TWELFTH NIGHT NOTES
'strain: a piece of music.'
'notwithstanding thy capacity: regardless of a large capacity.'
'validity and pitch: worth.'
'abatement: low worth.'
'high fantastical: of ultimate worth, the source of dreams.'
'the hart: with pun on heart.'
'fell and cruel hounds: alludes to the story of a hunter who saw Diana bathing, and was turned into a deer and killed by his own dogs.'
'the element the sun.'
'cloistress nun.'
'eye-offending brine: tears.'
'A brothers dead love: the love of her dead brother.'
'rich golden shaft: the arrow of Cupid.'
'liver, brain, and heart: the seats of different emotions.'
'Illyria: A country that used to exist where Yugoslavia is today.'
'Elysium: land of the dead.'
'provident in peril: fortunate in the face of danger.'
'Arion: a sailor in Greek myth who was rescued from drowning by a dolphin.'
' made my occasion mellow: that I might not reveal my true social state until my own good time.'
'doth oft close in pollution: nature often conceals an ugly personality behind a beautiful appearance.'
'Eunuch: A castrato, thus excusing her high voice.'
'except before excepted: A legal phrase, essentially saying that Olivia has made these objectives before, and will keep on making them.'
'hang themselves in their own straps: ?.'
'tall: noble.'
'prodigal: foolish with his money.'
'Viol-de-gambo: a deep bass of the stringed instruments.'
'natural: a fool.'
'coystril: a rogue.'
'parish top: spinning tops kept by cherishes.'
'Castiliano-vulgo: meaning is unclear here. ?.'
'accost: greet her, but with sexual meanings as well.'
'fools in hand: fools by you.'
'buttery-bar and let it drink: where wine was stored, in this production an allusion to her breast.'
'dry: a dry hand was associated with impotence.'
'canary: a type of wine.'
'does harm to my wit: that was a belief of the time, since become true due to mad cow disease.'
'purquoi: from French for why.'
'followed the arts: applied myself to education.'
'flax on a distaff: referring to the loss of hair due to venereal disease.'
'masques and revels: types of parties.'
'galliard: a kind of dance.'
'caper: a type of dance, or a condiment to be eaten with mutton.'
'back trick: a dance step.'
'Mistress Mall: curtains used to protect pictures.'
'galliard... coranto: more dance steps.'
'sink-a-pace: more dance steps.'
'Flame colored stock: ? .'
'Taurus: different star signs were associated with different body parts.'
'leap all civil bounds: go over all normal limits of courtesy.'
'nuncio: messenger.'
'Diana: virgin goddess of the noon.'
'constellation: personality as determined by the stars. .'
'colours: to fear colors meant to fear the standards of an opposing army in battle. To fear no colors became proverbial for have no fear. Feste puns on collars of the hangman instead of colors.'
'bold to say in your foolery: be brave in your fooling by fearing no colors.'
'turned away: fired.'
'Let summer bear it out: means at least the weather will be good when Feste is homeless.'
'gaskins: pants.'
'Quinapalus: an imaginary philosopher.'
'Madonna: Italian for my lady.'
'botcher: a tailor.'
'cuckold but calamity: a very hard passage to understand. ? .'
'cucullus non facit monachum: The cowl does not make the monk.'
'mend: become better. Malvolvio takes it to mean more foolish.'
'ordinary fool: a stupid person, not a professional fool.'
'zanies: assistants to a clown on stage.'
'pia mater: the brain.'
'con it: memorize it.'
'comptible: sensitive to.'
'Mollification for your giant: insulting the size of Maria and imploring Viola to call Maria off.'
'taxation of homage: demand for tribute.'
'this present: right now.'
'cunning: craft.'
'scheduled: lists and inventories .'
'nonpareil: without equal.'
'voices well divulged: well learned in languages.'
'cantons: songs.'
'five-fold blazon: proclaimed five times more a gentleman than any family crest.'
'Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind: I fear that Ive gone mad because of what my eyes have seen and liked.'
'distemper: derange, to render unhealthy or diseased.'
'extravagancy: wandering, acting as a vagabond; thus, my determinate voyage is mere extravagancy might be read as my plan is to have no plan.'
'you will not extort . . . to express myself: because Antonios modest feelings are so kind, Sebastian must, in good manners, share what he would normally wish to keep secret (in order to introduce this new character to the audience, as well as unveil his relationship to twin sister Viola, Shakespeare must rather clumsily have him identify himself to the man who saved him from drowning and with whom he has been staying).'
'Messaline: may have been made up by Shakespeare, or derived from the Latin form for Marseilles.'
'such estimable wonder: speculation that reflects back on me; Sebastian is modestly underrating his own looks by saying he should not assume his sister was as beautiful as others have suggested.'
'your bad entertainment: my poor hospitality.'
'murder me: be the cause of my death.'
'yet so near the manners of my mother . . . mine eyes will tell tales: still young enough that I might cry.'
'desperate assurance: certainty beyond all hope.'
'never be so hardy . . . taking of this: never be bold enough to return, unless to report how the count handles Olivias rejection of him.'
'Fortune forbid. . . : I hope it has not been my bad luck that Olivia has been charmed by the sight of me.'
'made good view: looked over closely.'
'her eyes had lost her tongue: looking had made her speechless.'
'I am the man!: (that is, of Olivias choice).'
'the pregnant enemy: the devil, who is always ready to take advantage.'
'proper-false: men who are good looking but dishonest.'
'waxen: impressionable (that is, handsome but deceitful men can make a mark on womens hearts as if they were soft wax).'
'such as we are made of: that is, frail flesh.'
'fadge: to fit in, succeed.'
'monster: Viola calls herself this because she is both man and woman.'
'desperate: hopeless.'
'thriftless: unsuccessful, useless.'
'betimes: in good season. deliculo surgere: from a Latin maxim, Diliculo sureger saluberrimum est, which means to rise at dawn is very healthful.'
'unfilld can: empty beer tankard.'
'four elements: earth, air, fire, and water, which medieval philosophy held to be the basic components of all matter; the connection to the preceding lines is not clear, so Shakespeare may simply be setting up Sir Andrews next line.'
'stoup: large drinking cup.'
' we three : reference to a picture that was popular as an inn sign, depicting two fools or donkeys with the implication that the viewer was the third; Feste is offering a friendly insult to which Sir Toby answers in kind.'
