{"id":210,"date":"2019-06-04T19:13:56","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T19:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/chapter\/hamlet-act-5\/"},"modified":"2019-08-28T19:22:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-28T19:22:32","slug":"hamlet-act-5","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/chapter\/hamlet-act-5\/","title":{"raw":"Hamlet: Act 5","rendered":"Hamlet: Act 5"},"content":{"raw":"Hamlet<\/em> (Modern, Editor\u2019s Version). Internet Shakespeare Editions<\/a>. University of Victoria. Editor: David Bevington. Adapted by James Sexton.\n

Scene 1<\/h1>\nEnter<\/em>[footnote]Location: A churchyard.[\/footnote] two Clowns [with spades and mattocks].<\/em>\n\n3190<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>\nIs she to be buried in Christian burial,[footnote]Burial in consecrated ground--something that the Church would deny to any who had committed mortal sin, such as suicide.[\/footnote] that willfully seeks her own\nsalvation?\n\nOther<\/strong>\nI tell thee she is, and therefore make her grave straight.[footnote]Right away.[\/footnote] The crowner hath sat\n3195<\/sub>on her, and finds it Christian burial.[footnote]The coroner, the official charged with conducting an inquest into cases of accidental or violent death, has done so in this case, and has judged the deceased worthy of burial in sanctified ground.[\/footnote]\n\nClown<\/strong>\nHow can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?[footnote]Self-defense could constitute a legitimate defense against a charge of murder, but the speaker here is ludicrous to wonder if suicide could be self-defense.[\/footnote]\n\nOther<\/strong>\nWhy, 'tis found so.[footnote]Determined to be thus in the coroner's verdict.[\/footnote]\n\nClown<\/strong>\nIt must be se offendendo,<\/em>[footnote]Presumably an attempt at se defendendo,<\/em> killing in self-defense.[\/footnote] it cannot be else, for here lies the point: if I\n3200<\/sub>drown myself wittingly, it argues an act, and an act hath three branches: it is\nto act, to do, and to perform.[footnote]Legal arguments put forward regarding the disposition of property.[\/footnote] Argal,[footnote]Ergo, therefore.[\/footnote] she drowned herself wittingly.\n\nOther<\/strong>\nNay, but hear you, Goodman Delver.[footnote]Master Digger; worthy digger.[\/footnote]\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3205<\/sub>Give me leave. Here lies the water; good. Here stands the man; good. If the\nman go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he,[footnote]Willy-nilly, whether he is willing or not.[\/footnote] he goes. Mark\nyou that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not\nhimself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own\nlife.\n\n3210<\/sub>Other<\/strong>\nBut is this law?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nAy, marry,[footnote]Indeed.[\/footnote] is't, crowner's quest[footnote]Coroner's inquest.[\/footnote] law.\n\nOther<\/strong>\nWill you ha' the truth on't?[footnote]Of it.[\/footnote] If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should\nhave been buried out o'Christian burial.\n\n3215<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>\nWhy, there thou say'st, and the more pity that great folk should have\ncountenance[footnote]Privilege, authority.[\/footnote] in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their\neven-Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient[footnote]Venerable, going back to ancient times.[\/footnote] gentlemen but\n3220<\/sub>gardeners, ditchers, and gravemakers. They hold up[footnote]Uphold, practice, keep up.[\/footnote] Adam's profession.\n\nOther<\/strong>\nWas he a gentleman?\n\nClown<\/strong>\n'A was the first that ever bore arms.[footnote](1) was entitled to display the coat of arms of a gentleman; (2) had arms on his body.[\/footnote]\n\nOther<\/strong>\nWhy, he had none.\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3225<\/sub>What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture\nsays Adam digged. Could he dig without arms? I'll put another question to\nthee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself--[footnote]i.e., prepare yourself spiritually for death.[\/footnote]\n\nOther<\/strong>\nGo to.[footnote]An expression of impatience.[\/footnote]\n\n3230<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>\nWhat is he that builds stronger than either the mason,[footnote]Stonemason.[\/footnote] the shipwright, or the\ncarpenter?\n\nOther<\/strong>\nThe gallows-maker, for that frame[footnote]Since that frame, the gallows (used for hanging criminals).[\/footnote] outlives a thousand tenants.\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3235<\/sub>I like thy wit well, in good faith, the gallows does well. But how does it\nwell? It does well[footnote](1) It provides a good answer; (2) The gallows serves well as an instrument of execution.[\/footnote] to those that do ill. Now, thou dost ill to say the gallows is\nbuilt stronger than the church. Argal, the gallows may do well to thee.[footnote]May serve your turn when it comes time for you to be hanged.[\/footnote] To't\nagain,[footnote]Try again.[\/footnote] come.\n\nOther<\/strong>\n3240<\/sub>\"Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?\"\n\nClown<\/strong>\nAy, tell me that, and unyoke.[footnote]i.e., unharness your wit, like a tired team of plow animals; put an end to your mental efforts.[\/footnote]\n\nOther<\/strong>\nMarry, now I can tell.\n\nClown<\/strong>\nTo't.\n\nOther<\/strong>\nMass,[footnote]By the Mass. (A common oath.)[\/footnote] I cannot tell.\n3245<\/sub>Enter Hamlet and Horatio afar off.<\/em>\n\nClown<\/strong>\nCudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass[footnote]Any ordinary plodding ass.[\/footnote] will not mend[footnote]Improve.[\/footnote] his pace\nwith beating; and when you are asked this question next, say \"a grave-\n3250<\/sub>maker.\" The houses that he makes lasts till doomsday. Go get thee to\nJohan.[footnote]i.e., to a tavern in the vicinity whose proprietor is named \"Johan\" or John.[\/footnote] Fetch me a stoup[footnote]Flagon, tankard.[\/footnote] of liquor.\n[Exit Second Clown.]<\/em>\n[The First Clown digs.]<\/em>\n[Sings.]\n<\/em>In youth when I did love, did love,\nMethought it was very sweet\nTo contract--oh--the time for\u2014a--my behove,[footnote]To shorten the time for my own benefit.[\/footnote]\n3255<\/sub>Oh, methought there--a--was nothing--a--meet.[footnote]Suitable, more appropriate.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nHas this fellow no feeling of his business, that 'a sings at grave-making?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nCustom hath made it in him a property of easiness.[footnote]A thing he can do easily, without distress.[\/footnote]\n\n3260<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\n'Tis e'en so.[footnote]Exactly.[\/footnote] The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.[footnote]One who seldom does such things is apt to be more squeamish.[\/footnote]\n\nClown<\/strong>\n[Sings.]<\/em>\nBut age with his stealing steps\nHath clawed me in his clutch,\n3265<\/sub>And hath shipped me intil the land,[footnote]i.e., sent me on my way toward death.[\/footnote]\nAs if I had never been such.[footnote]i.e., alive and in love.[\/footnote]\n[The Clown throws up a skull.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nThat skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to\n3270<\/sub>the ground, as if 'twere Cain's jawbone, that did the first murder![footnote]Though not mentioned in the account in Genesis (4.8) of Cain's murder of his brother Abel, the jawbone was often assumed in medieval representations to be the murder weapon.[\/footnote] This might be\nthe pate of a politician,[footnote]The skull of a scheming manipulator intent on gaining political advantage.[\/footnote] which this ass now o'er-offices,[footnote]Triumphs over by means of political or social advantage.[\/footnote] one that would circumvent\nGod, might it not?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nIt might, my lord.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nOr of a courtier, which could say, \"Good morrow, sweet lord, how dost thou,\n3275<\/sub>good lord?\" This might be my Lord Such-a-one, that praised my Lord Such-\na-one's horse when 'a meant to beg it,[footnote]i.e., who praised that lord's horse with the intent of suggesting that the horse be presented to the praiser as a gift.[\/footnote] might it not?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nAy, my lord.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhy, e'en so. And now my Lady Worm's,[footnote]i.e., a skull belonging to one who now dances attendance on Lady Worm, in whose court worms feast on dead bodies.[\/footnote] chapless,[footnote]Lacking the lower jaw.[\/footnote] and knocked about the\n3280<\/sub>mazard[footnote]Literally a drinking vessel, here applied to the head.[\/footnote] with a sexton's spade. Here's fine revolution,[footnote]Reversal of destiny, by the turning of Fortune's wheel.[\/footnote] an[footnote]If.[\/footnote] we had the trick to\nsee't. Did these bones cost no more the breeding but to play at loggets with\n'em?[footnote]Was so little care taken in bringing up the owner of these bones that we can now play a game like skittles or horse-shoes with the bones.[\/footnote] Mine ache to think on't.\n\nClown<\/strong>\nSings.<\/em>\n3285<\/sub>A pickax and a spade, a spade,\nFor and[footnote]And also.[\/footnote] a shrouding sheet;\nOh, a pit of clay for to be made\nFor such a guest is meet.\n[He throws up another skull.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3290<\/sub>There's another. Why might not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his\nquiddities now, his quillets,[footnote]His subtleties and legal niceties.[\/footnote] his cases, his tenures,[footnote]Property titles.[\/footnote] and his tricks? Why does\nhe suffer this rude[footnote]Foolish.[\/footnote] knave now to knock him about the sconce[footnote]Head.[\/footnote] with a dirty\nshovel, and will not tell him of his action of battery?[footnote]Legal action charging physical assault.[\/footnote] H'm! This fellow\n3295<\/sub>might be in's time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances,\nhis fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries.[footnote]His securities acknowledging obligation of a debt, his bonds undertaken to repay debts, his procedures for converting entailed estates into \"fee simple\" or freehold, his vouchers signed by two signatories guaranteeing the validity of titles to land, (and) his suits to obtain possession of land.[\/footnote] Is this the fine of his fines, and\nthe recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt?[footnote]To have the skull of his once elegant head filled with minutely sifted dirt.[\/footnote] Will his\n3300<\/sub>vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the\nlength and breadth of a pair of indentures?[footnote]Will his vouchers, no matter how carefully duplicated, guarantee him no more land than is needed to bury him in?[\/footnote] The very conveyances of his\nlands[footnote]Legal documents pertaining to the purchases of his lands.[\/footnote] will hardly lie in this box,[footnote](1) this coffin; (2) this deed box.[\/footnote] and must th'inheritor[footnote]The purchaser, owner.[\/footnote] himself have no\nmore, ha?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nNot a jot more, my lord.\n\n3305<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nIs not parchment made of sheepskins?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nAy, my lord, and of calves' skins too.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nThey are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that. I will speak to this\nfellow.--Whose grave's this, sirrah?\n\n3310<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>\nMine, sir.\n[Sings.]<\/em>\nOh, a pit of clay for to be made\nFor such a guest is meet.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in't.\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3315<\/sub>You lie out on't, sir, and therefore 'tis not yours. For my part, I do not lie\nin't, and yet it is mine.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nThou dost lie in't, to be in't and say 'tis thine. 'Tis for the dead, not for the\nquick;[footnote]The living.[\/footnote] therefore thou liest.\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3320<\/sub>'Tis a quick[footnote]Nimble. (Punning on \"quick,\" living, in the previous speech.)[\/footnote] lie, sir; 'twill away again from me to you.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhat man dost thou dig it for?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nFor no man, sir.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhat woman, then?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nFor none, neither.\n\n3325<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nWho is to be buried in't?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nOne that was a woman, sir, but, rest her soul, she's dead.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[To Horatio]<\/em> How absolute[footnote]Precise.[\/footnote] the knave is! We must speak by the card,[footnote]i.e., precisely. Literally, by marks indicated on a compass-card showing the points of the compass for navigational use.[\/footnote] or equivocation[footnote]Quibbling.[\/footnote] will\n3330<\/sub>undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken note of it, the\nage is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of\nthe courtier he galls his kibe.[footnote]i.e., the world today has become so fastidious and refined that the lower classes ape their social betters, following so closely at their heels as to chafe their \"kibes\" or chilblains.[\/footnote]--How long hast thou been grave-maker?\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3335<\/sub>Of all the days i'th' year, I came to't that day that our last King Hamlet\novercame Fortinbras.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nHow long is that since?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nCannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young\nHamlet was born--he that is mad and sent into England.\n\n3340<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nAy, marry, why was he sent into England?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nWhy, because 'a was mad. 'A shall recover his wits there, or if 'a do not,\n'tis no great matter there.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhy?\n\nClown<\/strong>\n'Twill not be seen in him there. There the men are as mad as he.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3345<\/sub>How came he mad?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nVery strangely, they say.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nHow strangely?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nFaith, e'en with losing his wits.\n\n3350<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nUpon what ground?[footnote]Cause, reason. (But the Gravedigger answers in the sense of \"land,\" \"country.\")[\/footnote]\n\nClown<\/strong>\nWhy, here in Denmark. I have been sexton[footnote]A minor official who tends to church property, ringing bells, digging graves, etc.[\/footnote] here, man and boy, thirty years.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nHow long will a man lie i'th' earth ere he rot?\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3355<\/sub>I'faith, if 'a be not rotten before 'a die--as we have many pocky corses[footnote]Diseased, rotten corpses; literally, riddled with the pox or syphilis.[\/footnote]\nnowadays that will scarce hold the laying in[footnote]Hold together long enough to be buried.[\/footnote]--'a will last you[footnote]He (or \"it\") will last.[\/footnote] some eight\nyear, or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhy he more than another?\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3360<\/sub>Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that 'a will keep out water a\ngreat while; and your water is a sore[footnote]Keen, veritable.[\/footnote] decayer of your whoreson[footnote]Son-of-a-bitch.[\/footnote] dead body.\n[He picks up a skull.]<\/em> Here's a skull now: this skull hath lain you i'th' earth\nthree-and-twenty years.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhose was it?\n\nClown<\/strong>\n3365<\/sub>A whoreson mad fellow's it was. Whose do you think it was?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nNay, I know not.\n\nClown<\/strong>\nA pestilence on him for a mad rogue! 'A poured a flagon of Rhenish[footnote]Rhenish wine.[\/footnote] on my\nhead once. This same skull, sir, was Yorick's skull, the\nKing's jester.\n\n3370<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nThis?\n\nClown<\/strong>\nE'en that.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nLet me see. [taking the skull]<\/em> Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a\nfellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne[footnote]Borne, carried.[\/footnote] me on his back\n3375<\/sub>a thousand times, and now how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises[footnote]I feel nauseated. The gorge is literally the throat or stomach.[\/footnote] at it.\nHere hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft.--Where be your\ngibes[footnote]Taunts.[\/footnote] now? Your gambols,[footnote]Skipping or leaping about in play.[\/footnote] your songs, your flashes of merriment that were\n3380<\/sub>wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning?\nQuite chopfall'n?[footnote](1) lacking the lower jaw; (2) downcast, dejected.[\/footnote] Now get you to my lady's chamber[footnote]Dressing table.[\/footnote] and tell her, let her\npaint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.\nPrithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nWhat's that, my lord?\n\n3385<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nDost thou think Alexander[footnote]Alexander the Great.[\/footnote] looked o'this fashion i'th' earth?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nE'en so.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nAnd smelt so? Pah!\n[He throws the skull down.]<\/em>\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nE'en so, my lord.\n\n3390<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nTo what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace\nthe noble dust of Alexander till 'a find it stopping a bunghole?[footnote]Hole in a cask or barrel for filling or emptying.[\/footnote]\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\n'Twere to consider too curiously[footnote]Consider too minutely, over-subtly.[\/footnote] to consider so.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3395<\/sub>No, faith, not a jot. But to follow him thither with modesty enough, and\nlikelihood to lead it,[footnote]With moderation and plausibility.[\/footnote] as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried,\nAlexander returneth into dust,[footnote]Compare the Anglican burial service, \"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.\"[\/footnote] the dust is earth, of earth we make loam,[footnote]A mixture of moistened sandy clay and straw used to make bricks, plaster, or (in this case) bungs for a beer barrel.[\/footnote] and\nwhy of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-\nbarrel?\n\n3400<\/sub>Imperial Caesar,[footnote]The term can apply to Julius Caesar, or to the emperors starting with Augustus Caesar.[\/footnote] dead and turned to clay,\nMight stop a hole to keep the wind away.\nOh, that that earth[footnote]i.e., Caesar's body.[\/footnote] which kept the world in awe\nShould patch a wall t'expel the winter's flaw![footnote]Winter's squalls and destructive force.[\/footnote]\n\n3405<\/sub>Enter King, Queen, Laertes, and a coffin [containing the corpse of Ophelia, in funeral procession,\nwith the \"Doctor\" or Priest], with Lords attendant.<\/em>\nBut soft,[footnote]Gently, wait a moment.[\/footnote] but soft; aside! Here comes the King,\nThe Queen, the courtiers. Who is that they follow?\nAnd with such maim\u00e8d rites?[footnote]Truncated ceremonies.[\/footnote] This doth betoken\nThe corpse they follow did with desp'rate hand\n3410<\/sub>Fordo it[footnote]Destroy its.[\/footnote] own life. 'Twas of some estate.[footnote]Of considerable social rank.[\/footnote]\nCouch we[footnote]Let's conceal ourselves, lie low.[\/footnote] awhile and mark.\n[Hamlet and Horatio conceal themselves. Ophelia's body is taken to the\ngrave.]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nWhat ceremony else?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[Aside to Horatio]<\/em> That is Laertes, a very noble youth. Mark.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nWhat ceremony else?\n\n3415<\/sub>Priest<\/strong>\nHer obsequies have been as far enlarged[footnote]Extended to the full ritual.[\/footnote]\nAs we have warrantise. Her death was doubtful,\nAnd, but that great command o'ersways the order,[footnote]Were it not that royal command overrules the customary practice (as prescribed too by our monastic order) of denying sacred burial to suicides.[\/footnote]\nShe should in ground unsanctified have lodged\nTill the last trumpet.[footnote]She should have been buried in unsanctified ground awaiting the Day of Judgment, when all souls will be condemned or saved for all eternity by divine decree.[\/footnote] For charitable prayers,\n3420<\/sub>Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her;\nYet here she is allowed her virgin crants,[footnote]Garlands betokening maidenhood.[\/footnote]\nHer maiden strewments,[footnote]Flowers strewn on a coffin.[\/footnote] and the bringing home\nOf bell and burial.[footnote]Laying the body to rest, to the tolling of the church bell and the recitation of the burial ceremony.[\/footnote]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nMust there no more be done?\n\n3425<\/sub>Priest<\/strong>\nNo more be done.\nWe should profane the service of the dead\nTo sing sage requiem[footnote]A solemn mass for the dead and other rituals beseeching heaven to grant rest to those who have died at peace with God.[\/footnote] and such rest to her\nAs to peace-parted souls.[footnote]The souls of those who have died at peace with God.[\/footnote]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nLay her i'th' earth,\n3430<\/sub>And from her fair and unpolluted flesh\nMay violets[footnote]Compare 4.5.172-4 (TLN 2927-37) and note, where violets are associated with fidelity to a lost love.[\/footnote] spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,\nA minist'ring angel shall my sister be\nWhen thou liest howling.[footnote]i.e., are lodged in hell.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[To Horatio]<\/em> What, the fair Ophelia!\n\n3435<\/sub>Queen<\/strong>\n[Scattering flowers]<\/em> Sweets to the sweet! Farewell.\nI hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife.\nI thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,\nAnd not t'have strewed thy grave.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nOh, treble woe\n3440<\/sub>Fall ten times treble on that curs\u00e8d head\nWhose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense\nDeprived thee of![footnote]Deprived you of your fine, quick intelligence.[\/footnote]--Hold off the earth awhile,\nTill I have caught her once more in mine arms.\n[He] leaps in the grave.<\/em>\n3445<\/sub>Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,[footnote]The living and the dead.[\/footnote]\nTill of this flat[footnote]Level place.[\/footnote] a mountain you have made\nT'o'ertop old Pelion, or the skyish head\nOf blue Olympus.[footnote]i.e., To tower above Greece's highest mountains, including Olympus, the reputed home of the Olympian gods.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[Coming forward]<\/em> What is he whose grief\n3450<\/sub>Bears such an emphasis,[footnote]Is conveyed so forcefully.[\/footnote] whose phrase of sorrow\nConjures the wand'ring stars,[footnote]Whose sorrowful speech invokes the planets to come to his aid.[\/footnote] and makes them stand[footnote]Remain stationary in their heavenly paths.[\/footnote]\nLike wonder-wounded[footnote]Struck with amazement.[\/footnote] hearers? This is I,\nHamlet the Dane.[footnote]A customary form of title for the King of Denmark.[\/footnote]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\n[Grappling with Hamlet]<\/em> The devil take thy soul!\n\n3455<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nThou pray'st not well.\nI prithee take thy fingers from my throat,\nFor, though I am not splenative and rash,[footnote]Hot-tempered.[\/footnote]\nYet have I something in me dangerous,\nWhich let thy wiseness fear. Away thy hand!\n\n3460<\/sub>King<\/strong>\nPluck them asunder.\n\nQueen<\/strong>\nHamlet, Hamlet!\n\n3461.1<\/sub>All<\/strong>\nGentlemen!\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nGood my lord, be quiet.\n[Hamlet and Laertes are parted.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhy, I will fight with him upon this theme\nUntil my eyelids will no longer wag.[footnote]Move, flutter (as a sign that the person is still living).[\/footnote]\n\n3465<\/sub>Queen<\/strong>\nOh, my son, what theme?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers\nCould not with all their quantity of love\nMake up my sum.--What wilt thou do for her?\n\nKing<\/strong>\nOh, he is mad, Laertes.\n\n3470<\/sub>Queen<\/strong>\nFor love of God, forbear him.[footnote]Let him alone.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n'Swounds,[footnote]By His (Christ's) wounds. (A strong oath.)[\/footnote] show me what thou'lt do.\nWoo't[footnote]Wilt thou, wouldst thou.[\/footnote] weep? Woo't fight? Woo't fast? Woo't tear thyself?\nWoo't drink up eisil?[footnote]Vinegar.[\/footnote] Eat a crocodile?\nI'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine?\n3475<\/sub>To outface me with leaping in her grave?\nBe buried quick[footnote]Alive.[\/footnote] with her, and so will I.\nAnd if thou prate of mountains, let them throw\nMillions of acres on us, till our ground,\nSingeing his pate against the burning zone,\n3480<\/sub>Make Ossa like a wart.[footnote]Until the vast acres of land that have been thrown on top of us, scorching the very top of this huge mound by its nearness to the burning sun, make Mount Ossa seem comparatively as small as a wart. Ossa is the mountain piled on top of Mount Pelion by the Giants in their rebellious attempt to scale Mount Olympus, home of the Olympian gods.[\/footnote] Nay, an thou'lt mouth,[footnote]If you want to rant.[\/footnote]\nI'll rant as well as thou.\n\nQueen<\/strong>\nThis is mere[footnote]Utter.[\/footnote] madness,\nAnd thus awhile the fit will work on him;\nAnon, as patient as the female dove\n3485<\/sub>When that her golden couplets[footnote]Baby pigeons clad in golden-colored down. Pigeons are traditionally though to be gentle and patient.[\/footnote] are disclosed,[footnote]Hatched.[\/footnote]\nHis silence will sit drooping.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[To Laertes]<\/em> Hear you, sir,\nWhat is the reason that you use me thus?\nI loved you ever. But it is no matter.\n3490<\/sub>Let Hercules himself do what he may,\nThe cat will mew, and dog will have his day.\nExit Hamlet.<\/em>\n\nKing<\/strong>\nI pray you, good Horatio, wait upon[footnote]Attend.[\/footnote] him.\nAnd Horatio [exits too].<\/em>\n[Aside to Laertes]<\/em> Strengthen your patience in[footnote]i.e., by recalling.[\/footnote] our last night's speech;\nWe'll put the matter to the present push.--[footnote]Immediate test.[\/footnote]\n3495<\/sub>Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.--\nThis grave shall have a living monument.\nAn hour of quiet shortly shall we see;\nTill then, in patience our proceeding be.\nExeunt.<\/em>\n

