Dryden's Palamon and Arcite Part 13

8 31. enjoined us by mine host. The host of the Tabard, whence Chaucer led his Canterbury pilgrims, had proposed that each member of the company tell two stories on the way to Canterbury, and two on the return, and that the best narrator should receive a supper at the expense of the others. The plan was not fulfilled, but such stories as were told form Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_.

8 50. weeds. Garments, not restricted to mourning garments.

9 76. Capaneus. One of the seven heroes who marched from Argos (not Athens) against Thebes. He defied Jupiter and was struck by lightning as he was scaling the walls. His wife, Evadne, leaped into the flames ahd perished. In presenting her here, Dryden followed Chaucer.

9 81. Creon. King of Thebes, surrendered the city to Aedipus, who had freed it from the sphinx, resumed rule after death of Aedipus' sons, killed by his son Haeemon for cruelty to Antigone, daughter of Aedipus.

10 116. Minotaur. A monster lurking in the labyrinth of Crete, which devoured the tribute of seven youths and seven maidens sent by Athens every ninth year. It was slain by Theseus.

11 150. An Alexandrine verse.

11 160. An Alexandrine verse.

12 165. An Alexandrine verse.

12 169. morn of cheerful May. The conventional month for love in the old poets. Dryden followed Chaucer.

12 186. Aurora. G.o.ddess of the morning-red. Each morning she rose from the couch of t.i.thonus, and drove swiftly from Ocea.n.u.s to Olympus to announce to G.o.ds and mortals the coming of day.

13 199. Philomel. Nightingale. Philomela, dishonored by her brother-in-law, was changed to a nightingale.

13 214. hateful eyes. Eyes full of hate.

14 245. horoscope. A diagram of the heavens by which astrologers calculated nativities. Dryden resembled Chaucer in his belief in astrology.

14 246. Saturn in the dungeon of the sky. Arcite declares that the horoscope of their birth predicted chains, for it showed the planet Saturn, an evil star at best, in the dungeon of the sky.

14 252. Unhappy planets. Planets that were thought to cause unhappiness.

14 258. Actaeon. He unintentionally came upon Diana and her nymphs while they were bathing in the stream, was transformed into a stag by the G.o.ddess, and was coursed to death by his own hounds.

14 261. Cyprian Queen. Venus; Cyprus was a chief seat of her wors.h.i.+p.

15 264. habit. Dress. We retain the word with same meaning in riding-habit.

16 300. Appeach. To impeach. Old form.

17 334, 335, 336, 339. Alexandrines, possibly used by Dryden in such close succession to show Arcite's violent emotions.

17 342 Aesop's hounds. The hounds of the fable by Aesop. Their story is told in succeeding verses.

17 346, 347. These verses indicate a condition with which both Chaucer and Dryden were very familiar.

17 358. Pirithous. A legendary hero, between Theseus and whom existed strong friends.h.i.+p. A Centaur's discourtesy to the bride at the wedding of Pirithous was avenged by Theseus in the battle with the Centaurs.

17 364. His fellow to redeem him went to h.e.l.l. Chaucer and Dryden have here confused the story of Theseus and Pirithous with account of Castor and Pollux. Theseus did not go to the lower world to rescue Pirithous; but went with him to abduct Proserpina, and they were both seized and held by Pluto, till Hercules rescued Theseus.

18 382. Finds his dear purchase. Finds his purchase to be dear, i.e., expensive.

19 414. Fire, water, air, and earth. These were regarded by the ancients as the primary elements of created matter.

20 433. a certain home. The house is a definite existence.

20 434. uncertain place. It is uncertain in the sense that the drunkard has difficulty in finding it.

21 493. forelays. Awaits before, a survival of an old English compound.

21 495. thrids. Threads, as in the phrase, "threads the mazes of the dance."

21 498. Saturn, seated in a luckless place. A second reference to the planet of his nativity and its unlucky position in heaven at the hour of his birth.

21 500. Mars and Venus in a quartil move. Mars and Venus are here the planets. When their longitudes differ by 90 they move in a quartile. It was regarded in astrology as an omen of ill.

23 545. slumbering as he lay. As he lay slumbering. A favorite inversion with Chaucer.

23 547. Hermes. Lat. Mercury, son of Jupiter. One of his chief duties, to act as a messenger of Jupiter to carry sleep and dreams to mortals.

23 550. sleep-compelling rod. Hermes carried a staff, the caduceus, given him by Apollo, about which two serpents were twined. Its touch induced sleep.

23 552. Argus. He had a hundred eyes and was sent by Juno to guard the cow into which lo had been transformed. He was killed by Mercury at the command of Jupiter, and Juno transferred his eyes to the tail of her peac.o.c.k.

24 573. A labouring hind in show. In appearance a laboring peasant.

24 590. Philostratus. In Chaucer written Philostrate, and so in Shakspere's _Midsummer Night's Dream_, the characters of which plainly followed Chaucer.

BOOK II.

26 10. And May within the Twins received the sun. In May the sun is in the sign of the zodiac known as Gemini, or the Twins. Dryden here copies a favorite phrasing of Chaucer, though not used by him in this particular instance.

26 16. Notice the enjambment, i.e., the overflow of this verse into the next. It very rarely occurs in Dryden's later poems.

27 34. Style. Pen, from _stylus_.

27 55. Graces. Three sisters, Aglaia (the brilliant), Euphrosyne (cheerfulness), and Thalia (bloom of life). They were the daughters of Jupiter and Aurora.

27 58. The sultry tropic fears. At the end of May the sun, approaching the summer solstice, gives the longest days; hence its slowness.

28 78. roundelay. It is technically a lyric in which a phrase or idea is continually repeated.

28 84. Friday. Named from Frigga, a Teutonic G.o.ddess, identified with Venus. This day of the week among the Latin races is still named from Venus. Italian, _Venerd_; French,_Vendredi_.

28 93. Cadmus. He was the son of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. His sister Europa had been carried off by Jupiter and he suffered from the consequent jealousy of Juno. While searching for his sister he founded Thebes, with the aid of Minerva, and was its first king. The legend of Cadmus indicates the introduction of written language from the East, the Theban city was. Compare "_Ilium fuit_" of Virgil, Aeneid, Bk. II., 325.

30 153. Our arms shall plead the t.i.tles of our love. We will make good our right to love by strife in arms.

31 165. p.a.w.n. Pledge,i.e., each has pledged his faith.