The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind, As if a double hunt were heard at once, Let us sit down, and mark their yelping noise: Of lullaby to bring her babe asleep. Aar. Madam, though Venus govern your desires, What signifies my deadly-standing eye, No, madam, these are no venereal signs: Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee, Tam. Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life! and if the versification be a little formal, and the terminations monotonous, we must bear in mind that the lines were certainly written before he was well aware of the capabilities of our language. He had then only composed his "Venus and Adonis," which is full of passages painting external nature. Be cross with him; and I'll go fetch thy sons Enter BASSIANUS and LAVINIA. Bas. Whom have we here? Rome's royal empress, Who hath abandoned her holy groves, Lav. Under your patience, gentle empress, Jove shield your husband from his hounds to-day! 'Tis pity, they should take him for a stag. Bas. Believe me, queen, your swart Cimmerian" Why are you sequester'd from all your train? Lav. And being intercepted in your sport, [Exit. 7 Unfurnish'd of HER well-beseeming troop?] All the old copies, excepting the 4to, 1600, have our for "her." In the next speech, the 4to, 1600, has "my private steps" for "our private steps," and "thy new-transformed limbs for "his new-transformed limbs," of the later impressions. The earliest copy appears to afford the better reading in these instances; but the corr. fo. 1632 supplies a farther emendation, viz. "dine" for drive, which, considering the character of the speech, and the incidents of the fable, there is every reason to approve. The speculations upon the point have been numerous. your SWART Cimmerian] The two 4tos. have swarty. Shakespeare uses swart in "The Comedy of Errors," A. iii. sc. 2, in “ King John," A. iii. sc. 1, Vol. iii. p. 155, and in “Henry VI., Pt. I.," A. i. sc. 2, Vol. iii. p. 657. In this place alone in the tragedy before us it is spelt swarth. It is from the A. S. sweart, and means inclining to black, dark, dusky. "Accompanied BUT with a barbarous Moor,] The folio, following the reading of the 4to, 1611, omits "but;" it is found in the 4to, 1600. Great reason that my noble lord be rated Bas. The king, my brother, shall have note of this '. Lav. Ay, for these slips have made him noted long, Good king! to be so mightily abus'd. Tam. Why have I patience to endure all this?? Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON. Dem. How now, dear sovereign, and our gracious mother! Why doth your highness look so pale and wan? Tam. Have I not reason, think you, to look pale? The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean, Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly. But straight they told me, they would bind me here 1 The king, my brother, shall have NOTE of this.] It is "notice of this" in the 4tos. and folios; but the versification, as well as the corr. fo. 1632, detects the error, even if the next line did not come to our assistance : "Ay, for these slips have made him noted long." 2 Why have I patience to endure all this?] So the second folio: the first folio and both the 4tos, make it merely an observation, "Why, I have patience," &c. which may be right. Tamora may say that she has patience, because she knows that her revenge is so near at hand. 3 urchins,] i. e. Hedgehogs. The word "urchin" seems sometimes to have meant an evil spirit or fairy: see "The Tempest," A. i. sc. 2, and "The Merry Wives of Windsor," A. iv. sc. 4. As any mortal, BARELY hearing it,] We cannot refuse the emendation here offered in the corr. 1632, viz. “barely " for body: the line has always been given with this vulgarism, "As any mortal body hearing it;" which must be an error of the old printer: Tamora means, of course, that the bare hearing of the sound produced madness or death. Unto the body of a dismal yew, And leave me to this miserable death: [Stabs BASSIANUS. Chi. And this for me, struck home to show my strength. [Stabbing him likewise. Lav. Ay, come, Semiramis !-nay, barbarous Tamora ; Tam. Give me thy poniard: you shall know, my boys, Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty, And with that painted shape she braves your might'; Chi. An if she do, I would I were an eunuch. Drag hence her husband to some secret hole, And make his dead trunk pillow to our lust. Tam. But when ye have the honey ye desire, Let not this wasp outlive us both to sting. Chi. I warrant you, madam, we will make that sure. Come, mistress, now perforce we will enjoy That nice preserved honesty of your's. Lav. O Tamora! thou bear'st a woman's face,- 5 And with that painted SHAPE SHE braves your MIGHT;] Here again is an emendation from the corr. fo. 1632 which must be admitted into the text: the reading has always hitherto been "And with that painted hope braves your mightiness;" but what can be the meaning of "painted hope?" "painted shape" is intelligible, viz. the external form of loyalty and chastity. The verse is also overloaded by mightiness, when "might" is exactly fitted to the place. the honey YE desire,] "The honey we desire," in all the old copies previous to the folio, 1632. VOL. V. D To see her tears; but be your heart to them, Lav. When did the tiger's young ones teach the dam? The milk, thou suck'dst from her, did turn to marble; Yet every mother breeds not sons alike: Do thou entreat her show a woman pity. [To CHIRON. Chi. What! wouldst thou have me prove myself a bastard? Yet have I heard, oh, could I find it now! To have his princely claws par'd all away". Tam. I know not what it means.-Away with her! Tam. Hadst thou in person ne'er offended me, Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain, Lav. O Tamora! be call'd a gentle queen, Poor I was slain when Bassianus died. [Kneeling. 7 Even at HER teat] "At thy teat" in the old copies, but altered to "her teat" in the corr. fo. 1632 in consistency with the preceding line: "at the teat" would not have required change. 8 To have his princely CLAWS par'd all away.] In the 4tos. and folios we have paws, for "claws" of the corr. fo. 1632: "claws" must be right, for the paws of the lion were not pared away, but his "claws." Mr. Singer cannot decline this emendation, and acknowledges it. We are glad to give him credit for the admission of the source of the improvement. • Therefore, away, and use her as you will:] So the line is given in the corr. fo. 1632 with the two needless and redundant syllables, with her, after "away," struck out. We may be sure that they were a corruption which had crept into the text; and in this play we have many examples of the same kind, which the old annotator has often left uncorrected. |