29 act act out, experience and so understand

31 sighs … life-blood Sighing was believed to emit vital spirits and so in excess could be life threatening. Cf. A Midsummer Night’s Dream III.ii.97.

s.d. banquet after-dinner wine and sweets

32 towards about to take place

32–3 Not … scene? i.e. hasn’t the debauched revelry finished yet?

34 obeys is obeyed, is dominant

surfeit excess, gluttony, drunkenness and sexual promiscuity

38 rid him get rid of Fernando

duke’s ed. (King’s MS)

44 Malego white wine exported from Malaga

black-jack large leather jug for beer

44–5 i.e. he avoids wine and sticks to low alcohol ‘small beer’

47 not for grace i.e. not in penitence, which would bring her to grace

48 spleen fit of temper, passion

56 traded sold, prostituted

60 comfortable comforting

61 know ed. (knew MS)

to miss manage without

63 master’s man servant

66 ven’son venison

custard made of eggs and milk but not necessarily sweet, as in quiche

67 suckets fruit preserved in sugar

69 complement full number of personal accomplishments

to a tittle with minute exactness

70 it had need it needs to be (a fair building)

71 inmates Florida’s body is a metaphoric building in which she is hospitable to men, the ‘inmates’.

74 termers the lawyers, students and litigants, men who came up to London in term time, when law courts were in session

75 booted i.e. prepared for riding. Since ‘riding’ could mean sexual intercourse, there is an innuendo.

76 s.d. [retires] This is the first of several moments in the play (see also 1. 87) when a character remains on-stage but ceases to participate in the action.

81–2 ed. (’Tis … little one line in MS)

83 maid of honour unmarried, nobly born woman attending on a woman of the royal family

84 Amsterdam centre for puritans

85 Geneva centre for Calvinist puritans

85–6 In legend Elinor, queen of Edward I, denied (untruthfully) that she had murdered the Mayor of London’s wife. She prayed that, if she lied, the earth might swallow her up and so she sank into the ground at Charing Cross and reappeared at Queenhithe.

87 holy ed. (holly MS) Amoretta is being ironic.

88–94 These lines may be verse in MS.

88 venery practice or pursuit of sexual pleasure, punning on ‘vine’, 1. 87

tail The Latin for ‘tail’ is ‘penis’.

89 headstrong with drink

91 fall backwards for sex

92 country house London citizens often went on day trips for sex to local country taverns.

93 fire-drake will-o’-the-wisp

94 try conclusions experiment

95 yet still to come

96 Bacchus god of wine

100–3 The duchess interprets the feasting as a compliment to Isabella, but the lord governor insists it is also a compliment to the duchess.

104 health toast

108 Cannot … there will not refuse one more drink so long as it is the last one

109 period ending of the drinking but also the end of life, which the skull represents

111 Fie The duke is addressing the cup.

112 you the lord governor

118 steel sword

119 thee the duchess

123 straight straight away

125 fate ed. (ffate MS)

the fate on’t its ominous nature

126 pledge toast with drink

127 fails is wrong