1 PUTTANA: spelled PUTANA in Q, but corrected here to the contemporary Italian spelling
2 VASQUEZ: spelled VASQUES in Q, but corrected here to the contemporary Spanish spelling
1 JOHN … Turvey: (1599–1643) came from a Catholic family and his father was arrested over the Gunpowder Plot (1605); he nevertheless became a favourite with James I and converted to Protestantism in 1625
2 hath … warrant: is generally acknowledged
3 freedom: distinction
4 allowance: appraisal
5 action: performance, i.e., Mordaunt must have already seen the play on stage
6 construction: judgement
7 this presentment: the published text and, specifically, the dedication
8 particular engagement: it is not known what Ford means here
9 lightness: triviality, but also ‘light’, meaning ‘unchaste’
1 Muse: nine goddesses presiding over the Arts in classical mythology
2 Graces: three daughters of Zeus, symbolizing beauty, kindness and grace
3 Pallas: goddess of wisdom and war, also associated with the Arts
4 Thomas Ellice: (b. 1607) was a member of Gray’s Inn and part of Ford’s literary circle; Ford’s The Lover’s Melancholy is dedicated to his brother Robert, among others
1 young man: the literal translation of ‘giovane’ in Italian
2 school-points: arguments raised in a university debate
3 Nice: abstract, subtle
4 admits: allows
5 Wits: intellectuals, particularly university students
6 grounds of art: scholarly proofs
7 fond: foolish
1 peevish: senseless, spiteful
2 customary … man: i.e., not divinely prohibited, but outlawed merely by social custom
3 one flesh: recalls the terms of the marriage ceremony
4 unhappy: ill-fated
5 for that: because
1 unrangèd: limitless, uncontrolled
2 Bologna: the location of Italy’s oldest university, with a reputation for blasphemous free-thinking
3 government: self-discipline, temperance
4 waits: attends, follows
5 less sin … win: the Friar condemns sex outside marriage, but views it as a lesser sin than incest
6 floats and ebbs: high and low tides
1 Hie: go immediately
2 ready to fight: only Vasquez has his sword drawn
3 tackling: weapons, i.e., prepare to fight
4 craven: cowardly
5 no equal: because Vasquez is only a servant
1 mountebank: a travelling medicine man, charlatan
2 gear: the matter at hand, i.e., the fight
3 cast-suit: someone reliant on cast-off clothing, characteristic of a servant
4 cotquean: low-born housewife, harlot
5 prate: chatter
6 Roman: of ancient Italian descent
7 broils: quarrels
8 spleen: violent temper, associated with an imbalance of the blood
1 above: on the stage balcony
2 ground: cause of the argument
3 resolve: explain
4 For … not: he has seen no evidence of it himself
5 prefers: puts forward
6 bewrays: reveals
7 let … gills: have cut Grimaldi’s throat
8 wormed: to prevent rabies, dogs had a ligament under their tongues cut, called the ‘worm’
1 stay your stomach: satisfy your appetite
2 Spoon-meat: liquid food eaten by infants, invalids and the very old
3 word: consent
4 Owing: possessing
5 Losers … game: it is natural for losers to complain, but not for the winner
6 unspleened dove: doves’ spleens were not thought to produce choler, the humour which made people aggressive
7 put up: sheathe your sword
1 No marvel else: it’s no wonder you want me to
2 well-timbered: well-built
3 privy maim: hidden wound
4 standing upright: also ability to maintain an erection
5 crinkles … hams: bows obsequiously or shrinks from sex
6 wholesome: not suffering from venereal disease
1 Liberal: generous with money, perhaps implying Soranzo has bribed Puttana for access to Annabella
2 a man: i.e., sexually capable
3 plain-sufficient: adequate
4 morning’s draught: usually a drink of beer or wine
5 ciphers: nonentities
6 brave … coat: from the proverb, an ape is an ape though clad in fine (‘brave’) clothing
7 leave my dinner: unlike Florio and the others whose meal was interrupted by the fighting, Bergetto stayed behind to finish
8 coxcomb: fool
1 shift: change
2 pavan: slow, stately dance
3 magnifico: wealthy and influential citizen
4 Israelite … down: an allusion to Exodus 32 in which the Israelites worship the golden calf, with a sexual pun on ‘fall down’
5 presently: immediately
6 bauble: the professional fool’s carved stick, also penis
7 cast … flesh: take decisions based on a shortage of suitors (‘flesh’ also alluding to penises)
