " [the second was pub- 
lished in 1598-1600], The author of the map was probably Mr. 
Emmerie Mollineux of Lambeth, who was also the first Englishman 
to make a terrestrial globe. 1 

1 This globe was brought out in 1592, and " the only example of it 
known to exist in England is the one now preserved in the Library 

TWELFTH NIGHT 13 



194 Notes [Act m 

The augmentation of the Indies on this map consists in " a marked 
development of the geography of India proper, then known as the 
land of the Mogores or Mogol, the Island of Ceylon, and the two 
peninsulas of Cochin-China and the Corea." Japan also " began to 
assume its modern shape," and there are " traces of the first ap- 
pearance of the Dutch under Houtman at Bantam (west end of 
Java), synchronizing almost within a year with that of their fellow- 
countrymen in Novya Zembla, and which within ten years led to 
their unconscious discovery, or rather rediscovery, of Australia." 
It may be added that this map has more lines than the one in Lin- 
scfcoten's Voyages, there being sixteen sets of rhumblines on the 
former to twelve on the latter. Mr. Coote's paper is printed in full 
in the Transactions of the New Shakspere Society, 1877-79, p. 88 
fol., with a facsimile engraving of a portion of the map. 

85. / can hardly forbear hurling things at him. " O mighty 
Master ! " is Furness's apt comment on this feminine touch. 

SCENE III. 8. Jealousy. Apprehension. It is often =s suspf* 
cion; as in Hen. V. ii. 2. 126. 
9. Skillets* Inexperienced. Cf. Temp. iii. i. 53: 

" How features are abroad 
I am skilless of ; " 

and R. and J* iii. 3. 132: "Like powder in a skilless soldier's 
flask." 

14. But thanks, etc. The folio reads : '* And thankes : and euer 
oft good turnes." The emendation is due to Theobald, and is the 
best of the many that have been proposed. 

17. Worth. Wealth, fortune. Cf. R. and J. ii. 6. 32: "They 

of the Middle Temple, with the date altered (by the pen) to 1603." Mr. 
Coote suggests that, as S. was not unfamiliar with the use of the globe 
(see C. of E. iii. 2. 116, and cf. R. of L. 407), "he may possibly have 
consulted and handled this precious monument of geography, the first 
globe made in England and by an Englishman" 



Scene iv] Notes 1 95 

are but beggars that can count their worth"; Oth. i. 2. 28: "the 
sea's worth"; Zeariv. 4. 10: "my outward worth," etc. 

1 8, What 's to do? The active use of the infinitive is still good 
English. 

19. Reliques. Explained by the memorials and things of fame 
in 24 just below. 

24. Renown. Cf. Hen. F. i. 2. 118: "The blood and courage 
that renowned them," etc. The participle renowned is still in use. 

26. His. Cf. i Hen. VI. iii. 2. 123: " Charles his gleeks," etc. 

29. Belike. Probably, very likely; as often. Cf. iii. 4. 256 below. 

32. Bloody argument. Cf. Hen. V. iv. I. 150: "when blood is 
their argument"; Id. iii. i. 21: "And sheath'd their swords for 
lack of argument," etc. 

36. Lapsed. Surprised, caught (Schmidt). The New Eng. Diet. 
gives it with a ? as = apprehended. The word occurs again in Ham. 
iii. 4. 107, where it is also somewhat perplexing. 

37. Open. Openly. Cf. in open in Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 405 : "was 
view'd in open as his queen." 

41. Whiles. Needlessly changed by some editors to "while.** 
Cf. Temp. ii. i. 217, 284, 3io,/. C. i. 2. 209, etc. 

SCENE IV. I. He says he '// come. Apparently = Suppose he 
says he '11 come. Cf. i. 4. 23 above : " Say I do speak with her." 

2. Of. On. Cf. A. W. iii. 5. 103 : " I will bestow some precepts 
of this virgin " (" on " in later folios), etc. 

5. Sad and civil. Serious and grave. For sad, cf. 19 and 78 
below; and for cwil 9 cf. R. andj. iii. 2. 10, etc. 

12. Were best. See on i. 5. 28 above. 

23. Please one, etc. The title of an old ballad, from which Fur- 
ness makes some extracts. Sonnet was often used loosely for a short 
song or poem. 

52. Thy yellow stockings ! Lettsom suggested " My yellow stock- 
ings ! " as Olivia has no idea that Malvolio is quoting the letter. 

57. Am I made? It has been suggested by those who believe 



196 Notes [Act IB 

that Olivia -tfis a widow (see p. 10 above) that made should be 
'* raaid "; but this is sufficiently disproved by i. 2. 36 above. Clarke 
says: "Olivia's surprise is at hearing that she, the rich heiress, the 
lady of rank, should be supposed to have a chance of making her 
fortune, of becoming *a made woman.*" Cf. M. N. D. iv. 2. 18: 
'* We had all been made men." Furness favours this interpreta- 
tion. 

60. Midsummer madness. Steevens quotes from Ray's Proverbs, 
" f Tis midsummer moon with you" (that is, you are mad); and 
Halliweii-Phillipps, among many similar allusions, gives from Pals- 
grave, 1590 : " He wyll waxe madde this mydsommer moone, if you 
take nat good hede on hym"; and Poor Richard's Almanack: 
" Some people about midsummer moon are affected in their brain." 

67. Miscarry. Often = come to a bad end, perish, die, etc. Cf, 
M. of V. ii. 8, 29, iii. 2. 318, v. I. 251, Cor. i. I. 270, R. and J. v. 
3. 267, etc. 

69. Come near me. Understand me, know who I am (Wright), 

75. Tang. Cf. ii. 5. 161 above. 

77. Consequently. Subsequently, afterwards ; as in R.John, iv, 
2. 240, etc. 

79. Sir. Lord; as in Tem-p*v. I. 69 : "a loyal sir," etc. Limed 
her^=i caught her as with bird-lime. Cf. R. of L. 88, Macb. iv. 2. 34, 
etc. 

82. Fellow, He takes the word in the sense of " companion " 
(Johnson). 

83. Adheres. Coheres, is in accordance. Cf. Macb. i 7. 52, 
M. W. ii. i. 62, etc. 

85. Incredulous. Incredible. Cf. deceivable in iv. 3. 21 below 
and unprizable in v. I. 56. Many adjectives (particularly in -bit* 
-ful, -less, etc.) are used by S. in both active and passive senses 
See on comfortable, i. 5. 230. 

91. In little. In a small compass. Cf. L. C. 91 : 
** For on his visage was in little drawn 
What largeness thinks in Paradise was sawn [sown]." 



Scene IV] Notes 197 

92. Legion himself. Cf. Mark v. 9. See also Ham. ii. 2. 383, 

97. Private. Privacy ; as in the common phrase in private. 

1 10. Water. For other allusions to this method of diagnosis, see 
2 Hen. IV. i. 2. 2 and Macb. v. 3. 51. Douce remarks : " Here may 
be a direct allusion to one of the two ladies of this description 
mentioned in the following passage from Heywood's play of The 
Wise Woman of Hogsdon : * You have heard of Mother Notting- 
ham, who for her time was pretty well skill' d in casting of waters: 
and after her Mother Bombye.' " 

121. Bawcock. Used like chuck (= chick) but always masculine 
(Schmidt). Cf. W. T. i. 2. 121, Hen. K iii. 2. 26, iv. i. 44, etc.; 
and for chuck, Macb. iii. 2. 45, Oth. iii. 4. 49, iv. 2. 24, etc. 

125. Cherry -pit. A game in which cherry-stones were pitched 
into a small hole ; mentioned by S. only here. Steevens quotes The 
Witch of Edmonton : (t I have lov'd a witch ever since I play'd at 
cherry-pit." 

126. Collier. The devil was so called for his blackness. Johnson 
quotes the old proverb, " Like will to like, quoth the Devil to the 
collier." 

133. Element. Cf. iii. I. 60 above. 

140. Take air and taint. Be exposed and spoiled. 

144. In a dark room and bound. On the old-time treatment of 
the insane, cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 382 : " a dark house and a whip," etc. 

150. A finder of madmen. Alluding to the legal phrase, find- 
ing mad (cf. finding guilty ', etc.). 

152. For a May morning. An allusion to the popular sports 
and diversions of May-day. 

1 60. Admire. Wonder. Cf. Temp.v. i. 154: 

" these lords 

At this encounter do so much admire 
That they devour their reason," etc. 

175. The -windy side. The safe side; a metaphor taken from 
hunting. Cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 327: "it keeps on the windy side 
of care" ; that is, "so that care cannot scent and find it." 



198 Notes IAct m 

179. Upon mine. Johnson suggested "upon thine"; but, a& 
Mason remarks, the old reading is more humorous. " The man on 
whose soul he hopes that God will have mercy is the one that he 
supposes will fall in the combat ; but Sir Andrew hopes to escape 
unhurt, and to have no present occasion for that blessing." Cf. 
what Dame Quickly says in Hen, F. iii. 2. 20 : *' Now I, to comfort 
him, bid him a' should not think of God ; I hoped there was no 
need to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet." 

185. Commerce. Business, intercourse. Cf. Ham. iii. 1. 1 10, etc. 
By and by = presently, soon ; as often. 

187. Scout. Be on the lookout. For me, see on iii. 2. 35 above. 

188. Bum-baity. Changed by Theobald to " bum-bailiff "; but 
the blunder was no doubt intentional. 

190. Horrible. For the adverbial use, cf. unchary, 213 below. 

192. Gives manhood more approbation. That is, gets one more 

credit for manly courage. For approbation = attestation^ cf. Hen. K 

L 2. 19: 

" Shall drop their blood in approbation 
Of what your reverence shall incite us to." 

207. Cockatrices. For the fabled power of the cockatrice or 
basilisk to kill with a look, cf. R. and J. iii. 2. 47: "the death- 
darting eye of cokatrice"; R+ofL. 540: "a cockatrice' dead-killing 
eye," etc. 

213. On V. Some editors adopt Theobald's '* out," and Furness 
approves it ; but no change seems called for. I am inclined, with 
Schmidt, to make laid on V = staked upon it. Cf. M. of V. iii. 5. 
85 : " And on the wager lay two earthly women " ; Ham. v. 2. 174 : 
"he hath laid on twelve for nine," etc. Unchary = heedlessly, 
recklessly. 

217. Haviour. Commonly printed "'haviour," but it is not a 
contraction of behaviour* 

219. Jewel. " Any personal ornament of gold or precious stones " 
(Schmidt), a piece of jewelry. Thus in M. ofV.v* I. 224, it is = a 
ring; in Cymb. ii. 3. 146, a bracelet, etc. Steevens quotes Mark- 



Scene IV] Notes 199 

ham, Arcadia, 1607 : " She gave him a very fine jewel, wherein was 
set a most rich diamond." 

228. A fiend like thee. That is, if he were like thee. 

234. Attends. Is waiting for. Cf. M. W.i.i. 279 : " the dinner 
attends you," etc. 

235. Dismount thy tuck = draw thy sword or rapier. Cf. I 
Hen. IV. ii. 4. 274 : "you vile standing-tuck " (no hyphen in early 
eds.), Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Nomenclator, 1585: "Verutum, 
... a rapier ; a tucke " ; and Cotgrave defines verdun as " the 
little Rapier, called a Tucke." Yare = quick, ready. Cf. A. and 
C. iii. 7. 39 : " Their ships are yare, yours heavy." See also Id. iii. 
13. 131, v. 2. 286, Temp. i. I. 7, 37, v. I. 224, etc. The adverb 
yarely occurs in Temp. i. I. 4 and A. and C. ii. 2. 216. 

242. Opposite. See on ii. 5. 160 above, and cf. 280 below. 

246. Unhatched. Unhacked. Cf. hatched (Fr. hache) = cut, en- 
graved, in T. and C. i. 3. 65. As Singer remarks, " the word exists 
still in the technical cross-hatching of engravers." 

247. On carpet consideration. That is, " a mere carpet-knight " ; 
which, according to Clarke, means one " created in times of peace, 
kneeling on a carpet, and not on the field of battle." 

249. Incensement. Anger, exasperation ; used by S. only here. 

251. Hob, nob. A corruption of hab or nab = have or have not, 
hit or miss, at random. Holinshed {Ireland") has "shot hab or 
nab at random." Cf. Hudibras: "Although set down hab-nab, at 
random." 

254. Conduct. Escort; as in M.ofV. iv. i. 148, Hen. V. i 2. 
197, etc. 

256. Belike. See on iii. 3. 29 above. 

257. Quirk humour, whim. Cf. A. W* iii. 2. 51: "quirks of 
joy and grief," etc. Taste = test. See on iii. i. 80 above. 

263. Meddle. " Have to do " (Schmidt) ; as in 294 below. Cf. 
R. andj. i. 2. 40 : " the shoemaker should meddle with his yard," 
etc. Malone compares the vulgar expression, " I J ll neither meddle 
nor make with it." 



loo Notes C Act m 

273. A mortal arbitrament. "A deadly decision, and arbitration 
by the sword." 

285. Sir priest. See on iv. 2. 2 below. 

286. Re-enter Sir Toby, etc. Dyce begins a new scene here, 
headed " The Street adjoining Olivia's Garden?* He says : 
"Though the folio does not mark a new scene, it is certain that 
previous to the entrance of the two knights, the audience of 
Shakespeare's days (who had no painted movable scenery before 
their eyes) were to suppose a change of scene." But, as Furness re- 
marks, *' on a stage like Shakespeare's, which made such a constant 
demand on the imagination, it is conceivable that the two couples 
might have obeyed the stage-directions of the folios, when at Exe- 
unt they retired a few paces, and Re-entered by advancing, and all 
the while have remained but a few paces apart, in full sight of each 
other, and yet be supposed to be beyond earshot; as Toby left 
Viola he was supposed to have made his exit, and to have re- 
entered as he joined Andrew." 