'catch: a song which is a round.'
'breast: singing voice.'
'such a leg: that is, a graceful bow or fine leg for dancing.'
'Pigrogromitus, Vapians, Queubus: mock scholarly references to fancy names that sound as if they came from Rabelais, but are not found in his writings; since equinoctial refers to the equator, Queubus may be intended to recall Phoebus, the sun god.'
'leman: lover, sweetheart (there are no other references to Festes love life in the play).'
'impeticos: in petticoat, meaning put into pocket, or possibly, spent on a woman. gratillity: invented variation of gratuity.'
'whipstock: handle of a whip, therefore a whip itself; Feste is saying Malvolios nose may press into everything thats going on, but he has no power to punish anyone. My lady has a white hand...: white hand means gently bred and likely refers to his patron Olivia rather than his girlfriend because it follows a reference to Malvolio; Mermidons may be the name of a tavern that has a sign displaying Achilles fighters, the Myrmidons; and bottle-ale houses are low-class taverns. Thus, the sentence indicates that Festes patroness would not frequent a dive. The intent of this entire bantering speech is to insult Malvolio and praise Olivia, while the reference to the Myrmidons is simply nonsense.'
'testril: invented diminutive of tester, or sixpence; Sir Andrew seems to be copying Festes gratillity, above.'
'of good life: Feste may mean a drinking song, but Sir Andrew takes him to mean conducive to virtue, edifying.'
'sweeting: sweet one.'
' Tis not hereafter: it is not guaranteed in the future.'
'contagious breath: meaning, catchy song, but with the double meaning of bad breath.'
'To hear by the nose...: if we could hear as well as smell with our nose, we might call its odor sweet.'
'welkin: heavens; i.e., heavenly bodies.'
'draw three souls: there was a notion that music could pull the soul out of the body; thus, Toby, Andrew, and Feste would triple that. weaver: weavers and tailors were supposed to sing at their work.'
'dog: expert, very accomplished.'
'Some dogs will catch well: Feste turns Andrews line into a hunting pun; a dog was also a gripping implement.'
'Thou knave: the lyrics of the catch were Hold thy peace, thou knave; and I prithee hold thy peace.'
'Cataian: Cathayan; i.e., Chinese-perhaps implying a person who cannot be trusted. politicians: shrewd schemers; used only four times in Shakespeare, politician is always derogatory.'
'Peg-a-Ramsey: term of contempt, from a character in a coarse folk ballad.'
'Three merry men we be: the final words of several old songs.'
'consanguineous: literally, of her blood, but an over-fancy term typical of a drunken speaker. Tilly-vally: expression of contempt, like nonsense or fiddlesticks.'
'There dwelt a man in Babylon...: beginning of another popular song of the day.'
'Beshrew me: mild oath.'
'and so do I too: the first of many repetitions of me too and me neither by Sir Andrew throughout the play. natural: naturally, with Andrews characteristic stumbling upon a negative meaning: natural = idiot.'
'On the twelfth day of December: may be a reference to a popular ballad about the battle of Musselburgh Field and/or a misquotation of the 12 Days of Christmas.'
'honesty: decency.'
'coziers : cobblers. mitigation or remorse: softening.'
'Sneck up: go hang; a sneck was a catch or latch on a door or gate, but was also used to indicate a snip, cut, and thereby the sound made by same.'
'round: plain.'
'nothing allied: no kin at all.'
'Farewell, dear heart: Sir Toby and Feste liberally adapt the song Corydons Farewell to Phillis, from Robert Joness The First Book of Songes and Ayres (1600).'
'Out o tune: commentators have disagreed whether Toby says Out of tune jokingly to Feste, or Out of time angrily to Malvolio.'
'cakes and ale: proverbial phrase for partying; disliked by the Puritans for that, and for associations with weddings, saints days, and holy-days.'
'by Saint Anne: mother of the Virgin Mary; perhaps said to underline Tobys anti-Puritan remark, but a common oath of the time. ginger: often added to ale.'
'rub your chain with crumbs: polish your stewards chain-Toby is rubbing in Malvolios servile station.'
'give means: meaning, serve drinks.'
'rule: course of conduct.'
'Go shake your ears: common dismissive insult, alluding to donkeys ears.'
'gull him into a nayword: trick him so well that his name becomes synonymous with fool.'
'Possess: tell, inform.'
'puritan: that is, someone who professes to be precise in his morals; one who is complacent about his own moral superiority and overly judgmental about the behavior of others. Sir Andrew takes her to mean Malvolio belongs to the Puritan party of the Anglican Church, and she rejects that a few lines later.'
'cons state without book: copies the speech and manners of the great.'
'utters: repeats, discharges. Swarths: swaths, masses; from swath, the width of standing grass or grain cut down by a swing of the mowers scythe.'
'expressure: expression.'
'on a forgotten matter...: when neither of us remembers who wrote something, neither of us can tell which of us wrote it.'
'Ass, I doubt not: Maria could be (1) confirming that Malvolio will be an ass, (2) calling Andrew an ass, and/or (3) making a pun on as.'
'physic: medicine.'
'construction: interpretation (from construe).'
'event: outcome.'
'Penthesilea: queen of the Amazons (half admiring, half an ironic reference to Marias size).'
'Before me: on my soul; on the pattern of before God and before heaven.'
'recover: win.'
'foul way out: badly out of pocket with expenses.'
'cut: a horse with a docked tail, or a gelding.'
'burn some sack: prepare some warm sack (a Spanish sherry) and sugar or spice.'
'old and antic: quaint and old-fashioned.'
'Unstaid and skittish: dizzy and fickle. all motions else: other thoughts and feelings.'
'It gives a very echo...: it expresses the deepest feelings of the heart.'
'Hath stayd upon some favour: settled on a certain face.'
'by your favour: mainly, if you please, but with the hint of like your face and thanks to you.'
'wears she: adapts herself.'
'sways she level: holds sway, or swings, in perfect balance; Orsino is saying men become stable later than women, and therefore should marry women younger than they are, because the women will remain beautiful longer and hold their mans wavering attention.'
'hold the bent: maintain its strength and intensity (in the sense of a bow bent to its full extent and under highest tension).'
'displayd: fully open, in full bloom.'
'weave their thread with bones: thread lace with bone bonnins.'
'Do use: are accustomed. silly sooth: simple truth.'
'dallies with: toys affectionately.'