1 Keep … slaves: may fear and … shame dwell with slaves.
2 though … attempt: though the attempt should cost me my heart
3 credit: reward, i.e., other people would have to bribe Puttana for this opportunity
1 Promethean fire: in classical mythology Prometheus stole fire from the gods and used it to animate mankind
2 glanced: looked at, struck to produce sparks
3 strange: opposite to one another
4 lily and the rose …’change: i.e., Annabella is alternately pale and blushing
5 anchorite: a religious recluse, by definition celibate
6 trim: proper, because flattering
7 Why stand’ee?: Why do you hesitate?
1 affliction … death: has suffered the fires of hell
2 just: well-founded
3 smooth-cheeked: beardless, i.e., youthful, sexually inexperienced
4 bootless: in vain
5 in sadness: sincerely
1 good sooth: truthfully
2 Say … earnest: i.e., that you believe me to be sincere
3 and I: I mean it too
4 change: exchange
5 Elysium: a pagan version of heaven
1 doubt: fear
2 miscarry: die before having produced an heir
3 presently: now
4 Three thousand florins: equivalent to £250, not lavish as incomes went
1 mint: i.e., the newest news, freshly minted
2 strange horse: a popular fairground trick
3 barber: a profession notorious for spreading lies
4 puppet play: another fairground entertainment
1 May-game: i.e., a laughing stock
2 hobby-horses: a horse costume worn in Morris dances and stage entertainments, but also a term for prostitutes
3 Uds sa’ me: God save me
4 Parmesan: either the hard Italian cheese or a style of drinking
1 wit: thought
2 glory: a malapropism – he means ‘shame’
3 white boy: favourite child
4 gulled: cheated
5 fit her: answer her aptly
1 yielding: giving up her virginity
2 tribute: tax or homage
3 contents: pleasures
4 toy: trivial thing
5 nothing: of no importance, also ‘vagina’
6 Music … playing: i.e., the pleasure of sex is partly in talking about it; also that to take the passive (feminine) role of the ear, receiving music, is as pleasurable as the active (masculine) part
1 Leda: in classical mythology the god Jove, disguised as a swan, seduced or raped Leda
2 live to: be faithful to
1 passed over: experienced
2 under: referring to her sexual position under Giovanni
3 fit: sexual desire, like a sickness
4 speech of the people: vulgar gossip
1 physic: medicine
2 lose: waste
3 Padova: city in the north-east of Italy, famous for its medical school so an appropriate part of Richardetto’s cover story
4 sickly: perhaps because Annabella is already pregnant
5 large: generous, ubiquitous
6 perfection: beauty and graceful accomplishments
1 parts: skills, with a pun on musical parts
2 make not strange: don’t be a stranger
3 art: medical skill
4 cousin: niece
5 cunning: skill
6 instrument: also a euphemism for penis, alluding unconsciously to Annabella’s loss of virginity
7 could have done’t: used to be able to
1 Sannazar: Neapolitan poet Jacopo Sannazaro (1457–1530), author of a Latin eulogy of Venice (1535), for which the city awarded him 600 crowns
2 Muse: perhaps Erato, the Muse of love poetry
3 mean: happy medium
4 annoys: troubles
5 left: abandoned
6 taxed of: blamed for
1 Do … now: perhaps Hippolita is wearing a mourning veil, which she lifts up
2 blood: lustful frenzy
3 unsated: still unsatisfied; Soranzo uses Hippolita as a ‘foil’ or contrast to set off the attractions of Annabella
4 modest fame: reputation for modesty
5 disgrace: Hippolita implies he partly died from shame at being cuckolded
6 womanhood: here defined as marital chastity
1 free: honourable, well-bred
2 double: duplicitous
3 weeds: clothes
4 widow … widowhood: Soranzo’s abandonment makes her a widow for the second time; widows were notoriously lustful, which Soranzo’s seduction appears to confirm
5 unedge: make blunt
1 perplex: torment
2 protests: promises (to marry her)
