The Winter's Tale (34 page)

³⁴⁸
temporizer
procrastinator   

³⁵⁰
liver
thought to be the seat of sexual passion   

³⁵²
glass
hourglass   

³⁵⁴
medal
miniature portrait of the beloved   

³⁵⁶
bare
bore, had   

³⁵⁸
particular thrifts
personal profit   

³⁵⁹
undo
prevent, ruin   

doing
action/sex   

³⁶⁰
cupbearer
servant who carried his master's cup and was responsible for serving wine   

meaner form
lower rank   

³⁶¹
benched
given a position of authority   

worship
honor, respectability   

³⁶³
galled
distressed, vexed   

bespice
season (with poison)   

³⁶⁴
lasting wink
eternal sleep (death)   

³⁶⁵
cordial
health giving, heart restoring   

³⁶⁷
rash
immediately effective   

³⁶⁸
dram
draught, tiny amount   

³⁶⁹
Maliciously
violently   

³⁷⁰
crack
moral breach (with vaginal connotations)   

dread
noble, respected   

³⁷³
Make … rot!
If you are going to dispute my accusations, then go and rot!   

³⁷⁴
muddy
dull-witted   

³⁷⁵
appoint … vexation
put myself in this distress   

³⁷⁷
sleep
peace of mind   

spotted
stained   

³⁷⁹
Give … blood
raise questions about the legitimacy   

³⁸¹
ripe moving to't
full, compelling reason for it   

³⁸²
blench
turn aside   

³⁸⁴
fetch off
kill (plays on the sense of “rescue”)   

³⁸⁷
for … tongues
preventing damaging talk   

³⁹⁰
Thou … down
i.e. what you suggest is exactly what I had intended to do   

³⁹⁴
countenance
expression/appearance   

³⁹⁵
keep
keep company with   

⁴⁰⁴
miserable
doomed, unfortunate   

⁴⁰⁵
case
situation   

⁴⁰⁶
ground
reason, imperative   

⁴⁰⁸
in … himself
behaving uncharacteristically, defying his true nature   

⁴⁰⁹
All … too
all of his servants behave in such a way as well   

⁴¹⁰
If
even if   

⁴¹³
brass … parchment
monuments or materials on which history is recorded   

⁴¹⁶
break-neck
i.e. death   

Happy
favorable   

⁴¹⁹
warp
contract/go astray   

⁴²³
None rare
nothing exceptional   

⁴²⁵
As
as if   

⁴²⁷
customary compliment
usual courtesy   

⁴²⁸
Wafting … th'contrary
looking away   

falling
letting fall, pouting   

⁴³⁴
intelligent
informative, communicative   

'Tis thereabouts
it must be something of this sort, i.e. something you
dare not
say   

⁴³⁵
to … must
within your heart, if you know something, you cannot deny that you do   

⁴³⁷
complexions
appearance, expressions   

⁴⁴²
distemper
disordered constitution   

⁴⁴⁴
Of
from   

⁴⁴⁶
basilisk
mythical reptile that could kill with its sight and breath   

⁴⁴⁷
sped
fared/succeeded   

⁴⁴⁸
regard
look/favor, esteem   

⁴⁵⁰
Clerk-like
educated (and)   

⁴⁵¹
gentry
gentlemanly role   

⁴⁵²
whose success
being descended from whom   

gentle
honorable   

⁴⁵³
aught
anything   

behove
benefit   

⁴⁵⁹
conjure
charge, solemnly appeal   

parts
qualities   

⁴⁶⁰
whereof … suit
not the least of which is (to answer) my request   

⁴⁶²
incidency
event   

⁴⁶⁷
charged
commanded   

⁴⁶⁸
mark
pay attention to   

⁴⁶⁹
ev'n
even, just   

⁴⁷¹
goodnight
i.e. the end   

⁴⁷³
him
by him/to be the one   

⁴⁷⁹
vice
force   

⁴⁸³
his … best
i.e. Judas, betrayer of Christ   

⁴⁸⁵
savour
smell   

strike
blast, have an evil influence over   

dullest
least receptive   

⁴⁸⁹
Swear … over
even if you swear what he says is untrue   

⁴⁹¹
influences
an invisible substance was supposed to stream from stars and influence destiny   

