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 SHAKESPEARE'S 
 TRAGEDY OF HAMLET 
 
 md 
 
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 '*&&&■
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S 
 
 TRAGEDY OF 
 
 HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK 
 
 EDITED WITH NOTES, AN INTRODUCTION AND 
 OUTLINE QUESTIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 L. A. SHERMAN 
 
 PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF NEBRASKA 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 
 
 1918 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 COFTBIGH'i, 1008, 
 Bv TIIK MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotypcd. Published May, 1903. Reprinted 
 September. 1^04 ; January 1906; January, 1907 ; March, 1908. 
 January, 1909; January, 1910 ; March, August, 1911; September 
 *y 12 ; July, 1913 • Tanusrv, October, 1014; Julv, 191s: March, 
 August, 1916; January, September, 1917; January, 1918.
 
 PR 
 7 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The play of Hamlet, in its accepted form, was first 
 published in 1604. Shakespeare was then forty years 
 old, and had lived in London, it is supposed, since 
 1586. During these eighteen years he seems to have 
 been absorbed in the practical demands of theatrical 
 life, and to have been essentially denied the literal} 
 means of enlarging his preparation for the playwright's 
 work. That he was able thus to produce in Hamlet 
 one of the most remarkable examples of secular litera- 
 ture in the world sufficiently proves the genius of the 
 man. Other plays of Shakespeare are more finished, 
 or evince a nobler art ; but none has aroused such 
 interest, or become the subject of so much study, and 
 comment, and discussion. 
 
 The groundwork of Hamlet is borrowed from the 
 account of King Ambleth in the Historia Danica of 
 Saxo Grammaticus, the earliest chronicler of Den- 
 mark, who died in 1204. It is not clear how Shake- 
 speare became acquainted with the story. There are 
 
 vii
 
 VI 11 INTRODUCTION 
 
 reasons for supposing that the general plot had been 
 treated by some one of the playwrights preceding 
 Shakespeare, and that the present play is the product 
 of a reworking. It is possible, nevertheless, that 
 Shakespeare was the first to use the legend. The 
 part of the Saxo chronicles dealing with Ambleth 
 was translated and included in the Histoires Tra- 
 giques of Belleforest, published at Paris in 1570, and 
 this in turn was rendered into English, under the title 
 of TJie Hystorie of Hamhlet, probably early enough for 
 Shakespeare to use; that is, before 1589. Reference 
 to a play of " Hamlet," or at least to a character so 
 named, is found in Greene's Menaphon, which was 
 registered for publication in August of that year. 
 The dramatist Nash makes the allusion, while paying 
 his respects to certain '-'trivial translators," who were 
 abandoning the standard Latin plays for Italian models, 
 in a sort of introduction that he furnishes for this 
 work. "It is a common practise now a daies," he 
 says, "amongst a sort of shifting companions, that 
 runne through euery arte and thriue by none, to leaue 
 the trade of Nouerint [or lawyer] whereto they were 
 borne, and busie themselues with the indeuors of Art, 
 that could scarcelie latinize their necke-verse if they 
 should haue neede ; yet English Seneca read by candle
 
 INTRODUCTION IX 
 
 light yeeldes manie good sentences, as Bloud is a 
 begger, and so foorth: and if you intreate him faire 
 in a frostie morning, he will affoord you whole Ham- 
 lets, I should say handfulls of tragical speaches." 
 
 There was then a " Hamlet " of some sort in exist- 
 ence as early as 1589, and of such a sort as to have 
 become a matter of popular or general remark. Yet 
 it is far from probable that such a drama was the work 
 of Shakespeare ; it is too early. He may have begun 
 to recast plays, but probably not to produce them 
 unassisted. But it appears that the piece, whatever 
 its quality, was played by the company of actors that 
 Shakespeare had joined ; as an entry in Henslowe's 
 Diary (p. 35, Shakespeare Society edition) conven- 
 iently proves : — 
 
 In the name of God Amen, beginninge at Newington, 
 my Lord Admeralle and my Lorde chamberlen men, as 
 foloweth. 1594 : — 
 
 3 of June 1594, Ed at Heaster and asheweros . viijs 
 
 4 of June 1594, Ed at the Jewe of malta . . xs 
 
 5 of June 1594, Rd at andronicous . . : xijs 
 
 6 of June 1594, Rd at cutlacke . . . . xjs 
 
 8 of June 1594, ne Rd at bellendon . . . xvijs 
 
 9 of June 1594, Rd at hamlet .... viijs
 
 X INTRODUCTION 
 
 Shakespeare's company, called at this time the Lord 
 Chamberlain's Players, were evidently playing along 
 with the Lord Admiral's company at the Newington 
 theatre. Henslowe's share of the receipts from Ham- 
 let was as little as from the rendition of Esther and 
 Ahasuerus, and less than from the Cutlack and the 
 BeUendon, which were undoubtedly very poor affairs. 
 We can hardly conceive then that the play is Shake- 
 speare's. It would surely rank in popularity as at 
 least the equal of Titus Andronicus, which we learn, 
 by turning back the leaf in Henslowe, was a new play 
 — being marked ne, like BeUendon in the list above — 
 on January 23 of the year before, and was rendered 
 again on the 28th, and yet again on February 6. It 
 is not likely that this play is the Titus Andronicus, 
 ascribed to Shakespeare, that we know. 
 
 A further hint that the play in question is not 
 the Hamlet of this volume is found in Lodge's pam- 
 phlet, Wits miserie, and the Worlds madnesse, discover- 
 ing the Devils incarnat of this Age, which dates from 
 L596. One of these devils, the Hate-virtue, is de- 
 scribed as " a foule lubber, and looks as pale as the 
 visard of ye ghost, which cried so miserally at ye 
 theator, like an oisterwife, Hamlet renenge." As no 
 such expression occurs in the present play, it would
 
 INTRODUCTION XI 
 
 seem to have belonged to the Ghost's part in the 
 former piece, and to have been made much of sensa- 
 tionally by the playgoers, since several allusions to it 
 are met with in the literature of the time. The lines 
 most nearly akin (I. v. 25, 91) in the present text — 
 " Revenge his most foul and unnatural murder," and 
 " Adieu, adieu ! Hamlet, remember me " — cannot, 
 with their lighter elocution, be identified with such 
 a phrase. 
 
 The play that Shakespeare constructed out of this 
 earlier drama, or perhaps wrote at first hand from 
 the Hystorie, can hardly have taken shape before the 
 spring or summer of 1602. In July of this year 
 James Roberts secured an entry in the Stationers' 
 Register for "A booke called the Revenge of HAM- 
 LETT Prince Denmarke as yt loas latelie Acted by the 
 lord Chamberleyne his servantes." It does not appear 
 that any book thus styled was ever printed. It is 
 believed that the work intended was issued the year 
 following with this title, " THE Tragicall Historie of 
 HAMLET Prince of Denmarke By William Shake- 
 speare. As it hath beene diuerse times acted by his 
 Highnesse seruants in the Cittie of Loudon : as also in 
 the two Vniuersities of Cambridge and Oxford, and 
 else-where." This is known as the First Quarto. The
 
 xil INTRODUCTION 
 
 text thus published is identical with the eventual play 
 in many passages, but in others seems wholly at war 
 with Shakespeare's characteristic diction and manner. 
 Opening at random we find, — 
 
 " Yea, murder in the highest degree, 
 As in the least tis bad, 
 But mine most foule, beastly and vnnaturall," — 
 
 answering (I. v. 27, 28) to these words of the Ghost 
 to Hamlet : — 
 
 " Murder most foul, as in the best it is, 
 But this most foul, strange, and unnatural." 
 
 Again, instead (V. i. 279-281 and 284-294) of 
 
 " I lov'd Ophelia ; forty thousand brothers 
 Could not, with all their quantity of love, 
 Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her ? 
 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do. 
 Woo't weep ? Woo't fight ? Woo't fast ? Wool 
 
 tear thyself ? 
 Woo't drink up eisel, eat a crocodile ? 
 I'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine ? 
 To outface me with leaping in her grave ? 
 Be buried quick with her, and so will I, 
 And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw 
 Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
 
 INTRODUCTION Xlll 
 
 Singeing his pate against the burning zone, 
 Make Ossa like a wart ! Nay, an thou'lt mouth, 
 I'll rant as well as thou." 
 
 we have these halting and pitiable lines, — 
 
 " I lou'de Ofelia as cleare as twenty brothers could : 
 Shew me what thou wilt doe for her: 
 Wilt fight, wilt fast, wilt pray, 
 Wilt drinke up vessels, eate a crocadile ? He doot : 
 Com'st thou here to whine ? 
 And where thou talk'st of burying thee a Hue, 
 Here let vs stand : and let them throw on vs, 
 Whole hills of earth, till with the h eighth thereof, 
 Make Oosell as a Wart." 
 
 There is little hint of Shakespeare's power and skill 
 in evidence here. " Oosell," of the last line, which 
 does not look like a printer's blunder, suggests the 
 effort of an insufficient mind to report something that 
 has been heard, but not understood. There are other 
 passages much more distantly akin to the eventual 
 readings, and sometimes hardly to be accepted as 
 better than a travesty of their sense. Hence it has 
 been supposed that the text in question was obtained 
 surreptitiously, perhaps by copying and memorizing 
 the parts as heard from the lips of the actors in the 
 playhouse. The lines often seem made up from catch-
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION 
 
 words, the metre is broken, and there are frantic efforts 
 to say compensatively in large something not fully 
 grasped or appreciated in details. Other explanations 
 have been proposed to account for the peculiarities 
 of the First Quarto, but they are not more generally 
 approved. 
 
 In 1604 another edition, differing materially from 
 the preceding, was published with the following title- 
 page, " THE Tragicall Historie of HAMLET, Prince 
 of Denmarke. By William Shakespeare. Newly im- 
 printed and enlarged to almost as much againe as it 
 was, according to the true and perfect Coppie. AT 
 L( >Nl)ON, Printed by I. R for N. L. and are to be sold 
 at his shoppe vnder Saint Dunstons Church in Fleet- 
 street. 1604." This is the Second Quarto, and is in 
 many respects the most important of all the texts. 
 Another issue of the play, known as the Third Quarto, 
 appeared in 1605. There was a Fourth Quarto, printed 
 in 1611, and there was also a Fifth, showing no date, 
 but probably published considerabty later. No other 
 issues of Hamlet are heard of until the printing of 
 the First Folio in 1623. This, which is now accepted 
 in general as the standard text of Shakespeare, for the 
 thirty-five plays that appear in it, furnishes a some- 
 what less complete form of the piece than the Second
 
 INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 Quarto, and shows some rather egregious typographic 
 errors Most editors, and notably Clark and Wright 
 in the Globe and Cambridge editions, follow the Sec- 
 ond Quarto. The lines of the present text reproduce 
 where practicable the readings of the First Folio. 
 
 The Hystorie of Hamblet, from which Shakespeare 
 or the antecedent playwright drew, is a long and dis- 
 cursive story, impracticable to quote. The headings 
 of the first six chapters will show how closely the 
 original has been followed : — 
 
 Chap. I. How Horvendile and Fengon were made Govem- 
 ours of the Province of Ditmarse, and how Horvendile marryed 
 Geruth, the daughter to Roderick, chief K. of Denmark, by 
 whom he had Hamblet: and how after his marriage his brother 
 Fengon slewe him trayterously, and marryed his brothers wife, 
 and what followed. 
 
 Chap. II. How Hamblet counterfeited the mad, man, to 
 escape the tyrannic, of his uncle, and how he was tempted by a 
 woman {through his uncles procurement) who thereby thought 
 to undermine the Prince, and by that meanes to finde out 
 whether he counterfeited madnesse or not: and how Hamblet 
 would by no meanes bee brought to consent unto her, and what 
 followed. 
 
 Chap. III. How Fengon, uncle to Hamblet, a second time 
 to intrap him in his politick madnes, caused one of his counsel- 
 lors to be secretly hidden in the queenes chamber, behind the 
 arras, to heare lohat speeches passed between Hamblet and the
 
 XVI INTRODUCTION 
 
 Queen ; and how Hamblet killed him, and escaped that danger. 
 and what followed. 
 
 Chap. IIII. How Fengon the third time devised to send 
 Hamblet to the king of England, with secret letters to have him 
 put to death: and how Hamblet, when his companions slept, 
 read the h ttt rs, and instead of them counterfeited others, willing 
 the king of England to put the two messengers to death, and to 
 marry his daughter to Hamblet, which was effected; and how 
 Hamblet escaped out of England. 
 
 Chap. V. How Hamblet, /taring escaped out of England, 
 arrived in Denmarke the same day that the Danes were cele- 
 brating his funerals, supposing him to be dead in England; 
 and how he revenged his fathers death upon his uncle and the 
 rest of the courtiers; and what followed* 
 
 Chap. VI. How Hamlet, having slain his Uncle, and burnt 
 his Palace, made an Oration to the Danes to shew them what he 
 done; and how they made him King of Denmark; and what 
 followed. 
 
 The play of Hamlet, while the most unsatisfying 
 of Shakespeare's dramas, is perhaps to the majority 
 of students and readers the most inspiring. Those 
 who comprehend it least, or are most in doubt as to 
 its essential meanings, are often most completely under 
 its spell. It carries the reader and the spectator to 
 high planes of contemplation. It makes profound and 
 philosophical thought seem fascinating even to vulgar 
 minds. It reveals the subtleties, the frames, the pas-
 
 INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 sions, of a singularly noble spirit. We do not sym- 
 pathize with the hero in every part of the play, but 
 we everywhere admire and covet his integrity and 
 strength. Indeed, the character, with its self-ques- 
 tionings and intolerance of wrong and weakness, seems 
 a complete type of the northern mind, as Brutus, in 
 the Julius Ccesar, seems a type of the classical or 
 southern. Brutus could not be brought, by anything 
 less than failure, to distrust the sufficiency of his 
 integrity and his name. But Hamlet, had the time 
 not been out of joint, and had he not, in his own view, 
 been bom merely to set it right, won Id still have 
 lived virtually in self-condemnation. It is seemingly 
 this aspiration and unrest, so inherent in the nature 
 of his race, that has brought the character and the 
 play so near the sympathies of the Teutonic world. 
 
 Three things are requisite for the understanding 
 and appreciation of Shakespeare's work. The first is 
 some knowledge of the Elizabethan peculiarities in 
 the English of a given play. The second is such 
 acquaintance with the Latin part of our present Eng- 
 lish vocabulary, and, if possible, with the elements of 
 Latin itself, as will insure recognition of the nice 
 distinctions in Shakespeare's personal use of words, 
 and his occasional dependence upon constructions, bor-
 
 Xviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 rowed from that language. The Notes are intended 
 to supply as much as seems practicable of both these 
 wants, and to encourage further study of the sugges- 
 tive and powerful diction abounding in this play. 
 Finally aud chiefly, there is need of gifts and training 
 to discern the deeper meanings of the author. These 
 are often missed, and indeed are not very confidently 
 grasped by the best of us. To reduce the unit of 
 difficulty in this part of the work, Outline Questions 
 have* been added after the Notes. More mature 
 attempts to solve the difficulties of the piece should 
 be preceded, with such helps as Furness's Variorum 
 Hamlet, Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon, and especially 
 the Oxford English Dictionary, by a closer study of 
 the text. A convenient summary of the best criticism 
 will be found in the second volume of Dr. Furness's 
 Variorum.
 
 HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
 
   courtiers. 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSONS 
 
 Claudius, king of Denmark. 
 
 Hamlet, son to the late, and nephew to the present king. 
 
 Polonius, lord chamberlain. 
 
 Horatio, friend to Hamlet. 
 
 Laertes, son to Polonius. 
 
 voltimand, 
 
 Cornelius, 
 
 rosencrantz, 
 
 Guildenstern, 
 
 OSRIC, 
 
 A Gentleman. 
 
 A Priest. 
 
 Marcellus, l s> 
 
 Bernardo, J * 
 
 Francisco, a soldier. 
 
 Reynaldo, servant to Polonius. 
 
 Players. 
 
 Two Clowns, grave-diggers. 
 
 Fortinbras, prince of Norway. 
 
 A Captain. 
 
 English Ambassadors. 
 
 Gertrude, queen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet, 
 Ophelia, daughter to Polonius. 
 
 Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, 
 and other Attendants. 
 
 Ghost of Hamlet's Father. 
 
 Scene: Denmark.
 
 HAMLET 
 
 ACT I 
 
 Scene I. Elsinore. A Platform before the Castle 
 
 Francisco at his post. Enter to him Bernardo 
 
 Bernardo. Who's there ? 
 
 Francisco. Nay, answer me. Stand, and unfold 
 
 yourself. 
 Bernardo. Long live the king ! 
 Francisco. Bernardo ? 
 
 Bernardo. He. 5 
 
 Francisco. You come most carefully upon your 
 
 hour. 
 Bernardo. Tis now struck twelve ; get thee to bed, 
 
 Francisco. 
 Francisco. For this relief much thanks : 'tis bittei 
 
 cold, 
 And I am sick at heart. 
 
 b 1
 
 2 HAM LET [Act I. 
 
 Bernardo. Have you had quiet guard ? 
 
 Francisco. Not a mouse stirring. 10 
 
 Bernardo. Well, good night. 
 If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, 
 The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste. 
 
 Francisco. I think I hear them. — Stand, ho ! Who's 
 there ? 
 
 Enter Horatio and Makcellus 
 
 Horatio. Friends to this ground. 
 
 Marcellus. And liegemen to the Dane. ie 
 
 Francisco. Give you good night. 
 
 Marcellus. 0, farewell, honest soldier : 
 
 Who hath reliev'd you ? 
 
 Francisco. Bernardo has my place. 
 
 Give you° good night. [Exit. 
 
 Marcellus. Holla ! Bernardo ! 
 
 Bernardo. Say, 
 
 What, is Horatio there ? 
 
 Horatio. A piece of him. 
 
 Bernardo. Welcome, Horatio. Welcome, good Mar- 
 cellus. 20 
 
 Marcellus. What, has this thing appear'd again 
 to-night ? 
 
 Bernardo. I have seen nothing.
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 3 
 
 Marcellus. Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy, 
 And will not let belief take hold of him 
 Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us : 25 
 
 Therefore I have entreated him along 
 With us to watch the minutes of this night, 
 That if again this apparition come, 
 He may approve our eyes and speak to it. 
 
 Horatio. Tush, tush, 'twill not appear. 
 
 Bernardo. Sit down awhile ; 30 
 
 And let us once again assail your ears, 
 That are so fortified against our story 
 What we two nights have seen. 
 
 Horatio. Well, sit we down, 
 
 And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. 
 
 Bernardo. Last night of all, 35 
 
 When yond same star that's westward from the pole 
 Had made his course to illume that part of heaven 
 Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself, 
 The bell then beating one, — 
 
 Enter Ghost 
 
 Marcellus. Peace, break thee off. Look, where it 
 
 comes again ! 40 
 
 Bernardo. In the same figure, like the king that's 
 dead.
 
 4 HAMLET [Act I 
 
 Marcellus. Thou art a scholar ; speak to it, Horatio. 
 Bernardo. Looks it not like the king ? Mark it, 
 
 Horatio. 
 Horatio. Most like ; it harrows me with fear and 
 
 wonder. 
 Bernardo. It would be spoke to. 
 Marcellus. Question it, Horatio. 45 
 
 Horatio. What art thou that usurp'st this time of 
 night, 
 Together with that fair and warlike form 
 In which the majesty of buried Denmark 
 Did sometimes march ? By heaven I charge thee, 
 speak ! 
 Marcellus. It is offended. 
 
 Bernardo. See, it stalks away ! 50 
 
 Horatio. Stay ! Speak, speak ! I charge thee, speak ! 
 
 [Exit Ghost. 
 Marcellus. 'Tis gone, and will not answer. 
 Bernardo. How now, Horatio ! you tremble, and 
 look pale. 
 Is not this something more than fantasy ? 
 What think you on't? 55 
 
 Horatio. Before my God, I might not this believe 
 Without the sensible and true avouch 
 Of mine own eyes.
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 5 
 
 Marcellus. Is it not like the king ? 
 
 Horatio. As thou art to thyself. 
 Such was the very armour he had on 60 
 
 When he the ambitious Norway combated ; 
 So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,° 
 He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice. 
 "lis strange. 
 
 Marcellus. Thus twice before, and jump at this dead 
 hour, 65 
 
 With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch. 
 
 Horatio. In what particular thought to work I know 
 not; 
 But in the gross and scope of my opinion, 
 This bodes some strange eruption to our state. 
 
 Marcellus. Good now, sit down, and tell me, he 
 that knows, 7° 
 
 Why this same strict and most observant watch 
 So nightly toils the subject of the land, 
 And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, 
 And foreign mart for implements of war ; 
 Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task 75 
 Does not divide the Sunday from the week ; 
 What might be toward, that this sweaty haste 
 Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day ? 
 Who is't that can inform me ?
 
 6 HAMLET [Act I 
 
 Horatio. That can I, — 
 
 At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king, So 
 
 Whose image even but now appear'd to us, 
 Was, as } 7 ou know, by Fortinbras of Norway, 
 Thereto prick : d on by a most emulate pride, 
 Dar'd to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet — 
 For so this side of our known world esteem'd him - 85 
 Did slay this Fortinbras ; who, by a seal'd compact, 
 Well ratified by law and heral'dry, 
 Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands 
 Which he stood seiz'd of,° to the conqueror : 
 Against the which, a moiety competent 90 
 
 Was gaged by our king; which had return'd 
 To the inheritance of Fortinbras, 
 Had he been vanquisher ; as, by the same covenant, 
 And carriage of the article design'd, 
 His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras, 95 
 Of unimproved mettle hot and full, 
 Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there 
 Shark'd up° a list of lawless resolutes, 
 For food and diet, to some enterprise 
 That hath a stomach in't; which is no other— 10a 
 As it doth well appear unto our state — 
 But to recover of us, by strong hand 
 And terms compulsative, those foresaid lands
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 7 
 
 So by his father lost : and this, I take it, 
 Is the main motive of our preparations, 105 
 
 The source of this our watch and the chief head 
 Of this post-haste and romage in the land. 
 
 Bernardo. I think it be no other but e'en so. 
 Well may it sort that this portentous figure 
 Comes armed through our watch; so like the king no 
 That was and is the question of these wars. 
 
 Horatio. A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye. 
 In the most high and palmy state of Rome, 
 A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, 
 The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead 115 
 Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets : 
 As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood, 
 Disasters in the sun ; and the moist star 
 Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands 
 Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse: 120 
 
 And even the like precurse of fierce events, 
 As harbingers preceding still the fates 
 And prologue to the omen° coming on, 
 Have heaven and earth together demonstrated 
 Unto our climatures and countrymen. — 125 
 
 But soft, behold ! Lo, where it comes again !
 
 8 HAMLET [Act 1 
 
 Reenter Ghost 
 
 I'll cross it, though it blast me. — Stay, illusion ! 
 
 If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, 
 
 Speak to me. 
 
 If there be any good thing to be done, 13c 
 
 That may to thee do ease and grace to me, 
 
 Speak to me. [Cock crows. 
 
 If thou art privy to thy country's fate, 
 
 Which happily foreknowing may avoid, 
 
 0, speak ! '35 
 
 Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life 
 
 Extorted treasure in the womb of earth 
 
 For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, 
 
 [ The cock crows. 
 Speak of it. Stay, and speak! — Stop it, Marcellus. 
 
 Marcellus. Shall I strike at it with my partisan ? 140 
 
 Horatio. Do, if it will not stand. 
 
 Bernardo. 'Tis here ! 
 
 Horatio. 'Tis here ! 
 
 Marcellus. 'Tis gone ! [Exit Ghost. 
 
 We do it wrong, being so majestical, 
 To offer it the show of violence ; 
 
 For it is, as the air, invulnerable, 145 
 
 And our vain blows malicious mockery.
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 9 
 
 Bernardo. It was about to speak, when the cock 
 crew. 
 
 Horatio. And then it started like a guilty thing 
 Upon a fearful summons. I have heard, 
 The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, 150 
 
 Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat 
 Awake the god of day ; and, at his warning, 
 Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, 
 The extravagant and erring spirit hies 
 To his confine : and of the truth herein 155 
 
 This present object made probation. 
 
 Marcellus. It faded on the crowing of the cock. 
 Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes 
 Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, 
 The bird of dawning singeth all night long : 160 
 
 And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad; 
 The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, 
 No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, 
 So hallow'd and so gracious is the time. 
 
 Horatio. So have I heard, and do in part believe it. 
 But, look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, 166 
 
 Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill. 
 Break we our watch up ; and, by my advice, 
 Let us impart what we have seen to-night 
 Unto young Hamlet; for, upon my life, 170
 
 10 HAMLET [Act I. 
 
 This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. 
 Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it, 
 As needful in our loves, fitting our duty ? 
 
 Marcellus. Let's do't, I pray ; and I this morning 
 know 
 Where we shall find him most conveniently. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. A Room of State in the Castle 
 
 Enter the King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes. 
 Voltimand, Cornelius, Lords and Attendants 
 
 King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's 
 death 
 The memory be green, and that it us befitted 
 To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom 
 To be contracted in one brow of woe, 
 Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature 5 
 
 That we with wisest sorrow think on him, 
 Together with remembrance of ourselves. 
 Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, 
 The imperial jointress of this warlike state, 
 Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy, — ia 
 
 With an auspicious and a dropping eye, 
 With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 11 
 
 In equal scale weighing delight and dole, — 
 
 Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barr d° 
 
 Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone 15 
 
 With this affair along. For all, our thanks. 
 
 Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, 
 
 Holding a weak supposal of our worth, 
 
 Or thinking by our late dear brother's death 
 
 Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, 20 
 
 Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, — 
 
 He hath not fail'd to pester us with message, 
 
 Importing the surrender of those lands 
 
 Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, 
 
 To our most valiant brother. So much for him. 25 
 
 Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting. 
 
 Thus much the business is : we have here writ 
 
 To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, — 
 
 Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears 
 
 Of this his nephew's purpose, — to suppress 30 
 
 His further gait herein ; in that the levies, 
 
 The lists and full proportions, are all made 
 
 Out of his subject. And we here dispatch 
 
 You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand, 
 
 For bearers of this greeting to old Norway ; 35 
 
 Giving to you no further personal power 
 
 To business with the king, more than the scope
 
 12 HAMLET [Act 1 
 
 Of these dilated articles allow. 
 
 Farewell, and let your haste commend your duty. 
 
 Co )*7\ cliu s ) 
 
 „ , . ', [■ In that and all things will we show 
 
 Voltimand. ) 
 
 our duty. 40 
 
 King. We doubt it nothing : heartily farewell. 
 
 [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. 
 And now, Laertes, what's the news with you ? 
 You told us of some suit ; what is't, Laertes ? 
 You cannot speak of reason to the Dane, 
 And lose your voice. What wouldst thou beg, 
 Laertes, 45 
 
 That shall not be my offer, not thy asking ? 
 The head is not more native to the heart, 
 The hand more instrumental to the mouth, 
 Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. 
 What wouldst thou have, Laertes? 
 
 Laertes. Dread my lord, 50 
 
 Your leave and favour to return to France ; 
 From whence though willingly I came to Den- 
 mark, 
 To show my duty in your coronation, 
 Yet now, I must confess, that duty done, 
 My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France, 55 
 And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 13 
 
 King. Have you your father's leave ? What says 
 Polonius ? * 
 
 Polonius. He hath, my lord, wrung from me my 
 slow leave 
 By laboursome petition, and at last 
 Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent. 60 
 
 I do beseech you, give him leave to go. 
 
 King. Take thy fair hour, Laertes ; time be thine, 
 And thy best graces spend it at thy will ! 
 But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son, — 
 
 Hamlet. \_Aside~] A little more than kin, and less 
 than kind. 65 
 
 King. How is it that the clouds still hang on you ? 
 
 Hamlet. Not so, my lord ; I am too much i' the sun. 
 
 Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, 
 And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. 
 Do not for ever with thy vailed lids° 70 
 
 Seek for thy noble father in the dust. 
 Thou knowst 'tis common; all that lives must die, 
 Passing through nature to eternity. 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, madam, it is common. 
 
 Queen. If it be, 
 
 Why seems it so particular with thee ? 75 
 
 Hamlet. Seems, madam ! nay, it is. I know not 
 " seems."
 
 14 HAMLET [Act L 
 
 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, 
 
 Nor customary suits of solemn black, 
 
 Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath, 
 
 No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, 80 
 
 Nor the dejected haviour of the visage, 
 
 Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief, 
 
 That can denote me truly. These indeed seem, 
 
 For they are actions that a man might play. 
 
 But I have that within which passeth show ; 85 
 
 These but the trappings and the suits of woe. 
 
 King. 'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, 
 Hamlet, 
 To give these mourning duties to your father. 
 But, you must know, your father lost a father ; 
 That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound 90 
 In filial obligation for some term 
 To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever 
 In obstinate condolement is a course 
 Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief; 
 It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, 95 
 
 A heart unfortified, a mind impatient, 
 An understanding simple and unschool'd. 
 For what we know must be and is as common 
 As any the most vulgar thing to sense, 
 Why should we in our peevish opposition 100
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 15 
 
 Take it to heart ? Fie ! 'tis a fault to heaven, 
 
 A fault against the dead, a fault to nature, 
 
 To reason most absurd ; whose common theme 
 
 Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried, 
 
 From the first corse till he° that died to-day, 105 
 
 " This must be so." We pray you, throw to earth 
 
 This unprevailiug woe, and think of us 
 
 As of a father : for let the world take note, 
 
 You are the most immediate to our throne ; 
 
 And with no less nobility of love no 
 
 Than that which dearest father bears his son, 
 
 Do I impart toward you. For your intent 
 
 In going back to school in Wittenberg, 
 
 It is most retrograde to our desire ; 
 
 And we beseech you, bend you to remain 1 1 5 
 
 Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye, 
 
 Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son. 
 
 Queen. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, 
 Hamlet : 
 I pray thee, stay with us ; go not to Wittenberg. 
 
 Hamlet. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. 120 
 King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair repty : 
 Be as ourself in Denmark. — Madam, come. 
 This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet 
 Sits smiling to my heart ; in grace whereof,
 
 16 HAMLET [Act L 
 
 No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day, 125 
 
 But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell, 
 And the king's rouse the heavens shall bruit again, 
 Respeaking earthly thunder. Come away. 
 
 [Exeunt all but Hamlet. 
 Hamlet. 0, that this too too solid flesh would melt, 
 Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ! 130 
 
 Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd 
 His canon 'gainst self-slaughter ! God! God ! 
 How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable 
 Seem to me all the uses of this world ! 
 Fie on't ! fie! 'Tis an un weeded garden, 135 
 
 That grows to seed ; things rank and gross in nature 
 Possess it merely. That it should come to this ! 
 But two months dead ; nay, not so much, not two: 
 80 excellent a king ; that was, to° this, 
 i I yperion to a satyr ; so loving to my mother 140 
 
 That he might not beteem the winds of heaven 
 Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth! 
 Must I remember ? Why, she would hang on him, 
 As if increase of appetite had grown 
 By what it fed on : and yet, within a month — 145 
 Let me not think on't — Frailty, thy name is 
 
 woman ! — 
 A little month, or ere° those shoes were old
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 17 
 
 With which she follow'd my poor father's body, 
 Like Niobe, all tears : why she, even she — 
 Heaven! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, 150 
 Would have mourn'd longer — married with mine 
 
 uncle, 
 My father's brother, but no more like my father 
 Than I to Hercules. Within a month ? 
 Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears 
 Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, 155 
 
 She married. O most wicked speed, to post 
 With such dexterity to incestuous' sheets ! 
 It is not nor it cannot come to good. 
 But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. 
 
 Enter Horatio, Mabcellus, and Bernardo 
 
 Horatio. Hail to your lordship ! 
 
 Hamlet. I am glad to see you well. 160 
 
 Horatio, — or I do forget 'myself, 
 
 Horatio. The same, my lord, and your poor servant 
 ever. 
 
 Hamlet. Sir, my good friend ; I'll change that name 
 with you. 
 And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio ? — 
 Marcellus? 165 
 
 Marcellus. My good lord —
 
 18 HAMLET [Act I. 
 
 Hamlet. I am very glad to see you. — [To Bern ardo. ] 
 Good even, sir. — 
 But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg ? 
 
 Horatio. A truant disposition, good my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. I would not hear your enemy say so, 17a 
 Nor shall you do mine ear that violence, 
 To make it truster of your own report 
 Against yourself. I know you are no truant. 
 But what is your affair in Elsinore ? 
 We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart. 173 
 
 Horatio. My lord, I came to see your father's 
 funeral. 
 
 Hamlet. I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow- 
 student ; 
 I think it was to see my mother's wedding. 
 
 Horatio. Indeed, my lord, it followed hard upon. 
 
 Hamlet. Thrift, thrift, Horatio ! The funeral bak'd 
 meats 1S0 
 
 Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. 
 Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven 
 Ere ever I had seen that day, Horatio ! 
 My father ! — methinks I see my father. 
 
 Horatio. where, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. In my mind's eye, Horatio. 185 
 
 Horatio. I saw him once. He was a goodly king.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 19 
 
 Hamlet. He was a man, take him for all in all, 
 I shall not look upon his like again. 
 
 Horatio. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. 
 
 Hamlet. Saw ? Who ? 190 
 
 Horatio. My lord, the king your father. 
 
 Hamlet. The king my father ! 
 
 Horatio. Season your admiration for a while 
 With an attent ear, till I may deliver, 
 Upon the witness of these gentlemen, 
 This marvel to you. 
 
 Hamlet. For Heaven's love, let me hear. 195 
 
 Horatio. Two nights together had these gentlemen, 
 Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch, 
 In the dead vast and middle of the night, 
 Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father, 
 Arm'd at all points exactly, cap-a-pe,° 200 
 
 Appears before them, and with solemn march 
 Goes slow and stately by them. Thrice he walk'd 
 By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes, 
 Within his truncheon's length ; whilst they distill'd 
 Almost to jelly with the act° of fear, 205 
 
 Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me 
 In dreadful secrecy impart they did, 
 And I with them the third night kept the watch ; 
 Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time,
 
 20 HAMLET [Act 1 
 
 Form of the thing, each word made true and good, 210 
 The apparition comes. I knew your father : 
 These hands are not more like. 
 
 Hamlet. But where was this ? 
 
 Marcellus. My lord, upon the platform where we 
 watch'd. 
 
 Hamlet. Did you not speak to it ? 
 
 Horatio. My lord, I did; 
 
 But answer made it none. Yet once methought 215 
 It lifted up it° head and did address 
 Itself to motion, like as it would speak ; 
 But even then the morning cock crew loud, 
 And at the sound it shrunk in haste away, 
 And vanish'd from our sight. 
 
 Hamlet. 'Tis very strange. 220 
 
 Horatio. As I do live, my honour'd lord, 'tis true ; 
 And we did think it writ down in our duty 
 To let you know of it. 
 
 Hamlet. Indeed, indeed, sirs — but this troubles me. 
 Hold you the watch to-night ? 
 
 Marcellus.} We do, my lord. 225 
 
 Bernardo. ) 
 
 Hamlet. Arm'd, say you ? 
 
 Marcellus.) . ,, , , 
 
 , > Arm'd, mv lord. 
 Bernardo. )
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 21 
 
 Hamlet. From top to toe ? 
 
 Marcellus. ) ^ frQm head tQ foQt 
 
 Bernardo. ) * 
 
 Hamlet. Then saw you not his face ? 
 
 Horatio. 0, yes, my lord ; he wore his beaver up. 230 
 
 Hamlet. What, look'd he frowningly ? 
 
 Horatio. A countenance more in sorrow than in 
 
 anger. 
 Hamlet. Pale or red ? 
 Horatio. Nay, very pale. 
 
 Hamlet. And fix'd his eyes upon you ? 
 
 Horatio. Most constantly. 
 
 Hamlet. I would I had been there. 
 
 Horatio. It would have much amaz'd you. 236 
 
 Hamlet. Very like, very like. Stay'd it long ? 
 Horatio. While one with moderate haste might tell 
 
 a hundred. 
 
 Marcellus. } T . 
 
 ^ , - Longer, longer. 
 
 Bernardo. ) 
 
 Horatio. Not when I saw't. 
 
 Hamlet. His beard was grizzled, — no ? 
 
 Horatio. It was, as I have seen it in his life, 241 
 A sable silver'd. 
 
 Hamlet. I will watch to-night ; 
 
 Perchance 'twill walk again.
 
 22 HAMLET TAct 1 
 
 Horatio. I warrant it will. 
 
 Hamlet. If it assume my noble father's person, 
 I'll speak to it, though hell itself should gape 245 
 
 And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all, 
 If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight, 
 Let it be tenable in your silence still, 
 And whatsoever else shall hap to-night, 
 Give it an understanding, but no tongue. 250 
 
 I will requite your loves. So, fare you well. 
 Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve, 
 I'll visit you. 
 
 All. Our duty to your honour. 
 
 Hamlet. Your loves," as mine to you. Farewell. 
 
 [Exeunt all but Hamlet. 
 My father's spirit in arms ! All is not well ; 255 
 
 I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come ! 
 Till then sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise, 
 Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. 
 
 [Exit 
 
 Scene III. A Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter Laertes and Ophelia 
 
 Laertes. My necessaries are embark'd. Farewell ; 
 And, sister, as the winds give benefit
 
 scene 3] HAMLET 23 
 
 And convoy is assistant, do not sleep, 
 But° let me hear from you. 
 
 Ophelia. Do you doubt that ? 
 
 Laertes. For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour, 5 
 Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood ; 
 A violet in the youth of primy nature, 
 Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, 
 The perfume and suppliance of a minute ; 
 No more. 
 
 Ophelia. No more but so ? 
 
 Laertes. Think it no more; 10 
 
 For nature crescent does not grow alone 
 In thews and bulk, but, as this temple waxes, 
 The inward service of the mind and soul 
 Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now, 
 And now no soil or cautel doth besmirch 15 
 
 The virtue of his will : but you must fear, 
 His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own; 
 For he himself is subject to his birth. 
 He may not, as unvalued persons do, 
 Carve for himself ; for on his choice depends 2a 
 
 The safety and health of the whole state ; 
 And therefore must his choice be circumscrib'd 
 Unto the voice and yielding of that body 
 Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves you,
 
 24 HAMLET [Act i 
 
 It fits your wisdom so far to believe it 25 
 
 As he in his particular act and place 
 
 May give his saying deed ; which is no further 
 
 Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal. 
 
 Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, 
 
 If with too credent ear you list his songs, 30 
 
 Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open 
 
 To his unmaster'd importunity. 
 
 Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister, 
 
 And keep within the rear of your affection, 
 
 Out of the shot and danger of desire. 35 
 
 The chariest maid is prodigal enough, 
 
 If she unmask her beauty to the moon. 
 
 Virtue itself scapes not calumnious strokes. 
 
 The canker galls the infants of the spring, 
 
 Too oft before their buttons be disclos'd; 40 
 
 And in the morn and liquid dew of youth 
 
 < 'ontagious blastments are most imminent. 
 
 Be wary then. Best safety lies in fear : 
 
 Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. 
 
 Ophelia. I shall the effect of this good lesson keep 45 
 As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother, 
 Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, 
 Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, 
 Whiles, like a puff d and reckless libertine,
 
 scene 3] HAMLET 25 
 
 Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, 50 
 
 And recks not his own rede. 
 
 Laertes. 0, fear me° not. 
 
 I stay too long ; but here my father comes. 
 
 Enter Polonius 
 1 
 
 A double blessing is a double grace ; 
 
 Occasion smiles upon a second leave. 
 
 Polonius. Yet here, Laertes! Aboard, aboard, for 
 
 shame ! 55 
 
 The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, 
 And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with 
 
 thee! 
 And these few precepts in thy memory 
 See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, 
 Nor any unproportion'd thought his act. 60 
 
 Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar." 
 The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, 
 Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel ; 
 But do not dull thy palm with entertainment 
 Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade. Beware 65 
 Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, 
 Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. 
 Give every man thy ear, but feAv thy voice. 
 Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
 
 26 HAMLE'l [Act I. 
 
 Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, 7c 
 
 But not express'd in fancy ; rich, not gaudy ; 
 
 For the apparel oft proclaims the man, 
 
 And they in France of the best rank and station 
 
 Are most select and generous, chief in that. 
 
 Neither a borrower nor a lender be ; 75 
 
 For loan oft loses both itself and friend, 
 
 And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. 
 
 This above all : to thine own self be true, 
 
 And it must follow, as the night the day, 
 
 Thou canst not then be false to any man. 80 
 
 Farewell. My blessing season this in thee ! 
 
 Laertes. Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. The time invites you ; go. Your servants 
 tend. 
 
 Laertes. Farewell, Ophelia ; and remember well 
 What I have said to you. 85 
 
 Ophelia. 'Tis in my memory lock'd, 
 
 And you yourself shall keep the key of it. 
 
 Laertes. Farewell. [Exit. 
 
 Polonius. What is't, Ophelia, he hath said to you? 
 
 Ophelia. So please you, something touching the Lord 
 Hamlet. 
 
 Polonius. Marry, well bethought. 90 
 
 'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late
 
 scene 3] HAMLET 27 
 
 Given private time to you, and you yourself 
 
 Have of your audience been most free and bounteous. 
 
 If it be so, as so 'tis put on me,° 
 
 And that in way of caution, I must tell you, 95 
 
 You do not understand yourself so clearly 
 
 As it behooves my daughter, and your honour. 
 
 What is between you ? Give me up the truth. 
 
 Ophelia. He hath, my lord, of late made many 
 tenders 
 Of his affection to me. 100 
 
 Polonius. Affection ! pooh ! You speak like a green 
 girl, 
 Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. 
 Do you believe his tenders, as you call them ? 
 
 Ophelia. I do not know, my lord, what I should 
 
 think. 
 Polonius. Marry, I'll teach you: think yourself a 
 baby, 10 5 
 
 That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay, 
 Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly ; 
 Or — not to crack the wind of the poor phrase, 
 Running it thus — you'll tender me° a fool. 
 
 Ophelia. My lord, he hath importun'd me with love no 
 In honourable fashion. 
 
 Polonius. Ay, fashion you may call it; go to, go to.
 
 28 HAMLET [Act I 
 
 Ophelia. And hath given countenance to his speech, 
 my lord, 
 With almost all the vows of heaven. 
 
 Polonius. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do 
 know, 115 
 
 When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul 
 Gives the tongue vows. These blazes, daughter, 
 Giving more light than heat, extinct in both, 
 Even in their promise, as it is a-making, 
 You must not take for fire. From this time, daughter, 
 Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence. 121 
 
 Set your entreatments at a higher rate 
 Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet, 
 Believe so much in him, that he is young, 
 And with a larger tether may he walk 125 
 
 Than may be given you. In few, Ophelia, 
 Do not believe his vows ; for they are brokers, 
 Not of that dye which their investments show, 
 But mere iinplorators of unholy suits, 
 Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds, 130 
 
 The better to beguile. This is for all : 
 I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, 
 Have you so slander any moment's leisure, 
 As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. 
 Look to't, I charge you. Come your ways. 135 
 
 Ophelia. I shall obey, my lord. [Exeunt.
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 29 
 
 Scene IV. The Platform 
 Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus 
 
 Hamlet. The air bites shrewdly ; it is very cold. 
 
 Horatio. It is a nipping and an eager air. 
 
 Hamlet. What hour now ? 
 
 Horatio. I think it lacks of twelve. 
 
 Hamlet. No, it is struck. 
 
 Horatio. Indeed ? I heard it not. Then it draws 
 near the season 5 
 
 Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk. 
 
 [A flourish of trumpets, and ordnance shot off, within. 
 What does this mean, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. The king doth wake to-night, and takes 
 his rouse, 
 Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring° reels ; 
 And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down, ic 
 The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out 
 The triumph of his pledge. 
 
 Horatio. Is it a custom ? 
 
 > Hamlet. Ay, marry, is't : 
 But to my mind, though I am native here 
 And to the manner born, it is a custom 15 
 
 More honour'd in the breach than the observance.
 
 30 HAMLET [Act I 
 
 This heavy-headed revel east and west 
 Makes us traduc'd and tax'd of other nations. 
 They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase 
 Soil our addition ; and indeed it takes 20 
 
 From our achievements, though perform'd at height, 
 The pith and marrow of our attribute. 
 So, oft it chances in particular men, 
 That for some vicious mole of nature in them, 
 As, in their birth — wherein they are not guilty, 25 
 Since nature cannot choose his° origin — 
 By the o'ergrowth of some complexion, 
 Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, 
 Or by some habit that too much o'er-leavens 
 The form of plausive manners, that these men, 30 
 Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, 
 Being nature's livery, or fortune's star, — 
 Their virtues else — be they as pure as grace, 
 As infinite as man may undergo — 
 Shall in the general censure take corruption 35 
 
 From that particular fault : the dram of eale 
 Doth all the noble substance of a doubt 
 To his own scandal. , 
 
 Horatio. Look, my lord, it comes !
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 31 
 
 Enter Ghost 
 
 Hamlet. Angels and ministers of grace defend us ! 
 Be thou a spirit of health , or goblin damn'd, 40 
 
 Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell, 
 Be thy intents wicked or charitable, 
 Thou com'st in such a questionable shape 
 That I will speak to thee. I'll call thee Hamlet, 
 King, father : royal Dane, 0, answer me ! 45 
 
 Let me not burst in ignorance ; but tell 
 Why thy canoniz'd bones, hearsed in death, 
 Have burst their cerements ; why the sepulchre, 
 Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd, 
 Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws, 50 
 
 To cast thee up again. What may this mean, 
 That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel 
 Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon,° 
 Making night hideous ; and we fools of nature 
 So horridly to shake our disposition 55 
 
 With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls ? 
 Say, why is this ? Wherefore ? What should we do ? 
 
 [Ghost beckons Hamlet. 
 
 Horatio. It beckons you to go away with it, 
 As if it some impartment did desire 
 To you alone.
 
 32 HAMLET [Act 1 
 
 Marcellus. Look, with what courteous action 60 
 It waves you to a more removed ground. 
 But do not go with it. 
 
 Horatio. No, by no means. 
 
 Hamlet. It will not speak ; then I will follow it. 
 
 Horatio. Do not, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Why, what should be the fear ? 
 
 I do not set my life at a pin's fee ; 65 
 
 And for my soul, what can it do to that, 
 Being a thing immortal as itself ? 
 It waves me forth again. I'll follow it. 
 
 Horatio. What if it tempt you toward the flood, my 
 lord, 
 Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff 70 
 
 That beetles o'er his base into the sea, 
 And there assume some other horrible form, 
 Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason 
 And draw you into madness ? Think of it. 
 The very place puts toys of desperation, 75 
 
 Without more motive, into every brain 
 That looks so many fathoms to the sea 
 And hears it roar beneath. 
 
 Hamlet. It waves me stilL 
 
 Go on ; I'll follow thee. 
 
 Marcellus. You shall not go, my lord.
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 33 
 
 Hamlet. Hold off your hands. 80 
 
 Horatio. Be rul'd : you shall not go. 
 
 Hamlet. My fate cries out, 
 
 And makes each petty artery in this body 
 As hardy as the Neniean lion's nerve. 
 Still am I call'd. Unhand me, gentlemen. 
 By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me ! 85 
 I say, away ! — Go on : I'll follow thee. 
 
 [Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet. 
 
 Horatio. He waxes desperate with imagination. 
 
 Marcellus. Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him 
 
 Horatio. Have after. To what issue will this come ? 
 
 Marcellus. Something is rotten in the state of Den- 
 mark. 9° 
 
 Horatio. Heaven will direct it.° 
 
 Marcellus. Nay, let's follow him. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene V. Another Part of the Platform 
 
 Enter Ghost and Hamlet 
 
 Hamlet. Where wilt thou lead me ? Speak. I'll 
 
 go no further. 
 Ghost. Mark me. 
 Hamlet. I will.
 
 34 HAMLET [Act I. 
 
 Ghost. My hour is almost come, 
 
 When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames 
 Must render up myself. 
 
 Hamlet. Alas, poor ghost ! 
 
 Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing 5 
 To what I shall unfold. 
 
 Hamlet. Speak ; I am bound to hear. 
 
 Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. 
 
 Hamlet. What? 
 
 Ghost. I am thy father's spirit, 
 Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, 10 
 
 And for the day confin'd to fast in fires, 
 Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature 
 Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid 
 To tell the secrets of my prison-house, 
 I could a tale unfold whose lightest word 15 
 
 Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, 
 Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, 
 Thy knotted and combined locks to part 
 And each particular hair to stand an end- 
 Like quills upon the fretful porpentine. 25 
 But this eternal blazon must not be 
 To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, 0, list! 
 If thou didst ever thy dear father love — 
 
 Hamlet. God!
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 35 
 
 Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural 
 murder. 25 
 
 Hamlet. Murder ! 
 
 Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is, 
 But this most foul, strange and unnatural. 
 
 Hamlet. Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as 
 swift 
 As meditation or the thoughts of love, 30 
 
 May sweep to my revenge. 
 
 Ghost. I find thee apt ; 
 
 And duller shouldst thou be° than the fat weed 
 That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, 
 Woulclst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear : 
 "Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, 35 
 
 A serpent stung me : so the whole ear of Denmark 
 Is by a forged process of my death 
 Rankly abus'd. But know, thou noble youth, 
 The serpent that did sting thy father's life 
 Now wears his crown. 
 
 Hamlet. my prophetic soul ! 4 a 
 
 My uncle ! 
 
 Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, 
 With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts — 
 wicked wit and gifts, that have the power 
 So to seduce! — won to his shameful lust 45
 
 36 HAMLET [Act I 
 
 The will of ury most seeming-virtuous queen. 
 
 Hamlet, what a falling-off was there ! 
 From me, whose love was of that dignity 
 That it went hand in hand even with the vow 
 
 1 made to her in marriage, and to decline 50 
 Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor 
 
 To those of mine ! 
 
 But virtue, as it never will be mov'd, 
 
 Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven, 
 
 So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd, 55 
 
 AVill sate itself in a celestial bed, 
 
 And prey on garbage. 
 
 But, soft ! Methinks I scent the morning air : 
 
 Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard — 
 
 My custom always in the afternoon — 6c 
 
 Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, 
 
 With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, 
 
 And in the porches of my ears did pour 
 
 The leperous distilment ; whose effect 
 
 Holds such an enmity with blood of man 65 
 
 That swift as quicksilver it courses through 
 
 The natural gates and alleys of the body, 
 
 And with a sudden vigour it doth posset 
 
 And curd, like eager droppings into milk, 
 
 The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine, 70
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 37 
 
 And a most instant tetter bark'd about, 
 Most lazar-like,° with vile and loathsome crust, 
 All my smooth body. 
 Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand 
 Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch' d,° 75 
 
 Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,° 
 Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd," 
 No reckoning made, but sent to my account 
 With all my imperfections on my head. 
 0, horrible ! 0, horrible ! Most horrible ! 80 
 
 If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not, 
 Let not the royal bed of Denmark be 
 A couch for luxury and damned incest. 
 But, howsoever thou pursuest this act, 
 Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive 85 
 
 Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven 
 And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge, 
 To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once I 
 The glow-worm shows the matin to be near, 
 And gins to pale his uneffectual fire. 90 
 
 Adieu, adieu ! Hamlet, remember me. [Exit. 
 
 Hamlet. O all you host of heaven ! O earth ! What 
 else? 
 And shall I couple hell ? 0, fie ! Hold, hold, my heart : 
 And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
 
 38 HAMLET [Act L 
 
 But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee ! 95 
 
 Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat 
 
 In this distracted globe. Remember thee ? 
 
 Yea, from the table of my memory 
 
 I'll wipe away all trivial fond° records, 
 
 All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, ioc 
 
 That youth and observation copied there ; 
 
 And thy commandment all alone shall live 
 
 Within the book and volume of my brain, 
 
 Unmix'd with baser matter; yes, by heaven! 
 
 most pernicious woman ! *os 
 
 villain, villain, smiling, damned villain ! 
 My tables, — meet it is I set it down, 
 
 That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain ; 
 At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark. [Writing. 
 So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word; no 
 
 It is " Adieu, adieu ! Remember me." 
 
 1 have sworn't 
 
 Marcellus. ) r „-. ...,,,, , , , 
 
 [ [ Within! My lord, my lord, — 
 
 Horatio. ) L J J J 
 
 Marcellus. [Within] Lord Hamlet, — 
 
 Horatio. [Within] Heaven secure him! 
 
