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"Would that I might forget him," Ned said bluntly.
A Song of Ice and Fire

Does the sentence in quotes mean, "I would forget him if I could"?

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  • See this answer, about using would for optative exhortations.
    – tchrist
    Commented Sep 29, 2013 at 1:16
  • The usual way this optative is employed, might does not quite fit. What does might mean here? Is this a non-standard case?
    – Kris
    Commented Sep 29, 2013 at 10:09

1 Answer 1

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Welcome to EL&U!

Yes, it's a dated way of saying,

"I'd forget him if I could."

Perhaps a little less dated, but still quite rare, is the expression "would to God," as in

"Would to God I could forget him,"

which means, I wish I could forget him [but I can't, even with God's help!].

Or,

"Would to God I could get him out of my head," Ned said bluntly.

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