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Notes on Act I, scene ii
Castruchio: his name implies impotence, foreshadowing his wife's infidelity later in the play
presence: chamber where nobles received official visitors
make me the partaker: inform me about
took the ring: in jousting the goal is to catch a ring on one's lance
gravity: feigned seriousness, indicating Ferdinand's interest in toying with his subjects
office: duties
broke: told about
children of Ismael: Arabs; Ishmael was one of the sons of Abraham; the other being Isaac, forefather of the Jews
tents: wrapped up in bandages
chirugeons: surgeons; if everyone listened to his wife's advice, no one would fight and surgeons would be out of business.
jennet: small Spanish horse
Pliny's opinion: Pliny was a Roman writer who proposed in his Natural History that horses were impregnated by the wind.
ballasted with quick-silver: weighed down with mercury, implying speed (Mercury was the messenger of the gods).
reels from the tilt: shies away from the jousting ring (but also a sexual allusion, avoiding sexual intercourse).
touchwood: kindling for starting a fire; Ferdinand thinks they should wait for him to laugh before they do.
wrinkle: laughing will give her wrinkles
out of compass: excessively (pun on mathematical instrument)
Grecian horse: the famous Trojan horse by which Greece defeated Troy.
galleys: ships
flashes: attractive qualities on the outside, but looks are deceiving.
spring in his face: what appears to be clear water on the surface is actually the breeding ground for ugly toads.
jealous: suspicious
Hercules: the great mythical hero who endured twelve labors
intelligencers: informants
political: scheming
primitive decency: following the tradition of the early church
bench: the judge's bench
information: Ferdinand condemns or rewards men arbitrarily, based on unsubstantiated rumors and the word of informants.
shrewd turns: he only repays debts to those who have wronged him, i.e. revenge.
oracles: prophecies or wise sayings
verily: truly
medals: coins, cast in the same mold or form; the siblings may look alike but differ greatly in character (temper).
discourse: speaking, which is so delightful that you will be sorry when she finishes.
vainglory: vanity, showing off; you'll wish she were not so modest about her gift of delightful conversation
galliard: dance
continence: restraint which keeps one from lustful (lascivious) thoughts of her.
shrifts: confessions; the Duchess is more virtuous asleep than most women at confession
flatt'ring glasses: mirrors; she should become the model for all ladies' appearance and behavior.
play the wire-drawer: to spin out a wire from metal; i.e. he exaggerates her qualities
case: close
stains: deprives the past of luster
lights: brightens the future
leaguer: army camp
caroches: coaches, carriages
entertain ... intelligence: employ Bosola as your spy in the Duchess' household
oblique: sinister
physiognomy: the art of studying faces to discover personality traits, which Bosola discredits
cozens: deceives
What follows: where's the catch? what must I do for this payment?
showers: Zeus impregnated Danae (the mother of Perseus) by falling into her lap as a golden shower; Zeus was also known for hurling lightning, so Bosola suggests that this shower of gold must be followed by some deadly deed.
post: in haste
haviour: behavior
affects: favors, has feelings for
familiars: a spirit in the form of an animal, such as a witch's black cat; also a term used to describe informants for the Inquisition.
quaint: cunning
angels: gold coins which often had an angel imprinted on them; Bosola recognizes that these are actually devils, tempting him to evil.
bounty: generosity; usually a noble virtue, but coming from the Duke, it leads only to villainy.
candies ... complemental: thus the devil makes sin seem sweet, and what heaven calls vile, he describes as something complimentary or good. (complemental: fine behavior which completes a gentleman, OED).
old garb of melancholy: Bosola may have worn black in the original production (cf. Hamlet)
politic dormouse: a quiet, unnoticed schemer
in a dream: while he slept
preach: even a wicked man tells the truth sometimes
luxurious: lustful
livers: the liver was thought to be the source of passion, rather than the heart
Laban's sheep: in Laban's flock were many spotted sheep (Genesis 30:29-43).
