The Winter's Tale (38 page)

three-man-song-men
men who sing three-part songs   

⁴¹
means
boy altos or adult countertenors   

⁴²
puritan
pious Protestant, opposed to excessive festivity   

⁴³
hornpipes
wind instruments/lively vigorous dance/piece of music for such a dance; the
puritan
is so religious he will only sing psalms to them   

warden pies
made from a variety of pear   

⁴⁴
Mace
spice made from nutmeg   

out of my note
not on my list   

⁴⁵
race
root   

⁴⁶
o'th'sun
sun-dried   

⁴⁸
I'th'name of me
a mild, and unusual, oath   

⁵⁴
stripes
lashes of a whip   

⁵⁷
great matter
serious consequences/ infected wounds   

⁶⁰
horseman … footman
highwayman or robber on foot (who would wear inferior
garments
)   

⁶⁴
hot service
active use, i.e. excessive wear   

⁶⁹
out
dislocated   

⁸⁰
troll-my-dames
loose women/whores   

⁸⁵
abide
stay briefly   

⁸⁷
ape-bearer
showman with a performing monkey   

process-server
officer who serves a summons   

⁸⁸
compassed a motion
traveled around with a puppet show   

prodigal son
in the New Testament parable, the younger son who squanders his inheritance but is forgiven by his father (Luke 15)   

⁹⁰
living
property   

flown over
dabbled with   

⁹²
Prig
thief/tinker   

⁹³
wakes
country festivals   

⁹⁸
false of heart
fearful   

¹⁰²
softly
gently   

¹⁰⁵
good-faced
honest, kind   

¹⁰⁸
hot
full (plays on the sense of “spicy”)   

¹¹⁰
cheat
deception   

bring out
lead to   

¹¹¹
sheep
i.e. to be stupid   

unrolled
removed from the list of thieves and vagabonds   

¹¹⁴
hent
grasp   

¹
unusual weeds
special (festival) clothes   

²
Flora
Roman goddess of flowers   

³
Peering … front
appearing at the beginning of April   

⁴
petty
minor   

⁷
chide … extremes
rebuke your exaggerations   

⁹
mark o'th'land
object of public attention   

obscured
concealed, disguised   

¹⁰
swain's wearing
rustic clothing   

¹¹
pranked up
dressed up, adorned   

¹²
mess
group of diners/collection of dishes   

folly
lewd or foolish behavior   

¹³
Digest … custom
tolerate it because it is a tradition   

¹⁵
show … glass
look at myself in a mirror   

²⁰
difference
i.e. in rank   

²²
accident
chance event   

²⁵
Vilely bound up
humbly/degradingly dressed (literally, bound like a book)   

²⁶
flaunts
fancy clothes   

²⁷
sternness
majesty   

²⁸
Apprehend
be apprehensive about, imagine   

³¹
Jupiter … bull
in classical mythology the Roman supreme god Jupiter transformed himself into a bull and abducted Europa   

³²
Neptune … ram
the Roman sea god Neptune took on the shape of a ram to carry off Theopane   

³⁴
Apollo … swain
the classical sun god Apollo disguised himself as a shepherd to seduce a mortal nymph   

³⁷
in a way
for an undertaking/in a manner   

³⁸
Run not before
do not overtake   

⁴⁵
I my life
possibly Perdita anticipates being threatened with death   

⁴⁷
forced
unnatural/uneasy   

⁴⁸
Or
either   

⁵²
Though
even if   

⁵³
with … while
i.e. by occupying yourself with anything else in the meantime   

⁵⁵
as
as if   

⁵⁹
Stand you
be/remain (Fortune was traditionally fickle)   

⁶¹
Address
prepare   

sprightly
in a lively, cheerful manner   

⁶⁴
pantler
pantry maid   

⁶⁵
dame
hostess   

⁶⁸
On his
at one person's   

⁷⁰
to … sip
toast each person   

retired
withdrawn   

⁸³
rosemary
herb symbolizing
remembrance
  

rue
herb symbolizing repentance and
grace
  

⁸⁴
Seeming and savour
appearance and smell   

⁸⁸
fit
suit, match   

⁹⁰
the year … winter
i.e. in autumn   

⁹³
gillyvors
gillyflowers, a type of dual-colored carnation   

⁹⁴
nature's bastards
gillyflowers are a result of cross-pollination   

⁹⁶
slips
cuttings (plays on sense of “sexual lapse”)   