'the old age: the golden age, when everything was simpler and more direct; thus, in the good old days.'
'sad cypress: a coffin of cypress wood, or a bier covered with cypress branches; cypress trees, like yews mentioned a few lines down, often were planted in cemeteries as emblems of death.'
'My part of death...: no one has died so truly in love as I.'
'pleasure will be paid...: theres always a price to be paid for indulgence.'
'leave to leave: permission to depart.'
'melancholy god: the god (Saturn) to whom you pay devotion; Feste is subtly implying that Orsinos mood is a self-indulgence.'
'doublet: a close-fitting jacket. changeable taffeta: taffeta (thin silk) woven of various colored threads so that its hue shifts as it moves; here, Feste is associating clothing with love and changes of mind.'
'I would have men of such constancy...: constancy is meant sarcastically; Feste says men who constantly change their mind never get anywhere or bring home any cargo.'
'sovereign cruelty: supremely harsh person.'
'parts: worldly goods.'
'hold them as giddily as fortune: regard them as lightly as Fortune does (which could whisk them away in an instant).'
'that miracle and queen of gems: her beauty.'
'pranks: adorns.'
'for your love: for love of you (Viola is referring to herself, of course).'
'be answerd: accept your answer.'
'No motion of the liver, but the palate: not a passion of deep, true love, but a taste.'
'surfeit, cloyment, and revolt: having fed enough to be full and revulsed; note how this speech contradicts what he said earlier in the scene about fickle men, as well as its contrast with his speech that opens the play.'
'damask: the mixing of pink and white, as in a damask rose.'
'green and yellow: pale and sickly.'
'Our shows are more than will: we say more than we feel.'
'boild to death with melancholy: a joke, since melancholy was supposed to be a cold humour; Fabian is also punning on bile (they were pronounced alike in Shakespeares time), which was thought to cause melancholy.'
'sheep-biter: a dog that worries sheep, or a malicious sneak; figuratively, a puritan that harasses others.'
'bear-baiting: an entertainment that Malvolio would have disapproved of.'
'it is a pity of our lives: life wont be worth living.'
'metal of India: gold; thus, a girl worth her weight in it.'
'behavior: courtly manners.'
'contemplative idiot: make him daydream like an idiot.'
'Close: keep hidden.'
'tickling: stroking under the gills (trout were actually caught this way); thus, flattery.'
'she did affect me: Olivia was fond of me.'
'follows her: is in her service.'
'turkey cock...advancd plumes: proverbial image of self-importance.'
'advancd: raised; in stage productions, Malvolio is often given a tall hat with a plume for this scene, to make the image concrete and visual.'
'Lady of the Strachey: no one has been able to identify this reference clearly, so Shakespeare may have invented it for Malvolio to contemplate as an unequal marriage.'
'yeoman of the wardrobe: servant in charge of clothing and linens.'
'Jezebel: the proud and cruel wife of Ahab, king of Israel; Sir Andrews casual application of the name to Malvolio is typically sloppy.'
'blows: swells, puffs up.'
'state: chair of state (having become Count).'
'stone-bow: cross-bow that shot stones instead of arrows.'
'branchd: designed with a leaf or floral pattern.'
'have the humor of state: possess the manner of the great.'
'demure travel of regard: gravely passing my eyes across one to another person.'
'Toby: note that Malvolio has dropped the sir.'
'my-: Malvolio almost says my chain, momentarily forgetting that he will no longer wear a stewards insignia.'
'cars: chariots or cars; Fabian is humorously saying it is silence that is being extorted by force, as if by wild horses, instead of speech.'
'scab: scurvy fellow; a familiar insult.'
'employment: business.'
'woodcock: proverbially stupid bird, easily caught. gin: trap, snare (short form of engine, in the sense of mechanism).'
'the spirit of humors...: may caprice or fortune inspire Malvolio to read out loud (Shakespeare, knowing that he normally wouldnt, is assisting the audiences suspension of disbelief).'
'cs, her us, and her ts: an indecent joke to make Malvolio look more ridiculous; cut was Elizabethan slang for a womans genitals, probably from cut meaning a narrow passage for water, and the joke is compounded by great Ps in the sense of copious urine.'
'in contempt of question: so certain as to make any doubt ludicrous.'
'By your leave: with your permission (said to the wax seal as he breaks it).'
'Soft!: hold on, wait a moment.'
'impressure: image pressed into the wax. Lucrece: virtuous Roman matron Lucretia, who stabbed herself after being raped by Tarquin; thus, an emblem of chastity.'
'liver and all: with passionate conviction.'
'The numbers alterd: the meter changed.'
'brock: badger, a proverbially stinking creature.'
'fustian: some commentators read as worthless, nonsensical, but others as highflown and bombastic; in other words, praise that Fabian bestows as appropriate to its reader, so that Toby does not contradict but agrees with him.'
'dressd: prepared for.'
'wing: flight, that is, speed. staniel: kestrel, an inferior hawk. checks at it: turns to fly at it (term from falconry) .'
'formal capacity: normal understanding. obstruction: obstacle, difficulty.'
'alphabetical position: arrangement of letters.'
'O, ay: oh, yes (with a pun on two of the letters in the riddle). make up that: work it out. cold scent: faint trail, therefore difficult.'
'Sowter: literally, a cobbler, but a common hounds name. cry upont: give tongue as a tracker dog will. though it be as rank as a fox: though the riddle is as easy to sniff out as a stinking fox (Fabian is predicting Malvolio will pat himself roundly on the back when he guesses the simple deception).'
'excellent at faults: not easily put off the trails scent; a fault is a cold scent (but theres the opposite implication that hes easily led astray by false ones).'
'consonancy: agreement. sequel: following letter(s).'
'suffers: withstands. probation: testing.'
'O shall end: that is, a hangmans noose.'
'detraction at your heels: misfortune following you (as well as the scoffers in the tree behind him).'
'simulation: representation, disguised meaning.'
'revolve: reflect; often on stage at this point, the actor will turn around while reading for an easy laugh. stars: fortunes; that is, rank and wealth.'
'open their hands: make you a generous offer. let thy blood and spirit embrace them: accept their offer with open arms.'
'inure: accustom.'
'cast off thy humble slough: give up your servile demeanor (as a snake with old skin). opposite: quarrelsome.'
'tang: sound loudly with. arguments of state: political subjects.'
