Or Earth gape open wide, and eate him quicke, Rich. Lady, you know no Rules of Charity, An. Villaine, thou know'st nor law of God nor Man, 71. Earth] Earth, FF, et seq. 72. doft] doeft Q1-5. didft Q. 73. his] this F‚F. 74. Rules] rule Q, Q8° 75. renders] render Q,Q8 71 75 80 -76. nor law] Ff,+, Coll. Sing. Wh. i, Ktly. no law Qq et cet. 81. Vouchfafe] Voutfafe Q 71. Earth ... quicke] WRIGHT: There is probably a reference here to Number, sxvi, 30: 'But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that those men have provoked the Lord.' [Compare True Tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke: 'Maie that ground gape and swallow me alive.' Sh. Soc. Reprint, p. 122.-ED.] 73. butchered] WRIGHT: It is worth while to draw attention, once for all, to the unusual number of instances in this play in which the participial termination -ed is accentuated. [A noteworthy reminder. No one who has pondered over every syllable of this play, for the purposes of collation, can fail to be struck with this peculiarity.-ED.] 74-76. you... thou] See ABBOTT, § 233, and compare III, ii, 137, 138. 77. but knowes] For examples of omission of subject in relative clauses, following 'but,' see ABBOTT, § 123. 77. touch] That is, sensation, feeling. For other examples, see SCHMIDT (Lex. 4). 78. But... no Beast] Richard's reasoning seems to be that if to know some trace of pity be the mark of a beast, inasmuch as he does not show that mark he cannot be a beast. Anne's next remark applies to the first part of his speech; she hardly hears its ending.-ED. 81. Vouchsafe (diuine perfection of a Woman), etc.] RICHARDSON (p. 22): Here also we may observe the application of those flatteries and apparent obsequiousness, which, if they cannot take effect at present, otherwise than to give higher provocation, yet when her wrath subsides, will operate in a different direction, and tend to excite that vanity which is the predominant disposition of her mind, and by means of which he will accomplish his purpose. It was not alone sufficient to provoke her anger and her resentment to the utmost, in order that they might immediately subside; but, by alleging apparent reasons for change of sentiment, to assist them in their decline. Though Lady Anne possesses no decided, determined virtue, yet her moral nature, uncultivated as it appears, would 82 84 Of these supposed Crimes, to giue me leaue An. Vouchsafe (defus'd infection of man) 82. fuppofed Crimes] Ff, +, Knt, Wh. i, Huds. Rlfe. fuppofed euills Qq, Var. '73 et cet. 83. acquit] acquite Qq. 84. Vouchsafe] Voechfafe Q F, F, et cet. man] a man Qq,Ff et seq. discern impropriety in her conduct; would suggest scruples, and so produce hesitation. Now, in order to prevent the effect of these, it was necessary to aid the mind in finding subterfuge or excuse, and thus assist her in the pleasing business of imposing upon herself. Her seducer accordingly endeavours to gloss his conduct, and represents himself as less criminal than she at first apprehended.—Boas (p. 151): The whole process of this wooing is a masterpiece, and a cardinal illustration of Richard's methods. With complete confidence in his powers he makes no attempt to smooth away difficulties, but lays siege to Anne under what seem wantonly unfavourable conditions. Dissimulation as a fine art cannot go further than in this scene, and Richard may well, as soon as Anne's back is turned, break into ecstatic self-congratulations.-MACREADY (p. 142): 'Macready's courtship of Lady Anne, though by no means the most successful of his scenes, is, nevertheless, deserving of particular mention for one reason. That reason is that it was conducted in a spirit of assumed sincerity, and with a total disregard of those sarcastic touches which tell so well in the acting, while they detract from the consistency of Richard's dissimulation.'-J. Haines in Morning Chronicle, London, 26 October, 1819. 