The Taming of the Shrew (31 page)

²⁹⁹
Lucrece
raped by the Roman king Tarquin, Lucrece was so ashamed she committed suicide

³⁰⁰
’greed
got along

³⁰⁴
speeding
progress/success
goodnight our part
our part in this business is over

³⁰⁷
’twixt us twain
between we two

³¹²
vied
redoubled (gambling term for raising the stakes)
protesting
declaring

³¹³
twink
twinkling

³¹⁴
a … see
wonderful to see

³¹⁶
meacock
feeble

³¹⁸
gainst
in preparation for

³¹⁹
bid
invite

³²⁰
fine
finely dressed

³²¹
hands … witnesses
joining of hands in front of witnesses (the “pre-contract”) prevented either party from becoming engaged to another

³²⁵
apace
swiftly

³²⁸
clapped up
settled

³³⁰
desperate mart
risky business endeavor

³³¹
’Twas … you
it (Kate) was a piece of merchandise that was losing its value (
fretting
plays on the sense of “aggravating”)

³³³
quiet
peace of mind

³³⁴
quiet catch
(ironic)

³⁴¹
freeze
possibly implies impotence

³⁴²
fry
burn lecherously

³⁴³
Skipper
frivolous wastrel
nourisheth
sustains life

³⁴⁵
compound
settle

³⁴⁶
deeds
actions/legal deeds
he of both
whichever of the two of you

³⁴⁷
dower
settlement made to the wife on the death of the husband

³⁵¹
plate
gold or silver tableware

³⁵²
lave
wash

³⁵³
hangings
wall coverings
Tyrian
from Tyre, an ancient trading city on the Mediterranean

³⁵⁴
coffers
chests

³⁵⁵
cypress
made from cypress wood
arras counterpoints
tapestried bed coverings from Arras

³⁵⁶
tents
hangings for a bed

³⁵⁷
Turkey
Turkish
bossed
embossed, adorned

³⁵⁸
Valance … needlework
valences (borders on the sides or canopy of a bed) embroidered with Venetian gold thread

³⁶¹
milch-kine
dairy cows
to the pail
(specifically) for milking

³⁶³
answerable … portion
appropriate to an estate of this size

³⁶⁴
struck
old

³⁶⁷
came well in
is to the point
list
listen

³⁷¹
walls
i.e. the walls forming the city limits

³⁷³
two … land
i.e. the land brings in an annual income of two thousand
ducats
(gold coins)

³⁷⁴
jointure
widow’s settlement

³⁷⁵
pinched
distressed/belittled

³⁷⁸
argosy
large merchant ship

³⁷⁹
Marseillis’ road
the harbor at Marseilles

³⁸²
galliases
heavy low-built vessels

³⁸³
tight
efficient, seaworthy

³⁸⁹
out-vied
outbid (card-playing term)

³⁹¹
let
providing
assurance
(financial) guarantee

³⁹²
else
otherwise

³⁹⁴
cavil
quibble

⁴⁰⁴
gamester
gambler, foolish adventurer
were
would be

⁴⁰⁶
Set … table
i.e. become dependent upon you
toy
piece of nonsense

⁴⁰⁹
faced … ten
bluffed, brazened it out with a card only worth ten

⁴¹⁰
’Tis … head
I have a plan

⁴¹²
get
beget, conceive

⁴¹⁵
sire
father

¹
Fiddler … sir
implies that Hortensio is holding Bianca’s fingers as he teaches her the lute

²
entertainment
reception

³
withal
with

⁶
prerogative
priority

⁸
lecture
lesson

⁹
Preposterous
unreasonable/placing last what should be first

¹⁰
ordained
created

¹²
usual pain
habitual labor

¹⁴
serve in
serve up (contemptuous)

¹⁵
braves
blustering threats

¹⁷
resteth … choice
is up to me

¹⁸
breeching … schools
schoolboy liable to be whipped (breeched)

¹⁹
’pointed
appointed

²²
the whiles
in the meantime

²⁸
‘
Hic … senis
’
“here ran the [river] Simois; here is the Sigeian land [Troy]; here stood the lofty palace of old Priam [King of Troy]” (from Ovid’s
Heroides
)

³⁰
Conster
translate/analyze grammatically/expound

³⁵
port
station, dignity
pantaloon
foolish old man (i.e. Gremio)