'the trick of singularity: individuality, eccentricity, peculiar in conduct and dress.'
'cross-garterd: wearing the garters crossed at the back so that in front they pass both above and below the knee-a jolly and conspicuous style.'
'Go to: an emphatic exclamation; here, it means Im telling you.'
'alter services: change places; that is, make you my master and me your servant.'
'champian: champaign, open country. discovers not more: shows things not more clearly; i.e., the letter is as clear as day. open: obvious, evident.'
'baffle: treat disdainfully.'
'wash off: get rid of. gross: low.'
'point-device the very man: the man in the letter in every correct detail.'
'strange: cool, distant. stout: haughty.'
'Jove: here and elsewhere in the play, this may have been substituted for God to comply with an anti-profanity statute of 1606; .'
'Sophy: the shah of Persia (may have come from a claim by Sir Anthony Sherley and his brothers of the gifts they received from that source).'
'gull-catcher: tricker of credulous fools.'
'set thy foot o my neck: a symbol of conquest.'
'play: bet. tray-trip: game of dice in which a toss of three (tray) wins.'
'aqua-vitae: spirituous liquor, such as a brandy (Juliets nurse turns to it in times of stress).'
'Tartar: Tartarus, hell.'
'make one: go along.'
'Save: God save.'
'live by: make your living by (which Feste pretends to understand as dwell near).'
'tabor: small drum (Feste probably also has a pipe which he plays with the other hand, sometimes specifically mentioned in stage productions and used to entertain the audience before Viola enters).'
'churchman: man of holy orders (a joke, since Feste is probably dressed in motley).'
'lies by: lies with, sexually.'
'A sentence: any utterance.'
'chevril: kid leather, which is soft and flexible.'
'dally nicely: play sophistically or subtly.'
'make them wanton: allow them to get out of hand (Viola builds this from dally in the sense of play with amorously).'
'bonds disgraced them: bonds are now required to assure us a man will keep his word, which has cheapened a mans word; Feste is also toying with bond as sworn statement versus prison fetters.'
'reason: the reasonableness of any proposition.'
'carst for nothing: do not worry about anything (whereupon Feste immediately plays on other meanings of care).'
'in my conscience: to let you in on a secret.'
'pilchers: pilchards are small fish that resemble herring.'
'late: recently.'
'orb: earth, which under the Ptolemaic system was believed to be circled by the sun.'
'I would be sorry, sir...: Feste implies (1) he likes to visit Orsino as much as Olivia, and (2) the two noble people are equally foolish.'
'your wisdom: ironical title on the model of your worship or your honor, which implies Cesario is as much a fool as the others.'
'pass upon me: fence with me (use words as sharp weapons against me).'
'Hold: take this. expenses: something for you to spend.'
'Now Jove...: Feste employs the usual response of Gods blessing upon a giver of alms. commodity: consignment, lot.'
'one: a beard (that is to say, Orsinos).'
'pair of these: that is, two coins. bred: multiplied.'
'put to use: loaned at interest.'
'Pandarus: Cressidas uncle, who acted as go-between for her and Troilus.'
'The matter: the amount begged.'
'Cressida was a begger: Henrysons Testament of Cresseid (15th century Scottish poem) claimed that Cressida ended up a leper and begger.'
'welkin: sky.'
'element: as used here, the region or area where a particular creature belongs, though it often was used to refer to air or sky.'
'quality: character.'
'haggard: a hawk captured in maturity and therefore difficult to train. check: pursue.'
'practice: exercise of skill.'
'wisely shows: practices well.'
'folly-falln: lapsed into folly.'
'taint: discredit.'
'Dieu vous garde...: God keep you, sir (French).'
'Et vous aussi...: And you as well; (I am) your servant (French).'
'trade: business (Viola takes it up as if it were a trading voyage; Toby employs highfalutin words in this scene to express contempt for Cesario, but Viola gives as good as she gets).'
'I am bound: my destination is.'
'list: limit, utmost point.'
'Taste: test, try.'
'understand me: stand under me, hold me up.'
'gait and entrance: walking and entering (answering Tobys go and enter, but with the pun of gate and entrance).'
'pregnant: receptive. vouchsafed: graciously granted.'
'hearing: interview, audience.'
' Twas never merry world: life has never been as pleasant; conventional Elizabethan phrase for contrasting an unhappy present with a lovely past.'
'lowly feigning: pretended humility.'
'For: as for.'
'blanks: (1) blank sheets of paper (2) flat metal slugs before the mint stamps them into coins.'
'by your leave: polite phrase of interruption; Olivia is saying please speak no more of this, or perhaps asking permission to interrupt were her thoughts on the matter.'
'music of the spheres: reference to the theory that the rotation of the eight concentric spheres that contained the planets and stars made a heavenly music inaudible to humans (from Platos Republic).'
'enchantment you did: spell you cast.'
'construction: interpretation.'
'set mine honor at the stake: an image from bear-baiting: Olivia is saying her honor is set upon by Cesarios thoughts the way dogs attack and worry a bear tied to a stake; she supposed the tyrannous heart of Viola must despise her for being so open about her desire.'
'receiving: power to understand.'
'cypress: nearly transparent black fabric, gauze or linen.'
'degree and grize: synonyms for a step.'
'vulgar proof: common experience.'
'Why then methinks its time to smile again: if you do not love me, I must grin and bear it as best I can.'
'apt: ready.'
'If one should be a prey...: Olivia is congratulating herself for having fallen for a giant among men, Cesario being the lion and Orsino a mere wolf. Another reading is that Olivia is chagrinned at having fallen for someone impoverished, and is upbraiding Cesario for pride and his poverty: by that reading, Cesario would be the wolf, and Orsino the lion, and Olivia is being a little self-pitying. .'
'good disposition: a tranquil mind.'
'That you do think you are not what you are: Viola could mean (1) you think you are in love with a man, but you are not, or (2) you think you are behaving less nobly than you are or should, in loving a man below your station, but this is not true.'
'If I think so, I think the same of you: Olivia might mean (1) you may not be as lowly born as you seem, or (2) if you think I am mad, then I think you are as well.'
'now I am your fool: you have put me in a foolish position (in a way that Olivia cannot guess).'
'A murdrous guilt...: like murder, love is most obvious when it tries to hide itself.'
'maugre: in spite of.'
'Do not extort thy reasons from this clause: do not find reasons not to love me from the fact that I love you and declare it.'
