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| Sir Francis Drake 1541? - 1596 |
| Source: WWW.COLONIALZONE-DR.COM |
1. fat: vat-room (?); or stuffy (?).
4. loggerheads: blockheads.
6-7. sworn brother: Allusion to the practice of becoming fratres jurati.
7. leash: set of three. drawers: tapsters, waiters. —Both the "tapster" and "drawer" have the same origin. The person's main duty was to draw liquor from kegs by turning the tap.
11. Jack: fellow. —Also, Sir John Falstaff's nickname is "Jack."
12. Corinthian: gay fellow with suggestion of profligacy.
15. dyeing scarlet: —Perhaps an allusion to the complexion of hard drinkers.
16. breathe in your watering: stop for breath while drinking.
17. play: drink.
19. tinker in his own language: Tinkers' language was cant or jargon, and tinkers were proverbial drinkers.
23. sugar: Used to sweeten certain wines, especially sack.
24. under-skinker: under-tapster; waiter's assistant.
27. Anon: at once, coming. Score: i.e., chalk up, charge. bastard: sweet Spanish wine.
28. Half-Moon: —Rooms in inns were often given special names.
30. puny: inexperienced.
33. precedent: example.
38. Pomgarnet: Pomegranate, another room in the tavern.
45. by'r lady: by Our Lady [i.e., the Virgin]. —This was a common oath.
47. indenture: apprentice's contract [which was normally for seven years].
49. books: i.e., Bibles.
54. Michaelmas: September 29.
69-71. Wilt thou rob this . . . Spanish-pouch: —Francis, out of hero-worship, has given the Prince some extra sugar. Now the Prince asks, ironically, if he will really rob (by giving away extra sugar) his boss, the Vinter, who is conspicuously wealthy.
70. not-pated: closecropped; crop-haired. agate-ring: —An agate-ring is a ring with a stone of agate, which looks flashy, but is cheap. puke: dark woollen. caddis-garter: worsted garter. Since garters were worn in sight, they needed to be of better stuff than common worsted. The prince's epithets seem to apply to the vintner, the boy's master.
71. Spanish: of [very fine] Spanish leather.
73-75. Why, then, your brown bastard is your only drink; for look you, Francis, your white canvas doublet will sully: in Barbary, sir, it cannot come to so much: —The Prince talks nonsense to confuse Francis, and also implies that Francis better stick with things he's familiar with, such as the "brown bastard" (a sweet Spanish wine) that he serves and the white canvas doublet that he wears, and that he should not run away.
**. amazed: thoroughly confused.
90-91. what cunning match have you made with this jest of the drawer? come, what's the issue?: i.e., what trick are you up to in confusing the waiter? how is it going to turn out?
93. goodman: common title for a farmer or yeoman.
94. pupil age: i.e., the day is young (pupil = youthful).
100-101. parcel of a reckoning: items of a bill.
107. drench: medicinal drink.
110. brawn: fat pig or boar.
111. Rivo!: —This is an exclamation of carefree enjoyment, like the modern (C.E. 2008) "hoo-ha!"
114. of: on.
116. nether stocks: stockings.
118. virtue: manliness.
120. Titan: the sun.
121. pitiful-hearted Titan: Theobald suggested butter for Titan, which still seems the best way to explain this apparently contradictory passage. that: i.e., the butter.
123. compound: melting butter, i.e., Falstaff.
124. lime: Sometimes used as an additive to wine to increase its sparkle.
130. shotten herring: [as thin as] a herring that has spawned.
132. the while: in these [bad] times.
133. weaver: allusion to psalm-singing Protestants from Flanders, mainly weavers. sing psalms: Elizabethan weavers, many of whom were strong Protestants, were notorious for psalm-singing.
137. dagger of lath: wooden stick used on stage and in puppet-shows. Also, The Vice in the interlude was so armed, as no doubt other clowns were.
155. All's one for that: i.e., no matter what you say, it's all the same.
164. at half-sword: i.e., fighting at close quarters.
167. doublet: Elizabethan upper garment like a jacket. hose: close-fitting breeches. buckler: shield.
169. ecce signum: behold the proof. Familiar words from the Mass. —Latin. dealt: i.e., fought.
179. Ebrew: Hebrew.
183. other: others.
192. paid: i.e., killed.
