From Twelfth Night Or What You Will. Ed. Kenneth Deighton. London: Macmillan.
1. even now, but a moment ago.
2, 3. on a moderate ... hither, walking fairly fast I have got
only so far; for on, = at, see Abb. § 180.
5. to have taken, by taking; see Abb. § 356.
5, 7. She adds ... him; she further enjoins upon you to assure
your master, so clearly that he will be obliged to give up all
hope, that she will not have anything to do with him in the way
of marriage: for should, = ought, see Abb. § 323.
7, 9. that you he ... this: she enjoins upon you that you should
never again venture to come to her as his agent except in order
to report how he takes his refusal; for the omission of 'as' after
so, see Abb. § 281.
9. Receive it so, understand her message in that sense; cp. iii.
1. 113, below, "To one of your receiving enough is shown";
Macb. i. 7. 74, 77. Schmidt takes the word literally of receiving
the ring.
10. She took ... me; Knight remarks that Viola wishes to
"screen Olivia from the suspicions of her servant."
11. peevishly, in a pet, with a gesture of childish vexation.
12. should ... returned, should be thrown to you as you threw
it to her.
13. in your eye, before you, so that you can see it. be it ... it, let him who finds it, keep it.
15. Fortune ... her! heaven forbid that she should have fallen
in love with my looks! For the insertion of not, where we
already have a negative in forbid, see Abb. § 408.
16. She made ... me; she looked at me closely, observed me
with close attention.
17. That sure ... tongue, that her eyes seemed to have deprived
her tongue of the power of speech; so completely was she engrossed in observing me that she was unable to use her tongue to
any purpose; for lose, in a causal sense, cp. Lear. i. 2. 125, "it
shall lose thee nothing."
18. in starts, by fits and starts, not connectedly.
19, 20. the cunning ... messenger. Her love for me has suggested to her this cunning way of inviting me, through her
messenger, to visit her again.
22. I am the man, it is I with whom she is in love, if it ... 'tis,
if matters really are as I am sure they are.
23. she were ... love, she would do better to fall in love with,
etc. For this ungrammatical remnant of ancient usage, see Abb.
§ 230.
25. the pregnant enemy, "the dexterous fiend, or enemy of
mankind" (Johnson); for pregnant = full of devices, cp. M. M.
i. 1. 12. does much, accomplishes much of his purposes.
26, 7. How easy ... forms! How easy it is for those who are
at the same time handsome and deceitful to stamp their image
apon the impressionable hearts of women. For the sentiment,
cp. Oth. i. 3. 403, 4, "He hath a person and a smooth dispose To be suspected, framed to make women false"; for waxen, cp.
Lucr. 1240, "For men have marble, women waxen minds." For
proper false, Wright compares iii. 4. 352, below, "beauteous-evil."
29. For such ... be, for we are such as the material of which we
are made.
30. fadge, turn out; what will be the result of this? but with
the feeling that it will not turn out well; cp. L. L. L. v. 1. 154,
"We will have, if this fadge not (i.e. does not succeed), an
antique": "from M.E. fegen ... to fit, suit, ... from A.S. fegan, to compact, fit" ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict.).
31. poor monster, with a reference, as Delius points out, to
her double character as a man and as a woman; but also,
perhaps, meaning 'poor wretch whose thoughts (in loving the
Duke) are so inordinate.' fond ... him, am as foolishly in love
with him; dote on him as much; for the verb fond, see Abb. §
290.
33, 4. As I am ... love, in my assumed character of a man, I
have no hopes of winning my master's love.
35. As I am ... breathe, in my real character of a woman, what
grief I am entailing upon Olivia!
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How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night Or What You Will. Ed. Kenneth Deighton. London: Macmillan, 1889. Shakespeare Online. 20 Dec. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/twn_2_2.html >.