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· THE

PICTURE

SHAKES :

PEARE

HAMLET
 1837

ARTES SCIENTIA
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SQUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM

CIRCUMSPICE
 The Picture Shakespeare

HAMLET

PRINCE OF DENMARK
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THE PICTURE

SHAKESPEARE

176442

HAMLET

1902
BLACKIE -AND- SON - LIMITED
LONDON-GLASGOW- DUBLIN
 The Notes and Appendices in this edition are substantially those of
the Junior School Shakespeare. For the purpose of this edition both
texts and notes have been revised by practical teachers, in order to
secure entire suitability for class use, and particularly for the needs of
those reading for the College of Preceptors or Junior Local Examina-
tions. The following are the names of those who have performed this
work of revision :-
Miss ADA S. AMBLER, North London Collegiate School
Miss E. CREAK, B.A. , Headmistress, King Edward's High School,
Birmingham.
W. DYCHE, B.A. , Higher Board School, Halifax.
Rev. W. H. FLECKER, M.A. , D. C. L. , Dean Close Memorial School,
Cheltenham.
Rev. H. DE B. GIBBINS, M.A., Litt. D. , King Charles I School,
Kidderminster.
A. R. GOLDEN, B.A. , Norwich Higher Grade School.
G. M. GWYTHER, M.A. , Senior English Master, Plymouth and
Mannamead College.
J. W. ILIFFE, M.A. , Central Higher School, Sheffield.
Miss AMY LUMBY, St. Hilda's College, Cheltenham.
A. SCOTT, B.A. , Westoe Road Higher Grade School, South Shields.
A. S. WARMAN, B.A. , Manchester Grammar School.
Miss CHARLOTte J. WeightmAN, Camden School for Girls.
iv
 CONTENTS

Page
INTRODUCTION
- 7

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ 12

HAMLET 13

NOTES - 153

APPENDICES-

1. The Date of the Play 203

2. The Sources of the Plot - 204

3. The Scene -• 205

4. Critical Remarks - 205

V
 INTRODUCTION

THE STORY OF THE PLAY

Act I. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, although thirty

years of age, was still studying philosophy in the
University of Wittenberg when he heard of the sudden
Ideath of his father. He at once hastened home, only to
find that his mother ( Gertrude ) had already married
again, and actually married her dead husband's brother
(Claudius). Indeed, the marriage followed the funeral
so closely that according to Hamlet (i . 2. 179) , –
"the funeral baked-meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables ".

This marriage was intensely disliked by everyone, for it

had been celebrated with most unseemly haste, and the
dead king, compared with Claudius , was as " Hyperion
to a satyr " (i. 2. 140) ; and suspicions arose that Claudius
had murdered his brother, partly for the sake of Gertrude
and partly for the sake of the Danish throne, to which
Hamlet was probably the lawful heir (v. 2. 65) .
Hamlet had been deeply attached to his father, and
showed his grief in dress and demeanour in spite of
his mother's remonstrances . What troubled him most,
however, was the uncertainty about his father's death.
Claudius had given out that he had been stung by a
serpent ; but Hamlet's " prophetic soul " had grasped the
truth (i . 2. 255 ; i . 5. 40) .
While he was in this state of terrible uncertainty, he
8 HAMLET

was visited by his bosom friend , Horatio, and two other

soldiers, Marcellus and Bernardo, who told him that the
ghost of the dead king had appeared for three nights in
succession on the platform before the castle, that it did
not answer even when addressed by Horatio , —and that
it vanished the moment the cock crew (i. 2. 195 , &c. ) .
Convinced that this apparition betokened " some foul
play ", Hamlet took the next watch himself, along with
Horatio and Marcellus. The ghost again appeared, and
beckoned Hamlet apart. Horatio implored him not to
go, for fear it was only an evil spirit tempting him on to
his destruction (i . 4. 69) ; but Hamlet vowed that he did
not set his life " at a pin's fee ", and that he would " make
a ghost " of anyone who tried to stop him.
In the subsequent interview ( i . 5. ) the ghost told
Hamlet all the story of the murder, adjuring him by his
love towards him to
""'Revenge his foul and most
unnatural murder",

but , in doing so, not to contrive aught against his mother

-" to leave her to heaven ".
All this Hamlet swore that he would faithfully perform ;
and, after pledging his two friends to the strictest secrecy,
he hinted to them that he was going to

"put an antic disposition on ",

i.e. pretend to be mad . This would allay any possible

suspicions on the part of his uncle, and thus enable him
to mature his plans for vengeance . To this one purpose,
henceforth, he swore to devote his life , sacrificing for it
even his love for Ophelia, the only daughter of a time-
serving old proverb-monger, Polonius ; and this course
was made easier for him by the fact that she had been
warned in the meantime both by her father and by her
brother, Laertes, to avoid Hamlet (i . 3. ) , and to lay no
store by all his letters and presents, by the many tenders
 INTRODUCTION 9

of his affection , or by the honourable fashion in which he

had importuned her with love.
Act II. So well did Hamlet counterfeit madness that
both the king and the queen were more or less deceived ;
but, having some suspicion of the cause of the madness ,
they sent for two courtiers , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
whom they commissioned to cheer and at the same time
carefully observe their " too much changed son " (ii. 2.
1-39) . Polonius, however, assured the king that Hamlet's
madness was caused by unrequited love- his love for
Ophelia ; and, in proof of his assertion, he produced a
wild letter which Hamlet had sent to her, and which she
had passed on - apparently, without any hesitation — to
her father (ii. 2. 110) .
In the meantime there came to court a certain theatrical
company in which Hamlet had formerly taken great
interest ; and the idea occurred to him of having a per-
formance before the king - of something very like the
murder of his father. By this means he intended to
" catch the conscience of the king ", and to remove from
his own mind a fear that the ghost was only an evil spirit
masquerading as his father for the express purpose of
tempting him into crime.
Act III. This plan he carried out to the letter, even
inserting in the play a passage which he had written- in
accordance with the ghost's story - specially to test
Claudius ; and the result utterly confirmed his worst
suspicions. For, when the players came to ' a poisoning
scene in a garden ' , the conscience-stricken king sprang
up, called for lights, and abruptly left the theatre (iii .
2. 253).
Convinced by this of his uncle's guilt, Hamlet was
thinking over the means of taking vengeance on him
when he was summoned to a private interview with the
queen. On his way to her he had an opportunity of
killing the king, but failed to take it . [ This was a fatal
ΙΟ HAMLET

mistake, involving the deaths of Ophelia, Polonius,

Laertes, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern ; and
the reasons given by Hamlet (iii. 3. 79) for his delay seem
to be only excuses. ]
It was at her husband's orders that the queen had sent
the summons, with a view to rebuking Hamlet for his
unfilial conduct ; and, as the king suspected that her
motherly love might cause her to give an incomplete or
prejudiced account of the interview, Polonius offered to
hide behind the curtains in the queen's room , where he
could overhear all that passed between the mother and
son (iii. 3. 28, & c . ).
In the interview Hamlet bitterly reproached her with
her conduct ; and he became so vehement in his language
that she, believing all the time that he was mad, began to
fear he would do her some bodily injury , and cried out for
help. Her cry was at once repeated from behind the
curtains ; and Hamlet, mistaking Polonius' voice for the
king's, ran his sword through the curtains at the place
from which the voice had seemed to come (iii . 4. 25 ) .
Act IV. The death of Polonius gave the king an excuse
for banishing Hamlet from Denmark. Indeed, if he had
dared, he would have put him to death openly. As he
dared not do that , he shipped him away to England in the
company of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern , by whom also
he sent letters to the English sovereign ordering him to
put Hamlet to death (iv. 3) .
[Hamlet, however, suspected some treachery, and got
temporary possession of the letters by night. Then,
having erased his own name and inserted instead the
names of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he returned the
letters to the place from which he had abstracted them
(v. 2. 1-55). ]
On the way the ship was attacked by pirates ; and, as
Hamlet was leading a boarding-column on to the pirate
vessel, he was suddenly deserted by his companions and
 INTRODUCTION II

taken prisoner by the pirates. The latter, however,

partly out of admiration for his courage, partly out of
disgust at the treachery of the others, and partly in hope
of reward from such an important person as the heir-
apparent to the Danish throne, landed him at the
nearest Danish port (iv . 6. ) .
Meanwhile , the shock of her father's death , and the
fact that it had been caused by the prince whom she
loved, had proved too much for Ophelia's naturally feeble
brain ; it gave way under the strain, and she drowned
herself. Then this double calamity was used by the king
to stir up her brother, Laertes , to kill Hamlet as the
cause of it all (iv. 7. ) .
Act V. Accordingly, Laertes, after quarrelling violently
with Hamlet at Ophelia's grave, challenged him to a
" brother's wager " with the foils . At this, by the king's
direction, he used a poisoned and buttonless foil ; and with
it he wounded Hamlet, knowing that the wound must be
fatal. Hamlet, incensed at the blow, redoubled his efforts
and disarmed his opponent ; and , in restoring him a
weapon, he accidentally gave him the wrong one. Then
he himself innocently wounded Laertes with the poisoned
point.
At that very moment the queen , who had just tasted
some wine which the king had prepared for Hamlet, fell
dead, shrieking out that she was poisoned ; and Laertes ,
realizing that he too had been wounded mortally by the
poisoned foil, confessed all. Thereupon Hamlet turned
his sword on his uncle , thus fulfilling the oath made to
his father's spirit.
 DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

CLAUDIUS, King of Denmark.

HAMLET, son to the late, and nephew to the present King.
POLONIUS, lord chamberlain.
HORATIO, friend to Hamlet.
LAERTES, son to Polonius.
VOLTIMAND,
CORNELIUS ,
ROSENCRANTZ,
GUILDENSTERN , Courtiers.
OSRIC,
A Gentleman,
A Priest.
MARCELLUS,
Officers.
BERNARDO, }
FRANCISCO, a soldier.
REYNALDO, servant to Polonius.
Players.
Two Clowns, grave-diggers.
FORTINBRAS, Prince of Norway.
A Captain.
English Ambassadors.
GERTRUDE, Queen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet.
OPHELIA, daughter to Polonius.
Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants.
Ghost of Hamlet's Father.
SCENE: Denmark.
12
 HAMLET

ACT I

SCENE I. Elsinore. A platform before the castle

FRANCISCO at his post. Enter to him BERNARDO

Ber. Who's there?

Fran. Nay, answer me : stand, and unfold yourself.
Ber. Long live the king !
Fran. Bernardo?
Ber. He. 5
Fran. You come most carefully upon your hour.
Ber. 'Tis now struck twelve ; get thee to bed,
Francisco .
Fran. For this relief much thanks : ' t is bitter cold ,
And I am sick at heart.
Ber. Have you had quiet guard?
Fran. Not a mouse stirring. ΙΟ
Ber. Well, good night.
If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus ,
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
Fran. I think I hear them. Stand, ho! Who is
there?
Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS

Hor. Friends to this ground .

Mar. And liegemen to the Dane . 15
Fran. Give you good night.
Mar. O, farewell, honest soldier :
Who hath relieved you?
13
14 HAMLET [Act I Scene 1
Fran. Bernardo hath my place.
Give you good night. [Exit
Mar. Holla ! Bernardo !
Ber. Say,
What, is Horatio there?
Hor. A piece of him.
20 Ber. Welcome , Horatio : welcome , good Marcellus.
Mar. What, has this thing appear'd again to-night?
Ber. I have seen nothing.
Mar. Horatio says ' tis but our fantasy,
And will not let belief take hold of him
25 Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us :
Therefore I have entreated him along
With us to watch the minutes of this night,
That if again this apparition come,
He may approve our eyes and speak to it.
30 Hor. Tush, tush, ' t will not appear.
Ber. Sit down awhile ;
And let us once again assail your ears ,
That are so fortified against our story,
What we have two nights seen .
Hor. Well, sit we down,
And let us hear Bernardo speak of this.
35 Ber. Last night of all,
When yond same star that's westward from the pole
Had made his course to illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one, —

Enter Ghost
40 Mar. Peace, break thee off ; look, where it comes
again !
Ber. In the same figure, like the king that's dead .
Mar. Thou art a scholar ; speak to it, Horatio .
Ber. Looks it not like the king ? mark it, Horatio.
Hor. Most like : it harrows me with fear and wonder.
15
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16 HAMLET [Act I

45 Ber. It would be spoke to.

Mar. Question it, Horatio.
Hor. What art thou , that usurp'st this time of night ,
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee,
speak !
50 Mar. It is offended.
Ber. See, it stalks away !
Hor. Stay ! speak , speak ! I charge thee, speak !
[Exit Ghost
Mar. 'Tis gone, and will not answer.
Ber. How now, Horatio ! you tremble and look
pale :
Is not this something more than fantasy?
55 What think you on't?
Hor. Before my God, I might not this believe
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.
Mar. Is it not like the king?
Hor. As thou art to thyself :
60 Such was the very armour he had on
When he the ambitious Norway combated ;
So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
'Tis strange.
65 Mar. Thus twice before, and jump at this dead
hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
Hor. In what particular thought to work I know
not ;
But, in the gross and scope of my opinion ,
This bodes some strange eruption to our state.
70 Mar. Good now, sit down , and tell me, he that
knows ,
Why this same strict and most observant watch
(M 881 ).
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 17

So nightly toils the subject of the land,

And why such daily cast of brazen cannon,
And foreign mart for implements of war ;

15
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task 75
Does not divide the Sunday from the week ;
What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day :
Who is 't that can inform me?
Hor. That can I ;
At least the whisper goes so. Our last king, 80
Whose image even but now appear'd to us,
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride,
Dared to the combat ; in which our valiant Hamlet—
For so this side of our known world esteem'd him- 85
Did slay this Fortinbras ; who, by a seal'd compact,
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands
Which he stood seized of, to the conqueror :
Against the which a moiety competent 90
Was gaged by our king ; which had return'd
To the inheritance of Fortinbras,
Had he been vanquisher ; as, by the same covenant
And carriage of the article design'd,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras, 95
Of unimproved mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
Shark'd up a list of lawless resolutes ,
For food and diet, to some enterprise
That hath a stomach in't : which is no other—
As it doth well appear unto our state—
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands
So by his father lost : and this, I take it,
Is the main motive of our preparations , 105
The source of this our watch and the chief head
( M 881 ) B
18 HAMLET [Act I

Of this post-haste and romage in the land.

Ber. I think it be no other but e'en so :
Well may it sort that this portentous figure
IIO Comes armed through our watch ; so like the king
> That was and is the question of these wars.
Hor. A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell ,
115 The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the open streets :
As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,
Disasters in the sun ; and the moist star
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands,
120 Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse :
And even the like precurse of fierce events ,
As harbingers preceding still the fates
And prologue to the omen coming on,
Have heaven and earth together demonstrated
125 Unto our climatures and countrymen.

Re-enter Ghost
But soft, behold ! lo , where it comes again !
I'll cross it, though it blast me. Stay, illusion !
If thou hast any sound , or use of voice,
Speak to me :
130 If there be any good thing to be done,
That may to thee do ease and grace to me,
Speak to me !
If thou art privy to thy country's fate,
Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid,
135 O , speak !
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Extorted treasure in the womb of earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death ,
[The cock crows
Speak of it : stay, and speak ! Stop it, Marcellus.
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 19

Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partisan? 140

Hor. Do, if it will not stand .
Ber. 'Tis here.
Hor. 'Tis here.
Tis gone !
Mar. ' [Exit Ghost
We do it wrong, being so majestical ,
To offer it the show of violence ;
For it is, as the air, invulnerable, 145
And our vain blows malicious mockery.
Ber. It was about to speak when the cock crew.
Hor. And then it started like a guilty thing
Upon a fearful summons. I have heard,
The cock , that is the trumpet to the morn , 150
Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat
Awake the god of day ; and at his warning,
Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air,
The extravagant and erring spirit hies
To his confine : and of the truth herein 155
This present object made probation.
Mar. It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever ' gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated ,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long : 160
And then , they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike ,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm ,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
Hor. So have I heard and do in part believe it. 165
But, look, the morn , in russet mantle clad,
Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill :
Break we our watch up ; and, by my advice,
Let us impart what we have seen to-night
Unto young Hamlet ; for, upon my life, 170
This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him :
Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it,
As needful in our loves, fitting our duty?
20 HAMLET [Act I

Mar. Let's do 't, I pray ; and I this morning know

175 Where we shall find him most conveniently. [ Exeunt

SCENE 2. A room of state in the castle

Enter the KING, QUEEN, HAMLET, POLONIUS , Laertes,

VOLTIMAND, CORNELIUS , Lords, and Attendants

King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's

death
The memory be green, and that it us befitted
To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe,
5 Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature
That we with wisest sorrow think on him
Together with remembrance of ourselves.
Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen ,
The imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Io Have we, as 't were with a defeated joy , —
With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole, —
Taken to wife : nor have we herein barr'd
15 Your better wisdoms , which have freely gone
With this affair along. For all, our thanks .
Now follows that you know, -young Fortinbras ,
Holding a weak supposal of our worth,
Or thinking by our late dear brother's death
20 Our state to be disjoint and out of frame,
Colleagued with the dream of his advantage,
He hath not fail'd to pester us with message ,
Importing the surrender of those lands
Lost by his father, with all bonds of law,
25 To our most valiant brother. So much for him.
Now for ourself and for this time of meeting :
Thus much the business is : we have here writ
To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, —
 27
Scene 2] HAMLET 21

Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears

Of this his nephew's purpose, -to suppress 30
His further gait herein ; in that the levies,
The lists and full proportions, are all made
Out of his subject : and we here dispatch
You, good Cornelius , and you , Voltimand ,
For bearers of this greeting to old Norway; 35
Giving to you no further personal power
To business with the king more than the scope
Of these delated articles allow .
Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty.
Cor.
In that and all things will we show our duty. 40
Vol. }
King. We doubt it nothing : heartily farewell.
[Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius
And now, Laertes , what's the news with you?
You told us of some suit ; what is 't, Laertes ?
You cannot speak of reason to the Dane,
And lose your voice : what wouldst thou beg, Laertes, 45
That shall not be my offer, not thy asking?
The head is not more native to the heart,
The hand more instrumental to the mouth,
Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father.
What wouldst thou have, Laertes ?
Laer. Dread my lord, 50
Your leave and favour to return to France ;
From whence though willingly I came to Denmark,
To show my duty in your coronation,
Yet now, I must confess, that duty done,
My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France , 55
And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon.
King. Have you your father's leave? What says
Polonius?
Pol. He hath, my lord , wrung from me my slow
leave
By laboursome petition, and at last
22 HAMLET [Act I

60 Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent ;

I do beseech you , give him leave to go.
King. Take thy fair hour, Laertes ; time be thine ,
And thy best graces spend it at thy will !
But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son, - -
65 Ham. [ Aside. ] A little more than kin, and less than
kind.
King. How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
Ham. Not so, my lord : I am too much i' the sun .
Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
70 Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust :
Thou know'st ' tis common ; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.
Ham. Ay, madam, it is common.
Queen. If it be,
75 Why seems it so particular with thee?
Ham. Seems, madam ! nay, it is ; I know not
" seems '.
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
80 No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief,
That can denote me truly : these indeed seem ,
For they are actions that a man might play :
85 But I have that within which passeth show ;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
King. 'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature,
Hamlet ,
To give these mourning duties to your father :
But, you must know, your father lost a father,
90 That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound
In filial obligation for some term
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 23

To do obsequious sorrow : but to persever

In obstinate condolement is a course
Of impious stubbornness ; ' t is unmanly grief :
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, 95
A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschool'd :
For what we know must be and is as common
As any the most vulgar thing to sense,
100
Why should we in our peevish opposition
Take it to heart? Fie ! ' t is a fault to heaven,
A fault against the dead , a fault to nature,
To reason most absurd , whose common theme
Is death of fathers , and who still hath cried,
From the first corse till he that died to-day, 105
'This must be so '. We pray you, throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of us
As of a father : for let the world take note,
You are the most immediate to our throne ;
And with no less nobility of love IIO
Than that which dearest father bears his son,
Do I impart toward you . For your intent
In going back to school in Wittenberg,
It is most retrograde to our desire :
And we beseech you , bend you to remain 115
Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye,
Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.
Queen. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet :
I pray thee, stay with us ; go not to Wittenberg.
Ham. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. 120
King. Why, 't is a loving and a fair reply :
Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam , come ;
This gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet
Sits smiling to my heart : in grace whereof
No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day 125
But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell ,
And the king's rouse the heavens shall bruit again,
24 HAMLET [Act I

Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away.

[Exeunt all but Hamlet
Ham. O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,
130 Thaw and resolve itself into a dew !
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon ' gainst self-slaughter ! O God ! God !
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world !
135 Fie on't ! ah fie ! ' t is an unweeded garden ,
That grows to seed ; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this !
But two months dead ! nay, not so much, not two :
So excellent a king ; that was, to this,
140 Hyperion to a satyr ; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth !
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
145 By what it fed on : and yet, within a month—
Let me not think on 't-Frailty, thy name is woman !—
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my father's poor body,
Like Niobe, all tears, why she, even she—
150 O God ! a beast, that wants discourse of reason ,
Would have mourn'd longer- married with my uncle ,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules : within a month :
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
155 Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married .
It is not, nor can it come to good :
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.

Enter HORATIO, MARCELLUS , and BERNARDO

Hor. Hail to your lordship !
Ham. I am glad to see you well :
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 25
Horatio, -or I do forget myself. 160
Hor. The same, my lord , and your poor servant
ever.
Ham. Sir, my good friend ; I'll change that name
with you :
And what make you from Wittenberg , Horatio?
Marcellus?
Mar. My good lord- 165
Ham. I am very glad to see you . Good even, sir.
But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?
Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord.
Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so,
Nor shall you do mine ear that violence 170
To make it truster of your own report
Against yourself : I know you are no truant.
But what is your affair in Elsinore?
We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.
Hor. My lord, I came to see your father's funeral. 175
Ham. I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student ;
I think it was to see my mother's wedding.
Hor. Indeed, my lord, it follow'd hard upon.
Ham. Thrift, thrift, Horatio ! the funeral baked-
meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. 180
Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio !
My father !-methinks I see my father.
Hor. O where, my lord?
Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio .
Hor. I saw him-once ; he was a goodly king. 185
Ham. He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.
Hor. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight.
Ham. Saw? who?
Hor. My lord, the king your father.
Ham. The king my father ! 190
26 HAMLET [Act I

Hor. Season your admiration for a while

With an attent ear, till I may deliver,
Upon the witness of these gentlemen,
This marvel to you.
Ham. For God's love, let me hear.
195 Hor. Two nights together had these gentlemen,
Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch,

እሷንኑ

Ham. For God's love, let me hear.-(Act i. 2. 194.)

In the dead vast and middle of the night,

Been thus encounter'd . A figure like your father,
Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe,
200 Appears before them, and with solemn march
Goes slow and stately by them : thrice he walk'd
By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes,
Within his truncheon's length ; whilst they, distill'd
Almost to jelly with the act of fear,
205 Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 27

In dreadful secrecy impart they did ;

And I with them the third night kept the watch :
Where, as they had deliver'd , both in time,
Form of the thing, each word made true and good ,
The apparition comes : I knew your father ; 210
These hands are not more like.
Ham. But where was this?
Mar. My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd.
Ham. Did you not speak to it?
Hor. My lord, I did ;
But answer made it none : yet once methought
It lifted up it head and did address 215
Itself to motion , like as it would speak ;
But even then the morning cock crew loud,
And at the sound it shrunk in haste away,
And vanish'd from our sight.
Ham. 'Tis very strange.
Hor. As I do live, my honour'd lord , 'tis true ; 220
And we did think it writ down in our duty
To let you know of it.
Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me.
Hold you the watch to-night?
Mar.
We do, my lord .
Ber. }
Ham. Arm'd, say you? 225
Mar. } Arm❜d, my lord.
Ber.
Ham. From top to toe?
Mar.
My lord, from head to foot.
Ber. }
Ham. Then saw you not his face ?
Hor. O, yes, my lord ; he wore his beaver up.
Ham. What, look'd he frowningly? 230
Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.
Ham. Pale or red?
Hor. Nay, very pale.
28 HAMLET [Act I
Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you?
Hor. Most constantly.
Ham. I would I had been there.
235 Hor. It would have much amazed you.
Ham. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long ?
Hor. While one with moderate haste might tell a
hundred.
Mar.
Ber. } Longer, longer.
Hor. Not when I saw 't.
Ham. His beard was grizzled ? no?
240 Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his life,
A sable silver'd.
Ham. I will watch to-night ;
Perchance 't will walk again.
Hor. I warrant it will.
Ham. If it assume my noble father's person ,
I'll speak to it, though hell itself should gape
245 And bid me hold my peace . I pray you all ,
If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight,
Let it be tenable in your silence still ;
And whatsoever else shall hap to-night,
Give it an understanding, but no tongue :
250 I will requite your loves. So , fare you well :
Upon the platform, ' twixt eleven and twelve,
I'll visit you .
All. Our duty to your honour.
Ham. Your loves, as mine to you : farewell.
[Exeunt all but Hamlet
My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ;
255 I doubt some foul play : would the night were come !
Till then sit still, my soul : foul deeds will rise ,
Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes.
[ Exit
Scene 3] HAMLET 29

SCENE 3. A room in Polonius's house

Enter LAERTES and OPHELIA

Laer. My necessaries are embark'd : farewell :

And, sister, as the winds give benefit
And convoy is assistant, do not sleep,
But let me hear from you.
Oph. Do you doubt that ?
Laer. For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour, 5
Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood,
A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute,
No more.
Oph. No more but so?
Laer. Think it no more : ΙΟ
For nature crescent does not grow alone
In thews and bulk, but, as this temple waxes ,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch 15
The virtue of his will : but you must fear,
His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own ;
For he himself is subject to his birth :
He may not, as unvalued persons do ,
Carve for himself, for on his choice depends 20
The safety and health of this whole state ;
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
Unto the voice and yielding of that body
Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves
you,
It fits your wisdom so far to believe it 25
As he in his particular act and place
May give his saying deed ; which is no further
Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.
30 HAMLET [Act I Scene 3

Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain,

30 If with too credent ear you list his songs ,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster'd importunity.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister,
And keep you in the rear of your affection ,
35 Out of the shot and danger of desire.
The chariest maid is prodigal enough,
If she unmask her beauty to the moon :
Virtue itself ' scapes not calumnious strokes :
The canker galls the infants of the spring
40 Too oft before their buttons be disclosed ,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent .
Be wary then ; best safety lies in fear :
Youth to itself rebels , though none else near.
45 Oph. I shall the effect of this good lesson keep,
As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven ;
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
50 Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads
And recks not his own rede.
Laer. O, fear me not.
I stay too long : but here my father comes.

Enter POLONIUS
A double blessing is a double grace ;
Occasion smiles upon a second leave.
55 Pol. Yet here, Laertes ! aboard , aboard , for shame !
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee !
And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
60 Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
31
Oph
. But
ood
brother
g,my Whiles
reckless
and uff'd
libertine
,aplike
anot
s
some
ungraciou
pastors
,Do
do s Himself
primrose
the
path
dalliance
of
treads
Show
me
steep
the
and
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way
heaven
;to And
recks
not
own
rede
A.-
46-51 .ct
.)3i(his
32 HAMLET [Act I

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel ,
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
65 Of each new-hatch'd , unfledged comrade . Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel , but, being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice :
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.
70 Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy ;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
75 Neither a borrower nor a lender be ;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend ,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all : to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
80 Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell : my blessing season this in thee !
Laer. Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.
Pol. The time invites you ; go ; your servants tend .
Laer. Farewell, Ophelia , and remember well
85 What I have said to you .
Oph. 'Tis in my memory lock'd ,
And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
Laer. Farewell. [Exit
Pol. What is ' t, Ophelia , he hath said to you?
Oph. So please you, something touching the Lord
Hamlet .
90 Pol. Marry, well bethought :
'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late
Given private time to you , and you yourself
Have of your audience been most free and bounteous :
If it be so - as so ' t is put on me,
95 And that in way of caution-I must tell you ,
Scene 3] HAMLET
333
You do not understand yourself so clearly
As it behoves my daughter and your honour.
What is between you? give me up the truth.
Oph. He hath, my lord , of late made many tenders
Of his affection to me. 100
Pol. Affection ! pooh ! you speak like a green girl,
Unsifted in such perilous circumstance.
Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?
Oph. I do not know, my lord , what I should think.
Pol. Marry, I'll teach you : think yourself a baby, 105
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly ;
Or not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
Running it thus-you'll tender me a fool.
IIO
Oph. My lord, he hath importuned me with love
In honourable fashion.
Pol. Ay, fashion you may call it ; go to, go to.
Oph. And hath given countenance to his speech,
my lord,
With almost all the holy vows of heaven.
Pol. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, 115
When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
Lends the tongue vows : these blazes, daughter
Giving more light than heat, extinct in both,
Even in their promise, as it is a-making,
You must not take for fire. From this time 120
Be something scanter of your maiden presence ;
Set your entreatments at a higher rate
Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet ,
Believe so much in him, that he is young,
And with a larger tether may he walk 125
Than may be given you : in few, Ophelia,
Do not believe his vows ; for they are brokers,
Not of that dye which their investments show,
But mere implorators of unholy suits,
Breathing like sanctified and pious frauds 130
(M 881 ) C
34 HAMLET [Act I

The better to beguile. This is for all :

I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth ,
Have you so slander any moment leisure
As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet .
135 Look to 't, I charge you : come your ways.
Oph. I shall obey, my lord. [Exeunt

SCENE 4. The platform

Enter HAMLET, HORATIO, and MARCELLUS

Ham. The air bites shrewdly ; it is very cold .

Hor. It is a nipping and an eager air.
Ham. What hour now?
Hor. I think it lacks of twelve.
Mar. No, it is struck.
5 Hor. Indeed ? I heard it not : then it draws near
the season
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.
[A flourish of trumpets, and ordnance shot off within
What does this mean, my lord?
Ham. The king doth wake to-night and takes his
rouse,
Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring reels ;
IO And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down ,
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge.
Hor. Is it a custom ?
Ham. Ay, marry, is 't :
But to my mind, though I am native here
15 And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honour'd in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
Makes us traduced and tax'd of other nations :
They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase
20 Soil our addition ; and indeed it takes
From our achievements, though perform'd at height ,
Scene 4] HAMLET
335

The pith and marrow of our attribute.

So, oft it chances in particular men ,
That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth-wherein they are not guilty, 25
Since nature cannot choose his origin—
By the o'ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason ,
Or by some habit that too much o'er-leavens

339
The form of plausive manners, that these men , 30
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star, -
Their virtues else, be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo—
Shall in the general censure take corruption 35
From that particular fault : the dram of eale
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
To his own scandal.

Enter GHOST
Hor. Look, my lord, it comes !
Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us !
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd , 40
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell ,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee : I'll call thee Hamlet,
King, father, royal Dane : O, answer me ! 45
Let me not burst in ignorance ; but tell
Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements ; why the sepulchre,
Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd,
Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws, 50
To cast thee up again. What may this mean,
That thou , dead corse, again in complete steel
Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous ; and we fools of nature
 LET
36 HAM [ Act I

55 So horridly to shake our disposition

With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls ?
Say, why is this? wherefore? what should we do?
[Ghost beckons Hamlet
Hor. It beckons you to go away with it,
As if it some impartment did desire
60 To you alone.
Mar. Look, with what courteous action
It waves you to a more removed ground :
But do not go with it.
Hor. No, by no means.
Ham. It will not speak ; then I will follow it.
Hor. Do not, my lord .
Ham . Why, what should be the fear?
65 I do not set my life at a pin's fee ;
And for my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth again : I'll follow it.
Hor. What if it tempt you toward the flood , my
lord,
70 Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea,
And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason
And draw you into madness ? think of it :
75 The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain
That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.
Ham. It waves me still.
Go on ; I'll follow thee.
80 Mar. You shall not go, my lord.
Ham. Hold off your hands.
Hor. Be ruled ; you shall not go.
Ham. My fate cries out,
And makes each petty artery in this body
Scene 4] HAMLET 37

As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve.

Still am I called. Unhand me, gentlemen.

waves
still
me
.It
7Afollow
Ion
)78 (thee
ct
.'ll
;Go
,i.4.- 9.
Ham
.

By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me : 85

I say, away ! Go on ; I'll follow thee.
[Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet
 ET
ML
38 HA [Act I

Hor. He waxes desperate with imagination.

