IV. iii. 135. fashion: must be scanned as a trisyllable like soldier. Cf. Act IV. Sc. i, 28. IV. iii. 146. give place: give way. IV. iii. 155. tidings: used by Shakespeare both as a singular and as a plural noun. Distract = distracted. Cf. King Lear, IV. vi. 288. IV. iii. 165. call in question: take consideration of, investigate. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, III. ii. 60. IV. iii. 184. writ=written. Shakespeare uses all three forms of the participle, writ, written and wrote. IV. iii. 190. why: stands here as an interjection expressive of assent and agreement to what has been previously said. Cf. Coriolanus, V. i. 15. IV. iii. 196. To our work alive: to our work as living men—in contrast to the conversation just held over the death of Portia. Cf. "I must work while it is day," etc., John ix. 4. IV. iii. 202. of force = must needs. Cf. Love's Labour's Lost, I. i. 148. IV. iii. 218-224. There is a tide. ventures: this passage was often imitated by Chapman in Bussy D'Ambois, I. i. 135, beginning "There is a deep nick in time's restless wheel IV. iii. 224. ventures: what we have staked. IV. iii. 228. We will niggard: put on short allowance, i.e., allow nature but little rest. Niggard is never used elsewhere save as an adjective or a substantive. In the Sonnets (I. 12) an intransitive use occurs, "niggarding." IV. iii. 239. O'erwatched: been compelled to watch too long. The only other example of this word occurs in King Lear, II. ii. 177, “All weary and o'erwatch'd." Note the use of this verb as being an example of Shakespeare's facility in coining new words to suit his purpose. IV. iii. 262. Young bloods: may either mean young blood" or "young persons." Cf. Much Ado About Nothing, III. iii. 141. IV. iii. 266. Leaden mace: Spenser, Færie Queen, I. iv. 44, has the same image," Morpheus had with leaden mace. 66 IV. iii. 280. Hair to stare: to start up on end. As Smeaton remarks in The Tempest in this series (commenting in loc. I. ii. 213), the original idea of stare is fixedness or immobility, hence a good idea is conveyed of the horror aroused by the apparition. IV. iii. 287. Taken heart again: Cf. Macbeth's speech (III. iv. 107) on the departure of Banquo's ghost. ACT V. The last act deals with the issue of the great conflict, the triumph of Cæsarism, the extinction of Republicanism. SCENE I. The meeting of Brutus and Cassius with Antony and Octavius. V. i. 4. Battles: forces arranged in order of battle. Cf. Macbeth, V. vi. 4. V. i. 14. Bloody sign of battle: Shakespeare took that from Plutarch (Life of Brutus), "The next morning by break of day the signal of battle was set out in Brutus' and Cassius' camp, which was an arming scarlet coat. V. i. 32. The posture . . . are: note the error that has crept in of a singular subject and a plural verb. Shakespeare has many such examples. It arises from carelessly looking to the number of the nearest substantive in place of the ultimate one. V. i. 34. Hybla was a town of Sicily famed for its bees. The hills around were covered with thyme, which gave a peculiar flavour to the honey. V. i. 52. Goes up again: returns into its sheath. Cf. The Tempest, I. ii. 469, "Put thy sword up.' = V. i. 60. More honourable more honourably. Another example of the adjectival form used in the latter of two adverbs for the adverbial. Cf. Act I. Sc. iii. 124 and Act V. Sc. v. 71, 66 general honest." V. i. 61. Peevish: is not fretful or discontented, but headstrong and wayward. Cf. Gosson, Schoole of Abuse (New edition, p. 27), “ We have infinite Poets and Pipers, and such peevishe cattel among us in Englande that live by merrie begging." Cf. Cymbeline, I. vi. 4, "He is strange and peevish." 66 V. i. 71. As this very day: as is used redundantly with definitions of time, even as us is used in Greek with respect to motion. As here is equivalent to 'as I may say." Cf. Chaucer, "But al that thinge I must as now forbere," Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, "Knight's Tale," 1. 27. V. i. 77. I held Epicurus strong: I firmly believed in the doctrines of Epicurus. The latter was a great Greek philosopher who founded the sect of Epicureans and maintained that pleasure (or rather that which gives a true and lofty sense of pleasure) was the chief end in life. It was generally opposed to Stoicism, V. i. 80. Coming as we came, or "to us coming." Sometimes, as Abbott says, a pronoun on which a participle depends can be understood from the pronominal adjective. Cf. All's Well that Ends Well, II. i. 192, "Not helping, death's my fee," for "To me, not helping." 