a striking admonition against that precipitancy by which men often use unlawful means to do that which a little delay would put honestly in their power. Had York staid but a few mo ments, he had saved his cause from the stain of perjury. JOHNSON. ACT I. SCENE III. Line 447. Whose father-] i. e. the father of which brat, namely the duke of York. MALONE. Line 456. So looks the pent-up lion-] That is, the lion that hath been long confined without food, and is let out to devour a man condemned. JOHNSON. Line 497. Di faciant, &c.] This line is in Ovid's Epistle from Phillis to Demophoon. STELVENS. ACT I. SCENE IV. Line 504. My uncles both are slain in rescuing me ;] These were two bastard uncles by the mother's side, sir John and sir Hugh Mortimer. See Grafton's Chronicle, p. 649. PERCY. Line 522. We bodg'd again;] To bodge might therefore mean, (as to botch does now) to do a thing imperfectly and aukwardly; and thence to fail or miscarry in an attempt. MALONE. Line 539. noontide prick.] Or, noontide point on the dial. JOHNSON. Line 568. It is war's prize-] Read-praise. WARburton. I think the old reading right, which means, that all 'vantages are in war lawful prize; that is, may be lawfully taken and used. JOHNSON. Line 593. stain'd this napkin-] A napkin is a handkerchief. JOHNSON. Line 617. And will you pale-] i. e. impale, encircle with a crown. Line 622. to do him dead,] To kill him. MALONE. MALONE. 648. 'Tis government, that makes them seem divine ;] Government, in the language of that time, signified evenness of temper, and decency of manners. JOHNSON. ACT II. SCENE I. . Line 24. Methinks, 'tis prize enough to be his son.] Richard's sense is, though we have missed the prize for which we fought, we have yet an honour left that may content us. JOHNSON. Line 26. And takes her farewell of the glorious sun!] Aurora takes for a time her farewell of the sun, when she dismisses him to his diurnal course. JOHNSON. Line 42. blazing by our meeds,] Illustrious and shining by the armorial ensigns granted us as meeds of our great exploits. Meed likewise is Merit. It might be plausibly read: -blazing by our deeds. JOHNSON. Line 55. 0, speak no more!] The generous tenderness of Edward, and savage fortitude of Richard, are well distinguished by their different reception of their father's death. Line 59. the hope of Troy-] Hector. JOHNSON. MALONE. 121. Is by the stern lord Clifford done to death.] Done to death for killed, was a common expression long before Shakspeare's "And seide, that if ye done us both to dien." GREY. Line 150. like the night-owl's lazy flight,] Dr. Johnson objects to this comparison as incongruous to the subject; but I think, unjustly. Warwick compares the languid blows of his soldiers to the lazy strokes which the wings of the owl give to the air in its flight, which is remarkably slow. M. MASON. Line 243. Why then it sorts,] Why then things are as they should be. JOHNSON. ACT II. SCENE II. Line 295. Whose father &c.] Alluding to a common proverb: Happy the child whose father went to the devil." JOHNSON. Line 321. Darraign your battle,] That is, range your host, put your host in order. JOHNSON. Line 322. I would, your highness would depart the field; The queen &c.] So Hall: "Happy was the queene in her two battayls, but unfortunate was the king in al his enterprises; for where his person was present, the victorie fledde ever from him to the other parte." Henry VI. fol. C. MALONE. Line 409. misshapen stigmatick,] A stigmatick was a notorious lewd fellow. Line 414. (As if a channel should be call'd the sea,)] A channel, in our author's time, signified what we now call a kennel. MALONE. Line 417. To let thy tongue detect―] To show thy meanness of birth by the indecency of language with which thou railest at my deformity. JOHNSON. Line 418. A wisp of straw-] I suppose, for an instrument of correction that might disgrace, but not hurt her. JOHNSON. Line 420. To make this shameless callet know herself.] Callet, a lewd woman, a drab. Line 438. -we saw our sunshine made thy spring, GREY. And that thy summer bred us no increase,] When we saw that by favouring thee we made thee grow in fortune, but that we received no advantage from thy fortune flourishing by our favour, we then resolved to destroy thee, and determined to try some other means, though our first efforts have failed. ACT II. SCENE III. JOHNSON. Line 474. Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,] In this line, of which there is no trace in the original play, Shakspeare had probably the sacred writings in his thoughts: "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood." MALONE. ACT II. Genesis, iv. 11. SCENE V. Line 535. This battle fares like to the morning's war, &c.] "This deadly conflict continued ten hours in doubtful state of victorie, uncertainlie heaving and setting on both sides," &c. Holinshed, p. 665. Line 556. —methinks, it were a happy life,] This speech is mournful and soft, exquisitely suited to the character of the king, and makes a pleasing interchange, by affording, amidst the tumult and horror of the battle, an unexpected glimpse of rural innocence and pastoral tranquillity. Line 571. JOHNSON. ere the poor fools will yean;] Poor fool, it has already been observed, is an expression of tenderness, often used by our author. MALONE. Enter a Son &c.] These two horrible incidents are selected to show the innumerable calamities of civil war. JOHNSON, Be blind with tears, and break o'ercharg'd with grief.] The meaning is here inaccurately expressed. The king intends to say that the state of their hearts and eyes shall be like that of the kingdom in a civil war, all shall be destroyed by power formed within themselves. JOHNSON. Line 627. What stratagems,] Stratagem seems to stand here only for an event of war, or may intend snares and surprizes. JOHNSON. Line 631. And hath bereft thee of thy life too late!] I rather think the meaning to be this: Thy father exposed thee to danger by giving thee life too soon, and hath bereft thee of life by living himself too long. JOHNSON. Line 643. Take on with me,] i. e. Be enraged at me. 561. And so obsequious will thy father be,] Obsequious is here careful of obsequies, or of funeral rites. JOHNSON. Line 663. As Priam was for all-] I, having but one son, will grieve as much for that one, as Priam, who had many, could grieve for many. JOHNSON. ACT II. SCENE VI. Line 713. No way to fly, nor strength to hold out flight:] This line is clear and proper as it is now read; yet perhaps an opposi tion of images was meant, and Clifford said: JOHNSON. No way to fly, nor strength to hold out fight. Line 720. Now breathe we, lords;] This battle, in which the, house of York was victorious, was fought on a plain between Towton and Saxton, on the 29th of March, (Palm Sunday) 1461. The royal army consisted, according to Hall, of about forty thousand men; and the young duke of York's forces were 48,760. In this combat, which lasted fourteen hours, and in the actions of the two following days, thirty-six thousand seven hundred and seventy-six persons are said to have been killed; the greater part of whom were undoubtedly Lancastrians. MALONE. Line 766. words of asperity. vex him with eager words.] Sour words; JOHNSON. Line 815. For Gloster's dukedom is too ominous.] Alluding to the deaths of Hugh Spencer, Thomas of Woodstock, son to king Edward III. and duke Humphrey. Line 3. For through this laund—] i. e. lawn. Line 133. ACT III. SCENE II. sir John Grey,] Vid. Hall, Third Year of Edward IV. folio 5. It was hitherto falsely printed Richard. POPE. Sir John Grey was slain at the second battle of St. Albans, fighting on the side of king Henry. MALONE. Line 148. Widow, we will consider-] This is a very lively and sprightly dialogue; the reciprocation is quicker than is common in Shakspeare. JOHNSON. Line 347.unlick'd bear-whelp,] It was an opinion which, in spite of its absurdity, prevailed long, that the bear brings forth only shapeless lumps of animated flesh, which she licks into the form of bears. It is now well known that the whelps of the bear are produced in the same state with those of other creatures. Line 352. -to o'erbear such JOHNSON. As are of better person than myself,] Richard speaks here the language of nature. Whoever is stigmatized with deformity has a constant source of envy in his mind, and would counterbalance by some other superiority those advantages which he feels himself to want. Bacon remarks that the deformed are commonly daring; and it is almost proverbially observed that they are ill-natured. The truth is, that the deformed, like all other men, are displeased with inferiority, and endeavour to gain ground by good or bad means, as they are virtuous or corrupt. JOHNSON. |