288, Firago. A corruption of virago, unless it be a word coined 
by Toby. The critics have been troubled because virago is femi- 
nine; but Schmidt says it is "used at random by Sir Toby to 
frighten Sir Andrew, who *has not bestowed his time in the 
tongues.'" See on ii. 5. 42 above. 

289. Stuck* The same word as stock = stoccado, or stoccata, a 
thrust in fencing. Cf. Ham. iv. 7. 162: "your venomed stuck." 

293. The Sophy. See on ii. 5. 192 above. 

306, To take up the quarrel. That is, to make it up, as we say. 
Cf. A. K L. v. 4. 103: "when seven justices could not take up a 
quarrel," etc, 

308. Is as horribly conceited. Is possessed with as horrible an 
idea. For conceit to form an idea, to judge, cf. f. C, i. 3. 162, iii. 
I. 192, and Oth. iii. 3. 149. 

311. Oath sake. So printed in the early eds., and probably to be 
explained in the same way as "justice sake" (./". C. iv. 3. 19), 
" sentence end " (A. Y. L. iii. 2. 144), etc. Similarly we find in 



Scene IV] Notes 

the folio fashion sake, heaven sake, recreation sake, sport sake, etc. 
Abbott {Grammar, 217) recognizes this ellipsis only in dissyllables 
ending in a sibilant. 

314. Supportance. Maintaining, upholding ; used only here and 
(literally) in Rich. //, iii. 4. 32 : " supportance to the bending twigs." 

322. By the duetto. According to the laws of duelling. Cf. 
L. L. Z. i. 2. 185 : "the duello he regards not." S. uses the word 
only twice. 

333. Undertaker* One who takes a business upon himself, as in 
Oth. iv. I. 224, the only other instance of the word in S. 

338. If you please* " The exquisite humour and perfectly charac- 
teristic effect of these three words in Viola's mouth, at this juncture, 
are delightful" (Clarke). 

346. Favour* Face. See on ii. 4. 24 above. 

360. Part. For the adverbial use, cf. Oth. v. 2. 296 : " hath part 
confess'd his villany," etc. 

362. Having* Property; as in A* K L. Hi. 2. 396, etc. So my 
present '= what I now have. 

372. Lying, vainness^ babbling drunkenness. The folio has 
" lying, vainnesse, babbling drunkennesse." Most editors insert a 
comma after babbling; but Wright and Furness believe both lying 
and babbling are adjectives. This is certainly true of babbling, but 
I have my doubts as to lying. 

380. Venerable. Worthy of reverence or worship. It is used 
metaphorically, as the context shows. 

383. Feature. For the singular (= "make, exterior, the whole 
turn or cast of the body," as Schmidt defines it), cf. I Hen. VI. v. 5. 
68 : " Her peerless feature, joined with her birth " ; Ham. ni. 1. 167 : 
** to show virtue her own feature," etc. 

385. Unkind. Used in a stronger sense than at present, and 
almost = unnatural. Cf./. C. iii. 2. 187: "the most unkindest cut 
of all"; Lear, iii. 4. 73: "his unkind daughters," etc. 

386. Beauteous- evil. tf A combination similar to proper'false it* 
ii. 2. 31 " (Furness). 



202 Notes [Act iv 

387. Trunks. The allusion is to the elaborately carved chests 
of the poet's time, specimens of which are still to be seen in museums 
and old English mansions. Schmidt makes o> erflourished = " var- 
nished over"; but it more likely refers to the florid carving of 
these ancient trunks. This word is again used figuratively in 
I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 495, where the Prince calls Falstaff " that trunk 
of humours." 

392. So do not L " This, I believe, means, I do not yet believe 
myself when, from this accident, I gather hope of my brother's 
life" (Johnson), It may mean "He believes that he knows me; 
I do not believe so" (Clarke). 

396. Couplet. Couple ; used by S. only here and in Ham. v. I. 
310: "her golden couplets." 

398. I my brother know, etc. That is, I recognize my resemblance 
to my brother when I see my own face m a mirror. Furness approves 
Deighton's explanation : " I know my brother to be mirrored to the 
life in my person, in myself who am the glass," but this seems a 
forced interpretation of in my glass. 

400. He went, etc. This seems to be introduced by the poet to 
explain why Viola is dressed like her brother, which was necessary 
to their being taken for each other. 

402. If it prove. That is, " that I, dear brother, be now ta'en fot 
you." 

410. 'Slid. A contraction of " by God's lid " ( T. and C. i. 2. 
228). It occurs again in M. W. iii. 4. 24. See on ii. 5. 30 above. 
Religious in it; that is, " one who practises it religiously " (Furness). 



ACT IV 

SCENE I. 12. Vent. Reed remarks that "this affected word 
seems to have been in use in Shakespeare's time." There can be 
no doubt of that, as he has used it himself eight or ten times. 
See Temp. \. 2. 280, A. Y. L. ii. 7. 41, Lear, i. I. 1 68, etc. 

14. This great lubber, the world. The folio reading, retained by 



Scene II] Notes 2OJ 

most of the editors. The meaning seems to be, I am afraid the 
whole world is growing cockneyish ; or, as Johnson puts it, " affec- 
tation and foppery will overspread the world." This certainly 
seems a simpler and more natural explanation than we get from 
Douce's emendation, "this great lubberly word." As Dyce re- 
marks, it is hardly probable that S. would have made the Clown 
speak of vent as "a great lubberly word," or that "great lubberly' 7 
could signify either "imposing" (Badham) or "pretentious" 
(White). The text seems preferable to any emendation that 
has been proposed. 

15, Ungird thy strangeness. Unbend or relax thy reserve. Cf. 
strange in ii. 5. 181 above. 

1 8. Greek. Jester, or merry-maker. Cf. T. and C i. 2. 118: 
" a merry Greek indeed"; Id. iv. 4. 58 : " the merry Greeks." The 
Greeks were proverbially spoken of by the Romans as fond of 
revelry and merriment (Schmidt). 

23. Fourteen years' purchase. An English technical term in 
buying land. The current price in the time of S. appears to have 
been twelve years' purchase ; and fourteen years' purchase may 
therefore be = a high price. 

27. And there, etc. The folio has "and there, and there," but 
the measure requires the third " and there," which Capell added. 
Such omissions are not uncommon in the early eds. 

40. Well fleshed. Evidently addressed to Sebastian, not, as some 
have supposed, to Sir Andrew. Fleshed = made fierce and eager 
for combat, as a dog fed with flesh. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 3. 11 : "the 
flesh'd soldier"; Rich. HL iv. 3. 6: "flesh'd villains, bloody dogs," 
etc. 

45. Malapert. Pert, saucy. Cf. Rich. Iff. i. 5. 255 : " Peace, 
master marquess, you are malapert." 

50. Manners. Used as singular in A. W. ii. 2. 9, R. and J. v. 
3. 214, etc. 

52. Rudesby. Rude fellow. Cf. T. of S. iii. 2. 10: "a mad- 
brain rudesby, full of spleen." 



204 Notes [Act iv 

54. Extent* Conduct (Schmidt); as in Ham. ii. 2. 390: "my 
extent to the players." Johnson takes it to be = violence, connect- 
ing it with the legal sense of seizure of goods, as in A. Y. L. iii. 
1.17. 

56. Fruitless. Vain, idle. Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 371 : "a dream 
and fruitless vision." 

57. BotcWd up. Cf. the use of botcher in i. 5. 48 above. See 
also Hen. V. ii. 2. 115 and Ham. iv. 5. 10. 

59. Deny. Refuse, say no. Cf. M. of V. iii. 2. 291, A. W. ii. I. 
90, Rich. III. iii. i. 35, etc. For beskrew as a mild imprecation, 
cf. M. N. D. ii. 2. 54, v. i. 295, M. of V. iii. 2. 14, etc. 

60. Heart. For the play on the word, see on i. i. 1 6 above. 
Furness does not regard it as a play upon words, but believes it to 
be " an unconscious adoption of both significations of the word." 

61. What relish is in this? "How does this taste! What 
judgment am I to make of it ?" (Johnson). 

63. Lethe. For the allusion to the infernal river whose waters 
caused forgetfulness, cf. Ham. i. 5. 33, 2 Hen. IV. v. 2. 72, A. and 
C. ii. 7. 114, etc. 

SCENE II. 2. Sir Topas. The title Sir was formerly applied 
to priests and curates in general. Nares explains the usage thus : 
" Dominus, the academical title of a bachelor of arts, was usually 
rendered by Sir in English at the universities ; therefore, as most 
clerical persons had taken that first degree, it became usual to style 
them Sir." Latimer speaks of " a Sir John, who hath better skill 
in playing at tables, or in keeping a garden, then in God's 
word." 

4. Dissemble. Disguise. Singer quotes Button's Diet., 1583: 
*' Dissimnlo, to dissemble, to cloak, to hide." 

6. Tall. The word has been variously explained, and sundry 
emendations have been suggested. It may be = stout, robust, (as 
in i. 3. 20 above), or not of sufficiently commanding presence. 

8. To be said. To be called. 



Scene M] Notes 205 

10. Competitors. Confederates, associates. Cf. Z. Z. Z. ii. I. 82 : 
f * he and his competitors in oath," etc. 

13. Bonos dies. Clarke says, " Spanish, good-day." I should 
have taken it to be Latin. 

The old hermit of Prague. "Not the celebrated heresiarch, 
Jerome of Prague, but another of that name, born likewise at 
Prague, and called the hermit of Camaldoli in Tuscany " (Douce). 
But, as Wright remarks, "this is treating the Clown's nonsense 
too seriously." 

15. King Gorboduc. An old British king. 

1 6. For what is that, etc. "A playful satire on the pedantry of 
logic in the schools " (Clarke). 

34. Modest. See on i. 3. 9 above. 

38. Bay-windows. The English editors explain that this is "the 
name for what are now called bow-windows" I hardly need say 
that in this country bay-window is the term in use. Cf. B. J., 
Cynthid } s Revels : " retired myself into a bay-window "; Middleton, 
Women beware Women : 

" *T is a sweet recreation for a gentlewoman 
To stand in a bay-window, and see gallants," etc. 

Boswell says: "Johnson admits only bay-window into his Diction- 
ary, and consequently considers bow-window as a vulgar corrup- 
tion." 

39. Clear-stores. The first folio has "cleere stores," the later 
ones " cleare stones " or " clear stones." If the former is what S. 
wrote, it is doubtless equivalent to the Gothic clerestory ; if the 
latter, "clear stones," or transparent stones, is nonsense of the 
same sort as transparent as barricadoes. That some of the editors 
should complain of both readings as " unintelligible " is almost as 
good a joke as any of the Clown's. 

46. The Egyptians in their fog. See Exodus, x. 21. 
50. Constant. Consistent, logical. Cf, constancy = consistency 
m M. N. D. v. I. 26, etc. 



ao6 Notes [Act iv 

52. Pythagoras. For other allusions to his doctrine of metemp- 
sychosis, see M. of V. iv. 2. 54 fol. and A. Y. L. iii. 2. 187. 

55. Happily. Most editors adopt Capell's "haply'*; but hap- 
pily often occurs with this sense. 

61. Woodcock. See on ii. 5. 88 above. 

66. For all waters. That is, fit for anything, like a fish that can 
swim equally well in all waters (Malone). 

74, Upshot. Conclusion, final issue ; in archery the final shot 
that decided the match. Cf, Ham* v. 2. 395 ; the only other 
instance of the word in S. 

76. Hey Robin, etc* This old ballad may be found in Percy's 
Reliques, 

79. Perdy. A corruption of par Dieu. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 305, 
Lear, ii. 4, 86, etc. 

90. Besides. Often used as a preposition. Cf. Sonn. 23. 2 : 
" besides his part " ; C of E. iii. 2. 78 : " besides myself," etc. 
For five wits> d.Muck Ado, v. I. 66: "four of his five wits "; Lear, 
iii. 4. 59 ; * Bless thy five wits ! " etc. The term seems to have 
been first suggested by the five senses, but the senses and the 
wits were regarded as distinct. See Sonn. 141.9: ** my five wits 
nor my five senses," etc. 

96. Propertied. Made a property of, taken possession of fas a 
thing having no will of its own). Cf. 1C. John, v. 2. 79 : 

** I am too high-born to be propertied, 
To be a secondary at control," etc. 

100. Malvolio, etc. Staunton inserts " \As Sir Topas\ " here ; 
but it is sufficiently evident that the Clown is playing a double part, 
and carrying on a colloquy with the imaginary parson. 