Scene 2<\/h1>\nEnter<\/em>[footnote]Location: The castle.[\/footnote] Hamlet and Horatio.<\/em>\n\n3500<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nSo much for this, sir. Now let me see, the other.\nYou do remember all the circumstance?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nRemember it, my lord![footnote]i.e., How could I ever forget such a thing?[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nSir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting\nThat would not let me sleep. Methought I lay\n3505<\/sub>Worse than the mutines in the bilboes.[footnote]Mutineers in shackles. The word \"bilboes\" is from Bilbao in Spain, famed for its excellent swords and presumably also for high-quality iron instruments of confinement that could be used to restrain English prisoners aboard Spanish war vessels.[\/footnote] Rashly,\nAnd praised be rashness for it: let us know,[footnote]Acknowledge.[\/footnote]\nOur indiscretion[footnote]An action that is not premeditated.[\/footnote] sometime serves us well\nWhen our deep[footnote]Secret, obscure.[\/footnote] plots do pall,[footnote]Lose strength, falter, fade away.[\/footnote] and that should learn[footnote]Teach.[\/footnote] us\nThere's a divinity that shapes our ends,\n3510<\/sub>Rough-hew[footnote]Shape roughly.[\/footnote] them how we will.\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nThat is most certain.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nUp from my cabin,\nMy sea-gown[footnote]Seaman's coat.[\/footnote] scarfed[footnote]Loosely wrapped, as with a scarf.[\/footnote] about me, in the dark\nGroped I to find out them,[footnote]Find out Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, uncover their villainy.[\/footnote] had my desire,\n3515<\/sub>Fingered[footnote]Pilfered, lifted.[\/footnote] their packet, and in fine[footnote]Finally, in conclusion.[\/footnote] withdrew\nTo mine own room again, making so bold,\nMy fears forgetting manners, to unseal\nTheir grand commission; where I found, Horatio--\nOh, royal knavery!--an exact command,\n3520<\/sub>Larded[footnote]Garnished.[\/footnote] with many several[footnote]Different, separate.[\/footnote] sorts of reasons\nImporting[footnote]Concerning, relating to.[\/footnote] Denmark's health, and England's too,\nWith, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life,[footnote]i.e., With all sorts of imagined fanciful terrors if I were allowed to remain alive. (\"Bugs\" are bugbears, hobgoblins.)[\/footnote]\nThat on the supervise, no leisure bated,[footnote]That on the reading of this commission, no delay being permitted.[\/footnote]\nNo, not to stay[footnote]Await.[\/footnote] the grinding[footnote]Sharpening.[\/footnote] of the ax,\n3525<\/sub>My head should be struck off.\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nIs't possible?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[Showing a document]<\/em> Here's the commission. Read it at more leisure.\nBut wilt thou hear me how I did proceed?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nI beseech you.\n\n3530<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nBeing thus benetted round with villainies--\nEre I could make a prologue to my brains,\nThey had begun the play--I sat me[footnote]Myself.[\/footnote] down,\nDevised a new commission, wrote it fair.[footnote]In the formal handwriting used in official documents.[\/footnote]\nI once did hold[footnote]Regard.[\/footnote] it, as our statists[footnote]Statesmen.[\/footnote] do,\n3535<\/sub>A baseness[footnote]As something beneath my dignity.[\/footnote] to write fair, and labored much\nHow to forget that learning, but, sir, now\nIt did me yeoman's service.[footnote]i.e., It stood me in good stead, by providing me with secretarial handwriting skills.[\/footnote] Wilt thou know\nTh'effect of what I wrote?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nAy, good my lord.\n\n3540<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nAn earnest conjuration[footnote]Entreaty.[\/footnote] from the King,\nAs England was his faithful tributary,[footnote]Country obligated to pay tribute money, usually as a result of having been subjugated militarily.[\/footnote]\nAs love between them like the palm should flourish,[footnote]The palm branch was traditionally a symbol of festive triumph and flourishing; cf. Psalms, 92:12, \"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.\"[\/footnote]\nAs peace should still[footnote]Always.[\/footnote] her wheaten garland[footnote]A symbol of peace and fruitful plenty.[\/footnote] wear\nAnd stand a comma[footnote]i.e., And stand as a link uniting two entities that, though separate, are closely integrated. A period or semicolon would signify a greater break.[\/footnote] 'tween their amities,\n3545And many suchlike \"as\"es of great charge,[footnote]And many similarly weighty clauses, each introduced (as in formal legal documents or proclamations) by \"As\" or \"Whereas.\" (With wordplay on \"'as'es\" and \"asses.\")[\/footnote]\nThat on the view and knowing[footnote]Knowledge.[\/footnote] of these contents,\nWithout debatement further more or less,[footnote]Without any further discussion.[\/footnote]\nHe should the bearers put to sudden death,\nNot shriving time allowed.\n\n3550<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>\nHow was this sealed?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhy, even in that was heaven ordinant.[footnote]Directing, ordaining.[\/footnote]\nI had my father's signet[footnote]Small seal.[\/footnote] in my purse,\nWhich was the model[footnote]Duplicate, likeness.[\/footnote] of that Danish seal;\nFolded the writ up in the form of th'other,[footnote]Folded the written document just as its predecessor had been folded.[\/footnote]\n3555<\/sub>Subscribed[footnote]Signed (forging the King's name).[\/footnote] it, gave't th'impression,[footnote]Sealed it by stamping the official seal into the wax.[\/footnote] placed it safely,\nThe changeling[footnote]i.e., The substituted document.[\/footnote] never known. Now the next day\nWas our sea fight, and what to this was sequent[footnote]Followed.[\/footnote]\nThou know'st already.\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nSo Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.\n\n3560<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nWhy, man, they did make love to this employment.\nThey are not near my conscience. Their defeat[footnote]Their destruction.[\/footnote]\nDoes by their own insinuation[footnote]Intrusive intervention, ingratiating themselves with the King by doing his dirty business.[\/footnote] grow.\n'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes\nBetween the pass and fell incens\u00e8d points\n3565<\/sub>Of mighty opposites.[footnote]i.e., when persons of lower social station and capability come between the deadly and enraged weapon-thrusts of two such mighty opponents such as the King and Hamlet.[\/footnote]\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nWhy, what a King is this!\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nDoes it not, think'st thee, stand me now upon--[footnote]Become incumbent on me now.[\/footnote]\nHe that hath killed my King and whored my mother,\nPopped in between th'election and my hopes,[footnote]i.e., between me and my hopeful expectation of being \"elected\" to the Danish kingship after the death of my father. Succession to the Danish throne is assumed in this play to have been the choice of a small body of noble electors, like those of the Hapsburg empire or of the papacy. Polonius is presumably such an elector. See lines 274-5 (TLN 3844-5) below, where Hamlet, with his \"dying voice,\" predicts that \"th'election\" will light on Fortinbras, and 1.2.109 (TLN 291), where Claudius proclaims Hamlet \"the most immediate to our throne.\"[\/footnote]\n3570<\/sub>Thrown out his angle[footnote]Fishing hook and line.[\/footnote] for my proper life,[footnote]My own life.[\/footnote]\nAnd with such coz'nage[footnote]Deception.[\/footnote]--is't not perfect conscience\nTo quit him with this arm? And is't not to be damned\nTo let this canker of our nature come\nIn further evil?[footnote]To allow this ulcerous sore that afflicts human nature commit further evil?[\/footnote]\n\n3575<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>\nIt must be shortly known to him from England\nWhat is the issue of the business there.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nIt will be short.\nThe interim's mine, and a man's life's no more\nThan to say one.[footnote]Than it takes to count to one.[\/footnote] But I am very sorry, good Horatio,\n3580<\/sub>That to Laertes I forgot myself,\nFor by the image of my cause I see\nThe portraiture of his. I'll court his favors.[footnote]Try to ingratiate myself with Laertes.[\/footnote]\nBut sure the bravery[footnote]Extravagance.[\/footnote] of his grief did put me\nInto a tow'ring passion.\n\n3585<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>\nPeace, who comes here?\nEnter young Osric, a courtier.<\/em>\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nYour lordship is right welcome back to Denmark.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI humbly thank you, sir. [Aside to Horatio]<\/em> Dost know this water-fly?[footnote]i.e., a giddy, superficial person.[\/footnote]\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\n[Aside to Hamlet]<\/em> No, my good lord.\n\n3590<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\n[Aside to Horatio]<\/em> Thy state is the more gracious,[footnote]Blessed.[\/footnote] for 'tis a vice to know\nhim. He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts, and his\ncrib shall stand at the King's mess.[footnote]Provided a man, no matter how beastlike, is rich in livestock and possessions (as Osric appears to be), he may eat at the King's meal-table. (A crib is a manger or trough for feeding livestock.)[\/footnote] 'Tis a chuff,[footnote](1) boor, churl; (2) chatterer, jackdaw.[\/footnote] but, as I say, spacious in\nthe possession of dirt.[footnote]A large landowner.[\/footnote]\n\n3595<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nSweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure,[footnote]i.e., if you have the time, if I'm not interrupting.[\/footnote] I should impart a thing to you\nfrom his majesty.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit. Put your bonnet[footnote]Put your hat. Presumably Osric has doffed his hat as a token of respect. Gentleman normally wore hats indoors.[\/footnote] to his right use.\n'Tis for the head.\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nI thank your lordship, it is very hot.\n\n3600<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nNo, believe me, 'tis very cold. The wind is northerly.\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nIt is indifferent[footnote]Somewhat, rather.[\/footnote] cold, my lord, indeed.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nBut yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion.[footnote]Constitution.[\/footnote]\n\n3605<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nExceedingly, my lord, it is very sultry, as 'twere--I cannot tell how. But, my\nlord, his majesty bade me signify to you that 'a has laid a great wager on\nyour head. Sir, this is the matter--\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[Reminding Osric once more about his hat]<\/em> I beseech you, remember.\n\n3610<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nNay, good my lord, for my ease, in good faith.[footnote]A polite declining of Hamlet's adjuration to Osric that he put on his hat.[\/footnote] Sir,\n3610.1<\/sub>here is newly come to court Laertes--believe me, an\nabsolute[footnote]Perfect, complete.[\/footnote] gentlemen, full of most excellent differences,[footnote]Superior and distinctive qualities.[\/footnote]\nof very soft society[footnote]Agreeable manners.[\/footnote] and great showing.[footnote]Distinguished appearance.[\/footnote] Indeed, to speak\nfeelingly[footnote]With just perception, appreciatively.[\/footnote] of him, he is the card or calendar of gentry,[footnote]The model or paradigm (literally, the map or directory) of good breeding.[\/footnote] for\nyou shall find in him the continent of what part a\n3610.5<\/sub>gentleman would see.[footnote]One who contains in himself all the attributes a gentleman might wish to see. A \"continent\" is \"that which contains.\"[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nSir, his definement suffers no perdition in you,\nthough I know to divide him inventorially would dazzle\nth'arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither, in\nrespect of his quick sail.[footnote]Your characterizing of Laertes's qualities in no way diminishes his excellence, though I know that to enumerate all his graces would stupify one's powers of reckoning, and even so could do no more than veer unsteadily off-course (yaw) in a vain attempt to track the brilliance of his accomplishments. Hamlet words this speech in such a way as to mock Osric's vapid and trendy jargon.[\/footnote] But in the verity of extolment,\n3610.10<\/sub>I take him to be a soul of great article, and his infusion\nof such dearth and rareness as, to make true diction of\nhim, his semblable is his mirror, and who else would\ntrace him, his umbrage, nothing more.[footnote]But to speak truthful praise of him, I take him to be a person of remarkable substance, one whose essence is of such rarity and excellence that, to speak truly of him, no one can be compared with him other than his own likeness; anyone else attempting to emulate him can only hope to attain the shadow of his substance, not the real thing. More parody on Hamlet's part of Osric's officious flattering mannerisms.[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nYour lordship speaks most infallibly of him.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nThe concernancy,[footnote]Import, relevance.[\/footnote] sir? Why do we wrap the gentleman in\n3610.15<\/sub>our more rawer breath?[footnote]i.e., inelegant speech, more so than can hope to succeed in praising Laertes worthily enough.[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nSir?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\n[To Hamlet]<\/em> Is't not possible to understand in another tongue? You will do't, sir, really.[footnote]i.e., (to Hamlet),\/ You will truly have your joke at Osric's expense; or (to Osric), You can speak plainly if you just try hard enough.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[To Osric]<\/em> What imports the nomination[footnote]Naming, mention.[\/footnote] of this gentleman?\n\n3610.20<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nOf Laertes?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\n[To Hamlet]<\/em> His purse is empty already; all's golden words are spent.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[To Osric]<\/em> Of him, sir.\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nI know you are not ignorant--\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI would you did, sir. Yet in faith if you did, it would not\n3610.25<\/sub>much approve me.[footnote]i.e., I wish you would admit me to be knowledgeable (\"not ignorant\") in these matters, though, even if you did allow that, it would not be much of a commendation, coming from you.[\/footnote] Well, sir?\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nSir, you are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is--\n\n3612.1<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nI dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence. But to know a man well were to know himself.[footnote]i.e., I dare not claim to know that Laertes is an excellent young man lest I seem to imply a comparable excellence in myself.[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nI mean, sir, for his weapon. But in the imputation laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed.[footnote]i.e., I mean his excellence with his rapier, not his general excellence. But in the reputation he enjoys among knowledgeable people for use of his weapon, in his merit he is unrivalled.[\/footnote] You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is at his weapon.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhat's his weapon?\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nRapier and dagger.[footnote]Gentlemanly duellists in the early modern period often fought with a rapier (a straight two-edged fencing weapon with a narrow pointed blade) in one hand and a dagger in the other.[\/footnote]\n\n3615<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nThat's two of his weapons--but well.[footnote]But never mind that.[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nThe King, sir, hath wagered with him six Barbary horses,[footnote]Arabian horses, originally from the Barbary region of northern Africa, especially (today) Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.[\/footnote] against the which he\nhas impawned,[footnote]Laertes has staked, wagered.[\/footnote] as I take it, six French rapiers and poniards,[footnote]Daggers.[\/footnote] with their assigns, as\n3620<\/sub>girdle,[footnote]Sword belt.[\/footnote] hangers, or so.[footnote]Strap on the girdle or sword belt from which the sword hung, and so on.[\/footnote] Three of the carriages,[footnote]Another term for \"hangers,\" straps.[\/footnote] in faith, are very dear to fancy,\nvery responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, and of very liberal\nconceit.[footnote]Are very appealing to the \"fancy\" or imagination, decoratively matched as they are with the hilts or the cases for the swords, finely wrought in workmanship, and elaborately designed.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nWhat call you the carriages?\n\n3622.1<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>\n[To Hamlet]<\/em> I knew you must be edified by the margin ere you had done.[footnote]I knew you'd need to have the matter explained to you more clearly, as if by an explanatory note (often printed in the margins of books), before you're finished asking about \"carriages.\"[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nThe carriages, sir, are the hangers.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3625<\/sub>The phrase would be more germane to the matter if we could carry cannon\nby our sides; I would it might be \"hangers\" till then.[footnote]Hamlet's satirical point is that the term \"carriages\" is best reserved for gun carriages on which cannon are mounted, rather than pretentiously applied to mere straps used to hold rapiers and their hilts.[\/footnote] But on. Six Barbary\nhorses against six French swords, their assigns, and three liberal-conceited\ncarriages: that's the French bet against the Danish. Why is this \"impawned,\"\nas you call it?\n\n3630<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nThe King, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen passes between yourself and him, he shall\nnot exceed you three hits. He hath laid on't twelve for nine,[footnote]Seemingly, the King has \"laid\" or wagered that, in a dozen \"passes\" or bouts of fencing, the total number of hits scored by Laertes will not exceed Hamlet's total by three; to win, Laertes would have to win at least eight to Hamlet's four, two to one odds.[\/footnote] and it would come\nto immediate trial, if your lordship would vouchsafe the answer.[footnote]Be so good as to accept the challenge.[\/footnote]\n\n3635<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nHow if I answer no?[footnote]By replying in pretended ignorance as though he has been asked for a simple \"yes\" or \"no\" answer, Hamlet mischievously refuses to acknowledge that the polite formula in which the challenge has been delivered to him requires that he acquiesce.[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nI mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in trial.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nSir, I will walk here in the hall. If it please his majesty, it is the breathing\n3640<\/sub>time of day[footnote]Time for exercise.[\/footnote] with me. Let[footnote]i.e., If.[\/footnote] the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the\nKing hold his purpose, I will win for him an I can; if not, I will gain nothing but\nmy shame and the odd hits.\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nShall I re-deliver you e'en so?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3645<\/sub>To this effect, sir, after what flourish your nature will.\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nI commend my duty[footnote]I dedicate my service. (A conventionally polite phrase of departure.)[\/footnote] to your lordship.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nYours, yours.\n[Exit Osric.]<\/em>\n'A does well to commend it himself; there are no tongues else for's turn.[footnote]i.e., He needs to commend his own virtues; no one else will do it for him.[\/footnote]\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\n3650<\/sub>This lapwing[footnote]Plover, a wading bird known to flap its wings and scurry about in a wily fashion calculated to draw intruders away from the nest. According to legend, a newly hatched bird was thought to run around with the shell still on its head. Horatio satirically alludes to Osric's fatuous mannerisms and to his confusion about wearing or not wearing his hat.[\/footnote] runs away with the shell on his head.