Page 284 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

2.2. N O T E S 177

'Humorous Man.' The latter = the fantastic, like
Jaques, whose supposed topical or personal references
were often in danger of interruption by victims or
their partisans (cf. A.T.L. 2. 7. 48-87). The Fi list of
players at the end of 2 Hen. /^"describes Falstaff and his
companions as 'irregular humorists.' W. J. Lawrence
{Sh.'s Workshop, p. 101) suggests a reference to trouble
caused by the ending of Jonson's E.M.O. in 1599
(v. Chambers, Will. Shak. i. 423, E/iz. Stage, iii. 361).
328-29.* theLady.. .haltfor't 'The lady, of course,
will have indecent words to utter; if she omits them, the
halting blank verse will betray her delicacy' (Dowden).
332. the tragedians of the city Generally taken as a
topical reference; if so, more appropriate to the Lord. Ad-
miral's men, with its famous tragic player, Edward Alleyn
and its Marlowe repertory, than to Sh.'s company, who
at this date had made their reputation in comedy rather
than in tragedy. Cf. notes 2. 2. 335-36, 339, 395-96,
451, and G. B. Harrison, Sh. at Work, pp. 273-76.
333. residence i.e. in the city.
335—36. their inhibition.. .innovation Much dis-
cussed, but without agreement. A few points may be
made: (i) The 'innovation' has nothing to do with the
'little eyases,' as many have assumed, since it is expressly
stated to be the cause of an 'inhibition,' i.e. a prohibition
of playing by authority, (ii) As Boas {Sh. and the Uni-
versities, p. 23 n.) shows, 'innovation' always means a
political upheaval of some kind in Sh. He quotes
I Hen. IF, 5. 1. 78 'hurlyburly innovation' and Oth.
2.3.42, to which I may add Cor. 3. 1. 175 'a traitorous
innovator' and More (Sh.'s Addition), 11. 92-3 'You
shall perceive how horrible a shape/Your innovation
bears.' And if the passage (as I think) was written in
1601, the 'innovation' can hardly be other than that of
the Earl of Essex in Feb. of that year, (iii) Sh.'s company
were certainly not inhibited on account of the Essex
rising, since they were acting at court on the eve of the