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1997Shakespearean prompt-books of the seventeenth century
Shakespearean prompt-books of the seventeenth century, vol. 8 William Shakespeare Editor G. Blakemore EvansIssued in portfolios. The prompt-books are reproduced in collotype facsimile.
Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 1996 Sha8CEPShakespearean prompt-books of the seventeenth century
Prepared for the University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center.
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Library of Congress Subject Headings 1960-1996 English drama; prose LCSH 24-bit color; 400 dpi July 1997 corrector Catherine Tousignant, Electronic Text Center
PROMPT-BOOKS
of the
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Vol. VIII
King Lear, Henry VIII,
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors
The Winter's Tale Edited by
G. Blakemore Evans A Publication of
The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia Charlottesville 1996
Smock Alley
The Comedy of Errors
Third Folio
Introduction
THE Smock Alley Comedy of Errors, like the Smock Alley Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale, strictly considered, is not a prompt-book. It contains no scene settings, actors' names, advance character calls, calls for stage properties or sound effects, and act notations.[1] What it offers is a text of the play as it appears in the Third Folio (1663/ 64) fairly heavily cut for acting, possibly, as R. C. Bald has suggested, to be presented as an afterpiece.[2]
If we accept Bald's suggestion, the Errors PB should most probably be dated sometime after 1700, since before that date afterpieces were rarely included as part of an evening at the theatre.[3] Though considerably cut the Errors PB is still somewhat too long (about 1,215 lines) for the average afterpiece,[4] and such external and internal evidence as the prompt-book affords, admittedly slender, suggests that it was probably prepared at Smock Alley sometime before 1700. It was, we know, part of the same copy of the Third Folio in which the seventeenth-century Smock Alley prompt-books were prepared before that volume was finally broken up by Halliwell-Phillipps around the middle of the nineteenth century.[5] This common provenience, though suggestive, proves nothing, of course, so far as dating is concerned. Internal evidence in the Errors PB depends entirely on an analysis of the revising hands responsible for the cutting.
The Errors PB contains one main revising hand (Hand I). Hand I is responsible, I believe, for most of the cutting, a few changes in the Folio stage directions, all but possibly three of the linking bits of added dialogue, and probably the greater number of the single word substitutions. So far as I am able to judge, Hand I occurs nowhere else in the Smock Alley prompt-books and so offers no relatively datable link with other Smock Alley prompt-hands. What appears to be a second hand (Hand II) is found most clearly in a number of 'stet' notations (see I.i.99-109; III.i.86-106; III.ii.33-40; V.i.52-54, 58, 61), notations that are noticeably and consistently different from Hand I's 'stet' notations.[6] Besides restoring some of Hand I's cuts, Hand II is probably responsible for some of the single word substitutions and perhaps for three of the linking tags (see I.i.65-78, 88-95; III.i.108-114). Hand II may be the same as Hand II in the Smock Alley Henry VIII (see 'stet' at I.iv.37-38; II.ii.97-107; II.iv.38), a hand that also appears in the Smock Alley Lear (Hand II) and perhaps as Hand V in the Smock Alley Hamlet. Whether, however, Hand II's work as a whole, apart from the use of 'stet', in Errors and Henry VIII, is indeed by the same hand, it is, I think, nearly certain that at least the 'stet' notations, associated above with Hand II in both plays, are by the same hand, in themselves representing possibly a third hand common to both prompt-books. This 'stet' link, then, between Errors and Henry VIII, since the Henry VIII PB can be dated as not later than 1682,[7] suggests (though does not prove) a seventeenth-century provenience for the Smock Alley Errors.
Already the shortest of Shakespeare's plays (1,753 lines),[8] the Third Folio text of Errors has been cut by about 538 lines (a figure including half-lines), leaving a play of about 1,215 lines. The principal cuts (of 10 lines or more) are: I.i.65-78; II.i.8-42, 88-111; II.ii.26-40, 65-111, 32-148, 172-182; III.i.87- 97; III.ii.45-58, 159-169; IV.iii.16-35; V.i.75-84, 92-108, 138-154, 231-253, 397-406. Adriana's role is proportionately the most heavily cut, and the character of Balthazar has been omitted, his lines, when uncut, being spoken by Angelo. In addition to his omission of Balthazar, Hand I makes two other, apparently quite senseless, rearrangements. The first occurs in III.ii, where Hand I decides to make Antipholus of Syracuse exit with Luciana at line 70, thus clearing the stage.[9] He then begins a new scene and, following line 70, brings Dromio of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus on together, these two carrying on the dialogue describing Luce the kitchen maid through line 151, at which point, realizing that only Antipholus of Syracuse could take part in the following exchange with Dromio of Syracuse, he exits Antipholus of Ephesus, after a new two-line speech (only partly legible), and enters Antipholus of Syracuse. As a result of this rearrangement, Dromio of Syracuse's farcically exaggerated description of Luce loses all point when addressed to Antipholus of Ephesus, who, as her master, must already know her. The second alteration is much slighter but equally difficult to understand. Near the end of V.i, at line 414, the first two lines of Dromio of Syracuse's speech are assigned, again by Hand I, to Dromio of Ephesus, and the third line (416) is reassigned to Dromio of Syracuse. So far as I can see, this redistribution of the dialogue makes nonsense, and I can only suppose that here (as in III.ii) Hand I has fallen victim to his own comedy of errors.
