Page 296 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

2.2. N O T E S 189

A commonplace of the age. Heywood in his Apology for
Actors (a reply to puritan critics of the theatre) cites a
number of examples.
601. blench Not 'turn pale' but 'flinch,' i.e. from
the 'tenting' (= probing). Often used of the eye.
602-607. The spirit.. .damn me Le Loyer, IIH
Litres des Spectres, 1586, bk. ii, declares that the Devil
is apt to appear in the guise of the dead to the weak and
the melancholy, and that while his intent is always to
delude he often seems to speak the truth (v. Lavater,
pp. 234-35). Cf. Introd. pp. 1-liii.
603. a devil... the devil Q2 'a deale.. .the deale,'
MSH. pp. 108, 116.
605. my weakness and my melancholy An important
testimony to Ham.'s true state of mind. Cf. Introd.
pp. lxii-lxv. In 1. 606 'such spirits' refers, of course,
to the weakness and melancholy, v. G. 'weakness.'
609. S.D. For 'A day passes' v. above 1. 543 'to-
morrow night' and 3. 1. 21 'this night.'

S.D. For 'the lobby' and the 'arras' v. 2. 2.161-63.
The 'faldstool' is needed for OpL's devotions and for
the K.'s in 3. 3.
1. drift of conference (Q2) i.e. leading him on in
conversation. Cf. 'drift of question,' 2. I. 10 and G.
'drift.' The K. implies that they have been ordered to
catch Ham. in his talk (cf. 2.2.15-18). Most edd. read
the comparatively pointless 'drift of circumstance' (F1).
MSH. pp. 62-3.
4. turbulent.. .lunacy Cf. Introd. p. Ixiv. The
words prepare us for the ravings at the end of the scene.
5-14. He does confess.. .his reply Dowden com-
ments:
The courtiers between them try to piece out an account,
which will not discredit them, of an unsuccessful interview}