I'll never marry: notice that her speech is cut off. Perhaps she would say, "I will never marry against the honor of the family" or something to that effect, but in any case she doesn't necessarily lie to her brothers about her intentions, but considers it none of their business.
motion: resolve
rank: corrupt
honey-dew: a sweet, sticky substance that was also poisonous, just as one is drawn by temptation to something that looks enticing but ensnares us
fame: reputation
belie: the face may disguise the inner feelings
Vulcan's engine: the net made of invisible mesh in which Vulcan caught his wife Venus and her lover Mars.
executed: with double meaning of "carried out" and "put to death"
mischief: misfortune
Wisdom begins at the end: a wise person looks to the probable end results before acting.
studied: rehearsed
poniard: dagger
rusty: either (1) he wants to make use of it, thus keeping it from rusting, or (2) covered in the rust red color of blood
give o'er: give up, quit having these parties
chargeable revels: expensive parties, masquerades mentioned in the next line
lamprey: eel-like fish without bones, thus a crude sexual innuendo to the male genitals
neat: handsome
footsteps: making them the steps toward her goal, stepping over their authority
assay: try
winked: acted with my eyes shut, ignoring the consequences; but notice her own admission at the end of the scene that she is blinded by passion.
ingenious and hearty: frank (ingenuous) and heartfelt
arras: wall tapestries
clew: not to be confused with clue, but a thread to help one find the way through a maze
triumphs: entertainments
husbands: stewards of a household
for your sake: thanks to you
procur'd: caused
winding sheet: burial shroud; the Duchess is asking facetiously, "Should I join my dead husband in the grave?"
couple: two bed sheets, with an allusion to coupling as in sex
St. Winifred: a 7th century saint beheaded for rejecting a lover's advances
or heaven or hell: marriage can be either heaven or hell, but nothing in between (as in the Catholic belief in purgatory)
affect it: feel about it
banishment: either his late journeys abroad, making him lonely, or his banishment from the married state
wanton: rascal
sovereign: effective
saucy and ambitious devil: sorcerers would conjure up devils within a magic circle; here Antonio looks through the ring (circle) to see the Duchess, whom he assumes may be toying dangerously with his affections.
without: unless
Conceive not ... tend: don't think I can't see where this is leading
ill to sell yourself: don't sell yourself short, you are too modest
false lights: tradesmen would try to sell faulty goods in poor lighting, but the Duchess thinks that Antonio has nothing shameful to hide
progress: seek an honest man in yourself
doubles: speaks with double meanings; we cannot speak our love openly but must hint at it
alabaster: white stone used to carve funeral monuments, in this case the one at her first husband's grave
I use but half a blush in't: I am bold and unashamed to declare my love, as I am not a virgin in these matters.
'cause: so that
Quietus est: "It is finished" (Latin), written at the closing of an account or in this case, the end of Antonio's status as her servant. However, Hamlet uses the term to refer to death, "release from life" (III.i) which Webster may be suggesting here.
without this circumference: outside this room, or perhaps outside the circle of her arms around him
scatter the tempest: calm the storm; but the Duchess is naive concerning the seriousness of her brothers' threats.
savour'd: resembled
Per verba [de] presenti: "through words about the present" (Latin); their vows at this time to each other were legally binding, although not sanctified by the church.
gordian: the Gordian knot was supposedly unbreakable; whoever achieved this feat would rule Asia. Alexander the Great simply cut it in two with his sword (as will violence cut apart their union).
spheres ... music: the heavenly bodies were thought to make music as they made their rounds through the sky.
still: always
palms: it was thought that palm trees had to be male and female to bear fruit.
force: enforce; that is, how can the church make this marriage any more valid than our vow of love does?
faster: more securely
blind: fortune was thought to be blind (because it doesn't always come to those who deserve it); however, in this case, the Duchess's words are tragically ironic.
conceit: meaning; what are you up to?
humourous: not laughable, but affected by ill-humours, emotionally unbalanced (see commentary for theory of humours)
Alexander and Lodowick: two friends who looked alike, one married the other's wife on his behalf, but honored her virginity by placing a sword between them in bed.
shroud: bury
