About the Opera
Princess Ida
In casting about for a plot that would satisfy Sullivan, Gilbert turned to one of his earlier dramatic works: a play titled The Princess, a gently satiric work based on a narrative poem by Tennyson. (Gilbert described his version as a respectful per-version.) The story deals with a princess who eschews men and establishes a girls' college -- an innovation that was then still new in England, and not yet widely accepted. Gilbert reorganized his material, and Princess Ida was the outcome. Among the G&S operas, this one claims two distinctions: it is the only one written in blank verse, and it is the only one having three acts. (What is now the first act was originally a prologue followed by two acts.)
Princess Ida opened at the Savoy on January 5, 1884, and ran for 246 performances -- a disappointingly short duration, and one that caught Gilbert and Sullivan unprepared with a replacement. Carte accordingly revived Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer to keep the theater and the Company occupied while he tried to maintain his artistic friends in double harness. In addition to his growing distaste for Gilbertian libretti, Sullivan was suffering from a kidney ailment that was to plague him continually through the rest of his life. Fortunately for us, Carte succeeded in his delicate task -- as we shall later see.
Although Princess Ida ranks among the lesser known of the Savoy operas, it has a strong attraction for many Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados. Ida's three hulking brothers are among the funniest characters in all of comic opera; and musically, Ida's appeal to Minerva is as close as Sullivan ever came to setting Gilbert's words in grand operatic style. Ardent advocates of women's liberation may bridle at Gilbert's views, but his darts are gently tossed and draw little real blood.
Characters
Hildebrand
A name taken from a character in old German romances, the oldest and wisest of the chiefs and, like Merlin, a magician as well (55).
Adamant [Castle Adamant
]
A legendary stone of impenetrable hardness. A derived meaning, which applies here, is utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc. (250).
Daughters of the Plough
Servant girls, presumably from farming families. Karr (170) suggests that these girls are assigned menial duties not because they are indigent or from the lower classes, but rather because their mental capacities and interests leave them unsuited to academic work. Remember Ida's strictures against cruel distinctions, meant to draw a line 'twixt rich and poor. Many directors omit the daughters of the plough in actual production. They are not necessary in advancing the plot, nor are there any spare men in the show for them to wed in the end (although some of those sons of the tillage sneered at in Ruddigore would seem logical matches.)
Time and Place
Gilbert is delightfully vague about the time and country in which the opera is set. The armor worn by Gama's sons implies a wide range of medieval dates, and there are incidental references to Hungary, but that nation has had wide-ranging borders over the centuries. And no matter what century one suggests, the work is rife with anachronisms (211). Let's just say the opera is set once upon a time in Never-Never Land.
Act I
Pavilion
An open porch, probably under an elaborate tent-like cover. A royal pavilion would be expected to feature lots of colorful pennants, banners, and flags.
Plighted
Promised or pledged.
Liege [None, my liege
]
A feudal lord.
Betrothed [To whom our son Hilarion was betrothed
]
The term clearly means engaged, i.e., promised in marriage. Yet, later in the same act we find Hilarion singing about his baby bride and their wedding twenty years ago. The logical explanation is that, although wed as infants, the marriage remained only tentative, and easily annulled, until consummated. There's an unbounded field of speculation on which I could discourse for hours. But, no; instead of that, see what is revealed about Betrothed in The Sorcerer.
Crumped [crumped it in fitful petulance
]
Crunched. (In most editions the word is crumpled, which seems correct.)
Adder [For, adder-like, his sting lay in his tongue.
]
This reflects the old mistaken belief that an adder injects its poison through its forked tongue. It leads up to an overwrought pun, which you can figure out for yourself, in the next line of the libretto.
Corollary [From which I gather this corollary
]
An additional proposition that logically follows a proven proposition.
Mustachios
A poetic way of saying mustache. I can't resist mentioning that Kaiser Wilhelm II (the one who led Germany to defeat in WWI) took inordinate pride in his cocky mustache. In a state visit to Windsor he was accompanied by three valets, a hair dresser, and a hairdresser's assistant whose sole function was to titivate the royal mustache (201). There was an appointment that Pooh-Bah somehow overlooked.