193. buckram: coarse linen cloth stiffened.
194. horse: i.e., a stupid animal.
195. ward: parry; guard in fencing. lay: stood.
200. a-front: abreast. mainly: powerfully.
202. target: shield.
206. by these hilts: i.e., by the pommel, haft, etc., of my sword. villain: i.e., no gentleman.
214. points: sword points. —But Poins makes a joke by taking "points" to mean fabric tags, or "laces," that hold up stockings by attaching them to the doublet.
216. followed me: A sort of reflexive or middle voice.
217. with a thought: as quick as thought.
222. Kendal: town in Westmorland noted for its textiles. Also, a green cloth worn by foresters.
226. gross: obvious.
227. knotty-pated: thick-headed.
228. tallow-catch: Explained as "tallow-tub" and as "tallow-keech," a roll of fat delivered by the butcher to the tallow chandler. It has been pointed out that such breathless strings of epithets of abuse are characteristic of Latin comedy.
237. strappado: a form of torture.
239. reasons were as plentiful as blackberries: Falstaff not only avoids the issue, but also turns it into a jest by punning on the word "raisons," which was pronounced nearly like reasons.
241. sanguine: ruddy.
245. neat's: ox's. stock-fish: dried cod.
248. standing-tuck: rapier standing on end.
256. with a word: to be brief. out-faced: frightened, bluffed.
263. starting-hole: point of shelter (like a rabbit's hole), refuge, loophole; i.e., excuse.
264. apparent: obvious.
277. watch: stay awake (see Matthew 26:41).
281. argument: subject.
290-291. Give him as much as will make him a royal man, and send him back again to my mother: i.e., give him a little bribe and get rid of him for good. —The Prince is making an impudent joke. The nobleman has a message from the Prince's royal father, and a little later we learn that the message is that the Prince's presence is required at court because a battle against the Percies and their allies is imminent. The Prince must have a very good idea of the nature of the nobleman's message, but instead he pretends that the "nobleman" is a man with a noble (a coin worth 6 shillings & 8 pennies), so that if he is given an extra 3 shillings and 4 pennies, he will have a royal (a coin worth 10 shillings). Also, I have interpreted the phrase, "send him back to my mother" as "get rid of him for good," since the Prince's mother was dead.
298. fair: well.
306. swear truth out of England: i.e., swear lies so strongly that truth is banished from England. but he would: if he did not.
312-313. I did that I did not this seven year before: i.e., I did what I haven't done for a very long time.
315. taken with the manner: caught in the act.
316-317. fire: An allusion to Bardolph's ruddy drinker's flush, the subject of the jests that follow. Bardolph is a drunkard and his flaming face is continually harped upon.
319-320. meteors, exhalations: i.e., the red blotches and carbuncles on Bardolph's face. —Meteors were thought to be exhaled from the earth through volcanic vents, and were thought to portend great human troubles, such as the assassination of Julius Caesar.
322. portend: threaten, presage (continuing the astronomical imagery of meteors and exhalations).
323. Hot livers and cold purses: i.e., livers inflamed by liquor and purses emptied to pay for it.
324. Choler . . . if rightly taken: i.e., my fiery complexion, if rightly understood, indicates a choleric temperament (which makes me quick to anger and dangerous).
325. No, if rightly taken, halter: i.e., no, if you're arrested as you deserve, you'll get the hangman's noose. —The Prince is being very witty. "Choler" sounds like "collar," which, like "halter," is a slang word for "hangman's noose."
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327. bombast: —Bombast was the cotton stuffing used to achieve the fashionably puffy "peasecod" look, as seen here in the portrait of Sir Francis Drake.
333-334. Sir John Bracy: —Most of the characters in this play are actual historical figures, but probably not this one.
336. Amamon: the name of a demon or fiend.
337. bastinado: beating on the soles of the feet with a cudgel. made Lucifer cuckold: i.e., gave Lucifer his horns (the sign of a cuckold).
338. liegeman: subject.
339. Welsh hook: pike with a curved blade; a weapon with no cross, such as a sword-hilt.
346. pistol: There were , of course, no pistols in the time of King Henry's reign.
357. blue-caps: blue bonnets, i.e., Scottish soldiers.
362. hold: continue.
370. thrill: run cold.
377. particulars: details of a private nature.
