50 cast it up give it up/vomit it up
51 presently at once
52 mines tunnels dug under besieged places and packed with explosives 54 not i.e. not constructed
55 disciplines proper procedures
55 concavities hollowness, depth
56 th'athversary the adversary; Shakespeare attempts to render his Welsh accent phonetically 56 discuss explain, declare
57 is digt has digged
58 countermines passages dug by the besieged defenders as a means of trying to intercept enemies 58 Cheshu Jesus (suggesting Welsh pronunciation)
58 plow up blow up
59 directions instructions, plans
60 order control, organization
65 in any in
66 in his beard i.e. to his face
67 Roman disciplines i.e. traditional military tactics, not so heavily reliant on gunpowder 71 falorous i.e. valorous
72 expedition quickness of argument; possibly an error for "experience" and "erudition"
77 gud i.e. good; Jamy's Scottish accent is also rendered phonetically 78 God-den good day/evening
80 pioneers soldiers employed to dig trenches and tunnels
80 given o'er finished
81 la exclamation used as a substitute for an oath
81 tish 'tis, i.e. it is (MacMorris's Irish pronunciation) 83 give over abandoned, given up
87 voutsafe vouchsafe, i.e. permit
87 disputations conversations
93 sall shall
93 feith faith
93 bath both
94 quit requite, answer
94 gud leve your good leave, i.e. permission
94 pick occasion find the opportunity
95 marry by the Virgin Mary
98 beseeched besieged
99 be by
100 sa' save
104 mess mass (a common oath)
104 ere before
105 lig lie
107 suerly surely
107 breff brief
107 breff ... long i.e. the long and the short of it 107 wad would
107 full fain very gladly
108 heard have heard
108 question discussion, debate
108 tway two (Scottish dialect)
109 under your correction i.e. with your permission 111 Ish ... rascal either MacMorris declares that anyone who criticizes the Irish is a villain etc.; or he anticipates the habitual terms of abuse leveled at the Irish 115 peradventure perhaps
116 use treat
116 discretion good judgment
122 will are going to/are determined to
123 parley trumpet call indicating a ceasefire while negotiation is to take place between the opposing sides 126 required asked for, i.e. available
Act 3 Scene 3
3.3 Location: still outside Harfleur
3.3 gates town gates
1 resolves answers, determines
2 latest last
2 parle ceasefire and negotiation
2 admit allow, grant
4 destruction their own ruin
6 becomes fits, suits
7 batt'ry bombardment
8 half-achieved half-conquered
11 fleshed used to war/eager for bloodshed
12 liberty ... range shall be allowed total freedom to kill 14 flow'ring flourishing
15 impious sinful, wicked
16 prince of fiends i.e. the devil
17 smirched discolored, filthy
17 fell cruel, fierce
18 Enlinked joined, linked
21 hot lustful/eager/aggressive
21 violation violence/rape
22 rein puns on "reign"
22 hold contain, restrain
23 career rapid gallop
24 bootless uselessly
24 spend waste
24 vain useless
25 spoil act of pillaging/booty
26 precepts legal summons/moral instructions
26 leviathan biblical sea creature of enormous size
28 of on
30 temperate moderate, restrained
31 O'erblows blows away
31 contagious noxious, infectious (clouds were thought to harbor disease) 32 heady impulsive, violent
32 spoil pillaging
33 look expect
35 locks hair/guarded chastity
38 spitted impaled
38 pikes weapons with long wooden handles and pointed metal heads 39 confused disordered/mingled together
40 Jewry Judaea (region in southern Palestine, now Israel)/the Jewish people 41 Herod's bloody-hunting slaughtermen in an attempt to destroy the infant Jesus, King Herod ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two in Bethlehem and surrounding areas (Matthew 2:16-18) 43 guilty in defence i.e. guilty of bringing about this slaughter through persisting in trying to defend the town 44 expectation hopefulness
