Act One: Footnotes & Glossary

ACT ONE NOTES

FOOTNOTES & GLOSSARY

Tanquam Ovis is Latin for "like a lamb to the slaughter". I shall leave you to devise the identities of the sacrificial lambs that were slaughtered, why I have opted to slaughter them and why their deaths be significant.

Tanquam Ovis Explanation

I obtained the phrase Tanquam Ovis from my reading on Elizabeth I. Tanquam Ovis appears with the meaning "like a lamb to the slaughter"in John Foxe's Book of Martyrs, published in 1583. All page references in this section refer to the 1583 edition of The Book of Martyrs. In using John Foxe's Book of Martyrs and adopting Sir Philip Sidney's definition of the function of poetry (i.e. fiction) with reference to the Horatian dictum of to teach and delight' (docere et delectare), I am paying homage to the 16th-17th century tradition of literature. In subscribing to Sidney's widely accepted maxim, Foxe positions Book of Martyrs, the title by which his ecclesiastical history was known from the beginning, at the didactic end of the scale. Nevertheless, its array of theological disputations, treatises, heresy examinations, instructive accounts of the painful deaths of martyrs who were burnt alive, and other texts afford frequent moments of aesthetic pleasure through the employment by Foxe or his sources of a diversity of rhetorical schemes, stylistic figures, and devices of characterization. Drawing upon elements of this kind, the Book of Martyrs functions as an encyclopedia of literary genres including many kinds of verse, martyrologies, fables, ballads, beast fables, fanciful tales, romanticized adventure narratives, and many other writings. Tanquam Ovis appears in Book 10 where he discusses the ongoing disputes between Catholics and Protestants. He enjoys using the Tanquam Ovis phrase as an allegory if you like, so much that Elizabeth (when she was just Princess Elizabeth and heir to Mary I) applied the messianic figure of Tanquam Ovis. In the narrative concerning her imprisonment, Princess Elizabeth applies the messianic figure of tanquam ovis ('like a sheep' [led to slaughter], Isa. 53:7; Acts 8:32 – this is more obvious if you read the Vulgate version of the bible where Tanquam Ovis = like a sheep led to the slaughter) to her own endangerment as a Christlike lamb. (p. 2094b). Tanquam Ovis was popular device and saying in Tudor times. Writing from prison, John Bradford declares: 'I am now as a sheep appointed to the slaughter' (p. 1654). In a letter sent from one prisoner to another, John Careless consoles an inmate that he is fortunate not only to testify to his faith in Christ, 'but also to suffer for his sake, as one of his silly [i.e., innocent] sheep appointed to the slaughter' (p. 1928). The narrator of a story about yet another martyr, Julian Palmer, writes that he 'was led away as a lamb to the slaughter' by a prison keeper who was like 'a ravening wolf greedy of his prey' (p. 1937).

Choice of Latin: An Explication

Please bear in mind that the Latin in this play is Mediaeval Latin, i.e. Latin of the High Middle Ages. Henry VIII's reign is considered to fall under the High Middle Ages. Mediaeval Latin is often religious in tone and subject; playwrights, authors, poets and lovers (writing love letters) frequently used such Latin with such overtones in their work. I have written everything in Mediaeval Latinso as to be true to the custom of the time [cf. Author's notes at the start of the play before the title]. It is for this reason that I do not use Roman Latin.

Gentle Warning

Readers and Purists who expect the authoress to remain true to the events of HBP may be offended and displeased with my interpretation of this work. This play is at times anachronistic (as was Shakespeare), idiosyncratic, and singular. Artistic license has been utilised to reinterpret some of the occurrences in HBP. The authoress has also used dramatic license to postulate certain theories in this play. For these reasons, Tanquam Ovis may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Problem Play: An Explication