⁴⁹²
for to
to   

⁴⁹³
or
either   

⁴⁹⁴
fabric
building, structure   

⁴⁹⁶
The … body
for the rest of his life   

⁴⁹⁷
grow
have developed   

⁵⁰¹
trunk
body   

⁵⁰²
impawned
as a pledge   

⁵⁰³
whisper to
inform secretly of   

⁵⁰⁴
posterns
back gates of the city   

⁵⁰⁵
Clear them
make their way out   

⁵⁰⁶
which … lost
i.e. in revealing this information I have ruined my
fortunes
  

⁵⁰⁹
prove
test   

⁵¹⁰
stand by
reaffirm publicly   

⁵¹⁵
pilot
guide   

places
dignities, rank, honors   

thy … mine
your position/privileges shall always be related to mine   

⁵¹⁷
hence departure
departure from here   

⁵²³
Professed
professed friendship   

⁵²⁵
Good expedition
prompt departure   

⁵²⁶
theme
concern, motive   

⁵²⁷
ill-ta'en
misinformed, unjustified   

⁵²⁹
avoid
leave   

⁵
none of
have nothing to do with   

¹⁰
for because
because   

¹²
so
provided   

¹⁵
'this
you this   

²²
rounds apace
grows larger rapidly (in pregnancy)   

²⁴
wanton with us
(want to) play with us   

²⁷
Good … her!
May she have a happy labor!   

²⁹
for
ready for   

³¹
sad
serious/mournful   

³⁴
sprites
spirits   

⁴¹
Yond crickets
i.e. the other women over there   

⁴⁴
tuft
thicket   

⁴⁵
scour
move swiftly   

⁴⁶
Even
all the way   

⁴⁸
just censure
accurate/justifiable judgment   

⁵¹
steeped
soaked   

⁵⁰
In … infected
i.e. a
spider
(thought to be venomous) would not poison the drink it was in unless the drinker knew of its presence   

⁵⁵
gorge
stomach/throat   

⁵⁶
hefts
heaves   

I have drunk
perhaps elided “I've drunk” for sake of meter   

⁵⁷
pander
pimp, go-between   

⁵⁹
mistrusted
suspected   

false
deceitful   

⁶²
pinched
tormented   

trick
trifle, toy   

⁶⁹
nurse
breast-feed (babies of noble households were breast-fed by wet-nurses)   

⁷²
Sport?
A joke?   

⁷⁴
sport
entertain (plays on the sense of “have sex”)   

⁷⁹
Howe'er … th'nayward
whatever you think to the contrary   

⁸³
justice
rightful judgment   

⁸⁴
honest
truthful/chaste   

⁸⁵
without-door
public, outward   

⁸⁶
straight
immediately   

⁸⁷
brands
stigmas/slanders   

⁸⁸
calumny
slander   

out
wrong/angry/speechless   

⁸⁹
That … itself
i.e.
mercy
, not slander, uses shrugs to suggest that Hermione is unchaste; slander attacks actual
virtue
(which she does not possess)   

⁹¹
come between
interrupt   

⁹⁶
replenished
complete   

⁹⁷
He … villain
saying so would make him an even greater villain   

⁹⁹
mistook
plays on the sense of “wrongfully had sex with”   

¹⁰¹
I'll … place
i.e. I will not desecrate your high rank by calling you what you really are (in fact Leontes does so:
creature
plays on the sense of “whore”)   

¹⁰³
a like
the same   

degrees
social classes   

¹⁰⁴
mannerly distinguishment
the proper distinction   

¹⁰⁸
federary
confederate, accomplice   

¹⁰⁹
know
plays on the sense of “have sex”   

¹¹¹
bed-swerver
unfaithful to the marital bed (“swerver” means offender, trespasser; possible play on “swiver”)   

¹¹²
vulgars
common people   

bold'st titles
coarsest names   

privy To
secretly aware of   

¹¹⁷
published
publicly denounced   

Gentle my
my noble   

¹¹⁸
throughly
thoroughly   

to say
by saying   

¹²²
centre
mainstay, support (i.e. if my supposition is incorrect, then the whole structure of my mind/the world will collapse)