The confused nature of Hand I's alterations and the absence of the other stigmata characteristic of a prompt-book make it clear, of course, that the Smock Alley Errors could never have served as a prompt-book unlike the probably somewhat earlier 'Nursery' Errors, which was produced not later than 1677.[10] Had the Smock Alley Errors been produced, however, it would probably have been very similar to the version that emerged under Hands I and II (with Hand I's unhappy alterations ironed out). Together the 'Nursery' PB and the Smock Alley Errors extend our knowledge of the acting tradition by nearly a hundred years, the first post-Restoration performance of the play of which we possess an acting text being Thomas Hull's adaptation (acted 1762, privately printed 1770, revised edition 1793).[11]
The cuts and other changes in the Smock Alley Errors PB have been compared throughout (see Collations) with: (1) the 'Nursery' Comedy of Errors PB (not later than 1677; about 1,375 lines), (2) Thomas Hull's 1793 revised adaptation of The Comedy of Errors (about 1,544 lines); (3) The Comedy of Errors (about 1,565 lines), edited by Francis Gentleman in Vol. VIII, 1774, of John Bell's Shakespeare's Plays, As they were performed at the Theatres Royal in London (Gentleman only suggests cuts but claims no authority for them as representing performance at either Drury Lane or Covent Garden); (4) The Comedy of Errors in Mrs. Inchbald's British Theatre, Vol. I (1808), essentially Hull's adaptation (see Collations); (5) John Philip Kemble's acting text (1815) of The Comedy of Errors (essentially the same as Inchbald; see Collations). Occasional reference is made to the Douai MS of The Comedy of Errors (l694);[12] the so-called Collier MS; and William Woods' The Twins, or Which Is Which (1780; see note 4).
1. The Smock Alley Errors will be referred to by the abbreviation PB. It is worth noting, perhaps, that the Smock Alley Midsummer Night's Dream, though only an unacted cutting like the Errors PB, includes scene settings (see Vol. VII of this series). It is possible, therefore, that the absence of scene settings in Errors reflects the revisers' intention to use a single setting for the whole play (see Introduction to the Smock Alley Henry VIII PB, p. 19). Capell first introduced a single setting ('Ephesus. A publick Place.') and is followed by Gentleman (see below); Hull, Inchbald, and Kemble (see below) introduce a number of scene changes, following Pope.
2. "Shakespeare on the Stage in Restoration Dublin," PMLA, 56 (1941) 373.
3. See The London Stage 1660-1800, Part I: 1660-1700 (ed. William Van Lennep, 1965), p. cxxxix; Part II: 1700-1729 (ed. E. L. Avery, 1960), pp. cxvi-cxx.
4. The Comedy of Errors was made into an afterpiece, and so described, entitled The Twins, or Which Is Which by William Woods and acted at Edinburgh in 1780, Woods himself playing the role of Antipholus of Ephesus (the text was published in John Bell's British Theatre, Vol. XV, 1780, pp. 1-21). Errors is there cut to under 800 lines.
5. S. W. Singer, The Text of Shakespeare Vindicated (1853), pp. vi-vii.
6. Hand I's form of 'Stet' (capital 'S', Secretary 'e', both 't's uncrossed, see I.i.32-36; II.i.86-l06; IV.i.110-113; IV.iii.83-92; V.i.92-112, 341-345) differs from Hand II's form of 'stet' (lower case 's', italic 'e', both 't's crossed) and appears very similar to the form used by Hand I in the Smock Alley Henry VIII PB (see II.iv.64-68, 69). Since, however, apart from 'Stet', Hand I in Errors is markedly different from Hand I in Henry VIII and since there is good reason for believing that 'Stet' is the work of the otherwise different Hand I in each play, this particular form of 'Stet' furnishes no link between Errors and Henry VIII.
7. See Introduction to the Smock Alley Henry VIII PB, p. 17.
8. My line-count is based on Alfred Hart's total of 1,753 lines for the whole play (Review of English Studies, 8 [1932], 21).
