Death is my son-in-law, death is my heir; And doth it give me such a sight as this? La. Cap. Accurs'd, unhappy, wretched, hateful day! Most miserable hour, that e'er time saw But one, poor one, one poor and loving child, And cruel death hath catch'd it from my sight. O day! O day! O day! O hateful day! Par. Beguil'd, divorced, wronged, spited, slain! Most détestable death, by thee beguil'd, By cruel cruel thee quite overthrown!- O child! O child!my soul, and not my child! Fri. Peace, ho, for shame! confusion's cure lives not In these confusions. Heaven and yourself Your part in her you could not keep from death; The most you sought was her promotion; VOL. IX. For 'twas your heaven, she should be advanc'd: Cap. All things, that we ordained festival, 1 Mus. 'Faith, we may put up our pipes, and be gone. Nurse. Honest good fellows, ah, put up, put up; For, well you know, this is a pitiful case. [Exit Nurse. 1 Mus. Ay, by my troth, the case may be amended. Enter PETER. Pet. Musicians, O, musicians, Heart's ease, heart's ease; O, an you will have me live, play-heart's ease. 1 Mus. Why heart's ease? Pet. O, musicians, because my heart itself plays -My heart is full of woe: O, play me some merry dump,2 to comfort me. 2 Mus. Not a dump we; 'tis no time to play now. Pet. You will not then? Mus. No. Pet. I will then give it you soundly. 1 Mus. What will you give us? Pet. No money, on my faith; will give you the minstrel. but the gleek: I 1 Mus. Then will I give you the serving-creature. Pet. Then will I lay the serving-creature's dagger on your pate. I will carry no crotchets: I'll re you, I'll fa you; Do you note me? 1 Mus. An you re us, and fa us, you note us. 2 Mus. Pray you, put up your dagger, and put out your wit. Pet. Then have at you with my wit; I will drybeat you with an iron wit, and put up my iron dagger:-Answer me like men: 2 When griping grief the heart doth wound, Then musick, with her silver sound; O, play me some merry dump,] A dump anciently signi fied some kind of dance, as well as sorrow. But on this occasion it means a mournful song. Dumps were heavy mournful tunes; possibly indeed any sort of movements were once so called, as we sometimes meet with a merry dump. Hence doleful dumps, deep sorrow, or grievous affliction, as in the verses above, and in the less ancient ballad of Chevy Chase. It is still said of a person uncommonly sad, that he is in the dumps. 3 No money, on my faith; but the gleek: I will give you the minstrel.] Shakspeare's pun has here remained unnoticed. A Gleekman or Gligman, as Dr. Percy has shown, signified a minstrel. The word gleek here signifies scorn; and is borrowed from the old game so called. Why, silver sound? why, musick with her silver sound? What say you, Simon Catling?" 1 Mus. Marry, sir, because silver hath a sweet sound. Pet. Pretty! What say you, Hugh Rebeck?5 2 Mus. I say-silver sound, because musicians sound for silver. Pet. Pretty too!-What say you, James Soundpost? 3 Mus. 'Faith, I know not what to say. Pet. O, I ery you mercy! you are the singer: I will say for you. It is-musick with her silver sound, because such fellows as you have seldom gold for sounding: Then musick with her silver sound, [Exit, singing. 1 Mus. What a pestilent knave is this same? 2 Mus. Hang him, Jack! Come, we'll in here; tarry for the mourners, and stay dinner. [Exeunt. 4 ACT V. SCENE I. Mantua. A Street. Enter ROMEO. Rom. If I may trust the flattering eye of sleep,' of catgut. Simon Catling?] A catling was a small lute-string made Hugh Rebeck?] The fiddler is so called from an instrument with three strings, which is mentioned by several of the old writers. Rebec, rebecquin. 2 My dreams presage some joyful news at hand: And breath'd such life with kisses in my lips, Ah me! how sweet is love itself possess'd, Enter BALTHASAR. News from Verona!-How now, Balthasar? my For nothing can be ill, if she be well. Bal. Then she is well, and nothing can be ill; Her body sleeps in Capels' monument, And her immortal part with angels lives; 6 Act V.] The Acts are here properly enough divided, nor did any better distribution than the editors have already made, occur to me in the perusal of this play; yet it may not be improper to remark, that in the first folio, and I suppose the foregoing editions are in the same state, there is no division of the Acts, and therefore some future editor may try, whether any improvement can be made, by reducing them to a length more equal, or interrupting the action at more proper intervals. JOHNSON. If I may trust the flattering eye of sleep,] By the eye of sleep Shakspeare perhaps means the visual power, which a man asleep is enabled, by the aid of imagination, to exercise; or perhaps the eye of the god of sleep. 8 My bosom's lord - These three lines are very gay and pleasing. But why does Shakspeare give Romeo this involuntary cheerfulness just before the extremity of unhappiness? Perhaps to show the vanity of trusting to those uncertain and casual exaltations or depressions, which many consider as certain fore tokens of good and evil. JouNSON. |