Act Two Footnotes and Glossary

ACT TWO 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 Latin so 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'.

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 II Scene I – This scene is inspired by a scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It is my interpretation of what could have happened before Dumbledore was killed. It may not please purists who wish me to follow the occurrences in the book as seen through Harry's eyes.

II.i.28 – I have done research into fortune telling by ordinary playing cards. Kings are men of weight (importance); thee are usually older men. Queens are women and girls. Knaves/Jacks are young and/or unmarried men. Spades stand for people of dark colouring, Clubs for dark or brown eyed people. Hearts for all who are neither fair nor dark and Diamonds are for the very fair. Spades are 'chancy' suits. They stand for fated things, whether good or evil. You will notice that Sybill Trelawney says she has seen the following cards: 2 of spades, 7 of spades, 10 of spades and knave of spades. Certain combinations of cards have certain meanings. From my research, I learnt that 7 of spades with a court card (i.e. a king, queen or knave of any suit) mean the treachery of a friend. The combination of a 10 of spades and knave of spades mean the coming of trouble and/or unrest. Knave of spades can also mean 'night' and 'deceit'. 7 of spades mean you will suffer a loss through death, estrangement, hate, malice or jealousy of others. A 2 of spades mean 'removal', how you interpret that is up to you. 10 of spades means unhappiness, grief and sickness.

II.i.23-32 – These card predictions by Sybill Trelawney appear in Chapter 10 of HBP.

II.i.29 – I have written the lines about the Knave (Jack) of Spades to be deliberately ambiguous. I mean it to refer to both Severus and Harry. Both are relatively young vis-à-vis Albus Dumbledore. The rest, I leave it to you to interpret. Some will tell me that the Knave of Spades means Severus because Harry should be represented the Knave of Hearts because hearts represent people with dark hair and blue or green eyes. However, I choose to interpret the lines ambiguously. Both Severus and Harry dislike and fear their questioners be the questioners Dumbledore or Voldemort. I shall leave you to meditate on that.

II.i.36 – For those of you who do not understand this line, Sybill is saying, "why does this card drop so frequently from my shawls whenever I move?"

II.i.37 – The "distant vibrations of coming catastrophe" prediction and the meaning of the "lightning-struck tower" occur in chapter 25 of HBP. "Strunken" is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "struck", as in past tense of "strike".

II.i.40 – "List" means to "listen".

II.i.44 – 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.

II.i.55-56 – The lines "Demand me nothing – what you think you know / You know – there is nothing I can say to you" is a tribute to Shakespeare's Othello. Dumbledore, like Iago, is now taking refuge in silence. Make what you will of it.

II.i.57 – In the old days, "glass" had several meanings: (1) looking glass, i.e. mirror, (2) drinking glass, (3) hour glass, (4) reflection, (5) spectacles, (6) magnifying glass, (7) telescope, just to name a few. The glass that Dumbledore refers to is "hour glass".

II.i.58 – "List" means to "listen".

Act II Scene III – This is a dramatic reinterpretation of Albus Dumbledore's death scene in HPB. The events described herein will not please the purists.

II.ii.48 – "An" means "if".

II.ii.52-53 – These lines refer to Draco's schemes of killing Dumbledore and his apparent disregard for anything else and his willingness to exploit the innocent. It refers to the near deaths of Ronald Weasley and Katie Bell, the 'borrowing' of Hermione's communication-coin idea and poison wine idea, as well as Madam Rosmerta. What Dumbledore is saying is that Draco has made used of the above named people in his attempt to kill him. And the way that Draco has made use of them made it seem like it was using the Imperius curse even though he has not been doing so (except in the case of Rosmerta and perhaps Katie Bell if you want to interpret it that way). In a way, Draco has also played Harry, Severus, Dumbledore, &ca like puppets. Think about it.

II.ii.75-121 – From here until the end of the scene, all the asides between Severus and Dumbledore can be interpreted in two ways: (a) communications through Legilimency, or (b) taken as it is at face value – each man's private thoughts. To support the view posited in (a), you will notice that Legilimency is implied in the text of the play as both men's asides are replies to each other thoughts. To support the view posited in (b), you need only look at the asides, where each man points out to us (the audience) the expressions of the other man. I leave it to you to interpret it how you will.

II.ii.89 – "Especial" here means "especially".

II.ii.117 – The difference between farewell and adieu is very important; they do not just mean "goodbye". Adieu denotes a certain finality in the good bye where you wish the parting person to be safe with God (very useful when you are talking to a dying person or to someone you will not see for the rest of your life. But a "farewell" is a blessing (cf. Severus's reply in II.ii.120, note how different it is from his original wish of adieu in II.ii.116), it wishes the person well before they leave. Since you do not wish them to be with God, there is a chance that you will see him/her again.

Act II Scene III – This is a dramatic reinterpretation of Albus Dumbledore's funeral scene in HPB. The events described herein will not please the purists. It is loosely inspired by a scene from Shakespeare's Richard III. I am an unabashed AD/MM shipper as well. Minerva's reaction left me greatly dissatisfied. Thus, I have written this. We will see more of Minerva by and by.

Act II Scene III stage directions – The term "corse" in the stage instructions refers to "dead body" or "corpse".

Act II Scene III – Stage instructions regarding Shacklebolt. I apologise to Shacklebolt fans for giving him only a walk-on role.

II.iii.4 – "Obsequiously" in Tudor English means "respectfully".

II.iii.15 – "Windows" means "wounds" if you follow the analogy in Minerva's lamentations.

II.iii.55 – "Bare" is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "bore", as in the past tense of "bear".

II.iii.164 – I called Dumbledore "Bee" because Dumbledore is early mediaeval English (c.1300-c.1500) for Bumblebee. Make what you will of this reference.

