Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (52 page)

96
Expecting ever
always awaiting the time

96
envious
malicious

97
brinish
briny, salty

101
spurn
kick, blow

105
lively
living

109
this
this time, now

112
honey-dew
sweet sticky substance found on the leaves and stems of plants, excreted by aphids but formerly believed to be akin to dew

121
do thee ease
comfort you, bring you some relief

126
miry
muddy

128
clearness
i.e. the pure water of the
fountain

131
dumb shows
mimes; frequently included in early drama

134
device
scheme, plan/dramatic performance

139
wot
know

140
napkin
handkerchief

148
sympathy
agreement, union

149
Limbo
dwelling place of the unbaptized, on the borders of hell

169
castle
helmet, i.e. head/fortress

170
none of both
neither of you

179
meet
fit

184
spare
save, leave unharmed (but Titus privately intends the sense of “do without”)

192
that you’ll say
i.e. you will realize that I have deceived you

193
stay your strife
stop arguing

195
warded
protected

197
that
i.e. burial

198
account of
consider/value

200
dear
costly/precious

200
mine own
what already belonged to me by right

202
Look
expect

204
fat
nourish/delight

205
fair
pale-faced/virtuous

208
ruin
i.e. his mutilated body

212
welkin
sky

215
with possibilities
realistically

218
passions
outbursts of feeling

222
o’erflow
become flooded

225
coil
turmoil

226
her
i.e. Lavinia’s

228
be movèd
become choppy/be emotionally affected

231
For why
because

231
bowels
core, interior

234
stomachs
bellies/resentments

239
sports
entertainments

240
That
so that

242
Aetna
volcano in
Sicily

245
some deal
somewhat

246
flouted
mocked

248
shrink
wither through blood loss

249
bear his name
continue to be called life

252
starvèd
benumbed with cold

254
flattery
self-delusion

257
dear
grievous

260
control
try to restrain

270
tributary
paid as a tribute/like tributary rivers

273
threat
warn, give ominous indication

274
mischiefs
misfortunes/injuries

277
heavy
sorrowful

292
pledges
those left behind as bail (i.e. his family)

294
tofore
formerly

295
nor
neither

296
But
except

299
Tarquin … queen
the last King of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, was expelled after his son Sextus Tarquinius raped Lucrece; Lucius Junius Brutus led the people in an uprising that saw the establishment of a republic

300
power
army

Act 3 Scene 2

3.2
Location: Rome
(
Titus’ house
)

3.2
banquet
light meal

4
sorrow-wreathen knot
Marcus’ arms are folded in a gesture denoting grief

5
want
lack

6
passionate
express with passion

8
tyrannize
i.e. thump violently

9
Who
which (referring to
hand
)

12
map
image/epitome

13
outrageous
violent/excessive

15
sighing
each sigh was thought to drain a drop of blood from the heart

19
sink
pool or pit for waste water/receptacle

20
fool
term of endearment

22
tender
young

23
dote
act foolish/deranged

27
Aeneas
in Virgil’s
Aeneid
, Dido asks Aeneas to tell the story of the fall of
Troy
, to which he responds that to repeat it would renew his grief

30
still
continually

31
franticly
frenziedly/foolishly

31
square
shape

34
fall to
begin eating

38
meshed
mashed (i.e. brewed)

39
complainer
one who laments

40
action
performance/oratorical gesture

40
perfect
perfectly acquainted

43
wink
close the eyes

45
still
constant

46
grandsire
grandfather

48
tender
young/tender-hearted/sensitive

49
heaviness
sorrow

54
Out on thee
expression of reproachful indignation

62
buzz lamenting doings
tell of sorrowful deeds

66
ill-favoured
ugly

71
insult on
triumph scornfully over

72
Flattering … if
deluding myself into believing

75
sirrah
sir (used to an inferior)

79
wrought on
worked on, affected

81
take away
clear the table

82
closet
private room

83
chancèd
that occurred

85
dazzle
grow blurred

Act 4 Scene 1

4.1
Location: Rome
(
outside Titus’ house
)

9
somewhat
something

12
Cornelia
Roman mother, exemplary for educating her sons, the Gracchi, who became notable political reformers

14
Tully’s
Orator
Cicero’s
De Oratore
, a widely studied treatise on rhetoric

15
plies
importunes, behaves insistently toward

20
I … Troy
in Ovid’s
Metamorphoses
, Hecuba became frenzied with grief and eventually turned into a dog

24
fury
a fit of madness

27
go
accompany us

33
deeper … skilled
i.e. prepared for more advanced reading than Young Lucius’ schoolroom texts

35
beguile
while away

38
in sequence
one after the other

40
fact
crime

41
heaves
lifts

42
tosseth
turns the leaves of

46
culled
selected

47
Soft
wait a moment/hush

51
annoy
mental anguish

52
quotes
observes, examines

53
surprised
seized, ambushed

55
vast
desolate

59
Patterned by that
on the pattern of that which

62
tragedies
dire events (with a play on the idea of theatrical tragedies)

65
Or … erst
or was it not
Saturnine
who slunk as
Tarquin
once did

68
Apollo … Mercury
Apollo was associated with the discovery of the truth, Pallas Athene with the law, Jove with the punishment of crime, and the messenger-god Mercury with carrying forward the will of Jove

71
plain
flat, smooth

72
after me
following my example

74
shift
means, expedient

76
discovered
revealed

80
Stuprum
“rape” (Latin)

83
Magni … vides?
“Ruler of the great heavens, are you so slow to hear crimes, so slow to see?” (Latin; from Seneca’s
Hippolytus
)

88
exclaims
outcries, protests

90
Roman Hector’s hope
Hector was the greatest of the Trojan warriors, so Lucius is claimed as a Roman equivalent; his son Young Lucius is his
hope
for the future

91
fere
spouse

94
prosecute … advice
pursue by well-considered means

96
reproach
shame, disgrace

97
an
if

99
dam
mother

99
wind
get wind of

100
lion
i.e. Saturnine

101
playeth … back
rolls playfully/has sex with him

102
do
plays on the sense of “have sex (with)”

102
list
pleases

103
young
inexperienced

104
leaf
sheet

105
gad
sharp spike, applied to a stylus or pen

107
Sibyl’s leaves
the Sibyl (female prophet) of Cumae wrote her prophecies on leaves which were sometimes blown away before there was time to read them

111
bondmen
slaves

116
fit
equip (with arms)

116
withal
in addition

123
brave it
swagger defiantly, make a show

124
marry
by the Virgin Mary

124
be waited on
i.e. not ignored as we have been formerly

126
compassion
pity

127
ecstasy
fit of madness

Act 4 Scene 2

4.2
Location: Rome
(
exact location unspecified
)

6
confound
destroy

7
Gramercy
great thanks

8
deciphered
discovered/interpreted, read (referring to Lavinia’s writing of their names)

10
well advised
after careful consideration, in his right mind

16
appointed
equipped

20
‘Integer … arcu’
“The man of upright life and free from crime does not need the javelins or bows of the Moor” (Latin; from Horace’s
Odes
)

23
grammar
school textbook (the quotation appears in William Lily’s Latin grammar, widely used in schools from 1540 onward)

24
just
just so, precisely

26
no sound jest
said in irony; the jest could not be sounder

28
That … quick
i.e. the message touches the matter to its very heart, but the boys are so stupid that they don’t sense it

29
witty
clever

29
afoot
up and about

30
conceit
ingenious conception

31
her unrest
Tamora is in labor

32
happy
fortunate

36
brave
defy, be insolent toward

38
insinuate
Demetrius has misinterpreted Titus’ message as a strategy for gaining entrance at court