Richard III

Please see the bottom of this page for full explanatory notes.

ACT III SCENE VI	The same.
	Enter a Scrivener, with a paper in his hand.
Scrivener	This is the indictment of the good Lord Hastings;
	Which in a set hand fairly is engross'd,
	That it may be this day read over in Paul's.
	And mark how well the sequel hangs together:	4
	Eleven hours I spent to write it over,
	For yesternight by Catesby was it brought me;
	The precedent was full as long a-doing:
	And yet within these five hours lived Lord Hastings,
	Untainted, unexamined, free, at liberty	9
	Here's a good world the while! Why who's so gross,
	That seeth not this palpable device?
	Yet who's so blind, but says he sees it not?
	Bad is the world; and all will come to nought,
	When such bad dealings must be seen in thought.	14
	Exit

Richard III, Act 3, Scene 7

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Explanatory Notes for Act 3, Scene 6

From King Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard.

Abbreviations. — A.-S. = Anglo-Saxon: M.E. = Middle English (from the 13th to the 15th century) ; Fr. = French ; Ger. = German ; Gr. = Greek ; Cf. = compare (Lat. confer) ; Abbott refers to the excellent Shakespearean Grammar of Dr. Abbott; Schmidt, to Dr. Schmidt's invaluable Shakespeare Lexicon.

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2. Set, regular.

3. Paul's, at St. Paul's Cross, where there was a kind of pulpit erected, from which the people were often addressed.

4. Sequel, that which follows.

7. Precedent, the original draft.

9. Untainted, not stained by any charge. Cf. attainder, III. v. 32.

10. Gross, dull of perception.

14. When this ill-doing must be seen only in thought, not spoken of.

How to cite the explanatory notes:

Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard, 1886. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiii_3_6.html >.

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