En cavalier [And rides en cavalier in coat of steel
]
Astride a horse (and wearing a knight's armor).
Trow [And his daughter, too, I trow!
]
My dictionaries make it rhyme with crow, but Gilbert wants you to rhyme it with how.
Believe, or at least suppose.
Quarter-day [As sure as quarter-day
]
One of the four days of the year when rents fall due (75).
Transmutations [What transmutations have been conjured
]
Changes from one form or species to another.
Conjured
Done by magic.
Alchemy
Brewer (56) says the word is taken from the Arabic and means the secret art. Its aims were threefold: the transmutation of baser metals into gold, the search for a universal solvent, and the search for the elixir of life. In broader terms, it can be taken to mean an agent of sweeping change. See also the entry for Alchemist in The Yeomen of the Guard.
Baleful [baleful prophecies were rife
]
Pertaining to sorrow, misery, and doom.
Rife
Abundant and widespread.
Forsworn [Ida has forsworn the world
]
Renounced, meaning she has turned her back on worldly affairs.
Bib and tucker [All bib and tucker, frill and furbelow
]
A tucker is an ornamental frill of lace or muslin worn by women of the 17th and 18th centuries round the top of their dresses to cover the neck and shoulders. Hence, with clean bib and tucker, nicely dressed, looking fresh and spruce (54). Stedman (274) says Louisa May Alcott's girls of the nineteenth century also wore tuckers.
Furbelow
A flounce or wide ruffle (or pleats) used to trim a dress.
Recumbent [recumbent in her foster mother's arms
]
Lying on her back.
Foster-mother
Wet nurse; i.e., a woman other than the mother who breast-feeds a baby.
Hireling [the hireling mother-for-the-nonce
]
One who serves for wages, in this case a wet nurse
For-the-nonce
For the moment; i.e., temporarily. See also The Yeomen of the Guard.
Vestry
A room in a church in which ecclesiastical vestments are hung when not in use. In this case, a secluded retreat in which the wet nurse can feed her little charge with all due modesty. After the wedding ritual the register of marriage would be signed in the vestry (245).
Speak [For at that age I had not learnt to speak.
]
Hilarion is like the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah who said, Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak; for I am a child.
Heralds [They are heralds evidently
]
Official conveyors of important announcements or royal proclamations.
Sacred
Shielded by diplomatic immunity (but not for long, as it turns out).
Rex [Sons of Gama, Rex
]
King.
Bent [They are not our bent
]
An inclination or strong point.
Doughty [But with doughty heart
]
DOW-tee
Brave.
Philanthropist [I'm a genuine philanthropist
]
One who does good deeds out of a love for mankind. A splendid example would be an enlightened person who buys bales of this lexicon to place in hotel rooms.
Erring [In my erring fellow creatures
]
Rhymes with purring.
Departing from the correct way.
Snub [little plans to snub the self-sufficient
]
To treat scornfully, coldly, or with contempt. To bring up short with rudeness or indifference. Let me cite an example of snub and counter-snub. Back in 1707 the nations of Europe were concerned with the brash King Charles of Sweden, who had conquered Saxony and stood poised to upset the balance of power throughout the continent. England's most powerful leader was John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. He requested an audience with Charles and was invited to meet the king in his temporary residence in central Germany. Since Churchill was not a monarch, diplomatic protocol demanded that his initial contact should be with Count Piper, Charles's de facto prime minister. When the duke in his carriage arrived at the palace, Piper sent word that he was busy and kept the duke waiting half an hour. Finally, as Piper came forward, the duke stepped out of his carriage, donned his hat, and walked right past the count without acknowledging his presence. Then, a few feet away, the duke calmly urinated against a wall, then turned and greeted Piper in courtly fashion (202). Next time someone snubs you, keep this riposte in mind.
Self-sufficient
Self-satisfied, conceited.
Mortify
To humiliate.
Interested motives
The hidden, usually selfish, reasons for taking a position that seems to be based on high principles.
Ascetic [I'm sure I'm no ascetic
]
One who is sternly self-denying. The word derives from the Greek asketes, or hermit.
Snigger
A half-suppressed laugh.
Leer
A sly or furtive look expressive of malignity, lasciviousness, or triumph (75).