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n'A did comply with his dug[footnote]He bowed ceremoniously to his mother's or nurse's breast.[\/footnote] before 'a sucked it. Thus has he, and many\nmore of the same bevy that I know the drossy age dotes on, only got the tune\n3655<\/sub>of the time and outward habit of encounter, a kind of yeasty collection,\nwhich carries them through and through the most fanned and winnowed\nopinions; and do but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are out.[footnote]Thus has he--and many more of the same sort that our frivolous age dotes on--acquired the trendy manner of speech of the time and formulaic conversation with courtiers of their own kind: a kind of frothy repertoire of current phrases which enables such gallants to pass themselves off as persons of the most select and well-sifted views; and yet do but test these creatures by merely blowing on them, and their bubbles burst.[\/footnote]\n3657.1<\/sub>Enter a Lord.<\/em>\n\nLord<\/strong>\nMy lord, his majesty commended him[footnote]Has sent his commendations, his greetings.[\/footnote] 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[footnote]Fence.[\/footnote] with Laertes, or that[footnote]Or if.[\/footnote]\n3657.5<\/sub>you will take longer time?\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI am constant to my purposes; they follow the King's pleasure. If his fitness speaks, mine is ready:[footnote]If this suits his convenience, it suits me as well.[\/footnote] now or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.\n\nLord<\/strong>\nThe King and Queen and all are coming down.\n\n3657.10<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nIn happy time.[footnote]i.e., They come at an opportune time.[\/footnote]\n\nLord<\/strong>\nThe Queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment[footnote]Courteous greeting.[\/footnote] to Laertes before you fall to play.[footnote]Begin fencing.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nShe well instructs me.\n[Exit Lord.]<\/em>\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nYou will lose this wager, my lord.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3660<\/sub>I do not think so. Since he went into France, I have been in continual\npractice; I shall win at the odds.[footnote]According to the wager as defined by the King at line 116 (TLN 3630-2) above, which have given Hamlet favorable odds.[\/footnote] But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here\nabout my heart, but it is no matter.\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nNay, good my lord--\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3665<\/sub>It is but foolery, but it is such a kind of gaingiving as would perhaps trouble\na woman.\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nIf your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair[footnote]Coming.[\/footnote] hither and\nsay you are not fit.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nNot a whit,[footnote]Not at all.[\/footnote] we defy augury.[footnote]i.e., superstition, or hunches. Literally, divination from auspices or omens, such as the flight of birds.[\/footnote] There's a special providence[footnote]Providential direction oversees even the smallest details of human history. Calvinist preachers especially were fond of quoting Christ's teaching in Matthew 10:29: \"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.\" See also Matthew 6:28-30: \"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin . . . Wherefore, if God so clothe the grasses of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?\"[\/footnote] in the fall of a\nsparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, 3670it will be now; if\nit be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man has aught\nof what he leaves, what is't to leave betimes?[footnote]Being in readiness is the crucially important thing, since no one can truly be said to possess the worldly goods and physicality that must be left behind at the moment of death. Why then should it matter if one must leave those things \"betimes,\" i.e., earlier rather than later?[\/footnote]\n3673.1<\/sub>Let be.[footnote]Enough; say no more. Leave things as they are.[\/footnote]\n3675<\/sub>Trumpets, drums, and officers with cushions. Enter King, Queen, and Lords [including Laertes and Osric, and all the state], with other Attendants with foils and gauntlets, a table, and flagons of wine on it.<\/em>\n\nKing<\/strong>\nCome, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me.\n[The King puts Laertes's hand into Hamlet's.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[To Laertes]<\/em> Give me your pardon, sir. I've done you wrong,\nBut pardon't as you are a gentleman.\n3680<\/sub>This presence[footnote]Royal assembly.[\/footnote] knows,\nAnd you must needs have heard, how I am punished\nWith a sore distraction.[footnote]Afflicted by a serious mental disturbance.[\/footnote] What I have done\nThat might your nature, honor, and exception[footnote]Disapproval, dissatisfaction.[\/footnote]\nRoughly awake, I hear proclaim was madness.\n3685<\/sub>Was't Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet.\nIf Hamlet from himself be ta'en away,\nAnd when he's not himself does wrong Laertes,\nThen Hamlet does it not; Hamlet denies it.\nWho does it, then? His madness. If't be so,\n3690<\/sub>Hamlet is of the faction[footnote]Party.[\/footnote] that is wronged;\nHis madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.\nSir, in this audience\nLet my disclaiming from a purposed evil[footnote]Let my denial of having had any evil intention.[\/footnote]\nFree me so far in your most generous thoughts\n3695<\/sub>That I have shot my arrow o'er the house\nAnd hurt my brother.[footnote]i.e., comrade, fellow gentleman.[\/footnote]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nI am satisfied in nature,[footnote]i.e, as to my personal feelings.[\/footnote]\nWhose motive[footnote]The promptings of which.[\/footnote] in this case should stir me most\nTo my revenge. But in my terms of honor\n3700<\/sub>I stand aloof, and will[footnote]Desire, will allow.[\/footnote] no reconcilement,\nTill by some elder masters of known honor\nI have a voice and precedent of peace\nTo keep my name ungored.[footnote]Until by the official judgment of those gentlemen of the court who preside over the duel I can obtain an authoritative pronouncement and previous instance of a similar reconciliation to clear my reputation of any injury. Laertes declares himself ready to let the outcome of the duel determine whether Hamlet has wronged him or not, following the medieval custom of trial by combat.[\/footnote] But till that time\nI do receive your offered love like love,\n3705<\/sub>And will not wrong it.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI do embrace it freely,[footnote]Voluntarily and without ill feeling.[\/footnote]\nAnd will this brother's wager frankly play.--\nGive us the foils. Come on.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nCome, one for me.\n\n3710<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nI'll be your foil,[footnote]Hamlet puns on the term. Literally, a foil is a thin metal background used to set off and enhance the brilliance of a jewel. Hamlet modestly suggests that he will make Laertes look good in fencing by means of a contrasting comparison of the two.[\/footnote] Laertes. In mine ignorance[footnote]i.e., comparative inexperience in fencing. Hamlet's modesty here is polite and tactical.[\/footnote]\nYour skill shall like a star i'th' darkest night\nStick fiery off[footnote]Stand out brilliantly. [\/footnote] indeed.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nYou mock me, sir.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nNo, by this hand.\n\n3715<\/sub>King<\/strong>\nGive them the foils, young Osric.\n[Foils are handed to Hamlet and Laertes.]<\/em>\nCousin Hamlet,\nYou know the wager.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nVery well, my lord.\nYour grace has laid the odds o'th'weaker side.[footnote]Bet on the weaker side.[\/footnote]\n\nKing<\/strong>\n3720<\/sub>I do not fear it; I have seen you both.\nBut since he is bettered, we have therefore odds.[footnote]i.e., since Laertes is the favored contestant, we have settled on odds according to which Laertes will have to win at least eight of the twelve bouts of fencing to your four (as announced by Osric at line 116 (TLN 3630-2) above.[\/footnote]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nThis is too heavy. Let me see another.\n[He exchanges his foil for another.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3725<\/sub>This likes[footnote]Pleases.[\/footnote] me well. These foils have all a length?[footnote]Are equal in length.[\/footnote]\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nAy, my good lord.\n[They] prepare to play.<\/em>\n\nKing<\/strong>\nSet me the stoups[footnote]Flagons.[\/footnote] of wine upon that table.\nIf Hamlet give the first or second hit,\nOr quit in answer of the third exchange,[footnote]Or shows himself a worthy opponent of Laertes by winning on the third exchange.[\/footnote]\n3730<\/sub>Let all the battlements their ordnance fire.[footnote]Let the soldiers stationed on the battlements or parapets fire their cannon.[\/footnote]\nThe King shall drink to Hamlet's better breath,[footnote]Better energy and performance.[\/footnote]\nAnd in the cup an union[footnote]i.e., pearl.[\/footnote] shall he throw\nRicher then that which four successive kings\n3735<\/sub>In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups,\nAnd let the kettle to the trumpet speak,\nThe trumpet to the cannoneer[footnote]The soldier(s) firing the cannon.[\/footnote] without,\nThe cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth,\n\"Now the King drinks to Hamlet.\" Come, begin.\nTrumpets the while.<\/em>[footnote]The trumpeters sound their trumpets while the King drinks.[\/footnote]\n3740<\/sub>And you, the judges, bear a wary eye.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nCome on, sir.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nCome, my lord.\nThey play. [Hamlet scores a hit.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nOne.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nNo.\n\n3745<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\n[To Osric]<\/em> Judgment.\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nA hit, a very palpable hit.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nWell, again.\n\nKing<\/strong>\nStay.[footnote]Stop.[\/footnote] Give me drink. Hamlet this pearl is thine.\n[He drinks, and throws a pearl in Hamlet's cup.]<\/em>\n3750<\/sub>Here's to thy health.--Give him the cup.\nTrumpets sound, and shot goes off.<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nI'll play this bout first. Set it by awhile.\nCome. [They fence.]<\/em> Another hit. What say you?\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nA touch, a touch, I do confess.\n\n3755<\/sub>King<\/strong>\n[To the Queen]<\/em> Our son shall win.\n\nQueen<\/strong>\nHe's fat[footnote]Not physically fit, out of training.[\/footnote] and scant of breath.--\nHere, Hamlet, take my napkin,[footnote]Here's a handkerchief.[\/footnote] rub thy brows.\n[The Queen takes a cup of wine to offer a toast to Hamlet.]<\/em>\nThe Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nGood madam.\n\n3760<\/sub>King<\/strong>\nGertrude, do not drink.\n\nQueen<\/strong>\nI will, my lord, I pray you pardon me.\n[She drinks.]<\/em>\n\nKing<\/strong>\n[Aside]<\/em> It is the poisoned cup. It is too late.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n3765<\/sub>I dare not drink yet, madam; by and by.\n\nQueen<\/strong>\nCome, let me wipe thy face.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\n[Aside to the King]<\/em> My lord, I'll hit him now.\n\nKing<\/strong>\n[Aside to Laertes]<\/em> I do not think't.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\n[Aside]<\/em> And yet 'tis almost 'gainst my conscience.\n\n3770<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>\nCome for the third, Laertes, you do but dally.\nI pray you, pass[footnote]Thrust.[\/footnote] with your best violence;\nI am afeard you make a wanton of me.[footnote]I fear you are trifling with me, treating me as if I were a spoiled child.[\/footnote]\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nSay you so? Come on.\n[They] play.<\/em>\n\n3775<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nNothing neither way.\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nHave at you now!\n[Laertes wounds Hamlet with his unbated rapier.] In scuffling they change\nrapiers. [Hamlet wounds Laertes.]<\/em>[footnote]Though Hamlet presumably does not know that Laertes's sword is also tipped with poison, the poison does its work on Laertes, who realizes that he is \"justly killed\" with his own treachery (line 227, TLN 3785).[\/footnote]\n\nKing<\/strong>\nPart them! They are incensed.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nNay, come again.\n[Laertes falls down. The Queen falls down.]<\/em>\n\n3780<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>\nLook to the Queen there, ho!\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nThey bleed on both sides. [To Hamlet]<\/em> How is it, my lord?\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nHow is't, Laertes?\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nWhy, as a woodcock to mine own springe,[footnote]I am like that proverbially stupid bird, the woodcock, caught in my own trap.[\/footnote] Osric;\n3785<\/sub>I am justly killed with mine own treachery.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nHow does the Queen?\n\nKing<\/strong>\nShe swoons to see them bleed.\n\nQueen<\/strong>\nNo, no, the drink, the drink,\nO my dear Hamlet, the drink, the drink!\nI am poisoned.\n[She dies.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nOh, villainy! Ho! Let the door be locked.\nTreachery! Seek it out.\n[Exit Osric.]<\/em>\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nIt is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain.\n3795<\/sub>No med'cine in the world can do thee good;\nIn thee there is not half an hour of life.\nThe treacherous instrument is in thy hand,\nUnbated[footnote]Not blunted with a button.[\/footnote] and envenomed. The foul practice[footnote]Plot, stratagem.[\/footnote]\nHath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie\n3800<\/sub>Never to rise again. Thy mother's poisoned.\nI can no more. The King, the King's to blame.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nThe point envenomed too? Then, venom, to thy work.\n[He] hurts the King.<\/em>\n\n3805<\/sub>All<\/strong>\nTreason, treason!\n\nKing<\/strong>\nOh, yet defend me, friends, I am but hurt.\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\n[Forcing the King to drink]<\/em> Here, thou incestuous, murd'rous,\ndamn\u00e8d Dane,\nDrink off this potion. Is thy union here?\n3810<\/sub>Follow my mother.\nThe King dies.<\/em>\n\nLaertes<\/strong>\nHe is justly served.\nIt is a poison tempered[footnote]Mixed.[\/footnote] by himself.\nExchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet.\nMine and my father's death come not upon thee,\n3815<\/sub>Nor thine on me!\n[He] dies.<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nHeaven make thee free of it! I follow thee.\nI am dead, Horatio. Wretched Queen, adieu.\nYou that look pale and tremble at this chance,\nThat are but mutes or audience to this act,\n3820<\/sub>Had I but time, as this fell sergeant Death\nIs strict in his arrest, oh, I could tell you--\nBut let it be. Horatio, I am dead,\nThou liv'st. Report me and my cause aright\nTo the unsatisfied.\n\n3825<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>\nNever believe it.\nI am more an antique Roman[footnote]i.e., one who embraces death, if necessary by suicide, before dishonor.[\/footnote] than a Dane.\nHere's yet some liquor left.\n[He attempts to drink from the poisoned cup, but is prevented by Hamlet.]<\/em>\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nAs thou'rt a man,\nGive me the cup! Let go! By heaven I'll ha't.\n3830<\/sub>Oh, God, Horatio, what a wounded name,\nThings standing thus unknown, shall live behind me!\nIf thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,\nAbsent thee from felicity awhile,\nAnd in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain\n3835<\/sub>To tell my story.\nMarch afar off, and shout within.<\/em>\nWhat warlike noise is this?\nEnter Osric.<\/em>\n\nOsric<\/strong>\nYoung Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland,\n3840<\/sub>To th'ambassadors of England gives this warlike volley.[footnote]Simultaneous firing of weapons in a military salute.[\/footnote]\n\nHamlet<\/strong>\nOh, I die, Horatio.\nThe potent poison quite o'ercrows[footnote]Proclaims triumph over (like the winner of a cockfight).[\/footnote] my spirit.\nI cannot live to hear the news from England,\nBut I do prophesy th'election lights\n3845<\/sub>On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice.[footnote]Vote (in \"th'election\" referred to in the previous line). As crown prince and one who was named successor to the throne by Claudius, Hamlet has a presumed right to be one of the electors of the royal succession.[\/footnote]\nSo tell him, with th'occurrents[footnote]The events of greater or lesser importance.[\/footnote] more and less\nWhich have solicited.[footnote]Moved, urged (me in what I have done or attempted, and in my wish to support the succession of Fortinbras to the throne).[\/footnote] The rest is silence.\nOh, oh, oh, oh!\n[He] dies.<\/em>\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nNow cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,\n3850<\/sub>And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!\n[March within.]<\/em>\nWhy does the drum come hither?\nEnter Fortinbras and the English Ambassadors, with Drum, Colors, and\nAttendants.<\/em>\n\nFortinbras<\/strong>\nWhere is this sight?\n\n3855<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>\nWhat is it ye would see?\nIf aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.\n\nFortinbras<\/strong>\nThis quarry cries on havoc.[footnote]This heap of corpses (literally, slaughtered game) loudly proclaims a general slaughter. \"Cry havoc\" in battle is the signal for pillage, slaughter, and a total laying waste.[\/footnote] O proud Death,\nWhat feast is toward in thine eternal cell,[footnote]O thou insolent and mighty Death, what feasting on the slain is being prepared in your everlasting dwelling place.[\/footnote]\nThat thou so many princes at a shot\n3860<\/sub>So bloodily hast struck?\n\nAmbassador<\/strong>\nThe sight is dismal,\nAnd our affairs from England come too late.\nThe ears are senseless that should give us hearing,\nTo tell him his commandment is fulfilled,\n3865<\/sub>That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.\nWhere should we have our thanks?\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nNot from his mouth,\nHad it th'ability of life to thank you;\nHe never gave commandment for their death.\n3870<\/sub>But since so jump upon this bloody question[footnote]So hard on the heels of this bloody business.[\/footnote]\nYou from the Polack wars and you from England\nAre here arrived, give order that these bodies\nHigh on a stage be plac\u00e8d the view,\nAnd let me speak to th'yet unknowing world\n3875<\/sub>How these things came about. So shall you hear\nOf carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,\nOf accidental judgments,[footnote]Retributive acts brought about by accident (such as the death of Polonius).[\/footnote] casual[footnote]Chance.[\/footnote] slaughters,\nOf deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,[footnote]Of deaths gratuitously instigated by cunning stratagems and contrivances.[\/footnote]\nAnd in this upshot, purposes mistook\n3880<\/sub>Fall'n on th'inventors' heads. All this can I\nTruly deliver.[footnote]Report.[\/footnote]\n\nFortinbras<\/strong>\nLet us haste to hear it,\nAnd call the noblest to the audience.\nFor me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune.\n3885<\/sub>I have some rights of memory[footnote]Claims that must not be forgotten.[\/footnote] in this kingdom,\nWhich now to claim my vantage doth invite me.[footnote]Which my favorable position and opportunity now invite met to claim.[\/footnote]\n\nHoratio<\/strong>\nOf that I shall have also cause to speak,\n3890<\/sub>And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more.\nBut let this same be presently[footnote]Immediately.[\/footnote] performed,\nEven while men's minds are wild, lest more mischance\nOn plots[footnote]On top of plots.[\/footnote] and errors happen.\n\n3895<\/sub>Fortinbras<\/strong>\nLet four captains\nBear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage,\nFor he was likely, had he been put on,[footnote]Invested in royal office and thereby given the opportunity to prove what sort of ruler he would be.[\/footnote]\nTo have proved most royal; and for his passage,\n3900<\/sub>The soldiers' music and the rites of war\nSpeak[footnote](Let the beating drums) speak.[\/footnote] loudly for him.\nTake up the body. Such a sight as this\nBecomes the field, but here shows much amiss.\nGo bid the soldiers shoot.\n3905<\/sub>Exeunt marching, after the which a peal of ordnance are shot off.<\/em>\nFINIS","rendered":"