101. Endeavour thyself. Halliwell-Phillipps cites Latimer, Ser- 
mons: *The devil, with no less diligence, endeavoureth himself to 
let [see on v. i. 251 below] and stop our prayers"; and Holinshed, 
Chronicles : i( He endevored himself to answer the expectation of 
his people." 



Scene III] Notes 207 

102. Bitole babble. Idle talk. Fluellen (Hen. V. iv. I. 71) calls 
it " pibble pabble." Cf. Florio, Second Frutes, 1591 : ** cast idlenes, 
slouthfulnes, and thy bible bable aside*'; and Hey wood, Spider 
and Flie, 1566: "all confused so in such bibble babble. 1 ' 

1 06. / will, sir, I will. " Spoken after a pause, as if* in the 
mean time, Sir Topas had whispered" (Johnson). 

109. Shent. Chidden, reproved, or " snubbed." Cf. M. W. L 4* 
38 : ** we shall all be shent." See also Cor. v. 2. 104, Ham. iii. 2. 
416, etc. 

113. Wett-a-day that, etc. Ah that, alas that, etc. Cf. R. and 
f. iv. 5. 15 : "O, well-a-day, that ever I was born! " In Per* Iv. 
4. 49: "His daughter's woe and heavy well-a-day" (= grie^ 
sorrow), 

1 1 6. Advantage. For the verb, cf. Temp. i. i. 34: "for our 
own doth little advantage." See also Hen* V. iv. I. 20 1, f. C. iii. 
I, 242, etc. 

1 1 8. Are you not mad indeed? or do you, etc. " You are mad, 
are you not ? " etc. Johnson omitted not, and other changes have 
been suggested, but none is necessary. 

130. Vice. The fool of the old moralities, doubtless so called 
from the vicious qualities attributed to him. He often carried a 
dagger of lath, with which he used to belabour the devil and some- 
times attempted to pare his long nails. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 4. 76 : 
* c Bardolph and Nym had ten times more valour than this roaring 
devil i' the old play, that every one may pare his nails with a 
wooden dagger." See also 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 343, Ham. iii. i. 98, 
etc. 

137. Goodman devil. Goodman was a familiar appellation, and 
sometimes used contemptuously; as in the " goodman boy " of R* 
andj. \. 5. 79 and Lear, ii. 2. 48. 

SCENE IIL 3. Wonder that enwraps me. CL Much Ado, 
iv. i. 146: **I am so attir'd in wonder," etc. 
6. Was. That is, had been. Credit belief or opinion. 



208 Notes [Act iv 

8. Golden. ValuaV |>ther allusions to Wach i. > t '3: "golden 
opinions," etc. Cf. v. *^ 2. 54 fol. and / 4 e. M 

9. Disputes, Reasc ^editors adopt :* ^<- and/, iii. _ 63: "Let 
me dispute with thee,' ;his sense. 

12. Instance. Exa Jon ii. 5. 88 aU. ) or discourse = reasoning, 
cf. .#im. iv. 4. 36 : i<Tha<- Itfrge discou -se, looking before and 
after." Singer quotes irom Granville : "The act of the mind which 
connects propositions, and deduceth conclusions from them, the 
schools call discourse, and we shall not miscall it if we name it 
reason?* 

14. Wrangle. Quarrel or dispute. Cf. Temp. v. 1. 174, M. W. 
ii. i. 88, etc. 

1 8. Take and give back, etc. Take affairs in hand and see to 
their dispatch. The construction (a favourite with S.) is like that 
in Macb. iii. 2. 164 : 

" Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear 
Your favours nor your hate." 

21. Deceivable. Deceptive, delusive; as in the only other ex- 
ample of the word in S. See Rick. II. ii. 3. 84 : " whose duty is 
deceivable and false." See also on i. 5. 230 and ii. I. 27 above. 

24. Chantry. A chapel endowed for the purpose of chanting 
masses for the souls of the dead. Cf. Hen V. iv. I. 318 : 

" and I have built 

Two chantries, where the sad and solemn priests 
Sing still for Richard's soul." 

3y = hard by, or near ; as in L. L. L. v. 2. 94 : "into a neigh- 
bour thicket by," etc. 

26. Plight me, etc. This was not an actual marriage, but a be- 
trothing, or formal promise of future marriage. It was anciently 
known by the name of espousals, which subsequently came to be 
applied to the marriage proper, or what is here called the celebra- 
tion. See on v. i. 263 below. 

27. Jealous. Anxious, doubtful. Cf. Hen. V. iv. I. 302.' 



Scene I] Notes 209 



-Jdle talk. Fluellen 

Seek throug . m. 

( t lorio, Second Fru. 



29. Whiles. Until. t >v . )a bl e aside"; , ? in -#& -#" i 3- I22 
^/<r<5. iii. I. 44, etc. G J^d so j n suc ] 1 e known. Cf, W. T, 
i. i. 40: "a gentleman q jthe < Spoken after : e tkat ever came into 
my note," etc. if , ,. ;3(Jc 

30. W^^z/ A"2^. At which time, when ^ , t poetical idiom, Cf. 
Rick. III. iv. 4. 490 : " Where and what time your majesty shall 
please"; Milton, Lycidas t 28: "What time the gray-fly winds her 
sultry horn," etc. 

34. And heavens so shine, etc. Steevens suggests that there 
may be an allusion to the proverbial saying, * f Happy is the bride 
upon whom the sun shines." But, as Furness remarks, Olivia 
merely echoes a similar prayer uttered by Friar Lawrence in R. and 
/. ii. 6. I : 

" So smile the heavens upon this holy act 
That after hours with sorrow chide us not!" 



ACT V 

SCENE I. 7. To give a dog, etc. -In Manningham's Diary (see 
p. 9 above) there is a story of Dr, Bullein, who had a dog which 
Queen Elizabeth wanted. . . . Sfae promised that if he would 
grant her one desire he should have whatever he would ask. She 
then demanded his dog, which he gave her, and then, claiming the 
fulfilment of her promise, asked that the dog be given back to him. 

23. Conclusions to be as kisses, etc. Warburton thought thi* a 
" monstrous absurdity," and conjectured, " so that, conclusion tc 
be asked, is," etc. Farmer cites Lusfs Dominion : 

"Quern. Come, let 's kisse. 
Moor. Away, away. 
Queen. No, no, saves, I [ay] ; and twice away, sayes stay," 

TWELFTH NIGHT 14 



2io Notes [Act v 

Coleridge says: "Surely Warburton could never have wooed by 
kisses and won, or he would not have flounder-flatted so just and 
humorous, nor less pleasing than humorous, an image into so pro- 
found a nihility. In the name of love and wonder, do not four 
kisses make a double affirmative ? The humour lies in the whis- 
pered 'No ! * and the inviting * Don't 1 ' with which the maiden's 
kisses are accompanied, and thence compared to negatives, which 
by repetition constitute an affirmative." 

31. Double-dealing. There is a play on the word, as on double- 
dealer just below, and in Much Ado, v. 4. 116. 

34. Grace. Virtue, as in R. of L, 712: "desire doth fight with 
grace"; A, K Z. i, 3. 56: "as innocent as grace itself," etc. 

36. So muck a sinner to be. For the omission of as, see on ii. 4. 
98 above. 

39. Triplex. Triple time in music. 

40. Saint Bennet. This church was probably St. Bennet's, 
Paul's Wharf, London, destroyed in the great fire of 1666, but 
rebuilt by Wren and now used as a Welsh church. There were 
three other churches by that name in London, but this one was 
near the Blackfriars Theatre in a neighbourhood familiar to S. 
Bennett Benedict (not "Benedick," as Schmidt gives it), as in the 
name of "Sir Bennet Seely" in Rich. //. v. 6. 14. 

42. At this throw. By this trick ; alluding to playing with dice 
or with bowls. Cf. M. of V. ii. I. 33 : 

" If Hercules and Lichas play at dice 
Which is the better man, the greater throw 
May turn by fortune from the weaker hand ; * 

and Cor. v. 2. 20: 

** Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground, 
I have tumbled past the throw." 

46. Lullaby. Some take this to be a verb, and it is occasionally 
used as such ; but here it may be a noun : " A lullaby to you* 
bounty," etc. 



Scene I] Notes 211 

55. Bawbung. Insignificant, like a bauble. Cf. T. and C. i. 
3. 35 : ** How many shallow bauble boats dare sail," etc. 

56. Unprizable. Not to be prized, valueless. In the only other 
passage in which S. uses the word (Cymb. i. 4.99), it is = invalua- 
ble, inestimable. Similarly (as Furness notes) S. uses unvalued 
with opposite meanings in Ham. i. 3. 19 and Rich. II L i. 4.27. 

57. ScathfuL Harmful, destructive. Cf. the noun scathe ( = in- 
jury, damage) in K. John, ii. I. 75 : "To do offence and scathe in 
Christendom," etc. ; and the verb in R. andj. i. 5. 86 : " This trick 
may chance to scathe you." 

58. Bottom. Still used in the sense of vessel. Cf. M. of V. 
i. i. 42, K. John, ii. i. 73, and Hen. V. iii. chor. 12. 

62. Fraught. Freight (which is not found in S.). Cf. Oth. iii. 
3.449 : " Swell, bosom, with thy fraught." We find fraughtage in 
the same sense in C. of E. iv. I. 87 and T. and C. prol. 13. For 
the verb fraught, see Temp. i. 2. 13, Cymb. i. I. 126, etc. From 
Candy ; that is, on her voyage from Candy, or Candia. 

63. Tiger. Again used as the name of a ship in Macb. i. 3. 7 : 
" Her husband 's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger." 

65. Desperate of shame and state. Reckless of disgrace and the 
effect upon his state or condition. 

66. Brabble. Brawl, quarrel. Cf. T. A. ii. i. 62 : "This petty 
brabble will undo us all." The word becomes prabble in the 
Welsh dialect of Evans (M. W. L I. 56, iv. I. 52, v. 5. 169) and 
Fluellen (Hen. V. iv. 8. 69), We have brabbler = quarreller in 
K. John, v. 2. 162. 

69. Distraction. Madness ; as in 317 below. The word is here 
a quadrisyllable, like perfection in i. I. 39 above. 

70. Notable. Used oftener by S. in a bad than in a good sense. 
Cf. T. G. of V. ii. 5. 47 : "a notable lubber " ; Oth. v. i. 78 : O 
notable strumpet ! " etc. 

71. Mercies. The plural is used because more than one person 
is referred to ; as in 2 Hen. IV. v. 5. 130 : "I commit my body to 
your mercies." 



a i a Notes [Act v 

72. Dear. Heartfelt, earnest ; used of both agreeable and dis- 
agreeable emotions. Cf. Ham. \. 2. 182 : "my dearest foe," etc, 

77, Witchcraft. Used figuratively ; as in Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 18 : 
" he hath a witchcraft Over the king in 's tongue," etc. 

78. Ingrateful. Used by S. oftener than ungrateful. Cf. ingrate 
in 1 14 below. 

80. Wrack. Wreck; the only spelling in the early eds. It 
rhymes with back in R. ofL. 841, 966, Sonn. 126. 5, Maeb. v. 5. 51, 
and with alack in Per. iv. prol. 12. 

82. Retention. Reserve. It is used in a different sense in ii. 4. 98 
above. 

83. All his in dedication. Entirely dedicated or devoted to him. 

84. Pure. Purely, merely. For the adverbial use, cf. Ham. iii. 
4. 158 ; " live the purer." 

85. Into. Unto ; as often. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 102 : " Look back 
into your mighty ancestors," etc. 

87. Being apprehended. That is, / being apprehended. Such 
ellipsis is common when the pronoun can be easily supplied. 

89. To face me out. Cf. iv. 2. 98 above : " to face me out of my 
wits." 

90. Twenty-years-removed. The hyphens are not in the early 
eds. 

loo. Three months. See on i. 4. 3 above, 
no. Fat, Heavy, dull, distasteful. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes 
Chapman, Bussy d'Ambois : " 'T is grosse and fulsome." 

1 14. Unauspicious. S. uses the word only here, and inauspicious 
only in R. and J. v. 3. 1 1 1 : " inauspicious stars." 

115. Faithful? st. This contraction of superlatives, often very 
harsh, was a fashion of the time. 

119. The Egyptian thief. An allusion to the Greek romance of 
Theogenes and Chariclea^ which was translated into English before 
1587. Thyamis, a robber chief, having fallen in love with Chari- 
clea, seized her and shut her up in a cave with the intent to make 
her his wife. Being overpowered by another band of robbers, he 



Scene 13 Notes ni 3 

rushed to the cave, in order to kill her, but in the darkness slew 
another person instead. 

121. Sometime. Used by S. interchangeably with sometimes, both 
adverbially and adjectively. 

122. Non-regardance* Disregard, contempt; used by S. only 
here. 

123. And that. The that is used instead of repeating the pre- 
ceding since; as with other conjunctions. 

125. Marble-breasted* Cf. marble-hearted in. Lear, i. 4. 281. 
Marble-constant (= firm as marble) occurs in A. and C. v. 2. 240. 