45 succours help/reinforcements
46 Returns replies to
46 powers troops
47 raise put an end to
48 soft compassionate
49 dispose control, govern/make arrangements for
58 addressed prepared, directed
Act 3 Scene 4
3.4 Location: not specified, but presumably the French royal court, at Rouen, northern France
1 Alice ... langage "Alice, you have been in England, and you speak the language well"
2 Un peu, madame "a little, my lady"
3 Je ... anglais? "I pray you, teach me: I must learn to speak [it]. What do you call the hand in English?"
5 La ... hand "The hand? It is called 'de hand' "
5 de mispronunciation of English "the"
6 De ... doigts? " 'De hand.' And the fingers?"
7 Les ... fingres "The fingers? By my faith, I forget the fingers; but I will remember. The fingers? I think that they are called 'de fingres.' Yes, 'de fingres' "
10 La ... ongles? "The hand, 'de hand'; the fingers, 'de fingres.' I think that I am a good pupil. I have learned two English words quickly. What do you call the nails?"
13 Les ... nails "The nails? We call them 'de nails' "
14 Ecoutez ... bien "Listen, tell me, if I speak well"
16 C'est ... anglais "That's well said, my lady. It is very good English"
17 Dites-moi ... bras "Tell me the English for the arm"
18 De arm, madame " 'De arm,' my lady"
19 Et le coude? "And the elbow?"
21 Je ... present "I shall repeat all of the words that you have taught me so far"
23 Il ... pense "It is too difficult, my lady, I think"
24 Excusez-moi, Alice, ecoutez "Pardon me, Alice, listen"
25 bilbow type of sword/manacle for the ankles
27 O ... col? "O Lord God, I am forgetting! 'D'elbow.' What do you call the neck?"
30 nick puns on English slang sense of "vagina"
30 Et le menton? "And the chin?"
32 sin given the slang sense of "nick," "sin" takes on a sense of "sexual transgression"
33 Oui ... d'Angleterre "Yes. Saving your honour, in truth, you pronounce the words as correctly as the natives of England"
35 Je ... temps "I do not doubt that I shall learn [English], by the grace of God, and in a short space of time"
37 N'avez ... enseigne? "Have you not already forgotten what I have taught you?"
38 Non ... promptement "No, I will recite it to you promptly"
39 mails possible pun on "males"
42 Sauf ... d'elbow "Saving your honour, 'd'elbow' "
43 Ainsi ... robe? "So I said, 'd'elbow, de nick' and 'de sin.' What do you call the foot and the gown?"
45 foot puns on French foutre, i.e. "fuck"
45 coun "gown," puns on French con, i.e. "cunt"
46 O ... ensemble "O Lord God! These are words with a wicked sound, corrupting, coarse and lewd, and not for ladies of honour to use: I would not like to utter these words before the gentlemen of France for all the world. Fie! The 'foot' and the 'coun'! Nevertheless, I
will recite my whole lesson once again"
53 Excellent, madame! "Excellent, my lady!"
54 C'est ... diner "That's enough for one time. Let us go to dinner."
Act 3 Scene 5
1 River Somme just over halfway between Calais and Harfleur
2 withal with
5 O Dieu vivant! "O living God!" (French)
5 sprays offshoots/spurts of semen (refers to the fact that after the Norman Conquest of 1066, many English have some French heritage) 6 emptying ejaculate
6 luxury lust
7 scions shoots used for grafting (when a shoot from one plant is fused to the stem of another) 7 stock the plant which receives the graft (here, the English) 8 Spirt sprout
9 overlook rise above/look down on/ignore/bewitch
9 grafters i.e. those who have done the grafting/the trees from which the grafted shoot was taken 10 Normans i.e. the English who have French ancestry 10 bastard illegitimate