Prejudice [To everybody's prejudice
]
Detracting from reputation.
Bandy [How dare you bandy words with me?
]
To knock back and forth, or to wrangle. The word also means bent, as in bandy-legs (bow legs), to which Cyril alludes in his reply, No need to bandy aught that appertains to you. The second meaning goes back to the seventeenth century, when a curved stick called a bandy was used in bandy ball, a game similar to hockey (12).
Aught
Anything.
Knave [as a traitor knave
]
A dishonest person. The miserable, poorly educated sort who would write an unfavorable review of this book.
Snob
Not a gentleman; one who arrogates to himself merits which he does not deserve (56).
Safety matches
A comparative novelty at the time the opera was produced (178).
Knowledge box [they light only on the knowledge box
]
The head (56).
Dr. Watts's hymns [She'll scarcely suffer Dr. Watts's hymns
]
Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was an English theologian and prolific author of hymns, his total output reaching some 600, including O God, Our Help in Ages Past. His works are available today in a reprint of his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, originally published in 1707.
Sue [humbly sue
]
Entreat.
Sillery [And pops of Sillery
]
A high-class wine produced in and around the village of Sillery in Champagne (228).
Bower [We'll storm their bowers
]
The OED (229) offers several meanings including a dwelling, a poetic word for an idealized abode, a shady recess, or a lady's private apartment or boudoir. Any one of those would fit the context.
Triolet [Oh dainty triolet
]
A poem of eight lines and a specific rhyming pattern, which starts out AB, AA, ABAB … Stedman (273) calls attention to the song Expressive glances, in which the word occurs. The verses of the song are themselves close to being triolets.
Heigho-let [or gentle heigho-let
]
Heigh-ho is an exclamation of weariness. Heigho-let is Gilbert's variation to rhyme with triolet and violet and, as he so thoughtfully goes on to say, means a little sigh.
Urbanity [On sweet urbanity
]
Polished politeness.
Inanity
Pertaining to emptiness or silliness. In other words, sweet nothings for those shell-like ears.
Verbal fences
Oral thrusts and parries (as in fencing).
Amatory [With ballads amatory
]
Pertaining to love.
Declamatory
Descriptive of a passionate appeal.
Wizen [Growing thin and wizen
]
Short for wizened, or shriveled.
Requisitions [Of our requisitions
]
Formal demands.
Bail [And bail they will not entertain
]
Security (usually cash) pledged to a court to ensure that a person charged with a crime will show up at a later date to stand trial. The same term occurs in The Sorcerer, The Mikado, and Utopia, Limited.
Entertain
Consider.
Mandate [Should she his mandate disobey
]
An official order.
Act II
Empyrean
In classic literature, the highest heaven, or region of pure elemental fire (75).
Lore [Of every kind of lore
]
Learning.
Classics
Study of the literature, art, and life of ancient Greece and Rome.
Helicon [If you'd climb the Helicon
]
Elikón is a mountain in south-central Greece. In classical mythology it was the mountain of poetic inspiration, being regarded as the abode of Apollo and the muses.
Anacreon [You should read Anacreon
]
Famous lyric poet of Greece sixth century B.C. His poems ring the praise of wine and love (75). The Walmisleys (299) note that Anacreon was an amusing voluptuary and an elegant profligate. He lived to the age of 85, but died from suffocation by swallowing a grapestone, while drinking. Cameron (66) assures us that all of the authors Psyche mentions are inclined to be bawdy. But be not shocked; a few lines later Psyche advises reading only cleaned-up versions: Bowdlerized.
Metamorphoses [Ovid's Metamorphoses
]
A long poem, considered Ovid's masterpiece. The common thread is the mythological transformations by which inanimate objects receive human souls or humans are turned into something else. Daphne's metamorphosis into the laurel tree is an example. The epic contains many yarns about nymphs, goddesses, and mortal maidens who lose their virtue.
Aristophanes
Greek writer of comic plays such as The Birds, The Frogs, and Lysistrata. He lived around 450-380 B.C., and was distinguished for his keen satire and ribald jokes.
Juvenal
Roman satirical poet who inveighed against the social defects of his day. He lived around A.D. 55-135. Scholastic editions of Juvenal customarily omit the juicier parts.
