Note to Hamlet, 3.2.84: "Vulcan's stithy"


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Hamlet,
Act 3, Scene 2, line 84
A "stithy" (now called "smithy" or "forge") is a furnace in which metals are melted so that they can be worked into useful shape. It was a hot and dirty place, or, as Hamlet calls it, "foul."

Vulcan was a Roman god of fire, arms, and armor, and he was associated with volcanoes. 



The Forge of Vulcan by Diego Velázquez, (1630).
Image source: Wikipedia: Vulcan (mythology)