 Hamlet. So be it ! 
 
 Horatio. [Within'] Hillo, ho, ho, my lord! 115 
 
 Hamlet. Hillo, ho, ho, boy ! Come, bird, come.
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 39 
 
 Enter Horatio and Marcellus 
 
 Marcellus. How is't, my noble lord ? 
 Horatio. What news, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. 0, wonderful ! 
 
 Horatio. Good my lord, tell it 
 
 Hamlet. No ; you'll reveal it. 
 Horatio. Not 1, my lord, by heaven. 
 Marcellus. Nor I, my lord. 120 
 
 Hamlet. How say you, then ? Would heart of man 
 once° think it ? 
 But you'll be secret ? 
 
 MaTdlus] Ay, by heaven, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Den- 
 mark 
 But he's an arrant knave. 
 
 Horatio. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from 
 the grave 125 
 
 To tell us this. 
 
 Hamlet. Why, right ; you are i* the right ; 
 
 And so, without more circumstance at all, 
 I hold it fit that we shake hands and part : 
 Yon, as your business and desire shall point you ; 
 For every man has business and desire, 13a
 
 40 HAMLET [Act 1 
 
 Such as it is ; and for mine own poor part, 
 Look you, I'll go pray. 
 
 Horatio. These are but wild and whirling words, my 
 lord. 
 
 Hamlet. I'm sorry they offend you, heartily ; 
 Yes, faith, heartily. 
 
 Horatio. There's no offence, my lord. 135 
 
 Hamlet. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, 
 And much offence too. Touching this vision here, 
 It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you. 
 For your desire to know what is between us, 
 O'ermaster't as you may. And now, good friends, 140 
 As you are friends, scholars and soldiers, 
 Give me one poor request. 
 
 Horatio. What is't, my lord ? We will. 
 
 Hamlet. Never make known what you have seen to- 
 night. 
 
 Horatio. ) ,, , , .,, 
 
 > My lord, we will not. 
 Marcellus. ) 
 
 Hamlet. Nay, but swear't. 
 
 Horatio. In faith, 
 
 My lord, not I. 
 
 Marcellus. Nor I, my lord, in faith. 146 
 
 Hamlet. Upon my sword. 
 
 Marcellus. We have sworn, my lord, already.
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 41 
 
 Hamlet. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. 
 
 Ghost. \_Beneath~] Swear. 
 
 Hamlet. Ah, ha, boy! say'st thou so? Art thou 
 there, true-penny ? 150 
 
 Come on — you hear this fellow in the cellarage — 
 Consent to swear. 
 
 Horatio. Propose the oath, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Never to speak of this that you have seen. 
 Swear by my sword. 
 
 Ghost. [Beneath] Swear. 155 
 
 Hamlet. Hie et ubique ? Then we'll shift our 
 ground. 
 Come hither, gentlemen, 
 And lay your hands again* upon my sword, — 
 Never to speak of this that you have heard, 
 Swear by my sword. 160 
 
 Ghost. [Beneath] Swear. 
 
 Hamlet. Well said, old mole! Canst work i' the 
 earth so fast ? 
 A worthy pioner ! — Once more remove, good friends. 
 
 Horatio. O day and night, but this is wondrous 
 strange ! 
 
 Hamlet. And therefore as a stranger give it wel- 
 come. 165 
 There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
 
 42 HAMLET [Act 1 
 
 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. 
 
 But come : 
 
 Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, 
 
 How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, 17a 
 
 As I perchance hereafter shall think meet 
 
 To put an antic disposition on, 
 
 That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, 
 
 With arms encumber'd thus, or this head-shake, 
 
 Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase, 175 
 
 As " Well, well, we know," or " We could, an if we 
 
 would," 
 Or " If we list to speak," or " There be, an if they 
 
 might," 
 Or such ambiguous giving out, to note 
 That you know aught of me ; this not to do, 
 So grace and mercy at your most need help you, 180 
 Swear. 
 
 Ghost. \_Beneath~\ Swear. 
 
 Hamlet. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit! — So, gentle- 
 men, 
 With all my love I do commend me to you ; 
 And what so poor a man as Hamlet is 
 May do, to express his love and friending to you, 185 
 God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together; 
 And still your fingers on your lips, I pray. —
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 43 
 
 The time is out of joint : cursed spite, 
 
 That ever I was born to set it right ! — 
 
 Nay, come, let's go together. [Exeunt. 19c 
 
 ACT II 
 
 Scene I. A Room in the Castle 
 Enter Polonius and Reynaldo 
 
 Polonius. Give him this money, and these notes, 
 Reynaldo. 
 
 Reynaldo. I will, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. You shall do marvellous wisely ; good 
 Reynaldo, 
 Before you visit him, to make inquiry 
 Of his behaviour. 
 
 Reynaldo. My lord, I did intend it. 5 
 
 Polonius. Marry, well said ; very well said. Look 
 you, sir, 
 Inquire me° first what Danskers are in Paris ; 
 And how, and who ; what means, and where they keep, 
 What company, at what expense ; and finding 
 By this encompassment and drift of question 10 
 
 That they do know my son, come you° more nearer 
 Than your particular demands will touch it ;
 
 44 HAMLET [Act II 
 
 Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him, 
 
 As thus ; " I know his father and his friends, 
 
 And in part him," — do you mark this, Reynaldo ? 15 
 
 Reynaldo. Ay, very well, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. " And in part him. But," you may say, 
 " not well : 
 But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild ; 
 Addicted so and so," and there put on him 
 What forgeries you please ; marry, none so rank 20 
 As may dishonour him, take heed of that ; 
 But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips 
 As are companions noted and most known 
 To youth and liberty. 
 
 Reynaldo. As gaming, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quar- 
 relling, 25 
 Drabbing ; you may go so far. 
 
 Reynaldo. My lord, that would dishonour him. 
 
 Polonius. 'Faith, no ; as you may season it in the 
 charge. 
 You must not put another scandal on him, 
 That he is open to incontinency ; 30 
 
 That's not my meaning. But breathe his faults so 
 
 quaintly 
 That they may seem the taints of liberty,
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 45 
 
 The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind, 
 A savageness in unreclaimed blood, 
 Of general assault. 
 
 Reynaldo. But, my good lord, — 35 
 
 Polonius. Wherefore should you do this ? 
 
 Reynaldo. Ay, my lord, 
 
 I would know that. 
 
 Polonius. Marry, sir, here's my drift ; 
 
 And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant ;° 
 You laying these slight sullies on my son, 
 As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working, 40 
 
 Mark you, 
 
 Your party in converse, him you would sound, 
 Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes 
 The youth you breathe of guilty, be assur'd 
 He closes with you in this consequence : 45 
 
 " Good sir," or so, or " friend," or " gentleman," 
 According to the phrase or the addition 
 Of man and country. 
 
 Reynaldo. Very good, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. And then, sir, does he this — he does — 
 what was I about to say ? By the mass, I was about 
 to say something. Where did I leave ? 5 1 
 
 Reynaldo. At " closes in the consequence," at " friend 
 or so," and " gentleman."
 
 46 HAMLET [Act II. 
 
 Polonius. At " closes in the consequence," ay, 
 marry ; 
 He closes thus: " I know the gentleman, 55 
 
 I saw him yesterday, or t'other day, 
 Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you 
 
 say, 
 There was he gaming ; there o'ertook in's rouse ; ° 
 There falling out at tennis ; " or perchance, 
 " I saw him enter such a house of sale," 6c 
 
 Videlicet, a brothel, or so forth. 
 See you now, 
 
 Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth ; 
 And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, 
 With windlasses and with assays of bias, 65 
 
 By indirections find directions out. 
 So, by my former lecture and advice, 
 Shall you my son. You have me,° have you not ? 
 
 Reynaldo. My lord, I have. 
 
 Polonius. God be wi' you; fare you well. 
 
 Reynaldo. Good my lord ! 70 
 
 Polonius. Observe his inclination in yourself. 
 
 Reynaldo. I shall, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. And let him ply his music. 
 
 Reynaldo. Well, my lord. 
 
 Polonius. Farewell ! [Exit Kf.ynaldo.
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 47 
 
 Enter- Ophelia 
 
 How now, Ophelia ! What's the matter ? 
 
 Ophelia. Alas, my lord. I have been so affrighted ! 
 
 Polonius. With what, i' the name of Heaven ? 76 
 
 Ophelia. My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, 
 Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbrac'd ; 
 No hat upon his head ; his stockings foul'd, 
 Ungarter'd, and down-gyved° to his ancle ; 80 
 
 Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; 
 And with a look so piteous in purport 
 As if he had been loosed out of hell 
 To speak of horrors, — he comes before me. 
 
 Polon ins. Mad for thy love ? 
 
 Ophelia. My lord, I do not know, 
 
 But truly, I do fear it. 
 
 Polonius. What said he ? 86 
 
 Ophelia. He took me by the wrist, and held me 
 hard; 
 Then goes he to the length of all his arm, 
 And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, 
 He falls to such perusal of my face 90 
 
 As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so. 
 At last, a little shaking of mine arm, 
 And thrice his head, thus, waving up and down,
 
 48 HAMLET [Act IL 
 
 He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound 
 
 That it did seem to shatter all his bulk 95 
 
 And end his being. That done, he lets me go, 
 
 And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd, 
 
 He seem'd to find his way without his eyes; 
 
 For out o' doors he went without their help, 
 
 And, to the last, bended their light on me. ioo 
 
 Polonius. Come, go with me. I will go seek the 
 king. 
 This is the very ecstasy of love, 
 Whose violent property fordoes itself 
 And leads the will to desperate undertakings 
 As oft as any passion under heaven 105 
 
 That does afflict our natures. I am sorry. 
 What, have you given him any hard words of late ? 
 
 Ophelia. No, my good lord, but, as you did com- 
 mand, 
 I did repel his letters and denied 
 His access to me. 
 
 Polonius. That hath made him mad. no 
 
 I am sorry that with better heed and judgment 
 I had not quoted him. I fear'd he did but trifle, 
 And meant to wrack thee ; but beshrew my jealousy ! 
 I 'y heaven, it is as proper to our age 
 To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions 115
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 49 
 
 As it is common for the younger sort 
 
 To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king : 
 
 This must be known ; which, being kept close, might 
 
 move 
 More grief to hide than hate to utter love. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. A Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, 
 
 mid Attendants 
 
 King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ! 
 Moreover that we much did long to see you, 
 The need we have to use you did provoke 
 Our hasty sending. Something have you heard 
 Of Hamlet's transformation ; so I call it, 5 
 
 Sith° nor the exterior nor the inward man 
 Resembles that it was. What it should be,° 
 More than his father's death, that thus hath put him 
 So much from the understanding of himself, 
 I cannot dream of. I entreat you both, 10 
 
 That, being of so young days brought up with him, 
 And since so neighbour'd to° his youth and humour, 
 That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court 
 Some little time : so by your companies 
 
 o
 
 50 HAMLET [Act II 
 
 To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather, 15 
 
 So much as from occasion you may glean, 
 Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus, 
 That, open'd,° lies within our remedy. 
 
 Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you, 
 And sure I am two men there are not living 20 
 
 To whom he more adheres. If it will please you 
 To show us so much gentry and good will 
 As to expend your time with us awhile, 
 For the supply and profit of our hope, 
 Your visitation shall receive such thanks 25 
 
 As fits a king's remembrance. 
 
 Rosencrantz. Both your majesties 
 
 Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,° 
 l'ut your dread pleasures more into command 
 Than to entreaty. 
 
 Guildenstern. But we both obey, 
 And here give up ourselves, 111 the full bent° 30 
 
 To lay our service freely at your feet, 
 To be commanded. 
 
 King. Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guilden- 
 stern. 
 
 Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosen- 
 crantz ; 
 And I beseech you instantly to visit 35
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 51 
 
 My too much changed son. Go, some of you, 
 And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is. 
 
 Guildenstern. Heavens make our presence and our 
 practices 
 Pleasant and helpful to him ! 
 
 Queen. Ay, amen ! 
 
 [Exeunt Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and some 
 ( Attendants.] 
 
 Enter Polonius 
 
 Polonius. The ambassadors from Norway, my good 
 lord, 4° 
 
 Are joyfully return 'd. 
 
 King. Thou still hast been the father of good news. 
 
 Polonius. Have I, my lord ? Assure you,° my good 
 liege, 
 I hold my duty, as I hold my soul, 
 Both to my God and to my gracious king; 4 3 
 
 And I do think, or else this brain of mine 
 Hunts not the trail of policy so sure 
 As it hath us'd to do, that I have found 
 The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy. 
 
 King. 0, speak of that ; that do I long to hear. 50 
 
 Polonius. Give first admittance to the ambassadors; 
 My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
 
 52 HAMLET [Act n 
 
 King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in. 
 
 [Exit Polonius. 
 He tells me, my sweet Queen, that he hath found 
 The head and source of all your son's distemper. 55 
 
 Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main, — 
 His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage. 
 
 King. Well, we shall sift him. 
 
 Reenter Polonius, with Voltimand and Cornelius 
 
 Welcome, my good friends ! 
 Say, Voltimand. what from our brother Norway ? 
 Voltimand. Most fair return of greetings and 
 desires. 6o 
 
 Upon our first, he sent out to suppress 
 His nephew's levies ; which to him appear'd 
 To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack ; 
 But, better look'd into, he truly found 
 It was against your highness: whereat grieved, 65 
 
 That so his sickness, age and impotence 
 Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests 
 ( )n Fortinbras ; which he, in brief, obeys ; 
 Receives rebuke from Norway, and in fine 
 Makes vow before his uncle never more 7° 
 
 To give th' assay of arms against your majesty. 
 Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 53 
 
 Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee, 
 And his commission to employ those soldiers, 
 So levi'd as before, against the Polack ; 75 
 
 With an entreaty, herein further shown, 
 
 [ Giving a paper. 
 That it might please you to give quiet pass 
 Through your dominions for this enterprise, 
 On such regards of safety and allowance 
 As therein are set down. 
 
 King. It likes us well ; 80 
 
 And at our more consider'd time we'll read, 
 Answer, and think upon this business. 
 Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour. 
 Go to your rest ; at night we'll feast together. 
 Most welcome home ! 
 
 [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. 
 
 Polonius. This business is well ended. 85 
 
 My liege, and madam, to expostulate 
 What majesty should be, what duty is, 
 Why day is clay, night night, and time is time, 
 Were nothing but to waste night, day and time. 
 Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, 90 
 
 And tediousness the limbs and outward nourishes, 
 I will be brief : your noble son is mad ; — 
 Mad call 1 it; for, to define true madness,
 
 54 HAMLET [Act II 
 
 What is't but to be nothing else but mad ? 
 But let that go. 
 
 Queen. More matter, with less art. 95 
 
 Polonius. Madam, I swear I use no art at all. 
 That he is mad, 'tis true ; 'tis true 'tis pity, 
 And pity 'tis 'tis true : a foolish figure ; 
 But farewell it, for 1 will use no art. 
 Mad let us grant him, then ; and now remains ioa 
 
 That we find out the cause of this effect, 
 Or rather say, the cause of this defect, 
 For this effect defective comes by cause. 
 Thus it remains, and the remainder thus, 
 Perpend : 105 
 
 I have a daughter — have while she is mine — 
 Who, in her duty and obedience, mark, 
 Hath given me this : now gather, and surmise. 
 
 [Reads. 
 
 " To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most beautified 
 Ophelia," — no 
 
 That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; "beautified" is a 
 vile phrase : but you shall hear. Thus: [Reads. 
 
 " In her excellent white bosom, these, etc:'' 
 
 Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her ? 
 
 Polonius. Good madam, stay awhile; I will be 
 faithful. [Reads. 115
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 55 
 
 " Doubt thou the stars are fire ; 
 Doubt that the sun doth move; 
 Doubt truth to be a liar; 
 
 But never doubt I love. 119 
 
 " dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers. I have 
 not art to reckon my groans. But that I love thee best, 
 O most best, believe it. Adieu. 
 
 " Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this 
 machine is to him, Hamlet." 
 
 This, in obedience, hath my daughter show'd me, 125 
 And more above, hath his solicitings, 
 As they fell out by time, by means and place, 
 All given to mine ear. 
 
 King. But how hath she 
 
 Receiv'd his love ? 
 
 Polonius. What do you think of me ? 
 
 King. As of a man faithful and honourable. 130 
 
 Polonius. I would fain prove so. But what might 
 you think, 
 When I had seen this hot love on the wing — 
 As I perceiv'd it, I must tell you that, 
 Before my daughter told me — what might you, 
 Or my dear majesty your Queen here, think, 135 
 
 If I had play'd the desk or table-book, 
 Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb,
 
 56 HAMLET [Act II 
 
 Or look'd upon this love with idle sight, — 
 
 What might you think ? No, I went round to 
 
 work, 
 And my young mistress thus I did bespeak. 140 
 
 " Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star. 
 This must not be." And then I precepts gave her, 
 That she should lock herself from his resort, 
 Admit no messengers, receive no tokens. 
 Which done, she took the fruits of my advice ; 145 
 And he, repulsed — a short tale to make — 
 Fell into sadness, then into a fast, 
 Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness, 
 Thence to a lightness, and, by this declension, 
 Into the madness wherein now he raves, 150 
 
 And all we mourn for.° 
 
 King. Do you think 'tis this ? 
 
 Queen. It may be, very likely. 
 
 Polonius. Hath there been such a time — I'd fain 
 know that — 
 That I have positively said " Tis so," 
 When it prov'd otherwise ? 
 
 King. Not that I know. 
 
 Polonius. [Pointing to his head and shoulder] Take 
 this from this, if this be otherwise. 156 
 
 If circumstances lead me, I will find
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 57 
 
 Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed 
 Within the centre. 
 
 King. How may we try it further ? 
 
 Polonius. You know, sometimes he walks four hours 
 together 160 
 
 Here in the lobby. 
 
 Queen. So he does indeed. 
 
 Polonius. At such a time I'll loose my daughter to 
 him. 
 Be you and I behind an arras then ; 
 Mark the encounter. If he love her not 
 And be not from his reason fall'n thereon, 165 
 
 Let me be no assistant for a state, 
 But keep a farm and carters. 
 
 King. We will try it. 
 
 Queen. But, look, where sadly the poor wretch 
 comes reading. 
 
 Polonius. Away, I do beseech you, both away. 
 I'll board him presently. 
 
 [Exeunt King, Queen, and Attendants. 
 
 Enter Hamlet, reading 
 
 O, give me leave : 17a 
 
 How does my good Lord Hamlet ? 
 Hamlet. Well, God-a-mercy.
 
 58 HAMLET [Act IL 
 
 Polonius. Do you know me, ray lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Excellent well ; you are a fishmonger. 
 
 Polonhcs. Not I, my lord. 175 
 
 Hamlet. Then I would you were so honest a man. 
 
 Polonius. Honest, ray lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, sir. To be honest, as this world goes, 
 is to be one man picked out of ten thousand. 
 
 Polonius. That's very true, my lord. 1S0 
 
 Hamlet. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, 
 being a good kissing carrion, — Have you a daughter ? 
 
 Polonius. I have, ray lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Let her not walk i' the sun. Conception 
 is a blessing, but not as your daughter may conceive. 
 Friend, look to't. 186 
 
 Polonius. [Aside] How say you by that? Still 
 harping on ray daughter. Yet he knew me not at 
 first ; he said I was a fishmonger. He is far gone, far 
 gone. And truly in my youth I suffered much ex- 
 tremity for love; very near this. I'll speak to him 
 again. What do you read, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Words, words, words. 
 
 Polonius. What is the matter, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Between who ? 195 
 
 Polonius. I mean, the matter that you read, my 
 lord.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 59 
 
 Hamlet. Slanders, sir; for the satirical rogue says 
 here that old men have grey beards, that their faces 
 are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber or plum- 
 tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, 
 together with most weak hams : all which, sir, though 
 I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it 
 not honesty to have it thus set down ; for yourself, 
 sir, should be old as I am, if like a crab you could go 
 backward. 205 
 
 Polonius. \_Aside~] Though this be madness, yet 
 there is method in't. — Will you walk out of the air, 
 my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Into my grave. 
 
 Polonius. Indeed, that is out o' the air. \Aside~] 
 How pregnant sometimes his replies are ! A happi- 
 ness that often madness hits on, which reason and 
 sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of. I 
 will leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of 
 meeting between him and my daughter. — My honour- 
 able lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you. 
 
 Hamlet. You cannot, sir, take from me any thing 
 that I will more willingly part withal ; except my 
 life, except my life, except my life. 2ig 
 
 Polonius. Fare you well, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. These tedious old fools !
 
 60 HAMLET [Act TL 
 
 Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 
 Polonius. You go to seek the Lord Hamlet; there 
 he is. 
 
 Rosencrantz. [To Polonius] God save you, sir! 
 
 [Exit Polonius. 
 
 Guildenstern. My honoured lord ! 225 
 
 Rosencrantz. My most dear lord ! 
 
 Hamlet. My excellent good friends ! How dost 
 thou, Guildenstern? — Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, 
 how do ye both ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. As the indifferent children of the 
 earth. 231 
 
 Guildenstern. Happy, in that we are not over-happy ; 
 On fortune's cap we are not the very button. 
 
 Hamlet. Nor the soles of her shoe? 
 
 Rosencrantz. Neither, my lord. 235 
 
 Hamlet. Then you live about her waist, or in the 
 middle of her favours ? NYhat's the news ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. None, my lord, but that the world's 
 grown honest. 239 
 
 Hamlet. Then is doomsday near. But your news is 
 not true. Let me question more in particular : what 
 have you, my good friends, deserved at the hands of 
 fortune, that she sends you to prison hither?
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 61 
 
 Guildenstern. Prison, my lord! 
 
 Hamlet. Denmark's a prison. 245 
 
 Iiosencrantz. Then is the world one. 
 
 Hamlet. A goodly one ; in which there are many 
 confines, wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o' 
 the worst. 
 
 Mosencrantz. We think not so, my lord. 250 
 
 Hamlet. Why, then, 'tis none to yon ; for there is 
 nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. 
 To me it is a prison. 
 
 Rosencranlz. Why then, your ambition makes it 
 one; 'tis too narrow for your mind. 255 
 
 Hamlet. O God, I could be bounded in a nut-shell 
 and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not 
 that I have bad dreams. 
 
 Guildenstern. Which dreams indeed are ambition, 
 for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the 
 shadow of a dream. 261 
 
 Hamlet. A dream itself is but a shadow. 
 
 Rosencrantz. Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy 
 and light a quality that it is but a shadow's shadow. 
 
 Hamlet. Then are our beggars bodies, and our mon- 
 archs and outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. 
 Shall we to the court? for, by my fay, I cannot 
 reason. 268
 
 62 HAMLET [Act II. 
 
 Rosencrantz. } TXT ,,, 
 
 _, ., , > We'll wait upon you. 
 
 Guildenstern. ) 
 
 Hamlet. No such matter. I will not sort you with 
 the rest of my servants ; for, to speak to you like an 
 honest man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, 
 in the beaten way of friendship, what make you at 
 Elsinore ? 274 
 
 Rosencrantz. To visit you, my lord ; no other 
 occasion. 
 
 Hamlet. Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks, 
 but I thank you : and sure, dear friends, my thanks are 
 too dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it 
 your own inclining ? Is it a free visitation ? Come, 
 deal justly with me. Come, come; nay, speak. 
 
 Guildenstern. What should we say, my lord ? 2S2 
 
 Hamlet. Why, any thing, but° to the purpose. 
 You were sent for ; and there is a kind of confession 
 in your looks which your modesties have not craft 
 enough to colour. I know the good king and queen 
 have sent for you. 2S7 
 
 Rosencrantz. To what end, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. That you must teach me. But let me con- 
 jure you, by the rights of our fellowship, by the 
 consonancy of our -youth, by the obligation of our 
 ever-preserved love, and by what more dear a better
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 63 
 
 proposer could charge you withal, be even aud direct 
 with me, whether you were sent for, or no ? 294 
 
 Rosencrantz. [Aside to Guildenstern] What say you? 
 
 Hamlet. [Aside'] Nay, then, I have an eye of you." 
 — If you love me, hold not off. 
 
 Guildenstern. My lord, we were sent for. 298 
 
 Hamlet. I will tell you why ; so shall my anticipa- 
 tion prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the 
 king and queen moult no feather. I have of late — 
 but wherefore I know not — lost all my mirth, forgone 
 all custom of exercises ; and indeed it goes so heavily 
 with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, 
 seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent 
 canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firma- 
 ment, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, 
 why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and 
 pestilent congregation of vapours. What a piece of 
 work is man ! How noble in reason ! How infinite in 
 faculty ! In form and moving how express and ad- 
 mirable ! In action how like an angel ! In apprehen- 
 sion how like a god ! The beauty of the world ! The 
 paragon of animals ! And yet, to me, what is this 
 quintessence of dust ? Man delights not me : no, nor 
 woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to 
 say so. 3*7
 
 64 HAMLET [Act II 
 
 Rosencrantz. My lord, there was no such stuff in 
 my thoughts. 
 
 Hamlet. Why did you laugh then, when I said 
 " Man delights not me " ? 321 
 
 Rosencrantz. To think, my lord, if you delight not 
 in man, what lenten entertainment the players shall 
 receive from you. We coted° them on the way ; and 
 hither are they coming, to offer you service. 325 
 
 Hamlet. He that plays the king shall be welcome ; 
 his majesty shall have tribute of me. The adventu- 
 rous knight shall use his foil and target ; the lover shall 
 not sigh gratis; the humorous man shall end his part 
 in peace ; the clown shall make those laugh whose 
 lungs are tickle o' the sere ; and the lady shall say 
 her mind freely, or the blank verse shall halt for't. 
 What players are they ? 333 
 
 Rosencrantz. Even those you were wont to take de- 
 light in ; the tragedians of the city. 
 
 Hamlet. How chances it they travel ? Their resi- 
 dence, both in reputation and profit, was better both 
 ways. 33S 
 
 Rosencrantz. I think their inhibition comes by the 
 means of the late innovation. 
 
 Hamlet. Do they hold the same estimation they did 
 when I was in the city ? Are they so followed ?
 
 sckne 21 HAMLET 65 
 
 Rosencrantz. No, indeed, they are not. 343 
 
 Hamlet. How comes it ? Do they grow rusty ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the 
 wonted pace. But there is, sir, an aery° of children, 
 little eyases, that cry out on the top of question, and 
 are most tyrannically clapped f or't : these are now the 
 fashion, and so berattle the common stages — so they 
 call them — that many wearing rapiers are afraid of 
 goose-qnills,° and dare scarce come thither. 351 
 
 Hamlet. What, are they children ? Who maintains 
 'em ? How are they escoted ? Will they pursue the 
 quality no longer than they can sing ? Will they not 
 say afterwards, if they should grow themselves to 
 common players — as it is most like, if their means 
 are no better — their writers do them wrong, to make 
 them exclaim against their own succession ? 358 
 
 Rosencrantz. 'Faith, there has been much to do° on 
 both sides; and the nation holds it no sin to tarre° 
 them to controversy. There was, for a while, no 
 money bid for argument, unless the poet and the 
 player went to cuffs in the question. 363 
 
 Hamlet. Is't possible ? 
 
 Gin'ldenstern. O, there has been much throwing about 
 of brains. 
 
 Hamlet. Do the boys carry it away ?
 
 66 HAMLET IAct IL 
 
 Rosencrantz. Ay, that they do, niy lord ; Hercules 
 and his load too. 369 
 
 Hamlet. It is not very strange ; for mine uncle is 
 king of Denmark, and those that would make mows 
 at him while my father lived, give twenty, forty, fifty, 
 an hundred ducats apiece for his picture in little. 
 ? Sblood,° there is something in this more than natural, 
 if philosophy could find it out. 
 
 [Flourish of trumpets within. 
 
 Ouildenstern. There are the players. 376 
 
 Hamlet. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. 
 Your hands, come. The appurtenance of welcome is 
 fashion and ceremony. Let me comply with you in 
 this garb,° lest my extent to the players, which, I 
 tell you, must show fairly outward, should more 
 appear like entertainment than yours. You are wel- 
 come; but my uncle-father and aunt-mother are 
 deceived. 384 
 
 Ouildenstern. In what, my dear lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. I am but mad north-north-west. When the 
 winl is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw. 
 
 Enter Polonius 
 
 Polonius. Well be with you, gentlemen ! 388 
 
 Hamlet. Hark you, Guildensteru; and you too: at
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 67 
 
 each ear a hearer. That great baby you see there is 
 not yet out of his swaddling-clouts. 
 
 Rosencrantz. Happily he's the second time come 
 to them : for they say an old man is twice a 
 child. 394 
 
 Hamlet. I will prophesy he comes to tell me of the 
 players; mark it. — You say right, sir; o' Monday 
 morning. 'Twas so indeed. 
 
 Polonius. My lord, I have news to tell you. 
 
 Hamlet. My lord, I have news to tell you. 
 When Roscius was an actor in Rome,   — 400 
 
 Polonius. The actors are come hither, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Buz, buz ! 
 
 Polonius. Upon mine honour, — 
 
 Hamlet. Then came each actor on his ass,° — 404 
 
 Polonius. The best actors in the world, either for 
 tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, 
 historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical- 
 historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem un- 
 limited. Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus 
 too light. For the law of writ and the liberty, these 
 are the only men. 
 
 Hamlet. Jephthah , judge of Israel, what a treas- 
 ure hadst thou ! 4M 
 
 Polonius. What a treasure had he, my lord ?
 
 68 HAMLET [Act il 
 
 Hamlet. Why, 
 
 " One fair daughter, and no more, 
 The which he loved passing well." 
 Polonius. [Aside - ] Still on my daughter. 418 
 
 Hamlet. Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah? 
 Polonius. If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have 
 a daughter that I love passing well. 
 Hamlet. Nay, that follows not. 
 
 Polonius. What follows, then, my lord? 423 
 
 Hamlet. Why, 
 
 " As by lot, God wot," 
 and then, you know, 
 
 " It came to pass, as most like it was" — 
 the first row° of the pious chanson will show you 
 more ; for look, where my abridgements come. — 429 
 
 Enter four or Jive Players 
 
 You are welcome, masters ; welcome, all. I am glad 
 to see thee well. Welcome, good friends. 0, my old 
 friend ! Thy face is vaianced since I saw thee last. 
 Comest thou to beard me in Denmark ? AVI 1 at, my 
 young lady and mistress ! By'r lady, your ladyship 
 is nearer to heaven, than when I saw you last, by the 
 altitude of a chopine. Pray God, your voice, like a 
 piece of uncurrent gold, be not cracked within the
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 69 
 
 ring. Masters, you are all welcome. We'll e'en to't 
 like French falconers, fly at any thing we see : we'll 
 have a speech straight. Come, give us a taste of your 
 quality ; come, a passionate speech. 
 
 First Player. What speech, my lord ? 442 
 
 Hamlet. I heard thee speak me a speech once, but 
 it was never acted ; or, if it was, not above once ; for 
 the play, I remember, pleased not the million : 'twas 
 caviare to the general. But it was — as I received it, 
 and others, whose judgments in such matters cried in 
 the top of mine — an excellent play, well digested in 
 the scenes, set down with as much modesty as cunning. 
 I remember, one said there were no sal lets in the lines 
 to make the matter savoury, nor no matter in the 
 phrase that might indict the author of affectation; 
 but called it an honest method, as wholesome as 
 sweet, and by very much more handsome than fine. 
 One speech in it I chiefly loved: 'twas ^Eneas' 
 tale to Dido; and thereabout of it especially, 
 where he speaks of Priam's slaughter. If it live 
 in your memory, begin at this line : let me see, let 
 me see, — 459 
 
 The rugged Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanian beast, 
 — it is not so : — it begins with Pyrrhus : —
 
 70 HAMLET [Act II. 
 
 The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms, 
 
 Black as his purpose, did the night resemble 
 
 When he lay couched in the ominous horse, 
 
 Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd 465 
 
 With heraldry more dismal. Head to foot 
 
 Now is he total gules° ; horridly trick'd 
 
 With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, 
 
 Bak'd and impasted with the parching streets, 
 
 That lend a tyrannous and damned light 470 
 
 To their lord's murder. Roasted in wrath and fire, 
 
 And thus o'er-sized° with coagulate gore, 
 
 With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus 
 
 Old grandsire Priam seeks. 
 
 So, proceed you. 475 
 
 Polonius. 'Fore God, my lord, well spoken, with 
 good accent and good discretion. 
 
 First Player. Anon he finds him 
 
 Striking too short at Greeks. His antique sword, 
 Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls, 480 
 
 Repugnant to command. Unequal match'd, 
 Pyrrhus at Priam drives ; in rage strikes wide ; 
 But° with the whiff and wind of his fell sword 
 The unnerv'd father falls. Then senseless Ilium, 
 Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top 485 
 
 Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash 
 Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear ; for, lo ! his sword, 
 Which was declining on the milky head
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 71 
 
 Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick. 
 
 So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood, 490 
 
 And like a neutral to his will and matter, 
 
 Did nothing. 
 
 But, as we often see, against some storm, 
 
 A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still, 
 
 The bold winds speechless, and the orb below 495 
 
 As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder 
 
 Doth rend the region ; so, after Pyrrhus' pause, 
 
 Aroused vengeance sets him new a-work° ; 
 
 And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall 
 
 On Mars's armour, forg'd for proof eterne, 500 
 
 With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword 
 
 Now falls on Priam. 
 
 Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune ! All you gods, 
 
 In general synod, take away her power ; 
 
 Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel, 505 
 
 And bowl the round nave° down the hill of -heaven, 
 
 As low as to the fiends ! 
 
 Polonius. This is too long. 
 
 Hamlet. It shall to the barber's, with your beard. 
 Prithee, say on. — He's for a jig, or a tale of bawdry, 
 or he sleeps. — Say on ; come to Hecuba. 511 
 
 First Player. But who, who had seen the mobled queen— 
 
 Hamlet, " The mobled queen " ? 
 
 Polonius. That's good : " mobled queen " is good.
 
 72 HAMLET [Act II. 
 
 First Player. Run barefoot up and down, threatening the 
 flames 515 
 
 With bisson rheum ; a clout upon that head 
 Where late the diadem stood, and for a robe, 
 About her lank and all o'er-teemed° loins, 
 A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up ; 
 
 Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd, 520 
 
 'Gainst Fortune's state would treason have pronounc'd. 
 But if the gods themselves did see her then 
 When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport 
 In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs, 
 The instant burst of clamour that she made, 525 
 
 Unless things mortal move them not at all, 
 Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven, 
 And passion in the gods. 
 
 Polonius. Look, whether he has not turned his colour 
 and has tears in's eyes. — Pray you, no more. 530 
 
 Hamlet. 'Tis well ; I'll have thee speak out the rest 
 soon. Good my lord, will you see the players well 
 bestowed ? Do you hear, let them be well used ; for 
 they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time. 
 After your death, you were better have a bad epitaph 
 than their ill report while you live. 536 
 
 Polonius. My lord, I will use them according to 
 their desert. 
 
 Hamlet. God's bodykins, man, much better. Use 
 every man after his desert, and who should scape
 
 scenb 2] HAMLET 73 
 
 whipping ? Use them after your own honour and dig- 
 nity. The less they deserve, the more merit is in your 
 bounty. Take them in. 543 
 
 Polonius. Come, sirs. 
 
 Hamlet. Follow him, friends. We'll hear a play to- 
 morrow. [Exit Polonius with all the Players but the 
 First.] — Dost thou hear me, old friend ? Can you play 
 Tlie Murder of Gonzago ? 
 First Player. Ay, my lord. 549 
 
 Hamlet. We'll ha't to-morrow night. You could, 
 for a need, study a speech of some dozen or sixteen 
 lines, which I would set down and insert in't, could 
 you not? 
 First Player. Ay, my lord. 554 
 
 Hamlet. Very well. Follow that lord ; and look you 
 mock him not. [Exit First Player.] — My good 
 friends, I'll leave you till night. You are welcome to 
 Elsinore. 
 
 Rosencrantz. Good my lord ! 559 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, so, God be wi' ye ! [Exeunt Rosen- 
 crantz and Guildenstern.] Now I am alone. 
 0, what a rogue and peasant slave am I ! 
 Is it not monstrous that this player here, 
 But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, 
 Could force his soul so to his own conceit 565
 
 74 HAMLET [Act IL 
 
 That from her working all his visage wann'd, 
 
 Tears in his eyes, distraction in ? s aspect, 
 
 A broken voice, and his whole function suiting 
 
 With forms to his conceit, and all for nothing! 
 
 For Hecuba ! 57< 
 
 What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, 
 
 That he should weep for her ? What would he do, 
 
 Had he the motive and the cue for passion 
 
 That 1 have ? He would drown the stage with tears 
 
 And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, 573 
 
 Make mad the guilty, and appal the free, 
 
 Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed 
 
 The very faculties of eyes and ears. 
 
 Yet I, 
 
 A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, 58° 
 
 Like John-a-dreams,° unpregnant of° my cause, 
 
 And can say nothing ; no, not for a king, 
 
 Upon whose property and most dear life 
 
 A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward ? 
 
 Who calls me villain, breaks my pate across, 585 
 
 Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face, 
 
 Tweaks me by the nose, gives me the lie i' the throat, 
 
 As deep as to the lungs ? Who does me° this ? 
 
 Ha! 
 
 'Swounds, I should take it; for it cannot be 590
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 75 
 
 But 1 am pigeon-liver'd, and lack gall 
 
 To make oppression bitter, or ere this 
 
 I should have fatted all the region kites 
 
 With this slave's offal. Bloody, bawdy villain ! 594 
 
 Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain ! 
 
 0, vengeance ! 
 
 Why, what an ass am I ! This is most brave, 
 
 That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, 
 
 Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, 
 
 Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words, 600 
 
 And fall a-cursing, like a very drab, 
 
 A scullion ! 
 
 Fie upon't ! Foh ! About, my brain ! I have heard 
 
 That guilty creatures sitting at a play 
 
 Have by the very cunning of the scene 605 
 
 Been struck so to the soul that presently 
 
 They have proclaim'd their malefactions; 
 
 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak 
 
 With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players 
 
 Pla^ something like the murder of my father 61c 
 
 Before mine uncle. I'll observe his looks ; 
 
 I'll tent° him to the quick. If he but blench, 
 
 I know my course. The spirit that I have seen 
 
 May be the devil ; and the devil hath power 
 
 To assume a pleasing shape ; yea, and perhaps 615
 
 T6 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Out of my weakness, and my melancholy, 
 
 As he is very potent with such spirits, 
 
 Abuses me to damn me. I'll have grounds 
 
 More relative than this. The play's the thing 610 
 
 Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. [Exit. 
 
 ACT III 
 
 Scene I. A Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz. 
 and Guildenstern 
 
 King. And can you, by no drift of circumstance, 
 Get from him why he puts on this confusion, 
 Grating so harshly all his days of quiet 
 With turbulent and dangerous lunacy ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. He does confess he feels himself dis- 
 tracted ; 5 
 But from what cause he will by no means speak. 
 
 Guildenstern. Nor do we find him forward to be 
 sounded, 
 But with a crafty madness, keeps aloof, 
 When we would bring him on to some confession 
 Of his true state.
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 77 
 
 Queen. Did he receive you well ? 10 
 
 Rosencrantz. Most like a gentleman. 
 
 Guildenstem. But with much forcing of his dis- 
 position. 
 
 Rosencrantz. Niggard of question, but, of our 
 demands, 
 Most free in his reply. 
 
 Queen. Did you assay him 
 
 To any pastime ? 15 
 
 Rosencrantz. Madam, it so fell out, that certain 
 players 
 We o'er-raught° on the way. Of these we told 
 
 him ; 
 And there did seem in him a kind of joy 
 To hear of it. They are about the court, 
 And, as I think, they have already order 20 
 
 This night to play before him. 
 
 Polonius. 'Tis most true ; 
 
 And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties 
 To hear and see the matter. 
 
 King. With all my heart; and it doth much content 
 me 
 To hear him so inclin'd. 25 
 
 Good gentlemen, give him a further edge, 
 And drive his purpose on to these delights.
 
 78 HAMLET (Act III 
 
 Rosencrantz. We shall, my lord. 
 
 [Exeunt .Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 
 
 King. Sweet Gertrude, leave us too ; 
 
 For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither, 
 That he, as 'twere by accident, may here 3c 
 
 Affront Ophelia. 
 
 Her father and myself, lawful espials, 
 Will so bestow ourselves that, seeing, unseen, 
 We may of their encounter frankly judge, 
 And gather by him, as he is behaved, 35 
 
 If 't be the affliction of his love or no 
 That thus he suffers for. 
 
 Queen. I shall obey you, 
 
 And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish 
 That your good beauties be the happy cause 
 Of Hamlet's wildness : so shall I hope your virtues 40 
 Will bring him to his wonted way again, 
 To both your honours. 
 
 Ophelia. Madam, I wish it may. 
 
 [Exit Queen. 
 
 Polonius. Ophelia, walk you here. — Gracious, so 
 please you, 
 We will bestow ourselves. — [To Ophelia] Read on 
 
 this book, 
 That show of such an exercise may colour 45
 
 scene 1J HAMLET 79 
 
 Your loneliness. We are oft to blame in this — 
 "Tis too much prov'd — that with devotion's visage, 
 And pious action, we do sugar o'er 
 The devil himself. 
 
 King. [Aside] 0, 'tis too true ! 
 How smart a lash that speech doth give my con- 
 science ! 50 
 The harlot's cheek, beauti'd with plastering art, 
 Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it 
 Than is my deed to my most painted word : 
 heavy burthen! 
 
 Polonius. I hear him coming. Let's withdraw, my 
 lord. 55 
 
 [Exeunt King and Polonius. 
 
 Enter Hamlet 
 
 Hamlet. To be, or not to be, — that is the question : 
 Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
 The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
 Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
 And by opposing end them ? To die ; to sleep ; 60 
 No more ; and by a sleep to say we end 
 The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks 
 That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation 
 Devoutly to be wish'd. To die ; to sleep ;
 
 80 HAMLET [Act m 
 
 To sleep ; perchance to dream, — ay, there's the 
 rub° ; 6s 
 
 For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, 
 When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,° 
 Must give us pause. There's the respect 
 That makes calamity of so long life ; 
 For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 70 
 The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, 
 The pangs of dispris'd love, the law's delay, 
 The insolence of office, and the spurns 
 That patient merit of the unworthy takes, 
 When he himself might his quietus make 75 
 
 With a bare bodkin ? Who would fardels bear, 
 To grunt and sweat under a weary life, 
 Hut that the dread of something after death, 
 The undiscover'd country from whose bourn 
 No traveller returns, puzzles the will, 80 
 
 And makes us rather bear those ills we have 
 Than fly to others that we know not of ? 
 Thus conscience does make cowards of us all ; 
 And thus the native hue° of resolution 
 Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, 85 
 
 And enterprises of great pith and moment 
 With this regard their currents turn away, 
 And lose the name of action. — Soft you now !
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 81 
 
 The fair Ophelia! — Nymph, in thy orisons 
 Be all my sins remember'd. 
 
 Ophelia. Good my lord, 90 
 
 How does your honour for this many a day ? 
 
 Hamlet. I humbly thank you ; well, well, well. 
 
 Ophelia. My lord, I have remembrances of yours, 
 That I have longed long to re-deliver; 
 I pray you, now receive them. 
 
 Hamlet. No, not I ; 95 
 
 I never gave you aught. 
 
 Ophelia. My honour'd lord, I know right well you 
 did, 
 And, with them, words of so sweet breath compos'd 
 As made the things more rich. Their perfume lost, 
 Take these again ; for to the noble mind 100 
 
 Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. 
 There, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Ha, ha! Are you honest ? 
 
 Ophelia. My lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Are you fair ? 105 
 
 Ophelia. What means your lordship ? 
 
 Hamlet. That if you be honest, and fair, your hon- 
 esty should admit no discourse to your beauty. 
 
 Ophelia. Could beauty, my lord, have better com- 
 merce than with honesty? no
 
 82 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, truly; for the power of beauty wih 
 sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd 
 than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his 
 likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but now the 
 time gives it proof. I did love you once. 115 
 
 Ophelia. Indeed, my lord, you made me belie se so. 
 
 Hamlet. You should not have believed me; for 
 virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall 
 relish of it. I loved you not. 
 
 Ophelia. I was the more deceived. 120 
 
 Hamlet. Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst 
 thou be a breeder of sinners ? I am myself indiffer- 
 ent honest ; but yet I could accuse me of such things 
 that it were better my mother had not borne me. I 
 am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more 
 offences at my beck° than I have thoughts to put them 
 in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act 
 them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling 
 between earth and heaven ? We are arrant knaves, 
 ;ill ; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. 
 Where's your father? 13 1 
 
 Ophelia. At home, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Let the doors be shut upon him, that he 
 may play the fool no where but in's own house. 
 Farewell. '35
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 83 
 
 Ojihelia. 0, help him, you sweet heavens ! 
 
 Hamlet. If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this 
 plague for thy dowry : be thou as chaste as ice, as 
 pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get 
 thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt 
 needs marry, marry a fool ; for wise men know well 
 enough what monsters you make of them. To a nun- 
 nery, go, and quickly too. Farewell. 143 
 
 Ophelia. heavenly powers, restore him ! 
 
 Hamlet. I have heard of your paintings too, w r ell 
 enough. God has given you one face, and you make 
 yourselves another. You jig,° you amble, and you 
 lisp, and nickname God's creatures, and make your 
 wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't ; 
 it hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more 
 marriages. Those that are married already, all but 
 one, shall live. The rest shall keep as they are. To 
 a nunnery, go. [Exit. 
 
 Ophelia. 0, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown ! 
 The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword ; 
 The expectancy and rose of the fair state, 156 
 
 The glass of fashion and the mould of form, 
 The observ'd of all observers, quite, quite down ! 
 And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, 
 That suck'd the honey of his music vows, 160
 
 84 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, 
 Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh ; 
 That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth 
 Blasted with ecstasy. 0, woe is me, 
 To have seen what I have seen, see what I see ! 165 
 
 Reenter King and Poloistius 
 
 King. Love ? His affections do not that way tend ; 
 Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little, 
 Was not° like madness. There's something in his 
 
 soul, 
 O'er which his melancholy sits on brood; 
 And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose 170 
 
 Will be some danger: which for to prevent, 
 L have in quick determination 
 Thus set it down : he shall with speed to England, 
 For the demand of our neglected tribute. 
 Haply the seas and countries different 175 
 
 With variable objects shall expel 
 This something-settled matter in his heart, 
 Wherron his brains still beating puts him thus 
 From fashion of himself. What think you on't ? 
 
 Polo in us. It shall do well. But yet do I believe 
 The origin and commencement of his grief 181 
 
 Sprung from neglected love. — How now, Ophelia!
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 85 
 
 You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said ; 
 
 We heard it all. — My lord, do as you please ; 
 
 But, if you hold it fit, after the play, 185 
 
 Let his queen mother all alone entreat him 
 
 To show his grief. Let her be round with him ; 
 
 And I'll be plac'd, so please you, in the ear° 
 
 Of all their conference. If she find him° not, 
 
 To England send him ; or confine him where 190 
 
 Your wisdom best shall think. 
 
 King. It shall be so. 
 
 Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. A Hall in the Castle 
 
 Enter Hamlet and Players 
 
 Hamlet. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pro- 
 nounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue ; but if 
 you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as 
 lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not° saw 
 the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all 
 gently ; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I 
 may say, the whirlwind of passion, you must acquire 
 and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness
 
 86 HAMLET [Act III. 
 
 0, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious 
 periwig-pated° fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very 
 rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the 
 most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable 
 dumb-shows and noise. I would have such a fellow 
 whipped for o'erdoing Termagant ; it out-herods 
 Herod. Fray you, avoid it. 15 
 
 First Player. I warrant your honour. 
 
 Hamlet. Be not too tame neither, but let your own 
 discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, 
 the word to the action, with this special observance, 
 that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature ; for any- 
 thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, 
 whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to 
 hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature ; to show vir- 
 tue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the 
 very age and body of the time his form and pressure. 
 Now this overdone, or come tardy off,° though it make 
 the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious 
 grieve; the censure of the which one must in your 
 allowance o'erweigh a whole theatre of others. 0, 
 t here be players that I have seen play, and heard 
 others praise, and that highly, not to speak it pro- 
 fanely, that, neither having the accent of Christians 
 nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 8? 
 
 strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of 
 nature's journeymen had made men and not made 
 them well, they imitated humanity so abominably. 
 
 First Player. I hope we have reformed that indiffer- 
 ently with us, sir. 38 
 
 Hamlet. 0, reform it altogether. And let those 
 that play your clowns speak no more than is set down 
 for them ; for there be of them that will themselves 
 laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to 
 laugh too ; though, in the mean time, some necessary 
 question of the play be then to be considered. That's 
 villanous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the 
 fool that uses it. Go, make you ready. 46 
 
 [Exeunt Players. 
 
 Enter Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern 
 
 How now, my lord ! Will the king hear this piece of 
 work ? 
 
 Polonius. And the queen too, and that presently. 
 
 Hamlet. Bid the players make haste. [Exit Polonius. 
 
 Will you two help to hasten them ? 51 
 
 Rosencrantz. ) T , 7 •-,,   t 
 
 \- We will, my lord. 
 
 Guildenstern. ) 
 
 \_Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 Hamlet. What ho ! Horatio !
 
 88 HAMLET [Act III. 
 
 Enter Horatio 
 
 Horatio. Here, sweet lord, at your service. 
 
 Hamlet. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man 55 
 
 As e'er my conversation cop'd° withal. 
 
 Horatio. 0, my dear lord, — 
 
 Hamlet. Nay, do not think I natter ; 
 
 For what advancement may I hope from thee 
 That no revenue hast but thy good spirits, 
 To feed and clothe thee ? Why should the poor be 
 flatter'd ? 60 
 
 No, let the candi'd tongue lick absurd pomp, 
 And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee 
 Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear ? 
 Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice, 
 And could of men distinguish, her election 65 
 
 Hath seal'd thee for herself ; for thou hast been 
 As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing, 
 A man that fortune's buffets and rewards 
 Hast ta'en with equal thanks. And blest are those 
 Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled 
 That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger 71 
 
 To sound what stop she please. Give me that man 
 That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him 
 In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 89 
 
 As I do thee. Something too much of this. 75 
 
 There is a play to-night before the king : 
 
 One scene of it comes near the circumstance 
 
 Which I have told thee of my father's death. 
 
 I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, 
 
 Even with the very comment of thy sonl° 80 
 
 Observe mine uncle. If his occulted guilt 
 
 Do not itself unkennel in one speech, 
 
 It is a damned ghost that we have seen, 
 
 And my imaginations are as foul 
 
 As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note; 85 
 
 For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, 
 
 And after we will both our judgments join 
 
 In censure of his seeming. 
 
 Horatio. Well, my lord : 
 
 If he steal aught the whilst this play is playing, ' 90 
 And scape detecting, I will pay the theft. 
 
 Hamlet. They are coming to the play ; I must be idle ° : 
 Get you a place. 
 
 Danish march. A flourish. Enter King, Queen, 
 Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, 
 and others 
 
 King. How fares our cousin Hamlet ? 
 
 Hamlet. Excellent, i' faith ; of the chameleon's dish ;
 
 90 HAMLET [Act 111. 
 
 I eat the air, promise-crammed. You cannot feed 
 capons so. 96 
 
 King. I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet; 
 these words are not mine. 
 
 Hamlet. No, nor mine now. [To Polonius] My 
 lord, you played once i' the university, you say ? 100 
 
 Polonius. That did I, my lord, and was accounted a 
 good actor. 
 
 Hamlet. What did you enact ? 
 
 Polonius. I did enact Julius Caesar. I was killed 
 i' the Capitol ; Brutus killed me. 105 
 
 Hamlet. It was a brute part of him to kill so capital 
 a calf there. Be the players ready ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. Ay, my lord; they stay upon your 
 patience. 109 
 
 Queen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me. 
 
 Hamlet. No, good mother, here's metal more attrac- 
 tive. {.Lying down at Ophelia's/^. 
 
 Polonius. [To the King] O, ho! do you mark that? 
 
