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Greensleeves was all my joy, Greensleevcs was my delight.
=15=
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Greensleeves was my heart of gold, and who but my Lady Greensleeves.
JFrom Naylor's Shakespeare and Music.
OF WINDSOR
Glossary
Hack, (?) " to become cheap and
common," perhaps with a play
on " hack," to kick ; II. i. 52 ;
IV. i. 65.
Hair, " against the hair,'' i.e.
"against the grain," refers to
the stroking of an animal's hair
the wrong way ; II. iii. 41.
Hang together, to hold together( with-
out altogether collapsing) ; III. ii.
II.
HaiutJwnt-huds , dandies ; III. iii. 72.
Hector, cant term for a sharper ; I.
iii. II.
Herod, represented as a swagj;ering
tyrant in the old miracle plays ;
II. i. 20.
Hick (?) to fight ; Mistress Quickly's
interpretation of "hie;" prob-
ably something coarse is intended ;
IV. i. 65.
High and loiv , i.e. high and low throws
(the former were the numbers 4,
5, 6, the latter i, 2, 3) ; I. iii. 93.
Hinds, servants ; III. v. 96.
Hodge-pudding, probably something
similartoahodge-podge; V.v. 155.
Horn-mad, mad as a wicked bull ; I.
iv. 51.
Humour (ridiculed as a much misused
word of fashion ; particularly used
by Nym) ; I. i. 132, 163, 165, &:c.
Hungarian (used quiblingly) ; the
Hungarian wars attracted many
English volunteers, who subse-
quently returned to England im-
poverished; I. iii. 21. (Thefirstand
secondQuartosread"Gongarian.")
Image, idea, conception ; IV. vi. 17.
Infection, Mistress Quickly's error
for " affection " ; II. ii. iig.
Intention, intentness ; I. iii. 70.
Jack-a-Lent, a small stuffed puppet
thrown at during Lent; III. iii.
25; V. V. 131.
Jay, used metaphorically for a loose
woman ; III. iii. 41.
Kihe, chilblain ; I. iii. 33.
Kissing-comjits, sugar-plums; V.v. 22.
Lahras, lips ; I. i. 160
Larded, garnished; IV. vi. 14.
Latten bilbo, a sword made of latten, a
mixed soft metal resembling brass ;
swords were called "bilbos"' from
the great reputation of those made
at Bilboa in Spain ; I. i. 159.
Laundry, Sir Hugh Evans' error for
" launder" ; I. ii. 4.
Leman, lover; IV. ii. 164.
Leivdsters, libertines ; V. iii. 22.
Lime, to put lime in sack to make
it sparkle ; I. iii. 14.
Lingered, Waited in expectation ; III.
ii- 55-
Long-tail, v. " Cut," &c.
Louses, Sir Hugh Evans' corruption
of "luces"; the joke was per-
haps derived by Shakespeare from
a story told of Sir William Wise
and Henry VIII. in Holinshed's
continuation of the Chronicles of
Ireland, where the play is on "fleur
de lice"; I. i. 19 (See Note.)
Lo-ves, " of all loves " = by all means,
for love's sake ; II. ii. 117.
Luces, Y>\kes; "thedozenwhiteluces,"
probablyan allusion to thearmorial
bearings of Shakespeare's old ene-
my. Sir Thomas Lucy ; a quarter-
ing of the Lucy arms, exhibiting
Glossary
MERRY WIVES
the dozenwhite luces, is tobe found
in Dugdale's W'arwickshire ; I. i.
i6. The accompaninp^ drawing
from Lucy's sealgives'threeliices.'
Lunes, fits of lunacy; IV. ii. 20.
Luxury, wantonness ; V. v. 98.
Machia-vel, used proverbially for a
crafty schemer; III. i. 99.
Mate, to make mischief; I. iv. 113.
Marry trap, a phrase of doubtful
meaning; " exclamation of insult
when a man was caught in his
own stratagem " ; in all proba-
bility its real force was "catch
me if you can " ; I. i. 164.