This is intentionally written as a problem play. Those of you who look on the meaning of "problem plays" as Isben's understanding of 'A type of drama that focuses on a specific social problem', may be disappointed to learn that I follow the Shakespearean style of problem play. To understand what a Shakespearean problem play is, let me quote you W.W. Lawrence's definition; "the essential characteristic of a problem play ... is that a perplexing and distressing complication in human life is presented in a spirit of high seriousness ... the theme is handled so as to arouse not merely interest or excitement, or pity or amusement, but to probe the complicated interrelations of character and action, in a situation admitting of different ethical interpretations .... The 'problem' is not like one in mathematics, to which there is a single true solution, but is one of conduct, as to which there be no fixed and immutable laws. Often it cannot be reduced to any formula, any one question, since human life is too complex to be so neatly simplified" (Shakespeare's Problem Comedies, 1931, p.4).

Alternatively, you may prefer Schanzer's definition, cf. Ernest Schanzer, The Problem Plays of Shakespeare: A Study of "Julius Caesar, Measure for Measure, and Antony and Cleopatra, London, 1963. He says, "The definition of the Shakespearian problems play which I therefore suggest is: 'A play in which we find a concern with a moral problem which is central to it, presented in such a manner that we be unsure of our moral bearings, so that uncertain and divided responses to it in the minds of the audience be possible or even probable' (p. 6)."It will also be noted that, in opposition to Boas, Lawrence, and Tillyard, I do not mark off the problem play from the comedies and tragedies as a separate type. What, to my mind, distinguishes the problem play is a particular mode of presenting moral problems and this can be found in Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies alike' (pp. 6 & 7).

This means that as a Shakespearean problem play, Tanquam Ovis sets out to do the following: (a) forward a refusal or failure to wholly credit the dignity of man, and the significance that that gives the individual in tragedy; (b) place An emphasis (comic, derisive, satiric) on human shortcoming, even when man is engaged in great affairs; (c) suggest that there is usually another side to all human affairs, and that the "other side" to the serious, dignified, noble, famous and so forth, is comic. This implies scepticism of man's worth, importance and value; and may range from the quizzical through the ironical to the cynical; (d) expressing unhappiness, disappointment, resentfulness or bitterness about human life, by inverting these feelings and presenting the causes of them as something ironic; (e) possess a corresponding attitude towards traditionally funny subjects which insinuates that in some way they be serious, or that the stock response to them bypasses pain at human shortcomings or wickedness; or that this stock response depends on a lack of sympathy or insight which an author can make us aware of without abolishing the comic situation (f) Interpolated into the critical analytical patterns we find "ideal" figures who check our prattle of "cynicism," "satire" or "misanthropy"; (g) involve us in discoveries always of a bad reality beneath the fair appearances of things: revelations, painful in the extreme and we be made to feel the pain – of the distressing, disintegrating possibilities of human meanness (ignobility and treachery, craft and selfishness).

All Shakespeare's Problem Plays be profoundly concerned with seeming and being; and this can cover both sex and human worth (as each claims nobility). Combine this with what I have just said about "disintegrating" discoveries, and, with a wider generalisation, you can say that they share a quality which can be called "maskedness" not only because "unmaskng" describes so many of the actions, but because the total effect is to present a world of appearances (very close to a realistically observed reality) capable of opening –like a masque set transformation scene – and disclosing something totally different. This "maskedness" brings doubt, mixed feelings, a "nervous" curiosity and/or a kind of fear.

Whether I have successfully produced a Shakespearean style problem play is for you to decide.