 Ophelia. You are merry, my lord 
 
 Hamlet. Who? I? 115 
 
 Ophelia. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. God, your only jig-maker. What should 
 a man do but be merry ? for, look you, how cheerfully 
 my mother looks, and my father died within these two 
 hours. I2a
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 91 
 
 Ophelia. Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. So long? Nay then, let the devil wear 
 black, for I'll have a suit of sables. O heavens ! Die 
 two months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there's 
 hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half a 
 year. But, by'r lady, he must build churches, then ; 
 or else shall he suffer not thinking on, with the hobby- 
 horse, whose epitaph is " For, 0, for, 0, the hobby-horse 
 is forgot." ° 129 
 
 Hautboys play. The dumb-show enters 
 
 Enter a King and a Queen very lovingly ; the Queen 
 embracing him, and he her. She kneels, and makes 
 shoiv of protestation unto him. He takes her up, and 
 declines his head upon her neck ; lays him down upon 
 a bank of flowers. She, seeing him asleep, leaves him. 
 Anon comes in a fellow, takes off his crown, kisses it. 
 and pours poison in the King's ears, and exit. The 
 Queen returns ; finds the King dead, and makes pas- 
 sionate action. The Poisoner, tvith some two or three 
 Mutes, comes in again, seeming to lament ivith her. 
 The dead body is carried away. The Poisoner wooes 
 the Queen with gifts. She seems loath and unwilling 
 awhile, but in the end accepts his love. [Exeunt.
 
 92 HAMLET [Act in 
 
 Ophelia. What means this, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Marry, this is miching mallecho ; it means 
 mischief. 
 
 Ophelia. Belike this show imports the argument 
 of the play. 
 
 Enter Prologue 
 
 Hamlet. We shall know by this fellow : the players 
 cannot keep counsel ; they'll tell all. 136 
 
 Ophelia. Will he tell us what this show meant ? 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, or any show that you'll show him. 
 
 Ophelia. You are naught, you are naught. I'll 
 mark the play. 140 
 
 Prologue. For us, and for our tragedy, 
 
 Here stooping to your clemency, 
 
 We beg your hearing patiently. [Exit. 
 
 Hamlet. Is this a prologue, or the posy° of a ring ? 
 Ophelia. 'Tis brief, my lord. 145 
 
 Hamlet. As woman's love. 
 
 Enter two Players, King and Queen 
 
 Player King. Full thirty times hath Phoebus' cart° gone 
 round 
 Neptune's salt wash and Tellus' orbed ground, 
 And thirty dozen moons with borrow'd sheen 
 About the world have times twelve thirties been 15a
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 93 
 
 Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands 
 Unite commutual in most sacred bands. 
 
 Player Queen. So many journeys may the sun and moon 
 Make us again count o'er, ere love be done ! 
 But, woe is me, you are so sick of late, 155 
 
 So far from cheer and from your former state, 
 That I distrust you.° Yet, though I distrust, 
 Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must: 
 For women's fear and love holds quantity, 
 In neither aught, or in extremity. 160 
 
 Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know, 
 And as my love is siz'd,° my fear is so. 
 Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear; 
 Where little fears grow great, great love grows there. 
 
 Player King. 'Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly too, 
 My operant powers their functions leave to do ; 166 
 
 And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, 
 Honour'd, belov'd, and haply one as kind 
 For husband shalt thou — 
 
 Player Queen. O, confound the rest ! 
 
 Such love must needs be treason in my breast. 170 
 
 In second husband let me be accurst ! 
 None wed the second but who kill'd the first. 
 
 Hamlet. [Aside] Wormwood ! Wormwood ! 
 
 Player Queen. The instances that second marriage move 
 Are base respects of thrift, but none of love. 175 
 
 A second time I kill my husband dead, 
 When second husband kisses me in bed. 
 
 Player King. I do believe you think what now you speak ;
 
 94 HAMLET [Act III. 
 
 But what we do determine oft we break. 
 
 Purpose is but the slave to memory, X 8 C 
 
 Of violent birth, but poor validity ; 
 
 Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree, 
 
 But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be. 
 
 Most necessary 'tis that we forget 
 
 To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt. 185 
 
 What to ourselves in passion we propose, 
 
 The passion ending, doth the purpose lose. 
 
 The violence of either grief or joy 
 
 Their own enactures with themselves destroy. 
 
 Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament ; 19c 
 
 Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident. 
 
 This world is not for aye, nor 'tis not strange 
 
 That even our loves should with our fortunes change : 
 
 For 'tis a question left us yet to prove, 
 
 Whether hive lead fortune, or else fortune love. 
 
 The great man down, you mark his favourites flies ; 
 
 The poor advanc'd makes friends of enemies. 
 
 And hitherto doth love on fortune tend ; 
 
 For who not needs shall never lack a friend, 
 
 And who in want a hollow friend doth try, 20c 
 
 Directly seasons him his enemy. 
 
 But, orderly to end where I begun, 
 
 Our wills and fates do so contrary run 
 
 That our devices still are overthrown. 
 
 Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own. 205 
 
 So think thou wilt no second husband wed, 
 
 But die° thy thoughts when thy lirst lord is dead. 
 
 i95
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 95 
 
 Player Queen. Nor earth to give ine food, nor heaven light ! 
 Sport and repose lock from me day and night I 
 To desperation turn my trust and hope ! 21c 
 
 An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope ! 
 Each opposite that blanks the face of joy 
 Meet what I would have well, and it destroy ! 
 Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife, 
 If, once a widow, ever I be wife ! 215 
 
 Hamlet. If she should break it now ! 
 
 Player King. 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here a while, 
 My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile 
 The tedious day with sleep. [Sleeps. 
 
 Player Queen. Sleep rock thy brain, 
 
 And never come mischance between us twain ! [Exit. 
 
 Hamlet. Madam, how like you this play ? 221 
 
 Queen. The lady protests too much, rnethinks. 
 
 Hamlet. 0, but she'll keep her word. 
 
 King. Have you heard the argument ? Is there no 
 offence in't ? 225 
 
 Hamlet. No, no. They do but jest, poison in jest; 
 no offence i' the world. 
 
 King. What do you call the play ? 
 
 Hamlet. The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropi- 
 cally. This play is the image of a murder done in 
 Vienna. Gonzago is the duke's name ; his wife, Bap- 
 tista. You shall see anon. 'Tis a knavish piece of
 
 96 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 work, but what o' that? Your majesty and we that 
 have free souls, it touches us not. Let the galled 
 jade wince, our withers are un wrung. 23; 
 
 Enter Luc 1 an us 
 
 This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. 
 
 Ophelia. You are as good as a chorus, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. I could interpret between you and your 
 love, if I could see the puppets dallying. 
 
 Ophelia. Still better, and worse. 240 
 
 Hamlet. So you must take your husbands. Begin, 
 murderer. Pox, leave thy damnable faces, and begin. 
 Come ; " The croaking raven doth bellow for revenge. " 
 
 Lucianus. Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time 
 agreeing ; 
 Confederate season, else no creature seeing ; 245 
 
 Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected, 
 With Hecate's ban° thrice blasted, thrice infected, 
 Thy natural magic and dire property, 
 On wholesome life usurp immediately. 
 
 [Pours the poison into the sleeper's ear. 
 
 Hamlet. He poisons him i' the garden for's estate. 
 His name's Gonzago. The story is extant, and writ 
 in choice Italian. You shall see anon how the mur- 
 derer gets the love of Gonzago's wife. 253
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 97 
 
 Ophelia. The king rises. 
 
 Hamlet. What, frighted with false fire ! 255 
 
 Queen. How fares my lord ? 
 
 Polonius. Give o'er the play. 
 
 King. Give me some light ! Away ! 
 
 All. Lights, lights, lights ! 
 
 [Exeunt all but Hamlet and Horatio. 
 Hamlet. Why, let the strucken deer go vieep, 260 
 
 Tlie hart ungaUed play, 
 For some must tcatch, while some must sleep ; 
 So runs the world away 
 Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers — if the 
 rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me — with two 
 Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a fellow- 
 ship in a cry° of players, sir ? 267 
 Horatio. Half a share. 
 Hamlet. A whole one, I. 
 
 For thou dost know, Damon dear, 270 
 
 This realm dismantled was 
 Of Jove himself; and now reigns here 
 A very, very — pajoek. 
 Horatio. You might have rhymed. 
 Hamlet. good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word 
 for a thousand pound. Didst perceive? 276 
 
 Horatio. Very well, my lord.
 
 98 HAMLET 
 
 [Act III. 
 
 Hamlet. Upon the talk of the poisoning ? 
 Horatio. I did very well note him. 
 Hamlet. Ah, ha! Come, some music! Come, the 
 recorders ! 2gl 
 
 For if the king like not the comedy, 
 Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdy.° 
 Come, some music ! 
 
 Reenter Kosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 
 Guildenstern. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word 
 with you. 2g6 
 
 Hamlet. Sir, a whole history. 
 
 Guildenstern. The king, sir, — 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, sir, what of him ? 
 
 Guildenstern. Is in his retirement marvellous dis- 
 temper'd. 
 
 Hamlet. With drink, sir ? 
 
 Guildenstern. No, my lord, rather with choler. 
 
 Hamlet. Your wisdom should show itself more 
 richer to signify this to his doctor; for, for me to 
 put him to his purgation would perhaps plunge him 
 into far more chcler. * m 
 
 Guildenstern. Good my lord, put your discourse into 
 some frame, and start not so wildly from my affair. 
 
 Hamlet. I am tame, sir. Pronounce.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 99 
 
 Guildenstern. The queen, your mother, in most great 
 affliction of spirit, hath sent me to you. 302 
 
 Hamlet. You are welcome. 
 
 Guildenstern. Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is 
 not of the right breed. If it shall please you to make 
 me a wholesome answer, I will do your mother's com- 
 mandment ; if not, your pardon and my return shall 
 be the end of my business. 308 
 
 Hamlet. Sir, I cannot. 
 
 Guildenstern. What, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Make you a wholesome answer ; my wit's 
 diseased. But, sir, such answer as I can make, you 
 shall command ; or, rather, as you say, my mother. 
 Therefore, no more, but to the matter; my mother, 
 you say, — 3 J 5 
 
 Rosencrantz. Then thus she says: your behaviour 
 hath struck her into amazement and admiration. 
 
 Hamlet. wonderful son, that can so astonish a 
 mother ! But is there no sequel at the heels of this 
 mother's admiration ? Impart. 320 
 
 Rosencrantz. She desires to speak with you in her 
 closet, ere you go to bed. 
 
 Hamlet. We shall obey, were she ten times our 
 mother. Have you any further trade with us ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. My lord, you once did love me. 325
 
 100 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Hamlet. So I do still, by these pickers and stealers.* 
 Rosencrantz. Good my lord, what is your cause of 
 
 distemper ? You do, surely, bar the door upon your 
 
 own liberty, if you deny your griefs to your friend. 
 Hamlet. Sir, I lack advancement. 330 
 
 Rosencrantz. How can that be, when you have the 
 
 voiceof the king himself for your succession in Denmark? 
 Hamlet. Ay, sir, but, " While the grass grows," ° — 
 
 the proverb is something musty. 334 
 
 Reenter Players ivith Recorders 
 
 0, the recorders ! Let me see one. To withdraw with 
 you° : — why do you go about to recover the wind 
 of me, as if you would drive me into a toil ? 337 
 
 Guildenstern. 0, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my 
 love is too unmannerly 
 
 Hamlet. 1 do not well understand that. Will you 
 play upon this pipe ? 341 
 
 Guildenstern. My lord, I cannot. 
 
 Hamlet. 1 pray you. 
 
 Guildenstern. Believe me, I cannot. 
 
 Hamlet. I do beseech you. 345 
 
 Guildenstern. I know no touch of it, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. 'Tis as easy as lying. Govern these vent- 
 ages with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 101 
 
 your mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music. 
 Look you, these are the stops. 350 
 
 Guildenstem. But these cannot I command to any 
 utterance of harmony ; I have not the skill. 
 
 Hamlet. Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing 
 you make of me ! You would play upon me ; you 
 would seem to know my stops ; you would pluck out 
 the heart of my mystery ; you would sound me from 
 my lowest note to the top of my compass. And there 
 is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ ; 
 yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think 
 I am easier to be played on than a pipe ? Call me 
 what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet 
 you cannot play upon me. — 362 
 
 Enter Polonius 
 
 God bless you, sir ! 
 
 Polonius. My lord, the queen would speak with 
 you, and presently. 365 
 
 Hamlet. Do you see that cloud that's almost in 
 shape of a camel ? 
 
 Polonius. By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed. 
 
 Hamlet. Methinks it is like a weasel. 
 
 Polonius. It is backed like a weasel. 370 
 
 Hamlet. Or like a whale ?
 
 102 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Polonium. Very like a whale. 
 
 Hamlet. Then I will come to my mother by and by. 3 
 — They fool me to the top of my bent.° — I will come 
 by and by. 375 
 
 Polonius. I will say so. 
 
 Hamlet. By and by is easily said. — [Exit Polonius.] 
 Leave me, friends. — [Exeunt all but Hamlet. 
 
 'Tis now the very witching time of night, 379 
 
 When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out 
 Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood, 
 And do such bitter business as the day 
 Would quake to look on. Soft ! now to my mother. 
 
 heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever 
 
 The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom. 385 
 
 Let me be cruel, not unnatural. 
 
 1 will speak daggers to her, but use none, 
 My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites, — 
 How in my words soever she be shent,° 
 
 To give them seals never, my soul, consent ! [Exit 
 
 Scene III. A Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter King, Eosencrantz. and Guildenstekn 
 
 King. I like him not, nor stands it safe with us 
 To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you ;
 
 scene 3J HAMLET 103 
 
 I your commission will forthwith dispatch, 
 
 And he to England shall along with you. 
 
 The terms of our estate may not endure 5 
 
 Hazard so dangerous as doth hourly grow 
 
 Out of his lunacies. 
 
 Guildenstern. We will ourselves provide. 
 
 Most holy and religious fear it is 
 To keep those many many bodies safe 
 That live and feed upon your majesty. 10 
 
 Rosencrantz. The single and peculiar life is bound, 
 With all the strength and armour of the mind,° 
 To keep itself from noyance ;° but much more 
 That spirit upon whose weal depends and rests 
 The lives of many. The cease of majesty 15 
 
 Dies not alone ; but, like a gulf,° doth draw 
 What's near it with it. It is a massy wheel, 
 Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount, 
 To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things 
 Are mortis'd and adjoin'd; which, when it falls, 20 
 Each small annexment, petty consequence, 
 Attends the boisterous ruin. Never alone 
 Did the king sigh, but with a general groan. 
 
 King. Arm you,° I pray you, to this speedy voyage ; 
 For we will fetters put upon this fear,° 25 
 
 Which now goes too free-footed.
 
 104 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Jiosencrantz. 
 
 ;.l 
 
 We will haste us. 
 Guildenstern. 
 
 [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 
 Enter Polonius 
 
 Polonius. My lord, he's going to his mother's closet. 
 Behind the arras I'll convey myself, 
 To hear the process ; I'll warrant she'll tax him home ; 
 And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 3a 
 
 'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother, 
 Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear 
 The speech, of vantage. Fare you well, my liege: 
 I'll call upon you ere you go to bed, 
 And tell you what I know. 
 
 King. Thanks, dear my lord. 35 
 
 [Exit Polonius. 
 O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ; 
 It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, 
 A brother's murder. Pray can I not, 
 Though inclination be as sharp as will. 
 My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent, 4<j 
 
 And, like a man to double business bound, 
 I stand in pause where I shall first begin, 
 And both neglect. What if this cursed hand 
 Were thicker than itself with brother's blood?
 
 scene 3] HAMLET 105 
 
 Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens 45 
 
 To wash it white as snow ? Whereto serves mercy 
 
 But to confront the visage of offence ? 
 
 And what's in prayer but this twofold force, 
 
 To be forestalled ere we come to fall, 
 
 Or pardon'd being down ? Then I'll look up; 5c 
 
 My fault is past. But, 0, what form of prayer 
 
 Can serve my turn ? " Forgive me my foul murder," — 
 
 That cannot be, since I am still possess'd 
 
 Of those effects for which I did the murder, 55 
 
 My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. 
 
 May one be pardon'd and retain the offence ? 
 
 In the corrupted currents of this world 
 
 Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice, 
 
 And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself 
 
 Buys out the law. But 'tis not so above ; 60 
 
 There is no shuffling, there the action lies 
 
 In his true nature ; and we ourselves compell'd, 
 
 Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, 
 
 To give in evidence. What then ? What rests ? 
 
 Try what repentance can. What can it not ? 65 
 
 Yet what can it when one cannot repent ? 
 
 O wretched state ! bosom black as death ! 
 
 limed soul, that, struggling to be free, 
 
 Art more engag'd ! Help, angels ! Make assay !
 
 106 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Bow, stubborn knees, and, heart with strings of steel, 
 Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe! ;i 
 
 All may be well. [Retires and kneels. 
 
 Enter Hamlet 
 
 Hamlet. Now might I do it pat,° now he is praying, 
 And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven ; 
 And so am I reveng'd. That would be scann'd : 75 
 A villain kills my father ; and for that, 
 I, his sole son, do this same villain send 
 To heaven ! 
 
 0, this is hire and salary, not revenge. 
 He took my father grossly, full of bread, Sc 
 
 With all his crimes broad blown, as fresh as May, 
 And how his audit stands who knows save heaven ? 
 But in our circumstance and course of thought. 
 'Tis heavy with him ; and am I then reveng'd, 
 To take him in the purging of his soul, $5 
 
 When he is fit and season'd for his passage ? 
 No! 
 
 Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent°: 
 When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, 
 Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed ; 9c 
 
 At gaming, swearing, or about some act 
 That has no relish of salvation in't ;
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 107 
 
 Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, 
 And that his soul may be as darnn'd and black 
 As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays. 95 
 
 This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. [Exit 
 
 King. [Rising] My words fly up, my thoughts 
 remain below ; 
 Words without thoughts never to heaven go. [Exit. 
 
 Scene IV. The Queen's Closet 
 Enter Queen and Polonius 
 
 Polonius. He will come straight. Look you lay 
 home to him. 
 Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with, 
 And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between 
 Much heat and him. I'll silence me even here. 
 Pray you, be round with him. 5 
 
 Hamlet. [Within] Mother, mother, mother ! 
 
 Queen. I'll warrant you, 
 
 Fear me° not. Withdraw, I hear him coming. 
 
 [Polonius hides behind the arras. 
 
 Enter Hamlet 
 
 Hamlet. Now, mother, what's the matter ? 
 
 Queen. Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended
 
 108 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Hamlet. Mother, you have my father much offended. 
 
 Queen. Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. 
 
 Hamlet. Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue. 
 
 Queen. Why, how now, Hamlet ! 
 
 Hamlet. What's the matter now ? 13 
 
 Queen. Have you forgot me ? 
 
 Hamlet. No, by the rood, not so : 
 
 Yon are the queen, your husband's brother's wife; 15 
 And — would it were not so ! — you are my mother. 
 
 Queen. Nay, then, I'll set those to you that can 
 speak. 
 
 Hamlet. Come, come, and sit you down. You shall 
 not budge ; 
 You go not till I set you up a glass 
 Where you may see the inmost part of you. 20 
 
 Queen. What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder 
 me? 
 Help, help, ho ! 
 
 Polonius. [Behind] What, ho! Help, help, help! 
 
 Hamlet, [firajcmr/] Hownow! A rat ? Dead, for a 
 ducat, dead ! \_Makes a pass through the arras. 
 
 Poh niins. [Behind] 0, 1 am slain ! [Falls and dies. 
 
 Queen. me, what hast thou done ? 
 
 HaynJct. ^ T ay, I know not: 
 
 Is it the king ? 20
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 109 
 
 Queen. 0, what a rash and bloody deed is this ! 
 
 Hamlet. A bloody deed ! Almost as bad, good mother, 
 As kill a king, and marry with his brother. 
 
 Queen. As kill a king ! 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, lady, 'twas my word. 3c 
 
 [Lifts iqj the arras and discovers Polonius. 
 Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell ! 
 I took thee for thy better ; take thy fortune. 
 Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. 
 Leave wringing of your hands. Peace ! Sit you down, 
 And let me wring your heart; for so I shall, 35 
 
 If it be made of penetrable stuff, 
 If damned custom have not braz'd it so 
 That it is proof and bulwark against sense. 
 
 Queen. What have I done, that thou darest wag thy 
 tongue 
 In noise so rude against me ? 
 
 Hamlet. Such an act 40 
 
 That blurs the grace and blush of modesty, 
 Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose 
 From the fair forehead of an innocent love 
 And sets a blister there, makes marriage-vows 
 As false as dicers' oaths ; 0, such a deed 45 
 
 As from the body of contraction plucks 
 The very soul, and sweet religion makes
 
 110 HAMLET [Act III. 
 
 A rhapsody of words. Heaven's face doth glow, 
 Yea, this solidity and compound mass, 
 With tristful visage, as against the doom, 50 
 
 Is thought-sick at the act. 
 
 Queen. Ay me, what act 
 
 That roars so loud, and thunders in the index ? 
 
 Hamlet. Look here, upon this picture, and on this, 
 The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. 
 See, what a grace was seated on this brow ; 55 
 
 Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself ; 
 An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; 
 A station like the herald Mercury 
 Xew-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill ; 
 A combination and a form indeed, 60 
 
 Where every god did seem to set his seal, 
 To give the world assurance of a man. 
 This was your husband. Look you now, what follows. 
 Here is your husband; like a mildew'd ear, 
 Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes ? 65 
 Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, 
 And batten on this moor ? Ha ! have you eyes ? 
 You cannot call it love ; for at your age 
 The hey-day° in the blood is tame, it's humble, 
 And waits upon the judgment: and what judgment 70 
 Would step from this to this ? Sense, sure, you have,
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 111 
 
 Else could you not have motion. But sure, that sense 
 
 Is apoplex'd ; for madness would not err, 
 
 Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd 
 
 But it reserv'd some quantity of choice, 73 
 
 To serve in such a difference. What devil was't 
 
 That thus hath cozen' d you at hoodman-blind ? 
 
 Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight, 
 
 Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans° all, 
 
 Or but a sickly part of one true sense So 
 
 Could not so mope.° 
 
 shame, where is thy blush ? Rebellious hell, 
 
 If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones, 
 
 To flaming youth let virtue be as wax, 
 
 And melt in her own fire. Proclaim no shame 85 
 
 When the compulsive ardour gives the charge, 
 
 Since frost itself as actively doth burn 
 
 And reason panders will. 
 
 Queen. O Hamlet, speak no more. 
 
 Thoa turn'st mine eyes into my very soul, 
 And there I see such black and grained spots 90 
 
 As will not leave their tinct. 
 
 Hamlet. Nay, but to live 
 
 In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, 
 Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love 
 Over the nasty sty, —
 
 112 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Queen. 0, speak to me no more. 
 
 These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears ; 95 
 
 No more, sweet Hamlet ! 
 
 Hamlet. A murderer and a villain ; 
 
 A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe 
 Of your precedent lord ; a vice of kings ; 
 A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, 
 That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, 100 
 
 And put it in his pocket ! 
 
 Queen. No more ! 
 
 Hamlet. A king of shreds and patches, — 
 
 Enter Ghost 
 
 Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings, 
 
 You heavenly guards! — What would your gracious 
 figure ? 
 Queen. Alas, he's mad ! 105 
 
 Hamlet. Do you not come your tardy son to chide, 
 
 That, laps'd in time and passion, lets go by 
 
 The important acting of your dread command ? 
 
 0, say ! 
 
 Ghost. Do not forget. This visitation no 
 
 Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. 
 
 But, look, amazement on thy mother sits ; 
 
 O, step between her and her fighting soul.
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 113 
 
 Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works ; 
 Speak to her, Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. How is it with you, lady ? 115 
 
 Queen. Alas, how is't with you, 
 That you do bend your eye on vacancy, 
 And with the ineorporaF air do hold discourse ? 
 Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep ; 
 And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, 120 
 
 Your bedded hair, like life in excrements, ° 
 Starts up, and stands an° end. gentle son, 
 Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper 
 Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look ? 
 
 Hamlet. On him, on him ! Look you, how pale he 
 glares ! I2 5 
 
 His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones, 
 Would make them capable. — Do not look upon 
 
 me, 
 Lest with this piteous action you convert 
 My stern effects. Then what I have to do 
 Will want true colour ; tears perchance for blood. 130 
 
 Queen. To whom do you speak this ? 
 
 Hamlet. Do you see nothing there ? 
 
 Queen. Nothing at all ; yet all that is I see. 
 
 Hamlet. Nor did you nothing hear ? 
 
 Queen. No, nothing but ourselves. 
 
 1
 
 114 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 Hamlet. Why, look you there ! Look, how it steals 
 away ! 
 My father, in his habit as he liv'd° ! 135 
 
 Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal ! 
 
 [Exit Ghost. 
 
 Queen. This is the very coinage of your brain ; 
 This bodiless creation ecstasy 
 Is very cunning in. 
 
 Hamlet. Ecstasy ! 
 
 My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, 140 
 And makes as healthful music. It is not mad- 
 ness 
 That I have utter'd. Bring me to the test, 
 And I the matter will re-word ; which madness 
 Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace, 
 Lay not that nattering unction to your soul, 145 
 
 That not your trespass, but my madness speaks. 
 It will but skin and him the ulcerous place, 
 Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, 
 Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven ; 
 Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; 150 
 
 And do not spread the compost on the weeds, 
 To make them ranker. Forgive me this my 
 
 virtue ; 
 For in the fatness of these pursy times
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 115 
 
 Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, 
 
 Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good. 155 
 
 Queen. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in 
 twain. 
 
 Hamlet. 0, throw away the worser part of it, 
 And live the purer with the other half. 
 Good night. But go not to mine uncle's bed ; 
 Assume a virtue, if you have it not. 160 
 
 That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, 
 Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, — 
 That to the use of actions fair and good 
 He likewise gives a frock or livery, 
 That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night, 165 
 
 And that shall lend a kind of easiness 
 To the next abstinence ; the next more easy ; 
 For use almost can change the stamp of nature, 
 And either master the devil, or throw him out 
 With wondrous potency. Once more, good night. 170 
 And when you are desirous to be bless'd, 
 I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord, 
 
 [Pointing to Polonius. 
 I do repent ; but heaven hath pleas' d it so, 
 To punish me with this and this with me, 
 That I must be their scourge and minister. 175 
 
 I will bestow him, and will answer well
 
 1 16 HAMLET [Act III 
 
 The death I gave him. So, again, good night. 
 
 I must be cruel, only to be kind. 
 
 Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. 
 
 One word more, good lady. 
 
 Queen. What shall I do ? iSo 
 
 Hamlet. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do : 
 
 Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed ; 
 
 Pinch wanton on your cheek ; call you his mouse ; 
 
 And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses, 
 
 Or paddling in your neck with his damn'd fingers, 185 
 
 .Make you to ravel all this matter out, 
 
 That I essentially am not in madness, 
 
 But mad in craft. 'Twere good you let him know; 
 
 For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise, 
 
 Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib,° 190 
 
 Such dear concernings hide ? Who would do so ? 
 
 No, in despite of sense and secrecy, 
 
 Unpeg the basket on the house's top, 
 
 Let the birds fly, and, like the famous ape,° 
 
 To try conclusions, in the basket creep, i 95 
 
 And break your own neck down. 
 
 Queen. Be thou assur'd, if words be made of 
 breath, 
 
 And breath of life, I have no life to breathe 
 
 What thou hast said to me.
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 117 
 
 Hamlet. I must to England ; you know that? 
 
 Queen. Alack, 
 
 I had forgot. 'Tis so concluded on. 201 
 
 Hamlet. There's letters seal'd ; and my two school- 
 fellows, 
 Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd, 
 They bear the mandate ; they must sweep my way, 
 And marshal me to knavery. Let it work ; 205 
 
 For 'tis the sport to have the enginer 
 Hoist with his own petar° ; and't shall go hard 
 But I will delve one yard below their mines, 
 And blow them at° the moon : O, 'tis most sweet, 
 When in one line two crafts directly meet. 210 
 
 This man shall set me packing. 
 I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room. 
 Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor 
 Is now most still, most secret and most grave, 
 Who was in life a foolish prating knave. — 215 
 
 Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you. — 
 Good night, mother. 
 
 f Exeunt severally ; Hamlet dragging in Polonius.
 
 118 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 ACT IV 
 
 Scene I. A Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter King, Queen, Kosencrantz, and Guilden- 
 
 stern 
 
 King. There's matter in these sighs; these profound 
 heaves 
 You must translate. 'Tis fit we understand them. 
 Where is your sou ? 
 
 Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while. 
 
 [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildensteen. 
 Ah, my good lord, what have I seen to-night ! 5 
 
 King. What, Gertrude ? How does Hamlet ? 
 
 (J a <'i>ii. Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend 
 Which is the mightier. In his lawless fit, 
 Behind the arras hearing something stir, 
 Whips out his rapier, cries, " A rat, a rat," 10 
 
 Ami in this brainish apprehension kills 
 The unseen good old man. 
 
 King. heavy deed ! 
 
 It had been so with us, had we been there. 
 His liberty is full of threats to all, 
 To you yourself, to us, to every one. i S
 
 scenk 1] HAMLET 119 
 
 Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answer'd ? 
 
 It will be laid to us, whose providence 
 
 Should have kept short, restrain' d and out of haunt, 
 
 This mad young man. But so much was our love, 
 
 We would not understand what was most fit, 20 
 
 But, like the owner of a foul disease, 
 
 To keep it from divulging, let it feed 
 
 Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone ? 
 
 Queen. To draw apart the body he hath kill'd ; 
 O'er whom his very madness, like some ore 25 
 
 Among a mineral of metals base, 
 Shows itself pure. He weeps for what is done. 
 
 King. Gertrude, come away ! 
 The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, 
 But we will ship him hence ; and this vile deed 30 
 We must, with all our majesty and skill, 
 Both countenance and excuse. — Ho, Guildenstern ! 
 
 Reenter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 
 Friends both, go join you with some further aid. 
 Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain, 
 And from his mother's closet hath he dragg'd him. 35 
 Go seek him out. Speak fair, and bring the body 
 Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this. 
 
 [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
 
 120 HAMLET [Act IV 
 
 Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends, 
 
 And let them know, both what we mean to do, 
 
 And what's untimely done ; so, haply slander, — 40 
 
 Whose whisper o'er° the world's diameter, 
 
 As level as the cannon to his blank, 
 
 Transports his poison'd shot, may miss our name, 
 
 And hit the woundless air. 0, come away ! 
 
 My soul is full of discord and dismay. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. . Another Room in the Castle 
 Enter Hamlet 
 
 Hamlet. Safely stowed. 
 
 Rosencrantz. | ^ Withiy q Hamlet ! Lord Hamlet ! 
 Guiklenstern. ) J 
 
 Hamlet. What noise ? Who calls on Hamlet ? 0, 
 
 here they come. 
 
 Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 
 Rosencrantz. What have you done, my lord, with 
 the dead body ? 5 
 
 Hamlet. Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis 
 kin. 
 
 /
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 121 
 
 Rosencrantz. Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it 
 thence 
 A.nd bear it to the chapel. 
 
 Hamlet. Do not believe it. 
 
 Rosencrantz. Believe what ? 10 
 
 Hamlet. That I can keep your counsel and not mine 
 own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge, what repli- 
 cation should be made by the son of a king ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. Take you me for a sponge, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, sir, thatsoaksuptheking's countenance, 
 his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the 
 king best service in the end. He keeps them, like an ape, 
 in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed, to be last swal- 
 lowed. When he needs what you have gleaned, it is 
 but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again. 
 
 Rosencrantz. I understand you not, my lord. 21 
 
 Hamlet. I am glad of it : a knavish speech sleeps in 
 a foolish ear. 
 
 Rosencrantz. My lord, you must tell us where the 
 body is, and go with us to the king. 25 
 
 Hamlet. The body is with the king, but the king is 
 not with tiie body. The king is a thing — 
 
 Guildenstern. A thing, my lord ! 
 
 Hamlet. Of nothing. Bring me to him. Hide fox, 
 and all after." [Exeunt.
 
 122 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 Scene III. Another Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter King, attended 
 
 King. I have sent to seek him, and to find the body. 
 How dangerous is it that this man goes loose ' 
 Yet must not we put the strong law on him ; 
 He's loved of the distracted multitude, 
 Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes: 5 
 
 And where 'tis so, the offender's scourge is weigh'd, 
 But never the offence. To bear all smooth and even, 
 This sudden sending him away must seem 
 Deliberate pause. Diseases desperate grown 
 By desperate appliance are reliev'd, 10 
 
 Or not at all. 
 
 Enter Bosencrantz 
 
 How now ! What hath befalFn ? 
 Rosencrantz. Where the dead body is bestow'd, my 
 lord, 
 We cannot get from him. 
 King. But where is ne ? 
 
 Rosencrantz. Without, my lord; guarded, to know 
 
 your pleasure. 
 King. Bring him before us. 15 
 
 Rosencrantz. Ho, Guildenstern ! Bring in my lord.
 
 scene 3] HAMLET 123 
 
 Enter Hamlet and Guildenstern 
 
 King. Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius ? 
 
 Hamlet. At supper. 
 
 King. At supper ! Where ? rg 
 
 Hamlet. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten : 
 a certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at 
 him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We 
 fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for 
 maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but 
 variable service, two dishes, but to one table ; that's 
 the end. 
 
 King. Alas, alas! 26 
 
 Hamlet. A man may fish with the worm that hath 
 eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that 
 worm 
 
 King. What dost thou mean by this ? 
 
 Hamlet. Nothing but to show you how a king may 
 go a progress through the guts of a beggar. 32 
 
 King. Where is Polonius ? 
 
 Hamlet. In heaven. Send thither to see. If your 
 messenger find him not there, seek him i' the other 
 place yourself. But indeed, if you find him not within 
 this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs 
 into the lobby. 38
 
 124 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 King. Go seek him there. [To some Attendants. 
 
 Hamlet. He will stay till ye come. [Exeunt Attendants 
 
 King. Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety, — 
 Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve 
 For that which thou hast done, — must seniithee hence 
 With fiery quickness ; therefore prepare thyself. 
 The bark is ready, and the wind at help, 45 
 
 The associates tend, and every thing is bent 
 For England. 
 
 Hamlet. For England ! 
 
 King. Ay, Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. Good. 
 
 King. So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes. 
 
 Hamlet. I see a cherub that sees them. But, come ; 
 for England ! Farewell, dear mother. 50 
 
 King. Thy loving father, Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. My mother ; father and mother is man and 
 wife; man and wife is one flesh; and so, my mother. 
 Come, for England ! [Exit. 
 
 King. Follow him at foot ; tempt nim with speed 
 abroad. 55 
 
 Delay it not. I'll have him hence to-night. 
 Away ! for every thing is seal'd and done 
 That else leans on the affair. Pray yon, make haste. 
 [Exeunt Kosenckaxtz and Guildenstern
 
 scene 4] HAMLET 125 
 
 And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught — 
 
 As° my great power thereof may give thee sense, 6c 
 
 Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red 
 
 After the Danish sword, and thy free awe 
 
 Pays homage to us — thou mayst not coldly set° 
 
 Our sovereign process ; which imports at full, 
 
 By letters conjuring to that effect, 65 
 
 The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England ; 
 
 For like the hectic in my blood he rages, 
 
 And thou must cure me. Till I know 'tis done, 
 
 Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. lExit. 
 
 Scene IV. A Plain iyi Denmark 
 
 Enter Fortinbras, a Captain, and Soldiers, marching 
 
 Fortinbras. Go, captain, from me greet the Danish 
 king. 
 Tell him that, by his license, Fortinbras 
 Claims the conveyance of a promis'd march 
 Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous. 
 If that his majesty would aught with us, 5 
 
 We shall express our duty in his eye ;° 
 And let him know so.
 
 126 HAMLET [ACT IV. 
 
 Captain. I will do't, my lord. 
 
 Fortinbras. Go softly on. 
 
 [Exeunt Foktixbras and Soldiers. 
 
 Enter Hamlet, Rosexcrantz, Guildensterx, and 
 
 Others 
 
 Hamlet. Good sir, whose powers are these *? 
 
 Captain. They are of Norway, sir. jo 
 
 Hamlet. How purpos'd, sir, I pray you ? 
 
 Captain. Against some part of Poland. 
 
 Hamlet. Who commands them, sir ? 
 
 Captain. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras. 
 
 Hamlet. Goes it against the main of Poland, sir, 15 
 Or for some frontier ? 
 
 Captain. Truly to speak, and with 110 addition, 
 We go to gain a little patch of ground 
 That hath in it no profit but the name. 
 To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it 5 20 
 
 Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole 
 A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee. 
 
 Hamb'f. Why, then the Polack never will defend it. 
 
 Captain. Yes, it is already garrisoned. 
 
 Hamlet. Two thousand souls and twentv thousand 
 ducats 25 
 
 Will not debate the question of this straw.
 
 sckne 4J HAMLET 121 
 
 This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, 
 That inward breaks, and shows no cause without 
 Why the man dies. — I humbly thank you, sir. 
 Captain. God be wi' you, sir. [Exit, 
 
 liosencrantz. Will't please you go, my lord ? 30 
 
 Hamlet. I'll be with you straight- Go a little before. 
 
 [Exeunt all except Hamlet. 
 How all occasions do inform against me, 
 And spur my dull revenge ! What is a man, 
 If his chief good and market of his time 
 Be but to sleep and feed ? A beast, no more. 35 
 
 Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, 
 Looking before and after, gave us not 
 That capability and god-like reason 
 To fust° in us unused. Now, whether it be 
 Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple 40 
 
 Of° thinking too precisely on the event, — 
 A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom 
 And ever three parts coward, I do not know 
 Why yet I live to say " This thing's to do," 
 Sith° I have cause and will and strength and means 45 
 To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me. 
 "Witness this army of such mass and charge 
 Led by a delicate and tender prince, 
 Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd
 
 128 HAMLET [Act IV 
 
 Makes mouths at the invisible event, 50 
 
 Exposing what is mortal and unsure 
 
 To all that fortune, death and danger dare, 
 
 Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great 
 
 Is not to stir without great argument, 
 
 But greatly to find quarrel in a straw 55 
 
 When honour's at the stake. How stand I then, 
 
 That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, 
 
 Excitements of my reason and my blood, 
 
 And let all sleep, while, to my shame, I see 
 
 The imminent death of twenty thousand men, 6o 
 
 That, for a fantasy and trick of fame, 
 
 Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot 
 
 Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, 
 
 Which is not tomb enough and continent 
 
 To hide the slain ? O, from this time forth, 65 
 
 Mr thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth ! [Exit. 
 
 Scene V. Elsinore. A Room in the Castle 
 
 Enter Queen, Horatio, and a Gentleman 
 
 Queen. I will not speak with her. 
 Gentleman. She is importunate, indeed distract 
 Her mood will needs be piti'd.
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 129 
 
 Queen. What would she have ? 
 
 Gentleman. She speaks much of her father; says 
 she hears 
 There's tricks i' the world ; and hems, and beats her 
 heart ; 5 
 
 Spurns enviously at straws ; speaks things in doubt, 
 That carry but half sense. Her speech is nothing, 
 Yet the unshaped use of it doth move 
 The hearers to collection. They aim at it, 
 And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts; io 
 Which, as her winks, and nods, and gestures yield them, 
 Indeed would make one think there might be thought, 
 Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily. 
 
 Horatio. 'Twere good she were spoken with ; for 
 she may strew 
 Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. 15 
 
 Queen. Let her come in. — [Exit Horatio. 
 
 To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is, 
 Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss. 
 So full of artless jealousy is guilt, 
 It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. za 
 
 Reenter Horatio, with Ophelia 
 
 Ophelia. Where is thebeauteous majesty of Denmark ? 
 Queen. How now, Ophelia !
 
 130 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 Ophelia. [Sings'] How should I your true love know 
 From another one i 
 By his cockle hat° and staff, 25 
 
 And his sandal shoon. 
 Queen. Alas, sweet lady, what imports this soiiu '.' 
 Ophelia. Say you ? Nay, pray you, mark. 
 [Sings] He is dead and gone, lady, 
 
 He is dead and gone; 30 
 
 At his head a grass-green turf, 
 At his heels a stone. 
 Queen. Nay, but, Ophelia, — 
 Ophelia. Pray you, mark. 
 [Sings] White his shroud as the mountain snow, — 35 
 
 Enter King 
 
 Queen. Alas, look here, my lord. 
 
 Ophelia. [Sings] Larded ivith sweet flowers ; 
 Which beicept to the grave did go 
 With time-love showers. 
 
 King. How do you, pretty lady? 40 
 
 Ophelia. Well, God 'ild° you! They say the owl 
 was a baker's daughter. Lord, we know what we are, 
 but know not what we may be. God be at your 
 table ! 
 
 King. Conceit upon her father. 45
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 131 
 
 Ophelia. Pray you, let's have no words of this ; but 
 when they ask you what it means, say you this : 
 [Sings] To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day, 
 All in the morning betime, 
 And I a maid at your window, 50 
 
 To be your Valentine. 
 
 King. Pretty Ophelia! 
 
 Ophelia. Indeed, la, without an oath, I'll make an 
 end on't. 
 
 King. How long hath she been thus ? 55 
 
 Ophelia. I hope all will be well. We must be 
 patient ; but I cannot choose but weep, to think they 
 should lay him i' the cold ground. My brother shall 
 know of it ; and so I thank you for your good counsel. 
 Come, my coach! Good night, ladies. Good night, 
 sweet ladies; good night, good night. [Exit. 
 
 King. Follow her close; give her good watch, I 
 pray you. [Exit Horatio. 
 
 0, this is the poison of deep grief ; it springs 
 All from her father's death. Gertrude, Gertrude, 
 When sorrows come, they come not single spies, 66 
 But in battalions. First, her father slain ; 
 Next, your son gone; and he most violent author 
 Of his own just remove : the people muddied, 
 Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers,
 
 132 HAMLET [Act IV 
 
 For good Polonius' death; and we have done but greenly, 
 
 In hugger-mugger to inter him: poor Ophelia 
 
 Divided from herself and her fair judgment, 
 
 Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts. 
 
 Last, and as much containing as all these, 75 
 
 Her brother is in secret come from France ; 
 
 Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds, 
 
 And wants not buzzers to infect his ear 
 
 With pestilent speeches of his father's death ; 
 
 Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd, 80 
 
 Willoiothing stick our person to arraign 
 
 In ear and ear. my dear Gertrude, this, 
 
 Like to a murdering-piece, in many places 
 
 Gives me superfluous death. [A noise within. 
 
 Queen. Alack, what noise is this ? 
 
 King. Where are my Switzers ? Let them guard 
 the door. — 85 
 
 Enter another Gentleman 
 
 What is the matter. 
 
 Gentleman. Save yourself, my lord ! 
 
 The ocean, overpeering of his list, 
 Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste 
 Than young Laertes, in a riotous head, 
 O'erbears your officers. The rabble call him lord ; 90
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 133 
 
 And, as the world were now but to begin, 
 
 Antiquity forgot, custom not known, 
 
 The ratifiers and props of every word, 
 
 They cry " Choose we ! Laertes shall be king ! " 
 
 Caps, hands, and tongues, applaud it to the clouds, — 
 
 " Laertes shall be king, Laertes king ! " 96 
 
 Queen. How cheerfully on the false trail they cry ! 
 0, this is counter, you false Danish dogs ! 
 
 King. The doors are broke. [Noise within. 
 
 Enter Laertes armed ; Danes following 
 
 Laertes. Where is this king? — Sirs, stand you all 
 without. 100 
 
 Danes. No, let's come in. 
 
 Laertes. I pray you, give me leave. 
 
 Danes. We will, we will. [They retire without the door. 
 Laertes. I thank you. Keep the door. — thou 
 vile king, 
 Give me my father ! 
 
 Queen. Calmly, good Laertes. 
 
 Laertes. That drop of blood that's calm proclaims 
 me bastard, 105 
 
 Cries cuckold to my father, brands the harlot 
 Even here, between the chaste unsmirched brow 
 Of my true mother.
 
 134 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 King. What is the cause, Laertes, 
 
 That thy rebellion looks so giant-like ? 
 Let him go, Gertrude, do not fear° our person. no 
 
 There'6 such divinity doth hedge a king, 
 That treason can but peep to what it would, 
 Acts little of his will. — Tell me, Laertes, 
 Why thou art thus incens'd. — Let him go, Gertrude. — 
 Speak, man. 
 
 Laertes. Where 's my father ? 
 
 King. Dead. 
 
 Queen. But not by him. 
 
 King. Let him demand his fill. n6 
 
 Laertes. How came he dead ? I'll not be juggled with. 
 To hell, allegiance ! Vows, to the blackest devil ! 
 Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit ! 
 I dare damnation. To this point I stand, 120 
 
 That both the worlds I give to negligence, 
 Let come what comes ; only I'll be reveng'd 
 Most throughly for my father. 
 
 King. Who shall stay you '.' 
 
 Laertes. My will, not all the world ; 
 And for my means, I'll husband them so well, 125 
 
 They shall go far with little. 
 
 King. Good Laertes, 
 
 If you desire to know the certainty
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 135 
 
 Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your revenge, 
 That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe, 
 Winner and loser ? 130 
 
 Laertes. None but his enemies. 
 
 King. Will you know them then ? 
 
 Laertes. To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my 
 arms; 
 And like the kind life-rendering pelican, 
 Repast them with my blood. 
 
 King. Why, now you speak 
 
 Like a good child and a true gentleman. 135 
 
 That I am guiltless of your father's death, 
 And am most sensible iu grief for it, 
 It shall as level to your judgment pierce 
 As day does to your eye. 
 
 Danes. [ Within] Let her come in. 
 
 Laertes. How now ! What noise is that ? 140 
 
 Reenter Ophelia 
 
 heat, dry up my brains ! Tears seven times salt, 
 
 Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye ! 
 
 By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight, 
 
 Till our scale turn the beam. rose of May 
 
 Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia ! 145 
 
 heavens ! Is't possible, a young maid's wits
 
 136 HAMLET [Act IV 
 
 Should be as mortal as an old man's life ? 
 
 Nature is tine in love, and where 'tis fine, 
 
 It sends some precious instance of itself 
 
 After the thing it loves. 150 
 
 Ophelia. [_Sings~\ 
 
 They bore him barefaced on the bier ; 
 Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny ; 
 And in his grave rain'd many a tear. — 
 Fare you well, my dove ! 
 
 Laertes. Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade 
 revenge, 155 
 
 It could not move thus. 
 
 Ophelia. [Sings'] You must sing Down ct-down, and 
 you call him a-doion-a. 0, how the wheel becomes it! 
 It is the false steward that stole his master's daughter. 
 
 Laertes. This nothing's more than matter. 160 
 
 Ophelia. There's rosemary, that's for remembrance ; 
 pray, love, remember : and there is pansies, that's for 
 thoughts. 
 
 Laertes. A document in madness, thoughts and re- 
 membrance fitted. 165 
 
 Ophelia. There's fennel for you, and columbines ° ; 
 there's rue for you; and here's some for me. We 
 may call it herb of grace o' Sundays. 0, you must 
 wear your rue with a difference. There's a daisy. I
 
 scene 5] HAMLET 137 
 
 would give you some violets, but they withered all 
 when ruy father died. They say he made a good 
 end, — 172 
 
 [king's] For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy. 
 Laertes. Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, 
 She turns to favour and to prettiness. 175 
 
 Ophelia. [Sings] And will he not come again 1 
 And ivill he not come again f 
 No, no, he is dead ; 
 Go to thy death-bed ; 
 He never will come again. 180 
 
 His beard was white as snoio, 
 All flaxen ivas his poll. 
 He is gone, he is gone, 
 And ice cast away moan ; 
 God /ta' mercy on his soul ! 185 
 
 And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God be wi' ye. 
 Laertes. Do you see this, God ? [Exit Ophelia. 
 King. Laertes, I must commune with your grief, 
 Or you deny me right. Go but apart, 
 Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will, 190 
 And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me. 
 If by direct or by collateral hand 
 They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give,
 
 138 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours, 
 
 To you in satisfaction ; but if not, i 9 : 
 
 Be you content to lend your patience to us, 
 
 And we shall jointly labour with your soul 
 
 To give it due content. 
 
 Laertes. Let this be so. 
 
 His means of° death, his obscure burial — 
 No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones, 200 
 No noble rite nor formal ostentation — 
 Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to earth, 
 That I must call't in question. 
 
 King. So you shall ; 
 
 And where the offence is let the great axe fall. 
 I pray you, go with me. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. Another Boom in the Castle 
 
 Enter Horatio and a Servant 
 
 Horatio. What are they that would speak with me '.' 
 Servant. Sailors, sir. They say they have letters 
 for you. 
 
 Horatio. Let them come in. [Exit Servant. 
 
 I do not know from what part of the world s 
 
 I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet
 
 scesb 6] HAMLET 139 
 
 Enter Sailors 
 
 First Sailor. God bless you, sir. 
 
 Horatio. Let him bless thee too. 
 
 First Sailor. He shall, sir, an't please hiin. There's 
 a letter for you, sir. It comes from the ambassador 
 that was bound for England, — if your name be Horatio, 
 as I am let to know it is. 12 
 
 Horatio. [Reads'] "Horatio, when thou shall have 
 overlooked this, give these fellows some means to° the 
 king : they have letters for him. Ere we were tivo days 
 old at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment gave us 
 chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on a 
 compelled valour. In the grapple I boarded them : on 
 the instant they got clear of our ship ; so I alone became 
 their prisoner. They have dealt with me like thieves of 
 mercy. But they k?ieiv what they did ; I am to do a good 
 turn for them. Let the king have the letters I have sent, 
 <tnd repair thou to me with as much speed as thou wouldst 
 jly death. I have words to speak in thine ear will make 
 thee dumb ; yet are they much too light for the bore of the 
 matter. These good fellows ivill bring thee where I am. 
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their course for 
 England ; of them I have much to tell thee. Farewell. 
 "He that thou knowest thine, Hamlet."
 
 140 HAMLET [Act IV 
 
 Come, I will make you way for these your letters ; 3 « 
 
 And do't the speedier, that you may direct me 
 
 To him from whom you brought them. [Exeunt. 
 
 ocene VII. Another Room in the Castle 
 Enter King and Laertes 
 
 King. Now must your conscience my acquittance 
 seal, 
 And you must put me in your heart for friend, 
 Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear, 
 That he which hath your noble father slain 
 Pursu'd my life. 
 
 Laertes. It well appears. But tell me 5 
 
 Why you proceeded not against these feats, 
 So crimeful and so capital in nature, 
 As by your safety, wisdom, all things else, 
 You mainly were stirr'd up. 
 
 King. O, for two special reasons, 
 
 Which may to you, perhaps, seem much unsinew'd, 10 
 But yet to me they are strong. The queen his 
 
 mother 
 Lives almost by his looks; and for myself—-
 
 scene 7] HAMLET 141 
 
 My virtue or my plague, be it either which — 
 
 She's so conjunctive to my life and soul, 
 
 That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, 15 
 
 I could not but by her. The other motive, 
 
 Why to a public count I might not go, 
 
 Is the great love the general gender bear him, 
 
 Who, dipping all his faults in their affection, 
 
 Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone, 20 
 
 Convert his gyves to graces ; so that my arrows, 
 
 Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind, 
 
 Would have reverted to my bow again, 
 
 And not° where I had aim'd them. 
 
 Laertes. And so have I a noble father lost, 25 
 
 A sister driven into desperate terms, 
 Whose worth, if praises may go back again, 
 Stood challenger on mount of all the age 
 For her perfections. But my revenge will come. 
 
 King. Break not your sleep for that. You must not 
 think 30 
 
 That we are made of stuff so flat and dull 
 That we can let our beard be shook with danger, 
 And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear 
 
 more. 
 I lov'd your father, and we love ourself ; 
 And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine — 35
 
 142 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 Enter a Messenger 
 
 How now ! what news ? 
 
 Messenger. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet: 
 
 This to your majesty; this to the queen. 
 
 King. From Hamlet ! who brought them ? 
 
 Messenger. Sailors, my lord, they say ; I saw them 
 not: 
 They were given me by Claudio ; he receiv'd them 40 
 Of him that brought them. 
 
 King. Laertes, you shall hear them. 
 
 Leave us. [Exit Messenger. 
 
