The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 23.0302  Tuesday, 17 July 2012

From:        Duncan Salkeld < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >

Date:         July 14, 2012 11:43:13 AM EDT

Subject:     RE: Corambis

Re: J. D. Markel on Corambis

Shakespeare would not have thought “Corambis, thy name dost sucketh.” 

He’d have thought either ‘“Corambis, thy name sucketh” or ‘Thy name doth suck’.

I’m sure I’m not the first to suggest that ‘Corambis’ might be a contraction of [I quote OED] ‘coram nobis before us (i.e. the sovereign) = in the court of King’s Bench’.

Polonius probably has associations with Poland, mentioned at least thrice in the play (cf. also ‘Polack’). 

A Dorothy Woods in early C17 Cheshire was robbed of several items, including shoes ‘with polonie heels’ (see Kermode & Walker, 1994, p89).