Brief Primer on Tudor and Jacobean English

In Tudor times right up to Jacobean times, "your" and "you" were used either in the plural or to denote a certain formality of speech. "Thee", "thine", "thou" were more intimate and informal. I have kept to this general ruling in this play. This trend of "thou" being singular and "you" as plural started in the 13th century to copy French (vous and tu). It was usual for "you" to be used by inferiors to superiors, such as children to parents, or servants to masters. The superiors will use "thou" or one of its variants to their inferiors. "Thou" was used to invoke the gods and it was usual when lower classes talk to each other, they use "thou". Upper classes used "you" when talking to each other, though this rule may be bent if the parties decide to be informal and use "thou". Thus, changing from "thou" to "you" (and vice versa) in a conversation always conveys special meaning. "Thou" can be used as either a sign of intimacy (among the Upper classes) or as an insult (when the Upper classes speak to the lower classes). It depends how the actor/director wants to play it. Example: Gertrude tells Hamlet, "You have thy father much offended". Hamlet replies, "You have my father much offended." It is clear Hamlet is insulting his mother. Mother, i.e. Gertrude insists that Hamlet has insulted Claudius (notice she uses 'thou' with him. But Hamlet, who alternates between 'thou' and 'you' with his mother, uses "You" in this context as an insult. There be many such examples in Hamlet and Shakespeare in general, look out for it in the play.

In Shakespearean English there is no such thing as "are". You either use "be", "beest", "be'st" or "been".

In Shakespearean English, there is no such thing as "was" or "were", you either use "wert" or "wast".

I'll'd is the Shakespearean way of writing "I will had" or "I would have". It is pronounced with 1 syllable.

They'll'd is the Shakespearean way of writing "they will have" or "I would have". It is pronounced with 1 syllable.

Do not allow your modern pronunciation of words colour your reading of this play. As a rule, anything in past tense that ends with 'ed' (e.g. underlined) is pronounced in Tudor/Elizabethan/Jacobean times with an extra syllable. You must pronounce the 'ed'. For instance, 'underlined' is pronounced as 'un-der-line-nead'. The opposite holds true when a word has a 'd at its end. Let X be a word. When a word with spelt as X'd (e.g. underlin'd), it is pronounced as we would in modern day English, as underlined, with a silent 'nead'.

"Strook" is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "Struck". This word appears in the stage instruction somewhere in Act I scene I after line 50.

Brief Primer on Stage Directions used in Tudor-Jacobean Masques and Plays

Stage direction glossary is as follows:

Aside – A speech direction. A speech not heard by other characters on stage. Also has alternative meaning as movement direction.

Above – A movement direction that occurs in the gallery or upper stage.

Aloft – A movement direction that occurs on the upper stage.

Apart – A movement direction that occurs to one side, a short distance away.

Aside – A movement direction that occurs to one side, away from the others.

Below – A movement direction that occurs on the lower stage.

Break in – A movement direction that is burst on to the stage.

Brought out – A movement direction that is brought out on to the stage.

Enter – A movement direction that occurs when one or more characters come on to the stage.

Exeunt – A movement direction that occurs when more than one character leaves the stage.

Exit – A movement direction that occurs when one character leaves the stage.

In – A movement direction that occurs when one or more characters go into the dressing room at the back of the stage.

Manent – A movement direction that occurs when the characters remain on stage.

Off – A movement direction that occurs off-stage.

Severally/several ways – A movement direction that occurs in different directions (said of people arriving or leaving).

Solus – A movement direction denoting that a character enters by himself/herself alone.

Top, on the – A movement direction that occurs on the upper stage.

Within – A movement direction that occurs behind the stage façade (i.e. outside).

Alarum/Alarums – An event direction denoting a call to arms.

Excursions/ excursions, in an – An event direction denoting a bout of fighting across the stage.

Cornet – A music direction denoting a fanfare (as played by cornets, a horn-like wind instrument).

Drum – A music direction denoting drummers are present and playing their drums, usually for wars, coronations and funerals.

Flourish – A music direction denoting a fanfare of trumpets or horns, usually accompanying an exit or entrance.

Hautboys – A music direction denoting the playing of a woodwind double-reed instrument resembling an oboe.

Sennet – A music direction denoting a trumpet call signalling a procession.

Trump / Trumpet – A music direction denoting a trumpeter playing.

Tucket – A music direction denoting a personal trumpet call.

Explicatory Notes and Glossary Proper

Explanatory notations for lines in the specific act, scene and lines will be denoted thus: Act, scene, line. This means that Act 1, scene 4, line 48 will be noted as I.iv.48.