378. state: chair of state; i.e., throne.
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380. join'd-stool: joint stool. A stool made by a joiner, hence, of rough workmanship. —The most common piece of furniture in a tavern.
382. bald crown: bald pate.
386. in passion: with deep emotion.
387. in King Cambyses' vein: i.e., in a style of ludicrous and old-fashioned rant, like that of Thomas Preston's bombastic tragedy Cambyses, an early Elizabethan play, still preserved.
388. here is my leg: —The Prince makes a gracious bow, such as would be seen at court. Such a bow featured the forward extension of the right leg, and was called "making a leg."
392. holds his countenance: keeps a straight face.
393. convey: escort hence. tristful: sorrowful.
396. harlotry: knavish vagabond.
397. tickle-brain: strong drink.
400. camomile: This parodies an actual passage in Lyly's Euphues, and exaggerates the balance and alliteration of the style.
405. warrant: assure.
407. pointed at: gossiped about, made fun of.
408. micher: truant.
409. England: i.e., the King of England.
413. ancient writers: See the Apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus (13:1): "He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that hath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride." This proverb appears also in Lyly's Euphues.
416. passion: sorrow.
422. portly: stately, imposing. corpulent: full-fleshed.
426. lewdly given: wickedly inclined.
427-428. If then the tree may be known by the fruit: — See Matthew 12:33: "the tree is known by the fruit." (KJV)
429. peremptorily: decisively.
431. naughty varlet: ill-behaved boy.
437. rabbit-sucker: unweaned rabbit. poulter's: poulterer's.
438. set: seated (i.e., on the "throne").
443-444. I'll tickle ye for a young prince: I'll play the role of a young prince so as to tickle you.
445. ungracious: graceless.
449. converse: associate. humors: i.e., diseases.
450. bolting-hutch: miller's bin used to store flour.
451. bombard: large leathern drinking vessel.
452. Manningtree: town in Essex, a region noted for fat oxen. The town had noted fairs where, no doubt, oxen were roasted whole.
453. pudding: stuffing. vice: mischievously comic stock character in allegorical medieval plays. —"Iniquity" (line 454) is another name for him. He was a "misleader of youth" (lines 462-63).
456. cleanly: adroit, dextrous.
457. cunning: skillful.
460-461. take me with you: make me understand.
469. saving your reverence: i.e., excuse me for using an offensive term.
473. Pharaoh's lean kine: —In the Biblical story of Joseph, the Pharaoh of Egypt has a dream in which seven skinny cows eat seven fat cows, portending seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. The skinny cows are described as "ill favoured and lean-fleshed kine" (Genesis 41:4, KJV).
483. watch: a body of constables.
487-488. the devil rides upon a fiddlestick: —This is a proverb meaning that some meaningless mischief is afoot.
491-493. never call a true piece of gold a counterfeit: thou art essentially made, without seeming so: —It's clear that Falstaff doesn't want the sheriff to come in and arrest him, but his exact meaning here is not clear. Perhaps Falstaff considers the prince to be the "true piece of gold," made of the right essence, even though he doesn't seem to be. Because he is made of the right stuff, the prince wouldn't turn his buddy Falstaff over to the sheriff.
495. major: major premise or proposition. Falstaff denies that he is a natural coward; he does not deny that he is affected by instinct deny the sheriff: i.e., refuse to admit him.
496. cart: i.e., hangman's cart, tumbril.
500. arras: tapestry wall-hangings.
501. true: honest.
507. hue and cry: pursuit of criminals by horn and halloo; technical term.
514. engage: pledge.
517. withal: with.
524. good morrow: i.e., past midnight.
526. Paul's: St. Paul's Cathedral, a familiar landmark.
539. ob.: Abbreviation for obolus (Greek coin); halfpenny. —A shilling ("s" in Falstaff's receipt) is worth twelve pennies ("d," denier, penny), so Falstaff's bill shows that he was charged more than three times more for sack and anchovies than for his meal.
541. deal: lot.
542. close: secret. more advantage: a more opportune time.
545-546. charge of foot: command of a troop of infantry.
546-547. his death will be a march of twelve-score: i.e., a march of 240 yards will kill him. Twelve-score yards is a distance familiar from its use in archery.
548. advantage: interest. betimes: early.
