ElizabethanDrama.org

presents

the Annotated Popular Edition of

THE ARRAIGNMENT of PARIS

by George Peele

Performed c. 1581
First Published 1584

Featuring complete and easy-to-read annotations.

Annotations and notes © Copyright Peter Lukacs and ElizabethanDrama.org, 2019.
This annotated play may be freely copied and distributed.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.	INTRODUCTION to the PLAY
The Olympian Gods and Goddesses:	With this, his first dramatic offering, George Peele
	immediately demonstrated his superb ability to craft finely
Jupiter, king of all the gods.	lyrical verse. The Arraignment of Paris relates the famous
Juno, queen of the gods.	mythological story of the beauty contest between the
	goddesses Juno, Pallas and Venus, whose winner was
Apollo, god of music, medicine and the sun.	chosen by Paris, a prince of Troy. Paris' decision in the
Bacchus, god of wine and revelry.	contest led the two losers to accuse him of unfair bias,
Diana, goddess of hunting and chastity.	resulting in his trial before all the major male gods of the
Mars, god of war.	Roman pantheon.
Mercury, Jupiter's messenger.	Arraignment is one of the earliest "mature" Elizabethan
Neptune, ruler of the seas.	dramas, predating the plays of the era's other well-known
Pallas, goddess of war and wisdom.	authors (except perhaps those of John Lyly, whose first
Pluto, ruler of the underworld.	plays also appeared in 1584). It is also a transitional drama,
Venus, goddess of beauty.	as indicated by its mix of 5-iamb lines and old-fashioned
Vulcan, the blacksmith.	7-iamb lines, as well as the fact that it is written almost
	entirely in rhyming couplets.
Minor Gods and Goddesses:
	NOTE on the TEXT'S SOURCE
Pan, god of flocks and herdsman.
Faunus, god of fields.	The text of the play is taken from Alexander Dyce's
Silvanus, god of forests.	1874 edition of The Arraignment of Paris, cited below
Saturn, god of agriculture.	at #3.
Pomona, goddess of orchards and gardens.
Flora, goddess of flowers and gardens.	NOTES on the ANNOTATIONS
Ate, goddess of discord.
	Mention of Dyce, Bullen, Smeaton, Benbow, Morley,
Clotho, one of the Fates.	Baskerville and Brooke in the annotations refers to the
Lachesis, one of the Fates.	notes provided by these editors in their respective editions
Atropos, one of the Fates.	of our play, each cited fully below.
The Muses, protectors of the arts.	The most commonly cited sources are listed in the
	footnotes immediately below. The complete list of
A Nymph of Diana.	footnotes appears at the end of this play.
Rhanis, a nymph.	1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.
	2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words.
Mortals:	London, New York: Penguin, 2002.
	3. Dyce, Rev. Alexander. The Dramatic and Poetical
Paris, a shepherd, son of King Priam of Troy.	Works of Robert Greene and George Peele. London:
Colin, a shepherd.	George Routledge and Sons: 1874.
Hobbinol, a shepherd.	4. Bullen, A.H. The Works of George Peele, Vol. I.
Diggon, a shepherd.	Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.
Thenot, a shepherd.	5. Smeaton, Oliphant. The Arraignment of Paris.
	London: J.M. Dent and Co., 1905.
Oenone.	6. Benbow, R. Mark, ed. The Works of George Peele
Helen.	(Charles T. Prouty, gen. ed.). New Haven: Yale University
Thestylis.	Press, 1970.
	7. Morley, Henry. English Plays. London: Cassell,
Cupids, Cyclops, Shepherds, Knights, &c.	Petter, Galpin & Co. (no date).
	15. Baskerville, Charles Read, et al. editors. Elizabethan
	and Stuart Plays. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
	1934.
	16. Brooke, C.F. Tucker, and Paradise, Nathaniel B.
	English Drama, 1580-1642. Boston: D.C. Heath and
	Company, 1933.

A. Arraignment's Rhyming Couplets.

Like its recent and well-known predecessors Gammer Gurton's Needle and Ralph Roister Doister, The Arraignment of Paris is written almost entirely in rhyming couplets. Unlike these earlier works, however, Peele's play is written in strictly metered verse, a strange mix of iambic pentameter (5 iambs, or feet, per line) and iambic heptameter (7 iambs per line), with the sections of pentameter and heptameter alternating almost at random.
Importantly, three of the major speeches of Arraignment are written in blank verse (unrhymed lines), which became the standard for Elizabethan drama under its exploitation by Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare; some later commentators were moved to consider the influence these passages had on Marlowe in particular (since he was the first dramatist to employ blank verse full-time), as he and his fellow playwrights slowly worked out the parameters of their poetry, ultimately leading to the explosive output of drama which continues to impress and delight audiences four and a half centuries later.

B. Peele's Alliteration.

Peele's verse was generally noteworthy for its heavy use of alliteration. As you read Arraignment, you may wish to note the healthy proportion of lines which contain alliteration, some lines even including two sets of alliterative words.

C. Settings, Scene Breaks and Stage Directions.

The entire play takes place in the valleys and woods of Mt. Ida, near Troy, in Asia Minor.
The original quarto of The Arraignment of Paris was divided into five Acts and multiple scenes, which organization we follow.
Finally, as is our normal practice, some stage directions have been added, and some modified, for purposes of clarity. Most of these minor changes are adopted from Dyce.

