netherstock

In mock repentance for "this life," he offers an alternative vocation to "sew netherstocks and mend them and foot them too" (2.4.120-21).

Feet, toes and heels all get their due, and at one time or another, characters refer to, or don, shoes, boots, slippers, worsted stockings, garters, and netherstocks. The footed body's precariousness in its upright posture seems a regular part of the awareness the play generates, until, finally, the stage is littered with people lying down, and even those still on two feet seem barely able to hold themselves up.

Boot and shtick