126. Minion. Darling, favourite (x. mignori) . In the time of 
S. it was beginning to be used in the sense of a spoiled favourite, 
hence of a pert and saucy person, and even more contemptuously. 

127. Tender. Cherish, regard ; as often. 

132. A raven's heart, etc. Cf. R. and J. iii. 2. 76: **Dove- 
feather'd raven ! " and 2 Hen. VL iii. I. 76 : 

" Seems he a dove ? His feathers are but borrow'd, 
For he 's disposed as the hateful' raven." 

133. Most jocund, apt, and 'wittingly. For the ellipsis of the 
adverbial ending, cf._/. C. ii. i. 224 : " look fresh and merrily," etc. 

134. To do you rest. Cf. R. and J. i. 5. 72 : "do him dispar- 
agement," etc. 

139. Tainting. Disgracing, exposing to shame. Cf. I Hen. VL 
iv. 5 , 46 : " My age was never tainted with such shame," etc. 

148. Strangle thy propriety. Deny thy identity. Cf. Oth. ii. 

3, 176 : 

"Silence that dreadful bell ; it frights the isle 
From her propriety " 

(that is, out of herself). 

149. Take thy fortunes up. That is, accept or acknowledge 
them. 

156. Newly. Lately, just now ; as very often. See M. W. iv. 
4. 52, T of S. ii. 1. 174, iv. 2. 86, R. and J* iii. I 176, v. 3. 175, etc, 



214 Notes [Actv 

157. A contract^ etc. The betrothal referred to in the note on 
iv. 3. 26 above. It was a legal ceremony, consisting in the inter- 
change of rings, kissing, and joining hands, in the presence of wit- 
nesses, and often before a priest. Violation of the contract was 
punished by the Ecclesiastical Law with excommunication ; and it 
was not until the time of George II. that this penalty was abolished 
in England. The betrothal was a legal bar to marriage with an- 
other person. Henry VIII. took advantage of this in divorcing 
Anne Boleyn. Before her execution he obtained a decision from 
the Ecclesiastical Court that the marriage was void, on the ground 
of her alleged pre-contract with Northumberland. In Scotland to 
this day the betrothal is a legal contract, the fulfilment of which 
can be enforced. This ancient betrothal is introduced by S. in at 
least seven of his plays T. G. of F., T. of S., K. John, Much 
Ado, M.for M. t W. T. (twice), and T. N. It will be noticed that 
Olivia addresses Sebastian as "husband" in 144 above. Similarly, 
Robert Arden, the poet's maternal grandfather, in a legal docu- 
ment, calls his daughter Agnes the wife (uxor) of the man to 
whom she was married three months later. Of course she had 
been betrothed before the document was written. Other instances 
of the kind are mentioned by Halliwell-Phillipps, who believed 
that S. and Anne Hathaway had been thus formally betrothed 
several months before their hurried marriage. 

158. Joinder. Joining ; used by S. only here. We find rejoin- 
dure in 7*. and C. iv. 4. 38. 

1 60. Interchangement of your rings. As already stated, rings 
were usually exchanged in the betrothal, but there is no clear 
evidence that this was done in the marriage ceremony, as Stee- 
vens asserts. 

161. Compact. Accented on the last syllable by S. except in 
I Hen. VL v. 4. 163, which is probably not his. 

162. In my function. In the discharge of my official duty, 

163. Watch* See on ii. 5. 62 above. 

1 66. Case. Integument, skin. Cf. A. and C. iv, 15. 89 : "The 



Scene I] Notes 21 5 

case of that huge spirit now is cold." Malone quotes Gary, Present 
State of England^ 1626 : "Queen Elizabeth asked a knight named 
Young how he liked a company of brave ladies? He answered, as 
I like my silver-haired conies at home : the cases are far better 
than the bodies." Halliwell-Phillipps cites Bussy d* Ambois : " the 
asse, stalking in the lion's case." 

1 68. That thine own trip, etc. That you will trip yourself up, 
be caught in your own snare. 

1 72. Little. A little, at least some. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 43 : 

" It is but as a body yet distemper'd, 
Which to his former strength may be restor'd 
With good advice and little medicine." 

Elsewhere S. uses a little in this sense, and little negatively (= not 
much, scarce any), as we do now. 

176. Broke my head. This expression, in the time of S., did 
not mean a fractured skull, but as Schmidt properly defines it, " to 
crack the skin of the head so that the blood comes." Cf. M. W. i. 
I. 125, etc. Similarly, "a broken shin" (Z. Z. Z. iii. I. 74 and 
R. and J. i. 2. 53) means one that is bruised and bloody; but 
Ulrici misunderstood it in these passages, assuming that the sug- 
gestion of a "plantain leaf" as a remedy for the damaged shin 
was merely " ironical." He says that '* the English commentators " 
are obviously wrong in " considering plantain a good remedy for a 
broken bone." 

177. Coxcomb. Used jokingly for the head ; as in Hen. V* v. I. 

45 57> Lear > 4- 125, etc. 

178. / had rather than forty pound. Cf. ii. 3. 20 above. For 
the plural pound, cf. Much Ado, i. i. 90, iii. 5. 27, etc. 

183. Incardinate. Rowe takes pains to correct this into 
"incarnate." 

185. Wd's lifelines. One of the many corruptions of God* in 

paths. Cf. M. W. iii. 4. 39 : " 'Od's heartlin^s ! " A. Y. L. iii. 5. 



216 Notes [Act v 



43 : 'Od's my little life ! " Q>*0& iv. 3. 293 : 'Od's pittikins J 
etc. See also on ii. 5. 34 above. 

190. Bespoke you fair. Spoke kindly to you. Cf. Rick. //. v. 
2.20: " Bespake them thus"; C. of E. iv. 2. 15: "Didst speak 
Mm fair ? " Id. iv. 4. 157 : ** they speak us fair," etc. 

196. Oihergatest Otherwise, in another manner; the only in 
stance of the word in S. Anothergates was more common. 
Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Lyly, Mother Bombie : " anothergates 
marriage "; and Hudibras : 

" When Hudibras about to enter 
Upon anothergates adventure," etc. 

201. dgone. Ago ; used by S. only here and in T* G. of V* iii 

1. 85 : ** long agone." 

202. His eyes were set, etc. Cf. Temp. iii. 2. 9 : ' Drink, ser- 
vant-monster, when I bid thee ; thy eyes are almost set in thy 
head." 

203. A pa$$y-mea$ure$ pavin. The ist folio has a a passy meas- 
ures panyn " ; the later folios read * Rogue after a passy measures 
Pavin." Singer and others adopt the reading in the text. Passy- 
measure is a corruption of the Italian passamezw, which is defined 
by Florio, 1598,35 "a passa-measure in dancing, a cinque pace." 
Steevens cites many references to the pavin ; as in Beaumont and 
Fletcher, Mad Lover: *'I '11 pipe him such a pavan"; Gosson, 
School of ' Abtise, 1579: " Dumps, pavins, galliards, measures," etc, 
Bvin Jonson, in The Alchemisf, calls it a Spanish dance. Sir J 
Hawkins says that it was "a grave and majestick dance." He 
adds that e^ery pavin had its galliard (see i. 3. 125 above), a 
lighter kind of air derived from the former. Cf. Middleton, More 
Dissemblers^ etc. : 

" I can dance nothing but ill favour'dly, 
A strain or two of passe measures galliard." 

Malone says that Sir Toby means only that the surgeon is a rogue 
and a ^razv, solemn cyxcpmb. In the first act of the play he has 



Scene I] Notes 

shown himself well acquainted with the various kinds of dance. 
Shakespeare's characters are always consistent, and even in drunk- 
enness preserve the traits of character which distinguished them 
when sober. 

208. Will you help / etc. The folio reads, "Will you helpe an 
Assehead, and a coxcombe, & a knaue: a thin fac'd knaue, a 
gull?" Toby applies the epithets to Andrew, not to the surgeon 
or to Sebastian, as Malone supposed. For gull, see on iii. 2. 63 
above. 

213. Wit and safety. A wise regard for safety. For wit 
wisdom, cf. Oth* ii. i. 130: 

" If she be fair and wise^ fairness and wif t 
The one 's for use, the other useth it" 

214. A strange regard. An estranged or distant look. Cf. ii. 
5. 181 and iv. i. 16 above. 

219. Perspective. The name was applied to various optical de- 
vices for assisting the sight or producing illusions. Toilet quotes 
from Humane Industry, 1661, the following description of one of 
these contrivances : " It is a pretty art that in a pleated paper and 
table furrowed or indented, men make one picture to represent 
several faces that being viewed from one place or standing, did 
shew the head of a Spaniard, and from another the head of an ass. 
... A picture of a chancellor of France presented to the com- 
mon beholder a multitude of little faces; but if one did look on it 
through a perspective, there appeared only the single pourtraicture 
of the chancellor himself. Thus that, which is, is not, or in a 
different position appears like another thing." Cf. Hen. V. v. 2. 
347 : *' Yes, my lord, you see them perspectively, the cities turned 
into a maid.'* Perspective is always accented on the first syllable. 

222. Since I have lostihee! "The warmth of Sebastian's words 
here to Antonio comes with delightful effect as a response to the 
sea-captain's affectionate expressions heretofore, and as a cpmfprt 
for his past distress of min.ci " (Qa,rke). 



2i 8 Notes [Actv 

229. Nor can there be, etc. That is, I have not the divine power 
of ubiquity. 

231. Blind. That is, to *' the loveliness they were destroying " 
(Furness). 

232. Of charity. Out of charity, for the sake of charity ; as of is 
often used in adjurations. 

234. Messaline. See on ii. I. 18 above. 

236. Suited. Dressed. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 3. 118 : That I did suit 
me all points like a man," etc. So suit in next line = dress. 

239. Dimension. Bodily shape. See on i. 5. 271 above. 

240. Participate* Possess as part of my nature. S. uses the 
verb only here. 

241. Goes even. Agrees, coincides. Cf. Cymb. i. 4. 47: "to go 
even with what I heard," etc. 

248. Record. Remembrance ; as in T. and C. i. 3. 14, etc, S. 
puts the accent on either syllable, as suits the measure. 

251. Lets. Hinders. Cf. Ham. i. 4. 85 : " I'll make a ghost of 
him that lets me," etc. See also Exodus, v. 5, Isaiah, xliii. 13, 
Romans, i. 13, etc. 

254. Jump. Agree, tally; as in 71 of S. i. I. 195: "Both our 
inventions meet and jump in one,*' etc. On cohere, cf. adhere, iii. 
4. 74 above. 

257. Where. That is, at whose house or lodgings. Where, as 
Schmidt notes, is often used loosely for " in which, in which case, 
on which occasion, and sometimes almost = when." Weeds = 
clothes, garments; as in 275 below. 

262. Bias. Natural tendency. The metaphor is taken from 
the game of bowls, the bias being a weight in one side of the bowl, 
affecting its motion. It is a common figure in S. Cf. Z. L. Z. 
iv. 2. 113, K. John, ii. i. 574, Lear, \. 2. 120 ("bias of nature"), 
Ham. ii. I. 65, etc. 

263. Contracted. This word, like the betrothed in 255, confirms 
the explanation given in the note on iv. 3. 26 above. Contract is 
often used by S. with reference to the ceremonv of betrothal fas m 



Seen* n Notes 219 

W. T. iv. 4. 401, v. 3. 5, M.for M. v. i. 380, Lear, v. 3. 228, etc.)> 
but never to that of marriage. 

266. Right noble, etc. "Not only is there the pleasant effect 
produced in these few words of Orsino's coming forward to avouch 
the nobility of his old friend's son and daughter, but they serve the 
dramatic purpose of attesting the gentle birth of the youth who is 
chosen by a countess for a husband, and of the maiden who is 
about to be taken by the duke for a wife" (Clarke). 

267. As yet the glass, etc. As yet = still; as in L. C. 75; "I 
might as yet have been a spreading flower," etc. Tke glass seems 
to refer to the perspective of 219 above. 

271. Over-swear. Swear over again. Cf. swear over = sweat 
down, in W, T. i. 2. 424. 

273. That orbed continent. The sun. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 166: 
" Tellus* orbed ground." Continent = that which contains (as in 
M. N. D. ii. i. 92, Lear, iii. 2. 58, etc.), here applied to the sun as 
the seat and source of light. Keeps is understood after continent. 

278. At Malvolio's suit. There is no hint of this elsewhere in 
the play (cf. note on ii. i. 17), and it may be inserted merely to 
give occasion for referring to Malvolio at this point. In 256 just 
above, Viola implies that there is nothing to prevent her taking 
Sebastian at once to the captain. 

280. Enlarge. Release, set at liberty ; as in Hen. V, ii. 2. 40, 
57, etc. 

281. Remember me. For the reflexive use, cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 
68 : " and now, I remember me, his name is Falstaff," etc. 

282. Distract. For the form of the participle, cf. /. C. iv. 3. 
155 : "she fell distract" ; Ham. iv. 5. 2 : "She is importunate, in- 
deed distract," etc. 