Mar. Let's follow; ' t is not fit thus to obey him.
Hor. Have after. To what issue will this come?
90 Mar. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Hor. Heaven will direct it.
Mar. Nay, let's follow him. [ Exeunt

SCENE 5. Another part of the platform

Enter Ghost and HAMLET

Ham. Where wilt thou lead me ? speak ; I'll go no

further.
Ghost. Mark me.
Ham. I will.
Ghost. My hour is almost come,
When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames
Must render up myself.
Ham. Alas, poor ghost !
5 Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing
To what I shall unfold.
Ham. Speak ; I am bound to hear.
Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt
hear.
Ham. What?
Ghost. I am thy father's spirit ;
IO Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires ,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
15 I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood ,
Make thy two eyes , like stars, start from their
spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand an end,
 3389
Scene 5] HAMLET 39

Like quills upon the fretful porpentine : 20

But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O , list !
If thou didst ever thy dear father love—
Ham. O God !
Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural mur-
der. 25
Ham. Murder !
Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is ;
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.
Ham. Haste me to know 't, that I , with wings as
swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love, 30
May sweep to my revenge.
Ghost. I find thee apt ;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this . Now, Hamlet , hear :
'Tis given out that , sleeping in my orchard, 35
A serpent stung me ; so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused : but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown.
Ham. O my prophetic soul !
My uncle !
Ghost. But, soft ! methinks I scent the morning air ;
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard ,
My custom always of the afternoon ,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, 45
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my ear did pour
The leperous distilment ; whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
That swift as quicksilver it courses through 50
The natural gates and alleys of the body,
40 HAMLET [Act I

And with a sudden vigour it doth posset

And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood : so did it mine ;
55 And a most instant tetter bark'd about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust,
All my smooth body.
Thus was I , sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown , of queen , at once dispatch'd :
60 Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unaneled,
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head :
O, horrible ! O , horrible ! most horrible !
65 If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught : leave her to heaven
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
70 To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once !
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,
And ' gins to pale his uneffectual fire :
Adieu , adieu ! Hamlet, remember me. [ Exit
Ham. O all you host of heaven ! O earth ! what
else?
75 And shall I couple hell ? O fie ! Hold, hold, my
heart ;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old ,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee !
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee !
80 Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there ;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
85 Within the book and volume of my brain,
Scene 5] HAMLET 41

Unmix'd with baser matter : yes, by heaven !

O most pernicious woman !
O villain, villain , smiling, damned villain !

GB

Ham. Remember thee!

Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe.-(Act i. 5. 77-79.)

My tables , meet it is I set it down,

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain ! 90
42 HAMLET [Act I

At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark :

[Writing
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word ;
It is Adieu, adieu ! remember me '.
I have sworn 't.
Mar.
Hor. } [ Within . ] My lord, my lord !

95 Mar. [ Within. ] Lord Hamlet !

Hor. [ Within. ] Heaven secure him !
Ham. So be it !
Hor. [ Within. ] Hillo, ho, ho, my lord !
Ham. Hillo, ho, ho, boy ! come, bird , come.

Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS

Mar. How is ' t, my noble lord ?

Hor. What news, my lord?
100 Ham. O, wonderful !
Hor. Good my lord, tell it.
Ham. No ; you will reveal it.
Hor. Not I, my lord, by heaven.
Mar. Nor I , my lord.
Ham. How say you, then ; would heart of man once
think it?
But you 'll be secret?
Hor.
Ay, by heaven, my lord .
Mar. }
105 Ham. There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Den-
mark
But he's an arrant knave.
Hor. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from
the grave
To tell us this.
Ham. Why, right ; you are i' the right ;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
110 I hold it fit that we shake hands and part :
You, as your business and desire shall point you ;
Scene 5] HAMLET 43

For every man hath business and desire

Such as it is ; and for my own poor part,
Look you, I'll go pray.
Hor. These are but wild and whirling words, my
lord. 115
Ham. I'm sorry they offend you , heartily ;
Yes, faith, heartily.
Hor. There's no offence, my lord.
Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is , Horatio ,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you : 120
For your desire to know what is between us,
O'ermaster't as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars and soldiers ,
Give me one poor request.
Hor. What is 't my lord ? we will. 125
Ham. Never make known what you have seen to-
night.
Hor.
My lord, we will not.
Mar.
Ham. Nay, but swear ' t.
Hor. In faith ,
My lord, not I.
Mar. Nor I , my lord, in faith.
Ham. Upon my sword.
Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already.
Ham. Indeed, upon my sword , indeed. 130
Ghost. [Beneath. ] Swear.
Ham. Ah, ha, boy ! say'st thou so ? art thou there,
true-penny?
Come on : you hear this fellow in the cellarage :
Consent to swear.
Hor. Propose the oath, my lord .
Ham. Never to speak of this that you have seen, 135
Swear by my sword.
Ghost [Beneath. ] Swear.
44 HAMLET [Act I Scene 5

Ham. Hic et ubique ? then we'll shift our ground.

Come hither , gentlemen ,
140 And lay your hands again upon my sword :
Never to speak of this that you have heard,
Swear by my sword.
Ghost. [Beneath. ] Swear.
Ham. Well said, old mole ! canst work i' the earth
so fast?
145 A worthy pioner ! Once more remove , good friends.
Hor. O day and night, but this is wondrous strange !
Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
150 But come :
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on,
155 That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this head- shake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,
As 'Well, well, we know', or ' We could, an if we
would ',
Or ' If we list to speak ', or ' There be, an if they might ',
160 Or such ambiguous giving out, to note
That you know aught of me : this not to do ,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear.
Ghost. [Beneath. ] Swear.
165 Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit ! [ They swear. ] So ,
gentlemen,
With all my love I do commend me to you :
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, to express his love and friending to you ,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together ;
170 And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
Act II Scene 1 ] HAMLET 45

The time is out of joint : O cursed spite

That ever I was born to set it right !
Nay, come, let's go together. [Exeunt

ACT II

SCENE I. A room in Polonius's house

Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDO

Pol. Give him this money and these notes , Reynaldo.

Rey. I will, my lord.
Pol. You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo,
Before you visit him, to make inquire
Of his behaviour.
Rey. My lord, I did intend it. 5
Pol. Marry, well said ; very well said. Look you, sir,
Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris ,
And how, and who, what means, and where they
keep,
What company, at what expense ; and finding
By this encompassment and drift of question ΙΟ
That they do know my son, come you more nearer
Than your particular demands will touch it :
Take you, as't were, some distant knowledge of him ;
As thus, ' I know his father and his friends ,
And in part him' : do you mark this, Reynaldo? 15
Rey. Ay, very well, my lord.
Pol. And in part him ; but ' you may say ' not well :
But if't be he I mean, he's very wild ;
Addicted so and so ' : and there put on him
What forgeries you please ; marry, none so rank 20
As may dishonour him ; take heed of that ;
But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.
 ET
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46 HA [Act II

Rey. As gaming, my lord.

25 Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarreling :
You may go so far.
Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him.
Pol. Faith, no ; as you may season it in the charge.
You must not put another scandal on him,
30 That he is open to incontinency ;
That's not my meaning ; but breathe his faults so
quaintly
That they may seem the taints of liberty,
The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind,
A savageness in unreclaimed blood ,
35 Of general assault.
Rey. But, my good lord, -
Pol. Wherefore should you do this ?
Rey. Ay, my lord ,
I would know that.
Pol. Marry, sir, here's my drift ;
And I believe it is a fetch of warrant :
You laying these slight sullies on my son,
40 As 't were a thing a little soil'd i' the working,
Mark you ,
Your party in converse, him you would sound,
Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes
The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured
45 He closes with you in this consequence ;
' Good sir', or so , or ' friend ', or ' gentleman ' ,
According to the phrase or the addition
Of man and country.
Rey. Very good, my lord.
Pol. And then, sir, does he this he does- what
50 was I about to say? By the Mass, I was about to
say something : where did I leave ?
Rey. At ' closes in the consequence ' , at ' friend or
so ' , and ' gentleman '.
Pol. At " closes in the consequence ' , ay marry ;
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 47

He closes thus : 'I know the gentleman ; 55

I saw him yesterday, or t' other day,
Or then, or then, with such, or such, and, as you say,
There was a' gaming, there o'ertook in ' s rouse ;
There falling out at tennis' : or perchance,
' I saw him enter such a house ', or so forth. 60
See you now ;
Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth :

Pol. Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth.-(Act ii. 1. 62.)

And thus do we of wisdom and of reach ,

With windlasses and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out : 65
So, by my former lecture and advice ,
Shall you my son. You have me, have you not ?
Rey. My lord, I have.
Pol. God be wi' you ; fare you well.
Rey. Good my lord !
70

Pol. Observe his inclination in yourself. 70

 LET
AM t I
48 H [ Ac I

Rey. I shall , my lord !

Pol. And let him ply his music.
Rey. Well, my lord.
Pol. Farewell ! [Exit Reynaldo

Enter OPHELIA

How now, Ophelia ! what's the matter?

Oph. O, my lord , my lord , I have been so affrighted !
75 Pol. With what, i̇' the name of God?
Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced ;
No hat upon his head ; his stockings foul'd ,
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle ;
80 Pale as his shirt ; his knees knocking each other,
And with a look so piteous in purport
As if he had been loosed out of hell
To speak of horrors , he comes before me.
Pol. Mad for thy love?
Oph. My lord, I do not know ;
85 But truly I do fear it.
Pol. What said he?
Oph. He took me by the wrist and held me hard ;
Then goes he to the length of all his arm ;
And with his other hand thus o'er his brow,
He falls to such perusal of my face
90 As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so ;
At last, a little shaking of mine arm ,
And thrice his head thus waving up and down,
He raised a sigh so piteous and profound
As it did seem to shatter all his bulk
95 And end his being : that done , he lets me go,
And with his head over his shoulder turn'd ,
He seem'd to find his way without his eyes ;
For out o' doors he went without their help ,
And to the last bended their light on me.
100
Pol. Come, go with me : I will go seek the king.
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 49

This is the very ecstasy of love,

Whose violent property fordoes itself
And leads the will to desperate undertakings
As oft as any passion under heaven
That does afflict our natures. I am sorry. 105
What, have you given him any hard words of late ?

Oph. He took me by the wrist and held me hard.-(Act ii. 1. 86. )

Oph. No, my good lord ; but, as you did command,

I did repel his letters and denied
His access to me.
Pol. That hath made him mad.
IIO
I am sorry that with better heed and judgement
I had not quoted him : I fear'd he did but trifle ,
And meant to wreck thee ; but beshrew my jealousy !
By heaven, it is as proper to our age
To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions
As it is common for the younger sort 115
(M 881 ) D
 ET
ML
50 HA [Act II

To lack discretion . Come, go we to the king :

This must be known ; which, being kept close, might
move
More grief to hide than hate to utter love.
Come. [Exeunt

SCENE 2. A room in the castle

Enter KING, QUEEN, ROSENCRANTZ , GUIldenstern ,

and Attendants

King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern !

Moreover that we much did long to see you,
The need we have to use you did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
5 Of Hamlet's transformation ; so call it,
Sith nor the exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was. What it should be,
More than his father's death, that thus hath put him
So much from the understanding of himself,
Io I cannot dream of : I entreat you both,
That, being of so young days brought up with him ,
And sith so neighbour'd to his youth and haviour
That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time : so by your companies
15 To draw him on to pleasures , and to gather
So much as from occasion you may glean ,
Whether aught, to us unknown , afflicts him thus ,
That open'd lies within our remedy.
Queen. Good gentlemen , he hath much talk'd of you ;
20 And sure I am two men there are not living
To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
To show us so much gentry and good will
As to expend your time with us awhile,
For the supply and profit of our hope,
25 Your visitation shall receive such thanks
As fits a king's remembrance.
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 51

Ros. Both your majesties

Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to entreaty .
Guild. But we both obey,
And here give up ourselves, in the full bent 30
To lay our service freely at your feet,
To be commanded .
King. Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern.
Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosen-
crantz :
And I beseech you instantly to visit 35
My too much changed son. Go, some of you ,
And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.
Guild. Heavens make our presence and our practices
Pleasant and helpful to him !
Queen. Ay, amen !
[ Exeunt Rosencrants, Guildenstern,
and some Attendants

Enter POLONIUS
Pol. The ambassadors from Norway, my good lord, 40
Are joyfully return'd.
King. Thou still hast been the father of good news.
Pol. Have I , my lord ? I assure my good liege ,
I hold my duty, as I hold my soul,
Both to my God and to my gracious king : 45
And I do think , or else this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail of policy so sure
As it hath used to do , that I have found
The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.
King. O, speak of that ; that do I long to hear. 50
Pol. Give first admittance to the ambassadors ;
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in.
[Exit Polonius
52 HAMLET [Act II

He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found

55 The head and source of all your son's distemper.
Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main ;
His father's death and our o'erhasty marriage.
King. Well, we shall sift him.

Re-enter POLONIUS , with VOLTIMAND and

CORNELIUS

Welcome, my good friends !

Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?
60 Vol. Most fair return of greetings and desires.
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew's levies, which to him appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack ;
But, better look'd into , he truly found
65 It was against your highness : whereat grieved,
That so his sickness, age and impotence
Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests
On Fortinbras ; which he, in brief, obeys ;
Receives rebuke from Norway, and in fine
70 Makes vow before his uncle never more
To give the assay of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee,
And his commission to employ those soldiers ,
75 So levied as before , against the Polack :
With an entreaty, herein further shown ,
[ Giving a paper
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for this enterprise,
On such regards of safety and allowance
80 As therein are set down.
King. It likes us well ;
And at our more consider'd time we'll read,
Answer, and think upon this business .
Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour :
Scene 2] HAMLET 53

Go to your rest ; at night we'll feast together :

Most welcome home ! [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius
Pol. This business is well ended. 85
My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, 90
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad :
Mad call I it ; for , to define true madness ,
What is 't but to be nothing else but mad ?
But let that go .

35
Queen. More matter, with less art. 95
Pol. Madam , I swear I use no art at all.
That he is mad, ' tis true : ' tis true ' t is pity,
And pity ' t is ' tis true : a foolish figure ;
But farewell it, for I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him then : and now remains 100
That we find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause :
Thus it remains and the remainder thus.
Perpend. 105
I have a daughter-have while she is mine-
Who, in her duty and obedience, mark ,
Hath given me this : now gather and surmise.
[Reads]
' To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most
beautified Ophelia, '- IIO
That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase ; ' beautified ' is a
vile phrase : but you shall hear. Thus :
[ Reads]
' In her excellent white bosom , these, &c.'
Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her?
Pol. Good madam, stay awhile ; I will be faithful. 115
54 HAMLET [Act II

[Reads] ' Doubt thou the stars are fire ;

Doubt that the sun doth move ;
Doubt truth to be a liar ;
But never doubt I love.

120 'O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers ; I have

not art to reckon my groans ; but that I love thee best,
O most best, believe it. Adieu.

' Thine evermore , most dear lady,

whilst this machine is to him,
125 HAMLET. '

This in obedience hath my daughter shown me,

And more above, hath his solicitings ,
As they fell out by time, by means and place,
All given to mine ear.
King. But how hath she
130 Received his love?
Pol. What do you think of me?
King. As of a man faithful and honourable.
Pol. I would fain prove so. But what might you
think,
When I had seen this hot love on the wing—
As I perceived it, I must tell you that ,
135 Before my daughter told me—what might you ,
Or my dear majesty your queen here , think,
If I had play'd the desk or table-book ,
Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb,
Or look'd upon this love with idle sight ;
140 What might you think ? No, I went round to work:,
And my young mistress thus I did bespeak :
' Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star ;
This must not be ' : and then I prescripts gave her,
That she should lock herself from his resort,
145 Admit no messengers , receive no tokens .
Which done, she took the fruits of my advice ;
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 55

And he repulsed , a short tale to make,

Fell into sadness , then into a fast,
Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness,
Thence to a lightness, and by this declension 150
Into the madness wherein now he raves
And all we mourn for.
King. Do you think ' t is this ?
Queen. It may be, very like.
Pol. Hath there been such a time, I'ld fain know
that,
That I have positively said " Tis so ', 155
When it proved otherwise?
King. Not that I know.
Pol. [Pointing to his head and shoulder] . Take this
from this , if this be otherwise :
If circumstances lead me , I will find
Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
Within the centre.
King. How may we try it further ? 160
Pol. You know, sometimes he walks for hours
together
Here in the lobby.
Queen. So he does indeed.
Pol. At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him :
Be you and I behind an arras then ;
Mark the encounter : if he love her not, 165
And be not from his reason fall'n thereon,
Let me be no assistant for a state,
But keep a farm and carters.
King. We will try it.
Queen. But look where sadly the poor wretch comes
reading.
Pol. Away, I do beseech you, both away : 170
I'll board him presently.
[Exeunt King, Queen, and Attendants
 ET
56 HAML [Act II

Enter HAMLET, reading

O, give me leave !
How does my good Lord Hamlet?
Ham. Well, God-a-mercy.
Pol. Do you know me, my lord ?
175 Ham. Excellent well ; you are a fishmonger.
Pol. Not I , my lord.
Ham. Then I would you were so honest a man.
Pol. Honest, my lord !
Ham. Ay, sir ; to be honest, as this world goes, is
180 to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
Pol. That's very true, my lord.
Ham. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog,
being a god kissing carrion- Have you a daughter?
Pol. I have, my lord.
185 Ham. Let her not walk i' the sun :--friend , look to 't.
Pol. [Aside]. How say you by that? Still harping
on my daughter : yet he knew me not at first ; he said
I was a fishmonger : he is far gone : and truly in my
youth I suffered much extremity for love ; very near
190 this. I'll speak to him again. What do you read,
my lord ?
Ham. Words , words, words.
Pol. What is the matter, my lord ?
Ham. Between who?
195 Pol. I mean, the matter that you read, my lord?
Ham. Slanders , sir : for the satirical rogue says
here that old men have grey beards, that their faces
are wrinkled , their eyes purging thick amber and plum-
tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit ,
200 together with the most weak hams : all which, sir,
though I most powerfully and potently believe , yet I
hold it not honesty to have it thus set down ; for
yourself, sir, should be old as I am , if like a crab you
could go backward.
Scene 2] HAMLET 57

Pol. [Aside]. Though this be madness, yet there is 205

method in 't. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?
Ham. Into my grave.
Pol. Indeed, that's out of the air. [Aside] How
pregnant sometimes his replies are ! a happiness that

Pol. [Aside]. Will you walk out ofthe air, my lord?

Ham. Into my grave.-(Act ii. 2. 206 , 207.)

often madness hits on, which reason and sanity could 210
not so prosperously be delivered of. I will leave him,
and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between
him and my daughter. — My honourable lord, I will
most humbly take my leave of you.
Ham. You cannot, sir, take from me anything that 215
 LET
58 HAM [Act II

I will more willingly part withal : except my life ,

except my life, except my life.
Pol. Fare you well, my lord.
Ham. These tedious old fools !

Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

220 Pol. You go to seek the Lord Hamlet ; there he is.
Ros. [ To Pol. ]. God save you , sir ! [Exit Polonius
Guild. My honoured lord !
Ros. My most dear lord !
Ham. My excellent good friends ! How dost thou,
225 Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz ! Good lads, how do
you both?
Ros. As the indifferent children of the earth .
Guild. Happy, in that we are not over-happy ;
On Fortune's cap we are not the very button.
230 Ham. Nor the soles of her shoe ?
Ros. Neither, my lord .
Ham. Then you live about her waist. What's the
news?
Ros. None, my lord, but that the world's grown
235 honest.
Ham. Then is doomsday near : but your news is not
true. Let me question more in particular : what have
you, my good friends, deserved at the hands of
Fortune, that she sends you to prison hither?
240 Guild. Prison, my lord !
Ham. Denmark's a prison.
Ros. Then is the world one.
Ham. A goodly one ; in which there are many
confines, wards and dungeons , Denmark being one o'
245 the worst.
Ros. We think not so, my lord .
Ham. Why, then , ' t is none to you ; for there is
nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so :
to me it is a prison .
Scene 2] HAMLET 59

Ros. Why, then your ambition makes it one ; ' tis 250
too narrow for your mind.
Ham. O God, I could be bounded in a nut - shell
and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not
that I have bad dreams.
Guild. Which dreams indeed are ambition ; for the 255
very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow
of a dream.
Ham. A dream itself is but a shadow.
Ros. Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light
a quality that it is but a shadow's shadow. 260
Ham. Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs
and outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows . Shall
we to the court ? for, by my fay, I cannot reason .
Ros.
We'll wait upon you.
Guild. }
Ham. No such matter : I will not sort you with the 265
rest of my servants ; for, to speak to you like an
honest man , I am most dreadfully attended . But, in
the beaten way of friendship, what make you at
Elsinore ?
Ros. To visit you , my lord ; no other occasion. 270
Ham. Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks ;
but I thank you : and sure, dear friends, my thanks
are too dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is
it your own inclining? Is it a free visitation ? Come,
deal justly with me : come, come ; nay, speak. 275
Guild. What should we say, my lord?
Ham. Why, any thing, but to the purpose. You
were sent for ; and there is a kind of confession in
your looks which your modesties have not craft enough
to colour : I know the good king and queen have sent 280
for you .
Ros. To what end, my lord?
Ham. That you must teach me. But let me conjure
you, by the rights of our fellowship , by the consonancy
60 HAMLET [Act II

285 of our youth, by the obligation of our ever - preserved

love, and by what more dear a better proposer could
charge you withal, be even and direct with me,
whether you were sent for, or no.
Ros. [Aside to Guildenstern] . What say you?
290 Ham. [Aside]. Nay, then, I have an eye of you.-
If you love me, hold not off.
Guild. My lord, we were sent for.
Ham. I will tell you why ; so shall my anticipation
prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king
295 and queen moult no feather. I have of late- but where-
fore I know not-lost all my mirth, forgone all custom
of exercises ; and indeed it goes so heavily with my
disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to
me a sterile promontory ; this most excellent canopy,
300 the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament,
this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it
appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent
congregation of vapours. What a piece of work is a
man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in
305 form and moving how express and admirable ! in action
how like an angel ! in apprehension how like a god!
the beauty of the world ! the paragon of animals ! And
yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust ? man
delights not me : no, nor woman neither, though by
310 your smiling you seem to say so.
Ros. My lord , there was no such stuff in my
thoughts .
Ham. Why did you laugh then, when I said ' man
delights not me ' ?
315 Ros. To think, my lord, if you delight not in man ,
what lenten entertainment the players shall receive from
you : we coted them on the way ; and hither are they
coming, to offer you service.
Ham. He that plays the king shall be welcome ; his
320 majesty shall have tribute of me ; the adventurous
Scene 2] HAMLET 61

knight shall use his foil and target ; the lover shall not
sigh gratis ; the humorous man shall end his part in
peace ; the clown shall make those laugh whose lungs
are tickle o' the sere ; and the lady shall say her mind
freely, or the blank verse shall halt for ' t. What 325
players are they?
Ros. Even those you were wont to take delight in,
the tragedians of the city.
Ham. How chances it they travel ? their residence ,
both in reputation and profit, was better both ways. 330
Ros. I think their inhibition comes by the means of
the late innovation.
Ham. Do they hold the same estimation they did
when I was in the city? are they so followed ?
Ros. No, indeed , are they not. 335
Ham. How comes it ? do they grow rusty?
Ros. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace :
but there is, sir, an aery of children, little eyases, that
cry out on the top of question and are most tyrannically
clapped for't : these are now the fashion, and so be- 340
rattle the common stages - so they call them — that
many wearing rapiers are afraid of goose-quills and
dare scarce come thither.
Ham. What, are they children ? who maintains ' em?
how are they escoted ? Will they pursue the quality no 345
longer than they can sing ? will they not say afterwards,
if they should grow themselves to common players—as
it is most like, if their means are no better- their
writers do them wrong, to make them exclaim against
their own succession ? 350
Ros. Faith, there has been much to do on both sides ;
and the nation holds it no sin to tarre them to contro-
versy : there was for a while no money bid for argu-
ment unless the poet and the player went to cuffs in
the question. 355
Ham. Is't possible?
62 HAMLET [Act II

Guild. O, there has been much throwing about of

brains.
Ham. Do the boys carry it away?
360 Ros. Ay, that they do, my lord ; Hercules and his
load too.
Ham. It is not very strange ; for mine uncle is king
of Denmark, and those that would make mows at him
while my father lived , give twenty, forty, fifty, a hun-
365 dred ducats a-piece for his picture in little. ' S blood,
there is something in this more than natural , if philo-
sophy could find it out. [Flourish of trumpets within
Guild. There are the players.
Ham. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore.
370 Your hands, come then : the appurtenance of welcome
is fashion and ceremony : let me comply with you in
this garb, lest my extent to the players, which , I tell
you , must show fairly outwards, should more appear
like entertainment than yours. You are welcome : but
375 my uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived.
Guild. In what, my dear lord?
Ham. I am but mad north-north-west : when the
wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.

Enter POLONIUS
Pol. Well be with you, gentlemen !
380 Ham. Hark you , Guildenstern ; and you too : at each
ear a hearer : that great baby you see there is not yet
out of his swaddling clouts.
Ros. Happily he's the second time come to them ;
for they say an old man is twice a child.
385 Ham. I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the
players ; mark it. You say right, sir : o' Monday
morning ; 't was so indeed.
Pol. My lord, I have news to tell you.
Ham. My lord, I have news to tell you. When
390 Roscius was an actor in Rome,
Scene 2] HAMLET 63

Pol. The actors are come hither, my lord.

Ham. Buz, buz !
Pol. Upon my honour, -
Ham. Then came each actor on his ass , -
Pol. The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, 395
comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical , historical-
pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-
pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited : Seneca
cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light. For the
law of writ and the liberty, these are the only men. 400
Ham. O Jephthah , judge of Israel, what a treasure
hadst thou !
Pol. What a treasure had he, my lord ?
Ham. Why,
' One fair daughter, and no more, 405
The which he loved passing well ' .

Pol. [Aside]. Still on my daughter.

Ham Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah?
Pol. If you call me Jephthah, my lord , I have a
410
daughter that I love passing well.
Ham. Nay, that follows not.
Pol. What follows , then , my lord?
Ham. Why,
'As by lot, God wot,'
and then, you know, 415
' It came to pass, as most like it was,'-
the first row of the pious chanson will show you more ;
for look, where my abridgement comes.

Enter four or five Players

You are welcome , masters ; welcome , all. I am glad
to see thee well. Welcome, good friends. O, my old 420
friend ! thy face is valanced since I saw thee last :
comest thou to beard me in Denmark ? What, my
young lady and mistress ! By'r lady , your ladyship is
64 HAML [Act II
ET
nearer to heaven than when I saw you last, by the alti-
425 tude of a chopine. Pray God, your voice , like a piece
of uncurrent gold, be not cracked within the ring.
Masters, you are all welcome. We'll e'en to't like
French falconers, fly at anything we see : we'll have a
speech straight : come, give us a taste of your quality ;
430 come, a passionate speech.
First Player. What speech , my lord ?
Ham. I heard thee speak me a speech once, but it
was never acted ; or, if it was, not above once ; for
the play, I remember, pleased not the million ; 't was
435 caviare to the general : but it was-as I received it,
and others, whose judgements in such matters cried in
the top of mine-an excellent play, well digested in the
scenes, set down with as much modesty as cunning. I
remember, one said there were no sallets in the lines to
440 make the matter savoury , nor no matter in the phrase
that might indict the author of affectation ; but called it
an honest method, as wholesome as sweet, and by very
much more handsome than fine. One speech in it I
chiefly loved : 't was Æneas' tale to Dido ; and there-
445 about of it especially, where he speaks of Priam's
slaughter : if it live in your memory, begin at this line :
let me see, let me see ;
' The rugged Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanian beast, ' ——
It is not so : it begins with ' Pyrrhus ' :
450 ' The rugged Pyrrhus , he whose sable arms,
Black as his purpose, did the night resemble
When he lay couched in the ominous horse,
Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd
With heraldry more dismal ; head to foot
455 Now is he total gules ; horridly trick'd
With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters , sons ,
Baked and impasted with the parching streets ,
That lend a tyrannous and damned light
To their lord's murder : roasted in wrath and fire,
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 65
And thus o'er-sized with coagulate gore, 460
With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus
Old grandsire Priam seeks. '
So, proceed you.
Pol. 'Fore God, my lord , well spoken, with good
accent and good discretion. 465
First Player. ' Anon he finds him
Striking too short at Greeks ; his antique sword ,
Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls ,
Repugnant to command : unequal match'd ,
Pyrrhus at Priam drives ; in rage strikes wide ; 470
But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword
The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium,
Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top
Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash
Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear : for lo ! his sword, 475
Which was declining on the milky head
Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick :
So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood ,
And, like a neutral to his will and matter,
Did nothing. 480
But as we often see, against some storm,
A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still,
The bold winds speechless and the orb below
As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder
Doth rend the region , so after Pyrrhus' pause 485
Aroused vengeance sets him new a-work ;
And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall
On Mars's armour, forged for proof eterne,
With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword
Now falls on Priam. 490
Out, out, thou false thing, Fortune ! All you gods,
In general synod , take away her power ;
Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel ,
And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven
As low as to the fiends !' 495
( M 881 ) E
66 HAMLET [Act II

Pol. This is too long.

Ham. It shall to the barber's , with your beard.
Prithee, say on : come to Hecuba.
First Player. But who , O, who had seen the
mobled queen-'
500 Ham. The mobled queen ? '
Pol. That's good ; ' mobled queen ' is good.
First Player. ' Run barefoot up and down , threaten-
ing the flames
With bisson rheum ; a clout upon that head
Where late the diadem stood ; and for a robe,
505 About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins,
A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up :
Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd ,
'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have pro-
nounced :
But if the gods themselves did see her then ,
510 When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport
In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs ,
The instant burst of clamour that she made ,
Unless things mortal move them not at all,
Would have made milch the burning eyes of
heaven,
515 And passion in the gods.'
Pol. Look, whether he has not turned his colour
and has tears in's eyes. Prithee, no more.
Ham. 'Tis well ; I'll have thee speak out the rest
of this soon . Good my lord, will you see the players
520 well bestowed ? Do you hear, let them be well used,
for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the
time : after your death you were better have a bad
epitaph than their ill report while you live.
Pol. My lord, I will use them according to their
525 desert.
Ham. God's bodykins, man , much better : use every
man after his desert, and who shall ' scape whipping?
Scene 2] HAMLET 67

Use them after your own honour and dignity : the

less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty.
Take them in. 530
Pol. Come, sirs.
Ham. Follow him, friends : we'll hear a play to-
morrow. [Exit Polonius with all the Players but the
First. ] Dost thou hear me, old friend ; can you play
the Murder of Gonzago ? 535
First Player. Ay, my lord.
Ham. We'll ha 't to-morrow night. You could, for
a need, study a speech of some dozen or sixteen
lines, which I would set down and insert in ' t, could
you not? 540
First Player. Ay, my lord.
Ham. Very well . Follow that lord ; and look you
mock him not. [Exit First Player.] My good
friends, I'll leave you till night : you are welcome to
Elsinore. 545
Ros. Good my lord !
Ham. Ay, so, God be wi' ye !
[Exeunt Rosencrants and Guildenstern
Now I am alone.
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I !
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, 550
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd ;
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,
A broken voice , and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing ! 555
For Hecuba !
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do ,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears 560
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
889
68 HAMLET [Act II

Make mad the guilty and appal the free,

Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
565 Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,

Ham. Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing.-(Act ii. 2. 565–568. )
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing ; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
570 A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 69

Who calls me villain ? breaks my pate across ?

Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face ?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? who does me this ?
Ha ! 575
'S wounds , I should take it : for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave's offal : bloody, bloody villain ! 580
Remorseless, treacherous, lustful, kindless villain !
O, vengeance !
Why, what an ass am I ! This is most brave,
That I , the son of a dear father murder'd ,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell , 585
Must fall a-cursing, like a very slut,
A scullion !
Fie upon 't ! foh ! About, my brain ! Hum, I have
heard
That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,
Have by the very cunning of the scene 590
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions ;
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ . I'll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father 595
Before mine uncle : I'll observe his looks ;
I'll tent him to the quick : if he but blench,
I know my course . The spirit that I have seen
May be the devil : and the devil hath power
To assume a pleasing shape ; yea, and perhaps 600
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits ,
Abuses me to damn me : I'll have grounds
More relative than this. The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. [ Exit605
70 HAMLET [Act III

ACT III

SCENE I. A room in the castle

Enter KING, QUEEN, POLONIUS , OPHELIA , ROSEN-

CRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN

King. And can you , by no drift of circumstance,

Get from him why he puts on this confusion ,
Grating so harshly all his days of quiet
With turbulent and dangerous lunacy?
5 Ros. He does confess he feels himself distracted ;
But from what cause he will by no means speak .
Guild. Nor do we find him forward to be sounded ,
But, with a crafty madness , keeps aloof,
When we would bring him on to some confession
IO Of his true state.
Queen. Did he receive you well?
Ros. Most like a gentleman.
Guild. But with much forcing of his disposition .
Ros. Niggard of question, but of our demands
Most free in his reply.
Queen. Did you assay him
15 To any pastime?
Ros. Madam, it so fell out that certain players
We o'er-raught on the way : of these we told him,
And there did seem in him a kind of joy
To hear of it : they are about the court,
20 And, as I think, they have already order
This night to play before him.
Pol. 'Tis most true .
And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties
To hear and see the matter.
King. With all my heart ; and it doth much con-
tent me
25 To hear him so inclined.
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 71

Good gentlemen, give him a further edge,

And drive his purpose on to these delights.

Ros. He does confess he feels himself distracted ;

But from what cause he will by no means speak.
-(Act iii. 1. 5, 6.)

Ros. We shall, my lord.