 [Meads] "High and mighty, You shall know lam set 
 naked on your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to 
 see your kingly eyes, when I shall, first asking your par- 
 don thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden and 
 more strange return. Hamlet." 
 
 What should this mean ? Are all the rest come back ? 
 Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? 
 
 Laertes. Know you the hand ? 
 
 King. 'Tis Hamlet's character " Naked ! " 
 
 And 111 a postscript here, he says " alone." 51 
 
 Can you advise me ? 
 
 Laertes. I'm lost in it, my lord. But let him come. 
 It warms the very sickness in my heart,
 
 scene 7] HAMLET 143 
 
 That I shall live and tell him to his teeth, 55 
 
 "Thus didest thou." 
 
 King. If it be so, Laertes — 
 
 As how should it be so, how otherwise ? — 
 Will you be rul'd by me ? 
 
 Laertes. Ay, my lord, 
 
 So you will not o'errule me to a peace. 
 
 King. To thine own peace. If he be now return'd, 
 As checking at° his voyage, and that he means 61 
 
 No more to undertake it, I will work him 
 To an exploit, now ripe in my device, 
 Under the which he shall not choose but fall ; 
 And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, 65 
 But even his mother shall uncharge the practice 
 And call it accident. 
 
 Laertes. My lord, I will be rul'd ; 
 
 The rather, if you could devise it so 
 That I might be the organ. 
 
 King. It falls right. 
 
 You have been talk'd of since your travel much, 70 
 And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality 
 Wherein, they say, you shine. Your sum of parts 
 Did not together pluck such envy from him 
 As did that one, and that, in my regard, 
 Of the unworthiest siege.
 
 144 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 Laertes. What part is that, my lord ? 
 
 King. A very riband in the cap of youth, 7 6 
 
 Yet needful too ; for youth no less becomes 
 The light and careless livery that it wears 
 Than settled age his sables and his weeds,' 
 Importing health and graveness. Two months since, 
 Here was a gentleman of Normandy. 81 
 
 I've seen myself, and serv'd against, the French, 
 And they can well on horseback ; but this gallant 
 Had witchcraft in't ; he grew unto his seat ; 
 And to such wondrous doing brought his horse, 85 
 
 As he had been incorps'd and demi-natur'd 
 With the brave beast. So far he topp'd my thought, 
 That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks, 
 Come short of what he did. 
 
 Laertes. A Norman was't ? 
 
 King. A Norman. ge 
 
 Laertes. Upon my life, Lamond. 
 
 King. The very same. 
 
 Laertes. I know him well. He is the brooch indeed 
 And gem of all the nation. 
 
 King. He made confession of you, 
 And gave you such a masterly report 9S 
 
 For art and exercise in your defence, 
 And lor your rapier most especially,
 
 scene 7] HAMLET 145 
 
 That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed, 
 
 If one could match you. The scrimers of their Ration, 
 
 He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor eye, ioo 
 
 If you oppos'd them. Sir, this report of his 
 
 Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy 
 
 That he could nothing do but wish and beg 
 
 Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him. 
 
 Now, out of this, — 
 
 Laertes. • What out of this, my lord ? 105 
 
 King. Laertes, was your father dear to you ? 
 Or are you like the painting of a sorrow, 
 A face without a heart ? 
 
 Laertes. Why ask you this ? 
 
 King. Not that I think you did not love your father. 
 But that I know love is begun by time, no 
 
 And that I see, in passages of proof, 
 Time qualifies the spark and fire of it. 
 There lives within the very flame of love 
 A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it, 
 And nothing is at a like goodness still ; 115 
 
 For goodness, growing to a plurisy, 
 Dies in his own too-much. That we would do 
 We should do when we would ; for this " would " 
 
 changes 
 And hath abatements and delays as many
 
 146 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents ; 120 
 
 And then this "should" is like a spendthrift sigh,° 
 That hurts by easing. But, to the quick o' the ulcer. 
 Hamlet comes back : what would you undertake, 
 To show yourself your father's son in deed, 124 
 
 More than in words ? 
 
 Laertes. To cut his throat i' the church. 
 
 King. No place, indeed, should murder sanctuarize ; 
 Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes, 
 Will you do this, keep close within your chamber. 
 Hamlet return'd shall know you are come home. 
 We'll put on those shall praise your excellence, 130 
 And set a double varnish on the fame 
 The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together 
 And wager on your heads. He, being remiss, 
 Most generous and free from all contriving, 
 Will not peruse the foils ; so that, with ease, 135 
 
 Or with a little shuffling, you may choose 
 A sword unbated, and in a pass of practice 
 Requite him for your father. 
 
 Laertes. 1 will do't ; 
 
 And, for that purpose, I'll anoint my sword. 
 I bought an unction of a mountebank, 140 
 
 So mortal that, but dip a knife in it, 
 Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare,
 
 scene 7] HAMLET 147 
 
 Collected from all simples that have virtue 
 Under the moon, can save the thing from death 
 That is but scratch'd withal. I'll touch my point 145 
 With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly, 
 It may be death. 
 
 King. Let's further think of this ; 
 
 Weigh what convenience both of time and means 
 May fit us to our shape. If this should fail, 
 And that our drift look through our bad performance, 
 'Twere better not assay 'd. Therefore this project 151 
 Should have a back or second, that might hold, 
 If this should blast in proof. Soft ! Let me see. 
 We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings, 
 I ha't. 155 
 
 When in your motion you are hot and dry — 
 As make your bouts more violent to that end — 
 And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepar'd him 
 A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, 
 If he by chance escape your venom'd stuck, 160 
 
 Our purpose may hold there. 
 
 Enter Queen 
 
 How now, sweet queen ! 
 Queen. One woe doth tread upon another's heel, 
 So fast they follow. Your sister's drown'd, Laertes.
 
 148 HAMLET [Act IV. 
 
 Laertes. Drown'd ! 0, where ? 
 
 Queen. There is a willow grows aslant a brook, 165 
 That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream. 
 There with fantastic garlands did she come 
 Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples 
 That liberal shepherds give a grosser name, 
 But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them. 
 There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds 171 
 Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke; 
 When down her weedy trophies, and herself 
 Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide, 
 And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up : 175 
 
 Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes, 
 As one incapable of her own distress 
 Or like a creature native and indued 
 Unto that element. But long it could not be 
 Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, 180 
 
 Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay 
 To muddy death. 
 
 Laertes. Alas, then, she is drown'd ? 
 
 Queen. Drown'd, drown'd. 
 
 Laertes. Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, 
 And therefore I forbid my tears. But yet 185 
 
 l! is our trick ; nature her custom holds, 
 Let shame say what it will. When these are gone,
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 149 
 
 The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord. 
 I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze, 
 But that this folly douts° it. [Exit. 
 
 King. Let's follow, Gertrude : 
 
 How much I had to do to calm his rage ! 191 
 
 Now fear I this will give it start again ; 
 Therefore let's follow. [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT V 
 
 Scene I. A Churchyard 
 
 Enter two Clowns, with spades, etc. 
 
 First Clown. Is she to be buried in Christian burial 
 that wilfully seeks her own salvation ? 
 
 Second Clown. I tell thee she is ; and therefore 
 make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on 
 her, and finds it Christian burial. 5 
 
 First Clown. How can that be, unless she drowned 
 herself in her own defence ? 
 
 Second Clown. Why, 'tis found so. 
 
 First Clown. It must be se offendendo° ; it cannot 
 be else. For here lies the point : if I drown myself 
 wittingly, it argues an act, and an act hath three
 
 150 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 branches ; it h, to act, to do, and to perform. Argal, 1 
 she drowned herself wittingly. I3 
 
 Second Clown. Nay, but hear you, goodrnan del ver, — 
 
 First Clown. Give me leave. Here lies the water ; 
 good. Here stands the man ; good. If the man go to 
 this water, and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he,° 
 he goes, — mark you that ; but if the water come to 
 him and drown him, he drowns not himself. Argal, 
 he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not 
 his own life. 2I 
 
 Second Clown. But is this law? 
 
 First Clown. Ay, marry, is't ; crowner's quest law. 
 
 Second Clown. Will you ha' the truth on't ? If this 
 had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been 
 buried out o' Christian burial. 2 6 
 
 First Clown. Why, there thou say'st ; and the more 
 pity that great folk should have countenance in this 
 world to drown or hang themselves, more than their 
 even°-Gliristian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient 
 gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers ; 
 they hold up° Adam's profession. 32 
 
 Second Clown. Was he a gentleman ? 
 
 First Clown. He was the first that ever bore arms. 
 
 Second Clown. Why, he had none. 35 
 
 First Clown. What, art a heathen ? How dost thou
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 151 
 
 understand the Scripture ? The Scripture says "Adam 
 digged ; " could he dig without arms ? I'll put another 
 question to thee. If thou answerest me not to the 
 purpose, confess thyself — 40 
 
 Second Clown. Go to.° 
 
 First Clown. What is he that builds stronger than 
 either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter ? 
 
 Second Clown. The gallows-maker; for that frame 
 outlives a thousand tenants. 45 
 
 First Clown. I like thy wit well, in good faith ; the 
 gallows does well. But how does it well ? It does well 
 to those that do ill. Now thou dost ill to say the gal- 
 lows is built stronger than the church. Argal, the 
 gallows may do well to thee. To't again, come. 50 
 
 Second Cloivn. " Who builds stronger than a mason, 
 a shipwright, or a carpenter ? " 
 
 First Clown. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke. 
 
 Second Clown. Marry, now I can tell. 
 
 First Cloivn. To't. 55 
 
 Second Clown. Mass, I cannot tell. 
 
 Enter Hamlet and Horatio, at a Distance 
 
 First Clown. Cudgel thy brains no more about it ; 
 for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating ; 
 and, when you are asked this question next, say " a
 
 152 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 grave-maker:" the houses that he makes last tili 
 doomsday. Go, get thee to Yaughan. ; ° fetch me a 
 stoup of liquor. 62 
 
 [Exit Second Clown. 
 \_He digs, and sings. 
 In youth when I did love, did love, 
 
 Methought it was very sweet, 
 To contract, 0, the time, for, ah.° my behove, 65 
 0, methought, there teas nothing meet. 
 Hamlet. Has this fellow no feeling of his business, 
 that he sings at grave-making ? 
 
 Horatio. Custom hath made it in him a property of 
 easiness. 70 
 
 Hamlet. "lis e'en so. The hand of little employ- 
 ment hath the daintier sense. 
 First Clown. [Sings'] 
 
 But age, with his stealing steps, 
 Hath caught me in his clutch, 
 And hath shipped me intil° the land, 75 
 
 As if I had never been such. 
 
 [Throivs up a skull. 
 
 Hamlet. That sknll had a tongue in it, and could 
 
 sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as 
 
 if it were Cain's jaw-bone, that did the first murder ! 
 
 it might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 153 
 
 o'er-reaches ; one that would circumvent God, might 
 it not ? 82 
 
 Horatio. It might, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Or of a courtier, which could say " Good 
 morrow, sweet lord ! How dost thou, good lord '.' *' 
 This might be my lord such-a-one, that praised my 
 lord such-a-one's horse, when he meant to beg it; 
 might it not ? 88 
 
 Horatio. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Why, e'en so ; and now my Lady Worm's ; 
 chapless, and knocked about the mazzard with a sex- 
 ton's spade. Here's fine revolution, an we had the 
 trick to see't. Did these bones cost no more the 
 breeding, but to play at loggats with 'em ? Mine 
 ache to think on't. 05 
 
 First Clown. [Sings] 
 
 A pick-axe, and a spade, a spade, 
 
 For and a shrouding sheet ; 
 0, a pit of clay for to be made 
 
 For such a guest is meet. 99 
 
 [Throws up another skull. 
 
 Hamlet. There's another. Why may not that be 
 the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddits now, 
 his quillets, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks ? 
 Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock
 
 154 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 him about the sconce with a dirty shovel, and will 
 not tell him of his action of battery? Hum! This 
 fellow might be iu's time a great buyer of laud, with 
 his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double 
 vouchers, his recoveries. Is this the hue of° his fines, 
 and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine 
 pate full of fine dirt ? ^W'ill his vouchers vouch him 
 no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than 
 the length and breadth of a pair of indentures ? 
 The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in 
 this box ; and must the inheritor himself have no 
 more, ha? 115 
 
 Horatio. Not a jot more, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins ? 
 
 Horatio. Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins too. 
 
 Hamlet. They are sheep and calves that seek out 
 assurance in that. I will speak to this fellow. — 
 Whose grave's this, sirrah ? 121 
 
 First Clown. Mine, sir. 
 
 [Sings] O, a pit of clay for to be made 
 For stick a guest is meet. 
 
 Hamlet. I think it be thine, indeed, for thou iiest in't. 
 
 First Clown. You lie out on't, sir, and therefore it 
 is not yours. For my part, I do not lie in't, and yet 
 it is mine. 128
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 155 
 
 Hamlet Thou dost lie in't, to be in't and say it is 
 thine. "lis for the dead, not for the quick ; there- 
 fore thou liest. 13 1 
 
 First Clown. "lis a quick lie, sir ; 'twill away again, 
 from me to you. 
 
 Hamlet. What man dost thou dig it for ? 
 
 First Clown. For no man, sir. 135 
 
 Hamlet. What woman, then? 
 
 First Clown. For none, neither. 
 
 Hamlet. Who is to be buried in't ? 
 
 First Clown. One that was a woman, sir ; but, rest 
 her soul, she's dead. 14° 
 
 Hamlet. How absolute the knave is! We must 
 speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. By 
 the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken a 
 note of it : the age is grown so picked that the toe of 
 the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he 
 galls his kibe.° — How long hast thou been a grave-maker? 
 
 First Clown. Of all the days i' the year, I came 
 to't that day that our last king Hamlet overcame 
 Fortinbras. 
 
 Hamlet. How long is that since ? 15° 
 
 First Clown. Cannot you tell that ? Every fool can 
 tell that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was 
 born ; he that is mad and sent unto England.
 
 156 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, marry, why was he sent into England? 
 
 First Clown. Why, because he was mad. He shall 
 recover his wits there ; or, if he do not, it's no great 
 matter there. 157 
 
 Hamlet. Why? 
 
 First Clown. 'Twill not be seen in him there; there 
 the men are as mad as he. 160 
 
 Hamlet. How came he mad ? 
 
 First Clown. Very strangely, they say. 
 
 Hamlet. How, strangely ? 
 
 First Cloicn. Faith, e'en with losing his wits. 
 
 Hamlet. Upon what ground ? 165 
 
 First Clown. Why, here in Denmark. I have been 
 sexton here, man and boy, thirty years. 
 
 Hamlet. How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he 
 rot ? 169 
 
 First Clown. V faith, if he be not rotten before he 
 die — as we have many pocky corses now-a-days that 
 will scarce hold the laying in — he will last you some 
 eight year or nine year. A tanner will last you nine 
 year. 
 
 Hamlet. Why he more than another ? 175 
 
 First Clown. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with 
 his trade, that he will keep out water a great while; 
 and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson
 
 .scene 1] HAMLET 157 
 
 dead body. Here's a skull now; this skull has lain 
 in the earth three and twenty years. 1S0 
 
 Hamlet. Whose was it ? 
 
 First Clown. A whoreson mad fellow's it was ; whose 
 do you think it was ? 
 
 Hamlet. Nay, I know not. 1S4 
 
 First Clown. A pestilence on him for a mad rogue ! 
 A' poured a flagon of Rhenish on my head once. This 
 same skull, sir, was Yorick's skull, the king's jester. 
 
 Hamlet. This? 
 
 First Clown. E'en that. 189 
 
 Hamlet. Let me see. [Takes the skull.'] Alas, poor 
 Yorick ! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite 
 jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on 
 his back a thousand times ; and now, how abhorred in 
 my imagination it is ! My gorge rises at it. Here 
 hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how 
 oft. — Where be your gibes now ? Your gambols ? 
 Your songs ? Your flashes of merriment, that were 
 wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to 
 mock your own grinning ? Quite chop-fallen ? Now 
 get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her 
 paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come ; 
 make her laugh at that. — Prithee, Horatio, tell me 
 one thing. 203
 
 158 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 Horatio. What's that, my lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this 
 fashion i' the earth ? 206 
 
 Horatio. E'en so. 
 
 Hamlet. And smelt so ? Pah ! 
 
 [Puts down the skull. 
 
 Horatio. E'en so, my lord. 209 
 
 Hamlet. To what base uses we may return, Horatio ! 
 Why may not imagination trace the noble dust 
 of Alexander, till we find it stopping a bung- 
 hole? 
 
 Horatio. 'Twere to consider too curiously, to con- 
 sider SO. 215 
 
 Hamlet. No, faith, not a jot ; but to follow him 
 thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead 
 it ; as thus : Alexander died, Alexander was buried, 
 Alexander returneth into dust ; the dust is earth ; of 
 earth we make loam ; and why of that loam, whereto 
 he was converted, might they not stop a beer- 
 barrel ? 222 
 
 Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, 
 
 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away. 
 
 0, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, 
 
 Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw ! 
 But soft ! But soft ! Aside ! Here comes the king.
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 159 
 
 Enter Priests, etc., in procession ; the Corpse of Ophe- 
 lia, Laertes and Mourners following ; King, 
 Queen, their trains, etc. 4 
 
 The Queen, the courtiers. Who is this they follow, 
 And with such maimed rites ? This doth betoken 
 The corse they follow did with desperate hand 230 
 
 Fordo it own life. 'Twas of some estate. 
 Couch we awhile, and mark. [Retiring with Horatio. 
 
 Laertes. What ceremony else ? 
 
 Hamlet. That is Laertes, 
 
 A very noble youth : mark. 
 
 Laertes. What ceremony else ? 235 
 
 First Priest. Her obsequies have been as far enlarg'd 
 As we have warrantise. Her death was doubtful ; 
 And, but that great command o'ersways the order, 
 She should in ground unsanctifi'd have lodg'd 
 Till the last trumpet ; for° charitable prayers, 240 
 
 Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her. 
 Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants, 
 Her maiden strewments and the bringing home 
 Of bell and burial. 
 
 Laertes. Must there no more be done ? 
 
 First Priest. No more be done. 
 
 We should profane the service of the dead 246
 
 160 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 To sing a requiem and such rest to her 
 As to peace-parted souls. 
 
 Laertes. Lay her 'i the earth. 
 
 And from her faif and unpolluted flesh 
 May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest. 250 
 A ministering angel shall my sister be, 
 When thou liest howling. 
 
 Hamlet. What, the fair Ophelia ! 
 
 Queen. Sweets to the sweet. Farewell ! 
 
 [Scattering flowers. 
 I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife ; 
 I thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid. 
 And not have strew'd thy grave. 
 
 Laertes. 0, treble woes 256 
 
 Fall ten times treble on that cursed head, 
 Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense 
 Depriv'd thee of ! Hold off the earth awhile, 
 Till I have caught her once more in mine arms. 260 
 
 [Leaps info the grave. 
 Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead, 
 Till of this flat a mountain you have made, 
 To o'ertop old Pelion, or the skyish head 
 Of blue Olympus. 
 
 Hamlet. [Advancing"] What is he whose grief 
 Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow 265
 
 scene 1] HAMLET 161 
 
 Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand 
 
 Like wonder-wounded hearers ? This is I, 
 
 Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave 
 
 Laertes. The devil take thy soul ! 
 
 [Grappling with him. 
 
 Hamlet. Thou pray'st not well. 
 I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat, 270 
 
 For, though I am not splenitive and rash, 
 Yet have I something in me dangerous, 
 Which let thy wiseness fear. Hold off thy hand! 
 
 King. Pluck them asunder. 
 
 Queen. Hamlet, Hamlet ! 
 
 All. Gentlemen, — 
 
 Horatio. Good my lord, be quiet. 275 
 
 [TJie Attendants part them, and they come out of the 
 grave. 
 
 Hamlet. Why, I will fight with him upon this theme 
 Until my eyelids will no longer wag. 
 
 Queen. my son, what theme ? 
 
 Hamlet. I lov'd Ophelia ; forty thousand brothers 
 Could not, with all their quantity of love, 280 
 
 Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her ? 
 
 King. O. he is mad, Laertes. 
 
 Queen. For love of God, forbear him. 
 
 Hamlet. 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do. 
 
 M
 
 162 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 Woo't weep? Woo't fight? Woo't fast? Woo't 
 tear thyself ? 2S5 
 
 Woo't drink up eisel,° eat a crocodile ? 
 I'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine ? 
 To outface me with leaping in her grave ? 
 Be buried quick with her, and so will I, 
 And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw 290 
 Millions of acres on us, till our ground, 
 Singeing his pate against the burning zone, 
 Make Ossa like a wart ! iSTay, an thou'lt mouth, 
 I'll rant as well as thou. 
 
 Queen. This is mere madness ; 
 
 And thus awhile the fit will work on him. 295 
 
 Anon, as patient as the female dove, 
 When that her golden couplets are disclos'd, 
 His silence will sit drooping. 
 
 Hamlet. Hear you, sir. 
 
 What is the reason that you use me thus ? 
 I lov'd you ever. But it is no matter; 300 
 
 Let Hercules himself do what he may, 
 The cat will mew and dog will have his day. [Exit. 
 
 King. I pray you, good Horatio, wait upon him. 
 
 [Exit Horatio. 
 [To Laertes] Strengthen your patience in our last 
 night's speech.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 163 
 
 We'll put the matter to the present push. 305 
 
 Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. 
 
 This grave shall have a living monument. 
 
 An hour of quiet shortly shall we see ; 
 
 Till then, in patience our proceeding be. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. A Hall in the Castle 
 
 Enter Hamlet and Horatio 
 
 Hamlet. So much for this, sir. Now let me see the 
 other. 
 You do remember all the circumstance ? 
 Horatio. Remember it, my lord! 
 Hamlet. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fight- 
 ing. 
 That would not let me sleep. Methought I lay 5 
 
 Worse than the routines in the bilboes. Rashly, — 
 
 And prais'd be rashness for it, let us know, 
 
 Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, 
 
 When our deep plots do pall° ; and that should teach 
 
 us 
 There's a divinity that shapes our ends, ia 
 
 Rough-hew them how we will. 
 
 Horatio That is most certain.
 
 164 HAMLET |Act V. 
 
 Hamlet. Up from uiy cabin, 
 My sea-gown scarf d° about me, in the dark 
 Grop'd I to find out them; had my desire, 
 Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew 15 
 
 To mine own room again, making so bold, 
 My fears forgetting manners, to unseal 
 Their grand commission ; where I found, Horatio, — 
 
 royal knavery — an exact command, 
 
 Larded with many several sorts of reasons 20 
 
 Importing Denmark's health, and England's too, 
 With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life, 
 That, on the supervise, no leisure bated, 
 No, not to stay the grinding of the axe, 
 My head should be struck off. 
 
 Horatio. Is't possible ? 25 
 
 Hamlet. Here's the commission. Read it at more 
 leisure. 
 But wilt thou hear me how I did proceed ? 
 
 Horatio Z beseech you. 
 
 Hamlet. Being thus be-netted round with villanies — 
 Ere I could make a prologue to my brains, 30 
 
 They had begun the play — I sat me down, 
 Devis'd a new commission, wrote it fair. 
 
 1 once did hold it, as our statists do, 
 
 A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 165 
 
 How to forget that learning : but, sir, now 35 
 
 It did me yeoman's service. Wilt thou know 
 The effect of what I wrote ? 
 
 Horatio. Ay, good my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. An earnest conjuration from the king, 
 As England was his faithful tributary, 
 As love between them like the palm might nourish, 40 
 As peace should still her wheaten garland wear, 
 And stand a comma 'tween their amities, 
 And many such-like Ases° of great charge, 
 That, on the view and knowing of these contents, 
 Without debatement further, more or less, 4> 
 
 He should the bearers put to sudden death, 
 Not shriving-time° allow'd. 
 
 Horatio. How was this seal'd ? 
 
 Hamlet. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant. 
 I had my father's signet in my purse, 
 Which was the model of that Danish seal ; 50 
 
 Folded the writ up in form of the other, 
 Subscrib'd it, gave't the impression, plac'd it safely, 
 The changeling never known. Now, the next day 
 Was our sea-fight ; and what to this was sequent 
 Thou know'st already. 55 
 
 Horatio. So Guildenstern and Eosencrantz go 
 to't.
 
 166 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 Hamlet. Why, man, they did make love to this 
 employment. 
 They are not near my conscience ; their defeat 
 Does by their own insinuation grow. 
 'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes 60 
 
 Between the pass and fell incensed points 
 Of mighty opposites. 
 
 Horatio. Why, what a king is this ! 
 
 Hamlet. Does It not, think'st thee, stand me now 
 upon — 
 He that hath kill'd my king and whor'd my mother, 
 Popp'd in between the election and my hopes, 65 
 
 Thrown out his angle for my proper life, 
 And with such cozenage — is't not perfect conscience, 
 To quit him with this arm ? And is't not to be damn'd, 
 To let this canker of our nature come 
 In further evil ? 7 o 
 
 Horatio. It must be shortly known to him from 
 England 
 What is the issue of the business there. 
 
 Hamlet. It will be short. The interim is mine, 
 And a man's life's no more than to say " One." 
 But I am very sorry, good Horatio, 75 
 
 That to Laertes I forgot myself; 
 For, by the image of my cause, I see
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 167 
 
 The portraiture of his. I'll court his favours. 
 
 But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me 79 
 
 Into a towering passion. 
 
 Horatio. Peace ! Who conies here ? 
 
 Enter Oskic 
 
 Osric. Your lordship is right welcome back to Den- 
 mark. 
 
 Hamlet. I humbly thank you, sir. [Aside to 
 Horatio] Dost know this water-fly ? 
 
 Horatio. [Aside to Hamlet] No, my good lord. 
 
 Hamlet. [Aside to Horatio] Thy state is the more 
 gracious ; for 'tis a vice to know him. He hath much 
 land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts, and 
 his crib shall stand at the king's mess. 'Tis a chough ; 
 but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt. 90 
 
 Osric. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, 
 I should impart a thing to you from his majesty 
 
 Hamlet. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of 
 spirit. Put your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the 
 head. 
 
 Osric. I thank your lordship ; it is very hot. 
 
 Hamlet. No, believe me, 'tis very cold ; the wind is 
 northerly. 
 
 Osric. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. 99
 
 168 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 Hamlet. But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot 
 for my complexion. 
 
 Osric. Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry, — as 
 'twere, I cannot tell how. But, my lord, his majesty 
 bade me signify to you that he has laid a great wager 
 on your head. Sir, this is the matter, — 105 
 
 Hamlet. I beseech you, remember, — 
 
 [Hamlet moves him to put on his hat. 
 
 Osric. Nay, good my lord ; for mine ease, in good 
 faith. Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes ; 
 believe me, an absolute gentleman, full of most excellent 
 differences, of very soft society and great showing. 
 Indeed, to speak feelingly of him, he is the card or 
 calendar of gentry, for you shall find in him the con- 
 tinent of what part a gentleman would see. 113 
 
 Hamlet. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in 
 you ; though, I know, to divide him inventorially 
 would dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and yet but 
 yaw° neither, in respect of his quick sail. But, in the 
 verity of extolment, I take him to be a soul of great 
 article ; and his infusion of such dearth and rareness, 
 as, to make true diction of him, his semblable is his 
 mirror ; and who else would trace him, his umbrage, 
 nothing more. 122 
 
 Osric. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 169 
 
 Hamlet. The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap 
 the gentleman in our more rawer breath ? 125 
 
 Osric. Sir ? 
 
 Horatio. Is't not possible to understand in another 
 tongue ? You will do't, sir, really. 
 
 Hamlet. What imports the nomination of this 
 gentleman? 130 
 
 Osric. Of Laertes? 
 
 Horatio. [Aside to Hamlet] His purse is empty 
 already ; all's golden words are spent. 
 
 Hamlet. Of him, sir. 
 
 Osric. I know you are not ignorant — 135 
 
 Hamlet. I would you did, sir ; yet, in faith, if 
 you did, it would not much approve me. Well, 
 sir? 
 
 Osric. You are not ignorant of what excellence 
 Laertes is — 140 
 
 Hamlet. I dare not confess that, lest I should com- 
 pare with him in excellence ; but, to know a man well, 
 were to know himself. 
 
 Osric. I mean, sir, for his weapon; but in the 
 imputation laid on him by them, in his meed he's 
 unfellowed. 146 
 
 Hamlet. What's his weapon ? 
 
 Osric. Rapier and dagger.
 
 170 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 Hamlet That's two of his weapons ; but, well. 
 
 Osric. The king, sir, hath wagered with him six 
 Barbary horses, against the which he has imponed, as 
 I take it, six French rapiers and poniards, with their 
 assigns, as girdle, hangers, and so. Three of the 
 carriages, in faith, are very dear to fancy, very 
 responsive to the hilts, most delicate carriages, and of 
 very liberal conceit. 156 
 
 Hamlet. What call you the carriages ? 
 
 Horatio. I knew you must be edified by the margent 
 ere you had done. 
 
 Osric. The carriages, sir, are the hangers. 160 
 
 Hamlet. The phrase would be more germane to the 
 matter, if we could carry cannon by our sides ; I would 
 it might be hangers till then. But, on. Six Barbary 
 horses against six French swords, their assigns, and 
 three liberal-conceited carriages ; that's the French bet 
 against the Danish. Why is this " imponed," as you 
 call it? 167 
 
 Osric. The king, sir, hath laid, that in a dozen 
 passes between yourself and him, he shall not exceed 
 you three hits. He hath laid on twelve for nine, and 
 it would come to immediate trial, if your lordship 
 would vouchsafe the answer. 172 
 
 Hamlet. How if I answer No c i
 
 scene 2J HAMLET 171 
 
 Osric. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your 
 person in trial. 175 
 
 Hamlet. Sir, I will walk here in the hall. If it 
 please his majesty, 'tis the breathing time of clay with 
 me. Let the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, 
 and the king hold his purpose, I will win for him if I 
 can ; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the 
 odd hits. 1S1 
 
 Osric. Shall I re-deliver you e'en so ? 
 
 Hamlet. To this effect, sir ; after what flourish your 
 nature will. 
 
 Osric. I commend my duty to your lordship. 185 
 
 Hamlet. Yours, yours. [Exit Osric] He does well 
 to commend it himself; there are no tongues else for's 
 turn. 
 
 Horatio. This lapwing runs away with the shell on 
 his head. 190 
 
 Hamlet. He did comply with his dug, before he 
 sucked it. Thus has he — and many more of the same 
 bevy that I know the drossy age dotes on — only got 
 the tune of the time and outward habit of encounter ; 
 a hind of yesty° collection, which carries them through 
 and through the most fond and winnowed opinions ; 
 and do but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are 
 cut. 198
 
 172 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 Enter a Lord 
 
 Lord. My lord, his majesty commended him to 
 you by young Osric, who brings back to him, that you 
 attend him in the hall. He sends to know if your 
 pleasure hold to play with Laertes, or that you will 
 take longer time. 203 
 
 Hamlet. I am constant to my purposes ;' they follow 
 the king's pleasure. If his fitness speaks, mine is 
 ready ; now or whensoever, provided I be so able as 
 now. 207 
 
 Lord. The king and queen and all are coining down. 
 
 Hamlet. In happy time. 
 
 Lord. The queen desires you to use some gentle en- 
 tertainment to Laertes before you fall to play. 211 
 
 Hamlet. She well instructs me. [Exit Lord. 
 
 Horatio. You will lose this wager, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. I do not think so. Since he went into 
 France, I have been in continual practice. I shall win 
 at the odds.° But thou wouldst not think how ill all's 
 here about my heart, but it is no matter. 217 
 
 Horatio. Nay, good my lord, — 
 
 Hamlet. It is but foolery ; but it is such a kind of 
 gain-giving as would perhaps trouble a woman. 220 
 
 Horatio. If your mind dislike any thing, obey it. I
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 173 
 
 will forestal their repair hither, and say you are not 
 fit.° 22; 
 
 Hamlet. Not a whit, we defy augury. There's a 
 special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be 
 now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be 
 now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness 
 is all. Since no man has aught of what he leaves, 
 what is't to leave betimes ? 229 
 
 Enter King, Queen - , Laertes, Lords, Osric, and At- 
 tendants with foils, etc. 
 
 King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from 
 me. 
 
 \Tlie King puts Laertes' hand into Hamlet's. 
 Hamlet. Give me your pardon, sir. I've done you 
 wrong. 231 
 
 But pardon't, as you are a gentleman. 
 This presence knows, 
 
 And you must needs have heard, how I am punishM 
 With sore distraction. What I have done, 235 
 
 That might your nature, honour and exception 
 Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. 
 Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes ? Never Hamlet. 
 If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, 
 And when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes, 240
 
 174 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. 
 
 Who does it, then? His madness. If't be so, 
 
 Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd ; 
 
 His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy. 
 
 Sir, in this audience, 245 
 
 Let my disclaiming from a purpos'd evil 
 
 Free me so far in your most generous thoughts, 
 
 That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house, 
 
 And hurt my brother. 
 
 Laertes. I am satisfi'd in nature, 
 
 Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most 250 
 To my revenge. But in my terms of honour 
 I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement, 
 Till by some elder masters, of known honour, 
 I have a voice and precedent of peace, 
 To keep my name ungor'd. But till that time, 255 
 I do receive your offer'd love like love, 
 And will not wrong it. 
 
 Hamlet. I embrace it freely, 
 
 And will this brother's wager frankly play. 
 Give us the foils. Come on. 
 
 Laertes. Come, one for me. 
 
 Hamlet. I'll be your foil, Laertes ; in mine ignorance 
 Your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night, 261 
 Stick fiery off indeed.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 175 
 
 Laertes. You mock me, sir. 
 
 Hamlet. No, by this hand. 
 
 King. Give them the foils, young Osric. Cousin 
 Hamlet, 
 You know the wager ? 
 
 Hamlet. Very well, my lord, 265 
 
 Your grace hath laid the odds o' the weaker side. 
 
 King. I do not fear it ; I have seen you both. 
 But since he is better'd, we have therefore odds. 
 
 Laertes. This is too heavy ; let me see another. 
 
 Hamlet. This likes me well. These foils have all a 
 length ? [ They prepare to play. 
 
 Osric. Ay, my good lord. 271 
 
 King. Set me the stoups of wine upon that table. 
 If Hamlet give the first or second hit, 
 Or quit in answer of the third exchange, 
 Let all the battlements their ordnance fire. 275 
 
 The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath ; 
 And in the cup an union shall he throw, 
 Richer than that which four successive kings 
 In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the 
 
 cups ; 
 And let the kettle to the trumpet speak, 280 
 
 The trumpet to the cannoneer without, 
 The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to earth,
 
 176 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 • Now the king drinks to Hamlet/' Come, begin; 
 And you, the judges, bear a wary eye. 
 
 Hamlet. Come on, sir. 
 
 Laertes. Come, my lord. [ They play. 
 
 Hamlet. One. 
 
 Laertes. No. 
 
 Hamlet. Judgment. 
 
 ( )sric. A hit, a very palpable hrt. 
 
 Laertes. Well; again. 
 
 King. Stay ; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is 
 thine. 287 
 
 Here's to thy health. 
 
 [Trumpets sound, and cannon shot off within. 
 (rive him the cup. 
 
 Hamlet. I'll play this bout first. Set it by awhile. 
 Come. \_Tliey play.~\ Another hit ; what say you '.' 
 
 Laertes. A touch, a touch, I do confess. 201 
 
 King. Our son shall win. 
 
 Queen. He's fat, and scant of breath. 
 
 Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows. 
 The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. Good madam ! 
 
 King. Gertrude, do not drink. 
 
 Queen. T will, my lord ; I pray you, pardon me. 2^ 
 
 King. \_Aside~\ It is the poison'd cup. It is too late.
 
 scene 2] HAMLET 177 
 
 Hamlet. I dare not drink yet, madam ; by and by. 
 
 Queen. Come, let me wipe thy face. 
 
 Laertes. My lord, I'll hit him now. 
 
 King. I do not think't. 
 
 Laertes. [Aside\ And yet 'tis almost 'gainst my con- 
 science. 3 oi 
 
 Hamlet. Come, for the third, Laertes. You but dally. 
 I pray yon, pass with your best violence. 
 I am afeard you make a wanton of me. 
 
 Laertes. Say you so? Come on. [They ploy. 
 
 Osric. Nothing, neither way. 305 
 
 Laertes. Have at you now ! 
 
 [Laertes wounds Hamlet; then,, in scuffling, then 
 change rapiers, and Hamlet wounds Laertes. 
 
 King. Part them ; the}^ are incens'd. 
 
 Hamlet. Nay, come, again. [The Queen falls. 
 
 Osric. Look to the queen there, ho ! 
 
 Horatio. They bleed on both sides. How is it, my 
 lord ? 
 
 Osric. How is't, Laertes ? 
 
 Laertes. Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, 
 Osric. 3IC 
 
 I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery. 
 
 Hamlet. How does the queen ? 
 
 King. She swounds to see them bleed 
 
 N
 
 178 HAMLET [Act V. 
 
 Queen. No, no, the drink, the drink, — my dear 
 Hamlet, — 
 The drink, the drink ! I am poison'd. \_Diesi 
 
 Hamlet. villany! Ho! let the door be lock'd. 315 
 Treachery ! Seek it out. 
 
 Laertes. It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art 
 slain. 
 No medicine in the world can do thee good. 
 In thee there is not half an hour of life. 
 The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, 320 
 
 Unbated and envenom'd. The foul practice 
 Hath turn'd itself on me. Lo, here I lie, 
 Never to rise again. Thy mother's poison'd. 
 I can no more : the king, the king's to blame. 
 
 Hamlet. The point ! — envenom'd too ! 325 
 
 Then, venom, to thy work. [Stabs the King. 
 
 All. Treason! treason! 
 
 King. 0, yet defend me, friends ; I am but hurt. 
 
 Hamlet. Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned 
 Dane, 
 Drink off this potion. Is thy union here ? 330 
 
 Follow my mother. [King dies. 
 
 Laertes. He is justly served ; 
 
 It is a poison temper'd by himself. 
 Exchange forgiveness Avith me, noble Hamlet.
 
 scene 2! HAMLET 179 
 
 Mint and my father's death come not upon tnee, 
 Nor thine on me ! [Dies. 
 
 Hamlet. Heaven make thee free of it ! I follow thee. 
 T am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu ! 337 
 
 You that look pale and tremble at this chance, 
 That are but mutes or audience to this act. 
 Had I but time — as this fell sergeant, death, 340 
 
 Is strict in his arrest — 0, I could tell you — 
 But let it be. Horatio, I am dead ; 
 Thou livest. Report me and my cause aright 
 To the unsatisfied. 
 
 Horatio. Never believe it. 
 
 I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. 345 
 
 Here's yet some liquor left. 
 
 Hamlet. As thou'rt a man, 
 
 Give me the cup ! Let go ! By heaven, I'll have't. 
 O good Horatio, what a wounded name, 
 Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me ! 
 If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, 350 
 
 Absent thee from felicity awhile, 
 And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, 
 To tell my story. [March afar off, and shot within. 
 
 What warlike noise is this ? 
 
 Osric. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from 
 Poland,
 
 180 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 To the ambassadors of England gives 355 
 
 This warlike volley. 
 
 Hamlet. 0, I die, Horatio. 
 
 The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit. 
 I cannot live to hear the news from England ; 
 But I do prophesy the election lights 
 < )n Fortinbras. He has my dying voice. 360 
 
 So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, 
 Which have solicited. The rest is silence. [Dies. 
 
 Horatio. Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, 
 sweet prince, 
 And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest ! 364 
 
 Why does the drum come hither? [March within. 
 
 Enter Fortinbras, the English Ambassadors, and 
 
 others 
 
 Fortinbras. Where is this sight? 
 
 Horatio. What is it ye would see ? 
 
 If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search. 
 
 Fortinbras. This quarry cries on havoc. proud 
 death, 
 What feast is toward in thine eternal cell, 
 That thou so many princes at a shot 37c 
 
 So bloodily hast struck ? 
 
 First Ambassador. The sight is dismal,
 
 scene 2] HAMLET i 181 
 
 And our affairs from England come too late. 
 
 The ears are senseless that should give us hearing, 
 
 To tell him his commandment is fulfilled, 
 
 That Rosencrantz and Guilclenstern are dead. 375 
 
 Where should we have our thanks ? 
 
 Horatio. Not from his mouth. 
 
 Had it the ability of life to thank you. 
 He never gave commandment for their death. 
 But since, so jump upon this bloody question, 
 You from the Polack wars, and you from England, 380 
 Are here arriv'd, give order that these bodies 
 High on a stage be placed to the view ; 
 And let me speak to .the yet unknowing world 
 How these things came about. So shall you hear 
 Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, 385 
 
 Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters, 
 Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause, 
 And, in this upshot, purposes mistook 
 Fall'n on the inventors' heads. All this can I 
 Truly deliver. 
 
 Fortivhras. Let us haste to hear it, 390 
 
 And call the noblest to the audience. 
 For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune. 
 I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, 
 Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me.
 
 182 HAMLET [Act V 
 
 Horatio. Of that I shall have also cause to speak, 
 And from his mouth whose voice will draw on° more. 
 But let this same be presently perform 'd, 
 Even while men's minds are wild ; lest more mischance, 
 On plots and errors, happen. 
 
 Fortinbras. Let four captains 
 
 Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ; 400 
 
 For he was likely, had he been put on, 
 To have proved most royally : and, for his passage, 
 The soldiers' music and the rites of war 
 Speak loudly for him. 
 
 Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this 405 
 
 Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. 
 Go, bid the soldiers shoot. 
 
 \_A dead march. Exeunt, bearing off the dead bodies, 
 after which a peal of ordnance is shot off.
 
 NOTES 
 
 Act I. Sckne I 
 
 The Castle. The fortress called Kronborg, near Elsinore, 
 which forms the strongest of the coast defences in northeast 
 Seeland. It stands on a point of land at the water's edge (see 
 Frontispiece), and commands the approach to Copenhagen 
 from the Cattegat. Copenhagen is twenty-four miles south 
 and west from Elsinore. 
 
 The author has not laid the play in Copenhagen, or even 
 Elsinore, where was a royal palace, but at Kronborg castle. 
 The presumption would seem to be that Claudius, having come 
 to the throne under suspicious circumstances, and in disregard 
 of the younger Hamlet's claims, would hedge himself up for a 
 time against all possible uprisings. No part of the play is laid 
 at the royal Marienlyst palace, near Elsinore proper ; and from 
 this we infer that the court was not in residence there. Two 
 scenes only, the fourth of Act IV. and the first of Act V., are 
 set unmistakably beyond the precincts of the castle. Two 
 others, scene iii. of the first act and scene i. of the second, be- 
 long perhaps outside, as many editions have it, "in the house 
 of Folonius." But It seems on the whole more probable that 
 
 183
 
 184 NOTES [Act L 
 
 Polonius is thought of by the author as quartered, like the rest 
 of the courtiers, within the walls. It is interesting to know 
 that Kronborg, begun in 1574, was new and of some fame in 
 Shakespeare's day. 
 
 1. 3. Long live the king. Probably the watchword for the 
 night; for it satisfies the sentinel, who having himself been 
 challenged is in a mood to be satisfied with nothing less. 
 Under less strain Bernardo would scarcely have given it, at 
 least in response to the first challenge. Horatio, under no such 
 strain, does not so answer at entering (1. 15) below. For two 
 nights the sentinels upon the platform have been appalled by 
 the apparition of a ghost, which has stalked three times past 
 them, uncomfortably near, as having some purpose with them. 
 Bernardo is looking for the third appearance of the "dreaded 
 sight." 
 
 1. 6. Upon your hour. ' Just on the minute.' The castle 
 clock begins striking as he speaks. 
 
 1.8. Much. 'Large,' 'great.' Cf. '-Thou hast much goods" 
 (Luke xii. 19). Restricted in present English to singular nouns, 
 mainly abstracts and collectives ; as much difficulty, much specie. 
 
 1.13. Rivals. Slightly pedantic for 'partners.' 
 
 1. 15. The Dane. The chief representative of the people, 
 'The King.' Cf. ii., 44 below. 
 
 1. 18. Give you. Shortened from 'God give you' by omis- 
 sion of the subject, as Good-by is shortened from ' God be with 
 you ' by suppressing most of the predicate. 
 
 1.23. Fantasy. ' Imagination,' • effect of imagining.'
 
 scene 1] NOTES 185 
 
 1. 29. Approve. ' Test,' ' put to the proof.' 
 
 1. 33. Sit we. An old first person plural imperative, inher- 
 ited from Anglo-Saxon times. Cf. "break we " (1. 168) below. 
 
 1. 36. Pole. ' Pole-star.' 
 
 1. 40. Thee. Not the object of "break," but a quasi-nom- 
 inative form, as in 'Fare thee well.' 
 
 1. 42. Scholar. One, that is, who is acquainted with Latin. 
 Ghosts as well as evil spirits were supposed to stand in awe of 
 the sacred language of the church or of any person capable of 
 using it to exorcise or conjure. 
 
 1. 45. Would be spoke to. ' It seems to be waiting and wish- 
 ing to be addressed.' A ghost, it was believed, was helpless to 
 impart its secret until asked to speak. 
 
 1. 46. Usurp'st. The time of night that should be sacred 
 from disquiet, and the form of the late King, — two things 
 which the ghost has no business with, yet has appropriated as 
 a usurper. 
 
 1. 48. Denmark. Kings are often designated by the names 
 of their respective countries. Cf. ii., 69, and 61 below. 
 
 1.56. Might. 'Could.' In Elizabethan English may had 
 not yet lost its Anglo-Saxon sense of ' have the might,' ' be 
 able,' as here illustrated. 
 
 1.62. Parle. ' Conference,' 'parley.' 
 
 1. 63. Sledded Polacks. ' Polanders on sledges.' The Poles 
 and the Scandinavians were not infrequently at war, and bat-
 
 186 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 ties were sometimes fought, in the North, upon the ice. But 
 the incident, whether the Polacks were invaders or allies, is 
 difficult to conceive. Attempts to reform the sense by text- 
 changes, an 'leaded poleaxe,' have not been generally approved. 
 
 1. 65. Jump. ' Exactly,' ' just.' 
 
 1. 68. Gross and scope. l Gist and range, or trend, of even 
 tual opinion.' 
 
 1. 70. Good now. ' Good friends, please now.' The expres- 
 sion occurs six times in Shakespeare, and always with some 
 suggestion of a coaxing or a pleading mood, "now" seeming 
 much like the present-day colloquial repetition ' please, please,' 
 and having no adverbial influence upon the following verb. 
 
 1. 72. Toils. ' Causes to toil.' 
 
 1. 74. Foreign mart for implements. ' Buying of imple- 
 ments abroad.' 
 
 1. 75. Impress. ' Impressment.' 
 
 1.77. Toward. 'Forthcoming,' 'impending.' 
 
 1. 83. Emulate. ' Emulous.' 
 
 1. 89. Seiz'd of. ' In possession of.' The modern legal 
 phrase. 
 
 1. 90. Moiety competent. ' Proper, adequate portion.' 
 
 1.91. Gaged. ' Pledged,' 'hypothecated.' 
 
 1. 94. Carriage. ' Conveying purport of the articles drawn 
 up.' 
 
 1.96. Unimproved. 'Unworked,' ' undisciplined.'
 
 scene 1] NOTES 187 
 
 1. 98. Shark'd up. ' Caught up hastily and indiscriminately, 
 as the shark swallows prey.' 
 
 1. 100. That hath a stomach. 'That promises the zest of 
 daring,' with some hint also of prospective spoils for soldier 
 appetites. 
 
 1. 107. Romage. 'Commotion,' 'bustle.' 
 
 1. 109. Sort. ' Suit, match with, the situation.' 
 
 1. 112. Mote. Cf. Matt. vii. 3. 
 
 1.116. Gibber. ' Talk unintelligibly.' 
 
 1. 117. Stars. Probably in construction with a clause or line 
 now lost. 
 
 1.118. Moist star. 'The moon.' 
 
 1. 120. To doomsday. ' To the degree prophesied for dooms- 
 day.' Cf. Matt. xxiv. 29. 
 
 1.121. Precurse. 'Forerunning.' 
 
 1.122. Still. Constantly,' 'invariably.' 
 
 1. 123. Omen. ' Calamity portended.' 
 
 1. 125. Climatures. ' Regions,' properly land divisions dis- 
 tinguished, not by inhabitants or geographic boundaries, but 
 by climate. 
 
 1. 127. Blast. 'Destroy by wasting sickness.' Ghosts so 
 punished, according to popular belief, any one who ventured 
 t© cross their path.
 
 188 NOTES [Act I 
 
 1. 134. Happily. ' Haply,' ' perchance,' a meaning often met 
 with, and rendered necessary here, it would seem, by the posi- 
 tion of the word. Its ordinary sense of ' fortunately ' is, in 
 usage, scarcely appropriate to conjectures, but must be said of 
 things known actually. 
 
 1. 140. Partisan, ' Halberd,' pike and battle-axe combined. 
 1. 151. Lofty. Compounded, like "shrill," with "sound- 
 
 lTlcr " 
 
 1. 154. Extravagant and erring. ' Out-of-bounds and wan- 
 dering.' 
 
 1. 155. Confine. 'Bounds,' 'limits'; used collectively. 
 
 1.15(5. Probation. 'Demonstration,' • proof.' 
 
 1. 158. 'Gainst that season comes. ' Against the coming of 
 that season.' 'Gainst is used conjunctionally here, much as, 
 in present dialect English, viitlwut. Cf. "There can be no 
 meeting without you come," etc. 
 
 1.1(52. Strike. ' Exert a malignant influence. 1 Cf. "moon- 
 struck." 
 
 1. 103. Takes. ' Blasts,' ' bewitches.' 
 
 1. 173. Loves, riuralized in the effort to speak of their love 
 distributively. 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. 2. That. Used here in place of a repeated • though.' 
 
 1. 4. Brow of woe. ' Woful brow.' 
 
 1.9. Jointress. 'Jointuress,' 'joint possessor.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 189 
 
 1. 10. Defeated. ' Disfigured.' 
 
 1. 11. Auspicious. ' Cheerful,' the passive sense of the word. 
 
 1.14. Barr'd. ' Refused,' 'disdained.' 
 
 1.18. Supposal. 'Opinion,' 'estimate.' 
 
 1. 23. Importing. ' Having for purport.' 
 
 1.31. Gait. ' Advance,' 'proceeding.' 
 
 1.32. Proportions. 'Contingents,' ' quotas.' 
 
 1. 38. Dilated. ' Detailed,' ' expanded.' 
 
 1.39. Duty. 'Service you are to render.' Cf. 'sense of 
 duty,' 'general disposition to accept and do one's duty,' which 
 is the meaning of the word in the next line. 
 
 1.44. Dane. Cf. i., 15. 
 
 1. 45. Lose your voice. ' Lose the labor of asking.' 
 
 1.48. Instrumental. 'Prepared to render service.' 
 
 1. 51. Leave and favour. ' Indulgent permission.' Cf. "leave 
 and pardon " (1. 56) below. 
 
 1. 56. Bow them. ' Bow themselves, as it were, in acknow- 
 ledgement.' 
 
 1. 58. Slow. ' Reluctant.' 
 
 1. GO. Seal'd my hard consent. ' Set my hard-won consent, 
 as a seal,' " upon his will." 
 
 1. 63. Best graces spend it. ' Best gifts and accomplish- 
 ments engage you in spending it.'
 
 190 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 1. 65. Kind. ' Nature, 1 ' a relation beyond kinship, but not 
 up to the standard of nature.' 
 
 I. 70. Vailed lids. ' Downcast eyes.' 
 
 I. 81. Haviour. ' Behavior,' 'expression.' 
 
 1. 82. Denote me truly. ' Signify my real feelings, my essen- 
 tial nature.' 
 
 1. 87. Commendable. Accented here, as usually, upon the 
 first syllable. 
 
 1. 88. Mourning duties. ' Dues of mourning.' 
 
 1.90. Father lost. 'Father who was lost.' With "bound" 
 supply ' was.' « 
 
 1. 92. Obsequious sorrow. ' Demonstrative acts of sorrow- 
 ing,' with reference probably to the " inky cloak." 
 
