The Winter's Tale (33 page)

¹³⁴
tremor cordis
heart palpitations   

¹³⁵
entertainment
hospitality (can have sexual connotations)   

¹³⁶
free
innocent/open/generous   

¹³⁷
heartiness
welcoming warmth   

bounty
generosity   

fertile bosom
profuse affection   

¹³⁸
well … agent
still reflect well on the person behaving in such a way (Hermione)   

'T
it   

paddling
fingering   

¹³⁹
paddling … fingers
i.e. flirtatious gestures   

¹⁴⁰
practised
studied/flirtatious   

¹⁴²
mort
horn sounded at the kill of a
deer
/death   

deer
puns on “dear”   

¹⁴³
brows
forehead, from which cuckolds (men with unfaithful wives) were supposed to grow horns   

¹⁴⁶
I' fecks!
In faith!   

¹⁴⁷
bawcock
fine fellow (from French
beau coq
, meaning “fine cock, rooster”)   

smutched
dirtied, smudged   

¹⁴⁹
neat
clean, smart (puns on the sense of “horned cattle”)   

¹⁵⁰
steer
young male ox   

¹⁵¹
virginalling … palm
moving the fingers up and down, as if playing the virginals (a keyed instrument); with sexual innuendo   

¹⁵¹
virginalling … palm
moving the fingers up and down, as if playing the virginals (a keyed instrument); with sexual innuendo   

¹⁵²
wanton
wild/untrained/playful/lustful   

¹⁵⁵
Thou want'st
you lack   

rough pash
shaggy head   

shoots
horns (signifying cuckoldry)   

¹⁵⁶
full
complete, fully grown   

¹⁵⁹
o'er-dyed blacks
fabric weakened by excessive dyeing/fabric that has had black dye applied over a pre-existing color   

wind, as waters
i.e. changeable, capricious   

¹⁶¹
bourn … mine
boundary between his and my possessions (of which he intends to cheat me at
dice
)   

¹⁶³
welkin
sky-blue   

¹⁶⁴
collop
piece of flesh, offspring   

Can thy dam
is your mother capable (of infidelity)   

¹⁶⁵
Affection
strong feeling/passion/animosity/delusion (sense apparently shifts between Hermione's supposed erotic desire for Polixenes and Leontes' intense reaction)   

intention
intensity, forceful purpose (which strikes to his heart, the
centre
of his being)   

¹⁶⁶
not so held
deemed impossible   

¹⁶⁸
thou coactive art
you collaborate   

¹⁶⁹
fellow'st
are companion to   

credent
likely, believable   

¹⁷⁰
co-join
conjoin (sexual suggestion)   

¹⁷¹
commission
what is permitted   

find
discover, discern   

¹⁷³
hard'ning … brows
i.e. as a cuckold, beginning to grow horns   

¹⁷⁴
Sicilia
i.e. Leontes   

¹⁷⁵
something seems
appears somewhat   

¹⁷⁹
moved
distressed   

¹⁸²
make … bosoms
provide entertainment to those with harder hearts   

¹⁸⁵
unbreeched
i.e. a child, not yet in breeches (short trousers)   

¹⁸⁶
muzzled
sheathed or with its tip protected   

¹⁹⁰
squash
unripe pea pod (familiar/contemptuous)   

¹⁹¹
take … money
i.e. be deceived into accepting something of inferior value (proverbial)   

¹⁹³
happy … dole
may his destiny be good fortune/happiness   

¹⁹⁷
exercise
usual occupation   

¹⁹⁹
parasite
sponger, flattering courtier   

²⁰¹
childness
childlike ways   

²⁰²
Thoughts … blood
i.e. melancholy, thought to thicken the blood   

²⁰⁴
Officed
in such a role   

²⁰⁵
graver
slower, more sedate   

²⁰⁷
dear
expensive/ beloved   

cheap
inexpensive/common   

²⁰⁸
rover
wanderer   

²⁰⁹
Apparent
in line to   

²¹¹
shall's attend
shall we wait for   

²¹²
bents
inclinations   

found
discovered literally/ exposed morally   

²¹⁵
Go to
expression of impatient dismissal   

²¹⁶
neb, the bill
nose and the mouth, i.e. she inclines her face as if to be kissed   