Act I – I assume that Lucius has escaped from Azkaban some time in Book 6. I have taken dramatic and interpretative license in doing so. If this does not tickle your fancy, I apologise. This fact is explicitly stated in Act I scene iii.

I.i.9 – "At the sight of these new able bodies" is a hint that there be new recruits to the Death Eater ranks.

I.i.23 – "Jealous" is a double entendre.

I.i.65 – Jealousy has three meanings in Tudor/Elizabethan English: (a) suspicion, (b) envy, and (c) resentment.

I.i.73 – "Spake" is Tudor English past-tense for "speak".

I.i.90 – The colour blue at night had special significance for the 16th and 17th century reader because the people tend believed that ghosts and other such ghouls and creatures only walked abroad (about) when the candle burns blue or when blue light is present. When two full moons occur in a single month, the second full moon is called a "Blue Moon." Another definition of the blue moon is the third full moon that occurs in a season of the year which has four full moons (usually each season has only three full moons. Make what you will of this.

I.i.123 – Fortune is a recurring theme in this play. . From the 1400-1700, Fortune was depicted in engravings as blind, sometimes deaf, and frequently standing on a rolling sphere. This expresses her lack of discrimination and mutability. Severus adds to this understanding of Fortune by linking her with justice and retribution. Ironically, he also implies at this point in the play that Fortune is discriminatory because she is blind, deaf and perched on a rolling sphere.

I.ii.2 – In Shakespearean plays, women called their husbands, "my lord" fairly frequently. It's also meant to be a pun. In the old days, you served a nobleman/noble lady whom you called "my lord" and "my lady". Ironically, the Death Eaters also address Voldemort as "My Lord".

I.ii.11 – The new moon is the phase of the moon when the moon is not visible from Earth, because the side of the moon that is facing us is not being lit by the sun.

I.ii.12 – Janus is one of the oldest gods of the Roman pantheon. He is frequently represented as having two faces, one looking forwards and the other backwards. Severus Snape's birthday is January 9th, which is the festival of Janus. Interestingly, in the mythology, Janus was driven from Greece by Jupiter/Jove (that Zeus to you Greek mythology enthusiasts) and given Saturnia to rule. During the reign of Janus, the people of Saturnia were perfectly honest and Saturnia was a land of peace and plenty. Janus was believed to have invented the use of money. The oldest bronze Roman coins had the effigy of Janus on one side and the prow of a boat on the reverse. There is an interesting legend about Janus involving Romulus. After Romulus and his companions carried off the Sabine women, Titus Tatius and the Sabines attacked the city of Saturnia (which was a village situated ob the heights of the Capitol). One night, Tarpeia delivered the citadel into the hands of the Sabines. They had already scaled the heights of the Capitol when Janus launched a jet of hot water which frightened them and put them to flight. To commemorate this miracle it was decided that in time of war, the Temple of Janus should always be left open so that the god could come to aid of the Romans. It was closed only if the Roman Empire was at peace. Now, that you know about Janus, think on what this says for the character of Severus Snape.

I.ii.22 – This is a double entendre. By "mind's eye" Mood means both his magic eye and his mind's opinion.

I.ii.26 – "Jealous" here means suspicious.

