Gammer Gurton's Needle - Faculty & Staff Web Pages

Gammer Gurton's Needle 11
Gammer: Go hie thee soon,
And grope behind the old brass pan; which thing when thou hast done,
There shalt find and old shoe; wherein, if thou look well,
Thou shalt find lying an inch of white tallow candle.
Light it, and bring it tight away.
Cocke: That shall be done anon. 1
[Cocke exits back into the house]
Gammer: Nay, tarry, 2 Hodge, 'til thou hast light, and then we'll seek each one. 3
Hodge: Come away, you whoreson 4 boy! Are you asleep? You must have a crier! 5
Cocke: I cannot get the candle lighted; here is almost no fire. 6
Hodge: 'Chi'll hold 7 thee a penny 'Chi'll make thee come if that Ich may catch thine
ears! 8
Art deaf, thou whoreson boy? Cocke, I say, why canst not hear?
Gammer: Beat him not, Hodge, but help the boy, and come you two together.
[Hodge exits by rushing inside the house.]
THE FIRST ACT
The Fifth Scene
[Gammer remains. Tyb enters. Cocke and Hodge will
enter later.]
Gammer: How now, Tyb? Quick, let's hear what news thou hast brought hither!
Tyb: 'Chave tossed and tumbled yonder heap over and over again,
And winnowed 9 it through my fingers as men would winnow grain,
Not so much as a hen's turd but in pieces I tore it,
Or what so ever clod or clay I found, I did not spare it,
Looking within and eke 10 without to find your nee'le, alas!
But all in vain and without help. Your nee'le is where it was! 11
1
Anon: at once
2
Tarry: wait
3
Then we'll seek each one: Then we'll both search (for the needle)
4
Whoreson: "son of a whore." A common insult of the time.
5
You must have a crier: You need someone formally sent to call you and wake you up!
6
Cocke is trying to light the candle from the embers left in the fireplace, but is having no luck.
7
'Chi'll hold: I'll bet. 'Chi'll is pronounced to rhyme with will. The initial sound, -ch, is not a hard one, as in child, but more
like the sound in the German word ich.
8
'Chi'll hold . . . ears! "I'll bet you a penny I can make you come if I slap you around your ears!"
9
Winnowing is separating the chaff (husks) of grain from the kernels; Tyb has been sifting through all the dust and dirt she
dumped after cleaning the house.
10
Eke: also
11
Your nee'le . . . was: Your needle is still lost.