Bowdlerized [You will get them Bowdlerized
]
Expurgated. After Thomas Bowdler's cleaned-up, family edition of Shakespeare, 1818. As his friends may have declaimed, there's nothing bawdy about old Bowdly.
Not at all good form
Cricket players' expression meaning unfair or downright dishonest. A more general meaning is not in keeping with established conventions of good manners and behavior (54).
Ribald [Man's a ribald -- Man's a rake
]
RIB-eld
A vulgar, scurrilous, bad-mouthed person -- the kind who crinkles candy wrappers during Ida's first solo.
Rake
Among other things, an immoral rogue.
Mate [with whom you give each other mate.
]
Refers to the winning position in chess in which one player has trapped the other's king. Asimov (11) says the pertinent term checkmate is from a Persian expression meaning the king is dead.
Perambulator
A baby carriage, or pram.
Paragon [Paragon of common sense
]
A model of perfection.
Erudition [Running fount of erudition
]
Scholarship. Bierce (39) defines it as dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.
Minerva
The Roman version of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and patroness of the arts and trades. Rumor has it that she sprang, with a tremendous battle cry and fully armed, from the brain of Jupiter. Wow!
Unillumined [Their unillumined eyes
]
Blind.
Neophytes
New converts, novices.
Rule of three [That's rule of three
]
The routine for solving simple problems in arithmetical proportions. Given three terms in a proportion, you can find the fourth by multiplying the second and third and dividing by the first. Behold: 2 is to 4 as 6 is to X. To find X, multiply 4 times 6, then divide by 2. So X equals 12. Now try this: given that a man's brain is to an elephant's as a woman's brain is to a man's, who is smarter -- a man, a woman, or an elephant?
Pedant [The narrow-minded pedant
]
One meaning is an unimaginative, literal-minded person.
Swan, Edgar, Gask, et al.
These were all smart London shops with compound names. All are now defunct. A few details may be gleaned from Goodman (140) and Bradley (47).
Chaos [let Chaos come again!
]
Everyone knows that chaos with a lower case c means utter confusion. With an upper case C, however, it refers to the state of the universe before the creation, when it was even more disorganized than it is today.
Abstract Philosophy [I, madam, on Abstract Philosophy
]
Theoretical approaches to the search for truth.
Hypotheses [Given these three hypotheses
]
Alternative assumptions or propositions.
Manet
The person named remains on stage. Latin for He (or she) remains (66). Manent applies to more than one person.
Coronal [Time weaves my coronal
]
Crown.
Ween [Yet humble second shall be first, I ween
]
I fancy.
Paling [Fence and paling
]
Picket fence.
Bull-dogs [That bull-dogs feed on throttles
]
Jumping ahead for a moment, throttle, as defined in the OED (229) means throat. This naturally leads one to interpret bulldogs as meaning pugnacious bowlegged dogs. Knight (177), however, believes that Gilbert meant horseflies. But, wait! There is another candidate. Brewer (54) says that at Oxford and Cambridge the official in charge of discipline was protected by two intimidating attendants called bulldogs. This leads Stone (283) to propose that as Gilbert's intent. Knight and Stone are welcome to their views, and so are you, but my vote is with the canines.
Throttles
As mentioned above: throats (targets most tempting to any self-respecting dog).
Broken bottles [broken bottles on a wall
]
Refers to the practice of cementing pieces of broken glass on top of walls to discourage would-be intruders from climbing over.
Spring-guns [spring-guns breathe defiance
]
These are guns that are fixed to fire when a person, or animal, comes in contact with a wire attached to the trigger.
Lay a crown
To wager a five-shilling coin. (Under the former British coinage system, the pound sterling was worth twenty shillings.) A crown, then, would be worth a quarter of a pound.
Wire [intend to send a wire
]
Telegram. Alternatively, Dorsey (260) and Kravetz (181) suggest that they mean to extend a wire to the moon. Hilarion's source of information, being ambiguous, leaves the matter unsettled, alas.
Set the Thames on fire
Thames rhymes with hems, but don't ask why.