Master offence, one who had taken
a master's degree in the art of
fencing ; I. i. 285.
Mechanical, vulgar, vile; II. ii. 285.
Mill-sixpences; "these sixpences,
coined in 1561 and 1562, were
the first milled money in England,
used as counters to cast up
money " ; I. i. 151.
Mephostophilus , used by Pistol ; the
name had been made popular in
England by Marlowe's Faustus ;
I. i. 129.
Metheglins, mead, a fermented dish
of honey and water ; V. v. 162.
Mistress, the ordinary title of an
unmarried gentlewoman ; I. i. 48.
Mince, to walk with affected grace ;
V i. 9.
Montant, a upright blow or thrust
in fencing ; II. iii. 27.
Motions, proposals ; I i. 214,
Mountain foreigner , used by Pistol of
Sir Hugh Evans, in the sense of
" ultramontane," l)arharous ; I. i.
157-
Muscle-shell, applied by FalstafT to
Simple because he stands with his
mouth open ; IV. v. 28.
Nay-ivorJ, a watch-word, or rather
a twin-word agreed upon by two
confederates; II. ii. 129.
Nuihook, contemptuous term for a
catchpole ; I. i. 165.
^OcTs heartlings, an oath ; God's
heartling (a diminutive of
" heart"); III. iv. 59.
'OiA«ou;7j, Mistress Quick ly's corrup-
tion of "God's wounds'"; IV. i. 24.
CEillades, amorous glances ; I. iii. 65.
O'erlooleJ, bewitched ; V. v. 86.
'Ork, Sir Hugh's pronunciation of
"work"; III. i. 15.
Ouphes, elves ; IV. iv. 50.
Oyes, hear ye ! the usual introduc-
tion to a proclamation ; V. v. 44.
Paid, used quibblingly in sense of
" paid out"; IV. v. 62.
Parcel, a constituent part ; I. i. 230.
Paring knife ; "glover's p. k"; I.iv. 21.
From a tradesman's token (XVII. Cent.).
Passant ; as a term of herald ry = walk-
ing,used by Sir Hugh Evans: I.i.20,
Passed, surpassed expression ; I. i.
299.
Passes, goes beyond bounds ; IV. ii.
122.
Pauca, few {i.e. words); I. i. 131 ;
" pauca verba " ; I. i. 121.
Peaking, sneaking; III. v. 68.
Peer out, probably an allusion to the
children's old rhyme calling on a
snail to push forth its horns ; IV.
ii. 24.
Peevish, foolish ; I. iv. 14.
Penny, money in general ; I. i. 62 ;
(in ordinary sense) II. ii. i.
Elizabethan Silver Penny.
OF WINDSOR
Glossary
Pensioric'rs, the bodyguard of Henry
VIII. and Queen Elizabeth were
so called ; II. ii. 79.
Period, conclusion ; IV. ii. 222.
Pheezar, evidently formed from the
verb " to pheeze," i.e. " to hurry
on, to worry " ; I. iii. 10.
Phlegmatic, misapplied by Mistress
Quickly ; I. iv. 78.
Phrijgian, possibly in the sense of
"'rrojan," used as a cant term
for a person of doubtful character ;
I. iii. 95.
Pickt-hatch, a quarter of London
notorious as the resort of bad
characters ; II. ii. 20.
Pinnace, used metaphorically for a
go-between ; I. iii. 86.
Pipe-iuine, wine not from the bottle
but from the pipe or cask, with
a play on " pipe " in the sense of
instrument to w^hich people
danced ; III. ii. 87.
Pittic-ivard,Q^ " towards the Petty,
or little Park " ; III. i. 5.
Plummet; "ignorance is a p. o'er
me " ; " Falstaff evidently repre-
sents himself as the carpenter's
work, and Evans as the lead of
the plummet held over him " ; V.
V. 167.
Polecat, used as a term of reproach,
(the polecat emits a disgusting
smell); IV. ii. 185.