11 Mort ... vie! "Death of my life!"
13 slobb'ry slimy, muddy
14 nook-shotten crookedly shaped
14 Albion the island composed of England, Scotland, and Wales 15 Dieu de batailles! "God of battles!"
15 mettle spirit, temperament, courage
17 despite contempt, malice
17 looks pale i.e. barely shines
18 sodden boiled, stewed
19 drench drink/dose of medicine
19 sur-reined overridden
19 jades worn-out horses
19 barley broth strong ale
20 Decoct heat up
23 roping hanging like ropes
26 Poor ... lords i.e. while our fields are rich in themselves, they may be called poor if they are owned by such spiritless masters as we are proving to be 28 madams ladies/wives
29 bred out weakened by generations of breeding
31 new-store freshly populate
33 lavoltas ... corantos dances which involve leaping, turning, and running (implying cowardice) 34 our ... heels our only accomplishment is in dancing/running away 35 lofty high born/proficient/high leaping
36 herald messenger
37 England the country/King Henry
39 hie hurry
47 seats estates/ranks, status
47 quit absolve/avenge/rid
48 Bar obstruct
49 pennons banners, streamers attached to lances
50 host army
52 void empty, cough up, sneeze
52 rheum watery discharge, mucus (here, melted snow)
54 Rouen town in northern France, capital of Normandy
56 becomes the great befits kingly greatness
60 heart courage, spirit
60 sink cesspit
61 for achievement in exchange for honor/as the only paltry thing to be achieved 61 his ransom amount that must be paid on his defeat
62 haste on dispatch with speed
Act 3 Scene 6
3.6 Location: the English camp, northern France
2 bridge historically, this would have been over the River Ternoise, on the way to Calais 3 services military feats
6 magnanimous of great and generous spirit, nobly valiant
7 Agamemnon leader of the Greeks at the siege of Troy
12 pridge bridge (Fluellen's Welsh accent renders "b" as "p") 13 Mark Antony famous Roman general
13 no estimation reputation/social standing
17 Aunchient i.e. Ancient, an ensign or bearer of military banners 25 buxom lively, vigorous/pliant
26 giddy fickle
26 Fortune's ... blind Fortune was traditionally depicted as a blind woman turning a wheel that raised humans up and cast them down 26 furious cruel/violently turning
28 rolling restless stone alternative image of Fortune, the possessor of a rolling stone on which humans balanced precariously 29 By your patience i.e. forgive me for interrupting 30 muffler blindfold
36 moral symbolic figure, allegory
38 pax disc, usually of gold or silver, bearing an image of the crucifixion, kissed by those taking Communion 41 hemp i.e. rope made of hemp
42 doom judgment
45 vital thread thread of life, supposedly spun and cut by the three Fates 46 penny cord cheap rope
46 reproach blame, disgrace
47 requite repay (with a bribe)
48 partly i.e. because it is implied rather than stated/because Pistol's speech is confusing 52 if even if
55 figo a fig (from old Spanish figo or Italian fico); exclamation of contempt, often accompanied by an obscene gesture known as the fig of Spain, which consisted of thrusting the thumb between the index and middle fingers or into the mouth 59 arrant downright
59 counterfeit deceptive, feigning
60 bawd pimp
60 cutpurse pickpocket
62 a summer's day i.e. a long day
63 warrant assure
64 time is serve there is opportunity
65 gull fool, dupe/hoaxer
67 perfect word-perfect
68 learn you teach/learn (you being emphatic) 69 sconce small fort
70 convoy armed escort
70 came off acquitted himself
71 what ... on i.e. what conditions the enemy insisted on 72 con learn, memorize
72 the ... war military terminology
73 trick up adorn, dress up
73 new-tuned newly invented, fashionable
74 general's cut same style as the general's
74 horrid fearful, intimidating
74 suit outfit, uniform/shout, battle cry
75 ale-washed drunken
76 slanders ... age i.e. people who are a disgrace to current times 77 mistook mistaken, misled
80 hole ... coat i.e. slip in the way he presents himself/chance to expose him 82 from i.e. about
82 colours military banners or flags
82 poor shabby, tired, unwell
87 passages fights
88 was have i.e. did have
89 enforced compelled
92 perdition loss/destruction
94 never a man no man
94 like likely
96 bubukles inflamed swellings
96 whelks pimples
96 knobs lumps, swellings
97 flames o' fire i.e. red streaks or patches
97 blows i.e. like bellows on a fire
100 cut off killed
101 charge command