Hamlet<\/em> (Modern, Editor\u2019s Version). Internet Shakespeare Editions<\/a>. University of Victoria. Editor: David Bevington. Adapted by James Sexton.<\/p>\n

Scene 1<\/h1>\n

Enter<\/em>[1]<\/sup><\/a> two Clowns [with spades and mattocks].<\/em><\/p>\n

3190<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>
\nIs she to be buried in Christian burial,[2]<\/sup><\/a> that willfully seeks her own
\nsalvation?<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nI tell thee she is, and therefore make her grave straight.[3]<\/sup><\/a> The crowner hath sat
\n3195<\/sub>on her, and finds it Christian burial.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nHow can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nWhy, ’tis found so.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nIt must be se offendendo,<\/em>[7]<\/sup><\/a> it cannot be else, for here lies the point: if I
\n3200<\/sub>drown myself wittingly, it argues an act, and an act hath three branches: it is
\nto act, to do, and to perform.[8]<\/sup><\/a> Argal,[9]<\/sup><\/a> she drowned herself wittingly.<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nNay, but hear you, Goodman Delver.[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3205<\/sub>Give me leave. Here lies the water; good. Here stands the man; good. If the
\nman go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he,[11]<\/sup><\/a> he goes. Mark
\nyou that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not
\nhimself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own
\nlife.<\/p>\n

3210<\/sub>Other<\/strong>
\nBut is this law?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nAy, marry,[12]<\/sup><\/a> is’t, crowner’s quest[13]<\/sup><\/a> law.<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nWill you ha’ the truth on’t?[14]<\/sup><\/a> If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should
\nhave been buried out o’Christian burial.<\/p>\n