Possibilities, prospects of inheritance ;
used also in the sense of " posses-
sion," which may be the meaning
here; I. i. 65.
Pottle, a large tankard, originally a
measure of two quarts ; III. v. 28.
Prat, a verb formed evidently by
Ford from Mother Prat's name ;
IV. ii. 184.
Preeches, breached for flogging ; IV.
i. 78.
Presently, immediately ; III. iii. 90.
Pribbles i7«d Prabbles, petty wrang-
lings, tittle-tattles (used by Sir
Hugh Evans) ; I. i. 56.
Primero, a game of cards ; IV. v.
104.
Properties, used technically for the
necessaries of the stage, exclusive
of the scenery and dresses ; IV.
iv. 79.
Property, a thing wanted for a par-
ticular purpose, a tool (to get out
of debt) ; III. iv. 11.
Puddings, the intestines of animals
were so called {cp. "Pudding
Lane"); II. i. 32.
Pumpion, a kind of pumpkin ; III.
iii. 40.
Punk, strumpet; II. ii. 139.
Punto, a thrust or stroke in fencing ;
II. iii. 26.
Quarter (used quibblingly} ; I. i. 24,
26, 28.
Quean, a slut; IV. ii. 171.
Rank, mature ; IV. vi. 22.
Rato-lorum ; Slender's corruption of
(Gustos) "Rotulorum" ; I. i. 8.
Red-lattice phrases z^2.\q-\\0Vi%q lan-
guage ; a lattice w^indow often
painted red was the customary dis-
tinction of an ale-house ; II. ii. 29.
From a token (Green Lattice in Cock
Lane) of the XVII. Cent.
Relent, repent ; II. ii. 32.
Ring-wood, a common name for a dog
II. i. 122.
Ronyon, a mangy creature; IV. ii.i 86.
Sackerson, a famous bear, which was
baited at the Paris Garden in
Southwark; said to liave belonged
to Henslow & Alleyn ; I. i. 296.
Glossary
MERRY WIVES
Sadness, seriousness; IV. ii. 90.
Sauce, " to pepper" ; IV. iii. 11.
Scall, scurvy; III. i. ng,
5<:j//,tailof a hare or rabbit ; V. v. 20.
Sea-coal fire, a fire made of coals
brought by sea, a novelty at a time
wiien wood was generally l)urnt ;
I. iv. 9.
Season, fit time (used probably tech-
nically for the time when the stags
were at their best); III. iii. 162
Secure, careless ; II. i. 237.
Sn-min^, specious ; III. ii. 39.
Semi-circled farthingale, a petticoat,
the hoop of which did not come
round in front ; III. iii. 64.
Shaft; "to make a shaft or bolt
on't" = to do a thing either one
way or another ; a shaft = a sharp
arrow ; a bolt, a thick short one
with a knob at the end ; III. iv. 26.
Shent, reviled, punished ; 1. iv. 38.
Ship-tire, a peculiar head-dress, re-
sembling a ships' tackle; III. iii- 57.
From Fabri's " Habite Varie" (1593).
Shovel - hoards, broad shillings of
Edward VI. used for the game of
shove or shovel-board ; I. i. 152.
Shovel-board, long preserved at the
Falcon Inn.
Edward Shovel-boards.
Simple, medicinal herb ; III. iii. 74.
Sir; the inferior clergy, as well as
knights or baronets, formerly re-
ceived this title, being the old equi-
valent of the academic Dominus ;
(when applied to Bachelors of
Arts at tlie Universities it was
usually attached to the surname
and not to the Christian name) ;
hence " Sir" Hugh Evans ; I. i. I.
OF WINDSOR
Glossary
Slack, neglect; III. iv. Ii8.
Slice, applied by Nym to Slender ; I.
i. 131.
Slighted, tossed ; III. v. 9.
Something, somewhat ; IV. vi. 22.
