star | North Star |
Polack | derogatory reference to Polish people |
dead hour | 12-1 a.m. |
Julius | Julius Caesar, Roman General |
Rome | successful ancient city |
Neptune | ancient Greek God of the sea |
bird of dawning | rooster |
great-cannon | the tradition of firing a cannon during a toast |
Hyperion | sun god in Greek mythology |
satyr | half-man, half-goat woodland creature from Greek mythology |
Niobe | archetypal weeping mother from Greek mythology |
Hercules | archetypal strong warrior from Greek mythology |
“this temple waxes” | the body as a temple (from the Bible)– this body grows |
Rhenish | German, relating to the Rhingland |
Nemean’s lion | from Greek mythology, referring to the first labor of Hercules |
I to sulphurous and tormenting flames / Must render up myself | a reference to Purgatory, where most Medievals believed they would go before heading to Heavan |
Lethe | from Greek mythology, river of Hades |
“With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial” | a poisonous plant, and a reference to the hemlock used by Socrates |
Saint Patrick | 4th century Irish Bishop |
Allusions in Hamlet (Act 1)
August 13, 2019