This illustrates the abundance of what the Countess provides for Helena and the humility of Helena's spirit by saying that Helena would never ask for as much as the Countess freely gives: in other words, Helena is humble, modest and grateful while the Countess is generous and liberal.

The Countess is expressing her gratitude for Helena by saying that Helena merits more in the way of friendship than what the Countess gives though what she gives is abundant.

The Countess is saying that Helena, in her own right simply because of her own inner character qualities, can claim all the Countess's love and protection even without having been made the Countess's legal ward.

adverbial interjection, (archaic): truly; indeed; truthfully

Addressing the Steward and indicating that she is expectant of and anticipating his communication regarding Helena.

The Clown exits to request that Helena/Helen go to see the Countess.

From "'twould mend" to "pluck one":

The Clown is saying that if one good woman were born even once a day, then men would have a better chance ("mend the lottery") of picking a good woman for a wife and that he could be free to bring out the emotions of his heart (idiom: draw something out; "draw his heart out") before choosing a wife. He is suggesting that in the present state of things, regarding his cuckolding discussion, choosing a wife has to be made on different grounds.

preposition: before (chronological time reference to what comes before something else)

There is some confusion over what the Clown is actually referring, whether to the saying that a supernova ("blazing star") predicts a prodigy or to something else, but, in keeping with the context of his remark, it is safe to say that the hyperbolic meaning is that he wishes one good woman (i.e., baby girl) would be born even once a day--out of all women born in a day--or even one at every earthquake (more extreme hyperbole, i.e., exaggeration).

The Clown contradicts her and returns to his previous theme of cuckolding wives by saying that his version of the song purifies it or makes it true.

The Countess commands the Clown to tell Helena to come to her as she wishes to speak to Helena.

The mention of the diminutive of Helena's name, "Helen," by the Countess prompts the Clown to digress into a song related to the most famous bearer of that name, Helen of Tory.

noun: used to address a man or a boy who is of lower class and social status than the speaker; a form of address given by a superior to a man or boy who is an inferior

Pronunciation: 'sirə, accented on "sir" and followed by an unaccented schwa sound "ə"

The meaning and identity of "gentlewoman" is now delivered: we now know that the gentlewoman spoken of by the Countess in line 1 of I.iii and of whom the Steward wishes to speak is Helena.

Paraphrase: that the Clown ask Helena to enter the chamber and come before you.

Having heard all she cares to hear, the Countess dismisses the Clown with a tone of exasperation saying that she will speak with him more at another time about his hoped for marriage to Isbel.

The Clown is used by Shakespeare to introduce plot and thematic elements related to Helena and Bertram, which are those of marriage and worthiness in marriage.

A portion of a ballad of the time, the Clown uses it to mean that cuckolding a husband (a wife being an adulterous) is destiny and that this is proven because cuckoo birds are raised in nests of other small songbirds and (as it was said) learn to sing the host birds song. [In fact cuckoos have their own two- to three-note call that is specific to their species. For example, one South African cuckoo calls "cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo-hoit hoit-cuckoo hoit-cuckoo."] 

The Countess understanding of the Clown's remarks ("foul-mouth'd" and false slander) confirms the above analysis of his speech, including the allusions to the Puritan and Papist agreement on sexuality, which is one of the irreligious points the Countess finds so offensive.

calumnous, adjective (from calumny, noun: a false malicious statement): involving slander or falseness; involving defamation of a person's character

knave, noun: a man with no scruples or principle; a dishonest man

The Clown is suggesting that the Puritan and the Papist agree upon the need for a mate and will fight it out with each other like bucks in a herd of deer who fight for supremacy.

verb (archaic dialect): to lurch; to move clumsily; e.g., buck lurching at each other with their antlers and hooves in combat

Critics suggest this alludes to the Renaissance opinion that while Puritans and Papists were extremely separated on doctrine they "met around the other side" and agreed on some ideas.

The context of this is the unsound and illogical sexual discussion carried on by the Clown, so he is suggesting that the idea Puritan and Papist agree upon is physical need.

This refers to the dichotomy between doctrinal points of view that diametrically separates Protestant Puritan and Catholic Papist: their hearts are at opposite ends of religious doctrine.

A now unclear reference to a then seemingly common stereotype euphemism for a typical Catholic papist, similar to "Johnny rebel," that uses an allusion to call up an image of a typical mature Catholic man (Catholics may be referred to as "papists" because they honor the Catholic Pope).

Some critics suggest the allusion is to an old Catholic lenten play having a character called "Poysam."

A now unclear reference to a then seemingly common stereotype euphemism for a typical Protestant Puritan, similar to "Johnny rebel," that uses an allusion to call up an image of a typical young Puritan man ("Puritan" was first used in the 1560s).