I.ii.29 – c/f The Twelve Labours of Hercules. Hercules, the Latin equivalent of Herakles, was the son of Jupiter/Zeus and Alcemene. His jealous stepmother, Juno/Hera, tried to murder the infant Hercules by putting a serpent in his cradle. Luckily for Hercules, he was born with great strength and killed the serpent. By the time Hercules was an adult, he had already killed a lion. Eventually, Juno drove Hercules insane. Due to his insanity, Hercules killed his wife, Megara, and their three children. Hercules exiled himself because of the shame that he had brought on himself through his lack of sanity. Hercules decided to ask the Delphic Oracle what he should do to regain his honour. The Oracle told Hercules to go to Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, and serve him for twelve years. King Eurystheus couldn't think of any tasks that might prove difficult for the mighty son of Jupiter, so Juno came down from her palace on Olympus to help him. Together, the twosome came up with twelve tasks for Juno's mortal stepson to complete. These tasks are now known as the twelve labours of Hercules. Hercules' first labour was to kill the menacing Nemean Lion; Hercules strangled the creature and carried it back to Mycenae. The second task was to overcome the nine-headed snake known as the Hydra; Hercules' cousin Ioloas helped him out by burning the stumps of the heads after Hercules cut off the heads; since the ninth head was immortal, Hercules rolled a rock over it. The third task was to find the golden-horned stag and bring it back alive; Hercules followed the stag around for one full year; he finally captured the stag and took it back alive. The fourth labour was to capture a wild boar that terrorized Mycenae's people; Hercules chased the boar up a mountain where the boar fell in to a snow drift, where Hercules subdued it. The fifth task of Hercules was to clean the Augean stables, where thousands of cattle were housed, in a single day; Hercules diverted two rivers so that they would flow into the Augean stables. The sixth labour was to destroy the man-eating Stymphalian birds; Hercules drove them out of their hiding places with a rattle and shot them with poison-tipped arrows. The sixth task was for Hercules to capture a Cretean savage bull; Hercules wrestled it to the ground and took it back to King Eurystheus. The eighth labour was to capture the four man-eating mares of Thrace; Hercules threw the master of the mares to them; the horses became very tame, so Hercules safely led them back to Mycenae. Hercules' ninth labour was to obtain the girdle of the fierce Amazon warrior queen, Hippolyta; Hippolyta willingly gave her girdle to Hercules, but Juno convinced the Amazons that Hercules was trying to take Hippolyta from them, so Hercules fought them off and returned to his master with the girdle. The tenth labor was to capture the cattle of the monster, Geryon; Hercules killed Geryon, claimed the cattle, and took them back to the king. The eleventh task was to get the golden-apples of the Hesperides; Hercules told Atlas that if he would get the apples for him, he (Hercules) would hold the heavens for him; when Atlas returned from his task, Hercules tricked him into taking back the heavens. The final labour of Hercules was to bring the three-headed watchdog of the underworld, Cerebus, to the surface without using any weapons; Hercules seized two of Cerberus' heads and the dog gave in. Hercules took the dog to his master, who ordered him to take it back. Finally, after twelve years and twelve tasks, Hercules was a free man. Hercules went to the town of Thebes and married Deianira. She bore him many children. Later on in their life, the male centaur, Nessus, abducted Deianira, but Hercules came to her rescue by shooting Nessus with a poison tipped arrow. The dying Nessus told Deianira to keep a portion of his blood to use as a love potion on Hercules if she felt that she was losing him to another woman. A couple of a months later, Deianira thought that another woman was coming between her and her husband, so Deianira washed one of Hercules' shirts in Nessus' blood and gave it to him to wear. Nessus had lied to her, for the blood really acted as a poison and almost killed Hercules. On his funeral pyre, the dying Hercules ascended to Olympus, where he was granted immortality and lived among the gods. For more information on this, please refer to this website (n.b. the names spelt here are based on Ancient Greek transliteration and may differ from the commonly known Roman variants) http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/HeraclesLabours.html

I.ii.31 – "Political" is double entendre. It means both cunning and political (the modern meaning).

I.ii.38 – "Yet, some good he hath done" is a double entendre that can be interpreted in a number of ways, ironic, sarcastic, well-meaning and praise. This line will repeated in a later part of the play.

I.ii.41 – "Worm" in Shakespearean English refers to "serpent".

I.ii.42 – "Wink" is Tudor English for "turn a blind eye to".

