Line 1 can thus be understood to mean:
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o I, the man whose Muse formerly did mask Very often, additional meanings are given in such definitions: weeds > clothes, garb These additional meanings may complement one another, indicatingthe hybrid sense which seems to be required, or they mayconstitute a set of alternative meanings, any or all of which mayhave been intended by Spenser. Each entry in any unbracketedlist may always be substituted for the original withoutdisturbing the syntax. Similar senses are grouped with commas; changes in sense areindicated with semicolons. For example: gentle > noble; courteous, generous In this case, an apparently modern form has a differentcontextual meaning, and so it is glossed; and when the modernsense is also to be understood, this is included in thedefinition: dull > dull, lacklustre; blunt Where the contrast between alternatives is particularly great,words are separated by _or_, _also_, etc. Sometimes the meaning is forced or metaphorical. In these casesthe straight "dictionary" meaning of the word is given first, and_hence_, _thus_, or _so_ are used to indicate contextualdeparture from this. For example: style > literary composition; _hence_: poem, song (cf. _SC_,"Januarie", 10) In this example, parenthesized editorial comment has also beenincluded. Editorial comment in entries of this class is either enclosed inround brackets, as above, or set in "italic" type, as in thisentry: bale > torment; infliction of death; _also, mainly in northernusage_: great consuming fire, funeral pyre; _hence,perhaps_: hell-fire A question-mark, as may be expected, indicates doubt, usuallyabout words which are not found in the _OED_ but whose meaningmight be inferred from the context. For example: mill > ?mill-wheel; ?cogs of the mill (or because the sallowgrows by water) (b) Definitions An entry in curly brackets should be read as a dictionarydefinition of the quoted text which cannot be directly fittedinto the syntax of the original line. For example: scrine > {Casket or cabinet for archival papers} (c) Notes Entries in round brackets should be read as if they werefootnotes, typically giving background information or editorialspeculation. For example: Muse > (The nine Muses are usually represented as thedaughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne (Memory); each goddesspresides over an area of the arts and sciences and givesinspiration to its practitioners) and: chief > chief, first; best (here Spenser is addressing eitherClio, the Muse of history, or Calliope, the Muse of epicpoetry; probably Clio. Clio is the first of the nine Musesin Hesiod's _Theogony_, and is usually represented with anopen roll of paper or a chest of books. Spenser calls her"thou eldest Sister of the crew" at _TM_ 53. See 111.5:6-8, 303.4:6, 706.37:9, 707.1:1) It should be added that on occasion the distinction between a"note", requiring round brackets, and a "definition", requiringcurly brackets, is somewhat moot. (d) Hints and expansions Entries in square brackets are hints or expansions to make thequoted text more intelligible, and can be thought of as beingpreceded by the qualifications "that is", "in other words", or"what Spenser appears to mean is". For example: in his help > [to help him; in his armoury] Such entries can be mentally substituted for the quoted word orphrase in order to aid comprehension. Sometimes square brackets are employed in other sorts ofdefinitions to indicate words which should be understood. Forexample: mask > {Disguise [herself]; take part in a masque ormasquerade} and: time > [her] term of apprenticeship (e) Explanations of character-names Most of the names of major characters in the poem have specialmeanings. These are briefly explained as follows: Archimago > "Arch Mage", "Arch Magician" Sometimes there is a qualifying parenthesis giving information onthe etymology or adding comment:
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