Page 350 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

5.8. N O T E S 243

are inveterate foes who will, after the briefest possible
pause, be at each other's throats again.
43. 'as'es' A pun on the preceding conjunctions
which, with their weighty-looking (though empty)
clauses are like a string of asses bearing heavy burdens
('great charge'). Cf. Tw. Nt. 2. 3. 174-76 for the same
quibble.
57. Why, man.. .employment (F 1) Q 2 omits.
59. insinuation cf. 4. 2. 15-16.
63. think thee (Q2) F i 'thinkst thee.' MSH.
p. 268.
65. Popped in.. .hopes Cf. note 3. 4. 99-101. For
'election' v. 5. 2. 353—54 and Introd. pp. liii—liv.
(
68-80. To quit him.. .passion Fi) £>2 omits.
MSH. pp. 97-8.
69-70. To let this canker.. .evil i.e. To let this
cancerous ulcer of humanity continue its foul existence.
For 'in' = into, cf. 5. 1. 272.
74.* a man's.. .say'One' This, which is passed over
in silence by edd., refers I think to the single thrust of
a rapier; cf. Rom. 2. 4. 23 'one, two, and the third in
'
your bosom,' and below 5. 2 278 One!'
80. S.D. For 'diminutive' v. note 1. 84. The
'winged doublet' (i.e. with projections from the
shoulders), then much in the fashion (v. N.E.D.
'wing' 8), is suggested by 'water-fly' (1. 84) and
'lapwing' (1. 186), while an absurd hat (cf. 'shell on his
head' 11. 186-87) provides much of the business during
the dialogue. Cf. Sh.Eng. ii. 105.
84. water-fly i.e. gnat, a tiny creature. 'A water-fly
skips up and down upon the surface of the water, without
any apparent purpose or reason, and is thence the proper
emblem of a busy trifler' (Johnson). Cf. Trail. 5. 1.
38-9 'waterflies, diminutives of nature.'
87-9. let a beast.. .mess i.e. an ass has only to
possess so many head of cattle and he gets the entry at
Court.