II.iii.184 – The reference to the sun pays tribute to the fact that Severus is a Capricorn. As a Capricorn, he embodies the typical characteristics of the star sign – he is petty, parsimonious, stern, stifling and strong-willed. As the feminine cardinal earth sign ruled by the Sun (we may interpret the Sun as Dumbledore if you like), gives the Capricorn a cold, cruel-minded streak with unquenchable ambition.

II.iii.219-221 – "Qui jacet in terra, non habet unde cadat. / In me consumpsit vires fortuna nocendo, / Nil superset ut jam possit obese magis" is Latin for "If one lies on the ground, one has no further to fall. Towards me Fortune has exhausted her power to injure; there is nothing further that can happen to me." These lines are adapted from Seneca's Agamemnom.

II.iii.222 – Fortune, as previously mentioned, 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. But he will come to make something more of Fortune. You will have to read and tell me what you see.

II.iii.279 – Hermione's usage of "politic" is deliberately ambiguous. It could mean cunning, or it could mean political. It is up to the reader to discern.

II.iii.297-298 – This pays tribute to Dumbledore's love of sweets. This will have a greater bearing in Act V where we hear Voldemort's pre-final battle rant about his nightmares. There is portion of that speech in Act 5 (V.ii.117-118) where Voldemort says he dreamt Dumbledore offered him a sherbet lemon as a panacea to his sins. The sweets here are likened to medicine. Medicine doesn't cure it only treats the symptoms. Think what you will of this.

II.iii.307 – The line is "Instructs her the next way to suspect thee..." In this context the word "next" means "nearest".

II.iv.17 – "Misshaped" (pronounced with 3 syllables) is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "misshapen".

II.iv.31 – Riddle is a double entendre.

II.iv.39 –Notice the line, "An Fortune should I be". "An" means "if".

II.iv.56 – The devil referred to in this line is a double entendre. It could mean Dumbledore, Voldemort or Severus.

II.iv.57 – "Quietus est" is Latin phrase used by mediaeval accountants and lawyers. It is usually used to say that your household and/or business accounts have been correctly discharged. Alternately, in Shakeaspeare's Hamlet, it means an ejection from one's body and life. Here, it serves as a double pun: (a) Severus's expulsion from the Order, (b) Severus's perceived expulsion from life, (c) Severus's expulsion from the Death Eaters, and (d) the other characters' expulsion from life.

II.iv.71 – "Vindicta mihi" is Latin for "vengeance is mine".

II.iv.92 – "Thou art a Prince prudent" has many meanings. Hermione is referring to (a) Severus's heritage by calling on his mother's name, (b) making a reference to Machiavelli's The Prince which advises that a prince have equal parts force and cunning through prudence, and (c) Severus's innate nobility of character that renders him almost royal. If you wish to read Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, I recommend the edition translated by Harvey C. Mansfield.

II.iv.100 – "Blow'd" (pronounced with 1 syllable) and "Blowed" (pronounced with 2 syllables) is Tudor/Elizabethan English for "blown".

II.iv.109 – In the old days, "an" meant "if". This meaning was valid until the English Regency era.

II.iv.130 – By "plaints" I mean complaints. It's a common abbreviation in Elizabethan English.

II.iv.135 – "Bosom bows" mean "close friends".

II.iv.122-152 – Severus' soliloquy (the English portion) is drawn from Ovid and Hesiod.

II.iv.139-152 – The explanation for these lines is a little tedious. These lines are adapted from Lucretius, Ovid and Vergil. The Latin here is solely for the metre and the impact. Some people tend to go on in another language when they are cross, I have this trait myself and have bestowed it in my Severus. If you who take issue with the Latin, I refer to the following sections: (a) the Footnotes and Glossary entitled "Choice of Latin: An Explication" and (b)the author's notes that precedes the play – this play seeks to be true to the style of drama written during the Tudor era.

Please bear with me, as I attempt to give you a line by line translation.

O aliquis mihi quas pulchrum ver educat herbas

Misceat, et nostro detur medicina dolori;

Aut, si qui faciunt animis oblivia, succos

Praebeat; ipse metam magnum quaecunque per orbem

Gramina Sol pulchras effert in luminis oras;

Ipse bibam, quicquid meditatur saga veneni,

Quicquid et herbarum vi caeca nenia nectit:

Omnia perpetiar, lethum quoque, dum semel omnis

Noster in extincto moriatur pectore sensus.

Ergo tuos oculos nunquam, mea vita, videbo,

Et tua perpetuus sepelivit lumina somnus?

Emoriar tecum: sic, sic juvat ire sub umbras.

At tamen absistan properato cedere letho,

Ne mortem vindicta tuam tum nulla sequatur.

This long, pedantic and rambling speech is translated line by line into English below. My translation is rather literal at times (even after double translation – double translation is where one translates from language X to language Y and from language Y to language X again to see how close one's translation is close to the original language), so bear with me.

O, let someone bind for me the herbs which beautiful spring fosters,

And let a salve be given for our grief; or let him apply juices,

If there are any that bring forgetfulness to men's minds.

I myself shall gather anywhere in the great world

Whatever plants the sun draws forth into the fair regions of light;

I myself shall drink whatever drug the wise woman devises,

And whatever herbs incantations assembles by its secret power.

I shall face all things, death even, until the moment

Our every feeling dies in this dead breast.

And so shall I never again, my life, see those eyes of yours

And has everlasting slumber sealed up your light of life?

I shall perish with you: thus, thus would it please me to go to the shades below.

But none the less, I shall keep myself from yielding to a hastened death,

Lest in that case no revenge should follow your death.

Consider the meaning of these words vis-à-vis Severus's present thoughts, his past, what we know of him from canon and his views on Hermione in this play up to this point in time and what possibly lies ahead...