3 Leghorn: coastal town of Livorno, reached from Parma only through dangerous mountain regions, notorious for outlaws and highwaymen
1 quality: social standing
2 entertainment: hospitality
3 braver: finer
4 woe: the misery he has caused her
1 shrewd: malicious
2 hearty: heartfelt
3 spleen: anger, rage
4 his: Soranzo’s father
5 acquittance: repayment of debt
6 of myself: i.e., by marrying him
1 dispose: disposal
2 old mole: because the mole works underground, but also because Hippolyta is blind to Vasquez’s true nature
3 have the wind of you: like a predator upwind of its prey, he has her scent
4 merry: only joking
5 genii: a pagan version of guardian angels
1 How: that
2 used: treated
3 Nuncio: representative of the Pope at a foreign court, possessing ecclesiastical and political powers
1 means: connection
2 Save you: God save you
3 cousin: also used to mean ‘niece’
4 arts: medical science
5 receipts: recipes (for love potions)
1 speed: succeed
2 confusion: perdition, ruin
3 Hydra: in classical mythology a many-headed monster that grew two heads for every one that was cut off
1 colour of his beard: presumably white, denoting his gravity
2 board: make sexual advances
3 in spite of your teeth: whether you like it or not; an unflattering reference to her beauty, like that to her nose
4 parts: accomplishments, genitals
1 apish: foolish
2 motions: puppet shows
3 as good no: it would be better you hadn’t
4 steal: sneak away
5 number: members
6 remarked: marked out
7 uncharitable: lacking in Christian love
1 furniture: equipment, trappings
2 quintessence: purest manifestation
3 nature … blind: i.e., Nature is ignorant about the ‘positions’, or rather absolutes, decreed by God
1 shrive her: hear her confession and absolve her of her sins
2 spheres … music: it was argued in Ptolemaic cosmology that the movement of the planets around the earth produced music
3 else … framed: her genitals, here unchristianly associated with pleasure and not procreation
4 parts: abilities
5 second death: damnation
1 number: sequence
1 first sleep: early part of sleep, associated with erotic dreams
2 religiously: fervently
3 Godamercy: thank you
4 feeling: understanding
5 right: straightaway
1 match: marry
1 take the wall of me: it was preferable to walk close to the wall in Caroline England because of the gutter (‘kennel’) that ran down the centre of the street; Bergetto’s assailant has aggressively pushed between him and the wall, perhaps because he assumes himself to be of higher social status
2 gull: fool
3 broad beard: perhaps part of Richardetto’s disguise
1 recourse: access
2 ’gainst: in anticipation of
3 humour: personality trait
4 the man I only like: my preferred suitor
1 sconce: head
2 bob you off: distract you with a toy
3 ape … apple: apes were thought to be lecherous, apples an aphrodisiac
4 S’foot: by God’s foot
5 codpiece-point: lace for fastening a codpiece
6 marmalade: any fruit preserve
1 chops: mouth
2 clap up: hastily arrange
3 hugger-mugger: secret
4 to rise: with a pun on getting an erection
5 constables: local officers of justice, proverbially dim-witted
6 cart whores: prostitutes were often punished by being driven in a cart through the streets; to pay for this out of his own purse would be a sign of wealth and public-spiritedness
1 jointures: gifts of property given by a fiancé to his intended bride, here offered by Annabella’s suitors
2 all woman: i.e., inconstant
3 without: outside
4 not point of faith: not an article of faith necessary for salvation, i.e., I don’t have to believe you
1 infer: determine
2 a woman’s note: i.e., a lie, given that Annabella has lost her virginity
3 winks: closes her eyes
1 no looking-glass … you: i.e., if Soranzo were a better role model as lover (looking glass) Annabella would imitate his behaviour
