Hi Ed, et al Line 23 'When blood is nipped' I would understand as having no circulation usually in the fingers and toes (from the cold), the flow of blood has been 'nipped' or stopped by pinching.
'The ways be foul' I would understand as 'The roads (lanes) are muddy, making travel difficult, with deep cart-tracks, making walking with any burden almost impossible. Conditions obnoxious = foul. Line 25 and 26 is the same sentence...'Tu whit - tu whoo' is the sound of the owl. Here in England anyway! Can't you tell I didn't grow up in a city! Best Wishes Ron (UK) -----Original Message----- From: Ed Durbrow [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 2:13 PM To: LuteNet list Subject: [LUTE] Shakespeare interpretation I've set the following text for lute and voice and am still revising. I am wondering about line 23. What do you think it means? Just simply cold, as in 'a nip in the air'? or does 'blood' have something to do with 'foul'? I don't get 'ways be foul'. I guess tu-whit is onomatopoeia and not 'to wit' meaning "that is to know" but I am not an ornithologist. Winter 19 When icicles hang by the wall, 20 And Dick the shepherd blows his nail, 21And Tom bears logs into the hall, 22 And milk comes frozen home in pail, 23When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul, 24Then nightly sings the staring-owl, 25 Tu-who; 26Tu-whit, tu-who--a merry note, 27While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. 28 When all aloud the wind doth blow, 29 And coughing drowns the parson's saw, 30And birds sit brooding in the snow, 31 And Marian's nose looks red and raw, 32When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl, 33Then nightly sings the staring owl, 34 Tu-who; 35Tu-whit, tu-who--a merry note, 36While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. Notes 18] nail: blow one's nails, so as to keep one's hands warm. "saw"-speech 27] keel: cool the pot by stirring, straining, etc. 32] crabs: crab-apples. Original text: William Shakespeare, Loves Labours Lost (1598); facs. edn. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957). PR 2750 B22 1957 Victoria College Library First publication date: 1598 Composition date: 1594 - 1595 Rhyme: ababccdee Ed Durbrow Saitama, Japan [email protected] http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/ -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