5/r<7^ = sprack, i.e. quick; IV. i.
82,
Speciously, a Quicklyism for speci-
ally (?) III. iv. 116 ; IV. V. 114.
Staggering, wavering; III. iii. 11.
Stale, the urine of horses, applied by
the host to Dr Caius ; II. iii. 31.
Stamps, impressed coins; III. iv. 17.
Star-Chamher ; this Court among its
other functions took cognisance
of " routs and riots " ; I. i. I.
Stoccadoes, thrusts in fencing ; II. i.
230.
Stock, thrust in fencing; II. iii. 26.
Strain, disposition ; II. i. 91.
Sufferance, sufferings ; IV. ii. 2.
Siuinged, belaboured; V. v. 190.
Sivord and dagger, (see Dagger^.
Takes, strikes with disease ; IV. iv.
33-
Taking, fright ; III. iii. 182.
Tall, sturdy, powerful ; " tall of his
hands " ; I. iv. 26.
Tester, sixpence ; I. iii. 94.
Thrummed, made of coarse, woollen
yarn ; thrum, the loose end of a
weaver's warp ; IV. ii. 77
Thrununed hat and muffler.
From Speed's Map of England.
Tightly, promptly ; I. iii. 85.
Tire, head-dress; HI. iii. 58.
Tire-valiant, a fanciful head-dress ;
III. iii. 57.
From an engraving of a noble
Venetian lady (1605).
Tricking, costumes ; IV. iv. 80.
Trot, Caius' pronunciation of
" troth " ; IV. V. 89.
Troiv, used by Mistress Quickly in
the sense of " I wonder" ; I. iv.
136.
Truckle-bed, 2, small b&d, running on
castors, which was thrust under
the standing-bed during the day-
time ; IV. V. 7.
Standing and truckle-bed.
From an illuminated MS. of XV. Cent.
(The figures represent a nobleman
and his valet.)
Uncape, to unearth a fox ; III. iii. 169.
Glossary
MERRY WIVES
Unrated, " fires unr." = fires not
raked together, not covered with
fuel so that they mrght be found
alight in the morning ; V. v. 47.
Univdghed , inconsiderate ; II. i. 23.
Urchins, imps, goblins; IV. iv. 50.
Veney, a bout at fencing ; I. i. 285.
^/zfOT;n/j = advisements or consider-
ations ; I. i. 39.
V touting- stag, i.e. laughing-stock ;
III. i. 116.
Wag, pack of! ; II. i. 234.
Ward, posture of defence ; II. il. 253.
Watched, tamed as a hawk is broken
in by being kept awake; V. v. 107.
Whiting-lime, bleaching time ; III. iii.
133.
M^hitsters, bleachers of linen ; III.
iii. 13.
Wide of, far from, indifferent to ;
III. i. 57-
With, by; III. V. 108.
Wittolly, cuckoldiy ; II. ii. 278.
Woodman, a hunter of forbidden
game, and also a pursuer of
women ; V. v. 29.
Worts, roots, (used quibblingly with
reference to Sir Hugh's pronun-
ciation of " words ") ; I. i. 121.
Wrong,- " you do yourself miglity
wrong " = you are much mistaken ;
III. iii. 209.
Wrongs, " this wrongs you," this
is unworthy of you ; IV. ii.
154.
T'ead, an old abbreviation of "Ed-
ward " ; I. i. 153.
Tcllo-wness , the Colour of jealousy ;
I. i. ii. 109.
OF WINDSOR
Notes.
I. i. 11. ' T/ie luce is the fresh Jish ; the salt Jish is an old coat.' No satis-
factory explanation of this passage has as yet been offered ; various
suggestions have been made, eg. ' salt-fish '= the hake borne by the
stockfishmongers ; ' same ' for ' salt ' ; ' 'tis ott fish in ' (assigned to Evans),
&c. May not, however, the whole point of the matter lie in Shallow's
use of ' salt ' in the sense of ' saltant,' the heraldic term, used especially
for vermin ? If so
' salt-fish '=;'
ing louse,'
the leap-
with a
quibble on ' salt ' as
opposed to ' fresh fish.'