[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
72 HAMLET [Act III

King. Sweet Gertrude , leave us too ;

For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither
30 That he, as ' t were by accident, may here
Affront Ophelia :
Her father and myself, lawful espials ,
Will so bestow ourselves that, seeing unseen ,
We may of their encounter frankly judge,
35 And gather by him, as he is behaved,
If 't be the affliction of his love or no
That thus he suffers for.
Queen. I shall obey you.
And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish
That your good beauties be the happy cause
40 Of Hamlet's wildness : so shall I hope your virtues
Will bring him to his wonted way again,
To both your honours.
Oph. Madam , I wish it may. [Exit Queen
.
· Pol. Ophelia, walk you here. [To King] Gracious,
so please you,
We will bestow ourselves. [ To Ophelia] Read on
this book ;
45 That show of such an exercise may colour
Your loneliness. We are oft to blame in this ,
'Tis too much proved that with devotion's visage
And pious action we do sugar o'er
The devil himself.
King. [Aside] O, ' tis too true !
50 How smart a lash that speech doth give my con-
science !
The withered cheek, beautied with plastering art,
Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it
Than is my deed to my most painted word :
O heavy burthen !
55 Pol. I hear him coming : let's withdraw, my lord .
[Exeunt King and Polonius
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 73

Enter HAMLET

Ham. To be, or not to be : that is the question :

Whether 't is nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles ,
And by opposing end them? To die : to sleep ; 60
No more ; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to , ' t is a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd . To die , to sleep ;
To sleep : perchance to dream : ay, there's the rub ; 65
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil ,
Must give us pause : there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life ;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 70
The oppressor's wrong , the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office , and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes ,
When he himself might his quietus make 75
With a bare bodkin ? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns , puzzles the will, 80
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all ;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, 85
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. Soft you now !
The fair Ophelia ! Nymph, in thy orisons
74
74 HAMLET [Act III

90 Be all my sins remember'd.

Oph. Good my lord,
How does your honour for this many a day?
Ham. I humbly thank you ; well , well, well.

Oph. Take these again ; for to the noble mind

Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
There, my lord.- (Act iii. 1. 100-102.)

Oph. My lord, I have remembrances of yours,

That I have longed long to re-deliver ;
95 I pray you, now receive them.
Ham. No , not I ;
I never gave you aught.
Oph. My honour'd lord , you know right well you did ;
And with them words of so sweet breath composed
As made the things more rich : their perfume lost,
100 Take these again ; for to the noble mind
Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
There, my lord.
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 75

Ham. Ha, ha ; are you honest ?

Oph. My lord?
Ham. Are you fair? 105
Oph. What means your lordship ?
Ham. That if you be honest and fair, your honesty
should admit no discourse to your beauty.
Oph. Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce
than with honesty ? IIO
Ham. Ay, truly ; for the power of beauty will sooner
transform honesty from what it is than the force of
honesty can translate beauty into his likeness : this was
sometime a paradox , but now the time gives it proof.
I did love you once. 115
Oph. Indeed, my lord , you made me believe so.
Ham. You should not have believed me ; for virtue
cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of
it : I loved you not.
Oph. I was the more deceived . 120
Ham. Get thee to a nunnery : why wouldst thou be a
breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest ; but
yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better
my mother had not borne me : I am very proud, re-
vengeful, ambitious ; with more offences at my beck 125
than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to
give them shape, or time to act them in. What should
such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven?
We are arrant knaves all ; believe none of us. Go thy
ways to a nunnery. Where's your father? 130
Oph. At home, my lord.
Ham. Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may
play the fool no where but in's own house . Farewell.
Oph. O help him, you sweet heavens !
Ham. If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for 135
thy dowry : be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow,
thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery,
go : farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a
76 HAMLET [Act III

fool ; for wise men know well enough what monsters

140 you make of them. To a nunnery, go ; and quickly too.
Farewell.
Oph. O heavenly powers, restore him.
Ham. I have heard of your paintings too , well
enough ; God hath given you one face, and you make
145 yourselves another : you jig, you amble, and you lisp,
and nick-name God's creatures , and make your wanton-
ness your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on ' t ; it hath
made me mad . I say, we will have no more marriages :
those that are married already, all but one , shall live ;
150 the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery , go .
[Exit
Oph. O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown !
The courtier's , soldier's , scholar's, eye, tongue, sword ;
The expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form ,
155 The observed of all observers, quite, quite down !
And I , of ladies most deject and wretched ,
That suck'd the honey of his music vows ,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,
Like sweet bells jangled , out of tune and harsh ;
160 That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy : O woe is me,
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see !

Re-enter KING and POLONIUS

King. Love ! his affections do not that way tend ;

Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little,
165 Was not like madness. There's something in his soul ,
O'er which his melancholy sits on brood ;
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose
Will be some danger : which for to prevent,
I have in quick determination
170 Thus set it down : he shall with speed to England,
For the demand of our neglected tribute :
Scene 2] HAMLET 77

Haply the seas and countries different

With variable objects shall expel
This something-settled matter in his heart ,
Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus 175
From fashion of himself. What think you on't?
Pol. It shall do well : but yet do I believe
The origin and commencement of his grief
Sprung from neglected love. How now, Ophelia !
You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said ; 180
We heard it all. My lord, do as you please ;
But, if you hold it fit, after the play
Let his queen mother all alone entreat him
To show his grief: let her be round with him ;
And I'll be placed , so please you, in the ear 185
Of all their conference. If she find him not,
To England send him, or confine him where
Your wisdom best shall think.
King. It shall be so :
Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go.
[ Exeunt

SCENE 2. A hall in the castle

Enter HAMLET and Players

Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced

it to you, trippingly on the tongue : but if you mouth it,
as many of your players do , I had as lief the town- crier
spoke my lines . Nor do not saw the air too much with
your hand, thus ; but use all gently ; for in the very 5
torrent, tempest, and , as I may say, whirlwind of your
passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that
may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to
hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to
tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the ground- 10
lings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but
inexplicable dumb-shows and noise : I would have such
 LET
78 HAM [Act III

a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant ; it out-

herods Herod : pray you, avoid it .
15 First Player. I warrant your honour.
Ham. Be not too tame neither, but let your own
discretion be your tutor : suit the action to the word,
the word to the action ; with this special observance ,
that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature ; for any-
20 thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose
end, both at the first and now, was and is , to hold,
as ' t were, the mirror up to nature ; to show virtue her
own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age
and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this
25 overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskil-
ful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve ; the
censure of the which one must in your allowance o'er-
weigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be players
that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that
30 highly, not to speak it profanely, that neither having
the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian ,
pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed , that
I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made
men and not made them well, they imitated humanity
35 so abominably.
First Player. I hope we have reformed that indiffer-
ently with us, sir.
Ham. O, reform it altogether. And let those that
play your clowns speak no more than is set down for
40 them : for there be of them that will themselves laugh,
to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh
too, though in the mean time some necessary question
of the play be then to be considered : that's villanous ,
and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses
45 it. Go, make you ready. [Exeunt Players
Scene 2] HAMLET 79

Enter POLONIUS , ROSENCRANTZ , and GUILDENSTERN

How now, my lord ! will the king hear this piece of

work?
Pol. And the queen too, and that presently.
Ham. Bid the players make haste. [ Exit Polonius. ]
Will you two help to hasten them? 50
Ros.
Guild. }} We will, my lord.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Ham. What ho ! Horatio !

Enter HORATIO

Hor. Here, sweet lord, at your service.

Ham. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man
As e'er my conversation coped withal. 55
Hor. O, my dear lord, -
Ham . Nay, do not think I flatter ;
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be
flatter'd?
No , let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp , 60
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear?
Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal'd thee for herself ; for thou hast been 65
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing,
A man that fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast ta'en with equal thanks : and blest are those
Whose blood and judgement are so well commingled ,
That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger 70
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
80 HAMLET [Act III

As I do thee. Something too much of this.

75 There is a play to-night before the king ;
One scene of it comes near the circumstance

Ham. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man

As e'er my conversation coped withal.-(Act iii. 2. 54, 55. )

Which I have told thee of my father's death :

I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul
Scene 2] HAMLET 81

Observe my uncle : if his occulted guilt 80

Do not itself unkennel in one speech,
It is a damned ghost that we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan's stithy. Give him needful note ;
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, 85
And after we will both our judgements join
In censure of his seeming.
Hor. Well, my lord :
If he steal aught the whilst this play is playing,
And ' scape detecting, I will pay the theft.
Ham. They are coming to the play ; I must be idle : 90
Get you a place.

Danish march. A flourish. Enter KING, QUEEN,

POLONIUS , OPHELIA, ROSENCRANTZ , GUILDEN-
STERN, and other Lords attendant, with the Guard
carrying torches.

King. How fares our cousin Hamlet ?

Ham. Excellent, i' faith ; of the chame.eon's dish :
I eat the air, promise-crammed : you cannot feed
capons so. 95
King. I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet ;
these words are not mine.
Ham. No, nor mine now. [ To Polonius] My lord,
you played once i' the university, you say?
Pol. That did I , my lord ; and was accounted a good 100
actor.
Ham. What did you enact ?
Pol. I did enact Julius Cæsar : I was killed i' the
Capitol ; Brutus killed me.
Ham. It was a brute part of him to kill so capital 105
a calf there. Be the players ready?
Ros. Ay, my lord ; they stay upon your patience.
Queen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me.
( M 881 ) F
82 HAMLE [Act III
T

Ham. No, good mother, here's metal more attrac-

IIO tive.
Pol. [To the King]. O, ho ! do you mark that?
Oph. You are merry, my lord.
Ham. Who ? I?
Oph. Ay, my lord.
115 Ham. O God, your only jig-maker. What should a
man do but be merry? for, look you , how cheerfully
my mother looks, and my father died within's two
hours.
Oph. Nay, ' tis twice two months , my lord.
120 Ham. So long ? Nay then, let the devil wear black,
for I'll have a suit of sables. O heavens ! die two
months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there's
hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half
a year : but, by ' r lady, he must build churches then ;
125 or else shall he suffer not thinking on , with the hobby-
horse, whose epitaph is ' For, O, for, O, the hobby-
horse is forgot '.

Hautboys play. The dumb-show enters

Enter a King and a Queen very lovingly; the Queen

embracing him and he her. She kneels, and makes
show of protestation unto him. He takes her up,
and declines his head upon her neck: lays him down
upon a bank of flowers : she, seeing him asleep,
leaves him. Anon comes in a fellow, takes off his
crown, kisses it, and pours poison in the King's
ears, and exit. The Queen returns ; finds the
King dead, and makes passionate action. The
Poisoner, with some two or three Mutes , comes in
again, seeming to lament with her. The dead body
is carried away. The Poisoner wooes the Queen
with gifts: she seems loath and unwilling awhile,
but in the end accepts his love. [Exeunt
Scene 2] HAMLET 83

Oph. What means this, my lord?

Ham. Marry, this is miching mallecho ; it means
mischief. 130
Oph. Belike this show imports the argument of the
play.
Enter Prologue

Ham. We shall know by this fellow : the players

cannot keep counsel ; they'll tell all.
Prologue. For us, and for our tragedy, 135
Here stooping to your clemency,
We beg your hearing patiently. [Exit

Ham. Is this a prologue, or the posy of a ring?

Oph. 'Tis brief, my lord.
Ham. As woman's love. 140

Enter two Players, King and Queen

P. King. Full thirty times hath Phoebus' cart gone round
Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' orbed ground,
And thirty dozen moons with borrowed sheen
About the world have times twelve thirties been,
Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands 145
Unite commutual in most sacred bands.
P. Queen. So many journeys may the sun and moon
Make us again count o'er ere love be done !
But, woe is me, you are so sick of late,
So far from cheer and from your former state 150
That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust,
Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must :
For women's fear and love holds quantity ;
In neither aught, or in extremity.
Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know ; 155
And as my love is sized, my fear is so :
Where love is great the littlest doubts are fear ;
Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.
P. King. Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly too ;
My operant powers their functions leave to do : 160
And thou shalt live in this fair world behind,
Honour'd, beloved ; and haply one as kind
For husband shalt thou-
84 HAM [ Act III
LET
P. Queen. O, confound the rest !
Such love must needs be treason in my breast :
165 In second husband let me be accurst !
None wed the second but who kill'd the first.

Ham. [Aside]. Wormwood, wormwood.

P. Queen. The instances that second marriage move
Are base respects of thrift, but none of love :
170 A second time I kill my husband dead,
When second husband kisses me.
P. King. I do believe you think what now you speak ;
But what we do determine oft we break.
Purpose is but the slave to memory,
175 Of violent birth, but poor validity :
Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree ;
But fall unshaken when they mellow be.
Most necessary ' tis that we forget
To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt :
180 What to ourselves in passion we propose,
The passion ending, doth the purpose lose.
The violence of either grief or joy
Their own enactures with themselves destroy :
Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament ;
185 Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident.
This world is not for aye, nor ' t is not strange
That even our loves should with our fortunes change ;
For ' t is a question left us yet to prove,
Whether love lead fortune or else fortune love.
190 The great man down, you mark his favourite flies ;
The poor advanced makes friends of enemies.
And hitherto doth love on fortune tend ;
For who not needs shall never lack a friend,
And who in want a hollow friend dot try,
195 Directly seasons him his enemy.
But, orderly to end where I begun,
Our wills and fates do so contrary run
That our devices still are overthrown :
Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own :
200 So think thou wilt no second husband wed ;
But die thy thoughts when thy first lord is dead.
P. Queen. Nor earth to me give food, nor heaven light !
Sport and repose lock from me day and night !
To desperation turn my trust and hope !
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 85

An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope ! 205

Each opposite that blanks the face of joy
Meet what I would have well and it destroy !
Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife,
If, once a widow, ever I be wife!
Ham. If she should break it now ! 210
P. King. 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here awhile ;
My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile
The tedious day with sleep. [Sleeps
P. Queen. Sleep rock thy brain ;
And never come mischance between us twain ! [Exit

Ham. Madam, how like you this play? 215

Queen. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Ham. O, but she'll keep her word.
King. Have you heard the argument ? Is there no
offence in't?
Ham. No, no, they do but jest, poison in iest ; no 220
offence i' the world.
King. What do you call the play?
Ham. The Mouse - trap . Marry, how? Tropically.
This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna :
Gonzago is the duke's name ; his wife, Baptista : you 225
shall see anon ; ' t is a knavish piece of work : but what
o' that? your majesty and we that have free souls ,
it touches us not : let the galled jade wince , our
withers are unwrung .

Enter Lucianus

This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. 230

Oph. You are as good as a chorus , my lord.
Ham. I could interpret between you and your love,
if I could see the puppets dallying.
Oph. Still better, and worse.
Ham. So you must take your husbands. Begin, 235
murderer ; leave thy damnable faces, and begin.
Come : ' the croaking raven doth bellow for revenge '.
86 HAMLET [Act III

Luc. Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time agreeing ;
Confederate season, else no creature seeing ;
240 Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected,
With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected.
Thy natural magic and dire property,
On wholesome life usurp immediately.
[Pours the poison into the sleeper's ear
Ham. He poisons him i' the garden for his estate.
245 His name's Gonzago : the story is extant, and writ
in very choice Italian : you shall see anon how the
murderer gets the love of Gonzago's wife.
Oph. The king rises.
Ham. What, frighted with false fire?
250 Queen. How fares my lord?
Pol. Give o'er the play.
King. Give me some light : away!
All. Lights, lights , lights !
[Exeunt all but Hamlet and Horatio
Ham. Why, let the stricken deer go weep,
255 The hart ungalled play ;
For some must watch, while some must sleep :
Thus runs the world away.

Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers-if the

rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me -- with two
260 Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a fellow-
ship in a cry of players, sir?
Hor. Half a share.
Ham. A whole one, I.

For thou dost know, O Damon dear,

265 This realm dismantled was
Of Jove himself; and now reigns here
A very, very- pajock.

Hor. You might have rhymed.

Ham. O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word
270 for a thousand pound . Didst perceive ?
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 87

Hor. Very well, my lord.

Ham. Upon the talk of the poisoning?
Hor. I did very well note him.
Ham. Ah, ah ! Come, some music ! come , the re-
corders ! 275
For if the king like not the comedy,
Why then, belike , he likes it not, perdy.
Come, some music !

Re-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

Guild. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you.
Ham. Sir, a whole history. 280
Guild. The king, sir, —
Ham. Ay, sir, what of him?
Guild. Is in his retirement marvellous distempered .
Ham. With drink, sir?
Guild. No, my lord, rather with choler. 285
Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more richer
to signify this to the doctor : for, for me to put him to
his purgation would perhaps plunge him into far more
choler.
Guild. Good my lord, put your discourse into some 290
frame and start not so wildly from my affair.
Ham. I am tame , sir : pronounce.
Guild. The queen , your mother, in most great afflic-
tion of spirit, hath sent me to you.
Ham. You are welcome. 295
Guild. Nay, good my lord , this courtesy is not of the
right breed . If it shall please you to make me a whole-
some answer, I will do your mother's commandment :
if not, your pardon and my return shall be the end of
my business. 300
Ham. Sir, I cannot.
Guild. What, my lord?
Ham. Make you a wholesome answer ; my wit's
diseased : but, sir, such answer as I can make, you
 HAMLET

[Act

III
888
305 shall command : or rather, as you say, my mother :
therefore no more, but to the matter : my mother,
you say, -
Ros. Then thus she says ; your behaviour hath struck
her into amazement and admiration .
310 Ham. O wonderful son , that can so astonish a
mother ! But is there no sequel at the heels of this
mother's admiration ? Impart.
Ros. She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere
you go to bed.
315 Ham. We shall obey, were she ten times our mother.
Have you any further trade with us?
Ros. My lord, you once did love me.
Ham. So I do still, by these pickers and stealers.
Ros. Good my lord , what is your cause of distemper ?
320 you do surely bar the door upon your own liberty, if
you deny your griefs to your friend.
Ham. Sir, I lack advancement.
Ros. How can that be, when you have the voice of
the king himself for your succession in Denmark?
325 Ham. Ay, sir, but ' While the grass grows ' , - the
proverb is something musty.

Re-enter Players with recorders

O, the recorders ! let me see one. To withdraw with
you :--why do you go about to recover the wind of me ,
as if you would drive me into a toil ?
330 Guild. O, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love
is too unmannerly.
Ham. I do not well understand that. Will you play
upon this pipe?
Guild. My lord , I cannot.
335 Ham. I pray you .
Guild. Believe me, I cannot.
Ham. I do beseech you.
Guild. I know no touch of it, my lord.
Scene 2] HAMLET 89

Ham. 'Tis as easy as lying : govern these ventages

with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your 340
mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music.
Look you , these are the stops.
Guild. But these cannot I command to any utterance
of harmony ; I have not the skill.
Ham. Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing 345
you make of me ! You would play upon me ; you
would seem to know my stops ; you would pluck out
the heart of my mystery ; you would sound me from
my lowest note to the top of my compass : and there
is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ ; yet 350
cannot you make it speak. 'S blood, do you think I
am easier to be played on than a pipe ? Call me what
instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you
cannot play upon me.

Enter POLONIUS
God bless you, sir ! 355
Pol. My lord, the queen would speak with you, and
presently.
Ham. Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in
shape of a camel?
Pol. By the mass , and ' t is like a camel, indeed . 360
Ham. Methinks it is like a weasel.
Pol. It is backed like a weasel.
Ham. Or like a whale?
Pol. Very like a whale.
Ham. Then I will come to my mother by and by. 365
[Aside] They fool me to the top of my bent.-— I will
come by and by.
Pol. I will say so. [ Exit Polonius
Ham. By and by ' is easily said . Leave me, friends .
[Exeunt all but Hamlet
'Tis now the very witching time of night, 370
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
00

HAMLET

III
[Act
90
Contagion to this world : now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft ! now to my mother.
375 O heart, lose not thy nature ; let not ever
The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom :
Let me be cruel, not unnatural :
I will speak daggers to her, but use none ;
My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites ;
380 How in my words soever she be shent ,
To give them seals never, my soul, consent ! [Exit

SCENE 3. A room in the castle

Enter KING, Rosencrantz , and GUILDENSTERN

King. I like him not, nor stands it safe with us

To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you ;
I your commission will forthwith dispatch,
And he to England shall along with you :
The terms of our estate may not endure
Hazard so near us as doth hourly grow
Out of his lunacies.
Guild. We will ourselves provide :
Most holy and religious fear it is
To keep those many many bodies safe
10 That live and feed upon your majesty.
Ros. The single and peculiar life is bound,
With all the strength and armour of the mind ,
To keep itself from noyance ; but much more
That spirit upon whose weal depends and rests
15 The lives of many . The cease of majesty
Dies not alone ; but, like a gulf, doth draw
What's near it with it : it is a massy wheel ,
Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things
20 Are mortised and adjoin'd ; which, when it falls,
Each small annexment , petty consequence ,
Scene 3] HAMLET 91

Attends the boisterous ruin . Never alone

Did the king sigh, but with a general groan.
King. Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy voyage ;
For we will fetters put upon this fear, 25
Which now goes too free-footed .
Ros.
We will haste us.
Guild. }
[ Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Enter POLONIUS

Pol. My lord, he's going to his mother's closet :

Behind the arras I'll convey myself,
To hear the process ; I'll warrant she'll tax him
home :
And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 30
'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother,
Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear
The speech, of vantage. Fare you well, my liege :
I'll call upon you ere you go to bed,
And tell you what I know.
King. Thanks, dear my lord. [ Exit Polonius 35
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't,
A brother's murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will :
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent ; 40
And , like a man to double business bound ,
I stand in pause where I shall first begin ,
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens 45
To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy
But to confront the visage of offence ?
And what's in prayer but this twofold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,
Or pardon'd being down ? Then I'll look up ; 50
92 HAMLET [Act III

My fault is past. But O, what form of prayer

Can serve my turn ? ' Forgive me my foul murder '?
That cannot be ; since I am still possess'd
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
55 My crown, mine own ambition and my queen .
May one be pardon'd and retain the offence ?
In the corrupted currents of this world
Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft ' t is seen the wicked prize itself
60 Buys out the law : but 't is not so above ;
There is no shuffling, there the action lies
In his true nature, and we ourselves compell'd ,
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults ,
To give in evidence. What then? what rests?
65 Try what repentance can : what can it not?
Yet what can it when one can not repent?
O wretched state ! O bosom black as death !
O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,
Art more engaged ! Help, angels ! make assay !
70 Bow, stubborn knees ; and, heart with strings of steel ,
Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe !
All may be well. [Retires and kneels

Enter HAMLET
Ham. Now might I do it pat, now he is praying ;
And now I'll do ' t : and so he goes to heaven ;
75 And so am I revenged . That would be scann'd :
A villain kills my father ; and for that,
I, his sole son , do this same villain send
To heaven.
O, this is hire and salary , not revenge.
80 He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May ;
And how his audit stands who knows save Heaven ?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
'Tis heavy with him : and am I then revenged,
Scene 3] HAMLET 93

To take him in the purging of his soul, 85

When he is fit and season'd for his passage?
No!
Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent :
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,

Ham. Now might I do it pat, now he is praying.-(Act iii. 3. 73.)

At game, a-swearing, or about some act 90

That has no relish of salvation in ' t;
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven ,
And that his soul may be as damn'd and black
As hell , whereto it goes. My mother stays :
This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. [ Exit95
King. [Rising] . My words fly up, my thoughts
remain below :
Words without thoughts never to heaven go. [Exit
94 HAMLET [Act III

SCENE 4. The Queen's closet

Enter QUEEN and POLONIUS
Pol. He will come straight. Look you lay home
to him :
Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear
with,
And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between
Much heat and him. I'll sconce me even here.
5 Pray you , be round with him.
Ham. [ Within ]. Mother, mother, mother !
Queen. I'll warrant you , fear me not. Withdraw,
I hear him coming. [Polonius hides behind the arras
Enter HAMLET
Ham. Now, mother, what's the matter?
IO Queen. Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
Ham. Mother, you have my father much offended .
Queen. Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
Ham. Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.
Queen. Why, how now, Hamlet !
Ham. What's the matter now?
15 Queen. Have you forgot me?
Ham. No, by the rood , not so :
You are the queen , your husband's brother's wife ;
And - would it were not so ! -you are my mother.
Queen. Nay, then I'll set those to you that can
speak.
Ham. Come, come, and sit you down ; you shall
not budge ;
20 You go not till I set you up a glass
Where you may see the inmost part of you .
Queen. What wilt thou do ? thou wilt not murder
me?
Help, help, ho!
Pol. [Behind]. What, ho ! help, help, help !
Scene 4 ] HAMLET 95

Ham. [Drawing]. How now ! a rat ? Dead, for a

ducat, dead ! [Makes a pass through the arras 25
Pol. [Behind] . O , I am slain ! [Falls and dies
Queen. O me, what hast thou done ?
Ham. Nay, I know not : is it the king?
Queen. O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!
Ham. A bloody deed ! almost as bad, good mother,
As kill a king, and marry with his brother. 30
Queen. As kill a king !
Ham. Ay, lady, ' t was my word.
[Lifts up the arras and discovers Polonius
Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell !
I took thee for thy better : take thy fortune ;
Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger.
Leave wringing of your hands : peace ! sit you down, 35
And let me wring your heart ; for so I shall ,
If it be made of penetrable stuff,
If damned custom have not brass'd it so
That it be proof and bulwark against sense.
Queen. What have I done, that thou darest wag
thy tongue 40
In noise so rude against me?
Ham. Such an act
That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,
Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose
From the fair forehead of an innocent love
And sets a blister there, makes marriage-vows 45
As false as dicers' oaths : O, such a deed
As from the body of contraction plucks
The very soul , and sweet religion makes
A rhapsody of words : heaven's face doth glow ;
Yea, this solidity and compound mass, 50
With tristful visage , as against the doom ,
Is thought-sick at the act.
Queen. Ay me , what act ,
That roars so loud, and thunders in the index ?
96
,firarewell
Ham ash
ntruding
.T!fool
wretched
hou
.- better
thy
for
thee
It)32
.4(A.3.ook
,3iii
ct
Act III Scene 4] HAMLET 97

Ham. Look here, upon this picture, and on this ,

55
The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. 55
See, what a grace was seated on this brow ;
Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself,
An eye like Mars, to threaten and command ;
A station like the herald Mercury
New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill ; 60
A combination and a form indeed ,
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give the world assurance of a man :
This was your husband. Look you now, what follows :
Here is your husband ; like a mildew'd ear, 65
Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes?
Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed ,
And batten on this moor? Ha ! have you eyes ?
You cannot call it love, for at your age
The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble , 70
And waits upon the judgement : and what judgement
Would step from this to this? Sense sure you have,
Else could you not have motion ; but sure that sense
Is apoplex'd ; for madness would not err,
Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd 75
But it reserved some quantity of choice,
To serve in such a difference. What devil was 't
That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman -blind ?
Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight,
Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all , 80
Or but a sickly part of one true sense
Could not so mope.
O shame ! where is thy blush ? Rebellious hell,
If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones ,
To flaming youth let virtue be as wax, 85
And melt in her own fire : proclaim no shame
When the compulsive ardour gives the charge,
Since frost itself as actively doth burn
And reason pandars will.
(M 881 )
 ET
ML
98 HA [Act III

Queen. O Hamlet, speak no more :

90 Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul ;
And there I see such black and grained spots
As will not leave their tinct.
• · • O, speak to me no more ;
These words like daggers enter in mine ears ;
No more, sweet Hamlet !
Ham. A murderer and a villain :
95 A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe
Of your precedent lord ; a vice of kings ;
A cutpurse of the empire and the rule,
That from a shelf the precious diadem stole,
And put it in his pocket !
Queen. No more !
100 Ham. A king of shreds
and patches-

Enter Ghost
Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings,
You heavenly guards ! What would your gracious
figure?
Queen. Alas, he's mad !
Ham. Do you not come your tardy son to chide ,
105 That, lapsed in time and passion , lets go by
The important acting of your dread command ?
O, say!
Ghost. Do not forget : this visitation
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.
110 But look, amazement on thy mother sits :
O, step between her and her fighting soul :
Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works :
Speak to her, Hamlet.
Ham. How is it with you , lady?
Queen. Alas, how is 't with you,
115 That you do bend your eye on vacancy
And with the incorporal air do hold discourse ?
Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep ;
Scene 4] HAMLET 99

And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm,

Your bedded hair, like life in excrements,
Start up and stand an end. O gentle son, 120
Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper
Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look ?

Ham. Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings,

You heavenly guards ! What would your gracious figure?-(Act iii. 4. 101 , 102. )

Ham. On him, on him ! Look you, how pale he

glares !
His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones,
Would make them capable. Do not look upon me ; 125
Lest with this piteous action you convert
My stern effects : then what I have to do
Will want true colour ; tears perchance for blood.
Queen. To whom do you speak this?
Ham. Do you see nothing there?
Queen. Nothing at all ; yet all that is I see. 130
Ham. Nor did you nothing hear?
Queen. No, nothing but ourselves.
100 HAMLET [Act III

Ham. Why, look you there ! look, how it steals

away !
My father, in his habit as he lived !
Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal !
[Exit Ghost
135 Queen. This is the very coinage of your brain :
This bodiless creation ecstasy
Is very cunning in.
Ham. Ecstasy !
My pulse, as yours , doth temperately keep time,
And makes as healthful music : it is not madness
140 That I have utter'd : bring me to the test,
And I the matter will re-word ; which madness
Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace,
Lay not that flattering unction to your soul,
That not your trespass, but my madness speaks :
145 It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,
Whiles rank corruption, mining all within ,
Infects unseen . Confess yourself to heaven ;
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come,
And do not spread the compost on the weeds ,
150 To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue ;
For in the fatness of these pursy times
Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg,
Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.
Queen. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
155 Ham. O, throw away the worser part of it,
And live the purer with the other half.
Good night : but go not to my uncle ;
Assume a virtue, if you have it not.
That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat,
160 Of habits devil, is angel yet in this ,
That to the use of actions fair and good
He likewise gives a frock or livery
That aptly is put on. Refrain to- night,
And that shall lend a kind of easiness
Scene 4] HAMLET ΙΟΙ

To the next abstinence : the next more easy ; 165

For use almost can change the stamp of nature,
And either quell the devil, or throw him out
With wondrous potency . Once more, good night :
And when you are desirous to be blest,
I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord, 170
[Pointing to Polonius
I do repent : but heaven hath pleased it so,
To punish me with this and this with me,
That I must be their scourge and minister.
I will bestow him, and will answer well
The death I gave him. So, again, good night. 175
I must be cruel , only to be kind :
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.
One word more, good lady.
Queen. What shall I do?
Ham. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do :
Let the bloat king for a pair of kisses 180
Make you to ravel all this matter out,
That I essentially am not in madness ,
But mad in craft. 'T were good you let him know ;
For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise,
Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib, 185
Such dear concernings hide? who would do so?
No, in despite of sense and secrecy,
Unpeg the basket on the house's top,
Let the birds fly, and like the famous ape,
To try conclusions, in the basket creep, 190
And break your own neck down.
Queen. Be thou assured, if words be made of breath,
And breath of life , I have no life to breathe
What thou hast said to me.
Ham. I must to England ; you know that?
Queen. Alack, 195
I had forgot : ' t is so concluded on .
Ham. There's letters seal'd ; and my two school-fellows
102 HAMLET [Act IV

Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd ,

They bear the mandate ; they must sweep my way,
200 And marshal me to knavery. Let it work ;
For ' tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petar : and ' t shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon : O , ' tis most sweet,
205 When in one line two crafts directly meet .
This man shall set me packing.
Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor
Is now most still, most secret and most grave ,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave.
210 Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.
Good night, mother.
[Exeunt severally; Hamlet dragging Polonius

ACT IV

SCENE I. A room in the castle

Enter KING, QUEEN, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN

King. There's matter in these sighs, these profound

heaves :
You must translate ; ' t is fit we understand them .
Where is your son?
Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Ah, mine own lord, what have I seen to-night !
King. What, Gertrude ? How does Hamlet ?
Queen. Mad as the sea and wind, when both
contend
Which is the mightier : in his lawless fit ,
Behind the arras hearing something stir,
10 Whips out his rapier, cries ' A rat, a rat ! '
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 103

Queen. Behind the arras hearing something stir,

Whips out his rapier, cries ' A rat, a rat !'
And in this brainish apprehension kills
The unseen good old man.-(Act iv. 1. 9-12.)

And in this brainish apprehension kills

The unseen good old man.
104 HAMLET [Act IV

King. O heavy deed !

It had been so with us , had we been there :
His liberty is full of threats to all ;
15 To you yourself, to us, to every one.
Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answer'd?
It will be laid to us, whose providence
Should have kept short, restrain'd and out of haunt,
This mad young man : but so much was our love ,
20 We would not understand what was most fit ;
But, like the owner of a foul disease,
To keep it from divulging , let it feed
Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone ?
Queen. To draw apart the body he hath kill'd :
25 O'er whom his very madness , like some ore
Among a mineral of metals base,
Shows itself pure ; he weeps for what is done.
King. O Gertrude, come away!
The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch ,
30 But we will ship him hence : and this vile deed
We must, with all our majesty and skill ,
Both countenance and excuse. Ho, Guildenstern !

Re-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

Friends both, go join you with some further aid :

Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain,
35 And from his mother's closet hath he dragg'd him :
Go seek him out ; speak fair, and bring the body
Into the chapel. I pray you , haste in this.
[ Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Come, Gertrude , we'll call up our wisest friends ;
And let them know, both what we mean to do ,
40 And what's untimely done. So haply slander
Whose whisper o'er the world's diameter,
As level as the cannon to his blank,
Transports his poison'd shot, may miss our name
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 105

And hit the woundless air. O, come away !

My soul is full of discord and dismay. [Exeunt45

SCENE 2. Another room in the castle

Enter HAMLET
Ham. Safely stowed.
Ros.
Guild. } [ Within] . Hamlet ! Lord Hamlet !

Ham. But soft, what noise ? who calls on Hamlet ?

O, here they come.

Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN

Ros. What have you done , my lord, with the dead

body? 5
Ham. Compounded it with dust, whereto ' t is kin.
Ros. Tell us where ' t is, that we may take it thence
And bear it to the chapel.
Ham. Do not believe it.
Ros. Believe what? ΙΟ
Ham. That I can keep your counsel and not mine
own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge ! what
replication should be made by the son of a king?
Ros. Take you me for a sponge, my lord?
Ham. Ay, sir ; that soaks up the king's countenance, 15
his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the
king best service in the end : he keeps them, like an
ape, in the corner of his jaw; first mouthed, to be
last swallowed : when he needs what you have gleaned ,
it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry 20
again.
Ros. I understand you not, my lord.
Ham. I am glad of it : a knavish speech sleeps in
a foolish ear.
Ros. My lord, you must tell us where the body is, 25
and go with us to the king.
106 HAMLET [Act IV

Ham. The body is with the king, but the king is not
with the body. The king is a thing--
Guild. A thing, my lord ?
30 Ham. Of nothing : bring me to him . Hide fox, and
all after. [Exeunt

SCENE 3. Another room in the castle

Enter KING, attended

King. I have sent to seek him, and to find the body.

How dangerous is it that this man goes loose !
Yet must not we put the strong law on him :
He's loved of the distracted multitude,
5 Who like not in their judgement, but their eyes :
And where ' t is so, the offender's scourge is weigh'd ,
But never the offence. To bear all smooth and even ,
This sudden sending him away must seem
Deliberate pause : diseases desperate grown
IO By desperate appliance are relieved,
Or not at all.
Enter ROSENCRANTZ

How now! what hath befall'n?

Ros. Where the dead body is bestow'd , my lord ,
We cannot get from him.
King. But where is he?
Ros. Without, my lord ; guarded, to know your
pleasure.
15 King. Bring him before us.
Ros. Ho, Guildenstern ! bring in my lord.

Enter HAMLET and GUILDENSTERN

King. Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?

Ham. At supper.
King. At supper ! where?
20 Ham. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten : a
Scene 3] HAMLET 107

certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at him.

Your worm is your only emperor for diet : we fat all
creatures else to fat us , and we fat ourselves for
maggots : your fat king and your lean beggar is but
variable service, two dishes, but to one table : that's 25
the end .
King. Alas, alas !
Ham. A man may fish with the worm that hath
eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath . fed of that
worm . 30
King. What dost thou mean by this ?
Ham. Nothing but to show you how a king may go
a progress through the guts of a beggar.
King. Where is Polonius?
Ham. In heaven ; send thither to see : if your 35
messenger find him not there , seek him i' the other
place yourself. But indeed, if you find him not within
this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs
into the lobby .
King. Go seek him there. [To some Attendants 40
Ham. He will stay till you come. [Exeunt Attendants
King. Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety, -
Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve
For that which thou hast done, —must send thee hence
With fiery quickness : therefore prepare thyself; 45
The bark is ready and the wind at help ,
The associates tend, and every thing is bent
For England.
Ham. For England?
King. Ay, Hamlet.
Ham. Good
King. So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes .
Ham. I see a cherub that sees them. But, come ; for 50
England ! Farewell, dear mother.
King. Thy loving father, Hamlet.
Ham. My mother : father and mother is man and
108 HAMLET [Act IV

wife ; man and wife is one flesh ; and so, my mother.

55 Come, for England! [ Exit
King. Follow him at foot ; tempt him with speed
aboard ;
Delay it not ; I'll have him hence to-night :
Away! for every thing is seal'd and done
That else leans on the affair : pray you, make haste.
[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
60 And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught-
As my great power thereof may give thee sense,
Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red
After the Danish sword, and thy free awe
Pays homage to us- thou mayst not coldly set
65 Our sovereign process ; which imports at full,
By letters congruing to that effect ,
The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England ;
For like the hectic in my blood he rages,
And thou must cure me : till I know ' t is done,
70 Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. [Exit

SCENE 4. A plain in Denmark

Enter FORTINBRAS, a Captain, and Soldiers, marching

For. Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king ;

Tell him that by his license Fortinbras
Craves the conveyance of a promised march
Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous.
5 If that his majesty would aught with us,
We shall express our duty in his eye ;
And let him know so .
Cap. I will do 't, my lord.
For. Go softly on. [Exeunt Fortinbras and Soldiers

Enter HAMLET, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and others

Ham. Good sir, whose powers are these?
ΙΟ Cap. They are of Norway, sir.
Scene 4] HAMLET 109

Ham. How purposed, sir, I pray you?

Cap. Against some part of Poland.
Ham. Who commands them, sir?
Cap. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.
Ham. Goes it against the main of Poland , sir, 15
Or for some frontier?
Cap. Truly to speak, and with no addition ,
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name.
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it ; 20
Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole
A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.
Ham. Why, then the Polack never will defend it .
Cap. Yes, it is already garrison'd.
Ham. Two thousand souls and twenty thousand
ducats 25
Will not debate the question of this straw :
This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace,
That inward breaks , and shows no cause without
Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir.
Cap. God be wi' you, sir. [ Exit
Ros. Will't please you go, my lord? 30
Ham. I'll be with you straight . Go a little before.
[Exeunt all but Hamlet
How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull revenge ! What is a man ,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed ? a beast, no more. 35
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse ,
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and god-like reason
To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion , or some craven scruple 40
Of thinking too precisely on the event,
A thought which, quarter'd , hath but one part wisdom
And ever three parts coward , I do not know
IIO HAMLET [Act IV

Why yet I live to say ' This thing's to do ' ;

45 Sith I have cause and will and strength and means
To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me :
Witness this army of such mass and charge
Led by a delicate and tender prince ,
Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd
50 Makes mouths at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death and danger dare,
Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
55 But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd ,
Excitements of my reason and my blood ,
And let all sleep ? while to my shame I see
60 The imminent death of twenty thousand men ,
That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
65 To hide the slain ? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth ! [Exit

SCENE 5. Elsinore. A room in the castle

Enter QUEEN, HORATIO, and a Gentleman

Queen. I will not speak with her.

Gent. She is importunate, indeed distract :
Her mood will needs be pitied.
Queen. What would she have?
Gent. She speaks much of her father ; says she hears
5 There's tricks i' the world , and hems and beats her heart,
Spurns enviously at straws ; speaks things in doubt,
That carry but half sense : her speech is nothing,
Yet the unshaped use of it doth move
Scene 5] HAMLET III

The hearers to collection ; they aim at it,

And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts ; ΙΟ
Which, as her winks and nods and gestures yield them ,
Indeed would make one think there might be thought,
Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.
Hor. 'T were good she were spoken with ; for she
may strew
Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds . 15
Queen. Let her come in. [Exit Gentleman
[Aside] To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is ,
Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss :
So full of artless jealousy is guilt,
It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. 20

Re-enter Gentleman , with OPHELIA

Oph. Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark ?
Queen. How now, Ophelia !
Oph. [ Sings]. How should I your true love know
From another one?
By his cockle hat and staff, 25
And his sandal shoon.
Queen. Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song ?
Oph. Say you? nay, pray you , mark.
[ Sings] He is dead and gone , lady,
He is dead and gone ; 30
At his head a grass -green turf,
At his heels a stone.
Queen. Nay, but, Ophelia, -
-
Oph. Pray you , mark.
[Sings] White his shroud as the mountain-
snow,
Enter KING
56

Queen. Alas, look here, my lord. 35

Oph. [ Sings]. Larded with sweet flowers ;
Which bewept to the grave did go
With true love showers.
112 HAMLET [Act IV

King. How do you , pretty lady?

40 Oph. Well, God ' ild you ! They say the owl was a
baker's daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but
know not what we may be. God be at your table !
King. Conceit upon her father.
Oph. Pray you , let's have no words of this ; but
45 when they ask you what it means, say you this :

[ Sings] To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,

All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your valentine.

50 King. How long hath she been thus ?

Oph. I hope all will be well. We must be patient :
but I cannot choose but weep, to think that they
should lay him i' the cold ground. My brother shall
know of it and so I thank you for your good counsel .
55 Come, my coach ! Good night, ladies ; good night,
sweet ladies ; good night, good night. [ Exit
King. Follow her close ; give her good watch, I
pray you. [Exit Horatio
O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs
All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Gertrude ,
60 When sorrows come, they come not single spies ,
But in battalions. First, her father slain :
Next, your son gone ; and he most violent author
Of his own just remove : the people muddied,
Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers,
65 For good Polonius' death ; and we have done but
greenly,
In hugger-mugger to inter him : poor Ophelia
Divided from herself and her fair judgement ,
Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts :
Last, and as much containing as all these,
70 Her brother is in secret come from France ;
Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds ,
Scene 5] HAMLET 113
And wants not buzzers to infect his ear
With pestilent speeches of his father's death ;
Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd,
Will nothing stick our person to arraign 75
In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude , this ,
Like to a murdering-piece, in many places
Gives me superfluous death. [A noise within
Queen. Alack, what noise is this ?
King. Where are my Switzers ? Let them guard
the door.

Enter another Gentleman

What is the matter?
Gent. Save yourself, my lord: 80
The ocean, overpeering of his list,
Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste
Than young Laertes, in a riotous head ,
O'erbears your officers. The rabble call him lord ;
And, as the world were now but to begin, 85
Antiquity forgot, custom not known ,
The ratifiers and props of every word,
They cry ' Choose we : Laertes shall be king !'
Caps, hands, and tongues applaud it to the clouds :
' Laertes shall be king, Laertes king !' 90 *
Queen. How cheerfully on the false trail they cry!
O, this is counter, you false Danish dogs !
King. The doors are broke. [Noise within

Enter LAERTES , armed; Danes following

Laer. Where is this king? Sirs, stand you all
without.
Danes. No, let's come in.
Laer. I pray you, give me leave. 95
Danes. We will, we will .
[They retire without the door
Laer. I thank you : keep the door. O thou vile king,
( M 881 ) H
114 HAMLET [Act IV

Give me my father !
Queen. Calmly, good Laertes.
King. What is the cause, Laertes,
100 That thy rebellion looks so giant-like?
Let him go, Gertrude ; do not fear our person :
There's such divinity doth hedge a king,
That treason can but peep to what it would ,
Acts little of his will. Tell me, Laertes,
105 Why thou art thus incensed. Let him go, Gertrude.
Speak, man.
Laer. Where is my father?
King. Dead.
Queen. But not by him.
King. Let him demand his fill.
Laer. How came he dead ? I'll not be juggled
with :
110 To hell, allegiance ! vows, to the blackest devil !
Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit !
I dare damnation. To this point I stand,
That both the worlds I give to negligence,
Let come what comes ; only I'll be revenged
115 Most throughly for my father.
King. Who shall stay you?
Laer. My will, not all the world :
And for my means, I'll husband them so well ,
They shall go far with little.
King. Good Laertes,
If you desire to know the certainty
120 of your dear father's death , is 't writ in your revenge,
That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe,
Winner and loser?
Laer. None but his enemies .
King. Will you know them then?
Laer. To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my
arms ;
125 And like the kind life-rendering pelican,
Scene 5] HAMLET 115

Repast them with my blood.

King. Why, now you speak
Like a good child and a true gentleman.
That I am guiltless of your father's death ,
And am most sensibly in grief for it,
It shall as level to your judgement pierce 130
As day does to your eye.
Danes [ Within]. Let her come in.
Laer. How now! what noise is that?

Re-enter OPHELIA

O heat, dry up my brains ! tears seven times salt,

Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye !
By heaven, thy madness shall be paid with weight, 135
Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May !
Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia!
O heavens ! is ' t possible, a young maid's wits
Should be as mortal as an old man's life?
Nature is fine in love, and where ' t is fine , 140
It sends some precious instance of itself
After the thing it loves.

Oph. [ Sings]
They bore him barefaced on the bier ;
Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny ;
And in his grave rain'd many a tear, -
- 145

Fare you well, my dove !

Laer. Hadst thou thy wits , and didst persuade
revenge,
It could not move thus.

Oph. [ Sings]
You must sing a-down, a-down,
An you call him a-down-a. 150
O, how the wheel becomes it ! It is the false steward
stole his master's daughter,
116 HAMLET [Act IV

Laer. This nothing's more than matter.

Oph. There's rosemary, that's for remembrance ;
155 pray, love, remember : and there is pansies, that's for
thoughts.
Laer. A document in madness, thoughts and remem-
brance fitted .
Oph. There's fennel for you , and columbines : there's
160 rue for you ; and here's some for me : we may call it

Oph. There's rosemary, that's for remembrance.-(Act iv. 5. 154.)

herb of grace o' Sundays : O, you must wear your rue

with a difference. There's a daisy : I would give you
some violets, but they withered all when my father
died : they say he made a good end,-
[Sings]
165 For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy.

Laer. Thought and affliction , passion , hell itself,

She turns to favour and to prettiness,
Scene 5] HAMLET 117

Oph. [ Sings]
And will a' not come again?
And will a' not come again?
No, no, he is dead : 170
Go to thy death-bed :
He never will come again.
His beard was as white as snow,
All flaxen was his poll :
He is gone, he is gone, 175
And we cast away moan :
God ha' mercy on his soul !
And of all Christian souls, I pray God . God be wi’
you. [Exit
Laer. Do you see this, O God?
King. Laertes , I must commune with your grief, 180
Or you deny me right. Go but apart,
Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will,
And they shall hear and judge ' twixt you and me :
If by direct or by collateral hand
They find us touch'd , we will our kingdom give, 185
Our crown, our life , and all that we call ours,
To you in satisfaction ; but if not,
Be you content to lend your patience to us ,
And we shall jointly labour with your soul
To give it due content.
Laer. Let this be so; 190
His means of death, his obscure funeral ,
No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones ,
No noble rite nor formal ostentation ,
Cry to be heard , as ' t were from heaven to earth ,
That I must call 't in question.
King. So you shall ; 195
And where the offence is let the great axe fall.
I pray you , go with me. [Exeunt
118 HAMLET [Act IV

SCENE 6. Another room in the castle

Enter HORATIO and a Servant

Hor. What are they that would speak with me?

Serv. Sea-faring men , sir : they say they have letters
for you .
Hor. Let them come in. [Exit Servant
5 I do not know from what part of the world
I should be greeted , if not from Lord Hamlet.

Enter Sailors
First Sailor. God bless you, sir.
Hor. Let him bless thee too.
First Sailor. He shall , sir, an ' t please him. There's
Io a letter for you , sir : it comes from the ambassador that
was bound for England ; if your name be Horatio , as I
am let to know it is.
Hor. [Reads]. ' Horatio , when thou shalt have over-
looked this , give these fellows some means to the
15 king : they have letters for him. Ere we were two
days old at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment
gave us chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail ,
we put on a compelled valour, and in the grapple I
boarded them : on the instant they got clear of our
20 ship ; so I alone became their prisoner. They have
dealt with me like thieves of mercy : but they knew
what they did ; I am to do a good turn for them .
Let the king have the letters I have sent ; and repair
thou to me with as much speed as thou wouldst fly
25 death . I have words to speak in thine ear will make
thee dumb ; yet are they much too light for the bore
of the matter. These good fellows will bring thee
where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their
course for England : of them I have much to tell
30 thee. Farewell. He that thou knowest thine,
' HAMLET . '
Scene 7] HAMLET 119

Come, I will make you way for these your letters ;

And do't the speedier, that you may direct me
To him from whom you brought them. [Exeunt

SCENE 7. Another room in the castle

Enter KING and LAERTES

King. Now must your conscience my acquittance

seal ,
And you must put me in your heart for friend ,
Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,
That he which hath your noble father slain
Pursued my life.
Laer. It well appears : but tell me 5
Why you proceeded not against these feats ,
So crimeful and so capital in nature,
As by your safety, wisdom, all things else,
You mainly were stirred up.
King. O, for two special reasons ;
Which may to you perhaps seem much unsinew'd , IO
But yet to me they are strong. The queen his mother
Lives almost by his looks ; and for myself-
My virtue or my plague, be it either which—
She's so conjunctive to my life and soul,
That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, 15
I could not but by her. The other motive,
Why to a public count I might not go,
Is the great love the general gender bear him ;
Who, dipping all his faults in their affection,
Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone, 20
Convert his gyves to graces ; so that my arrows,
Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind,
Would have reverted to my bow again,
And not where I had aim'd them.
35

Laer. And so have I a noble father lost ; 25

A sister driven into desperate terms ,
I20 HAMLET [Act IV

Whose worth, if praises may go back again,

Stood challenger on mount of all the age
For her perfections : but my revenge will come.
30 King. Break not your sleeps for that : you must not
think
That we are made of stuff so flat and dull
That we can let our beard be shook with danger
And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more :
I loved your father, and we love ourself;
35 And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine-

Enter a Messenger
How now! what news?
Mess. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet :
This to your majesty ; this to the queen .
King. From Hamlet ! who brought them?
Mess. Sailors, my lord, they say ; I saw them not :
40 They were given me by Claudio ; he received them
Of him that brought them .
King. Laertes, you shall hear them.
Leave us . [Exit Messenger
"
[Reads] High and mighty, You shall know I am .
set naked on your kingdom . To-morrow shall I beg
45 leave to see your kingly eyes : when I shall , first ask-
ing your pardon thereunto , recount the occasion of
my sudden and more strange return . HAMLET .'
What should this mean? Are all the rest come back?
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?
50 Laer. Know you the hand?
King. 'Tis Hamlet's character. 'Naked ' !
And in a postscript here, he says ' alone '.
Can you advise me?
Laer. I'm lost in it, my lord . But let him come :
It warms the very sickness in my heart,
55 That I shall live and tell him to his teeth,
'Thus didest thou '.
Scene 7] HAMLET 121

King. If it be so , Laertes-
As how should it be so, how otherwise, -
Will you be ruled by me?
Laer. Ay, my lord ;
So you will not o'errule me to a peace.
King. To thine own peace. If he be now return'd, 60
As checking at his voyage , and that he means
No more to undertake it, I will work him
To an exploit now ripe in my device,
Under the which he shall not choose but fall :
And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, 65
But even his mother shall uncharge the practice
And call it accident.
Laer. My lord, I will be ruled ;
The rather, if you could devise it so
That I might be the organ.
King. It falls right.
You have been talk'd of since your travel much , 70
And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality
Wherein, they say, you shine : your sum of parts
Did not together pluck such envy from him
As did that one, and that in my regard
Of the unworthiest siege.
Laer. What part is that, my lord ? 75
King. A very riband in the cap of youth ,
Yet needful too ; for youth no less becomes
The light and careless livery that it wears
Than settled age his sables and his weeds ,
Importing health and graveness. Two months since, 80
Here was a gentleman of Normandy:-
I've seen myself, and served against, the French
And they can well on horseback : but this gallant
Had witchcraft in ' t ; he grew unto his seat,
And to such wondrous doing brought his horse, 85
As had he been incorpsed and demi-natured
With the brave beast : so far he topp'd my thought
122 HAMLET [Act IV

That I , in forgery of shapes and tricks,

Come short of what he did.
Laer. A Norman was ' t?
90 King. A Norman.
Laer. Upon my life , Lamond.
King. The very same.
Laer. I know him well : he is the brooch indeed
And gem of all the nation.
King. He made confession of you,
95 And gave you such a masterly report
For art and exercise in your defence
And for your rapier most especial ,
That he cried out, ' t would be a sight indeed
If one could match you : the scrimers of their nation,
100 He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor eye,
If you opposed them. Sir, this report of his
Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy
That he could nothing do but wish and beg
Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him.
105 Now, out of this--
Laer. What out of this, my lord ?
King. Laertes, was your father dear to you?
Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,
A face without a heart?
Laer. Why ask you this ?
King. Not that I think you did not love your father ;
IIO But that I know love is begun by time,
And that I see, in passages of proof,
Time qualifies the spark and fire of it.
There lives within the very flame of love
A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it ;
115 And nothing is at a like goodness still ,
For goodness , growing to a plurisy,
Dies in his own too much : that we would do ,
We should do when we would ; for this " would '
changes
Scene 7] HAMLET 123

And hath abatements and delays as many

As there are tongues , are hands , are accidents ; 120
And then this ' should ' is like a spendthrift sigh,
That hurts by easing. But to the quick o' the ulcer:
Hamlet comes back : what would you undertake ,
To show yourself your father's son in deed
More than in words?
Laer. To cut his throat i' the church. 125
King. No place, indeed , should murder sanctuarize ;
Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes ,
Will you do this , keep close within your chamber.
Hamlet return'd shall know you are come home :
We'll put on those shall praise your excellence 130
And set a double varnish on the fame
The Frenchman gave you , bring you in fine together,
And wager on your heads : he, being remiss ,
Most generous and free from all contriving,
Will not peruse the foils ; so that with ease, 135
Or with a little shuffling, you may choose
A sword unbated , and in a pass of practice
Requite him for your father.
Laer. I will do 't :
And for that purpose I'll anoint my sword.
I bought an unction of a mountebank, 140
So mortal that but dip a knife in it,
Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare,
Collected from all simples that have virtue
Under the moon, can save the thing from death
That is but scratch'd withal : I'll touch my point 145
With this contagion , that, if I gall him slightly,
It may be death .
King. Let's further think of this :
Weigh what convenience both of time and means
May fit us to our shape : if this should fail,
And that our drift look through our bad performance, 150
'T were better not assay'd : therefore this project
124 HAMLET [Act IV Scene 7

Should have a back or second, that might hold

If this did blast in proof. Soft ! let me see :
We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings :
155 I ha't :
When in your motion you are hot and dry—
As make your bouts more violent to that end-
And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared him
A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping,
160 If he by chance.escape your venom'd stuck,
Our purpose may hold there. But stay, what noise?

Enter QUEEN
How now, sweet queen !
Queen. One woe doth tread upon another's heel,
So fast they follow : your sister's drown'd, Laertes.
165 Laer. Drown'd ! O, where ?
Queen. There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream ;
There with fantastic garlands did she come
Of crow-flowers, nettles , daisies , and long purples
170 That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them :
There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke ;
When down her weedy trophies and herself
175 Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide ;
And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up :
Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes ;
As one incapable of her own distress,
Or like a creature native and indued
180 Unto that element : but long it could not be
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay
To muddy death.
Laer. Alas, then she is drown'd?
Queen. Drown'd, drown'd.
125
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175 .-
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126 HAMLET [Act V

185 Laer. Too much of water hast thou , poor Ophelia,

And therefore I forbid my tears : but yet
It is our trick ; nature her custom holds ,
Let shame say what it will : when these are gone,
The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord :
190 I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze,
But that this folly douts it. [Exit
King. Let's follow, Gertrude :
How much I had to do to calm his rage !
Now fear I this will give it start again ;
Therefore let's follow. [Exeunt

ACT V

SCENE 1. A Churchyard

Enter two Clowns , with spades, &c.

First Clown . Is she to be buried in Christian burial

that wilfully seeks her own salvation ?
Second Clown. I tell thee she is ; and therefore make
her grave straight : the crowner hath sat on her, and
5 finds it Christian burial.
First Clown. How can that be, unless she drowned
herself in her own defence ?
Second Clown. Why, ' t is found so.
First Clown. It must be ' se offendendo ' ; it cannot
Io be else. For here lies the point : if I drown myself
wittingly, it argues an act : and an act hath three
branches ; it is , to act, to do, and to perform : argal,
she drowned herself wittingly.
Second Clown. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver.
15 First Clown. Give me leave. Here lies the water ;
good : here stands the man ; good : if the man go to
this water and drown himself, it is, will he, ni he,
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 127

he goes : mark you that ; but if the water come to him

and drown him , he drowns not himself : argal ; he that
is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life. 20
Second Clown. But is this law?
First Clown. Ay, marry, is ' t ; crowner's quest law.
Second Clown. Will you ha' the truth on't? If this
had not been a gentlewoman , she should have been
buried out o' Christian burial. 25
First Clown. Why, there thou say'st : and the more
pity that great folk should have countenance in this
world to drown or hang themselves , more than their
even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient
gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers and grave-makers : 30
they hold up Adam's profession.
Second Clown. Was he a gentleman?
First Clown. A' was the first that ever bore arms.
Second Clown. Why, he had none.
First Clown. What, art a heathen? How dost thou 35
understand the Scripture? The Scripture says Adam
digged : could he dig without arms? I'll put another
question to thee : if thou answerest me not to the pur-
pose, confess thyself-
Second Clown . Go to . 40
First Clown. What is he that builds stronger than
either the mason , the shipwright, or the carpenter?
Second Clown. The gallows-maker ; for that frame
outlives a thousand tenants.
First Clown. I like thy wit well, in good faith : the 45
gallows does well ; but how does it well ? it does well to
those that do ill : now thou dost ill to say the gallows is
built stronger than the church : argal, the gallows may
do well to thee. To't again, come.
Second Clown. ' Who builds stronger than a mason, 50
a shipwright, or a carpenter?'
First Clown. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
Second Clown. Marry, now I can tell.
128 HAMLET [Act V

First Clown . To't.

55 Second Clown. Mass, I cannot tell.

Enter HAMLET and HORATIO afar off

First Clown. Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for

your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating ; and ,
when you are asked this question next, say a grave-
maker ' : the houses that he makes last till doomsday.
60 Go get thee to Yaughan : fetch me a stoup of liquor.
[Exit Second Clown
[He digs and sings]
In youth, when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet ,
To contract, O, the time, for-a my behove,
O, methought, there-a was nothing-a meet.
65 Ham. Has this fellow no feeling of his business , that
he sings at grave-making?
Hor. Custom hath made it in him a property of
easiness.
Ham. 'Tis e'en so : the hand of little employment
70 hath the daintier sense.
First Clown. [ Sings]
But age, with his stealing steps ,
Hath claw'd me in his clutch ,
And hath shipped me intil the land,
As if I had never been such.
[ Throws up a skull
75 Ham. That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing
once how the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it
were Cain's jaw-bone, that did the first murder ! It
might be the pate of a politician , which this ass now
o'er-reaches ; one that would circumvent God, might it
80 not?
Hor. It might, my lord.
Ham. Or of a courtier ; which could say ' Good-
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 129
morrow, sweet lord ! How dost thou, sweet lord? '
This might be my lord such-a-one, that praised my
lord such-a-one's horse, when he meant to beg it ; 85
might it not?
Hor. Ay, my lord.
Ham. Why, e'en so : and now my Lady Worm's ;
chapless, and knocked about the mazzard with a sex-
ton's spade : here's fine revolution , an we had the trick 90
to see 't. Did these bones cost no more the breeding ,
but to play at loggats with ' em? mine ache to think
on 't.
First Clown. [ Sings]

A pick-axe, and a spade, a spade,

For and a shrouding sheet : 95
O, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
[Throws up another skull

Ham. There's another : why may not that be the

skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his
quillets , his cases, his tenures, and his tricks ? why 100
does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about
the sconce with a dirty shovel, and will not tell him of
his action of battery? Hum ! This fellow might be
in's time a great buyer of land , with his statutes, his
recognizances , his fines, his double vouchers, his re- 105
coveries : is this the fine of his fines, and the recovery
of his recoveries , to have his fine pate full of fine dirt ?
will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases ,
and double ones too , than the length and breadth of a
pair of indentures ? The very conveyances of his lands 110
will hardly lie in this box ; and must the inheritor him-
self have no more, ha?
Hor. Not a jot more, my lord .
Ham. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins ?
Hor. Ay, my lord , and of calf- skins too . 115
(M 881 ) Į
130 HAMLET [Act V

Ham. They are sheep and calves which seek out

assurance in that. I will speak to this fellow. Whose
grave's this, sirrah ?
First Clown. Mine , sir.
120 [Sings] O, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.

Ham. I think it be thine, indeed : for thou liest in ' t.

First Clown. You lie out on ' t, sir, and therefore 't is
not yours : for my part, I do not lie in 't, and yet it is
125 mine.
Ham. Thou dost lie in ' t, to be in't and say it is
thine : ' t is for the dead, not for the quick ; therefore
thou liest.
First Clown. 'Tis a quick lie , sir ; ' t will away again,
130 from me to you.
Ham. What man dost thou dig it for?
First Clown. For no man , sir.
Ham. What woman , then ?
First Clown. For none, neither.
135 Ham. Who is to be buried in 't?
First Clown. One that was a woman, sir ; but, rest
her soul , she's dead.
Ham. How absolute the knave is ! we must speak by
the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord,
140 Horatio, this three years I have taken note of it ; the
age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant
comes so near the heel of the courtier, he galls his
kibe. How long hast thou been a grave-maker?
First Clown. Of all the days i' the year, I came to ' t
145 that day that our last king Hamlet overcame Fortin-
bras.
Ham. How long is that since?
First Clown. Cannot you tell that? every fool can
tell that : it was the very day that young Hamlet was
150 born ; he that is mad , and sent into England,
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 131

Ham. Ay, marry, why was he sent into England ?

First Clown. Why, because a' was mad : a ' shall
recover his wits there ; or, if a' do not, it's no great
matter there.
Ham. Why? 155
First Clown. 'T will not be seen in him there ; there
the men are as mad as he.
Ham. How came he mad ?
First Clown. Very strangely, they say.
Ham. How ' strangely '? 160
First Clown. Faith , e'en with losing his wits.
Ham. Upon what ground?
First Clown . Why, here in Denmark : I have been
sexton here, man and boy, thirty years.
Ham. How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he 165
rot?
First Clown. I ' faith , if a' be not rotten before a'
die, a' will last you some eight year or nine year : a
tanner will last you nine year.
Ham. Why he more than another ? 174
First Clown. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with
his trade , that a' will keep out water a great while ;
and your water is a sore decayer of your dead body.
Here's a skull now ; this skull has lain in the earth
three and twenty years . 175
Ham. Whose was it?
First Clown. A mad fellow's it was : whose do you
think it was?
Ham. Nay, I know not.
First Clown. A pestilence on him for a mad rogue ! 180
a' poured a flagon of Rhenish on my head once. This
same skull , sir, was Yorick's skull , the king's jester.
Ham. This?
First Clown. E'en that.
Ham. Let me see. [ Takes the skull. ] Alas, poor 185
Yorick ! I knew him, Horatio : a fellow of infinite jest,
132 HAMLET [Act V

of most excellent fancy : he hath borne me on his back

a thousand times ; and now how abhorred in my imagi-
nation it is ! my gorge rises at it . Here hung those
190 lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where
be your gibes now? your gambols ? your songs ? your

Ham. I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.
-(Act v. 1. 186, 187. )

flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on

a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning ?
quite chap-fallen ? Now get you to my lady's chamber,
195 and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour
she must come ; make her laugh at that. Prithee ,
Horatio, tell me one thing.
Hor. What's that, my lord ?
Scene 1 ] HAMLET 133
Ham. Dost thou think Alexander looked o ' this
fashion i' the earth? 200
Hor. E'en so.
Ham. And smelt so ? pah ! [Puts down the skull
Hor. E'en so, my lord .
Ham. To what base uses we may return , Horatio !
Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of 205
Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole?
Hor. 'T were to consider too curiously, to consider so .
Ham. No, faith , not a jot ; but to follow him thither
with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it : as
thus : Alexander died, Alexander was buried , Alexander 210
returneth into dust ; the dust is earth ; of earth we
make loam ; and why of that loam , whereto he was
converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel ?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away : 215
O , that that earth , which kept the world in awe ,
Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw!
But soft ! but soft ! aside : here comes the king.

Enter Priests, &c. , in procession ; the Corpse of Ophelia,

LAERTES, and Mourners following; KING, QUEEN,
their trains, &c.
The queen, the courtiers : who is this they follow?
And with such maimed rites? This doth betoken 220
The corse they follow did with desperate hand
Fordo it own life : ' t was of some estate.
Couch me awhile, and mark. [Retiring with Horatio
Laer. What ceremony else?
Ham. That is Laertes , a very noble youth : mark . 225
Laer. What ceremony else?
First Priest. Her obsequies have been as far enlarged
As we have warranty : her death was doubtful ;
And, but that great command o'ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged 230
134 HAMLET [Act V Scene 1

Till the last trumpet ; for charitable prayers,

Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her :
Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants ,
Her maiden strewments and the bringing home
235 Of bell and burial.
Laer. Must there no more be done?
First Priest. No more be done :
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls.
Laer. Lay her ' the earth :
240 And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring ! I tell thee, churlish priest,
A ministering angel shall my sister be,
When thou liest howling.
Ham. What, the fair Ophelia?
Queen. Sweets to the sweet : farewell !
[ Scattering flowers
245 I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife ;
I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid ,
And not have strew'd thy grave.
Laer. O, treble woe
Fall ten times treble on that cursed head,
Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
250 Deprived thee of! Hold off the earth a while ,
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms :
[ Leaps into the grave
Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead ,
Till of this flat a mountain you have made,
To o'ertop old Pelion , or the skyish head
255 Of blue Olympus.
Ham. [Advancing] . What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis ? whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wandering stars , and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded heroes ? This is I ,
Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave
135
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136 HAMLET [Act V

Laer. The devil take thy soul !

