Miko: annotations

Hermia is lamenting the idea that someone could be of too high a social station to love who they want.

Some modern editions change this word to “low”. The First Quarto and First Folio have “loue” and the Second Folio has “love”. The justification for the change is that “low” is in opposition to “high”.

It is never explained what business Theseus has that involves Demetrius and Egeus. Presumably this is just a shallow plot device to get them offstage.

cleft upper lip

This stage direction is added by many modern editions. It is not in the folios or the quarto.

“Rut-time” refers to an animal's annual period of sexual activity. To “piss one's tallow” meant that the animal loses fat during rut-time. So Falstaff is hoping to have sex and lose weight at the same time.

The London Stone is a stone relic probably from the Roman era of England. It is one of the oldest relics in London.

At the time, this term would have referred to wine that is yellow or red in color. Around 1600 the term came to mean just red wine.

The pissing conduit, also called the little conduit, was a fountain next to Paul's Churchyard in London. It was about 580 meters (633 yards) from where Jack was standing on the London Stone.

Some sources, such as the Merriam-Webster dictionary, define “martext” as a blundering or incompetent preacher. However, the Oxford English Dictionary has no definition for the word at all. It may be that Shakespeare named the character to imply incompetence, it may be that the character created the word, or it may be that there is no relationship at all.