There is further allu-
sion to the proverbial
predilection of vermin
for ' old coats,' used
quibblingly in the
sense of ' coat-of-arms.'
The foUow^ing passage
from Holinshed's con-
tinuationof the chroni-
cles of Ireland (quoted
by Rushton), seems to
bear out this explana-
tion ; — "Having lent
the king his signet to
seal a letter, who hav-
ing powdered erinuts
ingrailed in the seal;
why how now Wise
(quoth the King),
what hast thou lice
here? And if it like
your Majesty, quoth
Sir William, a louse is
From the Annalia Dubrensia (1636), a collection of poems
laudatory of the Cotswold Games and their patron,
Robert Dover.
a rich coat, for by giving the louse I part arms
with the French King in that he giveth the flower de lice, whereat the
king heartily laughed," &c.
Notes MERRY WIVES
I. i. 46. ' George Page.' Ff, Q,. ' Thomas Page,' retained by Camb.
Ed. though Master Page is elsewliere called 'George'; "the mistaive
may have been Shakespeare's own," or ' Geo.' may have been misread
as 'The'
I. i. 91. ' Outrun on Cotstili,' i.e. on the Cotsw^old liills (in Gloucester-
shire) ; probably an allusion to the famous Cotswold Games, which were
revived by Captain Robert Dover at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, though evidently instituted earlier; the allusion does not occur
in the first and second Quartos.
I. i. 171. 'Scarlet and John'; Robin Hood's boon-companions; an
allusion to Bardolph's red face.
I. iii. 28. 'A minute's rest'; '"a minim's rest" is the ingenious sug-
gestion of Bennet Langton ; cp. Romeo and Juliet, II. iv. zi, " rests me
his minim rest."
I. iii. 46. ' Carves ' ; probably used here in the sense of ' to show favour
by expressive gestures ;' c/>. " A carver : chironomus . . . one that useth^
apish motions with his hands." — Littleton's Latin-English Dictionary (^iS-j^).
1. iii. 51. ' Studied her ivilV ; so {^q.-g: Ff, ' will ' retained by Camb. Ed.
I. iii. 73. ' Region of Guiana.' Sir Walter Raleigh returned from his ex-
pedition to So. America in 1596, and published his book 'The Discovery
of the large, rich, and beautiful Empire of Guiana' in the same year.
I. iii. 99. ' Bij ivelkin and her star.' This is no doubt the correct read-
ing of the line, and there is no need to read stars, as has been suggested ;
' star' is obviously used here for ' the sun ' ; the Quartos read ' fairies.'
I. iii. 109. ' The revolt of mine,' i.e. my revolt : Camb. Ed. suggest in
Note ' mine anger,' but no change seems necessary.
II. i. 5. ' Though Love use Reason for his physician.' The folios read
' precisian ' ; the emendation adopted in the text was first suggested by
Theobald, and has been generally accepted; cp. Sonnet cxlvii : "My
reason the physician to my love."
II. i. 220, 223. In the folios the name 'Broome' is given instead of
'Brooke'; but Falstaff's pun, "Such Brooks are welcome to me, that
overflow with liquor," removes all doubt as to the correct reading, which
is actually found in the Quartos.
II. i. 224. ' Will you go, min-heers ?' The Folios and Quartos, ' An-heires,''
retained by Camb. Ed. ; Theobald, ' mynheers.' Other suggestions are
"on, here;" "on, hearts;" "on, heroes;" " cavaleires ; " &c. In
support of change, cp. 'mine host' in reply.
II. ii. 155. ' O'erfoivs,' so F.F. ; Camb. Ed., ' o'erflow.'
II. iii. 34. ' Castalion, King Urinal': Fl. ' castalion-king-Vrinall.' re-
tained by Camb. Ed. but the first hyplien is prob. an error for comma
OF WINDSOR Notes
— a fairly common mistake in this particular play, cp. nightly-meadow-
fairies, v.v. 68, &c.