283. Extracting. "Drawing other thoughts from my mind" 
(Schmidt). The later folios have " exacting" (which may be what 
S. wrote), and Hanmer substituted " distracting." Clarke remarks : 
"There is a playful and bewitching effect in Olivia's change of the 
first syllable of the slightly varying word, with, rnayhap, a half- 



220 Notes [Act v 

smiling, half-tender emphasis in her tone, and a momentary glance 
towards he* new-trothed husband, as she utters the significant con- 
clusion." 

286. At the staves end. CL Withals, Diet. . " To hold off s keepe 
aloofe, as they say, at the stave's ende." Behebub is an old spelling. 

288. He has. The folio has simply " has " (as in 198 above), 
which may be right, such ellipsis of the pronoun being common. 

290. Skills. Matters, signifies. Cf. T. of S. iii. 2. 134: "It 
skills not much," etc. 

299. Vox. Voice ; that is, loud voice, which he thinks in keep- 
ing with a madman's letter. 

302. Perpend. Consider, look to it; a word used only by 
Pistol, Polonius, and the Clowns (Schmidt). Cf. M. W. ii. I. 119, 
A. Y. Z. iii. 2. 69, etc. 

307. Cousin. Changed by Rowe to "uncle"; but cf. i. 3. 5 
above, where it is used in close connection with Toby's " niece," 
which is the only ground for considering Toby to be Olivia's 
uncle. But cousin was used very loosely by S., being applied 
to nephew, niece, brother-in-law, and grandchild, and also as a 
mere complimentary form of address between princes, etc. 

312. My duty. "An allusion to the subscription of duty at the 
end of letters to a superior " (Deighton). 

318. Deliver* d. Released, set free ; as in iv. 2. 72 above. 

320. A sister. "The manner in which Olivia is made to take 
cognizance of her mistaken Cesario is both proper and delicate ; 
intimating that she would have more than a sister's love for her 
from remembrance of what had passed " (Clarke) . 

321. Alliance on V. In on V, the on = of, and the it is used in 
an indefinite way, referring to the idea implied in what precedes. 
Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 270: "grow till you come unto it" ; A. and 
C. iii. 13. 176: "There's hope in't yet" (cf. 192 just below), 
tc. 

322. Proper. Own, personal ; as often. Cf. Temp. ML 3. 60 : 
** their proper selves," etc. 



Scene I] Notes 

323. Apt. Ready; as in 133 above. Cf. L. Z. Z. iv. 3. 114: 
" Youth so apt to pluck a sweet," etc. 

324. Quits. Releases. It is often = acquit, absolve ; as in A. 
Y. Z. iii. I. II, Hen. V, ii. 2. 166, etc. 

325. Mettle. Disposition. See on ii. 5. 15 above. 

332. Notorious. Notable, egregious. Cf. notoriously in 366 
below. 

335, From it. See on i. 5. 195 above. 

342. Lighter < "Of less dignity or importance" (Johnson). 

346. Geek, Dupe ; used by S. only here and in Cymb. v. 4. 67 : 

"And to become the geek and scorn 
O 1 th' other's villany." 

351. I do bethink me. I recollect ; as in M. JV. D. iv. I. 155, 
Oth. v. 2. 25, etc. 

352. Then. Changed by some editors to " thou " ; but the 
ellipsis is a common one. 

353. Such . . . which. Cf. W. T. i. i. 26 : " Such an affection 
which," etc. Presupposed upon thee = " previously pointed out for 
thy imitation, or such as it was supposed thou wouldst assume 
after reading the letter" (Steevens). 

355. Practice. Trick, or plot ; as often. Shrewdly = sharply, 
keenly; as in Ham. i. 4. i: "The air bites shrewdly," etc. For 
pass upon, cf. iii. i. 44 above. 

364. Upon. In consequence of. Cf. Much Ado, iv. I. 225: 
"she died upon his words" ; Id. v. i, 258: "And fled he is upon 
this villany," etc. 

365. Against. " In opposition or repugnance to" (Schmidt). 

366. Importance. Importunity ; as in K* fohn, ii. 1.7: ** At 
our importance hither is he come." So important = importunate, 
in Much Ado, ii. I. 74, Lear, iv. 4. 26, etc. Daniel remarks here: 
"Now Maria writ the letter at the 'importance' of her own love of 
mischief ; the plot originated entirely with her, though Sir Toby 
and the rest eagerly joined in it J * 



222 Notes [Act v 

369. Pluck on. Excite. Cf. M.for M. ii. 4. 147 : " To pluck on 
others" ; Rick. 121. iv. 2. 65 : "sin will pluck on sin." Pluck is a 
kvourite word with S. 

370. If that. See on i. 2. 48 above. 

372. Poor fool. For the use of fool as a term of endearment or 
pity, cf. Much Ado, ii. I. 326, Lear,v. 3. 305, etc. Baffled =. treated 
contemptuously ; as in Rich. If. i. i. 170, etc. 

374. Thrown. Theobald changed this to *' thrust," the word in 
the letter, ii. 5. 157 above; but the variation may have been pur- 
posely introduced by the poet, " possibly from his knowing, by pro- 
fessional experience, the difficulty of quoting with perfect accuracy " 
(Staunton). It is more probable, however, that it was due to 
the carelessness in these little matters of which we find so many 
illustrations in the plays. Wright refers to an instance in A. W. 
(v. 3- 13) where in reading a letter the original (as given in iii. 
2. 21 fol.) is materially varied from. See also on ii. 5, 92 above ; 
and cf. notes on i. 4. 3 and ii. 5. 212. 

379. Whirligig* Properly a top 5 like^g- in Z. Z~ Z. iv, 3. 167 
and v. I. 70. 

384, He hath not told us 9 etc. " In this line and the preceding 
we have true Shakespearian touches. First, we have the Duke, 
with his gentle nature and his new joy, eager to have the injured 
though crabbed purist brought back and soothed into partaking of 
the general harmony; and then we have the indication of Orsino's 
naturally keen interest respecting the Captain who had saved Viola, 
while it also serves the dramatic purpose of showing that the prom- 
ise of interrogating the Captain in reference to Malvolio^s suit has 
not been lost sight of, although the interest of the play's last scene 
does not require that point to be further pursued " (Clarke)* 

385. Convents. Is convenient, suits ; or, possibly, as others ex- 
plain it = invites. Elsewhere (in M. for M.v. i. 158, Hen. VIIL 
v. i. 52, and Cor. ii. 2. 58) it is = calls together, summons. 

391. Fancy's. Love's. Cf. i. i. 14 and ii. 4. 33 above. 

393* When that, etc. Staunton remarks : " It is to be regretted, 



Scene I] Notes 223 

perhaps, that this * nonsensical ditty,' as Steevens terms it, has not 
long since been degraded to the foot-notes. It was evidently one 
of those jigs with which it was the rude custom of the Gown to 
gratify the groundlings \_Ham* hi. 2. 12] upon the conclusion of a 
play. These absurd compositions, intended only as a vehicle for 
buffoonery, were usually improvisations of the singer, tagged to 
some popular ballad-burden, or the first lines of various songs 
strung together in ludicrous juxtaposition, at the end of each of 
which the performer indulged in hideous grimace and a grotesque 
sort of * Jump Jim Crow' dance." The editors and commentators 
generally agree with Staunton and Steevens. Knight, on the other 
hand, says : " We hold the Clown's epilogue song to be the most 
philosophical clown's song upon record; and a treatise might be 
written upon its wisdom. It is the history of a life, from the con- 
dition of *a little tiny boy, J through * man's estate/ to decaying 
age 'when I came into my bed'; and the conclusion is, that 
what is true of the individual is true of the species, and what was 
of yesterday was of generations long passed away for 

' A great while ago the world begun.' " 

Mr. John Weiss also says : ** When the play is over . . . Feste is 
left alone on the stage. Then he sings a song which conveys to us 
his feeling of the world's impartiality ; all things proceed according 
to law ; nobody is humoured ; people must abide the consequences 
of their actions, * for the rain it raineth every day.' . . . The grave 
insinuation of this song is touched with the vague soft bloom of the 
play. , . . How gracious has Shakespeare been to mankind in this 
play! He could not do otherwise than leave Feste all alone to 
pronounce its benediction." Furness, after quoting this, adds : 
"It is delightful to find a reader, since Knight, on whom the 
charm of this song is not lost." 
In Lear (iii. 2. 74 fol.) the Fool sings this stanza of a song : 

"He that has and a little tiny wit, 

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 



224 Notes [Act v 

Must make content with his fortunes fit, 
For the rain it raineth every day." 

Furness thinks that this may have been the same song as in the 
present play, " but changed by the Fool to suit the occasion." On 
the other hand, it might be suggested that the occurrence of the 
same song in two plays perhaps tells against the theory that it is 
Shakespeare's, whether it is worthy of him or not. 

And a little* etc. And is often used as an expletive in popular 
songs. Cf. Oth. ii. 3. 92 : " King Stephen was and a worthy peer " 
(ist quarto and most modern eds. omit " and" ). 

401. Wive. For the verb, cf. M. of V. ii, 9. 83, Oik* iii. 4. 64, etCt 



APPENDIX 

COMMENTS ON SOME OF THE CHARACTERS 

VlOLA. Viola is not only one of the loveliest of Shakespeare's 
heroines, but she surpasses them all in the unselfishness of her love; 
or, since true love is always unselfish, we will say that her unselfish- 
ness is subjected to severer tests than that of any other of these 
heroines, and never fails in the ordeal. As another puts it, "in 
her we see the full beauty and pathos of faithful self-abnegatidn." 
She not only cannot tell her love, but she is compelled to be the 
messenger and advocate of the man she loves in secret to another 
woman ; and she discharges the unwelcome duty with absolute 
loyalty. When OlJvia refuses to see her, she might have escaped 
the painful task, but she persists in gaining admittance to the lady, 
and urges her master's suit as earnestly as if it had been her own. 

When Olivia resorts to the trick of sending the ring after her by 
Malvolio, her conduct is marked by equal presence of mind and 
delicate regard for the reputation of the Countess. Some of the 
critics (see note on ii. 2. 12) have failed to appreciate this, and 
have changed the text from " She took the ring of me " to " She 
took no ring of me," which is what most women would have said, 
but which would have betrayed the trick to Malvolio. Viola, who 
is quick to perceive that Olivia has given him the message that he 
may not suspect her motive in sending the ring, accepts the false 
version as true in order to screen the lady from the consequences 
of her stratagem. She tells a falsehood to prevent the detection 
of Olivia's falsehood, and gives the Duke no hint of it, though it 
might have been the means of disenchanting him. 
TWELFTH NIGHT 15 225 



226 Appendix 



Julia, in the Two Gentlemen of Verona, is sent with a mes- 
sage of love to Sylvia by the faithless Proteus, but she is not 
enjoined to urge his suit, but merely to give Sylvia a ring and ask 
for the picture the lady had promised to Proteus to get rid of his 
importunities. Julia discharges the duty, but takes the opportunity 
of referring indirectly to her own claims upon the false lover, thus 
damaging his prospect of gaining his suit and winning for herself 
the sympathy of Sylvia. Her task is easy compared with that 
of Viola, but she does not perform it with the same forgetfulness 
of her own interests. 

Viola's position is the more trying from the fact that she has no 
confidant as Julia and Rosalind have. She " never tells her love " 
she cannot tell it, as Olivia does, though she can be eloquent in 
describing it as the love of another while pleading for the Duke 
with the Countess, and in hinting of it to him in the pathetic story 
of her fictitious sister. 

When Olivia tells Viola (Cesario) that she loves her (him), the 
girl, though she sees the ludicrous side of the avowal, does not treat 
the deluded lady as Rosalind, in a similar position, treats Phebe. 
To be sure, the Countess is a very different person from the pert 
little shepherdess, and this naturally affects the bearing of Viola 
towards her ; but, though Olivifi has scorned the love of the Duke 
as Phebe has scorned that of Silvius, Viola does not refer to that 
fact at all, but merely continues to urge the suit of her master, after 
assuring the lady that her own suit is hopeless. She pities Olivia, 
as she tells her, but does not laugh at her. 

Shakespeare often puts his heroines into male apparel, but they 
assume it for various reasons and behave differently in it. Viola is 
driven to adopt it by the necessities of her situation. Shipwrecked 
on the coast of a strange land, she can think of no shelter except 
in the court of the Duke, about whom she has heard, but as he is a 
bachelor she cannot seek service there unless her sex is disguised. 
Rosalind and Portia play the part of young men with no hesitation 
when it answers their purposes, and recognize the humorous aspect 



Appendix 227 

of the transformation from the first. Rosalind, whatever " hidden 
woman's fear " may be in her heart, will " have a swashing and a 
martial outside," 

"As many other mannish cowards have 
That do outface it with their semblances." 