	THE ARRAIGNMENT OF PARIS
	By George Peele
	Performed c. 1581
	First Published 1584
	PROLOGUS.
		Prologus: the Prologue, or introduction to the play, was recited by a single actor, here playing the goddess Até.
	Enter Até.	Entering Character: Até, the goddess of discord and mischief, travels the earth seeking to induce men and women to rash actions that will lead to their ruin. Angry that she was not invited to the wedding of the mortal Peleus and nymph Thestis, Até plans her revenge, initiating a series of events that will culminate in the Trojan War and the destruction of Troy.^9 We many note that Peele confounds Até with her mother, Eris, the goddess of strife, with respect to this story; it was Eris who introduced the golden ball, or apple, to the three major goddesses. Note also that the Prologue is written in blank (ie. unrhymed) verse, after which the play settles in to employing rhyming couplets with the start of Act I.
1	Condemnèd soul, Até, from lowest hell,	1: Até, sower of mischief, had been banished from Olympus by Jupiter after she had persuaded Juno (Jupiter's wife) to give to one Eurystheus the destiny to rule over the descendants of Perseus, rather than bestowing this fortune on Jupiter's favourite, Hercules.
2	And deadly rivers of th' infernal Jove,	2-4: a general description of Hades. 2: there were several rivers in Hades, including the Styx and Acheron. deadly rivers = rivers flowing through the land of the dead.^4 infernal Jove = a common phrase used to refer to Pluto, the god of Hades.
	Where bloodless ghosts in pains of endless date	= ie. souls. = ie. lasting forever.
4	Fill ruthless ears with never-ceasing cries,	= pitiless.
	Behold, I come in place, and bring beside	5-6: Behold…Troy! = Até carries in her hand an object -
6	The bane of Troy! behold, the fatal fruit,	a golden apple - which will set off the long chain of events which will lead to the fall of Troy. Note the extended alliteration of b- words in lines 5-6. fatal fruit = fruit of fate or destiny.
	Raught from the golden tree of Proserpine!	7: Raught = past tense of reach, meaning "snatched". Proserpine = goddess of vegetation; the ascribing to her of a golden tree is Peele's fabrication.
8	Proud Troy must fall, so bid the gods above,	8f: Smeaton notes the presence in the remainder of the Prologue the figure of speech known as prolepsis, a description of future events as if they already exist or have already occurred.
	And stately Ilium's lofty towers be racet	9: Ilium's lofty towers = Troy, also known as Ilium, was famous for its towers. racet = torn down, usually emended to razed.
10	By conquering hands of the victorious foe;	= ie. the Greeks.
	King Priam's palace waste with flaming fire,	= Priam was the king of Troy; the Greeks would burn Troy.
12	Whose thick and foggy smoke, piercing the sky,	12-14: the smoke rising from the burning of Troy will let the
	Must serve for messenger of sacrifice,	gods know that Troy's destiny has been fulfilled.
14	T' appease the anger of the angry heavens;
	And Priam's younger son, the shepherd swain,	15: Priam's second son (out of fifty) was Paris; it had been foretold that his birth would cause the destruction of Troy, so the king had ordered the newborn to be left on nearby Mt. Ida to die from the elements; however, the baby Paris was discovered, and then raised, by shepherds. swain = a youth or rustic, also sometimes synonymous with "shepherd".^1
16	Paris, th' unhappy organ of the Greeks.	= ie. agent or instrument by which the Greeks will choose to make war on the Trojans; Bullen suggests moving lines 15-16 to just before line 11, to smooth the sense of these clearly connected lines.
	So, loth and weary of her heavy load,	18-20: the Trojan War will lead to the deaths of so many men, that Pluto, the god of the underworld, will complain of his burden of having to process the great multitude of souls that will arrive in hell in such a short period of time. Smeaton observes this is a good example of the figure of speech know as hypallage, in which two elements of a clause are exchanged, ie. Peele has written that personified Earth will complain to Pluto, when it is really Pluto who will complain to Earth. loth = averse, reluctant.^1 her = ie. earth's.
18	The Earth complains unto the hellish prince,	= Pluto, god of hell.
	Surcharged with the burden that she nill sustain.	19: "weighed down with a burden that she will no longer sustain". nill = "will not", a favourite word of Peele's.
20	Th' unpartial daughters of Necessity	20-21: Th' unpartial...suit = the three Fates, the sister-goddesses who control the lifespan of mortals, join in the protest of having to process so many men in such a brief period of time. Necessity refers to Ananke, the goddess of fate, whose daughters were the Fates. unpartial = impartial.
	Bin aidès in her suit: and so the twine	21: Bin aides in her suit = are helpers in Earth's petition.
22	That holds old Priam's house, the thread of Troy,	21-23: the twine…cuts = Atropos was the name of the
	Dame Atropos with knife in sunder cuts.	Fate who was responsible for cutting one's thread of life; the conceit is applied metaphorically to the life of the city of Troy. in sunder (line 23) = old expression meaning the same as "asunder"", ie. in two.^1
24	Done be the pleasure of the powers above,	24: the fate which has been decreed for Troy must be executed.
	Whose hests men must obey: and I my part	= commands; even the gods could not alter what Fate has decided must happen. 25-26: and I…vales = Até will perform her role in the coming tragedy in the high grounds or hills (vales) of Mt. Ida. Ida = famous mountain near Troy, which was located in the far north-west of Anatolia, or Asia Minor.
26	Perform in Ida vales. Lordings, adieu;	26: Lordings, adieu = "gentlemen, I take my leave."
	Imposing silence for your task, I end,	= "my speech is done".
28	Till just assembly of the goddesses	28: "until the meeting of the goddesses".
	Make me begin the tragedy of Troy.
30
	[Exit Até cum aureo pomo.]	31: Até exits with her golden apple.
	ACT I.
	SCENE I.
	Pan, Faunus, and Silvanus, with their Attendants,	Entering Characters: three important pastoral gods enter
	enter to give welcome to the goddesses:	the stage with their attendants, who carry gifts on their
	Pan's Shepherd has a lamb, Faunus' Hunter has a	behalves to present to the goddesses (Juno, Pallas and
	fawn, and Silvanus' Woodman with an oaken-bough	Venus) who are expected to arrive soon on Mt. Ida.
	laden with acorns.	As Pan is the god of flocks and shepherds, his attendant carries a lamb; Faunus is the god of fields, and so his attendant brings a fawn; and the attendant of Silvanus, the god of forests, carries the bough of an oak tree covered with acorns.
1	Pan. Silvanus, either Flora doth us wrong,	1-4: Pan worries that they will be late to meet the goddesses who are expected to arrive shortly on Mt. Ida. 1: the blame for their delay may belong to the goddess Flora, who was slow to get started, but will shortly catch up to the group.
2	Or Faunus made us tarry all too long,	2: or maybe it is Faunus' fault for making them wait (tarry) too long before they could get going.
	For by this morning mirth it should appear,	3: ie. "I would guess the moment of the morning's delights is almost here."
4	The Muses or the goddesses be near.	= the nine goddesses who serve as protectors of the arts, and who will accompany or escort the goddesses when they arrive.
6	Faun. My fawn was nimble, Pan, and whipt apace, −	6-7: Faunus acknowledges his fault; it took a great deal of effort to catch the deer he was hunting. whipt apace = dashed rapidly about.^2
	'Twas happy that we caught him up at last, −
8	The fattest, fairest fawn in all the chace;	= chase, ie. game-filled woods.^5
	I wonder how the knave could skip so fast.	6-9: note the rhyme scheme of Faunus' speech, abab, which briefly breaking the play's regular pattern of rhyming couplets.
10
	Pan. And I have brought a twagger for the nones,	11: twagger = this unusual word makes its only appearance in the English written record (outside of a 1582 collection word-collection) here; the OED editors guess from the context that its meaning is - a fat lamb; Benbow suggests twagger may be a misprint for twigger, which was a current term for a prolific breeder. for the nones = for the occasion; normally written as for the nonce by the late 16th century.
12	A bunting lamb; nay, pray you, feel no bones:	12: bunting = plump;^1 Smeaton, however, suggests "a lamb whose horns are just beginning to show." pray you = please. feel no bones = Pan invites his companions to feel the lamp; it is fat enough that they will not be able to feel its bones.
	Believe me now my cunning much I miss,	= "I am greatly off in my guess as to how clever I am".
14	If ever Pan felt fatter lamb than this.	14: note how the characters of the play speak frequently of themselves in the third person.
16	Silv. Sirs, you may boast your flocks and herds that bin both fresh and fair,	16f: the verse changes over temporarily to iambic heptameter; the play will regularly switch back and forth between pentameter (five feet) and heptameter (seven feet). The former is normal in Elizabethan drama, the latter rare. bin = are.
	Yet hath Silvanus walks, i-wis, that stand in wholesome air;	17: Yet hath Silvanus walks = ie. "yet I have my own sections of the forest". i-wis = truly.
18	And, lo, the honour of the woods, the gallant oaken- bough,
	Do I bestow, laden with acorns and with mast enow!	19: Do I bestow = ie. "will I give as my gift". mast = the fruit of certain woodland trees, here basically synonymous with acorns. enow = old plural form of "enough".
20
	Pan. Peace, man, for shame! shalt have both lambs and dames and flocks and herds and all,	21: this line has eight iambs! Peace = quiet. shalt = "we shall". dames = dams, ie. mothers of animals generally, and ewes here specifically.
22	And all my pipes to make the glee; we meet not now to brawl.	22: pipes = ie. panpipes, the wind instrument played by blowing into a series of connected pipes of increasing length, famously associated with Pan. glee = mirth; but Benbow wonders if make thee glee is intended here; to make one glee was a current expression for "make entertainment for one".^1 brawl = quarrel.
24	Faun. There's no such matter. Pan; we are all friends assembled hether.	24: hether = hither, ie. here (properly "to here"). Just as four centuries later, musician Steve Miller, in his hit song Rockin Me, was to famously rhyme suspicious with suspicious, ("Don't get suspicious / Now don't be suspicious"), Peele rhymes hether with hether in lines 24-25.
	To bid Queen Juno and her feres most humbly welcome hether:	= companions, an ancient word.^1
26	Diana, mistress of our woods, her presence will not want;	26: Diana is the goddess of the hunt, whose woods the characters presently occupy, and who is also expected to appear. want = be lacking.
	Her courtesy to all her friends, we wot, is nothing scant.	27: courtesy = consideration.^1 wot = know. nothing scant = ie. abundant.
	ACT I, SCENE II.
		Scene II: Peele generally begins a new scene every time new characters enter the stage.
	Enter Pomona with her fruit.	Entering Character: Pomona is the goddess of orchards; she naturally brings fruit as her gift to the goddesses.
1	Pom. Yea, Pan, no farther yet, and had the start of me?	1: "this is as far you've gone, and you started out well before me?"
2	Why, then, Pomona with her fruit comes time enough, I see.	= on time.^1
	Come on a while; with country store, like friends, we venture forth:	= ie. "together with the plenty with which the countryside provides us".
4	Think'st, Faunus, that these goddesses will take our gifts in worth?	4: Think'st = "do you think". take our gifts in worth = the expression to take in worth meant "to accept a thing kindly,"^10 "in good part",^4 or "at its proper value".^1
6	Faun. Yea, doubtless, for shall tell thee, dame, 'twere better give a thing,	6: shall = ie. "I shall". 'twere = ie. it is. give = ie. to give.
	A sign of love, unto a mighty person or a king,	= token.
8	Than to a rude and barbarous swain, but bad and basely born,	= unrefined. = peasant, rustic.
	For gently takes the gentleman that oft the clown will scorn.	9: a gentleman will usually accept a gift with grace, when a rustic (clown) can be expected to show disdain.
10
	Pan. Say'st truly, Faunus; I myself have given good tidy lambs	11: Say'st truly = "you tell the truth". given = a monsyllable here: gi'en. tidy = plump,^1 or ready for sacrifice.^14
12	To Mercury, may say to thee, to Phoebus, and to Jove;	12: (1) the messenger god, (2) Apollo, and (3) the king of the gods, respectively.
	When to a country mops, forsooth, chave offered all their dams,	13-14: Pan describes the lack of appreciation shown to him by country-lasses to whom he has given gifts and for whom he has played music. mops = young girl. forsooth = truly. chave = rustic form of "I have". dams = ewes.
14	And piped and prayed for little worth, and ranged about the grove.	14: ie. "and played my pipe for the girl, and prayed for help to get her, but it was to no avail".
16	Pom. God Pan, that makes your flock so thin, and makes you look so lean,	= ie. wasting his time chasing girls.
	To kiss in corners.	17: ie. to spend his time kissing girls on the sly.
18
	Pan. Well said, wench! some other thing you mean.	19: with good humour, Pan suggests Pomona is actually being suggestive.
20
	Pom. Yea, jest it out till it go alone: but marvel where we miss	21-22: "well, you all can joke all you want, but it is sur- prising that we have not yet seen Flora this merry
22	Fair Flora all this merry morn.	morning." There seems to be an extra syllable in line 21.
24	Faun. Some news; see where she is.	24: "finally, some news: look, here comes Flora."
	ACT I, SCENE III.
	Enter Flora to the country gods.	Entering Characters: Flora, the goddess of flowers arrives. country = pastoral.
1	Pan. Flora, well met, and for thy taken pain,	= "your efforts" or "your work".
2	Poor country gods, thy debtors we remain.	2: Poor country gods = ie. "we poor country gods": Pan speaks with a touch of modesty. thy debtors we remain = "we are obliged to you".
4	Flora. Believe me, Pan, not all thy lambs and yoes,	4: Peele employs a dialectical form of ewes to rhyme with does.
	Nor, Faunus, all thy lusty bucks and does,	= ie. most vigorous or powerful.
6	(But that I am instructed well to know	6: "Except that I have been properly taught".
	What service to the hills and dales I owe,)	= duty. = valleys; hills and dales have been paired in literature since at least as far back as the early 15th century.
8	Could have enforced me to so strange a toil,	8: "could have persuaded me to engage in such unusual work".
	Thus to enrich this gaudy, gallant soil.	9: to enrich the soil usually meant "to fertilize", but Flora means she has seriously decorated the countryside around them with flowers. gaudy, gallant = essentially synonyms, meaning showy, fine, brilliant.
10
	Faun. But tell me, wench, hast done't so trick indeed,	= young lady. = "have you done it so neatly or cleverly".^3
12	That heaven itself may wonder at the deed?	= marvel; Flora has covered the region with a spectacular show of flowers, such as would impress even the gods.
14	Flora. Not Iris, in her pride and bravery,	14-15: "not even Iris (the goddess of the rainbow), in her
	Adorns her arch with such variety;	splendour (pride) and finery (bravery), adorns her rainbow (arch) with such a variety of colours."
16	Nor doth the milk-white way, in frosty night,	= the Milky Way; the expression describing this bright region of the universe is surprisingly old, dating back at least to the 14th century.
	Appear so fair and beautiful in sight,
18	As done these fields, and groves, and sweetest bowers,	= do. = natural recesses.
	Bestrewed and decked with parti-coloured flowers,	= strewn. = adorned. = multi.
20	Along the bubbling brooks and silver glide,	20: bubbling brooks = this recently introduced expression (1581) became very popular for authors, before turning into the more familiar babbling brooks in the early 18th century. glide = stream.^1
	That at the bottom doth in silence slide;	= the bed under the water.^1
22	The watery-flowers and lilies on the banks,	22: watery-flowers = any of various flowers that grow in or near water; Dyce changed this to water-flowers, the more common term. flowers = pronounced as a single syllable here.
	Like blazing comets, burgen all in ranks;	= burgeon, ie. sprout; the simile compares the blooming of the various rows of flowers to the brightly spraying tail of a comet.
24	Under the hawthorn and the poplar-tree,
	Where sacred Phoebe may delight to be,	= alternate title for Diana, goddess of hunting, whose domain they are in.
26	The primrose, and the purple hyacinth,	= a small yellow flower. = ie. meaning the bluebell, so that, as Benbow observes, all the flowers listed are of comparable small size.
	The dainty violet, and the wholesome minth,	= ie. mint plant.
28	The double daisy, and the cowslip, queen	= plant with drooping umbrella- or bell-shaped flowers.
	Of summer flowers, do overpeer the green;	= overlook.^2 = grassy area.^1
30	And round about the valley as ye pass,	= plural form of you.
	Ye may ne see for peeping flowers the grass:	31: "there are so many flowers you cannot even see the grass." ne = not. for = because of.
32	That well the mighty Juno, and the rest,	= ie. "then might well".
	May boldly think to be a welcome guest
34	On Ida hills, when to approve the thing,	= ie. demonstrate her welcome to the goddesses.
	The Queen of Flowers prepares a second spring.
36
	Silv. Thou gentle nymph, what thanks shall we repay
38	To thee that mak'st our fields and woods so gay?
40	Flora. Silvanus, when it is thy hap to see	= good fortune.
	My workmanship in portraying all the three,	41: Flora has prepared portraits in flowers of the three expected goddesses (Juno, Pallas and Venus). There is an extra syllable in this line.
42	First stately Juno with her port and grace,	42-43: Juno is appropriately portrayed with her queenly attributes. port = stately bearing.^1
	Her robes, her lawns, her crownet, and her mace,	43: lawns = clothing of fine linen.^1 crownet = a smallish crown.^1 mace = sceptre of office.^1
44	Would make thee muse this picture to behold,	= marvel at.^2
	Of yellow oxlips bright as burnished gold.	45: a plant whose flower is slightly bell-shaped.
46
	Pom. A rare device; and Flora well, perdy,	47: A rare device = an excellent piece of work or idea. perdy = "by God", from the French par Dieu, meaning "truly" or "certainly".^1,3
48	Did paint her yellow for her jealousy.	48: yellow has been the colour of jealousy at least as far back as Chaucer's Knight's Tale (c. 1385).^1 Pomona is being snide here; Juno was notorious for her violent jealousy over her husband Jupiter's (aka Jove's) frequent affairs; Flora ignores the comment.
50	Flora. Pallas in flowers of hue and colours red;	= variety.^1
	Her plumes, her helm, her lance, her Gorgon's head,	51: Flora has portrayed Pallas, the goddess of war and wisdom, with the attributes of a warrior. Pallas was an alternate name for the Greek goddess Athena, who was borrowed by the Romans and renamed Minerva. Her plumes, her helm = Pallas is wearing an elaborate helmet adorned with feathers. her Gorgon's head = Pallas' famous shield, the aegis, which was traditionally depicted with the head of the Gorgon Medusa on its face; the Gorgons were three mythical ladies with hair of snakes, the most famous being Medusa.
52	Her trailing tresses that hang flaring round,	= long locks of hair.^1
	Of July-flowers so graffèd in the ground,	53: July-flowers = common 16th century spelling for gilliflowers, or clove pink.^1 graffed = grafted, here meaning "planted".
54	That, trust me, sirs, who did the cunning see,	= skillful or clever work.
	Would at a blush suppose it to be she.	54-55: the portrayal is so flattering that anyone who saw it would, at a glance (blush), recognize it to be Pallas.^1
56
	Pan. Good Flora, by my flock, 'twere very good	57: by my flock = typical Elizabethan oath on a concrete object. 'twere = ie. it was.
58	To dight her all in red resembling blood.	= adorn or dress.^1,4
60	Flora. Fair Venus of sweet violets in blue,
	With other flowers infixed for change of hue;	= inserted.^1 = variety.
62	Her plumes, her pendants, bracelets, and her rings.
	Her dainty fan, and twenty other things,
64	Her lusty mantle waving in the wind,	= gay cloak.^1
	And every part in colour and in kind;	= "suitable and natural."^14
66	And for her wreath of roses, she nill dare	= ie. would not.
	With Flora's cunning counterfeit compare.	= skillfully-made portrait or image.
68	So that what living wight shall chance to see	= person.
	These goddesses, each placed in her degree,	= "as befits her status".
70	Portrayed by Flora's workmanship alone,
	Must say that art and nature met in one.	= art (artificial works created by hand, or the skill required to make such objects) and nature (those things which the natural world produced) were frequently opposed or paired in the era's literature.
72
	Sil. A dainty draught to lay her down in blue,	= delightful picture. = ie. "portray her".
74	The colour commonly betokening true.	73-74: Silvanus is ironic, as Venus was associated with anything other than the loyalty (true) of lovers; this is one of the earliest connections in print between true and blue, the phrase true blue itself not appearing until 1623. betokening true = representing loyalty.
76	Flora. This piece of work, compact with many a flower,	= composed.^2
	And well laid in at entrance of the bower,	= natural enclosure, arbour.^2
78	Where Phoebe means to make this meeting royal,
	Have I prepared to welcome them withal.	= with.
80
	Pom. And are they yet dismounted, Flora, say.	= could mean "stepped down from their chariots" or "descended from above".^1
82	That we may wend to meet them on the way?	= "be on our way", ie. go.
84	Flora. That shall not need: they are at hand by this,	84: "that won't be necessary, they are close by (at hand) by now.
	And the conductor of the train hight Rhanis.	85: "and the one leading their procession is Rhanis." conductor of the train = head of the procession (no, Peele is not predicting the coming of the railroad). hight = is called or known as. Rhanis = one of the Diana's numerous attendant nymphs.
86	Juno hath left her chariot long ago,
	And hath returned her peacocks by her rainbow;	87: "and has sent back her peacocks by means of Iris (the goddess of the rainbow), her personal messenger god." The peacock was the most famous of Juno's attri- butes; they were often portrayed as pulling her chariot.
88	And bravely, as becomes the wife of Jove,	= nobly. = is fitting for.
	Doth honour by her presence to our grove.
90	Fair Venus she hath let her sparrows fly,	90: sparrows were sacred to Venus.
	To tend on her and make her melody;
92	Her turtles and her swans unyokèd be.	92: turtles = ie., turtledoves, birds that were said to pull Venus' chariot. swans = sometimes Venus was portrayed as traveling on the back of a swan.
	And flicker near her side for company.	= flutter.^4
94	Pallas hath set her tigers loose to feed,	94: Pallas was sometimes associated with various big cats; a few ancient works of art show tigers pulling gods' chariots.
	Commanding them to wait when she hath need.
96	And hitherward with proud and stately pace,	= towards here.
	To do us honour in the sylvan chace,	= wooded hunting-ground.^1
98	They march, like to the pomp of heaven above,	= heaven, like most two-syllable words with a median 'v', is usually pronounced in one syllable, with the 'v' essen- tially omitted: hea'en.
	Juno the wife and sister of King Jove,	99: Juno was both the sister and wife of the king of the gods.
100	The warlike Pallas, and the Queen of Love.	98-100: note the rhyming triplet to finish off Flora's speech.
102	Pan. Pipe, Pan, for joy, and let thy shepherds sing;	= an imperative, Pan calling on himself to play his pipe.
	Shall never age forget this memorable thing.
104
	Flora. Clio, the sagest of the Sisters Nine,	105: Clio, one of the nine Muses, is the Muse of history, as Flora describes her in line 107.
106	To do observance to this dame divine,	= reverence.
	Lady of learning and of chivalry,
108	Is here arrived in fair assembly,	= assembly is pronounced with four syllables: as-SEM- buh-ly.
	And wandering up and down th’ unbeaten ways,	= untrod paths.
110	Ring through the wood sweet songs of Pallas’ praise.	= ie. fills with sound.^1
112	Pom. Hark, Flora, Faunus! here is melody,
	A charm of birds, and more than ordinary.	= chorus or song, or blended singing.^1,3,5
114
	[An artificial charm of birds being heard within.]	115: Brooke suggests the music is made by mechanical birds.
116
	Pan. The silly birds make mirth; then should we do them wrong,	117: silly = vulnerable or simple;^1,14 references to silly birds were common in the era. should we…wrong = ie. "we would not be doing the right thing".
118	Pomona, if we nill bestow an echo to their song.	118: "if we do not respond with a song of our own." nill = will not.
120	THE SONG.
122	[A quire within and without.]	122: there will be singing both on-stage and from off-stage. quire = old spelling of choir.
124	Gods. O Ida, O Ida, O Ida, happy hill!	= ie. mountain.
	This honour done to Ida may it continue still!	= forever.
126
	Muses. [Within] Ye country gods that in this Ida won,	127: Within = the Muses are understood to be singing from
128	Bring down your gifts of welcome,	off-stage, as they accompany the three goddesses.
	For honour done to Ida.	in this Ida won = live (won) on Mt. Ida.^1
130
	Gods. Behold, in sign of joy we sing.
132	And signs of joyful welcome bring.
	For honour done to Ida.
134
	Muses. [Within]
136	The Muses give you melody to gratulate this chance,	= joyfully welcome this opportunity.
	And Phoebe, chief of sylvan chace, commands you all to dance.	= ie. Diana, the goddess of the woodland hunt.
138
	Gods. Then round in a circle our sportance must be,	139: sportance = playful activity.^1 must be = in an interesting error, must is printed twice in the original edition - must must be.
140	Hold hands in a hornpipe, all gallant in glee.	= in a dance performed to the accompaniment of a horn- pipe, a now-obsolete wind-instrument.^1
142	[Dance.]	142: there is a time-out in the story here, as the characters
		perform a dance.
144	Muses. [Within]
	Reverence, reverence, most humble reverence!
146
	Gods. Most humble reverence!
	ACT I, SCENE IV.
	Juno, Pallas and Venus enter, Rhanis leading
	the way. Pan alone sings.
1	THE SONG.
2
	The God of Shepherds, and his mates,
4	With country cheer salutes your states,
	Fair, wise, and worthy as you be.
6	And thank the gracious ladies three
	For honour done to Ida.
8
