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Notes on Act V, scene v
He: the unnamed author of the book
material: actual, real
rake: the devil with a pitchfork; the Cardinal's hideous vision resembles Ferdinand's fear of his shadow, both symbols of guilt and self-loathing.
lightens: becomes visible as action
proffers: offers
unseasonable: come too late
suffer: permit
chamber: you are going where Julia is (the grave)
above: in the original production on the Globe stage, these characters would have appeared in the upper balcony (the inner above)
counterfeiting: pretending to need help, as he warned them he might do to test their obedience; ironically his attempt to conceal his guilt has sealed his doom.
laugh: make a fool of me by tricking me to abandon my pledge
engines: tools such as a crowbar
aloof: at a distance
Justice: often depicted with a sword in one hand and scales in the other
outward: you only appeared to be a great man, when actually you were always a coward
fall'st faster ... drive thee: you bring about your own ruin faster than the events themselves
leveret: small rabbit, defenseless animal
horse: possibly an allusion to Richard III's famous line, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" a part which Richard Burbage (who played Ferdinand in the first production) also originated
honors of arms: the right to retain arms after a defeat, if a person surrenders
adverse party: Ferdinand thinks his brother is the enemy in battle
ransom: there is no chance of a ransom if the prisoner is dead
Pompey: Julius Caesar defeated his one-time ally Pompey to become the supreme general of Rome, before his own assassination
barber: barbers also served as dentists and surgeons at this time
wet hay: in his madness he thinks of himself as the horse he called for a moment ago
vault credit: by leaping over (surpassing) expectations that I'll burn in hell, I'll surprise everyone by enjoying the pleasures of the afterlife (a doubtful prediction)
in my teeth: the soul was thought to pass out of the mouth at death
pyramid: you began large (like the pyramid's base) but have ended up small (like its pinnacle)
this hand: his own
neglected: in the end I neglected to follow my good nature. It is characteristic of tragic heroes to accept responsibility for their own actions.
rushes: the reeds covering the stage floor
withstand: how ironic that he did not permit us to rescue him
dead walls: walls that lead to a dead end
womanish: implying weakness, powerless
stagger: waver
arm'd: prepared
right: his mother's inheritance
eminent things: the brothers; combining "eminent" with "things" is telling irony; how the mighty have fallen
