SCENE 1.-The inside of a church. ACT IV. Enter DON PEDRO, DON JOHN, LEONATO, FRIAR and others. Leon. Come, Friar Francis, be brief; only to the plain form of marriage, and you shall recount their particular duties afterwards. D. Pedro. Nothing, unless you render her again. Claud. Sweet prince, you learn me noble thankfulness. There, Leonato, take her back again : Give not this rotten orange to your friend; Fri. F. You come hither, my lord, to marry Can cunning sin cover itself withal! this lady? Claud. No. Fri. F. Know you any, count? I dare make his answer,-none. Claud. Oh, what men dare do! what men may do! what men daily do, not knowing what they do! Bene. How now! interjections? Why, then, some be of laughing, as, Ha, ha, he!? Claud. Stand thee by, friar.-Father, by your Will you with free and unconstrained soul Leon. As freely, son, as God did give her me. May counterpoise this rich and precious gift? 1. To utter it. This address is borrowed from the marriage ceremony; which was nearly verbally the same in Shakespeare's time as at present. 2. As, Ha, ha, he! Benedick, to mark the irrelevance of Claudio's exclamations, irrelevantly quotes from the Accidence, or first grammar. 3. Out on thee! Seeming ! Punctuated in the Folio, "Out on thee seeming;" and altered in some editions to "Out on thy seeming!" in others to "Out on the seeming!" But it appears to us to be an indignant exclamation on Hero, and then a repe. tition of the word she has used; adding he will "write against it" To "write against" any one, or anything, was a phrase used by Shakespeare for protest against' or denounce.' For his employment of the word "seeming," see Note 83, Act ii., "Measure for Measure." . 4 Speak so wide? "Wide" is here used for wide of (or far from the truth,' and for wide of (or far from) delicacy and propriety.' Just as, before, "word too large" means word too gross, too improper 3. Sweet prince, why speak not vou? In the Folio this Comes not that blood as modest evidence Leon. What do you mean, my lord? Not to be married; Not to knit my soul to an approved wanton. I never tempted her with word too large; Hero. And seem'd I ever otherwise to you? against it: You seem to me as Dian in her orb, Hero. Is my lord well, that he doth speak so Claud. Sweet prince, why speak not you ?3 speech is given to Leonato; but it is more likely that Leonato says nothing at this point till he says--"Are these things spoken," &c. whereas, "Sweet prince" is Claudio's style of address to Don Pedro, and, moreover, it is characteristic of him to refer to the prince for support, in reminder of his highness's promise (Act iii., sc. 2) - "I will join with thee to disgrace her." It is worthy of observation how consistently the Poet has drawn the mean character of Claudio throughout. Dramatic purpose required that he should be comely of person and exteriorly a gentleman, or he would not have won a prince's favour and gained the love of a young lady; but it also required that he should be of an inferior nature, or he would have been incapable of throwing her off at the altar; and Shakespeare has shown him in the first instance anxious about the dower of Hero, by the inquiry, "Hath Leonato any son, my lord?" (Act i., sc. 1); then, facile in suspecting his friend and patron of being false to his word, where he says immediately upon hearing the accusation-"The prince woos for himself;" and then, equally facile in believing his mistress to be false to her love, when he hears her accused of infidelity; following his quick I stand dishonour'd, that have gone about About thy thoughts, and counsels of thy heart! D. John. Sir, they are spoken, and these things And on my eyelids shall conjecture hang,11 are true. Bene. This looks not like a nuptial. Hero. True! O God! Leon. All this is so: but what of this, my lord? And, by that fatherly and kindly power Claud. To make you answer truly to your name. Claud. Marry, that can Hero: Hero itself can blot out Hero's virtue. Hero. I talk'd with no man at that hour, my F. Fran. Yea, wherefore should she not ? Leon. Wherefore! Why, doth not every earthly thing D. Pedro. Why, then are you no maiden.- Cry shame upon her? Could she here deny Leonato, I am sorry you must hear: upon mine honour, D. John. Fie, fie! they are Not to be nam'd, my lord, not to be spoke of; There is not chastity enough in language, The story that is printed in her blood ?13___ shames, Myself would, on the rearward of reproaches," Without offence to utter them. Thus, pretty lady, Took up a beggar's issue at my gates, I am sorry for thy much misgovernment.10 belief by as quick a resolve to publicly “shame her" (Act iii., SC. 2). 6. Stale. See Note 50, Act ii. 7. True! Hero repeats Don John's last word. This is one of the several instances we shall point out, where Shakespeare makes a speaker refer farther back than to the speech or words immediately preceding those in which the reference occurs. 8. Kindly power. Used for 'right derived from kindred.' 9 Liberal. Sometimes, as here, used for free, licentious. 10. Misgovernment. This word is here used with greater force of meaning in criminality than ill-governed behaviour, misconduct; as Shakespeare elsewhere uses the word “ government" (for a womanly attribute) with more ample signification than it now bears. Who smirched 16 thus and mir'd with infamy, 11. On my eyelids shall conjecture hang. My eyes shall conjecture hidden defects in every woman they see.' 12. Gracious. Used for winning, attractive, captivating. 13. Printed in her blood. Testified to be true by her blushes. 14. On the rearward of reproaches. "Rearward" (the word in the Quarto) is misprinted 'reward' in the Folio; but the passage means 'I would, following up these reproaches by death, kill thee myself.' 