	[The birds sing.]
10
	The song being done, Juno speaks.
12
	Juno. Venus, what shall I say? for, though I be a dame divine,
14	This welcome and this melody exceed these wits of mine.
16	Venus. Believe me, Juno, as I hight the Sovereign of Love,	= "am called", an ancient word dating back to Old English.
	These rare delights in pleasures pass the banquets of King Jove.	= surpass.
18
	Pall. Then, Venus, I conclude, it easily may be seen,	= pronounced as a two-syllable word: EAS-'ly; line 19 is short an iamb.
20	That in her chaste and pleasant walks fair Phoebe is a queen.	20: Phoebe, again, is Diana, goddess of the hunt, whose domain (walks)^2 the goddesses have entered. Phoebe is described as chaste because she was famously a virgin.
22	Rhan. Divine Pallas, and you sacred dames,	22: a short line; Dyce suggests adding You at its beginning.
	Juno and Venus, honoured by your names,
24	Juno, the wife and sister of King Jove,
	Fair Venus, lady-president of love,	= presiding goddess; a favourite word of Peele's.
26	If any entertainment in this place,
	That can afford but homely, rude, and base,	= provide. = rustic.^5
28	It please your godheads to accept in gree,	= divine natures.^1 = occasionally used phrase, meaning
	That gracious thought our happiness shall be.	"accept graciously" or "accept kindly".^1
30	My mistress Dian, this right well I know,
	For love that to this presence she doth owe,
32	Accounts more honour done to her this day,
	Than ever whilom in these woods of Ida;	= ie. occurred earlier, before.
34	And for our country gods, I dare be bold,
	They make such cheer, your presence to behold,
36	Such jouisance, such mirth, and merriment,	= synonym for merriment and mirth, a borrowing from Old French;^1 pronounced ZHU-i-sance.
	As nothing else their mind might more content:
38	And that you do believe it to be so,	= so.
	Fair goddesses, your lovely looks do show.
40	It rests in fine, for to confirm my talk,	40: "in short (in fine), it only remains (rests), in order to confirm what I am saying, that".
	Ye deign to pass along to Dian's walk;	= condescend.
42	Where she among her troop of maids attends
	The fair arrival of her welcome friends.
44
	Flora. And we will wait with all observance due,
46	And do just honour to this heavenly crew.
48	Pan. The God of Shepherds, Juno, ere thou go,	= before.
	Intends a lamb on thee for to bestow.
50
	Faun. Faunus, high ranger in Diana's chace.	= game-keeper.
52	Presents a fawn to Lady Venus' grace.
54	Sil. Silvanus gives to Pallas' deity
	This gallant bough raught from the oaken-tree.	= ie. taken.
56
	Pom. To them that do this honour to our fields,
58	Her mellow apples poor Pomona yields.
60	Juno. And, gentle gods, these signs of your goodwill
	We take in worth, and shall accept them still.
62
	Venus. And, Flora, this to thee among the rest, −	= ie. "I say this".
64	Thy workmanship comparing with the best,
	Let it suffice thy cunning to have [power]	= a word is missing after have in the original quarto; later
66	To call King Jove from forth his heavenly bower.	editors naturally enough insert power here to rhyme with bower.
	Hadst thou a lover, Flora, credit me,
68	I think thou wouldst bedeck him gallantly.	= adorn.
	But wend we on; and, Rhanis, lead the way,
70	That kens the painted paths of pleasant Ida.	= "she who knows well". = colourfully decorated.
		kens = the verb ken, meaning "to know", much later became associated primarily with the Scottish.
72	[Exeunt.]
	ACT I, SCENE V.
	Enter Paris and Oenone.	Entering Characters: Paris is a son of the Priam, King of Troy (one of fifty!); when it was predicted that Paris' birth would lead to the ruin of Troy, his father commanded the shepherd Agelaus to bring the baby to Mt. Ida and abandon him to the elements (ie. to be "exposed"); after five days, Agelaus returned to find the infant still alive, being fed by a she-bear, and subsequently brought the baby home, named him Paris, and raised him with his own son. By this point in his history, Paris has learned of his identity, though he still frequents Mt. Ida. Paris is presently courting the nymph Oenone, who possesses the powers of prophecy.
1	Paris. Oenone, while we bin disposed to walk.	1: Oenone = pronounced in three syllables, with the stress on the middle syllable: o-E-none. while = until.^3 bin = are.
2	Tell me what shall be subject of our talk?
	Thou hast a sort of pretty tales in store,	= collection. = abundance.
4	Dare say no nymph in Ida woods hath more:	= read as "I dare say".
	Again, beside thy sweet alluring face,	= ie. in addition to.
6	In telling them thou hast a special grace.	= ie. "your tales".
	Then, prithee, sweet, afford some pretty thing,	7: "then, please (prithee), my sweet, offer me up a nice one", ie. a choice story.
8	Some toy that from thy pleasant wit doth spring.	= trifle.
10	Oen. Paris, my heart's contentment and my choice,
	Use thou thy pipe, and I will use my voice;	11: Oenone asks Paris to accompany her on his pipe (a
12	So shall thy just request not be denied,	recorder-like instrument)^1 as she sings her story.
	And time well spent, and both be satisfied.
14
	Paris. Well, gentle nymph, although thou do me wrong,
16	That can ne tune my pipe unto a song,	16: "I who am unable to play my pipe in accompaniment to a singer". can ne = cannot.
	Me list this once, Oenone, for thy sake.	17: "I will choose or opt".
18	This idle task on me to undertake.	= foolish.
20	They sit under a tree together.
22	Oen. And whereon, then, shall be my roundelay?	= ie. "on what subject". = short song.^1
	For thou hast heard my store long since, dare say;	= ie. "my whole collection (of stories)"; in this speech, Oenone alludes to a number of well-known stories - myths to us - she could choose from to sing about. Interestingly, in the original 1584 quarto Oenone's catalogue of stories is numbered.
24	How Saturn did divide his kingdom tho	24-25: (1) Saturn, a member of the generation of gods
	To Jove, to Neptune, and to Dis below;	known as the Titans, had become king of the gods after he overthrew his father, Caelus, known as "The Sky"; Saturn in turn was overthrown by his children, the generation known as the Olympians, in a war referred to as the Battle of the Titans. The brothers Jupiter (aka Jove), Neptune and Pluto (aka Dis) divided the universe amongst themselves by lot, with Jupiter becoming the ruler of the heavens and earth (as well as assuming the role of king of all the gods), Neptune ruler of the seas, and Pluto the underworld. tho = an ancient and long-obsolete word meaning "at that time".^1
26	How mighty men made foul successless war	26-27: (2) Mother Earth, angry that her son Saturn had been
	Against the gods and state of Jupiter;	stripped of his rule, gave birth to a race of Giants which challenged the supremacy of the Olympians in a war known as the Battle of the Giants. It was close, but the Olympians prevailed
28	How Phorcys' imp, that was so trick and fair,	28-30: (3) the early god Phorcys had had a daughter, a
	That tangled Neptune in her golden hair,	beautiful mortal named Medusa, the most famous of the
30	Became a Gorgon for her lewd misdeed, −	three sisters known as the Gorgons; Athena punished Medusa for her presumption in carrying on an affair with Neptune in one her temples, by turning Medusa's hair to snakes and her appearance into something so frightful that anyone who looked directly on her was turned to stone. imp (line 28) = child or offspring, with possible negative connotation.^1 trick = trim.^5
	A pretty fable, Paris, for to read,	31-33: Oenone warns Paris to take the lesson of the story
32	A piece of cunning, trust me, for the nones,	of Medusa to heart; having the gift of prophecy, Oenone
	That wealth and beauty alter men to stones;	already knows that Paris will be drawn to leave her for another - the future Helen of Troy - and that his affair will lead to his own ruin. fable = a short story with a lesson.^1 for the nones = for the purpose (of illustrating her point).
34	How Salmacis, resembling idleness,	34-35: (4) allusion to the story of Aphroditus (a son of
	Turns men to women all through wantonness;	Mercury and Venus) who fell asleep at the spring of the nymph Salmacis, who in turn fell in love with Aphroditus' great beauty; he rejected the nymph's affection, but later, while he was bathing in the spring, Salmacis embraced him and prayed to the gods to let her be united to him forever; their bodies were merged, forming the first hermaphrodite.^11 wantonness = lewd behaviour.
36	How Pluto caught Queen Ceres' daughter thence,	36-37: (5) Pluto, with Jupiter's permission, kidnapped and
	And what did follow of that love-offence;	married Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and especially grains (hence the word cereal). Ceres, having found her daughter after a lengthy search, begged the gods to have Proserpine returned to her; the gods assented, permitting her return so long as she had not yet eaten anything from the underworld. Unfortunately, Proserpine had already eaten half of a pomegranate which had been given to her by Pluto as a love-offering, and as a consequence was allowed to stay with her mother for only half of each year.
38	Of Daphne turned into the laurel-tree,	38: (6) oft referred-to tale of the lovely nymph Daphne who
	That shows a mirror of virginity;	was chased by the amorous Apollo; calling to the gods for help, she was famously changed into a laurel tree. 38-39: Dyce observes that Peele "had an eye to", ie. slightly borrowed, several of his couplets in this speech from Arthur Golding's (c.1536-1606) introduction to his 1567 translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses; the inspiration for lines 38-39 is the most obvious adaptation: As for example, in the tale of Daphne turned to bay, A myrror of virginitie appeere untoo us may.
40	How fair Narcissus tooting on his shade,	40-41: (7) Narcissus was the beautiful but vain youth who
	Reproves disdain, and tells how form doth vade;	had rejected the love of both the nymph Echo and another young man Ameinias; the latter, before killing himself, prayed to the goddess Nemesis to avenge him for Narcissus' cruel spurning; Nemesis, answering the entreaty, caused Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water; unable to take his eyes away from himself, he wasted away until at length he was turned into a flower - the narcissus. tooting on his shade = staring at his own image, ie. reflection.^14 Reproves disdain = rebukes scorn, ie. Narcissus' story acts as a lesson not to scorn others' affections. form doth vade = beauty fades or disappears.^1 Early drama sometimes replaced f with v when it appeared at the beginning a word, usually to indicate dialect.
42	How cunning Philomela's needle tells	42-43: (8) the allusion is to the gruesome story of Tereus,
	What force in love, what wit in sorrow dwells;	the king of Thrace, who violently raped Philomena, the sister of his wife Procne. Tereus cut out Philomena's tongue to keep her from telling anyone what happened, and kept her locked in a shed. Philomena famously weaved her story onto a cloth, which she then was able to pass on to a friend. When Procne, who had been told by Tereus that her sister was dead, learned the truth, she, in revenge, cooked and fed Itys, her son by Tereus, to Tereus. As Tereus chased the girls with murderous intent, the gods transformed them into birds - Philomena a nightingale, and Procne a swallow.
44	What pains unhappy souls abide in hell,	44f: (9) Oenone will go on now to describe some famous
	They say because on earth they lived not well, −	denizens of hell, who must suffer eternal punishment for their earthly transgressions. abide = endure.^15
46	Ixion's wheel, proud Tantal's pining woe,	46: (10) Ixion's wheel = Ixion's father-in-law tried to extort Ixion's wedding presents from him, and in revenge Ixion invited the man to his home, wherein he caused him to fall into a pit filled with fire; Ixion was pardoned by Jupiter, who invited him to a feast, but Ixion repaid his host by trying to seduce Jupiter's wife Juno. He was punished by being tied by his hands and feet to a wheel which forever spun around in the underworld. Ixion is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: ix-I-on. Tantal's pining woe = Tantalus, a son of Jupiter, revealed secrets told him by the king of the gods, and for this indiscretion was punished by being placed in a lake to suffer permanent thirst and hunger; whenever he reached for the water around him or the fruit hanging from the branches above him, they would shrink away from him. The word tantalize derives from his name. pining = wasting away. We may compare line 46 to the following line, which appears in the early (c.1561) drama Gorboduc, by the Thomases Sackville and Norton: To Tantal’s thirst, or proud Ixion’s wheel...
	Prometheus' torment, and a many mo.	47: (11) as punishment for his having delivered fire to mankind, Jove had Prometheus bound to a pillar, where he was attacked by an eagle which gnawed out Prometheus' liver every day, the liver growing back each night; this went on for years, until Jupiter permitted Hercules to rescue him. mo = more.
48	How Danaus' daughters ply their endless task,	48: (12) the Egyptian Danaus, King of Argos, had 50 daughters (known as the Danaides), whom he allowed to marry the 50 sons of his brother Aegyptus; suspecting his son-in-laws of plotting against him, Danaus ordered his daughters to slay their husbands on their wedding night; all but one did so. The Danaides' ultimate fate was to pour water into vessels full of holes for all eternity.^11
	What toil the toil of Sisyphus doth ask:	49: (13) Sisyphus was a king of Corinth and a shady character; for any of a number of offenses (including attacking and killing travelers with a large stone), Sisyphus was condemned to eternally push an enormous block of marble up a hill, after which the block always slid or rolled back down the hill.^11
50	All these are old and known I know, yet, if thou wilt have any,
	Choose some of these, for, trust me, else Oenone hath not many.
52
	Paris. Nay, what thou wilt: but sith my cunning not compares with thine,	53: "no no, choose whichever one you wish; but since my skill is not comparable to yours". sith = since.
54	Begin some toy that I can play upon this pipe of mine.	= trifle, ie. small song.^14
56	Oen. There is a pretty sonnet, then, we call it Cupid’s Curse,	= pleasant song.
	"They that do change old love for new, pray gods they change for worse!"	57: Oenone, still obsessing over Paris' fidelity to her, quotes a line from the song. The line is a curse, really, wishing the gods to punish those who break their vows of love.
58	The note is fine and quick withal, the ditty will agree,	58-59: "the tune (note) is a fine and short one, and the
	Paris, with that same vow of thine upon our poplar-tree.	(message of the) short song is the same, Paris, as the
60		vow you made to me under our poplar tree." note = song. withal = also.
	Paris. No better thing; begin it, then: Oenone, thou shalt see
62	Our music figure of the love that grows 'twixt thee and me.	62: the music the pair will make together, with Paris playing his pipe and Oenone singing, will represent (figure) the love
		between ('twixt) them. The expression thee and me was a common and handsomely euphonious way of saying "you and I" or "you and me".
64	They sing;
	and while Oenone sings, he pipes.
66
	Oen. Fair and fair, and twice so fair,
68	As fair as any may be;
	The fairest shepherd on our green,
70	A love for any lady.
72	Paris. Fair and fair, and twice so fair,
	As fair as any may be;
74	Thy love is fair for thee alone,
	And for no other lady.
76
	Oen. My love is fair, my love is gay,
78	As fresh as bin the flowers in May,	= are.
	And of my love my roundelay,
80	My merry merry merry roundelay,	80: several editors suggest that one merry of the three
	Concludes with Cupid's curse, −	should likely be deleted.
82	They that do change old love for new.
	Pray gods they change for worse!
84
	Ambo. Simul. They that do change, &c.	85: together the pair re-sing lines 82-83.
86
	Oen. Fair and fair, &c.	87: Oenone repeats the first verse.
88
	Paris. Fair and fair, &c.
90	Thy love is fair, &c
92	Oen. My love can pipe, my love can sing.
	My love can many a pretty thing,
94	And of his lovely praises ring
	My merry merry roundelays,
96	Amen to Cupid's curse, −
	They that do change, &c.
98
	Paris. They that do change, &c.
100
	Both. Fair and fair, &c.
102
	[The song being ended, they rise.]
104
	Oen. Sweet shepherd, for Oenone's sake be cunning in this song,	105: be cunning in this song = ie. "be clever enough to recognize the warning or lesson of this song"; Brooke suggests cunning means "letter-perfect".
106	And keep thy love, and love thy choice, or else thou dost her wrong.	106: by thy love, Oenone means herself.
108	Paris. My vow is made and witnessèd, the poplar will not start,	108: the poplar tree was a witness to the vow Paris made to Oenone; vows of betrothal were more enforceable if they were witnessed by third parties. the poplar…start = "the poplar tree will not tremble in token of a false vow" (Baskerville, p.213).
	Nor shall the nymph Oenone's love from forth my breathing heart.	= ie. "start from", meaning "leave" or "flee".
110	I will go bring thee on thy way, my flock are here behind,	= "accompany you"
	And I will have a lover's fee; they say, unkissed unkind.	= I cannot find any evidence of this proverbial sentiment
112		appearing in any other contemporary literature.
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT II.
	SCENE I.
	Enter Juno, Pallas and Venus.	Entering Characters: now that the entrance of the goddesses has been properly celebrated, the deities turn to childishly bickering with each other; they are particularly inclined to twit each about their indiscreet sex lives.
1	Venus [ex abrupto]	= suddenly (a stage direction); we catch up with the ladies in the middle of their conversation. While the various editors describe the well-known stories the goddesses refer to in this confusing conversation, there is little attempt to explain why they say what they say to each other; we, however, will try to do so.
2	But pray you, tell me, Juno, was it so,
	As Pallas told me here the tale of Echo?	= Echo was a mountain nymph who once kept Juno busily talking while Juno's husband Jove was away playing around with some other nymphs; when Juno learned of the deception, she punished Echo by robbing her of the ability to speak on her own volition, condemning her to be able to only repeat what others say.^11 Venus is rather cruel to ask Juno about this incident.
4
	Juno. She was a nymph indeed, as Pallas tells,	5-18: Juno, of course, reacts defensively to Venus' teasing; while acknowledging the truth of the story of Echo, she insists Jupiter is on the whole not particularly prone to cheating on her - an argument no one would ever believe.
6	A walker, such as in these thickets dwells;	= forest-dweller,^14 but Juno seems to use the term walker in some pejorative manner; perhaps walker is intended to have the same sense as the term street-walker, referring to a prostitute (street-walker in this sense dates back to at least 1591).^1
	And as she told what subtle juggling pranks	7-8: "and as Pallas told of what cunning and deceitful tricks
8	She played with Juno, so she told her thanks:	Echo played on Juno, so Juno thanked her appropriately (by punishing her)."
	A tattling trull to come at every call,	9: "a tale-telling or gossiping girl or whore who comes whenever she is called".^1
10	And now, forsooth, nor tongue nor life at all.	10: "and now, truly, she has neither tongue nor life at all" (see the story of Echo's sort-of death in the previous scene, at Act I.v.40-41.)
	And though perhaps she was a help to Jove,
12	And held me chat while he might court his love,	= "kept me busily chatting away".
	Believe me, dames, I am of this opinion,
14	He took but little pleasure in the minion;	= ie. "his mistress".
	And whatsoe'er his scapes have been beside,	15: "and no matter what other affairs he has carried on otherwise". scapes = transgressions or escapades.^14
16	Dare say for him, 'a never strayed so wide:	16: "I dare say for Jove, he has never really strayed that far from me."
	A lovely nut-brown lass or lusty trull	17-18: Juno acknowledges that any attractive or lascivious female has the power to catch the eye of any god, and cause him by respond by courting her aggressively. nut-brown = describes either hair or complexion.^1 lusty trull = sex-charged harlot.
18	Have power perhaps to make a god a bull.	18: Juno seems to be alluding to the story in which Jove turned himself into an attractive bull, which allowed him to seduce the beautiful maiden Europa: while she stroked him he carried her off on his back into the sea, and, after swimming to the island of Crete, raped her. The question is, why would she bring this story up, since it can only make her look poorly in the eyes of the other goddesses? The answer, perhaps, is that she is not referring to Europa, but rather only illustrating her point about the weakness of the male gods regarding the fairer sex; indeed, she may not not even know about Europa,^12 so that her allusion is completely accidental.
20	Venus. Gramercy, gentle Juno, for that jest;	20-21: Venus is enjoying making Juno uncomfortable.
	I' faith, that item was worth all the rest.	Gramercy = thank you, from the French grant merci.
22		jest = story.^1
	Pall. No matter, Venus, howsoe'er you scorn,
24	My father Jove at that time ware the horn.	= ie. "wore horns;" Pallas may herself be hinting at the story of Europa, as she describes Jove as literally wearing horns at the time he turned himself into a bull; but she is also using an expression which suggests Juno was cheating on Jupiter - a cuckolded husband was said to grow horns on his forehead.
26	Juno. Had every wanton god above, Venus, not better luck,	26-27: "luckily, every lascivious god and goddess can easily find lovers for themselves; otherwise, heaven would be a
	Then heaven would be a pleasant park, and Mars a lusty buck.	great hunting ground (park), and Mars would be a lewd buck," ie. all the goddesses would be seducing Mars. Juno fights back, alluding to Venus' famous and on- going love affair with Mars, the god of war.
28
	Venus. Tut, Mars hath horns to butt withal, although no bull 'a shows,	29-30: Venus is not flustered, gleefully attacking back. Firstly, Venus, alluding to Juno's identifying Mars as a
30	'A never needs to mask in nets, 'a fears no jealous froes.	buck, gives Mars the horns of a cuckold (Mars hath horns to butt withal), suggesting that she has no compunction about playing around on the god of war. With respect to the remainder of this brief speech (although...froes), the interpretation is a bit trickier. Literally, the lines are saying Mars does not need to turn to himself into a bull (no bull 'a shows), he never has to disguise himself as a bull ('A never...nets), and he has no need to fear any jealous women ('A fears...froes). Her meaning, then, may be thus: unlike Juno's husband, her (Venus') lover, Mars, does not have to put on disguises because he doesn't actually ever cheat on her (she makes this point again in lines 43-44 below). 'a = he. to mask = to hide or disguise (himself). nets = neats, a common term for bovines (Benbow). froes = women, from the German frau. Benbow, however, suggests that Venus is actually saying that the disguises Jove uses when he goes after women are so transparent that he may as well be as open about his affairs as Mars is (Mars did actually father several children with women other than Venus, though he himself never married). There is yet another layer of meaning here: Venus' expression mask in nets is very similar to the more common phrase dance in a net or walk in a net, which is used to describe someone who thinks they are doing something in secret, but can actually be easily seen by others; so, when Venus says of Mars that he does not need to mask in nets, she may also be expressing the same idea as that suggested by Benbow, ie. that Mars does not try to conceal himself in transparent disguises. The problem with the interpretation of the last two paragraphs, however, is that when he is interested in a girl, Jove does not transform himself into an animal to hide from Juno; rather, he does so in order to facilitate his seduction. Lastly, Venus may have accidentally raised the specter of her own embarrassing incident, one she shared with Mars: when Venus' husband Vulcan was tipped off that Venus was planning a rendezvous with Mars, he set a trap and caught the couple in a net as they were in the act, to the amusement of all the other gods. Interestingly, neither of the other goddesses picks up on this slip.
32	Juno. Forsooth, the better is his turn, for, if 'a speak too loud,	32-33: "actually, it would serve his purpose better to do so, because if he speaks too loudly (ie. is too open or obvious
	Must find some shift to shadow him, a net or else a cloud.	about an affair he is carrying on), he will need to find some means (shift) to hide himself, either in a net (meaning either a neat [ie. bovine] or net) or cloud." The question here is whether Juno is speaking about Mars or Jove; if Juno is trying to twit Venus, she would mean Mars; Benbow, however, thinks Juno is referring to Jove, but this would mean she is being more frank about her runaround husband than we would expect, and is on the defensive rather than attacking Venus.
34
	Pall. No more of this, fair goddesses; unrip not so your shames,	34-36: Pallas chastises Juno and Venus for publicly, and unseemingly, bickering and discussing such private matters when all the world is watching.
36	To stand all naked to the world, that bene such heavenly dames.	= ie. "you who are"; bene appears to be a monosyllable, pronounced been.
38	Juno. Nay, Pallas, that's a common trick with Venus well we know,	= ie. to stand naked before the world; while Pallas' use of the expression stand all naked to the world was meant
	And all the gods in heaven have seen her naked long ago.	figuratively, Juno sneeringly applies its literal meaning to Venus, referring to the latter's lack of inhibition with respect to her sexuality; as usual, Venus is more proud than ashamed of her proclivities.
40
	Venus. And then she was so fair and bright, and lovely and so trim,	38: she = meaning herself. trim = fine, beautiful.^1
42	As Mars is but for Venus' tooth, and she will sport with him:	42: for Venus' tooth = "to my taste", ie. liking. sport = entertain herself, ie. fool around.
	And, but me list not here to make comparison with Jove,	43: "and except for the fact that I have no desire (list) to compare anyone to Jove".