I.ii.49 – By now, you should know that Moody's aside is ironic. At some points, it seems as though he is describing Harry and Albus Dumbledore as well. For instance, "hears men's suits without hearing ears....hearsay" is a reference to Harry's wonderful ability to misconstrue anything that he overhears. The point I am trying to make in Moody's aside is that Severus's so-called flaws be not unique to him alone (though no one else sees it); there be other characters in the HP-verse that show these flaws as well, most notably Harry and Albus Dumbledore.

I.ii.104 – "Nought" here means "not". It could also mean lost, ruined or brought to nothing. Some readers like to take that 'nought' and 'naught' are the same, but in my study of Shakespeare, I learnt that that is not the case.

I.ii.105 – "Naught" here means "evil turn" or something that is deliberately done to cause hurt and harm. It could also mean wickedness, offensiveness, immorality, sinfulness, damaging, hurtful and harmful.

I.ii.121 – This line, "War of all wars against all", pays tribute to the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) who stated in Leviathan that in state of nature where primitive man lived and there were no societies, man was solitary and as such, it was a case of war of all against all for survival. He also says that this idea of 'war of all against all' carried over to the modern times because man (primitive and modern) fear violent death the most and he will do anything to prevent it. In the state of nature, we'll have to kill each other because it's a war of all against all. Why? Because humans regard every other human being as a competitor, who will try to deprive me of my desires and so you've no choice but to eliminate your competition. In the state of government and in the state of nature, there is now law and therefore no justice and I then do whatever I think is necessary to preserve myself. In the state of nature, the only cardinal virtues be FORCE and FRAUD. These be Machiavelli's virtues. So, he recreates the Machiavellian universe in the state of nature and this is in fact, Hobbes's answer to the Machiavellian problem – what has Hobbes done? He's made us all into Machiavellian princes. What be the consequences of a war of all against all? Under the condition of the war against all principle, life will be poor, solitary, brutish and short. He spells out the implication and he takes Machiavelli's principles so seriously that he universalises them, Machiavelli's original teachings was only meant for the new prince who will make use of the teachings. Hobbes's solution to deal with the new prince is to make everyone into Machiavellian princes. So what happens? These be the consequences of making the world wholly and truly Machiavellian. Under these conditions of war of all against all, there will be certain passions that will incline men to peace. When you're terrified of something then this great passion of fear also focuses your mind because fear rationalises us. In the state of war, we be focused because we fear dying a violent death. That makes us rational and under these conditions, and these fears we can come to some agreement to end this state of war because no one wants to die. Life is motion, which is about going out and getting things we like and desire, not dying and ending our desires and wants. So enter the role of reason. Man is a machine, put him in the state of nature and he will kill other humans; fear of death rationalises them and they will find a way to get out of the situation. If you are interested in reading this book, I recommend these two editions. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, ed., Michael Oakeshott, with an introduction by Richard S. Peters, Touchstone books, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1997. Or you might like Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed., Richard Tucker, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press. If you are a student, you would do better to read the Tucker version, as he converts the archaic English into the modern spelling. If you still encounter difficulty reading it, I recommend you read it aloud.

I.ii.122-124 – "O multum dilecte Deo, tibi militat aether, / Et conjuratae curvato poplite gentes / Succumbunt: recti soror est victoria juris" is Latin for "O, one much beloved of God, for thee, the heavens contend, and the united peoples fall down on bended knee. Victory is sister to just rights."

I.ii.149 – "Fell'd" (pronounced with 1 syllable) or "felled" (pronounced with 2 syllables) is Tudor/Elizabethan English for the past tense of "fell". The meaning of "fell" here is the same as "fell by violence".

I.ii.153-154 – "Pede pes et cuspide cuspis; / Arma sonant armis, vir petiturque viro" is Latin for "Foot against foot and spear against spear, arms ring on arms and man is assailed by man."

I.ii.175 – "Brak'd" (pronounced with 1 syllable) or "Braked" (pronounced with 2 syllables) is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "broke", as on past tense of "break".