141. V. i. 83. Consorted us accompanied us. Cf. Macbeth, II. iii. V. i. 87. As as if: sickly prey: prey doomed or abandoned to destruction, the image being taken from an animal left to die. V. i. 93. very constantly: very firmly and with determination. V. i. 97. Let's reason ... befall worst contingency that might befall us. V. i. 105. prevent the time of life let us take account of the very anticipate the time when life will end. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, I. i. 61. V. i. 109. In triumph: for example of a Roman general triumphing, see illustration. Roman General Triumph, with Captive led at his Chariot (V. i. 1c9). V. i. 114. Begun: for began. Both forms were used for the pret rite. V. i. 116. Therefore: supply after it "let us.” SCENE II. This scene is introduced seemingly to show how Cassius was defeated by being left without support by Brutus, whose men, having defeated Octavius, pressed on to spoil and neglected their duty. V. ii. 1. bills: notes of instruction. V. ii. 5. Sudden push; sudden charge. Cf. Macbeth, V. iii. 20. SCENE III. The death of Cassius is recorded in this scene. 66 V. iii. 2. Myself. . . enemy: supply “I”—“I have to mine own men turned enemy," refer ring to the episode of V. iii. 19. even twink" in The Tem- V. iii. 21. thick= V. iii. 29. With horsemen for ex Roman Cavalry (V. iii. 29). ample of Roman cavalry, see illustration. V. iii. 42. Search thou: pierce thou. Cf. Titus AnStand.-bearer. dronicus, II. ii. 262, "to the bottom dost thou search my (V. iii. 2). wound." V. iii. 43. hilts: note the plural use of the word for a singular object. V. iii. 53. legions: for example of a legionary with the lorica or coat of mail, see illustration. V. iii. 66. success: “In Shakespeare's time," says Mr Aldis Wright, "success was a neutral word used in the sense of 'issue,' 'result,' and was generally qualified by some adjective. In present usage the prosperous issue is implied and good success is a redundancy." Cf. King Lear, V. iii. 194: also Macbeth, I. iii. 90. V. iii. 71. Kill'st the mother .. .. thee: an illustration taken from a popular but false superstition that the adder in giving birth to its brood always died. V. iii. 89. A Roman's part to die with his friend rather than be taken. Legionary with Lorica (V. iii. 53). V. iii. 99. The last of all the This use of the vocative is rare in Shakespeare. Cf. Suetonius, Bk. III. Cap. lxi. V. iii. 104. Thasos: this was an island in the Ægean, where Cassius at one time had a house. Cf. Peter Martyr, Loci Communes, Bk. IV., Cap. xlvii. V. iii. 105. funerals: note the plural form of the word; the singular is more frequent in Shakespeare. The only other case of the plural occurs in Titus Andronicus, I. i. 381, “plead for his funerals." SCENE IV. The battle is renewed and ends in the defeat of Brutus. V. iv. 12. Only I yield to die=I yield only in order to die, or on condition of dying. Note the position of the adverb; the Elizabethans took great licence in this. This passage is somewhat obscure, but has been amended by the insertion of the stage direction offering money. V. iv. 30. Whether in order to keep the scansion right it must be pronounced "whe're," as in Act I. Sc. i. 62; Act V. Sc. iii. 98. SCENE V. The death of Brutus and the victory of Antony and Octavius. V. v. 3. came not: note the use of the past tense for the perfect, "has not come. Cf. Much Ado About Nothing, I. ii. 4, "I can tell you strange news that you yet dreamed not of." Cf. Abbott, § 346, 347. دو V. v. 42. have but laboured to attain : have laboured only to attain. Cf. note on Act V. Sc. iv. 12. V. v. 46. some snatch (or smatch) = some shade, or tinge or tincture. Cf. Earle's Microcosmographie, Chap. xxxvi. 1. 10 (Dent's Temple Classics), "he has some smatch of a scholar and yet uses Latin hardly." V. v. 59. Lucilius' saying another example of an error which has been raised into the dignity of a rule. Owing to the dissonance caused by the three sibilants coming together, one of them has been in verse elided; thus we say "Lucilius' saying" in place of "Lucilius's saying," and this has now passed into currency both in prose and verse. V. v. 60. entertain them receive them into my service. V. v. 61. bestow = pass, or spend. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, V. ii. 182, "bestow it at your pleasure." 155. V. v. 62. prefer = recommend. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, II. ii. = V. v. 69. save only he Abbott considers that "save" is here used for "saved (the participle of to save) and that "he" is the nominative absolute. Cf. Twelfth Night, III. i. 172. V. v. 78. his bones = his corpse. V. v. 80. field = the army then encamped on the field of battle. |