9. See F stage directions altered , III.i.69, 70 s.d., 151, 152; Textual cuts and textual changes, III.ii.151.
10. See Vol. III: Part i of this series, p. 7.
11. The earliest recorded post-Restoration performance of The Comedy of Errors did not take place until 1741 (acting text not extant); two earlier adaptations, Every Body Mistaken (1716) and See If You Like It (1734), were never published. An account of the principal cuts and additions in Hull's 1770 and 1793 texts may be found in C. B. Hogan, Shakespeare in the Theatre, 1701-1800 II (1957), 149 150 (see also I [1952], 98-99, for information on earlier eighteenth-century performances).
12. See G. Blakemore Evans, "The Douai Manuscript--Six Shakespeare Transcripts (1694-95)," Philological Quarterly, 41 (1962), 158-172.
Collations
The Comedy of Errors
THE following collations are arranged by category. The act, scene, and line numbering is that of the Globe Text (1911 ed.). Angle brackets are used to indicate letters (or words) illegible or shaved in binding. Abbreviations employed are as follows:
- Collier MS . . . . . . . . the Collier-Perkins Second Folio, (1632), in the Huntington Library
- Douai MS . . . . . . . . MS of The Comedy of Errors (1694), in the Douai Public Library
- F ............ . . . . . . . . . . . here used for Third Folio (1663/64)
- Ff. . . . . . . .indicates substantial agreement of all four Folio texts of The Comedy of Errors
- Gentleman . . .. . . . . Francis Gentleman, ea., The Comedy of Errors, in Bell's Shakespeare's Plays, Vol. VIII (1774)
- Hull . .................. . . Thomas Hull's adaptation of The Comedy of Errors (1793)
- Hull+.......................indicates substantial agreement of Hull, Inchbald, Kemble
- Inchbald ..................The Comedy of Errors, in Mrs. Inchbald's British Theatre, Vol. I (1808)
- Kemble . . . . . . . . . J. P. Kemble's acting version of The Comedy of Errors (1815)
- NPB . . . . . . . . . .......'Nursery' Comedy of Errors prompt-book
- PB.............................Smock Alley, Comedy of Errors prompt-book
- s.d. . . . . . . . . . . stage direction (plural s.dd.)
- Woods . . . . . . .William Woods' The Twins, or Which Is Which (1780) in Bell's British Theatre. Vol. XV (1780)
Since the Smock Alley PB of The Comedy of Errors contains no scene settings (like the 'Nursery' PB; see Vol. III of this series), actors' names, advance character calls, calls for stage properties or sound effects, and act notations, the following collations have been divided into only two categories: F stage directions altered; new stage directions added and Textual cuts and textual changes (the second category combining what are usually treated as separate categories because the principal textual changes are immediately related to textual cuts.
F stage directions altered; new stage directions added
III.i
(opening s.d.) and Balthazar Crossed through, Hand I. Hand I cuts out the character of Balthazar and gives his lines to Angelo but fails to delete 'the Merchant' in the F s.d., which here describes Balthazar. Hull and Woods retain Balthazar (but Hull omits him from the list of 'Dramatis Personae'); Inchbald, Kemble omit Balthazar (but Inchbald retains him in the 'Dramatis Personae').
III.ii
69 hand.] hand. Exit Hand I. From its position (in the right margin opposite the end of Antipholus of Syracuse's speech) Hand I's 'Exit' seems to apply only to Antipholus of Syracuse, leaving Luciana to get off as best she may (F1 gives Luciana an 'Exit.' at 70 [omitted F2-3] and Ff leave Antipholus of Syracuse on stage, continuing the scene). 70 s.d. Enter Dromio, Siracusia. & Anti: of E<ph.>] Hand I begins a new scene here and enters Antipholus of Ephesus (having exited Antipholus of Syracuse at 69). This is, of course, the wrong Antipholus, but that the change was intentional is shown by the added s.dd. at 151 and 152 (see Introduction, p. 75). 151 wheel. Exit Ant. Eph.] Hand I inserts (to left of center rule) this s.d. following the end of Dromio of Syracuse's speech (143-151), but he first gives Antipholus of Ephesus a two-line speech (see Textual cuts and textual changes). 152 <En>ter Sir. Ant. Go hie] Hand I here enters Antipholus of Syracuse, thus restoring the F assignment of speeches for the remainder of the scene.
