TR4.624 “Ĭ wól my̆sélf bĕn wíth thĕ át thĭs dédĕ, TR4.625 Thĕigh ích ănd ál my̆ kýn ŭpón ă stówndĕ TR4.626 Shŭlle ín ă stréte ăs dóggĕs líggĕn dédĕ, TR4.627 Thŏrŭgh-gírt wĭth mány ă wíd ănd blódy̆ wówndĕ; TR4.628 Ĭn évery̆ cás Ĭ wól ă frénd bĕ fóundĕ. TR4.629 Ănd íf thĕ líst hĕre stérvĕn ás ă wrécchĕ, TR4.630 Ădíeu, thĕ dévĕl spéde hy̆m thát ĭt récchĕ!”
Line Information
- Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
- English translation (Windeatt: 1998): I’ll stand by you myself in this action, though I and all my kin shall in one hour lie dead in a street like dogs, pierced through with many a gaping and bleeding would! In every situation you’ll find me a friend. And if you want to die here like a wretch — goodbye, and to hell with anyone who cares about it!’
- Japanese translation (Sasamoto: 2012): 私自身これを行なうに際しておそばでご一緒します。たとえ私と私の家族全員がたちまち幾多の流血の深手を負って、犬のように野たれ死にして、町の路上に横たわっても構いません。どんな場合でも力になって差し上げましょう。ただ、もしここで駄目な男として死ぬほうを選ばれるなら、おさらば、悪魔にお助けあれ、となりますよ。」
- Chinese translation (Fang: 1956): 大胆做去，我一定扶助你，哪怕我和亲友们都立刻像狗一样死在路旁，满身宽阔的伤口，淋着鲜血，无论怎样，你仍可信任我是你的朋友。可是你若一无魄力，情愿在这里奄奄一息，那就请了，只好由恶魔来同你周旋！”
Word Information
- Etymology: OE
- Addresser: Pandarus
- Addressee: Troilus
- Adjectives with which juxtaposed: wid (= wide)
- Counterpart in its source (Fil): N/A (but see 4.75, 5-6)
- Noun(s) (NPs) modified: health and disease (wound)
- Attributive/ Predicative: attributive
Information in Previous Studies
- OED: Not quoted
- MED: Not quoted
- Commented in other previous works:
- Windeatt (2003): N/A
- Fisher (1989): N/A
- Benson (1987): N/A
- Davis et al. (1979): Not quoted
- Donaldson (1975): N/A
- Baugh (1963): N/A
Possible Definitions
covered with blood
Comments from the Editor
When Troilus hears that the parliament has decided to exchange Criseyde for Antenor, he is shocked and disheartened. To comfort him, Pandarus tells him that he will always be on his side, and in the corresponding scene of Fil, Pandaro expresses similar determination: ‘I shall be with thee in every perilous case, insomuch as my power alloweth’ (Fil. 4.75, 5–6). In comparison, by expanding the source text, Chaucer has successfully made Pandarus’s speech more reliable and persuasive.
In lines 624 and 628, Pandarus twice repeats that he will be on Troilus’s side. Besides that, the source’s abstract ‘periglioso caso’ (perilous case) becomes the detailed, lively description: ‘though I and all my kin shall in one hour lie dead in a street like doges, pierced through with many a gaping and bleeding wound’. Moreover, ‘dogges’, ‘dede’, ‘wid’, ‘blody’ and ‘wownde’ all share the consonant /d/, making the listener, Troilus, easily associate them with ‘dead’, ‘death’ or ‘die’. Furthermore, all of the words except ‘cas’ are of Old English origin, making Pandarus’s promise more touching.