3215<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>
\nWhy, there thou say’st, and the more pity that great folk should have
\ncountenance[15]<\/sup><\/a> in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their
\neven-Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient[16]<\/sup><\/a> gentlemen but
\n3220<\/sub>gardeners, ditchers, and gravemakers. They hold up[17]<\/sup><\/a> Adam’s profession.<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nWas he a gentleman?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n‘A was the first that ever bore arms.[18]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nWhy, he had none.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3225<\/sub>What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture
\nsays Adam digged. Could he dig without arms? I’ll put another question to
\nthee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself–[19]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nGo to.[20]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3230<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>
\nWhat is he that builds stronger than either the mason,[21]<\/sup><\/a> the shipwright, or the
\ncarpenter?<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nThe gallows-maker, for that frame[22]<\/sup><\/a> outlives a thousand tenants.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3235<\/sub>I like thy wit well, in good faith, the gallows does well. But how does it
\nwell? It does well[23]<\/sup><\/a> to those that do ill. Now, thou dost ill to say the gallows is
\nbuilt stronger than the church. Argal, the gallows may do well to thee.[24]<\/sup><\/a> To’t
\nagain,[25]<\/sup><\/a> come.<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\n3240<\/sub>“Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?”<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nAy, tell me that, and unyoke.[26]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nMarry, now I can tell.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nTo’t.<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong>
\nMass,[27]<\/sup><\/a> I cannot tell.
\n3245<\/sub>Enter Hamlet and Horatio afar off.<\/em><\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nCudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass[28]<\/sup><\/a> will not mend[29]<\/sup><\/a> his pace
\nwith beating; and when you are asked this question next, say “a grave-
\n3250<\/sub>maker.” The houses that he makes lasts till doomsday. Go get thee to
\nJohan.[30]<\/sup><\/a> Fetch me a stoup[31]<\/sup><\/a> of liquor.
\n[Exit Second Clown.]<\/em>
\n[The First Clown digs.]<\/em>
\n[Sings.]
\n<\/em>In youth when I did love, did love,
\nMethought it was very sweet
\nTo contract–oh–the time for\u2014a–my behove,[32]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3255<\/sub>Oh, methought there–a–was nothing–a–meet.[33]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHas this fellow no feeling of his business, that ‘a sings at grave-making?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nCustom hath made it in him a property of easiness.[34]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3260<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\n‘Tis e’en so.[35]<\/sup><\/a> The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.[36]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n[Sings.]<\/em>
\nBut age with his stealing steps
\nHath clawed me in his clutch,
\n3265<\/sub>And hath shipped me intil the land,[37]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAs if I had never been such.[38]<\/sup><\/a>
\n[The Clown throws up a skull.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThat skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to
\n3270<\/sub>the ground, as if ’twere Cain’s jawbone, that did the first murder![39]<\/sup><\/a> This might be
\nthe pate of a politician,[40]<\/sup><\/a> which this ass now o’er-offices,[41]<\/sup><\/a> one that would circumvent
\nGod, might it not?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nIt might, my lord.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nOr of a courtier, which could say, “Good morrow, sweet lord, how dost thou,
\n3275<\/sub>good lord?” This might be my Lord Such-a-one, that praised my Lord Such-
\na-one’s horse when ‘a meant to beg it,[42]<\/sup><\/a> might it not?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nAy, my lord.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhy, e’en so. And now my Lady Worm’s,[43]<\/sup><\/a> chapless,[44]<\/sup><\/a> and knocked about the
\n3280<\/sub>mazard[45]<\/sup><\/a> with a sexton’s spade. Here’s fine revolution,[46]<\/sup><\/a> an[47]<\/sup><\/a> we had the trick to
\nsee’t. Did these bones cost no more the breeding but to play at loggets with
\n’em?[48]<\/sup><\/a> Mine ache to think on’t.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nSings.<\/em>
\n3285<\/sub>A pickax and a spade, a spade,
\nFor and[49]<\/sup><\/a> a shrouding sheet;
\nOh, a pit of clay for to be made
\nFor such a guest is meet.
\n[He throws up another skull.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3290<\/sub>There’s another. Why might not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his
\nquiddities now, his quillets,[50]<\/sup><\/a> his cases, his tenures,[51]<\/sup><\/a> and his tricks? Why does
\nhe suffer this rude[52]<\/sup><\/a> knave now to knock him about the sconce[53]<\/sup><\/a> with a dirty
\nshovel, and will not tell him of his action of battery?[54]<\/sup><\/a> H’m! This fellow
\n3295<\/sub>might be in’s time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances,
\nhis fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries.[55]<\/sup><\/a> Is this the fine of his fines, and
\nthe recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt?[56]<\/sup><\/a> Will his
\n3300<\/sub>vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the
\nlength and breadth of a pair of indentures?[57]<\/sup><\/a> The very conveyances of his
\nlands[58]<\/sup><\/a> will hardly lie in this box,[59]<\/sup><\/a> and must th’inheritor[60]<\/sup><\/a> himself have no
\nmore, ha?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nNot a jot more, my lord.<\/p>\n

3305<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nIs not parchment made of sheepskins?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nAy, my lord, and of calves’ skins too.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThey are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that. I will speak to this
\nfellow.–Whose grave’s this, sirrah?<\/p>\n

3310<\/sub>Clown<\/strong>
\nMine, sir.
\n[Sings.]<\/em>
\nOh, a pit of clay for to be made
\nFor such a guest is meet.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in’t.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3315<\/sub>You lie out on’t, sir, and therefore ’tis not yours. For my part, I do not lie
\nin’t, and yet it is mine.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThou dost lie in’t, to be in’t and say ’tis thine. ‘Tis for the dead, not for the
\nquick;[61]<\/sup><\/a> therefore thou liest.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3320<\/sub>‘Tis a quick[62]<\/sup><\/a> lie, sir; ’twill away again from me to you.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhat man dost thou dig it for?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nFor no man, sir.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhat woman, then?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nFor none, neither.<\/p>\n

3325<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWho is to be buried in’t?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nOne that was a woman, sir, but, rest her soul, she’s dead.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Horatio]<\/em> How absolute[63]<\/sup><\/a> the knave is! We must speak by the card,[64]<\/sup><\/a> or equivocation[65]<\/sup><\/a> will
\n3330<\/sub>undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken note of it, the
\nage is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of
\nthe courtier he galls his kibe.[66]<\/sup><\/a>–How long hast thou been grave-maker?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3335<\/sub>Of all the days i’th’ year, I came to’t that day that our last King Hamlet
\novercame Fortinbras.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHow long is that since?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nCannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young
\nHamlet was born–he that is mad and sent into England.<\/p>\n

3340<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nAy, marry, why was he sent into England?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nWhy, because ‘a was mad. ‘A shall recover his wits there, or if ‘a do not,
\n’tis no great matter there.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhy?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n‘Twill not be seen in him there. There the men are as mad as he.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3345<\/sub>How came he mad?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nVery strangely, they say.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHow strangely?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nFaith, e’en with losing his wits.<\/p>\n

3350<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nUpon what ground?[67]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nWhy, here in Denmark. I have been sexton[68]<\/sup><\/a> here, man and boy, thirty years.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHow long will a man lie i’th’ earth ere he rot?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3355<\/sub>I’faith, if ‘a be not rotten before ‘a die–as we have many pocky corses[69]<\/sup><\/a>
\nnowadays that will scarce hold the laying in[70]<\/sup><\/a>–‘a will last you[71]<\/sup><\/a> some eight
\nyear, or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhy he more than another?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3360<\/sub>Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that ‘a will keep out water a
\ngreat while; and your water is a sore[72]<\/sup><\/a> decayer of your whoreson[73]<\/sup><\/a> dead body.
\n[He picks up a skull.]<\/em> Here’s a skull now: this skull hath lain you i’th’ earth
\nthree-and-twenty years.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhose was it?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\n3365<\/sub>A whoreson mad fellow’s it was. Whose do you think it was?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nNay, I know not.<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nA pestilence on him for a mad rogue! ‘A poured a flagon of Rhenish[74]<\/sup><\/a> on my
\nhead once. This same skull, sir, was Yorick’s skull, the
\nKing’s jester.<\/p>\n

3370<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThis?<\/p>\n

Clown<\/strong>
\nE’en that.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nLet me see. [taking the skull]<\/em> Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a
\nfellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne[75]<\/sup><\/a> me on his back
\n3375<\/sub>a thousand times, and now how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises[76]<\/sup><\/a> at it.
\nHere hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft.–Where be your
\ngibes[77]<\/sup><\/a> now? Your gambols,[78]<\/sup><\/a> your songs, your flashes of merriment that were
\n3380<\/sub>wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning?
\nQuite chopfall’n?[79]<\/sup><\/a> Now get you to my lady’s chamber[80]<\/sup><\/a> and tell her, let her
\npaint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.
\nPrithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nWhat’s that, my lord?<\/p>\n

3385<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nDost thou think Alexander[81]<\/sup><\/a> looked o’this fashion i’th’ earth?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nE’en so.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nAnd smelt so? Pah!
\n[He throws the skull down.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nE’en so, my lord.<\/p>\n

3390<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nTo what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace
\nthe noble dust of Alexander till ‘a find it stopping a bunghole?[82]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\n‘Twere to consider too curiously[83]<\/sup><\/a> to consider so.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3395<\/sub>No, faith, not a jot. But to follow him thither with modesty enough, and
\nlikelihood to lead it,[84]<\/sup><\/a> as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried,
\nAlexander returneth into dust,[85]<\/sup><\/a> the dust is earth, of earth we make loam,[86]<\/sup><\/a> and
\nwhy of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-
\nbarrel?<\/p>\n

3400<\/sub>Imperial Caesar,[87]<\/sup><\/a> dead and turned to clay,
\nMight stop a hole to keep the wind away.
\nOh, that that earth[88]<\/sup><\/a> which kept the world in awe
\nShould patch a wall t’expel the winter’s flaw![89]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3405<\/sub>Enter King, Queen, Laertes, and a coffin [containing the corpse of Ophelia, in funeral procession,
\nwith the “Doctor” or Priest], with Lords attendant.<\/em>
\nBut soft,[90]<\/sup><\/a> but soft; aside! Here comes the King,
\nThe Queen, the courtiers. Who is that they follow?
\nAnd with such maim\u00e8d rites?[91]<\/sup><\/a> This doth betoken
\nThe corpse they follow did with desp’rate hand
\n3410<\/sub>Fordo it[92]<\/sup><\/a> own life. ‘Twas of some estate.[93]<\/sup><\/a>
\nCouch we[94]<\/sup><\/a> awhile and mark.
\n[Hamlet and Horatio conceal themselves. Ophelia’s body is taken to the
\ngrave.]<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nWhat ceremony else?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[Aside to Horatio]<\/em> That is Laertes, a very noble youth. Mark.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nWhat ceremony else?<\/p>\n

3415<\/sub>Priest<\/strong>
\nHer obsequies have been as far enlarged[95]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAs we have warrantise. Her death was doubtful,
\nAnd, but that great command o’ersways the order,[96]<\/sup><\/a>
\nShe should in ground unsanctified have lodged
\nTill the last trumpet.[97]<\/sup><\/a> For charitable prayers,
\n3420<\/sub>Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her;
\nYet here she is allowed her virgin crants,[98]<\/sup><\/a>
\nHer maiden strewments,[99]<\/sup><\/a> and the bringing home
\nOf bell and burial.[100]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nMust there no more be done?<\/p>\n

3425<\/sub>Priest<\/strong>
\nNo more be done.
\nWe should profane the service of the dead
\nTo sing sage requiem[101]<\/sup><\/a> and such rest to her
\nAs to peace-parted souls.[102]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nLay her i’th’ earth,
\n3430<\/sub>And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
\nMay violets[103]<\/sup><\/a> spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,
\nA minist’ring angel shall my sister be
\nWhen thou liest howling.[104]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Horatio]<\/em> What, the fair Ophelia!<\/p>\n

3435<\/sub>Queen<\/strong>
\n[Scattering flowers]<\/em> Sweets to the sweet! Farewell.
\nI hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife.
\nI thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,
\nAnd not t’have strewed thy grave.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nOh, treble woe
\n3440<\/sub>Fall ten times treble on that curs\u00e8d head
\nWhose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
\nDeprived thee of![105]<\/sup><\/a>–Hold off the earth awhile,
\nTill I have caught her once more in mine arms.
\n[He] leaps in the grave.<\/em>
\n3445<\/sub>Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,[106]<\/sup><\/a>
\nTill of this flat[107]<\/sup><\/a> a mountain you have made
\nT’o’ertop old Pelion, or the skyish head
\nOf blue Olympus.[108]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[Coming forward]<\/em> What is he whose grief
\n3450<\/sub>Bears such an emphasis,[109]<\/sup><\/a> whose phrase of sorrow
\nConjures the wand’ring stars,[110]<\/sup><\/a> and makes them stand[111]<\/sup><\/a>
\nLike wonder-wounded[112]<\/sup><\/a> hearers? This is I,
\nHamlet the Dane.[113]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\n[Grappling with Hamlet]<\/em> The devil take thy soul!<\/p>\n

3455<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThou pray’st not well.
\nI prithee take thy fingers from my throat,
\nFor, though I am not splenative and rash,[114]<\/sup><\/a>
\nYet have I something in me dangerous,
\nWhich let thy wiseness fear. Away thy hand!<\/p>\n

3460<\/sub>King<\/strong>
\nPluck them asunder.<\/p>\n

Queen<\/strong>
\nHamlet, Hamlet!<\/p>\n

3461.1<\/sub>All<\/strong>
\nGentlemen!<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nGood my lord, be quiet.
\n[Hamlet and Laertes are parted.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhy, I will fight with him upon this theme
\nUntil my eyelids will no longer wag.[115]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3465<\/sub>Queen<\/strong>
\nOh, my son, what theme?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
\nCould not with all their quantity of love
\nMake up my sum.–What wilt thou do for her?<\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nOh, he is mad, Laertes.<\/p>\n

3470<\/sub>Queen<\/strong>
\nFor love of God, forbear him.[116]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n‘Swounds,[117]<\/sup><\/a> show me what thou’lt do.
\nWoo’t[118]<\/sup><\/a> weep? Woo’t fight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
\nWoo’t drink up eisil?[119]<\/sup><\/a> Eat a crocodile?
\nI’ll do’t. Dost thou come here to whine?
\n3475<\/sub>To outface me with leaping in her grave?
\nBe buried quick[120]<\/sup><\/a> with her, and so will I.
\nAnd if thou prate of mountains, let them throw
\nMillions of acres on us, till our ground,
\nSingeing his pate against the burning zone,
\n3480<\/sub>Make Ossa like a wart.[121]<\/sup><\/a> Nay, an thou’lt mouth,[122]<\/sup><\/a>
\nI’ll rant as well as thou.<\/p>\n

Queen<\/strong>
\nThis is mere[123]<\/sup><\/a> madness,
\nAnd thus awhile the fit will work on him;
\nAnon, as patient as the female dove
\n3485<\/sub>When that her golden couplets[124]<\/sup><\/a> are disclosed,[125]<\/sup><\/a>
\nHis silence will sit drooping.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Laertes]<\/em> Hear you, sir,
\nWhat is the reason that you use me thus?
\nI loved you ever. But it is no matter.
\n3490<\/sub>Let Hercules himself do what he may,
\nThe cat will mew, and dog will have his day.
\nExit Hamlet.<\/em><\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nI pray you, good Horatio, wait upon[126]<\/sup><\/a> him.
\nAnd Horatio [exits too].<\/em>
\n[Aside to Laertes]<\/em> Strengthen your patience in[127]<\/sup><\/a> our last night’s speech;
\nWe’ll put the matter to the present push.–[128]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3495<\/sub>Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.–
\nThis grave shall have a living monument.
\nAn hour of quiet shortly shall we see;
\nTill then, in patience our proceeding be.
\nExeunt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Scene 2<\/h1>\n