44	Mars is no ranger, Juno, he, in every open grove.	44: metaphorically, "at least Mars doesn't run around on me, unlike Jove, who perpetually does so on you, Juno." ranger = (1) game keeper^1 and (2) sexual strayer. grove = woodland.^1
46	Pall. Too much of this: we wander far, the skies begin to scowl;	46-47: noticing a storm approaching, Pallas suggests they move into a natural shelter.
	Retire we to Diana's bower, the weather will be foul.	= bower is a monosyllable here.
48
	A storm of thunder and lightning passes.
50	Até trundles the ball into place,	50: Até enters and, unseen, rolls (trundles) the golden
	crying "Fatum Trojae," Juno takes it up.	apple she was carrying with her in the Prologue onto the stage. Fatum Trojae = "Fate of Troy!" takes = picks.
52
	Juno. Pallas, the storm is past and gone, and Phoebus clears the skies,	= Phoebus is an alternate name for Apollo, in his role as the sun god.
54	And, lo, behold a ball of gold, a fair and worthy prize!	= look!
56	[Venus examines the ball closely.]	56: stage direction added by editor.
58	Venus. This posy wills the apple to the fairest given be;	58: Venus notices a short verse inscribed on the apple. posy = inscription.^1 wills = intends.
	Then is it mine, for Venus hight the fairest of the three.	= is called (ie. is known to be).
60
	Pall. The fairest here, as fair is meant, am I, ye do me wrong;	= "as the meaning of the word fair is intended".
62	And if the fairest have it must, to me it doth belong.
64	Juno. Then Juno may it not enjoy, so every one says no,	64: so every one says no = ie. "if everyone disagrees with me".
	But I will prove myself the fairest, ere I lose it so.	= before.
66
	[They read the posy.]	67ff: each deity will argue that fair is to be interpreted in a way that is naturally most advantageous to herself. We thought the ladies were acting childishly before, but the verbal sparring will get worse.
68
	The brief is this, “Detur pulcherrimae,	= writing.^3 = "given to the most beautiful".
70	Let this unto the fairest given be,
	The fairest of the three,” − and I am she.
72
	Pall. “Detur pulcherrimoe,
74	Let this unto the fairest given be.
	The fairest of the three,” − and I am she.
76
	Venus. “Detur pulcherrimoe,
78	Let this unto the fairest given be,
	The fairest of the three,” − and I am she.
80
	Juno. My face is fair; but yet the majesty,	= beautiful.^1
82	That all the gods in heaven have seen in me,
	Have made them choose me, of the planets seven.	83: the Romans named the known five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) after gods; the Elizabethans considered the moon and sun also to be planets, in the sense that all seven known bodies were believed to revolve around the earth. Juno thus simply means, "of all the goddesses"; Benbow notes, however, the linguistic oddity of Juno identifying herself as one of the planets.
84	To be the wife of Jove and queen of heaven.
	If, then, this prize be but bequeathed to beauty,
86	The only she that wins this prize am I.
88	Venus. That Venus is the fairest, this doth prove,	= ie. the following evidence.
	That Venus is the lovely Queen of Love:
90	The name of Venus is indeed but beauty,
	And men me fairest call per excellency.	= an early version of par excellence, meaning "above all";
92	If, then, this prize be but bequeathed to beauty,	this was the first appearance of this still common ex-
	The only she that wins this prize am I.	pression in an otherwise English text.
94
	Pall. To stand on terms of beauty as you take it,	95-96: "it is a mistake to interpret the meaning of fair
96	Believe me, ladies, is but to mistake it.	(beauty) in the way you two are doing." stand on = insist on.
	The beauty that this subtle prize must win,	= cunning or ingenious.^1
98	No outward beauty hight, but dwells within;	98: the sense is, "is not the beauty that is on the surface, but that which can be found inside a person." hight = means.^1
	And sift it as you please, and you shall find,	= "examine it every which way".^1
100	This beauty is the beauty of the mind:
	This fairness, virtue hight in general,	101-2: "fairness, as it should be understood here, is another
102	That many branches hath in speciäl;	word for virtue, which encompasses many meanings." branches = parts, ie. meanings. in special = distinct.^1
	This beauty wisdom hight, whereof am I,	103-4: "beauty in this case can be called wisdom,
104	By heaven appointed, goddess worthily.	of which heaven has worthily appointed me goddess".
	And look how much the mind, the better part,
106	Doth overpass the body in desert,	= surpass. = merit.
	So much the mistress of those gifts divine	107-8: "she who possesses the gift of a superior mind -
108	Excels thy beauty, and that state of thine.	meaning me - surpasses your physical beauty, Venus, and the beauty of your majesty, Juno."
	Then, if this prize be thus bequeathed to beauty,
110	The only she that wins this prize am I.
112	Venus. Nay, Pallas, by your leave you wander clean:	112: by your leave = "with your permission". you wander clean = "you are completely on the wrong track".
	We must not conster hereof as you mean,	= "construe this".
114	But take the sense as it is plainly meant;	114: Venus employs the argument familiar to conservative American jurists: if the letter of the law is plain, it would be wrong to distort its meaning.
	And let the fairest ha't, I am content.	= have it.
116
	Pall. Our reasons will be infinite, I trow,	117: "our arguments will go on indefinitely, I expect (trow)".
118	Unless unto some other point we grow:	118: ie. "unless we find some other way to settle this."
	But first here's none, methinks, disposed to yield,	119-120: "firstly, none of us will give in, and, secondly,
120	And none but will with words maintain the field.	each of us is prepared to maintain our position." maintain the field = "defend one's ground", a military expression.
122	Juno. Then, if you will, t' avoid a tedious grudge,	= wearisome or long-term ill-will.^1
	Refer it to the sentence of a judge;	123: "let's find a third party to decide who deserves this prize".
124	Whoe'er he be that cometh next in place,	124-5: the next person they see will be recruited to arbitrate
	Let him bestow the ball and end the case.	the case.
126
	Venus. So can it not go wrong with me at all.	127: the quarto has a superfluous not after me, which the
128		editors generally remove.
	Pall. I am agreed, however it befall:
130	And yet by common doom, so may it be,	130-1: Pallas cannot help asserting one more time the
	I may be said the fairest of the three.	superiority of her position. doom = judgment.
132
	Juno. Then yonder, lo, that shepherd swain is he,	= look. = ie. shepherd.
134	That must be umpire in this controversy!	134: arbiter or judge; this modern-sounding word actually dates back at least to 1400.^1
	ACT II, SCENE II.
	Enter Paris.
1	Venus. Juno, in happy time, I do accept the man;
2	It seemeth by his looks some skill of love he can.	= knows, meaning "has".^3
4	Paris. [Aside] The nymph is gone, and I, all solitary,	= alone; Paris does not immediately see the goddesses as he enters the stage; he is too busy lamenting the absence of his love.
	Must wend to tend my charge, oppressed with melancholy.	5: wend to tend = move on to tend (his sheep); a rather charming bit of wordplay. charge = responsibilities, ie. his sheep. oppressed with melancholy = ie. depressed.
6	This day (or else me fails my shepherd's skill)	6-7: "today - unless my shepherd's intuition is wrong -
	Will tide me passing good or passing ill.	something either exceedingly (passing) good or exceedingly bad will happen to (tide) me."
8
	Juno. Shepherd, abash not, though at sudden thus	9-10: "shepherd, do not be astonished (abash not) to
10	Thou be arrived by ignorance among us,	suddenly and accidentally stumble upon us".
	Not earthly but divine, and goddesses all three;
12	Juno, Pallas, Venus, these our titles be.
	Nor fear to speak for reverence of the place,	= out of.
14	Chosen to end a hard and doubtful case.	= ie. "you have been chosen". = unsettled situation.^1
	This apple, lo (nor ask thou whence it came),	= look. = from where.
16	Is to be given unto the fairest dame!
	And fairest is, nor she, nor she, but she	= "neither Pallas nor Venus"; Juno presumably gestures towards the other two respectively as she says these words.
18	Whom, shepherd, thou shalt fairest name to be.
	This is thy charge; fulfil without offence,	19: "this is your task; perform this duty without worry that you might offend any of us".
20	And she that wins shall give thee recompense.	= a reward.
22	Pall. Dread not to speak, for we have chosen thee,
	Sith in this case we can no judges be.	22: "since (sith) we are unable to decide on a winner
24		amongst ourselves."
	Venus. And, shepherd, say that I the fairest am,
26	And thou shalt win good guerdon for the same.	= reward.
28	Juno. Nay, shepherd, look upon my stately grace,	28-30: look upon…not see = Juno wants Paris to think of
	Because the pomp that ‘longs to Juno's mace	the "fairest" as the one who possesses the most majestic
30	Thou mayst not see; and think Queen Juno's name,	bearing, but fears he may not recognize or understand it as such.
	To whom old shepherds title works of fame,	31: "to whom the ancient poets ascribe great deeds".^6
32	Is mighty, and may easily suffice,	= ie. Juno's name alone is enough.
	At Phoebus hand, to gain a golden prize.	= ie. from Apollo's; there has been much agonizing over the meaning here; one early editor suggests the goddesses are assuming it was Apollo who rolled them the ball, since the ball appeared after Apollo, as the sun god, cleared the skies after the storm (see the previous scene, Act II.i.53). Dyce changes Phoebus to Phoebe's (ie. Diana's), but at this point no one can know what role Diana will play in the play's last act.
34	And for thy meed, sith I am queen of riches,	= reward.^2 = since.
	Shepherd, I will reward thee with great monarchies,	= as the line seems to contain an extra iamb, Dyce suggests that Shepherd is an interpolation, or accidental insertion.
36	Empires, and kingdoms, heaps of massy gold,	= piles. = solid gold; the expression was a common one.
	Sceptres and diadems curious to behold,	= elaborate, describing the diadems, etc.
38	Rich robes, of sumptuous workmanship and cost,
	And thousand things whereof I make no boast:
40	The mould whereon thou tread'st shall be of Tagus’ sands,	40: mould = earth.^1 Tagus' sands = the Tagus was a river in the Iberian peninsula, whose sand was thought to be filled with gold.^8
	And Xanthus shall run liquid gold for thee to wash thy hands;	41: a river of Troy, which would naturally be of interest to the Trojan prince Paris.
42	And if thou like to tend thy flock, and not from them to fly,	42: like = are pleased, ie. prefer. fly = flee.
	Their fleeces shall be curlèd gold to please their master's eye;
44	And last, to set thy heart on fire, give this one fruit to me,
	And, shepherd, lo, this tree of gold will I bestow on thee!
46
	JUNO’S SHOW.	47: starting with Juno, each of the goddesses, in addition to
48		arguing their cases, will try to impress Paris with a show of divine magic.
	[A tree of gold rises, laden with diadems and
50	crowns of gold.]
52	The ground whereon it grows, the grass, the root of gold,
	The body and the bark of gold, all glistering to behold,	= sparkling, glistening.
54	The leaves of burnished gold, the fruits that thereon grow	= polished.
	Are diadems set with pearl in gold, in gorgeous glistering show;
56	And if this tree of gold in lieu may not suffice,	= compensation.^2
	Require a grove of golden trees, so Juno bear the prize.	= ie. demand. = ie. so long as.
58
	[The tree sinks.]
60
	Pall. Me list not tempt thee with decaying wealth,	61-62: Pallas contemptuously describes the offer of wealth
62	Which is embased by want of lusty health;	as unseemly, something basely desired by those who do not have it. me list not = "I desireth (or chooseth) not to". decaying = the sense seems to "causing dissipation of character". embased = debased, made vile.^6 want of lusty health = one's lack of prosperity.^2
	But if thou have a mind to fly above,	= ie. loftier or less mean ambitions.
64	Y-crowned with fame, near to the seat of Jove,	64: Y-crowned = crowned; the ancient optional use of y- as a prefix was derived from the German prefix ge-, and was most commonly used, as here, with past participles; the OED suggests the modern equivalent prefix is a-, as in "we shall go a-hunting." near to the seat of Jove = ie. "which would make you worthy of a seat near the king of the gods".
	If thou aspire to wisdom's worthiness,	= Pallas, we must remember, is the goddess of wisdom, and, as the subsequent lines of her speech indicate, of war.
66	Whereof thou mayst not see the brightness,	66: Pallas worries that Paris may not recognize her brand of "fairness", just as Juno feared the same thing for herself in lines 29-30 above.
	If thou desire honour of chivalry,	= the honour that comes with prowess in war.^1
68	To be renowned for happy victory,	68: "to become famous for military triumphs".
	To fight it out, and in the champaign field	= battlefields in the open countryside.
70	To shroud thee under Pallas' warlike shield,	70: Pallas means she will offer Paris protection from harm during battle.
	To prance on barbèd steeds, this honour, lo,	= armoured.
72	Myself for guerdon shall on thee bestow!	= reward.
	And for encouragement, that thou mayst see	= ie. "in order to influence you further to choose me".
74	What famous knights Dame Pallas' warriors be,
	Behold in Pallas' honour here they come,
76	Marching along with sound of thundering drum.
78	PALLAS’ SHOW.
80	[Enter Nine Knights in armour,	80: an early commentator suggested that this is actually a reference to the famous and oft referred-to group of historical figures known as the Nine Worthies, a collection of nine heroes from the past whose lives were worthy of admiration; they included (a) 3 pagans: Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar; (b) 3 Jews: Joshua, David and Judas Maccabeus; and (c) 3 Christians: King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Boullion, a leader of the First Crusade, and first sovereign of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Of course, any reference to most of these figures is anachronistic (the exception is Hector, who is Paris' older brother).
	treading a warlike almain, by drum and fife;	81: moving or dancing in a stately manner, to the military-
82	and then they having marched forth again,	style music of a fife and drum; almain refers to a type
	Venus speaks.]	of stately German dance;^7 drums and fifes were fre-
84		quently mentioned together in martial descriptions.
	Venus. Come, shepherd, come, sweet shepherd, look on me.
86	These bene too hoat alarums these for thee:	86: "these calls to arms (alarums) are much too dangerous for you." bene = archaic word meaning "are",^1 pronounced been. hoat = archaic form of "hot".
	But if thou wilt give me the golden ball,
88	Cupid my boy shall ha't to play withal,	88: Cupid = the god of love, and the son of Venus, who was usually imagined to be a cherubic little boy. ha't = have it. withal = with.
	That, whensoe'er this apple he shall see,
90	The God of Love himself shall think on thee.	= of.
	And bid thee look and choose, and he will wound	91-92: as a show of gratitude to Paris for the gift of the
92	Whereso thy fancy's object shall be found;	golden ball, Cupid will gladly be at Paris' disposal, striking any woman Paris fancies with one of his (Cupid's) golden arrows, which will cause the stricken female to fall helplessly in love with Paris.
	And lightly when he shoots, he doth not miss:	= usually^15 or merrily.^6
94	And I will give thee many a lovely kiss.	= loving.^6
	And come and play with thee on Ida here;
96	And if thou wilt a face that hath no peer,	= desireth.
	A gallant girl, a lusty minion trull,	= ie. paramour.^1
98	That can give sport to thee thy bellyfull,	= euphemism for sexual favours.
	To ravish all thy beating veins with joy,	= ie. cause rapture in.
100	Here is a lass of Venus’ court, my boy,
	Here, gentle shepherd, here's for thee a piece,	= woman.
102	The fairest face, the flower of gallant Greece.	102: note the paired or double alliteration in this line.
104	VENUS' SHOW.
106	Enter Helen in her bravery,	Entering Character: Helen is the famously beautiful wife of Menelaus, the King of Sparta, later to be known as Helen of Troy. bravery = finery.
	with four Cupids attending on her,	= presumably meaning young, winged, cherubic boys; the
108	each having his fan in his hand	word cupid as such does not appear in the OED.
	to fan fresh air in her face:
110	she sings as follows:	110f: note that the Greek Helen sings in Italian to the English audience; the translation is from Morley (p.107).^7
112	Se Diana nel cielo è una stella	If Diana in Heaven is a star,
	Chiara e lucente, piena di splendore,	Clear and shining, full of splendour,
114	Che porge luc’ all’ affanato cuore;	Who gives light to the troubled heart;
116	Se Diana nel ferno è una dea	If Diana in Hell is a goddess
	Che da conforto all’ anime dannate,	Who gives comfort to the condemned souls,
118	Che per amor son morte desperate;	That have died in despair through love;
120	Se Dian, ch’ in terra è delle ninfe	If Diana who is on earth is of the nymphs
	Reina imperativa di dolei fiori,	The empress queen of the sweet flowers,
122	Tra bosch’ e selve da morte a pastori;	Among thickets and woods giving death to the shepherds;
124	Io son un Diana dolce e rara,	I am a Diana sweet and pure,
	Che con li guardi io posso far guerra	Who with my glamour can give battle
126	A Dian’ infern’ in cielo, e in terra.	To Dian of Hell, in Heaven or on earth.
128	[Helen exits.]
130	Paris. Most heavenly dames, was never man as I,	= ie. "never has there been a man",
	Poor shepherd swain, so happy and unhappy;	= ie. fortunate and unfortunate both.
132	The least of these delights that you devise,	= ie. "even the least". = contrive or bestow.^1,2
	Able to wrape and dazzle human eyes.	= old spelling for rape, ie. enrapture.^1
134	But since my silence may not pardoned be,	134: ie. Paris has no choice but to pick one goddess over the others - silence, or avoiding his duty, is not an option.
	And I appoint which is the fairest she,
136	Pardon, most sacred dames, sith one, not all,	= ie. "since only one".
	By Paris' doom must have this golden ball.	= judgment.
138	Thy beauty, stately Juno dame divine,
	That like to Phoebus' golden beams doth shine,	139: "that shines like the rays of the sun"; Apollo, a.k.a. Phoebus, we remember, is the god of the sun.
140	Approves itself to be most excellent;	= proves, demonstrates.
	But that fair face that doth me most content,	= delight or please.^1
142	Sith fair, fair dames, is neither she nor she,	142-3: "she who shall be called fair, which is neither you
	But she whom I shall fairest deem to be,	Juno nor you Pallas, is whomever I determine it to be."
144	That face is hers that hight the Queen of Love,	= is called or is known as.
	Whose sweetness doth both gods and creatures move;	= arouse.
146	And if the fairest face deserve the ball,
	Fair Venus, ladies, bears it from ye all.	= plural form of you.
148
	[Gives the golden ball to Venus.]
150
	Venus. And in this ball doth Venus more delight
152	Than in her lovely boy fair Cupid's sight.
	Come, shepherd, come; sweet Venus is thy friend;
154	No matter how thou other gods offend.
156	[Venus takes Paris away with her. Exeunt.]
158	Juno. But he shall rue and ban the dismal day	= curse.
	Wherein his Venus bare the ball away;
160	And heaven and earth just witnesses shall be,
	I will revenge it on his progeny.	= family.^2
162
	Pall. Well, Juno, whether we be lief or loth,	= "are willing or unwilling^5 (to go along with the decision)".
164	Venus hath got the apple from us both.
166	[Exeunt.]
	ACT III.
	SCENE I.
	Enter Colin, the enamoured shephered,	Entering Character: Colin, a shepherd, is desperately in
	who sings his passion of love.	love with one Thestylis, who has rejected him. He sings a song in which he blames Cupid for causing him to fall in love, but failing to cause Thestylis to reciprocate his feelings. Dyce notes that Colin's song was reprinted in a 1600 collection of poems, England's Helicon.
1	O gentle Love, ungentle for thy deed,	= ie. Cupid. = unkind; such wordplay involving repetition of words or syllables, but used in different senses, in a single line was a favourite tactic of Peele's.
2	Thou mak'st my heart
	A bloody mark	= target.
4	With piercing shot to bleed!	4: shot = ie. of Cupid's arrow. 2-4: heart to bleed = the image of a bleeding heart was frequently used to express sorrow.
	Shoot soft, sweet Love, for fear thou shoot amiss,	= carefully, unhurriedly or gently.^1 = ie. "miss your target".
6	For fear too keen	= sharp.
	Thy arrows been,
8	And hit the heart where my belovèd is.	8: Colin asks Cupid to hit his love with an arrow, so she will return his love.
	Too fair that fortune were, nor never I	9-12: Colin recognizes that it is his bad luck that Cupid will
10	Shall be so blest,	not take pity on him and strike Thestylis with an arrow.
	Among the rest,
12	That Love shall seize on her by sympathy.
	Then since with Love my prayers bear no boot,	= "have proved useless".
14	This doth remain	14-16: "then no path is left for me but to die from my broken
	To cease my pain,	heart."
16	I take the wound, and die at Venus' foot.	= receive.^6
18	[Exit Colin.]
	ACT III, SCENE II.
	Enter Hobbinol, Diggon, and Thenot.	Entering Characters: the three new characters are friends of Colin and fellow shepherds. Diggon is never mentioned by name in the play, and the other two, only once each.
1	Hobb. Poor Colin, woeful man, thy life forspoke by love,	= bewitched,^1 ie. cursed as by a witch, or predetermined.^14
2	What uncouth fit, what malady, is this that thou dost prove?	2: uncouth = unknown or strange.^1 prove = experience.^2
4	Digg. Or Love is void of physic clean, or Love's our common wrack,	4: ie. "either Cupid completely (clean) lacks any medicine (physic) which can "cure" a case of love, or he is going to be man's common ruin".
	That gives us bane to bring us low, and let us medicine lack.	5: "giving us poison (bane) to bring us down, and then allowing us to go without medicine." That gives…and let = note the inconsistency in conjugation between gives and let. medicine = pronounced as a disyllable: MED-'cine.
6
	Hobb. That ever Love had reverence 'mong silly shepherd swains!	7: That = the sense is, "it's incredible that". had reverence = ie. was held in reverence by.
8	Belike that humour hurts them most that most might be their pains.	8: the physiology of the era imagined the body to consist of four fluids known as humours - yellow bile, blood, phlegm and black bile; illness was thought to be caused by an imbalance or excess of one or the other of the humours. be = an old editor wonders if bear might be preferable.
10	Then. Hobbin, it is some other god that cherisheth her sheep,	10: her = Dyce revises her to their, ie. the shepherds'.
	For sure this Love doth nothing else but make our herdmen weep.
12
	Digg. And what a hap is this, I pray, when all our woods rejoice,	13: a hap = an occurrence. our woods rejoice = ie. because of the visit by the
14	For Colin thus to be denied his young and lovely choice?	goddesses.
16	Then. She hight indeed so fresh and fair that well it is for thee,	16: hight = is called. thee = ie. Diggon, whom Thenot is addressing.
	Colin and kind hath been thy friend, that Cupid could not see.	17: Benbow's interpretation is definitive: Colin and nature (kind) have bestowed a benefit on Diggon, in that Cupid was so fixated on Colin that he (Cupid) did not notice Diggon, and thus never wounded him with an arrow which would have ruined his life too.
18
	Hobb. And whither wends yon thriveless swain? like to the stricken deer,	19-20: "and where is yonder unsuccessful (thriveless) shepherd (meaning Colin) going? like the deer that has
20	Seeks he dictam[n]um for his wound within our forest here?	been shot by a hunter's arrow, has he gone to search the woods for the dictanum plant to treat his wound." dictanum = the dittany plant, often referred to as having medicinal values useful to treat arrow wounds.^1
22	Digg. He wends to greet the Queen of Love, that in these woods doth won,	22: that = who. doth won = ie. dwells, meaning "haunts".^1,3
	With mirthless lays to make complaint to Venus of her son.	23: Colin has gone to meet and sing sad songs (lays) to Venus to deliver his grievance against her son Cupid.
24
	Then. Ah, Colin, thou art all deceived! she dallies with the boy,	25-26: Venus famously indulges Cupid in his tricks; besides, no deity is allowed to overturn or reverse the spells of another.
26	And winks at all his wanton pranks, and thinks thy love a toy.	26: winks at = closes her eyes to, ie. is complaisant with.^1 wanton = naughty, cruel. thy love a toy = "your (Colin's) feelings are foolish or of little value."
28	Hobb. Then leave him to his luckless love, let him abide his fate;	28: abide = endure.
	The sore is rankled all too far, our comfort comes too late.	= wound is festering; rankle is a favourite word of Peele's.
30
	Digg. Though Thestylis the scorpion be that breaks his sweet assault,	31: a military metaphor: Colin's assault (ie. his courting of Thestylis) was stopped by Thestylis' defensive use of a catapult (scorpion), which tossed rocks and like objects at the attacker.
32	Yet will Rhamnusia vengeance take on her disdainful fault.	32: Rhamnusia = more commonly known as Nemesis, a goddess who punishes the culpable. fault = transgression; note that the blame for Colin's heartbreak is shifting from Cupid's shoulders to Thestylis'.
34	Then. Lo, yonder comes the lovely nymph, that in these Ida vales	34: Lo = look. vales = valleys.
	Plays with Amyntas' lusty boy, and coys him in the dales!	35: Amyntas' lusty boy = ie. Paris; Amyntas is used as a generic pastoral name or term.^6 coys = soothes or caresses.^3 dales = valleys between the hills.
36
	Hobb. Thenot, methinks her cheer is changed, her mirthful looks are laid,	37: cheer = mood or looks.^1,3 mirthful…laid = normally cheerful countenance has been set aside.
38	She frolics not; pray god, the lad have not beguiled the maid!	38: the shepherds pray that Paris has not deluded or deceived Oenone.
	ACT III, SCENE III.
	Enter Oenone with a wreath of poplar on her head.	61: the poplar, we remember, was the tree under which Paris
		had made his vows to Oenone.
1	Oen. [Aside]
2	Beguiled, disdained, and out of love! Live long, thou poplar-tree,
	And let thy letters grow in length, to witness this with me.	3: Oenone refers to the letters of her name, which Paris had carved onto the poplar tree; the letters will grow in size as the poplar grows. Thanks to Benbow for identifying the source of this image, namely, the Heroides of Ovid, specifically #5, the letter from Oenone to Paris.