This is an old expression for the impossible (115). Brewer (56) reveals that He'll never set the Thames on Fire was an old expression meaning he'll never amount to much.
Rigs [Then they learn to make silk purses with their rigs
]
You wouldn't believe all the meanings conveyed by this word. Asimov (11) makes this reasonable surmise as to Gilbert's intent: Among other things, a 'rig' refers to a woman's outfit. [Perhaps Gilbert] is referring to a woman's sewing equipment, which is so much a part of her as to be considered an item of her total dress. Bradshaw (51), Karr (171), and Kesilman (174) all endorse this. Other equally valid interpretations are devices and tricks. Brewer (56), for example defines Run a Rig as playing a trick.
Circe's [Lady Circe's piggy-wigs
]
SIR-sees.
Circe was the enchantress who turned the companions of Odysseus into swine.
Trepan [And weasels at their slumbers they trepan
]
An obsolete meaning of the word is to entrap (115, 228), which seems more believable than boring holes in their sleepy little skulls. Brewer (54) explains the saying to catch a weasel asleep means to deceive a vigilant person or catch him napping.
Sunbeams from cucumbers
Brewer (54) reminds us of the grand academy at Lagoda (in Gulliver's Travels), where the scholars pursue research projects such as making pincushions out of soft stones and extracting sunbeams from cucumbers. The intent was to seal the sunbeams in phials and to release them later during inclement weather (177). And that reminds us of Samuel Johnson's advice about cucumbers: A cucumber should be well sliced and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out as good for nothing (113).
Perpetual Motion
The continuous action of a machine apart from any new external supply of energy.
Phenomena [These are the phenomena
]
The plural of phenomenon, meaning anything (or anybody) encountered, especially if marked by unusual attributes. As used later in reference to Lady Psyche, it means a prodigy.
Domina [That every pretty domina
]
This is the feminine equivalent of the Oxford dons or doms, a contraction of the Latin dominus, fellows or tutors.
Circle [the circle-- they will square it
]
Refers to the insoluble problem of geometrically constructing a square with area equal to that of a given circle.
The little pigs, they're teaching for to fly
When pigs fly is a colloquial expression for never (115).
Flout [They mock at him and flout him
]
To show contempt or scorn.
Going to do without him
The phrase is in quotation marks because it was taken from a catch phrase (regarding doing without women) made popular in British music halls by Arthur Roberts in 1882 (237).
Matriculate
To enroll as a student.
Penitent [and penitent for deeds
]
Repenting.
Askance [Looked at askance
]
With suspicion.
Shades [Seek sanctuary in these classic shades!
]
Sheltered academic retreats.
Innately [with a heart innately
]
Pertaining to natural or inborn characteristics.
Roguery [Brimming with joyous roguery
]
Playful mischief.
Hind [Timid am I as a startled hind
]
Doe, or female deer.
Well-born [Three well-born maids of liberal estate
]
From upper-class families.
Liberal estate
Favorable worldly circumstances.
Sizars [You'll find no sizars here, or servitors
]
SIZE-ers
Students who are charged reduced fees in exchange for waiting table, and so forth.
Servitors
Same as sizars. Stone (283) says this is the term of choice at Oxford, while sizar is preferred at Cambridge. Something to keep in mind when applying to either institution.
Tufts [You'll find no tufts to mark nobility
]
This pertains to the gold tassels worn by peers' sons on their caps at Oxford (54).
Meretricious [False hair, and meretricious ornament
]
Tawdry, cheap. Asimov (11) informs us the word is from the Latin meretrix, meaning a prostitute.
Impertinence [To reckon Nature an impertinence
]
Something uncalled for and out of place.
Willy-nilly
Whether we like it or not. The expression is derived from Anglo Saxon willan, to desire, and nylan, the opposite. Thus what one must do whether he wants to or not, he does will he, nill he or willy-nilly (266).
Unseemly [unseemly in their mirth
]
Indecorous, unbecoming.
Ranunculus bulbosus
The bulbous, or European, buttercup, having a bulb shaped root and bright yellow flowers (250).