II. iii. 88. ' Cried I dim .â– * ' The Folios and Quartos read " cried game; "
the ingenious emendation, due to Douce, was first adopted by Dyce.
III. i. 17, etc. Sir Hugh oddly confuses Marlowe's famous ditty,
' Come live with me and be my love,' and the old version of the 137th
Psalm, 'When we did sit in Babylon.'
III. i. 95. ' Gallia and GauT ; so the Folios ; the first and second Quartos
read " Gawle and Gawlia ; " Farmer's conjecture " Guallia and Gaul"
was adopted by Malone and other editors. Gallia = Wales.
III. ii. 73. ' He shall not knit a knot in his fortunes ' (which are now as it
were unravelled).
III. iii. 42. 'â– Hwue I caught thee'; probably the reading of the Quarto
which omits ' thee ' is the more correct ; Falstaff quotes from the second
song in Sydney's Astrophel and Stella .- —
" Have I caught my heav'nly jewel!,
Teaching sleep most faire to be?
Now will I teach her that she
When she wakes is too-too cruell."
III. iii. 6. ' Fortune thy foe zuere not, Nature thy friend,' SO Fp F3 F4 ; " foe,
were not Nature," Fj Q3 : perhaps better, ' foe were not. Nature is thy
friend ' ; so Cap ell.
III. V. 4. The reading of the Quartos is seemingly preferable : — " Have
1 lived to be carried in a basket, and thrown into the Thames like a
a barrow of butcher's offal."
III. V. 5. ' The rogues slighted me into the river,' i.e. " Threw me in con-
temptuously ; " the Quartos read " slided me in."
IV. i. 4g. ' Hang-hog is Latin for bacon ' ; probably suggested by the famous
story told of Sir Nicholas Bacon. A prisoner named Hog, who had been
condemned to death, prayed for mercy on the score of kindred. " Ay but,"
replied the judge, " you and I cannot be of kindred unless you are hanged ;
for Hog is not Bacon till it be well hanged " (Bacon's Apophthegms).
IV. ii. 20. ' Old lunes ' ; the Folios and third Quarto read ' lines ; ' the
first and second Quartos ' vaine ; ' the correction is Theobald's ; the same
error occurs in Troilus and Cressida, II. iii. 139.
IV. ii. 97. ' The luitch of Brentford' ; an actual personage of the sixteenth
century. A tract is extant entitled " Jyl of Breyntford's Testament,"
whence it appears that the witch kept a tavern at Brentford ; in Dekker
& Webster's IVestivard Ho the following allusion is found : — " I doubt that
old hag Gillian of Brainford has bewitched me."
IV. ii. 185. 'Rag,' so Fi Fp ; F3 F4 ' hag,' adopted by Camb. Ed.
Notes MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
IV. iv. 43. ' That Fahtaffat that oak shall meet ivith us.'' After this line the
following words from the Quartos have been added in many editions: —
" We'll send him word to meet us in the field,
Disguised like Home with huge horns on his head."
IV. iv. 58. ' To pinch ' ; probably the correct reading should be ' to-pinch,'
where ' to ' is the intensitive prefix so common in old English, though it
is possible to explain it as the ordinary infinitive prefix, omitted in the
case of the former verb in the sentence.
IV. iv. 84. ' Send qtiid'/y to Sir John.' Theobald ingeniously suggested
" Quickly " for " quickly."
IV. V. 78. ' Cozen-germans ' ; the first Quarto reads : —
" For there is three sorts of cosen garmotnbles,
Is cosen all the Host of Maidenhead and Readings,"
where 'garmombles* is very possibly a perversion of Mompelgard ;
Count Frederick of Mompelgard visited Windsor in 1592 ; free post-
horses were granted him by a passport of Lord Howard.