 1. 93. Obstinate condolement. ' Mourning that others would 
 wish discontinued.' The prefix con seems here to be intensive 
 merely. 
 
 1. 95. Incorrect. In the sense of the Latin incorrectus, ' not 
 brought to discipline or order.' 
 
 1. 99. Sense. Dependent upon "vulgar"; 'anything the 
 most ordinary and universal to observation.' 
 
 1. 105. Till he. ' Down to him.' He is sometimes used 
 objectively. 
 
 1.107. Unprevailing. 'Ineffectual,' 'unavailing.' Cf. "pre- 
 vailing prayer."
 
 scene 2] NOTES 191 
 
 1. 109. Immediate. ' With no other candidate or aspirant 
 between.' "The most," implying that there are rivals never- 
 theless, absurdly negatives the word, 
 
 1. 112. Impart towards you. 'Make impartments in your 
 direction.' Just what fatherly impartments the King is making 
 is not clear, and probably is not meant to be clear. Hamlet has 
 been set aside in the late election ; there is no doubt a party in 
 his interests still active. Under these circumstances the King 
 might well wish to be understood as doing Hamlet favors — per- 
 haps with reference to the succession — of which he is not aware. 
 
 1. 113. Wittenberg. Known to Shakespeare and his public 
 mainly through Marlowe's Tragical History of Dr. Faustus. 
 The University of Wittenberg was not founded till 1502. 
 Luther was made Professor of Philosophy here in 1508. 
 
 1. 114. Retrograde. 'Recessive.' 'counter' ; a term pedan- 
 tically borrowed from astrology. 
 
 1.124. Grace whereof. ' Honor of which.' 
 
 1. 127. Rouse. ' Bumper,' ' toast.' For the manner of such 
 a rouse see V., ii., 279-283. 
 
 Bruit. 'Sound forth.' 
 
 1. 132. His canon. Evidently the sixth commandment, 
 which makes no exception of suicide. 
 
 1.134. Uses. ' Usages,' 'customs.' 
 
 1.137. Merely. ' Wholly,' 'completely.* 
 
 1. 139. To. ' In comparison with.' 
 
 1. 140. Hyperion. 'Apollo.'
 
 192 NOTES [Act 1 
 
 i. 141. Beteem. ' Allow.' 
 
 J. 147. Or ere. ' Ere ere.' " Or" is a variant of " ere," but 
 its force is lost in present English. 
 
 1. 150. Discourse of reason. ' Discursive, reflective faculty.' 
 
 1. 155. Flushing. Probably 'redness caused by weeping.' 
 The grief of the Queen stopped before the salt of her tears could 
 leave red traces. Her eyes were " galled," ' inflamed,' but the 
 tears were tears of an unrighteous, disloyal sorrow, and did not 
 disfigure. 
 
 1. 157. Dexterity. ' Speed, from knowingness.' 
 
 1. 158. Nor it cannot. An added negative sometimes, in 
 Shakespeare as in earlier English, strengthens instead of nega- 
 tiving the preceding. 
 
 1. 1G3. Change. ' Exchange.' 
 
 1. 164. Make you from. ' Are you doing away from.' 
 
 1. 182. Dearest. ' Most exasperating or detested.' " Dear" 
 was once appropriate to painful experiences and their causes. 
 as well as to beloved and precious objects. Cf. "rue dearly." 
 
 1.192. Season. ' Moderate,' 'control.' 
 
 1. 193. Attent. * ' Attentive.' 
 
 1.198. Dead vast. 'Silent, moveless void.' To appreciate 
 these words the place of the visitation (cf. Frontispiece) must 
 be pictured. 
 
 1. 200. Cap-a-pe. ' Cap-a-pied,' 'from head to foot.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 193 
 
 1.204. DistilFd. Probably ' relaxed,' 'softened. 1 
 
 1.205. Act. 'Operation,' 'action.' 
 
 1. 207. Dreadful. ' Full of dread,' i.e. of the consequences 
 of divulgement. 
 
 1. 216. It. The tentative form for 'its,' which Shakespeare 
 does not yet use. Lately in The Tempest and The Winter's 
 Tale, " its " has become a practicable form. The proper Eliza- 
 bethan possessive of it is ' his.' 
 
 1. 230. Beaver. ' Visor.' 
 
 1. 237. Like. 'Likely.' 
 
 1. 238. Tell. 'Count.' Cf. "teller," 'counter of votes W 
 money.' 
 
 1.248. Tenable. Properly 'retainable,' though Hamlet's 
 meaning evidently calls for a much stronger word. 
 
 1. 253. Our duty. Cf. 1. 39 above. 
 
 1. 254. Loves. ' Instead,' that is, 'of "duty." ' Cf. "friend" 
 for "servant" (11. 162, 163 above). For the plural in "loves" 
 cf. i., 173 and note. 
 
 I. 256. Doubt. ' Suspect.' 
 
 Scene III 
 
 1. '1. As the winds give benefit. ' When the wind allows 
 ships [southbound] to weigh anchor.' 
 
 1. 3. Convoy is assistant. Probably ' conveyance is at hand ' ; 
 though the modern sense of "convoy " gives a better meaning. 
 o
 
 194 NOTES [Act 1. 
 
 The word was once so used (Henry V., III., vi., 76) by Shake- 
 speare. "Assistant," representing the French assister, is found 
 only here. 
 
 1. 4. But. Not ' except,' being with the imperative : ; Do not 
 miss the chance of writing me, when a ship is about to sail, 
 even if it keeps you from sleep.' 
 
 1. 6. Fashion and a toy in blood.* 'Thing of fashion and a 
 toying when in, because in, high spirits.' 
 
 1. 7. Primy nature. ' Nature in its prime or springtime.' 
 
 1. 0. Suppliance of a minute. ' What a minute supplies,' 
 ' what is supplied but for a minute. 1 
 
 1. 11. Nature crescent. ' Nature when growing.' 
 
 1. 12. Thews. 'Muscles,' 'sinews.' 
 
 1.15. Cautel. 'Craft,' 'deceit.' 
 
 1. 10. Virtue of. ' Element of virtue in.' 
 
 1. 26. Act. ' Range of action.' 
 
 1. 30. Credent. ' Ready to give credence. 1 
 
 I. 32. Unmaster'd. 'Not kept in control,' i.e. 'by you.' 
 
 I. 36. Chariest. ' Most circumspect and wary.' 
 
 I. 39. Canker. ' Canker-worm.' 
 
 I. 40. Buttons. ' Buds.' 
 
 I. 44. Youth to itself rebels. 'Youth has that within itself 
 which will prompt revolt against its better nature.'
 
 scene 3] NOTES 195 
 
 1. 47. Ungracious. ' Graceless.' 
 
 1.50. Primrose. 'Flowery.' 
 
 1. 51. Recks not his own rede. ' Heeds not his own counsel.' 
 
 Me. ' For me ' ; indirect object, or " dative." 
 
 1.53. Double. 'Duplicated,' 'doubled.' 
 
 1.54. Occasion. ' Opportunity,' ' good fortune.' 
 
 1.59. Character. ' Engrave,' 'inscribe.' Note the accent. 
 
 1.60. Unproportion'd. ' Undeveloped,' 'hasty.' 
 1. 61. Vulgar. ' Disesteemed,' cheap.' 
 
 1.64. Dull. 'Make callous.' 
 
 1.69. Censure. ' Opinion,' 'estimate.' 
 
 1. 71. Express'd in fancy. ' Having its character expressed 
 in fanciful forms or colors.' 
 
 1. 74. Chief in that. 'Chiefly in apparel.' There is some- 
 thing wrong in the readings here, as both the quartos and the 
 folios agree in inserting "of a" before "select and generous." 
 The present text, in spite of many proposed emendations of 
 " chief," is the one generally accepted. 
 
 1.77. Husbandry. ' Frugality,' 'thrift.' 
 
 1. 81. Season this. ' Make this serve as seasoning.' 
 
 1. 83. Tend. ' Wait for, upon.' 
 
 !. 90. Marry. 'Truly,' originally a profane use of 'Mary' 
 or 'Marie,' the Blessed Virgin.
 
 196 NOTES [Act 1 
 
 1.94. Put on. 'Impressed.' 
 
 1. 102. Unsifted. ' Without experience.' 
 
 1.106. Tenders. 'Promises.' Cf. " legal tenders. " 
 
 1. 107. Tender. 'Cherish,' 'hold dear' ; a punning repetition. 
 
 1.108. Crack the wind. 'Make the poor phrase wind 
 broken.' 
 
 1. 109. Tender me. ' Present me with.' 
 
 1.115. Springes. 'Snares.' 
 
 1. 122. Your entreatments. ' Entreaties, solicitations, ad- 
 dressed to you ' ; "your" being an objective genitive. * Hold 
 for better terms than a command, even if it be a prince's, to 
 talk love.' 
 
 1. 127. Brokers. 'Procurers.' 
 
 1. 128. Investments. ' Vestures.' 
 
 1.129. Implorators. ' Pleaders,' 'solicitors.' 
 
 1.133. Slander. ' Disgrace,' 'abuse.' 
 
 1. 135. Ways. Not plural, but an adverbial form of the 
 singular. Cf. "always." 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 1. 1. Shrewdly. « After the manner of a shrew ' ; ' sharply,' 
 •viciously.' 
 
 1. 2. Eager. ' Biting.'
 
 scene 4] NOTES 197 
 
 1. 8. Rouse. Cf. ii., 127. 
 
 1. 9. Wassail. ' Revelry.' 
 
 Upspring. Generally explained as a ' wild, upleaping 
 dance,' though 'swaggering' is doubtfully appropriate to men 
 in the last stages of intoxication. The word is ordinarily con- 
 strued as the object of "reels," but such a transposition, in 
 such straightforward diction as Hamlet's habitually is, is diffi- 
 cult to accept. Perhaps it is better to make "upspring" the 
 subject of " reels " ; ' the upspring dance is reelingly engaged in.' 
 
 1. 12. The triumph. ' In celebration of the victory of.' 
 Cf. "the motion prevails." 
 
 1. 15. Manner. ' Fashion.' 
 
 1. 18. Tax'd. ' Censured.' The discussion here, 11. 17-38, is 
 not found in the folio texts. 
 
 1. 19. Clepe. 'Call.' 
 
 1.20. Soil our addition. 'Sully our name and fame,' by 
 
 calling us swinish. " Addition " is properly ' title.' 
 
 1. 22. Of our attribute. ' Of what would be naturally attrib- 
 uted to us,' i.e. ' praise.' 
 
 1. 24. Mole of nature. ' Natural mole, or blemish.' 
 
 1.25. As. 'Namely.' 
 
 1. 26. His. Cf. ii., 216. 
 
 1.27. Complexion. ' Temperament,' ' inherited tendency.' 
 
 1.28. Pales. 'Paling,' 'palisade.'
 
 198 NOTES [Act 1 
 
 I. 30. Plausive. ' Pleasing.' 
 
 1. 31. Of one defect. ' Which one defect has constituted oi 
 imposed '; a subjective genitive construction. 
 
 1.32. Nature's livery. 'Badge furnished by nature'; in 
 contrast with "fortune's star," i.e. 'mark that comes by acci- 
 dent.' 
 
 1. 34. Undergo. ' Bear up under' ; ' sustain,' ' endure.' 
 
 1. 36. Eale. Possibly a contracted form of ' evil,' or a dialect 
 word of essentially the same meaning, chosen with punning 
 reference to ale. The ea here was pronounced like modern ea 
 in great, and ale, properly al, may have sounded much as now. 
 "Dram," a 'modicum of anything,' a 'slight potion,' antici- 
 pates the figure. 
 
 1. 37. Of a doubt. Not much sense can be made of these 
 words, which, if correct, must stand as predicate to "doth" ; 
 'maketh all the noble substance to be of doubt, mistrusted.' 
 Many attempts have been made to tinker the text in these two 
 lines, which, with the nineteen lines preceding, are not in the 
 folios, but with no success worth quoting. 
 
 1. 38. To his own scandal. ' With the effect of bringing the 
 whole character to the same degree of disgrace as the particular 
 fault or evil should be visited with.' "His" stands of course 
 for ' its,' and has " eale " for its antecedent. 
 
 1.40. Of health. ' Of moral soundness," undiseased with sin.' 
 
 1.43. Questionable. « Requiring question. '
 
 scene 4] NOTES 199 
 
 1. 47. Canoniz'd. ' Sainted ' ; ' held in reverence, at and 
 since burial, like the bones of a canonized person.' It is the 
 thought of the late king's worth, rather than zi his funeral, 
 that brings out the word. 
 
 In death. ' In the coffin, and the cerecloth wrappings of the 
 dead'; but it is clear, from "cerements" in the next line, 
 that the wrappings are chiefly meant. "Hearsed" is 'cof- 
 fined.' 
 
 1. 49. Inurn'd. Loosely for ' interred,' winch the quartos 
 read. 
 
 1. 53. Glimpses of the moon. ' What the moon gets glimpses 
 of.' Clouds, then, in Shakespeare's conception of this scene, 
 fitfully obscure the moon. 
 
 1. 54. Fools of nature. ' Fooled, made fools of, by nature.' 
 
 1. 55. Disposition. ' Emotional nature.' 
 
 1.56. Reaches. 'Capacities,' 'limitations.' 
 
 1.61. Removed. 'Retired.' 
 
 1. 64. What should be the fear ? ' What are you forced, in 
 your view, to consider dangerous ? ' 
 
 1. 65. Fee. ' Value,' ' worth.' 
 
 1. 73, Deprive. ' Take away.' 
 
 Your sovereignty of reason. ' The sovereignty, controlling 
 powers, of your reason.' 
 
 1. 75. Toys of desperation. • Desperate fancies, promptings.'
 
 200 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 I. 83. Nemean. 'Belonging to Neinea, in Argolis'; epithet 
 of the lion which Hercules, in the execution of his first labor, 
 slew. 
 
 Nerve. 'Sinew.' 
 
 1.85. Lets. 'Hinders.' Cf. " without let or hindrance." 
 
 1. 89. Have. ' Let us.' 
 
 1. 91. It. Refers back to " issue." 
 
 Scene V 
 
 1. 3. Flames. That is, of purgatory ; where the work of 
 cleansing was intermitted (cf. 1. 11) at night. 
 
 1. 11. Fast. Spirits in hell and purgatory were thought of as 
 capable of thirst and hunger, much as in the life of the body. 
 
 1. 19. An. The original form of ' on,' and used in Middle 
 English interchangeably with it, as also with a or o. 
 
 1. 20. Porpentine. ' Porcupine '; used seven times by Shake- 
 speare in this form. 
 
 1.21. Eternal blazon. 'Blazoning of the mysteries of the 
 hereafter.' 
 
 1. 32. Shouldst be. ' Wouldst have to be.' 
 
 1. 33. Lethe wharf. ' Banks of Lethe ' ; adjective for pos* 
 sessive, like Vergil's " Priameia virgo."
 
 scknjeS] NOTES 201 
 
 1. ■'.!. Process. ' Report ' ; which, given out (1. 35) from 
 court, was of course official. 
 
 1. 42. Adulterate. ' Adulterous.' 
 
 11.50,51. Decline upon. • Siuk to the level of.' 
 
 1. 52. To. 'In comparison with.' Cf. ii., 139 above. 
 
 1. 53. Virtue. Introduced as the subject of thought, but 
 without construction, like the anticipative noun in French. 
 Cf. •' votre libraire, a-t-il les livres" ? 
 
 1. 58. Soft. ' Hold,' 'be silent' ; not to be taken as an ad- 
 jective with omitted ' be,' but as an actual imperative. Cf. 
 " soft you now" (III., i., 88). 
 
 1. 61. Secure. 'Unguarded,' 'careless'; the active mean- 
 ing of the word. 
 
 1. 62. Hebenon. Perhaps ' henbane ' 
 
 1.68. Posset. 'Coagulate.' 
 
 1.69. Eager. 'Acid.' 
 
 1. 71. Bark'd about. 'Came about me as bark encloses 
 trees.' 
 
 1.72. Lazar-like. 'Like Lazarus,' 'like a leper.' 
 1. 75. Dispatch'd. ' Had my finish with.' 
 
 1. 76. Blossoms of my sin. ' Sins not yet brought to action, 
 but existing only in unsuspected tendencies.' The more natu- 
 ral idea of ' sins in the stage of enjoyment before their conse- 
 quences are reached ' seems inconsistent with the purity and 
 uprightness of the late King's character.
 
 202 NOTES [Act L 
 
 1. 77. Unhousel'd. ' Not having received the housel, or 
 eucharist.' 
 
 Disappointed. ' Unappointed,' ' unprepared.' 
 
 Unanel'd. ' Without having extreme unction administered.' 
 
 1. 80. This line, in the opinion of several commentators, 
 may have been given originally to Hamlet. But Hamlet seems 
 in no mood to interrupt the Ghost. 
 
 1. 83. Luxury. ' Lewdness.' 
 
 1. 88. Fare thee well. See i., 40 above. 
 
 1.89. Matin. The French matin, 'morning.' 
 
 1.97. Distracted globe. 'This head, or brain, of mine, dis- 
 tracted by the revelations made.' The sense of 'world,' which 
 some critics approve, does not seem to justify "distracted." 
 
 1. 98. Table. 'Tablet.' 
 
 1. 99. Fond. ' Foolish.' 
 
 1.100. Pressures. 'Impressions.' 
 
 1.107. Tables. ' Memorandum tablets' ; called later (II., 
 ii., 130), 'table-book,' because made of ivory sheets or leaves, 
 held together by a clasp. 
 
 1. 110. Word. ' Watchword.' 
 
 1. 116. Come, bird. The recall of a falconer to his hawk. 
 
 L 121. Once. 'Ever.' 
 
 L 127. Circumstance. 'Formality.'
 
 scene 5] NOTES 203 
 
 1. 137. Offence. That is, of the new King's crime. 
 
 1. 147. Upon my sword. Swords were often provided with 
 a cross, either stamped upon the hilt or formed by a transverse 
 bar serving as a guard. To supply the place of a cross or cru- 
 cifix in administering oaths, swords with such hilts were some- 
 times used. 
 
 1. 150. True-penny. 'True-blue'; the irreverence of this, 
 and "boy," being intended to mislead concerning the real char- 
 acter of the Ghost. 
 
 1.163. Pion^r. 'Pioneer.' 
 
 1. 165. As a stranger. ' With no attempting to be familiar.' 
 
 1.172. Antic. 'Odd'; ' disposition to be peculiar.' 
 
 1. 176. An if. Really a doubled ' if,' with the force of one. 
 Cf. or ere (ii., 147). 
 
 1. 180. Most. ' Greatest' ; the old sense of the word. 
 1. 185. Friending. ' Friendliness.' 
 1.186. Lack. 'Be wanting.' 
 
 1. 190. Go together. That is, ' without attention to prece 
 dence.' 
 
 Act II. Scene I 
 
 I 3. Shall. ' Will.* 
 
 1.5. Of. 'Concerning.' 
 
 1. 7. Inquire me. 'Oblige me by inquiring,' though not so 
 definite or strong ; a good case of the " ethical dative."
 
 204 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 Danskers. ' Danes,' the national word in Denmark. " Hoi- 
 ger Dansker" is the typic Dane, like Brother Jonathan as the 
 typic specimen of our own people. 
 
 1. 10. Encompassment and drift. ' Getting round and tend- 
 ing toward,' hy questions. 
 
 1. 11. Come you. ' You come ' ; not imperative. 
 
 More nearer. Simple comparatives in -er were often strength- 
 ened in Elizabethan English, as here, by more. 
 
 1. 12. It. Zhe matter.' 
 
 1. 13. Take you. 'Start with,' 'assume.' 
 
 1. 20. Forgeries. ' Fabrications.' 
 
 1. 31. Breathe. ' Speak' ; so in 1. 44 below. 
 
 Quaintly. 'Cleverly,' 'ingeniously.' 
 
 1. 32. Taints. 'Faults.' 
 
 1. 35. Of general assault. 'That generally attack young 
 men ' ; subjective genitive. 
 
 1. 38. Fetch of warrant. ' Warrantable expedient.' 
 
 1. 42. Converse. ' Conversation.' 
 
 1.43. Prenominate. 'Forenamed,' 'aforesaid.' 
 
 1. 45. In this consequence. ' Assents to you in this conclu 
 sion.' 
 
 1. 47. Addition. Cf. I., iv., 20. 
 1. 51. Leave. ' Leave off,'
 
 scene 1] NOTES 205 
 
 1. 58. Rouse. Cf. again I., ii., 127. 
 
 1. 04. Of wisdom and of reach. ' Wise and resourceful.' 
 
 1. 05. Windlasses. ' Windings.' 
 
 Assays of bias. ' Attempts by deviation.' 
 
 1. G8. Have me. ' Understand me.' 
 
 1. 71. Observe his inclination in yourself. Strictly the sense 
 should be 'Judge what he is doing, and means to do, by what 
 you find yourself prompted to do.' But this, though Polonius 
 shows no governing principles here except 'policy,' is hardly 
 satisfying. Perhaps the meaning is 'Do your watching and 
 judging inside ' ; ' betray to no one your purpose.' 
 
 I. 73. Ply his music. Not to be taken literally, as there 
 seems no need to give Laertes a further motive for staying in 
 Paris than has been already (I., ii., 02, 03) hinted. Besides, 
 this motive, for the son of a Lord Chamberlain, and such a 
 son, would be scarcely adequate or natural. Probably the 
 sense is ' Let him play his tune ; don't interfere.' 
 
 1.77. Closet. ' Room,' 'chamber.' 
 
 1. 78. Unbrac'd. 'Unfastened.' "Doublet" is a kind of 
 long waistcoat, fastened by many small buttons full to the 
 neck. 
 
 1. 80. Down-gyved. ' Down-fettered ' ; ' hanging low, like 
 fetters, about the ankles.' In this form down carries the verb- 
 idea ; cf. " down brakes ! " 
 
 1.102. Ecstasy. 'Mental alienation,' 'madness.'
 
 206 NOTES [Act IL 
 
 1. 103. Whose violent property. ' Quality of whose vio- 
 lence.' 
 
 Fordoes. ' Undoes,' 'destroys.' 
 
 1. 109. Repel his letters. ' Refused to receive the messen- 
 ger bringing letters from him.' 
 
 1.112. Quoted. ' Construed,' 'interpreted.' 
 
 1.113. Wrack. 'Wreck,' ' ruin.' 
 
 Beshrew my jealousy. ' Plague upon my suspicion.' 
 
 1.115. Cast beyond. 'Overreach.' 
 
 1. 119. To hide. ' In hiding.' 
 
 Than hate to utter. ' Than would be the hate from utter- 
 ing, or making known.' 'If we conceal this, and Hamlet be- 
 come permanently insane, the degree of grief resulting would 
 be greater than the degree of hatred that the King and Queen 
 will conceive for us when we tell them that Hamlet is in love 
 with a woman beneath his rank. ' 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. L Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Rosencrantz appears 
 in the records as the name of a Danish nobleman present at the 
 coronation of James I. in 1603. Guildenstern is also a Danish 
 name. 
 
 1. 2. Moreover that. ' Beyond the fact that.' 
 
 1. 6. Sith. 'Since.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 207 
 
 1. 7. What it should be. ' What it is in nature.' 
 
 1. 12. So neighbour'd to. ' Having so fully the relation of 
 neighbors to, the acquaintance of neighbors with.' 
 
 Humour. ' States and possible shifts of feeling. ' 
 
 1. 13. Vouchsafe your rest. ' Condescend to rest ' ; an ex- 
 aggerated and pedantic locution for ' consent to stay.' 
 
 1. 14. Companies. Cf. I., i., 173. 
 
 1.18. Open'd. That is, "to us" ; 'disclosed.' 
 
 1. 22. Gentry. ' High-bred consideration.' 
 
 1. 24. Supply and profit. ' Supplying and profiting.' 
 
 1. 25. Visitation. ' Visit.' 
 
 1. 27. Of us. ' Over us.' 
 
 1.30. Bent. ' Intention,' ' purpose.' 
 
 1. 42. Still. ' Invariably.' 
 
 1. 43. You. ' Yourself.' 
 
 1. 47. Trail of policy. ' Policy-trail,' « trail requiring sa- 
 gacity to trace.' "Trail" is of course not the object of 
 "hunt," but an accusative of extent. 
 
 1. 52. Fruit. 'Dessert.' 
 
 1. 56. Doubt. ' Suspect.' 
 
 1.60. Desires. ' Good wishes. * 
 
 1. 64. Truly found. ' Found sure enough.'
 
 208 NOTES [Act IL 
 
 1. 67. Falsely borne in hand. ' Taken advantage of by false 
 representations.' " Falsely " is redundant here. 
 
 1. 71. Give th' assay. Apparently ' offer, venture the 
 attempt.' * 
 
 1.80. Likes. ' Pleases,' 'suits. 1 
 
 1.81. Consider'd. 'Favorable to consideration'; not par- 
 ticiple here. 
 
 1.86. Expostulate. 'Discuss.' 
 
 1.90. Wit. 'Understanding.' 
 
 1. 105. Perpend. ' Consider.' 
 
 1. 100. Beautified. ' Beautiful,' without hint of adornments ; 
 a word of some acceptance in Shakespeare's day. 
 
 1. 113. Bosom. Referring apparently to a 'pocket in the 
 front part of the stays, in which love letters and love tokens, 
 and even money and materials for needle-work were anciently 
 carried.' Steevens so comments, in substance, on a like use of 
 the word in (ill., i., 250) Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
 
 1. 116. Doubt thou. 'Have your doubts, if you will.' In 
 the last line of the stanza the meaning is strengthened to 'dis- 
 believe.' 
 
 1. 124. To him. Perhaps In imitation of the classic dative 
 of possession. " Machine " of course is ' body.' 
 
 1. 126. More above. ' Moreover.' 
 
 1. 136. Play'd the desk. ' Played the part of,' ' played that 
 I was.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 209 
 
 1. 137. Given my heart a winking. ' Winked to my anxiety, 
 my affection, to be in abeyance.' 
 
 1.139. Round. ' Roundly,' 'directly.' 
 
 1.140. Bespeak. 'Address.' 
 
 1.141. Star. 'Sphere,' 'world.' 
 
 1. 145. Took the fruits of. ' Profited by.' 
 
 1. 148. Watch. ' Condition of sleeplessness.' 
 
 1. 149. Lightness. ' Lightheadedness.' 
 
 1.151. Mourn for. The object is which implied in " wherein." 
 
 1. 159. Centre. That is, ' of the earth.' 
 
 1. 100. Four hours. Often used indefinitely, as if "four" 
 were 'for.' 
 
 1. 103. Arras. ' Tapestry hangings ' ; because largely made 
 in Arras, France. 
 
 1. 108. Wretch. Often a term of endearment, as well as 
 commiseration. 
 
 1. 170. Board. 'Accost.' 
 
 1. 182. Good kissing carrion. 'Carrion good for kissing.' 
 Cf. "a good fowling piece." 
 
 1.184. Conception. As Hamlet has divined Polonius's "pre- 
 cepts" to Ophelia, there can be small doubt as to his meaning, 
 and the motive of it, here. 
 
 1.187. Say. 'Mean.' " By " is ' concerning.' 
 
 1. 195. Who. Often found for ' whom.' 
 
 r
 
 210 NOTES [Act IL 
 
 1. 199. Purging. ' Discharging.' 
 
 1. 204. Should. ' Would.' 
 
 1.211. Pregnant. ' Ingenious,' 'having implications.' 
 
 1. 212. Happiness. ' Facility, felicity of expression.' 
 
 1. 218. Withal. Often used, as an emphatic ' with,' at the 
 end of clauses ; here governing ' that.' 
 
 1. 230. Indifferent. ' Undistinguished,' « ordinary.' 
 1. 248. Confines. ' Places of confinement.' 
 
 1. 2G0. Substance. ' Substantial good,' which the ambitious 
 
 pursue. 
 
 1. 262. ' You see where this brings you ; shadow of a dream 
 is shadow of a shadow.' 
 
 1.266. Outstretched. 'Pretentious.' 'exploiting.' Posen- 
 crantz, not catching the hint of Hamlet's reductio, ventures to 
 affirm the nonsense that Hamlet's last sentence should have 
 forestalled. At this Hamlet develops his argument more for- 
 mally : 'The highest ambitions of monarchs and field mar- 
 shals, who have chief reason to entertain them, being but 
 .shadows, and the kings and showy champions being but shadows 
 too, then beggars, who are without ambition, are alone some- 
 thing more than shadows, and have real bodies. So we have 
 monarchs and outstretched heroes brought into the relation of 
 shadows to beggars, — a thing not correspondent to reality in 
 this world.' 
 
 1.267. Fay. 'Faith.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 211 
 
 1. 272. Dreadfully attended. 'The service rendered me is 
 disgracefully poor. 1 
 
 I. 273. Beaten way. 'Familiar, much-tried course. 1 'by 
 the warrant of old and familiar friendship. 1 
 
 1.283. But. 'Only.' 
 
 1. 285. Modesties. Cf. again the note (I., i., 173) on " loves.* 1 
 
 1. 291. Consonancy. Cf. 1. 11 above. 
 
 1. 296. Of you. ' On you. 1 Cf. 1. 27 above. 
 
 1. 300. Prevent your discovery. ' Anticipate any possible 
 revealment by you. 1 
 
 1. 307. Fretted. ' Embossed,' ' embellished. 1 
 
 1.311. Express. • Distinctive, 1 'distinguished.' 
 
 1.323. Lenten. 'Curtailed,' 'scanty.' 
 
 1. 324. Coted. ' Overtook,' ' passed.' 
 
 1. 331. Tickle o' the sere. ' Ticklish, sensitive at the trigger " ; 
 ' easily caused to explode, like a musket provided with a hair- 
 trigger.' "Sere" was the upper part of the trigger piece 
 which held the hammer in position when lifted. The phrase 
 then means, ' ready to laugh at the slightest provocation. 1 
 
 1.339. Inhibition. 'Prohibition.' This probably refers to 
 an order of the Privy Council, made in 1601, by which all 
 theatrical representations, except at The Fortune and The Globe, 
 were stopped. This embargo upon the patronage of the thea- 
 tres, which was the " innovation," forced the unhoused players
 
 212 NOTES [Act IL 
 
 to seek audiences in the country towns. If we were to substi- 
 tute Denmark here for England, Elsinore would be such a town. 
 
 1. 346. Aery. ' Eagle's nest,' ' brood of nestlings.' 
 
 1. 347. Eyases. ' Unfledged hawks.' A reference to the 
 company of boy-actors, known as Children of the Chapel, 
 who had been playing for several years successfully at Black- 
 friars. These, the complaint is, " are now the fashion." 
 
 Top of question. ' Top of their voices.' 
 
 1. 348. Tyrannically. ' Applauded as the tyrants' parts in 
 the old plays were,' that is, ' violently.' 
 
 1.349. Berattle. ' Berate,' 'assail.' 
 
 Common stages. ' Regular, adult actors.' 
 
 1.351. Goose-quills. ' Hackwriters,' who furnish the abusive 
 parts or interpolations. 
 
 1. 353. Escoted. 'Paid,' " Quality " is ' prof ession.' 
 
 1.359. To do. 'Ado.' 
 
 1. 360. Tarre. ' Set on.' 
 
 1. 362. Argument. ' Plot of a play.' 
 
 1. 366. Throwing about. ' Bandying of sharp words.' 
 
 1. 367. Carry it away. ' Carry off the prize.' 
 
 1.371. Mows. 'Faces,' 'grimaces.' 
 
 1. 373. In little. ' In miniature.' 
 
 1. 374. 'Sblood. ' By God's blood,' i.e. the sacramental wine
 
 scene 2] NOTES 213 
 
 1.378. Appurtenance. ' Appertainment,' 'accompaniment.' 
 
 1. 379. Comply with. « Be complaisant to.' 
 
 1. 380. In this garb. ' In this fashion.' 
 
 Extent. 'Behavior.' 
 
 1. 387. Handsaw. Perhaps a corruption of hernshaw, for 
 'heronshaw ' 'heron.' With this understanding, the sense of 
 the passage is most satisfying. In hawking, the falconer is 
 unable to distinguish the hawk from the heron while they 
 force him, by flying with the north wind, to face the sun. 
 When he can turn about, and watch them flying with a south- 
 erly wind in the other direction, he will easily know the hawk 
 from the heavier bird that it is pursuing. Of course "north- 
 north-west" is a piece of the precision with which Hamlet 
 usually nonplusses his adversaries, and there is possibly a 
 pointed reference to the new role that his friends, at the King's 
 order, have undertaken. The other interpretation, which 
 makes "hawk" a cutting tool and leaves "handsaw" literal, 
 takes no account of the first two clauses, which must have had 
 some meaning in Hamlet's mind. 
 
 .. 392. Happily. Cf. I., i., 134. 
 
 I. 400. Roscius. The eminent Roman actor (d. 62 b.c.) with 
 whom Cicero studied, and whom he afterwards defended. 
 
 1. 402. Buz. Probably an interjection of impatience, at an 
 unbearable repetition. 
 
 1. 404. Probably a line from some ballad now lost ; sarcas- 
 tically pertinent to "upon my honor."
 
 214 NOTES [Act IL 
 
 1.408. Scene individable. ' With scene unshifted.' "Poem 
 unlimited" should be the contrary, 'without restrictions of 
 place or time.' 
 
 1. 40!). Seneca. Prominent Latin author (d. 65 a.d.) of 
 tragedies. Plautns (d. 184 h.c.) wrote famous comedies. Plays 
 of each authorship, a few years before the date of this play, 
 were frequently acted at Cambridge and Oxford. 
 
 1. 412. Jephthah. Judges xi. 80-40. 
 
 I. 414. Some editors reject '-a, 1 ' which all the quartos and 
 folios show. 
 
 II. 410, 417. The ballad from which these lines are quoted is 
 included in Percy's Beliqv.es, Series the First, Book II., No. iii. 
 
 1.428. Row. Properly ' line,' but here ' stanza. 1 
 
 Chanson. 'Song'; "pious" because treating a Scripture 
 subject. 
 
 1.429. Abridgements. ' Ourtailers,' ' those who will cut short 
 my present talk' ; also, by a quibble, 'entertainments.' 'plays.' 
 
 1. 482. Valanced. ' Fringed with beard.' 
 
 1. 484. Lady and mistress. Boy or youth whom Hamlet, has 
 seen play feminine parts, and who appears later as the Player 
 Queen. Women actors were not seen on the English stage 
 until 1000. Hoys of fifteen years or younger accompanied the 
 Strolling troupes, to take the feminine rules, and this player has 
 added several inches to his stature since Hamlet went to Wit- 
 tenberg. " By'r lady," 'by the Virgin,' is added punningly in 
 the spirit of high-bred fellowship and welcome.
 
 scene 2] NOTES 21 5 
 
 1. 436. Chopine. A species of clogs, not unlike the modern 
 wooden shoes of the Japanese, and from four to ten inches or 
 more in height ; worn first by women of rank in Italy and 
 Spain, later to r„ limited extent in England. Hamlet does not 
 necessarily imply that the Player Queen is now wearing, or has 
 ever worn, a chopine, and there is no proof of their use on 
 Shakespeare's stage. 
 
 1. 438. Boys sometimes played on, in parts that they had 
 well mastered, until their voices began to change. Hamlet sees 
 indications that this point, in the present case, has about been 
 reached. When the coins of the day were cracked inside the 
 ring encircling the queen's head they were uncurrent. 
 
 1. 439. Fly at anything. French hawking seems to have 
 been famously expert and daring. 
 
 1.441. Quality. 'Proficiency.' 
 
 1. 443. Me. Cf. i., 7 above. 
 
 1. 446. Caviare. 'Condiment of sturgeons' roe,' lately intro- 
 duced from Russia, and unappreciated by the "general" or 
 unfashionable. 
 
 1. 448. Cried in the top of. ' Outvoiced,' because of more 
 conviction and authority. 
 
 1. 450. Sallets. 'Salads'; of considerable piquancy in 
 those days. 
 
 1.452. Indict. 'Impeach,' 'convict.' 
 
 1.454. Handsome. 'Attractive from inner excellence,' while 
 " fine " is ' attractive from artistic effort.'
 
 216 NOTES 
 
 [Act IL 
 
 i. 456. Thereabout. ' The part.' 
 
 1. 460. Hyrcanian beast. ' Hyrcan tiger,' as told of by Pliny 
 
 1.467. Gules. Heraldic for ' red ' ; " trick'd " is ' painted. ' 
 
 1. 469. Impasted. ' Made thick as paste.' 
 
 1. 472. O'ersized. ' Covered with size or glue.' 
 
 1. 473. Carbuncles. ' Garnet or ruby gems.' 
 
 1.483. But. 'Only,' 'merely.' 
 
 1.488. Milky. 'Milk-white.' 
 
 1. 490. Painted tyrant. Cf. Macbeth, V., viii., 25-27. 
 
 1. 494. Rack. ' Mass of moving vapor.' 
 
 1.497. Region. 'Sky,' 'air.' 
 
 1.498. A- work. Cf. I., v., 19. 
 
 1.500. Proof. ' Resistance,' 'invulnerability.* 
 
 1. 501. Remorse. ' Pity.' 
 
 1. 506. Nave. ' Hub.' 
 
 1. 510. Jig. ' Comic song.' 
 
 1. 512. Mobled. Apparently, from later description (11. 516- 
 519), 'disorderly wrapped or muffled.' 
 
 1. 516. Bisson rheum. ' Blinding tears.' 
 
 1. 518. O'erteemed loins. 'Overtaxed, overworn with mater- 
 nity.' 
 
 1.527. Milch. 'Moist.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 217 
 
 1. 528. Passion. Properly, 'suffering'; here 'sympathy,' 
 ' pity.' 
 
 1. 533. Bestowed. ' Provided with lodgings. 1 
 
 1. 534. Brief chronicles. In some degree the stage was made 
 to supply the place of the modern newspaper. 
 
 1. 539. Bodykins. ' Wafers of the sacrament.' 
 
 1. 540. After. ' According to.' 
 
 1.565. Conceit. 'Conception,' 'idea.' 
 
 1. 568. His whole function. 'All his powers.' 
 
 1. 576. Free. ' Innocent.' 
 
 1. 577. Amaze. ' Confuse.' 
 
 1. 580. Muddy-mettled. ' Dull-spirited.' 
 
 Peak. 'Pine,' 'grow thin.' 
 
 1.581. John-a-dreams. 'John of Dreams,' 'John the 
 
 Dreamer.' Cf. " Jack-a-Lantern." 
 
 Unpregnant of. ' Unalive to.' 
 
 1. 583. Property. ' Quality of kingship ' ; not ' belongings, 1 
 since they suffered no " defeat," — that is, ' destruction.' 
 
 1. 588. Me. Not ethical dative, but indirect object ; ' to me.' 
 1.590. 'Swounds. ' God's wounds,' 'zounds.' 
 1. 591. Pigeon-liver'd. Doves and pigeons were once sup- 
 posed to lack gall, and to be for this reason uncombative. 
 
 1. 593. Region. Cf. 1. 497 above.
 
 218 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 1. 595. Kindless. ' Unnatural,' ' abnormal.' 
 
 i. 60.3. About. ' To the task,' ' be about. 
 
 1. 606. Presently. * Straightway.' 
 
 1.612. Tent. 'Probe.' 
 Blench. 'Start,' 'shrink.' 
 
 1.618. Abuses. 'Deceives,' ' beguiles.' 
 
 1.619. Relative. ' Connected,' 'pertinent.* 
 
 * 
 
 Act III. Scene I 
 
 1. 1. Drift of circumstance. ' Advancing, tending, by cir- 
 cumstantial means.' Cf. II., i., 10. 
 
 1. 2. Confusion. That is, ' of ideas and speech.' 
 1.3. Grating. 'Disturbing.' 
 
 1. 8. Crafty madness. ' Madness cunningly feigned.' Cf. iv., 
 
 188. 
 
 1.13. Question. 'Inquiry.' 
 
 1. 17. O'er-raught. 'Overtook.' 
 
 1. 26. Edge. « Incitement.' 
 
 1.29. Closely. 'Privately.' 
 
 1.31. Affront. 'Meet,' 'come upon.' 
 
 1. 32. Espials. ' Spies.' 
 
 1. 43. Gracious. Addressed, of course, to the King.
 
 scene 1> NOTES 219 
 
 1. 45. Colour. ' Make natural, plausible.* 
 
 1.47. Much. 'Frequently,' 'fully.' 
 
 1.53. Painted. ' Hollow,' ' ungenuine.' 
 
 1. 61. No more. ' Nothing but this.' 
 
 1. 65. Rub. In bowling, anything that turns aside the bowl. 
 
 1.67. Mortal coil. 'Turmoil of mortality.' "Coil" in the 
 shipman's sense applied to rope, though a word not yet used in 
 books, must have been known to Shakespeare, and was probably 
 included by suggestion here. " Shuffle " would seem to settle 
 that. " Coil of mortality " should then mean the conditionings 
 and tribulations imposed upon the spirit by the flesh, the body, 
 infolding it helplessly as with serpent coils. 
 
 1. 68. Respect. ' Consideration.' 
 
 1.69. Of so long life. 'To be so long lived.' 
 
 1. 70. Time. 'The times.' 
 
 1. 76. Bare bodkin. ' Mere stiletto.' 
 
 Fardels. ' Burdens.' 
 
 1. 79. Bourn. ' Boundary. ' 
 
 1. 84. Native hue. 'Natural color.' 
 
 L 85. Thought. ' Anxiety.' 
 
 1.89. Orisons. 'Prayers.' 
 
 1. 103. Honest. ' Virtuous.'
 
 220 NOTES [Act III 
 
 il. 107, 108. ' Your virtue should not allow your beauty to 
 be discoursed with.' 
 
 1. 109. Commerce. ' Dealings.' 
 
 1. 119. Relish. ' Impart the flavor of.' 
 
 1.122. Indifferent. ' Fairly,' ' moderately.' 
 
 1. 126. At my beck. ' Ready and waiting to be commis- 
 sioned.' 
 
 1. 134. House. That Polonius should have a house at Elsi- 
 nore is not unreasonable, since (see note on The Castle, p. 183) 
 there was a court palace outside the town. But it seems likely 
 that "house" is meant in a more general sense. On the sup- 
 position that Polonius lived in a house of his own, and that 
 Scene i. of Act II. is laid in it, we are forced to believe that 
 Hamlet comes over from Kronborg, through the town, to Ophe- 
 lia's closet in the condition (11. 78-80) described, and that Polo- 
 nius, taking Ophelia by the arm, proposes (1. 101) to go at once 
 thus through the streets to the King's rooms in the castle 
 Shakespeare can hardly have so conceived. Then, if this scene 
 does not belong to Polonius's house, probably Scene iii. of Act 
 I. does not. 
 
 I. 142. Monsters. Cf. Othello, IV., i., 63. 
 
 I. 147. Jig. ' Walk as if dancing a jig.' 
 1.148. Nickname. 'Misname.' 
 
 II. 148, 149. ' Pretend that your playfulness, in giving wrong 
 names, is only ignorance.'
 
 scene lj NOTES 221 
 
 1. 156. Expectancy and rose. ' Hope and ornament.' 
 " Fair" is passive here, ' made fair or fortunate,' by possessing 
 him. 
 
 1. 157. Glass of fashion. ' Glass into which fashionable 
 young men looked to see what they should be.' 
 
 Mould. ' Model.' 
 
 1.163. Feature. 'Shape.' "Blown" seems to revive the 
 conception (1. 156) of "rose." 
 
 1. 164. Ecstasy. Cf. II., i., 102. 
 
 1. 168. Not. Cf. I., ii., 158. 
 
 1. 170. Doubt. Cf. I., ii., 256. 
 
 1. 178. Puts. Northern dialect plural, which ended for all 
 persons in -s. Shakespeare sometimes uses it for reasons of 
 metre and of rhyme (cf. M. of V., I., iii., 162 ; Cymb., II., hi., 25), 
 sometimes, as seemingly here, from personal choice. " Brains" 
 occurs five times as a nominative, in Shakespeare, besides the 
 present example, and in each instance with a plural verb. 
 
 1. 179. Fashion of himself. 'Real habits and manner. 1 
 
 1. 181. Grief. 'Trouble.' 
 
 1. 187. Round. 'Direct,' Cf. II., ii., 139. 
 
 1. 188. So please. Conditional ; as in the parenthetic 
 "please God," 'if it shall please God.' 
 
 Ear. 'Earshot.' 
 
 1.189. Find. 'Find out,' ' expose.'
 
 222 NOTES [Act IIL 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. 4. Nor do not. Cf. I., ii., 158, and i., 168. 
 
 1. 10. Periwig-pated. Actors at this time generally wore 
 wigs ; patrons of the theatre did not. 
 
 1. 11. Groundlings. ' The occupants of the pit,' which in the 
 theatres of the day was not furnished with seats or even a 
 floor. 
 
 1. 13. Dumb-shows. Cf. 1. 129 ff. below. 
 
 1. 14. Termagant. A mythical deity of the Saracens, intro- 
 duced in the mysteries and moralities, and played with much 
 violence and noise. 
 
 1. 15. Herod. Another character from the mystery-plays, 
 and popularly remembered because of the rage and fury of 
 the part. 
 
 1.21. From. 'Aside from.' 
 
 1.25. Pressure. ' Stamp,' 'imprint.* 
 
 1. 26. Tardy off. ' Ineffectually rendered.' 
 
 1. 28. Censure. Cf. I., ill-, 69. 
 
 Of the which one. ' Of whom alone ' ; or perhaps, ' of 
 which one class.* 
 
 1. 38. Indifferently. Cf. III., i., 123 above. 
 
 1. 40. In the older drama, the clowns were allowed to ex- 
 temporize their several parts, under the stage direction Stultus
 
 scene 2J NOTES 223 
 
 loquitur ; and if they succeeded in making the audience laugh, 
 it was not always easy to make them give way. 
 
 1. 56. Cop'd withal. * Engage with,' ' have dealings with.' 
 
 1.61. Candi'd. ' Sugared,' ' flattering.' 
 
 1.62. Pregnant. Profit-bringing.' 
 
 1. 70. Blood and judgment. ' Passionate impulses and self- 
 control.' 
 
 1. 80. Very comment of thy soul. ' Most energized dis- 
 cerning.' 
 
 1. 81. Occulted. 'Concealed,' 'covered.' 
 
 1.85. Stithy. ' Workshop,' or perhaps 'anvil.' 
 
 1. 92. Idle. ' Empty of interest.' 
 
 1. 94. Fares. Understood perversely and punningly by Ham- 
 let as ' how is your fare ? ' The chameleon was once supposed 
 to feed on air. 
 
 1. 98. Not mine. ' Not for me,' ' no answer to mine.' 
 
 1. 104. Caesar. A Latin tragedy on the death of Julius 
 Caesar was performed at Oxford in 1582. 
 
 1.109. Patience. Said deferentially for 'readiness,' 'good 
 pleasure.' 
 
 1. 117. Jig-maker. Cf. II., ii., 510. 
 
 1. 123. Suit of sables. Not a 'suit of mourning,' but of 
 'sable fur,' of great dignity (cf. IV., vii., 79) and costliness. 
 Cf . I., ii., 242.
 
 224 NOTES [Act III 
 
 1. 127. Not thinking on. ' Not being remembered.' 
 
 1. 129. From a satirical ballad, inspired by the opposition 
 of the Puritans to May-games and Morris-dances, in which the 
 hobby-horse had part. "The hobby-horse was made by the 
 figure of a horse fastened round the waist of a man, his own 
 legs going through the body of the horse, and enabling him 
 to walk, but concealed by a long foot-cloth ; while false legs 
 appeared where those of the man should be, at the sides of the 
 horse." 
 
 The Dumb-show. The Player King and Player Queen, who 
 are now, with the Poisoner, to represent in Pantomime the 
 main action of The Murder of Gonzago. The dumb-show was 
 usually a means of bringing before the audience parts of a play 
 that could not be well introduced by dialogue. In this case 
 what the actors show as pantomimists is merely what they are 
 to play later in their respective roles. Perhaps the purpose is 
 to enable the audience, by this foreknowledge, to watch the 
 effect of the play upon the king more closely. 
 
 1. 131. Miching mallecho. ' Wily mischief.' 
 
 1. 133. Belike. 'Probably.' 
 
 Argument. Cf. II., ii., 362. 
 
 1. 139. Naught. 'Naughty,' 'worthless.' 
 
 1. 144. Posy. ' Motto,' generally in rhyme. 
 
 1.147. Cart. Affectedly archaic and crude for ' chariot.' 
 
 1.148. Salt wash. 'The sea.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 225 
 
 1.152. Commutual. Cf. " Commixture." 
 
 1.157. Distrust you. "You" is dative: 'feel misgivings 
 for you.' 
 
 1.159. Holds quantity. 'Preserve proportion.' For 
 "holds" cf. i., 178. 
 
 1. 160. ' In either nothing, or both in extreme measure.' 
 
 1. 162. Siz'd. 'Dimensioned.' 
 
 1. 166. Operant. 'Active,' 'operative.' 
 
 Leave. 'Cease.' 
 
 1. 174. Instances. ' Incitements,' ' motives.' 
 
 1. 175. Respects. Cf. i., 68. 
 
 1. 180. ' Purpose is conditioned upon remembering.' 
 
 1.181. Validity. ' Strength,' 'vigor.' 
 
 1. 183. Fall. Pluralized, probably, by 'fruit.' 
 
 1.184. Necessary. 'Inevitable.' 
 
 1. 185. ' What we promise to ourselves we may absolve our- 
 selves from paying. ' 
 
 1. 189. Enactures. 'Enactings.' 
 
 1. 193. Our loves. ' Love that others feel toward us ' ; 
 
 "our," objective genitive. 
 
 1. 196. Flies. Cf. again L, 178. 
 
 1.201. Seasons. 'Matures,' ' establishes.' 
 Q
 
 226 NOTES Act III 
 
 1. 207. Die. Subjunctive imperative. 
 
 1.211. Anchor's cheer. ' Anchorite's fare.' 
 
 Scope. ' Aim,' ' ambition.' 
 
 1. 212. Opposite. ' Contrary circumstances,' ' disappoint 
 ment.' 
 
 Blanks . ' Blanches. ' 
 
 1.222. Protests. 'Formally affirms,' 'asseverates,' — i.e. 
 her devotion. 
 
 1. 230. Tropically. ' In the manner of a trope, or figure.' 
 Image. ' Representation.' 
 1. 234. Free. Cf. II., ii., 576. 
 Galled. ' Rubbed raw.' 
 
 1. 237. Chorus. A player sometimes introduced in the 
 Elizabethan theatre, at the opening of an act, to explain or 
 justify the plot. Also the part so played. Imitated from the 
 Chorus of the Greek drama. 
 
 1. 243. Evidently quoted or adapted from two lines, in The 
 True Tragedie of Richard the Third, in which Richard ex- 
 presses remorse for his murders. 
 
 1. 245. Confederate season. ' Opportunity acting as a con- 
 federate ' ; apparently personified here. 
 
 1. 247. Ban. 'Curse.' 
 
 1.240. Wholesome. 'Vigorous'; usually active, as in 
 (I., i., 162) "wholesome nights."
 
 scene 2] NOTES 227 
 
 Usurp. ' Effect a usurpation over.' 
 
 1. 264. Feathers. Much worn on the Elizabethan stage. 
 
 1. 265. Turn Turk. ' Decline, as from Christian to Infidel , 
 to the worst conceivable plight.' 
 
 1. 206. Roses. ' Rosettes of ribbon ' ; large, in imitation of 
 the famous roses of Provins, a town near Paris, or of Provence. 
 
 Razed. ' Slashed,' or ' slit in figures.' 
 
 1.267. Cry. ' Company '; properly 'pack.' "Fellowship" 
 is 'position of a share-holder, or partner.' 
 
 1.273. Pajock. 'Peacock.' 
 
 1. 281. Recorders. A species of ' flageolet.' 
 
 1. 283. Perdy. A form of the French oath ' Par dieu.' 
 
 1.291. Distemper'd. 'Disturbed,' 'disordered'; either 
 mentally or physically. 
 
 1. 293. Choler. ' Anger.' 
 
 1. 295. More richer. Cf. II., i., 11. 
 
 1. 296. Purgation. With emphasis on the other meaning 
 of 'exculpation.' 
 