²¹⁷
arms … husband
behaves as though she were with her own husband   

²¹⁹
forked
horned   

²²⁰
plays
ambiguous: amuses herself/is busily engaged/practices deceit/has sexual intercourse; sense then shifts to “perform a role”   

²²¹
so … part
i.e. the cuckold, butt of jokes   

issue
outcome/end/action/offspring (plays on the sense of “children”)   

²²²
hiss
derisive response to Leontes' performance in role of cuckold   

²²³
knell
funeral bells   

There have
perhaps elided “There've” for sake of meter   

²²⁴
cuckolds
men with unfaithful wives   

²²⁷
sluiced
flushed out with water, i.e. semen   

²²⁸
pond
plays on sense of “vagina”   

fished
plays on sense of “copulated with”   

²³⁰
gates
i.e. vaginas   

²³²
revolted
unfaithful   

²³³
Physic
remedy   

²³⁴
bawdy
lewd   

strike
blast with a malevolent influence   

²³⁵
predominant
in the ascendant   

²³⁷
barricado … belly
i.e. defense against sexual entry   

²³⁹
bag and baggage
plays on the sense of “penis and testicles”   

on's
of us   

²⁴⁶
ado
trouble, fuss   

his anchor hold
him (Polixenes) stay   

²⁴⁷
still came home
always returned, i.e. failed to take hold   

²⁴⁹
petitions
requests, entreaties   

²⁵⁰
material
urgent   

²⁵²
They're … already
i.e. people are already talking about me   

rounding
talking secretly   

²⁵³
so-forth
so-and-so, i.e. cuckold   

²⁵⁴
gust
taste   

'Tis … last
it must be far advanced, if I am the last to realize it   

²⁵⁷
pertinent
appropriate (as a description of her)   

²⁵⁸
so it is
as matters stand   

taken
understood, perceived   

²⁵⁹
pate
head   

²⁶⁰
conceit is soaking
understanding is receptive   

²⁶¹
blocks
idiots   

²⁶²
But of
except by   

severals
individuals   

²⁶³
head-piece
intellect   

Lower messes
inferior classes   

²⁶⁴
business
plays on “sexual business”   

purblind
blind   

²⁷²
Satisfy
Leontes picks up on the sense of “gratify sexually”   

²⁷⁵
well
well as with   

²⁷⁶
chamber-councils
personal business   

²⁷⁷
cleansed my bosom
heard my confession and given me absolution   

²⁷⁸
we
Leontes falls back on royal “we” to assert authority   

²⁸²
bide
dwell   

²⁸⁴
hoxes
cripples   

²⁸⁵
counted
accounted, deemed   

²⁸⁶
grafted
planted   

²⁸⁸
game
plays on the sense of “sexual play/contest”   

home
to its conclusion   

stake drawn
prize collected (plays on the sense of “penis ready for action”)   

²⁹⁶
wilful-negligent
deliberately neglectful   

²⁹⁹
weighing
considering, anticipating   

³⁰⁰
issue
outcome   

³⁰¹
Whereof … non-performance
where, the deed being accomplished, it became clear that it should indeed have been undertaken   

³⁰⁶
trespass
crime   

³⁰⁷
visage
face, appearance   

³¹⁰
eye-glass
lens of the eye   

³¹²
vision so apparent
something so obvious   

³¹³
cogitation
thought   

³¹⁵
slippery
licentious/deceitful/unchaste   

³¹⁶
be … To
shamelessly deny that you   

³¹⁸
hobby-horse
whore   

³¹⁹
rank
lustful   

flax-wench
lowly woman (flax was spun on a—phallic—distaff, so this also signifies “whore/ lecherous woman”)   

puts … troth-plight
has sex before her betrothal   

³²²
clouded
i.e. defamed   

³²³
present
immediate   

'Shrew
curse (beshrew)   

³²⁴
become
befit, suit   

³²⁵
were … true
would be as sinful as the (adulterous) wrongs you describe, even if they were true   

³²⁹
career
full gallop   

³³⁰
note infallible
certain sign   

³³¹
honesty
virtue, decency/chastity   

Horsing … foot
foot-treading, a favorite erotic signal of the period; plays on sexual sense of “mount,” adopting sexual position   

³³³
Hours
wishing hours were   

³³⁴
pin and web
cataract   

³³⁸
nothing
of no significance; plays on “no thing” (i.e. vagina/no penis)   

³⁴¹
betimes
quickly