THE VENUS OF MILO.

NOTES.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES.

Abbott (or Gr.), Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar (third edition).

A. S., Anglo-Saxon.

A. V., Authorized Version of the Bible (1611).

B. and F., Beaumont and Fletcher.

B. J., Ben Jonson.

Camb. ed., "Cambridge edition" of Shakespeare, edited by Clark and Wright.

Cf. (confer), compare.

Coll., Collier.

Coll. MS., Manuscript Corrections of Second Folio, edited by Collier.

D., Dyce.

H., Hudson. ·

Hen. VIII. (followed by reference to page), Rolfe's edition of Henry VIII.

Id. (idem), the same.

J. C. (followed by reference to page), Rolfe's edition of Julius Cæsar.

J. H., John Hunter's edition of Midsummer-Night's Dream (London, 1874).
K., Knight.

Macb. (followed by reference to page), Rolfe's edition of Macbeth.

Mer., Rolfe's edition of The Merchant of Venice.

Nares, Glossary, edited by Halliwell and Wright (London, 1859).

Prol., Prologue.

Rich. II. (followed by reference to page), Rolfe's edition of Richard II.
S., Shakespeare.

Schmidt, A. Schmidt's Shakespeare-Lexicon (Berlin, 1874).

Sr., Singer.

St., Staunton.

Temp. (followed by reference to page), Rolfe's edition of The Tempest.

Theo., Theobald.

W., White.

Walker, Wm. Sidney Walker's Critical Examination of the Text of Shakespeare (London, 1860).

Warb., Warburton.

Wb., Webster's Dictionary (revised quarto edition of 1864).

Worc., Worcester's Dictionary (quarto edition).

The abbreviations of the names of Shakespeare's Plays will be readily understood; as T. N. for Twelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, 3 Hen. VI. for The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to The Passionate Pilgrim; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis; L. C. to Lover's Complaint; and Sonn. to the Sonnets.

INTRODUCTION.

CHAUCER'S Knightes Tale and the story of "Thisbe of Babylon" in his Legende of Goode Women, and Golding's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, were all well known to Shakespeare, and, as already stated (p. 14 above), furnished materials for this play.

The Knightes Tale, from which the poet drew very little, opens thus:

"Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,
Ther was a duk that highte Theseus;
Of Athenes he was' lord and governour,
And in his tyme swich a conquerour,

That gretter was ther non under the sonne.
Ful many a riche contré hadde he wonne;

That with his wisdam and his chivalrie

He conquered al the regne of Femynye,*

That whilom was i-cleped Cithea;

And weddede the queen Ipolita,

And brought hire hoom with him in his contré,

With moche glorie and gret solempnité,

And eek hire yonge suster Emelye.

And thus with victorie and with melodye

The kingdom of the Amazons. The name is formed from the Latin femina. In

the next line Cithea Scythia.

Lete I this noble duk to Athenes ryde,
And al his ost, in armes him biside.
And certes, if it nere to long to heere,
I wolde han told you fully the manere,
How wonnen was the regne of Femynye
By Theseus, and by his chivalrye;
And of the grete bataille for the nones
Bytwix Athenes and the Amazones;
And how asegid was Ypolita,

The faire hardy quyen of Cithea;

And of the feste that was at hire weddynge,
And of the tempest at hire hoom comynge;
But al that thing I most as now forbere."

Halliwell suggests that the following passage (C. T. 2961-2966) may have furnished Shakespeare with the idea of introducing an interlude into the play:

"ne how the Grekes pleye

The wake-pleyes,† kepe I nat to seye;
Who wrastleth best naked, with oyle enoynt,
Ne who that bar him best in no disjoynt.
I wole not telle eek how that they ben goon
Home til Athenes whan the pley is doon."

He also quotes lines 2702-2704:

"Duk Theseus, and al his companye,
Is comen hom to Athenes his cité.
With alle blys and gret solempnité;"

which he believes to bear more than an accidental resemblance to what Theseus says, iv. 1. 181, 182:

66

Away with us to Athens: three and three,
We'll hold a feast in great solemnity."

In the Legende of Thisbe of Babylon (lines 756, 757) we read

"Thus wolde they seyn: Allas, thou wikked walle!
Thurgh thyne envye thou us lettest alle;"

which Halliwell compares with Pyramus's address to Wall, v. 1. 181 : "O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss!"

There are many similarities between the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe as related in Golding's Ovid and Shakespeare's interlude. We give the former in full from Halliwell's Introduction to the play:

"Within the towne (of whose huge walles so monstrous high and thicke,
The fame is given Semiramis for making them of bricke.)
Dwelt hard together two young folke in houses joynde so nere,
That under all one roofe well nie both twaine convayed were.
The name of him was Pyramus, and Thisbe called was she;
So faire a man in all the East was none alive as he,

Nor nere a woman, mayde, nor wife, in beautie like to her.

This neigh-brod bred acquaintance first, this neigh-brod first did ster
The secret sparkes: this neigh-brod first an entrance in did show

For love, to come to that to which it afterward did grow.

And if that right had taken place, they had beene man and wife;
But still their parents went about to let which (for their life)

They could not let. For both their hearts with equal flame did burne;

*Besieged.

Wake-plays, or funeral games.