[Grappling with him
260 Ham. Thou pray'st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat ;
For, though I am not splenitive and rash,
Yet have I something in me dangerous ,
Which let thy wisdom fear : hold off thy hand.
265 King. Pluck them asunder.
Queen. Hamlet , Hamlet !
All. Gentlemen , -
Hor. Good my lord, be quiet.
[The Attendants part them, and they
come out of the grave
Ham. Why, I will fight with him upon this theme
270 Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
Queen. O my son, what theme?
Ham. I loved Ophelia : forty thousand brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
275 King. O, he is mad, Laertes.
Queen. For love of God, forbear him.
Ham. 'S wounds, show me what thou ' lt dɔ :
Woo't weep ? woo't fight ? woo't fast? woo't tear
thyself?
Woo't drink up eisel ? eat a crocodile?
280 I'll do 't. Dost thou come here to whine?
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her, and so will I :
And , if thou prate of mountains, let them tnrow
Millions of acres on us , till our ground ,
285 Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart ! Nay, an thou ' lt mouth,
I'll rant as well as thou.
Queen. This is mere madness :
And thus awhile the fit will work on him ;
Anon, as patient as the female dove,
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 137

When that her golden couplets are disclosed, 290

His silence will sit drooping.
Ham. Hear you, sir ;
What is the reason that you use me thus ?
I loved you ever : but it is no matter ;
Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew and dog will have his day. [Exit 295
King. I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
[ To Laertes] [Exit Horatio
Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech ;
We'll put the matter to the present push .
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.
This grave shall have a living monument : 300
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see ;
Till then, in patience our proceeding be. [Exeunt

SCENE 2. A hall in the castle

Enter HAMLET and HORATIO

Ham. So much for this, sir : now shall you see the
other ;
You do remember all the circumstance?
Hor. Remember it, my lord !
Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting,
That would not let me sleep : methought I lay 5
Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly,
And praised be rashness for it, let us know,
Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well,
When our deep plots do pall : and that should learn us
There's a divinity that shapes our ends, IO
Rough-hew them how we will , -
Hor. That is most certain.
Ham. Up from my cabin,
My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark
Groped I to find out them ; had my desire,
Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew 15
138 HAMLET [Act V

To mine own room again ; making so bold,

My fears forgetting manners, to unseal
Their grand commission ; where I found, Horatio, -
O royal knavery !-an exact command,
20 Larded with many several sorts of reasons
Importing Denmark's health and England's too ,
With, ho ! such bugs and goblins in my life,
That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,
No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,
25 My head should be struck off.
Hor. Is't possible?
Ham. Here's the commission : read it at more
leisure.
But wilt thou hear me how I did proceed ?
Hor. I beseech you.
Ham. Being thus be-netted round with villanies, —
30 Or I could make a prologue to my brains ,
They had begun the play, —I sat me down ,
Devised a new commission , wrote it fair :
I once did hold it, as our statists do,
A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much
35 How to forget that learning, but, sir, now
It did me yeoman's service : wilt thou know
The effect of what I wrote?
Hor. Ay, good my lord.
Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king,
As England was his faithful tributary,
40 As love between them like the palm might flourish ,
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear
And stand a comma ' tween their amities,
And many such-like ' As'es of great charge,
That, on the view and knowing of these contents ,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving-time allow'd .
Hor. How was this seal'd?
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 139

Ham. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant.

I had my father's signet in my purse ,
Which was the model of that Danish seal ; 50
Folded the writ up in the form of the other,
Subscribed it, gave't the impression , placed it safely,
The changeling never known. Now, the next day
Was our sea-fight ; and what to this was sequent
Thou know'st already. 55
Hor. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.
Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this em-
ployment ;
They are not near my conscience ; their defeat
Does by their own insinuation grow :
'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes 60
Between the pass and fell incensed points
Of mighty opposites.
Hor. Why, what a king is this !
Ham. Does it not , thinks thee, stand me now upon—
He that hath killed my king and stain'd my mother,
Popp'd in between the election and my hopes, 65
Thrown out his angle for my proper life ,
And with such cozenage-is't not perfect conscience ,
To quit him with this arm ? and is ' t not to be damn'd ,
To let this canker of our nature come
In further evil? 70
Hor. It must be shortly known to him from England
What is the issue of the business there.
Ham. It will be short : the interim is mine ;
And a man's life's no more than to say ' One ' .
But I am very sorry, good Horatio , 75
That to Laertes I forgot myself ;
For, by the image of my cause , I see
The portraiture of his : I'll court his favours :
But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me
Into a towering passion.
Hor. Peace ! who comes here? 80
140 HAMLET [Act V

Enter OSRIC

Os. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark .

Ham. I humbly thank you , sir. Dost know this
water-fly?
Hor. No, my good lord.
85 Ham. Thy state is the more gracious ; for ' t is a
vice to know him. He hath much land, and fertile :
let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand
at the king's mess : ' t is a chough ; but, as I say, spa-
cious in the possession of dirt.
90 Os. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure , I
should impart a thing to you from his majesty.
Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit.
Put your bonnet to his right use ; ' t is for the head.
Os. I thank your lordship, it is very hot.
95 Ham. No, believe me, ' t is very cold ; the wind is
northerly.
Os. It is indifferent cold, my lord , indeed .
Ham. But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot,
or my complexion-
100 Os. Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry, as
't were, -I cannot tell how. But, my lord , his majesty
bade me signify to you that he has laid a great wager
on your head : sir, this is the matter-
Ham. I beseech you to remember-
[Hamlet moves him to put on his hat
105 Os. Nay, good my lord ; for mine ease, in good faith.
Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes ; believe me ,
an absolute gentleman, full of most excellent differ-
ences , of very soft society and great showing : indeed ,
to speak feelingly of him, he is the card or calendar
110 of gentry, for you shall find in him the continent of
what part a gentleman would see.
Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you ;
though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy
Scene 2] HAMLET 141

the arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither, in

respect of his quick sail. But, in the verity of extol- 115
ment, I take him to be a soul of great article ; and his
infusion of such dearth and rareness, as , to make true
diction of him, his semblable is his mirror, and who else
would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more.
Os. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him . 120
Ham. The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap the
gentleman in our more rawer breath ?
Os. Sir?
Hor. Is't not possible to understand in another
tongue? You will do ' t, sir, really. 125
Ham. What imports the nomination of this gentle-
man?
Os. Of Laertes?
Hor. His purse is empty already ; all's golden words
are spent. 130
Ham. Of him, sir.
Os. I know you are not ignorant—
Ham. I would you did , sir ; yet, in faith , if you did ,
it would not much approve me. Well, sir?
Os. You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes 135
is-
Ham. I dare not confess that, lest I should compare
with him in excellence ; but, to know a man well , were
to know himself.
Os. I mean, sir, for his weapon ; but in the imputa- 140
tion laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed .
Ham. What's his weapon ?
Os. Rapier and dagger.
Ham. That's two of his weapons : but, well .
Os. The king, sir, hath wagered with him six 145
Barbary horses : against the which he has imponed ,
as I take it, six French rapiers and poniards , with
their assigns , as girdle, hangers, and so : three of
the carriages, in faith , are very dear to fancy, very
142 HAMLET [Act V

150 responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, and

of very liberal conceit.
Ham. What call you the carriages?
Hor. I knew you must be edified by the margent ere
you had done.
155 Os. The carriages, sir , are the hangers.
Ham. The phrase would be more germane to the
matter, if we could carry a cannon by our sides : I
would it might be hangers till then . But, on : six Bar-
bary horses against six French swords, their assigns,
160 and three liberal-conceited carriages ; that's the French
bet against the Danish. Why is this ' imponed ', as
you call it.
Os. The king, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen
passes between yourself and him, he shall not exceed
165 you three hits : he hath laid on twelve for nine ; and it
would come to immediate trial, if your lordship would
vouchsafe the answer.
Ham. How if I answer ' no' ?
Os. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person
170 in trial.
Ham. Sir, I will walk here in the hall : if it please his
majesty, it is the breathing time of day with me ; let the
foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the king
hold his purpose, I will win for him an I can ; if not, I
175 will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits.
Os. Shall I redeliver you e'en so?
Ham. To this effect, sir, after what flourish your
nature will.
Os. I commend my duty to your lordship.
180 Ham. Yours, yours. [ Exit Osric. ] He does well to
commend it himself; there are no tongues else for's
turn.
Hor. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his
head.
185 Ham. He did comply with his dug before he sucked
Scene 2] HAMLET 143

it. Thus has he and many more of the same breed

that I know the drossy age dotes on-only got the tune
of the time and outward habit of encounter ; a kind
of yesty collection, which carries them through and
through the most fond and winnowed opinions ; and do 190
but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are out .

Enter a Lord

Lord. My lord, his majesty commended him to you

by young Osric, who brings back to him, that you
attend him in the hall : he sends to know if your
pleasure hold to play with Laertes, or that you will 195
take longer time.
Ham. I am constant to my purposes ; they follow the
king's pleasure : if his fitness speaks, mine is ready ;
now or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.
Lord. The king and queen and all are coming down . 200
Ham. In happy time.
Lord. The queen desires you to use some gentle
entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play.
Ham. She well instructs me. [Exit Lord
Hor. You will lose this wager, my lord. 205
Ham. I do not think so : since he went into France,
I have been in continual practice ; I shall win at the
odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here
about my heart : but it is no matter.
Hor. Nay, good my lord, - 210
Ham. It is but foolery ; but it is such a kind of gain-
giving, as would perhaps trouble a woman.
Hor. If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will
forestal their repair hither, and say you are not fit .
Ham. Not a whit ; we defy augury : there is special 215
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ' t is
not to come ; if it be not to come, it will be now ; if it
be not now, yet it will come : the readiness is all ; since
144 HAMLET [Act V

no man has aught of what he leaves , what is ' t to leave

220 betimes? Let be.

Enter KING, QUEEN, LAERTES , and Lords, OSRIC, and

other Attendants with foils and gauntlets ; a table
and flagons of wine on it.
King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from
me. [The King puts Laertes' hand into Hamlet's
Ham. Give me your pardon, sir : I've done you
wrong ;
But pardon't, as you are a gentleman.
This presence knows,
225 And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd
With sore distraction . What I have done,
That might your nature, honour and exception
Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness.
Was 't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes ? Never Hamlet :
230 If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away,
And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes,
Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it.
Who does it, then ? His madness : if't be so ,
Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd ;
235 His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.
Sir, in this audience,
Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil
Free me so far in your most generous thoughts
That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house,
240 And hurt my brother.
Laer. I am satisfied in nature ,
Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most
To my revenge : but in my terms of honour
I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement ,
Till by some elder masters of known honour
245 I have a voice and precedent of peace ,
To keep my name ungored. But till that time,
I do receive your offered love like love ,
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 145

And will not wrong it.

Ham. I embrace it freely,
And will this brother's wager frankly play.
Give us the foils . Come on.
Laer. Come, one for me. 250
Ham. I'll be your foil, Laertes : in mine ignorance
Your skill shall , like a star i' the darkest night,
Stick fiery off indeed .
Laer. You mock me, sir.
Ham. No, by this hand.
King. Give them the foils , young Osric . Cousin
Hamlet, 255
You know the wager?
Ham. Very well, my lord ;
Your grace hath laid the odds o' the weaker side.
King. I do not fear it ; I have seen you both :
But since he is better'd , we have therefore odds.
Laer. This is too heavy, let me see another. 260
Ham. This likes me well. These foils have all a
length ? [ They prepare to play
Os. Ay, my good lord .
King. Set me the stoups of wine upon that table.
If Hamlet give the first or second hit,
Or quit in answer of the third exchange , 265
Let all the battlements their ordnance fire ;
The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath ;
And in the cup an union shall he throw,
Richer than that which four successive kings
In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups ; 270
And let the kettle to the trumpet speak,
The trumpet to the cannoneer without ,
The cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth,
' Now the king drinks to Hamlet ' . Come, begin :
And you, the judges , bear a wary eye. 275
Ham. Come on , sir.
Laer. Come, my lord. [They play
(M 881 ) K
146 HAMLET [Act V

Ham. One.
Laer. No.
Ham. Judgement.
Os. A hit, a very palpable hit.
Laer. Well ; again.
King. Stay ; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is
thine ;
Here's to thy health .
[Trumpets sound, and cannon shot off within
Give him the cup.
280 Ham. I'll play this bout first ; set it by awhile.
Come. [They play. ] Another hit ; what you say?
Laer. A touch, a touch, I do confess.
King. Our son shall win.
Queen. He's fat, and scant of breath.
Here , Hamlet, take my napkin , rub thy brows :
285 The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
Ham. Good madam !
King. Gertrude, do not drink.
Queen. I will, my lord ; I pray you, pardon me.
King [Aside]. It is the poison'd cup : it is too late.
Ham. I dare not drink yet, madam ; by and by.
290 Queen. Come, let me wipe thy face.
Laer. My lord , I'll hit him now.
King. I do not think 't.
Laer. [Aside]. And yet it is almost against my
conscience.
Ham. Come, for the third, Laertes : you but dally ;
I pray you, pass with your best violence ;
295 I am afeard you make a wanton of me.
Laer. Say you so ? come on . [They play
Os. Nothing, either way.
Laer. Have at you now !
[Laertes wounds Hamlet; then, in scuffling, they
change rapiers, and Hamlet wounds Laertes
King. Part them ; they are incensed .
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 147

Ham. Nay, come, again. [The Queen falls

Os. Look to the queen there, ho !
Hor. They bleed on both sides. How is it, my
lord ? 300
Os. How is ' t, Laertes ?
Laer. Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe,
Osric ;
I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery.
Ham. How does the queen?
King. She swounds to see them bleed.
Queen. No, no, the drink, the drink, -O my dear
Hamlet, - 305
The drink , the drink ! I am poison'd . [Dies
Ham. O villany ! Ho ! let the door be lock'd :
Treachery! Seek it out.
Laer. It is here, Hamlet : Hamlet, thou art slain ;
No medicine in the world can do thee good ; 310
In thee there is not half an hour of life ;
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenom'd : the foul practice
Hath turn'd itself on me ; lo, here I lie ,
Never to rise again : thy mother's poison'd : 315
I can no more : the king, the king's to blame.
Ham. The point envenom'd too !
Then, venom, to thy work. [ Stabs the King
All. Treason ! treason !
King. O, yet defend me, friends ; I am but hurt. 320
Ham. Here, thou murderous, damned Dane,
Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?
Follow my mother. [King dies
Laer. He is justly served ;
It is a poison temper'd by himself.
Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet : 325
Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,
Nor thine on me. [Dies
Ham. Heaven make thee free of it ! I follow thee.
148 HAMLET [Act V

I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen , adieu !

330 You that look pale and tremble at this chance,

King
.[S,tThen
v)317 work enom
otabs
(A.18.
thy
the
32.-ct
envenom
dHam
t!point
.Too he

That are but mutes or audience to this act,

Had I but time-as this fell sergeant, death ,
Scene 2] HAMLET 149

Is strict in his arrest-O , I could tell you—

But let it be. Horatio, I am dead ;
Thou livest ; report me and my cause aright 335
To the unsatisfied.
Hor. Never believe it :
I am more an antique Roman than a Dane :
Here's yet some liquor left.
Ham. As thou'rt a man ,
Give me the cup : let go ; by heaven , I'll have't.
O good Horatio , what a wounded name, 340
Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me!
If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,
Absent thee from felicity awhile ,
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain ,
To tell my story. [March afar off, and shot within
What warlike noise is this ? 345
Os. Young Fortinbras with conquest come from
Poland ,
To the ambassadors of England gives
This warlike volley.
Ham. O, I die , Horatio ;
The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit :
I cannot live to hear the news from England ; 350
But I do prophesy the election lights
On Fortinbras : he has my dying voice ;
So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less ,
Which have solicited . The rest is silence. [Dies
Hor. Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet
prince : 355
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest !
Why does the drum come hither? [March within

Enter FORTINBRAS and the English Ambassadors,

with drums, colours, and Attendants
For. Where is this sight?
Hor. What is it you would see?
150 HAMLET [Act V

If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.

360 For. This quarry cries on havoc. O proud death ,
What feast is toward in thine eternal cell,
That thou so many princes at a shot
So bloodily hast struck ?
First Amb. The sight is dismal ;
And our affairs from England come too late :
365 The ears are senseless that should give us hearing,
To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd ,
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead :
Where should we have our thanks ?
Hor. Not from his mouth,
Had it the ability of life to thank you :
370 He never gave commandment for their death.
But since, so jump upon this bloody question ,
You from the Polack wars, and you from England,
Are here arrived , give order that these bodies
High on a stage be placed to the view ;
375 And let me speak to the yet unknowing world
How these things came about : so shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts ,
Of accidental judgements, casual slaughters ,
Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,
380 And, in this upshot, purposes mistook
Fall'n on the inventors' heads : all this can I
Truly deliver.
For. Let us haste to hear it,
And call the noblest to the audience .
For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune :
385 I have some rights of memory in this kingdom,
Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me.
Hor. Of that I shall have also cause to speak,
And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more :
But let this same be presently perform'd ,
390 Even while men's minds are wild ; lest more mis-
chance
Scene 2 ] HAMLET 151

On plots and errors happen.

For. Let four captains
Bear Hamlet , like a soldier, to the stage ;
For he was likely, had he been put on,
To have proved most royally : and, for his passage,
The soldiers' music and the rites of war 395
Speak loudly for him.
Take up the bodies : such a sight as this
Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss.
Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
[A dead march. Exeunt, bearing off the dead bodies;
after which a peal of ordnance is shot off
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 NOTES

Act I-Scene 1

A soldier-Francisco-is on guard, alone, in the silence of mid-

night, before the Castle of Elsinore, expecting to be relieved. If any
challenge is heard at all, it ought to come from him; but he himself is
suddenly challenged by Bernardo. This breach of military etiquette,
and the peremptory manner in which Bernardo speaks, show that he
is nervous and startled.
Elsinore is on the east coast of Zealand, about 24 miles from
Copenhagen. The Gothic castle, now called Kronborg, stands on a
little promontory to the east of the port, commanding the entrance to
the Baltic.
2. me is emphatic.
3. Long live the king! The watchword for the night.
6. upon your hour. We still use the phrase ' upon this ' ; and the
simple preposition with just has the same meaning, e.g. ' it is just on
the hour '.
7. is struck . Intransitive verbs in Anglo-Saxon formed their per-
fect and pluperfect tenses with the auxiliary to be. The verbs come
and go still use to be indifferently with to have. Cf. 1. 52, below.
now or ' new '.
8. much is a quantitative adjective, and was formerly used indiffer-
ently with the singular or the plural number; cf. any, all, some, all of
which denote either quantity or indefinite number.
10. There is special significance in Bernardo's anxiety to know
whether Francisco has had a 66'quiet guard".
13. rivals, i.e. partners. Rivals were originally those who lived
along the same river. They were continually disputing about their
share of the water.
make haste. Bernardo is anxious not to be left alone.
15. liegemen, i.e. men bound (Latin ligare, ' to bind ' ) as vassals.
the Dane, i.e. The Dane ' par excellence. Cf. the Scotch and
Irish use of the in, e.g. ' The Douglas ' , ' The O'Donoghue ' . Many
common names have been converted into proper names by the addi-
tion of this the, cf. Le Havre, the Parson, the Crown, &c. See note
on 1. 84.
16. Give you. Supply ' God '.
153
154 HAMLET [Act I

23. fantasy is a doublet of fancy, and means here imagination.

Fantasy is borrowed directly from the Latin; fancy comes indirectly,
through Norman-French. Cf. superficies and surface, separate and
sever, fidelity and fealty.
25. of us. Of is frequently used for by, as in 1 Cor. xv, seen of
Cephas.
29. approve our eyes, i.e. corroborate (the witness of) our eyes.
31. assail is a soldier's word; cf. ' fortified ' below.
36. pole, i.e. the pole-star. The half line preceding gives a pause
for effect.
37. made his course, i.e. ' so far completed his course as to be
there ', at exactly the same time last night.
39. beating, striking.
42. scholar. Horatio, being a scholar, spoke Latin , the language
of the priests, and therefore the language in which ghosts were
exorcised.
45. would, i.e. wishes.
be spoke. Past tense used for past participle, as in many other
places. There was a notion that a ghost never spoke until spoken
to.
46. usurp'st this time. The ghost invades the night, and usurps
the form of the dead king.
48. Denmark. The name of the kingdom is put for that of the
king; cf. Norway in 1. 61 .
49. sometimes is an old genitive, like once and always, and means
' at one time ', i.e. formerly.
55. on't. On and of are used indifferently in iv. 5. 177, 178 :
" God ha' mercy on his soul !
And of all Christian souls. '
56. might has here its literal meaning of could. It is really the
past tense of the Old English magan, ' to be able ' ; and we still have
the root meaning in the nouns might and main. Cf. ' may ' in l. 131 .
57. sensible avouch, i.e. ' actual information ' (through the senses).
62. parle is an obsolete form of parley. Its usual meaning is ‘ a
conference between enemies '.
63. sledded Polacks, i.e. Poles on sledges. Russia did not extend
her empire to the Baltic till 1703 ; before that date Finland , Esthonia,
and Livonia belonged to Poland.
65. jump, i.e. just.
68. gross and scope, i.e. speaking generally.
70. Good now, i.e. be good enough to.
72. toils, causes to toil.
73. cast, i.e. casting.
N.B. - Cannon were not in use in Northern Europe at that time,
but the Moors had used them in Spain. They were made of brass or
bronze, because these compounds are so easily cast.
Scene 1 ] NOTES 155

74. mart, i.e. marketing or purchasing.

75. impress. It was the custom in England to press (seize and
compel) men to join the army and navy in time of war or threatened
invasion.
sore. The heavy burden of work imposed upon them prevented
any distinction between Sundays and week-days all alike were
working days.
77. toward, i.e. in preparation, coming on. Might = literally ' can' ;
cf. note on 1. 56.
83. emulate is a verb used as an adjective. The adjective is either
emulative or emulous.
84. the combat, i.e. mortal combat ' . Cf. ' The Plague ' , and see
note on 1. 15.
Hamlet, i.e. the late king.
86. compáct is accented on the last syllable, as if it were the
adjective, not the noun.
87. Having all the binding force which a court of law and a court
of honour could give.
88. with his life, i.e. along with his life ', if he lost that.
89. seized of, i.e. possessed of.
90. Against which lands a part fully equal in value was pledged by
our king.
91. had return'd, i.e. would have returned.
94. carriage, i.e. the tenor of the article (drawn up and) signed at
the foot.
96. unimproved mettle, i.e. untutored courage.
97. skirts out-skirts.
98. Shark'd . . . resolutes, i.e. hunted up a company of landless
desperadoes '.
100. a stomach, i.e. ‘ that requires courage '. The word is also
used by Shakespeare in the senses of inclination and pride.
102. of has its literal sense ' off' . Cf. note on 1. 25.
(
107. romage, i.e. making room ' for-clearing out (of stores).
108. be. Bernardo's opinion is much the same as Horatio's ; but
the subjunctive be expresses less certainty than the indicative is would
have expressed. For but = ' than ', cf. ' no more but that ', and see
lines 100 and 102 above.
109. sort, i.e. suit.
112. mote, i.e. a very small thing. Cf. St. Matthew, vii. 3.
115. sheeted, i.e. in winding-sheets.
116. gibber, i.e. to utter inarticulate sounds.
117. As. A line has apparently fallen out of the text here . It must
have been to this purport :-' And there were other terrible sights ,
such ' as comets .
118. Disasters are literally ' evil-stars ' (Gr. dvo-dorǹp), i.e. ' evil in-
fluences ' . The moon is called ' the moist star ' because of her in-
156 HAMLET [Act I

fluence on the tides ; Neptune's empire ' stands upon ' , i.e. ' depends
on ' , what ' flows in ' from her.
120. to doomsday, i.e. ' in a manner suitable to '. See St. Matthew,
xxiv. 29.
121. precurse = fore-runner.
122. harbingers. Literally, a harbinger is one who goes before to
prepare lodgings or shelter (harbourage) for those who are coming.
still, from its root sense of ' unmovedly ' , was used by Shake-
speare in the general sense of ' always '. Cf. ii. 2. 42.
123. omen stands here for ' the calamity foretold by the omen ' . A
somewhat similar transference of meaning has taken place in the
words text and note. Cf. 'trumpet ' for ' trumpeter ' in 1. 150 below.
125. climatures, i.e. simply ' climate ' , ' country '.
127. To cross the path of a ghost was supposed to bring down its
evil influence on the person who dared venture so near.
129. Speak to me. The broken lines in this speech are quite in
keeping with the occasion , for Horatio—though no longer in the state
of fear into which the first appearance of the ghost threw him —is
labouring under intense excitement. He has talked over with his
friends in the meantime several reasons - historical and practical -for
the ghost's appearance; and he now boldly appeals to it by its hopes
of peace, its love for Denmark, and its desire to make restitution to
any whom it has wronged.
134. foreknowing. ' Foreknowledge of which may, by good for-
tune, enable us to avoid it.'
136. uphoarded. Separable particles have usually variable mean-
ings according as they are prefixes and compounded or suffixes and
separate. For instance, to upset and to overlook are not the same as
to set up and to look over. Here, however, uphoarded has exactly
the same meaning as hoarded up.
140. partisan, i.e. pike.
146. malicious. Malice is a doublet of malevolence, i.e. ' evil-wish-
ing ' . They can only offer it an empty appearance of violence,
though their intention is evil enough; and thus their attempt only
becomes a subject for ridicule.
150. trumpet. See note on 1. 123.
154. extravagant and erring both meant originally wandering
abroad, or beyond bounds, and are used literally here.
hies, i.e. hastens.
155. confine, i.e. place of confinement.
156. probation ( ' proof ' ) is four syllables.
160. bird of dawning, i.e. the cock. Cf. 1. 150.
162. strike, like takes in the next line, is used in a peculiar
' magical ' sense.
163. takes, i.e. enchants ; cf. the slang use of ' taking '.
167. Walks. Cf. "the floods clap their hands ".
168. Break we, i.e. (I advise that) we break.
Scene 2 ] NOTES 157

170. young Hamlet. This introduces the central figure in the

tragedy, and prepares the reader for his appearance in the next
scene.
Act I-Scene 2
The King's speech is divided into two distinct parts. The first
part refers to his marriage with Gertrude, his dead brother's widow;
and its affected language marks the mental strain of the murderer;
the second part refers to matters of state, and is straightforward
and dignified.
2. that repeats the though; cf. que in French.
4. one brow of woe, i.e. a united expression of sorrow. Brow of
woe =' woful brow ' , a very common construction in Shakespeare.
Cf. 'waste of shame ' =' shameful waste '.
5. nature, i.e. natural feeling.
6. wisest, because ' we ' have no right to forget ourselves and the
state.
8. sometime, ' formerly an adverb used for an adjective. Con-
trast " bitter cold ", i. 1. 8.
9. jointress, i.e. joint possessor.
10. defeated, disfeatured, i.e. marred.
II. With one eye cheerful, and one sorrowful. ' Cf. ' an ounce ' ,
a pound '.
12. The Greek name for this construction is oxymoron, i.e. ‘ a
bitter sweet '. Tennyson writes :-" And faith unfaithful kept him
falsely true ".
་
13. dole is connected with the Latin doleo, ' I weep ', and means
grief.
14. to wife. Cf. St. Matthew, iii. 9, "We have Abraham to our
father ".
barr'd, i.e. opposed, excluded.
15. wisdoms . Cf. ' loves ', i. I. 173.
15, 16. gone along with, i.e. approved of.
17. that = that which. The relative is seldom omitted when the
demonstrative is expressed.
18. Having a poor opinion of our strength.' Weak really
qualifies worth, not supposal. He held his ' supposal ' strongly, or
he would not have acted on it. A supposal is an ་ unfounded
opinion '.
20. disjoint. The final t of the present tense is made to do duty
for the tor ed which ought to be added to form the weak past
participle. This is sometimes found, especially in Shakespeare, even
when the present tense ends in te, not simple t, e.g. degenerate.
·
21. Colleagued with goes closely after supposal. Having a poor
opinion of our strength added to a dream of conquest. '
22. He is superfluous in grammar ; but the real nominative to
hath-young Fortinbras-is so far off that its repetition by he makes
the sense clearer.
158 HAMLET [Act I

23, 24. Referring to the surrender of these lands (which were)

legally lost by his father. ' With, i.e. ' according to '.
27. writ, i.e. written. See note on 1. 20 above and 1. 29 below.
28. Norway. Cf. i. 1. 61 .
29. impotent , i.e. sick. Cf. Acts, iv. 9.
bed-rid. Cf. note on 1. 20 above ; but ridden is, of course, a
strong past participle.
31. gait, i.e. proceeding.
in that goes with writ-' We have writ to Norway (bidding
him) to suppress • · because the levying of money, the enlist-
ment of soldiers, and the complete equipment are made entirely
from among his subjects '.
33. subject- a collective noun.
35. For, i.e. as. Cf. St. Luke, xi. 12, " for a fish ".
37. To business —a noun used as a verb. Cf. " to shark up ", i. 1. 98.
more is redundant after further.
38. delated, i.e. handed over to you '.
39. ' Let your haste win our approval of your loyalty. '
41. nothing is used adverbially, = not, ' in no degree '.
42. news, like odds, was originally an adjective inflected for plural
and then used as a noun in the singular.
44. of reason, in reason.
the Dane. Cf. i. 1. 15.
45. lose your voice, i.e. ask in vain. Cf. 1. 118 below.
thou is more personal and more friendly than you when used
to friends.
47. native, i.e. necessary, or closely related.
48. instrumental, i.e. useful, or subservient.
49. What he means is that Polonius is necessary and useful to
him as king ; what he says is that he as king is closely related to
or dependent on and subservient to Polonius.
50. Dread my lord. The possessive adjective stands in this pecu-
liar position either ( 1 ) because it was used so often with such words
as lord, lady, sir, &c. , that the two words came to be treated as
a compound noun, cf. mon-sieur and ma-dame ; or (2) to emphasize
the dread. Cf. i. 3. 46.
51. Your leave and favour, i.e. ' your kind leave '.
52. From whence. Either the preposition or the suffix is redundant.
"
53. in, i.e. by being present at'.
56. them. The personal pronouns originally did not need to be
compounded with self to have a reflexive sense. Cf. " I repent Me
of having chosen Israel ", " Get thee to bed " (i. 1. 7), " Let every
soldier hew him down a bough ".
58. slow leave ; cf. ' weak supposal ' in 1. 18 above, and ' hard
consent ' below.
Scene 2 ] NOTES 159

59. laboursome is a hybrid, labour being Latin and some being

English. The proper Latin word is laborious ; the proper English
word is toilsome.
60. I put the seal of my consent, though it was won with diffi-
culty, upon his wishes. '
62. fair hour, favourable opportunity.
64. cousin, from its root meaning (Latin consanguineus, a blood
relation '), could be applied to a nephew.
65. He was more than an ordinary kinsman, for he was stepson
as well as nephew ; but he was far from feeling kindly towards his
' stepfather uncle '.
67. There is a punning reference in sun to son in l. 64.
68. nighted ; cf. note on 1. 37 above. Hamlet's first appearance on
the scene, dressed in black and with eyes cast down, is suggestive
of the coming tragedy.
"
70. vailed lids. Vailing lids ' would be more accurate ; it was
the eye that was vailed-by the eyelids.
72. all that lives, i.e everything that ever has life.
75. particular with thee, i.e. so special in your case '.
76. Contrast this outburst (at the word seems) with Hamlet's
previous " Ay, madam, it is common ". The outburst draws at-
tention to his estimate of external things. The words , though
courteous enough in form, must have galled his mother ; and they
drew from the king the long pedantic speech to which Hamlet
makes no answer.
77. inky, i.e. ‘ black as ink ' . ' It is not the deep dye of my
cloak, nor even the sombre appearance of the usual mourning
apparel, nor the breaking forth of heavy sighs, nor the abundant
flow of tears, nor the forlorn and downcast expression of the coun-
tenance, nor any of the forms and fashions, fits and starts of grief,
that can truly set forth my feelings.'
81. haviour is the manner which a person ' has '.
84. play, and, therefore, deserve the word 6 seems '. Cf. 1. 76.
85. passeth show, i.e. is a reality, not merely an appearance.
Passeth =surpasseth.
86. These . • suits. 'These things (11. 77-81) are only external
evidences of mourning.'
90. ' That lost father of yours lost his father, and the survivor
(your father) was bound to mourn for some time. '
92. obsequious has its literal sense of ' following to the grave '—
'funereal '.
perséver has the old spelling and the old accent.
93. condolement is simply a pompous word for ' grief ', which
betrays the king's self-conscious state of mind.
95. incorrect to, i.e. not correct in the sight of. Both incorrect
and unfortified are rare and artificial words. Cf. condolement '.
97. simple and unschool'd, i.e. ignorant and undisciplined.
160 HAMLET [Act 1

99. ' As any thing that is most commonly noticed.'