Hipparchus
The most famous astronomer of ancient Greece. He made an accurate assessment of the length of the year and originated the concept of latitude and longitude -- among other contributions. No one knows for sure exactly when he lived. The Encyclopædia Britannica (104) says he flourished from about 146 to 127 B.C. His date of birth is given variously as 194 and 160 B.C., and he apparently died about 130-120 B.C. I'm telling you all this because some G&S references worry about whether he was yet born when he supposedly determined latitude in B.C. one sixty-three! Well, maybe Psyche was misquoted.
Docked [and he docked his tail
]
Cut off short. Asimov (11), however, reminds us that apes have no tails. Kipling could have added to his Just-So Stories: How the Ape Lost His Tail.
Guinea [and paid a guinea to a toilet club
]
ginny
British monetary unit equal to £1.05, i.e., 21 shillings. In case you are not already in on the secret, there is no longer any such coin or paper money. For further details see Patience.
There was an old man from Kilkenny,
Who never spent more than a penny
At any one loo,
But this could accrue
On long walks to more than a guinea.
Toilet club
We are indebted to Hardwick (149) for explaining this recondite term: An exclusive gentlemen's hairdressing establishment. Prestige (245) adds that it could also be an exclusive Turkish bath establishment.
Darwinian Man
Alluding to Charles Darwin and his doctrine (published in 1859) respecting the origin of species as derived from descent, with variation, from parent forms through the natural selection of those best adapted to survive in the struggle for existence (290).
Étui [Here is an étui dropped by one of them
]
AY-twee
A small case suitable for carrying small articles such as sewing equipment or toiletries.
Minx
A saucy girl. See also The Sorcerer.
Rule the roast
Dominate and order others about. Often mistakenly transmuted into rule the roost. Brewer (54) states that the expression was common in the fifteenth century. Shakespeare used the term, too.
Malice [Replete with malice spiteful
]
Active ill-will, wishing to do harm.
Perversity
Unreasonable refusal to do what's right.
Hoity-toity [Sing, hoity-toity!
]
A derisive reference to people who affect airs. Brewer (56) says it derives from the French hoit-comme-toit, meaning flightiness.
Marry come up
Brewer (54) gives this interpretation: May Mary come up to my assistance, or to your discomfort!
Plantagenet [although a born Plantagenet
]
Family name of a long succession of English kings, from Henry II (1154) through Richard III (1485). Brewer (56) says the name derives from planta genista (broom plant), the family cognisance first assumed by the Earl of Anjou, the first of his race, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, as a symbol of humility. Readers may note that the humility did not take root.
Worm will turn
Brewer (54) explains this is an old expression meaning that even the most abject of creatures will turn upon its tormentors if driven to extremity.
Are men [but “are men” stuck in her throat
]
A pun on Shakespeare's “amen stuck in my throat” (in Macbeth Act II, Scene 2). Better it should have stuck in Gilbert’s throat.
Asphodel [Here in meadow of asphodel
]
A collective term for lilies or daffodils. In Greek mythology, asphodel were the ever-blooming flowers that grew in the Elysian fields. Bunthorne found them attractive, too, if you'll recall.
Booby [And is the booby comely?
]
Dunce. Ida isn't being personally insulting here. All men are dunces, at best, in her view.
Comely
Rhymes with dumbly.
Good-looking.
Consisted [Consisted with my maiden modesty
]
Harmonized.
Staid [downcast and staid
]
Sober and sedate.
Demure
Grave, shy, or seemingly modest (75).
Flaunting [Flaunting it in brave array
]
Impudently displaying.
Own [For his intrusion we must own
]
Admit.
Doughty
Brave.
Desecration [Shame and desecration
]
Violation of something sacred.
Execration [female execration
]
Refers to the women's uttered curses.
Beard [To beard a maiden in her lair
]
A take-off of to beard a lion in his lair, meaning to settle an issue with an imposing person face-to-face on his or her own grounds. Ida, we fear, has mangled her metaphor, but she had all too little time to get her thoughts (or dripping hair) in order. See also Iolanthe.
Indisposed for parleying
In no mood for debate or discussion.
Chit [To fit the wit of a bit of a chit
]
A youngster, usually a girl. Often used contemptuously -- as in the present context.
To sulk in the blues
To act in a sullen, gloomy way.