82. supposed Crimes] R. G. WHITE: If evils were the original word, the change was evidently made with intention, and is a great improvement; for it opposes known evils to supposed crimes; and the evils which Anne actually suffered, and for which she claims the right to curse, were the direct consequence of crimes which Richard calls 'supposed.' By the change, too, Shakespeare freed the line of a superfluous and harmful syllable in a part of the verse in which he solicitously avoided irregularity. 84. defus'd] JOHNSON: I believe 'diffus'd' in this place signifies irregular, uncouth; such is its meaning in other passages of Shakespeare.-STEEVENS: It may mean, 'thou that art as dangerous as a pestilence, that infects the air by its diffusion.' It may, however, mean irregular. So, in Merry Wives: 'rush at once With some diffused song,' IV, iv, 54. Again in Greene's Farewell to Follie, 1617: 'I haue seene an English gentleman so defused in his sutes; his doublet being for the weare of Castile, his hose for Venice.' [p. 253; ed. Grosart. See also Hen. V: V, ii, 61: 'defused attire and everything that seems unnatural.'] -R. G. WHITE: I suspect that 'defus'd' is a misprint for an epithet antithetical to 'divine' in Richard's speech. If 'deprav'd infection of a man' had been found in any old copy, I think that it would have been adopted without question.— WRIGHT: 'Defus'd infection' is a phrase coined to match 'divine perfection,' and the play upon words was more aimed at by the writer than their appropriateness. 'Defused' is properly disordered and must here mean shapeless.-WEBB: The word 'defus'd' would have more point if taken, not from di-, in various directions, and fusus, poured, but in the sense of decocted, giving the prefix de- its usual sense of Of these knowne euils, but to giue me leaue By circumstance, to curfe thy curfed Selfe. Rich. Fairer then tongue can name thee, let me haue Some patient leysure to excuse my selfe. An. Fouler then heart can thinke thee, Thou can't make no excufe currant, 85 90 But to hang thy felfe. Rich. By fuch dispaire, I should accuse my felfe. – 85. Oƒ] Ff, Rowe, Pope. For Qq et cet. 86. curfe] accuse Spedding. 89-91. Fouler...felfe] Ff, Rowe, Pope. Two lines, ending make...felfe Qq et cet. 89. heart] art Knt i. 90, 91. currant, But to...] that will be currant, Unless thou... Rowe, Pope, Han. 95 from. The whole phrase would then mean 'essence of poison,' as if she looked upon Richard as some refinement or quintessence of villainy.-BARNARD: 'Infection' is a word regularly used of the 'evil eye.' [See note on line 50; compare also l. 168.] 85. euils] SPEDDING (Sh. Soc. Trans., 1875-'76; p. 6): I suppose it was for the sake of the metre that 'evils' was not changed to crimes in this line [see Text. Notes, 1. 82]. It could not have been done without some further alteration; and as the necessary alteration could have involved no difficulty for the author, it must be admitted to be more like the work of a corrector who was not the author; although the corrector of this play, whoever he was, has shown himself quite capable of dealing with such a difficulty. 88. patient leysure] Compare, for a somewhat similar construction, 'At your kind'st leisure,' Macbeth, II, i, 24; and: 'At your best leisure,' Jul. Cæs., III, i, 5.-ED. 90. currant] That is, genuine, in the same sense as the word is now applied to money. 93. dispairing . . . excused] SEYMOUR: This argument is urged to Cromwell in the Introduction to the famous pamphlet, Killing No Murder: ‘Let this consideration arm and fortify your highness's mind against the fears of death and the terrors of an evil conscience, that the good you shall do by your death will, in some sort, atone for the evils of your life.' 96-100. Say that . . . slaine ... I did not... aliue] For other examples of apparent Alexandrines with trimeter couplets, see ABBOTT, § 500. An. Then say they were not slaine: 97 But dead they are, and diuellish flaue by thee. Rich. I did not kill your Husband. An. Why then he is aliue. 100 Rich. Nay, he is dead, and flaine by Edwards hands. An. In thy foule throat thou Ly'st, Queene Margaret saw Thy murd'rous Faulchion smoaking in his blood: 105 Rich. I was prouoked by her fland'rous tongue, 97. Then...flaine] Why then they are not dead Qq, Mal. Steev. Varr. Sta. Cam.