![69 hand.]](images/com3269.jpg){kind=link}
![70 s.d. Enter Dromio, Siracusia. & Anti: of E<ph.>]](images/com3270.jpg){kind=link}
V.i
126 s.d. Enter Adriana and Lucio.] Crossed through. Hand ?I is misled by s.dd. first appearing in F2 following 117 ('Exeunt'), at 117 ('Enter Merchant and Goldsmith.'), 128 ('Enter . . . Lucio.'), 132 ('Enter Adriana.'), which, as in PB, appear to begin a new scene, the 'Exeunt' following 117 clearing the stage; in canceling the direction at 128 ('Enter . . . Lucio.'), Hand ?I, retaining the entry for Adriana at 132, fails to retain an entry for Luciana, who speaks at 129 ('Lucio' is a mistake in F2-4 for 'Luciana'). Pope is the first editor to restore the F1 arrangement and is followed by all later acting versions.
Textual cuts and textual changes
I.i
8-9 Who wanting . . . blouds,] Possibly bracketed for deletion (NPB cuts 5-12). 32-36 A heavier . . . leave.] 32 crossed through; 33-36 boxed and crisscrossed; restored by Hand I with 'Stet' in left margin. NPB cuts 33 ('vnspeakable . . .')-35; Hull+ cut 33-35 and rewrite 36. 39 And by . . . bad:] Circled (so Hull+; NPB cuts 39-50 ['had . . . became'], substituting 'ere she became'). 42-46 till my...under 47-49 the pleasing punishment. . . was:] Boxed and crisscrossed; Hand I substitutes, in right margin, with a cross before 42 and after 48, 'where sone / wee liv'd' (probably 'time' after 'sone' has been shaved off in binding and Hand I intended to write 'some' instead of 'sone', thus reading 'where some time / wee liv'd'). See 39 for NPB; Hull+ reduce to 'By prosperous traffic 'till my factor's death, / Drew us unwillingly to Epidamnum.' 50 she] wee Hand ?II (so Hull+). 62 we not saild] Hand ?II inserts 'not' after F 'we'. 65-78 Gave any . . . us.] Partly boxed and crisscrossed; Hand ?II substitutes, in right margin, with a cross following 'deep' (64), 'ran [sic] was t< > / to watry m t< > / tains which t< > / moment t< > / ned sure d t< > / tion' (the addition probably read 'was turn'd / to watry moun / tains which each / moment threat / ned sure destruc / tion'. NPB cuts 64-67 (substituting 'a storm aros t<e> / which Did conuay'), 70-76; Hull+ cut 70-76. 88-95 Was carried . . . came,] Boxed; 91 separately crossed through. NPB cuts 84-88; Hull+ cut 81, 85, 89-91, 94, 95 ('oh let . . .')-96. 99-109 Merch. Oh had . . . woe,] Hand II reduces these lines to 'At last Our helpless Ship was splitted in the midst; / Her part, poor soul,'; 108 ('seeming . . .')-109 crossed through, but marked 't<st> et' by Hand II; speech-prefix deleted in error. NPB cuts 99-111 ('. . . they'); Douai MS and Hull+ read 'helpless'(Hull+ following Rowe) for F 'helpful!' (es in PB); Hull+ cut 97 ('do . . .')-101, 103, 105-107, 109 ('but . . . woe,'). 116-121 And would. . . mishaps.] Boxed and crisscrossed (NPB cuts 116-118; Hull+ cut 114-115, 118-123 ['. . . to']). 133 Greecia] Hand ?II corrects F's 'Greene'; F1 Greece'. 147-149 But though . . . disparagement:] Possible cut suggested by a light short line above 147 and below 149. 151 Therefore Merchant,] Crossed through. 152 by beneficial help,] Crossed through.
![8-9 Who wanting . . . blouds,]](images/com118.jpg){kind=link}
![32-36 A heavier . . . leave.]](images/com1132.jpg){kind=link}
![39 And by . . . bad:]](images/com1139.jpg){kind=link}
![47-49 the pleasing punishment. . . was:]](images/com1142y.jpg){kind=link}
![50 she]](images/com1150.jpg){kind=link}
![62 we not saild]](images/com1162.jpg){kind=link}
![65-78 Gave any . . . us.]](images/com1165.jpg){kind=link}
![88-95 Was carried . . . came,]](images/com1188.jpg){kind=link}
I.ii
80 That stands . . . undispos'd:] Crossed through. 98-102 As nimble . . . sinne:] Boxed and crisscrossed (so NPB; so Hull+, which substitute 9 new lines in place of F 104-105).
II.i
8-42 Time is . . . trie:] 8-14 boxed and crisscrossed; 15-42 criss-crossed (so NPB; Hull+ cut 8, 21, 23, expand 31 to 9 lines, rephrase 32-35, with some rewriting throughout). A short line under the beginning of 3 suggests that the cut was originally thought of as including 4-7. 43 O Here comes] Hand ?I inserts 'O' before F 'Here'. 43 now is . . . nie.] Crossed through (NPB substitutes 'you'l/ heare news of him.' for F 'is . . . nie.'). 88-111 Whil'st I . . . will:] Cut in several stages: 88 crossed through; 89-105 boxed and crisscrossed; 106-108 boxed and crisscrossed; 110-111 boxed and crisscrossed. NPB cuts 88-116; Hull+ cut 103 and rewrite 106-111; Collier MS cuts 109-111. 116 Luc. How many . . . Jealousie?] Crossed through (so NPB, Hull+).
