уильям шекспир - King Lear

113 officeduty/service

115 bewrayinform on, expose

115 his practiceEdgar’s plot

120 make … pleaseto achieve your ends, use my means and authority in any way you wish

121 Foras for

123 be oursi.e. work for us, join our household

125 seize ontake possession of (legal term)

129 out of seasoninconveniently, unconventionally

129 threadingfinding a way through (sewing image)

129 dark-eyedquibbling on the idea of a needle’s eye

130 occasionsevents/circumstances

130 prizeimportance

133 differencesdisputes

134 fromaway from

135 attend dispatchwait to be dispatched

138 craves … userequires immediate action.

Act 2 Scene 2

2.2 Location: outside the Earl of Gloucester’s residence

2.2 severally separately

1 dawningit is actually before dawn; we later learn that the moon shines

2 Ayin fact, Kent is not a servant at this house; perhaps Kent opens up an opportunity to abuse Oswald

3 setput, lodge (Kent plays on the sense of “fix, make stuck”)

4 miremud

5 if … mei.e. if you would be so kind (Kent pretends to take the expression literally)

8 Lipsbury pinfoldthe pound for stray animals in Lips-town (i.e. “between my teeth”)

10 usetreat

12 foras

13 knaverogue (two lines later the sense shifts to “servant”)

13 broken meatsscraps of food

14 three-suitedservingmen were permitted to have three outfits a year

14 hundred-poundfar more than a servingman’s income; possibly a contemptuous reference to those who bought knighthoods from James I for £100

15 worsted-stockingi.e. servant/unable to afford silk stockings (worsted is a woollen fabric)

15 lily-liveredcowardly, with a bloodless liver (the organ thought to be the seat of strong emotions)

15 action-takinglitigious

16 whoresonbastard

16 glassmirror

16 glass-gazingvain

16 super-serviceableready to do any kind of service

16 finicalfussy

17 one-trunk-inheritingowner (or heir to) no more than would fit in a single trunk

17 bawdpimp

18 serviceplays on the sense of “sex”

18 compositioncombination

19 pandergo-between/pimp

21 additionattributes/title/mark of honor added to a coat of arms (ironic)

22 railrant, heap abuse

24 varletrogue

26 Drawdraw your sword

27 sop o’th’moonshinei.e. beat you to a pulp (so that you resemble either a soggy piece of bread lying under the moon’s light, or the blancmange pudding called moonshine)

28 cullionlyrascally

28 barber-mongerfrequenter of barbers (i.e. vain fop)

31 vanity the puppeti.e. Goneril, imagined as a puppet (or dressed-up woman) who is the personification of vanity

32 carbonadoslash diagonally, like meat prepared for broiling or grilling

33 come your wayscome on then

35 neattrim, foppish

39 With youi.e. I’ll fight with you

39 Goodmana man below the rank of gentleman

39 Goodman boya contemptuous and belittling form of address (used to Edmund)

40 flesh yeinitiate you (into fighting; from the practice of feeding dogs bits of freshly killed meat in order to excite them for prey)

45 differenceargument

47 bestirred your valourworked up your courage (ironic)

48 disclaims indisowns

48 tailor made theei.e. his only worth lies in his fancy clothes

51 illbadly

55 suit … beardhis own request, because his old age required it

56 zed … letter“z” was regarded as unnecessarybecause “s” could be used instead and there was no “z” in the Latin alphabet

57 unboltedunsifted (plays on the sense of “unmanly/impotent”—a “bolt” was a term for the penis)

58 jakesprivy, toilet

59 wagtailtail-wagger, obsequious person/womanizer

61 beastlybrutish

62 a privilegelicense to express itself

65 honestyhonor, integrity

66 holy cordssacred bonds (family or matrimonial ties)

66 a-twainin two

67 too intrinse t’unloosetoo intertwined to be disentangled

67 smoothflatter, indulge

68 rebeli.e. against reason

69 Being … firei.e. feed the fire of their masters’ passions

70 halcyon beaksthe kingfisher (halcyon) was thought to act as a weather vane if dried and hung up

71 gallirritation

71 varychange

73 epileptic visageseeing Oswald smiling away his insults, Kent compares his expression to that of an epileptic, grimacing involuntarily

74 myat my

74 asas if

75 Gooseproverbially stupid bird; cackling suggests that Oswald may be laughing

75 if … Cameloti.e. if I had you at my mercy, I’d send you running home in fright; the exact nature of this reference is unclear, though, as Camelot was sometimes identified with Winchester, some suspect a jibe about a “Winchester goose” (i.e. a prostitute/venereal disease)

75 SarumSalisbury, in Wiltshire

76 Camelotlegendary city that was home to King Arthur

82 likespleases

84 occupationhabit, business

90 saucyinsolent

90 constrains … natureforces the style (of speaking) away from its true purpose

93 Anif

93 soso be it

93 plainhonest (his excuse for his rudeness)

95 craftcunning

95 corruptercorrupt

96 ducking observantsbowing attendants

97 stretch … nicelystrain to perform their duties to the last detail

98 veritytruth

99 th’allowancethe approval

99 aspectface/planetary position (in comparing Cornwall to a powerful planet, Kent mocks a courtier’s flattery)

100 influenceastrological influence

101 Phoebusthe Greek and Roman sun god

101 frontforehead

103 dialectusual manner of speaking

104 beguileddeceived

106 though … to’teven if I should incur your displeasure by refusing (to be a knave) when asked

110 misconstructionmisinterpretation

111 compactcolluding (with the king)

112 beingand I being