Potentate [a peppery Potentate
]
A ruler with great power. (That explains the capital P.)
Bate [Who's little inclined his claim to bate
]
Abate, diminish, back down.
Wind [His menaces are idle as the wind
]
Ida means wind, as in fast moving air, but clearly it should be pronounced the poetical way: winde. See also The Gondoliers.
Fratricide [the guilt of fratricide
]
The murder of one's own brother or brothers.
Act III
Paynim [Struck his Paynim foe!
]
An archaic term for an infidel, which to a Crusader usually meant a Muslim.
Martial [our martial thunder
]
Warlike.
Paradox
A statement that seems ridiculous but is, in fact, true. Alas, poor Frederic!
The Needful [We find the Needful comprehended
]
Lady Blanche's paradox becomes clear when you understand that needful is an old slang term for money (115).
Fusiliers [My fusiliers, advance!
]
Soldiers bearing lightweight flint-lock muskets. The word fusil derives from an old French word meaning steel for striking fire (250).
Fulminating [We can dispense with fulminating grains
]
Exploding. Bradley (47) explains that the term derives from the Latin word fulminare, meaning to send forth thunder and lightning.
Saltpetre [We can dispense with villainous saltpetre
]
Potassium nitrate, used in making gunpowder. Asimov (11) mentions a line in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I, in which occurs the phrase “villainous saltpetre,” and that has become a standard coupling, much like “damn Yankee.”
Blow them up
To scold.
Polemist [That brutalize the practical polemist
]
pah-LEM-ist
One who vigorously debates doctrines.
Dispensing chemist
What Americans call a pharmacist, the English call a dispensing chemist.
Cot [To Court and cot
]
Cottage.
Bruisèd reed
The phrase comes from the Old Testament (2 Kings 18:21 and Isaiah 36:6) as a metaphor for something, or someone, treacherously unreliable (55).
Lath [My sword was but a lath
]
A thin strip of wood of the sort used to form a rough base for plaster.
Rime [of frost and rime
]
Frost and rime mean essentially the same thing: frozen condensation.
Unanneal [That fear can unanneal
]
Weaken.
Loth [Is loth to war with women
]
Rhymes with quoth.
Same as loath: meaning strongly disinclined.
Popinjays [these popinjays, these tufted jack-a-dandy featherheads
]
Vain, empty-headed fops, decked out in ornamental finery. The word is an old name for a parrot, related to the Greek papagos, which may put you in mind of Mozart's Magic Flute. See also The Yeomen of the Guard.
Jack-a-dandy
A little fop (115).
Tufted
This pertains to the gold tassels worn by peers' sons, as already mentioned above.
Malignity [black malignity
]
Extreme hate.
Wight
An archaic term for a person and not necessarily from the Isle of Wight. Frequently some element of commiseration or contempt may be implied (229).
Lank [Oh, don't the days seem lank and long
]
Austere, thin, and unexciting.
German bands
Bradley (48) explains that German musicians were a common sight on the streets of Victorian London. They tended to wear uniforms and play marches and other stirring oom-pah-pah numbers.
Music stands
Those German bands were apparently in the habit of erecting music stands right in the street (48).
Wagner
VOGG-ner
The great German librettist and composer of interminable operas.
Bade [I bade them go
]
bad
Ordered.
Organ boys [The organ boys, they stopped their noise
]
The reference is to a barrel organ, or what Americans call a grind organ
Hurdy-gurds [and grinning herds of hurdy-gurds
]
This is Gilbert's abbreviated form of the word hurdy-gurdist. A hurdy gurdy is a mechanical, stringed musical device. The sounds are produced by turning a handle that rotates a rosined wheel across the strings, which are stopped by means of keys. The term has also come to mean a barrel organ.
Fads [they feed my fads
]
Read: They pamper my whims.
Ring [ere you pitch your ring
]
An area set aside for a conflict, e.g., a boxing ring.
Tittle-tattle
Idle chatter or gossip.
Arrant [It's an arrant molly-coddle
]
Thoroughgoing.
Molly-coddle
An effeminate person (115).
Noddle [Fears a crack upon his noddle
]
Head.