Portia will walk and talk " like a fine bragging youth," and practise 
" a thousand raw tricks " of such fellows. Julia will attire herself 
as a " well-reputed page," knit up her hair in silken strings " with 
twenty odd-conceited true-love knots," and go boldly from Verona 
to Milan in pursuit of her good-for-nothing lover, though at the 
time she does not suspect his perfidy and plans the journey only 
because she longs to see him. Imogen, when she gets the message 
from her husband to meet him at Milford Haven, decides to start at 
once with the faithful Pisanio, and when he leaves her after she has 
read the letter of Posthumus urging her murder, she follows the 
advice of Pisanio and puts on the male attire which he has provided 
in anticipation of the emergency. Like Viola, she does it under 
the pressure of necessity, though of a far more painful character, 
but she wears the unfamiliar dress with no apparent embarrassment. 
But Viola is never quite at ease in her disguise. She finds no 
pleasure or amusement in it like Rosalind and Portia. This is 
shown by her occasional allusions to it, and her hints that she is not 
what she seems hints that show her self-consciousness rather than 
any fear or suspicion that the disguise will be detected or suspected. 
When she finds that Olivia is in love with her, she half reproaches 
herself for the part she is playing, though driven to it in self-defence : 

" Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness 
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.'* 

She feels that she is in a predicament out of which she can see no 
escape at present. She recognizes the humorous side of it, but finds 
no amusement in it, her pity for Olivia being the predominant 
feeling : 



2.28 Appendix 

"How will this fadge ? my master loves her dearly; 
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him ; 
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me. 
What will become of this ? As I am man, 
My state is desperate for my master's love ; 
As I am woman, now alas the day ! 
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe ! 
O time I thou must untangle this, not I ; 
It is too hard a knot for me to untie ! " 

Even more trying and perplexing is the position in which she 
finds herself when the duel with Sir Andrew is impending and she 
is led to believe that he is a formidable antagonist. Her instinc- 
tive timidity and his natural though ridiculous cowardice are most 
laughably set forth ; and we who are in the secret are almost sorry 
when Antonio interposes and puts a stop to the threatened passage 
at arms. We cannot help feeling a curiosity to see which would 
prove the better man of the two. It is not impossible that, in 
sheer desperation, the maiden might have assumed a semblance of 
valour that would have driven the pusillanimous knight from the 
field. 

Viola is not lacking in true courage when love draws it forth. 
When the Duke, confounding her with her brother, believes that 
she has treacherously gained the heart and hand of Olivia and 
threatens her with death, she offers her bosom to the knife and 
cries : - 

** And I most jocund, apt, and willingly, 
To do you rest, a thousand deaths would die ! " 

But a happy life with the man she has loved in secret, not a dread- 
ful death at his hands, is to be her destiny. The intricacies of the 
plot are unravelled, and when Orsino, recalling her hints at her con- 
cealed passion, now finds that she is a woman, and says, 

" Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times 
Thou never shouldst love woman like to me, ** 



Appendix 229 

we Know that she can tell her love at last, and that she means all 
that she speaks when she turns to him and exclaims : 

" And all those sayings will I over-swear, 
And all those swearings keep as true in soul 
As doth that orbed continent the fire 
That severs day from night." 

ORSINO. One might feel some doubt at first whether the Duke 
was quite worthy of Viola, and the transfer of his devotion from Olivia 
to her may seem unnaturally sudden. But Shakespeare has really 
prepared the way for it. The Duke, as the poet has taken pains to 
show by many little touches, is greatly attracted by his new page, 
so much so that others in the court notice it almost from the 
first. Valentine says to Viola (i, 4. i) : " If the duke continue these 
favours towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much advanced; 
he hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger." 
Orsino indicates his feeling toward the supposed boy by the confi- 
dence he reposes in him, and by the affectionate tone he soon 
adopts in speaking to him. " Good youth," " good Cesario," " dear 
lad," and the like, are the terms in which he addresses him. The 
page's talk about love has perhaps as much to do with the affection 
he inspires as his pleasing personality. "Thou dost speak mas- 
terly," the Duke declares, and he suspects at once that the youth 
must have been in love himself. 

Besides, Orsino is not so much in love as he imagines he is. He 
reminds us of Romeo, in the salad days of his love for Rosaline. 
Young men of that romantic and sentimental type fancy that they 
are in love sometimes again and again before a genuine pas- 
sion takes possession of them. As Rosalind expresses it, Cupid 
may have clapped them on the shoulder, but they are really heart- 
whole. They are capable of love, have a longing for love, and are 
apt to become enamoured of the first attractive young woman that 
comes in their way. Such love is like that of the Song in the 
Merchant of Venice : 



230 Appendix 



M It is engendered in the eyes, 
By gazing fed, and fancy dies 
In the cradle where it lies." 

It lives only until it is displaced by a healthier, more vigorous love, 
capable of outliving the precarious period of infancy. 

The Duke himself seems at times to be aware of the nature of 
his passion, or of similar instances in other people. He tells Viola, 
supposing her to be of his own sex : 

" For, boy, however we do praise ourselves, 
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, 
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn, 
Than women's are;" 

and in his next speech he says that unless the woman is younger 
than the man, his affection "cannot hold the bent" that is, 
retain its tension or strength because feminine beauty in that 
case will the sooner fade : > 

" For women are as roses, whose fair flower, 
Being once display'd, doth fall that very hour." 

The unspoken inference is that the man's love will not outlast the 
faded bloom of beauty. 

A moment afterwards, when Viola, who with feminine insight 
may have a notion of the instability of his love, hints at the possi- 
bility of his getting over it, as a woman would have to do if he could 
not love her, he contradicts what he has just said, declaring that 

" There is no woman's sides 
Can bide the beating of so strong a passion 
As love doth give my heart, no woman's heart 
So big to hold so much. . . . 

Make no compare 

Between that love a woman can bear me 
And that I owe Olivia." 

But this rhapsodical passion is a lazy languorous one after all. It 
does not drive him, as it would if it were the overmastering love 



Appendix 23 1 

he imagines it to be, to press his suit in person, despite the lady's 
resolution to shut herself up in solitary grief for the loss of her 
brother. He does his wooing by proxy, like Claudio in Much Ado, 
whose love is of the same weak sentimental sort. Viola herself in- 
directly reproves him for this lack of spirit in his love-making when 
she tells Olivia that, were she the wooer, she would not take any 
second-hand denial from the lady : 

" In your denial I would find no sense' 
I would not understand it." 

Olivia asks : 

" Why, what would you ? H 
and Viola replies : 

" Make me a willow cabin at your gate, 
And call upon my soul within the house ; 
Write loyal cantons of contemned love, 
And sing them loud even in the dead of night; 
Halloo your name to the reverberate hills, 
And make the babbling gossip of the air 
Cry out Olivia ! O, you should not rest 
Between the elements of air and earth 
But you should pity me 1 " 

When at last in the final scene of the play Orsino meets 
Olivia face to face, and she checks him as he begins to plead his 
case in person, he asks : " Still so cruel ? " " Still so constant," 
she replies ; and when he, after complaining of her perversity 
and ingratitude in rejecting him, weakly asks, "What shall I 
do ? " she answers : " Even what it please my lord, that shall be- 
come him." Then he gets angry and threatens both her and 
Cesario, whom he suspects her of loving, with death. This is quite 
consistent with the sentimental selfishness of his feeling for Olivia. 
There is nothing of the true lover in it. It is the petulant wrath 



232 Appendix 

of the child that cannot have its way. Compare what Shakespeare 
says in the n6th Sonnet: 

" Love is not love 

Which alters when it alteration finds, 
Or bends with the remover to remove. 
O, no 1 it is an ever fixed mark, 
That looks on tempests and is never shaken ; 
It is the star to every wandering bark, 
Whose worth 's unknown, although his height be taken. 
Love 's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks 
Within his bending sickle's compass come; 1 
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, 
But bears it out even to the edge of doom." 

Love that is love indeed alters not with disappointment or sepa- 
ration or the lapse of time, but endures "even to the edge of 
doom." 

The appearance of Sebastian and the disclosure of the sex of 
Viola save both her and Olivia from the fate threatened by Orsino, 
who promptly transfers his affections to the maiden for whom he 
has had a kindly feeling in her disguise. Let us not say, however, 
that he transfers to her the kind of affection that he had for the 
Countess. We will hope that it is the true love of which that sen- 
timental fancy was but the poor semblance ; or, if it is not such 
at the moment, that it will grow to be such and what we know 
of Viola assures us that this will inevitably come to pass. And the 
Duke is not a had match for the lovely and loving Viola. Olivia, 
though she could not return his love, said of him : 

" Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble, 
Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth; 
In voices well divulg'd, free, learn'd, and valiant; 
And in dimension and the shape of nature 
A gracious person," 



Appendix 233 

We will believe that "they lived happily ever after," and that the 
Countess was equally fortunate in the exchange of Cesario for 
Sebastian. 

MARIA. Maria is unrivalled in her way among Shakespeare's 
women. So much mischief, fun, and vivacity were never before or 
since put into one little body. If she had not been a diminutive 
sprite-like personage, she could never have been so alert and active 
in mischief. Her petite frame is packed full of merriment and 
sportiveness. She is like Puck in petticoats, and like Puck she 
would say: 

" And those things do best please me 
That befall preposterously." 

Not a person in the house or that comes into the house escapes 
the attacks of her wit and waggery. When Viola comes disguised 
as the Duke's page, and Olivia is inclined to dismiss her briefly, 
Maria, ever on the watch for a chance to give somebody a rap, 
chimes in with " Will you hoist sail, sir ? here lies your way ; " but 
Viola, who is not without wit, though she seldom has opportunity 
in the play to show it, is here a match for her pert assailant, and 
promptly retorts the nautical impudence in the same figurative 
fashion, " No, good swabber, I am to hull here a little longer." 
Before Maria recovers sufficiently from the sharp repartee to strike 
back, the Countess sends her from the room. 

Maria does not spare her companions in mischief. She berates 
them for their '* caterwauling," as she calls it, though, when Mal- 
volio comes in and joins in the attack, she turns from them to 
assail him, and when he goes out bids him "go shake his ears.*' 
All the subsequent plot against Malvolio is of her devising, and 
with what zest she follows it up! She is as ready to join in a 
practical joke started by others as to carry out one of her own 
concocting. When Toby and Fabian are urging Sir Andrew to 
challenge Viola, she zealously seconds them. And she enjoys it all 
so much that she becomes utterly merciless in pursuing it. When 



234 Appendix 

the others are disposed to think that the joke has been carried fai 
enough, she will not hear of its being given up. Fabian says when 
they are tormenting Malvolio, " Why, we shall make him mad 
indeed." "The house will be the quieter" is her only reply. The 
Clown is the only one who is a match for her, but perhaps this is 
due to the fact that he knows her liking for Toby, about which she 
does not fancy being joked. In the end Toby marries her, but we 
cannot imagine that he ever became her master. 

SIR TOBY AND SIR ANDREW. Toby, as some of the critics have 
noted, has a certain resemblance to Falstaff, but it is to the fat 
knight in his decadence. He has FalstafPs love for a practical 
joke, and his unscrupulousness in getting money from his friends 
by humouring their weaknesses. He " bleeds " Sir Andrew with- 
out mercy, fooling him with hopes of winning the hand of Olivia, 
much as lago does Roderigo. It may seem at first to be in a 
meaner way than lago's, for Olivia is his kinswoman, and he is 
enjoying her hospitality at the time; but we must not imagine 
that he believes Andrew could ever succeed in his suit. 

Andrew is an unmitigated fool from first to last. He never says 
or does a sensible thing. All his talk is marked by a plentiful lack 
of wit, and much of it is a stupid echoing of Toby, for whom he 
has a boobyish admiration. When Toby says of Maria that she 
"adores" him, Andrew follows with "I was adored once too," 
catching at the word with the senseless iteration of the parrot. 
Toby says, " I could marry this wench for this device." " So could 
I too " is the echo. " And ask no other dowry with her than such 
another joke," says Toby. "Nor I neither" chimes in Andrew; 
and so the antiphony goes on. 

There is a touch of humour in the innocent readiness with which 
Andrew refers to his reputation as both knave and fool. In the 
noisy carousal at night he proposes that they sing the catch called 
" Thou knave." The fool says, " I shall be constrained in 't to 
call thee knave, knight." " 'T is not the first time I have con- 
strained one to call me knave " is the reply. Later, he and his 



Appendix 235 

friends are overhearing Malvolio as he rehearses in the garden 
what he means to say to Toby : " Besides, you waste the treasure 
of your time" with a foolish knight." " That *s me, I warrant you," 
Andrew says to his companions. "One Sir Andrew," continues 
Malvolio ; and the knight cries, " I knew 't was I, for many do call 
me fool ! 

MALVOLIO. From the first Malvolio was a favourite character 
on the stage. In the earliest known reference to the play, in the 
manuscript Diary of John Manningham, the trick played upon the 
steward is the chief feature mentioned ; and Leonard Digges, in 
the verses prefixed to the edition of Shakespeare's Poems printed 
in 1640, alludes to the character, in connection with Falstaff, Bene- 
dick, and Beatrice, as attracting crowds to the theatre: 

" lo, in a trice 

The cockpit, galleries, boxes, all are full 
To hear Malvoho, that cross-garter'd Gull." 

