The Tragedy of Arthur_ A Novel - Arthur Phillips [177]
18. fain gladly.
19. mangonel a catapult.
20. trebuchet a swinging catapult.
Act V, Scene IV
1. An interesting example of “the fog of war.” It is not clear who has attacked first. Does Arthur lose control of his temper or has Mordred lost control of a subtle plan? [RV]
2. proofed unvalued currency proven as worthless hostages.
3. unstaid uncontrollable.
4. misproud haughty, wrongly proud.
5. stale low-class prostitute.
6. trad’st upon them act upon them, deal with them.
7. Elizabethan zoology viewed young serpents as having concentrated venom, which diluted with maturity. [RV]
8. plainsong simple truth.
Act V, Scene V
1. bereft … strain deprived of his lineage and quality.
2. poltroon coward, wretch.
3. englutting gulping, devouring.
4. In fact, Arthur was not at Lincoln (II.vii). [RV]
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564, the son of a town official. Likely educated at the local grammar school, Shakespeare then traveled to London in the late 1580s, making his name as an actor, poet, playwright, and co-owner of theaters and theater companies. His career ended as a member and partner of the King’s Men company serving King James I. His works include Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest. He is widely considered the greatest writer in the history of the English language. He died in 1616.
•
ARTHUR PHILLIPS was born in Minneapolis and educated at Harvard. He has been a child actor, a jazz musician, a speechwriter, a dismally failed entrepreneur, and a five-time Jeopardy! champion. He is the author of the novels Prague, The Egyptologist, Angelica, and The Song Is You. The Washington Post called him “one of the best writers in America,” and Kirkus Reviews wrote, in 2009, “Phillips still looks like the best American novelist to have emerged in the present decade.” He lives in New York with his wife and two children.