⁹⁷
Wherefore
why   

⁹⁸
neglect
reject   

⁹⁹
For
because   

piedness
being multicolored   

¹⁰⁰
an … nature
i.e. artificial cross-breeding, in its effect of creating streaked color, only imitates nature's skill   

¹⁰³
mean
method   

¹⁰⁴
over … makes
i.e. man and his materials are created by nature, therefore anything he does is essentially natural too   

¹⁰⁷
gentler scion
nobler shoot   

stock
stem/ancestry   

¹⁰⁹
race
root/ancestry, i.e. through cross-breeding, a superior plant is generated from a baser one   

¹¹⁰
mend
improve   

¹¹⁶
dibble
tool for making holes in which to plant seedlings   

set
plant   

¹¹⁷
painted
wearing makeup   

¹²⁰
Hot
herbs were divided into “hot” or “cold” varieties based on their supposed qualities   

savory
a type of herb   

¹²¹
goes … weeping
the
marigold
closes at sunset and opens, filled with dew, at sunrise   

¹²⁷
Out, alas!
exclamation of dismay   

¹³⁴
maidenheads
virginities   

Proserpina
in Ovid's
Metamorphoses
, Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, is abducted by
Dis
(Pluto) as she gathers flowers, and is taken in his chariot (
wagon
) to the underworld where he rules   

¹³⁷
dares
i.e. return from its migration   

take
bewitch   

¹³⁸
dim
modest/drooping   

¹³⁹
Juno
queen of the Roman gods   

¹⁴⁰
Cytherea
Venus   

¹⁴²
Phoebus
the sun god   

malady … maids
i.e. greensickness, a type of anemia that caused pallor and weakness; it affected adolescent girls   

¹⁴⁴
crown imperial
a lily first imported into England from Constantinople in the late sixteenth century   

¹⁴⁵
flower-de-luce
fleur-de-lis, heraldic lily (actually a type of iris)   

¹⁵⁰
if
if so   

¹⁵¹
quick
alive   

¹⁵³
Whitsun pastorals
morris dances and plays celebrating Whitsun, seven Sundays after Easter   

¹⁵⁶
Still
always   

¹⁵⁸
alms
charity to the poor or sick   

¹⁵⁹
ord'ring
arranging of   

¹⁶²
still
plays on the sense of “motionless”   

¹⁶³
own … function
perform no other activity   

your doing
thing you do   

particular
individual aspect   

¹⁶⁴
singular
exceptional (plays on the sense of “individual,
particular
”)   

¹⁶⁵
what … deeds
your present actions   

¹⁶⁷
Doricles
the name Florizel has assumed   

¹⁶⁹
true
honorable/faithful   

¹⁷⁰
give you out
proclaim you to be   

¹⁷²
the false way
with dishonorable intentions   

¹⁷⁴
skill
cause   

¹⁷⁶
turtles
turtledoves, thought to mate for life   

¹⁸⁰
greensward
grass   

¹⁸⁴
blood look out
blush   

sooth
truth   

¹⁸⁵
curds and cream
derived from milk and thus associated with shepherds   

¹⁸⁷
mistress
dance partner   

¹⁸⁸
mend … with
i.e. improve her breath (so bad that even
garlic
would help)   

¹⁸⁹
in good time
expression of indignation   

¹⁹⁰
stand upon
insist on   

¹⁹⁴
boasts
say he boasts   

¹⁹⁵
worthy feeding
rich pasture, grazing land   

¹⁹⁷
like sooth
truthful   

²⁰³
featly
skillfully   

²⁰⁶
light upon
choose her (for marriage)   

Servant
i.e. the Old Shepherd's servant (whose presence indicates that though humble, the household is not impoverished)   

²⁰⁹
tabor
small drum used for morris dancing   

²¹¹
tell
count out   

²¹²
ballads
narrative songs sung and sold by itinerant peddlers   

grew
listened attentively/were drawn to   

²¹³
better
at a better time   

²¹⁷
milliner
vendor of fashionable hats and
gloves