Page 323 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

2i6 NOTES 3-4.

171. desirous to be blessed i.e. truly repentant, and
so, ready for Heaven's blessing.
174. To punish me with this Cf. 1. 21 r 'This man
shall set me packing.' The death of Pol. has placed Ham.
within the power of the K.
175. their scourge and minister i.e. at once the officer
of Heaven's justice and the lash he wields. A reference
to the public flogging of criminals; cf. note 3. 1. 70 and
Matth. v. 25 (Bishops' Bible, 1572) 'Least.. .the iudge
deliuer thee to the minister.' Ham. is a 'fell sergeant'
(5. 2.334) for the arrest of Pol., but with a 'scourge' for
his own back. Heaven is plur., as often in Sh.
178-79. I must be.. .behind The couplet sums up
the scene: the first line referring to his treatment of the
Queen, the second to the death of Pol.
179. This bad(Q2) F1'Thus bad'—which all edd.
read. But 'This,' i.e. the corpse (cf.l. 174), makes sense
of the couplet, which has hitherto eluded explanation.
In 'worse remains behind' Ham. expresses his fears of
what may come of his rash act (cf. note 1. 174 above),
and these fears lead on naturally to the lines that follow.
MSH. p. 275.
180. One word more, good lady Cf. Introd. p. Ixiii.
190. paddock. ..bat., .gib The toad, the bat and
the tom-cat—all forms assumed by spirits attendant on
witches (Clar.).
191. dear concernings i.e. 'matters that concern him
so closely' (Verity), v. G. 'dear.'
194. the famous ape The story is lost, but Ham.
makes the outline clear; the ape carries a cage of birds
to the top of a house, releases them by accident, and,
surprised at their flight, imagines he can also fly by
first creeping into the cage and then leaping out. The
point for the Queen is the publicity of the proceeding
('on the house's top' = in full view of everyone), and
that letting the cat out of the bag will involve her own
destruction. For'try conclusions' v. G.andM. ofV. 2.
2.34.