4	Ah, Venus, but for reverence unto thy sacred name,	= ie. "except for the fact that I revere".
	To steal a silly maiden's love, I might account it blame!	= ie. for Venus to steal away a foolish maiden's lover". silly = weak, vulnerable, foolish or simple.^1
6	And if the tales be true I hear, and blush for to recite,	= "and am embarrassed to repeat".
	Thou dost me wrong to leave the plains and dally out of sight.
8	False Paris, this was not thy vow, when thou and I were one,	= treacherous.
	To range and change old love for new; but now those days be gone.	= wander and exchange.
10	But I will find the goddess out, that she thy vow may read,	10: read = think about, consider.^1
	And fill these woods with my laments for thy unhappy deed.
12
	Hobb. So fair a face, so foul a thought to harbour in his breast!	13: his = ie. Paris'.
14	Thy hope consumed, poor nymph, thy hap is worse than all the rest.	14: "your expectations (hope) are ruined, poor nymph, your luck (hap) is worse than anyone else's."
16	Oen. Ah, shepherds, you bin full of wiles, and whet your wits on books,	16-17: Oenone is not speaking to the shepherds on the stage, but rather is apostrophizing to all shepherds generally. 16: "ah, shepherds, you are full of tricks (wiles), and sharpen your clever ways by studying words in books".
	And wrape poor maids with pipes and songs, and sweet alluring looks!	17: wrape = enrapt; the 1584 quarto has wrap, emended by most editors to wrape (ie. rape); Benbow alone keeps wrap, suggesting it means "surround". maids = maidens. pipes = music played on their flutes or recorders.
18
	Digg. Mis-speak not all for his amiss; there bin that keepen flocks,	19-20: "don't wrongly accuse all shepherds of behaving this way, just because Paris acted badly; there are plenty
20	That never chose but once, nor yet beguilèd love with mocks.	of men who tend their flocks and choose and stick to one woman, and never deceive them." amiss = fault. keepen = Peele adopts a dialectical two-syllable form of keep for the sake of the meter. mocks = derision.
22	Oen. False Paris, he is none of those; his trothless double deed	22: trothless = unfaithful, treacherous.^1 double deed = Smeaton suggests double is a rhetorical redundancy, meant to emphasize the treachery inherent in Paris' faithlessness.
	Will hurt a many shepherds else that might go nigh to speed.	22-23: Paris' actions will cause women in the future to suspect the motives of all shepherds who court them, harming their chances of success. nigh = near. speed = success.
24
	Then. Poor Colin, that is ill for thee, that art as true in trust	25-26: Thenot apostrophizes to Thestylis: "poor Colin, who is love-sick for you, he is as true to your sweet suffering
26	To thy sweet smert as to his nymph Paris hath bin unjust.	(smert) as Paris is unfaithful to Oenone. smert = alternate spelling for smart, meaning pain or suffering; sweet smert is hence an oxymoron.
28	Oen. Ah, well is she hath Colin won, that nill no other love!	28: "ah, well off is the woman that Colin wins, he who will look on no other woman."
	And woe is me, my luck is loss, my pains no pity move!	= "my distress arouses no sympathy!"
30
	Hobb. Farewell, fair nymph, sith he must heal alone that gave the wound;	31: sith he…wound = "since Cupid caused the wound, only he can mend it."
32	There grows no herb of such effect upon Dame Nature's ground.	32: herb = plant with medicinal effect. Dame Nature = Nature is personified; the expression
		Mother Nature goes back to the mid-16th century. 31-32: wound / ground = these words obviously no longer rhyme today, but they would have sounded more alike in 1584; according to Meier,^13 in Peele's time the diphthong ou would have had a sound half-way between the modern ou of wound and ground.
34	[Exeunt Hobbinol, Diggon, and Thenot.]
	ACT III, SCENE IV.
	Enter Mercury with Vulcan's Cyclops.	Entering Characters: Mercury is the messenger god; he is accompanied by two or more Cyclops, members of the famous race of one-eyed giants, who work for the smith god Vulcan, helping him forge lightning bolts for Jupiter.
1	Merc. Here is a nymph that sadly sits, and she belike	= "likely", probably should have been printed beleek (to rhyme with seek), a word which, as Dyce notes, Peele used in another poem of his.
2	Can tell some news, Pyracmon, of the jolly swain we seek:	2: Pyracmon = one of three Cyclops mentioned in line 425 of Book VIII of the Aeneid, the others being named Brontes and Steropes. swain = shepherd.
	Dare wage my wings, the lass doth love, she looks so bleak and thin;	3: Dare wage my wings = "I dare bet my wings", which were located on his hat and sandals. bleak and thin = in Peele's David and Bethsabe, he describes the heart-smitten Amnon as "amorously lean". bleak = wan.^15
4	And 'tis for anger or for grief: but I will talk begin.	= ie. "either out of". = ie. "approach her".
6	Oen. [Aside]
	Break out, poor heart, and make complaint, the mountain flocks to move,	= lament.
8	What proud repulse and thankless scorn thou hast received of love.	8: What = ie. about the. of love = ie. from Love; Cupid has not responded to
		her prayers.
10	Merc. She singeth; sirs, be hushed a while.
12	Oenone sings as she sits.
14	OENONE'S COMPLAINT.	14ff: Smeaton calls this song a "glorious lay (ie. song) of lamentation."
16	Melpomene, the Muse of tragic songs,	16: Melpomene is the Muse of tragic works.
	With mournful tunes, in stole of dismal hue,	17: wearing a stola (an ancient Greek woman's long robe)^1 of somber colour.
18	Assist a silly nymph to wail her woe,	18: just as Homer and Virgil began their epic poems by
	And leave thy lusty company behind.	asking a Muse to help them compose their works, so Oenone asks Melpomene to assist her in composing an effective song of lament.
20
	Thou luckless wreath! becomes not me to wear	21f: Oenone apostrophizes to her wreath. becomes not me = "it is no longer fitting for me".
22	The poplar-tree for triumph of my love:
	Then, as my joy, my pride of love, is left,
24	Be thou unclothèd of thy lovely green;	24: "shed your lovely green leaves".
26	And in thy leaves my fortune written be,	26: there are occasional references in the era's literature to reading one's fortunes in leaves, or the leaves of fate.
	And them some gentle wind let blow abroad,	27-29: ie. let a wind blow the leaves around the world to let
28	That all the world may see how false of love	everyone know what Paris has done; Peele would later use
	False Paris hath to his Oenone been.	a similar motif in David and Bethsabe, in which clouds
30		were dispatched around the world to spread the news that Amnon had raped and then rejected Thamar.
	The song ended, Oenone sitting still, Mercury speaks.
32
	Merc. Good day, fair maid; weary belike with following of your game,	33-34: Mercury employs a hunting metaphor, describing Oenone's presumed love as her prey. weary belike = ie. "you are likely weary".
34	I wish thee cunning at thy will, to spare or strike the same.	74: "I wish you the ability to decide as you wish whether to let your prey live or die."
36	Oen. I thank you, sir; my game is quick, and rids a length of ground,	36-37: "my prey (ie. Paris) is still alive (quick), and has already covered a good distance, but unless I
	And yet I am deceived, or else 'a had a deadly wound.	am mistaken, he has been grievously wounded." rids = clears.^3
38
	Merc. Your hand perhaps did swerve awry.	39ff: note the use of a figure of speech known as sticho-
40		mythia, in which Mercury and Oenone engage in alternating lines of dialogue, with Oenone's lines being in the nature of witty responses to Mercury's suggestions. 39: Mercury continues using the hunting metaphor: "perhaps as you fired your arrow at him, your hand twitched, and your shot only wounded him instead of cleanly killing him."
	Oen. Or else it was my heart.
42
	Merc. Then sure 'a plied his footmanship.	43: "then certainly he has used his skill in running to get away from you." 'a plied = "he applied".^6
44
	Oen. 'A played a ranging part.	45: "well, he certainly played the role of a rover," meaning
46		that Paris is both literally roaming around the woods and figuratively playing the role of a faithless lover.
	Merc. You should have given a deeper wound.
48
	Oen. I could not that for pity.	= "do that out of".
50
	Merc. You should have eyed him better, then.	= aimed.^6
52
	Oen. Blind love was not so witty.	= "clever enough to do so."
54
	Merc. Why, tell me, sweet, are you in love?
56
	Oen. Or would I were not so.	= replaced by some editors with "O,". = "I wish".
58
	Merc. Ye mean because 'a does ye wrong.	= he.
60
	Oen. Perdy, the more my woe.	= Certainly.
62
	Merc. Why, mean ye Love, or him ye loved?	63: Mercury askes for clarification: was Oenone wronged
64		by Cupid or by the man she loved?
	Oen. Well may I mean them both.
66
	Merc. Is love to blame?
68
	Oen. The Queen of Love hath made him false his troth.	= ie. "break his vow (to me)."
70
	Merc. Mean ye, indeed, the Queen of Love?
72
	Oen. Even wanton Cupid's dame.	73: Even = a monosyllable: E'en. wanton = playful, naughty. dame = dam, ie. mother.
74
	Merc. Why, was thy love so lovely, than?	= common alternate spelling of then, used here and in line 80.
76
	Oen. His beauty hight his shame;	= "is known as", ie. "is"; Baskerville suggests "promised"
78	The fairest shepherd on our green.	or "assured", Benbow "heightens".
80	Merc. Is he a shepherd, than?
82	Oen. And sometime kept a bleating flock.
84	Merc. Enough, this is the man.	84: Mercury recognizes that Oenone is indeed talking about Paris; he has been asking Oenone these questions not so much out of concern for the nymph as for his need to find Paris.
	Where wons he, then?	= dwells.
86
	Oen. About these woods, far from the poplar-tree.	87: Oenone metaphorically, and poignantly, alludes to Paris'
88		having distanced himself from the vow he made to her under the poplar tree,
	Merc. What poplar mean ye?
90
	Oen. Witness of the vows betwixt him and me,	91: Witness of = "the one that was the witness of".
92	And come and wend a little way, and you shall see his skill.	betwixt = between; Dyce prefers 'twixt for the sake of the meter.
94	Merc. Sirs, tarry you.	94: Mercury instructs the Cyclops to hang back.
96	Oen. Nay, let them go.
98	Merc. Nay, not unless you will.
	Stay, nymph, and hark[en] what I say of him thou blamest so.	99: hark[en] = listen to; the quarto has only hark, which leaves the line short a syllable. say = the sense is "have to say".
100	And, credit me, I have a sad discourse to tell thee ere I go.	= believe. = before.
	Know then, my pretty mops, that I hight Mercury,	= lass, a term of endearment. = "am called".
102	The messenger of heaven, and hither fly	= to here.
	To seize upon the man whom thou dost love,
104	To summon him before my father Jove,
	To answer matter of great consequence:
106	And Jove himself will not be long from hence.	= here.
108	Oen. Sweet Mercury, and have poor Oenone's cries	108-9: "have my prayers to heaven actually gotten through?"
	For Paris' fault y-pierced th' unpartial skies?	109: For Paris' fault = regarding Paris' transgression.
110		y-pierced = pierced; the original edition has y-piercest, abbreviated by all the editors. For the long-obsolete prefix y-, see the note at Act II.ii.64. unpartial skies = unbiased heavens, ie. objective gods. Bullen notes that Christopher Marlowe may have adopted this line for The Jew Of Malta (c.1589): And with my prayers pierce impartial heavens.
	Merc. The same is he, that jolly shepherd's swain.
112
	Oen. His flock do graze upon Aurora's plain,	113-6: Oenone describes Paris so Mercury can recognize him. Aurora = goddess of the dawn.
114	The colour of his coat is lusty green;	= gay.^1
	That would these eyes of mine had never seen	= "I wish".
116	His 'ticing curlèd hair, his front of ivory,	116: 'ticing = enticing.
	Then had not I, poor I, bin unhappy.	front of ivory = literally a forehead of ivory, ie. white face or countenance; in Elizabethan times, the whiter, ie. less dark, was one's skin, the more beautiful the posses- sor.
118
	Merc. No marvel, wench, although we cannot find him,	119: wench = young lady; there was no negative connota- tion to this word in this era. although = if.^6
120	When all too late the Queen of Heaven doth mind him.	120: ie. "when Venus has so recently been giving him her attention."
	But if thou wilt have physic for thy sore,	121: a medical metaphor: "if you will accept some medicine (physic) for your injury".
122	Mind him who list, remember thou him no more,	122: "whoever wants to (list) can remember (mind) Paris, but you should forget about him". The meter of this line is imperfect.
	And find some other game, and get thee gone;	= "find another man"; Mercury returns to the hunting metaphor.
124	For here will lusty suitors come anon,	= full of spirit.^5 = soon.
	Too hot and lusty for thy dying vein,	= lustful.^5
126	Such as ne'er wont to make their suits in vain.	126: Oenone's soon-to-arrive new suitors are not accus- tomed to courting women for no purpose (as Paris has done). ne-er wont = Dyce replaced the original, nonsensical, were monte; later editors follow his lead. 125-6: note how Peele "rhymes" the homonyms vein and vain.
128	[Exit Mercury with Cyclops.]	128: note that Mercury has left Oenone with the impression that the gods have summoned Paris to answer for his mistreatment of her, rather than for his judgment of the beauty contest.
130	Oen. I will go sit and pine under the poplar-tree,	= waste away.
	And write my answer to his vow, that every eye may see.
132
	[Exit.]	133: Oenone's role in the play ends here.
	ACT III, SCENE V.
	Enter Venus, Paris, and a company of Shepherds.	Entering Characters: Venus has been listening to the
		Shepherds' complaint about Thestylis, whose rejection of Colin caused his death, and agrees to punish her; this is done without any irony, considering that it is thanks to the goddess of beauty that Paris has basically done the same thing to Oenone.
1	Venus. Shepherds, I am content, for this sweet shepherd's sake,
2	A strange revenge upon the maid and her disdain to take.	= ie. Thestylis, the woman who rejected Colin's love.
	Let Colin's corpse be brought in place, and buried in the plain.	= the quarto has burned, but buried is correct, as below in line 133 Venus instructs the shepherd to bury Colin's corpse.
4	And let this be the verse, The love whom Thestylis hath slain.	= ie. the inscription on Colin's tomb.
	And, trust me, I will chide my son for partiality,	5-6: assuming her son Cupid was the one who caused this
6	That gave the swain so deep a wound, and let her scape him by.	distressing situation (by causing Colin to fall in love with Thestylis without similarly causing her to fall in love with him), Venus promises to chastise Cupid for his unfairness; but Venus tends to be quite indulgent of her son's pranks.
8	1st Shep. Alas that ever Love was blind, to shoot so far amiss!	8: Love, in the person of Cupid, is often described as blind, meaning he is arbitrary in whom he shoots with an arrow (a
		metaphor for the unpredictability of love), but the 1st Shepherd uses blind here in its more modern sense, suggesting it as a reason Cupid has missed his mark.
10	Venus. Cupid my son was more to blame, the fault not mine, but his.
12	[Exeunt Shepherds.]
14	Paris. O madam, if yourself would deign the handling of the bow,	14-15: Paris suggests that Venus would be more judicious than Cupid in employing the bow and arrow, if she
	Albeit it be a task, yourself more skill, more justice know.	would ever condescend (deign) to do so.
16
	Venus. Sweet shepherd, didst thou ever love?
18
	Paris. Lady, a little once.
20
	Venus. And art thou changed?
22
	Paris. Fair Queen of Love, I loved not all attonce.	23: 16th century variation of "at once".
24
	Venus. Well, wanton, wert thou wounded so deep as some have been,	25-26: if Paris had ever been as deeply in love as some have been - perhaps she is thinking of Colin here - it would
26	It were a cunning cure to heal, and rueful to be seen.	have required tremendous skill to "cure" it, and it would have been pitiable (rueful) to watch.
28	Paris. But tell me, gracious goddess, for a start and false offence,	28-29: Paris asks whether Venus or Cupid possesses the discretionary power to forgive the transgression of going
	Hath Venus or her son the power at pleasure to dispense?	back on one's vows. start = Baskerville suggests "deviation from right",
30		Brooke, "sudden fit of passion". dispense = give dispensation.^14
	Venus. My boy, I will instruct thee in a piece of poetry,
32	That haply erst thou hast not heard: in hell there is a tree,	= fortunately. = before.
	Where once a-day do sleep the souls of false forsworen lovers,	33: Peele employs an antiquated form of forsworn, with the extra e and hence extra syllable, to fill out the meter.
34	With open hearts; and there about in swarms the number hovers
	Of poor forsaken ghosts, whose wings from off this tree do beat
36	Round drops of fiery Phlegethon to scorch false hearts with heat.	= Phlegethon was one of the rivers of Hades, but it was comprised of fire rather than of water
	This pain did Venus and her son entreat the prince of hell	37: entreat = ask, implore. the prince of hell = ie. Pluto, god of Hades, who had the ultimate authority to dispense punishment to the souls of the dead; note that the phrase prince of hell was normally applied to Satan.
38	T’ impose to such as faithless were to such as loved them well:	= ie. on.
	And, therefore, this, my lovely boy, fair Venus doth advise thee,
40	Be true and steadfast in thy love, beware thou do disguise thee;	40: beware…thee = a warning not to dissemble when one expresses one's love to a woman. disguise = alter.^14
	For he that makes but love a jest, when pleaseth him to start,	41: start = "swerve from love" (Benbow).
42	Shall feel those fiery water-drops consume his faithless heart.
44	Paris. Is Venus and her son so full of justice and severity?
46	Venus. Pity it were that love should not be linkèd with indifferency.	46: it's too bad that love and fairness don't always go together.
	However lovers can exclaim for hard success in love,	47-48: the sense is, perhaps, "no matter how much some
48	Trust me, some more than common cause that painful hap doth move:	lovers cry out for success in love, believe me, there are more who are praying for others to love them, which is a more painful condition to be in." hap = good fortune. move = push for, propose.
	And Cupid's bow is not alone his triumph, but his rod;	= means of punishment.
50	Nor is he only but a boy, he hight a mighty god;	= is known as.
	And they that do him reverence have reason for the same,
52	His shafts keep heaven and earth in awe, and shape rewards for shame.	52: Cupid's arrows were capable of affecting even the gods, who thus themselves were wary of them. rewards = meant ironically, referring to Cupid's punishments.^6
54	Paris. And hath he reason to maintain why Colin died for love?	= ie. a good reason. = ie. "back up his position".
56	Venus. Yea, reason good, I warrant thee, in right it might behove.	56: Venus assures Paris there is a good reason why Colin had to die of a broken heart. warrant = assure. behove = "be necessary"^14 or "be fitting or proper".^6
58	Paris. Then be the name of Love adored; his bow is full of might,	58-59: if the goddess says there was a good reason for what Cupid did to Colin, then Paris is satisfied; no doubt a good policy when consorting with deities.
	His wounds are all but for desert, his laws are all but right.	= merited, deserved.
60
	Venus. Well, for this once me list apply my speeches to thy sense,	61: Venus understands that Paris has been indirectly hinting that he would like to see Thestylis punished, and she (Venus) agrees to do so. me list…sense = literally, "it pleases me to adapt my commands to your judgment" (Baskerville, p.220).
62	And Thestylis shall feel the pain for Love's supposed offence.	= alleged; Venus is hesitant to blame Cupid for anything.
64	[The Shepherds bring in Colin’s hearse, singing.]	= coffin on a bier.^4
66	Shepherds.
	Welladay, welladay, poor Colin, thou art going to the ground,	67: Welladay = a cry of lamentation; in a lengthy discussion, Benbow convincingly argues that Welladay, Welladay is actually the title of the song, and not its opening lyric. Publications from this era can be found which describe a given ditty as being sung "to the tune of welladay". going to the ground = going to be buried.
68	The love whom Thestylis hath slain,
	Hard heart, fair face, fraught with disdain,	= filled.
70	Disdain in love a deadly wound.
	Wound her, sweet Love, so deep again,	71-74: an apostrophe to Cupid to punish Thestylis.
72	That she may feel the dying pain
	Of this unhappy shepherd's swain.
74	And die for love as Colin died, as Colin died.
76	Venus. Shepherds, abide; let Colin's corpse be witness of the pain	= "hold on".
	That Thestylis endures in love, a plague for her disdain.
78	Behold the organ of our wrath, this rusty churl is he;	= means, agent. = wicked or rough, low-bred fellow.^1,15
	She dotes on his ill-favoured face, so much accursed is she.	= ugly; Venus has caused Thestylis to fall in love with the Churl.
80
	[A foul crooked Churl enters, with Thestylis, a fair	81-84: a partial pantomime occurs on-stage, as Thestylis
82	Lass, who woos him, and sings an old song called	pursues a wretched and deformed man (foul crooked
	“The Wooing of Colman”: he crabbedly refuses her,	Churl), who rejects her!
84	and goes out of place: she tarries behind.]	The Wooing of Colman = there is no surviving copy of this "old song". crabbedly = with ill-temper.^1 goes out of place = leaves the stage.
86	Paris. Ah, poor unhappy Thestylis, unpitied is thy pain!	= Paris is ironic.
88	Venus. Her fortune not unlike to hers whom cruël thou hast slain.	88: ouch! Venus dryly reminds Paris that Oenone is suffer- ing just as Thestylis is now.
90	[Thestylis sings and the Shepherds reply.]
92	THE SONG.
94	Thest. The strange effects of my tormented heart,	= ie. affects, meaning "passions".^6
	Whom cruël love hath woeful prisoner caught,
96	Whom cruël hate hath into bondage brought,	= slavery.
	Whom wit no way of safe escape hath taught,
98	Enforce me say, in witness of my smart,	= "force me to say". = pain.
	There is no pain to foul disdain in hardy suits of love.	= comparable to.^14
100
	Sheps. There is no pain, &c.	= the notation "&c." indicates the repetition of lines and
102		verses.
	Thest. Cruël, farewell.
104
	Sheps. Cruël, farewell.
106
	Thest. Most cruël thou, of all that nature framed.
108
	Shepherds. Most cruël, &c.
110
	Thest. To kill thy love with thy disdain.
112
	Shepherds. To kill thy love with thy disdain.
114
	Thest. Cruël, Disdain, so live thou named.
116
	Shepherds. Cruël, Disdain, &c.
118
	Thest. And let me die of Iphis' pain.	119: allusion to the tragic story of Anaxarete, a Cyprian maiden who scorned the amorous attentions of one Iphis, who hanged himself in his despair. When Anaxarete looked on with apathy even when Iphis' funeral cortège passed by her window, an enraged Venus turned her into stone.
120
	Shepherds. A life too good for thy disdain.	= Bullen is attracted to an old editor's idea to change life to death.
122
	Thest. Sith this my stars to me allot,	123: the position of the stars at one's birth were believed to
124	And thou thy love hast all forgot.	influence his or her fortune in life.
126	Shepherds. And thou, &c.
128	[Exit Thestylis.]
130	[The grace of this song is in the Shepherds' echo	130-1: this odd stage direction, or commentary really,
	to her verse.]	appears in the original 1584 quarto; is it meant to be a plea
132		to future directors of the play to make sure to have the shepherds repeat the song? grace = virtue, particular pleasing element.^1 echo = repetition.
	Venus. Now, shepherds, bury Colin's corpse, perfume his hearse with flowers,
134	And write what justice Venus did amid these woods of yours.	= record.
136	[The Shepherds carry out Colin's hearse.]
138	How now, how cheers my lovely boy, after this dump of love?	= mournful song.^2
140	Paris. Such dumps, sweet lady, as these, are deadly dumps to prove.	140: "mournful tunes such as these will prove to be deadly ones."
142	Venus. Cease, shepherd, there are other news, after this melancholy:	= note the typical treatment of news as a plural word.
	My mind presumes some tempest toward upon the speech of Mercury.	143: Venus sees Mercury approaching, pensively asserting, "I expect Mercury will tell us something that will signal the coming of a big to-do." toward = at hand.^1
	ACT III, SCENE VI.
	Mercury with Vulcan's Cyclops enter.	Entering Characters: Mercury, the messenger of the gods, arrives accompanied again by several of the one-eyed giants.
		Scene VI: here begins the legal activity and language that will dominate the rest of the play, culminating in the accusation (the proper meaning of arraignment) - a trial really - of Paris regarding his decision to award the golden ball to Venus.
1	Merc. Fair Lady Venus, let me pardoned be,
2	That have of long bin well-beloved of thee,	= by.
	If, as my office bids, myself first brings	= job (as messenger) requires.
4	To my sweet madam these unwelcome tidings.	= news.
6	Venus. What news, what tidings, gentle Mercury,
	In midst of my delights, to trouble me?
8
	Merc. At Juno's suit, Pallas assisting her,	= appeal.
10	Sith both did join in suit to Jupiter,	=common alternative to "since".
	Action is entered in the court of heaven;
12	And me, the swiftest of the planets seven,	= see the note at Act II.i.83.
	With warrant they have thence despatched away,
14	To apprehend and find the man, they say,	= seize or arrest.
	That gave from them that self-same ball of gold,	= here Mercury likely points to the ball, which Venus is carrying around with her.
16	Which, I presume, I do in place behold;	= "am looking at (even as we speak)."
	Which man, unless my marks be taken wide,	= "I am mistaken", an archery metaphor, whose familiar form "wide of the mark" is still in common use. marks = targets.
18	Is he that sits so near thy gracious side.
	This being so, it rests he go from hence,	= common expression meaning "it only remains to be done".
20	Before the gods to answer his offence.	= ie. "to appear in front of".
22	Venus. What tale is this? doth Juno and her mate	= companion, referring to Pallas.
	Pursue this shepherd with such deadly hate,
24	As what was then our general agreement,
	To stand unto they nill be now content?	25: ie. "to maintain now that they are not satisfied with Paris' judgment?" nill = will not.
26	Let Juno jet, and Pallas play her part,	= strut. = such theatrical self-references are always pleasing to come across.
	What here I have, I won it by desert;	= "by my own merit", ie. "because I deserved it".
