Reading Experience Database
1450-1945

Basic Search

Advanced Search

Record 20404

Reading Experience:

Evidence:
[Signature] R.L.H. Stevenson 'You don’t know what H. means, ha? I have been reading Nym; and that’s the humour of it.'
Century: 1850-1899
Date: Until: 8 Jun 1875
Country: Probably Scotland.
Time: n/a
Place: city: Edinburgh
county: Lothian
   
Type of Experience (Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Type of Experience (Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Reader/Listener/Reading Group:

Reader:Robert Louis Stevenson
Age Adult (18-100+)
Gender Male
Date of Birth 13 Nov 1850
Socio-economic group: Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation: writer
Religion: lapsed presbyterian
Country of origin: Scotland.
Country of experience: Probably Scotland.
Listeners present if any:
(e.g. family, servants, friends, workmates)
n/a
Additional comments: n/a

 

Text Being Read:

Author: William Shakespeare
Title: Henry V
Genre: Drama
Form of Text: Print: Book
Publication details: Printed 1600; the edition RLS refers to is not indicated.
Provenance: unknown

 

Source Information:

Record ID: 20404  
Source - Print  
  Author: Robert Louis s
  Editor: Bradford A. Booth
  Title: The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, April 1874-July 1879
  Place of Publication: New Haven and London
  Date of Publication: 1994
  Vol: 2
  Page: 143
  Additional comments: Letter 395, To Sidney Colvin, [7 or 8 June 1875], Swanston. Co-editor Ernest Mehew, The date in square brackets has been added by the editors.

Citation: Robert Louis s, Bradford A. Booth (ed.), The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, April 1874-July 1879 (New Haven and London, 1994), 2, p. 143, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=20404, accessed: 18 April 2024

Additional comments:

In Shakespeare’s Henry V, Corporal Nym, one of Falstaff’s followers, uses the phrase “that is/that’s the humour of it”, or words very similar, 4 times in Act II, i; and once again in II, iii and III, ii. The Editors’ Note 2 on p.143 reads: “Nym uses the phrase several times in HenryV, II, i. RLS seems to mean he is adding the H. because it is his fancy to do so.”

 

 

Reading Experience Database version 2.0.  Page updated: 27th Apr 2016  3:15pm (GMT)