New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-04-23
Shakespeare Explained
-HE TRIBUNE MAGAZINE has bee,

1
informed that this is the tercentenar7
Il Of Shakespeare's death, and the lea,.
il can do is interpret passage from one Of
his plays.
rERrcLEs.
ACT n. SCENE 3.
Enter first Lady-in- Waiting (Flouriski
Uoutbovs2 onds torcheso.
First Lady-in- Woiting-What' hos Where
is' Thea music?io
I. Flourish: The stage direction here is
obscure Clarke claims it should read far.
ish." thus changing the meaning Of the pas
sage to "harish" that is, the Kings, but
most authorities have agreed that it should
remain flourish" supplying the predicate
which is 70 be fourshed. There was at this
time custom in the countryside OF England
20 flourish mop signal TO the passing
yender of berries, Simplifying that in that par
.icular household there was a consumer-de.
mand for berries, and this may have been
meant in this instance. That Shakespeare
was cognizant Of this custom Of Furnishing tn.
mon for berries is shown in similar passage
in the second part Of King Henry ", where
he has the Third Page enter and say Flour
ish." CT. also Hamlet, " IA.
2 Hautboys, from the French haut, mean.
ing "hgh" and the Eng boys, meaning "boys.T
The word here is doubtless used in the sense
of "high boys" indicating either that Shake
speare intended 10 convey the idea Of spiritual
distress on the part Of the First Lady-in-Wait-
ing or that he did not. OF this Rolfe says:
"Here we have one of the chief indications Of
Shakespeare's knowledge of human nature
his remarkable insight into the petty foibles
of this work-a-day world" c. T. N. 4:6,
Mine eye hath play'd the painter, and hath
stelpd thy beauty's form in table Of my
heart"
and A favorte conductive Of Shakes
neare's in referring to the need for more
adequate navy for England. Tauchnitz claims
that it should be pronounced "und," stressing
the anti-penut. This Interpretation, however,
has found disfavor among most commentators
because of it's limited significance. We find
the same conductive in A. W. 7. E. W. 81,
"Steel-boned, unyieding and uncomplying vir-
tue" and here there can be no doubt that
Shakespeare meant that il the King shouli
consent to the marriage of his daughter the
excuse of Stephano, offered in Act 2, would
carry no weight.
a. Torches. The Interpolation Of some fool
ish player and never the work Of Shakespeare
(Warb.). The critics Of the last century have
disputed whether or not this has been mis-
spelled in the original. and should read
"trochies" or "troches." This might well DC,
since the introduction of tobacco into England
at this time had wrought havoc with the
speaking voices of the players, and we might
we'll imagine that at the entrance Of the Frs!
Lady-in- Waiting there might be perhaps one
of the hautboys mentioned in the preceding
passage bearing a box of troches or "troches'
for the actors to suck. OF this entrance CLARKE
remarks: 1.-THE noble mixture of spirited firm.
ness and womany modesty, fine sense and true
humility, clear sagacity and absence OF con-
ce;t, passionate warmth and sensitive dell
cacy, generous love and self-difidence with
which Shakespeare has endowed this Firss
Lady-n-W Waiting renders hsr in our eyes one
of the most admirable of his female char
acters" CT. NJ. s. n. d. SO, That soldiers:
close impossiblities and mak'st them kiss
5. Whdt-What.
&. Ho, In conjunction with the preced'
ing word doubtless means What no." changed
by Clarke to What hoo" In the Original
Ms. il reads What hi" but this has been
accredited to the tendency of the time to write
what hi" when what no" was meant
Techner alone maintains that it should real
What humpf," CT Ham. SO, "High-ho"
7. Where. The reading Of the folio, retained
by johnson, the Cambridge editors and Others
but it is not impossible that Shakespeare
wrote "why," as Pope and others give II LUIS
would make the passage read why the mu
sc?" instead Of Where is the music" ana
would be much more probable Interpretation
in view of the music OF that time. CT Georss
AIDE. Fable No. 10, Why the gunny-sack'
8. isis not. That is, would not be.
0. the CT. Ham. 4:6. NJ. S. ~ d. So
A. w. T. E. W. go T. n. l:3 and Macbeth
81, that knts up the travelled sleeve OF care
10. music. Explained by Malone as the 81.
of making music" or music that is made.
it has but one OF these meanings we are 10
clined to think it is the first; and this seems
to be favored by what precedes, the MUSIC.
CT NJ. of V. Az, The man that hath no muSs
in himself"
The meaning of. the whole passage SEEM
TO be that the First Lady-in-Waiting has ~
tered, concomitant with flourish, hauto0!'
and torches and says, What no! Where T"
the music?"