In Troilus we find 'observant toil' (Tro.1.3.203). In the opening scene of Hamlet the two words collocate within the space of two lines, and both contexts involve watchful preparation for war:
70 Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows,
71 Why this same strict and most observant watch
72 So nightly toils the subject of the land,
(Ham.1.1.70-72)
'Observant' occurs in one other passage (KiL 2.2.103). Variants of 'toil' occur 42x. So the collocation of 'observant' and 'toil' in two of three occurrences of 'observant' is noteworthy.
17 September 1999