0 s.d. unbraced with his clothes unfastened; not fully dressed
1 famous i.e. infamous
4 Confound Destroy
5 maintain’st either (a) persist in or (b) defend
6 bawd brothel-keeper, pimp; Soranzo pays for his wife’s upkeep as a pimp supports a prostitute, both for other men’s sexual use.
7 else but other than
8–10 Must… surfeit Are you so incapable of controlling your sexual appetite
8 pleurisy (a) a feverish disease, alluding metaphorically to the heat of lust; (b) excess
9 heyday… luxury the highest pitch of lecherous excitement (referring, presumably, to the female orgasm)
11 cloak cover, disguise close secret
13 gallimaufry a hodge-podge of different materials; here used as a metaphor for a bastard
18 on denial at her refusal to marry him
19 case condition
20 would… doing couldn’t wait
24 patient stoical
25 quean sexually promiscuous woman
28 ’twas… bargain I didn’t agree to tell you that
29 somewhat something stay… stomach The primary sense is ‘satisfy your hungry appetite (for information)’ but ‘longing’, was also used of cravings in pregnancy, creating an ironic twist: Annabella has just been found to be pregnant, but it is Soranzo who has the unusual appetitive craving.
32 that’s… glory ed. (that for glory Q)
35 A match, a match It’s a deal
37–9 a woman … love Annabella was only human, but even a woman who was above that frailty would have been overpowered by his beauty.
42 another someone else
45 To father To bear the name and play the part of a father in all except the biological sense brave excellent
48 been a creature existed but for marriage were it not for the fact that I am married to you
55 prodigious unnatural and monstrous
59 What death is sweeter than to die for love? (Italian) This and the next Italian line (63) are copied directly from consecutive sayings in the section of First Fruits devoted to ‘amorous talk’ (D1v); there, both refer to a man’s love for a woman. piü ed. (pluis Q)
61 lust-belepered made leprous through lust
63 Dying in favour with him, I would die without pain. (Italian). a lui ed. (Lei Q) Lei is the feminine pronoun, whereas Annabella, of course, is speaking of a man (lui). There is no certain evidence about whether Ford understood Italian: he never, so far as is known, used an Italian vernacular source, and the language is represented in his other plays only by two words of The Fancies, Chaste and Noble (‘Signor mio’, I.ii.35) and a passage of ‘cod’ Italian in The Sun’s Darling (II.i.179–81), which might anyway have been written by his collaborator, Thomas Dekker. It is possible that he simply copied lei directly from First Fruits, not realizing the error of gender. morirei ed. (moriré Q uncorrected; morirere Q corrected)
64 triumph exult
69 hangman In killing a woman, unequal to him in strength, Soranzo will be like an executioner, whose victims are unable to defend themselves; the insult turns on the fact that the job was considered the basest kind of honest work, far beneath an aristocrat’s dignity.
71 I… behind there will be someone left alive to avenge my death (meaning the lover whose identity Soranzo does not know)
76 slack put off, delay
78 forfend forbid
87 the authors of those responsible for
88 unconscionable unreasonably excessive
97 beshrew may evil befall but unless
100 your honour ed. (hour honour Q)
101 credit with value to
102 distractions deranged fits
102–5 You… suitors As a winner in the marriage game, Soranzo should not give losers the opportunity to gloat; contrast Florio’s views at I.ii.55.
104 bear extremities put up with others’ egregious behaviour
115–16 prose ed. (Follow… passion, / Bee … purpose Q)
115 Follow… passion Vasques tells Soranzo how to play it next: having toned down (‘tempered’) his rage against Annabella, he should now show her the strong emotion she provokes in him.
117 Let your soul and thoughts be witness to my words
119 did… thee worshipped you like a pagan idol
122 thou ed. (thus Q)
126 humorous capricious
134 above thy strength beyond her power to resist
136–7 a husband… divinity An orthodox notion of the time, which drew biblical authority from Ephesians 5.22–3: ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church’. The point of the analogy here is that Soranzo will exercise the divine prerogative of forgiveness if Annabella repents.
138 remit forgive, pardon
142–3 see… alteration now that you are penitent, let there be no backsliding
144–5 Ford was probably recalling Hamlet I.ii.146: ‘frailty, thy name is woman’.
147 to the matter pertinent, relevant
152 great pregnant
152–3 great… hand The phrase contains complex and significant word-play around the multiple meanings of ‘stock’. The primary sense is ‘handed over to you already pregnant’ (‘stock’ = body), with the latent, ironic suggestion that Soranzo has been spared the procreative drudgery of begetting an heir. A similar implication comes from ‘stock’ as (a) a handle (which is now the right size to fit Soranzo’s hand) and (b) the stem of a plant into which a graft is inserted. The word could also mean ‘rabbit-hole’ (anticipating ‘cunny- berry’ later in the sentence).