The Count became a " Duke of Jamany " (Wirtemberg) in 1593 ; con-
siderable interest must have been taken in the Duke about 1598. A letter
to the Queen, dated August 14, 1598, is extant, in which the following
passage occurs: — "I have heard with extreme regret that some of my
enemies endeavour to calumniate me and prejudice your majesty against
me. I have given them no occasion for this. I hope that when your
majesty has discovered this report to be false, you will have greater
reason to continue your affection towards me, and give neither faith nor
credit to such vipers." In the year 1602 appeared "An Account of the
Duke's Bathing Excursion to the far-famed Kingdom of England " (f/Vi;
Rye's England as seen by Foreigners^.
V. v. 26. ' Bribed buck' so the Folios ; Theobald, " bribe bauk," adopted
by Camb. Ed. : ' a bribed buck ' was a buck cut up into portions
(Old French ^r//^fj-= ' portions of meat to be given away').
V. V. 42. ' Orphan heirs.' Theobald suggested " ouphen " (elvish) for
"orphan," and he has been followed by many editors', but the change is
unnecessary. Cp. " unfather'd heirs" II. Henry IV. IV. iv. 122.
V. v. 45, 47. ^Toyes': Ff. Camb. Ed., toys^ evidently to be read
" toyes," rhyming with " O-yes " in the previous line; similarly " un-
swept" should probably be " unswep," suggesting rhyme with "leap."
V. V. 94-96. Cp. Song of the Fairies in Lyly's Endymion.
V. V. III. ' These fair yokes' ; the first Folio reads " yoakes," the second
" okes." " Yokes " must refer to the resemblance of the buck's horns to
a yoke ; a sort of sense can be got out of ' oaks,' the antlers resembling
the branches of oaks, but the first Folio reading seems preferable.
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J.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Preface.
The First Edition. Measure for Measure was first printed in the
First Folio, where it occupies pp. 61-84, ^'^d holds the fourth place
among the ' Comedies.' No direct reference to the play has been found
anterior to its publication in 1623, nor is there any record of its per-
formance before the Restoration, when Davenant produced his Laiv
against Lovers, a wretched attempt to fuse Measure for Measure and Much
Ado About Nothing into one play.
The Date of Composition. All arguments for the date of com-
position of Measure for Measure must be drawn from general considerations
of style, and from alleged allusions. As regards the latter, it has been
maintained that two passages (Act I. i. 68-71, and Act II. iv. 27-30),
offer " a courtly apology for King James I.'s stately and ungracious
demeanour on his entry into England," and various points of likeness in
the character of the Duke and James have been detected.* This evidence
by itself would be of little value, but it certainly corroborates the
zsthetic and metrical tests, which fix the date of composition about the
year 1603-4. Further, in 1607, William Barksted, an admirer of our
poet, published a poem, entitled Myrrha, the Mother of Adonis, wherein
occurs an obvious reminiscence of a passage in Measure for Measure : —
" And like as when some sudden extasie
Seizeth the nature of a sickHe man ;
When he's discerned to swoon, straight by and by
Folke to his helpe confusedly have ran ;
And seeking with their art to fetch hira backe,
So many throng, that he the ayre doth lacke."
{cp. Measure for Measure, II. iv. 24-27).
* The entry usually cited from the accounts of the Revels at Court from Oct. 1604 to
Oct. 1605 is now known to be a forgery. " By his Mat's Plaiers on Stivens night in the
Hall, a Play called ' Mesur for Mesur '" : probably, however, the forgery was based
on authentic information.
Preface MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Mr Stokes has advanced the ingenious conjecture that Barksted, as one
of the children of the Revels, may have been the original actor of the
part of Isabella.*
The strongest argument for the date 1603, generally adopted by
critics, is derived from the many links between this play and Hamlet-^
they both contain similar reflections on Life and Death, though Measure
for Measure " deals, not like Hamlet with the problems which beset one
of exceptional temperament, but with mere human nature" (W. Pater,