IOI . to heaven, i.e. towards- against heaven.
104. who is for which, as if Reason were a person.
still, i.e. always.
109. immediate (Latin in, ' not ' , and medius, ' middle '), without
anyone between.
113. school , i.e. college ; but, as the University of Wittenberg was
not founded till 1502, this is an anachronism . See ' cannon ' , l. 126
below.
114. retrograde to is simply an affected way of saying ' contrary to ’.
118. lose. Cf. note on 1. 45 above.
124. ' Sits close to my heart and pleases me ; and, in proof, I
will have a cannon fired every time I drink a health to-day.'
126. cannon were not invented till the beginning of the 14th
century .
127. rouse, i.e. deep draught. The word is said to come from
the Danish rôs, a beaker of wine ' . In Shakespeare's time the
Danes were notorious as the most intemperate people in Europe.
bruit, i.e. noise abroad.
132. canon, i.e. religious law.
N.B. —The idea of suicide has, therefore, already occurred to him.
134. uses, i.e. customs, ways.
137. merely, i.e. entirely.
139, 140. 'He was to my uncle as the sun-god is to a grotesque
being, half man and half goat.'
141. might not beteem, 'could not allow '.
147. or ere. One of the words is redundant , as or is simply an-
other form of ere. Cf. an if. Or, the alternative conjunction , is
connected with other-(wise).
149. Niobe was the daughter of Tantalus, King of Lydia . She
was so proud of her large family that she jeered at Latona for
having only two children, Apollo and Diana. In revenge, Apollo
slew all her sons, and Diana slew all her daughters. This awful
blow smote her dumb with grief, and Zeus eventually turned her
into a ' stone ' which sheds tears all the summer long.
150. wants discourse, i.e. ' does not possess the power of reasoning '.
153. Hercules was the ' Samson ' of the Greeks.
157. In Elizabethan, as still in provincial English, two negatives
strengthen one another, instead of, as in Latin, contradicting one
another.
160. do can now be used as an auxiliary (with the infinitive) only,
( 1 ) with a negative ' I do not know ' , (2) in questions-' Do you
know?' , (3 ) for emphasis ' I do know '.
162. change, i.e. exchange. ' In my circumstances I am your
poor servant .'
163. make, i.e. do.
Scene 3] NOTES 161

167. Supply make in another sense-' developing a truant dispo-

sition '.
173. affair, i.e. business .
178. upon is here an adverb, or supply it (ie. the funeral).
181. dearest is used simply with an intensive force - i.e. greatest—
what touches the heart most closely, whether pleasure or pain.
182. Or ever. Cf. note on 1. 147.
189. who is for ' whom ' , as often in Shakespeare.
191. Season. ' Keep till the right time'-' control '.
admiration has its literal meaning of ' wonder ' (Latin admirari).
192. attent = attentive.
197. vast is a noun-a doublet of ' waste ' , ' desert '.
199. at point, i.e. at every point.
cap-a-pe = French cap-à-pied, ' from head to foot '.
201. slow and stately are either adjectives used adverbially, or
agree with ' figure '.
203. truncheon, i.e. ' a staff ' , especially of authority ' . The word
is connected with trunk.
203, 204. distill'd Almost, i.e. almost melted.
2II. ་ My right hand is not more like my left hand than the ap-
parition was like your father.'
215. it was used as the neuter genitive before its was introduced ,
which was about Shakespeare's time. In Old English the neuter
nominative was hit, and the neuter genitive was his. The latter is
found very often in the Authorized Version of the Bible ( 1611 A.D. ).
225. Arm'd refers to the apparition.
229. beaver was the part of the helmet which could be raised to
allow the wearer to drink (Latin bibo).
234. constantly, i.e. steadily.
236. like is an adjective used adverbially. As the suffix -ly is
itself a corruption of like, the word likely is an anomalous form .
237. tell, i.e. count. Cf. " the tale of the bricks ", Exodus, v. 8.
244. gape, i.e. open its mouth .
247. tenable = ' held ' .
255. doubt suspect, fear.

Act I-Scene 3
3. convoy, i.e. means of conveying safely.
6. toy in blood, i.e. a passing fancy of youth.
7. primy, i.e. early spring .
9. perfume and suppliance, ' that which supplies a pleasant scent
for a moment '.
II. crescent, i.e. when it is growing (Latin cresco).
12. thews, i.e. sinews .
temple, i.e. of the body. Cp. St. John , ii . 21 .
(M 881 )
162 HAMLET [Act I

15. 'Nothing that can sully or deceive (cautel) stains his virtuous
intention.'
17. His greatness weigh'd , i.e. taking into consideration his high
rank.
18. subject to his birth, i.e. must consult the dignity of the posi-
tion which he inherits.
19. unvalued, i.e. not valued so highly.
20. Carve, i.e. choose.
21. safety must be pronounced with three syllables.
23. ' By what the state says and will yield to.'
26. particular, i.e. definite, precise.
30. credent = credulous.
32. importunity, i.e. urgent request.
6
39. The canker-worm too often frets the tender plants of spring
before the buds are opened. '
40. button is connected with the same root as bud.
42. blastments—' blights '.
46. good my brother. Cf. note on i. 2. 30.
47. ungracious, i.e. graceless.
49. Whiles is simply the genitive of while-' at the time that '.
puff'd, i.e. with pride, or ' bloated '.
50. Himself, i.e. each of the ' pastors '.
primrose path of dalliance, i.e. the path of trifling in his early
youth .
51. recks . . . rede, i.e. heeds not his own counsel '.
54. I have a favourable opportunity for taking leave of my
father a second time.'
56. sits in, i.e. blows steadily on.
59. charácter, i.e. ‘ engrave'— the literal meaning of the original
Greek word.
60. unproportion'd, i.e. immature, or unsuitable.
his = its. Cf. note on i . 2. 215.
61. vulgar, i.e. 6 common '-'Don't make yourself cheap '.
62. and . ་
tried, i.e. and that after having tested your choice
by experience '.
64. Do not make your hand- shake of welcome lose its freshness
by entertaining too freely.'
67. Bear 't, i.e. conduct the quarrel.
69. censure has its literal sense of opinion ' . (Latin censeo ' I
think '.
70. habit, i.e. dress, as still in ' riding-habit '.
71. Let the price be shown not in the fanciful and gaudy pat-
tern, but in the richness of the material . '
74. ' Are at once most particular and most free in their expendi-
ture on that special point.'
Scene 3] NOTES 163

77. husbandry, i.e. economy-literally ' household-management '.

81. season. May my blessing cause this advice to season or in-
fluence your conduct. '
90. Marry is a corruption of ' By Mary ' , i.e. ' By St. Mary the
Virgin '.
bethought, i.e. thought of.
94. put on, i.e. put to-explained to.
101. green is allied to grow, and therefore means ' young ' and so
'inexperienced '.
102. Unsifted, i.e. inexperienced.
circumstance is used here in the singular as a collective noun.
107. Tender, i.e. regard.
108. crack the wind -the metaphor is from a broken-winded horse.
109. tender . . . fool, i.e. make a fool of me.
112. go to. In Shakespeare's time go implied merely ' motion ',
(
not necessarily motion from ' ; and so to could be used with it =
' Come, come !' There may, however, be an ellipse of some such
words as are found in a slang expression-' Go to Bath '.
113. countenance, i.e. appearance (of reality).
115. springes , i.e. snares with a spring-noose.
woodcocks were in Shakespeare's time supposed to have no
brains, because they were so easily snared.
119. a-making. The preposition a is a corruption of on , and the
adjective a a corruption of one.
121. something is used adverbially - ' in some degree ' . Cf. no-
thing in i. 2. 41 .
122. ' Do not allow yourself to be addressed by everyone who
demands a hearing.'
123. parley is literally ' to discuss terms of peace ' . (Fr. parler,
' to speak ' .)
126. in few. Supply words. Adjectives are often thus used for
nouns in Shakespeare. Cf. for all ' in 1. 131 below.
127. brokers, i.e. negotiators.
128. Not of the true colour which their outward appearance
would suggest . '
investments, i.e. clothing.
129. implorators = implorers.
130. ' Sounding like the words of one whose troth is pledged with
sacred vows. '
131. for all in short. Cf. 1. 126 above. Once might be supplied
before the for.
133. slander, i.e. ' abuse ', or ' misuse ' , is an infinitive.
moment is for moment's.
135. come your ways, i.e. come along. The s is probably the
genitive inflexion of the noun—used adverbially. Cf. ' any ways
afflicted ',
164 HAMLET [ Act I

Act I-Scene 4
This conversation about the weather and the time is most char-
acteristic of men whose minds are trying to escape from one all-
absorbing thought.
1. shrewdly, i.e. keenly.
2. eager, i.e. sharp . (Latin acer, ' sharp '. Cf. vinegar, ‘ sharp-
wine '.)
3. lacks of, i.e. is deficient off.
6. held his wont, i.e. has been in the habit of. Wont is really an
adjective (wonted) used as a noun. Cf. held his own '.
8. wake, i.e. keep a ' watch-night ' feast.
rouse. Cf. note on i . 2. 127.
9. wassail was6 literally was hail, ' be healthy !' Then it came to
mean generally a drinking-bout '.
up-spring is said to mean ' a riotous German dance ' , in which
case reels must mean ' makes the dancers reel '.
10. Rhenish, i.e. Rhenish wine.
12. triumph of his pledge, i.e. triumphant reception of the health
he has pledged .
15. born, i.e. accustomed from birth.
17. east and west practically means ' in all directions '. In sense
the words follow ' nations '.
18. traduced and tax'd, i.e. slandered and censured - 'blamed
deservedly and even more than we deserve '.
19. clepe =call .
' And sully our title of ' drunkard ' further by offensive charges
of gluttony.'
swinish phrase, i.e. by calling us swine. Cf. note on ' slow
leave ' , i. 2. 58.
21. at height, i.e. however noble.
22. The best part of the good that is attributed to us. '
24. mole of nature, i.e. inherited blemish. Cf. 1. 40 below.
26. hisits. Cf. i. 2. 215.
27. By the excess of some natural habit. '
complexion (Latin complexio, ' physical structure of body '), a
'congenital defect '. " The ancients believed that the disposition
depended upon the temperament or due intermixture (complexion
or interweaving) of ' humours ' of the body-blood, phlegm, and
bile, especially ; an excess of any one of these humours made a
man of sanguinary, phlegmatic, choleric, or melancholy complexion.
The term is now employed for the complicated effect of the dispo-
sition on the countenance.'"
30. plausive is literally ' praiseworthy '.
31-34. Carrying the deep impress of that one defect, whether it
is an inherited defect or the result of an accident, -their virtues
being otherwise free from all blemish and human limitation . '
Scene 5 ] NOTES 165
35. censure, i.e. opinion. Cf. i. 3. 69.
36. The small admixture of eale makes all that is really good
in the character a matter for doubt, and so brings it into ill-repute
altogether. '
eale =ale. Hamlet obviously means e'il ( = evil) , but is punning
on the subject of conversation , which is the drinking habits of the
Danes.
40. spirit of health, i.e. healed spirit, opposed to the goblin. For
this use of the genitive cf. note on 1. 24 above and on i. 2. 4.
43. questionable, i.e. inviting question.
47. canonized . hearsed, ' buried with sacred rites '. Shakespeare
always accents canónized on the second syllable.
48. cerements (Latin cera, ' wax ') are the waxed shrouds in which
the dead were wrapt.
49. inurn'd, i.e. buried. An urn, as a symbol or ornament of a
tomb, speaks of a time when bodies were cremated .
52. complete, accented here on the first syllable.
53. Appearest thus by the fitful light of the moon.'
55. to shake our disposition, i.e. by shaking our mental constitution.
56. reaches, i.e. grasp.
57. should, i.e. ought.
59. impartment, i.e. to make communication.
65. a pin's fee, i.e. the price of one pin.
71. beetles, i.e. leans over.
his = its. Cf. note on i. 2. 215.
73. deprive ' take away '-does not need of before an impersonal
object, especially when-as here-the person is also omitted.
your sovereignty of reason, i.e. the controlling power of your
reason. Cf. 'a pin's fee ' in 1. 65 above.
75. toys of desperation, i.e. desperate fancies. Cf. 1. 40 above.
82. Even my blood-vessels as hard as the sinews of the Nemean
lion.' Nemea was the name of a rock in the Peloponnese near
which Hercules strangled a gigantic lion.
85. lets, i.e. makes late-' hinders '.
87. 'His thoughts give him the strength of madness or despair.'
89. Have after, i.e. Let us take ourselves after. Have is connected
with the Latin capio, ' I take ' . Cf. ' have at him

Act I-Scene 5

1. further ought to be farther. Further is the comparative of

forth; far makes farther, into which the -th was introduced by false
analogy with further. Farther ought always to be used of actual
distance.
4. render, i.e. give back- Latin re and do.
10. term, i.e. limited time (Latin terminus, ' a boundary ').
166 HAMLET [ Act I

15. whose, i.e. of which. Contrast ་ Our Father which '. Who
was formerly used where we now use which (even of inanimate
objects), and vice versa.
17. spheres, i.e. sockets.
20. porpentine is Shakespeare's regular way of spelling porcupine.
(Latin porcus-spina, ' a thorny-hog '.)
21. eternal blazon, i.e. awful proclamation, a disclosure. Eternal
is used very commonly in this sense both in the east of England
and in America.
29. Haste me, i.e. do not keep me waiting.
29, 30. swift As meditation, i.e. quick as thought.
31. sweep is simply a doublet of swoop.
apt, i.e. quick-to understand and to undertake my commission .
32. fat rank.
33. Lethe wharf, i.e. the bank of the river of Forgetfulness (in
Hades).
36. whole ear of Denmark, i.e. ear of all Denmark.
37. process is the legal word for narrative '.
38. abused, i.e. deceived.
44. of is used as a preposition for ' time ' . Cf. ' of old ', ' of late '.
45. secure obviously does not mean ' safe ' , but ' careless '—' un-
guarded '. (Latin sine-cura. )
46. hebenon, i.e. hen-bane· - the stinking nightshade, which is
baneful to fowls.
47. porches, i.e. openings.
48. leperous distilment, i.e. contagious essence. Leprosy was
considered the most loathsome of contagious diseases.
51. alleys are literally ' canals ' , the word being connected (through
the French aller, ' to go ' ) with the Latin adnare, ' to go to by water '.
52, 53. posset-' hot milk curdled with wine or acid ' -and curd
are nouns used as verbs.
53. eager, i.e. ' sour '. Cf. note on i. 4. 2.
54. thin - not curdled.
55. tetter, i.e. eruption.
bark'd about, i.e. grew like a bark over. This is another
instance of a noun used as a verb. The ordinary verb to bark
means to strip off the bark ' , not ' to cover with bark '. Cf. 1. 52.
56. lazar-like, i.e. leper-like. The word was derived from Lazarus
(St. Luke, xvi. ), and was corrupted into Lizard in the name Lizard
Point, where there was formerly a Lazaretto for the reception of
cases of leprosy from homeward-bound vessels.
59. Of has its literal sense of ' off' = from .
dispatch has also its literal sense of " remove as an obstacle '.
(Latin dispedicare, ' to unfetter '.)
61. Without the Sacrament, without due preparation (appoint-
ments), and without being anointed by the oil of Extreme Unction . '
Scene 5] NOTES 167
65. nature, i.e. natural feeling.
་
66. In whatever way you follow up this act, to avenge it.
71. matin, i.e. ' morning '.
72. pale is an intransitive verb used transitively.
73. Adieu is really two words, à Dieu-' I commend you to God'.
76. instant is an adjective used for an adverb.
79. globe, i.e. his head '.
So. table, i.e. tablet.
81. fond, i.e. foolish.
82. saw is a doublet of saying.
pressures, i.e. impressions.
83. youth and observation, i.e. ' youthful observation ' .
89. The old habit of making generalization from what he saw,
is too strong for him even now.
92. word, i.e. watchword.
97. Hillo, ho, ho ! was the cry used by a falconer to recall his
awk.
99. is 't, i.e. How are things with you?
101. Good my lord. See note on i. 2. 50.
103. once, i.e. ever.
109. circumstance, i.e. circumlocution - beating about the bush ' .
III. shall has an idea of compulsion in it which is explained by
the next line.
115. whirling. The epithet is transferred from the brain to the
product of the brain.
118. Saint Patrick, a Scotch missionary in Ireland at the beginning
of the 5th century, was said to have cleared the island of snakes,
and Hamlet is apparently referring to this legend in connection with
his father's words, 11. 36-38 above.
124. ' Grant me one trifling request.'
129. sword, which was ' cross-hilted '.
132. true-penny, i.e. honest ghost-not a counterfeit.
138. Hic et ubique, i.e. here and everywhere.
་
145. pioner = pioneer (Latin pedo, a foot-soldier ')—a foot-soldier
whose duty it is to clear the way in front of an army.
146. wondrous is an adjective used for an adverb.
147. Cf. Hebrews, xiii. 2.
149. your is not emphatic, but is used in a somewhat contemptuous
general sense. Cf. iii. 2. 3, and iv. 3. 22.
154. antic- odd '—is a doublet of antique.
155. That depends on swear understood.
156. encumber'd means literally ' heaped one on the other '—(Latin
cumulus, a heap ')-' folded '.
159. an if. An is simply a broken form of ' and ' (and = +, but
= - ); and an if means here ' if indeed '.
168 HAMLET [Act II

162. most is used here as the superlative of ' great '.

168. friending = - friendliness.
169. lack, i.e. be lacking.
170. still, i.e. always.
171. This summing up of the first act gives the key to the play.
Hamlet receives from his father a task which he feels to be beyond
his powers.

Act II-Scene 1
This scene serves ( 1 ) as a short relief to the minds of the audience ;
(2 ) to show the rotten state of Danish society ; (3) to admit us to
the secret of the character of the practical Laertes as a foil to the
dreamy Hamlet.
3. marvellous is an adjective used adverbially.
4. inquire inquiry.
7. me is the dative-generally called the ethic dative.
Danskers is the northern-i.e. the hard-form of Danes. Cf.
kirk and church, brig and bridge.
8. How they live, who they are, what their fortune is, where
they live, who are their companions, what state they keep up.
keep is still used in Cambridge for ' live ' or ' lodge '.
10. By the compass and general drift of these inquiries.'
II. do. Cf. note on i. 2. 160.
more nearer is a treble comparative, for nearer = nigh-er-er.
' Find out by general questions whether they know my son ; then
go on to more particular questions ; and from their answers guess
even nearer to the truth than your particular questions and their
particular answers would seem to imply. '
13. Take, i.e. assume.
18. he I mean. For the suppression of the relative cf. i. 2. 17.
(
19. Then lay to his charge whatever faults you like to make up
for the occasion, so long as none are so gross.'
་
31. Whisper his faults so astutely that they may seem merely
blemishes due to newly-won freedom. '
34. ' A wildness in untamed ' young bloods ' such as attacks ever
one of them. '
38. fetch of warrant, i.e. ' a justifiable contrivance '.
39-45. When you are making mention of these slight faults, just
as you would speak of an article rather soiled with use, remember
that if the person whom you are speaking to and want to sound, has
ever seen him guilty of the fore-named crimes, he will follow up the
conversation in this way.'
43. prenominate -' afore-said ' -is a participle. Cf. deject for de-
jected in iii. 1. 156.
45. He is redundant after your party above.
47. addition, i.e. title . Cf. note on i. 4. 19.
Scene 2] NOTES 169

51. leave, i.e. leave off.

58. a' is a corruption of he.
o'ertook over-taken-by intoxication.
rouse. Cf. note on i. 2. 127.
63. ་ Thus we men of wisdom and foresight, by our winding ways
and roundabout tests, get direct information by indirect means.'
of wisdom might possibly mean by wisdom.
64. bias. The metaphor is from the game of Bowls, the balls for
which are weighted on one side so as to roll in a particular (curved)
direction.
66. former refers to his present advice-before Reynaldo starts for
Paris, where he is to try this plan.
67. me, i.e. my meaning.
69. Good my lord ! Cf. note on i. 2. 50.
70. Suspect that he feels the same temptations as you feel your-
self. '
72. ply, i.e. work steadily at. The word might possibly be meta-
phorical - ' let him carry on his own game ' .
76. closet, i.e. private room. ( Latin claudo, ' I shut '. )
77. doublet all unbraced , i.e. ' double-breasted coat altogether un-
fastened '. Such disorder in dress was always supposed to be a
symptom of love-sickness.
79. down-gyved, i.e. (hanging) down like gyves fetters to his
ankles.
81. purport, i.e. meaning.
87. goes. The use ofthe present tense -usually called the Historic
Present—throughout this passage makes the scene more vivid and
realistic. Cf. i. 2. 210.
89. perusal, i.e. study.
101. ecstasy, i.e. madness-literally ' being beside himself'. (Gr.
standing outside of'. )
102. ' The peculiarity of which is that by its own violence it de-
stroys itself, or the person who feels it.'
108. repel, i.e. send back hastily. (Latin repello, ' I drive back '. )
III. quoted , ¿.e. noticed carefully.
112. beshrew my jealousy ! i.e. ' curse my suspicions !'
113. proper, i.e. as much a distinguishing mark.
114. ' To overreach ourselves by too much prudence. '
117. which is governed by to hide in the next line. Hiding this
might annoy the King more than telling him that Hamlet is in love
with you .'
Act II-Scene 2
2. Moreover that, i.e. over and above the fact that.
6. Sith since.
nor = neither.
170 HAMLET Act II

10. dream of, i.e. imagine. The of is really redundant, as often

after intransitive verbs in Shakespeare .
11-14. ‘ That, as you have been brought up with him from such
an early date, and afterwards so closely associated with him in
his youth, you will condescend to stay some time at least.'
12. 8ith seems here to have its literal meaning of ' later ' .
13. vouchsafe, i.e. literally ' to guarantee as certain '. Vouch is
connected with the Latin vox, ' the voice '.
rest, i.e. remaining.
16. occasion, i.e. opportunity.
6
18. To remedy which is in our power if it were discovered.
22. gentry, i.e. courtesy- ' the appropriate conduct of the gentry '
on the principle of noblesse oblige. Contrast such words as villain
or 'heathen '.
23. expend is a doublet of spend. Cf. ' estate ' and ' state ', ' ex-
ample ' and ' sample '.
24. ' To aid and further our hope. '
25. visitation, i.e. visit.
26. fits is singular because thanks is treated as singular.
27. of, i.e. over.
30. bent, i.e. inclination.
38. practices, i.e. devices.
41. are return'd . Shakespeare often uses the auxiliary be for have
with an intransitive verb, especially when it is a verb of motion . Cf.
i. 1. 7.
42. still, i.e. ' always '-its usual meaning in Shakespeare.
47. ' Does not find out the obvious motives of action so surely.'
sure is an adjective used adverbially.
48. hath used seems to combine the sense of (1 ) used= ' did once '
and (2) has been used= ' has been accustomed to '.
49. very, i.e. true. (Latin verus.)
52. fruit, i.e. the dessert-course.
55. head and source-' the chief source '.
56. doubt, i.e. suspect. Cf. ii . 2. 116.
the main. Supply cause.
60. desires , i.e. good wishes.
61. first. Supply arrival or request.
64. truly is misplaced ; it really qualifies was.
65-67. And grieved at this fact, that he was so played with and
deceived because of his sickness, age, and powerlessness. '
67. Was borne. The singular may be accounted for by the fact that
he himself-rather than his ' sickness, age, and impotence ' —is really
the subject of the sentence.
71. assay, i.e. ' to try force '. Assay is a doublet of essay.
77. pass, i.e. passage.
Scene 2] NOTES 171

79. On such terms as are safe for you and therefore allowed to
them.'
8o. likes, i.e. pleases.
81. more consider'd, i.e. time for further consideration. Cf. note
on ii. I. 102.
83. took, i.e. undertaken.
86. expostulate, i.e. discuss fully.
90. wit here means wisdom.
95. matter, i.e. facts.
98. figure. Supply of speech '.
103. effect defective. The result was a defective mind.
•
104. It remains for us to find out that , and the question stands in
this way .'
105. perpend, i.e. weigh carefully. -N.B. Polonius uses pedantic
Latin words.
108. gather and surmise. 'Take these facts and guess the result.'
116-119. doubt in the first two lines and the last line means ' to
be doubtful about ' , and in the third to suspect '.
121. reckon, i.e. to express in numbers-i.e. in numbered feet. Cf.
" I am ill at these numbers ".
122. most best is a double superlative. Cf. note on ii. 1. 11 .
124. machine. ' So long as this body belongs to him, and can be
used by him . '
127. more above = moreover. The ove in ' above ' is the same as
in ' over ' , both being connected with ' up ' .
137. If I had acted as though I were simply a piece of furniture
-blind, deaf, and dumb ', the agent of their correspondence.
table-book, i.e. tablet, note-book.
140. round, an adjective used adverbially, meaning ' plainly '.
141. bespeak, i.e. address.
142. out of thy star, i.e. ' out of thy sphere ' .
146. took the fruits of, i.e. profited by.
147. repulsed -by her.
149. watch, i.e. wakefulness -loss of sleep.
150. lightness, i.e. light-headedness.
154. fain, i.e. gladly.
160. centre of the earth .
164. an arras, i.e. a wall-curtain, or piece of tapestry. See iii. 3.
28.
Arras is a town in the north of France where curtains for covering
the rough walls of houses (before paper and paint came into fashion)
were first manufactured.
166. thereon, i.e. because he loves her.
171. board, i.e. attack, accost.
presently, i.e. immediately.
172 HAMLET [Act II

173. God-a-mercy, i.e. God have mercy-' Please God '.

175. fishmonger-fishing for news.
182. ' If even the sun, who is a god, can only bring evil out of evil,
so bad men will continue to be bad.'
186. say, i.e. mean.
194. who ought to be whom. Cf. note on i. 2. 189.
·
195. matter is used by Polonius in the sense of subject-matter of
the book ', but Hamlet intentionally misunderstands.
198. purging, i.e. discharging.
199. plentiful lack is an instance of oxymoron.
204. go backward-in years, not literally. Crabs go sideways.
209. pregnant, i.e. full of meaning.
happiness, i.e. appropriateness—a sense in which it is still used
of language.
227. indifferent, i.e. average.
229. button-which crowns the very top of it.
244. confines, i.e. places of confinement.
255-257. What an ambitious man looks upon as a substantial
possibility well within his reach is really merely the shadow of a
dream.'
261. beggars bodies. Beggars have no ambition , and are therefore
substantial people ; heroes are ambitious, and are therefore mere
shadows.
262. outstretched, i.e. far-grasping, ambitious.
263. fay, i.e. faith.
265-269. Nothing of the kind : I will not mix you up with my
other servants, for I honestly tell you that they are a worthless set.
But do you, as companions on the high-road of friendship, honestly
tell me what you are doing here. '
273. a halfpenny. Supply at.
274. free visitation, i.e. spontaneous visit.
6
284. consonancy, refers to their being of the same age '.
286. a better proposer, i.e. a better speaker.
287. even and direct, i.e. plain and straightforward.
290. of you, i.e. on you.
་
After this Aside ' Hamlet at once begins to play the madman,
as he has found out that the two courtiers are really spies.
293-295. ' I will anticipate your explanation of the reason of your
coming; and so there will be no necessity for you to reveal it, and
you will not have dropped a single word of what you promised to
keep secret. '
294. discovery, i.e. disclosure.
296. forgone all custom, i.e. given up all practice. The for is a
negative prefix, as in forget, forgive.
299. sterile promontory-a barren headland thrust out into the
ocean of space .
Scene 2 ] NOTES 173

300. brave, i.e. splendid.

301. fretted here is adorned.
304. faculty, i.e. powers.
305. express, i.e. expressive.
307. paragon is literally ' a model with which comparisons are
made '.
308. quintessence. The fifth (Latin quintus) was the purest or
characteristic essence, according to alchemists-i.e. the one which
remained after the four ' elements ' -earth , air, fire, and water-had
been removed from the substance.
316. lenten, i.e. meagre.
These players are not merely incidental ; they play a very im-
portant part-in the plot.
317. coted , i.e. overtook and passed.
321. target, i.e. round shield.
322. gratis (Latin gratis, ' for thanks ' ), i.e. for nothing.
humorous means 'who displays some particular humour, i.e.
disposition of the mind '.
324. tickle o' the sere means literally 6 easily touched on the
trigger ', i.e. easily moved to laughter '.
tickle ticklish.
sere, or sear, is the catch of a gun which keeps the hammer at
half or full cock.
325. halt, i.e. be lame as to the ' feet '.
328. the city, i.e. Copenhagen, not Elsinore. Hamlet's love of the
drama is quite in keeping with his intellectual tastes.
329. residence, i.e. remaining in the city.
330. both ways is redundant.
331. inhibition, i.e. prohibition to act in the city. This probably
refers to events which had actually been taking place in London,
where in 1600 and 1601 performances were ' inhibited ' in all the
theatres except ' the Globe ' and ' the Fortune '. About the same
time a company of boys from the Savoy Chapel Royal was licensed
to act in Blackfriars, and their popularity still further drew away
support from the grown-up actors.
337-343. ' The grown-up actors win less support because there is a
troop of boy-actors—a regular nest of young hawks —who scream out
their parts at the top of their voices, and are violently applauded for
doing so. Indeed, they are so much the rage, in spite of their noise,
that many good and experienced actors dare not enter the lists
against their shrill voices.'
338. aery is the nest of a bird of prey '.
eyases, i.e. nestlings.
345. escoted, i.e. paid . Cf. ‘ scot-free ' = ' without payment '.
་
345-350. Will they give up their profession when their voices
break? Will they not say later on, if—as is most likely, unless they
have other resources to fall back on-they become public players,
174 HAMLET [Act II

that those who write dramas for them, are wronging them by making
them exclaim against what they are themselves going to be?'
345. quality, i.e. profession. Cf. 1. 429 below.
349. exclaim against, i.e. either ( 1 ) find fault with, or (2) use their
shrill treble voices to the prejudice of actors.
352. tarre, i.e. to urge.
353. argument, i.e. a plot.
354. cuffs, i.e. fisticuffs- blows.
359. it, i.e. the prize. The boys carry everything before them,
even the very theatre itself, which, if Shakespeare's own Globe
Theatre, had for a sign ' Hercules carrying the earth on his
shoulders '.
362. mine uncle is king accounts, in Hamlet's mind, for everything
that is amiss. He generalizes hastily-from his own unhappy experi-
ence.
363. mows, i.e. grimaces.
365. picture in little, i.e. a miniature of him.
'S blood stands for ' Christ's blood ' as 's death and zounds stand
for Christ's death ' and ' Christ's wounds '.
370. the appurtenance of. That which appertains to welcome
should always be made in customary fashion with due formality ;
allow me to treat you in this way, otherwise my condescension to the
players, which must be ceremonious, will seem to be more friendly
than to you.
371. comply, i.e. ' compliment'-' show complete civility to '.
372. garb, i.e. way.
extent, i.e. show of courtesy.
373. show, &c. , i.e. must have all necessary external formality.
377. but mad north-north-west, i.e. only in one particular direction .
378. handsaw. Hamlet is satirically punning on the word heronsaw
= heron.
379. Well is an adjective used as a noun. Cf. good; or it may be
understood after be.
382. swaddling clouts, i.e. baby's clothes.
383. Happily, i.e. haply-perhaps. Cf. i. 1. 134, where it may
mean the same.
390. Roscius was a great actor at Rome in the year B.C. 70, who
taught Cicero to speak.
392. Buz, buz ! = ' stale news '.
394. on his ass is Hamlet's satirical interpretation of ' on my
honour '.
398. scene individable, i.e. a play in which the Unity of Place was
strictly adhered to.
poem unlimited, i.e. a play in which neither the Unity of Time
nor the Unity of Place was adhered to.
Seneca was a tragedian and Plautus a comedian,
Scene 2 ] NOTES 175

400. law of writ, i.e. a drama completely worked out on the

regular lines.
the liberty, i.e. an improvised sketch.
401. Jephthah. See Judges, xi. and xii.
411. follows. Hamlet is again punning on the double sense of
follows (1 ) coming after, and (2) resulting from .
417. row ... chanson, i.e. line of the song-the ' affected ' words
are used in satirical imitation of Polonius.
418. abridgement probably means-' that which cuts me short ',
but in Shakespeare's time the word also meant a short play ' , and
Hamlet may be punning on the two meanings.
421. valanced, i.e. fringed with a beard.
424, 425. altitude of a chopine, i.e. by the height of a cork heel-
which was sometimes as much as 18 inches high.
426. cracked-because female parts were played by boys.
ring. Another pun. There was a ring stamped on the coin
round the head of the sovereign ; and if the crack extended inside
the ring, the coin would not ring ' sound, and was made unfit for
currency.
429. straight is an adjective used adverbially, ' at once '.
432. me is another instance of the so-called ethic dative. Cf. note
on ii. I. 7.
435. caviare to the general, i.e. delicacy unappreciated by the
mass. Caviare is a highly-seasoned preparation of sturgeon's roe,
which requires a cultivated taste. General is an adjective used as a
noun. Cf. 1. 379 above.
436, 437. cried in the top, i.e. were superior to.
437. digested, i.e. arranged.
438. modesty ( Latin modestia) has its old sense of ' correctness ' .
439. sallets, .e. something to give a relish.
440. nor no. Cf. note on i. 2. 157.
phrase, i.e. style.
443. more handsome than fine, i.e. with more natural charm than
finished art ; or, owing more to its proportion than to its ornamen-
tation.
444. thereabout, i.e. at that part. Cf. whereabouts.
Eneas, the reputed founder of the Roman nation , wandering
through the Mediterranean, landed at Carthage, and was entertained
by Queen Dido, to whom he related the story of the fall of Troy
(Ilium)-how the Greeks, failing to take the city by assault, craftily
filled a wooden horse with armed men; this was dragged within the
walls by the Trojans as a trophy, whereupon the Greeks, coming
forth at night, devastated the city with fire and sword ; King Priam
was killed by Pyrrhus ; Hecuba, the queen, was made a slave ; and
Æneas escaped, bearing his father, Anchises, on his shoulders through
the flames.
448. Hyrcanian beast, i.e. the tiger. Hyrcania was the name of
Central Persia,
176 HAMLET [Act II

452. ominous, i.e. fatal.