+, Dyce ii, iii, Huds. 99, 100. As one line, Steev. et seq. 101. hands] Ff,+. hand Qq et cet. 102, 103. In...faw] Ff, Rowe. One line, Qq et cet. 102. foule] soul's Mal. Steev. Var. '03, '13. Lyft] Ff,+, Cap. Var. Mal. li'st Wh. i. lieft Qq et cet. (subs.) 103. Margaret] Marg'ret Pope, +. 104. murd'rous] Ff,+. bloudy QxQ2° bloodly Q3-6. bloody Q, murth’rous Wh. i. murtherous Rlfe. murderous Var. '73 et cet. Faulchion] falchion Coll. et seq. 99. I... your Husband] See note on Rich.), p. 85 et seq. 106. thy] my Q, Brothers] brother Q3-5107. prouoked] provok'd F. fland'rous] faunderous Q1-3. flanderous QQ, Coll. Sing. Dyce, Cam. 108, 110. That] Which Qq, Mal. Sta. Cam. Taw. Webb, Barn. 108. their] her Q, 110. dream'f] Ff, Rowe, Knt. dreamt Qq et cet. ought] QqFf, Rowe, Pope, Han. Cap. aught Theob. et cet. 111, 112. Did'ft...ye.] As one line, Steev. Var. '03, '13, Knt, Sing. Dyce, Sta. Cam. +, Ktly, Huds. 111. King?] king. Q, I, i, 166; or JESSE (Mem. of King 101. by Edwards hands] WRIGHT: In 3 Hen. VI: V, v, Edward, Clarence, and Richard all stab the young prince. 104. Faulchion] SKEAT (Dict.): This word may have been really taken from the French fauchon, and afterwards altered to falchion by the influence of the Italian or Low Latin falci, crude form of falx, a sickle. 105, 106. The which... the point] See 3 Hen. VI: V, v, 41-43. 105. bend] That is, direct, aim. For numerous examples of this use of 'bend,' see SCHMIDT (Lex.). WRIGHT quotes Stow's Annales (ed. 1580, p. 1082) ... the next morning, he bent seauen great peeces of Ordinance Culuerings, and Demi Canons, against the foote of the Bridge.'-TAWNEY calls attention to a similar use of Lat. tendo. Rich. The better for the King of heauen that hath him. 118 112. I graunt ye] 'He slewe with his owne handes king Henry the sixt, being prisoner in the tower, as menne constantly saye, and that without commaundmente or knoweledge of the king...'-More, p. 9.-"The occasion of the murder of Henry VI. hath no other proof but the malitious affirmation of one man; for many other men more truly did suppose that he died of mere grief and melancholy, when he heard the overthrow of his cause and friends, with the slaughter of the prince his son: and Johannes Majerus saith it was reported, King Henry VI. died of grief and thought.'-Buck, bk, iii, 81.—WESSELS (p. 13): It appears that the murder of Henry is imputed to Richard more upon vague reports than any sufficient ground, and, moreover, it seems difficult to explain why Richard should have committed so foul a deed from which he could not derive any advantage for himself. Edward and even Clarence were much more interested in it. According to Shakespeare, Richard is concerned in the death because Henry stands between him and the crown, but in reality there is no proof whatever, not even any probability, that Richard should have begun to covet the crown as early as King Henry's death. 113. Hedge-hogge] TAWNEY gives as a reason for Anne's use of this epithet that 'the hedge-hog was an ill-omened beast,' but was it not also the hump-backed appearance of that animal which suggested its application to 'crook-backed Richard.' And may there not be also a subaudition of Richard's crest? See I, iii, 237.-ED. 117. The better . . . him] STEEVENS: Compare Pericles, IV, i, 10: 'I'll do 't: but yet she is a goodly creature. The fitter then the gods should have her.'DELIUS (Jahrbuch, vii, 158): 'So much the better is it for the King of Heaven who has him,' replies Gloucester in frivolous mockery of the praise which Anne has given to the dead King. But the Anonymous Corrector, by changing this to the fitter, weakens and anticipates, by this tautology, a thought amplified by Gloucester in his next speech: 'he was fitter for that place than earth.' [Might not 'the better' refer to King Henry?-ED.] 118. heauen... come] There is a curious resemblance between this line and some lines in a Scottish ballad, The Daemon Lover: ""O yon are the hills of Heaven" he said "Where you will never win."'-CHILD, pt. viii, p. 360, where the editor says that this ballad was first published in Scott's Minstrelsy, 5th Edition, 1812.-ED. |