II.ii
26-40 Antiph. Because that . . . beaten?] Boxed and crisscrossed (NPB cuts 26-39; Gentleman suggests cutting 31-32; Hull+ cut 34-39 ['. . . shoulders, but']). 65-111 Ant. Well sir, . . . yonder?] Hand I substitutes, along right margin, 'Hold leave your prating: see who beckens / to us yonder' ('prating' written above a deleted 'jesting'). The new speech is obviously meant to be spoken by Antipholus of Syracuse, but the only indication of where it is to be inserted is a small cross placed across the center rule opposite 63 (a short speech by Dromio of Syracuse). NPB cuts 67-110; Gentleman suggests cutting 67-111; Hull+ cut 48-56, 60-111 ('. . . soft,') and add 3 lines (using F 'who wafts us yonder?' [111] before Adriana's and Luciana's entrance). 123-127 Thy self . . . love:] 123-125 boxed and crisscrossed; 126-127 separately deleted by a line under and after F 'love:'. NPB cuts 126-148; Hull+ cut 124-125. 128 gulfe,] sea Hand ?II. 130 Without addition or diminishing,] Crossed through (so Hull+; see 123-127 for NPB). 132-148 How dearly . . . undishonoured.] Crisscrossed and partly boxed (see 123-127 for NPB; Gentleman suggests cutting 134-135, 141-146; Hull cuts 142-143, 146; Inchbald, Kemble cut 131 ['and not me too.']-148). 149 dame] Lady Hand ?II. 172-182 Abetting him. . . confusion.] Crisscrossed and partly boxed; a marginal line above 170 and below 188 suggests that 170-188 was first considered as a cut. NPB cuts 173-182; Hull+ cut 171-172 end rewrite 176. 202 'Tis true . . . grasse.] Crossed through (Hull+ reduce 190-204 to 3 half-lines, place 205-213 after 214-218 [partly rewritten], and replace 219-221 with a 16-line soliloquy by Dromio of Syracuse). 210 And shrive . . . pranks:] Crossed through (so NPB; see 202 for Hull+).
III.i
2 shrewish] Peevish Hand ?II. 4 Carkanet] golden chain Hand I (Hull+ read 'bracelet'). 19 Balthazar] angelo Hand I (so Inchbald, Kemble; see F stage directions altered at III.i [opening s.d.]). 21 Bal.] Ang: Hand I (Hull+ omit 21). 22-29 E. Ant. Oh Signior . . . hart.] 22-26 boxed and crisscrossed; 27-29 separately boxed and crisscrossed; F speech-prefix cut at 27 when it was decided to cut 27-29, leaving 30 unassigned. Hull+ cut 13-18, 21-29, 33, 40-41, 45-47. 50-56 and so...blow.] Boxed and crisscrossed (NPB cuts 50-53, 55-57; Gentleman suggests cutting 52-60; Hull+ cut 49 ['Faith . . .']53, 55-57 ['. . . me in.']). 59-60 Ant. You'll cry . . . Town?] Boxed and crisscrossed (so Gentleman, Hull+). 65-68 If you . . . hither.] Boxed and crisscrossed (Gentleman suggests cutting 70-83; Hull+ replace 65-84 with 15 lines by Hull). 71-72 Your cake . . . sold.] Boxed and crisscrossed (see 65-68 for Gentleman, Hull+). 75-77 E. Dro. A man . . . hinde.] Boxed and crisscrossed (see 65-68 for Gentleman and Hull+). 85 Balth.] Ang: Hand I (cf. 19 above). 86-106 Herein you . . . possession.] Confusingly marked: the final intention seems to have been to retain 86 (perhaps 86-88) and 98-100, these lines being restored in each case by 'stet' at left of center rule, the two 'stet's (i.e., 'Stet' and 'stet'), however, being in different hands, the first by Hand I, the second by Hand II. Originally only parts of this speech seem to have been cut: 89-91 and 94-97 being separately boxed and crisscrossed, 101-102 being crossed through, with a line drawn between 100 and 101. Hand II writes 'stet' six times down the left margin, in each case opposite a separately marked group of lines, a move intended to reverse the complete cutting of the passage, which had been indicated by boxing lines and a large, heavy crisscross. Hand II's 'stet's, however, have been crossed through for 89-91 and 94-97, and all the 'stet's canceled by a vertical line drawn through them. Four stages may, therefore, be postulated: partial cutting, complete cutting, complete restoration, and a second partial cutting. NPB cuts 89-91, 98-106; Hull gives 85-93 to Balthazar, the remainder of the speech to Angelo; Inchbald, Kemble (as partially in PB) assign 85-106 to Angelo but break the speech after 93 by inserting the last four lines of Hull's addition (see 65-68). 108-114 And in . . . dinner,] Boxed and crisscrossed; Hand ?I substitutes, following 107, 'in ye / mean / time', linking with F 'get you home' in 114.