Enter<\/em>[129]<\/sup><\/a> Hamlet and Horatio.<\/em><\/p>\n

3500<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nSo much for this, sir. Now let me see, the other.
\nYou do remember all the circumstance?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nRemember it, my lord![130]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nSir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting
\nThat would not let me sleep. Methought I lay
\n3505<\/sub>Worse than the mutines in the bilboes.[131]<\/sup><\/a> Rashly,
\nAnd praised be rashness for it: let us know,[132]<\/sup><\/a>
\nOur indiscretion[133]<\/sup><\/a> sometime serves us well
\nWhen our deep[134]<\/sup><\/a> plots do pall,[135]<\/sup><\/a> and that should learn[136]<\/sup><\/a> us
\nThere’s a divinity that shapes our ends,
\n3510<\/sub>Rough-hew[137]<\/sup><\/a> them how we will.<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nThat is most certain.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nUp from my cabin,
\nMy sea-gown[138]<\/sup><\/a> scarfed[139]<\/sup><\/a> about me, in the dark
\nGroped I to find out them,[140]<\/sup><\/a> had my desire,
\n3515<\/sub>Fingered[141]<\/sup><\/a> their packet, and in fine[142]<\/sup><\/a> withdrew
\nTo mine own room again, making so bold,
\nMy fears forgetting manners, to unseal
\nTheir grand commission; where I found, Horatio–
\nOh, royal knavery!–an exact command,
\n3520<\/sub>Larded[143]<\/sup><\/a> with many several[144]<\/sup><\/a> sorts of reasons
\nImporting[145]<\/sup><\/a> Denmark’s health, and England’s too,
\nWith, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life,[146]<\/sup><\/a>
\nThat on the supervise, no leisure bated,[147]<\/sup><\/a>
\nNo, not to stay[148]<\/sup><\/a> the grinding[149]<\/sup><\/a> of the ax,
\n3525<\/sub>My head should be struck off.<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nIs’t possible?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[Showing a document]<\/em> Here’s the commission. Read it at more leisure.
\nBut wilt thou hear me how I did proceed?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nI beseech you.<\/p>\n

3530<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nBeing thus benetted round with villainies–
\nEre I could make a prologue to my brains,
\nThey had begun the play–I sat me[150]<\/sup><\/a> down,
\nDevised a new commission, wrote it fair.[151]<\/sup><\/a>
\nI once did hold[152]<\/sup><\/a> it, as our statists[153]<\/sup><\/a> do,
\n3535<\/sub>A baseness[154]<\/sup><\/a> to write fair, and labored much
\nHow to forget that learning, but, sir, now
\nIt did me yeoman’s service.[155]<\/sup><\/a> Wilt thou know
\nTh’effect of what I wrote?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nAy, good my lord.<\/p>\n

3540<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nAn earnest conjuration[156]<\/sup><\/a> from the King,
\nAs England was his faithful tributary,[157]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAs love between them like the palm should flourish,[158]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAs peace should still[159]<\/sup><\/a> her wheaten garland[160]<\/sup><\/a> wear
\nAnd stand a comma[161]<\/sup><\/a> ‘tween their amities,
\n3545And many suchlike “as”es of great charge,[162]<\/sup><\/a>
\nThat on the view and knowing[163]<\/sup><\/a> of these contents,
\nWithout debatement further more or less,[164]<\/sup><\/a>
\nHe should the bearers put to sudden death,
\nNot shriving time allowed.<\/p>\n

3550<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>
\nHow was this sealed?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhy, even in that was heaven ordinant.[165]<\/sup><\/a>
\nI had my father’s signet[166]<\/sup><\/a> in my purse,
\nWhich was the model[167]<\/sup><\/a> of that Danish seal;
\nFolded the writ up in the form of th’other,[168]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3555<\/sub>Subscribed[169]<\/sup><\/a> it, gave’t th’impression,[170]<\/sup><\/a> placed it safely,
\nThe changeling[171]<\/sup><\/a> never known. Now the next day
\nWas our sea fight, and what to this was sequent[172]<\/sup><\/a>
\nThou know’st already.<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nSo Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to’t.<\/p>\n

3560<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhy, man, they did make love to this employment.
\nThey are not near my conscience. Their defeat[173]<\/sup><\/a>
\nDoes by their own insinuation[174]<\/sup><\/a> grow.
\n‘Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes
\nBetween the pass and fell incens\u00e8d points
\n3565<\/sub>Of mighty opposites.[175]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nWhy, what a King is this!<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nDoes it not, think’st thee, stand me now upon–[176]<\/sup><\/a>
\nHe that hath killed my King and whored my mother,
\nPopped in between th’election and my hopes,[177]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3570<\/sub>Thrown out his angle[178]<\/sup><\/a> for my proper life,[179]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAnd with such coz’nage[180]<\/sup><\/a>–is’t not perfect conscience
\nTo quit him with this arm? And is’t not to be damned
\nTo let this canker of our nature come
\nIn further evil?[181]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3575<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>
\nIt must be shortly known to him from England
\nWhat is the issue of the business there.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nIt will be short.
\nThe interim’s mine, and a man’s life’s no more
\nThan to say one.[182]<\/sup><\/a> But I am very sorry, good Horatio,
\n3580<\/sub>That to Laertes I forgot myself,
\nFor by the image of my cause I see
\nThe portraiture of his. I’ll court his favors.[183]<\/sup><\/a>
\nBut sure the bravery[184]<\/sup><\/a> of his grief did put me
\nInto a tow’ring passion.<\/p>\n

3585<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>
\nPeace, who comes here?
\nEnter young Osric, a courtier.<\/em><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nYour lordship is right welcome back to Denmark.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI humbly thank you, sir. [Aside to Horatio]<\/em> Dost know this water-fly?[185]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\n[Aside to Hamlet]<\/em> No, my good lord.<\/p>\n

3590<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[Aside to Horatio]<\/em> Thy state is the more gracious,[186]<\/sup><\/a> for ’tis a vice to know
\nhim. He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts, and his
\ncrib shall stand at the King’s mess.[187]<\/sup><\/a> ‘Tis a chuff,[188]<\/sup><\/a> but, as I say, spacious in
\nthe possession of dirt.[189]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3595<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nSweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure,[190]<\/sup><\/a> I should impart a thing to you
\nfrom his majesty.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit. Put your bonnet[191]<\/sup><\/a> to his right use.
\n‘Tis for the head.<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nI thank your lordship, it is very hot.<\/p>\n

3600<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nNo, believe me, ’tis very cold. The wind is northerly.<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nIt is indifferent[192]<\/sup><\/a> cold, my lord, indeed.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nBut yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion.[193]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3605<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nExceedingly, my lord, it is very sultry, as ’twere–I cannot tell how. But, my
\nlord, his majesty bade me signify to you that ‘a has laid a great wager on
\nyour head. Sir, this is the matter–<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[Reminding Osric once more about his hat]<\/em> I beseech you, remember.<\/p>\n

3610<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nNay, good my lord, for my ease, in good faith.[194]<\/sup><\/a> Sir,
\n3610.1<\/sub>here is newly come to court Laertes–believe me, an
\nabsolute[195]<\/sup><\/a> gentlemen, full of most excellent differences,[196]<\/sup><\/a>
\nof very soft society[197]<\/sup><\/a> and great showing.[198]<\/sup><\/a> Indeed, to speak
\nfeelingly[199]<\/sup><\/a> of him, he is the card or calendar of gentry,[200]<\/sup><\/a> for
\nyou shall find in him the continent of what part a
\n3610.5<\/sub>gentleman would see.[201]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nSir, his definement suffers no perdition in you,
\nthough I know to divide him inventorially would dazzle
\nth’arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither, in
\nrespect of his quick sail.[202]<\/sup><\/a> But in the verity of extolment,
\n3610.10<\/sub>I take him to be a soul of great article, and his infusion
\nof such dearth and rareness as, to make true diction of
\nhim, his semblable is his mirror, and who else would
\ntrace him, his umbrage, nothing more.[203]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nYour lordship speaks most infallibly of him.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThe concernancy,[204]<\/sup><\/a> sir? Why do we wrap the gentleman in
\n3610.15<\/sub>our more rawer breath?[205]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nSir?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\n[To Hamlet]<\/em> Is’t not possible to understand in another tongue? You will do’t, sir, really.[206]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Osric]<\/em> What imports the nomination[207]<\/sup><\/a> of this gentleman?<\/p>\n

3610.20<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nOf Laertes?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\n[To Hamlet]<\/em> His purse is empty already; all’s golden words are spent.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Osric]<\/em> Of him, sir.<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nI know you are not ignorant–<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI would you did, sir. Yet in faith if you did, it would not
\n3610.25<\/sub>much approve me.[208]<\/sup><\/a> Well, sir?<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nSir, you are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is–<\/p>\n

3612.1<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence. But to know a man well were to know himself.[209]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nI mean, sir, for his weapon. But in the imputation laid on him by them, in his meed he’s unfellowed.[210]<\/sup><\/a> You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is at his weapon.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhat’s his weapon?<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nRapier and dagger.[211]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3615<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThat’s two of his weapons–but well.[212]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nThe King, sir, hath wagered with him six Barbary horses,[213]<\/sup><\/a> against the which he
\nhas impawned,[214]<\/sup><\/a> as I take it, six French rapiers and poniards,[215]<\/sup><\/a> with their assigns, as
\n3620<\/sub>girdle,[216]<\/sup><\/a> hangers, or so.[217]<\/sup><\/a> Three of the carriages,[218]<\/sup><\/a> in faith, are very dear to fancy,
\nvery responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, and of very liberal
\nconceit.[219]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nWhat call you the carriages?<\/p>\n

3622.1<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>
\n[To Hamlet]<\/em> I knew you must be edified by the margin ere you had done.[220]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nThe carriages, sir, are the hangers.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3625<\/sub>The phrase would be more germane to the matter if we could carry cannon
\nby our sides; I would it might be “hangers” till then.[221]<\/sup><\/a> But on. Six Barbary
\nhorses against six French swords, their assigns, and three liberal-conceited
\ncarriages: that’s the French bet against the Danish. Why is this “impawned,”
\nas you call it?<\/p>\n

3630<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nThe King, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen passes between yourself and him, he shall
\nnot exceed you three hits. He hath laid on’t twelve for nine,[222]<\/sup><\/a> and it would come
\nto immediate trial, if your lordship would vouchsafe the answer.[223]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

3635<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHow if I answer no?[224]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nI mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in trial.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nSir, I will walk here in the hall. If it please his majesty, it is the breathing
\n3640<\/sub>time of day[225]<\/sup><\/a> with me. Let[226]<\/sup><\/a> the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the
\nKing hold his purpose, I will win for him an I can; if not, I will gain nothing but
\nmy shame and the odd hits.<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nShall I re-deliver you e’en so?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3645<\/sub>To this effect, sir, after what flourish your nature will.<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nI commend my duty[227]<\/sup><\/a> to your lordship.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nYours, yours.
\n[Exit Osric.]<\/em>
\n‘A does well to commend it himself; there are no tongues else for’s turn.[228]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\n3650<\/sub>This lapwing[229]<\/sup><\/a> runs away with the shell on his head.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n‘A did comply with his dug[230]<\/sup><\/a> before ‘a sucked it. Thus has he, and many
\nmore of the same bevy that I know the drossy age dotes on, only got the tune
\n3655<\/sub>of the time and outward habit of encounter, a kind of yeasty collection,
\nwhich carries them through and through the most fanned and winnowed
\nopinions; and do but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are out.[231]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3657.1<\/sub>Enter a Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lord<\/strong>
\nMy lord, his majesty commended him[232]<\/sup><\/a> 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[233]<\/sup><\/a> with Laertes, or that[234]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3657.5<\/sub>you will take longer time?<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI am constant to my purposes; they follow the King’s pleasure. If his fitness speaks, mine is ready:[235]<\/sup><\/a> now or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.<\/p>\n

Lord<\/strong>
\nThe King and Queen and all are coming down.<\/p>\n

3657.10<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nIn happy time.[236]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Lord<\/strong>
\nThe Queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment[237]<\/sup><\/a> to Laertes before you fall to play.[238]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nShe well instructs me.
\n[Exit Lord.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nYou will lose this wager, my lord.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3660<\/sub>I do not think so. Since he went into France, I have been in continual
\npractice; I shall win at the odds.[239]<\/sup><\/a> But thou wouldst not think how ill all’s here
\nabout my heart, but it is no matter.<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nNay, good my lord–<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3665<\/sub>It is but foolery, but it is such a kind of gaingiving as would perhaps trouble
\na woman.<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nIf your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair[240]<\/sup><\/a> hither and
\nsay you are not fit.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nNot a whit,[241]<\/sup><\/a> we defy augury.[242]<\/sup><\/a> There’s a special providence[243]<\/sup><\/a> in the fall of a
\nsparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, 3670it will be now; if
\nit be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man has aught
\nof what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes?[244]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3673.1<\/sub>Let be.[245]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3675<\/sub>Trumpets, drums, and officers with cushions. Enter King, Queen, and Lords [including Laertes and Osric, and all the state], with other Attendants with foils and gauntlets, a table, and flagons of wine on it.<\/em><\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nCome, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me.
\n[The King puts Laertes’s hand into Hamlet’s.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Laertes]<\/em> Give me your pardon, sir. I’ve done you wrong,
\nBut pardon’t as you are a gentleman.
\n3680<\/sub>This presence[246]<\/sup><\/a> knows,
\nAnd you must needs have heard, how I am punished
\nWith a sore distraction.[247]<\/sup><\/a> What I have done
\nThat might your nature, honor, and exception[248]<\/sup><\/a>
\nRoughly awake, I hear proclaim was madness.
\n3685<\/sub>Was’t Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet.
\nIf Hamlet from himself be ta’en away,
\nAnd when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes,
\nThen Hamlet does it not; Hamlet denies it.
\nWho does it, then? His madness. If’t be so,
\n3690<\/sub>Hamlet is of the faction[249]<\/sup><\/a> that is wronged;
\nHis madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy.
\nSir, in this audience
\nLet my disclaiming from a purposed evil[250]<\/sup><\/a>
\nFree me so far in your most generous thoughts
\n3695<\/sub>That I have shot my arrow o’er the house
\nAnd hurt my brother.[251]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nI am satisfied in nature,[252]<\/sup><\/a>
\nWhose motive[253]<\/sup><\/a> in this case should stir me most
\nTo my revenge. But in my terms of honor
\n3700<\/sub>I stand aloof, and will[254]<\/sup><\/a> no reconcilement,
\nTill by some elder masters of known honor
\nI have a voice and precedent of peace
\nTo keep my name ungored.[255]<\/sup><\/a> But till that time
\nI do receive your offered love like love,
\n3705<\/sub>And will not wrong it.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI do embrace it freely,[256]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAnd will this brother’s wager frankly play.–
\nGive us the foils. Come on.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nCome, one for me.<\/p>\n