'reason thus with reason fetter: bind together these two reasons to accept my love (or defeat that argument with this one).'
'Love sought is good...: Olivia will win the love she desired, and Cesario will enjoy a love he did not seek, which is better.'
'no woman has; nor never none/Shall mistress be of it...: Olivia will of course interpret this one way, the audience another.'
'argument: evidence, proof.'
'Slight: by Gods light.'
'grand-jurymen: that is, experts in evaluating evidence.'
'dormouse: that is, sleepy.'
'double gilt: double gilding, as in double-plated with gold; Fabian is describing a golden opportunity.'
'north: cold regions of disfavor.'
'icicle on a Dutchmans beard: may be a reference to William Barentz, a Dutchman who sailed to Nova Zembla in the Russian Arctic in 1596-97 and wrote an account of the voyage.'
'policy: strategy, cunning.'
'Brownist: follower of Robert Browne, founder in 1581 of the Independents, a Puritan sect that became the Congregationalists.'
'love-broker: a go-between in love letters.'
'curst: bad-tempered, abusive.'
'with the license of ink: with the freedom and safety that writing allows, or as freely as writing allows.'
'thoust: that is, address him as thou, the way one would a social inferior or a good friend (as Toby has Andrew above).'
'lies: the insult that automatically calls for a duel.'
'the bed of Ware: a famous, large, carved-oak bedstead that measures 10 feet 9 inches square, and can still be seen today at the Victoria and Albert Museum.'
'gall: (1) oak-gall, an ingredient of ink, and (2) acrimony.'
'goose-pen: a quill pen made from a goose feather (with the implication of being written with foolishness and cowardice).'
'cubiculo: little chamber.'
'dear manikin: puppet dear to you; Fabian refers to Sir Tobys manipulation of Sir Andrew.'
'dear: expensive, costly; Toby says he has borrowed two thousand pounds or ducats from Sir Andrew.'
'wain-ropes: wagon ropes.'
'hale: drag.'
'blood in his liver: the liver was thought to be the source of blood; hence, a white (or bloodless) liver signified cowardice.'
'opposite: adversary (that is, Cesario).'
'youngest wren of nine: that is, the smallest.'
'the spleen: extreme fit of mirth; the spleen was believed to govern laughter.'
'renegado: a renegade; that is, a renouncer of his religion.'
'such impossible passages of grossness: that is, which were in the letter.'
'villainously: abominably. pedant that keeps a school: meaning obscure and may have been old in Shakespeares time; perhaps it suggests a rusticness contrary to the smart appearance Malvolio thinks he has taken on.'
'the new map: in 1599, Edward Wright, Richard Hakluyt, and John Davis prepared a new world map, the first English one based on Mercators projections, that showed North America (the Indies) as being much larger (augmented) than ever before; it was cross-hatched with numerous reference lines, to which Maria compares Malvolios wrinkles.'
'jealousy: anxiety.'
'Rough and unhospitable: Illyria was supposed to be home to many pirates (indeed, Orsino will call Antonio one later).'
'uncurrent pay: payment in worthless money (that is, empty thanks); an uncurrent coin is one that is not accepted as legal tender. Sebastians remark inadvertently leads to the lending of Antonios purse, with subsequent complications.'
'worth: wealth.'
'conscience: awareness of what I owe.'
'reliques: relics of the past, ancient monuments (described further four lines down).'
'it would scarce be answerd: no reparation or answer I could offer would be sufficient (in other words, it would likely mean his execution).'
'Belike: probably.'
'bloody argument: occasion for bloodshed.'
'for traffics sake: for the sake of trade.'
'lapsed: caught napping.'
'fit: behoove.'
'bespeak our diet: order our food.'
'have me: know where to find me.'
'toy: trifle (as opposed to a necessity).'
'your store: your supply of money.'
'idle markets: luxuries.'
'sad and civil: serious and seemly.'
'possessd: that is, possessed by an evil spirit.'
'tainted: infected.'
'if sad and merry madness equal be: if merriness can be as crazy as melancholy, then we are equally mad.'
'Please one, and please all: If I please the one right person, I please everyone I care to (line and refrain from a popular ballad published in 1592).'
'Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs: Malvolio is of course calling attention to his stockings, but since yellow was associated with jealousy, he might be saying Although I wear yellow, my thoughts are not black.'
'Roman hand: Italian calligraphy, rather than traditional English script.'
'At your request! Yes, nightingales answer daws: shall I, a nightingale, take notice of a question from a crow? (Malvolio is being surly with servants, as instructed).'
'midsummer madness: it was proverbial that the midsummer moon was associated with insanity.'
'miscarry: come to harm.'
'come near: begin to understand.'
'reverend: dignified.'
'slow tongue: careful manner of speaking.'
'the habit of some air of note: clothing suitable to a distinguished person (as contrasted with Malvolios usual dress).'
'limd: caught, as with birdlime-a sticky substance spread on bushes to catch small birds.'
'fellow: Malvolio takes it to mean equal or companion when elsewhere in the play it is typically patronizing or derogatory.'
'no dram of a scruple, no scruple of a scruple: the first and last scruple are used in the moral sense, the second is an apothecarys weight of one-third of a dram, which is itself only one-eighth of a fluid ounce.'
'incredulous: incredible.'
'unsafe: uncertain.'
'prospect: range, scope.'
'drawn in little: squeezed to a small space (enough to fit in Malvolios bosom), and possibly depicted in a miniature.'
'Legion: alludes to My name is Legion, for we are many from the Bible, Mark V: 8-9; the Geneva Bible of 1560 had a note that said a Legion contains more than 6000.'
'private: privacy, own company.'
'Carry his water to the wise woman: water is urine, and a wise woman was one who professed to cure illnesses and undo witchcraft with charms and herbal remedies.'
'My lady would not lose him...: Maria speaks of Malvolio as if he were a valuable possession, like a cow, which infuriates him.'
'rough: violent.'
'bawcock: fine fellow (from French beau coq = good rooster. chuck: chick, a term of endearment.'
'biddy: childs name for a chicken.'
'gravity: a serious man.'
'cherry-pit: a childs game in which cherry stones are tossed into a hole; Sir Toby is talking to Malvolio as if he were a small child, but also warning him his soul is in danger.'
'foul collier: dirty coal miner; devils were sometimes depicted as coal-black, and they labored in the mines of hell.'