154 ferret ed. (Secret Q) cunny-berry (a) rabbit (‘cony’) burrow; (b) vagina (‘cunny’)
155 cunning intelligent, artful skill
157 sufferance toleration
159 voluntary a spontaneous part of a musical performance, chosen by the performer rather than prescribed by the score; the musical equivalent of an ad lib (here applied to Annabella’s penitence).
159 if all hit if everything comes off (perhaps with a latent pun on archery, developed in ‘mark’)
160 mark target
163 the nonce the present occasion
167–8 where… houses domestic life is unsatisfactory when the wife dominates her husband (which was considered contrary to the natural order of things). The proverb (Tilley, H. 778) is closely adapted from First Fruits (I1v).
168–9 lower… stomach A ‘she-tailor’ is probably a male tailor who makes clothing for women, rather than one who is a woman herself. His ‘cunning’, in the sense of ‘skill’, is metonymic for its product, ie. the dress he makes; the ‘lower parts’ of that dress might be artfully designed to conceal (‘cover’) the outward signs of pregnancy. Vasques also puns on ‘cunning’ in its usual modern sense, with ‘lower parts’ implying baseness.
170 Up… quickly The passage works as a cascade of meaning from word to word: ‘up’ means pregnant (referring to the physical swelling of the stomach); ‘quick’ means both pregnant and rapidly; and the latter sense is then picked up in ‘quickly’.
172 s.d. ed. (after ‘or none.’ in Q)
175 mad angry
177–8 prose ed. (O … day, / Doth … Vasques?. Q)
187 humour characteristic temperament that as to be able to say that
191 provided… force Everything will be alright so long as Soranzo finds out before resorting to violence; Putana is being given the opportunity to forestall such an eventuality.
204 entire intimate
209 Ud’s pity an oath, minced from ‘God’s pity’ what else? of course!
211 ’ee? Q. The punctuation could be modernized as a question mark or an exclamation mark (the two symbols were not differentiated in the early seventeenth century): the latter would signal shock at what Putana is saying, whereas the former would show a punctilious concern to make absolutely sure. Either version is possible, but as a question the line is more in keeping with the gentle way in which Vasques has drawn the information out of Putana so far.
218 to blame blameworthy
219 a Turk or a Jew Implying a person unworthy of belief, not to be trusted; in effect, Putana avers her story ‘as I am a Christian’ (Turks and Jews being the principal non-Christian races known to early seventeenth-century Europe).
222 s.d. BANDITTI Members of an organized gang of robbers such as operated in the mountains and forests of Italy
224 presently immediately
224–6 prose ed. (You… presently, / Come … hagge, / Gag … quickly Q)
229–30 toad-bellied a general term of opprobrium and abuse; compare Thomas Dekker, The Noble Spanish Soldier (1622), IV.ii.179: ‘Sirrah, you sarsaparilla rascal toad-guts’.
234 liberty licentiousness
235 trained tempted, enticed
237–8 how a smooth… tail how a plausible lie overcomes a wanton woman (literally, a well- lubricated, easily penetrated vagina). Ford is probably recalling The Duchess of Malfi: ‘What cannot a neat knave with a smooth tale / Make a woman believe?’ (I.ii.258–9)
238 s.d. ed. (after ‘next?’ in Q)
240–1 as firm … summer as certain as the interchange of the seasons
244 took… ftesh overindulged in (a) meat and (b) sex (‘flesh’ = penis); the latter sense is, of course, unintended by Giovanni, though heard by Vasques.
245 hit it correctly identified the reason
245–6 Prose ed. (Troth … it, / But… Lady Q)
249 liberality generosity in tipping
251 made a man a man who has been entirely successful (in seventeenth-century idiom, ‘a made man’; a misprint is not impossible)
251–2 plied… success played my part effectively. The metaphor is of an actor giving cue-lines that prompt his fellow-performers to speak (here, to utter the incriminating information that Vasques wants to know).
254 fast secure; referring to Putana, whom Vasques has just silenced and imprisoned
254–5 prose ed. (Let… enough, / How… Lady? Q)
257 Runs circular Moves without getting anywhere (like an animal tied to a stake)
260 know be told openly publicly
264 No matter what success (‘conquest’) Vasques has achieved, it will be unable to overcome (‘gain glory of’) Soranzo’s fear.