 1.299. Frame. 'Orderliness.' 
 
 1. 307. Pardon. ' Leave to withdraw.' 
 
 1. 317. Admiration. ' Wonder.' 
 
 1.323. Shall. Cf. II., L, 3. 
 
 1. 324. Trade. ' Business.'
 
 228 NOTES [Act Hi 
 
 i. 326. Pickers and stealers. ' Hands ' ; because of the 
 phrase in the catechism, "to keep my hands from picking and 
 stealing." 
 
 1. 328. Your cause of distemper. ' Cause of your disorder,' 
 Cf. I., iv., 73. 
 
 1 333. While the grass grows. The whole proverb runs 
 " Why 1st grass doth growe, oft sterves [starves] the silly 
 steed." 
 
 1. 336. To withdraw with you. Probably, ' To take you 
 two aside, that the actors may not hear.' 
 
 Recover the wind. ' Get the game on the windward side, so 
 that the toil, or net, will not be scented.' 
 
 1. 3f)0. Stops. ' Stoppings ' ; ' manner of stopping the vent- 
 ages, or holes.' 
 
 1. 373. By and by. ' At once.' 
 
 1. 374. Fool me to the top of my bent. ' Humor me to the 
 limit of my inclination.' 
 
 1.370. Witching time. 'Time for witch practices.' 
 
 1. 385. Nero. Who, it will be remembered, murdered his 
 mother. 
 
 1.380. Shent. ' Wounded,' 'punished.' 
 
 1. 300. Give them seals. ' Advance them, as seals advance 
 legal documents, to deeds.'
 
 scene 3] NOTES 229 
 
 Scene III 
 1. 5. Terms. ' Restricting conditions, 1 ' responsibilities. 1 
 
 1. 11. Singular and peculiar. ' Single and belonging to itself 
 alone. ' 
 
 1. 12. Armour of the mind. ' Defensive expedients. 1 
 
 1.13. Noyance. 'Injury. 1 
 
 1. 15. Cease. ' Surcease, 1 ' death ' ; taking a verb of kindred 
 meaning like "blow is struck, 11 "life is lived. 11 Cf. "die the 
 death. 11 
 
 1. 16. Gulf. 'Whirlpool. 1 
 
 1. 22. Boisterous. 'Violent.' 
 
 1.24. Arm. 'Furnish, 1 'prepare.' 
 
 1. 25. Fear. ' Cause of fear. 1 
 
 1.20. Process. ' Procedure, 1 'proceedings.' 
 
 Tax him home. ' Censure, reprove effectually. 1 
 
 1. 33. Of vantage. Probably 'from an advantageous place. 1 
 
 1. 39. ' Though my inclination be as strong as my purpose or 
 (1. 40) intent.' 
 
 1. 41. Double business. Not 'twofold task,' but 'task re- 
 quiring at the same time two businesses, or forms of action.' 
 
 1.51. Past. 'Irrevocable. 1 
 
 1. 56. Ambition. ' Accomplishment of ambition. '
 
 230 NOTES [Act ID 
 
 I. 57. Offence. ' What the offence has brought. 1 
 
 1. 58. Currents. ' Courses.' Cf. i., 87. 
 
 1. <j4. Rests. ' Remains.' 
 
 1. 08. Limed. 'Caught as with bird-lime.' 
 
 1.69. Engag'd. ' Brought into restraint.' 
 
 1. 73. Pat. 'Conveniently,' • with advantage.' 
 
 1. 75. Would. ' Would like to be,' as in personification ; 
 ' should.' 
 
 1. 79. Hire and salary. ' A thing one might be hired and 
 salaried, in the King's interest, to do.' 
 
 1. 80. Full of bread. ' Not in an ascetic, but a self-indulgent 
 frame of mind.' 
 
 1. 83. Circumstance. ' Point of view.' 
 
 1. 85. To take. ' In taking.' 
 
 1.88. Hent. ' Grasp,' 'seizure.' 
 
 1.96. Physic. 'Remedy.' 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 1. 7. Fear me. Cf. I., 111., 51. 
 
 1. 12. Question. ' Talk,' but used of course with punning 
 reference (1. 11) to "answer." 
 
 1. 14. Rood. 'Crucifix.'
 
 scene 4] NOTES 231 
 
 1.38. Proof. Perhaps ' impenetrableness,' rather than 'im- 
 penetrable,' on account of the noun following. 
 
 1.42. Rose. ' Idealizing,' ' transfiguration. ' 
 
 1. 44. Blister. ' Condition produced by removing the skin.' 
 Cf. Comedy of Errors, II., ii., 138. 
 
 1. 46. Contraction. ' Contract-making,' ' making of mar- 
 riage contracts.' 
 
 1. 48. Doth glow. That is, 'with indignation.' 
 
 1. 49. Mass. ' The earth.' 
 
 1.52. Index. ' Preface,' ' prologue.' The index was often 
 placed at the beginning of the volume. 
 
 1.54. Presentment. 'Representation.' 
 
 1.56. Front. 'Forehead.' 
 
 1. 58. Station. 'Attitude,' 'posture.' 
 
 1. 65. Wholesome. Passive, again, as in Ii., 249, 311 ; 
 
 ' healthy,' ' normal.' 
 
 1. 67. Batten. 'Fatten.' 
 
 1. 60. Hey-day. Properly 'high-day,' 'time of highest 
 
 spirits and vigor.' 
 
 1. 72. Motion. ' Inclination.' 
 
 1. 74. Ecstasy. Cf. II., i., 102. 
 
 1. 77. Hoodman-blind. ' Blind-man's-buff.' 
 
 1. 79. Sans. The French sans, ' without.'
 
 232 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 1. 81. Mope. 'Be stupid.' 
 
 1.83. Mutine. ' Mutiny,' ' rebel.' 
 
 1. 88. Panders will. ' Panders to desire.' 
 
 1. 90. Grained. ' Dyed in grain. ' 
 
 1. 91. Leave their tinct. ' Part with their color.' 
 
 1. 92. Enseamed. 'Filthy,' 'nauseating.' 
 
 1. 98. Vice of kings. ' A Vice, or buffoon of the old morali- 
 ties, trying to play king. 
 
 1. 99. Cutpurse. Not 'pick-pocket,' since purses were gener- 
 ally worn in plain sight. The cutpurse cut them from the 
 girdle or other part of the dress to which they were attached. 
 Cf. W. Tale, IV., iv., 622. 
 
 1. 102. Of shreds and patches. In reference to the dress of 
 the Vice, which was generally the motley of a fool. 
 
 1. 107. Laps'd. ' Derelict ' ; in " time," because the deed is 
 not yet done; and in "passion," because there is no eager, 
 overmastering disposition, such as he supposes the Ghost would 
 have considered worthy, to do the deed. 
 
 1. 108. Important. 'Momentous.' 
 
 1.112. Amazement. ' Perplexity and fright.' 
 
 1.114. Conceit. 'Imagination.' 
 
 1. 118. Incorporal. ' Incorporeal.' 
 
 1. 120. Alarm. Italian alV arme, 'to arms!'
 
 scene 4] NOTES 233 
 
 1. 121. Excrements. ' Hair' ; nails and feathers were like- 
 wise so called. 
 
 1. 122. An. Cf. I., v., 19. 
 
 1. 123. Distemper. Cf. III., ii., 291. 
 
 1. 127. Capable. 'Susceptive,' 'impressionable.' 
 
 1.129. Effects. ' Effectuations,' ' accomplishment.' 
 
 1. 130. Colour. 'Character.' 
 
 1. 135. The Ghost enters (1. 102), according to the quarto 
 of 1603, which is apparently (see Introduction) good authority 
 in such matters, " in his night gowne," or dressing gown. 
 
 1. 138. Ecstasy. Cf. II., i., 102. 
 
 1. 144. Gambol. ' Skip,' 'leap with childish alacrity.' 
 
 1. 152. My virtue. ' The exactions of my virtue.' 
 
 1.153. Pursy. ' Corpulent,' 'self-indulgent.' 
 
 1. 155. Curb. ' Bow.' 
 
 1. 156. Thou. Cf. the German du. 
 
 1.161. Sense. ' Sensitiveness,' 'conscience.' 
 
 1. 162. Devil. ' Evil genius.' 
 
 1. 164. Frock or livery. Suggested probably by the other 
 meaning of "habits." 
 
 1. 174. This. « This victim.' 
 
 1. 175. Their. Refers to heaven, which is sometimes plural.
 
 734 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 1. 176. Answer well. ' Render satisfactory account.' 
 1. 184. Reechy. ' Dirty.' 
 1. 190. Paddock. 'Toad.' 
 
 Gib. 'Mule cat' ; corrupted from 'Gilbert,' and found in 
 the form 'gib-cat.' 
 
 1. 194. Famous ape. Nothing is now known of this story. 
 1. 195. Conclusions. 'Experiments.' 
 
 1.206. Enginer. ' Contriver,' 'pioneer.' 
 
 1.207. Hoist. Participle of hoise, 'hoist,' 'hoisted.' 
 Petar. 'Petard.' 
 
 1.209. At. 'Close to,' 'up to.' 
 
 1.210. Crafts. 'The King's craft,' 'and mine.' 
 
 1.211. Packing. 'Hurrying. 1 
 
 Act IV. Scene I 
 
 1. 1. Profound. ' Mysterious,' as well as 'deep.' 
 
 1.11. Brainish. 'Brainsick.' 
 
 1. 16. Answer'd. ' Accounted for.' 
 
 1. 18. Kept short. ' Held in tether. ' 
 
 1. 22. Divulging. Intransitive : ' being divulged.' 
 
 1. 25. Ore. ' Nugget,' probably of gold. 
 
 1. 26. Mineral. 'Ore.'
 
 scene 3] NOTES 235 
 
 Metals base. ' Base metal.' 
 
 1.41. O'er. ' Along,' 'by way of.' 
 
 1.42. Blank. ' Mark,' 'target.' 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. 13. Replication. 'Reply.' 
 
 I. 15. Countenance. 'Favor.' 
 
 1.16. Authorities. 'Functions,' 'offices of authority.' 
 
 II. 26, 27. Pronounced nonsense by many critics. But 
 Hamlet does not often resort to it, preferring to mystify his 
 adversaries by over-literalness. He may mean here, playing on 
 "king," 'The body [of Claudius] is with him and constitutes 
 him who is King in name, but the King spiritual, standing for 
 the worthy and rightful sovereignty of Denmark, is not with 
 that body,' "King," in the next line, reverts to the former 
 meaning. 
 
 1. 30. Hide fox and all after. Probably a children's game, 
 like Hide-and-Seek. 
 
 Scene III 
 
 1. 6. Scourge. ' Punishment.' 
 
 1. 0. Deliberate pause. 'Pause of deliberation,' or 'deliber- 
 ated interference.' 
 
 1. 21. Politic worms. 'No others,' it seems to be suggested, 
 ' would touch him.'
 
 236 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 1.32. Progress. 'Journey of state.' 
 1.42. Tender. Cf. I., iii., 107. 
 1. 46. Tend. Cf. I., iii., 83. 
 
 1. 49. I see a cherub that sees them. If Hamlet is assisted, 
 as (cf. III., iv., 200) seems likely, by some one in the King's 
 counsel, he would be pretty likely, in his literal-mysterious way, 
 to tell the King so here. The sense, then, may be 'I am seeing 
 somebody in my mind's eye who sees them.' 
 
 1. 54. At foot. ' At heels.' 
 
 1.58. Leans. 'Depends.' 
 
 1. 60. As. 'Since so.' 
 
 1. 62. Free awe. ' Awe unconstrained,' • uninterfered 
 with.' 
 
 1. 63. Coldly set. ' Regard or treat with indifference.' 
 1.67. Hectic. 'Fever attendant upon debility.' 
 1.69. Haps. 'Luck,' 'fortune.' 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 1. 3. Conveyance. ' Authorizing instrument,' ' grant.' 
 
 1.6. Eye. ' Presence,' 'sight.' 
 
 1. 15. Main. Probably 'chief army,' and not 'country as a 
 whole.' 
 
 1.22. Ranker. ' Greater,' ' richer.' 
 
 1.27. Imposthume. 'Abscess.'
 
 scene 5] NOTES 237 
 
 1. 34. Market, ' Profit.' 
 
 1. 36. Discourse. Latin discursus, 'range,' i.e. 'of reason' ; 
 cf. I., ii., 150. 
 
 1.39. Fust. 'Grow mouldy.' 
 1.41. Of. ' Developed from.' 
 1. 45. Sith. Cf. II., ii., 6. 
 1. 50. Mouths. 'Faces.' 
 
 1.64. Argument. ' Issue,' 'matter in dispute.' "Not" be- 
 longs to " is." 
 
 1. 61. Fantasy and trick of fame. ' Illusion and allurement 
 that promise fame,' "of fame" being a subjective genitive and 
 giving the source of both. 
 
 1. 62. Plot. That is, 'of ground.' 
 
 1. 64. Continent. 'That which contains,' 'receptacle,' 're- 
 pository.' 
 
 Scene V 
 
 1.3. Will. 'Must.' 
 
 1. 6. Enviously. 'Angrily.' 
 
 1. 8. Unshaped. 'Shapeless.' 
 
 1.0. Collection. 'Attempt to gather meaning.' 
 
 1.15. Ill-breeding. 'Mischief-breeding.' 
 
 1. 18. Toy. 'Trifle.' 
 
 Amiss. ' Misfortune,' ' calamity.'
 
 238 NOTES [Act IV 
 
 1. 19. Jealousy. ' Suspicion.' 
 
 1. 25. Cockle hat. A cockle shell, fastened to the hat, was 
 often the badge of a returning pilgrim. 
 
 1.37. Larded. ' Adorned,' 'garnished.' 
 
 1. 41. God 'ild. ' May God yield, or reward.' 
 
 I. 45. Conceit upon. ' Imaginings about.' 
 
 II. 48-51. ' The first maid seen by a young man on the 
 morning of this day was considered his true-love or Valentine.' 
 
 1. 70. Thick and unwholesome. Referring, with "mud- 
 died," to the blood and feelings, or 'bad blood,' as one critic 
 has it, of the people. 
 
 1. 72. In hugger-mugger. ' Privately and hastily, without 
 dignity.' 
 
 1. 78. Buzzers. ' Whisperers.' 
 
 1. 80. Wherein. ' In which pestilent speeches. 
 
 Necessity. ' Need of plausible grounds, beggared of facts.' 
 
 1. 81. Nothing stick. ' Not in the least heshate.' 
 
 1. 8:5. Murdering piece. ' Cannon loaded with rude canister 
 shot.' 
 
 1. 84. Switzers. Even thus early Swiss soldiers are heard 
 of as royal guardsmen. Perhaps the idea is that Claudius will 
 not yet confide in the loyalty (see note on The Castle, p. 18o) 
 of Danish troops. But playwrights had begun to surround their 
 Kings, without much reference to time or country, with Switzer 
 sjuards.
 
 scene 5] NOTES 239 
 
 1. 87. Overpeering of his list. • Overlooking, overtopping its 
 bounds. ' 
 
 1. 89. Head. ' Armed body.' 
 
 1. 93. Of every word. ' Proposed by him or by their lead- 
 ers.' 
 
 1. 98. Counter. ' In the contrary direction.' 
 
 1. 110. Fear. 'Fear for.' Cf. I., hi., 51. 
 
 1. 111. Hedge. 'Enclose.' 
 
 1, 123. Throughly. An old variant for ' thoroughly.' 
 
 1.129. Swoopstake. ' Sweeping-the-stakes,' 'without dis- 
 crimination ' ; said of the gamester who attempts at the end of 
 a trick, whether his or not, to sweep away the stakes. 
 
 1. 133. Pelican. From the ancient belief that the pelican 
 pierced its breast to feed its young. 
 
 1. 137. Sensible. ' Feelingly.' 
 
 1.138. Level. ' Straight,' 'directly.' 
 
 1. 148. Fine. ' Delicate,' ' tender.' 
 
 1. 149. Instance. 'Symptom,' 'token'; here ' soundness of 
 wits,' 'sent after' Polonius. 
 
 1.161. Rosemary. Symbol of remembrance. 
 
 1.162. Pansies. Because from the French pensees, 'thoughts.' 
 In giving these flowers Ophelia seems to be reminded of her 
 lover.
 
 240 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 1.166. Fennel. Emblem of flattery ;" columbine," of thank, 
 lessness. 
 
 1. 167. Rue. Symbolic of sorrowful remembrance. 
 
 1.169. Daisy. Typic of dissembling. " Violets " were ' for 
 faithfulness.' 
 
 1. 173. From a popular ballad of the day. 
 
 1. 174. Thought. ' Worriment,' 'anxiety.' Cf. III., i., 85. 
 
 Passion. ' Pain of grief.' 
 
 1.175. Favour. 'Attractiveness.' 
 
 1. 193. Touch'd. ' Slightly affected,' as we say of frost ; ' im- 
 plicated.' 
 
 1. 199. His means of. ' Means of his.' 
 
 1. 200. Hatchment. ' Arms and armor placed above the 
 body at funeral.' 
 
 1.203. That. 'So that.' 
 
 Scene VI 
 
 1. 1. What. What inquires concerning quality or station, 
 who, identity 
 
 1. 14. Means to. ' Means of sending to ' ; apparently (cf. 
 vii., 39-40, and i., 30 below) to avoid coming before the king 
 in person. 
 
 1. 18. Compelled. ' A valour, a resistance contrary to our 
 inclination.'
 
 scene 7] NOTES 241 
 
 I. 19. Why this pirate should allow Hamlet's ship to with- 
 draw unplundered, and why there should be no disposition to 
 hold Hamlet for ransom, are points to be pondered in the study 
 of this scene. Later (1. 22) Hamlet says he is "to do a good 
 turn for them." What good turn, in the way of civility, is to be 
 done for pirates ? Besides, pirates do not ordinarily sail into 
 open harbors, or send any sailors from their crews ashore. 
 
 Scene VII 
 
 1. 1. Acquittance. ' Acquittal ' ; conceived as a formal in- 
 strument, like a reprieve. 
 
 1. 17. Count. 'Accounting,' 'trial. 3 
 
 1. 18. Gender. 'Race'; 'general public.' 
 
 1. 21. Gyves. 'Fetters' ; i.e. 'if any were put upon him. 
 ' He would be more popular than ever.' 
 
 1. 24. And not. Supply ' gone to the place.' 
 
 1. 26. Terms. ' State,' ' condition.' 
 
 1. 27. ' If I may say the praises now that belonged to her 
 before she lost her mind.' 
 
 1. 28. On mount. Here seems to be an allusion to the coro- 
 nation of the Emperor of Austria as King of Hungary. " On 
 the Mount of Defiance, at Presburg, he unsheathes the ancient 
 sword of state, and shaking it toward North, South, East, and 
 West, challenges the four corners of the world to dispute his 
 rights." But it is not known that Shakespeare could have been 
 aware of such a ceremonial. 
 
 R
 
 242 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 1.61. Checking at. ' Refusing,'   objecting to.' 
 
 1. 66. Uncharge the practice. ' Fail of grounds on which to 
 accuse of the treachery, deceit.' 
 
 1. 75. Siege. ' Rank.' 
 
 1. 79. Weeds. ' Garments ' ; preserved in " widow's weeds." 
 For "sables" cf. III., ii., 123. 
 
 1.86. Incorps'd. ' Incorporated,' 'made into the same body.' 
 
 1. 87. Topp'd. 'Furnished a top to,' 'surpassed.' 
 
 1. 88. Forgery. ' Attempting the invention.' 
 
 1. 89. Come short. Apparently ' should come short.' 
 
 1. 99. Scrimers. ' Fencers.' 
 
 1. 110. By time. -Is not,' that is, 'inborn.* 
 
 1. 111. Passages of proof. 'Things that have come to pass 
 in my experience.' 
 
 1. 115. Still. • Without variation.' 
 
 1.116. Plurisy. 'Plethora.' 
 
 1. 121. Spendthrift sigh. It was once believed that every 
 sigh cost a drop of the heart's blood. 
 
 1. 135. Peruse. 'Scrutinize,' 'inspect closely.' 
 
 1. 137. Unbated. 'Minus the button at the point.' 
 
 Pass of practice. ' Treacherous thrust.' 
 
 1.140. Mountebank. 'Quack.' 
 
 1. 143. Simples. ' Herbs.'
 
 scene 7] NOTES 243 
 
 1. 145. Withal. ' With it.' 
 
 1. 140. Contagion. ' l'oison.' 
 
 1. 149. Shape. ' What we have shaped or planned. ' 
 
 1. 150. That. Represents "if" of the line preceding. 
 
 1. 153. Blast. 'Burst, like a gun, in testing.' 
 
 1. 154. Cunnings. Cf. I., i., 173. 
 
 1. 157. Bouts. 'Rounds.' 
 
 1.159. The nonce. 'The once.' 
 
 1. 160. Stuck. ' Thrust.' 
 
 1. 166. Hoar leaves. Since willow leaves are gray on the 
 under side. 
 
 1. 108. Crow-flowers. Probably ' the crowfoot.' 
 
 1. 109. Liberal. 'Free-spoken.' 
 
 1. 172. Sliver. 'Branch.' 
 
 1. 178. Indu'd. 'Clothed,' 'furnished.' 
 
 1. 181. Wretch. Cf. II., ii., 168. 
 
 1. 186. Trick. 'Habit.' 
 
 1.190. Douts. ' Does out,' 'extinguishes.' 
 
 Act V. Scene 1 
 
 1. 2. Salvation. Illiterate blunder for ' destruction.* 
 1. 4. Straight. ' Straightway.'
 
 244 NOTES [Act V 
 
 2. 4. Crowner. ' Coroner.' 
 
 i. 9. Offendendo. Blunder for defendendo. 
 
 1.12. Argal. ' Ergo,' 'therefore.' 
 
 1. 17. Will he, nill he. ' Willy-nilly.' 
 
 1. 23. Quest. ' Inquest.' 
 
 1. 27. Say'st. Contracted from ' sayest it.' 
 
 1. 30. Even. ' Fellow.' 
 
 1. 32. Hold up. « Maintain.' 
 
 1. 41. Go to. ' Come.' 
 
 1. 53. Unyoke. ' Quit,' i.e. ' as at the end of a day's work.' 
 
 1. 61. Yaughan. Clearly a local reference ; perhaps to the 
 keeper of some alehouse or tavern popular with Shakespeare's 
 audiences or near the theatre. 
 
 1. 62. Stoup. ' Drinking cup.' 
 
 1. 65. The interjections here are not syllables of the song, 
 but represent the rasping emissions of breath with which the 
 grave-digger accentuates his strokes. 
 
 1. 70. Property of easiness. ' Quality, accomplishment of 
 ease.' 
 
 1. 75. Intil. ' Into.' 
 
 1. 78. Jowls. ' Knocks' ; from joid, ' cheek,' 'jaw.' 
 
 L01. Mazzard. 'Pate.'
 
 scene 1] NOTES 245 
 
 1. 94. Loggats. ' Little logs ' ; name of a game in which 
 short and tapering billets of wood are thrown, much as in quoits, 
 toward a "Jack." 
 
 1.101. Quiddits. ' Subtle, fine-drawn distinctions.' 
 
 1. 102. Quillets. ' Quibbles.' 
 
 1. 104. Sconce. Slang or colloquial for ' head.' 
 
 .1.107. "Statutes and recognizances" were terms usually 
 coupled in English title deeds, each being essentially equivalent 
 to ' bond/ 
 
 1. 108. Fine of. ■' End of.' 
 
 1. 112. Indentures. ' Duplicate agreements.' 
 
 1.120. Assurance. 'Safety,' with play on 'warranty,' the 
 legal sense. , 
 
 1. 130. Quick. ' Living.' 
 
 1. 141. Absolute. ' Positive,' ' exact.' 
 
 1. 140. Kibe. ' Chap or crack resulting from chilblain.' 
 
 1.201. Favour. 'Attractiveness.' 
 
 1. 226. Flaw. ' Gust.' 
 
 1. 229. Maimed. ' Reduced,' ' defective.' 
 
 1.237. Warrantise. 'Authority.' 
 
 Doubtful. "Only so far as that she was a lunatic, and had 
 died by her own act ; the presumption in such a case being 
 held to be that the act was wilful, and there being always a
 
 246 NOTES [Act V. 
 
 doubt whether Christian burial could then be demanded. - '—. 
 
 MOBERLY. 
 
 1. 238. Order. ' Prescribed order of the church.' 
 
 1. 240. For. ' Instead of.' 
 
 1.242. Crants. ' Garlands,' 'wreaths.' 
 
 1. 248. Peace-parted. ' Souls that have departed in peace.' 
 
 1. 258. Ingenious. Probably 'ingenuous,' 'guileless' ; though 
 the sense of 'acute,' 'keen,' was conveyed in Shakespeare by 
 the same form. 
 
 1. 263. Pelion. A mountain in Thessaly, piled by the giants, 
 according to the myth, upon Ossa, as a means of approach to 
 Olympus, reputed the heaven of the gods. 
 
 Skyish. 'Affecting, mingling with, the sky.' 
 
 1.271. Splenitive. ' Ill-tempered,' ' peevish. 1 
 
 1. 285. Woo't. Contracted for ' would'st thou,' and used 
 here perhaps as a provincial or nursery word, contemptuously. 
 
 1. 28(5. Eisel. An ancient word for ' vinegar ' ; occurring also 
 fn Sonnet 111, 1. 10. Because of the original spelling (Esill in 
 the quartos, Esile in the folios) it has been considered by some 
 editors as a misspelling of " Yssel," a branch of the Rhine. 
 
 1.297. Disclos'd. 'Hatched.' The " couplets " of the dove 
 at first are yellow. 
 
 1. 305. Present push. ' Immediate trial.'
 
 scene 2] NOTES 241 
 
 I. 307. Living. Probably 'out of the living,' 'from a life' 
 (cf. "marble monument" as ' monument of, out of, marble'), 
 as well as 'lasting.' ' Hamlet's death, as wrought by the plan 
 proposed, will be a lasting memorial of Ophelia.' 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. 6. Mutines. ' Mutineers.' 
 
 Bilboes. 'Stocks,' for keeping several prisoners together; 
 formed by attaching fetters to a bar of iron. From Bilboa, in 
 Spain, once famous for manufactures of iron and steel. 
 
 1.9. Pall. 'Grow tasteless,' 'spoil.' 
 
 1. 13 Scarf d. 'Put on as a scarf,' without use of the 
 sleeves. 
 
 1. 20. Larded, Cf. IV .. v., £7. 
 
 1.22. Bugs. 'Bugbears.' 
 
 1.28. Supervise. -Inspection,' 'first reading.' 
 
 1.33. Statists. 'Statesmen.' Blackstone observes :" Most 
 of the great men of Shakespeare's time, whose autographs have 
 been preserved, wrote very bad hands ; their secretaries very 
 neat ones." 
 
 1. 36. Yeoman's service. Bemembered still as the best ren- 
 dered to Edward III. and the Black Prince in the French wars, 
 
 1. 43. Ases. Probably meant to suggest also ' asses. ' 
 
 1. 47. Shriving-time. ' Time for confession to a priest.'
 
 L'48 MOTES [Act \ 
 
 1.48. Ordinant. * Ordaining,' ' controlling.' 
 
 1.59. Insinuation. 'Insinuating,' ' meddling.' 
 
 1.66. Proper. 'Own.' 
 
 1.79. Bravery. ' Ostentation,' 'display.' 
 
 1. 80. Chough. ' Jackdaw ' ; so called, perhaps, because of 
 ids euphuistic chatter. 
 
 1. 110. Excellent differences. ' Different excellencies.' 
 
 Great showing. ' Fine appearing.' 
 
 1.111. Feelingly. 'According to one's feeling,' 'without 
 reserve.' 
 
 L. 113. Continent. ' Containment,' ' inclusion.' 
 
 1.114. Definement. 'Definition.' 
 
 1.117. Yaw. 'Move unsteadily,' ' vacillate.' 
 
 1. 119. Great article. ' Great array of articles, or qualities.' 
 
 1. 120. Semblable. 'Likeness.' 
 
 1.124. Concernancy. 'Pertinency,' 'relevancy.' 
 
 1. 129. Nomination. 'Mention.' 
 
 1. 148. Dagger. Sometimes held, in certain forms of fenc- 
 ing, in the left hand, to arrest thrusts aimed at the head. 
 
 » 
 
 1.151. Imponed. 'Staked. 
 
 1. 153. Assigns. ' Belongings.' 
 
 J. 156. Liberal conceit. ' Artistic designs.
 
 scene 2] NOTES 249 
 
 I. 160. Hangers. 'Fasteners,' 'straps attaching the sword 
 vo the belt.' 
 
 II. 169, 170. ' A dozen passes, in which Laertes shall not 
 exceed Hamlet three hits,' involves some close computing. But 
 the arithmetic seems correct. The King first wagers that, when 
 Hamlet shall gain 4| points, Laertes will not have reached -M 
 + 3, or 7^, which with Hamlet's 4^ equal 12. The proportion 
 of 1\ : 4| is 15: 9. This the King considers, or pretends to con- 
 sider, too little; and he "lays" finally on 12:9, which is \ 
 greater. 
 
 1. 190. That is, because so eager to be hatched. The lap- 
 wing was thus considered the symbol of the brash and forward 
 fellow. 
 
 1. 191. * Comply with.' Cf. II., ii., 379. 
 
 1.195. Yesty. 'Frothy,' 'superficial.' "Collection" is 
 ' gathered knowledge.' 
 
 1.196. Fond and winnowed. 'Foolish and subtle.' 
 
 1. 216. At the odds. ' On the terms, with the advantage, 
 proposed.' 
 
 1. 220. Gain-giving. ' Misgiving.' 
 
 1. 223. Fit. 'In condition,' 'ready.' 
 
 1. 246. Disclaiming from. ' Disavowing.' 
 
 1.254. Voice. ' Report,' 'opinion.' 
 
 1. 260. Foil. ' Set-off.' 
 
 1. 266. Odds. Here ' superior stake.'
 
 250 NOTES [Aci V 
 
 1.268. Better'd. Probably 'improved,' i.e. 'beyond any 
 late improvement of yours. 1 
 
 1.277. Union. 'Pearl.' 
 
 1.280. Kettle. 'Kettle-drum.' 
 
 1. 293. Napkin. ' Handkerchief.' 
 
 1.294. Carouses. 'Drinks deeply.' 
 
 1.304. Wanton. 'Fool.' 
 
 1.310. Springe. Of. I, hi., 115. 
 
 1. 332. Temper'd. ' Mixed,' « proportioned.' 
 
 1. 340. Fell. ' Cruel.' 
 
 1. 357. O'ercrows. ' Like the cock over his beaten antagonist. 1 
 
 L 360. Voice. ' Suffrage,' 'choice.' 
 
 1. 361. Occurrents. ' Occurrences.' 
 
 1. 368. Cries on havoc. ' Declares, proclaims a general 
 slaughter.' 
 
 ■6' 
 
 1. 369. Toward. Cf. I., i., 77. 
 
 1. 379. Jump upon. Cf. I., i., 65. 
 
 1. 393. Rights of memory. ' Remembered rights. 
 
 1. 396. Draw on. ' Will be endorsed by.' 
 
 1.397. Presently. 'At once.' 
 
 1. 399. On. ' In consequence of.* 
 
 1. 401. Put on. ' Put to the trial.' 
 
 1. 402. Passage. 'Passing,' 'departure.'
 
 OUTLINE QUESTIONS ON THE ART OF 
 
 HAMLET 
 
 Act I. Scene I 
 
 1. (a) in how much light does the scene open ? (6) "Who is 
 Bernardo, and why does he "enter to" Francisco ? (c) From 
 what direction (see Frontispiece) could an enemy approach ? 
 
 (d) How far would wariness be the requisite of such a watch ? 
 
 (e) Why should Bernardo seem so much in fear of a man he 
 knows so well ? And why should he think of challenging a 
 sentinel ? 
 
 2. («) In "Nay, answer me," what word takes principal 
 stress ? (&) How does it chance that Francisco is so readily 
 appeased with the answer to this challenge ? (c) Does there 
 seem to be any point or feeling in " You come most carefully 
 upon your hour" ? Would or would not half a minute more 
 or less of delay ordinarily occasion, in relieving sentinels, a 
 remark like this ? (d) Why has the author made Bernardo 
 say (1. 7)," 'Tis now struck twelve " ? 
 
 3. (a) Why should Bernardo ask whether his friend has had 
 quiet guard ? (&) Why should it be natural or worth while for 
 a fighting man to notice or remember that not so much as a 
 mouse had stirred ? Has he been on the outlook for noisy or 
 stealthy intrusion? (c) Why should Bernardo say "Well, 11 
 
 251
 
 252 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act I 
 
 and be so formal toward the man he has relieved ? And why 
 should he send request that the rivals of his watch should come 
 to him quickly ? (d) Does the matter or manner of his chal- 
 lenge now to the newcomers seem or not seem different from 
 his first? How, or why? (e) Does the fact that there are 
 now two persons, instead of one, affect the case ? 
 
 4. (a) Does Horatio's response seem or not seem to have 
 come from like feelings (1. 3) with Bernardo's ? Explain. Is 
 it likely that Horatio knows the countersign ? Does it seem 
 that he has or has not halted according to the challenge ? 
 
 (b) How great must be the difference in rank between Fran- 
 cisco and Marcellus ? (c) Why does Francisco stay to bid the 
 rivals of Bernardo's watch 'good night'? And why (1. 18) 
 does he say these words again ? 
 
 5. (a) By what warrant did Horatio, not being Marcellus's 
 military superior, presume to answer Francisco's challenge 
 (1. 15) before, or instead of, Marcellus? And why, now (11. 19, 
 20), does he seemingly take precedence, with Marcellus, in 
 Bernardo's thought ? (6) What can be the reason of Bernardo's 
 formal welcome (1. 20) to Horatio and Marcellus ? (c) What 
 seems to prompt (1. 21) Marcellus's question ? And what docs 
 his first word " What ! " betray to us ? (rZ) What is influencing 
 Marcellus in the evasiveness of his phrase " this thing" ? 
 
 0. (a) Which is more definite and visual, "this thing," or 
 " this dreaded sight" ? Why should Marcellus say " dreaded " 
 rather than 'dreadful'? (b) What does "entreated" (1. 26) 
 imply as to the belief of the speaker in the thing he refers to? 
 
 (c) Why does he (1. 27) say "minutes" rather than 'hours,' 
 •or why is anything more than 'this night' necessary to his
 
 scene 1] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 253 
 
 meaning? (r?) How does "this apparition" change the con- 
 ception that we have been framing hitherto ? (e) Who are 
 referred to (11. 25, 27) by " us " ? 
 
 7. («) What is implied (1. 31) in " once again'''' ? And why 
 should Bernardo, who is on guard duty, suggest that they sit 
 down ? (6) What mood is apparent in Horatio's " Well, sit 
 we down, and let us hear''''? (c) With whose feelings, Hora^ 
 tio's or Bernardo's, do we find ourselves here more in accord ? 
 (d) Why should Bernardo say (1. 35) "last night of all"? 
 How many nights does this " all " include ? (e) How do you 
 account for Bernardo's lofty language as he begins? Is he a 
 poet ? (/) Why does not the author let him complete his 
 paragraph ? 
 
 8. (a) After we have seen the Ghost, what is the importance, 
 with reference to the preceding part of the scene, of (1. 40) the 
 word " again" ? (b) Of what significance to the scene is also 
 what is told us in the first and in the last half of the next line ? 
 (c) Why does the author have Marcellus bring out (1. 42) to 
 us that Horatio is a " scholar" ? (d) How is it that both Ber- 
 nardo and Marcellus, when they speak (11. 42, 43, 45) to Hora- 
 tio, address him by his name, putting it last of all ? If they 
 had made ' Horatio ' the first instead of the last word, would 
 or would not onr impressions of their feeling have been different ? 
 
 9. (a) Why should Horatio hesitate so long, and need so much 
 urging, before he speaks to the Ghost ? (b) What do you say 
 of the matter and the manner of his challenge? (c) Why does 
 he (1.49) say "march"? (d) What sort of man is it clear 
 that this King must have been ? (e) How must the Ghost have 
 shown (1. 45) that it would be spoken to ? (/) What is signi-
 
 254 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act I 
 
 tied by the fact that, after it is addressed, it (1. 50) seems dis- 
 satisfied ? (f/) What action appears to have accompanied 
 (1. 51) Horatio's last words to the Ghost? 
 
 10. (a) Why was it that Bernardo and Marcellus were not 
 silenced at (1. 40) the entry of the Ghost, and seemed so innch 
 less frightened than Horatio ? How did they probably behave 
 when they saw it two nights ago ? (b) Has Francisco seen the 
 Ghost ? Why did the author, at the opening of the scene, 
 exchange him for an ' officer ' ? (c) How many hints and signs 
 are to be noted, from the beginning till (1. 40) the coming of 
 the Ghost, of the influence exercised over the soldiers by the 
 "dreaded sight" ? 
 
 11. («) What is signified by the fact (1. 53) that Horatio yet 
 trembles and looks pale after the Ghost is gone ? (b) What is 
 the effect of Horatio's change of feeling (cf. 1. 30) upon our- 
 selves? (c) What is the effect of his identifying (11. 60, 61) 
 the very armor that the king appears to wear? (d) Why 
 should the ghost of the dead King present itself in armour 
 rather than in the palace clothing worn probably when he met 
 his death? (c) What suggestions as to the King's character 
 come from the allusions made by Horatio in this paragraph ? 
 
 12. (a) Why does the author have Marcellus remark (11. 65. 
 66) that the previous visits have been like this one, and at a 
 closely corresponding point of time? (b) Does Horatio's infer- 
 ence (11. 68, 69) enlarge or lessen the effect on us of the Ghost's 
 coming'.' (c) What does the author manage to embody (11. 70- 
 79) in Marcellus's questions? (<!) Why does the author have 
 Horatio answer (11. 70-107) at such length ? (o) What is the 
 effect on us, with reference to the Ghost, of die preparations as
 
 8CBNB 1] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 255 
 
 now accounted for ? What must be the nature and magni- 
 tude of the "eruption" (1. 69) that Horatio has imagined f 
 (/) Against whom (1. 106) is this "watch" maintained? 
 How long since, probably, was it ordered ? 
 
 13. (a) Are we to understand that Marcellus and Bernardo 
 are much acquainted with Roman history ? What is Horatio's 
 purpose (11. 113-120) in saying what he does to them'.' 
 (b) What effect does the author wish to produce by making 
 him tell these things, and on whom ? (c) What word in 1. 120 
 has the principal stress ? (d) What portents, ' demonstrated 
 (11. 124, 125) to the Danish climatures and population,' can or 
 must Horatio have had in mind ? 
 
 14. (a) Why should the Ghost appear a second time ? Did 
 it come back on either of the nights preceding? (b) What 
 difference between the preparation made by the author for the 
 present and for the earlier coming of the Ghost? (c) Does it 
 seem the same Ghost that it was before ? Has its former com 
 ing staled its effect upon us now ? Explain, (d) What, from 
 the word "cross" (1. 127) are we to understand is Horatio's 
 movement ? (e) How, appai'ently, does the Ghost behave (cf. 
 " Stay, illusion ! ") in consequence ? 
 
 15. (a) Do you find Horatio's feeling and manner toward 
 the Ghost changed from what they were before ? Give reasons, 
 (ft) On the previous entry of the Ghost, the subordination to 
 it of Horatio was very palpable. Do you lind or not find a 
 like subordination of Horatio now? (c) Does it seem that 
 Marcellus attempts (cf. 1. 141) to beat down the Ghost? Can 
 you explain how Horatio has assented, believing this really to 
 be a spirit, to such a preposterous idea ? (d) Why is Marcellus
 
 256 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act I. 
 
 the one, rather than Horatio, to recognize (11. 143, 144) the 
 indignity of their purpose ? 
 
 16. («) What is the point, dramatically, of (1. 138) the cock 
 crowing, and of the starting (1. 148) of the Ghost ? (b) Why 
 is Horatio made to repeat such a legend as (11. 149-loG) now 
 follows, and express it in such language ? (c) What effect does 
 Marcellus's story (11. 158-104) have upon our feelings con- 
 cerning the Tightness and normalness of the Ghost's visits? 
 
 (d) What view does Hora.io's imagery picture to us (11. lii'i. 
 1(37) of the eastern sky ? How do the colors fit the scene that 
 is now finishing? (e) Why should these officers think of con- 
 senting (i. 174) that what they have seen should be reported to 
 Hamlet instead of to the King? (/) Does " loves" (1. 173) mean 
 anything here, apparently, especially with reference to Mar- 
 cellus or Bernardo ? 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. (a) Are such inversions and strained constructions as we 
 see here in the first three lines to be found in Horatio's last 
 paragraph, or elsewhere, in the first scene? (b) What does 
 1. 4 mean ? And how does the meaning picture itself in thought ? 
 (c) What word in 1. has chief stress? (d) What evidently 
 has happened since the last gathering of the court? And, 
 judging from 11. 10-13, what are the feelings of the speaker ? 
 
 (e) How must the looks and manner of a King that talks like 
 this agree with what we have conceived of the countenance and 
 bearing, through the Ghost, of the dead Hamlet? 
 
 2 (a) Does the King's reference (11. 14-16) to his court seem
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 257 
 
 or not to help the situation ? {b) Why should he (1. 16) say 
 "all" ? (c) What new reason is now apparent why Horatio 
 was made (11. 80-104) to repeat the court whispers to us in the 
 first scene? (d) Why does the King omit allusion (11. 17-25), 
 when he speaks of being 'pestered with messages,' to the army 
 that Fortinbras is gathering ? (e) How would the elder Ham- 
 let, judging from his course with the father of this aggressor, 
 have handled the present matter? (/) Is the King's course 
 perilous ? To what extent has he asked consent or counsel from 
 his nobles? 
 
 3. (a) How has it happened that the younger Hamlet, who 
 is standing next the Queen, does not succeed his father as King 
 of Denmark ? (b) Would there or would there not be naturally 
 a party, among the younger nobility, favoring such succession ? 
 (c) Is there or is there not apparently significance in the fact 
 that the King now (1. 42) addresses Laertes, instead of Ham- 
 let, first? (d) What are your impressions of (11. 43-50) the 
 kingliness and dignity of this paragraph ? (e) What can 
 Laertes's father have done for the new King to merit (11. 47- 
 49) the acknowledgments now made ? (/) What must we sus- 
 pect to be the character (1. 55) of the "thoughts and wishes" 
 in this young man that bend toward France so strongly ? 
 
 4. (a) What do you say of a father who, after (11. 58-60) 
 having had a "slow leave" and "hard consent" wrung from 
 him by his son, beseeches (1. 61) for the unwished thing more 
 than the son does ? (6) What is the point or pertinency (1. 62) 
 in "time be thine" ? What obligation does the King remit? 
 (c) Is the King prompted to address Hamlet (1. 64) as his son 
 probably to please Hamlet or for effect upon the court?
 
 258 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act I. 
 
 ((?) What was the law, as the author's public understood it 
 touching marriage with a deceased brother's wife? And what 
 is consequently Hamlet's point (1. 65) in the. first and in the 
 last half of his aside? (e) What does the King probably 
 think Hamlet means (1. 07) by " too much i' the sun " ? Why 
 does not the King remark further, and why does the Queen 
 speak in his stead ? 
 
 5. (a) Is the court in mourning or in marriage dress ? 
 What (1. 08) is Hamlet wearing? (6) How (11.69-71) has lie 
 evidently been behaving since the opening of the sceiu '.' 
 (c) Which in consequence is become the more important figure, 
 the King or the nephew of the King ? (d) In what sense does 
 Hamlet intend apparently that his "common'' (1. 74) shall be 
 taken? (e) Why does Hamlet speak of his cloak (1. 77) as 
 "inky"? Does it appear that he has tried to procure one 
 only moderately funereal ? 
 
 6. («) What appears to be Hamlet's point (1. 78) in " cus- 
 tomary " ? Has the court probably put on mourning or not 
 since Hamlet's father's death ? (6) Why does Hamlet enu- 
 merate all these marks of grief, and then say (1. 83) " these 
 indeed seem " ? Is he personal here ? And how does he prob- 
 ably say these lines? Is he looking still upon the ground? 
 
 (c) Why is it the King and not his mother that answe - 
 
 (d) Does there seem to be any reason why the King's language 
 now goes back (cf. 11. 90, 92, 0:\, 112. 114) .to the strained and 
 pedantic quality of the first paragraph in this scene ? (c) Are 
 there apparently (1. 109) any other " immediates " who might 
 be Hamlet's rivals for the succession? Why should the King 
 say this ?
 
 & ene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 259 
 
 7. (a) Does it seem or not seem that the King would have 
 said the same things to Hamlet, and in much the same way, if 
 the court were not in hearing? (ft) What was probably the 
 King's motive (11. 112-117) in trying to keep Hamlet from 
 return to Wittenberg? (c) How does Hamlet apparently re- 
 ceive this rather unkingly beseechment ? Why is he silent ? 
 
 d) What words in the first line that the Queen now says to him 
 have stress ? Does her request seem to be prompted by the same 
 motive as the King's? (e) What word in Hamlet's reply to her 
 has emphasis ? Does he in making it look at his mother ? 
 
 8. (a) Is what Hamlet has said (1. 120) "a loving and a 
 fair" compliance ? What must the lords and attendants have 
 thought? (ft) What does the King mean (1. 122) by his last 
 words to Hamlet, and why does he say them ? (c) Why does 
 he so summarily close the audience ? (d) Is he apparently sin- 
 cere in (11. 123-128) his professions of pleasure ? And if not, 
 how far must he expect those who hear him to be deceived ? 
 (e) Do you think, with some who thus explain, that the King 
 is merely eager here for a carouse, and takes Hamlet's consent 
 genuinely as an occasion ? 
 
 9. (a) What exactly (11. 129, 130) is the wish that Hamlet now 
 gives expression to ? (ft) According to your impressions, quan- 
 titatively and qualitatively, of this man's nature, do you think 
 him or not think him misanthropic, or jaded and pessimistic 
 ?rom wrong habits of living? (c) How strongly does it seem, 
 from (11. 131, 132) his next sentence, that Hamlet has set his 
 >ieart upon having his rights to the throne of Denmark recog- 
 nized and vindicated ? (<f) What is the fate (11. 135, 136) of 
 things choice and refined in nature, in an unweeded garden?
 
 260 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act I 
 
 What fate of this sort has he in mind? (e) After making us 
 acquainted with the general grounds of Hamlet's depression, 
 how does the author tell us the specific cause of his present 
 exasperation ? 
 
 10. (a) What points are added now (11. 140-142) to the 
 earlier characterization of Hamlet's father ? (6) Does it seem 
 that the Queen appreciated or did not appreciate the rare worth 
 and devotion of her former husband? (c) From what is said 
 here and (1. 138) earlier, how long do we see the King has 
 waited, since the marriage, before calling his court together? 
 Was it called together before his marriage ? (d) Did you find 
 yourself in full sympathy, or not, with Hamlet, in his behavior 
 toward his mother and the King, m the first part of this scene? 
 (e) Have your feelings toward them or him in any way since 
 then been altered? (/) How strongly do you judge that Ham- 
 let, from what has happened in this scene, feels the obligation to 
 hold his tongue ? 
 
 11. (a) Why does the author bring in Horatio and his com- 
 panions to Hamlet here, rather than at some point earlier ox- 
 later? (6) What is apparent from Horatio's manner of salut- 
 ing Hamlet, and Hamlet's response, as to their relations hith- 
 erto ? (c) Why does Hamlet treat Marcellus differently from 
 Kernardo? Why should he speak to them at all? (d) W T hat 
 of the time (1. 167) of day at which these men find Hamlet? 
 Is the delay (cf. 11. 174, 175 of the first scene) to be explained? 
 (p.) What must have kept Horatio, who has been. here (1. 176) 
 since the King's funeral, from meeting Hamlet before ? (/) Can 
 you guess, from what is said in the first scene by himself, and 
 in him now, to what country Horatio belongs?
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 261 
 
 12. (a) How does Hamlet chance (1. 184) to think, in con- 
 nection with the present scandals, of his father? (b) When 
 must Horatio (1. 186) have " once" seen (cf. i. 60-63) the elder 
 Hamlet? (c) What is to be said of the effect (11. 190, 101) 
 upon Hamlet of Horatio's revelation? (c2) What are your 
 impressions of the bearing, and breeding, and of the intellectual 
 strength and energy of this prince ? (e) Does the author seem 
 to subordinate Horatio, in his account (11. 196-212) of the 
 Ghost's visits, or in later paragraphs, to the advantage of ins 
 hero ? (/) What new items or impressions, concerning the 
 Ghost's behavior, does the report of Horatio furnish ? (g) Is 
 there to be any explanation why the officers (11. 206, 207) 
 imparted the story, in dreadful secrecy, to Horatio? Is or not 
 this in strict accord with the allegiance owed, by the army, to 
 the new-crowned King ? 
 
 13. (a) How does Hamlet apparently treat the implication 
 (11. 222, 223) that Horatio and the officers thought it in their duty 
 to let him know what they had seen ? (&) When does Hamlet 
 make use of the knowledge (1. 225) that these same men hold 
 the next watch ? Why does he wait ? (c) Why does Hamlet 
 ask the question in 1. 229 ? (d) Why should he inquire (1. 231) 
 whether his father looked frowningly ? (e) What of Marcel- 
 lus's and Bernardo's disagreement with Horatio (1. 240), as to 
 the time of the Ghost's stay, as judged by the visit that we saw ? 
 Time the lines spoken while it stays. (/) What makes Hamlet 
 expect "no" (1. 240) as the answer to his next question ? Why 
 cannot Bernardo and Marcellus answer it? 
 
 11. (a) Why does not Hamlet seem (1. 243) more confident 
 that he shall see the apparition ? (b) Why does Hamlet ask
 
 262 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act 1 
 
 (1. 248) that the visits of the Ghost be kept unrnentioned ? And 
 why (1. 247) "if"? Does he show signs anywhere that he 
 doubts the word of these men? (c) Why does he allow no 
 further talk ? (d) Why should he be unwilling (11. 253, 254 
 to encourage the use of terms belonging to the dialect of a sub- 
 ject? (e) Does "spirit" or "arms" (1. 255) have superior 
 stress? (/) Why should not the inference which Hamlet 
 draws (1. 250) from the point involved in this have been clear 
 also to Horatio? (g) On what grounds rests his confidence 
 (11. 257, 258) that wickedness, no matter how covered, will 
 betray itself? What kind of nature, in this man, does such 
 confidence seem to argue? 
 
 Scene III 
 
 1. (a) With what incident in the last scene is the opening 
 paragraph here connected ? (b) How much time has pro! >al >ly 
 elapsed since then ? (c) Does the exhortation (11. 2-4) of 
 Laertes to his sister seem to argue an old or a new interest in 
 her welfare ? Does it seem from (1. 4) her answer that she has 
 been remiss in writing to her brother hitherto? (d) What first 
 impressions of Ophelia's nature come to you from (11. 4, 10) 
 her answers to her brother ? 
 
 2. (a) Would the court be likely to judge Hamlet's for- 
 tunes, after witnessing his conduct toward the King in the last 
 scene, to be in the ascendant, or not? (b) Does there seem to 
 be any point in Laertes's bidding his sister (11. 6, 10) " hold " and 
 "think" Hamlet's attentions unserious, unpermanent, in.-i 
 
 of affirming them to be such ? (c) What, told in more model i
 
 scene 3] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 263 
 
 language, is the point in 11. 13, 14 ? (d) Does it seem or not 
 seem that Laertes expects (11. 19-21) that Hamlet will be one 
 day King of Denmark? What " body " (1. 23) must give con- 
 sent? (e) Do you think that Laertes considers Hamlet easily 
 capable of dishonorable action ? Does it appear that Ophelia is 
 in much need, or not, of the new exhortations (11. 39-44) that 
 now follow? (/) What impressions do you find have come 
 concerning the intellectual acuteness and strength, as well as 
 the character of this man ? How does he seem to compare 
 with Hamlet ? 
 