![86-106 Herein you . . . possession.]](images/com3186.jpg){kind=link}
![108-114 And in . . . dinner,]](images/com31108.jpg){kind=link}
III.ii
2-8 shall Antipholis . . . blindnesse:] Boxed and crisscrossed; Hand ?II links 2 and 9 with 'but' in left margin opposite lo; Gentleman suggests cutting 5-6, 8; Hull+, after 47 lines and a 16-line song by Hull (Kemble calls for a song but omits Hull's lyric), cut 4, 8. 11-18 Look sweet . . . boord:] 13-16 first cut (boxed and crisscrossed); then 11-12 crossed through and 11-18 boxed and crisscrossed. NPB cuts 9-24; Gentleman suggests cutting 13-20, 93; Hull+ cut 13-14. 21-22 Alas poor . . . us.] Though . . .us] Crossed through (see 11-18 for NPB, Gentleman; Hull cuts 19, 23; Inchbald, Kemble cut 19-24). 27-28 'Tis holy . . . strife.] Crossed through. 33-40 Teach me . . . yeeld.] 33-38 first boxed and crisscrossed; then 33 crossed through and included in a second crisscross, and 39-40 made part of the 33-38 cut but restored with 'stet' by Hand II, with a small cross below 'stet' to the left of center rule. NPB cuts 33-41; Gentleman suggests cutting 33-46; Hull+ cut 30-32, 35, 41 But if that] Hand ?I substitutes 'I say if' (Hull+ read the line as 'But if I am Antipholis, I swear'). 44 far more] my loue Hand ?I. 44 decline] incline Hand ?1 (so NPB, Collier MS; Hull+ read 'inclines', rewriting the line). 45-58 Oh traine . . . night.] Boxed and crisscrossed (NPB cuts 45-52; see 33-40 for Gentleman; Hull+ cut 52). 70 fetch] aske Hand I (Hull+ read 'seek'). 105-106 for why? . . . it.] Crossed through (Gentleman suggests cutting 103-109, 116-145 ['is spherical! . . . me,']; Hull+ cut 91-93 ['I such . . . reverence:'], 95, 100-143 ['if she . . . low.']; Collier MS cuts 103-143 ['. . . low.']). 122-132 Ant. Where Scotland? . . . it.] Boxed and crisscrossed (see 105-106). 146 privie] Crossed through (Gentleman reads 'private'; Hull+ read 'secret'). 151 turn i'th wheel] Following the conclusion of Dromio of Syracuse's lines at 151, Hand I gives Antipholus of Ephesus two lines written up the left margin (first line shaved in binding) just before Hand I exits him:'<.o> <. . .> <. . .> you on my wifes <. . .> / to spight her I will glue my wench her chaine' (see III.ii.70 s.d. 151, 152 in F stage directions altered). 159-169 As from . . . song.] 159-160 crossed through; 161-169 crisscrossed but not boxed (Hull+ cut 157-158, 163-167 and rearrange the lines retained).