3710<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI’ll be your foil,[257]<\/sup><\/a> Laertes. In mine ignorance[258]<\/sup><\/a>
\nYour skill shall like a star i’th’ darkest night
\nStick fiery off[259]<\/sup><\/a> indeed.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nYou mock me, sir.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nNo, by this hand.<\/p>\n

3715<\/sub>King<\/strong>
\nGive them the foils, young Osric.
\n[Foils are handed to Hamlet and Laertes.]<\/em>
\nCousin Hamlet,
\nYou know the wager.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nVery well, my lord.
\nYour grace has laid the odds o’th’weaker side.[260]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\n3720<\/sub>I do not fear it; I have seen you both.
\nBut since he is bettered, we have therefore odds.[261]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nThis is too heavy. Let me see another.
\n[He exchanges his foil for another.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3725<\/sub>This likes[262]<\/sup><\/a> me well. These foils have all a length?[263]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nAy, my good lord.
\n[They] prepare to play.<\/em><\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nSet me the stoups[264]<\/sup><\/a> of wine upon that table.
\nIf Hamlet give the first or second hit,
\nOr quit in answer of the third exchange,[265]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3730<\/sub>Let all the battlements their ordnance fire.[266]<\/sup><\/a>
\nThe King shall drink to Hamlet’s better breath,[267]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAnd in the cup an union[268]<\/sup><\/a> shall he throw
\nRicher then that which four successive kings
\n3735<\/sub>In Denmark’s crown have worn. Give me the cups,
\nAnd let the kettle to the trumpet speak,
\nThe trumpet to the cannoneer[269]<\/sup><\/a> without,
\nThe cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth,
\n“Now the King drinks to Hamlet.” Come, begin.
\nTrumpets the while.<\/em>[270]<\/sup><\/a>
\n3740<\/sub>And you, the judges, bear a wary eye.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nCome on, sir.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nCome, my lord.
\nThey play. [Hamlet scores a hit.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nOne.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nNo.<\/p>\n

3745<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[To Osric]<\/em> Judgment.<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nA hit, a very palpable hit.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nWell, again.<\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nStay.[271]<\/sup><\/a> Give me drink. Hamlet this pearl is thine.
\n[He drinks, and throws a pearl in Hamlet’s cup.]<\/em>
\n3750<\/sub>Here’s to thy health.–Give him the cup.
\nTrumpets sound, and shot goes off.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nI’ll play this bout first. Set it by awhile.
\nCome. [They fence.]<\/em> Another hit. What say you?<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nA touch, a touch, I do confess.<\/p>\n

3755<\/sub>King<\/strong>
\n[To the Queen]<\/em> Our son shall win.<\/p>\n

Queen<\/strong>
\nHe’s fat[272]<\/sup><\/a> and scant of breath.–
\nHere, Hamlet, take my napkin,[273]<\/sup><\/a> rub thy brows.
\n[The Queen takes a cup of wine to offer a toast to Hamlet.]<\/em>
\nThe Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nGood madam.<\/p>\n

3760<\/sub>King<\/strong>
\nGertrude, do not drink.<\/p>\n

Queen<\/strong>
\nI will, my lord, I pray you pardon me.
\n[She drinks.]<\/em><\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\n[Aside]<\/em> It is the poisoned cup. It is too late.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n3765<\/sub>I dare not drink yet, madam; by and by.<\/p>\n

Queen<\/strong>
\nCome, let me wipe thy face.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\n[Aside to the King]<\/em> My lord, I’ll hit him now.<\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\n[Aside to Laertes]<\/em> I do not think’t.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\n[Aside]<\/em> And yet ’tis almost ‘gainst my conscience.<\/p>\n

3770<\/sub>Hamlet<\/strong>
\nCome for the third, Laertes, you do but dally.
\nI pray you, pass[274]<\/sup><\/a> with your best violence;
\nI am afeard you make a wanton of me.[275]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nSay you so? Come on.
\n[They] play.<\/em><\/p>\n

3775<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nNothing neither way.<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nHave at you now!
\n[Laertes wounds Hamlet with his unbated rapier.] In scuffling they change
\nrapiers. [Hamlet wounds Laertes.]<\/em>[276]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nPart them! They are incensed.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nNay, come again.
\n[Laertes falls down. The Queen falls down.]<\/em><\/p>\n

3780<\/sub>Osric<\/strong>
\nLook to the Queen there, ho!<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nThey bleed on both sides. [To Hamlet]<\/em> How is it, my lord?<\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nHow is’t, Laertes?<\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nWhy, as a woodcock to mine own springe,[277]<\/sup><\/a> Osric;
\n3785<\/sub>I am justly killed with mine own treachery.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHow does the Queen?<\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nShe swoons to see them bleed.<\/p>\n

Queen<\/strong>
\nNo, no, the drink, the drink,
\nO my dear Hamlet, the drink, the drink!
\nI am poisoned.
\n[She dies.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nOh, villainy! Ho! Let the door be locked.
\nTreachery! Seek it out.
\n[Exit Osric.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nIt is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain.
\n3795<\/sub>No med’cine in the world can do thee good;
\nIn thee there is not half an hour of life.
\nThe treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
\nUnbated[278]<\/sup><\/a> and envenomed. The foul practice[279]<\/sup><\/a>
\nHath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie
\n3800<\/sub>Never to rise again. Thy mother’s poisoned.
\nI can no more. The King, the King’s to blame.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nThe point envenomed too? Then, venom, to thy work.
\n[He] hurts the King.<\/em><\/p>\n

3805<\/sub>All<\/strong>
\nTreason, treason!<\/p>\n

King<\/strong>
\nOh, yet defend me, friends, I am but hurt.<\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\n[Forcing the King to drink]<\/em> Here, thou incestuous, murd’rous,
\ndamn\u00e8d Dane,
\nDrink off this potion. Is thy union here?
\n3810<\/sub>Follow my mother.
\nThe King dies.<\/em><\/p>\n

Laertes<\/strong>
\nHe is justly served.
\nIt is a poison tempered[280]<\/sup><\/a> by himself.
\nExchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet.
\nMine and my father’s death come not upon thee,
\n3815<\/sub>Nor thine on me!
\n[He] dies.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nHeaven make thee free of it! I follow thee.
\nI am dead, Horatio. Wretched Queen, adieu.
\nYou that look pale and tremble at this chance,
\nThat are but mutes or audience to this act,
\n3820<\/sub>Had I but time, as this fell sergeant Death
\nIs strict in his arrest, oh, I could tell you–
\nBut let it be. Horatio, I am dead,
\nThou liv’st. Report me and my cause aright
\nTo the unsatisfied.<\/p>\n

3825<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>
\nNever believe it.
\nI am more an antique Roman[281]<\/sup><\/a> than a Dane.
\nHere’s yet some liquor left.
\n[He attempts to drink from the poisoned cup, but is prevented by Hamlet.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nAs thou’rt a man,
\nGive me the cup! Let go! By heaven I’ll ha’t.
\n3830<\/sub>Oh, God, Horatio, what a wounded name,
\nThings standing thus unknown, shall live behind me!
\nIf thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,
\nAbsent thee from felicity awhile,
\nAnd in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain
\n3835<\/sub>To tell my story.
\nMarch afar off, and shout within.<\/em>
\nWhat warlike noise is this?
\nEnter Osric.<\/em><\/p>\n

Osric<\/strong>
\nYoung Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland,
\n3840<\/sub>To th’ambassadors of England gives this warlike volley.[282]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Hamlet<\/strong>
\nOh, I die, Horatio.
\nThe potent poison quite o’ercrows[283]<\/sup><\/a> my spirit.
\nI cannot live to hear the news from England,
\nBut I do prophesy th’election lights
\n3845<\/sub>On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice.[284]<\/sup><\/a>
\nSo tell him, with th’occurrents[285]<\/sup><\/a> more and less
\nWhich have solicited.[286]<\/sup><\/a> The rest is silence.
\nOh, oh, oh, oh!
\n[He] dies.<\/em><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nNow cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
\n3850<\/sub>And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!
\n[March within.]<\/em>
\nWhy does the drum come hither?
\nEnter Fortinbras and the English Ambassadors, with Drum, Colors, and
\nAttendants.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fortinbras<\/strong>
\nWhere is this sight?<\/p>\n

3855<\/sub>Horatio<\/strong>
\nWhat is it ye would see?
\nIf aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.<\/p>\n

Fortinbras<\/strong>
\nThis quarry cries on havoc.[287]<\/sup><\/a> O proud Death,
\nWhat feast is toward in thine eternal cell,[288]<\/sup><\/a>
\nThat thou so many princes at a shot
\n3860<\/sub>So bloodily hast struck?<\/p>\n

Ambassador<\/strong>
\nThe sight is dismal,
\nAnd our affairs from England come too late.
\nThe ears are senseless that should give us hearing,
\nTo tell him his commandment is fulfilled,
\n3865<\/sub>That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.
\nWhere should we have our thanks?<\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nNot from his mouth,
\nHad it th’ability of life to thank you;
\nHe never gave commandment for their death.
\n3870<\/sub>But since so jump upon this bloody question[289]<\/sup><\/a>
\nYou from the Polack wars and you from England
\nAre here arrived, give order that these bodies
\nHigh on a stage be plac\u00e8d the view,
\nAnd let me speak to th’yet unknowing world
\n3875<\/sub>How these things came about. So shall you hear
\nOf carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,
\nOf accidental judgments,[290]<\/sup><\/a> casual[291]<\/sup><\/a> slaughters,
\nOf deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,[292]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAnd in this upshot, purposes mistook
\n3880<\/sub>Fall’n on th’inventors’ heads. All this can I
\nTruly deliver.[293]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Fortinbras<\/strong>
\nLet us haste to hear it,
\nAnd call the noblest to the audience.
\nFor me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune.
\n3885<\/sub>I have some rights of memory[294]<\/sup><\/a> in this kingdom,
\nWhich now to claim my vantage doth invite me.[295]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Horatio<\/strong>
\nOf that I shall have also cause to speak,
\n3890<\/sub>And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more.
\nBut let this same be presently[296]<\/sup><\/a> performed,
\nEven while men’s minds are wild, lest more mischance
\nOn plots[297]<\/sup><\/a> and errors happen.<\/p>\n

3895<\/sub>Fortinbras<\/strong>
\nLet four captains
\nBear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage,
\nFor he was likely, had he been put on,[298]<\/sup><\/a>
\nTo have proved most royal; and for his passage,
\n3900<\/sub>The soldiers’ music and the rites of war
\nSpeak[299]<\/sup><\/a> loudly for him.
\nTake up the body. Such a sight as this
\nBecomes the field, but here shows much amiss.
\nGo bid the soldiers shoot.
\n3905<\/sub>Exeunt marching, after the which a peal of ordnance are shot off.<\/em>
\nFINIS<\/p>\n