Malvolio, however, has been often misunderstood, not only "by 
the average reader of the play, but by critics and commentators. 
The stage tradition of former days made him a "low comedy*' 
character ; an idea against which Charles Lamb protested, declar- 
ing that the steward was not essentially ludicrous, and that an air 
of dignity should be thrown about the part : " He might have 
worn his gold chain with honour in one of our old Roundhead 
families, in the service of a Lambert or a Lady Fairfax." He is 
the trusted and valued steward of Olivia, who is seriously troubled 
when she is led to suspect that he is apparently becoming insane. 
He is no fool except so far as his inordinate self-conceit makes him 
so ; and upon this weakness the conspirators base their plot against 
him. The high opinion his mistress has of him, and the favour 
which on this account she has shown him, prepare the way for his 
falling into the trap set for him. 

In ii. 3. 151 Maria says of Malvolio, "Marry, sometimes he is a 
kind of Puritan." From this it has been assumed by some of the 



236 Appendix 

editors that the steward was a Puritan, and they have quoted his 
" cross-gartering " as being a Puritan fashion. Steevens cites 
Barton Holyday (1593-1666) : 

" Had there appear'd some sharp cross-garter'd man, 
Whom their loud laugh might nickname Puritan." 

But Maria does not call Malvolio a Puritan; she simply says that 
" sometimes he is a kind of Puritan "; that is, he has something of 
the ways and manners of the Puritans. Like them he is indifferent 
to "cakes and ale," and takes life very seriously. When Sir 
Andrew understands her to mean that the steward really is a Puri- 
tan, she corrects him : " The devil a Puritan that he is, or anything 
constantly but a time-pleaser," etc. 

Malvolio at no time talks like a Puritan, as he would naturally 
have done if he had been one when he came in to reprove the 
midnight roysterers (ii. 3). It is the noise and disturbance they 
are making at that unseasonable hour for which he reproaches 
them, not the sin of their drunken revelry, against which a Puritan 
would have inveighed. Falstaff was a better Puritan when he 
played the part of one at the Boards Head (i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 421 
fol.) and lectured Prince Hal on his profligate habits. 

As to the cross-gartering, Halliwell-Phillipps remarks: "In 
Shakespeare's time the fashion was yet in credit, and Olivia's 
detestation of it arose, we may suppose, from thinking it coxcombi- 
cal. . . But when Barton Holyday wrote [toward the middle of 
the seventeenth century], the fashion was exploded, and was re- 
tained only by Puritans and old men." He cites, among other 
illustrations of this, Ford, Lover's Melancholy (1629) : "As rare an 
old gentleman as ever walk'd cross-garter'd." 

FESTE. The Clown is one of the best of Shakespeare's profes- 
sional fools, no two of whom are alike in all respects. They have 
as distinct an individuality as his more serious and more important 
characters. One of the notable peculiarities of Feste is the vein of 
sentiment which appears in him at times. He is a singer, and his 



Appendix 237 

repertory is not confined to comic songs, but includes lyrics of love 
and death, like the one, "Come away, come away, death," of which 
the Duke was so fond "that old and antique song" which suited 
his mood better than " light airs and recollected tunes of these most 
brisk and giddy-paced times," and which Feste could render with 
so much feeling that Viola says of it : 

" It gives a very echo to the seat 
Where Love is thron'd.*' 

There is, moreover, much wisdom in his foolery on occasion; as 
when Toby comes in drunk and Olivia asks, " What's a drunken 
man like, fool?" and Feste replies: "Like a drowned man, a fool, 
and a madman. One draught above heat makes him a fool; the 
second mads him; and a third drowns him." 

He can criticise his own punning and quibbling ; as when, after 
joking in that way with Viola, he says : " To see this age ! A sen- 
tence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit ; how quickly the wrong 
side may be turned outward 1 " and in the same scene when he 
says : ** Who you are and what you would are not of my welkin 
I might say element, but the word is over-worn." Shakespeare is 
fond of satirizing the affectations in the language of his day, but he 
generally does it through serious characters ; as when Hamlet and 
Horatio ridicule Osric's fine talk, or when Lorenzo comments on 
Launcelot's word-twisting (M* of V. Hi. 5. 70 fol.), comparing it 
with that of "fools that stand in better place [of higher social 
rank] who for a tricksy word defy the matter " sacrificing the 
sense for the sake of a quibble. So when Sebastian says to Feste, 
" I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else," the Clown catches at 
the word vent: "Vent my folly! he has heard that word of some 
great man, and now applies it to a fool. Vent my folly ! I am 
afraid this great lubber, the world, will prove a cockney." 

He is shrewd to see the weaknesses of his superiors in rank. He 
knows that Toby is a fool indeed he "has a most weak fia 
mater." He can slyly reprove Olivia's excessive mourning for her 



23 8 Appendix 

brother who is * in heaven." He understands the fickle vagaries of 
the Duke, to whom he says : " Now the melancholy god protect thee; 
and the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind 
is a very opal ! I would have men of such constancy put to sea, 
that their business might be every thing and their intent every 
where; for that 's it that always makes a good voyage of nothing." 
He can play the part of the parson, Sir Topas, quoting Latin and 
Scripture, and catechizing the imprisoned Malvolio on the Pythag- 
orean doctrine of metempsychosis in short, as he says, he is 
"for all waters," equal to any demand, dramatic, musical, or other, 
that may be made upon him. He is the most versatile of fools, a 
favourite with everybody in the play except the sour Malvolio, and 
with every reader of the play, unless he be like Malvolio, incapable 
of appreciating the mingled wit and wisdom of such foolery as 
Feste's. 



THE TIME-ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY 

A* Mr. P. A. Daniel shows in his paper *' On the Times or Dura- 
tions of the Action of Shakspere's Plays" (see on i. 4, 3 above), 
the action of this play occupies three days, with an interval of 
three days between the first and second. 

The events of the first three scenes may all be supposed to take 
place in one day. In i. 4. 3, Valentine says " he hath known you 
but three days" (see note thereupon), which shows that time to 
have elapsed since i. 3. The remaining scenes of act i., with the 
first three of act ii., occur on this second day, at the close of which 
(ii. 3. 204) Sir Toby and Sir Andrew go off to " burn some sack," 
as it is "too late to go to bed." In ii. 4. 3, the Duke asks for the 
song "we heard last night" which indicates that only one night 
has intervened; and the rest of the play furnishes matter for but a 
single ** May morning " (Hi. 4. 152). It is difficult to understand 
when Sir Toby and Maria found time to be married, as the bride- 



Appendix 239 

groom has left the stage in the very same scene, drunk and with 
a broken head. But Biondello tells us in T. of S. (iv. 4. 99), 
" I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the gar- 
den for parsley to stuff a rabbit"; and possibly Sir Toby snatched 
a spare moment for an impromptu wedding, and so crammed more 
matter into this busy May morning. Maria had evidently been 
manoeuvring for the match all along, and would willingly " be 
married under a bush like a beggar " (A. K L. iii. 3. 85) rather 
than run the risk of delay. 



LIST OF CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY 

The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines the characters 
have in each scene. 

Duke: i. 1(31), 4(27); ii. 4(69); v. 1(94). Whole no. 221. 

Sebastian: ii. 1(36); iii. 3(20); iv. 1(17), 3(23); v. 1(32). 
Whole no. 128. 

Antonio: ii. 1(13); iii. 3(33), 4(33); v. 1(28). Whole no. 107. 

Captain: i. 2(32). Whole no. 32. 

Valentine: i. 1(9), 4(5). Whole no. 14. 

Curio: i. 1(2); ii. 4(5). Whole no. 7. 

Sir Toby: i. 3(67), 5(7); ii. 3(63), 5 (44); m. I (7), 2(36), 
4(144); iv, 1(10), 2(13); v. 1(7). Whole no. 398. 

Sir Andrew: i. 3(53) 5 ii-SCS 1 )* 505); * 1(7), 2(12), 4(18); 
iv. 1(7); v. 1(20). Whole no. 183. 

Malvolio: i. 5(35); ii. 2(14), 3(20), 5("5); & 4(5 8 )5 iv - 
2(45); v. 1(19). Whole no. 306. 

Fabian: ii. 5(33); iii, 2(25), 4(40); v. 1(30). Whole no. 128. 

Clown: 1.5(66); ii. 3(33), 4(29); iii. 1(42); iv. I (20), 2 (77); 
v. 1(77). Whole no. 344. 

Priest: v. I (8). Whole no. 8. 

1st Officer: iii. 4(6); v. 1(6). Whole no. 12. 

2d Officer: iii. 4(4). Whole no. 4. 



240 Appendix 

Servant: fii. 4(4). Whole no. 4. 

Olivia: 1.5(127); ui. 1(54), 4(45); iv. 1(16), 3(12)5 v, 1(67), 
Whole no. 321. 

Viola: i. 2(34), 4(13), 5(75); ii. 2(28), 4(32); iii. i(69> 
4(56); v. 1(46). Whole no. 353. 

Maria: 1.3(31), 50*5); H - 3(40>5( 2O )5 ^ 2(17)^(29); iv. 
2(6). Whole no. 169. 

In the above enumeration, parts of lines are counted as whole 
lines, making the total in the play greater than it is. The actual 
number of lines in each scene (Globe edition numbering) is as 
follows: i. 1(41), 2(64), 3(*50 4(42), 5(33); *(49) 2(4-*), 
3(208), 4(127), 5(227); iii. 1(176), 2(90), 3(49), 4(433)5 I T * 
1(69), 2(141), 3(35); v. 1(418). Whole no. in the play, 26* 



INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES 
EXPLAINED 



a (omitted), 184 


baited, 189 


burn some sack, 176 


abatement, 143 
above heat, 158 
abuse (= deceive), 189 


barful, 155 
barren (=dull), 157 
bawbling, 211 


but (= than), 154 
buttery-bar, 150 
by (=hard by), 208 


access (accent), 154 
accost, 150 
Actason, 143 


bawcock, 197 
bay-windows, 205 
beagle, 175 


by (play upon), 187 
by and by (= presently), 
198 


adheres (= coheres), 196 
admire (= wonder), 197 
adorations (five sylla- 


bear-baiting, 151, 189 
bed of Ware, the, 192 
beef, 151 


by th* ears, 183 
C's, etc., 183 


bles), 164 


before me, 175 


canary, 150 


advance ( raise), 181 


belike, 195, 199 


Candy, 211 


advantage (verb), 207 


bent, 177 


cantons, 164 


affectioned, 175 


beseech you, 189 


caper (play upon), 152 


against, 221 
agone (= ago) , 216 
allow (= prove), 148 


beshrew, 172, 204 
besides (preposition) , 206 
bespake you fair, 216 


carpet consideration, 199 
case (= skin), 214 
Castiliano vulgo, 150 


allowed, 157 


bethink me, 221 


Cataian, 172 


alone, 143, 162 
am I made ? 195 


betrothing, 214 
bias, 218 


catch (noun), 169 
caught with tickling, 180 


an (= one), 160 


bibble babble, 207 


celebration, 208 


anatomy, 192 
and (expletive), 224 
anothergates, 216 
antique, 176 
apt (= ready) , 221 


bird-bolts, 157 
blazon, 165 
blent, 163 
bloody argument, 195 
blows (puffs up), 182 


champaign, 186 
chantry, 208 
check (in falconry), 184. 
188 
cherry-pit, 197 


aqua-vitae, 186 


board (verb), 150 


chevenl, 187 


argument (= proof), 191 
Arion, 146 


bonds (play upon), 187 
bonos dies, 205 


civil, 195 
clear-stores, 205 


as (omitted) , 167, 179 


botched up, 204 


cloistress, 144 


as much to say as, 157 


botcher, 156 


close in, 148 


aspect (accent), 154 


bottom (= vessel), 211 


cloyment, 179 


ass (play upon), 175 
as yet (= still), 219 


brabble, 211 
branched (velvet), 182 


cockatrice, 198 
codling, 159 


attend (= attend to), 154 


breach (= breaking), 166 


collier (= devil), 197 


attend (= wait for), 199 


breast (= voice), 169 


comedian, 160 


at the stave's end, 220 
at this throw, 210 


breath (= voice), 171 
bred (= begotten), 146 


come near me, 196 
come to note, 209 


ayword, 174 


brock, 184 


comfortable, 163 




broke my head, 2115 


commerce, 198 


back-trick, 152 


Brownist, 191 


commodity, 188 


baffled, 222 


bum-baily, 198 


compact (accent), 214 


TWELFTH NIGHT 1 6 24! 



