Act V Sc. 1
“That is hot ice, and wondrous strange snow.”
‘Strange’ is a very feeble word here. If, as I have ventured to do, we read ‘sable snow,’ we have a parallel to ‘hot ice.’ Upton read black; Staunton swarthy; Hanmer scorching.
“And what poor duty cannot do, noble respect
Takes it in might not merit.”
As there are no short lines in this play, I think a word has been lost in the first line. I read faltering, Theobald read ‘willing duty.’
“His speech was like unto a tangled chain.”
“This grisly beast, which lion hight by name,
The trusty Thisby, coming first by night.
· · · · ·
Did scare away, or rather did affright.”
A line riming with the first appears to be lost. Some read ‘by name hight,’ making a triplet; but I cannot agree with them.
“Here come two noble beasts in, A lion and a man.”
Theobald reads moon for ‘man.’ The correction is ingenious, but not certain. I have, however, adopted it.
“A lion-fell, but else no lion’s dam.”
So Singer reads; others ‘A lion’s fell.’
“For by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams.”
This is the reading of the 2nd folio; for the old editions repeat ‘beams’ from the preceding line. “Phebus of gold his stremès down hath sent” (Chauc. Merch. Tale), was probably in the poet’s mind; or
“Which erst so glistened with the golden streams,
That cheerful Phœbus spred down from his sphere.”
(Induct. to Mir. for Magistrates.)
“Would go well near to make a man look sad.—
Beshrew my heart, but I do pity the man.”
“These lily lips
This cherry nose.”
Rime demands Theobald’s ‘lily brows.’
Sc. 2
“Now the hungry lion roars,
And the wolf behowls the moon.”
‘Behowls’ is Warburton’s correction of beholds of the originals. It is proved to be right by the following passage of Marston’s Antonio’s Revenge:—
“Now barks the wolf against the full-cheek’d moon,
Now lions’ half-clamm’d entrails roar for food” (iii. 3).
As this play was not printed till 1602, this may be an imitation of the passage of our text.
“Ever shall in safety rest,
And the owner of it blest.”
Singer and a friend of Mr. Staunton’s very judiciously transposed these lines, the third, or rather fourth transposition in this play. We may observe that twice before it was the second line of the couplet that commenced with ‘Ever.’ For a fifth transposition in the original editions, see on iii. 1. By the ‘owner’ is meant the occupant of the ‘chamber.’ Malone read ‘shall it,’ which is the usual reading.