454. heraldry is the art of designing, representing, and interpreting
the coats of arms which are the badges of noble families. Frequent
terms of heraldry are : sable, black ; gules, red ; couchant, an attitude
of repose ; tricked, drawn or sketched.
457. impasted, i.e. pasted over with the dust of the streets.
460. size is a kind of weak glue.
coagulate is a past participle, not an ordinary adjective, the -ed
having been dropped for euphony--after the -te.
461. carbuncles (Latin carbunculus, ' a little coal ') are blood-red in
colour.
466. Anon in one (moment).
467. short is another adjective used adverbially.
469. Repugnant to, i.e. disobeying.
unequal. Cf. short above.
471. fell, i.e. cruel.
474. his = its. Cf. note on i. 2. 215.
476. milky, i.e. milk-white.
478. painted, i.e. in a picture.
479. ' Ignoring both his own wishes and the deed in hand.'
481. against, i.e. before.
482. rack, i.e. thin drifting clouds (in the upper air).
484. hush, i.e. silent. This use of a noun for an adjective is very
rare unless it goes immediately with its noun, as in " any moment
leisure " (i. 3. 133), " the region kites " (ii . 2. 579), or " his music
VOWS "" (iii. 1. 157).
485. the region, i.e. that part of the sky.
486. a-work, i.e. at work. Cf. asleep.
487. the Cyclops were fabled giants who were said to assist Vulcan
at his smithy beneath Mount Etna in making weapon-proof armour
for the gods.
488. Mars was the god of war.
proof eterne, i.e. resisting all blows.
489. remorse, i.e. simply ' pity ' , not ' regret '.
bleeding, i.e. dripping with blood.
493. fellies, i.e. felloes -the curved pieces of wood that form the
rim of a wheel.
494. nave navel-the hub.
499. who, i.e. whoever.
500. mobled, i.e. muffled.
503. bisson rheum, i.e. blinding tears.
504. late lately.
505. o'er-teemed , i.e. that had borne too many children.
"
508. Would have proposed the dethronement of Fortune
512. instant. Cf. i. 5. 55.
Scene 2 ] NOTES 177

514. milch, i.e. moist.

515. passion, i.e. compassion.
519. Good my lord. Cf. note on i. 2. 50.
520. bestowed, i.e. lodged .
521. abstract, i.e. epitomes.
522, 523. It would be better for you (to) have a bad epitaph
after your death.' You is the dative, as in ' if you please ' ; but
this fact was forgotten, and we have in Shakespeare ' I were better ' ,
as in modern English ' if I please '.
526. bodykins, i.e. body-' the bread in the sacrament '.
527. after, i.e. according to.
534. you, i.e. the whole company, opposed to thou, the First
Player.
551. conceit, i.e. conception (of the part).
554. whole function. ' All his actions being appropriate to his
conception of the part.'
559. cue, i.e. that which prompts-literally ' the last words of the
previous speaker ' (Latin cauda, a tail ').
561. the general ear, i.e. the ear of the public . Cf. 435 above.
562. free, i.e. free-from guilt.
563. amaze is simply the Teutonic synonym for the Roman con-
found = ' confuse ' .
566. muddy -mettled, i.e. irresolute - not ' clear- minded '. He is
evidently conscience-stricken at the thought of his own weakness.
peak, i.e. pine.
567. John-a-dreams is a general name for any dreamer. Cf. Jack-
a-lantern, Jackanapes (Jack o ' apes). Jacques is the most common
name in France, as John is in England (cf. ' John Bull ') ; so Jack
came to be used as a substitute for John, though it is really the
short form of Jacobus, the Latin for James. The word is also used,
with a similar ' general ' meaning, in ' boot-Jack ', ' roasting-Jack '.
'Union Jack '.
unpregnant of, i.e. not inspired by.
569. property, i.e. all that was his own (Latin proprium).
570. defeat, i.e. undoing—destruction (Fr. dé-faire).
577-580. ' I have no more liver than a pigeon, and do not feel
resentment against oppression ; otherwise I should have fattened
all the kites in this part of the sky with the carcass of this slave .'
577. The liver was in ancient times considered to be the seat of
the passions as the heart is nominally now" ; and the liver has a
great effect on many ' passions ' , but not on the passions ' , i.e. hate
and love. Gall is the bitter fluid ' secreted ' by the liver.
579. the region kites. Cf. note on 1. 484 above.
581. kindless is the opposite of kindly, and has its root meaning
of ' unnatural'-' with no proper feeling for his kin '.
586. a-cursing. Cf. note on i . 3. 119.
(M 881 ) M
178 HAMLET [Act III

587. scullion, i.e. a kitchen drudge.

588. About, i.e. (set) about (your work).
591. presently, i.e. ' on the spot ' , as it is still used in Scotland.
597. tent, i.e. probe (Latin tentare).
blench, i.e. wince-connected with blink.
603. Abuses, i.e. deceives.
604. relative, i.e. closely connected with the matter-conclusive.
A rhyming couplet was often introduced as a cue, to mark the
end of a speech or scene.

Act III-Scene 1
1. circumstance, i.e. roundabout method (Latin circum-stare, ' to
stand round ').
3. Grating, i.e. disturbing.
4. Hamlet's delay has given time for the king's suspicions to be
aroused.
12. In a restrained manner- -with forced politeness.'
13. of, in each instance, makes a genitive of respect - ' in the
matter of'.
14. assay, i.e. ( 1 ) invite to, or (2) test by.
17. o'er-raught over-reached, i.e. overtook.
26. edge, i.e. stimulus.
29. closely has its literal sense of ' secretly ' (Latin clausus, ' shut
up ').
31. affront, i.e. come face to face with.
32. lawful espials, i.e. spies with right to spy.
33. bestow, i.e. hide.
35. by him, i.e. from him.
45. colour, i.e. give some colour to.
49. This is the first hint of any stings of conscience in the king's
heart.
52. to, i.e. compared to.
the thing that helps it, i.e. the paint which helps it to appear
beautiful.
53. painted, i.e. disguised.
56. To be, i.e. is it to be suicide. The idea of suicide has occurred
to him before (i . 2. 132) , but that way out of the difficulty is too
easy for a philosopher.
59. N.B. -The metaphor is mixed.
65. rub. The metaphor is from the game of bowls—a rub being
anything that turns a bowl out of its course .
66. what ... come is the nominative to must in 1. 68—' the question
what '.
67. mortal coil, i.e. ' the burden, turmoil, of mortality '.
Scene 1 ] NOTES 179
68, 69. Must cause us to pause ; in that lies the consideration
that makes calamity so long-lived. '
73. office, i.e. ' office-bearers ' , so patient merit below means a
man of patience and merit ' .
76. bare ( 1 ) mere, or (2) unsheathed.
fardels, i.e. burdens.
77. grunt is a strong cognate of groan.
79. bourn, i.e. boundary.
83. conscience = consideration , deliberation, ' thought ' in 1. 85.
84. 6 And thus the healthy colour natural to Resolution is so
destroyed by over-anxiety as to turn to pallor. '
86. pitch, i.e. importance.
87. By too much attention to this have their currents turned
aside.'
88. the name, i.e. even the name.
89. orisons , i.e. prayers.
His mother's sin has made him lose faith in womanhood, and
now he sees that Ophelia is acting as a decoy. He had known
before that she was weak; he now finds that she is also false.
99. their perfume lost -' if the words have lost their sweetness ' .
101. wax, i.e. grow.
103. honest here means to be true (to him) and virtuous. He
probably hears a rustle behind the arras, and probably suspects
a spy.
107. ' You should jealously guard your virtue from the attacks
which your beauty might bring upon it. '
109. commerce, i.e. conversation.
114. sometime, i.e. at some former time -once.
118, 119. relish of it, i.e. smack of it = we shall still smack of our
old (worthless) stock in despite of a leaven of virtue.
122. indifferent = indifferently, i.e. ' moderately '.
125. at my beck, i.e. at my command.
129, 130. thy .. your. Thou in Shakespeare is used in much
the same way as the modern German Du is used, to express (1)
affection towards friends ; (2) anger or contempt towards foes ; (3)
the kindly superiority of a master over a servant.
130. ways. Cf. note on i. 3. 135.
131. Hamlet obviously sees that this is a lie.
139. monsters— ' something to be pointed at ' (Latin monstrare,
'to point out ').
145 , 146. ' You misname men out of sheer wantonness, and ex-
cuse yourselves on the score of ignorance. '
152. ' The courtier's discerning eye, the brave soldier's sword,
the scholar's eloquence .'
153. The hope and flower of the nation at its best. '
154. mould, i.e. model.
180 HAMLET [Act III

156. deject. Cf. note on i. 2. 20.

157. music vows. Cf. note on ii. 2. 484.
160. blown, i.e. fully blown.
161. Blasted with ecstasy, i.e. ruined by madness.
164, 165. Nor ... not. For the double negative, cf. note i. 2. 157.
166. on brood, i.e. brooding.
167. disclose is the technical word for a young bird chipping its
way out of the egg.
171. demand, i.e. demanding.
173. shall expel. The ' shall ' implies ' will expel as they ought to '.
174. something is used adverbially =somewhat.
175. brains is practically singular—' mind ' .
176. From fashion of himself, i.e. off his usual behaviour.
184. round, i.e. plain.
186. find him, i.e. find him (his secret) out.

Act III-Scene 2
3. I had as lief. I had is subjunctive- ' I would have the town-
crier speaking my lines as gladly as I would have you '.
Lief is of course an adverb here, modifying had, but it is used
by Shakespeare as an adjective = ' dear ' , and it is always adjectival
in form .
7. temperance, i.e. a moderation-self- control.
9. robustious periwig-pated, i.e. an energetic actor, wearing a
wig.
10. groundlings, i.e. the hearers who stood on the floor or pit
while the gentry sat in the gallery.
II. capable of, i.e. understand- have capacity for.
12. inexplicable, i.e. unintelligible.
13. Termagant was the name given, in the old mystery plays, to
a fiendish deity of the Saracens.
13, 14. out-herods. Herod , in the same way, was the ' violent
character ' in the mystery -plays .
19. modesty, i.e. the moderation.
20. from, i.e. contrary to.
24. his form and pressure, i.e. impression of its character.
25. come tardy off, i.e. inefficiently represented.
27. censure (Latin censeo, I think ' ) means simply ' opinion ' , not
'adverse opinion ' .
the which. The use of the in this manner emphasizes the ante-
cedent-the judicious.
allowance, i.e. estimation.
36. indifferently, i.e. moderately well.
40. themselves, i.e, of themselves-when the joke is not in the
play.
Scene 2] NOTES 181

55. ' I have met with in my intercourse among men.'

60. candied, i.e. flattering.
·
61 , 62. Let the flatterer bend his knee significantly where his
fawning is certain to be rewarded. '
64. of men, i.e. about men.
69. blood and judgement, i.e. animal and intellectual nature-
passion and reason.
70. pipe. Hamlet uses the same metaphor in line 349 below.
74. 'But I have said rather too much about this.'
་
78. afoot, i.e. started - literally ' on foot '. Cf. abroad ', ' afloat ',
& c.
79. comment, i.e. strained attention.
80. occulted , i.e. hidden.
81. itself unkennel, i.e. simply ' reveal '.
in one speech, probably = at one speech, i.e. Hamlet's addition.
84. stithy is an instance of the part being put for the whole-
the anvil being put for the whole smithy.
needful note, i.e. all possible attention. Another reading is
heedful.
6
87. In deciding how he looked. '
(
88, 89. I will go bail ' that not the slightest manifestation of
guilt shall escape detection.'
90. idle, i.e. trifling-light-headed.
92. fares, i.e. ' is ' , but Hamlet intentionally takes the word in
the sense of ' eats '.
93. Excellent excellently.
the chameleon is a lizard of varying colour, which was supposed
to live on air.
94. promise-crammed, i.e. crammed with nothing real.
96. have, i.e. grasp (mentally)-understand.
98. now, i.e. since I have given them to you.
103, 104. the Capitol was at once a temple to Jupiter and the
dominating fortress of Rome.
N.B. Cæsar was not killed in the Capitol, but in Pompey's
Theatre.
107. stay, i.e. wait.
115. your only jig-maker, i.e. your unique causer of merriment :
cf. iv. 3. 22.
117. within's within this.
121. sables, i.e. the most magnificent and expensive mourning.
124. by 'r lady by our lady-i.e. the Virgin Mary.
125. ' Or else he will sink into oblivion.'
the hobby- horse-a pantomime ' horse ' , made of two men—
was an important feature in the morris-dances of May-Day, which
the Puritans of Shakespeare's time were trying to abolish.
Stage directions. Hautboy, i.e. oboe, a reed instrument.
182 HAMLET [Act III
129. miching mallecho, i.e. sneaking mischief. Miching is the
common word in Gloucestershire for ' playing truant '. Mallecho
is the Spanish for an evil action '.
131. ' I suppose this dumb-show illustrates the plot of the play.'
133. by this, i.e. from this.
the players-though the King can.
138. posy, i.e. love motto.
141. cart is a diminutive of car, and is probably a double of
chariot.
142. Tellus'. Sometimes when the nominative singular of a word
containing more than one syllable ends in an -s (written or only
sounded ), we drop the genitive inflection for euphony, e.g. ' For
conscience ' sake ' ; and this is always done in the case of a genitive
plural the nominative plural of which ends in -s.
orbed, i.e. round.
143. sheen is the noun of shine.
146. commutual is a strong form of mutual.
150. cheer, i.e. cheerfulness.
151. distrust, i.e. am anxious about you.
151 , 152. My anxiety must in no way discomfort you.'
153. holds quantity, i.e. are proportionate.
154. Neither exists at all, or both exist to excess.'
160. My active powers cease to perform their functions.'
166. but, i.e. except those.
167. Wormwood-for the Queen ; the plot is to convict the King.
168. instances, i.e. inducements.
169. respects, i.e. considerations.
174. 'We keep our purpose only as long as we remember it. '
175. validity, i.e. permanent strength.
177. fall unshaken, i.e. falls without shaking.
178. Most necessary, i.e. quite unavoidable.
181. The passion ending is a nominative absolute.
·
182, 183. The resolutions made under the stress of grief or joy
grow weaker with the feelings which produced them. '
190. great man down is another nominative absolute.
193. who not needs, i.e. he who does not need.
194. who in want, i.e. he who being in want.
195. seasons, i.e. ripens him into.
196. begun began. Past indicative forms in u are very common
in Shakespeare, e.g. sung, drunk, sprung.
198. still, i.e. ' always ' —as usual in Shakespeare.
201. die, i.e. let die ' , or will die '.
203. day and night are probably the subjects to lock, day referring
to the sport and night to the repose.
Scene 2] NOTES 183

204. desperation, i.e. despair.

205. May the utmost limit of my joy be, as it were, an impri-
soned hermit's fare.'
anchor anchorite.
206. May every impediment that makes pale the face of joy.'
blank is the hard doublet of blanch. Cf. brig and bridge, kirk
and church, skirt and shirt.
208. hence, i.e. hereafter.
212. fain is an adverb-' gladly '.
216. methinks. The verb ' to think ' had originally two forms,
one active-' to consider ' , and the other neuter- ' to seem ' ; and
the latter survives in methinks, i.e. (to) me (it) seems '.
218, 219. It has been supposed that the King and the Queen had
not noticed the dumb-show which had given the general drift of
the plot.
223. Tropically, i.e. in a trope, or figurative fashion-for it is 'to
catch the conscience of the king '.
224. image, i.e. representation.
228, 229. ' It is only a horse whose shoulders are already sore
that shrinks from a touch ' =' It is only a wounded conscience that
smarts '.
231. chorus. In classical plays the chorus supplies information
and connects the different parts of the argument. Shakespeare's
Henry V is written with a chorus .
232, 233. ' I could explain the difference between your actions
and your pretended love for me if I only saw who was pulling the
strings.'
238, 239. ' No one watching but opportunity, who is in league
with the murderer.'
241. Hecate, or Diana, or Luna, according as she was thought
of as queen of Hades, Earth, or Heaven.
ban, i.e. curse.
242, 243. 6 Thy marvellous nature, with its essential power of
destruction, instantly seizes even a perfectly healthy body. '
246. Italian literature exercised great influence on Shakespeare
and his contemporaries .
258-261. If the rest of my fortunes turned traitors to me, would
not this successful performance-with the necessary outfit of feathers
and embroidered shoes-get me a place in any theatrical company?'
258. feathers were much worn on the stage in Shakespeare's
time.
260. Provincial, i.e. from Provence, the (first) ' province ' of the
Roman Republic.
roses, i.e. rosettes.
razed, i.e. embroidered.
261. cry, i.e. ' company '-generally used in this sense only of
dogs.
184 HAMLET [Act III

262. Actors in Shakespeare's time were not paid salaries, but

shared any profits.
263. I Supply know from the next line.
264. Damon is an allusion to the old classical story of the two
friends Damon and Pythias.
267. pajock - i.e. peacock - is inserted by Hamlet instead of the
rhyming ass.
274. recorders, i.e. flageolets.
277. perdy is a corruption of ' par Dieu '.
283. marvellous distempered, i.e. marvellously out of temper ',
but Hamlet intentionally misunderstands the word.
285. choler, i.e. anger.
286. should means ' would and ought to '.
more richer is a double comparative.
287, 288. to put him to his purgation, i.e. to take his cure in
hand '.
291. frame, i.e. definite form.
from my affair, i.e. at a tangent from the business I have to
bring before you ' .
297. wholesome, i.e. sensible.
299. pardon, i.e. leave to go.
309. admiration, i.e. ' surprise '-its literal sense.
318. 6 By these hands.'
319. your cause of, i.e. the cause of your. Cf. " his means of death "
(iv. 5. 191 ). When two nouns are connected by of, they may be
so strictly regarded as one word that an adjective may be placed
before the whole compound word instead of before the second part
of it.
325. 'While the grass grows, the steed starves. '
326. something = somewhat-an accusative of respect-cf. i. 2. 41 .
327, 328. To speak privately with you-why do you try to take
advantage (go round so as to get to windward) of me? '
329. toil, net-from Latin tela, a web ' .
330, 331. 6 If my duty to the Queen makes me seem too bold to
you, it is also my love for you that makes me speak out so
frankly.'
339. govern these ventages, i.e. manage these stops. A ventage
is a wind-hole (Latin ventus, ' wind ').
353. fret is used punningly-(1 ) to vex and ( 2) to guide the fingers
(by means of frets-or small lengths of wire).
6
356. would speak, i.e. wishes to speak-literally wished ' (when
she gave me her order).
357. presently, i.e. at once.
361. Methinks. Cf. note on 1. 216 above.
366. top of my bent, i.e. to the highest pitch. The metaphor is
probably from archery.
Scene 3] NOTES 185

376. Nero was a Roman emperor who murdered his mother .

378. Cf. iii. 4. 93.
6
380, 381. However much she may be blamed by my words, I
will never confirm them by my deeds .'

Act III-Scene 3
2. range, i.e. have free play.
5-7. ‘ The conditions of my power cannot bear the imminent
risks that I run hour after hour from his mad pranks. '
11-13. ' Each individual is bound to defend himself by all con-
ceivable means from injury.'
13. noyance = annoyance.
15. cease = decease. Either the cease or the dies is redundant,
owing to the abstract being used for the concrete.
16. gulf, i.e. the whirlpool- which engulfs.
17. massy massive .
20. mortised, i.e. closely fixed. A mortise is a hole cut in one
piece of timber to receive the tenon , or projection, of another.
which, i.e. 6 as to which '-an accusative of respect.
25. fear, i.e. cause of fear.
28. arras. Cf. note ii. 2. 164.
29. process, i.e. the proceedings.
tax ...
. home, i.e. reprove ... deeply.
31. more audience is another instance of the abstract for the con-
crete. Cf. 1. 15 above.
33. of vantage, i.e. from (off) a post of vantage.
36. smells is intransitive.
37. primal eldest, i.e. the oldest and the one which headed the
list of curses-Cain's sin.
42. stand in pause, i.e. hesitate ' — governing the noun clause in
the objective .
first is redundant before begin.
47. Except to stand face to face with sin-and forgive it. '
49. forestalled, i.e. saved before -so that here again there is re-
dundancy.
52. Claudius regrets, but does not repent of, his crime. His
confession serves only to remove the last vestige of doubt from
Hamlet's mind, and the latter's delay in carrying out his vengeance
is simply weak. The reasons given below (in 11. 85, 86) for not
acting now are merely excuses.
53, 54. am possess'd Of. Cf. note on i. 1. 89.
54. effects, i.e. advantages.
55. ambition, i.e. the object of ambition ' , as offence in the next
line is the objects gained by the offence '.
186 HAMLET [ Act III

58. Offence's gilded hand, i.e. simply ' a rich offender '.
59. the wicked prize, i.e. the gains wickedly got.
65. can; supply do.
68. limed, i.e. snared-as a bird.
69. engaged, i.e. entangled.
assay, i.e. an effort.
73. pat, i.e. 6 easily and at once '.
75. would be scann'd, i.e. needs to be closely looked into.
80. grossly refers to father ( ' unshrived ') , not to took.
81. broad blown. Cf. i. 5. 60.
flush as May, i.e. ' in the full spring of life '.
82. audit, i.e. examination of his ' accounts '. Cf. i. 5. 62.
.
83. As far as the details go which we can run over from our
own knowledge.'
85. To take, i.e. by taking.
purging, i.e. cleansing-by confession of sin.
86. passage to the other world.
88. hent, i.e. grip or course.
94. stays, i.e. is waiting.
95. ' This remedy of prayer will not cure your soul, nor save
your body-permanently."

Act III-Scene 4
1. straight = straightway.
lay home. Cf. iii. 3. 29.
2. broad, i.e. openly unrestrained.
4. heat, i.e. anger from the king.
sconce ensconce.
15. forgot forgotten.
rood, i.e. the holy rood-the cross.
25. Hamlet makes a pass or thrust with his sword, and declares
he will wager a ducat (about 4 shillings) that the man he struck
is dead.
This is the first tragic result of Hamlet's delay to kill Claudius.
30. marry is intransitive-' enter into marriage with '.
Hamlet assumes —wrongly—that his mother was guilty of murder
also.
38. brass'd, i.e. hardened.
39. ' Impenetrable defence against feeling. '
46. dicers, i.e. gamblers.
46-49. ' Such a deed as deprives the material contract of mar-
riage of all its essential spirit, and converts an act of pure worship
into a mere form of fine words.'
49. glow-with shame.
Scene 4] NOTES 187

50-52. ' The solid compact earth looks as sad as if doomsday

were at hand, and loathes the mere thought of the act.'
51. tristful is a hybrid, trist being Latin and ful being English ;
and it is also an anomalous form, as trist is already an adjective.
Cf. grateful .
53. index, i.e. preface.
54. Portraits of the two being on the wall.
55. counterfeit presentment, i.e. copied representation.
57. Hyperion = Apollo.
front, i.e. forehead.
59. station, i.e. attitude.
60. New-lighted = newly a-lighted.
68. batten, i.e. grow fat.
70. hey-day, i.e. wild gaiety.
74. apoplex'd, i.e. paralysed .
75-77. ' Nor was sense ever so much in bondage to madness
that it did not retain some power of discrimination , at all events
in a case in which the difference is so very striking. '
78. ' Cheated you at Blind-man's-buff. '
80. sans all, i.e. without all the rest.
82. so mope, i.e. be so stupid.
84. mutine mutiny.
89. " Reason ministers to the wishes of the passions.'
91. grained ingrained—' dyed in grain '.
92. 'Will not loose their stain.'
93. in = into.
95. tithe, i.e. tenth part.
96. a vice of kings, i.e. a vice among kings : i.e. a blustering
buffoon. The Vice was a stock character in old plays.
97. A cutpurse, i.e. a thief.
100. A clown king, or a puppet, made of oddments like a rag
doll.
103. From this moment she is practically paralysed with fear.
105. lapsed in time and passion, i.e. having missed the time and
lost the passion.
112. Conceit, i.e. imagination.
116. incorporal = incorporeal-immaterial.
119, 120. 'Your hair, instead of lying flat, starts up like living
excrescences and stands on end.'
119. excrements has its literal sense (Latin ex-crescere, to grow
out of ').
120. anon. Cf. a-shore '.
125. capable of feeling.
127. My stern effects, i.e. the things I intend to do sternly.
188 HAMLET [Act III Scene 4

128. want, i.e. lack.

for, i.e. instead of.
133. habit, i.e. dress.
136, 137. 6 Madness is very cunning in erecting these phantoms. '
139. music suggests the full rhythmic beating of a healthy pulse.
141. re-word, i.e. repeat word for word.
143. unction, i.e. soothing balm.
149. compost, i.e. a (mixed) manure.
151. 'When men become gross by luxurious living. '
153. curb, i.e. bow.
155. worser is a double comparative.
158. Assume has its literal sense of ' take to yourself ' (Latin
assumo).
"
159-163. Custom is a monster that gradually destroys the ori-
ginal meaning of all actions-a fiend in respect of bad habits
(which we cannot get rid of), but a blessing in the gradual strength-
ening (by practice) of good resolves. '
166. Cf. custom is second nature '.
"
169, 170. When your conscience leads you to seek Heaven's
blessing, then I will ask for your blessing.'
170. For, i.e. as for.
• 174. bestow, i.e. stow away.
answer, i.e. account for.
182, 183. I am really not mad, but very crafty.'
185. paddock, i.e. a toad- which was popularly supposed to ' spit
poison '.
bat-a nocturnal wanderer of evil omen.
gib, i.e. a tom-cat-the third familiar ' of a witch .
186. concernings = concerns.
188-191 . This seems to be a reference to a story of the imitative
powers of an ape, which openly (on the house top) set a cage of
birds free, and to try the experiment himself leaped headlong after
them.
190. conclusions, i.e. a conclusive experiment.
199, 200. " They have to aid in getting rid of me, and lead me
into the knavish plot laid for me. '
201. the sport, i.e. the (best) sport. Cf. note on i. 1. 15.
202. Hoist, a past participle. Cf. ‘ deject '.
petar = petard -a kind of grenade for bursting open gates.
203. delve is an old word for dig.
205. crafts, i.e. cunning plots. Cf. " When Greek joins Greek,
then comes the tug of war
206. packing—for my speedy departure, after having killed him.
210. ' To have an end of you-and your long speeches.'
Act IV Scene 3 ] NOTES 189

Act IV- Scene 1

1. matter, i.e. something significant.
profound,་ i.e. ' deep ' (Latin profundus), might possibly contain
an idea of unintelligible ', which suggests the word translate in
the next line.
4. Bestow, i.e. ' give up ' , ' retire from '.
II. brainish apprehension, i.e. a suggestion of his imagination.
14. full of threats, i.e. dangerous.
16. answer'd, i.e. accounted for. Cf. iii. 4. 174.
17. providence has its literal meaning of ‘ fore-sight ' ( Latin pro-
video).
18. Should have kept in retirement (from men's haunts) under
close restraint. '
22. divulging, i.e. being divulged.
25. ore, i.e. ' pure ore '.
30. But is frequently used thus ( =than ) after a ' negative ' com-
parative. Cf. i. I. 108.
36. fair, i.e. gently.
42. blank, i.e. ' mark ' -literally ' white (blanch) mark '.
43. his = its. Cf. whose above .
44. woundless, i.e. which cannot be wounded.

Act IV-Scene 2
13. replication = reply.
15. countenance, i.e. favour.
17, 18. like an ape, i.e. as an ape keeps nuts.
20. it is but squeezing, i.e. he needs only to squeeze.
"
23, 24. The full meaning of a cunning remark never enters a
fool's head. '
27, 28. The body (of the responsibility for this) lies with the King,
but the King is not with that corpse (as he ought to be) ; ' or per-
haps Hamlet is talking nonsense.
30. Of nothing, i.e. of no value.
Hide, &c. , ' when the fox is hidden, all set off to find him '-
a reference to a game of hide-and-seek.
Act IV-Scene 3
5. 'Who judge by appearances, not by reason. '
6. scourge, i.e. punishment.
9. Deliberate pause, i.e. the result of deliberate arrangement.
10. desperate appliance, i.e. application of desperate remedies.
21. politic worms. There is a punning reference to ( 1 ) Polonius,
the typical · politician ', and (2) the German Imperial Diets ' held
at Worms.
190 HAMLET [Act IV

21. e'en, i.e. just now.

25. variable , i.e. various.
33. progress is used ironically-' a royal journey '.
38. nose is another noun used as a verb.
43. tender, i.e. cherish.
dearly, i.e. sorely. Cf. i. 2. 181 .
46. at help, i.e. ready to help. Cf. at ebb, at rest, at foot below.
56. at foot, i.e. at his heels.
59. else really modifies everything in the previous line.
leans on, i.e. ' depends on '-in the sense of affects '.
60. England. Cf. note on i. 1. 48.
at aught, i.e. at any value. Cf. iv. 2. 30.
61. As ... thereof, i.e. of which.
62. cicatrice, i.e. scar.
63. free awe, i.e. awe spontaneously shown.
64. set set aside.
65. process, i.e. instructions for procedure.
66. congruing, i.e. agreeing.
67. present, i.e. immediate.
68. hectic, i.e. fever.
70. ' Whatever chances of joy I might have, I should never
realize any of them .'

Act IV-Scene 4

3, 4. march Over, i.e. right of way across.

6
4. rendezvous, i.e. meeting place to which you are to betake
yourself '.
5. would aught with, i.e. wishes for any (interview) with.
6. 'We shall give expression to our reverence for him to his face. '
9. powers, i.e. forces.
15. main, i.e. ' mainland ' in the sense of ' the whole country '.
20. To pay, i.e. if I had to pay.
22. ranker, i.e. richer.
in fee, i.e. if it were sold out and out- with all the rights of
absolute ownership.
26. debate has its literal sense of ' beat down thoroughly ' —i.e.
'decide '.
27. the imposthume (or abscess), i.e. that which undermines '.
30. God be wi' you has now been contracted into good-bye.
32. inform , i.e. tell .
34. market, i.e. that for which he exchanges his time.
36. discourse, i.e. range of reason.
39. fust, i.e. to grow fusty.
Scene 5] NOTES 191

40-42. Forgetfulness such as you might expect from a beast,

or some cowardly and superstitious custom of trying to forecast
the issue of one's actions .'
44. to do, i.e. for (future) doing.
46. gross, i.e. obvious.
47. mass and charge, i.e. size and cost.
49. puff'd, in a good sense-' inspired '.
50. Makes mouths at, mocks-disregards.
event, i.e. outcome.
54. argument, i.e. reason.
55. quarrel, i.e. cause of quarrel.
58. Cf. note on iii. 2. 69.
61. 'Who, for a fancied point of honour. '
63-65. ' On which there is actually not room for all those to
stand face to face in fight (who are doomed to die in the wars),
still less room to bury them.'
64. continent, i.e. capable of containing (the dead).

Act IV-Scene 5
2. distract. Cf. note on i. 2. 20. This is the second result of
Hamlet's delay.
3. needs, i.e. of necessity.
6. Spurns enviously, i.e. takes offence suddenly.
9. collection has its literal sense of ' conclusions (Latin colligo,
'I gather ').
10. botch is simply a doublet of patch.
15. ill-breeding, i.e. mischief-making.
18. toy, i.e. trifle.
amiss, i.e. ' disaster '.
19. artless jealousy, i.e. ignorant suspicion.
20. spills, i.e. betrays.
25. Pilgrims wore a cockle-shell in their hats to show that they
had crossed the sea.
26. shoon is an old plural. Cf. ' oxen '.
36. Larded, i.e. garnished with.
40. 'ild, i.e. yield (reward).
A Gloucestershire legend says that a baker's daughter once
refused a loaf of bread to Christ, and was changed into an owl.
To Ophelia even such a transformation was now not incredible.
43. Conceit, i.e. thought.
44. of this, i.e. about this.
47. betime betimes—‘ by (the right) time ', i.e. early.
63. remove is a verb used as a noun- removal ’.
65. greenly, i.e. foolishly—in an unexperienced way.
192 HAMLET [Act IV

66. hugger-mugger, i.e. secretly and hastily.

6
71-76. Ruminates on these astonishing events, hides himself and
his intentions, listens to tale - bearers who poison his mind with
scandal about his father's death, with regard to which, as they
necessarily are short of facts, they will not scruple to accuse me
to anyone who will listen to them.
17. murdering-piece, i.e. cannon loaded with case-shot.
The introduction of cannon at all is an anachronism, as also the
Swiss guards are.
78. superfluous, i.e. imaginary. This suggests that murdering-
piece might mean ' a play representing a murder '-which would
affect his imagination.
79. Swiss guards were employed by monarchs in France, Spain ,
Italy, and elsewhere, because they could be trusted to have no
connection with any local factions.
81. overpeering of his list, i.e. rising above its boundaries.
83. head, i.e. a raising of rebellion.
·
87. Taking to themselves to ratify and support anything they
choose to.'
92. counter is a hunting term for hounds ' tracing the scent in
the wrong direction '.
93. broke . Cf. note on i. I. 45.
101. fear = fear for.
102. A king is surrounded by such a body-guard of heavenly
protectors that traitors can only peep through their ranks and get
a distant view of the king, who remains beyond the reach of real
harm .'
108. Ask questions till he is satisfied. '
113. ' I don't care about this life or any future life.'
115. throughly = thoroughly.
116. ' Nothing in the world except my own will .'
118. with little, i.e. though they are little.
121. swoopstake, i.e. with one fell sweep.
125. The pelican was supposed to feed its young with its own
blood.
126. Repast is a noun used as a verb- ' feed '.
129. sensibly in grief, i.e. keenly affected .
134. virtue, i.e. power.
140. fine, i.e. tenderly refined .
141. instance, i.e. example. ' Ophelia's wits have gone after her
father.'
151. ' How well the song goes to the motion of the spinning-
wheel ' (at which she fancies that she is sitting).
153. This is simply another way of saying what he had just said
(147, 148), that ' her want of wits is a more powerful motive to stir
him to revenge than much argument would have been '.
Scene 7] NOTES 193

154. rosemary signifies ' memory '.