![2-8 shall Antipholis . . . blindnesse:]](images/com322.jpg){kind=link}
![11-18 Look sweet . . . boord:]](images/com3211.jpg){kind=link}
![21-22 Alas poor . . . us.]](images/com3221x.jpg){kind=link}
![Though . . .us]](images/com3221y.jpg){kind=link}
![27-28 'Tis holy . . . strife.]](images/com3227.jpg){kind=link}
![33-40 Teach me . . . yeeld.]](images/com3233.jpg){kind=link}
![41 But if that]](images/com3241.jpg){kind=link}
![44 far more]](images/com3244.jpg){kind=link}
![45-58 Oh traine . . . night.]](images/com3245.jpg){kind=link}
IV.i
6 Or Ile attach] Or Ill be forcd to attach Hand 1. 7 Even] why Hand I. 8 growing to me by] owing me sir, by Hand I (Douai MS, Pope emend F 'growing' to 'owing'). 9 And] for Hand I. 11 for the same] Crossed through. 12-13 Pleaseth you . . . will] Please you to walk with me down to his house, & / Ile Hand I (Douai MS, Rowe3 read 'Please you to walk'; Hull+ read 'Please you but walk', following Pope). 15 house, go] house, myselfe go Hand I. 15 house go thou] Following the end of 15, Hand I, in lower margin, right center rule, writes 'not finisht yet sayest thou?'. There is no indication where this half-line is to be inserted, though it would appear to be for Antipholus of Ephesus, presumably preceding the opening line of his first speech (15), the 'thou' referring to Dromio of Ephesus, who enters with him after 13. 17 their] her Hand I (so Douai MS, Rowe; 'these' Collier MS; Hull+ read 17 as 'Among the base confederates of my wife,'). 18 by day] to day Hand I (so Hull+). 25-26 Belike you . . . not.] Crossed through (so Hull+). 50-51 I should . . . brawle.] Boxed. 57-58 Ant. Fie, now . . . it.] Boxed. 61 If not, . . . Officer.] Boxed. 78 If he . . . apparently.] Boxed. 93 now! a Madman! Why . . . sheep,] F 'a' and 'Why thou peevish sheep,' crossed through (NPB substitutes 'fellow' for F 'sheep'; Hull+ read 'now, madman!', but retain 'Why . . . sheep,'). 110-113 Where Dowsabell . . . fulfill.] 110-111 scratched out but marked 'Stet' by Hand I; 112-113 boxed. Hull+ cut 111-113 (later rephrasing 111) and expand Dromio of Syracuse's 5-line concluding speech to 11 prose lines, similarly though differently expanded by Woods.
IV.ii
2-6 Might'st thou . . . face.] Boxed; 6 may have been first crossed through (so Gentleman: NPB cuts 6). 8 the more my spight.] Crossed through (Hull+ read 'wrong' for F 'spight'). 13-28 Adr. With what . . . curse.] Boxed, but only 19-20 ('crooked . . . bodied,'), 22, 27 were originally cut, Hand I linking the two parts of 19 and 20 with 'and' and substituting 'base' for F 'blunt' in 21. Gentleman suggests cutting 16-22, 25-28; Hull+ read 19-20 as 'Oh, he is shapeless, crooked, old, and seer,', substitute 'rude' for F 'blunt' in 21, and cut 23-24, 26, 28, substituting a 9-line speech by Luciana for F 23-24. 34-40 One whose . . . hell.] Partly boxed; 34 separately crossed through (Hull+ telescope 32-33 and cut 36, 39-40). 57-62 Adri. As if . . . day?] Boxed (Hull+ cut 45, 50-52). 65-66 Come sister . . . injurie.] Boxed (so Hull+, adding 9 new lines divided between the sisters).
IV.iii
13-l4 what have . . . apparal'd?] Crossed through (Hull+ substitute 'What, have you got rid of the fiend?'). 15 What Adam . . . mean?] Crossed through (Hull+ substitute 'fiend' for F 'Adam'). 16-35 S. Dro. Not that . . . Is there] Partly boxed; 34-35 ('. . . there') crossed through; Hand I, above 16, substitutes 'Dro: ye gold you sent me for:'; then, in place of 34-35 ('. . . there'), Hand I substitutes 'I sent thee to the bay roge to see if' to link with F 'any Ship puts forth to night?' in 35, the F speech-prefix 'Ant.' for Antipholus of Syracuse in 34 being deleted in error. Hull+ cut 16-19 ('. . . Prodigall:'), 22-23 ('. . . leather;'), 27 ('he that . . .')-28. 35-36 may we be gone?] Crossed through. 53-55 and thereof . . . wench:] Circled (Gentleman suggests cutting 52 ['And here . . .']-58; Hull+ cut 48-55 ['. . . wench:'], 59-81, and add 23 new lines following 47). 61-65 S. Dro. Master, if . . . devil!.] Boxed (see 53-55). 83-92 Else would . . . way.] Boxed and crisscrossed, but 83-86 restored with 'Stet' by Hand I (Hull+ cut 87-92, as in PB's final cutting).
IV.iv
22 Good now] Crossed through; the rest of 22 ('hold thy tongue.') appears to be lightly crossed through but is necessary to make sense of 23-24. 39-42 I bear . . . door.] Boxed, but cut should have begun at least with F 'nay' preceding F 'I bear'; what looks like 'Com' (Hand ?) appears in lower margin to left of center rule and may be intended as a warning to move to Antipholus of Ephesus's speech at 43, which begins with F 'Come'. 123-124 Bear me . . . it.] Boxed (Hull+ cut 124-133).