2 given you better taste: been nicer to you
3 hopes: vain hopes
4 forbear: cease
1 maid’s sickness: believed to be cured by sexual intercourse
2 present: immediate
3 quick: alive, but also pregnant
1 at these years: at my age
2 qualms: fainting
3 water-pangs: needing to urinate frequently
4 another thing: i.e., that Annabella has stopped menstruating
5 credit’s: reputation’s
6 water: urine
7 case: condition
8 take no care: not to worry
9 business: cares, distress
10 Ill diet: food poisoning
1 Indifferent: moderately
2 surfeit-water: mild indigestion remedy
3 fullness of her blood: i.e., maid’s sickness, to be cured by sex
4 ere she know the time: before she knows it, with a pun on ‘the time’ as the period of confinement before labour
1 a father’s dear impression: loving notion typical of fathers, but also Annabella is the ‘impression’ or replication of her father, whom he is ambitious to have make further copies
2 policy: cunning
3 Play not on both hands: doesn’t behave duplicitously
4 affied: betrothed
1 bestow: spend
2 speed him: send him on his journey to death, i.e., kill him
3 hit: succeed
4 bethought ’ee: considered what to do
1 call his coz to shrift: make his kinsman (Bergetto) repent
2 buss: kiss
3 at large: at length
4 dainty devices: fanciful presents
1 swelling: courage, also an erection
2 physic: remedy, here referring to the sexual intercourse following marriage
3 wax-lights: candles or tapers
4 unripped: disclosed in confession
5 read a lecture: deliver an admonitory speech
1 List: Listen
2 draughts: liquid drunk down in one go
3 lawless sheets: illicit sexual relationships
4 incests: the first time that the word is used in the play
5 motions: impulses, emotions
1 live to him: be a faithful wife to him
2 what must come: i.e., hell
3 the time: the present opportunity (to get Soranzo and Annabella betrothed)
4 stays below: waits downstairs
1 joins … hands: a crucial part of the betrothal ritual, also called ‘handfasting’
2 More to be done: i.e., the wedding ceremony
3 dark lantern: a lantern with a slide or shutter that allows the light to be concealed, often associated with villainy
1 disguised: perhaps masked
2 stitch fallen: a clothing metaphor, referring to a burst seam
3 flesh-tailor: surgeon
4 halberds: military weapon, resembling a battle axe combined with a spear
1 last … sleep: death
2 my disgrace: presumably the disgrace of marrying a servant
3 against: compared with
1 In … grace: i.e., and therefore speaking truthfully
2 thought: intention
3 else: by any other means
4 mean: lowly
5 wit: judgement
6 Justice is fled to heaven: in classical mythology Astraea, the goddess of justice, abandoned the earth at the beginning of the Iron Age, partly because of human crimes like murder
1 Hautboys: wind instruments, resembling the oboe
2 repasts: meals
3 hand of goodness: divine providence
4 lusty: merry
1 were: if only
2 Clipped: embraced
3 confusion: damnation
4 wait: attend to the other guests
5 bowl: goblet
6 offend: cause me physical discomfort
1 masque: an entertainment featuring music and dance by masked performers, often performed at weddings
2 willow: symbolic of unrequited love
3 reckon up: go over in detail
4 report: gossip
1 lord: husband
2 allowed: approved
3 engaged us: placed us in your debt
4 single charity: special kindness
5 remit: renounce
6 pledge: drink a toast to
1 Troppo sperar inganna: ‘to hope too much deceives’
2 but: as good as
3 in charity: i.e., by speaking well of others
4 politic: cunningly expedient
5 confusion: ruin
6 promised her fair: encouraged her
7 my reward … been: perhaps assuming that she would have broken her promise and pinned the murder on him
8 – [To HIPPOLITA] –: dashes here indicate gaps in the text where the printer found the copy illegible
1 minute: moment of death