'I am not of your element: I do not belong to your earthy level.'
'genius: soul, spirit; literally, familiar or governing spirit.'
'take air, and taint: (1) be exposed to air and become corrupted, (2) become known and be spoiled.'
'dark room and bound: common treatment for the insane at the time.'
'bar: that is, the bar of judgment.'
'matter for a May morning: material for a May-Day comedy.'
'saucy: (1) highly spiced, (2) insolent.'
'I warrant him: I guarantee that Cesario will be taken care of.'
'A good note...: a carefully-worded taunt, that keeps you on safe legal ground.'
'thou liest in thy throat: highly emphatic way of saying you lie, very common in Shakespeare and general usage.'
'windy side: windward (that is, safe; since the abuse is too weak to defame, but also because the rogue and a villain might refer to Sir Andrew).'
'Thy friend as thou usest him: your friend if you behave in a friendly manner toward him, but followed by and thy sworn enemy, it makes a typical Aguecheek self-contradiction.'
'move him: stir him to anger, with a joke to follow regarding legs.'
'bum-baily: lowly bailiff or sheriffs officer who arrested people for debt; the bum may indicate he sneaks up on them from behind.'
'let me alone for swearing: have no doubts about my ability to swear.'
'clodpole: knucklehead.'
'cockatrices: basilisks-mythical beasts that were believed to be able to kill with a glance.'
'Give them way: stay out of their way.'
'And laid mine honor: the image could be one of Olivia placing her heart on Cesarios heart of stone like an altar, or paying a debt by placing money on a particular stone in church (an Elizabethan custom), or wagering it on a heart that proved stony. unchary: carelessly.'
'jewel: a miniature in a rich setting.'
'That honour savd...: that honor may surrender without compromising itself (that is, without giving up Olivias chastity).'
'acquit: return (that is, give your love back to you so you may bestow it on Orsino).'
'fiend like thee: that is, one that looked like you. might: could, without any resistance.'
'That defense: Whatever skill in fencing.'
'despite: contempt and hatred.'
'bloody as the hunter: as intent on bloodshed as a dog tracking down its prey.'
'Dismount thy tuck: Draw your sword.'
'yare: prepared, nimble.'
'remembrance: memory.'
'unhatchd: unused, never employed in battle.'
'on carpet consideration: a carpet knighthood was awarded at court, most likely for political reasons, not on the battlefield; although consideration suggests Sir Andrew paid money for it.'
'sepulchre: tomb, burial vault.'
'Hob, nob: have it, have it not (meaning, death).'
'conduct: protective escort.'
'competent: sufficient.'
'that with me: meaning, a duel.'
'strip your sword stark naked: draw your sword (and fight with me).'
'forswear to wear iron: give up your right to wear a sword.'
'purpose: intention.'
'to a mortal arbitrement: to the point of requiring a duel to the death.'
'firago: virago, female warrior (historically applied to a woman who acted like a man).'
'pass: fencing bout.'
'stuck in: stoccado, or sword thrust.'
'on the answer, he pays you: when you take a thrust at him, he gives it back.'
'Sophy: the Shah of Persia (also mentioned in Act 2, scene 5).'
'and I thought he had been: if I had supposed he was.'
'Capilet: a name that literally means little horse, from caple or capul, the Middle English word for nag, horse, hack and related to similar Irish, Gaelic, and Welsh words that probably go back to the Latin caballus (although of course it resembles the surnames of characters in Romeo and Juliet and Alls Well That Ends Well); it is typical that Sir Andrew would give his horse such an unimaginative name.'
'motion: offer.'
'perdition of souls: loss of life.'
'take up the quarrel: settle the dispute.'
'He is as horribly conceited of him: the youth has as frightening a notion of Sir Andrew.'
'bethought him of his quarrel: reconsidered his complaint.'
'A little thing would make me tell...: (1) I am almost terrified enough to reveal I am a woman in disguise; (2) it would not take much to make me admit how frightened I am.'
'duello: code of dueling.'
'undertaker: one who takes up a challenge on behalf of another.'
'be with you anon: return to you immediately.'
'that I promised you ... bear you easily: that is, the gift horse, Capilet, of whom Viola has heard nothing yet.'
'favor: face.'
'Though now you have no sea-cap...: this recalls Antonios conversation with Sebastian about his pirate past in Act 3, scene 3.'
'answer it: make what defense I can.'
'coffer: store of wealth (literally, strong-box).'
'Ist possible ... lack persuasion?: can you, of all people, refuse to help me after all Ive done for you?.'
'tempt: try too far.'
'unsound: morally weak.'
'such sanctity of love: so much intense devotion as to resemble religious worship.'
'image: appearance (that is, a handsome face implied a noble character).'
'Thou hast ... done good feature shame: you have belied the popular notion that physical beauty connotes spiritual worthiness.'
'empty trunks, oerflourishd by the devil: (1) chests elaborately carved with flourishes, (2) bodies made externally beautiful.'
'so do not I: I do not dare to believe what he suggests (that my brother lives).'
'I my brother know ... in my glass: I know the appearance of my brother lives in the face I see in the mirror.'
'denying: refusing to recognize.'
' Slid: by Gods eyelid (an oath).'
'And I do not-: unfinished in his haste to pursue Cesario, Andrews remark means And if I do not cuff him, never trust me.'
'lubber: clumsy, stupid fellow; a lout.'
'cockney: an overnice, effeminate fop; Cockney originally meant a small egg, then a child overpampered by its parents-thus, a milksop.'
'Greek: that is, jester.'
'worse payment: that is, a beating.'
'report: reputation.'
'after fourteen years purchase: provided they pay a lot for it; the marketable value of a piece of land was customarily equal to the amount of twelve years of rent.'
'be in some of your coats: be in your shoes (once Olivia hears whats going on here).'
'go another way to work with him: get at him a different way.'
'action of battery: a lawsuit for assault and battery.'
'you are well fleshd: you have had a sufficient taste for combat.'
'malapert: impudent, saucy.'
'ungracious: graceless.'
'Rudesby: unmannered person, ruffian (in common use in Shakespeares time).'
'botchd up: thrown together, clumsily contrived (literally means patched together).'
'Beshrew his soul for me: My (gentle) curses on him.'