  1. Location: A churchyard. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. Burial in consecrated ground--something that the Church would deny to any who had committed mortal sin, such as suicide. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. Right away. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. The coroner, the official charged with conducting an inquest into cases of accidental or violent death, has done so in this case, and has judged the deceased worthy of burial in sanctified ground. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  5. Self-defense could constitute a legitimate defense against a charge of murder, but the speaker here is ludicrous to wonder if suicide could be self-defense. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  6. Determined to be thus in the coroner's verdict. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  7. Presumably an attempt at se defendendo,<\/em> killing in self-defense. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  8. Legal arguments put forward regarding the disposition of property. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  9. Ergo, therefore. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  10. Master Digger; worthy digger. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  11. Willy-nilly, whether he is willing or not. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  12. Indeed. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  13. Coroner's inquest. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  14. Of it. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  15. Privilege, authority. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  16. Venerable, going back to ancient times. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  17. Uphold, practice, keep up. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  18. (1) was entitled to display the coat of arms of a gentleman; (2) had arms on his body. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  19. i.e., prepare yourself spiritually for death. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  20. An expression of impatience. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  21. Stonemason. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  22. Since that frame, the gallows (used for hanging criminals). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  23. (1) It provides a good answer; (2) The gallows serves well as an instrument of execution. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  24. May serve your turn when it comes time for you to be hanged. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  25. Try again. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  26. i.e., unharness your wit, like a tired team of plow animals; put an end to your mental efforts. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  27. By the Mass. (A common oath.) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  28. Any ordinary plodding ass. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  29. Improve. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  30. i.e., to a tavern in the vicinity whose proprietor is named \"Johan\" or John. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  31. Flagon, tankard. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  32. To shorten the time for my own benefit. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  33. Suitable, more appropriate. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  34. A thing he can do easily, without distress. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  35. Exactly. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  36. One who seldom does such things is apt to be more squeamish. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  37. i.e., sent me on my way toward death. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  38. i.e., alive and in love. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  39. Though not mentioned in the account in Genesis (4.8) of Cain's murder of his brother Abel, the jawbone was often assumed in medieval representations to be the murder weapon. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  40. The skull of a scheming manipulator intent on gaining political advantage. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  41. Triumphs over by means of political or social advantage. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  42. i.e., who praised that lord's horse with the intent of suggesting that the horse be presented to the praiser as a gift. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  43. i.e., a skull belonging to one who now dances attendance on Lady Worm, in whose court worms feast on dead bodies. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  44. Lacking the lower jaw. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  45. Literally a drinking vessel, here applied to the head. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  46. Reversal of destiny, by the turning of Fortune's wheel. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  47. If. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  48. Was so little care taken in bringing up the owner of these bones that we can now play a game like skittles or horse-shoes with the bones. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  49. And also. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  50. His subtleties and legal niceties. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  51. Property titles. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  52. Foolish. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  53. Head. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  54. Legal action charging physical assault. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  55. His securities acknowledging obligation of a debt, his bonds undertaken to repay debts, his procedures for converting entailed estates into \"fee simple\" or freehold, his vouchers signed by two signatories guaranteeing the validity of titles to land, (and) his suits to obtain possession of land. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  56. To have the skull of his once elegant head filled with minutely sifted dirt. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  57. Will his vouchers, no matter how carefully duplicated, guarantee him no more land than is needed to bury him in? ↵<\/a><\/li>
  58. Legal documents pertaining to the purchases of his lands. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  59. (1) this coffin; (2) this deed box. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  60. The purchaser, owner. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  61. The living. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  62. Nimble. (Punning on \"quick,\" living, in the previous speech.) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  63. Precise. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  64. i.e., precisely. Literally, by marks indicated on a compass-card showing the points of the compass for navigational use. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  65. Quibbling. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  66. i.e., the world today has become so fastidious and refined that the lower classes ape their social betters, following so closely at their heels as to chafe their \"kibes\" or chilblains. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  67. Cause, reason. (But the Gravedigger answers in the sense of \"land,\" \"country.\") ↵<\/a><\/li>
  68. A minor official who tends to church property, ringing bells, digging graves, etc. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  69. Diseased, rotten corpses; literally, riddled with the pox or syphilis. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  70. Hold together long enough to be buried. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  71. He (or \"it\") will last. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  72. Keen, veritable. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  73. Son-of-a-bitch. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  74. Rhenish wine. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  75. Borne, carried. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  76. I feel nauseated. The gorge is literally the throat or stomach. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  77. Taunts. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  78. Skipping or leaping about in play. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  79. (1) lacking the lower jaw; (2) downcast, dejected. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  80. Dressing table. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  81. Alexander the Great. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  82. Hole in a cask or barrel for filling or emptying. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  83. Consider too minutely, over-subtly. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  84. With moderation and plausibility. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  85. Compare the Anglican burial service, \"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.\" ↵<\/a><\/li>
  86. A mixture of moistened sandy clay and straw used to make bricks, plaster, or (in this case) bungs for a beer barrel. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  87. The term can apply to Julius Caesar, or to the emperors starting with Augustus Caesar. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  88. i.e., Caesar's body. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  89. Winter's squalls and destructive force. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  90. Gently, wait a moment. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  91. Truncated ceremonies. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  92. Destroy its. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  93. Of considerable social rank. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  94. Let's conceal ourselves, lie low. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  95. Extended to the full ritual. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  96. Were it not that royal command overrules the customary practice (as prescribed too by our monastic order) of denying sacred burial to suicides. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  97. She should have been buried in unsanctified ground awaiting the Day of Judgment, when all souls will be condemned or saved for all eternity by divine decree. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  98. Garlands betokening maidenhood. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  99. Flowers strewn on a coffin. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  100. Laying the body to rest, to the tolling of the church bell and the recitation of the burial ceremony. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  101. A solemn mass for the dead and other rituals beseeching heaven to grant rest to those who have died at peace with God. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  102. The souls of those who have died at peace with God. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  103. Compare 4.5.172-4 (TLN 2927-37) and note, where violets are associated with fidelity to a lost love. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  104. i.e., are lodged in hell. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  105. Deprived you of your fine, quick intelligence. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  106. The living and the dead. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  107. Level place. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  108. i.e., To tower above Greece's highest mountains, including Olympus, the reputed home of the Olympian gods. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  109. Is conveyed so forcefully. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  110. Whose sorrowful speech invokes the planets to come to his aid. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  111. Remain stationary in their heavenly paths. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  112. Struck with amazement. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  113. A customary form of title for the King of Denmark. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  114. Hot-tempered. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  115. Move, flutter (as a sign that the person is still living). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  116. Let him alone. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  117. By His (Christ's) wounds. (A strong oath.) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  118. Wilt thou, wouldst thou. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  119. Vinegar. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  120. Alive. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  121. Until the vast acres of land that have been thrown on top of us, scorching the very top of this huge mound by its nearness to the burning sun, make Mount Ossa seem comparatively as small as a wart. Ossa is the mountain piled on top of Mount Pelion by the Giants in their rebellious attempt to scale Mount Olympus, home of the Olympian gods. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  122. If you want to rant. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  123. Utter. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  124. Baby pigeons clad in golden-colored down. Pigeons are traditionally though to be gentle and patient. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  125. Hatched. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  126. Attend. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  127. i.e., by recalling. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  128. Immediate test. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  129. Location: The castle. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  130. i.e., How could I ever forget such a thing? ↵<\/a><\/li>
  131. Mutineers in shackles. The word \"bilboes\" is from Bilbao in Spain, famed for its excellent swords and presumably also for high-quality iron instruments of confinement that could be used to restrain English prisoners aboard Spanish war vessels. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  132. Acknowledge. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  133. An action that is not premeditated. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  134. Secret, obscure. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  135. Lose strength, falter, fade away. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  136. Teach. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  137. Shape roughly. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  138. Seaman's coat. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  139. Loosely wrapped, as with a scarf. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  140. Find out Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, uncover their villainy. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  141. Pilfered, lifted. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  142. Finally, in conclusion. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  143. Garnished. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  144. Different, separate. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  145. Concerning, relating to. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  146. i.e., With all sorts of imagined fanciful terrors if I were allowed to remain alive. (\"Bugs\" are bugbears, hobgoblins.) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  147. That on the reading of this commission, no delay being permitted. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  148. Await. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  149. Sharpening. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  150. Myself. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  151. In the formal handwriting used in official documents. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  152. Regard. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  153. Statesmen. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  154. As something beneath my dignity. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  155. i.e., It stood me in good stead, by providing me with secretarial handwriting skills. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  156. Entreaty. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  157. Country obligated to pay tribute money, usually as a result of having been subjugated militarily. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  158. The palm branch was traditionally a symbol of festive triumph and flourishing; cf. Psalms, 92:12, \"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.\" ↵<\/a><\/li>
  159. Always. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  160. A symbol of peace and fruitful plenty. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  161. i.e., And stand as a link uniting two entities that, though separate, are closely integrated. A period or semicolon would signify a greater break. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  162. And many similarly weighty clauses, each introduced (as in formal legal documents or proclamations) by \"As\" or \"Whereas.\" (With wordplay on \"'as'es\" and \"asses.\") ↵<\/a><\/li>
  163. Knowledge. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  164. Without any further discussion. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  165. Directing, ordaining. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  166. Small seal. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  167. Duplicate, likeness. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  168. Folded the written document just as its predecessor had been folded. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  169. Signed (forging the King's name). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  170. Sealed it by stamping the official seal into the wax. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  171. i.e., The substituted document. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  172. Followed. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  173. Their destruction. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  174. Intrusive intervention, ingratiating themselves with the King by doing his dirty business. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  175. i.e., when persons of lower social station and capability come between the deadly and enraged weapon-thrusts of two such mighty opponents such as the King and Hamlet. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  176. Become incumbent on me now. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  177. i.e., between me and my hopeful expectation of being \"elected\" to the Danish kingship after the death of my father. Succession to the Danish throne is assumed in this play to have been the choice of a small body of noble electors, like those of the Hapsburg empire or of the papacy. Polonius is presumably such an elector. See lines 274-5 (TLN 3844-5) below, where Hamlet, with his \"dying voice,\" predicts that \"th'election\" will light on Fortinbras, and 1.2.109 (TLN 291), where Claudius proclaims Hamlet \"the most immediate to our throne.\" ↵<\/a><\/li>
  178. Fishing hook and line. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  179. My own life. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  180. Deception. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  181. To allow this ulcerous sore that afflicts human nature commit further evil? ↵<\/a><\/li>
  182. Than it takes to count to one. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  183. Try to ingratiate myself with Laertes. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  184. Extravagance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  185. i.e., a giddy, superficial person. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  186. Blessed. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  187. Provided a man, no matter how beastlike, is rich in livestock and possessions (as Osric appears to be), he may eat at the King's meal-table. (A crib is a manger or trough for feeding livestock.) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  188. (1) boor, churl; (2) chatterer, jackdaw. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  189. A large landowner. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  190. i.e., if you have the time, if I'm not interrupting. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  191. Put your hat. Presumably Osric has doffed his hat as a token of respect. Gentleman normally wore hats indoors. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  192. Somewhat, rather. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  193. Constitution. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  194. A polite declining of Hamlet's adjuration to Osric that he put on his hat. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  195. Perfect, complete. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  196. Superior and distinctive qualities. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  197. Agreeable manners. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  198. Distinguished appearance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  199. With just perception, appreciatively. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  200. The model or paradigm (literally, the map or directory) of good breeding. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  201. One who contains in himself all the attributes a gentleman might wish to see. A \"continent\" is \"that which contains.\" ↵<\/a><\/li>
  202. Your characterizing of Laertes's qualities in no way diminishes his excellence, though I know that to enumerate all his graces would stupify one's powers of reckoning, and even so could do no more than veer unsteadily off-course (yaw) in a vain attempt to track the brilliance of his accomplishments. Hamlet words this speech in such a way as to mock Osric's vapid and trendy jargon. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  203. But to speak truthful praise of him, I take him to be a person of remarkable substance, one whose essence is of such rarity and excellence that, to speak truly of him, no one can be compared with him other than his own likeness; anyone else attempting to emulate him can only hope to attain the shadow of his substance, not the real thing. More parody on Hamlet's part of Osric's officious flattering mannerisms. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  204. Import, relevance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  205. i.e., inelegant speech, more so than can hope to succeed in praising Laertes worthily enough. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  206. i.e., (to Hamlet),\/ You will truly have your joke at Osric's expense; or (to Osric), You can speak plainly if you just try hard enough. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  207. Naming, mention. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  208. i.e., I wish you would admit me to be knowledgeable (\"not ignorant\") in these matters, though, even if you did allow that, it would not be much of a commendation, coming from you. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  209. i.e., I dare not claim to know that Laertes is an excellent young man lest I seem to imply a comparable excellence in myself. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  210. i.e., I mean his excellence with his rapier, not his general excellence. But in the reputation he enjoys among knowledgeable people for use of his weapon, in his merit he is unrivalled. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  211. Gentlemanly duellists in the early modern period often fought with a rapier (a straight two-edged fencing weapon with a narrow pointed blade) in one hand and a dagger in the other. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  212. But never mind that. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  213. Arabian horses, originally from the Barbary region of northern Africa, especially (today) Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  214. Laertes has staked, wagered. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  215. Daggers. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  216. Sword belt. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  217. Strap on the girdle or sword belt from which the sword hung, and so on. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  218. Another term for \"hangers,\" straps. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  219. Are very appealing to the \"fancy\" or imagination, decoratively matched as they are with the hilts or the cases for the swords, finely wrought in workmanship, and elaborately designed. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  220. I knew you'd need to have the matter explained to you more clearly, as if by an explanatory note (often printed in the margins of books), before you're finished asking about \"carriages.\" ↵<\/a><\/li>
  221. Hamlet's satirical point is that the term \"carriages\" is best reserved for gun carriages on which cannon are mounted, rather than pretentiously applied to mere straps used to hold rapiers and their hilts. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  222. Seemingly, the King has \"laid\" or wagered that, in a dozen \"passes\" or bouts of fencing, the total number of hits scored by Laertes will not exceed Hamlet's total by three; to win, Laertes would have to win at least eight to Hamlet's four, two to one odds. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  223. Be so good as to accept the challenge. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  224. By replying in pretended ignorance as though he has been asked for a simple \"yes\" or \"no\" answer, Hamlet mischievously refuses to acknowledge that the polite formula in which the challenge has been delivered to him requires that he acquiesce. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  225. Time for exercise. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  226. i.e., If. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  227. I dedicate my service. (A conventionally polite phrase of departure.) ↵<\/a><\/li>
  228. i.e., He needs to commend his own virtues; no one else will do it for him. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  229. Plover, a wading bird known to flap its wings and scurry about in a wily fashion calculated to draw intruders away from the nest. According to legend, a newly hatched bird was thought to run around with the shell still on its head. Horatio satirically alludes to Osric's fatuous mannerisms and to his confusion about wearing or not wearing his hat. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  230. He bowed ceremoniously to his mother's or nurse's breast. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  231. Thus has he--and many more of the same sort that our frivolous age dotes on--acquired the trendy manner of speech of the time and formulaic conversation with courtiers of their own kind: a kind of frothy repertoire of current phrases which enables such gallants to pass themselves off as persons of the most select and well-sifted views; and yet do but test these creatures by merely blowing on them, and their bubbles burst. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  232. Has sent his commendations, his greetings. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  233. Fence. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  234. Or if. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  235. If this suits his convenience, it suits me as well. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  236. i.e., They come at an opportune time. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  237. Courteous greeting. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  238. Begin fencing. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  239. According to the wager as defined by the King at line 116 (TLN 3630-2) above, which have given Hamlet favorable odds. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  240. Coming. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  241. Not at all. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  242. i.e., superstition, or hunches. Literally, divination from auspices or omens, such as the flight of birds. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  243. Providential direction oversees even the smallest details of human history. Calvinist preachers especially were fond of quoting Christ's teaching in Matthew 10:29: \"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.\" See also Matthew 6:28-30: \"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin . . . Wherefore, if God so clothe the grasses of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?\" ↵<\/a><\/li>
  244. Being in readiness is the crucially important thing, since no one can truly be said to possess the worldly goods and physicality that must be left behind at the moment of death. Why then should it matter if one must leave those things \"betimes,\" i.e., earlier rather than later? ↵<\/a><\/li>
  245. Enough; say no more. Leave things as they are. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  246. Royal assembly. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  247. Afflicted by a serious mental disturbance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  248. Disapproval, dissatisfaction. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  249. Party. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  250. Let my denial of having had any evil intention. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  251. i.e., comrade, fellow gentleman. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  252. i.e, as to my personal feelings. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  253. The promptings of which. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  254. Desire, will allow. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  255. Until by the official judgment of those gentlemen of the court who preside over the duel I can obtain an authoritative pronouncement and previous instance of a similar reconciliation to clear my reputation of any injury. Laertes declares himself ready to let the outcome of the duel determine whether Hamlet has wronged him or not, following the medieval custom of trial by combat. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  256. Voluntarily and without ill feeling. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  257. Hamlet puns on the term. Literally, a foil is a thin metal background used to set off and enhance the brilliance of a jewel. Hamlet modestly suggests that he will make Laertes look good in fencing by means of a contrasting comparison of the two. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  258. i.e., comparative inexperience in fencing. Hamlet's modesty here is polite and tactical. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  259. Stand out brilliantly. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  260. Bet on the weaker side. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  261. i.e., since Laertes is the favored contestant, we have settled on odds according to which Laertes will have to win at least eight of the twelve bouts of fencing to your four (as announced by Osric at line 116 (TLN 3630-2) above. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  262. Pleases. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  263. Are equal in length. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  264. Flagons. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  265. Or shows himself a worthy opponent of Laertes by winning on the third exchange. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  266. Let the soldiers stationed on the battlements or parapets fire their cannon. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  267. Better energy and performance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  268. i.e., pearl. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  269. The soldier(s) firing the cannon. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  270. The trumpeters sound their trumpets while the King drinks. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  271. Stop. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  272. Not physically fit, out of training. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  273. Here's a handkerchief. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  274. Thrust. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  275. I fear you are trifling with me, treating me as if I were a spoiled child. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  276. Though Hamlet presumably does not know that Laertes's sword is also tipped with poison, the poison does its work on Laertes, who realizes that he is \"justly killed\" with his own treachery (line 227, TLN 3785). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  277. I am like that proverbially stupid bird, the woodcock, caught in my own trap. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  278. Not blunted with a button. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  279. Plot, stratagem. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  280. Mixed. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  281. i.e., one who embraces death, if necessary by suicide, before dishonor. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  282. Simultaneous firing of weapons in a military salute. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  283. Proclaims triumph over (like the winner of a cockfight). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  284. Vote (in \"th'election\" referred to in the previous line). As crown prince and one who was named successor to the throne by Claudius, Hamlet has a presumed right to be one of the electors of the royal succession. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  285. The events of greater or lesser importance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  286. Moved, urged (me in what I have done or attempted, and in my wish to support the succession of Fortinbras to the throne). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  287. This heap of corpses (literally, slaughtered game) loudly proclaims a general slaughter. \"Cry havoc\" in battle is the signal for pillage, slaughter, and a total laying waste. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  288. O thou insolent and mighty Death, what feasting on the slain is being prepared in your everlasting dwelling place. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  289. So hard on the heels of this bloody business. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  290. Retributive acts brought about by accident (such as the death of Polonius). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  291. Chance. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  292. Of deaths gratuitously instigated by cunning stratagems and contrivances. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  293. Report. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  294. Claims that must not be forgotten. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  295. Which my favorable position and opportunity now invite met to claim. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  296. Immediately. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  297. On top of plots. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  298. Invested in royal office and thereby given the opportunity to prove what sort of ruler he would be. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  299. (Let the beating drums) speak. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":90,"menu_order":11,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["william-shakespeare"],"pb_section_license":"cc-by"},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[60],"license":[52],"class_list":["post-210","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-william-shakespeare","license-cc-by"],"part":188,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/210\/revisions\/211"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/188"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/210\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}