From King Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard.
Abbreviations. — A.-S. = Anglo-Saxon: M.E. = Middle
English (from the 13th to the 15th century) ; Fr. = French ;
Ger. = German ; Gr. = Greek ; Cf. = compare (Lat. confer) ;
Abbott refers to the excellent Shakespearean Grammar of Dr.
Abbott; Schmidt, to Dr. Schmidt's invaluable Shakespeare Lexicon.
2. Promise, assure.
5. By 'r lady, that is, by the Holy Virgin. Seldom comes the better, a proverb meaning good news is scarce. The here is the ablative of the demonstrative, and signifies with
comparatives the measure of excess or defect. The sooner the better = by how much the sooner by so much the better,
Lat. quo citius, eo melius.
11. See Ecclesiastes 10 : 16.
15. Nonage, minority.
18. God wot, God knows. Wot is the third person singular
present indicative of the verb. M. E. infinitive witen;
present tense (1) I wot, (2) thou wost (later wottest, (3) he wot
(later wotteth), plural witen; past tense, I wiste; past participle, wist. The A.-S. infinitive is witan; present (1) Ic wat, (2)
thu wast, (3) he wat, plural witen; past, wiste (also wisse), plural wiston; past participle, wist. Gerund, to witanne (modern
English, to wit).
23. Virtuous uncles, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester.
32. Solace, enjoy comfort.
41. Cannot . . . almost = can hardly. Almost frequently
follows the word which it qualifies.
How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard, 1886. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiii_2_3.html >.