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Entry conventions
Within definitions
The preposition convention
Where the modern use of a word requires a different following preposition from the one given in the quotation, the modern preposition is given in parentheses.
adjunct (adj.) attendant [upon], inevitable result [of] KJ III.iii.57 [Hubert to King John, of obeying him] Though that my death were adjunct to my act ... I would do it
In other words: the Shakespearian usage is ‘adjunct to’, but modern usage requires attendant upon rather than attendant to and inevitable result of rather than inevitable result to.
This convention is also used in cases where the selected quotation does not actually contain a preposition, but the definition requires one to make the gloss work.
reason (v.) 9 argue rationally [about], debate the pros and cons [of] KL II.iv.259 [Lear to Regan] reason not the need!; Cym IV.ii.14; Ham II.ii.264; JC V.i.95; KL I.ii.105
Here he parenthesis also signals that some the other examples listed do not need the preposition to make the gloss work. The Hamlet quotation, for example, is:
Ham II.ii.264 [Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern] I cannot reason.
Within contexts
The ‘alone’ convention
In specifying the context of a quotation, we need to indicate when a character is the only person on stage.
Tem V.i.51 [Prospero alone] this rough magic / I here abjure
The ‘himself/herself’ convention
In specifying the context of a quotation, we need to indicate when a character is speaking to himself/herself while not being the only person on stage.
Oth V.ii.101 [Othello to himself] th'affrighted globe / Should yawn at alteration
Within quotations
Capitalization convention
In quotations we retain the capital-letters and punctuation of the quotation as it appears in the selected text, including line-initial capitals in poetry, but we do not include sentence-ending marks unless they are crucial for meaning (as in the case of some question-marks and exclamation marks).
Omitted text conventions Ellipsis dots (...) show that text has been omitted; items in square brackets are grammatical words which clarify the sense and enable us to keep the quotation as short as possible.
catch (v.) 3 catch up with, overtake
Tem V.i.316 [Prospero to Alonso] [I'll] promise you ... sail so expeditious, that shall catch / Your royal fleet far off
After quotations
The additional reference convention
When a series of additional references follows the chief quotation, the text references are in alphabetical order, and we conflate s |