V.i
49-91 Ab. Hath he . . . him.] These lines are set off by short lines across left rule above 49 and below 91; as an early provisional cut, i.e., 48 followed by 92, this makes no sense, but at one stage in the cutting 102-105 (later part of a larger cut) may have been intended to follow 48 (see 92-112 below). NPB cuts 49-90. 52-54 A sin. . . to?] Crossed through; 53-54 also boxed and crisscrossed, but 52 restored with 'stet' by Hand II (see 49-91 for NPB). 58-61 I, but . . . enough.] Crossed through, but 59 restored with 'stet' by Hand II (see 49-91 for NPB). 67 it was . . . bad.] Crossed through, but Hand I substitutes 'how he was / to blame'. Hand I's reading is heavily smeared, perhaps with intention to cancel; point of insertion marked with small crosses before F 'it' and Hand I's 'how'. See 49-91 for NPB; Hull+ read 'it was vile and base.'. 75-84 Thereof the . . . beast:] Circled and crisscrossed (see 49-91 for NPB; Hull+ cut 83-84). 92-112 Ab. No, not . . . him.] 92 boxed and crisscrossed; 102-105 only included in the cut by a single line down right center rule; 106-112 represent another separate block in the cutting, but 106-108 was first crossed through and then included in the larger cut by crisscrossing; finally, Hand I brackets 108-112 in right margin and restores these lines with 'Stet' in right margin. Hull+ cut only 100. 118 By this . . . five:] Crossed through. Large stars appear in the right margin opposite F s.d. 'Enter Merchant and Goldsmith.'and 118 end opposite 129 end Fs.d. 'Enter the Duke . . . Officers.'; the purpose behind the use of these stars remains a mystery (see V.i.128 s.d., Stage directions altered). 120 to the Melancholy vale;] Heavily smeared through. 137-138 Whom I . . . day,] Crossed through; Hand I substitutes 'who<m>' following 136 to link with 139 (so NPB). 139-154 took him, . . . fled] F 'took him,' (139) crossed through, as is F 'Each' (151) and F 'then they fled' (154), and 140-154 boxed and crossed across; Hand I substitutes, across right rule, 'hash taken <this> / ill day / is fled'. NPB cuts 142-154; Hull+ cut 50-51 ('and himself, . . . passion,'). 155 them,] him Hand I (Hull+ read "em'). 158 Nor send . . . thence.] Crossed through. 161-164 Long since . . . could,] Circled (so NPB); F 'Wars' in 161 seems to show some sort of alteration. 169-170, 177, 180-181] Hand ?I places three small crosses to left of center rule, and, in left margin, opposite the third cross (180-181), places the following badly shaved words: '< >an / < >dly / < >ak for ['for' doubtful] / < >ion'. I cannot see any connection between the marginal notation and the text, though possibly some offstage noises are being called for, as at F s.d following 183 ('Cry within.'). 191-194 Even for . . . Justice.] Boxed (so NPB). 198 She whom . . . wife;] Crossed through (NPB cuts 198-200). 20l-202 Even in . . . me.] Crossed through (see 198 for NPB; Hull+ cut 201-202). 215-217 Neither disturb'd . . . mad.] Circled and crisscrossed (NPB cuts 210, 215-216,229 ['. . . not.'], 237 ['Pinch . . .']-238, 240-241, 244; Gentleman suggests cutting 224-253; Hull+ cut 214-253, 256-268, 281). 219-221 were he . . . then,] Crossed through; Hand ?I substitutes, across right rule, 'can wittness / it.'; F 'Who' in 222 appears to have been crossed through but is necessary to the sense. A dash is inserted in PB following the end of 218 and 222; whatever the intention, these dashes cannot, in terms of sense, mark a suggested cut. See 215-217. 231-253 I did . . . indignities.] Boxed and doubly crisscrossed (see 215-217). 302-306 Fat. Dromio, nor . . . him.] Boxed (so Hull+). 311-318 Though now . . . Antipholis.] Boxed and crossed across (Hull+ cut 316). 341-345 Speak old . . . AEmilia.] Crisscrossed, but marked 'Stet' by Hand I. 352-353 from them, . . . Epidamium.] Crossed through by Hand ?I, who substitutes 'away' as a link to 354. 355 I, to . . . in.] Crossed through. 367-368 E. Ant. Brought to . . . Uncle.] Crisscrossed (Hull+ read 'Minaphon' for F 'Menaphon'). 391-392 Cur. Sir, I . . . cheer.] Crisscrossed (so Hull+, which do a good deal of rearranging and padding from 346 to the end). 397-406 That by . . . Nativity.] Boxed; 397-398 crisscrossed, 399-406 crossed across (Hull+ cut 400-402).414 S. Dro.] E. Dro. Hand I (the 'E.' is badly smeared and not clear, but see 416 below). Hull+ cut everything after 407, adding 9 new lines, which conclude with ' "Whatever is is right." ' 416 She now] S: She now Hand I (the change of speech-prefix here and at 414 above makes no sense; see Introduction, p. 75)