'He started one poor heart of mine, in thee: a bit of a hunting metaphor, although technically speaking, one rouses a hart, and starts a hare, from cover, but perhaps start was used for its association with human fear; Olivia is figuratively saying her heart is within Cesario, so that in attacking him, Sir Toby filled her with fear.'
'relish: taste, quality, nature.'
'fancy: imagination.'
'Lethe: the river of forgetfulness in the underworld.'
'Sir Topas: may have been borrowed from Chaucers burlesque romance, The Tale of Sir Thopas, in Canterbury Tales.'
'dissemble: (1) disguise, (2) play the hypocrite.'
'not tall enough: that is, to look over the pulpit.'
'good housekeeper: hospitable man, or good manager of his household.'
'competitors: confederates.'
'Bonos dies: bad Latin for bonus dies, good day; Feste proceeds with a speech of mock scholarship based on the mock authority Gorboduc, a legendary king from British folklore.'
'hyperbolical: vehement, exaggerated in style.'
'barricades: barricades, with the implication of impenetrability; barricades were originally constructed of wine barrels filed with rocks and dirt.'
'clerestories: windows in an upper wall, usually of a church, and therefore a source of much light.'
'lustrous as ebony: glossy or shiny as a hard, dark wood.'
'south north: yet another impossibility, like windows that are transparent as barricades, and clerestories lustrous as ebony; Feste is throwing out contradictions to confuse Malvolio further.'
'Egyptians in their fog: alludes to Exodus 10:22, And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a black darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.'
'constant question: topic for rational discussion.'
'Pythagoras concerning wild-fowl: alludes to the Pythagorean theory of transmigration of souls; Pythagoras does not single out wild-fowl, but this sets up the woodcock jest-recall Tobys Now is the woodcock near the gin in Act II, scene 5, when Malvolio was picking up the letter they set out for him.'
'and no way approve his opinion: in this, Malvolio is in agreement with many Renaissance thinkers.'
'allow of thy wits: grant that you are sane.'
'for all waters: ready for anything; origins of this phrase are unknown.'
'deliverd: set free (Toby is tired of this prank, and worries that it will get him in even deeper trouble with Olivia).'
'upshot: the shoot-off to determine the winner of an archery match; thus, figuratively, the conclusion.'
'Hey Robin: Feste reveals himself to Malvolio by singing; the lyric that follows is from an old ballad that was reworked by Sir Thomas Wyatt.'
'perdie: indeed (from the French par dieu, by God).'
'besides: out of. five wits: the mental powers, usually listed as common wit (common sense), fantasy, memory, judgment, and imagination; Five Wits is a character in Everyman, circa 1495.'
'propertied me: stowed me away like a piece of furniture.'
'sent ministers to me, asses: since he is speaking of the bogus Sir Topas, Malvolios words are more accurate than he realizes.'
'Advise you: be careful, consider well. The minister is here: from this point on, Feste pretends to be Sir Topas having a conversation with Feste himself.'
'God buy you: God be with you, or goodbye.'
'shent: rebuked.'
'Well-a-day: alas.'
'advantage: benefit.'
'Ill neer believe a madman...: alludes to a proverb, You will not believe he is bald (dead) until you see his brain, but Festes version implies he wants to see Malvolios brain before deciding whether hes crazy.'
'I am gone, sir...: probably sung, not spoken, but the music is not known.'
'trice: instant.'
'Vice: a common and popular character in old morality plays, who sometimes beat the Devil with his dagger of lath; in effect, he was an ancestor of the fool Feste, who concludes by speaking directly to the devil that supposedly possesses Malvolio.'
'there he was: that is, had been.'
'found this credit: learned that people there believed.'
'For though my soul disputes ... the ladys mad: although my inmost feelings and reason agree with my senses that this is really happening, the great fortune of it (Olivias love) is so far beyond sensible that I have to wonder whether I am crazy, or she is.'
'Take and give back affairs and their dispatch: take control of business and give orders for its execution.'
'discreet: judicious.'
'deceivable: deceptive.'
'chantry: a small private chapel-sometimes attached to the main part of a church, sometimes to a great house, or detached-which was endowed to have one or more priests say daily masses for the souls of the dead.'
'Plight: pledge; Olivia is proposing a betrothal ceremony, which has the force of a binding contract-the actual marriage will come later.'
'Whiles: until.'
'What time: at which time.'
'birth: rank, social position.'
'abused: wronged; thus, deceived.'
'conclusions to be as kisses...: commentators have disagreed on the meaning of this; it may refer to Sir Philip Sidneys sonnet 63 in Astrophil and Stella, wherein the speaker, seeking a kiss, is rebuffed with no, no, and argues that the double negative means he has been granted a kiss by grammatical rule; but where Festes four negatives comes from, no one can say.'
'double-dealing: literally, paying twice, but Feste is punning on the sense of duplicity.'
'Put your grace in your pocket: 1) put aside your virtue; 2) let your Grace dip into your pocket (grace can also mean favor or generosity; to put something in ones pocket also means to overlook it deliberately).'
'obey it; that is, ill counsel.'
'Primo, secundo, tertio: Latin for firstly, secondly, thirdly; may be a reference to a game of dice or childrens game.'
'the third pays for all: the third attempt is lucky, as in third times the charm.'
'triplex: triple time in music.'
'Saint Bennet: Saint Benedict, possibly a reference to Saint Bennet Hithe on Pauls Wharf, a parish church across the Thames from the Globe Theatre.'
'fool no more money: 1) befool, cheat; 2) earn by wit.'
'lullaby to your bounty: good rest to your generosity.'
'Vulcan: the blacksmith of the gods.'
'baubling: trifling, toylike, like a bauble.'
'unprizable: of little value because of its shallow draught and small bulk.'
'scathful: harmful.'
'tongue of loss: report by the losers.'
'fraught from Candy: freight from Candia (Crete).'
'desperate of shame and state: reckless of potential disgrace and danger.'
'brabble: brawl.'
'drew on my side: drew his sword to defend me.'
'put strange speech upon me: spoke to me strangely.'
'Notable: notorious.'
'Not meaning to partake with me in danger: having no intention of sharing my fate.'
'face me out: deny.'
'grew a twenty years removed thing...: in the wink of an eye, became as much a stranger as if we had not seen each other in twenty years.'
'recommended: commented, committed.'
'but that he may not have: that is, her love.'
'fat and fulsome: gross and distasteful.'