28	And heaven and earth shall both confounded be,	= brought to destruction.
	Ere wrong in this be done to him or me.	= "before any unfair action".
30
	Merc. This little fruit, if Mercury can spell,	31: This little fruit = ie. the golden apple. if Mercury can spell = an equivalent modern expression is "if I can see what is in the cards", ie. predict what will happen.
32	Will send, I fear, a world of souls to hell.	32: for the first time, one of the gods foretells the disastrous consequences that will follow directly as a result of Paris' judgment - the Trojan War and the destruction of Troy itself.
34	Venus. What mean these Cyclops, Mercury? is Vulcan waxed so fine,	34-35: Venus speaks contemptuously of her husband Vulcan, whose Cyclops she describes as if they were common arresting officers. 34: waxed so fine = grown so refined.
	To send his chimney-sweepers forth to fetter any friend of mine? −	= put in chains, ie. arrest.
36	Abash not, shepherd, at the thing; myself thy bail will be. −	36: Abash = marvel. myself thy bail = Venus will be the guarantor that Paris will appear in court, preventing him the discomfort of getting arrested.
	He shall be present at the court of Jove, I warrant thee.	= assure.
38
	Merc. Venus, give me your pledge.	39: Mercury asks for a physical manifestation of Venus' bail, just as in a modern criminal case a defendant must put up a certain amount of money to gain his temporary release from custody, under penalty of forfeit of the sum if he or she fails to appear in court as required.
40
	Venus. My ceston, or my fan, or both?	= cestus, ie. a marriage belt or girdle.^1,6
42
	Merc. [Taking her fan]
44	Nay, this shall serve, your word to me as sure as is your oath,
	At Diana's bower; and, lady, if my wit or policy	= cleverness with words. = cunning or diplomacy.
46	May profit him, for Venus' sake let him make bold with Mercury.	46: let him…Mercury = Mercury encourages Paris to ask him for help if he wishes it.
48	[Exit with the Cyclops.]
50	Venus. Sweet Paris, whereon dost thou muse?	= "what are you thinking about?"
52	Paris. The angry heavens, for this fatal jar,	= in response to this fateful quarrel.
	Name me the instrument of dire and deadly war.	= agent, means, another prediction of the Trojan War.
54
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT IV.
	SCENE I.
	Enter one of Diana’s Nymphs followed by Vulcan.	Entering Characters: the first three scenes of Act IV provide some comic relief and more music before the trial of Paris before the gods begins; here Venus' husband Vulcan, the crippled smith god, is engaging in one of the male gods' favourite activities - pursuing an unwilling female.
1	Vulc. Why, nymph, what need ye run so fast? what though but black I be?	1: but black I be = ie. "I am dark or swarthy", ie. repulsive.
2	I have more pretty knacks to please than every eye doth see;	= tricks or ways;^5 Vulcan's language toward the Nymph is highly suggestive.
	And though I go not so upright, and though I am a smith,	= Vulcan famously had a lame leg, a source of great amusement to the other gods; with upright, Vulcan may also be making a particularly dirty pun.
4	To make me gracious you may have some other thing therewith.
	ACT IV, SCENE II.
	Enter Bacchus.	Entering Character: Bacchus is the god of wine and revelry.
1	Bacc. Yee Vulcan, will ye so indeed? − Nay, turn, and tell him, trull,	1-2: Bacchus is teasing Vulcan, reminding him of his mar- riage to Venus. trull = girl.^1
2	He hath a mistress of his own to take his bellyfull.	= take his bellyfull = suggestive: "satisfy him (sexually)."
4	Vulc. Why, sir, if Phoebe's dainty nymphs please lusty Vulcan's tooth,	4: please…tooth = ie. "are what satisfy my appetite".
	Why may not Vulcan tread awry as well as Venus doth?	= ie. cheat, stray from the marriage bed.
6
	Nymph. Ye shall not taint your troth for me: you wot it very well,	= "tarnish your marriage vows". = know.
8	All that be Dian's maids are vowed to halter apes in hell.	8: all of Diana's nymphs, like Diana herself, have vowed to remain celibate. halter apes in hell = meaning "lead apes in hell on a rope"; the phrase was usually written "lead apes in hell", a strange but occasionally used expression, meaning "to die an old maid", ie. remain a virgin. apes = the quarto has apples, obviously an error.
10	Bacc. I' faith, I’ faith, my gentle mops, but I do know a cast,	10-11: "true, my dear lass (mops), but - those who want to may lead apes to hell (ie. remain virgins) - I know a trick
	Lead apes who list, that we would help t' unhalter them as fast.	(cast)^5 that will help untie those halters quickly"; the wine god Bacchus turns his own lascivious intentions towards the Nymph.
12
	Nymph. Fie, fie, your skill is wondrous great! had thought the God of Wine	= "for shame!" = "I would have thought".
14	Had tended but his tubs and grapes, and not ben half so fine.	14: not ben = was not. fine = clever or cunning.^1
16	Vulc. Gramercy for that quirk, my girl	16: "thanks for that snappy comeback, my girl!" Vulcan appreciates that the Nymph was quick to insult Bacchus. Gramercy = thank you. quirk = quip.^1
18	Bacc. That's one of dainty's frumps.	= ie. the girl's mocking speeches.
20	Nymph. I pray, sir, take't with all amiss; our cunning comes by lumps.	20: perhaps, "please, sir, assume I made the remark in error; our cleverness comes along only piecemeal (by lumps)^1."
22	Vulc. Sh'ath capped his answer in the Q.	22: "she answered Bacchus right back with humour". Vulcan remains amused. in the Q = Baskerville suggests "in the question", Benbow, "with humour".
24	Nymph. How says 'a, has she so?	24: "what did he (Vulcan) say, has she indeed?"
	As well as she that capped your head to keep you warm below.	25: the Nymph unexpectedly turns her venom towards Vulcan: punning on capped, she compares her capping Bacchus' taunt with Venus keeping Vulcan warm at night by putting a cap on his head, with the implication that Venus will not keep Vulcan warm by other more desirable means; Benbow sees a further pun, in which Venus is capping Vulcan with horns, alluding to his being a cuckold.
26
	Vulc. Yea, then you will be curst I see.	= shrewish.
28
	Bacc. Best let her even alone.
30
	Nymph. Yea, gentle gods, and find some other string to harp upon.	31: a musical metaphor: "find some other female to seduce."
32
	Bacc. Some other string! agreed, i'faith, some other pretty thing;	33: Bacchus agrees the gods are better off chasing any girl who is not this disagreeable Nymph.
34	'Twere shame fair maids should idle be: how say you, will ye sing?	= "it would be a". = unoccupied, not useful.
36	Nymph. Some rounds or merry roundelays, we sing no other songs;	36: rounds = short and simple songs, sung in turn by two or more people; think Row, Row, Row Your Boat.^1 roundelays = short and simple songs with refrains.^1
	Your melancholic notes not to our country mirth belongs.	37: "your sullen spirits do not befit our joyful woodlands."
38
	Vulc. Here comes a crew will help us trim.	39: "here come some others who will accompany us in this music." trim = a much-discussed word whose meaning is uncertain: "finely" and "to balance the parts (of the song)" have been suggested.
	ACT IV, SCENE III.
	Enter Mercury with the Cyclops.
1	Merc. Yea, now our task is done.
2
	Bacc. Then, merry Mercury; more than time this round were well begun.	= "it's about time".
4
	They sing "Hey down, down, down," &c.	= a frequently alluded-to song of the era.
6
	The song done, the Nymph winds a horn	= blows.
8	in Vulcan's ear, and runs out.	7-8: a practical joke.
10	Vulc. A harlotry, I warrant her.	10: ie. "(she's) a whore, I guarantee it;" Brooke suggests "silly girl" for harlotry.
12	Bacc. A peevish elvish shroe.	12: peevish = foolish, headstrong or prudish.^1,5 elvish = spiteful or mischievous.^1 shroe = shrew, scold.
14	Merc. Have seen as far to come as near, for all her ranging so.	14: Have seen…as near = literally, "I could have seen just as much from far off as I did from close up"; the sense of this gently mocking and proverbial-sounding clause is perhaps, "you could have stayed where you were and gotten just as close to your goal of seducing the nymph as you did by traveling all this way." ranging = roaming around.
	But, Bacchus, time well-spent I wot, our sacred father Jove,	15: wot = know or expect. our sacred father Jove = Jupiter is the father of both Mercury and Bacchus, though they had different mothers.
16	With Phoebus and the God of War are met in Dian's grove.	= ie. Apollo. = ie. Mars.
18	Vulc. Then we are here before them yet: but stay, the earth doth swell;	= hold on!
	God Neptune, too, (this hap is good,) doth meet the Prince of Hell.	19: Neptune = the god of the seas. hap = fortuitous event. the Prince of Hell = Pluto, god of Hades.
20
	Pluto ascends from below in his chair;	21: throne; here is an opportunity for some nice special
22	Neptune enters at another way.	effects.
24	Pluto. What jars are these, that call the gods of heaven and hell below?	= quarrels; Pluto, unusually monogamous for a god, is generally content to remain below ruling his domain.
26	Nept. It is a work of wit and toil to rule a lusty shroe.	26: to control a vigorous shrew requires cleverness and hard work.
	ACT IV, SCENE IV.
	Enter Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, Mars,	Entering Characters: the remainder of the supernatural
	Juno, Pallas, and Diana.	tribunal arrives; Saturn is the god of agriculture.
		The male gods (the four named here, plus Mercury, Neptune, Pluto, Vulcan, and Bacchus - for a total of nine) will form the jury, with Jove the presiding judge; Mercury also acts as a page to the court; Juno and Pallas are the appellants, and Diana is present primarily because the trial is taking place in her domain, the woods of Mt. Ida.
1	Jup. Bring forth the man of Troy, that he may hear
2	Whereof he is to be arraignèd here.	= for what reason. = charged or accused.
4	Nept. Lo, where 'a comes, prepared to plead his case,	= look. = he.
	Under condúct of lovely Venus grace!
6
	Enter Venus with Paris.
8
	Merc. I have not seen a more alluring boy.	= appealing; we remember Mercury had offered his services to Paris in Act III.vi.45-46.
10
	Apol. So beauty hight the wreck of Priam's Troy.	11: "so beauty leads to the destruction of King Priam's Troy." hight = portends or directs.^1,6
12
	[The gods being set in Diana's bower;	= seated.
14	Juno, Pallas, Venus, and Paris stand on sides
	before them.]
16
	Venus. Lo, sacred Jove, at Juno's proud complaint,	= arrogant, haughty.
18	As erst I gave my pledge to Mercury,	= earlier, a little while ago.
	I bring the man whom he did late attaint,	19: late = recently attaint = properly meaning "convict", but here the sense is "accuse" or "summons".^5,14
20	To answer his indictment orderly;
	And crave this grace of this immortal senate,	= "ask for this favour".
22	That ye allow the man his advocate.	22: Venus asks that Paris be permitted to employ a pro-
		fessional to speak on his behalf at the trial, ie. an attorney or advocate.
24	Pall. That may not be; the laws of heaven deny
	A man to plead or answer by attorney.
26
	Venus. Pallas, thy doom is all too péremptory.	= opinion. = imperious, final-sounding; the sense is that Pallas has voiced her opinion on a point that is not hers to give.
28
	Apol. Venus, that favour is denied him flatly:	= absolutely.
30	He is a man, and therefore by our laws,	= ie. a mortal.
	Himself, without his aid, must plead his cause.	= ie. advocate.^4
32
	Venus. Then 'bash not, shepherd, in so good a case;	33-34: Venus assures Paris their case is a strong one, and
34	And friends thou hast, as well as foes, in place.	reminds him that some of the gods are disposed to be helpful to Venus. 'bash not = "abash not", meaning "be not dismayed", or "don’t lose confidence";
36	Juno. Why, Mercury, why do ye not indict him?	36: Juno is impatient to get the proceedings going, and asks Mercury to read the charges already!
38	Venus. Soft, gentle Juno, I pray you, do not bite him.	38: ie. "calm down!" There is an extra syllable in both this and the next line.
40	Juno. Nay, gods, I trow, you are like to have great silence,	40-41: Juno mocks the men: they will never speak unless Venus, who won't stop her chattering, is ordered from
	Unless this parrot be commanded hence.	the scene. I trow = "I am confident"
42
	Jup. Venus, forbear, be still. − Speak, Mercury.	= ie. "please keep quiet".
44
	Venus. If Juno jangle, Venus will reply.	= old word meaning to prate or babble.^1
46
	Merc. Paris, king Priam's son, thou art arraigned of partiality.	47: arraigned = accused. partiality = improper or unfair bias, ie. judging the beauty contest in a non-objective way.
48	Of sentence partial and unjust; for that without indifferency,	= (making a) decision (which was).
	Beyond desert or merit far, as thine accusers say,
50	From them, to Lady Venus here, thou gavest the prize away:
	What is thine answer?
52
	Paris' oration to the Council of the Gods.	55ff: Paris' defense is a superb model for a defense-attorney's speech; his multiple subtle arguments demonstrate Peele's knowledge of the nuances of criminal law. For Paris' oration, Peele dramatically abandons his use of rhyming couplets, employing instead the now familiar form of blank verse; this is the first play in which any of the major Elizabethan dramatists used blank verse.
54
	Paris. Sacred and just, thou great and dreadful Jove,	= dread-inspiring.
56	And you thrice-reverend powers, whom love nor hate	56: thrice-reverend = most-revered, a title of respect; thrice is used as a simple intensifier. 56-57: whom love…awry = "you who do not let your emotions lead you from administering honest justice"; Paris wisely flatters the gods.
	May wrest awry; if this, to me a man,	57-60: if this…the less = "if it is my fate, as a mortal, to
58	This fortune fatal be, that I must plead	have to plead for myself to excuse my innocent inten-
	For safe excusal of my guiltless thought,	tions, then the honour of doing so mitigates my bad
60	The honour more makes my mishap the less.	luck (mishap) in being forced to do so."
	That I a man must plead before the gods,
62	Gracious forbearers of the world's amiss,	62: Paris flatteringly describes the gods as patiently tolerating all of men's misdeeds.
	For her, whose beauty how it hath enticed,	= ie. Venus.
64	This heavenly senate may with me aver.	= assembly.^1 = affirm.^2
	But sith nor that nor this may do me boot,	65: "but since (sith) nothing I do or say will do me any good (boot)", the sense being, "but since I have no choice in the matter".
66	And for myself myself must speaker be,
	A mortal man amidst this heavenly presence;
68	Let me not shape a long defence to them	= craft; despite Paris' assertion in this line, he will actually go on for quite great length to establish his innocence to the gods!
	That ben beholders of my guiltless thoughts.	= who are.
70	Then for the deed, that I may not deny,	70: Paris does not deny the facts of the case.
	Wherein consists the full of mine offence,
72	I did upon command; if then I erred,
	I did no more than to a man belonged.	73: ie. it is normal for humans to make mistakes; here is a precursor to the later formulation, to err is human.
74	And if, in verdit of their forms divine,	74-76: "and if you decide that I was unable to help looking
	My dazzled eye did swarve or surfeit more	upon Venus' face more than those of Juno and Pallas".
76	On Venus' face than any face of theirs,	verdit = early form of verdict; the change-over in usage from verdit to verdict took place largely in the 1580's. swarve = old form of swerve. surfeit = indulge.
	It was no partial fault, but fault of his,	77-79: Paris' first substantive argument is that his eyesight,
78	Belike, whose eyesight not so perfect was	being that of a mortal, was simply not up to the task of
	As might discern the brightness of the rest.	discerning the true beauties of Juno and Pallas, and it could not help being drawn to the physical beauty of Venus' face. partial (line 77) = biased, unfair.
80	And if it were permitted unto men,
	Ye gods, to parlè with your secret thoughts,	= speak or consult.
82	There ben that sit upon that sacred seat,	= "there are those who".
	That would with Paris err in Venus' praise.	83: Paris is certain that if the gods considered their deepest thoughts honestly, they would admit with Paris that Venus indeed deserves all of their praise.
84	But let me cease to speak of error here;
	Sith what my hand, the organ of my heart,	85-87: Paris' eyes, in viewing Venus, led his heart to feel
86	Did give with good agreement of mine eye,	she should be judged the winner, and his hand simply
	My tongue is vowed with process to maintain.	followed suit by awarding her the prize, and now his tongue, in its speech, must justify his actions. Sith = since. organ = agent. vowed = the original word here, voyde (ie. void), is emended by most of the editors to vowed; Baskerville, however, keeps void, and interprets the line, "unable to explain in a detailed story," which, however, is clearly not the case. process = systematic argument.^15
88
	Pluto. A jolly shepherd, wise and eloquent.	89: Pluto is impressed so far with Paris' defense!
90
	Paris. First, then, arraigned of partiality,
92	Paris replies, "Unguilty of the fact”;	92: Unguilty = common alternative to the more familiar "not guilty". fact = deed.
	His reason is, because he knew no more	93-95: in being able only to focus on the goddesses'
94	Fair Venus' ceston than Dame Juno's mace,	physical beauty, Paris claims he was unable to take
	Nor never saw wise Pallas' crystal shield.	notice of or give attention to the significance of the other qualities of the ladies, as represented in this passage by the accessories they carried with them. ceston (line 94) = belt or girdle.
96	Then as I looked, I loved and liked attonce,	= occasional alternative for "at once".
	And as it was referred from them to me,	= ie. the role of judge was given.
98	To give the prize to her whose beauty best
	My fancy did commend, so did I praise
100	And judge as might my dazzled eye discern.
102	Nept. A piece of art, that cunningly, pardie,	102-3: Neptune too is impressed, especially by Paris' subtle
	Refers the blame to weakness of his eye.	shifting of blame from himself to his eyes, as if they were independent actors. pardie = "truly", an alternate spelling for perdy.
104
	Paris. Now, for I must add reason for my deed,	= because. = further justification.
106	Why Venus rather pleased me of the three;
	First, in the intrails of my mortal ears,	= insides,^1 or twists and turns.^5
108	The question standing upon beauty’s blaze,	108-110: Defense Argument #2: since Venus is known as
	The name of her that hight the Queen of Love,	(hight) the Queen of Love, it would be illogical for
110	Methought, in beauty should not be excelled.	anyone other than her to be judged the most beautiful. blaze (line 108) = blazon or procalmation,^14 or glow or splendour.^1
	Had it been destinèd to majesty	111: if it had been the intention of the contest to award the
112	(Yet will I not rob Venus of her grace),	prize to the one with the greatest quality of majesty.
	Then stately Juno might have borne the ball.
114	Had it to wisdom been intitulèd,	= dedicated.^1
	My human wit had given it Pallas then.	= given is a monosyllable here: gi'en.
116	But sith unto the fairest of the three	116-123: these lines comprise Defense Argument #3.
	That power, that threw it for my farther ill,	116-8: But sith…this ball = Paris points out that whoever (That power) had introduced the divisive golden ball in the first place had clearly intended it to be granted to the most beautiful of the three deities, so he was only judging as he was bound to do by the letter of the ball's inscription.
118	Did dedicate this ball; and safest durst	118-9: and safest…adventure = "and as I thought the
	My shepherd's skill adventure, as I thought,	safest thing to do was". shepherd's skill = Paris modestly dismisses his own ability. adventure = risk.
120	To judge of form and beauty rather than
	Of Juno's state or Pallas' worthiness,
122	That learned to ken the fairest of the flock,	122: Paris points out, again with self-deprecation, that any skill he had in judging beauty he had gained by judging the fairness of his sheep! ken = recognize, perceive.^1
	And praisèd beauty but by nature's aim;
124	Behold, to Venus Paris gave this fruit,
	A daysman chosen there by full consent,	125-6: Defense Argument #4: since the goddesses were the
126	And heavenly powers should not repent their deeds.	ones who chose Paris to be their judge, it is incumbent on them to accept his decision. daysman = arbiter or umpire.^1,3
	Where it is said, beyond desert of hers	127-8: now Juno and Pallas are claiming Venus does not
128	I honoured Venus with this golden prize,	deserve the prize.
	Ye gods, alas, what can a mortal man
130	Discern betwixt the sacred gifts of heaven?	= between.
	Or, if I may with reverence reason thus;	= due respect.
132	Suppose I gave, and judged corruptly then,	132-137: Defense Argument #5: how can he be blamed for unfair bias by the very goddesses who themselves each tried to bribe him with their spectacular gifts to influence his vote?
	For hope of that that best did please my thought,
134	This apple not for beauty's praise alone;
	I might offend, sith I was pardonèd,	= Paris is referring to the fact that he had been granted assurances beforehand by the goddesses that he would not offend any of them regardless of his judgment.
136	And tempted more than ever creature was
	With wealth, with beauty, and with chivalry,	= prowess in war.
138	And so preferred beauty before them all,
	The thing that hath enchanted heaven itself.
140	And for the one, contentment is my wealth;	140: Paris doesn't need any of the things the goddesses offered him: peace of mind is all the wealth he needs.
	A shell of salt will serve a shepherd swain,	141: the shells of certain sea animals could be used as a source of salt.
142	A slender banquet in a homely scrip,	142: a small repast kept in a simple bag (scrip).
	And water running from the silver spring.
144	For arms, they dread no foes that sit so low;	= ie. shepherds.
	A thorn can keep the wind from off my back,	= a tree with thorns, likely the hawthorn tree.^1
146	A sheep-cote thatched a shepherd's palace hight.	146: "a shed (cote)^1 used to shelter sheep I consider a palace."
	Of tragic Muses shepherds con no skill;	147: shepherds have no claim to or need for any talent in the art of reciting tragedies. con = know, ie. have.^3
148	Enough is them, if Cupid ben displeased,	148-9: shepherds are satisfied to try to win Cupid over - if
	To sing his praise on slender oaten pipe.	the little god holds them in disfavour - by playing for him a simple song on their recorders made of the stem of an oat.
150	And thus, thrice-reverend, have I told my tale,
	And crave the torment of my guiltless soul	= "ask that any punishment".
152	To be measúrèd by my faultless thought.	152: Paris did not intend any improper action.
	If warlike Pallas or the Queen of Heaven
154	Sue to reverse my sentence by appeal,
	Be it as please your majesties divine;
156	The wrong, the hurt, not mine, if any be,	156-7: if the gods reverse Paris' decision, it will not bring
	But hers whose beauty claimed the prize of me.	any shame on Paris himself, but rather they will be
158		injuring Venus.
	Paris having ended, Jupiter speaks.
160
	Jup. Venus, withdraw your shepherd for a space.
162	Till he again be called for into place.	= back.
164	[Exeunt Venus and Paris.]
166	Juno, what will ye after this reply,	166-7: "Juno, how can you respond to this defense with
	But doom with sentence of indifferency?	anything but judicious objectivity?" doom = judge.
168	And if you will but justice in the cause.	= ie. "do justice"; justice was not uncommonly used as a verb, as here.
	The man must quited be by heaven's laws.	= be acquitted.
170
	Juno. Yea, gentle Jove, when Juno's suits are moved,	171-2: "the gods can see how well you, Jove (ie. Juno's
172	Then heaven may see how well she is beloved.	husband), love me, when this is how you respond to my petitions." Juno is bitter.
174	Apol. But, madam, fits it majesty divine	174-5: "is it appropriate for gods and goddesses to act in
	In any sort from justice to decline?	any way except with true justice?"
176
	Pall. Whether the man be guilty, yea or no,	177-8: Pallas reminds the court that there are two issues at
178	That doth not hinder our appeal, I trow.	stake: the first, whether they find Paris guilty of any transgressions or not, has no effect on the second, ie. the ladies' petition to have the judgment of Paris over- turned. I trow = "I expect."
180	Juno. Phoebus, I wot, amid this heavenly crew,	= ie. Apollo. = know.
	There be that have to say as well as you.	181: "others will have something to say as much as you do."
182
	Apol. And, Juno, I with them, and they with me,
184	In law and right must needfully agree.
186	Pall. I grant ye may agree, but be content	186-7: "of course you must of all agree, but you can expect
	To doubt upon regard of your agreement.	your agreement to be held in suspicion."
188
	Pluto. And if ye marked, the man in his defence	189-190: Pluto reminds everyone that Paris spoke with the
190	Said thereof as 'a might with reverence.	deference due to the gods. marked = observed.
192	Vulc. And did ye very well, I promise ye.	192: ie. "and he spoke highly and respectfully of you goddesses as well."
194	Juno. No doubt, sir, you could note it cunningly.	194: Juno, sarcastic, is not impressed.
196	Sat. Well, Juno, if ye will appeal, ye may.	= still want to.
	But first despatch the shepherd hence away.	197: ie. "but first let's dispatch with the decision regarding Paris' guilt or innocence."
198
	Mars. Then Vulcan's dame is like to have the wrong.	199: Mars senses that the decision is about to go against Venus, Vulcan's wife.
200
	Juno. And that in passion doth to Mars belong.	201: "who in her passions is Mars' lover;" but Baskerville
202		interprets passion to mean "sorrow", hence, "sadly, the injury belongs to Mars;" either way, Juno is sarcastic.
	Jup. Call Venus and the shepherd in again.
204
	[Exit Mercury.]	205: stage direction added by Dyce.
206
	Bacc. And rid the man that he may know his pain.	207: rid the man = "let the mortal go,"^5 or "dispatch the mortal";^6 Bacchus wants to move on already. pain = ie. punishment or sentence.^6,14
208
	Apol. His pain, his pain, his never-dying pain,	209-210: Apollo alludes to the catastrophes that will follow
210	A cause to make a many more complain.	in time as a consequence of present events.
212	Mercury brings in Venus and Paris.