1 the event: consequences for Soranzo and Annabella
2 bride-banquet: wedding breakfast
3 life: spiritual life, health of the soul
4 confusion: damnation
5 Debates: quarrels
6 run to head: move to a climax
7 Slightens: scorns, treats contemptuously
8 years: youth
9 Cremona: neighbouring town, notable for its many nunneries
10 holy votaress: nun
1 extremes: dire events, tragedies
2 uneven: morally irregular
3 Hie: go quickly
4 beads: rosary beads used by Catholics to count prayers
5 unbraced: with his clothes unfastened, often a sign of madness on stage
6 famous: infamous
7 Confound: destroy
8 maintain’st: defends
9 bawd: brothel-keeper or pimp
1 pleurisy: excess, also a feverish disease
2 heyday of your luxury: climax of your lust
3 cloak: disguise
4 close tricks: secret liaisons
5 gallimaufry: patchwork of materials, i.e., a bastard
6 on denial: at being denied
7 case: condition
8 doing: making a match, with a sexual pun
9 honour: reputation
10 quean: prostitute
1 not in my bargain: not part of our agreement
2 stay … stomach: satisfy your appetite (like a pregnancy craving)
3 match: deal
4 brave: excellent
1 That you had been a creature: that you existed
2 prodigious: monstrous
3 Che morte … per amore?: ‘What death is sweeter than to die for love?’
1 lust-belepered: made leprous through lust
2 Morendo … senza dolore: ‘Dying in favour with him, I would die without pain’
3 redeem: ransom
4 hangman: a shameful occupation, well beneath Soranzo’s rank
5 slack: delay
1 extremities: injuries
2 temper: composure
3 superstitiously: idolatrously
4 humorous: fanciful, changeable
1 great: well born, pregnant
2 stock: body, line of descent
3 haunted: frequently resorted
4 cunny-berry: rabbit burrow, also vagina
5 voluntary: improvised part of a musical performance
6 if all hit: if everything comes off
7 nonce: present occasion
8 Where … houses: proverb, meaning that where the wife rules the husband there is domestic strife
9 she-tailor: women’s dressmaker
10 Up: pregnant
1 mad: furious
2 humour: temperament
3 not … by force: if her confession were not extracted by violence
4 betray … affliction: expose her to suffering
1 a Turk or a Jew: proverbially untrustworthy
2 BANDITTI: a gang of Italian outlaws and robbers
3 presently: immediately
4 closely: secretly
5 liberty: licentiousness
6 trained: led, tutored
7 how … tail: how persuasive flattery overcomes a wanton woman
1 Took … flesh: ate too much meat, had too much sex
2 hit it: made the right diagnosis
3 plied my cue: played my part
4 fast: secure
5 Runs circular: moves but makes no progress, like an animal tied to a stake
1 openly: publicly
2 No … fear: perhaps ‘No revelation will make me afraid’ or ‘Whatever defeat I suffer I will not show fear’
3 thriftless: profitless
4 in post: as a messenger, in haste
5 stands up … lust: i.e., in court
6 depositions: written testimony
7 charactered in guilt: written in guilty terms, with a pun on ‘gilt’ (gold)
1 turtle: turtle dove, proverbially loyal to its mate
2 mewed up: confined
3 Unmated: without a mate
4 had the spoil: plundered, destroyed
5 uncontrollèd flame: i.e., in hell
6 making heaven unjust: insisting that heaven is unjust to prohibit their desires
7 good genius: guardian angel
8 ends: purposes
9 sadly: solemnly
1 for your behoof: on your behalf
2 my guardian: Puttana
3 Who: the absence of whom
4 suspect: suspicion
1 horns: signs of his being a cuckold or sexually betrayed husband
2 riot: revel
3 beast: monster
4 great: pregnant, full of matter
5 states: dignitaries
1 aspire: wish for
2 Busy opinion: interfering public opinion, conventional thinking
3 school-rod: birch twigs used for corporal punishment
4 formal law of sports: the legalization of Annabella’s sexual activity through marriage
5 one: the same
1 jubilee: time of celebration