 3. (a) What does Ophelia's manner of acknowledging (11. 
 4-">, 46) this advice further show as to her nature and disposi- 
 tion ? (b) Some readers have thought Ophelia rather wanting 
 in intelligence and in strength of character. What does the 
 residue (11. 46-51) of her answer argue as to either of these 
 points ? (c) Why is Laertes (1. 52) now in haste, and why has 
 he not begun to hurry sooner ? (d) What seems to make him 
 say "my" instead of 'our' father? (e) To whom does he 
 apparently address (11. 53, 54) his last words ? And what do 
 the two lines really mean ? 
 
 4. (a) Do Polonius's first words here (11. 55-59) seem or not 
 seem prompted by unusual affection ? (6) What does the 'few- 
 ness ' (1. 58) of these precepts, as well as their brilliancy, indi- 
 cate concerning the character of the speaker ? Did you ever 
 know a father who, in taking leave of his son, would talk like 
 this ? (c) How far is the manner in which Laertes (1. 82) 
 responds to his father's counsels significant ? (d) How does 
 Laertes apparently part from Ophelia ? Does he kiss or 
 embrace her, or merely say "farewell"? (e) What seem
 
 264 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act 1 
 
 to be Laertes's years ? Is Ophelia older or younger, and how 
 much ? 
 
 5. (a) What, exactly, does Ophelia promise in her last words 
 to her brother ? (?>) Do you rind any hint of character (1. 88) 
 in Polonius's question to his daughter ? (c) What does he 
 seem to mean (1. 91) by "of late" ? (d) Is there or is there 
 not reason to suspect (cf. 1. 90, "bethought' 1 ) that Laertes is 
 the one who has spoken about Ophelia ? (e) What fault has 
 Polonius (1. 93) to find with Ophelia's manner of giving Ham- 
 let audience ? (/) Were the elder Hamlet still living, does it 
 seem or not seem likely that Polonius would be as concerned 
 as now ? Had he not heard Laertes's hint (11. 84, 85) of cau- 
 tion, would he have spoken ? 
 
 6. (a) Do you understand that Polonius really means (1. 
 101) to pooh-pooh at the idea of any such thing as affection? 
 (b) Are you sure, from Ophelia's answer (1. 104). how she 
 regards her father's words? (c) What "true pay" does he 
 seem to have in mind? (d) Does Ophelia's answer (11. 110, 
 111) appear to be made in defence of herself or of Hamlet 
 mainly ? (e) Do you seem to get any further glimpse, now 
 (11. 115-120), of Polonius's character? (/) Does it seem that 
 he intended, when he began (11. 120-123) to make restrictions, 
 to ordain (11. 131-134) such a stern conclusion ? (gr) Do you 
 or do you not think that his reasons for speaking to Ophelia 
 are the same as prompted Laertes at the opening of the scene ? 
 (h) Does Ophelia (1. 136) propose obedience because of what 
 has been implied to her by Laertes or her father, or merely 
 because commanded ?
 
 scene 4] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 265 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 1. (a) Do you find your interest in the Ghost and its secret 
 lessened by the intervention of the last two scenes? How much 
 time has actually elapsed ? (6) Are there indications that 
 either Hamlet or Horatio is under excitement ? Should we, 
 under the same circumstances, perhaps have been ? (c) Is the 
 weather probably colder (1. 1) than in the first scene ? And why 
 does the author have Hamlet (1. 3) inquire, ' What hour now,' 
 and presently (1. 4) correct the man of whom he asks ? (d) With 
 what in scene ii. does the revelry (1. 6) connect itself ? Why 
 has the author made us hear the sounds of it just here ? 
 
 2. (a) How is it that Horatio (1. 7) does not know what ' this 
 means' ? (&) Why does not Hamlet answer Horatio's question 
 (11. 8-12) with something of the animus that we know he feels? 
 (c) Do you find Hamlet's later paragraph (11. 13-38) trenchant 
 and lively ? Looking back over his earlier utterances, both 
 here and in the second scene, do you or do you not find any- 
 thing similar ? (d) Can you account for Hamlet's pronouncing 
 such a paragraph just here ? 
 
 3. (a) Do you judge, from (1. 38) Horatio's words, that the 
 Ghost takes him, or the company, by surprise ? (&) How does 
 Hamlet's manner of accepting the Ghost's presence differ from 
 Horatio's in the first scene ? (c) What movement seems to 
 have accompanied (1. 39) Hamlet's first words ? (d) What do 
 you think are Hamlet's feelings as (11. 40-57) he addresses his 
 father's spirit ? What different sentiments do you seem to 
 find ? (e) Are there pauses anywhere, as he speaks these lines ? 
 
 4. (a) Does the beckoning of the Ghost seem to be in re-
 
 266 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act i 
 
 sponse to the whole that Hamlet has said, or to some part of 
 it ? (ft) Why did it not beckon Horatio in the first scene ? And 
 how far do you think Marcellus then right in (1. 147) judging 
 that the Ghost was about to speak? (c) How is it that Horatio, 
 and not Hamlet, understands the Ghost's wish ? (d) Do you 
 think that Horatio would or would not have willed, in Hamlet's 
 place, to follow? (e) Why does not Hamlet at once go with 
 the Ghost ? How far does his delay seem due to indecision ? 
 
 5. (a) What are Horatio's and Marcellus's attitude and 
 looks, as (11. 64-78) Hamlet is pleaded with ? (ft) Is there or 
 is there not dramatic advantage here in the delay ? (c) When 
 does the Ghost (1. 78) wave Hamlet last ? Are we to suppose 
 that it has heard Horatio's protests ? (d) Is Marcellus's anxi- 
 ety (1. 80) for Hamlet's safety to be recognized or not as merely 
 personal? (e) What does Hamlet mean (1.81) in " My fate 
 cries out " ? What, too (1. 84), in " Still am I called " ? 
 
 6. (a) Have you conceived Hamlet as larger of build and 
 stature than Horatio or Marcellus ? (ft) Do you or do you 
 not think that these men do their best to hold Hamlet back ? 
 (c) 'How far is their failure in this probably due. beyond his 
 natural strength, to (11. 81, 83) his present resolution ? (d) What 
 do you say (1. 8G) of his manner of addressing the Ghost ? Is 
 it imperious, or kingly, or reckless ? (e) Where did the author 
 show proof to us of Hamlet's moral strength? Where of his 
 mental ? Why did he not present him as a hero of the strong 
 arm first? (/) Are you persuaded that Hamlet is of a tem- 
 perament too susceptible to accomplish anything, or do yon 
 think he will be equal to the fate that calls him ? (g) What 
 do you say of the management of the close, after Hamlet ami
 
 scene 5J OCT LINE QUESTIONS 267 
 
 the Ghost withdraw ? (ft) Why did not Horatio and Marcellus 
 at once follow after ? 
 
 Scene V 
 
 1. (a) Why is the Ghost leading Hamlet away ? And why 
 does it wish to withdraw still farther? (6) Did you think, 
 when Hamlet went out, that he would refuse to follow as far as 
 the Ghost might lead ? Why has the author thus subordinated 
 the Ghost to Hamlet here ? (c) Why, too, does he make the 
 Ghost explain whence it comes, before revealing (1. 9) its iden- 
 tity ? (d) How much of the old affection between father and 
 son is apparent in this dialogue ? (c) Why should a soul in 
 purgatory wish to effect revenge ? 
 
 2. («) What is the purpose of having the Ghost speak fur- 
 ther (11. 10-22) concerning its torments ? (6) What is the 
 importance of (11. 23-40) what now follows? (c) What do 
 you say of the effect (11. 29-31) of even the first part of the 
 revelation upon Hamlet ? (d) When must Hamlet have begun 
 (cf. 11. 8,' 26) to divine (1. 40) the truth? (e) What feelings 
 does the author intend (11. 42-52) that we shall entertain 
 toward the King ? (/) Why is not the murder enough ? Why 
 lias the author made the Queen to have been unfaithful ? Is it 
 not unreasonable, improbable ? 
 
 3. (a) What do you say of the strength and dignity of the 
 Ghost's diction ? Compared with Hamlet's, does it seem more 
 than human ? (b) Does Hamlet's fattier, according to his 
 statements here, seem to have lived (cf. 11. 12, 13) an unusually 
 sinful life ? (c) What seems to be (11. 80, 81) the chief con-
 
 268 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act I. 
 
 cern of the Ghost ? (d) In spite of all the Ghost's abhorrence of 
 the King's crimes, and of all its eagerness to be revenged, what 
 two restrictions does it insist upon ? (e) What are your impres- 
 sions as to the manner of the Ghost's exit? Does it weaken the 
 effect? (/) What seems to be the temper, the disposition, of 
 this Ghost, and why so at variance apparently with the character 
 of the elder Hamlet? (g) Why has not the author made this 
 (iv., 40) "a spirit of health" instead of "a goblin damned" ? 
 
 4. (a) What mood, what feelings lie at the bottom (11. 92- 
 95) of Hamlet's outcry ? (6) What change comes (1. 95) at 
 "Remember thee"? (c) Why does he think (1. 105) of his 
 mother first ? (d) Why should Hamlet select (1. Ill) the last 
 four words said by the Ghost, rather than (11. 25, 80, 81) the 
 terrible demands for revenge, as his "word" ? (e) Of what 
 in Macbeth does the calling (11. 112, 113) of Marcellus and 
 Horatio remind us ? What is the effect of this turn upon us 
 here? 
 
 5. (a) Has or has not Hamlet been in unusual excitement ? 
 (b) Can you account for the manner of his answer (1. 116) to 
 his friends? (c) On what grounds will they expect Hamlet 
 to tell them what the Ghost manifestly did not wish them to 
 hear ? (d) What would you have done in Hamlet's place ? 
 (e) How does Hamlet make the men who have come with 
 him know that he will not be questioned ? Does he seem to 
 do this with too much of princely haughtiness ? 
 
 6. (a) Can you account for Hamlet's wish (11. 127-131) to 
 dismiss these men from anything like intimacy hereafter ? 
 Has he said anything earlier in this scene that might mean as 
 much ? (b) Does Horatio appear (1. 133) to feel aggrieved, or
 
 scene 5] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 269 
 
 merely anxious ? (c) What is plainly Hamlet's mood and 
 motive in reply ? (d) Why does he reveal so much (11. 136, 
 137) as that there has been a crime ? (e) Why is he so anxious 
 that these men shall not tell that they have seen the Ghost of 
 the dead King, and that Hamlet has followed it to an interview ? 
 7: (a) Which of these men, Horatio or Marcellus, is likely 
 to be most tempted to talk of the night's experiences ? (6) On 
 which will the voice (1. 149) of the Ghost probably make the 
 stronger and more permanent impression ? (c) What is the 
 effect, on Hamlet and ourselves, of the slow withdrawal of 
 the Ghost, and the repeated evidence of its interest in the oath ? 
 Do we feel its awful, imperative commission more deeply or 
 less as the situation closes ? (d) What do you say of the form 
 and manner (11. 169-180) in which Hamlet ' proposes ' the 
 oath ? (e) How far do you find that Hamlet's feeling (11. 183- 
 187) toward his friends has altered? (/) What seenu to be 
 the nature of his regret (11. 188-189) at the work before him ? 
 (g) What action (1. 190) accompanies his last words? 
 
 Act II. Scene I 
 
 1. («) Does it seem that Polonius is making (1. 1) a stated 
 remittance, or has Laertes sent home for money ? (b) Who 
 has written the " notes " that accompany the money ? (c) Why 
 apparently does Polonius bethink himself (1. 5) of his son's 
 behavior ? Is it from general anxiety, or expense ? (d) Why 
 cannot Polonius assume Reynaldo capable (11. 6-15 ff.) of tak- 
 ing the proper steps to get information ? (e) Why seemingly 
 does Polonius ask (1. 15) whether Reynaldo ' marks ' his
 
 270 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act II 
 
 points? (/; Do you find, on looking through (11. 1-74) this 
 dialogue, the paragraphs of Polonius always proportionate to 
 Reynaldo's ? 
 
 2. (a) Into what docs Polonius's fondness for phrases (11. 17- 
 30) lead him ? (ft) What phase of character is revealed herein ? 
 (c) What similarity is apparent (1. 17) as to this man's habits 
 of thought and of speech ? (d) Where does Polonius answer 
 (1. 36) his own question ? (e) What further proof (11. 49-51) 
 as to Polonius's anxiety for his son ? (/) What is the real 
 purport (1. 71) of his amended counsel? (g) What further 
 impressions, perhaps in part through the father, have you here 
 derived concerning the son ? (h) What do you think (11. 69, 
 70, 73) is specifically Reynaldo's mood ? 
 
 '■'>. (a) What word has chief stress in (1. 75) what Ophelia 
 says to her father? (ft) How far do you think Hamlet may 
 have divined the reason (cf. I., iii., 132-134) of Ophelia's refusal 
 to see him further? (c) Can you account for the visit (11. 77- 
 84) that she has come to report ? (d) Do you judge, from the 
 description of Hamlet's appearance, that it is a premeditated 
 one ? And why is his look (1. 82) "piteous" ? ( e ) In what 
 sense does Polonius (1. 85) mean "for"? How does Ophelia 
 apparently (1. 86) understand the word ? 
 
 4. (a) Does it seem that Ophelia (11. 87-100) has noticed and 
 is trying to answer (1. 8'i) her father's question ? (ft) How are 
 we to account for the first actions (11. 87-91 ) that she. describes? 
 (c) Why did not Ophelia speak, while Hamlet 'long stayed 
 so ' ? Does she probably comprehend what she is describing? 
 <d) How must Hamlet interpret her silence ? (e) What makes 
 him shake her arm, and wave his head thrice up and down, and
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 271 
 
 raise a sigh ? (/) How do you explain the rest (11. 96-100) 
 that happens before he disappears ? (g) Has Hamlet perhaps 
 behaved like this, since the Ghost's revelations, before ? 
 
 5. (a) What makes Polonius propose (1. 101) at once to 
 "seek" the King, taking Ophelia along? (b) How far do 
 you think the author intends that we shall accept Polonius's 
 explanation (11. 102-106) as the right view concerning Hamlet's 
 mental state ? (c) Can you account for the question (1. 107) 
 that Polonius now asks ? Why do you think the author made 
 him ask it ? (d) Where can you find examples of Polonius's 
 expressing the same idea or sentiment twice ? (e) Do you 
 think the real reason of his interdictions (cf. I., iii., 132-134) 
 is correctly told ? How far may he have feared, too, that 
 Hamlet would not be left unmolested for his insults to the 
 King ? (/) Why did the author stop so long, at the beginning, 
 to give the talk between Reynaldo and Polonius ? 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. (a) Was it usual, or not, in Shakespeare's times, for 
 young nobles to be resident abroad ? (b) What is the " trans- 
 formation " to which (1. 5) the King refers, and when must it, 
 in his observation, have begun ? (c) Do you or do you not 
 judsje that the King believes Hamlet disgruntled at his loss of 
 the throne ? (d) What exactly does the King expect these 
 men to do ? (e) What chai-acterization do you seem to find 
 (11. 19-26) in the Queen's words to the two young men ? 
 (/) What characterization of both follows (11. 26-32) in the 
 responses they now make ? (g) Why does the Queen seemingly
 
 272 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act II. 
 
 turn about (1. 34) her husband's phrase ? And why does she 
 ask them to visit " instantly " her son ? (h) Does it seem that 
 these men are aware that there may be tactions, or at least 
 parties, in Denmark at this time ? 
 
 2. («) Why is not Ophelia, whom Polonius started with in 
 the last scene, now (1. 40) with her father ? (b) How long 
 must it be, approximately, since the ambassadors (cf. I., ii., 41) 
 set out for Norway ? What has the author managed, by this 
 means, to measure to us ? (c) What exactly does the King's 
 compliment (1. 42) mean ? (d) Do you or do you not judge 
 that Polonius is much accustomed of late to praise ? (e) Do 
 you think that the King really wishes to hear first (1. 50) con- 
 cerning Hamlet ? Why is not Polonius willing to accede ? 
 
 3. (a) If Polonius were not gone, would the King probably 
 (1. 55) say "your," or consent (1. 57) to the Queen's "o'er* 
 hasty"? Why? (6) In which sense does the King (1. 5s) 
 use "we"? (c) How far does he seem anxious that the 
 "sifting" he proposes shall be agreeable to the Queen? Are 
 we or are we not to understand that their feelings toward each 
 other since their marriage have been wholly such as now ? 
 (d) What kind of king is evidently (11. 61-68) the "impotent 
 and bedrid" Norway? (e) What characterization (11.68-71) 
 of his nephew is effected? (/) How do you like (11. 80-85) 
 the King's response ? 
 
 4. (a) Why should Polonius presume (1. 85) that he will be 
 heard acceptably in a patronizing vein ? (b) Is it likely that 
 his standing with the last administration was stronger or less 
 si r< >ng than with the present ? (c) What do you imagine (1. 95) 
 displeases the Queen, the judgment (1. 92) or his manner of
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 273 
 
 delivering it ? ((7) Why should Polonius (11. 9(3-103) use more 
 " art" than ever? Does he understand the Queen's request? 
 («) Why, after affirming (1. 100) that he has a daughter, does 
 he qualify ? 
 
 5. (a) How was Ophelia induced (1. 108) to put her father 
 in possession of this letter ? Does it seem to be a recent one ? 
 (b) What appears to have prompted (1. 114) the Queen's inter- 
 ruption ? (c) What are your impressions of this missive, as 
 coming from the Hamlet that we know ? (<Z) How much of 
 what Polonius (11. 125-128) next says can we accept as true ? 
 (e) What is significant (cf. I., iii., 17-21) in the following ques- 
 tion of the King ? 
 
 6. (a) How much, again, of what Polonius (11. 132-145) says, 
 is true ? (6) What do you say of Polonius's conclusion (11. 146- 
 151) as an example of sound reasoning? (c) What impression 
 has this made (1. 151) upon the King? (tZ) What would seem 
 to be the Queen's feelings regarding such a match ? How 
 would it probably have pleased the elder Hamlet ? (e) How 
 should the King (1. 100) "know" that Hamlet walks so long 
 in the lobby ? Is it likely or not that he had this habit before 
 going to Wittenberg ? If not, why should he do so now ? 
 
 7. (a) What makes Polonius use such a word (1. 162) as 
 "loose"? (b) What hint of the King's character comes 
 (1. 167) now to sight? (c) What manifestly (1. 168) is the 
 Queen's feeling, as she sees Hamlet approach ? How far has 
 she ever understood him? (cZ) What prompts Polonius to force 
 the King and Queen to retreat ? Were they standing while 
 they gave audience to Polonius ? (e) What does Polonius's 
 second inquiry (1. 173) pretty certainly make clear to Hamlet ?
 
 274 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act II 
 
 (/) What does Hamlet want Polonius to know (11. 184-186) 
 that he understands ? How did Hamlet find out ? 
 
 8. (a) Is it likely that Hamlet has talked to any one enig- 
 matically before ? (6) Can you explain why Polonius does not 
 see through Hamlet's assumed behavior, or how he can deliver 
 himself (11. 190-191) of such imbecility? (c) What does 
 Hamlet aim to do (11. 193-205), when Polonius insists on 
 continuing the interview ? (d) Does Hamlet apparently (11. 
 21-5-210) like formalities? (e) How far does he show insanity 
 (1. 221) after he is relieved of Polonius ? (/) Can you account 
 (1. 222) for Polonius's unprolix fashion of speech to Rosen- 
 crantz and Gnildenstern ? 
 
 9. (a) What do you say of Hamlet's manner of greeting 
 (11. 227-229) to his friends? (b) What are the stressed and 
 important words (11. 230, 233) in their replies to Hamlet ? 
 With what theory of Hamlet's disaffection have they come to 
 him ? (c) Should Hamlet, apparently, see through their at- 
 tempts to prove it to themselves ? (<2) Why does not the party 
 repair to the court (1. 267) as Hamlet proposes ? (e) How can 
 Hamlet have divined (11. 279-280) their secret ? 
 
 10. (a) Which of the parties, in this situation, would natu- 
 rally be conscious of having the advantage, the two friends, 
 backed by the King, or Hamlet? (6) Can you explain why 
 Guildenstern (1. 298) admits that they have been sent for, 
 though it is not his secret to tell ? (c) Why does Hamlet im- 
 mediately (1. 299) explain for his friend what he has (1. 289) 
 just said they must li teach" him? (tZ) What do you say of 
 t he following speech that he pronounces ? How far is it sincere 
 and serious? (e) Has the author apparently any point (11. 316, 
 320) in making Kosencrantz laugh ?
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS L'7. r ) 
 
 11. (a) How does it chance that the players (11. 324, 325) 
 are coming to Hamlet, and not the King, to offer service ? 
 (fc) What city (1. 335) is evidently referred to ? (c) Does 
 Hamlet seem to have any purpose (11. 370-373) in his next 
 allusion to the King ? (d) Why does Hamlet now (11. 377-383) 
 give these men another welcome ? (e) What does Hamlet 
 think that the King and Queen have told them (383, 384, 386) 
 about himself ? (/) Have they (cf. 11 4—3(5) done so ? 
 
 12. (a) What does Hamlet mean to imply (11. 38'.), 390) in 
 his next reference to his friends ? (6) Why does he imply 
 (11. 396, 3i>7) to Polonius that their talk has not been about 
 himself ? (c) Why, too, does he mention Roscius (1. 400) 
 as "an actor in Rome" ? (d) What stirs Polonius to (11. 405- 
 411) such a voluble effort ? (e) What does Hamlet evi- 
 dently intend now (11. 412, 413) by his mention of Jephthah ? 
 (/) What is shown, by the emphasized that (1.422), to be 
 Hamlet's meaning ? 
 
 13. (a) What do you say of Hamlet's manner (11, 430-438) 
 toward the players? (b) What does Hamlet's eagerness (11. 
 438-411) to have something declaimed at once argue as to his 
 tastes and spirit ? (c) What qualities would you expect to find 
 (11. 455, 456) in a passage that Hamlet chiefly loves? (d) What 
 qualities do the lines recited by him show ? (e) Why does the 
 actor (11. 529, 530) show so much emotion ? What is suggested 
 here as to the acting of Shakespeare's days ? . 
 
 14. (a) What thought (11. 547, 548) has manifestly come 
 now to Hamlet? (6) Do you think that Hamlet bespeaks 
 consideration (11. 555, 556) for Polonius sincerely ? (c) Are 
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, apparently, in much haste
 
 276 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act III 
 
 (II. 559, 560) to withdraw from Hamlet's company ? Why ? 
 
 (d) AVhy has the scene, since 1. 170, been cast in prose, and 
 why now changes to verse ? (e) Does Hamlet's mood (1. 561), 
 on getting himself free again, seem or not seem to argue that 
 he has forgotten (I., v., 91, 112) his father's commission, or his 
 oath ? 
 
 15.   [a) What makes Hamlet feel (11. 562-570) that he is a 
 rogue and low-boru slave, far beneath the actor ? How much 
 more nobly would the Player King, up to now, have probably 
 behaved ? (6) Hamlet thinks himself (11. 590, 591) a coward ; 
 but of what or whom has he showed fear ? (c) What causes 
 his self-reproach, — his general ideal of manly action, or the 
 specific conviction of present duty to his father? (d) Has 
 such a feeling come for the first time, apparently, to-day ? 
 
 (e) From "offal " (1. 594) what might be inferred as to Ham- 
 let's idea, or hope, of vengeance ? Would the King's body, if 
 he were assassinated, lie unburied ? 
 
 16. («) Why does Hamlet chafe now (11. 596-603) over his 
 chafing ? (b) Of what changers (1. 603) "About, my brain" the 
 sign? (c) What is to be said (11. 609-615) of his strategj '.' 
 How far is it wise and sound ? (d) What are the possibilities 
 of evidence in the case ? (e) What rights may Hamlet, as his 
 father's avenger, insist upon ? (/) Will or will not the attempt 
 (1. 620) to catch the King's conscience, if the purpose is detected, 
 be dangerous to Hamlet ? 
 
 Act III. Scene I 
 
 1. (a) What have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern been report- 
 ing to the King ? (6) What does the King mean (1. 2) by
 
 ..gene 1] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 277 
 
 implying that Hamlet "puts on" turbulent and dangerous 
 lunacy ? (c) Where did Hamlet confess (1. 5) to the feeling of 
 distraction ? (d) Why should Guildenstern (11. 8, 12) insist 
 on making a more unfavorable report than his companion ? 
 (e) Why is it the Queen, and not the King, who asks (11. 10, 14, 
 15) the special questions ? (/) What kind of "joy " did Hamlet 
 give evidence of (11. 326-333) in the last scene? (g) How far 
 is the King getting exact and fair information from these men ? 
 (h) Is it their motive to give such ? Why ? (i) What is the 
 time (1. 21) of this scene with reference (cf. 11. 545, 546, 550) 
 to the close of the last act ? 
 
 2. (a) How do you account (11. 21-23) for what Polonius 
 reports to the King and Queen ? Where did Hamlet ' beseech' 
 to such effect? (b) Why is the King pleased (1. 24) to hear 
 him "so inclined"? (c) Do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 appear to know, this time, that they are expected to withdraw? 
 (d) What do you say of the kingliness of the King in this and 
 the following situation ? (e) Why does the King think himself 
 (1. 32) a 'lawful espial,' and why does he think it necessary to 
 say so ? (/) How would the earlier Hamlet have probably 
 behaved ? 
 
 3. (a) What do you say (11. 37-42) of the Queen's words to 
 Ophelia ? What feeling, what characterization do you find in 
 them ? (b) What do you think of Polonius's manner(ll. 43-46) 
 with Ophelia here? (c) How far does Polonius's liction (cf. 
 11. 46-49) of late seem to square with his mannerisms in the First 
 Act ? (d) What does the King's aside (11. 49-54) now reveal ? 
 Why is the King made, in advance of Hamlet's experiment, to 
 say this here ?
 
 278 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act 111. 
 
 4. (a) How is Hamlet presented here ? Does he, on enter- 
 ing, sit? Where has the author arranged and prepared for his 
 appearance in this way ? (b) Do the King and Queen and 
 Ophelia overhear his soliloquizing? (c) What do we learn, 
 from the first five lines, as to the trend of Hamlet's thoughts of 
 hit''? (d) When did he first betray the presence of such an 
 idea? And why is he so much in doubt now, while his com- 
 mission is yet unachieved, whether it be worth while to live? 
 (e) Does he or does he not apparently wish to shirk the ven- 
 geance that his father's spirit is waiting for, or will he first kill 
 the King? 
 
 5. (a) Were Hamlet to kill the King, by an act of personal 
 vengeance, without waiting for a proper occasion, what expla- 
 nation would he or could he make to the country? (6) How 
 would such an explanation be received and understood ? (c) Who 
 would lie expected to succeed to the throne? (77) How would 
 such an outcome please Hamlet? How far could he, as a man 
 of the finest sense of honor, be expected to accede, or what 
 means might he be expected to propose to himself, to forestall 
 such issue ? 
 
 6. {a) What seems to be the nature of Hamlet's concern 
 (1. 66) about the dreams that may come in the sleep of death ? 
 Is he afraid of remorse ? (ft) How far does "the dread (1. 78) 
 of something after death " appear to be theological ? (c) How 
 does it chance that Hamlet does not think (11. 79, 80) of his 
 father's ghost? (d) What sort of enterprises (1. 86) "of 
 great pith and moment" does Hamlet seem to have in mind? 
 (e) What new impressions of Hamlet as a thinker and a man 
 have the meditations now ending brought '.' (/) How is it that
 
 scene 1] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 279 
 
 Ophelia, now interrupting the soliloquy, has been kept in delay 
 till it should be finished ? 
 
 7. (a) What is evidently Hamlet's feeling (11. 89, 90) at first 
 toward Ophelia? (b) How far do you think her manner (11. 90, 
 «J1) of addressing Hamlet truly characteristic ? (c) What change 
 is evident (1. 92) in Hamlet's feeling, as he replies? (d) What 
 is Ophelia's motive in giving back (11. 93-95) the remembrances? 
 How far was her father probably aware that she had reasons of 
 her own for wishing to meet Hamlet? (<?) With what looks and 
 manner (11. 95, 96) does Hamlet answer ? And what prompts 
 him to deny the giving? (/) Why does not Ophelia (1. 97) 
 say 'you' instead of "I" ? (g) What do you say of the spirit 
 and character of a woman who, having as she thinks been 
 wronged, arraigns her lover in such language as we find here? 
 
 8. (a) What probably did Ophelia expect from this inter- 
 view? (6) Does it seem that Hamlet finds it easy to speak 
 to Ophelia in (11. 103, 105, 107, 108) the manner following? 
 (c) Hoes it seem to be his purpose (11. 111-115) next to find 
 fault with her or to mystify her ? (d) Why does he turn (11. 117— 
 119) to maligning himself and his sex, and then deny what he 
 has just affirmed? (e) How far do you think his exhortings 
 (11. 121, 130) to enter a nunnery sincere ? (/) Why does he 
 so suddenly (1. 131) ask for her father? (g) How does 
 Ophelia probably behave under the searching looks that accom- 
 pany the question ? 
 
 9. (a) Why does Hamlet speak so harshly, after Ophelia 
 answers (11. 133, 134), of her father? (6) Do you or do you 
 not think that Hamlet expected or intended the effect (1. 130) 
 that his language brings to Ophelia's mind? (c) Why does
 
 280 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act III. 
 
 Hamlet stay after saying farewell? (d) What does he mean 
 (11. 137-143) by his next paragraph to her? (e) Why, after a 
 second farewell, does he linger yet? (/) How far, if he did 
 not know that they were spied upon, would he speak differently 
 and act ditferently ? (g) How far does it seem that Hamlet is 
 trying to produce the judgment (1. 144) that Ophelia is framing 
 as to the cause of his defection ? 
 
 10. («) What pertinency do you find in Hamlet's next pai - a- 
 graph (11. 145-153) of scolding? (b) For whose hearing does 
 Hamlet affirm directly (1. 150) that he is mad? (c) How does 
 he know that there are other listeners ? (d) Is it politic or 
 wise (11. 151, 152) to make the covert threat? Why does not 
 Hamlet refrain from it? (e) Why is Ophelia made to give 
 expression to her sorrow (11. 154-165) in our hearing? (/) What 
 was promised as the chief interest of this interview at the 
 beginning? Why was this subordinated? (g) Why the change 
 (11. 153, 154) to verse? 
 
 11. («) Does the King appear to be talking, on entry (1. 106), 
 to any proposition made since Hamlet's exit by Polonius? 
 
 (b) What has made the King so sure of his impressions? 
 
 (c) What does he mean (1. 170) by "the hatch and the dis- 
 close " ? ((?) What has caused him to resolve (1. 172) so imme- 
 diately on taking active measures against Hamlet? (e) Why 
 does he not arrest the prince, and proceed against him in the 
 Tudor or Elizabethan way? (/) What has made the King 
 give up (11. 167, 168) so wholly the notion, willingly entertained 
 (cf. i., 4, above) before, of Hamlet's being mad ? Does Hamlet 
 seem to have intended, in the things said for the King's hearing, 
 to help this result ?
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS L'Sl 
 
 12. (a) Why should Polonius be allowed (11. 180-191) to end 
 
 the scene? (6) What do you say (11. 180-182) of his retreat 
 (cf. II., ii., 155, 150) from his former position? (c) What rec- 
 ognition is apparent (11. 182-184) of the hard and almost indeli- 
 cate role that Ophelia has been forced to play ? (d) To what 
 does Polonius subordinate the King's idea? And what is the 
 governing motive in the new advice? (e) How far has Polo- 
 nius apparently (11. 189, 190) caught the note of defiance that 
 affrights the King ? (/) Does the King mean to be inconsis- 
 tent, in (1. 192) his last utterance, with what (11. 107, 108) he 
 has just said above? 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. («) What is the time of this scene as related to the pre- 
 ceding ? (6) How does it chance that the players and Hamlet 
 are now together? (c) What "speech" is Hamlet (cf. 1. 4) 
 concerned about ? (d) How should Hamlet be giving instruc- 
 tion to this First Player, who is perhaps a university man and 
 a playwright as well as a trained actor ? (e) What do you say 
 of the wisdom and soundness of the advice (11. 1-15, 17-36) at 
 large that Hamlet gives ? (/) How will this episode affect 
 our expectations of the play that it delays ? 
 
 2. (a) Why are Polonius and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 brought in, and at once sent out, ostensibly to hurry the play ? 
 (&) Do you or do you not imagine that Horatio has been sent 
 for? (c) What seems to be the reason (11. 55, 56) of Hamlet's 
 beginning his talk with such a sentiment ? What, mood is 
 on the man? (d) What hint as to Horatio's rank and origin 
 (1. 59) seems here ? (e) Why should Hamlet speak with such
 
 282 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Aci III 
 
 brutal plainness (1. 60) of his friend's poverty ? (/) How do 
 Hamlet's words, finally, concerning what (11. 63-76) Horatio 
 has been to him impress you? Is he speaking effusively, like 
 an Italian, or with the repression of a Scandinavian, a Gothic 
 mind ? (g) What brings him such an access of feeling before 
 the play ? Does he expect danger ? 
 
 3. (a) What does "Something too much of this" (1. 75) 
 mark and measure to us ? (ft) When did Hamlet give up to 
 Horatio (11. 77, 78) his secret? And why (cf. I., v., 139, 140, 
 165) did he give it up to him ? (c) Is there or not dramatic 
 gain in giving Hamlet a partner for the coming moment? 
 
 (d) How far does Horatio seem to share Hamlet's excitement ? 
 
 (e) What fully does Hamlet mean (1. 92) in " I must be idle " ? 
 
 4. (a) Does there seem any especial reason for Hamlet's 
 answer (11. 94-96) to the King's not ungracious question ? 
 Does not the King subordinate him to us by his rejoinder? 
 (6) What excuse is there, or is there any excuse, for Hamlet's 
 insolence (11. 99-107) to Polonius ? (c) Why docs Hamlet de- 
 cline to sit by his mother? (d) Do or do not the whole com- 
 pany hear Hamlet's following comments? (e) Does it seem 
 that he has been behaving like this in the face of the court of 
 late ? (/) What must the King think of the procedures of the 
 poisoner in the dumb show? How can he explain Hamlet's 
 possession of his secret ? 
 
 5. (a) Why must Hamlet (11. 131, 132, 135, 136) keep in- 
 timating the awful sureness of the coming revelation ? (6) Do 
 you think there is point in the time (11. 147, 140) that the 
 Player King makes the marriage to have lasted ? (c) Can you 
 explain (1. 173) Hamlet's aside ? (d) What is to be said in
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 283' 
 
 general of the diction and the sentiment of these lines ? Do 
 they seem Shakespearian, or Shakespeare's ? (e) What should 
 be said (11. 216, 221) of Hamlet's open language about and to 
 his mother? (/) Why should the King, knowing already 
 from the dumb show, make inquiry (11. 224-225) about the 
 '•argument"? (r/) What does his use (1. 228) of "you" 
 indicate to Hamlet ? 
 
 6. (a) How is it that Hamlet makes Lucianus (1. 236) 
 nephew "to the King" and not (1. 231) the Duke? (6) 
 Why does Hamlet presume (11. 241-243) to interfere with the 
 course of the play ? Did or did not such things happen 
 upon the Elizabethan stage ? (c) Why (1. 254) does the King 
 " rise " ? And why does he rise only after (11. 250-253) Ham- 
 let's comments? (d) How did (1. 93) the court come in? 
 (e) How long does it take the King and his courtiers (11. 
 254-250) now to withdraw ? (/) What do you suppose the 
 courtiers thought ? 
 
 7. (a) Do you understand that Hamlet sings or merely 
 repeats (11. 200-203) the stanza that follows here ? (6) What 
 seems to be now Hamlet's mood, and the degree of it ? (c) Why 
 does he withhold (1. 273) the rhyme word he is tempted to use, 
 and what propriety in the term substituted for it ? (d) How 
 far is Hamlet fair in his contempt, because of his easy victory, 
 for the King's powers of mind ? (e) Why does Hamlet call 
 (1. 280) for music ? And who apparently executes the order ? 
 
 8. (a) What difference in Guildenstern's manner from 
 hitherto ? (6) Why should he speak of the King's being 
 (1. 200) "distempered"? Has he been commissioned to do 
 so? (<•) Does he seem to understand the point (11. 204-207)
 
 284 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act III 
 
 that Hamlet tries to make significant ? Is it Hamlet's matter 
 or manner that prompts (11. 298, 299) the protest following? 
 (d) In what sense does Hamlet insist upon taking (1. 302) the 
 word "sent" ? (e) What gives Guildenstern (11. 304-30S) his 
 boldness ? (/) What prompts Hamlet's flanking (11. 309, 311) 
 from the attack ? 
 
 9. (a) Does there seem to be reason why (uiildenstern gives 
 way now (11. 316, 317) to Rosencrantz ? (b) How can Rosen- 
 crantz expect to elicit anything (11. 325, 327-3"29) from 
 Hamlet under present circumstances? (c) How is Hamlet's 
 answer (1. 330) to be explained? (d) What do you say 
 of Hamlet's rather deliberate management (11. 340-362) of his 
 friends ? (e) Does it seem that the Queen (11. 364, 365) has 
 sent also by Polonius for Hamlet ? (/) What is probably her 
 motive in sending for him? (g) How is it that Hamlet seems 
 to control and compel Polonius, differently from his two friends 
 who are by, even more than ever ? 
 
 1U. (a) What seems to inspire the thoughts that now (11. :'.7U- 
 381) first come to Hamlet's mind? (b) Why does no prompt- 
 ing to proceed at once against the King seem to be felt ? 
 (c) How far evidently does Hamlet think his mother in league 
 with the King? (d) Why should he need to voice such feel- 
 ings (11. 384, 385) as we now hear ? (e) Does he seem to re- 
 member the mandates of the Ghost as to his treatment of his 
 mother ? 
 
 Scene III 
 
 1. (a) How long is it since Kosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 cvithdrew from Hamlet, at his order (1. 378), in the last scene ?
 
 scene 3] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 285 
 
 (6) Why is the King in such haste (11. 3, 4) to send Hamlet 
 away ? (c) Why does he put Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
 in commissiun for this purpose ? (d) What hazard (1. 6) can 
 the King pretend he is enduring from Hamlet's presence at the 
 court ? 0) How, in Guildenstern's idea, are there (1. 9) " many 
 many bodies " unsafe as well as the King ? (/) What must be 
 Itosencrantz's and Guildenstern's notion about the play, as 
 causing the King's anxiety ? (g) What do you say of Rosen- 
 crantz's deliverance (11. 11-23) to the King ? (ft) Does it seem 
 or not seem that the King may wish to be rid of these witnesses 
 of his disgrace ? 
 
 2. («) Why is Polonius so willing (1. 28) to play the spy 
 upon the Queen and Hamlet ? (6) What makes the King 
 (1. 30) apparently desirous that " more audience than a mother " 
 should overhear? (c) Why should the experiences of the even- 
 ing have such an effect (1. 36 ff.) upon the mind of the King? 
 (d) Why should the author wish us to know that the King's 
 conscience has been so touched ? What is the effect on us of 
 seeing him attempt to pray ? (e) Does Hamlet seem to be 
 ready (11. 73, 74) to strike the blow of vengeance ? (/) Do we 
 wish him to take the King's life now ? (g) What do we say 
 of Hamlet's reasons about the matter? How far are they 
 the final, veritable reasons? (ft) What evidence here con- 
 cerning Hamlet's hope of punishing the King by other means 
 than assassination ? (t) Why should the author have wished 
 to give us inner proof again ^cf. III., i., 49-54) of the King'.s 
 guilt?
 
 286 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act III. 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 1. (a) Why does Polonius seem so aroused and hurried ? 
 Has there been earlier conversation, or are these the first words 
 said since his entry here ? (i>) What does Polonius wish or 
 expect from the advice (11. 1-4) he is urging upon the Queen '.' 
 
 (c) How far probably is there truth in (11. 3, 4) his statement 
 that Hamlet has been "screened" ? (d) What does the Queen 
 propose to say or do in the coming interview ? (e) What does 
 Hamlet intend for his part to do or say ? (/) With which 
 motive and purpose are you in sympathy ? 
 
 2. (a) Does Polonius seem to be present at the Queen's 
 request ? Did she apparently send him, as well as Roseacrantz 
 and (iuildenstern (ii., 364), to summon Hamlet or not ? (b) Why 
 docs he speak of his spying behind the arras as 'silencing him- 
 self even here''? (c) Does it signify anything that Hamlet 
 calls "Mother" (1. (5) three times? Is there pause between? 
 
 (d) Is it or is it not well that Hamlet does not seek this inter- 
 view, but is summoned? (e) What do you say (1.8) of his 
 salutation? (/) Why does not the mother, who has sent for 
 him, speak first ? (gr) Does it seem that Hamlet has been often 
 summoned, of late, to his mother's closet? 
 
 3. (a) What do you say of the reserve (1. 9) of the Queen's 
 answer? (b) What word in Hamlet's rejoinder (1. 10) ha; 
 stress? (<•) What does the Queen think toat her next utter- 
 ance (1. 11) will do? (d) And what does Hamlet intend (1. 12) 
 by his retort? (e) Why does the Queen say (1. 14) "forgot"? 
 (/) What words in Hamlet's answer (I!. 14-10) have stress?
 
 scene 4] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 287 
 
 (f/) How far do you approve, in manner and matter, what 
 Hamlet has just said? 
 
 4. (a) What does the Queen now assay (1. 17) to do ? 
 (b) What, to forestall this, is done by Hamlet ? (c) Do you 
 think that the Queen (11. 21, 22) is really afraid, or not? 
 
 (d) What should Polouius (1. 22) have done ? (e) Why does 
 Hamlet, upon the instant, make the pass through the arras ? 
 (/) What stress (1. 25) in "Nay, I know not" ? (g) What 
 makes Hamlet ask " Is it the King" ? (h) How far does Ham- 
 let's action here argue indecision and weakness of character ? 
 
 •"). («) How far, apparently, has Hamlet suspected his 
 mother aware of his uncle's crimes ? (6) What does her 
 echoing (1. 30) of his words make clear? (c) Why does 
 Hamlet call Polonius (1. 31) "rash"? (d) Why is Hamlet 
 so little moved ? (e) What is the effect, on us, of the spectacle 
 of Polonius slain ? Does or does not our charity reach far- 
 ther than to the man whose weaknesses have been punished? 
 (/) Does the Queen wring her hands (1. 34) because only of 
 grief for Polonius's death ? 
 
 6. (a) Why should the Queen, no longer recalcitrant, pre- 
 tend (11. 39, 40) that she does not understand ? (&) What do 
 you say of Hamlet's answer ? How far does he try to make 
 her understand ? (c) When she still asks " What act," what, 
 instead of the precise indictment, does she bring down upon 
 herself ? (d) What are your feelings towards Hamlet because 
 of his proceeding, and to such limits, against his mother ? 
 
 (e) What effect is produced by the consciousness of wrong 
 (11. 88-01), thus voiced now by the Queen ? (/) Do you wish 
 Hamlet (11. 91-04) to continue ?
 
 288 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act III 
 
 7. («) Why does the author make Hamlet go on, scurrilouslj 
 even, in abuse of his uncle ? Is it to make us dislike Hamlet ? 
 (6) Does it or does it not alter our feelings toward the Queen ? 
 
 (c) What, by the bidding (I., v., 84-88) of the Ghost was to 
 be Hamlet's treatment of his mother? How far did that com- 
 mand argue a desire to see her suffer, bring her to punishment ? 
 
 (d) What must be the present feeling of the Ghost toward 
 Hamlet's mother ? (<?) How does this feeling, and the present 
 visitation that shows it, affect our sense of the wrong done by 
 the Queen to her dead husband ? (/) Why does not the Ghost. 
 make Hamlet know more unequivocally the motive that has 
 made it put a stop to the sufferings of the Queen ? 
 
 8. (a) A moment ago, the Queen was painfully subordinated 
 to Hamlet; which is subordinated to the other now? (ft) What, 
 in this, is plainly the author's purpose? (c) Do you think or 
 not think that this is a subjective ghost ? (d) Why should not 
 the Queen be made to know of his presence, as Marcellus and 
 Horatio were, by seeing ? (e) Why is the Ghost now (1. 135) 
 in his usual palace dress ? (/) Can you explain Hamlet's 
 greater fear, at this visitation, of the Ghost ? (g) Can you 
 explain the lingering, and the slow withdrawal (1. 134) of the 
 Ghost ? 
 
 9. (a) How is it that Hamlet cannot (.11. 139-152) recover, 
 or is not permitted by the authonto recover, his moral, inqui- 
 sitional authority over his mother? (ft) What must be the 
 Queen's future? Will it do to have her propose, or to have 
 Hamlet consent, that she continue to live, as she has lived, 
 with Hamlet's uncle ?- Why? (c) How does it help to have 
 Hamlet give (11. 159-107) such advice as we now hear ? (d) Does
 
 scene 4] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 289 
 
 the author expect us to believe that Hamlet really thinks as he 
 is here made to say ? (e) How far must this affect our enthu- 
 siasm for our hero ? (/) What does Hamlet mean (1. 175) in 
 saying that he must be their "scourge and minister" ? 
 
 10. (a) How far does the Queen seem to have divined Ham- 
 let's feelings and motives in relation to the King ? (&) AVhy 
 does she ask (1. 180) what she must do ? (c) How does the 
 author make us know that she will be on Hamlet's side ? 
 
 (d) How has Hamlet found out (1. 200) the King's purpose? 
 
 (e) How far has the Queen (1. 201) guessed or divined the ani- 
 mus of this plan? (/) Will the Queen infer that Hamlet is 
 preparing (11. 204-210) to defeat the King and his agents, alone, 
 without collusion and assistance ? 
 
 11. (a) Why does the author make Hamlet imply such secrets 
 implicitly to his mother in our hearing? (ft) What has been 
 the result of the mother's attempting to be round with her son, 
 and of the son's effort to speak daggers to his mother ? (c) Does 
 the Queen now think Hamlet mad ? (d) Will Hamlet again be 
 insolent to his mother? (e) What sort of a report can or will 
 the Queen make to her husband of this interview ? (/) Why 
 has the author brought about this change of feeling between 
 Hamlet and his mother? (g) What degree of grief over 
 (11. 211, 216) the killing of Polonius does Hamlet show as the 
 scene ends ? 
 
 Act IV. Scene I 
 
 1. (a) What are (1. 1) these "sighs" and "profound 
 heaves"? What is the occasion that calls them forth? 
 (b) Why does the King say (1.2) "translate"? (c) What 
 
 u
 
 290 OUTLINE QI'KS LIONS [Act IV. 
 
 has lie been expecting from this interview ? (d) Why does he 
 ask (1. 3) where Hamlet is? (e) Do you take it that the Queen 
 looks and acts as if in the same mood as, at the end of the last 
 scene, we left her in ? (/) Has she spoken before (1. 4) asking 
 to be alone with the King? 
 
 2. (a) How does the Queen apparently deliver the words 
 that she now (1. 5) says to the King? Do you remember her 
 speaking or acting similarly before? (ft) Does the King's 
 manner seem or not seem changed (1. (5) since his first speaking 
 to the Queen? (c) What impression does the Queen (11. 7, 8) 
 seem anxious to convey? (rf) Why does .she speak at once 
 (11. 9-12) of the killing of Polonius? And why does she not 
 tell fairly what something it was that "stirred" behind the 
 arias? (<?) What effect or impression does the King seem to 
 wish to produce (11. 12-1")). by his comment, upon the Queen ? 
 (/) What would he imply (1. 20) was « most fit " ? 
 
 3. («) Why does the King (1.23) again inquire -where Ham- 
 let is? (ft) What does the Queen mean, or intend (11. 25-27 . 
 by saying " his madness shows itself pure " ? (c) Was Hamlet 
 in the mood (1. 27) of weeping when we left him dragging in 
 the body of Polonius ? Why does the Queen say this here? 
 (d) What action of the King seems (1. 28) to accompany his 
 next words to the Queen? Why does not. the Queen speak fur- 
 ther? What is now her real or affected feeling? (<>) Why 
 does the King bid (1. :'>:'>) the " friends " to join with them some 
 "further aid 1 '? (/) How fully do you imagine the King 
 understands Hamlet's feeling and purpose toward himself? 
 (g) Why does the King wish or need (1. 38) to say " Come. 
 Gertrude" ? (h) Are the lines following meant for comfort or
 
 scene 3] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 291 
 
 excuse? (0 Why. again (1. 44), "Come away"? (j) How 
 far has the Queen fulfilled her promise to Hamlet (11. 197-199) 
 in the last scene ? 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. (a) What time has apparently elapsed since the last act 
 ended ? (ft) How does it chance that Rosencrantz and Guilden- 
 stern are calling loudly after Hamlet when they were sent to 
 arrest him ? (c) What is the literal or exact element of truth 
 by which Hamlet tries, in his answer (1. 6) to mystify his 
 friends? (d) How does he deliver (1. 9) his next response? 
 (ff) What is his point (11. 12, 13) in the following explanation ? 
 Has Hamlet said anything like this, to these men or anybody 
 else, since the play opened? 
 
 2. («) What does Hamlet (11. 17-20) really prophesy ? 
 (h) Why does he (1. 22") say "knavish," and why does he 
 decline to make his meaning plain by repetition? (c) Does 
 Hamlet understand (1. 24) that he is under arrest to these men ? 
 (d) Why does Guildenstern (1.27) interrupt Hamlet? How 
 was "king" probably spoken? (e) What is the difference 
 between Hamlet's present manner of dealing with these two 
 men, and the way he treated them just before going to his 
 mother's closet? How do a'ou account for the difference? 
 
 Scene III 
 
 1. («7) What is the time of this scene as related to the 
 preceding? (b) To whom is the King offering his remarks 
 concerning Hamlet? (o) Who apparently are the distracted
 
 292 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act IV 
 
 multitude (1. 4) of whom he seems to stand in awe ? (d) What 
 calls out from the King (1. 11) such an inquiry ? (e) Where is 
 the stress in his next question ? (/) Does the King appear to 
 suspect, or not, that there are people at court in league, with 
 Hamlet, against himself? 
 
 2. (a) What is the King's mood and temper (1. 17) in his 
 first question to Hamlet? (b) What is manifestly Hamlet's 
 purpose (11. 18, 20 ff. ) in answering as he does? (c) What real 
 or affected feeling (1. 26) prompts the King's exclamations? 
 (d) Why does the King say (1. 41) that he is sending Hamlet 
 away for his "especial safety"? (e) Why should Hamlet 
 pretend surprise (1. 47) at the mention of his place of exile? 
 (/) What literal element of meaning (1. 49) lies at the bottom 
 of his boast ? 
 
 3. («) What makes the King try to force on Hamlet (1. 51) 
 his paternal claims? (6) Why does Hamlet (1. 49, 50, 51) 
 pretend enthusiasm for the King's decree? (c) Where does he 
 (1. 54) start to go ? (d) Why does the King (1. 50) decide 
 that Hamlet shall set out to-night instead (cf. i., 29) of in the 
 early morning ? (e) Why does the author make the King con- 
 fess (11. 04-66) to us his full purpose here ? 
 
 Scene IV 
 
 1. (ff) How far must be the "plain in Denmark," where 
 this scene is laid, from Elsinore ? (/>) What time must have 
 elapsed, approximately, since the last scene? (c) Where was 
 the present enterprise of Fortinbras reported to us? (d) Why 
 should not Fortinbras repair to the court to pay his respects to
 
 scene 5] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 293 
 
 the King in person ? (e) How does it chance that Hamlet, 
 with (1. 8) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the guards, 
 comes upon these "powers"? (/) What seems to be Ham- 
 let's motive or reason for questioning the officer ? 
 
 2. (a) What is Rosencrantz's point or purpose (1. 30) in 
 sneaking to Hamlet ? (6) Does he find Hamlet's docility or 
 civility greater or less than usual ? (c) Why does Hamlet wish 
 him (1. 31) to " go a little before " ? (d) Why should the new 
 incident and information have afforded (1. 32) another "occa- 
 sion " to Hamlet's mind? (e) Does Hamlet think he is being 
 conveyed to England for a stay of some months' duration ? 
 Does he or does he not feel that he is, or is to be, out of reach 
 of the object of his revenge? (/) How far does there seem 
 to have been reaction, after the killing of Polonius, from the 
 thought of striking the King down in cold blood ? (g) Just 
 what must Hamlet's last sentence (11. 65, 66) here, if the utter- 
 ance of a sensible and resolute mind, mean ? 
 