214	Jup. Shepherd, thou hast ben heard with equity and law,	214-7: Jupiter announces the decision; Paris is doomed, but the gods will not tell him exactly how events will play out. We may note that a vote was never taken; Jupiter, in order to avoid unnecessarily upsetting Juno, has unilaterally made the decision. Ultimately, the gods don't really care what happens to humanity.
	And for thy stars do thee to other calling draw,	215: the sense is, "your fortune is to be found in a different situation or calling^5 than the present one." for thy stars = "because thy fate"; the allusion is to the predictive value of the alignment of the stars at one's birth.
216	We here dismiss thee hence, by order of our senate:
	Go take thy way to Troy, and there abide thy fate.	= await.
218
	Venus. Sweet shepherd, with such luck in love, while thou dost live,	219-220: Venus tries to put a positive spin on the ruling: at least she can still fulfill her promise to give Paris a
220	As may the Queen of Love to any lover give.	beautiful woman to keep him company, while he lives.
222	Paris. My luck is loss, howe'er my love do speed:	222: "I am the loser here, even if I will succeed (speed) in love." My luck is loss = Oenone used this exact expression back at Act III.iii.29
	I fear me Paris shall but rue his deed.	= regret.
224
	[Exit Paris.]
226
	Apol. From Ida woods now wends the shepherd's boy,	227-8: The Trojan War will conclude when the Greeks burn
228	That in his bosom carries fire to Troy.	Troy to the ground.
230	Jup. Venus, these ladies do appeal, you see.
	And that they may appeal the gods agree:
232	It resteth, then, that you be well content	232-3: Jupiter asks Venus to agree to go along with whatever
	To stand in this unto our final judgment;	the tribunal decides regarding Paris' judgment.
234	And if King Priam's son did well in this,	234: "and if Paris' decision to award you the ball was the right one".
	The law of heaven will not lead amiss.	235: ie. no injustice will ensue.
236
	Venus. But, sacred Jupiter, might thy daughter choose,	= meaning Venus herself, who in the Iliad was described as the daughter of Jupiter and one Dione.
238	She might with reason this appeal refuse:
	Yet, if they be unmovèd in their shames,	239: "yet, if Juno and Pallas still cannot feel any shame over
240	Be it a stain and blemish to their names;	their behaviour here".
	A deed, too, far unworthy of the place,
242	Unworthy Pallas' lance or Juno's mace;
	And if to beauty it bequeathèd be,
244	I doubt not but it will return to me.	239-244: Venus consents to abide the gods' decision, but
		pounds home her observation that Juno and Pallas are acting shamefully.
246	She lays down the ball.
248	Pall. Venus, there is no more ado than so,
	It resteth where the gods do it bestow.
250
	Nept. But, ladies, under favour of your rage,
252	Howe'er it be, you play upon the vantage.	= have the advantage;^1 Smeaton interprets the line to mean
		that the gods will be unwilling to discuss the matter openly in the presence of the ladies, who will use their "special capacities to influence the judges" (the quote is from Brooke, p.18).
254	Jup. Then, dames, that we more freely may debate,
	And hear th' indifferent sentence of this senate,	= the fair.
256	Withdraw you from this presence for a space,
	Till we have throughly questioned of the case:	257: througly = common alternate spelling of thoroughly. questioned of = discussed.
258	Dian shall be your guide; nor shall you need	258-261: nor shall…doth go = briefly, "no need for you to
	Yourselves t' inquire how things do here succeed;	wait around for our decision; we'll let you know!"
260	We will, as we resolve, give you to know,	succeed = follow, happen.^15
	By general doom how everything doth go.
262
	Diana. Thy will, my wish. − Fair ladies, will ye wend?	263: Thy will, my wish = "all I wish is to perform your commands." wend = ie. "be on your way?"
264
	Juno. Beshrew her whom this sentence doth offend.	= damn.
266
	Venus. Now, Jove, be just; and, gods, you that be Venus' friends,
268	If you have ever done her wrong, then may you make amends.
270	[Exeunt Diana, Juno, Pallas, and Venus.]
272	Jup. Venus is fair, Pallas and Juno too.	272: ie. they are all beautiful.
274	Vulc. But tell me now without some more ado,	274-5: Vulcan expects the other gods to admit that his wife
	Who is the fairest she, and do not flatter.	is without doubt the most beautiful of the goddesses.
276
	Pluto. Vulcan, upon comparison hangs all the matter:	277-8: "well, the whole thing depends on comparing the
278	That done, the quarrel and the strife were ended.	beauty of the ladies; if we can resolve this issue, then the fighting can end."
280	Mars. Because 'tis known, the quarrel is pretended.	280: Mars points out that it is quite obvious who the fairest of the goddesses is - Venus, naturally - and the whole argument raised by Juno and Pallas is spurious or manufactured; Mars' bias in favour of Venus is just as obvious, which the cuckolded Vulcan quickly - and dryly - observes.
282	Vulc. Mars, you have reason for your speech, perdy;	= certainly.
	My dame, I trow, is fairest in your eye.	= wife. = imagine, ie. know.
284
	Mars. Or, Vulcan, I should do her double wrong.	285: "in which case I do her double the injury if I were to say anything different;" note that Mars does not deny Vulcan's implication.
286
	Sat. About a toy we tarry here so long.	287: "we are wasting all this time on such an unimportant matter."
288	Give it by voices, voices give the odds;	288: Saturn calls for a vote.
	A trifle so to trouble all the gods!
290
	Nept. Believe me, Saturn, be it so for me.	291ff: the other gods second the motion.
292
	Bacc. For me.
294
	Pluto. For me.
296
	Mars. For me, if Jove agree.
298
	Merc. And, gentle gods, I am indifferent;	= neutral on the matter.
300	But then I know who's likely to be shent.	= blamed, condemned; Mercury perhaps means that the
		result of their vote is a foregone conclusion: if it goes against Juno in any way, Jupiter would hear no end about it.
302	Apol. Thrice-reverend gods, and thou, immortal Jove,
	If Phoebus may, as him doth much behove.	303-5: "if I may, as is my due, be permitted to speak
304	Be licensèd, according to our laws.	regarding this case".
	To speak uprightly in this doubted cause,	behove = is due.^1
306	(Sith women's wits work men's unceasing woes),	306: since women are always coming up with new ways to bring grief upon men.
	To make them friends, that now bin friendless foes,	307-9: Apollo has an idea for how to resolve the situation
308	And peace to keep with them, with us, and all,	in a way that will restore amity amongst the women,
	That make their title to this golden ball;	each of whom feels entitled to the golden ball. bin = are.
310	(Nor think, ye gods, my speech doth derogate	310: my speech = ie. Apollo's idea for solving the gods' sticky dilemma. derogate = subtract, take away.
	From sacred power of this immortal senate;)
312	Refer this sentence where it doth belong:	312: "turn this decision over to the one to whom it naturally belongs."
	In this, say I, fair Phoebe hath the wrong;	313-9: Apollo argues that since the incident in question took
314	Not that I mean her beauty bears the prize	place in Diana's domain - the woods of Mt. Ida - she
	But that the holy law of heaven denies	should be the one to award the ball; indeed, by denying
316	One god to meddle in another's power;	her this honour, Diana is the one suffering the greatest wrong!
	And this befell so near Diana's bower,
318	As for th' appeasing this unpleasant grudge,	= discontent, grumbling.^1
	In my conceit, she hight the fittest judge.	= ie. "in my opinion".^5 = is called, ie. is.
320	If Jove comptrol not Pluto's hell with charms,	320-327: Apollo, warming up to his own idea, points out in various examples how the gods are careful never to interfere in the domains of the others. comptrol = control.
	If Mars have sovereign power to manage arms,	= ie. sole.
322	If Bacchus bear no rule in Neptune sea,	= Neptune's.
	Nor Vulcan's fire doth Saturn's scythe obey,	= Saturn, we remember, is the god of agriculture.
324	Suppress not, then, 'gainst law and equity,
	Diana's power in her own territory,	= power is a monosyllable here: po'er.
326	Whose regiment, amid her sacred bowers,	= rule, governance, or sway.^1,3
	As proper hight as any rule of yours.	= promised.^1
328	Well may we so wipe all the speech away,	328-331: Apollo recommends the gods tell the women they
	That Pallas, Juno, Venus, hath to say,	(ie. the men) are not entitled to make any decisions
330	And answer that, by justice of our laws	regarding the awarding of the golden ball.
	We were not suffered to conclude the cause.
332	And this to me most egal doom appears,	= equitable decision.
	A woman to be judge among her feres.	= companions.^1
334
	Merc. Apollo hath found out the only mean	= means.
336	To rid the blame from us and trouble clean.	= cleanly, completely.
338	Vulc. We are beholding to his sacred wit.	= beholden.
340	Jup. I can commend and well allow of it;	= praise, approve.^1
	And so derive the matter from us all,	= draw or divert.^1
342	That Dian have the giving of the ball.
344	Vulc. So Jove may clearly excuse him in the case,	344-5: Vulcan snidely observes that Jupiter has found a way
	Where Juno else would chide and brawl apace.	to avoid getting blamed by his shrewish wife Juno for
346		whatever decision they might have made. Line 344 seems to have an extra syllable; perhaps excuse should be 'scuse. brawl = quarrel with. apace = without delay, immediately.^1
	[They all rise.]
348
	Merc. And now it were some cunning to divine	349-350: Mercury, with relief and perhaps some glee, notes
350	To whom Diana will this prize resign.	how clever Diana will have to be to figure out how to
		handle the contest.
352	Vulc. Sufficeth me, it shall be none of mine.
354	Bacc. Vulcan, though thou be black, thou’rt nothing fine.	354: Bacchus, returning to the teasing between him and the smith god, observes, "though you are swarthy, you are
		also not good-looking." fine = could mean clever, attractive, or unrefined.^1
356	Vulc. Go bathe thee, Bacchus, in a tub of wine;
	The ball’s as likely to be mine as thine.	357: Vulcan suggests that Bacchus, being as unattractive as
358		Vulcan is, is just as likely to not win the beauty contest.
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT V.
	SCENE I.
	Enter Diana, Juno, Pallas, Venus.
1	Diana. Lo, ladies, far beyond my hope and will, you see,	1: ladies = Dyce suggests that ladies, which adds to the line what appear to be two superfluous syllables, was inserted by the transcriber. my hope and will = "what I expected and what I wanted".
2	This thankless office is imposed to me;	= job.
	Wherein if you will rest as well content,	3: "so if you will be satisfied with my taking on this duty".
4	As Dian will be judge indifferent,	= a fair or objective judge.
	My egal doom shall none of you offend,	= equitable decision.
6	And of this quarrel make a final end:
	And therefore, whether you be lief or loath,	= willing or unwilling.
8	Confirm your promise with some sacred oath.	8: Diana smartly asks the goddesses to vow to abide by her decision.
10	Pall. Phoebe, chief mistress of this sylvan chace,	10: "Diana, the lady-in-charge of this woodland."
	Whom gods have chosen to conclude the case,	= wind up, bring to a close.
12	That yet in balance undecided lies,
	Touching bestowing of this golden prize,	= concerning.
14	I give my promise and mine oath withal,	= as well.
	By Styx, by heaven's power imperial,	15ff: the oaths the deities will take are as powerful and binding as can be imagined. 15: the oath on the River Styx (the principle stream of Hades) alone was held as absolutely unbreachable by the gods.
16	By all that 'longs to Pallas' deity,	= belongs to, ie. are attributes of.
	Her shield, her lance, ensigns of chivalry,	= heraldic arms.^1
18	Her sacred wreath of olive and of bay,	= ie. made from the leaves of the olive and bay trees.
	Her crested helm, and else what Pallas may,	= helmet.
20	That wheresoe'er this ball of purest gold,
	That chaste Diana here in hand doth hold,
22	Unpartially her wisdom shall bestow,
	Without mislike or quarrel any mo,	= more.
24	Pallas shall rest content and satisfied,
	And say the best desert doth there abide.	25: "and acknowledge that she who wins it deserves it."
26
	Juno. And here I promise and protest withal,	= profess.
28	By Styx, by heaven's power imperial,	28: heaven's has two syllables here, power one.
	By all that 'longs to Juno's deity,
30	Her crown, her mace, ensigns of majesty,
	Her spotless marriage-rites, her league divine,	= unstained (by adultery) marriage-vows.
32	And by that holy name of Proserpine,	32: Juno's connection to Proserpine, the goddess of vegetation, in this context is unclear, except that the golden apple had been taken from Proserpine's garden (though there is no reason Juno would know this).
	That wheresoe'er this ball of purest gold,
34	That chaste Diana here in hand doth hold,
	Unpartially her wisdom shall bestow.
36	Without mislike or quarrel any mo,
	Juno shall rest content and satisfied,
38	And say the best desert doth there abide.
40	Venus. And, lovely Phoebe, for I know thy doom	= decision.
	Will be no other than shall thee become,	= ie. "be fitting for thee".
42	Behold, I take thy dainty hand to kiss,
	And with my solemn oath confirm my promise,
44	By Styx, by Jove's immortal empery,	= domain or power;^1 empery would go on to be a favourite word of Christopher Marlowe's.
	By Cupid's bow, by Venus' myrtle-tree,	= the myrtle was sacred to Venus.
46	By Vulcan's gift, my ceston and my fan.
	By this red rose, whose colour first began	47-49: the red rose was first created when Venus was
48	When erst my wanton boy (the more his blame)	rushing to her mortal lover Adonis, who while hunting
	Did draw his bow awry and hurt his dame,	had been injured by a boar; in her hurry, Venus pricked her foot on the thorn of a white rose, causing it to be stained with the red of her blood. Peele, however, seems to have invented the story of Cupid accidentally wounding his mother with an arrow.^6 wanton (line 48) = naughty.^1
50	By all the honour and the sacrifice
	That from Cithaeron and from Paphos rise,	51: Cithaeron = ie. Cythera, the name of an island on which sat a temple to Venus. Paphos = a coastal city on the island of Cyprus; in one story, Venus was born off of Cyprus from the foam of the sea, coming to shore on Cyprus at Paphos.
52	That wheresoe'er this ball of purest gold,
	That chaste Diana here in hand doth hold,
54	Unpartially her wisdom shall bestow,
	Without mislike or quarrel any mo,
56	Venus shall rest content and satisfied,
	And say the best desert doth there abide.
58
	[Diana describes the Nymph Eliza,	59ff: the play essentially and suddenly ends, as Diana
60	a figure of the Queen.]	presents the golden ball to the nymph Eliza, who represents Queen Elizabeth. The latter was present at the performance of the play.^14 Many entertainments from early in the reign of the first Elizabeth ended with a formal show of effusive praise of the queen. figure = symbol. 62ff: note that for Diana's speech, Peele returns to the use of blank verse.
62	Diana. It is enough, and, goddesses, attend.	= ie. "listen up."
	There wons within these pleasant shady woods,	= lives, dwells.
64	Where neither storm nor sun's distemperature	= term referring to generally inclement weather.^1
	Have power to hurt by cruël heat or cold,
66	Under the climate of the mild heaven;
	Where seldom lights Jove's angry thunderbolt,	= lands.
68	For favour of that sovereign earthly peer;	68: "because of the king of the god's great regard for
	Where whistling winds make music 'mong the trees, −	Elizabeth, his royal earthly counterpart."
70	Far from disturbance of our country gods,
	Amids the cypress-springs, a gracious nymph,	= ie. cypress-woods.^3
72	That honour Dian for her chastity,	= "who honours"; note how honour does not gramati- cally agree with nymph, but likes in the next line does.
	And likes the labours well of Phoebe's groves;
74	The place Elyzium hight, and of the place	74-80: Diana describes and praises England; such encomiums to the audience's homeland appear on occasion in the era's drama. 74: The place...hight = "the location I am describing is called Elysium". Elyzium = Elysium, originally the place in Hades where the blessed souls live in perfect happiness, but here meaning a place of ideal happiness generally.
	Her name that governs there Eliza is;
76	A kingdom that may well compare with mine,
	An ancient seat of kings, a second Troy,	= Diana compares Great Britain (ie. England's island), with its protective ocean, to Troy, with its famous walls. There may also be an allusion to Britain's legendary first king, Brute, a great-grandson of the famous Trojan prince Aeneas; for many years after the destruction of Troy, Brute roamed the seas with a band of Trojan descendants before finally settling on Britain; of course, this would have happened long after the events of this play.
78	Y-compassed round with a commodious sea:	78: surrounded by a beneficial (commodious) sea.^1
	Her people are y-clepèed Angeli,	= "called Angels", but as Diana notes in the next line, she
80	Or, if I miss, a letter is the most:	might be slightly mistaken with the name - she of course means Angles (the race of Europeans who, along with the Saxons and Jutes, invaded and settled in Britain), though the mistake is highly flattering to the English. y-clepeed = called; clep was an ancient word (going back at least to the 9th century) meaning "to call"; the y- prefix adds an extra-strong flavour of archaism to the term.
	She giveth laws of justice and of peace;	81f: here begins Diana's descriptions of Elizabeth I.
82	And on her head, as fits her fortune best,
	She wears a wreath of laurel, gold, and palm;
84	Her robes of purple and of scarlet dye;	84: purple and scarlet were of course the colours of royalty.
	Her veil of white, as best befits a maid:	= ie. virgin, as Elizabeth was commonly regarded.
86	Her ancestors live in the House of Fame:	= an unclear reference; Smeaton hypothesizes a reference to Westminster Abbey, where Elizabeth's royal predecessors were buried; Benbow wonders if Peele is alluding to an ancient poem by Geoffrey Chaucer entitled House of Fame (a dream poem in which the dreamer enters the Palace of Fame, in which he sees many famous personages from classical and Biblical history).^14
	She giveth arms of happy victory,
88	And flowers to deck her lions crowned with gold.	= ie. alluding to the lion as a symbol of England.
	This peerless nymph, whom heaven and earth belove,
90	This paragon this only, this is she,
	In whom do meet so many gifts in one,
92	On whom our country gods so often gaze,
	In honour of whose name the Muses sing;
94	In state Queen Juno's peer, for power in arms	= in her majesty.
	And virtues of the mind Minerva's mate,	= the equal of Minerva, the goddess of war.
96	As fair and lovely as the Queen of Love,
	As chaste as Dian in her chaste desires:	97-98: Dian (ie. Diana) and Phoebe are one and the same,
98	The same is she, if Phoebe do no wrong,	a goddess who was known for her virginity, as was England's queen.
	To whom this ball in merit doth belong.
100
	Pall. If this be she whom some Zabeta call,	= Peele borrows an appellation given to the queen in a
102	To whom thy wisdom well bequeaths the ball,	masque performed for Elizabeth during her famous
	I can remember, at her day of birth,	visit to Kenilworth Castle in 1575.^15
104	How Flora with her flowers strewed the earth,
	How every power with heavenly majesty
106	In person honoured that solemnity.	= an occasion of ceremony.^1
108	Juno. The lovely Graces were not far away,
	They threw their balm for triumph of the day.	= joy.^14
110
	Venus. The Fates against their kind began a cheerful song,	= nature; Dyce notes the extra iamb in the line, suggesting replacing against their kind with 'gainst kind.
112	And vowed her life with favour to prolong.	112: the Fates, the three goddesses in charge of measuring out the lives of all persons, will play a major role in this panegyric to Elizabeth; they will be described as giving up their usual role of ending people's lives in favour of that of prolonging indefinitely the life of Elizabeth.
	Then first gan Cupid's eyesight wexen dim;	113-4: in this ultimate expression of flattery, Diana describes
114	Belike Eliza's beauty blinded him.	Elizabeth's brilliant appearance or beauty as being the
	To this fair nymph, not earthly, but divine,	reason Cupid lost his sight, taking his proverbial blind-
116	Contents it me my honour to resign.	ness in its literal sense.
		gan (line 113) = began or did.^14 wexen dim = ie. (to) grow dim.
118	Pall. To this fair queen, so beautiful and wise,
	Pallas bequeaths her title in the prize.
120
	Juno. To her whom Juno's looks so well become.
122	The Queen of Heaven yields at Phoebe's doom;	= decision.
	And glad I am Diana found the art,	= ie. had the skill.
124	Without offence so well to please desert.
126	Diana. Then mark my tale. The usual time is nigh,	= near.
	When wont the Dames of Life and Destiny,	127: when the Fates are accustomed.
128	In robes of cheerful colours, to repair	= go.
	To this renownèd queen so wise and fair,
130	With pleasaunt songs this peerless nymph to greet;
	Clotho lays down her distaff at her feet,	131: the job of the first Fate, Clotho, was to hold the distaff - the rod on which a thread was wound.
132	And Lachesis doth pull the thread at length,	132: Lachesis spun the thread.
	The third with favour gives it stuff and strength,	133: the normal job of the third Fate, Atropos, was to cut an individual's thread of life with her shears.
134	And for contráry kind affords her leave,	134: ie. "and against her normal nature proceeds".
	As her best likes, her web of life to weave.
136	This time we will attend, and in the mean while
	With some sweet song the tediousness beguile.	= ie. "create a diversion from this wearisomely long cere- mony."
138
	The Music sounds, and the Nymphs within sing or	= off-stage.
140	solfa with voices and instruments awhile.	= sing, usually using the familiar sol-fa syllables for the
		various musical notes.
142	Then enter Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos,
	singing as follows: the state being in place.	= the royal throne with a canopy, or alternately the throne on a raised platform.^3
144
	THE SONG.	The Song for Elizabeth: translations for the song are adopted from Morley (p. 110).^7
146
	Cloth. Humanae vitae filum sic volvere Parcae.	147: so the Fates spin the thread of human life.
148
	Loch. Humanae vitae filum sic tendere Parcae.	149: so the Fates draw the thread of human life.
150
	Atro. Humanae vitae filum sic scindere Parcae.	151: so the Fates cut the thread of human life.
152
	Cloth. Clotho colum bajulat.	153: Clotho bears the distaff.
154
	Loch. Lachesis trahit.	155: Lachesis measures.
156
	Atro. Atropos occat.	157: Atropos cuts.
158
	Tres simul. Vive diu foelix votis hominúmque deúmque,	159: The Three Together: live long blest with the gifts of men and gods,
160	Corpore, mente, libro, doctissima, candida, casta.	160: in body and mind free, wisest, pure and chaste.
162	[They lay down their properties at the Queen's feet.]	= attributes; by handing to Elizabeth their instruments, the Fates symbolically give up to the queen their role of terminating people's lives, at least with respect to the life of Elizabeth.
164	Cloth. Clotho colum pedibus.	164: Clotho her distaff (lays) at your feet.
166	Lach. Lachesis tibi pendula fila.	166: And Lachesis (gives) to you her hanging thread.
168	Atro. Et fatale tuis manibus ferrum Atropos offert.	168: Atropos offers to your hands her far fate-enclosing steel.
170	Tres simul. Vive diu felix, &c.	170: the singers repeat lines 159-160.
172	[The song being ended, Clotho speaks to the Queen.]
174	Cloth. Gracious and wise, fair Queen of rare renown,	= fame.
	Whom heaven and earth belove, amid thy train,	= retinue.
176	Noble and lovely peers, to honour thee,
	And do thee favour more than may belong	177-8: ie. heaven and earth shower more honour and favour
178	By nature's law to any earthly wight,	on Elizabeth than is normally bestowed on any earthly mortal. wight = person.
	Behold continuance of our yearly due;	179: Clotho observes that the Fates are performing their
180	Th' unpartial Dames of Destiny we meet,	annual tribute to Eliza (Elizabeth).
	As have the gods and we agreed in one,
182	In reverence of Eliza's noble name;
	And humbly, lo, her distaff Clotho yields!
184
	Loch. Her spindle Lachesis, and her fatal reel,	185: spindle = a rod onto which fibers are drawn into thread and wound.^1 fatal = fate-dealing. reel = also a rod onto which yarn or thread is wound.^1
186	Lays down in reverence at Eliza's feet
	Te tamen in terris unam tria numina Divam	187-9: the three sisters, despite the law of nature,
188	Invita statuunt natura lege sorores,	appoint thee a goddess unique, though on earth;
	Et tibi non aliis didicerunt parcere Parcoe.	and thee and no other have the Fates learned to spare. (this translation is from Baskerville, p.229).
190
	Atro. Dame Atropos, according as her feres,	= ie. "doing as her companions have done".
192	To thee, fair Queen, resigns her fatal knife:	= knife of fate, ie. the cutting instrument Atropos normally
	Live long the noble phoenix of our age,	uses to cut one's thread of life.
194	Our fair Eliza, our Zabeta fair!
196	Diana. And, lo, beside this rare solemnity,
	And sacrifice these dames are wont to do,
198	A favour, far indeed contráry kind,	= against their natures.
	Bequeathèd is unto thy worthiness
200	This prize from heaven and heavenly goddesses!
202	[She delivers the ball of gold to the Queen's own hands.]
204	Accept it, then, thy due by Dian's doom.	= judgment.
	Praise of the wisdom, beauty, and the state,
206	That best becomes thy peerless excellency.
208	Venus. So, fair Eliza, Venus doth resign
	The honour of this honour to be thine.
210
	Juno. So is the Queen of Heaven content likewise
212	To yield to thee her title in the prize.
214	Paris. So Pallas yields the praise hereof to thee.
	For wisdom, princely state, and peerless beauty.
	EPILOGUS.
1	Omnes simul. Vive diu felix votis hominumque deumque,	1-2: the play concludes with one more reprisal of the music and lyrics of lines 159-160 of the play's final scene.
2	Corpore, mente, libro, doctissima, candida, casta,	Omnes simul. = everyone together (sings).
4	[Exeunt omnes.]
	FINIS.	Postscript: from Troy, Paris was sent on an embassy to Sparta, where he met Helen, the wife of King Menelaus. The pair fell in love, and eloped back to Troy. Enraged, Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, to unite the Greek states and declare war on Troy. The ensuing war dragged on undecidedly for ten years, but with the help of a large wooden horse, the Greeks finally penetrated the gates of Troy and burned her to the ground.