³⁷
fie
expression of impatience or disgust
jars
sounds discordant

³⁸
Spit … again
possibly a perversion of the proverb “spit in your hands and take a better hold” (sequence
instrument’s … spit in the hole … tune … fingering
may have sexual connotations)

⁴⁵
jars
quarrels

⁴⁶
pedant
schoolmaster/quibbler

⁴⁸
Pedascule
little pedant

⁵⁰
Aeacides … grandfather
the Greek hero Ajax was also known as Aeacides, after his grandfather Aeacus (Lucentio has moved to the next line of Ovid’s
Heroides
)

⁵²
master
tutor

⁵³
doubt
point

⁵⁶
pleasant
merry, playful

⁵⁷
give me leave
leave me

⁵⁸
three parts
i.e. the company of three people

⁵⁹
formal
punctilious

⁶⁰
withal
at the same time
but
unless

⁶³
order
method

⁶⁵
gamut
the musical scale
briefer sort
quicker way

⁶⁸
fairly drawn
neatly set out

⁷¹
ground … accord
basis of all harmony

⁷⁵
one … I
perhaps Hortensio’s love (
one clef
) and his real and assumed personalities (
two notes
); may also have sexual connotations (“one vagina,” “two testicles”—
notes
playing on “nuts”) leading to play on
die
in next line

⁷⁸
Old
established
nice
capricious

⁷⁹
true
legitimate, constant

⁸⁵
pry into
spy on, investigate

⁸⁸
stale
decoy (specifically, one that distracts a poorly trained hawk)

⁸⁹
Seize … list
let those who want you have you
ranging
straying (like a hawk)/unfaithful

⁹⁰
quit with
rid of/even with

⁵
want
lack

⁸
forsooth
in truth

¹⁰
rudesby
insolent ruffian
spleen
temper, passion

¹¹
wooed … leisure
varies the proverbial “he who marries in haste repents at leisure”

¹²
frantic
insane, frenzied

¹⁴
noted for
known as

¹⁹
Lo
look

²³
fortune … word
event prevents him from keeping his word

²⁹
humour
temperament

³⁰
Old
plentiful (Baptista plays on the more familiar sense)

⁴⁰
to
of

⁴²
jerkin
close-fitting jacket
turned
i.e. inside out (to make them last longer)

⁴³
candle-cases
containers for candle ends (i.e. too worn out to wear)

⁴⁵
chapeless
without a sheath
points
laces for fastening the doublet to the hose

⁴⁶
hipped
lame, with an injured hip
of no kindred
that do not match

⁴⁷
glanders
horse disease affecting the nostrils and jaws
like … chine
of unclear meaning; perhaps a corruption of “like to mourn in the
chine”
—i.e. likely to be in the final stages of the
glanders
—or possibly “likely to have a weak spine (
chine
)”

⁴⁸
lampass
horse disease affecting the mouth
fashions
farcins (horse disease causing tumors)

⁴⁹
windgalls
tumors on a horse’s leg
sped with spavins
rendered useless by swelling of the leg joints
rayed
disfigured
yellows
jaundice

⁵⁰
fives
horse disease affecting the parotid glands
stark
utterly
staggers
horse disease marked by a staggering movement
begnawn
gnawed at

⁵¹
bots
intestinal worms
swayed … back
with a bowed spine
shoulder-shotten
with a dislocated shoulder
near-legged before
knock-kneed in the front legs

⁵²
half-checked bit
restraining bit with a broken side-ring (so, ineffective)
head-stall
part of the horse’s bridle that goes over the head

⁵³
sheep’s leather
i.e. weak leather
restrained
pulled tight

⁵⁵
girth
leather band that goes under the horse’s stomach to hold the saddle in place
pieced
mended
crupper
leather strap that prevents the saddle from slipping

⁵⁶
velure
velvet
hath … studs
is adorned with her initials in (brass or silver) studs

⁵⁷
packthread
string

⁵⁹
lackey
servant
caparisoned
dressed

⁶⁰
stock
stocking
kersey
coarse cloth
boot-hose
over-stocking covering the whole of the lower leg

⁶¹
list
strip of cloth

⁶²
humour … fancies
unclear; possibly refers to an old ballad, or to a fanciful ornament—the general sense is that the hat is adorned in an elaborate and whimsical manner
pricked … feather
pinned in it in place of

⁶⁴
footboy
page, servant on foot