Some critics suggest the allusion is to an old Puritan lenten play having a character called "Chair-bonne."

Through very unsound illogical logic, the Clown has just proven that men who befriend him just to get at his wife are in fact his friend because they (1) spare him sexual exertion after he has wearied of it, (2) harvest his land, (3) do his labor for him, (4) comforts his wife and (4) cherishes her and, through her, cherishes him: his wife is equated to his own body; any who cherish her, cherish him; thus any who are her lovers are his friends.

The Clown alludes to (and perverts) the "cherish" passage in the New Testament at Ephesians 5:28, 29:

Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church (King James Version)

noun: the husband of an adulteress wife; the cuckold is usually the object of ridicule and derision

The Clown boldly accuses the Countess of not understanding great friendship. [Some say the text should read "e'n great friends," which is even great friends; the meaning of accusation of shallow lack of understanding would remain the same in either case.]

Remember that Shakespeare uses the Clown and the Fool characters as substitutes for the Greek Chorus and Chorus Master and, as such, they speak honestly to principle characters telling them important information about themselves or others or providing important undergirding to the plot movement.

As an illustration of this, Jacques in As You Like It makes just such a statement to Duke Senior in Arden Forest of the freedom of speech a clown has after having met Touchstone.

Initiating a play on words, the Countess says that friends of his who are friends for the sake of his wife are in fact not his friends but his enemies.

This is a sexual entendre that implies that men who are friends with the Clown are sexually interested in his wife, thus enemies to him.

The Clown implies that his aforementioned wickedness has turned his friends from him and that, through his wife and for his wife, he hopes to gain new friends, and he implies that friendship is a holy calling.

In another play on words, the Countess in her next line will initiate repartee on the words "for my wife's sake."

Paraphrase: You will repent of having married before you will repent of any sins or wickedness!

repent, verb: to ask forgiveness for and to stop committing a sinful, wicked, or wrong action, thought or behavior

The Countess disputes the soundness of this reason by saying that if he repents of anything, he will repent by wishing he had never married.

The Clown first cites Church doctrine that all have sinned and are therefore "wicked." He then says he wishes to marry so that he might repent of his sins or wickedness. This may suggest that he has had licentious sexual liaisons that were "wicked."

The Countess is sarcastically asking if his "holy" reasons were a secret or if she might be made privy to the Clown's high and "holy" reasons.

She evidently does not think very highly of this Clown or of this Clown now that he has asked for permission to marry.

[An individual "in service" to a person was traditionally required to ask permission to marry before being allowed to do so, and an employer of a domestic "in service" might refuse to allow the marriage. In later centuries, this was in part due to the year-long contract signed by domestics when they entered service: they had to have permission to break their contract of service in order to marry and permission might be withheld.]

The Clown claims to have higher, more religious reasons than mere physical passion for wanting to marry.

Remember that during early epochs, religious motives and considerations were behind every kind of decision.

Think of Hamlet for an illustration of this: his indecision stemmed from the conflict between pagan revenge ethic and Protestant Christian anti-revenge ethic. Thus Hamlet had to be certain that the command for revenge was in fact from his father and that he therefore had little or no choice in taking revenge because, if the ghost were truly his father, to refuse to take revenge would be dishonoring his father and king thereby endangering his immortal soul ... as much so as taking wrongfully revenge would do [thus Hamlet's tormenting dilemma: lost to salvation if I do and lost to salvation if I don't].

The Countess seemingly thinks this is a poor reason to release her Clown from Court service and asks with a tone of scorn if this physical passion is the only reason he wants to marry.

The Clown is claiming physical sexual need as the reason he wants to marry Isbel.

In early Church history, it was believed that the Apostle Paul taught that celibacy (refraining from sexual activity) was the highest way to live and that the Devil inflamed physical passions as a way of entrapping Christians in sin, thus if the "devil" inflames passions, it is better to marry (and give up celibacy) than to sin. *[This Pauline understanding of Christian doctrine has since come into disrepute.]  *

The Steward does not answer the Countess directly but rather digresses into a complex defense of his credibility seemingly because there is something very important that he wishes to talk about.

He says that if the Countess will but think about his past service to the late Count and to herself, she will be reminded of the "care" he took to keep them "content" through careful attention to his responsibilities; he further says that he wishes for his past deeds to speak for his credibility rather than defend his credibility himself because to speak one's own praise is to "wound" one's modesty, make a lie of modesty, and to "foul the clearness" of any defense one might make, to disprove one's credibility by boasting of it.

This begins the Countess's frustrating efforts to get a straight answer out of the Clown about what he wants and why he wants it: she grows more frustrated with each question she asks.

The Clown is saying that being in the service of a ruler is nothing that can be past down to heirs: this could mean that it is degrading as well as that it is not an estate, it cannot be inherited by offspring.

asking for a favor or for permission

Initiating a play on the word "beg" first used by the Countess.