Swaddle [And he's only fit to swaddle
]
To swaddle is to wrap a newborn baby. The meaning here is that he is only fit to be swaddled.
Cuirass [This tight-fitting cuirass
]
kwi-RASS
A breastplate of leather or metal -- in this case, steel.
Brassets
Armor for the upper arms (Gilbert's misspelling of brassart) (250).
Cribbage pegs
Little jiggers (Swahili for pegs), used in scoring cribbage games. Terry (286) explains that the items of armor Arac refers to are cuishe, knee-cop, greave or jamb, and sollert -- providing protection from hip to toe, in that order. Isn't this impressive? We retail state secrets, too.
Shape suits [This is what Gilbert says the brothers are wearing after removal of all that armor.
]
You will find below a copy of Gilbert's own sketch of a shape suit. It could best be described as tight-fitting pants and snug pullover tunic with decorative slashes. The colors are given as dark red except for the slashes, which are pink. For whatever psychological inferences you may care to draw, the fellow in the sketch looks like Gilbert himself.
[Commentary on armor]
History shows that real life warriors have on occasion doffed their armor before going into battle. Young David about to face Goliath is perhaps the first example, but see also Goldberg (138).
Virago [Here's a virago!
]
The correct pronunciation is open to debate. Most dictionaries say vih-RAY-go, but most people seem to prefer vih-RAH-go. I suggest using whichever form is more popular in your environment.
A shrewish woman. A second, archaic meaning is a masculine woman. Gama meant whichever interpretation would most infuriate the men. See also The Grand Duke.
Termagant
TER-mah-gant
A violent quarrelsome female. See Brewer (54) for derivation of the word.
[Note on Gama's insults]
Gama's insults are disappointingly flat, merely two-dimensional. While in Hildebrand's prison he should have studied such masters as Samuel Johnson. That worthy fellow once found it imperative to insult a total stranger, so he thus expressed himself (I paraphrase): Sir, under pretence of operating a brothel, your wife is a receiver of stolen goods! (45).]
Ejaculate [And piously ejaculate
]
Blurt out.
Hungary [Oh, doughty sons of Hungary!
]
Why has Gilbert dragged Hungary into the proceedings at this advanced point? Perhaps because Hungarians are traditionally known as fierce warriors. Berlioz's stirring and popular Rákózy March (written in 1846) exemplifies the martial association. Kravetz (181) says that Berlioz averred that the theme came from an old Hungarian war song of unknown authorship. These characters may not be real Hungarians, but they are every bit as war-like. Bradley (48) shows a second verse that appeared in the American first edition. Here it is:
But if our hearts assert their sway,
(And hearts are all fantastical)
We shall be more disposed to say
These words enthusiastical
Hilarion!
Hilarion!
Oh prosper, Prince Hilarion!
In mode complete
May you defeat
Each meddlesome Hungarian!
Chambers (72) suggests that Gilbert may have composed the second verse before composing the first. In the second verse he dragged in Hungarian simply to rhyme with Hilarion, leading him then in the first verse to drag in ironmongery to rhyme with Hungary. On the other hand, it is conceivable that Hungary was introduced simply to rhyme with ironmongery (48). Clearly, Gilbert was not at his most facile in these verses.
Ironmongery
Hardware; in this case weapons and armor.
Meet [it's meet that we consult the great Potential Mysteries
]
Appropriate.
Subjunctive [The five Subjunctive Possibilities
]
Pertaining to the mood (or mode) of a verb implying a condition, doubt, wish, or hypothesis. This served as the inspiration for Lady Blanche's song Come, mighty Must!
Abjure [abjure tyrannic Man!
]
Renounce.
Staunch [I alone am staunch!
]
Rhymes with launch.
Firm, constant, loyal, and trustworthy. See also HMS Pinafore.
Experiments [Experiments are made on humble subjects
]
Knight (178) suggests that this derives from Fiat experimentum in corpore vile, a saying that arose from the experience of Murat, a French humorist who, in a trance, narrowly escaped dissection.
Clay [try our grosser clay
]
In the context, read less precious raw material.
We will walk this world …
These noble lines are in quotation marks because Gilbert took them from Tennyson's poem The Princess.
Owning [The love I'm owning
]
Admitting.