Page 276 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

2.8. NOTE S 169

113. in her...bosom 'Women anciently had a
pocket in the fore part of their stays, in which they not
only carried love-letters and love-tokens, but even their
money and materials for needlework' (Steevens). Cf.
Two Gent. 3. 1. 250.
117. Doubt.. .move According to the accepted
astronomy the sun, fixed in its sphere, moved round the
'centre,' which was the earth; 'doubt' in 1. 118 means
'suspect.'
124. machine i.e. body, v. G. Dowden refers to
Bright {Melancholie, pp. 61—2) who describes the body
as a machine connected with the 'soul' by the inter-
mediate 'spirit'; cf. note 2. 2. 300—301.
136. played.. .table-book i.e. noted the matter pri-
vately and kept it secret. Cf. 'tables' I. 5. 107-109
(note).
137. working (Q2) Fi 'winking'—which all edd.
follow. Cf. L.L.L. 4. 1. 33 'the working of the heart';
Son. xciii 'thy heart's workings'; I Hen. VI, 5. 5. 86
'working of my thoughts'; above I. 1. 67 'In what
particular thought to work I know not'; and below
1. 557, where Ham. speaks of the 'working' of the
'soul.' Thus 'working' = mental operation of any kind.
MSH. pp. 74-5.
141. out of'thy star The modern'out of thy sphere'
preserves the same astrological notion. Cf. Tzo. Nt.
2. 5. 156; All's Well, 1. 1. 87-91.
145. fruits 'She took the fruits of advice when she
obeyed advice, the advice was then made fruitful'
(Johnson).
146. repelltd £>2 'repell'd.' Cf. 2. 1. 106.
156. S.D. Theobald added 'Pointing to his head
and shoulder.' Dowden suggests that Pol. refers to his
official staff of office and the hand that bore it.
159. Centre i.e. the centre of the earth, which was
the centre of the Ptolemaic universe. Cf. note 1. 117 and
M.N.D. 3. 2. 53-4. Both Qz and F1 print the capital.