'the Egyptian thief: alludes to a robber-chief in a tale in Ethiopica by Heliodorus, who tried to kill his loved captive Chariclea when a rival band surrounded him and he seemed likely to be killed, but mistook someone else in the dark for her.'
'savors nobly: has a noble quality to it.'
'non-regardance: disregard, neglect.'
'screws: wrenches.'
'marble-breasted: stony-hearted.'
'in his masters spite: in defiance of his master.'
'a ravens heart within a dove: the reference is to a black heart in Olivias beautiful form.'
'by all mores: by all such comparisons.'
'If I do feign...: If I lie, may the heavens punish me with death for denying the love I feel.'
'strangle thy propriety: suppress your true identity (as my husband).'
'take thy fortunes up: accept your destiny.'
'that thou fearst: that which you fear (which is to say, the Duke Orsino).'
'occasion: necessity.'
'newly: recently.'
'joinder: joining.'
'Seald: ratified.'
'cub: fox-cub, since the fox is proverbially known for cunning; Orsinos case in the next line refers to a foxs coat.'
'grizzle: grey hair.'
'Or will not else...: perhaps your deceitfulness will grow so quickly it will be your undoing, before you are grey.'
'trip: an attempt to trap another.'
'Hold little: keep a little.'
'coxcomb: jocular term for head (with a suggestion of the cap traditionally worn by fools).'
'incardinate: Sir Andrews mistaken rendering of incarnate (in the flesh).'
'Ods lifelings: by Gods life, or by Gods little lives; the diminutive ending lessens the force of the oath.'
'bespake you fair: spoke courteously to you.'
'tickled you othergates: chastised you otherwise.'
'theres th end ont: thats that.'
'Sot: fool.'
'eyes were set: extinguished; that is to say, closed.'
'passy-measures pavin: from Italian passamezzo, a dance tune of strains with eight measures each (which Sir Toby has built from Festes eight i th morning); and a pavin or pavanne is a slow and stately dance; thus, Sir Toby foresees no quick aid from Dick Surgeon.'
'be dressd: have our wounds tended.'
'one habit: one outfit.'
'natural perspective: an optical illusion created by nature, not by a perspective (accent on first syllable) glass, which could make one picture or object look like two or more.'
'Fearst thou that: do you doubt it.'
'that deity in my nature/Of here and every where: the divine attribute of being omnipresent.'
'blind waves: pitiless.'
'So went he suited...: Clothed in that manner, he drowned.'
'in that dimension grossly clad: clothed in that corporeal form.'
'as the rest goes even: since every other detail corresponds.'
'Had numberd thirteen years: the text seems to forget that the siblings are twins.'
'record: recollection (accent on the second syllable).'
'lets: lacks or hinders.'
'weeds: clothes.'
'But nature in her bias drew in that: your nature was true to its own bent when you fell in love with one who is a perfect copy of me; or Nature followed its tendency to mate male with female, in spite of Violas disguise; or this might also be an image from the game of bowls, in which the bias is a lead weight placed inside a bowl to make it roll an uneven course, the tendency of the bowl to roll on a curve, or the curving course it takes.'
'maid and man: maid is used here in the sense of virgin.'
'over swear: swear again.'
'As doth that orbed...: as the suns sphere keeps its fire.continent: container.'
'action: lawsuit.'
'durance: prison.'
'enlarge: set free.'
'distract: distracted, out of his wits.'
'extracting frenzy: a madness that drove other things out of my mind.'
'holds Belzebub at a staves end: keeps the devil (who possesses him) at a distance; a proverbial phrase from quarterstaff fighting.'
'a madmans epistles are no gospels: you cant take an insane persons letters for truth (with a joke on the fact that the gospels and Pauls epistles are read in church services).'
'it skills not much: it doesnt much matter.'
'delivers: reports the message, speaks the words of.'
'And your ladyship: if.'
'allow vox: permit me to use the appropriate voice (vox is Latin for voice).'
'his right wits: in his particular state of mind, which is to say, madness (Feste is quibbling with Olivias meaning).'
'perpend: consider.'
'I leave my duty...: I momentarily drop the automatic respect I owe to you as a servant because I have been misused.'
'think of me as well a sister as a wife: consider viewing me as favorably as a sister(in-law) as a spouse (Olivia is recommending Orsinos marriage to Viola as well as her own to Sebastian).'
'crown the alliance on it: arrange the double wedding that creates such a relation.'
'proper cost: own expense.'
'quits: frees, releases from employment.'
'mettle: disposition.'
'A sister! you are she: Note that Olivia and Viola are already sisters by virtue of the formers secret marriage to Sebastian, but Olivia exclaims here because Orsinos offer of his hand strengthens the alliances.'
'Write from it: write differently.'
'in the modesty of honor: with the decency of an honorable person.'
'clear lights: sure signs.'
'lighter: lesser; i.e., servants.'
'geck and gull: both synonyms for fool.'
'presupposed: suggested earlier.'
'This practice hath most shrewdly passed upon thee: This trick has been quite mischievously imposed on you.'
'wondred: marveled.'
'Upon some stubborn and uncourteous parts: Because of certain rude and haughty acts.'
'importance: importunity, urging (actually, it was all Marias idea; perhaps Fabian is shielding her behind Toby).'
'sportful: jesting.'
'poor fool: poor fellow; the phrase is common in Shakespeare as an expression of compassion, rather than an insult.'
'baffled thee: put you down.'
'Madam, why laugh you...: Feste paraphrases an insult Malvolio tossed at him before Olivia in Act 1, scene 5.'
'whirligig of time: times circling path or spinning top.'
'he hath not told us of the captain: refers to sea captain whose actions were related by Sebastian and Viola earlier in this scene.'
'convents: suits.'
'combination: i.e., marriage.'
'habits: clothing.'
'tine: tiny; used similarly in a similar song by the Fool in King Lear, Act 3, scene 2.'
'A foolish thing was but a toy: i.e., my childish pranks were not taken seriously.'
'Gainst knaves and thieves...: my mischief caused most men to shut their doors against me as a thief and a knave.'
'swaggering: bullying, blustering.'
'unto my beds: may imply old age, as each preceding verse has the singer succeeding to another stage of life.'
'With toss-pots...: like other drunkards, I always came home (or went to bed) drunk.'
'And well strive to please you ever day: a call for the audiences applause, which resembles part of the Kings epilogue in Alls Well That Ends Well.'