155. there is pansies. The word pansies is from the French
pensées, ' thoughts ' . The rosemary (Latin ros-marinus, ' sea-spray ')
and the pansies are for her brother.
159. The fennel and columbine-flattery and ingratitude-are for
the King.
160. rue -pity - is for the Queen, who is to be pitied ' with a
difference ' , i.e. to distinguish her from the rest, and for a different
cause.
161. herb of grace, because -being symbolical of repentance— it
was often mixed with the ' holy water '.
6
162. difference — ' pity ' to Ophelia, repentance ' to the Queen.
'With a difference was a term in heraldry meaning the slight
changes in a coat of arms to distinguish one member of a family
from another.
The daisy made the necessary distinction-by adding the idea
of 'unfaithfulness '.
166. thought, i.e. grief.
167. favour, i.e. charm.
168. a' = he.
178. These are her last words in the drama.
182. ‘ Choose of your wisest friends whom you will. '
185. touch'd , i.e. implicated.
192. hatchment is said to be a corruption of achievement- ' account
of his achievements ' . It means 'coat of arms '.
193. formal ostentation, i.e. state ceremony..
195. That, i.e. so that.
Act IV-Scene 6
9. shall is continually used in this way in the Bible, with reference
to God's performance of promise, e.g. " The zeal of the Lord of
Hosts shall perform this ", i.e. must perform, because He has said
that He will do it. No one can say what God will do.
11 , 12. I am let, i.e. I am kindly informed.
14. means of access.
18. compelled, i.e. to which there was no alternative.
21. thieves of mercy, i.e. merciful thieves. Cf. ' a dish of wood',
and brow of woe ' (i. 2. 4) .
24. fly = flee.
26. light ... bore, i.e. too light for the importance of the matter.
The metaphor is from the bore of a gun.
Act IV-Scene 7
6. feats, i.e. deeds. The word is a doublet of fact.
7. crimeful is a hybrid.
8. safety, i.e. desire for safety.
( M 881 ) N
194 HAMLET [ Act IV Scene 7
10. unsinew'd, i.e. weak.
13. be it either which, i.e. whichever of the two it may be.
14. conjunctive, i.e. bound up with.
17. count, i.e. account.
might, i.e. could.
18. general gender, i.e. common kind (of men).
20. There is one of these petrifying springs at Knaresborough.
21. gyves, perhaps ' faults that ought to impede his course '.
22. The best arrows were made of pine, and ' footed ' with heavy
wood for some six inches from the point to steady them against
the wind.
26. terms, i.e. conditions.
27. again-to what she was.
28. 'Was conspicuous above all her rivals. '
32. shook. Cf. iv. 5. 93.
49. abuse, i.e. trick.
50. character, i.e. writing.
53. lost in, i.e. bewildered by.
61. checking at is the term for a hawk leaving the proper game
to fly at something else.
66. uncharge the practice, i.e. be unable to make a charge of
treachery.
69. organ, i.e. instrument.
72-75. The sum total of your other good qualities did not rouse
his envy as much as that one quality, which I myself look upon
as least worthy of being grasped at . '
75. siege may also mean ' seat ' -rank.
79. weeds means simply ' garments ' . Cf. ' widow's weeds '.
8o. health, i.e. generally ' prosperity ' .
83. can well, i.e. have great skill.
86. As if he had been made one with his horse in body and in
nature.'
87. topp'd, i.e. surpassed.
་
88. That I could not have imagined such feats were possible . '
92. brooch, i.e. the conspicuous jewel.
95. masterly report, i.e. report of your masterly skill.
96. defence, i.e. knowledge of the art of defence.
.99. scrimers, i.e. fencers (French escrimeur).
III . passages of proof, i.e. events within my own experience.
115. still, i.e. always.
116, 117. ' Goodness, growing to feverish excess, dies of surfeit . '
117. too much is an adverb used as a noun.
122. hurts by easing, i.e. injures (his character) while it relieves
(his feelings). Instead of sighing over his lost fortune, he ought
Act V Scene 1 ] NOTES 195
to be ' up and doing '. There may also be a reference to the notion
prevalent in Shakespeare's time that every sigh wasted one drop
of blood.
126. sanctuarize, i.e. protect.
132. in fine, i.e. finally.
134. generous, i.e. unsuspicious.
contriving, i.e. plotting.
135. peruse, i.e. examine carefully.
137. unbated, i.e. without a button-literally ' unblunted '.
pass of practice, i.e. a ' treacherous pass '.
140. unction, i.e. ointment.
mountebank, i.e. a quack doctor who stands (' mounts on a
bench ' ) , to sell his wares.
142. cataplasm, &c. ' No poultice made from all the herbs gathered
by moonlight that have virtue. ' Cf. iii. 2. 240.
146. contagion is another instance of the abstract used for the
concrete.
149. shape, i.e. course designed.
6
150. Our object is betrayed by our bad management. '
153. blast in proof, i.e. collapse in the trial.
159. for the nonce =for then once, i.e. ' for that particular occasion ' .
160. stuck, i.e. a thrust in fencing '.
164. This is another result of Hamlet's delay.
167. hoar, i.e. white on the under side.
169. crow-flowers, i.e. ' Ragged Robin ' .
purples, i.e. ' Lords and Ladies '.
170. liberal, i.e. free-spoken.
173. sliver, i.e. rotten branch.
178. incapable of understanding.
179. indued, i.e. endowed with fitting qualities.
188, 189. When these tears are gone, all womanish thoughts of
grief and pity will give place to virile thoughts of revenge.'
191. douts, i.e. does out-puts out.

Act V-Scene 1

1. burial, i.e. burial place. Cf. 1. 25 below.

2. salvation is used for its opposite -' destruction ' .
4. straight, i.e. straight-way-at once.
crowner = coroner-' an officer appointed originally to secure to
the ' crown ' the property of suicides '.
9. offendendo . He means ' defendendo '-'in defending herself'.
11. wittingly , i.e. intentionally .
12. argal. He means ergo- ' therefore ',
14. delver, i.e. digger,

Uor
196 HAMLET [Act V
17. nill = ne will, i.e. ' will not '.
22. quest inquest.
26. say'st, i.e. sayest truly.
27. countenance, i.e. ' leave ' or ' encouragement '.
29. even, i.e. fellow.
33. arms is a pun on ' armorial bearings ' (cf. 1. 37).
52. unyoke, i.e. ' go free ' —as if he were a beast of burden.
55. Mass, i.e. by the mass.
60. Yaughan seems to be the name of an innkeeper.
stoup, i.e. flagon.
61. These stanzas are from an old song by Lord Vaux, which
was published a few years before Shakespeare was born. The
clown sings his own-nonsensical- version of them ; and the o's
and a's represent grunts after the strokes of his mattock.
67, 68. a property of easiness, i.e. ' naturally easy ' . Cf. note on i. 2. 4.
74. such, i.e. young.
76. jowls, i.e. knocks.
་
78. politician, i.e. schemer ', as always in Shakespeare. In
Elizabeth's time politics were essentially ' state-craft'-plotting and
counterplotting.
89. chapless , i.e. without cheeks ' -simply ' a skeleton '.
mazzard, i.e. jaw-French machoire.
90. trick, i.e. skill.
92. loggats is the diminutive of log.
99. quiddities, i.e. subtleties.
100. quillets, i.e. quibbles.
tenures, i.e. terms on which land is held (Latin teneo, ' I hold ').
102. sconce, i.e. ' skull '-literally ' a head-piece ' (of armour).
103. of battery, i.e. for being beaten (unlawfully) —a legal term.
105. recognizances are ' bonds acknowledging money lent on land ’.
vouchers are the ' written promises to pay '.
106. fine, i.e. end (Latin finis). Fines are payments at the end
of a lawsuit.
110. indentures were made out in duplicate, each party to the
contract keeping one copy ; and the indenture was literally the
perforated line by which the whole parchment was torn into two
pieces. These lines were ' indented'´ (Latin dens, ' a tooth ') differ-
ently for every new indenture ' , in order that the genuineness of
each might be proved by the two pieces tallying ' exactly.
conveyances are ' deeds which convey the right to land '.
III. inheritor, i.e. the owner (of that land).
113. jot is a doublet of iota, the name of the smallest letter in
the Greek alphabet .
117. assurance, i.e. ' perfect security ' for the conveyance of land.
127. quick, i.e. living.
Scene 1 ] NOTES 197

138. absolute, i.e. positive and precise.

138, 139. by the card = by the compass-card, i.e. exactly to the
point.
141-143. 6 That the peasant runs the courtier so hard in the imi-
tation of his picked phrases that the rivalry is positively galling. '
143. kibe is ' a chilblain on the heel '.
149. This would make Hamlet thirty years old. Cf. 1. 164.
168. last you. This is another instance of the ethic dative. Cf.
note on ii. I. 7.
181. Rhenish, i.e. Rhine wine- hock.
191. gibes, i.e. jests.
194. chap-fallen. Cf. 1. 89 above.
my lady, i.e. any fine lady.
195. favour, i.e. appearance.
199. Alexander was " The Great " king of Macedon, who conquered
Persia and India.
207. too curiously, i.e. with too much care.
214. Imperious = imperial.
217. flaw, i.e. gust of wind.
220. maimed, i.e. ' defective ' -' partial ', because, as Ophelia had
committed suicide, some ceremonies were omitted. Cf. 1. I above.
222. fordo undo. Cf. ii. 1. 102.
estate, i.e. rank.
223. Couch me, i.e. let me crouch down.
228. warranty = warrant.
229. 'The King's command overrules the ordinary regulations of
the church.'
232. Shards - shreds- ' potsherds ' .
233. crants, i.e. ' garlands '—as becoming a young and unmarried
woman.
234. strewments, i.e. the strewing of flowers. Strewment is a
hybrid.
home, i.e. her last long home '.
238. a requiem is a funeral hymn praying for the rest (Latin requies)
of the soul.
239. peace-parted , i.e. ' departed this life in peace '. Cf. ' thought-
sick ', iii. 4. 52.
241. violets . Cf. iv. 5. 163.
249. ingenious sense, i.e. reason.
255. Olympus is a snow-capped mountain of Greece, whose summit,
high in the sky, was the fabled abode of the gods, and was often
spoken of as the blue vault of heaven itself. Pelion is a high moun-
tain in Thessaly ; the giants are said, in their war against the gods,
to have heaped Pelion on the sides of Olympus, and Ossa upon
Pelion, to enable them to cope with the gods on Olympus.

335
 ET
198 HAML [Act V

256. phrase of sorrow, ' who in the expression of his grief adjures
the planets '.
262. splenitive, i.e. ‘ passionate ', for the spleen was supposed to be
the seat of anger.
276. forbear. Cf. ii. 1. 102.
277. 'S wounds . Cf. note on ii . 2. 365.
278. Woo't = wouldst thou.
279. eisel, i.e. vinegar.
281. outface, i.e. put me out of countenance.
282. quick, i.e. alive.
286. Ossa. Cf. note on 1. 255 above.
an thou 'lt mouth, i.e. if thou wilt boast (about thy love for her).
290. ' When her pair of young are hatched , covered with yellow
down.'
6
291. He will sit drooping in silence.'
294, 295. ' Nature will show itself in spite of Herculean efforts to
prevent it .'
297. in, i.e. in the thought of.
298. the present push, i.e. an instant trial.
300. living has a double sense : ( 1 ) enduring, in which sense the
Queen takes it, and (2) in Hamlet's life, in which sense the King
intends Laertes to take it.

Act V-Scene 2
6. mutines = mutineers. In iii. 4. 84 the word is used as a verb.
bilboes, i.e. ' iron (stocks) ' - used on board ship. The name
comes from Bilbao, which has been famous for its iron ever since the
Roman conquest of Spain. Cf. note on ii . 2. 164.
7. know, i.e. acknowledge.
9. pall, i.e. fail. The word has no connection with pall Latin
palla, 6 a mantle ’ .
learn is causative-' make us learn ' = ' teach us '. Cf. toils, i.
I. 72.
10, 11. The metaphor here is from sculpture. Common workmen
' rough-hew ' the mass of stone into the general shape required, but
far higher skill is necessary to ' finish the work-to ' shape the
ends '.
13. scarf'd, i.e. thrown on-without using the sleeves.
17. forgetting, i.e. causing me to forget. Cf. 1. 9 above.
to unseal, i.e. as to unseal.
20. Larded. Cf. iv. 5. 36.
21. Importing, i.e. referring to.
22. ' With bug-bears and other objects of fear as long as I lived.'
23. supervise, i.e. ' looking over '.
bated, i.e. allowed.
Scene 2 ] NOTES 199

24. to stay, i.e. by waiting for.

30. Or, i.e. ere.
' Before I could make up my mind to any definite cause of action,
I found myself acting on impulse. '
31. They, i.e. my brains.
sat is used transitively.
32. fair fairly, i.e. well.
33. statists, i.e. statesmen.
36. yeoman's, i.e. such as the small tenant-farmers rendered to
their lords in time of war.
37. effect, i.e. import.
42. ' And stand as a connection and a bond of friendship between
them.'
43. As'es of great charge, i.e. ( 1 ) reasons of great ' weight ', (2)
asses heavily burdened.
45. debatement, i.e. discussion.
47. shriving-time, i.e. time for shrift (confession).
48. ordinant- ordering ' -is a participle formed on the French
model, as often in heraldry, e.g. couchant, rampant.
52. Subscribed, i.e. signed at the foot.
53. changeling, i.e. exchange.
54. was sequent, i.e. followed.
56. to 't. It= death.
58. near, i.e. heavy upon.
' Their death is the result of their own cunning interference. '
61. Between the swords of mighty opponents who are greatly
incensed against one another. '
pass, i.e. a thrust with a sword.
62. opposites = opponents.
63. thinks thee, i.e. it seems to thee. Cf. note on iii . 2. 216.
stand upon, i.e. devolve upon.
65. Stepped in and seized the throne to which I hoped to be
elected.'
66. angle, i.e. ' bait '.
proper, i.e. own.
67. cozenage is—and literally here—' the cheating of a cousin '.
is 't not, & c. , i.e. is it not a thing to be done with a perfectly
blameless conscience.
68. quit, i.e. requite.
70. In = into .
73. short shortly.
interim, i.e. the meantime.
77, 78. ' I can sympathize with his case-because it is the same as
my own; we both have lost a father.'
79. bravery, i.e. display.
200 HAMLET [Act V
83. water-fly, i.e. busy trifler.
85-89. ' If a base fellow is only supremely base, he will find a
place at the king's table; he is a jack-daw, but he owns an immense
amount of land.
97. indifferent, i.e. rather.
105. for mine ease. Cf. 1. 90 above.
107. differences, i.e. ' distinctions ' — that make him different to
other men. The words are almost equal to ' different excellences ' .
108. soft, i.e. gentle.
showing, i.e. appearance.
109-111. ' He is the guide (compass-card, cf. v. 1. 139) and director
of good manners, for he contains the sum total of all the good
qualities (' parts ') that a gentleman would like to show.'
112. his definement, i.e. your definition of him.
perdition , i.e. loss.
N.B. Hamlet answers Osric in his own affected manner.
113–119. ‘ To go into particulars about him, as if one were drawing
up an inventory, would only turn one's head dizzy; and after all one
could make nothing but slow and unsteady progress in trying to trace
his rapid evolutions. But, to speak seriously and truly in praise of
him, I do take him to be a combination of great qualities ; and his
essential virtues are so rare that, to tell the truth, the only thing like
him is his image in a mirror, and all those who would imitate him are
merely his shadows.'
114. yaw is a nautical term for a vessel refusing to obey the helm.
117. infusion, i.e. essence.
121. concernancy, i.e. object.
122. more rawer, i.e. more unexperienced. For the double com-
parative, cf. note on ii. 1. II .
125. ' You will understand if you try. '
126. 'Why has this gentleman been named?'
134. approve, i.e. do credit to.
137, 138. compare with, i.e. dare to rival.
་
140, 141. But in the reputation won for him by his weapons he
stands alone in merit.'
146. the which. The use of the in this manner emphasizes the
antecedent-' those six horses '.
imponed, i.e. put in (pledge).
148. assigns, i.e. belongings.
149. carriages, i.e. the girdles and hangers by which the weapons
were carried.
149, 150. very responsive, i.e. a very good match.
151. liberal conceit, i.e. fanciful design.
153. ' I knew you would need some marginal explanations. '
156. germane , i.e. relevant.
172. breathing time, i.e. time for exercise.
Scene 2] NOTES 201

175. will gain, i.e. am willing (to) get besides (defeat).

176. redeliver you , i.e. take back an answer from you.
177. after what flourish, i.e. with such flourishes of language as.
181 , 182. for's turn, i.e. that will serve his turn.
183, 184. He is very young -only just born . '
185. comply with his dug, i.e. pay compliments to his (mother's)
breast.
187. drossy age, i.e. age when the scum rises to the top.
'He has caught the general manner of the age and its social
etiquette, a kind of frothy superficiality which enables them to give
out the most foolish and worthless (as chaff) opinions. '
191. bubbles introduces a different metaphor.
198. fitness, i.e. convenience.
199. whensoever he pleases.
203. entertainment, i.e. conversation.
fall to, i.e. begin.
208. wouldst not unless I told thee.
211. gain-giving, i.e. misgiving. The gain has nothing to do with
gain ' profit ', but is a corruption of against. Cf. gainsay.
214. repair ' repairing ' —another verb used as a noun.
215, 216. Cf. St. Matthew, x. 29.
217. to come, i.e. yet to come-in the future.
218. all, i.e. all that is necessary.
219, 220. As no man can possess anything but his own per-
sonality, where is the hardship in leaving the earth early? '
224. This presence, i.e. ' the people present '-the abstract for con-
crete.
227. exception, i.e. objection.
236. audience. Cf. presence above.
237. purposed, i.e. intentional.
239, 240. ' I have accidentally done an injury to one whom I love
as a brother.'
240. in nature, i.e. so far as my natural feelings of resentment are
concerned.
241. Whose motive, i.e. the sting of which.
242. in my terms of honour, i.e. so far as my conventional ideals
of 'honour ' are concerned.
243. will, i.e. wish for.
245, 246. ' I have an opinion that precedents will justify me in
making peace without being dishonoured. '
253. Stick fiery off, i.e. stand out brilliantly.
261. me is dative. Cf. ii. 2. 80.
a= one, i.e. the same.
265. ' Or pay him out in returning his third thrust. '
268. union, i.e. one (large pearl) (Latin unus, ‘ one ').
202 HAMLET [Act V Scene 2
271. kettle. Kettle-drum.
280. bout, i.e. round.
283. fat. This is said to be a hit at a certain Richard Burbage,
who played the part of Hamlet in Shakespeare's own times.
284. napkin, i.e. handkerchief.
294. pass, i.e. thrust.
295. wanton, i.e. ' a plaything '.
304. swounds = swoons.
313. Unbated . Cf. iv. 7. 137.
322. Cf. 1. 268 above.
324. temper'd , i.e. mixed .
332. sergeant, i.e. sheriff's officer.
336. it, i.e. that I will live.
341. shall, i.e. will have to (if you are dead).
343. ' Deny thyself the happiness of death. '
349. o'er-crows, i.e. overcomes.
353, 354. And tell him at the same time all that has occurred to
prompt my choice.'
356. flights literally ' a troop of winged creatures ' .
360. This heap of dead proclaims an indiscriminate slaughter.
361. toward, i.e. going on.
371. jump . Cf. note on i. 1. 65.
377. carnal, i.e. sinful.
379. put on, i.e. instigated.
388. draw on more, i.e. will be seconded by others.
391. On, i.e. in consequence of.
393. put on, i.e. ( 1 ) put on -the throne, or (2) put to-the test.
394. royally, i.e. like a king.
passage. Cf. iii. 3. 86.
 APPENDIX

1. THE DATE OF THE PLAY

The date of a play is important for two reasons, and can

be fixed in two ways .
I. The importance of it lies in the fact that it enables us
( 1 ) To compare the play with other plays written by the
same author, and to put it into its right place ;
(2) To estimate the precise influences and circumstances
under which the play was written.
There is often, however, considerable difficulty in fixing the
date of any particular play ; and such difficulty is generally
due to the fact that the earliest evidence of the existence of
an old play is usually its being printed, though many plays
were written long before they were printed. For instance ,
more than half Shakespeare's plays were not printed at all
during his lifetime. The reason for this was that Shakespeare
was an actor as well as an author ; and if his plays had once
been printed, other theatrical companies might have acted
them without obtaining his permission or paying him any
fees, and the public might have been tempted to read a play
instead of going to see it acted.
II. The method of fixing the date of a play is to collect and
compare two kinds of evidence :—
(1 ) External evidence, e.g. contemporary records of the actual
writing or performing of the play, -allusions to or quotations
from the play by other authors, -historical events which might
have suggested certain scenes and passages.
(2) Internal evidence, e.g. the general style, -allusions to or
quotations from the works of other authors, -direct reference
to contemporary events.
With regard to Shakespeare's style, it may be laid down as
a general rule that his early plays are full of classical allu-
203
204 HAMLET

sions, puns, rhymes, and disjointed lines ; his later plays

contain fewer classical allusions , fewer puns, fewer rhymes,
and the sense runs on much more freely from line to line.
The External Evidence of the date of Hamlet is both positive
and negative .
(a) It was registered at the Stationers' Hall in 1602 .
(b ) A printed edition actually appeared in 1603.
(c) It is not mentioned in the list of Shakespeare's plays
given by Francis Meres in 1598.
The Internal Evidence also points to a late period in Shake-
speare's life :-
(a) The Style is very mature. For instance, there are few
classical allusions ( cf. i. 2. 140 , 149 ; i . 4. 83 ; i. 5. 33 , &c.) ,
few puns (cf. i. 2. 67 ; i. 3. 106-9, &c. ) , except where Hamlet
is intentionally talking nonsense to Polonius , —and few rhymes ,
except at the end of scenes (cf. note on ii . 2. 604 ) ; and the
blank verse runs on with the greatest freedom from line to
line (cf. almost any long speech of Hamlet's).
(b) The Subject is far removed from the historical themes
of his early years and from the playful comedy of his middle
life, and goes naturally with that of King Lear (c. 1604),
Othello (c. 1604) , and Macbeth (c. 1606).
(c) The Inhibition mentioned in ii. 2. 331 refers either to the
years 1600-1601 or to the years 1603-1604. Cf. note on the
passage, and remarks below on James VI .

2. THE SOURCES OF THE PLOT

It was evidently a common occurrence in Shakespeare's time

for an actor to become an author, and to make very free use
of any existing manuscripts or books with which he was
acquainted. For instance, in 1204 , Saxo Grammaticus, a
native of Elsinore, wrote a Historia Danica, which was printed
in 1514. From this a Frenchman, called Francis de Belleforest ,
borrowed the ' Legend of Amleth ' for his Histoires Tragiques;
and from the latter the Legend was again borrowed by an
unknown English writer for his novel The Hystorie of Hamblett.
There was obviously no reason why Shakespeare should not
make a similar use of existing works, though, as a matter of
fact, he seems never to have simply copied. Moreover, we
have abundant proof that he was a very earnest and diligent
 APPENDIX 205

student ; and, as such, he must have read much more widely

than the majority of his contemporaries. At the same time,
he evidently preferred to take his plots from stories that were
sure to be familiar to his audience. For instance, all his
earliest plays were ' historical ', which shows also that he had
no taste for sensationalism.
Now, besides the novel above - mentioned, there was also in
existence before 1587 a play on this ' Legend of Amleth ' ; and
thus the story would be sufficiently well known to suit Shake-
speare's purpose. At all events, he borrowed the legend for
this great tragedy of Hamlet ; but he completely transformed
it in the borrowing, especially for the second edition of his
play, which appeared in 1604. Not only does he represent the
Danes as Christians, with customs and ideals like those of
the Elizabethan English ; but he also , in the second edition,
throws the character of Hamlet into marked prominence,
chiefly by putting into his mouth ' monologues ' on the most
pressing problems of human life at the time. He was pro-
bably induced to do this partly by a study of Montaigne's
' Essays ' , the English translation of which appeared in 1603 ,
and partly by the political importance of that wisest fool in
Christendom ' , James VI of Scotland . He certainly possessed
a copy of ' The Essays ' ; and there are, possibly, references
in the play to the family relations and circumstances of James.

3. THE SCENE

The Scene is laid at Elsinore, or Helsingör, on the east

coast of Zealand, about twenty-four miles from Copenhagen.
On a neighbouring point there had been built in 1577 the
Castle of Kronborg ; and it is at this castle that the play
opens . Most of the scenes are Rooms in the Castle ' ; but
two very important scenes are on the ' Platform before the
Castle ' , and in the Fifth Act there is the famous scene in ' the
Churchyard '. Two scenes are in ' Polonius' house ', and one
is on a Plain in Denmark '.

4. CRITICAL REMARKS

As the title of the play shows, the main interest centres

round a single figure that of the young prince, the son of a
206 HAMLET

noble father and a weak mother. Of his father he himself

said :
" He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again " (i. 2. 186, 187) ;

his mother stands self-condemned, a woman of weak will and

strong passions. Consequently, his own character is compli-
cated and rather contradictory. At the same time, it causes
some difficulty and considerable difference of opinion about
the whole play, and specially about the character of HAMLET
himself.
Some people think that Shakespeare meant to describe a
great soul under circumstances for which it was, nevertheless ,
not quite great enough ; and they support their view by quot-
ing Hamlet's own words :
“ The time is out of joint : O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right ! " (i. 5. 171 , 172).

From this point of view Hamlet may be regarded as a man

of a highly intellectual and moral nature, but without the
mental and physical strength to become a hero like his father.
Other people think that Shakespeare meant to describe the
paralysing effect of too much consideration of the contingencies
and possible consequences of an action ; and these, again, can
quote his own words in support of their view :
"the native hue of resolution
Is sickled o'er with the pale cast of thougnt,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action " (iii. 1. 84-88).

From this point of view Hamlet may be regarded as a man

of weak will -will as weak as his mother's-with a natural
tendency to dissimulation and a strong element of cowardice.
Others, again, think that Shakespeare meant to illustrate
the practical necessity of a due proportion between facts and
fancies ; and from this point of view Hamlet has an excess of
intellectuality and a lack of practical activity ; he pays too
much attention to the workings of his own fancies and too
little attention to the pressing facts of everyday life. Con-
sequently, when he is suddenly plunged into circumstances
 APPENDIX 207

demanding instant action, he procrastinates till he is almost

powerless to act.
It may help us to arrive at a true estimate of Hamlet, from
Shakespeare's point of view, if we notice what his friends
thought of him , and what kind of men his friends were.
Horatio, the devotedly unselfish " scholar and soldier ", and
Fortinbras, the firm self- possessed leader who is destined to
reorganize the shaken kingdom and stand alone successful in
the end, agree in their estimate of him ; the humble servant
speaks of his sweet and noble heart (v. 2. 355) ; the proud
leader bids four captains
" Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ;
For he was likely, had he been put on,
To have proved most royally " (v. 2. 392-394).

The action of the play also brings out certain facts about him
which can scarcely be misunderstood .
He was assuredly brave, and showed his courage in very
different ways . For instance, he was
as ready to follow the
ghost (i . 4. 63) , in spite of the earnest entreaties of his brave
friends, as he was to board the pirate ship alone (iv. 6. 18)
in contempt for cowardice and treachery ; and his consistent
attitude towards anything that was not absolutely sincere and
noble , was one of unsparing sarcasm and hostility; cf. his
treatment of the king, Polonius , Osric, Rosencrantz, and
Guildenstern .
He was also intensely affectionate ; and it is, perhaps , not
too much to say that, if either Ophelia or his mother had
been worthy of him and his love, he would have succeeded
instead of failing in the task assigned him. The vehemence
of his love for his father is, of course, one of the most im-
portant features of the whole situation ; and even for his
unworthy mother he had a strong affection . The passage in
i. 2. 70, &c. , brings out his love for both father and mother,
and should be compared with his own words about his mother
(iii. 2. 374) after he knows the truth.
He certainly has self-control, and, indeed, considers it to be
the greatest ornament in manners. He tells the First Player
(iii. 2. 7) :
"You must acquire and beget a temperance " ;
208 HAMLET

and directly afterwards he speaks to Horatio in the same

strain :
"blest are those
Whose blood and judgement are so well commingled,
That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core " (iii. 2. 68-73).

He himself shows the most marvellous self- control while

Horatio and Marcellus are telling him about the appearance
of the ghost (i . 2. 220, &c. ) , and, again, in his interviews with
the ghost (i. 5 ) , with his mother (iii. 4. 139) , and with Laertes
(v. 2. 221 ). Indeed, his self-control absolutely degenerates into
an excess of caution. He keeps the ghost's appearance a close
secret, and makes even his dearest and most trusted friends
swear to do the same (i. 5. 126) ; he assumes madness (i. 5. 154) ;
he devises ' the play within the play ' (ii . 2. 596) ; he is for ever
meditating and reflecting on far-reaching ends and considera-
tions , even when both his natural impulse and his national
customs spur him, to instant revenge, cf. the famous soliloquy
(iii. 1. 56) ; the nature of the deed is repugnant to him , and he
intends to be master of the circumstances which oppress him—
to be quite sure that he is right both in the revenge itself and in
the particular method of taking it.
He is a man of great culture, with that strong love of truth
which almost invariably accompanies a real feeling for beauty.
His appreciation and knowledge of dramatic poetry are well
brought out in his talks with the First Player (ii . 2. 432 ;
iii. 2. 1 ) ; though thirty years of age, he is anxious to return
to Wittenberg (i. 2. 112) ; he is continually reflecting on grave
problems of art and philosophy—the nature of man , the object
of life, the Greek ideal of moderation.
He is also humorous, with the deep pathetic humour of the
scholar; for the faculty of the punster is the same as that of the
great critic who ' emends ' some corrupt Greek or Latin text.
Even in his moments of intensest pain he makes his pun or his
point ; and in this Shakespeare shows his extraordinary know-
ledge of human nature, for the source of tears and laughter is
one and the same. Cf. v. 1. 185, &c.
One further point must be noticed , if only on account of the
 APPENDIX 209

mass of controversy to which it has given rise ; it is the question

of Hamlet's madness. If a man's own words and the opinion of
unprejudiced friends are worthy of trust, Hamlet was not mad.
He warned Horatio that he might think meet
" To put an antic disposition on " (i. 5. 154) ;

he told the two courtiers that both they and his uncle-father and
aunt-mother were deceived :-" I am but mad north-north-west :
when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw "
(ii. 2. 377) ; he asserted pointedly to his mother :
"I essentially am not in madness,
But mad in craft " (iii. 4. 182, 183) .
Again, that a sane man should say that he intended to feign
madness, should do so , should subsequently go mad, should
then commit a murder, and should still assert that he was feign-
ing madness in order to divert the suspicions of the murdered
man, is incredible.
Lastly, not a single individual thought he was mad except
those whom he deliberately deceived . The players were, at
least, as capable of judging as Polonius and his feeble-minded
daughter; the grave-diggers were quite as shrewd as Rosen-
crantz and Guildenstern ; Horatio knew him just as well as the
queen did ; and there is much more evidence that the king
thought him sane than that Fortinbras thought him insane.
OPHELIA is, in some ways, the feminine counterpart of
Hamlet ; but, whereas Hamlet's only difficulty is to express
himself in action , her still more reserved woman's nature finds
difficulty in expressing itself even in language. She is dreamy,
silent, and sweet , but very weak- so weak as to be positively
helpless ; and, therefore , she must win our pity in spite of her
unwilling treachery to Hamlet. For her songs, when she is
insane (iv. 5. 23) , prove the depth of her love for him ; and yet
she betrays him to her father apparently without hesitation , and
deserts him at the very moment when a woman's help and love
might have saved him. But she is the daughter of a fool , and
is motherless .
Laertes, Horatio, and the king seem all intended to throw
into relief the character of Hamlet. LAERTES , unlike Hamlet,
never deliberates ; but, like Hamlet, he is so perfectly sincere
that the king has great difficulty in persuading him to dis-
( M 881 ) O
210 HAMLET

simulate (iv. 5 ; iv. 7) . The KING, unlike both, is a coward

and a sneak ; but he deliberates almost as profoundly as
Hamlet, and acts almost as promptly as Laertes. HORATIO
alone is sincere, thoughtful yet prompt. Indeed , Hamlet
describes him (iii. 2. 54, &c. ) as the personification of justice
and self-control ; he thinks of everyone, and gives each man his
due. Consequently, he never has time enough for thinking
about himself to lose his self-control, and he is never pushing
his own interest far enough to bring it into conflict with that of
anyone else.
Polonius and Fortinbras perhaps represent the two classes of
Elizabethan courtiers . FORTINBRAS is the young, deep-hearted,
high-souled leader, of “ mettle hot and full- to some enterprise
that hath a stomach in 't " (i. 1. 96, &c. ) . POLONIUS is a fawn-
ing, superficial, time-serving proverb-monger, who- in the first
part of the play- supplies the comic element, which the grave-
diggers supply afterwards .