4 have has (governed by ‘hope’, not ‘honours’)

5 jointures gifts of property made to a woman by her fiancé as part of the marriage contract (here, offered by prospective fiancés)

9–10 let… may leave them alone in order that they may agree

11 all woman i.e. inconstant; women were proverbially subject to irrational change, particularly in sexual matters

14 without outside

16 should may be about to

16–18 lineation ed. (Doe … you? / Yes … mee. / And … it? / ’Tis … faith Q)

18 point of faith a doctrine or article of belief essential for salvation; Annabella is saying, ‘I don’t have to believe it’.

20 infer cause to happen

20 regent ruler

23 but… note only a woman’s song, not the truth (in that Annabella is no longer a virgin); contrast Giovanni’s next aside.

26 winks closes her eyes (so that she cannot see tears which would otherwise be in plain sight). Since the whole exchange sardonically deflates Soranzo’s conventional romantic metaphors by literalizing them (e.g. seeing his heart), this line may be ironic rather than an indication that Soranzo really is weeping.

31 strifes of wit banter (implying an aggressive edge)

36 sick… heart (a) mortally ill; (b) love-sick aqua-vitae distilled alcoholic liquor, taken medicinally

38 nimble quick-witted

39–50 lineation ed. (prose in Q)

42 dress… by you order … according to your example. The phrase plays on the image of dressing one’s hair at a mirror.

46 given… taste been nicer to you

50 I… this since I tell you this

66 s.p. SORANZO ed. (attributed to Giovanni in Q)

81 youth a pubescent readiness for sex; the condition could be dangerous in excess (‘overflux’)

82 present immediate