I.ii.185 – The Styx is a river in the Ancient Greek Underworld. For more information, read Hesiod's Theogony. If you are interested, you may like to read this book: Hesiod, Theogony, ed., M. L. West, Oxford University Press; Reprint edition, 1999. The Styx is essentially the name of a spring in Arcadia which emerged from a rock above ground, then disappeared underground again. Its waters was poisonous for humans and cattle and could break iron, metal and pottery, though a horse's hoof was unharmed by it. You may recall the legend that says Achilles was dipped into the Styx by his mother Thetis in the hope of giving her son immortality. You may also know that Alexander the Great was allegedly poisoned by the waters of the Styx (clearly not even justice in his soul). More importantly, the Greek gods used the waters of the Styx to make oaths and pronouncements. This is the meaning of the Styx that I have incorporated into this line. According to mythology, Zeus would send Iris to draw an ewer o water from the Styx, and bring it back to Olympus, so that it 'witnessed' the oath. If the god subsequently perjured himself, he became unable to breathe for an entire year and could not drink either ambrosia or nectar, at the end of the year, another test was forced on him. For nine years, he took no part in the deliberations or the feasts of the gods. He resumed his privileges only in the tenth year. Think you on the meaning of the Styx in the context of this line and this play as a whole.

Act I Scene III - This is a dramatic reinterpretation of Chapter 2 of HPB. The events described herein will not please the purists. Like Shakespeare, I do actively take liberty with historical and in this case, literary, facts. I have modelled this scene after a scene from Shakespeare's Richard III. Although this scene is modelled after chapter 2 of HBP, I insert it here after Lucius's escape from Azkaban for dramatic reasons. Call it my utilisation of the playwright's licence.

Act I Scene III, Wormtail's entrance – Lucius is not well. Why is he unwell? There are two reasons: (a) He has just escaped from Azkaban. I assume the attempt took quite a lot out of him (b) He was struck by Voldemort in Act I Scene i, cf. notes on Act I Scene i above. Since Wormtail is expendable in my opinion, I only gave him a few lines. Fans of Wormtail (if there be such characters) shall see more of him a little later.

I.iii.10 – "moiety" means a half, a part, a portion, or a share. In history, it was traditionally used to denote either two kinship groups based on unilateral descent that together make up a tribe or society. Originally, I had used the Latin in the text but decided against using medietās due to its extra syllable. Shakespeare is found of the term "moiety", which we see in Antony and Cleopatra V.i.16-21. The meaning is the historical meaning where a group has spilt into two factions:

"The breaking of so great a thing should make

A greater crack. The round world

Should have shook lions into civil streets

And citizens to their dens. The death of Antony

Is not a single doom; in the name lay

A moiety of the world."

What do I mean with my usage of the term here? Why do not you read on and tell me what you think.

I.iii.13 – "eyne" is Tudor and Elizabethan English for "eyes".

I.iii.68 – "Complained" is pronounced with 3 syllables.

I.iii.73 – "Smooth" is to use fine words and be polite to.

I.iii.73 – "Cog" is to flatter.

I.iii.74 – "To duck someone" is to give them low bows of respect.

I.iii.82 – "Riddle" is a double entendre and a hint at dramatic irony.

I.iii.85 – "Provoked" is pronounced with 4 syllables.

I.iii.86 – Bellatrix's "My Lord's" is deliberately ambiguous. She may be referring to Voldemort, her husband or both.

I.iii.99 – Packhorse means work-horse, trudge and/or toiler.

I.iii.107 – "Durst" is past tense of "Dare" in Tudor/Elizabethan English.

I.iii.157 – "Misshaped" (pronounced with 3 syllables) is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "misshapen".

I.iii.175 – Malapert means impudent, saucy, impertinent.

I.iii.183 – With the line "And turn the moon of the Sun to shade", Severus is being ironic. When he says "sun", he refers to Albus Dumbledore. The "moon" has two meanings: (a) Voldemort, (b) Minerva. The Moon is feminine and is dependent on the Sun for survival. Think you on this and its significance in the play. Recall also that everything revolves around the sun.