102 compelled forcibly taken
104 lenity gentleness, mercifulness
106 Tucket trumpet call
107 habit clothing (French herald's uniform, which wouldbear his king's coat of arms) 108 of from
110 Unfold reveal, relate
112 Advantagesuperior position for a military attack/favorable circumstances/greater numbers 113 rebuked repressed, checked
114 bruise an injury squeeze a boil
115 upon our cue at the right time for us
117 sufferance patience, endurance
118 proportion be proportionate to, compensate for
120 digested endured
120 in ... re-answer to pay back in full measure
120 pettiness weakness, inadequacy
122 muster roll-call, number of soldiers (or total population) 126 So far i.e. this concludes the message of
128 quality character/rank/occupation
133 impeachment hindrance
133 sooth truth
135 craft and vantage cunning and military advantage
145 trunk body
147 God before with God on our side
152 tawny yellowish-brown
163 them i.e. the English soldiers
Act 3 Scene 7
3.7 Location: the French camp, near Agincourt
12 pasterns i.e. hoofs (literally, part of the leg between the fetlock and the hoof) 12 Ch'ha! exclamation of triumph and pride, or onomatopoeic sound of a horse 13 entrails intestines
13 entrails were hairs i.e. as if he weighed nothing 13 le cheval volant "t
he flying horse"
14 Pegasus winged horse in classical mythology
14 chez ... feu "with fiery nostrils"
16 basest horn lowest part (plays on the sense of "musical instrument lowest in pitch") 17 pipe to charm the hundred-eyed giant Argus asleep
17 Hermes in classical mythology, Hermes played his
20 Perseus in classical mythology, the hero who beheaded the gorgon Medusa; from her blood sprang the horse Pegasus 23 jades worn-out horses
24 absolute perfect
26 palfreys horses for riding (particularly by women) as opposed to war-horses; a word associated with romantic tales of wandering knights 27 bidding command
27 countenance appearance/bearing
31 rising ... lamb i.e. all day long
31 lodging going to bed, settling down
31 vary express a set theme in fresh words (rhetorical term) 33 the sands i.e. infinite particles of sand
36 lay ... functions set aside their business or occupation 41 courser swift horse, charger
42 bears carries your weight in riding/during sex
43 Me i.e. only me
43 prescript prescribed, appropriate
44 particular personal, private
46 shrewdly sharply, severely/shrewishly, bad-temperedly
46 shook your back jolted you/had sex with you
48 Mine ... bridled i.e. my mistress is a woman, not a horse 49 belike presumably
49 rode as a horseman/sexually
50 kern of Ireland Irish foot-soldier/peasant
50 hose breeches
51 straight strossers tight trousers (worn by the Irish)/bare skin 52 horsemanship perhaps with a pun on "whores"
54 foul bogs muddy mires/diseased vaginas/dirty anuses
56 as lief rather
56 jade worn-out horse/prostitute (possibly picking up a pun in the dauphin's horse and rendering it "whores") 57 my ... hair implying that the Constable's bewigged mistress does not, as she is bald from syphilis 60 to as
61 'Le ... bourbier' "The dog is returned to his own vomit, and the washed sow to the mire" (proverbial) 63 use utilize/employ sexually
64 kin ... purpose relevant
68 fall i.e. be knocked off
69 want lack (stars)
70 many great many
71 honour honest/noble
72 Ev'n just
74 desert what he deserves
77 faced ... way outfaced, shamed and driven away
78 about the ears i.e. beating the heads
80 go to hazard place a bet
82 hazard risk, danger
87 eat all he kills implies that he won't kill anyone
89 foot may play on the sense of "vulva" or on French foutre ("fuck") 89 tread out trample on and erase, i.e. prove wrong (with sexual connotations, to tread being also "to have sex") 90 active energetic/sexually vigorous
91 Doing having sex
91 still constantly
92 did harm hurt, injured/upset anyone
98 What's who's
99 he i.e. the dauphin
101 no hidden virtue i.e. it is obvious/it does not exist 103 lackey servant, who has presumably seen the dauphin's supposed valor in the form of a beating 103 hooded concealed, masked (like a hunting falcon)
104 bate flutter its wings/abate, diminish
108 take up counter
110 Have ... eye I'll strike the very target/tenderest part 112 bolt short blunt arrow suitable for use by a fool/penis 112 soon shot plays on the notion of premature ejaculation 113 shot over overshot the target, i.e. your proverb does not fit the sequence 114 overshot outshot, beaten in archery