George Peele's Invented Words

Like all writers of the era, George Peele made up words when he felt like it, usually by adding prefixes and suffixes to known words, combining words, or using a word in a way not yet used before. The following is a list of words and expressions from The Arraignment of Paris that research suggests may have been first used, or used in a certain way, by Peele in this play.

bleating flock(s)

the collocation of true with blue.

bunting (as an adjective)

the expression cap a (or one's) answer (and its variants,
including cap a proverb and quotation)

the collocation conductor of the train

curl (as a noun)

Elysium (meaning a general place of ideal happiness)

excusal

the collocation foggy smoke

glide (first use as a noun, meaning stream)

the expression halter apes in hell (alternative to common
"lead apes in hell")

harlotry (meaning harlot, applied to a woman)

the expression hold (one) chat

the expression if (one) can spell

July-flowers

lady-president

length of ground

love-offense (this compound word is not even in the OED;
if Shakespeare had used it, it would have its own entry)

the expression maintain the field

mask in a net (variation of walk or march, etc. in a net; the expression appeared in one other 1584 publication, so credit must be shared)

the expression my luck is loss

oaken-bough

par excellence (earliest appearance in an otherwise
English text)

spell (as a verb, applied figuratively to mean discern)

sportance (Peele seems to have revived this word
from the 15th century)

thrice-reverend

thriveless

unhalter

the expression unkissed unkind

List of Footnotes.

Footnotes in the text correspond as follows:

1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.

2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words. London, New York: Penguin, 2002.

3. Dyce, Rev. Alexander. The Dramatic and Poetical Works of Robert Greene and George Peele. London: George Routledge and Sons: 1874.

4. Bullen, A.H. The Works of George Peele, Vol. I. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.

5. Smeaton, Oliphant. The Arraignment of Paris. London: J.M. Dent and Co., 1905.

6. Benbow, R. Mark, ed. The Works of George Peele (Charles T. Prouty, gen. ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970.

7. Morley, Henry. English Plays. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. (no date).

8. Sugden, Edward. A Topographical Dictionary to the Works of Shakespeare and His Fellow Dramatists. Manchester: The University Press, 1925.

9. Murray, Alexander. Who's Who in Ancient Mythology. New York: Crescent Books, 1988.

10. Halliwell, James O. A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words. London: John Russell Smith, 1878.

11. Smith, W., ed. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: John Murray, 1849.

12. Greek Mythology Website. Europa. Downloaded 1/28/2019. www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/

Zeus's_Lovers/Europa/europa.html.

13. Paul Meier's Dialect Service Website. Downloaded 1/30/2019: www.paulmeier. com/OP.pdf.

14. Oxford Reference Website. Overview: House of Fame. Retrieved 2/3/2019: www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095946772.

15. Baskerville, Charles Read, et al. editors. Elizabethan and Stuart Plays. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1934.

16. Brooke, C.F. Tucker, and Paradise, Nathaniel B. English Drama, 1580-1642. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1933.