I.iii.190 – Aery is Shakespearean English denoting any bird of prey.

I.iii.205 - Faustus is a reference to Dr Faustus.The name 'Faust' has become deeply rooted in European mythology as the name of a man who sold his soul to the devil in return for eartly power and riches. The Faust legend has been embellished and retold in many formats but its origin appears to be centred around a man who called himself Dr. Johann Faust, living in Heidelberg and employed as a calendar-maker during the early sixteenth century.

On August 20, 1507, the learned physicist Johannes Tritheim wrote to his colleague Johannes Virdung, a professor of astrology at the University of Heidelberg, about this Dr. Johann Faust: 'The man of whom you wroute me, who has presumed to call himself the prince of necromancers, is a vagabond, a babbler and a rogue.' The official municipal records of the city of Ingolstadt for June 17, 1528, also contained a short reference to the unsavory character: 'A certain man who called himself Dr. Johann Faust of Heidelberg was told to spend his penny elsewhere, and he pledged himself not to take vengenge on or to make fools of the authorities for this order.'

Rogue he may have been, but it us not clear from either writings how Faust came to be feared as a necromancer or black magician. Later accounts do offer some explanation however. There is a story attributed to Faust wherein he threatened a clergyman by vowing that he could cause all the pots in the kitchen to fly up through the chimney. Another account retells how Faust was able to treat all his friends in a tavern to endless rounds of drinks by drilling holes in a table and causing fine wines to bubble up through them. With such tales preceding him, it is hardly surprising that many believed Faust has gained his powers through a pact with the devil. 'Pacts with the devil' were all too common knowledge in magical folklore of the mid 16th to mid 17th centurys. During this period several infamous tomes where published, among them The Grimorium Verum and The Grimoire of Honorius. Both tomes give detailed accounts of how to summon the devil, and how to sell your soul to him. Apparently even Martin Luther, a contemporary of Faust's, believed that Faust's power was derived from a diabolical pact. And Faust did not deny it. Although it is more likely that Faust circulated the tale himself for some personal gain.

Severus' reference is clear enough, make what you will of it.

I.iii.209 – "Maledicat Dominus" is Latin and usually translated as "May the Lord curse him" but my understanding in this case translates it into "May the Gods curse him/her".

I.iii.217 – "The love of one's own" is culled from my reading of Plato's Republic. The love of one's own within the family instils negative values of greed and love of luxury, which leads to corruption and nepotism; to eliminate this, the value of communal sharing of property, communal living and the non-possession of precious metals and money must be taught to the Guardians to ensure they remain pure of mind and are unselfish. With the family abolished at the Guardian class, the Guardians become one united entity sharing the same opinions and not judging another's abilities on sex because they are removed from their socialised prejudices through the painstakingly precise and rigid education described in Book III. Sexual lust leads to children and the love of one's own being born, which in turn leads to nepotism, more hoarding of private property and money in order to pass it down to the next generation. This will lead to even greater corruption and will "split the city instead of making it one" (462a). Only upon learning the value of the communism of property can the Guardians see that the "sharing of everything" serves the greater purpose of "binding together to the greatest extent possible all the citizens alike" (462b) as it eliminates the ills of "greed, wealth, poverty" (422a). By combining these values and applying them with the duties advocated in the Female Drama's proposals, such as the non-discrimination of potential women Guardians by granting them the same education and opportunities as their male counterparts to test their suitability (458c) and the abolition of the family to ensure the elimination of corruption, favouritism, love of one's own, greed, wealth, ambition, love of luxury, idleness, innovation, illiberality and wrongdoing" (422a) found in Athenian democracy, Plato is establishing unity and justice in his city. If you want to read this book, I recommend this edition: Bloom, Allan, trans., The Republic of Plato, with an Interpretive Essay, New York, Basic Books, 1991.

I.iii.237 – "Tam armis quam ingenio" is Latin for "equal parts force and skill".