The Countess is expressing her concern since he appears to have no work that he can do if he is released from the Countess's service and thus will be reduced to begging to survive.

She again introduces a word play that the Clown will take up in which "beg" is first used to mean asking for food, then used to mean asking for permission.

The Clown appears to be asking for release from the Countess's service so that he can marry Isbel.

In a spiritual/religious allusion, the Clown says that while it is not good to be poor, it is also not always good to be rich because riches does not insure salvation: many "rich are damned" without salvation.

adverbial interjection: used in anticipation of someone else's upcoming remark

This is the beginning of a play on the word "well" in which the Countess uses it as, "yes, and what else have you to say," but the Clown uses it as "good, proper, satisfactory."

His response to her remarks is that he is poor, which indicates that he is excusing all the accusations with "I did it because I am poor."

From "for I know" to "knaveries yours":

The Countess is confirming her true opinion of the Clown that he is foolish enough to have committed every accusation in every complaint and that he has all the ability needed to commit them.

The Countess has received complaints from some unnamed quarter(s) about the Clown. She says she does not believe "all" of them--leading us to understand there have been more than a few complaints--but she blames her slowness of wit rather than his innocence for her disbelief.

This self-deprecating turn of phrase is not to be taken as a serious element of characterization--she is NOT slow of wit--but rather as ironic self-recrimination for being to reluctant to punish him.

The Countess interrupts her conversation with her Steward (overseer of her estate and palace) to ask about the presence of the Clown. Obviously, since she interrupts herself, the Clown has no connection to the "gentlewoman" about to be discussed by the Countess and Steward.

Following the pattern established in I.i, we do not know who "this gentlewoman" is; the meaning of this phrase--who this "gentlewoman" is--will be delivered after a pregnant pause.

adverb: to or toward the place in which the speaker is at present

What the Countess desire; the business at hand before the Countess.

adverb (archaic): indeed; in truth [currently used only as sarcasm in derision]

In this religious metaphor, "honesty" is compared to "puritans"--a name for Protestants that emerged in England in the 1560s--in two ways: honesty is *like *puritans in that it does not harm or hurt others; honesty is *unlike *puritans in that honesty will metaphorically and symbolically wear the holy garment of the surplice, which symbolizes humility and submissiveness.

Puritans were disparaged because they rejected holy religious garments and would not wear the surplice since it connoted Papist Catholicism against which they protested.

The Clown suggests a protest against man taking woman's commands, then hedges his protest by saying that nonetheless ("yet": despite taking woman's commands) there is ho "hurt" or harm done the man by so doing. It is important that he hedge his protest with submissiveness since the Countess has the full authority of a ruler amongst her people.

A woman's rights and power is a recurring theme in Shakespeare's comedies, as in Much Ado About Nothing. Bear in mind also that Queen Elizabeth I sat on the throne of England as their ruling monarch, so Shakespeare does well to complement her rule rather than insult it.

black gown: worn by priests; holy raiment; clothes of religious devotion and personal humility

The Clown is drawing out a religious metaphor, built on religious allusions, that compares honesty to the humble kindness of a priest.

Allusion: In a complex structure, the Clown says that "honesty," *like *Puritans, will do no hurt to anyone but, *UNLIKE *Puritans, will wear the "surplice of humility" the same as priests do when they humble themselves to go into holy orders (which requires they wear long black robes covered by white surplices).

surplice, noun: a white garment worn over religious clothes by monks and priests

Paraphrase: a garment of humility; a token and outward sign of being humble

The Countess is out of patience with this foolish Clown and sends him away with the injunction that he is to obey her commands since she has told him to be gone already. A Countess ruled her territory in the same capacity as monarchs rule their territory: their word is literally law.

The one good woman out of ten: the tenth woman.

tithe, noun: a tenth part of something; one tenth of something

The Countess sharply notes the derogatory play on words made by the Clown; the song should be:

"If one be bad amongst nine good,
There's nine good in ten.
There's but one bad in ten."

One Shakespeare critic, Warburton, supplies the original lyrics to this song that speaks of women, not of men:

"If one be bad amongst nine good,
There's nine good in ten.
There's but one bad in ten."

King Priam, father of Paris and Hector of Troy.

Paraphrase: Was Paris King Priam's joy? Was this correct behavior by the beloved son of the King?

The face of Helen of Troy, wife of Achaean King Menelaus, and captive of Paris of Troy.

This song is an allusion to Helen of Troy, the famous beauty instrumental in the situation that led to the Trojan Wars between the Trojans and the Achaeans.

Back at the Countess's palace in Rousillon where she and Helena have remained; recall that Helena is now the ward of the Countess.