15. Frame. Used here for order, ordination, disposal of events. In Love's Labour's Lost," Act iii., sc. 1, Shakespeare has the word precisely in the sense of 'order,' 'regular condition: '-"Like a German clock, still a repairing, ever out of frame." 16. Smirched. See Note 47, Act iii. VOL. I. 32 But mine, and mine I lov'd, and mine I prais'd, Bene. Beat. Oh, on my soul, my cousin is belied! Which was before barr'd up with ribs of iron! die. F. Fran. Hear me a little ; For I have only been silent so long, And given way unto this course of fortune, Leon. Friar, it cannot be. Thou seest that all the grace that she hath left F. Fran. Lady, what man is he you are accus'd of? 17. Foul. For foully. An adjective used adverbially is a poetic licence employed by many writers; and yet it has been proposed to change "foul tainted" here, as if the expresion were wrong. 18 In angel whiteness bear away, &c. The Quarto prints 'beat' instead of "bear; " and many editors follow the Quarto reading. But "bear" (the word in the Folio) appears to us to be more in harmony with the whole passage. 19. The tenour of my book. Book" here refers to the "reading" mentioned in the line above; and the whole sentence means "Which [my observation "] confirms with the seal of experience what my reading asserts." 20. Biting error. It has been proposed to change "biting" for 'blighting' here; but Shakespeare elsewhere uses the word Hero. They know that do accuse me: I know none: If I know more of any man alive, Than that which maiden modesty doth warrant, Bene. Two of them have the very bent of honour; 23 And if their wisdoms be misled in this, Leon. I know not. If they speak but truth of her, These hands shall tear her: if they wrong her honour, The proudest of them shall well hear of it. Nor fortune made such havoc of my means, F. Fran. Leon. What shall become of this? what will this do? F. Fran. Marry, this, well carried, shall on her behalf Change slander to remorse ;-that is some good: "biting" to express 'keenly piercing,' 'acutely painful,'' sorely distressing. For instance, in "Merry Wives," Act v., sc. 5, we find-"To repay that money will be a biting affliction." 21. Unmeet. Unfit, unseemly, improper. 22. Misprision. Used for mistake, misconception. 23. The very bent of honour. The utmost degree or strain of honour. See Note 71, Act ii. 24. Frame of villainies. Framing, construction, or composition of villainies. Upon the instant that she was accus'd, And every lovely organ of her life Shall come apparell'd in more precious habit, Than when she liv'd indeed; then shall he mourn, Out of all eyes, tongues, minds, and injuries. Bene. Signior Leonato, let the friar advise you: And though you know my inwardness and love 31 Is very much unto the prince and Claudio, Yet, by mine honour, I will deal in this As secretly and justly, as your soul Should with your body. Bene. Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while? Beat. Yea, and I will weep a while longer. Bene. I will not desire that. Beat. You have no reason; I do it freely. Bene. Surely, I do believe your fair cousin is wronged. Beat. Ah! how much might the man deserve of me that would right her! Bene. Is there any way to show such friendship? Beat. A very even way,33 but no such friend. Bene. May a man do it? Beat. It is a man's office, but not yours. Bene. I do love nothing in the world so well as you is not that strange ? Beat. As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible for me to say I loved nothing so well as you: but believe me not: and yet I lie not; I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. — I am sorry for my cousin. Bene. By my sword, Beatrice, thou lovest me. Beat. Do not swear by it, and eat it. Bene. I will swear by it that you love me; and I will make him eat it that says I love not you. Beat. Will you not eat your word? Bene. With no sauce that can be devised to it. 1 protest I love thee. Beat. Why, then, Heaven forgive me! Bene. What offence, sweet Beatrice? Beat. You have stayed me in a happy hour: I was about to protest I loved you. Bene. And do it with all thy heart. Beat. I love you with so much of my heart, that none is left to protest. Bene. Come, bid me do anything for thee. Bene. Ha! not for the wide world. Beat. I am gone, though I am here: 35-there is no love in you.-Nay, I pray you, let me go. Bene. Beatrice,— Beat. In faith, I will go. 27. Rack the value. Exaggerate or overstrain the value; stretch it to its utmost. 28. In his liver. See Note 7, Act iv., "The Tempest." 29. All aim. "Aim" is here used for desired end,' 'drift,' or 'scope;' rather the object or mark aimed at, than the aim taken. 30. If it sort not well. Shakespeare sometimes uses "sort" to express 'fall out,' 'happen or concur befittingly;' so in the last scene of this play we find-“I am glad that all things sort so well." 31. Inwardness and love is very much, &c. Shakespeare uses "inwardness" for intimacy' here, as he uses "inward" for 'intimate' (see Note 51, Act iii, "Measure for Measure"); and he frequently has the verb in the singular after two nouns, as "is" after "inwardness and love." 32. Being that I flow in grief, the smallest, &c. Not only is this facile yielding to friendly representations true to human nature in distress, but it is conveyed in an illustrative metaphor as perfectly true to the laws of natural philosophy. 33. A very even way. Shakespeare here uses the word "even" in its senses of smooth, unrugged, level, and direct, straightforward, undeviating. 34. Deny it. Refuse to do it. 35. I am gone, though I am here. Beatrice's way of saying she is gone in spirit, though held there personally by Benedick's detaining hand. She wishes him to think that he keeps her there against her will; but she feels that she pretends to go, while she can't help staying. Anything more perfectly characteristic than this charming little love-declaration scene, was never written even by the Prince of Dramatists himself. |