 Scene V 
 
 1. (a) How is it that the Queen appears here with Horatio ? 
 Has she shown any predilection for his presence or services 
 hitherto ? (6) Why is she not, as always — save in the closet 
 scene — shown to us in the company of the King? (c) Why 
 should Ophelia in her madness seek, rather than some one with 
 whom she has been more familiarly associated, the Queen ? 
 (d) Why is the Gentleman made (11. 4-7) to quote so many 
 things without making known who says them ? (e) What is 
 his point (11. 7-13) in the remainder of what he says? In
 
 294 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act IV 
 
 whose interest apparently does he say it? (/) What is the 
 motive (11. 14, 15) of Horatio's suggestion to the Queen ? 
 (g) Why does the author make us know (11. 17-20), here or at 
 all, that the effect of the closet lessoning is permanent ? 
 
 2. (a) Why is it well that Horatio is to be present, and 
 escorts Ophelia in ? (6) What characteristics of Ophelia still 
 show themselves ? (c) What makes the deep pathos of the 
 following paragraphs? (d) What is to be said of the manner 
 in which (1. 35) the King is introduced ? Why is he brought 
 in? (e) Why is not his inquiry (1. 55) replied to ? (/) Does 
 it seem likely (11. 57, 58) that Ophelia saw (cf. 1. 72, below) 
 her father buried ? (g) Why again should it be Horatio (1. G:!) 
 who attends upon her? 
 
 3. (a) Why does the King talk to the Queen (1. 64 ff.) of 
 sorrows, making (1. 08) "your son gone" one of them? 
 (6) How long must it now be (1. 70) since Hamlet went away '.' 
 
 (c) How does the King chance to know the matters, done in 
 secret, such as he reports of Laertes ? What does this show as 
 to his habitual policy and state of mind? (r?) What musl be 
 the character (1. 7'.)) of the "pestilent speeches" of which he 
 makes complaint? (e) Why does not Gertrude, even after 
 knowing (1. 84) the degree of the King's dismay and danger, 
 make response? (/) Are the " Switzers " (1. 85) apparently 
 now and always near? 
 
 4. (a) What seems to be Laertes's aim (11. 00, 04) in allowing 
 the crowd to make treasonable outcries ? (ft) Why is not the 
 Queen (11. 07,08) more excited? (c) Why does the author 
 keep the following of Laertes (11. 100, 101) from our sight? 
 
 (d) To what extent seemingly are there noblemen or courtiers
 
 scKMi 5] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 295 
 
 m this uprising ? (c) Which of these men, the King or Laertes, 
 now subordinates the other? (/) What does the Queen do 
 (11. 110, 114) to help? (f7) How do you account for the cool- 
 ness and even repose of the King in these exciting moments ? 
 
 5. («) Why is the King so slow in making known who is 
 responsible for Polonius's death ? (6) Why is Ophelia brought 
 in again, with Laertes to be witness, in our sight, of his sister's 
 pain ? (c) How fax do you consider his words to her and of 
 her (11. 141-150) the unforced and genuine expression of his 
 soul ? How far was his appreciation of his sister, living, as 
 lively and complete as his language now ? (d) Is the effect of 
 this second entry of Ophelia stronger or less strong on us than 
 the first, ? What are the reasons ? (e) To whom does she give 
 the flowers that (11. 161, 162, 166-169) she selects and speaks 
 about? 
 
 6. (a) Why is Laertes made to comment (11. 155, 174, 187), 
 in our hearing, through the situation? (6) Why is Horatio 
 nut here this time with Ophelia? What is the effect of all 
 upon your feelings concerning Hamlet ? (c) Why is it the 
 King, and not Laertes, that is made (1. 188) to take up the 
 interrupted topic? (d) What do you say of the tenor and 
 spirit of the terms (11. 192-195) by which the King offers to be 
 judged ? Is such unkingliness usual with this man ? Do you 
 or do you not think that it can be excused ? (e) Is this con- 
 versation between the King and Laertes wholly private ? 
 (/) What can be the meaning, since Hamlet is not in reach, 
 of the King's hint (1. 204) of some exemplary punishment ?
 
 296 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act IV 
 
 Scene VI 
 
 1. (a) Why is Horatio asking " what" rather than •' who " 
 are those that would speak with him ? (ft) Why should the 
 persons in question, having letters to deliver, be subject to 
 such preliminaries ? Is the caution for Horatio's sake or theirs ? 
 
 (c) What do you say of the salutation (1. 7) of the '"First 
 Sailor"? Does it argue a feeling of humility, as from a man 
 of the lower ranks, or excitement, or what ? (d) What is 
 Horatio's feeling, apparently (1. 8), over it? (e) Can you ac- 
 count for the reference to Hamlet (1. 10) as the ''ambassador" ? 
 (/) Why yet the caution (1. 11) as to Horatio's identity? 
 
 2. (a) How far have Hamlet's actions and utterances of 
 late tended to confirm, to you, the implications of the last para- 
 graph of the last act, that he has knowledge of the King's man- 
 date, and has in readiness a most effectual counterplot? Or, 
 do you conclude it all but fustian and braggadocio ? (6) If he 
 has arranged any counterplot, would Horatio know ? (c) If 
 there are men assisting Hamlet against the King, are they 
 probably or not sailors and like people from the lower classes? 
 
 (d) How should Hamlet, in (1. 18) the grapple, board the 
 pirate, alone? And why should the pirates wish or consent to 
 get clear of a royal ship, without spoil ? (c) Are the pirates 
 apparently preparing to extort ransom from the King for 
 Hamlet, or not? 
 
 3. (a) What must Hamlet mean (11. 20, 21) by " thieves of 
 mercy" ? (ft) What good turn would it be practicable (1. 21) 
 to do for pirates? (c) Why should Hamlet have "letters" 
 (11. 15, 22) for the King? (d) If Hamlet has been brought
 
 scene 7] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 297 
 
 back by accident, and against his will, what should be the 
 reserves (11. 24-25) of excitement yet to tell? (e) Why is 
 Hamlet (1. 2G) in hiding? (/) Are or are not these "good 
 fellows " (1. 26), who are helping thwart the King's will, of the 
 pirate crew? (g) How far does the First Sailor now seem, in 
 (11. 7-12) his earlier words to Horatio, to have had a pirate's 
 consciousness and fear ? (h) What practicable relations, after 
 scene iii. of this act, can Hamlet expect to maintain with the 
 King? 
 
 Scene VII 
 
 1. (a) How is this related in time to scene v., and to the 
 preceding? (6) Has Laertes made and brought his choice of 
 "wisest friends" for this interview, or not? (c) What sort 
 of story (11. 3-5) has the King told Laertes? (d) What 
 " crimeful " and " capital " feats (1. 6) can have been instanced 
 against Hamlet? (e) What do you say (11. 9-24) of the King's 
 two reasons for not restraining or punishing this culprit? 
 (/) What is now (11. 25, 29) Laertes's mood ? 
 
 2. (a) What is noticeable as to the King's mood and spirit 
 in this interview? (6) What would the King have probably 
 ventured upon saying (1. 35), had there been no interruption? 
 (c) Why did not the "sailors" (1. 39) wait to deliver the 
 letters (cf. vi., 13, 14) after the manner that seems to have 
 been intended? (d) Why does Hamlet at once in his letter 
 (1. 44) say "naked," and what does he mean by the word? 
 (e) Why does he add, in postscript (1. 51), " alone " ? (/) Where 
 is all the bitterness and savagery, now (11. 53-56), with which 
 Laertes lately demanded vengeance ?
 
 298 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Aci IV. 
 
 3. («) What comes now (1. 58) into the King's mind ? 
 (6) Does the King seem (11. 00-152) to be in the same fear of 
 Hamlet as in the first scenes of this act? (c) What in the 
 new idea (11. 05-07) seems to the King perhaps better than the 
 former plan? (d) Why does not Laertes wish (1. 69) to 
 be the principal, rather than the "organ," in this revenge? 
 (e) How far do you think Hamlet (1. 73, 102) to have been 
 envenomed with envy? (/) How far do yon take the '• confes- 
 sion'* (11. 0-1-101) of Lamond to have been as the King reports? 
 
 4. («) Why is Laertes (1. 105) unwilling to deduce anything 
 from the King's talk, why does he force all back upon the 
 King? (6) How can the King, in view of Laertes's late defi- 
 ance, ask (1. 100) if his father was dear to him? (c) What 
 seems to be the King's reason (11. 109-122) for saying so much in 
 excuse of Laertes's presumed coldness ? (d) Why are the King's 
 last words (11. 123-125) so satisfying to Laertes? (?) What is 
 to be said (1. 125) of Laertes's answer? What were the rights 
 of sanctuary ? What should a righteous king say or do with 
 reference to such a declaration ? 
 
 5. («) Why is it asked (1. 128) that Laertes keep close 
 within his chamber? (6) What is to be said (11. 133-136) of 
 the King's reference to Hamlet's nature? Why is there no 
 mention further about the "envy"? (c) Why does Laertes 
 think he needs (1. 139) to anoint his sword? (d) Why is the 
 King too (11. 1-19-153) unconiident of outgeneraling Hamlet? 
 (e) Why should the Queen venture (1. 101) to interrupt such 
 an interview as this? (/) Has she by this time read (1. 37) 
 Hamlet's letter? Is it or is it not likely that she will look foi 
 further measures against Hamlet?
 
 scene 7] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 299 
 
 6. (a) Does the report of Ophelia's death seem more terri- 
 ble, or less, as heard after the completion of the plot? (b) Do 
 the names of the flowers and the associations they carry seem 
 to deepen or not deepen the tragic effect of what is told? 
 (c) Why should not here be the climax of the tragedy (11. 171- 
 182) of poor Ophelia? Why is not the recital as a whole more 
 moving? (d) Does the Queen seem to be younger or older, as 
 she speaks in these paragraphs, than in scene iv. of the last 
 act ? (e) Do you find your feelings toward Hamlet in any way 
 affected by this situation or this scene? (/) Does Laertes's 
 srief seem or not seem deeper than when, in scene v. , we saw 
 it first? (g) Why does the author make this man, by (11. 188- 
 100) a somewhat violent exit, stop the whole ? 
 
 Act V. Scene I 
 
 1. (a) What word in the opening paragraph here takes the 
 first stress? (6) What position does the First Clown think he 
 is maintaining? (c) What is evidently the conviction of the 
 second grave-digger upon the same question ? (d) What evi- 
 dently has happened (11. 4, 5) since the last scene? (e) What 
 point (11. 6, 7) is behind the First Clown's next utterance? 
 (/) Can you account (11. 9-13) for his next paragraph ? 
 
 2. (a) Are or are not these men clowns in the modern sense ? 
 (b) How is it that the Second Clown finds himself (11. 14, 22) 
 subordinated, beaten ? (c) What does the First Clown try 
 (11. 15-21) next to say? (d) What is his attitude now as re- 
 lated to his position (11. 1, 2, 6, 7) in the beginning ? (e) Where 
 does the Second Clown stand (1. 22) now, as regards the First
 
 300 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act V. 
 
 Clown's present position and (11. 3, 4) his own first insistence ? 
 (/) What can be the author's purpose in giving us this 
 dialogue ? 
 
 3. (a) What feeling evidently inspires (11. 24-26) the Second 
 Clown's next venture? (6) Why should the First Clown 
 (11. 27-30) so readily assent and stop arguing ? (c) Why does 
 he not allow the Second Clown any chance to work ? (d) Can 
 you imagine how the conversation in progress as the scene 
 opened was started ? (e) What difference between the First 
 Clown as an arguer and a propounder of riddles? (/) At 
 whose expense is the liquor (1. 61) to be procured ? (g) Should 
 there be naturally a protest from the Second Clown, as he is 
 sent away ? 
 
 4. (a) Does this seem to be a good place for Hamlet to be 
 again introduced to us ? (b) How does it chance that Hamlet 
 is here in the churchyard at this time, and Horatio with him ? 
 (c) Why is it that they appear so aimless, coming up and 
 standing silently, as they do, while the Clown sings ? (d) How 
 do we know for whom the grave is being prepared ? (e) What 
 is the effect of this singing, under all the circumstances, upon us ? 
 (/) Why are the interjections (1. 65), or what they stand for in 
 the sung, inserted ? ((f) Can you see any reason why the author 
 makes the grave-i ligger (1. 76) throw up a skull ? 
 
 5. (a) What is the effect of bringing Hamlet and his friend 
 thus to the grave-digger ? < ui which side is the subordination ? 
 (b) Do you or do you not find Hamlet as brilliant in his philoso- 
 phizing as hitherto? (c) Can you see any reason why Horatio 
 contributes so little to the conversation? (rf) Does Hamlet 
 seem in any way changed from what he was before his exile ?
 
 scene 1] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 301 
 
 (e) Is there any apparent purpose in thus prolonging the talk 
 (11. 90-115) about the skulls? (/) Why should Hamlet wish 
 to speak (1. 121) to the Clown ? Why do not he and Horatio 
 go away '? 
 
 6. (a) Is the Clown's wit really superior to Hamlet's ? Has 
 the author had Hamlet put down by anybody hitherto ? 
 (ft) Does the Clown appear to recognize who it is that has 
 addressed him ? (c) Is there any especial point in having 
 Hamlet inquire (1. 146) how long the Clown has been a 
 grave-maker? (d) Does Hamlet seem of the same years, 
 through the play, as are made known here ? (e) Does the 
 Clown probably believe what he says to Hamlet (11. 173-177) 
 about tanners ? Why is he made to say it to, of all men, the 
 hero of this play ? 
 
 7. (a) What is the effect or purpose (11. 186-202) of having 
 the skull identified ? (b) How are we to explain this preparing 
 of Ophelia's grave on the very spot where Yorick, from the 
 King's household, was buried ? (c) What is to be said of the 
 continued conversation and delay? (d) What appears (1. 214) 
 to be Horatio's feeling and meaning ? (e) What is to be said 
 of the verses (11. 223-226) with which Hamlet closes the dialogue ? 
 Does he probably think them good poetry ? 
 
 8. (a) Why does Hamlet say, "Soft! aside!" and propose 
 that they (1. 232) "couch" from sight? (6) Why has not 
 Horatio told Hamlet whose grave they had seen preparing? 
 (c) How is the subordination of the dead to the preparations 
 for burial now changed ? (d) On which side of the subordina- 
 tion do Hamlet and his friend belong ? (e) Can you account 
 for the lateness or delay in the preparation of the grave?
 
 302 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act V. 
 
 (/) What " maimed rites" (1. 229) are Hamlet and his friend 
 observing ? 
 
 9. (a) In what spirit does Laertes seem (1. 233) to ask his 
 question ? Why is there, at first, no answer ? (6) Why does 
 the author have Hamlet (1. 234) remark about Laertes ? 
 (c) Who (1. 238) has overswayed the order, and for what rea- 
 son ? (d) Why does Laertes, after knowing (11. 239-244) what 
 has been done for him and his sister, abuse (11. 250-252) the 
 priest ? (e) After Hamlet perceives (1. 252) that it is Ophelia 
 that is dead, why is the Queen made next to speak ? (/) Does 
 the court in general probably know that Ophelia was in love 
 with Hamlet ? 
 
 10. (a) What is to be said of the Queen's tribute, supple- 
 menting thus (1. 253) with flowers the rites ? (6) Why should 
 Laertes utter his imprecations (11. 256-259) so publicly ? To 
 what extent does he feel the grief that he gives vent to ? 
 
 (c) How far is Hamlet presumably prepared for the charge 
 (11. 257, 258) of being accountable for this woe ? (d) What 
 motives or forces bring Hamlet forward now out of his hiding ? 
 (e) What prompts his asking (1. 264), " What is he"? 
 (/) What difference in the natures of the two men do we 
 discern, as (1. 268) Laertes seizes Hamlet by the throat ? Does 
 Hamlet respond at once, or at all, in kind ? 
 
 11. (a) Is there any difference in feeling between what is said 
 (1. 274) by the King and by the Queen ? (ft) Why does Horatio 
 presume (1. 275) to control Hamlet's action ? To what extent 
 has such a thing occurred before ? (c) What does Hamlet 
 mean (1. 276) by "fight with him"? Why does he say it? 
 
 (d) Why does the Queen make the inquiry (1. 278) " What
 
 scene 1] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 303 
 
 theme?" Does she ask for information? (e) Why should 
 Hamlet protest (11. 279-281) again ? Does he mean to dis- 
 parage Laertes's fondness for his sister ? (/) Why does the 
 King say (1. 282) that Hamlet is mad ? (g) What does the 
 Queen (1. 283) wish that all or any one should do ? 
 
 12. (a) Why does not Laertes speak ? (b) Is Hamlet, per- 
 haps, just awaking to a realization of his affection ? Why does 
 he hold Laertes's protestations (11. 287, 288) so personal? 
 (c) How do you think Hamlet delivers the sentences (11. 284-294) 
 of this paragraph ? (d) Are the matter and manner of Ham- 
 let's utterances like what we, and the court, have heard before ? 
 (e) Why does the Queen (11. 294-298) at such length explain 
 Hamlet's outbursts as madness ? (/) Now that Hamlet has 
 been pronounced mad by both his mother and the King, why 
 does he not go back to his crazy role f When did he use it 
 last? 
 
 13. (a) Why does not Laertes answer something (11. 298-300) 
 to Hamlet's appeals ? (6) How far has he insisted in this 
 interview upon his prerogatives as a prince ? Does he seem 
 really to think himself (1. 301) a Hercules ? (c) If he came to 
 the churchyard to wait for something, why does he go (1. 302) 
 thus away ? (d) Why does he not take Horatio, and why does 
 Horatio stay ? (e) Why does the King bid him (1. 303) follow 
 his friend ? (/) What change in the King's policy toward 
 Hamlet is now (1. 306) apparent ? (gr) Is it probable that the 
 Queen understands the meaning (11. 307-309) of the King's last 
 words?
 
 >04 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act V. 
 
 Scene II 
 
 1. (a) How does it chance that Hamlet and Horatio have not 
 discussed the matters alluded to in the letter (IV., vi.) till now ? 
 '&) How much time has elapsed since the last scene ? And 
 how do they happen to be now together ? (c) What is it that 
 Hamlet seems to allude to by (1. 1) " this " and by " the other" ? 
 id) And what " circumstance " (1. 2) must be meant ? (e) Does 
 it seem usual with Hamlet to philosophize, as here (11. 6-11), in 
 the middle of a narrative? (/) How far does Hamlet's con- 
 duct, as next (11. 12-47) recounted, argue weakness and inde- 
 cision ? 
 
 2. (a) What does Hamlet mean in (1. 32) " wrote it fair" ? 
 Whose hand is he imitating ? (b) How many days had Hamlet 
 been at sea when the "sea-fight" (1. 54) occurred? (c) How 
 many nights had passed before Hamlet possessed himself of 
 the King's commission ? (d) Why should Horatio be surprised 
 (1. 62) at the revelations ? (e) And why should Hamlet, at 
 Horatio's word, again question whether it does not ' stand him 
 now upon ' (11. 63-70) to do his vengeance ? (/) Why is 
 Horatio silent to this question ? 
 
 3. (a) How does Hamlet mean (1. 73) "the interim is 
 mine" ? What will he do with it or in it? (6) What must 
 they assume that the King will do when the fate of Rosencrantz 
 and Guildenstern is known ? (c) What confidence or uncon- 
 fidence does Hamlet seem to feel as to the outcome of the 
 whole? (d) How far do you find Hamlet the same man he 
 was before he was sent away ? How far does he seem changed ? 
 (e) Is there significance in the transition from his own danger
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 305 
 
 and vengeance (1. 75) to his little quarrel with Laertes ? 
 (/) Why does Horatio say (1. 80), "Peace," at the approach 
 of footsteps ? 
 
 4. («) What is Osric ? (6) Why does Hamlet call him a 
 'watorny,' and keep him waiting by asides to Horatio? 
 (c) Why is Osric (11. 91, 92) so deferential? (d) What of 
 Hamlet's manner of dealing (11. 93-106) with his deference ? 
 (e) What sort of language does he use in attempting (11. 107- 
 113) to tell his message? (/) Why should Hamlet (11. 114- 
 122) in his new role echo the dialect of this absurd messenger ? 
 (g) How long does Hamlet keep up the mimicry, and why 
 stops? (/i) Why does Osric answer (1. 148) "rapier and dag- 
 ger,'''' to Hamlet's question? 
 
 5. (a) Can the terms (11. 168-172) of the King's bet be 
 made to square with arithmetic ? (6) Why should not Hamlet, 
 after recent experiences, have suspected treachery in the sport 
 proposed ? (c) Why should he wish, in any case, to oblige 
 the King? (d) Why does the author delay by introducing 
 (11. 186-198) further comment of the friends concerning Osric ? 
 (e) What seems to be the King's motive (1. 201) in sending so 
 speedily again to Hamlet? (/) Does Hamlet yet seem to 
 divine (11. 204-207) that mischief is being planned ? (gr) Has 
 the lord been told to say (1. 208) that the Queen and the whole 
 court are coming down ? 
 
 6. (a) What has prompted (11. 210, 211) the Queen's advice ? 
 (b) What makes Horatio's mind (1. 213) misgive ? (c) When 
 did Laertes (1. 214) go into France ? And how does Hamlet 
 happen to fix the time of his resumed interest in rapier-work by 
 such a circumstance ? (d) How is Hamlet's foreboding (11. 216.
 
 306 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act V. 
 
 217) to be accounted for ? (e) Why does he not yield (11. 221, 
 223) to Horatio's wishes? (/) What impressions of Hamlet's 
 im md and mind do his lines in reply (11. 224-229) bring you ? 
 Is there revolt, or regret, or fear ? 
 
 7. (a) What do you say of his words (11. 231, 232) to 
 Laertes ? Does Laertes appear to accept or acknowledge the 
 reparation or not ? (&) Does Hamlet think that the King and 
 Laertes and the others who overhear believe him mad ? How 
 can you explain what is said in the continuation of (11. 233-249) 
 his apology to Laertes ? How far is he sincere ? (c) What do 
 you say (11. 249-257) of Laertes's reply ? (d) What signs, if 
 any, appear (11. 257-262) of envy, or of boyish eagerness to 
 beat a rival ? (e) Why should the King (11. 264, 265) speak or 
 interfere ? (/) What is Laertes (1. 269) doing the while ? 
 
 8. (a) What would naturally be the thought of the court at 
 seeing the King (11. 273-283) in such enthusiasm for one who 
 has lately scorned him ? What must Hamlet think ? (6) How 
 closely is the King (11. 283-288) following out the course agreed 
 upon with Laertes ? (c) Is Laertes apparently (11. 285, 286) 
 making equal effort with Hamlet ? (d) What does the King do 
 (1. 287) at mention of the pearl ? (e) Is it or is it not of obli- 
 gation that Hamlet, while trumpets are sounding within and 
 cannon boom on the battlements without, drink with the King? 
 Why does he not (1. 289) explain ? (/) Is or is not the King 
 probably (1. 292) in fear ? 
 
 9. (a) Why should Hamlet need or wish (1. 293) to ' rub his 
 brows,' and why should the Queen propose that he use her 
 handkerchief? (ft) Why should she propose to "carouse" to 
 his fortune ? Has the Queen been shown fond of wine hitherto ?
 
 scene 2J OUTLINE QUESTIONS 307 
 
 (c) Why is the Queen insistent (1. 296), in spite of the King's 
 warning? (d) Is it incumbent or not for Hamlet to drink 
 when his mother carouses to his success ? What does he mean 
 (1. 298) by " dare " ? (e) What relation does the Queen's next 
 wish (1. 299) bear to (1. 293) her first one ? (/) Has Hamlet 
 apparently other or deeper feeling than he (11. 302-304) ex- 
 presses to Laertes ? 
 
 10. (a) How is it that they scuffle, and exchange rapiers ? 
 Is it poetic license, or destiny ? . (6) Does the King seem 
 relieved (1. 306) now that Hamlet has been wounded by the 
 poisoned sword ? Is the King probably excited ? (c) Why is 
 it not the King rather than Osric that notes the falling of the 
 Queen ? (d) Why is it Osric that asks (1. 309) after Laertes ? 
 Is he in the secret? (e) Why does Hamlet think only (1. 312) 
 of the Queen ? (/) Is the King making any effort apparently 
 to give her comfort or tending ? (g) Why does she cry out to 
 Hamlet (11. 313, 314), and not to her husband? 
 
 11. (a) How many armed followers has Hamlet in this 
 company ? How many in all likelihood has the King ? (b) Why 
 does not the King issue counter-orders ? (c) How do you con- 
 ceive Hamlet in these moments? Is he wanting in "resolu- 
 tion" ? When has he risen before to something like the same 
 energy and decision ? (d) Where does he suspect the treachery 
 (1. 316) will be found to lurk? (e) Why should either of these 
 two men, who are avenging fathers slain, regret (11. 317-324) 
 his effort ? What has wrought upon Laertes's mind ? (/) Why 
 does Laertes put the blame wholly (1. 324) on the King? 
 
 12. (a) Why does Hamlet (1. 325) say " too " ? How much 
 of the plot does he seem to have divined ? (&) What means
 
 308 OUTLINE QUESTIONS [Act \> 
 
 (I. 326) his "then"? What is the animus that prompts the 
 stroke ? (c) Why do not the court folk and attendants attempt 
 some sort (1. 327) of defence ? (d) Why does not the King 
 protest, or bespeak help, until struck with the envenomed 
 sword? (e) What exactly afterward (11. 329-331) does Hamlet 
 do? (/) Why is Laertes so hard (11. 331, 332), even in these 
 moments of dying, upon the King? (g) What seems to be 
 his feeling, from (11. 333-335) his last words, of Hamlet's 
 character and worth ? 
 
 13. (a) Which of the poisoned hurts was first received, 
 Laertes's or Hamlet's ? Which victim should be the first to 
 fall? (6) How can the long delay of Hamlet's death be 
 accounted for? (c) Does Hamlet appear to regret his fate? 
 Does he show signs of such repose as should follow the lifting 
 of his burdens? (cl) Why does he say (1. 337) "queen," 
 instead of " mother" ? (e) What seems to have been the effect 
 upon the court (1. 338) of Hamlet's magnificent action? 
 (/) What burden is still (11. 340, 341) upon Hamlet's soul? 
 
 14. (a) Why should Horatio have resolved (1. 345) to play 
 the antique Roman ? (b) What do you say of Hamlet's last 
 effort (1. 347) of bodily energy? (c) How does this, with 
 (11. 348-353) his explaining words, measure the degree of the 
 burden (cf. 340, 341) that has been noted? (d) What do you 
 say of the egotism, the selfishness, of (11. 356-3(52) his last words ? 
 (e) What of (11. 363, 364) the following lines, as a man's 
 tribute to a man? (/) Why does the author bring in the 
 approach of Fortinbras, and the salutes, before Hamlet's death ? 
 (g) What is the reason why (1. 365) Fortinbras's drum comes 
 hither?
 
 scene 2] OUTLINE QUESTIONS 309 
 
 15. (a) What dramatic importance in having, now (11. 366, 
 371), foreign spectators admitted to look upon the scene • 
 (b) Why is it well that Fortinbras, who is to have the throne, 
 should discern and declare (11. 368-371) the significance of the 
 sight? (c) Why does Horatio propose (11. 381, 384) that 
 Hamlet's story shall be told before the bodies of the dead ? 
 (d) How far are we assured potentially that Denmark will be 
 persuaded of the late King's usurpation and wickedness, and 
 that the Ghost's vengeance will be complete ? (e) Why is the 
 statement of Hamlet's wish (1. 360) concerning the succession 
 (11. 395, 396) postponed? (/) Why is Hamlet, alone, to be 
 lifted (1. 400) to the stage, before the curtain falls ? (g) What 
 is to be thought of the use of ordnance in this play ? How far 
 does Shakespeare generally make capital of noise ? 
 
 16. (a) Why did not the author change the history further, 
 and make the Queen to have been loyal to Hamlet's father? 
 (b) Was Hamlet's life a failure ? (c) What seems to have 
 caused the great popularity of this drama ? (d) In what re- 
 spects does it seem, typically, not Shakespeare's? (e) What, 
 to you, does the play of Hamlet mean ?
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 about, 218. 
 abridgements, 214. 
 absolute, 245.. 
 abuses, 218. 
 acquittance, 241. 
 act, 193, 194. 
 admiration, 227. 
 adulterate, 201. 
 aery, 212. 
 affront, 218. 
 after, 217. 
 alarm, 232. 
 amaze, 217. 
 amazement, 232. 
 ambition, 229. 
 amiss, 237. 
 an, 200, 233. 
 anchor's cheer, 226. 
 and not, 241. 
 an if, 203. 
 answer'd, 234. 
 answer well, 234. 
 antic, 203. 
 approve, 185. 
 appurtenance, 213. 
 arg:il. 244. 
 
 argument, 212, 237. 
 
 arm, 229. 
 
 armour of the mind, 229. 
 
 arras, 209. 
 
 as, 197, 236. 
 
 as a stranger, 203. 
 
 ases, 247. 
 
 assays of bias, 205. 
 
 assigns, 248. 
 
 assurance, 245. 
 
 as winds give benefit, 193, 
 
 at, 234. 
 
 at foot, 236. 
 
 at my beck, 220. 
 
 attent, 192. 
 
 at the odds, 249. 
 
 auspicious, 189. 
 
 authorities, 235. 
 
 a-work, 216. 
 
 ban, 226. 
 bare bodkin, 219. 
 barked about, 201. 
 barr'd, 189. 
 batten, 231. 
 beaten way, 211. 
 
 311
 
 312 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 beautified, 208. 
 
 beaver, 193. 
 
 belike, 224. 
 
 beut, 207. 
 
 berattle, 212. 
 
 besbrew jealousy, 206. 
 
 bespeak, 209. 
 
 best graces spend, 189. 
 
 bestowed, 217. 
 
 beteem, 192. 
 
 better'd, 250. 
 
 bilboes, 247. 
 
 bissou rheum, 216. 
 
 blank, 235. 
 
 blanks. 226. 
 
 blast, 187, 243. 
 
 blench, 218. 
 
 blister, 231. 
 
 blood and judgment, 223. 
 
 blossoms of sin, 201. 
 
 board, 209. 
 
 bodykins, 217. 
 
 boisterous, 229. 
 
 bosom, 208. 
 
 bourn, 219. 
 
 bouts, 243. 
 
 bow tbein, 189. 
 
 brainish, 234. 
 
 bravery, 248. 
 
 break thee off, 185. 
 
 breathe, 204. 
 
 brief chronicles, 217. 
 
 brokers, 196. 
 
 Iirow of woe, 188. 
 
 bruit, 191. 
 
 bugs, 247. 
 but, 194, 211, 216. 
 buttons, 194. 
 buz, 213. 
 buzzers, 238. 
 by and by, 228. 
 by time, 242. 
 
 candi'd, 223. 
 canker, 194. 
 canonized, 199. 
 capable, 233. 
 cap-a-pe, 192. 
 carbuncles, 216. 
 carouses, 250. 
 carriage, 180. 
 carry it away, 212. 
 cart, 224. 
 cast beyond, 206. 
 Castle, 183. 
 cautel, 194. 
 caviare, 215. 
 cease, 229. 
 censure, 195, 222. 
 centre, 209. 
 change, 192. 
 chanson, 214. 
 character, 195. 
 chariest, 194. 
 checking at, 242. 
 cherub, 236. 
 chief in that, 195. 
 choler, 227. 
 chopine, 215. 
 chorus. 226.
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 31a 
 
 chough, 248. 
 circumstance, 202, 230. 
 clepe, 197. 
 climatures, 187. 
 closely, 218. 
 closet, 205. 
 cockle hat, 238. 
 coldly set, 236. 
 collection, 237. 
 colour, 219, 233. 
 come, bird, 202. 
 come short, 242. 
 come you, 204. 
 commendable, 190. 
 comment of thy soul, 223. 
 commerce, 220. 
 common stages, 212. 
 commutual, 225. 
 companies, 207. 
 compelled, 240. 
 complexion, 197. 
 comply with, 213, 249. 
 conceit, 217, 232. 
 conceit upon, 238. 
 conception, 209. 
 concernancy, 248. 
 conclusions, 234. 
 confederate season, 226. 
 confine, 188. 
 confines, 210. 
 confusion, 218. 
 considered, 208. 
 cousonancy, 211. 
 contagion, 243. 
 continent, 237, 248. 
 
 coni ruction, 231. 
 
 converse, 204. 
 
 conveyance, 236. 
 
 convoy is assistant, 193. 
 
 coped withal, 223. 
 
 co ted, 211. 
 
 count, 241. 
 
 countenance, 235. 
 
 counter, 239. 
 
 crack the wind, 196. 
 
 crafts, 234. 
 
 crafty madness, 218. 
 
 c rants, 246. 
 
 credent, 194. 
 
 cried in the top of, 215. 
 
 cries on havoc, 250. 
 
 crow-flowers, 243. 
 
 crowner, 244. 
 
 cry, 227. 
 
 cunnings, 243. 
 
 curb, 233. 
 
 currents, 230. 
 
 cut purse, 232. 
 
 dagger, 248. 
 daisy, 240. 
 Dane, 184. 
 Danskers, 204. 
 dead vast, 192. 
 dearest, 192. 
 decline upon, 201. 
 defeated, 189. 
 definemeut, 248. 
 deliberate pause, 235. 
 Denmark, 185.
 
 314 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 denote me truly, 190. 
 deprive, 199. 
 desires, 207. 
 devil, 233. 
 dexterity, 192. 
 die, 226. 
 dilated, 189. 
 disappointed, 202. 
 disclaiming from, 249. 
 disclos'd. 24<i. 
 discourse, 237. 
 discourse of reason, 192. 
 dispatch'd, 201. 
 disposition, 199. 
 distemper, 233. 
 distempered, 227. 
 distill'd, 193. 
 distracted globe, 202. 
 distrust you, 225. 
 divulging, 234. 
 doth glow, 231. 
 double, 195. 
 double business, 229. 
 d.mbt, 193, 207. 
 doubtful, 245. 
 doubt thou, 208. 
 douts, 243. 
 down-gyved, 205. 
 draw on, 250. 
 dreadful, L93. 
 dreadfully attended, 211. 
 drift of circumstance, 218. 
 dull, 195. 
 
 dumb-show, 222, 224. 
 duty, 189. 
 
 eager, 196, 201. 
 
 eale. 198. 
 
 ecstasy, 205. 
 
 edge, 218. 
 
 effects, 233. 
 
 eisel, 246. 
 
 emulate, 186. 
 
 enactures, 225. 
 
 encompassment and drift, 204. 
 
 engag'd, 230. 
 
 enginer, 234. 
 
 enseamed, 232. 
 
 enviously, 237. 
 
 escoted, 212. 
 
 espials, 218. 
 
 eternal blazon , 200. 
 
 even-Christian, 244. 
 
 excellent differences, 248. 
 
 excrements, 233. 
 
 expectancy and rose, 221. 
 
 expostulate, 208. 
 
 express, 211. 
 
 express'd in fancy, 195. 
 
 extent, 213. 
 
 extravagant and erring, 188. 
 
 eyases, 212. 
 
 eye, 236. 
 
 fall, 225. 
 
 falsely borne in hand, 208. 
 
 famous ape, 234. 
 
 fantasy, 184. 
 
 fantasy and trick of fame, 237. 
 
 fardels, 219. 
 
 fares, 223.
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 315 
 
 fare thee well, 202. 
 
 fashion and toy in Mood, 194. 
 
 fashion of himself, 221. 
 
 fast, 200. 
 
 father lost, 190. 
 
 favour, 240, 245. 
 
 fay, 210. 
 
 fear, 229, 239. 
 
 feathers, 227. 
 
 feature, 221. 
 
 fee, 199. 
 
 feelingly, 248. 
 
 fell, 250. 
 
 fennel, 240. 
 
 fetch of warrant, 204. 
 
 fine, 239. 
 
 fine of, 245. 
 
 fit, 249. 
 
 flames, 200. 
 
 flaw, 245. 
 
 flies, 225. 
 
 flushing, 192. 
 
 fly at anything, 215. 
 
 foil, 249. 
 
 fond, 202. 
 
 fond and winnowed, 249. 
 
 fool me to the top of my bent, 228. 
 
 fools of nature, 199. 
 
 for, 246. 
 
 fordoes, 206. 
 
 foreign mart for implements, 186. 
 
 forgeries, 204. 
 
 forgery, 242. 
 
 four hours, 209. 
 
 frame, 227. 
 
 free, 217, 236. 
 fretted, 211. 
 friending, 203. 
 frock or livery, 233. 
 from, 222. 
 front, 231. 
 fruit, 207. 
 full of bread, 230. 
 fust, 237. 
 
 gaged, 186. 
 gain-giving, 249. 
 'gainst that season comes, 188. 
 gait, 189. 
 galled, 226. 
 gambol, 233. 
 gender, 241. 
 gentry, 207. 
 gib, 234. 
 gibber, 187. 
 give good night, 184. 
 given my heart a winking, 209. 
 give th' assay, 208. 
 give them seals, 228. 
 glass of fashion, 221. 
 glimpses of the moon, 199. 
 God 'ild, 238. 
 good kissing carrion, 209, 
 good now, 186. 
 goose-quills, 212. 
 go to, 244. 
 go together, 203. 
 grace, 191. 
 gracious, 218. 
 I grained, 232.
 
 316 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 grating, 218. 
 great article, 248. 
 great showing, 248. 
 grief, 221. 
 
 gross and scope, 186. 
 groundlings, 222. 
 Guildenstern, 206. 
 gules, 216. 
 gulf, 229. 
 gyves, 241. 
 
 handsaw, 213. 
 
 handsome, 215. 
 
 hangers, 219. 
 
 happily, 188, 213. 
 
 happiness, 210. 
 
 haps, 236. 
 
 hatchment, 240. 
 
 have after, 200. 
 
 have me, 205. 
 
 haviour, 190. 
 
 head, 239. 
 
 hebenon, 201. 
 
 hectic, 236. 
 
 hedge, 239. 
 
 hent, 230. 
 
 Herod. 222. 
 
 hey-day, 231. 
 
 hide fox and all after, 235. 
 
 hire and salary, 230. 
 
 his canon, 191. 
 
 his means of, 240. 
 
 his whole function, 217. 
 
 hoar leaves, 243. 
 
 hoist, 234. 
 
 holds quantity, 225. 
 hold up, 244. 
 honest, 219. 
 hoodman blind, 231. 
 hugger-mugger, 238. 
 humour, 207. 
 husbandry, 195. 
 Hyperion, 191. 
 Hyrcanian beast, 216, 
 
 idle, 223. 
 ill-breeding, 237. 
 image, 226. 
 immediate, 191. 
 impart towards, 191. 
 impasted, 216. 
 implorators, 196. 
 imponed, 248. 
 important, 232. 
 importing, 189. 
 imposthume, 236. 
 impress, 186. 
 iucorporal, 232. 
 incorps'd, 242. 
 incorrect, 190. 
 in death, 199. 
 indentures, 245. 
 index, 231. 
 indict, 215. 
 indifferent, 210, 220. 
 indifferently, 222. 
 indu'd, 243. 
 ingenious, 246. 
 inhibition, 211. 
 in little, 212.
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 317 
 
 /nquire me, 203. 
 insinuation, 248. 
 instance, 239. 
 instances, 225. 
 instrumental, 189. 
 iu this consequence, 204. 
 in this garb, 213. 
 intil, 244. 
 inurn'd, 199. 
 investments, 196. 
 it, 193. 
 
 jealousy, 238. 
 Jephthah, 214. 
 jig, 216, 220. 
 jig-maker, 223. 
 John-a-dreams, 217. 
 jointress, 188. 
 jowls, 244. 
 Julius Cffisar, 223. 
 jump, 186. 
 jump upon, 250. 
 
 kept short, 234. 
 kettle, 250. 
 kibe, 245. 
 kind, 190. 
 kindless, 218. 
 
 lack, 203. 
 
 lady and mistress, 214. 
 
 laps'd, 232. 
 
 larded, 238, 247. 
 
 lazar-like, 201. 
 
 leans, 236. 
 
 leave, 204, 225. 
 
 leave and favour, 189. 
 
 leave their tinct, 232. 
 
 lenten, 211. 
 
 Lethe wharf, 200. 
 
 lets, 200. 
 
 level, 239. 
 
 liberal, 243. 
 
 liberal conceit, 248. 
 
 lightness, 209. 
 
 like, 193. 
 
 likes, 208. 
 
 limed, 230. 
 
 living' monument, 247. 
 
 lofty, 188. 
 
 loggats, 245. 
 
 long live the king, 184 c 
 
 lose your voice, 189. 
 
 loves, 188, 193. 
 
 luxury, 202. 
 
 maimed, 245. 
 
 main, 236. 
 
 make you from, 192. 
 
 manner, 197. 
 
 market, 237. 
 
 mass, 231. 
 
 matin, 202. 
 
 mazzard, 244. 
 
 me, 215, 217. 
 
 means to, 240. 
 
 merely, 191. 
 
 metals base, 235. 
 
 miching mallecho, 224. 
 
 milch, 216.
 
 318 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 milky, 216. 
 mineral, 234. 
 mobled, 216. 
 modesties, 211. 
 moiety competent, 186. 
 moist star, 187. 
 mole of nature, 197. 
 monsters, 220. 
 mope, 232. 
 more above, 208. 
 more nearer, 204. 
 moreover that, 206. 
 more richer, 227. 
 mortal coil, 219. 
 most, 203. 
 mote, 187. 
 motion, 231. 
 mould, 221. 
 mountebank, 242. 
 mourn for, 209. 
 mourning duties, 190. 
 mouths, 237. 
 mows, 212. 
 much, 184, 219. 
 muddy-mettled, 217. 
 murdering piece, 238. 
 mutine, 232. 
 mutines, 247. 
 my virtue, 233. 
 
 napkin, 250. 
 native hue, 219. 
 nature crescent, 194. 
 nature's livery, 198. 
 naught, 224. 
 
 nave, 216. 
 necessary, 225. 
 necessity, 238. 
 Nemean, 200. 
 Nero, 228. 
 nerve, 200. 
 nickname, 220. 
 nomination, 248. 
 no more, 219. 
 nor do not, 222. 
 nor it cannot, 192. 
 nothing stick, 238. 
 not mine, 223. 
 not thinking on, 224. 
 noyance, 229. 
 
 obsequious sorrow, 190. 
 observe his inclination, 205, 
 obstinate condolement, 190. 
 occasion, 195. 
 occulted, 223. 
 occurrents, 250. 
 odds, 249. 
 o'er, 235. 
 o'ercrows, 250. 
 o'er-raught, 218. 
 o'ersized, 216. 
 o'erteemed loins, 216. 
 of, 203, 237. 
 of a doubt, 198. 
 of every word, 239. 
 offence, 203, 230. . 
 offendendo, 244. 
 of general assault, 204. 
 of health, 198.
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 31ft 
 
 of one defect, 198. 
 
 of our attribute, 197. 
 
 of shreds and patches, 232. 
 
 of so long life, 219. 
 
 of the which one, 222. 
 
 of us, 207. 
 
 of vantage, 229. 
 
 of wisdom and reach, 205. 
 
 of you, 211. 
 
 omen, 187. 
 
 on, 250. 
 
 once, 202. 
 
 on mount, 241. 
 
 open VI, 207. 
 
 operant, 225. 
 
 opposite, 226. 
 
 order, 246. 
 
 ordiuant, 248. 
 
 ore, 234. 
 
 or ere, 192. 
 
 orisons, 219. 
 
 our loves, 225. 
 
 outstretched, 210. 
 
 overpeering, 239- 
 
 packing, 234. 
 paddock, 234. 
 painted, 219. 
 pajock, 227. 
 pales, 197. 
 pall, 247. 
 pansies, 239. 
 pardon, 227. 
 parle, 185. 
 partisan, 188. 
 
 passage, 250. 
 
 passages of proof, 242. 
 
 passion, 217, 240. 
 
 pass of practice, 242. 
 
 past, 229. 
 
 pat, 230. 
 
 patience, 223. 
 
 peace-parted, 246. 
 
 peak, 217. 
 
 pelican, 239. 
 
 Peliou, 246. 
 
 perdy, 227. 
 
 periwig-pated, 222. 
 
 perpend, 208. 
 
 peruse, 242. 
 
 petar, 234. 
 
 physic, 230. 
 
 pickers and stealers, 228, 
 
 pigeon-liver'd, 217. 
 
 pioner, 203. 
 
 plausive, 198. 
 
 played the desk, 208. 
 
 plot, 237. 
 
 plurisy, 242. 
 
 ply his music, 205. 
 
 pole, 185. 
 
 politic worms. 235. 
 
 porpentine, 200. 
 
 posset, 201. 
 
 posy, 224. 
 
 precurse, 187. 
 
 pregnant, 210, 223. 
 
 prenominate, 204. 
 
 presently, 218, 250. 
 
 presentment, 231.
 
 320 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 present push, 246. 
 pressure, 2'_'l'. 
 pressures, 202. 
 prevent discovery, 211. 
 primrose, 195. 
 primy nature, 104. 
 . probation, 188. 
 process, 201, 229. 
 profound, 234. 
 progress, 236. 
 proof, 216, 231. 
 proper, 248. 
 property, 217. 
 property of easiness, 244. 
 proportions, 189. 
 protests, 226. 
 purgation, 227. 
 purging, 210. 
 pursy, 233. 
 put on, 196, 250. 
 puts, 221. 
 
 quaintly, 204. 
 quality, 215. 
 quest. 244. 
 question, 218, 230. 
 questionable, 198. 
 quick, 245. 
 quiddits, 245. 
 quillets, 245. 
 quoted, 206. 
 
 rack. 216. 
 ranker. 236. 
 razed, 227. 
 
 readies, 199. 
 
 recks not liis rede, 195. 
 
 recorders, 227. 
 
 recover the wind, 228. 
 
 reechy, 234. 
 
 region, 216. 
 
 relative, 218. 
 
 relish, 220. 
 
 remorse, 216. 
 
 removed, 199. 
 
 repel his letters, 206- 
 
 replication, 235. 
 
 respect, 219. 
 
 respects, 225. 
 
 rests, 230. 
 
 retrograde, 191. 
 
 rights of memory, 250 
 
 rivals, 1S4. 
 
 romage, 187. 
 rood, 230. 
 Roscius, 213. 
 rose, 231. 
 rosemary, 239. 
 Rosencrantz, 206 
 roses, 227. 
 round, 209, 221. 
 rouse, 191, 197. 
 row, 214. 
 rub, 21'.'. 
 rue, 240. 
 
 sallets, 215. 
 salt wash, 224. 
 salvation, 243. 
 sans, 231.
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 321 
 
 say, 209. 
 
 say'st, 244. 
 
 'sblood, 212. 
 
 scarf'd, 247. 
 
 scene individable, 214. 
 
 scholar, 185. 
 
 sconce, 245. 
 
 scope, 226. 
 
 scourge, 235. 
 
 scrimers, 242. 
 
 sealed hard consent, 189. 
 
 season, 1!>2. 
 
 seasons, 225. 
 
 season this, 195. 
 
 seiz'd of, 186. 
 
 semblable, 248. 
 
 Seneca, 214. 
 
 sense, 190, 233. 
 
 sensible, 239. 
 
 shall, 203. 
 
 shape, 243. 
 
 shark'd up, ! 
 
 shent, 228. 
 
 should, 210. 
 
 shouldst be, 200. 
 
 shrewdly, 196. 
 
 shriving time, 247. 
 
 siege, 242. 
 
 simples, 242. 
 
 singular and peculiar, 229. 
 
 sith, 206. 
 
 si: we, 185. 
 
 siz'd, 225. 
 
 skyish, 246. 
 
 slander, 196. 
 
 sledded P.dacks, 185. 
 
 sliver, 243. 
 
 slow, 189. 
 
 soft, 'Jill. 
 
 soil our addition, 197. 
 
 so neighboured to, 207. 
 
 so please, 221. 
 
 sort, 187. 
 
 sovereignty of reason, 199. 
 
 spendthrift sigh, 242. 
 
 splenitive, 246. 
 
 springe, 250. 
 
 springes, 196. 
 
 star, 209. 
 
 stars, 187. 
 
 station, 231. 
 
 statists. 247. 
 
 still, 187, 207, 242. 
 
 stithy, 223. 
 
 stomach, 187. 
 
 stops, 228. 
 
 stoup, 244. 
 
 straight, 243. 
 
 strike, 188. 
 
 stuck, 243. 
 
 substance, 210. 
 
 suit of sables, 223. 
 
 supervise, -247. 
 
 suppliance of a minute, 194. 
 
 supply and profit, 207. 
 
 supposal, 189. 
 
 Switzers, 238. 
 
 swoopstake, 239. 
 
 'swounds, 217.
 
 322 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 tables, 202. 
 
 taints, 204. 
 
 takes, 188. 
 
 take you, 204. 
 
 tardy off, 222. 
 
 tarre, 212. 
 
 tax liira home, 229. 
 
 tell, 193. 
 
 temper'd, 250. 
 
 tenable, 193. 
 
 tend, 195, 236. 
 
 tender, 196, 236- 
 
 tender me, 196. 
 
 tent, 218. 
 
 termagant, 222. 
 
 terms, 229, 241. 
 
 than hate to utter, 206. 
 
 that, 188, 240, 243. 
 
 the nonce, 243. 
 
 thereabout, 216. 
 
 thews, 194. 
 
 thick and unwholesome, 238. 
 
 thou, 233. 
 
 thought, 219, 240. 
 
 throughly, 239. 
 
 throwing about, 212. 
 
 tickle o' the sere, 211. 
 
 till he, 190. 
 
 time, 219. 
 
 to, 191, 201. 
 
 to do, 212. 
 
 to doomsday, 187. 
 
 to hide, 206. 
 
 to him, 208. 
 
 to his own scandal, 198. 
 
 toils, 186. 
 
 took the fruits, 209. 
 
 top of question, 212. 
 
 topp'd, 242. 
 
 to take, 230. 
 
 touch'd, 240. 
 
 toward, 186, 250. 
 
 to withdraw with you, 228. 
 
 toy, 237. 
 
 toys of desperation, 199. 
 
 trade, 227. 
 
 trail of policy, 207. 
 
 trick, 243. 
 
 triumph of his pledge, 197. 
 
 tropically, 226. 
 
 true-penny, 203. 
 
 truly found, 207. 
 
 turn Turk, 227. 
 
 tyrannically, 212. 
 
 unanel'd, 202. 
 unbated, 242. 
 unbrac'd, 205. 
 uncharge the practice, 242 
 undergo, 198. 
 ungracious, 195. 
 unhousel'd, 202. 
 unimproved, 186. 
 union, 250. 
 unmaster'd, 194. 
 unpregnant of, 217. 
 unprevailing, 190. 
 unproportion'd, 195. 
 unshaped, 237. 
 unsifted, 196.
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 325 
 
 unyoke, 244. 
 upon my sword, 203. 
 upon your hour, 184. 
 upspring, 197. 
 uses, 191. 
 usurp, 227. 
 usurp'st, 185. 
 
 vailed lids, 190. 
 valanced, 214. 
 validity, 225. 
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 virtue, 201. 
 virtue of, 194. 
 visitation, 207. 
 voice, 249, 250. 
 vouchsafe your rest, 207. 
 vulgar, 195. 
 
 wanton, 250. 
 warrantise, 245. 
 wassail, 197. 
 watch, 209. 
 ways, 196. 
 weeds, 242. 
 what, 240. 
 
 what it should he, 207. 
 
 what should be the fear, 199. 
 
 wherein, 238. 
 
 while the grass grows, 228. 
 
 who, 209. 
 
 wholesome, 226, 231. 
 
 will, 237. 
 
 will he, nil] he, 244. 
 
 windlasses, 205. 
 
 wit, 208. 
 
 witching time, 228. 
 
 witbal, 210, 243. 
 
 Wittenberg, 191. 
 
 woo't, 246. 
 
 word, 202. 
 
 would, 230. 
 
 wrack, 206. 
 
 wretch, 209. 
 
 Yaughan, 244. 
 
 yaw, 248. 
 
 yeoman's service, 247. 
 
 yesty, 249. 
 
 you, 207. 
 
 your cause of distemper, 228. 
 
 your entreatments, 196. 
 
 youth to itself rebels, 194. 
 
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