242 Index of Words and Phrases 



compare (noun), 179 
competitors, 205 
complexion, 176, 181 
comptible, 160 
conceit (verb), 200 
conclusions to be as 

kisses, 209 

conduct Cf= escort), 199 
consanguineous, 172 
consequently, 196 
cons state, 175 
constant (=* consistent), 

205 

conster, 188 
continent ( container), 

219 
contract ( = betrothal) , 

214, 218 
contracted (= betrothed), 

218 

convents (verb) , 223 
coranto, 153 

count (=s duke), 146, 154 
country (trisyllable), 146 
county (=B count), 165 
couplet (= couple), 202 
cousin, 220 

coxcomb (head), 215 
coystril, 149 
cozier, 173 
credit, 207 
Cressida, 188 
cross-gartered, 183 
crow, 157 
crowner, 159 
cruelty (concrete), 165, 

178 
crumbs (for cleaning gold 

chains), 174 
cubiculo, 192 
cucullus non facit mona- 

chunx, 156 
cunning, 163 
curst, 191 
cut (=curtal), 175 
cypress, 177, 190 

dally nicely, 187 
day-bed, 182 

deadly (- deathlike), 164 
dear (dissyllable), 189 
dear (=* heartfelt), 212 
decay (transitive), 157 
deceivable, 908 
dedication, 2x2 
deeply in, 182 



degree^ step), 190 
delivered (= released), 220 
delivered (= shown), 147 


eyes had lost tongue, 167 
eyes set, 216 


demure travel of regard, 
182 
denay, 180 
deny (=* refuse), 204 
desperate of shame and 


fadge, 168 
faithfull'st, 212 
fall (= cadence), 139 
fancy (=rlove), 143, 181, 

222 


state, 211 


fat (= heavy), 212 


determinate, 166 


favour (= face), 159, 17^ 


dexteriously, 157 


2OI 


diluculo surgere, 169 
dimension (=body), 164, 


fear no colours, 153 
feature, 201 


^218 
discourse (=* reasoning), 


feelingly (= exactly), 175 
fellow, 196 


208 
dishonest, 156 
dismount thy tuck, 199 


fertile tears, 164 
Feste, 176 
finder or madmen, 197 


disorders, 173 


firago, 200 


dispute (= argue), 208 
dissemble, 204 
distempered, 157 
distract (= distracted), 219 
distraction, six 
double-dealing, 216 


fire-new, 191 
flame-coloured, 153 
natter with, 165 
fleshed, 203 
fond ( dote), 1:69 
fool, 222 


do you rest, tOj 213 


fools' zanies, 157 


draw the curtain, 163 
draw three souls out of 


for (= because), 191 
for all waters, 206 


one weaver ; 171 


forbid not, 167 


driving (= drifting), 146 


forgive (= excuse from), 


dry (= sapless), 156 


161 


dry hand, 150 
duello, by the, 201 
duke (= count), 146 


formal, 184 
fortunate-unhappy, 186 
four elements, the, 169 


Egyptians in their fog, 205 


fourteen years' purchase, 
203 


Egyptian thief, the, 312 


fraught (noun), 211 


element (= sky), 143, 107 
Elysium (= play upon?}, 


free (== careless), 177 
fresh in murmur, 147 


i45 
employment, 183 


from. (=away from), 161, 

2SI 


enchantment, 189 


fruitless, 205 


encounter, 189 
endeavour thyself, 206 
enlarge (= release), 219 
entertainment, 162, 167 


function, 214 

gall (in ink), iga 
gallfard, 153 


estimable wonder, 166 


gasklns, 156 


except before excepted, 


geek, 221 


148 
expenses, 187 
express myself, to, 166 
expressure, 175 
extent (= conduct), 204 


gentleness (= favour), 167 
giant (ironical), 162 
giddilv, 178 
gift of a grave, 149 
ginger, 174 


extracting, 219 


gives manhood approba. 


extravagancy, 166 


tion, 198 


eye-offending, 144 


goes even (= agrees), 2x8 



Index of Words and Phrases 243 



go hunt, 143 


instance, 208 


manikin, 192 


golden (= valuable), 208 
golden shaft, 144 


in standing water, 159 
interchangexnent oi rings, 


manners (singular), 203 
marble-breasted, 213 


good life, 170 


214 


masterly (adverb), 176 


goodman devil, 207 
good my mouse, 157 
go shake your ears, 174 
grace (= virtue), 210 


into (~= unto), 212 
in voices well divulged, 

l6 
is (with plural), 179, 184 


maugre, 190 
May morning, 197 
me (ethical dative), 191 
me (redundant), 148 


gracious, 164 


it (indefinite), 220 


meddle (=have to do). 


Greek (= jester), 203 




*99. 


grey eyes, 164 


jade me, 186 


mercies, 211 


gnse, 190 


jealous, 208 


Messaline, 166, 218 


gust, 149 


jealousy, 194 


metal of India, 180 




jets (= struts), 181 


mettle, 180, 221 


had rather, 170, 213 


jewel, 198 


midsummer madness, 196 


haggard (noun), 188 


Jezebel, 181 


minion, 213 


hale (verb), 192 
happily (= haply), 206 
hart (play upon), 143, 204 


joinder, 214 
jump (= agree), 218 


miscarry, 196 
misprision, 156 
Mistress Mall's picture, 


having (= property), 201 
haviour, 198 


kickshawses, 151 
King Gorboduc, 205 


152 
modest (= moderate), 148, 


heart (play upon), 143, 




20 5 


204 


label, 164 


mollification, 162 


heat (= course), 143 
hermit of Prague, the, 205 


lapsed, 195 
late/adverb), 147 


monster, 169 
mortal arbitrement, 200 


high fantastical, 143 


leasing, 158 


motions (= emotions), 176 


'!' I9 
hob-nob, 195 


leave to leave, 178 
Legion, 197 


mouse, 157 
music from the spheres, 


hold acquaintance with. 


leman, 170 


189 


146 
honesty, 173 
horrible (adverb), 198 


lenten, 155 
less (= inferior), 147 
let (= hinder), 218 


mute (noun), 148 
mutton and capers, 152 


hull (verb), 161 


Lethe, 204 


natural (play upon), 149, 


humour (= capricious- 


license of ink, 191 


172 


ness), 154 
humour of state, 182 


lie rich, 143 
lies {^lodges), 187 


nayword, 174 
newly ( lately), 213 




life in it, 151 


new map, the, 193 


I am dog, 171 
idleness (= pastime), 157 


lighter, 221 
limed, 196 


nine (eggs of wren), 192 
nonpareil, 164 


impeticos thy gratillity, 


list (= bound), 189 


non-regardance, 213 


170 


little (= a little) , 215 


nor never none, 191 


importance (= importu- 
nity), 221 


lived upon the sea, 146 
liver (seat of love, etc.), 


north, the, 191 
nor will not, 166 


impressure, 184 
incardinate, 2x5 
incensement, 199 


179, 184, 191, 192 
love-broker, 191 
lullaby (verb), 210 


notable, 211 
notorious, 231 
numbers (= measure), 184 


in contempt of question, 

l8 3 
incredulous, 196 


lunacy, 161 
M, O, A, 1, 184 


O (=* cry of pain), 185 
oath sake. 200 


Indies, the, 194 
indifferent (adverb), 164 
in grain, 163 


madonna, 156 
maidenhead, 163 
maidhood, 190 


'Od'slifelings!2is 
o'erflourished, 202 
of (in adjurations), 218 


ingrateful, 212 


make the welkin dance, 


of(=on), 186, 195 


in little, 196 
in manners, 166 
in mv stars, 185 


171 
malapert, 203 
malignancy, 166 


old age, the, 177 
on (=of). 2 2o 
one self king, 145 



244 Index of Words and Phrases 



opal, 178 


presupposed upon, 221 


silly sooth, 177 


open (adverb), 195 
opposite 0= opponent), 


prevented, 189 
private (= privacy), 197 


sir (=* lord), 196 
Sir (priestly tide), aoo, 


185, 192, 199 


profound (=* sage) , 160 


204 


orb ( earth), 187 


proper (= comely) , 190 


skilless, 194 


orbed continent, 219 


proper (=own), 220 


skills (matters), 220 


othergates, 2x6 


proper-false, 168 


skipping (s=wild, mad), 


out (= out of pocket), 175 


propertied, 206 


x6x 


over-swear, 219 
owe (= own) , 166 


provident, 146 
pute (adverb), 2ia 


'slid, 202 

*slight, x8x, 191 




Puritan, 174, 175 


sneck up, 173 


Pandarus, 188 


Pythagoras, 206 


so (= so be it), 156 


parish-top, 149 




soft! 183, x8s 


part (adverb), 201 


ouick (*= lively), 142 


sometime, 2x3 


participate, 218 
part of death, 178 


Quinapalus, 156 
quirk, 199 


sonnet, 195 
sooth 0= truth), 177 


passages (= acts), 193 


quit ( release), 22x 


Sophy, 186, 200 


pass upon, 187 




sound (=s clear) , 155 


passy-measures pavin, 


receiving, 190 


sound (or south ?) , 139 


216 
Patience (personified). 


recollected terms, 176 
record (= remembrance) , 


sowter, 184 
speaks madman, 158 


179 


2x8 


spheres (dissyllable), 189 


peascod, 159 


recover (= gain), 175 


spinsters, 177 


pedant, 193 


reliques, 195 


spirit (monosyllable), 142 


peevish, 165 


relish, 204 


spleen, 192 


Peg-a-Ramsey, 172 


remember me, 219 


split, 145 


Penthesilea, 175 


remembrance (quadrisyl- 


spoke (=said), 154 


perchance, 145 


lable), 144 


squash, 159 


perdy, 206 
perfection (by marriage), 
144, 165, 177 u 
perfection (quadrisylla- 


renegado, 193 
renown (verb), 195 
retention, 212 
reverberate, 164 


staniel, 184 
state (= authority), 182 
state ( chair of state), 
182 


ble), i4S 


round (<= plain), 173 


state (a= estate), 165 


perpend, 220 


rubious, 154 


stitches, 192 


personage, 159 
perspective, 217 


rudesby, 203 
rule (= conduct), 174 


stock (= stocking), 153 
stone-bow, 182 


pia mater, 158 




stoup, 169 


pickle-herring, 158 
picture of we three, 169 
piece of Eve's flesh, 156 
Pigrogromitus, 170 


sack, 176 
sad (=* sober, grave), 195 
said ( called), 204 
Saint Anne, 174 


stout (= proud), 186 
Strachy, 181 
strange ( distant), 186, 
2x7 


pilchards, 187 


Saint Bennet, 2x0 


strangeness, 203 


pipe ( voice), 154 
pitch (in falconry), 142 


save (=s except), 191 
scab, 183 


strangle thy propriety, 
213 


pluck on, 222 
point-devise, 186 
points, 156 


scathful, 2ii 
school i* the church, 193 
scout (verb), 198 


stuck ( thrust), 200 
substractors, 149 
suffers under probation 


politician, 191 
possess (=s inform'), 175 


sc f son (metaphor), 144. 
self (adjective), 145 


185 
suited 0= dressed), 218 


post (= messenger), 165 


semblative, 155 


supportance, 201 


pound (plural), 215 
practice (= trick), 221 


she (= woman), 163 
sheep-biter, 180 


swabber, x6x 
swarths, 175 


praise ( appraise), 164 
prank (verb), 179 
pregnant ( ready), xo^ 


shent, 207 
sheriff's post, 159 
shrewdly, 221 


sweet and twenty, 171 
sweet-heart, 150 
sweeting, 171 


189 


s>rew.ishly;, 150,, 


syllogism, 156 



Index of Words and Phrases 245 



tabor, 187 


trunks, 202 


weeds (= garments), ai8 


taffeta, 178 
tainting, 213 


tuck (= rapier) , 199 


welkin, 171, 188 
well-a-day that, 307 


take air and taint, 197 


unauspicious, 212 


well-favoured, 159 


take thy fortunes up, 213 
take up (quarrel), 200 
tall, 149, 204 


unchary, 198 
undertaker, 201 
unfirm, 177 


were better, 168 
westward-bo, 190 
what (== what a), 184 


tang, 183, 196 
Tartar, 187 


ungird thy strangeness, 
203 


what (= who), 147, 158 
what's to do? 195 


taste (=try), 189, 199 


unhatched, 199 


what time, 209 


taxation, 162 


unkind} 201 


where, 218 


tender (= cherish) ,213 
testril, 170 
that (conjunctional affix), 
148, 165, 191, 213, 222 
that (=in that), 142 


unmatchable, 160 
unprizable, 211 
unprofited, 154 
upon, 221 
upshot, 206 


whiles, 105, 209 
whipstock, 170 
whirligig, 222 
windy side, 197 
wit and safety, 2x7 


these set kind, 157 


use (= usury), 188 


witchcraft, 2x3 


this great lubber, the 


use (verb), 177 


with (=byj, 157 


world, 202 


usurp, 160 


wive (verb), 224 


those poor number, 145 




woodcock, 183, 206 


thou (verb), 192 
thought = love ? ), 179 


validity (= value), 142 
venerable, 201 


worn (= forgotten), 177 
worth (= wealth), 194 


thought is free, 150 


vent, 202 


wrack, 212 


throw, 210 


vice, 207 


wrangle, 208 


Tiger (name of ship) , 211 
tillyvally, 172 


viol-de-gamboys, 149 

VOX, 220 


yare, 199 


time-pleaser, 175 


vulgar proof, 190 


yellow stockings, 185, 195 


tinkers, 1^3 




yeoman of the wardrobe, 


to (infinitive), 165 
tongues (play upon), 151 
trade, 189 


wainropes, 192 
was (= had been), 207 
watch, 182, 214 


181 
you (redundant), 164 
you were best, 156, 195 


tray-trip, 186 
triplex, 210 


water (in diagnosis), 197 
waxen hearts, x68 


zanies, 157 



126250