2 retired: private
3 prompted: spoken of
4 congealed coral: thought to harden on contact with the air
5 factor: intermediary
6 seared: cauterized
7 stoop to: submit to, obey
1 blazing stars: comets, thought to be a bad omen
2 aught: any, i.e., Giovanni
3 set up my rest: staked everything, as in a card game
4 baneful: destructive
5 prescription: custom
6 gall: bodily fluid thought to produce aggression, also a secretion from the oak tree used to make ink
7 enrols: writes down in the annals of history
8 splits: splinters
1 undertake for: guarantee they will fulfil their parts
2 booty: plunder associated with robbers
3 Liguria: a mountainous region of north-west Italy
4 pardons: banditti were often assumed to be outlaws
5 want: lack
6 vizard: mask
1 edge: sharpen
2 Italian: assumed to be hot-tempered and prone to outbursts of jealousy and revenge
3 set on his old bit: keen for sex with his usual lover
4 hare: associated with lust
5 law:a head-start
6 post to: ride swiftly
7 my father: father-in-law
1 expect: await
2 grace: honour
3 vouchsafe: deign to visit
4 Saint Peter’s vicar: thought to be the first Pope
1 keep your way: carry on in the same direction
2 changed: alluding to Annabella’s repentance
3 Hath … night-games: i.e., is Soranzo a more sophisticated, experienced lover?
4 fit: impulse
5 stoop … brows: submit on seeing me frown
1 confusion: damnation
2 gay attires: Annabella is wearing her bridal clothes
3 solemn: ceremonious
4 to riot in expense: to waste money
5 fresh access: to receive visitors
6 schoolmen: scholars, scholastic philosophers
1 Destinies: three goddesses in classical mythology who dictated the course and span of a man’s life
2 drift: intention
3 civil use: social custom
4 rigour: passionate extremity
5 cunning flattery: dissimulation, because Annabella is on the point of death
1 Styx: a black and poisonous river in the classical underworld
2 fame: reputation
3 Revenge is mine: an echo of Romans 12:19, where revenge belongs exclusively to God, often quoted in revenge tragedy, for example Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (c.1587)
4 stagger: hesitate
5 unkind: cruel, unnatural, unkinlike
1 hapless: unfortunate
2 reaching: far-sighted
3 over-glorious: superlatively beautiful
4 coarse confections: humble dishes
5 set: formal
6 cause: reason
1 trimmed: decorated
2 reeking: steaming hot
3 spoil of love and vengeance: the destruction of his love and Soranzo’s vengeance, but also suggesting that the heart is the plunder taken by Love and Vengeance
4 misgiving: fearful
5 idle: mere
6 rape: violent theft
7 stone: precious stones
1 balanced: calculated
2 startle: start
3 son: with an allusion to his being Florio’s son-in-law
4 throughly: thoroughly
1 venture on him: take him on
2 gilt: gilded, but also guilty
3 twists of life: in classical mythology human life is represented by threads which the three Fates spin out, weave and finally cut
4 royally: generously
5 exchange … thine: it is not clear how this is staged; perhaps Giovanni stabs Soranzo with the dagger still bearing the heart or he might remove the heart and give it to Soranzo before stabbing him
6 it: i.e., Giovanni’s death
1 fit you: impose an apt punishment on you
2 Vengeance: the code word agreed on with the Banditti
3 Shift for yourselves: look to your own safety
4 last of breath: dying words
1 Spaniard: conventionally thought to hide malice behind an appearance of friendliness
1 dispense: offer a dispensation by commuting the punishment from execution to banishment
2 reason: motive
3 not of thine offence: not ignoring the seriousness of his crime
4 proper: personal
5 at large: in full
6 store: gifts
7 ’Tis Pity she’s a whore: the fact that this line is italicized in the quarto might suggest the phrase was already familiar